Features

PetaPixel's Features are in-depth, heavily researched stories designed to answer the most important questions on a topic. Where we flex our journalistic muscle, expect to find the best storytelling and original reporting the photo industry offers.
A man wearing a gas mask crouches on the ground amid armed police officers in tactical gear; a camera lies on the pavement nearby. The scene appears tense and chaotic.

Photographer Tosses His Leica Away From ICE as He’s Tackled to the Ground

Photojournalist John Abernathy was tackled by ICE agents in Minneapolis last week and his last-ditch effort to save his camera was successful thanks to fellow photographer Pierre Lavie, who captured Abernathy's camera-saving toss in a now-viral image. Lavie's powerful portrait reflects the importance of photojournalism, captures the risks photographers face in the field, and, to the benefit of Leica, shows how rugged the company's cameras are.

On the left, a jaguar swims in muddy water with just its head above the surface. On the right, a white weasel stands alert on snowy ground, looking toward the camera.

Nat Geo Photo Editor Reveals Favorite Images From Your Shot Challenge

National Geographic Your Shot is a global photography community created by Nat Geo for people passionate about wildlife photography. It provides a platform for photographers of all skill levels to share their photos, participate in assignments and challenges, get feedback, and potentially be featured by National Geographic editors.

The word "PENTAX" in bold red letters is centered against a dynamic, glowing digital background with orange and white lines, grids, and light streaks, suggesting technology and innovation.

The Future for Pentax is Uncertain, but Ricoh is Committed to the Brand

The Pentax brand has been largely quiet for the last several years. Outside of the Pentax 17 and the K3 Mark III Monochrome, there has not been significant activity. Speaking to PetaPixel, Ricoh President Yasutomo Mori and Kazunobu Saiki, General Manager of Ricoh's Camera Business Division, both promise that Ricoh is committed to the Pentax brand, despite the quiet situation.

Digital camera body, a large black camera lens, and a long white telephoto camera lens displayed on a gold satin background.

Sigma in 2025: The Best Performance of Any Photo Company This Year

I saved the best for last. Sigma had a truly remarkable year, launching a beautiful new camera and a diverse, large array of incredible lenses. There's a very good reason Sigma was PetaPixel's Photo Company of the Year for a second straight year. The company even rebranded! There's a lot to cover, so let's get right to it.

Three Leica camera products displayed on a dark red and black gradient background: a compact camera on the left, a camera lens in the center, and a camera body on the right.

Leica in 2025: Leica Did Leica Things This Year

This year, Leica celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Leica I, the first 35mm camera. That alone makes it an excellent year for the legendary German company, but it was also jam-packed with new cameras, lenses, and, as always, special edition product launches.

Side-by-side images: on the left, a blurry black-and-white night photo of a leopard cub; on the right, a clear color photo of an adult leopard standing on a forest floor with green foliage in the background.

The Best Trail Camera Photos of 2025

From a rare big cat once thought extinct, to breathtaking images captured by remote cameras deep in the Congo rainforest, and footage from a trail camera left inside a grizzly bear den for ten years, trail cameras recorded some truly remarkable images in 2025.

Two OM System OM-5 cameras, one gold and one silver, are displayed on either side of a large white telephoto lens labeled 150-600mm, all set against a blue geometric background.

OM System in 2025: A Great Camera, an Awesome Lens, and Little Else

While Panasonic ignored Micro Four Thirds in 2025, OM System thankfully didn't. And that's a good thing, too, because it's OM's entire business. OM System didn't entirely allay my fears about Micro Four Thirds's ultimate fate, but at least the company did release some nice products this year.

A man with gray hair and a beard stands in front of a wall lined with rows of camera lenses, some of which are reflected in the mirrored surface behind him.

Made in Japan: How (and Why) Sigma Does Things Differently

When Sigma announced its new cinema lens series earlier this year, that may have been the first time that some heard the word "Aizu." Aizu, the shortened form of Aizuwakamatsu, refers to a region in Fukushima, in northern Honshu, Japan, where Sigma is based. This region and its people are so important to the core of what makes Sigma special that it only makes sense to name a lens series after it.

Three compact cameras with textured grips are displayed against a green, diagonally split background. The top camera is black, the lower left is black, and the lower right has a silver and black body.

Fujifilm in 2025: High Highs and Low Lows

Fujifilm is going to be very difficult to grade this year, not because the company didn't do anything, but because it delivered such an eclectic mix of products, ranging from fun but bad to good but boring. Fujifilm always does things a bit differently, but this year was especially odd.

Four Nikon Z series camera bodies and lenses are displayed on a yellow and black abstract background. Two camera bodies and two interchangeable lenses are arranged diagonally and viewed from different angles.

Nikon in 2025: Another Excellent Year for a Resurgent Nikon

Nikon's 2024 acquisition of RED bore its first major fruit this year, but the RED-infused Nikon ZR is far from the only great product the legendary Japanese company released in 2025. Nikon launched three cameras and five lenses, nearly all of which proved impressive.

A Canon EOS R6 camera body is displayed between two Canon RF camera lenses, all set against a textured red and black background.

Canon in 2025: Fantastic R6 III Headlines a Strong Year for Canon

This was a busy year for Canon, highlighted by a very good video camera in the Canon EOS C50 and an even better hybrid camera in the EOS R6 Mark III, PetaPixel's Camera of the Year. But Canon's 2025 included much more than just these two cameras, so let's take a deeper dive into Canon's year, how it transformed the EOS R landscape, and how it sets the stage for more excellence from Canon in 2026 and beyond.