February 2026

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra smartphone was announced in China late last year, boasting a camera system co-engineered with Leica, very impressive photo specs and features, and class-leading performance. This impressive new phone is now coming to global markets.

Leica has had smartphones before, like the Leitz Phone 1 and Leitz Phone 2, but they were both manufactured by Sharp and exclusive to Japan. Leica has switched things up for its newest Leitzphone, working closely with Chinese company Xiaomi and bringing the Leitzphone global. Well, mostly. Americans will be forced to import the device, as is par for the course with most Chinese phones.

As photographers know all too well, image libraries can be a lot to keep track of. Between internal storage and external drives, sometimes many of them, finding exactly the right photo or folder can be very frustrating. Photographer and cinematographer Paul Kothe agrees, so he built an app to solve the problem once and for all.

Conservation efforts for the critically endangered Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) have yielded promising results with the recent sighting of a female and her newborn calf in Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia, the critically endangered species’ last remaining natural habitat.

While nothing excites photographers more than new cameras and lenses, like all the awesome new gear showcased this week at CP+ 2026 in Japan. However, accessories matter, too, and B&H has some awesome deals on tripods, backpacks, memory cards, and more right now.

The Boston Globe won multiple photography awards in elite competition, but one was especially poignant.

Just like it did at last year's CP+ in Japan, Samyang and Schneider-Kreuznach took to the CP+ 2026 show floor in Yokohama this week to tease another f/2.8 zoom lens for full-frame cameras. This time it's an AF 60-180mm f/2.8 for Sony E-mount and L-Mount.

Flickr has announced the debut of MODE by Flickr, a three-day photography festival scheduled for September 18–20, 2026, in Minneapolis. Conceived as an immersive, citywide gathering, MODE is designed to bring photographers out from behind their screens and into shared physical spaces for workshops, exhibitions, photowalks, live music, and keynote conversations.

Insta360 has won a significant legal victory from the United States International Trade Commission (ITC), meaning that it can continue to import and sell its entire current product lineup inside the U.S.

It's a remarkable photo that frequently goes viral online: Polaroid engineer Howard G. Rogers and his team of engineers standing proudly beside an astonishing amount of chemical bottles that had been used in their attempt to crack an instant photography enigma: how to create an instant color photograph.

The Hillary Clinton deposition was halted yesterday after a photograph was leaked from the House Oversight Committee and posted online.

Atomos has announced the Ninja RAW, a new five-inch HDR monitor-recorder designed for filmmakers, content creators, and broadcasters.

The National Hockey League (NHL) and Cosm announced that Cosm has installed its 10.5K-resolution C360 camera systems in all 32 NHL arenas to capture frame-by-frame, ultra-high-resolution footage of every play in NHL games.

The famous Japanese science fiction franchise Ultra Series, also known as Ultraman, is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. The relatively new lens company, SG-image, is getting in on the party with an Ultraman-themed limited edition version of its 18mm f/6.3 pancake lens for APS-C mirrorless cameras.

Tamron's Godzilla-themed booth at CP+ 2025 was always going to be a tough act to follow, but somehow Tamron topped it. This year's Tamron booth features a big "Back to the Future" collaboration, complete with a DeLorean and an actor playing the iconic Emmett "Doc" Brown. Tamron is using the collaboration as a clever and exciting way to look at its rich history.

Alongside the new 50mm f/2 Tri-Sight lens for full-frame mirrorless cameras, Brightin Star also announced a new APO 35mm f/1.7 ASPH. lens for Leica M-Mount cameras at CP+ 2026 in Japan.

OM System has announced the OM System × Millet Original Wearable Shoulder Photo Pocket II, a second-generation outdoor photography accessory developed in collaboration with Millet. The updated model builds on the concept of wearable, harness-mounted storage designed to give photographers faster access to lenses and accessories while hiking or climbing.

Brightin Star has announced a pair of new lenses at CP+ 2026 in Yokohama, including a full-frame 50mm f/2 Tri-Sight prime lens with three switchable rendering modes, which the photographer swaps between using a control ring on the lens itself.

A new adapter is aiming to bridge the gap between classic rangefinder glass and modern mirrorless cameras. Megadap bills its new M2RF adapter as the world’s first Leica M to Canon RF autofocus adapter, bringing motorized autofocus capability to manual focus Leica M-Mount lenses when used on Canon RF-mount cameras.

Valoi has announced the easy35 v2, the next generation of the company's most popular compact film scanning system. The original easy35 launched via a successful crowdfunding campaign back in early 2023, and the new version offers a complete redesign that promises even better performance and usability.

Photo Mechanic has been vital software in a press photographer's toolkit for decades, but with the rise of AI, Camera Bits is now planning to add Content Authenticity support.

Many predict that smart glasses will explode in popularity in the near future, but the wearable technology poses numerous issues that a new app is attempting to mitigate.

Sigma has announced the development of the 85mm f/1.2 DG Art, a new large-aperture medium-telephoto lens for full-frame mirrorless cameras.

Motion Horizons LLC has announced Bolt Hunter, a purpose-built lightning camera trigger that it describes as “the most advanced lightning photography tool ever built,” designed to address some of the most persistent challenges in storm photography, including missed daytime strikes, overexposed nighttime frames, and inconsistent shutter timing.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured plenty of incredible, jaw-dropping photos since its first five images were published in July 2022. But few have been quite as spectacular and otherworldly as Webb's latest shots of Nebula PMR 1, a rarely-studied nebula nicknamed the "Exposed Cranium."

Lomography has introduced the Fisheye No. 2 Rodeo Denim, a 35mm film camera that embraces distortion, spontaneity, and bold styling in equal measure. Wrapped in a denim exterior with orange accents, the camera pairs playful design with an unmistakable 170° circular fisheye perspective, turning everyday scenes into curved, immersive compositions.

While the IndyCar Grand Prix of Long Beach is at the heart of motorsport in L.A., there was once a racetrack in Paramount Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains that photographer Allen Kuhn used to shoot.

7Artisans has announced the AF 40mm f/2.5 FE, a compact full-frame prime lens. As part of the company’s Lite Series, the new lens emphasizes portability, autofocus performance, and affordability, arriving with a retail price of $159.

Alongside a pair of new VM-mount lenses, Cosina Voigtländer also announced that its manual focus Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 lens is coming to Canon RF-mount and Nikon Z-mount full-frame mirrorless cameras.

An Android app that promised AI-powered photo and video makeovers instead left a large volume of user content publicly exposed, according to researchers from Cybernews.

Cosina made an early splash at what is sure to be a very exciting CP+2026 show by showcasing three new Voigtländer lenses, binoculars, and a new UV filter. The two lenses this story focuses on are the pair of new Cosina Voigtländer VM-mount primes, the APO-Skopar 75mm f/2.8 and the APO-Lanthar 90mm f/4 Close Focus.

Panasonic has announced the DMW-DMS1, a new digital shotgun microphone for select Panasonic Lumix mirrorless cameras.

The North Carolina Attorney General has announced he is suing a wedding photography business that allegedly took money from hundreds of couples without providing a service.

A man trying to control his DJI Romo vacuum with a PlayStation 5 controller inadvertently gained remote access to about 7,000 Romo vacuums worldwide, enabling him to see inside people's homes over the internet.

Newly published research shows that birding may have dramatic benefits for people's neurological health as they age, and there's good reason to believe the same benefits extend to an adjacent, popular hobby: bird photography.

Alongside announcing a pair of new photographic lenses today, the Sigma 15mm f/1.4 DC Contemporary and the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG II Art, the Sigma Corporation also announced that it will establish the Sigma Aizu Farm Corporation on April 1, 2026, and begin agricultural cultivation operations in the Aizu region where it is headquartered and makes all its cameras and lenses.

Apple has released a new short film on Instagram highlighting how accessibility and stabilization features in its latest smartphone are enabling filmmakers with physical challenges to create.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) captured the first-ever vertical photo of Uranus' ionosphere, revealing the mysterious planet's auroras.

Earlier this month, Polar Pro announced a new lens filter that it says makes photos look like they were shot on Portra film. Photographers on Threads have taken umbrage with that opinion and have spent the last few days dunking on the product.