Sony RX10 III with 24-600mm-eq lens announced, plus new 70-300mm, 50mm f/1.8 FE lenses

posted Tuesday, March 29, 2016 at 10:58 AM EDT

(Update: I'll have some hands-on time with the camera starting in about an hour (beginning ~2pm US PDT), so if anyone has questions about specifics on the camera, post them in the comments on our RX10 III Preview, and I'll try to take notes so I can answer them later. I may not have internet access, but will try to keep this page open on my phone, so I can check for questions people have left. This is only for today, March 29, up till about 5pm or so. I'll have the camera some beyond that, but won't likely have internet access to check for any additional questions. -- Dave Etchells.)

Happy Tuesday everyone, and big surprises are on the way from Sony! Dave Etchells is on the scene in San Francisco for a Sony product announcement event. We'll be updating this article with all the details on the new product, or products, as we get them. Keep your browsers pointed here!

Live Blog Updates:
(Update, 11:30am ET: Sony press event has ended. Check out our Sony RX10 III Overview for all the details.)

One camera, two lenses:

New Camera: Sony RX10 III

Tsutomu Hamaguchi: General Manager - DSC Business

General Specs:

New 25x lens - 24-600mm-equivalent
New ZEISS® Vario-Sonnar T* 24-600mm F2.4 – F4 Lens
1.0 type stacked 20.1 MP Exmor RS™ CMOS sensor with DRAM chip and advanced signal processing
40x super slow motion video capture at up to 960 fps
ultra-fast Anti-Distortion Shutter with a maximum speed of 1/32000 second
4K Video
- Pro-Grade, precise 4K without pixel binning
minimum focusing distance of 72 cm (2.36 ft) and 0.49x maximum magnification at a fully extended 600mm
Ultra low chromatic aberration
- 7 ED glass elements, one Super ED glass element.
BIONZ X Image Processor
ISO 64-12,800
Silent Shooting
0.09s AF speed
Up to 14fps burst in Speed Priority Continuous Mode, with reduced blackout (AF and Exposure locked at first frame)

Despite its huge zoom range and wide aperture, Sony claims the lens will have ultra-low chromatic distortion, having no fewer than 7 ED lens elements and one Super-ED. It does seem that Sony has really pulled out all the stops in lens design for this zoom-monster.

• Sony RX10 III Overview •

Two new lenses:

1) FE 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G OSS

The new FE 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 G OSS telephoto zoom lens is Sony's longest-zooming lens for FE-mount cameras and features an optical design that includes four aspherical glass elements, two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass elements and Sony’s Nano AR coating, which all work together to deter against spherical aberration, distortion, and chromatic aberration. Not only is it good for far-off subjects, with a close-focusing distance of less than 3 feet (0.9m) and a maximum magnification of 0.31x, it makes easy work for close-up subjects too.

2) FE 50mm f/1.8

Weighing in at less than 7 oz (192 g), the new lightweight FE 50mm F1.8 normal prime lens, features a new optical design with an aspherical element that combats aberration.

The new FE 70-300mm F4.5 – 5.6 G OSS telephoto zoom lens will be available in May for about $1,200 US and $1,700 CA, respectively, and the FE 50mm F1.8 prime lens will also be available in May for about $250 US and $350 CA, respectively.