Everybody loves a 35mm prime, right? It’s certainly one of my favorite types of lenses for walkabout, travel, and street photography, delivering a natural but moderately wide perspective with a full-frame camera. I feel that this Meike strikes a good balance between a fairly fast but not overly rapid f/1.8 aperture rating, enabling a pretty compact size and light weight. On the face of it, the lens also looks excellent value for money.

So who is Meike anyway? The company is based in Hong Kong, currently comprising 30 technicians and 200 production personnel, running multiple production lines, a dust-free workshop, and a test lab for lens manufacture, headed with the slogan ‘realize your vision’. Like other Chinese lens manufacturers, the overall aim is to deliver quality goods at bargain prices. As such, the full-frame compatible Meike 35mm f/1.8 Pro AF lens that I’m reviewing here aims to be one of the best lenses for Nikon Z cameras and one of the best lenses for Sony E-mount cameras. Well, if not the outright best, then at least one of the best-value options.

Meike 35mm f/1.8 Pro AF: Specifications

Meike 35mm f/1.8 Pro AF: Price

The price tag hanging off this fairly feature-rich 35mm prime lens is $379 / £319 / AU$573. That compares very favorably with own-brand options like the Nikon Z 35mm f/1.8 S at $897 / £799 / AU$1,399 and the Sony FE 35mm f/1.8 at $848 / £539 / AU$989. The Meike certainly looks like a bargain at the price, considering that it comes complete with a dedicated aperture control ring, weather seals, and other finery, although naturally it all comes down to image quality and all-around performance.

Meike 35mm f/1.8 Pro AF: Design & Handling

What do you really expect from a ‘pro’ lens nowadays? The badge seems to be bandied about very liberally and is generally best taken with a pinch of salt. Even so, this Meike prime looks the part, to some extent at least. Sure, it ‘only’ has an aperture rating of f/1.8 rather than f/1.4 or even f/1.2, but that’s generally fast enough as I’m concerned, and I prefer a compact and lightweight build for a 35mm lens, especially for the likes of street photography and walkabout shooting. The Meike certainly obliges in this respect, measuring a dinky 74x93mm / 2.9x3.7" and weighing in at a mere 400g / 14oz. That makes the lens very easy to live with.

Sneak in behind the front element of the lens, shown above, and you’ll discover a fairly complex optical path comprising 12 elements arranged in 10 groups. These include two aspherical elements, which are claimed to minimize aberrations and improve image quality, along with three ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements with the aim of enhancing clarity and reducing chromatic aberrations. Nano-structure multi-layer coatings are also on hand to minimize ghosting and flare.

Naturally, sharpness in practice boils down to the performance of the autofocus system just as much as the quality of the glass. The Meike scores highly here, with a fast and virtually silent system that’s based on the combination of NanoDrive and a linear stepping motor. As well as being designed to keep up with fast-paced action in stills photography, the lens also boasts minimal focus breathing when shooting video, and is advertised as having sufficient resolving power for capturing 8K footage.

Towards the rear of the lens barrel is an aperture ring with calibrated markings at one-third f/stop increments from f/1.8 down to the narrowest aperture of f/16. Beyond this is the Auto position, for controlling the aperture from the host camera body. The aperture ring is good news up to a point, but it lacks a switch for locking the ring in its Auto position, and there’s also no switch to enable a click/de-click facility, the latter of which would be more ideal for video capture. The aperture itself is based on a 9-blade diaphragm, which is pretty well-rounded.

Unlike many own-brand ‘budget’ lenses from camera manufacturers, the Meike is supplied complete with a hood. It’s an efficient, petal-shaped hood at that, with the typical bayonet fitting that’s reversible for compact stowage.

As usual, the hood is actually dual-purpose. It helps to reduce stray light entering the lens from oblique angles, thus reducing the danger of ghosting and flare. And it also provides physical protection to the front element of the lens, lessening the risk of it picking up scrapes and knocks.

As I’d fully expect in a ‘pro’ lens, the Meike features a metal rather than plastic mounting plate. Not only that, but it has a rubber weather-seal gasket around its circumference, to minimize the ingress of moisture and dust. There’s also a USB-C socket, which you can use to apply firmware updates if and when they become available.

Meike 35mm f/1.8 Pro AF: Performance

How sharp do you like it? I tested the Meike with a high-res 45.7MP Nikon Z8, which puts a spotlight on the resolving powers of any lens. I found that the Meike was super-sharp in the central region of the image frame, even when shooting wide-open at f/1.8. That’s reinforced by the consistent accuracy of the autofocus system. In the region between the middle and edges of the frame, sharpness is still very good wide-open and excellent at apertures between f/2.8 and f/8. However, extreme edge/corner-sharpness is relatively disappointing at wide apertures between f/1.8 and f/2.8, and it pays to stop down to between f/5.6 and f/11 for best results in this respect.

Color fringing can also be a little noticeable away from the center of the frame at f/1.8, and becomes a little worse as you stop down through the aperture range. That said, the actual amounts of color fringing certainly aren’t severe, and are easily within the remit of automatic in-camera corrections featured in both Nikon and Sony bodies. The same goes for vignetting at wide apertures and barrel distortion throughout the range, the latter of which I’ll come to in ‘lab results’ below.

As with any fast lens, the quality of bokeh is often considered to be equally important as sharpness and other attributes of image quality. The widest aperture of f/1.8 enables a fairly tight depth of field, despite the moderately wide-angle focal length of 35mm, especially when shooting close-ups. Bokeh is nice and smooth, with a natural roll-off between focused and defocused areas within images.

Meike 35mm f/1.8 Pro AF: Sample Images

The gallery below comprises sample images taken in and around Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s SS Great Britain, ‘the ship that changed the world’. A revolutionary vessel that was iron-hulled, steam-powered, and propeller-driven, she was launched in 1843, eventually scuttled on the Falkland Islands in 1936, then towed some 8,000 miles back to her birthplace in Bristol in 1970, where she has undergone meticulous restoration and is currently a major tourist attraction, floating on a ‘glass sea’ in dry dock.

Meike 35mm f/1.8 Pro AF: Lab Results

We run a range of lab tests under controlled conditions, using the Imatest Master testing suite. Photos of test charts are taken across the range of apertures and zooms (where available), then analyzed for sharpness, distortion and chromatic aberrations.

We use Imatest SFR (spatial frequency response) charts and analysis software to plot lens resolution at the center of the image frame, corners and mid-point distances, across the range of aperture settings and, with zoom lenses, at four different focal lengths. The tests also measure distortion and color fringing (chromatic aberration).

Sharpness:

Center-sharpness is very good even wide-open at f/1.8, and is excellent in the f/2.8 to f/5.6 sector of the aperture range. In the mid-region between center and edge, sharpness comes on strong at f/2.8. However, edge/corner-sharpness is relatively lackluster at wide apertures and you need to stop down to f/5.6 for images to be really crisp around the edges.

Fringing:

There’s slight color fringing away from the central region of the frame at f/1.8 and it gets gradually worse at the edges as you stop down throughout the aperture range. On the plus side, it’s not particularly bad and the automatic in-camera correction of Nikon and Sony bodies fixes the issue completely.

Distortion: -2.88

Barrel distortion can be noticeable but, as with color fringing, automatic in-camera correction can take it out of the equation. Unlike many modern lenses designed for mirrorless cameras, in-camera correction for distortion isn’t ‘forced on’ and the Meike is perfectly usable with the correction disabled.

Meike 35mm f/1.8 Pro AF: Verdict

I like that the Meike 35mm f/1.8 Pro AF is reasonably compact and lightweight, yet robustly built with the inclusion of weather seals. Center-sharpness is impressive throughout the aperture range, even when shooting wide-open, although edge-sharpness leaves something to be desired at apertures wider than f/5.6. All in all, image quality is very pleasing, backed up by fast and consistently accurate autofocus. It’s a stretch to call it a ‘pro’ lens, but the Meike is certainly an appealing prime at a very attractive price.

Alternatives

7Artisans has announced a new ultra-wide-angle lens for APS-C Fujifilm X, Sony E and Nikon Z cameras. The 7Aritsans AF 10mm f/2.8 features an 11-element optical stack arranged in 10 groups and incorporates two aspherical elements, 3 ED (extra-low dispersion) lenses, and two high refractive index elements. The combination of a fast f/2.8 maximum aperture and wide, rectilinear field of view should make the lens ideal for applications like astrophotography.

The lens is 72mm long, and 69mm in diameter, with the E-mount variant weighing in at 232g, despite an all-metal barrel construction. The bayonet mount is also metal and includes a rubber gasket, making the mount dust and splashproof. The 10mm APS-C focal length equates to 15mm in full frame terms, enabling a huge 105.3-degree field of view. Minimum object distance is 0.3m, and the lens is compatible with 62mm filters.

Unusually for a 7Artisans lens available in multiple mount options, the AF 10mm f/2.8 features autofocussing and a full set of lens-body electronic contacts, plus a USB-C port for applying firmware updates.

The official 7Aritsans Weibo announcement lists the AF 10mm f/2.8 at ¥999 Chinese RMB, which converts directly to around $140 USD. The lens should soon be available at Amazon US and B&H, so we'll see how high that price goes after tariffs are applied.

Lens-maker Venus Optics has officially announced that it will be releasing a new 12mm f/2.8 full-frame autofocus lens on June 25, 2025. The Laowa 12mm f/2.8 FF II C&D Dreamer will be available in Sony E and Nikon Z mounts with full autofocus, and there will also be Canon RF and L-mount Alliance versions, although these will be manual-focus only.

While Venus Optics has garnered a stellar reputation for producing innovative and often unusual manual focus lenses with remarkably low distortion, this new lens is only the second from the brand to have autofocus, joining the recently released Laowa 10mm f/2.8 FF II C&D Dreamer, which again offers autofocus in its Nikon and Sony versions, with other mounts only having manual focus.

According to Venus Optics, the 'C&D Dreamer' designation in its Laowa lens range is broken down as follows. The 'C' signifies a compact build, the 'D' means minimum distortion, and the 'Dreamer' bit is reserved for lenses that exhibit soft, artistic image rendering.

Indeed, it is compact and light, weighing around 377 grams, depending on the lens mount, and has a reasonably svelte 72mm filter thread. And Venus Optics claims that it produces images with a near-zero distortion. We'll see if our tests bear this out when we get our hands on a review sample.

It's not the first 12mm f/2.8 Laowa lens – that honor goes to the Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D, which was released back in 2016. But while this 'Zero-D' model signifies a 'close-to-zero distortion' design, it is a significantly heftier lens, weighing in at around 609 grams, and is only available in manual focus, whatever the mount.

While pricing details are expected to be officially released at the time of the announcement on June 25, I expect the lens will be competitively priced. As a rough guide, the autofocus versions of the Laowa 10mm f/2.8 lens cost £799 / £849 / AU$1,449.

To  photograph a full moon (or any moon) successfully, you first have to understand it. Although astrophotographers specializing in the moon usually photograph it through a powerful telescope, a telephoto lens of almost any focal length is good enough to get a good shot. Making the moon the sole focus of a shot, however, is only one way to approach lunar photography; another is for it to enhance a landscape photo, where it can provide a powerful addition to a wide-angle image.

While it can help, the fact that you don’t need any specialist equipment to photograph the moon makes it one of the most accessible celestial subjects out there. It’s a great starting point for those interested in astrophotography, whether you’ve only got a kit lens or even just a camera phone.

All full moons are given names, which often differ depending on the region or culture. Tonight’s full moon is most commonly referred to as the Full Strawberry Moon. According to Almanac, which cites The Old Farmer’s Almanac, full moon names can have Native American, Colonial American and European roots. And while Strawberry Moon might conjure images of a fiery red orb, its Native American origins link it to strawberries harvested in June.

According to NASA’s SKYCAL, the Full Strawberry Moon will peak tonight on June 29 19:57 EDT and 23:57 GMT. Because it’s the closest full moon to the summer solstice, it will hang lower in the sky than any other moon this year.

Equipment for shooting the Moon

The equipment you’ll need is the same as for wildlife or sports photography: a DSLR, mirrorless or bridge camera on a sturdy tripod, and either a wide-angle or any regular telephoto lens, such as one with a 70-300mm focal range. A remote shutter-release cable will also be useful so you don't introduce vibrations, although you can also use the timer in your camera.

Check out this article, if you want to know how to photograph the moon with a monster Nikon P1000 bridge camera. And if you're interested in picking up essentially the same camera with a few modern appointments, the Nikon P1100 has recently been launched.

The Moon is a moving target; the combination of the Moon's 2,288 miles-per-hour orbit and Earth's 1,000 miles-per-hour rotation makes our satellite a fast-moving target. However, it's usually bright enough for a relatively fast shutter speed to yield good results.

How to focus on the Moon

Although you can autofocus on the Moon as it rises, or as it becomes visible just before sunset, it's a good idea to focus manually. With your lens set to manual focus, set the the focusing ring to infinity. It takes some practice since most cameras can focus beyond infinity, and finding the exact point that works for your lens takes trial and error.

Take some test shots and zoom in on the result on your camera's LCD screen to see which one works best. Don't skip this step; only once you've done it correctly will your Moon photos be reliably sharp.

How to expose for the Moon

It's a common mistake to overexpose the moon but it's actually much brighter than you think. However, if you want to photograph the foreground and not just the moon by itself you will need to make sure your exposure works for both or use bracketing to take multiple shots with different exposures.

To get a great Moon shot and little else, set your camera to ISO 100 or ISO 200 and the aperture to between f/5.6 and f/11, and adjust your shutter speed to between 1/125sec and 1/250sec. The exact settings will vary depending on your camera and the brightness of the Moon, which depends on its exact phase, but these base settings will get you started.

Taking a landscape photograph that includes the Moon is more difficult because during that 'blue hour' after sunset the Moon is already too bright. So, if you take a longer exposure for the landscape, you'll overexpose the Moon, and if you expose for the Moon, the landscape with be under-exposed. So what do you do?

The answer is either to photograph the Moon just before sunset when the light levels are higher (they drop-off so quickly at the point of sunset), or to take two exposures and combine them in photo-editing software. The latter approach, however, often looks fake. Another way is to expose for the Moon, and use a flash to light the foreground.

When to photograph the Moon

The full moon is probably the lunar event that most beginner astrophotographers will want to photograph first - but it is actually one of the most difficult due to the glare that this creates. Some of the most impressive shots of the full moon are those where it is seen behind a building or a natural structure – which makes the moon look much larger than it does to the naked eye.

If you want less of a cliche, go for other phases of the Moon when you can see a line between the light and dark sides. This is called the terminator line, which is when the craters on the Moon throw shadows, particularly near its South Pole. You can see this most nights, but perhaps the most precious kind of Moon is visible only on the few days on either side of New Moon. At this time, you'll also see a waxing or waning Crescent Moon close to the horizon, and it comes with the bonus of Earthshine.

How to capture Earthshine on the Moon

Although 50% of the Moon is constantly being illuminated by the Sun, there are a few days each month when the Earth gets involved – and it's a beautiful event to capture.

Earthshine is a dull glow to the unlit area of the Moon that's the result of sunlight reflecting off Earth's surface and onto the lunar surface. Its subtle and mesmerizing, and easy to capture if you time it right.

Set up for the first (or, more likely, the second) sunset after a New Moon. Using a lens with as long a focal length as possible, and with your camera on a tripod, dial in a sensitivity of ISO400, an aperture of f/2.8 (or as wide as your lens aperture will go), and open the shutter for between one and four seconds.

See our guide to photographing earthshine

In fact, Earthshine is always being reflected onto the Moon to some extent, but it's only around the New Moon that the crescent of sunlight is small enough for the camera to expose for both the lit and unlit areas.

This is also a good time to combine Moon photography with night-sky photography because the Moon will set soon after you've photographed it. You can then go looking for stars and the Milky Way.

How to capture a moonrise or moonset

There are two exceptions to the advice to avoid photographing the Full Moon.

The first is when there's a total lunar eclipse, and the second is when a Full Moon rises or sets, as it's a great alternative to a sunset. The sight of a Full Moon peeking above the horizon and turning from deep orange to pale yellow to bright white during twilight is a spectacular sight. It also presents an opportunity to get the Moon in the context of a beautiful landscape.

The colourful spectacle lasts mere minutes and is easy to miss, but, like everything else in the night sky, a rising Full Moon is predictable down to the second. Simply find out exactly on what day the next Full Moon is going to be where you are, and exactly what time sunset is on that date, then look to the east for the moonrise. Start-off with your camera set to ISO100, f/10 and 1/125 sec.

If you've ever seen photos of someone or something silhouetted against a seemingly giant Moon, perhaps while standing on top of a hill, they were taken during a moonrise. They were also ruthlessly planned; The Photographer's Ephemeris and PhotoPills apps are ideal for this kind of project.

To make the Moon look so large in the background, photographers need to use superzoom telephoto lenses of at least 1,000mm while being positioned a mile or so away from the all-important foreground subject that introduces that sense of scale.

Composites, moon-stacks and super moons

It's possible to shoot the Moon and add it to another landscape shot using Photoshop. However, almost everyone who attempts this either makes the Moon look way too big, or they place it somewhere in the night sky that it doesn't occur (such as in the norther hemisphere's northern sky).

To anyone with a trained eye, most composites look like what they are: fakes. There is one exception; moonstacks, a lunar time-lapse, in which you take several photos of the moon as it moves through the sky, and then use Photoshop to composite them into a single image.

Read more: How to create a moonstack

Although it often grabs the attention of photographers and media alike, pay little attention to the term 'supermoon'. A recent term that merely means that the Moon is slightly closer to Earth than normal, it has little practical meaning or use. However, while a Super Full Moon does look larger as it rises above the horizon, it's only by about 10%-15%, so it's barely noticeable to eye or camera.

The very finest way of getting a close-up shot of the Moon – and the only way to get enough magnification for it to fill the entire frame – is to mount the body of a camera on a telescope using a cheap T-adaptor; it's like having a very large telephoto lens. Try to find a telescope with a focal length of over 1,000mm, but under 2,000mm to capture the whole of the moon.

Whatever kind of Moon-shot you try for, photographing our satellite provides a good lesson in the role of precision timing in composing unique landscape and nature images.

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If you enjoy photographing the full moon and want to take your astrophotography to the next level, take a look at the best camera for astrophotography. You may also wish to upgrade your optics via the best lenses for astrophotography. And if you want to take your astrophotography even further (literally!) for some deep-space imaging, then head over to the best telescopes for astrophotography.

Choosing the right focal length is a crucial part of the creative decision making process for a photographer. You can have the best camera for beginners, but if you don't truly understand focal length, you'll struggle to pick the right lens for the right situation.

Focal length is used to determine your lens's angle of view, which is what you see when you look through your camera's viewfinder. The angle of view is measured from the point where rays of light converge within a lens (the point of convergence) to the camera's sensor (or film) and is calculated while the focus is set to infinity. 

You will also come across the terms field of view and angular field of view. Technically, angle of view, field of view, and angular field of view are different. But the differences are minimal – not to mention disputed – so I'm going to simplify things by referring to angle of view, exclusively.

Lenses with fixed focal lengths are known as prime lenses and lenses with varying focal lengths are zoom lenses. Understanding the angle of view is crucial when identifying, say, the best lenses for bird photography and is something that seasoned photographers do instinctively. 

In short, the smaller the focal length, the wider the angle of view and the more 'wide-angle' the lens. The larger the focal length, the narrower the field of view and the more 'telephoto' the lens. Focal lengths are often split into six categories. Below, you'll find a breakdown of each category and the genres of photography they’re often associated with. 

It's worth noting that these parameters can shift slightly, depending on where you look or who you ask. We'd suggest viewing them as guidelines that will help you get used to choosing the right focal length for the job. Ultimately, the best focal length will always be the one that helps convey your creative vision. 

Understanding crop factor

I will be referring to focal lengths in 35mm (or full-frame) terms. If you're using an APS-C or Micro Four Thirds camera, you will have to work out the 35mm-equivalent focal length of your desired lens to find the category that it occupies.

Because APS-C and Micro Four Thirds sensors are smaller than full-frame sensors, they have a crop factor, which you can use to find out the 35mm-equivalent focal length. To find this out, multiply your lens's focal length by 1.5 if you're using an APS-C Nikon, Fujifilm or Sony camera, 1.6 if it's an APS-C Canon camera, and 2.0 if it's a Micro Four Thirds camera.  

So, a 50mm lens on a Nikon DX body has a comparable angle of view to a 75mm lens on an FX body, because 50 x 1.5 = 75. 

• Photography cheat sheet: Focal lengths explained

1. Ultra wide angle  

Focal lengths below 24mm are referred to as ultra-wide-angle. Such focal lengths provide extremely wide angles of view and are often used to cram huge pieces of architecture or sprawling landscapes into the frame. Fisheye lenses use ultra-wide-angle focal lengths too, but feature even wider angles of view due to their specialist construction. 

The best lenses for astrophotography are often ultra-wide angle, due to astrophotographers requiring a wide enough field of view to capture the panoramic night sky. 

2. Wide angle 

Wide-angle focal lengths offer wide angles of view that aren't as extreme as their ultra-wide counterparts. The wide-angle ballpark sits between 24 and 35mm, and is used to capture landscapes and architecture. Wide-angle lenses suffer from barrel distortion and are therefore not used for conventional portraits. 

The best lenses for landscapes are typically wide angle, allowing landscape photographers to capture sprawling vistas with more manageable barrel distortion than ultra-wide-angle lenses, which can diminish subjects by making them appear smaller within the scene. 

3. Standard 

Standard focal lengths range from 35 to 70mm and are generally considered the most versatile focal lengths. The 'nifty fifty' (or 50mm prime) is a perfect example of a standard focal length that's used to shoot a wide range of subjects, as it's close to human vision, making it popular for casual, street and documentary photography.

The best lenses for street photography tend to be standard lenses, providing an authentic angle of view, which complements the subject matter. 

4. Short telephoto 

Focal lengths of 70 to 300mm are sometimes referred to as telephoto, but that doesn't tell the whole story. It's worth recognizing the short (or medium) telephoto category, which generally goes up to 135mm, as it's particularly suitable for portraits and close-up photography. 

The best macro lenses are usually short telephoto focal lengths – particularly useful when working with skittish subjects who might spook if you get too close.

5. Telephoto

With short telephoto lenses ranging from 70 to 135mm, anything beyond this (up to 300mm) is simply telephoto. Such focal lengths provide increasingly narrow angles of view and a decent amount of reach. They're therefore commonly used by sports and wildlife photographers. 

The best lens for sports photography will almost always be a telephoto or super-telephoto optic (the latter is up next).  

6. Super telephoto 

Go beyond 300mm and you're into super-telephoto territory. These focal lengths feature the narrowest angles of view and furthest reach. Super-faraway subjects are the order of the day, making them ideal for wildlife, aviation events and picking out individual sportspersons from the sidelines. 

The best telephoto lenses are often super-telephoto examples. Perfect for getting you close to the action, from a faraway vantage point. 

You may also be interested in the best Nikon lenses, the best Canon lenses and the best Sony lenses.

Last year, Phase One introduced the XC, a 150MP medium-format camera featuring a built-in Rodenstock 23mm f/5.6 lens. Now the Danish camera company has launched a new version of the camera, the XC 40, that comes equipped with a longer lens to offer a more versatile option for photographers.

The original Phase One XC received critiques regarding the ultra-wide 23mm lens, which provides a 14mm full-frame equivalent focal length. While this wide-angle view was useful, it isn't the ideal choice for many landscape or travel photographers as it can be too wide for most standard compositions. 

The new Phase One XC 40 features a more conventional wide-angle 40mm lens, delivering a 24mm equivalent focal length, aligning more closely with what photographers typically look for in wide-angles.

ABOVE: Watch the Phase One XC 40 launch video

The XC 40 retains the manual focus lens design of its predecessor and can be paired with Phase One's IQ4 150MP digital back. This new 40mm Rodenstock HR Digaron-S lens also boasts a faster f/4 aperture, compared to the f/5.6 lens on the original XC 23. 

The IQ4 150MP image sensor offers significant cropping options – bearing in mind that this is a true medium format sensor, at 53.4 x 40mm, compared to the cropped medium format 43.8 x 32.9mm sensors used b y Fujifilm and Hasselblad – along with 15 stops of dynamic range, an ISO range of 50-25,600, and image resolution of 14,204 x 10,652 pixels. The system is operated through a touchscreen interface, and captures 16-bit RAW images.

Beyond its lens and sensor, the XC 40 also includes numerous advanced features designed to aid photographers. These include automated frame averaging, automatic metering (unusual for field cameras), built-in WiFi, mobile integration, and customizable "IQ Styles" for dialing in specific looks. These features are designed to make the camera more versatile in the field, simplifying shooting without compromising on quality.

The biggest question that potential buyers face is why they might choose the XC 40 over Phase One's other options, such as the XF or XT bodies that offer interchangeable lenses. 

The XC cameras' main advantage lies in their compact, travel-friendly design – a rarity in the true medium format space. However, for those seeking flexibility in lens choice or the tilt-and-shift functionality offered by the XT, the XC 40 may not be the ideal option despite its strong set of features.

I will also point out that "body-only" (the lens is attached to the body) will see you invest US$20,029 (about $29,057 Australian) of your hard-earned cash; if you want the 150MP back as well, then the total package is a massive US$62,490 ($90,649)! 

If you don't want to spend 20 grand on one, you might be interested in the best medium format cameras from other manufacturers. And you don't need medium format to get high resolution; check out the highest resolution cameras across all formats!

The Brenizer method is the brainchild of renowned US wedding photographer Ryan Brenizer. It's sometimes referred to as the 'bokeh panorama' or 'bokeh-rama', owing to the panoramic stitching technique used to achieve it and the super-shallow depth of field that's produced. 

'Bokeh panoramas' boast shallower depths of field than are otherwise achievable with a wide-angle lens and give APS-C and full-frame users the ability to produce portraits with a large-format aesthetic. 

The key to this striking technique is to use a telephoto lens, ideally a fast one such as the best lens for portraits. You then shoot your portrait in small sections - in a tile-like grid that you will then stitch together in Photoshop. For each shot you use constant camera settings that won't change between frames, so you can create a seamless blend.

Once you've settled on a white balance preset, and locked your exposure in Manual, you used AF to focus on your subject and then switch to manual focus so as not to change your point of focus as you begin to shoot your panoramic sequence. Exactly how many photos you take is down to personal preference, but we strongly recommend overlaying each image by around 30% to ensure you don't leave any gaps.

Adobe Photoshop CC makes it easy to blend your sequence by automatically merging your images. You then simply need to check the blend for any inconsistencies and crop it as desired. If you like the idea of creating a wide portrait with a super-shallow depth of field, here's how to shoot and edit your own 'bokeh panorama'.

The Brenizer method

1. Select a fast lens 

A fast medium telephoto is handy for maximizing the shallow depth of field. However, if you don't have a pro porttrait lens any telephoto zoom will do. The great thing about this trick is you end up with a wide-angle view with much less depth of field than your existing lenses will allow.

In this instance, we used the Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.4G, but the classic 50mm f/1.8 could also work well, especially when providing an equivalent focal length of 75mm on an APS-C camera. 

Depending on your system, the Canon RF 85mm F1.2L USM, Sony FE 85mm F1.4 G Master, and Fujifilm XF 56mm F1.2 R WR would work well, too. Thankfully, you're not limited to just prime lenses though. A fast telephoto zoom, like a 70-200mm f/2.8, will still produce a suitably blurry background for this effect.

2. Set a consistent white balance  

As you'll be merging photos, each image needs to be as consistent as possible. To prevent the white balance from changing mid-sequence, head to menu and set the color temperature manually. We'd suggest shooting in Raw so you can tweak the color temperature of you batch of images later.

3. Frame your image 

You'll have plenty of room to crop your large panorama in post, but you should still consider your composition. Visualize your final image and position yourself accordingly before you start shooting. Still leave enough space to crop, though, as your blended image will be an irregular shape.

4. Camera settings 

Select Aperture Priority mode and choose a wide aperture. We'd recommend f/2.8 or wider. Adjust the ISO value until you get a shutter speed of 1/200 sec (or higher). Select Manual mode and input the same settings to lock your exposure. Just like the white balance, consistent exposure is vital.

5. Switch to manual focus 

Your focus needs to be consistent throughout your sequence. If you're using back-button focus you can simply release the back button after you've focused on your subject. If not, focus on your subject using AF and then switch to manual focus. Your focus will then remain locked as you proceed to capture your bokeh panorama.

6. Capture a 'bokeh panorama'

We framed and captured our subject, and then shot three frames to the left and three frames to the right. This process was repeated just above the model's head and below her feet. There's no hard and fast rule for how many or how few images you should capture. Just make sure you overlay each image by around 30% to prevent any gaps between frames.

Blend a 'bokeh panorama'

7. Open your sequence in Camera Raw 

Highlight your sequence in Adobe Bridge (select the first image, hold Shift and select the last image). Right-click and select Open in Camera Raw. Hold Shift and select the last image in the left panel to highlight the sequence. Edits will now affect all of the images.

8. Set the color temperature

Once you've selected Remove Chromatic Aberration and Enable Profile Corrections in the Lens Corrections tab, check the exposure and color temperature of each image. Ensure you fix any inconsistencies before blending your panorama and select Done.

9. Import your sequence into Adobe Photoshop

With the images still selected, click Tools>Photoshop>Photomerge. Make sure Auto and Blend Images Together are selected when the Photomerge window opens and click Browse to select the images from your sequence. Hit OK to start the merging process.

10. Blend your 'bokeh panorama'

You'll now have a large medium-format style image that's spliced into multiple layers. Photoshop generally does a good job of blending images together, but it's worth looking for any obvious inconsistencies, which you can rectify with the Clone or Patch tools.

11. Crop your blended image 

Your image is likely a rather irregular shape; fix this using the Crop tool. It's worth remembering that your photograph is a blend of multiple pictures, so you have plenty of room to play with if you opt for a tighter composition.

6. Flatten and finish 

Make a flattened copy of your image by selecting the topmost layer and pressing  Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E (Cmd+Alt+Shift+E on a Mac). You can then proceed with your normal tonal editing regime to finish it off.

You may also be interested in how to use Photoshop's High Pass Filter to selectively sharpen your photos, or to learn other great Photoshop tips

The British Ecological Society has announced the winners of its annual photography competition, which for the first time was open to everyone.

The competition – Capturing Ecology – celebrates the brilliance and intricacies of the natural world with the selected winning and highly commended images capturing the diverse ecology of flora and fauna from across the globe.

Entries from ecologists, photographers, and students were submitted from 23 countries and six continents. The category-winning images represent captivating stories about 'a life-and-death arms race played out on the smallest scales, the damage alien species can inflict, and the plight of one of our closest relatives against the combined threats of poaching and habitat loss'.

The overall winner and recipient of the title British Ecological Society Photographer of the Year was awarded to Damien Esquerre, a biologist at the University of Wollongong, Australia. Esquerre won for his image titled The Dragon and the Sun, which depicts a bearded dragon basking in the midday sun.

Speaking on the win, Esquerre said, "It is a massive honour to win this important competition and I’m very happy to have my photo showcased to an international audience".

He continued, "I took the photos while doing a bushwalk in Canberra where I lived at the time. I always carry my camera with me and look for interesting photo opportunities. I saw this dragon basking on the tree, and thought I could use a fish-eye lens, which is an extreme wide angle, to and get close to have the dragon as the main subject but include the tree and the sun in the composition. By including the sun the photo was obviously backlit, so I used a flash to fill the strong shadows and bring some detail into the dragon."

The full list of winners can be found below:

Overall Winner: Damien Esquerre

Overall Runner-Up: Danni Thompson

Individuals and Populations (Animals): Filip Jarzynski

Individuals and Populations (Plants and Fungi): Jenn Rose

Networks in Nature: Roberto García-Roa

People and Nature: Roberto García-Roa

Ecologists in Action: Tim Jackson-Bué

Regenerative Agriculture: Lindsay Banin

Speaking on the incredible level of winning images in this year's competition, Professor Bridget Emmett, President of the British Ecological Society, said: "The British Ecological Society is a truly global community, so it brings me great joy to see ecosystems from across the world celebrated in this year’s Capturing Ecology. 2024’s winners showcase the breadth and beauty of biodiversity - spanning Sumatra to Switzerland, and from the Red Sea to The Skerries - all captured through the ever-questioning lens of the ecologist."

A full list of winners and runners-up and their images can be found on the official British Ecological Society website – congratulations to all of the winners!

You may also be interested in our guides to the best cameras for wildlife, the best cameras for landscapes, and the best fisheye lenses.

Prolific camera phone tipster Digital Chat Station has leaked what may be the camera specs for Vivo's upcoming flagship phone, the X200. Given how similar the new phone's reported camera set-up is to the previous X100, this latest tip does seem plausible. The tip comes shortly after Vivo itself published a sample photo apparently shot on the X200:

According to Digital Chat Station, the primary wide-angle module in the X200's triple-camera array will be Sony’s IMX921 sensor - a 50 megapixel, 1/1.49-inch chip. This is a marginal upgrade over the X100's IMX920 sensor, which is the same size and megapixel count as the IMX921.

The leak states that the X200's ultrawide camera will use a Samsung ISOCELL JN1 50MP 1/2.76” sensor - a direct carry-over from the X100. The third module is a periscope telephoto camera, which Digital Chat Station says will use a 50 megapixel Sony IMX882 sensor. This 1/1.95-inch sensor differs from the 64MP, 1/2-inch OmniVision OV64B sensor used in the X100's telephoto camera, though if the leak is correct, the X200 looks like it'll retain the X100's 70mm, f/2.57 periscope lens, enabling 3x optical zoom.

The leak also claims that the X200 will be capable of 10x hybrid zoom and will feature a 32MP selfie camera.

Elsewhere, the X200 is said to sport a 6.78-inch OLED display with a 1.5k resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and under-screen fingerprint reader - no change here from the X100's screen specs. The leak claims the X200 will run MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400 processor - the direct successor to the Dimensity 9300 SoC in the X100. However, the X200 will supposedly pack a larger 5,800mAh battery - up from 5,000mAh in the X100.

We won't have too long to wait to see if this latest leak is credible, as Vivo is expected to launch the entire X200 phone series on October 14.

A new rumor from serial smartphone tipster Ice Universe suggests Samsung's next flagship camera phone, the Galaxy S25 Ultra, may feature almost the same camera array as the current Galaxy S24 Ultra. If the rumor is correct, the only significant difference could be a new ultrawide camera, based around Samsung's 50MP ISOCELL JN3 sensor, with a 0.7um pixel size. This contradicts a previous rumor that the S25 Ultra might get a new telephoto camera. It also means the 200MP ISOCELL HP2 sensor in the phone's primary wide-angle camera would be carried over to the S25 Ultra, along with the S24 Ultra's 10MP 3x telephoto module and its 50MP 5x telephoto camera.

Other rumors suggest Samsung could equip the S25 Ultra exclusively with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset in all regions, while also adding extra RAM, though battery capacity is said to be unchanged from the S24 Ultra. It's also claimed that S25 Ultra could be the thinner and lighter than the iPhone 16 Pro Max and Google's Pixel 9 Pro XL, at least in part due to thinner screen bezels.

Have camera phones peaked?

But should we really be surprised that the Galaxy S25 Ultra may not get a substantially improved camera array? The pixel count of camera phone sensors seems to have peaked at 200MP since the S23 Ultra, and 1-inch appears to be the size limit for a camera phone sensor. The periscope lens has helped enable longer telephoto focal lengths, but that's only possible by pairing the lens with a physically smaller sensor, so there's also a limit to how much zoom a phone can reasonably offer before the sensor size gets so small that image quality is noticeably compromised.

It's long been the case that the secret to a camera phone's stellar image quality is advanced image processing - this is how Google was able to re-use the same image sensor for four generations of Pixel phones, while still improving image quality along the way. Now with power of AI on tap to further enhance image processing, phone manufacturers will be leaning on this far more than advancements in sensor and lens hardware to improve camera performance.

One of the greatest benefits of owning a mirrorless or DSLR camera system is the ability to change your lens to suit a specific subject. But there will be occasions when you don’t have the luxury of time to switch from say a telephoto to a wide angle, a prime example being when you’re shooting a wedding or sporting event. 

One moment you might be taking group shots with a wide-angle, and the next some important detail could be happening far away that you’ll need a telephoto lens to zoom in on - by the time you’ve switched lenses it’s likely that moment will have gone. That’s where a double camera harness comes in, giving you access to two cameras with two different lenses hanging off each of your shoulders.

Over the years BlackRapid has built a solid reputation as a manufacturer of camera straps, systems, and harnesses that photographers can rely upon. I’ve previously owned a BlackRapid Double Breathe Harness, which I found to be an essential accessory for wielding two cameras at weddings and events, though its latest iteration has some slight design tweaks and I’m keen to see how it performs. So I got hold of one to put it through its paces and see what it’s all about.

Specifications

Price: $179 / £149
Size: Standard or Slim
Colors: Black or Multi-Terrain
Strap adjustable length with pad: 63″ (160 cm)
Pad material: Nylon mono mesh, TPE foam, polyester, and air mesh
Pad Length: 16″ (40.5 cm)
Pad Width: 2.2″ – 4″ (5.5 cm – 9.5 cm)
Pad Thickness: 0.3″ (.65 cm)
Webbing: 100% Nylon
Webbing Width: 1″ (2.5 cm)
Strap Weight: 12.1 oz / 343g

Features

BlackRapid’s Double Breathe Harness is made from two single-padded shoulder camera harnesses. While predominantly designed to be a dual camera harness, there's nothing stopping you from unclipping the two shoulder pads and using one as a cross-body sling. 

The Double Breathe comes in two sizes: Standard or Slim, the latter has been designed with women, or people with a smaller stature in mind. It’s also available in a few color options including black or multi-terrain camo. An in-depth setup video on BlackRapid’s website gives you a full demonstration to get set up and a QR code is included in the packaging to take you straight to it.

The harness comes packed in a mesh bag which not only keeps your harness and its accessories safe and secure during transit, it sets the tone for the rest of the product as it feels well built and high quality.

The latest design change sees a white BlackRapid logo on the front, there’s also a metal buckle and strap on the back which keeps the two shoulder pads securely anchored together. It’s worth noting that BlackRapid also makes a Blackline II double camera harness which is completely blacked out with a black logo and black plastic buckles to help you blend in.

So the Blackline II blends in more seamlessly with darker clothing or even a tuxedo at a wedding and would be the better option if you’re looking to keep a low profile. Another design tweak is the new fabric loops which sit at the very top of your shoulders when wearing the harness and allow a third camera to be attached.

To get started you’ll attach the two provided fasteners to the base of your camera’s 1/4” tripod mount, or this can be to the tripod foot collar on longer lenses to help with balance. The fasteners are metal with a rubber disc that measures 3mm in depth giving you plenty of cushioning to firmly tension it to your camera and feel totally secure. 

As a side note, you can also buy adapters from BlackRapid so that the fasteners can be compatible with tripod plates for Manfrotto or Arca-Swiss and can save time in switching between these different adapters if you plan to use a tripod in the same session as you’re using your harness, or you just want to leave one adapter on your camera all the time and ‘set and forget’ about it. These adapters are a tad pricey at about $30 a pop, but they solve a problem so you may find it worth the investment.

The fastener is then attached to the metal carabiner which is both fast and secure. A spring-loaded knurled piece on the carabiner is then twisted to lock or unlock it. The plastic LockStar gate can then be used to keep it secure and stop the carabiner from being accidentally knocked or loosened - for added peace of mind the LockStar gate will only click into place when the carabiner is in its locked position. This is a nice touch and gives the user extra confidence that their expensive cameras and lenses are safe and secure.

As an added security measure the Double Breathe comes with two safety tethers which can be looped through each carabiner and then secured to your camera’s general strap lug for an extra attachment point and a failsafe if the worst was to happen. 

Once set up your two cameras will hang down by your waist and are nicely balanced with the padded shoulders taking the weight and are comfortable to wear. The straps are adjustable to make your cameras sit higher or lower, and bring them into a position that is easy for you to grab quickly.

Both left and right straps have front and back ‘bumpers’ which are used to secure and lock the cameras in place so they don’t unintentionally travel down the straps when you for example lean forward to pick something up, so that’s a very nice touch that can keep your kit safe from harm. They’re also adjustable with just one hand which is great for fixing them when you’re in a hurry.

Performance

I recently shot a wedding using the Double Breathe and to say it was a game-changer would be an understatement. The two large shoulder pads made carrying my two cameras quick, easy, and comfortable. The locking mechanisms are also extremely reliable and I never felt like my expensive kit was going to take a tumble, though it’s great you can attach a security strap to both carabiners via your camera’s strap lugs for extra peace of mind. 

The two shoulder pads are large so took the weight of both my cameras nicely, one loaded up with a 16-35mm f/2.8 wide-angle zoom and the other with a 70-200mm f/2.8 telephoto lens. This did mean that I was a little unbalanced as I had 1.5Kg of weight on my left shoulder, and 2.5Kg on my right, though that’s more my fault than anything - in hindsight it would have been better to go with a lighter telephoto lens such as a 70-300mm or even a 70-200mm f/4 lens to balance the weight more evenly across my body. 

Small holes have been punched out of the foam for ventilation which is a good touch and gives some much-needed ventilation to stop your shoulders getting hot and clammy. I’ve been testing out the Blackline II double harness recently too and found that it had larger ventilation slits and this did help it to contour to my shoulders a little better, and overall I found the Blackline to be a touch more comfortable.

It’s also worth noting that as the name suggests, the Blackline II is completely black so helps you to blend in a bit better, however having the bright white logo on the Double Breathe isn’t too much of an issue. In fact, as a wedding photographer, you often want to stand out and be easily seen by the bride and groom, but for street and reportage photographers, less so.

The Double Breathe scores top marks for speed and ease of use. It allows you to be really agile as a photographer and adapt to situations as they unfold instantly. You can set how far low your cameras hang down on each strap so that they’re perfectly placed to grab them in a hurry, depending on whether you need your wide-angle or tele-zoom lens, and the carabiners glide along the straps like butter so you can instantly bring them up to eye level and fire off your shots.

While I had full confidence in allowing both of my cameras to hang down by my sides, you do have to be a little careful of what you’re walking past so you don’t accidentally ding your lens, or knock over an expensive vase! Each strap has front and rear bumpers which can be easily slid along the strap with one hand to limit or expand the amount of travel your camera can move along. This is super handy if you need to lean forward to pick something up or move a light stand, but you don’t want your cameras to come hurtling forward!

The two shoulder pads are connected via chest and back straps which are both adjustable and have a small clip on them to keep any excess material from flapping around. The front chest strap also has a piece of elasticated material to make it a bit more comfortable as it has some much-needed give on the chest. There’s also the lightweight double Breathe Slim model which is designed for smaller physiques, though it has less padding so you might find it less comfortable than the standard.

There’s also an optional elastic coupler which helps cinch the back left and right straps together via velcro. You ideally want this low down the straps on your back to keep the harness secure. You can even add a coupler to the front straps too, which will add even more rigidity, though it only comes with one in the bag.

One small issue with all BlackRapid straps using the FR-5 Breathe FastenR is that they can be quite obstructive to cameras using a grip or with a battery grip installed, as they can get in the way when shooting in the portrait orientation with the fastener attached. This can however somewhat be mitigated with other fastener options from BlackRapid, such as the FR-T1 which has a more ‘flat’ design and can be less obtrusive, it’s also designed to work with RD-2 200PL-14 quick-release plates so would be a good option for photographers who need to switch between the harness and tripod regularly.

Verdict

Costing $180 or £149 the BlackRapid Double Breathe is expensive, though do you really want to trust a cheap strap with your expensive camera kit? The Double Breathe is a well-thought-out and lovingly crafted double-camera system that offers the perfect combination of style and substance. It may not be as chic as a leather strap, but I think its predominantly black aesthetic looks good.

While not completely black, like its Blackline II sibling, the Double Breathe with its flashy white logo and metal buckle is the better value proposition and offers a brilliant combination of comfort, speed, reliability, and security. For wedding and events photographers who need a double camera harness, this should definitely be on your list, though if your budget stretches to $200 and you want an all-black harness with slightly better padding the Blackline II would be worth a look-in too.

TTArtisan has announced the APS-C AF 14mm F3.5: a wide-angle pancake prime for Sony E-mount APS-C cameras, giving a 92-degree angle of view. Exact dimensions have yet to be revealed, but it certainly looks shallow enough to qualify as a bona-fide pancake lens, and at just 98g it's super-light. Despite the small size and low weight, the lens still packs autofocus, as well as a dedicated aperture control ring.

Read more: the best Sony lenses

Inside is an 8-element optical stack arranged in 7 groups, and the 7-blade diaphragm has an aperture range of f/3.5-f/16. The lens takes tiny 39mm filters and can focus down to 0.25m. We await further information regarding pricing and availability.

Cooke revolutionized the cinema lens market last year with the introduction of its budget SP3 series, offering a compact, affordable alternative to the renowned Cooke Panchro Classic lenses. 

Designed to replicate the signature “Cooke Look,” these lenses quickly became popular among filmmakers for their portability and cinematic quality. Now, Cooke is expanding the SP3 family by releasing the all-new 18mm T2.4, the widest lens in the series. 

Available as part of a six-lens set housed in a custom hard case or sold separately, this new addition is set to appeal to indie filmmakers, corporate videographers, and cinematographers looking to achieve professional results without the hefty price tag.

The 18mm lens joins its counterparts — the 25mm, 32mm, 50mm, 75mm, and 100mm — maintaining the same T-Stop range (T2.4-16) and full-frame sensor coverage. 

It also shares the same focus and iris ring placement, along with versatile mount options, including Sony E, Canon RF, Leica M, and L mount. While the 18mm and 100mm lenses are slightly larger and heavier than the others in the series, they remain lightweight and compact. 

All six lenses are designed for the best mirrorless cameras and best cinema camera setups, ideal for use on gimbals, drones, or in solo-operator scenarios where larger lenses might be cumbersome.

The 18mm T2.4 offers a 99° field of view on full-frame sensors, making it perfect for establishing shots, tight spaces, or immersive wide-angle scenes. Its close focus distance of 9.8” also provides flexibility in confined shooting environments. With this addition, the SP3 series now offers a comprehensive range of focal lengths, allowing filmmakers to tackle a wide variety of production needs with a single set. 

Though not budget lenses, the SP3s offer incredible value for money, especially compared to Cooke’s larger Panchro models, making them an enticing option for creatives looking for high-quality cine lenses.

Cooke’s legendary status in the world of cinema is well-earned, with their Speed Panchros having played a role in many iconic films associated with Hollywood. The SP3 series continues this legacy by making the “Cooke Look” more accessible to a broader audience. 

Known for their beautiful skin tones, smooth highlight roll-off, and stunning bokeh, thanks to 9-blade apertures and proprietary Cooke coatings, these lenses bring a touch of cinematic magic to any project. 

Whether paired with the larger Panchro/i Classics or used on their own, the SP3 series delivers remarkable visual results, making them a must-have for any filmmaker aiming to elevate their craft.

The new 18mm Cooke SP3 can be bought separately for $4,970 at B&H or the new 6-lens set with custom carry case can be bought from B&H for $25,995. 

While both options might seem expensive at first the Panchros lenses they mimic are priced between $12,900 - $14,600 each - so the SP3 series really is a bargain!

Hasselblad has dropped a new lens that marks two big firsts. The Hasselblad XCD 20-35E is both the company's first ever ultra-wide zoom lens, as well as the first in its flagship series of 'Exclusive' lenses (the "E" in the product name). 

Its 20-35mm f/3.2-4.5 focal range truly lives up to the ultra-wide billing, delivering an effective 16-27mm range in full frame terms. As the widest and fastest lens in the lineup, the XCD 20-35E is an ideal option for genres like landscapes and architecture that the medium format X System is so adept at. 

The lens is beautifully designed, as you would expect of an XCD optic, and features an internal focus mechanism so that the 117mm length stays fixed and the 805g weight remains perfectly balanced whether you're using a Hasselblad X2D or the 907X & CFV 100C (or one of the 50MP bodies of the previous generation). 

The optical formula comprises 16 elements in 12 groups, including 3 aspherical elements and 4 extra-low dispersion elements. It is able to focus as close as 0.32m, and features a 77mm filter thread. As with all XCD lenses, the 20-35E features a leaf shutter that offers flash sync speeds of up to 1/2000 sec.

Hasselblad's goal for this new Exclusive flagship class of optics is to deliver the same degree of optical performance as its outstanding prime lenses. Remarkably, it actually delivers center sharpness on par with a Hasselblad prime – and given that the XCD 90V is literally the sharpest lens we've ever tested, that's saying something! 

You can check out the lab tests along with my full thoughts in my Hasselblad XCD 20-35E review. I've been using the lens for a while now and I've been absolutely staggered by the shots I get from it. 

From the review:

"Hasselblad's first ever ultra-wide is another home run for the XCD lineup. Whether you're looking for the fastest and widest lens possible, you're trying to replace a few wide-angle primes, or you simply want a fantastic tool for all-purpose wide-angle shooting, the XCD 20-35E is what you're looking for."

The Hasselblad XCD 20-35E is available now, priced $5,929 / £5,699 (Australian pricing to be confirmed).

You might also be interested in the best Hasselblad cameras, including my Hasselblad X2D vs 907X CFV 100C comparison, along with the best Hasselblad lenses.

According to a fresh rumor, Xiaomi's next flagship phone - the Xiaomi 15 Ultra - could feature a 200MP periscope telephoto camera. If correct, the module might be similar to that used in the Vivo X100 Ultra. This would mean a 1/1.4" sensor, which the rumor suggests could be paired with a periscope lens offering 10x magnification relative to the phone's primary, wide-angle camera. This level of zoom is said to be achieved using a combination of optical zoom and on-sensor zoom - a system we've already seen used by the Vivo X100 Ultra.

Read more:
What is a periscope lens
The best camera phones in 2024
Xiaomi 14 Ultra full review

The same source also claims that the Xiaomi 15 Ultra could receive a new sensor for its primary, wide-angle camera module. The current Xiaomi 14 Ultra packs Sony's Lytia LYT-900 sensor: a 50MP, 1-inch-type chip which is already one of the most impressive camera phone sensors out there. However, this latest rumor suggests the sensor in the '15 Ultra will "bring several improvements over the current LYT-900", including better low-light performance. It's also possible we may see an improved selfie camera, with a higher pixel count than the 32MP unit featured in the Xiaomi 14 Ultra.

Further alleged improvements for the Xiaomi 15 Ultra include a 4K Cinematic video mode (Cinematic mode was restricted to 1080p in the '14 Ultra), along with an improved Slow-Motion mode. It's said that the phone will be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 SoC, and could sport a 2K quad-curved display paired with a ceramic and faux leather finish on the rear.

With the prospective launch of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra likely being early 2025, these relatively early leaks should still be taken with a hefty pinch of salt. But given Xiaomi's history of packing seriously impressive camera tech into its flagship 'Ultra' phones, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is sure to follow this same cutting-edge trend.

Story credit: Smartprix

Pentax has released a new hotshoe flashgun for use on its DSLR cameras and on Ricoh GR compacts. With a guide number of just 18 (m/ISO100) it is designed for on camera use for fill-in in daylight, or as the main light source after dark.

Pentax AF180FG is a replacement for the existing Pentax AF201FG strobe – and both are exactly the same size and weight and have nearly identical features. The only difference that we can make out is that the newer version has a slightly lower maximum output (the AF210FG has a guide number of 20 (m/ISO100)).

The AF180FG has a simple interface that offers a dial offering access to its four operating modes. In addition to a fully automatic TTL exposure mode, there are two manual options that provide either full or quarter power. There is an additional option for rear-curtain sync flash.

The head can tilt through ten different positions from -10 degrees through to 135 degrees for flash photography. The flash offers coverage for a 24mm wide-angle full-frame lens – extending to cover a 20mm lens, if the built-in pull-out diffuser is used.

Boasting a weatherproofed construction, the flash weighs 141g before you add the two AAA batteries that are needed to power the unit. A new set of alkaline cells should give around 100 flashes, with a recycle time of 6 seconds. You get a slightly better performance if you use nickel metal hydride rechargeable AAA batteries - with 130 flashes with a recycle time of 5 seconds.

The Pentax AF180FG will cost $199/£199 – the same price as the flashgun it is replacing.

See our guide to the best flashgun for your camera

Sigma's second lens for the Canon RF mount is here, and it's one that APS-C shooters have been patiently waiting for: the Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN | Contemporary. 

Announced back in October for Sony E, Fujifilm X and L-Mount, the 10-18mm f/2.8 is "the world's smallest and lightest ultra-wide-angle zoom lens for APS-C cameras" – and is the perfect complement to Sigma's first Canon RF lens, the Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN Contemporary.

With an equivalent focal range of 16-28.8mm in full frame terms, and a constant f/2.8 aperture throughout the zoom range, the lens fills a much-needed gap for Canon EOS R7, R10, R50 and R100 owners, essentially providing a wide-angle trinity pro lens for APS-C cameras. 

The lens retains the same core technical specs as seen on the other mounts, with 13 elements in 10 groups, 7 aperture blades, a minimum focus distance of 11.6cm at the wide end and 19.1cm at the telephoto, weather sealing, a filter thread of 67mm and a length of just 62mm. 

It is, however, slightly heavier at 270g (rather than 260g on other mounts), and has a slightly different angle of view range of 106.6° - 73.4°.

While the components may be the same, Sigma has customized the software to meet Canon's autofocus and speed performance.

"A control algorithm including AF drive and communication speed optimization has been developed specifically for Canon RF Mount interchangeable lenses," says Sigma. 

"In addition to realizing high-speed AF, the lens also supports Servo AF and in-camera aberration correction" on cameras that feature the latter function.

The Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN | Contemporary for Canon RF goes on sale September 26 with a retail price of $659/£649 (Australian pricing to be confirmed). 

You might be interested in the best Canon RF lenses, along with the best wide-angle lenses and the best Canon wide-angle zoom lenses.

Photographers, like any other artists, are influenced by a range of different factors and creativity is an important aspect of photography just as it is in any other form of art. 

“Music has played an integral part in my work and within my social media presence; to heighten the emotional narrative and connection of my work,” Josh says. “Therefore, it seemed appropriate to capture an image ahead of the world-famous Glastonbury Festival.

“This frame captures the iconic Pyramid Stage against the backdrop of the Orion constellation, bringing together photography, astronomy and music. This self-portrait image mimics the stars that have been before – the likes of David Bowie, Dolly Parton and Sir Elton John.” In this narrative, Josh captures the king of the stars; Orion taking center stage.

The image has been featured on the BBC and various news channels ahead of this year’s Glastonbury festival. Josh dedicates the shot to two of his music idols, Kate Bush and Grace Jones.

Josh’s main gear

Sony A7s III 

Sony has set a high standard for low-light capabilities among mirrorless cameras, enabling the capture of real-time footage and improved signal-to-noise ratio capabilities. “This range of cameras, combined with fast-shooting, wide-angle lenses, is ideal for a power-house setup,” says Josh. “A greater aperture and low-light sensitivity make it possible to reduce the SNR within low-level environments, providing excellent clarity for landscape astrophotography.”

Sigma 15mm f/1.4 Diagonal Fisheye 

In his astrophotography, Josh is fortunate to be testing out the latest lenses on the market, including the Diagonal Fisheye lens from Sigma. “Sigma lenses are revolutionizing the astrophotography market,” he says. “They are the first lenses of their kind to capture wide-angle images with an impressive aperture capability of f/1.4.”

Canon EOS R5 and Canon 200-800mm f/6.3-9 IS USM

Canon’s latest cameras and telephoto lenses are changing the game for astrophotography, especially for solar and lunar targets, as they are perfect for alignment photography. “The R Series from Canon provides a greater megapixel count alongside greater focal lengths, making a superb combination for capturing celestial events,” Josh says. “This could include transits, eclipses and comets, among others.”

Benro Tortoise 24CLV P

Benro leads the market for versatile, affordable, yet durable tripod designs. “I’ve tested a number of different tripods but my preference is Benro’s Tortoise 24CLV,” Josh says. “It is constructed from carbon fiber, but not only is it immensely lightweight, it is durable and more suitable for use in colder environments.”

Canon is revisiting its plans to challenge DJI with a handheld gimbal camera, designing a new product that looks eerily reminiscent of the DJI Osmo Pocket 3. 

This is not, however, Canon's first attempt to design such a product. 

Canon's aspirations to produce a handheld gimbal camera date back to at least 2021, which is when the first patents and designs were spotted. 

Back then, the company was working on a camera that differed in one key way to the Osmo line: rather than having a fixed lens, Canon's initial designs featured an interchangeable lens mount. 

In 2021 it was speculated that this could be the EOS M system, supporting the EF-M lenses employed by Canon's first mirrorless system (which included popular cameras such as the Canon EOS M50). 

That said, it looks to me like the earlier diagrams (such as the one below) show a mount with 12 electronic contacts, which would suggest the RF mount (since the EF-M mount only had 9 contacts):

Either way, the latest design shows that these plans may have changed. Whether it's because the EOS M system has now been discontinued, the throat of the RF mount is too big, or because Canon has simply decided against interchangeable lenses of any kind, the most recent version looks to feature a fixed lens – albeit a zoom one. 

"Canon has been exploring this type of camera for some time, but it seems to be gradually moving towards a design similar to the Osmo Pocket," writes Asobinet, which spotted the latest patent. 

"Canon seems to be considering installing a zoom lens, rather than a fixed focal length lens like the Osmo pocket. This type of camera is fixed to a wide-angle fixed focal length, so it would be convenient if it could use standard or telephoto lenses. 

"It is unclear whether this will be realized, but it seems that they are considering a camera unit structure that has less center of gravity movement when zooming (making it easier to balance with a gimbal)."

Whether this latest design comes any closer to production than its predecessors from over three years ago, it's hard to say. However, with the DJI Osmo Pocket line being more popular than ever, it's certainly a fertile market for Canon to tap into.

You might be interested in the best Canon cameras, as well as the best gimbals for cameras and the best smartphone gimbals.

Fine art wildlife photographer Harry Skeggs’ images of exotic animals hang in galleries the world over, with price tags of his limited-edition prints running into the thousands. In this issue’s lead feature, he shares his tips and technique that elevate his images from mere photographs to works of art. 

Our apprentice heads to the moors and tors of Dartmoor National Park where landscape photographer Neil Burnell schools him in shooting scenic shots with a difference – in the infrared spectrum with a modified Nikon and specialist filters. 

We put eight prime lenses through their paces in our Big Test – ranging from wide angle to standard and short-telephoto focal lengths, the main factor that binds them together is that they’re all absolute bargains, costing under £250/$300. We also give the review treatment to Nikon’s new Z 35mm f/1.4 – that’s both faster and cheaper than its existing S-line Z 35mm f/1.8 S prime. 

Award-winning landscape and astrophotography expert Ian Asprey is in the hotseat for this issue’s N-Photo interview, while Light & Land photographer Charlotte Bellamy combines intentional camera movement with multiple exposures for intriguing images of woodlands near her home.

Plus we have a fun selection of projects to try your hand at, including going on a photowalk, dramatic toy scenes with a smoke machine, surreptitious street photography, and motion-blurred plant portraits. 

N-Photo: The Nikon Magazine is a monthly magazine that's written by Nikon enthusiasts for Nikon enthusiasts, you can be sure that all the content is 100% relevant to you! So for the best Nikon-focused news, reviews, projects, and a whole lot more, subscribe to N-Photo today – with our unmissable subs deal!

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If you wanted a printed version of any of our most recent issues we have a selection of back issues to choose from in our online store.

Subscription deals: Our guide to the best photo magazines

AI is quickly becoming present in all-new technology in one form or another, and there are many ways in which it can be utilized, it now seems artificial intelligence has made its way to the youngest generation toys.

Leading kids camera manufacturer myFirst has just announced the myFirst Camera 50, a new camera aimed at 5-12-year-olds that includes AI features. 

myFirst has a track record of making some of the best kids' cameras on the market however its previous releases focus on photography first and foremost, with little to no bells and whistles, whereas the Camera 50 has them all.

The camera is equipped with a 20MP rear camera featuring a wide-angle lens and a 20mm macro lens, enabling the capture of wider scenes and intricate details. A new shutter has been introduced that enables half-press focusing, much like standard cameras enabling an easier experience when the inevitable step up to a more advanced camera.

In addition to the front camera, there is a selfie camera with adjustable LED lighting that offers three warm lighting modes.

The myFirst Camera 50 is super thin at just 80mm and lightweight weighing only 150g, ensuring it is manageable ergonomically for its tiny users. Constructed from PC ABS and TPU plastics it is shockproof, scratch-resistant, durable, and strong handling most drops and bumps with ease. It has a 16GB internal memory, and a microSD card slot to expand the number of stills and video you can recorded.

MyFirst states that the AI features of this camera aid with "turning everyday moments into creative masterpieces". AI assistance is used in curation and editing tools, enabling the enhancement of photographs and videos. Unlike what we may be used to in Photoshop and Luminar, to the best of my knowledge this does not mean retouching, but rather adding stickers, drawings, and voice notes.

"The AI intelligently analyses content, recognizing facial expressions, scenery, and colours, to create perfectly curated stories with minimal effort," we are told.

The design of the camera leans more towards that of a smartphone than a camera, and additional features also follow this trend. The myFirst Circle App enables kids to share their creations within a 'controlled environment', with full parental controls and added security, as this can also be used with the built-in Wi-fi.

myFirst Camera also aims to aid with children's mental health by adding a myDiary feature, which enables kids to record diary entries as a form of journaling. Also using AI to generate prompts and 'encourage self-expression'.

An AI camera for kids sounds worrying, but myFirst is billing this as a camera for a new generation of content creators. "This camera is designed to help the kids document their life and make it easier for video editing through our all new AI-assisted curation", says myFirst founder G-Yay Young. "We want to make it easier for the next generation storytellers to create content easily, share the content safely in a safe environment and express themselves with one click of a button."

The myFirst Camera 50 is available to preorder now for release on September 19, will cost $129.99 / £109 (Australian prices to be confirmed).

You may also be interested in our guides to the best kids' cameras, the best waterproof cameras, and the best selfie cameras.

It’s fair to say that the best camera phones have all but killed off the compact camera in 2024, but there are still some segments of the market that are showing signs of life. 

One such type is the bridge camera, which is appealing for giving you the form factor of a “real” camera, an extensive zoom, and things such as manual control via dedicated buttons and dials, too – all of which you won’t get from your smartphone. 

The Kodak PixPro AZ255 has a 16MP 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor – that’s actually smaller than some you’ll find in smartphones now – but it pairs it with a 25x optical zoom. That’ll give you an equivalent of 24-600mm in 35mm terms. The aperture ranges from f/3.7 at the wide angle to f/6.2 at the telephoto end. 

It’s unlikely that a model like this would end up near the top of our list of the best bridge cameras, but one thing it has going for it is its rock-bottom price. At $179 / £179 / AU$349, you won’t find much available for cheaper of this type brand new.

Arguably therefore, this could make a good purchase for those new to photography, or who are looking for something a little bit different from their phone, but without the expense and complexity of a typical “proper” camera.

Kodak PixPro AZ255: Specifications

Kodak PixPro AZ255: Price

You can buy the Kodak PixPro AZ255 now worldwide for $179.99 / £179.99 / $349. You may find some deals in various locations, some of which are time-limited. Shipping costs will also vary depending on location. 

The camera was launched in December 2022, so it’s a couple of years old now. It remains on the cheap side for a bridge camera, with it being very difficult to find much else for under £200 brand new. Of course, you might find some similarly priced deals on second-hand gear of comparable, or even better quality. 

If you’re just starting out in photography or looking for a camera for family trips and outings, something at this price can be very tempting – but it’s worth considering whether spending a little bit more might be better value in the long run. 

Kodak PixPro AZ255: Design & Handling

Perhaps one of the reasons for the continued appeal of the bridge camera is the form factor. The essence here is that the Kodak AZ255 is like a miniaturized DSLR or mirrorless camera, with a chunk grip and a traditional control layout. 

Despite being reasonably small and light, the AZ255 feels quite solid in the hand, with a textured section around the grip, which is also molded to fit your middle finger snugly – with your index finger sitting atop the shutter release button.

Around that shutter release is the zoom rocker switch, which you push left or right to extend the camera’s zoom. If you keep on pushing it once you’ve reached the full 25x of the lens, you will enter digital zoom. The amount you’ve zoomed is displayed on the screen.

The lens itself has a faux lens ring around it – it’s only there for aesthetic purposes and doesn’t turn or rotate. When fully zoomed, the lens sticks out quite a bit but not so much as to make the camera unbalanced.

On the top of the camera, you’ve got an on/off switch, a drive mode button and an exposure compensation button. The mode dial contains automatic and scene modes, as well as semi-automatic and manual modes, plus room for custom settings and video. 

The general operation of the camera is pretty slow, with start-up taking about 2.5-3 seconds before it’s ready to shoot, and even switching between modes you’ll need to wait a second or two. 

If you want to use the flash, you’ll need to manually lift it up from the housing on the top of the camera, and snap it back into place when you’re done.

Flip to the back of the camera and you’ve got the screen plus a selection of other operation buttons. All of the buttons are grouped together on the right-hand side, which is a bonus for one-handed shooting. Some notable buttons include the macro button to enable closer focusing, a video record button, and a menu button that takes you to various settings, including metering, HDR, and a deeper menu for things like choosing the quality of changing the date.

Menus are a little bit on the clunky side, and it takes some getting used to find where all the settings are kept. For example, if you wanted to change the aperture in aperture priority or manual mode, you need to press the exposure compensation button, then move between the different options presented and use the up and down arrows to make changes. It’s also worth noting at this point that there are only two apertures selectable at any one given time anyway.

There’s no viewfinder for this camera – which is to be expected at this price point. The screen is a good enough size at 3 inches, and although it’s got a pretty average resolution for the cost, it’s not particularly bright so it can be difficult to view in bright and sunny conditions. On occasion, I essentially had to take a guess at what I was composing.

A quick note about the battery – or batteries in this case. The AZ255 takes 4x AA batteries. The good thing about that is that you can buy them pretty much anywhere, and it’s easy enough to always have spares, but the bad thing is that unless you invest in a rechargeable set, you can end up spending a lot of money. On the plus side, battery life is fairly reasonable – you can certainly expect it to last you at least a couple of days of fairly heavy shooting, probably closer to a week if you’re using it more sparingly.

Kodak PixPro AZ255: Photo Performance

Cameras like this used to be recommended for those looking to upgrade from the quality found on their smartphone. However, in 2024, you’d probably be hard-pressed to find a smartphone that had such poor general image quality as the Kodak AZ255.

When the light is perfect, you can get some pleasing shots. By perfect, I mean bright, but not too bright, and with pleasant conditions (blue skies). Otherwise, if the light is even marginally low, or the sky has a lot of white in it, then you shouldn’t expect high image quality. The lens displays lots of chromatic aberration in high contrast situations, while detail isn’t particularly good for doing anything large with – if you only want to display photos on your phone then it’s not so bad. In even lower light, such as indoors, images lack even more detail and if there’s even the slightest subject movement you’ll be left with a blurry shot. You can turn on the flash, but the results then are on the harsh side.

On the plus side, colors are generally quite good. That is, unless you’re shooting in artificial light and using automatic white balance – then you’ll be left with yellowish tones. You can sort that out by moving to a manual white balance setting though. 

Now, I’m talking about general image quality here – so what about the USP of this type of camera? The zoom. Images are still not amazing, with quite a bit of smudginess, but, if you’re patient, hold the camera really still, and mainly shoot static objects, you can get better shots at very long distances than you would do with an average smartphone, most of which would generally only give you only digital zoom beyond 10x. If you need or want to take record shots of distant buildings, for example, then this could be a viable option for you. I was even able to capture some reasonable shots of fairly placid swans and geese in my local park – again good for record shots, but are unlikely to win any awards any time soon.

The reason I reference patience and shooting static subjects is due to the focusing – the camera takes a little while to lock onto focus, so if the subject is moving, even slightly, it can ruin your shot – especially at very long focal lengths. You can choose between a single AF point in the center of the frame, or “multi-AF”, where the camera will decide for you – it doesn’t always get this exactly right, but with a small sensor like this, it’s not generally critical for the focus to be perfectly nailed in the right place. There is a “tracking focus”, but it struggles to keep up with even very, very slow-moving subjects, so I would generally ignore this setting.

Kodak PixPro AZ255: Video Performance

You can record Full HD video with the Kodak AZ255. Again though, you’re almost certainly going to get better results from your smartphone. 

Detail is lacking, stabilization is poor and autofocus has a hard time keeping up if you zoom in. If you just want to make quick video clips then it’s fine, but for anything where quality is of the utmost importance, then I’d probably avoid using this camera for video.

Kodak PixPro AZ255: Verdict

In many respects, it’s difficult to recommend a camera like the Kodak PixPro AZ255. 

It’s quite frustrating to use, especially if you’ve been used to working with anything better, which as a professional camera reviewer – I am. However, I’d also venture a guess that if you’re new to photography and this is your first “proper” camera it’ll likely frustrate you compared with the ease, speed, and quality of using your smartphone. 

Aside from the grippable form factor, there’s not a huge amount going for this camera - there are real buttons, but there are no dials, while some settings can’t really be changed in any meaningful way (such as aperture). 

Then there’s image quality. On the whole, the pictures are at best mediocre. If this was a camera from 20 years ago, they might be acceptable, but in today’s climate, where even budget smartphones do a better job, it’s hard to be too impressed here. That said, if you do want a very long zoom for photographing distant subjects, so long as they’re either still or reasonably static, then you can get some half-decent record shots. So, it might be worth it if you have a particular need for that kind of thing.

Of course, there’s the price. At under $/£200, it’s very cheap. Certainly a lot cheaper than most cameras, and cheaper than most smartphones too. If you really want a “real” camera and have very little budget to play with, then it could be worth thinking about. However, I’d generally advocate for spending a little more, saving a bit longer, or perhaps going down the second-hand route to avoid a case of “buy cheap, buy twice”. 

Alternatives

Have you ever wondered what an international spy agent uses in their "off time" to capture images? Well now  we know, thanks to recent images from watch giant Omega on the company's Threads feed

Daniel Craig was spotted at the Olympic Games observing the equestrian discipline of showjumping, sporting a camera to capture some candid snaps. But of course, being the massive Hollywood actor that he is, having played one of the most recognizable characters ever to appear on the silver screen, well – James Bond wasn't going to be using a mere disposable camera, was he!

In fact, Craig was sporting a Lecia with a wide-angle lens, and this sent the social media platform Threads into meltdown.

Post by @omega

View on Threads

After many assumptions by hawk-eyed users on the  platform, it has been decided what model and lens the superstar was using from the German camera manufacturer – and the results might surprise you.

can tell you that James Bond uses a Leica M10-R with a cool Leica 24mm Elmarit-M f/2.8 – without a lens hood, might I add!

While some were surprised he wasn't using the latest flagship, the Leica M11, I admire Craig's choice, as I have often said that the Leica M10-R is the next Leica classic – and was in fact the very first Leica I ever used, and got me personally into the Leica ecosystem.

The M10-R was the first try from Leica to incorporate a large-megapixel sensor into this compact M-system camera body. With 40MP  it towered over its predecessor, the 24MP Leica M10, and produced amazing colors. It's certainly on my shopping list to pick up a nice one when the eBay prices allow.

It also has me thinking that this will be Craig's personal camera. You can see by the various images online that this M10-R has many scrapes and fingerprints, which shows it's a used object – and I love to see these cameras being used!

The 24mm is a bit of an oddball, given that the M10-R's widest frame line shown in the viewfinder is 28mm. Anything wider and you usually sport an external viewfinder attached to the hot shoe, but maybe Craig just knows where to shoot to get that look he is after.

Either way, I would love to see the results he got from shooting that Leica 24mm Elmarit-M, which is one of the best Leica-M lenses around for wide-angle shooting. 

I also think it's great to see celebrities enjoying photography. Obviously some of this is staged, as these shots where used by Omega to tease an upcoming release of a new Omega Seamaster (possibly a "no date" model), but still – anyone can enjoy photography and its great to see Daniel Craig out there taking pictures. 

You might be interested in the best Leica cameras and, if you don't have the same budget as Bond, maybe the best Leica alternatives! 

Yongnuo is a Chinese camera and lens manufacturer that focuses on delivering premium optics with an entry-level price tag. Over recent years its standard of development has risen, but Yongnuo has kept its attractive prices – and now it has announced a new autofocus lens packed with tech for just over $400!

The Yongnuo YN23mm f/1.4 DA DSM WL Pro has officially been announced and although packed with great features, it will fit comfortably in our guide to the best cheap lenses.

The lens is designed for APS-C sensors, meaning the 23mm focal length is the equivalent of 35mm on full-frame bodies – a common focal length for street photography and reportage, and a great all-arounder for photography and video.

Initially available for Nikon Z mount, both Fujifilm X and Sony E mount versions are scheduled for a future date.

Much like the Yongnuo YN33mm f/1.4 DA DSM WL Pro, released earlier this year, it comes complete with a wireless remote that enables the user to control aspects of the lens from a distance. 

The small controller facilitates changes to aperture and focus via a 2.4GHz radio frequency wireless link, meaning it's a great option for video.

The lens also promises great photography capabilities. Constructed of 11 elements in 9 groups, with 9 aperture blades, and a wide max aperture of just f/1.4, the lens offers great bokeh and falloff in the out-of-focus areas.

Other notable features include a quick and accurate AF stepping motor, a minimum shooting distance of just 0.3m, a control ring, customizable buttons and switches, a USB-C interface for firmware updates, and multi-layer lens coating.

The Yongnuo YN23mm f/1.4 DA DSM WL Pro is available now for Nikon Z mount for just $420 (converted from the US$276 price tag).

You may also be interested in our guides to the best cheap lenses, the best Nikon lenses, and the best wide-angle lenses.

Although the best camera phones have done irreversible damage to the compact camera market as a whole, there are still some sectors that continue to perform fairly well and are even bringing out new models from time to time. 

The bridge camera is an example of that. Generally, they have the classic form factor of a “proper” camera, while also giving you a much longer optical zoom than any smartphone, as well as traditional handling and manual control.

With the Kodak PixPro AZ405, you get a 20.6MP 1/2.30-inch CMOS sensor. Many smartphones nowadays actually have bigger imaging sensors, but, the key differentiator here is the AZ405 offers a 40x zoom. That’s equivalent to 24-960mm in 35mm terms. The corresponding apertures are f/3 at the wide-angle end and f/6.8 at the telephoto end.

While it’s true that this camera is unlikely to end up on our list of best bridge cameras, it does have a lot of appeal considering its super-low price point. It’ll set you back just £199 / $199 / AU$399, making it a bit of a bargain in camera terms.

Perhaps if you’re brand new to photography, or looking for something to extend the capabilities of your smartphone, it could be a tempting proposition. But let’s find out how well it works…

Kodak PixPro AZ405: Specifications

Kodak PixPro AZ405: Price

The Kodak PixPro AZ405 is available to buy in multiple territories right now for $199 / £199 / AU$399. There are sometimes deals and discounts to be found in various locations, which are usually time-limited. Shipping costs vary depending on your location. 

Launched in 2022, the AZ405 is a couple of years old, but it’s still a current model in Kodak’s line-up. You’ll struggle to find much else new for under £200, except for others in Kodak’s range, including the AZ255. You might be able to find other comparable bridge cameras for a similar price second-hand.

For those just starting out in “proper” photography, something like this can feel like a tempting idea at its low price. However, it might also be worth considering spending a little bit more to get something that you won’t outgrow so quickly if you can.

Kodak PixPro AZ405: Design & Handling

As is the way with bridge cameras, the AZ405 uses a ‘miniaturized’ DSLR type form factor, which is probably one of the reasons why this sector of the market continues to appeal. It has a chunky grip and employs a traditional control layout.

It’s not what you’d call heavy, but it feels solidly built and sturdy in your hands. The grip has a textured coating with moldings to fit your fingers appropriately. 

The shutter release is found at the top of the grip, with a zoom rocker switch around it. With this you push left to zoom out, and right to zoom in. If you carry on pushing in the right direction, you’ll use digital zoom once you’ve reached the full 40x optical option.

Around the zoom lens is a textured ring. However, this is static and doesn’t do anything – it’s there for looks only, which is a shame. At its full extension of 40x, the lens sticks out quite a bit from the camera body, but it’s fairly light so it doesn’t make it feel unbalanced.

Buttons on the top of the camera include an on/off switch, a button for changing the drive mode, and an exposure compensation button. There’s also a mode dial, where you can choose between different automatic and scene modes, as well as manual and semi-automatic modes like aperture priority. A flash is released by pushing a button on the side of the flash housing.

On the back of the camera, all of the buttons are grouped on the right-hand side for easy one-handed use. There’s a video record button, a menu button, a macro button, and others that are mostly self-explanatory. The menus themselves are a bit tricky to get to grips with – at least at first. Some aspects of operation are also a bit odd, for example, to change the aperture in aperture priority requires a press of the exposure compensation button, then moving between the different options presented, and finally using the up and down arrows to make a change. Besides this, there are only two apertures to choose from at any given focal length, too.

Using the camera in other ways is quite a laborious process at times. Switching it on you’ll find you need to wait 2-3 seconds before it is ready, and there’s also a short delay between pushing the shutter release button and the image being taken.  

There’s no viewfinder, but I wouldn’t really expect to find one at this price point. The screen is a decent size, but it has an average resolution and it’s not particularly bright. In sunny conditions, it can be difficult to see the screen well for composition, so you may often find yourself shooting ‘blind’. 

The batteries used are AA, which on the plus side means you can pick them up anywhere – that can be useful when traveling for example. However, it can also add a lot of cost to the operation of the camera, unless you invest in some rechargeable AAs. The ordinary batteries I used as part of this review lasted a couple of days of reasonably heavy use though, which is a positive.

Kodak PixPro AZ405: Performance

In general, image quality from the Kodak PixPro AZ405 is worse than that which you’d find from even a mid-range smartphone in 2024, much less one of the flagship models. However, when it comes to zoom, it still beats even high-end smartphones, so really it depends on what you’re looking for – and what you’re willing to work with to get it. 

When the light is very good you can get some lovely pleasing shots. When light is either too dark or too bright, the results aren’t great, with blown-out highlights and loss of detail a common problem. The lens also shows a fair degree of noticeable chromatic aberration when shooting in high-contrast situations. If you want to look at, or print, your images at A4 or above, you’ll notice these problems, but if you tend to only look at them at small sizes, it’ll be less of an issue. 

In indoor and very low light situations, detail is even worse, and although you can turn on the flash, that will leave you with very harsh and garish tones which aren’t particularly appealing. 

When not using the flash and shooting in a pleasing light, colors are otherwise pretty good in most situations. You might find that you get yellowish tones when shooting under artificial lighting, but you can adjust the white balance manually if you’re finding that to be a problem. 

With the zoom, you can get some half-decent shots at mid-range focal lengths. Perhaps even sometimes at the full reach of the zoom. To do this, you’ll need to have a lot of patience, hold the camera as still as possible, and hope that your subject isn’t going to move very much, preferably at all. Oh and of course shoot in good, but not too bright, light. It’s good for buildings and other static subjects, but anything that moves is very tricky. I did manage to get a couple of reasonable shots of some calm geese at the local park, but I stood no chance with my erratic dog. There is a tracking focus option, but this couldn’t keep up with anything at all so it essentially may as well not be there. 

Above: you can see the full zoom range of the Kodak PixPro AZ405.

Digital zoom is not worth using, not unless you really do want to get closer than 40x – which is unlikely in most cases. Macro performance is not too bad, with the possibility of capturing some nice frame-filling shots, again, so long as the subject remains still and you steady yourself too.

Full HD video recording is possible with the AZ405, but, as with images, in many situations, you’ll get better results with your smartphone.

Detail isn’t great, stabilization doesn’t work too well and autofocus struggles to keep up if you zoom in (or out again). For quick video clips it might be OK, but if you want anything of any kind of quality I wouldn’t use the AZ405 for video.

Kodak PixPro AZ405: Verdict

Overall, there’s not a huge amount to like about the Kodak PixPro AZ405, except for the price, which makes it very appealing. 

It’s slow to use, doesn’t have particularly good image quality in a lot of scenarios, and can be clunky to get to grips with. If you’re used to anything better it will definitely feel second-rate, but even stepping up from a smartphone it’s likely to underwhelm compared to the ease and high performance of modern devices.

The form factor is pretty solid, and the chunky grip does give you the feeling of shooting with a “real” camera more than your smartphone will give you. But the fact that you can’t properly change settings, such as aperture, will perhaps leave those looking for a step up in their photography pretty disappointed.

Albeit not at this price point, there are much better alternatives to the PixPro AZ405. If you’re prepared to accept low image quality it’s something you might consider, but, generally, I’d recommend saving up for a little longer and spending more on something that will produce much better results. Don’t forget to check out the used market if the budget is tight.

Alternatives

The new issue of Digital Photographer is out now!

Subscribe today to get DP delivered to your door and device.

This month we have another amazing issue for you, featuring professional tips, reviews, and practical how-to guides. Here's a sneak peek of what's inside!

Capture amazing bird photos

To kick off the issue, turn to p36 of the magazine to discover our main feature on beautiful bird photography. With help from three expert wildlife photographers, you’ll learn how to understand avian behaviour, getting insights into how best to position yourself for dramatic photos. You’ll also find out what’s in a pro shooter’s kitbag, how to set up your camera for action and how to introduce a little creativity to your portfolio, for images with a unique twist.

Shoot wide!

Wideangle lenses open up the world like no other type of optic. Their immense power to bring details into the frame means they can truly capture a scene as we see it with our own eyes. While this has great storytelling potential, it’s important to understand the challenges that come with an inclusive field of view. In our first feature, we speak to two pro landscape and architecture photographers to find out how they control distortion, compose correctly and find perfect subjects for wideangle treatment. 

Island life - behind the scenes on a beauty portrait shoot

For our Shoot Like a Pro feature this month, we joined commercial and portrait photographer Oliver Doran in his studio on the Island of Jersey to go behind the scenes of one of his beauty shoots. We chatted to him about how he works in this niche island market while also capturing celebrity images for major campaigns around the world.

Capture landscapes at low tide

If you’ve ever tried shooting landscapes at the coast, you’ll have often noticed how tricky it can be to capture beautiful shots at low tide. In our shoot and edit project this issue, we show you how to rethink your composition to control ugly or empty middle grounds for gorgeous shots of harbours and marinas at any time of the day. Never take a dull shot at the seaside ever again!

Aerial Artistry - shoot the world from above

Learn to capture the world from above with veteran aerial photographer Donn Delson. In our interview slot, Donn explains how he became a devotee of open-door helicopter photography and the creative challenges associated with capturing images from a moving vehicle.

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While the world has been glued to its TVs, phones and tablets watching the athletes in the Olympic Games, I can guarantee that all the photographers reading this have been trying to work out what camera equipment everyone is using at the Paris 2024.

Well, thanks to Instagram, we can get a look into the kit that legendary sports photographer Bob Martin is using at the Olympics. While this might not be all the equipment he is using for each event, his Instagram is very rewarding reading. 

Bob tells you what camera, lens and sometimes even the settings he used to take his wonderful pictures – a goldmine for anyone interested in the best cameras for sports photography and how the pros are using them.

So let's analyze the grid and see what we can see…

Right off the bat we know it's going to be Sony equipment, as Bob has been a long-standing Sony user since the launch of the original A9 back in 2017. So one would think Bob would be shooting with the new Sony A9 III?

Well, it looks like he actually prefers shooting with the Sony A1 – the current flagship and a massive 50MP camera that is capable of shooting up to 30fps and also being able to record 8K 30p video. 

As we can see in the crop above (taken from the candid snap below, of Martin along with fellow sports photography legend David Burnett at the Olympic beach volleyball), there's no mistaking that this is Bob's camera from the code on the body!

Lenses are always a critical choice when photographing any important tournament, but for the Olympics it's a crucial part of the process of being able to capture "the shot" or missing it completely.

It appears that Bob likes to shoot primarily with prime telephoto lenses, and taking a look at his Instagram the Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 appears often across his images – such as his amazing shot of US gymnast and 8x Olympic medalist, Simone Biles, competing on the asymmetric bars.

Another of Bob's favorite lenses is the massive Sony 600mm f/4 G Master OSS when he needs to get closer to the action, usually with action sports like canoeing or swimming – in which Bob is known for being something of an Olympic expert. 

As can be seen below, using the 600mm gives that extra reach to make a real impact on images and brings emotion to the photograph.

While big telephoto lenses get you closer to the action, there are always dedicated zones where photographers can really close the distance – and those big telephotos will need to be switched out for a wide-angle.

From what I can tell via Bob's Instagram, he is using the Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master to capture some amazing scenes across the Olympics. A wide-angle can really give you a great establishing shot if shooting for editorial purposes, and works in combination with a telephoto for the athletes. 

While I'm sure Bob has access to many other lenses and cameras from Sony, it's very interesting to see that his primary focus is the A1 – which I still think is the best camera for sports photography (and that's coming from an old Nikon pro shooter), along with his 300mm f/2.8 and 600mm f/4 primes and his trusty 14-24mm f/2.8 wide-angle zoom.

Of course, it's not just the gear taking these stunning images; Bob is nothing short of an expert and has been photographing sport at the highest level for decades. So he knows what makes a shot and what doesn't, and while the gear he's using is expensive it also makes his job that little bit easier. 

You might be interested in the best Sony cameras, along with the best Sony lenses across all disciplines. 

Tamron has launched a new, longer superzoom lens for Sony full-frame mirrorless camera users. Tamron 28-300mm f/4-7.1 Di III VC VXD offers greater range than the existing Tamron 28-200mm f2.8-5.6 Di III RXD, but even more impressively now adds built-in image stabilization.

With its 10.7x zoom ratio and measuring just 126mm (5in) in length, the 610g  (21.5oz) lens will be an attractive choice for those wanting all all-in-one zoom that can tackle wide-angle and telephoto subjects without needing to change lens - making it a great travel companion.

The lens has a minimum focus distance of 0.19m (7.5in) offering a maximum magnification ratio of 1:2.8 at the wide-angle end; the closest focusing distance is 0.99m (39in) when zoomed out to 300mm.

The lens is built from 20 elements in 13 groups, a nine-blade diaphragm, and has a front-mounted 67mm filter mount. It includes one XLD (eXtra Low Dispersion) lens element and an LD (Low Dispersion) lens element to help control chromatic aberration. We are told that the lens has The lens has a "moisture-resistant construction", and its front element has a protective fluorine coating.

It also features a Focus Set button and has a built-in connection port for the dedicated Tamron Lens Utility software

The Tamron 28-300mm f/4-7.1 Di III VC VXD goes on sale in late August for $899 / £879, and comes supplied with a flower-shaped lens hood.

Samsung's custom Android user interface, One UI, is due a major update by the end of the year. One UI 7.0 is due to be rolled out to select Galaxy phones - notably the S24 Ultra - by the end of 2024, and it's expected to bring with it a significantly improved camera experience.

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The most prominent benefit is touted to be enhanced image quality when using high resolution capture modes with the primary (wide angle) and 5x telephoto cameras. According to tipster @UniverseIce:

"One UI 7 has significantly optimized the 1x and 5x50MP modes of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, basically achieving the visual experience of 12MP, but with higher clarity."

Currently the S24 Ultra generally produces the best image quality when its images are pixel-binned down to 12MP, as this harnesses the power of a group of adjacent individual pixels and combines them into one 'super pixel' in order to help reduce image noise and boost dynamic range. If the One UI 7.0 leak is true, it means Samsung has managed to extract the same image quality in the cameras' 50MP shooting mode as you'd get from a 12MP binned image, but with all that extra resolution detail - a win-win scenario.

Quite how this could have been achieved is as yet unknown, as Samsung's ultra-high-resolution 108MP and 200MP image sensors were always designed to yield their best results through pixel-binning. However, with the recent advancements in AI, could this be the key to Samsung now being able to achieve both quantity and quality - high resolution and low noise/high dynamic range - with no compromise?

One UI 7.0 is expected to be with us in the coming months, and we're keen to see the results.

Story credit: SamMobile

Despite the fact that the Automat looks and sounds like something from the Communist-era Soviet Union, Lomography has replaced the camera’s Cold War aesthetic in favor of a dead painter from a hundred years ago. That means the Gustav Klimt special editions come wrapped in the visually attractive signature artwork of the Viennese Secession movement painter. This is the Gold Leaf version, complete with gold logos. Whether that makes it any more fun is for you to decide, but it certainly livens up what is a very square and boxy format. 

This is, of course, an instant camera, which means you slot Fujifilm Instax Mini cartridges in the back and tiny, self-developing prints emerge out the side, with an accompanying squeak and a rumble of the infernal internal mechanism. The box it comes in is attractively designed and has all the accessories you could ever want, from three lens attachments (close-up, wide angle, fish eye) to useful things like a remote control and a creative option with a rotating lens blocker for crazy multiple exposures. Even the manual comes in the form of handy and colorful tip cards. It’s an entire ecosystem in a box. 

Lomo’Instant Automat Gold Leaf: Specification

Lomo’Instant Automat Gold Leaf: Price

You can get Instax Mini cameras for $80 / £70 / AU$99, so for $200 / £179 / AU$270 this could be considered fairly pricey, but it does come with a range of lenses and extras.

Lomo’Instant Automat Gold Leaf: Build and handling

It’s built like an East German block of flats so it isn’t ergonomic by any means, but at least the fire button is well placed. Turning it on and off is a little bizarre though - you turn the focussing distance ring on the lens to your preferred setting of 0.6m, 1-2m or Infinite. To turn it off requires holding down a button on the other side of the lens and rotating it back to the off position again. Of course, actually judging focus distances when you come to take photos is pretty hit and miss anyway. 

Going back to the start though, loading the Instax Mini film is very straightforward, just open the back, slot it in, turn the camera on and take an initial photo to eject a dummy first frame. Then you’re ready to go. It works with automatic exposure, so there’s not too much brainpower required, but if the photos are overexposed, which happens with any kind of bright sky, then a trip to the controls on the back is required. These are tiny and crammed in, like the typical proletariat family in the aforementioned East German housing development. There’s a button to turn the flash on and off, one for the multiple exposure function, plus and minus 1 EV exposure compensation, and then a button that toggles between Auto exposure and Bulb (30 seconds).

It’s slightly surreal to find a screw thread for a tripod mount on the base, but consider this something for group selfies out in the open - in combination with the remote control shutter release.

The three additional lens attachments are fairly easy to screw on and off but the effect they have can really only be guessed at as the view through the viewfinder remains the same regardless. In a nod to modern sensibilities, the fire button itself is shiny chrome, making it useful for composing the shot for selfies.

Finally, each Instax Mini cartridge offers 10 prints so there is a series of small LEDs down the side corresponding to the number of shots still left. This is very handy so you don’t lose track of how many shots you have left.

Lomo’Instant Automat Gold Leaf: Performance

Once you get past the arcane method of turning the camera on, then judging the photo distance - anything past 2m is in the Infinite range, then it’s simple and fun to find something to photograph and shoot. With only 10 shots per film it’s easy to run out though, so it pays to be a little more prudent than shooting digitally. A twin pack of 10 prints cost around £15, which works out at 75p per developed print. They are small - the overall print is 54x85mm with an image area of 46x62mm, but this does mean you can build up collections of images in a compact book.

Now, the apertures the camera uses are f/8 and f/22, might have been a recipe for camera shake, but the Instax Mini film is rated at ISO 800 so that helps enormously. The narrower than expected apertures also mean that there’s more depth of field so once you get further than 2m away from the camera, there’s little chance of anything being out of focus. Closer than that, however, and it can be hit and miss, though the little icons on the lens of a single person (0.3m) and two people (1-2m) are handy prompts. The main issue with the prints is not camera shake, but over exposure. On a day with a bright, white sky the photos look like someone poured bleach over them. In those cases, definitely use the -1EV exposure compensation.

The default lens focal length of 60mm means it’s set up for portraits more than anything, so if you want to photograph scenery or a building then the wide angle converter is required, but it’s a case that it’s wider than the default lens than actually being a wide angle. The fish eye lens does give a round, fish eye view, but this crops into what is already a small print. Then there’s the close up lens, which makes things a bit closer, but don’t think it’s a macro lens because, obviously, it isn’t. 

Lomo’Instant Automat Gold Leaf: Verdict

If you have managed to get your shot in focus, not overexposed and the like, then the results are retro and quirky, which is really the market for this kind of thing. It’s fun to be able to see the prints pop out and develop fairly quickly, making them ideal for scrapbooking and the like. 

Alternatives

Want a different flavour of Lomography, then have a look at these Lomo cameras. Alternatively, check out this Instax Mini option. If, though, you just want some film-based nostalgia, see what our writer thought of the movie Kodachrome.

The Ricoh GR IIIx HDF is a new variant of a long-running camera design. It houses a 24MP sensor in an unfeasibly small body and comes with a choice of two lenses. The regular Ricoh GR III has a 28mm equivalent f/2.8 lens, while this new version of the Ricoh GR IIIx tested here has a 40mm equivalent f/2.8.

These lenses are fixed and non-interchangeable. You have to choose the focal length you want when you buy the camera. There is a wide-angle adaptor you can get for the 28mm model and a tele adaptor for the 40mm version, but these are pretty bulky and not cheap.

It's pretty limited, then, but the Ricoh GR IIIx is still one of the best compact cameras for its combination of size, control and an APS-C sensor. Some might say it's also one of the best cameras for street photography, or one of the best cameras for travel, depending on how highly you rate pocketability and whether you like the simplicity and discipline of a fixed focal length lens. If you're looking for the best vlogging camera, though, this isn't it. The fixed rear screen and limited video resolution – it's full HD only – rule out out.

There’s no viewfinder on this camera – images must be composed and viewed on the fixed rear screen. You can get clip-on OVFs that go on the accessory shoe, but these too are quite expensive. Another compromise of the small design is a small battery with a lowly 200-shot capacity.

There are some useful and clever features, though. The GR IIIx has built in 3-axis 4-stop image stabilization, a macro mode and an ‘AA filter simulator. The sensor itself has no AA filter but just in case you do see any moiré effects in patterns or textures, the AA filter simulator can help.

The key feature of this GR IIIx HDF model is its HDF or ‘highlight diffusion filter’. This is activated instantly by a button on the back of the camera and lends a soft glow to highlights for a more ‘analog’ look. This replaces the 2-stop ND filter on the regular non-HDF version. (The ND filter is simply to help when shooting in very bright light, not for any particular creative effect like long exposures.)

Ricoh GR IIIx HDF: Specifications

Ricoh GR IIIx HDF: Price and availability

The Ricoh GR IIIx HDF is available now and costs $1,146 / £1,099 / AU$1,899. This makes it a cheaper alternative to the wildly popular Fujifilm X100 VI, but more expensive than several decent APS-C mirrorless cameras. There is also a regular GR IIIx version which offers a switchable ND filter rather than the HDF filter in this camera, and if you prefer a wider 28mm equivalent angle of view there’s the regular GR III, which also has an HDF variant and is typically slightly cheaper.

Ricoh GR IIIx HDF: Design and handling

The Ricoh GR IIIx HDF really is remarkably small. You can carry it around in a trouser or jacket pocket where no other camera would fit, and you still get the high-end image quality of an APS-C sensor. It’s a pretty remarkable achievement in that respect.

Also remarkable is the way Ricoh has managed to make its controls so effective in the limited space available. It has two control dials, the rear ‘Adj’ dial with a click action so that you can choose the setting you want to adjust and a sprung left/right lever action for making changes.

In fact, there’s a third control dial if you count the rear dial around the four-way controller, and this can be used for menu navigation or manual focusing, for example. 

But this camera’s size does affect its handling. There’s what appears to be a grip on the right hand side, but if you curl your fingers around it, your fingernails are scraping the lens barrel. You don’t get an EVF, which perhaps is understandable in a camera this small, but you don’t get an articulated screen either – it doesn’t even tilt. This makes it pretty difficult to compose shots at low angles – and you’ll almost certainly need to increase the brightness for outdoor use, which you can do in the menus.

There’s a locking button above the mode dial so that you don’t accidentally change it while handling the camera, and the shutter release offers a ‘snap focus’ mode which defaults to a fixed focus distance if you press the shutter quickly in a single action; otherwise, you can half-press to autofocus normally.

It’s a small camera so, not surprisingly, it has a small battery. Ricoh says the DB-110 cell is good for around 200 shots, which might be fine for casual snapping, but you might need to take a spare for longer sessions. You can charge the GR IIIx HDF via USB, though, so you could top it up with a portable power bank.

The accessories are worth a mention, for good reasons and bad. The regular 28mm equivalent GR III can  take an optional 0.75x GW-4 adaptor for a wider angle of view, while for GR IIIx there’s a 1.5x GT-2 tele adaptor that takes its effective focal length from 40mm to 60mm – or further if you use one of the camera’s crop modes. These adaptors look reasonably priced at around $225 / £225, but then you do have to buy an adaptor on top of that at around $40-$50 / £40-50. The combination of the converter and adaptor is as large as a comparable APS-C prime, so you’re certainly not dealing with a pocket-sized camera any more.

Our sample GR IIIx was supplied with an optional GV-3 optical viewfinder which clips into the camera’s hotshoe. This is a ‘dumb’ optic which does not transmit or display any kind of camera information but still costs a jaw-dropping $250 / $299. 

Ricoh GR IIIx HDF: Performance

In terms of image quality, there’s little to complain about. The 40mm equivalent f/2.8 lens delivers consistent edge-to-edge sharpness, though the camera does employ some in-camera corner shading correction, so if you’re shooting raw files you’ll need software with a matching correction profile, or you can do it manually.

The image quality at higher ISOs is good too. Unlike a lot of cameras, the GR IIIx HDF doesn’t attempt to smudge noise out of existence and maintains a good balance between noise and detail right up to around ISO 6400, where magenta mottling is starting to appear in darker areas. You can go all the way up to ISO 102,400 if you want to, but it all depends on how much image quality you’re prepared to sacrifice, and by ISO 102,400 it’s a bit of a mess. 

The autofocus is good without being great. There’s a good choice of AF modes, including pinpoint focus, for when you want to use a wide aperture for differential focus effects, though the AF speed itself is very average by today’s standards. The snap focus is much faster but you need to be able to judge the fixed focus distance you want to set it to.

The burst mode is distinctly lackluster. Ricoh doesn’t quote an official burst speed, but it feels like about 4-5fps, and if you’re shooting raw the buffer fills up very quickly, so this is not a camera for fast bursts.

The GR IIIx is snappy enough (no pun intended) for the kind of street / travel photography it’s become known for, but many of its rivals are just as responsive or better. The HDF filter is interesting but, frankly, it’s so subtle its value is questionable and you will often have to check the image data on the back of the camera to remind yourself if you used it or not.

Ricoh GR IIIx HDF: Lab results

For our lab data comparison, we pitched the GR IIIx HDF against similarly compact cameras with relatively large image sensors: the Fujifilm X100VI, Leica D-Lux 8 and the Olympus PEN E-P7.

Resolution (line widths/picture height):

Resolution is measured using standardized text charts which give results in line widths / picture height, which is independent of sensor size.

The GR IIIx scores well for a 24MP APS-C camera, but ultimately the 40MP X100VI was always going to come out on top for resolving fine detail.

Dynamic range (EV):

Dynamic range is a measure of a camera's ability to record extreme brightness ranges and still retain detail in the brightest and darkest parts of the scene. It's measured in EV (exposure values, or 'stops').

Though the GR IIIx doesn't quite lead the pack at low ISOs, it captures excellent dynamic range as sensitivities increase.

Signal to noise ratio (decibels):

This test compares the amount of random noise generated by the camera at different ISO settings as a proportion of the actual image information (the 'signal'). Higher values are better and we expect to see the signal to ratio fall as the ISO is increased.

All four cameras are closely matched here, but the GR IIIx just comes out on top when you average the results across the whole tested ISO range - it does a good job of controlling image noise.

Ricoh GR IIIx HDF: Sample images

Ricoh GR IIIx HDF: Verdict

If you must have a camera small enough to fit in your pocket, then the Ricoh GR III is the only camera that fits the bill. The GR IIIx reviewed here has a 40mm equivalent lens but is the same size as the regular 28mm equivalent GR III, and the substitution of an HDF filter for the regular ND filter makes it an interesting creative alternative.

It’s pretty amazing that Ricoh should have been able to cram so many effective hands-on controls and dials to this camera without making it feel crowded. It’s harder to enjoy the overall handling experience, though, with grip that looks the part but is far less effective on a camera scaled down this far. It’s a small camera because it has to be, but if you can accept carrying a camera in a bigger jacket pocket or a bag, then there are many other cameras only a little larger which will provide a much nicer handling experience – with interchangeable lenses, too.

The lack of an EVF and the fixed rear screen does make the GR IIIx HDF hard work at times, especially outdoors in bright light, where you have to manually increase the screen brightness, and the 200-shot battery life can be limiting for longer outings and expeditions.

The electrically-driven lens focuses quickly enough, probably and there’s always the ‘snap’ focus mode, though this itself  is not quite instantaneous. The lens quality is first rate, though, so no complaints there.

The GR III is a unique camera with a strong following, but by modern standards it’s limited and distinctly awkward to use. There are no other APS-C cameras this small, but that compactness comes at a cost.

Alternatives

In landscape photography, dynamic skies have a profound impact on composition and viewer engagement, adding an extra layer of interest and drama to the scene. Stormy skies are commonly observed in the summer months, due to the increased heat and humidity during this season, bringing a sense of mystery and intensity. 

Of course, monitoring weather forecasts is key to anticipating stormy conditions. To maximize your chances of capturing dynamic clouds and stormy conditions, scout locations known for dramatic skies, such as coastal areas or mountain ranges, where weather patterns are prone to rapid changes. 

The changing light under dynamic skies amplifies contrasts and alters color temperatures, creating high-contrast scenes with dramatic shifts in hue. As sunlight penetrates the clouds, it spotlights specific elements. Those spotlights are not controllable and may make you readjust the composition to highlight other elements of the scene. This way you visually make the element stand out and directly draw in the viewer’s attention. 

Here, shooting in RAW format rather than JPEG is crucial. RAW files retain more information in both shadows and highlights, allowing for greater flexibility in post-production. This increased dynamic range enables us to preserve intricate details and tones, maximizing the creative possibilities during the editing process.

Balance the drama

1. Level it

Before capturing your shot, make sure to set up your tripod to avoid any unwanted shake that causes blur. Activate horizontal guidelines in the camera menu to ensure a straight horizon.

2. Dial in settings 

Shoot in M mode to gain control. Choose Evaluative metering, which analyses the entire scene to calculate exposure based on factors such as brightness, contrast and colour distribution.

3. Set White Balance

Access the camera menu to adjust the White Balance settings and test some presets. Experiment with unconventional WB settings to create a more dramatic and artistic effect in your photos.

Pro's favorite lens

“For dramatic summer landscapes, the Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM lens is ideal. Its wide-angle perspective captures vast skies and the majesty of the surroundings,” says Karolina. “The focal length range provides flexibility in composition, from sweeping views to narrow close-ups, in creating shots. The f/4 aperture provides sufficient light-gathering capability for most outdoor situations, while offering greater depth of field, ensuring sharpness from foreground to background,” she says. “Its optical quality ensures minimal distortion, which is crucial for accurately capturing intricate landscape details and textures.”

You might be interested in our video explaining what is the rule of thirds, as well as our explainer on what is exposure in photography. 

Most people have heard of Stephenson’s Rocket, but Robert Stephenson didn’t actually invent the first steam engine. That honour went to Richard Trevithick, a Cornishman whose Penydarren tram road engine hauled 70 men and 10 tons of iron some 10 miles at 5mph –  25 years earlier in 1804. Trevithick’s design was ignored, leaving it to Stephenson to grab the glory. 

By the 1920s and 30s, the golden age of steam was in full flow. At the height of steam train popularity, there were over 30,000 miles of track in the UK, transporting goods, commuters and holidaymakers, but the Beeching cuts of the 1960s and then electrification meant that steam engines were consigned to the heritage sector. 

In Britain alone, there are now over 100 heritage railways and 60 steam museums, staffed by enthusiastic volunteers. So, forget your overcrowded, late-running commuter trains and instead, discover what to photograph at a historic railway.

On the tracks

The best place to photograph steam trains is generally out in the countryside, whether that’s from afar or close up. The classic image of the steam locomotive has it chuffing away through the landscape but to get a great shot from a distance, it pays off to find somewhere where the track bends and then see whether there’s an elevated position to shoot down from. 

Ensure that you get all of the engine in the shot, letting the rest of the carriages file behind it. This way, you have better lines leading through the image, rather than just a dead-straight railway line that cuts through. For this kind of distance shot, maximising the depth of field is the key so using an aperture of f/22 or f/16 and focusing roughly one third of the way into the scene will do that. Alternatively, if the train is not that far away, you can use f/5.6 or f/8 and focus on the engine itself, so that the train is clearly the sharpest part of the image. 

The same ideas apply if you find that your access to a stretch of railway is also at a medium distance, but sideways on. For this, you’re really looking at creating symmetry, so let the train fill the frame but make sure it hasn’t started to go out of shot.

The final shooting distance when outside is close up, either on a platform, to the side of the track (at a safe distance) or on a bridge. Here, it’s worth looking at vertical compositions, especially if the train is coming head-on and the engine is putting out a lot of steam. Bear in mind that while you’ll have plenty of time to zoom in when it’s 150m away, as it approaches everything speeds up. It’s worth selecting Continuous drive mode instead of single shot, so you can fire off plenty of frames as the train rumbles past. Also, to keep the train in focus, switch the autofocus system to Continuous focus (AF-C) or use a focus tracking mode. 

For trackside shots, a low shooting angle will emphasise the engine as well. If the train is at a platform and the engine is putting out steam, especially if this is a dusk or night-time shot, then try a long exposure, for which you will need a tripod. With a time of eight seconds or more, the steam will blur into a pleasing fog, which can look fantastic if there are artificial lights shining through the steam.

At the station

‘Station’ can also mean any museum that houses historic engines. There is still the opportunity to photograph vintage locos, but they are likely to be stationary exhibits. The shooting position is also likely to be close up so initially a wide-angle lens is called for and a polariser is usually a good idea if outdoors. Rotate the polariser around until it removes most of the reflections off the engine paintwork. Inside an engine shed, there won’t be an awful lot of light so a polariser might be impractical, even after increasing the ISO significantly. If you can shoot with an aperture of f/5.6 or f/8 then get in front of the train and focus on the engine, although using f/2 or f/2.8 isn’t a bad option as it will result in the back end of the train going out of focus where other visitors might be milling around. 

To make the subject appear more dynamic, considering that it’s a static exhibit, get down as low as possible and use a wide-angle lens to give it a more dramatic look. If it’s dark or there is light coming from above or behind, then using the flash may be required to get any kind of shot. A remote flashgun is best but you can often still use the on-camera flash. Turn it on and take a shot. If the effect is too obvious, creating lots of highlights and dark shadows, dial in flash exposure compensation of -0.3EV or -0.7EV. It all depends on how much light there is and where it’s coming from but the idea is to try to balance it out or light up an area that would otherwise be virtually black, not flood the foreground with light.

Something else worth looking out for in an engine shed is a member of staff carrying out maintenance on the engine or simply cleaning it. Zoom in from a distance to show them at work for a candid style photo. Low light and a telephoto means as wide an aperture as your lens can offer is required and probably upping the ISO too.

Next, it’s time to see what else the museum has to offer and this can include everything from junction boxes to recreations of entire platforms. Use a short telephoto to isolate these elements and use wide open apertures for creative-looking images of controls, switches and signs. Finish with wide-angle shots of platforms but be wary of the sides of station buildings becoming distorted.

Didcot Railway Centre

Our thanks to the living museum of the Great Western Railway for letting us roam around the site taking photos. You can explore the locomotives, carriages, engine shed and museum. Find out more at: didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk

See also Photographing the final days of steam railways

Lomography is renowned for its quirky colorways adding maximum fun to some of its best analog cameras. Lately, in addition to the bright pastels and acid trip colors, it has been harnessing classic art history with collaborations from some of the greats.

Two of the best Lomography cameras the Lomo'Instant Automat and the Lomoapparat 21mm Wide angle will be adorned by the classic artworks of Austrian artist Egon Schiele.

Egon Schiele was a leading figure in the Austrian expressionist movement and is considered one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. His artwork was bold, daring, and ahead of its time and the works on these cameras look as contemporary today as when first created.

Schiele worked very closely with Gustav Klimt and you can see influences in both artists' work. Lomography recently issued the Gustav Klimt Collection, much in the same way, and featured some of his most renowned work.

The Schiele Collection features two separate cameras, each offering something different as a camera but also in aesthetics.

Lomo'Instant Automat camera and lenses

One of Lomography's best instant cameras, it features Schiele's intricate sketches Seated Woman with Bent Knees (1917) and the striking Self-Portrait with Striped Shirt (1910), each detailed with gold.

The Automatic instant camera is designed for even the most novice of photographers to experiment creatively and have fun while doing so. Automatically adjusting the aperture, shutter speed, and flash output, each shot is accurately exposed for the given scene.

A great feature of the camera is that it comes with a selection of different lenses offering a more versatile instant camera experience. The camera comes in a box with fisheye, wide-angle, close-up, and splitzer lenses for further experimentation as well as a remote-control lens cap for self-portraits much like the emblazoned artwork.

Lomoapparat 21mm Wide angle

The exciting and bold red-colored camera is adorned and complimented by two of Schiele's most famous works, Self-portrait with Chinese Lantern Plant (1912) and the captivating Portrait of Wally Neuzil (1912), inspiring a playful approach to shooting.

The perfect camera for taking those sunny holiday snaps, the lightweight camera features a 21mm lens and fixed settings for 'perfect exposures every time'. Multiple exposure and bulb modes enhance the playful experience, along with the interchangeable lenses and colored filters.

Above: A gallery of sample images

The Lomography Schiele Collection is available to purchase now – the Lomo’Instant Automat & Lenses Schiele Edition for $199 / £179 / AU$219, and the LomoApparat 21 mm Wide-angle Camera Schiele Edition $99 / £99 / AU$109.

The works chosen to adorn the cameras are exquisite, and act as a reminder to experiment, push boundaries, and have fun while doing so!

You might also be interested in our guides to the best Lomography cameras, the best Lomography lenses, and the best instant cameras. 

In today's landscape, the demand for video content is at an all-time high, and more and more professionals are bulking out their kits with specialist video equipment. Cine lenses are a staple but often have a larger-than-desired price tag attached – enter 7Artisans.  

The new 7Artisans Hope Prime T2.1 S35 Cine lenses offer competition to the best cine lenses on the market, costing just a fraction of the price of some options.

Available for Sony E, Fujifilm X, Canon RF-S, and MFT mounts, the Hope Cine prime lens range is comprised of 6 lenses covering wide-angle to medium telephoto and available in black and titanium colorways. A 10mm, 16mm, 25mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm offer the user versatility to capture video in a wide range of shooting scenarios.

There has been no information regarding future mount options, however, although L mount users will certainly be keen for a release. 

Despite the low price point, the lenses offer an extensive list of features for enhanced performance and ease of use, starting with the generous T2.1 aperture. 

A maximum aperture of T2.1 enables bright capture of the scene, even in low lighting conditions. It also aids in producing a shallower depth of field with a wider perspective, especially when used at the minimum focus distance of just 0.2m.

7Artisans highlights the form factor of the lenses as a key feature to be utilized by creators. Despite covering a wide focal range and being made up of 15 elements in 12 groups, the lenses are lightweight and compact, weighing just 600-800g. This is ideal for those who operate as individuals and provides easy switching of accessories such as gimbals and stabilizers.

Consistency across any cine lens line is key, as it allows the user to seamlessly swap different focal length lenses without changing the shooting rig, and the Hope lenses are no different.

A unified design specification means that the focus ring and the aperture ring are in the same position on all lenses. The focusing rings also provide a focus stroke of 260°, enabling precise focusing control and maximizing accuracy.

Other notable features include multi-layer nano-coating, compatibility with AF accessories, suppressed focus breathing, and a moisture-proof carry box.

The best part about these lenses is the price point. The 7Artisans Hope Prime T2.1 S35 Cine lenses are available individually or as part of a set. 

Pricing of the individual lenses is as follows: 10mm – $489 / £378, 16mm – $399 / £308, 25mm – $369 / £285, 35mm – $369 / £285, 50mm – $369, / £285 85mm – $369 / £285. (Australian pricing to be confirmed).

You may also be interested in our guides to the best cinema lenses, the best cinema camera, and the best camera for filmmaking. 

AstrHori is a relatively new Chinese lens manufacturer that develops affordable manual focus lenses for modern mirrorless cameras, and just in time for the summer weather to appear (hopefully!), it has announced a new 120mm macro lens.

The AstrHori 120mm f/2.8 Macro lens will be the company's longest focal length lens to date and will offer users the opportunity to focus closely on their subjects. No stranger to macro lenses, Astrhori produces some of the best macro probe lenses on the market, and although not a probe lens, the new 120mm will provide an alternative macro experience to its existing offerings.

Not much has been released regarding lens specifications, as the official announcement via its social media channels states the lens is 'coming soon', but by looking at the poster, we know that it is designed for full-frame and will feature on - Sony E, Canon RF, Leica L, Nikon Z, and Canon EF mounts.

This provides an option for most mirrorless cameras, and although the price has yet to be disclosed, Astrhori lenses come in at the lower end of the market. 

With no specifications released, we only have an image of the lens from which we can extrapolate some information. The lens looks to have a durable build quality with an all-metal body, an aperture ring, and a precise focusing ring - vital for all manual focus lenses, especially macro. 

The announcement was made on AstrHori's social media, in a post asking their community if anyone would be interested in reviewing the new lens. The caption states, "Now recruiting Reviewers. I sincerely hope that all Youtubers, Vloggers, or macro photographers will not miss the recruitment plan. Please see the posted photo for specific participation conditions".

As expected there has been an influx of comments requesting the lens, however, this opportunity will remain open until July 12, 2024, so there is still time to submit. 

You may also be interested in our guides to the best macro lenses, the best wide-angle lenses, and the best tilt-shift lenses. 

I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for Yongnuo lenses. Made in China, they tend to be of good quality and outrageously good value for money. I’ve bought Yongnuo YN50mm F1.8Z DF DSM and Yongnuo YN85mm F1.8Z DF DSM lenses for my full-frame Nikon Z-system cameras, to add to my permanent collection, and recently reviewed the Yongnuo YN33mm F1.4Z DA DSM WL Pro which, like this 11mm lens, is designed for APS-C format bodies and is compatible with Yongnuo’s optional BR-L1 remote controller. 

Unlike the 33mm lens, however, it’s so far only available in Sony E-mount, rather than catering to multiple makes of camera. Even so, it aims to be one of the best lenses for the Sony A6700, and other crop-sensor Sony mirrorless cameras.

Yongnuo YN11mm F1.8S DA DSM WL: Specifications

Yongnuo YN11mm F1.8S DA DSM WL: Price

Ultra-wide-angle prime and zoom lenses often command the big bucks, especially if they come complete with fast aperture ratings. Despite combining an ‘effective’ 16.5mm focal length in full-frame terms with a fast f/1.8 aperture, this Yongnuo lens is relatively inexpensive. It has a budget-friendly list price of around $300/£240. That makes it potentially great value for anyone wanting a really expansive perspective when using an APS-C format Sony E-mount camera.

Yongnuo YN11mm F1.8S DA DSM WL: Design & Handling

I remember when we used to call mirrorless cameras ‘compact system cameras’. Sony’s APS-C format bodies are certainly slimline and the Yongnuo 11mm follows suit. It’s barely more than a couple of inches in length, weighs in at just 260g, and has a small 58mm filter attachment thread. The filter thread is definitely worth a mention, as many ultra-wide-angle lenses have a built-in hood, which precludes the fitment of filters that are often favored for creative landscape photography, and more besides.

Despite its very compact and lightweight design, there’s a lot shoehorned into this Yongnuo lens, and I’m not just talking about the expansive 105-degree viewing angle from its ‘effective’ 16.5mm focal length and its fast f/1.8 aperture rating. That makes the lens ideal not only for landscapes and cityscapes but also for dimly lit architectural interiors and even astrophotography. 

So what else is packed into the lens? For starters, there’s an aperture control ring complete with a click/de-click switch, catering to both stills and movie capture. You also get a customizable function button, nominally for autofocus hold. And speaking of autofocus, there’s the now typical linear stepping motor which is rapid for stills and enables smooth, virtually silent autofocus transitions when shooting video.

And there’s more. Surprisingly, considering the budget price tag, the lens has a smartly finished anodized aluminum casing and a metal mounting plate complete with a weather-seal gasket. A USB-C port is also featured, for applying firmware updates if and when needed. Going beyond the often-featured autofocus/manual focus switch, the one fitted to this lens also enables trick functions with Yongnuo’s BR-L1 remote control, sold separately for around $59/£47. 

The lens’s built-in 2.4GHz radio frequency communication enables the use of the remote controller’s Fn button, A and B buttons, a rotary dial, and a little mono LCD screen. After pairing it with the lens, you can use the remote for adjusting the aperture and for manual focusing, as well as for A-B focusing, shifting between two preset focus distances along with setting the speed of the transition. As with the lens, the optional remote features a USB-C port, again for applying firmware updates but also for charging its internal battery.

Let’s not forget the glass, which is naturally a key feature of any lens. There are 10 optical elements in total, including 2 aspherical elements, Low Dispersion and Ultra-low Dispersion elements, and 3 HR (High Refractive index) elements. The overall aim is to optimize clarity, contrast, and color fidelity while keeping color fringing and other aberrations to a minimum. The front element has a fluorine coating to repel moisture and grease, and a petal-shaped, bayonet-fit hood is supplied with the lens. 

As usual, this is reversible to reduce stowage space, and the pinch-type front cap enables easy fitment and removal even with the hood in its operational, front-facing orientation. Suffice it to say, that the feature set and handling extras are both plentiful.

Amongst their other virtues, ultra-wide-angle lenses are great for exaggerating perspective for creative effect, stretching the apparent distance between close foreground and background areas within a scene. You can certainly get in close with this lens, thanks to its minimum focus distance of 15cm (6 inches) or about 7.5cm (3 inches) from the front of the lens. 

Yongnuo YN11mm F1.8S DA DSM WL: Performance

Levels of sharpness are impressive in the central region of the image frame, even when shooting wide-open at f/1.8. It’s a big ask to expect great sharpness at the edges and corners of the frame with such a wide-angle lens at this aperture, especially one that’s physically so small. Even so, wide-open corner sharpness is fairly reasonable but, as I’d expect, it pays to stop down to f/5.6 or f/8 for the best sharpness towards the edges and corners.

Contrast and clarity are good and the lens delivers good color rendition. Color fringing can be noticeable around high-contrast transitions towards the edges and corners of the frame but it’s of a fairly low order and easily within the remit of automatic correction. The same goes for barrel distortion. Again it’s only minor when uncorrected and the Yongnuo certainly doesn’t depend on automatic in-camera correction for this, unlike many recent lenses designed for mirrorless cameras.

The aperture is controlled by a 7-blade diaphragm. Stop down to narrow apertures and the lens is capable of producing striking 14-point sun stars, if you’re into that sort of thing. Designing such a physically small ultra-wide-angle lens, something has to give. Vignetting is quite noticeable at wide apertures but diminishes as you narrow the aperture to f/4 and beyond. All in all, the little Yongnuo punches well above its small size, weight, and price tag.

Yongnuo YN11mm F1.8S DA DSM WL: Sample Images

The following gallery of example shots was taken on a sunny day in the UK city of Bath, with the lens mounted on a Sony A 7II camera body in APS-C crop mode. The included images are featured without any automatic in-camera corrections for peripheral illumination, color fringing or distortion. What you see is what you get, with no corrections applied.

Yongnuo YN11mm F1.8S DA DSM WL: Lab Results

We run a range of lab tests under controlled conditions, using the Imatest Master testing suite. Photos of test charts are taken across the range of apertures and zooms (where available), then analyzed for sharpness, distortion and chromatic aberrations.

We use Imatest SFR (spatial frequency response) charts and analysis software to plot lens resolution at the center of the image frame, corners and mid-point distances, across the range of aperture settings and, with zoom lenses, at four different focal lengths. The tests also measure distortion and color fringing (chromatic aberration).

Sharpness:

Sharpness in the central region of the image frame is very good, only taking a knock at the narrowest aperture of f/16, due to the usual phenomenon of diffraction. Extreme edge/corner-sharpness is less impressive at wide apertures, and it pays to stop down to f/5.6 or f/8 for optimum edge-to-edge sharpness.

Fringing:

Color fringing can be noticeable towards the edges and corners of the frame but it’s of a fairly small amount. Automatic in-camera correction is generally available to take it out of the equation, and it can be removed in software when processing RAW files.

Distortion: -1.54

The lens scores well for distortion, as the amount of barrel distortion is of a low order for such an ultra-wide-angle lens. It’s way less than with many wide-angle and even standard lenses for mirrorless cameras that we’ve tested, which rely entirely on automatic in-camera correction that can’t be disabled in camera menus.

Yongnuo YN11mm F1.8S DA DSM WL: Verdict

Sometimes, less is more. I really like that the Yongnuo 11mm is so compact and lightweight that I can practically slip it into a spare pocket and carry it around without feeling weighed down. That makes it useful to keep on hand for anytime my standard zoom runs out of viewing width, for the likes of walkabout and travel photography. Image quality and build quality are highly impressive, considering the purchase price, as are the lens’s up-market handling characteristics. All in all, it’s a small lens for a small selling price that goes large in its performance and features.

Alternatives

Updated - French camera manufacturer has just launched its first full-frame rangefinder. The Pixii Max offers a 24.5 megapixel FF sensor - and providing an alternative to its existing APS-C sensor Pixii+ camera.

The camera will be available in silver or black, with a further option of either a 32GB built-in memory or a larger 128GB image store, without the option for using a memory card. The 32GB model can store about 840 DNG photos or more than 1700 JPEG files (and the 128GB version, four times that amount). The camera does not record video.

Like its older brother, the Pixii Max offers the option of capturing true 16-bit B&W digital negatives with its Bayer color sensor. But its larger photosites, with their 5.94µm pixel pitch, promise more dynamic range and less noise than its sibling.

Commenting on the 24-megapixel resolution, Pixii founder David Barth comments "We feel that the new Max sensor is the sweet spot for contemporary cameras. We selected it for its image quality, over plain pixel count comparisons."

With the model number A3410, the Pixii Max camera offers a wide-angle viewfinder offering a field of view of a 28mm lens - but also provides frame lines for a 35mm lens. LED backlit frame lines are also provided for use with 50mm and 75mm primes.

The camera body, made from a dual block of aluminum, weighs 480g (including the battery). It uses the Leica M-mount bayonet and offers a wide choice of manual-focus optics.

The camera body is available for preorder from July 5 for 3,999 Euros  ($4,300 / £3,385) for the 32GB options, and 4249 Euros ($4,585 / £3,600) for the 128GB versions. Shipping is expected to start in September, although initial quantities are said to be limited.

See our guide to the best Leica M lenses, and our pick of the best rangefinder cameras

Laowa is teasing the launch of the world's first-ever lens that is both a zoom and a shift lens. To date shift lenses have only been prime lenses - and the ability to have a choice of focal lengths in the one zoom will be of huge interest to architectural photographers. 

We don't know much about this lens as yet—we will have to wait until Monday, 08 July, for more information on what this innovative lens actually offers. But the launch has been announced on Laowa's Weibo social media channel, promising a video launch at 7.30pm Chinese time – so 10.30am ET / 3.30pm BST.

From the name and the teaser image, we can tell that this is not a tilt-shift lens and will only offer shift movements. Laowa already offers an attractively-priced 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift wide-angle prime that offers ±11mm on full-frame cameras. This manual-focus lens is available in Canon RF, Canon EF, Nikon Z, Nikon F, Sony FE, L mount, and Pentax K mounts. It also produces a Laowa 20mm f/4 Zero-D Shift lens option.

The shift movements allow the lens to move sideways or vertically relative to the camera, correcting for converging verticals while keeping the image sensor parallel to the surface being photographed.

The launch invitation shows that the lens has a rotating collar at the rear, that allows you to move the lens so that it can shift either vertically or horizontally. And it is also clear that this a manual focus only affair. It also shows that it has a minimum focus of 0.15m (6 inches).

Rumors suggest that it will have a focal length of 12-24mm with a maximum aperture of f/5.6 - but we can't confirm this, although there is an existing Laowa 12-24mm f/5.6. It is also hard to be sure whether this is for full-frame, or solely for APS-C crop sensor cameras.

We will have to wait until next week to have the answers…

Photographers and drone operators in London can now head to a new DJI / Hasselblad store to get hands-on with drones and cameras.

The flagship store opened this week right at the heart of England's capital, where the famous shops of Regent Street meet the buzz of Piccadilly Circus.

I visited the store myself to get a feel for the new location, and spoke to Retail Director Allen Lu, who told me the store had been very busy since launch four days ago – with good footfall and selling Hasselblad and DJI products at a pace.

He showed me that, in part thanks to the high ceilings, they were able to let customers try out drones in the store, including the Avata 2 FPV – which was putting a smile on the face of a prospective customer next to us as we spoke.

Hasselblad fans will love the fact that, as well as the chance to get hands-on with the X2D 100C, real respect for the brand's history is on display, with some historic bodies, lenses and literature to browse.

This isn't the first store of its kind in the UK – that honour went to "2nd city" Birmingham, where a similarly gorgeously appointed store opened on Corporation Street (opposite the Apple Store). That had been followed by a DJI store in New York.

The UK stores are operated by DJI Retail and offer customers the chance to shop one-to-one with specialists, buy there and then (or collect in the stores), and trade in eligible devices.

They can – of course – also be a useful place to go and discuss accessories with experts (propellers do get broken, after all!)

My personal impression of the new London store – and indeed the gorgeous Birmingham store, which I visited a few months ago, is that they both are slick, helpful places. Moreover, by the very nature of their product line, they can't help being a lot more fun than a certain other retailer which might have perhaps inspired the choice of tables – enthusiasm abounds in the best way possible.

Perhaps in honour of the nearby Lego store, perhaps just for fun, there were a number of themed Lego builds on display, including some DJI drone designs and even the DJI corporate headquarters, Sky City.

I also saw tons of DJI merch, including some specially-themed DJI London goodies. There are very stylish shopping bags featuring the famous Eros statue visible from the store, while clearly some special stickers were available!

If you want to check it out yourself, head to 52 Regent Street, London. The London store is open 10:00-9:00pm daily (except Sundays, when it is 12:00 to 18:00). 

Check our guide to the best camera drones.

Zoom has been making portable sound recorders – known as "handy" recorders – for decades. Beloved by videographers and filmmakers, the company has also been a major innovator in the music space, launching multi-effect processors for guitar straps, iPhone microphones, and more recently in a world where everyone seems to have a podcast, podcast recorders.

One of Zoom's latest novel releases is the Zoom Q2n-4K, a palm-sized video recorder aimed squarely at musicians and users wanting to share their music online. It's an adorably small device, with a wide-angle lens on one side, an LCD screen on the back, and a wraparound microphone design incorporating an X/Y stereo array. It can function as a standalone webcam and audio recorder, making it an incredibly versatile product for music teachers and YouTubers equally.

Of course, you might ask yourself – and I have done – why not just get one of Zoom's best audio recorders and pair it with your smartphone, or one the best cameras for vlogging with a decent microphone? There are two reasons. Firstly, Zoom is known for its audio quality, and its handheld devices can capture a wide range of sounds and environments brilliantly with minimal training or setup required. 

Adding a camera to the mix with the Q2n-4K, Zoom has created a convenient all-in-one without trailing wires or moving parts. Secondly, at around $200, the Zoom Q2n-4K is affordable for music students, musicians breaking into the industry, or those building up a following online. 

The Zoom Q2n-4K is cheaper than the Zoom Q8n-4K I've previously tested, but that offers 4-track audio, XLR-mic inputs, plus a rechargeable battery to bring it in line with vlogging rivals. 

The Q2n-4K is affordable, for sure, but does it offer the quality that its target market needs? I've always been pleased with the build and audio quality of Zoom products but found their usability more varied. I tried the Q2n-4K for several weeks to discover whether it was a livestreaming dream or a musician's nightmare. Read on to find out whether it's the right handy recorder for you.

Zoom Q2n-4K: Specification

Zoom Q2n-4K: Price

Considering its compact size and feature set, the Q2n-4K delivers excellent value at around $200/£200. It's a more budget-friendly option compared to the Q8n-4K, which makes sense as it sacrifices some audio capabilities, recording in stereo only, and lacking XLR microphone ports for professional setups.

What lets down this handy recorder is its reliance on two AA batteries for power. These weren't included with my sample, so unless you have rechargeable AA batteries, you'll have to factor in the cost of buying and replacing them. I found frequent replacements were necessary, so this will be an ongoing expense unless you plan to power the camera from your computer (with a cable also sold separately).

Zoom Q2n-4K: Design & Handling

The Zoom Q2n-4K looks nothing like the Zoom Q8n-4K, and that's a good thing as it's designed to be more portable. In fact, it doesn't look like any camera I've tried before, but that doesn't mean it's hard to use. On the front is the 15-degree wide-angle lens and a handy light to indicate when you're recording (it turns red when you are). You also get a lens cap for protection and a tiny lens hood to block out flare in sunshine or bright studio lights.

On one side, there's a headphone jack – always important for checking audio levels – an external input, and volume buttons for the headphones. Flip the camera around and there's a small dial for controlling the microphone level, plus micro USB and mini HDMI ports. I'm surprised that in 2024 we haven't got a USB-C port instead, both for charging the camera and connecting it to a computer. My iMac only has USB-C ports, so I had to get an adapter just to connect it.

What I liked most about the Zoom Q2n-4K was its ease of use. At the back of the camera, there's a 1.77-inch four-color LCD (160 × 128 resolution) for viewing the scene and menu settings, while nine buttons aid handling, as the screen isn't touch-sensitive. It only takes a few hours of use to remember what these buttons do, although I'd love them to be slightly more responsive when pressed.

Underneath the screen is a power/play button, an obvious red record button, and a button for exit/settings. You also get physical buttons for tweaking the field of view between five settings, the video quality (or setting audio only), the scene type (there are twelve, including outdoor, sunset, monochrome, and film), Lo Cut, the audio quality, and auto gain. A camera like this is designed to be used quickly, and I love that almost everything you need can be accessed without having to dig into the menu, which themselves are still clear and accessible.

Given that the LCD screen doesn't articulate in the same way as the Q8n-4K for forward-facing shots, it's hard to know when you're in the frame when you're filming yourself. There were many takes where I was filming myself for a few seconds with the camera on a tripod, reviewing it back, and then moving around to improve my positioning.

One advantage is that the light on the front of the camera goes red to tell you you're recording. There's no remote or timer delay function built into the system to start recording, so you have to start the camera and get into position, which adds editing time to your footage and could make your live streams a bit janky.

You access the battery and memory card slot by unclipping the plastic cover underneath the Zoom Q2n-4K. It's a MicroSD card, a size which I assume was chosen to keep the size down, and while the two AA batteries were easy to slot in, the card slot was a slight paint point for me. There's no spring mechanism, making it difficult to remove. When I wanted to take the card out to transfer the footage to my Mac, I had to prise it with my nails or tweezers. This is fiddly and makes you worry you'll cause damage.

Zoom Q2n-4K: Performance

Overall, I'm impressed with the performance of the Zoom Q2n-4K, for its price bracket, and I think musicians will find a lot to love about the audio quality. Thanks to the camera's three WAV audio formats (96 kHz/24-bit, 48 kHz/24-bit, 44.1 kHz/16-bit) you can tailor the quality and size of files to your project's needs. And using “Camera Off” mode opens up the Q2n-4K to become a handy recorder in its own right, or to replace your computer mic if you so wish.

I found it easy to monitor the audio output levels using headphones with the stereo output jack or to glance at the levels on the LCD screen and see when they were peaking too high. I mainly recorded in 98kHz/24-bit during testing and loved the well-balanced, rich tone, whether at home, in a field at a festival, or in an echoey conference room. I noticed that setting the microphone to auto-gain (you've got the chance of concert, solo, or meeting here) left some of my recordings on the quiet side, but then the Zoom Q2n-4K handles loud music so well I don't mind this.

The X/Y mics within the recorder sound great. I did a test recording at a loud folk music night, and not only was my voice clear, but the three different instruments could be heard clearly and evenly. The Q2n-4K handles bass notes well, giving them a rounded sound even at low or extreme volumes. The recorder also performs well as a USB mic, much better than my iMac's in-built microphone and rivaling the pro-grade Sennheiser mic I usually have plugged in.

If I were to sum up this review in a sentence it'd be; audio great, video not so great. Even at the maximum 4K resolution, the Zoom Q2n-4K's video is serviceable, but nowhere near as good as my iPhone or even my GoPro from a few years back. In anything but bright sunshine, the small camera sensor produced footage with muddy shadows and a noisy picture overall. By their nature, music settings are often low-light environments, so it's a shame that the Zoom Q2n-4K struggled so much with detail and color here. I'd recommend that musicians keep the room as well-lit as possible when recording.

Having five steps for changing the field of view, rather than a rolling ability to zoom in and out of your chosen subject, means you’re limited somewhat by the framing options. If you press the field of view button to toggle through zoom levels during filming it's also very audible, and hard to remove in post. The video quality degrades the further you zoom in, as the camera crops in on the image rather than relying on a physical lens zoom.

The Q2n-4K was designed to take in performances on a tripod or stable platform and it excels at that. It doesn't feature built-in stabilization, which is something to bear in mind if you want any freedom of movement while filming, or to get handheld footage at a live show. The footage becomes incredibly shaky when you try shooting vlog-style videos and if you're that type of music YouTuber you may want to look elsewhere.

Given that the Zoom Q2n-4K comes at such an affordable price point, I can live without Bluetooth or WiFi, or a remote control to start recording. But its biggest downside is the battery life and power source. One set of AA batteries lasted me less than an hour of recording time, and I felt I was constantly replacing them during filming. For one live music event, I'd checked the battery before leaving home and it showed two-thirds full. Unfortunately, when I started recording, the camera only lasted a few minutes before dying completely, meaning I missed capturing footage of my favorite teenage artists. There are two lessons here: always pack spares and ensure the camera can't turn on in your bag.

Of course, at home or in a studio you can power the camera via micro-USB when it's used as a webcam (why not USB-C?). And if you buy the Zoom BCQ2n battery case Q2n-4K, which takes four AA batteries, you can significantly expand the camera's battery life for field work and live gigs without a power outlet.

Zoom Q2n-4K: Sample video

Above: sample video show with the Zoom Q2n-4K

I had the Zoom Q2n-4K for a few weeks, testing it for recording sessions at home (a keyboard and guitar, and my rusty playing skills), live gigs, folk performances, and some spoken word. Unfortunately on several opportunities to record, the battery was lower than displayed and the camera ran out of power before I could get any decent clips.

Zoom Q2n-4K: Verdict

The Zoom Q2n-4K is a great choice if good sound is more important than good video, and you have about $200/£200 to spend. I'm not a professional musician, but I do play several instruments, get incredibly hung up on audio quality, and have a ton of experience using microphones for filmmaking. While the Zoom Q2n-4K feels a bit dated in terms of video performance and lags behind the best camera phones, the clarity and richness of its sound make up for that.

Although there's no video stabilization, it's easy enough to pop the Q2n-4K on a cheap mini tripod to keep the footage nice and stable. The fact, that you can pop the Q2n-4K in your pocket, then whip it out and get usable clips in seconds is fantastic. The automated nature of the camera means that even those new to recording themselves should get decent results, but there are enough audio options for budding audiophiles too.

The recorder isn't marketing itself as an advanced broadcast-level device. Instead, its size and convenience make it perfect for musicians wanting to capture clips and quick videos on the go, when they don't have the budget for pro gear – or the desire to carry it around. I found it could handle everything from jazz to folk to heavy metal in the car, and still produce a rich, well-balanced tone.

I've loved using the Q2n-4K to get back into keyboard and guitar playing, grabbing snippets at gigs, and recording vocals for video projects. It's just not going to be my recorder of choice until Zoom swaps those AA batteries for a rechargeable, sustainable option.

Zoom Q2n-4K: Alternatives

Nikon has announced a 35mm f/1.4 mirrorless lens, just weeks after Canon launched one of its own. And while the lenses have their differences, the biggest one is the price: Nikon's lens is about a grand and a half cheaper than Canon's. 

The Nikon Nikkor Z 35mm f/1.4 is the company's long-awaited wide-angle Z system lens, ideal for street photography, reportage and documentary work, carrying a retail price of AU$1,099.

That compares to the similarly long-awaited Canon RF 35mm f/1.4L VCM with its $2,599.95 price tag. That's a AU$1,500 difference, which is 137% more expensive. 

Again, they're very different lenses that do very different things; Canon's is a premium L-series lens, and one of its new generation of hybrid photo-video optics. Nikon's, meanwhile, is not even a member of its premium S-series family.

Still, if you're one of the many people for whom a 35mm f/1.4 lens is an essential part of your kit bag, on paper this is a helluva win for Nikon. 

This full-frame lens features 9 groups featuring 11 elements, including a pair of aspherical elements, with a 9-diaphragm aperture design. Measuring 88.5mm in length, with a 74.5mm diameter, it has a 62mm filter thread with a minimum focus distance of 0.27m and a maximum magnification of 0.18x.

Notably, it's also Nikon's first Z lens to feature an f/1.4 aperture. (Equally of note, Canon's 35mm is also its first RF lens with an f/1.4 aperture.) Rumors persist that this will be followed by a 50mm f/1.4, and a premium 35mm f/1.2 S lens is officially on Nikon's roadmap.

The Nikon Nikkor Z 35mm f/1.4 lens is set to go on sale in July. 

Take a look more of the best lenses for street photography. You might also be interested in the best Nikon Z lenses, designed for the best mirrorless cameras from Nikon.  

Let’s face it, many of us digital photographers don’t really like swapping between lenses on our cameras, and I’m one of them. The ever-present risk of dust blowing into the camera and sticking to the image sensor plays on my mind, especially in inclement conditions. If I’m off to shoot landscapes, cityscapes, or architectural interiors, it’s a pain to have to keep switching between wide-angle and standard lenses. 

The Tamron 17-50mm means I don’t have to. Mounted on a full-frame Sony body, it has a range of viewing angles that covers everything from 103.7 to 46.8 degrees. In practical terms, that’s really wide-angle coverage at the short end and an entirely natural perspective at the other. The zoom range also works really well for vlogging, giving the opportunity to set the scene by including the backdrop while presenting to camera, as well as zooming in for a close-up. 

Suffice it to say that this Tamron is a very versatile zoom that aims to be one of the best lenses for Sony cameras and the best E-mount lenses for vlogging.

Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD: Specifications

Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD: Price

The Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD  has a list price of $699 / £719, measures 75x114mm, and weighs 460g. 

It’s not the first wide-to-standard zoom of sorts that I’ve seen from Tamron. There’s also the Tamron 20-40mm F2.8 Di III VXD for Sony cameras which naturally has less outright zoom range but is an f/stop faster and weighs in at an even smaller and lighter 74x87mm and 365g. That one comes with a $699 / £749 price tag. Then there’s the own-brand Sony FE 24-50mm F2.8 G at a pricier $1,098 / £1,149, which has vital statistics of 75x92mm and 440g. The Sony lens doesn’t come anywhere close in wide-angle potential but again has a faster f/2.8 aperture. 

All in all, if you want to maximize your wide-angle to standard zoom range and can settle for a constant f/4 aperture, the Tamron 17-50mm looks good value for money.

Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD: Design & Handling

The Tamron 17-50mm F4 claims to be a ‘world first’ for Sony E-mount full-frame cameras, covering ultra-wide-angle to standard focal lengths in one convenient lens. Part of that ‘convenience’ as far as I’m concerned is that it’s compact and lightweight, measuring 75x114mm and weighing a mere 460g. 

Another bonus is that the overall physical length remains fixed throughout the zoom range, although there’s an extending inner barrel that nears the front of the outer barrel at short and long zoom settings, being fully retracted at around the 30mm mark. And speaking of marks, the zoom ring has markings for 17mm, 20mm, 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, and 50mm focal lengths. That covers a broad spread but, as usual with lenses for mirrorless cameras, there’s no focus distance scale.

Although the outer physical length remains fixed throughout the zoom range, I can’t say the same for the minimum focus distance. This stretches from 0.19m at the wide-angle end to 0.3m at the longest zoom setting. Even so, those are pretty short distances throughout, giving a maximum reproduction magnification of a generous 0.26x at the long end. 

From a creative point of view, I like that the short minimum focus distance at wide-angle focal lengths lets me get in really close to objects and exaggerate the perspective between foreground and background elements within a scene. It also makes the lens particularly useful for vlogging. For shooting video in general, the lens is designed to have minimal focus breathing and the constant f/4 aperture throughout the zoom range is a bonus.

When it comes to glass, the lens has 15 elements arranged in 13 groups and boasts 3 LD (Low Dispersion) elements, a GM (Glass Molded Aspherical) element and 2 hybrid aspherical elements. The mix aims to maximize sharpness and clarity while minimizing color fringing and other aberrations.

Autofocus is courtesy of Tamron’s VXD (Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive) linear stepping motor design. Again, this is ideally suited to both stills and video capture, being quick and snappy for stills and enabling smooth and virtually silent autofocus transitions when shooting video. A customizable function button is also featured, defaulting to autofocus-hold.

While the lens is undeniably lightweight (in a good way) it feels solid and well-built. The construction features multiple weather-seals and there’s a fluorine coating on the front element to repel moisture and greasy fingermarks. The lens comes complete with a petal-shaped, bayonet-fit lens hood which, as usual, is reversible for compact stowage. The pinch-clip lens cap is easy to fit and remove even with the hood in its forward-facing orientation.

Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD: Performance

I found the Tamron 17-50mm really easy to live with. I really enjoyed the way that the zoom range made the lens very adept for anything and everything from landscape and architectural shots to photos requiring a standard field of view. Autofocus is consistently accurate, while sharpness and clarity are very pleasing throughout the zoom range, although sharpness towards the extreme edges and corners of the frame could be a little better.

Naturally, the f/4 aperture rating isn’t exactly ‘fast’ but the 0.3m minimum focus distance at the long end of the zoom range gives plenty of scope for close-ups, with a tight depth of field. Sharpness remains very good in the central region of the frame, even at close shooting distances, a further upside being that bokeh is soft and smooth. That’s something I’ve usually found with Tamron lenses.

Many current and recent lenses designed for mirrorless cameras, especially wide-angle lenses, rely heavily on automatic in-camera correction for distortion. This Tamron is no exception, with extreme barrel distortion at the shortest zoom setting but, with correction applied, distortions throughout the zoom range become pretty much a non-issue.

Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD: Sample Images

The following gallery of images was taken throughout the zoom range of the lens, mounted on a Sony A7 II body. The location is the Bishop’s Palace & Garden in the Somerset city of Wells in the UK. For lab tests, we used the lens with a Sony A7R III camera body.

Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD: Lab Results

We run a range of lab tests under controlled conditions, using the Imatest Master testing suite. Photos of test charts are taken across the range of apertures and zooms (where available), then analyzed for sharpness, distortion and chromatic aberrations.

We use Imatest SFR (spatial frequency response) charts and analysis software to plot lens resolution at the center of the image frame, corners and mid-point distances, across the range of aperture settings and, with zoom lenses, at four different focal lengths. The tests also measure distortion and color fringing (chromatic aberration).

Sharpness:

Center-sharpness is impressive throughout the entire zoom range, although it pays to narrow the aperture a bit in the 35-50mm sector. Stopping down a bit also improves edge-sharpness, which comes on strong in the 17-35mm section of the zoom range, but there’s room for improvement at the longest 50mm setting.

Fringing:

Color fringing is very negligible even at the extreme edges and corners of the frame in the 17-35mm sector of the zoom range. It can become slightly noticeable at the long end when using wide apertures but remains well within the remit of automatic in-camera correction.

Distortion:

Barrel distortion is extreme at 17mm and still very noticeable at 24mm. There’s only minor barrel distortion at 35mm and a touch of pincushion at 50mm. Like many recent lenses for mirrorless cameras, the Tamron relies heavily on automatic in-camera correction, which works very well.

Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD: Verdict

For walkabout shooting, street photography and for landscapes, cityscapes and architecture, I find that I generally don’t need anything longer than a 50mm focal length, but I often want greater wide-angle coverage than a ‘standard’ 24-70mm zoom lens can deliver. The Tamron 17-50mm is a great alternative to standard fare, really stretching the envelope in terms of expansive viewing angles, while still giving me a standard perspective at the long end, as and when I want it. With nice handling and build quality, fast and consistently accurate autofocus, along with impressive image quality, this Tamron lens was an instant hit for me, and it’s very good value at the price.

Alternatives

After months of driving around on the surface of Mars, also known as the "Red Planet", the car-sized Mars rover Perseverance has discovered a group of rocks with a "popcorn-like texture".

The shape of the rocks resembling popcorn is significant because it suggests that groundwater flowed through the rocks after they were set down, a potentially very exciting clue into past life on Mars. 

The photos were taken using Perseverance's Right Mastcam-Z camera, Mastcam-Z being the pair of cameras placed high on the rover’s mast.

The multicolor stereo imaging system on the rover can zoom from an f/7 wide-angle to f/10 telephoto lens, take 3D images and videos, and take photos in up to 11 unique colors. It captures 1600 x 1200 images, a has 26-110mm zoom range, and a 360° panoramic view as well as a 180° vertical view. 

Affectionately nicknamed Percy, the Mars rover was launched in 2020 during the COVID-19 Pandemic. To show NASA's appreciation of healthcare workers, a 3.1 x 5.1-inch plate with a staff and serpent (the Greek symbol for medicine) was attached to the rover. 

Perseverance has been driving around on the surface of Mars since January and has now finally arrived in a brand new territory nicknamed Bright Angel – so named for the light-toned areas of ancient rocks, once covered by a river.

According to NASA, scientists were "mesmerized by the strange textures of the rocks found there," adding:

"These rocks are filled with sharp ridges that resemble the mineral veins found at the base of the fan, but there appears to be more of them here. Additionally, some rocks are densely packed with small spheres, and we've jokingly referred to this as a 'popcorn'-like texture."

Check out our guide to the best cameras for astrophotography, and the best lenses for astrophotography. We've also got all the information you need about the best low light cameras.  

The Ricoh GR III and GR IIIx compact cameras are to get a couple of useful new features with a new firmware update that has just been released.

The Ricoh GR III is one of the best compact cameras for street photographers with its big APS-C sensor - and the latest firmware update will be the 13th update to the camera since it first went on sale just over five years ago.

The newer Ricoh GR IIIx, launched in September 2021, which is similar to the GR III but with a less wide-angle lens, will also the feature-enhancing refresh through the firmware.

The updates will also work with the customized GR III Street Edition and GR III Diary Edition models.

Arguably the most useful update is to the autofocus system, which gets the "Zone Select AF" as an option in the focus selection menu. 

By selecting Zone Select AF and pressing the OK button on the live view screen, the user can freely move the 3x3 area using the up/down/left/right keys to automatically focus on the appropriate position within the area. The area can also be moved by touching the screen.

Additionally, the two cameras now get three custom white balance settings. 

By selecting one of Custom 1-3 and going to the detailed setting, you can set a combination of the base white balance of your choice and then fine tune the color temperature to a more precise value.

The v1.91 firmware for the Ricoh GR III is now available to download here.

The new v1.41 firmware for the Ricoh GR IIIx is available to download here

As well as announcing the new Instax Wide 400, Fujifilm has today launched a refresh of its Instax Mini LiPlay hybrid camera, which combines the fun of instant photography with the convenience of digital imaging in one camera.

The 2024 editions of the Mini LiPlay not only come in three new colors with fresh textured finishes, but they also add valuable new features to the original specification of this five-year-old model.

The addition of a USB-C charging socket means that the camera can be kept powered up by the same lead you probably use for your mobile phone - or from a power bank. The rechargeable battery is good for around 100 shots.

At the same time, the firmware update process has been simplified, with owners now able to update the camera via the dedicated Instax mini LiPlay they already use with it. The original model forced users to download updates from a website, save them to a microSD memory card, and then insert them into the camera.

The three new colorways are Matcha Green, Misty White and Deep Bronze. 

The key features of the original model are retained. The LiPlay is much more than its parts. It can not only give you an Instax Mini print, but you also get a digital version of your image to archive or share on social media. What's more, you can choose which image you print out - so you only have to pay for hard copies of the best images, and you can make multiple copies. Additionally, you can use this as a portable printer - creating miniprints of any image you have on your smartphone. 

The digital camera uses a 5-megapixel 1/5-inch sensor and can save images to the built-in memory or a microSD card. You can also review your photos on the 2.7-inch 230k dot LCD screen at the rear. The lens is a fixed-focus wide-angle with an equivalent focal length of around 28mm.

The new Instax mini LiPlay instant digital cameras will go on sale from July 19 for a recommended retail price of $169.95 / £149.99.

Check out our guide to the best instant digital cameras

Leaks are already surfacing regarding the camera specs of OnePlus's next flagship phone, the OnePlus 13. OnePlus is noteworthy in the camera phone sector due to its collaboration with Hasselblad, which supplies the optics for the cameras in many OnePlus phones. This joint effort looks set to continue for the OnePlus 13, according to the long-time (and usually reliable) tipster DigitalChatStation.

The latest leak, via 91mobiles, also suggests the OnePlus 13 will again feature a triple-camera array, but this time containing three 50MP sensors. These are said to include an improved ultrawide camera and a refreshed periscope telephoto module. The primary camera could likely use the same Sony LYT808 sensor as in the OnePlus 12. This is a 50MP, 1/1.43" chip with 1.12µm pixels. If OnePlus also carries over the same lens, then it'd offer a 23mm focal length and an f/1.6 aperture.

The new ultrawide snapper is rumored to be based around Sony's new 50MP IMX882 sensor - a 1/1.95-inch chip, which the tipster also states will be the basis of the OnePlus 13's periscope telephoto module. This is said to offer a relatively conservative 3x zoom - we've seen periscope lenses reach 10x the focal length of a phone's wide-angle module before, in phones like the Galaxy S23 Ultra. However, the S23 Ultra was only able to achieve such a long focal length by using a very small 1/3.52" sensor in its periscope telephoto module. If the OnePlus 13 does indeed employ the 1/1.95" IMX882 sensor, it'll likely offer superior telephoto image quality, and by using the same sensor in both the ultrawide and telephoto modules, image quality should also be consistent.

Elsewhere, DigitalChatStation suggests the OnePlus 13 will pack a hefty 6000mAh battery (up from 5400mAh in the OnePlus 12), which will be capable of 100w fast charging. Wireless charging has supposedly been dropped, presumably to make room for the increased battery size. Rumors also suggest the phone will be fronted by a 6.8" LPTO display with a 2K resolution, and will run a Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 SoC with 12GB or 16GB of RAM.

Although this tipster has proven to be accurate in the past, it should still be noted that the leaked specs have apparently come from an engineering sample phone, not a final retail example. This, combined with OnePlus's typical December launch of its new flagship phone, means there's still scope for specs to change before the OnePlus 13 goes one sale.

Story credit: 91mobiles

Kowa has launched two new spotting scopes, the TSN-55A and TSN-55S Prominar, which balance optical performance and lightweight construction. The TSN-55A is an angled version for those looking for a true spotting scope experience, but for those wanting a more streamlined solution, then the TSN-55S is the best option, especially if you're looking to mount your mirrorless camera for digiscoping.

These scopes are crafted with Kowa's exclusive Prominar pure fluorite crystal, designed to deliver clarity and color fidelity. It’s the latest addition to the esteemed Prominar series, known for its premium quality and exceptional optical performance.

At the heart of the new TSN-55 series is a 55mm pure fluorite crystal lens. This advanced material is renowned for eliminating chromatic aberration, resulting in vivid, sharp, and true-to-life visuals. 

Whether you’re an avid birdwatcher or a nature enthusiast exploring expansive landscapes, the TSN-55 scopes promise to bring every detail into focus with accuracy.

A standout feature of the TSN-55 design is its portability. Measuring only 255mm in length and weighing a mere 965 grams, this spotting scope is designed for ease of transport without compromising image quality. Its compact size belies the power it holds within, making it an ideal companion for both serious and casual observers on the go.

The new TSN-55 varients integrate Kowa’s TE-11WZ II wide-angle zoom eyepiece, which provides an impressive 17-40x magnification range. This eyepiece enhances the field of view by up to 52% compared to the previous models like the TSN-550, ensuring that you won’t miss any of the action. The seamless integration of the eyepiece into the scope's body maintains its compact form while offering expansive views.

Equipped with a dual-focus system, the TSN-55 allows for rapid and precise focusing adjustments, perfect for quickly adapting to changing scenes. The ergonomic design includes a smooth twist sunshade, a versatile tripod mount, and a filter thread for added protection. These features ensure that users can enjoy a comfortable and hassle-free viewing experience.

The TSN-55 is designed for durability and reliability, featuring a fully sealed, nitrogen-filled body that is both waterproof and resilient against harsh environmental conditions. Kowa’s KR coating on the objective lens repels water and dirt, ensuring clear views in any weather.

For those interested in digiscoping, the TSN-55 is the ultimate tool. It easily attaches to smartphones, DSLRs, or mirrorless cameras via Kowa’s smart adapters, transforming the scope into a compact telephoto system capable of capturing stunning long-range nature photographs.

The Kowa TSN-55 Prominar spotting scopes are set to start shipping in July 2024. Both the TSN-55A and TSN-55S models are priced at $2,229.

See our guides to the best spotting scopes and the best monoculars

Zoom is a specialist manufacturer known among videographers for making high-quality, portable audio recorders. In fact, it was the only brand I used during the filmmaking modules of my university course when – like most budding creators – I learned that audio is just as important as visual quality when it comes to video. 

Zoom makes some of the best audio recorders out there, and its handheld devices are trusted by professionals who need to capture a range of sounds while filming on location. But the Zoom Q8n-4K, one of its latest releases, combines 4-track audio and adds a wide-angle fixed lens camera on the front, to make a portable all-in-one content recorder. It's a successor to the Zoom Q8, an HD video recorder that left some disappointed with the video features. 

The Zoom Q8n-4K offers more than a smartphone but is cheaper than a mirrorless or DSLR camera. It's aimed at musicians, teachers, and filmmakers wanting something quick to set up and operate. It's also suitable for podcasters, given that it can record four tracks of audio at the same time.

I'm sometimes surprised that the best camcorders are still going steady, and the release of the Zoom Q8n-4K surprises me even more. But with 4K resolution at 30fps, an f/2.8/150º wide-angle lens, and its multi-mic input capabilities, I can see this being a hit with music students and YouTubers who value audio in their production. I tested it for several weeks to discover whether it's a one-trick pony or a genuinely handy video recorder for different creators.

Zoom Q8n-4K: Specification

Zoom Q8n-4K: Price

The Zoom Q8n-4K scores favorably for price. At around $399/£329, it's slightly more expensive than the aging Panasonic HC-V180 camcorder, and that's limited to Full HD recording rather than 4K. Given that the Q8n-4K is marketed as a step up (or sideways) from using a smartphone, I'm pleased to see that it doesn't cost just as much as the best phones for video recording, as some vlogging cameras do. 

Anyone serious about improving their online content should be looking to invest at least as much money as the Q8n-4K. The flip-out LCD screen may be more basic than most modern creators are used to, but for the price, the fact that you're also getting high-quality 4-way audio is impressive.

Zoom Q8n-4K: Design & Handling

The Zoom Q8n-4K takes some of its design cues from the Zoom Q8 before it, with a long cuboid design that folds in on itself for neat carrying. It's about the right size to fit in a palm; solid-feeling but not too cumbersome, and the plastic exterior feels smooth rather than cheap. Looking at the recorder front-on, the lens cap unscrews easily and is attached to a cord so you don't lose it. There's a big red power button directly above it, which isn't as springy as I'd like but is at least very obvious. 

On the right side, a large cover unclips fully to reveal the battery, and above this, there's a "push" button to unlock the microphone unit and rotate it upwards to reveal the LCD screen behind it. On the left are two 3-pin XLR microphone inputs with corresponding volume button dials above (between 0-10), a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a micro-HDMI and USB-C port. The dials are smooth and satisfying to turn, but I found the numbers hard to see in a dim concert environment and larger, brighter printed numbers would have helped with handling here.

The Zoom Q8n-4K's entire design concept is puzzling, partly because the Q8 is more like a traditional camcorder – it has a flip-out LCD touchscreen revealing key buttons behind. Instead, to use the Q8n-4K (and access the memory card slot or power button) you need to move the retractable mic arm upwards and open out the LCD screen – which adds unnecessary steps. You're also slightly limited by the angles you can shoot without a fully articulating screen. Interestingly, the camera takes microSD, microSDHC, and microSDXC cards up to 512 GB, whereas the Q8 takes SD cards.

Turning the camera on with the power button first brings up a language selector, followed by some prompts for the date and time. Once these are in, you're ready to start filming should you want to. Powering up the recorder does take a few seconds, and it's made more awkward by the fact that the button is behind the 2-inch LCD screen, meaning you either have to pull it out if it's faced towards you or turn the recorder around to find it if you're recording vlogging footage.

Minor gripes aside, I like how easy navigation is on the Zoom Q8n-4K, given you can change all the key settings using the labeled buttons arranged around the LCD screen. FOV means Field of View, for example, and you can toggle through the five different camera views (from Wide to Tele) by repeat presses of the button. Of course, this approach isn't ideal if you miss your setting, as you have to toggle through all the options again to get to your choice. 

It's simple and works, but a touchpad or arrow pad would have been a better choice. The LCD also feels small, cramped, and low-resolution (320 x 240), but this is a well-priced budget choice rather than a fully-fledged mirrorless model for pros, and corners had to be cut somewhere.

Zoom Q8n-4K: Performance

Despite having very grab-friendly dimensions, the Zoom Q8n-4K isn't a recorder you'll want to use handheld often. For a start, it doesn't have the stabilization smarts to support that sort of application – I found walking clips very stuttery when compared to my iPhone 15's smoothed footage – and it also feels awkward to hold it in your hand for too long, use the settings buttons, and potentially support any XLR mics simultaneously. You'll want to use the 1/4-inch-20 female tripod thread to mount the Q8n-4K for most things, but it's more than light enough to sit atop a mini tripod.

Visually, the footage is as I expected it to be from a 1/2.3-inch sensor. There's little depth to scenes, and the recorder's low light performance is poor – which is a shame given this is the environment where so many gigs and concerts happen. The scene modes did little to change the image style, and I failed to get a rich, detailed video with any of them. It's nice to have a range of frame rate options (24/25/30fps) but I'd have to keep the resolution at 4K for the most usable content.

By default, the camera has a 150-degree field of view, which is nice and wide for fitting in small rehearsal rooms, and that most prolific of locations – the YouTuber's bedroom. I disliked having buttons to step the zoom rather than a rolling ability to zoom in and out of your chosen subject subtly, and the video quality dipped noticeably at full zoom so I used it sparingly. Pressing the FOV button was also audible on clips, so I'd advise against doing this during an important recording. 

I had to remind myself of the Zoom Q8n-4K's low price during testing, but I still found the LCD frustratingly small. Previewing video on a bigger monitor via the micro HDMI output was easy and helped me to pay attention to what I was filming properly. This handy recorder is also incredibly versatile, and you can plug it into a PC or Mac via USB-C to use it as a webcam, mic, or SD memory card reader. It was also picked up automatically by Google Meet, with audio quality crisper than my computer but video quality much darker and grainier than my iMac's built-in webcam.

If the visual quality was expected but disappointing, the audio quality from the Zoom Q8n-4K was surprising and exceeded my expectations. The X/Y mics up top were subtle enough to put up crowd ambience at a live music event, and conversations from passers-by in the street while filming buskers.

The mixer on the screen made it easy to check the levels and effects for all four channels, and you can easily balance the audio sources while filming. I used the helpful headphone jack to monitor the sound more carefully, as the camera's speaker is very quiet and tinny. While I haven't yet had the chance to record a full show with all four channels, I can see how useful it'd be to plug a mic for vocals and a direct instrument, or a mixing board straight into the XLR ports. Being able to record audio and video in a combined file, multi-channel audio, or stereo audio only adds to the Q8n-4K's versatility as a content-creation tool.

While its video quality isn't pristine, the Q8n-4K offers enough options for budding musicians to capture clips for social channels. It fulfills its brief of a jack-of-all-trades recorder and for many will be the stepping stone they need from smartphone to semi-professional recordings of their live performances.

Zoom Q8n-4K: Sample video

Above: sample video clips shot with the Zoom Q8n-4K in a variety of conditions

I had the Zoom Q8n-4K for several weeks. I captured footage and audio in various scenarios – in a crowd at live music events, at home recording my keyboard, and out in the field for vlogging scenarios. I tested the video at all resolutions and the audio at all sampling frequencies.

*The wind noise in the outdoor clips is an unfair representation of the Q8n-4K's audio capabilities. It's not designed for that usage, and I didn't have the windscreen on.

Zoom Q8n-4K: Verdict

If you’re a musician or YouTuber looking for an all-in-one video and audio recorder, the Zoom Q8n-4K is an affordable albeit niche option. I found its design awkward compared to a traditional camcorder or vlogging camera, and easiest to manage when used on a tripod or support – which is likely what you'd do if you were recording yourself. While the Q8n-4K is compact, its cuboid shape is unusual to handhold, and I wanted the screen to be bigger, brighter, and sharper.

One of the great things about the Zoom Q8n-4K is that you don't need much technical knowledge to start using it, or to get decent results. You can monitor audio using the LCD screen as a guide, and tweak the unit's microphone volume via a dial on the top. Its simplicity is also a downside, as this product doesn't give you any manual control over exposure settings, which means you're reliant on its metering even in dim conditions. You also don't get the option to change lenses or zoom in and out more gradually than the preset fields of view, which can be annoying making transitions feel more cinematic. 

The Zoom Q8n-4K is not just a camcorder but a fully-fledged audio recorder that can capture your music and vocals admirably. If you're looking for a portable recorder that you can set up in one place and rely on for great-sounding audio recordings at gigs, concerts, or in a home studio setup, the Zoom Q8n-4K is a great buy. If you're looking for high-end visuals and a raft of video settings, there are better buys.

Zoom Q8n-4K: Alternatives

Panasonic Holdings Corporation will soon present a new camera calibration technology using artificial intelligence that estimates accurate and robust camera angles from a fisheye image. 

Self-driving cars, drones, and robots all require accurate travel estimation abilities to enable them to position themselves and navigate when moving.

To achieve this, most technologies use specific measurement systems, such as gyroscopes and LiDAR, additionally attached to the cameras. To reduce size, weight, and cost, the technology needs to be able to estimate travel directions using only image capture.

Panasonic Holdings commented:

“Panasonic Holdings aims to contribute to helping customers' lives and work through research and development of AI technology that accelerates social implementation and training of top AI researchers.”

Fisheye lenses are ultra wide-angle lenses that produce strong visual distortion to create a wide panoramic or hemispherical image with an extremely wide angle of view, far beyond any rectilinear lens.

You might not be able to afford one for your camera, but you probably know them from a reversing camera.

The wide-angle lenses use a special mapping or ‘distortion’ as opposed to producing images with straight lines of perspective, or rectilinear images.

Despite their wide-angle abilities, fisheye lenses can cause the viewer to struggle with angle estimation because of the distortion.

To address this problem, Panasonic Holdings has developed a method designed for functions including broad surveillance and obstacle detection, essentially harnessing the wide angle capabilities of a fisheye lens, but recalibrating the images to remove the distortion and make the images easier for humans to process.

Panasonic Holdings said:

“Specifically, this accurate and robust method based on pose estimation can address drastically distorted images under the so-called “Manhattan world assumption;” the assumption that buildings, roads, and other man-made objects typically are at right angles to each other. Since the method can be calibrated from a single general image of a city scene, it can extend applications to moving bodies, such as cars, drones, and robots.”

The proposed technology will be presented at the main conference of the IEEE/CVF Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) 2024, as a research outcome of the REAL-AI program for developing top human resources in the Panasonic group. The conference will be held in Seattle, Washington from June 17 to 21, 2024.

Take a look at our guide to the best camera fisheye lenses. We've also put together a guide to the best dash cams, and the best budget dash cams.