Tag: UK

Lenses For Hire (UK) adds Sony FE range

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Sony reaches a Hire level 

Sony full-frame mirrorless system owners keen to find out how good the fast Sony GM lenses are can now hire from Lenses For Hire for as little as £69. The hire service has been evaluating the demand and quality of the Sony offering, and recently decided to add the system alongside their regular Canon and Nikon professional stock.

A three-day shoot with the 24-70mm f/2.8 FE GM OSS, delivered on a Thursday and picked up on the Monday by courier, would cost under £100 including insurance and carriage both ways and only £69 direct from the Maidenhead hire specialists. 

System lenses stocked include the new 12-24mm f/4 G, 16-35mm f/2.8 GM, 24-105mm G OSS, 90mm f/21.8 OSS macro, 70-20mm f/2.8 GM OSS, new GM 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 OSS and the versatile travel-friendly 24-240mm. 

Tele converters, the latest Metabones Mark V Canon EF adaptor and accessories are offered. Sony A7II, A7RIII, A7SII and A9 bodies can be hired from £94. 

With GM lenses costing from £2,269 upwards an affordable hire period helps you make the right buying decision, saves you money and gives you the best choice for your work. 

Contact: 

Lenses For Hire Ltd 

www.lensesforhire.co.uk 

[email protected] 

+44(0)1628 639941 – or UK only 0800 61 272 61 

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Lenses - E mount, News, NEX System

Sony launch UK PRO support

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Sony today announced the expansion of its Imaging PRO Support programme to include the UK. The programme is scheduled to start in the UK in September 2016 and continues to gain momentum as an increasing amount of professional photographers are switching to Sony cameras.

Imaging PRO Support offers advice and help to members including a dedicated telephone help desk offering professional photographers support in using their α camera equipment. There’s a free collection and return service for units requiring repairs, plus a free back-up loan unit to keep professional photographers up and running. In addition, members can benefit from a free twice-yearly image sensor cleaning service with filter glass replacement if necessary and firmware check-up to keep their cameras in top condition.

There’s no membership fee for the service that’s offered to professional photographers who own at least two Sony α camera bodies and three Sony α lenses from the qualifying list detailed beneath.

The Sony Imaging PRO support programme is now live in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the United States. Rollout in other European countries is currently under consideration.

Qualifying Cameras and Lenses

Your editor notes with pleasure that he’s not apparently a pro despite several qualifications and a working lifetime in the business covering 40 years, since he doesn’t own the right lenses, having sold several on the list as inappropriate or superceded, and preferring others for practical reasons (for example, using the 50mm SAL macro not the 100mm, and having found the 70-400mm SAL G and 70-300mm SAL G inferior to alternatives, selling the 24mm f/2 CZ SSM because the 28mm f/2 SEL proved far better). I appear to prefer third party glass, or lenses Sony doesn’t class as pro, like the excellent 24-240mm SEL, the little 28mm f/2, the SAL 28-75mm f/2.8 SAM, the SAL 85mm f/2.8 SAM, the 10-18mm SEL, 35mm f/1.8 and 50mm f/1.8 OSS primes for A6000 stabilised video (not listed, and nor is the A6300 which is remarkable when the old NEX-7 is included). Also, exactly why the original A77 – again not easy to use for pro work because of the noise levels, relative to newer ‘amateur’ offerings – is in Group A when the excellent A7 MkII is listed in Group B with the NEX-7 and original A7, who knows? Indeed, why have Group A or Group B?

However, the deal looks pretty good but it’s not for me despite my Sony system including two A7 series bodies one of them the top A7RII, two LA adaptors, two flashguns, one A6000, two A580 bodies, one A700, RX10, RX100MkIII and fourteen Sony lenses (not counting any Minolta A-mount lenses, and of course not counting Tamron, Sigma, Samyang, Canon, Voigtlander or others). I’d have to buy two more expensive heavy lenses, non-OSS lenses, or bulky lenses since Sony’s criterion seems to be the cost of the lenses and not their usefulness to the photographer.

Camera Bodies Group ‘A’

  • SLT-A99(V)
  • SLT-A77(V)
  • ILCA-77M2
  • ILCE-7R
  • ILCE-7RM2
  • ILCE-7S
  • ILCE-7SM2
  • DSC-RX1
  • DSC-RX1R
  • DSC-RX1RM2

Camera Bodies Group ‘B’

  • ILCE-7
  • ILCE-7M2
  • NEX-7

α A-mount lenses

  • SAL100M28
  • SAL135F18Z
  • SAL135F28
  • SAL1635Z
  • SAL1635Z2
  • SAL1680Z
  • SAL16F28
  • SAL2470Z
  • SAL2470Z2
  • SAL24F20Z
  • SAL300F28G
  • SAL300F28G2
  • SAL35F14G
  • SAL500F40G
  • SAL50F14Z
  • SAL70200G
  • SAL70200G2
  • SAL70300G
  • SAL70300G2
  • SAL70400G
  • SAL70400G2
  • SAL85F14Z

α E-mount

  • SEL1670Z
  • SEL2470Z
  • SEL24F18Z
  • SEL35F28Z
  • SEL55F18Z
  • SEL70200G
  • SELP18105G
  • SEL1635Z
  • SELP28135G
  • SEL35F14Z
  • SEL90F28G
  • SEL85F14GM
  • SEL2470GM
  • SEL70200GM
  • SEL70300G

    [i] The programme is designed for professional photographers and as such, applicants will need to provide proof of their revenue stream generated from their photography work. Sony reserves the right to judge individual cases on their merits.

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Lenses - Alpha Mount, Lenses - E mount, News, NEX System, Sony Digital Cameras

Gary Friedman workshops in UK, September 13-16th

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Gary Friedman, who is well known for his excellent e-books on the Alpha system (new one just out, Alpha 37 and 57) lives on the sunny, foggy, funky coast surrounded by surfing dudes and dudesses, just south of the vast conurbation of Los Angeles.

But having several million photo enthusiasts on his doorstep is not enough. He’s hitting Britain’s shores in September to give one talk near Portsmouth on the 13th (the commute will be a refreshing experience after the multilane highways of home) and two full day seminars in Kingston-on-Thames (15th and 16th). We are, I’m afraid, responsible for Gary locating these in the little-known but lovely Antoinette Hotel, a conglomeration of former houses in a quiet residential area only a short walk from the Thames and some rather good waterfront pubs. It has a large car park, you can walk from the station, and you can even get there by riverboat if you can work out how on earth to plan the journey.

Whatever the case, Gary’s talks are not to be missed. He has agreed to join us as US Associate Editor on a new publication venture – Cameracraft, a quarterly magazine which may follow in the wake of Photoworld, but has no affiliation to camera brands or clubs. You can find a subscription link to Cameracraft, which should be in print just in time for Gary’s dates, on our left hand sidebar (there’s much fuller info in our Links).

So, check up on Gary’s web page – even his taster and programme for the seminars can teach you more than you think.

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DK's ramblings, Events, News

hireacamera.com invest in Alpha and NEX gear!

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The UK’s top camera and lens hire company, hireacamera.com, has invested in a whole new stock of Sony Alpha and NEX gear right up to the 500mm G – their A77s come with 16-50mm SSMs… here, Guy Thatcher explains their enthusiasm for Sony, filmed at the PhotoVision Roadshow in Edinburgh on Tuesday March 27th.

It’s a 1080p HD video shot on the NEX-7 by David Kilpatrick with no accessories apart from the Tamron 18-200mm DiIII VC zoom, which at one point displays a preference for focusing on the better lit, more contrasty background.

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Cameras (DSLR), DK's ramblings, HD Video, Lenses - Alpha Mount, News, NEX System

Hasselblad is new UK Broncolor agent

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Hasselblad is set to become sole distributor of broncolor lighting products in the UK.

’We will use the same approach with bron as we have with the new-look Hasselblad UK’ – Chris Russell-Fish, Hasselblad UK MD and Global Sales and Marketing Director

Chris Russell-Fish, Hasselblad UK MD and global sales and marketing director, announced the move following months of negotiation with the Swiss-based lighting manufacturer.

Hasselblad will take over from JP Distribution on July 1st and promises ‘a dynamic array of new ideas and solutions‘ for bron customers nationwide in coming months.

Said Russell-Fish: “I believe we can do a great job for bron users in the UK. Like Hasselblad products, bron equipment sits at the top end of the market. We plan to make a great deal of noise in coming weeks and months around this excellent lighting range.”

Russell-Fish has appointed photo-lighting expert Chris Burfoot as the new broncolor UK manager.

Burfoot, who first started ‘working with light’ in the Eighties said: “Our objective is to create far more awareness around the award-winning bron brand and focus hard on customer service and support for existing users. We also plan a programme of ‘hands-on’ open days with broncolor partners in a non-selling environment – mirroring the success of the popular ‘Hasselblad Studiodays’ programme, and under the name of ‘The beauty of broncolor’.

This premium lighting brand has been built on a rock solid foundation of quality, consistency and reliability. The new-look bron customer care programme will work in exactly the same way as Hasselblad’s renowned ‘Hasselbuddy’ customer care support.”

Hasselblad UK owns the London-based Pro Centre, the photo-equipment rental company, but Russell-Fish insists the bron distribution deal will be no threat to any other brand they work with.

He said: “The Pro Centre acts completely independently as a rental centre. This will simply be an additional line. Bron will be a completely separate entity for us in the same way as our new Hasselblad studio and Didgeridoo services. And just as we have developed energetic new programmes for Hasselblad customers in the UK, we will do the same with bron over time. There will be a separate bron customer care and maintenance team in place in the near future.”

Hasselblad is currently in talks with broncolor with a view to new product launches.

A new website is to go live from the 1st July 2011 at www.ukbroncolor.com, with links to and from the Hasselblad (www.hasselblad.co.uk) website.

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News, Studio Lighting, Uncategorized

Alpha and NEX overtake Nikon UK DSLR sales

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Chris Cheeseman writes in Amateur Photographer, reporting on figures released by photo industry analysts GfK, that Sony interchangeable lens camera sales in the UK have overtaken Nikon, moving the company into second position behind Canon.

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/canon_and_nikon_lose_ground_as_camera_wars_hot_up_news_305118.html

In the Japanese home market, Canon remains top, Nikon second and Sony is third with over 15% of the market share. No attempt is made by AP to analyse the importance of Sony having a market share which is roughly half that of Nikon and Cano respectively, in that market.

The figures relate to the year 2010 – a calendar year – and it needs to be considered that Sony’s NEX system effectively went on sale slightly before midway during that term, and the SLT system one quarter later. Some Sony models were only introduced after photokina, in the final three months of the year.

In fact, it’s almost impossible to judge Sony’s impact when 2010 is viewed as a year rather than in terms of monthly or quarterly figures. If a graph was to be drawn with four lines on it – Nikon, Canon, Sony and ‘everything else’ – it looks as if the 11% overall decline in Nikon and Canon would contrast with a steep late year climb from Sony.


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Cameras (DSLR), News, NEX System

Sony VAT-back offer – UK only

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Many Sony Alpha products are included in the Sony UK VAT-back scheme which will operate until December 24th. Items purchased from authorised retailers from October 28th onwards may be eligible for a claim, and Sony will return the equivalent of the 17.5% VAT paid to the customer directly.
This is not actually VAT back, as any item purchased in this way is still eligible for normal VAT relief on the nett amount paid, for UK VAT registered buyers (businesses). Customers outside Europe will be able to buy without VAT under the normal rules applying to exports.
On January 4th 2011, UK VAT increases to 20% for consumer goods including all the Sony range.
For details of the VATback offer, see:
http://www.sony.co.uk/hub/1237479399273
Sony point out that the VAT amounts to 14.9% of the price paid, not 17.5% (it is 175/1175).
The offer includes  NEX-5, Alpha 580, Alpha 55 and Alpha 33 plus two lenses – the 75-300mm SAL and the 50mm f/1.8 SAM. But you need to be very careful indeed when ordering, as the deal applies only to some very specific packages such as the Body Only for A580, A33 and A55 (if you can find it!) and exact kits such as NEX-5D with 16mm and 18-55mm or NEX-5A with just 16mm. You must check when buying whether the exact product number you are buying qualifies for the VATback.
Buyers internationally can also get similar discounts until December 31st – we note that B&H for example offers this NEX-5 kit with $150 rebate. That’s about the same as the UK VATback deal.

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Cameras (DSLR), Lenses - Alpha Mount, News, NEX System

UK creative media course directory

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Skillset has launched the most comprehensive searchable database of creative media courses on offer in the UK.

The Skillset Courses Database also helps users to find the best, industry endorsed media training available by indicating which courses and institutions have been awarded the Skillset Tick kite mark. The Skillset Tick indicates to students and employers that a course or institution has undergone a rigorous, industry-approved assessment and has been designated a centre of excellence in creative media disciplines. The database contains information on a total of more than 8,000 creative media courses at all levels – from undergraduate degrees to CPD short courses.

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News, Uncategorized

Sony Alpha at Focus on Imaging 2009

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SONY has a stand at Focus on Imaging in the UK after an absence of three years for the Alpha brand from this major annual photo fair, said to the be largest national show in Europe with the exception of photokina. On Stand L28 – right next to the Canon exhibit – the UK’s technical sales executive Paul Genge has lined up a nonstop programme of speakers and demonstrations.
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Cameras (DSLR), News
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