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Hot Shoe

Japan-inspired

52 stories

AnimationXpressIndia‘Mashle: Magic and Muscles’ brings muscle to the magic world Magic meets muscle as Japanese-American actor Mackenyu Maeda steps into the shoes of Mash Burnedead in the live-action film Mashle: Magic and Muscles, a Japanese adventure-comedy fantasy manga and…

International Center of PhotographyCulture10×10 Photobooks Salon: Japanese Women Photographers’ Photobooks 10×10 Photobooks Salon: Japanese Women Photographers’ Photobooks Join us at ICP for a special edition of the Photobook 10x10 Salon, focusing on Japanese Women Photographers.

The Film StageCinema“English Is the Key”: Takeo Hisamatsu on Opening Japanese Cinema to the World During the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival There is nary a time and place without financial concerns, but it’s well within the needs of any public-facing institution to maintain the image of strong, steady organization.

International Center of PhotographyCultureJapanese Women Photographers from the 1950s to Now (Lenscratch) Japanese Women Photographers from the 1950s to Now (Lenscratch) Link https://lenscratch.com/2026/11/im-so-happy-you-are-here-japanese-women-photogra… Published Date Tue, 11/03/2026…

International Center of PhotographyCultureIntimate and Political: Seventy Years of Japanese Women’s Photography (Blind) Intimate and Political: Seventy Years of Japanese Women’s Photography (Blind) Link https://www.blind-magazine.com/news/intimate-and-political-seventy-years-of-jap… Published Date Mon, 11/02/2026…

SonovisionFranceBrompton équipe l’immense plateau LED de Crescent à Tokyo À Tokyo, le Digi-Cast HANEDA STUDIO de Crescent s'appuie sur l'un des plus grands volumes LED au monde pour accueillir des productions audiovisuelles.

GOST BooksCulturePresentation: The Yokohama Project in Milan A special presentation of Giada Ripa's The Yokohama Project will take place at The Reading Room in Milan on November 18, from 6.30-9 pm.

Sigma Photo blogMakersHow Sigma Cine Lenses Helped Create the Vintage Look of Japanese Horror Film “Never After Dark” Director of Photography Patrick Ouziel used Sigma FF High-Speed Prime lenses to bring a '70s-inspired vintage aesthetic to Japanese horror film "Never After Dark".

Mike EckmanCinemaA Camera Buyer’s Guide to Japanese Auctions For most camera collectors, there is no better source for your GAS needs than eBay. With over 200,000 active listings in both the Film Cameras and Vintage Cameras categories combined, it is difficult…

ApertureCultureA Tokyo Drifter’s Catalog of Crude Coincidences From giant poodles to accidental spills, Kenya Sugai finds strange pleasures among the city’s shadows.

Japan Camera HunterCinemaIn your bag 1788 – Tokyo Forgeries – Jeff Austin In your bag 1788 – Tokyo Forgeries – Jeff Austin Tokyo Forgeries , AKA, Jeff Austin is a fellow Tokyo-ite and shares with us his bag from when he first started shooting in Japan.

Ricoh RumorsRumoursRicoh to raise Japanese prices for 11 GR accessory listings on November 2 Ricoh’s October 15 notice lists revised Japanese suggested retail prices for straps, shoe covers, cases and conversion lenses, including the GW-4 and GT-2.

International Center of PhotographyCultureJapanese Women Photographers from the 1950s to Now (All About Photo) Japanese Women Photographers from the 1950s to Now (All About Photo) Link https://www.all-about-photo.com/photography-article/2224/i-m-so-happy-you-are-h… Published Date Thu, 10/22/2026…

International Center of PhotographyCultureJapanese Women Photographers: A History of Looking (VEIN) Japanese Women Photographers: A History of Looking (VEIN) Link https://vein.es/japanese-women-photographers-a-history-of-looking/ Published Date Fri, 10/16/2026…

International Center of PhotographyCultureJapanese Women Photographers from the 1950s to Now (THE EYE OF PHOTOGRAPHY) Japanese Women Photographers from the 1950s to Now (THE EYE OF PHOTOGRAPHY) Link https://loeildelaphotographie.com/en/the-international-center-of-photography-im… Published Date Tue, 10/06/2026…

AnimationXpressIndia‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ eyes 10 billion yen after record opening Godzilla is on the rampage at Japan’s box office. Godzilla Minus Zero has grossed 910 million yen (US$5.75 million) and drawn 590,000 admissions on its opening day, setting a record… The post…

Camera DecisionReviewsCIPA September 2026: Shipments Fell 12%, and China Took a Third Fewer Cameras CIPA's September numbers are out, and this is the weakest month of 2026 so far. Camera makers shipped 748,169 cameras, 12.1% fewer than a year ago, and the money fell 7.3%. Compacts still grew.

Camera EggReviewsSigma FP2 Orders Exceed Expectations in Japan Ahead of November 11 Launch Sigma has warned that FP2 and EVF-21 orders in Japan have exceeded its expectations ahead of the camera’s scheduled November 11, 2026 launch.

Camera DecisionReviewsCanon EOS R3 Is Listed as Sales Ended in Japan, Five Years After Launch Canon Japan's product page for the EOS R3 now carries a "sales ended" heading. The camera is five years old, the R1 and R5 Mark II sit on either side of it, and an R3 Mark II has been rumored since…

DIY PhotographyTechThis Tokyo Camera Store Lets You Test a Hasselblad and Fly a DJI Drone A new Hasselblad and DJI store in Tokyo lets visitors try medium format cameras, explore a photography gallery, and fly drones indoors.

Sound on SoundVideoModartt add YFX Japanese Grand to Pianoteq Modartt’s much-loved virtual piano suite has just been treated to another update, gaining a new instrument pack that recreates the sound of a popular Japanese-made grand piano.

First ShowingCinemaMust See Trailer for Japan's 'Rex: A Dinosaur's Story' US Re-Release Meet Rex! 練 Kani Releasing has unveiled a new official US trailer for the remastered & restored re-release of a long lost Japanese monster movie cult classic called Rex: A Dinosaur's Story - REX…

Cartoon BrewVFXAssociation of Japanese Animations Sets First-Ever Nippon Anime Awards For November 2027 The AJA-backed initiative aims to celebrate anime’s artists and productions while supporting emerging talent and new business opportunities.

First ShowingCinemaDystopian Sci-Fi Japanese Gameshow Thriller 'Quiztopia' Full Trailer "Japan's civility will be tested. The curtain rises on Japan's delirious wonderland." So this is Japan's Squid Game ?

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· Trade shows and launch events, this week's stories from each corner of the industry, and what its press is covering.

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About

The small bracket on top of every camera, from a phone rig to an ARRI.

The hot shoe is where the flash goes, and the microphone, and the monitor, and whatever the next decade bolts on. Every camera has one and nobody photographs it. This magazine is named after it because that is where the whole business meets: the body, the glass, the light, the sound, and the person holding it.

I shot news in Gothenburg for nine years and documentary for hire after that, then stopped taking assignments to write about the tools. Since 2021 I live in Tokyo, ten minutes from the used-camera shops of Shinjuku, which is not an accident: Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, Panasonic, Ricoh and Sigma make almost everything worth pointing at a subject, and their own press writes about it first, in Japanese. So this magazine reads it there, and in German, French, Italian and Spanish, and in English from the reviewers who actually put a card in the slot — around eighty sources and thirty channels, counted and plotted so you can see what is moving.

Bodies and lenses, cinema cameras and drones, film and the darkroom, firmware and the software that finishes the picture, the rumours before the launch and the reviews after it, and the photographers and shows the rest of it is for. I test what I write about on a job before a word goes down. I shoot film on Sundays and do not think that makes me interesting.

A story here is a headline, a short excerpt, one picture and the link to whoever reported it. We never reprint the article, and the picture belongs to the photographer or the maker. A story written in Japanese appears in Japanese, as its author set it down; the link goes to the original.

— Mara Lindqvist, Tokyo