Adobe has announced significant updates to its entire Lightroom ecosystem, including the popular Lightroom on desktop, Lightroom Classic, and Adobe Camera Raw applications. Many new features rely upon improved artificial intelligence (AI) technology, which has been a major focus of Adobe's for a few years now, with all its apps receiving more sophisticated AI-powered features seemingly with every major release. The primary new features of Lightroom include expanded Adaptive Presets, new masking tools for Select People,... (read more ..read more

Nikon has fully revealed a new ultra-wide angle zoom lens for APS-C (DX-format) Nikon Z mirrorless cameras. The Nikkor Z 12-28mm f/3.5-5.6 PZ VR lens is the widest DX-format lens in Nikon's Z system, and the company's first power-zoom (PZ) lens since the Nikon 1 Series PD lenses. The Z 12-28mm f/3.5-5.6 lens was first revealed when Nikon added it to its lens roadmap last fall, although, at that time, only the focal length was known. Today, Nikon has unveiled all the details of its newest lens, including release and pricing... (read more ..read more

It's a glorious time for black-and-white photography enthusiasts. Hot on the heels of Ricoh announcing the Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome, Leica has announced a new monochrome camera, the Leica M11 Monochrom. The M11 Monochrom is a digital rangefinder sporting a 60-megapixel full-frame backside-illuminated monochromatic image sensor. This is the same resolution as the standard color Leica M11 camera, and the M11 Monochrom also features the same multi-resolution functionality, allowing users to swap between 18, 36, and... (read more ..read more

Adobe has announced major updates to Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Frame.io, further expanding the performance and usability of its applications and services for videographers, video editors, and photographers. Adobe Premiere Pro adds AI-powered text-based editing Looking first at Premiere Pro, the popular video editing app has long utilized artificial intelligence (AI) to speed up the workflow for its users. The newest version of Premiere Pro takes that even further with Adobe Sensei-powered text-based editing. Adobe... (read more ..read more

VIEWBUG has announced a social mission and fundraising campaign to raise awareness and money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation, a leading foundation fighting against Parkinson's disease. VIEWBUG is an ecosystem of more than 4 million creators designed to create a personal space for photographers of all skill levels to share their work, grow, get exposure, and get rewarded via daily photo contests. The new fundraising campaign is available to all photographers, even if they don't have a VIEWBUG account (it's free to join, by the... (read more ..read more

Samyang has announced the AF 35-150mm f/2-2.8 FE lens, a new fast, all-around zoom for full-frame Sony mirrorless cameras. After viewing the lens' features and specifications, it seems similar to the existing rebranded Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 lens, Imaging Resource's "Best Standard Lens, Runner-Up" in our 2022 Camera of the Year Awards. The new Samyang lens includes 21 elements across 18 groups, including a hybrid aspherical lens, two aspherical optics, three high refractive, and six extra-low dispersion glass elements. The... (read more ..read more

I’m writing the first draft of this article about a week after the CP+ 2023 show in Yokohama Japan, sitting happily in a hotel room in northern Japan (Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima prefecture). Aizu is a small city surrounded by mountains, with cheaper hotels and fewer distractions than Tokyo has to offer; I chose to spend some time here to focus and make some headway on writing up the pile of interview material I have from the show. (This was only partially successful, Aizu is also known for its excellent Sake, or Nihon-shu as the... (read more ..read more

"Now I'm not sure if anyone else will relate to this, but sometimes the things we're photographing look too much like the things we're photographing," says photographer Thomas Heaton. What the heck does this mean? Heaton continues, explaining that sometimes when photographing a subject he really enjoys, he doesn't get those same positive feelings later when looks at the photograph he captured, even in cases when the image is an accurate, realistic depiction of the place. While subjective, of course, Heaton thinks that an image... (read more ..read more

There’s been a lot of activity in Sony’s lens lineup lately, with the second generation of some of their classic designs appearing recently, and some entirely new models as well. Just before the start of CP+, they announced a frankly amazing update to the well-regarded 50mm F1.4 Zeiss first released 6 years ago. I was thus happy to have the chance to speak with Masanori Kishi, who is the Senior General Manager of their Lens System Business Division, in the Imaging Products & Solutions Business Group. Kishi-san has overall... (read more ..read more

Technology moves fast, and a constant stream of new cameras is hitting store shelves with new and better sensors, faster autofocus, more sophisticated features, improved video quality, and shiny new bells and whistles. New cameras can be very tempting, but before throwing thousands of dollars at new gear, it's worth asking yourself, "Do I need a new camera?" Determining necessity versus desire is important. It may be easier for full-time professionals to convince themselves they "need" a new camera. For enthusiasts, the situation... (read more ..read more