Kate Garibaldi

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.

Spring sales have already been aggressive this year, but Memorial Day camera deals take things even further. Across cameras, lenses, memory cards, bags, and tripods, we’re seeing discounts that range from useful everyday savings to genuinely massive price drops on premium gear and pro-level kits.

Viltrox has posted one of the more unusual photography demonstrations on Instagram recently, showing what happens when you take a photo with a lens that's been sliced in half.

7Artisans has officially announced the new Max AF 135mm f/1.8, a full-frame autofocus telephoto prime designed for Nikon Z-mount cameras. The new lens combines a bright f/1.8 aperture, STM autofocus, and an advanced optical design, making it ideal for portrait and low-light photography.

Sony has released firmware version 2.00 for the Sony a7 V, bringing a substantial update focused on professional audio workflows, FTP functionality, and new production tools for hybrid shooters and filmmakers.

Fujifilm is taking its Instax brand on the road this summer with the launch of the 2026 Instax Capture the Joy Tour, a nationwide experiential event designed to give consumers hands-on access to the company’s instant cameras and smartphone printers.

A new macOS utility called BatchMark Pro promises to simplify one of the more repetitive parts of a photographer’s workflow: adding watermarks, logos, copyright text, and technical metadata to exported images quickly and consistently.

Chinese lens makers are arriving at the 2026 trade show season with an unusually aggressive wave of new autofocus optics, compact primes, and experimental designs aimed at everything from cinema production to casual street photography.

Laowa has officially unveiled its next-generation Probe Zoom system, which it states is "the world’s widest macro probe lens with the broadest focal range ever made." Designed for cinematic and high-end commercial work, the new 15-24mm T8 and 15-35mm T12 macro lenses expand the company’s well-known probe lineup with a wider focal range, increased flexibility, and a modular design built around extreme close-up imaging.

New camera announcements continue to arrive at a rapid pace, and this week’s lineup brings together several of the most talked-about new releases alongside deep discounts on premium tripods to support them. Whether you are planning to preorder a new body, upgrade your lens lineup, or finally replace an aging support system, there are some unusually strong deals available right now.

Brightin Star has officially launched the new MF 10mm f/5.6 II, an updated version of its ultra-wide manual-focus APS-C lens that offers a wider field of view, closer focusing, and a refined physical design.

Tilta has introduced the Illusion Magnetic Filter Ultimate Kit, a modular magnetic filter ecosystem designed to simplify how filmmakers and photographers build and swap filter setups in the field.

Insta360 is leaning heavily into nostalgia with the launch of the new Go 3S Retro Bundle, a special edition version of its tiny action camera that transforms the wearable 4K POV camera into something that feels much closer to a vintage point-and-shoot.

Shenzhen-based optics maker Thypoch has officially entered the autofocus mirrorless market with the launch of the Voyager 24–50mm f/2.8, a full-frame constant aperture zoom designed for Sony E-mount systems.

Instagram has launched a new feature called Instants, a disappearing photo-sharing system designed around fast, unedited sharing with close friends. Available both inside Instagram and through a new standalone Instants app, the feature pushes even further into real-time photography and casual social sharing, with a strong emphasis on authenticity and privacy.

PolarPro has introduced a new creative lens filter that intentionally leaves half the glass uncovered, and that unusual design is exactly what gives the filter its cinematic effect. The new PolarPro Split 50 is a split diopter filter designed to place two subjects at different distances into focus within the same frame, creating a distinctive look long associated with classic Hollywood filmmaking.

India’s tiger reserves are beginning to ban mobile phones during safaris as wildlife tourism faces growing concerns over overcrowding, unsafe tourist behavior, and the impact of social media-driven content creation on endangered animals and fragile ecosystems.

Sony has officially announced the new Sony Xperia 1 VIII, and while the company’s Xperia lineup has long catered to photographers with manual controls, shutter buttons, and Alpha-inspired features, this latest model may represent the biggest camera-focused shift in years.

Really Right Stuff has announced a new “Core Line” of carbon fiber tripods, introducing the Benchmark and Benchmark Inverted support systems alongside several bundled kits aimed at photographers, videographers, and precision shooters.

A newly resurfaced archive clip from the BBC’s long-running technology program "Tomorrow's World" offers a fascinating snapshot of what people thought the future of photography would look like and why certain surefire ideas ultimately failed.

NiSi has announced the new JetMag Pro Star Soft magnetic filters, a pair of diffusion-style filters aimed specifically at astrophotographers and night landscape shooters looking to add a softer, more atmospheric rendering to the night sky.

The State of the Photo Industry Survey is returning for 2026, with organizers hoping to build on last year’s extensive dataset to create a clearer picture of how professional photographers are navigating an industry that continues to evolve rapidly.

GoPro says it is formally reviewing strategic options, including a potential sale or merger, marking a potentially major turning point for one of the most recognizable brands in modern imaging.

Kolari Vision has released a detailed disassembly and teardown of the Sigma BF, offering a rare look inside one of the most visually distinctive mirrorless cameras on the market.

Canon sparked a fresh wave of speculation after releasing a cryptic second teaser for its announcement, set for May 13, 2026, at 9 AM EDT.

Brightin Star has announced the new 7.5mm f/2.8 IV APS-C ultra-wide fisheye lens, a compact manual-focus optic aimed at photographers and creators looking for dramatic ultra-wide perspectives without the size or cost typically associated with specialty lenses.

Spring often brings a wave of lens promotions, but this week’s deals stand out for the sheer range of systems included. From compact APS-C zooms to flagship telephoto glass, several major mounts are seeing meaningful discounts right now, including Canon RF, Sony E, Nikon Z, Fujifilm X, L-Mount, and Micro Four Thirds.

Meike has officially launched the latest addition to its growing Air Series lineup, the Air AF 56mm f/1.7 APS-C lens for Sony E-mount cameras. First shown publicly at CP+ 2026 earlier this year, the compact portrait prime is positioned as an affordable, lightweight option for creators seeking strong subject separation without adding significant bulk to their kit.

Lens maker Brightin Star has announced a new Aero UV Filter lineup, a series of ultra-thin UV protection filters designed to deliver minimal optical impact while offering everyday lens protection for photographers and filmmakers.

DJI has announced the new Osmo Mobile 8P, a next-generation smartphone gimbal designed to push mobile filmmaking further with upgraded tracking, a detachable remote monitor, and deeper integration with Apple’s ecosystem.

Sony isn't the only camera company teasing an announcement next week. Canon USA has begun teasing a new camera of its own with a short promotional clip posted across its social channels.

Amazon is rethinking how users interact with their photo libraries, rolling out a redesigned experience for Amazon Photos that shifts the focus from storage to discovery. Rather than opening to a static grid of images, the updated app now surfaces curated memories the moment users launch it, aiming to make photo libraries feel more alive and accessible.

Large format photographers have a new option on the table as OptiColour 200 makes its debut in 4×5, 5×7, and 8×10 sheet film. Built on the Wolfen NC200 emulsion, the film brings a familiar look to a format that continues to attract fine art, portrait, and landscape photographers seeking maximum image quality and tonal control.

What happens when one of the internet’s most recognizable illusionists turns his attention to one of cinema’s most iconic franchises? In the case of Zach King, the answer is a full-scale recreation of Star Wars built almost entirely out of cardboard, creativity, and a network of collaborators that stretches across YouTube.

Funleader has announced that its Contax G35 Leica M Conversion Helicoid V2 is now available in an updated Black Edition, introducing a refined take on its non-destructive conversion system for adapting Contax G lenses to Leica M cameras. The new version focuses on improved materials and handling, while maintaining the core philosophy of preserving the original optical design.

For more than a decade, commercial photographer and retoucher John Barnard has worked across high-end campaigns for brands including Nike, Apple, Restoration Hardware, and Pottery Barn. But after 15 years in the industry, what ultimately pushed him to build his own software wasn’t a creative breakthrough or a business pivot. It was a broken tethering connection on set.

Spring often brings a shift in how photographers move. There's more travel, more location work, and a renewed focus on portability. With that comes the need for camera bags that match different shooting styles, whether that’s lightweight everyday carry or fully protected transport for larger, pricier kits.

A new documentary follows photographers and scientists deep into Florida’s most remote swamps in search of answers to one of botany’s most enduring questions: what pollinates the elusive ghost orchid. Long considered one of North America’s rarest and least understood flowers, the species has resisted decades of study, with its reproduction largely undocumented in the wild.

Instagram is widening its efforts to prioritize original creators with a new algorithm update that directly targets accounts built on reposted content, not just in Reels but now across photos and carousel posts as well.

EvrApp has introduced EvrBridge, stylized "evrBridge," a new Windows application designed to automate one of post-production’s more persistent workflow challenges: extracting and organizing camera metadata for use inside DaVinci Resolve. The app marks the company’s first native Windows solution built around its established metadata processing pipeline.

Blackmagic Design has released DaVinci Resolve 21 Beta 2, a quick follow-up to its recently introduced public beta. The update arrives less than a month after the initial announcement and focuses largely on stability, bug fixes, and refinements, particularly in the new photo editing tools.

Adobe has introduced a major expansion of its AI-powered creative ecosystem, integrating the Adobe for creativity connector for Anthropic’s Claude alongside a public beta of Firefly AI Assistant. The updates mark a broader push toward agentic workflows, in which creative tools are orchestrated via natural-language prompts across multiple applications.

DwarfLab has introduced the Dwarf mini smart telescope, a compact astrophotography device designed to make stargazing and deep-sky imaging more accessible through automation, portability, and app-driven control.

Pic-Time has announced the launch of Pic-Time 2.0, a significant overhaul of its online gallery platform designed to reshape how photographers deliver, present, and monetize their work. The update introduces a redesigned interface, expanded customization tools, and deeper AI integration.

Adobe has released the April 2026 updates to Photoshop and Lightroom, bringing version 27.6 to desktop users with a mix of AI-driven tools, workflow refinements, and performance improvements. The update continues the company’s broader push to streamline complex editing tasks while expanding generative capabilities directly inside the app.

Xelmus used NAB Show 2026 to preview what may be one of its most ambitious optics to date, the Aura 16mm 2x anamorphic lens. Still in prototype form, the lens is being shown as a proof of concept for what the company describes as the world's widest anamorphic lens, a creatively driven addition to its growing anamorphic lineup.

Abrams Studios has announced that its upcoming title, Morels: Out of This World, will release on May 28, 2026, for Windows PC via Steam. The game builds on the studio’s earlier nature-focused concepts but shifts the setting beyond Earth, placing players as explorers and photographers on a series of alien planets with unfamiliar ecosystems.