Photography News: Tilt-Shift Macro Lenses, EOS R6 III Rumors

December was an incredibly exciting month for me, filled with inspiring and eye-opening encounters with some of the most talented wildlife photographers I’ve ever met. The interviews I had the chance to conduct will soon be featured in an upcoming Online Workshop of ours. In the meantime, let me share one of the most unforgettable moments from the shoot. Last week, Pavel Krásenský discovered and photographed a truly extraordinary phenomenon – a springtail infected by a parasitic fungus. How he managed to find and capture such a tiny creature, just 1mm in size, remains a mystery to me.

Recent Announcements

• Laowa 55mm f/2.8 and Laowa 100mm f/2.8 Tilt-shift 1X Macro: Fully manual tilt-shift macro lens siblings for full-frame mirrorless cameras. Both lenses offer a tilt range of ±10°, a shift range of ±12mm, and a 1:1 magnification ratio. For a closer look, check out the Laowa YouTube channel. Due to the complex construction and materials used, the lenses weigh 1,345g and 1,215g respectively. To accommodate this, both lenses come with their own Arca-Swiss compatible tripod foot. Available for Sony E, Nikon Z, Canon RF, Leica L, and (with restricted tilt/shift movements) medium-format Fuji GFX mounts. Both the 55mm and 100mm lenses are priced the same at $1,249 each.
• Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.7: Lightweight (170g) and relatively compact autofocus lens with an STM motor and EXIF transfer to the camera body. This APS-C lens is compatible with-C Fuji X, Nikon Z, and Sony E mount. The optical design consists of 11 elements in 9 groups (1 ED, 2 high index and 1 aspherical). The metal mount includes a USB-C port for possible future firmware updates. The price is $179.
• Panasonic Lumix ZS99: In defiance of the dominance of smartphones, Panasonic has introduced a point-and-shoot camera with a 20.3MP 1/2.3″ sensor featuring 5-axis Hybrid image stabilization. (For reference, the sensor measures 6.1×4.6mm, resulting in a crop factor of 5.6x.) The built-in Leica DC Vario-Elmar 4.3-129mm f/3.3-4.6 lens provides a full-frame equivalent of a 24-720mm focal lengths. The camera supports both JPEG and RAW image capture, with video recording capabilities up to UHD 4K at 30p (MP4; 100 Mbps) and Full HD at 120fps. Notable features include 4K pre-burst, post-focus, and in-camera focus stacking. The maximum ISO is 6400. The camera’s 3.0-inch display can be tilted to a selfie position. The Lumix ZS 99 is available in black and silver and retails for $498.
• Panasonic Lumix G97 with 12-60mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens: A minor evolutionary upgrade to the Lumix G95 from 2019, this refreshed model differs primarily in two key areas: a higher-resolution rear display (1,840,000 dots vs. 1,040,000 dots) and updated connectivity features. The outdated Micro-USB port has been replaced with USB-C (2.0), which supports charging (unfortunately, it doesn’t allow for continuous power supply during use). Bluetooth 4.2 has been upgraded to the newer 5.0 standard. If these changes aren’t important to you, you could save $150 by opting for the older Lumix G95. The facelifted combo will be available from February 2025 at a price of $848.

The Rumor Mill

Rumored Canon EOS R6 Mark III features

The first quarter of 2025 is expected to bring the third generation of the popular EOS R6 series. The resolution is expected to stay where it is, namely at 24MP (although probably on a stacked sensor). So, what new features will the Mark III bring?

The first novelty is expected to be a new flip/tilt screen, similar to Panasonic and Sony. The current R6 design allows the screen to rotate only after being flipped to the side of the camera body. This design is not ideal for using with an L-bracket. The new hinge design should combine the best of both worlds, allowing the screen to tilt up and down without requiring a side flip.

Another interesting innovation is expected to be Canon’s first implementation of an OLED display for the rear screen, replacing the traditional LCD. This change could provide a significant advantage in extreme cold, where LCD screens, which rely on liquid crystals, often slow down or even freeze entirely. An OLED panel would offer better responsiveness and reliability overall.

Via Canon Rumors

Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN II Art Recall

The following message appeared on the Sigma Global website: “We have confirmed that some SIGMA 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN II | Art lens when focusing on the wide end, may not be able to focus to infinity or may experience reduced focusing accuracy. We would like to inform you that we will begin providing re-adjustment of the focus position free of charge starting today.” However, the recall does not apply to all production of this lens, only certain copies. Follow this link to see if your lens serial number is among those affected.

Via Sigma Global

Good Deals and New Sales

The following Sigma lenses are on sale at B&H Photo until January 12, 2025:

• Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN Contemporary was $659, now $579
• Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG DN OS Sports was $1,499, now $1,249
• Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN Contemporary was $599, now $489
• Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN II Art was $1,199, now $1,029
• Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary was $899, now $709

Great Nikon F-mount exotic telephoto lenses are still on sale at great prices. But not only them – there are some new Z lens sales as well:

• Nikon AF-S 600mm f/4E FL ED VR was $12,297, now $8,697
• Nikon AF-S 400mm f/2.8E FL ED VR was $11,197, now $7,897
• Nikon AF-S 500mm f/4E FL ED VR was $10,297, now $7,297
• Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S was $15,497, now $14,497
• Nikon Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S was $6,497, now $5,697
• Nikon Z 600mm f/6.3 VR S was $4,797, now $3,997
• Nikon AF-S 28mm f/1.4E ED was $1,997, now $1,397
• Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S was $2,497, now $1,997
• Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 S was $1,347, now $1,047
• Nikon Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S Macro Lens was $1,047, now $847
• Nikon AF-S 105mm f/1.4E ED was $2,097, now $1,897
• Nikon Z 35mm f/1.8 S was $847, now $597

Finally, we’ve got some PC and software deals this week:

• Apple 14″ MacBook Pro Space Gray (was $2,299, now $1,699) powered by Apple M3 8-Core Chip with 24GB Unified RAM, 10-Core GPU and 1TB SSD storage.
• Microsoft 15″ Surface Laptop Copilot+ (was $2,099, now $1,549) powered by a Snapdragon X Elite 12-Core processor with 32GB of LPDDR5x memory and replaceable 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD.
• Apple Mac mini (was $2,699, now $2,299) powered by Apple M2 Pro 12-Core CPU with 32GB Unified RAM, 19-Core GPU and 2TB SSD storage.
• Until January 2, 2025, you can save 25% on DxO software when you buy or upgrade two products. My personal favorites are DxO PureRAW4 and Nik Collection. Another interesting option is to choose PhotoLab8 (PureRAW is part of it) and combine it with either Nik Collection or FilmPack.

Other Pages of Interest

Nikon has recently released a new firmware update 5.1 for the Nikon Z9. If you don’t feel like reading through the list of fixes and improvements it brings, you can check out this forum post from Darin Marcus or the Nikon Europe YouTube channel where Ricci Chera sums it all up for you.

Birds can sometimes elude human attention for decades, or even centuries. A recent example is the rediscovery of the Santa Marta Sabrewing, which had been missing for 76 years. Even more astonishing, the Black-naped Pheasant-pigeon remained undetected for an incredible 126 years! Unfortunately, not every story has a happy ending. A recently published study confirmed that our planet has lost the Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris) forever. On the website Curlew Action you can see its last photographs and videos.

And now to more optimistic topics, namely the results of photography competitions. The overall winners of the prestigious Nature Photographer of the Year are the siblings of Snow Leopard, respectively Paolo Della Rocca, who photographed them in the Indian Spiti Valley. Surprisingly, the winning photograph of The International Wedding Photographer of the Year was taken in similarly freezing conditions. Congratulations to Bettina Vass for her photograph, and to the bride who survived the cold of an ice cave in Iceland in her wedding dress.

And finally, take a look at Alan Schaller’s invitation to the backstage of the Leica’s headquarters in Wetzlar, Germany.

Photo Theme Challenge, Week #81

Last week’s theme was window, and you can see the results in this thread. Thank you to everyone for your submissions! This week’s theme is 2024, and you can submit your results in this thread by Saturday, December 28, 2024!

Week #80 Results

Let’s check out some of the shots we received for the “window” theme, starting with AndrewGusew’s photo:

Here we see that window does not have to refer to a literal window made of glass, and instead, the beautiful archway of ice forms a different kind of window.

Next we have vidmarko’s photo:

The dynamic range difference of the light inside and out perfectly emphasizes a window full of character.

Finally, we have Mauro70’s photo:

Now, the main emphasis is no longer on the window, but who can be seen through it!

Thanks everyone for submitting their photos in the challenge, and we hope to see more next week in the 2024 theme.