Nikon Blog
Continuous vs Strobe Lighting for Photography
Any time you consider buying new lighting equipment, it can be a daunting decision. There are more choices in the lighting world than almost anywhere else in photography. One of the simplest such choices is also one of the most critical: should you get a continuous light or a strobe? In this guide, I’ll take a look at the pros and cons of each type of light, break down what to look for when buying them, and examine whether continuous or strobe is a better fit for your photographic niche. Table of Contents What are Continuous Lights?...
read moreNikon Z9 review: a DSLR-like stills/video monster
All images by DPReview The Nikon Z9 is a 45.7MP full-frame pro sports mirrorless camera: a high speed, 8K-shooting statement of intent from one of the industry’s biggest players. Nikon becomes the third brand to build a pro-grade mirrorless camera around a fast-readout, stacked CMOS sensor, and seems determined to show that has no intention of being an also-ran as the market moves to mirrorless. The Z9 is the first camera in this class to abandon the mechanical shutter entirely and, particularly in terms of video, it’s by far...
read moreMeike releases $160 EF to EF-M adapter with drop-in variable neutral density filter
The fate of Canon’s EF-M APS-C camera lineup doesn’t appear to be all that promising, but camera accessory manufacturer Meike isn’t giving up hope yet. Today, the company announced the MK-EFTM-C, an EF to EF-M adapter with an integrated drop-in variable neutral density (VND) filter. This isn’t the first EF to EF-M adapter with a built-in VND filter, with that spot going to Commlite, but the Meike adapter doesd come with a clear drop-in filter as well, so you can use the adapter without the VND for times when you need all the light you can...
read moreHow to Photograph Birds in Flight with Sharp Results
Recently, you learned on Photography Life what the best camera settings are when photographing birds. Today’s article takes a more detailed look at bird behavior, biology, and environment. The goal is to teach you how anticipate what birds will do, and ultimately reach the holy grail: to take very sharp, high-quality photos of birds in flight. Atlantic Puffin returns from the sea with a catch.NIKON D500 + Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II @ 200mm, ISO 1250, 1/5000, f/5.6 Birds have always stimulated the human imagination....
read moreReal Estate Drone Photography: A Complete Beginner’s Guide
Drone photography has grown to become an essential offering for real estate photography, but between a complex regulatory environment, a whole new set of gear considerations for both photo and video, and the challenges of shooting from a new angle, it can be tricky to start. Fortunately, in this introductory guide to real estate drone photography, I’ll be breaking down everything you need to know to get started, including why drone photography is so necessary for your business and how to tick all the FAA boxes. Table of Contents Why Use a...
read moreVenus Optics releases updated Laowa 15mm F4.5R Zero-D Shift Lens for $1,199
Venus Optics has announced a slightly updated version of its Laowa 15mm F4.5R Zero-D Shift lens. In addition to minor specification changes, Venus Optics has also added Fujifilm GFX-mount support for both the old (blue ring) and new (red ring) models. The new red ring Laowa 15mm F4.5R Zero-D Shift lens is almost identical to its blue ring predecessor. The only difference, aside from the addition of ‘R’ in the name, is the aperture blade count. Now, instead of the five-blade aperture diaphragm used in the original version, the new model...
read moreFujifilm warns its 120 format Provia, Velvia film stocks could be in short supply
Fujifilm Japan has published a notice on its website informing consumers that there could be forthcoming shortages of its three remaining 120 format color reversal slide film stocks. According to the notice, first spotted by Kosmo Foto and embedded below, FujiChrome Velvia 50, Velvia 100 and Provia 100F in 120 format could see shortages as a result of issues procuring sufficient amounts of raw materials used to create the film. It isn’t clear what materials in particular are becoming difficult to procure, but considering this is, at least for...
read moreTry and try again: how the Nikon Z9 supports the sports photographer
Shooting rugby is hard, but nothing like as hard as the people who play it. Nikon Z9 | Nikkor Z 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 S @ 400mm | 1/1000 sec | F5.6 | ISO 1400Photo: Richard Butler There’s a vast difference between going to a sports events with the intention of getting some photos, and going there to try to capture the key moments in the game. Armed with a Nikon Z9, the Nikkor Z 400mm F2.8 TC and the Nikkor Z 100-400mm F4.5-5.6, and having spent the previous couple of home games building up some experience of shooting a match, that was the...
read moreResearch shows how AI may help create full-color night vision cameras
Night vision camera technology has come a long way in the digital age. As sensors continue to improve, so does low-light image quality. However, as good as infrared night vision cameras are, they are monochromatic. Researchers from the University of California Irvine hope to change that by combining infrared camera technology with artificial intelligence to develop a night vision camera that produces full-color images, even in what amounts total darkness for human eyes. Our eyes see in the visible light spectrum. The wavelength of visible...
read moreWeekly Sales: Software Deals; Micro 4/3 Gear; 1 TB Card
Outside my window, snow turns to rain. Occasionally the sun breaks through the clouds, bathes the landscape in a bright light, then ten seconds later goes behind clouds so dark that you feel as if it will never rise again. Perfect weather to get outside and capture these spring weather mood swings. Lacking the right equipment to do so? Then you might like one of the deals we have prepared for you this week. NIKON D90 + 11-16mm f/2.8 @ 11mm, ISO 200, 1/50, f/8.0 Topaz Labs DeNoise AI for $59.99 (was $79.99) DeNoise AI from Topaz labs is one of...
read moreWeekly Sales: Topaz DeNoise; Z5 & Z6; Micro 4/3 Gear
Outside my window, snow turns to rain. Occasionally the sun breaks through the clouds, bathes the landscape in a bright light, then ten seconds later goes behind clouds so dark that you feel as if it will never rise again. Perfect weather to get outside and capture these spring weather mood swings. Lacking the right equipment to do so? Then you might like one of the deals we have prepared for you this week. NIKON D90 + 11-16mm f/2.8 @ 11mm, ISO 200, 1/50, f/8.0 Topaz Labs DeNoise AI for $59.99 (was $79.99) DeNoise AI from Topaz labs is one of...
read moreDPReview TV: The ten weirdest digital cameras of all time (with Gordon Laing!)
[embedded content] The history of digital photography is full of ‘innovative’ (weird) cameras, but what are the most bizarre ones? Gordon Laing from Camera Labs joins Chris to discuss the weirdest digital cameras ever produced. Be sure to check out Camera Labs and Dino Bytes on YouTube. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get new episodes of DPReview TV every week. The Monster Adapter LA-KE1 gives Pentaxians a way to use many of their K-mount lenses with full AF on Sony E-mount mirrorless bodies. Mike Tomkins looks at how it...
read moreLunar astronomy: A dual-camera system is headed to the Moon later this year
Correction (Friday, April 8, 2022 at 8pm ET): The original version of this article stated the ILO-X mission was meant to send the dual imaging system to the Moon’s South Pole. That is incorrect, as it is the follow-up mission, ILO-1, whose launch date is currently not set, which will see a dual camera system land at the Moon’s South Pole. All of this information has been corrected in the article. Astronomy from the lunar surface is just around the corner. In June, the International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA) in...
read moreSlideshow: 2022 World Press Photo Contest Global winners
The global winners of the 2022 World Press Photo Contest have been announced. These winning images from the competition strive to ‘recognizes the best photojournalism and documentary photography of the previous year,’ according to World Press Photo. For this year’s competition, 64,823 photographs and open format images captured by 4,066 photographers from 130 countries were submitted to be judged. Judging involved both regional and global juries, which saw the regional judges whittle down the choices from their respective regions to then be...
read moreFilm Friday: Japan Camera Hunter goes hands-on with the Fujifilm’s medium format point-and-shoot, the GA645ZI
[embedded content] For this week’s installment of Film Friday, we’re taking a look at the latest video from Bellamy Hunt, Founder of Japan Camera Hunter, wherein he provides an overview of the Fujifilm GA645ZI, a medium format camera that is considered by some to be ‘the greatest point and shoot camera of all time.’ The 11-minute video provides a comprehensive hands-on overview of the GA645ZI, a fully-automatic point-and-shoot that was originally released in back in 1998. As Bellamy notes, the GA645ZI proved to be the last camera in its...
read morePhotographing Something Before It’s Gone
When I shoot large format film, one of the great challenges is being picky with the photos I ultimately expose. Certainly there are benefits to shooting this way, namely that the rate of “keepers” is higher with this format. But there are also drawbacks. One of the biggest is being unable – or perhaps a better word is unwilling – to photograph a scene when I’m unsure if it will work. In my photography, this has led to some missed opportunities over the years. For example, I have come across beautiful woodland scenes that I intended...
read moreSony releases new two-channel audio receiver with Multi Interface hotshoe support
Sony has announced the release of the URX-P41D, a new two-channel portable audio receiver that works with Sony’s Multi Interface (MI) hotshoe found on select Alpha, Cinema Line and XDCAM cameras. The receiver can be paired with two wireless microphones and even has an extra on-board 3.5mm jack for connecting an additional microphone that’s stored on a third channel (four if it’s a stereo microphone being used for the external microphone port). All audio is processed using Sony’s Digital Audio Processing, which Sony says ‘improves sound...
read moreVideo: Modifying a Game Boy Camera to capture 0.014MP photos of the moon
There are plenty of old digital cameras that still take high-quality, sharp photos. Admittedly, 1998’s Nintendo Game Boy Camera is not one of them. The camera captures low-resolution, 2-bit monochromatic images with 128 x 112-pixel resolution. Despite the low fidelity of the image files, the Game Boy Camera was the first introduction to digital photography for many. It was – actually, still is – a lot of fun to use. Over at Hack Make Mod, fun is the name of the game. The team has modified a Game Boy Camera...
read moreLeica unveils $4,495 limited-edition matte black Summicron-M 28mm F2 ASPH lens
Leica has unveiled the details of its new limited-edition matte black version of its Summicron-M 28mm F2 ASPH M-mount lens. Aside from the matte black paint job, the new lens remains mostly unchanged from the original version, which was released back in 2016 and available in both black and silver colorways. The only physical difference is the lens hood, which is now integrated and can be pulled out when needed. The original Summicron-M 28mm F2 ASPH used a screw-on lens hood. Internally, the lens is still constructed of nine elements in six...
read moreApple M1 Ultra vs M1 Max: Head-to-head shootout with photo and video editing apps
These two Mac Studio computers look identical from the outside, but one of them has twice the CPU cores, twice the GPU cores, and twice the RAM… All product photography by DL Cade The release of Apple’s new Mac Studio wasn’t just exciting because of the form factor, or the fact that creatives have been asking Apple for a mid-range desktop tower for years. It was also exciting because it came hand-in-hand with the release of the M1 Ultra: the most powerful Apple Silicon system on a chip (SOC) yet. The M1 Ultra is essentially...
read moreVideo: Steve Perry goes hands-on with the new Nikkor Z 800mm F6.3 VR S lens in Florida
[embedded content] Wildlife photographer Steve Perry spent some time in Florida recently with a pre-production version of Nikon’s new 800mm F6.3 VR S lens to see just how well Nikon’s Phase Fresnel super telephoto lens performs and holds up in what ended up being rather unforgiving circumstances. To share his thoughts on his experience, Perry created and shared a comprehensive 21-minute first-look video to go over nearly every detail he could and show how it performed when paired with a Nikon Z9. Throughout the video, Perry hits on the...
read moreIntroduction to Manual Focus on a Camera Lens
Manually focusing your camera lens can seem tricky. Compared to the ease of autofocus, you may wonder why you even still have manual focus as an option. It still has a number of important uses, however, and it’s a great skill to learn. In this introduction to manual focusing a lens, I’ll explain what sets manual focus apart, as well as how and when to set focus manually. Table of Contents What Is Manual Focus? Almost all camera lenses have the ability to adjust focus. Focusing is when the elements of the lens move back and forth within the...
read morePlatypod announces its new ‘eXtreme’ tripod plate with hinged spikes and more attachment points
Platypod has announced its latest compact tripod base, the Platypod eXtreme. This new version takes plenty if inspiration from its past models, but adds a few new unique features designed to improve usability and versatility. The most notable upgrade is the addition of hinges spikes, which fold away when not in use and fold out when you need to secure the Platypod eXtreme to whatever terrain or platform you’re using it on. Previous versions included spikes, but they needed to be manually screwed into place every time you wanted to use them...
read moreRicoh brings updated shooting modes to its GR III and GR IIIx cameras via firmware update
Ricoh’s GR III compact camera. Photo via Ricoh. Ricoh has announced a pair of firmware updates for its GR III and GR IIIx comp;act cameras that brings a number of improvements and features, including those Ricoh promised when it released it’s limited-edition ‘Urban’ GR IIIx camera earlier this year. The GR III and GR IIIx updates, versions 1.60 and 1.10, respectively, consist of the exact same improvements for both cameras. Specifically, both cameras get a ‘Snap Distance Priority’ option in the ‘Shooting Settings’ menu as well as a...
read moreEpic Games releases RealityScan app, putting photogrammetry in the palm of your hand
Epic Games has collaborated with Quixel to introduce RealityScan, a free 3D scanning app that converts smartphone photos into high-fidelity 3D models. Available now as part of a limited beta test, RealityScan leverages the technology of RealityCapture, desktop photogrammetry software for Windows and puts similar power into a mobile device. The possible applications for such technology are numerous, including the ability to quickly scan real-world objects and use corresponding 3D models in different projects, such as games or digital...
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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.