Venus Optics has unveiled the Laowa Argus 35mm F0.95, which is now the fastest 35mm lens for full-frame cameras. We then have the DJI OM5, a super convenient accessory for your lenses, and much more.
Here’s the best news I’ve selected for “The Photography News Show”!

LENS NEWS

Laowa Argus 35mm F0.95 Full Frame Lens

Venus Optics has unveiled the Laowa Argus 35mm F0.95, which is now the fastest 35mm lens for full-frame cameras.

It’s a fully manual lens, it weighs 755g, and it promises beautiful results for portraits. Being a manual lens with such a wide aperture, it surely isn’t optimal for scenarios where you need to act quickly, such as weddings. But for controlled portrait sessions, where you can take some time to compose & focus your shot, this lens can give you that extra bit of magic with a dreamy bokeh.

In fact, an aperture of F0.95 is more than 1 full stop brighter than an F1.4 lens, and it will give you results that were unseen for this focal length until now. That’s why when looking at the sample images & videos you might be tricked to think it’s a lens with a longer focal length. You basically have a separation similar to the one you have on a 50mm, but you have a wider field of view, which makes it a very interesting lens.

For this reason, it works great for videos too, and you will be able to smoothly change aperture thanks to the aperture click-switch.

It’s available for Sony E, Canon RF, and Nikon Z, and you can grab it for $899.

 I recommend this if you’re already familiar with a 35mm lens and you want to have a new tool to expand your creativity, while if you don’t own a 35mm yet, you should probably look at a more traditional 35mm F1.8 with autofocus so that you can practice with this focal length in more scenarios, and hopefully save some money.

Zhong Yi Optics Mitakon Creator 135mm f/2.5 APO Lens

Zhong Yi Optics has launched the Mitakon Creator 135mm f/2.5 APO Lens.

It’s available for a variety of mounts, it’s fully manual, and coming at just $299 can be an interesting choice if you want to practice with portraits and are on a budget.

New Sigma I Lenses: 24mm F2 DG DN & 90mm F2.8 DG DN

 the last lens news of the week comes from Sigma, which has introduced two new lenses in its I series: the Sigma 24mm F2 DG DN Contemporary and the Sigma 90mm F2.8 DG DN Contemporary.

They are available for Sony E and L mounts.

They have a magnesium alloy construction, and the cool thing is that they’re light and compact, which makes them ideal for being used on a gimbal. They weigh about 360 grams, and you can grab them for $639 each.

CAMERA NEWS

Canon EOS R3 to Be Announced on September 14th

After countless rumors and delays, it finally seems like the Canon EOS R3 will be presented on September 14th, in fact, we can see a countdown on Canon Japan website, and there’s also a Live planned on Canon Europe YouTube channel called “The most exciting announcement of the year”, so I think it’s pretty obvious it’s gonna be about the R3.

Nikon Z fc + 28mm F2.8 Kit Available from October

Nikon has issued a third apology over the low stock of the Nikon Z fc, which apparently was a big success. The good news is that the special edition that includes the 28mm F2.8 lens will be available from October (order it here). So, if you’ve been waiting for this camera, you might be able to get your hands on it soon.

ACECSSORY NEWS

Lens Stickers

As you get into photography, you slowly start accumulating a ton of lenses. At the end of the day, you need them, right?

It can be tricky to distinguish them when they’re in your bag, especially if they have similar dimensions. That’s why Field Made Co has come up with indicator labels that you attach to the rear lens cap. They are made in a durable matt vinyl, and are available for all the major brands so that you can recognize your lenses in an instant while adding a bit of style to your camera bag.

GIMBAL NEWS

DJI OM 5 Smartphone Gimbal

This week we have the DJI OM 5, the latest smartphone gimbal from DJI.

It’s one-third smaller than the previous model, and it comes with an integrated telescopic selfie stick. The magnetic clamp makes it super easy to attach & detach your smartphone, and this can help you elevate your mobile videography. It comes with ShotGuides to help you film content, as well as ActiveTrack 4.0 to track your subject, and you can grab it for $159.

SMARTPHONE NEWS

Samsung 576-megapixel Sensor by 2025

Smartphones are the most used devices to take pictures & videos with, and manufacturers keep investing in making their cameras better. Samsung has recently launched a 200-megapixel sensor, during its presentation at the SEMI Europe Summit, it published a roadmap of its sensors development, saying that it will have a 576-megapixel sensor by 2025. 

That’s an insane number that would match the resolution of the human eyes, and I’m really excited to see what’s next for the industry.

PICTURES OF THE WEEK

Bird Photographer of the Year 2021

This week we have a series of images taken from the ISS by astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who captured the beauty of the Aurora Australis, also known as the southern lights.

The Blue Aurora Australis only occurs with specific, unusual geomagnetic conditions, and in this case, the moon was high and very bright, so it lit the clouds creating a very special atmosphere.

RUMORS

Canon RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM & Canon RF 16mm f/2.8

This week Canon is going to release the EOS R3, and two lenses are rumored to be presented too. They are the 100-400mm f/5.6-8 and the 16mm f/2.8.

The advantage of both lenses is that they’ll be very compact: the 100-400 is a bit dark but is going to be as big as a 70-200mm, which will make it ideal for landscape photographers. While the 16mm will be a pancake lens, perfect for some gimbal work.

Sony a7IV 4K at 30fps

The other rumor of the week is about the upcoming Sony a7IV, which is rather disappointing as the 4k recording will be limited to 30fps. There’s still no news about the bitrate so, let’s wait and see!