Hello, fellow photographers! I'm Abby Ferguson, DPReview's Features Editor and your new newsletter curator. My background is in the artistic side of photography, having studied at schools with a strong conceptual bent, and in recent years, I've become a gearhead too, which brought me to DPReview a year and a half ago.
That creative foundation and love for creating never left me, though. I still get out with my camera when I can, drawn especially to quiet, mundane scenes and to photographing artists at work. Sharing that knowledge and excitement is a passion of mine, too, both here and through a class I teach at my local community college.
With that in mind, expect a bit of a shift here. Recent-story feeds already exist elsewhere on the site, so this space will go further: I'll be curating the best photography and videography content from around the web and our own community, and teaming up with DPReview staffers to bring you forum spotlights, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and other content you won't find anywhere else. From time to time, you may even hear directly from one of my fellow teammates as they take over this space or lend their own perspective.
It's a fitting time for a fresh start, too, since the DPReview site just underwent its biggest transformation in 25+ years. Read the full announcement here — short version: there's more to come.
Thank you for subscribing and supporting our work. We hope these changes make your subscription more valuable and impactful than ever.
I'm thrilled to be here. Hit reply anytime to say hello, share feedback, or pitch an idea — I'd love to hear from you, and I'm so glad you're along for the ride.
– Abby Ferguson, Features Editor
Latest Articles
Capture One now costs more than double Lightroom – its CEO explains why
Sony RX10 V in San Francisco: a bridge camera and a fog-bound bridge
Insta360 and Bambu Lab challenge you to 3D-print your own Luna Ultra camera accessories
Gear Patrol founder Eric Yang: Why we rebuilt DPReview after 25 years
Olivia Wilde tours Kodak’s surprisingly gritty movie film lab
Posts That Stopped the Scroll
I’m a big fan of wandering with a camera in hand when I need inspiration, but sometimes it helps to have a more specific structure. This post has some fun ideas for how to do just that, in case you’re feeling a little stuck.
The FIFA World Cup is in full swing, and there has been no shortage of remarkable photographs coming out of the matches and the celebrations. As a film photographer, I particularly enjoyed this post, which highlights a photographer using a 35mm commemorative camera from the 1994 World Cup, when it was last held in the US.
Lastly, this one’s simply a feast for the eyes. A photographer in New York City has been on a mission to photograph every basketball court in the city and has arranged them in various highly satisfying grids.
Community Activities
Credit: Abby Ferguson
This week kicked off the next edition of our ‘Question of the week’ series. Since new things are on our minds, we want to know: what image made you realize your new gear was worth it? We’d love to see the image and hear your story about that particular piece of gear, whether it be a camera, lens, flash, or something else. Used gear also counts; that was the case for the image above, which made me especially happy about my Olympus M-1 purchase.
Head on over to the forums to share your image (or images) and the story about that particular piece of gear!
Firmware Updates
Firmware updates often go under the radar, even though they can be quite important and helpful. I’ll try to keep you informed on the latest significant firmware updates, so you can keep your cameras and lenses up to date. See some I missed? Feel free to send them my way!
Leica's firmware 4.2.0 for the SL3 and SL3-S is centered on video and autofocus, adding False Color exposure assistance, expanded vehicle subject detection, reduced electronic shutter release lag during continuous shooting, and more.
Leica's firmware 4.2.1 for the SL3-P includes everything in the SL3/SL3-S update, plus new 15fps and 25fps 12-bit shooting modes and improved HDMI heat management.
GoPro's firmware update (v1.30) for its Max2 360 camera brings professional-grade video features to its 360 camera, including 200Mbps bitrate recording, 10-bit color, and GP-Log across all shooting modes including time lapse.
Sigma released firmware for several E-mount prime lenses, fixing a rare monitor blackout and freeze issue when shooting with the Sony a7 V.
Nikon released firmware for the Nikkor Z 35mm F1.4 and 50mm F1.4 lenses, adjusting the focus element position at power-off to improve startup reliability.
Tamron has delayed firmware updates that will unlock compatibility with Tamron Link for the 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD (Sony E) and 28-75mm F/2.8 Di III VXD G2 (Nikon Z), now targeting summer 2026 and an unspecified date later this year, respectively.
Behind the Scenes
We plan to share more exciting (and exclusive) behind-the-scenes content with you in future newsletters, but lately a lot of our time and energy has been dedicated to the new site launch. So, this week, here’s a brief video from all of us to celebrate the new site.
Community Spotlight
Photo by Pieter Gispen
Last month, we held a self-portrait mini challenge in the forums to celebrate our take on National Selfie Day. As someone who has spent a lot of time taking self-portraits, I always love seeing what others do with the format, and our community did not disappoint.
We shared a small selection of the images in an article, but couldn’t include them all. This one by Pieter Gispen is quite impressive, though, and deserves a mention.