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2022 is nearly over, so Chris and Jordan sat down to discuss how they plan to improve DPReview TV in 2023.

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• Intro
• Camera movement
• Locations
• Lighting
• Log video
• Get on set
• Accessories
• Gordon Drake
• Fly fishing
• The wrap

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2022 in review: The 14 most important stories of the year

To wrap up the crazy year it's been, we've gathered some of the most notable stories from the year, based on feedback from readers and our editors here at DPReview. Take a look to see some of the most important news stories of 2022.

Leica re-releases the Leica M6 film camera for $5,295 with updated viewfinder, 'modern electronics' and more

Film photography continues its revival, but for as many new film stocks and film photography accessories that were announce throughout the year, nothing gave credence to the film phtoography revival quite like Leica announcing it's bringing back one of its most iconic film cameras, the Leica M6. And while Leica might get scoffed at for its limited-edition releases, there's little doubt Leica knows its target market and what they're willing to purchase. So if they're putting out a new premium film camera, it's all but clear they have little doubt the film photography revival is more than just a fad.

Viltrox representative reports Canon told the company 'to stop selling all RF mount products'

Canon hasn't come out and said it outright, but third-party lens manufacturer Viltrox this year all but confirmed what has been suspected since Canon launched the Canon EOS R four years ago: third-party lens manufacturers won't be able to use Canon's RF mount AF protocols unless they can reverse engineer them without using Canon's intellectual property. This effectively turns the RF mount into a closed system if you want all the technological advantages it offers (aside from the larger mount and shorter flange distance) and is a stark comparison to Nikon, who appears to have some kind of partnership with Tamron, who it appears produces at least a few of Nikon's more entry-level lens offerings, such as the Nikkor Z 28-75mm F2.8.

Artemis I: NASA releases beautiful photos of the moon as Orion prepares to return to Earth

December 13, 2022 marked 50 years since humans walked on the moon as part of the Apollo 17 mission. While we're years out from stepping foot on lunar soil once again, the Artemis-I mission was a preview of the manned missions to come. During its 2.2 million km (1.37 million mi) journey around the moon, the Orion spacecraft, launched aboard the Artemis-I rocket, captured incredible images of the moon as it used the longest engine burn of its mission to help slingshot itself around the Moon.

Video: Check out the 1969 Apollo 11 launch at a mesmerizing 500 frames per second, as captured on 16mm film

Speaking of the Apollo missions, this year also saw the release of incredible 16mm footage that shows the liftoff of the Apollo 11 Saturn V rocket at a ridiculous 500 frames per second (fps). Each of the five Rocketdyne F-1 engines were capable of producing one million pounds of thrust by burning liquid oxygen and kerosene at the rate of 15 metric tons per second.

Apple unveils powerful new M1 Ultra chipset alongside the Mac Studio and Studio Display

Apple's M1 chipset had already been revealed in three different configurations (M1, M1 Pro and M1 Max), but Apple took its first-generation chipset to the next level with the release of the M1 Ultra inside the company's pro-oriented Mac Studio desktop. As we stated in our review, the Mac Studio is the Apple desktop we've been waiting for and while the company's Studio Display leaves some to be desired, it's still an impressive pairing for creatives wanting serious power at a relatively reasonable price point.

Google's Imagen AI produces photorealistic images from natural text with frightening fidelity

This was one of the first AI stories we published in a year dominated by the public availability and mainstream adoption of various AI-powered image creation services, such as Midjourney, Dall-E, Stable Diffusion and others. With these new tools comes an array of questions surrounding copyrights, ethics and more, which should be extra interesting as the law surrounding these issues and tools could take some time to catch up. As it stands, 2023 is shaping up to be an interesting one for the world of photorealistic AI-generated art.

Donald Trump tried to profit off former White House photographer's book, sold his own instead

No matter your politics or if you're even American, this situation was a notable departure from precedent and raised ethical questions about who can profit off public domain images. For those unfamiliar with the image rights surrounding images created by the White House staff photographers, these photos are immediately public domain as the photographer is paid with taxpayer money. Historically, White House photographers have put out books at the end of their tenure, with their reflections of the job and portfolio of images. Presidents in the past have written forewords to these books. President Trump, however, took a different approach by selling his own photography book instead.

Interview: Sports photographer Mark Pain on the new Nikon Z9

We here at DPReview know how to look at the technical specifications and features included in the latest cameras, but sometimes it helps to get the practical insight from professionals. Especially when it comes to testing one of the most advanced mirrorless cameras available. It's for this reason that our interview with photojournalist Mark Pain stands out as a real-world look at Nikon's high-end Z9 mirrorless camera to see how it performs for a professional who's using it day-in, day-out to pay the bills and cover major sporting events around the globe.

Making sensor sizes less misleading

Did you know a '1-inch sensor' isn't actually one inch across diagonally? Despite what many marketing departments claim, compact sensor sizes almost never reflect the physical size of the sensor being used, due to the naming nomanclature being based on the diameter of the Vidicon Tube they could be substituted for. In an effort to make this distinction more clear, we announced an initiative, alongside other leading publications, to change how we label compact sensor sizes going forward.

Of course Nikon is getting out of DSLRs, the only question is: how far behind is Canon?

While neither Canon nor Nikon have explicitly stated they're no longer spending resources researching and developing new DSLR camera systems, the writing is on the wall...and has been for some time. Sure, stockpiles of DSLRs will continue to be sold, likely at discounted rates, but it's clear the major camera manufacturers (Pentax aside) that the days of DSLR are a thing of the past, as the latest mirrorless cameras offer performance well beyond what DSLRs could offer. This story from DPReview's Richard Butler gets the the crux of it all.

A bit confused: what's a HEIF and why do we need 10-bit stills and video?

This year saw a handful of mirrorless cameras either gain or launched with support for 10-bit capture for both stills and video. But what is 10-bit capture, what are the benefits and what file formats are being used to store that content? We broke it all down in an attempt to demystify the technology and better help you understand what benefits 10-bit capture does (and doesn't) offer.

One thing: What is your digital shoebox? Do you have a legacy plan for your photos?

What happens to your photographs if something happens to you? Like life insurance and end-of-life planning, it isn't necessarily a happy consideration to sort out, but being better prepared for the inevitable pays dividends not only for yourself, but also your friends and loved ones for generations to come. In this guide, Dale Baskin shares the steps he's considered and taken to help archive both his and his ancestors' work to ensure the photographs captured last for decades and generations to come.

Adobe demos true HDR support in Adobe Camera Raw, giving a glimpse of photography's bright future

While the logistics of HDR delivery continue to be hamstrung due to hardware manufacturers and oftentimes confusing standards, it's clear high dynamic range image editing and sharing are on the horizon. To wrap up the year, Adobe released an update to Adobe Camera Raw that shows off the potential of HDR image editing, revealing a whole new world of possibiltiies should the hardware and standards catch up in the year(s) to come.

Why I shoot video with mirrorless cameras (and not video cameras)

DPReview TV's Jordan Drake has been producing video for two decades, using nearly any and every type of camera imagineable. So why then does he choose to use mirrorless cameras to shoot nearly all of his more recent work? In addition to the accompanying video explainer, Jordan also wrote an article detailing why he still reaches for his mirrorless camera for recording videos, despite their various shortcomings.

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A production OM System OM-1 made its way up to Canada, and Chris was able to take it out to the Northwest Territories and Japan. Check out his full resolution images, and download the raw files for all your pixel-peeping needs.

Want to learn more about this camera? Watch our hands-on review from DPReview TV.

View our OM System OM-1 sample gallery

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Chris Niccolls

If you've watched DPReviewTV or perused any of the sample galleries on dpreview.com you have seen pictures of my daughter Maddie. Normally she loves to pose for the camera, some days more than others. And I'm so grateful that she still lets me take pictures of her.

However, my favorite picture of 2022 was a completely un-posed portrait of her. Leaning seemingly exhausted across the chair, looking out into the backyard. The light from the window was large and soft in nature. Often with young children it's difficult to get honest and candid moments out of them. I knew this was one of those moments.

I shot this on the Leica M11, a camera which I had the good fortune to street-shoot with in New York City. A Leica rangefinder on the streets of NYC is one of those classic situations that one dreams about, and I liked many of the shots from that trip. And yet my favorite shot of the year was a simple one taken in the living room on a lazy Sunday.

Jason Hendardy

In my personal photography practice I’m drawn to photographing serendipitous moments, but since my recent move to Seattle I’ve had to reframe my approach to finding them. Instead of heading to more populated areas, such as downtown, which I would normally do, I’ve started to explore what’s happening within my own neighborhood and other more residential areas. On most days I head out with no destination in mind and hope to come across something that catches my attention. This also means that there are days where I may see nothing.

Then there are days like the one that gave me this photograph. The sun was going down, pushing me to find something so I didn't go home empty-handed, and at the last moments of light things fell into place. A kid is providing an action and the home owner is open to a candid photograph – the result depicts life, imperfections and all. I look back at photographs like these that I’ve taken and they make the hours upon hours of blind roaming worth it.

Dale Baskin

I've had the opportunity to photograph a lot of things, but I'm not sure any of them prepared me for what it takes to shoot rodeo. Rodeo is a tradition in the American west, and it's a place where big skies, cowboys and adventure come together to celebrate cowboy culture. So, when I had a chance to spend three days photographing the Flathead River Rodeo in Polson, Montana, I went all in.

When shooting rodeo, you need to pay attention to what's going on around you. It's one of the few sports where the athletes (i.e., the bulls) will seriously hurt you if you're in the wrong place or not paying attention. And here I like to get close to my subjects. So I staked out a spot on the elevated platform right next to the chutes where competitors mount their rides. In the photo above, a cowboy struggles to control a bronco seconds before the gates swing open, launching him into the arena.

I expected rodeo to be a challenge, but I didn't expect it to be one of the most adrenaline-pumping photography experiences I've ever had. I'll be back for more.

Matt Waller

One of the things I don't do as a street photographer is photograph the homeless. I know some photographers who do, who engage with them personally and enter into their lives and communities; I admire both them and the meaningful photos they produce. But for me, the casual street shooter extraordinaire who grabs a few shots on his daily commute, I shy from exploiting their tragedy for my own aesthetic purposes.

Still, in Seattle in 2022 homelessness is an ever-present problem and an unavoidable aspect of the downtown streets I walk.

I took this exceptional-for-me shot instinctively, simply because of the unusual wrap over the man's head. Only later did I realize I had captured something emblematic of issues hidden in plain sight, and the human cost of invisibility.

Josh Hays

These days, my camera often comes out only when I am travelling somewhere. This year I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit a hidden oasis of paradise off of a barely-maintained, rocky road in Mexico. It's a stopover for many animals, including a wide variety of birds – I counted at least twenty species among the images I brought home.

I never really considered myself a 'bird photographer,' but looking back over the photos from that trip, as well as others in the past, I've found that many of my favorite images feature birds. They're wonderful subjects: beautiful, highly detailed, endlessly varied. And it's always satisfying to capture a perfectly-focused image of a fast-moving bird in flight, revealing details difficult or impossible to see with the eye alone.

This hooded oriole wasn't flying, but when I saw its backlit head pop out from behind a cactus, I knew I had only a second to get the shot before it was gone. Peek-a-boo!

Jordan Drake

When the opportunity arose to spend 24 hours with the new Hasselblad X2D 100C, I jumped at the chance. In my one evening with the camera I went out to Elbow Falls for some sunset photos and was thrilled when my son Liam wanted to come with me.

Unfortunately, the light was terrible and it was freezing cold. Liam endured the conditions and agreed to model for a few pictures. In this shot, the Hasselblad was struggling to acquire focus for several seconds and Liam was unable to suppress a yawn. At that exact moment the camera’s focus hit, and I was rewarded with this photo that perfectly captured my feelings about the X2D’s autofocus performance.

Brendan Nystedt

2022 was a good year for my photography on the whole. I relocated to a new city in a new State, which meant that there was plenty to explore and see. After letting my shutter muscles atrophy during the early pandemic, the new sights, new locations, new light and new weather were exactly what I needed to get out there and shoot.

The shot I picked as my favorite is something I captured while on a walk with some other photographers. It's a shot that reminds me how much of the art is dependent on pure serendipity. If we had come on another day, the ATM wouldn't have been smashed or the light would have been different. But this moment came together organically, unplanned, spontaneously. As much as we like to fret about sharpness, battery life, megapixel count, autofocus algorithms and other speeds and feeds, sometimes the universe hands you something. All the technology in the world won't help unless you let that moment happen to you.

Richard Butler

I'm not sure this is my best photo from the year – I think some of the portraits of the people I met on the High Line, having finally been able to get back to New York, were better – but this is the one that's stayed with me.

It's impossible for me to separate the photo from my memory of taking it, which is presumably why the concept of 'Kodak moments' was such a powerful marketing message.

It was taken as a friend and I waited for our respective trains after an evening out in Bristol. An enjoyable time with someone I don't see as often as I'd like had come to an end, and we waited for the services that would take us in opposite directions. It was an evening near the end of my trip to the UK and the prospect of having to leave, with there being no certainty over when I'd next be back, was beginning to bear down on me.

For me, it's a photo about the sense of isolation that comes as you realize that you can only now be a visitor to somewhere that was once home.

Of course very little of that is actually in the photo; it's just a solitary figure, waiting on a platform. But perhaps with this background, you might catch a glimpse of what I see in it, and understand why this is the shot that keeps coming back to me.

Shaminder Dulai

2022 was a transition year in my photography. Just before the start of the pandemic I had moved across the country; normally, I would have walked through the city with my camera, seeing the mundane in a new light, excited and inspired by the newness. Instead, the only jaunts I was taking were around a shoebox apartment. I felt isolated, alone and like a stranger in a strange land.

I'll spare you the platitudes about 'our new normal' – we changed over these past years. For me, this was a year of slowly coming out of the cocoon and rediscovering why I fell in love with photography the first time. In 2022 I started to talk to strangers again, I started to walk the streets with a camera again, I travelled again and started to really see other people again.

This image, from a trip to Reykjavik, Iceland, reminds me of why photography resonates, not just for me as a photojournalist interested in capturing the first draft of history, but in the universal sense of committing to an image a memory. Here, the memory of two people sharing a moment on a street corner for a selfie in a winter storm became a collision of layers and light with an exploration of humanity at the core. To me it's a reminder of how much I missed really 'seeing' and how ready I was to dive back in.

In some ways, what I do could be reduced to: this is what I saw, this is what I cared about and ultimately, this is proof I existed.

Gannon Burgett

Okay, so maybe I’m cheating by using a diptych, but my favorite image of the year is actually two: a pair of photographs of my children¹.

Working from home with two children running around is no easy feat, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Every day, I am grateful to be able to watch the two of them grow more into their personalities, better revealing the incredible humans I believe they’re destined to be (although I’m certainly biased). Lorelai, on the left, is a fearless explorer, unapologetic in who she is and willing to take on the world in front of her. Endeavour, on the right, is inquisitive and forever yearning to know more about every bit of the world around him.

To me, these images perfectly encapsulate their personalities and are photographs I know I'll look back at with a smile in the decades to come. They’re not technically perfect, nor captured with the latest gear. In fact, the photos were shot on Fujifilm Acros II film that ended up being pushed two stops because I forgot to adjust the ISO dial after letting Lorelai play with my Nikon FG camera. But what the images lack in pixel perfection, they make up for in capturing the personalities of two of my three favorite people in this world (my spouse being the third).

¹ I’ve made it a point to never show their faces online until they’re old enough to give me permission, so obscure profiles it is.

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Viltrox has announced the AF 75mm F1.2 XF Pro, its latest autofocus lens for Fujifilm X-mount camera systems. The lens offers a 115mm full-frame equivalent focal length with full autofocus support for Fujifilm’s various autofocus modes.

The AF 75mm F1.2 XF Pro is constructed of aluminum alloy and uses 16 elements in 11 groups, including four high-refractive index elements and three extra-low dispersion (ED) elements. Viltrox is also using its HD Nano multi-layer coating on the front-most element to repel dirt and water.

The lens features a clicked aperture ring that can be manually adjusted or set to auto, and is weather-sealed in nine spots for dust and water resistance. Other features include an aperture range of F1.2 through F16, an 11-blade aperture diaphragm, a minimum focusing distance of 0.9m (35”) and uses a 77mm front filter thread.

This is the only MTF chart and optical construction chart Viltrox has available at this time. It's not the highest resolution though.

The lens uses Viltrox’s stepping motor (STM) mechanism to drive autofocus, which it says offers full support for Fujifilm’s array of eye-detection, face-detection and animal-detection autofocus modes. The metal electronic contacts drive the autofocus and transfer EXIF data from the lens to the camera. An integrated USB-C port on the lens mount is used for updating firmware.

The AF 75mm F1.2 XF Pro is available to pre-order now for $549 from Viltrox’s online shop. It comes with a petal-shaped lens hood, front and rear caps, as well as a carrying case.

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After months of use, and with the release of the new 1.3 firmware, Chris and Jordan present their final review of the OM System OM-1. Has the new firmware substantially improved performance, and have any software issues been addressed? Better watch to find out.

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• Introduction
• Interface and handling
• Autofocus
• Video performance
• Final thoughts

OM System OM-1 sample gallery from this episode

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This is a zoom camera module LG Innotek manufactures and has listed on its website. It's unclear whether or not this particular module is the version with optical image stabilization the company has announced in this new press release.

LG Innotek, a subsidiary of Korean conglomerate LG Corperation, has teased a new optically stabilized telephoto zoom camera module destined for the next generation of flagship mobile devices. According to LG Innotek’s announcement, the camera module will be revealed in its entirety at CES, which starts January 3, 2023.

What we do know from the teaser though is that the camera module will offer a 4–9x continuous zoom range with optical image stabilization. The zoom actuator, according to LG Innotek, is designed for ‘high moving speed and durability with less battery consumption [than competitors]’ and can move in increments as small as one micrometer (1㎛).

This illustration shows a non-zooming periscope-style camera module Oppo uses in its smartphones. Note the difference between the straight and 'L-shaped' path the light takes before hitting the sensor in the conventional (left) and periscope-style (right) modules in this illustration.

LG Innotek says it worked closely with Qualcomm Technologies to ‘to optimize software for optical continuous zoom that will be applied to the new premium Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform.’ Specifically, LG Innotek says ‘Auto-Focus, Auto-Exposure, Auto-White Balance, lens shading correction and much more’ will be optimized on devices running Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon chipset announced last month.

LG hasn’t released a smartphone since early 2021, but continues to make various components for smartphones, tablets, computers and other hardware for other manufacturers to use in its products. LG Innotek says this new camera module has been specifically designed to reduce the ‘camera bump’ we’ve come accustomed to seeing in various shapes and sizes on the backside of recent smartphones. By using a folded optics design, LG Innotek can get a longer focal length than would otherwise be possible without a massive camera module sticking out of the camera.

Back in August 2021, smartphone manufacturer Oppo showed off an 85–200mm equiv. optical zoom camera module with OIS (pictured above), but it hasn’t yet made its way into a commercially-available phone at this point in time. Assuming LG Innotek’s new camera module is revealed inside a smartphone come CES 2023, as is suggested in the announcement, it’s looking like LG will beat Oppo to market.

We will update this article when additional details are revealed at CES 2023.

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