New @ Have Camera Will Travel

Lots of great photography deals, new gear and photos, hot take mini reviews, and photography exhibitions to catch before they close up.

The Wharf, Washington DC. Taken with a Nikon Z8 + Nikon 16mm ƒ/2.8D fisheye. You can’t see it very well in this, but the section under the bridging patio between the two buildings is known as The Oculus (no, not the much grander New York one!). I have a different perspective of it in one of the photos further down this page, but I didn’t realize until my most recent visit that it was a named feature. Photograph by David Coleman.

// Black Friday Deals Worth a Look

The great deals come thick and fast at this time of year. Some are better than others. Here are some I thought worth a look.

Gear

• $1000 OFF Sony a1 body (at B&H). There’s a new model coming out, but this is still one heck of a camera.

• $500 OFF OM System OM-1 Mark II body (at B&H). Gosh, this one is tempting. Superb for general travel photography as well as for macro work.

• $500 OFF Canon EOS R5 body (at B&H). There are many reasons this camera has been such a hit. It just has great all-around performance.

• $500 OFF Nikon Z8 body (at B&H). This is currently my primary camera. Another with great all-around performance.

• 10% OFF used gear at KEH. No code required. Ends 12/2.

• 20% OFF (nearly) Everything at Peak Design. Top-notch camera bags, travel tripods, and other gear. Been using them since their first Kickstarter campaign years ago. No code required.

• $209 for DJI Osmo Action 4. There’s a newer model, but I still really like this version, and this is a great deal for a really good action cam.

• 30% OFF camera T-shirts at Shoot Film Co. I love these retro camera T-shirts. They also make for great gifts. Use code H19V4ERCVKFV. Ends 12/3.

• 25% OFF sitewide at Spider Camera Holsters. These are really handy for on-location shoots. Use code BF24. Ends 12/8.

Photography Software

• $49 OFF Nik Collection 7 / $29 OFF DxO PureRAW. These are both essentials in my workflow. New customers (different discounts available for upgrades). No code required. Ends 12/1.

• 30% OFF SmugMug (new accounts). No code required. Ends 12/16.

• 20% OFF Photo Mechanic. It’s the gold standard for a fast photography workflow for a reason. Use code SPEEDMEUP24. Ends 12/3.

• Up to 50% OFF ON1 Photo RAW 2025. This is one of the best Lightroom alternatives, in my opinion. I also like their noise reduction app. Use code BLACKFRIDAY. Ends 11/30.

• Luminar NEO. Another very polished Lightroom alternative that has come a long way quickly. Discount varies by the package you choose. No code required.

• 50% OFF Topaz Gigapixel 8. My favorite app for making images bigger. No code required. Ends 12/2.

• 50% OFF Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps bundle (billed annually and paid-in-full-up-front subscriptions). Lightroom, Photoshop, the whole shebang. No code required. Ends 11/29.

Rentals

• 15% OFF LensProToGo gear rentals. My go-to gear rental place. They don’t just have huge ranges of cameras and lenses; they also have underwater housings and other specialized gear. Use code LPTGBF24. Order by 12/1.

Prints

• 20% OFF at Digital Silver Imaging. This is for real B&W silver gelatin prints, which makes black and white look *so* much better. Use code BF2024. Ends 12/15.

This is the Titanic Memorial in Washington DC. Or, more specifically, the Women's Titanic Memorial. It’s not particularly well known, even amongst locals, although it actually dates back to 1931 (but not always in this exact spot). It’s just a short walk further down the Southwest Waterfront from the new Wharf area. Photograph by David Coleman.

// Gear & Stuff

New Sony flagship mirrorless: Sony a1 II

Sony has laid out the specs of their new flagship mirrorless, the a1 II. As expected, it promises to be a heck of a camera. 50MP Full-Frame Stacked BSI CMOS Sensor; AI Tracking & Human Pose Estimation; 8K 30p and 4K 120p Video in 10-Bit; Up to 30 fps Shooting with AF/AE; Pre-Capture & Speed Boost Button; 8.5-Stop IBIS + Dynamic Stabilization; and so on. It’s available for preorder. Estimated to start shipping around Dec 31.

New Sony FE 28-70mm ƒ/2 GM fast zoom lens

Sigma recently came out some versatile zooms with maximum apertures of ƒ/1.8, fast enough to rival fast primes. Now Sony is in on the action, with a premium 28-70mm zoom that has a ƒ/2 maximum aperture throughout its zoom range: the Sony FE 28-70mm f/2 GM (SEL2870GM). It’s not cheap—nearly $3000—but it could well make a lot of sense if can replace a few other fast lenses in your kit. It’s available for preorder.

New Sigma lenses for Canon RF cameras

Sigma has really been adding a lot of fast primes lately, and they’ve just announced four more. These are for Canon RF in its Contemporary line: 16mm f/1.4 DC DN, 23mm f/1.4 DC DN, 30mm f/1.4 DC DN, and 56mm f/1.4 DC DN focal lengths. For Canon cropped-sensor cameras (the DC DN part in the names). They’re available for preorder.

New Angelbird CFexpress 4.0 Type A memory cards

Not coincidentally, boutique memory card maker Angelbird has released their new 4.0 CFexpress Type A cards. Which just happens to be the form factor that the a1 II uses (dual slots that can take either CFexpress A (recommended) or SD cards). They’re available in 1TB, 512GB, and 256GB sizes. I’ve used other Angelbird cards before and been very impressed with them. They focus specifically on high-end cards. Available for preorder.

The Wharf area at the Southwest Waterfront. This whole area has been completely redeveloped in the past 5 years or so and is now far more of a destination than it ever was before. It’s quite a fun place to wander around and spend some time now. Photograph by David Coleman.

// Hot Take Mini-Reviews

DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro

I like it. It’s a good alternative to the GoPro HERO13 Black, with a larger sensor, and does a few things better, but not everything.

• Likes: better photo image quality in many conditions, “normal” aspect ratio

• Dislikes: underwhelming burst mode, low-light performance still poor (as is GoPro’s), lacks more than a few of the GoPro’s features

GoPro HERO13 Black

The new version does bring some upgrades, but honestly, the upgrades aren’t really ones I find very useful for my needs. What I’d be most excited about would be a premium version with much-improved image quality (especially in low light).

• Likes: Improved mount options with magnetic option; new snap-on lenses

• Dislikes: For my needs, it doesn’t really add much over the HERO12 Black

MetaMagic AI Keywording

There are several new AI tools for image keywording that have been coming out. I’ve been kicking the tires of MetaMagic, which is a Lightroom plugin. It doesn’t work currently well enough for my needs, but it’s worth a try if you’re looking to streamline this tedious part of the workflow.

• Likes: Simple to use; saves time; simple pricing structure based purely on usage

• Dislikes: Sends the images to the cloud for processing (aka: quite slow); doesn’t really fit for my workflow

The southern end of The Wharf development. Photography by David Coleman.

// Now Showing

• Head On Photo Festival 2024 (Sydney). A range of photographic exhibitions, speakers, and events running across the city (mainly Bondi and Paddington). Runs through December 1.

• The 80s: Photographing Britain / Tate Museum (London). Focuses on the tumult of the Thatcher years. Runs through the beginning of May 2025. More information here.

• Gordon Parks: Camera Portraits / National Gallery of Art (Washington DC). Post-World War II black-and-white portraiture by a DC local. Examples: Muhammad Ali and Leonard Bernstein. While you’re there, be sure to check out the larger exhibition The 70’s Lens across the hall.

• Star Power: Photographs From Hollywood’s Golden Age by George Hurrell / National Portrait Gallery (Washington DC). Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Joan Crawford, and plenty of others featured in that distinctive Hollywood black-and-white style that makes creative and unusual use of shadows. Runs through January 4.

• Picturing the Presidents: Daguerreotypes and Ambrotypes / National Portrait Gallery (Washington DC). This exhibition features photographs of 11 U.S. presidents, mostly from 19th century. Runs through June 8.

• As We Rise: Photography From The Black Atlantic / Saatchi Gallery (London). Exploring the diverse experiences of the Black diaspora across the Atlantic. Runs through January 20.

• Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection / Victoria and Albert Museum (London). These are photos that John and Furnish have collected, not taken themselves. Featuring over 300 works by 140 photographers, this exhibition spans from 1950 to the present, including iconic fashion shots and significant historical moments. It runs until January 5, 2025.

• Spirit in the Dark / National Museum of African American History and Culture (Washington DC). A selection of photos from Ebony, Jet, and Negro Digest going back to the 1940s. Runs through January 27.

This is the other perspective of The Oculus (Washington DC version) in a shot I took last year. Photograph by David Coleman.

// Other Stuff

• National Geographic’s Pictures of the Year edition is now out. It’s hard to choose a favorite, but I particularly like the one of Fuego Volcano in Guatemala, having spent some time in that part of the world. Great shot.