If you need an absolutely gargantuan amount of storage space for saving huge uncompressed 8K video files or similar, TerraMaster has the solution for you. The new D8 Hybrid 2 can combine up to 4 SATA HDDs/SSDs and 4 M.2 NVMe SSDs in a single enclosure. This design claims to provide a flexible, high-performance platform for video editing and media libraries, with support for up to 152 terabytes of total capacity, depending on drive configuration. Just remember that the D8 Hybrid 2 is a drive enclosure - you need to choose and purchase the HDDs and/or SSDs to fit inside it separately.

To ensure your data can be accessed quickly, the D8 Hybrid 2 uses a USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface, enabling read speeds of up to 1020MB/s with a single NVMe SSD. Equip the enclosure with four HDDs and read speeds could top out at 980MB/s, depending on RAID configuration. This performance translates to a 5GB HD movie transferring in around five seconds.

The D8 Hybrid 2 features TerraMaster Power Management technology to improve energy efficiency, enhance reliability, and deliver faster drive wake-up times. The enclosure also benefits from improved internal airflow, with active cooling coming from an intelligent temperature-controlled fluid dynamic bearing fan rated for over 50,000 hours operation. Tool-free drive trays permit simple and secure installation of HDDs and SSDs: M.2 NVMe SSDs can be installed using a side sliding cover and hand-tightened screws.

Designed for modern hybrid workflows, the D8 Hybrid 2 supports hot and cold data separation. This allows users to store frequently accessed 'hot' data on NVMe SSDs for high-speed access, while archival data can be stored on high-capacity hard disk drives for cost-effective backup. This two-tier arrangement makes the enclosure ideal for studios, photographers and videographers that manage large volumes of mixed-use data.

The D8 Hybrid 2 is compatible with Windows, macOS, Linux, NAS systems, and a wide range of file systems. It can connect directly to computers, servers, TVs, set-top boxes, as well as Thunderbolt devices. TerraMaster also includes its complimentary TPC Backupper software for Windows backups, and it works with Apple Time Machine.

The TerraMaster D8 Hybrid 2 is available now at Amazon US for $299.99 (currently $239.99 with 20% coupon) and at Amazon UK for £299.99.

One of the best manufacturers of camera bags and accessories, along with the likes of Manfrotto and Tenba, Peak Design started life in a similar way, with a man on a mission. In this case, it was Peter Dering, who toured the world back in 2010 with a large camera kit and a disappointing way of carting it around. He promptly quit his job, designed his own way of carrying a camera, launched it on Kickstarter and hasn’t looked back. Peak Design has gone from strength to strength in the following years, following the same crowdfunding principles, so they can create products on their own terms with no interference from investors.

With a diverse product range, Peak Design makes and sells camera bags and straps, general travel luggage, outdoor gear, phone cases, wallets and even mounting systems for attaching gadgets to cars and motorcycles. Then there are tripods, including the groundbreaking Peak Design Travel Tripod (Aluminum) and Peak Design Travel Tripod (Carbon Fiber). I’ve recently been particularly impressed with the new and improved Peak Design Pro Tripod range.

Getting back to camera straps, one of the best on the market is the Peak Design Slide Lite, to which my colleague awarded a perfect 5/5 rating in his review. I personally wasn’t so completely won over, as I found the large overlapping loops of wide strap and chunky buckles a bit of a hindrance. There’s no such problem with the more minimalist Peak Design Form Rope, which is available as a basic ‘Neck’ version and three alternative lengths of Crossbody options, all of them aiming to be among the best camera straps on the market.

Peak Design Form Rope: Specifications

Peak Design Form Rope: Price

The Peak Design Form Rope comes in three alternative Crossbody – Short, Standard and Long Crossbody editions, all of them listing at $50 / £45 / AU$100. That might sound a bit on the pricey side for a camera strap, but each edition is actually a comprehensive kit of parts. The more basic Form Rope Neck edition costs a little less at £45 / £40 / AU$90. For further price comparison, the popular Peak Design Slide Lite is more costly at around $70 / £60 / AU$135.

Peak Design Form Rope: Design & Handling

How do you like to wear your camera? Going back to basics, the whole concept of ‘wearing’ a camera might seem strange to the uninitiated, but most photographers that I know wear their cameras around their necks. Indeed, a neck strap is generally included in the box of bits when you buy a camera, although just like with ‘kit lenses’, they’re not always of the best quality and generally lack any innovative extras or clever design flourishes.

I’m also not a fan of own-brand camera straps that have the make and model emblazoned in large print along them, which I often think loosely translates as ‘mug me right now’. The Peak Design Form Rope is very much the opposite, which it kind of needs to be if it’s going to tempt you to upgrade from your basic ‘free’ camera strap.

The picture on the front of the retail box shown above tells it like it is – it’s a crossbody camera strap. But there’s more. Flip the box around and you get visual pointers to alternative ways that you can wear your camera using the Form Rope and its accessories. The most basic ‘Neck’ edition comes in one length of strap (78.5cm / 30.9in) with two anchors, a microfiber pouch and two oval split rings. The Crossbody editions come in short (103.5cm / 40.75in), standard (118.5cm / 46.65in) and long (134cm / 52.75in) editions. In each case, the ‘rope’ itself is 10mm / 0.39in in diameter.

Each of the three editions of the Crossbody Form Rope doubles up on anchors, so you get four rather than the two that are supplied with the Neck edition. The extras enable you to make the most of how you attach the rope to your camera and other accessories, and how you wear them. One thing that’s held in common is the rope itself, and it’s not just any old rope. Instead of rough and ready rope that can feel quite abrasive, the specialist basket-woven, nylon/poly rope was specifically designed to combine the strength, padding and stretch needed for a comfortable camera-carrying experience.

Color options include black, ocean, and kelp. I went for the last of these, and I like the way that the colorway extends to the anchors as well as the rope. The anchors themselves are made from glass-reinforced nylon and are the latest V5 edition of Peak Design’s low-profile design of quick-release connectors. Not only quick and easy to connect to the rope, the anchors each have a mighty individual payload rating of 90+kg / 200+lb. The attachment cord might look like a weak link, but it’s really not, and I like the three-layer design so that in the unlikely event of the cord getting damaged or worn, there are clearly visible yellow and red warning signs.

I had no problem threading the anchor cords through the attachment rings on my cameras, but some camera bodies and other accessories might have eyelets that are simply too small to accommodate the cord. That potential problem is neatly solved by each of the kits including a pair of split rings with specially shaped covers and a little tool for making it easy to attach the split rings to your camera’s eyelets.

Most cameras have ‘proper’ strap attachment rings, so it’s simply a case of threading the cord through, looping it over the anchor, and you’re ready to roll. I really like the quick-release system. The circular anchors are very secure but quick and easy to remove from the rope, with a press-and-slide mechanism. The system has been widely adopted by many manufacturers, because it simply works and works simply.

The only occasional criticism that I’ve heard is that if you’re using them with the strap removed, for example on a tripod in a stiff breeze, the anchors can knock against the side of the camera and the noise can be recorded by the camera’s microphone when you’re shooting video. I’ve not encountered that particular problem myself.

Again, I like that the color scheme is maintained between the rope and the anchors, so the whole kit looks entirely consistent. The image below shows how the connection looks when the rope is attached to an anchor. As I’ve mentioned, the quick-release action is simply a case of pressing the circular anchor downwards and sliding it towards the center of the receptacle.

Whether with or without split rings, you don’t actually have to attach anchors to your camera’s strap rings or eyelets at all. Another option is to attach an anchor to the tripod socket on the base of the camera. A screw-in plate and additional anchor are supplied for just this purpose, as shown below. It also gives a useful extra option if you want to use one rope with two different cameras.

The screw-in plate can also be used on other accessories that have a standard 1/4in threaded socket, as well as lenses that have the same kind of mounting thread on a tripod mounting collar. For a secure connection, the screw has a hex head, and there’s a companion hex key that’s also provided as part of the kit.

Peak Design Form Rope: Performance

One of my concerns about the Peak Design Form Rope was that it would be uncomfortable to wear with heavier camera and lens combinations, at least compared with relatively wide flat straps. I needn’t have worried, however, as I found the specially woven rope wonderfully comfy, even with heavy loads. Speaking of which, the rope is very lightweight, ranging from 42.5g / 1.5oz to 68g / 2.4oz depending on length, yet has a huge payload rating of 82kg / 180lb (90+kg / 200+lb for the anchors).

You’re somewhat spoilt for choice when it comes to how to wear your camera, but I started with my Crossbody – Standard kit by wearing it as a basic neck strap. I found that the length of the rope was ideal for this, and that the camera rested at the same height that I normally set when using an adjustable strap.

Taking my cue from the product name, I next tried the Crossbody – Standard edition by wearing it messenger-style, across my body. Again, the length was spot on for my preferences. If you’re not of the same opinion, short and long versions are also available.

Another option is to secure the rope to a single anchor on one side of your camera, and use another of the four supplied anchors in the accessory loop that’s fixed around the rope. I say ‘fixed', but it’s perfectly sized so that you can easily move it along the rope to adjust the overall length, without it sliding up and down of its own accord. You could also use the loop separately, for attaching other accessories via one of the additional supplied anchors.

A twist on the attachment method shown above is to leave the camera’s strap rings out of the equation altogether and to use the tripod mounting socket as the sole attachment point, as shown below. This can also work well with telephoto lenses that have a 1/4in threaded socket on a tripod mounting collar, and a variety of other accessories.

Peak Design Form Rope: Verdict

I’m a fussy customer when it comes to camera straps, and the ones that are supplied with cameras rarely satisfy my cravings. I usually go for fairly wide, flat straps with a bit of padding, so that they’re comfortable for long periods of time, for example when I’m shooting weddings, sporting events, wildlife, or just pounding city streets. My initial concern was that the Peak Design Form Rope would be relatively uncomfortable and tend to cut into my neck or shoulder, but I actually found it to be as comfortable and practical as it is stylish, and I do think it’s very stylish.

Plus points are that the Crossbody editions can be worn in a whole variety of ways, around the neck, over the shoulder, or crossbody, complete with an equally generous range of attachment options for your camera and/or other accessories. The quick-release anchors work blissfully well, and all the components of the kit are robust and durable yet beautifully finished, in an attractive range of color options. Sure, it’s relatively expensive for a camera strap, but your camera is worth it, and so are you.

Alternatives

I’ve been using tripods for about 50 years but just when I thought I knew them inside out, something new has taken me by surprise. Based in Shenzhen, China, Heipi isn’t a company that’s really been on my radar but they’re now celebrating their 7^th anniversary. The brand is the brainchild of an engineer who’s also a passionate wildlife photographer. Combining these two facets of his skills set, he launched his first tripod launch in 2019, and the company made a big splash three years later with a 3-in-1 travel tripod, based on a Kickstarter campaign that raised a million dollars in a mere 30 days, from 3,000 backers.

The new Heipi 3-in-1 Travel Tripod W28S that I’m reviewing here is the company’s new, updated and upgraded flagship tripod kit, joining the other tripods, tripod heads, clamps, mounts, magic arms and accessories already in the Heipi catalog. Innovative, cleverly designed and nicely built with impressive attention to detail, the W28S aims to be one of the best travel tripods on the market, or perhaps I should say that it aims to be two of the best travel tripods plus a selfie stick, all rolled into one travel-friendly package.

Heipi 3-in-1 Travel Tripod W28S: Specifications

Heipi 3-in-1 Travel Tripod W28S: Price

What price a pair of travel tripods plus a selfie stick and a low-profile ball head, all bundled into a single product and wrapped up in a stylish travel bag? The Heipi 3-in-1 Travel Tripod W28S lists at $399 / £349 / AU$649, which is very reasonable for just one carbon fiber tripod (the smaller one in the dual-tripod design is actually aluminum), especially considering that it’s such a comprehensive kit with such a rich feature set.

A comparably compact carbon tripod is available in the space-saving shape of the Peak Design Travel Tripod carbon fiber, which costs $599 / £599 / AU$1,169, and the newer Peak Design Pro Tripod which is even pricier at $900 / £800 / AU$1,500. On the face of it, the Heipi looks a proper bargain.

Heipi 3-in-1 Travel Tripod W28S: Design & Handling

The 2-in-1 or even 3-in-1 design, depending on which way you look at it, isn’t the only crafty concept behind the Heipi’s build. When I said I thought it was reminiscent of the Peak Design Travel Tripod carbon fiber, it’s not just because both are made from carbon fiber, but because they both have a similar space-saving design element.

For a while now, the travel tripod trend has been to have swing-up legs, which save space if you fully extend the center column and then invert the legs so that the feet encompass the head. It takes a bit off the stowage height but makes setup and takedown more of a time-consuming chore. Like the Peak Design, the Heipi doesn’t have swing-up legs but does have center column that uses the space between the legs, but in a different way. The Peak Design has a triangular section center column and specially shaped legs that wrap around it, thus filling the gaps.

The Heipi doesn’t really have a center column as such. Instead of a central column that sits between the tripod legs, it has three triangular profile blades (for want of a better term), that take up the spaces between the legs, but on the outside. The net results is pretty much the same, in that all of the available space is used and nothing goes to waste in the pursuit of compactness.

From an operational perspective, the 3-pillar column works like any other center column, in that you can loosen a locking mechanism (this time a rotary dial at the top) and extend the column upwards. Just pay attention to the warning line at the bottom of each mini tripod leg, indicating the maximum safe extension height. Go beyond this and you can pull the center column out altogether and transform it into a mini tripod, complete with adjustable leg angle locks and a 1/4-inch threaded socket on each leg for attaching a accessories or a magic arm (Heipi can sell you one of those as well).

Not just for doubling up on tripods, removing the 3-pillar column has the advantage that you can invert it and slide it back in to the main tripod again, from underneath. This enables shooting right down to ground level, with the usual caveat that the camera is inverted. More on low-level shooting later but for now, I’ll reiterate that while the main tripod has carbon fiber legs, those of the 3-pillar column / mini tripod are made from aluminum.

Some like to twist, others prefer to flip. Again like the Peak Design travel tripod, the Heipi has slim profile flip locks which take up very little space and only stick out from the legs by a tiny amount, thanks to the way they’re shaped. A key difference is that they’re quite stiff to operate and it’s a real struggle to grasp them all in one hand and open them with a single gesture. You’re more likely to settle on working them one by one, which can take a while as there are no less than 12 of them altogether.

An upgrade to Heipi’s original flip lock design is that the new and improved version gives a stronger locking force with uniform pressure applied around the entire circumference of the leg sections. The new locks are also easier to detach for cleaning and maintenance. The leg sections themselves start with a reasonably sizeable 26mm diameter at the top, working downwards in 3mm increments to a relatively spindly 14mm at the bottom. The bottom sections do look and feel a little flimsy but that’s the price you usually pay for space-saving 5-section legs, compared with 3-section or 4-section legs. To be fair, I’ve seen thinner bottom leg sections on some up-market travel tripods.

Most tripods have three separate locking angles for each leg, which can help if you’re working around obstacles or setting up on tricky terrain. Many of them use spring-loaded locking mechanisms that you either pull out or press in. The Heipi adopts a mix and match approach, with locks that pull out for the main tripod and push in for the mini tripod. It makes sense as you can’t have anything that sticks out in the mini tripod legs, or they wouldn’t be able to slide all the way into the platform on the main tripod.

Many tripods feature a weight hook, which is useful for hanging ballast and reducing the risk of them swaying in a breeze. The Heipi has a variation on the theme in that it has a loop of weight rope instead. That’s all well and good if you’ve got a carabiner or some other method of attaching a weight but is arguably less convenient than just having a simple hook to hang something on. Naturally, the normal practice of fixing a weight hook on the bottom of a tripod’s center column wouldn’t work with the Heipi’s 3-pillar design.

Switching from top to bottom, the feet are formed from removable rubber pads. Unscrewing the feet reveals 30mm metal spikes which you can again unscrew and invert, so that they stick out from the bottom of the foot instead of from the top. This effectively transforms the feet from pads to spikes, the latter giving a firmer footing on loose ground.

The metal hooks have eyelets in them for inserting a tool and twisting them around to unscrew them from the top or bottom of the feet and reinsert them in the other.

Enough talk of legs, let’s move onto the head. It’s a rather clever one, after all. It can attach directly to either the main legs or small legs but in the normal configuration of the tripod, it’ll fit to the small legs which are then inserted into the main legs to form the 3-pillar column. Naturally, the only thing you can’t do is to attach the head to both sets of legs at the same time, as you only get one head in the kit and not two, unless you buy a second one separately. That said, pretty much any tripod head should be compatible with the kit, so long as it has a standard 3/8in threaded socket and its mounting disk fits within the 60mm diameter of the center column locking ring.

The low-profile ball head looks right at home when fitted to either tripod, as well as to the smaller when used in center column mode. In case you’re wondering, the platform of the main tripod has a spring-loaded, retractable mounting screw that neatly moves out of the way when the 3-pillar column is inserted.

The lock/release mechanism for the Arca type quick-release plate relies on twisting the upper section of the head. A protrusion on either side helps to enable a firm grip but there’s no additional security lock to avoid accidental release. The camera platform of the head also features a bubble level, to aid accurate leveling.

The underside of the QR plate reveals the attachment screw for the camera. It can be tightened or released with a hex key (supplied) or a coin, but there’s no D-ring for fastening it or undoing it with just a finger and thumb.

Another hidden gem of the design is that the ball head features a pull-out smartphone mount. Like other elements of the tripod, it’s spring-loaded for convenience. One thing that’s less convenient about it is that if you have even a thin cover on the back of your phone, you might need to remove it as there’s only a narrow gap to push it through. Even so, it adds credibility to the Heipi’s claim of working as a selfie stick.

The main ball action of the head relies on a single twist-clamp lever for loosening and locking it. The usual cutout in the ball socket enables 90-degree rotation of the camera for portrait orientation shooting, in the absence of an L-bracket. Slight negative points are that there’s no independent friction adjuster to tailor the action to alternative lightweight and heavy camera combos, and the locking lever needs to be fairly precisely positioned. You might well find that you need to pull it out, slip it over its splines and re-engage it again to avoid it fouling on other parts of the head.

One thing that I always like to see, and that’s present and correct in the Heipi ball head, is a separate pan-only lock. Not only does it have one, but it comes complete with a 360-degree scale marked in 5-degree increments. What’s more, a secondary screw with a hex head enables you to swap between smooth panning and high-precision 10-degree click steps. It’s a bit like using the aperture control ring on a lens that has a click/de-click switch.

One of my pet hates is instruction leaflets for all manner of gadgets, that have such tiny print that you can’t actually read them. I’m happy that the guide supplied with the Heipi is not only entirely legible, but includes color photos of various parts, functions and facilities, enabling a better understanding of the various features and facilities on offer.

The tools supplied with the tripod comprise hex keys in three different sizes, as shown below. That’s really all you need for any operational or maintenance task.

Everything wraps up safe and sound in a weather-proofed bag that’s supplied with the tripod. It’s a snug fit, so there’s no wasted space and the carrying size is as small as possible. It also has an adjustable, detachable shoulder strap that fastens to loops at either end of the bag with Velco strips.

Heipi 3-in-1 Travel Tripod W28S: Performance

I like my tripods to be big and small in equal measure. I want them to be tall enough at their maximum height for comfortable shooting (and I’m 6ft 5in), but nice and small when folded down so that they’re compact travelling companions. The Heipi serves mostly well on both counts. The maximum operating height with the 3-pillar center column fully extended is a fairly modest 152cm / 59.8in, but that’s still taller than a number of travel tripods that I can think of. Meanwhile, the folded height of just 45cm / 17.7in enables it to stow away in tight spaces, as does the 7.5cm / 3.0in diameter, courtesy of the space-saving leg/3-pillar column design.

A key performance benefit is the whole ‘dual tripods’ thing. The main tripod works well as a regular, go-to tripod for all sorts of shooting scenarios, while the mini tripod is great for tabletop use, ultra-low-level shooting (without inverting the center column) and for selfie stick action. In its regular configuration as one complete tripod with a 3-pillar center column, the Heipi has a hefty payload rating of 20kg / 44lb. That seems a bit ‘optimistic’ to my mind, given the relatively thin bottom leg sections, but I’m never likely to put that much load on it anyway.

The maximum height of a tripod is one consideration, but the minimum shooting height can be equally important from a creative perspective. Both of the main and mini tripods that make up the kit can shoot very close to the ground, with a minimum operating height of just 6cm / 2.4in. That’s thanks to the adjustable locking leg angles and the removable nature of the center column / mini tripod. However, I found that the mini tripod was quite prone to unwanted flexing and sagging when the legs were splayed to wider operating angles.

The head (or heads if you buy and use an extra one) can attach to both the main and mini tripods. The platform in the main tripod features a large bubble level to aid with leveling, and it’s a lot more useful than the miniscule bubble levels featured in some tripods. Correctly leveling the legs ensures that panning will also be on the level, rather than the camera going on the slant during the panning process. That’s an important consideration when shooting video, or a sequence of stills to stitch into a panorama.

The only slight issue with the large bubble level is that you have to raise the 3-pillar column a little to get a really clear view of it. Back on the plus side, both platforms in the main and mini tripods feature a grub screw for firmly locking the head in place. This can be very useful as it effectively guards against the head coming unscrewed on its main mounting screw if and when you’re panning in an anti-clockwise direction.

I’ve saved arguably the most crucial performance factor until last, and that’s the rigidity of the tripod and its resistance to unwanted flexing and vibrations. I’ve touched on this for the small mini tripod, which is made from aluminum, but the main carbon fiber legs have their own story to tell. And that story is that they’re made from a mix of T700 high-tensile fibers and T400 impact-resistant fibers, designed to enhance stability and weight loss. However, there’s no getting away from the fact that 5-section legs result in spindly bottom sections and I found that at or near its maximum operating height, the tripod was a little prone to flexing and vibration. However, it’s still more sturdy and rigid than many travel tripods on the market.

Heipi 3-in-1 Travel Tripod W28S: Verdict

There’s a lot to love about the Heipe 3-in-1 Travel Tripod W28S, and top of the list is that there’s not a lot of it. I like that it folds down nice and small, making it an ideal travel companion for the journey, which is mainly what travel tripods are all about. Thanks to the 5-section legs, it reaches a decent if modest maximum operating height, in conjunction with the 3-pillar extending center column, which itself is what sets the Heipe apart from the crowd of its 3-legged cronies. I’m so impressed that you can remove the center column and use it as a whole other mini tripod or selfie stick, that I’m frankly amazed the design isn’t featured far and wide in other tripods.

I’m not going to give the Heipe a completely glowing report, however. Little niggles include spindly bottom leg sections that impair rigidity at or near maximum operating height. Those 5-section legs also equate to a lot of flip locks to contend with, each of which is surprisingly stiff and unyielding. The Heipe also doesn’t conveniently convert into a monopod, although that’s certainly not unusual amongst travel tripods rather than full-sized sticks. All in all, this tripod, or perhaps collection of tripods, is a crafty design that’s very well implemented, and very good value at the price.

Alternatives

As a regular reviewer for Digital Camera World, I tend to test gadgets such as smartphone and mirrorless camera gimbals, wireless microphones, webcams, and continuous LED light sources like the Neewer FS60B. LEDs are among my favorite products to review, as they give me an excuse to leave the office, hire a model, and demonstrate the different looks that a portable continuous light can add to both stills and video. After all, a well-lit model portrait makes for a far more appealing review image than a shot of me staring into a webcam!

The FS60B is a 60W LED light from Chinese manufacturer Neewer. As well as manufacturing continuous LEDs, Neewer produces a wide range of kit including on-camera flashes, teleprompters, and V-mount batteries.

LED stands for light-emitting diode, so the light is produced by an array of small beads rather than a traditional bulb. Having grown up using old-school bulb lights during my career, I much prefer LEDs. There are no bulbs to keep replacing, and as they tend to run cooler than traditional lamps, you don’t have to wait around for the light to cool down before you can pack it away (though I did feel the heat on one occasion with this particular LED, as I’ll explain in the performance section).

The Neewer FS60B is a bi-color light, which means it contains a mix of 'warm' and 'cool LEDs that can be blended to produce color temperatures ranging from a warm 2700K to a cooler 6500K. This gives you the flexibility to mimic the glow of a sunset or add fill light that matches a cooler midday key light.

In addition to bi-color lights, Neewer also makes RGB lights, such as the flat-panel PL60C. These use a broader mix of colored LEDs to produce thousands of creative hues. Bi-color lights such as the FS60B are less versatile when it comes to producing color effects, but they tend to emit a brighter output because more of their similarly colored diodes can be illuminated at the same time.

Both the Neewer PL60C and the Neewer FS60B are 60W lights that are among the best LED lights for filmmaking and vlogging, but the latter is much lighter and smaller, so it will suit 'run and gun' photographers/videographers who need to fit a powerful yet portable light source in their kit bag.

Neewer FS60B: Specifications

Neewer FS60B: Price

The Neewer FS60B 60W Compact Pocket Bi-Color LED Light officially retails at $119.99 (around £100). Given the portability offered by its pocket-sized build and its astonishingly powerful 34,300 lux output (with supplied reflector attached), this is a small price to pay for such a portable and powerful LED.

The FS60B ships with a 20V DC power supply that you can plug into the mains. However, if, like me, you want to shoot in a location without access to a mains socket (such as a city street), then you’ll need to provide a portable power source such as the Neewer PS099E V-mount battery, which will add $179.99 to the price. You can link the battery to the FS60B via a USB-C cable, which is what I did when testing the light on location. The FS60B is also compatible with the Neewer PH99E Battery Grip, which attaches to the FS60B’s 1/4-inch threads – though that costs as much as the FS60B itself!

If you need a bi-color LED that ships with a supplied chargeable battery, then check out the Godox ML80Bi (see Alternatives section below). However, at $299, the Godox LED does cost a lot more than the Neewer FS60B, though you don’t have the inconvenience of having a separate battery attached to the LED via a USB-C cable.

Neewer FS60B: Design & Handling

My first impression on opening the Neewer FS60B’s box was, "where’s the light!?" For a second or two, I thought that someone must have pinched it while the package was in transit. Then I realized that a thin, silver-colored rectangular plastic unit inside the packaging was actually the LED itself. It was much slimmer than the usual box-shaped LEDs that I test (such as the Godox ML80Bi). The FS60B was also very light – weighing in at just under 0.66lb (300g).

Neewer describes the FS60B as a "pocket" light, and at 5.9x3.5x1.3in (15x8.9x3.3cm), it did indeed fit into the pocket of my shorts – I’m writing this during a heatwave! However, it isn’t the most comfortable pocket-dwelling gadget, as two chunky plastic control knobs protrude from the rear.

These two knobs let you adjust lighting properties such as brightness and color temperature, as we’ll explore in the Performance section. They also double as buttons. Press the brightness control on the left, for example, and you can jump through the intensity range in 20% increments from 0 to 100, rather than turning the dial manually. The right-hand knob can be pressed to cycle through settings when using the light’s animated effects, such as the frequency of a simulated lightning flash, for example.

On the opposite side of the unit is a slightly raised circular metal housing containing the LEDs. This section needs to be made from metal because the LEDs can generate a considerable amount of heat (see Performance section). Surrounding the LEDs is a circular plastic grille through which you can see the unit’s essential cooling fan.

Set into the metal housing around the LEDs are three Neewer Mini Mount slots, enabling you to attach compatible accessories, including the reflector supplied with the light. Standard Bowens-mount modifiers can also be fitted, although this requires Neewer’s optional CHB1 Mini-to-Bowens adapter.

Neewer FS60B: Performance

Because the Neewer FS60B provides a continuous light source, I decided to hire a model and film some footage of her using my iPhone 17 Pro in the atmospheric (but gloomy) corridors of London’s Barbican Centre. The LED’s powerful 34,300 lux output was more than bright enough to capture footage free from high-ISO artifacts, and it also added drama to the clips by casting a strong shadow of the model on the location’s textured concrete walls.

As I also planned to shoot portraits with my iPhone, I used the FS60B as a key light (and sometimes a fill light, depending on available light sources). By positioning the LED to one side of my model, I was able to create a more sculpted, three-dimensional illumination in much the same way as I would with a DSLR’s external flash – but with the advantage of seeing the lighting effect on the model before pressing the shutter. I found it easy to use the FS60B’s two knobs/buttons to adjust brightness and choose a color temperature that complemented the warm interior available light in the location.

Before meeting Maddy, my model, I sat down on the location’s carpeted floor to check my kit. The FS60B was resting face down on my leg while I used the Neewer Studio app on my iPhone 17 Pro to switch on the LEDs. I soon felt their heat against my bare skin, as I was wearing shorts for this heatwave test shoot! I was surprised by just how hot the LEDs felt, as I hadn’t noticed much heat from other continuous lights that I’ve tested. Then again, I’d never placed one directly against my skin before. Lesson learned.

As the shoot was taking place on location, I didn’t want to rely on the kit’s supplied mains adapter to power the light, as this would limit me to staying close to wall-mounted power sockets. Instead, I carried a Neewer PS099E V-mount battery in my backpack, along with the longest USB-C cable I could find. The cable connecting the battery to the LED was only a couple of feet long, so I decided against bringing a standard (and tall) lighting stand along for the ride. I didn’t want the chunky PS099E battery dangling by its cable from a light mounted on a tall stand.

Instead, I packed a small Joby GorillaPod, whose flexible legs can be used as a miniature tripod or wrapped around a railing. The Barbican has plenty of raised surfaces where I could position the light securely and rest the battery nearby, without putting pressure on the power cable.

The Neewer FS60B has 1/4-inch threads on both its base and side, so I was able to mount it on the GorillaPod with ease. As the LED weighs less than 0.66lb (300g), it remained stable despite the GorillaPod’s relatively short legs. Check out the supporting video to see the FS60B in action.

The FS60B ships with a small reflector that attaches to its Neewer Mini Mount slots with a push and a twist, boosting the light’s output to an impressive 34,300 lux. As this more-focused beam could cast harsh shadows on my model, I attached the supplied rubber diffuser to the front of the reflector to soften the light.

The LED’s Neewer Mini Mount slots also enabled me to attach a larger Neewer lantern softbox. This created a broad yet powerful studio-style light source that worked particularly well for some of my model portraits, as you’ll see from the portraits accompanying this review.

As well as providing continuous illumination, the Neewer FS60B can produce intermittent lighting patterns at color temperatures ranging from 2700K to 6500K. Its 12 lighting presets include effects such as flashes of lightning and a flickering broken bulb.

As I had both a model and a long, dark, suitably spooky corridor at my disposal, I used the control knobs and Mode button to select the Broken Bulb effect. The FS60B was powerful enough to illuminate my model from a distance (see video), while also revealing plenty of detail in the surrounding architecture. Each time the simulated bulb flickered out, the corridor was momentarily plunged into gloomy shadow, making this preset particularly effective for adding drama and atmosphere to my mini-thriller sequence.

On a previous test shoot with the Neewer PS099E V-mount battery as a power source, I ran out of power in one hour. This was because I was testing the much more power-hungry Godox ML150Bi, which is a 150W light compared to the FS60B's 60W. As a result, I had plenty of juice left in the battery after filming and shooting portraits for the first hour of the shoot.

I used this extra power to set up a shoot in a nearby alley adjacent to the Barbican Centre. Despite strong sun overhead, the alley was in shadow, so the FS60B became a key light. Given the GorillaPod’s short legs, I illuminated Maddy from a low angle. This added a mix of dramatic highlights and shadows to her face that suited the grungy urban alley. The low-angle light from the floor-mounted FS60B created a mean and moody look that suited my model’s dramatic location and streetwise look.

I did take the light along to a more conventional model shoot, and it was very useful when I could shoot the model with the light at head height. However, due to the short cable between the light and the battery, I often had to shoot from a low angle, and the resulting shadows didn’t flatter my other model’s face, emphasizing features such as eye bags.

Neewer FS60B: Verdict

I thoroughly enjoyed using the Neewer FS60B on my urban model test shoot. Its compact size meant that I could travel light, while its 60W output and supplied reflector provided enough power to capture clean video footage in relatively gloomy interiors without excessive high-ISO noise. The animated effects, such as Broken Bulb, also helped me capture an atmospheric mini-thriller sequence, which made the test shoot even more enjoyable. The FS60B also worked well as a powerful, dramatic key light in shady outdoor alleys, enabling me to capture some suitably edgy street portraits.

Its main drawback is the lack of a built-in rechargeable battery. An internal battery would have made it easier to mount the light on a tall stand and position it at a more flattering side angle. Because the FS60B was connected to a V-mount battery by a relatively short USB-C cable, I often had to find a raised surface that could support both the light and its power source (or pop the light and its mini tripod on the floor).

I enjoyed shooting from lower angles, as this added drama to my portraits, but for illuminating more conventional lifestyle images, I would have preferred the flexibility to position the light higher, without being constrained by a battery attached via a cable. I appreciate that you could power the FS60B from the mains using its supplied power unit, which has a cable long enough for you to mount the light at head height on a stand. However, I like to shoot on location, so I had to use a battery-powered solution.

Alternatives

The camera L-bracket is a longstanding accessory that allows photographers to quickly swap from horizontal to vertical shots on a tripod – but photo accessory brand favorite Peak Design is bringing the standard accessory into 2026 – and making it a bit less boring. The Peak Design Field Bracket is a modular L-mount bracket that goes beyond fast tripod orientation swaps by allowing creators to customize their rig with anything from lights to a camera tracker.

The Field Bracket starts with a camera-specific baseplate that needs to be matched to the right camera body in order to hug the camera body. While the base plate is specific to each camera model, it has a latch that allows it to connect to the more universal Field Latch, creating the traditional L-shape. The upright portion of the L can also be adjusted to allow access to the camera’s ports at the side.

But perhaps what’s more unusual about the Field Bracket is that the design is modular, allowing creators to customize their camera setup. The upright bracket can be swapped with a Cheese Plate instead, which has multiple mounting points and a cold shoe to attach lights, mics, and other accessories.

Another option is the new Beacon Finder Tag, which puts a Bluetooth tracker inside an Acra-compatible camera plate that fits most tripods. Peak Design says this is a discrete way to attach a tracker to a camera itself, rather than leaving a tracker in a camera bag.

The modular system also supports a hand strap. Peak Design says the design is meant to allow photographers to continue to use a variety of accessories, including access to side ports.

“The best camera accessories disappear into your workflow until you need them. That idea shaped every decision we made with Field Bracket,” said Peter Dering, Peak Design’s Founder and CEO. “Instead of asking photographers to permanently attach functionality they only use some of the time, we built a system that can transform in seconds while remaining just as rigid and dependable as a traditional L-bracket.”

The Peak Design Field Bracket is the brand’s 17th Kickstarter campaign, which opened on July 21. The crowdfunding comes with an early pre-order discount before the system launches in retail stores. The Field Bracket is expected to list for $149.95 (about £112 / AU$214 / CA$211), with the modular pieces beginning at $39.95 (about £30 / AU$57 / CA$56).

The system launches with plates designed to custom fit with several cameras, including several full-frame Sony models and most Canon EOS R5 and R6 series bodies (excluding the R6 V). For Nikon, the bracket fits with the Nikon Z5 II, Z6 II and III and Z7 II cameras as well as the Z8. The system will also support the Fujifilm X100VI and X-T5 as well as the Leica Q3.

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Take a look at the best L-mount brackets or the best tripods.

A lot of recent lenses for mirrorless cameras are pretty clever but they’re not exactly ‘smart’ by the current popular definition of the word. That all changes if you plug in the Tamron-Link to the USB-C port featured in most recent Tamron lenses. I say ‘most’ because Fujifilm X-mount versions of Tamron lenses don’t feature a USB port, making them incompatible with the adapter, and it doesn’t really work with Canon RF versions of Tamron lenses, at least not as yet. However, you can still update the firmware of Canon RF mount Tamron lenses that feature a USB port, using the Desktop version of the free Tamron Lens Utility program for Apple and Windows computers.

It’s much better news for most (but not all) recent Tamron lenses for Nikon Z and Sony E mount cameras, although some might need a firmware update to be applied via the desktop app before you can use the Bluetooth adapter. The end result is that you can add a whole bunch of smart features for customization and remote control of compatible Tamron lenses, via the Tamron Lens Utility app, offered as a free download for Apple and Android smartphones. Understandably, you have to buy the actual Tamron-Link Bluetooth adapter itself, but I think it’s well worth the outlay as it brings a whole new, enriched experience to using compatible Tamron lenses.

Tamron-Link: Specifications

Tamron-Link: Price

The Tamron-Link Bluetooth adapter costs around $50 / £59 / AU$80. I think that’s very good value for money, considering the electronics that it features and the comprehensive, companion smartphone app that’s available as a free download. Ultimately, you get the adapter plus the app for less than the price of some plastic lens hoods that Canon & Co sell as ‘optional extras’ for all but its exotic L-series lenses, and they’re just bits of dumb molded plastic. Bring on the smartness.

Tamron-Link: Design & Handling

It’s tiny and weighs next to nothing. Taking miniaturized, minimalistic design to a new level, the Tamron-Link is only an inch long and about a quarter of an inch high and wide, excluding the USB plug that hides itself away within the lens. And it tips the scales at an almost imperceptible 2g or 0.07oz. The upshot is that when you plug it into a lens, you won’t notice any difference in size or weight.

Considering its lack of size and heft, there’s a lot packed into this tiny gadget. Actually, to be fair, the physical part of the Tamron-Link is only a Bluetooth adapter, so I’d expect it to be small and light. All the clever stuff is built into the software that runs in the lens that it’s plugged into, and the companion mobile app for iOS and Android.

The Tamron Lens Utility mobile app is free to download and to use, so there’s nothing to pay for apart from the Tamron-Link Bluetooth adapter itself, and of course the Tamron lenses with which you wish to use it. After downloading it, the first step in setting it up is to pair it with your smartphone, which follows typical Bluetooth protocols.

The app itself is based on four main sections. Apart from the Info section that I’ve already mentioned above, there’s Lens, Remote and DFF (Digital Follow Focus). Let’s take them in order. The ‘Lens’ section is sub-divided into separate menus for Custom Switch and Focus Ring, correlating with the physical switch and control ring on the lens itself.

There’s a long list of custom settings that you can assign to the Custom switch of compatible lenses. The options range from helpful tools for shooting extreme close-ups, to infinity and beyond (almost). To put that into perspective, Focus Time Lapse is great for focus stacking in macro shooting, whereas Astro Focus & Fine Adjustment takes in a panoply of stars when shooting the heavens in the dead of night. There’s even a Night Mode that adapts the screen for more comfortably taking a shot in the dark. For the screengrab above, I’ve selected three options for the Custom switch, including Focus Time Lapse, Focus Preset and Linear/Non-Linear Switching.

For the second position on the Custom switch, I selected the option of Focus Preset. This assigns a specific focus distance, which you can switch to by pressing the Function button on the lens. Better still, the option comes complete with the option to set up a delay timer, so that you can define whether the focus transition starts immediately when pressing the button, or activates after a set time. On top of that, you can also set the duration of the transition between the starting point of the focus position and its assigned end point.

Can’t decide between Linear and Non-linear manual focusing? I’ve assigned both options to the third position of the Custom switch. This time around the supplementary options include whether the change in the action of the lens’s manual focus ring is immediate when pressing the Function button, or that you have to press and hold the button for a second for the change to be applied. The latter helps to avoid accidental mode swaps.

There’s more fun and games when moving from Custom Switch to Focus Ring in the Lens section of the app. You’re rewarded by a comprehensive range of options for how the ring operates, including Default or Reverse for the direction of rotation, Linear and Non-linear manual focus modes, plus overall manual focus rotation angles of 90, 180, 270 or 360 degrees, and overall rotation angles for using the ring to adjust the lens aperture, this time with options of 45, 60, 75 or 90 degrees.

The Tamron-Link has a lot to offer videographers, with a range of helpful options on its Remote and DFF (Digital Follow Focus) menus. Starting off with remote focusing, you can set multiple focus points and arrange their sequential order, the delay between each change, and the speed with which the lens transitions between preset focus points. This enables you to configure focus pulls on a fully automated and easily repeatable basis. Simplified A-B focus transitioning is also available in the app.

For shooting video, the app really comes into its own with ‘Digital Follow Focus’. In essence, the feature turns your smartphone into a pocket controller for both focusing and aperture. The system enables you to set up precise parameters for both focusing and aperture control, complete with adjustable transitions on an individual basis. You can operate it on the fly during a take, as well as setting limits for both functions, so you don’t overstep the mark accidentally. However, aperture control via DFF including the Iris Marker and Ring Stopper functions isn’t available for Tamron’s Nikon Z-mount lenses, which is a pretty major upset.

Tamron-Link: Performance

When it comes to performance, the Tamron-Link simply works and just as importantly, it works simply. It’s quick and easy to set up, being just a matter of plugging it into a compatible Tamron lens and downloading the companion app on your mobile phone. From then on, everything is plain sailing for customizing your lens and controlling it remotely. And if anything’s not clear, there are plenty of help sections along the way.

That said, nothing is entirely perfect and there are certain limitations. First up, it doesn’t work with Tamron’s Fujifilm X-mount and Canon RF-mount lenses, the former lacking a USB socket and the latter not featuring the requisite software compatibility. Some of the features available for Sony E-mount lenses are also lacking in their Nikon Z-mount counterparts.

Furthermore, not all of Tamron’s lenses that feature USB sockets are compatible with Tamron-Link Bluetooth adapter, so it pays to check first before purchasing. Last but not least, you’re limited by the usual 5m / 16.4ft range of Bluetooth wireless connectivity and if you’re camera goes into standby mode, the Bluetooth connection between your smartphone and the lens is severed. These factors aside, the system works very well indeed and performance is excellent.

Tamron-Link: Verdict

It’s often said that the best things come in small packages, and they don’t come much smaller than this. I love the tiny yet solid build of the Tamron-Link, and that it barely weighs anything at all. Simply plug it into a compatible Tamron lens, download the smartphone app and you’re good to go.

I’m less happy that it only fires on all cylinders with compatible Sony E-mount versions of current Tamron lenses. Tamron’s Nikon Z-mount lenses lose a couple of features in translation, and the adapter is of little or no use on Canon RF and Fujifilm X versions of Tamron lenses, the latter not even having a USB port for attaching it.

Back on the upside, the interface is clear and intuitive, yet fun to use, almost turning customization and remote control of your Tamron lenses into a kind of computer game. But the mobile app definitely has a serious side as well, enabling complex focus and aperture transitions easy to achieve, both on the fly and as programmable and precisely repeatable operations. All in all, I think it’s a worthy add-on for Nikon Z-mount Tamron lenses, and a no-brainer for Sony E-mount editions.

Say ‘Manfrotto’ and the word ‘tripod’ almost inevitably follows. The company has made some of my all-time favorite tripods and tripod heads, and goes all the way back to the 1960s when the Italian photojournalist Lino Manfrotto started selling light stands. In more recent times, the company has gone large on camera backpacks, bags, and roller cases, with several product lines becoming available. The latest of these is the ‘Uncover’ collection, which so far features a pair of backpacks and a pair of messenger / sling bags.

The idea behind all four Uncover bags and backpacks is that they can adapt to your needs on a day-to-day or even minute-by-minute basis. That’s thanks to two crucial design elements. Firstly, they all have a removable camera insert, which you can fill with a camera, lenses, and other photo accessories, or ditch altogether so that you can use the outers as general-purpose backpacks and bags. Secondly, they all have a roll-top facility, so they can expand to carry more stuff, or shrink to smaller sizes to suit the journey and the load.

Focusing on the messenger bags, there’s the smaller Uncover Messenger / Sling 7L and the larger Uncover Messenger 12L. The 7L has a capacity range of 7.5L to 9.5L, and includes a small camera insert that can accommodate a camera body and one or two lenses. The 12L has a larger 10.5L to 14.5L capacity and a bigger camera insert that can hold a camera body with up to three lenses or a mini drone. Both aim to be among the best messenger bags for photographers on the market.

Manfrotto Uncover Messenger / Sling: Specifications

Manfrotto Uncover Messenger / Sling: Price

There’s no shortage of manufacturers making photo-friendly messenger bags these days. Big names that spring to mind include Billingham, Lowepro, Vanguard, Tenba, and Peak Design, to name but a few, and of course Manfrotto. The price range kicks off from bargain-basement buys to luxury bags at premium prices.

The new Manfrotto bags occupy the middle ground, with the smaller Uncover Messenger / Sling 7L costing $139 / £99 / AU$199 and the larger Uncover Messenger 12L priced at $179 / £129 / AU$269. But more than just camera bags, these are bags for life, adapting to varying needs with or without carrying a camera, potentially making them good value for money, as you’ll get maximum use out of them.

Manfrotto Uncover Messenger / Sling: Design & Handling

There are some clever design touches sprinkled throughout these messenger bags, more so with the larger 12L one than the smaller 7L version, but I’ll start at the top with something they both have in common. That’s the expandable roll-top section, which enables the bags to grow to meet your needs when you have more stuff to carry.

The roll-top concept is a neat idea but one thing I’ve found less ‘neat’ about them in the past is that they can tend to look a bit messy when rolled up for compactness. There’s no hint of that here. Instead of rolling up, the expanding section simply folds over and is held in place by hidden magnets. It’s an elegant solution that gives a more elegant look to the bags.

Another potential problem area is the placement of the shoulder strap. If it’s ideally positioned for when the bag is compacted, it’s often less than ideal when it’s expanded. Again, Manfrotto has come up with a clever solution in that the bags feature two pairs of strap attachment loops, while the strap itself has spring-loaded metal catches at each end. The upshot is that you can quickly and easily snap the strap onto whichever pair of loops fit the bill.

The modern, stylish look of the bags extend to the straps, which I’d describe as being made from seatbelt-like material, wrapped in a padded outer. They’re as good as they look, with a generous range of adjustability and being very comfortable to wear. They’re also quite resistant to unwantedly slipping off your shoulder, so you can safely wear the bags as shoulder bags as well as in cross-body messenger style.

One thing I always like to see is a grab handle, so I can conveniently pick up the bag with one hand as an alternative to hanging it off a shoulder. The larger version comes complete with a long rope-style grab handle on the back (in addition to the front grab handle) which is comfortable and dependable, and there’s also a small loop just above it. There’s also a flat pass-through strap just below, for securely attaching the bag to the handle of a luggage trolley. The scaled-down 7L bag has neither the rear grab handle nor the trolley pass-through – just the small upper loop.

Getting back to things featured in both bags, the ‘FlexGrid’ front panel is made from tough, dual-laminated Cordura with laser-cut holes. Another neat idea, this enables you to hang all sorts of bits, bobs and accessories off the front of the bag, simply by attaching them or tying them to the FlexGrid.

There’s an additional slim pocket on side of the 12L bag, and a larger expandable pocket on the other side. The latter is big enough to take a drinks bottle or other similarly sized extra, putting it within easy reach and without taking up precious room inside the main compartment of the bag. However, both of these are omitted in the 7L bag, which has no side pockets at all.

I personally find a slim rear pocket very useful in any shoulder/messenger bag and this is very much present and correct in both of the 7L and 12L Uncover bags. It’s great for keeping paperwork, travel documents and other thin stuff in a self-contained area, out of harm’s way.

A quick look underneath the 12L bag reveals a pair of adjustable straps with fasteners. You could use these for attaching a wide variety of things, like a short umbrella, but in a photographic context, I’d use them for attaching a travel tripod. Again, you don’t get this facility with the 7L bag, which is strapless underneath.

It’s not really a problem but you can’t actually get into the main zippered compartment of the bags without first lifting up the expanding section to its full height. The quick-action folding design with magnetic attraction again comes to the fore. Once opened, the camera insert can seem a little buried away, far down inside the compartment.

As I mentioned earlier, one of the things I like most about the Uncover design is that you can remove the camera insert altogether when you’re not carrying your camera, and use the entire main compartment for daily or travel essentials. The removable camera insert itself has a fully zippered top flap and a carrying handle, enabling it to work as a camera bag of sorts in its own right.

The camera insert comes complete with adjustable dividers that you can fold and bend into the ideal configuration for your kit, as well as placing them in the best locations thanks to Velcro strip fasteners. Folding one or two of the dividers can work well if you have thin lenses or other accessories and don’t mind double-stacking them.

The 12L bag comes with three dividers in total, that have differing designs. The two darker grey dividers are just crying out to be folded into specialist shapes, and even the light grey ‘flat’ one can be folded over to make an elongated cube, as shown above.

Carrying a bag around with an expensive camera kit inside it can be a nerve-wracking experience. To give a little peace of mind, both bags feature a small hidden pocket, designed to hold an AirTag or similar tracking device.

The main compartment of both bags also features a tablet sleeve with its own secure closure. Only the size differs, the 12L bag accommodating an 11-inch tablet and the 7L bag being able to hold an 8.5-inch tablet, like an iPad mini. However, a major drawback for some prospective buyers is that neither of the bags features a laptop sleeve.

Last but not least, there’s a mesh pocket that runs full width along the inside front of the main compartment. It’s zippered and offers a dedicated area for keeping small but sensitive or precious items.

Manfrotto Uncover Messenger / Sling: Performance

There’s always a feel-good factor in having a bag that you like the look of, and I think the Manfrotto Uncover bags do look attractive. However, they’re only available in a single black/grey colorway option, which might not be to everyone’s taste. From a performance perspective, a more vital aspect is that the bags are robust, resilient, and give good protection to whatever you're carrying inside them. That’s especially true for carrying camera kit.

Toughness is ensured by Manfrotto’s custom ‘TriTex’ three-layer fabric, from which the bags are constructed. The material is designed to be highly durable and water-resistant, and the bags also feature weather-sealed YKK zippers. The net result is that you don’t need an additional slip-over weather-proof cover, as supplied with many bags, which can take up space and be a chore to use.

An upside of the ‘bag within a bag’ design is that camera kit gets double the protective padding in its dedicated insert. However it also means that kit isn’t quite as immediately accessible and that precious room is used up by basically stowing one bag inside another one.

I was a little disappointed that even with the larger 12L bag, I packed my Nikon Z6III camera with mounted Z 24-70mm f/4 S lens in its retracted state, along with a second similarly sized lens, and pretty much all of the space in the camera insert was used up, as shown in the image above. Sure, you could squeeze in a few more items if you had a more compact camera and smaller lenses but let’s face it, the Z6III and its retractable kit lens isn’t exactly a big camera.

I don’t have one of those super-small ‘travel tripods’ with swing-up legs, which would be an ideal fit for attaching to the 12L bag, courtesy of the adjustable bottom straps. Even so, my not overly large Manfrotto 190go! Tripod doesn’t look entirely out of place. Either way, the 7L omits the tripod straps.

Manfrotto Uncover Messenger / Sling: Verdict

I’m all for versatility and adaptability. I like that the roll-top design of the Manfrotto Uncover Messenger / Sling bags enables them to grow and shrink on demand, accommodating different amounts of daily paraphernalia. I also like that the camera inserts, which are a bit like camera bags in their own right, are easily removable in just a few seconds. The bags, therefore, convert from photo bags to regular, general-use bags on the fly. Further plus points are that the bags are very durable, attractively styled, and comfortable to carry.

It’s not all great news. The ‘bag within a bag’ design eats into the available space, and even the larger 12L version has relatively little room for photo gear in its camera insert. Naturally, the 7L bag has even less. The 7L bag also lacks side pockets, a rear grab handle, a baggage trolley pass-through, and tripod tethers. Unless you’re desperate for the smallest bag you can get away with, the 12L has a lot more to offer. Even so, I feel that the fairly small amount of camera kit that it can carry is a limiting factor.

Alternatives

It's become an all-too familiar story: the global memory chip shortage causing the price of memory cards and SSDs to skyrocket. This situation has been ongoing for almost a year now, and the latest news suggests prices might not fall for some time.

According to Kwak Noh-jung, CEO of Korean chip giant SK Hynix, the global memory chip market "will face unprecedented supply shortages in 2027". Furthermore, Kwak predicts that the chip shortage is likely to continue past 2030. Other analysts agree that the chip shortage won't be over soon: UBS predicts the global DRAM market will remain undersupplied until at least Q2 2028, while Bank of America estimates that datacenter capital expenditure will hit $851 billion this year and rise to around $1.15 trillion next year – in other words, the demand for memory will rise over the next 12 months.

The chip shortage is due to the unprecedented demand for HBM (high bandwidth memory) chips, which are being voraciously consumed by AI datacenters. SK Hynix produces around 58% of the global HBM chip supply and is investing heavily in in new semiconductor production facilities, with $4 billion allocated to build an advanced chip packaging plant in Indiana.

It should be noted that high bandwidth memory isn't actually used in products like consumer memory cards and SSDs, yet these products have still seen huge price rises as a direct result of the HBM chip shortage. The reason for this is likely due to chip manufacturers diverting manufacturing capacity to the more lucrative HBM sector, and away from the NAND flash used in memory cards. And it's this reduced supply of NAND chips that has caused the price of SD and CFexpress cards to increase so dramatically.

So if you’re in need of a new memory card, check out what we rate as the best memory cards for your camera, with the best prices available right now.

Story credit: NewsBytes

Think Manfrotto and you’re probably thinking tripods, ranging from budget-friendly sticks right up to top-flight professional options. However, the Italian outfit has been operating since the 1960s, so it’s no surprise that it’s diversified along the way. There are light stands and accessories, which is also no surprise as the photojournalist Lino Manfrotto originally started the business by selling light stands. More recently, Manfrotto has designed and manufactured a wide range of camera bags, backpacks, and roller cases. The latest and arguably greatest of these are from the new ‘Uncover’ collection.

Typical of Manfrotto, there’s some snazzy Italian design flair and quality construction behind the Uncover range of backpacks and messenger / sling bags. The backpack that I’m majoring on here is the Manfrotto Uncover Backpack 30L, while also checking out the smaller 24L version. Both are very similar in terms of design, features, and construction; it’s just that one’s bigger than the other. That filters down to the camera inserts themselves.

The camera compartment of the 30L is designed to accommodate a mirrorless camera body or compact DSLR, along with three to five lenses, or a small drone kit. The 24L can take a compact camera body and up to three lenses, or a small drone. Both also serve as a daypack for your daily essentials, with an expanding roll-top design, and you can convert them to full-sized, general-purpose backpacks by quickly and easily removing the camera inserts. All in all, they aim to be among the best backpacks for photographers.

Manfrotto Uncover Backpack: Specifications

Manfrotto Uncover Backpack: Price

The Uncover Backpack 24L launched with a price of $300 / £229 / AU$429, while its bigger sibling, the Uncover Backpack 30L, came in at $330 / £239 / AU$439, so there’s not much difference between the two in terms of cost.

For the sake of comparison, one of the biggest names in the camera backpack market is Lowepro, and the Lowepro ProTactic BP 350 AW III (one of my favorite camera backpacks) costs around $300 / £211 / AU$530, which is pretty similar in most world regions but rather pricier in Australia.

Manfrotto Uncover Backpack: Design & Handling

When you want to pack a camera kit and all the stuff you need for a day out into one backpack, you can soon find yourself running out of space. On the other hand, you don’t want to be lugging around a backpack that’s bigger than you need it to be. The Manfrotto Uncover grows or shrinks to order, accommodating larger or smaller collections of kit and caboodle for any particular journey. That’s thanks to a roll-top design, enabling you to unclasp the top section and roll it out to a greater height.

The height range on offer equates to 40.5-62cm / 15.9-24.4in for the 24L, and 44-64.5cm / 17.3-25.4in for the 30L. In terms of capacity, the range is 20.5L to 28.5L for the smaller backpack and 25L to 33L for the larger one. In practice, the amount of extension feels considerable, allowing you to pack quite a bit of extra stuff when you need to, and to save space with a smaller backpack when you don’t.

It’s only natural to think of any backpack as something you wear on your back, but I do like a grab handle to be featured in the design. This makes it easy to pick up the bag with one hand and move it around when the need arises. Sure enough, the Manfrotto features a rope-style strap at the top of its back, underneath which there’s also a handy small loop.

For longer journeys that involve airports and other travel terminals, a luggage trolley can help take the strain. The backpack can conveniently attach to the handles of these trolleys, thanks to a trolley pass-through which doubles as a padded back panel for when you’re actually wearing the backpack.

Like the back panel, the shoulder straps are generously padded to enhance comfort. They’re also durable, the backpack in general being based on Manfrotto’s custom ‘TriTex’ three-layer fabric, which is designed to be highly durable and water-resistant, along with weather-sealed YKK zippers and a PU-coated base, thus avoiding the need for an additional slip-over weatherproof cover. Getting back to the shoulder straps, I like that they have a big range of adjustment and that both feature a handy attachment loop.

When the going gets tough, and you’re trekking across rough terrain or generally making life difficult for yourself, you can find that backpacks tend to slide around, and the straps can slip off your shoulders. To help avoid this particular problem, the Manfrotto has a chest strap, which makes the backpack feel more secure, as well as keeping the shoulder straps in place. Like the shoulder straps, it has a wide range of adjustment and this time features an elasticated section to enhance comfort. However, unlike many camera backpacks, there’s no waist strap for keeping it in place, for example, when you’re climbing over obstacles. Ideally, I’d have liked a removable waist strap to be included, giving the option of using it or not, as needs dictate.

I’ve often seen webbing and attachment loops featured extensively on backpacks and think they’re a great idea. It’s really useful to be able to add extra pouches and various paraphernalia, fastening them securely to the outside of the bag. Manfrotto’s take on it for the Uncover range is to construct the front panel from ‘FlexGrid’, made from dual-laminated Cordura with laser-cut holes. This gives the option of attaching carabiners, tools, accessories, and pretty much anything else you can tie on or attach to it.

There’s a slim pocket featured on one side of the bag. The reason that it’s so slim is that it’s actually integrated into a larger zippered flap that enables access through the side of the backpack, right through to the camera compartment. As has become popular in many camera backpacks of late, the side flap gives the advantage that you can grab your camera with attached lens in double-quick time, without having to open the whole backpack and dig it out.

The side pocket on the other side of the backpack has relatively generous dimensions, expanding to accommodate the likes of a drinks bottle or tripod. Again, it’s opened and closed with a weather-sealed YKK zipper, just like all the other zippers featured around the bag.

The main compartment of the backpack that holds the camera insert opens from the rear. I like this arrangement, as it means that I don’t need to lay the rear of the backpack (that I’m subsequently going to wear against my back) on mucky ground to get at my camera kit. What I’m less keen on is that this sort of design often demands that you rotate the shoulder straps around to the front of the backpack before you can open the zipper. There’s no need for that here, as the shoulder straps don’t interfere with the path of the zipper track.

Opening the rear zipper also reveals the upper compartment with its mesh lid, as shown in the image above. Undoing an additional zipper gives access to this compartment, typically used for daily essentials. As I’d expect, you can also get into the upper compartment through a zipper on the top of the outer shell. Manfrotto’s ‘SmartLift’ system enables you to adjust the placement of the floor of the upper compartment, in conjunction with altering the roll-top height, as well as converting it into a full-height backpack with the camera insert removed.

The camera insert is quickly and easily removed, its lid slotting in and out of a receptacle built into the backpack. I’ve removed the insert for the image shown below, and you’ll notice that the lid folds over and has a zipper to close it, coming complete with a carrying handle. As such, it serves as a camera bag of sorts in its own right.

Whether fitted in the backpack or in standalone mode, the camera insert is supplied with a number of adjustable dividers, using the time-honored method of Velcro strip fasteners to keep them in place. They’re smartly designed and well-made.

The organizer section is built into the inside of the main flap of the backpack, utilizing its full height. As such, it offers a fairly generous amount of space but only has three sub-sections. These comprise a full-width pocket at the bottom, and a pocket that’s divided into two halves up top, opened with a single zipper. It works okay, but I think it could have been better with dedicated pockets for the likes of a wallet, smartphone, key fob, pen, and so on.

Manfrotto Uncover Backpack: Performance

As I said at the outset, I’m majoring on the larger 30L edition of the Manfrotto Uncover Backpack, and that’s the one that’s featured in all of my individual product images. Performance is very good in terms of robustness, durability, and weather-resistance. The backpack is also comfortable to wear, with nicely padded contact areas for the back and shoulders. However, a waist strap would have given extra stability, but is omitted in the design. On the upside, another performance plus point is that it’s quick and easy to get to your camera kit when you need it in a hurry.

My only real disappointment, considering that I was using the larger version of the backpack, is that I filled pretty much the whole camera insert with relatively little kit. As you’ll see above, I’ve managed to pack my Nikon Z6 III camera with a mounted Z 24-70mm f/4 S lens in its retracted state, along with three other similarly sized lenses. There’s a bit of space left over for spare batteries and another small accessory, but that’s pretty much it. If I needed to carry bigger lenses or more of them, I’d have to use lens wraps or pop them into pouches, and eat into the general daypack compartment.

There are times when I definitely want to just grab my camera with its mounted lens in a hurry, before a photo opportunity passes me by. I like that the Manfrotto has a zippered side access flap, which enables me to get hold of my camera with minimum fuss and bother, and maximum speed.

Increasingly, photographers and people in general need to carry laptops and tablets with them, whether they’re at work, rest, or play. The smaller 24L version of the backpack has an integral sleeve that can hold a laptop of up to 14-inch size, whereas the 30L can accommodate up to a 16-inch laptop. Both versions also have an additional tablet sleeve.

Unlike laptops and tablets, a tripod is a more camera-specific accessory. Again, the backpack accommodates, this time with the larger of the two side pockets. You can simply pop the tripod in feet-first, and there’s a hidden strap that you can pull out of a receptacle near the top of the backpack to secure the tripod in place.

Manfrotto Uncover Backpack: Verdict

I don’t think there’s any such thing as the perfect camera backpack. There’s always room for improvement, but more importantly, a lot of how ‘good’ a bag is comes down to personal requirements and taste. I like the expandable roll-top design of the Manfrotto, and that it can so easily convert between a split camera backpack / daypack and a full general-purpose backpack. However, I feel the versatility comes at the expense of the camera insert being relatively small, even in the larger 30L version of the backpack.

In other areas, I like the speedy side-access flap for grabbing my camera in a hurry, and the full-height rear zipper that gives easy access to everything else. The quality of the bag is also excellent, both in terms of its construction materials and how they’re put together. All in all, it’s an excellent backpack that serves its purpose very well, but I’d like a few extra dedicated accessory pockets, a better organizer section, and a waist strap, the last of these preferably being removable.

Alternatives

Popular camera bag maker Wandrd says the camera strap is “one of photography’s most overlooked pieces of gear,” but the brand’s new strap system uses magnets to swap from wrist to neck straps and back again.

The new Wandrd Magnetic Camera Straps use anchors meant to remain on the camera, but can be removed one-handed to swap to a different type of strap, use the same strap with multiple cameras, or prevent a dangerous dangle when shooting on a tripod.

The magnets in the system aren’t what’s holding the camera in place. Instead, the magnet allows the strap link to center automatically inside a new dual-sided, spring-loaded lock dubbed the Wandrd Magnetic CoreLock. The spring-loaded lock clamps down once any weight is applied, Wandrd says. The locking system requires a pinch to open the lock and remove the strap.

The link system isn’t made with metal – Wandrd instead went with a fiberglass-reinforced nylon due to the risk of metal scratching up a camera. The company says the material is strong while being softer to the touch. The strap itself is made with what Wandrd describes as “liquid” nylon.

The magnetic Torus Links center inside the strap attachment automatically, which Wandrd says allows photographers to put the strap on or off with one hand.

The strap system is launching with a full-size 30mm-wide strap, a narrower 15mm strap for smaller camera setups, and a wrist strap.

Both neck straps can be worn traditionally or cross-body using a loop that connects one end back to the strap instead of the camera, so it also works with compact cameras that have only one strap attachment point. A quick adjustment slider allows creators to adjust the length of those neck straps.

Four links are included with each neck strap, so the same strap can be used on two camera bodies. The wrist strap, which only requires one anchor, includes two Torus links to use with two cameras as well.

While the magnetic approach feels unique, the link and separate strap remind me of the popular Peak Design strap system that uses links that slide into place on the strap. Wandrd even uses colored cording inside the attachment system – if the black wears to yellow, it's time to replace the links, with red being dangerous wear and tear.

The new Wandrd Magnetic Straps are launching first on Kickstarter and the Wandrd website, with the company expecting a retail launch to follow on November 7.

The standard neck strap is expected to retail for $69, the narrower strap for $49, and the wrist strap for $39. Wandrd will also sell a DIY kit that converts an existing strap to the magnetic system for $29, as well as a bundle of all three straps for $157. The Kickstarter price will have a 25 percent discount.

International pricing has not yet been announced, but that converts to about £52-£29, CA$97-55, AU$99-56 for the standard to wrist straps.

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Insta360 has invited creators to design new accessories for the Luna Ultra, sharing 3D designs of its new camera with the wider community and offering $11,000 (approximately £8,200 / AU$15,900) prizes – and the chance to have their design become a real product.

The competition, being run with 3D printer company Bambu Lab, opened on July 10 and has already seen a number of entrants on the host platform MakerWorld.

When I first held the Insta360 Luna Ultra at the pre-release event, I could tell that the design was a bit special – and seemed likely to provoke the attention of creatives not just because of its function but its form.

Why? I think, especially, the side-by-side arrangement of the "eyes" which reminded me of Johnny 5 from the movie Short Circuit. It also evokes Pixar's WALL•E. Certainly, the designer of the Luna Buddy, 3dLabItaly, pictured, seems to have got that!

This is perhaps why Insta360 has opted for two competition categories: 'Creative mods' and 'Practical add-ons'. The former can include "custom looks, playful concepts and aesthetic upgrades". You will not be at all surprised to know that assorted stylized cat's ears have already appeared in the first 40 entries!

One wonders whether the second category – in which Insta360 calls for things like stability mounts, expanded functionality, filming accessories, creator rigs – might be more likely to win the overall prize of a production run, but perhaps not for a playful device like this.

If you don't yet have a 3D printer, you're still welcome to enter. Indeed, there are 3D printers in the $11,000 prize pool – so this might be your chance to pick one up, but don't delay as the competition closes on August 09.

Whether you are entering or not, I do think this competition sets a great precedent – and it'll be interesting to see whether other camera manufacturers are enthused by it.

Insta360 is known for engaging with its community, with many of the company's existing accessories coming from that engagement (that and the enthusiasm of its CEO, who takes a personal interest in projects like the Luna head-tracking device).

Personally, I have a lot of faith in the camera community to know what it needs – and it's great to see the connection to product creators get closer. I can't imagine it will always have this kind of budget, though, so it's probably a great chance to try your skills.

I wonder if the guy who made the most pistol grip ever is going to enter?

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Back in August 2024 SanDisk announced that it had produced the first-ever 8 terabyte SD card and the world's first 4TB MicroSD card. Retail availability was set for 2025, but that came and went. However, it's now been confirmed at Computex 2026 that samples are almost ready to ship.

Read more:
The best memory cards for your camera
The best CF express cards in 2026

Both cards will receive the SDUC designation. This is a new SD class exclusively for cards over 2TB in capacity (which is the current limit for existing SDXC cards). Sounds impressive, but the reality could be more inconvenient. SDUC cards can only be used in devices that specifically support SDUC memory cards, so you won't be able to stick an SDUC card into any old camera with an SD slot. We had the same situation around 15 years ago when SDXC replaced SDHC cards with their 32GB capacity limit.

And just because these new SDUC cards boast a huge capacity, don't expect them to set any speed records. Both new cards will use the UHS-I standard, meaning they’ll have a theoretical maximum transfer speed of around 104 MB/s.

There's also the issue of whether anyone actually needs such a high data capacity on a single SD card. SD is no longer the format of choice for high-performance cameras, as CFexpress has now far surpassed it for read and write speed. SanDisk's 8TB SD card being UHS-I further impedes its real-world utility, rendering it only practical for mid-range cameras topping out at high bit rate 1080p video, which itself doesn't demand a card as big as 8 terabytes.

All this then begs the question: who's actually going to buy a mega-capacity SD or microSD card right now? With today's hyper-inflated memory pricing, such cards are guaranteed to be incredibly expensive, yet few - if any - cameras will currently support them.

Nikon Japan has added a boatload of new merchandise to its Nikon Direct storefront, including t-shirts, tote bags and towels. Sadly, worldwide shipping isn’t available, so Western-based Nikon lovers will have to hold out hope that some of these goodies make it across the pond – although that’s doubtful.

Still, really cool camera swag is few and far between, so it’s fun to look at what’s available. Something that really stands out is a Nikon Zf-themed bottle holder, which will be available on July 16.

This enables you to attach a standard plastic bottle (500ml PET) to your camera bag or belt via a Nikon-branded carabiner, which is attached to a PVC mount that can accommodate the neck of the bottle. The mount is designed to look like the Nikon Zf, and when attached the bottle looks like a large telephoto lens.

Another piece of merch I’d be happy to get my hands on is a t-shirt with both the Nikon FM2 and Nikon ZF emblazoned on the front alongside a few choice specs. The shirt appears to be navy blue and the cameras are outlined in white, giving it a classy, understated look.

Of course, this is an ideal pairing given that the mirrorless Zf was built to look like the legendary FM2, one of Nikon’s most coveted SLR film cameras.

Another neat item is a range of tenugui with various lens configuration diagrams on them.

Tenugui is a traditional Japanese hand towel, which can be used for a variety of applications including wrapping items, wearing, displaying and drying. My favorite is the Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S II towel, themed around a lens I awarded five stars in my review.

There’s a nice sticker set, too, which includes the Nikon logo, the FM2 and Zf, several lens diagrams and a representation of Nikon’s Z mount. If you keep your photography kit in a hard case, these would look great applied to your baggage.

All of these items are said to be limited, so once the desired quantity has sold they’ll be gone for good. They’re also only available to Nikon Imaging members, although signing up is free.

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The Godox RS100Bi is a continuous LED (Light Emitting Diode) video light designed to illuminate your video or photography subjects while on location. Its compact design enables you to fit it easily into your camera backpack, and its built-in USB-C chargeable battery means that you don’t need to carry a chunky V-mount battery (as I had to when I tested the Godox ML150Bi).

Godox released a very similar-looking RS100R version at the same time as the RS100Bi. The key difference between the two lights is that the Godox RS100Bi emits light in degrees Kelvin (K), with a color temperature range of a very warm 2800K to a cooler 6500K. The RS100R is an RGB LED, so it has much more control over color. The RS100R can emit a wider range of CCT values than the RS100Bi, between 1800K and 10,000K. It can also mix RGB LED bulbs to produce a rainbow of creative colors. This extra color output means the RS100R has 14 animated video effects, whereas the color restrictions on the RS100Bi limit it to 11 animated effects.

So on paper, it would appear to be a no-brainer to buy the RS100R instead of the RS100Bi. But hold on a tick – it all depends on your needs as a videographer/photographer. If you need creative color output (beyond a typical CCT range), the RS100R should be the model for you. But if you need a brighter LED with a longer reach, then the RS100Bi will meet your requirements. I’ll delve into the key differences between the two models in the Design and Handling section so that you can make an informed choice between the RS100Bi and the RS100R, both of which aim to be among the best LED video lights.

Godox RS100Bi: Specifications

Godox RS100Bi: Price

The Godox RS100Bi retails for an official price of $229 / £209. It’s a fair bit cheaper than its sister light – the RS100R, which costs $319/£289. As well as being cheaper, the RS100Bi is much brighter than its more expensive sibling, with the RS100Bi emitting 28,600 lux compared to the 15,900 lux from the RS100R.

So if you need a portable LED with a long reach, then the RS100Bi offers good value for money. However, if you need a light capable of producing more creative colors, then the RS100R might be worth the extra cost. As an RGB light, the RS100R can produce a wider range of color temperatures, plus it can cast thousands of atmospheric colors on your subjects. This extra color control gives the RS100R more effective animated lightning effects, such as a red, yellow, and blue cop car effect – something that is absent on the cheaper RS100Bi model that I am testing for this review.

So, if you need more creative color control, can compromise on a weaker lux output, and have more money to spend, go for the RS100R. If you’re on a tighter budget, don’t need to produce colors beyond a 2800-6500 Kelvin range, and want a much brighter light source, then the RS100Bi is the model for you.

Godox RS100Bi: Design & Handling

The Godox RS100Bi looks virtually identical to its more expensive sibling, the RS100R. However, the RS100R uses a full-color LED array to produce an extensive range of RGB hues, whereas the RS100Bi is dedicated to bi-color (warm and cool) white light. This limits its CCT range to 2800-6500K, compared with the RS100R’s broader 1800-10,000K range, but enables the RS100Bi to deliver considerably more brightness. With the supplied lens reflector fitted, the RS100Bi produces up to 28,600 lux at 1m and 5600K, compared with the RS100R’s 15,900 lux under the same conditions.

Now that I’ve got the crucial difference between the RS100Bi and the RS100R out of the way, I’ll focus on my experience with testing the Godox RS100Bi for the rest of this review.

The RS100Bi is constructed of a black plastic material and is shaped like a chunky flashlight (or torch). It feels satisfyingly heavy at 1.95lb (886g), giving it the feeling of a well-constructed and professional piece of kit. Yet at under two pounds (one kilogram), it’s not too heavy to cart around in your camera backpack, and at just under 10 inches in length, it’ll fit easily into your backpack (or into one of the tripod/bottle holders on the side).

The RS100Bi ships with a few accessories. The most important one is the high-efficiency lens reflector. This slots onto the front of the LED with a click and a twist, massively boosting the output of the light’s LEDs. A USB-C charging cable enables you to charge up the RS100Bi’s internal battery. This battery is designed to operate for 52 minutes at full power, though I found that 50% power output was more than bright enough in my studio location. Talking of power, a really nice touch is that the little OLED display on the rear of the unit gives you a battery countdown, so you know how long the power should last during a shoot. I could have done with a runtime countdown when testing the Godox ML150Bi LED, as it ran out suddenly before I’d finished the shoot. The RS100Bi is compatible with 18-140W PD chargers (though a charger is not included).

The kit also ships with a little lighting stand mount. This screws into the RS100Bi’s 1/4-inch thread and then slots onto a standard light stand. You can adjust the angle of the mount with ease so the light points up or down at your subject. There’s also a cloth carry bag in the box. Thanks to the LED’s Godox S-mount compatibility, you can replace the supplied reflector with a wide range of Godox accessories, such as softboxes (not supplied).

The properties of the Godox RS100Bi are controlled by three buttons and a knob at the rear of the light. The knob also functions as an extra button. The settings or modes that you select are visible on a little OLED screen, so you can operate the light with ease using these features. You can also use the free Godox Light smartphone app to adjust lighting settings or trigger effects from a distance. I found the app was very useful as I could adjust the light while it was illuminating me from a distance, which makes it the perfect piece of kit for a self-shooter.

Godox RS100Bi: Performance

To test the Godox RS100Bi, I took it to a TV studio. I used the studio’s row of ceiling-mounted cyclorama lights to light the backdrop curtain, and used the RS100Bi as my key light, mounted on a lighting stand at approximately 26 feet (8m) away. When the RS100Bi was turned off, I was in silhouette, so I was easily able to demonstrate the difference that the RS100Bi’s output made during my test shoot. If you watch the supporting video that accompanies this review, then you’ll see the light in action!

The RS100Bi was easy to set up. I screwed the supplied mount into the 1/4-inch thread at the base of the light and slotted the bottom of the mount onto a standard light stand. I then adjusted the light stand’s height and tilted the mount so that the light would illuminate me when I was standing on a stage in the center of the studio.

I started the test by manually operating the RS100Bi using its rear panel controls. It was a simple matter to press the On switch, and (as with most Godox LEDs) I then had to rotate the main dial to turn on the light. This two-step button press/dial twist process ensures that the light doesn’t get turned on by accident on your way to a shoot, so you know that you’ll have plenty of battery power when you arrive on location. The little OLED screen makes it easy to see what setting you’re adjusting. Rotate the dial to toggle between CCT (Color Temperature) and DIM (brightness). Press the dial to select one of these options, then rotate it again to choose a specific color temperature or adjust the brightness. The brightness can be adjusted very smoothly and in fine increments of 0.1%. It was handy to refer to the runtime countdown on the display so that I knew I had enough battery power to conduct a thorough test shoot.

During my shoot, I used an iPhone 16 Pro to record my “talking to camera” pieces while being lit by the RS100Bi. I used an iPhone 17 to run the Godox Light app so that I could operate the LED remotely while standing in its illumination. I found it even easier to change the properties of the RS100Bi when using the app, as you’ll see from this review’s supporting video. I was able to trigger a variety of animated effects, such as Lightning, Broken Bulb, and Fire, with a tap and a few swipes on my iPhone’s display. You can also use the app to fine-tune the way the effects behave, such as making a Broken Bulb flicker more slowly.

The RS100Bi was so bright that at 100%, the highlights in the shot were blown out. I found that 50% was the perfect setting, even when the LED was shining at me from 26 feet away. This gave me the confidence that the RS100Bi would perform well (and for long enough) on a model shoot on location.

Godox RS100Bi: Verdict

If you need a portable LED that can illuminate a subject (such as a model) without the light appearing in the shot, then the RS100Bi will meet your needs. It’ll fit easily in your camera backpack and thanks to the 1/4-inch thread you can mount it on a mini tripod or use its supplied mount to attach it to a standard light stand. The handy runtime countdown on the OLED screen ensures that you know how long the light will shine on a specific setting, so you can adjust your settings on the fly to make sure the light doesn’t “die” before you finish the shoot.

The RS100Bi has a narrower CCT range than its more expensive RS100R sibling, and it lacks a couple of extra animated lighting effects, but the RS100Bi is cheaper and brighter, which should make it an attractive purchase.

Alternatives

Think Peak Design and you’re probably thinking photo bags and backpacks, and those clever Peak Design Slide camera straps with their quick-release mechanisms. However, the company also makes general travel luggage, outdoor gear, phone cases, wallets, and even gadget mounts for cars and motorcycles. The California-based outfit was founded in 2010 with a mission to ‘build happy and meaningful lives for the people that work there', and, hopefully, some of that meaningful happiness will spill over to people who buy their products.

Fast-forward to 2020, and the company launched its first and so far only tripod, in the somewhat revolutionary shape of a very distinctive travel tripod. We’ve reviewed it very favorably in both of its Peak Design Travel Tripod (Aluminum) and Peak Design Travel Tripod (Carbon Fiber) editions. The company designed and launched its first tripod off the back of a crowdfunding campaign, which is its go-to business method, and the result is undeniably one of the best travel tripods on the market.

The new Peak Design Pro Tripods inherit the innovative design and features of the original Travel Tripod and build them into a (mostly) full-sized range of kits. As such, the new models are available in Pro, Pro Lite, and Pro Tall versions, each of them aiming to be among the best tripods for photography, as well as being among the best carbon fiber tripods. As you’ve probably guessed, though, the Pro Lite is relatively lightweight and downsized, compared with the other two more full-sized sticks.

Peak Design Pro Tripod: Specifications

Peak Design Pro Tripod: Price

Full-sized, heavy-duty, carbon fiber tripod kits that are also reasonably lightweight and fold down small for the journey don’t come cheap. One of my all-time favorites is the 3 Legged Winston Pro 2.0 kit, complete with AirHed Pro Ball Head, which will set you back around $500 / £400 / AU$750. Then there’s the somewhat legendary Manfrotto MT055CXPRO3 Carbon Fiber Tripod (legs only) for around $500 / £399 / AU$850, but it’s also available in kit options with various heads.

In that context, the Peak Design Pro Tripod kit looks pretty pricey at $900 / £800 / AU$1,500, whereas the Pro Tall is understandably even more expensive at $1,000 / £900 / AU$1,700, as there’s simply more of it, and the least expensive Pro Lite is still very dear at $800 / £700 / AU$1,400. On the face of it, none of these three tripods looks like they’re going to win any ‘Great Value’ awards, but considering the innovative, no-compromise designs, they could still be very well worth the money.

Peak Design Pro Tripod: Design & Handling

After decades of being a keen photographer, it’s very rare that a tripod walks into my studio and really grabs my attention. The Peak Design Travel Tripod did exactly that a few years ago, with sufficient wow-factor to make me actually open my mouth and say ‘wow’. Looking as super-skinny as a catwalk model, the tripod was designed with oval-profile legs that wrap around a triangular center column.

The net result is that the tripod is incredibly slim when folded, while also avoiding the time-consuming chore that you get with the vast majority of travel tripods. That’s because with the Peak Design and its integral head, you don’t need to fully extend the center column and swing the legs up to achieve a compact stowage size. All of these design facets in regard to the legs, center column, and head are inherited by the next-gen ‘Pro’ tripod range.

One notable difference is that the Pro tripods have four sections in each leg rather than five, which makes setup and takedown quicker and easier, as there are fewer leg section clamps to contend with. The leg sections themselves are made from the good stuff. Like anything else, carbon fiber isn’t all created equal, but this tripod is constructed from premium-grade 3k weave, 2x2 twill carbon fiber, along with CNC-machined and anodized 6061-T6 recycled aluminum for the ball head, hub, load hook and leg locks, rather than using any die-cast parts.

As with most tripods great and small nowadays, it’s not just the height of the legs that you can adjust, but also the angle from vertical. True to form, the Pro has three lockable leg angles when unfolded for use. The wider angles enable greater stability and resistance to the tripod toppling over when it’s set to a short operating height. Multiple angles also make it easier to work on uneven terrain and around obstacles.

The ball head is equally innovative as the tripod legs, and a crafty bit of design in its own right. The compact, integrated design helps to keep stowage size to a minimum, but it’s nevertheless full of clever tricks. A twist-action lock at the base of the head allows for super-fast release and locking of the ball and socket clamp. The only slight downside is that you have to raise the center column slightly to enable anything more than a slight range of tilting movement of the ball head, and to enable shooting at extreme angles and vertically upwards or downwards, as well as for swapping from landscape to portrait orientation shooting, unless you’re using an L-bracket.

While the ball head has a good range of adjustment if you raise the center column a smidge, there’s also a full 360-degree of independent lateral rotation, thanks to a separate panning lock. The panning mechanism has a marked scale and a lovely fluid feel, making the head well-suited to shooting video as well as stills.

One particularly nice touch is the bubble level. It protrudes from the outer circumference of the camera platform and also acts as the lock/release catch for the Arca-Swiss type quick-release plate. And to avoid any expensive accidents if you inadvertently knock the bubble assembly, there’s also a sliding safety lock with marked open and closed positions.

The QR plate itself is a fairly small, square affair, but you can use other plates if you feel the need. My only complaint about the supplied plate is that it can’t be fastened to your camera without the use of a hex key, but at least one is supplied with the tripod, as pictured below. If you'd prefer a more 'hands-on', tool-free QR plate, the Peak Design Field Plate is available as an optional extra.

There’s more trickery down below. A weight hook is featured at the bottom of the center column and, unlike those that need endless twisting on a thread to fit or remove them, this one secures or releases with a spring-loaded lock and a one-third twist.

What’s more, with the weight-hook removed, the dual-sized hex wrench tool that’s stowed inside the center column pops halfway out by a further spring-loaded mechanism, while the use of magnets stops it from falling all the way out unless you actually tug on it. If my memory serves me rightly (and I’m pretty sure it does), the Peak Design Travel Tripod comes with an additional Mobile Phone Mount, but you can buy that separately for use with the Pro, at a cost of around $20 / £20 / AU$55.

Moving further down, right to the bottom of the tripod, sturdy rubber pads are the footwear of choice. Made from non-slip TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane), they’re extremely durable and work well on most surfaces. For very soft or loose ground, you might be better off with metal spikes, and these are available as an optional extra, costing around $50 / £45 / AU$80.

Finishing with a flourish, the tripod kit is all wrapped up in a very nicely tailored and padded soft case with a single zippered opening and an adjustable shoulder strap.

Peak Design Pro Tripod: Performance

Peak Design points out that it developed the Pro range of tripods in collaboration with the renowned photographer and filmmaker, Jimmy Chin. It also says that they’re based on the groundbreaking architecture of Peak Design’s original Travel Tripod, but scaled up to offer significantly greater stiffness and maximum operating height. I’d say these comments are bang on and that, as I’d expect from a tripod co-developed by a photographer and filmmaker, it works well as a hybrid stick for both photography and videography. That’s mostly thanks to its clever head, which enables fluid panning as well as quick and easy ball and socket adjustments.

I’d also agree that one of the most crucial aspects of the Pro tripods is that you can shoot from a higher maximum height, as I found the Travel Tripod quite restrictive in this regard. Even so, the maximum height of the Pro tripod isn’t exactly towering at 168.4cm / 66.3 inches.

Being quite tall and liking to keep my shooting options as open as possible, I went for the Pro Tall version of the tripod, which extends to a more impressive 197.4cm / 77.7 inches.

The Pro Lite edition is certainly smaller and more lightweight for the journey, but only rises to a maximum height of 162.5cm / 64.0 inches, and has a lower payload rating of 15.9kg / 35lb, compared with the 18.1kg / 40lb of its heftier siblings.

It’s not just height that I’m interested in. I also like to shoot from really low angles sometimes, for creative effect. In time-honored tradition, the Pro tripods enable you to remove and invert the center column, thus shooting out from between two of the legs with the camera inverted, right down to ground level. That’s all well and good, provided that you don’t mind shooting with your camera upside down, which definitely isn’t preferable for videography.

A more convenient but more long-winded approach to ultra-low-level shooting is that you can tilt the ball head through 90 degrees, loosen a screw, and remove all but the very top of the center column. This enables you to shoot from as little as 15.9cm / 6.3in, 17.3cm / 6.8in, or 15.8cm / 6.2in above ground level, with the Pro, Pro Tall, and Pro Lite versions of the tripod, respectively.

Those specializing in videography rather than stills photography might like to go a little further with filmmaking features. Catering to these needs, Peak Design offers a Leveling Base for an additional $120 / £110 / AU$220. This enables you to level the head even if the tripod legs aren’t precisely leveled, so that your horizon doesn’t go on the slant when you start panning. And if you want to add a fluid tilt action to the head’s existing fluid pan abilities, there’s an optional Tilt Mod for $150 / £135 / AU$300.

Peak Design Pro Tripod: Verdict

I’ve tried many and varied Peak Design products, and they always give me a real feel-good factor. The company makes bold claims regarding the design, features, build quality, and performance of its Peak Design Pro Tripod range. I love it when products live up to and even surpass their billing, and that’s my experience of the Pro Tall tripod kit that I tested and immediately fell for.

Highlights for me are that the design neatly cuts out any wasted space, the specially profiled legs snugly wrapping around the center column for incredibly slimline stowage. The integral head also helps to keep packing size to a minimum, so everything’s neat and tidy. Better still, the tripod has super-fast setup and take-down times, apart from its fiddly tool-driven quick-release plate. Best of all, the kit gives rock-solid support for stills and video shooting, with a nice fluid panning feel for the latter, and remains really steady and stable even at its maximum height with all of the leg sections and center column fully extended.

The only catch, as far as I’m concerned, is the price. It’s a very expensive tripod by any standards, but I feel that Peak Design has really gone the extra mile with its no-compromise design and build, making the Pro range of tripods well worth the money.

Alternatives

Hot on the heels of the Trump T1, Delkin Devices has launched its own take on patriotic tech: the Valor PRO CFexpress 4.0 Type B memory card. Delkin has always been a proudly American memory company, but Valor PRO emphasizes this more than other cards in the Delkin range. Aside from the Star-Spangled Banner appearing on the card itself, Delkin states Valor PRO cards are "Proudly Assembled in the USA", in addition to being designed and extensively validated at Delkin's facility in Poway, CA. Delkin claims that:

"Standard memory cards are built to mass-market commercial standards (Class 2), which tolerate hidden internal defects. Valor PRO CFexpress 4.0 Type B cards are held to (Class 3) aerospace and medical requirements."

This entails using an industrial underfill process that mechanically bonds the memory chips to the PCB, rather than relying solely on electrical connections. This then makes the card more resistant to drops and vibrations. Delkin also asserts that by assembling each card in the US, you get better component control and traceability; something which is backed up by every card having its own unique serial number, along with a lifetime warranty. Should a card fail, Delkin will replace it within 48 hours and cover the cost of shipping both ways.

As for performance, Valor PRO CFexpress 4.0 Type B cards can achieve a stellar 3700 MB/s maximum read speed, and an equally impressive 2800MB/s peak write rate. Minimum sustained write speed is rated at 1840MB/s, easily qualifying the card for VPG800 certification - that's comfortably enough speed to enable high bit-rate 8K RAW recording. Delkin has also tested Valor PRO cards in dozens of CFexpress Type B cameras to ensure compatibility, including all Canon, Nikon and Panasonic Type B bodies.

The Delkin Devices Valor PRO CFexpress Type B card is available in a single capacity option - 1TB - and can currently be had for an introductory price of $589.99 at B&H, or £529 at Wex.

ProGrade Digital has launched a new, super-fast CFexpress Type A card. Branded Iridium, the card is available in 512GB and 1TB capacities and is capable of a blisteringly-quick 1800MB/s max read speed, and an equally impressive 1700MB/s peak write rate.

But more importantly for video capture is how fast a memory card can maintain its write speed. Here the new Iridium Type A card really stands out thanks to its 1500MB/s sustained write speed. This speed is achieved thanks to its CFexpress 4.0 architecture, which enables performance that's twice as fast as first-generation Type A cards.

ProGrade's CFexpress Type A product range already includes an Iridium card, but that is an older version which comes in 480GB and 960GB capacities. Though its maximum speed is identical to the new 512GB and 1TB versions, sustained write rate is significantly slower at 800MB/s.

Another key difference between the old and new Iridium Type A cards is their VPG certification. Where the old version was VPG200 certified, the new card boasts dual VPG certification, as it complies with both the VPG400 and VPG800 standards.

VPG (Video Performance Guarantee) is a tightly-controlled testing procedure and certification that guarantees a memory card can sustain a minimum write speed when recording video. Plenty of SD and CFexpress cards have VPG200 or VPG400 certification, meaning they're guaranteed to maintain a minimum 200MB/s or 400MB/s write speed. VPG800 certification is rather more special though, only being awarded to a select few CFexpress cards. It guarantees that the new ProGrade Iridium card will sustain a minimum 800MB/s write speed during video capture.

You may wonder why the new Iridium card is labelled with VPG400 and VPG800 ratings, as surely the faster rating should simply override the slower one? The reason the cards sport both labels is because VPG800 doesn't actually replace the older VPG200/400 ratings; it instead supplements them. This is due to the VPG800 rating being part of the new Video Performance Guarantee Profile 5.0, released by the CompactFlash Association in February 2025. VPG-5 is not backward compatible with VPG Profile 4.0 (which covers the existing VPG200 and VPG400 ratings). As such, a VPG800 card may not work with a camera recording mode that requires VPG200 or VPG400.

This is because to achieve the higher sustained write speeds of VPG800, such a card must first be preconditioned (initialized) with low-level formatting. This preconditioning, which has not previously been necessary, essentially resets the card to its original factory condition, permanently deleting any previous data from the card. This in turn means the card is a perfectly clean 'blank slate' which has a large, contiguous storage space, onto which a continuous video data stream can be written at high speed. There's therefore no risk of recording speed being reduced or interrupted by the memory controller needing to allocate part of the recording to a different sector of NAND flash in order to work around any pre-existing data stored on the card.

This sounds perfectly reasonable but there's a catch: simply deleting a video from the card doesn't recover the corresponding storage space for future VPG800 recordings - you're limited to whatever remaining storage space is left after the last preconditioning (low-level formatting). To restore the full capacity of the card for more VPG800 recording, you must again perform a preconditioning. Thankfully this procedure doesn't appear to be necessary for general use, or for VPG400 recordings.

For more information on these latest VPG standards, and why preconditioning is necessary, check out the official guidance from the CompactFlash Association.

The new ProGrade Digital Iridium CFexpress Type A card is available to pre-order from B&H. Expect to pay $569.99 for the 512GB capacity, while the 1TB version costs $949.99.

First up is the MSD36CB SupaDupa Black Diamond. Designed for shooters requiring speed and fluid movement, this monopod features a unique combination of all-metal twist locks and a CNC-machined aluminium flip lock, enabling rapid, one-handed height adjustments.

Despite a lightweight carbon fibre frame weighing only 0.5kg, it supports an impressive 40kg payload. Its 6-section design extends to 165cm and collapses to a compact 42cm for travel, while the base features a rotating rubber foot with a V-shaped bearing for smooth panning.

It’s essentially a slightly more compact variant of the Benro MSD46CB Black Diamond SupaDupa Monopod that we reviewed recently.

For those prioritizing extreme portability, the MiniMax MMX37C is a 7-section carbon fibre monopod that collapses down to just 37cm and weighs a featherweight 0.36kg, making it an ideal companion for street photography and fast-moving productions.

Capable of supporting up to 20kg, it includes a versatile spring-loaded 1/4″-20 and 3/8″-16 mounting stud, ensuring compatibility with a wide array of camera and lens setups.

Benro has also introduced the VT4 Monopod Base, a robust 3-leg solution designed for demanding environments like sports and event production. Its standout feature is a foot-activated 90-degree locking pedal that instantly locks the monopod vertically on flat surfaces. A quick tap of the pedal unlocks the ballhead, transitioning seamlessly back to fluid, articulated movement.

With a wide 54cm base spread and tension-adjustable ballhead, it provides the stability required for long-duration shooting. It attaches directly to the Benro monopods above or to any compatible 3/8″-16-threaded monopod.

Benro has also released a range of accessories to help keep your gear in tip-top condition. There are two sets of replacement rubber feet for enhanced indoor traction, with RF001 Rubber Feet for Benro 0 and 1 Series tripods with smaller leg diameters and RF002 Rubber Feet for larger Benro 2, 3, and 4 Series tripods using a standard 3/8"-16 thread. Or, for the larger tripods, you can swap in SF001 Stainless Steel Spiked Feet for superior grip on rugged outdoor terrain.

And for when your tripod or monopod joints get a bit wobbly, replacement shim kits (ALS001 for aluminium and CFS001 for carbon fibre models) will restore smooth leg extensions that lock solidly once more.

The new lineup is already available in the USA, and will be available in the UK from August 5, 2026, with the following pricing:

MSD36CB SupaDupa: $140 / £150
MiniMax MMX37C: $100 / £100
VT4 Monopod Base: $100 / £95
Rubber Feet (RF001): $15 / £10
Rubber Feet (RF002): $20 / £15
Spiked Feet (SF001): $15 / £15
Shim Kits (ALS001/CFS001): $10 / £10

Hawlowe, a brand arguably best known for its retro-styled camera lights, has unveiled a new tripod – and the company says it weighs only about as much as a water bottle. The Harlowe Rocket Air is a carbon fiber travel tripod with a fluid head that weighs about 2.2 lbs / 1 kg yet can accommodate up to ten times that weight in camera gear.

But, beyond the more compact size, what caught my eye about the Harlowe Rocket Air is that it’s also designed to hold multiple devices at once. The tripod supports up to two accessory arms, which can hold things like a smartphone to record behind-the-scenes content, lights, or other accessories.

Folded, the tripod’s four leg sections allow it to stow away at 19.7 inches / 50 cm, but at full height can reach 58.7 inches / 149cm. The center column can be reversed to hold the camera upside-down for extreme low angles, while three leg positions also allow for a range of different working heights.

Much of the tripod’s lightweight design comes from its carbon fiber build. A counterweight hook on the bottom of the center column allows creators to add a weight for more stabilization.

The tripod legs can support up to 22.05 pounds / 10 kg, but the fluid head has a lower weight rating at 6.61 lbs / 3 kg.

Those legs use twist-style locks, a design that the company says allows creators to deploy to full height in around three seconds.

The tripod includes a fluid head that has a ten-degree leveling adjustment for uneven terrain, as well as supporting smooth pan and tilt movement.

While Harlowe is perhaps best known for its retro-styled lights, the Rocket Air follows last year’s Rocket, a multi-purpose stand that can be used as a light stand as well as a modular tripod and monopod.

The Harlowe Rocket Air retails at $399 / £303 / CA$576. That includes the tripod and detachable fluid head along with a carrying bag and allen wrench; accessory arms are not included with the standard ¼”-20 thread type arms supported. The tripod is available from Harlowe, as well as select retailers.

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Shortly after Nikon sold its shares in Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC), a notice appeared on the Academy Award-winning robotic camera control company’s website stating that it had entered into liquidation. But now the brand’s seemingly inevitable shutdown has been reversed into new ownership – and a new name.

MultiDyne, a fiber optics company developing cables and signal conversion equipment, has acquired MRMC. The robotic camera control company will continue under a new name, MultiDyne Robotics and Motion Control.

Nikon sold its shares of MRMC in May 2026, and, less than two months later, a notice appeared on the MRMC website that the company was entering into liquidation. The acquisition by MultiDyne keeps the company in operation, albeit under a slightly different name (with the same abbreviation).

MutliDyne, which is headquartered in New York, says that MRMC’s operation will remain in the UK.

The acquisition includes MRMC’s “core technologies, intellectual property, manufacturing capabilities, and key engineering expertise,” MuliDyne said, while a member of the MultiDyne team, Neil Maycock, will serve as managing director for the new MultiDyne Robotics and Motion Control.

MultiDyne says that, unlike in many acquisitions, MRMC is not a competitor with overlapping products, instead serving many of the same customers.

“MultiDyne has long been focused on the transport, processing, and management of video, audio, and data signals,” said MultiDyne CEO Frank Jachetta. “MRMC places us at the point of image acquisition itself, allowing us to participate in a much broader portion of the production workflow. Together, our technologies create a powerful end-to-end ecosystem for content creators, broadcasters, and live production professionals worldwide."

In a statement on the robotic camera company’s website, MRMC says that “This well-capitalized backing ensures the stability, continuity, and recovery of our iconic brand. Our immediate focus is fulfilling existing commitments and restarting core operations.”

The announcement did not disclose financial details of the acquisition.

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I’ve always fancied a posh camera bag from Billingham but could never justify the expense to myself. My desire didn’t even take into consideration the dimensions of the bag, or that of the camera kit I intended to fill it with; I just admired the old-school doctor’s bag aesthetic, the craftmanship and materials involved, plus the attention to detail.

But while this bag looked to all intents and purposes ‘perfect’, I always had the sneaking suspicion that it wouldn’t be. Because there is simply no such thing as the perfect camera bag.

And I say that having tried out examples from the comprehensive ranges of Benro, Domke, Lowepro, Manfrotto, Peak Design, Peli, Tenba and Vanguard, to name but a few key players.

Because it’s not just about getting a bag that can accommodate all my kit, now and into the future; what I’ll want to transport at any one time, and the environment I’m operating in, will keep changing.

While a satchel-style messenger bag with a shoulder or cross-body strap may be suitable for urban photography, if I’m hiking up a hill to document a landscape, a waterproofed camera backpack with breathable webbing and a pocket to stash a bottle of water will be more practical and desirable. And I may want to take a tripod too, to make sure my horizons are level and true.

So, while there are many good camera bags, most are only good at one thing. Most but not all, of course, as I’ve also tested wheeled camera cases including the Vanguard Alta Fly 55T G2, that can be quickly transformed into a backpack by removing said wheels.

But despite an occasional degree of versatility, it feels like there are always compromises to be made in the pursuit of perfection. And if I do want a bag or case that does more, the price tag invariably rockets as well.

Plus, maybe you don’t need a dedicated camera bag at all. I often use a bog-standard small backpack to transport my cameras, wrapping them in protective bubble wrap in lieu of the padded interior dividers I’d get with a camera bag proper. The latter would offer better protection, sure, but increase the weight and bulk overall.

Although I began my camera bag ‘journey’ buying protective pouches that snugly fitted the contours of the camera they were intended to house, I’ve now gone completely the other way and don’t like a camera bag that too obviously resembles one.

Ultimately, it could be argued that unless I have multiple lenses and accessories for my camera and want to carry them with me most of the time, I don’t need a camera bag in the first place. I just require a good, sturdy and comfortable strap for the camera (and lens) itself.

Most of the time that feels just perfect. And much cheaper than a Billingham.

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If you still believe in finding your perfect match, take a look at the best camera bags along with the best camera backpacks and best camera sling bags.

OWC has launched a new accessibly-priced CFexpress Type B card: Atlas Core. This timing couldn't have been better, as with memory card prices skyrocketing due to the global NAND flash shortage, there's sure to be big demand for less expensive cards.

The OWC Atlas Core CFexpress Type B card comes in one capacity - 256GB - and is priced at $279.99. At the time of writing there are 256GB Type B cards that cost less, but all are slower than the Atlas Core. OWC’s new entry is speedy thanks to its CFexpress 4.0 specification, giving it incredibly fast 3571MB/s max read and 2227MB/s max write speeds. The card is also rated with a 368MB/s sustained write rate. This isn’t the fastest, but it does comfortably exceed VPG200 certification, enabling 4K RAW and 8K compressed recording. The Atlas Core card is therefore suitable for professional and hobbyist photographers, videographers, and content creators.

Atlas Core is designed for Canon EOS R, Fujifilm GFX, Nikon Z, and Panasonic S mirrorless cameras, as well as Nikon DSLRs like the D5, D500 and D850 which were originally designed for XQD. Every card is backed by a three-year warranty, and with OWC’s Free Innergize software, you also get built-in card health monitoring, performance restoration, and firmware updates.

While it may not be the absolute fastest Type B card around, the vast majority of Type B-compatible cameras won’t even come close to maxing out even an entry-level Type B card:

“Most photographers and creators don’t need the most expensive card on the planet. They need the card they can trust when the moment actually matters … Atlas Core was built for that real-world creator who wants professional confidence without paying for speed they’ll never fully use.” Larry O’Connor, Founder and CEO, Other World Computing (OWC)

OWC Atlas Core CFexpress 4.0 Type B 256GB memory card: Buy now from B&H

Memory cards might not be the most exciting purchase, but they’re indispensable - without one, even the best camera is useless. I always stock up on SanDisk 64GB Ultra SDXC UHS-I cards, not for their size but for their reliability, great value, and the fact that they’re almost always discounted ahead of Amazon Prime’s big camera sales.

• See all of today's Amazon Prime camera deals
• See all memory deals across Amazon

Sure, 64GB might not seem like much in an era of 8K video and high-resolution sensors, but for everyday photography, it’s plenty - and at this price, they’re practically impossible to resist.

It’s become something of a ritual for me now. I ignore memory cards for most of the year and wait until Prime Day - or the days leading up to it - when prices start to tumble, and full-price suddenly looks ridiculous. SanDisk’s 64GB Ultra cards often drop into impulse-buy territory, and if you need more room, the 128GB and 256GB versions usually follow suit at prices that feel like a steal.

The real trick is having spares. I never head out without at least two or three extras in my bag. Cards fill up, fail, or simply vanish, and having backups means you’re never caught short - no deleting files on the fly or missing a shot while swapping cards. And when you’ve picked them up for less than the cost of a pub lunch, there’s no reason not to stock up.

SanDisk Ultra cards have always hit the sweet spot for me. They’re not overkill for everyday or even semi-professional use, yet they’re fast, reliable, and built for real-world shooting, whether that’s documenting family life, covering events, or spending an afternoon out with the camera. I’ve filled more of them than I can count, and not one has ever let me down.

So why pay full whack? Prime Day is basically a once-a-year restock event for me. I buy cards like people buy batteries at Christmas – just enough to get me through another season or two. It’s a small investment in peace of mind, and at Prime Day prices, it's hard to make a case against it.

If you shoot regularly and you’re not taking advantage of these sales, you’re missing a trick. The SanDisk 64GB Ultra SDXC UHS-I is always on offer, and if you need more storage, the 128GB and 256GB versions are rarely far behind. Just wait for the price to drop… and buy!

Shop the memory card

With fast transfer speeds, reliable performance and a price that’s hard to ignore, the SanDisk 64GB Ultra SDXC UHS-I is a smart addition to any camera bag – ideal for everyday shooting, and right now, it’s cheap enough to pick up without hesitation.

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Don't forget – the best memory cards need the best memory card readers to get the best out of them!

I’m so used to SD, microSD and CFexpress cards as gold standard removable media for my digital camera of choice – not to mention wireless transfer – that it’s easy to forget about all the failed physical formats previously presented to data-hungry photographers.

If you’ve taken an image with a digital camera over the past 25 years, as I have, you’ll be familiar with a roll call of formats that were once the must-have, but have now disappeared, among them SmartMedia and xD cards – both favored by Fuji point-and-shoots – along with Sony’s proprietary Memory Stick and, for more serious users with larger cameras, CompactFlash. The latter gave way to CFexpress cards and the XQD format in the 2010s, just slightly thicker than a SD card but offering much faster speeds than CF.

To this list of gone but unforgotten formats we can add the bonkers late 90s idea of Sony Mavica ‘compact’ cameras recording to 3.5-inch floppy disks and subsequently 8cm Mini CD-Rs. The thinking at the time was solid – circumnavigate the ‘chain of pain’ with a media format that I could take straight out of my camera and slot into my PC drive. Those nervous about the ‘newness’ of digital photography back then were presented with something familiar and unthreatening, if ultimately impractical.

First introduced in 1995, SmartMedia was one of the first digital memory formats I encountered switching from film to digital photography, intended at the time to be a flash (memory) alternative to the floppy disk. Recently reacquainting myself with a FinePix 6900 Zoom from 2001, I’d forgotten how comically huge SmartMedia looks next to SD and microSD cards today. SmartMedia’s capacity maxed out at 128MB, which quickly made it obsolete in the race for more pixels. Plus, its exposed gold contact pins and sender dimensions made the cards more fragile that what quickly came to replace them.

In my world, that replacement was the much smaller and tougher xD memory card, jointly introduced by Fujifilm and Olympus in 2002 and able to offer quite a jump in capacity. Almost a third of the physical size of SmartMedia, xD cards also enabled the cameras that supported the format – mainly from Olympus and Fuji but also several Kodak models – to themselves become more compact, and thus desirable.

However, Panasonic and SanDisk’s introduction of Secure Digital / SD, which first hit the market with a modest 8MB capacity in 2000, eventually meant that xD disappeared by 2009. In the race to accommodate larger data demands, SD spawned SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) in 2005, plus SDXC (Secure Digital eXtended Capacity) in 2009. As, simultaneously, camera phones were getting more sophisticated, microSD cards were launched primarily for mobile devices in 2005 and continues to be widely used 20 years on.

Available alongside these formats for a short while and intended as an exclusive revenue driver for Sony digital cameras, was the electronics giant’s chewing gum-shaped Memory Stick format. First introduced in 1998, by 2010 Sony was being forced to bow to consumer pressure and offer compatibility with SD cards instead. I can recall an audible sigh of relief at the time from consumers confused by all the competing formats.

Again, it was because SD offered a higher storage capacity, faster read/write speeds, plus more affordable production costs – and that unlike Memory Stick, was non-proprietary – that saw its widespread adoption and market dominance, that continues over a quarter of a century later.

Fast forward to 2026 and I’m just grateful that my card reader and laptop no longer need multiple slots to accommodate the many bewildering, but now redundant, memory card variants still rattling around in a shoebox I have at home.

Check out the best memory card options available for today's digital cameras

When it comes to tripod manufacturers, Benro might not be as famous as a couple of its Italian cousins, but this Chinese company has been up and running for more than 30 years and has manufactured some of my personal favorite professional-grade tripods, monopods, and support accessories during that time. I’ve tested and reviewed quite a few of them over the last decade and bought a couple as a result, subsequently being completely happy with them over long periods of time.

The monopod that I’m reviewing here is from the SupaDupa line-up. Typical of Benro products in general and SupaDupa monopods in particular, it’s cleverly designed with innovative features, expertly engineered, and immaculately finished. As such, it aims to be one of the best monopods for photographers on the market today. Whether you need to support the heavy load of a big telephoto lens or just beat the shakes when using slow shutter speeds, this Benro should prove well up to the task.

Benro MSD46CB SupaDupa: Specifications

Benro MSD46CB SupaDupa: Price

What price a monopod? The Benro MSD46CB Black Diamond SupaDupa costs $170 / £180, which is pretty much at the upper end of the scale, especially for a Chinese-manufactured monopod, although you can expect to pay more for a top-of-the-range Manfrotto or Gitzo, both of which are made in Italy. For comparison, we reviewed the similar Benro SupaDupa Pro MSDPL46C, which lists at an even pricier $209 / £209 and is shorter but heavier, though it does come complete with a useful leveling pan head, which is absent from the MSD46CB I’m reviewing here.

Benro MSD46CB SupaDupa: Design & Handling

There are a lot of things I like about this Benro monopod, but top of the list is the 8-layer carbon fiber from which it’s made. The look and finish of the carbon fiber absolutely scream ‘quality’, and as I’ll come to later, that translates into superb performance. And although impressively rigid even at full stretch, the carbon build helps to keep the weight down to an easily manageable 0.58kg or 1.3lb. That’s despite the monopod having a mighty maximum payload rating of 40kg / 88lb.

Speaking of full stretch, I’m a tall guy and have often been disappointed that even some of the best monopods on the market are simply too short for me to use without stooping. That’s definitely not a problem with this Benro, as it extends to a relatively towering 177cm, or 5ft 10in. Just like with the huge payload rating being delivered by a lightweight construction, the lofty maximum operating height comes with a surprisingly small stowage length of just 43.5cm or 17.1in. That’s made possible by no less than six telescoping leg sections.

Okay, I’d be the first to admit that such a large number of leg sections would normally equate to a couple of compromises. First up, as I’ve experienced with many travel tripods, the bottom sections often tend to be very thin and spindly, and therefore lacking in strength and rigidity. That’s not the case here, as even the bottom section has a generous diameter of 21.8mm (0.9in), with a robust and rigid feel to it.

The second compromise is that six leg sections require five separate clamps to release and lock them, which brings the prospect of the monopod being a time-consuming chore to use. As it turns out, the bottom four telescoping sections each have a twist-action lock. They’re pretty quick and easy to use, partly because when the monopod is contracted, you can grab all of the twist clamps in one handful and loosen or tighten them in a single gesture.

The top telescoping section is different from all of the rest, as it has a quick-release flip-action lock. Not only is it easy to locate by feel when your eye is to the viewfinder of your camera, but it’s super-speedy to operate. When using the monopod, I find that I generally tend to extend all of the lower sections and just rely on the top section with its flip lock for making any height adjustments. That makes using the Benro speedy and simple.

I’m a little disappointed that the monopod doesn’t come with a head, but I know a lot of photographers who find it unnecessary to use a head with a monopod. And at least if you do want to use a head, you can buy one of your choosing. Either way, the monopod has a 60mm / 2.4in diameter circular platform up top, which should prove ideal for mounting a camera or the mounting ring of a big, heavy lens, or indeed a head.

A crafty bit of design is that the securing screw for any of these has a dual-diameter spring-loaded arrangement, so the larger 3/8in thread automatically retracts to reveal a 1/4in thread if you need the smaller size. If you’re fitting a head on the monopod, there’s also a grub screw in the platform to ensure that it doesn’t work loose.

Another thing that you don’t want to be working loose is your grip on the monopod, sending your camera and attached lens crashing to the ground. I’m reassured that the monopod features a wrist strap, and it’s a particularly good one at that. Not only does it have an adjustable diameter to securely fasten around any size of wrist, but it also has a push-button, quick-release clip so that you can quickly and easily remove the wrist strap if you feel the need. The quick-release clip can also be easily removed from the securing lug to which it’s tethered.

Keeping a secure hold on the monopod is also aided by the inclusion of a Benro SupaDupa Shoulder Pad in the kit, a standalone version being available on its own for $20 / £15. It’s a really neat comfort pad that you can wrap around the monopod, with a rubberized, anti-slip inner surface, a padded mesh exterior, and a Velcro strip to keep it in place. You can actually use it with any monopod or tripod leg that has a diameter of between 32mm and 37mm (1.3in and 1.5in).

Neat extras include a couple of hex keys for making adjustments if and when needed, and there’s a clip for attaching one of them to the monopod if you feel you might need to use it when you’re out and about.

Even the foot of the monopod is pretty smart. I find that I’m often given to panning when using a monopod, as I use them with heavy telephoto lenses while tracking wildlife and sports subjects in motion. The fixed foot of most monopods tends to try to drill a hole in the ground during the process, and can make panning feel stiff and jerky. This Benro monopod features a spinning foot, which glides on its own V-profile roller bearing cage, making panning actions silky smooth.

If panning’s not your thing and you feel the urge to ram the bottom of your monopod into soft ground for a more assured footing, you can swap out the spinning foot with its rubber pad for a metal spike that’s supplied as part of the kit. You simply unscrew one and screw in the other, which takes minimal time and effort.

Benro MSD46CB SupaDupa: Performance

If I had to sum up the performance of the Benro MSD46CB Black Diamond SupaDupa Monopod in two words, they’d be ‘speedy’ and ‘sturdy’, but allow me to embellish. I like that, with no fewer than six telescopic sections, the monopod folds down small, but has a really tall maximum operating height.

That would usually come with the pain of setup and take-down being time-consuming chores. However, the provision of a flip-action clamp for the top section and twist-action clamps for the lower sections actually makes the monopod quick to extend and fold down again. It also makes any required height adjustments fast and effortless while the monopod is actually in use.

Then there’s the stability. I’m of the ‘fat legs first’ school of monopod and tripod use, in that I generally extend the larger-diameter top legs first and only deploy the relatively thin bottom ones if I really need to. I use this Benro rather differently, extending all of the lower sections, all of the time, and then extending or contracting the fattest top section with its flip-action clamp to apply any necessary height adjustments. In practice, that works really well, and the monopod remains rigid and extremely resistant to any unwanted flexing, even at its maximum operating height with everything fully extended.

And to finish with just a little thing, that spinning pad on the foot with its roller bearings gives a huge performance boost when you’re panning or just tracking subjects in motion.

Benro MSD46CB SupaDupa: Verdict

The Benro MSD46CB Black Diamond SupaDupa is definitely one of the best monopods I’ve ever used. It’s cleverly designed, superbly well-engineered, immaculately finished, and performs flawlessly. I really like that it folds down nice and small, and is really lightweight for the journey, yet stretches to a very generous maximum operating height and has a mighty payload rating.

The carbon fiber is of particularly good quality, and the clamps all work with smooth precision. I like the mix of twist-locks and a flip-action lock up top, which work brilliantly well together, enabling speed and ease of use. The spinning foot makes the Benro an absolute joy to use for panning shots. My only gripe is that Benro’s rather excellent leveling pan head isn’t supplied as part of the kit, despite the monopod being particularly pricey to buy.

Alternatives

The Godox ML series consists of a series of modular continuous LEDs. I use the term modular because you can attach a range of accessories to them, such as magnetically attached diffusers or a twist-and-lock ML-CS1625 soft tent (which is basically a little soft box). You can also power them wirelessly using a clip-on Godox ML-BA battery, or use the ML150Bi’s supplied ML-VMA battery plate to attach Godox or third-party V-mount batteries to the LED.

The Godox ML range starts off in terms of affordability and power with the palm-sized ML-40Bi. At the top of the ML range, we have the Godox ML150Bi. This is the bigger brother to the similarly specced Godox ML80Bi, a key difference being that the ML150Bi produces a much brighter continuous light source for photographers and videographers to enjoy, even in the brightest of outdoor locations.

Both the ML80Bi and the ML150Bi ship with an ML-Z Zoom Reflector, so when this accessory is set to spotlight, the ML80Bi can emit 29,600 lux. On the same reflector setting, the ML150Bi produces 61,054 lux. Time for your model to put on some shades!

The term "Bi" pops up a lot in this introduction. The entire ML series consists of bi-color lights, meaning that they can emit a range of light color temperatures in degrees Kelvin. The ML150Bi can be adjusted – via button rotation or a swipe of a slider in the Godox Light smartphone app – to emit light that has a color temperature between a warm 2800K and a much cooler 6500K.

Being able to control the LED’s color temperature means that you can complement existing light sources, such as dialing in a cool daylight temperature of 5600K to add fill light that’s compatible with the location’s natural outdoor key light.

If you need a more colorful light source (such as purples, greens, and reds), then you need to look for an RGB LED, not a bi-color one. I can recommend the Neewer HB80C for both creative color and Kelvin scale illumination, among other continuous LED options in our buying guide to the best video lights.

Godox ML150Bi: Specifications

Godox ML150Bi: Price

The Godox ML150Bi retails at $259/£229. Its weaker little brother, the ML80Bi, retails at $229/£203. So for only around $30/£30 extra, you can purchase a more powerful 150W LED (compared to the weaker 80W device). So on paper, it seems like a no-brainer to go for maximum power for an extra $30.

However, I do have a word of caution. The cheaper ML80Bi ships with a dockable ML-BA battery that matches the white design of the lamp. The more expensive ML150Bi doesn’t ship with the ML-BA battery, so you’ll need to power the ML150Bi by its supplied mains cable or use its supplied ML-VMA battery plate to attach a V-mount battery (not supplied). You can buy an ML-BA battery to power the ML150Bi, but that will add another $89/£73 to your costs.

Personally, I like the fact that you can power up the cheaper ML80Bi out of the box thanks to its supplied battery (after charging it via its USB-C cable). I did have a V-mount battery to attach to the ML150Bi’s adapter plate, so that was fine for my test, but bear this powering issue in mind when considering a purchase.

Godox ML150Bi: Design & Handling

After unboxing the Godox ML150Bi, it looks like an elongated version of the Godox ML80Bi, with the same distinctive plastic white body material. The bigger ML150Bi features extra grilles and ventilation holes to help dissipate the extra heat that its 150W produces (plus an internal fan is on hand to keep the lamp cool). As with its little brother, the ML150Bi has an identical control panel that has an On/Off button and a Mode button to jump between controlling color temperatures in CCT Mode or choosing animated lighting effects in FX Mode.

A ridged plastic control wheel enables you to scroll through various menu items or adjust the frequency of lighting flashes, for example, and a central Set button lets you commit to your desired settings. A little OLED screen tells you all you need to know about the properties of the currently selected mode, and you can use that to activate Bluetooth, which enables you to control every setting via the Godox Light smartphone app.

The control dial/button (or the Godox Light app) enables you to adjust color temperature between a range of a warm 2800K to a cooler 6500K, so you can mimic candlelight, a sunset, or average daylight with ease. There are also 11 animated lighting effects – Lightning, Flash, Cloudy, Broken Bulb, TV, Candle, Fire, Fireworks, Explosion, Welding, and SOS.

As it’s a bi-color light, the lighting effects can use a mix of warm and cold color temperatures – such as creating cold flashes of lightning using a color temperature of 5400K, or a flickering fire at 2800K. If you want to mimic the flashing blues and reds of an off-screen police car, then you’ll need an RGB-capable LED such as the Neewer HB80C (which has 18 lighting effects, compared to the 11 from the ML150Bi).

The rear of the ML150Bi is initially hidden by a white plastic panel. At first, it was a bit of a challenge discovering how to remove the panel, but all you need to do is slide it up. Behind the panel are docking clamps that enable you to connect the LED’s body to a Godox ML-BA battery (not supplied). Fortunately, the kit does ship with the Godox ML-VMA battery plate, so I was able to pop a Neewer PS099F V-mount battery onto the plate and power the light during my test shoot.

Also included in the sturdy carry case that ships with the ML150Bi is an ML-Z Zoom Reflector. This mounts onto the front of the LED and can be rotated to create a wider or narrower (and more intense) beam of light. The front of the reflector is magnetic, enabling you to easily attach diffusers to subtly change the light’s properties. The Godox ML-D diffusers (sold separately) are designed to pop straight into the reflector. I found the diffusers to be a bit too subtle when out in a busy city location, but they may be more attractive (and more noticeable) if you’re shooting in a studio against a plain backdrop.

Godox ML150Bi: Performance

Since the ML150Bi didn’t ship with a battery, I popped on its supplied adapter and slid a Neewer PS099F V-mount battery I already had onto it. The Neewer battery’s display informed me that it was 80% charged, so I thought that would be more than enough power for a one-hour test shoot with Maddy, the model.

The ML150Bi’s sturdy black and branded carry case fitted nicely into my Gomatic 25L Camera Backpack, alongside a variety of accessories such as mini tripods, a Hohem iSteady V3 Ultra gimbal (to record my intro for the video review), and a spare iPhone 17 to capture some B-roll clips for my video review. The Neewer V-mount battery fitted in there too, so I found the backpack quite heavy to carry as I wandered through London to my shooting location – the Barbican Centre.

I’d previously tested the smaller Godox ML80Bi on a model portrait shoot in the Barbican Centre, so I decided to repeat the shoot with the ML150Bi. The weaker ML80Bi needed a Fresnel lens attachment to boost the light when shooting outdoors. The more powerful ML150Bi did not!

I started by using the bright sun as a key light, but this plunged parts of my model’s face into harsh, contrasting shadows. I was then able to position the ML150Bi on a lighting tripod to fill in the harsh shadows with a complementary daylight color temperature. I also enjoyed placing the LED behind the model to create a rim light that helped her stand out from the background. This extra light source helped "sculpt" her face with a key, fill, or rim light, giving it a more interesting three-dimensional look.

To make the ML150Bi’s light a little less harsh, I removed the reflector and slotted the Godox ML-CS1625 Soft Tent onto the LED, courtesy of the soft box’s supplied Godox mount adapter. The soft box reduced the intensity of the LED, so I needed to place the light in the shot while I snapped portraits for this review with my iPhone 17. It was an easy job to paint out the light stand and its shadow using Photoshop’s Generative Fill tool, so I was happy to keep the light in the shot when capturing wide shots of the model. For tighter portraits, I was able to keep the ML150Bi out of the shot.

I then moved into the shadow of the tall Barbican towers, which had a cooler, darker, and flatter lighting that was no good for portrait photography. Fortunately, after adjusting the LED via its tactile switches and dials, I was able to summon a strong golden-hour sun to be a key light in the gloom. This enabled me to capture some attractive sunset portraits (and slow-motion video of the model’s hair being backlit by the "sun").

Finally, I headed to a darker shaded area and used the ML150Bi as a harsh key light to capture film noir-style portraits with stark shadows. I also experimented with using some of the lighting effects while shooting video on the iPhone 17. The Broken Bulb effect in particular worked well with the grungy mise en scène of the urban environment, so these lighting effects should make the ML150Bi appeal to video creators as well as portrait shooters.

My hour-long shoot took place in four different locations that were relatively close together, so the light was on more than it was off! Given my V-mount battery started at 80% charge, I was lucky to have around 4% of power left at the end of my shoot, so I’d certainly recommend taking a spare battery along with you, especially due to the 150W power of the Godox ML150Bi.

I have one little niggle regarding the performance of the Godox ML150Bi. I turned the LED off between the various location setups to save battery power. To turn it on, you need to press the power button. A little icon appears on the OLED screen indicating that you then need to rotate the plastic dial in a clockwise direction to activate the LED. Sometimes this operation didn’t work, so I needed to press the power button again and have another go at rotating the dial. This did slow me down a little.

Oh, there was also a little bright orange rubber stopper that fitted onto the end of the metal lever that releases objects mounted to the front of the LED, such as the supplied reflector. This rubber stopper kept dropping off and, as I expected, it got lost during the shoot. However, it doesn’t affect the performance of the light in any way, so it is negligible, but I do like to be thorough in my reviews.

Godox ML150Bi: Verdict

I enjoyed using the Godox ML150Bi during my model portrait test shoot. As it was considerably more powerful than the ML80Bi, I could travel lighter without needing the brightness-boosting Fresnel lens that the ML80Bi required when shooting outdoors. However, I missed the Godox ML-BA battery that is supplied with the ML80Bi. My Neewer V-mount battery powered the ML150Bi throughout the shoot, but its bulky black casing looked out of place against the LED’s white body. Godox’s white ML-BA battery blends much more neatly with the white plastic bodies of its ML series LEDs, although buying one to power the ML150Bi would cost an additional $89/£73.

All in all, the Godox ML150Bi deserves a place in your kit bag as it elevates portraits from good to great. You can fill in harsh shadows or add a key light that accentuates the shape of your model’s face. Videographers might find the animated effects useful for adding drama, but the lack of RGB lighting effects (such as Squad Car) means that the effects from this bi-color light are less useful.

Alternatives

Benro is a Chinese creator of pro-grade tripods and other photography and videography supports. The company has been going strong for 30 years and counting, and I’ve personally paid cash money for some of its products over the last 10 years or so. I’ve been very happy with all of my purchases, being continually impressed with the craftsmanship, quality and dependability, throughout heavy use over long periods of time. Items in my collection include the lofty but super-sturdy carbon fiber Benro TMA38CL Mach3 9X CF Series 3 Long Tripod, the Benro GH2N gimbal head for the joy of movement, the Benro SupaDupa Pro MSDPL46C carbon fiber monopod, and the highly ingenious, ultra-versatile Benro FS20PRO Hybrid Video & Foto Head.

The Benro A48FD Aluminum Monopod that I’m reviewing here might not be ‘SupaDupa’, but it’s still packed with clever tricks. Benro bills it as a lightweight flip-lock video monopod that’s ideal for small cameras, with a 3-leg locking base that includes a ball joint for smooth and stable shots, along with reverse folding legs for compact travel. I’d agree with all of that, although I really don’t feel it’s only ‘ideal for small cameras’. I think its 20kg / 44lb payload rating makes this monopod tough enough to support even the heaviest of cameras mounted with long lenses. All in all, it aims to be one of the best monopods on the market, and quite possibly the best value for money.

Benro A48FD Monopod: Specifications

Benro A48FD Monopod: Price

I recently tested and reviewed the rather excellent Benro MSD46CB Black Diamond SupaDupa Monopod, a heavy-duty monopod with a heavy-duty price tag of $170 / £180. I’d have bought one myself if I didn’t already have the older Benro SupaDupa Pro MSDPL46C in my supporting cast. Shortly afterwards, I spotted this aluminum monopod kit with added extras in the shape of a 3-leg base for the bargain price of just $99 / £59, and the deal was done. It seems outrageously great value, especially in the UK, and for me, it’s a worthy additional monopod that I can use for hybrid shooting. Further investigation revealed the full list price in the UK is actually £120, but even at that price, it's reasonable value.

If you’re feeling flush, there’s also the Benro SupaDupa Pro MSDPL46C carbon fiber monopod, which lists at a much more expensive $209 / £209. This kit doesn’t include a 3-leg base but does come complete with a leveling head that’s useful for panning when shooting video or stills.

Benro A48FD Monopod: Design & Handling

The full title of this monopod is the Benro A48FD Series 4 Aluminum Monopod with 3-Leg Locking Base, which pretty much gives the game away and doesn’t leave much to the imagination. Even so, it’s imaginatively designed to be genuinely supportive for both videography and stills photography. It’s a bit like the best bits of a monopod and tripod all wrapped up into one convenient package, able to stand on its own three feet while giving a helping hand to panning and tilting, so you can go steady while tracking the action.

Let me start by saying what this monopod is not… It’s not carbon fiber. Even so, it has a high-quality aluminum build. It’s just that it’s also nearly twice the weight of the carbon fiber Benro MSD46CB Black Diamond SupaDupa Monopod that I mentioned earlier, although that monopod doesn’t include a 3-leg base. Either way, the aluminum model isn’t exactly heavy, at a very manageable 1.07kg / 2.36lb, and that’s with the 3-leg base fitted.

There are four leg sections in all, enabling the monopod to rise up from a fairly compact 56cm / 22in folded length (or minimum height) to a maximum operating height of 164cm / 64.6in. Sure, it’s not the tallest monopod in the world, but I’m 6ft 5in and found that it was tall enough for me to use comfortably without stooping. Naturally, if you add a monopod/tripod head of your choosing, you’ll gain an extra few inches in maximum height. More on that later.

Each of those four leg sections is pretty beefy, with diameters of 36.2, 32.4, 28.6, and 25.2mm, as measured from fattest at the top to the thinnest at the bottom. The four sections come complete with three flip locks, again differing from the SupaDupa design, which mostly employs twist locks with just one flip lock at the top. I’m fine with flip locks throughout, especially as they work with smooth but solid efficiency.

I’ll come to that 3-leg stand in a moment, but let’s start at the top and work our way downwards. The circular platform for mounting a camera or head has a sizeable diameter of 56cm / 22in. Given the monopod’s aspirations towards videography and panning for stills, I’m pleased that there are no less than three grub screws featured in the platform to securely lock a head in place if you fit one. I just hate it when a head starts unwantedly unscrewing when I’m panning in a counter-clockwise direction.

Another neat thing about the platform is that it features a reversible screw, so you can use it for mounting cameras or heads with either a standard 1/4in or 3/8in thread. A spanner is provided along with some other tools for removing, inverting, and securely refitting the mounting screw in either orientation. While that’s in process, you can also remove the platform for securing or releasing the grub screws, and detach the wrist strap on its circular metal collar if you’d rather not use it.

A plus point of aluminum compared with carbon fiber is that it’s not prone to shattering if it gets a sharp knock (accidentally, of course). A minus point is that it feels relatively cold to the touch, which can be an issue in chilly weather if you’re not wearing gloves. With that in mind, there’s a generous length of comfort padding applied to the top tube, and very comfy it feels too, being not too firm and not too squishy.

Enough beating around the bush. Let’s get onto that 3-leg stand, which is indeed a pretty standout feature of the kit. The complete assembly fixes to the bottom of the monopod in the same way that you’d attach a regular foot pad or spike, via a single threaded socket. However, each of the legs within the assembly is mounted on its own separate hinge. You can therefore rotate each of the legs down from their folded-up position, so that they stick out laterally, ready for action. They lock in place automatically when you reach full extension, thanks to the inclusion of spring-loaded pins. The head of each of the three incumbent pins has the word ‘Push’ engraved in the top, and, sure enough, you simply push them in to unlock each leg and fold it up again.

The fact that the legs fold upwards means they don’t add anything to the stowage length of the monopod, unless you extend the bottom section to enable them to fold flush with the tube, rather than over the flip locks.

A smart feature of the 3-leg assembly is that it has a ball and socket joint at the top. An anodized red twist clamp enables you to lock or release the joint. When locked, it keeps the monopod standing upright, or at your preferred angle to the vertical. When unlocked, the ball joint enables tilt and panning for shooting stills or video. There’s a full 360 degrees of panning on offer, but the tilt range is relatively limited.

Although the 3-leg base is a major feature of the kit, there are times when it’s more convenient to ditch it altogether and use the monopod in time-honored fashion, with just a single foot. With that in mind, you can simply unscrew the 3-leg base and detach it altogether, stowing it away for safekeeping.

For regular monopod duty without the 3-leg foot in tow, the kit comes complete with a regular and impressively chunky pointed rubber pad. It simply screws into the bottom of the monopod in place of the 3-leg base. A metal spike is available to buy as an optional extra if you’d prefer that for working on loose ground.

For making adjustments to any of the flip locks, removing and refitting the platform, and for other running repairs or alterations, the monopod is supplied with a spanner and three hex keys of different sizes. There’s also a clip that you can attach to the top tube, for holding the largest of the hex keys and for tethering a cable that’s running down from your mounted camera.

I’ve seen plenty of expensive, luxury tripods and monopods from certain manufacturers that are supplied without a carrying bag (stand up and be counted, Manfrotto). I’m impressed that despite the cut-price tag on this Benro monopod, it’s nevertheless supplied with a high-quality soft case, complete with an adjustable shoulder strap and an inner zippered pocket for stashing the set of tools.

Benro A48FD Monopod: Performance

The Benro monopod is short enough for me to use on my hands and knees, if I feel the need. That also means it’s not too big or heavy to carry around easily. That’s a big performance factor in my book, as unwieldy kit is likely to be left at home when I’m out and about, where it’s of no use whatsoever.

For more practical purposes in general shooting, the Benro extends to a fairly generous height so that I can use it without stooping, and I’m a pretty tall guy (well, tall if not pretty). Maximum extension is a stern test for any monopod or tripod, because it makes use of the thinnest legs and all of the joints, each of which is a potential point of weakness. I’m pleased that the Benro feels really rigid and resistant to unwanted flexing and vibrations, even at its maximum operating height.

Last but not least in the performance stakes, given the hybrid video/stills nature of the monopod, is its ability to enable tilting and panning. I’d say that the system works, but that it’s good rather than entirely great. I found the range of tilt to be a little limiting, and panning was prone to catching occasionally, rather than having a fluid and free-flowing action. The remedy for both of these niggles comes in the shape of a pan and tilt head, which you can buy separately and fit to the monopod.

I’d heartily recommend the Benro FS20PRO Hybrid Video & Foto Head, which I actually bought for use with this and other monopods and tripods, and it’s been serving me thoroughly well. It’s a ball head that also includes independent tilt and panning locks with a nice fluid action. There’s even a secondary panning mechanism up on top, which is especially useful for rotating the Arca-Swiss top clamp to suit either a long lens with a tripod mounting collar, or a camera with an L-bracket or cage.

Benro A48FD Monopod: Verdict

I really like that the Benro A48FD Series 4 Aluminum Monopod with 3-Leg Locking Base amply caters to my every whim. Sometimes I want the extra stability and secure footing of a 3-leg base. Other times, I prefer the slimline and unrestricted placement of a single foot. The Benro does both, thanks to the inclusion of a 3-leg base and an alternative chunky rubber foot, which are quickly and easily swappable.

In other respects, the Benro continues to impress, with solid and sturdy performance, fast and simple adjustments, and a good range of operating heights enabled by its chunky 4-section design. Sure, it lacks the luxury of a carbon fiber monopod, but this aluminum stick is cleverly designed, smartly finished, and works a treat. All in all, it’s great for shooting both video and stills, and it’s an absolute steal at the price.

Alternatives

It’s been two and a half years since I reviewed the original 3 Legged Thing AirHed Cine, and I was very impressed at the time. It was everything I’d come to expect from the company behind it – an innovative design that packs an array of useful features, with excellent build quality and an impeccable finish.

Enough said? Well, while I’ve been steadily adding to my personal collection of 3 Legged Thing photo and video equipment over the years, the new and improved AirHed Cine CC is destined for a place on my shopping list, with its ability to turn pretty much any set of legs into one of the best video tripods. It certainly looks and feels right at home on my prized 3 Legged Thing Winston 2.0 sturdy carbon tripod.

3 Legged Thing AirHed Cine CC: Specifications

3 Legged Thing AirHed Cine CC: Price

Specialist video heads are often big, heavy, unwieldy, and very expensive to buy. The 3 Legged Thing AirHed Cine CC is ideal in my books (and those of my accountant), in that it’s relatively compact, lightweight, and reasonably priced, at $249 / £229 / AU$799. Considering the feature set and quality of construction, it’s a bit of a bargain.

3 Legged Thing AirHed Cine CC: Design & Handling

I didn’t find much of anything wrong with the original version of the 3 Legged Thing AirHed Cine fluid, video head, but the updated ‘CC’ adds some neat new tricks. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though, and start with the basics. The head is designed primarily with videography in mind, but it works just fine for shooting stills as well, especially if panning is the name of the game for tracking sports or wildlife subjects. It’s also a good fit for a large spotting scope.

A key feature of any video head is that it enables smooth pan and tilt movements, and, just like the original, the CC has a lovely fluid feel to it, based on a quality design and spring-loaded counterbalance mechanism. That said, the counterbalance is not adjustable to accommodate different sizes and weights of camera, but the omission is what I’d expect from a relatively compact, lightweight, and affordable video head, such as this one.

Crucial to panning and tilting is the panning handle itself, as your primary point of physical contact with the head. The handle is completely revamped in the new version, the main difference being that it has a retractable design. Not only does it enable you to choose the length that feels most comfortable and natural in use, but it also makes it less likely that you’ll need to remove it and stash it separately when stowing the head. The images above and below show the panning handle in its retracted and fully extended states.

True to type, the panning handle is mounted on splines, which enable a wide range of rotational adjustment as well as ensuring a secure fitment that avoids any slippage or wobbling. The arm release knob can be pulled out and rotated on a six-sided head to ensure it doesn’t stick out in the wrong direction and get in the way when fastened.

Also, as I’d hope for in a video head, the panning handle can be attached to the left or right side, catering not only to left-handed and right-handed users but also to individual preference. Some right-handers will prefer to use the panning handle with their left hand, to leave their right hand free for operating the mounted camera.

At the center of the left side of the head is the main tilt-action lock and release knob. It operates with smooth simplicity and can lock off the tilt very securely for fixed position shooting. Only minimal turning is required to lock or release the head’s tilt mechanism. A generous 165 degrees of tilt is on offer, from 90 degrees forward to 75 degrees backward.

Above and to the front of the tilt knob on the side of the head is a mounting socket with a standard 1/4-inch thread. You can use this to attach accessories like a microphone, LED lamp, or video monitor. 3 Legged Thing offers two sizes of optional ‘Pivot Magic Arms’ for the task.

Down at the bottom of the left-hand side is the panning lock/release knob. Like the release knob for the panning handle, this one is spring-loaded and sits on a six-sided head, so you can pull it out and rotate it to your preferred position. Loosening the lever enables a full 360-degree panning rotation. To help keep tabs on movement, there’s a 360-degree scale on the base, numbered in 15-degree intervals and marked with lines at smaller 2.5-degree increments.

To help with leveling your tripod legs, which in turn helps to ensure that everything stays on the level when you’re panning, there’s a bubble level built into the lower section of the head. A secondary bubble level is fitted to the main clamp at the top, for assistance with leveling the tilt mechanism.

Another upgrade over the original version of the head is that the clamp up on top can be removed by undoing four hex screws, and rotated laterally through 90-degree intervals. The bonus here is that you can change the orientation of the QR plate from running front-to-back to side-to-side. This can be a big advantage if you’re using a camera with an L-bracket or a cage.

The Arca-Swiss compatible quick-release plate is also redesigned. For starters, it’s longer at 100mm instead of 90mm, giving more scope for centering the weight of your camera on the head. It also features a sliding camera screw sled and spring-loaded locator pin, plus a cable management hook at the front. The QR plate also adds compatibility for 3 Legged Thing’s growing range of ‘Xpand’ accessories, cheese plates, and risers, and features multiple 1/4-inch and 3/8-inch threaded screw holes.

The images above and below show the top and bottom of the ‘XP 100 Ultra Plate’, 3 Legged Thing’s redesigned Arca-Swiss compatible quick-release plate that’s supplied with the head.

Last but not least, the head is supplied complete with 3 Legged Thing’s handy ‘Toolz’ multi-tool, which features hex keys, a flat-blade coin key, a keyring clip, and a carabiner for attaching it to whatever you see fit. It even works as a bottle opener if things get really tough.

3 Legged Thing AirHed Cine CC: Performance

I’m impressed that despite having a compact size and weighing in at just 690g / 1.5lb, the AirHed Cine CC has a beefy maximum payload rating of 10kg / 22lb. As I’ve mentioned, it doesn’t feature an adjustable counterbalance system, but I found it worked well with everything from small, lightweight cameras to big, hefty outfits comprising large camera bodies with super-telephoto lenses.

Any video head lives or dies by the smoothness of its pan and tilt mechanisms, and the AirHed Cine CC has a really nice fluid feel to it. The new extending panning handle is a joy to use, and all the controls feel smooth, precise, and intuitive. Suffice it to say, you can devote your entire attention to shooting rather than wrestling with the head to get what you want out of it.

It can be a bit tricky to level the legs of your tripod, which can be essential to ensure your camera stays on the level during panning. One elegant solution is to add a 3 Legged Thing LevelHed Levelling Base into the mix, but it’s pretty pricey at an additional $140 / £130 / AU$259. Something I’ve seen in some video and hybrid heads, like the Benro FS20PRO Video & Foto Head, is a secondary panning plate on top of the head, which enables you to just level the head for panning rather than the legs or a leveling base as well, but this is omitted in the AirHed Cine CC.

3 Legged Thing AirHed Cine CC: Verdict

The 3 Legged Thing AirHed Cine CC is a great fit for me and my gear. It’s conveniently compact and lightweight, so I can stash it away in my photo backpack and grab it whenever I need to swap from shooting stills to video. It actually works really well as a pan-and-tilt head for shooting stills in addition to video, especially if you add in an L-bracket for portrait orientation shots. The laterally rotatable clamp makes the new CC version of the head all the more ideal for this, as you can use the QR plate or slot in an Arca-Swiss compatible L-bracket running sideways instead of just front-to-back.

I also like the redesigned, retractable panning handle, as it enables me to select the length that I want to use, as well as saving on storage space without feeling the need to remove the handle every time I pack the head away. The tricked-up replacement ‘XP 100 Ultra Plate’ is yet another improvement, and I like the way that I don’t even have to use the QR plate at all if I’m shooting with big, heavy telephoto lenses that have an Arca-Swiss profile mounting foot in their tripod mounting collars. All in all, the ‘CC’ is a worthy upgrade over the original. With its clever design, rich feature list, excellent build quality, and stylish finish, this one’s a keeper.

Alternatives

UGREEN is becoming quite the force in the world of NAS drives. Now boasting two series of drives, the entry-level, budget-friendly, personal cloud DH series and the high-performance, prosumer DXP series, UGREEN offers a wide range of products to suit most types of users.

The UGREEN NASync DH2300 belongs in the DH series and is a super compact two-bay NAS that functions as a private cloud. This makes it a particularly attractive alternative to paying for monthly Google One or iCloud subscriptions.

It's also a fantastic entry-level NAS for photographers who want a cheap backup solution and the ability to quickly dump large shoots via high-speed USB-A and USB-C ports. Unfortunately, there's no built-in SD card slot though.

Its reliance on a standard Gigabit network port also means it's never going to be the ideal solution for streaming raw, multi-gigabyte image files directly off the server in real-time.

Its biggest strength for photographers and families alike is its intelligent built-in photo management app. Backed by a dedicated AI smart chip, the system automatically scans your catalog to recognize faces, objects, and scenes. Because all of this processing happens locally inside the box, your family photos and professional shoots are never uploaded to a corporate web server, which helps to guarantee privacy.

UGREEN NASync DH2300: Specifications

UGREEN NASync DH2300: Design & Handling

The UGREEN NASync DH2300 is a sleek, minimalist, and aesthetically pleasing unit. The design and color choices follow firmly in line with almost all other UGREEN devices, from power banks to chargers. The modern design sets it apart from many other NAS alternatives which are chunky, industrial, and purely functional.

In terms of materials, UGREEN has chosen a plastic chassis styled in a two-tone gray palette. There's no metal in sight, and you can tell that as soon as you pick it up. I'd count this as a positive in terms of weight but a negative in terms of robust build quality. It feels pretty cheap, but that's no surprise given the price.

The internal bay trays are hidden below the top removal 'hood' and are constructed of thin plastic, which meant I had to treat them with a lot of care when inserting the hard drives. If you weren't careful, then you could definitely snap something. The trays are able to house 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch drives, with the included screws providing stability.

Thermal management is built into the design with vent cutouts subtly integrated at the bottom of both the left and right sides, working alongside ventilation holes in the top panel and the base to maximize airflow and heat dissipation. I never experienced the unit getting too hot, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the design.

The front panel is kept pretty minimal with an on/off button, three light indicators, and a USB-C port. At the back there is an RJ45 port, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, and the DC power port. All in, it's a really nice design that's only let down by the budget materials.

UGREEN NASync DH2300: Performance

This is my first experience of using a UGREEN NAS drive, and having experienced a number of other brands, I think UGREEN has absolutely nailed the setup and software experience, especially when we're considering users who are unfamiliar with NAS.

I was able to get the NAS setup in less than ten minutes simply by plugging it into a power source, connecting it to my router, inserting my hard drive, and navigating through the easy-to-follow user guide.

I loved the ability to discover the NAS device through a variety of different methods. I opted to download the dedicated client via the UGREEN downloads page, and after a few simple procedures I was up and running quickly. My experience fills me with confidence that beginners to NAS technology will be absolutely fine.

The NAS can also be discovered via a browser or even with NFC detection on an NFC-enabled phone. UGREEN really has done a good job of making the NAS work with a variety of different devices and operating systems to make it a genuine alternative to existing familiar media backup solutions.

The DH2300 is powered by an 8-core Rockchip RK3576 processor and 4GB of LPDDR4X RAM, which makes it both snappy and efficient. It also features a Mali-G52 GPU and dedicated 6 TOPS NPU which comes into its own when transcoding for H.264, H.265, and AV1, alongside smooth 4K output via HDMI 2.1.

We all care about transfer speeds, and the DH2300 maxes out its single 1 GbE network port, delivering consistent real-world transfer speeds of roughly 110 MB/s to 115 MB/s for sequential reads and writes. These speeds are okay for backup and retrieval, but I wouldn't rely on it to stream footage for video editing, especially if it's 4K in size. For that you'll want a device that can deliver around 300 MB/s to 400 MB/s.

The UGREEN NASync DH2300 features a native Photos app that uses a built-in NPU for local AI-driven image processing. As a result, users can take advantage of facial recognition, object detection, and OCR text extraction tools. It also includes an intelligent cleanup tool for identifying duplicate or blurry photos to optimize storage.

During operation, the NAS is incredibly quiet, so you'll hardly notice it's there. You could even put it in a space you use regularly, and it'll blend into the background. It also draws just 10 to 15 watts of power, which means it's economical to run too.

UGREEN NASync DH2300: Final Verdict

The UGREEN NASync DH2300 is a superb, budget-friendly entry-level NAS that serves as an excellent private cloud alternative to costly subscriptions. It features a sleek design and an incredibly easy setup process that takes less than ten minutes via app, browser, or NFC.

Its biggest strength for families and photographers is its local, AI-driven photo management app, which automatically sorts images while keeping your data entirely secure and private at home.

Unfortunately, its low price point comes with notable hardware compromises. The lightweight plastic chassis and internal trays feel cheap, and performance is bottlenecked by a standard 1GbE port that limits transfer speeds to around 115 MB/s. This makes it too slow for serious, real-time 4K video editing.

Lacking support for M.2 NVMe drives, Docker, and virtual machines, this NAS also offers very limited scalability, meaning power users and tech enthusiasts should look elsewhere.

There has been some fun World Cup 2026 merch to accompany the soccer tournament, from the brilliant Lego World Cup Trophy to the Ilford film featuring analog photos from ExpiredFilmClub.

However, this might be the neatest World Cup gear I've seen so far: SanDisk has launched a range of FIFA-themed memory devices, including these USB flash drives that look like referee whistles.

They come in four regular flavors, one for each host nation of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and a generic "Global" version. It has to be said that Mexico's looks the best, with its stunning logo design, with Canada's stylized maple leaf and the USA's swirling stars and stripes also looking the business.

However, the coolest is a special Gold Edition that comes in a shiny gold finish worthy of a World Cup champion.

All four "whistles" (which sadly do not function as such) also come with a stylized SanDisk / FIFA ribbon, so you can live out your dreams of handing out red cards to those who have wronged you… and, of course, know that you've always got some memory with you by hanging it around your neck.

The USA, Canada and Gold drives are only available in 128GB capacities, while the Mexico and Global editions are also available in 64GB options. Each drive is preloaded with the SanDisk Memory Zone mobile app (for Android phones and tablets) and desktop app (for MacOS and Windows).

The 64GB drives are priced at $25.99 / £26.99, with the 128GB versions at $34.99 / £37.99, and the Gold Edition available for $37.99 / £46.99 (availability on the Gold Edition seems to vary by region and retailer). Each drive also comes with a collectible World Cup 2026 sticker.

Note that the actual sale prices are pretty variable (the Gold Edition is just £41.99 at Argos in the UK) and the SRPs / RRPs are way higher – the Gold Edition is listed at $87.99 on the SanDisk US website!

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Check out the best cameras for sports photography and the best lenses for sports photography.

Keychain cameras like the Kodak Charmera have gone viral – but that’s not the only photo gear shrinking down to fit on a key ring. Joby, the same brand behind the flexible GorillaPod, has launched a mini tripod that clips onto a belt loop or a bag that weighs just 106g / 3.7 oz.

The Joby HandyPod Clip Extend is a mini tripod built for smartphones, compact cameras, and action cameras. While the compact tripod itself is only around six inches, the built-in extending selfie stick can also be used to extend the tabletop tripod to a height of 33.5 cm / 13.19 inches.

One of the tripod’s legs has a built-in carabiner, allowing creators to clip the tripod to a belt loop or backpack. The mini tripod’s folded length under 16mm / 6.5 inches makes it larger than a keychain camera, but still fairly portable for a tripod.

I can see the new mini tripod attracting creators on the go who want to pack light. The carabiner will also allow the tripod to be attached to lanyards or camera straps.

The HandyPod Clip Extend uses a standard 1/4-inch tripod thread, allowing it to accommodate a variety of different types of cameras. Those cameras should be under 1 kg / 2.2 lbs, but that still allows the tripod to support smartphones, compact cameras, action cameras, and even some lighter travel mirrorless cameras with lightweight lenses.

True to Joby’s roots, the tripod isn’t meant to spend its life on a tabletop. The legs have clips that allow the camera to enter what the company calls “mantis mode” and cling on to the side of railings and chain link fences.

A ball head allows creators to further adjust the camera’s angle, including supporting both horizontal and vertical positions.

The tripod also has an integrated cold shoe to add a light, mic, or another accessory.

The tripod also doubles as a selfie stick and handheld grip.

Last year, Videndum – the same brand that owns Manfrotto and Lowepro – sold the Joby brand to the Chinese manufacturer Vijim. At the time, Videndum said the move would help them narrow their focus on more pro-oriented gear.

Since then, Joby, who is still based in California, has continued to launch portable camera accessories. The June 09 launch of the HandyPod Clip Extend follows a GripTight Cold Shoe mount that allows smartphones to be held from a shoe mount, also announced in June.

The new launch isn’t Joby’s first tripod with a carabiner, but the June 2026 launch takes on a different design and adds an extension selfie stick compared to earlier options like the HandyPod Clip and HandyPod Clip Action.

The Joby HandyPod Clip Extend sells for about $35 / £31 / AU$58 / CA$57. Some retailers have already opened orders, including B&H in the US and Joby's online store.

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Godox has revealed an affordable new compact flashgun compatible with a variety of camera brands and models. The iM30Pro Mini Flash measures just 62 x 64 x 48mm (2.5 x 2.4 x 1.9") and weighs only 121g, making it suitable for almost any size kit bag. Thanks to its simple single-contact hot shoe design and standard PC sync port for triggering, the iM30Pro will work with a huge range of cameras, including classic film models. A built-in photocell also allows the flash to be triggered remotely for off-camera use.

Read more: the best flashguns for your camera

Despite its basic connection format, the flash still features an automatic mode: simply set the camera’s aperture and sensitivity, then the flash automatically calculates the correct exposure. Alternatively, a manual mode allows flash power adjustment down to 1/128 in 1/3-stop increments.

Unlike many budget flashguns that are powered by AA batteries, the iM30Pro packs a built-in 7.4V, 700mAh rechargeable lithium battery. It's capable of up to 550 full power flashes per charge, with a recycle time of just 1.5 seconds at full GN15 flash power. Battery charge level is displayed on a small color display on the rear of the flash, and this display also makes it easy to adjust flash settings.

Though it appears to be a fixed, forward-facing flash design, the iM30Pro is actually capable of firing vertically to bounce flash. The small flash head can be tilted upward, with a choice of four angles - 45, 60, 75, and 90 degrees - enabling various creative lighting possibilities. There’s even a pack of optional magnetic color gels and modifiers available separately which can be attached to the flash head to create additional special lighting effects.

The Godox iM30Pro is available to pre-order now from B&H, priced at $44.90. It is said to be compatible with select Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, Olympus, and Sony cameras.

Benro is renowned for offering solid support to photographers and videographers. The Chinese manufacturer has been going for 30 years and counting, creating a diverse range of products. I’ve been impressed by many and varied bits of Benro kit, including the Benro Cyanbird Carbon FS30 travel tripod kit, Benro SupaDupa Pro MSDPL46C monopod, Benro FS20PRO Video & Foto Head, Benro GH5C gimbal head, and the Benro QRB95DUAL Quick Rotation Lens Bracket, to name but a few.

The Benro A572LLKH Lightning Lock Aluminum Video Tripod Kit that I’m reviewing this time around is from a new series of video tripods, their main claim to fame being the ‘lightning lock’ leg system. As its name suggests, the design aims to be super-fast for setting up the tripod and packing it away again after a take. Available in both aluminum and carbon fiber versions and with different heads, it aims to be one of the best video tripod kits on the market. I put the aluminum kit with the KH fluid head to the test.

Benro A572LLKH Lightning Lock: Specifications

Benro A572LLKH Lightning Lock: Price

The current range of Lightning Lock-series legs and complete kits starts at a very competitive price and stays very reasonable through to the top end. Kicking off the selection is the set of aluminum legs on their own, priced at $175 / £220. Adding the KH fluid head for a complete kit brings the price up to $280 / £330. The carbon fiber legs on their own are slightly pricier than the complete aluminum kit, priced at $300 / £340, while the range-topping carbon kit with head sells for $380 / £450. Even that’s very affordable for a pro-grade video tripod.

Benro A572LLKH Lightning Lock: Design & Handling

Following something of a time-honored tradition for video tripods, the legs are constructed from twin-tube sections. The idea is to maximize the overall stability while reducing the risk of tortional flexing and twisting while you’re panning. As such, the top and middle sections of the 3-section legs have double tubes, and the bottom section has the usual single tube.

When folded out, the legs have the usual look of five tubes in a row. At least, that’s how things look when the tripod is set to its minimum height. As you extend the legs for loftier operation, the top two sections extend in pairs of tubes, and the single bottom tube of each leg also extends.

Another bit of video tradition is that the Benro features a spreader between the legs. Again, this is to enhance stability and to make sure that the legs stay evenly and securely positioned while the tripod is in use. The spreader is typically hinged so that it folds out automatically as you pull the legs out from their folded position. As such, the tripod doesn’t feature alternative locking leg angles for operational use, and clips are included for holding the legs together when the tripod is folded down.

Getting on to the hotter news about extending and contracting the legs to alter the height, the tripod features Benro’s new ‘lightning locks’. I’m a fan, liking that each leg has just a single lock/release lever for height adjustment, making them very quick and easy to adjust. You simply pull each lever outwards from the leg to release all three sections, make the necessary height adjustment, then push it back in again. As well as speeding up the process of height adjustments, the system also makes it easier to level the legs.

While the lightning locks enable quick and broadly accurate leveling, you still need the platform that supports the head to be perfectly leveled if panning is on the cards. That’s so that the horizon doesn’t start to tip over at an angle during panning. As such, the tripod features a 60mm leveling bowl and a simple lock/release knob underneath the main platform. Again, it’s a quick and easy system to use, as you just have to loosen the knob, make the leveling adjustment, then tighten it back up to lock the platform in place.

As an aid to leveling, there’s a bubble level on the platform, and I’m pleased that it’s comparatively large and easy to see, unlike the tiny bubble levels of some tripods. Naturally, most cameras these days feature an artificial horizon that can be more accurate than using a bubble level, but every little helps.

I’ve found that some video heads have a panning action that’s a little too loose for my liking, whereas others feel a bit tight and stiff. A neat feature of the Benro is that, as well as the pan lock/release knob, there’s an adjustable fluid drag control. This has a twist action that enables you to set just the right amount of fluid drag that you’re most comfortable with, for the job at hand.

The tilt mechanism is relatively straightforward, with a simple lock/release knob. This gives some control over the amount of drag for front-to-back tilting, but not so much as with the panning adjuster. As I’d expect, there’s a spring-loaded counterbalance system but, again, this is quite a simple affair and the head doesn’t feature an adjustable counterbalance mechanism for tailoring it to different weights of camera.

To further enhance the feel of the tilt and panning action, the head features a generously long panning handle. It has the usual elbow that angles its shaft, and is mounted on splines that avoid any risk of slippage or wobbling. The grippy rubberized hand grip area of the panning handle is also comfortably large and feels good to the touch.

As is often the case with up-market video heads, a splined attachment bracket is featured on both the left and right sides of the head, to accommodate comfortable panning with either your left or right hand, respectively.

The clamp up on top is industry-standard 501 compatible and comes complete with a quick-release plate. The clamp has a rotary lock-release knob plus a security pushbutton at the rear, to avoid any nasty surprises with the plate sliding out accidentally.

The QR plate itself features a sliding mounting screw saddle for attaching your camera, cage, or lens with a tripod-mounting collar. There are also three spring-loaded security pins and a calibrated scale along both sides of the plate, for precision placement.

The tripod comes with large, rubber pads which give a firm and stable footing on hard flooring and ground. They’re removable, to reveal dual spikes as alternative footwear that’s more suitable for soft flooring and loose ground. It’s nice to have the choice, my only slight complaint being that I found the rubber retaining straps that hold the rubber feet in place to be quite stiff and fiddly for removal and replacement.

The image above shows one of the large rubber foot pads, whereas it has been removed for the image below, which shows the dual metal spikes.

Benro A572LLKH Lightning Lock: Performance

A key performance plus point is that the ‘lightning locks’ live up to their billing and enable super-quick setup of the tripod. That can be a massive bonus if you need to react quickly to an unfolding storyline at weddings and other events, and for shooting sports or wildlife. The bowl mechanism in the head is similarly speedy for quick and accurate leveling, so you’re ready to roll in no time at all.

There’s a fairly decent height range on offer, from a minimum operating height of 75cm / 29.5 inches, up to a maximum of 151cm / 59.5 inches. That should suffice for most scenarios, but won’t cover you for ultra-low-level shooting or for getting an overview with a really tall perspective.

Stability and rigidity are impressive, and the tripod is very resistant to flexing and vibrations when panning and tilting. Pan and tilt themselves operate with the requisite fluidity for videography, and I’m very happy with the adjustable fluid drag control for panning. The lack of an adjustable counterbalance system can be less rewarding, especially if you’re using hefty camera and lens combinations. The maximum payload rating of the kit is 6.8kg / 15lb, which again should suffice for most needs but isn’t overly generous. There’s also no threaded socket for attaching accessories like an LED lamp, microphone, or monitor screen via a magic arm.

Ultimately, the Benro won’t win any prizes for its range of height adjustment or maximum load-bearing capability, but performance is very pleasing within the design parameters. It’s a quick and easy video tripod to use, without being too big, heavy, and cumbersome.

Benro A572LLKH Lightning Lock: Verdict

There’s a lot to like in the Benro A572LLKH Lightning Lock Aluminum Video Tripod Kit. Living up to its billing, the new ‘lightning lock’ system enables super-fast height adjustments and leveling of the legs, while the 60mm bowl mechanism in the head allows for ultra-precise leveling adjustments. As well as being quick and easy to set up, the tripod operates with smooth efficiency and features an adjustable fluid drag mechanism for panning. That’s backed up by good resistance to unwanted flexing and vibrations.

The maximum load rating isn’t overly generous, there’s no adjustable counterbalance system, and the feet require a bit of effort to swap them between rubber pads and dual metal spikes. Even so, the Benro is simple to use, highly effective in most shooting scenarios, and very good value for money.

Alternatives

Flash photography has never really been a major part of my photographic career. Like many photographers, I have used flash when I absolutely needed to, usually in poorly lit rooms, dark venues, or situations where the available light simply was not doing enough. It was always more of a practical necessity than a creative choice.

But over the years, as camera technology improved, I slowly put the flash down. Modern cameras have become so good in low light, with incredible ISO performance, better sensors, and cleaner files, that flash started to feel less essential. Why carry another piece of kit when you can simply raise the ISO, open the aperture, and let the camera do the work?

That was my thinking for a long time, until recently, when I picked up a cheap camera flash for my Leica (a Zeniko ZA-12S, costing $40 / £48) and decided to take it out for a walk. There was no big plan, no technical experiment, and certainly no grand creative project behind it. I simply wanted to see what would happen if I added flash back into my photography, not in a studio or a dark interior, but out in the real world during daylight hours.

While exploring my local area, I stumbled upon a church and started taking photographs. Then I fired the flash. Suddenly, the images had something different. There was a punch, a lift, and a sense of separation that I was not expecting. The light gave the scene a different character, almost as if it had woken up certain parts of the image that would otherwise have sat quietly in the shadows.

What surprised me most was not that the flash worked, but that it made photography feel fun in a slightly different way. It forced me to think again. Instead of only reacting to the natural light, I was adding something to it. I was shaping the image in a small but deliberate way, and that changed how I approached the scene in front of me.

This is where I now see the real appeal of using a camera flash as a fill light during daylight hours. It is not about blasting a subject with artificial light or making an image look obviously flashed. Used carefully, flash can simply lift the shadows, add a little sparkle, and create a more balanced photograph. It can bring out detail in a face, a doorway, a stone wall, or a subject standing against a strong backlight.

For years, I thought of flash as something you reached for when the light was bad. Now I am beginning to see it as something you can use when the light is good, but it needs a little help. That is a very different way of thinking, and it has made me look at a familiar piece of kit in a new way.

There is also something wonderfully freeing about using a simple, inexpensive flash. It does not need to be complicated. You do not need a full lighting setup, stands, modifiers, or a studio bag full of accessories. Sometimes, one small flash on top of the camera is enough to completely change how you approach a walk around town.

Of course, this is not going to replace my love of natural light, and I am certainly not about to turn every photograph into a flash-heavy experiment. But it has reminded me that photography should be playful. It should involve trying things, making mistakes, and occasionally rediscovering tools you thought you had left behind.

For me, adding a flash back into my camera bag has been one of those small creative jolts that makes photography feel exciting again. It has made me slow down, experiment, and look for ways to add light rather than simply chase it. And, perhaps most importantly, it has reminded me that sometimes the cheapest bit of kit can have the biggest impact on how you see the world.

Check out our guide to the best camera flashguns

As a portrait photographer, I think the bigger the light source is, the better. The problem is that large light sources are, well, large – and getting them on site can be problematic. The latest lights from Godox, however, use inflatable heads to create a travel-friendly, versatile light source.

The Godox LC500R Air takes inspiration from the existing LC500R and swaps out the solid head with an inflatable one, making the constant LED light wand around 30 percent lighter than the solid model at about 532g / 1.17 lbs.

The light-saber-like wand, however, also launches alongside the LR150 Air inflatable ring light for flattering portraits and circular catchlights. The two lights are modular, allowing the handles to swap out different inflatable heads and accessories.

The light’s power rests in the handle, where a built-in battery offers over 90 minutes of run time at full power for both lights. The wand light is capable of 2,660 lux, which Godox says is 3x brighter than similar lights in this category. The ring light, meanwhile, can send out up to 1,760 lux.

That light can be adjusted through the control panel on the handle or through a smartphone app. Along with being handheld, the light also has a tripod thread mount and a magnetic mount.

The Godox LC500R Air comes with the inflatable wand head, while the LR150 Air ships with the inflatable ring head. Additional diffusers and grids for the wand, as well as an optional MagSafe mount, are sold separately.

The LC500R Air retails for $99, with the ring light LR150 Air sitting slightly higher at $109. International pricing has not yet been announced, but that converts to about £74 / AU$141 / CA$138 and £81 / AU$155 / CA$152. Pre-orders have opened at some retailers, including B&H and Adorama in the US.

That puts the inflatable series not only lighter than the earlier model with a solid head, but more affordable as well. The earlier LC500R remains the more powerful option, however, rated at 5800 Lux.

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LaCie's iconic bright orange Rugged portable hard drives have been searing our retinas since 2005, but it's recently been revealed by Global Distribution that two models in the Rugged range are going to be discontinued. You might assume these would be the oldest or slowest models in the line-up, but they're actually some of the newest and fastest drives: the Rugged SSD4, and Rugged SSD Pro5.

The Rugged SSD4 is/was available in 1TB, 2TB and 4TB capacities, each operating through a super-fast 40 Gbps USB4 interface, enabling transfer speeds of up to 4000MB/s read and 3800MB/s write. That's impressively quick, but the Rugged SSD Pro5 was even more rapid. It used a bleeding-edge 80 Gbps Thunderbolt 5 connection, allowing the drive to achieve an incredible 6700MB/s read speed and 5300MB/s write rate.

Both the Rugged SSD4 and Rugged SSD Pro5 were only launched last year, making it especially surprising that they should be discontinued after such a short production run. And the reason for this early demise? Why, it's ongoing lack of NAND flash memory, of course. Since the start of the year we've seen countless news stories of SSD and memory card price hikes due to the global shortage of flash memory. It seems that within this sector the fastest memory has seen the most dramatic price increases; the very memory that’s needed to construct portable SSDs like the Rugged SSD4 and Pro5.

When our sister website Toms Hardware reviewed the Rugged SSD Pro5 in February 2025, the 2TB version was priced at $400, and the 4TB $600. Right now at B&H the latter will set you back a cool $1600, equating to a 167% price increase in less than 18 months (the 2TB version is already listed as discontinued). It's unclear whether LaCie chose to discontinue these SSDs because it was no longer able to physically source the necessary flash memory to manufacture the drives. I’d speculate that the components are still available, but are now so expensive to source that the end product is no longer economically viable to market.

As for why flash memory is in such short supply and now commanding crazy prices; we can thank unstoppable rise of AI. AI data processing centers devour high-bandwidth memory and fast SSD storage, causing AI companies to buy up huge stocks of solid state memory. This in turn is having a knock-on effect in other sectors that require DRAM and NAND flash memory, such as the memory card and portable storage industries. SSD manufacturers like LaCie (and its parent company, Seagate) have to fight for the remaining memory stock after the AI tech giants like Google, Meta, Nvidia and Open AI have paid top dollar to fuel their data centers. And when demand is high, prices go up, resulting in the unsustainably high prices we're seeing for the fastest and highest capacity portable SSDs.

With its butter-soft leather and tasteful gold hardware accents, you would be forgiven for thinking that the Voygr 1 Camera Bag was merely a stylish messenger bag. Happily, this is exactly what the team behind Voygr designed the bag for. There is no unnecessary bulk or drab technical fabric here – only premium materials and a sleek, compact profile.

As one of only a small handful of products by Voygr, this bag was created for photographers and creators who do a lot of traveling. Accordingly, I can absolutely see this as being excellent for the best cameras for street photography, especially with its low-profile design. As someone who loves a good city break, I would also rate it as one of the best camera bags for travel (as long as you’re someone who doesn’t need to carry a huge amount of kit).

Despite its elegant exterior, this bag is far from being all style and no substance. Inside is a Mary Poppins-esque array of artfully designed nooks and crannies that made me verbally note “oh, that’s useful” to myself multiple times. I’ve hoisted many a camera bag upon my shoulders in my time, but I fear the Voygr 1 may have spoiled me for the future. After all, if other camera bags don’t come with pebbled calf leather memory card holders, then I don’t think I want them.

Voygr 1: Specifications

Voygr 1: Price

The Voygr 1 Camera Bag is available for $281 / £179 / AU$395 with free shipping. This is on the more expensive side for camera messenger bags, but I would say that it’s a fair price when you consider the leather exterior and the suede interior.

When you compare it to the Billingham Eventer MKII bag (currently billed as the luxury option in our best camera bags guide), which retails for roughly $834 / £662 / AU$1,171, I think it’s practically a steal.

Voygr 1: Design & Handling

The Voygr 1 can hold one DSLR or mirrorless camera and two lenses. There are suede-covered inserts that can be adjusted to create smaller and larger pockets within the bag. As opposed to some other bags I’ve tested, the velcro holds really nicely and it takes a significant tug to take it away from the bag’s interior fabric. There are two small cupholder-like pockets on either end of the bag. These are a nice idea in theory, but when the bag is filled with kit, there isn’t really room to put anything substantial in there.

There is a front interior pocket that can fit an iPad Mini, but will not house a laptop or tablet larger than 10 inches. The rear interior pocket has three leather SD card holders and four more cupholder-like pockets that could house tripod plates, rolls of film, cables, and other various accoutrements. I would say that they run on the smaller size, so they are unable to fit in filters (especially those with larger circumferences). I would have personally preferred three slightly larger pockets than the smaller four. However, the rear pocket as a whole is more than big enough to store multiple filters if necessary – they just won’t have individual homes.

The rear exterior of the bag has a zipped compartment that contains four slots for bank cards or photo ID. It’s a relatively roomy pocket, but I would be hesitant to put too much into it for fear of stretching the leather. However, it would be perfect for holding a phone and passport.

The zip on the back pocket of the bag is smooth and uninterrupted. However, my one major quibble with this bag regards the zip for the main compartment. The end of the zip is tucked into the interior of the bag itself. This means that there is no clear ‘stop’ for the zip to come to when the bag is opened. When drawing the zip back and forth along the back, it noticeably sticks for the first couple of inches while being closed. Additionally, if the zip is tugged fully open, then the end of the zip needs to be untucked from the bag in order to close it. For me, this isn’t a dealbreaker. However, it is an irritation.

The leather strap is adjustable and features a shoulder rest. However, that rest doesn’t appear to contain any additional padding. There are also four studs on the bottom of the bag to protect the leather from being placed directly on the floor. These studs also help to easily keep the bag upright rather than tipping over.

One of my favorite features of the bag is the clip-on camera strap that can be attached to either the D-rings at each end of the bag, or to the spare adjustable clip on the shoulder strap. For me, this really highlights how perfect this bag is for travel and street photography. If you’re ever in a location where you want to keep a tight hold on your camera, you can attach it to your shoulder strap and take photos without worrying that it could be yanked from your hands mid-shot.

Voygr 1: Performance

Even without any kit inside the Voygr 1 camera bag, I immediately noticed that it felt relatively weighty in the hand. Considering the premium materials used, this isn’t a surprise. However, my perennial bugbear with all camera messenger bags is that it’s a lot of weight to put on one shoulder, especially if you use DSLRs. If this is something that you think might bother you, then you might be better off with something like the Bellroy Venture 10L Sling Camera Edition bag, which weighs almost 200 g (7 oz) less (although is also far less stylish!).

When the bag was fully loaded up, it felt a little boxy to carry. I walked with it for an hour, and found myself pretty aware of it the entire time. However, when carrying lighter kit that has a smaller profile, this is less of an issue.

With a DSLR and two lenses packed inside the Voygr 1, I will say that room inside the bag felt tight. Those additional pockets are great, but realistically, it’s tough to actually fit anything extra inside them. In fact, when I tried to add in a couple of filter holders, I started to struggle to be able to close the zip. I think that this is partially due to the material of the bag. If you take the aforementioned Bellroy Venture as a comparison, the external material has a level of give that the leather of the Voygr 1 bag just doesn’t.

On the leather, I would be remiss not to mention that the pebbled calf leather exterior isn’t going to be the most practical material when caught in a downpour. While it will typically handle a light shower of rain relatively well, repeatedly taking it out in inclement weather may result in damage to the leather (and to the camera kit inside). This is a shame when rain can provide some excellent street photography opportunities, but it’s also much of a muchness if you’re considering a leather camera bag in the first place! It would be nice if Voygr included a rain cover for their bags to ensure that users aren’t limited to shooting solely on non-rainy days.

Another material consideration is the bag’s zip. While the large-toothed zip looks great, I did find myself wincing as I pulled my camera in and out of the bag. More than once, my camera body scratched against the zip, which isn’t ideal. If you’re a little too laissez-faire with your lens cap like me, then this could be a recipe for a lens-scratch disaster.

Ultimately, while Voygr’s assertion that the bag can fit a DSLR and two lenses is correct, I think users will be more comfortable sticking to kit with a smaller profile.

Voygr 1: Verdict

The Voygr 1 Camera Bag is a beautifully crafted messenger bag that prioritizes good quality materials and plenty of thoughtfully designed pockets. The removable inserts mean that this is a bag that will live a lot of lives with me, rather than just being relegated to my closet whenever I’m not shooting.

During testing, I appreciated how discreet the Voygr 1 is. There was no way that the strangers I passed were able to tell that I was carrying camera kit worth thousands. Considering that some camera bags can feel like I’m hoisting a flashing advert crying “please rob me” onto my back, I was surprised at how calm I felt with the Voygr 1.

My only significant frustration revolved around the zip, which did tend to stick when fully open. This is a real shame, because it’s something that could have been resolved with a shorter end that didn’t need to be tucked into the bag. I would also caution users to be careful when lifting delicate glass in and out of the bag, as I could foresee issues with lenses potentially being scratched.

Alternatives

See our full guide to the best messenger bags for photographers

Lexar and AFA's new Elite Legend Series of storage devices, including Lexar Air Portable SSDs and

Serious pro photographers might be interested in the SL500 Portable SSD Elite Legends Series combines read speeds of up to 2000MB/s and write speeds of up to 1800MB/s

Looking for something lighter and prepared to compromise on the speed? Lexar also has you covered with the 512GB or 1TB Air series of the even more portable SSD, which transfers files over USB 3.2 at a slightly more sedate 400 MB/s.

Lexar has also taken the opportunity to launch a co-branded

The problem for me, of course, as an Englishman, is that I'm not especially fond of the so-called talents of the Argentina Number 10 from forty years hence as celebrated by this design.

It is, of course, the famous Diego Maradona and so far as I'm concerned his most famous goal was the "Hand of God" goal scored in the 1986 World Cup in which England ended up losing to Argentina 2-1.

Not unreasonably, the idea of a goal assisted in its path by the hand – somewhat obvious from the video replay – isn't really something which impressed my fellow countrymen (and in 1986 it was only 20 years since England had last won a World Cup, so it didn't even seem impossible at the time).

There are many photographers who might like this device, however.

Scottish football fans have long rejoiced in England's bad luck, for a start!

I once went through a phase where I needed a wagon to drag my photography props along on a shoot – but once I’ve tasted the freedom of a minimalist gear kit, it’s hard to go back. Camera bags are beginning to jump on the minimalist trend too, skipping the plethora of pockets for a sleek and streamlined look. The Peak Design Travel Backpack 20L is one of those bags.

The exterior of the Peak Design Travel Backpack is all clean lines and simplicity – and the 20L is even more so than the earlier 30L and 45L options. Inside, the bag is minimalist as well, meant to carry a mirrorless and a few small lenses with a medium (or Smedium) camera cube.

The bag’s minimalist design isn’t just about looks – there’s little to get caught on tucking the bag under a seat, and the bag’s size was perfect for my more petite frame. But there were two features that were a bit too minimal for me to make it my go-to camera bag.

Peak Design Travel Backpack 20L: Specs

Peak Design Travel Backpack 20L: Price

I tested the 20L version of the Peak Design Travel Backpack, but the company also has 30L and 45L variants of the bag, which are not only larger but have slightly different pockets and features.

The 20L backpack sells for about $200 / £170 / AU$390 / CA$280 for the bag on its own.

But, like Peak Designs' other backpacks, the system needs a camera cube to carry photo and video gear. The Smedium camera cube sells for about $70 / £60 / AU$150 / CA$95, and the Medium for about $100 / £85 / AU$190 / CA$140, which adds to the cost of the bag.

That’s certainly not cheap, but it does make it one of Peak Design’s more affordable backpacks.

Peak Design Travel Backpack 20L: Design

My first impression of the Peak Design Travel Backpack 20L is just how sleek and minimalist the bag is. The backpack has very few protrusions on the outside, creating a slim and streamlined look.

Those clean lines aren’t just for looks. With fewer pockets and protrusions, there’s not much of the bag sticking out to get caught while trying to tuck it under an airplane seat or in another compact spot.

The bag’s main compartment unzips from the back panel in a clamshell style opening. This makes the main compartment easy to access. The bag will fit a Smedium or medium camera cube here and still have a bit of extra packing space at the top of the bag.

Those camera cubes have a divider system that’s both rigid and smart. Some of the divers have a built-in shelf – this is key for making sure that small pancake lenses don’t have too much space to bounce around. Using a “shelf” I could tuck a pancake and a GoPro in the same small lens slot.

There’s an exterior zipper that expands the bag’s main compartment a bit – which is required in order to fit a camera cube inside.

On the flip side of the back opening, there’s a laptop sleeve, and an extra small pocket, the right size for a handful of batteries and filters. The laptop sleeve is roomy for such a compact bag, fitting a 16-inch MacBook Pro, but this does make the back panel rigid, so it doesn’t mold as well to my back and isn’t quite as comfortable.

There’s a small secondary zipper at the top of the bag. This pocket extends down through maybe a third of the bag’s height and can fit smaller items like a wallet, sunglasses, and keys.

At first glance, there’s no obvious water bottle pocket on the bag. But that’s because the bag uses a hidden interior water bottle pocket that keeps the bottle upright on the inside of the bag.

On the one hand, this hidden water bottle pocket is great because the traditional mesh stretchy side pockets often catch on things, like when sliding the bag underneath a seat.

But I found the hidden water bottle pocket too minimalist for two key reasons. One, the pocket only fits smaller bottles and won’t fit, say, a travel coffee mug with a handle on it or a Stanley-style cup with a straw. I also had to turn the camera cube to get a water bottle to fit.

But the bigger problem is that while the exterior fabric is waterproof, the interior lining of the water bottle pocket is not. The thin fabric made me nervous while packing a bottle inside, so I decided to intentionally leave a water bottle cap a little too loose, and the water did, in fact, end up in the main compartment where camera gear is stashed. Peak Design’s camera cubes are water-resistant, but that would mean keeping the cube zipped rather than open for fast access.

The interior water bottle pocket won’t fit a full-height tripod, but Peak Design still included a tripod carry option on this bag. Included straps will attach a tripod to the bag. The straps are a bit fiddly to get on, but once gravity is helping keep the straps tight, my tripod didn’t budge.

The exterior fabric is, however, water-resistant, including weather-sealed zippers. The nylon shell feels very sturdy and gives the bag a classic look. But, the feel of the material is a little rougher than other Peak Design bags that I’ve tried – like the Travel 2-in-1 – and that texture tends to attract pet hair and dirt more than other nylon bags that I’ve tried.

The straps on the Travel 20L are a little narrower than Peak Design’s larger bags, but I have a more petite frame, and I thought this design fit quite well. The straps also have a good amount of padding and are well-shaped, with a removable chest strap to keep them in place.

The bag was very comfortable to wear for several hours with smaller items tucked inside. The bag is comfortable with a mirrorless camera, a few small lenses, and a flash tucked inside. Fully packing the bag out with a laptop and tripod latched on, the weight is a bit much – it’ll be fine for short periods, but I wouldn’t hike with it all day with that much gear inside – it’s best for minimal gear setups.

Along with the straps, there’s also a thick grab handle at the top and a luggage trolley pass-through at the back.

While the Peak Design Travel 20L carries the same name as the brand’s previously launched Travel Backpack 30L and 45L bags, the smaller bag takes an even more minimalist approach. There’s no secondary side access to the main compartment, the water bottle pocket has moved to the inside, and there’s no waist belt on the smaller bag.

Peak Design Travel Backpack: Verdict

The Peak Design Travel Backpack 20L is both wonderfully and frustratingly minimalist at the same time. I loved the sleek look of the bag, the streamlined pockets, and the fact that there’s nothing for the bag to really catch on.

The bag is also pretty comfortable to carry a mirrorless camera and a few smaller lenses with. As a petite person, I often feel a bit swallowed by larger camera packs, so the compact size of this bag was a good fit for me personally.

However, I think the internal water bottle pocket at least should have used a waterproof material to avoid disastrous leaks. I also didn’t like the fabric – it tended to attract pet hair and dirt more than other nylon bags.

Overall, that mix meant I liked the bag, but didn’t quite love it. It’s great for a minimalist bag and particularly well-suited for petite frames and short trips. But, I wouldn’t put a water bottle in it, nor overload it with both camera gear, a laptop, and a tripod.

Peak Design Travel Backpack: Alternatives

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Take a bow, Robert Weinreb. He’s a native New Yorker and professional photographer who’s faced challenges in his career, confessing to wrapping his cameras and lenses into knitted hats for packing into regular backpacks when going in search of ‘the shot’, most notably while trekking in harsh Himalayan environments. His solution was to get a Manhattan-based sewing shop to stitch up a bespoke camera bag of his own design and that’s how, back in 1977, Tenba was born. Almost 50 years later, Tenba has become one of the top names in the camera bag business. The name itself comes from a Tibetan word meaning strong, unshakable and reliable, backed up by a company motto of ‘Never Compromise’.

Tenba’s evolutionary design process has recently hatched the Roadie v2 collection, claiming to be the world’s first rolling camera cases with completely removable backpack straps. The backpack straps themselves are actually sold separately as optional extras but even so, the Roadie v2 series builds on the successful design concepts of the original versions, aiming to be the ‘most advanced camera carry solutions’ on the planet, and among the best roller bags for photographers. I got my hands on the Tenba Roadie v2 Spinner 21 International, which is literally a case in point.

Tenba Roadie v2 Spinner 21 International: Specifications

Tenba Roadie v2 Spinner 21 International: Price

From full-sized bags to small battery pouches and accessories, I’ve consistently been impressed with Tenba products large and small. The Tenba Roadie v2 Spinner 21 International case that I’m reviewing here lives up to my expectations, with a premium look and feel. It’s only fair that this is reflected in the selling price, which is towards the top end of the scale for a camera roller bag, at $489 / £445 / AU$699. The Tenba is undeniably more expensive than a few other popular camera roller bags that double as backpacks, including the Lowepro Pro Trekker RLX 450 AW II at $429 / £319 / AU$549 and the Vanguard Alta Fly 55T G2 at $349 / £250 / AU$469.

If you’re in the mood for extras, the completely removable Tenba Roadie v2 Backpack Straps sell for $39 / £52 / AU$99, and they’re an additional purchase, not supplied with the bag itself. You can also unzip and pull out the entire camera insert section and replace it with the optional Tenba Roadie v2 Luggage Liner Kit, converting the camera bag into a regular, general purpose carry-on roller bag, at an additional cost of $49 / £56 / AU$109.

Tenba Roadie v2 Spinner 21 International: Design & Handling

I’m precious about my cameras, lenses and photographic accessories, which is only natural because they’ve cost me big bucks. The hustle and bustle of air travel can make it a dangerous environment for kit that’s made from glass and delicate parts, so I’m up for all the cossetting I can give them. I like that the Tenba Roadie v2 Spinner 21 International feels soft to the touch, its outer being made from padded water-repellent 1680D ballistic nylon that helps to absorb the shock of any knocks. The inner camera compartment is soft but firm, and fully customizable with plenty of adjustable Velcro dividers. Even so, reinforcements are on hand, with rigid protection featured at likely collision points around the bag’s construction.

The sibling Tenba Roadie v2 Spinner 21 ‘Air Case’ is advertised as being so strong that you can stand on it. The ‘International’ that I’m reviewing here doesn’t have as much weight-bearing potential but you can happily put it on its side and sit on it without fear of damaging anything inside. That’s thanks to a rigid inner frame that runs around the top, sides and bottom of the bag. Unlike the Air Case, however, there’s no slide-in pad that fills the laptop compartment and adds weight-bearing potential to the lid.

In terms of size, the bag is designed to be small enough for full compliance with the international carry-on regulations of commercial airlines, although weight might be an issue, as I’ll come to later. Despite being built down to certain size regulations, the bag can accommodate two or three mirrorless or DSLR cameras, or a pro-sized cine camera complete with a grip. Got lenses? You can pack eight to ten of them, ranging in size from pancake optics up to and including a typical 400mm f/2.8 prime and/or a 180-600mm super-tele zoom.

Lifting the lid on the bag, so to speak, is a pleasurable experience. It lifts easily on its hinge but has the added attraction of adjustable Velcro-fixed straps, for which you can change the length or remove them altogether. I like that I can adjust the straps to stop the lid opening too far, making the four pockets built into it easily accessible without any kerfuffle. These zippered pockets have a neat organizer layout, ideal for storing accessories like photographic filters and spare batteries, or any other little extras that takes your fancy.

Call me greedy but I prefer roller bags that have four sets of wheels rather than just two. For one thing, you can just nudge the bag along in small increments, when you’re queuing for check-in or boarding. Four sets of wheels also enables you to roll the bag sideways, making it easier to navigate narrow aisles, whether you’re on a plane, train, coach or anywhere else with limited space. What I don’t like are small wheels that catch on the smallest of lumps and bumps on the floor or ground.

The Tenba wins out on both counts, with four sets of wheels that boast ‘WideTrak design with CloudDrive technology’. They’re placed in the extreme corners to give maximum stability and avoid the risk of the bag toppling over. They also glide over challenging surfaces thanks to having large-diameter, elastic, shock-absorbing outers and carbon-steel bearings. The result is that the Tenba is a smooth operator in the rolling stakes.

I’ve often been identified as ‘the tall guy’, standing at 6ft 5in. Catering amply to me and others of pretty much any height, the sturdy, aluminum handle of the bag is made in telescoping sections with three alternative locking heights. I found the uppermost option supremely comfortable in use, not only because of its generous height but also due to its rubberized grip area, which ensures a comfy and secure hold. As I’d expect, the handle folds down flush with the top of the bag, for when you want it to be out of sight and out of mind.

With the best will in the world for rolling along at every opportunity, there are times that you simply have to carry any carry-on bag, even if it’s just to lift it onto a security check conveyer or into an overhead locker. Catering to this, the bag has two luxuriously comfortable and padded, leather-lined carrying straps on the top and on one of the sides. They feel like they’re lightening the load when you’ve got the bag fully stuffed with camera gear and the weight becomes considerable.

If your bag gets lumped in with a load of other luggage, it’s a safe bet that it’ll somehow be facing the wrong way when you want to retrieve it. With that in mind, as well as for packing or maneuvering it in tight spaces, there’s a third grab handle on the bottom of the bag. It’s a more basic strap that isn’t leather-lined like the other two, but it’s still padded and comfortable to use.

Stop for a moment and consider the total value of a bag like this, when it’s packed full of expensive camera kit. It can feel like putting a huge wad of cash within easy reach of anyone who’s technically competent enough to undo a zipper and help themselves to what’s inside. Making your camera gear inaccessible to anyone who’s not desperately determined to get at it, there’s a TSA-approved combination lock on one side of the bag, which secures the two main zipper handles of the main camera compartment. This makes it impossible to open the bag without cutting/breaking off the zipper handles or slicing into the bag itself.

Taking security a step further, you can lock down the entire bag rather than just confining the zippers of the main camera compartment. A small pocket at the top of one side opens to reveal a long steel cable which is fastened internally to the base of the bag’s aluminum extending handle. The other end has a loop and the cable comes with a TSA-approved combination padlock, so you can tether your bag to any suitably immovable object and make sure it stays put.

Naturally, tethering your bag to an immovable object is all very well (and safe) until you actually want to go anywhere. And going places is kind of the whole idea of a roller bag. To help you keep tabs on your bag when it’s on the move, one of the four zippered sections in the lid has an internal neoprene sleeve that’s designed to hold an AirTag or Tile tracker.

Whereas there’s a small pocket on one side of the bag for the steel security cable, a much deeper pocket on the other side acts as a drop in holder for a tripod. It’s zippered, so you simply open it and drop in one or more of the legs of your tripod to stow it. An adjustable strap helps to keep the tripod firmly fixed in place.

When you’re traveling with a lot of luggage, keeping it all together in one place can feel a bit like herding cats. But at least if you’ve got a pair of bags that you don’t want to be separated, there’s a strap that pulls out of the Tenba’s top zippered pocket. It has an easily adjustable length and works well for securing an additional bag to the roller bag.

I’m old enough to remember international photographic expeditions to far-flung destinations where one of the biggest concerns was where to stash all my dozens of rolls of film. They’ve now been replaced by the obligatory laptop computer and, sure enough, an addition to the v2 is a whole new dedicated compartment that can accommodate a 16-inch (or smaller) laptop. This compartment was notably absent from the original Tenba Roadie Air Case Roller 21 roller bag. It’s housed within a separate zippered enclosure at the front of the bag that also has a supplementary full-length pocket and an organizer section for the likes of your passport, business cards, wallet and other travel essentials.

The Tenba Roadie v2 Spinner 21 International is so travel-friendly, well made and smartly turned out that it seems a shame to only use it when you’re on photographic assignments. As luck would have it, however, undoing a single internal zipper is all that’s required so that you can lift out the entire camera compartment. You can then fill the empty space with whatever you need instead of your camera kit, for the journey at hand.

Nature abhors a vacuum, as they say, and the empty space that’s left after removing the camera compartment can be suitably filled by the optional Tenba Roadie v2 Luggage Liner Kit, at an additional cost of $49 / £56 / AU$109. Of similarly high quality to the bag itself, this offers the perfect way of converting your camera bag to a regular roller bag for general traveling. The kit comes complete with a liner that zips into the main compartment, plus a soft inner bag.

The retail pack of the optional Tenba Roadie v2 Luggage Liner Kit is shown above, supplied in its own handy mesh pouch. It only takes a few seconds to install the kit in the empty space left by the removed camera compartment, the net result being shown below.

Tenba Roadie v2 Spinner 21 International: Performance

There are various aspects to the performance of any roller bag designed for camera gear but for me, the main one is how well it protects the camera kit itself. I’m happy to say that the Tenba Roadie v2 Spinner 21 International accommodates all of my photographic paraphernalia in cosseted comfort and safety. I’ve got cameras of different sizes and lenses large and small, and they can all be made to feel right at home, thanks to the provision of many dividers that are endlessly customizable to enable a tailor-made solution.

I like that the space on the inner side of the lid doesn’t go to waste. The four separate zippered pockets are useful for stashing all sorts of small gadgets and photographic accessories, but one of my favorite uses is for stowing photo filters.

The outer 1680D ballistic nylon skin of the bag is water-repellant and very resistant to inclement weather but when it comes to camera protection, I’m a belt and braces kind of guy. I’m happy therefore that Tenba has seen fit to include an additional weather-proof cover. It scrunches down nice and small, into its own integral pouch, but pulls out to cover the whole bag. Furthermore, it’s reversible so that the outer surface can be either black or silver. Black is good for going incognito, while silver is ideal for reducing the build-up of heat within the back, if it’s out in the blazing sun.

Another critical aspect of the performance of any roller bag is just how well it rolls along. The Tenba scores really highly here, thanks to those trick wheels and sturdy extending handle that I mentioned earlier. During my testing, I found that the bag successfully negotiated tricky terrain, quietly gliding along where some roller bags would have trouble traversing. That’s all well and good but if you’re trekking across the likes of sand, mud, snow or craggy terrain, there’s no other option than to pick up the bag and carry it. The optional backpack straps are ideal for this, being highly adjustable, very comfortable and of similarly high quality.

The external dimensions of the bag mean that you can expect it to sneak in below the size limits for carry-on luggage imposed by international airlines. The only problem might be the weight. Even by camera roller bag standards, the Tenba is hefty at 10.9lb / 4.9kg, and that’s when it’s completely empty. Many international and domestic airlines are relatively relaxed about maximum weights but some restrict carry-on weight to as little as 14.43lb / 7kg, which would only enable you to pack one camera body, a couple of standard lenses and no laptop before flying. It’s something to bear in mind when you’re planning a trip.

Tenba Roadie v2 Spinner 21 International: Verdict

I reckon Tenba Roadie v2 Spinner 21 International could easily become my favored travel companion. It’s thoughtfully and cleverly designed, expertly manufactured to the highest standards, and impeccably finished. I really like that the styling makes it look like a regular roller bag, rather than something that’s shouting out that it’s holding a not-so-small fortune’s worth of camera kit.

The build is a great blend of shock-absorbing soft surfaces and padding, with hardy, rigid interior sidewalls. I feel that the bag also has a really go-anywhere attitude, working perfectly as a smoothly gliding roller bag over most terrains, and having optional backpack straps for when the going gets really tough. I’m not quite so happy that I have to buy the backpack straps separately as an optional extra, but feel it’s more reasonable paying extra for the luggage liner kit that can take the place of the camera compartment. The Tenba is quite hefty so it’s worth checking carry-on weight restrictions before you travel, but all in all, it’s a brilliant bag that’s terrific for almost any journey you can think of, near or far.

Alternatives

We love a good portable SSD. They can provide a high-capacity and fast way to keep your images and videos mobile, and are often compatible with a variety of devices. There are plenty of options out there, so you need a pretty special product to stand out. The new Atom EX80 from Glyph looks like just that.

Read more: the best portable hard drives and SSDs

For starters, it's quick. Though it’s based around a USB4 interface like many other high-end portable SSDs, the EX80 uses the latest USB4 standard, which at 80Gbps is twice as fast as typical USB4 drives. This enables real-world transfer speeds of up to 7,000MB/s - enough speed to handle even 12K video with ease. In Glyph's own tests the EX80 was able to transfer 1TB of data in under 3 minutes, making it more than 3x faster than rival USB4 and Thunderbolt 5 SSDs. Glyph states that this is due to the EX80 being built for demanding, continuous file transfers, not just short bursts of peak speed that only looks good on spec sheets. In order to exploit the EX80's full speed potential, you will need a computer with the latest 80GB/s USB4 connectivity. Alternatively, the drive is compatible with Thunderbolt 5, which is also capable of 80GB/s. The drive will work with Thunderbolt 4 and 3 devices, though speed will be limited by their respective bus speeds.

To cope with this level of sustained transfer speed, the EX80 is constructed with a solid aluminium core and outer shell, enabling effective heat dissipation without the need for noisy fan cooling. A soft composite bumper increases shock protection, helping the EX80 to qualify for MIL-Standard 810F shock, vibration, and dust resistance. Glyph also backs this up with its 3-2-1 warranty: three years of hardware coverage, including cables. Two years of Level-1 data recovery, and one year of advanced replacement.

What’s more, the EX80 doesn't just protect against hardware damage and data loss: it can even help you locate a lost or stolen drive. Thanks to built-in mobile device location tracking, it's possible to track and find the drive using native Apple and Android tracking software. Another handy feature is MagSafe compatibility with iPhones, or the magnetic mounting system will attach to any ferrous metal surface.

The Atom EX80 is available to pre-order, with availability expected from June 19th. Capacities include 1TB, 2TB, 4TB and 8TB, priced at $499.99/£393, $699.99/£550, $1099.99/£863 and $2199.99/£1726, respectively.

Pre-order now from B&H

Tenba is a company with a history of designing bags, cases and accessories for photographers, by photographers, going back about 50 years. The history itself is that pro photographer Robert Weinreb used to go about his business, wrapping his camera lenses in woolly hats and stuffing them into regular backpacks, until finally getting a local Manhattan sewing shop to stitch up his own specialized camera bag. That was all the way back in 1977.

Tenba has literally gone from strength to strength over the ensuing decades. The name is derived from a Tibetan word meaning strong, reliable and unshakable, and the company’s motto is ‘Never Compromise’. One of the most recent, upgraded designs, the Tenba Roadie v2 collection launched as the world’s first rolling camera cases with removable backpack straps. Indeed, the backpack straps are so removable that they’re actually sold separately as optional extras. Either way, the Roadie v2 series builds on the success and reputation of the original Tenba Roadie Air Case Roller 21, aiming to be the ‘most advanced camera carry solutions’ to date, and among the best roller bags for photographers. Let’s take a closer look.

Tenba Roadie v2 Spinner 21 Air Case: Specifications

Tenba Roadie v2 Spinner 21 Air Case: Price

I’ve always been highly impressed by Tenba bags and cases. The Tenba Roadie v2 Spinner 21 Air Case that I’m reviewing here is typical of the brand, with the look and feel of an absolutely premium product. Unsurprisingly, that’s reflected in the selling price, which at $549 / £495 / AU$749 is towards the top end of the scale.

It’s certainly more expensive than some of my other favorite roller bag/backpacks, including the Lowepro Pro Trekker RLX 450 AW II at $429 / £319 / AU$549 and the Vanguard Alta Fly 55T G2 at $349 / £250 / AU$469. And although the Tenba’s backpack straps are completely removable, they also cost extra to buy, priced at $39 / £52 / AU$99. Is the Tenba worth the money? Yes, absolutely.

Tenba Roadie v2 Spinner 21 Air Case: Design & Handling

When I’m after the ultimate protection for my camera kit, I’ve often been tempted by hard cases. Personally, however, I’ve never really got on with them. They transmit much of the shock from accidental knocks to whatever’s inside, and can give you a bit of a hard knock as well, if you bump into one. I like that the Tenba Roadie v2 Spinner 21 Air Case feels soft to the touch, its outer being made from water-repellent 1680D ballistic nylon. The inner camera compartment is suitably soft and comfy, as well as being endlessly customizable with a generous provision of adjustable Velcro dividers. Even so, there’s literally a hard side to this roller case.

In between the soft nylon exterior and padded camera insert, there’s a super-strong hard shell that delivers maximum protection. The bag is advertised as being shippable, checkable (rather than just being designed as a carry-on) and virtually uncrushable. Indeed, it’s designed to withstand weights of up to 500lb (240kg). It’s strong enough to stand on but, as I didn’t want to wipe my dirty feet all over it, I sat on it instead. With that in mind, it can come in handy if you find yourself in for a lengthy delay at the airport.

So yes, ultimately the Tenba is designed to be compliant with carry-on regulations when flying on commercial airlines, while also being tough enough to check as hold baggage if the need arises. Although the dimensions are limited to carry-on specifications, the bag is nevertheless sufficiently voluminous to carry two or three mirrorless or DSLR cameras, or a pro-sized cine camera complete with a grip. You can also stash eight to ten lenses, ranging in size up to a typical 400mm f/2.8 prime or a 180-600mm super-tele zoom. Oh, and there’s a separate compartment for holding tablets and a laptop of up to 16 inches (40cm) in size.

I like that the lid has captive straps to stop it over-opening, and that you can remove the straps altogether if you prefer. Like the dividers, they have Velcro fasteners. Better still, the lid has an organizer layout with four separate sections that are ideal for storing photographic filters, spare batteries and other small accessories.

To help you keep tabs on your bag, one of the four zippered sections in the lid has an internal neoprene sleeve that’s designed to accommodate an AirTag or Tile type tracker. And to help bring on the joy of movement, I’m pleased that the bag has four sets of wheels rather than just two. This can be a big plus point when maneuvering the bag along narrow aisles in aircraft or on a train, and in other confined spaces. And they’re not just any old wheels. The ‘WideTrak wheels with CloudDrive technology’ are placed to give maximum stability, and designed with carbon steel bearings and large-diameter, elastic, shock-absorbing outers to ensure smooth and quiet rolling on the widest possible range of surfaces.

Going from bottom to top, the rolling action is based not only on tricked-up wheels but also a three-section extending handle, which is made from tough aluminum. As such, it folds away flush with the top of the bag but also allows for three different height options when in use. I’m unusually tall at 6ft 5in but found that the maximum height setting of the handle was very comfortable for me.

There’s a good range of handles for grabbing and carrying the bag when you’re not rolling it along. I’m particularly pleased that there are two comfortably wide and padded, leather-finished strap handles on the top and side of the bag. Not only that but there’s also a more basic grab strap on the bottom of the bag, which can come in useful if you’re trying to retrieve it from an airport carousel or other luggage area, and the bag happens to be facing away from you.

For the security conscious (well, the bag is designed to hold a stash of pro-grade camera gear, after all) there’s an integral combination lock for the zippers that open the main camera compartment. As I’d expect in this day and age, the lock is TSA-approved. The same goes for the steel cable that you can pull out from one of the pockets to tether the bag to a fixed object. Again, this comes complete with a TSA-approved combination lock.

Over on the other side of the bag to the steel cable pocket, there’s a tall pocket that’s designed as a drop-in for a tripod. It has a generous opening circumference and features an adjustable strap to secure the tripod in place.

Up on top, there’s yet another small pocket. This one opens to reveal an internal adjustable strap. Extend it to the desired length and you can attach a second bag, keeping them tethered together.

A laptop is all but essential for many photographers on the move. Sure enough, the bag has a specially designed compartment for holding laptops of up to 16 inches in size. It’s a new addition in the v2 series but that’s not quite the whole story. The Air Case is strong enough to be shipped as cargo, but that strength is compromised if you put a laptop in the internal compartment. The bag is therefore supplied complete with a reinforced block that slides into the laptop compartment to ensure maximum robustness and integrity. If you’re using the bag as a carry-on, you can simply remove the block and pop in your laptop instead.

With the block removed, you can slide in your laptop and secure it with a safety strap. The separate zippered enclosure also includes an additional full-height pocket plus an organizer section for stowing the likes of a passport, business card, wallet and so on.

Tenba Roadie v2 Spinner 21 Air Case: Performance

The main performance criteria is that the bag should keep my camera kit safely cosseted, and it does this in fine style. I use the word ‘style’ advisedly, as the Tenba looks just like a regular roller case, rather than advertising the fact that it’s accommodating a lot of expensive gear. To ensure that cameras, lenses and other gadgets don’t rattle around, the moveable dividers come to the fore, enabling an endlessly customizable fit.

The lid is equally useful for stowing smaller items, and it’s nice that there are no less than four separate zippered compartments. I tend to stuff them with photographic filters to which I need quick and ready access.

A nice little extra that’s often supplied with photo bags is a weather-proof cover. You get one here, that scrunches down into a little self-contained bag, despite the outer material of the bag itself being very weather-resistant in its own right. Better still, the all-weather cover is reversible, so you can have black or silver on the outside. The latter is a good option for reflecting light, and therefore heat, under a blazing sun.

I said earlier that the large-diameter wheels are designed to give smooth and quiet rolling on a wide range of ground surfaces. They’re also positioned right at the corners, to maximize stability. However, with the best will in the world, there’s no way you can effectively drag any roller bag across mud, sand, snow or really bumpy terrain. With that in mind, the pair of backpack straps that are available as an optional extra can pay dividends. They’re of high quality, comfortable, very adjustable and come complete with a sternum strap for added stability.

My only reservation is that the bag weighs in at 12.65lb / 5.7kg and is therefore quite heavy even when empty, before you’ve started adding your camera kit. Given that some airlines have a maximum weight limit of as little as 14.43lb / 7kg, you might well need to check the allowance with your carrier, to avoid any last-minute problems at departure.

Tenba Roadie v2 Spinner 21 Air Case: Verdict

I feel that the Tenba Roadie v2 Spinner 21 Air Case offers the best of both worlds. It’s largely soft and shock-absorbing on the outside (and the inside) but with hard reinforcements on critical points of the exterior. It also has a rigid and super-strong shell that sits between the exterior and the camera compartment – so strong that you can literally stand on the bag with no danger of damaging anything within. It therefore works equally well as a camera bag that you can use as carry-on luggage, or check into hold baggage if space (or weight) doesn’t allow.

Adding further to the versatility, I’m pleased that the Tenba works so well as a roller bag on all sorts of terrain, apart from sand, mud and the like. And furthermore that straps are available to buy as an optional extra, for effectively turning the bag into a backpack. To be picky, I’d have liked the backpack straps to be supplied as part of the standard kit. The only other issue is that the bag is quite weighty, so you might fall foul of carry-on weight limits with some airlines. Even so, it’s a top-quality bag that’s full of clever tricks and design flourishes. Excellent work, Tenba!

Alternatives

On-camera flashes tend to create harsh shadows that are unflattering for portraits, but off-camera flash is not only challenging to learn, but also bulky to pack. But retro-styled light maker Harlowe has an unusual solution: a flash with “legs.”

The Harlowe Pocket Flash is a small camera flash that also doubles as a constant LED light for video. But what caught my eye – and immediately reminded me of the classic bionic detective Inspector Gadget – is that the little flash has legs.

I’m a portrait photographer, and on-camera flash tends to be unflattering for this genre (unless you’re intentionally going for a retro look or a paparazzi feel). But learning off-camera flash is a challenge, and packing one takes up a lot of space in my bag – not to mention requiring a light stand.

Harlowe’s solution is to give the Pocket Flash a lift system. By putting the light a bit higher than the camera lens, Harlowe says the flash creates shadows that are angled in a more flattering way – and it also helps fix the common problem of reflections on glasses.

The Z-lift system raises the flash about four centimeters (about 1.5 inches) from the hot shoe slot. That’s not a lot – larger pro hot shoe flashes will also sit a bit higher than the hot shoe flash. But the Z legs also look like it gives the small flash the ability to tilt and bounce – two features that will help create even more flattering light. The flash also supports magnetic diffusion domes and colored gels for more flexibility.

The Harlowe Pocket Flash doesn’t solve problems that high-end lighting gear already solves, but the ability to shoot higher, tilt, and bounce are features that are difficult to find on pocketable budget flash systems. The flash weighs just 125g or 4.4oz, which Harlowe boldly claims is less than some of the larger telephoto lens caps.

As an added bonus, the flash is also capable of continuous output, so it can be used as a video light too, or to check the angle of those shadows before shooting stills.

The USB-C rechargeable battery is good for up to 700 full-powered flashes, while photographers can dial down the intensity to as low as 1/64th power. As a continuous LED, the light can run between two to seven hours, depending on the brightness levels.

Small flashes aren’t as powerful as larger setups, but the Pocket Flash offers 2W in standard mode and 4W in boost mode. The color temperature of the light is also adjustable from 2700K to 6500K.

The Harlowe Pocket Flash launches at a $150 / £114 / CA$211 list price, but it’s also available in a Creator Kit with diffusers, gels, bounce cards, and a case for $199 / £152 / CA$281. The new flash is available directly from Harlowe as well as from retailers, including B&H in the US.

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When I reviewed the PMI Smoke Ninja back in 2024, one of my criticisms was that the handheld smoke machine’s Dry Ice setting would leave behind a greasy residue on the surfaces it had been applied to. I’m therefore pleased to hear that PMI has been developing a solution to that problem.

Its newly launched Vanishing Formula for its Smoke Ninja Pro smoke machine is said to leave behind no residue. This is particularly good news for toy photographers. The last thing you want to do when photographing a painstakingly hand-painted miniature or diorama is coat it in a thin layer of sticky residue.

And that’s not the only challenge the Hong Kong-based outfit has claimed to have conquered. A problem when working with smoke machines in smaller indoor spaces is that a thin haze of smoke gradually builds up during extended use. This plays havoc with both visibility and image quality. The Vanishing Formula is said to mitigate this problem, while also reducing the risk that it will trigger a smoke detector.

The Vanishing Formula is available now as a standalone refill bottle or as part of a kit, which includes the Vanishing Formula, a Vanishing Formula (VF) Chamber and an Amplifier Nozzle. PMI recommends that the Vanishing Formula Kit is only used with the Smoke Ninja Pro.

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I used a smoke machine to photograph Lego and the results are cinematic. Looking for more studio tools? Here are the best photography lighting kits and here are the best portrait lenses.

When I travel, I’m always torn over how to pack – do I grab the carry-on that I can fit the most in to avoid a checked bag, or a smaller bag that won’t make my shoulders ache while I’m out exploring? The decision is why the Peak Design Travel Backpack 2-in-1 caught my eye – it’s an oversized bag with plenty of space – and a separate smaller pack that quickly zips off the front.

As the name suggests, this backpack isn’t one but two bags. Used together, the bag still slides in under most airlines' carry-on bag dimensions. The larger main pack can also be used without the front pack, and when traveling light is warranted, the front pack zips off for a minimalist carry – and, yes, it still has straps.

I spent some time with the new Peak Design Travel Backpack 2-in-1 to see just how versatile the bag is for traveling photographers and videographers.

Peak Design Travel Backpack 2-in-1: Specifications

Peak Design Travel Backpack 2-in-1: Price

The Peak Design Travel Backpack 2-in-1 retails for $399 / £349 / AU$779 / CA$559.

The backpack on its own doesn’t accommodate camera gear – a camera cube is needed, which is typically sold separately. I used the Large Cube (about $120 / £99 / AU$240 / CA$170), which takes up the entire main compartment of the backpack, but it is also compatible with the Medium ($90 / £85 / AU$190 / CA$140) if you want more space for non-photo gear.

Peak Design Travel Backpack 2-in-1: Design & Performance

The Peak Design Travel Backpack 2-in-1 is two backpacks that can be used together to carry up to 40L. The main pack can also be used on its own to carry up to 34L, and the daypack on its own can carry up to 16L (yes, separately they fit a bit more, due to stretching and the need to tuck away those straps).

Because the bags are designed to be used both together and separately, several features are repeated on both bags. Both can accommodate up to a 16-inch laptop, both have two water-bottle-small-tripod-sized pockets on each side, and both have chest straps. Features like grab handles, luggage pass-throughs, exterior attachment clips, and external front pockets are also repeated across both bags.

The daypack and main pack both have comfortable straps, but there are a handful of notable differences between the two. As the straps that will handle both the main pack and both packs zipped together, the main bag’s straps are thicker and more shapely. These straps are also magnetic, so they hang the bag nicely when not in use.

The main pack has a padded waist belt that the smaller daypack lacks. It’s well-padded, comfortable, and even manages to fit in another small pocket. (But don’t worry, waist-strap haters, the belt can be tucked between the bag and the back padding when not in use. I legitimately didn’t even realize it was there until I did some in-depth exploring.)

The bags zipped together fit quite a bit of weight in them – I wouldn’t want to carry any bag that fits that much gear all day long. But the bag’s straps are well-shaped and well-padded – and the waist-belt helps quite a bit in distributing that weight. I think the bag is comfortable considering how much weight I put into it – but I’m also glad there’s a luggage pass-through for long airport hauls.

The daypack’s straps aren’t quite as wide, the chest strap is thinner, and there’s no waist belt. But the daypack isn’t built for heavy gear, and I found the straps more than sufficient for what can fit inside. I used the smaller pack on a beach day trip, holding a change of clothes, a Kindle, and a GoPro, and even my freshly sunburnt shoulders didn’t complain.

While I managed to slip a GoPro into the daypack – and a compact camera would also do just fine – the smaller daypack isn’t made for camera gear. Mirrorless cameras, lenses, DSLRs, and drones are relegated to the largest compartment in the main pack.

I used the bag with a large camera cube in the main pack, and I fitted in two mirrorless bodies, two telephoto lenses, three primes, one pancake lens, and a flash. The bag is fairly deep, but some of the dividers can collapse to create a shelf – this was key for storing the pancake lens, as it would have bounced around in the bag too much had this feature not existed.

It’s a versatile and rigid divider system. The only thing that seemed odd is that with the Large camera cube, there’s an extra inch of space at the top between the main bag and the cube. The bag comes with clips, though, so the camera cube will stay in place even with the extra space.

Also on the inside, on the rear panel, against the back, is the laptop sleeve, along with one smaller interior pocket that’s a good size for filters and batteries. I did wish the bag had a dedicated interior pocket for SD cards – a classic symptom of a bag that can be a camera bag but can also be a standard backpack.

Gear access to that main compartment is entirely through the campshell zip that opens the back panel. There’s no side zip access like some Peak Design bags. I didn’t mind, as I rarely use the side zips anyway and loved having four (FOUR!) water bottle pockets. I could carry water, coffee, a small tripod, and an umbrella if I really wanted to.

The daypack uses the more classic top zip access rather than the rear panel access – which makes sense, as this allows both bags to remain accessible when zipped together. The only pocket I couldn’t access when zipped together is the small front pocket on the main pack.

Detaching and reattaching the two packs is simple – the zipper lines up easily to restore the bag to its full 40L capacity.

The bag’s exterior uses a weather-resistant fabric that’s a type of recycled nylon, but feels thicker and more luxurious than the nylon on cheap packs. Most of the zippers are also sealed – the zip between the two packs is not, but with both bags water-resistant, the only thing that risks getting damp are the straps on the day pack.

The zippers also have a built-in loop that can be latched around each other – this makes the bag more challenging to open quickly, which helps deter pickpockets in crowds. And there’s an AirTag pocket that’s so well hidden, it took me a while to actually find it.

Peak Design Travel Backpack 2-in-1: Verdict

Peak Design’s take on the modular backpack is well thought out, creating a two-bag system that helps traveling creators customize their bag to match their day. The main pack fits large camera kits (or smaller ones with a medium or small camera cube), while the day pack isn’t designed for camera gear, but makes a quick and lightweight grab bag for essentials.

I loved how much space and how many pockets the system has. I’m always irritated when I have to choose between packing a tripod or packing a water bottle, but there are four side pockets on this bag. Similarly, there are two laptop sleeves (plus a tablet fits as well).

But the biggest plus was that the shoulder straps and waist packs are so well designed that carrying all that weight is well-balanced.

My complaints about the bag are minor. There’s a small gap between the main compartment and the large camera cube that’s too small to fit much but big enough to be mildly irritating. And, I wish the bag had a dedicated pocket for memory cards.

I do have one complaint that isn’t quite so minor, though: the price. The bag retails for $399 / £349 / AU$779 / CA$559, but photographers will also need to pair it with a camera cube, which means this is every bit a $500+ camera bag. The versatility comes with a higher price tag than Peak Design’s less versatile bags.

Peak Design Travel Backpack 2-in-1: Alternatives

I’ve long puzzled over how to pack the most in a carry-on bag while still having a comfortable bag to use once I arrive there. Peak Design’s Travel 2-in-1 does an excellent job at this while staying in backpack form. I haven’t found a camera bag that’s two backpacks in one that works as well, but there are a few different types of bags that have more packing versatility than standard packs.

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Carbon fiber tripods tend to hold heavier loads, but come at a premium cost. Really Right Stuff (RRS), the U.S.-based company known for its high-end carbon pro fiber camera support systems, believes its new Core Line offers a compelling solution.

According to RRS, the new Benchmark and Benchmark Inverted tripods are the most affordable carbon fiber tripods the company has ever produced, costing up to 32% less than comparable in-house alternatives.

The Core Line is RRS's first tripod series produced entirely at its facility in Lehi, Utah, from raw fiber to finished legs. That, the company says, is one of the main reasons the new options are more affordable than the brand's previous supports.

The Benchmark is a four-section carbon fiber tripod designed for maximum stability, reach, and load capacity. It offers four leg-angle positions (24°, 44°, 64°, and 84°), weather-sealed twist locks designed to prevent over-twisting, and magnetic pull tabs that make adjustments easier, even while wearing gloves.

Built for heavier camera setups, the Benchmark supports up to 75 lb (34 kg), with a height range of 4.2 in (10.7 cm) to 69.7 in (177 cm). It weighs 3.8 lb (1.7 kg) and folds to 23.6 in (60 cm). While suitable for travel and hiking, it is less compact than many dedicated travel tripods when folded.

The Benchmark Inverted shares the same core features but uses a three-section design with an inverted leg system that allows the tripod to be extended or collapsed from the top. RRS says this enables photographers to adjust the tripod without changing their position.

The Benchmark Inverted supports up to 40 lb (18 kg), weighs 3.6 lb (1.6 kg), and offers a height range of 4.6 in (11.8 cm) to 61.1 in (155.2 cm). It folds to 26.5 in (67.3 cm). Although relatively lightweight, its folded length may make it difficult to fit inside some backpacks.

The Core Line is available for preorder exclusively on the RSS website, with prices starting at $945 (£701 / AU$1,315) for the Benchmark and $795 (£589 / AU$1,106) for the Benchmark Inverted.

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[HeaderNot every digital camera has in-body or lens-enabled image stabilization, and even those that do need a little extra help from time to time. Especially in low light, where I might not want to simply crank-up ISO sensitivity or deploy artificial lighting.

Enter the camera tripod, which has been around as long as photography itself. Think metal sheet or glass plate photographs from the 19th Century that required excessively long exposures to produce an image. Not only did subjects need to remain as static as corpses, but the camera did too.

Nearly two hundred years later, however, I’m still yet to encounter the perfect camera or the perfect camera tripod. Even finding a tripod that matches my personal needs most of the time can be tricky, and nigh impossible if embarking on both stills and video capture, with the latter requiring a smooth panning head capability and seamless real-time adjustment.

I blame the basic laws of physics; which, having suffered through physics lessons and exams as a teenager, I’m always happy to do. 

If I want a lightweight and portable tripod, it’s not going to be able to cope with my large camera body and heavyweight telephoto lens. And if I compensate by going for a larger, heavier tripod, it’s obviously not going to be as portable. Yes, some tripods will allow me to hang a balancing weight from a hook at the base of the center column, to lower the centre of gravity and increase stability, but not all.

Therefore, the rule of thumb I go by is to always opt for the sturdiest possible example, which typically means the heaviest tripod I am prepared to carry. There’s no point in buying something I’m going to struggle to transport and use; it’ll just get left at home. The warhorse of a Velbon CX 540 tripod and three-way PH-656Q pan-and-tilt head has served me well for the past 25 years. Yes, I could spend more on a carbon fiber tripod for maximum strength and a relatively lightweight build over a heavier aluminum model at a lower cost, but, whichever, there is always a compromise to be made.

And whether I choose a ball head, a three-way head, a two-way head, a geared head or a fluid video head is an article all to itself. Types of leg lock also differ; but basically, I’m looking at something that is quickly adjustable yet provides maximum flexibility in terms of height and stability with it. Three-section legs with lever locks have served me just fine.

Alternatively, to throw a cat amongst the pigeons, might a monopod with height adjustable sections and a tripod-like base occasionally suit you better than a tripod? I’ve found monopods useful when needing to gain height in a narrow or confined space, when shooting alongside other people, or over the heads of a crowd.

But while, ultimately, I don’t believe there is a one-size-suits-all solution, it’s safe to say that any camera tripod (or monopod) is better than no tripod at all.

Check out our full guide to the best tripods for photography

I have been using Zhiyun's lighting gear for a few years now, and I have been continually impressed by the power output, design ethos, and affordability. So, when I got the chance to try out the brand's latest portable light, designed to work like a "miniature Arri SkyPanel X", I jumped at the chance.

The Fiveray M60 Ultra is a pocket-sized panel light with a staggering 60W output. It has RGB functionality, an all-in-one design with a sizable battery, and magnetic attachments for diffusion and light-shaping.

With an MSRP of just $129, it seems like a great deal for anyone seeking powerful continuous lighting in a portable package. Is it too good to be true? I've been using it for the past few weeks to find out.

Specifications

Price

The Zhiyun Fiveray M60 Ultra has an MSRP of £129 / $129 / €139 from Amazon or Zhiyun's official store, which is very affordable considering the features on offer here.

The closest panel light I could find, matching the 60W output and RGB functionality, is the Amaran Pano 60C, which currently retails for $165. However, this alternative doesn't have a built-in battery, and it's significantly larger.

You have far more options if you're open to COB lights, but if you're keen on a compact panel light, the M60 Ultra stands out as a unique option.

Design & Handling

One of the things I really like about Zhiyun products is that they don't try to blend in. Not every piece of pro camera equipment needs to be an anonymous black rectangle, and love it or hate it, the M60 Ultra certainly looks unique.

This light is around the same size as a modern smartphone, and about as thick as three of them stacked on top of each other. It comes with a beige/cream housing, with bright orange accents and contrasting black sections. It gives me a sort of retro-futuristic, rugged, and utilitarian vibe. It wouldn't look out of place on Tatooine.

The M60 Ultra is designed with cooling in mind, and despite its high power output and small size, there's plenty to ensure it doesn't get too hot. There are vents cut into almost every surface, a large fan in the centre of the rear panel, and the insides look to be mostly filled with heat sinks.

The front panel is entirely transparent, with no bezels, and a strong magnet in each corner. It almost looks unfinished, as you can quite clearly see the LEDs and PCB through the frosted plastic front panel. However, when you attach the magnetic modifiers, it looks much more polished. There's a honeycomb grid and a plastic domed diffuser included in the box, both of which can be magnetically stacked on the front panel.

On the base, there's a 1/4-20 tripod mount and a USB-C port for charging. I was pleased to learn it charges very quickly, too - supporting up to 18W speeds with a suitable USB PD plug, but you don't get one in the box, only a USB-C cable.

The unit is turned on and off via a large orange rotating switch on the top side. It's well protected by raised plastic lips around the edge, so you'll certainly never turn it on or off by accident, but it's quite stiff and a little fiddly. Still, I'd rather it be a little fiddly than open my backpack to find a blisteringly hot light that's been running for hours.

The rest of the functions are controlled via two control knobs and a tiny colour screen on the rear. Navigating the numerous options on this tiny screen can also take some getting used to, but it's well thought out, and after some trial and error, I managed to adapt. I really like that you access just about everything on the light itself, rather than needing to rely on a smartphone app, just expect a bit of a learning curve when trying to remember which knob does what.

That said, the M60 Ultra also supports wireless control via the ZY Vega app for Android phones. There's not currently an iOS equivalent, but Zhiyun says it's in the works and should be available in the near future.

The app is really handy, especially if you're trying to dial in a specific colour, as it gives you multiple tools for doing so. You can point your phone's camera at an object or another light, and it'll do its best to match it. I was really impressed with how quickly the light responds to changes in the app; it's almost instant. And if you have multiple Zhiyun lights, it gets even better, as you can control all of them at once.

Overall, I'm very impressed with the build quality. Despite being made from plastic and full of airflow holes, the M60 Ultra feels solid and robust. Of course, with such a cooling-focused design, I don't expect it to have any kind of water resistance, but you can't have everything in a footprint like this.

Performance

Considering that it can fit in your pocket, the Fiveray M60 Ultra is astonishingly powerful. It wasn't long ago that a light this powerful would have been a hefty unit requiring mains power; it's awesome to see the progression.

I've been using it almost every day for the past few weeks, either lighting my product shots for reviews like this or lighting talking heads and top-down shots in my YouTube videos.

For product photography, I mainly used the light without any diffuser, and I found I rarely needed to exceed 10% power. It puts out a fairly focused beam, which I found surprising, given its panel shape, and any spill can be reduced further using the magnetic honeycomb grid.

For talking head shots, I used the M60 Ultra as a key light with the supplied plastic diffuser. It does a great job of softening the light, but I was shocked at how much it reduced the output. In a well-lit room, I had to almost max it out to get the desired result. Of course, in a dimmer location, you wouldn't need to push it quite so hard.

The built-in fan only activates when it's needed, and it's barely audible when it does. I usually shoot in the same room as my desktop PC, and I never noticed the sound of the M60 Ultra over the constant background hum of the PC's fans. I often use Zhiyun's older pocket light, the Fiveray M40, and that fan is significantly louder, so I'm happy to see improvements in this area.

The M60 Ultra colour temperature can be adjusted from 2500k to 10,000k in its standard CCT mode, so you shouldn't have much trouble matching existing light sources. It also has full RGB support, and if you switch into HSI or RGB mode, you'll have millions of colours to choose from.

The RGB mode is a great way to add a splash of colour to an otherwise uninspiring scene. I found it really useful to spruce up talking head shots with a colourful wash on the background. It's still bright when using a colourful hue, but not as bright as the white mode, so I found that it's best used without any diffusion in front of it.

The M60 Ultra also has some special effects built in, and they're all somewhat customisable. You can replicate the look of police sirens, a fire, a flickering lightbulb, fireworks, and more. For most people, these effects will be of limited use, but they're quite impressive. If you're working on a short film, they could come in handy.

The light has a built-in 4500 mAh battery, and Zhiyun claims that it'll get you 160 minutes of runtime at 20% brightness. If you max it out at 100% brightness, it should still give you over 30 minutes on a charge.

As mentioned, I was usually running the M60 Ultra at less than 20% brightness, and the battery life really impressed me. That said, if you need the maximum output for longer, that's no issue, as it can be charged while in use. Zhiyun recommends a 60W or higher power source for this, and my 100W Sharge power bank was able to keep it running at full power without issue.

Verdict

If you need a super-powerful panel light that's compact and portable, few options are as compelling as the Fiveray M60 Ultra. It's reasonably priced, the battery life is solid, and it's very easy to transport.

Most 60W portable lights tend to be COB lights with a harsher output; pocket panel lights with such a powerful output are few and far between. Sure, there are products like the Amaran Pano 60C, but that's much larger, heavier, more expensive, and requires mains power. The M60 Ultra stands out as a unique offering.

So, if you're finding that your pocket panel light doesn't quite have the guts to keep up with your shooting needs, the M60 Ultra is very easy to recommend. I've had a great time shooting with it, and I don't plan to stop anytime soon.

Alternatives

The word photography combines two Greek roots that literally translate to “drawing with light.” But perhaps no genre quite takes that translation so literally as light painting, the long-exposure technique where artists use a light source to draw shapes in a photograph. Now, a photographer known for his viral light painting videos has built a literal light pen designed specifically for the craft.

You may not be familiar with the name Darren Pearson – but odds are good that you’ve seen a video from Dariustwin pop up in your feed. Pearson has been creating light paintings for nearly 20 years – and sharing the results with his followers at Dariustwin, a name inspired by a video game he used to play with his twin brother in the 1990s.

But, over his nearly two decades of light painting, Pearson has been searching for the right light to work with before finally realizing that such a light didn’t exist – so he created his own. The photographer has been building his own light painting tools since 2015 and recently launched his latest light writing pen.

Night-Writer is a light painting pen with 11 built-in colors, adjustable brightness, and USB-C recharging – it even has a memory recall and programming. The pen has three neutral colors along with 8 rainbow hues. The buttons on the pen are also symmetrical, allowing the pen to be used for right and left-handed light painters both.

While Pearson has shipped around 900 handmade light pens over the years, the new Light-Writer was built in collaboration with both a mechanical engineer and an electrical engineer.

“I wasn’t satisfied with other lights that were available, I needed something that didn’t exist,” Pearson explained. “So, I took it upon myself to try and create the best tool for drawing with light. It needed to be precise, quick, intuitive, ergonomic, color changing. I designed something that worked less like a flashlight and more like a marker built for illustration.”

Building the Night-Writer – which is Pearson’s 13th light writing pen he designed – came with a lot of problem-solving. But, that’s not unlike the genre of light painting itself. “Experiment often, challenge yourself, get outside, and make it a nightly routine to progress quickly. Have a vision you are striving for,” he said.

The biggest challenge for the photographer, who captures both light painting photographs and stop motion animations, has been sitting still. “The biggest challenges are the creative plateaus that inevitably happen in between the productive streaks,” Pearson said. “Sometimes it’s hard to sit still, but often your next best ideas will emerge from the quiet. It’s best to be patient and let them arrive when they are ready.”

Fittingly, Pearson was first inspired to try light painting when he saw a photograph of a painter. He explained that he came across a 1949 photograph of Picasso, illustrating with light in an image captured by Gjon Mili. The image inspired him to try to create his own light painting. “It was an intersection of art and technology that seemed uniquely relevant with the change from analog to digital cameras in the early 2000’s,” Pearson said of his start in the genre in 2007.

“I think light painting is one of the least explored facets of photography, and one that can still deliver the most interesting results if used correctly and under the right environmental circumstances,” Pearson said.

The photographer, who works with his wife Jordan Pearson on creative concept and editing and even gets his young son involved behind-the-scenes, shares the process behind his work across several social media channels, including over a million followers on Instagram and TikTok. “Try to deliver something your audience hasn’t seen before, build a style that is your own,” Pearson advises creatives.

But, the creative was quick to add that sometimes it’s the algorithm, not the art, that's limiting reach. “Remember, just because the audience isn’t there or favored by an algorithm doesn’t mean that the work is not great,” he said. “Sometimes the timing has to be perfected - hit the zeitgeist, organize your work, and try again when the timing is better or more relevant.”

The new Night-Writer has already sold out in its first production run, but Pearson encourages fans to sign up for his newsletter for stock updates. The Night-Writer sells for $249 on Pearson’s website – though it currently only ships within the US. Fans can also find prints, clothing, and accessories from Pearson’s online store.

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Earlier this year, Nikon sold the Mark Robers Motion Control Limited. Now, less than two months later, the innovative camera robotics company has entered liquidation and is in the process of shutting down.

A notice on the Mark Roberts Motion Control Ltd. website says that the company has entered liquidation as of May 22. Liquidation is the process of selling off assets to pay off debt as well as investors, and typically signals that a business is shutting down. In the UK – where the company is based – liquidation means that “the company will stop doing business and employing people.”

At the end of March, Nikon announced that it had agreed to sell its shares in MRMC to investment company Blandford Capital LLP, nearly ten years after acquiring shares in the company. At the time, Nikon said that it had “reconsidered its business portfolio.”

The move originally raised questions as to why Nikon sold the robotics company, considering Nikon’s recent investment in video through its acquisition of RED and subsequent launch of the Nikon ZR. The announcement for the liquidation seems to suggest why Nikon decided to back out of the company it first starting working with during the 2012 London Olympics.

MRMC is a UK-based company that celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2026. It specializes in robotic rigs to create cinematic camera movement. Along with robotic cameras for cinematic movement, the company also builds equipment for product photography, such as turntables, as well as slides and rails.

The company manufactures and assembles all of its products in its Surrey, UK facility. The robotic rigs are behind a number of Oscar Award-winning films and in 2018 received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade.

The company has not shared an official statement as to the details of the liquidation beyond the formal statement on its website.

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