Reviews | PetaPixel

Aura Frames 'Walden' Review: It Checks All the Picture Boxes

Aura Frames has emerged as a dominant force in the digital frame world, and it's easy to see why. The stunning image quality and ease of use make it a top choice for displaying photos.

2 mins ago

Sony G 16-25mm f/2.8 Review: This is the Wide-Angle Zoom Lens To Get

Do you want a compact lens with a constant f/2.8 aperture? Does it have to be as sharp as a G-Master lens without the high price? Sony may have just given you what you asked for, provided that you don't need an extensive zoom range.

Apr 16, 2024

The Cheap Little Telephoto That Could: A Bargain Basement 600mm for the OM-1 Mark II

A couple of weeks ago I upgraded from the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II to the OM System OM-1 Mark II. One of the reasons was for the OM-1 Mark II's greatly enhanced wildlife tracking functions.

Apr 04, 2024

OM System 150-600mm f/5-6.3 IS Review: Can't Argue With a 1200mm Equivalent

An OM System 150-600mm f/5-6.3 has been sitting in the office for months and I haven't touched it since I tested the OM-1 Mark II. Finally, the cold weather had given way and I had no excuse to ignore it anymore. A trip to the Calgary Zoo would let me test out not only the wildlife capabilities of this lens but also the excellent macro versatility that the lens offers.

Apr 02, 2024

A New Quick-Load Spool for Barnack Leica (and Similar) Cameras

If you've ever taken photographs with a vintage Barnack Leica, you know that this precursor to modern cameras is considerably more difficult to load film into than pretty much everything that came after it.

Apr 01, 2024

Insta360 Ace Pro Review: An Impressive Action Cam with Added AI

As its name indicates, Insta360 is best known for its 360-degree cameras. The recent announcement of the Ace Pro is the company's expansion into the more traditional form factor pioneered by GoPro and integrates some of the industry's latest tech, including a high-end processor and large sensor. But is it enough to set this camera apart in the crowded action camera market?

Mar 29, 2024

Lomography Lomomatic 110 Review: The Perfect Camera for the Age of Imperfect Photos

110 film is an incredibly niche format that is kept alive by one company: Lomography. It has leveraged that by releasing the $160 Lomomatic 110, a cool piece of kit that harks back to the 1970s and produces lo-fi, imperfect images.

Mar 28, 2024

Hands-On With the Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR: One Lens to Cover Them All

Nikon's new Nikkor Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens is a groundbreaking full-frame zoom lens, offering 14.2 times zoom in a lightweight package. Does it come with unacceptable compromises, or is it poised to be the ultimate all-in-one lens for Nikon Z photographers?

Mar 26, 2024

The 50mm f/1.2 Art Proves Sigma Has Mastered Lens Making

I normally dismiss ultra-fast aperture lenses because they tend to be overly large, overly expensive, and overly excessive. I rarely want to have the shallowest depth of field possible, and an f/1.2 lens is only two-thirds of a stop brighter than a reasonably priced f/1.4 lens. But what if I can have my cake and eat it too?

Mar 26, 2024

'Photographer' TV Series Celebrates Photographers More Than Photography

National Geographic's new documentary series, Photographer, lives up to its name. The six, hour-long episodes focus less on beautiful photographs and more on their creation. The series is very much about the person behind the images: the photographer.

Mar 22, 2024

Chinese Lenses Don't Always Seem Like Cheap Toys Anymore

I have to admit that I haven't given enough time to review the many, many lenses that are coming to us out of China. The only thing harder than knowing which Chinese camera companies belong to which other camera companies is knowing how to pronounce the often strange naming conventions given to the brands.

Mar 21, 2024

Xiaomi 14 Review: An Excellent, Powerful Choice for Small Phone Fans

The Xiaomi 14 may very well be the kind of phone most should experience, in part because it brings the Leica camera hardware and software to the fore. Previously, Xiaomi only included all Leica features in its Pro or Ultra models, but has now done it for this, the smallest of the bunch. This time, the 14 Pro is a Chinese market exclusive, leaving the 14 and 14 Ultra as the two global options.

Mar 20, 2024

Hands-On with the ROGETI TSE Frame for the Canon 24mm II Tilt-Shift Lens

I have stitched many panoramas, including those I took with my Canon 24 mm TS lens by shifting the lens from side to side. The TS lens gives easy-to-stitch frames. One uncontrolled element that remains in that case is the parallax shift because the lens position changes. Although that may go unnoticed in landscape panoramas, it is still there.

Mar 17, 2024

The Best Wireless Microphone Kitsin 2024: From $130 to $500

Microphones are an absolutely critical part of my video kit, and I'm very hard on them. So when I find something that works, I tend to stick with it for a long time.

Mar 16, 2024

Espresso Display 17 Pro 4K Review: You'll Never Travel Without It Again

I like to think I have relatively basic needs when I'm traveling for work. But the one luxury I miss when traveling is a second monitor for my laptop, especially when I need to edit The PetaPixel Podcast. But with the Espresso Display 17 Pro 4K, a hotel room can be as effective a work location as my office at home. It's a transformative product for my workflow on the road.

Mar 15, 2024

Huion Kamvas Pro 19 4K UHD Review: Affordable and Accurate Pen Tablet

Since using my first pen tablet over a decade ago, I found that working with display tablets provided an extra level of precision to my work since I could see exactly where my pen strokes were connecting on the screen. This let me be more precise and creative with my edits, but most of these tablets were either incredibly expensive or overly large. The $1,099 Huion Kamvas Pro 19 solves both these problems.

Mar 14, 2024

How DxO PureRaw 4 Compares to Other Popular Noise Reduction Tools

DxO PureRAW 4 promises to "supercharge your cameras and lenses" by offering a suite of image quality corrections for RAW files: deep-learning noise reduction, superior demosaicing, as well as per-lens correction of distortion, softness, vignetting, and aberrations.

Mar 14, 2024

The Fujifilm Instax Mini 99 is a Lot of Fun

I haven't used an instant camera in a very long time, and I must admit that when the new Fujifilm Instax Mini 99 showed up I was a little flippant about it. After my time with it, I'm happy to admit I was wrong.

Mar 13, 2024

Canon RF 100-300mm f/2.8 L Review: Expensive, Exclusive, Exceptional

For decades, professional photographers have been using the pairing of a 70-200mm f/2.8 and a 300mm f/2.8 to achieve their telephoto goals. Canon introduced the RF 100-300mm f/2.8 L IS USM recently and it just about covers the range of both those lenses. But is it as good?

Mar 09, 2024

Leica SL3 Initial Review: L-Mount's Best High-Res Option… For Now

The Leica SL3 is the latest entry in the high-megapixel camera arena and the first for L-mount in some time. I was excited to get it in my hands, even if it was still in the pre-production phase.

Mar 07, 2024

Light Lens Lab 1966 50mm f/1.2 and SPII 50mm f/2 Review: Rare Lenses Recreated

This article will review two prototype lenses from Light Lens Lab: the "1966" 50mm f/1.2 lens and the SPII 50mm f/2 multi-coated rigid design lens. Light Lens Lab based in China has an interesting business model. Instead of designing new highly corrected camera lenses, they re-create special lenses from past decades.

Mar 05, 2024

Vivo X100 Pro Review: An Impressive Choice for Smartphone Photography

It's a shame the Vivo X100 Pro won't find itself in the hands of many mobile photographers in North America because it raises eyebrows for all the right reasons.

Mar 05, 2024

Panasonic 28-200mm f/4-7.1 Macro OIS Review: A Super Small Superzoom

It's been a hot minute since I've played with a true superzoom, so I was unusually excited to see how Panasonic's new compact 28-200mm f/4-7.1 -- the L-mount's first all-in-one zoom lens -- performed.

Mar 02, 2024

Sigma 15mm f/1.4 DG DN Art Review: Wide, Weird, and Wonderful

It's not often that I get to review a lens that the world has never seen before. I've reviewed plenty of f/1.4 lenses and I've reviewed the occasional 15mm fisheye, but a 15mm diagonal fisheye with an f/1.4 maximum aperture is a first for me.

Feb 27, 2024

Sony FE 24-50mm f/2.8 G Review: A Solution in Search of a Problem

When it comes to general-purpose standard zooms, Sony has you covered. With some classic choices like 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master II and 24-105mm f/4 G or the unique Sony FE 20-70mm f/4, there is something for everyone. However, Sony decided to go even further and add the brand new FE 24-50mm f/2.8 G to its growing collection. The idea is to have a more affordable and compact lens alternative to the expensive 24-70mm GM while still having a fast f/2.8 aperture, albeit with a reduced zoom range. I got my hands on one to try, and here is what I found.

Feb 21, 2024

Sigma 500mm f/5.6 DG DN Sport Review: The Perfect Telephoto?

When I heard about the latest Sigma lens, the 500mm f/5.6 DG DN Sport, I wanted to revisit the Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary. The new lens sounded ideal because it is unobtrusive, lightweight enough to handhold easily, and has the reach to capture these elusive Wolfdogs in their natural surroundings.

Feb 20, 2024

Fujifilm X100VI Hands-On: It's Nearly Everything We Wanted

I'm gonna let you in on a dirty little secret of mine: I never liked the original Fujifilm X100. When it first came out, I was -like many others- enamored by the beautiful styling, but the operation of the camera just never gelled with me. The rather boring -- in my opinion -- 35mm lens didn't help things either. It wasn't until I played with the newly designed X100V that I had my aha moment, and realized the appeal of this camera.

Feb 19, 2024

Fujifilm GF 55mm f/1.7 R WR Review: Astonishing Image Quality

Last fall, Fujifilm unveiled its newest medium format camera, the Fujifilm GFX 100 II along with its first tilt-shift lenses and a new fast prime: the Fujifilm GF 55mm f/1.7 R WR.

Feb 15, 2024

Canon RF 24-105mm f/2.8 L Z Review: The Best Do-It-All Lens

We've seen 24-105mm lens formulas before and we have seen f/2.8 zooms, too. However, we have never seen the two combined, and it's about time.

Feb 15, 2024

Hasselblad 907X CFV 100C Review: Vintage Soul, Modern Image Quality

The Hasselblad 907X CFV 100C is a fantastic, stylish, and -- perhaps most importantly -- charming camera kit. The camera and digital back combo honor Hasselblad's illustrious analog past while incorporating the company's most modern digital imaging technology.

Feb 10, 2024

OnePlus 12 Review: Better Photos All Around

OnePlus isn't the kind of company that just goes away, and its persistence may have finally paid off with the OnePlus 12, a very impressive flagship phone that undercuts all others. This phone starts at $800, but trade-in incentives can drop it $100 or more, which feels like a bargain compared to competitors who hover around or above $1,000.

Feb 09, 2024

OM System OM-1 II Review: Could This Have Been a Firmware Update?

When OM Digital Solutions purchased, and thereby saved, Olympus' incredible photographic history and slate of digital cameras from the brink of collapse in 2021, there were many questions about what would happen to the Olympus Micro Four Thirds system. OM answered these concerns the following year with the OM System OM-1 camera, the most impressive Micro Four Thirds camera ever released at the time.

Feb 06, 2024

Xoot_Pro Adjustable Display Stand Review: An Innovative Stand That Empowers Editors

Anyone who has worked with large display tablets will know that comfortably positioning and using them in a workspace can be challenging. Unless you are lucky enough to have a massive desk with a ton of space, most users will reposition these devices every time they use them. This is why having a proper stand for your display tablet is critical and why the Xoot_Pro Pen Display Stand is so helpful.

Jan 31, 2024

The Battle of the Big Three: Which Smartphone Delivers the Best Images?

With the recent release of the Samsung S24 Ultra, North America now has three premium-priced phones that happen to compete in a very similar way against each other. The Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max, Google Pixel 8 Pro, and Samsung S24 Ultra, all have state-of-the-art displays, HDR-compliant photos and videos, and a 5X telephoto lens to compliment the main and ultra-wide cameras.

Jan 30, 2024

Sony a9 III Review: A Costly Revolution in Camera Technology

No camera is as exciting or interesting as the Sony a9 III. Since Sony announced it in early November, the a9 III has occupied considerable space in my mind. Many questions have swirled since, and the answers to each have proved mercurial.

Jan 27, 2024

Leica Sofort 2 Review: Elevating the Instant Camera

Even among the now-crowded niche of instant cameras, Leica's Sofort 2 stands out, representing the idealized version of a modern-day instant camera.

Jan 26, 2024

Huion Kamvas Pro 24 4K Review: Big Color-Accurate Tablet at a Great Price

I think one of my favorite things about the current state of the display tablet industry is how there seems to be a non-stop growth of affordable alternatives to the historic "major players" in the game, making it easier and much more justifiable for photographers to make the leap into not just using a pen tablet, but a large and color accurate display version suitable for proper photo editing.

Jan 25, 2024

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review for Photographers

Like the majestic Canada Goose, I escaped a particularly brutal winter by flying south. As temperatures back home plummeted to a balmy -40 degrees, my plane landed in San Jose, California. San Jose is the West Coast convention center capital of the tech world, and Samsung was there for the brand new Galaxy S24 series of smartphones.

Jan 20, 2024

TTArtisan 10mm f/2 APS-C Review: An Affordable Ultra-Wide Lens

I like wide-angle lenses. So, when Pergear asked me to review the TTArtisan APS-C 10 mm lens, I gladly accepted. In this article, I will share my user experiences and feelings about the lens, construction, etc. This is not a technical review as I am not equipped for that.

Jan 20, 2024

The Battle of the 135mm Lenses: Which Lens Takes the Portrait Podium?

The 135mm focal length is one of my favorite portrait ranges due to its compressed rendering of people's faces, as well as lending itself to stunningly dramatic full-body environmental portraits. Last year saw the release of two new 135mm lenses, one each from Canon and Nikon. Take into account the venerable Sony 135mm G Master and you have all three of the major full-frame mirrorless companies now offering a 135mm f/1.8 lens.

Jan 13, 2024