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Xiaomi 17T Pro Review: High-End Photography Without the Flagship Price

A blue Xiaomi smartphone with triple camera lenses lies among green leaves and small blue flowers. The image has a "PetaPixel Reviews" label in the top left corner.

The new Xiaomi 17T and 17T Pro feature impressive cameras, due in large part to Leica's engineering expertise and Xiaomi's commitment to mobile photography. During extensive hands-on experiences in beautiful Vienna, Austria, I tested Leica's imaging influence, low-light performance, telephoto capabilities, battery life, and all the other features that help set the Xiaomi 17T Pro and its more affordable sibling apart from the competition.

A digital camera with a ring flash, a tripod, a flash, and two camera lenses are arranged on top of a vibrant green leaf with visible veins and water droplets.

Save Big on Macro Photography Essentials

Looking to upgrade your macro photography kit? These great deals on dedicated macro lenses, ring flashes, tripods, focusing rails, and essential support gear will help you capture better close-up photos.

A person with long hair is silhouetted against a dark background, holding and using a laptop with a visible Windows logo. Light highlights part of their face and hands.

Nvidia’s New Chip Aims to Upend the Creative Laptop Market

Microsoft and Nvidia made joint announcements today. Microsoft is launching a brand-new Surface Laptop Ultra, the most powerful Surface Laptop ever built, and it is powered by Nvidia's new RTX Spark system-on-a-chip, a "new superchip that reinvents Windows PCs for the era of personal AI agents."

Easy Macro Photography Tips for Incredible Close-Up Photos

A three-panel image: left shows a white mushroom growing on a forest floor, center displays a floral arrangement with white, yellow, and blue flowers, and right features a green beetle on a white flower’s yellow center.

Looking to improve your macro photography? This guide explores techniques for capturing sharper close-up images of flowers, insects, products, food, and more, along with recommended camera settings, lighting setups, lenses, diffusers, focus-stacking tips, and creative tricks to take your macro shots to the next level.

A man in a dark coat smiles while holding a cat on a city street. In the background, pedestrians walk near classical buildings, including a domed structure. The scene appears to be in an urban European setting.

The Myth of Intent in Photography

The world of photography is currently navigating a crisis of authenticity. AI-generated images are now indistinguishable from photographs. Judges and audiences alike can’t tell the difference. Even experts are getting it wrong.

Thypoch Simera 50mm f/1.4 Review: Crisp and Clean

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Having previously used both the Thypoch Simera 28mm f/1.4 and Simera 75mm f/1.4, I was expecting great things from the 50mm f/1.4. I've come to find that the Thypoch Simera series is characterized by clean, crisp optics and affordable prices. At $749, the Simera 50mm f/1.4 for M-mount is certainly far more attainable than the equivalent Leica lenses, but can it still deliver high-quality optical performance?

Four smartphone screens display an astronomy app showing forecasts for the Milky Way, aurora, golden hour, and moonrise, each with vivid background images and forecast ratings at the bottom.

Atmos Is a Weather App By Photographers, for Photographers

As photographers know, light is extremely important. And for outdoor photographers, nothing affects the quality of light quite like the weather. Photographer Matthew Raifman wanted to build a weather app for people like him, photographers who want to know not just what the weather forecast is, but whether or not the conditions will be any good for photography. Enter Atmos for Weather & Photo, also known as Atmos.

Film Friday: Kodak TMax 400 Is Far From a One-Trick Pony

A box of Kodak Professional 400 T-Max 120 film sits on a wooden table next to a vintage camera. The film box is yellow with black and green text.

TMax 400 came into the world in 1986, at the same time as its slower speed brother. You can think of them as near identical twins, in fact. Since its introduction, TMax 400 has helped define a whole new generation of black and white films with its tabular grain structure, high resolution, and sharp image details.

A woman sits at a wooden desk, writing on paper, in a modern white office chair. Behind her are a green dresser, a sofa, books, and decorative items. An orange lamp and computer are on the desk.

Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2 Ergonomic Chair with Full-Body Adaptive Support Keeps You Comfortable and Creative

Lengthy photo and video editing sessions can take a toll on your body. Sitting for long periods in an uncomfortable, non-ergonomic chair is painful, bad for your long-term health, and it saps artists of their creative energy and flow. The Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2, the first full-body, adaptive ergonomic chair, promises to keep you comfortable whether you're doing a light editing session or working in crunch time.

Promotional graphic for “Creative Focus: A Town Hall Series from ASMP,” supported by PetaPixel. Session three is on June 4 at 4 PM ET, covering “Employees v. Contractors - What Photographers Need To Know,” hosted by Thomas Maddrey.

Employee vs Contractor: What Photographers Need to Know

On June 4, the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) is hosting a free educational webinar where the organization's CEO Thomas Maddrey, who is also a lawyer, will explain the difference between an employee and a contractor as it pertains to photographers.

Three-panel image: Left, people hike up a snowy slope; center, a person stands in a glowing ice cave; right, close-up view of blue ice with deep crevices and textures.

Nat Geo’s New Documentary, ‘Time and Water,’ Tells a Story You’re Still Writing

National Geographic's new documentary film, "Time and Water," grapples with a challenging, profound question: How do you say goodbye to what you never thought you could lose? Through archival footage, photos, art, and science, Academy Award-nominated director Sara Dosa follows acclaimed Icelandic writer and poet Andri Snær Magnason as he confronts the death of his country's glaciers, the loss of his grandparents, and the kind of world he hopes future generations can experience. The story's next chapters are being written at this very second.

A vintage Leica camera and a silver lens are displayed separately on a blue background, each with their lens caps and accessories neatly arranged around them.

Crafty Lens Cap for Leica M Hides AirTags

To paraphrase Jane Austen, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a photographer in possession of valuable equipment must be in want of protection against theft. It's just part of the reason why Apple’s AirTags have become so popular.

Thypoch Voyager 24-50mm f/2.8 Review: Autofocus Zoom for a Bargain

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Even now in 2026, autofocusing lens design out of the Chinese manufacturers is still in its relative infancy. We have seen some excellent autofocus-equipped prime lenses from companies like Sirui and Viltrox, but who knew that a manufacturer known for making boutique manual-focusing M-mount lenses would be the first to market with a zoom?

A hammer is striking an old Praktica film camera, causing it to break apart with debris and small pieces flying, all shown with a red tint.

Photographers Are Livid About a Photo Festival’s Camera-Busting Rage Room

The Belfast Photo Festival is still over a week from starting in Belfast, Northern Ireland, but it has already instigated serious outrage among photographers. The Belfast Photo Festival will include a major interactive public exhibition that invites visitors to pick up a hammer and destroy "obsolete" cameras, and not everyone is on board.