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Viltrox’s New, Tiny, Cheap Full-Frame Lens

Viltrox very recently dropped its lightest and thinnest lens ever: the AF 28mm f/4.5. This tiny pancake lens weighs only 60 grams and is just 15.3mm long, so it’s super compact—perfect if you’re into travel, hiking, or vlogging and want to keep your kit light. Inside, it’s got six elements, including ED glass to cut down on chromatic aberration and aspherical elements to help with distortion.

It covers a full-frame image area, and unlike other small lenses, it comes with autofocus driven by a voice-coil motor for accurate focusing. The downside? It’s fixed at f/4.5, so it’s not great for low-light shots. But at $99 (or $95 if you grab a discount), it’s a solid, budget-friendly option for Sony E-mount cameras.

DJI Sues US Department of Defense

DJI is suing the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) after being labeled a “Chinese military company.” DJI, one of the biggest names in consumer and commercial drones, says it has no connection to the Chinese military and believes the DoD’s decision is completely wrong. According to DJI, their drones are mainly used by first responders, businesses, and hobbyists—not for military purposes.

In their October 18th lawsuit, DJI claims they spent 16 months trying to clear things up with the DoD but got nowhere. They also argue the DoD used the wrong legal standards, mixed up common Chinese names, and didn’t provide any real proof of DJI’s ties to the military.

Even though DJI discourages using their drones in military conflicts and stopped doing business in Russia and Ukraine, their drones have been used by Ukraine in defense efforts, which has blurred the line between consumer and military use. DJI says this whole situation has hurt their reputation and business, and they want the DoD’s label thrown out.

At the same time, the U.S. government is pushing laws like the Countering CCP Drones Act to limit DJI’s role in the U.S., citing national security risks. DJI insists their drones aren’t made for war and that being on the DoD’s list is unfair. So the future for US photographer, videographers that use DJI Drones is unclear.

Squarespace has been Acquired for $7.2 Billion

Private equity firm Permira very recently bought up all the common stock of Squarespace, making the website builder a private company again. Squarespace has been one of, if not the go-to platform for photographers building portfolios or running businesses online.

While private equity firms have been snapping up photo-related companies like Kodak Alaris and Shutterfly, Squarespace’s story is a bit different. It went public in 2021, peaked at a $8 billion market cap, but dropped to $2 billion before bouncing back to $5 billion. Permira saw potential and agreed to pay $46.50 per share, valuing the company at $7.2 billion.

Anthony Casalena, who founded Squarespace in 2004, will stay on as CEO. For users, allegedly nothing mayor is changing, one change has been that Squarespace just launched new AI tools and features as part of its 2024 refresh. However with a new owner there always is risks of changes, such as for example price increases or other not so amazing things.

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