News
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Leica Q3 43 review
Leica’s Q3 43 builds on the success of the Q-series, adding a new 43mm F2 Apo lens to the 60 MP CMOS of the regular Leica Q3. Kevin Carter takes a look. With Canon and Nikon concentrating on niche genres like sports and action or the ‘content creator’, it’s hardly surprising when something like the Leica Q3 arrives to fill the void. And now it has been joined by the Leica Q3 43. While expensive, with better resale prices than rival makes when the time comes to upgrade, it is perhaps the most economical way into the Leica system. Small, light and discreet, the Leica Q3 43 shares the ergonomics…
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Black Friday Deals on Storage
Software discounts on Black Friday always seem appealing, but the timing often feels inconvenient for me. It seems like the focus is more on attracting new customers rather than rewarding loyal ones. Switching to new software can be tempting, but it often means losing out on what I’ve already invested in. This year, however, there’s a noticeable emphasis on storage solutions, which feels much easier to justify and purchase. Last year, I reviewed the SanDisk Extreme Pro G-40 SSD here. I was impressed, but the deals were pretty modest at the time. This year, SanDisk seems to be more proactive, offering great prices on their 2TB and 4TB models, although…
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Sigma 24mm F2 DG DN C lens review
Sigma is well known for its Art series lenses, but the maker’s full-frame ‘Contemporary’ or C series lenses deserve equal recognition for offering great image quality in a smaller, lighter package. Take the Sigma 24mm F2 DG DN C lens reviewed here, for example, with a metal outer barrel and milled metal aperture and focus rings, it’s a very nicely made lens indeed. What’s more, weighing just 365g and measuring 72mm in length, the L-mount version I was sent pairs incredibly well with the tiny Sigma fp sent for testing. Inside, the lens has 13 elements arranged in 11 groups, with one fancy, fluorite-like FLD element, two SLD (Super-Low Dispersion)…
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Fujifilm Fujinon GF50mm F3.5 R LM WR lens review
What is it? The Fujifilm Fujinon GF50mm is a highly compact and relatively lightweight lens for Fujifilm medium format mirrorless cameras. It’s the equivalent of a 40mm on a full-frame 35mm camera, and at one time, back in the 70s, this focal length was hugely popular. Much of that had to do with price, as they competed with medium-speed (F1.8/2) 50mms – the kit lenses of the day – and were often sold as a more affordable alternative. These smaller and lighter 3-group, 4-element Tessar ‘pancake’ designs were and still are highly compelling. Indeed, the Olympus Zuiko 40mm F2 is around £600, secondhand, and the Contax Zeiss T* 45mm F2.8…
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Novoflex announce the Qube: a modular geared head to rival the Arca Swiss Cube
Novoflex has announced the Qube, a geared head potentially aimed at Arca Swiss Cube users. With brass guides, the Qube looks to be robust, particularly as there are no geared teeth visible in the supplied photo. Cube users will know that the geared teeth are susceptible to wear and are easily damaged in the field. However, it’s not clear from the photographs or the text from Novoflex how the geared movement on the Qube is employed and what, if any, steps have been taken to ensure reliability during everyday use. Neither does the press release mention the most likely potential customers for the new head; namely architecture, landscape and studio…
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Nikon Z9 price drop plus free 660GB CFe card in anticipation of the Canon EOS R1 announcement of next week
With the announcement next week of what’s expected to be the new Canon EOS R1, rival Nikon has dropped the price of its flagship Nikon Z9 to £4,999 (from £5,299) plus they’re offering a free Nikon branded 660GB CFexpress card usually priced at £619. All prices include VAT. The Canon EOS R1 is expected to be announced on 17 July, 2024. It’s also believed the Canon EOS R5 Mark II will also be announced on the same day. I don’t want to speculate on the features of the Canon EOS R1 but I expect the camera to be aimed at photojournalists, rather than a camera with ‘all-round’ professional appeal, like…
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Fujifilm Fujinon GF30mm F5.6 T/S review
What is it? The Fujifilm Fujinon GF30mm F5.6 T/S is a highly anticipated lens in the GFX system. Why? Because, it’s the first serious challenger to the Canon TS-E lenses (and the Nikon PC Nikkors), which are routinely adapted to fit on the larger-sensor GFX cameras. As a 30mm lens designed to cover the 44x33mm MF sensor, it is the equivalent of a 24mm in full-frame 35mm terms and is, without doubt, the most popular focal length for architecture and interiors. The manual-focus lens will also appeal to landscape photographers. (Arguably, a 35mm tilt/shift might be as popular or even more so (the Nikon and Zeiss 35mm shift-only models are…
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Nikon Nikkor Z 35mm F1.4 specs compared with Canon RF 35mm F1.4L VCM
Technical Data Comparison Manufacturer Canon Nikon Model RF 35mm F1.4L VCM Nikkor Z 35mm F1.4 Web www.canon.co.uk www.nikon.co.uk Elements/construction 14 elements in 11 groups 11 elements in 9 groups Special glass types 2x UD, 2x Asph 2x Asph Aperture blades 11 rounded 9 rounded Angle of view 63° (diagonal) 63° (diagonal) Max aperture F1.4 F1.4 Min aperture F16 F16 Min focus distance 0.28 m (11.02 in) 0.27 m (10.6 in) Mount RF mount Z mount Filter size 67mm 62mm Length 99.3mm (3.9 in.) 86.5mm (3.4 in.) Diameter 76.5mm (3 in.) 74.5mm (2.93 in.) Weight 555g (1.2 lb) 415g (0.91 lb) Price £1819 inc VAT ($1,499) £650 inc VAT ($699)…
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Nikon announces £650 35mm F1.4 for Z system
Nikon has announced the Nikkor Z 35mm F1.4 a lens that’s usually reserved for those with deep pockets, but it will go on sale for just £650 inc VAT. While not the high-end S-series lens that was on the roadmap (indicated to be a 35mm F1.2) this is still a welcome (if not curious) addition to the range. The lens has internal focusing (IF) and a ‘Multi-Focus’ system moving more than one of the focusing elements, though it’s not clear at this time if more than one STM motor is employed. It weighs just 415g. It has a relatively small 62mm front filter thread. The new lens will be available…
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Fujifilm Fujinon GF30mm F5.6 T/S three-shot hand-held panorama at maximum shift (± 15mm)
Handheld three-shot pano with GF30mm F5.6 T/S, totalling 175 MP. As this was shot without a tripod, there’s quite a bit of overlap in the centre but what’s of interest here is that maximum shift ±15mm has been applied to show the worst case. Focus was confirmed using magnified LV, which is my preferred option of the various focusing aids. This three-shot pano was stitched in Lightroom with an automatic lens profile applied, which can’t be turned off. Still, no further corrections were made to show the vignetting and it’s no big deal as it could be cleaned up. Automatic profiles like this don’t show what’s being corrected in…
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