Photographer, writer, occasional PetaPixel guest author, and photography teacher at Dakota College at Bottineau, Todd Vorenkamp wrote an adorable and educational book about photography for kids, A Is for Aperture: The ABC's of Photography.
Anamorphic lenses continue to get smaller and more affordable. However, few offer autofocus. The new Sirui 40mm T1.8 1.33x anamorphic lens checks all these boxes for Super35 and APS-C mirrorless cameras.
Removing reflections from photos takes time and effort. Adobe's talented engineers are working to solve the issue once and for all in a single click.
It has been a busy year for new photo and video gear, and many excellent new cameras, lenses, and other gear hit store shelves in 2024. A lot of this gear is, admittedly, pricey and sometimes niche. Renting gear is a great way for artists to get their hands on the best tools without breaking the bank, and every year, the biggest photo rental company, Lensrentals, shares info on which gear was most popular that year.
Anamorphic lenses open a new world of creative possibilities for filmmakers like me, but they can also transform still photography.
Yashica and I'm Back have previously teamed up for fun and unusual photo products like the I'm Back Film and the tiny Micro Mirrorless Micro Four Thirds camera. The latest collaboration is significantly stranger: the Yashica I'm Back VirtusX1 cycling helmet.
Apple Intelligence is settling into a semi-regular update schedule. Within iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2, Apple is bringing a slate of improvements to its AI technology and software platform, including the generative text-to-image tool, Image Playground.
Apple revealed the winners of its 2024 App Store Awards, celebrating and honoring 17 apps and games across a diverse range of genres throughout the Apple ecosystem. Apple picked these 17 winners from 45 finalists.
The Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards winners were announced today at the competition's Awards Night at the Oxo Gallery in London. Photographer Milko Marchetti is this year's overall winner, thanks to his excellent and hilarious image of a red squirrel stuck in a tree, aptly named "Stuck Squirrel."
Power solutions must be directly relevant to cameras and photography or just downright cool to be covered on PetaPixel. Genki's new Moonbase power strip falls clearly into the latter category, sporting an "out of this world" style and a lot of versatility for tech-savvy users.
Lighting company Amaran today launched the Amaran Go, a compact, MagSafe-compatible two-way mini LED for smartphones. The mobile lighting solution aims to reduce the barrier to entry for aspiring content creators.
Many smartphones released in China and other overseas countries never make it to the United States. PetaPixel tries to cover the most interesting of these devices because there are many international readers. Oppo is one of the most interesting smartphone companies with no official presence in the United States, and its latest flagship phone, the Oppo Find X8 Pro, is a Hasselblad-powered doozy of a phone.
Canon joined the growing number of camera manufacturers making custom cropping guides available to high-volume photographers, such as school portrait photographers. Like others, Canon is charging an upgrade fee for using custom gridlines. However, Canon is the first to require a camera to be sent to a service center for the upgrade.
Rode unveiled the next-generation Wireless Go (Gen 3), the latest iteration of what Rode calls "the world's most popular wireless microphone."
A brand-new Hubble image delivers an incredible view of a quasar, enabling the space telescope to "peer closer than ever into the throat of an energetic monster black hole." The new views, described as "weird," show what could be a group of galaxies falling into a black hole.
After announcing its new text-to-video AI generator, Sora, back in February, OpenAI has finally released it to the world.
Engineer, builder, and YouTube creator Shane Wighton, known for the YouTube channel Stuff Made Here, has tackled a lot of fascinating engineering questions over the years. The latest is one of the craziest yet. Can a camera see around objects?
Sigma's refreshingly candid CEO, Kazuto Yamaki, sat down with Sigma UK's Tim Berry for a nearly half-hour-long interview concerning a diverse range of topics, including Yamaki's favorite photographers, why Sigma remains a "Made in Japan" brand, and an upcoming lens.
In September, Rode announced the $250,000 Creator of the Year Awards. The competition awarded creators across 22 categories, including one overall winner, Gawx Art, taking home $20,000 in cash and $30,000 worth of prizes. Rode has announced winners, including a familiar face and friend of PetaPixel, Becca Farsace.
German artificial intelligence software company PRC announced the latest version of its AI-powered photo management program, Excire Foto 2025. The software promises to help photographers, even those with massive image libraries, keep their photos organized. The app also uses AI to help photographers with one of the most arduous tasks of all: culling.
With 2024 winding down, various apps and services are launching "year in review" recaps. Many people have first-hand experience with this feature with music streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. Some photo-oriented platforms do it, too, including Google Photos, as of this year.
Chinese optics company Kipon, known for its lenses and optical adapters, released two new 0.62x focal reducers for medium-format cameras.
When a lake-effect snowstorm hit Erie, Pennsylvania after Thanksgiving, Pittsburgh-based freelancer Jeff Swensen drove 130 miles to make widely published photos for Getty Images.
After a slight hiccup and one-day delay, the European Space Agency's incredible Proba-3 mission successfully launched into space. The Proba-3 mission will do something never seen before: it will precisely and repeatedly create solar eclipses in orbit using two satellites. Lining up these satellites is a remarkable technological feat and relies heavily on breakthrough imaging technology.
Earlier this year, Canon made the (great) decision to allow third-party manufacturers to bring autofocus-equipped lenses to RF mount, albeit only RF-S (APS-C) lenses. Since that announcement, companies like Tamron and Sigma announced RF-S lenses. Now South Korean lens maker Samyang is getting in on the action by bringing its 12mm f/2 ultra-wide prime to RF mount.
Professional cinema company Arri announced a new Alexa camera, the Alexa 265. This new-generation 65mm camera is significantly smaller and lighter than the standard Alexa 65 and features an improved large-format image sensor.
Launched in December 2009, the Near-Earth Object Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) ended its mission on July 31, 2024, and, as expected, reentered Earth's atmosphere on November 1, burning up. However, while NEOWISE is gone, its impact is still felt. As Space reports, the NEOWISE team recently did one final data release and shared never-before-seen images.
Like many photographers, I'm entrenched in a specific editing workflow. I use Adobe Lightroom Classic for the basics -- and even some of the more advanced edits -- and Photoshop for the rest. It works for me, and I'm not keen to jump through any hoops to change my process. However, Pixelmator Pro features a tool that made me pivot last week when I tried to make a print at home over the Thanksgiving holiday: Smart Deband.
National Geographic's annual "Pictures of the Year" issue celebrates the incredible adventures that Nat Geo photographers embark on each year and the remarkable, vital photographs they bring back.
This holiday season, upgrade your gear and save on select Tamron lenses for your Sony E-mount, Nikon Z mount or FUJIFILM X-mount camera! Enjoy big discounts on a wide-range of lenses including fast zooms like the 28-75mm F/2.8 Di III VXD G2 for Sony E-mount and the versatile 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD for Sony E-mount and Nikon Z-mount! With a diverse selection of lenses available, Tamron provides outstanding quality and performance to assist you in capturing breathtaking images during this holiday season -- and in any season.