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Is Panasonic finally going to give us phase detection autofocus in Lumix mirrorless cameras?

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Is Panasonic finally going to give us phase detection autofocus (PDAF) in their full-frame and Micro Four Thirds Lumix mirrorless cameras? Well… Maybe. This is one that seems to have skipped by most of us but last month, Panasonic announced a new PTZ camera. Now, we do cover PTZ cameras occasionally, like the Insta360 Link and that crazy Sony Cinema PTZ camera we saw at IBC 2022 in September, but mostly they’re kinda boring.

This one, though, the imaginatively titled Panasonic AW-UE160W/K features something new. At least, it’s something new for Panasonic. Phase detection autofocus. Ordinary Filmmaker spotted this and put a video together going over his thoughts on what this might mean for the future of Panasonic mirrorless cameras.

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Sigma full-frame Foveon still delayed but it may come with phase detection autofocus

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In an interview with Imaging Resource, Sigma CEO Kazuto Yamaki has announced that there is a new delay with Foveon sensor development. It sounds like the same old story we’ve been hearing since 2018, but it seems as if it’s not so much the technical challenges that Sigma is facing now. The technical development issues that have caused delays in the past seem to be resolved for the most part. It’s simply a matter of production.

The global silicon shortage has a lot to answer for across many industries, but that seems to be the only thing that’s really holding Sigma back now. Prototypes take too long to create and the sensor itself is still seeing development while waiting for those prototypes to happen. This makes them pretty much obsolete before they get close to production. But, it sounds like we’re close to full-frame Foveon becoming a reality.

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Full-Frame Foveon X3 “should be” ready in 2022 but probably not an actual camera

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The full-frame Foveon saga has been going on since 2018 when it was first mentioned at Photokina during the Sigma, Panasonic and Leica L mount alliance. It was originally expected to be released in 2019, but in March 2019, this was revised to 2020. Only a day after rumours of a February 2020 release, Sigma announced that they’re still working on it and the following month its release was delayed until at least 2021, but probably 2022.

At the beginning of 2021, that release date target became 2023 and now it seems that Sigma might be on track. In a recent interview with Sigma CEO Kazuto Yamaki, he reaffirmed that Sigma is still working on prototypes of the full-frame Foveon X3 sensor and that it “should be available sometime this year”. The way it’s worded sounds like the sensor will be available, but perhaps not in a retail-ready camera.

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Fotodiox release new auto extension tubes for shooting macro with L mount cameras

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Extension tubes are one of the best ways to get started in macro. They’re easy to use with your existing lenses to be able to get started shooting really close-up subjects and they’re a lot cheaper than buying an actual dedicated macro lens. Up until recently, there haven’t been too many options when it comes to extension tubes for L mount, though. There are a couple, but not many.

Well now, Fotodiox has entered the fray with their new 15mm and 35mm L mount Auto Macro Tubes. The “auto” bit means that they maintain electronic communication between the lens and camera, giving you full control over your aperture and autofocus system when using them.

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DJI joins L mount alliance, Zenmuse X9 gets L mount adapter, Ronin 4D to get 42222 XQ codec

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Well, here’s a surprise announcement, DJI is joining the L mount alliance. It’s not so much a surprise that more members are being added, as Panasonic Director, Yosuke Yamane mentioned that it may happen way back at the beginning of 2020. And making good on that suggestion, they added Leitz last October. But the fact that the newest member to join will be DJI is perhaps a little unexpected.

It kind of makes sense, though. After all, DJI has been starting to head more towards interchangeable lens cameras lately with the Ronin 4D and obviously, they make interchangeable lens cameras for some of their drones. But to eliminate any doubt about their intentions right away, along with the announcement DJI has launched a new L mount lens plate for their Zenmuse X9 camera.

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This is how zoom works inside Sigma’s new 16-28mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary lens

Earlier this month, Sigma announced its new 16-28mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary lens. One of the features is that it features internal zoom and focus mechanisms, so it doesn’t change length when zooming or focusing.

If you’ve been wondering how it works and what it looks like on the inside, Sigma has a video for you. It shows a cross-section of the lens, all of its elements, and its internal zoom mechanism.

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Laowa has officially launched the new $499 90mm f/2.8 2x Macro for E, L, RF and Z mount cameras

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There isn’t really much about this lens that we didn’t already know, except for the surprisingly low $499 price tag, thanks to last month’s leaked specs, photos and video but Venus Optics has now officially announced the new Laowa 90mm f/2.8 2x Ultra-Macro APO “CA-Dreamer” lens. The lens was expected to be announced on May 23rd, although that seems to have been delayed until today.

This full-frame lens is available in several mirrorless mounts including Sony E, Canon RF, Nikon Z and Leica L. It’s a manual focus lens with a minimum focus distance of 20.5cm and a magnification factor of 2x. It weighs in at only 619g, and provides what Venus Optics says is “superb optical performance and outstanding sharpness”.

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Sigma officially announces its 16-28mm f/2.8 DG DN lens for full-frame mirrorless cameras

Sigma has today announced the 16-28mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary lens for full-frame mirrorless cameras. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as it was rumoured a week ago that that was exactly what they would be announcing and the short Sigma Stage briefing shows that it was all they were planning to announce today. Well, now it’s official and it’s being released this month.

They say that the new 16-28mm f/2.8 DG DN lens is a “perfect companion” to its 28-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary lens. There’s no 70-200mm to complete the trio yet, but there are rumours that it’ll be coming towards the end of the year. For now, though, let’s look at the 16-28mm f/2.8 DG DN.

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Panasonic patents new 70-200mm, 70-300mm and 100-400mm full-frame zoom lenses

If there’s one thing Panasonic’s famous for, it’s inexpensive full-frame lenses. Oh, wait, no, the other one. They’re not famous for inexpensive full-frame lenses. The L mount has proven popular, but when we look at something as ubiquitous as a 50mm f/1.8, the Panasonic Lumix S 50mm f/1.8 costs more than double the Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM and almost double that of the Sony E mount 50mm f/1.8.

But it looks like Panasonic might actually be starting to focus a little more on less expensive lenses. Not less expensive than their 50mm f/1.8, no, but new patents suggest that we might see some low budget alternatives to their 70-200mm f/2.8 and f/4 offerings, a potential replacement for their 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 Macro and maybe even a new 100-400mm.

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Sigma’s 60-megapixel full-frame Foveon sensor camera might never appear

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Sigma CEO Kazuto Yamaki has posted an update on the progress of their long-awaited full-frame Foveon camera, first announced during the initial L mount alliance announcement at Photokina in September 2018. It had an initial release date of 2019, which was then pushed back to 2020 in March 2019. In February 2020 it was announced that it was on hold indefinitely, but that they’re working on it.

Later that same year, Sigma confirmed that they’re still working on it, but they still have no idea when it would be ready for prime time, which was then confirmed again in February 2021 with a “maybe 2022” release turning into “at least 2022”. Now, the new update suggests that a full-frame Foveon camera may never come at all if they can’t find a company to manufacture the sensor to their satisfaction.

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