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OWC add faster Gen 4 spec to certain Atlas CFexpress Type B cards
Further to the report a couple of weeks ago about ProGrade Digital’s introduction of a new 1.3TB CFexpress Gen 4 spec Type B memory card, US-maker OWC announced late last week that they’ve added the same CFA 4.0 (Gen 4) spec to a range of their Atlas Pro and Atlas Ultra cards. The new Atlas Pro 256GB, Atlas Pro 512GB, Atlas Ultra 1TB, and Atlas Ultra 2TB cards now feature PCIe Gen 4 technology to enable (maximum) 3650MB/s read and 3000MB/s write speeds, a claimed 97% increase from the previous generation cards. With the new Gen 4 Atlas Pro 256GB selling at $169.99 and Atlas Pro 512GB at $199.99 they’re…
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Canon reveals new ultra-wide zoom: the RF 10-20mm F4L IS STM
Canon today announced the RF 10-20mm F4L IS STM, their intended replacement of the EF 11-24mm F4L USM and the third L-series RF lens that covers the UWA 14-20mm range. What sets this lens apart from its EF predecessor is its small size (112mm vs 132mm in length) and lighter weight (570g vs 1180g). Besides the inherent portability, the new RF lens has IS and features ‘peripheral coordination control’ when used with supported cameras. Currently, this is limited to the EOS R5, however, when used handheld at slow speeds it’s claimed the algorithm-based ‘peripheral coordination control’ mitigates areas of blur (image deformation) in the periphery. I’m assuming here that the…
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Fujifilm details support for CFexpress, SD and SSD media with GFX100 II
Fujifilm has published a list of recording media which is compatible with the new GFX100 II (and X-H2) and it’s an extensive resource. It can be found on their website. Unsurprisingly, it correlates with other camera marques’ recommendations for CFexpress cards and SDXC cards with a high minimum sustained write speed, for cameras like the Nikon Z8/9 and Canon EOS R5. You can read more about my thoughts on the matter, here.
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Nikon Nikkor Z 135mm F1.8 S Plena lens announced
Nikon has announced the Nikkor Z 135mm F1.8 S Plena lens, which is said to be optimised for out-of-focus highlights, after teasing the new model on YouTube. The Plena lens adopts 16 elements in 14 groups and includes one element using a relatively new type of glass from Nikon called an SR (Short-wavelength Refractive) element: “Nikon’s original SR (Short-wavelength Refractive) lens is a high- and specialized-dispersion glass lens featuring characteristics to greatly refract light with wavelengths shorter than that of blue. By controlling short-wavelength light that is difficult to compensate, light of various specific wavelengths can be more effectively collected achieving highly precise chromatic aberration compensation. Because this lens can…
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Nikon Plena lens to appeal to cinematographers
Some features are leaking on the internet about the previously mentioned Nikon Plena and the lens apparently is now said not to include Nikon’s defocus image control. Even if the lens doesn’t feature ‘DC’, the Plena’s optical design mitigates polishing rings (aka ‘onion rings’). There’s also a lack of vignetting that typically results in truncated blur disks or “cat’s eyes.” Some effort has also gone into mitigating slight overcorrection of SA usually seen as bright rings at the edges of the blur disks, which is usually achieved via an apodization element, however, the bright rings remain in some of the darker disks. All of the above indicates to me that…
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Nikon Plena lens teaser debuts on YouTube
UPDATE: Nikon has announced the Plena lens. Nikon has published a video teaser for a new lens called Plena, which is due to be announced on Wednesday, 27th September. While not much is known about it at this time, the yellow-coloured font is similar to that used by Nikon with the Nikkor Z 58mm F0.95 S Noct and a nod to the Zeiss cine primes. The new Plena lens therefore is almost certainly aimed at the cinematography/filmmaking crowd and targeting the rental houses. While it could feature AF, if it is a cinema lens it is likely manual focus only and expensive (upwards of £3.5K more likely above £5k). Judging…
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CFexpress Type B cards: Which to choose for the Canon EOS R5 and Nikon Z8?
Update August 2025: Since this post was published, most brands now offer CFexpress gen 4.0 cards, replacing many of those listed below in performance terms. Minimum sustained write speeds have improved greatly, making many more lower-priced cards suitable for high-grade 4/8K in-camera capture. Nevertheless, due diligence is still required with these cards. That said, one further benefit of the new type 4.0 standard is a sizeable reduction in the price of the high-end high-speed gen 2.0/3.0 cards listed below. CFexpress (Type B) cards are expensive, so choosing the right type is an important decision. As both the Canon EOS R5 and Nikon Z8 have a second SDXC UHS-I/II compatible card…
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Fujifilm announces two Tilt / Shift lenses: Fujinon GF30mm F5.6 T/S and GF110mm F5.6 T/S Macro
This week, Fujifilm, became the latest manufacturer to add Tilt/Shift lenses to their medium format system. The introduction of the G30mm F5.6 T/S is good news for architectural photographers and landscape photographers in general. The GF110mm F5.6 T/S Macro is, of course, aimed at studio/tabletop photographers. As MF models, the new lenses will have to be bigger than those designed for 35mm (accounting for the larger image circle), so it will be interesting to see how these handle. I know many Fuji GFX users adapt the Canon Tilt/Shifts, so it will be interesting to see how the GF30mm F5.6 T/S compare with the Canon 24mm F3.5 TS-E (original and Mk…
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Leica M11 Monochrom Review
Why Black & White? Photographing in Black & White or mono or greyscale or whatever you want to call it requires you to think differently than when photographing in colour. With a film camera, you can switch to B&W from colour and vice versa ad infinitum: the operation remains unchanged, allowing you to become accustomed to the camera and ‘see’ either in light and shadows or in colour. In that respect, a modern digital colour camera echoes its predecessor, allowing you to choose between B&W and colour at will. However, a dedicated B&W camera like the Leica M11 Monochrom doesn’t; you’re forced to think in terms of light and shadows,…
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ProGrade Digital announce new CFexpress 4.0 card with 2,800MB/s sustained write speed
Started by former SanDisk and Lexar executives ProGrade Digital is relatively a new and promising company so halo products like this are interesting on several levels (and not just from a marketing perspective). The key takeaway here is the extremely high sustained write speed of 2,800MB/s, which is crucial to know when looking to buy for 8/4K and high-frame-rate (slow-mo) video. However, that all-important key message has been fudged by saying “up to 2800MB/s.” Surely a sustained write speed is a minimum, not a maximum implied by the “up to.” Makes no sense from a marketing perspective. A high sustained write speed is not really important for stills photography, even…
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