As photographic equipment becomes more sophisticated, it’s only a matter of time before something breaks. And, naturally, it will tend to break at the worst possible time. This happened to me while I was in the field recently. Fortunately, I was able to work around it and continue documenting a bird species I really like. I’ll write about it more soon. In the meantime, check out the latest news from the world of photography.
Recent Announcements
- TTArtisan AF 35mm F1.8: Autofocus-capable prime lens for Sony E APS-C cameras. This follows a version for Fuji cameras that was introduced last year. The lens barrel and mount are made of aviation aluminum. The weight is about 200g. But the biggest reason to buy this lens is its price of $149, which is three times lower than the competing Sony.
- Viltrox AF 56mm F1.7: Lightweight (approx. 180g) and compact APS-C portrait lens, also with autofocus capabilities. Compatible with Fujifilm X and Nikon Z mounts. Lens features optical design with 11 elements in 9 groups (including 4 ED and 3 high refractive index lenses). The price of the lens is a mere $139.
- NiSi Athena: Last week, three more lenses were added to NiSi’s “Athena” line of full-frame cine lenses – namely a 18mm T2.2, 40mm T1.9, and 135mm T2.2. For seamless swapping on cinema cameras, all lenses share the same physical dimensions, including the filter thread (77mm). The only exception is the 135mm lens, which is longer than the others but, crucially, its gearing positions are the same as the other Athenas. The lenses can be purchased individually starting at $1,198 or more conveniently in various sets. A complete set of all eight lenses sells for $8,999.
The Rumor Mill
New super-fast prime lens for APS-C cameras
The almost unknown Chinese company, SG-Image, is about to release a new lens. After their debut lens with pretty standard specs (a 25mm f/1.8), it’s getting wilder. Apparently their next lens will be a 35mm f/0.95 and will be compatible with a wide range of APS-C cameras: Sony E, Nikon Z, Fuji X, Canon EOS-M, Canon R, MFT and L mount. For a newcomer to the industry, a lens this fast is certainly a bold move.
Via Photorumors
Nikon Z tilt-shift lenses?
It seems that Nikon’s F-Mount tilt-shift 19mm f/4E ED has left the production line. What lens will replace it? According to Nikon Rumors, there are two possibilities – either an 18mm or (less likely) a 20mm tilt-shift lens. A replacement for Nikon’s 85mm tilt-shift macro lens is also said to be on the horizon. Will we see a surprise in the form of an autofocus tilt-shift lens? Canon is rumored to be working on such a thing; perhaps Nikon is, too.
Good Deals and New Sales
Having a good memory is certainly a great thing. It doesn’t matter whether we hide it inside our skull in a mysterious tangle of neurons or in a sturdy aluminum case in the form of digital circuits. Although between the two, it’s certainly easier to improve the quality of the latter. The super-fast SanDisk Professional 4TB PRO-G40 Thunderbolt 3 portable SSD now sells for half its original price, $400. (I’d pay twice that if I could expand my brain capacity by 4TB.)
Nikon Zf users may be wondering how to make the most of their camera’s MicroSD card slot. Some such cards from SanDisk are currently on sale at really attractive prices:
When speed matters
- SanDisk 1TB Extreme UHS-I microSDXC (was $250, now $90)
- SanDisk 512GB Extreme UHS-I microSDXC (was $130, now $50)
When capacity is more important than speed
- SanDisk 1.5TB Ultra UHS-I microSDXC (was $241, now $100)
- SanDisk 512GB Ultra UHS-I microSDXC (was $60, now $26)
Other Pages of Interest
The tropical Andes still hold many surprises. The extremely difficult terrain and the challenging fieldwork mean that it is ripe for scientific discovery, including of new species. And I’m not just talking about insects. Recently, a new species of deer, apparently endemic to Peru, was added to the list! Pudella carlae, which is its scientific name, is about the size of a medium-sized dog. The original article appeared in the Journal of Mammalogy. The first photo and video of Pudella can be seen at Sci News.
After two decades of work, scientists and engineers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and their collaborators have completed a camera that will be used to observe the southern sky from the Atacama Observatory in Chile. The Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) is a truly remarkable camera. Its resolution is 3,200 megapixels! The size of the camera is about that of a small car. The front lens is over five feet in diameter, making it the largest lens ever made for this purpose. The camera is capable of resolving an object the size of a golf ball at a distance of 15 miles. Impressive specs indeed, what do you think?
The renowned World Press Photo photojournalism competition has announced its regional winners. On the contest’s website, you can view their best images sorted by the continent where they were taken.
Photo Theme Challenge, Week #44
Last week’s theme was yellow, and you can see the results in this thread. Thank you to everyone for your submissions! This week’s theme is forest, and you can submit your results in this thread by Saturday, April 13, 2024!
Week #43 Results
Let’s check out some of the shots we received for the “yellow” theme, starting with Darin Marcus’s photo:
Not only is this a cool shot, it shows off yellow in a neat brick texture.
Next let’s look at Robert’s photo:
I wasn’t surprised that someone chose leaves! The yellow leaves of fall are some of my favourites, even if the reds are sometimes more flashy.
Finally, let’s look at Ronald’s photo:
Here, I really do like the isolated yellow. The small space it takes actually seems to state the color extra strongly!
Thanks everyone for submitting their photos in the challenge, and we hope to see more of your great work next week.
Delighted to see the mention of LSST here!!! :)
Auto focusing tilt shift lenses are a cool idea, but I am sure virtually all serious users will want a manual focus override. With the Nikon Z format increased flange size, I wonder if the Nikkor division plans to increase the maximum aperture compared to the incumbent PCE lenses for DSLR cameras?
That’s an interesting question. Maybe this is where autofocus would come in handy, as it would be easier to shoot with focus stacking.
Sorry for the late reply, but one thought I had ever since looking over the description of the 136mm Plena design with its increased image circle allowing corner to corner sharpness was that all Z format S-series PCE lenses should be Plena optics. What lenses require increased image circles and corner to corner sharpness more than a PCE optic?
Should be “135mm Plena design” in the initial sentence above.
Thank you, Libor!
You’re very welcome, Darin.
I’m definitely interested in a tilt-shift lens, perhaps even more so if it has autofocus, but I’m fearful to know what it may cost.
Given the nature and purpose of tilt-shift lenses, with the exception of portraiture which I don’t get, I’m not sure what autofocus brings to the table. I’ve had a few and really like my most recent lens, the Laowa 20mm shift lens (I’ve never used the tilt function).
You’re right that autofocus is not a key feature for the purposes for which tilt-shift lenses are commonly used. However, even features in the “nice to have” category count and can play a role in turning the gears of the business. In other words, you can’t stop progress. Personally, I’ve been waiting for a while for Laowa to introduce the second version of their 15mm macro tilt-shift lens on Z-mount. That lens would deserve it.
Completely disagree with pretty much everything you wrote, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone! ;-)
As an aside, I didn’t think their 15mm macro lens had a tilt feature.
What exactly do you disagree with, Pat?
Exactly? Well… okay.
What does “the gears of the business” mean? Given the lack of context, the only known business I can think of is that of the lens manufacturer who will only make what they can sell and I kinda doubt they’ll be able to sell many Tilt-Shift lenses with autofocus due to the increased cost (R&D and manufacture) and relatively low production numbers. These lenses are already expensive … I can’t imagine people will be happy to spend a lot more for a feature they’re not expecting and few will actually use, nice as it may be to have.
Not all change is progress. I strongly disagree with the implication.
As I implied in my original comment, autofocus would be most useful for portraiture [I HATE portraits taken with tilt] and I can’t imagine ANYONE using a 15mm lens for that purpose, especially since it probably wouldn’t have a tilt feature. Further, as wide as it is, autofocus would be less critical than for longer focal lengths. So, no, I don’t think that lens deserves it.
Some 40+ years ago, I read a novel in which one of the characters asked the leader of a group why he included another individual who was always negative and disagreed with almost everything. The leader replied that such an individual was indispensable because if there was a hole in a plan, they would find it! I like to think I fill that role very well. :-)
“As an aside, I didn’t think their 15mm macro lens had a tilt feature.”
Correct: it has shift, not tilt.
QUOTE Laowa 15mm f/4 Wide Angle Macro
Featuring an ultra-wide 110° angle of view with 1:1 maximum magnification that allows users to focus very close to the subject, but at the same time, include the background details (where and how the subject lives) in the photo. Adding a unique +/- 6mm shift feature makes this lens the ultimate creative tool for landscape, macro and architectural shooting.
www.venuslens.net/produ…gle-macro/
Thanks for the addition Pete, you’re right that the Laowa 15mm only has a shift function (for my purposes I probably won’t use that either). Some pairs of words just want to be together. So I’ll have a hard time convincing my fingers to write Yin without Yang, Laurel without Hardy, or Hong without Kong, for example. But we started with Laowa 15mm… What appeals to me most about this lens is its ability to focus in the macro range. It’s interesting how unusual this feature is among wide angle lenses. The new AF Laowa 10mm looks very interesting from this perspective, but the 10mm is already too wide for my needs.
1962 PC-NIKKOR 35mm f/3.5 was the first perspective control lens (via lens shift) available for 135 format SLR cameras.
1973 Canon TS35mm f/2.8 S.S.C. “The world first ’tilt and shift’ wide angle lens for 35mm SLR cameras.”
— Canon Camera Museum
[https://global.canon/en/c-museum/product/fd144.html]
Further reading:
NIKKOR – The Thousand and One Nights No.17
by Haruo Sato
imaging.nikon.com/imagi…tory/0017/
If your primary use would be for macro, I understand your desire for autofocus, even though I never use it for my macro photography. Since we started out discussing tilt-shift lenses, I didn’t even think about the macro aspect. Honestly, I think one of the engineers added it as an afterthought “because we can”.
Not sure about this one, but I thought the shift was only applicable to APS-C cameras.
You may have acquired that notion from people who write assertively about optics, despite having no formal training in optics.
See my comment above on April 10, 2024 2:38 am.
That 1962 PC-NIKKOR 35mm f/3.5, with shift, would need an exit pupil diameter of
35mm / 3.5 = 10mm
so there was plenty of room to shift it by up to 11mm within the F‑mount throat (circa 40mm diameter).
Are we still talking about the Laowa 15mm macro lens? I checked and their web site says ‘APS-C only’.
Sorry Pat, I thought you meant that, generally speaking, shift was available for APS‑C, but not full-frame.
It seems that the Laowa 15mm f/4 macro does not have an image circle that’s large enough to accommodate any shift on full-frame.
APS‑C diagonal is 15mm less than full-frame, which would accommodate the ±6mm shift of the Laowa.
I agree that autofocus could have some utility in cases where focus stacking might still be necessary. Having autofocus might allow one to use their camera’s automated focus bracketing to simplify the effort.
I agree with you, Abomb. That’s exactly what I meant when I responded to John’s comment yesterday (above). I can see another possible use of autofocus with such a wide angle lens when using Auto Capture. In the macro range, the depth of field is not too great even with such a wide angle lens, and automatic focus refinement would be a big improvement for me. This is one of the reasons why I am hesitant to buy the Laowa Macro 15mm for now. Honestly, neither the tilt nor the shift function is essential for me.