The trees in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere have almost lost their leaves. Thus a major season for landscape photographers is slowly coming to an end. What about wildlife photographers? In the northern hemisphere, it has become a bit poorer in terms of species richness; lots of species have fled south for the winter or hibernated. We’re left with persistent, hardy animal residents – although perhaps with some beautiful snow around them for photography.
And what about you, tropical colleagues? For you, the photographic harvest never ends. Perhaps now is the best time to photograph Spectacled Bears in Ecuador. Now in November, you can save a lot of money on an African safari, plus you’ll get some beautifully dramatic clouds into your images. And what about Antarctica, where the season is just beginning? It seems the weather there right now is a balmy -40°, and gradually getting warmer. Hello to any of our Antarctic readers!
No matter where you live, I hope you have good photography plans for November and beyond.
Recent Announcements
Canon Speedlite EL-5: A new, cheaper alternative to the EL-1 flash, specifically designed for the EOS R system. For the price of $399 you get a modeling lamp and lithium-ion rechargeable battery allowing recharge time of 0.1 to 1.2 seconds and 350 to 2450 flashes (depending on flash power). Dust and moisture resistance equivalent to the EOS R5. The max guide number is around 60m/169.9ft @200mm (at approx. ISO 100).
Fujifilm XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro Lens: Somewhat overshadowed by the newly introduced X-T5, yet an interesting lens providing 1:1 magnification, weather-sealed design and compact weight and dimensions (60 x 69.5 mm; 195 g). Price $599.
AstrHori 28mm F13 2X Macro Probe Lens: The previously rumored lens is finally announced. It will offer a two-piece design for better transport, 2x magnification, minimum working distance from the front lens of 8mm, its own LED light source, and the ability to shoot underwater macro (only the front tube is allowed to submerge about 25cm). The main thing it offers over the Laowa probe lens is a lower price by about half. For most common mounts, it’s priced at $739.
DJI Mavic 3 Classic: The third drone of DJI’s Mavic 3 series. The biggest differences compared to the regular Mavic 3 are the lack of a telephoto lens and the lower price ($1600 vs $2050 including a remote). This will make the “Classic” a great choice for many photographers, if you didn’t need the small-sensor, 12-megapixel telephoto camera on the standard Mavic 3. Price $1,599 for the drone with the RC-N1 Remote.
The Rumor Mill
Xiaomi 12S Ultra concept: An interesting vision of Leica and Xiaomi partnership
Leica lenses as part of a smartphone? If you heard that, you might think that Leica was designing a smartphone lens – not that a smartphone could attach Leica M lenses. But in this case, it’s the latter! The Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi entered into a partnership with Leica some time ago. The latest fruit of their collaboration looks very unconventional indeed. In addition to its own, built-in lenses, this concept smartphone would allow you to mount M-series lenses to the phone via an adapter. A 1″-type sensor dominates the back of the phone. Will this concept ever see real-world production? If so, “I just took it on my phone” could mean a lot more than it does now.
Via Leica Rumors
New features in Capture One 23 to be revealed soon
If you look closely at the BH Photo link that allows you to purchase Capture One 22, you’ll see that the successor, serial number 23, is already knocking on the door. When should it arrive? As early as around November 8th. What new features the new release will bring are still shrouded in mystery, but I believe I’ll be able to reveal all in the next Photography News.
Photo Contest Corner
- Topic: Portrait or self-portrait
- Fees: $39 for 5 images, $6 each additional.
- Prize: 35 images will be selected for the gallery exhibition and 40 for the online gallery.
- Deadline: November 14
- Topic: Street
- Fees: $30 for the 3 first images, $5 for each additional image
- Prize: Winners will receive $500 (1st), $300 (2nd) and $200 (3rd) in cash prizes and their photos will be published in AAP Magazine.
- Deadline: November 15
Single Photo Call 2022: THE YEAR IN PHOTOS
- Topic: Your best photos capturing the events of 2022. Photos will be used for the calendar.
- Fees: Free
- Prize: 13 winners, $40 each
- Deadline: November 18
Good Deals and New Sales
B&H Photo is launching its Holiday Head Start special with the subtitle “Beat the Rush.” As part of the promotion, they’ve extended all returns on B&H through February 1st, plus implemented a large number of sales. Among the deals so far, the most amazing I’ve seen so far is the huge sale on SanDisk extreme portable SSD hard drives, making them less than half the usual price. Those deals are found here. A 2TB portable SSD for $150 is crazy, and it used to be $450. (Edit: Looks like that deal sold out, but a 4 TB SSD is still $380, was $800, and a 1 TB SSD is still $100, was $250.)
For some photographers, even full frame is small. If that’s true for you, here’s an interesting discount: The Pentax 645Z body and 75mm lens set can be bought with a $2,700 discount, for a current price of $4,997. If you need an even longer lens, specifically the Pentax smc FA 645 300mm f/4 ED (IF), which is equivalent to a 200mm focal length on full-frame, it will cost you a mere $997 (was $4,797 – and no, I haven’t made a typo with those prices). A 35mm equivalent is the Pentax smc FA 45mm f/2.8 lens for $1,095 (was $1,297). Nice set, don’t you think? You may have already missed the fall foliage, but winter on medium format can be magical too.
Now I have an offer from the opposite end of the photographic world – a camera for a completely different purpose, with a much smaller sensor. The Insta360 ONE R 1″ Edition action camera, a GoPro alternative, is now available at a discounted price of $220 from $330.
Other Pages of Interest
Before the prestigious Nature magazine publishes the year’s best science photographs this December, take a look at the ones that caught the editors’ eye in 2021. You’ll see that scientific photography, rather than being a dry description of reality, can have a great deal of aesthetic appeal.
In the Good Deals and New Sales section, I mentioned the Insta360 ONE. If you’re not sure what such a camera would be good for, perhaps the following video will provide some inspiration. In this case, the camera is mounted neither on the selfie stick of a beautiful girl nor on the helmet of a motorcycle racer, but on the back of an eagle. The eagle flies past the castle in Hohenschwangau, Germany, which was the inspiration for Disney Cinderella Castle.
Finally, let’s take to the skies once more. Some time ago, Peter Juracka – a scientific photographer, hydrologist, mountaineer, and avid drone pilot – decided to combine two of his passions together. A passion for mountains and a passion for drones. And because Juracka is a madman (sorry, Peter, for saying it here in public), he took his DJI Phantom 3 Advanced with him to one of the highest mountains in the world, K2. Out of this adventure came a world record in high-altitude drone flying. Although this video is not new, it is definitely worth watching.
Have a good week and good light.