Fujifilm has two Fujikina events coming up in Europe, including one in May in Copenhagen, Denmark, and another in June in Warsaw, Poland. These events are designed to give photographers, regardless of the gear they use, a chance to gather, learn, and celebrate the art of photography.
Photographer Steven Madow has been photographing rocket launches for over a decade, but arguably no rocket launch he has photographed has been as big of a deal as the Artemis II launch on Wednesday, April 1. Madow set up 14 different Panasonic Lumix cameras to cover the monumental event, including seven remote cameras at the launch site. His outstanding photos are the result of years of practice and planning.
Just a few hours after sharing the Artemis II crew's first photos of Earth, NASA shared two more photos captured by Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman, this time showing the dark side of the Earth and Earth's Terminator Line, the constantly moving boundary that separates day and night.
The NASA Artemis II crew piloted their Orion spacecraft out of Earth's orbit this morning, charting a path toward the Moon. Artemis II Mission Commander Reid Wiseman captured a pair of exceptional photos of Earth through Orion's capsule window, a spectacular celebration of the crew's latest achievements. These are the first two images downlinked from the Artemis II crew.
Anamorphic lenses are everywhere these days. From the small screen of television to the big screen of IMAX theaters, cinematographers often reach for anamorphics. These lenses not only deliver an ultra-wide, cinematic look but also feature distinct oval bokeh and exaggerated flare. The look is so prevalent in live-action filmmaking now that even animated movies, like the brand-new "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," are following suit and simulating the "look" of anamorphic lenses.
Although the plan had been for NASA Artemis II astronauts to bring just Nikon D5 DSLR cameras with them to space, last-minute requests by the crew helped get a Nikon Z9 aboard Artemis II before it launched into space yesterday.
Tokina was a significant name in lenses during the DSLR era, but photographers could be forgiven for thinking the company had given up on photography due to its lack of new lenses in recent years. However, Tokina is not gone. In fact, the company is working on its next lens right now, promising that it will be "one lens like no other."
Photographer Jon McCormack's new monograph, "Patterns: Art of the Natural World," is a beautiful visual love letter to nature and all its intricate patterns, from microscopic and rarely-seen to vast and majestic.
As expected, there have been a lot of April Fools' Day pranks in the photo industry today. Mixed in with the standard goofy and funny joke products, like ISO 0 film, a helium-filled camera backpack that weighs nothing, and a film roll with a different film emulsion for every frame, is Thypoch's camera idea that seems like it might not be a joke at all.
Although it is April Fools' Day, OM Digital Solutions (OMDS) is not joking around. The company announced a significant change in its corporate shareholder structure today, which it says will "enable more agile and flexible decision-making."
The Scottish Nature Photography Awards announced the winners of its 2025 competition, celebrating the best and most beautiful nature, wildlife, and landscape photos captured in Scotland.
Insta360 Japan announced a new Snap selfie monitor that magnetically attaches to the back of a smartphone and enables mobile users to capture higher quality selfies using the superior rear cameras on their device.
Another professional athlete picked up a camera to try their hand at photography. This time it was NFL cornerback Mike Sainristil from the Washington Commanders, who used a Nikon DSLR to photograph the NHL's Washington Capitals faceoff against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Photographer James Warner, known for his excellent YouTube channel, snappiness, loves weird digital cameras. His latest acquisition is a bizarre but fun relic, the Sony C200X digital passport system camera. This chunky silver digicam from 2003 has a vertically oriented sensor, a huge on-camera flash, and is designed to permanently live in an administrative office. It exists solely to shoot passport or ID photos and works alongside an accompanying Sony thermal printer.
AI in photography is a hot topic. It can range from a purely workflow tool to a portrait retoucher and even a full-blown creation tool. According to a survey of 363 photographers who either use AI as part of their workflow or are open to AI retouching tools, the vast majority believe AI should assist but not take over creative control.
As its name suggests, National Geographic's new two-part documentary series, "Secrets of the Bees," turns the lens toward one of Earth's most important inhabitants: bees. The series is fascinating, full of interesting information and science about bees, but also replete with exceptional cinematography. The miniseries has many fantastic close-up shots of bees, unlike anything captured before.
Photographer and university student Megan Tucker created a browser-based photography conditions forecaster, LightCast Suite, to help fellow photographers decide when it's worth heading out with their camera gear.
Photography is among the best and most fun ways to enjoy nature. However, for many, the physical demands of outdoor adventures can be too much, forcing people to stay home or stick to only the most accessible, often overcrowded, photo spots. That's where Vastnaut comes in with the Vastnaut One, the world's first AI-powered 4x4 wearable exoskeleton. It works with your body to reduce stress and enable you to go farther and explore places that you otherwise couldn't.
While PetaPixel readers are particularly passionate about serious, dedicated cameras with the latest and greatest features, one of the most popular cameras in the world is the iPhone. Nearly every year, Apple touts improved photo quality on its latest handhelds, often due to a combination of better hardware and more sophisticated software.
Vivo officially launched its latest flagship smartphone, the X300 Ultra in China. Vivo says its new phone features Vivo's best-ever suite of cameras and photography features, and the company promises that the X300 Ultra redefines mobile imaging for still photography and video.
Tamron is focused on making lenses that no other manufacturer does. A consequence of this is that Tamron makes a lot of zoom lenses, although the company reiterated to PetaPixel at CP+ 2026 that it is not opposed to making new prime lenses, but it needs to be the right prime, a unique offering.
Thypoch, known for its classically-inspired manual focus prime lenses like the Simera 28mm f/1.4, Eureka 50mm f/2, and most recently, the Ksana 21mm f/3.5, has unveiled its next project: an autofocus-equipped 24-50mm f/2.8 zoom lens. This is a very bold new chapter for the upstart Chinese lens company.
Earlier this week, Panasonic unveiled the Lumix ZS300, also known as the TZ300 in some markets. The new compact camera is nearly identical to its predecessor, released in early 2018, except for one big thing: the ZS200's electronic viewfinder has been removed, replaced with nothing but more plastic. There are logical explanations for this, but they do little to stop me from disliking the change.
U.K. filmmaker Guy Loftus has launched Rushes, stylized rushes, a new video hosting and sharing platform designed to fill the void left by a reshaped Vimeo. The platform is built by video creators, for video creators.
Nikon's original Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S and Nikkor Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S lenses were already superb when they were released in 2019 and 2020, delivering great optical performance and dependable autofocus inside a well-designed chassis. However, much has changed in lens design in the years since, and Nikon's even better, significantly lighter 24-70mm f/2.8 S II and 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S II zooms reflect multifaceted technological advancements.
In March 2004, Australian photographer Robert Edwards asked a simple but meaningful question on Rob Galbraith's now-defunct photography forums: "Could Adobe make a RAW format?" The answer was very much "yes," and Adobe announced the DNG format, or Digital Negative, later that same year. Now, more than two decades later, DNG is now the official standard under the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Marine biologist Dr. Nathan Robinson went viral over a decade ago for a video of him removing a straw from a sea turtle's nostril. However, Dr. Robinson is so much more than that viral moment. He has dedicated his career to studying and helping marine life. One way he does so is through TurtleCam, cameras safely attached to sea turtle shells that capture their behavior and habitat in remarkable detail.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and Hubble Space Telescope joined forces to deliver the most comprehensive view of Saturn ever captured. JWST contributed infrared light data, peering at the planet's surface, while Hubble's visible light imagery showcases the gas giant's atmosphere and cloud cover. Together, the strikingly different views deliver a greater understanding of Saturn and fantastic portraits, no less.
Tamron has announced a significant price hike for three of its lenses in Japan, but Tamron Americas tells PetaPixel there is no accompanying price increase to announce in other markets.
LK Samyang kicked off its "Prima" series of lightweight, affordable prime lenses in late 2024 with the AF 35mm f/1.4 P. After launching the Prima AF 16mm f/2.8 and AF 85mm f/1.8 lenses last year, LK Samyang is revisiting the 35mm focal length with a smaller, lighter, and more affordable AF 35mm f/1.8 Prima prime for full-frame Sony E-mount mirrorless cameras.
AI-powered post-processing platform Aftershoot has published what it describes as binding public commitments, outlining three key pillars for how the company will develop, implement, and utilize artificial intelligence as part of its product offering.
Photographers would be forgiven for thinking that Panasonic is no longer committed or interested in developing new Micro Four Thirds products, but as the company told PetaPixel at CP+ 2026 in Japan, it is still very much interested in developing new MFT products that capitalize on the format's core strengths.
Photographers often feel like certain camera technology has plateaued. Sure, sensors get a little better, autofocus improves with each generation, and cameras are faster than ever. However, camera tech rarely improves by leaps and bounds like it once did. Canon believes AI may fuel many of the biggest camera tech breakthroughs in the coming years.
In September, OpenAI launched the newest version of its generative AI video model, Sora 2, to significant initial fanfare and equally big copyright concerns. Today, just months later, OpenAI killed Sora.
Alongside the new Kodak Ektapan 100, 400, and P3200 black and white films, Eastman Kodak also released Kodak Ektacolor Pro 160, 400, and 800 daylight-balanced color negative film. The new Ektacolor Pro films appear to be rebranded versions of Kodak's extremely popular Portra films, which have long been distributed by Kodak Alaris rather than Eastman Kodak itself.
Eastman Kodak has continued its torrid pace of film releases by announcing two new professional film lines, Ektacolor and Ektapan, comprising six films in total, five of which are available in both 135 and 120 formats. Kodak Ektapan is a continuous-tone panchromatic black-and-white film available in ISO 100, 400, and P3200 variants.
The Nature Photography Contest announced the winners of its 2025 contest, showcasing powerful photos that capture nature's beauty and exemplify why protecting the environment is so important.
UGreen has announced the Maxidok 17-in-1 and 10-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 docks, a significant expansion to the company's Thunderbolt 5 product portfolio. The pair of new docks promises to give professional creators the ports, performance, and multi-display support they require in demanding workflows.
Panasonic has unveiled the Lumix ZS300, a successor to the Lumix ZS200 announced back in early 2018. Like its predecessor, the ZS300, also known as the TZ300, combines a 15x optical zoom lens and a 20.1-megapixel Type 1 CMOS image sensor inside a compact, pocket-sized body. However, it also features a major downgrade in user experience.
A new legal battle between the co-founders of Lux Optics, the company behind acclaimed iPhone camera apps Halide and Kino, sheds new light on not only Lux itself but also Apple's interest in the company.
A new company, Increment Labs, is gearing up to launch its debut product, the world's first light meter-equipped watch designed from the ground up for photographers.
Summit Creative's newest backpack is built for photographers with humongous super-telephoto lenses. The new Tenzing Roll Top Camera Backpack has a whopping 70-liter capacity and enough space inside its expandable design to comfortably fit a Canon 1200mm f/8L IS USM lens.
DJI has filed a lawsuit against fellow Chinese tech giant Insta360, alleging patent infringement. DJI claims Insta360, through its parent company Arashi Vision, violated six patents related to drone flight control, image processing, and hardware design.
Earlier this month, Fujifilm hosted a special "Focus on Glass" event, where the company highlighted some of its optical achievements in its APS-C X System, while also proposing 14 Fujifilm X lens concepts. The company asked its customers to vote for their three favorite ideas, and voting closed late last week. The results are fascinating and highlight just how much photographers value the versatility of zoom lenses.
When Canon unveiled its first mirrorless full-frame camera, the EOS R, in 2018, the company touted its new EOS RF lens mount. While it has the same 54-millimeter diameter as the DSLR EF mount, the RF mount's flange distance is significantly shorter, shrinking from 44 millimeters to just 20. Canon promised that this would enable bold new lens designs, and the company's latest lenses show that as well as any of Canon's 60-plus RF lenses.
Nearly every photographer is familiar with Micro Four Thirds, but what about Four Thirds? Developed by Olympus and Eastman Kodak five years before Micro Four Thirds, this DSLR format was short-lived, supplanted by the mirrorless Micro Four Thirds cameras and lenses. Gordon Laing of Cameralabs has taken a look at a pioneering Four Thirds DSLR, the Olympus E-1, 23 years after its debut.
At CP+ 2025, TTArtisan, best known for its lenses, unveiled that it was developing its first-ever camera, a retro-inspired folding Instax instant camera. The TTArtisan 203T is finally nearing release, but TTArtisan's approach to the launch is strange.
Although Apple's newest M5-powered laptops are all the rage, including the outstanding M5 Max-powered MacBook Pro, slightly older machines remain very powerful for photographers and videographers. Better still, they are available for up to $300 off right now.
The compact camera market is white-hot right now. Compact camera sales more than doubled in Japan in 2025, and many of the best-selling cameras last year at Map Camera, a major Japanese photo retailer, were compact models. Canon is no stranger to compact camera success and is committed to giving people what they want.
Looking at Fujifilm's releases in 2025, the company did a little bit of everything, and released some very surprising, strange cameras. It is easy to think that Fujifilm is just a company keen to experiment and take risks, but the company tells PetaPixel that hard research data drives its product decisions. That said, fun matters, too.