Opinion

Photokina, the photography “show of shows,” opens in Cologne, Germany on September 20. The size of this biennial event is monstrous—you have to experience it to believe it. In 2014, a total of 1,074 exhibitors from 51 countries hosted 183,297 attendees. We’re taking serious show here. In honor of Photokina, here’s a pop quiz to test your knowledge of photography. 

If you're just starting your career as a photographer, you're bound to make a few mistakes. And many of those mistakes, just might cost you money. Sometimes, a lot of money.

In terms of the arsenal of lenses typically used by a landscape photographer, a 24-105mm would not seem to rate highly. Photographer Mads Peter Iversen, however, disagrees, arguing in the below video that a 24-105mm zoom lens is a "must own" piece of gear for landscape shooters.

Quick question: where did you buy your last piece of photo gear? If you're like more and more photographers these days, you probably bought your new telephoto lens, photo bag, or mirrorless camera body from one of the many online retailers out there such as Amazon, B&H, or Adorama.

We have sung the praises of the Nikon Df on Shutterbug several times before so it’s nice to know we’re not the only ones still infatuated with this retro-styled DSLR from 2013. Photographer Mattias Burling who takes second looks at recent classic cameras on his excellent YouTube channel has put out a video titled “5 Reasons to Buy a Nikon DF in 2018 - As underrated as it gets.

When applied to humans, the word “character” has two distinct meanings, an oddball or eccentric as in “Fred is a real character” or a morally upstanding person, as in “Charlie is a man of unimpeachable character.” When it comes to machines created by humans, the word “character” conveys a slightly different constellation of meanings, hovering somewhere between “having lovable defects” like an old Model T Ford, and expressing a distinctive personality, like a classic Ferrari.