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The Latest News:
Sirui’s Aurora 35mm f/1.4 Lens Is Here
credits: Sirui
Sirui has officially announced the Aurora 35mm f/1.4, a fast full-frame prime lens made for Sony E, Nikon Z, Fujifilm X, and L-mount cameras. It is built with 16 elements in 11 groups, designed to keep images sharp and clean while minimising distortion and flare. The bright f/1.4 aperture makes it great for low-light shooting and creating shallow depth of field, while the 13-blade diaphragm helps produce smooth, round bokeh. Autofocus runs on a quiet STM motor, but there is also full manual control if you prefer to handle focusing yourself.
The lens can focus as close as 0.35 meters (about 1.15 feet), with a maximum magnification of 0.14x, not macro-level close, but enough for detail shots. On a full-frame body, it gives a 65.7° diagonal field of view, which works pretty well for portraits, street photography, or general everyday shooting. The focus ring rotates a full 360 degrees for more precision, and you also get an AF/MF switch, an aperture click on/off switch, an AFL button, and an iris button for quick control while shooting.
Physically, the Aurora 35mm f/1.4 measures just over 100mm long and weighs around 500 grams depending on the mount. It uses a 62mm filter thread and has a 76mm diameter. The front element includes an anti-smudge fluorine coating to resist oil and fingerprints, and the lens body is sealed to protect against dust, dirt, and raindrops. The lens is priced at $549.
You can see full details and sample shots on Sirui’s website here
The Latest Panasonic Rumours
credits: Panasonic
Panasonic quietly ‘‘teased’’ an upcoming Lumix camera announcement set for next Friday, October 17, though the teaser didn’t stay public for long. The company briefly posted a YouTube Live placeholder titled “Lumix Online Stream Oct 17 2025” before quickly making it private, likely after realising it went up a bit too early. Still, the damage was done. Fans spotted it right away, and since Panasonic usually only does livestreams for new product launches, it is almost certainly about a new camera.
Most people are betting on it being the long-awaited Lumix S1HII. It is the only model from the original 2018 S Series lineup that hasn’t been refreshed yet, the S1 got its hybrid upgrade, the S1R got its resolution boost, and the video-focused S1H has been left waiting for its sequel. Rumours suggest the S1HII could be a more cinema-style camera, potentially going head-to-head with options like Sony’s FX3 or Canon’s C50.
There is also a small chance it could be a new Micro Four Thirds model, maybe a true successor to the Lumix G100. A refreshed version with a 25.1MP sensor, phase-detect autofocus, and 10-bit 4K video would definitely get attention. But right now, most signs point to a new S Series body. Either way, we will find out soon enough once that livestream finally goes live next week.
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Something Worth Checking Out
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Weekly Photo Technique Exploration
Welcome to a new section of the magazine where every week we will explore a new photography technique from across various photography genres.
This week’s technique: Pinhole Photography
credits: Ilford/Helen Hooker
What Is Pinhole Photography?
Pinhole photography is basically the most stripped-down form of photography possible. Instead of a lens, you use a tiny hole (literally a pin-sized opening) to let light hit your camera’s sensor (or film of course). It is how cameras started. Before lenses, there were camera obscuras, where photographers would project an image through a small hole onto a wall to then trace it. Modern pinhole photography is that same idea, just in ‘‘modern’’ camera form.
How It Works
When light passes through a super small hole, it projects an inverted image of whatever is in front of it. The smaller the hole, the sharper the image (up to a point of course), the bigger the hole, the blurrier it gets.
The cool thing is that you can make a pinhole camera out of almost anything → an old film camera body, a shoebox, a tin can, or even your digital camera with the lens removed + bit of foil taped over the mount.
How to Make One
If you want to DIY yourself a pinhole camera (out of your normal camera), here is a little instruction manual:
Take a spare camera body cap.
If you have got a DSLR or mirrorless camera, take the body cap (Make sure it is a spare/old one → see next step).
Drill a small hole in the center.
Does not have to be perfect, just enough to let a bit of light through (also keep in mind that you can always make the hole bigger later, making it smaller afterwards is a little more challenging).
Tape foil over the hole and poke a pin through it.
That pinhole becomes your new “lens.” The smaller and cleaner the hole, the better your image will look.
Mount it back on your camera.
And done, you just built yourself a pinhole camera.
If you want to be super old-school, you can go full analog and build one out of a box and film paper, but this digital version is faster to experiment with and gives you better overall results.
Shooting With a Pinhole
This is where things get interesting and a bit weird/experimental
Your “aperture” is tiny, usually around f/150 to f/300 depending on the hole size. That means very little light gets in.
Because of that, you will be using long exposures, several seconds in bright light, or even minutes if it is cloudy.
A Tripod is 100% necessary in my opinion. You will be shooting slow enough that even breathing near the camera will shake it.
Keep in mind that everything is in focus. There is no glass, no focus ring etc.
If you are using digital, start around ISO 100, set your shutter to 2–10 seconds in daylight, and adjust from there until you get the right exposure.
The Iconic Look
Pinhole photos have this soft, timeless look, kind of like very old film but with its own character. The edges are a little blurry, light falls off in unpredictable ways, and motion blur creates a ‘‘ghostly’’ look (you can see that in the right image above).
Tips That Help
Since you are losing so much light through that tiny hole, shooting outdoors and in daylight makes life a lot easier.
People walking through your composed scene will blur or even disappear, giving you an eerie/empty look, definitely try it out.
Make sure to cover the hole between shots, dust and dirt is not your friend, especially with a lensless setup.
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