This Clever, Customizable Pinhole Camera System Can Do Just About Anything
Photographer Ralph Man developed a highly versatile new pinhole camera system, the Mania MFZ, which stands for "Multiformat Zoom."
Jeremy Gray is an award-winning landscape and nature photographer. Over the last decade, he has written extensively for many of the leading online publications in the photography industry. He has a passion for writing in-depth camera and lens reviews, educational content, and discussing the latest news from the photography world.
Photographer Ralph Man developed a highly versatile new pinhole camera system, the Mania MFZ, which stands for "Multiformat Zoom."
Canon had a strong 2024, launching a new flagship camera, a highly anticipated (and excellent) sequel to the popular EOS R5, and a bunch of diverse new lenses.
Photographers waited hours -- in cold rainy weather -- for murder suspect Luigi Mangione to appear at the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania.
After a torrid pace in 2023, during which time Nikon launched a pair of cameras and nine all-new lenses, the company slowed a bit this year, releasing just two new cameras and three lenses. Nonetheless, it was a strong year for the Japanese company and one that helped Nikon continue to claw back market share in the mirrorless era. Plus, Nikon bought RED, so there's that.
Sony had a very solid year. Releasing two cameras and five lenses, Sony wasn't quite as busy as in 2023 but busy enough to maintain its firm grip on the mirrorless camera segment.
Pergear announced an upgraded version of its fast 12mm f/2 wide-angle prime lens for APS-C mirrorless cameras. The new manual focus lens is significantly lighter than its predecessor while still promising strong optical performance and good value.
Very shortly after publishing the dynamic range performance for Canon's latest flagship camera, the EOS R1, the prolific Bill Claff at Photons to Photos added Sony's new flagship, the a1 II, to his ever-expanding library.
Zhuoyao Chen and her partner are both large-format camera enthusiasts from China, now living in Tokyo, Japan. The pair, who especially enjoy landscape and portrait photography, have found existing large-format camera solutions lacking in certain key areas, so like many enthusiasts, they began custom-making cameras -- and now one of these will be available to all as the Smartflex Camera.
Fujifilm was prolific this year, launching four new digital cameras, including the hyper-popular X100VI, a pair of new Instax instant cameras, and four new lenses (although it's more like three).
With firmware version 5.10 launching earlier this month, Nikon has made its flagship Z9 mirrorless camera, released in late 2021, even better. The new firmware is the latest in a long series of free post-launch updates that have made the Z9 even better and much more versatile. Many camera companies believe strongly in post-launch support, but arguably, no camera has benefited more from free firmware updates than the Z9.
While Sigma absolutely earned its title of PetaPixel's Photo Company of the Year in 2024, legendary German photo company Leica was not far behind. Leica was not only prolific across multiple camera system segments, but the company posted the highest revenue in its 110-year history.
Lux, the developers behind celebrated iPhone camera app Halide, and the award-winning mobile video app Kino teased Halide Mark III today, previewing some of the features coming to Halide 3.0 next year (hopefully).
Prolific lighting equipment company Godox announced the V100, a new more powerful on-camera flash in the style of the company's V1 and V1 Pro. The V100's claim to fame is the ability to deliver up to 100 watt seconds of power compared to the V1 and V1 Pro's 76Ws output.
With three new lens releases, 2024 was a relatively typical year for Tamron. Last year, Tamron announced two lenses, …
What a fittingly unusual year for Ricoh Pentax, a photo company that itself is quite strange. Always one to march to the beat of its own drum, Ricoh Pentax did things unlike everyone else in 2024, and that's, by and large, a good thing.
Hasselblad was uncharacteristically busy this year, releasing a "new" camera and three new XCD lenses. The premium Swedish camera manufacturer continues to focus heavily on celebrating still photography and the experience of taking photos, and we're here for it.
Gordon Laing of Cameralabs has an early Christmas gift for vintage digital camera enthusiasts, a brand-new Retro Review. Continuing Laing's current Nikon kick, the latest retro camera to go under the microscope is the Nikon Coolpix 990.
It's just a Fujifilm kind of day here at PetaPixel. Alongside some bombshells from an interview and a fresh X100VI teardown at Kolari, some Fujifilm owners have new camera firmware to download and install.
Infrared conversion specialist Kolari routinely shares teardowns of new cameras, such as the EOS R5 II in October, and the Nikon Z8 and Hasselblad X1D II 50C last year. The latest new camera to go under the surgical knife (or screwdriver) is the Fujifilm X100VI.
Amateur Photographer's editor, Nigel Atherton, recently chatted with Fujifilm with Theo Georgiades, general manager of Fujifilm Imaging Solutions UK, discussing a wide range of topics, including Fujifilm's product strategy, performance, and the resurgence of film photography.
Two companies are actively developing products for two distinct camera systems: Fujifilm and Panasonic. In Fujifilm's case, it's the APS-C X Series and the medium-format GFX System. For Panasonic, it's the Micro Four Thirds platform and the L-Mount system, which includes full-frame mirrorless cameras and lenses. We'll look at Fujifilm next week, but for now, the attention is on Panasonic and its rather interesting (and diverse) year of product launches.
After a series of lousy hardware faults, SanDisk's name turned to mud. More than a year later, the company hopes to make people forget with a fresh new logo.
Venus Optics launched its Nanomorph LF 1.5x Anamorphic Series lenses, debuting a four-lens lineup of professional-grade anamorphic lenses for full-frame and large-format cameras. The new lenses are designed for high-end and high-budget projects, including theatrical releases.
We're big believers not only in Micro Four Thirds as a platform but OM System as a company. But 2024 was, to put it mildly, a challenging year for OM System.
Scientists frequently combine data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST/Webb) and Chandra X-ray Observatory (Chandra) to get a complete picture of cosmic objects and learn more about the Universe's history. However, this week, the collaboration has a special festive twist as NASA shared new images of a cosmic "wreath" and "Christmas tree" in deep space.
DJI earned a key win today in an increasingly complicated legal landscape for Chinese companies operating within the United States. The Countering CCP Drones Act was not included in the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that passed in the United States Congress this week, meaning that DJI is not banned from operating or selling products in the United States.
The Adobe Photography and Lightroom plan price increases arriving next month muddy the already somewhat confusing waters with Adobe subscription options. It is worth taking a beat and breaking down all the possible choices a photographer has if they want to use Lightroom or Photoshop after the January 15, 2025 changes.
The United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) agreed to hear oral arguments concerning whether a bill forcing a TikTok sale violates the First Amendment.
It has been a fantastic year for Sigma. While the company did not launch any new cameras, Sigma released six superb new lenses.
The OnePlus 13 Series smartphones will be officially unveiled on January 7 at 10:30 AM EST (7:30 AM PST), coinciding with the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
Best known for its action and 360-degree cameras, Insta360 also makes cameras for less adventurous scenarios, like video conferencing. The previously teased Insta360 Connect dual-4K camera AI video bar has arrived, as promised.
Tilt-shift lenses have not gotten their due in recent years, with some companies ignoring the lens type altogether in the DSLR-to-mirrorless transition. Venus Optics aims to change that with a pair of new Laowa tilt-shift macro lenses for full-frame mirrorless cameras.
Adobe has had a lot going on in the last few days. Last week, the company unveiled a very impressive new tool, Reflection Removal, available now as a Technology Preview in Adobe Camera Raw. Meanwhile, its stock price has tumbled nearly 15 percent in the last five days, signaling investor concerns over Adobe's AI ventures. Now Adobe is previewing its photography app plans for 2025, including a price hike arriving next month.
Well-known photo software developer ON1 announced a brand new ON1 Pro brand. Designed to deliver products specifically for professional photography workflows, the first new application under the ON1 Pro brand is Lightpanel, an AI-driven app to help pros cull, review, and edit thousands of photos quickly and easily within Adobe Lightroom Classic.
Blending retro Kodak vibes and modern aesthetics, Kodak and skate and lifestyle brand Huf teamed up for a new line of apparel, accessories, a Huf-styled half-frame film camera, and even a film-inspired skateboard deck.
During internal voting and discussions concerning the Camera of the Year, the Canon EOS R1 quickly established itself as a non-contender. This highly anticipated flagship camera has been coming for a long time, but once it finally landed, it felt undercooked, and worse, boring.
Alongside the Nokton 28mm f/1.5 Aspherical lens for E-mount cameras, Cosina announced a new fast, compact apochromatic portrait prime for rangefinder cameras. The Voigtlander APO-Ultron 90mm f/2 lens, available in VM mount, promises excellent optical performance in a portable design that does not obscure a rangefinder's viewfinder frame.
The annual Geminid meteor shower peaks tonight and tomorrow, December 13 and 14. The impressive meteor shower is an excellent chance for photographers to get out and enjoy one of nature's most beautiful spectacles, and get some fantastic shots, too.
Hologram hardware and software company Looking Glass, known for its spatial displays, announced new iOS support via Unity integration, enabling users to run real-time 3D media using just an iPhone or iPad, rather than super-powerful dedicated computers.
Cosina announced a new Voigtlander Nokton 28mm f/1.5 prime lens for full-frame Sony E-mount mirrorless cameras. The fast manual prime lens promises excellent optical performance and strong close-up capabilities.
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.