Photography News: Sigma Sensor Rumor, Nikon Lens Price Raise

As photographers, do you have a dream image that you would like to capture? A photo that you have in your head and can’t make it real? Every time I finally sit on a plane, calm down and switch into travel mode, images rush through my head.

My dream photo is a wide-angle, front-view of a Harpy Eagle in the final stage of a hunt. Oh, and that beautiful morning backlight, shining through the wide-open wings of the Harpy, making it look like a mythical angel of death. But now, stop daydreaming and let’s dive into this week’s Photography News. Maybe you’ll find some inspiration in it.

Recent Announcements

• Rokinon 85mm f/1.4 AF II: Fast f/1.4 and relatively light (509g) lens for Sony E-mount. Changes compared to the first generation are the use of a stepping motor for autofocus (originally ultrasonic linear), customizable AF Lock button, and customizable switch (preorder for $799.00).
• Exascend Essential CFexpress Type A: Not the fastest (write speed 700MB/s), but with a maximum capacity of 240GB currently the largest CFexpress Type A card on the market. Sony A1 and A7s III users take note.
• DxO PureRAW 2 update: Now 10% faster with Apple’s latest processors, but more importantly, it adds support for new cameras (Canon EOS R7 and R10, Leica M11 and more) and lenses (Sony 400/2.8 owners can celebrate).

The Rumor Mill

Sigma’s three-layer X3 Foveon sensor

In a recently published interview, Sigma CEO Kazuto Yamaki confirmed that Sigma has been working on a full-frame Foveon sensor. The features of the sensor are not yet known, but judging by the other Foveon sensors, it will have great image quality and color reproduction at low ISOs. Some rumors suggest it’s likely to be 60 megapixels (or 20 per layer, outputting 20 MP photos with full color detail at each pixel).

Via: Sigma Photo

Price of Sigma Art twins 20mm & 24mm announced

As I reported a few weeks ago, Sigma is about to introduce a pair of Art lenses: 20mm and 24mm with the lowest aperture f/1.4. This week, we learned the date of the introduction (August 8th at 13:00 London time) and a potential price.The 20mm f/1.4 will be about $1100, and its 24mm f/1.4 sibling will be about $950.

Via: Sony Alpha Rumors

Photo Contest Corner

European Photography Awards 2022

• Topic: Multi Categories
• Fees: €30/image for professional and €25/image for amateur/student categories
• Prize: €3,000 (Professional Category), €2,000 (Amateur Category)
• Deadline: August 3

“Nature” Photography Competition

• Topic: Nature and Wildlife
• Fees: $12 to $36 (up to 6 entries)
• Prize: Up to $10,000 to the Top Three Photographers
• Deadline: August 7

Focus: Shadow and Light

• Topic: Shadow and Light (Fine Art)
• Fees: $40 per entry (an entry includes up to 5 photos)
• Prize: Exhibition: Black Box Gallery takes a 50% commission on all sales, 50% goes to the photographer.
• Deadline: August 12

Good Deals and New Sales

As the low-light capabilities of cameras have improved, the role of flashes has become less relevant for low-light environments and more relevant for sculpting artificial-light images. Or, to put it another way, they have evolved from atmosphere killers to atmosphere creators. But this is only feasible with off-camera flash. For Fujifilm camera users, B&H Photo is now offering the Godox VING V860II flash with Wireless Trigger set for $238.00 (savings of $60).

If you don’t already use any of Topaz’s photo editing programs, now might be the time. Topaz Labs currently offers a trio of the most useful apps in one bundle. For the price of $159.99 ($99.98 off retail value) you get DeNoise AI, Gigapixel AI, Sharpen AI + 1 year of unlimited upgrades. With promo code IQBUNDLE15 you get an additional 15% discount. The offer is valid until August 12. Via Photo Rumors.

Unfortunately, the last message in this section is not about an interesting discount, but about an increase in price. Nikon USA will be raising the prices of eleven of their lenses and CFexpress memory card starting August 1st. If you react quickly, you have a chance to save up to $100. The list of applicable lenses is:

• Nikon Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 ($10 increase)
• Nikon Z DX 18-140mm f/3.5-6.3 ($40 increase)
• Nikon Z DX 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3 ($30 increase)
• Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 ($100 increase)
• Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 ($50 increase)
• Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 ($100 increase)
• Nikon Z 28mm f/2.8 (SE only) ($10 increase)
• Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 ($30 increase)
• Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 ($100 increase)
• Nikon Z 105mm f/2.8 Macro ($50 increase)

Other Pages of Interest

• Last week Canon released new firmware v1.2.0 for its current flagship R3. However, it seems not everything went right with the new firmware, Canon has temporarily pulled it. If you have already downloaded it, you shouldn’t install it; best to wait until Canon releases a new, bug-free version.
• In my wildlife photography workshops, I advise my students to be extra cautious when photographing birds near nests. Until now, it has been thought that the presence of humans disturbs nesting birds, drawing the attention of potential predators and thus decreasing the chances of successful nesting. However, this article completely breaks the current understanding of the matter. For at least one bird species, things may be different. The presence of photographers has greatly increased the breeding success of Nonggang Babblers. In order to rewrite the textbooks, the experiment would need to be replicated with multiple species, in multiple locations. I am afraid, however, that this experiment would cost many chicks their lives. So, you’d still better be extra cautious.
• A good photo can be worth a thousands words. There are photographs that have contributed to the end of wars or at least turned the attention of an uncaring world to the suffering of nameless people on the other side of the planet. There are photographs that probably everyone knows, regardless of whether one is a photographer or not. Who of us wouldn’t know NASA’s Man on the Moon or Steve McCurry’s Afghan Girl? Let’s take a look at Top 100 Of The Most Influential Photos Of All Time.