This is part 1 of the Yellowstone in Winter post written by Randy Dykstra - you can check his website, Instagram and Facebook page (if this article doesn't make you go there in the winter, I don't know what will):

Everyone knows of Yellowstone National Park and its geysers. Millions of people visit in the summer months. But it was a whole new experience to stay in “yurts” in the middle of the park, in the middle of winter. This was also a time for me to really put my new Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens to task on my Nikon D850.

Winter made this just an amazing adventure, loaded with all sorts of weather; snow storms, winds, bright warm days, and a mixture of all the above. Key this year was finding a place where I could actually stay inside the park and not have to travel 40 miles each morning to reach the central areas of the park. That meant I was able to be at key locations right at sunrise.

The park was loaded with bison and I saw well over a thousand of them, over the 5 days of photography. Also quite abundant were coyotes and eagles as I saw multiples of each every day of the trip. Staying out of sight were the wolves and elk, at least in the middle section of the park. Although, there were some signs of activity that occurred at night.

Nikon video contest challenges creators to ''Follow Your Passion'' for a chance to win $25,000 and a Nikon Z6 filmmakers' kit:

The Nikon Z 6 Filmmakers' Kit "Test Drive" Rental Program Provides the Opportunity to Create Your Own Contest Entry and Discover Why Everyone is Talking About the Incredibly Capable Z 6

MELVILLE, NY – Today, Nikon Inc. announced the “Follow Your Passion” video contest, which encourages content creators across the United States to capture their passion using a Nikon Z series mirrorless camera. Entrants can submit a short film for a chance to win a Nikon Z 6 Filmmaker’s Kit and up to $25,000 in prize money.To enter, users are invited to submit a video project from 3 to 5 minutes in length, captured with a Nikon Z 6 or Z 7, showcasing their passion through filmmaking. Interested participants can submit videos starting on Wednesday, May 15 through Saturday, August 31, 2019.

Leica announced a new CL "100 Jahre Bauhaus" limited edition camera set:

Leica Camera has just released a special edition Leica CL ‘100 jahre bauhaus’ camera kit (silver anodized) in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Bauhaus school of art and design in Germany. The set is comprised of a silver Leica CL camera with a matching silver Elmarit-TL 18 mm f/2.8 ASPH lens (silver anodized) and a black leather carrying strap. To further highlight the Bauhaus anniversary, the camera’s leather covering and leather strap are embossed with the Bauhaus word mark. The Leica logo, in keeping with the Bauhaus emphasis on minimalist aesthetics, has been reduced and desaturated to pure black to give the entire camera a monochromatic palette.

This limited-edition camera comes equipped with all the original Leica CL features such as a 24-megapixel sensor, fast autofocus, 4K video recording as well as connection to the Leica FOTOS App where pictures and videos can be easily be shared to various social media networks.

In addition to the silver version, I now also have a small batch of black metal lens caps for Leica M-mount available for sale at the LR online store:

ORDER HERE

Additional pictures:

Please note that in order to mount the lens cap to a lens, you will have to align the red dot on the lens cap with the corresponding dot/marking on the lens.

Rock & Roll straps have a new e-shop website and they are currently offering a 15% discount with a coupon code newshop until Sunday, May 19th. Here are some of the Rock & Roll straps:

The post Deal of the day: 15% Rock & Roll straps appeared first on Leica Rumors.

The new silver 7Artisans 35mm f/2 lens for Leica M-mount is now in stock at Amazon. You can also pre-order it at Adorama and B&H Photo.

7Artisans 35mm f/2 lens review (comparison with the Leica Summicron-M 35mm f/2 ASPH)

Novoflex tripod collar for Select SL lenses available at Adorama and B&H.

The Lomography LC-A Minitar-1 32mm f/2.8 Art lens for Leica M-mount is still available for sale at B&H Photo.

   
Singapore Tatler: Why Leica Cameras will never go out of style (see also this post).

Some additional coverage on the new Nikon Z6/Z7 firmware update 2.0 that includes:

First, the Nikon Z6/Z7 Facebook group is full with examples, feedback, commentary on the new firmware update. Definitely worth checking it out.

Nikon USA dedicated firmware update 2.0 page:

Nikon issued a "Technical Service Advisory" for users of the Nikon Z6 and Z7 cameras for faulty vibration reduction (VR) feature. You can check if your camera is impacted:

Additional infiormationL:

Technical Service Advisory for Users of the Nikon Z 6 and Z 7 Cameras

Thank you for choosing Nikon for your photographic needs.

Nikon just released firmware update 2.0 for the Z6 and Z7 camera with eye AF, improve low light focus capability (as previoulsy reported) and other fixes improvements:

Today Profoto announced a new A1X flash for Nikon cameras (now in stock at Adorama and B&H).

Differences between the new Profoto A1X and the A1 (the new model is $100 more expensive than the A1):

The previously reported new Nikon cashback/instant savings offers are now live in Europe: Park Camera | WEX Photo | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Calumet DE.

Additional informtion:

Nikon UK:

The Leica Q2 as a travel camera by Olivier Glod (Website | Flickr | Twitter):

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Scotland with my best friend’s brother and took along the Leica Q2, the Fuji GFX 50R and the DJI Mavic 2 PRO. While a separate blog post about the complete trip will follow later, I thought I would start off with one focusing on the Leica Q2 and how it performed when used as a travel camera.

First things first; why did I take the Q2 along, when I already had the GFX50R with the 32-64mm f/4 in the bag?

Well, you could certainly use the chainsaw you just took down a tree with to also slice and dice some ham, as well as butter your bread, but it wouldn’t be as efficient, nor as enjoyable, as using the appropriate cutlery now, would it?

Adobe Lightroom May 2019 version was released today with several new LR features (Texture Control, Defringe, Batch editing, Flat-Field Correction) and support for several Nikon F-mount lenses:

Additional information:

The latest Adobe CC subscription plan rates can be found here (see also this page). A free Lightroom CC trial is available on this page (no credit card required). More information on the different Lightroom versions is available here and here. The different Adobe Creative Cloud options are described here.

Nikon Japan confirmed that firmware update version 2.0 for the Nikon Z7 and Z7 mirrorless cameras will be officially released on May 16th (Thursday).

The post Nikon Japan confirmed Z6/Z7 firmware 2.0 for May 16th appeared first on Nikon Rumors.