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.
The Canon EOS R1 and R3 set new benchmarks for flagship cameras, but a dynamic range comparison by Photons to Photos hints at one taking the edge, and it isn't the newest flagship.
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.
The Leica M2Pi starts with a question few dared to answer: What if the analog purity of a Leica M2 met the experimental, digital world of a Raspberry Pi?
My editor-in-chief, Jaron Schneider, tasked me with a Christmas challenge to review a camera unlike anything I had reviewed before. On my doorstep shows up a Bluey-themed kids' camera with the worrisome "eKids" branding on the bottom. I had a family vacation coming up in Alberta's capital city of Edmonton, so it was the right opportunity to put the camera through a rugged baptism of fire. We planned on shooting at the Royal Alberta Museum, which would give us bright and dark conditions in which to test the camera. Even with low expectations, I came away disappointed.
The LincStudio S1 Tablet from LincPlus Studio S1 may look like a standard run of the mill tablet, but this portable pen display has a bit more hidden up its sleeve. The retouching tool is also a fully functional handheld PC that, while not without its shortcomings, has a surprising amount to offer traveling creatives.
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.
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.
Buying a camera is like entering into an agreement with the brand. You’re handing over your hard-earned cash, and they are giving you the best product they can, or at least that’s how it used to be.
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.
Jordan and I regularly give our two cents about the lenses we enjoy the most from each of the major manufacturers. Taking each brand in turn, we list our favorite wide-angle, normal zooms, normal primes, portrait, and telephoto lenses. However, we have never tackled the Micro Four Thirds system, which is unique because it has two major OEM manufacturers that can share lenses. This gives us roughly twice as many optics to sift through, but we managed to narrow it down.
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.
Viltrox announced a new 35mm f/1.7 autofocus lens for Nikon Z, Sony E, and Fujifilm X-mount APS-C cameras that promises high quality in a compact and lightweight body.
Think "action camera," and visions of snowboarders recording their high-adrenaline run down a slope spring to mind, and with good reason. Action cameras have unlocked new creative options for those wanting to capture their active pursuits on film. The results can be jaw-dropping, thanks to 4K or even 5.7K resolution options, enhanced slow motion, and mind-blowing stability. In short, an action camera can capture footage that looks like it was shot by a film crew rather than a tiny camera mounted to your ski helmet.
It has been a fantastic year for Sigma. While the company did not launch any new cameras, Sigma released six superb new lenses.
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.
Nikon announced a pair of updates that covers a range of its most popular full-frame cameras, starting with a video-centric update to the flagship Z9 and Frame.io camera-to-cloud support for the Z9, Z8, and Z6 III via its NX MobileAir app.
As point-and-shoot cameras are growing in popularity at the same time manufacturers have all but pulled back on making new models, Panasonic is recommitting to the format with the announcement of a new ZS99 -- a successor to the ZS80 and ZS80D.
The Blackmagic Ursa Cine Immersive dual-lens camera system that is designed to capture footage to be viewed on Apple Vision Pro is coming in Q1 2025 and is available to pre-order now for $29,995.
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.
Following this past October's announcement of the Simera-C T1.5 series of cinema lenses for Sony E-mount, Thypoch announced the 21mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 75mm lenses will also be available in Leica M-Mount.
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.
Some of the best traditions are holiday traditions. Turkey at Thanksgiving, pumpkin carving at Halloween, and Christmas trees loaded with decorations are some of the cherished classics but undeniably, the greatest of them all is our annual Best and Worst camera gear roundup.
In the early hours after the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month, one of the first images of the alleged attacker showed him wearing a Peak Design backpack. Rumors in recent days have emerged alleging Peak Design aided in his arrest, and the company's CEO now officially denies this.
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.
Fotodiox announced the Mamiya 6 to Fujifilm GFX Fusion adapter, which it says is the first-ever lens adapter that can electronically control Mamiya 6 lenses.
A decade ago, in the hallowed halls of the now defunct Photokina show in Cologne, Germany, photographers, journalists, editors, and all sorts of other industry movers and shakers were elbowing each other out of the way to get closer to a trade booth where a brand’s newly launched flagship models were being admired. But the most popular booth of 2014 didn’t belong to Sony, Nikon, or even Canon... it belonged to Samsung.
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.
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.
Meyer Optik Görlitz is expanding its lens mount support to Leica R mount, increasing the number of mounts its lenses are available for to at least 11 and sometimes as many as 12.
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.
2024 was a great year for technology and photography. While we recently published The PetaPixel Awards, that's based on a vote from the entire staff. Sometimes, gear that is award-worthy isn't necessarily our favorite (and vice versa), so we wanted to take a moment to call out some gear from this year that we just think is neat.
Anamorphic lenses open a new world of creative possibilities for filmmakers like me, but they can also transform still photography.
The Apple Vision Pro has always been able to take the screen from a Mac and display it in a virtual space as a massive, private monitor but starting today, the new Wide and Ultrawide settings are available.
No camera system provokes more opinion and vitriol than Micro Four-Thirds. It is the most divisive system out there; you either love it or stay clear. Micro Four-Thirds (MFT) cameras have been around for a long time, with the story beginning in 2008 when Panasonic brought out the G1, closely followed by the Olympus E-P1. In the here and now, this is a system under the microscope, and thanks to several factors, the next 12 months could be critical for its future and survival.
We are proud to announce the results of the fourth-annual PetaPixel Awards where we are able to honor the best new photography products released in the last year. 2024 was a heck of a year for photography and the results showed that: it was the closest batch of voting in the awards' history.
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.