Photography News: Rumored Telephotos, Memory Card Sales

For the opening photo of this Photography News, I have borrowed the Bolivian Red-fronted Macaw (Ara rubrogenys) from its author Tomas Grim. This magnificent, critically endangered parrot does not nest in tree cavities like its relatives, but on high cliffs. Even there, it is not safe from nearby farmers and exotic bird traders. Think of this photo as a teaser for an upcoming photo book that you will soon be able to see and read. For more news from the 34th week of 2024, you can read below.

Recent Announcements

• ArtraLab Nonikkor-Nocty 50mm f/1.2: With this lens, AstraLab continues its collection imitating classic Nikon lenses from the 1960s and 1980s (although the optical design is different). Their existing 35mm f/1.4 is now joined by a super-fast manual focus 50mm f/1.2. The lens looks just like its namesake from Nikon. The optical construction has 8 elements in 6 groups, an 11-blade aperture, and a classic 52mm filter thread. The lens weighs 560g and can be pre-ordered for $380. It will be available starting in October for the Nikon Z mount and a month later for Sony E and Fuji X.
• Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.7: Lightweight (170g) and portable APS-C lens with autofocus, available for the Sony E mount. The optical design includes 11 elements (4 ED and 3 high refractive) in 9 groups. The metal mount includes a USB-C port for possible firmware updates. The price is just $180.
• Thypoch Simera 50mm f/1.4 ASPH: After the Simera 28mm f/1.4 and 35mm f/1.4 lenses, Thypoch comes up a new, classic 50mm lens. The term “classic” doesn’t only refer to the focal length, but also to the fact that the lens is fully manual and has a look that best matches Leica rangefinders. Interestingly, it has an unusually close focusing distance of 0.45 meters (1.5 feet) for these cameras. Once focusing closer than 0.7 meters, the resistance of the focus ring changes, which is supposed to be the signal for Leica users to switch to the EVF. Other specs include 8 elements in 6 groups (one extra-low dispersion element and three high index elements), 14 blade aperture for circular bokeh, 49mm filter thread, 281-gram weight, and a black or silver finish. Price $749.
• 7Artisans 35mm f/1.4 III: Just a few weeks after the announcement of the Nikon 35mm f/1.4, 7Artisans has released a manual-focus competitor to this lens. In fact, the 7Artisans 35mm f/1.4 is now on its third generation. Compared to the Mark II, a low dispersion (ED) element has been added to the optical construction (7 elements in 5 groups). In addition, the lens now offers a choice between a clicked and de-clicked aperture ring. The minimum focusing distance remains at 0.3m. The weight is 274g and the filter thread is 52mm. Visually, the lens has been given a “modern retro” look with laser-engraved depth of field scale markings on the metal barrel. The lens is available in two colors: traditional black and a new medium-gray titanium silver finish. Price $189.

The Rumor Mill

Canon telephoto unicorn apparently exists

Yes, I’m talking about the highly anticipated Canon RF 200-500mm f/4L IS USM. The post on Canon rumors is a bit like a classic fairy tale introduction in the style of “Once upon a time, beyond the nine mountains and nine rivers lived…”

Specifically, according to a supposedly very reliable source, there are already several photographers testing this lens. And besides! The lens should have some surprises in its optical design. The biggest is a built-in teleconverter. After the success Nikon had with this “small feature,” I personally would be very surprised if Canon lets such a great opportunity slip by. A reasonably fast supertelephoto zoom lens with a built-in teleconverter is a wildlife dream. And when will this dream come true? Maybe this year, maybe the middle of next year. Once upon a time…

Via Canon Rumors

Sony plans to update its 400mm f/2.8

I still have a pretty vivid memory of when Sony announced the FE 400mm f/2.8 GM telephoto lens back in 2018. At the time, it was a similarly big deal as when Nikon introduced its version of this lens three years later. In both cases, it was a breakthrough moment for many sports and wildlife photographers who had been waiting for such a lens for years. And now it seems that Sony is about to introduce a second version next year. In what ways will it be better? We can almost certainly expect a further reduction in the already low weight. The lightweight record set by the Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS suggests that this is one of Sony’s top priorities. Whether Sony will also go the way of built-in tele-converters is not mentioned by the source.

Via Lens Rumors

Nikon will get a third-party 50-400mm f/4.5-6.3 lens

Have you ever heard of a lens with the same focal length range? Yes, you’re right. Sony has had it for a while, and the manufacturer is Tamron. Now it looks like it is time for Nikon users. If the Nikon version is priced the same as the Sony one, it will sell for $1,299 – though in the past, we have seen higher prices for Tamron’s Z-mount lenses. This will offer an interesting alternative to Nikon’s 28-400mm f/4-8, as well as their Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6. Which one should you pick? It’s up to you.

Via Nikon Rumors

Good Deals and New Sales

Our test of the fastest memory cards for Nikon cameras already includes 36 examples. The fastest often means the most expensive, but that’s not always the case. Here’s our pick of the cards that give you the most speed for the least money, at a variety of different capacities. All of the following are on sale as we speak.

CFexpress Type B:

• ProGrade Digital 1.3TB (was $1000, now $700)
• ProGrade Digital 650GB (was  $540, now $378)
• ProGrade Digital 325GB (was $340, now $238)
• Lexar 256GB Professional (was $494, now $380)
• Lexar 512GB Professional (was $530, now $375)
• ProGrade Digital 512GB (was $200, now $150)
• ProGrade Digital 1TB (was $350, now $280)
• ProGrade Digital 2TB (was $690, now $552)
• Angelbird 1TB AV PRO (was $300, now $200)

SDXC UHS-II:

• SanDisk 64GB Extreme PRO (was $107, now $60)
• SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO (was $200, now $120)
• SanDisk 256GB Extreme PRO (was $400, now $190)
• Lexar 512GB Professional 1800x (was $190, now $130)
• Lexar 1TB Professional 1800x (was $350, now $255)

Other Pages of Interest

Tomas Grim, a great scientist – mainly interested in bird ecology, but more and more also an excellent photographer – presents his first photographic publication. And since I had the opportunity to look under the hood at its birth, I can already say that it will be a unique book, containing not only wonderful photographs, but also very interesting and eye-opening text. Did you know, for example, that there are birds that kidnap the young of other “clans” to use them as “house help”? Or that there is a species of bird that mates in the missionary position? I am sure that there are some bird species that you will see in a photograph for the very first time. The book The Bird World Through the Eyes of a Photographer will be available from October 7, 2024.

Iceland is one of the last European wildernesses. Here, nature often shows not only its kind face, but also its brute force. Like this week near the fishing town of Grindavík in the southwest of the island. A mass of molten rock is currently spewing from a fissure about 4 km wide! Scientists predict that the spectacular, but dangerous, spectacle on the Reykjanes peninsula could continue for decades, perhaps centuries. So it looks like there’s no need to rush to get a photo.

I have some more inspiring results from the world of photo contests to share with you. On the website of the Black and White Photo Award, you can see the beautiful showcase of winning images and those that made it to the finals. As expected, the Portrait, Street, and Architecture categories are strong, but I was also very impressed with the images in the Fauna and Flora category. Also, the grand prize winner of The iPhone Photography Awards, “The Boy Meets Shark,” is a lovely black and white photo. Other winning images in that contest are more colorful. Either way, it’s an inspiring collection of what you can get out of a mobile phone.

Photo Theme Challenge, Week #64

Last week’s theme was wind, and you can see the results in this thread. Thank you to everyone for your submissions! This week’s theme is mountains, and you can submit your results in this thread by Saturday, August 31, 2024!

Week #63 Results

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

Here we see the gentle effects of wind on a peaceful sailboat.

Next, let’s check out AndrewGusew’s photo:

We have another set of sailboats, this time silhouetted against the sky.

Finally, let’s see Ronald’s photo:

Here the wind is more stormy, and you can even see the cool effects of it on the water. Nice!

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