Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 S II Review: The Legend Continues

A Nikon NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8 S lens stands upright on a grid-patterned surface with a black background. The PetaPixel Reviews logo is displayed in the lower left corner.

Nikon debuted its Z-mount cameras in 2018 and shortly thereafter came out with its first professional 24-70mm f/2.8 S lens. Unlike some of the other companies that also began making mirrorless full-frame glass, Nikon came out with a legendary lens right out of the gates. The original 24-70mm f/2.8 lens may have been a little bulky, but it was incredibly sharp, immune to flare issues, and excellent for video work, too.

A gold ring is centered on a black background with white handwritten text reading "A new award for creativity," and an Instagram logo above the word "Rings.

Instagram Rings Will Award the Top Creators on the Platform

Instagram has introduced a new award program called Rings, designed to recognize creators who are taking creative risks on the platform. The initiative will honor 25 creators with both a physical gold ring and a digital version displayed as a golden circle around their profile photos and stories.

Two professional camera lenses, both labeled "20 T2" and "Proteus," are displayed against a vibrant orange gradient background. One lens is upright while the other is tilted to the left.

Laowa’s New 20mm T2 Proteus 2x Anamorphic Lens Is its Widest Yet

Venus Optics has expanded its Proteus series with a new ultra-wide 20mm T2 2X Anamorphic lens. Set to impress filmmakers with unique features, the 20mm T2 lens offers a blend of cinematic quality and versatility, promising to be a valuable tool for professionals in the film industry, particularly those working in tight spaces or requiring wide-angle shots.

Split image: Left side shows a pangolin walking on the ground against a black background. Right side features a close-up of a pangolin’s face and overlapping scales, highlighting its unique texture.

Photographers’ Incredible Pangolin Photos Help Save Endangered Animals

The Remembering Wildlife photography book series has released its 10th book, 10 Years of Remembering Wildlife. The series has raised nearly $1.6 million for wildlife conservation to date and features incredible wildlife photos from some of the world's most talented and renowned photographers. This milestone book focuses on pangolins, one of Earth's most threatened species.

An illustrated hand holds a smartphone showing 3:33 on the screen. Text on the left reads, "Have we reached the limits of phone camera quality?" The TED-Ed logo is in the top right corner.

The Limits of Tech and Why Smartphones Don’t Operate Under the Same Rules as ‘Real’ Cameras

While smartphone cameras and standalone cameras (which are sometimes referred to as "real" cameras) are often marketed using the same terms, the way they each function is very different. In a video published to TED-Ed, electrical engineer Rachel Yang simplifies and explains why smartphones don't operate by the same rules that standalone cameras do.

Camera Makers Need to Lean Into Their Brand Colors Again

Four vertical color stripes with camera brand names: Fujifilm on green, Nikon on yellow, Sony on orange, and Canon on red, each in their distinctive logo fonts.

When Nikon added the gold ring to the lens mount of its 28-135mm f/4 PZ earlier this year, I was ecstatic. Finally, Nikon was leaning into its brand color. I was saddened to learn it would only do this on select products moving forward. That got me thinking: every brand is leaning away from color when they should be leaning into it. For a tool designed to create art, the camera tends to be dreadfully boring.

A group of emergency responders surrounds and assists a person lying on a stretcher with a neck brace, preparing to move them in a hallway with beige tiled walls.

NPPA Condemns ICE Assault on Journalists ‘In the Strongest Possible Terms’

The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) has condemned "in the strongest possible terms" the actions taken by ICE officers against journalists in Federal Plaza in New York City earlier this week. "The assault on an a New York reporter and the serious injury inflicted on another journalist represent an unacceptable, blatant attack on press freedom," the organization writes.

A hand holds a green Kodak film canister on a wooden surface, flanked by two strips of damaged, partially visible black-and-white film negatives.

What Happens When You Shoot Film That Expired in 1946?

"Expired film is always unpredictable," says photographer and YouTuber Mathieu Stern, known for his "weird lens" videos. "But what happens when the film expired almost a century ago? Can you still get an image?" To find out, Stern shot with the oldest rolls of film he could get his hands on, including one from as far back as 1946.

A digital illustration of a human head silhouette with glowing numbers and circuitry, flanked by two identical photos of a bluebird perched on a branch on either side.

AI Can Craft You a Photo Preset, if That’s Really What You Want

Artificial intelligence (AI) is seemingly everywhere these days, and photography is no exception. There are numerous AI-powered image editing features available, as well as AI-driven autofocus in many cameras. Developer Polychrome's new LR Preset Generator instead puts AI to work as a text-to-Lightroom preset web tool. If, for some reason, photographers aren't keen to utilize their own creativity when editing their images, ChatGPT can do the heavy artistic lifting.

A view of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament in London, with Westminster Bridge crossing the River Thames under a partly cloudy blue sky.

UK Issues Another Demand to Apple to Access Users’ Data

The UK government has issued a new order to Apple seeking access to encrypted iCloud backups of British citizens, according to a report from the Financial Times. The order, known as a “technical capability notice” (TCN), is the second demand the Home Office has sent to the company this year.