Photography News: Sigma 28-45mm f/1.8 Art, DSLR Sales

By the time you read this week’s Photography News, I’ll have left the continent of Europe to be within shouting distance of the Equator. I’m spending the next two weeks in a natural paradise populated by hummingbirds, toucans, tanagers, and of course great people. Meanwhile, I have some interesting equipment to test and some new experiences to bring back. Oversight of our weekly news will pass to Spencer for the time being – I’ll see you again when I return!

Recent Announcements

• Sigma 28-45mm f/1.8: The fastest full-frame zoom lens available today has just been announced. Although the zoom range is limited, and the size of the lens is large, the 28-45mm f/1.8 Art could conceivably replace three prime lenses in one (28mm, 35mm, and 50mm). The weight of 960 grams (2.12 lbs) may have you mourning the three primes, however. It launches for a reasonable price of $1350 and is available for Sony E and Leica L mounts.
• DxO’s New Optics Modules: In short, Optical Modules are created based on measurements of real cameras, lenses and their combinations to suppress lens aberrations, increase sharpness and remove noise. DxO has now released an additional 528 new camera-lens combinations (94,427 are currently available). New additions include the Fujifilm X100VI and Leica SL3 cameras, as well as lenses from Viltrox, Sigma, Tamron, and Panasonic.
• Thypoch Eureka 50mm f/2: After its debut lenses – the Simera 28mm and 35mm f/1.4 ASPH – Thypoch has introduced a collapsible 50mm lens. When collapsed, it measures only 2.7 cm (1.1 inches), while the working length is 4.1 cm (1.6 inches). The lens employs a classic double-gauss optical design, with 6 elements in 4 groups. Interestingly, you can choose between two tube materials: lightweight aluminum (120g) and classic brass (218g). The lens is currently only available for Leica M-mount. The price is $579 for the aluminum and $859 for the brass version.

The Rumor Mill

Canon EOS R1: First rumored specifications

The development of Canon’s new flagship camera, the EOS R1, was announced a few weeks ago. As I reported on this site last week, field testing of pre-production models is already underway. According to the latest information on Canon Rumors, the sensor in the R1 will have a resolution of 24MP. That’s 6MP below the placeholder specs that appeared briefly on Adorama, and personally, I think it would be a mistake to release something that doesn’t approach the Nikon Z9 or Sony a1 in resolution. Apparently, Canon’s patented Quad Pixel Autofocus, which was announced last year, is expected to make its first appearance. Like the EOS R3, the R1 will also get Eye Control, but in its second, improved edition. And the last rumored spec is a dual CFexpress Type B card slot.

Nikon Z6 III will be announced soon

According to Nikon Rumors, it looks like the long-awaited Nikon Z6 III will finally be announced soon. According to the latest news, it seems that we can hope for the Nikon Z6 III some time around June 11th.

Good Deals and New Sales

Did you know that bird songs have therapeutic effects? I like to record bird songs while I’m out, both for identification and to play back for my enjoyment later. You don’t have to use a professional recorder. The Zoom H1n (was $120, now $60) will give you good value for money. The ambient sound will be a great addition to your nature slideshow.

The first thing I change on a new camera is the strap. For carrying a telephoto lens, this one from BlackRapid (was $130, now $100) is ideal. It’s well padded, comfortable, and provides enough freedom of movement. When you move the camera to your eye, the camera moves against the strap, rather than the strap moving against your body.

Based on the number of views of the article “Is Now the Time to Buy Used Nikon DSLR Lenses?” and the number of responses in the discussion, I’m guessing you’re interested in this topic. As one of our readers pointed out in the discussion, it is not only a good time to buy a DSLR lens, but also a good time to buy a DSLR camera. Here are a few major sales that make them more attractive than ever:

• Canon EOS-1D X Mark II (was $5,999, now $2,999)
• Nikon D850 (was $2,997, now $2,197)
• Nikon D780 (was $2,297, now $1,597)

Other Pages of Interest

Last week, Panasonic announced the new Lumix S9 camera. This camera doesn’t have a viewfinder, which makes it quite difficult to shoot action scenes with a telephoto lens. Nevertheless, a beautiful wildlife image of flying European bee-eaters has appeared on Panasonic’s website. My suspicion that I had seen these photos somewhere before was confirmed after reading the article on Digital Camera World. It turned out that the photos were actually taken with a Nikon D810 by Romanian Nikon ambassador Mircea Bezergheanu.

The One Shot Photo Contest website says that “black and white photography is powerful.” I totally agree. I think you will also enjoy the winning images from the Wildlife, Nature, Portrait, Landscape, Travel, Street, Photojournalism and a number of other categories.

If you haven’t seen Nick Brandt’s work before, take the time to make yourself a good drink and look at it on a large monitor. Nick Brandt is not a typical wildlife photographer, although animals usually play a major role in his photo series. Besides animals, Brandt is also interested in people and their plight, as well as the destruction of the environment. By the way, my recently-discussed question of whether medium format is suitable for wildlife photography was affirmed by Nick Brandt already twenty years ago, way back in the days of film.

Photo Theme Challenge, Week #52

First, I’d like to say that we’ve been running these challenges for 52 weeks now, and it’s been a very cool little feature. We’ve loved seeing some of the photos from you folks! You’ve added a bit of extra commmunity feel to Photography Life. Thank you for sharing your work, and we look forward to more.

Last week’s theme was rocks, and you can see the results in this thread. This week’s theme is chaos, and you can submit your results in this thread by Saturday, June 8, 2024!

Week #51 Results

Let’s check out some of the shots we received for the “rocks” theme, starting with Dave, who is a relatively new member of the forum:

Dave took this shot in Tasmania of exposed quartz. This lovely shot shows the varied nature of rock, from how it forms into mountains to its less assuming, gentler form of a group of crystals.

Next, let’s check out Bhoward’s shot:

Here, the rock is no longer the main theme, but it shows the solid nature of rock as a framing device! Seeing the scene being revealed in the fractal nature of the upward curving rock is a nice complement to the dynamic nature of the tree.

No we move onto something very different with PRG Lagarde’s photo:

The overwhelming nature of the sharp rocks is hypnotic, but then we are anchored a little by the unusual placement of the people. Did you notice them?

Finally, let’s check out florin’s photo:

That this shot wasn’t taken during the typical golden hour gives a powerful statement – the nature of rock is a simple state of matter that transcends short-term change. Unlike the dramatic tones that would be present with longer, lower light, this shot shows rock in its most natural, simple form.

Thanks everyone for submitting their photos in the challenge, and we hope to see more next week in the chaos theme.