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Photography news: Wacom’s slimmer pen, Leica’s cinema special edition

Leica

Afraid of missing out on the latest photo industry news while you’re out, well, actually taking pictures? Photography News of the Week is all the news you might have missed this week, published on the weekends. Alongside the biggest stories of the week, like the Canon EOS RP, the Fujifilm X-T30, Olympus’ lens with the widest zoom range yet, Lightroom’s new Detail Enhance, and Nikon’s 24-70mm f/2.8 Z lens, find briefs on the latest in accessories and photography news from this week.

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Leica’s special edition M10-P uses new Cine Look modes

Leica is known for launching special edition cameras, often a color change or adjustment on the look of the camera. But the company’s special edition to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the American Society of Cinematographers includes two new Cine Look modes designed specifically for cinematographers. The ASC Cine Classic mimics the look of a 35mm film motion picture. The ASC Contemporary, alternately, is designed to replicate the style of more current works of cinema.

The ASC 100 Edition Leica M10-P includes a Leica Summicron-M 35 f/2 ASPH lens, a Visoflec electronic viewfinder, and an M-PL-Mount Adapter. The exterior of the camera is modeled after the UR-Leica prototype with a black body with black engravings. The lens, on the other hand, is a gold-colored anodized finish. The special edition kit won’t be available until this fall. Leica hasn’t yet shared a price.

The Wacom Pro Pen Slim is more pen-like with smaller design

Wacom users have another option for a stylus with a more pen-like feel. The Pro Pen Slim is a smaller version of the company’s Pro Pen, which has a slimmer build closer to the feel of an actual pencil. As a part of the company’s Pro line, the pen has 8,196 levels of pressure sensitivity as well as tilt recognition. Flipping the pen over instantly swaps to an eraser tool. Designed for the Cintiq Pro, Cintiq 16, Intuos Pro and MobileStudio Pro, the pen is available for pre-order for about $80.

Instagram Direct Messages may migrate to web

Love Instagram’s chat tool? Direct Messages may soon be available on the web. According to Jane Manchun Wong’s reverse engineering efforts, the company is testing Direct Messages inside web browsers. If the feature is successful in testing, users could soon send and receive messages in a web browser, including in mobile web browsers. The feature could help more users interact with the platform’s messaging app. 

While Facebook’s messaging tool started on web browsers, Instagram on the web still has fewer features than the mobile app, prioritizing the “insta” in Instagram with the immediacy of mobile. Along with the lack of messaging, Instagram doesn’t allow uploads with filters, live video, or posts to Stories from the web.

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Hillary K. Grigonis
Hillary never planned on becoming a photographer—and then she was handed a camera at her first writing job and she's been…
Phone cameras are so good, they’ve finally replaced my camera for work
Close up of the camera on the iPhone 16 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro.

For almost two decades, I’ve carried more than twenty pounds of electronics in my backpack for the slightest chance of needing to capture content for my professional life. My backpack usually contained my MacBook, a full-frame camera with a big lens, a tripod, and an assortment of video and audio gear that I always deemed essential.

As it turns out, over the past two years, many of these items were rendered obsolete, as many companies launched new products that were quickly able to replace technology that I previously considered irreplaceable.

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This is what happens ‘when you get two uber-geeks in space at the same time’
NASA's Don Pettit on the space station.



During NASA’s first-ever Twitch livestream from the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday, current station inhabitant Don Pettit and recent returnee Matthew Dominick talked about what it’s like to live and work in a satellite 250 miles up.

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The GoPro Hero 13 Creator Edition is $100 off, but not for long
A person holding the GoPro HERO13 Creator Edition in front of the ocean.

Outdoor enthusiasts who want to buy a new action camera should go for the brand that popularized the product and look for GoPro deals. Best Buy has an offer that's going to be hard to refuse, as it features the GoPro Hero 13 Creator Edition. From its original price of $600, it's down to just $500 as part of the retailer's Presidents' Day Sale. There are still a few days remaining before the $100 discount ends on February 17, but we highly recommend completing your purchase as soon as possible because stocks may run out before then.

Why you should buy the GoPro Hero 13 Creator Edition
The star of the GoPro Hero 13 Creator Edition is the GoPro Hero 13 Black, which is the latest version of the brand's popular line of action cameras. It's capable of recording video at up to 5.3K resolution, and you can grab photos of up to 24.7MP from your footage using the GoPro Quick app. The GoPro Hero 13 Black can also take videos that are slowed down by 13 times the normal speed, and it can last more than 5 hours on a single charge. The front and rear LCD screens will let you frame your shots perfectly, and the built-in buttons enable easy controls for lengthy sessions.

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