Earlier this year, GoPro announced a bit of a departure from its usual products with the Mission 1 Pro ILS. The camera kept the company’s rugged, compact body design, but featured a Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Now, that relationship is formalized, with OM Digital Solutions and Panasonic announcing that GoPro is a member of the Micro Four Thirds standards group.

The announcement could be seen as a vote of confidence in Micro Four Thirds. GoPro brings a new kind of small, rugged video body into the mount’s ecosystem, and its support could help encourage more specialty lenses and accessories built around it.

Still, the Mission 1 Pro ILS isn’t a gateway to the full breadth of Micro Four Thirds glass. Its mount lacks electronic contacts, so it works only with compatible manual-focus lenses and manual or fixed-aperture designs, not the autofocus lenses that make up much of the existing OM System and Panasonic lineup. But it marks an interesting move in the industry, and we’ll be eager to see what, if anything, comes of it.

It’s also worth noting that action camera rival, Insta360, has said it’s working on its own mirrorless cameras, rumored to be built around a Micro Four Thirds mount as well.

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Camp Snap, the company known for its simple, screen-free digital cameras, has announced a new offering in its lineup with a substantially different look. The 110D is a narrow, rectangular camera reminiscent of the classic 110 analog cameras popular in the 1970s.

As the name hints, the Camp Snap got its start as a camera meant for kids to take to camp, without the risk of sending more expensive cameras with your child or the distractions found on other digital cameras. The 110D keeps that legacy alive, and like the company’s other cameras, it lacks a display for viewing photos, prompting users to stay in the moment and look at their photos later.

The only display on it is a monochrome reflective segmented LCD for checking settings. There’s a small optical viewfinder on the side for composing images.

Camp Snap

The camera keeps other kid-focused design features, too. That includes a screw-secured door where the memory card slot and a small selection of buttons to adjust settings live. However, those screws can be removed for those who don’t necessarily need to lock things down.

Also consistent with previous models are the built-in digital filter looks. The 110D offers five filters – Standard, Vintage 1, Vintage 2, Analog and Black & White – that can be changed on the camera itself with a slider. It also features a 30.5mm filter thread for those who want to use physical screw-on photo filters.

Camp Snap says the camera offers a near-instant shutter response, minimizing the delay between pressing the shutter button and capturing the image. It is also designed to maximize battery life by automatically entering sleep mode when it’s inactive. When you’re ready to take a photo, the company says you simply have to press the shutter button and don’t need to wait for the camera to fully boot up. Camp Snap says it can manage around 500 photos per charge.

Camp Snap

One thing even many adults will appreciate is that the camera can be used without an app. In fact, it doesn’t offer any sort of connectivity beyond a USB-C port. That means no fussing with connecting the camera to a phone or dealing with all the other things that come with it when a child is using it. Images can simply be transferred to a phone, tablet or computer using that USB-C port.

In terms of the nitty-gritty details, the 110D features an 8MP Type 1/3.2 (15.7mm²) CMOS sensor. It uses a 4.2mm F2.0 (26mm F11.5 full-frame equivalent) lens and offers a dual-tone LED flash, with options for 6500K and 3000K. Unsurprisingly, it only captures JPEG files, and it has fully automatic exposure and white balance. It features a pre-installed 4GB microSD card that stores roughly 2000 photos, though it can be upgraded as well.

Camp Snap

The Camp Snap 110D is available for pre-order now for $75. It comes in two colors: black and gray (called Back in Black), and white and orange (dubbed Dreamsicle).

Camp Snap

Camp Snap 110D

• $75 at Camp Snap

Over the last seven months, Samsung, Google and Apple have all released their latest flagship smartphones. Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra arrived first, followed by Google’s Pixel 11 Pro and Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro. With its 6.9-inch display, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is more akin in size to the XL and Max variants of the Pixel and iPhone, but, unlike Google and Apple, Samsung doesn’t make a smaller version with otherwise identical specs.

Here’s how their cameras, displays, battery life and other core specifications compare.

Cameras

There’s a lot of overlap when comparing the camera systems of these three flagships. Each has an advantage over the others in some way; some are rather substantial, while most are only small differences.

The three phones use main-camera sensors that are effectively the same size, all coming in at Type 1/1.3 (72mm²). The notable difference is resolution: the Galaxy S26 Ultra uses a 200MP main camera, compared with 50MP on the Pixel 11 Pro and 48MP on the iPhone 18 Pro. Despite the variety in resolutions, all three models will, by default output at lower resolutions; the iPhone and Galaxy at 24MP, the Pixel at 12.5. They all, however, offer modes that let you use the sensor’s full resolution, but due to the nature of Quad Bayer sensors, they’re typically best used in good lighting where you don’t need maximum dynamic range.

Apple

Apple’s main camera has its own edge, though, as it’s the only one here with a variable-aperture lens (though Samsung briefly experimented with something similar around a decade ago). It can be set to F1.48, F1.8, F2.8 or F4, promising a bit more creative control and exposure flexibility, especially when shooting video.

Samsung has the broadest rear-camera system, adding a dedicated 3x camera between its main and 5x cameras. Its long telephoto reaches 111mm equiv., narrowly exceeding the Pixel’s 106mm and iPhone’s 100mm equiv. lenses, and the 67mm equiv. provides a nice bit of flexibility that the others don’t. However, the Pixel’s telephoto sensor remains the largest in that class of the group.

All three phones support close-focus shooting with their ultrawide cameras, though, naturally, each brand handles it slightly differently and uses distinct names. Apple lists macro photography, Google specifies Macro Focus on the Pixel 11 Pro ultrawide, and Samsung’s Focus Enhancer can automatically switch to the Galaxy S26’s ultrawide camera for nearby subjects.

Video

Google

On the video side of things, Apple lists the most extensive video feature set. The iPhone 18 Pro records 4K Dolby Vision video at up to 120 fps and supports ProRes, ProRes Raw with external recording, Apple Log 2 and ACES color workflows. It is also compatible with Genlock, which lets the iPhone 18 Pro synchronize its frame timing with other cameras and video devices.

Lastly, the iPhone has finally caught up with the Pixel and Galaxy phones with the addition of manual camera controls for aperture, shutter speed, white balance and histogram monitoring (which also work in photo mode).

The Pixel 11 Pro records up to 4K/60p on the phone itself, while its 8K/30p option uses cloud-based processing. It also offers separate modes for low-light video, extra handheld stabilization and enhanced zoomed video, plus a post-capture tool for reducing distracting background sounds.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra records up to 8K/30p and 4K/120p. It also supports Samsung’s Advanced Professional Video codec, an open, professional-oriented format intended to preserve more image information while using storage more efficiently than conventional uncompressed video. Samsung also includes an enhanced stabilization mode designed to keep handheld footage level during movement (a feature Apple replicates with the iPhone’s “Action” mode).

Displays and battery

While all three sit in the flagship-phone class, Samsung takes a different physical approach with the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s substantially larger display. The iPhone 18 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro share the smaller 6.3-inch format, while the Samsung is closer in scale to Apple’s Pro Max-class phones and Google’s Pixel Pro XL models.

The three offer the same 120Hz maximum refresh rate, and their pixel densities are broadly similar despite their different screen sizes and resolutions. The Pixel has the highest stated brightness rating, while the iPhone’s specification is specifically an outdoor-brightness figure.

In terms of battery specs, Apple rates the iPhone 18 Pro for up to 36 hours of video playback and it says the phone can reach 50% charge in around 15 minutes with a compatible 60W-or-higher USB-C adapter. The Pixel 11 Pro has a stated 30-plus-hour mixed-use runtime and charges to 55% in around 30 minutes with a 30W USB-C PPS charger. Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra supports up to 60W wired charging, and the company promises up to 31 hours of video playback.

Size and weight

The Galaxy S26 Ultra is much taller and wider than the iPhone 18 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro, reflecting its 6.9-inch display and four-camera system. At 214g, it is also the heaviest, though only by a small margin. It’s just 3g heavier than the iPhone and 10g heavier than the Pixel, but it is thinner than both.

Key differences

Outside the camera system, the three phones still share a premium baseline: all start with 256GB of storage, use USB-C, support Wi-Fi 7 and are rated IP68 for dust and water resistance. The main hardware differences are scale and camera configuration rather than basic connectivity or durability.

Apple supports MagSafe and Qi2 wireless charging, including up to 25W MagSafe charging, while Google’s Pixel 11 Pro supports the Qi2.2-based Pixelsnap accessory system. Samsung supports wired, wireless and reverse wireless charging, and its Ultra model adds S Pen support and a built-in Privacy Display feature.

Software remains a fundamental distinction. The iPhone 18 Pro runs iOS 27 and integrates with Apple’s hardware and services. The Pixel 11 Pro runs Android with Google’s Pixel interface and a stated seven years of operating system, security and feature updates. The Galaxy S26 Ultra runs Android with Samsung’s One UI, Galaxy AI tools and S Pen software features.

The three phones are also close in price. In the U.S., the Galaxy S26 Ultra starts at $1300, the Pixel 11 Pro at $1099 and the iPhone 18 Pro at $1199. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra’s larger display, S Pen support and fourth rear camera position it differently from the two 6.3-inch Pro models, but it also places all three phones within a $200 launch-price range.

Meet Stefan Pfeffer

Home base: Manila, the Philippines

I’m always drawn to photographers who treat their camera as a way to explore a scene from a humanistic perspective.

Known in the wider community as stipphoto, Stefan Pfeffer photographs the energy and small human interactions of everyday life, particularly across the Philippines and elsewhere in Asia. Working with a preference for wide-angle lenses and direct, unplanned encounters, Stefan embraces the reactions his presence can bring. In this edition of What’s in your bag?, he discusses his compact Sony a7CR kit while exploring his favorite stops in Europe, Hong Kong and the Philippines.

“I have always been curious about my surroundings and have photographed almost everything I encounter. During the days of film photography, I was somewhat restrained by the limited number of exposures; with digital photography, that restraint has largely disappeared.

My photographs are neither carefully planned nor intended to have particular artistic value. They are simply snapshots of moments in time.”

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 Stefan has to share.

How do you get a good angle from others?

Stefan Pfeffer

“I’m drawn to documentary-style photography, with a particular focus on people and everyday life. Asia, with its crowded markets, densely developed residential areas, and vibrant street life, offers an endlessly rewarding environment for photography.

Whenever possible, I try to insert the camera into a scene rather than simply record what is in front of me. This is why I prefer wide-angle lenses: the wider the lens, the more immersed I feel in the environment.

My choice of focal length also depends on how approachable people are in different places. In Europe, they tend to use a 50mm lens; in Hong Kong, a 35mm lens; and in the Philippines, a 24mm lens. This approach makes it difficult to photograph people discreetly or unnoticed, but I see that as a positive thing. It often provokes a reaction and creates a kind of dialogue between the people I photograph and me. They may reject the photograph, which is perfectly fine, or, as is sometimes the case, give me the dreaded V-sign and pose for the camera.

I never stage my photographs or instruct people on how to pose. I prefer to capture people and situations as they naturally unfold, allowing the interaction between the photographer, the subject, and the environment to shape the image.”

What’s in Stefan’s bag

Stefan Pfeffer

“Gear does matter. A sharp lens and a snappy camera, such as the fantastic but ultimately disposable Sony a7CR, make the difference between capturing a moment and missing it.

Fast autofocus was the liberation from Leica rangefinder focusing, as digital imaging was the liberation from film. However, as objects, a Nikon F3 is infinitely more desirable than a Nikon ZF. Instagram and YouTube reviews of equipment confuse the correlation between gear and achieving a photograph.”

Favorite cameras(s): Hasselblad X1D II and Sony A7CR

“I’ve been through a lot of camera gear over the years. The perfect camera does exist, for me at least. It’s the Contax G2, paired with its wonderful lenses. Today, however, my preferred camera is the Sony a7CR.”

Favorite lens(s):

• Sony Zeiss 55mm F1.8 in Europe
• Sigma I-Series 35mm F2 in Hong Kong
• Sony 24mm F1.4 GM in the Philippines

“My three-lens kit consists of the 24mm GM, Sony 50mm F2.5 G, and Sigma 90mm F2.8, a compact combination that gives me the flexibility to photograph at different distances while keeping the kit relatively light. My choice of lens depends largely on where I’m photographing and how close I can get to my subjects.”

Do accessories matter, or do you just bring the camera?

Stefan Pfeffer

“Accessories absolutely matter. For starters, I like the Crumpler 6 Million Dollar bag. It’s simple and functional. However, for a photo walk, I much prefer inconspicuous shoulder bags that I sourced from flea markets. My latest find is a Converse bag. Equipped with a cheap camera bag insert, these are perfect for a three-lens setup.

Otherwise, a plastic bag for my camera is always part of my kit. My main criticism of Sony cameras is their sensitivity to humidity and rain. The Multi-Interface Shoe is my main source of frustration. The design may make sense on a computer, but on a camera that is used outdoors, it’s infuriating. Sooner or later, all my Sony cameras have displayed the dreaded message: “This accessory is not supported by the device and cannot be used.” Infuriating.

An air blower and a spare battery are also essential. Fortunately, Sony’s battery life is fantastic, so I rarely have to worry about running out of power. If I need anything else, the beauty of roaming any Asian city is that there is always a convenience store or Sari Sari for a refreshment.”

How has your photography changed over the years?

Stefan Pfeffer

“Although I have always loved black-and-white photography, my digital photographs are almost exclusively in color. For me, this is simply because reality is in color. Since my photographs are essentially snapshots of the world as I encounter it, I prefer to preserve that sense of reality rather than reinterpret it.

Digital photography has also greatly improved both the number and quality of images I’m able to capture. Modern autofocus is remarkably capable, allowing me to shoot wide open at short shutter speeds.

What has perhaps changed – or, more accurately, developed over time – is my ability to overcome the hesitation to approach people and ask to photograph them. After doing this for a number of years, I’ve learned that the worst that can happen is being rejected.”

Why is Asia so special for your photography?

Stefan Pfeffer

“I like to wander and discover whatever happens to be around me. In many parts of Asia, the boundaries between public and private space are less clearly defined, making places that might otherwise feel inaccessible surprisingly open. People are generally quick to let me know when I trespass – somewhere, sooner or later.

Twenty-five years ago, what was meant to be a one-month trip turned into a year-and-a-half journey through Asia, with China in particular. It was a very different time to travel. The lack of internet and smartphones created a sense of freedom and spontaneity that is difficult to experience today.

In China in particular, the relative lack of surveillance at the time made it possible to travel extensively with a sense of anonymity. Walking around with a camera was generally met with curiosity rather than suspicion. People would ask where I was from or what I was photographing, but there was usually an openness toward a foreigner simply wandering around with a camera.

That freedom and unpredictability became an important part of how I experienced and photographed Asia.”

How do you plan out capturing a great photo?

Stefan Pfeffer

“My photographs are rarely planned. They are more often a matter of seeing what happens and responding to it.

The Sony a7CR’s excellent autofocus, combined with its high megapixel count, allows me to shoot short bursts of three or four frames at a moderate drive speed. The quality of lenses such as the Sony 24mm GM and Sigma I-Series 35mm also gives me enough resolution to crop heavily and refine the composition later in Capture One.

In a way, going out to photograph has become about collecting the raw material for an image. The final framing and interpretation happen later on the computer. It’s close to the analog process: going out and exposing the negative, then returning home to make the photograph.”

Stefan 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 Stefan’s other work at stefanpfeffer.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.

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Earlier this week, Sony announced the FE 600mm F6.3 GM OSS, a super-telephoto prime that, along with its FE 400mm F4.5 GM sibling, aims to put G Master optics into a lens you can comfortably handhold for hours. At 995g (2.2 lb) without its tripod foot, Sony claims it’s the lightest lens in its class, and at $3,700, it costs a fraction of what the company’s 600mm F4 GM does.

Shooting experience

I’ve spent the past couple of weeks with both lenses ahead of launch, taking the 600mm F6.3 to photograph wildlife in Montana at Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge and the CSKT Bison Range, where, frustratingly, I didn’t see a single bison.

The first thing I noticed is how little the lens feels like a super-telephoto. Sony’s 995g figure doesn’t include the hood, which you’ll almost certainly have attached and which adds roughly 130g, but you’re unlikely to notice much difference. More importantly, the lens’s weight is concentrated close to the camera, so it doesn’t feel front-heavy the way many telephotos do.

Dale Baskin

I shot entirely handheld on a Sony a7 V, which is really the point of this lens: it’s built for walking, not for sitting on a tripod. I wandered the refuge’s primitive dirt roads and marshy areas with nothing but the camera slung over my shoulder and a small pack. My tripod stayed in the car the entire trip.

That’s why I can (mostly) forgive the one design choice I’d change: the tripod foot isn’t Arca-Swiss compatible. It’s not the end of the world for a lens meant to be handheld, but when you do need a tripod – for video, for example – a built-in Arca-Swiss foot would be very useful.

Dale Baskin

The hood has a locking button and a rubber bumper on the front, which is a welcome touch, since a lens this long inevitably bumps into things as you carry it. It also reverses for storage. Reversed, it partially blocks the focus hold buttons, but the function and focus rings remain easy to reach, so if an opportunity appears suddenly, you can still raise the camera and shoot.

The focus ring is nice and deep, and full-time DMF lets you take over focusing without flipping a switch. When subject detection couldn’t pick out an animal partially hidden by grass or plants, a quick twist of the ring to bring it into focus was often the fastest way to get the camera to recognize the animal and begin tracking.

Dale Baskin

The trade-off for its compact size is the F6.3 maximum aperture. For sample galleries, we keep ISO as low as practical so noise doesn’t affect perceived sharpness; I generally aim for ISO 1600 or below, though it’s not a hard rule. With this lens, that target had to move. In early-morning light at Ninepipe, or in overcast or misty conditions, I often shot at ISO 2000–3200 to get shutter speeds fast enough to freeze wildlife in action.

When not shooting sample galleries, I might push to ISO 6400 or higher, and with modern full-frame sensors and AI Raw noise-reduction tools, that makes F6.3 less of a compromise than it once was. Still, if you regularly shoot in low light, you might be the target audience for Sony’s 600mm F4, which is 1.3 stops faster.

Dale Baskin

Even at F6.3, I generally had plenty of subject separation and found out-of-focus areas pleasing both in front of and behind the plane of focus. The one exception was when something busy, like tall grass, sat in an awkward middle zone – not sharp, but not blurred enough to disappear – where the bokeh could look slightly distracting, though that kind of transitional distance is a tough test for any lens.

For a closer look at the design and controls, and how both lenses fit into the market, check out our hands-on with the 400mm F4.5 and 600mm F6.3 GM.

Sample gallery

Sony

Sony FE 600mm F6.3 GM OSS

• $3,698 at B&H

Earlier this week, Canon launched the EOS R8 II, a new, entry-level full-frame camera that takes the original EOS R8, gives it a redesign and adds IBIS and an autofocus joystick. And, like the original, it’s quite capable for video too, so we filmed part of our first-look video using it.

Keeping focus on a (relatively) still subject isn’t a particularly difficult task for modern cameras, but even Canon cameras as recent as the EOS R6 II would occasionally have some distracting focus pulsing in video. We’re happy to say it’s not something we noticed in the footage from the EOS R8 II, though we’ll have to spend more time shooting with it before we come to any full conclusions.

You’ll also see a variety of sample shots in the video, though if you want to see more – and check out the Raws for yourself – you can browse through our sample gallery.

Oh, and a fun behind-the-scenes fact for our readers: the plane picture at the 3:36 mark in the video was taken with Canon’s RF 400mm F2.8 lens, a massive piece of glass that costs as much as seven EOS R8 IIs.

It’s obviously not a sensible pairing with this camera, but I ended up having access to it for a few hours after attending a Formula Drift with Canon to test out the EOS R1, so I took the opportunity to make a silly video with it because who else would have that kind of opportunity?

Alongside the new EOS R8 II, Canon has announced Dual Pixel 3D, a new Windows-based software tool, free at launch, that turns a single compatible camera image into an immersive 3D photo, a 3D model or a short 3D video clip. It does so using sensor data rather than requiring a dual-lens or dedicated 3D camera setup, meaning photographers can create 3D content without purchasing separate, specialized equipment.

How it works

The Dual Pixel 3D Converter uses depth and phase-detection data from a single compatible image, either a Dual Pixel Raw file shot with a supported camera, or a JPEG containing distance information captured by the EOS R8 Mark II. Users will need to ensure that the setting to record distance data to JPEGs is turned on, however.

The tool can export the resulting 3D content as OBJ or GLB model files, or as an MP4 video that creates a shifting, three-dimensional perspective. Canon says the tool is best suited to close-up, stationary subjects with clear depth and defined edges, such as products, plants and food.

Canon’s documentation of the feature highlights the need for a sharp source image. As a result, it recommends using an aperture between F5.6 and F8, specifying that anything beyond F8 will result in “a 3D conversion error.” The company also suggests an ISO of 1600 or lower to minimize noise. Finally, it cautions that subjects with fine details, transparency, reflections, repeating patterns or heavy blur may not produce ideal results.

The app then provides some controls for customization over the degree of depth. Users can increase depth for a stronger 3D effect or reduce it for a more subtle look. It also allows users to remove or replace the background before exporting the final file.

Compatible cameras

Canon says the new tool is compatible with eight EOS R-series cameras, listed above. While users don’t need a dual-lens setup, the feature only works with select Canon lenses, also listed above. The company notes that feature availability and viable output will depend on the camera, source file type, lens and shooting conditions.

Dual Pixel 3D could be particularly useful for photographers and small businesses that want to create rotating product visuals or shareable 3D-looking clips without investing in dedicated scanning hardware. It is not a firmware update that adds a new shooting mode to every Canon body. Instead, Canon’s new software converts depth information in compatible images captured with supported camera-and-lens combinations into 3D content.

We all have that moment where we pick up a camera, go out to shoot something, and… nothing. You look around, recognize all the places you’ve already taken great photos of and don’t have the energy to drive across town to find something fresh. Instead, you decide to walk back into the house to work on some other non-photography project.

During these times, you miss that spark of creativity and inspiration that keeps you energized to take great photos. You know what it feels like when it’s around. Those are the times when it’s clear as day what to do with your camera. You end up shooting countless fantastic scenes with little effort.

So, how do you rekindle that spark of inspiration? Read on to discover how the DPReview community finds fresh inspiration and gets their creative instincts flowing again.

Dave in Wales: What you don’t do is sell all your gear.

Spid: This is what the nifty fifty was designed for. Strip back to basics. Shoot less, one focal length. Get the mojo back.

TOTodd: Nothing sparks inspiration more than a client beating on your door asking if it’s done yet.

zak99: Stop chasing technical perfection, dig out some old cameras, digital or film, limit my options and carry only one lens. I’m currently using an Olympus 7070 from my digital childhood. It’s challenging, it’s satisfying and it’s cool.

Simple-joy

Maoby: By taking self-portraits (in response to Mathew’s self-portrait lead photo :)).

Jaberg: As a practical solution, take part in the currently running month-long challenge. It’s not important that each (or any) entry be a gem. The important thing is to make a picture – any picture – for each topic. To pick up the camera and engage the photography muscles. You never know when creative inspiration will strike.

AshleyMC: I always have a camera on me and create photographs daily. My “default” subject is flowers, which are not hard to find: in my garden, in the neighborhood church’s garden, or in the city’s botanical gardens and greenhouses. Other than flowers, I usually see “something” in any scene.

Gato Amarillo: If I waited for inspiration, I’d hardly get anything done – in photography or in any other part of life. It’s been said many ways by many people: “Amateurs wait for inspiration; real artists just get to work.”

AshleyMC

Zeee: I do what works best. I let GAS get the better of me.

milo006: I have been doing this since I was 12 years old, now I am 81. I think every day can be inspirational, as far as life is concerned. When I was a young man, my inspiration came from my work, military service and other experiences. After I married and had children, they became the inspiration.

I do admit that I have had long periods when I was not active as a photographer, due to other hobbies that took up a lot of my time. However, now that I am older, retired and have the time, I find it easy to be inspired on a daily basis.

KPM2: Photography is often a matter of being in the right place at the right time. When you’ve been doing it for a long time, you’ve naturally found yourself in that sweet spot often enough – and you might just lose a bit of your enthusiasm as a result, and more so, when the weather is not optimal.

What always works for me in those moments is experimenting with flash, outside or inside at home, because it breaks the rule of being in the right place at the right time. Because the time doesn’t matter.

There are many other stories from our community. They all deserve praise and to be shared, so be sure to visit the forum discussion and share your own if you like. Thanks to everyone who took the time to share unique ways you get out of an inspiration rut.

Panasonic has announced a slate of firmware updates for several of its cameras, meant to bring improvements to the company’s small, full-frame, creator-focused camera, the S9, as well as the more pro- and enthusiast-oriented S1II-series. It’s also updating its Lumix Lab and Lumix Flow apps.

Updates for the S1II, S1RII and S1IIE

The changelog for the S1II-series of cameras is short, sweet and significant. It reads:

• Improved shutter release time lag and burst shooting performance when using an external flash.
• Improved operational stability.

The last note means what it usually does. The company has fixed bugs and made things work that bit better.

However, we’ve been told, and have experienced ourselves, that the S1II-series of cameras could be laggy when paired with a flash being controlled via TTL. The performance was, frankly, not really acceptable for professional-level cameras, and Panasonic says it heard complaints from wedding photographers in particular. This update should help avoid that, making sure the camera takes a flash photo right when you press the shutter, instead of having to take a bit to think about it.

This update will be coming to all of the S1II-series cameras, including the S1IIN, a variant of the S1II for Chinese and Korean broadcasters with special networking capabilities.

Updates for the S9

Which update for the S9 is more important will depend on who you ask, and whether they’re a videographer. If they are, they’ll likely be quite excited about Panasonic adding new formats of its MP4 (Lite) codec, which is designed to use a lower bitrate, making it faster to wirelessly transfer to a phone and post to the internet.

When the S9 launched, it marked the debut of MP4 (Lite), which was only available in a single resolution – 3.8K open gate – and two framerates, 25 and 30p. While you can crop the 3:2 footage to get an output aspect ratio, that requires an extra step. Now, the camera is gaining some additional modes that won’t require it: UHD 4K/60p, 1080/60p and 1080/120p. These modes were introduced with the Panasonic L10, and it’s nice to see them showing up here for people who want even less work to get their footage ready to post, though I do still wish there was a UHD 4K/30p option, too.

Panasonic

The camera is also gaining full support for the Lumix Flow app, a video-focused program that, among many other things, lets you use your smartphone as a monitor, either via Wi-Fi or USB-C. While that’s handy no matter what camera you have, it’s especially useful for the S9, which is otherwise limited to using Micro-HDMI to output video. Panasonic says many users were “begging” for the camera to work with Flow, which also lets you create storyboards and shotlists, and add metadata to your recorded clips that make it easier to sort through the good and bad takes in post.

Flow will be getting an update to support the S9, which also comes with a few tweaks to how it displays camera information while monitoring and expanded support for using it with your phone horizontally.

Finally, in a move that will please both videographers and photographers, the camera will now let you assign substantially more functions to a lens’s programable button (a feature likely brought on by the company’s release of a second small prime with one that seems like a perfect match for the camera).

Lumix Lab updates

If the firmware updates weren’t enough, the company is also updating its Lumix Lab app, which lets you download images from your camera, as well as manage its libraries of LUT (Look Up Table) color profiles. On top of some UI tweaks and improving the app’s compatibility with Android phones that have “non-standard” processors (read: chips from companies other than Qualcomm, such as Samsung’s own-brand Exynos models), Panasonic is trying to make the app friendlier to those trying to find and download new LUTs from its repository of creator-submitted options.

Lumix Lab will now let you download packs of LUTs as well, so you don’t have to individually pick and choose several separate ones to build a set of aesthetics. It also now lets you filter which LUTs show up based on a series of options, such as what kind of scene or subject you’re shooting, and what kind of colors you want. The company has also added an option to share a link to a LUT’s page in the Lumix Lab app.

Availability

The new firmware for the S1II, S1IIE, S1RII and S9 will be made available for free starting October 13, with the updated versions of Lumix Lab and Lumix Flow launching at the same time.

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Panasonic has announced the Lumix S 20mm F2.5, a small, wide-angle prime designed to complement the 40mm F2 it released earlier this year, while offering a much wider angle that’s ideal for things like landscapes, close-up shots that still give a sense of the environment and, of course, video.

The lens has very similar dimensions to those of the 40mm F2, and the S9’s 18-40mm F4.5-6.3 kit zoom when it’s retracted. It’s the lightest of the bunch by a fraction, coming in at 142g (5oz), and has the same 62mm thread for filters. Panasonic also says it’s splash, dust and freeze resistant; that won’t be a huge deal for S9 owners, since that body isn’t, but for S5 or S1-series users it’s a nice addition.

Optically, the lens is made up of 11 elements in 9 groups, with three aspherical lenses and three ED elements. Its minimum focus distance is 0.18m (7.1″), which lets you get quite close to your subject for a dramatic look that seems to be quite popular these days.

Panasonic says the lens should be relatively sharp edge-to-edge with clean bokeh. We’re working on shooting a sample gallery with it so you can judge for yourself.

In terms of controls, it has what we’ve come to expect from Panasonic: a customizable ring that you can assign different functions based on whether you’re in auto or manual focus mode (a setting controllable with a switch on the lens’s barrel). This lets you use it for things like aperture, shutter speed, exposure compensation, Panasonic’s Crop Zoom feature and more when you don’t need it for focusing. There’s also a small, customizable function button.

It’s nice to see Panasonic continue to fill out its line of relatively affordable, small lenses for L-mount. While there are plenty of options available, it doesn’t hurt to have more options, especially ones this light and compact.

The Lumix S 20mm F2.5 will retail for $499, $100 more than the 40mm, and will start shipping in October.

Panasonic

Panasonic Lumix S 20mm F2.5

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Panasonic Lumix S 20mm F2.5 specifications

Each year, Apple’s iPhone launch event devotes considerable time to its newest flagship iPhone Pro model, which features the company’s most advanced cameras. For photography and video enthusiasts who want Apple’s latest imaging technology, the iPhone Pro is the clear choice.

And every year, Apple tries to convince us that its cameras are better than ever, and that this is the year to upgrade to make your photos more magical than ever before.

Apple

But is it worth it? Most people upgrade their smartphones only every few years, and it can be hard to know when an upgrade will truly make a difference to your photos. We’re here to help sort the noise from the facts. In this photography-focused comparison, we’ll examine every iPhone Pro model from the last six years – back to 2020’s iPhone 12 Pro – to help you decide if an upgrade makes sense.

Before we dive into older models, let’s review what’s new with the iPhone 18 Pro.

Or, you can jump directly to a comparison between the iPhone 18 Pro series and your current model:

• iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max
• iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max
• iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max
• iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max
• iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max
• iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max

iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max: What’s new

Apple

Like its predecessors, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max have main, ultrawide and telephoto cameras. All three use 48MP sensors that Apple calls “Fusion” sensors, which are essentially a Quad Bayer design that combines binned and full-resolution pixel data. This year’s headline feature is something we’ve never seen on an iPhone before: a mechanical variable aperture on the main camera.

The aperture has four settings (F1.48, F1.8, F2.8 and F4), spanning just under three stops. That’s roughly F5 to F14 in full-frame terms, so background blur won’t change dramatically, but you do get real control over depth of field. At F1.48, the lens is also about half a stop brighter than the 17 Pro’s F1.78 lens, which accounts for most of Apple’s claimed low-light gain. The sensor is new, but it’s the same size.

For video, stopping down allows slower shutter speeds, getting you closer to a 180-degree shutter in shade or overcast light. In bright sun, though, you’ll still need about a four- to five-stop ND filter at F4 to shoot 24p at 1/50 sec.

Apple

Apple has also added Pro controls in the built-in Camera app, allowing you to manually set aperture, shutter speed and white balance, complete with a live histogram.

The rest of the camera hardware carries over from the 17 Pro, including the ultrawide, the 4x (100mm equiv.) telephoto and the 18MP Center Stage front camera. Software additions include Smart focus tracking, texture and grain controls in Photographic Styles, 4K/60p Cinematic mode, and the ability to apply cinematic effects to video after capture.

Finally, the 18 Pro introduces Apple Reference Image, an opt-in authenticity feature. In Reference mode, the sensor captures signed data that Apple’s Private Cloud Compute servers turn into an unalterable reference image. It appears alongside the main photo so you can check whether the photo has been edited. It’s Apple’s own alternative to the C2PA Content Credentials that Google has adopted.

The big picture

Before diving into individual comparisons, let’s look at how the iPhone Pro’s camera system has evolved. At a high level, this is what to look for:

• Sensor size and aperture: All other factors being equal, a larger sensor captures more light, resulting in higher-quality photos, especially in low light. A variable aperture (the 18 Pro models) provides additional control over how much light hits the sensor.
• Resolution: More megapixels mean higher-resolution images and the ability to maintain resolution with ‘virtual’ zoom lenses.
• Focal lengths: While the main and ultrawide cameras have been pretty consistent, telephoto cameras have had more varied configurations.
• Video features: Know which features you need – and which ones you don’t – when deciding whether to upgrade.

In the table below, green boxes represent significant upgrades from previous models.

Editor’s note: All focal lengths in this article are full-frame equivalents.

*All focal lengths are full-frame equivalents

Before the 18 Pro added a variable aperture, the main camera’s last notable upgrades came with the 13 Pro and 14 Pro, and it was largely unchanged from the 14 Pro through the 17 Pro.

The ultrawide camera was upgraded on the 13 Pro and 14 Pro, and again on the iPhone 16 Pro, which also gained a 48MP sensor.

The telephoto camera has seen more variability, with focal lengths between 52mm (2x) and 120mm (5x), with the most significant upgrade being the iPhone 17 Pro, which gained a 48MP sensor that’s substantially larger than in previous models.

Apple has continued to add video features with each generation. All models in the table can also capture ProRAW photos.

If you have an iPhone 17 Pro or Pro Max

Apple

For iPhone 17 Pro owners, the year-over-year upgrade hinges almost entirely on whether you want variable aperture control on the main camera.

The iPhone 17 Pro has the same 48MP ultrawide and telephoto cameras and the same 18MP Center Stage front camera. The 18 Pro’s main sensor is new, but it’s the same size, and we would expect image quality to be broadly the same at similar apertures.

The variable aperture on the main camera is the key difference. F1.48 is about half a stop brighter than the 17 Pro’s F1.78 lens, which could be important if you frequently shoot in low light. At the other end, stopping down to F4 provides more depth of field for close subjects and group shots, and will let you use slower shutter speeds for video in shade or overcast light.

The 18 Pro also adds built-in Pro controls to Apple’s Camera app, Smart focus tracking, texture and grain controls in Photographic Styles, and Apple Reference Image. For video, you can now apply cinematic effects after capture. If those features or the variable aperture don’t matter to you, it’s hard to recommend the upgrade, and third-party apps can already give the 17 Pro manual shutter speed and white balance control.

If you have an iPhone 16 Pro or Pro Max

Apple

For iPhone 16 Pro or Pro Max owners, the upgrade will not only net you the variable aperture main camera, but a much-improved telephoto camera as well.

The iPhone 16 Pro has a main camera similar to the 18 Pro’s (minus the variable aperture) and the same ultrawide camera.

However, there’s a big difference in telephoto cameras. The iPhone 18 Pro has a 48MP telephoto sensor that’s over 50% larger than the one in the 16 Pro. With the same F2.8 aperture, that works out to about 2/3 stop more light. The telephoto focal length has also changed, decreasing from 120mm (5x) on the 16 Pro to 100mm (4x) on the 18 Pro.

The 4x zoom on the 18 Pro may sound like a downgrade, but a common complaint on the iPhone 16 Pro was the large gap between its main and telephoto cameras. This forced mid-range zoom shots to rely heavily on computationally-enhanced crops from the main sensor. The 18 Pro’s 4x telephoto narrows that gap, allowing the phone to switch to the dedicated telephoto lens and its full sensor area sooner.

Additionally, the iPhone 16 Pro and all older models used Apple’s previous 4:3 front-facing selfie camera. The newer Center Stage camera could be a reason to upgrade if you take many selfies or shoot video on the move.

New video features include ProRes RAW and Genlock (aimed at advanced videographers), Apple Log 2, 4K/60p Cinematic mode and the ability to apply cinematic effects after shooting. Unless you specifically need them, these features alone don’t justify an upgrade.

If you have an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max

Apple

For iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max users, the camera differences start to stack up more dramatically.

The main camera on the 15 Pro uses the same sensor size as the 18 Pro, but with a fixed F1.78 lens, so the 18 Pro gains about half a stop at F1.48, plus the flexibility of a variable aperture. Apple has also introduced faster-readout versions of this sensor since the 15 Pro, enabling “zero shutter lag” even when shooting Raw.

The telephoto cameras are more complicated. The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max use different modules, with 77mm (3x) and 120mm (5x) lenses, respectively. This means upgrading to the 18 Pro’s 100mm (4x) telephoto could result in either more or less reach than you’re used to. In either case, the upgrade will get you the 18 Pro’s 48MP sensor, which is over 50% larger than the 15 Pro Max’s and almost double the size of the 15 Pro’s.

Image stabilization is another factor to consider. The iPhone 15 Pro Max’s telephoto module uses sensor-shift image stabilization. In contrast, the smaller iPhone 15 Pro’s telephoto uses Apple’s older, less effective optical image stabilization system. Sensor-shift stabilization didn’t come to the smaller iPhone Pro’s telephoto module until the iPhone 16 series, so iPhone 15 Pro users will experience improved telephoto stabilization after upgrading.

Dale Baskin

Ultrawide and macro photographers may be drawn to the iPhone 18 Pro’s 48MP ultrawide camera. Like Apple’s other 48MP sensors, it’s a Quad Bayer design, so the resolution gain isn’t as large as the numbers suggest. Still, it captures more detail and provides more latitude for cropping macro shots. The sensor size remains unchanged, however, so don’t expect low-light improvements.

The 18 Pro includes other features not on the 15 Pro, such as the Camera Control button and the latest generation of Photographic Styles, which lets you change the look after a photo is taken. Video upgrades include 4K/120p capture (up from 4K/60p) for more dramatic slow-motion, Apple Log 2, after-capture cinematic effects, and support for ProRes RAW and Genlock.

If you have an iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max

Apple

The camera modules in the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max are broadly similar to those in the 15 Pro, except for the 15 Pro Max’s 5x telephoto. As a result, much of the same upgrade logic applies.

The iPhone 14 Pro was the first model with the 48MP, Type 1/1.28 main sensor format Apple still uses, though the 18 Pro will benefit from faster readout speeds. Additionally, the 14 Pro defaults to 12MP photos binned from its 48MP sensor, compared to the 24MP default on more recent models. (Full 48MP resolution is still available via a settings change, however.)

Upgrading to the 18 Pro will get you newer 48MP sensors on the ultrawide and telephoto modules. The telephoto sensor is also nearly twice the size of the 14 Pro’s, which, with the same F2.8 aperture, works out to almost a full stop more light.

Neither iPhone 14 Pro model includes sensor-shift image stabilization on the telephoto camera, relying instead on the older, less effective optical image stabilization system. Upgrading to the 18 Pro will provide superior sensor-shift stabilization on the telephoto camera, where it’s needed most.

Newer iPhones like the 18 Pro also feature lens coatings not found on the 14 Pro, which can reduce lens flare when shooting into bright light. (Though models with updated coatings still have the green flare balls that have almost become a calling card of iPhone photos.) Newer models can also capture 3D spatial images, a feature the iPhone 14 Pro lacks.

Dale Baskin

Video capabilities may be the most compelling reason to upgrade. The iPhone 14 Pro captures ProRes video, but not the ProRes Log format desired by videographers for its color grading flexibility. Furthermore, its ProRes recording tops out at 4K/30p (1080/30p on 128GB models), restricting slow-motion options.

The 14 Pro was also the last model with a Lightning connector. Newer models use the more universal USB-C, which offers data transfer speeds up to 10Gbit per second – 20 times faster than the Lightning port’s USB 2.0 speeds.

If you primarily use the main camera, upgrading to the 18 Pro may not return huge dividends, unless the variable aperture is important to you. However, for frequent users of the ultrawide and telephoto cameras, or for videographers who want Log video, the upgrade becomes a compelling, no-brainer decision.

If you have an iPhone 13 Pro or Pro Max

Apple

With iPhone models this old, the differences in technology become more stark, and for iPhone 13 Pro or Pro Max owners, upgrading to the 18 Pro will improve the camera experience in nearly every way.

The iPhone 13 Pro was the last generation to use a smaller 12MP main camera sensor before Apple switched to the 48MP sensor that became its standard. The 18 Pro’s sensor is 63% larger than the one in the 13 Pro, and with roughly equivalent maximum apertures (F1.48 vs F1.5), it can capture about 3/4 stop more light, giving it a big leg up in image quality. The 13 Pro also lacks the benefits of the 48MP sensor, which uses pixel binning for extra detail and enables the ‘2x’ virtual lens option found on newer models.

The situation is similar for the ultrawide camera. Its 12MP sensor is roughly half the size of the 18 Pro’s. While its F1.8 aperture is faster than the 18 Pro’s F2.2, the 13 Pro’s ultrawide is still about a third of a stop behind in overall light-gathering and lacks the benefits of the 48MP sensor.

The telephoto camera is where you’ll see the most dramatic difference. The iPhone 18 Pro’s telephoto sensor is nearly twice as large as the 13 Pro’s, and with the same F2.8 aperture, it captures almost a full stop more light. The 18 Pro also uses more effective sensor-shift stabilization on its telephoto module, compared to the older optical stabilization on the 13 Pro models.

As with the 14 Pro, video features could be a deciding factor, especially if you want ProRes Log for color grading latitude. With all three of the 13 Pro’s cameras still at 12MP, lower light-gathering capacity, and a shorter video feature list, this is an easy upgrade to recommend.

If you have an iPhone 12 Pro or Pro Max

Apple

Six years feels like an eternity in technology, and the cameras on the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max are showing their age.

The main camera sensor on the iPhone 18 Pro is almost three times larger than the one in the iPhone 12 Pro, and its lens is also slightly faster (F1.48 vs F1.6). Combined, that gives the 18 Pro’s main camera about a 1.8-stop light-gathering advantage, or roughly 3.5 times more light. That’s a dramatic difference, and will be noticeable in photos.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max stays a little closer to the 18 Pro, thanks to its slightly larger sensor, but it still falls 1.25 stops behind, meaning the 18 Pro gathers almost 2.4 times as much light. Not as much, but still a big difference.

Similarly, the 18 Pro’s ultrawide sensor is almost twice as large as the 12 Pro’s, which also has a slower F2.4 aperture. The net result is that the 18 Pro’s ultrawide captures about 1.2 stops more light.

The telephoto comparison is more nuanced. The 12 Pro models have smaller telephoto sensors, but their faster apertures let them roughly match the 18 Pro’s telephoto in total light-gathering. However, their 2x (52mm) and 2.5x (65mm) lenses offer far less reach than the 18 Pro’s 4x (100mm) telephoto.

The 18 Pro’s main camera can also stand in for the 12 Pro’s telephoto: a 2x (48mm) crop still delivers 12MP while capturing about 1.4 stops more light. Matching the 12 Pro Max’s 65mm lens requires a tighter crop that yields only about 6.5MP, though it still gathers nearly a stop more light.

Apple

Image stabilization is another key difference. The iPhone 12 Pro Max was the first to introduce sensor-shift stabilization on its main camera, but the smaller 12 Pro used older, less effective optical stabilization. Upgrading from the smaller 12 Pro will provide a noticeable improvement, as all Pro models since the 13 series have featured sensor-shift on their main cameras.

The 12 Pro models also show their age in video. While they capture Dolby Vision HDR and 4K/60p, they lack all the other video features Apple has introduced in the last six years.

If improving photo quality is your goal, this upgrade makes absolute sense. With 12MP sensors across the board, less light-gathering capability, an older imaging pipeline and far less telephoto reach, you’ll see an across-the-board improvement in image quality.

Conclusion

Apple’s slick presentations make it easy to feel like you need the newest iPhone cameras, and I give Apple credit for being very good at that. The reality, however, is that most annual updates are incremental. Major improvements are the exception, not the rule.

Also, when considering an upgrade, keep in mind that you may not need to buy Apple’s newest iPhone Pro, depending on the features you need or want. If an older model meets your requirements, you might save a chunk of change by buying a recent used phone, or even a refurbished model from Apple that’s newer than your current one and still offers the features you want.

Adobe has announced Photoshop Elements 2027 and Premiere Elements 2027, new versions of its consumer-focused photo and video editing apps. Both updates add AI-powered tools and features intended to make editing more approachable for beginners. Adobe has also updated Elements Organizer, its companion app for managing photo and video libraries.

Photoshop Elements 2027

Adobe

Photoshop Elements 2027 adds Generative Expand, which lets users extend an image beyond its original frame by using AI-generated content to fill the new areas. The new version also includes Generative Upscale, an AI-powered tool designed to improve the apparent clarity of low-resolution images as they are enlarged.

A new Creative Filters feature applies styles including Embroidery, Oil Painting, and Duotone. Users can adjust the intensity, texture and color of each effect for a more customized result.

Adobe is also bringing its AI Assistant to Photoshop Elements as a beta feature. The tool allows users to describe the edit they want to make, and it then carries out the tasks (at least simple ones). It debuted earlier this year on Photoshop for web and mobile before expanding to the Photoshop desktop beta.

Lastly, Photoshop Elements 2027 adds an AI Tools Hub that brings the app’s AI-powered editing features into one place, reducing the need to search through multiple menus and panels.

Premiere Elements 2027

Adobe

Premiere Elements 2027, Adobe’s consumer-focused video editor, is also gaining new AI tools (though, like Photoshop Elements, those may be subject to AI credit rules). Users can generate images from scratch to fill gaps in a timeline or create overlays, while Generative Title Art turns plain text into stylized graphics using text-based prompts.

Adobe is also adding sample photos and videos so users can experiment with tools and try editing techniques without importing their own footage. Contextual Toolbars help users locate relevant editing tools by describing the task they want to complete, serving a similar beginner-friendly purpose to Photoshop Elements’ AI Assistant.

Lastly, the video editor adds Editing Indicators, which help users quickly identify effects, transitions and text formatting while editing.

Elements Organizer

Adobe has also updated Elements Organizer to make growing photo and video libraries easier to manage. The update is designed to help users find specific files, reduce duplicate clutter and share finished work more quickly.

A new Semantic Search feature lets users use natural-language descriptions to find photos and videos, even when their search terms do not exactly match existing tags. Semantic Search is currently an English-only beta feature.

The update also improves duplicate-file detection and adds Share to Phone, which uses a QR code to transfer edited photos directly from a desktop computer to a mobile device.

Availability

Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements 2027 are available now. The bundle of both programs costs $150, or each program is available separately for $100.

Interestingly, Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements are limited to a three-year term license. Once that period ends, users will lose access to the editing apps, although Adobe says their media catalog will remain accessible in Elements Organizer. That means owners cannot simply continue using an older version indefinitely if they decide the newer features are not worth upgrading for.

It’s important to note that Adobe’s AI-powered features typically cost one credit per use. When purchased as standalone apps, Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements each come with 25 credits per month, while the bundle includes 100 generative credits per month. The company also offers a way for you to purchase more through its dedicated AI subscription.

Capture One has announced the latest version of its desktop and mobile software. The updates bring 2nd Gen Wireless Tethering to two more Canon cameras. They also include immediate support for Canon’s newly released EOS R8 II and an enhanced version of Capture One’s AI-powered culling tool.

One of the more broadly helpful features is the updated version of Assisted Review, Capture One’s AI-powered culling tool that entered Beta in the May 2026 release. The tool promises to automatically flag images with issues like closed eyes, missed focus and exposure problems. Its initial release required users to manually trigger it, but now, the tool can run automatically while shooting tethered. That means photographers can have culled images by the time the shoot is done, potentially saving quite a bit of time. It’s only available on desktop for now, and is still in beta.

Capture One has also expanded compatibility for its 2nd Gen Wireless Tethering system, adding support for the Canon EOS R3 and Canon EOS R6 III. The feature launched in May 2026, with support limited to the Canon EOS R5 II and EOS R1. It

The second-generation system sends a smaller, fully editable Raw file almost immediately while the full-resolution file transfers in the background, allowing photographers to review and begin editing images without interrupting a shoot. With standard wireless tethering, the complete Raw must transfer before it appears in Capture One, a process that can take several seconds, or longer with high-resolution files or a weaker Wi‑Fi connection. Capture One says the feature works on both desktop and mobile.

Capture One

Lastly, Capture One is also providing immediate support for the new Canon EOS R8 II. Photographers working with Canon’s latest camera won’t have any delay in terms of editing files in Capture One, either on desktop or mobile. It’s important to note, though, that it uses the standard wireless tether feature, not the 2nd generation version.

Capture One version 16.8.6 for desktop and version 4.1 for mobile are available now.

Ricoh has released its 30th anniversary Ricoh GR IV kit, which includes the camera and a host of extras. The kit was originally announced earlier this summer, and will be shipping on October 21st (which is, from what I can tell, the actual anniversary of the original GR1’s release).

The company is only selling 6000 of the kits, so they’re relatively exclusive. Here’s what they’ll include, according to the company’s website:

• A GR IV with its shutter and rear buttons “finished in a special color inspired by the plated finish used on the first-generation GR1”
  • The camera also has “A special power-off graphic” to commemorate the anniversary
• “A ring cap ‘GN-3 (30th)’ with a diamond-cut design inspired by the design of the GR1 lens area”
• A leather finger strap engraved with “30th Anniversary”
• A steel-gray metal hot shoe cover with the 30th anniversary logo on the front, and “Ricoh GR” on the back
• 16 pins, 14 of which depict past GR models, one of which is the 30th anniversary logo, and the other a GR logo

The latter two pins are exclusive to those who purchase the kit. The rest will be sold individually as accessories, or as a bundle, along with the finger strap and hot shoe cover. (There’s even a version of the latter being made for the GR III series, too.)

The cost for all that? $1800, a $200 premium over the standard GR IV. The official Ricoh site currently has a “keep me informed” button rather than a “buy” one, but some retailers like B&H have opened up preorders.

Will you be lining up for the GR IV anniversary kit, or are you more excited about the GR IVx variant also due out later this year? Let us know in the comments.

The Canon EOS R8 II is an entry-level full-frame mirrorless camera with a 24.2MP CMOS sensor. However, it’s gained in-body image stabilization and a joystick, addressing two of the biggest shortcomings of the original EOS R8.

Key specifications

• 24.2MP FSI CMOS sensor
• IBIS up to 7.5EV center/7EV periphery w/ lens coordination
• Up to 40fps bursts with e-shutter / 6fps mech.
• 1/2 second pre-capture at 40fps
• Full-width 4K video from 6K capture at up to 60p
• 2.36M dot OLED viewfinder (0.7x magnification)
• Optional accessories including grip extention and XLR-adapter

The EOS R8 II is launching at $1900, around $400 more than the original EOS R8 launched for, which Canon says is staying in its lineup. It’s worth noting that inflation since the original R8’s launch could be expected to push its price up by around $150 if it were launched today (and indeed the MSRP appears to have been adjusted up to that at time of writing), and that the EOS R8 II appears to be a slightly better specced, higher-positioned model, to the extent that we might even believe the claim that the two will be sold alongside one another.

Ultimately, it’s also the least expensive full-frame mirrorless camera Canon’s released with image stabilization by a wide margin, even before you take inflation into account. It’s also the company’s lightest camera in that category.

Index

• What’s new
• How it compares
• Body and handling
• Autofocus
• Video
• In use
• Initial impressions
• Sample gallery
• Specifications
• Press release

Product photos: Mitchell Clark

What’s new

Image stabilization

The EOS R8 II has essentially the same sensor from its predecessor (itself adopted from the higher-end EOS R6 II), but it’s now stabilized with Canon promising up to 7.5EV of correction in the center with 7EV in the periphery. While those ratings are often optimistic, this should make it a bit easier to get sharper shots in low-light situations, assuming your subject isn’t moving. The EOS R8’s lack of IBIS was something we noted as a compromise in our review of it, so it’s nice to see it included here.

A new look

Mitchell Clark

Canon briefed that the EOS R8 II takes design cues from the T80 SLR of the 1980s, though its press materials show it alongside the later EOS 650, with which there’s a more obvious family connection (either way it’ll be entertaining if this distinctly subtle homage turned out to be the source of the many rumors of a ‘retro’ Canon body). To our eyes it looks as much like the original Sony a7 as anything in Canon’s own back catalog. Only nicer.

We think it’s a pretty sharp and attractive camera, especially with its EOS R3 / R1 (/Fujifilm GFX 100 II) style grip material and its low-profile viewfinder hump. The black-on black design with small, well-spaced buttons is something of a departure for Canon, but we rather like the miniaturized minimalism of it all.

Updated autofocus and burst improvements

Canon says it’s updated the EOS R8 II’s underlying autofocus algorithms, making them stickier than the ones in the original. It still has person, vehicle and animal recognition, as well as an auto mode, but gains the company’s Register People Priority mode, which lets you train it to recognize specific people and focus on their face above other ones it recognizes in the scene.

While the camera can’t shoot any faster than its predecessor, still capping out at 40fps in e-shutter mode, it can go for substantially longer with its buffer lasting 30% longer when shooting Raw and 58% longer in JPEG. In our tests, this equated to around 78 shots in Raw+JPEG, and 175 shots in JPEG-only, making the burst mode much more usable. The camera also dispenses with Canon’s Raw Burst mode, which produced a non-standard combined file from which you had to select your frames, and that was required for pre-release capture. Pre-capture is now just an item in the menu you can enable.

A host of new video features

While the EOS R8 II has the same top-line video capabilities as its predecessor – it can shoot oversampled 4K at up to 60p with no crop – Canon has added several improvements to make it easier to use. These are features aimed both at beginners, such as the slow-and-quick mode that lets you get slowed-down or sped-up footage at your preferred framerate straight-out-of camera, and video scene modes, as well as more advanced features from cameras like the EOS R6 V, such as fine-grained control over the camera’s auto white balance system, as well as white balance presets that can be assigned to buttons.

Mitchell Clark

The camera also introduces a new video feature, which lets you press a button to defocus the lens at a predetermined speed, racking to the lens’ closest focusing distance to produce an effect where your subject is slowly (or quickly) pulled out of focus, something that can be difficult to do by hand, especially with stills lenses. The lens will then stay focused to that distance unless you press the AF-On button, which will resume autofocusing. While it’s not quite as advanced as the focus pulling tools that companies like Panasonic build into their cameras, it’s a nice option to add a bit of production value to a video.

How it compares

The market for entry-level full frame cameras is a competitive one, with several capable options. The one most similar to the EOS R8 II is Nikon’s Z5II as it was also designed from the ground up to be a budget option. Both Sony and Panasonic address this part of the market with older models, rather than something directly tailored to it.

In fact Sony now has two older a7 models that sit above and below the price of the R8 Mark II: the 2018-vintage a7 III and the more modern, higher resolution a7 IV. We’re going to include the newer camera here, as its autofocus will be more competitive.

It’s heartening to see just how capable these cameras are, even if their price tags have crept up. The EOS R8 II’s specs are now much more closely matched to those of the Z5II, but its battery life in particular looks underwhelming, especially compared with the big block used by the Sony. The Canon’s video specs are pretty strong and this table can’t capture the likeability of the ergonomics and interface, but its higher price puts it up against some fierce competition.

Body and handling

Despite the significant visual changes, the EOS R8 II’s design is functionally quite similar to that of its predecessor. It winds up being a little heavier and larger, but still feels light and relatively small in the hand (depending, of course, on what lens you have attached). People with larger hands may find their pinkies dangling off the bottom of the camera – Mitchell certainly did – but, as with the RP and R8, Canon will sell a $90 extension grip to solve this issue.

While the design feels like a call-back to the Sony a7, we found the geometric pattern on the rubberized grip reminding us of the very special Bishamon-Tex material Fujifilm uses on some of its GFX cameras.

Controls

Mitchell Clark

The EOS R8 II has a recognizably plastic construction and feels relatively light, rather than hefty, in the hand. The rubberized grip and thumb rest means it sits quite comfortably in the hand and, while it doesn’t feel overtly rugged, it doesn’t give the sense of being flimsy, either. There’s no flex or rattle and it feels like it strikes a good balance between weight and solidity.

The headline feature of the EOS R8 II is that it now includes an autofocus joystick on the back, which its predecessor lacks. This means you’re no longer limited to using the touchscreen or four-way controller to place your autofocus point, which is, to us, a substantial upgrade to usability.

Beyond the joystick, the camera has Canon’s standard set of controls: there’s a mode dial, dual customizable top-plate control dials (the camera’s only dials, as there’s not one on the rear plate), several customizable buttons on the back, including one that defaults to AF On, a video record button (though you can set the camera to start recording with the shutter button in video mode), and an M-Fn button. By default, the latter lets you access a customizable menu that lets you adjust several parameters using the control dials, including ISO, drive mode, AF mode, white balance, flash exposure compensation, and more.

Mitchell Clark

All these controls are largely clustered on the right side of the camera, with the left side only having the menu button. This makes it relatively easy to operate with one hand, though we did find the occasional feature that would require you to confirm something with the far-away menu button.

While you can typically operate the camera without diving into the menus, they’re also relatively easily accessible. The EOS R8 II has the customizable “Q” menu – by default, accessed using a button in the center of the four-way controller – which gives you quick access to your most-used settings. The camera’s color-coded full menus will be familiar to anyone who’s used a Canon before, and are fully navigable using touch, the control dials, the four-way controller, or any combination thereof.

The camera no longer has a dedicated switch for going between stills and video mode, separate from the power switch. Instead, they’ve been merged into a three-way switch that moves the camera from being off, to stills, to video. In our experience, it’s very easy to accidentally overshoot stills and wind up in video mode when attempting to turn the camera on, especially if you’re in a hurry.

EVF and display

Mitchell Clark

The EOS R8 II has the same 2.36M dot viewfinder as the R8: the same OLED panel used an all cameras that are prioritizing compactness as part of their design. The optics in front of the panel deliver the same 0.7x magnification. Given Canon’s professional DSLR’s viewfinders tended to top-out at 0.76x magnification, this isn’t bad going, and the viewfinder is generally pretty nice to use.

The camera is sensible enough to disable the eye sensor when you flip the rear screen out, so you shouldn’t have problems with the rear screen blacking out if something gets too close to the viewfinder.

Ports

Mitchell Clark

The EOS R8 II has largely the same collection of ports as its predecessor, though there wasn’t much room for improvement. It has headphone and mic sockets for video, microHDMI and USB-C for charging and data transfer (at up to 10Gbps speed).

The camera’s single UHS-II SD card slot has also been relocated from inside the battery compartment to the side of the grip, making it easier to access if the camera is on a tripod.

Battery

Mitchell Clark

The EOS R8’s battery life was the one other area we, and many other reviewers, found lacking. Unfortunately, it’s the one thing Canon hasn’t touched, as the EOS R8 II uses the same 7.5Wh LP-E17 model, and is rated to get 270 shots per charge when using the rear screen and a pretty miserable 150 shots per charge with the viewfinder. These improve to 340 and 220 shots per charge, respectively, in power saving mode, but they’re still pretty low.

CIPA numbers always under-represent how many shots you’re likely to get in real-world usage, with getting double the number being pretty common. Still, those viewfinder figures are likely to mean carrying a second battery or some kind of power bank will be necessary. The use of a small battery was something we criticised on the original R8, and the addition of in-body stabilization only exacerbates the problem.

Autofocus

The EOS R8 II has the latest version of Canon’s standard AF system, shared across the majority of its cameras. This offers eight AF point sizes, ranging from the very small “Spot AF” up to “Whole area AF,” where the camera selects a subject based on how near to the center and how near to the camera it is. In between these extremes are three flexible AF zones, which are rectangles whose height and width can be adjusted.

Each of these AF areas can be made to track whatever is under them, by pressing the “Info” button when you’re selecting an AF area. It’s worth noting that the display tells you the current setting, not the setting you’ll access by pressing the Info button.

On top of this you have the subject recognition modes: Human, Animals or Vehicles, with an Auto mode that will try to identify any of the subject types it’s been trained to recognize. You can restrict which of these options appears in the menu but, presumably because there are only three subject types, there’s no option to narrow the ‘Auto’ mode down to just selecting the subjects you expect to encounter.

Beyond this, there’s a menu option for telling the camera how it should expect subjects to respond (ie: whether it should refocus on or ignore another subject appearing in front of its current target). This is a simplified version of the system from Canon’s pro sports cameras and lets you easily fine-tune the AF response if its default behavior doesn’t suit your subject.

Richard Butler

The net result is an easy-to-use and pretty effective AF system that can be adjusted if it’s not giving the results you want. Most of the time we found you could select an AF point size, engage tracking and leave subject recognition turned on. The camera will focus wherever your AF point is, track whatever was under that point and use subject recognition to be more specific, when appropriate, but without getting distracted by 

One of the few things we encountered that gave us any real concern was that the tracking system (not the subject recognition system) will try to decide what object it thinks you’re trying to capture, and will draw a large box around it, overriding your chosen AF point size and meaning you can’t be specific about the exact point you want it to focus on. It’s worth being aware of this in situations where you want to pinpoint something very specific (one part of a flower, for instance).

For most of our use, in both stills and video, we found the EOS R8 II to be a very effective performer that is quick and easy to use. However, it’s worth noting that some of the less expensive lenses with STM motors can be a little slower and more clunky to focus. 

Video

Mitchell Clark

The EOS R8 II’s base video capabilities remain largely unchanged from its predecessor. It can record full-width 4K video at up to 60p, derived from 6K capture, and includes 10-bit, Log and HDR recording options. It gains “slow-and-fast” modes that will give you slowed-down or sped-up footage straight of of camera, rather than requiring you to adjust a clip’s playback speed to match your playback framerate in post.

It also features headphone and microphone jacks – though their placement means they can occasionally interfere with the screen’s articulation – and a multi-interface hotshoe which you can use to connect Tascam’s 4-channel recorder.

Canon has equipped the camera with a wide array of features, both for those who have never shot video before and more experienced users. For the former, there’s the auto mode that lets you control how blurry the background is (basically letting you adjust aperture without having to know that’s what you’re doing) and scene modes that automatically configure your settings to apply skin smoothing or override the camera’s face detection when you’re holding something up to the lens. (Thankfully, experienced videographers can also enable those settings in the standard video modes while retaining control over exposure, audio levels and more).

The EOS R8 II thankfully also gets Canon’s latest white balance system. Alongside inheriting the fine-grained controls from the EOS R6 V, it lets you set a custom WB without having to take a picture and go into a separate menu.

In our limited use, the autofocus system was reliable, and supports the same subject recognition modes that the camera’s stills mode does. And, as is typical for Canon, you can separate your photo and video settings quite well, even if it is a bit too easy to switch between them now that they’re assigned to the same three-position switch.

Like its predecessor, the EOS R8 II’s rolling shutter is very well-controlled across its modes, meaning you won’t have to worry about skewed lines in all but the fastest camera moves.

In use

The EOS R8 II is a camera that, for the most part, won’t present you with a lot of unpleasant surprises or asterisks. As you’d hope for a camera aimed primarily at new photographers and advanced beginners, it does its job largely without a fuss, without too much friction between you can getting the photo you want. It’s a camera designed with its audience in mind, rather than a more advanced one old enough to be sold at a more accessible price point.

With that said, it’s not like Canon has built the entire UI or menu system from the ground up, so, as with pretty much any camera, there are a few behaviors that may be a bit confusing to both newcomers and more seasoned shooters. Thankfully, the auto mode allows you to shoot in Raw… that is, unless you switch into the “Advanced” mode, which can composite multiple shots together in situations where a subject is backlit, or there’s high contrast.

Richard Butler

Outside of that mode, we appreciate Canon’s inclusion of in-camera Raw reprocessing (something that Sony omits in all of its models). However, the fact that there are actually two – a standard mode and one called “Creative Assist” – risks being a touch confusing, though you are able to choose a default.

Both are strangely disconnected from the color filter system. If you want to see what the photo you just took looks like in the camera’s new Positive Filmtone color mode, that’s too bad. Turn off Raw, go back to the part of color section of the menu, switch to the Color Filter mode, and take it again. (The camera doesn’t automatically disable Raw or offer to do it for you when you try to access one of the modes that doesn’t support it, you have to do it manually.)

Richard Butler

Canon has thankfully solved the incorrect “Enable” labeling for its AF tracking feature, but you can still find odd little things like that if you hunt for them. For example, it’s still a bit ambiguous as to whether you’re pressing the Info button to “Enable” part detection for car subject recognition, or if you’re turning it off. Still, the EOS R8 II’s menus are far from the most lost in translation that we’ve seen.

They can mostly be navigated using the dials, four-way controller, or touchscreen, though you’ll still occasionally find an area or two that only work with one or two of those options. The video selection menu is one such example, where you have to use the dials or screen to switch between the resolution, frame rate and codec sections. The latter also only has one option, making us wonder why it’s even there. Also, Canon occasionally insists on making you confirm an action by pressing the “Menu” button, turning what could’ve been a one-handed operation into a two-handed one.

We appreciate just how many options you have to customize the controls at your fingertips, using the M-Fn menu, Q menu and buttons. The layout is sensible for beginners – though it might take a second to get used to the fact that you can’t adjust exposure compensation until you’ve begun metering – but once you start figuring out what you want, you can really dive deep into finding the layout that works for you.

Initial impressions

Mitchell Clark

The EOS R8 II made rather a good first impression on me: the new design is pretty sharp, in an understated kind of way, but without undermining the ergonomics that Canon has carefully refined over multiple generations of camera. Just as with the recent PEN, I’m not a fan of the combined power/stills/video switch, but the rest of the camera feels nice.

You don’t, for a moment, think you’re getting an R6 III-level workhorse, but you’re not paying R6 III money for it. I have large enough hands that I’d definitely consider adding the optional add-on grip extension plate to stop my little finger wrapping under the bottom of the body, but it’s nice to be able to keep the camera small by omitting it, and I wouldn’t consider it an essential.

Inflation means the Mark II looks like a bigger step up than perhaps Canon intended, but the addition of in-body stabilization and an AF joystick mean you get recognizably more camera for your money and one that’s nicer to use, too.

The price essentially brings into line with the list price of Nikon’s Z5II, while also bringing the feature sets much closer to parity. Canon’s features for beginners, inherited from models such as the EOS R50 are arguably a little more powerful and hence welcoming, but they don’t necessarily provide much of a pathway across to taking full control of the camera.

Overall, then, there’s much to like, with the two biggest changes expressly addressing two of the most significant omissions of the Mark 1. However, the addition of IBIS just draws attention to the only major shortcoming that hasn’t been addressed: battery life.

Mitchell Clark

Although the R8 II promises a similar battery rating to the R8 when using the rear screen, its EVF rating is a pretty dismal 150 shots per charge. And, even if you factor-in how excessively conservative the CIPA standard numbers can be, a rating well under 200 shots per charge is going to mean having to constantly stay on top of keeping the camera charged, if you try to use it for much beyond occasional snapshots. A second battery or PD-compliant power bank would be worthwhile additions to any R8 II-based kit.

The bigger concerns, though, would be lens options, beyond the kit zoom. Canon, even more effectively than Nikon, has limited the choice of third-party AF lenses for its RF mount, making it essential to check whether the lenses you want to use are available.

Richard Butler

This was made very apparent to me when I was using the R8 II. I had access to the RF 35mm F1.8 Macro: a lens whose focus motor (and lack of AF limit switch) gives an unwelcome reminder of what 1990s-style screw-drive lenses were like, in its level of vibration and graunching, every time you half-press the shutter button. Conversely, the 85mm F1.4 VCM’s focus is swift, silent and smooth. Unfortunately, so is the movement of its aperture ring, which to me detracted from the photographic experience enough for it to constantly gnaw at me that it costs as much as this camera does. In both cases the results are excellent, and yet neither are lenses I’d choose to buy, distinctly narrowing my options in two of my favoured focal lengths.

If the lenses you want are available for the R8 II (and that may include adapting old DSLR lenses), then the R8 II is an excellent body for newcomers and first-time full-frame adopters. But, to me, being limited to the lenses Canon will let you have feels especially restrictive at the price-sensitive end of the market. Which is a shame, because the camera’s really rather good.

Sample gallery

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

Canon EOS R8 II specifications

Affinity has announced that the latest version of its free app is its “biggest photo editing update yet,” making the included Raw editor more powerful and easy to use.

In its press release, Canva, which owns Affinity, says it added “nine new color, sharpening, and detail adjustments” to the app’s Raw development process. It’s also added a Presets system, letting you easily save the changes you’ve made to one Raw file, then apply them across others that you’re editing. You can also use presets across various types of photos, including panoramas, focus stacks and more.

Mitchell Clark

The app can also attempt to deal with tricky corrections, such as getting the white balance right in scenes that have mixed lighting and attempting to reduce motion blur.

Canva has also added a variety of other tools to Affinity’s Raw editing panel. It gains spline-based hue and saturation curves and color-based adjustments, as well as new options for its object selection tool.

Finally, Affinity now has a “Studio” – basically a pre-configured arrangement of windows and tools – for editing astrophotography. It gives you easy access to tools to separate the stars from the background or to remove the background entirely, and to stretch the photo to “reveal faint detail while preserving important highlights.”

All of this is on top of all the things Affinity already does. Around a year ago, Canva folded Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo and Affinity Publisher all into one app, promising that it would be “completely free, forever.” This has, so far, remained true, though you will need a subscription to use some of the app’s AI features. And while the tool can’t replace library management tools like Capture One or Lightroom, for someone who just needs to edit the occasional Raw and doesn’t want to pay for Photoshop to do so, it’s now more capable than ever.

The changes come as part of the 3.3 update to Affinity, which is free to download from Canva. Existing users will be prompted to update the next time they open the app.

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Sony’s new FE 400mm F4.5 GM OSS and FE 600mm F6.3 GM OSS are built around a simple premise: bring G Master optics and autofocus to wildlife and sports shooters who don’t want to carry a massive lens all day. At $2,700 and $3,700, they also cost a fraction of Sony’s existing 400mm F2.8 and 600mm F4 primes, which run around $12,000 and $13,000.

Both weigh under a kilogram — 994g and 995g (both 2.2 lbs) respectively, excluding the tripod foot — and share the same 108mm barrel diameter. They’re so close in size and feel that it’s easy to pick up one thinking you’ve grabbed the other. Sony claims both are the lightest super-telephoto primes in their class, and the numbers bear that out.

Dale Baskin

Sony provided both lenses to us ahead of the announcement, and we’ve been using them for a couple of weeks. In this article, we’ll walk you through the key areas of their designs.

Optics

Dale Baskin

Optically, the lenses are very similar. The 400mm comprises 22 elements in 16 groups, and the 600mm uses 24 elements in 17 groups. Both share the same core glass: three Super ED elements and one ED element. According to Sony, the shared Super ED elements are what keep chromatic aberration in check across both focal lengths.

In fact, the optical designs are so similar – the 600mm adds two elements and substitutes a third – that it can almost be thought of as a 400mm lens with a built-in teleconverter. The minimum focus distance is identical at 2.5m, but the aperture isn’t quite proportional: a true 1.5x converter would make F4.5 become F6.75, whereas the 600mm manages to achieve F6.3, so it’s close to the idea without being a literal case of it.

Both lenses feature a single front lens element design, rather than a multi-element front group, which Sony credits for pushing the center of gravity back toward the camera body for better balance, and both include an 11-blade circular aperture, which it claims will help render more natural bokeh (check out our sample galleries below for real-world examples).

Dale Baskin

The two lenses also work with Sony’s SEL14TC 1.4x and SEL20TC 2.0x teleconverters. The 400mm extends to 560mm F6.3 or 800mm F9; the 600mm goes to 840mm F9 or 1200mm F13. The 600mm’s maximum magnification of 0.25x also nudges ahead of the 400mm’s 0.18x, despite both sharing a 2.5m (8.2 ft) minimum focus distance.

Autofocus

Dale Baskin

Each lens uses two XD (extreme dynamic) linear motors, one driving each focus group. Sony claims both can maintain focus tracking at up to 120 fps on the a9 III and support subject tracking during 4K 120p video recording.

We used the lenses with a Sony a7 V body, so we weren’t able to put the 120 fps tracking to the test, but the camera maintained tracking at its maximum 30 fps burst rate.

Dale Baskin

Autofocus is quick and snappy. The only moment it felt sluggish was when switching from a subject very close up to one very far away, which isn’t unusual for a super-telephoto, and exactly the scenario the focus limiter is designed for – we’ll get to that in a moment.

Sony’s subject detection worked well with both lenses. Whether tracking a bird or a large mammal, the system tracked subjects like glue, and only in rare cases would one of the lenses fall behind in maintaining focus.

On-lens controls

Dale Baskin

Both lenses include an AF/MF switch, a full-time DMF (direct manual focus) ON/OFF switch, a focus range limiter with two settings (full range and ∞–7m), an OSS ON/OFF switch and an OSS mode switch.

The lenses support three stabilization modes: Mode 1 for normal camera shake, Mode 2 for panning, and Mode 3, which Sony says minimizes framing disturbance for fast or irregularly moving subjects. I confess that I didn’t think about what OSS mode the lenses were in when shooting subjects like birds, leaving them in Mode 1, which seemed to work fine, though it’s possible a more experienced bird photographer would notice the difference.

The limiter’s ∞–7m setting keeps the AF system from hunting through closer distances; it proved particularly useful when photographing an animal through grass or foliage between me and the subject, ignoring close-in distractions so the AF system could lock on to what I actually intended.

Dale Baskin

Four focus hold buttons are distributed around the barrel on both lenses, and all are customizable. A function ring sits just behind them and can be assigned a range of camera settings.

The manual focus ring is nice and deep, giving plenty of surface to grip and turn. Both lenses support full-time DMF, so there’s no mode-switching required to take over focusing mid-shot. In fact, I ran into several shooting situations where a quick twist of the focus ring to bring a partly obscured subject into focus was the fastest way to get the camera’s subject detection system to lock onto a subject, like a bird, which it then began tracking.

Design and build

Dale Baskin

Both lenses are effectively the same size, sharing a 108mm barrel diameter and a 95mm front filter thread. Where they differ by a small amount is in length: the 400mm measures 242mm; the 600mm is 263mm — a difference of just 21mm.

Sony claims dust and moisture resistance through sealed seams, silicone rubber gaskets around buttons and switches, a sealed lens mount ring and a fluorine-coated front element. In my own use, the 400mm held up to one very wet day of shooting with steady rain for about 3 hours. The lens was visibly wet on the outside and showed no signs of water reaching the interior. It wasn’t a controlled test, but that anecdotal experience lends credence to Sony’s claims.

Dale Baskin

The tripod foot is removable on both, using a twist-lock mechanism that makes attaching or removing it quick and easy. A soft carrying case is included with each lens, and it’s one thing that felt a little bit wanting; it feels like a one-size-fits-all case designed to accommodate larger lenses, leaving a fair amount of room for the lenses to move around inside.

The one thing that really stands out when using both lenses is how little weight sits toward the front. The balance point falls well back toward the camera, which makes handholding for extended periods more comfortable than the physical size might suggest.

Lightest in class

Dale Baskin

Sony claims both lenses are the lightest super-telephoto primes in their class. The natural comparison is Nikon’s Z 400mm F4.5 VR S and Z 600mm F6.3 VR S, which tip the scales at 1160g (2.6 lbs) and 1390g (3.1 lbs), respectively, both excluding the tripod collar. That makes the Sony 400mm around 14% lighter than its Nikon counterpart and the 600mm roughly 28% lighter, which is a meaningful gap at the 600mm end.

Nikon’s lenses have been well received, so it’s easy to see why Sony would want equivalents in its own lineup. But Sony isn’t competing only on weight: Nikon’s 400mm F4.5 sells for around $3,500 while its 600mm F6.3 sells for $5,200, so Sony is undercutting Nikon on price as well. For photographers already invested in Nikon, that’s unlikely to justify a system change once bodies, accessories and the other complications of switching are accounted for, but for Sony shooters, or anyone who hasn’t fully committed to a system, the options look very different than they did a week ago.

Compared to Sony’s faster 400mm and 600mm primes

Sony already makes faster primes at both focal lengths: the FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS and the FE 600mm F4 GM OSS, which offer roughly a 1.3-stop aperture advantage over the new models, and retail for much higher prices, around $12,000 and $13,000, respectively.

The weight savings of the new lenses — not to mention the cost — are substantial in both cases. They represent a trade-off: faster aperture vs. a lightweight, more mobile design. Those who need to capture photos in any setting with fast shutter speeds, like indoor sports (think: gymnastics), have a real reason to favor Sony’s F2.8 and F4 primes. But if you can trade one and a third stops for a lens that comes in under a kilogram and fits in your daypack, the new 400mm and 600mm GM lenses make a clear case.

Sample galleries

We expect one of the most common applications for both new lenses to be wildlife photography, so we’ve primarily built our sample galleries around this use case. Most of the photos you see in these galleries were shot at Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge in Montana, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Bison Range in Montana, and at the Oregon Zoo.

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. 

When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.

Sony has announced the FE 400mm F4.5 GM OSS and FE 600mm F6.3 GM OSS. The company claims that both are the lightest super-telephoto lenses in their class, promising superb sharpness in a compact package.

The two lenses have a lot in common, including using a lightweight construction. The 400mm weighs 994 g (2.2 lbs), with the 600mm coming in at only a single gram more. For comparison, Nikon’s 400mm F4.5 and 600mm F6.3 are both over 1000g. They are also especially light compared to Sony’s faster 400mm and 600mm lenses.

Each lens uses two of Sony’s linear motors, with one for each focus group. Sony says both lenses provide fast and precise autofocus, with the ability to maintain focus tracking at up to 120 fps or during 4K 120p recording.

The 400mm F4.5 and 600mm F6.3 are each compatible with teleconverters, providing even more reach when needed. They both feature an 11-blade aperture diaphragm and are compatible with 95mm filters.

The on-lens controls are consistent between each lens, too. They feature 4 focus hold buttons around the barrel and a customizable function ring. There’s a focus range limiter (full range and infinity to 7m) and full-time manual focus override. A switch enables three different stabilization modes: one for normal camera shake, one for panning and one designed to keep the viewfinder image more stable while tracking fast, erratically moving subjects.

The lenses are dust and moisture-resistant, with sealed seams and silicone rubber gaskets around the switches and buttons, plus a sealed lens mount ring. The front elements feature a fluorine coating to repel oil and water. The lenses include a removable tripod foot.

Sony

The main physical difference between the 400mm and 600mm, besides focal length and aperture range, is the optical design. The 400mm features 22 elements in 16 groups, while the 600mm comprises 24 elements in 17 groups. However, both utilize 3 Super ED elements and 1 ED element.

Both lenses also feature a design with only a single front lens element. Sony says this helps keep the overall weight down, and also shifts the weight towards the camera body for better balance when holding the setup and smoother panning. Naturally, Sony promises superb sharpness from both.

There’s also a $1000 price difference between the two. The FE 400mm F4.5 GM OSS is listed at $2700, while the FE 600mm F6.3 GM OSS is $3700. They are available for pre-order as of today, with initial orders expected to begin shipping in October.

Sample galleries

We expect one of the most common applications for both new lenses to be wildlife photography, so we’ve primarily built our sample galleries around this use case. Most of the photos you see in these galleries were shot at Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge in Montana, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Bison Range in Montana, and at the Oregon Zoo.

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. 

When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.

Fujifilm is refreshing two of its Instax products with second-generation models. The Pal 2 is a complete redesign of the company’s tiny, playful, digital-only camera, while the Link Wide 2 is a subtly updated version of its portable, smartphone-connected photo printer that uses the larger Instax Wide film. Both are designed to work in conjunction, with the Pal 2 capturing images that users can then print with the Link Wide 2.

The original Pal, launched in 2023, was a palm-sized camera that looked like an even more miniature Instax Mini. It offered no controls beyond a shutter button and had no display. Notably, it arrived roughly two years before Kodak’s viral Charmera keychain camera helped propel tiny digital cameras into the spotlight, and Fujifilm has acknowledged that the camera was divisive. “When we introduced the original Pal in 2024, some consumers weren’t sure what to make of it,” said Bing Liem, division president, Imaging Division, Fujifilm North America Corporation, in the press release for the launch.

In light of that, and citing customer feedback, Fujifilm took the Pal 2 in a different direction. The new version is still palm-sized, but it looks like a classic analog camera, sporting a long, rectangular shape instead of the bubbly Instax Mini-esque design. It now also sports an optical viewfinder, helping users frame their shots instead of relying on blind luck, and keeps the flash from the original for illuminating subjects.

Fujifilm

The Pal 2 features a one-inch LCD screen on the top, which lets you review your photos or adjust various settings and controls. That includes the ability to switch between the Pal 2’s five filter themes, with each offering a further six adjustments. It also lets you switch between Instax Mini, Square or Wide instant film and frameless formats before printing, so you can better visualize how your print will look.

Fujifilm has also added a new shooting mode, called Animation. The new mode captures 10 frames and turns them into a flipbook-style animation. There’s a switch on top of the camera that lets you quickly switch between single-photo and Animation mode.

Fujifilm

The Pal 2 uses a 10.7MP Type 1/3.06 (13.4 mm²) CMOS sensor. While that’s a fair bit bigger than the 4.9MP Type 1/5 (6.4 mm²) found in the original, it’s still quite small, even compared to what you’d find in a compact or phone. It features a 28mm equivalent lens with an F2.2 aperture, and objects as close as 8cm in front of it will be in focus. It offers a self-timer and exposure compensation from -2.0 to +2.0 EV. The camera weighs just 41g (1.4 oz).

As a digital-only camera, the Pal 2 doesn’t take film like most other Instax cameras. You can, however, print with the Instax Link series, Instax Mini LiPlay or Instax Mini Evo devices either from the Instax Pal app or directly from the camera. The camera features integrated storage that can hold up to 100 photos at a time, and it’s also compatible with microSD cards.

Fujifilm

Along with the new camera, Fujifilm also announced the Instax Link Wide 2. This is more of an incremental update than a complete refresh, and most of the original’s features are retained. In fact, the changes all come from the app. It adds a Photo Mixer feature that lets users select images from their camera roll and, by tapping the “Mix it” button, generate multiple collage-style layouts to choose from. Users can remix these up to five times, and then make custom edits before printing or sharing images online.

The app supports numerous frames, filters, emojis, color modes and text, along with 1600 in-app stickers to customize prints. Lastly, users can add QR codes to the Instax Wide photos to share links, locations, hidden messages or sound clips. As the name suggests, it uses Instax Wide instant film, which produces photos that are roughly 7.62 cm x 12.7 cm (3” x 5”).

The Instax Pal 2 will be available in late September in either white or black/silver for $170. That’s substantially more expensive than the Charmera, though that doesn’t offer Bluetooth connectivity and features a smaller 1.8MP Type 1/4 (9.7 mm²) sensor.

The Instax Link Wide 2 will also be available in late September for $180 and comes in two colors, Duo Beige or Duo Blue.

Fujifilm

Fujifilm Instax Pal 2

• $170 at B&H

Fujifilm

Fujifilm Instax Link Wide 2

• $180 at B&H

Almost every photographer has lost a lens cap at some point. They roll under car seats, disappear into the bottom of camera bags and, apparently, tumble into Yellowstone’s hydrothermal features.

A recent post by the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory on the U.S. Geological Survey website and Instagram account details the record-breaking amount of trash Yellowstone National Park staff have removed from hydrothermal areas this year. Most notable for photographers: as of early September, the park’s Geology Program had recovered 54 camera lens caps from thermal areas. They were the most common item found beyond the usual plastic and paper trash.

The photos shared with the post appear to show other photography-related items as well, including at least one lens hood, several eyecups, a handful of instant photographs and plenty of binocular caps. The collection also included 47 hair ties, 42 pencils, 36 pairs of sunglasses, 20 hotel key cards and 17 pacifiers. All were recovered from hydrothermal features, not simply from the boardwalks.

Margery Price / National Park Service

It may be easy to dismiss a dropped lens cap as a minor annoyance, but Yellowstone’s thermal features are highly sensitive to foreign objects. The park’s Geology Program warns that debris can clog a feature’s water supply, alter runoff channels and introduce chemicals or sediment. Morning Glory Pool, for example, famously changed color during the 20th century after visitors repeatedly tossed trash into it.

The post is a useful reminder for photographers: When you remove a lens cap, put it securely in a pocket or camera bag. Better yet, if you know you will be moving quickly between shots, leave it in your car, cabin or campsite. And, whatever you do, don’t balance it on a handrail where it’s liable to get knocked or blown off into a sensitive area

If you absolutely must keep the cap handy, consider a cap keeper, a small tether that connects the cap to the lens barrel. It is not the most elegant accessory, and some attachment methods may not hold up to the gusty winds possible in places such as Yellowstone. Still, it is better than letting another piece of plastic become part of a sensitive landscape.