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.

[Read More]

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.

[Read More]

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.

[Read More]

To usher in the next generation of its 360-degree action camera, Insta360 didn’t go back to the drawing board. Instead, it turned to the community, taking stock in what its customers liked, but also didn’t like about the brand’s X4 action camera.

[Read More]

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.

[Read More]

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.

[Read More]

Who can afford an L-mount, general-purpose f/2.8 professional lens anymore? Turns out, a lot more people will have this opportunity with the launch of the new Panasonic Lumix S 24-60mm f/2.8.

[Read More]

Shimoda’s Sidecountry camera backpack is the brand’s latest flagship offering in its Side Series, meticulously designed to meet the needs of photographers who require versatility, comfort, and easy access to gear while exploring the outdoors.

[Read More]

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.

[Read More]

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.

[Read More]

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.

[Read More]

The most advanced mobile photography features are a trickle-down affair where some end up being part of mid-range and affordable phones. That’s been Google’s Pixel A series in a nutshell, only in the case of the Pixel 9a, it also applies to the AI-driven tools that play a key role in the broader imaging package.

[Read More]

When Fujifilm teased its new X half camera, the industry went into a tizzy trying to figure out if it was a half-frame analog camera or a compact digital. It turns out that the Fujifilm X half is actually not half a camera but more like two cameras in one.

[Read More]

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.

[Read More]

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.

[Read More]

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.

[Read More]

Samsung looks to trim some fat and return to an age when smartphones can be unapologetically thin again. That’s the Galaxy S25 Edge in a nutshell. Samsung’s latest premium device is the lightest it has made in years.

[Read More]

I love the 75mm focal length. In fact, anything around 70mm to 90mm is more like a normal lens for me than a 50mm. And if the lens has a fast aperture, I'm even more enamored.

[Read More]

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.

[Read More]

Smartphone gimbals are old hat by now but they’ve always had room to get better, and that’s how DJI approaches the Osmo Mobile 7P. The big jump? Being able to use it to track subjects using third-party apps.

[Read More]