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The Latest News:
7Artisans’ 10mm f/2.8 Ultra-Wide Lens
credits: 7Artisans
7Artisans has announced a new lens, the AF 10mm f/2.8, an autofocus ultra-wide prime made for APS-C mirrorless cameras. It comes in Sony E, Fujifilm X, and Nikon Z mounts, is pretty light at around 232 grams and built with a solid all-metal body. There is also a rubber gasket at the mount to help keep out dust. On the front, it takes 62mm filters, which is handy since many ultra-wide lenses don’t support standard filters at all.
The 10mm focal length gives a rectilinear field of view, so straight lines stay straight instead of bending like they would with a fisheye. With a maximum aperture of f/2.8, it’s bright enough for night shooting or astrophotography, and the aperture can be stopped down to f/22. The lens is said to keep good sharpness in the centre while holding edge softness under control, which is often tricky with wide glass. It also focuses down to 0.2 meters, letting you get close to your subject for dramatic wide-angle shots.
Autofocus is handled by a quiet motor, and there is a switch to move between AF and manual focus when you need more control. At just over 8 centimetres long, it is compact enough to travel with, but still offers useful features like the filter thread and partial weather sealing at the mount. The lens is already selling in China for ¥999 (about $140), with global availability expected very soon.
Sony’s New Global Shutter Sensor
credits: Sony
Sony just pulled the curtain back on a pretty wild new sensor, the IMX927. It is a square, backside-illuminated stacked CMOS chip with a global shutter that shows off what Sony’s sensor division is capable of right now. At 105 megapixels and up to 100 frames per second, it is one of the most ambitious combinations of speed and resolution we have seen from any sensor.
The IMX927 measures 39.7mm across the diagonal, which makes it a bit smaller than a full-frame sensor, but still on the large side. The output is a perfectly square 10,272 by 10,272 pixels, and thanks to Sony’s Pregius S global shutter tech, it avoids the rolling shutter artifacts you would normally see at high frame rates. Depending on the bit depth, it can push out 112 FPS at 8-bit, 102 FPS at 10-bit, or 73 FPS at 12-bit.
Each pixel is just 2.74 microns, but the stacked, back-illuminated design gives it strong sensitivity and decent saturation capacity despite the small size. Sony is pitching it for things like semiconductor inspection, flat-panel display testing, and other jobs where you need sharp, distortion-free imaging at speed. Don’t expect this exact sensor to appear in a consumer camera, but tech like this (especially the high-resolution global shutter design) could eventually trickle down into future mirrorless models.
You can see full details on Sony’s website here
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Weekly Photo Technique Exploration
Welcome to a new section of the magazine where every week we will explore a new photography technique from across various photography genres.
This week’s technique: Defocused Firework Photography
credits: iluvzcereal/Reddit
What Is Defocused Firework Photography?
Normally when you shoot fireworks, you are trying to get them super sharp, however you can actually do the opposite. If you throw the fireworks out of focus on purpose, they turn into abstract blobs of colour that look like flowers, jellyfish, or watercolour splashes in the sky.
How To Do It
First, you still want a good spot with a clear view, same as normal fireworks shooting (obviously). A tripod helps too, not because you need it sharp, but because it keeps the blobs of light nice and smooth instead of shaky in the end.
Now, the actual trick: set your camera to manual focus, and instead of dialing it in → you dial it out. Twist the focus ring until the fireworks look soft and out of focus through your viewfinder. You can go a little bit out for smaller, defined blobs, or go way out for big, soft glowing circles. Literally just play around with it!
Camera Settings
Mode: Manual
Shutter speed: 1–4 seconds usually works best. Shorter exposures (around 1s) keep the blobs more defined, longer ones (3–4s) let multiple bursts overlap for a more layered effect.
Aperture: f/2.8–f/5.6. Wider apertures give you bigger, softer blobs.
ISO: Keep it low, like 100 or 200. The sky is dark anyway, so you don’t need it higher.
Shoot During the Burst: Start the exposure just as the firework goes off. This way, you capture the full spread of colour as it blooms out.
Fun Things To Try/Experiment With
Focus pulling: Start in focus, then slowly twist the focus ring out during the shot. It will look like the firework is transforming mid-frame.
Layering: Leave your shutter open long enough for a couple bursts to overlap. It ends up looking like a bouquet of these abstract flowers.
Mix it with zoom blur: If you have got a zoom lens, try zooming in or out while defocused. This gives a motion-streaked glow.
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