In-Stock Now: Sony a99 II body for $3200

If you are not tempted by the siren’s call of the new a9 FE flagship, and you much prefer the a99 II DSLR, we have good news for you, the body only is now in-stock and ready to ship for $3200 with free expedited shipping at B&H Photo. Given the price of the camera, it’s not a bad idea to select the faster delivery option as possible, depending on price and location of course 🙂

Imported Sony a6300 w/16-50 w/1yr seller warranty for $850

The new condition Sony a6300 with 16-50mm goes for $1000 at authorized Sony dealers (eg Adorama and Amazon), however if you are comfortable with imported cameras…

… to the eBay Deals where the 6ave eBay store (99.1%, New Jersey) is offering the imported grey-market Sony a6300 with 16-50mm for $850 with free shipping. It comes with a 1-year warranty from the seller (6ave), not from Sony USA. Limit three per buyer.

In-Stock alert: Sigma 30mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary (Sony E)

The Sony E-mount version of the Sigma 30mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary Lens is now in-stock and ready to ship for $339 with free expedited shipping at B&H Photo… For more action, check the B&H Featured sales

Note also that a quartet of Benro tripods are the Wednesday B&H Daily Deals.

Sony Camera and Lens Instant Savings (50 options)

A new round of Sony instant savings is also up and running, again nicely organized at B&H Photo. A total of 34 camera kits (not 34 individual cameras, but 34 individual kits, eg different colors and different lens combinations) are participating, along with 16 E-System lenses featuring a mix of primes and zooms with prices ranging from $198 (50mm f1.8 FE) to $1398 (70-400 f4G OSS, 50/1.4 ZA FE T* Zeiss)

Rokinon T1.5 Cine DS Prime (24, 35, 50, 85) Bundle for $1749 [C/N/E]

More B&H NAB 2017 action, it’s a 4-pack of Rokinon T1.5 Cine DS prime lenses, the 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm are on sale, together as a bundle at B&H Photo for $1749 with free expedited shipping in the Canon, Nikon and Sony E systems. M43rds photographers pay $50 more for this bundle. Offer ends 4/27/17.

These should not be confused with the Rokinon 20mm T1.9 which is a Tuesday daily deal.

Pre-order Sony a9 and Grip and 100-400mm Master lens

The new Sony a9 flagship full frame camera along with the new 100-400 Master lens are now available for pre-order, as Sony has gone into an smartphone-esque two-phase announcement. They are pre-orderable as follows:

+ Sony a9 for $4500 at B&H Photo and Amazon itself and Adorama

+ Sony VG-C3EM Vertical Grip for Alpha a9 for $350 at Adorama and Amazon itself and B&H Photo

+ Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5–5.6 GM OSS for $2500 at Amazon itself and Adorama and B&H Photo

There’s also a few more pro-caliber accessories coming along with the a9, the Sony HVL-F45RM Compact, Radio-Controlled Gn 45 Camera Flash with 1″ Display for $400, and the Sony NPAMQZ1K Multi Battery Adaptor Kit also for $400.

The release estimate for the a9 and accessories is May 25-26 in 2017. The 100-400 lens has a late July release estimate. As usual, there is a YMMV to the estimate, especially since these are flagship/pro gear that are not made in mass-market fashion.

The a9 announcement gave the Mirrorless cameras the lead, they are leading DSLRs 6-5 in 2017. It’s starting to look like a hockey game score 🙂

Pre-orders on Friday: Sony a9 for $4500

Canon and Nikon are no longer the only ones with used-car-priced full frame flagship cameras. Sony is joining the fray with the new Sony a9 full frame E-mount flagship, with a flagship price of $4500. Pre-orders will begin on Friday 4/21/17, so considerate of Sony to let people enjoy the holidays the days before and after. Preorders will begin at 10am ET on Friday at B&H Photo.

For more on the camera, B&H has a 1-hour video of the announcement, along with a live blog.

Also coming along with the PRO camera is a new Master series lens, the FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS E-Mount with a price of $2500, and pre-orders opening on Friday.

This new camera now gives mirrorless cameras the lead in 2017, they are “winning” over DSLRs in a penalty shoot-out at 6-5. You can see them all at the New Cameras of 2017 page.

Imported Sony Alpha a7R II body w/1yr warranty for $2200

The Sony Alpha a7R II body only goes for $2900 at authorized Sony dealers which are bundling it with some freebies, for example, it gets a 2TB WDD HDD at B&H Photo or 1-Year of Photographer Creative Cloud or at Adorama where it gets Lightroom 6 or a bundle of accessory joy (32GB Lexar, Corel, Bag, Extra Battery, Etc).

But if you are comfortable with imported grey-market that get a 1-year seller warranty (not Sony USA warranty), to the eBay Deals we geaux where you can get the Sony a7R II body only in such condition for $2200 by Electronics Valley thru eBay (99.7%, New Jersey). Limit five per customer.

NOTE: purchases made at B&H and Adorama and other retailers that are closed for the Passover Holidays will ship at or after April 19.

(ENDED) Rokinon AF 14mm f2.8 FE drops to $499

This sale ended… A couple of days ago the Rokinon AF 14mm f2.8 FE was on sale for $649, but now Amazon has gone mad, and they are offering it for $499 with free shipping. This is sold and shipped by Amazon itself, not 3rd-party sellers. The shipping estimate is “1 to 2 months” often a sign the offer may be towards the end of its lifecycle. Limit up to three lenses per customer.

Pre-order Zeiss Batis 135mm f2.8 (E) for $1999

Another new 135mm ens, this time it is a pre-order, you can pre-order the Zeiss Batis 135mm f2.8 for the Sony E-mount for $1999 at B&H Photo. The price may be $1999 but you don’t get a boxed set of “Space 1999” 🙂

In-Stock Alert: Sony 100mm f2.8 STF GM OSS for $1499

The new Sony 100mm f2.8 STF OSS Master Series (GM) lens is now in-stock and ready to ship for $1499 with free shipping by Beach Camera thru Amazon. It ships directly from Beach Camera and it is not Prime eligible. As of the time of writing, they have one left.

Rokinon AF 14mm f2.8 FE for $649

Using all kinds of wizardry and magic, Rokinon finally procured auto-focusing technology. The Rokinon AF 14mm f2.8 FE (Sony E full frame system) is currently on sale for $649 with free shipping at B&H Photo and also by Amazon itself (limit 3).

New Sony a6* and a5* Instant Rebates (16 options)

A new round of manufacturer-initiated Instant Savings promotions are out for the Sony a6* and a5* APS-C mirrorless cameras, featuring the a6500, a6300, a6000, and a5100 kits at B&H Photo. When you go to the individual product pages, make sure you check the “Free Accessories Kit” option as some of these bundles get free accessories as well (memory card, battery, bag, etc).

You can navigate the various colors, options, and kits using the root product page for each camera model but be careful not to get lost in the woods 🙂

Rokinon 14mm f2.8 ED AS IF MF for $249 (Canon EF, Sony E FF)

Rokinon time at Adorama, the Rokinon 14mm F2.8 AS IF ED UMC manual focus lens is on sale for $249 with free shipping in the Sony E (Full Frame) and Canon EF options.

Speaking of Adorama, for some of their latest offers, check these places:

Sony a7S II kits bundled with Rode Mic, Extra Battery, Etc

It’s bundle time for the Sony a7S II kits at B&H Photo. All three kits get a free Rode VideoMic PRO (with Rycote Lyre Shockmount) and additional Sony NP-FW50 battery. The body only goes for $2700. Meanwhile the kits with lenses, the 24-70mm f4 for $3900 and the 24-70mm f2.8 for $4900 get two additional freebies: a 64GB Extreme PRO SDXC card and a Ruggard shoulder camera bag. Free expedited shipping for all kits.

Pre-order new Fuji E-mount (!) T2.9 Cine Zoom Lenses

While some camera manufacturers are retracting or condensing their line-ups, Fuji is expanding. Hot on the heels of their Mirrorless Medium Format they have launched a new line of Sony E-mount (I’m not drunk, I triple checked!) Cine lenses 🙂 Two of them have been revealed and they are available for pre-order for $3799 each. The 18-55 will come out first…

+ Fuji MK 18-55mm T2.9 (E-mount) for $3799 at Adorama and B&H Photo

+ Fuji MK 50-135mm T2.9 (E-mount) for $3799 at B&H Photo

+ these too have been added to the New Lenses of 2017 tracking page

Sony a6500 Sales Live: w/55-210 for $1550 [add 16-50 for $150 more]

As promised in the heads up post, two more Sony a6500 kit discounts are now live at B&H Photo. The previously mentioned a6X00 discounts continue[find them in the E-mount posts]. So to summarize the a6500 situation, here’s where the various a6500 kits stand:

+ body only not on sale, remains at $1400
+ with 16-50mm for $1546
+ with 55-210mm for $1546
+ with 16-50mm and 55-210mm for $1696
+ see them all at B&H Photo

Sony a6300 with 16-50 and 55-210 for $1200

Another option in the E-system a6XXX-series, the Sony a6300 with 16-50 and 55-210 kit is currently on sale for $1196 with free expedited shipping at B&H Photo and by Beach upon Amazon (Prime shipping speed but ships directly from Beach Camera). To detect this benefit, you have to be logged as a Prime member, and pay attention to the highlighted areas of the screenshot below:

Note also that the a6500 two-lens kit with the same lenses will be discounted to $1700 on Sunday. The usual price trade-offs of latest versus not-latest model.

The Sony 55-210mm lens goes for $350 on its own but it is combined-purchase discounted when it is bundled with camera kits or bundles.

Sony a6000 with 16-50mm and 55-210 and Freebies for $798

While not reaching Nikon APS-C DSLR level of choice overwhelm, the Sony E-system is getting there with many old and new cameras and kits floating in the market. One of them, of potential interest as a “taking pictures with” starter kit is the Sony a6000 with the 16-50 and 55-210 lenses, on sale for $798 with free shipping at B&H Photo (with 5% promotional rewards = $40~ to spend in future B&H purchases) and Adorama (Slinger, 16GB Lexar, filters, Corel)

Sony a6500 with 55-210mm OSS for $1546 (on sale NOW)

Two Sony a6500 kits discounts will go live on Sunday but one of them has already gone live, it’s a non-standard kit, the Sony a6500 with 55-210mm (f4.5-6.3 OSS E, black) is currently on sale for $1546 with free shipping at B&H Photo. The sale continues until March 4 in 2017, so you can wait until Sunday if you are not certain which one of these kits to get.

TL;DR: the a6500 with 55-210 is on sale NOW, while the other two kits (16-50 or 16-50 & 55-210) will go on sale on Sunday.

Heads Up: Starting Sunday: Sony a6500 kit discounts

This is a Heads Up alert! Starting on Sunday 2/19/17, the following two Sony a6500 kits will be discounted at B&H Photo as follows:

+ a6500 with 16-50mm will drop from $1700 to $1546
+ a6500 with 16-50mm and 55-210mm will drop from $2044 to $1696
+ the above prices will go live on Sunday 2/19/17

For reference, the a6500 body only currently goes for $1400. I do not know if that will be discounted.

If you are interested in either of these kits, you may want to wait until Sunday. However, another non-standard kit with the 55-210 has already gone live. That one in the post above this!

(SOLD OUT) Used Sony a6300 with 16-50 for $930

As of a 2/19/17 recheck, this is sold out… Used supplies are limited…

To add to the option-overwhelm, the Sony a6300 with the 16-50mm is available in “Used – Condition 9” at B&H Photo for $930 with free shipping.

Used items at B&H come with a 90-day warranty from B&H. Given that B&H is a well-known and reputable dealer, this is a lower risk used purchase than buying from cookie-cutter eBay refurbishers and such.

Note also that many of the new condition a6X00 kits are on sale now and a couple of a6500 kits will go on sale this weekend – check the Sony E-System posts to see them all.

Pre-orders open: two new Sony FE Primes (85/1.8, 100/2.8 OSS)

UPDATE 2/9/17: the two lenses and flash Sony announced on Tuesday are now available for pre-ordering:

+ Sony FE 85mm f1.8 for $600
+ Sony FE 100mm f2.8 STF GM OSS for $1500

Also coming along for the ride is the Sony HVL-F45RM Wireless Radio Flash for $400, with the same pre-order date as the two lenses above.

These two have been added to the New Cameras and Lenses of 2017 reference page.

New Sony Instant Savings on iLCs and Fixed Lens Cameras: a6300 body for $900 with $100 GC, Etc

Sony has launched a new round of instant savings on select E-system and A-system cameras and fixed lens cameras. You can find all participating items nicely organized at the B&H Photo website.

The sales include, among others:
+ Sony a6300 kits get a $100 B&H Photo gift card: body for $900, with 16-50 for $1050, two lens kit for $1200
+ Sony a6000 kits get a $50 B&H Photo gift card; with 16-50mm for $650; two lens kit for $800
+ Sony a68 body for $550, with lens for $650
+ Sony RX100 Mark V with $100 gift card for $1000
+ Sony RX100: Mark IV for $850, Mark III for $700, Mark II for $550
+ various Cybershot models
+ prices in the blog-post are rounded up to rounded prices (eg $850 instead of $848)
+ see all eligible models at the B&H Photo website

The above are the changes with the latest iterations. Many of the previous offers are continuing, you can find them at the B&H Sony Instant Savings page. Hit “Load More” at the bottom to see more.

Sony a6300 with 16-50 and $100 Gift Card for $1050

The Sony a6300 with 16-50mm kit is bundled with a $100 B&H Photo gift card, together going for $1050 with free shipping at B&H Photo, among the latest Sony Instant Savings specials.

Meanwhile the Sony a6000 with 16-50mm is bundled with a $50 B&H Photo gift card, together going for $650 with free shipping, in your choice of four a6000 color schemes.

Used Sony a6500 body for $1223

If you are comfortable with used cameras, the Sony a6500 body only is available in “Used – Very Good” condition for $1223 with free shipping by Amazon Warehouse Deals itself. They have a description of its condition and they even have four pictures, which is rare for Warehouse Deals (may be a new experimental feature?). The new condition price at authorized dealers is $1400.

Sony 16mm f2.8 with 5yr New Leaf and Filter for $223 (E-mount)

If you are fond of E-system primes and extended lens warranties, Adorama is offering the new condition silver Sony 16mm f2.8 lens with a 5-year New Leaf extended warranty and a Vivitar 49mm filter for $223 with free shipping. This is among their Better Than Chocolate sales.

On the other hand, if you don’t like extended warranties, you can get the lens for the same price but with 4% promotional rewards (instead of the other extras) at B&H Photo, among their latest Featured Sales.

Sony a5000 w/16-50 for $350

Another “take pictures with” kit on sale, the Sony a5000 with the 16-50mm is currently going for $350 at B&H Photo (white or silver or black color scheme, but no Raiders edition) and Amazon by Amazon itself.

In-stock now: Rokinon 35mm f1.2 ED AS UMC CS for $499 (E/X)

Prime time for the world of mirrorless cameras! The Rokinon 35mm f1.2 ED AS UMC CS lens is now in-stock, in the Fuji X and Sony E systems, for $499 with free shipping at B&H Photo.

Imported Sony a7S II body w/1yr seller warranty for $2199

Back to the Trending eBay deals, if you are comfortable with imported grey-market digital cameras with a 1-year warranty from the seller (not Sony USA), you can get the new condition Sony a7s II body only for $2199 with free shipping, with a limit of up to five units per customer, by ebay seller “Deals ALL Year” (99.9%, New Jersey).

At authorized Sony USA dealers, you can get this for $2700 with a variety of free accessory bundles. For example, at Adorama you can get a $200 Adorama gift certificate, or a Tascam shotgun mic, or a bundle of other accessories.