Photography News

Must-have functional iPhone gadgets

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY NEWS FROM ePHOTOzine - Thu 21 Aug 2025 7:58am

 

You probably know how much easier life can be with the right accessories if you use your iPhone every day. These tools are made to fit into your daily life without any problems. They include charging solutions that save you time and small gadgets that help you work or create.

We want to help you find some of the most useful iPhone accessories today.

 

Smart accessories

 

Let's start with something as easy as charging, many people now use wireless charging pads all the time. Simply put your iPhone on the pad; you don't have to look for cables or worry about broken connectors. This is a small change, but it keeps your desk or nightstand neat and your phone always ready to use.

A portable power bank is almost a must-have for people who are away from home a lot. These small batteries fit in any bag or pocket and can give your phone a boost when you really need it. Some models even let you charge quickly, so you don't have to wait long to get back to your calls, replacements, or messages.

People are already interested in the iPhone 16, which is the next step in Apple's line of products. You won't have to worry about compatibility when you decide to upgrade because many of these accessories are made to work perfectly with the newest models.

 

Tools for creativity and productivity

 

Of course, not everything is about charging, and you might want to try a clip-on lens if you like to take pictures with your iPhone. You can use these small lenses to try out wide angles, close-ups, or even artistic effects right on your phone. You can easily carry them around, and they can give your photos a new look if you're taking pictures of your family or a cityscape.

On the other side, it's fine to type short messages on a touchscreen, but if you need to write longer texts or emails, a Bluetooth keyboard can be very useful. These keyboards connect wirelessly and are often slim or foldable, so you can use them at a café, on a train, or anywhere else you can find a moment to work. It's an easy way to make your iPhone more useful.

Also, if you really want the newest and finest features, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is the best choice, and using accessories like lenses or keyboards can help you get more out of your device. If you're looking to upgrade without breaking the bank, platforms like Back Market offer refurbished iPhones and certified accessories that meet high standards—often at a lower price. It's a smart way to stay up to date while keeping your budget in check.

Getting the newest gadgets for your iPhone is about finding the ones that really fit your needs and habits. A wireless charger, a portable battery, a lens, or a keyboard can all help make your day-to-day life a little easier. These accessories are a great place to start if you want to get more out of your current model or are thinking about getting a new one. The best gadget India's gadget is the one that makes your life easier without getting in the way.

Categories: Photography News

Top Tips On Choosing A Tripod For Travel And Nature Photography

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY NEWS FROM ePHOTOzine - Thu 21 Aug 2025 12:57am

 

The basic function of a tripod

First, let's quickly examine what a tripod will do for us. First and foremost, it supports our camera, attached lens, and some of the other gear, like a flash unit, etc. It helps us position our camera at an odd angle at times. It helps us get higher than our typical shooting stance, and get lower at times for macro work. The most appropriate tripod for you will depend on your shooting style and choice of subject matter. There is not one tripod out there that is better with every subject matter; on the contrary, many tripods are specialist.

 

 

So, what areas should your tripod excel to be useful for outdoors shooting?

If you are planning to shoot nature, there are certain aspects of the outdoors which your tripod will have to endure, which it would not, if it was used indoors.

1. Moisture is an enemy of photography gear. If you plan to shoot landscapes in the wilderness, wild animals, birds, etc., your camera and you will end up in some wet environments. As such, you have to make sure that your tripod choice reflects this fact. Many manufacturers build tripods specifically meant for the outdoors, and they are built to be moisture resistant if not proof.

2. The terrain is always a concern outdoors. A good tripod should have spiked feet, simply because you will often end up on loose soil, dirt, and other surfaces that will be uneven, and require sharp spikes to secure the tripod, and attached gear. You can buy spare spiked feet from manufacturers if you don't have any.


3. The load is a very important aspect to consider. How heavy is your camera and your heaviest lens? Are you planning on getting larger heavier lenses in the future? While it is tough to predict, always try to plan ahead. Your choice of a tripod will reflect your future purchases. Always, make sure your tripod has at least 30% of capacity for future upgrades to your equipment. If you plan to shoot wildlife, you will have some really heavy lenses, and a tripod will have to support them and allow you to pan smoothly when shooting animals in action.

4. Weight is probably the main determining factor in your purchase. Remember, when you travel and explore, you will have your tripod with you, and depending upon how much walking you do, the weight of your tripod will be more or less important to you. However, always aim for the highest ratio of weight to load. In other words, look for lightest tripod rated for highest weight. Outdoors are often rough environments and every pound counts. 

5. The flexibility of shooting positions is important when you change subject matter on the fly. If you are like me, you will shoot macro, landscapes, panoramas, and perhaps even some animals, depending on the time of day and weather. If so, a flexible centre column is a must feature. Look for a tripod which allows for multiple positions of the centre column. A tripod should allow you to get low, and have more than one-foot angle. The best tripods for this job will offer up to three different angles for the feet, which will allow you to get very low if need be, to shoot flowers, insects, etc. 

 

 

How much money?

Choosing a tripod is not easy. Some manufacturers do make things easier and group them into specialities, like outdoors, studio use, etc. Do as much research as you can, because there is no one ideal model that suits everyone. Remember the old saying: "You get what you pay for". This is very important when deciding how much you are willing to pay. Keep in mind, a huge budget will not always mean you get the best tripod, but it will mean that you do have more choices.

Do not look for a cheap tripod, which you think may suffice. Your shooting requirements will change, and within a year or two, you will be shopping for another one. Strongly consider carbon fibre as they are lighter than any alloy, more durable, will not bend, and flex under the weight of your gear, and do not rust, corrode, or are adversely affected by moisture. They are more expensive, but without a doubt worth the extra money. Look at this purchase as a long-term investment in photography. After all, your images will only be as good as your shooting ability and your gear

 

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Categories: Photography News

The Ricoh GR IV Arrives: New Sensor, Redesigned 28mm Lens, 5-Axis IBIS, and 53 GB Internal Storage

FStoppers - Thu 21 Aug 2025 12:36am

Ricoh has announced the GR IV, a pocketable APS-C compact that continues the fixed-lens GR line with a higher-resolution sensor, a newly designed 28mm-equivalent lens, expanded in-body stabilization, and much larger internal storage.

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Categories: Photography News

Are Sigma and Panasonic Coming for Canon, Nikon, and Sony?

FStoppers - Thu 21 Aug 2025 12:12am

Every so often, a product launch doesn’t just release something new. Rather, it changes the tone of an entire ecosystem. This is what Sigma has just done with two lenses that, on their own, would be remarkable, but together feel like a tectonic movement. And they show that the big three (Canon, Nikon, and Sony), might be on notice.

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Categories: Photography News

My Lens Is Bigger Than Yours: Why We Need to Stop Arguing Over Camera Gear

FStoppers - Wed 20 Aug 2025 10:04pm

Specs aren’t everything. There are factors beyond what we can see in spec sheets that matter more when it comes to choosing gear, and we should always keep them in mind.

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Categories: Photography News

Why Film Photography’s Revival Refuses to Die: Insights for 2025

FStoppers - Wed 20 Aug 2025 9:04pm

Thomas Heaton drops a quick gut check on the state of film: remember when old point-and-shoots gathered dust in thrift stores, then suddenly became flex pieces on Instagram? Overnight, Contax compacts leapt from a few hundred bucks to nosebleed prices. That wave carried a lot of us back into the darkroom.

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Categories: Photography News

How to Fix Harsh Light With Simple Lightroom Masks

FStoppers - Wed 20 Aug 2025 8:04pm

Shooting in harsh midday sunlight is something you’ll probably avoid whenever you can, but sometimes it’s your only option. That kind of light can leave you with dull results, which makes editing an essential part of the process.

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Categories: Photography News

Samsung Adds 8TB Option to Its 9100 PRO SSD Lineup

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY NEWS FROM ePHOTOzine - Wed 20 Aug 2025 6:53pm

Samsung Electronics’ 9100 PRO is the newest addition to the company’s lineup of consumer SSD products. With its PCIe® 5.0 interface, the 9100 PRO offers advanced performance and seamless multitasking productivity, along with broad compatibility across laptops, gaming PCs and game consoles. Now available in up to 8TB capacity, it delivers even greater storage and high-speed performance for today’s data-intensive applications and next-gen gaming experiences.

 

Expansion of SSD 9100 PRO Line-up With Two New 8TB Models for High-Performance Users

Samsung has unveiled two new 8TB additions to its high-performance SSD 9100 PRO series: the 9100 PRO 8TB and the 9100 PRO 8TB with Heatsink, designed to deliver improved thermal efficiency and sustained peak performance.

These new models follow the earlier launch of the 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB versions in March, and mark a significant step forward in offering the highest capacity PCIe SSD released to date by Samsung, providing ultra-high-capacity options for gamers, content creators and professionals demanding top-tier speed and reliability.

The 8TB variants offer exceptional performance, with sequential read speeds reaching up to 14,800 MB/s and write speeds up to 13,400 MB/s. They also provide outstanding random read and write speeds – up to 2,200K IOPS and 2,600K IOPS, respectively – making them ideal for intensive workloads.

Built on the PCIe® 5.0 interface, both models are engineered to deliver ultra-low latency, reduce load time, and ensure seamless gameplay, even in the most demanding environments. The Heatsink- equipped model adds an extra layer of thermal management for consistent performance during extended use.

With this expansion, Samsung reaffirms its commitment to delivering cutting-edge storage solutions optimized for the evolving needs of modern computing.

 

 

Improved Performance and Increased Capacity

 

  • A new 8TB storage option offers expanded capacity for large game libraries.
  • Features the PCIe 5.0 interface, offering double the speed of the previous PCIe 4.0 generation

  • Achieves sequential read speeds of up to 14,800 MB/s and write speeds up to 13,400 MB/s, delivering a performance boost of up to 99% over its predecessor, the 990 PRO

                    *9100 PRO 4TB’s sequential read speed is 14,800MB/s while 990 PRO 4TB’s sequential read is 7,450MB/s

  • Enhanced random read and write performance with speeds of up to 2,200K IOPS and 2,600K IOPS, respectively
  • Power efficiency improved by 49% compared to its previous model, thanks to advanced heat management solution

                    *9100 PRO 2TB’s sequential read and write power efficiency is 1,822 and 1,703 MBs/s per Watt, respectively while 990 PRO 4TB’s sequential read and write is 1,221 and 1,255 MBs/s per Watt, respectively

 

 

Enhanced Overheating Protection, Expanded Storage and Broad Device Compatibility

 

  • 1 terabyte (TB), 2TB, and 4TB models are integrated with 8.8mmT heatsink, ensuring improved thermal control and preventing overheating. Also complies with the PCI-SIG® D8 standard.
  • Even as a high-capacity 8TB PCIe 5.0 model, its 11.25mmT Heatsink is specially designed to ensure compatibility with the PlayStation® 5 series.
  • The 9100 PRO is compatible with a wide range of devices, from laptops and desktop PCs to gaming consoles, making it an ideal choice for seamless upgrades in both performance and capacity.

 

The 1TB, 2TB and 4TB models are currently available for purchase at Samsung.com and other retailers, and the 8TB model will be available from mid-September. The manufacturer’s suggested retail prices (MSRPs) for the 8TB model is £781.49 with M.2 model and £796.99 M.2 with a heatsink model, respectively.

For more information, please visit samsung.com/SSD or semiconductor.samsung.com/internal-ssd/.

Categories: Photography News

How To Stop Wire Fences Ruining Your Wildlife Shots

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY NEWS FROM ePHOTOzine - Wed 20 Aug 2025 6:53pm

 

Zoos and wildlife parks are great places to get up close with wildlife, but the fences and glass keeping us and the animals safe can cause a few problems for photographers.

 

Height Is An Issue

Fences often rise above eye level and the tops aren't in easy reach (for good reason) so you can't hold your camera up above it to take your shots. As a result, we often have to take photos with the cage in front of us but this doesn't mean the fence has to appear and as a result spoiling the shot.

Sometimes it's easy to capture fence-free shots as the gaps in the mesh are just big enough for a lens to be poked through, however, when it's not, you'll have to use a few other tricks to capture your wildlife shot. 

 

Close With Wide Apertures

One way is to get as close to the fence as possible and select a wider aperture. Then, line up your lens so it's over a gap or if they're too small, try and wait so the face of the animal you're photographing is in a gap. Once the animal has put some distance between them and the fence, take your shot. The fence will, hopefully, be thrown our of focus, thanks to the reduced depth-of-field, so you won't even notice it while your subject will be sharp. 

You may find that Auto Focus tries to focus on the fence rather than your subject so switch to manual focus to ensure your subject is sharp. 

 

Longer Lenses

If you are using a lens that doesn't have a particularly wide aperture then don't worry; you'll still be able to capture a mesh-free shot with a longer focal range. If you can't shoot through or throw the fence out of focus you can often clone it out later using an image editing program. 

 

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Categories: Photography News

Meike Releases MK-EFTL-C Drop-in Filter Mount Adapter for L-Mount Cameras

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY NEWS FROM ePHOTOzine - Wed 20 Aug 2025 6:53pm

 

Meike has unveiled the MK-EFTL-C, delivering EF lens compatibility to L-mount cameras through its drop-in filter mount design, with autofocus support and filter functionality. The adapter supports autofocus and works with both PDAF and CDAF modes.

The adapter includes electronic contacts for aperture control and EXIF data transmission. It ships with a variable neutral density filter (ND3–ND500) and a clear UV filter. The metal-bodied unit weighs 105g with the ND filter installed.

 

Specifications

Model: MK-EFTL-C

SRP: USD $199.99

Front mount: EF(EF-S) lens

Rear mount: L-mount camera

Maximum diameter and length: 73 × 24.7 mm

Packing size: 88 × 65 × 88 mm

Autofocus: Supported

Focus modes: PDAF and CDAF

 

For more details, visit the Meike website.

Categories: Photography News

Master Photographer Brownie Harris Marks 50 Years With Retrospective Release

FStoppers - Wed 20 Aug 2025 5:04pm

Photographer Brownie Harris has spent five decades capturing both the famous and the ordinary, with a portfolio that stretches from John F. Kennedy Jr. to factory workers and Hollywood sets. Earlier this year, Harris released Brownie Harris Retrospective 1970–2020, a book that brought together a lifetime of images and stories.

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Categories: Photography News

Sigma 200mm f/2 Review: A Lens That Redefines Mirrorless Telephoto

FStoppers - Wed 20 Aug 2025 3:04pm

A 200mm f/2 lens isn’t the kind of glass you see every day. Sigma’s new entry changes the equation, bringing a prime of this kind to full frame mirrorless cameras for the first time.

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Categories: Photography News

Sigma’s 12mm f/1.4 Brings Ultra Wide and Bright Together

FStoppers - Wed 20 Aug 2025 1:04pm

Sigma has added something unusual to the APS-C lens lineup. A 12mm f/1.4 ultra wide angle lens opens up creative options you don’t normally get at this focal length, especially if you want to work in low light or experiment with depth of field. This means more flexibility whether you’re shooting landscapes, interiors, or even the night sky.

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Categories: Photography News

Nikon Z DX 18-140mm VR Lens Review: A One-Lens Travel Solution

FStoppers - Wed 20 Aug 2025 11:04am

The Nikon NIKKOR Z DX 18-140mm f/3.5-6.3 VR lens promises to be a versatile option for your APS-C Nikon Z camera. Its wide focal range makes it appealing if you want a single lens that can cover both wide angle landscapes and tighter telephoto shots without breaking the bank.

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Categories: Photography News

Extreme Macro on a Budget: Mitakon’s New 55mm f/2.8 1-5x Lens

FStoppers - Wed 20 Aug 2025 10:04am

Zhong Yi Optics has introduced the Mitakon 55mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro, a $399 manual focus prime built for both full frame and medium format cameras. Offering up to 5x magnification, it gives photographers a chance to capture the smallest details without stepping into prohibitively expensive territory.

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Categories: Photography News

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