December was an incredibly exciting month for me, filled with inspiring and eye-opening meetings with some of the most talented wildlife photographers I have ever met. The interviews I had the opportunity to conduct will soon be featured in our upcoming online workshop. In the meantime, I would like to share one of the most unforgettable moments of the shoot. last week, pavel krasensky Discovered and photographed a truly extraordinary phenomenon – springtails infected with a parasitic fungus. How he managed to find and capture such a tiny creature of only 1 mm 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 sibling for full-frame mirrorless cameras. Both lenses offer a tilt range of ±10°, a shift range of ±12 mm, and a 1:1 magnification ratio. For a closer look, check this out laova youtube channelDue to the complex construction and materials used, the lenses weigh 1,345 grams and 1,215 grams respectively. To accommodate this, both lenses come with their own Arca-Swiss compatible tripod feet. Available for Sony E, Nikon Z, Canon RF, Leica L, and (with restricted tilt/shift movements) medium-format Fuji GFX mounts. Both 55mm And 100mm Each lens costs the same $1,249.
- Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.7: Lightweight (170 g) and relatively compact autofocus lens with an STM motor and EXIF ​​transfer in the camera body. This APS-C lens is compatible with C-C Fuji X, Nikon Z and Sony E mounts. 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. Price is $179.
- Panasonic Lumix ZS99: Challenging the smartphone dominance, 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-Elmer 4.3-129mm f/3.3-4.6 lens offers a full-frame equivalent of a 24-inch lens. 720mm focal length. The camera supports both JPEG and RAW image capture, with video recording capabilities up to UHD 4K at 30p (MP4; 100Mbps) and Full HD at 120fps. Notable features include 4K pre-burst, post-focus, and in-camera focus stacking. Maximum ISO is 6400. The camera’s 3.0-inch display can be tilted into a selfie position. The Lumix ZS 99 is available in black and silver colors and is available for retail sale $498,
- Panasonic Lumix G97 With a 12-60mm f/3.5-5.6 lens: A slight evolutionary upgrade of the Lumix G95 from 2019, this refreshed model differs mainly in two key areas: a higher-resolution rear display (1,840,000 dots vs. 1,040,000 dots) and Updated connectivity features. The old micro-USB port has been replaced with USB-C (2.0), which supports charging (unfortunately, it does not allow continuous power supply during use). Bluetooth 4.2 has been upgraded to the new 5.0 standard. If these changes aren’t important to you, you can save $150 by choosing the old one lumix g95The facelifted combo will be available from February 2025 at a price of Rs. $848,
rumor factory
Canon EOS R6 Mark III features rumored
It is expected to bring the third generation of the popular EOS R6 series in the first quarter of 2025. The resolution is expected to remain where it is, i.e. at 24MP (although possibly 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 flipping it to the side of the camera body. This design is not ideal for use with L-brackets. The new hinge design should combine the best of both worlds, allowing the screen to tilt up and down without the need for 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 freeze completely. An OLED panel will provide better response and reliability overall.
through 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 | The art lens may not be able to focus to infinity or may experience a reduction in focusing accuracy when focusing at the wide end. We would like to inform you that we will start providing free adjustment of focus position from today. However, the recall does not apply to all production of this lens, only a few copies. Follow this link to see if your lens serial number is among those affected.
through Sigma Global
Good deals and new sales
The following Sigma lenses are on sale at B&H Photo through January 12, 2025:
Great Nikon F-mount exotic telephoto lenses are still on sale at great prices. But not only those – some new Z lenses are also on sale:
- 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 an Apple M3 8-core chip with 24GB of unified RAM, 10-core GPU, and 1TB of SSD storage.
- Microsoft 15″ Surface Laptop CoPilot+ (Was $2,099, now $1,549) is powered by a Snapdragon
- apple mac mini (Was $2,699, now $2,299) Powered by an Apple M2 Pro 12-core CPU with 32GB of unified RAM, 19-core GPU, and 2TB of SSD storage.
- You can save 25% through January 2, 2025 dxo software When you purchase 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 Nik Collection or FilmPack.
Other pages of interest
Nikon has recently released a new Firmware Update 5.1 For Nikon Z9. If you don’t feel like reading the list of fixes and improvements, you can check out This forum post Darin Marcus or Se NIKON EUROPE YOUTUBE CHANNEL Where Rikki Chera summarizes everything for you.
Birds can sometimes escape human attention for decades or even centuries. A recent example of this is reinvention Santa Marta SabrewingWho was missing for 76 years. What is even more surprising is that black-haired partridge-pigeon Remained unknown for an incredible 126 years! Unfortunately, not every story has a happy ending. recently published Study It has been confirmed that our planet has lost the Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris) forever. on the website curlew action You can see its last pictures and videos.
And now to more optimistic topics, namely the results of photography competitions. Overall Winner of the Award Nature Photographer of the Year Paolo Della Rocca, respectively, are siblings of snow leopards who photographed them in the Indian Spiti Valley. Surprisingly, the winning photo is from The International Wedding Photographer of the Year Was taken in similar cold conditions. Congratulations to Bettina Vass for her photo, and to the bride who survived the cold of the ice cave in Iceland in her wedding dress.
And finally, take a look at Alan Schaller’s invitation backstage leica headquarters In Wetzlar, Germany.
Photo Theme Challenge, Week #81
last week’s topic was windowand you can see the results in this threadThanks everyone for your presentations! This week’s topic is 2024and you can submit your results in this thread Until Saturday, December 28, 2024!
week #80 results
Let’s look at some of the shots we received for the “Window” theme, starting with Andrugusev’s photo:
Here we see that the window is not literally a window made of glass, and instead, the beautiful archway of ice forms a different kind of window.
Next we have vidmarko’s photo:
The difference in dynamic range of light inside and outside perfectly emphasizes a window full of character.
Finally, we have Mauro70’s photo:
Now the main emphasis is not on the window but on what can be seen from it!
Thank you to everyone for submitting your photos to the challenge, and we look forward to seeing more photos next week 2024 Subject.
