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Freefly Systems recently introduced the Astro, a quadcopter capable of carrying a two-pound payload on a 3-axis gimbal for up to 30 minutes. While the company is following in the footsteps of fellow American manufacturer, Skydio, by primarily marketing its latest offering to the public sector and enterprise, it& worth noting that the Astro allows you to capture 61MP aerial photos with the Sony a7R IV camera. & priority with my drones is being able to shoot good landscapes and cityscapes. Being able to fly my a7R IV and a7R III will be huge,& says Drew Armstrong, a professional remote pilot and realtor. &I had a (DJI) M600 I was using with my Sony a 7R II. It worked but being able to adjust exposure while in the air was very difficult. I have also flown the M600 with the aerial specific package for the Phase One camera. That is a sweet ($50,000+ USD) setup,& he adds. The Astro starts at $7,995 for the standalone frame. The Base Kit includes a hard case, battery pair, charger, and remote for $9,995. The High Res Mapping configuration which includes everything in the Base Kit plus the Sony a7R IV payload retails for $14,995. For comparison& sake, the DJI Inspire 2 kit equipped with a Zenmuse X7 camera starts at $10,995 – but you&ll only get 24MP photos. Freefly& Alta series of drones, built for high-end cinematography and industrial work, start at $17,495. The Astro is foldable and is being touted as &4K in your backpack.& This is a bit curious. Sony& a7R IV can record 4K video in full-frame but it& not the best camera for obtaining crisp, clear footage. &Yes, for sure we want to support a7R III. We can mount and fly it, just uncertain as to whether Sony will allow us to have access to full camera controls just yet,& Freefly& CEO, Tabb Firchau, tells DPReview. When asked if there were plans to make other cameras compatible with the system, Firchau revealed &yes, we will be supporting a variety of other cameras over time. [It] is set up to be modular and easy to incorporate new cameras...including our first camera [for the Astro] &Wave& that we are launching on Wednesday.& The launch event for Wave will be taking place via livestream on Wednesday, October 7th, at 10:00 am PST. The Astro is currently available for pre-order and they plan on shipping out units in Q4. https://ranzware.net/freefly-systems-announces-astro-quadcopter-hints-at-new-4k-camera

[ranzware]

In July, Canon announced a pair of super-telephoto fixed-aperture lenses for its RF lens mount. The new RF 600mm F11 IS STM and RF 800mm F11 IS STM lenses are distinct among Canon& modern offerings but are reminiscent in design and philosophy to some of Canon& R lenses from 1960. Six decades ago, Canon released the R300mm F4, R400mm F5.6, R600mm F5.6, R800mm F8 and R1000mm F11 super-telephoto lenses. While not fixed aperture lenses like the new RF lenses, the vintage bellows-driven lenses were nonetheless the inspiration for this year& modern interpretations. In a Japanese-language interview published by DC Watch, Canon& Chief of Lens Product Planning, Kengo Iezuka, notes that the EOS R system allows him and his team to create new user experiences for modern photographers. This includes breaking down & three barriers of super-telephoto lenses,& which he states are weight, size and cost. In 1960, Canon worked to overcome these challenges with its R lenses, and Iezuka believes Canon& RF 600mm F11 and RF 800mm F11 lenses do the same in 2020. Canon R600mm f/5.6 lens. The lens was first marketed in January 1960. Image credit: Canon, Canon Camera Museum When Iezuka was a child and wanted to capture wildlife images of a Little Egret, he was unable to due to the expense of super-telephoto lenses. Iezuka says via translation, &I knew that there were many people who gave up what they wanted to shoot and the expressions they wanted to shoot because they couldn&t buy a super-telephoto lens and couldn&t carry it because it was big and heavy. With the EOS R system, I think I was finally able to get closer to the dream super-telephoto world. I would like you to enjoy shooting things that you couldn&t shoot before and the expressions you wanted to shoot with this 600mm/800mm F11 lens.& In elaborating further upon how the Canon EOS R system allows the three barriers of super-telephoto lenses, Iezuka states that Canon& Dual-Pixel CMOS AF allows for strong autofocus performance even in low light, or when using a lens with a smaller maximum aperture, such as F11. In 1960, the sensitivity of film was stricter, requiring faster apertures in the case of the R400mm F4.5, R600mm F5.6 and R800mm F8. However, today, Canon& EOS R system allows for much more flexibility when designing new lenses. In fact, the EOS R can even work with F22, allowing Iezuka and his team to utilize an F11 design that can incorporate a 2x teleconverter. If Canon had pursued an F8 aperture, the lens would have been larger and heavier. An F16 lens would have worked without a teleconverter, but not with a 2x TC attached. It was around this point in the design process when the team first considered making the lens with a fixed aperture. Ultimately, removing the aperture unit allowed for reduction in weight and cost, both critical design goals for Iezuka and the team at Canon. Iezuka also shared that the RF 600mm and 800mm lenses were not his first attempt to create a lightweight and cost-effective super-telephoto lens. He had previously explored the idea for SLR cameras. &I wondered if I could manage to get closer to the world of super-telephoto lenses that exceed 400mm,& Iezuka said, &I considered increasing the F-number as I did this time, but it didn&t work. If you increase the F value, you can only autofocus at the center of the [frame]…so I gave up.& The new RF lenses offer autofocus coverage of 60% x 40% (W x H) with the recent Canon EOS R5 and R6 full-frame mirrorless cameras. Iezuka also considered zoom lenses, but this design would increase the weight too much to be able to carry the lens around all day. The RF 600mm lens weighs approximately 2.05lb and the RF 800mm weighs about 2.78lb. In order to maintain a lightweight design and ensure the lenses are affordable, metal parts are kept to a minimum and much of the lens is constructed using resin. In order to utilize a collapsible design, many parts had to be molded, which is unique for Canon& lenses. The collapsible design came from one of the youngest members of the team, Iezuka says, and was the result of internal competition within the department. There is much more excellent insight into the design process in the full interview, so be sure to check that out. Click the following links for more information on the Canon RF 600mm F11 IS STM and RF 800mm F11 IS STM lenses. (Via PetaPixel) https://ranzware.net/the-inspiration-behind-canons-rf-600mm-f11-and-800mm-f11-super-tele-lenses