In today's episode I cover the latest news from PetaPixel for Thanksgiving week 2025.
Show Notes
Enter my contest here.
Welcome back to the show everyone Liam here and this is Episode 482 of the Liam Photography Podcast for Thanksgiving Day, November 27th, 2025. I want to take a moment and wish all of my listeners in America a Happy Thanksgiving! Be safe, enjoy a great dinner with family and friends and watch some football!
A YouTuber dropped his camera to the bottom of the ocean and recorded a deep-sea animal that no one has been able to identify.
YouTuber Barny Dillarstone has been dropping underwater cameras all over the Indo-Pacific in search of his goal to find a species which is “new to science.” Earlier this year, he dropped his underwater camera rig 200 meters (656 feet) below the surface of the Bali Sea in Indonesia, to the seafloor over two consecutive nights.
The footage he later recovered showed a wide range of little-seen nocturnal marine life, including conger eels, nautilus, moray eels, duck-billed eels, spider crabs, carrier crabs, and several other unusual deep-sea species that typically stay hidden from view.
Among these recordings was one sequence that immediately stood out, in which Dillarstone captured an animal that even experts have been unable to classify. The clip, released in late July, shows the moment his bait-rigged camera was sent down after dark to observe what emerges in deep water at night. During the second night of filming, the camera picked up a deep-water ray known as a “stingaree.”
Stingarees belong to the wider stingray family and are usually found in parts of the Indo-Pacific, especially off eastern Australia, where the common stingaree is known to live. But their recognised range does not normally include the waters where Dillarstone was filming.
“Stingarees aren’t really supposed to be in Indonesia,” the YouTuber says in the video.
Dillarstone explains that the Java stingaree is considered extinct, while the Kai stingaree has only ever been documented from two juvenile specimens caught off eastern Indonesia. Marine biologists he later consulted were also unable to identify the animal and suggested that Dillarstone may have captured footage of a species never recorded in that area before.
“So what species is this one?” he says. “The answer is we have no idea. Perhaps it’s a species new to science. It’s not every day that you capture a creature that might rewrite part of the regional species record.”
The oceans account for around 99.5% of Earth’s habitable space by volume, and vast areas remain unexplored. Scientists estimate that as many as two million species could inhabit the world’s oceans, and some estimates suggest the total may be even higher. But, according to a report by the World Register of Marine Species in 2023, fewer than 250,000 marine species have been formally identified so far.
Venus Optics has announced an unusual new lens that does a bit of everything. The Laowa 35mm f/2.8 Zero-D Tilt-Shift 0.5x Macro, as its name suggests, tilts, shifts, and focuses very close while promising no distortion. The versatile new lens aims to provide photographers with extensive control over “every line and perspective.”
The new lens is designed for full-frame mirrorless cameras but also works with Fujifilm GFX and Hasselblad XCD medium-format camera systems thanks to its large image circle. This is not uncommon for Venus Optics, which often releases full-frame lenses compatible with medium-format cameras.
As has been the case before, functionality is partially limited on the larger medium-format systems. When used on full-frame cameras, the new 35mm f/2.8 Zero-D Tilt-Shift 0.5x Macro offers +/- 10° of tilt and +/- 12 millimeters of shift. However, on medium-format cameras, while tilt remains the same, shift is limited to +/- 8 millimeters. In either case, the lens’s movement enables photographers to better control the plane of focus and correct for perspective distortion. This means photographers can create miniature effects, significantly expand the depth of field, and capture straighter lines.
A lens like this is a boon for architectural photography, allowing the lens to shift up to capture a tall building rather than needing to point the camera up, which creates perspective distortion. The lens is also well-suited to panoramic photography, as its tilt-and-shift functionality makes stitching easier.
Tilt-shift lenses have also found utility in macro photography, as the plane-of-focus control lets photographers capture more of the scene in focus, all else equal. Lao’s newest lens can focus as close as 22.8 centimeters (just under nine inches), which is the closest in its class of tilt-shift lenses and provides 1:2 macro magnification on a full-frame camera. The macro capabilities will be less on medium format thanks to the 0.79x crop factor.
Optically, the lens features 14 elements arranged into 12 groups. Venus Optics notes that the Laowa 35mm f/2.8 Zero-D Tilt-Shift 0.5x Macro delivers “virtually no optical distortion” and features an apochromatic design that reduces chromatic aberrations. The lens has a 15-bladed aperture diaphragm, with a range of f/2.8 to f/22.
Compared to a typical 35mm prime lens, the new Laowa tilt-shift lens is relatively large and heavy. The lens weighs 1,350 grams (nearly three pounds) and is almost 150 millimeters (5.9 inches) long. The lens accepts 77mm filters. The lens has an integrated Arca-Swiss tripod foot, meaning it can be attached to many tripods without an additional plate.
The Laowa 35mm f/2.8 Zero-D Tilt-Shift 0.5x Macro lens is available now for $1,249. The lens is available in E, Z, RF, and L-Mount for full-frame cameras, and in GF and XCD for medium-format cameras. At the time of publication, the lens is not yet available through B&H, but it will be shortly.
Panasonic has announced a firmware update for both the S1 II/S1 IIE and S1R II that improves video record times significantly while also making adjustments across the board. Panasonic says these changes directly respond to user feedback.
“User feedback has played a key role in shaping this update, such as optimized thermal management, addition of MP4(Lite) recording option, and UI improvements,” Panasonic says. “With support and input from the Lumix community, Panasonic has further refined the shooting and workflow experience. The company remains dedicated to this approach, providing ongoing firmware updates and product enhancements with a commitment to supporting creators and delivering the best possible tools for their craft.”
The headline feature improvement is thermal control adjustments that allow for all three cameras to see longer record times. Panasonic says that it specifically adjusted the thermal control algorithm to make recording times less affected by environmental factors.
On the S1 II, C4K at 120p (4:2:0 10-bit) used to have approximately 20-minute record times to an SD card and about 15 minutes on an SD and CFexpress on “Standard” heat management. That has been improved to about 30 minutes and about 25 minutes, respectively, with thermal management set to “Standard” and approximately 60 minutes and 30 minutes, respectively, with thermal management set to “High.”
C4K at 60p (4:2:2 10-bit) used to have a cutoff of about 60 minutes on SD and about 30 minutes on SD and CFExpress on “Standard,” but that has been improved to no limit across the board. Filmmakers who want to shoot continuously at C4K at 60p will be able to record until a memory card fills or a battery dies — whichever comes first. These same improvements are mirrored on the Full HD 60p (4:2:2 10-bit), which now has no recording limits either.
The S1 IIE used to have a limit of 20 minutes when shooting 6K at 60p (4:2:0 10-bit) to an SD card and CFexpress card, but that has been improved to 30 minutes on the “Standard” thermal management setting and boosted to no limit on High when shooting to an SD card and about 60 minutes when shooting to an SD card and CFexpress. There is also no longer any record limit in any thermal management mode when shooting C4K at 60p (4:2:2 10-bit) in APS-C crop mode.
The biggest changes to thermal management are seen on the S1R II. In 8K 30p (4:2:0 10-bit), the camera used to have a limit of about 20 minutes when recording to an SD card and about 15 minutes when recording to an SD card and CFexpress card with thermal management set to “Standard.” That has been improved to about 25 minutes and about 20 minutes, respectively, while switching to the “High” setting boosts that to about 50 minutes and about 30 minutes, respectively.
In C4K at 60p (4:2:2 10-bit), the previous record limits of 20 minutes to an SD card and 15 minutes to an SD card and CFexpress card have been boosted to 25 minutes and 20 minutes on “Standard” and 30 minutes for both when set to “High.” In C4K at 30p, shooting to an SD card and CFexpress card used to have a limit of 30 minutes, but that has been boosted to 50 minutes in “Standard” and no limit in “High.”
Finally, in Full HD 60p (4:2:2 10-bit), previous limits on an SD card and SD card plus a CFexpress card in “Standard” were 20 minutes and 15 minutes, but that has been improved to 25 minutes and 20 minutes, respectively. On “High,” that has been boosted to 30 minutes for both.
The improvements extend beyond just heat management. For the S1R II and S1 II, Panasonic also added a lower-speed option to the SH burst shooting (including pre-burst shooting), giving photographers access to 30 frames per second on the S1 II and 20 frames per second on the S1R II.
The company also made major changes to the autofocus interface. For quite some time, Panasonic used a box and crosshairs to indicate which eye was in focus, but now that can be set to a single rectangular box over the eye instead. Panasonic says that some users really do not like the previous interface, and it decided to give those users the ability to choose a more conventional option. Additionally, auto-recognition frames for only the main subject can now be set for display while using autofocus. That means that instead of seeing one yellow box and a bunch of white boxes on screen, users can just choose to see the yellow box, which indicates the person in focus.
Panasonic says that it also enhanced the general stability of autofocus through algorithm adjustments.
A new “MP4(Lite)” low bitrate format can now be selected, which is 3.8K open gate (3840×2560) at 29.97p/25.00p and 50Mbps. Panasonic also improved the compatibility of the cameras with the 100-500mm and both the 1.4 and 2x teleconverters. Also, filmmakers using an external monitor function can now apply a LUT to live view, display multiple frame markers, and show focus frames.
The firmware update also makes the following improvements and enhancements:
An icon indicating that the preview effect is disabled will be displayed on the shooting screen when [Constant Preview] is set to [OFF].
ISO Auto can be set in the [ISO Displayed Setting] menu in the Custom Menu.
A bug where the live view quality differed between standby mode and video recording mode when applying false color has been fixed.
Added a 1.6x display option for the Anamorphic Desqueeze Display.
The base ISO sensitivity can now be visible on the ISO sensitivity setting screen when Dual Native ISO is set to AUTO.
The default setting for functions registered to the sub video record button has been changed to “No Setting” in both Photo Mode and Playback Mode.
The processing time for focus stacking has been improved through algorithm enhancements.
A menu that allows you to display the live view with the same quality during both standby and video recording modes has been added (S1 II only).
Panasonic also updated the Lumix smartphone app and Lumix Flow so that LUT live view is available in the app and can be toggled on and off, granted support for multiple frame markers (the same frame markers shown on the camera are output to the app as live view), and improved the autofocus frame display for various recognition in Automatic Detection.
The firmware update is available to download for free starting today.
A filmmaker left a trail camera inside an old grizzly bear den near Yellowstone National Park for over ten years, capturing an extraordinary decade-long record of wildlife from inside the cave.
Wildlife photographer and filmmaker Casey Anderson — also known as Grizzly Guy — first placed the camera in the abandoned den in 2013. Anderson knew grizzly bears had once used the cave, so he thought the animals might return and reuse the location. He set up a Reconyx Ultrafire camera trap inside the cave and planned to leave it there long enough to catch anything that came back.
Anderson has now shared the remarkable footage on his YouTube channel Endless Venture and on social media, where it shows how the camera quietly recorded every animal that walked into or past the den across seasons and weather, over the course of a decade.
According to a report by Newsweek, the trail camera footage revealed far more activity than Anderson expected. Although the filmmaker had hoped to document grizzly bears returning to the den, the camera ended up recording all sorts of animals. One of the standout findings was a mountain lion that revisited the den over and over again. Anderson said the cat’s behaviour was almost obsessive, and the animal’s repeated stops at the cave offered a rare long-term view of how it used the space and moved through the area.
The camera also picked up visits from coyotes and smaller mammals throughout the ten years. Eventually, the trail camera was damaged by a curious bear, which finally stopped the recording. Up until that moment, the camera had continued to work as intended.
“Not only had bears returned, but so had mountain lions, coyotes, and a surprising variety of smaller animals. One mountain lion in particular kept returning again and again, almost obsessively,” Anderson tells Newsweek.
He adds: “This kind of discovery is what drives me. I’ve spent my life locating wild places and setting up cameras to quietly observe what unfolds when no one is around.”
Anderson chose the Reconyx Ultrafire camera trap because it can handle harsh weather and rough terrain, and is known for being durable with a long battery life. Those features allowed it to keep running for ten years in a remote, challenging location and still produce clear, usable footage.
A Magnum photographer has released new work that focuses on young people living in the peripheries of Spain — reflecting the alienation and uncertainty of the present era.
Agony in the Garden is the second monograph by Lúa Ribeira, created in her native country of Spain between 2021 to 2023. Inspired by the potential of contemporary counter-culture, Ribeira has collaborated with young people in Madrid, Málaga, Granada and Almería to make images that evoke a dystopian landscape suspended in time, one that appears both contemporary and ancient.
The clothing, gestures, and signs of the people in Ribeira’s photos show affinities with and influence from online worlds and personas, echoing the extremes of hedonism and nihilism, all of which plays out in the backdrop of a rapidly homogenising world.
Much of the inspiration behind her work comes from religious motifs (of her native Galicia, Spain), as well as studies into painting and cinema which all become key reference points within the images.
“I worked in the peripheries of southern Spanish cities where the arid landscapes helped ground a project that otherwise refuses a fixed geography,” Ribeira says. “The title, drawn from a biblical passage of worship, allowed me to evoke a blurry temporality. The intention was to connect a very contemporary reality, to more universal themes of suffering, betrayal, impending doom, and other human fears that recur throughout history.”
Through its dystopian and at times absurd atmosphere, Agony in the Garden reflects on a range of global socio-political issues through the contemporary lens of hedonistic counter-cultural movements.A visceral feeling of uncertainty permeates throughout the work conjured by the decaying landscapes made on the edges of greenhouse cultivation in Almeria, while Ribeira’s inclusion of religious motifs and imagery continually nod towards more universal themes and a suspension of temporality. Underpinning all of this is a sense of tragedy and rootlessness, countered only by the energetic vibrancy of the youthful bodies that parade through the photographs.
“Over the past decade, I’ve been inspired by the ways younger generations articulate themselves—through expressions, images and gestures that are increasingly global and acutely attuned to the alienation of our times,” explains Ribeira.
“In a world marked by material excess, digital acceleration, overlapping financial, migratory, and ecological crises, there are certain symbols and aesthetics that echo across geographies—expressing in different ways something about contemporary violence. These movements are often framed as subcultural by the media, photojournalism, and conventional documentary practices. Yet, it is precisely these frameworks that I seek to resist, choosing instead to read between the lines and accept more complex and fragile narratives.”
Agony in the Garden was shown as part of Close Enough: New Perspectives from 12 Women Photographers of Magnum a touring exhibition curated by Charlotte Cotton (2021-2026), as well as a solo display at the Museo Lázaro Galdiano, Madrid (2023).
An intriguing conceptual camera made by a group of former DJI engineers will launch on Kickstarter next month. The RocX made by Farseer can be plugged into a DSLR or mirrorless camera, as well as working on its own.
The company calls it the “world’s first AI-powered distant view camera,” and some of the videos and images RocX has put out of it are startling.
As demonstrated in the image above, a DSLR or mirrorless camera can be screwed onto the gimbal and the RocX camera placed on the hot shoe. The RocX system can then control the camera by swivelling it around to track subjects.
“Farseer focuses on smart imaging robots and has launched the world’s first AI bird-watching camera pan-tilt unit,” the company says. “The team members are mostly from DJI and have gathered senior engineers specializing in AI algorithms, structural design, hardware design, software design, and system quality.”
The RocX camera — which has a six-hour battery life — has a 1/2.8″ sensor and an ISO range of 100 to 12,800. It can take 4K photos in 1080P and record 4K video at 30 frames per second (FPS) and 1080P videos at 60 FPS. Its aperture range is just f/2.0 to f/3.2, and the zoom capacity is 50x, with the focal length ranging from 35mm to 1,750mm. It’s not clear how much of that is optical zoom and how much is digital zoom.
As well as the RocX gimbal, the RocX handle mounts the camera in a similar way to the DJI Osmo Pocket — Farseer does mention that some of its staff worked on the Osmo Pocket. The handle also has auto-tracking and auto-framing capabilities. Both the gimbal and the handle have a two-axis stabilization, and weigh in at 2.2 lb. and 1.1 lb. respectively.
Digital Camera World reports that a Kickstarter for the RocX camera system will start in December. The camera by itself will reportedly cost $199, with the handle $299, and the RocX camera with the gimbal $699.
That RocX is said to be made up of former DJI engineers is interesting. The drone company is facing a looming ban in the United States. DroneXL notes that DJI has been “hemorrhaging” talent from its U.S. operations and those same people were bound to start engineering competing products.
Check out the awesome products that TrueSonic Inc. offer.
https://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=2145237&u=3952045&m=130968&urllink=&afftrack=
Check out all the awesome stuff at Moment for your photography/videography needs!
https://partner.shopmoment.com/4PDeVG
Save on your orders for SmallRig gear
If you'd like to pick up your own HOVERAIR XR Drone use the following link
https://thehover.com/products/hoverair-x1-self-flying-camera-combo
and code XMHOVER to save $20
Get your own discount on VITURE XR One glasses, Neckband, Switch Dock and more!
https://shop.viture.com/?ref=LiamPhoto
Check out the latest deals at OWC (Other World Computing) for all your Apple/Mac needs.
https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/specials/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cj
Get low cost SSLs for your sites here.
Sign up for VidIQ using the following link:
https://vidiq.com/liamphotoatl
Check out my ThinkTank Affiliate link. When you buy using this link you help the channel, pay nothing extra and can even get a free item!
I now have my own discount code for my Subscribers and Podcast audience at http://www.platypod.com use my code WD20 to get 20% off on any Platypod branded items, excluding bundles which are already discounted by 20% or more. One user per customer.
I also have an affiliate code for Dehancer Film profiles at http://www.dehancer.com and use code LDPHOTO
Check out the awesome gear Ulanzi has for photographers and Content Creators!
https://www.ulanzi.com?aff=1002
You can buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/liamphotoaf
Also be sure to join the Liam Photography Podcast Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/liamphotographypodcast/ You can reach the show by call or text @ 470-294-8191 to leave a comment or request a topic or guest for the show. Additionally you can email the show @ liam@liamphotographypodcast.com and find the show notes at http://www.liamphotographypodcast.com.
You can find my work @ https://www.liamphotography.net and follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @liamphotoatl. If you like abandoned buildings and history, you can find my project @ http://www.forgottenpiecesofgeorgia.com. and http://www.forgottenpiecesofpennsylvania.com.
Please also stop by my Youtube channels Liam Photography
Comments & Upvotes