Welcome to our roundup series where we will hit on several gear news and rumor topics each day. This gives you a chance to get caught up on all of the day’s news and rumors in one place. Make sure to check back daily for the latest gear news, rumors, and announcements.
Tokina 14-20mm F/2 Leaks
Lens leaks are always fun, and today we have one coming courtesy of French Magazine Focus Numérique. The French publication published a photo online of what appears to be a yet unreleased Tokina 14-20mm F/2 lens.
Now before you go getting too excited, this is a crop-sensor only lens (sorry, Matt Saville!). Some have said that it could be a replacement for the Tokina 11-20mm F/2.8 DX, though that would be an odd choice because the difference between 11mm and 14mm on a crop body is pretty big. That said, you do go from F/2.8 to F/2, which is a nice upgrade for some people.
The lens also appears to have a removable hood, which would likely indicate that it may accept normal filters – a nice advantage over the bulbous front element of some other recently announced lenses.
If the lens is in the hands of a press outlet, then an announcement is likely coming soon. Stay tuned and we will keep you updated on what we hear regarding this Tokina announcement.
New ‘Secret’ Sony Camera Coming Soon?
Sony just announced their new A68, and apparently there could be more coming soon if the rumor mill is to be believed. According to the report over on Sony Alpha Rumors, the same source who told them about the A68 announcement has come back with another rumor about a secret Sony camera.
The kicker here is that all they knew was that the camera could be announced between October and March, and that it was so secret that no one outside of Sony Tokyo knew about this camera (obviously not true since he knows, unless he works in Sony Tokyo). The rumor mill thinks this could be long rumored A9, or Sony’s true mirrorless full frame camera developed for professionals. I am not so sure.
Apparently the source has said that it is more of a revolutionary camera than an evolutionary camera. Another line of thought was that maybe this could be a Sony medium format mirrorless offering, or something along those lines. Something like that, if done right, could definitely be in the revolutionary category.
Regardless, the point is that a trusted source says something big is coming, and he can’t share what it is other than that it is coming any time in the next 4 months. I’m taking plenty of salt with this one, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Sony drop a bomb on us all just before the holidays.
B&H Celebrates Deal Zone Anniversary
B&H is celebrating the one year anniversary of their Deal Zone by bringing back some of their most popular Deal Zone deals from the past year for today only! There are hundreds of dollars to be saved here on everything from cameras and lenses to drones, tripods, bags, and more.
If you are interested in saving some major money, you can find all the deals over on B&H here.
What are your thoughts on today’s roundup? What news/rumors did we miss? What would you like to see covered in future roundups? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think!
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I use to shoot a 14-24 Tokina on Nikon. Everybit as good as Nikon’s I thought. A buddy gave me his old Nikon 14-24 so I sold the Tokina. Didn’t notice much difference but then again I’m a portrait shooter.
what about a Sony mirrorless camera that doesn’t need an adapter to put decent glass on it and a battery that you can shoot a full wedding on? :p
I would hope if Sony did deliver a true pro body, they’d at least double the capacity of the battery — that gets them to around 550-600 shots (based on CIPA, since an EVF camera is much more variable in performance than a DSLR). So take that, put the battery grip on it, and you’re at the shooting capacity of a 5D mk III or 6D.
And of course, that full pro body has to have all the build and sealing bits that make big Canons and Nikons heavy… so you’re definitely not buying this for the size. You have to be sold on EVF for other reasons. But if they bump the usual 2.5M EVF to 4M or so… I think you stop noticing it’s not a OVF at some point. Of course, it’s easy enough to sit around a design paper cameras all day long, so that’s enough for now.
The secret camera is brand new A99 mark II designed from ground up with new AF systems that work in total darkness ;)
Also: if Sony goes Medium Format, the internet will break.
Especially if it was an affordable option. Something EOS-1D or D5 level price wise… the industry would meltdown. haha
Another microscopic focal length ranged zoom? At this rate, I expect all the zooms of the future to be like 20-24mm f/1.8, 35-42mm f/2.0, etc. This particular Tokina would be a 22-32mm FF equivalent on a Canon rig and a 21-30mm FF equivalent on a Nikon rig.
Besides Matthew Saville, who is the market for such a lens? Umm… Backpacking/backcountry astro shooters that are so obsessed with weight that they shoot crop cameras? (I’m reaching here.)
That sounds basically like the first professional ultrawide lenses from Canon and Nikon, at 20-35mm f2.8. The only difference is that this is APS-C, yet you barely give up any low-light performance as a result…
There’s very little selection for crop-DSLR wide lenses faster than f/2.8. The Rokibowyang 16mm f/2 is the only one that comes to mind. If this 14-20 f/2 turns out to be true (and good quality), I would seriously consider replacing my 11-16 with it.
Sean, thx. But what’s your application. Astro? Environmental portraiture? Concerts?
Just curious what the driver is for you.
Adam, Sean is my co-conspirator. See: https://slrlounge.com/adventure-report-1-mt-whitney-97-switchbacks-under-the-milky-way/ and https://slrlounge.com/nikon-df-canon-6d-creating-drivelapse-timelapse-sequence/ for some of our astro-landscape shenanigans.
…Or, of cousre, https://slrlounge.com/mauna-kea-heavens-space-lasers-milky-way-timelapse-sean-goebel/
In short, yes, an astro-landscape photographer, or team, can never have too many cameras. There are plenty of nights when I’d highly value a lens like this (if it isn’t too much heavier than the 11-20 2.8) on a Nikon D5500 (the current leader for high ISO performance among all APS-C sensors) as a 2nd or even 3rd camera angle.
I know it sounds obscure and way too specialized, however IMO astro-landscape photography is rapidly growing in popularity.
That, plus the fact that Tokina has always been a strong choice for any crop-sensor landscape shooter; all of their wide/ultrawide zooms have been wicked-sharp and rock-solid, yet incredibly lightweight for a backpacker or general traveler.
I hope they have some sort of 7-16mm f/4 up their sleeve, too, to “compete” with the Canon 11-24 f/4. Because 1.) I’ll never pay $3K for a 2+ lb f/4 lens, and 2.) If anybody can do it, and do it affordably, Tokina can. :-)
Adam, yes, as Matthew points out, my main application for this lens would be astro-landscapes. I use 6Ds as my main bodies, but I also have a Rebel T2i that I use when I need an extra angle (or traveling, or hiking, or loaning out). It’s already at quite a handicap for noise and DR compared to the full-frame cameras, so having fast lenses available really helps.
Then again, I keep considering replacing it with a Sony A6000 or its successor, and this lens seems a lot less appealing to mirrorless users.