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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
Fujifilm annouces new flagship medium format camera: GFX100 II
Fujifilm has released the Fujifilm GFX100 II, the company’s new flagship medium format mirrorless camera. It’s the successor to the GFX100, launched in 2019. Key Features Newly developed 102MP high-speed image sensor AI-based subject-detection AF 8.0 frames per second Stabilisation performance improved to eight-stop, five-axis 8K/30P video, and can also record 4K/60P 4:2:2 10-bit video internally From the Press Release: TOKYO, September 12, 2023 – FUJIFILM Corporation (President & CEO, Representative Director: Teiichi Goto) announces the launch of the “FUJIFILM GFX100 II” (GFX100II) in late September 2023. It will be the latest addition to the GFX Series of mirrorless digital cameras incorporating the large-format image sensor*1 approximately 1.7 times larger than a…
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 a relatively 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…
Zeiss 35mm F1.4 ZM Distagon lens review
Intro Although marketed for the maker’s M-mount Zeiss Ikon rangefinder, the range of ZM lenses is rightly popular with Leica M users. All are accessibly priced compared with their Leica equivalents, and optical performance is often on a par, if not sometimes regarded as being technically superior. With the Zeiss Ikon camera now retired, this new high-speed 35mm model is aimed squarely at Leica’s core users. Compared to the latest iteration from Wetzlar, the Zeiss 35mm F1.4 ZM Distagon is priced somewhat modestly at around £1680 inc VAT. It’s supplied without a case or hood, but there’s no mistaking the quality. Build Externally, the design is reminiscent of previous models,…
Leica Summilux-M 50mm F1.4 ASPH Close Focus 2023 model: First impressions
The new Leica Summilux-M 50mm F1.4 ASPH Close Focus 2023 (11728) model follows the recent update to the Summilux-M 35mm F1.4 ASPH CF last year and adopts the built-in rangefinder decoupling or “double-cam” feature for the focus ring. This enables focusing down to 0.45m from the usual 0.7m – the former is the typical minimum focus of DSLR/mirrorless lenses of this focal length (50mm). The double-cam feature was first introduced on the Leica Summilux 35mm F2.0 APO and was quite stiff on the model I tried. To disengage rangefinder focusing, you push the focus ring through some slight resistance at the minimum focus distance marked at 0.7m in orange-coloured paint…
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Zeiss 35mm F1.4 ZM Distagon lens review
