It's been a pretty big week for camera news, certainly in terms of gravity.
One of the biggest lighting companies in the industry has ceased trading after 14 years, and the USA has run out of emergency drones now that it won't allow DJI products to be used for purposes such as fighting wildfires.
Elsewhere Fujifilm is at last addressing the autofocus issues that have affected certain cameras since April, Viltrox has made a pancake lens so thin that it's being called a 'chip' lens, and one of Japan's finest photographers has come out of hibernation.
These are the five biggest camera news stories of the week…
Rotolight enters administration
Rotolight, the British maker of specialist lighting equipment used by everyone from amateur photographers to big-budget Hollywood productions, has entered administration.
I spoke to Rotolight this morning, which confirmed the situation: "The business is in administration, although we remain hopeful that the brand may have a future."
It's no secret that the economy has been hit hard around the world, with British businesses facing their most challenging time since the 2008 global financial crisis. According to a GOV.UK report for Q3 2023, "This quarter saw the highest quarterly total insolvencies since Q4 2008 and the highest quarterly number of CVLs [creditors' voluntary liquidations] since the start of the time series in 1960"…
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Read full story: Rotolight goes into administration, but "remains hopeful" the brand will continue
Fujifilm will fix autofocus issues on three cameras
In a video where it also announced that an X Summit will be held this month, Fujifilm confirmed that it will address the autofocus issues being suffered by users of the X-H2, X-H2S and GFX 100 II.
There has been widespread backlash from users since a firmware update in April caused problems on some cameras, but executive Yuji Igarashi assured us that the company has been listening.
"Recently we've received comments, especially on autofocus, to improve the autofocus. In response, we are developing a new firmware for X-H2S, X-H2 and GFX 100 II. This update enhances subject tracking stability when shooting video. The improvements by firmware upgrades are not limited to autofocus…"
Read full story: Fujifilm X-H2, X-H2S and GFX 100 II to get better video performance with firmware update
US doesn't have enough emergency drones, post-DJI
A new report by the non-partisan GAO – the US Government Accountability Office – has highlighted a problem facing parts of the US government that use drones, not least the Department of the Interior, which uses them to monitor and prevent wildfires.
The problem – one I've highlighted in the past at DCW – is that various policies and unfunded mandates are preventing departments acquire the relatively cheap and effective tech they've been used to. No real domestic alternative has emerged and the US now finds itself with an aging fleet of DJI equipment that, thanks to legislation it has passed, it is unable to replace.
The result is, as the report puts it, means "Interior bureaus have not been able to expand their use of drones for emergency operations, according to officials. Some bureaus no longer have enough drones to meet their needs for such operations, and using alternative methods such as helicopters can increase costs and safety risks, according to bureau officials"…
Read full story: American anti-DJI laws risks help spread of wildfires – says US government report
This pancake lens is so thin, it's called a (potato) Chip
Viltrox has launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for a tiny new pancake lens for full-frame Sony E-mount cameras. Called the AF 28mm f/4.5 FE, the lens could well become the smallest lens available for Sony shooters – and is nicknamed 'Chip' on account of its potato chip-like slimness.
Measuring a mere 15mm long and 60mm in diameter, the lens is barely thicker than a camera body cap and weighs just 60g. It closely resembles the design of the Olympus Fisheye Body Cap 9mm f/8, although the two lenses have very different focal lengths.
Naturally, Viltrox had to make some compromises to create such a slim lens – the primary sacrifice being there's no diaphragm, so the aperture is fixed at f/4.5. Another unusual omission is that the lens lacks a manual focus ring, largely because it's so slim that there isn't really room for one. Thankfully Viltrox has managed to find space inside the barrel for a VCM coil autofocus motor, so despite the tiny dimensions, focusing is a breeze…
Read full story: An unbelievably small lens is coming for Sony E-mount cameras
One of Japan's greatest photographers has returned
In 2017, Thames & Hudson published Daido Moriyama's remarkable book of self-curated photographs taken from his journal magazine Record, resulting in a striking collection of black-and-white imagery depicting Moriyama's unique perspective of the world. Seven years on and we are getting a sequel, and it is beautiful!
xRecord 2 by Daido Moriyama is a new sequel volume presenting a collection of photographs featured in issues 31 to 50 of Moriyama's seminal magazine Record. Although no one would argue if you called his work street photography, his images aren't pigeonholed by a genre, instead offering viewers Moriyama's perspective of life more often than not from the streets.
Full story: Daido Moriyama – the master street photographer – is back
If these stories have piqued your interest, why not check out the best Canon RF lenses, the best cine lenses, the best cheap drones, and the best 360 cameras.
