Nikon has unveiled the Nikon NIKKOR Z 28mm F2.8 Lens, the smallest & lightest lens for Nikon Z-Mount. We then have an awesome telescope array, and much more. Here’s the best news I’ve selected for “The Photography News Show”!

LENS NEWS

Nikon NIKKOR Z 28mm F2.8

Back in July, Nikon launched the Zfc camera, and there was a limited edition kit that included the Nikkor Z 28mm F2.8 SE, that greatly paired with the vintage look of the camera. A few months have passed, and Nikon has just released the standard version of this lens, which features the same modern design as the 40mm F2.

The Nikkor Z 28mm F2.8 is incredibly portable and light. It weighs only 155g, which makes it the smallest & lightest lens among the Nikkor Z prime lenses lineup. When you look at it, you might think it’s an APS-C lens, but it’s actually designed to cover a full-frame sensor so that you can have a perfect lens for street photography always in your pocket.

And of course, you can also mount it on an APS-C body, such as the Zfc, where you will obtain an equivalent focal length of 42mm.

The 28mm is a very typical lens for street photography, architecture, and environmental portraits. Slightly wider than a 35mm lens, but narrower than a 24mm one, it’s a focal length that trains your eye to find new compositions, ultimately expanding your creative possibilities.

The minimum focus distance is 19 cm, or 0.63 ft, so that you can capture some more details of your subject while still showing the surroundings of the scene.

Talking of features, autofocus is achieved thanks to the dual stepping motor, a feature that we normally see in lenses of the S-line, which are more expensive. The focus ring can be customized so that you can use it to control the ISO, exposure compensation, or adjust the aperture, something that can certainly be useful for video makers. Talking of which, with such compact dimensions & lightweight, this lens is ideal to be used on a gimbal, and has very similar dimensions to the 40mm F2, so that you can start creating a kit of bright prime lenses for your videos.

It also has a dust and drip-resistant design and coming at $300, this can easily become a must-have lens to get started with street photography, and you can grab it from the link in the description.

CAMERA NEWS

Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo Hybrid

Instant cameras seem to have made a comeback in recent years, but I’ve never really liked them as they usually had a not-so-sleek design, together with very limited functionalities. This week though, Fujifilm has announced the Instax Mini Evo Hybrid, which is a blend of an instant camera together with a digital one. The Mini Evo has, in fact, a 3-inch LED screen on the back so that you can evaluate your shots, which can be stored on an SD card. It has a classic analog-style body, which is discreet and essential, and it has a 28mm F2.8 lens, which as I’ve just mentioned in the Lens News segment, is optimal for street photography.

The camera also has 10 lens effect modes, together with 10 filter options, so that you can have a total of 100 different combinations, and you can edit the pictures and print them directly from the camera. There’s no info on the sensor size, but I guess it’s going to be a very tiny one. You surely cannot expect much from it in terms of quality, but the overall experience surely is fun and it can help you sparkle some more creativity. It comes at $200, while the 15-pack of prints comes at $10.

Canon is Bringing Vehicle AF to the EOS R5 & R6

Talking about more serious gear, a few weeks ago Canon had finally announced the EOS R3, which among many features also has vehicle-detection Autofocus. The good news of the week is that Canon is soon going to bring this feature also to the R5 and R6 via a firmware upgrade, which will surely make some Canon shooters happy.

Gannet (USA Today) Switches to Sony

While if you’re a Sony shooter, you might be interested to hear that Sony has been selected as the exclusive camera provider for Gannet, which runs a ton of US media outlets, including USA Today. This is not the 1st partnership between Sony and a big media organization. This summer the biggest news agency in Ireland and the UK switched to Sony, while the previous summer Sony became the supplier of Associated Press. I’m really curious to see how things will evolve in the upcoming future now that Nikon and Canon have greatly expanded their mirrorless lineup.

PICTURES OF THE WEEK

Dragonfly Telephoto Array

In this segment, I feature the most interesting pictures I’ve seen on the web!

This week I have for you an incredible telescope array comprised of 24 lenses. Specifically, 24 Canon 400mm F2.8, with a total value of 288 grand.

It has been created by an international research team from Yale University and the University of Toronto. The name of the project is Dragonfly Telephoto Array, and it has enabled the researchers to discover ultra-diffuse galaxies and other low-surface brightness phenomena, deepening the understanding of how galaxies are formed and providing key insights into the nature of dark matter.

The project has started in 2015, and Canon has been supporting it by providing all the needed lenses. And in the upcoming future, they are planning to create an incredible array of 168 400mm lenses, which will enable the researchers to open new windows in the universe.

As you can imagine, this project is very complicated & in-depth, so you can find more info about it on the abstract and on the full paper.

APP NEWS

Capture One for iPhone

Adobe Lightroom surely is the most used software to edit images, but Capture One has become a great alternative, and for some, a better one. The company is committed to reaching more photographers, and that’s why it’s currently working on an iPhone app. The good news is that Capture One is aiming for the same color science and experience that you’d normally get on the desktop app so that it can become part of your workflow while you’re on the go.