1/20/11
Some people are reporting that Sony will soon discontinue their 50mm F/1.4 lens. A few thoughts come to mind right off the bat; the same thing was said about the Sony A900 about a year ago, and it’s still readily available. The Sony 24-105mm F/3.5-4.5 was discontinued about two years ago in a very quiet manner. So what do we learn from those examples; I guess nothing, although as of this posting, the US Sonystyle.com site is listing the lens as “out of stock,” but that could be a result of panic orders from all the rumors!
B&H Photo has them in stock right now.
The chatter seems to be a replacement of Carl Zeiss or “G’ branding, but that’s probably not necessary (but possible). A good 50/1.4 is not costly to make, and Sony’s current version is not really something that needs to be updated immediately in my opinion. The only issue is strong coma on full frame cameras, but for landscapes, it’s a great performer. A new version will be welcome however, if and when it happens.
More news (as an afterthought), the big lens rental company, lensrentals.com is no longer offering the Tamron 70-200mm F/2.8 because of poor build quality/quality control. My experience with Tamron has always been positive, so that’s surprising.