Nikon Has Filed Patents for Some Weird, Yet Interesting Lenses

It’s good to see that Nikon is keeping the lens pipeline full, even if it is with some rather strange lenses.

We have seen Nikon pop up in news-related posts quite a bit here recently. There have been some good news and bad news articles. Today, we have another good news post for Nikon fans out there. While the company is busy going through a huge organizational restructure, Nikon is still busy designing lenses. New patents suggest that three new lenses are being worked on, and they’re a little weird (to say the least). After the break, we’ll look at these new lenses and talk about what we think Nikon is playing at.

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The AI Photographer and Understanding the Role of the Creative

What are the implications for our future when art becomes utterly transient and immaterial?

Recently, my wife shared a link with me; it was photography-related, so she thought it might interest me. Sure enough, I clicked—and was gobsmacked. This site certainly had everything to do with photography, but not at all in the way I had expected. The link produced a page that showed nothing but a portrait: a fairly tight headshot with an oddly blurred background, in fact. There was no caption, no text to give a name, or any kind of context. If I refreshed the page, another portrait would be served up almost instantly. Intrigued, I reloaded the page a few times and stared at perfect strangers. It did strike me that there was something odd about these images, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Little did I know it was basically an AI photographer being used to produce the images.

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Camera Lenses That Focus Via Heat Are Here, and They’re Fascinating

camera lenses

The future of camera lenses sounds like something from a Sci-Fi movie.

Camera lenses are incredible. The amount of design and engineering that goes into them will blow your mind. All we see is the outer shell and the front and rear elements, but inside is a complex work of art. Tiny tolerances and margins for error ensure your lens delivers razor-sharp images. It’s really no wonder some camera lenses cost as much as they do. Now, though, a new lens that obtains focus via heat transfer generated by lasers is here. No, this isn’t some far-fetched idea from a movie; this lens is real, and it’s here now. After the break, we’ll talk about this and what it could mean for the future of photography.

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The Leica 35mm F2 APO-Summicron ASPH Focuses Under a Foot

This is totally different from most rangefinder lenses.

Rangefinder camera users have long lived with one big problem. Unfortunately, most lenses don’t focus closer than a meter away. But Leica’s latest lens is slapping that notion in the face. With the Leica 35mm f2 APO Summicron ASPH, you can focus under a meter. In fact, you can focus to 0.3 meters. The world’s longest name aside, this lens is truly something special. Granted, you won’t be able to do that effectively while looking through the rangefinder. But you’ll get a lens that makes your M system so much more useful.

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Get Hyped for the Exciting Return of 3D Analog Photography!

The Minuta Stereo is bringing 3D back to analog film photography!

Oh, man! Does anyone remember that Nishika 3D film camera? Well, there’s something new and exciting coming to Kickstarter. It’s called the Minuta Stereo camera. It’s a pinhole camera designed to do the kooky 3D photos that we’ve come to know and love. It would mean that you’re going to slow down, and that’s something majorly lacking from photography today.

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The DJI FPV Makes Photography into a First Person Shooter

Using the DJI FPV was incredibly fun and just the spark that the industry needs.

The brand new DJI FPV gave me all the fun that playing with toys did as a child. But instead, it’s a serious device for creating. Drone photography is seriously one of the most fun and enjoyable things you can do. Like a few other types of photography, you can think of it as a toy shooting style. Unfortunately, lots of products don’t really have things like RAW capabilities. But some, like the DJI FPV have extra fun factors to them!

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The Sony 50mm F1.2 GM Will Need to Be Less Clinical, More Character

If the Sony 50mm f1.2 G Master lens really comes next month, then we need to stop talking about MTF charts.

As much as things change, they also stay the same. And honestly, I’m expecting the same thing from Sony. If the Sony 50mm f1.2 G Master is real, then it’s going to be good. However, I’m also sure it’s going to be just the clinical definition of good. Sony’s engineers have sucked the soul out of lenses. The only recent exception is the Sony 35mm f1.4 G Master. But a lens like the Sony 50mm f1.2 G Master will really need to be something extraordinary. 

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On The Powerful Profoto Pro 11 and Its Laughable Price Tag

Should you buy a Profoto Pro 11, or should you buy a car that can carry your other lighting gear?

Profoto has been making pretty great flashes and strobes for a long time now. Their reputation for making high build quality lighting gear with great output precedes them. However, this means Profoto lights are significantly more expensive than similar lights from the likes of Westcott, Flashpoint, and Godox. The new flagship Profoto Pro 11 takes the companies pricing to new heights. This light pack is crazy powerful, but you’ll want to sit down before we reveal the specs and price after the break.

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It’s Time for Samsung to Make Traditional Camera Sensors Again

Samsung is continuing to innovate in the mobile space, and the likes of Canon and Co. should be taking note.

Back when Samsung was making traditional cameras, they were well ahead of the game. Unfortunately, few people really took Samsung seriously. Even though Samsung’s cameras were superior when it came to tech, they faded away. After exiting the traditional camera space, Samsung really started innovating in the mobile world. Now, Samsung’s new ISOCELL GN2 sensor will power their latest smartphone cameras, and boy could other manufacturers learn a thing or two. After the break, we’ll discuss the new Samsung sensor. We’ll also share our thought’s on why we think Samsung needs to scale their mobile sensor tech up to traditional cameras.

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The Sony Stacked Sensor in the a1 Isn’t Being Pushed to Its Limits

The stacked sensor in the Sony a1 is a work of art.

The Sony a1 is a beast of a camera that features a stacked sensor with an incredibly fast read-out. I’ve been fortunate enough to have my hands on the Sony a1 for a little while. It’s mighty impressive. Being able to rattle off 50 Megapixel images at 30 frames per second is nuts. Being able to pan and not have any rolling shutter effect is also incredible. Normally when a new technology is announced, we come across the patents for it. However, Sony managed to keep the patent for this stacked sensor quiet. Now, the patent has emerged, and it shows just how beastly the Sony stacked sensor truly is. We’ve got all the deets after the break.

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Better 3D Cameras Will Be Coming to Smartphones Soon

We’ve seen gimmicky 3D cameras in phones before, but these new versions will serve a much more important purpose.

Who remembers when 3D imaging was all the rage? We had 3D-capable TVs and pretty horrible 3D cameras in phones. The HTC EVO 3D comes to mind. Wow, what a terrible experience that was. 3D cameras slipped out of the limelight. But, they are now starting to reappear. Old 3D cameras featured dual cameras that would capture separate images. These images would then be superimposed over each other to create a stereographic 3D image. Now, though, 3D cameras are being used in a new way. Apple started using 3D cameras when they introduced face ID in the iPhone X. Now, ZTE, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer, claims that better smartphone 3D cameras are on the horizon. Let’s talk about this after the break.

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Nikon Might Build a Super Camera with Revolutionary Camera Sensors

Nikon’s entry into the camera sensor business could be a smart move.

Things haven’t been going great for Nikon over the last few years. The company mistakenly thought Mirrorless cameras would never take off. They bet their hedge funds on DSLRs, and it backfired. Now, though, things do seem to be getting better for the company. Recent restructuring and plant relocations have seen their stock prices jump in value. On top of that, Nikon has just announced a crazy new camera sensor that could really turn their fortunes around. Could Nikon end their reliance on Sony camera sensors? Let’s talk about this after the break.

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A Lens Patent Could Be the First Hint of a New Canon Fixed Lens Camera

It has been a long minute since Canon released a fixed lens camera; we’re hoping it’s a new G1 X.

Over the last few years, fixed lens cameras have become one of the hottest camera segments once again. Spurred on by cameras like the Fujifilm X100F, X100V, and even cameras like the Leica Q2, sales have been excellent. Canon produces excellent fixed lens cameras. However, as the title suggests, it has been a while (three years) since their last one. However, that might be about to change. A patent for a zoom lens that will pair up with a fixed lens camera has just been filed by Canon. This is incredibly exciting to us. What could it be, though? Let’s talk about this after the break.

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Is The Sigma 28-70mm F2.8 DG DN Contemporary Too Cheap?

Why did Sigma announce the Sigma 28-70mm F2.8 DG DN Contemporary lens?

Sigma is a company that makes some questionable choices. We’ll never discount their image quality. But the rest of the package is just always odd. Take the new Sigma 28-70mm f2.8 DG DN Contemporary. For the most part, they say it’s an Art series lens. But the big differences are with the build quality and the focal range. The Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 DG DN Art is around double the weight. We really liked that lens and gave it a five-star review. But the Sigma 28-70mm F2.8 DG DN Contemporary is claiming similar image quality performance for a few hundred bucks less at $899. To me, it seems like a diet Art lens. And in the grand scheme, we wonder if it’s a disposable option.

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The Harman EZ35 Offers a Quick and Easy Way Into Film photography

If you want to get started with film photography, the Harman EZ35 kit will make the process totally painless.

Shooting with film is one of the best ways to experience photography. Still, for photographers who have only ever experienced photography in its digital form, film photography can be daunting. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. If you want something that will easily break you into film photography, you might be interested in the new Harman EZ35 reusable film camera kit. We’ve got all the details about Harmen’s latest release after the break for you.

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Why We Think Canon’s PHIL AI Is Being Used All Wrong

Canon has a new technology called PHIL AI, but it’s not helping you become a better photographer. 

How many times have you sat there and said you’ll worry about a problem later on? We all do it. This is what Canon’s PHIL AI reminds me of. My mom used to put off repairing the family car a lot. Eventually, it just stopped working. Similarly, my uncle used to put off many health issues – that landed him in the ER. And on a less serious note, I had a former staffer who used to put off a critical vision care benefit. We as a society are just trained to procrastinate and worry later. And that’s the mentality I feel Canon’s new PHIL AI is catering to.

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Canon Is Set to Flesh Out Their RF Lenses with 4 New Primes

Canon RF Mount Lenses 35mm

Canon is looking to expand their number of more affordable RF Lenses pretty quickly.

It took a while for Canon to introduce many affordable RF lenses for the EOS R, EOS RP, EOS R5, and EOS R6. Now, though, things are starting to change. We have already seen solid options like the RF 35mm f1.8 Macro, the RF 50mm f1.8, and the RF 85mm f2. Then there are lenses like the RF 600mm and RF 800mm f11 primes, and the excellent RF 24-105mm f4-7.1, and RF 24-240mm f4-6.3. These lenses have made Canon’s Full Frame Mirrorless system much more palatable to more than just top-end pros. There’s still a long way to go, but Canon is apparently busy at work on four new primes that range from f1.4 to f1.8. We’re pretty excited, and you should be too. We’ve got all the deets after the break.

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How Soon Could AI Make the Photographer Obsolete?

On the next episode of Pro Camera Reviews, we’re discussing AI and body tracking technology in cameras.

We’re aware that this is a bit extreme. But, it’s surely possible that AI is going to majorly change the way we do things. AI Body Tracking is sort of here already, but it’s going to explode in a huge way soon. Eventually, you’re going to be able to rely on the camera to do almost everything. But at what point are you just pushing a button? We’re discussing that in our next episode of Pro Camera Reviews.

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The New PrismFX Radiant Filter Is the Most Unusual Sunburst Filter Ever

PrismFX announced their new PrismFX Radiant filter, and it seems pretty cool!

PrismFX does some pretty cool things. They brought back a lot of character that’s been engineered out of lenses. And we discussed them on an episode of Pro Camera Reviews. They recently announced the new PrismFX Radiant Filter. At first, we thought it was just a sunburst filter. But, then we looked closer and that doesn’t really seem to be the case. If you look at the effects, you’ll see it’s a lot more complicated than that.

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An Unbiased Analysis: Is the Sony a1 Worth the Hype?

On the next episode of Pro Camera Reviews, we’re discussing the Sony a1.

Photographers have been on the hunt for a professional camera with innovation. Smartphones are just so good these days. It seems like they’re keeping up with higher end cameras. But, then the Sony a1 came out and changed that in huge ways. It joins a bunch of other cameras that are absolutely fantastic at what they do. Other manufacturers looked on in shock, so is it really worth the hype? And we’re discussing that in our next episode of Pro Camera Reviews.

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It’s Time for Canon and Co. to Stop Making Flashes

Half-hearted attempts at making flashes and other lighting accessories are not winning anyone over.

To get ahead in many photography genres, photographers need to learn how to light using flashes and strobes. Fortunately, you can buy excellent (and affordable) gear from the likes of Godox, Flashpoint, Westcott, Profoto, and others. All of these companies have been innovating in this space, and they have found a way to bring costs down. However, first-party companies have become incredibly stale when it comes to making flashes. They still charge the earth for their lights too. A new announcement from Canon pretty much confirms our thoughts. Let’s talk about this after the break.

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