Tamron has announced the 17-70mm F/2.8 Di III-A VC RXD, a fast-aperture standard zoom lens for Fuji X-mount APS-C mirrorless cameras. With the fast(ish) aperture and the 25.5-105mm-equivalent focal length range, Tamron markets it as “the world’s first wide range 4.1x standard zoom lens.” For Fuji X at least. So, let’s jump right in and see what this lens has to offer.
DJI announces the RS 3 and RS 3 Pro gimbals along with DJI Transmission, its first remote video control system
It looks like it’s not just Zhiyun announcing a new gimbal today as DJI announces two of theirs, the DJI RS 3 and the DJI RS 3 Pro along with the new DJI Transmission system – their first attempt at a completely DJI wireless video viewing and control workflow. DJI says that the “new generation of the Ronin ecosystem allows creators to focus on what’s in front of their camera by simplifying everything connected to it”.
DJI says that the RS 3 and RS 3 Pro bring “landmark improvements to the classic and reliable Ronin series” with the new DJI Transmission system combining “reception, monitoring, control and recording in one”. It sounds a lot like the Zhiyun VC100 MasterEye & TransMount AI combo (more info here) only it’s for DJI’s gimbals and not Zhiyun’s and it’s way more expensive. Of course, it looks a lot more capable, too!
Nanlite expands its studio line of AC-powered LED lights with the FS-300B bi-colour spot
Nanlite has announced its new FS-300B AC-powered bi-colour LED spot light. As an AC-powered light, it’s designed for use in the studio rather than on location and offers 11,130 Lux bare at 1 metre and up to 38×720 lux when using the included reflector. It offers a bi-colour range of 2700K to 6500K with a constant output mode ensuring that your brightness stays consistent throughout the range.
It has an average CRI of 96 and TLCI of 97 to help ensure accuracy on-camera and offers 12 built-in practical effects that can be adjusted by brightness, colour temperature and speed. It’s simple interface is controlled by just a couple of knobs and a button with a 1.3″ OLED on the back to show you what you’re doing. But, you also get built-in Bluetooth and 2.4G for wireless control with the Nanlink App from your smartphone.
Zhiyun’s Weebill 3 comes with a new, lightweight Sling 2.0 form factor and a built-in microphone
It seems like only 11 months ago since Zhiyun announced the Weebill 2 (review here) but already were’s seeing another announcement from Zhiyun in the form of the Weebill 3. It incorporates what Zhiyun calls a new and updated Sling 2.0 design for DSLR and mirrorless cameras, with improved ergonomics, a built-in microphone, fill light and a powerful built-in battery that Zhiyun says supports “all-day use”.
It doesn’t have the flippy-out LCD of the Weebill 2, which suggests that Zhiyun may continue to sell both models concurrently – at least for a little while – but its new design is geared towards long shooting sessions and keeping things as light as possible while providing more support to your wrist carrying your camera rig.
What annoys you the most about your camera?
If there’s one thing that photographers can do well regardless of their skill level, it’s complain! And there are few who complain about cameras quite as well as Chris and Jordan at DPReview TV. In this video, they talk about what they believe the five most annoying quirks on cameras today. Although they don’t limit their quirks to a particular model or even brand of camera, it does show that no brand is really perfect.
I’m sure all of us could come up with a healthy list of things that annoy us about our chosen camera or brand, though. I shoot Nikon for stills and Panasonic for video, and I’ve definitely got some complaints. I might mention a few of them later. For now, though, here’s Chris and Jordan’s list.
The Atoll is a unique take on the traditional tripod lens collar for easy vertical shooting for stills and video
At first, the Atoll might seem like just a regular tripod collar, the kind that many of us have used with our lenses for years – at least telephoto lenses. But Atoll comes with a bit of a twist (no pun intended) that allows you to get that lens collar functionality with lenses that weren’t actually designed to have a collar attached.
It’s essentially two mounting plates in one – one that goes on top of your tripod head and one that mounts underneath your camera – connected via a rotating ring that goes around your lens and allows you to easily rotate it without having to deal with the inherent issues of ball heads and blocking cable connections. It’s been launched through Kickstarter where it’s already hammered its goal multiple times over.
Laowa has officially launched the new $499 90mm f/2.8 2x Macro for E, L, RF and Z mount cameras
There isn’t really much about this lens that we didn’t already know, except for the surprisingly low $499 price tag, thanks to last month’s leaked specs, photos and video but Venus Optics has now officially announced the new Laowa 90mm f/2.8 2x Ultra-Macro APO “CA-Dreamer” lens. The lens was expected to be announced on May 23rd, although that seems to have been delayed until today.
This full-frame lens is available in several mirrorless mounts including Sony E, Canon RF, Nikon Z and Leica L. It’s a manual focus lens with a minimum focus distance of 20.5cm and a magnification factor of 2x. It weighs in at only 619g, and provides what Venus Optics says is “superb optical performance and outstanding sharpness”.
Leica announces a $20,000 35mm film camera… Yes, it’s 2022
Leica has announced a new, limited edition version of its M-A camera. The Leica M-A “Titan” is the existing M-A dressed in new clothes, and like other Leica’s limited edition pieces – it’s pretty expensive. It will set you back nearly $20k, but there’s something different about it compared to the more recent limited-edition models.
Unlike the more recent limited-edition cameras from Leica, there’s something different about this one – it’s a film camera. Yup, Leica has re-introduced a film camera in 2022 and priced it at nearly $20k.
My perfect portable setup for the traveling retoucher or photographer
Technology has really evolved in a way that has made it possible for people to work more efficiently on the go. I used to remember when laptops were barely able to keep up with Photoshop and working on the road was a huge pain. Now it’s changed drastically!
I am a working and traveling retoucher, photographer, and co-founder of Infinite Tools. This year alone I’ve had the pleasure of traveling and working in places like Cape Town, Iceland, and Namibia! Whether it’s going abroad or locally, I always need to be able to retouch client work and I wanted a setup that could adapt to home and travel life. After all, sometimes I am only home for a bit and even when I’m home, I like to work in different locations to change things up.
Zhiyun’s Smooth Q4 brings improved ergonomics for faster use on location
Zhiyun has announced the new Zhiyun Smooth Q4 gimbal for smartphones. It comes with some ergonomic improvements over its predecessor with a redesigned arm that lets you deploy and start shooting with it very quickly when you’re out and about. And like many of Zhiyun’s smartphone gimbals, it features a built-in extendable selfie stick for when you want to get a bit more vlogging range with a wider background.
It’s available in two packages. The Standard Package contains the basic gimbal, mini tripod and power cord. The Combo Package also includes a small magnetic LED fill light with gel covers, a wrist strap and a case in which to keep everything safe. The gimbal itself offers a multi-function control wheel as well as intelligent shooting modes and one-click switching between landscape and portrait orientation.
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