Reviews

Expert reviews of the latest digital cameras, lenses, lighting products, accessories, phones, photography-editing software, and more. PetaPixel tests state-of-the-art products in the photo industry and provides insights and recommendations for photographers to make informed purchasing decisions.
A black 85mm f/1.4 camera lens sits upright on a grid-patterned surface, with the text "Petapixel Reviews" in blue and white in the lower right corner.

Sirui Aurora 85mm f/1.4 Review: G Master Vibes at a Fraction of the Price

Did Christmas come early? It’s the middle of the summer, and I am testing my favorite lens focal length. Not only that, the lens also happens to have a fast f/1.4 aperture and this comes just days after having tested the very impressive Viltrox 85mm f/1.4 Pro. I must be really lucky because the Sirui Aurora 85mm f/1.4 is lightweight, well-built, and a very affordable $600.

A man with gray hair and a beard is holding a camera up to his face, preparing to take a photo. He is outdoors, wearing a blue shirt, and the background is blurred greenery.

The Panasonic Lumix GM-5 Is the Greatest Digital Camera Ever Made

Recently, at the Bild Expo in New York City, I asked some prestigious photographers and creative professionals an important question: What is the greatest digital camera of all time? Some said the Fujifilm X100 series, some said the Nikon D780, and I even heard the DJI Pocket 3. Of course, they were all wrong. The correct answer is, of course, the Panasonic Lumix GM-5.

A white egret with a fish in its beak, a black bear standing in green grass, and a barred owl perched on a tree branch are shown in three side-by-side photos.

I Took 6,000 Photos With the Sigma 300-600mm f/4: It’s Almost Perfect

In the world of wildlife photography, capturing fast-moving subjects from a distance requires the perfect blend of reach, speed, and image quality. Sigma, renowned for its high-performance lenses, has recently announced the launch of the Sigma 300-600mm f/4 DG DN OS Sports, a powerful zoom lens specifically designed for wildlife photographers.

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Sigma 17-40mm f/1.8 DC Art Review: A Legend Reborn

The Sigma 17-40mm f/1.8 DC Art is the successor to Sigma's legendary 18-35mm zoom lens for crop-sensor cameras. It has been a long time coming and stands out as a truly professional APS-C zoom lens in a mirrorless era where APS-C zooms often target beginners and enthusiasts more than seasoned professionals. But does Sigma's latest live up to its legacy?

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Peak Design Pro Lite Tripod Review: The Travel Tripod We Needed

I'm not a huge fan of ultra-light travel tripods. As compact as they are, they often lack the stability required for anything beyond casual use. There is a balancing act involved in finding the right amount of stability while still keeping the tripod convenient enough to enjoy. I did not like the Peak Design Travel Tripod due to its fiddly head design and slightly wobbly legs, but they may have reached the Goldilocks zone with the latest Peak Design Pro Lite. This one feels just right. At $800, though, you have a fairly high price of admission.

A beige OM SYSTEM OM-5 camera body with a black grip is displayed on a marble surface. The lens mount cap shows “OM SYSTEM Micro.” The Petapixel Reviews logo appears in the lower right corner.

OM System OM-5 Mark II Review: I Think I’ve Reviewed This Camera Before

Flagship cameras always get the biggest fanfare but it’s often the model that sits right below that gets the most play. These are the cameras made for the enthusiast photographer who does not need the biggest and fastest camera but does want some high-end features at a decent price. Where the OM System OM-1 Mark II is the pinnacle of OM technology, the new $1,200 OM-5 Mark II will probably be the workhorse of the lineup.

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Fujifilm X-E5 Review: No Longer a Beginner’s Basic Camera

The Fujifilm X100 series of cameras is the most popular design out of the entire brand and possibly out of anyone else's brand, too. These cameras hit an ideal balance between styling and compactness, but they never really appealed to me as much as they seem to for everyone else. I know that I am in the vast minority with this very unpopular opinion but I think that a better Fujifilm camera exists and we all get to appreciate it together now because the X-E5 has finally arrived.

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Kyu Camera Review: Trying to Reimagine Memory Capture

As smartphones have made photography more accessible than ever, a small Japanese company is taking a radically different approach to capturing memories. The Kyu camera, launched in Japan in late 2024 and now available for pre-order in the U.S., wants to challenge our relationship with digital memories through an intriguingly restrictive design philosophy.

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Leica LUX Re-Review: A Year of Progression, But Still a Few Stops Short

When I first reviewed Leica LUX, I approached it with a blend of cautious optimism and healthy skepticism. Leica’s decision to enter the mobile photography app space was bold, considering both the reverence surrounding the Leica name and the saturated, high-standard world of iPhone photography apps -- where names like Halide, Obscura, and ProCamera dominate. At launch, Leica LUX showed promise but also left a lot to be desired. Now, nearly a year later, it’s time to revisit it. Spoiler alert: there's been meaningful progress -- but also stubborn blind spots that Leica needs to address if LUX wants to compete at the top tier.

A camera with a Laowa lens is in focus in the foreground, with a smiling man sitting in the blurred background. The PetaPixel Reviews logo appears at the bottom left. The scene is outdoors with green trees and grass.

Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Macro Review: Is It a Landscape or Macro Lens? Yes.

Venus Optics' Laowa brand is known for its weird and wonderful lens designs. Sometimes, they are exquisite, unique designs that bring versatility to the photographer's bag. Other times, the lenses are budget alternatives that trade some optical performance in the name of "character." The latest version of the Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Macro is definitely in the latter category, but that doesn’t mean that it lacks value. At $399, this is a solid, budget-friendly optic.

A Sony Alpha full-frame mirrorless camera is displayed on a grid-patterned surface with a dark background. The PetaPixel Reviews logo is overlaid in the bottom left corner.

Sony FX2 Review: Slow and Steady Might Win This Race

It’s been more than four years since the launch of Sony’s very popular FX3 compact cinema camera, so I was expecting an update to that model to come any time. Imagine my surprise when Sony instead launched a high-resolution cinema camera with a strong emphasis on photographic functionality and a brand-new design.

A box of Kentmere Pan 200 black & white film with green, blue, and yellow packaging. The box is angled, showing the film name and logo. "Petapixel Reviews" is overlaid in the bottom right corner.

Kentmere Pan 200 Review: Your New Daily Driver Film

Being a film photographer is an expensive hobby. Sure, it's easy to get started with the relatively low cost of hardware but film and developing costs (even if you're doing it yourself) add up fast. That's why Kentmere Pan 200 is so welcome: it's good, it's readily available, and it's cheap at $8 per roll.

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OWC Envoy Ultra SSD Review: Faster, Cheaper, and Just Plain Better

SSDs continue to get faster, but the bottleneck for performance usually comes down to connectivity. It doesn't matter how fast your drive can write if the cable can't push data through to match. With Thunderbolt 5, though, that throughput has been jacked up, and OWC's new Envoy Ultra SSD shows that for those who need pure speed, there is an option.

A smiling man with a beard holds a large Lumix camera towards the viewer, standing in front of a pink and black painted wall. The image features the PetaPixel Reviews logo in the lower right corner.

Panasonic Lumix S1 II Review: Pricey, Powerful, and Video-Centric

You might think that the world has enough 24-megapixel full-frame cameras by now, but you would be wrong. With image quality having reached a performance plateau, the only way to improve is by going faster. Last year, Nikon released its Z6 III, debuting a new partially stacked sensor. We wondered when another camera might come out that utilizes this same excellent technology, and now that wait is over.

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DJI Mavic 4 Pro Review: The Best Drone for Most Pros Stays on Top

The DJI Mavic is the all-around choice for midrange professional use, and now we get to witness the fourth version in all its splendor. Much like the 3 Pro that comes before it, the Mavic 4 Pro features a three-camera array on a sophisticated gimbal using Hasselblad color science to provide stunning photos and videos.

A man in a blue shirt takes a photo with a large telephoto camera lens near water. The image features the Petapixel Reviews logo in the bottom right corner.

Sigma 300-600mm f/4 DG OS Sports Review: Way More for Way Less

Professional telephoto lenses made specifically for wildlife and sports tend to be the most expensive money can buy. They push the envelope of lens technology, not to mention size and weight. What if I told you that Sigma made a lens that delivers the same f/4 aperture combined with a more versatile zoom range but is also only $6,000, substantially less money than the competition? It sounds too good to be true.

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Unistellar Odyssey Pro Smart Telescope Review: Fast, Fun, Easy, and Expensive

The Odyssey Pro Smart Telescope is among Unistellar's smallest and lightest reflector-based systems. It makes viewing and capturing the night sky as simple as clicking a few buttons on your smartphone or tablet. It is small, light, easy to travel with, and it has an actual viewfinder (powered by Nikon optics) allowing users to start viewing the night sky in less than five minutes.

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Yashica City 100 Review: Camera or Scamera?

Compact point-and-shoot cameras are more popular than ever. I thought they would be gone forever, replaced and surpassed by the modern smartphone but boy, was I wrong. The compact digital camera is experiencing a renaissance and Yashica has jumped into the fray with its City series of cameras to capitalize on the hype.