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Mitakon has finally released the Speedmaster 35mm f/0.95 II for Micro Four Thirds

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Micro Four Thirds shooters have been waiting a long time for this one. This APS-C format lens was initially released way back in 2016 for Fuji X, Sony E and Canon EF-M mounts, but notably lacking was MFT. Well, that’s all changed now, as ZY Optics has launched the Mitakon 35mm f/0.95 Mark II with a Micro Four Thirds mount… In Japan.

On a Micro Four Thirds camera, the lens offers a field of view equivalent of a 70mm focal length on a full-frame body, but with a nice wide f/0.95 aperture for shooting in low light conditions and getting that shallow depth of field. It features the same construction as its APS-C brethren, with 11 elements in 8 groups and a 55mm front filter thread.

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Watch: El Risitas explains why Rule of Thirds sucks in a hilarious “subtitled” video

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I’m sure you’ve seen El Risitas in one of many iterations of his 2007 interview, filled with his recognizable laughter. This video turned into a meme in 2015, and a bunch of “subtitled” videos popped up on YouTube. Well, here’s finally one for photographers and other artists. In this one, El Risitas is subtitled as Picasso telling a story about the Rule of Thirds and why it sucks.

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Public pressures Zuckerberg to give up on Instagram for kids

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Last month, there was a word about Instagram releasing a dedicated app specifically for children under 13. Many people criticized the decision, and the pressure on Zuckerberg to give up on it seems to be heating up. Recently, an international coalition of 35 children’s and consumer groups invited Zuckerberg to stop the project, citing everything that could go wrong if the app is released. And as you can imagine, there are many things that could go wrong.

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Free Lightroom alternative: Importing images into Darktable (quick start guide)

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This is part two of five in a series. You can see Part 1 here. Before you can start editing your images with Darktable, you must first import them! There’s a couple of things we should get out of the way first. One, Darktable does not create a catalog like Lightroom! Two, your image files are not being imported.

So, what you see is a preview of your original file. Therefore, do NOT use Darktable as a way to back up your files… since that’s not what it was designed for. Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let’s explore two different options for importing your images; via your hard drive or your camera.

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Hollyland announces Lark 15 Solo Kit wireless lav mic for budget shooters who only need one mic

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Hollyland’s Lark 150 dual wireless microphone kit has been quite popular since its release a few months ago. The original kit contains two transmitters and a single receiver that runs on 2.4Ghz wireless frequencies. A lot of users didn’t want to have to pay for a kit containing a pair of microphones, though when they only needed one.

In response to those needs, Hollyland has now announced the Hollyland Lark 150 Solo Kit aimed towards lower budget users and vloggers. It contains just a single transmitter along with the receiver. But the transmitter is also available to buy now as a separate purchase for those who purchase the Solo Kit, but wish to upgrade to the dual kit in the future.

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World Press Photo contest reveals the stunning 2021 winners

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After giving us a little teaser with its 2021 nominees, the World Press Photo Contest has now announced this year’s winners. The best of the best for the World Press Photo contest and Digital Storytelling Contest have been announced, and we bring you the stunning selection of photos below.

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Maxima 3 LED spot announced – Maxima 7 sunlight simulator LED spot finally available to buy

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This one’s taken a while. Initially announced in February 2020 to much fanfare, the Maxima 7 LED spotlight is now available to buy. And it’s brought a little one with it, the Maxima 3. All the specs of the Maxima 7 were previously released at launch, and you can see those here, so let’s talk about the new Maxima 3.

The Maxima 3 is a 300W COB LED light with a CRI of 96+ and a TLCI of 97. It’s available in two versions that are either tungsten or daylight balanced, with a COB LED life of 50,000 hours. As with the Maxima 7, the Maxima 3 LED contains a focusable 8″ Fresnel lens and accepts Bowens mount modifiers.

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Fujifilm announces the compact XF 18mm f/1.4 weather resistant lens

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Fujifilm has announced its new XF 18mm f/1.4 R WR lens for their X system APS-C mirrorless cameras. Part of Fuji’s series of compact, portable primes, the XF 18mm f/1.4 R WR offers a field of view equivalent to 27mm focal length on a full-frame body with a wide f/1.4 aperture and weighs just 370g.

Ideally suited to genres like travel, landscape, architecture and street photography, this autofocus lens should also be well at home with subjects like astrophotography thanks to its wide aperture, weather-resistant design and coatings to help control ghosting and flare.

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DJI’s Air 2S drone comes with a cool new 1-inch sensor that shoots 5.4K video

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DJI has today officially announced the new DJI Air 2S drone, rumoured only last week. And it does indeed look as that leaked teaser suggested, with an extra pair of sensors on top and a large 1-inch camera sensor. But not only does the DJI Air 2S get a sizable sensor size upgrade over the Mavic Air 2, but it also gets a resolution bump, offering video at up to 5.4K resolution.

The DJI Air 2S offers up to 31 minutes of flight time with four-way directional obstacle sensors, APAS 4.0 advanced autopilot system, and a new MasterShots feature which uses automatic flight path planning to set the drone’s course while recording video and then automatically merges it all together in a neatly edited video.

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How to overcome camera gear addiction

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From curated Instagram accounts to the digital aisles of online stores, the temptation of shiny new tech is everpresent. There’s always something new and improved that I ‘need’ to be a better photographer. A filter for this, an adapter for that, an extra few megapixels here, a pinch of dynamic range there… and don’t get me started on lenses, tripods, and backpacks.

Truth be told, practice — not purchase — makes perfect. Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, said it best: The more you know, the less you need.

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