Viltrox 24mm lens review, Ricoh GR IV news, Space Museum photos
Photography deals worth a look, mirrorless cameras are taking over, news on the Ricoh GR IV and Nikon Z8, plus new images from the Air and Space Museum.
About today’s photos: The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall in Washington DC has been undergoing a major refresh over the past several years. Last month, they reopened several exhibit areas. There are still a few more to go, but the overall project is in the home stretch now. These photos are all from newly opened areas.
Recently Posted
I’ve posted some photos taken with the Nikon Z 14-24mm f2.8. For me, it's a big improvement over the AF-S version (which was already an excellent lens). And it’s just fun to shoot with!
I reviewed the Viltrox AF 24mm f1.8 Z. It’s a competent, workmanlike wide prime lens. But factor the price in, and it becomes a very attractive lens.
To go along with that review, I posted a larger collection of Viltrox AF 24mm f1.8 Z sample images.
Photography Deals Worth a Look
20% OFF all DxO software. Use code:
LABOURDAY20. Runs 8/30 to 9/5. I’m a long-time user and fan of Nik Collection and DxO PureRAW—they’re well worth checking out, and both have free trials.15% OFF photography magazines at Magazines Direct. Use code
AUG15. Ends 9/1. They have general photography magazines but also some interesting specialized ones like urban photography, black and white, and specific camera brands.
As a kid, I used to love reading the Biggles books about World War I fighter pilots. Biggles’ plane, famously, was a Sopwith Camel. It turns out, it’s also the plane that Snoopy flies. This one takes pride of place in one of the newly opened exhibit halls at the Air and Space Museum; this particular plane was previously on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center. Photo by David Coleman.
News // Camera Gear
New Ricoh GR IV. I can’t wait for this one. There aren’t a lot of camera releases I get genuinely excited about, but this is one of them. It’s a hefty price increase over the previous model, but I just love this series and still use my GR III and GR II regularly. [B&H Photo | Adorama]
Camera gear prices have been going up in response to tariffs, sometimes by quite a lot. [The Verge]
New Nikon Z8 firmware. Nikon issued a major firmware update (3.0) for the Nikon Z8 recently. And it had a lot of updates. But it has also caused some compatibility issues, especially with third-party lenses. To their credit, the fix was quick, and they've since released v3.01 with a single fix: "Fixed an issue that prevented the camera from operating properly with some lenses." Reassuring that they weren't declaring war on third-party lenses . . .
Canon has filed a patent that might make those heavy tripods a thing of the past. They've come up with a way to emulate the look of a long exposure by bracketing slow shutters and merging the results back together. More explanation of how it works here.
Yes, mirrorless cameras are taking over. You’re not imagining it. CIPA (a Japan-based industry group that publishes standardized camera and lens shipment data) has released their latest data up through the end of June. As of June 2025, mirrorless cameras make up about 93% of all interchangeable-lens camera shipments, leaving DSLRs with just 7%. Year over year, mirrorless units are up 23%, while DSLR shipments dropped nearly 42%. Overall, digital still camera shipments rose 19% from the same time last year. [CIPA]
And speaking of . . . Nikon has added more of their F-mount DSLR lenses to their discontinued list. [Nikon Rumors]
Neil Armstrong’s lunar suit that he wore for the moon landing. Photo by David Coleman.
News // Other Photography Stuff
Adobe's Project Indigo sounds promising for putting the "camera" back into the phone camera. For now, the beta sounds buggy, but I'm intrigued. [The Verge]
Photo Mechanic now has custom keyboard shortcuts. For now, it’s only available on the Mac version. This feels long overdue for an app that is so laser-focused on workflow speed. [Photo Mechanic]
The new Jurassic World Rebirth movie was shot on Kodak film stock. Except maybe the dinosaurs . . . [Kodak via YouTube]
GoPro is going after Insta360 alleging infringements of their intellectual property covering their action cameras. They've just won the first round. [GoPro]
Photo agencies are boycotting the Oasis reunion tour over photo rights restrictions. The band’s management has told photo agencies and publishers that they own the rights to shots taken at the concerts for just a year, and then they will lose ownership of the images for any future use. [The Guardian]
The latest National Geographic has a fascinating story about their archival process of caring for autochromes, the earliest color photographs before the debut of Kodachrome in 1935. They're decaying but also still developing. [National Geographic]
Japan and Germany are obviously famous for their vintage cameras. And for good reason. I'd never really encountered British-made cameras, but recently stumbled across this fascinating website. [Early Photography]
Photographers at Work
Two Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery shows examine how early photography built a nation. Mathew Brady, known as the father of photojournalism for his documentation of the Civil War, also won acclaim for nuanced portraits of famous figures. [Washington Post]
Some wonderful images by Noemi Cassanelli on the last gasp of Hong Kong's artisans making hand-carved mahjong pieces. And some amazing images on her Instagram.
Little Sydney Lives photography competition for budding shutterbugs aged 5 to 12. You can see the finalists here. If you're in Sydney, you can see the exhibition in person in Customs House through June 2026.
Some wonderful pictures of this year's Tour de France collected at The Athletic. [NY Times]
Your posts are uniformly fantastic. I always read each one. Thank you for doing these!