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These are Nikon’s 100th anniversary commemorative cameras & lenses

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It’s not exactly a secret that Nikon is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. But what has kept many in suspense is exactly what camera bodies they’ll use to celebrate it. After all, Nikon has a history of creating special and exclusive cameras for various events. Now it seems there are special 100th anniversary editions of both the Nikon D5 and Nikon D500 bodies.

There also seems to be a 100th anniversary edition of the “Holy Trinity” lenses. The Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR and 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR. In all cases, the typical black finish seems to have been replaced by a rather pretty gunmetal grey.

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This comical sketch shows the practical differences between photo and cinema lenses

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Anybody who has ever tried to shoot video with a photography zoom lens understands the frustration it can cause. It seems natural to want to use the lenses we already own with DSLRs and mirrorless that can record video. After all, why spend money on a lens we already own, right? But things are a little more complicated than that. Photography lenses aren’t designed for video.

This video from The Camera Store TV is both hilarious and informative. It highlights the big differences between photography and cinema lenses. Why cinema lenses cost more money, and why you often can’t pull off the same shots with even pro photography lenses. I’m not sure which is funnier, though, the general idea of the sketch, or the acting abilities of those involved.

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The LAB-BOX multi-format film developing tank lets you eliminate the darkroom

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When I first stumbled across this, I thought it was a pretty neat idea. Of course, it’s not an entirely new idea. Agfa used to make a similar device. The Rondinax. Of course, you needed completely separate units for 35mm and 120 format film. The LAB-BOX works on a similar principle, but is a little more modular, allowing you to develop both with the same unit.

With the Kickstarter campaign launched only a couple of days ago, it’s already smashed its €70,000 goal. It’s now at almost €331K, and still has 32 days left to go. Ars-imago, the company behind the LAB-BOX want to let us develop film any time anywhere. Even in complete daylight.

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This photographer uses a mirrored disco ball to light up a VW Camper

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Yesterday, I ran across an image by photographer, Chris Frosin. Chris is an automotive photographer for several car magazines in the UK. Many of the cars he shoots are vintage classics. They’ve been around for decades and photographed a million different ways. So, in an effort to keep things fresh, Chris is always trying to push himself and test out different techniques.

This time around, Chris was commissioned to shoot a 1979 Riviera Bay Window Camper Van, for Volks World Camper and Bus magazine. Given this particular van’s nickname of “Disco Ned”, Chris wanted to try to bring some of that character into these images. When the owner of the van told him he had a disco ball, Chris decided to use it as his main light modifier.

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This robotic studio eliminates the photographer to shoot fashion photos

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We’re in a world where robots seem to be taking over many of our jobs. I’m not saying whether this is a good or bad thing, it’s just reality. But this one I find to be a little bit strange. Especially when delays on professional photography shoots are usually not down to the photographer this system attempts to replace.

Regardless, in an attempt to apparently try and keep something as efficient as it already is, StyleShoots have launched Live. A robotic photo studio that, in theory, eliminates the need for a photographer or any other crew. Combining depth sensors, lighting rigs, a Canon 1DX Mark II (with a cheap 24-105mm f/3.5-5.6 lens), and some nifty software on the iPad, all you need is a model and stylist.

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Sony’s new SD card is the world’s fastest with transfer speeds of 300MB/sec

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I can still remember the days when a 16X CompactFlash card was considered quite fast at a nippy 2.4MB/sec. It was a good time. Dinosaurs roamed the earth, and we daren’t even think about shooting our DSLRs higher than ISO400. My how times have changed. Of course, they’ve needed to. With the increase in 4K video use, high megapixel cameras, and insane framerates, transfer speed demands have increased tremendously.

Sony’s new offering, though, goes a little beyond extreme (no pun intended. Sorry, SanDisk). They’ve just announced their new SF-G Series UHS-II SD cards, which features read & write speeds of 300MB/s and 299MB/s, respectively. Prepare ship for Ludicrous Speed!

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How to create stunning fake freckles with a toothbrush and no Photoshop

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Freckles are one of those strange things in life. Many who have them try to hide them. Many who don’t absolutely adore them. Sometimes, though, you get a subject in front of your lens covered in freckles and extremely proud of them. That’s the ideal situation for a photographer who loves freckles.

Photographer Mathieu Stern’s on the side of loving them. And if you saw his recent UV video, then you can see why. Sick of Photoshop tutorials that create bad and obviously fake freckles, he has come up with a more practical solution. Switching from weird lenses to weird makeup, he uses watercolour paints and a toothbrush to create freckles on the subject’s face that actually look extremely realistic.

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The best LED video lighting kit you can get for $500

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With as much competition as there is in today’s LED marketplace, it can be tough to know what’s worth buying. There’s so many models out there that look almost identical to each other (or are identical, but with a different brand name). CRIs are all over the place, as is colour balance. As a beginner looking to pick up your first video lighting set, you might not even know where to begin.

Caleb Pike at DSLR Video Shooter has been doing some comparisons recently for lights at different budgets. In his newest video, he puts together a complete beginner LED lighting kit for video. It’s a pretty versatile set of gear, and offers many options to get you up and running without breaking the bank.

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10 beginner tips to up your photo game and improve your work

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No matter how experienced we may get as photographers, there are always ways to improve. Sometimes it’s learning something new. At other times it’s simply seeing something in a new way. Occasionally, it’s just getting reminders to help us lose bad habits that might make us screw up.

The folks at Mango Street have been putting out some quite cool videos recently, with some great advice to help with this. In their new video, they offer up 10 tips to take your photos “from BASIC to BOSS”. They pooled some of their professional photographer friends to see what tips they had to offer. I don’t quite agree with all of them, though.

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ADOX is building a new factory to produce photographic film, paper and chemicals

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Founded as the world’s first photochemical factory in 1860, ADOX has had an interesting life. But as observed by Ilford, Kodak, and other companies, film is becoming extremely popular again. So much so that ADOX have announced plans to build a huge new factory in Bad Saarow, just outside Berlin, Germany. This is in addition to acquisition of facilities in Switzerland only 18 months ago.

Essentially, a huge growth in demand has meant that production simply can’t keep up. While this is great news for ADOX, it speaks to the film world as a whole. Demand is not only not slowing down, but it’s increasing. Hopefully, this increased production from all manufacturers means that there might be some serious competition again. It could even see the price of film and chemicals start to drop a little.

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