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 2018 TIPA awards are out – Nikon got four awards including best professional DSLR camera for the D850 (see all the awards the D850 got):
Nikon filed a patent application (US20180095275) in 2016 for some kind of an image stabilization system designed only for the lens array (other IS systems stabilize the entire sensor):
“An image-capturing device includes: a micro-lens array in which a plurality of micro-lenses are arranged in a two dimensional configuration; an image sensor that comprises a plurality of pixel groups each comprising a plurality of pixels, and that receives light with each of the pixel groups that has passed through a respective micro-lens of the micro-lens array; and a drive unit that changes a positional relationship of the image sensor and the micro-lens array to prevent blurring of an image captured by the pixel groups.”
Nikon patent US9942485 is for creating trailing motion blur without the use of flash:
After the initial delay, the new Nikon ES-2 film digitizing adapter set for the D850 DSLR camera was supposed to start shipping on March 30, 2018. A reader from the Nikon D850 Facebook group recently contacted Nikon and there is still no release date available:
Update – the Nikon ES-2 is already shipping in Japan and is currently available for sale on eBay.
Today Imaging Resource published a detailed report from their visit to Nikon’s Hikari glass factory – a lot of interesting information and pictures. Here are the related videos:
Nikon 600mm f/5.6 lens patent
This year Nikon will introduce a new Nikkor 600mm f/5.6 PF lens. This information is coming from a very reliable source. I do not know the exact announcement date, but I will not be surprised if we hear about the new lens in the June-August timeframe.
Back in February this year I reported about a new patent for a 600mm f/5.6 full frame Phase Fresnel (PF) lens. In the patent, the lens was described as 33cm long. For comparison, the Nikkor 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens is 43cm long, while the Nikkor 300mm f/4E PF ED VR lens is 14cm long.
The new 600mm f/5.6 PF lens is also expected to be significantly lighter and cheaper compared to the current 600mm f/4 version that weights 134oz/3,8kg. Here is the lens design of the Nikkor 600mm f/4E FL ED VR lens ($12,296.95):
