Fujifilm 18mm f1.4: Is a Megapixel War Looming on the Horizon?

Fuji may be building the 18mm f1.4 to handle high resolution sensors.

Word on the Internet is that a Fujifilm 18mm f1.4 lens is super sharp. We tested a pre-production version. There has also been speculation about an X-H2 coming soon. The talk surrounding both of these subjects revolves around resolution. It sounds like Fuji may be preparing themselves for an 8k capable future. With Canon having jumped in already and Nikon following suit with the Z9, it wouldn’t be surprising. Not into video? Well, 8k will have an impact on you as well. Having an 8k camera means having a higher megapixel sensor. Will APSC be joining the 40 megapixels-and-over club now? Read on after the break for more.

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Our Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 Art Review Got an Important Update

We’re still scratching our head a bit, but our Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 Art Review has been updated.

Our initial Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 Art Review gave the lens very high marks. It has 11 aperture blades, great image quality, and it’s weather sealed. Considering the price, it seems like an obvious purchase for most users. But there’s a very different story to be told when actually using the lens. When we first reviewed it, we tested it on the Sony E mount system. I purposely chose the Sony a7r III because the autofocus and resolution combo made the most sense. But, I now own the Leica SL2s and bought the Sigma 24-70mm f2.8. Earlier this year, the combo frustrated me in low light. After the recent Leica SL2s firmware update, though, things have changed.

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We Love and Need Lens Innovation Like This Patent From Canon

Canon has been working hard to bring us unique lenses, we need more from others!

Canon has really put in the effort to make their RF lenses great. They’ve given us some real lens innovation. The RF 28-70 f2 took a lot of us off guard. Canon boldly released this lens early in their Mirrorless career. No one else has done anything quite like it before or since. However, Canon kept up throwing the punches. They released the RF 50mm f1.2. Less innovative, perhaps, but a fan favorite. Following up those, Canon announced the innovative RF 600mm and RF 800mm f11 lenses. These are the smallest and lightest lenses for Full-Frame in that focal length yet. Read on after the break to see what else we could be looking forward to.

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The Panasonic 16-35mm F4 Lens Focuses Crazy Fast Now

The Panasonic 16-35mm f4 lens review has been updated to reflect recent changes.

For a while, the Panasonic 16-35mm f4 Lumix S Pro was one of the L Mount’s fastest focusing lenses. Then that changed with the introduction of a few primes. But with the recent Leica SL2s firmware update, we’re updating our 16-35mm f4 review. The lens is even faster than it was before, and we’re not honestly surprised by this. Technically, it means that this lens is an absolute cheetah when autofocusing. In practice, that’s indeed true. Also true is the fact that people don’t really need super-fast autofocusing motors when using wide-angle lenses. It matters a lot more with telephoto lenses. 

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The HP ZBook Studio G8 Targets On-The-Go Photographers

The New HP ZBook Studio G8 is tempting with its ethical manufacturing and the Emmy award.

If photographers were to choose a computer besides Apple, many would reach for HP. And during the pandemic, they won an Emmy with ZCentral Remote Boost software, which basically boosts performance. I can’t see most photographers needing this though. What they’d need instead are the SD card ports, security enhancements, a screen that’s dependable, and performance. That’s what the new HPZBook Studio G8 is offering to photographers. There’s also even more power offered with the new Fury lineup. And honestly, they’re incredibly tempting since Apple just keeps letting us down.

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The New Razer Blade 15 Advanced Has Something Photographers Want

The new Razer Blade 15 Advanced is showing a whole lot of promise for photographers.

The last Razer Blade 15 laptop we reviewed was back in 2020, and we really liked it! Razer has been known for appealing to gamers, but in recent years they’ve been making moves in the creative space. Today, they’re introducing the new Razer Blade 15 Advanced. It’s important to note that they have keyboards more akin to what we’re used to with Apple computers. They’re also bringing Wifi 6, a UHS-III SD Card Reader, a full HD webcam, two Thunderbolt 4.0 ports, and USB-C charging. This sounds positively fantastic and very promising.

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The Phoblographer is Hiring. Join the Most Progressive Photo Site Around

We’ve got a few positions open still! Join our team!

Hey folks,

We’ve done an internal revamp to refocus what we want right now. To make us stand out even more from other sites, we’re adding a few other positions to the staff. Women make up half our staff, lots of our staff are internationally based, and we’re still growing. To that end, Women, POCs, and anyone else are very encouraged to apply. Want a steady gig? Take a look. Want an internship? Take a look!

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Opinion: The DSLR Is Dead, and Supporting it Is Useless

It’s time to let go of the DSLR because it’s dead and over with.

Let’s round up a few facts in this post. The DSLR is dead. A while back, Canon said they weren’t going to make any new DSLRs or EF Lenses unless there’s a demand. Nikon has dropped most of their DSLR line and is committed to mirrorless. And Sony officially discontinued their A-mount products. It took way, way too long for all this to happen. Mirrorless was the future back then, and it’s the standard today. Lots of professional photographers still shoot with DSLRs, but DSLRs are massively inferior. You can’t tell me that a DSLR is built like a Leica SL2s. And you can’t make me believe a Canon Rebel is lighter than a Sony a6700. But there are two brands that are still holding out as far as we know. 

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New Lenses Need More Character, What I’d Love to See

New lenses have become almost too clinical.

Make no mistake about it; modern lenses are fantastic. Optically, it’s pretty amazing what they can do. New lenses render sharp detail on demanding digital sensors. Distortion is becoming better controlled all the time. Flaring is rarely a worry anymore. However, at least some of that advancement has come at a cost. As a result, when looking at images from the latest glass, there’s little unique about them. There isn’t much character left in most new lenses. For more insight into this problem, read on after the break.

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We Updated Our Panasonic 24-70mm F2.8 Review! It’s Faster Now!

The Panasonic 24-70mm f2.8 Lumix S Pro isn’t so sluggish after all: it just needed better cameras.

A while back, we reviewed the Panasonic 24-70mm f2.8. In that review, we stated that the lens was pretty slow to focus. But we blamed it on the system overall. We recently updated our Panasonic 24-70mm f2.8 Review, which you can check out here. We’ve been holding onto our loaner lenses for a while and found a pleasant surprise. With the new Leica SL2s firmware update, the Panasonic 24-70mm f2.8 is now faster than it is on Panasonic’s own camera bodies. We tried it on the Leica SL2s, the Panasonic S5, and the Panasonic S1. Quite frankly, I never had hope for the S1. But the S5 has to be one of my favorite cameras Panasonic has made. It’s fascinating to now find the shoe on the other foot.

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Nikon Z9 and Tower Semiconductor: Is This the New Dream Team?

If Nikon brings out their Z9 with a brand new sensor, they could win a lot of hearts.

The much speculated on Nikon Z9 continues to capture the internet’s imagination. This camera is Nikon’s chance to deliver big innovation. If they get it right, it could signal a bright future for the Z-mount system. So far, we have very little confirmation from Nikon. The photo in the press release shows an integrated vertical grip body which usually indicates the brand’s flagship camera. Nikon will likely throw everything they have at it. However, they have only announced that the Z9 will employ a new stacked sensor, 8k video capability, and a new processor. That’s about it regarding official specifications. There is a bit of knowledge we can infer from that, however. Read on after the break for some exciting possibilities.

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Finally Competitive, Nikon Z6 II Firmware Gives Me Hope for the Series

Can Nikon make the Z system fast enough for sports with just a firmware update?

The original Nikon Z series failed to live up to the autofocus performance of the company’s DSLRs. But is autofocus performance an issue that can be fixed with a simple firmware update? You might be surprised. Last week, Nikon released a list of firmware updates for every single Z series camera. Chief among the list of improvements? A boost to the autofocus. As one of what feels like the last millennial with a DSLR, I hopefully grabbed my review sample Z6 II and downloaded firmware version 1.20. After photographing a soccer game and the dark corner of a closet, I was pleasantly surprised.

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The Leica 24-70mm F2.8 ASPH SL Addresses a Big Concern

We’re told that the Leica 24-70mm f2.8 ASPH SL will even say “Made in Japan.”

I guess it was inevitable that Leica would use Sigma lenses to boost their lens lineup. And that’s sort of what’s happening with the Leica 24-70mm f2.8 ASPH SL. This lens is for the Leica L mount. It uses Sigma optics and rehouses them in a more rugged metal body. Sigma tends to use something they call carbon-composite. It makes their lenses lighter, even though their Art lineup is still pretty heavy. With this Leica, we’re told it’s still under 2lbs. That’s a bit reassuring, considering that many of Leica’s L mount lenses require you to lift weights. But, when you realize the image quality, internal construction, and build quality, it becomes a bit more understandable. 

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The Leica SL2s Autofocus Now Matches Canon and Sony’s Speed

I truthfully never thought I’d see the day this happened, but I was wrong.

Leica has never really struck me as a speedy company. They tend to do things at their own pace and steer clear of competing with other brands. Through and through, they march to their own beat. And today, the Leica SL2s has received a massive firmware update. The firmware slaps the idea that L mount lenses and cameras are slow to focus right in the face. Leica had said a while ago that a big firmware update was coming. Most of the firmware has to do with video, but there are a number of great things for us photographers in here. Specifically for photographers, there’s a huge boost to the Leica SL2s Autofocus system. We’ve updated our review of the Leica SL2s accordingly, so check that out. And head past the jump for more details.

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The New Epson Ecotank Printers are For the Home Office Photographer

There are brand new Epson printers using their EcoTank technology, and Epson targets them at photographers who work from home.

There truly is an odd divide in printing. If you want to print high-end images, then you need a high-end photo printer. Then if you need to just print documents, you need a different printer for that. But with the new Epson Ecotank printers, Epson wants to do it all in one. Better yet, they’re eliminating ink cartridges. The company’s Ecotank printers have been around for years. But these new ones are catering directly to photographers. The Epson ET-8500 and the Epson ET-8550 are both designed for home office photographers. These are dye-based printers, not inkjet-based. That fact alone may draw some hard lines on who uses these.

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Why Prioritize the Fujifilm 56mm F1.2 MK II Lens Now?

Why update the XF56mm f1.2 so soon after the XF50mm f1.0 was launched?

It’s no secret that some of Fujifilm’s XF-Series lenses are getting rather long in the tooth. There is certainly no shortage of people who’d like to see some updates. As the Fuji cameras get better and better, some of the older focus motors struggle to keep up. These older lenses particularly struggle with video autofocus. The XF18mm f1.4 was a great place for Fuji to start: it’s a versatile focal length many photographers and videographers will love. But now, we’re possibly getting the Fujifilm 56mm f1.2 MK II. Should Fuji have prioritized other lenses instead? Read on after the break.

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Why the Police Have No Business Using Facial Recognition Tech

Smartphone Cameras - Note 10+

Facial recognition tech may be useful in the future, but it needs to come a long way before we put it in the hands of law enforcement.

Last week, The Verge reported on an incident involving a man from Detroit who was wrongly arrested for shoplifting in 2019. The article said that the Detroit police department had used facial recognition technology to help catch the “offender.” Charges were dropped, but the man is now suing the police department. It’s a terrible situation for all involved, but it does bring up an important topic to debate.

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Why I Don’t Have Much Faith in the SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG DN Art Lens

Sigma makes good quality optics, but it pretty much stops there.

There are loads of reports right now on the new Sigma 35mm f1.4 DG DN Art Lens. It’s easy to get tempted. If you’re experienced with their lenses, though, you’ll understand that they’re the McRib of lenses. When the McRib drops every year, there’s tons of hype about how wonderful it is. But it always just ends up being mediocre. Yet every year, folks swarm to McDonald’s to experience the shame and regret. That’s how I’ve felt buying Sigma lenses over the years. And I predict that the Sigma 35mm f1.4 DG DN Art Lens is probably going to be the same.

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Fujifilm Opened Up Their System in a Very Perplexing Way

With the new Fujifilm Digital Camera Control Software Development Kit, many cool things could manifest.

There’s been a push to make cameras a heck of a lot more useful. Manufacturers worked to build webcam integrations into them. And for the most part, they’ve done a good job. Fujifilm just took that to another level. They announced the Fujifilm Digital Camera Control Software Development Kit. Other brands such as Sony, Canon, and Olympus have done similar things. There are surely lots of possibilities, but also some perplexing decisions.

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Love Crop Sensors? Exciting Possibilities for the Future

Crop sensors aren’t dead yet; I think their future is bright!

The internet loves to predict doom and gloom for cameras with crop sensors. How many years have we heard that Micro Four-Thirds is dead? Current offerings remain quite capable cameras. However, camera technology has been advancing rapidly. Brands like Fuji and OM-Digital Solutions (referred to as OMDS from here on) heavily rely on these cameras to survive. What do they need to do to remain relevant? Read on to find out.

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The Fujifilm X-H2 May Feature 8k Video; Here’s What Else I’d Love to See

Fujifilm could be planning huge things for their next X-H camera.

The internet has been speculating that the new Fujifilm X-H2 could have 8k video. This would be a huge implication if real. To achieve 8k video, Fuji would need an entirely new sensor. As a result, they would need at least 32 Megapixels. However, if they shoot for DCI 8k, we could see a 45 MP camera. Beyond those potential updates, I’d love to see Fujifilm go crazy on this new camera. Could the Fuji X-H2 be an S1H killer? Read the awesome possibilities after the break.

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