Sony Announces New Additions to Xperia Series Smartphones
Sony has announced two new additions to its Xperia 1 and 5 flagships series line-ups with the Xperia 1 III and Xperia 5 III.
The variable telephoto lens on each of the new Xperia models allows for quick focus when switching between the 70 mm and 105 mm lenses. This setup is paired with a dual PD sensor and dual PDAF capabilities across the entire focal range. The smartphones offer a total of four focal lengths viz. 16 mm, 24 mm, 70 mm and 105 mm and feature Zeiss optics calibrated specifically for Xperia. Object tracking has been upgraded with Real-time Tracking and both models offer continuous AF that performs
AF / AE calculations at up to 60 times per second. The BIONZ X processor enables users to shoot in low-light scenarios in Burst Mode.
The smartphones feature the Photography Pro function and were reportedly developed to mirror the manual controls available in the Alpha series cameras including ISO, shutter speed, EV Indicator, Raw support plus a dedicated shutter button. The Xperia 1 III features a 6.5” 21:9 CinemaWide 4K HDR OLED display with a 120Hz
Refresh rate while Xperia 5 III offers a 6.1” 21:9 CinemaWide HDR OLED display with a 120Hz Refresh rate. They also feature Dolby Atmos sound tuned in collaboration with Sony Pictures Entertainment. Other features include ability to adjust white balance, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, a new Audio equaliser, V.C. microphone and Heat Suppression power control. It also includes a range of new features such as UI improvements for controlled workflow, ability to review and organise footage with clip playback etc.
The smartphones are powered by Qualcomm Kryo 680 CPU and Qualcomm Adreno 660 GPU and come with a 4,500mAh battery that charges up to 50 percent in 30 minutes with the included charger XZQ-UC1.
The Xperia 1 III features a frosted glass on the back and a blasted metal frame, with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus on the display, while the Xperia 5 III features Corning Gorilla Glass 6 on the rear and the display with a sleek mirror-glass finish and a robust metal frame. Both models also feature IP65/68 water resistance and protection against dust.
The Xperia 1 III will be available in Frosted Black and Frosted Purple colours and shipped with Android 11, while the Xperia 5 III will be available in Black and Green colours and shipped with Android 11 as well. As of now, no pricing and availability related information has been shared by the company.
Z Y Optics has announced the launch of four different T1.0 cinema lenses. They are the 17 mm and 25 mm in Micro Four Thirds mount, 35 mm in Canon RF, Fujifilm X, Sony E and Micro Four Thirds mount and 50 mm in Canon EF and Arri PL Mount.
The lenses are reportedly, compact and lightweight, with a budget friendly price and come with 4 focal lengths in 3 different line-ups. The 17 mm, 25 mm and 35 mm lenses come with a Micro Four Thirds mount, making them a compact option for Panasonic GH5, Z-Cam E2 and Pocket4k. The 35 mm has a Super 35 image circle and comes with Canon RF, Sony E and Fuji X mount. The 50 mm, on the other hand, is designed for full frame EF/PL cinema cameras. The company says that it is currently working to add more focal lengths to the 3 line-ups (i.e. Micro Four Thirds, Super 35 and Full Frame) and will release further details soon.
Ricoh has announced the Pentax K-3 Mark III, a new flagship model in its APS-C format D-SLR camera series.
The Mark III incorporates a backilluminated CMOS image sensor with approximately 25.73 effective megapixels, coupled with an AA (antialiasing)-filter-free optical design. It boasts of a super-high sensitivity of ISO 1,600,000 and features a newly developed SAFOX 13 autofocus system with 101 focus sensors. Its new optical viewfinder reportedly, delivers a nearly 100% field of view and magnification of approximately 1.05 times. With a newly developed high-refraction glass prism, the viewfinder provides a wide field of view equivalent to that of a fullframe SLR.
The camera’s compact, rugged body is dustproof and weather resistant and features Pentax’s five-axis shakereduction (SR) system. The camera also features Pixel Shift Resolution System and is equipped with user-friendly shooting functions. These include a high-definition 3.2-inch touch-screen LCD monitor and intuitive operations such as scrolling menu selection and image zooming during playback. It also features Pentax Real-time Scene Analysis System that reportedly, detects a subject’s face and eyes instantly.
The Pentax K-3 Mark III is available for purchase at www.us.ricoh-imaging. com and can be pre-ordered at Ricoh Imaging-authorised retail outlets for an MSRP of USD 1,999.95.