It’s no secret that Instagram likes to… “borrow” features from other popular apps. After creating Stories and disappearing messages like those on Snapchat, Instagram now takes on TikTok. The new feature called “Reels” is coming to Instagram, and it’s referred to as a “TikTok clone.” After recently being rolled out in India, Reels is about to be introduced for US users as well. TechCrunch explains all the pretty straightforward similarities between reels and TikTok....

Portuguese inventor, Rui Pedro Oliveira claims that Huawei flew him to meet with them to pitch his patent pending 360 camera. He says they then ceased all contact and essentially ripped off his design in order to produce the Huawei EnVizion 360 Camera. According to an article on Fstoppers, he was then forced to sell his house in order to cover the cost of legal representation. The article says that in May 2014, Huawei flew Oliveira from Portugal to the Huawei HQ in Plano Texas for a meeting....

The question “Does gear matter?” probably ever since photography became more widely available. Some swear that it does, some that it doesn’t, we’ve heard it all before. But photographer Robert Hall takes a different approach to the topic. In his latest video, he discusses the argument itself, wondering if it’s the most pointless argument photographers keep having. According to Robert, the gear argument is the most pointless one we can have....

Quite a few folks seem to have been considering the switch from Apple to Microsoft ever since the whole MacBook Pro dongle thing. Not everybody, though. Some chose to stick with Apple and either just dealt with the dongles or buy Type-C USB cables for their accessories. It seems, though, that the idea of switching from Apple to Windows has been popping up again lately. With the price tag for the high end versions of Apple’s recently announced iMac Pro coming in at over $13K, it’s understandable....

You’re buying a new lens and there are two versions available of the same focal length. Do you go for the f/4 aperture, or do you splash out an extra grand for two extra stops of light, buy the f/2.8 lens and walk away smug that you’ve bought the ‘best’ option? It’s a common question and most photographers will tell you that you ‘get what you pay for’, especially when it comes to glass....

Other than being fantastic in front of the camera, actor Jeff Bridges is also fantastic behind it. He has been into photography ever since high school, and his work includes lots of BTS photos from film sets. In his latest book Jeff Bridges: Pictures Volume Two, he has once again brought together his photos of Hollywood in-between takes. Bridges began snapping BTS photos in 1984, during the filming of John Carpenter’s Starman....

It’s been a little while since we’ve seen anything really new and cool from DJI. Ok, sure, there was the DJI Mavic Mini, but that was back in October. Now, though, it looks like we might be getting close to a Mavic Air 2 announcement. Photos purporting to be of an upcoming DJI Mavic Air 2 have leaked over on Drone DJ. The original DJI Mavic Air was released two years ago, and while pretty amazing for 2018, it’s coming up time for a bit of a refresh....

A spec sheet has been leaked to the folks at Sony Alpha Rumors about a new Sony sensor. Of course, new sensors are released all the time, so what’s so special about this one? Well, it’s a 31MP resolution APS-C sensor with a global shutter that potentially offers 4K video at up to 108 frames per second though SLVS-EC – although much lower is more likely. The specs were found through Chinese microblogging website Weibo....

What’s the first thought that comes to mind when someone mentions Leica? For us photographers, it’s most likely high-quality (and high-price) cameras and lenses. But Leica now also makes wristwatches. They come in two versions and both look absolutely beautiful. And other than premium quality, they also come with significant price tags of up to $14,000. Leica has launched L1 and L2 watches, and they look very much alike at the first glance....

Leica has today announced the new Leica M10-D. It continues the M10 line by ripping out the LCD, replacing it and much of the camera’s functionality with a smartphone app. An M mount rangefinder with no LCD? Sounds an awful lot like the Pixii, doesn’t it? This one comes with a $7,995 Leica price tag, though. It’s approximately the same camera as the Leica M10 and M10-P. It features a 24MP full frame sensor, flat black finish, and quiet shutter of the M10-P....

Advertisements Setup A beauty shoot can sometimes be very simple; on other occasions, it’s more like product photography. This photo falls into the second category. The main light is a beauty dish, which has been supplemented by a strip light for the hair. For the background, there’s a very gentle light with a normal reflector. To lighten the shadows, there was a large parabolic umbrella. The choice of light shapers is not really critical here; it’s more about creating clear and clean light-shadow transitions and not creating too-deep shadows in the image....

Loupedeck and Palette Gear are two completely different types of consoles that essentially aims to do one thing: help you edit a little faster in Adobe Lightroom. That’s a general statement, but if you’re here, you probably have a bit of an idea about the two devices. I have both and I’ve spent a few weeks with each to see which will find a more permanent place on my desk, so let’s get to it....

It’s been a long time coming, but Luminar 3 has officially been announced today. It ships out on December 18th and it comes with Libraries – that’s the name for their new digital asset management system. Luminar 3 is a major overhaul of the software and now allows you to organise and edit multiple images simultaneously – so, yes, now you can batch edit! This has been a hotly anticipated update for many Luminar users, and those who’ve considered switching to Luminar....

Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more integrated into image editing. And the first editing software that comes to mind when you mention AI is Luminar AI (announced here). I was honestly curious to test it out ever since it came to market. So I did, and I thought it would be great to share my impressions. I would describe myself as an experienced hobbyist. I’m not a pro photographer, but I have some experience and have been doing it for a long time....

Being a war photographer is a tough gig. Very tough. I’m not talking from personal experience, of course, but I have been good friends with a couple. I know it’s definitely not the kind of photography gig I’m cut out for or would want to do. But for folks like American photojournalist, Lynsey Addario, covering combat is just another day in the office. In this interview with Vice, Lynsey opens up about her life as a photojournalist, and how it caused her to be kidnapped....

Meike has just announced a new 50mm f/1.2 lens a fast, yet affordable prime for Canon mirrorless cameras. It retails at only $359, which is around 1/7 of the price of Canon RF 50mm f/1.2. So, let’s dive in and see what you get. The Meike50mm f/1.2 is compatible with all Canon RF mount Cameras (EOS-R and EOS-RP). It can be used with both full-frame and APS-C models, and it’s designed with 12 elements in seven groups....

Meike has announced their new 50mm f/0.95 manual focus lens for APS-C mirrorless cameras. It’s available in five different mounts including Sony E, Fuji X, Canon EF-M, Nikon Z and Micro Four Thirds. With a maximum aperture of f/0.95, it joins the wave of low budget ultra-wide aperture lenses being released lately, and it’s very competitively priced at only $249. It’s not quite the cheapest of the bunch – that honour goes to TTArtisan at $218 – but when compared to much of the 50mm f/0....

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) wants you to share your photos and add a special hashtag. You’ll have a chance of getting featured on MoMA’s social media, but there’s a catch. You’ll also win an exclusive opportunity for MoMA to use your photos whenever and however they want. In a blog post, the museum invites you to join the MoMA Photo Club in honor of National Photography Month and the new exhibition Fotoclubismo: Brazilian Modernist Photography, 1946–1964....

Holy wow… 8K dead already? Blackmagic has just announced a new URSA Mini Pro camera that shoots 12K RAW video. Yes, that’s right. 12K. A Super 35mm sensor with a whopping 80-megapixels. 12,288 x 6,480 pixels. And it shoots them at up to 60 frames per second. In 12-Bit Blackmagic RAW. But you know what’s even more insane? The URSA Mini Pro 12K costs less than $10K. Just. It’s $9,995....

Venus Optics has launched a new lens for DJI X7 cameras on DJI Inspire 2 drones. Laowa 9mm f/2.8 DL Zero-D is the widest lens yet for these cameras, and the “Zero-D” stands for “zero distortion.” Despite the very wide angle, the lens is designed to reduce the optical distortion to a close-to-zero level. It’s worth noting that this lens already exists in Fuji X, Sony E, and Canon EF-M mounts....