December was an extremely thrilling month for me, full of inspiring and eye-opening encounters with a number of the most gifted wildlife photographers I’ve ever met. The interviews I had the prospect to conduct will quickly be featured in an upcoming On-line Workshop of ours. Within the meantime, let me share one of the crucial unforgettable moments from the shoot. Final week, Pavel Krásenský found and photographed a really extraordinary phenomenon – a springtail contaminated by a parasitic fungus. How he managed to seek out and seize such a tiny creature, simply 1mm in dimension, stays a thriller to me.
Latest Bulletins
- Laowa 55mm f/2.8 and Laowa 100mm f/2.8 Tilt-shift 1X Macro: Totally handbook tilt-shift macro lens siblings for full-frame mirrorless cameras. Each lenses provide a tilt vary of ±10°, a shift vary of ±12mm, and a 1:1 magnification ratio. For a more in-depth look, take a look at the Laowa YouTube channel. Because of the advanced development and supplies used, the lenses weigh 1,345g and 1,215g respectively. To accommodate this, each lenses include their very own Arca-Swiss appropriate tripod foot. Accessible for Sony E, Nikon Z, Canon RF, Leica L, and (with restricted tilt/shift actions) medium-format Fuji GFX mounts. Each the 55mm and 100mm lenses are priced the identical at $1,249 every.
- Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.7: Light-weight (170g) and comparatively compact autofocus lens with an STM motor and EXIF switch to the digital camera physique. This APS-C lens is appropriate with-C Fuji X, Nikon Z, and Sony E mount. The optical design consists of 11 components in 9 teams (1 ED, 2 excessive index and 1 aspherical). The metallic mount features a USB-C port for potential future firmware updates. The worth is $179.
- Panasonic Lumix ZS99: In defiance of the dominance of smartphones, Panasonic has launched a point-and-shoot digital camera with a 20.3MP 1/2.3″ sensor that includes 5-axis Hybrid picture stabilization. (For reference, the sensor measures 6.1×4.6mm, leading to a crop issue of 5.6x.) The built-in Leica DC Vario-Elmar 4.3-129mm f/3.3-4.6 lens offers a full-frame equal of a 24-720mm focal lengths. The digital camera helps each JPEG and RAW picture seize, with video recording capabilities as much as UHD 4K at 30p (MP4; 100 Mbps) and Full HD at 120fps. Notable options embody 4K pre-burst, post-focus, and in-camera focus stacking. The utmost ISO is 6400. The digital camera’s 3.0-inch show will be tilted to a selfie place. The Lumix ZS 99 is offered in black and silver and retails for $498.
- Panasonic Lumix G97 with 12-60mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens: A minor evolutionary improve to the Lumix G95 from 2019, this refreshed mannequin differs primarily in two key areas: a higher-resolution rear show (1,840,000 dots vs. 1,040,000 dots) and up to date connectivity options. The outdated Micro-USB port has been changed with USB-C (2.0), which helps charging (sadly, it doesn’t enable for steady energy provide throughout use). Bluetooth 4.2 has been upgraded to the newer 5.0 normal. If these adjustments aren’t vital to you, you would save $150 by choosing the older Lumix G95. The facelifted combo might be out there from February 2025 at a value of $848.
The Rumor Mill
Rumored Canon EOS R6 Mark III options
The primary quarter of 2025 is predicted to convey the third technology of the favored EOS R6 collection. The decision is predicted to remain the place it’s, specifically at 24MP (though most likely on a stacked sensor). So, what new options will the Mark III convey?
The primary novelty is predicted to be a brand new flip/tilt display screen, just like Panasonic and Sony. The present R6 design permits the display screen to rotate solely after being flipped to the aspect of the digital camera physique. This design will not be splendid for utilizing with an L-bracket. The brand new hinge design ought to mix the perfect of each worlds, permitting the display screen to tilt up and down with out requiring a aspect flip.
One other attention-grabbing innovation is predicted to be Canon’s first implementation of an OLED show for the rear display screen, changing the standard LCD. This modification might present a big benefit in excessive chilly, the place LCD screens, which depend on liquid crystals, typically decelerate and even freeze totally. An OLED panel would provide higher responsiveness and reliability general.
Through Canon Rumors
Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN II Artwork Recall
The next message appeared on the Sigma International web site: “We’ve confirmed that some SIGMA 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN II | Artwork lens when specializing in the huge finish, might not be capable of focus to infinity or might expertise decreased focusing accuracy. We want to inform you that we are going to start offering re-adjustment of the main target place freed from cost beginning at this time.” Nonetheless, the recall doesn’t apply to all manufacturing of this lens, solely sure copies. Observe this hyperlink to see in case your lens serial quantity is amongst these affected.
Through Sigma International
Good Offers and New Gross sales
The next Sigma lenses are on sale at B&H Picture till January 12, 2025:
Nice Nikon F-mount unique telephoto lenses are nonetheless on sale at nice costs. However not solely them – there are some new Z lens gross sales as nicely:
- 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
Lastly, we’ve acquired some PC and software program offers this week:
- Apple 14″ MacBook Professional Area Grey (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″ Floor Laptop computer Copilot+ (was $2,099, now $1,549) powered by a Snapdragon X Elite 12-Core processor with 32GB of LPDDR5x reminiscence and replaceable 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD.
- Apple Mac mini (was $2,699, now $2,299) powered by Apple M2 Professional 12-Core CPU with 32GB Unified RAM, 19-Core GPU and 2TB SSD storage.
- Till January 2, 2025, it can save you 25% on DxO software program if you purchase or improve two merchandise. My private favorites are DxO PureRAW4 and Nik Assortment. One other attention-grabbing possibility is to decide on PhotoLab8 (PureRAW is a part of it) and mix it with both Nik Assortment or FilmPack.
Different Pages of Curiosity
Nikon has lately launched a brand new firmware replace 5.1 for the Nikon Z9. If you happen to don’t really feel like studying by means of the checklist of fixes and enhancements it brings, you possibly can take a look at this discussion board publish from Darin Marcus or the Nikon Europe YouTube channel the place Ricci Chera sums all of it up for you.
Birds can typically elude human consideration for many years, and even centuries. A current instance is the rediscovery of the Santa Marta Sabrewing, which had been lacking for 76 years. Much more astonishing, the Black-naped Pheasant-pigeon remained undetected for an unimaginable 126 years! Sadly, not each story has a cheerful ending. A lately printed examine confirmed that our planet has misplaced the Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris) eternally. On the web site Curlew Motion you possibly can see its final pictures and movies.
And now to extra optimistic subjects, specifically the outcomes of pictures competitions. The general winners of the distinguished Nature Photographer of the 12 months are the siblings of Snow Leopard, respectively Paolo Della Rocca, who photographed them within the Indian Spiti Valley. Surprisingly, the successful {photograph} of The Worldwide Wedding ceremony Photographer of the 12 months was taken in equally freezing circumstances. Congratulations to Bettina Vass for her {photograph}, and to the bride who survived the chilly of an ice collapse Iceland in her marriage ceremony gown.
And eventually, check out Alan Schaller’s invitation to the backstage of the Leica’s headquarters in Wetzlar, Germany.
Picture Theme Problem, Week #81
Final week’s theme was window, and you’ll see the outcomes on this thread. Thanks to everybody to your submissions! This week’s theme is 2024, and you’ll submit your outcomes on this thread by Saturday, December 28, 2024!
Week #80 Outcomes
Let’s take a look at a number of the photographs we obtained for the “window” theme, beginning with AndrewGusew’s picture:
Right here we see that window doesn’t must seek advice from a literal window fabricated from glass, and as an alternative, the attractive archway of ice varieties a unique sort of window.
Subsequent we’ve vidmarko’s picture:
The dynamic vary distinction of the sunshine inside and outside completely emphasizes a window stuffed with character.
Lastly, we’ve Mauro70’s picture:
Now, the principle emphasis is now not on the window, however who will be seen by means of it!
Thanks everybody for submitting their images within the problem, and we hope to see extra subsequent week within the 2024 theme.