Image: Godox

Godox has announced the V1mid, a round-head on-camera flash unit. The company's latest flash sits in the V1 lineup and aims to provide a relatively affordable option for photographers who need more than a strictly budget-level flash but in a compact package.

Godox hasn't published any information on the V1mid's guide number or power, so those specs are unclear at this point. The company does specify a 1.7-second recycle time, which is just slightly lower than the V1's 1.5-second recycle time. It also promises up to 650 full-power flashes on a single charge, which is more than both of the other V1 flash units.

The V1mid mostly relies on a touchscreen for control. Image: Godox

The Godox V1mid is smaller than the V1 and V1Pro, making it a more compact and lighter option for photographers on the go. It weighs 413g (14.6oz), compared to the V1's 530g (18.7oz) weight. To accommodate the smaller size, Godox did away with most of the buttons and dials found on the V1 and V1Pro, with the V1mid instead relying on a two-inch touchscreen and dial.

The V1mid supports TTL, manual and multi-modes. It is also compatible with high-speed sync up to 1/8000 sec, or 1/80000 sec with Sony cameras with global shutters. The flash also supports first- and rear-curtain sync. Flash power is adjustable from 1/256 to full power. It can function as both a sender and receiver using Godox's 2.4 GHz 'X' wireless radio system, making it possible to use in multi-flash setups. It also supports wired sync via a 2.5mm sync port.

Image: Godox

Like the existing V1 models, some features of the V1mid are camera-dependent. For example, only certain versions offer a 2W LED modeling lamp. Additionally, the Canon version supports camera menu control. All versions are compatible with the Godox AK-R1 round-head magnetic accessory system, making it easier to modify the light.

The Godox V1mid is available for purchase today for $179 in versions for Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon, Olympus/Panasonic and Sony.

Buy now:

Shooting open gate video uses the entire sensor, not just a 16:9 or 17:9 window of it. Photo: Richard Butler

Nowadays, the internet is often abuzz with discussions about open gate video recording, especially when a new camera adds (or fails to add) it as a feature. But for the uninitiated, it can be hard to tell why people care enough about it to leave endless "no open gate, no buy" comments, and there's even a risk of overemphasising its usefulness in all the excitement.

What is open gate?

A still from footage shot using the Canon EOS R6 III's ~7K open gate mode.

In case you've missed it, open gate is a recording mode that captures the entire area of a sensor. In hybrid stills/video cameras, that typically means producing a 3:2 or 4:3 image, rather than a 16:9 or 17:9 one, like most people will be used to. This often, but not always, also results in a much higher-resolution file; some cameras that don't offer >4K modes for the more standard aspect ratios will give you access to the sensor's full resolution in open gate mode.

The feature has been gaining popularity in consumer-focused cameras since Panasonic added it to the GH5 via a firmware update. Its inclusion has seemingly corresponded with sensors getting faster readout speeds: since the camera has to read out more of its sensor's height than when it's recording 16:9, the sensor has to be fast enough to read out its entire area in 1/24, 1/30 or 1/60th of a second to deliver video.

Why would you use it?

The feature came to hybrid mirrorless cameras as a way to give videographers a better experience when shooting with anamorphic lenses that have a high squeeze factor. By capturing a taller image, then squishing it down, you can get a stronger "look" (ovular bokeh and interesting compression when focus racking) without having a toothpick-thin aspect ratio like you'd get if you'd originally shot it in 16:9.

If that all sounds like Greek to you, don't worry too much; it can be complicated to shoot anamorphic lenses 'properly,' which is why doing so isn't particularly common. If that was all open gate shooting let you do, it would have likely remained an extremely niche feature. However, users – and manufacturers' marketing departments – quickly discovered that there are other reasons to capture the entire sensor.

Chief among them is that it gives you room to manipulate your footage without having to crop in beyond your native resolution. If you're shooting at 3:2 or 4:3 and delivering to 16:9, you have quite a bit of freedom to choose which part of the frame you want to take your crop from. You also have more leeway to reposition your subject in the frame, rotate the footage, or stabilize it in post, without losing too much resolution or substantially changing your original horizontal framing. The additional vertical space and, often, resolution, let you crop in further to simulate an additional, tighter focal length. You can also move the crop around, simulating a pan or tilt to add a sense of dynamism without the need for an actual camera operator.

This illustration from the S5II's product page shows one of the main selling points manufacturers push when talking about open gate. Image: Panasonic

What may be driving increased interest in open gate shooting is the ability to take that reframing to the extreme, pulling two entirely different formats from a single shot. That extra vertical headroom makes it easier to take a vertical crop out of your video, letting you shoot one clip and then cut it for horizontal platforms like YouTube and vertical ones like TikTok or Instagram. As these platforms have gained popularity, so too has the desire to take video shot for other, more landscape-focused platforms, without having to do two separate takes.

A 9:16 vertical crop taken from a 3:2 open gate image. Plenty of room for captions and overlaid UI.	A 9:16 vertical crop taken from a 16:9 image. Which could come across as a bit tight.

While this is technically possible with 16:9 footage, it can be quite difficult to find a framing that works for both horizontal and vertical with such a narrow aspect ratio.

What are the downsides?

This open gate shot, taken on a Panasonic S1II, can technically be split into vertical and landscape shots, but as often happens, one won't be as nice a composition as the other.

Of course, open gate footage isn't necessarily immune from this problem, either. When producing videos for our YouTube channel, we sometimes shoot in open gate when we plan on also uploading a cut to social, and we've found that it can be tricky to find a framing that will work for both. In the example above, the vertical crop shows off the interesting glass sculpture hung in the treetops, but any horizontal crop that includes the presenter will look either off-balance or just make it look like he's standing in a featureless forest.

Open gate footage also usually takes up more storage space, owing to its higher resolution, which is something to keep in mind. It may also be a bit harder to edit on lower-end hardware, depending on what you're trying to do with it.

Finally, there's the issue of framing. Unless you're delivering video in your sensor's aspect ratio, shooting in open gate means you'll have to crop in on your footage when editing, which is an extra step in the process, requiring you to decide what the best framing is on a shot-by-shot basis. If your camera has the ability to display framelines, you can try to make sure your framing is relatively consistent while shooting, but there may still be the temptation to endlessly fiddle in post, trying to get the perfect crop.

So should I actually care?

The Sony a7 V doesn't have open gate. Some people view this as a dealbreaker, which it may very well be for them. But that doesn't mean it will be for everyone. Photo: Mitchell Clark

If you've reached this point in the article and have found yourself thinking something along the lines of "I can't ever imagine needing/wanting to do any of this," you're probably not alone. People have gotten along very well with cameras that only shoot 16:9 for years, and while there's definitely an element of "I can't go back now that I've tried it" to open gate, many of its benefits are decidedly niche.

Of course, if you fit into that niche, open gate can be a valuable tool. Personally, I find it most valuable as a way to give myself more leeway when I'm trying to record myself, or when I feel artistically called to deliver video in a more square aspect ratio.

The point is not to prescribe where on that spectrum you should fall, but to highlight the fact that open gate isn't a universally useful feature. There will be those for whom it's a nice-to-have, but not necessarily a reason to pick one camera over another, and others whose needs make it a must-have feature (and still others who won't ever use it, plus those who are mad their camera even shoots video at all).

The January Editors' photo challenge

The theme for our January Editor's photo challenge was "Silly signs."

Most of the time, our Editors' photo challenges focus on technical excellence or powerful storytelling. However, sometimes photography is just about having a bit of fun and a good laugh. That's what we tried to do this month with our "Silly signs" photo challenge. We asked you to share the weird, wacky and downright silly signage you've stumbled across while out and about with your camera.

As always, we received many more great photos than we can feature here. Our favorites, showcasing a diverse range of vision and talent, are presented in random order.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this photo challenge. If you'd like to participate in other photo challenges, you can visit our Challenges page to see currently open or upcoming challenges, or to vote in a recently closed challenge.

Glad they warned me!

Photographer: Stephen_D

Photographer's statement: I found the idea of warning people not to walk on cacti with huge spines quite ridiculous. I almost titled this "No sh#t Sherlock!" Taken in a botanical garden in Sydney, Australia

Equipment: Samsung S23 Ultra

Don't drown!

Photographer: Dusty Roads

Photographer's statement: Tides are very deep in Rye, England. Must have been out for a while when I was there. You can see seagull tracks in the mud.

Equipment: Sony Alpha NEX-7 + Sony E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS

The deterrent

Photographer: arrow501

Photographer's statement: That bull was definitely cheating. If he'd been at the other end of the field, I reckon I could have beaten him *wink*. I photographed this a few years ago. It took a few visits before I got the bull in the same shot as the sign.

Equipment: Canon PowerShot G15

Tom bilen for tyven

Photographer: Andreas Graf

Photographer's statement: Travelling north from the Danish island of Falster to the main island of Zealand in early May 2024, I quickly stopped at a parking lot right after the famous Faro South bridge. And there it was, that sign telling people not to leave their valuables in the car.

In the original Danish language, "Tom bilen for tyven" means something like "Empty your car before a thief does," which matches well with the silly scene pictured in the sign. The English phrase "Don't leave valuables behind," however, is really not such a good match for that. But the main reason I took this picture at the time was an entirely different one, namely that the car in the sign looks almost the same as the one I drive, including the red color.

So, it would be sort of fun for me to show this picture to my friends back home who know my car. Little did I know at the time that, less than two years later, I would be submitting this picture for the "Silly Signs" photo challenge.

Equipment: Nikon D750 + Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm F4G ED VR

Bark is worse than its bite?

Photographer: protapic

Photographer's statement: I discovered this sign at the head of a trail leading down to the Clear Fork Mohican River in Ohio. The sign warns visitors of unsafe hiking. The sign's safety, however, is compromised as it learns that tree bark can bite.

Equipment: Olympus PEN E-PL1 + Panasonic Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH

No shooting? Oh shoot!

Photographer: HobbyPhotog

Photographer's statement: There was a certain irony in discovering that the ‘No Shooting’ sign had been shot. On the brighter side, the timing was perfect to line up the sun through the bullet hole and capture a rather photogenic sunstar.

Equipment: Canon EOS R5 + Canon RF 24-105mm F4L IS USM

Shakespear

Photographer: BGLeduc

Photographer's statement: While walking with my wife along the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland, I thought it might be fun to break out a bit of Hamlet or perhaps King Lear. Unfortunately, the good people of Edinburgh do not take kindly to such unsolicited performances.

Equipment: iPhone 14 Pro

Water ahead

Photographer: Ellipse Optical

Photographer's statement: At the cruise ship terminal on the island of Corfu, Greece, a sign has been posted to alert drivers to the peril of driving off the end of the pier.

Equipment: Canon PowerShot G12

God's too busy

Photographer: DFPanno

Photographer's statement: I saw this sign while walking the High Line in Manhattan. A great way to encourage people to give up all hope of finding free street parking!

Equipment: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 + Sony 35/2

Information overflow

Photographer: SPHDE

Photographer's statement: Came across this sign near a small creek. The intention to warn about sudden surges is somewhat compromised by the pictogram's lack of seriousness and its obvious neglect. Nevertheless, seeing it should keep you from acting silly.

Equipment: Nikon Z6 + Nikon Nikkor Z 24-70mm F4.5

Broken door

Photographer: DuckShots

Photographer's statement: Always exploring with my camera. Makes me feel safe, confident and creative. Never know what you will come across. Here, inside a dilapidated building slated for demolition, was this sign. I wonder what happened to the person who opened the door?

Equipment: Leica Q3 43

Understatement

Photographer: Mister Spock

Photographer's statement: Taken in the car park of our local Aldi, which was flooded due to heavy rain. Not sure if this is just an understatement or irony. You decide.

Equipment: iPhone 5s

Beware of the undertoad

Photographer: A Sharma

Photographer's statement: This parking lot sign is proof that the staff of Rondeau Provincial Park in southern Ontario has a curious sense of humor.

Equipment: Canon EOS R7 + Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L IS USM

Anyone for a dip?

Photographer: RussellP

Photographer's statement: Many years ago, while visiting Vanuatu, we visited some sort of aquarium at a resort. It wasn't very good, but the sign made me laugh. Just being prepared for tourists who may not know sharks are dangerous. Having said that, I have since swum with reef sharks in Tahiti, and those at least are harmless.

Equipment: FujiFilm FinePix S5200 Zoom (FinePix S5600)

Conundrum

Photographer: papapa

Photographer's statement: While walking in my neighborhood came across this sign. My CONUNDRUM - to obey the sign's command, you must first disobey the sign's command. What do I do?

Equipment: Samsung Galaxy A53 phone

So, it's...

Photographer: KBTinto

Photographer's statement: I was walking past a building one evening when I noticed a bright green door lit up below street level, with steps leading down to it. Just read the top sign, thought "Okay," then noticed the second one immediately below. Wonder what would happen if I decided one day to go there and knock on the door?

Equipment: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VII

Looking for a man who will go the distance

Photographer: Hooyat

Photographer's statement: This picture of the sign was taken at the annual racing events for professional and amateur runners. The events promoted physical activity by offering different race distances, including a marathon, a half-marathon, etc. The events raised funds for local charities. Residents lined up the route to support the runners with cheers, bells and signs.

Equipment: Sony a7 IV + Sigma 24-70mm F2..8 DG DN II

Lost in translation

Photographer: Tubeslover

Photographer's statement: The words in Chinese actually meant "Be careful not to fall off the cliff." Hope this has already been corrected, and there were no casualties due to anyone following the instructions in English.

Equipment: Nikon D750 + Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm F2.8E ED VR

Kraken ahead

Photographer: Monkachino

Photographer's statement: Unfortunately, we initially missed this sign, but we managed to swim back to shore, and my kid got this picture with his (waterproof) iPhone 15 Pro. We then set out on foot for the local car rental business on Block Island, RI.

Equipment: iPhone 15 Pro

Redrawn, laughable "No Entry" street sign

Photographer: Molarjung

Photographer's statement: While strolling around Florence, Italy, I encountered numerous "No Entry" signs, like this one. I felt this one was transformed by imaginative artists into humorous works of attractive creativity.

Equipment: Nikon D750 + Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G ED

Earlier this week, Leica announced the Noctilux M 35mm F1.2 Asph., a new wide-angle entry in its famous line of fast lenses that has previously been limited to normal and telephoto options. Luckily, we got the chance to shoot with it. While the Pacific Northwest winter weather was naturally uncooperative, we were at least able to test the lens out in conditions that reflected its name; "Noctu" is Latin for "night," and "lux" translates to light.

You can learn more about the lens and its construction in our article covering the announcement, here.

See the sample gallery

91%

Overall score

Jump to conclusion

The Panasonic Lumix DC-S1RII is the company's latest high-resolution full-frame mirrorless camera, now beefed-up with 8K video capabilities and improved autofocus.

Key features

• Full-frame 44MP dual gain CMOS sensor
• Up to 40fps continuous shooting with pre-burst capture (e-shutter only)
• 8.1K/8K video at up to 30p
• 5.76M dot viewfinder
• Flip-out and tilt rear screen
• ProRes 422 and ProRes RAW capture
• Capture to CFExpress Type B, UHS II SD or external SSD
• Multi-shot high res mode up to 177MP
• 32-bit float audio via optional XLR 2 adapter

The S1RII is available now with a recommended retail price of $3300.

Update, Jan 2026: In light of the significant improvement in autofocus performance we experienced with the latest firmware on the S1II, we've re-tested the S1RII with its Ver. 1.3 update. The improvements to the S1RII appear to be much more subtle, so we've made slight adjustments to phrasing but don't feel it warrants a revision to the score or award.

Index:

• What's new
• What's new for video
• How it compares
• Body and handling
• Image Quality
• Autofocus
• Video
• Conclusion
• Sample gallery
• Specifications
• Press release

What's new

New sensor

Rather than the 47MP used in the original S1R, or the 61MP chip used in Leica's SL3, Panasonic has opted for a slightly lower resolution but faster sensor for the S1RII.

It features dual conversion gain on which, as usual on Panasonic cameras, you can manually select which of its two readout modes it uses, at intermediate ISO settings. Panasonic doesn't always disclose when it's using BSI technology, but in this instance it has confirmed it.

Its design means it's appreciably slower than the more expensive Stacked CMOS sensors, with an electronic shutter mode that takes 37.5ms (~1/27 sec) to read out in 14-bit mode and 20.2ms (~1/50 sec) in the 12-bit mode used for bursts and other quick-fire shooting modes.

Autofocus

The S1RII represents the second generation of Panasonic cameras to feature phase detection autofocus, with the inherent depth awareness that this brings. The company says it's significantly improved both its subject recognition and its tracking algorithms in the new camera, to bring its performance closer into line with the best of its peers.

The S1RII has algorithms trained to recognize the following subjects:

• Human
• Animal (Dog, Cat, Bird)
• Car
• Motorcycle / Bike
• Train
• Airplane

We're told it should be quicker at finding a subject and better at continuing to track it, even if, for instance, the subject turns away from the camera or is partially obscured. As before, you can choose whether the camera homes-in on specific details, such as the helmet of a motorbike rider, the nose of a plane or the eyes of an animal. Selecting the more precise focus position can lower the system's responsiveness to smaller, faster-moving subjects.

Cinelike A2 color mode

The S1RII gains a new 'Cinelike A2' color mode, in both stills and video modes. It offers a very gentle response, somewhere between the flat, DR-prioritizing Cinelike D2 and the punchy, ready-to-go Cinelike V2 profile.

Panasonic says the A2 mode's color response stems from work they've been doing in recent months. And it's perhaps worth considering which partners Panasonic has been working with, recently, to guess at the significance of the letter 'A' in the name. Unlike the camera's Leica Monochrome mode, any connection isn't made explicit.

Real time LUT

The S1RII gains the Real Time LUT function we've seen on recent Panasonic cameras, letting you create and upload color and tone-modifying profiles in format with a workflow that's already widely supported across the industry. The S1RII allows you to load up to 39 LUTs onto the camera, with the option to combine two LUTs with varying intensity, if you wish.

Additional LUTs can be created or downloaded via Panasonic's Lumix Lab app.

False color

The S1RII becomes one of the first stills/video cameras to include a false color display option. This is a feature common in the video world, giving a mono preview with certain brightness levels highlighted in different colors, to help you recognize which bits of the image are clipped or near clipping and which areas are exposed as mid tones or at a level appropriate for light skin tones. This display can be used in boths stills and video modes.

Capture One tethering

The S1RII becomes the first Panasonic camera that can be shot, tethered, from Capture One, the popular studio software. We're told any decisions about whether to expand support to other models will depend on customer demand.

What's new for video

The 44MP sensor means the S1RII has slightly more horizontal pixels than necessary to deliver UHD 8K (7680 x 4320) footage and a fraction short of what's needed to capture the DCI 8K's 8192 x 4320 resolution. Instead it offers what Panasonic called 8.1K (8128 x 4288), which conforms to the same 1.89:1 aspect ratio as DCI footage.

The degree to which the sensor resolution is suited to 8K capture is unlikely to be coincidental, and the S1RII offers the kind of extensive video feature set that you might expect from the company that brought us the GH series, rather than the pared-back list of options the original S1R brought.

It also includes everything you'd expect from Panasonic: the option to set exposure in terms of shutter angle, waveforms, vectorscopes, filtering or custom lists of video modes, four-channel audio and 32-bit Float audio via the optional XLR2 accessory, support for anamorphic lenses and a tally lamp to let you know you're rolling. The attention to detail goes beyond the addition of a big red button on the front.

Video options:

The S1RII can also shoot Full HD (1920 x 1080) footage at any of the frame-rates and crops offered in UHD 4K mode, with the additional ability to capture 120 and 100p footage from the APS-C region.

Dynamic Range Expansion

The S1RII gains a DR Expansion mode, letting you capture an additional stop of highlight information in high-contrast situations. This can be activated in any of the movie modes at frame rates up to 30p, and can only be applied when shooting V-Log footage (where the response curve can easily accommodate different levels of DR capture).

This is not the same system as the dual readout DR Boost function in the company's 25MP Micro Four Thirds camera. Instead it moves to a higher bit-depth readout, meaning there's a rolling shutter cost to engaging it. It also boosts the minimum available ISO, to prompt the use of a lower exposure, to capture that additional stop of highlights.

Open gate shooting

A still grab from the S1RII's 8K open gate mode.

The S1RII can capture 8K footage from the entire 3:2 region of its sensor, which can be recorded as-is, or downsampled to 6.4K.

Open gate shooting lets you choose and adjust your crop during post production. It also makes it possible to frame wide and then take both landscape and portrait video crops if you're trying to deliver to multiple different output platforms.

5.XK at up to 60p, 4K at up to 120p

Like the S5II models, the S1RII gives you the choice of 1.89:1 DCI 4K capture or 16:9 UHD 4K, or 5.9K or 5.8K versions taken from the same capture regions. All four are available as 10-bit footage, with 4K encoded with 4:2:2 chroma precision and the 5.XK modes in 4:2:0.

Footage up to 30p is taken from the full width of the sensor using the full capture resolution, with a slight crop in to give 60p. 4K (in both flavors) is available at up to 120p with the addition of a further slight crop. Line skipping is used to deliver these 100p and 120p modes.

DCI and UHD 4K can also be captured at up to 60p from an APS-C region of the sensor.

Tellingly the rolling shutter rate in DR Expansion mode is consistent with the rate of 14-bit stills, which suggests it's based on 14-bit capture, explaining Panasonic's claims of greater dynamic range.

In turn, the 60p output's rolling shutter is consistent with the 12-bit stills readout rate. This stongly implies that the standard 24, 25 and 30p modes, which are slower than this but quicker than 14-bit mode are taken from 13-bit capture.

In addition to the conventional MOV compressed footage, the S1RII also lets you capture various resolutions in either ProRes 422 or ProRes RAW formats, both of which can either be recorded to the camera's internal CFExpress type B card or to an external SSD. ProRes RAW (with a choice of HQ or standard compression levels) is taken from a 1.31x crop of the sensor, whereas the ProRes 422 (again HQ or Std) is derived from the full-width 8.1K capture. It can also output 8.1K and 7.2K Raw over HDMI to a compatible recorder.

How it compares

The new, more compact S1RII arrives in a market where you can choose between the high resolution Sony a7RV or pay more for the likes of Nikon's Z8 and Canon's EOS R5 II that are both high resolution and fast. The Panasonic occupies something of a middle ground: offering some of the speed of the faster cameras (a higher peak frame rate but with more rolling shutter), but at a lower cost than Canon and Nikon's Stacked CMOS cameras.

We've opted to include the Canon EOS R5 II in this table, but the Nikon Z8 ends up looking very similar in terms of areas of strength, if you were to substitute that in. We've also chosen the DSLR-shaped a7R V from Sony, rather than the smaller, less expensive a7C R, because the larger model more closely resembles the Panasonic in terms of form factor, viewfinder quality, shutter options and screen articulation. But if size and price are your biggest concerns, the a7C R is in the running.

Despite being comfortably less expensive than its immediate peers, the S1RII's specs are competitive across the board. And while its video exhibits a fair bit more rolling shutter than the Stacked-sensor Nikon and Canon models, it significantly out-performs the Sony.

The a7R V's rolling shutter rate of 38ms means it can't deliver 8K/30, whereas the Panasonic can shoot 8K 30 and do so as fast as 24ms. This is respectable but not as impressive as the ∼13 and 14ms that the EOS R5 II and Z8 provide, respectively, from their much more expensive sensors.

Much of whether it's actually competitive, for both stills and video, will come down to whether the autofocus improvements are as significant as Panasonic promises.

* - Sony's implementation of HLG HEIF disables Raw recording, so you only get the output file.

Body and handling

The S1RII uses a body based on the smaller S5II series, rather than the more substantial design of the first-gen S1 series cameras. This leaves it both smaller and lighter than its predecessor.

It has the internal fan from the S5II, with two small exhaust ports on either side of its viewfinder hump. This doesn't give quite 'GH series' recording reliability, but still allows the S1RII to record for extended periods.

However, while the body itself is similar in size to the S5II, it has a deeper hand grip, making it more comfortable to use with larger lenses. It maintains a row of three buttons along its top plate, immediately behind the shutter button, but omits the top plate display that the Mark 1 had.

Other losses in the move to the smaller body see the S1RII offer only a single function button between the mount and the hand grip, and the replacement of the two-position switch at the lower corner of the front panel by a large red [REC] button (whose function can be customized).

The S1RII also goes without a flash sync socket, but gains a dedicated Stills/Movie/Slow&Quick switch. Moving the exposure modes to the right of the camera allows the drive mode to be promoted to the top of the left-side dial, making room for shooting mode to occupy the switch underneath. Both mode dials have toggle lock buttons.

The removal of movie mode from the exposure mode dial in turn provides room for five custom positions on the exposure dial, each of which can be customized separately for stills and video custom settings. Position 5 on the dial can be used to access custom banks 5-10, if you wish, giving you a total of up to ten photo and ten video custom setting sets. Thankfully the camera's settings can be saved to a memory card and duplicated across cameras.

Rear screen

On the back of the camera, Panasonic has adopted a similar screen layout to the one Panasonic used on its explicitly video-focused S1H: a fully articulated rear screen mounted on a cradle that tilts up and down. This means that stills shooters can use the tilt mechanism if they want to keep the screen on-axis (and can flip the screen to face inwards for protection, when stowing the camera), but video shooters can extend the screen out and tilt it away from the mic, headphone and HDMI sockets while shooting.

Battery

The S1RII uses the same 15.8Wh DMW-BLK22 battery as the S5II, a significant reduction compared with the original S1R. Despite this, it achieves a CIPA battery rating of 350 shots per charge if you use the rear screen and 300 via the viewfinder. The usual caveats apply to this number: most people get many, many more shots out of a camera than the CIPA rating (between two and three times the rated figure isn't unusual). To put it in context, 350 is a respectable figure and shouldn't leave you caught out during a busy day's shooting, but it doesn't have the confidence-inspiring duration that Sony's a7R V offers.

A new DMW-BG2 battery grip is also available to fit the S1RII. It adds a second battery in the grip, and is designed to allow hot-swapping of batteries: the external battery is used until the battery door is opened, at which point the camera switches to using the internal battery until a new battery is inserted in the grip. The grip also allows the camera to use both batteries simultaneously, for high power-consumption combinations such as capturing high bit-rate video to an external SSD.

Image Quality

Our test scene is designed to simulate a variety of textures, colors and detail types you'll encounter in the real world. It also has two illumination modes to see the effect of different lighting conditions.

The results are pretty positive. In terms of detail capture, the S1RII performs as we'd expect, capturing less detail than the 61MP Sony a7R V but with no meaningful difference vs the likes of the Canon EOS R5 II, Nikon Z8 or its own predecessor.

There's a fair bit of moiré visible in various places suggesting there's no anti-aliasing filter. But it's not significantly more pronounced than in most of its rivals, suggesting we were just unlucky that we got to see some artefacts in one of our real-world shooting. If anything, looking around various high-frequency targets in the scene, Panasonic's JPEG engine seems to be doing a pretty good job of suppressing the effects of moiré.

In terms of color rendition the Panasonic looks a lot like its immediate peers, with no significant differences in most colors, compared with its peers. The light skin tone patch is perhaps a fraction more pink than Canon's rendering, but there aren't any nasty surprises: something backed up by our experiences of shooting with the camera.

Noise levels seem competitive at low to moderately-high ISO settings but it looks like noise reduction is being applied to the Raws at the higher ISO settings, with distinct blurring of the noise patterns. JPEG noise reduction strikes a pretty good balance between noise suppression and detail retention, but gets a bit overwhelmed at the highest settings.

Dynamic range

The S1RII's sensor is a modern design with dual conversion gain; it has Panasonic's 'Dual Native ISO' function that lets you decide exactly where the switch in modes happens, but at default settings, it's at ISO 400 that the switch happens. Sure enough, if you brighten an ISO 320 image, you'll see it has slightly more noise than images shot at ISOs above that point, with the same exposure.

The further you venture into the ISOs from that low gain mode, the more noisy you'll find the very deep shadows (this is exactly the read noise that using the higher gain step minimizes). So the widest possible dynamic range is encountered at ISO 80, but if you're tempted to underexpose in low light, to protect highlights, you shouldn't venture below ISO 400.

The S1RII has a lower base ISO than its predecessor, so you can't make a direct comparison (the new camera receives 1/3EV more light), but even with that slight discrepancy, it's results seem comparable. It's a competitive result, even compared with the best of its peers.

High res multi-shot

Shot using hand-held multi-shot mode. Lumix S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 | 26mm | F8 | 1/250 sec | ISO 80 Photo: Richard Butler

While we generally haven't found high-resolution multi-shot modes to be particularly useful, they can help you capture a bit more detail in the right circumstances. The S1RII has one of the best implementations of the feature, too, with both tripod and handheld modes and the option to compensate if your subject moves a bit at the cost of resolution in that area. Perhaps most importantly, the processing happens in-camera; you don't have to manually combine the shots later on in desktop software.

It's pretty apparent that the Panasonic Lumix DC-S1RII is built around the IMX366 sensor from Sony Semiconductor. So we see a sensor with dual conversion gain giving lots of dynamic range at base ISO and well-controlled noise once you move to the second gain mode. Its BSI design means its high image quality should be maintained right to the corners of the image, as it means the pixels can reliably receive light from more acute angles than on older FSI sensors.

Autofocus

Autofocus operation

The Panasonic S1RII features a revised version of the phase-detection AF system introduced with the S5II cameras. It can detect and track more subjects than the S5II supported at launch, and Panasonic promises it's both quicker to find focus and more tenacious in terms of tracking.

The S1RII's button layout puts all your autofocus controls close at hand.

The interface will be familiar to anyone who's used a Panasonic in the past ten-or-so years: pressing the AF Area button on the back of the camera brings up a row of seven icons representing the different AF areas the camera offers. Pressing upwards on the four-way controller or joystick then lets you choose whether the camera should look for a recognized subject near your chosen AF area. Pressing the 'DISP' button lets you select which subjects the camera looks for.

The S1RII's autofocus menu gives you a lot of options from a single screen.

There's a twist, though: the S1RII can either be set to use its focus tracking system, or it can be set to track a recognized subject but, unlike most modern cameras, these are separate functions. The upshot is that if you want to focus on a non-recognized subject for one shot, or the camera fails to find the subject it's supposed to recognize, you'll need to disengage the subject tracking: the S1RII will not fall back to its generic tracking system.

This is disappointing as the S5II has now gained the ability to detect all the same subjects as the S1RII, but its subject recognition is built on top of the generic tracking system, so the camera will fall back to tracking AF, making it more flexible.

AF interface

The interface generally does a good job of managing multiple subjects without overwhelming you with information. In most AF area modes, it'll only draw a box over the recognized subject nearest your selected area. If you move the point over another subject in the scene, it'll instantly snap the box to that subject instead. It's responsive enough that it doesn't feel like you're missing out by not having all the recognized subjects highlighted.

When the S1RII finds faces, it can do a good job of sticking with them. In this scenario, it was able to track someone who started out walking straight-on towards the camera but who ended up at an angle to it without losing track of them or jumping to the person next to them. Lumix S Pro 24-70 F2.8 | 35mm | F4 | 1/200 | ISO 80 Photo: Mitchell Clark

If you prefer, you can use the 'full area' tracking mode. In this mode, the camera highlights all the recognized subjects, letting you select which one you want to focus on using the joystick or touchscreen. The boxes do jiggle quite a bit, though, and can sometimes flicker on and off, which isn't the most confidence-inspiring user experience and means a tap of the joystick doesn't always select the subject you wanted.

Autofocus performance

Our experiences with the S1RII were distinctly mixed: when the AF system works, it can be very good, but overall, we found it to be appreciably less reliable than we've come to expect from the likes of Canon, Nikon and Sony cameras.

We found the camera's AF Custom Setting Set 3 mode was better at tracking the subject than the defaults, which frequently lost track of it if it changed speed as it approached the camera. The custom setting, which is designed to handle unpredictably moving subjects, increased success in following the subject around, but the camera usually still struggled to keep it in focus as it changed speeds.

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The subject recognition mode is more successful at tracking the subject and keeping it in focus; using AF Custom Setting Set 3 upped this dependability further. While the camera couldn't respond quickly enough to the subject's approach-rate changing to get every shot in focus, unlike the generic tracking it recovered quickly enough to give a good hit rate.

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Testing the camera in a variety of settings suggests the S1RII's AF performance varies much more with adjustment of the AF Custom Settings than we've become used to with other brands. Generally, we consider Set 3 to be a good starting point.

Overall, the S1RII's autofocus is generally reliable, and slightly more so after firmware updates, but still lags behind the best of its peers (and, given how much the firmware improved the S1II, even some of its siblings).

Video

Following the v1.2 update, the S1RII now supports an open-gate 8K mode, which records a 3:2, 8064 x  5376 image using (almost) the entire sensor. Unsurprisingly, it offers a noticeable increase in detail captured compared to the downsampled ∼6K open-gate mode initially offered in the camera, and the 6K open-gate modes found in its other models like the S5II/X and S9. Most people shooting in this mode will be doing so because they want flexibility to reframe their shots in post, and the higher resolution offers even more of that; you can crop in even further while still retaining a native 4K resolution.

The camera's UHD 8K and 1.89:1 "8.1K"* capture are derived from this full-width region of the sensor, and have the same level of detail, though are less flexible in post as they're already in delivery-ready aspect ratios. Still, if you plan on outputting in 4K, they'll offer at least some room to move the frame around.

Standard 4K 24p output is on par with the oversampled modes from Canon's EOS R5 II, though the Nikon Z8's output shows noticeably more detail than either, suggesting Panasonic and Canon may be filtering out aliasing before downsizing. The S1RII's rolling shutter rate is considerably higher than the Canon or Nikon; see the chart below for its readout speeds. Compared to the EOS R5 II's subsampled 4K mode, which is mainly useful for avoiding overheating or accessing higher framerates, the S1RII's footage provides finer detail.

The story is much the same at 60p, where the S1RII's 4K footage retains a similar level of detail found in the 24p mode, which is good news for anyone hoping to slow their footage down a mild amount, or who prefer the hyper-real look. It does, however, come with a slight crop, and the lower rolling shutter rates strongly imply that it's derived from a 12-bit readout rather than a 13-bit one.

While 60p isn't available in the open-gate modes, you can shoot it at greater-than-4K resolutions; it's available in the 16:9 5.9K mode and the 1.89:1 5.8K mode, which offer slightly more detail than their 4K counterparts, and more flexibility in post.

120p is only available in 4K resolutions, and the capture has a noticeable loss in detail compared to lower framerates; the S1RII is obviously skipping lines to achieve these readout speeds. (Panasonic makes a camera with a faster sensor that's much better-suited to shooting at 120p if that's vital to you.)

Raw video

Panasonic's implementation of ProRes Raw currently doesn't support lens corrections, which will likely require some more work when shooting with modern mirrorless lenses. LUMIX S 50mm F1.4 | F5.6 | ISO 200 | 1/100 sec | 5.8K ProRes RAW (Internal) | No sharpening

The S1RII has several options for Raw video output, including the ability to send a 8.1K open-gate raw stream to a supported BlackMagic or Atomos recorder via HDMI as of the latest firmware update. It can also record ProRes and ProRes RAW to a CFexpress card using an up-to 5760 x 4030 native-pixel, 1.31x crop (though there are currently no 16:9 options).

Raw video doesn't offer the dramatic benefits that stills shooters may be used to

We'd only recommend a Raw workflow to those working on professional productions that have a compelling reason to use it. While Raw recording can offer more flexibility to adjust parameters like white balance and lightness ("ISO") in post, as we've detailed before, it doesn't offer the dramatic benefits that stills shooters may be used to from comparing Raw and JPEG files.

Shooting Raw also requires substantial post-processing to add back in noise reduction and sharpening. And, while ProRes RAW gained support for lens correction data in 2023, Panasonic's implementation currently doesn't support it, unlike Canon or Nikon's cameras. This adds further work if you're shooting with modern lenses designed with geometric distortion correction as part of their optical formulas instead of older or cinema glass (which, realistically, is what we'd expect most people shooting Raw to be using).

Autofocus and Stabilization

Panasonic continues to have best-in-class sensor stabilization performance and provides several options for tuning it, including a 'Boost' mode that increases steadiness by correcting all movement (rather than assessing whether some movement may be intentional). Outside of that mode, it responds well to pans and tilts, simply smoothing out shakes without any noticeable jumps or other odd behavior.

The electronic stabilization is similarly good, further reducing noticeable shakes without introducing the grab-and-release effect during pans that some other systems suffer from. New to the S1RII is a "cropless" e-stabilization mode, which is intended to reduce perspective distortion when using a wide-angle lens, without reducing the field-of-view. While the resulting footage obviously isn't as smooth as what you'll get from the traditional electronic stabilization, we've found that it can make a noticeable difference.

Video autofocus is capable, but not class-leading

The camera's autofocus performance in video is similar to its performance in stills mode, which is to say that it's capable, but not class-leading. The generic tracking is relatively tenacious, but can occasionally get confused, drifting off target or getting stuck onto something else. However, the camera's subject detection modes are also available in most video modes, and can provide better results depending on what you're shooting.

Conclusion

By Mitchell Clark

The S1RII was always going to be a difficult camera to build. Its predecessor was Panasonic's flagship stills camera, but since its release, the company has become famous for its devotion to providing every video feature and workflow tool you could possibly want. To its credit, Panasonic doesn't seem to have compromised much on the stills side in its quest to make the S1RII a very capable hybrid shooter.

Image quality is, as you should expect from a modern camera, very good. The out-of-camera JPEGs are attractive, and the Raws seem to be both detailed and flexible when you process them. The S1RII gains Panasonic's LUT options, giving you essentially endless customization options if you want to develop your own 'look.' And, while we tend to find multi-shot high res modes quite limited in their value, the S1RII has probably the most usable implementation.

A 177MP image, produced using the hand-held multi-shot mode. Lumix S 20-60mm F3.5-5.6 | 21mm | F8 | 1/500 sec | ISO 80 Photo: Richard Butler

We were also impressed by the S1RII's body and handling. It has a more comfortable grip and retains a good level of direct control and customization without these control points getting too cramped, despite a move away from the large 'professional' style body of its predecessor. It's only really button backlighting that goes missing in the transition, but the updated tilting/articulating screen more than makes up for that, in our opinion.

Our biggest concern with the camera is its autofocus system. While AF tracking is an improvement from previous Panasonic cameras, its performance is still well behind that of its competitors. That's combined with Panasonic's unusual decision to separate general tracking from subject recognition, which makes the camera slower and less dependable to use. The battery life also isn't great, considering its pro-level aspirations, though that can be mitigated with Panasonic's battery grip, which supports hot-swapping.

The S1RII offers the most complete video shooting package

On the video side, there's a lot to recommend the S1RII. Its sheer number of resolutions and recording modes, not to mention support for internal and external Raw, anamorphic desqueeze preview and best-in-class stabilization, make it a formidable video tool. While its rolling shutter rates may appear outdated by the standards set by Stacked sensor cameras, they're still very usable for many types of videography and filmmaking.

But while it offers video features that competitors like the Z8 and EOS R5 II don't, it's hard to argue that you should choose it over those cameras unless you need the unique things it offers. The S1RII may offer the most complete video shooting package at a lower price, but it's not like those other cameras are slouches when it comes to their filmmaking credentials.

That's ultimately the story with the camera as a whole. It is certainly a capable option, and for some people it may be the best option. But while it's a very able camera, especially for video, the autofocus system and performance make a compelling argument to spend the bit more for one of its high-resolution competitors if your shooting includes action and movement. While it's still possible some of those issues will be fixed with still further firmware updates, we don't feel the S1RII currently stands out enough to get one of our awards.

Scoring

Scoring is relative only to the other cameras in the same category. Click here to learn about what these numbers mean.

Compared to its peers

The Canon EOS R5 II and the Nikon Z8 are the S1RII's main competitors. They offer similar image quality and hybrid capabilities, though they don't have the excellent tilting/articulating rear display and can't deliver multi-shot high-res images out-of-camera. Both, however, have better battery life, deeper buffers and lower rolling shutter rates for shooting video or stills using the electronic shutter. We also find their autofocus tracking performance to be more capable and user-friendly, as they both fall back to their still quite reliable generic tracking systems when there's no subject to detect. You'll certainly pay for the extra speed and reliability, but it's probably worth it.

Sony's a7R V also has a very capable autofocus system, though it trades speed for even higher resolution. If you're looking to do video or shoot faster-moving subjects, the S1RII is a much better pick, as the a7R V reads out quite slowly. However, it produces even more detailed photos, which may be useful depending on what you're shooting.

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.

Me in the mountains in Argentinian Patagonia, 2017. Photo from my lovely wife Camila, my girlfriend back then. Sony DSC-RX10 IV | F6.3 | 1/250 sec | ISO 1250 Photo: Rodrigo Pasiani

DPReview community member Rodrigo Pasiani is a lifelong photography enthusiast whose journey began as a teenager in Brazil with a 4 MP Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S40, a compact that he used to document friends, family and his favorite cats. From rural Brazil to Argentine Patagonia and, more recently, the forests and trails of southern Germany, his portfolio was shaped by persistence, curiosity, and a commitment to traveling light rather than chasing ever-larger camera bags.

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About Rodrigo

Rodrigo currently lives in Southern Germany, loves shooting in the Argentine Patagonia, and has a general passion for exploring the outdoors in extreme environments.

"My first digital camera was a gift from my parents during my teenage years. It was 2005, and the compact digital camera market was booming. In the pre-smartphone era, if you didn’t carry a Sony Cyber-shot in your pocket, you simply weren’t a cool guy. Costing the equivalent of four months of minimum wage in Brazil, my 4 MP Cyber-shot DSC-S40 was indeed a luxury item. I used it mainly to document gatherings with friends and family, and for cat shots, of course."

How long have you been a photographer?

"Photography has been my hobby since 2012. In 2012, I began my professional career (unrelated to photography) at a German multinational company in São Paulo. I had the opportunity to travel for work to different parts of the world, such as Germany, India, and China - something I was definitely not accustomed to. My world expanded significantly, and photography became a tool to document my travels, which I viewed as great adventures back then."

Patagonian landscape, Argentina. The trip that changed my life (and lifestyle). I got very low on the ground to make the narrow stream look like a proper river. Sony DSC-RX10 | F6.3 | 1/320 sec | ISO 125 Photo: Rodrigo Pasiani

"As my camera began to show signs of failure, it was time to buy a more modern compact camera: a Cyber-shot WX50, featuring a BSI-CMOS image sensor and an impressive 16 MP resolution. It accompanied me on several more international trips. Around that time, I also discovered DPReview.com. It has been my primary source of information on gear and techniques ever since. The staff and forum members possess extraordinary knowledge, and many are willing to answer questions in an incredibly deep and professional manner. My progress would certainly have been much slower without the help of all of you."

What got you started in photography?

"My main motivation for going out and starting to photograph was the 'Travels to the Edge' series by American photographer Art Wolfe.

From my bedroom window in São Paulo, I could photograph birds feeding on the fruit of a nearby tree. On television, I watched the series Travels to the Edge by American photographer Art Wolfe, of whom I became a great admirer. I was fascinated by the beautiful images and by Art’s enthusiasm for his work. That inspired me to go out and explore."

"The trails around the small town of El Chaltén led me to landscapes I had never dreamed of visiting—places that seemed inaccessible, exclusive to television documentaries."

Red deer grazing in an overgrown grassy field. My first encounter with red deer. What a pleasant surprise! Sony DSC-RX10M4 | F4 | 1/250 sec | ISO 1250 Photo: Rodrigo Pasiani

"Equipped with a Sony RX10 (purchased in late 2016, after being impressed by the image quality of the RX100 II I had acquired a year earlier), I scheduled a vacation trip to Argentine Patagonia. The trails around the small town of El Chaltén led me to landscapes I had never dreamed of visiting - places that seemed inaccessible, exclusive to television documentaries. Enormous granite monoliths with snow-covered summits, turquoise glacial lakes, and trees twisted by winds that frequently batter the region with great force."

What's in your bag, Rodrigo?

"My current gear consists of a Sony RX10 IV, an RX100 II that I rarely use nowadays, a Zeiss T* polarizing filter, a set of three Cokin P graduated neutral density filters and a Benro magnesium travel tripod, along with memory cards and spare batteries. A lens pen and a microfiber cleaning cloth are always with me as well. I usually use a 30-liter hiking backpack, but occasionally a 40-liter one. I have embraced the philosophy of traveling light. The gain in mobility is liberating; it’s hard to go back to using a rolling suitcase."

• Camera: Sony RX10 IV
• Lens(es): Fixed ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T* 8.8-220mm (24-600mm equiv) f/2.4-f/4
• Zeiss T* polarizing filter
• Set of three Cokin P graduated neutral density filters
• Benro magnesium travel tripod
• Various memory cards and spare batteries
• All in a 30-liter Quechua hiking backpack

Rodrigo's 30-liter Quechua hiking backpack with camera, lens, and other accessories. Photo: Rodrigo Pasiani

What other photography accessories typically go in your bag, and why?

Are there any special moments you've had in taking that perfect shot?

"One photographic event was particularly memorable. In November 2019, during the hot and rainy season in southwestern Brazil, I had the opportunity to attend a weekend nature photography workshop with master photographer Araquém Alcântara, one of the most respected photographers in Brazil, whose more than fifty years of work documenting the country’s untouched nature is nothing short of extraordinary."

"To photograph him at eye level, I had to hold the camera above my head while staying crouched in the pasture. I wasn’t camouflaged—he could certainly see me there. It must have been quite a comical scene. "

"One day, by chance, I came across a pair of burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia). They nest in burrows abandoned by other animals, commonly in embankments along gravel roads. Owls of this species are frequently found in the region, but these were particularly bold. Normally, they do not allow an approach closer than ten or twelve meters (~39 feet), but during a late-afternoon mountain bike ride, I happened to encounter a courageous pair that allowed me to get a bit closer."

Burrowing owl perched on a fence post. He was probably thinking “Here comes that weirdo again.…” Sony DSC-RX10 | F4 | 1/800 sec | ISO 125 Photo: Rodrigo Pasiani

"I visited this owl pair for nearly a year and, amid many mediocre images, managed to capture a few good ones from very close range. I discovered that they would allow me to approach much closer if I crawled. On two or three occasions, I got to within about two meters of the male, which was perched on a fence post. To photograph him at eye level, I had to hold the camera above my head while staying crouched in the pasture. I wasn’t camouflaged - he could certainly see me there. It must have been quite a comical scene."

Rodrigo's advice for other photographers

"Whether documenting family events, vacation trips, weekend hikes in nature, or simply a walk through the city, photography remains more than a hobby for me - it is also a way to connect with nature and with history, a true form of meditation."

You can also visit Rodrigo's social media channels on Flickr and Instagram.

Editor's note: This article continues a new series, 'What's in your bag?', highlighting DPReview community members, their photography and the gear they depend on. Would you like to be featured in a future installment? Tell us a bit about yourself and your photography by filling out this form. If you're selected for a feature, we'll be in touch with next steps.

Submit your story to be featured in 'What's in your bag?'

Product photos: Mitchell Clark

Leica has announced the Noctilux M 35mm F1.2 Asph., the latest entry in its famed series of fast primes, and the first one to offer a wide-angle focal length. Since their introduction in 1966, Noctilux lenses have traditionally been 50mm, though the company added a 75mm option in 2017.

The lens is made up of 10 elements in five groups, and the company says it was made possible by the latest iteration of its in-house "Precision Glass Molding" process. Leica says this allowed it to obtain "an unprecedented degree of geometric freedom and surface precision" when molding the lens's three aspherical elements, with tolerances as tight as three nanometers per millimeter of diameter. It has a minimum focusing distance of 0.5m (19.7").

As is standard for Leica M lenses, the Noctilux 35mm F1.2 is a manual focus design, with an etched distance scale on the barrel. It also features an aperture ring and an integrated lens hood, which rotates to extend out or to stow away. It can also accept 49mm threaded filters. It has an all-metal build and weighs 416g (14.7oz). Despite its heft, it's quite compact at 50mm (~2") long.

The lens is an interesting offering from Leica in 2026. Even almost 20 years after its introduction, major manufacturers don't seem to be all that interested in competing with the Noctilux 50mm F0.95, so it's still a relatively unusual offering in the market*. But while the mechanical simplicity of the manual focus-only 35mm version makes it unmatched in compactness and weight, it's not a particularly singular offering. There are several modern, autofocusing 35mm F1.2 lenses available on the market from the likes of Sigma, Nikon and Viltrox, and several (shockingly cheap) manual focus offerings from the usual suspects.

That's not to say that people looking at the Noctilux would necessarily be interested in those options, just that it's not the kind of statement piece we typically associate with its nameplate. Still, it's an undeniable piece of craftsmanship, and it's hard to complain about the images it produces, at least in the samples we were able to take with it.

The Noctilux M 35mm F1.2 Asph. is available starting today at a retail price of $9650. That's a 50% premium over the Summilux 35mm F1.4, actually placing it on the lower end of what brands usually charge for that particular 1/3 stop difference.

* - There are several manual focus, 50mm F0.95 lenses from brands like TTArtisan, 7Artisans, Brightin Star and others, and, of course, there's the Nikkor Noct, but you can't get something that fast for modern mounts from Canon, Sony, Sigma, etc.

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.

Leica Noctilux M 35mm F1.2 ASPH. specifications:

Image: Laowa

Laowa has announced that it will be bringing its 90mm F2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO lens to a new mount: Micro Four Thirds. The lens was originally made for full-frame cameras, and it's been around for RF, Z, E and L mount systems for a few years now, but it's still exciting to see a manufacturer bringing out a new lens for Micro Four Thirds.

The lens, which will have a 180mm equiv. field of view on the new mount, has a design with 13 elements in 10 groups with 3 ED lenses. It can minimum working distance of 20.5cm (8.1"), allowing for 2:1 reproduction.

Its design is fully manual focus, but the lens has contacts that Laowa says will support EXIF data communication and electronic aperture control (which is, in fact, the only kind of aperture control for the lens; unlike the full frame version, there's no manual aperture ring). And while it's still a full-frame lens at heart, the Micro Four Thirds version is a bit smaller and lighter than the versions made for other mounts, coming in at 540g (19oz) and measuring 115mm (4.5") long. It accepts 67mm filter threads.

Laowa says the lens will be available starting on February 29th, for $449.

Image: DJI

DJI has announced the RS 5, the latest version of its gimbal designed for creators and video professionals using mirrorless cameras. The update is a relatively subtle one over last year's RS 4, but it brings improvements to the gimbal's compatibility with DJI's accessory ecosystem, some tweaks to its physical switches and knobs and refinements of the algorithms it uses to keep your camera steady.

The RS 5 will look familiar to anyone who's seen or used previous RS (née Ronin) gimbals. However, the company has included the same mechanism for switching between horizontal and vertical shooting as was found in the RS 4 Mini, which should make the process just a touch easier than it was on the RS 4. The company has also added more ways to fine-tune the balance; the RS 4 had a knob for slightly shifting the tilt axis, while the RS 5 gains additional controls for its other axes. It weighs roughly the same as the RS 4, and supports the same 3Kg (6.6lb) payload.

Image: DJI

DJI has also made some software improvements, allowing the RS 5 to control Panasonic and Fujifilm cameras via Bluetooth, in addition to the Canon, Nikon and Sony models its predecessor supported. This lets you use the gimbal's interface to start and stop recording, control powerzoom lenses and set parameters like aperture, ISO and shutter speed, so you don't have to deal with two sets of controls or work around the gimbal to reach your camera's buttons. The gimbal also now has an indicator that will suggest adjustments to your pace and gait to help achieve even steadier footage.

The RS 5 can charge 60% faster than the RS 4

The company says it's also made improvements to the battery. When paired with the included RS33 battery grip, the RS 5 can charge 60% faster than the RS 4, getting 14 hours of power with just an hour of charging, assuming you have a 65W PD-capable power brick to plug it into.

The gimbal has gotten some other accessory-related updates, too. It can now natively attach to the company's latest RS Intelligent Tracking Module, an $85, sold-separately accessory that lets you have the gimbal automatically pan and tilt to follow a selected person or other arbitrary subject. While you could connect the module to the RS 4, doing so required using an adapter that used 'RSA' port, precluding the use of other accessories that might need to connect to it. With the RS 5 that port remains free while you're using the module.

The new Electronic Briefcase Handle now includes controls. Image: DJI

The company has also introduced a new "Electronic Briefcase Handle," which lets you shoot with the gimbal at a different angle than would be practical with the standard handle. The pre-existing briefcase handle was, essentially, just a bent piece of metal, but the electronic version gives you buttons and other controls that let you operate the gimbal while using it.

According to DJI, the fifth-gen stabilization algorithm used by the RS 5 will perform better during quick movements, with the peak torque the motors are able to provide increasing by 50%. The comapny also says it'll perform even better when you're shooting vertically, something that's becoming increasingly common and influencers and brands continue to make content aimed towards social media.

As with the rest of DJI's recent releases, the RS 5 won't be officially launching in the US. The standard configuration is available in the UK for £485, and in Europe for €569. A combo pack that includes the RS Enhanced Intelligent Tracking Module, Electronic Briefcase Handle, a cable and carrying case, is also available for an additional £134 and €150, respectively.

Image: Westend61 / Westend61 via Getty Images

Welcome back to our Question of the Week series! This reader-focused series aims to get our photographic community to share thoughts on all sorts of photography-related topics in our forums. We pose questions about gear, favorite camera stores, advice, problem-solving and more, and you share your thoughts and opinions.

This week, we’re leaning into the holiday spirit! The season of giving (and occasionally re-gifting) is upon us, and that means it’s time to unwrap some memories – both heartwarming and hilarious.

What are the best (and worst) photography-related gifts you've received?

What’s the best photography-related gift you’ve ever received? Maybe it was a dream lens that caused you to take on an adventure deep in the mountains, or a handmade camera strap that’s now an essential part of your kit. And what about the worst? Perhaps someone thought you needed yet another "World’s Best Photographer" mug, or that odd lens filter set that turned every photo a shade of green.

In this edition of our Question of the Week series, we want to hear your gift stories: the memorable, the useful and the truly baffling. Share your favorites (and flops) in the forum link below. Photos of the gifts (or what you created with them) are also more than welcome! We'll highlight some of your most entertaining and heartfelt responses in next week's roundup.

Click here to answer the Question of the week

Playing 'Top Trumps' with camera specs doesn't give the full picture, but it can still reveal something interesting. Composite image: Richard Butler

It occurred to me, recently, that the latest enthusiast cameras can often shoot faster than the pro cameras of just a few years ago. So I decided to do some quick comparisons to get a sense of how far cameras have come, in a series of regards, since the last generation of pro-level sports cameras.

The biggest change, of course, is the move from DSLRs to mirrorless. The previous gen pro sports models from both Canon and Nikon were DSLRs, whereas Sony launched its pro tier cameras in earnest with the mirrorless a9, back in 2017.

Speed

The most obvious spec comparison is shooting speed, as that's historically been the main area in which pro models stand out from more mainstream offerings.

The enthusiast models are all faster than the pro models in their e-shutter modes, but this does come with some rolling shutter distortion. It's worth highlighting that, despite its maximum shooting rate being lower, the Sony a9 II, with its Stacked CMOS sensor, still reads out faster than any of the newer cameras.

But in many of these instances, the enthusiast models are just as quick in their mechanical shutter modes as the previous generation sports camera was. The enthusiast models don’t always have such deep buffers as their pro forebears, but they increasingly have at least one CFexpress slot to help clear those buffers quickly.

Autofocus

Of course shooting speed means nothing if your images aren’t in focus, but the modern cameras will do remarkably well in this regard. The pro DSLRs had AF systems honed by decades of development, and could be adjusted to suit a wide range of sports and subjects.

However, we’d expect the enthusiast models to be competitive, as they all have AF systems that directly derive from their respective company’s most recent pro cameras. They also have subject recognition AF systems and much wider AF coverage that makes them much easier to get the best out of, for those of us who aren’t full-time professionals.

As a rough generalization, modern lenses perform better and the number of pin-sharp images delivered by mirrorless camera focus systems tends to be higher.

All three of the modern enthusiast models also offer some degree of pre-burst capture, again helping to boost the success rate of photographers who can't perfectly anticipate when the key moment is going to occur.

Viewfinders

The biggest difference we see is the move from optical viewfinders in the DSLRs to electronic viewfinders in the mirrorless cameras. Whether in terms of response time or just preference, there will be some photographers who simply prefer an optical finder, regardless of the spec of an EVF.

However, it's worth noting that each of the mirrorless cameras has a viewfinder that's at least as large as the largest optical viewfinder in play here. The 0.8x magnification, high brightness finder in the Nikon Z6 III is going to feel appreciably larger than the 0.76x finder in the EOS-1D Mark III, and even more spacious in comparison with the D6's 0.72x OVF.

Image stabilization

Another big difference is that the two most popular DSLRs didn't have in-body image stabilization, instead making use of in-lens stablization. This tends to be more effective for the long focal lengths used for sports, but less effective than in-body stabilization for the wide-to-normal focal lengths used in a lot of photojournalism and general photography.

As well as the shift to in-body stabilization, Canon, Nikon and Sony have subsequently developed systems that can combine the effect of in-body and in-lens stabilization to boost the overall amount of correction that's possible and to play to the strengths of both systems.

Video

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, video is an area in which the modern cameras show the greatest advantage, not just in the resolutions and frame rates listed here, but in terms of the support tools and capabilities. It’s increasingly common to have false colour displays or waveforms to aid with exposure, as well as 10-bit Log or Raw capabilities, that still weren’t commonplace, just one generation of pro camera ago.

Video is one of the biggest areas of difference: even the mirrorless Sony a9 II, for all of the advances of its Stacked CMOS sensor, still only shot 8-bit video footage, which gives much less scope than 10-bit or Raw footage for color grading. Photo: Dan Bracaglia

Battery life

One difference not captured here is battery life. We haven’t quoted the CIPA figures, as they aren’t especially comparable between DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, but the pro DSLRs will have vastly better endurance, as much from not having to power a screen to show a preview as from their significantly larger batteries. The Sonys are the outliers, in that the a9 II and a7 V use the same battery, and the newer camera is rated as giving more shots per charge.

The 'pro' differences

There are differences beyond specs and capabilities, though. In all three instances, the pro models have a level of build quality and environmental sealing that are essential for high-priced tools that need to keep working, day in, day out, regardless of the rigors of the job. All three also have features such as Ethernet connections that are essential for some professional applications but irrelevant for the majority of enthusiasts.

Price

Even with the high levels of inflation over the past few years, the enthusiast models are significantly less expensive than the pro models were. Even without taking inflation into account, the professional DSLRs here cost at least twice as much as the latest enthusiast cameras. Factor inflation in and the new cameras come in at as little as 1/3rd the original list prices of the pro models.

*Price adjusted using the consumer price index inflation figures, adjusted to the launch date of the newer camera

And, while we’re not saying enthusiast cameras are in every way a match for the pro cameras of the last generation, it’s striking at how close they are. And at how far we’ve come, during a period where you could easily make the mistake of thinking things haven't particularly changed.

I created this image while I was working full-time, applying to far too many graduate schools and navigating a long-distance relationship. Photo: Abby Ferguson

It's well established that photography is a superb tool for documentation purposes. It's also fairly well accepted as an art form. It's less recognized, or at least talked about, as a therapeutic tool, but it can be a powerful resource for just that. If you'll allow me to get a bit personal, photography has helped me get through some very challenging times. I won't go so far as to say that it's saved my life, but I know many people can say that is the case for them.

To be clear, I'm not a therapist, and I don't see photography as a replacement for therapy with a licensed professional. Instead, I view it as a therapeutic tool. I have seen the impact the medium has had on my own life and the lives of others. For those who haven't used photography intentionally as a tool for healing or growth, perhaps this can be a helpful guide on how to do so, or a gentle push to lean on the medium as such when you need it.

Distraction and mindfulness

Sometimes using the camera as a distraction tool can be just what you need. Photo: Abby Ferguson

Sometimes, photography can simply be a good distraction. There are times when it's best to focus on something other than current events or difficulties in your personal life, and photography can be an excellent method for that. Taking photographs requires focus (no pun intended) and attention. Instead of dwelling on heavy or hard things, you can, at least momentarily, put your energy towards something else.

When taking photographs, you pay more attention to light, shadow, shapes and details. You look carefully at the things directly in front of you at that particular moment. It forces you to stay in the here and now, which is similar to general mindfulness practices that aim to help you manage stress. It's a simple thing, but it can make a significant difference.

Having my dog with me on hikes often has the added bonus of some comedic relief. Photo: Abby Ferguson

For some, photography is a solitary endeavor, which can be an excuse to give yourself time and space to just breathe. When I need stress relief, I often find myself going on a hike by myself (and my dog) with my camera. I typically come back feeling more refreshed and in a much better headspace than when I set out.

Simply being in the outdoors is a big part of that for me, but the camera also helps me tune out everything else more effectively while I'm hiking. Even if I only feel inspired to take a few photographs, it at least makes me pay more attention to what's around me instead of putting my head down and trudging through. Plus, if I do manage to get a photograph that I think is cool, it gives me a sense of accomplishment, which is always a nice mental boost.

Photography as an outlet

I took this self-portrait just last weekend, since I was in desperate need of a creative outlet, and this concept kept coming to mind. Photo: Abby Ferguson

What's been even more important for me at various points in my life is using photography as an outlet and a means of self-reflection. Creating photographs can be excellent for self-expression, and also a tool for working through difficulties and managing emotions.

Photography is a fantastic resource when I don't want to talk about what I'm going through but still want to express it in some way. Alternatively, sometimes I haven't even fully processed what I'm dealing with and don't have words for it. Photography helps me get out some of the emotion instead of simply bottling it up. There are even times when creating a photograph has helped me better understand my current mental state, even if I hadn't been willing to acknowledge it prior to that.

"Photography helps me get out some of the emotion instead of simply bottling it up"

For a long time, self-portraits were my preferred method of photography as therapy. I've produced some deeply emotional and personal self-portraits over the years for that reason. Some of them were the result of my knowing exactly what I was dealing with and what I wanted to convey. Others were simply a result of struggling with something and not quite knowing how to articulate it, so I poured my emotion into a self-portrait. At times, these were somewhat elaborate and thoroughly planned; others were more spontaneous. Both formats helped in their own way.

Still life has become a relatively new therapeutic tool for me. Photo: Abby Ferguson

These days, I've been using still life as my primary outlet. Instead of putting myself in front of the camera, I'm photographing objects that I feel can convey what I'm working through in my head. They may not look as personal at first glance, but they were incredibly valuable as I processed and dealt with things going on in my life.

My method of using photography as an outlet involves conceptual work, but that doesn't have to be the case. Any type of imagery that helps you express yourself or process your emotions is beneficial, even if it isn't intentionally done.

Photography can just be for you

Photo: Abby Ferguson

The bigger picture here is that photography doesn’t always have to be for an audience or a client; it can simply be for you, and that’s often where its most therapeutic power lives. I've recently written about tackling photo projects to find your creative spark again and about embracing bad photos. In all of these cases, the key is that photography can be a personal endeavor that can have a significant impact on your life. When you give yourself permission to create without pressure, photography becomes a method to clear your head, listen to yourself, notice what you’re feeling and be present with it.

Whether you’re a working photographer or a hobbyist, making space for personal projects can be therapeutic. It can reconnect you with why you picked up a camera in the first place, help you process what you’re going through and simply remind you that the act of paying attention is worthwhile in itself.

So, whether you're going through a particularly hard season or not, let me encourage you to pick up your camera with no goal other than to see what comes out. Or plan a shoot with the specific intention of showcasing your emotion or mental state. The photos don’t have to be "good." They just have to be honest, and they only ever need to mean something to you.

Image: Adobe

Adobe has announced an update to Photoshop that brings new types of adjustment layers and improves generative AI-powered fill tools. It's also adding a feature in beta that makes it easier to manipulate text into certain shapes.

Late last year, Adobe announced it was adding two new adjustment layers to Photoshop: one that controlled dehaze and clarity, and another for adding a grain effect. Now, those are coming out of beta and should be available to everyone using the app. While you've been able to use similar effects in Photoshop before, you had to bake them into a specific layer in your image, and once they were added, you couldn't adjust them. Having them as an adjustment layer, though, lets you easily adjust the effects after adding them, and easily have them apply to multiple parts of your image.

The update also brings some of Photoshop's AI-powered features out of beta, with the company promising better, higher-resolution results when using the Generative Fill, Generative Expand and Remove tools in the web version of Photoshop. The company also says it's improved the reference image feature in the Generative Fill tool, which lets you use an existing image to give the model a better idea of what you want it to generate.

Finally, there's a feature that Adobe's calling Dynamic Text, which the company says will make it "easy to transform any text layer into circular, arched, or bowed shape." While you could obviously already achieve something similar with paths and the text tool, Adobe says the Dynamic Text tool will automatically fit your text to the shape, something you'd have to manually manage using other techniques.

The new adjustment layers are available in the latest version of Photoshop, which Creative Cloud subscribers can download starting today. Dynamic Text will be available in the Photoshop Beta app.

Image: Nikon

Nikon has announced firmware V1.10 for the ZR camera, heralding the first update for the video-focused camera. Given that it comes only a few months after it launched, it's no surprise that the changes it brings are mostly small quality-of-life tweaks, rather than massive overhauls to how the camera works.

Perhaps the biggest change is that Nikon says it has "significantly extended" the amount of time the camera can record for in many of its modes. While it used to top out at 125 minutes, it can now continuously capture for up to six hours in its sub-100fps compressed modes, though doing so will require the use of an external power supply or battery.

The company has also added the option to display a red line in your histogram or waveform to make it obvious where the clipping point is, which can be especially useful as you switch between modes with different base ISOs.

When it launched, the ZR supported timecode synchronization via Bluetooth, making it easier to keep track of footage and audio captured with multiple devices in the edit. The update adds support for timecode sync over a wired connection through the microphone jack. Other quality of life features include a setting to keep the green light around the power button illuminated while the camera is on (by default, it turns off quite quickly) and the LUT import screen can now display up to 50 CUBE files, rather than 10 (though the camera can still only store 10).

The firmware update is available today as a free download from Nikon's website.

DJI Mavic 3 Classic | 24mm F2.8 | ISO 100 | 1/320 sec | F5.6 Photo: Erez Marom

In part one of my series about photographing Mongolia in winter, I wrote about my experience shooting the Khongor Sand Dunes and Lake Khuvsgul. This time, I'd like to take you to another north-Mongolian destination, and to the east of this vast country.

After I was done shooting in Lake Khuvsgul, I took a long 4X4 drive further north-east, across some harsh terrain and interesting, frozen landscapes. We made a short stop to drone over the mountains and valleys of the Khoridol Saridag range.

After long hours, we finally arrived in our next major destination: Jargant River. This river is unique in that its waters come from an underground spring, and so parts of it do not freeze even when it's -40ºC (-40ºF) outside. The temperature difference between the river and the air causes water to rise as droplets, which stick and coat the trees and totally cakes them in white ice. These foggy conditions are great because it emphasizes the sun penetrating between the trees, creating beautiful light rays that work really nicely with the other compositional components around.

The fog here serves both as a compositional element and as a medium through which the trees' shadows show. DJI Mavic 3 Classic | 24mm F2.8 | ISO 100 | 1/400 sec | F10

Here, the fog serves the separation between compositional elements: the closer tree is perfectly visible, whereas the background trees are shrouded in fog, helping the viewer's brain understand that they are at different distances, thus creating depth. The light rays penetrating between the trees add a lot to the image, do you agree? Canon EOS R5 Mark II | Canon RF 24-105mm F4 L IS USM | ISO 100 | 1/320 sec | F11

A nice example of sun rays shining between the trees. Canon EOS R5 Mark II | Canon RF 24-105mm F4 L IS USM | ISO 200 | 1/250 sec | F8

A top-down image showing the icy coating of the trees. Note that this is definitely not snow, but water droplets that stuck to the trees. DJI Mavic 3 Classic | 1/30 sec | ISO 100 | F5.6

Jargant River is especially winding, which is useful for creating nice compositions. The fog above it adds another layer of interest. DJI Mavic 3 Classic, 1/100 sec, f/6.3, ISO 100

The fog from the river had spread across the planes, allowing me to create a dreamier scene in which only the higher-elevation elements are clearly visible. DJI Mavic 3 Classic | ISO 100 | 1/100 sec | F6.3 Photos: Erez Marom

There are a few nice locations in the Jargant Valley area. If you're there, it's worth your while to take a drive to the Singing Springs (known locally as Duut Spring), another location where liquid water is visible even at a bone-chilling -40ºC or even -50ºC (-40º to -58ºF). The moisture carried in the air coats not only trees, but low bushes and different kinds of plants that look somewhat weird dressed in white.

An aerial shot of the Singing Spring. At -37ºC (-35ºF), liquid water is still visible and usable as a compositional element. Note that the slanted, closer, more visible tree is located in the gap between the left- and right-side trees, to avoid overlap. In general, since the colors are quite homogeneous in this image, separation and depth become more important: apart from the slanted tree's location, I also used the background fog to separate the trees from the mountains. In turn, the warm sunrise tones separate the mountains from the clouds. These planes of separation contribute to the overall feeling of depth in the image, which is critical, especially in winter imagery. DJI Mavic 3 Classic | ISO 100 | 1/30 sec | F4 Photo: Erez Marom

After returning from northern Mongolia, I took a very long drive toward the far east region of Mongolia: the Steppe, where I spent several days shooting wildlife. My main goal was to get interesting shots of one of the cutest and grumpiest creatures on Earth: the Pallas's cat. This bundle of joy isn't much bigger than a house cat, but its super-dense fur, round pupils and less-than-friendly attitude give it a very special kind of charm.

What it lacks in size, it makes up for in ferocity and in cuteness! Canon EOS R5 Mark II | Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM | ISO 400 | 1/2000 sec | F6.3 Photo: Erez Marom

I teamed up with an organization dedicated to the preservation of this beautiful species and stayed in a ger camp, from where we would head out twice daily to try to find the wildlife. The mornings were usually devoid of cats, as they primarily roam in the afternoon, so we dedicated them to other wildlife. I got some nice images of owls, which show the snowy, rocky environment.

A little owl perching on the snowy ground. Note how I did my best to show the animal in its environment in a compositionally-appealing way: there is a foreground subject (the owl), another small rock on the left to counterbalance it, and a clear (even if out of focus) background subject comprised of distinct elements with proper separation between them. Canon EOS R5 Mark II | Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM | ISO 800 | 1/400 sec | F8

The nice thing about this image is the similarity in colors between the owl and the rocks. Both are brown with white blotches: in the owl, it's the feathers. In the rocks, it's the patches of snow. Canon EOS R5 Mark II | Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM + Extender RF 1.4x | ISO 400 | 1/640 sec | F10 Photos: Erez Marom

The owls were nice, but naturally, my main focus was the Pallas' cat. The cat shooting was very much unlike any wildlife photography I'd ever done. First of all, the cats can be hard to find. We sometimes had to send a tracker to locate one of them, which, considering the vastness of the area, was an astounding feat. Once found, however, the Pallas' cat is a surprisingly easy animal to get close to and shoot. Contrary to more easily-agitated species, their natural behavior is such that they disguise themselves as rocks and stay perfectly still unless you get really close to them.

In this image, I used the color similarity between the grass and the cat's eyes to enhance interest. Canon EOS R5 Mark II | Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM | ISO 400 | 1/2500 sec | F7.1

A very grumpy blob assuming the shape of a rock. Canon EOS R5 Mark II | Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM | ISO 800 | 1/1600 sec | F7.1

Cats will be cats. Canon EOS R5 Mark II | Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM | ISO 200 | 1/3200 sec | F5.6 Photos: Erez Marom

As stationary as they often are, once the cats decide to go, they bolt. This gives the photographer a chance to get some action shots. It's a hard mission, since you don't know exactly when the cat will run or in which direction, but here are my best attempts.

Canon R5II, Canon 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 254mm, 1/8000 sec, f/5, ISO 1600 Photo: Erez Marom

When the Pallas' cat is sitting down, it's possible to get relatively close to it. Morally speaking, as long as you do it in a responsible manner and understand when you're too close, there's no harm in that. This last shot shows exactly such an event: I was still at a comfortable distance, but the cat made sure I knew I'd gotten on its nerves, and so I backed up and went away.

This threatening gesture meant it was time to go. Canon EOS R5 Mark II | Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM | ISO 1600 | 1/8000 sec | F5 Photo: Erez Marom

I hope you've enjoyed my images from frozen Mongolia. If you are well-equipped for winter photography and mentally able to handle extreme cold, I can highly recommend it as a unique photographic experience.

Erez Marom is a professional nature photographer, guide and traveller. You can follow Erez's work on Instagram and Facebook, and subscribe to his mailing list for updates.

If you'd like to experience and shoot some of the world's most fascinating landscapes and wildlife with Erez as your guide, take a look at his unique photography workshops in Zambia, China, Colombia, Vietnam, Madagascar, Ethiopia and more.

Erez has recently published his first e-book, Solving the Puzzle, thoroughly explaining his views about composition in landscape photography and beyond.

Selected Articles by Erez Marom:

• Lava Frenzy: Shooting Fagradalsfjall Volcano
• Behind the Shot: Tambora Sandwich
• Parallelism in Landscape Photography
• Black Hole Sun: Shooting the Total Solar Eclipse in Argentina
• Winds of Change: Shooting Changing landscapes
• Demon of the Deep: Shooting Kawah Ijen Volcano
• Shooting Kīlauea Volcano, Part 1: How to Melt a Drone
• Whatever It Doesn't Take

The photo John Abernathy took, showing his point of view as he was being surrounded by ICE officers, right before he threw his camera to another photographer. Photo: John Abernathy | Instagram: @john_abernathy_

By now, you've probably seen the viral photo of John Abernathy, an independent photographer, throwing his Leica M10-R to another photographer after being pinned to the ground by officers of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. It's from a striking sequence of images taken by freelance photographer Pierre Lavie, which show Abernathy being tackled, locking eyes with Lavie – then a stranger – and tossing his camera and phone to him in an attempt to keep them from being confiscated.

We caught up with both photographers to get the story behind the photos they took that day, see how they've dealt with suddenly having their work presented on a global stage, and talk about how this incident, and others like it, have affected how they cover protests and other similar events.

Click to see Lavie's images of Abernathy throwing his camera

If you haven't seen the photos or aren't familiar with the backstory, this is what happened: Abernathy and Lavie were photographing a protest against ICE around the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, MN. Both photographers say that, throughout the event, police forces would gather to press into the crowd. Abernathy says that, while photographing protesters and counter-protesters, he lost his situational awareness for a moment as he was trying to simultaneously live-stream with his phone and take photos. That's when he was tackled from behind and wrestled to the ground by several ICE officers, who then pepper-sprayed him.

Lavie, who was shooting nearby, saw this happening and turned to photograph it. That's when the now-famous moment was captured. Abernathy, concerned that the police might delete photos from his camera, locked eyes with Lavie and tossed his Leica M10-R and phone to the other photographer.

"It was instinctual at that moment"

"It was instinctual at that moment," Abernathy says, adding that he believes an ICE agent was trying to grab his phone out of his hand. "I didn't know what would happen to me after that, so in a split second I decided: 'I gotta throw it.'" Lavie, who was crouching down to photograph what was happening, says it was all very quick. "It's not more than a handful of seconds that he went from being tackled to being on the ground, tossing his camera and his phone, and then being pulled back in and detained."

Lavie admits he briefly hesitated before going for the camera and phone. "In my head, I was like, 'Do I grab this? Do I not? If I do, am I gonna get pulled into this thing?" But then he told himself, "Okay, screw it. I'm doing it."

After Abernathy was released, he says he looked around for his camera, asking someone with a bullhorn to ask if anyone had seen it, but nobody had. "After they let me go, I was in an absolute panic to know where my camera was," he says. "I was like, fuck, maybe I made the wrong decision. I shouldn't have done that, why did I do that?" Eventually, though, he and a friend were able to track his phone, letting him meet up with Lavie and retrieve his camera and the images on it, some of which he's posted to Instagram.

One of the last photos Abernathy took before he was tackled. Photo: John Abernathy | Instagram: @john_abernathy_

"When I finally got back to the images that I shot during the protest, there are some very aggressive shots of agents coming down on protesters," Abernathy says. "So in hindsight, throwing my camera was the right thing to do, for multiple reasons. One, bringing attention to this entire issue we're having. And two, the images show the aggression that they're coming down on for no apparent reason."

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A post shared by Captured by Rectangles (@john_abernathy_)

The photos Abernathy took while being detained, and the photos Lavie took during the event, have received a lot of attention both in national outlets and on several social media platforms, something neither photographer expected.

"I'm actually getting chills right now," Abernathy says when asked whether he was surprised at people's reactions. "I did not obviously expect literally any of this attention. If it wasn't for Pierre's photo, I literally don't think any of it would have happened. There were a lot of other photographers there, and they got some good shots as well, but his shot is literally epic. It shows so much. It's more than a photo of me. It shows the struggle against this... unidentified ominous power."

"It's resonating with everybody for a reason"

Lavie calls the response "surreal" and says he's thankful, flattered and humbled by the outpouring of support. "It's resonating with everybody for a reason. And I don't think it's a good reason. As much as I would love it to be some miraculous picture of a butterfly or something like that, unfortunately, this is the situation, and that's where we are right now. Hopefully it's gonna work its way through the system in a healthy way."

Abernathy also understands why the photos have resonated so much. "I'm most grateful that it's become a focal point to bring attention to not only this area but what's happening in the whole United States," he says. "It speaks to freedom of the press. A lot of people are picking up on that for obvious reasons, but it speaks way beyond my personal experience. It's freedom of the press, and it's individual people trying to struggle against that massive power. Both his shot and my last shot show only legs in power positions. And they're dominating, and there's weapons, and it really represents a lot more."

"it is always shocking"

The incident is just part of a recent wave of police and ICE officers tackling, pepper-spraying and arresting photographers and journalists as the agency gains an unprecedented level of power, budget and legal immunity. "I've seen it quite a few times now, unfortunately. But it is always shocking," says Lavie. "It's a fine line that journalists of all types walk out there to make sure that they can be there and not be involved, and yet still do their job to record."

It's a job both men plan to continue doing, though Abernathy says he'll make sure to have more personal protective equipment the next time he covers a protest, including vapor-tight goggles. He also says he's considering getting a ballistic helmet and bulletproof vest, both things Lavie tells me he already wears when covering similar events.

When we spoke, Abernathy said he was still recovering from the incident, with some serious bruising from the pepper spray balls and being thrown to the ground, and occasional shivers. But despite knowing that he'll need to take more precautions in the future, he still sees the need for photographers like him to document these kinds of events. "I think that's more important than probably most people realize," he says. "The amount of things that are going on – I don't know what's going on in other parts of the country except for what's been in the news, and I don't even see all of that. I know that people are seeing bad things, but they're not seeing all of it; they're not seeing the volume of it and the random moments."

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A post shared by Captured by Rectangles (@john_abernathy_)

The event has reminded both photographers of the importance of community. Abernathy says he's received messages from all over the world expressing horror at what's happening in the US, and gratitude for those documenting it. He also spoke about how other protests he's covered in Minnesota were moments of bonding for the community, citing how, at the end of a protest over the death of Renee Good, a Somali woman and her husband showed up to feed protesters and give them tea. Lavie spoke of the camaraderie he's seen between photographers and advised people looking to document events like this to be friendly and ask questions to folks who look like they've been doing it a long time.

Finally, there's the camera. While Abernathy initially thought his Leica had come away unscathed, besides a few new scratches, he said he later discovered that its rangefinder patch had stopped working, forcing him to focus based on his finger's position on the focusing ring (a task made slightly easier by the fact that he shoots at F11 on a 28mm lens). When we spoke, it was working again, but he was unsure whether the critical focus had shifted. He also says his phone survived the ordeal, despite having been stomped on.

Still, that didn't stop him from going out and shooting another protest with it, which Lavie was also at. "I'm glad John wasn't hurt badly," Lavie says. "He was out that following Saturday taking pictures again. I saw him walk by me. I was like, 'Oh, dude, you're out here.'"

We're back with the first episode of the DPReview team discussions show of the new year, and just in time. The first few weeks of the year have been relatively busy, with Ricoh bringing out a new variant of the GR IV, this time with a completely monochrome sensor, and Fujifilm bringing video to its Instax line.

The team got together to discuss these cameras and the community's reactions to them. Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments below, and over on our forums.

Photo: Mitchell Clark

We recently got the opportunity to get a Leica M11-P (which is, at its heart, the same as the M11, M11-D and M EV1) in front of our studio scene. While we've attempted to shoot the scene with the standard M11 before, we weren't able to get hold of an optimal lens to do so. Leica has this time been able to lend us the APO-Summicron-M 90mm f/2 ASPH, which has given us a much better representation of the camera's performance.

Our test scene is designed to simulate a variety of textures, colors, and detail types you'll encounter in the real world. It also has two illumination modes, full even light and low directional light, to see the effect of different lighting conditions.

With its base ISO of 64, the Leica M11-P's processed Raws start out cleaner than most (though not all) of its full-frame, color-filter-bearing competitors and are roughly similar to the noise levels we see from cameras like the Nikon Z7 II, which also has a sub-100 base ISO. Unsurprisingly, it captures lots of detail, on par with what we expect from other cameras using Sony's 61MP sensor. At mid and high ISOs, its Raws are on par with other modern full-frame cameras.

The M11-P's JPEG engine produces pleasing colors, but isn't quite as successful at revealing the full extent of the detail captured by the Raws, even at base ISO. This becomes more evident at higher ISOs, with the camera doing a decent, but not class-leading, job of retaining details despite its noise reduction. That noise reduction also doesn't appear to be as sophisticated as what Canon, Nikon and Sony are using, leaving more chroma and luma noise in the JPEG.

We noticed the effects of shutter shock in images shot with lower speeds using the mechanical shutter, and have used electronic shutter shots for some of the samples to provide the sharpest results possible. While it's a characteristic worth being aware of when shooting with a tripod, for shooting handheld, your ability to focus the camera and hold it steady, combined with its unstabilized sensor, would more likely be the limiting factor on sharpness.

In terms of dynamic range, the M11-P performs as well as we'd expect given the excellent results we often see from this sensor, giving you plenty of latitude to pull shadows up in post or to shoot to preserve highlights.

Exposure Latitude | ISO Invariance

The M11-P is capable of excellent image quality under studio conditions, even if, realistically, that's not where the camera and its rangefinder focusing mechanism are most at home. Still, it's good to know that whatever you're trying to accomplish with it, the sensor is more than able to deliver the image quality you need.

Ricoh has released a monochrome version of its GR IV enthusiast compact camera. The GR IV Monochrome features the same 26MP BSI CMOS sensor and 28mm equiv F2.8 lens as the color version, but is black-and-white only.

Key specifications

• 26MP BSI CMOS sensor with no color filter array
• On-sensor phase detection
• ISO 160-409,600
• In-lens shutter allows flash sync to 1/4000th sec
• E-shutter allows use of F2.8 at up to 1/16,000 sec
• Built-in red filter, giving punchier blues.
• 53GB of internal memory
• 250 shot-per-charge battery rating
• UHS-I Micro SD memory card slot

The GR IV Monochrome will sell for a recommended price of $2199. This is a 46% premium over the list price of the standard GR IV, suggesting Ricoh feels that the mono version will have a smaller audience to foot the development costs. The MSRP in the UK is £1599, which is only a 33% mark-up over the standard version's original list price.

Index

• What is it
• Body and handling
• Initial impressions
• Specifications
• Press release

What is it?

As the name implies, the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome is a black-and-white only variant of the GR IV.

You get all the usual benefits and costs of a mono-only sensor: a higher base ISO, because less light is being lost to a color filter array (a 2/3 of a stop increase, in this instance), and much sharper detail, as there's no demosaicing taking place.

You also get better noise performance at any given ISO: again because there's no color filter sapping any light, but with that advantage disappearing if the color version can use its lower base ISO.

However, with only a single color channel, there's a lot less flexibility to the Raw files: once the image appears to be clipped, there's no way to approximate highlight data from unclipped channels.

The electronic shutter can deliver exposures down as low as 1/16,000 sec, letting you use the maximum aperture even in good light

To prevent overexposure when shooting at F2.8, the GR IV Monochrome lets you switch from its in-lens shutter to an e-shutter. The electronic shutter can deliver exposures down as low as 1/16,000 sec, letting you use the maximum aperture, even in good light, despite the camera not having an built-in ND filter. As with the regular GR IV, the mechanical shutter has an upper limit of 1/2500 sec at F2.8: you need to stop down to F5.6 to achieve the 1/4000 sec maximum.

Interestingly, Ricoh says the GR IV Monochrome's autofocus is the same as that on the GR IV, which means it has on-sensor phase detection. This would mean that, unlike the Leica Q3 Monochrom, it has to do some degree of interpolation during processing, to hide any impact of those phase-detection pixels. We've not seen any negative impact from this in our preliminary shooting, even when trying to induce flare to highlight any issues.

The company also says that the sensor is not the same one used in the K-3 III, though it wasn't specific about how the two differ.

Red Filter

Other than the lack of color filter array, the other difference is that the GR IV Monochrome has a slot-in red filter, rather than the neutral density filter in the color version. This selectively lowers the impact of blue and green light on the sensor, which gives more dramatic skies and higher contrast, generally.

The filter in the GR IV Monochrome reduces the overall light to the camera by around 3 stops, for a neutral subject (it's around a 4 stop cut for blues, 3.5 for greens and closer to a single stop for reds).

Body and handling

As you might expect, the GR IV Monochrome looks and handles exactly like the regular GR IV: it's a tiny camera for one with such a big sensor and yet it manages to put a lot of control at your fingertips without seeming too cramped.

The finish of the camera is also a little different, with a less textured matte black finish. The shutter button is also black and the GR logo on the front is a very dark grey, rather than white. The green LED ring around the power button is also white, to keep with the monochrome theme. Sadly, Ricoh has not borrowed the beautiful 'Monochrome' typography from its Pentax K-3 III Monochrome DSLR.

The control logic is well worked through, as you'd expect for the eighth generation of a design (prior to 2013's GR, with its APS-C sensor, were four iterations of GR Digital, which used a much smaller Type 1/1.7 sensor in a very similar body).

Despite its size, the GR IV's magnesium alloy body makes it feel very solid, without being overly weighty. And, unlike almost all modern cameras, it will sensibly fit in a pocket.

Ricoh says the GR IV's lens was specifically designed to reduce the risk of dust ingress, but that they had to make the choice between the small form factor that a retractable lens makes possible and complete weather sealing, so there are no promises around the level of sealing.

Initial impressions

Ricoh was kind enough to lend us a pre-production GR IV Monochrome, to let us get a feel for the handling, but we were asked not to make measurements or publish images from it, as it's not necessarily representative of final production performance.

But, even in the limited time we've spent with the camera, its appeal shines through: it forces on you that same way of looking at light and shade that Leica's monochrome cameras bring. And I maintain that using a camera that can only capture black and white is a completely different experience to using a normal camera in mono mode. Knowing that you can't switch, no matter how appealing the colors are in your scene means you solely focus on light, shadow and contrast.

The inclusion of a built-in, switchable red filter is a brilliant idea, letting you add that punch to your images at the touch of a button, without having to add a filter ring adapter or carry filters round with you. I'm sure there'll be people who would have preferred a different color, but red seems like a sensible option since they had to choose one. And the option to engage electronic shutter, so that you can still shoot wide-open in bright conditions feels like a reasonable work-around.

Even more so than the standard GR IV, the Monochrome version is going to be a niche proposition. Some people will immediately know they want one, while I suspect a great many people will be baffled at the idea that a regular GR IV in mono mode wouldn't be similar enough. And cheaper.

The price of adopting a decidedly niche camera is that there are fewer people to share the development costs with. The Ricoh is just over a quarter of the price of the other dedicated mono compact on the market – though the Leica Q3 mono has a sensor more than twice the size and a maximum aperture that's over a stop brighter, so can capture more than four times as much light – but there's still something inherently counter-intuitive about having to spend more, for less.

Photo: Community member NiVoak

For our most recent Question of the Week, we asked about a topic that's near and dear to my heart: photography projects. We wondered what projects you are taking on to spark creativity and move your photography forward. We also invited you to share ones that have made a difference for you in the past, even if you're not currently working on one.

You all had some wonderful responses (and photos), sharing about long-term projects, the constraints you put on yourself to help you see things anew and the regular challenges that keep you picking up your camera.

Constraints to drive creativity

This image is from Maoby's project, which involves photographing the same subject at different times of year and with different cameras. Photo: Community member Maoby

Many of you mentioned projects that may not be based on a specific period of time, but instead are more focused on applying narrow constraints on what or how you take photos. That could be taking images of the same subject or location repeatedly, or only using certain types of gear. The important thing was working on one specific thing over and over again.

Maoby: As already mentioned in your article of January 11, with a mini statuette, an approach which I have just taken up again. Another (fairly classic) example is to photograph the same subjects at different times of the year and with different cameras. Or recently, photographing with old M42 Helios lenses M42 Helios 44-2 & 44M 58mm F2.

This image of a violet-green swallow is part of Faunagraphy's project to photograph swallows and swifts right as they splash on the water. Photo: Community member Faunagraphy

Faunagraphy: The last major project that I assigned to myself was to photograph swallows and swifts as they splash on water...Despite (or because of) the challenges, I learned so much from this project. I experimented with different wetsuit thicknesses and designs, making the most of less-than-ideal light, how to use my gear to squeeze the most juice out of it, but above all, I learned so much about my subjects!

gary_mak: My new project for 2026 is learning – and mastering – taking wide-angle landscapes with short telephoto lenses - and then pan stitching into a single "wide angle" image. I recently attended a session by Dennis Hammon at Imaging USA 2026. After seeing his magnificent landscapes and hearing his presentation about the reasons for not using a wide-angle lens, it made a lot of sense to me, so I decided that would be a good "technical improvement" project for 2026 for me: Learn how to do landscapes with short telephoto lenses and master pan stitching.

Sirhawkeye: Another project I might also do is a prime lens project (possibly with different focal lengths, but probably will start with 50mm as this is a common focal length). While these types of projects have been done to death by the photo community, they can be a good exercise in learning how to see, and how to approach a scene, especially considering you have one focal length to work with.

Time-based projects

An image from SpiderJacek's photo-a-week project. Photo: Community member SpiderJacek

In my post, I shared that I have completed many projects that involve taking a photo a day for a year, or a photo every week for a year. There were a handful of you who are tackling (or have in the past) something similar, focused on projects that have at least a rough endpoint.

SpiderJacek: "One week, one photo" project

JJack: I did many kinds of projects with the main purpose to either advance my skills or to overcome a creativity block, but none had such a profound effect as joining the Monthly Scavenger Hunt, which required me to shoot 20 differently-themed photos each month. (Actually, it allowed for some slack about using older photos as well – but new ones were much preferred.) Themes varied quite wildly – some simple, some bordering on impossible (at a given time and place). That caused me to keep the list of them in my pocket wherever I went (along with a camera, of course). And since photos were all rated at the end of the month, it was a bit of competition among the participants as well. Very friendly and good-natured, of course, but it provided that bit of extra oomph that kept me doing it for a few years.

It made me really look differently at the world around me. Every little thing became a potential motif – and a speculation about what future hunting themes might bring, so my shooting rate skyrocketed. And to this day, I still tend to shoot everything that's even a bit out of the ordinary, which has provided me with quite diverse themes for photo exhibitions as well during the years.

Jaberg: In December of 2023, I began what was intended to be a "one-year" (thirteen-issue) project, publishing a monthly minizine. Mostly of my vernacular photography, though some event and special project work was included. Limited to 25 copies, distributed to close friends, mostly fellow photographers and artists.

Unfortunately, my father’s health took a turn and, as his primary caregiver, I lost the thread of the project and stopped publishing after seven issues. I don’t beat myself up for this failure. In fact, I don’t look at it as such. I’ve said elsewhere here that I consider process to be more important than product. I got value and learned much from the work that I did. I will return to publishing soon, though possibly switching to a quarterly production schedule.

Long-term projects

NiVoak is working on a long-term project photographing Romanesque Architecture. Photo: Community member NiVoak

The most common responses were projects that are long-term and still ongoing. Many of these focus on specific subjects, but have been years in the making.

Vidja: One other project is to photograph the old doors and windows in old barns and farms around the region before they are gone. This started after an accidental photo of a barn door in my hometown. I now have a collection of more than 200 barn doors and old windows within walking distance of my house.

NiVoak: My Romanesque Architecture is a huge ongoing project. I was fascinated by some Romanesque column capitals in a small country church in the mountains. I have ended up photographing this architecture all over Northern Italy. The subjects range from small county churches, through to the big cathedrals.

I have put together a series of shift lenses. I love this slow photography, and I have developed a lot of new skills. I enjoy playing with perspective effects. I use a tripod when I can and use HDR as standard. I have accumulated a small library of books on the subject, as understanding what you are photographing helps enormously. So photography has been a positive cultural advancement.

Cherry_F likes to photograph plastic and junk as a challenge to find interesting images, even of the mundane. Photo: Cherry_F

Cherry_F: I have various projects that I keep going on in parallel, but my favorite themes are plastic and junk. I believe my creativity most increased when photography prompted me to take a closer look at my environment. Especially about things we find so mundane, we don't even bother about.

Challenge yourself

The common thread between all of these projects is that they are designed to challenge you in some capacity. Whether it's learning a new skill or mastering your gear, gaining a better understanding of a specific subject or forcing yourself to see things in new, fresh ways, your projects aim to push you in some way. If you're feeling stuck in your photography, maybe some of these responses can help you find ideas to source new inspiration or motivation.

Stay tuned for next week's edition of our Question of the Week series. You can also still participate in this question via the link below.

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