Chinese technology intelligence company IDC published new research about the global handheld "smart camera" market, which includes action cameras and the ever-popular gimbal camera. This quickly growing market is much bigger than the traditional camera market, and market leader DJI alone outpaces all the Japanese camera makers combined.
Last week at Qualcomm's annual Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii, instead of soaking up the Sun or digging my toes into the sand, I heard an awful lot about agentic AI. Everywhere I went, the "AI agent" followed me like my own shadow. At first I was skeptical. I still am, but now I'm also thinking about the possibilities. Could an agentic AI actually make my life better?
It's fun to make photo books of precious memories or give them as gifts, but it's much less fun to organize and select all the photos for the book. Photo book company Mixbook sees the problem and hopes to fix it with its new iOS app, designed to help users rediscover and organize huge libraries of personal photos.
Lomography has announced the Joseph Petzval Métamorphose 35mm f/1.8 Focus-Coupled Bokeh Control Art Lens, which combines the unique out-of-focus area of Petzval lenses with seven levels of bokeh control.
A photographer spent the past two years dreaming of a special image of the total solar eclipse that took place in Spain this summer. She has finally completed her masterful work.
Venus Optics has announced another new Laowa lens this week, and it's yet another first-of-its-kind optic. The Laowa Acris 35mm f/2.8 1x Macro APO is the world's first full-frame, AF-equipped 35mm lens with 1:1 macro reproduction.
The Andean cat -- one of the rarest and most threatened mountain cats in the Americas -- has been spotted on camera trap footage.
When we first saw the GoPro Mission 1 ILS, we weren't really sure what to make of it. Even in our full review, we saw a lot of limitations. But there are definitely use cases, and aviation photograpehr Simone Marulli is doing a spectacular job showcasing one of them: catching an F-22 Raptor at 960 frames per second. Yes, the whole system he's using is only about 10% GoPro, but combining the camera's ability to capture extreme slow motion pairs really well with the ability to rig it out.
Aulumu, which is not exactly a household name, announced a new quick-access sling bag with an exterior metal cage that gives you easy access to your smartphone. I'm not usually a fan of small bags like this, but something about this tactical streetwear, techy design is really grabbing my attention. That metal phone compartment is fully detachable and is designed to allow fast, smooth, one-handed access to your phone while on the go.
Even the largest size is not big enough for more than a compact camera, but that's totally fine (and fits the target demographic) and I could see this being useful while exploring the streets of any of the world's major cities. And for $89 for the smallest size and $145 for the larger one, it's not a huge investment. It is available from Aulumu's website now and will be on Amazon by the end of October.
Yashica launched its cheap, Charmera-inspired Funtastic digital keychain camera back in May. At the time, the camera featured various beloved characters, like Snoopy and Hello Kitty. Now there are even more Hello Kitty-branded Funtastic cameras to buy, as Yashica just launched the "Cherries Hello Kitty" and "Polka Dot Edition" Funtastic cameras. They cost less than $30 and otherwise identical to the Funtastic cameras released in May.
Last month, PetaPixel reported about Toem 2, an adventure video game where the player solves puzzles using photography. The game is available now for Steam, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. It's $19.99.
Light Lens Lab, ever the busy company, has teased a new lens on Instagram. Based on the short video above, which shows a bare metal lens barrel and an internal aperture mechanism, the project seems pretty early in development. It's not clear precisely what lens it is, but it's obviously very compact. Based on Light Lens Lab's prior efforts, we expect something special.
If the entire sky were smeared, what color would it be? According to NASA, the answer is hex code #FFF8E7, or what it calls "cosmic latte." To determine this color, astronomers averaged the light emitted by one of the largest samples of galaxies every surveyed, the 200,000 galaxies in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey. The resulting color is "much less blue" than it was 10 billion years ago, which means that stars are getting redder on average.
With summer officially over and fall now upon us, people operating trail cameras might find their equipment is now filled with bugs.
But don't fret. Jason Say from Magnet Outdoors has a handy hack: put your trail cam in the freezer for a half hour and voila, the bugs are gone.
A lion half-hidden in the grass can be more intriguing than one in plain sight. In “The Magic of Mystery,” Richard Bernabe explores how the things we leave unseen can keep viewers looking. Through his wildlife and landscape photographs, he shows how shadows, silhouettes, and partial framing leave room for the viewer’s imagination.
The essay is featured in Photography Destinations Magazine from Muench Workshops, along with more photography tips, stories from the field, and destinations from around the world.
Bright Tangerine's new FX5 Corner Top Plate for Sony's upcoming FX5 cinema camera expands the camera's mounting options without the need of a special cage. As Newsshooter reports, the mount attaches to the top corner of the FX5 body and adds a cold shoe and M4 thread for rod brackets to the camera without adding much bulk. It doesn't obstruct the FX5's shoe, which means it doesn't prevent using the optional EVF. It also doesn't block the user from having a cage on the FX5, at least in the case of a Bright Tangerine cage. The $25 plate looks like a useful accessory for future FX5 owners who are waiting impatiently for the delayed camera to finally arrive.
Taking risks is important in the camera industry. People want a unique shooting experience, and they will accept some compromises to the technical specification side of things if the payoff is fun.
The Australian government mistakenly called out a photograph of an apartment with a seemingly picturesque view of Bondi Beach as an example of an AI-doctored property ad -- only to discover the unusual image was real.
An influencer couple is facing legal action in Oman after posing for photographs while sitting on a sea turtle that was laying eggs during their vacation.
The winners of the Dog Photography Awards 2026 have been announced, a contest that seeks to showcase the most exceptional dog photographs from across the globe.
In-N-Out forced a high school football team to remove a series of viral images taken by a professional photographer that were shot at a local restaurant.
Just yesterday, PetaPixel reported that a man in Singapore faces up to 10 years in jail for posting an AI-generated image of a crocodile. Now a Florida man is also behind bars for sharing a synthetic image.
Venus Optics has another tilt-shift lens on the way. Although it hasn't been officially announced in the U.S. yet, the Laowa T/S 24mm f/2 is definitely coming soon.
The newest NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Picture of the Month is among the best and most powerful examples of gravitational lensing ever seen.
Ah, rumors, the unsubstantiated gift that keeps on giving. Rumors are often fun to think about, and sometimes they even come true. Color me skeptical that the current hot goss in the Sony world, the a7S IV, will become a reality, though.
VSCO has announced the first 25 photographers that it has selected for The Fifty, it's project that is putting 50 photographers and their work on billboards across the country.
Police in Singapore have arrested and charged a man after he allegedly posted an AI-generated image of a saltwater crocodile swimming in a public water area.
Imagen is changing its approach to AI-powered photo editing with Intelligent Studio, a new post-production workspace that lets photographers cull, edit, and organize a photoshoot in whatever order makes sense for the project.
Apple has updated Final Cut Camera to support the new iPhone 18 Pro series' ability to use variable aperture but also added a few new quality of life features that makes the app much better.
Imagen has launched a brand new post-production workspace, Intelligent Studio, that promises to adapt to a photographer's individual workflow. Photographers can cull and edit in any order they want, rather than the industry standard cull, edit, and deliver.
Modern life is overwhelming many people and analog pursuits are on the up. Enter Await, a camera made by Swiss-based electronics company Rolling Square.
7Artisans has announced a new pancake prime lens for APS-C mirrorless cameras. Available now in E-mount, the AF Lite 18mm f/2 costs $169 and is designed as a general purpose travel, landscape, street, and even portrait lens.
A couple says they spent almost $4,000 on wedding photos, only to discover afterward that the photographer lost most of the images when she transferred the files.
Yesterday, Xtra posted to Threads and apologized to customers who are still waiting for the Muse 2 and Muse 2 Pro to come to market. The delay is most certainly due to issues with the U.S. government, but Xtra is now saying it's actually because the company cares too much.
In January, reports surfaced that Leica Camera AG's controlling owners were considering selling a majority stake in the legendary photography company. Per a new Wall Street Journal feature, those conversations appear to have ended, and Leica will, for now, maintain the status quo.
Polaroid has introduced the Mod, a camera built for analog creativity that comes with four automatic settings that allow photographers to experiment.
A rare, working Apple-1 computer -- the company’s very first product -- that comes with a letter signed by Steve Jobs is estimated to fetch up to $800,000 at auction next month.
Qualcomm thinks it has something big in its 6th-generation Snapdragon mobile device processors that we’ll see in phone cameras in the coming months and years. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 were headliners at the company’s annual Snapdragon Summit 2026 in Maui, both built on a 2-nanometer process and promising imaging performance that pushes what phones can deliver.
A photographer has been awarded damages by the European Court of Human Rights after she was strip-searched by Greek police.
A photographer who pulled over to change lenses during a trip to Yellowstone National Park got into a fight with a 70-pound mountain lion after the big cat pinned him to the ground.
A Googles Photos bug was preventing users from sharing, editing and deleting, and adding images to an album.
There’s a paradox at the heart of great photography: what you choose not to show your audience is often more powerful and provocative than what you reveal. In an age of oversharing and instant gratification, mystery has become the photographer’s secret weapon and perhaps the most undervalued tool of all. The unseen, the suggested, and the ambiguous can transform a literal photograph into an expressive one that haunts us long after we’ve looked away.
SmallRig has announced a pair of external optical viewfinders designed to give photographers more options for framing their photos with their go-to cameras.
Brightin Star's distinctly unusual 50mm f/2 Tri-Sight lens announced at CP+ has officially launched. The manual focus lens is available for E, L, RF, and Z-mount full-frame cameras and promises three rendering modes.
Two urban explorers who were photographing an abandoned home in the U.K. made a horrific discovery.
An Italian politician has sparked outrage after sharing an AI-manipulated image that appears to "undress" another female lawmaker -- months after Italy’s prime minister shared a deepfake nude image of herself to warn of the technology's dangers.
"Pro Max" is all the rage these days, and Honor is the latest smartphone company to get in on the trendy name. Honor's new Magic9 Pro Max also brings in another big name: Arri.
This past week, I pulled out my travel kit and have been testing camera rig configurations for an upcoming documentary project. The goal was to make this thing as versatile and nimble as possible, while still carrying all the gadgets I rely on.
Chinese lens company Mandler made headlines for its debut lens earlier this year, a facsimile Leica 35mm f/2 prime. The company is back with another Leica copycat, the Mandler 50mm f/1.4 E46 Pre-A.
Photographer Kelly Conlin has made multiple visits to Cuba of late, finding that the country is currently in the midst of a crisis.
Wildlife photographer Sylvia Borgonovo, known for her images of Yellowstone National Park’s oldest-known living wolf 1090F, has died at 65.
Premier League and Liverpool soccer legend Mo Salah has created an unlikely tourist destination for photos: a random rock in Turkey.
OpenAI says its agents leaked 53 private images from ChatGPT users and shared them on public image-hosting websites.
Instagram has announced a new feature for "soft launching" a relationship. It's called the Pixel effect, and it can cut a person out of a photo and pixelate them.
Brazilian photographer Kiko Fairbairn planned his total solar eclipse trip and photos in northern Spain for over a year. But you can only plan so much from thousands of miles away. The photographic search truly began when Fairbairn arrived in Spain, and his hard work paid off in a big way.
Whether you're just starting out and building the kit for the photographer you want to become or upgrading your current setup to take your photography to the next level, buying used can help you save on the gear you need while giving you more flexibility in building your system. From wildlife and travel to portraits, sports, and fine art, here are some of the best camera and lens combinations to consider when building your next kit.
Hasselblad cameras' excellence comes from decades of engineering, and that results in a polished product built with the best of the best in mind. Everything is good: the grip and body are built to last, the optical quality is better than Leica.
An extraordinary collection of 200 photographs -- including works by Edward Steichen, Man Ray, and a rare print of Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother -- belonging to a celebrated interior designer is going to auction.
What's in my camera bag for fall color? Here's the gear I use for autumn landscapes, wildlife, macro photography, and video. Hopefully, seeing what I bring along will inspire you to add something useful to your own kit or approach your fall color photography a little differently this autumn.
