Photographer Upends His Whole Life to Chase Auroras Around the Arctic

Three photos of the northern lights: the first shows green auroras over icy terrain, the second has a person standing beneath vivid green lights, and the third displays green and pink auroras over snow and water at night.

One night in 2018, I was viewing the international space station through a telescope in the observatory of Helsinki. Suddenly, I looked into the opposite direction and there, for the first time ever, I would see the northern lights dancing over the city below. The experience was otherworldly and I wanted to see them again and again.

A hand holds a compact handheld camera with a screen displaying food. Next to it is a technical drawing of a similar camera showing a display and buttons, with a finger pressing a button.

GoPro Has Designed an Osmo Pocket Competitor with Modular Pieces

The DJI Osmo Pocket 3 is not only the most popular camcorder on the planet, it's one of the most popular camera devices, period. It is also occupying its niche pretty much uncontested, as only a smartphone or an action camera are modern viable competitors. That might not remain the case for long, however, as GoPro has designed a competitor.

A gold iPhone with three rear cameras is positioned in front of a blurred Canon EOS R5 camera on a white background.

When Phones Eat Cameras: Is This the Last Era for Dedicated Pro Gear?

The camera isn’t dying: it’s disappearing, not into nothing, but into something smaller, smarter, and always connected. For more than a century, photography tools got lighter and easier to carry—but the smartphone didn’t just shrink the camera. It absorbed it. Today, the last barrier between phones and pro gear is breaking, and the effects will be huge.

Sigma 12mm f/1.4 DC Contemporary Review: An Absolute Gem

A Sigma 12mm f/1.4 camera lens is displayed upright on a grid-patterned surface with a dark background. The "PetaPixel Reviews" logo appears in the bottom left corner.

The industry desperately needs more lens support for APS-C cameras and it often feels like a neglected market. Full frame is clearly the favored child when it comes to the camera game, but I happen to love smaller sensor cameras, which give a great mixture of compactness and quality. Sigma is on a roll, making sure to give users excellent and affordable optics for Sony E mount, Canon RF mount, and Fujifilm X mount. The latest $629 Sigma 12mm f/1.4 DC Contemporary lens seeks to cover the …

Two professional studio lights on stands, one facing forward with its bright LED illuminated and the other showing its digital display screen and control buttons, both set against a dark gradient background.

The Godox AD400Pro II Outdoor Flash Is Faster and More Versatile

Godox continues to expand its portable lighting system with the release of the AD400Pro II, the latest addition to its Witstro series. Building on the success of the original AD400Pro, this new model introduces upgraded features for greater control, speed, and versatility in studio and outdoor environments.

Linogy Battery Charger Hands-On: Wait, Actual Battery Innovation?

A white battery charger with eight color-coded AA rechargeable batteries inserted. The charger is labeled “ingay.” The foreground features a “PetaPixel Hands-On” graphic.

Batteries are boring. The most recent and exciting battery innovation I can recall is when manufacturers started incorporating USB-C ports into camera batteries. Needless to say, it's a low bar. That's why my expectations for the Linogy AA/AAA Battery Charging system were at most lukewarm, but after using it, I have to admit: this thing is great.

A person wearing olive-green outdoor clothing carries a khaki shoulder bag and holds a camera while walking through a dark, forested area.

The Wotancraft Rider V2 Photography Sling is Inspired by Cycling Bags

Wotancraft has announced an upgraded version of its Rider series sling, an expandable shoulder bag originally designed as a cycling messenger. Over time, the company refined the design to adapt to commuting and photography, too and its latest V2 version makes several updates to make it more usable and comfortable to wear.

The image is split in two: on the left, a giraffe swings its head at night, creating a blurred light trail; on the right, two polar bears rest curled up on a snowy white background.

Over 200 Renowned Photographers Unite for Wildlife Conservation

Prints for Wildlife, the international photography fundraiser supporting conservation efforts, is back with a new campaign, Edition Hope. The initiative has raised more than $2.1 million since its launch in 2020, and unites some of the world's best and most famous wildlife and nature photographers.

An older man with gray hair and glasses holds a vintage camera up to his face, preparing to take a photo. He wears a brown jacket, a gold ring, and a silver watch. The background is softly blurred.

How Leica Developed Its Legendary Rangefinder Cameras

For much of the last century, the rangefinder has defined Leica’s identity as a camera maker and shaped the way generations of photographers work. To mark its centennial, Leica revisits this groundbreaking invention and the story of how it forever changed photography.