The biggest photography news this week was undoubtedly the announcement of Nikon’s newest full-frame camera – the Z5 II. Thanks to the kindness of Nikon’s Czech branch, I got my hands on the country’s very first copy just hours after it landed in their office. More importantly, the next morning before sunrise, I was already in the woods with the camera, testing it on my favorite subjects. For the sake of authenticity, I’ll use a photo of the very first bird that landed on the Z5 II’s sensor as the illustration for this weekly roundup.
Recent Announcements
You can read our coverage of the Nikon Z5 II announcement and a comparison between the Z5 II, Zf, and Z6 III already on Photography Life. What else did this week bring us in announcements?
- SmallRig 9 in 1 CFexpress Photography Docking Station: There are plenty of different hubs out there, but very few include a CFexpress card slot. Almost a year ago, we tested one from Dockcase. Now, SmallRig has entered the game with a more affordable option. This dock features a 10Gbps CFexpress slot (your choice of Type A or Type B), along with one UHS-II SD 4.0 slot, one microSD 4.0 slot, one 10Gbps USB-C port, two 5Gbps USB-A ports, one 4K@30Hz HDMI port, one Gigabit Ethernet port, and one 100W PD-IN port. All that for just $90.
- Viltrox AF 50mm f/2.0 Air: Maybe not as light as air, but at 220g, this full-frame lens is still very portable. By comparison, the Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 weighs 415g. If light weight, compact size and affordability are your priorities, this could be the lens for you. In terms of construction, it consists of 13 elements in 9 groups (including 3 ED lenses, 4 high-refractive elements, and 1 aspherical element with HD nano-coating). The minimum focusing distance is 0.51m, and the autofocus is driven by a silent STM motor. The filter thread is 58mm. The lens is available for Sony E-mount and Nikon Z-mount for $199.
- 7Artisans AF 35mm f/1.4: A 50mm full-frame equivalent lens, this time for Fujifilm APS-C cameras. Thanks to a combination of metal mount and polymer barrel, the weight is kept low, at only 184g. The optical construction consists of 8 elements in 5 groups. A silent STM motor focuses the lens from 0.35m. The front element has a waterproof and anti-dust coating. The filter thread diameter is 62mm, and firmware updates can be done via a USB-C port. Not a bad set of specs for the price of $169.
The Rumor Mill
Fast fifty SongRaw
This isn’t the name of a new punk band, it’s a brief description of an upcoming lens from a new Chinese company. Although the article I’m referring to was published on April 1, it’s supposedly not an April Fool’s joke. SongRaw is expected to release their first lens soon: a 50mm f/1.2. The lens is said to feature autofocus, a de-clickable aperture ring, and both Sony E and Nikon Z compatibility. The price is expected to be around $860. But the story doesn’t end here. SongRaw has also patented a new 85mm f/1.2 AF FE lens. If the optical performance is good enough, it could be intriguing for those unwilling to spend more than $2000 for a Sony or Nikon.
Laowa’s “long nose” lens series is expected to grow
The highly specialized 2x Macro Probe lens from Venus Optics Laowa may look like a medical endoscope to some, but romantic souls may see the proboscis of a butterfly instead. So far, it has been available in a 24mm focal length version with a maximum aperture (in T-stops rather than F-stops) of T8. At the upcoming NAB show, Laowa is expected to offer a pair of zoom lenses with a similar form factor! The first should have the specs of 15-24mm T8, and the second 15-35mm T12. Both are expected to be offered in three configurations: direct view, 35 degree view, and periscope view.
What can be photographed or filmed with such lenses? Basically anything where a traditional lens would be difficult to use, including a few inches underwater thanks to the waterproof barrel. I remember a similar lens being used by BBC filmmakers to film a hummingbird feeding on nectar. What was remarkable was that the lens was pointed through the back of the flower, providing an unusual view of a feeding hummingbird from a never-before-seen perspective. It was like putting a camera inside your own refrigerator.
Via Photo Rumors
Wildlife photography by phone? Those times will come
And they may even be knocking at the door. While browsing the news on Kiskstarter, I came across a product from Martvsen: the Tele-30X telephoto lens. Given that their goal of raising $2,500 has been met 741% to date, their product should become a reality, but I’m putting it as a rumor because not all Kickstarter projects pan out. This extender simulates a 400mm lens yet weighs just 130 grams. Personally, though, I’ll be keeping my 3,100 gram behemoth for some time to come.
Via Kickstarter
Good Deals and New Sales
Last Monday happened to be World Backup Day. As if fate wanted to remind me, my memory card failed that very day. Right when a hoopoe stood in front of my camera, its crest raised and backlit by the setting sun. After a few stressful hours, I managed to recover both the images and possibly the card itself. I now fully understand that having two card slots in the camera is not just for fun, but a necessity for critical work. This little incident convinced me once and for all.
An equally useful habit is to back up your images to an external hard drive on a daily basis. For travel, that usually means an SSD. Here are a few tried-and-true options at reasonable prices this week:
- Samsung 4TB T7 Shield Portable SSD was $440, now $290
- Samsung 4TB T9 Portable SSD was $470, now $280
- Samsung 4TB T7 Portable SSD was $370, now $250
- Samsung 4TB T5 EVO USB 3.2 Gen 1 Portable SSD was $350, now $220
- Samsung 2TB T7 Shield Portable SSD was $245, now $150
- Samsung 2TB T7 Portable SSD was $220, now $140
- LaCie 1TB Rugged SSD PRO Thunderbolt 3 External SSD was $240, now $185
- Samsung 1TB T7 Portable SSD was $130, now $90
- Lexar 1TB Professional SL600 USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Portable SSD was $130, now $85
Along with backing up your images to a hard drive, it is also possible to backup your RAW images online, even using websites that are traditionally “public-facing,” i.e., a website for your portfolio. This week, SmugMug is having a great sale if you don’t yet have a photography website to call your own. The 25% discount is hidden from the public and can only be accessed through affiliate links like this one: 25% off a new SmugMug membership. The sale works even if you start with a free trial.
Other Pages of Interest
The ninth annual Czech Nature Photo contest may not have its winners yet, but that only makes it more exciting for us photographers. In each category, the jury has revealed three nominated photos without ranking them. So, why not take a guess? Which image will win its category, and which will take the grand prize of the entire competition? Photography Life readers may recognize that all three photographers I interviewed for our Secrets of Professional Wildlife Photographers Online Workshop made it to this stage of the competition: Vladimír Čech Jr., Petr Bambousek, and Jiří Hřebíček. This year, the jury was chaired by the exceptional Spanish photographer Javier Aznar González de Rueda, whose work is definitely worth checking out, too.
If you love wildlife photography and would also like to support conservation efforts, you might want to save a spot on your bookshelf for the upcoming book 10 Years of Remembering Wildlife. This is the tenth book in the Remembering series, featuring a selection of the best images from previous editions, each dedicated to a single animal species. This special compilation also includes a new section on pangolins and their conservation. So far, over 54,000 copies have been sold worldwide, raising more than $1.55 million for projects focused on protecting the featured species.
“A new compact fixed-lens camera from Nikon would be a nice surprise.” That’s the title of a short article on Nikon Rumors, and I couldn’t agree more. Given the current demand for compact cameras with fixed lenses, this seems like a great idea and a logical step. Personally, I’d love to see something similar to the Coolpix A, but with a full-frame sensor and a 28mm or 35mm f/2.8 lens. And Nikon, if you’re listening, please include a viewfinder this time. Thank you!
Photo Theme Challenge, Week #96
Last week’s theme was motion blur, and you can see the results in this thread. Thank you to everyone for your submissions! This week’s theme is motion blur, and you can submit your results in this thread by Saturday, April 12, 2024.
Week #94 Results
Let’s check out some of the shots we received for the “motion blur” theme, starting with Mauro70’s photo:
An excellent use of motion blur to show the movement of the dancers!
vidmarko’s photo:
The motion of the performer and the spectators bring this scene alive!
Tom Pazol’s photo:
Motion blur here is used to give a calm scene an extra abstract quality!
Thanks everyone for submitting their photos in the challenge, and we hope to see more next week in the night theme.
SmugMug link does not work.
How so? On my end, it looks like it goes to the free trial page. As I understand it, anyone buying a full subscription after that point has the 25% discount applied automatically.
Here’s an alternative link that should also work – shareasale.com/u.cfm…;afftrack=