Update (July 30th, 2021 at 1:30pm EDT): We have added a new tweet from the Photolari Twitter account that shows new images of what appears to be the same Nikon camera shown off in the two images from yesterday.
Today, Twitter account Photolari shared a tweet with a pair of photos showing what appears to be Nikon Z9 mirrorless cameras in the wild at the Olympics.
The original tweet has been deleted, but digicame-info managed to save the above images before their removal. Nikon has confirmed some details of its forthcoming flagship mirrorless camera, but only shown renderings of the front of the camera. These new images reveal the back side of the pro-style camera body, which appears to feature Nikon’s signature circular eyepiece, dual joysticks, a directional pad and a generous array of buttons. Below is a breakdown of the buttons (many of which are surely going to be customizable):
There appears to be black gaffer tape around the screen of the camera, obscuring what may or may not be an articulating display.
DPReview confirmed with Nikon earlier this week that it had its Z6 II and Z7 II mirrorless cameras and Z mount lenses on-hand at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but there was no mention of its unreleased Z9 mirrorless camera. It’s been confirmed Canon has photographers testing out its forthcoming EOS R3 mirrorless camera at the Olympics as well, so it’s no surprise Nikon is using the Olympic Games as a testing ground as well for its professional camera system.
Below is a new tweet from the Photolari Twitter account showing off two new images of what appears to be the same camera shown off in the above images:
Más fotos de la Nikon Z9 en los Juegos Olímpicos pic.twitter.com/u8UKyZmqND
A post shared by Andrea Photographer-Explorer (@andrea_pizzini_photographer) on
The gigantic Sony 400mm F2.8 GM OSS lens announced as ‘in development’ back in October 2017 has allegedly been spotted IRL at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
A photo that claims to show the un-released lens—covered in tape to hide telltale markings, of course—was shared by the Photosthelife blog (here it is translated) and later on Instagram by SonyAlphaRumors. This appears to be the first image of the 400mm lens, whose rumored price tag will very likely tip the scales around ten grand, just like the Canon and Nikon versions of the same lens.
In its announcement last year, Sony explained that the new lens would “deliver a new elevated shooting experience for all professional sports” photographers, among others. The Olympics presents a great opportunity to put the lens to the test in an incredibly challenging environment, so it makes sense that Sony would be testing it out there.
Unfortunately, additional details—such as how many of these lenses are actually being tested in the wild, and by whom—aren’t public.
Sony says it plans to release the 400mm F2.8 GM OSS lens in Summer 2018. Until then, this blurry picture will just have to hold all of those Sony a9 owners over.
File this one under “well… obviously.” DJI is creating no-fly zones near Olympics venues in South Korea that will prevent its drones from operating in the regions. The no-fly zones will be implemented at the software level as a precaution to prevent any foolish or negligent DJI users from putting safety or security at risk.
These no-fly zones will be in place for the duration of the Games in the following cities:
Pyeongchang
Gangneung
Bongpyeong
Jeongseon
Drone security is a big topic for this year’s Games. Earlier this week, South Korean officials confirmed that they’ll have their own anti-drone UAVs in operation. These UAVs—the ones operated by security officials —will launch nets at any uninvited drone to take them out of the sky.
For its part, though, DJI has confirmed that it will be releasing a software update that creates temporary no-fly zones. This isn’t the first time the Chinese company has created temporary airspace restrictions. In a statement to Tech Crunch, DJI explained:
Safety is DJI’s top priority, and we’ve always taken proactive steps to educate our customers to operate within the law and where appropriate, implement temporary no-fly zones during major events. We believe this feature will reduce the potential for drone operations that could inadvertently create safety or security concerns.
As sports fans around the world get ready for the official opening of the 2016 Rio Olympics, Canon’s Professional Services team are preparing too.
We spoke to Elizabeth Pratt, Director of Professional Products Marketing at Canon Professional Services about how Canon is preparing for the biggest event in the sporting calendar.
Behind the scenes with Canon at the Rio Olympics
The first shift of CPS staff, starting at 7:30AM, pauses to pose for a group photo.
What exactly are you doing in Rio right now?
I’m down here with Canon Professional Services, and there are also some folks here from our broadcast team. CPS provides event support for all kinds of things, any time a lot of media gathers — events like the Super Bowl, the Indy 500, the Kentucky Derby, the political conventions that we recently attended. These are very important assignments for photographers and we want to be on-site to ensure everything goes smoothly.
Elizabeth Pratt, Director of Professional Products Marketing at Canon Professional Services.
Elizabeth is currently in Rio for the 2016 Summer Olympics
We offer cleaning and checks on equipment to make sure that everything is working at factory spec. Also in situations like this, for someone shooting with an older model camera we like to give them the opportunity to shoot with the latest equipment.
And then of course photographers also have a need for remote cameras, but not everybody takes six cameras to an event so they can use four of them as remotes. So we loan additional cameras to help them out.
Behind the scenes with Canon at the Rio Olympics
With over 70 Canon staff supporting photographers and broadcasters, coordinating schedules is no easy task.
How long does it take to plan your presence at an event as big as the Olympics?
We started planning at least a year ago, just trying to determine how much equipment we were going to need to be able to support all of our customers, how we were going to get it all into and out of the country, through customs… It’s a collaboration between the home country, the CPS folks who are based in Rio, Canon USA is supporting with a lot of equipment, Canon Europe is contributing to the equipment as well, and we’re all sending staff. So the planning really starts at least a year in advance.
Behind the scenes with Canon at the Rio Olympics
Racks of lenses and professional Canon DSLRs, ready to be distributed to photographers at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Can you give us an idea of exactly how much equipment you’re sending?
Almost 1600 lenses and about 900 DSLR bodies. That’s EOS 7D II, EOS-1D X II and EOS 5DS cameras. We also have 78 staff. We have what we call our Professional Market Specialists, whose job is to support professional photographers and filmmakers by answering questions and giving people advice and support. In addition to these people we have logistics folks on site, and then actual technicians who are working on the cameras.
At most events we just do cleaning and checks, but here in Rio we have virtually a complete repair center set up where we’re doing much more extensive repairs than we normally do on-site.
How many languages do you have represented among your staff over there?
Twelve languages including English.
Behind the scenes with Canon at the Rio Olympics
The EOS-1D X II is a capable video camera, as well as being designed to capture fast sequences of still images.
Are you supporting any photographers in Rio who are using the EOS-1D X II for video, or for broadcast?
There are plenty of people shooting video with the EOS-1D X II – not necessarily for broadcast, but certainly several independent agencies and teams. Under the terms of the IOC, photographers are not permitted to shoot video at the Olympics but our big clients like Getty and AP are incorporating video more and more. We talk about video a lot to photographers and they’re being asked to shoot more video and to learn about video.
We’re starting to see newspapers and publications even merge departments and cross-train people [for stills and video].
Behind the scenes with Canon at the Rio Olympics
Canon has worked with Getty, which is creating a submersible remote camera setup using the EOS-1D X II and the 11-24mm wide-angle zoom, specifically to shoot underwater events at the Olympics.
How closely do you work with agency clients ahead of big events like this?
We’ve worked very closely with the big agencies in preparation for the Olympics. We have some robotic cameras down here and we worked with the agencies to develop them for their needs. These robotic solutions are amazing. You can shoot remotely on them from the press center with multiple remote cameras attached to one computer, and switch back and forth. It allows perspectives on the Olympics that we’ve never seen before.
We’ve been helping to support an underwater system, which was developed by Getty. It’s an EOS-1D X Mark II and 11-24mm lens. The camera is in an underwater housing, and it’s networked so that it can be controlled remotely. The flexibility of control is exceptional, and the 11-24mm has really nice distortion correction — you don’t have the kind of distortion at the frame edges that you might get with other wide-angle lenses.
Behind the scenes with Canon at the Rio Olympics
A Canon technician uses an illuminated loupe to check for dust on the sensor of an EOS-1D X II.
How many of this sort of major events have you personally been involved in?
I started off as a professional market specialist with Canon and my first Olympics was Athens in 2004.
We’re much more collaborative now in the way that we work with clients. We reach out to them well in advance and talk to them about their workflow and how their needs are changing. Then we customize solutions to meet those needs.
When I started with Canon years ago, we just made cameras and said ‘here you go’. Our whole mindset has really changed, to try and figure out how to change and adapt as the industry changes.
How will the next Olympics in 2020 be different?
I think we’re at a very interesting place now with technology, with the integration of 4K into DSLRs and the ability to grab incredibly high resolution, beautiful frames from that video. I think there’s potential to change the way that photographers work. I don’t want to try to predict the future but I think that’s probably going to be one of the biggest factors that influences what’s going to change and what new equipment will bring in the next four years.
Michael Heiman, Getty’s Director of Global Event Operations, has his work cut out for him in Rio. He’s been posting photos to his Instagram account showing the work going on behind the scenes as his team prepares to cover the Summer Olympics. From the not-so-glamorous task of installing cables, to the confusion caused when he wore a green shirt to a local hardware store, his posts have offered a fascinating look at what it takes to cover a colossal event like the Olympics.
And of course, there’s the gear. Observe:
It takes a lot gear to cover the Olympics. This is just some of our lens…. #mygettyriooffice #rio2016 #cps #thankscanon #lotsofglass
A photo posted by Michael Heiman (@heiman225) on
But what about the camera bodies? Glad you asked.
You obviously need some camera bodies to go with all that glass. #rio2016 #mygettyriooffice #gearporn #lotsofcameras #eos1dxmarkii #cps #canon #thankscanon #gettysport
A photo posted by Michael Heiman (@heiman225) on
Not surprisingly, the table is loaded with Canon EOS-1D X Mark I and II bodies, with a couple of 5DSR bodies for good measure, and L-series glass as far as the eye can see. Just another day at the office, right?
[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Guerilla Ads & Marketing. ]
Combining a novel form of wayfinding with a nod to the upcoming 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, this new airport terminal trades moving walkways for a color-coded circuit of racetrack paths.
The airport extension to Narita International anticipates the additional capacity needed in a few years for the upcoming event but also reflects a limited budget for expansion, together driving a design that needs no illuminated signs and skips people-moving devices.
Blue leads to departures and red takes people to arrivals – a simple scheme but easily visible when set against the more monotone surrounding interiors. The collaborative project featured contributions by PARTY with consultants from Nikken (photography by Kenta Hasegawa).
Of course, we all know the experience of being late for takeoff – beyond its aesthetics, it could indeed prove quite useful to have fast and slow lanes during busy times and for those whose commutes demand they make their plane in time.
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British press photographer and dpreview contibutor Leon Neal is at the London Olympics, and has published a short blog post about his experiences using the forthcoming AF-S Nikkor 800mm F5.6. No details of price or availability for the monstrous optic have yet been released, but Neal had the chance to use the as-yet-unavailable lens for two sessions at the Aquatics Center this week. Click through for Neal’s first impressions, and sample images including 100% crops.
Watching the Olympics is crazy-inspiring. Olympians train every single day of their life to claim their title as #1 in the world!
You can relate. You’ve spent hours in marathon photo-editing sessions. You finished your 365 without missing a day. You’ve even buffed up your arm from carrying your gear.
And just to keep you going, we’ve rounded up eight absolutely awesome photo projects that were inspired by the 2012 Olympics.
From portraits of lost tourists to photos of abandoned Olympic sites and incredible snaps of Olympians at home, you’ll get pumped to start bench-pressing your camera bag honing your own photo skills.
8 Great Olympics Themed Photo Projects
p.s. Thinking about making a website or giving the one you have some new duds? Our friends at Squarespace give you everything you need to make it amazeballs. Test it out with a free trial!
Photo via REUTERS/Mike Blake
Portraits of Lost Olympics Tourists
SEE IT:You are Here
Photographer Caroll Taveras was commissioned by creative agency Mother London to find lost tourists and take them back to a pop-up photo studio.
There, they’re refueled with refreshments and then haves their portrait shot on 4×5 Polaroid film.
The portraits will then be mounted at Mother London as “an exhibition collage–a shrine, if you will, to their humanitarian outreach endeavor of saving tourists from themselves.” [via Fast Company]
BONUS:It’s a little scary at first. Let our our guide to photographing strangers inspire you to shoot your own portraits!
Photos of Long-Abandoned Olympic Sites
SEE IT: Borrow, Build, Abandon
Jamie McGregor Smith visited Athens last year to photograph the structures used during the 2004 Olympics.
The long-abandoned spaces are empty, vast and even overgrown. It’s a little melancholy to think these once glorious and crowd-filled places are now defunct.
But like other projects that focus on urban decay, they bring awareness to how we use our resources, and how we might conserve them better in the future.
Read more about the story at The New York Times.
BONUS:Get inspired by this Flickr set of an abandoned amusement park. If you do some urban exploration of your own, do it safely!
Olympians Through a 100-Year-Old Lens
SEE IT: Olympians + a 100-Year-Old Lens
Jay L. Clendenin traveled around Southern California photographing Olympic athletes, but he didn’t just bring along his DSLR.
He also brought along a 4×5 field camera with a Petzval lens that’s over 100 years old.
Each portrait was shot on black and white photo paper, and then taken into a darkroom (his bathroom converted into a darkroom) and scanned and inverted from there.
TAKEAWAY?Bring all your cameras! Or the coolest ones, at least. That’s what this skydiver did when he shot these 4×5 photos while jumping out of an airplane.
Multiple Exposures of Olympians
SEE IT: Reuters’ Multiple Exposures
Remember that army of robot cameras that Reuters set up especially for the Olympics? This series of multiple exposure shots are a peek into what photographers–Mike Blake and Brian Snyder–were able to do with these cameras.
Armed with the new Canon 1-DX, photographers are able to take advantage of the multiple-exposure feature. It’s a bit different from layering photos in Photoshop, in that it shoots multiple frames quickly at 14 frames per second, and then puts them all together for you in-camera!
It’s pretty amazing that we can capture movement in such detail considering Olympic athletes are breaking records with their speed. Muybridge would be proud!
BONUS: So you don’t have a 1-DX, but you do have a camera! Check out our guide to capturing movement in photos with multiple exposures.
Olympics Host Cities Seen from Space
SEE IT: A Satellite’s View of the Olympics
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center released a set of photos showing host cities during their respective Olympics.
Satellites are taking photos of Earth from above on a daily basis, so they gathered these up in celebration of this years’ games. We especially dig the ones shot at night!
BONUS: Getting to space isn’t easy, but the next closest thing is sending your $ 40 digital camera up into space on a weather balloon! See our guide to aerial balloon photography. Here’s another on using weather balloons.
Illegal Olympics
SEE IT: Photos of Illegal Use of “Olympics”
Apparently, it’s illegal to use the term “Olympics” and any Olympics branding without authorization. You can read more about that here.
So, photographer Craig Atkinson decided to start documenting illegal uses of the Olympics brand around London, and well, it’s oddly entertaining, endearing, and great.
BONUS:You can contribute your own photos (email him here) as Craig will be compiling a collection for a book.
Athlete’s Meals in Photographs
SEE IT: My Day on a Plate
Athletes have strict diets, so haven’t you wondered what they eat on a daily basis? Designer Sarah Parker and photographer Michael Bodiem re-imagined athlete’s meals based off meals that Olympian nutritionists recommend.
Each plate in the series shows what an Olympian would eat in a day, 15 to 25 portions of healthy eats amounting to over 2,000 calories. Pictured to the right is the diet recommended for a gymnast!
BONUS:Neatly organized food is the jam. (Ha! Get it?) Here’s more inspiration from Carl Kleiner’s beautifully arranged food that appeared in the Ikea cookbook.
Olympians at Home
SEE IT: Olympians at Home for Time
Renown photographer Martin Schoeller followed Gabby Douglas (gymnastics), Lolo Jones (track), and Ryan Lochte (swimming) while they practiced and possibly even more interesting, while they relaxed at home.
Martin says
“I’m not even a big sports person, but athletes’ bodies are mesmerizing. They’re constantly putting themselves in pose and doing something interesting with the physical expressions, and I love to photograph them because they’re natural performers at heart.”
BONUS: Dancers Among Us follows dancers around New York City. Elegant and talented folks galavanting about the city makes for some gorgeous shots.
Even More
Check out these spectacular time-lapses of the building of 4 structures in London for the Olympics.
What the Olympics looked like in 1908
Women in sports is controversial in the Arab world. Two sisters photographed this excellent portrait series of female Arab athletes to challenge the stigma they face.
Read all about Reuters’ robotic camera setup for the Olympics. Innovative stuff.
The funniest faces made at the Olympics
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Following on from the discussions about Dean Mouhtaropoulos’ decision to use a Panasonic to capture the Olympics, here’s further support for the ‘it’s the photographer, not the gear’ argument. Photojournalist, videographer and dpreview contributor Dan Chung has been capturing the Olympic experience with his iPhone. In conjunction with some binoculars, a clip-on Schneider lens and the Snapseed processing app, he’s been live-blogging from the games. The images are understandably small but present a fascinating, near-live insight into what’s happening in London. (From The Guardian)
The Olympics are always the great proving ground for the latest camera technology, but it’s not just Canon’s EOS-1D X and Nikon’s D4 that are bringing the experience of the games to the wider world. US broadcaster NBC is publishing a series of stitched ‘gigapan’ images from the different venues – including a 3 gigapixel composite of the opening ceremony. Meanwhile, Japanese broadcaster NHK has been collaborating with the UK’s BBC to broadcast the first live, remote 8K footage. There are few screens that can yet show such footage, but tech-site Engadget has written about what it’s like to watch and whether 8K really is ‘the end of the resolution story.’
You are Here
SEE IT: Borrow, Build, Abandon
SEE IT: Olympians + a 100-Year-Old Lens
SEE IT: Reuters’ Multiple Exposures
SEE IT: A Satellite’s View of the Olympics
SEE IT: Photos of Illegal Use of “Olympics”
SEE IT: My Day on a Plate
SEE IT: Olympians at Home for Time 
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