11/21/08
It looks like my prediction (last entry below) was right. Sony has made the price cuts permanent, and then some. They’ve added even more price cuts in just the last couple of days. They quietly lowered the 500mm F/8 reflex $50 to $649. Also changed from earlier in the week is the 100mm F/2.8 macro, now $589 instead of $599—weird! Sony has taken the strike through “original price” out of most lens listings. Camera bodies had one additional cut, the A700 has been lowered $100 to a great bargain of $999. I noticed the HVL-36AM flash is no longer listed on SonyStyle.com, that was the entry level flash unit, and seems odd to remove it entirely and not replace it. Additionally, the vertical grips for the A900 and A700 have been slashed $100 each, now get the grip for your A700 for $249, or $279 for the A900. The grip for the A900 has just started shipping, so they may be sensing problems already. Don’t start quaking in your boots people, let’s wait and see what happens in the next couple of months.
I have the full frame results for the KM 17-35mm F/2.8-4 finished up. Things are about what you’d expect, like real soft corners opened up at the wide end, and plenty of ghosts and coma. The price is the good part though. If you keep this lens out of the sun, you’ll be ok. I added some bokeh examples towards the top of the page if you’re interested.