The Association of Photographers, or AOP, has announced the winners of its 2026 Emerging Talent Award, highlighting up-and-coming photographers who have been working in the field for fewer than three years.

This year’s Gold winner is Austin Bradley, who photographed a highline across Sólheimajökull Glacier in Iceland, intent on illustrating how much the glacier has been shrinking due to climate change. The Silver award goes to Ritchie Elder, who documented the last day of class at a newly-established Ukrainian Saturday School in Scotland.

You can see some of that work, and read more of the story behind it, below. If you want to see the work from other finalists, you can find a gallery on AOP’s website.

Gold award: 57 Metres : Iceland’s Shrinking Glacier by Austin Bradley

Austin Bradley / AOP

According to AOP’s press release, Bradley’s goal was to visually show how far a specific glacier was retreating every year. “He rigged a 57-metre highline across Sólheimajökull Glacier in Iceland, with the length of the line representing approximately how far the glacier retreats each year due to a warming climate. Over several carbon offset days Bradley worked with highliners, a small film crew and a glaciologist, to document the process, which will later be released as a documentary.”

Austin Bradley / AOP

The shots were taken on a DJI Mini 5 Pro, though there are others in the series that appear to have been taken on a standard camera.

Silver award: Saturday School by Ritchie Elder

Ritchie Elder / AOP

According to the press release, the series by Ritchie Elder documents a school that “provides Ukrainian children displaced by the war with the opportunity to learn Ukrainian language, culture, and history alongside their mainstream education and plays an important role in helping young people maintain a connection to their heritage while building new lives in Scotland.”

Ritchie Elder / AOP

Most of the shots are portraits, taken with a Canon EOS R6 and Canon RF 50mm F1.2 L USM lens, with Ritchie working “closely with the children, their parents, and school staff to create this series.”

Last week’s Question of the week asked: what one camera feature that doesn’t yet exist would you like to have? More than 100 DPReview readers responded with ideas ranging from practical improvements to hilarious and ambitious reimaginings of what a camera could do.

Built-in GPS, a true raw histogram and smartphone-style computational photography came up repeatedly. So did requests for more durable travel cameras, universal flash triggering, sensor-based tilt control and a return to smart depth-of-field modes. Below, we’ve gathered 10 of the most interesting suggestions – and a few wonderfully unconventional ones.

#1 – Built-in GPS, and why it’s harder than it sounds

GPS and geotagging were the most requested new camera features, with several posters adding location tracking and anti-theft locking to this bucket type. This makes sense. Who doesn’t want to know where they and their gear are at all times… right?

mach21photo asked for “a way to remotely brick your stolen camera.”

thielges explained why in-camera GPS has been unpopular: “it can take minutes to re-lock, and keeping it on drains the battery”. His suggested fix is to tether the camera to a phone over Bluetooth and stamp the phone’s location into the EXIF data. A winning solution.

#2 – Computational photography, but on the photographer’s terms

Several of you want smartphone-style processing in “real” cameras. Cameras and phones seem to be ever growing closer together, so you may actually get this wish someday.

jande9 wants a camera that constantly takes pictures in the background, so that pressing the shutter produces an image that averages each pixel to reduce noise, and that sends the result straight to the phone, much as a phone does today.

Mario F. described a very specific use case: an in-camera “window pull” HDR mode for real estate and interior photographers, who currently spend hours blending brackets for every property.

jesbe took that idea even further and asked for in-camera raw processing that runs while the camera is on standby or charging, using full Lightroom-level profiles, plus a compact with a real zoom, real flash and larger sensor but phone-level processing tricks.

Getty Images

#3 – A true raw histogram

If computational photography isn’t of interest, how about a real raw histogram, raw-based zebras and a waveform display tech?

The community drilled down on a technical level as to why JPEG-based histograms mislead, with nobru1958 explaining the in-camera processing behind it and mcantsin noting that digital cinema cameras already offer raw exposure tools.

#4 – Cameras you can open up, lock down and trust

Franck Mee had three “simple” requests: standard Bluetooth audio support, file encryption (“a matter of life and death for reporters”) and open-source firmware, so that poor operating behavior can be fixed and security updates can be applied.

Others added their support, including patrol_taking_9j, who put it in two words: “Open firmware.”

A very practical set of considerations.

#5 – Designed for how people really shoot

IEBA1 wants more ruggedness in compact travel zooms. After, unfortunately, two of his had died, including one dropped while being pulled from a pocket (whoops), IEBA1 would happily accept a slightly larger body with a magnesium frame and a grip.

Chris Cookson wants a waterproof camera small enough for a rock pool or shallow creek, with at least a Micro Four Thirds sensor and strong macro capability, asking: “More of the earth is under water than in air, so why is it impossible to find a more capable go anywhere camera?” Great point, Chris!

#6 – Built-in wireless TTL flash triggering

Wireless flash control was a recurring wish, often accompanied by complaints about proprietary systems. psartman kept it short: “Built-in wireless TTL flash triggering.” When a reply pointed to a Nikon body that does this through its pop-up flash, psartman answered that many advanced and professional bodies don’t have a built-in flash.

Phill L wants to end the problem at the hot shoe, literally: “The end of proprietary hot shoes. Get with the game and have all brands’ flashes work on all cameras, with at least most of the functionality. Just add a digital communication bus so each brand can add their own special features and communicate through it. Sort of like USB but for flashes.”

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#7 – In-camera back tilt movements capability

Several of you want the camera to do what a tilt lens does, using the sensor stabilization system. dan pv had a good take on the idea:

“In-camera back tilt movement capabilities. The sensor could be tilted for a close-to-far sharpness at any f-stop in landscape or product photography. It could be done by the camera IBIS, extended a bit. One could choose on the LCD screen 2-3 points of sharpness, and the processor could compute and automatically apply the needed sensor tilt.”

L Lenson agreed and suggested where it could start: “At least medium format backs should have this capability. They are already expensive as it is, so adding the extra cost would perhaps not matter so much.” L Lenson also noted that the closest thing available today is a lens with a defect in which one side focuses closer than the other.

#8 – Borrowing tricks from astronomy

Perhaps the most ‘out there’ answer came from geekyrocketguy, who wants cameras to read the sensor non-destructively during an exposure:

“My background is astronomy, and this is a standard technique for the detectors there. It’s called ‘read up the ramp’ or ‘sample up the ramp.’ Basically, the sensor gets read out many times during an exposure and is only reset at the start. This offers the potential to greatly reduce read noise.”

This is actually a big deal. If a bright object saturates after three of ten reads, its brightness can be extrapolated from those three reads, which greatly extends dynamic range. For night and landscape work, geekyrocketguy calls it “game-changing.”

#9 – Bringing back DEP/A DEP

Not every idea was for something new. Several of you asked for the return of a feature that older Canon film and digital cameras already had: depth-of-field modes that work out the aperture for you, based on the nearest and farthest points you want sharp.

The idea came up in more than one post, and the most developed version, which drew some of the most reactions in the thread, came from Tony Hall, who would also like it updated for modern subject detection.

“Bring back DEP (or A-DEP) in which the camera calculates depth of field for you, either automatically or by defining a start and end point for your depth of field. Today, it would probably be called “smart aperture”. It could have various modes you could toggle by assigning a button to flip through them:

• Portrait: Both eyes in focus, eyes and ears or entire head in focus
• All detected faces in focus
• Only registered faces in focus
• Touch screen: touch near limit, touch far limit
• Similar settings for animals and other detected objects

While they’re at it, throw in some zone focusing modes you can assign to a button.”

rawdinal described how the original worked on the Canon EOS 5: “Focus on the closest point, focus on the farthest point. Then shoot.” He added a mysterious bit about the mode: “Nobody knows why this wonderful Mode was ripped off.”

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#10 – Old ideas that deserve a revival

Anyone remember the Contax AX, which focused by moving the film plane rather than the lens? It imagined a smaller modern take that could autofocus vintage primes.

ismith talked about it and said that he wanted “cool cameras” back, such as a new take on Sony’s DSC-R1.

A few bonus ideas for fun

When writing this article, I knew we would come across some wild ideas, but this one is extra unique. “A rope-pull starter for an internal combustion camera”, from focal yokel. It was noticed by our own reviews editor, Mitchell Clark, who said it would only work “if it takes, like, 5 times to get it running like most of the lawnmowers I’ve used.”

hieronymusevers asked for “the absence of 95% of all features a modern camera has,” which drew plenty of agreement from fans of simpler cameras. We can all relate to this sentiment at times, I bet.

Thanks to our inventive community for coming up with some truly unique and interesting new features that help us get the most out of our gear. I’ll take two of those internal combustion cameras, please.

Do you have a new feature to suggest? Join the discussion in the forums and tell us (and by extension, your favorite camera company) the feature you’d most like to see.

It’s been a busy week for APS-C enthusiasts. First, Sigma released a lens that many of us – Richard Butler especially – have requested for years: a sensibly-sized and priced 70-200-ish equiv. lens for APS-C. Alongside that, it released its first APS-C zoom lens for Nikon’s Z-mount, and, later in the week, Tamron released a new fast, standard zoom for pretty much every APS-C system.

A few of us on the DPReview team got together to discuss the news, and what it means for for APS-C as a format. We also reacted to some of our community’s commentary about the new lenses, and your reactions to Richard’s op-eds about full-frame not being the full story, and lenses being the key to making a format shine.

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Tamron has announced the 16-50mm F2.8, a fast standard zoom for all the most popular APS-C mirrorless mounts.

The compact, unstabilized lens arrives in the lineup alongside the existing 17-70mm F2.8 Di III-A VC RXD and will be available for Canon RF, Fujifilm X, Sony E and Nikon Z mounts. This makes it one of the few instances of a lens Nikon has lisenced that competes directly with one of its own lenses.

Richard Butler

Elsewhere, the 16-50mm offers a wider alternative to Sigma’s 18-50mm F2.8 and, while it’s physically longer, it takes the same 55mm diameter filter.

The lens delivers a 24-75mm equivalent range on Sony, Fujifilm and Nikon bodes, or a 26-80mm range on Canon RF bodies, making it a useful fast everyday lens as a kit zoom replacement.

At 80mm (3.2″) long and with a diameter of a little over 64mm (2.5″) maximum diameter, it is around half the volume of the stabilized 17-70mm F2.8 VC. And with a weight of 305g (10.8oz), it’s 42% lighter. It’s only 4% longer than the Sigma 18-50mm in their retracted states and around 5% heavier, despite covering an appreciably wider range.

Richard Butler

The new lens features 14 elements in 10 groups, these include one LD low-dispersion element, two molded glass aspherics and two hybrid aspherical lenses. It can focus as close as 15cm (6″) at wide angle, giving 0.22x magnification. Its 7 aperture blade design is the main area you can see costs being cut, vs the 9 blades on the more expensive 17-70mm.

Sadly, we’ve not had a chance to shoot with the 16-50mm yet, but we hope to in the coming weeks.

Richard Butler

The Tamron 16-50mm F2.8 A benefits from the company’s simplified naming system, with “A” indicating that it’s for APS-C and a code number (B091) to distinguish it from any future lenses with similar specs. The Canon, Sony and Nikon versions include a USB-C port, to allow firmware updates. We’re told this is not present on the X-mount version.

The 16-50mm F2.8 will arrive for Sony E-mount and Canon RF users in late October, with Fujifilm X following a month later and Nikon Z hitting the shelves just before the end of the year. It will sell with a list price of $529 for the Sony E and Fujifilm X versions and $549 for Canon and Nikon users. These are at least $170 less expensive than the larger, stabilized 17-70mm F2.8 VC will set you back.

It’s also significantly less than the camera makers’ own-brand 16-50-something F2.8s, which range from $900 for the Nikon 16-50mm F2.8 VR to $1700 for Sony’s 16-55mm F2.8 G.

Fujifilm has announced a new Instax camera, the Square 2. As its name suggests, it takes the company’s square instant film, and it offers some new ways to change how your photos look.

The headline feature of the Square 2 is what Fujifilm is calling “Mood Filters.” With the flick of a switch, you can change “the overall color, tone, or mood” of your photo, putting it into “Warm” mode for a “subtle golden tone” or “Cool” mode for “crisp, blue-toned color.” Of course, you can also shoot without a filter, to get the familiar standard Instax colors.

The Square 2 has also been redesigned. Somewhat ironically, it now features a more rounded design than the boxy SQ1, which was essentially all right angles. However, it comes in the same mix of colors, just with updated: white, red and blue.

Fujifilm

It retains several features from its predecessor, including a selfie mirror mounted to the lens, landscape, close up and standard shooting modes, and automatic exposure and flash settings. The 32mm F6.2 equiv. lens and flash also appear to be unchanged; the camera can focus as close as 0.3m (11.8″), and will take around 7.5 seconds to recharge between flash photos.

The Square 2’s electrical system, however, has been redone. Rather than requiring two somewhat specialized CR2 lithium batteries, it now runs off of four standard AA cells. Fujifilm says you should still be able to get through around 30 packs of film before having to replace them, but, when you do, it should be a bit easier and a lot cheaper.

Alongside the Square 2, Fujifilm has announced a new variant of its square Instax film. While the company will typically tweak the borders around the image, the new variant, called “Soft Haze” changes how the photo itself will look. Fujifilm says it features “color tone with reduced saturation and contrast” and “glowing highlights and warm, diffused shadows.”

The Square 2 will retail for $120 when it launches in late October, and will include a hand strap and batteries. The Soft Haze film, which will work with any camera that shoots the Instax Square format, will be launching around the same time for $18.99 a pack.

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For years, Pelican has dominated the arena of hard-sided roller cases meant to keep camera gear safe while traveling across land, air and sea. And while several competitors have started to crop up, none have really had the same brand recognition.

That may change today, though. Yeti, a company made famous by coolers that has branched out to other outdoorsy gear, has introduced its LoadOut GoBox cases, the smallest option of which is aimed squarely at photographers and videographers.

Yeti

Like most of these kinds of cases, the GoBox is focused on durability. Yeti says it’s designed to withstand “serious impact” and that it’s IP65 and IP67 rated to withstand even total immersion. It also has points that let you lock it closed, and tie-down slots for securely mounting it. Interestingly, Yeti has opted for a segmented, telescoping handle for use when rolling it around.

Unlike Pelican, Yeti isn’t offering a foam insert that you can customize to fit your exact gear. While the case comes empty by default, you can equip it with the company’s “Kor” protective insert, which basically vacuum seal into the shape of your gear. This makes them substantially more reconfigurable than foam, though they cost a pretty penny: Pelican demands about $40 for a roller-bag-sized foam insert (when you purchase it with the case), while the Kor will run you $250.

Yeti

Of course, you can also fill the case with more traditional packing and camera cubes. Yeti sells its own, but they don’t really seem to have the padding you’d want for valuable camera gear.

Like Pelican, Yeti is selling other accessories, too, including multiple organizers for the top lid, which let you keep small bits and bobs oriented.

The GoBox 28 is slightly heavier than the Pelican Protector 1510, which has a similar size and volume: Yeti’s is 6.1kg (13.5lb), versus 5.4kg (12lb). Both companies promise the cases will fit as a carry-on for most airlines, though obviously both will eat into any weight budgets that might exist.

Yeti

Photographers aren’t the only market Yeti’s targeting with the GoBoxes, but with this latest product (and its recent, smaller boxes) the company is clearly starting to take an interest in protecting people’s cameras. It’ll be interesting to see if these start showing up on sets, rather than their Pelican or Nanuk counterparts, though getting people to trust you with their most valuable gear can sometimes be an uphill battle.

The LoadOut GoBox 28 costs $350 by itself, and comes in tan, black and orange. The company also makes much larger 68 and 88 options, but they’re larger than most photographers and videographers would use.

Yeti

Yeti LoadOut GoBox 28

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