Another week down, another chance to check out some new accessories. This time around, we’ve got some massive printers, a wildly fast SD card, cages for new cameras and more. But first, as always, the deals.

Deals of the week

Image: Nikon

The Nikon Z7 II has been included in our Best Cameras for Landscapes buying guide because it provides a lot of image quality at a very reasonable price. This week, it’s even cheaper, selling for $500 under MSRP.

Image: Nikon

If you’re more excited by style and shooting experience, Nikon’s retro-inspired Zf is also on sale for $200 off.

More mounting options

Image: Chimera

Chimera, a lightning company that prides itself on building quality modifiers that it says will be “durable and long lasting,” is giving users even more mounting options. Its new Chimera Pro series light modifiers are compatible with Bowens mount rings, which many users may already have, given the widespread use of the mount by several of the biggest names in lighting.

There are several different modifiers in the Pro series, including a 30″ lantern and four sizes of its “LightBank” softboxes. Pricing will depend on what option you’re going with, but they’re currently available to preorder at B&H and Chimera’s website.

An SD card that reaches new heights

Image: Adata

SD Express has been around for a few years now, but Adata says its latest card is the first to support the SD 8.0 Express specification. That means it has write speeds of up to 1200MBps and read speeds up to 1600MBps. Adata says that’s 12 times faster than standard UHS-1 cards and four times faster than what UHS-II cards are capable of. It even trades blows with some relatively high-end CFExpress cards despite being the same tiny SD form factor we’re all familiar with.

Of course, the elephant in the room with SD Express is that there currently aren’t any cameras that support the standard; they’ll work in a standard SD card slot, but only at UHS-1 speeds, which sort of defeats the purpose. But if a camera manufacturer ever does decide to support the standard, it seems like there will be cards ready to go for it.

Currently, there’s no word on pricing or availability for Adata’s SD8.0 Express card, but the company says it’ll come in a 512GB capacity.

Kitting out the Canon EOS R50 V…

The cage lets you attach accessories like the sold-separately handle, as well as various coldshoe-compatible add-ons. Photo: SmallRig

Canon’s latest camera is the video-focused EOS R50 V, which seems like it’s designed specifically to fit into a cage or a gimbal. It’s no surprise, then, that SmallRig has already stepped in to make a cage for it, which adds a deeper grip and a plethora of mounting points. It also has a built-in Arca-Swiss quick-release plate, which could be a big upgrade since, by default, some larger tripod plates will block the EOS R50 V’s battery/SD card compartment. If you don’t need all the mounting points, SmallRig is also selling an L-shaped mounting plate that adds the grip and tripod plate but doesn’t go all the way around the camera.

Buy at SmallRig

Buy at Amazon

Image: SmallRig

Also available from SmallRig: a furry windscreen that attaches to the camera’s hotshoe and covers the microphone to cut down wind noise. Thankfully, its design includes a coldshoe mount as well, so you can still mount a microphone, monitor, light or other accessory on top of your camera.

Buy at SmallRig

… and the Insta360 X5

Photo: PGYTech

The EOS R50 V isn’t the only camera getting a cage this week. PGYTech has designed one that locks on to Insta360’s latest 360 camera, the X5. The X5 is a bit of a blank slate camera, so the cage adds some attachment points for coldshoe accessories, as well as a bit of protection in the form of silicone lens covers.

Buy at Amazon

Print big

Image: Epson

Recently, Epson announced two new large-format printers: the SureColor P7370 and the SureColor P9370. At 24″ and 44″ respectively, the printers are aimed more towards commercial use than home use, but they’re also designed to be a bit less expensive than higher-end models. While the company’s site doesn’t currently have pricing info, PetaPixel reports that they’re around $1000 cheaper than their higher-end counterparts. That’s because they use a 10-ink system instead of a 12-ink one, though Epson says they’re still capable of “accurate color reproduction and industry-leading print permanence.”

The two models will be available in “summer 2025.”

Read last week’s roundup

Source link

The month of May brings new opportunities to get your work seen by a large, international audience. While they sometimes get flak, photography competitions, when judged fairly and conducted with integrity, offer exposure to industry decision-makers, an opportunity to get your work published or exhibited and recognition that can elevate your career.

As we’ve learned, not all competitions are created equal. Some have been exposed as cash grabs at best and content farms at worst. We waded through a long list of open calls and came up with this list of eight competitions worth considering. From Pop Art to Landscape and Black & White, there is a genre for every type of photographer.

We’ll lead with the free-to-enter competitions and follow with contests that require an entry fee. No matter the contest, it’s essential to read the rules and terms and conditions closely. As a former judge, I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to disqualify a promising submission because a watermark was left on or the photo was formatted incorrectly. Reading the requirements will at least get your foot in the door.

We wish you the best of luck if you decide to enter any of these competitions. While there is no guarantee that your work will be selected, and rejections are always discouraging, taking steps to get your work out there is always valuable. If any noteworthy contests are missing, let us know.

The CEWE Photo Award

Image: CEWE Photo Award

Deadline: May 31st

Entry Fee: Free

Website

CEWE is a leading photo printing company based in Europe. Its annual competition offers €250,000 in prizes, including vacations and photography gear. Participants can enter up to 100 photos, taken on anything from a full-frame camera to a smartphone. CEWE also donates €0.10 for every entry to the SOS Children’s Villages International. There are 10 categories to enter, including Travel & Culture, Landscape, Food and Macro/Close-up.

Banff Mountain Photo Essay Competition

Image: Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity

Deadline: May 5th

Entry Fee: Free

Website

The Banff Photo Essay Competition emphasizes storytelling through a curated series of images that delve into mountain culture, natural history, adventure, wildlife, sports and the environment. Open to amateur and professional photographers, you must submit three to five images that can stand independently but also combine to create a narrative. A prize of CAD 3000 and a showcase at the Banff Centre of Mountain Film and Book Festival will be awarded to one Grand Prize Winner.

Photometria Awards Open Call, “Non Stop Pop”

Image: Photometria

Deadline: May 31st

Entry Fee: The first image is free or €5 for up to 3 photos

Website

This competition invites professional and amateur photographers to explore the influence of pop culture on modern society. Submissions will be judged by Magnum photographer Alec Soth, who is looking for compelling and original interpretations. The overall winner will receive Nikon gear and the top 25 images will be exhibited during the 17th Photometria International Festival in Ioannina, Greece.

The Motif Collective: Black and White Photography Competition & Sunrise and Sunset

Image: The Motif Collective

Black and White deadline: May 7th

Sunrise and sunset deadline: June 7th

Entry Fee: $12 to $36, depending on the number of submissions

Website

The Motif Collective currently has two contests: Black and White and Sunrise and Sunset. April’s contest, which closes on May 7, focuses on the art of monochrome imagery. The May contest is dedicated to sunrises and sunsets and closes on June 7. Both are open to professionals and amateurs worldwide; participants can submit up to six images. The prize pool scales with the number of entries and can reach up to $10,000 in total cash rewards. There will also be an artist showcase gallery promoted across its social media channels.

International Garden Photographer of the Year Macro Art Photo Project

Copyright: © Zsolt Varanka

Deadline: May 6th

Entry Fee: €16 for up to 4 single images

Website

The Macro Art Photo Project from International Garden Photographer of the Year asks that photographers from all over the world capture the fine details of plants, insects and other natural forms. Only single entries are accepted as the judges aren’t looking for a series of images. Winners will get international exposure through exhibitions and publications.

reFocus Awards: Black & White Photo Contest

Image: reFocus

Deadline: May 13th

Entry Fee: Anywhere from $12 to $50 for single images and series

Website

The reFocus Black & White Photo Contest is open to student, amateur and professional photographers. Individual entries or a series of two to five monochrome images can be submitted. Winners receive $4000 in cash prizes, custom-engraved trophies and features in the reFocus Artist Directory. There is also a People’s Vote Award, which allows the public to select standout work.

40th AOP Photography Awards

Image: AOP Photography Awards

Deadline: May 15th

Entry Fee: Anywhere from £50 to £90 for a single image or project

Website

The Association of Photographers (AOP) deems its awards competition as the “Oscars” of the photography world. While this competition is only open to AOP members, everyone from students to assistants and professionals at any stage in their career can apply for inclusion. The 10 open categories include Documentary, Portrait, Best Moving Image and Still Life. Winners will be exhibited and featured in a book.

Nature Photographer of the Year

Image: Nature Photographer of the Year

Deadline: May 25th

Entry Fee: Free for Youth Category and £34 to £49.50

Website

NPOTY features 12 categories including Birds, Landscapes, Underwater and Natural Art. There’s also a Youth category for photographers under 18 and the Fred Hazelhoff Award for Best Portfolio submission. The total prize pool is £25,000 with the overall winner receiving £3000. Winning images are displayed at the Nature Talks Photo Festival and receive international recognition in publications and exhibitions.

Source link

Neewer announced that its new outdoor studio flash, designed to overpower even midday sunlight and fill large softboxes, is available for pre-order. The company says the Neewer Q6 offers 600Ws output, a consistent 5700K color temperature, fast recycle times, TLL/HSS support, smartphone app control and a quartz flash tube.

The Q6 weighs 3kg (6.6 lbs) without the handle and is 195 x 185 x 170mm (7.7 x 7.3 x 6.3″), roughly the size and weight of a small dumbbell. If you’ve fitted your camera with a a compatible flash or wireless trigger, it can use Canon E-TTL, Nikon i-TTL, Sony TTL and Fujifilm TTL systems. It also supports Manual and Multi (Stroboscopic) modes. Neewer has equipped it with features like front/rear curtain sync, a “masking” mode that exposes the subject and background separately, making it easier to separate them while editing, burst modes for continuous shooting and timelapse capabilities from 0.01 to 30 seconds.

Main Specs:

• Color Temperature: 5700K (+/-150K)
• Full Power Flash: 400 (with modeling light off)
• Flash Duration: 1/20400s max
• Recycling Time: Approx. 0.01-0.9s
• Flash Mode: TTL/M/MULTI/BURST MODE
• Stroboscopic Flash: 1-100Hz, 1-100 times
• Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC): -3EV to 3EV, 1/3 EV increments
• Sync Mode: High-speed sync, front/rear curtain sync
• Delay Flash: 0.01-30s

Neewer promises a constant 5700K (±100K) color temperature across power levels for color accuracy, an essential element for product and commercial photography. Flash power is adjustable in 0.1-stop increments, from 1/512 all the way up to full power (1/1), giving users precise lighting control.

It features a durable quartz flash tube (rated for 300,000 flashes), two TFT color screens, color-coded groups, and an intuitive layout designed for easy control. A smartphone app allows you to adjust flash modes, tweak settings and update firmware directly from your phone.

It can also connect to Neewer’s sold-separately 2.4G wireless QZ or QPRO triggers, with five groups and 32 channels for flexible multi-flash setups. This lets you control your flashes from up to 100m (328 ft.). A 3.5mm sync port adds compatibility with other triggers.

Image: Neewer

Powered by a 28.8V/3000mAh lithium battery, the Q6 can deliver up to 400 full-power flashes per charge. Fast recycling times (0.01-0.9 seconds) and freeze mode allow you to shoot high-speed subjects, such as cars or cyclists, with precision. It supports up to 1/8000s high-speed sync (HSS), ideal for dance or fashion with movement, and ultra-short flash durations from 1/209 to 1/10989 seconds.

A 30W bi-color LED modeling lamp (2700-6500K) allows for real-time previewing or serves as a continuous light for video. The Bowens mount makes it compatible with a wide range of modifiers, including reflectors, softboxes, snoots and beauty dishes.

Neewer’s Q6 aims to be an asset for location shoots where consistent, natural-looking light is critical. It is available for pre-order at a special price of $499.99 (regularly $699.99). The company warns that the US price may increase soon due to tariffs. Shipping is estimated to start on May 18th.

Buy at Neewer



Source link