Purification Fountain of the 9-Headed Dragon
16mm, ISO 100, f/2, 1/640

Another summer month has come and gone, which means it’s time for a quick recap on the site! As briefly mentioned in my last review, this update comes a few days late due to a September return from a long vacation. Speaking of that review, in case you missed my Rokinon 16mm f/2 lens review, check it out if you need an affordable and decent-performing wide angle!

Regarding my trip the past couple weeks, I decided to forgo photography for a good part of it. Most of this stems from the fact I had already been to many of the locations before! Although it is hardly my first time doing this, it can be a very rewarding experience to live out adventures with ones eyes, instead of through lenses in front of a camera. That said, I did bring my a6500 along for the ride and still came back with a good number of shots from a few new places. Once I have time to look through them all and edit a good bunch up, I may either put them all in a post on this website or in a sequence on my Facebook page. Either way, stay tuned!

In other gear news, Venus Optics’ Laowa 15mm f/2 for E-mount cameras is in the process of launching worldwide! My early preorder shipped out about a week ago, so hopefully it’ll make its way back to Japan before too long. If you can’t wait for my review of this promising wide-angle and want to order yours today, check it out here on the company’s website. If you order through that link, you’ll help support this website for future reviews and other content!

In regards to Sony gear, however, a new RX camera announced caught my eye one week ago. Sony’s new RX0 is a curious device that mostly fits within the “action camera” market. Its feature set and sensor size really impress, however. The 24mm-equivalent rectilinear lens paired with a 1″-type sensor will easily crush any competition from the likes of GoPro and other action camera makers, especially in low-light and 4K. A shame the camera doesn’t throw in optical image stabilization like their FDR-X3000, though. With an already out-of-market $700 price, an extra $100 or so to add true stabilization wouldn’t have really hurt anything. With its sensor size and portability (among other cool multi-cam synchronization features), I’m pretty excited to see what pros do with multiple RX0’s for their work.

Otherwise, August has been relatively quiet, with no concrete rumors cropping up for future Sony lenses or cameras (still, still waiting on a full-frame a9000 in the rangefinder-style body…), but there’s still some time to go for new announcements before the holiday shopping season kicks off into full swing. That’s all for this post, guys and gals, thanks for dropping by! I hope my USA readers enjoyed the Great American Eclipse a couple weeks ago, the photographs produced from the widely-enjoyed event have been great! As always, have a great day!