Rokinon/Samyang/Walimex 12mm f/2.8 fish-eye lens review

By [NR] admin | Published: February 3, 2015

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Rokinon/Samyang/Walimex 12mm f/2.8 fish-eye lens for Nikon F mount ($499) review by Julian Eichhoff  (Website | Facebook | Twitter):

In September 2014, Samyang announced a 12 mm f2.8 fish-eye lens for full format cameras. At Photokina Cologne, I had the chance to take a peek, but since it was showcased behind glass, I did not learn anything I did not know from the announcement already.

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Since then I have been looking forward to buying that lens. I used to own an 8 mm f/3.5 fish-eye from Samyang for crop cameras, and the lens proved to be a lot of fun. But since there was no adequate full-frame model of such a lens, I stuck to the 8 mm version—until now.

I bought my lens for 550 Euros, which matches the price they told me at the Samyang booth at Photokina. The 12 mm f2.8 fish-eye is branded “WalimexPro”, which is the house-brand of the photo retailer Foto Walser. The lenses all come from the Samyang factory but are sold under different brand names like Walimex, Rokinon, Vivitar, and some others.

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Posted in Nikon Lenses| Tagged , | 46 Comments

Nikon issues service advisory for the 1 Nikkor VR 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 lens

By [NR] admin | Published: February 3, 2015

Nikon 1 Nikkor VR 10-30mm f:3.5-5.6 lens
Today Nikon issued service advisory for the 1 Nikkor VR 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 lens ($187) that has to do with failing communication between the lens and camera. Here are the details:

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Posted in Nikon 1| Tagged | 31 Comments

Some interesting Nikon patents including a Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 PF VR lens

By [NR] admin | Published: February 3, 2015

Some interesting Nikon lens patents:
Nikon-24-70mm-f2.8-patent-with-Phase-Fresnel-diffractive-lens
In May, 2014 Nikon filed a patent for a new 24-70mm f/2.8 lens with Phase Fresnel (PF) element (diffractive lens). I already mentioned few times that a new 24-70mm f/2.8 VR lens is on the horizon – if Nikon really uses a PF lens in the next version, the size and weight will be significantly reduced. Adding VR will make this a very desirable lens for every Nikon shooter.

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Nikon also has a new patent for a 200-400mm f/4-5.6 lens design also with a Phase Fresnel (PF) element. This patent was filed back in 2012. Nikon and Tamron already have a joint patent application for a 200-500mm f/4.5-5.6 lens.

The next two applications are newer filings on already existing patents:

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Posted in Nikon Lenses, Nikon Patents| Tagged | 77 Comments

Weekly Nikon news flash #300

By [NR] admin | Published: February 1, 2015

Nikon-D610-DSRL-camera
→ New low price: grey market Nikon D610 camera for $1,255.89 on eBay.

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→ Still interested in 3D pictures? Kúla Deeper will soon start shipping their 3D attachment for SLR camera lenses that includes a stereo viewer, 3 anaglyph glasses, a microfiber bag and the Kúlacode software. Additional information is available here.

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→ Sea&Sea announced MDX-D810 underwater housing for the Nikon D810 camera.

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→ CIPA camera sales data for November 2014 is out.

List-of-Nikon-software-that-will-be-supported-in-Mac-OS-X-Yosemite
→ Nikon Japan published a list of their software that will be supported by Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite.

→ Nikon flash mob video:

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Posted in Weekly Nikon News Flash| Tagged , | 32 Comments

Rumors: new special Nikon D810 version designed for deep-sky astrophotography with increased hydrogen-alpha sensitivity

By [NR] admin | Published: February 1, 2015

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Here is a rumor that just came in: next week (probably on February 2nd or 3rd), Nikon will announce an all new, special version of D810 DSLR camera designed for deep-sky astrophotography with increased hydrogen-alpha sensitivity.

Given the short notice, I do not have enough time to get any confirmation from other sources. Because of that, I will give this rumor a probability rating of “only” 60%.

Back in 2012 Canon did something similar with the EOS 60Da model.

Nikon has several articles on astrophotography on their website.

If you want to learn more about astrophotography, check also those guest posts.

Update: I am now confident that this camera will be released, read this post for more details.

Posted in Nikon D810a| Tagged | 73 Comments

Top 10 NikonRumors posts for January 2015

By [NR] admin | Published: February 1, 2015

Nikon D800 firmware update Nikon_D7200 camera leak
Nikkor 300mm f-4E PF ED VR lens 7 Nikon Rumors
Nikon-D5500-DSLR-camera-screen © Robert Bösch | The image was shot using a prototype model Shutter Speed: 1/250" | Aperture: F5.6 | Focal Length: 300mm
Nikon D5500 DSLR camera pre-orderNikon-D750-DSLR-camera-lineart
Nikon 66.11.133.41 IP address Nikon 300mm f:4E PF ED VR lens
These are the top 10 most visited NikonRumors posts for January, 2015:

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Posted in Top 10 Posts| 3 Comments

The photo I missed: photography from moving vehicles

By [NR] admin | Published: February 1, 2015

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The photo I missed: photography from moving vehicles (tour bus windows) by Boyd Guy (Facebook)

I’ll never forget the photo I missed. After a long day of travel across northern Israel, most of the photographers with me on our tour bus were sleeping. I submitted to weariness by putting my Nikon up in its travel bag on the overhead luggage rack. We were a few miles from our hotel when we came over a ridge that looked out over the Sea of Galilee. I glanced out my window and, to my great surprise, I was met with the most beautiful sight I would see on the entire trip. Thick clouds covered the entire sky with the exception of one small break right over the center of the sea. The bright moonlight filtered down into a cone, glistening on the water’s surface and illuminating the surrounding landscape. The scene before me stole my breath. I wanted to shout, “Pull the bus over NOW!” There was no time to grab my camera. Staring at the beautiful vista before me, I tried to burn the image into my mind. Unfortunately the only imprint of that image exists in my memory, not on my hard drive.

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Posted in Other Nikon stuff| Tagged , | 7 Comments