The Case for Turning Off Autofocus

The latest from the Phoblographer for August 26th, 2025.

Author

Chris Gampat
August 26, 2025

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Here’s the latest:

Hasselblad’s X2D Successor Promises HDR Mastery and Quick Autofocus

By Nilofer Khan

August 26, 2025

Hasselblad has some of the most iconic medium-format cameras of all time. The company introduced models such as the X1D, the 907X 50C, and the 501C. The company's latest launch, the X2D 100C, is another gem in its crown, offering the chance to slow down and take stunning images. Today, the company announces its highly awaited successor, the X2D II 100C, which offers some important upgrades, including an industry-first achievement. What is it? Let's dive in.

Read the Phoblographer Banner-Ad Free

By Chris Gampat

August 26, 2025

It's affordable, too! Read this website and want to help? In 2025, we're trying to get to a minimum of 2,000 subscribers! Capture One is discounted for members! The New Phoblographer membership is now based on our website. Yes, we moved away from the app. It was a bittersweet move -- but what we're offering you now is even better. Don't worry -- if you had a membership, we won't be leaving you behind. It's all based on the website. We're working to sort the discounts out again, but those are coming. And best of all, it's on the website. Good photography should be experienced on a large screen. So check out the details below.

5 Easy DIY Lens Filter Ideas To Give Your Images a Creative Twist

By Nilofer Khan

August 26, 2025

With lenses today, one often gets exceptional sharpness and clarity. While this is something many photographers aspire to, there are some artists who prefer to shoot moody images rather than go beyond details. It could be for an assignment or a personal project, but achieving a unique vision can be daunting. And so, we bring you a few DIY lens filters that can help you get the image you desire. Plus, they won't cost you a lot, just some patience and imagination.

The Case for Turning off Autofocus

By Chris Gampat

August 26, 2025

Over a decade ago, I wrote an article about turning off autofocus and instead being more intentional about shooting images by manually focusing your lens. This isn't the same as telling a camera where to focus the lens, instead, you're the one doing the focus and therefore then changing so much more about the scene when you focus the lens. It will make you change composition, exposure, etc. When combined with settings the shutter, aperture, ISO, and white balance manually, you become far more in tune with everything that the picture will be. Over a decade ago, I used to shoot without autofocusing and only relying on the manual focus wheel on my old Olympus E-510. And even back then, it was making me think more about my shots, framing, and forcing me to concentrate more on achieving the perfect photo that I have set in my mind already instead of the one that the camera thought I wanted.

Love Black and White Photography? Try These

By Chris Gampat

August 25, 2025

Love black and white photography? Our presets are designed to make editing a minimal task so you can get back to shooting! We're in love with Retro Digital. Luckily, that's when we founded the website closer to two decades ago. So we dove into our image archives, looked at how the Adobe Gurus were telling us how to edit, and adapted those methods to create our Retro Digital Lightroom Presets and Capture One Styles. These are in addition to the popular Photojournalism presets that we released a while back.

A Simple Trick to Minimize Lens Distortion

By Chris Gampat

August 25, 2025

Modern camera lenses are really good. In fact, the engineers have done pretty much everything they can to engineer characteristics like distortion out of the glass. But if you're still worried about it, then there's a simple trick that you can do to eliminate it. Believe it or not, if you just change your aspect ratio and shoot square instead of in wider format, you virtually eliminate most of the problems.

Has The Ricoh GR III Been Discontinued?

By Nilofer Khan

August 25, 2025

Ricoh GR series cameras are popular among street photographers. The small but powerful APS-C cameras have a cult following, and each iteration offers users something more. However, it now seems that the GR III, which was launched in 2019, will no longer be available to many. The move is not surprising, and one could say, long overdue. Here is a look at the story, and what it means for photographers.

The Most Beautiful Lens Lomography Made

By Chris Gampat

August 25, 2025

Back in 2014, I was one of the first reviewers of the Lomography Petzval lenses. They had quirks and charm -- as Lomography marketing reps like to say. I, instead, called them annoyances. But at the same time, I couldn't quiet the whispers coming from my heart. The lens was clad in brass, with smooth-feeling knobs, and gave me image quality that I still admire to this day. Truly, some of my best portraits from 2014 were shot with that lens. Quite literally, I had to stop myself for a little while before continuing to write this paragraph to say out loud, "God, Olivia was so beautiful." Combined with the output that the lens gave me, I could stare at the image we made together in Brooklyn's Park Slope for hours. Fast forward to 2025, and the Lomography Joseph Petzval 80.5mm f1.9 is in my office for a loaner period with the 35mm f2 on its way to me after a purchase. Let me tell you something: this is by far, Lomography's best work yet.

The 4 Best Canon Cameras Pre-2015, and The One to Avoid

By Nilofer Khan

August 25, 2025

Canon cameras have been quite exciting. They offer performance, great colors, good design, and affordability. As the world is moving to mirrorless cameras, we look back at a few options from the company launched before 2015 that still make sense today. If you like cameras from yesteryears, these devices can be really helpful in your journey. How do we know that? Because they are unique even today. Now, let's dive in.