It’s almost funny to think about—NextVision, a company whose miniature stabilized cameras are built for drones patrolling borders, scanning battlefields, or checking high-voltage lines, being somehow relevant to the everyday photographer. Their world is defense contracts, industrial inspections, firefighting operations. The price tags, the specs, even the weight of responsibility that comes with their gear—it all feels galaxies away from someone packing a Sony Alpha or a Canon R-series for a trip to Lisbon.

When you start comparing Canon’s mirrorless lineup, one of the first technical differences you’ll notice is how the shutter works. For photographers who want silence, speed, or durability, the choice between mechanical, electronic first-curtain (EFCS), and full electronic shutter matters a great deal. Across Canon’s EOS R range, each model implements shutter technology a little differently, reflecting its market position and price point. The Canon EOS R100 is the most limited.

There is a gap in your RF lens lineup that many of us photographers feel every time we head out for a shoot. We have stunning short telephoto primes like the RF 135mm f/1.8, and we have long telephoto zooms like the RF 70–200mm f/2.8. But what’s missing is a dedicated 200mm prime lens—a compact, lightweight, and sharp RF 200mm f/2.8 that delivers the magic of prime rendering without the bulk or cost of the f/2.

When photographers discuss gear, the Canon EOS R5 and the Canon EOS R100 sit on opposite ends of the spectrum. One is a flagship full-frame mirrorless powerhouse aimed at professionals, the other is Canon’s most affordable entry-level APS-C body designed to lure beginners into the RF ecosystem. The price gap is enormous — roughly $3,000 for the R5 body compared with about $480 for the R100 with kit lens. But the real question is: how much difference do you actually see in the final images?

The latest survey from Clutch captures a cultural turning point: AI-generated images have quietly crossed the line where most consumers can no longer tell the difference between what’s real and what’s artificial. Before seeing any examples, two-thirds of respondents were sure they could spot an AI image. But when put to the test, more than half were wrong, a finding that underscores just how seamless AI visuals have become. Younger generations, often thought of as more digitally savvy, performed only slightly better, with many of those most confident in their ability to detect fakes still misidentifying them.

Every meme worth its salt has that punch of truth hidden beneath the absurdity. The one that gets me every time is the classic “but there will be signs.” Most people imagine vague omens—strange lights in the sky, cryptic graffiti on an alley wall, maybe a goat with unnervingly human eyes. For me, though, the sign of all signs would be far more tangible, ergonomic, and priced just slightly north of common sense.

There’s a new little game making its way around social feeds, and it’s not about filters, lenses, or even AI—it’s about cropping. People take a gorgeous photo that clearly refuses to fit into the stretched-out, stingy rectangle of a banner or header. They post it with a sigh: “How do I get this to fit in our header?” A few minutes later comes the encore: “Nevermind, I figured it out.” And instead of a perfect landscape, you get a wild punchline—maybe a zoomed-in cat face, a stretched-out meme, or an unexpected detail that suddenly steals the stage.

Canon’s decision to lock down the RF mount wasn’t a bold strategic vision—it was a slap in the face to photographers who expected choice, competition, and creativity. What Canon built wasn’t an ecosystem but a prison, where the bars are inflated lens prices and the key is withheld from third-party makers who could have made the system vibrant. The company may parade its market share numbers in 2025, but those victories rest on a foundation of sand: inertia from its DSLR past, brand loyalty stretched thin, and customers trapped rather than inspired.

Every photograph begins with light, yet most photographers underestimate how much control they truly have over it. Whether you are shooting in the golden hour, under harsh midday sun, or in the moody dimness of a rainstorm, the difference between a flat snapshot and a gallery-worthy image comes from how you read and manipulate light. The most iconic street photographs, travel portraits, and even food shots all share one thing: they turn natural or artificial light into a character within the frame.