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Nikon's new 28-135mm f/4 PZ lens brings power zoom & pro video features

Nikon's new 28-135mm f/4 PZ lens brings power zoom & pro video features

Yahoo13-02-2025

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
Less than a year after acquiring RED Camera, Nikon is reinforcing its commitment to video with the launch of the Nikkor Z 28-135mm f/4 PZ, the company's first Power Zoom (PZ) lens for its FX-format mirrorless cameras. Designed for professional videographers, this all-in-one zoom lens is an ideal match for Nikon's Z9, Z8, and Z6 III, offering versatility, precision, and advanced control for solo shooters and small production teams.
With a broad 28-135mm focal range, internal focusing, and a short minimum focusing distance, the lens is well-suited for documentary filmmaking, location work, and run-and-gun videography. Power Zoom functionality enables smooth, remote-controlled zooming, essential for professional video production. A stepping motor (STM) allows seamless focal length transitions, suppresses focus breathing, and offers eleven customizable zoom speeds, assignable to the zoom lever or one of two L-Fn buttons. The zoom ring angle and rotation direction can be customized, while remote zoom operation is supported via NX Tether software, SnapBridge, or NX Field apps—allowing control from a computer, smartphone, or tablet. Filmmakers can take advantage of Hi-Res Zoom when using the lens with the Nikon Z9, enabling 4K recording with a 270mm equivalent field of view at the telephoto end. A dedicated Synchro mode allows simultaneous optical zoom and Hi-Res Zoom via a single control.
Weighing 2.66 lbs, the internally zooming design ensures a balanced setup—ideal for gimbal use. The lens is also compatible with matte boxes, follow-focus systems, and other professional accessories. Included is a rectangular lens hood with a filter adjustment window, allowing changes without removing the hood. Built with Nikon's premium coatings, the lens features Meso Amorphous coating to dramatically reduce ghosting and flare, while a fluorine coating repels dust, water, and debris. Its dust- and drip-resistant construction makes it a reliable choice for demanding environments. The lens also debuts a distinctive yellow video ring around the mount and cinema-style markings, reinforcing its place in Nikon's growing lineup of professional video tools. The Nikon Z 28-135mm f/4 Power Zoom Lens is priced at $2,596.95 / £2,499 / AU$3,399.
US: Adorama at $2,596.95 B&H at $2,596.95 UK Jessops at £2,499

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Satellites keep breaking up in space. Insurance won't cover them.
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Satellites keep breaking up in space. Insurance won't cover them.

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Airplane passengers crossing the Indian Ocean who peered out their windows on Oct. 19, 2024, might have seen what looked like a fast-moving star suddenly flash and fade. Above their heads, a $500 million satellite was exploding. Operators confirmed the destruction of the Intelsat-33e satellite two days later. There was a bright flash as the satellite's fuel ignited, followed by the flickering of the debris cloud as it fragmented into at least 20 pieces. Those satellite parts are now zooming around Earth, along with around 14,000 tonnes of space debris. The satellite wasn't insured. As space junk increases, more operators are choosing to launch without any insurance at all. To compensate, companies are cutting back on the cost of satellites and launching more of them at faster rates, thus creating a feedback loop as the cheaper satellites break up more easily and add to the problem. 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No, you're not dreaming: the Venus Optics Laowa 12mm f/2.8 FF II C&D Dreamer is coming next week
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No, you're not dreaming: the Venus Optics Laowa 12mm f/2.8 FF II C&D Dreamer is coming next week

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iPadOS 26 just made the iPad a true Mac replacement
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When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Apple's WWDC 2025 event is a chance to get a sneak peek at what's coming to its products later in the year, both new and current in the form of software updates. It's also often a hint to what we might see product-wise and shows the direction the company is going. No more so than with the upcoming iPadOS 26. Now adopting a unified number relevant to the year (instead of what would have been iOS 19), all of Apple's devices will run a '26 version in 2026. That goes across the iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro, Apple Watch and Mac – though the MacOS also gets a new name of Tahoe. iPadOS has previously aligned itself closer to the iPhone OS than anything else. However, in recent years as the iPad has become faster and more frequently used with a keyboard, it has developed more Mac-like features. The iPad Air and iPad Pro devices now run Apple silicon chips (M3 and M4), making them as powerful as MacBooks. This has allowed you to use them for serious video and audio editing, illustration and gaming with ease. However, for general use, it has never been as easy to operate as a Mac – at least with a keyboard and mouse. Changes this year might seem relatively small on the surface. The iPad already has a task bar and using Stage Manager, the ability to have multiple windows open at once. Now, though, in iPadOS 26, on top of the new liquid glass design language, it features a new windows system, allowing you to resize and place windows anywhere, or even tile multiple windows on your screen. This works in much the same way as windows do in MacOS, with the three coloured dots in the top left of each window, to close, minimise or resize, plus the ability to drag the bottom right corner of the window too. You can run background tasks when you switch to a new window, which hadn't been the case before, and it now features the Preview app. Preview is easily one of the most useful tools on the Mac for previewing images and PDF, as well as editing, resaving and signing documents. iPad OS 26 also gets an open with command and the enhanced Files app, allowing you to colour-code folders, add emojis to them, and even drag them to the dock for easy access. Something that Mac users will be used to. While I still love to use the iPad as a handheld touchscreen device, I more regularly use it with a keyboard these days, so these features feel really helpful. I think with these additions, it will make using the iPad instead of a Mac even more achievable. I've always liked the idea of the iPad offering two modes – one for simple touchscreen operation, and another for more Mac-like operation. With this update, that dream feels almost realised. The choice between an iPad Air, iPad Pro, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro becomes much tougher. I do wonder how much longer it will be before we see a MacBook Pro with a touchscreen, especially if macOS can adopt some features from iPadOS. In the meantime, we could see a foldable iPad that bridges that gap even more. For me, though, 2026 is definitely the year of the iPad.

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