By Matt Growcoot
Publication Date: 2026-04-27 12:28:00
Lens manufacturer Tokina has chosen the overall winner of its 2025 monthly photography competition after a “violation of competition rules”.
This comes after a Reddit post last week titled “Lens maker Tokina falls for AI image in photo contest,” which highlighted the winning image and admonished Tokina for failing to realize the photo was allegedly fake.
“Whether it’s a completely fake or heavily upscaled photo, it’s simply unacceptable and shameful for a camera lens manufacturer to award this,” reads the post, shared to r/cameras.
Tokina seemingly responded to the Reddit post, replacing the winning image with a photo of Lee Nuttall. One winner is selected each month, but this award recognizes the best shot of all 12 winners from 2025. He is selected by “all employees involved in the development of production, logistics and sales of Tokina…”