More and more, DxO’s PhotoLab stands out as a worthy alternative because you don’t have to pay for it every month. You pay once and can hang on to that version for as long as you like, though upgrades to new versions come with a fee -- usually about half the price. Version 10 isn’t as big a step forward as past ones but it patches some holes left behind by the others.
Out of nowhere, a package arrived for me from an anonymous source and what was contained inside intrigued me instantly: A Konica IIA in almost perfect condition. It was a gift from a viewer hoping that I’ll give it a try.
Welcome to another Film Friday review, where we like to dig into a particular film emulsion, lay out a bit of its history, share our personal experiences with it and provide some inspiration for why you should try it out. This episode features Rollei Retro 400S, the high speed member of the Rollei Retro family that also includes 80S and Superpan 200.
A few months ago, GoPro launched an entirely new line of cameras, targeted more at professional videographers than the more consumer-focused Hero series has traditionally been. At that time, we were promised a Micro Four Thirds mount camera in the future, and that future is now. After spending some time shooting with a wide array of lenses, I have some thoughts on the utility of this $700 camera and whether it will be the massive success GoPro desperately needs.
This week we are taking a look at Kodak TMax 100 black and white film (also now known as Kodak Ektapan 100). TMax 100 is part of a family of films that includes both TMax 400 and TMax P3200 films.
Gone are the days of major technological and hardware upgrades from model to model, at least when it comes to the digital camera industry. Smartphones are no exception, and it seems that any annual changes we do see tend to be relatively minor now.
The Honor Robot Phone is no longer a concept -- it’s a finished product now available in China. The first smartphone with a built-in motorized gimbal in its rear camera module is an engineering win for Honor, not least of which because it actually works. After spending hands-on time with the device, it’s clear enough this isn’t just another gimmicky half-baked experiment.
By now, you're used to seeing nearly every YouTube video shot with a little clip-on wireless microphones. They're small, discreet, and they go anywhere, but there's a real case to be made for the onboard camera shotgun mic, too.
Several months ago I was in Alaska shooting a documentary (which will be released one day, I swear!) on the Fujifilm Eterna 55 camera, and finding suitable lenses was one of my biggest struggles.
For this Film Friday review, we are featuring one of the sneakiest best and least expensive color films available to 35mm photographers: Kodak Ultramax 400.
Over the course of two days, I had a few hours with the new Google Pixel 11 Pro, and I've narrowed it down to the four features aimed at photographers and videographers that I think deserve the most attention.
I have a real dislike for most of what I call e-waste cameras on the market, which are those that are capturing the world through the lens of a literal dashcam. They tend to be cheaply built, take poor photos, and are littered with many frustrating compromises. I am instantly skeptical anytime a new cheap $45 point-and-shoot comes across my radar.
Toward the end of the summer of 2024, Lomography struck again, bringing a new (sort of) addition to its Lomochrome line of experimental films. The company introduced Lomochrome Color ‘92 Sun-Kissed, a color negative film meant for experimentation and indulging in nostalgia.
I've been reviewing HDDs and SSDs for the better part of a decade, and there has been one constant throughout all of it: the price-to-speed ratio is pretty much always top of mind. But with the ballooning costs of memory making personal storage absurdly expensive, the value-add found in the Atom EX80 has me rethinking this paradigm, at least a little.
Many of Sony's recent lens efforts have focused on high-end, professional-grade optics, including G and G Master lenses. The company is revisiting the consumer end of its lineup, delivering a new telephoto zoom lens for the masses: the FE 100-400mm f/5.6-8 OSS. It's aggressively priced and versatile, but is it any good?
When I first did my hands-on with the Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max, I figured there was still room to push things further, and I was right to think so. But the interesting part is that it sometimes feels like the phone’s camera system has tricks up its sleeve that aren’t always apparent from the outset.
In just an eight-month period, no fewer than three new medium format panoramic film cameras hit the market. I've used them and am ready to render my verdicts on each, but there can be no doubt: we are living in a panoramic renaissance.
Few cameras have had the impact of the DJI Osmo Pocket 3, an incredibly popular handheld gimbal camera that was beloved by travelers, creators, and adventurers alike. The Pocket 4 was a pretty standard update, which is quite capable but didn’t set the world on fire like the Pocket 3. It seems DJI was holding back with the Pocket 4, because only a few months later and after one of the weirdest, most prolonged rollouts in camera history, we have the Pocket 4P.
Whenever a new autofocus-equipped cinema lens is announced, I always have mixed feelings. While I often find autofocus extremely useful, the manual focus experience inevitably suffers compared to a mechanically coupled manual focus lens. When they were first teased, I was told that this would not be a problem with the new Sigma Cine Zoom with AF lens series. Now I have reviewable copies of the 28-45mm T2 and 28-105mm T3 and get to answer the very important question: Has Sigma really managed to …
Tamron is turning another page in its lens design and has chosen an impressively fast and wide 12-20mm f/2.8 to lead the way. Is this just window dressing, or has Tamron also upped its image quality game?
Huawei is back -- sort of. The brand that once looked like a serious disrupter in multiple markets only seven years ago is launching its photography-focused flagship phone for global users. The Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max nomenclature is an obvious reference (at least to me) to competitors but the imaging focus is what the Pura models are about.
Nearly nine years after Sony unveiled the Cyber-shot RX10 IV bridge camera, the company is back with its long-awaited successor, the RX10 V. Much has changed in the photography space since 2017, but unfortunately, I cannot say the same about the RX10 V.
This time around, my review process went a little differently. Instead of doing a full deep-dive into one lens, I decided to compare two brand new ones against each other.
High-end mirrorless cameras are pretty much the opposite of what photographers associate with Leica. But can the new 44-megapixel SL3-P change opinions? Leica certainly hopes so.
GoPro needs a win right now. Competition from DJI and Insta360 has never been stronger, its profits are down, and it has not released a flagship Hero Black camera in nearly two years. The GoPro Mission 1 Pro ($699) is its best chance to turn things around.
Often, videographers and video editors are forced to use two separate headphones: one for production and one for personal use. Fender's new Mix headphones are somewhat unique in that they seem designed to adapt to whatever you might need in a given moment with minimal complexity to get there.
Few cameras can claim to have the impact of the DJI Osmo Pocket 3, which delivered a compact, affordable gimbal camera that proved enormously popular. So popular, in fact, that DJI’s closest rival Insta360 has decided to get in on the compact gimbal cam action with the new Insta360 Luna Ultra.
Not everyone needs or wants a foldable phone but if it’s thin and light enough to feel more like a standard smartphone, then is it worth taking the plunge? In many ways, this forms the basis of Honor’s pitch for its foldable lineup, the latest being the Magic V6. Rather than reinvent the category, it simply aims to build off the solid foundation it comes from.
I like rangefinders. When I got back into photography, it was through the experience I had with the Fujifilm X100VI. While not a true rangefinder, it scratched that itch. Later that year, at the urging of Chris Niccolls, I picked up a Voigtlander Bessa R2a, and my fate was sealed.
PetaPixel is expanding its coverage into headphones, but specifically their use through the lens of how a videographer would use them. In the field, at their desk, and while traveling, every videographer and editor has them, and the standard by which they all should be judged is the Sony MDR-7506.
Oyen Digital recently announced the U35 Bolt+ USB4 (80Gbps) portable SSD that makes some pretty lofty promises. Designed for speed and built to withstand the elements, Oyen says it delivers up to 6,000 MB/s transfer speeds. That would be the fastest PetaPixel has ever seen.
Amongst the plethora of different versions of the Leica M 35mm f/1.4 Summilux lenses, the “11873” model has garnered special attention. This double-aspherical design is famous for its lens character and classic glow at wider apertures. Of course, lens aficionados have driven the price of this original lens to astronomical values, which is where Light Lens Lab has stepped in.
The new Xiaomi 17T and 17T Pro feature impressive cameras, due in large part to Leica's engineering expertise and Xiaomi's commitment to mobile photography. During extensive hands-on experiences in beautiful Vienna, Austria, I tested Leica's imaging influence, low-light performance, telephoto capabilities, battery life, and all the other features that help set the Xiaomi 17T Pro and its more affordable sibling apart from the competition.
Having previously used both the Thypoch Simera 28mm f/1.4 and Simera 75mm f/1.4, I was expecting great things from the 50mm f/1.4. I've come to find that the Thypoch Simera series is characterized by clean, crisp optics and affordable prices. At $749, the Simera 50mm f/1.4 for M-mount is certainly far more attainable than the equivalent Leica lenses, but can it still deliver high-quality optical performance?
Even now in 2026, autofocusing lens design out of the Chinese manufacturers is still in its relative infancy. We have seen some excellent autofocus-equipped prime lenses from companies like Sirui and Viltrox, but who knew that a manufacturer known for making boutique manual-focusing M-mount lenses would be the first to market with a zoom?
Sony photographers have a lot of great choices available when it comes to the serious telephoto lens. Whether you are into sports or wildlife, the Sony E-mount has you covered. However, many of these excellent lenses come with big physical dimensions and even higher prices.
One of my favorite zoom lenses of all time is the Sony 20-70mm f/4. Just the fact that a versatile range can be coupled with an ultra-wide-angle field-of-view brings a lot of convenience to the camera bag. I don’t mind the moderate f/4 aperture either, and the size and weight are kept to a minimum because of it. So when Canon released a 20-50mm f/4 L PZ lens alongside the R6 V, I was excited to try it out.
Panasonic is celebrating 25 years in the camera game under its illustrious Lumix brand name. Jaron Schneider and I were invited to attend this celebration in Osaka, Japan, and there was an incredible surprise in store for us: the Lumix L10.
When Canon launched the C50 and R6 Mark III last year, the comparison was pretty simple. But now, a third camera is in the mix complicating that up a bit.
The Sony a7R VI might very well be the last camera many photographers truly need. It won't be the last camera people want, of course, but there is very little this camera cannot do, at least for still photography. It's exceptional and, in many crucial ways, the new standard-bearer in the industry.
Vivo’s “Ultra” phones have always been the company’s best but this one is the first to venture outside the Chinese market. More like a phone in a camera than the other way around, it feels like a camera system built from the sum of its many parts.
While video professionals have grown used to seeing a major update of Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve editing software every April, this year’s update caught the attention of photographers everywhere with the debut of a new “Photo” tool. Headlines popped up instantly proclaiming that photo editing programs Lightroom and Capture One had new competition. But do they? I spent some time with the latest beta of Davinci Resolve 21, and I have some thoughts.
As I've delved deeply into the old and the niche of film photography, I've found myself loving cameras that either have no light meter, no viewfinder, or... neither. In those cases, I have found the L.D. Meter from Chinotechs to be the near-perfect solution.
The best camera features generally go to top flagships for good reason, but mid-range brands like Tecno always try to punch above their weight. The Tecno Camon 50 Ultra may be a phone you’ve never heard of, yet its camera system is varied enough to stand out.
The Nikon Z system needed a new kit lens. The 24-120mm f/4 is one of the best lenses I’ve ever used, but it isn't exactly affordable and is understandably beyond the budget of many beginner photographers. The 24-50mm is a decent optic, but it has a slow aperture range and a limited focal range for general-purpose photography. Even the Nikon 24-200mm and Tamron 25-200mm is a bit too expensive for a beginner.
The Reto company, which is behind the insanely popular Charmera camera, are at it again with a charming 35mm analog camera. They clearly took a design cue from the Ricoh GR series of cameras while heaping on a generous pile of Kodak nostalgia, but the end result promises to be a stylish and simple analog experience for potential buyers.
The Oppo Find X9 Ultra will be the company’s first “Ultra” flagship to go beyond China’s borders, making it something of a global debut. Those in the know recognize the symbolism, but the backbone of this introduction begins and ends with the quadruple rear camera array.
In February, PetaPixel published its review of the Canon 14mm f/1.4L VCM lens and found some issues with its performance in astrophotography. There were many theories from readers and viewers of the YouTube channel as to why this happened, but none of them were right. The truth is a little more interesting.
I think most of us have a strange fascination with 40mm lenses. It seems like a relatively uncommon focal length, and of course, it is overshadowed by the ubiquitous 35mm lenses. In truth, both lenses can do pretty much the same thing, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the 40mm focal length always feels a little exotic.
The Canon RF 7-14mm f/2.8-3.5L STM is an extreme lens. It's the world's widest-angle zoom lens and has a staggering 190-degree field of view; looking into the viewfinder is like taking a step backward.
