Meike 50mm f/0.95 lens for Nikon Z-mount review


Meike 50mm f/0.95 lens for Nikon Z-mount review by Bill Hall (see previous reviews):

Have you heard of a nifty-fifty? A nifty fifty is a fast 50mm lens. Typically it has a maximum aperture of at least f/2.8. A very fast lens might have a max aperture of f/1.2. But this lens will open up to f/0.95. That’s 2/3 of a stop faster than f/1.2. That’s just about as fast as you can get.


Meike, a Chinese lens manufacturer, makes low-cost, simple manual focus lenses at reasonable prices. They are now producing this fast manual focus APS-C lens for the Nikon Z-Mount. It has 5 groups and 7 elements, f/0.95 – f/16, a minimum focus distance of .45m / 1.5 ft., a field of view of 32 degrees, and a 62mm filter mount. At the time of writing, it sells for $249 on Amazon.

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Posted in Nikon Lenses, [NR] Reviews | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments

AstrHori will soon announce two new autofocus lenses for Nikon Z-mount (one of them will be a huge super-telephoto lens)


AstrHori is a new Chinese lens manufacturer (previously known as Rockstar) and their products are sold on Amazon. AstrHori will soon announce two new autofocus lenses for Nikon Z-mount. The first lens is actually interesting based on this not yet release teaser:


This new AstrHori lens will be 385mm in length – as long as the Nikon NIKKOR Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S! I find this interesting since the current Chinese lens offering is usually small prime lenses. This seems to be the first super-telephoto lens coming from a Chinese manufacturer. Stay tuned for details or contact me anonymously if you have any details on that lens.

Update: I was told that the lens will be manual focus and not autofocus as I initially reported.

The second lens will most likely be the already rumored 85mm f/1.8 full-frame autofocus lens:


AstrHori already has several lenses for Nikon Z and other mounts:

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Posted in Nikon Lenses | Tagged , , | 35 Comments

Cosina announced a new Voigtlander Macro APO-LANTHAR 65mm f/2 Aspherical lens for Nikon Z-mount




The previously rumored Voigtlander Macro APO-LANTHAR 65mm f/2 Aspherical full-frame lens for Nikon Z-mount is now officially announced. Shipping will start in November. Pricing was not released but should be available soon at Adorama, Amazon, and B&H Photo. The technical specifications are next:

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Posted in Nikon Lenses | Tagged , , , | 21 Comments

The new 2022 5DayDeal Photography Bundle is now available


The new 2022 5DayDeal Photography Bundle is now available – as with previous years, you will get a package of different photography tools drastically reduced. Several different bundles are available and a portion of the sales will go to charities:

  • Main bundle: $2,200 (discounted 95% or $2,100) pay only $98
  • Pro bundle: $1,400 (discounted 97% or $1,350): pay only $39
  • Complete charity bundle: $1,300 )discounted 97% or $1,250) pay only $29
  • Full set: $5,500 (discounted 97% or $5,300) pay only $166
  • Full set & Spanish bonus: $6,000 (discounted 97% or $5,800) pay only $195
Posted in Deals | Tagged | 1 Comment

Another Nikon Z9 eyepiece option (compatible also with D500/D850/D4/D5/D6 cameras)



A reader created his own Nikon Z9 eyepiece molded from plastic with black PLA filament and is selling it on eBay (works also with Nikon D500/D850/D4/D5/D6 cameras). The eyepiece fits the NPS rain cover and is also compatible with other covers from different suppliers. The eyepiece is designed in a way that it does not obstruct the proximity sensor for viewing and monitor/viewfinder alternation.

Additional pictures:

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Posted in Nikon D4, Nikon D5, Nikon D500, Nikon D6, Nikon D850, Nikon Z9 | 23 Comments

ON1 Photo RAW 2023 released with support for Nikon Z9 HE RAW format files


The new ON1 Photo RAW 2023 is now officially released and available to order. The 2023 version is the most significant update in ON1 Photo RAW’s history with many new AI-powered features (see sneak peeks here). ON1 Photo RAW 2023 now also supports Nikon Z9 HE RAW and HE* RAW format files. I think this is the first software package that supports that format (see related notes from DxO, Adobe, and C1). Here is the feedback I received from a reader:

“I can confirm that On1 Photo RAW 2023 (released October 10) does ingest and work with Nikon Z9 HE RAW and HE* RAW formats. I tested this on an M1 Mac running the most current OS as of this writing, which does not read Z9 RAW files. So it looks like On1 is the first to support it. While mentioning them, that tack-sharp AI is pretty impressive in some quick tests. Not affiliated with them, and paid upgrade retail for the software.”

Here is another quote from Craig Keudell, ON1 President:

“This is the most significant upgrade to ON1 Photo RAW ever! These new technologies in Photo RAW 2023 will change how people edit their photos. There are so many time-saving tools in this release! No more tedious methods of masking, layering, brushing, or adjusting when working on specific areas of photos.

“The introduction of AI-powered semantic masking to the ON1 Photo RAW workflow will change your approach to editing photos. New tools like Super Select AI, Mask AI, and AI Adaptive Presets will save you an enormous amount of time and put the joy back into editing your photos. Using AI models removes many of the difficulties of traditional editing without taking away the creative flexibility photographers want. These new tools will enhance the creative eye we all have, and it’s going to be so much fun to edit photos and achieve the results you envision in a fraction of the time it used to take. I couldn’t be more excited about getting this version into your hands.”

ON1 Photo RAW 2023 key features:

  • Super Select AI Tool
  • Mask AI
  • AI-Powered Adaptive Presets
  • Quick Mask AI
  • Tack Sharp AI
  • Keyword AI
  • Content-Aware Crop
  • Full-Screen Preview of Presets
  • Enhanced Sky Swap AI
  • Auto Color Fringe Reduction
  • New Cameras and Lenses


For a limited time the ON1 Photo RAW 2023 package also comes with several bonuses:

  • 50 Bonus Presets + AI Masking Course
  • 25 Landscape Presets
  • 25 Portrait Presets
  • Click & Create AI Masking Course
  • Practice files for the course

Additional information on the new ON1 Photo RAW 2023 can be found at PhotoRumors. Here are the release notes for the latest version 2023 (17.0.0.12912) that became available on October 10 (the press release is available here):

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Posted in Nikon Z9 | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Cosina continues to release Voigtlander lenses for Nikon Z-mount: new Macro APO-LANTHAR 65mm f/2 Aspherical lens coming next month


Cosina is rumored to announce a new Voigtlander Macro APO-LANTHAR 65mm f/2 Aspherical lens for Nikon Z-mount next month (November). This will be the seventh Voigtlander mirrorless lens for Nikon Z-mount (available on Amazon and B&H):

The latest Voigtlander lenses for Nikon Z-mount are now also available to order at WEX Photo (UK).


Previous coverage of the Voigtlander Z lenses can be found here:

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Posted in Nikon Lenses | Tagged , , , | 24 Comments