Kirk McElhearn

Episode 218: iPhone 18 Pro Camera Hands On

October 12th, 2026  |  36 mins 50 secs

apple, cameras, iphone, iphone 18 pro, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast

Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro gains a variable aperture and a faster main camera, but that’s not all. In iOS 27, Apple has also revamped the Camera app somewhat. Jeff has been shooting with the iPhone 18 Pro since its release, and we talk about his hands-on experiences.

Episode 217: iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro

September 18th, 2026  |  32 mins 25 secs

apple, cameras, iphone, iphone 18 pro, iphone duo, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, variable aperture

Apple has announced its new iPhone lineup and for the first time it includes a foldable, the iPhone Duo. But photographers will want to check out the iPhone 18 Pro. We discuss what's new, from the variable aperture to improved maximum f-stop to (finally) manual controls in the Camera app.

Episode 216: Cameras Are Everywhere

August 29th, 2026  |  29 mins 9 secs

apple, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, meta, pervert glasses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast

From Meta’s “pervert glasses” to rumored camera-equipped AirPods, cameras are making their way into more of our personal technology.

Episode 215: "It Feels Un-Apple-y"

August 16th, 2026  |  31 mins 33 secs

apple, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast

With new iPhones on the horizon, we discuss the new Apple Upgrade program -- and why it feels less like the Apple we knew. We then pivot to amazement about the photographers who shoot the Tour de France every year. And then Jeff shares details about the Godox iT32 flash, a flash and wireless controller that’s affordable and clever for how it works.

Episode 214: Dealing with Heat and a Drone Made for Water

July 20th, 2026  |  30 mins 19 secs

apple, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast

The recent heat waves in the US and UK have us thinking about ways to keep our cameras and phones cool. We also look at a report on Apple’s new raw processing technology coming in iOS 27, and Jeff talks about the HoverAir Aqua, a camera drone designed to be used on the water.

Episode 213: Jeff Goes to the Dark Side (Sony)

July 8th, 2026  |  34 mins 1 sec

a7r5, a7rv, apple, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, mirrorless, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, sony

We’ve mocked YouTubers who make a fuss about selling all their camera gear to switch brands and systems, only to do it all again later for clicks. Well, the universe has a sense of humor, because that’s just what Jeff has done—the first part, anyway. He sold his Fuji X-T3 and lenses in became a Sony photographer. And it was the last thing he expected. We also talk about Apple raising the prices of most of its products.

Episode 212: Craig Grannell on Apple’s New AI Photo Announcements

June 21st, 2026  |  40 mins 40 secs

apple, cameras, ios27, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, spatial reframing, wwdc

Episode 211: Obsessive Isn’t a Bad Word

June 12th, 2026  |  26 mins 17 secs

apple, aspect ratio, cameras, cropping, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast

We often talk about framing a photo to get the best composition, but sometimes we don’t nail it. Or we realize in editing that a tighter crop would be better. Or something crept into the edge of the frame at the last second. In this episode, we talk about cropping photos, whether AI cropping is worth trying, and why there’s only One True Aspect Ratio.

Episode 210: Photo Scouting

May 25th, 2026  |  28 mins 42 secs

apple, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast

Before you go out to do some photography, how do you determine where to go? Jeff had a portrait session booked and discovered that the location was fenced and blocked -- but scouting in advance gave him time to find a new spot. We talk about tools and techniques for finding the best photo spots and conditions.

Episode 209: What If Apple Makes a Camera?

May 10th, 2026  |  26 mins 46 secs

apple, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast

Our conversation in this episode started with news of John Ternus becoming the next CEO of Apple as of September 1, but that led to an intriguing concept that isn’t as far-fetched as it might seem: What if Apple makes its own camera? Imagine a fixed-lens compact mirrorless with a larger sensor, better glass, and all of the technologies Apple has developed for the iPhone. Could it happen? We get into the details.

Episode 208: DaVinci Resolve, Lightroom Killer?

April 27th, 2026  |  30 mins 30 secs

apple, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast

The well regarded video editor DaVinci Resolve just introduced a Photos module inside the app, making some people wonder whether the free software could replace traditional photography tools like Lightroom. We also talk about a book of passport photos, photos that change history and film simulations.

Episode 207: Monochrome Sensors, DNG, and Apple 50th

April 11th, 2026  |  31 mins 20 secs

apple, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast

We remain fascinated by monochrome cameras, and this week we discovered just how tough it is to source the sensors used by the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome. We also talk about DNG, Adobe’s universal raw format, becoming an official image standard (and why the big camera companies probably won’t adopt it). And if you hadn’t heard, Apple turned 50!

Episode 206: You Can’t Trust Photos Anymore

March 30th, 2026  |  32 mins 44 secs

apple, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast

So it’s come to this. Generative AI has quickly gotten so good that it’s hard to distinguish real photos from generated ones. So where do we go from here? We talk about C2PA authentication, trusting your sources, and more.

Episode 205: Spec Goblins and the MacBook Neo

March 14th, 2026  |  28 mins 30 secs

apple, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, macbook neo, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast

Apple has announced the MacBook Neo, a $600 laptop running on the same A18 Pro processor that was used in the iPhone 16 Pro. Oh, and it has 8GB of RAM and starts at 256GB of storage. Believe it or not, lots of people on the Internet take issue with those specs, so we look at it from the point of view of whether it could be a good machine for photographers who blew all their money on a $10,000 Leica f/1.2 lens.

Episode 204: Storage Prices

March 1st, 2026  |  28 mins 58 secs

apple, cameras, hard disk, inflation, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, lenses, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast, ssd, storage

The prices of digital storage are set to climb this year because AI is eating up all the available inventory. And modern photography is entirely dependent on storage, whether it's the SD cards that store the captured images, the internal solid-state memory that stores data on your computer, or the external SSDs and traditional hard drives that keep your archive of photos.

Episode 203: Do You Have $10,000 to Spare?

February 14th, 2026  |  31 mins 53 secs

apple, cameras, iphone, jeff carlson, kirk mcelhearn, leica, lenses, lightroom, photo editing, photo organization, photography, podcast

The best-selling compact camera in Japan is from... Kodak? We’ve talked about compact cameras in the past, but it remains a fascinating part of the photo marketplace as people look for something different than mirrorless and DSLR cameras. By the way, do you have $10,000 to spare on a new 35mm lens? Leica’s Noctilux-M 35mm f/1.2 ASPH was just announced at that eye-watering price. Lastly, Jeff covers some new Lightroom features in the latest versions.