Lens

Fujifilm has unveiled a more advanced version of its flexible rotating-lens business projector. The ZUH12000 is the brightest member of the company's Z-series and becomes its second 4K model. But it's the first to have an interchangeable lens system.

The whole mobile world is heading to Barcelona this week for Mobile World Congress 2025, and of the raft of Xiaomi gadgets on display is a magnetic attachment aimed at giving its smartphones a photographic boost.

Though smartphone cameras can snap stunning images, most pros will haul a dedicated camera to assignments. Space inside camera bags is at a premium, but a nifty lens from Samyang could lighten the load by allowing optical elements to be swapped out.

Scientists have developed a new type of lens that creates multiple focal points, which could make for glasses or contacts that provide a clearer view over a range of distances. The secret? Making the lens a spiral shape.

There's been talk of including a retractable lens in a smartphone camera array for a while now, with both Xiaomi and Oppo throwing their hats in the ring. But seemingly out of nowhere comes the Phantom X2 Pro from Tecno, which sports just such a lens.

No matter how many times 3D displays emerge and fade, the tech refuses to die. Researchers have now developed a glasses-free 3D display prototype that uses nanostructured lenses to produce more realistic images that can be seen over a longer distance.

Researchers have developed a new type of adaptive liquid lens that changes its focal distance when a voltage is applied. Made with an electrically responsive fluid, the lens is lightweight and could be easily manufactured for use in smartphones.

Researchers have modified the material used in re-writable CDs to create a new optical lens that shifts its focal point in response to heat, with no moving parts. It could enable miniature zoom lenses for drones, cellphones, or night vision goggles.

In 1859, British photographer Thomas Sutton created a camera with a unique water-filled lens – it allowed for some interesting effects. Low-fi camera company Lomography has replicated that lens, and included it in a 35-mm panoramic film camera.

Lomography has been celebrating the legacy of Joseph Petzval since 2013, when the first reinvention of a 19th century portrait lens was launched. The 80.5-mm f/1.9 MKII marks the 180th anniversary of Petzval's first portrait lens.

​A few years ago, Léo Marius released designs for a 3D-printable camera that captured pretty decent stills. The camera still needed some proper glass out front though. Amos Dudley has taken the idea a step further by printing an entire 35 mm-film camera – including the shutter and lens.

The Twist 60 is a new lens from Lensbaby which is inspired by a vintage Petzval optic from 1840. The lens is designed to be used with full frame cameras where it can give backgrounds filled with iconic swirly blurs.