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In October, Canon announced the RF 24mm F1.4 L VCM, a lens intended to appeal to both photo and video shooters. We shot a sample gallery with it to see how it performs in a variety of scenarios.

While shooting, we used the aperture control ring, which was only possible because we shot the gallery with a Canon EOS R5 II. The majority of Canon's RF cameras, such as the original EOS R5, R7, R6 II, and others, will only accept input from the aperture ring when shooting in video mode, not in stills mode. It's also worth noting that the ring is completely clickless, and can't be switched to a clicked mode.

View the sample gallery

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Getty Images and Shutterstock are to join in what's being presented as a merger of equals. The new company will be called Getty Images Holdings Inc and the deal will see Getty Image's CEO retain his position at head of the new company, while Getty's chair will also chair the new company's board. The board of directors will be made with a seven-to-four Getty-to-Shutterstock ratio.

Shutterstock shareholders receive cash, Getty stock or a combination thereof for their holdings. They will end up owning approximately 45.3% of the new company.

The company's press release primarily focuses on the benefits its scale will bring to its image-buying clients. It also talks about the company's increased size, which puts it in a position to provide "customer‑facing technologies" such as "generative AI." Both Getty and Shutterstock currently offer their own AI image generators and promise that the tools' outputs are safe for commercial use.

"With the rapid rise in demand for compelling visual content across industries, there has never been a better time for our two businesses to come together," said Getty Images CEO Craig Peters. "By combining our complementary strengths, we can better address customer opportunities while delivering exceptional value to our partners, contributors, and stockholders."

Getty says "content creators" will benefit from the larger company's increased ability to reach customers around the world.

The press release announcing the merger contains little information about what contributors selling their work on the platforms can expect in the near future. However, it promises that the move "provides contributors substantially greater opportunities to reach customers around the world." We've reached out to Getty and Shutterstock to see if they have any details to share at this time, and will update the story if we hear back.

The companies have not given a timescale for closing the deal, which will require regulatory approval.

Prior to rumors of the merger beginning to swirl late last week, both companies' stock prices were down substantially year-over-year. At the beginning of 2024, Shutterstock was trading around $49 a share, compared to $29 on January 2nd, 2025. Getty's stock was around $5.34 at the start of 2024, and $2.11 at the start of 2025.

Press Release:

• Merged company will be well‑positioned to meet the evolving needs of creative, media, and advertising industries through combined investment in content creation, event coverage, and product and technology innovation
• Expected annual cost synergies between $150 million and $200 million by year three
• Expected to be accretive to earnings and cash flow beginning in year two
• Companies will hold conference call to discuss the transaction with investment community today at 8.30a.m. EST

NEW YORK, January 7, 2025 – Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: GETY) and Shutterstock (NYSE: SSTK) today announced that they entered into a definitive merger agreement to combine in a merger of equals transaction, creating a premier visual content company. The combined company, which would have an enterprise value of approximately $3.7 billion[i], will be named Getty Images Holdings, Inc and will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “GETY”.

As a combined company, Getty Images and Shutterstock will offer a content library with greater depth and breadth for the benefit of customers, expanded opportunities for its contributor community and a reinforced commitment to the adoption of inclusive and representative content. Furthermore, the stronger financial profile of the combined company is expected to create increased capacity for product investment and innovation for customers in a fast‑evolving and highly competitive environment.

“Today’s announcement is exciting and transformational for our companies, unlocking multiple opportunities to strengthen our financial foundation and invest in the future—including enhancing our content offerings, expanding event coverage, and delivering new technologies to better serve our customers,” said Craig Peters, CEO, Getty Images. “With the rapid rise in demand for compelling visual content across industries, there has never been a better time for our two businesses to come together. By combining our complementary strengths, we can better address customer opportunities while delivering exceptional value to our partners, contributors, and stockholders.”

“We are excited by the opportunities we see to expand our creative content library and enhance our product offering to meet diverse customer needs,” said Paul Hennessy, CEO, Shutterstock. “We expect the merger to produce value for the customers and stockholders of both companies by capitalizing on attractive growth opportunities to drive combined revenues, accelerating product innovation, realizing significant cost synergies and improving cash flow. We look forward to working closely with the Getty Images management team to complete the transaction and drive the next chapter of growth.”

• Cutting‑edge innovation: Facilitates greater investment in innovative content creation, expanded event coverage, and customer‑facing technologies and capabilities such as search, 3D imagery and generative AI.
• Complementary portfolios: Creates a broader set of visual content products across still imagery, video, music, 3D and other asset types.
• Expanded opportunities for content creators: Provides contributors substantially greater opportunities to reach customers around the world.
• Strengthened balance sheet and greater cash flow generation: By deleveraging the combined balance sheet through the transaction and driving more robust cash flow, the combined company will be well positioned to accelerate debt repayment, reduce borrowing costs, and capitalize on new opportunities to create value for customers and stockholders.
• Significant synergies: Drives expected run rate synergies across SG&A and CAPEX between $150 million and $200 million achieved within the first three years post‑close, with approximately two‑thirds expected to be delivered within the first twelve to twenty‑four months.
• Compelling Financial Profile:On a pro forma 2024 basis the combined company would have an attractive financial profile:
  • Revenue of between $1,979 million and $1,993 million, including 46% of subscription revenue
  • Pre‑synergy EBITDA of between $569 million and $574 million
  • Pre‑synergy Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures of between $461 million and $466 million
  • Pre‑synergy net leverage of 3.0x pro forma 2024 pre‑synergy EBITDA

At close, Getty Images’s CEO, Craig Peters, will serve as CEO of the combined company. The combined company will have an eleven‑member Board of Directors, comprised of Getty Images CEO Craig Peters, six directors designated by Getty Images and four directors designated by Shutterstock, including Paul Hennessy, Shutterstock CEO. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the combined company will be Mark Getty, currently Chairman of Getty Images.

Under the terms of the agreement, which was unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies, Shutterstock stockholders at close can elect to receive one of the following:

• $28.84870 per share in cash for each share of Shutterstock common stock they own;
• 13.67237 shares of Getty Images common stock for each share of Shutterstock common stock they own; or
• a mixed consideration of 9.17 shares of Getty Images common stock plus $9.50 in cash for each share of Shutterstock common stock they own.

Shutterstock shareholder elections at close are subject to proration to ensure that the aggregate consideration payable by Getty Images consist of $9.50 in cash per Shutterstock share as of immediately before close and 9.17 shares of Getty Images stock per Shutterstock share as immediately before close.

Based on the common shares outstanding as of the signing date, the aggregate consideration payable by Getty Images would consist of $331 million in cash and 319.4 million shares of Getty Images stock. These figures do not include the impact of unvested Shutterstock equityholders as of the signing date and do not assume any vesting of currently‑unvested Shutterstock equity holdings between signing and close.

Shutterstock equity holders with unvested RSU and PSU grants at close will only be eligible to receive the mixed consideration noted above upon vesting with respect to such grants. Shutterstock option holders will have their options and strike prices adjusted by a ratio equal to the sum of (i) 9.17 and (ii) $9.50 divided by the 10‑day average closing stock price of Getty Images common stock for the period ending two (2) business days prior to the closing as quoted on NYSE. Equity treatment will take into account any employment contracts in place at the close of the transaction. Aggregate cash and share amounts are estimates and are subject to change between signing and close.

At close, Getty Images stockholders will own approximately 54.7% and Shutterstock stockholders will own approximately 45.3% of the combined company on a fully diluted basis. Shutterstock will, at the discretion of its Board of Directors, continue to declare and pay quarterly cash dividends, in accordance with its dividend policy, pending the close of the transaction.

The transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals, the approval of Getty Images and Shutterstock stockholders and the extension or refinancing of Getty Images’ existing debt obligations.

Compact cameras have become increasingly popular with young people, some of whom are tired of the sharp, bordering on the over-processed look of modern smartphone photos. While many are turning to thrift shops and eBay to get cameras with a vintage look, some companies have started putting out new models that aim to re-capture the point-and-shoot experience.

One such company is Yashica, which has announced two new compact cameras, the City 100 and City 200. On the surface, they seem like the type of camera that would go viral on TikTok. However, it's probably worth taking a closer look.

Details on the cameras are sparse – they don't appear to be mentioned on Yashica's website or Instagram page, and we weren't able to find an official press release. The image at the top of this article appears to be the only look at the two models. According to Digital Camera World, which appears to be the original source for the announcement, both the City 100 and 200 will use a 13-megapixel Type 1/3.06 (6.0 x 3.9mm) sensor from Sony.

That's substantially smaller than the traditional compacts from which Yashicas draw their inspiration. In the past, most point-and-shoots used either Type 1/2.3 (6.2 x 4.6mm) or Type 1/1.7 (7.6 x 5.7mm) sensors. While most people buying point-and-shoots aren't terribly concerned about image quality – and if they are, they're worried about it being too good – a sensor that small may struggle to produce intelligible images in anything but excellent light, though both cameras do have a built-in flash.

As a reference for just how small the sensor in the Yashica cameras is, the main camera on the iPhone 16 uses a Type 1/1.28 (9.8 x 7.3mm) sensor, which is just over twice as large. The main camera on the budget-oriented Google Pixel 8a is also substantially larger at approximately 7.4 x 5.5mm.

Of course, compared to phones, the benefit of compacts is that they can zoom optically instead of digitally – the City 100 reportedly has a "3x" optical zoom, while the 200 sports a "10x" zoom, though unlike the City 100, there's no focal length information printed on its lens in the press images. Still, the City 200 could fare a bit better than most phones at its maximum zoom length; the iPhone 16 Pro's "10x" lens is in front of a 4.5x3.4mm sensor, which is smaller than the one in the Yashica, though it almost certainly benefits from more advanced processing.

The City 100's zoom range appears to be roughly 26-77mm equiv., given the 3.45 - 10.35mm focal range printed on the lens and its sensor's roughly 7.4x crop factor. The lens has an aperture range of F1.6 on the wide end and F2.8 on the long end.

According to Digital Camera World, both cameras will feature subject-detection autofocus and 4K60p video recording and will have a maximum ISO of 3200. The outlet says the City 100 will be coming out in February for £219.99, while the City 200 will cost £259.99 and release in March. The cameras will reportedly also be available in the US and Australia, though Digital Camera World doesn't have official pricing for those markets yet. Those prices are relatively high; for less than half you can find several similar point-and-shoots using tiny sensors and branding of once-respected camera companies.

The City cameras aren't Yashica's first compacts.

Image: Yashica

Many people – us here at DPReview included – have been waiting for a major camera manufacturer to release a compact camera again, either an entry-level model or something truly aimed at enthusiasts. However, if you're considering these cameras, it may be worth waiting for some official reviews or at least user-created sample images. The specs are relatively unimpressive, even compared to many of the vintage point-and-shoots you can pick up on the used market, and while the cameras bear a name that may be familiar to photography enthusiasts, Yashica isn't the same company that made cameras and lenses throughout the 20th century.

The trademark has been passed around in the past few years, but it appears that it's currently managed by the Hong Kong-based 100 Enterprises. The Yashica name has appeared on several products since 2017, including the retro-styled 'digiFilm Y35', night vision goggles, and even a few other low-end compacts that are being marketed towards "Teen Girls and Boys." The brand has also been involved with I'm Back, a company that's been working on digital film cartridges that it says will let you take digital pictures using your existing film camera.

Despite the company telling DPReview that the Yashica x I'm Back Film would be entering retail availably in November, that doesn't appear to have panned out – the company put out a Kickstarter update saying it was starting to ship units to backers in December, though there currently aren't any comments from customers who've actually received theirs. The two brands have also collaborated on a "smart" bike helmet currently being sold through crowdfunding site IndieGoGo, as well as a "micro mirrorless" camera.

It's possible we'll see compacts from more established brands start to come along, as they catch up to the unexpected surge in demand. Panasonic, for instance, just announced the TZ99, a point-and-shoot with a 20MP Type 1/2.3 with a 24-720mm equiv lens. At around $500, it's certainly more expensive than the Yashica models, but we'd expect its larger sensor to produce much more pleasing images.