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The Digital Photography Review Newsletter
The most popular weekly photography newsletter, with over 400,000 subscribers
Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Welcome to the 692nd Digital Photography Review newsletter, and the final newsletter of the year!

Merry Christmas, happy holidays or whatever seasonal greeting is least likely to attract angry emails. I hope that many of you had (or are having) a restful couple of days off. Most of the DPReview team is taking a short break, but don't worry - we've got plenty of articles lined up for you over the next week.

You'll find links to some of our major end-of-year content below, and as 2017 draws to a close I'd like to thank you all for reading. To long-standing subscribers, thanks for your loyalty. We appreciate it. To new subscribers - welcome, thanks for signing up, and I look forward to bringing you all the best in photography-related news and reviews in 2018.

Barney

Readers' Choice Awards 2017: Your chance to vote

Over the past several weeks we've been running six polls, to find out what you, our readers think of this year's best cameras and lenses. Those polls are now closed, and the winners and runners-up have been entered into a final poll, for overall product of the year. Click the link below to see the winners, and vote for your choice for the best product of 2017.

Vote now in our poll for best product of 2017

2017 in review: A look back at what happened

As the year draws to a close, we're looking back at the major events of 2017, one month at a time. From flagship camera launches and major headlines in the world of photography to Carey's Halloween costume (he's the one on the right, in the image below) and vaguely-photo related news we found down the back of the Internet, if you've forgotten what happened this year, we've got you covered.

Brush up on what happened in 2017

Rokinon AF 35mm F1.4 FE: sample gallery and impressions

The Rokinon AF 35mm F1.4 FE is an affordable medium-wide prime lens for Sony's full-frame a7 and a9-series mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. We've been trying one out for a few days.

Click here to read more about the Rokinon AF 35mm F1.4 FE

2017 Buying Guides and Gift Ideas

We've been updating our comprehensive collection of camera buying guides, arranged both by price, and by use-case. Whatever kind of photography you enjoy, we'll help you find something to suit your needs — and your budget.

Click here to check out our comprehensive series of buying guides

Barney

News updates
Published Tuesday, December 26, 2017 8:54:00 PM GMT

In a final stroke of good fortune, Calgary police were able to recover the last bit of stolen kit from The Camera Store robbery a couple of weeks ago. The rare limited edition Leica M-P has officially made its way back to the store.

Published Tuesday, December 26, 2017 8:14:00 PM GMT

Is the Sony RX0—not even marketed as an action camera—the 'GoPro Killer' that so many people think it is? Kaiman Wong put it to the test in a side-by-side comparison against the GoPro Hero6 so you can make up your own mind.

Published Tuesday, December 26, 2017 7:14:00 PM GMT

Two months after acquiring the Nik Collection from Google, DxO has announced that a brand new version is already in the works for 2018

Published Tuesday, December 26, 2017 6:38:00 PM GMT

Google's NIMA (Neural Image Assessment) model ranks photos on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of technical and aesthetic quality. In testing, its rankings closely match scores assigned by human judges.

Published Tuesday, December 26, 2017 6:00:00 PM GMT

When SpaceX's Falcon 9 took to the skies like a UFO last Friday, photographer Jesse Watson was ready to capture the incredible sight in timelapse. His footage of the launch is far and away the most beautiful we've seen so far.

Published Tuesday, December 26, 2017 4:40:00 PM GMT

Is your old iPhone 6 or 6s camera slowing way down? Try replacing the battery. It turns out Apple will cut your phone's CPU performance in half once the battery reaches a certain age, to prevent internal damage and unexpected shut downs.

Published Tuesday, December 26, 2017 2:00:00 PM GMT

Ahh, July, the month the sun finally comes out in Seattle. While it was a slow month for new product announcements, there were some interesting developments for curved sensors – plus frustrating news for travelers at US airports.

Published Tuesday, December 26, 2017 12:00:00 PM GMT

If you're the proud owner of your first camera, congratulations! Now the fun starts. We've got some ideas to help you get started and get the most out of your new gift.

Published Monday, December 25, 2017 9:01:00 AM GMT

Filmmaker Philip Edsel has been working with the Sony Cyber-shot RX0 for a while, and his new piece, PARALLAX, was shot entirely using RX0 cameras. We spoke to him recently about the process of making the film.

Published Monday, December 25, 2017 8:01:00 AM GMT

As 2017 comes to a close, we'd like to wish you a wonderful holiday season and offer a sincere thanks for being part of our readership and community. We'd also like to let you know about some changes behind the scenes here at DPR.

Published Monday, December 25, 2017 8:00:00 AM GMT

In addition to long daylight hours and plenty of that sweet Vitamin D, June brought us some oddball photography news, mobile tech milestones and some new DSLRs from Canon.

Published Sunday, December 24, 2017 2:00:00 PM GMT

Thinking back to May we struggled to recall anything much happening, but once we actually went back through the archives and looked, it turns out that May was a pretty busy month! Here's a quick reminder.

Published Saturday, December 23, 2017 2:00:00 PM GMT

Ahh, April: the beginning of Spring. The sun starts to come out after a long winter, flowers are blooming and bears come out of hibernation. April was a pretty busy month in the camera industry, including some real blockbuster announcements.

Published Friday, December 22, 2017 9:04:00 PM GMT

TetherTools mistakenly used a photographer's image without permission – and demonstrated the right way to handle the situation by acting preemptively.

Published Friday, December 22, 2017 6:49:00 PM GMT

Despite stressing that it doesn't have any "liability or obligation" resulting from its assets acquisition, Panono's new owners say that it feels it has "a moral obligation to compensate the project's early supporters."

Published Friday, December 22, 2017 2:00:00 PM GMT

In March, we published the final pieces of show content from February's CP+ trade show in Japan, and said goodbye to an institution, as Popular Photography magazine announced its final issue.

Published Friday, December 22, 2017 1:00:00 PM GMT

For the past few weeks we've been running a series of polls to find out what you - our readers - think of the major product releases of 2017. It's time to announce the winners of the first round of voting!

Published Friday, December 22, 2017 12:00:00 PM GMT

A wealthy Houston neighborhood has given in to pressure and will once again allow photo shoots in the area – just not on their sidewalks.

Published Thursday, December 21, 2017 7:55:00 PM GMT

The seller of this military-grade version of the Leica M4 says it's in good, working condition and is asking about $25,000 for it.

Published Thursday, December 21, 2017 6:38:00 PM GMT

Imatag is a new service that adds an invisible and indelible watermark to your images, all without any degrading effect on image quality.

Published Thursday, December 21, 2017 3:00:00 PM GMT

In February, Nikon fans got the equivalent of a break-up text when the company announced it wouldn't continue development of the DL series. Take a look back with us at this and other highlights as we continue our 2017 month-by-month recap.

Published Thursday, December 21, 2017 1:00:00 PM GMT

If you're on a budget and want a Sony FE 35mm F1.4 lens with autofocus, this new Rokinon lens may do the trick – though it's not without some compromises.

Published Thursday, December 21, 2017 1:38:00 AM GMT

For the past few weeks we've been running polls to find out what you, our readers think was the best gear of 2017. Several of the polls are close, but one is still too close to call, with only six hours left to vote. Vote now to break the tie!

Published Wednesday, December 20, 2017 8:33:00 PM GMT

Scrambling for some last-minute gifts for the photography lover in your life? This COOPH video will show you how to make 10 simple and creative DIY gifts that won't take up too much time or money.

Published Wednesday, December 20, 2017 7:08:00 PM GMT

In September, a sheriff's deputy shot photojournalist Andrew Grimm when he mistook his camera for a firearm. Now, Grimm is suing that deputy, the Clark County Board of County Commissioners, and the City of New Carlisle, Ohio.

Published Wednesday, December 20, 2017 6:38:00 PM GMT

It took 20 years of policy and hard work by Idaho residents, businesses, and officials, but the Central Idaho Dark-Sky Reserve is finally a reality. It is the first International Dark Sky Reserve in the US, joining 11 others around the globe.

Published Wednesday, December 20, 2017 4:51:00 PM GMT

In less than 48 hours from the high-profile camera shop break-in, two suspects have been taken into custody and $18,000 worth of stolen gear has been recovered.

Published Wednesday, December 20, 2017 4:12:00 PM GMT

A German court has ruled that book publisher Steidl must pay photographer Lawrence Schwartzwald $77,000 for losing his print portfolio. Lawrence valued each lost photograph at $1,200.

Published Wednesday, December 20, 2017 3:23:00 PM GMT

Hasselblad has announced an adapter that will allow owners of its XPan film camera to mount their lenses on the digital medium format X1D. The new adapter’s launch coincides with yesterday’s X1D firmware update, which introduced an XPan crop mode to the viewfinder and rear LCD.

Published Wednesday, December 20, 2017 2:00:00 PM GMT

As 2017 draws to a close, we're looking back at major product launches and events of the last 12 months. Today, we're beginning at the beginning - with January. Take a look at some of that month's highlights.

Published Wednesday, December 20, 2017 12:00:00 PM GMT

Landscape photography isn't as simple as just showing up in front of a beautiful view and taking a couple of pictures. Landscape shooters have a unique set of needs and requirements for their gear, and we've selected some of our favorites in this buying guide.