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Lenses for mirrorless: how Canon, Nikon, Panasonic and Sony full-frame options compare

01 May
The move to mirrorless by some of the industry’s biggest players put the focus on their new lens lineups.

In our recent look at ~$ 2000 full frame mirrorless cameras, we said that choosing between them is as much about buying into a lens system as anything else. In this article, we’re going to have a look at the four full-frame mirrorless systems to see what they offer and where they might yet go.

This article isn’t a question of ‘which range is biggest,’ it’s to help show which lineups have the lenses you might need for your photography.

As well as the lenses currently available, we’ll consider the degree of support provided by third-party lens makers and briefly discuss some of the technologies involved.

Sony E-mount

When it comes to full-frame lenses for mirrorless, Sony has the biggest head start. Sony introduced its full-frame ‘FE’ range alongside the original a7, back in late 2013, and already had several years experience of making APS-C E-mount lenses by that point.

Sony has also taken the unusual move of allowing third-party lens makers access to its lens mount specifications and communication protocol. This has allowed companies such as Sigma, Tamron, Tokina and Zeiss to expand the range of available lenses for Sony photographers. In the case of Sigma, these include existing DSLR optical designs as well as new, dedicated optical formulations for mirrorless.

Primes

Zooms

All
Diagram covers autofocus primes and high-end zooms in the 14-200mm range. Lineups correct as of April 2020.

In addition to covering most of these bases, Sony has had time to add specialist lenses, such as 600mm F4, 400mm F2.8, 100-400mm and 200-600mm telephoto options, equivalents to which aren’t currently available for other systems.

Starting earlier has given Sony time to provide a wider range of lenses, including less obvious options such as the 135mm F1.8 GM

Sony says that the years it’s spent making large lenses for mirrorless camera has allowed it to develop expertise in the types of motors best suited for full-frame mirrorless lenses (the need to drive lenses smoothly for video, as well as quickly means the requirements aren’t the same as for DSLRs). However, while it’s true that Sony’s adoption of technologies such as linear motors and piezoelectric drive provides its more recent lenses with impressively fast, smooth focusing, be aware that some of the company’s earlier lenses don’t always show this same performance.

Canon RF-mount

Canon’s RF lens lineup thus far has shown a distinct focus on the needs of professional users, with many of its first lenses belonging to the premium ‘L’ range.

Canon hasn’t opened up its lens mount to other makers, so there’s limited third-party support available at the moment. If the RF mount gains anything like the popularity that the EF mount did, it’s extremely likely that other companies will find a way to offer autofocus lenses, but widespread third-party support for RF may be some years away.

Primes

Zooms

All
Diagram covers autofocus primes and high-end zooms in the 14-200mm range. Lineups correct as of April 2020.

Canon currently uses a variety of motors in its RF lenses: primarily using the company’s fast, smooth ‘Nano USM’ technology and the ring-type USM motors that underpin most of its high-end DSLR lenses. These ring-type motors appear to work pretty well with Canon’s dual pixel AF system but aren’t always the smoothest or fastest, especially given that they tend to be used in the lenses with large, heavy lens elements that need to be moved.

The RF 35mm F1.8, meanwhile, uses a small stepper motor, which makes it noticeably slower and noisier to focus than the best of Canon’s other mirrorless lenses.

Nikon Z-mount

Like Canon, Nikon has not yet opened up the Z-mount to third-parties, which currently limits your autofocus choices to Nikon’s own lenses.

However, Nikon’s initial build-out strategy looks very different from Canon’s: Rather than starting with exotica, Nikon has provided a range of comparatively affordable/portable F1.8 primes, alongside a set of F2.8 and F4 zooms.

Primes

Zooms

All
Diagram covers autofocus primes and high-end zooms in the 14-200mm range. Lineups correct as of April 2020.

In terms of focus motors, Nikon seems to primarily be relying on the use of small stepper motors for its lenses so far, which offer decent performance but don’t appear to match linear motors or Canon’s Nano USM technologies for either speed or smoothness. Twin focus groups help to give accurate focus even close-up, in some of Nikon’s zoom lenses, which can also improve on the often modest speeds of single-motor designs.

L-mount: Panasonic, Leica and Sigma

Panasonic, along with Sigma, has aligned itself with Leica by adopting the ‘L’ mount for its full-frame mirrorless cameras. This instantly gives it access to an established lens range (though, like Sony’s, one that is built around a mount originally focused on APS-C). Sigma’s inclusion in the alliance should ensure a wide range of third-party L-mount lenses become available.

All Panasonic cameras so far have been based around the company’s Depth-from-Defocus (DFD) AF system. The degree to which lenses from other members of the L-mount alliance are optimized to this system is not clear at this point. We’d expect Leica’s lenses, which are designed around a distinctly DFD-like approach to work well but we don’t know how closely Sigma has yet embraced the DFD concept. For now we wouldn’t expect the same consistency across native L-mount lenses that we’ve seen from the single-maker systems, but we’d expect Sigma to be working to maximize compatibility.

Primes

Zooms

All
Diagram covers autofocus primes and high-end zooms in the 14-200mm range. Lineups correct as of April 2020.

Panasonic’s lenses primarily make use of linear focus motors, but use a combination of linear and stepping motors for lenses such as the 50mm F1.4 and its 70-200s that require more glass to be moved around.

DSLR lens support

If you already own a selection of DSLR-mount lenses, then you’ll find that with the right accessories, you can mount them on any of these camera bodies. Since the mirrorless mounts are all shallower, this leaves plenty of room to put an adapter between the lens and body. The performance you get will vary, though.

Canon frequently bundles one of its EF-to-RF adaptors with its RF-mount cameras, and it makes three variants (a simple pass-through tube, another with a control ring around it and a third that lets you drop a choice of filter between the lens and the camera). The dual pixel AF system, combined with Canon’s knowledge of its communication protocol means EF lens users will get probably the best adapted lens experience when using Canon RF-mount bodies. That said, we still wouldn’t necessarily expect DSLR-level performance from all EF lenses when adapted.

Unsurprisingly, you tend to get the best adapted performance if you use DSLR lenses on the same brands’ mirrorless bodies. Don’t expect DSLR levels of performance, though.

Various companies also make EF-to-E adaptors, allowing EF lenses to be used on Sony bodies. And, while not quite as consistent as Canon-on-Canon combinations, we’ve had good experiences with this combination, though generally only with shorter focal lengths. Meanwhile, Sigma makes the MC-21 adapter for using EF lenses with L-mount bodies but, without phase detection AF in any of those cameras, continuous AF is not available.

Nikon also offers kits that include its ‘FTZ’ F-to-Z mount adaptor with some of its camera bodies. This provides a decent level of support for existing lenses but does not contain a focus drive motor, so can only autofocus lenses with their own motors (AF-S, AF-P and AF-I lenses and their third-party equivalents). F-to-E adapters are available, but performance can vary, lens-to-lens, making it more of a gamble.

As you’d probably expect, then, older lenses tend to work most reliably with the cameras made by the same brand. However, they can be used on other systems, so depending on how extensive your existing lens collection is, you may find you can make do with lowered performance, rather than having to sell-up and start again, if you don’t want to remain bound to the whims of the maker of your DSLR.

Summary

As you’d expect, Sony’s nearly five-year head start and openness towards third-party makers has let it build up a significant advantage over its rivals, but all four mounts are already starting to see key holes in their respective lineups being filled.

In the long run, it’s likely that all four systems will be extended to offer a range of mid-range, as well as high-end primes and zooms, but it’s pretty clear that initially, Nikon and Canon are focusing on different sets of users.

Third-party support provides more options in young lens systems.

Nikon and Canon’s decisions to keep their mounts closed to competitors means they can control the consistency of experience for their users (with no risk of a third-party lens offering sub-standard AF speed or smoothness, for instance), but with the downside that you’re entirely dependent on that company’s development priorities, unless you’re happy to take your chances with simple manual focus options.

It’s the third-party makers and their ability and willingness to produce fully-compatible lenses that will be interesting to watch. The adoption rate of Sony E-mount cameras and the availability of the lens protocols is likely to mean most future third-party lenses will be designed around this mount but it’ll be interesting to see which other systems this support gets extended to.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Adobe tweaks Creative Residency program to launch $1M support fund for visual creatives

01 May

Adobe has announced the latest iteration of its Adobe Creative Resident program, one that has changed substantially in light of the coronavirus pandemic. This year, Adobe says that it will only select two Creative Residents, but that it will also launch a $ 1 million Creative Residency Community Fund intended to support creators during the economic downturn.

Adobe explains that this fund will be open globally and will be used to hire creatives for projects commissioned by Adobe over the next year, as well as personal projects. Creatives who get support from Adobe for personal and commissioned projects will also receive career guidance workshops, Creative Cloud memberships and other unspecified support.

Visual creatives interested in the fund will need to apply on Adobe’s website here. Applicants have the choice of applying for a creative project grant, which will range from $ 500 to $ 5,000, or for Adobe project commissions, which will also be valued at $ 500 to $ 5,000. Applicants aren’t required to propose a project when applying for commissioned work.

Adobe plans to run its fund for 12 months from May 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021. Recipients will be notified about their inclusion in the program 30 to 60 days after submitting their application; the grants are issued on a monthly basis.

Adobe says that creatives can apply for the Community Fund even if they already applied for the Creative Residency this year but weren’t selected. The company is accepting applications from a variety of visual creatives, including professionals who work with 3D, graphic design, short-form online videos, photography, digital painting and drawing, motion design and UX/UI/VX/XD design.

As far as commissioned work goes, professionals who are selected for projects will receive work based on their portfolio, skills and what Adobe happens to need at the time. This could include artwork for social media or use in applications, or something like creating a video, writing an article or developing a tutorial, according to the company.

Beyond this, Adobe announced that Christina Poku and Maddy Beard are its two Creative Residents for the 2020-2021 year. It’s yet to be seen whether the coronavirus pandemic is over by the start of Adobe’s next residency period and what kind of impact that may have on the company’s future plans for its program.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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British Museum launches revamped online collections database early with 1.9M images

30 Apr

On Tuesday, April 28, the British Museum announced that it is the latest institution to make digitized images of its various collections available for free online. The ‘revamped’ online collections database now contains 1.9 million images that are offered to the public under the restrictive Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license, which allows for non-commercial use with attribution.

According to the announcement tweet from British Museum, its team expedited the release of this new online database so that the public can browse the museum’s collections while in quarantine at home. The launch follows similar big digitized collections launches from institutions like Paris Musées and The Smithsonian.

This revamp simplifies things for public users who are no longer required to register in order to use the images. Going forward, anyone can browse the online collections database and download any of the 1.9 million images for non-commercial use with attribution. Each image is scanned at a high-resolution; the online viewer enables users to zoom in on objects to view fine details.

According to the British Museum, this collection features two million years’ worth of history that spans six continents. The museum digitized nearly 4.5 million objects, making it the largest online collection of its kind. British Museum explains that its revamped interface not only provides access to these images for free but also makes it easier for the public to find the specific items they’re looking for.

The online collections are vast, including everything from ancient Egyptian sculptures to Assyrian artifacts, Greek objects, Iranian jewelry, artwork from the Roman Empire and much more. Viewers can sort through the content based on collection galleries, as well as searches using museum numbers, persons, places and keywords.

This launch is a welcomed addition to the growing body of digitized artifacts and other works made available to the general public online. However, the release isn’t without criticism. Unlike The Smithsonian and Paris Musées, both of which released their online collections with Creative Common 0 licenses, the British Museum’s collection is made available under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

Author and activist Coro Doctorow highlighted some of the concerns related to this in a recent tweet thread, pointing out, among other things, that UK law states that copyrights can only subsist in cases where the work is ‘original in the sense that it is the author’s own ‘intellectual creation.” Among other things, the nation’s copyright law [PDF, page 3] notes that it’s ‘unlikely that what is merely a retouched, digitised image of an older work can be considered as ‘original.”

Critics have also pointed out that Wikimedia Commons only allows images that aren’t ‘subject to copyright restrictions which would prevent them being used by anyone, anytime, for any purpose,’ meaning the British Museum’s digitized collections can’t be included in the Commons catalog.

Despite these concerns, the revamped database is a step in the right direction. The British Museum has been commended for the effort it put into this launch — not just for the high-resolution images and scans of the content, but also the number of tools and information the museum provides for each listing.

The database includes the name(s) of the original excavator who discovered the items, where the object was found, the materials it is made from, the technique used to craft it, its size and weight, its present condition, where it was acquired, its registration number and more. The collection is available here.

Via: ianVisits

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Sony provides an in-depth look at the Sony Xperia 1 II camera tech

30 Apr

Sony first announced its triple-camera-equipped Xperia 1 Mark II flagship phone in February but users around the world are still waiting for the commercial release of the device. Once available, with its photo-centric design that borrows a number of features from Sony’s Alpha series cameras, the Xperia 1 Mark II should be a compelling option for mobile photographers. Now the company has shared additional information on camera technology and features in Japan.

In its primary camera the new Sony offers the same 12MP resolution as its predecessor. However, those pixels are distributed across a larger sensor surface. The Mark II’s 1/1.7″ primary sensor is quite a bit bigger than the Mark 1’s 1/2.6″ variant, but still falls short of some other flagship phones. The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro and Huawei P40 Pro for example come with 1/1.33″ and 1/1.28″ sensors respectively.

The Xperia 1 Mark II comes with a larger sensor than its predecessor.

However, Sony is deploying a different strategy to most of its direct rivals. Both rival phones mentioned above use much higher resolution sensors and pixel-binning technology to reduce noise levels and capture images with a wide dynamic range.

Sony bets on ‘traditional’ large 1.8µm pixels, which, according to the company, make the new sensor 50 percent more light sensitive than its predecessor and results in improved low light performance.

The 12MP sensor offers faster read-out than the 108MP Quad-Bayer sensors used in some competitors.

Sony says the conventional design of the sensor offers faster read-out speeds than the pixel-binning Quad-Bayer technology deployed in most current high-end phones. The entire sensor can be read out in 10ms versus 32ms for a 12MP image from a Quad-Bayer sensor.

The sensor features 247 phase detection points.

This speed is necessary to enable the Mark II’s 20fps continuous shooting with autoexposure and autofocus. Dual-Pixel AF is embedded into the sensor and an additional 3D time-of-flight (ToF) sensor supports the system. Overall, the camera can use 247 phase detection points on the image sensor and 43,200 points from the ToF sensor to perform AF calculations.

The AF also uses data from a 3D time-of-flight sensor.

This is done by Sony’s BIONZ X branded image processor which performs 60 AE/AF calculations per second to keep subjects in focus and the image well exposed. The new phone also comes with the Eye AF feature that we already saw on the original Xperia 1. However, now it can lock on to animal eyes in addition to human eyes.

The ultra-wide and tele lenses of the triple-camera setup cannot quite keep up with the primary shooter in terms of read-out speed and processing, though. They both offer continuous shooting at 10fps with AE/AF enabled and AE/AF calculations are performed at a slower rate of 30 per second.

Sony says the triple-camera offers the same flexbility as a camera system with 16-35, 24-70 and 70-200mm lenses.

This said, with equivalent focal lengths of 74mm for the tele and 16mm for the ultra-wide, both cameras make nice additions to the primary camera’s 24mm-equivalent lens, covering a wide range of shooting situations. Sony goes as far as comparing the lenses in the Xperia 1 Mark II triple camera to a full-frame lens set including a 16-35mm wide-angle, a 24-70m standard zoom and a 70-200mm tele-zoom. Those lenses should have you prepared for almost anything, and according to the company the same is true for the phone’s triple-cam.

To make the new device even more attractive to serious photographers it comes with Sony’s new Photography Pro app, which features Shutter and Aperture priority modes in addition to a bunch of other manual controls you would find on the company’s mirrorless cameras. Most camera apps offer some sort of manual controls these days, usually in the shape of a separate ‘Pro mode’, but it looks like Sony is taking things a step further than most.

The Photography Pro app offers a range of manual modes and settings.

The Xperia 1 Mark II is also the first Sony smartphone to feature a ZEISS lens. ZEISS lenses can be found on many of Sony’s Cybershot compact cameras and are also available with an E-mount for Alpha cameras. ZEISS lenses featured on Nokia phones previously but the new Sony is the first to come with the German lens maker’s T* anti-reflective coating to reduce glare and ghosting effects.

It’s good to see Sony, which is the only current smartphone manufacturer that also runs a sizeable camera operation, creating more synergies and technology interchange between its mobile and Alpha divisions. Now we just need to wait for the device to appear in the market and see if the camera can compete with the best. According to rumors that could happen as soon as next week, starting in Taiwan.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Raspberry Pi launches 12.3MP interchangeable lens camera module for its Pi computers

30 Apr

What if I told you that for just $ 50, you could have yourself a fully-customizable interchangeable lens camera capable of shooting 12.3MP stills and capturing 4K/30p video? You’d probably tell me to kick dirt, but the truth is that’s now a possibility thanks to Raspberry Pi’s new ILC camera module and accompanying lenses, which start at just $ 25.

‘There has always been a big overlap between Raspberry Pi hackers and camera hackers,’ reads the Raspberry Pi blog post announcing the setup. ‘Even back in 2012, people (okay, substantially Dave Hunt) were finding interesting ways to squeeze more functionality out of DSLR cameras using their Raspberry Pi computers.’

The full kit currently available from Raspberry Pi.

Since 2013, Raspberry Pi has released a few different camera modules: the original 5MP camera board based around the OmniVision OV5647 sensor, a Pi NoIR board for infrared photography and a follow-up camera board that used the Sony IMX219 8MP sensor (this unit replaced Raspberry Pi’s 5MP camera board, which has the distinction of being just two other products the company has ever officially discontinued).

Despite selling more than 1.7 million units of the 8MP camera boards to date, the Raspberry Pi team wasn’t content with the limitations put in place by fixed-focus camera modules with small sensors and poor performance. Enter the new Raspberry Pi High Quality Camera.

This new module is build around the Type 1/2.3” (7.9mm diagonal) Sony IMX477 backside-illuminated CMOS sensor that features 1.55?m pixels (double that of the IMX219 found in the 8MP camera board). In front of the sensor is a C and CS lens mount with adjustable back-focus, a mount most commonly used on 8mm, 16mm cameras, closed-circuit security cameras and other industrial-focused systems. It even features a built-in 1/4”-20 tripod mount for supporting the system.

While any off-the-shelf C- and CS-mount lenses will work with the new sensor, Raspberry Pi has announced it will be working with its official retail partners to carry a pair of lenses: a 6mm CS-mount lens and a 16mm C-mount lens for $ 25 and $ 50, respectively. There’s always the option of 3D printing and purchasing third-party adapters to create wild combinations, such as this monster, shown below, built around the Canon 70–200mm F2.8 IS II lens.

The possibilities are nearly endless.

The High Quality Camera is compatible with ‘almost all’ Raspberry Pi models, starting with the original Raspberry Pi 1. The only exception are a number of early Raspberry Pi Zero boards that lack the connector. Raspberry Pi has compiled accompanying support documentation on the product page, including a ‘Getting Started’ guide. There’s also ‘The Official Raspberry Pi Camera Guide’ that’s available to download for free as a PDF or buy in physical form on the Raspberry Pi Press Store for £10.

The Raspberry Pi High Quality Camera, which will remain in production until at least January 2027 per Raspberry Pi’s obsolescence statement, is available starting today for $ 50 on the Raspberry Pi website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Watch ‘My Friends Were Mountaineers’, a film about photographer Dee Molenaar

30 Apr

Dee Molenaar, an icon in the Pacific Northwest mountaineering community passed away recently at the age of 101. Filmmaker Eric Becker, a long time collaborator of DPReview was lucky enough to spend some time with Dee around his 100th birthday. What resulted was a short film produced by Eric in collaboration with DPReview about Dee’s life, his love of the mountain climbing community and his prolific work as a visual artist.

The film takes a look into Dee’s expansive archive of paintings, hand drawn maps, 8mm film footage and a treasure trove of archival slide photographs. You can watch the final piece above, and read on for a personal account, from Eric, of the background behind the film.

Eric Becker – director

In 2018 I was finishing up my feature documentary Return to Mount Kennedy, which centers around the first ascent in 1965 of a remote mountain in the Yukon – Mount Kennedy – then newly named after assassinated president John F. Kennedy. Climber Jim Whittaker lead the expedition, which included JFK’s brother, Bobby Kennedy.

Dee Molenaar was one of the photographers in the group. I originally connected with his family to track down some of his original images, but in talking to Dee’s son Peter I learned that there was a lot more to his life and work than just that one trip, back in 1965. Peter invited me to come and go through his father’s photos, and it occurred to me that this might make for an interesting short film on its own.

When I arrived at Peter’s house to take a look through his father’s archives, I was shocked. There were just so many boxes of slides, reels of footage, and beautiful paintings that Dee had created during his life. Peter mentioned that Dee’s 100th birthday was coming up in June and that the family was planning to take him to Mt. Rainier to visit his favorite place on earth. At this point, I knew there was a story.

There was a bittersweet element to the trip which gave it an emotional thrust – the unspoken sense that this would probably be Dee’s last opportunity to see the place

Good stories need some key ingredients. First off, there needs to be visual material to work with, which we had in volumes, in the form of Dee’s photographs and paintings. Second, you need strong characters. Peter was totally comfortable being filmed, and the love and admiration he had for his father came through when he spoke. The same was true of his sister Karen, and his brother David.

The third ingredient is action. In this case it was the simple act of taking a 100 year-old man to see his beloved mountain. There was a bittersweet element to the trip which gave it an emotional thrust – the unspoken sense that this would probably be Dee’s last opportunity to see the place.

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During the making of this film we digitized about 40 reels of 8mm film footage and found some absolutely beautiful imagery of the Pacific Northwest in the 1940, 50’s and 60’s. I also read Dee’s autobiography and did as much research as I could to get some background on his life and work. We filmed interviews with the Molenaar family, and we joined Dee on the trip to Mount Rainier.

My favorite moment was when I showed Dee some of his films that we had digitized. He watched them on an iPad for about 45 minutes and was totally tuned in, even talking about some of the people and places.

This was a very archive-heavy project, and the bulk of the editing for this short film happened in early 2019 once we had collected all of the pieces. Editing is both my favorite and least favorite part of the process, but it’s where the magic happens. Whenever young filmmakers ask for advice, I tell them to learn the tools, including editing. The reality is that cameras and computers are so inexpensive and user-friendly these days that the way to distinguish yourself from the crowd is to focus on the craft of it all. And getting good at editing, as anxiety-ridden as the process can be, is one of the easiest ways to advance your craft as a storyteller.

Getting good at editing, as anxiety-ridden as the process can be, is one of the easiest ways to advance your craft as a storyteller

We made the film using the Fujifilm X-H1, some of it handheld shooting internal 4K but mostly paired with an Atomos Shogun, with Senheiser wireless lavs for sound. We have a simple rig that holds everything. Aside from the camera (which changes from shoot to shoot) this is the same basic setup we use for all of the DPReview long-form videos. Everything was shot in 24p, except for some 60p footage that we captured for slow motion. We used the Fujifilm Eterna profile, and I cut the piece in Adobe Premier Pro.

With this video and with all of the other pieces in the long-form series that we’ve shot with DPReview, I hope we’ve succeeded in inspiring people to get out and shoot. I’d like to think that Dee would approve.

Read Dee Molenaar’s obituary at mountaineers.org

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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The Fujifilm X100V is our favorite prime lens compact camera

30 Apr

We’ve updated our ‘best fixed prime lens camera’ buying guide and – no surprise here – the Fujifilm X100V came out on top.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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DPReview TV: Take better indoor portraits with natural light

30 Apr

Want to shoot some portraits with great lighting while stuck at home? We show you how – and you probably won’t need any new gear to do it! If Chris and Jordan can light a scene with a Rubbermaid container lid, so can you.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get new episodes of DPReview TV every week.

  • Introduction
  • Window light
  • Reflecting fill light
  • Negative fill
  • Overexposing windows
  • Controlling background light
  • Three easy poses
  • For more info…

Sample gallery from this episode

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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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ProGrade Digital’s new microSDXC cards offer faster speeds at lower prices

30 Apr

ProGrade Digital has released an updated line of UHS-II microSDXC cards that offer improved read and write speeds at a lower cost than ProGrade’s previous microSDXC lineup.

The new microSDXC UHS-II V60 memory cards feature read and burst write speeds up to 250MB/s and 130MB/s, respectively, a 50MB/s increase in both departments compared to their predecessors. Sustained, the cards only guarantee 60MB/s write speeds, as denoted by the V60 label. Despite the increased performance, the lineup, which now includes a 256GB option will retail for much less than the cards they’re replacing.

The 64GB, 128GB and 256GB cards retail for $ 34.99, $ 54.99 and $ 99.99, respectively; that’s $ 15 and $ 45 less than the previously available 64GB and 128GB cards, respectively. In addition to a three-year warranty, all cards will come with a UHS-II SD adapter and ProGrade’s Refresh Pro software for keeping tabs on the health of the cards.

It doesn’t appear as though other retails have listed the new cards yet, but both the 64GB and 128GB versions are available to purchase on ProGrade Digital’s website. The 256GB option will be available sometime in the second quarter of 2020, according to ProGrade Digital.

The old 200MB/s microSDXC cards The newer 250MB/s microSDXC cards

Something worth keeping in mind when looking for these cards is to make sure you’re getting these new, updated cards, rather than the old cards. The design on the cards is effectively identical with the only noticeable difference being the read speeds printed on the cards. The old cards will read ‘200MB/s’ while the new cards will read ‘250MB/s.’

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Lomography’s new Analogue Aqua is an underwater ‘Simple Use’ film camera

30 Apr

Lomography has announced the release of the Analogue Aqua a new ‘simple use’ reloadable camera that comes packed an underwater case.

The Analogue Aqua is the latest version of Lomography’s take on the disposable 35mm film camera—this time with an aquatic twist thanks to its protective plastic housing, which is waterproof down to 10m (33ft).

The kit will be available in two versions, pre-loaded with one of two Lomography film stocks: Color Negative 400, for ‘classic analogue character’ or LomoChrome Purple for ‘violet tones that flourish and fade,’ in the words of Lomography. When you finish the 27-exposure pre-loaded film, you can put another roll in its place with the help of Lomography’s guide, giving you the convenience of a disposable camera with much less waste.

The camera itself operates on a single ‘AA’ battery, features a very rudimentary 31mm F9 lens, will focus on anything from beyond 1m (3ft) to infinity and has a permanent shutter speed of 1/120th of a second. In the event you need more light, the camera features a built-in flash that can fire once every 15 seconds.

Below are a few sample photos provided by Lomography:

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The Lomography Analogue Aqua ‘Simple Use’ camera is available in both the Color Negative 400 and LoomChrome Purple versions starting today for $ 40 on Lomography’s online shop. The first units will ship out in May.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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