New Sony lenses and 70-400mm G

[Heidfirst]

They have released the A99 FF and per SAR delaying further A-mount FF cameras focusing instead on FF NEX with E-mount. At the same time they release an expensive 300mm F2.8 lens (for whom?).

for those who would use the A99 (& A77)? From what I understand they could already sell every 300/2.8 that they could physically make (only a couple hundred per year) & the new one is more a mid-life upgrade of the old rather than a new design..
& if Sony want to attract a certain level of professional (or wealthy amateur) users then they need to have certain minimum "halo" lenses in the system.

They are certainly hamstrung by a lack of lens production capacity & by how much in the current financial climate they can invest in new products/production to resolve that.

[bfitzgerald]

More stuff...
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sr5-a58- ... come-soon/

Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 for 1600-1700 dollars/euro
18-55mm II for A mount at around 200-300 dollars/euro
70-400G F4.5-5.6 II 2400-2500 dollars/euro (to ship in April!)

Price on the 50mm CZ must be wrong surely
Not sure about another kit lens but hey there you go

Still missing some essential lenses

[Winkler Prins]

Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 for 1600-1700 dollars/euro

Price on the 50mm CZ must be wrong surely

Imagine what this lens could do for resolution test charts...
That is worth more than the profit Sony will make on selling the first six million of these lenses.

[Heidfirst]

70-400 G SSM II £1800
50/1.4 ZA SSM £1300
18-55 SAM II £180
according to the likes of ephotozine etc.
http://presscentre.sony.eu/content/deta ... wsAreaId=2

[bfitzgerald]

Hmm the Canon 50mm f1.2 is £1100 I can't see the point of a 50mm f1.4 at that price
£500 price increase on the 70-400mm G again the price is surely off the mark

Heck who'd pay £180 for a kit lens!
Sony's lens prices are pretty awful in the UK

[alphaomega]

Heck who'd pay £180 for a kit lens!

Who buys a kit lens rather than getting one with a camera (and maybe selling it as quickly as possible)?

[bfitzgerald]

I'm still trying to sell my 18-55mm SAM little interest out there for it even at a low price

[mvanrheenen]

They Canonized the 70-400G

Seems like a hefty pricetag for some new lens and body coating and upgraded SSM motor. V1 is still a stellar performer in my book.

[Heidfirst]

£500 price increase on the 70-400mm G again the price is surely off the mark

current list price is over £1600 so assuming the same that's a ~5.5% price increase.
For 4x the AF speed (the current is slower to AF than the Canon 100-400 L)albeit beating it in pretty much everything else ) let alone the improved coatings I would pay an extra 5.5%.

[bfitzgerald]

So what happened to the "weather sealing" on the 70-400mm G or did I miss that part?

[Heidfirst]

seals really need to be designed in at the start - this is just a facelift. I suspect that the same will be true for the 70-200 G II.
Not going to be an easy fix with an extending lens.

Having said that I've used my 70-400 in appalling weather with no issues

[bfitzgerald]

So basically the price has gone up £500 for a paint job, better coatings on the elements and evidently faster AF. Looks like the older version is a better buy then!
On the 50mm f1.4 CZ lens £1300 seems quite outrageous for a 50mm lens which are notoriously easy and cheap to make I really don't get that at all. Expected a fairy hefty price with the CZ badge (maybe £700-£800 odd) but £1300 wow they are really dreaming on that one.

[artington]

Must agree with this. These prices are absurd. £1,800 for a 70-400 compares with a street price of around £1,100 for the excellent Canon 100-400. As for the Sony-Zeiss 50/1.4, well it's for the birds! Another view here:

Source: http://visualsciencelab.blogspot.co.uk/ ... p-new.html

Lest we blame Sony alone, Canon is testing price elasticity too with its 24-70/2.8 MkII II and, even more extraordinarily, with the 24-70/4.

Best buy the old versions while you still can. Or see what Sigma and Tamron can do.

[bfitzgerald]

Not often I agree with Kirk! But at least he's seen the madness on this one price wise.
I can't for the life of me think why they would price it at such a crazy level.

I read this but it's not much use regarding performance it's just a "grabbed hands on"
http://www.thephoblographer.com/2013/02 ... y-a-mount/

I'm sure the optics will be good no question about it but I really can't see many people buying this, even at a lower street price it's likely to be £1000+
It might pass for £600-£700 but no more than that.

Def can't replace the normal 50mm f1.4 it's £1000 more expensive!
And it came out of nowhere too there were quite a few "needed" primes for A mount (24/28/35/85mm) this wasn't even on the bottom of the list. What a waste of resources IMO better spent on essential will sell primes that are missing