Canon EOS 20D and 17-40mm F4 L lens | ISO 100 | 3.2 sec | F4 Photo: Dale Baskin

The theme for our December Editors' photo challenge is 'Happy Holidays'.

Show us what the holiday season looks like through your lens. Whether it’s colorful lights, dazzling decorations, festive gatherings, or just a cozy moment, we want to see your best holiday-inspired photos.

For this challenge, submit one or more photos that embody this month's theme. Each person can enter up to two photos.

How it works

DPReview editors will review every photo you submit to an Editors' Challenge. We'll publish our favorites in a gallery on the DPReview homepage at the end of the month.

Submissions will open on Sunday, December 1st, and you have until Saturday, December 7 (GMT) to submit entries. User voting will begin once submissions close and will help inform DPReview Editors' picks, but will not select them. They are one factor in our evaluation. Visit the December Editors' Challenge page to see the full details.

While you're at it, don't forget to check out some of the other open and upcoming challenges hosted by members of the DPReview community. Or, see some of the great photos from recently completed photo challenges.

Open challenges:

• Close-up/Macro - Bugs (New Shots Only) (closes Dec. 28)

Upcoming challenges:

• Fortnight 39: My Best Non-bird Photo Shot after 2024-11-11 (opens Nov. 25)
• The Triumph (opens Nov. 28)
• Close-up/Macro - Bugs (2024 Shots Only) (opens Nov. 29)

Click here to see the December challenge details

�This week, we published our initial review of Sony's latest flagship, the a1 II. As part of the camera's launch event, editor Richard Butler was able to use the camera to shoot part of an American football game. Video director Mykim Dang went along with him to capture the experience, and the result is a very entertaining video that also covers the basic specs and features of the a1 II.

You can see full-resolution versions of some of the images Richard captured, along with a series of portraits he took while in New York City, in our sample gallery.

Images: Angelbird, 3 Legged Thing, Peak Design

Happy weekend, everyone! It's been a busy week here at DPReview, covering the launch of the Sony a1 II, but we've still found some accessories worth taking a look at. But first, as always, let's check out the deals.

It's almost time

Next week, the US is celebrating Thanksgiving, which is shortly followed by the traditional shopping days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Many brands have already started their sales, so there's plenty of discounts to be had. Next week we'll be putting out an article rounding up some of the best prices on our favorite gear, so stay tuned for that.

Photo: Richard Butler

In the meantime, Nikon's at it with the sales again. The company's latest full-frame camera, the Z6III, can be had for $200 off. When we reviewed it earlier this year, we were impressed by its versatility and capability for shooting both stills and videos.

Photo: Dan Bracaglia

What's that? You're not impressed by a mere $200 off? Fair enough. You can still get the Nikon Z8 for $500 off list, but the real jaw-dropper is the Nikon Z7 II, which is available for a full $1,000 off MSRP. It's a decidedly last-gen camera at this point and doesn't feature the company's latest autofocus tech that impressed us so much in the Z8 and Z6III, but if you're looking for a high-res full-frame camera to shoot landscapes with, it's hard to imagine that you'll find something better for $2,000.

Get outdoors

Image: Peak Design

A few months ago, Peak Design announced a new lineup of outdoor-focused camera bags, made of durable, weather-resistant materials and designed to be comfortable to wear on long excursions through varied terrain while carrying the gear you need to get the perfect landscape shot.

Previously, the bags – two backpacks and two slings – were available to preorder on Kickstarter, but they're now available to buy via normal retail channels. If you want to learn more about the bags, be sure to check out our full article on them here.

Peak Design Outdoor Pack

Peak Design Outdoor Sling

Beautiful card readers

Red is CFexpress type A, blue is SD, and yellow is CFexpress type B. Image: Angelbird

Angelbird, a company best known for its SSDs and memory cards, has released a new lineup of card readers called the PKT series. As the "pocket" name implies, they're meant to be carried around; the USB-C port on them is recessed to reduce wear and tear, the card slot has a cover to prevent dust or lint from building up in them and they have a write protection switch that can help prevent accidental data deletion or formating.

There are three models: one for SD cards, which can transfer data at 5 Gbps, and CFexpress type A and B models, which both run at 20Gbps through a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2 connection.

The PKT readers certainly aren't cheap – each one costs around $100 – but they sure do look nice. They're made out of aluminum, which you can get engraved with custom text for no extra cost, and each one features a distinctive splash of color so you can tell which reader you're grabbing at a glance. They also include a three-year warranty and a 32 cm (12.6") USB 4 cable.

SD reader	$99 at Amazon $99 at B&H
CFexpress type A reader	$99 at Amazon $99 at B&H
CFexpress type B reader	$99 at Amazon $99 at B&H

Rig out your iPhone 16

PolarPro's iPhone case lets you add accessories without having to use an entire cage Image: PolarPro

Filter and camera accessory company PolarPro has updated its 'LiteChaser' iPhone case lineup to support Apple's latest phones and add even more attachment options, including a set of effects lenses that can be used with your phone's main camera.

There are a few case options; the base one lets you attach filters and lenses and comes with a removable grip with two 1/4-20 threads and a cover that can flip down to protect your phone's cameras, while the 'ProCase' includes all that plus a cold-shoe mount that you can use to add even more mounting points to your phone. For those who like using their phone without a case, there's an easily removable 'EXO' backplate that attaches via MagSafe and gives you a slot to add filters and lenses.

The company sells a variety of specially made filters for the system, including a 2-5 variable ND, a black mist filter, and a circular polarizer, as well as an adapter that lets you use standard 67mm screw-on filters. The filters it made for the iPhone 15 version of the case are also forward-compatible, so you can still use them if you've upgraded your phone.

3 Legged Microphone

Image: 3 Legged Thing

3 Legged Thing's latest product isn't a tripod or other apparatus to mount a camera; instead, it's a set of clip-on lavalier microphones that you can use to record – you guessed it – three people at once. The company pitches the system, called the 'Str3amcase' towards content creators and videographers doing interviews, livestreams, or vlogs.

The kit comes with two transmission modules and one receiver module, which can also pull double-duty as a microphone, though given the lack of onboard recording you'll have to find a way to discretely run a cable off it. If you don't need to record a third person, you can clip it to a camera's shoe mount instead of a collar and use its 3.5mm jack to output audio. You can also connect it to a phone via USB-C.

The transmission modules have their own clips, but can also be magnetically attached to things as well. If you'd rather not use the built-in microphones, you can also attach a lavalier to them via a 3.5mm jack.

The two transmitter modules and receiver module nestle into a charging case that's powered via USB-C.

$130 at 3 Legged Thing

Click to read last week's accessory roundup

$1000 might sound like a lot of money for a camera, but it's probably the least we'd recommend spending if you want to go beyond phone photography. The picks on this list will give you more control than a phone and offer a more satisfying photographic experience.

At this price point, your main options will be entry-level interchangeable lens cameras or enthusiast-tier compact cameras with a built-in lens. Compact cameras offer more control than a phone and a greater zoom range, but – despite having sensors that are around 60% larger – likely won't offer a huge jump in image quality compared to the latest flagship phones.

Meanwhile, an interchangeable lens camera won't be as easy to carry around and comes with the added expense of lenses. However, they can make you feel even more involved in the photographic process, and the flexibility of swappable lenses will let you learn and grow into different types of photography as you develop your passion. They also feature much larger sensors than phones and the majority of compacts.

It's worth noting that camera makers sometimes assume that beginners will stick with the basic 'kit' zoom that comes with the camera, so it's worth checking whether a good selection of lenses is available (at a price you're willing to spend) before deciding which brand's system to buy into.

Our recommendations:

• Best camera under $1000: Canon EOS R10
• The better performer: Nikon Z50II
• The affordable kit: Sony a6100
• Best compact camera under $1000: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VA
• Best camera for content creators under $1000: Fujifilm X-M5

Best camera under $1000: Canon EOS R10

24MP Dual Pixel APS-C CMOS sensor | 4K/30p video (60p with crop) | 15fps shooting (23fps with e-shutter)

Photo: Shaminder Dulai

There are a few things that earn it the top place of this list. The first is its stand-out usability, with dual top-plate dials for controlling exposure settings and a joystick to control its very capable autofocus system. It also has a decent selection of lenses; third parties like Sigma have stepped in to round-out the selection of primes and higher-end zoom lenses available for it, meaning you've got a lot of good options if you want to move beyond the kit lens that came with it.

With the EOS R10 Canon has re-created the capability and usability of its popular Rebel series DSLRs in its RF mirrorless lens mount. Now that there's a wider variety of lenses available for it, it's an excellent pick for those looking to get into photography.

Read our Canon EOS R10 review

See Canon EOS R10 studio scene

The other options

While we much prefer the higher level of control that the EOS R10 provides, the less expensive Canon EOS R50 may also be worth a look if you're extremely budget-conscious but still want to stay in the Canon ecosystem. It has fewer control points – most notably, it misses out on the EOS R10's joystick – and it loses out on features such as 4K/60p video capture and an articulating display, but it's still pretty capable.

We don't recommend the cheaper still EOS R100. It's based on a previous generation of technology, so it's slower and has less sophisticated autofocus.

The better performer: Nikon Z50II

20.9MP APS-C sensor | Subject recognition AF | Full-width 4K video up to 30p

Photo courtesy Nikon

The Z50II makes a case for being the best pick for beginners, thanks to a simple and effective AF system with automatic subject detection. However, while plenty of prime lenses are available, Nikon appears to be blocking bright zooms from third-party makers, limiting your upgrade options compared with its rivals.

Read our Nikon 50II Initial Review

What about the Z fc?

Nikon's Z fc is a stylish camera based on the original Z50, which means it has the same sensor as the Z50II. We like it a lot, but the autofocus on the Z50II is such a marked improvement that it's hard to recommend picking up a Z fc at this point – you can read our full comparison between the two cameras here. If you have a strong attachment to the Z fc's aesthetics, your best option is probably holding-off for a bit to see if Nikon updates the Z fc. If that's not an option, see if you can get it on sale or used.

The affordable kit: Sony a6100

24MP APS-C sensor | Hybrid AF with Real-time Tracking | 4K video capture

The Sony a6100 offers a lot of power in a compact, well-priced body. The 16-50mm power zoom isn't the best, though. Photo: Richard Butler

It was a very capable and affordable camera when it was launched several years ago, offering some of the best autofocus around and a wide selection of lenses. The latter part is still an advantage, but many competitors' autofocus systems are now on par with, or even more capable than, the a6100's. However, it's still worth considering if you want to get both a camera body and a decent lens for under $1,000.

Read our Sony a6100 review

See the Sony a6100 studio scene

Best compact camera under $1000: Sony Cyber-shot DSC RX100 Va

20MP 1" Stacked CMOS sensor | 24-70mm equiv. F1.8-2.8 lens | 4K video capture

The RX100 VA can deliver excellent image quality, backed up by good autofocus

The Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100 VA is an updated RX100 V with the same 20MP Stacked CMOS sensor, fast 24-70mm equiv. lens, hybrid AF system, clever popular viewfinder and excellent 4K video quality. The 'VA' adds a larger buffer, new metering, white balance and AF modes, an improved EVF refresh rate and more.

Sony essentially created this class of cameras with the original RX100 model. A large sensor gives image quality that's still a match for a good smartphone but with the benefit of an actual zoom lens. The Stacked CMOS sensor and a built-in viewfinder add to the cost but also create a very powerful camera.

The RX100 VII is also worth a look. It's more expensive, and its lens is slower, taking away some of the low light performance, but it offers a much longer zoom, giving still more benefit over a smartphone.

Read our Sony Cyber-shot RX100 V review

See the Sony Cyber-shot DSC RX100 V studio scene

Best camera for content creation: Fujifilm X-M5

26MP APS-C BSI CMOS sensor | Fully articulated 3" LCD | 6.2K 3:2 video up to 30p

It's aimed at creators taking pictures and video for the web, with a suite of vlogging features meant to let you shoot video that's ready to upload as soon as you transfer it to your phone and a dial that lets you easily switch between 'Film Simulations,' Fujifilm's much-loved color modes. It also has the full suite of stills features from larger, more expensive models – minus a viewfinder – and its X-mount lens mount also gives you access to the most complete range of APS-C lenses, no matter where your photography or content creation journey takes you.

Read our Fujifilm X-M5 initial review

What if I only vlog?

If you plan to shoot more videos than photos, you may want to consider the Sony ZV-E10 II. Its lack of a mechanical shutter makes it worse for photography, but its autofocus tracking performance in video sets it apart from the X-M5. It also has video-centric features like a front tally light and included wind sock, and it can shoot 4K 60fps without having to crop in too tightly on the frame.

Click here to read the ZV-E10 II review

Sony also makes a compact vlogging camera called the ZV-1 II. It gives up a lot compared to the ZV-E10 II: it has a much smaller Type-1 sensor, no 10-bit video, no 4K 60fps, and, obviously, no ability to switch out lenses. In return, you get built-in ND filters, which will help if you're shooting in direct sunlight, and a built-in lens, which means that you're getting a complete package for under $1,000. Still, it's hard to recommend when cameras like the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 exist and when many phones rival it in vlogging capabilities.

Click here to read our Best Cameras for Vlogging buying guide

Why you should trust us

This buying guide is based on cameras used and tested by DPReview's editorial team. We don't select a camera until we've used it enough to be confident in recommending it, usually after our extensive review process. The selections are purely a reflection of which cameras we believe to be best: there are no financial incentives for us to select one model or brand over another.

Earlier this week, Sony announced its FE 28-70mm F2 GM lens, its first constant F2 zoom. The company promised "prime levels of performance" and said the lens doesn't rely on software corrections.

Our sample gallery shows how the lens performs in general use as a portrait lens and contains a few samples designed to show how it renders sun stars and its vignetting performance throughout its aperture range. There are also some shots designed to show off how it renders bokeh when wide open at F2.

A note on processing: our standard procedure for lens galleries is to export the JPEGs using Capture One, as it gives us more control over how lens corrections are applied than Adobe Camera Raw. However, we shot this gallery with the just-announced Sony a1 II, which currently isn't supported in Capture One, so we reverted to processing these images using ACR. We've worked to use settings similar to our standard C1 recipe. No correction for vignetting or distortion was applied.

Landscape Photographer of the Year winners

The 11th annual International Landscape Photographer of the Year competition has announced the winners of its 2024 awards, showcasing stunning imagery from around the world. Photographers competed in various categories, including the coveted Landscape Photographer of the Year, requiring a portfolio of at least four images, and Landscape Photograph of the Year, recognizing the power of a single captivating shot.

This year's competition saw Canadian photographer Andrew Mielzynski, an amateur with a deep connection to the natural environment, claim the top prize for his portfolio of stark images with simple color palettes. Ryohei Irie from Japan captured the Landscape Photograph of the Year award with a mesmerizing image of fireflies illuminating a forest.

Beyond the overall winners, the competition presented awards in specific categories, including Black and White, Aerial, Snow and Ice, and Forest, along with at-large winners. In addition to the overall and category winners, we've included several of our favorite photos from the 202 photographs recognized this year. You can visit the competition's website to see all the winning images or to download its 2024 eBook.

Landscape Photographer of the Year: 1st place

Photographer: Andrew Mielzynski, Canada

Subject and location: Cono de Arita in the Salar de Arizaro, Atacama Desert in Argentina

Description: The Cono is a perfectly cone-shaped volcano at 3,690 meters above sea level. It’s very graphic due to the contrast between the dark, perfectly formed cone and the bed of white salt that is found at its base.

Copyright Andrew Mielzynski / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

Landscape Photographer of the Year: 1st place

Photographer: Andrew Mielzynski, Canada

Subject and location: Winter Cottonwoods, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Description: During the pandemic, I went out for a walk at a local park during a fierce winter storm. I ran across this scene. It seemed very chaotic, with many layers of trees. I loved how the snow, driven by high winds, was embedded into the bark of the trunks. The snow on the bark created a textural contrast that adds detail and interest to the trees. I took a few frames, trying to simplify the scene in front of me and settled on this one, loving the tones, the depth, the order and the minimalism. Even in a chaotic scene, there seems to be a sense of balance that feels orderly and pleasing.

Copyright Andrew Mielzynski / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

Landscape Photographer of the Year: 1st place

Photographer: Andrew Mielzynski, Canada

Subject and location: Found in a roadside ditch near Heathcote, Ontario, Canada

Description: After a melt, we had a flash freeze with extremely cold temperatures and a clear blue sky. I was driving by a ditch on the side of a road that had been filled with water and had to stop and look (as we photographers do, can’t pass a ditch without investigating). This is what I found. Great textures and patterns, tones and flow, with lovely graphic lines creating a dynamic, abstract designs. I love this type of work – it’s so much fun, yet challenging to find just the right composition.

Copyright Andrew Mielzynski / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

Landscape Photographer of the Year: 2nd place

Photographer: Ignacio Palacios, Australia

Subject and location: Pumice Field, La Puna, Argentina

Copyright Ignacio Palacios / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

Landscape Photographer of the Year: 2nd place

Photographer: Ignacio Palacios, Australia

Subject and location: Seven Colors Mountain, Siloli Desert, Bolivian Altiplano

Copyright Ignacio Palacios / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

Landscape Photographer of the Year: 2nd place

Photographer: Ignacio Palacios, Australia

Subject and location: Arita Cone, La Puna, Argentina

Copyright Ignacio Palacios / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

Landscape Photographer of the Year: 3rd place

Photographer: Gheorghe Popa, Romania

Subject and location: Early Autumn, Vânători Neamț Natural Park, Romania

Copyright Gheorghe Popa / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

Landscape Photographer of the Year: 3rd place

Photographer: Gheorghe Popa, Romania

Subject and location: Poisoned Beauty, Geamăna, Apuseni Mountains, Romania

Copyright Gheorghe Popa / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

Landscape Photographer of the Year: 3rd place

Photographer: Gheorghe Popa, Romania

Subject and location: Whispers of the Sunken Trees Cuejdel Lake, Romania

Copyright Gheorghe Popa / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

Landscape Photograph of the Year: 1st place

Photographer: Ryohei Irie, Japan

Subject and location: Traces of Light, Ichinomata, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan

Description: The Landscape Photograph of the Year Award went to Ryohei Irie of Japan. He likes the mysterious atmosphere created by the standing dead trees and firefly light. “I have been visiting this Subject and location for several years during the firefly season, and it is an interesting place because the intensity and length of the firefly light and the Subject and location where the fireflies fly vary greatly, depending on the year and time of day, resulting in completely different works, even when photographed in the same way.”

Copyright Ryohei Irie / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

Landscape Photograph of the Year: 2nd place

Photographer: Justinus Sukotjo, Indonesia

Subject and location: Mother Care Framing, Walakiri Beach, Sumba Island, Indonesia

Copyright Justinus Sukotjo / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

Landscape Photograph of the Year: 3rd place

Photographer: Himadri Bhuyan, India

Subject and location: The Flow, Sohra, Meghalaya, India

Copyright Himadri Bhuyan / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

The Black and White Award

Photographer: J. Fritz Rumpf, United States

Award: The Black and White Award 2024

Subject and location: White Tie Affair. Death Valley National Park, California, USA

Copyright J. Fritz Rumpf / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

The Aerial Award

Photographer: Benjamin Barakat, Switzerland

Award: The Aerial Award 2024

Subject and location: The Final Dune, Namibia

Copyright Benjamin Barakat / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

The Snow and Ice Award

Photographer: Jeroen van Nieuwenhove, Iceland

Award: The Snow and Ice Award 2024

Subject and location: Isþyrlu – Ice Swirl, Scoresbysund, Greenland

Copyright Jeroen van Nieuwenhove / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

The Forest Award

Photographer: Shirley Wung, Taiwan

Award: The Forest Award 2024

Subject and location: Fireflies flying in the Misty Mountains, Wufeng Township, Hsinchu, Taiwan

Copyright Shirley Wung / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

The Exciting Sky Award

Photographer: Federico Delucchi, Italy

Award: The Exciting Sky Award 2024

Subject and location: Aurora, meteor shower and other cool stuff, Rocca la Meja, Italy

Copyright Federico Delucchi / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

Other top entries

Photographer: Laura Bennet, United States

Subject and location: Sumba Island, Indonesia

Copyright Laura Bennet / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

Other top entries

Photographer: William Preite, Italy

Subject and location: Pale di San Martino, Falcade, Dolomites, Italy

Copyright William Preite / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

Other top entries

Photographer: Siegfried Makedanz, Germany

Subject and location: Sandfellsjökull Glacier Lagoon, Southern Iceland

Copyright Siegfried Makedanz / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

Other top entries

Photographer: Sabine Weise, Germany

Subject and location: Moonscape Overlook, Utah Badlands, USA

Copyright Sabine Weise / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

Other top entries

Photographer: Yuriy Vantowski, United States

Subject and location: Mount Bromo, East Java, Indonesia

Copyright Yuriy Vantowski / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

Other top entries

Photographer: Tanay Das, India

Subject and location: Kistwa, Himalaya, Jammu and Kashmir, India

Copyright Tanay Das / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

Other top entries

Photographer: Rajesh Jyothiswaran, United States

Subject and location: Texas, United States

Copyright Rajesh Jyothiswaran / The International Landscape Photographer of the Year

Images: Canon, Nikon

This week, Sigma released four APS-C primes for Canon's RF mount, making good on its promise to release six licensed lenses for the system – earlier this year, it released the 10-18mm F2.8 and 18-50mm F2.8. Meanwhile, Nikon has allowed Sigma to release select primes for Z-mount – a trio of F1.4 primes at 16, 30, and 56mm. It's worth noting the company's 23mm F1.4 is the only one of its APS-C primes that it hasn't brought to Z-mount; it likely isn't a coincidence that Nikon's only own-brand APS-C prime lens is a 24mm F1.7.

However, Nikon hasn't actively prevented companies like Viltrox and Sirui from releasing a slew of Z-mount APS-C prime lenses, complete with autofocus. If you pick up a Nikon Zfc or Z50II, you can get anywhere from a 13mm F1.4 (20mm equiv.) to a 75mm F1.2 (113mm equiv.) to go with it, as well as most of the classic focal lengths in between.

Sigma's APS-C prime lens lineup is quite good, and now most of them are available for almost any mirrorless APS-C camera. Image: Sigma

This is an important change for APS-C shooters. Even going back to the DSLR days, it's felt like many manufacturers have viewed the format as a stepping stone to full-frame rather than something enthusiasts and pros might consciously choose. Neither Canon nor Nikon have been particularly prolific when releasing new APS-C glass. But with the gates being slightly opened, you're no longer limited to a few first-party options, manual-focus-only lenses from third parties, or heavier, more expensive full-frame lenses. Now, there's at least some selection of third-party lenses with autofocus to choose from, alongside Canon and Nikon's offerings.

Your choices are no longer limited to a few first-party options, manual-focus only lenses, or glass meant for full-frame bodies

This isn't to say that you can now buy any APS-C camera you want and be assured that all the lenses you want will be available – you are still at the mercy of what Canon and Nikon wish to allow. While plenty of primes are available for Z-mount APS-C cameras, no fast zoom lenses are available; Nikon's all start at F3.5 and end at F5.6 or F6.3.

In fact, there are currently no third-party APS-C zooms available for Nikon Z-mount at all, despite the fact that two have made the jump from E and X-mount to RF – it also goes without saying that there are many others more available on Fujifilm and Sony's systems. That's a bummer for anyone looking to step up from the kit lens or wanting to shoot sports or birds in anything but ideal lighting without having to shell out for and lug around a full-frame 70-200mm.

Tamron has promised to bring its 11-20mm F2.8 APS-C lens to Canon RF mount this year as well – no word on Z-mount, despite Tamron bringing some of its full-frame lenses to Nikon. Image: Tamron

RF mount at least has the two constant F2.8 zooms thanks to Sigma, with one more on the way from Tamron, though those are all at the wide end. However, there are far fewer autofocus primes available for Canon, as manufacturers like Sirui and Viltrox aren't producing them. That's not surprising; a representative for the latter once said that Canon had told it to stop producing products for RF mount. The 85mm F1.4 lens that Samyang announced for the system in 2020 also disappeared from the market not long after.

In a perfect world, these problems wouldn't exist. Canon and Nikon would make the lenses that their APS-C cameras needed to stand on their own feet as a real alternative to full-frame options, and there would be robust competition from third parties, which would be allowed to make whatever lenses they want.

None of that seems particularly likely. However, at least those who choose to shoot with a smaller sensor in a Canon or Nikon body have gotten a wider choice of lenses, even if they're still bound by the companies' rules.

At the end of the day, that's better for everyone interested in APS-C, because it means that cameras like the EOS R7 and Z50II are competitive with the Sony a6700 and Fujifilm X-T5 in a way that they wouldn't have been with an extremely limited lens selection. With any luck, this trend will continue, and the APS-C landscape will become more competitive – even if Canon and Nikon aren't giving it their full attention.

Yesterday, Sony announced the a1 II, a new flagship camera aimed squarely at professional photojournalists shooting sports and other high-speed action. The camera uses the same 50MP sensor as its predecessor but features an updated autofocus system that supports more subject recognition types.

While we'll have plenty more testing to do once we get a production model, we were able to get a feel for what the camera is capable of by shooting part of an American football game and several portraits in New York City, as well as using it for other general photography in Florida and Washington State. You can see the results in the gallery above.

Click here to view the sample gallery

Sample gallery

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The Sony Alpha 1 II is the company's latest flagship full-frame mirrorless camera. It's built around the same 50.1MP stacked CMOS sensor as the original but now includes an "AI processing unit," which allows its autofocus system to recognize seven different subject types and to automatically select one based on what's in the scene.

Key specifications

• 50.1MP stacked CMOS sensor
• In-body stabilization rated at up to 8.5EV
• Improved autofocus subject recognition with automatic selection
• Continuous shooting at up to 30fps with full AF tracking
• Pre-release capture from 0.03 to 1 second
• Fully-articulated rear screen on tilt-out cradle
• 8K 30p video downsampled from 8.6K / 4K 120fps
• 9.44M dot 240fps viewfinder - full res up to 120fps

The a1 II will retail for $6,499.99 – the same as its predecessor – and will be available in mid-December.

Index:

• What's new?
• How it compares
• Body and handling
• Initial impressions
• Sample Gallery
• Specifications
• Press release

What's new

Despite using the same sensor as its predecessor, Sony claims the a1 II will have improved image quality at mid-to-high ISOs thanks to its improved image processing engine. Presumably, these improvements will only appear in the JPEGs.

Improved Autofocus

The original a1's autofocus system could recognize humans when shooting stills and videos, and animals and birds when shooting stills. The a1 II, however, inherits the dedicated "AI processor" seen in cameras like the a7R V and a9 III and can now recognize even more subjects: it adds insects, cars, trains and airplanes. All the recognition modes are now available in movie mode as well, and the system can specifically target key parts of recognized subjects, such as a driver's helmet.

The a1 II brings an 'Auto' subject recognition mode to the Alpha line

Sony also claims that human and animal eye recognition should be around 30% better than the a1 and that bird eye recognition should be 50% better. The Animal and Bird modes have also been merged, meaning you won't have to switch between subject recognition modes if you want to go from shooting animals to birds or vice versa.

The a1 II's Auto Subject Detection mode lets you narrow-down the types of subject it'll search for, to help optimize the performance.

Not that you would necessarily have to switch modes manually. The a1 II is Sony's first Alpha camera to have an Auto subject recognition mode, where it can determine what type of subject it should be tracking and lock on to it. As with the similar system on Nikon's cameras, this comes with a small speed penalty compared to having a specific subject recognition mode selected. However, it can be useful if you need to quickly go between shooting a variety of subject types.

You can also speed up the system by limiting which types of subjects the Auto mode selects between; for example, you can make it so it only looks for humans, animals, and birds if you're not planning to shoot any insects or vehicles.

Finally, Sony's also adding extra small and extra large spot focus area options.

Pre-Capture

One feature that's become commonplace since the launch of the a1 is pre-capture – a way for the camera to save the moments before you press the shutter, helping you capture key moments beyond your ability to anticipate them. The a1 II adds it, recording up to 30 frames in the moments leading up to you pressing the shutter button, though if you want to go above 20fps, you will be limited to using lossy compressed Raws instead of lossless compressed ones. When enabled, the pre-capture is activated by a half-press of the shutter, the press of the AF button, or both, depending on your settings.

You can set the pre-record window to be as short as 0.03 seconds or as long as a second, with several options in between.

Better stabilization

The a1 II's internal image stabilization is now rated for up to 8.5 stops in the center of the frame and 7 stops on the periphery (a new CIPA metric), up from a 5.5 stop rating on the a1.

Viewfinder tweaks

Hardware-wise, the a1 II's EVF seems largely unchanged from the a1's: it's the same resolution and can run at the same 240fps. However, Sony says you can now run in 120fps mode with display quality set to 'high,' though you will still see a drop in resolution if you go up to 240fps.

There's also now a 'deep' viewfinder eyecup included in the box, alongside the standard one

Video

The a1 II retains most of the original's video specs. This means 8K capture at up to 30p, full-width 4K capture at up to 60p and up to 120p with a 1.13x crop. The 4K isn't derived from the 8K footage, though, so you don't gain the detail benefit of 2x oversampling.

The a1 II adds a few quality-of-life updates, though. The most impactful will probably be the aforementioned support for using all the subject tracking modes while shooting video, but you can also now import up to 16 custom LUTs that you can use to preview what your Log footage will look like when graded. You can also embed the LUT alongside your files, so that someone else editing your footage can match your intended look.

Just as we've seen with Sony's other recent large-sensor cameras, the a1 II only shoots the S-Log3 profile, which captures a very wide dynamic range. It no longer offers the less expansive S-Log2 option. The a1 II also gains the attractive and flexible S-Cinetone profile if you don't want to color grade in post.

The camera also has the Auto Framing feature found on some of Sony's vlogging cameras, where it will crop in on the subject and move the frame around to make it seem like there's a cameraperson tracking them. There's also a 'Dynamic active' image stabilization mode, which Sony says will increase the stabilization by up to 20% compared to the standard 'Active' mode, and a 'Framing Stabilizer' mode that's meant to ensure that your frame maintains the same composition as much as possible when shooting handheld.

Noise Reduction Composite Raw

Sony has expanded on the a1's pixel shift multi-shot mode, adding a noise reduction mode that shoots between 4 and 32 Raw images that can be composited together using a desktop computer running the company's Imaging Edge software. Sony pitches it as a mode for low-light portraiture.

It's most easily understood as a multi-shot mode without the pixel-shift movement. Rather than trying to boost resolution it aligns and combines multiple images to boost the signal-to-noise ratio (ie: tonal quality) at each pixel position. As with pixel shift mode, it'll work best when there's little to no movement within your scene.

The a1 II also gains focus bracketing, which the original a1 lacked.

How it compares

The most direct competitor to the a1 II is Nikon's Z9, its pro-focused high speed, high resolution model. Canon's EOS R1 lower resolution makes it more of an a9 III competitor, but it's these models primarily and explicitly made for professional shooting in the most demanding circumstances that Sony's trying to target.

However, given how much of the Z9 and R1 Nikon and Canon have included in the Z8 and EOS R5 II, respectively, it's also fair to include one of those models here, too. Sony doesn't use the two-grip and larger battery design for its pro models, which makes the comparison even more inviting, despite them being a different class of camera.

The a1 II has the joint fastest shooting rate here and its sensor readout is quicker than the roughly 1/160 that the EOS R5 II can achieve. Likewise it has a built-in Ethernet connection, which the Canon lacks and, unlike the EOS R5 II and Nikon Z8, has matched card slots so that pros can focus on a single type of media and never have to worry about an performance difference between slots.

It's much more evenly-matched against the Z9, which has a much lower resolution viewfinder but a low-latency readout path from its sensor to make the viewfinder more responsive. The Z9 can only shoot at up to 20fps in Raw, dropping to 12-bit readout and JPEG-only mode to hit 30fps.

Body and handling

Given that the a1's audience is professionals who use it day in and day out, it's no surprise that Sony has been conservative with changes to its magnesium body and controls – the a1 II's tweaks are largely the same as the a9 III's, with the grip getting deeper and the shutter button being angled forward towards your finger.

The dials and buttons are largely in the same places, though the exposure compensation markings have been removed from the locking top-plate control dial. The stills / video / S&Q modes have also been moved to a sub-dial rather than being settings on the mode selector dial, and the drive select dial now has a disable setting that lets you control the camera's drive mode purely through menus.

The a1 II also features an additional programmable button on the front next to the grip. By default, it acts as a 'Speed Boost' button, upping your shooting rate as you hold it down. For example, you could be shooting at 15fps and press the button to start shooting at 30fps for a few seconds when the action speeds up or when you want to be sure you'll capture a specific moment. This option can be moved to another button and the boosted frame-rate can be tailored to suit your subject.

The biggest physical change is the display. It's a bit larger and higher resolution than the a1's, and it can now tilt in addition to being fully articulated. It's a design we saw with the a7RV, and one that should make both photographers and videographers happy. It also has the slightly updated menu system from the a7RV as well, with the interactive settings tab.

As discussed above, the viewfinder is largely still the same, with a large 0.9x magnification and 9.44M dots giving a resolution of 2048 x 1536px. Its 120fps mode is nicer to use now that it doesn't come with a substantial drop in resolution.

Ports and slots

The a1 II's I/O is largely unchanged from its predecessor, though the ports have moved around a bit. It still has a headphone and microphone jack, a USB-C port that runs at 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps speeds, a full-size HDMI port, Sony's micro USB 'Multi' accessory port, and a flash sync port.

It also has dual-band 2.4 and 5GHz Wi-Fi with 2x2 MIMO and an upgraded Ethernet port that runs at 2.5Gbps instead of the 1Gbps speeds the port on the a1 was limited to. That should make transferring large videos and batches of photos over long distances faster – try finding a high-speed USB-C cable that's more than a few meters long – and is another sign of the pro workflows this camera is designed to support. The Ethernet port also now has a Wake on LAN feture that can be used to remotely turn the a1 II on using Remote Camera Tool.

On the other side, the a1 II features a pair of the combined CFexpress Type A / UHS-II SD card slots for storage that feature on many of Sony's cameras.

Battery

The a1 II uses Sony's NP-FZ100 batteries, and includes a dual-battery charger in the box, which it claims will charge two batteries at once in around 155 minutes.

The camera is rated to give 420 shots per charge when using the rear screen. As always, CIPA figures tend to significantly underestimate the actual number of shots most people will get, and this discrepancy gets significantly larger when you're shooting bursts. But, while we'd expect a camera rated at 420 shots per charge to actually be able to shoot multiple times this number in practice, it's usually a good indicator of how its battery life compares with other cameras (ie: if it gets a rating 50% lower than another camera, it's likely to capture around 50% fewer shots per charge).

Initial impressions

By Richard Butler

The a1 II's AF proved very effective at staying focused on the player we'd specified, in our testing so far. Sony FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS | F2.8 | 1/4000 sec | ISO 640 Photo: Richard Butler

When the original a1 arrived, just shy of four years ago, it represented an unprecedented combination of high resolution and speed. Despite a 50MP sensor, its Stacked CMOS design with on-board RAM let it capture stills at up to 30fps with readout speeds of around 4ms (fast enough to allow flash sync at up to 1/200 sec). This was around four times faster readout than the 20fps Canon EOS R5, which had previously come closest to offering high-speed and high res.

However, in the time that's passed, both Canon and Nikon have produced fast high-res bodies and done so at something closer to a consumer-reachable price, leaving Sony's pro flagship looking expensive, rather than exemplary. Don't let this or Sony's single-grip approach fool you: the a1 II is designed to square-up against the Z9 and R1, not the Z8 and R5 II. But it goes to show how quickly things have been moving that these more affordable models can match so much of the of the original a1's spec and offer more advanced subject recognition.

A pro sports camera doesn't have to be used solely for sports, and its impressive autofocus can help maintain a very high hit-rate even when scrutinizing all 50 million pixels. Sony 28-70mm F2 GM @ 70mm | F8 | 1/200 sec | ISO 100

The a1 II helps redress this balance, somewhat, pairing the same processing capabilities as Sony's other pro-focussed model, the a9 III, with the 50MP Stacked CMOS sensor. This includes the gain of subject recognition AF modes with the first 'Auto' option that lets you pare back the range of subjects it hunts for, to hit an optimal speed/convenience balance for your photography. We've been very impressed by the camera's AF performance so far.

The a1 II also gains the pre-capture option that's been becoming increasingly common on action-focused cameras. It still tops-out at 8K/30 on the video side though, and has no option for 4K derived from this 8K capture, leaving it behind both the R5 II and Z8 in this regard.

Interestingly, the a1 II still needs to drop to Sony's damagingly lossy Raw format at 30 fps: it can only shoot lossless compressed Raw at 20fps. The difference only becomes apparent at high-contrast edges after significant editing pushes, so is unlikely to be a major issue for action shooting, but it's a surprise that this couldn't be addressed with the Mark II's greater processing grunt.

"It's these workflow features aimed at professionals that try to set the camera apart"

Critically, the a1 II also includes a series of features from both the a1 and the a9 III designed specifically for professionals trying to deliver images quickly that the less expensive rivals lack. This includes a variety of transfer options, including SFTP and several ways of marking files to be transferred. We'd also expect the a1 II to gain the ability to encode C2PA authentication metadata to its files.

Unsurprisingly, it's the cumulative impact of these workflow features aimed at professionals working in high-intensity environments that try to set the camera apart. And if you're not one of those people (and most of us aren't), then the a1 II almost certainly isn't worth so much more than the more consumer-priced models.

Details such as a high-speed Ethernet port and options like Start-on-LAN to enable a goal-line camera to be remotely activated and controlled are what help set the pro-tier products apart from the very high-end enthusiast/crossover models.

But how can these small details, an Ethernet port, that huge, high-res viewfinder and details like matched media card slots really add up to justify a 50% premium over the enthusiast/pro crossover bodies, such as the Z8 and EOS R5 II? Ultimately, it may simply be a 'Pro Tax': that $6K is how much a pro-focused camera costs. It's the amount the market has shown it will bear, and it's likely to be how much companies (including single-photographer companies) will have budgeted.

If there's any doubt in your mind about whether the a1 II is worth the extra $2000 over the Z8 or EOS R5 II, then you're not its target audience, and consequently it almost certainly isn't, But if you are a Sony-shooting pro, the a1 II adds significantly to the skill-set of the previous model. But against dramatically improved competition and with so much Z9 and R1 tech trickling down to the Z8 and R5 II, it's not the game-changer its predecessor was. We'll get a chance to test this assessment as we continue using the camera.

Sample gallery

Please do not reproduce any of these images on a website or any newsletter/magazine without prior permission (see our copyright page). We make the originals available for private users to download to their own machines for personal examination or printing (in conjunction with this review); we do so in good faith, so please don't abuse it.

The FE 28-70mm F2.0 GM, attached to the newly-announced a1 II. Photo: Mitchell Clark

Sony has announced the FE 28-70mm F2 GM, a zoom lens that trades 4mm at the wide end for an aperture that's a stop brighter than the one found on a classic 24-70mm F2.8. It's the company's first constant F2 zoom lens for its E-mount cameras.

The lens's optical formula consists of 20 elements in 14 groups, with three aspherical lenses, three super ED elements, and one ED element. It uses an 11-blade aperture. The front element has an oil and water-resistant flourine coating, and the lens is moisture and dust resistant.

It's far from a compact lens, though it's not as monstrously large as you might expect – it weighs in at 918g (32 oz) and is around 140mm (5.5") long. It has an 86mm filter thread.

Sony makes it obvious what lens it's competing with, highlighting that it's 36% lighter and 11% smaller in diameter than Canon's RF 28-70mm F2 L lens while claiming better corner-to-corner sharpness. The company also says the lens's four linear motors can focus even when shooting at 120fps, and emphasized that they're quieter than the older ring-type ultrasonic style motor in the Canon F2. In fairness, that lens was one of the original RF-mount releases, announced in 2018.

"Sony makes it obvious which lens it's competing with"

The quieter operation should help when shooting video. Other pluses for video: it has an internal focusing mechanism which should make it easier to use the lens on a gimbal, the ability to switch the aperture ring into clickless mode and support for the focus breathing compensation mode included on some Sony bodies. You can also set the manual focus ring to have a linear response, which should make focus pulls easier.

The lens has a variety of switches and buttons. There are two customizable focus hold buttons, an Iris lock switch, the aperture click switch and a zoom smoothness switch that lets you adjust between "smooth" and "tight" torque settings.

It's not the fastest zoom lens available for E-mount: at the time of writing, that prize goes to Sigma's 28-45mm F1.8, though that model has substantially less reach on the tele end and only a 1/3EV increase in light-gathering ability.

The FE 28-70mm F2 GM will be available in mid-December and has an MSRP of $2,899.

Sony FE 28-70mm F2 GM Specifications

We're at Sony's 'Creative Space' event in New York, which happens to coincide with when the company said it would announce the Alpha 1 II. We'll be reporting from the event as it happens.

"Authentication technologies, that protect photographers are high on our list of priorities," says Masaaki Oshima - Head of Imaging Entertainment Business.

He's discussing the role played by the different models in the company's lineup.

The Alpha 1 provided extraordinary resolution and speed, he says, and feedback from its users has been incorporated into its new products.

As previously teased, he has revealed the Alpha 1 Mark II and a 28-70mm F2 G Master zoom.

In the a1 II, features for workflow efficiency have been updated and improved, he says.

He claims the lens rivals the quality of primes, without the use of digital compensation.

The a1 II has a dedicated "AI" processor, allowing what Sony says is "the best human detection, the best animal detection." It includes a technology Sony calls 'Human Pose Estimation' which tries to recognize human bodies in a wide range of poses, so that it can find the face and eye.

The AF system has 759 points, with 92% coverage and works down to -4EV when using an F2.0 lens. The system can perform 120 autofocus calculations per second.

The camera also gains pre-capture, allowing it to capture up to 1 seconds-worth of images at up to 30fps, with Raw. The a1 II also gains the 'Speed Boost' function from the a9 III, letting you boost the burst rate when you hold down a custom button.

The camera's in-body stabilization now performs 3 stops better than the Mark 1, now rated at 8.5EV. It co-ordinates with in-lens stabilization to maximise performance with OSS lenses.

In addition to the multi-shot pixel-shift mode, the a1 II also has a Raw compositing mode to boost noise performance by combining multiple images (in off-board software).

As with the Mark 1, the a1 II shoows 8K at up to 30p, derived from 8.6K capture. It can also shoot 4K/60p from an APS-Cregion, taken from 5.8K oversampling. It can also capture full-width 4K at up to 60p, though this isn't taken from the 8K feed.

It also gains the 'Auto Framing' and 'Framing Stabilizer' modes from the ZV-E1 vlogging camera: punching in to the footage and following your subject around the frame, to give dynamism to locked-off shots, or maintaining your chosen composition if you're presenting to camera, hand-held.

The a1 II has the same 0.9x magnification viewfinder as its predecessor, with 9.44MP dot resolution, and can be operated at up to 240 fps. It also comes with a second, alternative "squishy" eyepiece cup in the box.

The camera has a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port with improved FTP capabilities, 2.5x faster than in the a1 or a9 III.

The a1 II will be available in Decemeber 2024.

Read our initial review of the a1 II here

Sony FE 28-70mm F2.0 GM

The FE 28-70mm F2 is the company's 77th E-mount lens, the 56th full-frame E-mount lens and the first constant F2.0 zoom.

The company says it give "prime levels of performance" for both stills and video.

We're told the lens doesn't rely on digital correction. It weighs 981g (2.16lbs). Its autofocus is designed to work up to 120fps on the a9 III or 240fps for video. It uses four linear motors to drive its autofocus.

It has almost no focus breathing, Sony says, but you can add focus breathing compensation on compatible bodies to correct what breathing there is.

They say it has "the best image quality we've ever produced in a zoom lens."

It will also be available in December 2024.

Read our full story on the 28-70mm F2 here

Image: Sigma

Earlier this year, Sigma announced plans to release several of its DC DN APS-C lenses for Canon's RF mount, making it one of the first third-party manufacturers to sell autofocus RF lenses under license.

Today, the company has announced pricing and availability for four of those lenses: the 16mm F1.4 DC DN, the 23mm F1.4 DC DN, the 30mm F1.4 DC DN and the 56mm F1.4 DC DN. On Canon's APS-C cameras, the lenses deliver full-frame equivalent focal lengths of 26mm, 37mm, 48mm, and 90mm, respectively.

These prime lenses join two Sigma zoom lenses announced for RF-mount earlier this year: the 10-18mm F2.8 DC DN, announced on October 5, and the 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN, which has been available for other lens mounts since 2021.

This brings the total number of Sigma APS-C lenses for RF-mount cameras to six, significantly increasing the number of dedicated APS-C lenses available for Canon's RF system. To date, Canon has released only a handful of slow RF-S zoom lenses, along with a dual fisheye lens for VR or spatial capture, though users can also use Canon's full-frame RF-mount lenses on its APS-C cameras.

The four Sigma F1.4 DC DN prime lenses join two F2.8 zoom lenses in Sigma's APS-C lineup for Canon RF mount. Image: Sigma

With Sigma's newly minted RF-mount lenses in the mix, Canon's RF mount should become more attractive to APS-C shooters, especially those looking for dedicated APS-C lenses with faster apertures or primes.

The six lenses are already available for Sony E-mount, Fujifilm X-mount, and L-mount cameras. The 16mm F1.4 DC DN and 56mm F1.4 DC DN are also available for Z-mount and Micro Four Thirds.

The Canon versions of the 30mm and 56mm lenses will arrive first, launching on December 5. The 30mm F1.4 DC DN will retail for $369, and the 56mm F1.4 DC DN will retail for $529.

The 16mm and 23mm lenses will follow on January 23. The 16mm F1.4 DC DN will retail for $489, and the 23mm F1.4 DC DN will retail for $599.

Pre-order now:

Sigma 16mm F1.4 DC DN for Canon RF mount

Sigma 23mm F1.4 DC DN for Canon RF mount

Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC DN for Canon RF mount

Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN for Canon RF mount

Photo: iStock/klikk

Editor's note: As DPReview celebrates its 25th anniversary, we're revisiting some key moments and trends in digital photography during that time. We invited Jeff Keller, a former DPReview editor and founder of DCResource.com – one of the internet's first sites dedicated to digital cameras – to share his historical perspective on some of the changes.

I've been using and reviewing digital cameras since 1995, which makes me the right person to tell the story of the consumer camera market's boom and bust. I became interested in digital photography thanks to my job at the university bookstore, which eventually became a successful website until 2013, when I jumped to DPReview.

The Casio QV-10A had a fixed 36mm-equivalent F2.8 lens with a macro mode, a simple (and slow) interface, and no memory card slot. Photo: Jeff Keller

The first camera I ever used was the Casio QV-10A, the world's first consumer digital camera, which arrived in 1994. It had a 0.25 megapixel sensor that could take 320 x 240 stills and video, a 1.8" LCD with a terrible refresh rate, a swiveling lens, and a whopping 2MB of storage capacity. Unfortunately, it had no memory card slot; instead, it used a serial cable. Good luck finding one of those in 2024.

The swivel lens design was popular for a while, and I was a bit sad when rotating LCDs replaced it. The most famous camera with this design was the Nikon Coolpix 950 (introduced in 1999), which was one of DPReview's first reviews. In addition to Casio and Nikon, Sony, Minolta, Ricoh, and Kyocera (remember them?) made swivel-lens cameras. Photo: DPReview

Up next for me was the Olympus D-600L, which had an internal 3X zoom lens and a whopping 1.3 megapixel CCD. While it was my personal camera for many years, at this point, my website was launched, and I'd use whatever came through the door.

This is a photo from the Olympus D-600L, slightly cropped. The image quality is cringy, but it was very good in 1997. Shooting data is not available. Photo: Jeff Keller

Cameras were pretty dull for the next few years, though there were some innovative models. Sony made cameras with mini CDs and floppy disks that created a file structure for easy viewing on a computer or TV. To create the CD or floppy, you had to 'finalize' the disc, which made it read-only.

Other fun cameras were the Minolta DiMAGE V, which had a detachable lens, several Kodak models with their own programming language, and, lest we forget, the Canon PowerShot Pro70.

The Pro70 was the first review on this website and a crowd favorite. It had a 1.5MP sensor, internal 28-70mm equiv. F2-2.4 lens, fully articulating LCD, Raw support, and two CompactFlash slots. Sony would bring out its competitor, the Cyber-shot DSC-D700, a beast of a camera with a fast 5X zoom lens, a manual zoom ring, a gigantic 2.5" (fixed) LCD, and a Memory Stick slot.

I could go on about the unique compact cameras over the years that followed, but we already have Throwback Thursday features that cover most of them.

The Megapixel Race

As the early 2000s began, two trends occurred. The first is that camera resolution kept going up and up, even though noise became a tradeoff after a certain point. The second is the overwhelming number of models, which I'll get to in the next section.

Average compact camera resolution over time Visualization: Jeff Keller

You don't need to be a data analyst to see the substantial resolution increase between 2004 and 2010. I can't tell you how many cameras came out with a resolution bump and little else every year – sometimes twice yearly.

The higher resolution made cropping more flexible, but manufacturers were still mostly using very small sensors in compact cameras. Over time, better image processing somewhat compensated for the noise inherent to small sensors, but it couldn't fix the fact that smaller sensors simply captured less light.

Thankfully, there was a selection of cameras that bucked the norm. Sony's RX100 compacts and RX10 super zooms offered larger Type 1 (13.2 x 8.8mm) sensors, which were roughly 4X larger than sensors in other compacts. Canon also launched several models with Type 1 sensors, such as the PowerShot G9 X II.

"You don't need to be a data analyst to see the substantial resolution increase between 2004 and 2010."

Some companies went even larger. Panasonic's LX100 I and II (and their Leica counterparts) used crops of Four Thirds sensors, which allowed for shooting in multiple aspect ratios while still maintaining the field of view. Canon's G1 X Mark I/II siblings used a Type 1.5 sensor (18.7 x 14 mm), and the third iteration jumped to APS-C. Fujifilm's cult favorite, the X100 Series, uses an APS-C-sized sensor, as does the Ricoh GR series.

Are you wondering about the drop at the tail of the chart above? That can be attributed to the minuscule number of new products released – more on that below.

Overflow

If there was one time of year I dreaded during my time running DCResource, it was early January during the Consumer Electronics Show. On January 5th, 2011, fifty-four new cameras were announced. I had to add every one of them to my product database and write a news story. While I enjoyed my job most of the time, that wasn't one of those days, and I'm sure the DPReview team didn't love it either.

The manufacturers were releasing nearly identical models but at slightly different price points. You'd get a basic model, one with a somewhat larger display and another with a slightly longer lens. Case in point:

And there you have it: a camera at every price point. And there were two more models on top of those in the table. (To be fair, Sony wasn't the only company doing this.) You'd rarely see all of these models lined up at Best Buy, but they'd probably have two.

Another twist to the compact camera boom is that many people unknowingly bought cameras made by a completely different company than they thought, especially on the low end of the price spectrum. Let's just say that Sanyo made a lot of cameras for other companies.

Lenses were also sold under different brand names. Phil Askey noted this in his review of the Canon PowerShot G1:

	These three lenses are identical yet carry different brand names. So who made it? In DPReview's Canon PowerShot G2 review, Canon insisted that it did. This same lens also appeared on cameras from Casio and Sony.

The Fall

Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007, and, along with some help from Samsung and other manufacturers, it would change photography forever. However, iPhone sales didn't really take off until around 2012, and, what do you know, that's when the compact camera crash began.

Visualization: Jeff Keller

The number of compact camera introductions in 2016 was one-fifth of what it was the year before. While that meant fewer news stories to write, it was bad news for manufacturers (and digital camera websites). In the years that followed, most cameras were waterproof or enthusiast compacts. The effects of COVID-19 on the supply chain made 2020-2023 extremely quiet, with only one camera arriving in 2022: the Ricoh GR IIIx, which is very much an enthusiast model.

"You don't need to be a data analyst to see the substantial resolution increase between 2004 and 2010."

So, what were people buying instead of compact cameras? DSLR sales were sliding, and mirrorless cameras were becoming more popular, but let's face it: The compact camera buyer was now taking photos with their smartphone.

Data: Gartner, Visualization: Statista

The early years of smartphone photo-centric features were limited, but they were fine for shots of friends or tourist destinations. As the years passed, however, phones got better. Advances in computational photography, including the ability to merge multiple images, resulted in image quality that was good enough to meet most consumers' demands.

I made a living writing about compact cameras, and my PowerShot S95 is in a drawer somewhere. I use my Samsung S24 Ultra for everyday photos. My Panasonic G9 II comes out for travel and 'important' photography only.

Final Thoughts

Where do compact cameras go from here? In my opinion, they don't. I wouldn't be surprised to see waterproof, superzoom, and compacts with larger sensors sticking around, but I think we're mostly done in terms of innovation. As someone who spent two decades writing about point-and-shoot cameras, I'm a little sad, but technology has left compacts in the dust. (Please responsibly recycle your old electronics!)

Editors' Choice Photo Challenge: ‘Fog’

Our November Editor's Photo Challenge theme was 'Fog', and your entries rolled in thick and fast. We were astounded by over 500 photo submissions, many of which demonstrated exceptional quality and creativity. While we can only showcase a limited number here, you an view the complete collection and see how your peers voted on the challenge page.

Did you miss this challenge? Stay tuned for our December challenge announcement! In the meantime, consider participating in these current and upcoming challenges hosted by other members of the DPReview community:

• Just a Sec (closes Nov. 18)
• Macro (1:1 +) - Flowers (closes Nov. 21)
• A Big Year 2024 (closes Nov. 24)
• Close-up/Macro – Bugs (closes Nov. 28)

Without further ado, we present our picks for the November Editors' Photo Challenge.

Three paddlers at dawn

Photographer: hapster

Description: Three friends set off into the fog at sunrise for their normal morning paddle on Marsh Creek.

Equipment: Sony a99 II + Tamron SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC USD

Sogi-no-Taki waterfall

Photographer: gnohz

Description: On this day, temperatures dipped below freezing point. I was initially disappointed to see the entire location covered with a thick mist upon arriving before dawn. Having taken landscapes primarily with an ultra-wide angle lens, I opted for 85mm on this occasion to frame the shot. When the sun rose (out of frame on the right), it lit up the falls beautifully and cleared away some of the mist.

Equipment: Nikon D850 + Nikon AF-S Nikkor 85mm F1.4G

Sunrise Bromo volcano caldera

Photographer: JeffryzPhoto

Description: Local Tennger horseman surveys the caldera of the Bromo Volcano in eastern Java in Indonesia

Equipment: Fujifilm X-T4 + Fujifilm XF 16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR

Halloween night in Paris

Photographer: dmullen

Description: Halloween night in Paris.

Equipment: Nikon Z6III + Nikon Nikkor Z 40mm F2

Bulls

Photographer: Bill Ferris

Description: Bull elk take shelter in a morning fog while grazing the Grass Flat Tank meadow in northern Arizona.

Equipment: Nikon Z9 + Nikon Nikkor Z 800mm F6.3 VR S

Night passerby

Photographer: Vlad Khodakovsky

Description: As we stepped out of the club into the cold April night in Helsinki, the surreal lighting amidst the deep fog instantly captivated us. The streets, slick with moisture, reflected lights from all directions, and the light sources themselves were shrouded in dense mist. I quickly seized my camera and began capturing the scene.

Equipment: Nikon Z8 + Nikon Nikkor Z 40mm F2

Roo family in fog

Photographer: Phil Belbin

Description: Roo family in fog.

Equipment: Canon EOS 5D Mark III + Canon EF 135mm F2L USM

Midnight oasis

Photographer: nbobinchak

Description: I made a wrong turn on a foggy night and ended up in a film photographer's dreamscape.

Equipment: Leica M4-P + Leica Summicron-M 35mm F2 v3

Hudson corridor

Photographer: Rreynolds1

Description: My friend and I were flying the Hudson when the fog crept in like cats' feet, a spectacular flight in 159 papa golf. As we were buzzing around Miss Liberty, my buddy handed me his tank, and I got off a few shots. Unfortunately, he had it on JPEG.

Equipment: Canon EOS 5D Mark III

Fog from above

Photographer: Embrace Living

Description: On this foggy morning, I knew I had to send the drone up. Having a drone on a foggy morning almost feels like a cheat code.

Equipment: DJI Mini 3

Soulmates circles

Photographer: Pierre Lagarde

Description: Buren's rings in Nantes (France) by a misty night.

Equipment: Nikon D5500 + Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm F4G ED VR

Morning fog

Photographer: Ralf68

Description: I shot this photo on my way to work in the morning, a few minutes after sunrise.

Equipment: Nikon D5500 + Sigma 8-16mm F4.5-5.6 DC HSM

Floating

Photographer: nikkista

Description: A small medieval tows sits on a sheer cliff above the fog.

Equipment: DJI Mavic 2 Pro

Morning fog on Riggs Rd

Photographer: arizonaphotoadventures

Description: Fog is a very rare occurrence in the Phoenix area and seems to happen even less frequently recently... This is a sunrise in the desert south of Phoenix, Arizona, on a cold December morning. Not much vegetation grows there, but what does created this eerie image.

Equipment: Canon EOS 6D + Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM

Slide and fog

Photographer: PAVBA

Description: Taken at Algonquin National Park, ON, Canada. Early morning, and the water in the lake is completely still, like a mirror. As the sun rises, the fog reveals an eerie scene.

Equipment: Fujifilm X-T5 + Fujifilm XF 18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS

Mason Lake God rays

Photographer: tonerbaloner

Description: Taken on a trail headed home from Mason Lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness near Seattle, Washington, during a September backpacking trip last year. Morning mountain fog made for spectacular "God rays" through the alpine forest.

Equipment: Fujifilm X-T5 + Fujifilm XF 27mm F2.8 R WR

Tancarville Bridge

Photographer: Jerodum

Description: Fog, sun and the Tancarville bridge, Normandy, France.

Equipment: Fujifilm X-E2 + Neewer 35mm F1.2

Swiss lowlands

Photographer: Antonx1973

Description: Sunset over fog filling the Swiss lowlands taken from the ridges of the Jura hills.

Equipment: Sony a7 IV

Green reach

Photographer: JT26

Description: The trees in the first part of the forest look almost arm-like as if they are reaching out to the other side. Everything in this area is very green and very damp, making for a very colorful landscape.

Equipment: Leica M11-P + Leica APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 ASPH

Mount Mythen above the fog

Photographer: Fabian from Swizzy Land

Description: This is a photo of Mount Mythen at night, towering over patches of fog that lie over the town Schwyz beneath it. The photo was taken on a clear night, several hours after sunset. The landscape in the foreground was lit up by a nearby village. The mountain in the background is in the dark, but the night sky reveals its contours.

Equipment: Sony a7 IV + Sony FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS

Images: Lexar, ACDSee, OWC

Happy weekend, everyone. It seems like there's an interesting week ahead, but this past week was also quite a busy one for accessory makers. Today, we're going to look at some cards, card readers, exciting software updates, and more. But first, as always, the deals:

Some great Nikon deals

Photo: Dan Bracaglia

For a while now, the Nikon Z5 – still one of the cheapest full-frame cameras ever released – has been on our Best Cameras under $1,500 buying guide thanks to its great ergonomics and stabilized sensor. It's older, but we still think it's a pretty solid buy for the money.

So imagine if it was $400 cheaper, coming in just under the $1,000 mark. Better yet, you don't have to imagine – you can just go to your retailer of choice and see it for yourself because that's the sale Nikon's running right now.

Photo: Richard Butler

Speaking of cameras that rank highly on our buying guides, the Nikon Z8 is also on sale for $500 off. While the sale doesn't knock it down an entire price bracket like with the Z5, it will still let you get a heck of a lot of camera for $3,500 right now.

Lower-end high-end cards

Image: OWC

If you have a recent Sony camera, you may be familiar with the difficulty of finding a CFexpress Type A card that doesn't break the bank, especially if you're looking for one of the faster 4.0-spec ones. While the situation has slowly been getting better, there are still not that many options for people who want CFexpress type A but don't want to spend a ton.

One company trying to fix this is OWC. It's added a 240GB card to its Atlas Pro lineup of CFexpress 4.0 type A cards, which comes in at $199. That's obviously a chunk of change, but for context, the 480GB option costs $319, and upgrading to the 960GB card adds another $70 on top of that. And while there's definitely a trade-off in capacity – expect to offload often if you're shooting 60MP Raws or 4K video – the cheaper card still sports up to 1,850MBps read speeds and 1,700MBps write speeds. That means that even when you fill it up, it should only take a few minutes to dump it onto your computer, assuming you have a reader fast enough. But we'll get to that in just a moment...

Got ports?

Image: OWC

Speaking of OWC, they've also got something for anyone who's just picked up one of the new M4 Pro or M4 Max Macs with Thunderbolt 5 and is wishing for a few more ports. The company's newly-announced Thunderbolt 5 Hub plugs into your computer with a single (included!) cable, and, through the power of Thunderbolt's daisy-chaining abilities, gives you access to three additional Thunderbolt ports, each with 120Gbps of throughput. There's even a USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps USB-A port.

The hub can also provide up to 140W of charging to the computer it's connected to, which should be enough to keep even a top-spec MacBook Pro powered.

The Thunderbolt 5 Hub is available for pre-order for $189 at OWC's website.

If you're looking for a more traditional dock with a wider selection of ports, OWC isn't selling one yet. However, Kensington does have a $399 option, which has three Thunderbolt 5 ports, three USB-A ports, 2.5GB ethernet, a UHS-II SD card and microSD card reader, and a headphone jack.

Not enough card readers?

Image: Lexar

Speaking of Thunderbolt add-ons, Lexar has come out with a new docking station designed to add storage, card readers, and ports to your setup. As its name implies, the Professional Workflow 6-Bay Docking Station has six slots that you can fill with your choice of the sold-separately card reader and storage modules.

There are several card reader modules available:

• Dual UHS-II SD
• UHS-II SD / microSD
• CFexpress 4.0 Type B
• CFexpress 4.0 Type A

The system is almost certainly overkill for most casual photographers, but it could be a good choice if you need to be able to offload several cards at a time, no matter what type. You will want to be a bit careful with how you arrange your modules, though: four slots run at 10Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2, while two feature full-fat Thunderbolt 4 connectors capable of 40Gbps. If you buy SSD modules or CF Express readers, you'll want to put those in the faster ports.

In addition to the modular bays, the dock has two 10Gbps USB ports on the front – one type A and one type C – as well as two Thunderbolt 4 ports on the back, though you'll be using one to connect it to your computer. The other can be used to output to an up-to 8K display or to even daisy-chain to another dock or Thunderbolt device.

Image: Lexar

You probably wouldn't want to haul the dock around unless you had a cart for it to sit on, but you can pop out the card reader or SSD modules and connect them to a laptop with a standard USB-C cable.

As you may have guessed, none of this comes cheap. The docking station itself, without any modules, costs $599. The SD card readers cost $50 each, the CF Express ones $100, and the SSDs are $299 for a 2TB model, and $499 for a 4TB one.

If that's a bit rich for your blood, Sandisk's $340 Pro Dock 4 may be worth considering. It only has four slots and is a few years old, so it uses Thunderbolt 3, though theoretically, that shouldn't have a speed disadvantage compared to Thunderbolt 4.

A new Final Cut

Apple's latest update to its video editing software is a big one, at least according to the version number*: the company says that Final Cut 11 "begins a new chapter" for editors. That may be a bit of a stretch. It's largely the same software as before – there's no entirely new paradigm the way there was with the switch from FCP 7 to X. However, there are some cool new features.

The first is 'Magnetic Mask,' which is essentially a semi-automated rotoscoping system. It lets you select an object to cut out and will then attempt to automatically mask it out for the rest of the clip – though you can make tweaks if the system gets it wrong. That way, you can have the cut-out portion appear in front of titles, or add effects to it that don't affect the rest of the clip.

You can also now have Final Cut automatically transcribe your project's audio and create closed captions for it. The software is also now capable of editing "spatial" video clips, like the ones produced by iPhones or cameras with Canon's dual VR lenses. The update also includes various workflow improvements: you can now automatically scale clips to match the height of your timeline, hide clips in the browser, and easily create a picture-in-picture effect.

Thankfully, Apple hasn't used the version number upgrade to switch up pricing, or to make users pay for it again. It's still a $300 one-time purchase, and if you bought Final Cut Pro anytime between when it launched in 2011 and now, version 11 is just another free update. There was concern that wouldn't be the case, after Apple announced the subscription-based Final Cut for iPad, which also just got its own update. At least for now, that hasn't come to pass.

* - Real Mac-heads know this doesn't neccesarily mean much; in 2020 Apple ditched the long-running macOS 10.x naming scheme with macOS 11 Big Sur. The fact that it was called macOS 11 and not 10.16 didn't even get a mention in the press release.

ACDSee for Mac

Image: ACDSee

Earlier this year, ACDSee released a new version of its photo editing and management software, Photo Studio. It added features like AI-powered upscaling and new AI selection masks. However, the update was only for Windows. Now, those features are available for the Mac, too, with the release of ACDSee Photo Studio for Mac 11.

In addition to the new and improved AI features, the software is now able to import a Lightroom database, letting you bring your collections, keywords, ratings and color labels into Photo Studio.

ACDSee Photo Studio for Mac normally costs $99, but the company is selling it for $79 through November 27th. There's also a free 15-day trial.

Click to read last week's accessory roundup

Our product database now includes the full range of Viltrox AF lenses, including the Viltrox AF 135mm F1.8 Lab. Photo: Viltrox

Today we've added sixteen Viltrox autofocus lenses to our database, so that our site and its lens search tools represent a wider range of the lenses available for mirrorless cameras.

We're also committing to maintaining the database and will continue to add new lenses from Viltrox, as they're announced.

All lenses in our database will appear in our lens search tools, so that these give a clear picture of the options available for different mounts. Viltrox's range currently covers Sony E, Fujifilm X, Nikon Z and Canon EF-M mounts.

The addition of these lenses, with full specifications, is something we've been planning for some time, and was helped by some initial assistance from community member Wolfgang Janzen. We've also gone back and associated all our existing Viltrox news coverage with their respective products, so you can easily find all the information we've published about each lens.

Click here to see the full range of Viltrox AF lenses

We intend to add other makers of autofocus lenses as we have time and when we can establish reliable communication around specs and release dates.

To the DPReview Community,

We’re reaching out to you, our dedicated readers and fellow photography enthusiasts, to ask for your feedback on a topic that could help shape DPReview’s future: subscription options.

As you know, DPReview has always been a place for photographers to find in-depth reviews, up-to-date product news, and expert insights. To support these efforts, we’re exploring ways to create a sustainable DPReview that continues to bring you the content you love while also giving you choices for an ad-free experience.

To understand what might work best, we’re conducting a short survey focused specifically on audience interest in subscription options. And just to be clear, subscriptions would be optional; there are no plans to put DPReview's content behind a paywall.

What’s in the Survey?

This survey isn’t intended to gather feedback on every possible feature or future site direction. Instead, it’s focused on understanding your interest in a DPReview subscription, including considerations like key benefits, pricing, and site features.

By sharing your responses, you’ll help us make informed decisions about what a subscription model could look like if introduced and how we can design it to provide meaningful value.

Take the Survey and Make Your Voice Heard

If you have a few minutes, we’d be grateful if you could share your thoughts. Your feedback will be invaluable in shaping how we approach subscription options to serve the DPReview community better.

[Take the survey here]

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Warm regards,

The DPReview Team

Image: Meike

Meike has announced the 85mm F1.8 Pro, a full-frame autofocus lens for Nikon Z-mount, Sony E-mount, and L-mount cameras.

The lens is entering a bit of a crowded market, as there are a number of of 85mm F1.8 primes available for each of the mounts, including another similar model from Meike itself, which costs $130 less than the one with the "Pro" badge.

Compared to that lens, Meike's new offering adds a manual aperture ring and has a different optical formula. Meike's (even more) budget option is built out of 9 elements in 6 groups, while the new Pro model has 11 elements in 8 groups. The Pro has a minimum aperture of F16, while the regular model can stop down to F22. It also adds what appears to be a gasket at the lens mount, though the company doesn't make any claims of weather or dust sealing about the lens.

The 85mm F1.8 Pro has a 62mm filter thread and a minimum focusing distance of 0.85m (33.5").

In fact, Meike's product page doesn't say much of anything about the lens; there's a specs table, but no copy at all apart from a notice that the lens will be available starting November 19th for $339. There are seemingly official graphics floating around with weights and some information about lens composition, and we'll be sure to update this story with that information once it actually appears on Meike's site.

Meike 85mm F1.8 Pro Specifications

Photo: Richard Butler

The 26th anniversary of the Canon PowerShot Pro70 hitting the shelves heralds us nearing the end of our 25th anniversary year. It was the first camera founder Phil Askey reviewed, and that review's publication, on December 25th, 1998, is the point we consider the start of DPReview.com

The Pro70 was a pretty high-end camera for its day. It was built around a Type 1/2 (~6.7x4.5mm) sensor and an impressively ambitious 28-70mm equiv F2.0-2.4 lens. It arrived some ten years before automatic distortion correction allowed wide-angle zooms to be squeezed into small bodies, so that 28mm-equiv starting point was a premium feature, and one that helps explain the camera's size.

That wide, bright lens gives a hint at how high-end the Pro70 was. That and its $1500 MSRP marked it out as an enthusiast camera of its time. The next step up in quality from this was really the Kodak DCS SLRs, which cost multiple thousand dollars.

Because it dates from the very beginning of the site, I can't speak with authority on what the Pro70 meant for the progress of cameras, in the way we've tried to in the rest of this series. But instead I can highlight the way the Pro70's status as the first DPR camera has led to it popping up throughout the site's history.

Throwback Thursday: Canon PowerShot Pro70 (2016)

The Pro70 is such a landmark camera for the site, we've had cause to look back on it before. I shot the old studio test in preparation for the site's 10th anniversary, though we never ended up publishing the Pro70 vs Sony Mavica FD91 head-to-head we had planned. Technology had moved so fast in those first ten years that its lack of custom white balance, the choice of just two ISO settings (with a third available at 1/4 resolution), its tiny screen and agonizing shutter lag felt completely alien to someone who'd first really gone digital in about 2004.

The Canon PowerShot Pro70 isn't as significant to the history of cameras as many of the other models we've covered in this series, but it's popped up at key milestone's in the site's history. Photo: Richard Butler

It cropped up again at another key point in the website's history: PIX 2015, the photo show we hosted at the Seattle Center in October 2015. As well as getting together a broad selection of speakers and brands to present to the in-person audience and over the web, we put together a booth showing what we did, giving attendees the chance to meet and talk to the team. Our booth included a range of significant cameras from the site's history, including a Pro70, displayed in a custom perspex case.

I suspect it's this same Pro70 that I planned to dig out as part of our 25th anniversary celebrations, only to find myself with a tighter deadline, when we were told the site was going to close in early 2023. I went ahead and shot our current studio scene, to show how far cameras had come during the site's history and I still enjoy the symmetry of the lowest resolution and highest resolution cameras having pixel counts that differ by a factor of approximately 100.

Canon PowerShot Pro70 added to studio scene (2023)

In that same, strange period for DPReview, I went back and rebuilt the sample galleries of the earliest reviews, accidentally deleted some years earlier, so that it would be the most complete version of the site that got delivered to the Internet Archive. Which means it's now possible to go back and see the Pro70 review as it was originally written, over twenty five years after it was first published.

Updated: November 13th, 2024

Whether you’re just sharing clips with friends or you’re launching an online on-camera career, vlogging matters. And there’s a point at which your smartphone may not give you the look, control, or flexibility you’re after. With 180-degree selfie screens, wide-angle lenses, microphone inputs and great video quality, more and more dedicated cameras are catering to people who want to take video of themselves and post it online.

The meaning of vlogging has changed over the years, so our picks cover a variety of styles – we'll explain what makes each camera good for vlogging, and what key features each has that make taking video of yourself easier. We've also included videos shot on the cameras in question when we have them to give you an idea of what kind of performance to expect.

Best camera for vlogging on the move: DJI Osmo Pocket 3

Photo: Richard Butler

DJI’s Osmo Pocket 3 is a stabilized handheld vlogging camera, designed for on-the-move vlogging. It’s built around a type 1 (13.2 x 8.8mm) sensor mounted on a tiny gimbal, meaning it can deliver stabilized footage with smoother motion than any conventional camera or phone.

The small sensor means the Pocket 3 works better in well-lit situations, though a reasonably bright F2.0 lens means it’s usable indoors, too.

It can shoot 4K 16:9 video or, by rotating the screen into the upright position, 3K vertical 9:16 footage. A small joystick lets you control the camera’s movement, and tapping the joystick button flips between the camera pointing toward you or away from you.

Its reliance on contrast-detection autofocus means its focus can be prone to hunting, though its face-detection mode works well enough that this is rarely a problem when talking to the camera.

In addition to the smooth stability of its gimbal and its genuine pocketability, one of the Osmo’s main benefits is that it’s compatible with a series of Bluetooth microphones, meaning you can capture good-quality audio without the need for additional transmitters or receivers.

The video quality isn’t always the highest, and the autofocus can occasionally lead to frustration, but overall the quality and convenience of the Pocket 3 as a package is really hard to beat.

Read our hands-on impressions of the Osmo Pocket 3

We also considered Sony's range of entry-level vlogging cameras with Type 1 sensors, the ZV-1, ZV-1F, and ZV-1 II. The latter is the best pick of the bunch, given its zoom lens and built-in ND, but it's hard to recommend. Its quality will be slightly better than that of a flagship phone, but if you're going to be carrying an extra gadget around anyway, it's probably best to spend a bit more for a more flexible interchangeable lens camera with an APS-C sensor for a big boost in image quality.

Best camera for filming indoors: Sony ZV-E10 II

26MP APS-C sensor | Full-width 4K/24p, 1.1x crop 4K/60p video | Fully articulating screen

Read our full review of the Sony ZV-E10 II

A potential alternative

Fujifilm recently announced the X-M5, an APS-C camera with a lot of the vlogging features found in the ZV-E10 II. While we haven't had the opportunity to fully test it, its price point and Fujifilm's broad lens selection make it an interesting choice – however, based on experience with Fujifilm's other recent models, its autofocus system is likely to be less reliable than Sony's, particularly with moving subjects.

We also considered Nikon's Z30 and Sony's similarly-specced ZV-E10, but the improved video performance of the Mark II and the lack of headphone socket on either of these older models mean it's the newer Sony we'd lean towards.

Best camera if you do a mix of both: Panasonic S9

24MP BSI CMOS full-frame sensor | 6K/30p 10-bit video | Sensor stabilized to 5EV

The S9's stabilized sensor earns it a place on this list – while it won't provide video as smooth as the Osmo Pocket 3, it does a good job of reducing the shakiness that typically comes with handheld footage. Its full-frame sensor provides good image quality for shooting indoors.

Read our review of the Panasonic S9

Best high-end vlogging camera

Full-width 4K/60p, 120p with minor crop | Auto cropping/framing modes | Subject recognition AF

It has pretty much everything a vlogger would need: Sony's class-leading autofocus, a front tally light, a stabilized sensor, 4K60p with no crop and excellent rolling shutter performance. It also has features that make shooting alone easier, such as its auto framing mode that dynamically zooms in on the subject in a frame, much like a cameraperson would, and the product showcase mode that overrides the face detection AF when you're clearly trying to show the camera something.

Read our initial review of the Sony ZV-E1

Why you should trust us

This buying guide is based on cameras used and tested by DPReview's editorial team. We don't select a camera until we've used it enough to be confident in recommending it, usually after our extensive review process. The selections are purely a reflection of which cameras we believe to be best: there are no financial incentives for us to select one model or brand over another.