I’m really happy to testing lenses again, and our lens reviews will be back for you later this week. Today, I’ve been culling through my photos from the Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR in preparation. It’s not the sharpest or brightest lens out there, but the zoom range is a blast. Even as a landscape photographer, I found myself focusing on scenes at 400mm that might normally escape attention, like the geyser you see below. Will I be replacing my Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3? That remains to be seen. But while you read this week’s Photography News, I hope you keep in mind that you don’t need to always follow the conventions in photography. Experiment a little – take portraits at 16mm, wildlife photos at 85mm, and landscapes at 400mm. You might like the different results that you get.
Recent Announcements
- Canon’s upcoming hybrid lenses: Amid the announcement of the RF 35mm f/1.4 L, Canon slid in an announcement that they’re working on a new line of hybrid prime lenses. The 35mm f/1.4 L is the first, sporting a dedicated aperture ring and an optical design that minimizes focus breathing. What will the rest look like? Maybe we’ll finally see a 50mm f/1.4 L and 85mm f/1.4 for the RF system. Personally, I’m hoping for a 24mm f/1.4 L, too. (The 24mm and 50mm are rumored; see the Rumor Mill below.)
- Other Canon announcements: This week also saw the introduction of Canon’s first traditional cine-style camera with an RF mount – the EOS C400 – and a refresh of one of their high-end cinema lenses, the 17-120mm T2.95-3.9. Even if you have no interest in video, the new sensor on the EOS C400, which has a triple base ISO (800, 3200, and 12,800) may interest you. It’s possible that similar technology could find its way into your mirrorless camera one day. Oh, and Canon also released a new flash, the EL-10 speedlight. It looks like a good medium budget option to me.
- Panasonic’s new GH7 camera: I guess the word of the week was “hybrid,” because Panasonic joined Canon with a dual stills/video camera announced this week. Jason has covered the flagship Panasonic GH7 in detail in his announcement article, but in short, it’s a 25-megapixel Micro Four Thirds camera with 5.7K raw video, phase detection autofocus, and a real-time LUT feature for videographers. If you only shoot stills, the $2200 price might seem high – but for video, it’s a pretty complete package.
The Rumor Mill
Lots of chatter but no major leaks for the Nikon Z6 III
Will we see the Nikon Z6 III this month? That’s what Nikon Rumors seems to think. Not much has changed about the basic expectations of the camera for a while – rumors still say 24 MP, 6K raw video, and an improved autofocus system – but we’re marching closer and closer to the announcement. The most recent rumor says that it will be announced on June 11th (plus or minus a day) or on June 18th (plus or minus a day). Which will it be? Only one way to find out.
Via Nikon Rumors
A wishlist that might come true for Canon photographers
Even though Canon was pretty busy this week, rumors suggest that the rest of 2024 will be on another level. Canon Rumors is reporting a number of products that we can hope to see in the second half of the year: the EOS R1 (they expect it to ship in November or later), the EOS R5 Mark II (they’re “extremely confident” it will be announced in July), the EOS R6 Mark III (maybe), an EOS C70 replacement, an internally-zooming 70-200mm f/2.8 (expected announcement this month), and 24mm f/1.4 and 50mm f/1.4 hybrid lenses. If all of this really does appear in the next six or seven months, I’d be pretty impressed!
Via Canon Rumors
Two new action cameras on the horizon
Earlier today, GoPro registered a new model, giving it the moniker “CPSS1.” No details are known about it – but I wonder if Insta360 didn’t want to cede the spotlight, because just a couple of hours later, one of their upcoming cameras leaked online. It’s going to be called the Insta360 GO 3s and should be an upgraded, 4K version of their current GO 3. Leaked images show a very similar form factor to the existing model.
Via Photo Rumors
Good Deals and New Sales
The biggest deal this week is Canon’s extensive sale of cameras and lenses. An added feature of this sale is that B&H customers with the Payboo card get an additional 5% off (this on top of the sales tax refund). Keep in mind that Payboo is only a deal if you pay the full balance of the card each month – the high interest rate makes it a bad choice for monthly payments. But if you bear that in mind, these are some of the best discounts we’ve seen on Canon gear in recent memory.
Standouts include the EOS R8 (was $1500, now $1200), EOS R6 II (was $2500, now $2000), EOS R5 (was $3400, now $2900), and a variety of lenses. If you’ve been meaning to buy anything in the Canon world, this sale is a good time to do it.
Other Pages of Interest
For your weekly dose of inspiration, take a look at the winning photos from this year’s UN World Oceans Day photography competition. The winners include photos of divers, marine species, and people who make a living by the sea. Unlike many photo competitions, it strikes me that the awarded photographs here are realistic and moving without feeling overprocessed.
In some sad news this week, the astronaut who took one of the most famous images of all time – Earthrise, by Bill Anders – died this week in a plane crash at the age of 90. I’m sure you’ve seen this iconic photo before. It’s a reminder of the beauty of our planet and our place in the universe.
Finally, I think this article – “Adobe Has Made It Too Easy to Hate Them” – is a good read from Petapixel on how Adobe keeps turning photographers and other creatives against them. I count myself among the photographers who relies on Adobe software while simultaneously having a strong distaste for them. That said, the author takes a nuanced approach and does a good job analyzing where the hate is deserved and where it’s overblown.
Photo Theme Challenge, Week #53
Last week’s theme was chaos, and you can see the results in this thread. Thank you to everyone for your submissions! This week’s theme is flight, and you can submit your results in this thread by Saturday, June 15, 2024!
Week #52 Results
Let’s check out some of the shots we received for the “chaos” theme, starting with one from rjbfoto:
I thought this photo was very interesting, because it has a weak sense of order trying to burst from the chaos of this scene. A well-composed shot that shows that chaos can be very visually enticing.
This image from PRG Lagarde shows that chaotic subjects can be captured in a harmonious and deliberate way:
I like that the chaotic nature of the industrial waste has really just become a nice area of texture along the bottom of the frame. The contrast between negative and positive space is very interesting visually. By the way, PRG Lagarde says “For those who would think this is AI, I got the raw file” and shows an unedited version of the image in the original thread :)
Next, we’ve got one from relatively new member HMPtonPL:
This image shows another angle of chaos. The location itself is relatively orderly, but the many reflections from the mirrors lead to a disordered result.
Finally, let’s look at RaduDinu’s photo:
What I find interesting here is a bit of both actual chaos and perceived chaos. The run-down buildings are arranged haphazardly, but how much is the distortion from the camera, and how much is the physical scene itself?
Thanks everyone for submitting their photos in the challenge, and we hope to see more next week in the flight theme.