Nikon has unveiled the Coolpix L620, an ultra zoom camera in its budget-friendly L-series. It sports a 14X, 25-350mm equivalent lens coupled to an 18.1 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor. Other features include lens-shift Vibration Reduction, a 3″, 480k dot LCD, 1080p video recording, and use of AA batteries. You’ll be able to pick up the Coolpix L820 in your choice of black and red in September for around $ 250.
Nikon has added an entry-level Speedlight to its external flash lineup. The company says the SB-300 can ‘fit comfortably in a shirt pocket’ and weighs 120g (4.2oz) with its two AAA batteries installed. It has a guide number of 18 meters and can tilt upwards by as much as 120 degrees. The SB-300 covers 18mm with a DX-format camera, and 27mm with FX-format. You’ll be able to pick one up for yourself later this month for around $ 150.
Nikon has announced the AF-S DX Nikkor 18-140mm F3.5-5.6G ED VR, a mid-level standard zoom that looks a lot like a kit lens waiting for a camera. The 7.8x lens, designed for APS-C DSLRs, covers a 27-210mm equivalent range and includes the latest VR image stabilization system, rated as offering four stops of stabilization, according to CIPA standard tests. It will sell for around $ 600 and will not be bundled with any current Nikon DSLRs. We’re not convinced many users will spend so much money to gain a little reach over their existing kit lens, leading us to suspect there may be a body on its way that will match its enthusiast-friendly ambitions.
Legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick pushed the boundaries of moviemaking in many ways, and was responsible for some of the most enduring visuals in cinema. When he made Barry Lydon in 1975, Kubrick shot with two ultra-rare Carl Zeiss primes, which had originally been created for NASA. Using the 50mm and 35mm f/0.7 lenses, Kubrick was able to film some scenes purely by candlelight. Now, Germany-based company P+S Technik has announced that they’ve modified a PS-Cam X35 HD to be able to accept Kubrick’s primes, and the whole package is available to rent. Click through for more details.
Magic Lantern has been enhancing the features of Canon EOS digital SLRs for some time now, most recently giving the EOS 5D Mark III a significant increase in dynamic range. One feature found in the second alpha version of their EOS 7D software adds the ability to capture Raw video, albeit at a relatively low 1736 x 1156 resolution. A 7D owner named Florian has put this feature to the test, by combining a series of DNG files into a 33 second video which looks fantastic. See the video for yourself after the break.
Photographic pioneer Edward Muybridge was fascinated by motion, and today, scientists at the Locomotion Lab of the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena continue to use cameras to research how we walk. As well as looking at human and animal movements, they’ve also created ‘walking robots’, and are capturing their movement using high-speed cameras. According to Zeiss’s blog, the researchers are using the ZEISS Makro-Planar T* 2/50 ZF.2 lens attached to Vosskühler HCC-1000 cameras, which are capable of 923 fps, at 1024 x 512 pixel resolution. Click through for more details.
Just posted: Our review of the Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM | C. This lens occupies its own little niche in the market, as an upgrade to the typical 18-55mm zoom that offers both usefully extended zoom range and a faster maximum aperture. It also includes Sigma’s ‘Hypersonic Motor’ for silent focusing, and built-in Optical Stabilisation. In the latest of our lens reviews prepared in partnership with DxOMark, we see whether it should be top of the short-list for SLR owners looking to progress beyond their kit lens.
The instant replay isn’t new. In fact, it can be argued that it’s the very reason why watching Football is America’s favorite Sunday night living room pastime. The implementation of 12 cameras in each end zone brings something new to your big screen TV this NFL season – a 360-degree instant replay. Starting with the September 8th Dallas Cowboys home game, fans watching the action on NBC’s Sunday Night Football will see an all-around view of controversial plays in each end zone.
There’s nothing traditional about photographer Nagano Toyokazu’s portraits of his daughter. His unorthodox shots put the girl at the center of a series of whimsical scenes, in turn commanding the attention of a line of yellow rubber ducks, conducting a chorus of frogs and tackling an impossible tower of ice cream scoops on a cone. They’re funny, sweet, and probably the most adorable thing you’ll see on the internet today. Click through and get ready for the cute.
We’ve been fans of Aaron Johnson’s comic strip ‘What the Duck’ for years. ‘WTD’ is one of the best satirical comic strips in the world, and it’s published here every week, as well as being included in our weekly newsletter. Barbed, topical and always amusing, we hope you enjoy WTD as much as we do.