Would you rather see a rare animal species from a great distance, or a more common species nearby? I pondered that question during my trip to Yellowstone National Park last week. More than once, I saw distant grizzlies and wolves that barely took up a few pixels at 600mm (or even 1680mm with all the teleconverters I could muster). By comparison, many of my favorite photos of the trip show bison – easily the most common large mammal in the park – doing something interesting close by.
I’ve decided that there is no right answer. Photographers simply have other goals than most tourists, and it was fun to live in both worlds during my trip – viewing wolves from an unphotographable distance, then taking atmospheric pictures of a bison much nearer to my camera.
While I spent time testing equipment in Yellowstone, a lot was happening in the photography world. Here are the biggest pieces of news from last week.
Recent Announcements
- A gaggle of Nikon firmware updates: Although no huge new features have been announced, many of Nikon’s cameras have gotten minor firmware updates over the last month. The most recent is the Nikon Zf, but in the past few weeks, we also had new firmwares for the Nikon P950, P1000, D7500, D780, D850, D6, Z30, Z50, Z5, Z6 II, Z7 II, and Z8. Photography Life forum member Darin Marcus has done a great job cataloging the changes over on our Nikon forum. If you haven’t downloaded the new firmware for your camera yet, you can do so on Nikon’s Download Center.
- Tamron has plans: In their Q1 financial results, third-party lens manufacturer Tamron stated that they intend to release seven lenses in 2024 (on page 14 of the document). This includes two lenses that were already announced: the 28-75mm f/2.8 G2 for Nikon Z, and the 11-20mm f/2.8 for Canon RF-S. The other five are still mysteries.
- Venus Optics adds DJI and Hasselblad lenses: Two of their lenses now sell in the DL mount for DJI drones (11mm f/4.5 and 14mm f/4), while three now sell in the Hasselblad XCD mount (15mm f/4.5 Shift, 19mm f/2.8, and 20mm f/4 Shift). Given the medium format sensor of the XCD system, the two lenses with shift capabilities will not be able to shift as much on those cameras.
The Rumor Mill
Viltrox has plans, too
Along with seven new lenses from Tamron, we can also expect seven new lenses from Viltrox coming up soon – these will be for the Sony E mount initially. Photo Rumors is reporting this as a 35mm f/1.2, 35mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.2, 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.2, 85mm f/1.4, and 135mm f/1.2. However, I am skeptical about the 135mm f/1.2 and would expect it to be an f/1.8 lens instead.
Also from Viltrox is a Nikon Z 16mm f/1.8 AF full-frame, weather-sealed lens, which is expected to be announced on May 7.
Via Photo Rumors
A leaked image of a new Fuji camera
Rumor has it that Fujifilm will be announcing the X-T50 soon, most likely on May 16th to coincide with this month’s X Summit. A leaked picture of the camera was released on Fuji Rumors, along with some rumored specifications. The expectation is 40 megapixels, IBIS, one card slot, little/no weather sealing, the same EVF as the X-T30, three color options (silver/black/charcoal), and a price of €1500. Also, the camera is likely to have a dedicated dial for film simulation modes.
Via Fuji Rumors
A Nikon Z Voigtlander lens is coming soon
How soon will we see Voigtlander’s next high-end manual-focus lens for Nikon mirrorless? According to Nikon Rumors, the Voigtlander Nokton 75mm f/1.5 will be announced on May 15th. Viltrox already has a page on their website for the new lens and says that it’s “designed exclusively for Nikon Z mount” and “implements an optical system optimized for the image sensor of a mirrorless camera with a Nikon Z mount.” Though a lens like this already exists for Leica L, and it appears to have the same lens construction diagram.
Via Nikon Rumors
Good Deals and New Sales
For Nikon users, the biggest news of the week is Nikon’s spring sale, with major discounts on many of their cameras and lenses. I’ve listed all the sales below and marked my favorite deals in bold:
Prime Lenses
- Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S: $100 off
- Nikon Z DX 24mm f/1.7: $50 off
- Nikon Z 24mm f/1.8 S: $100 off
- Nikon Z 26mm f/2.8: $100 off
- Nikon Z 28mm f/2.8: $70 off
- Nikon Z 35mm f/1.8 S: $150 off
- Nikon Z 40mm f/2: $70 off
- Nikon Z 50mm f/1.2 S: $200 off
- Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S: $100 off
- Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8: $50 off
- Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S: $200 off
- Nikon Z 85mm f/1.8 S: $100 off
- Nikon Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S: $200 off
- Nikon Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S: $250 off
- Nikon Z 600mm f/6.3 VR S: $500 off
- Nikon Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S: $500 off
Zoom Lenses
- Nikon Z DX 12-28mm f/3.5-5.6 PZ VR: $60 off
- Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S: $400 off
- Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 S: $200 off
- Nikon Z 17-28mm f/2.8: $200 off
- Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S: $400 off
- Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR: $100 off
- Nikon Z 28-75mm f/2.8: $300 off
- Nikon Z 70-180mm f/2.8: $200 off
- Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S: $400 off
- Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S: $200 off
Cameras
- Nikon Z5: $400-800 off
- Nikon Z6 II: $500-700 off
- Nikon Z7 II: $1000-1200 off
- Nikon Z8: $500-750 off
- Nikon Z9: $500 trade-in bonus
Other Pages of Interest
You already know how we feel about AI-generated “photos” here at Photography Life. (If you missed it, here are one, two, and three articles.) Adobe doesn’t really share our view. They recently ignited a controversy over telling photographers to skip the photoshoot and use their AI image-generation tools instead. Score one if you’d rather sit on your butt typing “pretty pictures” into an app instead of going out and taking some yourself…
On the bright side, real photography continues to achieve things that AI-generated junk never could. Scientists operating the coolest camera ever built – the James Webb Space Telescope – are about to re-examine an exoplanet that may have dimethyl sulfide in its atmosphere. On Earth, that gas only exists as a byproduct of living organisms. Could it be a sign of our alien neighbors? That’s what they’re trying to figure out, although the answer is probably not: a recent study suggests that the telescope actually just detected methane instead. Read more here.
My favorite photo contest, the Natural Landscape Photography Contest, just opened its door for entries. You have until the end of May to submit your minimally-edited landscape photos to the fourth year of this prestigious competition. Winners will split $14,500 in cash prizes as well as a variety of camera equipment. I’ll be throwing my hat in the ring again this year and look forward to some strong competition!
Photo Theme Challenge, Week #48
Last week’s theme was water, and you can see the results in this thread. Thank you to everyone for your submissions! This week’s theme is square, and you can submit your results in this thread by Saturday, May 11, 2024!
Week #47 Results
Let’s check out some of the photos we received for the “water” theme, starting with vidmarko’s photo:
The strong, distorted shapes here immediately give the essence of water. A very interesting interpretation of the theme!
Now let’s see Mark Fulton’s shot:
It’s very interesting to contrast this photo against the prior one – here, we have water in a very calm form, gently blending with the landscape.
There are so many forms of water, and a third can be found in Chuck’s photo:
We saw dynamic, frozen water and rolling, gentle fog. Now we see water as a colorful home to a beautiful sea turtle!
Finally, rjbfoto’s photo provides a fitting end for this display:
Welcome to the deep, mysterious underwater world. In this photo, the water is barely even visible except as a backdrop to one of the creatures who calls this environment home.
I was very happy to see so many different interpretations of water this week. Together, they form a very interesting story of water in its many forms. Thanks to everyone for submitting their photos in the challenge, and we hope to see more next week in the “square” theme! I look forward to seeing as many uses of the square as we have seen this week with water.
For me, it’s less a question of distance and more a question of overall quality of sighting. My favourite sightings are those that are serene, where the animal is just going about his business without concern for humans nearby, and where I am surrounded by wilderness without much hint of nervousness in the environment. That inspires me the most to understand the connection between phtoography and nature.
To connect that back to your question: often it’s the more common animals that are more peaceful, but at the same time, if I see a rarer species, it’s encouraging too that they are surviving.
In Yellowstone, it was very interesting to watch the “rare species chase” that goes on every day. A group of (I assume) locals visits with radios on hand, trying to get in place to watch grizzlies and wolves. Even with spotting scopes, the animals are so far away that they’re just little dots. But that doesn’t seem to bother them, since it ensures that they’re watching the animals’ natural behavior.
I had to stick to closer and usually more common species, or the upcoming 600mm f/4 review would be filled with empty compositions! But it was a cool thing to see. Very different from the typical goals of wildlife photography.
Thank you for mentioning my forum posts, Spencer!
Sure thing! Thanks for posting them in the first place.
Nice to see the camera firmware updates, it’s just to bad they have kicked the Z6 & Z7 to the curb. I realize these are the original Z camera’s but at the time Nikon said they would be firmware updates. There were a few but not many.
I still shoot with the original Z6 and Z7, and I agree, it would be nice to have some more substantial updates akin to what we’re seeing with their newer cameras. Probably too late to be likely, though.
I think the original Z6 and Z7 still have the hardware for some improvements. The way it handles autofocus is a bit jumpy and that could be smoothed I think. Zebras could DEFINITELY be added…
Yes! As a Z7II user I’m giving up on autofocus being as good as the D850 and buying a Z8. It’s a shame. I know it’s a Expeed processor thing, but geez. The AF is lacking.