Photography News: New Godox Flash, Big Used Gear Sale

3 days ago 14

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Although Christmas shares the same foundation worldwide, it is far from immune to local particularities and, let’s admit it, downright oddities. Consider here in the Czech Republic, for example, where the traditional Christmas dish is fried carp. Yes, the same fish that’s often considered an inferior or even garbage fish in other parts of the world. Here, a dad typically brings a live carp home a few days before Christmas Eve, where it takes up temporary residence – often in the family’s only bathtub. Children sometimes even name the fish and treat it like a pet, and the whole family takes turns visiting it. That is, until “Johny” becomes the centerpiece of Christmas dinner.

What about you? Do you have any strange Christmas traditions? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below. But for now, let’s dive into the last photography news of 2024.

Recent Announcements

Godox V100 flash: The most striking feature is the rounded design of the flash head, meant for any situation where a larger light source is beneficial, or where standard rectangular reflections on shiny surfaces would be distracting. The main flash has an output power of 100W. It also includes a sub-flash for added versatility. A removable 2980mAh lithium-ion battery provides enough energy for up to 70 full-power flashes on a single charge. The flash is fully compatible with the Godox 2.4 GHz wireless radio system, allowing it to operate as a commander or receiver unit. The price is $349.
Pergear 12mm F2 II: APS-C, fully manual lens available in XF, E, RF, Z and M4/3 mounts, which has lost 70g in its second generation (total weight 230g). Lens construction and other key parameters remain the same as in the first generation, i.e. 12 elements in 9 groups, 0.2m minimum focusing distance and 10 blade diaphragm. The price is $169.
Darktable 5.0.0: Some things, money just can’t buy. For example, the free, open-source photo editing software Darktable – which is now available with a major update called 5.0.0. The new version includes a long list of user interface, performance, and stability improvements, as well as a number of other changes. You can check out what’s new on the A dabble in photography YouTube channel or directly on the Darktable website.

The Rumor Mill

Fujifilm GFX100RF: list of rumored features is growing

The GFX100RF medium format “compact” camera is scheduled to be released in March 2025, and the list of leaked specs and features is slowly growing. This includes a 100MP sensor, 35mm f/4 lens, no IBIS, and X-Pro3 size factor. Recently-released information shows a lever under the shutter button that is supposed to serve as a crop zoom lever. Of a similar nature is the second leaked feature, a dedicated aspect ratio dial. Nothing is 100% certain, of course, but the generously sized 43.8×32.9mm 100MP sensor can easily afford to crop a little of its majesty here and there without dramatically affecting the quality of its output.

Via Fuji Rumors

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 for masses?

The fast zoom lenses of the big brands usually serve as a showcase for the best that manufacturers have to offer. But in recent years, some lenses have broken this trend, like the Canon RF 28-70mm f/2.8 IS STM (about half the cost of the RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L). Canon is reportedly planning something similar for a follow-up lens in the 70-200mm range. This could make it not only an affordable, but perhaps a lighter alternative to its holy sibling with the red ring.

Via Lens Rumors

Leica SL3 gets a partner

Nikon has the Z6 and Z7 series. Canon has the R6 and R5 series. And now Leica’s SL3 may be getting a lower-resolution partner, with an expected release of the SL3-S on January 16th. Sensor resolution (around 24MP) and perhaps even more powerful image stabilization (up to 6.5 stops) should be the main technical differences for the current successor. A significant non-technical difference should be the price, which is expected to be significantly lower for the SL3-S.

Via Leica Rumors

Good Deals and New Sales

The year-end sales at B&H Photo have left some cameras and lenses at their lowest prices yet. This is especially true of previous generation cameras, which didn’t get worse just because a new version came out! Here are some camera deals that stand out:

Leica SL2-S was $5,195, now $2,995
Sony a1 was $6,498, now $4,998
Nikon Z8 was $3,997, now $3,497
Nikon Z7 II was $2,997, now $1,997
Nikon Z6 II was $1,997, now $1,497
Canon EOS R5 was $3,399, now $2,799
Canon EOS R6 Mark II was $2,499, now $1,999
OM System OM-1 Mark II was $2,400, now $1,900

What about lenses? Some of the sales from last week’s news are still up, and remain good deals. But below, I’ve selected lens deals that didn’t make it into my previous selection or are new this week.

Sigma 500mm f/5.6 DG DN OS Sports was $2,999, now $2,549
Nikon AF-S 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR was $3,597, now $3,297
Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art was $1,599, now $1,099
Nikon AF-S 58mm f/1.4G was $1,597, now $1,157
Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S was $2,697, now $2,197
Nikon Z 70-180mm f/2.8 was $1,247, now $1,047
Nikon Z 28-75mm f/2.8 was $1,197, now $897
Nikon Z 50mm f/1.2 S was $2,097, now $1,797
OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO was $1,500, now $1,200
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 300mm f/4 IS PRO was $3,000, now $2,700
Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD was $2,000, now $1,800

Finally, if you’re on a tight budget after buying a lot of Christmas gifts, the used market remains the best way to save money. Even more so with KEH’s big sale right now of 20% off much of their inventory with code EYC24.

Other Pages of Interest

As the year comes to a close, you can now explore the 2024 collection of NASA’s best images of the year. What’s more, all the images are available for download in high resolution. If you like, you can decorate your home with Ottawa’s Fall Rhapsody or an image of Hurricane Milton taken from the safe altitude of 257 miles aboard SpaceX Dragon Freedom.

Nikon USA has just published an article about photographing a truly beautiful owl – the Great Gray Owl. And, of course, it was done with Nikon gear. In this case, the ultimate bird photography combo: the Nikon Z9 paired with the Nikon Z 600mm f/4 lens. How did the article’s author and photographer, Tom Bol, set up his camera? How did the actual shooting go? You can find all the details in the article Photographing the Great Gray Ghost.

We often recognize that science is important and interesting, but we are less often confronted with the idea that science is beautiful. Highlighting and promoting the aesthetic side of science is the goal of a competition organized by the Faculty of Science at Charles University. In the photographs and illustrations, you can admire creatures ranging from single-celled protists to a nursing sperm whale calf.

Photo Theme Challenge, Week #82

Last week’s theme was 2024, and you can see the results in this thread. Thank you to everyone for your submissions! This week’s theme is fruit, and you can submit your results in this thread by Saturday, January 4, 2024!