Photography News: New M4 MacBook Pros, Nikon Gear Sale

In photography, something that rarely gets enough attention is the importance of organization. There are a few layers to it: organizing your camera equipment, organizing the photos on your computer, even organizing your priorities and mindset. And in all these cases, having a messy system will lead to missed opportunities as a photographer.

This topic is on my mind today more than usual. That’s because all week, I’ve been reorganizing the file structure on my computer and the backup system for my photos and videos. Everything is a lot more streamlined now, and what a difference it makes! I even found some old photos that I missed the first time, like the image below. Now I just need to do the same for my studio…

Panasonic S1R + Lumix S 24-105mm f/4 @ 24mm, ISO 100, 1/640, f/5.0

Anyway, while I’m packing shelves and backing up photos, now’s a good time to catch up on the photography news that you may have missed last week!

Recent Announcements

• M4 MacBook Pros: Apple announced a lot of new computers this week, but the new M4 MacBook Pros might be the most interesting for photographers. Already we’re seeing benchmarks that put the M4 chip as one of the fastest on the market. The new matte glass option (Apple calls it “nano texture”) on the MacBook Pros is something I’d welcome for photo editing. Also announced are new 24″ iMacs and a new Mac mini, both with the M4 chip.
• Nikon Arcrest II Filters: A new line of clear protective filters from 46mm to 95mm. Nikon’s anti-static coatings on the front make it easier to clean dust, oil, and water from the filter. Multicoating helps minimize any additional flare. I’m not much of a protective filter guy myself, but if I were, it’s hard to beat Nikon-approved glass and coatings.
• Sennheiser Profile 2-Person Mic: A new kit from one of the top microphone companies today. This two-mic system is wireless and includes a pair of clip-on microphones, a receiver, and a charging bar. The mics have transmitters built in, so you’ve got pretty much everything necessary for a two-person mic setup. The price of $299 is very reasonable, especially for Sennheiser (and comes in at $50 less than the comparable DJI Mic 2 system).
• Viltrox 135mm f/1.8… or not: This lens was officially announced on October 30th, going up for sale on both B&H and Viltrox’s website. And now, it’s nowhere to be found! All mention of the lens has been scrubbed from Viltrox’s site. Maybe the reason is related to this early review on PCMag, where they found that the lens malfunctioned and turned into a brick when attempting to update the firmware. File this one under “weird.”

The Rumor Mill

Sony a1 II and 28-70mm f/2 rumors are lighting up

We might be on the verge of seeing some new high-end Sony camera gear! Some convincing rumors suggest that the Sony a1 II and a new Sony 28-70mm f/2 will be announced together on November 19th (including a possible photo of the new camera and lens). The a1 II is said to have the same resolution as its predecessor, 50 megapixels – but faster autofocus, a higher frame rate, faster CFExpress A standards, and C2PA content authentication support. Meanwhile, rumors say the lens will be much lighter than the Canon RF 28-70mm f/2 (about 900 grams compared to 1430).

Via Sony Alpha Rumors

A new Nikon camera registered in Asia

This week, a new Nikon camera with WiFi and bluetooth was registered in Asia under the temporary name N2326. Nikon Rumors says that it’s likely part of the Z system and speculates about a Z50 replacement. This follows our update for you last week that Nikon UK’s website briefly had a placeholder for a new camera. Keep your eyes peeled in case we’re getting close to an announcement!

Via Nikon Rumors

An updated Voigtlander 50mm f/2 in two weeks?

This one seems pretty likely: we can expect a new Voigtlander APO-LANTHAR 50mm f/2 Aspherical II to be announced later this month, most likely November 14! The current Voigtlander APO lenses have something of a cult following among Nikon and Sony photographers, even though they’re manual focus only. I’m already planning to add these lenses to our reviews next year (I just have to wrap up the few remaining Nikon Z lens reviews first).

Via Nikon Rumors

Good Deals and New Sales

Nikon is back with a lot of camera and lens discounts! Even the Nikon Z6 III is on sale. You can see the full list of deals here at B&H. Some of the standouts are below:

Mirrorless

• Nikon Z6 III was $2500, now $2300
• Nikon Z7 II was $3000, now $2000
• Nikon Z8 was $4000, now $3500
• Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S was $2500, now $2100
• Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 S was $1350, now $1150
• Nikon Z 28mm f/2.8 was $300, now $230
• Nikon Z 40mm f/2 was $300, now $230
• Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S was $630, now $530
• Nikon Z 70-180mm f/2.8 was $1250, now $1050
• Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 S was $2700, now $2300
• Nikon Z MC 105mm f/2.8 Macro S was $1050, now $850
• Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena was $2500, now $2300
• Nikon Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S was $14,000, now $13,000
• Nikon Z 400mm f/4.5 S was $3250, now $3000
• Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S was $15,500, now $14,500
• Nikon Z 600mm f/6.3 S was $4800, now $4300
• Nikon Z 800mm f/6.3 S was $6500, now $5700

DSLR

• Nikon D780 was $2300, now $1600
• Nikon D850 was $3000, now $2200
• Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8E VR was $2100, now $1600
• Nikon AF-S 28mm f/1.4E was $2000, now $1400
• Nikon AF-S 58mm f/1.4G was $1600, now $1160
• Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8E FL was $2350, now $1900
• Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.4G was $1600, now $1160
• Nikon AF-S 105mm f/1.4E was $2100, now $1900
• Nikon AF-S 200-500mm f/5.6E was $1400, now $1060
• Nikon AF-S 400mm f/2.8E FL was $11,200, now $7900
• Nikon AF-S 500mm f/5.6E PF was $3600, now $3300
• Nikon AF-S 600mm f/4E FL was $12,300, now $8700

Also, not technically a sale, but Apple has changed their cheapest MacBook Air to include 16 GB RAM by default rather than 8 GB, without raising the price. Personally, I would still consider waiting until the M4 MacBook Air is announced next year. But if you’re looking for an ultralight laptop right now, you can get the baseline M3 MacBook Air with 16 GB RAM for $1100 (13 inch) or $1300 (15 inch).

Other Pages of Interest

The European Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards just published their winners, and as usual, the top images are incredible. The winning photograph, In the Forest of the Monarchs by Jamie Rojo, is a stunning landscape-style photo (or should I say Animalscape) of a forest in sunlight – except the “leaves” of the trees are really monarch butterflies. The competition is full of beautiful work and great inspiration, so check it out!

It’s not just us Earthlings who get to see solar eclipses. The Mars rover Perseverance caught an eclipse at the end of September when Mars’s moon Phobos passed in front of the sun. Actually, the word “transit” is probably more appropriate than “eclipse,” because Mars’s moons are too small to totally cover the sun. But it makes for an incredible sight nonetheless. Last week, NASA posted a video of the transit on their YouTube page that is well worth watching if you’re an astrophotography enthusiast.

On Friday, the photography software company Pixelmator announced that they’re being purchased by Apple, pending regulatory approval. It’s noteworthy that Apple is still apparently considering a role in the photo editing business – maybe this will give some more competition to Adobe! (Apple’s Final Cut Pro X already competes with Adobe Premiere Pro for videographers, but there isn’t really a Lightroom or Photoshop competitor in Apple’s ecosystem.) This writeup on Petapixel gives a good explanation of why this could turn out to be a big deal.

Photo Theme Challenge, Week #74

Last week’s theme was unexpected, and you can see the results in this thread. Thank you to everyone for your submissions! This week’s theme is cities, and you can submit your results here by Saturday, November 2, 2024!

Week #73 Results

First, we have an unexpected encounter with an ermine from our reader @rjbphoto:

A good example of why you should always bring a camera along with you!

Next up is some unexpected timing from @vidmarko – one of the photographers in the crowd must have taken a photo at exactly the same moment, because their flash is lighting up the scene perfectly:

That’s the type of thing you can’t plan, but can always appreciate when it happens!

Finally, we have a surprising rainbow positioned over Navy Pier by @tom-pazol. As someone who used to live near Chicago, I can tell you that this is a really unexpected sight given the typical Chicago weather:

I’m feeling a sense of Galen Rowell’s “Rainbow Over the Potala Palace” with that one. Nice work Tom, and everyone else who sent in their photos this week! I hope to see more next week in the cities theme.