Issue 7 · Friday 23 October 2026 · 4 min read
Sigma's 50-120mm f/2.8 sells out at launch, R8 II lands at $1,899, Nikon f/2.8 zooms discounted
In this issue: What's hot · New gear · What people are saying · Industry news (7) · One takeaway
What's hot
Sigma AF 50-120mm f/2.8 DC OS Contemporary — Sigma's APS-C telephoto zoom, which holds f/2.8 right across the range, began shipping on 22 October — and Sigma has already said it cannot build them fast enough to cover pre-orders. B&H has pushed expected availability back to mid-November, while Amazon US briefly listed three units coming from Amazon Japan before those were gone too.
If this was your shortlisted fast tele for weekend sport or portraits on a Fuji X or Sony APS-C body, ordering now means waiting rather than shooting — and the shortage is another sign that the interesting fast zooms are coming from third parties rather than the camera makers. It launches in Canon RF, Fujifilm X and Sony E mounts. Fuji Rumors
“We have received orders exceeding our expectations, and production is currently unable to keep up with demand.”
New gear
Thypoch Voyager 24-50mm f/2.8 — billed as the first Chinese full-frame autofocus zoom with a constant aperture, so far sold only in E-mount, is said to be coming to X, Z, L and RF mounts. It would put a short, fast standard zoom in front of Nikon and Canon shooters at third-party money, in a focal range the big brands only cover with bigger glass. Photo Rumors says a test page has already surfaced online; Thypoch has not confirmed the extra mounts, so treat it as unconfirmed. Photo Rumors
What people are saying
Canon EOS R8 Mark II — now shipping at $1,899, and early owner reaction is split: Canon Rumors' Craig Blair prefers the new shell and grip to the original R8, while commenters there say a 2.36m-dot viewfinder is hard to justify at this price. It matters because the cheap way into Canon full frame has quietly moved upmarket — the R6 Mark II sits just $100 above it, which makes this a straight cross-shop rather than a step down. Forum feedback also flags that the added in-body stabilisation makes it noticeably thicker and heavier than the R8. Canon Rumors
“I much prefer the new design language over the R8, and the camera feels a bit more premium.”
Industry news
Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S II and 14-24mm f/2.8 S — Firmware 1.10 quietens aperture operation on the 24-70mm and makes 14-24mm manual focus rotation-amount based; both lenses are discounted, by $200 and $800.
Sony A7R VI firmware 1.02 — Preset Focus, which maps set focus distances to custom buttons, now works with ordinary zooms and primes rather than power zooms only.
Ricoh GR IV Monochrome — Firmware 1.10 adds a three-type Solarized Effect image control; the GR IV and HDF move to 1.20, and the GR III gains a 30th-anniversary shutdown screen.
Sony A7S III shutter angle hack — A reader flipped a single service-mode setting to switch on shutter angle, an FX3 feature, with no firmware flashing; Cine EI stays locked to the FX3.
Nikon Z7 II — Amazon has the 45.7MP full-frame body at $1,696.95, with dual card slots, ISO 64 base sensitivity and 4K/60p video.
Sony FX5 — The first deliveries have reached buyers in Mexico, with readers told the US and LATAM get cameras this month and Europe next month.
Kodak PixPro FZ55 — The 16MP, 5x-zoom automatic compact is the best-selling compact on Amazon Japan and Amazon US, and third in the UK.
One takeaway
Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S II — Nikon shipped firmware 1.10 for the 24-70mm f/2.8 S II and the 14-24mm f/2.8 S in the same week both went on offer — $200 off the 24-70mm, which Nikon Rumors says is a first for that lens, and $800 off the 14-24mm.
If either zoom is on your list, this is the rare week where the price and the fix arrive together, and the updates change how the lenses behave in hand. The 24-70mm update targets aperture reliability and noise; the 14-24mm makes manual focus track how far you turn the ring, not how fast. Nikon Rumors
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How this issue was made. Researched and written by an agent, produced on 23 October 2026, 04:15. 35 sources read, 0 unreachable. Every link above goes to the primary source. A person sets the brief and steers it; no person edited this text before it was sent.
Every issue
- 30 OctNikon's $14,000 120-300mm with a built-in teleconverter, Viltrox's $829 35mm f/1.4, and Canon warning on 2027 prices
- 29 OctCanon EOS R8 II on sale, Sigma FP2 pre-orders open, Nikon's 120-300mm f/2.8 lands, rebates end Nov 1
- 28 OctSigma announces a deliberately soft 50mm, Thypoch's X-mount 23mm f/1.4 goes up for pre-order, FX5 slips to January in the UK
- 27 OctInstax Mini Evo 2 lands (and splits reviewers), CIPA's compact surge, Nikon's 105mm macro at $896.95
- 26 OctCIPA: DSLRs down 35%; Fuji XF50-140mm II incoming; Z30 kit at $596.95
- 25 OctThypoch's 100mm cine prime, Zhongyi's first autofocus 35mm, and a rumoured $13,999 Nikkor
- 24 OctSigma FP2 at $2,199, a vintage 50mm f/1.4 for 2027, and Nikon's rumoured $16k zoom
- 23 OctSigma's 50-120mm f/2.8 sells out at launch, R8 II lands at $1,899, Nikon f/2.8 zooms discounted
- 22 OctNikon Z8 at $3,296, Leica's carbon-fibre F1 Q3 43, and a $1,399 Summilux clone
- 21 OctPixii liquidated, EOS R8 Mark II ships at $1,899, Nikon Z5 starts bowing out
- 20 OctFlashback's $179 half-frame digicam, two 35mm f/1.4s incoming, $1,000 off a Nikon Z8
- 19 OctCIPA's shaker table explained, AstrHori's $398 220° medium-format fisheye, Voigtländer 90mm f/4 ships
- 18 OctCanon's patent for a 70-200mm f/2 full-frame zoom: 23 elements, internal zoom, probably never built
- 18 OctGetty's Chapter 11 exit, Tamron's four-mount f/2.8 zoom, and a $99 full-frame pancake