The photo I posted the other day (above) from the Blackhills brought in a number of questions, the biggest being, “What’s Miops?” Miops (available many places) is only THE best lightning trigger on the planet! I’ve tried them all and they all failed, except Miops. Miops has never failed, always works and is the simplest tool I’ve ever used. It connects to your iPhone with a great app, firmware is consistently being updates and makes lightning photography (and a whole lot more) a snap. I can’t recommend it enough.

The one thing I recommend you add to the Miops is a small ballhead, I use Small Rig, so you mount Miops via the small ballhead into the hot shoe of your camera. This makes it easier to not only point the Miops but get it above the shade on your lens. It’s a small thing that I think makes a big difference in getting the photo you want to tell the story of the storm.

The announcement yesterday of the new Z Micro Lenses seems to have really caught the imagination and attention of many shooters! Many like me have the 60f2.8 micro they use on their DSLRs. But now micros, better ones, are available on the Z Mount bringing a new world of possibilities. It also brings for many the big question, D or Z? If you own no camera gear yet, the answer is very clear, Z Mirrorless. But what if you’re like me and have a cache of gorgeous F Mount lenses? Yeah, attach them to your Z via the FTZ and keep on shooting. But what do you invest in gearwise for the future? Lots of questions but no one clear answer for many but this has been my thinking for the last few months. When I acquired the Z70-200f2.8 & Z14-24f2.8 (they are stunning!!!) I knew I would not be investing in any more F Mount bodies / lenses and only in Z Mount lenses from now on. It’s when I knew the Z9 would eventually replace the D6 in my bag. I’m not by any means mothballing my 800f5.6 or 180-400VR (though I really wanna know about the Z200-600!) or any F Mount gear, they will be great on the Z9. But answering for others which way to go, well, I can only comment on my thinking of where I’m heading. I hope that helps.

The creative minds at Nikon have been busy. Brilliant! Check it out!

LOOK CLOSER: NIKON UNVEILS THE NEW NIKKOR Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S AND NIKKOR Z MC 50mm f/2.8, THE FIRST NIKON Z SERIES MICRO LENSES FOR MACRO PHOTOGRAPH

Today, Nikon Inc. announced the NIKKOR Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S and NIKKOR Z MC 50mm f/2.8, the latest additions to the rapidly growing NIKKOR Z lens lineup for Nikon’s high-performance Z series mirrorless cameras. The premium NIKKOR Z MC 105mm and the compact NIKKOR Z MC 50mm are the first NIKKOR Z lenses to feature a 1:1 reproduction ratio, allowing users to get close to their subjects and fill the frame with edge-to-edge sharpness and incredible details. Whether photographing subtle intricacies of wildlife, wedding details, food and jewelry or capturing striking portraits with gorgeous bokeh, these new macro lenses deliver a fantastic combination of versatility and precision.

“As the first native micro NIKKOR Z lenses, the NIKKOR Z MC 105mm and NIKKOR Z MC 50mm strengthen our expanding Z series lineup, adding yet another category of powerful optics,” said Jay Vannatter, Executive Vice President, Nikon Inc. “Together, both lenses represent a new category for the NIKKOR Z lineup, yet each have their own personalities and advantages that creators are bound to love.”

These new NIKKOR Z lenses benefit from the Nikon Z mount, which features a large diameter and short flange focal distance to deliver superior optical performance and abundant light gathering abilities. The lenses render sharp images from edge-to-edge, suppress chromatic aberrations across the focusing range and virtually eliminate color bleeding and fringing typical of macro lenses. Users of either new lens can also take advantage of the focus peaking feature in the Z series cameras to easily acquire and maintain manual focus for macro shots with incredible depth of field.

Development of Lightweight and Compact Prime Lenses

The NIKKOR Z lineup continues to expand at an unprecedented pace, with an evolving roadmap that includes a wide variety of planned lenses. To address consumer requests for small, sharp, high-quality prime lenses, Nikon is excited to announce the development of the NIKKOR Z 28mm f/2.8 and NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2, two compact and lightweight FX-format lenses. These lenses are scheduled for release within 2021.

NIKON RELEASES THE NX FIELD REMOTE SHOOTING SYSTEM TO PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL AGENCIES WITH STABLE REMOTE CAMERA OPERATION AND SIMULTANEOUS HIGH-SPEED IMAGE TRANSFER

Nikon Inc. is pleased to announce that NX Field, a remote shooting and image transfer system designed for use by commercial and editorial agencies as well as wire services, is scheduled to be released on June 17, 2021. This solution will support those on the front lines of news, sports and event reporting by allowing its users to link multiple compatible Nikon cameras, operate and adjust settings, and automatically upload images captured with the cameras to an FTP^*1 server. This system is currently compatible with the Nikon D6 and Nikon D5 digital SLR cameras. Support for mirrorless cameras such as the Nikon Z 9, Z 7II, and Z 6II is planned for the future. Further, with the additional use of the NX Field app for smart devices, the shutter release on remote cameras connected via a wired LAN cable or wireless LAN can be controlled from the smartphone or tablet to which it is installed. The app can also be used to easily perform a number of tasks remotely, including checking the Live View through the lens, changing or confirming camera settings, and uploading images captured with the cameras. The user interface that pursues flexibility and usability streamlines the on-site workflow. The NX Field system supports remote shooting via the 5G high-speed communications standard or the internet ^*4, which, for example, can enable the remote operation of cameras positioned in Tokyo from an operator in New York.

I’ve been a Photo Mechanic user, lover, connoisseur from the very beginning! It’s speed ingesting and displaying my images cannot be equaled. A DAM program, it fits my very anal nature when organizing my RAW digital files (stills, video, everything). Being on the road for long periods of late, I need to return to my office with not only my files culled and filed, but renamed as well. With a couple thousand critter subjects to keep organized, that’s quite a task but it’s nothing for Photo Mechanic Plus. It’s Photo Mechanic on database steroids! I grabbed the free trail and went to town letting it catalog ALL of my digital assets. I’ve only tapped one small portion of its power but I now can see ALL of my files on the road (just a thumbnail, not the actual RAW file) giving me the ability to not only see what I’ve captured in the past to remind me of my mistakes and successes, but also my filing renaming structure. I get back into the office, fire up Photo Mechanic and with a couple of clicks everything is filed and up to date! I HIGHLY recommend you give the FREE trial a trial, it will blow your mind the speed. A heads up, the original creating of the image database might take some time if you have a bunch of images. But I can honestly say, Photo Mechanic Plus is just darn great!