Before you dive into this week’s photography news, let me ask you a question. How often do you take out your camera? Documentary photographer Jindřich Štreit said that “The art of photography is like playing the violin. You have to practice every day to achieve virtuosity, and if you put your instrument away and return to it only sometimes, the spark is lost. It’s like the training of a top athlete.”
I hope that inspires you to go out and shoot today. I took this advice to heart, and in the worst light of day (around 2pm) practiced on this fascinating creature – caterpillar of giant peacock moth.
Recent Announcements
- Viltrox NF-Z autofocus lens adapter: Significantly cheaper alternative ($139) to the original Nikon Mount Adapter FTZ II ($249.95), although it also doesn’t focus with AF-D lenses.
- Nikon Z9 firmware update version 2.1: It promises stickier AF to subjects filling a smaller viewfinder area, and it offers a solution to reduce flickering in artificial light. Available for download here.
- Venus Optics Laowa 12-24mm f/5.6: Fully manual zoom lens for full-frame mirrorless cameras with Leica M / Sony E / Nikon Z / Canon RF mount. Preorder here.
- Leica-Xiaomi phone with 1″-type sensor: The collaboration between Leica and Xiaomi brings its first fruits. With a massive (for a phone) 1-inch type sensor, the Xiaomi 12S phone may have some of the best image quality ever for a smartphone.
The Rumor Mill
New Sigma Art Wide-angle Lenses Coming Soon
Sigma should soon announce two new members to its popular Art lens family. This time, they should be of most interest to landscape photographers, astrophotographers, or those who like to shoot reportage at very close range. Both the 20mm and 24mm lenses will have the same f/1.4 aperture and 82mm and 72mm filter threads. The detailed rumors even have the weights of the lenses: 635 g (for the 20mm) and 520 g (for the 24mm).
Via: Photo Rumors
New XT Camera from Phase One?
A new teaser that Phase One has posted on its YouTube channel urges us to stay tuned. To what, exactly, is still a question. Is there a new XT camera coming? Or is Phase One “just” preparing some new accessories? Rumors suggest that it may be a new camera with tilt capabilities. Well, there’s nothing to do but wait and see.
Via: Phase One
Photo Contest Corner
- Topic: Portrait
- Fees: $20 for two entries
- Prize: Certificate and Exhibition
- Deadline: July 13
Better Photography Magazine Photographer of the Year 2022
- Topic: emotive portraiture, classic landscapes, exotic travel, revealing nature
- Fees: AUS $20 per photo (pay four and the fifth is free)
- Prize: AUS $2000 Cash for the overall winner, AUS $750 for category winners
- Deadline: July 15
- Topic: 20 categories
- Fees: $20/single entry (professional), $15/single entry (amateur)
- Prize: $2000 for professional winner and $1|}{?00 for amateur winner
- Deadline: July 17 (early deadline)
Good Deals and New Sales
Amazon Prime Day 2022 with its camera deals is almost here. This Tuesday, July 12th, Amazon will start offering interesting deals on (not only) photography equipment. The event runs until midnight on Wednesday 13. However, in order to take advantage of Amazon Prime Day, registration for Amazon Prime membership is required first.
Other Pages of Interest
- Is the cabinet in your living room looking empty? Then you might find the following auction interesting. A private owner based in Barcelona, Spain is holding an auction for his collection of 405 vintage film cameras from the 19th and 20th centuries. The collection includes brands such as Leica, Rolleiflex, Hasselblad, Zeiss Ikon, Kodak, Pentax, Mamiya, Minolta, Exakta, Contaflex and others. The estimated price for the entire collection is $30,000.
- After the antique cameras, let’s move on to a slightly more advanced device. The first full-color images from the James Webb Space Telescope are scheduled to premiere on July 12. But we can already see the first sample of what this $10B space telescope is capable of. According to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, the new telescope will see farther “than humanity has ever looked before.”
- Even though we can look billions of lightyears into the farthest reaches of the universe, our home planet still holds many secrets. One of the holy grails of wildlife photographers is to photograph a snow leopard in its natural habitat. This apex predator inhabiting the high mountain environment of the Himalayas ranges over a vast territory, which makes tracking and photographing it extremely difficult. Photographer Sascha Fonseca used DSLR camera traps to capture the private life of the most elusive big cat.