→ Nikon T-shirts for sale on eBay.
→ New entry-level Atomos Ninja V announced (price: $695, more info here).
→ Nikon released firmware updates for the Coolpix W300 and Coolpix P900 cameras.
→ The Nikon EN-EL18b battery is now discontinued. The original text says that a new product will be announced as an alternative since the EN-EL18a is also discontinued. The EN-EL18 is still available.
A few days ago I reported on PhotoRumors about the new Meike MK 85mm f/1.8 AF full frame DSLR lens – Meike’s first autofocus lens. The lens was initially listed only for Canon mount. Meike’s website now has some additional information and the lens will be available also for Nikon F-mount.
The Meike lens looks similar to the Yongnuo YN 85mm f/1.8 lens that is available only for Canon mount (the lens manual can be downloaded here). Here are pictures of the two lenses for comparison:
Yongnuo YN 85mm f/1.8 lens:
Meike MK 85mm f/1.8 AF lens:
Additional information on the Meike MK 85mm f/1.8 AF lens:
Copying photographic film with the Nikon D810 and a shoe box by Anthony McKee (www.anthonymckee.com):
While many photographers are keenly waiting for the new Nikon ES2 film digitising adapter set to arrive in stores, I have been making use of my own Nikon film copying kit that I put together a while ago using a Nikon D810, a 105 micro lens – and a shoebox.
I was asked a couple of years ago by a friend if I could digitise some old slides for her, but I lacked one rather essential piece of equipment: a film scanner. Over the years I have had regular access to film scanners, from state-of-the-art drum scanners through to smaller desktop models, but over time the interfaces and software drivers have all become obsolete. And despite making regular scans, I found that many film scanners were not really that good at scanning film; some scanners struggled to capture the full dynamic range of negatives and slides, and others had occasional problems with banding.
I was about to tell my friend to take her 180 slides to a local photo lab when I started thinking through some other options. I owned a Nikon D810 camera, a Nikon 105mm micro lens and a couple of SB-700 speedlights, and I also remembered an old shoe box stored away in a cupboard. The box had a white interior and I realised that if I put the two Speedlight flash units into the box, each pointing towards opposites ends, the resulting light in the middle would be soft and even.
Dpreview published their sample gallery from the Nikon AF-S 180-400mm f/4 ED TC VR lens ($12,396.95):
Today Venus Optics officially announced the previously rumored Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO full frame manual focus lens for Nikon F-mount. Pricing and availability were not released. Here are the technical specifications:
Venus Optics will announce a new Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2:1 macro lens for Nikon F-mount (pictured above) at the Beijing P&E show that starts on May 3rd.
After the Laowa 60mm f/2.8 2X Ultra-Macro ($399), this will be the second 2:1 lens in Laowa’s lineup with infinity focus and no chromatic aberration.
The latest Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro lens is delayed until the end of May. More information on that lens can be found here.
Via PhotoRumors
A quick update on my previous post: Nikon USA sent a memo to authorized dealers that allocation of ES-2 units has started and shipping will follow soon.
The Latest Pentax Rumors