Photography News: Nikon Z6 III Tomorrow, Nikon’s New Self-Service Site

It’s nice to have “something to photograph when there’s nothing to photograph.” For me, that’s macro photography of oil droplets floating in water. If the weather is bad, or if I’m not inspired by anything nearby, I know that I can always exercise my photography muscles by spending an afternoon taking bubbly abstract photos like the one below.

As I recap this week’s news from the photography world, I’m curious, what are some of your favorite subjects when there’s nothing obvious to photograph?

Recent Announcements

• Canon’s new specialty VR lenses: Having tried the Apple Vision Pro virtual reality headset a few months ago, my takeaway was that the technology was impressive, but there was nothing to do with it – they’d need many more virtual environments and VR movies before I’d buy into such an expensive system. Maybe Canon sees an opening – the dual-fisheye RF-S 7.8mm f/4 is made “for recording spatial video for Apple Vison Pro” and even got a shoutout from Apple at their recent WWDC event. They also announced a dual-fisheye RF-S 3.9mm f/3.5 lens, but for “everyday VR content creation.”
• Astrhori’s probe lens now available: I’ll never understand how “probe lenses” became a viable enough market category for so many of them to appear. But here we are – and for macro photographers who want something truly unorthodox, there’s a new Astrhori 28mm f/13 2x macro probe lens available. This one takes photos at a right angle, and the barrel of the lens can be rotated 360° to change the direction that the front element is facing. It’s available for Nikon Z, Canon RF, Sony E, Leica L, and Canon EF.
• Ulanzi’s first lens: The Chinese camera accessory company Ulanzi has ventured into lenses for the first time with a 27mm f/2.8 APS-C lens for Sony E. What’s noteworthy (apart from the $140 price) is that the lens has autofocus – relatively unusual for a third-party Chinese lens manufacturer. I’d be curious to see what more they release in the next few years.

The Rumor Mill

The Day Before – Nikon Z6 III Edition

Tomorrow morning at 8AM Eastern, Nikon will announce the Z6 III. Petapixel seemingly leaked that the camera will feature 4K/120p video, and Nikon Rumors is beefing with Petapixel about it. Meanwhile, we’ll roll out our full coverage of the Nikon Z6 III soon after it’s announced, including spec comparisons, our team’s opinions, and pre-order links.

Via Nikon Rumors

Panasonic S1H II on the horizon?

A new full-frame camera from Panasonic is expected to be released later this year. Photo Rumors is reporting that it may include the same 60-megapixel sensor that is currently found on the Leica M11 and Q3. (Personally, I believe it could be a mistake for Panasonic’s video-centric camera to have a 60-megapixel sensor, which I feel would be more at home in an S1R II.) Apart from a “Q4” estimated release date, those are all the details we have.

Via Photo Rumors

Sigma clarifies their Canon lens plans

In a show floor interview with Sigma’s CEO, the video-centric website Cined revealed some interesting details about how Sigma plans to expand to the RF mount now that Canon is being more open with their system. For now, Sigma’s goal is to add all of their existing APS-C lenses to the RF system within 2024, but they currently have no plans to release any full-frame lenses in the RF mount.

Via Cined

Good Deals and New Sales

B&H is having some “secret” sales on a variety of Canon equipment – EF, EF-M, and RF. They’re not listing the prices publicly because they fall below Canon’s minimum advertised price. Instead, you need to click to get an email notification for these sales.

The following equipment is on sale in this hidden manner, but it seems like the deals are changing a little every day. If there’s a Canon lens or camera that you’ve been considering, it’s worth checking out B&H to see if it says “send email w/ price.” If it does, you’re in luck.

• Canon 6D Mark II (says $1399, actually $999)
• Canon 1D X Mark III (says $6499, actually $4999)
• Canon EF-M 22mm f/2 (says $199, actually $99)
• Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 (says $549, actually $399)
• Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 (says $879, actually $599)
• Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III (says $2199, actually $1799)
• Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II (says $1999, actually $1599)
• Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 (says $399, actually $299)
• Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L (says $1599, actually $1199)
• Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L II (says $2399, actually $1999)
• Canon RF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-6.3 (says $299, actually $199)
• Canon RF 15-30mm f/4.5-6.3 (says $449, actually $399)
• Canon RF 16mm f/2.8 (says $249, actually $199)
• Canon RF 24mm f/1.8 Macro (says $549, actually $399)
• Canon RF 28mm f/2.8 (says $269, actually $229)
• Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro (says $449, actually $399)
• Canon RF 85mm f/2 Macro (says $549, actually $499)

Other Pages of Interest

Fulfilling a long-time wish among their users, Nikon has announced a self-service repair website that will allow Nikon users to extend the life of their gear without sending it off for expensive fixes. The website will allow photographers to download service manuals, buy parts, and buy tools to fix their camera’s problems at home. I consider this to be a really substantial step on Nikon’s part – it shows a sense of care for their users, and it can’t be easy or cheap to launch such an endeavor. Poking around on the self-service site, the prices seem reasonable and the instructions clear. So far, the only photography-related product that’s supported is the Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR, but more will surely be added over time.

Maybe you’ve heard of recent cases when AI-generated images are entered into photo contests and sometimes even win. Some contests get around this by requesting RAW files, but that’s just a stopgap measure; before long, it likely will be possible to make convincing AI-generated RAWs. However, something we’ve always known at Photography Life is that nothing can replace a good photo. Photographer Miles Astray recently won an AI-generated “art” contest by submitting a real photo of a flamingo!

Photo Theme Challenge, Week #54

Last week’s theme was flight, and you can see the results in this thread. Thank you to everyone for your submissions! This week’s theme is something small, and you can submit your results in this thread by Saturday, June 22, 2024!

Week #53 Results

Let’s check out some of the shots we received for the “flight” theme, starting with W2W3’s Guillemot:

I love the contrast between the solidity of the rock and the wavering flight of the bird, which aligns with the color contrast of warm red over the cooler blue feathers.

Next let’s take a look at one from Tom Pazol:

Here we have a different sort of flight: human-made, contrasted against the calm, blue sea and sky.

With Mark Fulton’s photo, we move to insects:

The shutter speed used here is perfect for showing the movements of these mayflies and the chaotic nature of their flight.

Finally, we’ve got RaduDinu’s photo:

It’s not easy to photograph dragonflies in midair, so congrats to RaduDinu for capturing it! The slightly blurred wings show the incredible speed that’s necessary to keep these insects in flight.

Thanks everyone for submitting their photos in the challenge, and we hope to see more next week in the something small theme.