Nikon Blog
Nikon Z fc Initial Review
Nikon’s Z fc is an APS-C mirrorless camera that combines Nikon’s new Z lens mount with looks and controls that recall the company’s classic FM and FE-series film SLRs. The Z fc is the second crop-sensor Nikon camera to use the company’s new Z-mount, built around the same 20.9MP sensor as the Nikon Z50, but it gains dedicated dials for ISO, shutter speed and exposure compensation to go with its throwback styling. Nikon says it’s aiming the camera at a younger, style-conscious audience. Key specifications 20.9MP...
read moreDPReview TV: Nikon Z fc hands-on preview
Published Jun 29, 2021 | dpreview staff [embedded content] In this hands-on preview, Chris and Jordan compare the new Nikon Z fc to the classic Nikon film SLRs that inspired it. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get new episodes of DPReview TV every week. Gear in this story Nikon has formally revealed the Z fc, a 21MP APS-C mirrorless camera that recalls the style of its classic FE and FM SLRs but uses its latest ‘Z’ lens mount. Sigma’s 35mm F1.4 DG DN Art is a designed-for-mirrorless reimagining of the company’s...
read moreNikon Z fc pre-production sample gallery
Published Jun 29, 2021 | dpreview staff We were fortunate enough to get our hands on the new Nikon Z fc mirrorless camera – as well as its 16-50mm F3.5-6.3 VR and 28mm F2.8 SE lenses – a few days prior to launch. We braved the 100°F weather to bring you the first batch of samples from Nikon’s latest creation. Gear in this story Alongside the new retro-styled Z fc and its vintage-inspired 16-50mm kit zoom, Nikon has released a compact 28mm prime for full-frame and has also announced the development of a long-awaited 18-140mm zoom for DX...
read moreHands-on with the Nikon Z fc
Nikon has just announced its newest Z-mount mirrorless camera, the retro-styled Z fc, and a silver edition of its 16-50mm F3.5-6.3 ‘pancake’ kit zoom to match. We’ve been fortunate enough to get our hands on pre-production copies of both, so let’s take a tour and take in all the details of Nikon’s latest release. Nikon tells us that the Z fc was designed to be as compact and lightweight as possible, with the performance you would expect from a modern camera but with controls and ergonomics that might encourage...
read moreNikon announces NIKKOR Z 28mm F2.8 (SE) and development of Z DX 18-140mm F3.5-6.3 VR
Published Jun 29, 2021 | dpreview staff Alongside the new retro-styled Z fc and its vintage-inspired (but optically identical to the existing version) 16-50mm kit zoom, Nikon has released a compact 28mm prime for full-frame and has also announced the development of a long-awaited 18-140mm zoom for DX format. The NIKKOR Z 28mm F2.8 (SE) is one of the pair of compact prime lenses that have been on Nikon’s roadmap for a while (and were recently confirmed as coming this year). It’s unusual to see a ‘special edition’ of...
read moreNikon announces Z fc style-focused APS-C mirrorless camera
Published Jun 29, 2021 | dpreview staff Nikon has officially launched the Z fc, a 21MP APS-C format mirrorless camera than recalls the styling of its classic FM and FE film SLRs, but uses the company’s current Z lens mount. The Z fc shares many components with the existing Z50 model, including the CMOS sensor and Expeed 6 processor, but adds a fully articulating display, a USB-C socket that allows both charging and direct power, and a traditional user interface based on the use of dedicated dials for key exposure settings. It also gains...
read moreHow did NASA’s Perseverance rover capture its first selfie on Mars with Ingenuity? This is how.
NASA’s Perseverance rover has been touring the Red Planet since it landed on Mars earlier this year. In late March, Perseverance sent back a selfie. The rover captured another selfie with the Ingenuity helicopter on April 6, the 46th sol of Perseverance’s mission. Over two months later, NASA has released a new video showing how the selfie was created. If you thought it was as simple as the rover taking a single image, think again. The rover’s robotic arm twisted and maneuvered to capture 62 images, which were then composited...
read moreVideo: ‘Sh*t Leica Photographers Say’ is a playful parody on the Leica-owner stereotype
[embedded content] Editor’s note: Leica owners, consider this a trigger warning (the headline should tell you everything you need to know). Also, there is some language that may be considered inappropriate in this video. We certainly take our photography serious here at DPReview, but there’s always room for a little fun (and self-deprecation). Photographer Samuel Lintaro Hopf has provided just that with his latest video, aptly titled ‘Sh*t Leica Photographers Say.’ The eight-and-a-half-minute video is a tongue-and-cheek play on things one...
read moreBlackmagic RAW version 2.1 brings native Apple M1 support, improved Premiere Pro plugin
Blackmagic Design has released version 2.1 of Blackmagic RAW, bringing with it native support for use on Apple’s M1 computers as well as expanded compatibility and improved performance. While BlackMagic Design updated DaVinci Resolve with native support for Apple’s M1 computers back in March, not all codecs were updated alongside the non-linear video editing (NLE) app to make the most of Apple’s custom silicon—including Blackmagic RAW. This version 2.1 update fixes that, adding native support for Apple silicon on macOS. [embedded content] In...
read moreCanon interview: ‘Development of compact devices supporting 8K is a very high priority’
Go Tokura, Chief Executive, Image Communication Business Operations at Canon. Pictured here at the CP+ show in Yokohama, Japan, in 2016. As part of our ongoing series of executive interviews at major camera and lens companies, we talked recently with several Go Tokura, Chief Executive of the Image Communication Business Operations at Canon. In this interview we discussed new developments in optics, how new concepts of ‘reality’ will inform the evolution of computational photography technologies, and what to expect from the...
read moreWhat you need to know before buying your first lens
Updated June 2021 A camera is nothing without a lens, and while the bundled ‘kit’ lenses sold with many interchangeable lens cameras (ILCs) are good enough to get started, they’re quite limiting. If you want to explore the full potential of your camera – and your own creativity – you should consider adding another lens or two to your collection. But with a bewildering variety of lenses out there, how do you know which ones are right for you? In this guide we’ll lead you step-by-step through the process of understanding...
read moreDPReview TV: F1.4 or F2.0? Which are the best Fujifilm primes?
Published Jun 26, 2021 | dpreview staff [embedded content] The guys at DPReview TV always go above and beyond to produce their videos. This video comparison of Fujifilm’s F1.4 and F2 primes show just how dedicated they are, with Chris powering through the pain after suffering a nasty injury. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get new episodes of DPReview TV every week. Gear in this story The Fujifilm Fujinon XF 18mm F1.4 R LM WR is a bright, fast walkaround prime lens that’s particularly well-suited to landscape and street...
read moreNikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S Review
An ultra-wide lens with a large maximum aperture – and also one of Nikon’s best lenses ever. By Spencer Cox 21 CommentsLast Updated On June 26, 2021 « » Nikon makes some some seriously good ultra-wide lenses. The F-mount 14-24mm f/2.8 is often considered one of the best wide zooms ever, and the wide-angle Z lenses we’ve seen so far have also been fantastic. But how does the Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S compare? The short answer is that it’s one of the best lenses we’ve ever tested. Nikon has managed class-leading performance in almost...
read morePSA: If you use a Western Digital My Book Live HDD, disconnect it now
If you use a Western Digital My Book Live, you want to disconnect it from the internet immediately. WD has advised customers to unplug My Book external hard drives from the web until further notice, as customers are reporting that their data has been completely deleted. Ars Technica reports that WD’s support forum shows that numerous users have lost their data with no obvious hope for recovery. One user, sunpeak, wrote, ‘I have just found that somehow all the data on it is gone today, while the directories seems there but empty....
read moreEarthCam collaborates with Sony on two new high-resolution timelapse cameras
EarthCam, a provider of webcam technology and services used by the likes of NASA, CNN and Walt Disney Pictures, recently released two new high-resolution timelapse cameras. The company that famously created ‘The World’s Largest Photo of New York City‘ to commemorate the release of its GigapixelCam X80 webcam this past May, has continued to leverage its relationship with Sony Electronics for their two latest releases—the 61 MegapixelCam and the 61 MegapixelCam Robotic, which offers up a 360° pan/tilt base. Both cameras use...
read moreSee how the Sony FE 14mm F1.8 GM performs on a real estate photo shoot
Published Jun 25, 2021 | dpreview staff We know from our own experience that Sony’s FE 14mm F1.8 GM lens, with its fast aperture, is great for available light architectural and nightscape photography. But as it turns out, it’s an excellent choice for professional real estate photography, too. Take a tour through a home in Sherwood, Oregon, captured by professional photographer and DPReview contributor Wasim Muklashy. Using a Sony a7R III, Wasim captured the exterior images in this gallery conventionally in Raw mode, and edited...
read moreFilm Fridays: Review & samples: a rehoused Lomo 40mm F4 for Leica M-mount
Published Jun 25, 2021 | dpreview staff Why would you mount a seemingly ‘low quality’ Lomo lens on a fancy/high-end camera like a Leica rangefinder? Why not! There are quite a few affordable third-party Leica M-mount lenses out there, but few with as strange a story/pedigree as the PPP Cosmic 40mm F4. This rehoused Lomo T-43 lens is priced at ~$350 (USD) and available in super-limited quantities. Its unique ‘character’ may not be for everyone or every occasion, but the samples we’ve seen from our friends at 35mmc...
read moreLexar developing SD Express & microSD Express cards, a format not yet supported by any camera
Lexar has announced it’s currently developing a new line of SD Express and microSD Express cards, despite no camera currently supporting the standard. The cards, which use the SD 7.0 specification (PCIe 3.1 x 1 lane), will offer read and write speeds of 824MB/s and 410MB/s, respectively. The maximum bandwidth for the cards is 985MB/s, nearly triple that of the current UHS-II SD and microSD cards. This development also suggests Lexar (and, perhaps, the whole industry) is skipping the entirety of the UHS-III interface and going straight to...
read moreNVIDIA Canvas is an AI-powered tool that turns your sketches into photorealistic scenes
In March 2019, NVIDIA Research showed an AI-driven project, GauGAN, that used a deep learning model to convert simple doodles into photorealistic images. Over two years later, the technology is ready for showtime as NVIDIA Canvas. NVIDIA writes, ‘Use AI to turn simple brushstrokes into realistic landscape images. Create backgrounds quickly, or speed up your concept exploration so you can spend more time visualizing ideas.’ [embedded content] There is a slight caveat, though. Not anyone can download and use the NVIDIA Canvas beta....
read moreVideo: Smarter Every Day shows the science behind film development
Alongside educational titles such as ‘Where Does NASA Keep Its Moon Rocks?’, ‘My Sister Got Malaria’ and ‘How To Poop On A Nuclear Submarine’, YouTube channel Smarter Every Day has released a new video that explains how film is constructed, exposed and developed. In ‘How Does Film ACTUALLY Work? (It’s MAGIC)’, presenter Destin Sandlin talks about the chemical structure of film, shoots some film and then takes us to a lab to see how it gets developed and scanned. [embedded content] Destin is pretty enthusiastic and explains the process...
read moreSuper-tele sweet spot: Tamron 150-500mm F5-6.7 sample gallery
The Tamron 150-500mm F5-6.7 Di III VC VXD is a well-built super-telephoto zoom that sits alongside Sigma’s 100-400mm F5-6.3 lens as well as Sony’s own 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 and 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 options. We took it out and about in Seattle in search of wildlife and textures – take a look at how it performs on Sony’s high-res a7R IV. Gear in this story Sigma’s 35mm F1.4 DG DN Art is a designed-for-mirrorless reimagining of the company’s very first ‘Art’ lens that was released all the way back in 2012 for...
read moreLensbaby announces new Obscura system, a modern take on pinhole photography
Lensbaby is well known for its unusual lenses. However, as the company says, its latest product ‘isn’t a lens,’ but rather is an ‘extraordinary experience crafted in the origins of photography.’ Lensbaby’s latest product is Obscura. Lensbaby Obscura is a modern twist on pinhole photography that allows photographers to use digital cameras to capture images like what you might get from an actual pinhole camera. Lensbaby Obscura Optic As a quick refresher, an actual pinhole camera is a light-proof box with a...
read moreBeginner’s Guide to Night Photography of Landscapes
What makes night sky photography so appealing? Is it the hues? Is it the sheer number of stars? Part of it is surely because a long exposure of the night sky is something the naked eye does not see. The possibility of photographing something like that is, in itself, a reason strong enough to woo a lot of photographers. A lot of photographers consider “night photography” to be synonymous with astrophotography. But in reality, there are countless photography opportunities when the sun sinks. In this article, I will cover nighttime landscape...
read moreFAA releases TRUST, free online training required for pilots to legally fly drones recreationally
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) may have struggled with LAANC authorization, but they moved ahead with releasing TRUST (The Recreational UAS Safety Test) – a free online training program that pilots flying a drone recreationally are required to take and pass. Even if someone possesses Part 107 certification, they must complete this training and show proof of it, if asked by the FAA or law enforcement, in order to legally operate a drone, if they’re flying recreationally, in the United States. Mandated by the FAA...
read moreSlideshow: Winners of the International Portrait Photographer of the Year awards
Recently, winners and finalists were announced for the inaugural International Portrait Photographer of the Year (IPPOTY) competition. Brought to you by the same organizers that put on the International Landscape Photographer of the Year competition, IPPOTY received 948 submissions from portrait photographers around the world. ‘Who are the world’s leading contemporary portrait photographers? The aim of the International Portrait Photographer of the Year awards is to invite photographers from around the world to present their best work....
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Started out doing photography at the age of 6 using an uncle's old 1940 kodak brownie box camera. At 15 years of age, I decided to buy my very own 1975 Praktica SLR camera. I now shoot with a Nikon D850. I do unpaid TFP and commercial paid work.