Opinion

A split-screen view showing a large, towering cumulus cloud against a blue sky on the left and a roof with a sign reading "THE WINDLASS" under a cloudy sky on the right.

What Shooting 6×6 Taught Me About Formats and Rules

I recently added a camera that shoots 6x6 to my shelf. Square negatives, twelve per roll. I expected to enjoy the lens, the build, the ritual of loading film backs. What I didn’t expect was how much the shape of the frame would mess with the rest of my photography vision.

A Nikon camera sits in the center of a circular graphic surrounded by several boxes of Rollei Superpan 200 film.

While At First Unimpressive, Rollei Superpan 200 Is a Bag of Tricks

Rollei Superpan 200 is a curious sort of film, making it all the better reason to feature it today. The first impression we would give you of Superpan 200 is that on the surface it can be easily unimpressive, but dig a bit deeper and Superpan quickly reveals that it has quite a bag of tricks at its disposal.

Several CineStill 50D film boxes are arranged on a blue surface with various cameras, including wooden and black plastic models, in the background. The scene is set outdoors in bright sunlight.

CineStill 50D Is a Perfect Slow Speed Film for Bright Summer Days

Cinestill 50D is the less popular sibling to Cinestill’s 800T and 400D emulsions. Because 50D often gets passed over in favor of those other two, we figured it would be a great film to feature on Film Friday. It is a different and lovely film in its own right and deserves a bit more attention than it receives.

A black Sony digital camera with a wide lens hood is placed on a green cutting mat with grid lines. The background is solid black.

Why Other Reviewers Love the Sony RX10 V Even Though We Didn’t

Sony unveiled the long-awaited RX10 V this week, bringing out a new versatile bridge camera for the first time since the RX10 IV in 2017. You've already seen what we think, but we believe it's important to get a diverse assortment of opinions when considering something as important as a camera purchase. $2,299 is a lot of money, after all.

Split image: On the left, a black film camera, film rolls, and printed photos on a white surface. On the right, a hand holds a white camera with a blurred green background.

This New $20 35mm Film Camera Embraces a Classic East German Brand

Photographers in 2026 live in the age of reusable film cameras. There is the Pure35 that U.K. retailer Analogue Wonderland launched last month, Lomography's huge array of cameras, and Dubble Film's SHOW camera, to name just a few. Now there's another one on the scene, and it arrives with a legendary name, the Praktica VF212.

A man with short hair and a beard is holding a black camera up to his face, looking through the viewfinder as he takes a photo outdoors in bright daylight.

Photographers Are Tired of Big Cameras

We were sitting on a train between neighborhoods in Osaka, Japan, when Chris Niccolls turned to me. "I'm thinking of buying a new camera," he said. I was shocked. Chris, who has a different camera in hand every week because of his job as a reviewer, actually wanted to own one. "I want something small."

Two digital cameras are displayed on a white background: a larger black Phase One medium format camera on the left and a more compact black Sony Alpha mirrorless camera on the right, both with attached lenses.

Sony Is (Probably) Never Making a Medium Format Camera

There has been chatter about Sony making its own medium format camera system for about as long as Sony has made image sensors for other brands' medium format cameras. Sony's recent reveal of the 65mm-format Rialto 65 image sensor block for Venice 2 cinema cameras has only strengthened these rumors. However, the speculation is pipe dreaming, at best.

Aerial views of volcanic landscapes with green moss, dark mountains, winding rivers, and a circular rainbow-like halo in the left image, under a dramatic cloudy sky.

Iceland’s Targeted Drone Ban Is Nature Conservation Theater

For several summers, I have taught drone photography in Iceland’s highlands under permits issued by the country’s nature conservation agency. I applied on time, followed every condition, and never received a complaint from a ranger, another visitor, or the agency itself.

Black and white photo split in two: left side shows a man in a sunlit street holding a can, looking at the camera; right side shows an older man indoors hanging up a backpack, viewed in profile.

Twenty Years, One City: What Tokyo Taught Me About Patience and Glass

Most photographers I know are in constant motion. New cities, new continents, new visual problems to solve. There's truth in it. Unfamiliarity forces you to look. Familiarity gives you permission to stop. But there's another, less-discussed school of practice that works in the opposite direction: stay. Return. Go back to the same streets until the strangeness burns away and something else appears in its place.

A man in a dark coat smiles while holding a cat on a city street. In the background, pedestrians walk near classical buildings, including a domed structure. The scene appears to be in an urban European setting.

The Myth of Intent in Photography

The world of photography is currently navigating a crisis of authenticity. AI-generated images are now indistinguishable from photographs. Judges and audiences alike can’t tell the difference. Even experts are getting it wrong.