My Microsoft Surface Book Looked Death in the Face and Said ‘Not Today’
In 2017, I picked up a Surface Book II to review. While, as a photographer, I didn't like it, I had to admit that it did tick a lot of boxes for the average user.
In 2017, I picked up a Surface Book II to review. While, as a photographer, I didn't like it, I had to admit that it did tick a lot of boxes for the average user.
At first glance, it plays like visual effects wizardry, an F1 car suspended midair, mechanics orbiting it with balletic precision, but the reality behind Red Bull Racing’s zero-gravity pit stop is far more ambitious and well worth revisiting.
Tamron lenses have some very cool capabilities you may not be aware of -- like the ability to pull focus during a time lapse -- and it’s all thanks to its Lens Utility App. I want to talk about what of these abilities are, but I also want to take this opportunity to shame other lens manufacturers for not offering these same features.
At CP+ 2025, TTArtisan, best known for its lenses, unveiled that it was developing its first-ever camera, a retro-inspired folding Instax instant camera. The TTArtisan 203T is finally nearing release, but TTArtisan's approach to the launch is strange.
The passage of time has not been kind to the Nikon F4. At the time of its release, it was a modern superstar, highly sought after, and bristling with modern advancements. It truly bridged the gap between classic manual-focus SLRs and modern autofocusing and advanced metering, flagship cameras.
Just over a month ago, Chinese imaging technology company Shenzen Sonida Digital Technology Co. Ltd. (Sonida), joined the Micro Four Thirds system. Sonida makes Songdian-branded cameras, which are typically low-cost compact models.
GoPro announced a new GP3 image processor a couple of weeks ago, promising twice the pixel-processing power of its prior system-on-a-chip (SoC) and improved image quality. After showcasing the new chip's prowess with sample photos, GoPro today released a new video, and the next generation of GoPro is looking very good so far.
Think back to this time last year when The Brutalist was being pilloried for using AI to improve Adrian Brody's Hungarian accent. Two other Oscar-nominated movies in 2025 had also confessed to using AI to improve speech.
Adobe's longtime CEO, Shantanu Narayen, announced this week that he is stepping down after 18 years as CEO and nearly 30 years at the company. If you ask shareholders, Narayen was, for a long time, among the very best in the biz. If you ask Adobe's core customers, the artists who were once indispensable to the company's success, it's a different story.
Meet Alphy, Sony Alpha India's new AI-generated rodent mascot. Alphy loves his Sony Alpha camera, traveling the world, capturing beautiful photos, and being an affront to human creativity.
Japan's love affair with train photography is well known, with train photographers, also known as "toritetsu," occasionally causing significant safety concerns as they throw caution to the wind to get better train images. However, most train photographers don't menace society. A new Panasonic survey focuses on a pleasant part of railway photography: Photographing train-obsessed kids enjoying their hobby.
When new cameras are announced, dynamic range is often a significant part of the image quality discussion. When a camera offers particularly fantastic dynamic range, it's big news. Likewise, when a camera's dynamic range takes a big hit in exchange for other impressive features, that's news, too. However, does dynamic range really matter that much?
There are many talented, respected professional wedding photographers and videographers. A lot of people do great work for their clients and deliver people with treasured photos and videos from one of the most special days of their lives. However, as controversy after controversy has shown, the wedding photo/video industry is also one rife with malice and scandal.
Apple's new 27-inch Studio Display XDR looks like a great option for photographers and video editors requiring accurate colors and high peak brightness. However, as eagle-eyed prospective customers are discovering, there are some caveats to consider when it comes to compatibility.
In January, news broke that Nikon had filed a lawsuit against Viltrox in China concerning patents related to Nikon Z-mount technology. A couple of weeks later, Viltrox said that despite the lawsuit, it was not adjusting its lens development roadmap. New reports this week claim that lens makers Sirui (China) and Meike (Hong Kong) have both stopped Nikon Z lenses, which is quite the coincidence given the ongoing legal situation with Viltrox.
Apple has announced a brand-new, low-cost laptop, the MacBook Neo. Starting at $599, it is Apple's most aggressively priced MacBook ever, and it sports an Apple A18 Pro chip, like the one the company used in its iPhone 16 Pro smartphones.
In October, the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) warned photographers against rights-grabbing credentialing agreements after The Gazelle Group, a major firm known for its sports coverage, offered credentials for sporting events in exchange for irrevocable, free use of photos taken by credentialed photographers. This pay-to-play arrangement understandably irritated photographers and wire services, and the fallout has persisted.
Thousands of professional sports photographers descended on northern Italy last month for the Winter Olympics, coming away with many incredible photos captured using a wide range of equipment from all the major brands, including Canon.
When it comes to Tecno’s Modular Magnetic Interconnection Technology, the company describes it as a “phone that grows on demand”. A magnetic-based system that allows users to stack components -- including various cameras -- onto the back of the phone makes it highly adaptable. At least in theory.
Legendary cinema company Arri has teamed up with smartphone maker Honor to bring Arri's imaging science and video technology to Honor smartphones, including the upcoming Honor Robot Phone.
Earlier this month, Polar Pro announced a new lens filter that it says makes photos look like they were shot on Portra film. Photographers on Threads have taken umbrage with that opinion and have spent the last few days dunking on the product.
Once-a-decade superblooms are just starting to turn deserts of the American West into a photographer’s dream. For photographers, the challenge of capturing beautiful wildflower blooms is as thrilling as it is fleeting. Finding the right blooms, capturing their scale and variety, and conveying both their delicate details and the sweeping grandeur of the desert is an exciting opportunity. In this guide, I’ll share my approach to making the most of this extraordinary event, from planning and …
Drawing on decades of photographing nightscapes, this guide offers practical tips on Milky Way timing, scouting, blue-hour blends, and crafting strong foregrounds. Learn how to capture distinctive night sky landscapes through thoughtful planning, smart gear choices, and creative field techniques.
SAG-AFTRA, the Motion Picture Association, Disney, Warner Bros., NBCUniversal, these are just some of the powerful companies and organizations fighting back against AI video generators, which can now imitate scenes from movies.
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Trump's global tariffs he instituted last year based on the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Hours later, the president announced new 10% global tariffs against most imports under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. Today, the president said he is actually going to raise the tariffs to 15%, the maximum allowed under the trade law he is using for his latest tariffs.
Photography is an art form of trade-offs. When the shutter speed goes up, the aperture must come down. Higher ISO raises the exposure but hurts the image quality. A brighter maximum aperture means more cost and more weight. Everything is based on a give-and-take relationship, and balancing these factors is key to success.
Never has photography come under such scrutiny, especially in photojournalism and sports photography. In its history, photography has been manipulated as early as 1846. Still, the launch of Adobe Photoshop in 1987 marked a major shift in the ease of photo manipulation, and by the 90’s, the term “photoshopped” generally came to mean a photo was altered to mask the truth. Here at the Olympics, there are no exceptions to heavily photoshopped or AI-generated images, which mostly end up on …
AI will come to a mainstream camera; it's only a matter of time. Somewhere, in some boardroom, the case is being made right now to inject some level of AI -- most likely generative -- into the tool of photography, and the first brand to do it will be the last. And they will regret it.
Chinese newcomer Mandler announced its first lens last May, the Mandler 35mm f/2 "7 Elements." The lens faithfully recreates the classic Leica Summicron 35mm f/2 at an extremely aggressive price of about $350. It went on sale this week and sold out almost immediately.
In an era when artificial intelligence thrives on data, a new initiative is turning everyday photographers into paid collaborators, one original image at a time.
Although nobody needed even more Kodak Charmera knockoffs, companies cannot help themselves. The latest iteration is the Magecam Thumb Keychain Camera, and this time the cheap retro-styled, Charmera-inspired toy camera has a flip-up screen.
What if creating a truly unique landscape photograph isn’t about finding somewhere no one has ever stood, nor simply revisiting the places everyone knows, but about noticing the extraordinary in both?
Abstract photography is one of those things that you either love or hate. Either way, it’s a genre worth dabbling in, as you can learn a lot about your camera from it.
Photography has never been more accessible, yet truly distinctive images feel harder to come by than ever. With social media reinforcing familiar compositions and popular locations, many photographers find themselves asking how to create work that feels original and fulfilling. This three-part series is designed to explore that question across three genres: wildlife, landscape, and night sky photography. In this first article, the focus is on wildlife and how slowing down, understanding animals …
Social media was once the backbone of marketing for photography businesses. However, we now have strong reasons to leave it behind and adopt a different approach to photography. Why did my recent behavior change prove this to be true?
In her seminal collection of essays, On Photography, Susan Sontag famously argued that "there is something predatory in the act of taking a picture." She described the camera as a "sublimation of the gun," a tool used to "violate" subjects, turning them into objects to be symbolically possessed.
Lighting company Profoto is the latest to throw photographers under the proverbial bus in an attempt to milk AI for all its worth. The company has drawn ire on social media for what many consider a series of tone-deaf posts and comments.
Earlier this week on The PetaPixel Podcast, we discussed Nikon's lawsuit against Viltrox and both the best and worst-case scenarios for that outcome. As part of it, we found ourselves talking about L-mount and how it was the only option outside of Sony E-mount that has shown itself willing to be "open." Unfortunately, it doesn't offer a compelling solution for the average photographer.
As generative AI technology proliferates, making it easier for people to manipulate real photos or create convincing fake ones from scratch, photography's ability to depict reality has come under increasing attack. A recent Washington Post opinion is among the most notable assaults on the institution of photography yet, garnering strong rebuttals from veteran photographers.
Flickr is one of those platforms that refuses to die, like a beloved old truck that leaks oil but still starts every morning. Flickr is one of the original photo-sharing communities, and if you’ve been around long enough, you probably remember when it was the internet for photographers. I've been on Flickr since the early days, and at one point, it genuinely felt essential. In fact, I had a pro account for over a decade.
A Chinese design account, PerceBound, shared a clever 3D-printed Fujifilm camera-themed battery and memory card case. It's a silly, but great idea.
Once upon a time, in the last century, before hipsters and when only restaurants had menus, photography was film and film was photography. Both consumers and pros used film, and every camera jockey had a favorite kind: large format, medium format, 35mm, APS, 126, Disc, etc.
Ricoh Imaging recently revealed to PetaPixel that it was having a difficult time figuring out how to make the DSLR popular among a wider group of people, admitting that the current fan base of the brand wouldn't be enough to keep it afloat. I argue the best route forward is to pull a Sega.
For professional photographers, there’s more to it than just composing a photo and exposing it correctly. It's great fun, but any photographer can set up a business and benefit from it.
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is in full swing in Las Vegas, and tech companies are clamoring to stand out. Usually, that means highlighting one eye-catching product, but RadioShack went with the opposite strategy: throwing everything at the wall in the hopes that something will stick.
The Kodak Charmera digital keychain camera, despite its significant technical shortcomings, has been a holiday hit. Companies could not wait to rip it off.
We got not one, not two, but three fantastic mid-range full-frame cameras in 2025: the Panasonic Lumix S1 II, the Canon EOS R6 Mark III, and the Sony a7 V. These join the Nikon Z6 III, which launched just 18 months ago. The mid-range mirrorless camera segment has never been this competitive, fresh, and fantastic, which is outstanding news for photographers.
There are so many fantastic, capable digital cameras available these days. Nearly every new camera from all the major manufacturers can take great photos, has reliable autofocus, and offers a competitive feature set. Ultimately, the biggest differentiator between most cameras is the experience of using them. 2025 delivered many new cameras that not only provide a great experience, but a different one that celebrates the act of photography itself and what it means to capture photos.
A series of investigative reports sent shockwaves through the tech and privacy communities when it was revealed that dozens of Flock Safety’s AI‑powered surveillance cameras were left streaming live footage to the open internet, unprotected and accessible to anyone who knew where to look.
As photographers, we often concentrate on technical perfection and the compositional layout. However, arguably more important than either of those is adding meaning to your photos. It can be challenging, but adding meaning can genuinely elevate your photos to the next tier.
