The marine iguanas of the Galápagos are actually outstanding creatures. Till my latest go to to the islands, I used to be satisfied they inhabited solely two worlds – the land, the place they bask within the solar, and the ocean, the place they dive for meals. However earlier this week, I witnessed one thing that fully modified my perspective: iguanas can fly! Properly, at the very least with a bit of assist from a Nice Egret. I’m simply undecided if this explicit particular person will handle to cross its newfound aviation abilities all the way down to future generations. Time will inform. For now, although, let’s look again at what the previous week dropped at the world of pictures.
Latest Bulletins
- Laowa 8-15mm f/2.8 FF Zoom Fisheye: A few of you would possibly bear in mind Nikon’s 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5 Fisheye Lens from 2018. At its widest, it supplied a round picture with a 180° angle of view, whereas the lengthy finish delivered a closely distorted fisheye perspective, however with full-frame protection. The brand new Laowa lens follows the identical formulation. Add a minimal focusing distance of 16cm, an optical design of 13 parts in 9 teams, 9 aperture blades, and a weight of 650g. Accessible for E, Z, L, and RF mounts for $699.
- Sigma Aizu Prime Line: This can be a set of twelve skilled, manual-focus cinema lenses protecting focal lengths from 18mm to 125mm, with a 46.3mm picture circle. What makes them particular is a continuing T1.3 aperture shared throughout your entire Aizu line. Of the eight lenses launched within the first wave (from 25mm to 75mm), they share the identical 95mm entrance diameter, comparable size (125mm to 128.8mm), and weight (1.6kg to 1.7kg). Whether or not Sigma can keep this consistency with the upcoming 18mm, 21mm, 100mm, and 125mm fashions stays to be seen. The lenses might be out there beginning August for PL and E-mount at $8,299 every.
- Godox V480C: A TTL flash designed for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, and OM System/Panasonic cameras. The V480C strikes a great stability between output and options. Its energy received’t problem the highest-end flashes, however a Information Variety of 50 (ISO 100, 105mm) is sufficient for many purposes. On the options facet, Godox didn’t make compromises – this flash can function as each transmitter and receiver (2.4 GHz X wi-fi system; 100m vary) with out further transmitters. It helps excessive pace sync as much as 1/8000s, second-curtain sync, stroboscopic mode, ±3 EV publicity compensation, and extra. A completely articulating flash head presents 330° rotation and –7° to 120° tilt. Its 2,200mAh Li-ion battery offers as much as 650 full-power flashes with a recycle time of 1.7s. The controls are dominated by a two-inch color touchscreen. Contemplating all of this, its 361 gram weight (with battery) and compact 166mm × 71mm × 49mm dimensions are fairly respectable. Value: $169.
The Rumor Mill
One other “portrait” lens from Viltrox
After the Viltrox AF 135mm f/1.8 LAB lens, Viltrox is rumored introduce one other addition to the “portrait lens” class on the BildExpo occasion on June 17. This time, it ought to be an 85mm f/1.4 lens, positioned inside Viltrox’s PRO collection (which ranks just under the flagship LAB line). Numerous particulars are already recognized: The optical development is alleged to include 15 parts in 11 teams, together with 3 ED and 9 high-refractive index lenses. The round aperture ought to be constructed from 11 blades. Focusing ought to be attainable from 0.79m. Bodily, the lens will weigh about 800g and take 77mm filters. Pricing continues to be unknown, but it surely’s protected to imagine it should stay fairly affordable. A top-tier 85mm LAB model with an f/1.2 aperture is predicted to comply with someday in 2025.
Through Sony Alpha Rumors
DJI preps new cameras for air, land, and underwater
In all probability as early as this month, DJI ought to introduce three fascinating cameras. One will fly on 4 propellers – the DJI Mini 5 Professional. A second one is designed for a panoramic view of the world, to be known as the Osmo 360. And at last, the following technology of a critical GoPro competitor within the type of the Osmo Motion 6. Talking of which, when you occur to be heading for the Galápagos anytime quickly, don’t repeat my mistake. You’ll want to pack some kind of underwater digicam. You received’t remorse it.
Through Picture Rumors
Canon EOS R6 Mark III – With increased decision then anticipated?
The unique assumption relating to the sensor decision within the EOS R6 Mark III was 24MP. There was even hypothesis that it might be the identical sensor as within the Canon EOS R3. Nevertheless, there are actually indications that the decision worth of the “all-new” sensor might be simply over the 30MP threshold (30-32MP). As for the readout pace, it’s rumored to be someplace between the EOS R1 and EOS R5 Mark II. If Canon manages to set an affordable value (beneath $3000), this might make for a really fascinating, versatile digicam.
Through Canon Rumors
Good Offers and New Gross sales
To date, Samsung’s SSDs have managed to keep away from any main mishaps which may tarnish their fame – not one thing each arduous drive model can declare with a straight face. For those who’re on the lookout for dependable storage in your travels, they’re undoubtedly a stable alternative. My most well-liked capability for a month-long picture journey with a high-resolution digicam just like the Nikon Z9 is 2TB. For those who’re planning to shoot video as effectively, I’d advocate doubling that to a 4TB drive. The IP65-certified T7 Defend SSDs, constructed to deal with even extraordinarily humid environments, are presently out there at $160 for the 2TB model (was $230) and $290 for the 4TB model (was $405).
After a latest expertise, I’ve stopped placing all my eggs in a single basket and now all the time create a replica backup to the second card slot of my digicam. It really works finest when each playing cards are equally quick and have the identical capability. Plus, shopping for two similar playing cards directly typically saves you a bit of cash. Listed below are just a few of my favourite twin-pack offers this week:
Different Pages of Curiosity
Taking an important wildlife picture is difficult sufficient. Capturing one which makes folks giggle? That’s a fair rarer feat. For the previous ten years, the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards has been celebrating precisely these sorts of photographs. When you have a photograph like that in your archives, you possibly can submit it to this 12 months’s contest till June thirtieth. If not, at the very least benefit from the present choice of the funniest wildlife images submitted thus far.
Again in mid-Might, I got here throughout a captivating story from Papua New Guinea. František Vejmělka, a Czech scientist from the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the College of South Bohemia, managed to seize the first-ever {photograph} of the elusive big rat Mallomys istapantap. Measuring 85 cm in size and weighing virtually 2 kilograms, it’s the largest rodent in Australia and Oceania. Regardless of its spectacular dimension, nevertheless, it has been remarkably good at avoiding human consideration. This woolly rat was solely first described in 1989 primarily based on outdated museum specimens, and a dwell one hadn’t been seen in over thirty years. You’ll find the unique Czech article right here, full with an in depth picture gallery. A shorter English model was revealed on PetaPixel final week.
Lastly, I’d prefer to share a guide suggestion that meant rather a lot to me throughout my first journey to Ecuador in 2008 – a guide that sparked my ardour for photographing neotropical birds. The guide is Plumas de Ecuador by the excellent photographer Murray Cooper. If all goes in accordance with plan, I’ll be assembly Murray right here in Ecuador later this week to file an interview about pictures and conservation within the tropical areas of South America. Consider me, there’s nobody higher suited to that dialog on this area.
Picture Theme Problem, Week #105
Final week’s theme was night time, and you’ll see the outcomes on this thread. Thanks to everybody in your submissions! This week’s theme is glowing gentle, and you’ll submit your outcomes on this thread by Saturday, June 14, 2025!
Week #104 Outcomes
Let’s take a look at a few of the pictures we acquired for the “night time” theme, beginning with EisenRa’s picture:
What higher approach to spotlight the night time than present humanity’s most primitive night-time consolation, fireplace?
Bhoward’s picture:
In fact, one other nice facet of night time is the fantastic thing about the night time sky, and Bhoward did an important job right here capturing the Orion Nebula with an 800mm lens!
Lastly, vidmarko’s picture:
The night time acted as an important simplifying system that enables the lanterns right here to face out in a stupendous summary sample. Good work!
Thanks everybody for submitting their images within the problem, and we hope to see extra subsequent week within the glowing gentle theme.