From the day Sony announced their 135mm f/1.8 GM lens I was wondering if it will be a better option for me to replace the 70-200mm f/2.8 GM. Being smaller, lighter and faster – that sounded like a good option. Plus, on my A7RIII or A7RIV, with just one click (switching to crop mode) it turns to a 200mm lens. For my casual shooting I wouldn’t even think about this. But for professional work – like weddings and other events, the versatility of the zoom lens is a king. However, the new 135mm has a faster Dual front and rear XD linear motors to achieve fast, precise, and quiet AF. It also have smaller minimum focus distance and aperture dial on the lens.

Skylum just officially announced AI Sky Replacement – the first killer feature of Luminar 4! The AI Sky Replacement tool in the upcoming version of Luminar doesn’t just change the sky – it relights the entire photo so the lighting and colors of the original image match the lighting and colors of the sky. All this is achieved without the need for manual selections, layers, masking, overlays, smart brushes, color ranges, etc. Luminar 4 handles it all. Its machine learning algorithm even selects the best orientation for the sky so it looks and feels realistic. All with one click.

On July 17 Sony announced the 4th generation of their Alpha 7R camera. This came a bit as a surprise because everyone expected any of the new A7SIII, A9II or A7000 models first. Instead, Sony surprisingly launched the A7RIV. Yes, we all know what is the “big deal” of this new camera – the 61 Mpx, which gives us better details, ability to print bigger, better opportunities for crop, and may be the new sensor will give us better dynamic range and lower noise, despite the higher resolution. The technology changes, right?

You can find the specifications everywhere, so I will not waste your time by listing all of them here again. For those who want to read them, here is a link to the Sony official Product specifications page. Instead, I would like to share with you my own thoughts about this announcement, the overall Sony strategy, and of course if I think A7RIV is a worthy upgrade over the A7RIII. Stay tuned… start in 3, 2, 1…