Photography News: Canon 24mm and 50mm f/1.4 Rumors, Laptop Sales

Although it didn’t look like it at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris on Friday, a heat wave continues in most parts of the world. If you’re wondering where to escape, consider dipping your head in cold water, like the White-throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus). Then, with a cool head, enjoy the next issue of our Photography News.

Recent Announcements

• TTArtisan APS-C 10mm f/2 ASPH: An ultra-wide-angle APS-C, manual focus lens equivalent to 15mm on full-frame. Its design and focal length are reminiscent of the Fisheye Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8G ED. However, unlike that lens, it offers “near-zero distortion.” With the included filter holder, the lens can also be used with standard 72mm screw-in filters. The lens weighs 333 g to 345 g depending on mount. Available for Sony E, Fuji X, Nikon Z, Canon RF, and Micro Four Thirds. Priced at $160.
• Jupio Tri-Charge: Most camera battery chargers only charge one battery at a time. But in power-hungry genres like wildlife or time-lapse photography, you may end up with several dead batteries at the end of the day. Jupio’s battery charger and case, which can charge up to three batteries simultaneously, solves this problem. Unlike a regular charger, it can send power in both directions, so it also works as a power bank. The last interesting feature is the slot for SD, microSD and CFexpress memory cards. Available in versions for Nikon EN-EL 15, Canon LP-E6, Sony NP-FZ100 and now also for Panasonic DMW-BLK22 and Fujifilm NP-W235. Price $130.
• Polaroid Now Generation 2 – Eames Edition: The traditional instant camera brand has continued its old alliance with the renowned design studio Eames Office. The fruit of this alliance is a facelift of the existing Now Generation 2 camera, which features an “Elephant Hide Gray” color (I’d call it dark gray) and a colorful wrist strap with a triangular pattern inspired by the famous Eames Toy design. Other specs remain unchanged: self-timer and double exposure modes, 2-lens autofocus system, rechargeable with USB-C and compatible with Polaroid i-Type & 600 film. Price is $130.

The Rumor Mill

Nikon expected to put eight F-mount lenses on sale

It has been a long and incredibly successful story, but nothing lasts forever. Nikon’s F-mount has been around since 1959. During its existence, Nikon made more than 100 million lenses. But at 65, it’s reaching the age where it’s time to wind down and retire. On that note, eight of Nikon’s superstar F-mount lenses are expected to go on a deep discount next week. This includes most of the supertelephoto exotics along with the 28mm, 58mm and 85mm f/1.4 primes.

Via Nikon Rumors

Nikon yellow mixed with RED video

In an interview for Nippon, Nikon president Muneaki Tokunari touched on the topic of Nikon and RED’s technological integration. (As a reminder, Nikon bought the US-based company earlier this year for a sum of $85 million.) President Tokunari said in the interview that “video performance is required in recent years” and further stated that “Japan’s Nikon Corp. aims to expand its camera market share by utilizing the video technologies of a U.S. film camera company it acquired in the spring.” However, we are probably years away from seeing a new camera from a collaboration between the two companies. In the short term, we can expect some software improvements or support for RED codecs in current Nikon cameras.

Via Nikon Rumors

A trio of fast hybrid primes from Canon

Canon and Nikon recently released 35mm f/1.4 lenses one after the other. Canon went high-end and aimed for the video market, while Nikon went for a budget pricing. Now, Canon seems likely to prepare another pair of lenses in the same lineup: a 24mm f/1.4 and 50mm f/1.4. These two lenses are expected to be designed with video in mind (namely a physical aperture ring and optimized focus breathing). If the lenses materialize, it would mean that after 31 long years, Canon would finally have a successor to the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM, which is still available today.

Via Canon Rumors

Good Deals and New Sales

They say home is where you hang your hat. I would modestly expand the minimum requirements for home to include a camera and a laptop. Anyway, on a recent hike, I came across a shelter in the middle of the beautiful countryside that had an electrical outlet powered by solar panels. Beautiful views over the surrounding hills! Just two square meters of paradise! And what kind of laptop would I take to paradise? I’ve picked out a few that are currently available at a good price and, of course, are suitable for photo editing.

Operating system macOS:

• Apple 16″ MacBook Pro M2 Pro (was $2,499, now $1,999)
• Apple 14″ MacBook Pro M2 Pro (was $2,499, now $1,999)
• Apple 16″ MacBook Pro M3 Pro (was $2,899, now $2,499)
• Apple 16″ MacBook Pro M3 Max (was $3,999, now $3,599)
• Apple 16″ MacBook Pro M3 Max (was $3,499, now $3,099)

Operating system Windows:

• Lenovo 16″ Legion 9i (was $4,400, now $3,299)
• Lenovo 16″ Legion Pro 7i (was $2,849, now $2,099)
• Microsoft 14.4″ Surface Laptop Studio 2 (was  $3,249, now $2,749)
• Acer 15.6″ Predator Helios 3D 15 Gaming Laptop SpatialLabs Edition (was $3,669, now $2,769)

Find of the week: Nikkor-N 5cm (50mm) f/1.1 lens for Nikon’s old rangefinder system, recently added on KEH – Released in 1956 and one of the fastest lenses in the world at the time. Nikon’s competitor to the Leica 50mm Noctilux!

Other Pages of Interest

North America is home to an incredibly interesting group of snakes that have several unique characteristics, namely, rattlesnakes. Between their eyes and nostrils, they have very precise thermoreceptors that can detect the heat of prey even in total darkness. Although rattlesnakes (and snakes in general) have relatively poor hearing, they nonetheless make good use of sound by warning away potential predators with their rattle. You can watch their fascinating lives 24 hours a day on the RattleCam website. There are two special cameras in Colorado and California that capture the lives of these interesting creatures.

If you prefer feathered animals instead, I have an invitation to a pair of nests for you. In the north of the Czech Republic, there is a village called Mladé Buky, and in the middle of it, there is a chimney with a live feed of a Stork’s nest. The chicks have already learned to fly, but they seem to be staying around for now. Meanwhile, in the Niagara region of North America, a live feed shows a pair of Ospreys in their nest. Also on this nest, the chicks are already training hard for their first flight. Will you see them when they try?

Markéta Navrátilová is one of the best current Czech sports photographers, whom I personally associate most with photographing cycling. She was the first female photographer in history to photograph cyclists from a motorcycle during the Tour de France. Last Sunday marked the end of the 111th edition of the Tour de France, so it’s the perfect time to remember this figure who has been documenting the event for a quarter of a century.

Photo Theme Challenge, Week #60

Last week’s theme was intersecting lines, and you can see the results in this thread. Thank you to everyone for your submissions! This week’s theme is partially hidden, and you can submit your results in this thread by August 3, 2024!

Week #59 Results

As someone who studied mathematics, I was particularly interested in the “intersecting lines” theme. Let’s check out the submissions, starting with vidmarko’s photo:

Here the intersecting lines come together at a variety of points, and they represent the most delicate of intersections.

Ronald provides a very different view of intersections:

Here there is more of a chaos of intersections that showers us with color.

Finally, we have PRG Lagarde’s photo:

Here the intersections seem rather haphazard and yet come together to form a regular pattern anyway!

Thanks everyone for submitting their photos in the challenge, and we look forward to seeing more next week in the partially hidden theme.