In today's episode the latest in photography/videography news from our friends at PetaPixel. Blackmagic RAW coming to select Sony cameras and much more.
You can find the show notes here.
You can find the show notes here.
Show Notes
Welcome back to the show everyone, Liam here and this is Episode 475 of the Liam Photography Podcast for the week of October 9th, 2025. In today’s episode, Blackmagic RAW coming to Sony, court case against Nirvana’s Nevermind album settled, and a photographer wins their case. All this and more in today’s episode.
Last year, Sony promised a wide range of software improvements and feature updates for its Cinema Line cameras, including Blackmagic RAW (BRAW). These promises are being fulfilled a few cameras at a time, and BRAW is arriving very soon on Sony FX-series models.
Before diving into all the details, it is worth considering why filmmakers using Sony Cinema Line cameras may want to use Blackmagic RAW in the first place.
“Blackmagic RAW is available for anyone looking to take advantage of the high quality, bit depth, dynamic range, and control that the RAW format provides, coupled with better performance and smaller file sizes,” Blackmagic Design tells PetaPixel over email. “Blackmagic RAW features an advanced de-mosaic algorithm, and it provides visually lossless images for high resolution, high frame rate, and high dynamic range workflows, with extensive metadata support, optimized GPU and CPU acceleration and seamless support in DaVinci Resolve.”
Better still, “It’s also open, cross platform and free and supported via the free SDK on Mac OS, Windows and Linux.”
Blackmagic Design calls BRAW “The world’s fastest RAW format.” Further, compared to more typical, non-RAW video formats, BRAW avoids compression artifacts and promises reduced noise. BRAW promises improved detail and color, and it records camera metadata in the file, which is instrumental for post-processing.
Blackmagic RAW recording is enabled on a wide range of cameras through the use of the Blackmagic Video Assist professional monitor and recorder series, including the popular Blackmagic Video Assist 7″ 12G HDR ($915).
With these monitors attached, popular camera models from Canon, Fujifilm, Leica, Nikon, Panasonic, Sigma, and Z Cam can record Blackmagic RAW. A complete list is available on Blackmagic’s website, but a few highlights include the Canon EOS C300 Mark II, Fujifilm GFX100 series, Fujifilm X-H2S, Nikon Z6 II and Z7 II, Panasonic S5IIX, Panasonic S1 II, Panasonic S1R II, and Sigma fp.
Once Blackmagic releases its updated firmware for the Blackmagic Video Assist monitors and recorders, which is expected to arrive this month, the Sony FX3 and FX30 will join the list. An update before the end of this year will add Blackmagic RAW recording support for the Sony FX6 and FX9 cameras.
“It’s always Blackmagic Design’s goal to empower the end user with accessible and flexible products and workflows. With that in mind, when coupled with the Blackmagic Video Assist 12G models, creatives can take advantage of recording in Blackmagic RAW from supported cameras, including Leica, Panasonic, Fujifilm, Nikon, Canon, Sigma and soon to be Sony,” Blackmagic Design tells PetaPixel. The company explains that, like its other implementations, it worked closely with Sony to bring Blackmagic RAW recording to select Cinema cameras.
Blackmagic Design showcased a working beta version of its upcoming Video Assist firmware at IBC 2025 last month, so the public release appears on schedule for this month for the FX3 and FX30, with FX6 and FX9 support arriving before the end of the year.
It’s been a very good couple of months for Blackmagic Design and expanded video format support. Alongside bringing BRAW to Sony Cinema Line cameras, the company also recently added ProRes RAW support to DaVinci Resolve. This long-requested move arguably makes DaVinci Resolve the best color grading software on the market for nearly every user.
The man photographed as a baby on Nirvana’s Nevermind album cover has lost his latest lawsuit against the band for distributing child sexual abuse imagery.
On Tuesday, a U.S. federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Spencer Elden, who was photographed as a naked four-month-old swimming underwater for the cover of Nirvana’s iconic 1991 album. Elden claimed that the image amounted to child pornography.
U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin formally closed the case, which was first filed four years ago. Elden’s lawsuit accused members of Nirvana, several record labels, and others associated with the band of violating federal child pornography laws. The one-page ruling dismissed Elden’s claims and barred him from refiling the case in federal court.
Elden’s lawsuit argued that Nirvana and their team had knowingly produced and profited from a nude photograph of him as a baby on the cover of Nevermind. It also alleged that the record labels and the estate of Kurt Cobain — the band’s late lead singer — continued to benefit from the image.
Elden first filed the lawsuit in 2021, saying his identity and name were “forever tied to the commercial sexual exploitation he experienced as a minor, which has been distributed and sold worldwide.” Judge Olguin dismissed that case in 2022, ruling it had been filed beyond the 10-year statute of limitations for civil claims. An appeals court later overturned that decision, allowing Elden to refile.
According to a report by the BBC, Judge Olguin has now ruled that aside from Elden’s nudity, nothing about the photograph “comes close to bringing the image within the ambit of the child pornography statute.” He compared the image to a “family photo of a child bathing” and said it was “plainly insufficient to support a finding” of child pornography.
“Nudity must be coupled with other circumstances that make the visual depiction lascivious or sexually provocative,” the judge writes.
Judge Olguin also noted several factors in his ruling, including that Elden’s parents were present at the photo shoot, that the photographer was a family friend, and that Elden had previously “embraced and financially benefitted from being featured on the album cover.”
However, Elden’s lawyer tells Rolling Stone that they “respectfully disagree” with the ruling and plan to appeal.
“As long as the entertainment industry prioritizes profits over childhood privacy, consent, and dignity, we will continue our pursuit for awareness and accountability,” James R Marsh, of the Marsh Law Firm, says in a statement to the music news outlet.
A photographer successfully brought legal action against a woman who assaulted him after demanding that he delete photos showing a child participating at a public event.
British press photographer Dimitris Legakis, owner of the Athena Picture Agency, filed a private prosecution against his assailant after what he described as “months of inaction” by local police.
According to a report by Wales Online, Legakis was photographing the annual Three Counties Bloodhounds hunt in Swansea, South Wales, on December 26 last year. The event is known as a “clean boot” hunt, where hounds are trained to track a human runner rather than an animal.
During the event, a woman named Ruth Morgan approached Legakis, saying members of the hunt had asked him to delete photos that included a child taking part. When the photographer tried to walk away, Morgan grabbed him by the arm of his jacket.
Wales Online reports that the pair approached a police officer on duty, with Legakis telling the officer that Morgan would not release him, while Morgan explained that she wanted the photos deleted. The officer informed her that the event was taking place in a public area, after which Legakis walked away.
On January 9 of this year, Legakis submitted an online report to South Wales Police alleging assault. After several months had passed with no action taken by the police, the photographer filed a private criminal prosecution against Morgan.
According to Wales Online, Morgan — who had no prior criminal record — pleaded guilty to assault by beating when she appeared in Swansea Magistrates’ Court. Video footage of the incident was shown in court. Morgan was fined £270 (about $340) and ordered to pay a £108 ($135) surcharge.
South Wales Police tells Wales Online that an investigation had been opened but said there was not enough evidence to proceed. However, Legakis says the lack of police action led him to file a complaint with the force’s professional standards department.
“On January 9, 2025, South Wales Police received an allegation of assault which had occurred in Wind Street, Swansea, two weeks earlier,” a spokesperson for the police tells the news outlet. “An investigation was started, but the victim of the assault would not provide information about a potential witness, and therefore, there was insufficient evidence to charge.
“Officers made other attempts to identify the suspect, including through facial recognition technology. A subsequent complaint was made, which is being investigated by the force’s professional standards department.”
Recently, Legakis spoke out after a conviction against him for assaulting a police officer was overturned just half an hour before his appeal was due to be heard. A judge in the case called the entire incident “disturbing”, adding that it “raised serious questions” about the freedom of the press in the U.K.
CIPA released updated camera shipment data, adding camera and lens shipment data through August. Although camera shipments were relatively high for much of the year, there was a significant dip from July to August, which was larger than the typical “summer slump” dip observed annually.
In February, CIPA announced that digital camera shipments had increased in 2024 for the first time since 2017, which signaled positive news for the rebounding digital camera industry.
Then, after President Trump announced widespread tariffs in April, camera companies began shipping more cameras and lenses to meet the increased demand as photographers tried to acquire new gear before expected price increases, which have since been realized nearly across the board.
As a result, shipments of interchangeable lens cameras, built-in lens cameras, and lenses all increased in May. After remaining relatively stable in June and July, shipments declined significantly in August, particularly for ILC shipments. Total digital camera shipments dipped below 2024 levels in August and remained barely above 2023 levels. Interchangeable lens camera shipments in August were below both 2023 and 2024 levels for the same month.
The summer slump occurs every year, but this year’s was particularly pronounced. In 2023 and 2024, camera shipments rebounded in September, but that may not happen this year, or could occur to a lesser extent, depending on the root cause of the big drop-off.
It is impossible to know precisely why August was such a tough month for digital camera shipments. Still, some reasonable theories include that camera companies may have purposefully overshot demand with shipments in prior months to get cameras into the major U.S. market before higher tariffs took effect. A camera already in the U.S. supply chain would not be subject to higher tariffs that arrived later, for example.
It’s also possible that demand has dampened due to general economic uncertainty and relatively slower economic growth in the U.S. and beyond. For most people, cameras are luxury items, and those are harder to justify purchasing at even higher prices due to tariffs or when the economy is generally more unpredictable.
As Canon Rumors notes in its coverage, the overall performance of the camera industry in 2025 is still good, and the year remains on track to be the best year in a while.
Whether the harsh summer slump is an aberration, a market correction, or an indication of something worse yet to come will determine how good (or bad) 2025 turns out to be for photography companies. The ongoing tariffs, although they may have helped increase demand earlier in the year, are generally bad for camera makers and photographers alike. How bad remains to be seen.
When Nikon added the gold ring to the lens mount of its 28-135mm f/4 PZ earlier this year, I was ecstatic. Finally, Nikon was leaning into its brand color. I was saddened to learn it would only do this on select products moving forward. That got me thinking: every brand is leaning away from color when they should be leaning into it. For a tool designed to create art, the camera tends to be dreadfully boring.
Nikon is not the only company I want to see more color from: it’s everyone. That said, it was kind of a slap in the face to see the first push of gold into the company’s product line coming in the form of a filter late last year. If we didn’t see it on the 28-135mm f/4 PZ, I was willing to riot. That said, I’m still not satisfied.
Canon, Sony, and Fujifilm are just as guilty. Canon, Big Red as I like to call them, does use its brand color more than everyone else, but only on its optics. The iconic “red ring” on the L-series glass is one of its signature trademarks, but I argue the company should go harder. Give us more red, and do it on the cameras. No, the record button does not count.
Sony is doing the opposite, and it’s confusing. If you were to close your eyes and picture a Sony Alpha camera, you probably see some orange accents, right? That’s because Sony was doing that and making it obvious. The original a7, for example, had a bright orange ring around the lens mount that really stood out. It is less obvious, but still there as recently as the a7R V.
But look at the a9 III. While yes, there is an orange ring still on the lens mount, as soon as you mount a lens to the camera, it all but disappears. Why? Why downplay the orange?
You could probably poll 10 die-hard Fujifilm photographers and maybe two of them would be able to tell you that Fujifilm’s color is green. Yes, Fujifilm also uses red, but the dark green is, arguably, more iconic of the brand — or, at least, it was.
I mean just look at how beautiful Casey Mears’ NASCAR race car looks in those Fujifilm Colors!
That’s drop-dead gorgeous, and I want more. But for some reason, Fujifilm shies away from showing its green-colored heritage on anything other than its Fujinon lenses. Gratefully, Fujifilm’s Fujinon website is very green and its latest lens, the 32-90mm T3.5 for GFX, has that lovely green ring shining brightly on the lens mount and the focal range is also painted that same metallic green. Why wouldn’t you want to put that on the camera body too?
For some reason, all of the camera brands collectively decided that photographers want their cameras to be bland, colorless, black rectangles. I’m not asking for full color camera bodies a la Pentax (although Leica’s Safari green cameras are probably the most beautiful cameras you can get right now), I’m just asking for brands to remember they have iconic colors and to use them to accent their cameras and lenses more. If I’m a Canon shooter, I want it to be obvious I’m on Team Red. The same goes for Team Orange Sony, Team Green Fujifilm, and Team Gold Nikon.
Camera Intelligence has announced Caira, an “AI-native” Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera that attaches directly to iPhone via MagSafe. Caira is the first interchangeable lens mirrorless camera to feature Google’s next-gen generative AI model, “Nano Banana,” enabling photographers to perform real-time advanced generative image editing.
Camera Intelligence changed its name from Alice Camera last month, and announced its pivot to AI-based imaging technology.
Alice Camera was announced in 2020, promising AI-based computational photography features in a camera that attaches directly to a smartphone. However, funding and development took time, and Alice Camera didn’t arrive to customers until last year. By then, the imaging, smartphone, and especially AI landscape had changed dramatically, leading Alice Camera’s CEO, Vishal Kumar, to pivot.
“Producing engaging, high-quality content is a necessity for solo creators and small businesses — but they are already stretched thin and juggling multiple business demands. Content creation tools are fragmented, and users producing social media content for the first time struggle with steep learning curves for both mirrorless camera operation and editing software,” Kumar said last month.
Camera Intelligence’s new Caira camera makes some of the same promises that Alice Camera did five years ago, including its general design. Further, the fact that Caira works alongside an attached smartphone and emphasizes artificial intelligence and computational photography is familiar. However, AI has come a long way since 2020, and Google’s “Nano Banana” model can accomplish things that people barely dreamed of back then.
Smartphone cameras have become increasingly reliant on artificial intelligence in recent years, especially for computational photography features engineered to overcome the limitations of relatively small image sensors and lenses. However, Caira, which has a relatively large Micro Four Thirds sensor and accepts MFT interchangeable lenses, aims to take AI much farther than simply improving image quality. Caira is generative; it can transform photos using AI as soon as they are captured.
“With the integration of Google’s ‘Nano Banana’ model, Caira ushers in a new era of on-camera ‘generative editing,’ moving beyond simple capture to offer in-the-moment creation and editing, for spectacular real-time adjustments that were previously only possible through complex post-production software and workflows on laptops,” Camera Intelligence says.
Photographers can use simple natural language prompts on the accompanying Caira smartphone app to instantly change the style of their photo, perform color grading, transform a daytime photo into a nighttime one, alter a subject’s clothing or hairstyle, replace the sky, and more.
Whether that is something that most photographers want or not is a matter of debate, but Camera Intelligence believes that Caira enables a new type of content creation within an audience who may have little or no experience taking high-quality photos with a traditional camera.
“With Caira, we are not just launching a new camera; we are introducing a new, intelligent creative partner,” says Vishal Kumar, CEO of Camera Intelligence.
“Creators need more than just great image quality — they need speed, flexibility, and tools that match the pace of their imagination. By integrating Nano Banana directly into Caira, we are collapsing traditional content creation workflows; we aim to fundamentally shift how creators capture, edit, and share our world.”
Camera Intelligence acknowledges that generative AI raises concerning ethical implications. The company says it is building Caira with an “ethics-first approach.” In this case, it means the team is working with professional photographers to “establish responsible use cases.” The team is also developing safeguards regarding its generative AI and prompts. The camera will “always adhere to Google’s Generative AI Prohibited Use Policy,” and as such, will not allow users to change a person’s skin color, ethnicity, or core facial features. Camera Intelligence says it is focused on empowering creative expression, not manipulating anyone’s identity.
“We’ve put a lot of thought into this technology before offering it to our customers. Despite the skepticism surrounding generative AI, we believe photographers shouldn’t fear it,” Kumar says.
“Thoughtful integration of this has the potential to be truly helpful. We chose Google’s Nano Banana because it’s the best model we’ve seen for maintaining consistent character details and seamlessly blending new edits whilst preserving the original image’s optical quality. Its one-shot editing capability is also exceptional, frequently delivering perfect results in a single attempt without unwanted hallucinations. It truly feels like magic,” the CEO concludes.
Camera Intelligence says Caira is built for creators and businesses who require high-end image quality, extensive creative freedom, and an accessible, streamlined imaging tool.
It is a bold camera with many ambitious promises. Caira’s reliance on generative AI will undoubtedly ruffle the feathers of some photographers, but it is far from the first imaging product to feature generative AI technology. Many photo editing applications rely on generative AI for their latest features, and most new smartphones have increasingly integrated generative AI in recent years. However, a full-blown interchangeable lens camera with built-in generative AI? That is very different.
Like the Alice Camera, Caira will launch first on Kickstarter. The campaign is slated to begin on October 30, and those interested in staying up to date with he project or backing it at the end of the month can sign up for notifications on Camera Intelligence’s website.
Customers can also secure the lowest possible price — $695 — with a $50 deposit. Caira will retail for $995 when it arrives in January 2026; however, early bird backers will be able to purchase the camera for $795.
If you’re looking for adjectives for bobcats, there’s stealthy or very stealthy. However, that doesn’t stop award-winning wildlife photographer Steve Winter from capturing incredible photos of the elusive wildcats.
Capturing sharp, high-resolution photos of bobcats in the wild is both difficult and tantalizing because these animals are elusive, typically avoid humans, blend into their surroundings, and they’re fast and agile.
Award-winning nature photographer Steve Winter used wireless photo traps to document bobcats in New Jersey, including at nighttime and in snowy conditions. His well-lit photo of a bobcat kitten is on the cover of Nature Conservancy Magazine (2025 / Issue 3).
“50 years ago,” said Nature Conservancy magazine, “bobcats vanished from the State of New Jersey. Wildlife scientists reintroduced them, but to survive a changing climate and increasing urbanization, these felines will need more room to roam.”
The cover story was written by environmental journalist Sharon Guynup, spouse of photographer Winter.
Born in Indiana, photojournalist Winter started at the Black Star agency and migrated to nature photography.
For more than three decades, Winter has been a contributing photographer for National Geographic Magazine. Specializing in photography of big cats, Winter is widely quoted and honored for his nature work. He was named BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year and BBC Wildlife Photojournalist of the Year and received top nature story honors from World Press Photo. Winter is two-time winner of Picture of the Year International’s Global Vision Award.
In 2022, he founded Big Cat Voices to advocate for large felines.
“My contribution,” Winter says, “is through storytelling: photos, magazine articles, and documentary films.”
He hopes his work inspires his audience to help protect big cats.
Winter photographed bobcats in the wild at The Nature Conservancy’s Johnsonburg Swamp Preserve in New Jersey, some 60 miles northwest of New York City.
“The preserve (700+ acres) is a habitat stronghold within Bobcat Alley, a vital corridor of protected land that The Nature Conservancy and partners are working to create in northwestern New Jersey,” says the conservation group. “Iconic mammals like black bears, red foxes, and state-endangered bobcats can thrive in this greenway, which connects critical migratory habitat between and along ridges of the Kittatinny and Highlands mountains, subranges of North America’s Appalachian Mountains.”
In narrow pathways, Winter set up camera traps, using an ultra-wide 10-24mm lens and weatherproof housings for the cameras and flash units. Five-frame shots were triggered when bobcats crossed a beam; aperture was keyed by the flash.
How long did the project take? “Longer than I thought,” said Winter, describing bobcats as “a bit skittish.”
Weather was not a factor except for rain which curtails bobcats’ movements. The camera flash would cause some bobcats to stop for a flash or two, and then the cats kept moving, Winter said. Curious sub-adult bobcats might stop and check out the camera box by smelling it.
With decades of experience and global awards, Winter is still confounded when his wireless equipment doesn’t work.
“Voodoo, I call it voodoo,” he says.
Conservationists and New Jersey wildlife officials applaud Winter’s bobcat photos, documenting the species’ recovery and its beauty in the wild.
The bobcat is a Native American cultural symbol for persistence, independence, and clear vision. Bobcats also can represent greed and selfishness.
In sports, the bobcat is a mascot at Texas State University and Ohio University. At The Nature Conservancy, the senior photo editor (Alex Snyder) is a double-degree graduate of Ohio University’s School of Visual Communication.
“I jumped at the chance to work on a story about bobcats,” says Snyder.
At times, the elusive bobcat appears in trail-cam shots. On August 15, Field & Stream published a list of “60 Craziest Trail Camera Photos We’ve Ever Seen,” which included a couple of images of bobcats and deer.
But in-focus camera shots are rarer. Wildlife photographer Randy Robbins wrote on PetaPixel in 2021 that “it’s usually a fleeting glimpse, as they see you about the same time you see them and then they disappear into the woods.”
Robbins, based in California, shared the story of his three-year quest to photograph a bobcat, finally capturing this image with an infrared-triggered camera trap.
Wildlife conservation photographer and filmmaker Sarah Killingsworth, based in Marin County, California, is impressed by the adaptability of bobcats.
“Bobcats live throughout the Bay Area,” she told Bay Nature in 2021, “and the march of development into their habitat has forced them to adapt to an increasingly urban life. Bobcats are without question my favorite species to watch and photograph. That passion has led me to observe the same bobcats over years, including a truly special mother who has raised multiple litters of kittens in a suburban environment.”
How did Killingsworth take this suburban photo?
“With a long lens from across the street,” she says. These kittens were born in a backyard nearby.
Perhaps another adjective — in addition to stealthy — also applies to bobcats: patient.
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