Digital Photography Review Newsletter: Tuesday, December 19, 2017

The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards have revealed their 2017 winners! Have a laugh and support a good cause at the same time.

The KUVRD Universal Lens Cap might just be a stroke of brilliance. It fits the front or back of any lens, protects your gear from dust and water, and can even be layered on on top of the other to provide some drop protection.

Owners of the Calgary camera shop are offering a $3,800 reward to anyone who can help catch thieves who stole a Hasselblad X1D, three Hasselblad XC lenses, and a limited-edition Leica M-P Edition Safari.

CopyTrans HEIC brings native HEIC support to your Windows PC using the same tech Canon and Nikon use to make their Raw files compatible. And best of all, it's free!

The Inrigo backpack features several unique features for a waterproof backpack, from a resealable-bag-style zipper that can be opened very quickly, to a bluetooth sensor that lets you know when moisture gets inside.

Rumor has it Canon is planning to release a successor to its APS-C flagship EOS 7D Mark II in the first half of 2018. After 3 years, it's probably due an upgrade - here's our wishlist for a Mark III.

Have you followed us on Instagram yet? Now's a great time to, since over the next three days we'll be turning our account over to Barney, where he'll be sharing photos from a recent trip to central Mexico.

Quick. Unpredictable. Unwilling to sit still. Kids really are the ultimate test for a camera's autofocus system. We've compiled a short list of what we think are the best options for parents trying to keep up with young kids, and narrowed it down to one best all-rounder.

Fashion and portrait photographer Joe McNally is one of the most recognizable names in photography. We spoke to him recently to talk through the process of creating one of the most arresting images of Nikon's D850 launch campaign.

If you're on a budget and want a Sony FE 50mm F1.4 lens that'll autofocus, this one is worth consideration. But as is usually the case, you get what you pay for.

Time is running out to vote for your favorite cameras and lenses in our year-end Readers' Choice Awards! In this category, we've rounded up the seven of the best high-end interchangeable lens cameras for enthusiasts and pros.

Each week, we'll help you cut through the noise and share the top 5 photography news stories from the past 7 days. This week's top stories cover a wide range of emotions: from tragedy, to anger, inspiration, and a little bit of sticker shock courtesy of Apple.

In part two of his series on shooting lava flows in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, landscape photographer Erez Marom tackles the challenges inherent in shooting lava from the ground.

Thinking of getting a rugged or underwater camera for a tropical vacation this winter? Jose Francisco Salgado tested two popular models, the Olympus TG-5 and Nikon W300 on a trip to Puerto Rico this summer. Find out what he thinks of these two cameras.

This year saw several cameras released in the mid-range ILC class, from full-frame DSLRs to super-compact APS-C mirrorless models. Take a look for a reminder of the key mid-range ILCs released in 2017, and don't forget to vote for your favorites.

The most important camera you'll ever own is the first one you buy. This year was relatively quiet on the entry-level ILC front, but the quality of the cameras released in this market segment was universally excellent. Vote while you can – polls close Monday!

Disney is attempting to buy most of 21st Century Fox in a deal worth a reported $52.4 billion. In the process, Disney will take over Fox's controlling 73% stake in National Geographic.

Leica has released a series of 100 limited edition M bodies with red anodized top and base plates. The company says the red hue of the cameras makes a bold statement, though some might argue the $7,000 price tag is slightly more daring.

Fuji users have another flash trigger to add to their arsenal. Broncolor's RFS 2.2F flash trigger—formerly only available for Canon, Nikon, and Sony—is now being made for Fujifilm cameras as well.

Canon might be planning to bring catadioptric 'mirror' lenses back from the dead. A new Canon patent spotted in Japan describes a 400mm F5.6 catadioptric lens that would use a variable density ‘electrochromic’ filter to 'stop down' the lens.

DxOMark just finished their review of the Leica M10 sensor, and while it outperforms almost every other digital Leica ever made, it still falls significantly short of the top-of-the-line full-frame sensors out there.

The aurora borealis, or northern lights, are one of Earth's great natural wonders. As we head into the dark days of winter, it's a great time to think about photographing them. In this article, we walk you through what you need to know to get your own magical photos of these lights in the sky.

The year 2017 was great for prime lens shooters. Based on reader interest and preferences, we've got a whopping twenty lenses for this category of our year-end reader polls. Vote now for your favorite!

It's the end of an era. Two years after releasing the Milvus line, Cosina Japan has announced that it has ceased production of the Zeiss SLR Classic series of lenses.

Now that the iMac Pro is live on the Apple store online, we can finally see how much a fully loaded, 18-core version with 128GB of RAM, a 4TB SSD and Radeon Pro Vega 64 graphics card will cost you. Surprise, surprise... it ain't cheap.

Apple just dropped a major update of video editing program Final Cut Pro X, adding support for HDR, VR and 360° video editing, 8K support, and advanced color grading tools including (FINALLY!) curves.

26-year-old Chinese rooftopper Wu Yongning fell to his death from atop the 62-story Huayuan Hua Centre skyscraper when a photo stunt for an unnamed sponsor went horribly wrong.

The PowerShot G9 X Mark II is Canon's latest entry-level 1" sensor compact. With a time-tested sensor, 28-84mm equiv. lens and an intuitive touchscreen interface, the G9 X II appears to be a smart choice for those upgrading from cheap compacts or smartphones. Read our review to see how it performed.

President Trump has signed a bill that reinstates mandatory drone registration in the US, reversing a court ruling from earlier this year that eliminated the requirement.

The iPhone X shares the iPhone 8 Plus' camera specs with a notable exception: both of the X's main cameras are stabilized. Take a look at what Apple's newest flagship device can do.

This year saw plenty of new lenses released, including several excellent zooms. We've used a lot of them, but we want to hear from you – what were your favorite zoom lenses of 2017?

National Geographic has revealed the winners of its annual Nature Photographer of the Year contest, and every shot from the Grand Prize winner down to the Honorable Mentions and People's Choice awards are fantastic.

The Mini System was designed with portability and ease of use in mind, but builds on High Sight's experience building larger and more complex products.

Dutch police began training eagles to take down illegal drones all the way back in 2016, but after running into some training issues and a lack of demand for these trained birds, the program is being shut down.

After raising over half a million dollars on Kickstarter earlier this year, Lomography has finally put its Neptune three-in-one lens system on sale for the general public.

Meet Memistore, a nifty little camera attachment that lets you store two extra SDHC cards either on the bottom of your camera, or attached to the camera's hot shoe.

The iMac Pro finally has a release date! The 8-core and 10-core models will arrive on December 14th, starting at a whopping $5,000 for the base model. 14- and 18-core models won't be available until 2018.

Apple and Google both offer improved Portrait Modes in their latest devices, but the two manufacturers take somewhat different approaches. Take a look at side-by-side shots to see how they square up and learn about the technologies behind them.

Moab, Utah is known for its unique desert landscapes as well as a multitude of adventurous outdoor activities. We traveled there recently with Scott Rinckenberger and the Olympus OM-D E-M10 III for an action-packed weekend of rock climbing and mountain biking – with a sunrise helicopter ride for good measure.

This year was a busy one for smartphone manufacturers, with major new handsets released from all of the big players. Take a look at some of 2017's noteworthy new phones, and vote for your favorite!

The finalist of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2017 have been announced: 40 wacky photos that are bound to put a smile on your face. Here are our favorites.

A month after testing the feature with small groups, Instagram has launched the ability to follow hashtags at the same time as they're testing another new feature: a Recommended for You section.

Google Research has launched the first three in a series of experimental photography apps based around technologies that are currently under development.

The Sony World Photography Awards have released 19 of the best entries so far as a teaser, meant to inspire and remind photographers that there's only one month left to submit to the contest.

Toshiba just fired the latest salvo in the ultra-high capacity hard drive war. Meet the nine-disk, helium sealed, 3.5-inch 14TB MG07ACA, the world's largest Conventional Magnetic Recording (CMR) Hard Drive (HDD).

Adobe just launched their Lightroom December update, and it comes with some very important additions to the Lightroom CC ecosystem, including: tone curve, split toning, AI-powered Auto edit, and more.

The Olympus 45mm F1.2 is one of the company's three F1.2 lenses, promising 'feathered' bokeh wide open, and a portrait-friendly effective focal length of 90mm. Check out our updated sample gallery to see what it can do.

It's the most wonderful time of the year: time to vote for your favorite cameras and lenses in our year-end Readers' Choice Awards. It certainly was a good year for compact cameras – cast your vote before the polls close!