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Carl Zeiss has announced they will be releasing a new line of ZF lenses in the Nikon F mount.

The first lenses to be made available will be the Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 and the Planar T* 85mm f/1.4, with more to follow throughout 2006. These are manual focus lenses.

They will also be making a ZS range of lenses, with the same optics as the ZF lineup, but using a 42mm screw mount. There are already M-42 adapters for a variety of lens mounts, so they will be able to be used on Canon EOS and FD cameras as well as many others.

More information is available at the Zeiss web site.

Filed under: Canon,Equipment,Nikon
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Konica Minolta has announced that it is withdrawing from the camera and photo business. They will be transferring photographic assets to Sony, who are planning to continue supporting Maxxum/Dynax lenses on new cameras.

You can read both Konica Minolta’s and Sony’s press releases at DPReview.

Filed under: Business,Konica Minolta,Sony
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It looks like the rumor mills are running hot again, this time speculating about Canon’s next DSLR. Camera-News.com has posted an alleged photo of the new EOS 30D, which is thought by some to be designed to compete head-to-head with the Nikon D200.

The same site has previously posted speculation about the Canon EOS 30D, as well as the cheaper consumer-level Canon EOS 3000D.

Other sources of speculation include:

• Digital Photography Blog
• DPReview Forums
• DCHome

Filed under: Canon
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Travis Ruse is a New York City magazine photo editor who commutes to work by train. He carries his Canon 20D with him every day, taking photographs along the way, and then edits those shots down to a single ‘shot of the day’ which he posts to his web site each night. He concentrates not on the sights outside the train, but on the commuters themselves, and telling the story of what it’s like to be an NYC train commuter in the modern day.

In Travis’ own words:

I live in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I work in midtown Manhattan.

42nd & Lexington Ave., to be exact, right across from Grand Central Station.

As the crow flies, that’s just 6 miles. But on the tracks, it can be three trains, 11 stops, and 45 minutes each way.

This is what I see every day commuting to and from work.

The New York Times recently ran an article about Travis – When The Muse Is A Train.

Filed under: Photographers
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Nikon has announced that they’re now going to “focus management resources on digital cameras in place of film cameras”.

While there will surely be film buffs lamenting this decision, I think it makes good business sense for Nikon. That press release states that 95% of Nikon UK’s business comes from the digital area.

As a result of the new strategy Nikon will discontinue production of all lenses for large format cameras and enlarging lenses with sales of these products ceasing as soon as they run out of stock. This also applies to most of our film camera bodies, interchangeable manual focus lenses and related accessories. Although Nikon anticipates that the products will still be in retail distribution up to Summer 2006.

In recognition of Nikon’s commitment to professional photographers we will continue to manufacturer and sell the F6, our flagship film model, as well as a number of manual interchangeable lenses. Sales of the manual FM10 will also continue outside Europe.

The manual lenses Nikon will still continue manufacturing include:

• Nikkor 20mm f/2.8
• Nikkor 24mm f/2.8
• Nikkor 28mm f/2.8
• Nikkor 35mm f/1.4
• Nikkor 50mm f/1.2
• Nikkor 50mm f/1.4
• Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/2.8
• Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8
• PC Micro-Nikkor 85mm f/2.8D

What are your thoughts? Is this a good move on Nikon’s part? Which discontinued Nikon products will you miss the most?

Filed under: Business,Nikon
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The Luminous Landscape has just posted an article on Adobe Lightroom Tips and Tricks. This is a very valuable resource for people just starting to explore the free beta of Lightroom.

I’ve also created a new page collecting links to Adobe Lightroom Reviews.

Filed under: Asset Management,RAW Files,Software,Workflow
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Well, it looks like those rumors had legs. Adobe announced the Beta release of Lightroom today, their software for importing, selecting, developing, and showcasing large volumes of digital images.

Michael Reichmann has posted a pretty comprehensive Lightroom First Look and Primer that’s definitely worth checking out. Jeff Schewe from PhotoshopNews.com has also posted an overview.

If you’d like to get jumpstarted with Lightroom, check out Adobe’s first Lightroom video tutorial.

PhotoshopNews.com has posted a Lightroom FAQ which contains a lot of useful info, as well as a great background article on the Shadowland/Lightroom Development Story.

You can discuss Lightroom with others in the Luminous Landscape Lightroom Forum.

Filed under: Asset Management,RAW Files,Software,Workflow
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Hasselblad has announced a new 39 megapixel medium format digital camera, the H2D-39. This camera is based on the Hasselblad H2 body, and is compatible with the entire range of Hasselblad H System lenses as well as the Hasselblad V lens system.

The same functionality is being offered in a digital back format, designed to work with the Hasselblad H2 camera and others using the H-system interface plate. The digital backs include:

• CF-39 – the basic 39 megapixel digital back
• CF-39MS – multi-shot-capable version of the digital back, providing increased color resolution for studio shooting
• CFH-39 – integrates with the H2′s power system, so both camera and digital back can be powered by the H2′s Li-ion battery

The new camera and backs will be rolled out worldwide in Q1 2006. Hasselblad offers an upgrade program for users wanting to step up to these new products from older versions.

Filed under: Hasselblad
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Darren Rowse over at the Digital Photography Blog is reporting that French website Chasseur d’Images has posted some info about a rumored Nikon D3H. Chasseur d’Images has been fairly accurate in the past with these types of rumors, so it’ll be interesting to see how this one plays out.

The claims at this point are that the D3H will feature:

• 10 megapixel DX-format sensor
• 3″ 320,000 pixel rear LCD
• USB 2.0 and WT-3 wireless connectivity
• CF and SD cards
• ISO 100 to 1600 (and boost mode of 3200)
• buffer of 50 jpg or 40 RAW
• burst mode of 8.5 or 10 frames per second
• shutter speed 30s to 1/8000s
• improved noise reduction
• approximate price of USD$3,800
• to ship during second half of 2006

It sounds like a plausible set of specifications. What do you think?

Filed under: Nikon
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AppleInsider is reporting that Adobe will next week announce LightRoom, their answer to Apple’s revolutionary digital photography workflow application, Aperture.

It will be interesting to see what Adobe comes up with. They’ve had a long time to do something about workflow for photographers, but it took Apple’s release of Aperture to light a fire under them.

LightRoom will initially be developed for the Mac, but is expected to also be released on Windows.

Lending some credibility to this rumor, both Luminous Landscape and PhotoshopNews.com have both basically said “There’s a rumor. We can’t comment on it. But check back here early Monday morning.” Nudge, nudge, wink wink.

Filed under: Asset Management,Software,Workflow
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