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Here are the first images taken with the Laowa 9mm f/5.6 full frame lens

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A little while back, Laowa (A.K.A. Venus optics) announced a very exciting new 9mm f/5.6 full-frame lens. (Laowa already has a 9mm 2.8 lens for crop sensors, but this lens is for full-frame and lower aperture).

One of the exciting features of this lens is that it is a Rectilinear, low distortion lens and does not create any fish-eye distortion. It is not as distortion-free as Laowa’s Zero-D, but still has very (very!) low distortion for a 9mm lens.

We managed to get our hands on a few sample photos for the lens made with various cameras, click on each image for larger resolution.

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World’s biggest phone show canceled over coronavirus concerns, NAB taking close watch

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The world’s biggest phone show, MWC in Barcelona, just notified that world that it will not happen this year. GSMA CEO John Hoffman said that “With due regard to the safe and healthy environment in Barcelona and the host country today, the GSMA has cancelled MWC Barcelona 2020 because the global concern regarding the coronavirus outbreak, travel concern and other circumstances, make it impossible for the GSMA to hold the event“.

The show has seen a few big companies canceling participation over the last month, starting with LG and ZTE. Then the flood gates opened with Ericsson, Nvidia, Intel, Vivo, Sony, Amazon, NTT Docomo, Cisco, Nokia, BT, and HMD. If the show was to be held, it would have been empty halls.

While this show does not relate to photography, NAB released a statement that it is closely monitoring the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation:

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Lightroom now natively supports massive PSB files

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Adobe just made it dramatically easier to use Lightroom to manage large files created with exposure blending, Smart Objects, images enlarged for print, and anything that creates a file larger than the 4GB limit for TIF files.

Until now, if you wanted to use PSB files you’ve had to use workarounds to be able to view large documents in Lighroom (such as the “convert layers to linked PSB” utility built into Lumenzia) or something like Adobe Bridge to view PSB files. That’s no longer the case, as Lightroom v9.2 now has native support for the PSB file format.

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The Rode NT-USB Mini is a $99 desktop microphone for voiceovers, YouTubers and streamers

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Rode’s NT-USB microphone has become one of the most popular microphones out there over the last few years (although, personally, I’m a big fan of the Podcaster). Now, though Rode has shrunk it down into the new Rode NT-USB Mini, a $99 microphone that plugs straight into your computer.

Aimed at YouTubers, podcasters and streamers, the new microphone plugs straight into your computer via the USB port. Rode says it’s been designed to provide “warmth and presence” in your audio for the most pleasing sound straight out of the microphone without any processing.

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The Nikon D6 is the world’s first DSLR to offer (a sort of) Eye AF in optical mode

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The Nikon D6, Nikon’s newest flagship DSLR, has now officially been announced. While not all of the rumours were true, it’s an impressive looking camera. It has a brand new 105-point all cross-type autofocus system, ISO from 100 to an impressive 102400, built-in GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth and Gigabit Ethernet, dual CFexpress slots, and more.

One of the most notable features, however, is that it appears to have some form of Eye AF implementation when shooting in regular optical mode through the viewfinder. Nikon says that “the D6 is the first DSLR to let you prioritise focusing on your subject’s eyes when using Auto-Area AF or 3D tracking”.

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You may get sued big time if you aren’t careful with what you upload to Unsplash

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Unsplash has in a short time become a major player in the photo-sharing industry. 174,000 photographers have uploaded images to the site. The platform this month boasts 5,000 views and 27 downloads per second. (PER SECOND!) People download images for blogs, classes, and other purposes, but also for commercial use. There is a big debate in the industry asking if Unsplash is good or bad, but it is not what I want to talk about today. Today I want to talk about the legal risks you face when you upload work to Unsplash. Not as the end-user, but as the photographer.

Photographers use Unsplash for exposure because of the enormous traffic the site generates. A company may hire a photographer for commercial assignments or simply want to license a high-resolution version of an image it found on Unsplash.

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Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra boasts 10x optical telephoto and 108mp f/1.8 main cameras

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Well, they’re official Samsung’s announced its array of new smartphones which includes the Samsung Galaxy S20, S20 Plus and S20 Ultra – the latter of which sporting a 48-megapixel 100x zoom camera and a 108-megapixel main camera. Also announced is the new Z Flip phone, Samsung’s second attempt at a phone with a folding screen.

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Fake Gary Fong Lightspheres are being sold on Amazon – Watch Gary call them out on video

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The Gary Fong Lightsphere has been a staple of wedding and event photography for years. And no matter how much some photographers wish they would just disappear, they insist on persevering. It seems demand for them is pretty high, too, as counterfeit Lightspheres, along with full Gary Fong branding are not only being made but even sold on Amazon.

Gary Fong himself bought one of the fakes from Amazon in order to make a video calling out these counterfeit products and showing the differences between the originals and the fakes.

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Canon’s upcoming 24-105mm RF lens actually has a pretty slow f/4-7.1 aperture

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It looks like the previous rumours about the impending Canon 24-105mm IS STM RF lens were a little optimistic. Initially, it was believed that this would be a pretty standard f/3.5-5.6 lens, like its EF mount counterpart, but it seems that it’s actually a horrendously slow f/4-7.1, according to a new specs leak by Nokishita.

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