Recent Opinion Articles

Your Photo Is About the End Result, Not the Path Towards It

When we do a search on the internet, we will find an enormous amount of tutorials and videos about photography. It is about settings, equipment, lenses, post-processing, and much more. These videos can be very helpful to achieve an end result. And that’s what matters.

Which Camera Manufacturer Has the Best Logo?

You buy a camera as a purely functional object: you want to produce images, and it is the tool of choice. Yet, as photographers, we become brand loyal partisans, identifying with the manufacturer. So, who has the best logo?

The Biggest Changes in the Photo Industry Since I Began my Career

Every time I think about how much 2020 has fundamentally changed my life and my profession, I am reminded that, while dramatic, this is hardly the only period of change I’ve experienced in the business. So today, I thought I’d have a look back at just some of the changes that have impacted my own career since I first started making money as a professional photographer.

Canon Is Resurgent and Sony Is Declining in Japan, But Does It Matter?

Photo Rumors recently covered the latest BCN report on the state of the mirrorless market in Japan, which showed a resurgent Canon growing at the expense of Sony, with Nikon trailing a distant third. However, the report only outlines what is happening in the Japanese camera market and only for current sales. How important is the Japanese market?

Snobbery Towards Mobile Phone Photography Is Just Gatekeeping the Industry

One of photography's most weathered tropes is "the best camera is the one you have with you," and yet, online courses, tutorials, and articles on mobile phone photography are met with a barrage of abuse. The dismissal of using camera phones as "not real photography" is just gatekeeping in our industry.

Why Is Pentax Convinced That DSLRs Are the Future?

Pentax recently announced the K-3 Mark III, the third iteration of their flagship APS-C camera, which reinforces their stance that their future (and as they argue, the future of photography) is in DSLRs, not mirrorless cameras. With an industry increasingly focused on mirrorless cameras, why is Pentax going against the grain?

5 Ways to Stay Creative During This Dreadful Time

This year has taken a number of different tolls on people. For us photographers and videographers, one casualty for many has been creativity. Here are five ways you can keep creative during this testing period.

Does Adobe Need to Start Again and Build Lightroom from Scratch?

Lightroom totally dominates the realm of digital asset management (DAM) — a solution for everything, it fits the mold of most photographic workflows, however the bitter pill to swallow can be the treacle-like performance and that monthly subscription. Is it time for Adobe to start again?

Is AI Editing Going to Be a Bad Thing for Photography?

One of the biggest trends in photography is the increasing presence of tools that leverage AI technologies to make everything from subject selection to full-scale edits more powerful and to enable new creative avenues. Is that necessarily a good thing, though? This thought-provoking video tackles the topic and offers an experienced landscape photographer's thoughts on the matter.

Why Don't All Cameras Have These Five Features?

Modern cameras are much more than light-tight boxes for capturing images; they are small but powerful computers that offer an array of capabilities for photographers. Here are five features that every modern camera should have.

The Problem With the Internet and Photography

The internet is a great resource. It allows us to find an answer to anything in an instance. It is rare that I can't find what I am looking for during day to day searches. However, there is a huge negative to this too.

Is Canon's New Camera Nothing More Than a Firmware Upgrade?

Canon’s big announcement this week was the brand new EOS M50 Mark II, an upgrade to the insanely popular M50 that was released in 2018. But how “brand new” is it, and does it qualify as an upgrade if all of the new features could easily have been delivered through a firmware update?

The iPhone 12 Has Dropped and So Has My Pulse

The iPhone 11 Pro hit the market last year with not two, but three lenses. It was a novel idea to have three lenses, a wide, medium and telephoto, on one phone body. Given that the iPhone 11 series was widely regarded as a stepping stone year, I had high hopes for something big for photography in the iPhone 12. And I was disappointed.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: 10 Years of BCN Sales Awards

BCN Retail's sales data is a staple of the photographic industry for providing an indicator of the level of sales across the sector. It's now been 10 years since they began reporting on DSLR and MILC sales, so what does the data show, are their any strong trends, and can it help us understand the future?

How Has COVID-19 Affected You as a Photographer?

2020 is the most unusual year most of us have gone through, and its effects have been far-reaching. The question is, how has it impacted you as a photographer? Whether you're professional, amateur, or somewhere in between, we want to know how you have been affected.

Why Doesn't Sony Sell a Pro Mirrorless Body?

If there's one thing that's certain with Nikon and Canon's product lines, it's the availability of a professional specification camera body. With their pivot to mirrorless, it's understandable that they haven't released a MILC version yet. So why doesn't Sony have a pro-spec body?

Phone Cameras Are Stagnant: Is This Good News for Real Cameras?

The Google Pixel line pushed the limits of what a phone’s camera could do, but the Pixel 5 looks like just a refinement, not a leap forward. The rumored specs for the iPhone 12 are similarly boring, particularly for regular photography. Is this setting the stage for real cameras to rise like a phoenix?

How Much Free Kit a Small YouTube Channel Receives and the Ethics of It

I am sure you have noticed that a lot of YouTubers receive large amounts of free gear. I myself have a very small YouTube channel, and my doorbell rings most days with deliveries of free kit. Let's talk about what we get, the expectations, and the ethics of that.

Why the Fujifilm X-T3 Is a Probably Better Choice Over the X-T4

Over the last few years, Fujifilm has produced several brilliant mirrorless cameras. The X-T line of cameras and the X100 series are my favorites. Fujifilm frequently updates these cameras, and this greater selection means that there are better value options available if you don't need the latest and greatest.

Can Lens Sales Bring Salvation to a Desperate Camera Market and Help Save Nikon?

The news headlines have been rampant for the last 10 years: the camera industry is in free fall, spiraling into its death as a consumer electronics niche, no longer the doyen of conspicuous spenders around the globe. The numbers speak for themselves, peaking at camera sales of 120M units in 2010 before imploding to a grisly 15M in 2019. And that was before the definitive stab wound to the heart of COVID-19. Could it be that the humble interchangeable lens is the industry's salvation?