We’ve seen some strange-looking cameras before but this could be the strangest one yet. Called the New York Leica Gun Rifle, this prototype, sniper-style camera is expected to fetch up to $400,000 (€350,000) at the WestLicht photography auction later this month.

Our Shutterbug Photo of the Day is comical portrait of a Llama gazing deeply into the camera’s lens.

We didn’t know what we’d get from Shutterbug readers for this month’s Low-Light Noir assignment but we knew it would be interesting. And it certainly was! Readers gave us what we asked for, posting a range of dark and moody images that recalled classic “film noir” movies. There were so many great shots, most in grainy black and white but a few in crunchy color, that it was hard to choose just 10 low-light noir favorites but we did. Here’s looking at you, kid!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: everyone has their favorite lens and in my pack, you will always find one in the 400mm variety. To wit, I have Nikon’s newer Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G ED VR, the 200-400mm f/4 G ED VR and the standard-bearer of them all: the prime Nikkor 400mm f/2.8 AF-S lens. Before that, I had a few of the pre-set, manual focus 400’s but when the Nikon F4 was introduced, the game really changed, especially when it came to wildlife or other land moving objects. I was hooked.

A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan (currently residing in Emerald Isle, North Carolina) KellyLynne first became interested in photography after finding an antique camera at a garage sale and exploring the world of black-and-white film images. Her passion soon grew from there and she began to teach herself the art, revealing a great talent for it.

Our Shutterbug Photo of the Day is a beautiful landscape featuring a dramatic rainbow that was captured by Brenda Baltimore.

The Nikon J5 is the newest in Nikon's 1 series mirrorless camera line and is the first in the series to offer 20MP resolution. (Note: the first Nikon 1 cameras had 10MP, while the most recent, the V3, had 18MP resolution). Compared to APS-C sensors with about 23.5 x 15.6 mm and Micro-Four-Third cameras with 17 x 13 mm, the J5 has a smaller sensor at 13.2 x 8.8 mm, Nikon’s CX format. The crop factor is nearly 1:2.7 which means that the “effective” (defined as the 35mm format equivalent) focal length of the kit lens (1 Nikkor 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 VR) is about 27-81 mm. The camera has a very slim and compact design, which allows for easy transport and usage, similar to a compact camera.

On a Sunday morning not long ago I turned on the radio and by chance heard the legendary, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist David Hume Kennerly say that his iPhone had made him a better photographer.
 

Dads and tools go together like crooked public servants and greasy bags of banknotes. Photographers tend to tote tools, too. Put it all together (minus the politician) and we just might have the perfect Father’s Day gift suggestion. And it comes from SOG, a company with a rich and venerated heritage.

Before you get any ideas about drafting a posse and coming after me with tar and feathers because of my computer platform preferences, let me explain—please. Because I write about digital photography I must use both PCs and Macs so that I can deliver balanced stories and explain computer functions to our entire audience, not just one group or the other.