Photography and consumer electronics giant Sony has offered to buy Tamron, a company well-known for its lenses and optics. This would be, to put it mildly, a massive shake-up in the photography market, that could end up having profound impacts on the lenses available to photographers using other systems in the coming years.

What’s happening?

According to a statement Tamron made to investors, Sony has made “a non-binding proposal” that would result in Tamron being “a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation.” Tamron says it’s set up a special committee to review the proposal, but that it currently has nothing else to disclose.

One of the most important things to glean from that statement is that, according to Tamron, it would end up as a subsidiary of Sony. That implies that, at least at the beginning, it would still exist as a separate entity. Keep that in mind, as it’ll be important later on in the discussion.

Why does Sony want to buy Tamron?

Mitchell Clark

There are several potential reasons for Sony to want to acquire Tamron, not all of which have to do with photography. While the majority – 74.2%, in 2023 – of Tamron’s sales come from its “photographic products,” the company’s surveillance, automation, mobility and healthcare divisions also make millions of dollars each year. Sony’s a big player in those spaces, too. While most of us are familiar with Tamron because of its camera lenses, we shouldn’t discount the possibility that those other businesses play a part too.

With that said, Sony told Reuters that its reasoning for the offer is because it thinks the acquisition would be good for Tamron’s shareholders, and that it could help Sony’s imaging business too. That seems to mean that the company’s photography business is one of the main draws for Sony.

Tamron’s place in photography

Tamron, like Sigma and Viltrox, is a third-party lens manufacturer, meaning it produces lenses for a variety of camera systems (unlike, for example, Sony, Nikon and Canon, which make lenses pretty much exclusively for their own cameras). The company is known both for making very good lenses that are much cheaper than the own-brand equivalents, and for making zoom lenses that are a bit out of the ordinary; think the 35-150mm F2-2.8, or the 17-50mm F4. Lenses that some people will find useful, but that might be a bit too niche for other companies to make.

Tamron

It’s worth explicitly saying that every single mirrorless lens Tamron makes is available for Sony’s E-mount; for many, it’s the only mount they’re currently available on. Tamron makes lenses for all the major mounts – Canon, Nikon etc – but, probably as a result of the stricter licensing policies of the other two big brands, it’s only Sony’s E-mount for which is can offer all its lenses. There are also occasionally differences between the Sony versions and the others. The company’s latest release, the 12-20mm F2.8, will be available for both Nikon and Sony, but the E-mount version is coming out first, and for less, with a spokesperson citing volume, manufacturing differences and a different competitive landscape for the price difference.

While Tamron is known for the lenses that bear its name, it’s also a major original equipment manufacturer, or OEM. That work, which includes making lens modules and interchangeable lenses for clients including Nikon, made up 29% of the company’s revenue in 2025, and accounted for 41% of the sales in its photography division in 2023.

So what happens if Sony buys Tamron?

Neither company has commented yet on what will happen if the deal actually goes through, but there are a few possible scenarios that are worth exploring should that happen.

Scenario 1: Tamron continues on with business as usual

Sony could essentially keep Tamron as a relatively separate company under its umbrella in perpituity, leaving it to continue making lenses for other mounts, and doing OEM work for other companies. And in some ways, this seems like the sensible move; why buy a company, and then nix 30% of its revenue?

Sony acting as a steward would potentially benefit it in a few ways. For one, it wouldn’t have to worry about outside forces messing around with a valuable partner; according to PetaPixel Sony was, until recently, the largest individual shareholder in Tamron before an investment firm took that spot, giving it less sway over the company’s decisions. It would also have greater insight into the company’s developments, and could plan its own releases around those, and could apply some of its optics expertise to lenses bound for other company’s cameras, letting it benefit in a way that it wouldn’t have been able to before.

However, there are some potential downsides, too. Sony wouldn’t be capitalizing on the ability to make access to Tamron lenses an exclusive benefit of buying an E-mount camera, and it’s hard to imagine that the company’s relationship with the other camera companies would be completely unchanged if it’s suddenly owned by a competitor. Nikon might think twice about choosing Tamron as an OEM (assuming, of course, that it has other options). Then again, it doesn’t seem in any rush to stop using sensors from Sony’s Semiconductor division, or sourcing its OLED EVF panels.

There isn’t a ton of precedent for this scenario in Sony’s history of acquisitions, though there are parallels. It famously purchased Konica Minolta in 2006, which has completely disappeared into its camera division. The same is true of Toshiba’s image sensor business, which it bought in 2015, though Sony’s sensor group does a lot of business with other camera companies.

To us, this path feels like the best outcome for photographers, if a buyout has to happen. Non-Sony owners would still get to benefit from Tamron’s lenses, and it could act as a competitive force in the market, driving other lens makers to improve their own offerings.

Scenario 2: Tamron stills exists, but only makes lenses for Sony

Tamron

Of course, Sony could keep Tamron around as a lens brand, but make it so the company only produces E-mount options. It’s hard to argue that Sony would need to do this to bolster its cameras – as stated, all of Tamron’s lenses work with them anyways, as do hundreds of options from Sony and others – but it would be a blow to its competitors. Canon and Nikon’s more restrictive licensing policies already limit the choices for their users: losing the few options Tamron provides would only make that situation worse.

In our view, this wouldn’t be good for the camera industry. We’d like photographers to have more options, not fewer.

However, this path is not unfamiliar to Sony, if you look outside of its imaging division. The company has acquired several studios that make video games exclusively for its PlayStation consoles. And while some of those games eventually make their way to other systems years after their original release, it seems like the company may be in the process of walking even that tepid support back.

Scenario 3: Tamron disappears into the behemoth

Tamron could also wind up broken up into pieces, with its medical and automotive divisions becoming parts of Sony’s corresponding groups, and its lens businesses folding into Sony’s. This would simplify things on Sony’s end, where it gets the benefit of the company’s designs and intellectual property without the headache of having two separate, somewhat competing brands. To us, though, it would seem like an odd decision; it’s not like Sony needs help designing lenses (though perhaps this is a play to increase its production capacity), and it would be forfeiting the cahcet of a brand that dates back to the 1950s.

What does this mean for photographers?

If the deal ends up going through, the impact on photographers will depend heavily on which path Sony chooses to take. But even if it went with the first option and mostly let Tamron be, that path wouldn’t be set in stone. Sony could, at any time, decide to cut of other company’s access to Tamron’s lenses and manufacturing, an outcome that wasn’t previously on the table.

While there are exceptions, consolidation in an industry with an already limited number of players isn’t typically in the best interest of the consumer. While it may be, as others have argued, a great option for Sony, that doesn’t mean it would be good for the camera market overall.

That’s not to say that there aren’t potential upsides. Tamron is a publicly-traded company, subject to the desires of its investors. While its latest fiscal reports don’t paint a picture of a company in dire straits (absolutely not financial advice, to be clear), we’ve all seen companies whose products have taken a turn for the worse because the money people decided that they weren’t happy with the current profits. It feels less likely that Tamron would meet that fate were it owned by a company that’s deeply invested in photography than if it were bought out by a private equity firm.

It’s also possible the company’s products could improve if it had access to Sony’s technology, expertise, manufacturing capacity and vast financial resources (Sony’s imaging division alone brought in $11.2 billion in 2025, compared to Tamron’s $533 million).

For now, though, this is all hypothetical. Tamron could choose to reject Sony’s offer, deciding to continue going it alone. But while neither company has commented on the terms of the deal, Diamond Online, the outlet that originally broke this story, has reported that the offer is somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.2 billion, which is around Tamron’s current market cap (or, at least, what its market cap was before the news of a potential acquisition broke).

Community member Andrew Kornylak loves to cling to sheer rock faces with others and stare down at the world below. See what photos he’s taken from such dramatic heights as he shares his story that includes working for Lowpro and writing for National Geographic.

Our ‘What’s in your bag?’ community spotlight series features readers sharing their favorite gear and photography, including from past DPReview collaborators. See below for what Andrew has to share.

Andrew Kornylak

Meet Andrew Kornylak

Home base: Chapel Hill, NC USA

Andrew’s interest in photography began in high school after his older brother gave him a hand-me-down Minolta camera. The hobby grew through years of rock climbing and travel before he left a career in software development to become a full-time photographer in 2006.

“My older brother gave me his old Minolta camera when I was in high school. Taking pictures quickly became a hobby. I eventually got into rock climbing in the early 90s while in college, which was a great subject for photography and really got me motivated to get more serious. When I graduated, I worked as a software developer, traveled around the US and climbed, taking pictures whenever I could.”

Although he embraced digital photography early, Andrew has continued to work with both film and digital throughout his career. He believes shooting film keeps his technical skills sharp and encourages a more deliberate, thoughtful approach to his work.

“I still shoot a mix of film and digital. Shooting film with a strobe is especially challenging, but worth it. I spent years shooting climbing with off-camera strobes, using medium-format film. Keeping one foot in analog has been good, as it helps keep my skills sharp and challenges me to think more deliberately in my approach to projects.”

What’s in Andrew’s bag

Andrew Kornylak

Favorite camera: Canon EOS R5 Mark II

The Canon EOS R5 Mark II sure is a popular camera, as last week’s spotlight also stated it was their favorite. Here’s what Andrew thinks about its 45MP stacked sensor compared to his Nikon gear.

“I’ve shot with and owned almost every major camera system, but I have been primarily a Nikon shooter for my bread and butter. Just this year, I switched to Canon, mainly because all my cinema video cameras are Canon, so I wanted to consolidate lenses. I am currently shooting with the Canon R5 Mark II and about a half dozen lenses.”

Support gear

Andrew Kornylak

Any experienced photographer is going to have a set of gear that works well together and is ready to go at a moment’s notice. Apart from the cameras and lenses above, here’s Andrew’s other interesting gear he takes with him on trips into the mountains.

“I shoot a lot with lighting, both in the studio and on location. For photography, this was mostly Profoto and Broncolor strobes. I’ve been transitioning more to continuous lighting. LED technology has really come a long way, with significant advantages over other lighting options, especially since I also shoot video.”

“Aperture is my go-to brand here. I am FAA drone certified, so there’s that. Though I have a mini warehouse full of grips and accessories, I try to keep things as simple as possible. My Really Right Stuff Apex TVC-34L carbon tripod (which allows me to quickly change out photo and video heads) and RRS BH-55 ball head go with me 90% of the time.”

Favorite bag: “Definitely the Pelican 1510 with Trekpak Dividers and 1519 Photographers Lid Organizer. Hands down, my most useful camera case.”

“For years, I was an ambassador and design consultant with Lowepro, so I’ve been loyal to that brand. The bag I use the most is the Lowepro Whistler BP 450 AW. These days, I mix and match. I have to think about video gear as well. Mountainsmith (for a time), Think Tank and Peak Design all make great bags.”

What’s it like ‘hanging out’?

Andrew Kornylak

Whether suspended hundreds of feet above the ground or in a quiet neighborhood park, Andrew is drawn to photographs that reveal something extraordinary. He believes the most compelling stories are often found in everyday places, where ordinary moments can become unexpectedly transcendent.

“Hanging from a rope hundreds of feet above the ground is a pretty unique perspective. I love shooting in all conditions, high up, underwater, in the rain, and so on. It can sometimes be risky or dangerous. I do enjoy the adversity, but it’s not where you find people most of the time. People occupy mundane spaces – cities, back yards, parks and their automobiles. It’s even more exciting to find something sublime or transcendent in an everyday environment.”

One place that continues to inspire him is the Mississippi River Delta. First photographing the region for National Geographic Adventure in 2007, he has returned several times, captivated by its quiet beauty.

“One memorable place I’ve been to close to home is the Mississippi river. Specifically, in the Delta region. I shot a story on the river for National Geographic Adventure Magazine in 2007 and have gone back several times since. It’s an unheralded landscape, right in the middle of the country. A seemingly mundane place even, but unexpectedly wild, full of mystery and power.”

How do you keep fear at bay?

Andrew Kornylak

“Willpower. For a typical magazine story, I used to just overshoot to make sure I covered all the bases. That is a reasonable approach, and in the moment, you might pick up a few bangers. In reality, that approach is based on fear. You might have some ideas or intentions, but you quickly realize they don’t go as planned, so you embrace serendipity.”

“I do love that about photography, but I think as you gain more experience, you can become bolder with your intentions, really make them come to life instead of assuming they won’t. That’s where the perfect shot happens, not by chance but by intentional visualization and a strong will.”

“What’s the perfect shot, though? I sometimes don’t even realize it until years later.”

Turning photography into published books

Andrew Kornylak

“This year, I am busy working on a couple of multi-year documentary films. I am really used to the constant hustle. That changed during the pandemic, when I was forced to sit still for a while and meditate on what I really wanted from my work. I scanned all my old film (about 30,000 images) and began thinking bigger. I began writing.”

“As a direct result of that, I published my first book last year about climbing in the South – Spare These Stones (Mountaineers Books). Such a small thing, a book, but it feels like the culmination of decades of work. It really has propelled me into the next stage of my career, I think. I have also started teaching. This fall, I will teach two classes at the UNC Chapel Hill Hussman School of Journalism.”

A piece of advice from a rock climber

“My advice is to work hard, but don’t be afraid to take a break and survey where you are headed. Your approach and strategy will change dramatically over time. Embrace every stage of it, and have fun!”

Andrew really enjoyed participating in this spotlight article and would love to hear what you think of his photography and to answer any of your questions in the comments below.

You can check out Andrew’s other work at andrewkornylak.com.

Editor’s note: This article continues a series, ‘What’s in your bag?’, highlighting DPReview community members, their photography and the gear they depend on. Would you like your photography to be featured in a future installment? Tell us a bit about yourself by filling out this form.

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add DPReview as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.

After what has felt like an odyssey of a product rollout, DJI’s latest vlogging camera, the Osmo Pocket 4P, is finally here. It’s launching in Europe, the UK, Canada and Australia, after its initial rollout in China a month ago.

Our coverage of that launch has the complete specs, but here are the most important parts, in case you missed them or have since forgotten them. The 4P is an upgraded version of the company’s Osmo Pocket 4 vlogging camera with an integrated three-axis gimbal. Like the standard model, it has around 100GB of built-in storage, and a Type 1 (116mm²) sensor with a 20mm equiv. lens, capable of shooting at 4K/240p in landscape. It can also take 33MP 16:9 stills or 37.7MP 1:1 stills, and a ~3K (1728×3072) vertical crop from the middle of the sensor for portrait-orientation video at up to 60p.

While those specs are similar to the original Osmo Pocket 4, the 4P uses a new sensor that utilizes a LOFIC (lateral overflow integrating capacitance) design to retain more information in the highlights, and a new version of the company’s Log curve, D-Log2, to capture the extra dynamic range. D-Log2’s base ISO is two stops lower than the original’s, meaning it can tolerate up to 2EV additional light.

It’s also not the only camera. The 4P adds a Type 1/1.28 (75mm²) sensor with a 60mm equiv. lens for extra reach, though that one doesn’t have the same dynamic range capabilities – it uses the original D-Log – and caps out at 4K/200p.

Taking a break from specs: what’s the camera like to use? DJI brought our social director Mykim Dang to Toronto for two days to test it, and you can see her impressions, along with sample footage from the 4P, below.

The power of the Osmo Pocket series has always been in its ability to be an all-in-one solution. The cameras provide image quality that’s more than good enough for social media or YouTube, work natively with DJI’s popular wireless lavaliere microphones and produce steadier footage than you can get from a phone alone

As a bit of inside baseball, we recently went through the process of putting together a standard kit for shooting social video here at DPReview and our sister company, Gear Patrol. It includes an iPhone, several accessories like a cage and ND filters, a microphone, tripod, etc. When we were discussing the Osmo Pocket 4P, Mykim said she wished it had existed when she was putting the kit together, because she would’ve just gone with it.

What really sold her was the accessory remote, which provides a wireless live preview, the ability to start and stop recording, and a joystick to control where the camera is pointed at. It doesn’t come with the camera, but is available as part of the Vlog Combo, which also includes a fill light, Mic Mini 2 transmitter and receiver, a mini tripod and more, as well as a pouch to put it all in.

DJI

This does, however, bring us to one of the elephants in the room: Insta360’s Luna Ultra, which is about as similar a competitor as you could ask for. It also puts a Type 1 sensor with 20mm equiv. lens and a Type 1/1.3 sensor for its 60mm equiv. lens on an integrated gimbal, works with the company’s wireless microphones and includes some (but not as much) internal storage. However, it shoots 8K (as well as 4K), and its remote is built-in; you can detach the front with the controls and rotating screen, and use it to remotely operate the camera.

The Luna Ultra launched just as DJI had gathered everyone for its Osmo Pocket 4P event, and apparently struck a nerve at the company. DJI sued Insta360 in US court, accusing it of patent infringement, and Insta360 is countersuing. The second elephant is that, despite DJI’s choice of jurisdiction, the US isn’t among the list of places the Osmo Pocket 4P is launching today. The company tells us “the application for authorization is still pending.”

That’s no surprise given the country’s government’s ongoing actions against the company, and the fact that none of its recent products have been available there (at least, not bearing DJI’s name). Insta360’s offering, however, is, despite the fact that it’s also based in China and sells drones. For those in the regions that the camera is launching in, though, that may all be unnecessary drama, or at most food for thought when it comes to picking between the Osmo Pocket 4P and a competitor.

The black version of the Osmo Pocket 4P is launching today for £529 in the UK and around €599 in Europe, though the exact pricing for the latter will depend on which country you’re in. The Vlog Combo kit is available for around £/€80 more, which feels like quite an aggressive price given everything it includes.

* The two cameras’ vlogging combos are similar, though not exactly the same

Tamron has released a firmware update for its 25-200mm F2.8-5.6 Di III VXD G2 lens that actually makes a noticeable change to its performance. The company says that now, when you’re shooting at focal lengths between 25-70mm, the lens’ maximum magnification ratio is greatly improved, letting you get much closer to your subject.

When the lens launch, Tamron said it could achieve approximately half-macro, or 1:2, reproduction at its widest end. However, as lens reviewer Dustin Abbot points out, shooting so close at 25mm has practical challenges, and can make it very difficult to get a well-lit photo. By the time you were shooting at 50mm, where you had a more reasonable working distance, the maximum reproduction ratio dropped to 1:3.1, or around 0.32x magnification.

Tamron

This is where the firmware update comes in. At 35-50mm, the lens can now manage a ratio of 1:1.7, or 0.58x, which is a substantial improvement. Tamron also says that it will achieve at least 1:2 reproduction throughout the 25-70mm range. For those that like to get close to their subject, this makes and already versatile lens a lot more flexible.

It’s rather unusual to see a lens firmware update that noticeably changes how you can use the lens. It’s not entirely unique – we’ve seen Laowa launch a macro lens that couldn’t autofocus in its macro range, only to enable that functionality later via software – but it still remains among the more interesting bits of lens firmware news. Tamron’s press release doesn’t include any technical details on how the company was able to achieve this, but we’ve reached out to see if it can share any. We’ll update this story if we hear back.

The V3 firmware is available to download for free via Tamron’s Lens Utility software.

It’s undeniable that, in terms of the tech and experience around its sensor, the Sony RX10 V is an excellent example of how far the camera industry has come in the last 10-ish years when compared to the Sony RX10 IV from 2017. But during that time, we’ve also seen a lot of discussion around how image quality has stagnated, and there’s no obvious difference between the V’s 20MP Type 1 (116mm²) stacked CMOS sensor and the IV’s.

There’s some truth to the idea that gains in image quality are coming slower these days, as much of the past decade’s progress has been more focused on performance in aspects like autofocus and readout speeds. That’s not to say there have been no advancements in image quality, but Sony hasn’t bragged about including them in the RX10 V. The only real way to find out, though, is to put it in front of our test scene.

Studio test scene

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.

Unsurprisingly, the RX10 V performs very similarly to the RX10 IV when looking at its Raw images at base ISO, which is a good thing. It captures a good amount of detail, and at 88mm equiv., its lens actually holds up quite well compared to other cameras with Type 1 sensors and lenses with much less ambitious focal lengths. It also provides more detail with less noise than the Nikon P1000, which offers much more reach but uses a lower-res and much smaller 16MP 1/2.3″ (28mm²) sensor.

The RX10 V’s JPEGs are where the decade of progress becomes apparent. The colors are much more pleasing than those of the IV, with more natural skin tones, and the vibrancy of colors turned up where they were lacking, and turned down where they were overbearing. We also found this to be the case in the sample photos we shot with the V. Sony’s progress on this front has been slow and steady, but with so much time between the two models, it’s much more noticeable.

This class of cameras has never been the best pick for low light photography, the RX10 V’s Raws again look as we’d expect. Switch over to JPEG and it’s clear that Sony has upgraded the camera’s noise reduction to some extent, but in higher-contrast, more detailed areas, we’d be hard-pressed to tell its performance apart from its predecessor’s. However, it does outperform Panasonic’s similarly-specced (and now discontinued) FZ-1000 II from 2020 in this regard, and is significantly better at low light than the P1000.

Summary

The RX10 V doesn’t represent a massive shift in terms of image quality from its predecessor, nor, indeed, the RX10 III and RX10 II before it, which both used similarly-specced sensors. When those cameras were released, we called their image quality excellent*, and even these days it’s hard to argue that the pictures the RX10 V produces aren’t very good.

However, it’s hard to ignore that images from smartphones, armed with increasingly sophisticated computational photography tricks, have been getting better and better. Some models even include Type 1 sensors, too, edging in on even the highest-end enthusiast compacts, if only in terms of image quality and not shooting experience. Arguably, the RX10 V, with its massive focal range, is one of the compacts most insulated from this, as phones’ telephotos are often paired with much smaller sensors, and don’t offer anywhere near the level of reach. But it does raise questions about how the next versions of cameras like the RX100 will differentiate themselves.

Going back to the camera at hand, though, regardless of how much the RX10 V has or hasn’t improved when it comes to imaging, it’s still the best in its class… even if it is the only pupil remaining.

* – as long as you set aside their JPEG colors, which the RX10 V has thankfully greatly improved on.

By now, you’re probably familiar with the DJI Osmo Pocket 4P, despite the fact that it hasn’t officially launched outside of China. It’s the company’s vlogging camera with an integrated gimbal, featuring a Type 1 (116mm²) sensor with a 20mm equiv. lens and, new to the series, a secondary Type 1/1.28 (75mm²) sensor with a 60mm equiv. lens.

Earlier this summer, DJI invited our Director of Video and Social, Mykim Dang, to an event in Toronto to let her get some time with it, but made the choice to let influencers and creators share their footage before traditional media outlets were allowed to do so. However, ahead of the official regional launch, we’re now able to share some of the footage we shot on that trip, including shots with both cameras, and ones that use D-Log2, the profile making its debut on the series (if only on the main camera).

DJI boasts that the new Log profile, combined with the main sensor’s use of LOFIC technology to capture additional information in the highlights, allows the camera to provide up to 17 stops of dynamic range when shooting with its 20mm equiv. camera. While this number, like most manufacturer-provided DR figures, should be taken with a massive grain of salt, it helps show the ambitions the company has for the Pocket 4P. It was initially teased at the famous Cannes Film Festival as a “a bold evolution of the Pocket series from a creator tool into a cinematic imaging device capable of professional-grade storytelling.”

We’ll be sharing more on the camera soon, so stay tuned.

As we push on with our Leica SL3-P review, we’ve run it through our standard studio tests. To a large extent, we already have a pretty good idea what to expect, given we’ve seen this sensor / processor combination before. But it’s always worth testing these things, just to be certain.

Studio test scene

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.

As you might expect, there’s no meaningful difference between the Leica and the Panasonic in terms of detail capture (the very slight difference shows how good the comparison tool is at highlighting the smallest of differences in focus), or for that matter, the Nikon Z8. However, the 66MP Sony a7R VI clearly captures finer detail than its rivals.

A quick check in JPEG mode shows that the default color rendering of the SL3-P is distinct from that of the Panasonic, though, with differences appearing in the blues and caucasian skintone patch, in particular.

Beyond this, there aren’t any real surprises: noise performance is solid in Raw, very closely matching the performance of its peers. JPEG noise reduction looks similar to that of the Panasonic, with what appears to be more sharpening added, by default, to pull out detail. The Auto white balance also looks to be working harder to neutralize the tungsten light used for our low-light mode.

We’re just over halfway through 2026, and it’s already been a very strange year for cameras. It kicked off with a months-long drought that saw no major releases, which was finally broken by the surprise announcement of the Panasonic L10. Since then, a few new cameras have crossed our desks, but if this pace continues, 2026 is set to be a low-water mark for releases.

Which is not to say that it’s been boring. Unlike in 2025, which saw three full-frame enthusiast cameras released, all jockeying for the same position, each of this year’s crop has been almost entirely unlike the rest. Every release tells a story about a different facet of the camera industry as a whole, and, if we listen, we may just get a feel for which way the winds are blowing.

Ricoh GR IV Monochrome – Drill into the niche

Richard Butler

The Ricoh GR IV, with its prime 28mm equiv. lens, pocketability-above-all-else design philosophy, laser-focus on a specific shooting experience, and relatively high price point is already a relatively niche proposition. And a version of it that literally can’t shoot color, and which costs hundreds of dollars more, appeals to an even more limited market.

And yet it’s a camera that really, really works. Yes, every decision limits the potential audience, but it also makes the camera more and more unlike the rest of the market, which, in general, is full of other cameras that overlap substantially. You could have an extensive collection of cameras, and still have nothing like the GR IV Monochrome.

From the outside, it’s hard to tell if this approach has been a financial success for Ricoh. But it’s clearly a continuation of the trend we saw in 2025, where several camera makers opted to produce something that breaks the mold, rather than trying to compete in an increasingly crowded market.

The Panasonic L10 – Is this what you wanted?

Mitchell Clark

Technically, the L10 is not the first compact Panasonic released in 2026. That honor belongs to the DC-ZS300. It’s a very minor refresh, updating an older model with USB-C and removing the EVF. Its story is simple, not warranting an entire section, as it likely exists solely thanks to EU regulations about charging ports, supply chain constraints and consumers that are willing to buy anything that looks like an old compact camera.

Conversely, the L10 is something we don’t see that often anymore: an enthusiast compact with a zoom lens. Prime-lens compacts have been having a moment, with the continued viral success of Fujifilm’s X100 series, and last year seeing the release of the Ricoh GR IV, Sony RX1R III, Fujifilm GFX100RF and more. While there’s obviously a market for those, there’s also always a contingent commenting, “Why can’t we get something like this with a zoom lens?” And Panasonic, apparently, saw fit to grant their wishes, producing a camera with a Four Thirds sensor, EVF and plenty of tactile controls.

Of course, there were some who found plenty to not like about it, from its lack of weather sealing to its size. But even if those things really bother you, surely we can agree that it’s a good sign that someone is releasing a large-sensor compact with an ambitious zoom and modern internals, features and connectivity, at a time when the competitors that have managed to stick around are both from 2019. Even if this particular one isn’t your cup of tea, it could be a sign that manufacturers are starting to take an interest in this category again.

Canon EOS R6 V – Power to the creators

There’s a reason every storyteller worth their salt is familiar with the rule of three. Once you’ve seen something thrice-over, it becomes obvious there’s a pattern. On that note, the EOS R6 V is the latest entry into a market that an increasing number of companies seem to be paying attention to: enthusiast-tier video cameras designed for creators and owner-operators, based around hardware from hybrid mirrorless cameras. Think the Nikon ZR, Panasonic S9 (or, further back, the S1H), or Sony ZV-E1.

It’s tempting to call these vlogging cameras, and some of them fit that moniker better than others, but with features like open gate recording, internal Raw, and a variety of assist tools and features that you’d have had to buy Hollywood-grade gear to get just a few years ago, they’re clearly designed for a bit more than that. They’re for the age where “creator” is a job, not just a hobby, and where people with that title might want to stretch to full-on production (or, at least, think they might and therefore want a camera that conceivably could).

Canon throwing its hat into the ring with this kind of camera confirms that it, too, sees room between an entry level video camera like the EOS R50 V, and a professional workhorse like the EOS C50. There’s no longer a question of whether there’s a market for this sort of thing, and it has instead become a search for what really matters to the people buying them. Will the ZR’s big screen, Red-inspired Raw codec and internal 32-bit float audio sway people, or will they flock to the EOS R6 V with its button-heavy UI, high-resolution open gate and well-judged (if pricy) kit lens? Only time will tell, and we’ll be interested to see which cameras get follow-ups*, and how that next generation will be different as camera companies take users’ feedback into consideration.

* – And whether Panasonic will release a more fully-featured entry into the market that it arguably helped invent.

Sony a7R VI – There’s room for a stills powerhouse

Richard Butler

Beyond the fact that it’s exceptionally good, one of the most interesting things about the a7R VI is its bucking of a trend we’ve noticed in mirrorless cameras. We’ve seen video capabilities become an increasing driver of technological developments, both because gains there help camera manufacturers address a new (and, by all accounts, growing) market, and because the technology for photography is so mature and good that it’s frankly just plain harder to make noticeable improvements to the stills experience. But while Sony absolutely has improved the video capabilities of the a7R VI, I get the sense that the reasoning is flipped; it had to include a faster sensor to improve the photographic experience, and already built many of the features for other, more video-focused models, so the upgrades were a relatively low-lift.

My evidence that the improvements were done with photographers in mind? The a7R VI’s increased speed doesn’t turn it into a great video camera, but it does reap rewards when it comes to stills. The much faster sensor means it’s actually usable when shooting with e-shutter, unlocking features like pre-capture and 30fps bursts in stills, greatly expanding what you can do with the camera compared to its predecessor. Its autofocus is better, its photos are a little higher resolution, and its dynamic range is some of the best we’ve seen thanks to its ability to combine both its low and high gain steps in modes where the mechanical shutter ends the exposure.

While plenty of lower-end cameras have similar features, the a7R VI shows that there’s still room for improvement at the pinnacle of image quality, and that cutting-edge tech doesn’t just benefit videographers. Just wait until someone uses this tech in a medium format camera.

Leica SL3-P – It’s not just what’s on the inside that counts

The Leica SL3-P has the same bones as a Panasonic S1RII. They share a sensor, a processor, a viewfinder, lens mount and many other core technologies and capabilities. With the hefty price difference between the two cameras, it’s easy to dismiss the Leica as little more than a frivolous remake with a different UI.

Unless you’ve actually used them both. The SL3-P is the latest in a series of Leicas that lay bare something other cameras hide a bit better: there’s a lot more to a camera than the hardware it’s made of. Realistically, there are only a few companies making sensors, viewfinders, rear display panels, and so on, so most companies are picking from the same parts bins and differentiating themselves based on their selection of lenses and software.

But it turns out that the differences in how you actually use the camera are some of the most significant ones, something the SL3-P highlights incredibly well. Its controls and operating system are utterly unlike Panasonic’s, and, consequently, it feels like an entirely different camera, despite all its shared DNA. That’s a lesson worth remembering.

Sony RX10 V – A return to form

Richard Butler

Who would’ve guessed that we’d see a new high-end bridge camera? Clearly not me, if you read my lamentation of an introduction to our compact camera buying guide, where I say that the golden age is over and that manufacturers have seemingly given up on large swathes of the market. (Don’t worry, I’ll update it.) Some of them may have, but it seems like Sony was just biding its time.

The RX10 V focuses on the types of photography that a phone can’t replicate. At the wide angle, the latest flagships may be able to provide similar or better image quality via computational photography, despite having sensors much smaller than the Type-1 model found in the Sony, but their measly 5 or 10x telephoto lenses (which often use smaller still sensors) can’t hope to compete with a 24-600mm equivalent zoom lens. The camera also has much improved ergonomics and controls, alongside modern autofocus that’s some of the best in the business.

Both this and the L10 raise the question: what other camera models are stuck languishing, waiting to be revived with a decade’s improvement in technology? We wouldn’t have expected the RX10 series to get that treatment, yet here we are. The smaller RX100 series feels like a shoo-in for what’s next, but beyond that, it feels like Sony may have opened the door for even further experimentation and revival.

Sony FX5 – It’s what you do with it

James Tirado

I’ll keep this section brief, but one of the stories quietly in the background last year was the one of manufacturers being able to pull more out of sensors; see the difference in dynamic range performance between what appear to be very similar models in the Nikon Z6 III and the Panasonic S1II, and the use of partial stacking tech to make the a7 V’s sensor more capable than the otherwise very similar one in its predecessor. With the FX5, Sony appears to have taken this a step further, seemingly adapting the photo-first 66.8MP sensor from the a7R VI into a more video-friendly 16.6MP model.

The ability to tweak existing tech to suit a specific need, rather than having to build something new from the ground up, has always been an important part of building specialized gear. (See also: astro-editions of cameras.) It’ll be exciting to see if we see more cameras in a similar vein.

What’s next?

As a camera reviewer, it’s been refreshing to see such a variety of releases this year. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to be spoiled for choice; it’s just not the most exciting thing ever to write a conclusion that says “yep, this camera is really, really good, just like the two others just like it that came out this year.” But beyond the excitement of any single release, it’s the trend lines that make me look forward to what we’ll see in the back half of this year and beyond the most. I still think there’s more wide-open blue sky for manufacturers to explore, if they want to continue this trend of releasing different and exciting cameras.

Or maybe everyone’s had their fun and will go back to simply producing more exceptionally capable all-rounder cameras. That’s fine too.

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The term ISO invariance is being used increasingly widely in camera technology circles, but the comments we’ve seen suggest it’s often misused and misunderstood.

This is partly our fault: ISO invariance is the term we chose to describe a phenomenon that was already being discussed, and our usage and tests have helped popularize the term. So we thought it made sense to make clear what it is, what it isn’t, and why it matters.

Sensor performance, not camera behavior

ISO invariance is an assessment of how much or little improvement in noise you get by increasing gain.

It’s an assessment of a sensor‘s performance, not a description of how a camera delivers its ISO settings.

Why add gain?

The best way to understand it is probably to take a look at why gain / amplification is used in cameras in the first place. If you take a photo in low light, your sensor has less light to work with and will generate a smaller signal from your exposure. Amplifying this signal before it’s digitized has two potential benefits:

• It helps match the signal voltage to voltage range that your analog to digital converter (ADC) is designed to digitize. (In other words, you make sure that the signal is captured using lots of your available Raw values)
• It reduces the impact of any noise that might be introduced after amplification (if you double the scale of the signal, then any noise introduced later has half the impact).

It also has a major cost:

• If you take the signal coming off the sensor and amplify it 2x (ie: add one stop of gain), then the brightest stop of highlights will be represented by a voltage that’s too great for your ADC, and those values will be recorded as its maximum value: they’ll be clipped.

In the early days of digital cameras, cameras would add more amplification every time you increased the ISO setting. This link between ISO and gain is no longer as rigid as it was, but in very broad terms, it’s still usually the case that most cameras typically apply more gain when you increase the ISO setting. How’s that for definitive?

Modern sensors are excellent

Photons-to-photos

However, in recent years, sensor and electronics designs have improved to the point that there isn’t much post-amplification electronic noise to overcome. And, after a certain point, it’s worth questioning how much of a shadow improvement am I getting in return for the highlight information I’m throwing away?

And that’s what ISO invariance assesses: are there circumstances in which it would be better to keep the ISO down, and save the highlights, if there’s not much improvement in noise performance?

Mitchell Clark

We opted to call this ISO invariance because the existing term “ISO less” sounded like an binary: something sensors either were or weren’t. We hoped the term “invariance” would make it clearer that sensors would have a degree of variance or, as it turns out, ranges over which they are less or more ISO variant.

In hindsight, ISO invariance isn’t the best possible term for this phenomenon, not least because it’s an assessment of the impact of analog gain, and ISO doesn’t necessarily depend on analog gain. But also because it got interpreted by some people as a binary position anyway.

ISO invariance does not tell you how a camera delivers its ISO settings

Another common misunderstanding of the term is that it means the camera doesn’t change gain when you change ISO. This is not the case

Delivering multiple ISO from the same gain level would be a method of exploiting a sensor’s high degree of ISO invariance, but it’s extremely unusual for a camera to do this. There are lots of cameras that deliver some of their ISO settings without changing gain, or have modes that change ISO value without changing gain, but the majority of cameras do change gain when you change the ISO setting.

It doesn’t mean you don’t have to worry about what ISO setting you use

ISO invariance also doesn’t mean it no longer matters which ISO setting you use on your camera. If you’re in a mode with any degree of automation (Program, Shutter Priority or Aperture Priority), your ISO setting will change the exposure your camera tries to achieve. Setting ISO higher than you need will result in capturing less light than you might others, and this reduction in light leaves the image looking noisier.

But also, because most cameras increase gain as you increase ISO, some amount of highlight information is pushed to clipping unnecessarily and this can’t be recovered, later.

Why don’t cameras exploit this?

Richard Butler

So far, we’ve not encountered a stills camera that exploits ISO invariance performance by separating exposure and image lightness from gain. There are modes that take some advantage of it, though: many cameras’ DR modes work by intentionally giving lower-than-normal exposure to a given gain level so that the camera captures and retains an extra stop or two of highlight information, then apply a different tone curve that accommodates these extra highlights.

But generally, though, exploiting an ISO invariant sensor is a bit messy: you have to set an appropriate exposure in a low light scene and then lower your ISO setting without changing this exposure, to prevent the highlights in that scene from being amplified into clipping. This usually results in preview that’s multiple stops darker than you want the final image to be. Or, if you turn off exposure preview, fewer cues for assessing exposure. It’s a pretty clumsy, Raw-only way of working.

There is hope, though

Mitchell Clark

Interestingly, it’s becoming more common on the video side of things. Sony’s FX series cameras (many of which share their core hardware with Alpha models), offer an ‘Exposure Index’ mode, where the camera always operates at the low or high conversion gain states of its sensor, then records ‘ISO’ as a metadata tag that’s interpreted when editing. Increasing the ISO setting doen’t increase gain, so you don’t lose highlight data.

Similarly, the biggest distinction between NRaw and R3D raw video modes on the Nikon ZR is the way ISO is handled. NRaw works like stills mode: adding gain each time you increase the ISO setting, but in R3D mode it sticks to the two native conversion gain states of its sensor. This means that you don’t push data to clipping when you increase ISO, you just change a metadata tag indicating how light or dark the footage should be rendered. This is what makes it possible to adjust the apparent “ISO” after the fact in editing software.

But, for now, we’ve seen no such mode in a stills camera. In part this is because it would require a fundamental rethinking of how exposure, gain and image lightness should be handled. And, for now at least, the industry seems happier to tinker with the increasingly strained-looking ‘it’s just like film speed’ metaphor that is ISO, than to think about how best to make use of modern sensor performance.

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Compact cameras used to dominate the market. Every manufacturer made tens of new models each year, typically differentiated by pixel count, zoom range and screen size. Plus, usually, a single model with a tunnel viewfinder for the “no viewfinder, no sale” faction, which almost nobody bought.

They were a huge part of the camera market: twenty years ago, compact cameras made up 88% of Canon’s unit sales.

You might have noticed that this is no longer the case. Smartphones obliterated the mass-market compact camera, initially through convenience and then increasingly by combining multiple exposures to surpass small-sensor compacts in terms of image quality, too.

But there’s been an unexpected consequence of the death of the mainstream compact: the remaining models are the ones that aren’t compact.

Mitchell Clark

This has left us in an awkward position. We always used the term ‘compact’ to mean any camera on which you couldn’t change lenses because, with very few exceptions, they were the small ones. But, now that the mainstream compact has died, we’re instead left with the more ambitious models, the ones whose larger sensors and longer lenses continue to offer things that smartphones don’t. The Panasonic L10 isn’t especially compact, the Sony RX10 V won’t fit in most pockets, the Fujifilm X100 series is almost as large as the rangefinder cameras it mimics and then there’s the Fujifilm GFX100RF.

All of them ‘compacts’ by our standard. None of them particularly compact.

We can’t call them point-and-shoots, because the models that survived are precisely the ones that you do more than simply frame and click with. We can’t call them fixed-lens cameras, partly because it’s just not a phrase we’ve ever heard anybody use, and also because it can be misunderstood as meaning ‘camera with a fixed focal-length lens.’

So what do we do? Is it really worth trying to come up with a new term, to describe what it ultimately a handful of niche products? For now I think we just have to accept that progress has caught us out again, and that most attempts to arrange cameras (or the world) are imperfect, and prone to their original meaning being outpaced by history.

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We recently wrote about the experience of using Canon’s latest RF 20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ lens for photography, focusing on what it was like to use its manual zoom mode which provides a more satisfying and tactile experience than the typical powerzoom. As usual, the process of writing that article involved – what else – taking lots of pictures in a variety of situations.

You can now see those images in the gallery below, and download the Raws yourself if you want to really dig into its performance. While we were relatively pleased with the images we got out of it, it’s also still clear that this is a hybrid lens that leans towards video use, rather than being a dedicated photo lens. The edges and corners aren’t the sharpest ever, even when stopped down, and it has just okay vignetting performance, with there still being a noticeable improvement going from F5.6 to F8.

Neither of these is likely to be a dealbreaker for photography, and may not even be noticeable in most videos, and it’s worth keeping in perspective just how compact this lens is for something that goes as wide as 20mm, while also being a constant aperture power zoom.

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; we do so in good faith, so please don’t abuse it.

Thanks to Canon for the loan of an EOS R5 II to shoot this gallery. All images were processed using our standard lens workflow in Capture One, with the manufacturer’s distortion correction applied but no correction of vignetting. The profile is an essential part of the lens design, especially when shooting at the wide end of its range.

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Canon has released firmware updates for its vlogging-focused EOS R6 V, and its enthusiast mirrorless hybrid EOS R6 III, adding some new features and quality-of-life improvements.

The EOS R6 V gets the heftiest update, adding the ability to shoot flash with the camera, which the company promised at launch. This comes with a new menu that allows you to adjust your settings when using a flash, though it’s still a relatively limited implementation. To start, the camera is still primarily designed for video, so it doesn’t have any sort of mechanical shutter. This means you can only use flash at up to 1/60 sec, which will be a big limitation if you’re shooting outdoors. The camera also doesn’t have any of the traditional pins on its hotshoe, meaning your limited to flashes that work with the digital mutli-function shoe, unless you happen to have an adapter. (Sorry, fans of the Godox iT32.)

Still, it’s nice to see Canon following through on its plan to add flash support to the EOS R6 V for the niche situations where it’ll be useful. The V1.10 firmware also adds support for the BR-E2 wireless remote that Canon announced alongside the camera, allows the gridline overlay to display on the live view screen while you’re recording video and fixes several bugs.

The list of updates for the EOS R6 III, which, as the names imply, features very similar hardware to the EOS R6 V, is unsurprisingly similar. It too gains support for the BR-E2 and grid lines while recording, and receives several bug fixes. It also gains a feature introduced by EOS R6 V: the ability to use the AF for close-up demos setting across video modes. This feature overrides the camera’s facial recognition system if it detects that you’re holding something up to show the camera, and was previously only available in a specific mode that took away most of your manual exposure, focus and audio controls. Now, you can use it while retaining control over the rest of your image, making it much more flexible.

While it’s a relatively small feature, it’s also not always a given that manufacturers will bring features from their newer cameras to their older ones, even if it seems that they should support them. While the EOS R6 III hasn’t received all of the EOS R6 V’s video tricks, it’s nice to see that one of the camera’s quality-of-life improvements isn’t exclusive to people who aren’t as interested in photography.

The firmware updates for the EOS R6 V and EOS R6 III are available for free from Canon’s website.

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This is the first of several guides intended to help you navigate the new website and forums. We want you to be able to quickly locate items you’re used to using, and perhaps discover an interesting new feature or two along the way. We will highlight items in both desktop and mobile views if there is enough distinction between them.

Who is this guide for

• By the end, you’ll know how to control notifications for email and on-site activity
• You’ll be able to directly set “Watch” preferences on discussions and article comments
• You’ll know what to change if you’re receiving too many notifications

For this first guide, let’s talk about receiving those important activity notifications. Take a look at the top right of the website, you’ll notice a flag icon and a message bubble icon. These are your activity and direct messages received notifications, respectively:

Notification icons

DPReview

If there are unread notifications, the red-circled number will appear. Clicking an icon will display a summary of those notifications.

We are aware that there are still some display differences between viewing this space on the main website vs. from the forums, such as notifications being completely cleared only in the main website dropdown. Let us know if this guide doesn’t track with what you are seeing.

To the left of those icons, you’ll see your profile icon. If you are in desktop view, you will also see your account name. Clicking your profile image will open a list of settings. This guide is about notifications, so for today, let’s click on the ‘Forum settings’ option:

DPReview

Profile and forum notification settings

The forum settings link takes you to a detailed list of options to customize your forum experience. Near the top, you have several ways to be notified of messages via email. From there, you can set global notifications that will automatically inform you of updates to your created content. The forum system recognizes this action as a “Watch” (aka, “Follow” for the content you are interested in tracking):

DPReview

Mobile users: Ensure push notifications are enabled on your phone. You may also need to click the ‘Enable push notifications’ button in the current forum options page you are in, before seeing the following options:

DPReview

Scrolling down a bit further (you can skip past several of the other options for now), you’ll come to ‘Settings by notification category: When someone…’ section.

If you do not see this section, keep scrolling (it’s a long list). Please check:

• Rotate your phone from portrait to landscape view.
• May be blocked if you’re using a business phone and it’s company-controlled.

Otherwise, please log in on a desktop device for now to adjust these settings:

DPReview

There are three checkboxes available for each item, depending on how you want to receive notifications for that item.

1. Alert: Shows a number indicator on the icons at the top of the page for new unread alerts or messages
2. Pop-up Auto-read: Displays a small pop-up window that sets any unread notices to have automatically been read upon that window popping up.
3. Push: Functions just like mobile push notifications, sending alerts directly to your device

The forum system manages notifications across the site, from front-page articles to forum activity. It is designed to give you granular control over what you’re notified about in articles, including responses to your article comments.

Using Watch and Unwatch settings on discussions

DPReview

Moving out of the profile settings options, the above image shows a discussion thread as viewed at the top of the thread. Clicking ‘Watch’ will set your account to receive notifications when someone posts in that thread, even if you are not contributing to that thread.

What’s the difference between this watch option and those profile settings from earlier?

• Profile settings dictate the baseline for how you receive notifications. You will use this when you want to be notified of a response whenever you, say, reply to a forum thread.
• The ‘Watch’ setting is a manual option that lets you receive specific updates for a particular thread, regardless of whether you’re actively participating in it or not. 

Receiving too many notifications

Your profile settings also have an automatic watch option for threads that you start. It’s one of the easiest ways to stay connected to a conversation without having to manually check whether someone has replied. If you feel that you are receiving too many notifications and are not sure where they are coming from, you may need to:

• Unwatch threads you no longer want to follow (click the same button, “Watch”, you initially used to watch the thread, which will now read “Unwatch”)
• Check your profile settings to ensure that automatically enabled settings are disabled
• Reduce e-mail notifications and rely more on on-site alerts

Personally, I use on-site alerts for most things and reserve email for threads I want to follow more closely. But this is very much a “set it how you like” system.

Try adjusting a notification setting today

Even if everything is working great for you right now, try using the Watch feature on a discussion you’re interested in to explore the many options available. 

If you have any concerns with the notifications system after reviewing these settings, please let us know in the comments below. Also let us know in the comments what other guides we should introduce.

We hope this guide helped your DPReview reading experience!

There’s no shortage of content out there about Kodak’s rise and fall, but this deep dive from Design Docs takes a slower, more granular approach to the story behind the company. The feature-length documentary dives into Kodak’s rise, dominance and collapse, and how a lab engineer’s toaster-sized prototype set the company’s eventual downfall in motion.

The video walks through George Eastman’s early years and the business decisions that turned Kodak into a near-monopoly, from roll film and the Brownie to the marketing machine that embedded “Kodak moments” into everyday language. It also spends plenty of time on the culture around Rochester, including an interesting look at how Eastman took care of his employees and supported the community – in Rochester, New York and beyond – in ways that were well ahead of their time.

Of course, the story wouldn’t be complete without touching on what happened to Kodak with the rise of the digital age, and the documentary also covers that. It digs into the internal politics around Kodak’s invention of the digital camera, the fear of cannibalizing film and the decisions that eventually pushed the company toward bankruptcy. At just under an hour, it’s on the longer and slower side for YouTube, but if you’re willing to settle in, you’ll get a level of detail that most Kodak documentaries skip.

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In June, Flic Film, a Canadian manufacturer and distributor of analog photography goods, posted on social media that it had released “an all-new film stock.” While that’s certainly exciting on the surface, the announcement sparked a flurry of questions and speculation, with a bit of contention.

Flic Film isn’t alone in this situation either. There has been an increase in supposedly new film stocks in the last few years, but inevitably, the comments are full of discussion about what the film really is. There also seems to be frustration floating around about how all film stocks these days are the same, and that brands are essentially misleading us into thinking we have options. But all of that oversimplifies what’s really going on.

What’s going on with film these days?

Abby Ferguson

If you aren’t closely involved in the photographic film world, some context will help you understand why that post (and similar ones by other brands) ruffled some feathers. At the time of writing, there are only three to four facilities producing color film at a commercial scale. A handful of additional producers are making black and white films.

Despite the limited producers, there seems to be no shortage of film brands. Depending on your location, you can buy film branded by the likes of Lomography, Flic Film, Reto, CineStill, Candido, Japan Camera Hunter, Rollei, Leica and so many more. Even my local film lab has its “own” stock. This is where the confusion stems from. Each of these brands isn’t making their own film from scratch, given the resources and equipment required, so what’s going on?

There are a few things at play here. Some companies are simply repackaging (sometimes referred to as respooling) film. They buy it in bulk from a manufacturer, load it into canisters and boxes with their own label, make no changes to the film itself and sell it as their own.

At times, brands are upfront about this. For example, Flic Film sells Elektra 100, which its website has clearly labeled as re-spooled Kodak Aerocolor IV color negative film. Flic Film named the film something else, but it is upfront about what the film actually is. That’s not always the case, though, and there are certainly instances of repackaged film that don’t have the actual stock disclosed.

It goes beyond repackaging

Abby Ferguson

Another fairly common occurrence is a brand having an existing film stock modified for its use. CineStill is a good example of this, as it takes Kodak’s motion picture stocks and removes the remjet layer for its 800T and 50D films. Other brands also take motion picture stock and modify it in similar ways, so that it’s more easily processed by the general consumer and the labs they take film to.

Modification isn’t only happening on motion picture film, either. Still picture film is also modified in multiple ways in order to create a different look from the base stock. Manufacturers can do things like pre-flashing, which exposes film to a small amount of light to reduce contrast and compress the tonal range, or they can change the backing to alter how light interacts with the emulsion. They can also treat the film in various ways to push the effective ISO higher, add sensitizing dyes to shift spectral sensitivity or add additional coatings.

All that to say that there are quite a few options for altering a film stock that will result in a fairly substantial change in look. Some of these changes happen at the source by the original manufacturer, others are made by the brand in its own facilities. The changes can completely alter the colors you get from a film, its sensitivity to light, its contrast and its grain character, giving it a distinctive look.

Why don’t brands just say what it is?

With that context in mind, let’s look back at what happened with Flic Film’s latest release. When Flic Film posted about its new product, it said explicitly that it is “an all-new film stock.” Given that it seemed highly unlikely that Flic Film managed to establish its own film production facility, or even that they developed something new from the ground up that’s produced at an existing facility, people were upset about the claim that it’s “all-new.”

Flic Film subsequently released a video addressing the questions and complaints. In the video, a representative for Flic Film says, “The only answer I can honestly give is I don’t know.” He goes on to explain that they of course know the manufacturer, but when they receive the film, they get it as a number, not with the original name noted, so they truly don’t know what the stock was originally.

He also explains that when they put out a new film, they buy a master roll from a manufacturer, but that things don’t stop there. “The manufacturers don’t just grab something off the shelf and sell it to us. They actually do little tweaks to that film to make it individual to us,” he says. “They’re not going to sell us their best-selling film straight up and have us just replicate it, that makes no sense and it’s no good for the customers.”

But even when modifications are subtle, or a film is simply respooled, not sharing the name of the original film isn’t inherently nefarious. As Flic Film’s video explained, it’s very possible the brand doesn’t even know what the original stock is.

Abby Ferguson

Non-disclosure agreements (NDA) are another common practice in this industry. When working with a manufacturer, a film company may have to sign an NDA that prevents them from sharing the manufacturer’s name, the original stock name or both. In the case of CineStill, while it’s a poorly kept secret that it uses certain Kodak motion picture film, it’s never listed outright in CineStill’s marketing. In fact, its FAQ page says, “out of respect for our unique relationships with our suppliers, we are careful not to openly claim and benefit from the goodwill and reputation of the brands and trademarks of the original products.”

CineStill is considered one of the more transparent brands, but just because other companies aren’t sharing as much doesn’t necessarily mean that they are intentionally being deceitful. They could have more strict agreements in place with producers, or other factors could be at play. It certainly would be nice to have greater transparency, and I firmly believe brands should disclose information when they are able to. But it isn’t always a sign of a company trying to scam us out of our money if they aren’t upfront.

Modified film is still legitimate

Abby Ferguson

Transparency is one thing, but the other frustration I see coming out of recent film launches is rhetoric that all film stocks are the same these days and choice is an illusion sold to us by all of these companies. In the case of simply respooled film, yes, that is absolutely true. But, producers and brands can create quite distinct looks by modifying stocks. If a film looks different than what it came from, it seems reasonable to call it a new film.

Something similar happens in the digital camera world, too. Camera manufacturers source sensors, EVFs, displays and more from a handful of suppliers, yet it’s silly to argue that all cameras are the same as a result. Each camera manufacturer has to make additional decisions in terms of processing, colors, ergonomics and UI. What matters is what a company does with those common components.

We are quite far from the 1990s heyday when you could walk into a store and see a colorful wall of different film stocks. But a recent resurgence has led to more film brands working with producers in new ways, giving photographers more options than they had just five years ago. More options mean more people finding a film they love, and more people shooting film is only a good thing for the medium, which is always worth celebrating in my book.

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Community member John Freeman, known as john80504 in the forums, loves peering into the distance at intricate landscapes, capturing them at the highest resolution possible, then framing multiple shots on a wall to admire. Some of his murals are as large as 15 feet by 50 feet, showcasing wide mountain ranges and vast river valleys.

According to John, he’s the only person in the world who teaches a workshop on Gigapixel Photography, the art of taking dozens or even hundreds of photos and stitching them together into a single image with a resolution that measures in the thousands of megapixels.

Editor’s note: because of the nature of the ultra-high resolution images Freeman creates, we don’t have a way to post the full versions to our site in a way that would let you sensibly view them. We’ve provided links to his website that let you experience them in all their glory.

Our ‘What’s in your bag?’ community spotlight series features readers sharing their favorite gear and photography, including from past DPReview collaborators. See below for what John has to share.

John Freeman

Meet John Freeman

Home base: Longmont, Colorado, USA

Photography has been a lifelong pursuit for John, one that has evolved significantly over the decades. It eventually led him to a highly specialized niche that combines technical precision with artistic vision.

“For more than 58 years, starting at age 13, photography has been a central part of my life. My parents gave me a Kodak Brownie camera for Christmas the year I was in 8th grade. Over that time, I’ve explored many different genres and techniques, but few have challenged and rewarded me as much as gigapixel panoramic wall mural photography. My gigapixel photos are among the largest, highest resolution Fine Art Wall Mural Photos available on the internet.”

That specialization is gigapixel panoramic photography, a field he has spent more than a decade refining and pushing further with advanced techniques.

“When I first started doing gigapixel photos in 2011, I entered a niche market. Gigapixel photography is the process of capturing hundreds – or sometimes thousands – of individual photographs and stitching them together into a single seamless image. Over the past 10 years I have been doing focus bracketing/stacking of the individual images that are stitched into the final image. Adding focus bracketing/stacking has been the single most important skill that has improved my work.”

What’s in John’s bag

John Freeman

Favorite camera: Canon EOS R5 Mark II, though he still carries a Mark I for nostalgia.

“For the past five years, my main camera has been a Canon EOS R5, but before a trip to New Zealand this past April, I added a Canon EOS R5 Mark II to my bag. It has quickly become my favorite. I especially appreciate that it stores focus-bracketed images at 14-bit resolution rather than 12-bit, like the original R5, and that it captures focus-bracketed sequences much faster, which is a big advantage when photographing large landscapes. Most of the time, you’ll find my Canon RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM mounted on the camera.”

Lenses used across all cameras:

• Canon RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM
• Canon RF 28mm F2.8 STM
• Rokinon 14mm F2.8

John Freeman

Any experienced photographer is going to have a set of gear that works well together and is ready to go at a moment’s notice. Apart from the cameras and lenses above, here’s John’s other interesting gear he takes with him on trips into the mountains.

Support gear: “For panoramic photography, I typically carry a Nodal Ninja M2 manual nodal head mounted to a SLIK carbon fiber tripod with a Really Right Stuff leveler, along with a Vello Wireless ShutterBoss remote shutter release to minimize camera shake. For longer hikes, I also pack granola bars, a CamelBak water bladder and a phone running the PhotoPills app for planning.”

Camera bags: “For many years, I used a Tamrac Expedition 9x backpack, which had plenty of room for all my gear but became too heavy for long hikes. Last fall I switched to a lightweight Mosiso backpack that’s just big enough for my camera, three lenses and the Nodal Ninja. It also has a side pocket for my tripod, although that part could be better.”

What are some great locations for super high-res shots?

John Freeman

When John goes to a location, one of his goals is to shoot the largest, highest-resolution photo ever taken there – not just by him, but by anyone else.

“One of my most unique and difficult shoots was one I did in February 2026 of the frozen waves that occur in winter at Dream Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. The frozen ice waves are an unbelievable wintertime phenomenon that is caused by freezing temperatures and strong, dry winds. It is called sublimation, the process in which solid ice changes directly into a gas without becoming a liquid first. The result is a 4.63 gigapixel focus-stacked, stitched image made up of 7090 individual focus-bracketed images. This yielded 225 focus stacked sets in a 9 row by 25 column array.”

While Dream Lake stands out as one of his most technically demanding projects, John is always planning his next destination in search of another record-breaking panorama. Earlier this year, that pursuit took him to New Zealand.

“My wife and I just returned from a second honeymoon trip, a 27-night camper-van tour of New Zealand, in April, 2026. During the trip, we visited both the North & South Islands. While not every photo met my 1 gigapixel requirement, I did manage to capture numerous photos of some of the most beautiful areas of New Zealand.”

Techniques that captured that perfect gigapixel shot

John Freeman

“Even after decades behind the camera, I still find myself excited by the challenges and possibilities of gigapixel photography. One of my current projects is what I call Virtual Rocky Mountain National Park – a long-term effort to create immersive panoramic experiences throughout the park and to preserve these remarkable landscapes in extraordinary detail. This virtual tour of RMNP is free to the public to view and enjoy.

Projects like Virtual Rocky Mountain National Park have also pushed John to refine the technical side of his craft. One of the biggest hurdles comes when photographing scenes with an extreme range of light.

“One of the biggest challenges in gigapixel photography is dealing with scenes that contain both extremely bright and extremely dark areas. Unlike traditional photography, where HDR techniques can often solve these problems, focus stacking and HDR do not work together because the camera cannot perform both focus and exposure bracketing simultaneously. To overcome this challenge, I rely heavily on a technique called Expose To The Right (ETTR). This approach has become an essential part of my workflow, particularly when photographing complex landscapes that contain bright skies, deep shadows, waterfalls, and other high-contrast elements.”

John’s advice for photographers

John Freeman

“I always tell my workshop students, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, just make sure that you learn from your mistakes and avoid them next time.”

John really enjoyed participating in this spotlight article and would love to hear what you think of his photography and to answer any of your questions in the comments below.

You can check out John’s other work at abbascreationsphotography.com.

Editor’s note: This article continues a series, ‘What’s in your bag?’, highlighting DPReview community members, their photography and the gear they depend on. Would you like your photography to be featured in a future installment? Tell us a bit about yourself by filling out this form.

The Sony DSC-RX10 V appears just as prices of the remaining RX10 IV started to get silly. Nearly nine years have elapsed since the launch of the Mark IV but despite first appearances, almost everything has changed in the new camera.

Basic hardware

Both cameras are based around the same fundamental specs: a 24-600mm equivalent F2.4-4.0 zoom and 20MP Type 1 (116mm²) stacked CMOS sensors.

Sony says the lens is the same, despite reporting the focal lengths differently on the side of the barrel. Our understanding is the RX10 IV reports the effective focal length with corrections applied, whereas the RX10 V lists the literal focal lengths.

We were briefed that the sensor has been “updated” but without any specifics about what those changes are. The new camera has significantly more powerful processors and updated AF algorithms, so it’s hard to be sure which, if any, of the spec changes can be ascribed to sensor differences. It seems notable, though, that Sony no longer mentions DRAM, which it did in its description of the previous version.

Ergonomics

The RX10 V’s ergonomics have been reworked, mostly for the best. It has a more comfortable grip, more prominent command dials on its shoulder and one of the large, easy-to-position AF joysticks we’ve seen on the last few generations of Alpha cameras. It loses its top-plate LCD and its focus drive mode switch on the front of the camera, instead getting an AF/MF switch on the side of the lens.

The net effect is a definite positive: the RX10 V feels a lot more like one of the more recent Alpha models, rather than a box full of goodies that you constantly feel you need a tin-opener to get at. It’s disappointing that all three of the camera’s dials (if you include the awkward little dial on the rear face) need to be controlled with the thumb: a front dial would have been a further boost, but overall it feels much nicer to control. And that’s before you get to the menus which, if nothing else, are much more sensibly arranged, with related options much more logically grouped and labeled.

AF and performance

The new camera has Sony’s latest AF system, which is a surprisingly large step forward. The RX10 IV was the first in the series to gain phase detection AF: delivering a big leap forward over previous models, and early instances of Eye detection and animal eye detection autofocus. In video it fell back on the older, clunkier ‘Center Lock-On AF’ system that required a degree of button-pressing and missed focus that seems unthinkable by modern standards.

The RX10 V illustrates just how far things have come in the meantime. The clutter of AF area modes persists, but it’s now backed up by a subject recognition system that can cope with a wider range of subjects, works more effectively and is available in video. The near decade-long lull in enthusiast compact cameras happens to have coincided with one of the most sustained periods of improvement in AF performance and ease-of-use,

Viewfinder and screen

Richard Butler

Both the viewfinder and rear screen have been upgraded, compared with the RX10 IV. We wouldn’t be at all surprised to find some of this is down to old components no longer being available, but if it results in a better viewfinder, we’ll take it.

The RX10 V has a 3.69M dot EVF, meaning 1280 x 960px resolution, rather than the 1024 x 768px view of its predecessor. It’s a physically larger panel, too, with updated finder optics boosting the magnification from 0.7x to 0.78x.

The rear screen gets a more modest boost: 1.62M dots (900 x 600px) in a 3:2 aspect ratio that matches the camera’s sensor, rather than the 4:3 screen on the RX10 IV, which had 800 x 600px resolution, of which 800 x 533px would be devoted to previewing images. In both instances, the screens tilt up or down, but don’t hinge or tilt sideways.

Movies

For the most-part, the RX10 V’s movie capabilities are greatly enhanced: it can shoot 4K at up to 60p from the full width of its sensor (vs 30p on the old model), or 120p with a crop. The AF tracking is vastly improved, it gains Sony’s Auto Framing system that crops in and follows a subject around, to give movement to otherwise static shots, and it adds the ‘Active’ Steadshot stabilization mode. Above all, though, it gains the ability to capture 10-bit footage, making its Log files much more flexibile than before, particularly S-Log3. It also lets you shoot in S-Cinetone, and attractive, ready-to-go profile we’ve liked on other cameras.

Somewhat contraversially, the RX10 V doesn’t offer the 1000fps (960fps in NTSC mode) 1080 video capture of its predecessor. Whether this is a consequence of a lack of DRAM to buffer all that information, or because Sony has just refocused its attention on more mainstream video needs is unclear. The footage was never particularly good (not least because each frame of a 1000fps burst is made up from very little light), but it was a feature that wasn’t really available elsewhere.

Storage / communication

Richard Butler

As you might hope, the RX10 V now accepts UHS-II SD memory cards, letting it write and read data much faster than the older model, which had a UHS-I interface. UHS-II had started to appear in cameras nearly three years prior to the Mark IV, so this isn’t really a case of bringing the new camera up-to-date, and more of reaching the point the IV could have been at, nine years ago. The industry looks unlikely to ever use the newer UHS-III format and may even skip SDExpress, which is based on the same technology as the CF express cards Sony uses elsewhere in its range.

The Mark V does at least gain a modern USB connector, though. It can communicate at up to 10Gbps and can be used for charging the camera. It retains the Micro-B USB socket that the IV had, so that it’s compatible with the same accessories, but this port can no longer be used for charging.

Battery

Richard Butler

Finally, there’s the battery. The RX10 V makes room for the much larger NP-FZ100 battery, which has over twice the capacity of the NP-FW50 used in the Mark IV. This doesn’t result in double the battery life, perhaps because of the additional processing power and higher resolution viewinder, but still sees the battery life rating jump by more than 50%. Ratings of 570 shots per charge via the viewfinder and 630 shots per charge using the rear screen are well into the territory that it’s unlikely you’ll ever have to worry about battery life, as a stills shooter. As usual, we’d expect most people to get around double this number of shots, and still more if you shoot bursts.

Overall

It’s easy to look at the RX10 V, see that the lens and pixel count is the same and conclude it’s a minor update. In practice, just about every aspect of the camera has been improved. The RX10 V looks much more expensive, but a lot of that is because inflation – or, to put it another way, the devaluing of the money in your pocket – in the intervening nine years exaggerates the difference.

As always, it’s up to each individual to decide whether they think a product is worth the cost, but in terms of usability, performance and capability, the RX10 V is a big step forward.

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Samsung has announced three new folding phones, updating its existing models and adding a new one to its lineup, complete with a new form factor.

The flagship model is getting a rebrand. Formerly known as the Galaxy Z Fold series, this year’s entry is called the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. Like its predecessor, it has a 6.5″ display on the outside, and an 8″ one on the inside. As you’d expect from an “Ultra” phone, it has a triple-camera setup. The main “wide” and telephoto cameras are unchanged from the ones found on the Galaxy Z Fold 7, but the ultrawide has been upgraded from a 12MP Type 1/2.5 (25mm²) sensor with an F2.2 lens, to a 50MP one with an F1.9 lens, which Samsung says will let in 33% more light.

Samsung

The company says it has enhanced its HDR mode for the main camera, as well as its low-light “Nightography” mode. The phone’s 8K video also now records in the APV codec, which Samsung says “gives users greater flexibility and quality for editing and production workflows.”

Aside from the upgraded ultrawide camera, Samsung has included the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor with 12 or 16GB of memory (dependent on what storage size you get), along with a higher-capacity 5000 mAh battery, up 600 mAh from the one in the Z Fold 7. The company has also re-engineered the phone’s internal screen to make the crease less visible, while making it brighter and nicer-feeling to open. And despite all this, it weighs the same 215g (7.6oz) as its predecessor, and each half is a hair thinner at 4.1mm.

None of these improvements come cheap, though. Last year’s Z Fold 7 was $100 more than its predecessor, and Samsung has bumped the price again, with the Z Fold 8 Ultra starting at $2100 for the 256GB model.

Samsung

There is, however, now a new option below it: the Z Fold 8, which takes on a slightly different form factor. While the Ultra has a relatively tall and narrow 3:7 outer screen and a nearly-square 1.11:1 inner screen, the new model’s cover is a wider, shorter 10:16, and the inner display is 4:3. The Z Fold 8’s outer display has a 5.5″ diagonal, while the inner one is 7.6″.

While the Z Fold 7 (which was, remember, moreso the predecessor to the phone now called “Ultra”) marked a turning point as a folding phone that didn’t come with big compromises to its camera system compared to its candybar counterpart, that trend hasn’t continued with the Z Fold 8. It drops the telephone camera entirely, and its main 23mm equiv. camera is smaller, slower and lower resolution than the one on the Ultra. The ultrawide, however, is the same 50MP model.

Not everything is a downgrade compared to the Ultra, though. The displays may be a different size, but are still just as bright, and the Z Fold 8 has the same processor and storage options. And while it’s thicker both folded and unfolded, it’s also a touch lighter. Even if you don’t prefer the more passport-style form factor, though, the price may be slightly more attractive than the Ultra’s, as the phone starts at “just” $1900.

Samsung

Finally, Samsung has also updated its Z Flip 8, the smaller model that unfolds to be a similar size to a more traditional smartphone. The company doesn’t seem to have made any changes to its cameras – it still has a wide 50MP Type 1/1.57 (50mm²) and ultra-wide 12MP Type 1/3.2 (15mm²) – but it’s lighter and thinner than its predecessor. The company has also updated the processor to that same Snapdragon model (though there’s no option for one with 16GB of RAM like with the larger models), and has made improvements to the front screen’s interface, making it easier to use if you want to avoid opening your phone and potentially getting sucked in by feeds and apps.

The Z Flip 8 retains its position as Samsung’s least expensive foldable, but its $1200 price tag represents a $100 increase over its predecessor’s.

The Z Fold 8 Ultra, Z Fold 8, and Z Flip 8 are all available to pre-order today, and are set to become available on August 7th.

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The DPReview forums have nearly 100 customized sections to discuss all your gear and photography interests. From reading official DPReview news to talking about camera brands and Nature and Wildlife Photography, there’s a space for everyone’s curiosity.

For visitors who are interested in buying or selling their gear, we also have the For Sale and Wanted forum section. And if you are a mobile phone camera user and love to share your on-the-go photos, not to worry, we have Mobile Photography Talk forum as well.

So, with that said…

Which forum sections are your favorite to visit for both camera brands and digital photography, and why?

I would also like to take this opportunity to ask you which forum sections you would like added that we don’t currently have?

Drop a reply in the comments section below, and if you’ve got a photo to include from your mentioned forum sections, it may be selected for next week’s showcase article on this topic!

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The Sony FX5 is a compact cinema camera capable of up to 4.5K120 and Raw video capture, aimed at independent videographers and small productions. It builds on the legacy of the FX3, adding a host of features we’ve not previously seen from Sony.

Key features

• 16.6MP Full-Frame stacked CMOS sensor
• 4K/60 from 5K capture
• 4K/120 from 4.5K crop
• 4K/240 capability via firmware due in late 2027
• Open gate shooting
• Combined dual gain mode for increased DR
• Three “base” ISO steps
• Internal Raw capture
• Subject recognition autofocus
• 32-bit float audio compatibility
• Large 16:9 rear LCD
• Waveform display
• Optional EVF

The FX5 will be available, body-only, for $4899, or $5499 with the XLR top-handle, which allows 32-bit float audio capture. Other optional accessories include a removable, tiltable viewfinder and a USB-C-to-BNC timecode cable. It will be available from August.

What’s new

The FX5 is a surprisingly significant upgrade compared to the FX3, suggesting Sony is still working out what this type of camera needs to offer, and iterating. It nominally sits above the FX3 but looks like it’s trying to do what the FX3 did, plus a lot more, making it most directly comparable to the likes of Canon’s C50 cinema camera.

The most visible addition is its ability to capture Raw footage, but that’s just the most dramatic departure from the existing camera. There are also a host of features and UI changes that have come down directly from the company’s pro cinema products, to the degree that it represents not just a major upgrade but will also present an appreciable learning curve for existing FX3 users.

Don’t call it Raw

Interestingly, Sony doesn’t refer to the camera’s Raw mode in those terms, instead settling on the snappy X-OCN, which I’m sure we can agree is clearer. They tell us it’s a 16-bit linear Raw format, which is a lot more detail than we’re typically given about the other Raw video codecs. Linear encoding is a rather inefficient way of doing things but, in theory at least, gives the maximum flexibility in terms of highlight editing and reconstruction.

This “EXtended tonal range Orginal Camera Negative” gives you more flexibility in terms of correcting white balance, applying noise reduction, highlight and tonal adjustment and color grading. It’s a version of the format already used by the Burano and Venice cameras, so should be compatible with DaVinci Resolve, Adobe Premiere Pro, Avid Media Composer and Baselight software.

The FX5 uses the X-OCN LT (Light) version of the codec, used on the Burano cinema camera (and that’s even an option on the company’s flagship Venice 2 model).

New sensor

James Tirado

The FX5 is based around a new stacked CMOS sensor. Sony quotes the pixel count as 16.6MP which, given the FX3 turned out to have a 48MP behind a 12MP color filter array, should make us wonder how similar it is to the 66.8MP sensor in the recent a7R VI.

Sony wouldn’t be specific about any differences, but the significantly higher output speeds make us assume that there’s DRAM or more complex readout circuitry built into the back of the sensor. We know that the a7R VI’s 4K video comes from combining quartets of pixels, so placing that same pixel architecture behind oversized color filters that extend across sets of four pixels would make a lot of sense. Even if you’re not that interested in video, this ability to produce variations of a sensor with different capabilities might still offer an interesting insight into the products we’ll see in the coming years.

In practice, the FX5 is faster at reading out a comparable region of its sensor (around 5.5ms in full-width, 16:9 5K modes, around 24% quicker than the 7.2ms that the a7R VI takes in its ‘5K sampled’ 16:9 modes). Open gate mode read out the full height of the sensor in 8.3ms (1/120 sec).

Sony says the camera has a “Dual Gain” mode that boosts dynamic range by combining the low gain and high-gain signals being read off the sensor. It is available in the camera’s lowest native gain mode (ISO 800) and the modes derived from it (ie up to EI 3200). It can be used at up to 60p in most resolutions or up to 30p in open gate mode.

We’re told it may operate differently from the combined dual gain mode the a7R IV offers in video, though. We were briefed that the image is analysed and the high gain (low noise) data is only utilized in the shadow regions of the image, making the process faster than combining both gain settings for all pixels. Engaging the Dual Gain mode (via the ISO menu) increases the readout time by a factor of 2.1x, which is very similar to the proportion of increase we measured on the a7R VI.

Three “base” ISO settings

Interestingly, Sony also says the FX5 has three “base ISO” settings: 800, 4000, 12,800. To make sense of this, it’s worth noting that there isn’t a fixed or universally shared definition of what ‘base ISO’ means. What it doesn’t directly refer to is conversion gain steps at the sensor level. So, for instance, the FX3 and a7S III had dual conversion gain sensors, but Sony says it does not consider them to be cameras with dual base ISO.*

James Tirado

Instead, Sony tells us its definition of base ISO relates to modes that offer the same dynamic range distribution between highlights and shadows, and have a near-identical noise floor, allowing footage to be intercut between the modes. This makes most sense when working in the camera’s Cinema EI mode, where the camera is locked to one of these “base” states and then delivers ISO settings up to two stops higher or lower by essentially under- or over-exposing the ‘base’ state, then including a metadata tag saying how light or dark the footage is meant to be rendered. This really comes into its own in a Raw workflow, as this is how it’s possible to adjust the “ISO” of footage, after the fact.

The decision of Sony to offer three “base ISO” states shouldn’t lead you to conclude that there are three distinct gain steps at the hardware level, nor should it be confused with the camera’s optional “Dual Gain” mode that combines the output of different hardware states.

*Just to make clear how slippery the concept is, the FX3’s firmware V2 added Cinema EI, including a setting called Base ISO, which has two settings. We are told the higher of these is officially considered a High Sensitivity mode, not a second base ISO.

New UI, wider range of features

Beyond these, the most radical change is to the user interface, with the FX5 gaining an all-in-one settings display borrowed almost directly from the Burano (and closely mimicking the displays that Panasonic borrowed from Arri, etc, etc). Its menus have also been re-worked to make them look more like Sony’s pro cinema models, which will add a bit of a learning curve for existing FX users but brings it closer into line with other production cameras.

The company says it will be adding a vertical version of the UI in firmware 2.0.

James Tirado

Also added are a host of tools that other brands have started offering but that have been absent from previous Sonys at this point in the market. So, in addition to options like the focus map, that highlights blocks of the image that are in and out of focus, the FX5 offers a false color display and waveforms for helping to judge exposure, and a vectorscope display for assessing color distribution. These come on top of tools such as zebras, focus peaking and a histogram, that were already available.

James Tirado

The camera is based around Sony’s latest Bionz XR2 processor, so gains all the subject recognition AF modes that we’ve become used to on the stills side of things, boosting autofocus dependability for run-and-gun shooting.

Body and handling

James Tirado

At first glance, the FX5 looks a lot like the FX3, but the changes reveal themselves, the closer you look. It’s a fraction larger, for a start, having grown a couple of mm in each direction but significantly the body of the camera itself is deeper, within those boundaries, so it feels bulkier. It’s also a fraction heavier, though Sony says it’s a less than 5% increase.

The layout of the camera’s six programmable buttons has been reworked and relabeled to better match what you’d find on the company’s higher-end cinema cameras. It also gains the multi-function dial from the Sony Burano, which can be used to navigate through menus, and make quick changes from the live view screen.

James Tirado

The FX5, like the recent Alpha cameras, gains a second USB-C socket. This can be used for a range of things, from tethering, powering the camera, data transfer or for accepting a timecode signal. As with other recent Sony cameras, the second USB-C socket is actually a USB 2.0 (480Mbps) socket, so can only be used for power and less data-intensive tasks.

The camera’s connectivity is further updated with an upgrade to Wi-Fi 6E, and the addition of an Ethernet port, which will likely find use in many houses of worship.

Display

Sony has upgraded the rear tilting/articulating display to a 3.5″ model with a video-friendly 16:9 aspect ratio. Sony says the latter change makes it a much bigger upgrade to the 3″ display on the FX3 than it appears at first glance, as that screen’s 4:3 aspect ratio meant you were looking at a video that was really only 2.5″. Now, it can fill the entire screen, provided you’re not using an open gate or DCI (“17:9”) recording mode.

James Tirado

The FX5 has two slots, each of which take either CFexpress Type A cards or the slower UHS-II SD cards. The two card types don’t connect to the same connectors: one socket it essentially sited within the other.

Battery

James Tirado

The FX5 becomes the second camera to adopt Sony’s new 20.9 Wh NP-SA100 battery, following the a7R VI. This not only provides higher voltage and capacity than the NP-FZ100 batteries the FX3 used, but should allow for slightly longer record times. Sony says it can shoot for 130 minutes at 4K/60, while the FX3 caped out at 113. Of course, this change means that those with a large collection of batteries will need to spend quite a bit to rebuild it (provided they were running off an internal unit, rather than powering their cameras via an external V or Gold mount battery).

Despite the increased battery capacity, and smaller tweaks to the body like the addition of a second 1/4-20″ socket on the bottom plate to reduce the risk of rotating, Sony says the new camera is close to the FX3’s weight, coming in at 734g (25.9oz), versus 715g (25.2oz)

Accessories

While the camera doesn’t have an integrated EVF – likely a concession to keeping its body as protrusion-free, and therefore gimbal-friendly as possible – Sony is making a removable one as an optional accessory. It features a 3.68M-dot panel that can reach up to 2500 nits peak brightness, and supports a wide color gamut to provide a more accurate preview. It’ll plug into a new port right above the multi-interface shoe, meaning you can’t have it attached if you’re also using the shoe. However, Sony says it’s working with a third-party to create an extension cable for it that will let you place it in more ergonomic position. The EVF, named the DVF-EL1, costs $698.

Another accessory is the XLR handle which, like the ones released for Sony Alpha-series cameras, will enable both the use of professional microphones as well as 32-bit float audio recording. The latter feature will an exciting addition for documentary and event shooters, as its different method for storing data essentially eliminates the risk of clipping, no matter what your gain levels are set to (though your microphone can still be overwhelmed). The handle can be purchased in a bundle with the FX5, or separately for $798

Video modes

Like most of Sony’s previous cameras, the FX5 delivers all its compressed footage in output-ready 4K resolutions: with in the 16:9 UHD or ~17:9 DCI formats. However, in a detail borrowed from cameras like the Venice and Burano they are named in terms of the pixel region used to capture them. So, although the camera has “Imager Mode” options called 5K 16:9, the output is still the standard 3840 x 2160 UHD footage.

James Tirado

The Raw footage, by contrast, arrives in your editor in the resolution in which it was captured. So 5K means 5K.

One of these Raw modes is a 3:2 open gate mode, capturing the full area of the sensor to make it easier to output both landscape and vertical cuts from the same clip (if you can find a composition that’s sensible for both, that is). The camera can also apply a real-time desqueeze correction for anyone using anamorphic lenses, with 1.3x, 1.5x, 1.6x, 1.8x and 2.0x squeeze factors being supported.

Raw recording

When recording to its internal Raw X-OCN codec, the FX5 can shoot at roughly 5K in 3:2, ∼17:9 and 16:9, at up to 60p. There are three levels of compression for the codec, with the standard being “LT,” and C1 and C2 recording at increasingly lower bitrates to reduce file sizes. Sony says C1 will be around 25% smaller than LT.

The company says it plans to release a firmware update sometime in 2027 that will allow for recording 4K/240 footage in Raw, though it hasn’t provided any details on whether the mode will have a crop.

The camera needs to reboot in order to switch into or out of Raw mode. As we’ve seen on other cameras, it also needs to reboot to switch between 24p, PAL and NTSC modes, as the system clock needs to reset to work in multiples of 24, 25 and 29.97 frames per second. Because there’s no separation of Raw/Compressed or 24p/PAL/NTSC, it’s very easy to accidentally prompt the camera to reboot if you select the wrong shooting mode.

Likewise, the camera will only playback footage if it’s in the right system clock mode, and will only show you the Raw clips if you’re in Raw mode and only your compressed clips when in compressed mode.

Compressed footage modes

The FX5 names its video modes by the areas that are sampled, rather than their output resolution. The camera’s “17:9” modes (5K and 4.5K) are output as DCI 4K (4096 x 2160), while the 16:9 modes (5K, 4.5K and 3.2K) are output as 3840 x 2160 UHD.

The DCI modes can only be shot in XAVC S-I (All-I H.264), whereas moving to 16:9 adds the option to shoot XAVC H (H.265) or XAVC S (H.264) with a choice of 4:2:2 or 4:2:0 chroma sub-sampling.

Sony says the FX5 will gain support for shooting 3:2 open gate in XAVC S-I will come as part of firmware 2.0, due in around October 2027.

Super35

The FX5 also provides an option of cropping in to an APS-C-sized region of the sensor, providing compatibility with lenses designed for Super35 cameras. While the FX3’s APS-C mode was sampled from an 1080p region of the sensor, the FX5’s higher-resolution sensor means it can capture a 3.2K (3264 x 1836) region in 16:9. However, this is still output as 1080p when shooting in compressed modes.

Support tools

The FX5 gains a whole host of video-specific tools meant to make it easier to get proper exposure and focus. It has a waveform monitor for clearer and more accurate exposure monitoring, a false color overlay that makes it easy to see at a glance whether your subject is properly exposed and whether any of your highlights and shadows are clipping, a vector scope for more information about your colors and a focus map overlay to assist with focus.

The company has also added more options for desqueezing the preview when shooting with anamorphic lenses, providing several options between a 1.3 and 2.0x ratio.

Initial impressions

James Tirado

The FX5 is an evolution of the FX3 concept that tries to accommodate a wider range of users, and we doubt any one user will want or need the full range of its capabilities. Where the FX3 was essentially an a7S III in a more video-friendly format (or, perhaps, the camera the a7S III should have been, in the first place), the FX5 is a much more capable machine that tries to address multiple different workflows.

Small scale cinematographers can adopt its Raw workflow, while others might choose to shoot open gate and some users will output H.265 UHD files in S-Cinetone. Some people will build it into a rig, others will mount it on a gimble, while others will leave it on ‘sticks.’ The fact that the XLR handle and EVF module are optional suggests that these are option that some people will find essential while others would resent the bulk and cost of something they don’t want. Then there’s the Ethernet port, which allows the camera to be mounted and operated remotely, for applications such as churches, we’re told.

In doing so, though, Sony has made the camera a fraction larger, but probably not to the point that it would alienate many of the run-and-gun shooters who came to love the FX3.

However, the major changes to the user interface, including its frequent decision to reboot, if you accidentally select the wrong frame rate, while changing settings, are likely to make the camera seem surprisingly daunting to existing FX3 users.

James Tirado

Sony talked about adding features and capabilities that have been requested by users, but it also feels like the FX5 is much more a product of the cinema department, like the FX6, rather than having evolved from an Alpha model, as the FX3 appeared to. A lot of the features (not least Raw) might have trickled down from the Burano, but an awful lot of the interface and operational logic has done, too, which is likely to be something of a shock to anyone primarily familiar with the FX3 or 2.

James Tirado

It its favor, it’s stayed in the relatively compact body that has made the FX3 a success, but this means there isn’t room for the variable ND filter system that slides in filters from below the sensor on the bigger camera, that a lot of users were hoping for. Additional options like a USB timecode sync cable aren’t necessarily going to excite a lot of independent FX3 users, but they broaden the camera’s appeal.

It’ll be interesting to see whether Sony decides that the FX5 (or, rather, the existence of both the FX5 and FX2) means that it doesn’t need to create a direct replacement for the FX3.