This week Tamron has shown the upcoming Tamron 35-150mm F2-2.8 in real life at WPPI in Las Vegas. Besides that, we have a telephoto lens integrated into a smartphone, a Leica kit bought for $15, and much more.
Here’s the best news I’ve selected for “The Photography News Show”!

LENS NEWS

Tamron 35-150mm F2-2.8 Di III VXD – 1st Real Life Images

As I’ve reported a couple of episodes ago, Tamron is developing a very interesting lens, the Tamron 35-150mm F2-2.8 Di III VXD, and this week we have the 1st real-life images of it; this lens has, in fact, been shown at the WPPI in Las Vegas.

Based on this image, I’d say the lens is fairly chunky, something that has to be expected due to its wide aperture and focal length.

There are still no details about its dimensions & weight, but to give you some perspective of its size, you can see it on this image next to the upcoming Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 Di III VXD G2 .

Both these lenses will be made for Full Frame Sony cameras, and I hope I will be able to review them as soon as they’re out.

CAMERA NEWS

EISA Awards 2021-2022 | Photography

This week we have the EISA awards, which recognize the best products in the photography industry. There are several awards based on the category, and the overall winner is the Sony Alpha 1, which won the “Camera of the Year” award.

Here’s the full list of the awarded products:

• Camera of the Year: Sony Alpha 1
• Best Advanced Camera: Nikon Z 6II
• Best Premium Camera: Canon EOS R5
• Best Professional Camera: Fujifilm GFX 100S
• Best Photo/video Camera: Sony Alpha 7S III
• Best Buy Camera (Full-Frame): Nikon Z 5
• Best Buy Camera (APS-C): Fuji X-S10

It’s nice to see different brands for each category, while something interesting to mention, is that other important brands like Leica, Panasonic, and Olympus, didn’t make it to the list.

While below you can find the awarded lenses:

• Lens of the Year: Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 Di III-A VC RXD
• Best Wideangle Lens: Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM
• Best Wideangle Zoom Lens (APS-C): Tamron 11-20mm f/2.8 Di III-A RXD
• Best Wideangle Zoom Lens (Full-frame): Sony FE 12-24mm f/2.8 GM
• Best Standard Lens: Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM
• Best Telephoto Zoom Lens: Tamron 150-500mm F/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD
• Best Portrait Lens: Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art
• Best Manual Lens: Laowa Argus 33mm f/0.95 CF APO
• Best Macro Lens: Nikon NIKKOR Z MC 50mm f/2.8
• Best Special Purpose Lens: Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift
• Best Lens Innovation: Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM

SMARTPHONE NEWS

36% of Professional Photographers Shoot Some Work On Smartphones

Do you know that 36% of professional photographers shoot some of their work on smartphones?

This crazy stat came from a survey conducted by Suite48Analytics on almost 900 professional photographers. We would need a higher number of participants to have a more precise idea, but this still shows a trend, and my guess is that this number will get higher in the future.

Personally, I’m someone that would never shoot professional work on a smartphone, but what if that’s what the client wants?

That’s exactly what happened to me a couple of weeks ago when I filmed a segment for a commercial on my smartphone, which was specifically requested by the client, as that’s the look they were going for.

If you think about it, now that social media has a massive influence on society and content like IG stories or reels are so popular, it makes sense for brands to reproduce that kind of visuals for commercials too. This doesn’t mean that everything will be shot on smartphones in the future, but they will surely be used more in some scenarios. 

Oppo Announces 85-200mm Continuous Optical Zoom & 5 Axis Stabilization on Sensor for Smartphones

For that very reason, smartphone manufacturers have to level up their game in terms of quality and versatility, and this week we have an 85-200mm lens integrated into a smartphone.

Specifically, Chinese manufacturer Oppo has developed a continuous optical zoom that will allow you to zoom in without any loss of detail!

During the keynote presentation, the company showed the comparison between a standard phone zoom and their new one, and there’s a noticeable difference in terms of details.

Besides that, it has also announced a Five-Axis stabilization on the sensor, with similar technology to the one we have on the latest mirrorless cameras.

And even if you don’t want to get one of their smartphones, this is still very interesting news, because it shows the trend of the market. So, we will most likely see similar solutions from other brands in the upcoming future.

SOFTWARE NEWS

Major Photoshop Update Brings Improvements For iPads & Sky Replacement

Adobe has announced a major update for Photoshop on desktop and iPad.

The most noticeable improvements are that Photoshop on iPad finally has the Healing Brush, which is perfect to clean up skies and skins, and the Magic Wand for quick selections.

While the improvements on the desktop version are related to the Sky Replacement tool. There are new skies available, a “Get More Skies” option which will take you to the Discover page on your Adobe Account, where you can download several sky libraries for free, from sunsets to night skies.

Replacing skies is now common practice, especially to get more likes on social media.

So the question of the day is: do you replace the sky in your photos? How do you feel about it?

Personally, it’s something that I never do in my photography, as I prefer capturing what’s on the scene, and with my post-processing, I improve only what’s there. The only cases where I allow myself to replace the sky is if I’m on a paid shoot and there is terrible weather.

ACCESSORY NEWS

ATL Watch Resembles Twin-Lens Reflex Camera

In this segment, I normally present to you some interesting accessories to make your life as a photographer simpler, but with today’s accessory, well, you’ll get more style!

I’m talking about the ATL, a watch inspired by the iconic twin-lens reflex camera.

It’s an automatic movement watch, filled with tiny details that recall the design of this famous camera.

If you love both photography and watches, this might be the right one for you!

WEIRD NEWS

Videographer Falls Into Pool at Luxury Indian Wedding

The imaging world can be at times weird!

This week we have a teen who bought a Leica Camera kit at a garage sale for $15.

He had no idea of what he’d bought, so he posted a question on a Leica Facebook Group, and well, he’s discovered that he got a Leica M4 together with 4 lenses, and the whole kit is worth $7,200.

Call that a good investment!

RUMORS

Sony a7IV Delayed

The Sony a7IV was supposed to be launched in mid-September, but a trusted source has reported to Sonyalpharumors that the camera should be launched at least in October and that supplies will be limited during the first months.