As a camera reviewer, my job often requires me to travel to check out new products, not only to test them, but to also cover them so I can share them with you all. That process requires a bit of supporting gear, and I thought it would be fun to do a run-through of everything I brought with me on a recent trip where I planned on producing three videos, among other tasks.

One of those videos was for this article, where I basically unpack my bag in a (reasonably) quiet section of an airport to show everything that’s in it, and to explain why I use it. Below, I’ll include a list of all the things I cover in the video, and sprinkle in any additional fun facts or info that didn’t make it in.

One last programming note: apologies for the slightly ropy photos: I’ve been between airports for most of this week, and haven’t been able to find a nice backdrop where I wouldn’t have felt exceedingly self conscious taking pictures with a camera. Filming in an empty section of an airport was already enough!

Cameras and lenses

Mitchell Clark

This trip was primarily focused on shooting a few videos, so my main camera was the Canon EOS R6 V. I’ve already shot several videos with it, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to get a few more under my belt as I finish up the review. That was paired with its kit lens, the RF 20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ, which, while being a surprisingly competent stills lens, really shines for the fast-paced filming I was doing this week. (The results of which you’ll see in due time!)

I typically use my PolarPro 2-5 variable ND filter, which magnetically attaches to a screw-on adapter, making it very easy to swap it between lenses. However, weather, indoor filming locations and late shoots meant it mostly stayed in the bag.

Mitchell Clark

I also brought the Panasonic S1II with a 100mm F2.8 macro lens for detail shots and product photos. It’s a setup I really like and, when I’m not testing a video camera, that kit plus Panasonics 24-60mm F2.8 is my go-to filming setup. If you keep up with our YouTube channel, you’ve seen quite a few videos shot with it.

Finally, another camera I’m reviewing in the background: the GoPro Mission 1 Pro ILS, which I’ve paired with a Laowa 6mm T2.1 and Meike 12mm F2.8 lens. Why those, in a world filled with great Micro Four Thirds lens options? Because the GoPro doesn’t work with any of them that require electrical contacts for aperture and focus control which, it turns out, is most of them.

I stored all of that in two Peak Design camera cubes. And, because I know someone will ask, no, this article isn’t sponsored in any way by PD, despite featuring a lot of it’s gear; I bought everything in this kit with my own money, not necessarily because it’s the absolute best, but because it mostly works well together and meets my needs.

The supporting cast

I won’t cover absolutely every accessory that I pack with me – those are pretty well covered in the video – but I’ll call out some of my favorites, and go into a bit more of the nerdy details that our audience may appreciate.

Mitchell Clark

For this trip, specifically, I brought a Godox iT32 flash and an Aperture MC RGBWW light for taking detail shots. I also brought my Peak Design Travel Tripod that I’ve had pretty much since it launched, which is handy to have when filming yourself (even if I found myself missing the fluid head I got to test with the company’s Pro line, which I just can’t quite justify the price of).

There are a few things that live in my pack (a Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L) full time, because I always need to be able to access them no matter what I’m working on:

• A gray card
• A selection of memory cards (I also keep a spare SD in my wallet, which has saved me countless times)
• Two extra tripod plates
• Filter ring adapters for common and uncommon sizes
• Peak Design wrist strap and extra anchors (pro tip: the anchors come in different colors now, so feel free to get the pinkish-orange ones if you like to have fun, or the all-black ones if you’re frustrated with the decidedly not-stealth red ring that’s traditionally graced them)
• Dual port USB-C charger (35W) and Nitecore NB10000 battery bank
• Crankbrothers M10 multitool for installing and removing said plates (could we please standardize on hex key or flathead?)
• Sensi bulb blower and cleaning cloth
• 2m (6.6′) 20Gbps USB4 cable; great for tethering, offloading, charging, anything really, and long enough to do it (without the crazy ThunderBolt tax)
• Pens and business cards
• A snack or two
• Hand sanitizer

Sharp-eyed viewers may have noticed that I had no fewer than three different kinds of tripod plates in attached to cameras throughout the video: Peak Design’s own-brand one, the Leofoto NP-65 QD quick release plate and the SmallRig quick release plate on the EOS R6 V.

One thing I’ve been careful about is only buying Arca-style plates that will fit onto my Peak Design tripod without needing an adapter, so I almost never have to switch out tripod plates mid-shoot. If I do, that’s where the multitool comes in; despite my best efforts, I haven’t quite achieved a completely toolless tripod plate setup, though the Peak Design Field Plate has helped a bit with that, even if I’m still annoyed at how expensive it is and that it doesn’t come standard. I carry a spare in my bag, though.

Further reading

If you enjoy these kinds of gear breakdowns, I highly recommend checking out our What’s In Your Bag series, where we take a look at great photos taken by members of our community and talk to them about the gear used to produce them.

Easy smartphone connection is one of the most asked-for features we hear when talk to people about cameras, so we thought we’d investigate the current state of all the brands’ apps. Beyond a few frustrations, we found Canon’s Camera Connect to be one of the better options, at least with the recent cameras we had available to test.

Getting started

Before you can even use Canon’s Camera Connect app, you need to create a “Canon ID” using an e-mail address and password and log-in, which can be frustrating: it’s not entirely clear what benefit there is to the user of this. The app will also regularly ask you if you wish to register your camera with your Canon ID and will then remind you that you can do so, even if you say No. There’s no ‘do not show this message again’ option.

Richard Butler

To first connect the camera, you need to select your camera model from the app’s list of available models. This helps, in that it means the app should be able to guide you through the appropriate workflow for your camera model. 

Connecting the relatively recent PowerShot V1 to an Android phone was a case of using the displayed QR to download the app then starting the pairing process from the camera. With the app open and the camera trying to establish a connection, a pop-up box with the camera’s ID appeared on the app, letting me confirm Bluetooth pairing. I then had to confirm on the camera, too, then was good to go.

Richard Butler

Richard Butler

Once the two devices were paired, it was just a case of opening the app and waiting for a bluetooth connection to be established. As soon as the bluetooth icon lights up in the app, you get the choice of importing images from the camera or to engage live view remote shooting. 

Wi-Fi connectivity

Selecting either of these options tells the camera to turn its Wi-Fi on, and after a few moments the phone asks permission to connect to the Wi-Fi network the camera has established. Click ‘Connect’ and it establishes a connection fairly quickly.

Richard Butler

Richard Butler

On iOS you have to approve the network connection each time you re-establish a camera-to-phone Wi-Fi connection, whereas Android is happy to trust it, once you’ve given it permission the first time.

Richard Butler

The “Imaged on camera” option, once the Wi-Fi connection has been established, shows all the images currently on the camera’s card. On Android, you can only import JPEGs, and the camera will generate a JPEG if you try to import a Raw file. On iOS, the app is happy to transfer JPEG, HEIFs or Raws, probably because all three file types are supported by Apple’s operating system, so it knows what to do with the files. If you try to import an HDR HEIFs using the Android app it’ll tell you you have to manually convert the HEIF to a JPEG (and drop down to SDR) on the camera, first.

Remote live view shooting

Engaging remote live view shooting is a similar process: pressing the button in the app initiates a Wi-Fi connection that you’ll need to approve each time on the iOS version. You’re then given a live feed from the camera with an interface that lets you control a lot of the camera’s settings.

Richard Butler

You can adjust exposure settings, drive mode, AF mode, white balance and so forth. You can’t change exposure mode, though or, at least, not on a camera whether that’s set using a physical dial. You don’t get fine-grained control like WB fine tune and some functions can be greyed-out for reasons that aren’t obvious.

Richard Butler

Although not enabled by default, you can set the app to let you double-tap to zoom in the live view display to the area around the AF point. With this done, the manual focus function that lets you drive the focus forward or backward with three degrees of subtlety becomes much more useful, though the zoom only punches in to the 5x level of zoom, not the really fine 10x option you can get on the camera’s rear screen.

Richard Butler

Taking photos in live view shooting mode does not transfer them to the camera: you’ll need to leave the live view shooting option and switch back to the “Images on camera” function. You can review your images and even give them a rating, but that’s it.

Further functions

Away from the App’s Home tab is another called “Functions,” which will show the other modes and functions available with whichever camera you currently have connected.

Richard Butler

So, for example, most cameras have an Auto Transfer option, that lets you automatically send images from your camera to your phone, as you take them. With this function you have the choice of whether to downsize the files (to 1MB 1620 x 1080px files) before transfer and the option to remove location data from the transferred images.

This mode only continues to function while a Wi-Fi connection is maintained and the Auto Transfer function is still active in the app. Auto Transfer can’t be used in conjuction with the live view shooting mode, frustratingly. Auto Transfer can’t send Raws and won’t send HDR PQ HEIFs, either.

Also in the Functions tab are a ‘Bluetooth remote control’ function, an option to share the smartphone’s location data with the camera, to add it to images as you shoot them, and the ability to send your phone’s date and time to the camera, with the option to update these settings every time you reconnect the app. This last feature sounds especially useful when traveling across time zones.

Richard Butler

Richard Butler

There’s also the option to set your camera up to connect to local Wi-Fi networks, which then lets you engage its Cloud upload and Live Streaming features. You can also do this from the camera itself, but it’s likely to be easier to find and connect to Wi-Fi networks from the app in your phone, rather than having to navigate an on-screen keyboard in the camera’s menus.

Newer cameras may include the option to download Custom Picture color profiles for video from Canon’s LUT library. This downloads standard .cube LUTs to your phone, from where you can push them to your camera. Via a rather convoluted process, you can then save these LUTs into one of the Custom Picture slots in your camera and save them to the SD card to simplify the process in future.

The final option in a link to the camera’s online instruction manual. The precise behavior may depend on how your local Canon subsidiary uploads its manuals, but in the US, at least, you get the choice of the user manual as html pages or in pdf form.

USB connection

What really sets Camera Connect apart from many other manufacturer apps is the ability to connect the two devices directly with a USB cable. Canon’s recent cameras have a “Choose USB connection app” menu option at the end of their network settings menu. Android users can leave it in the default “Photo Import/Remote Control” setting, whereas Apply users will need to select “Canon app(s) for iPhone.”

Richard Butler

Once this is set, connecting a cable between the devices lets you jump straight into features such as image import, live view control or auto upload, that usually require a Wi-Fi connection. The Android version even asked whether you want Camera Connect to be automatically opened, when you connect your camera.

Richard Butler

This USB route is much faster than Wi-Fi and doesn’t require any pairing in advance. The camera doesn’t need to recognize the phone and you won’t need to select which phone to connect to, if you have more than one pairing registered: you just plug in and go. Even with a USB connection, the Android app won’t let you transfer Raws.

Other Apps

Finally, beyond the Functions tab, the Camera Connect app has an ‘Apps’ tab that lets you download Canon’s other smartphone apps, including its Selphy printing app and the EOS Webcam Utility Pro app.

Richard Butler

Richard Butler

Each time you open the app, it connects to Canon’s servers and checks for firmware updates for the currently active camera model. If an update is available, the app can show you the change log and let you download the firmware to your phone. It’ll then establish a Wi-Fi connection to the camera to transfer the firmware update file. 

Only once that file has transferred completely to the camera are you asked if you want to update the firmware, so you don’t have to worry about connection status during the update.

Photo and video competitions have had to deal with fakes and forgeries since their invention, a task that’s become increasingly difficult in the age of generative AI. Many competitions have had to deal with revelations that entries – sometimes even winning ones – were faked or enhanced by AI. Now, it’s happened with one sponsored by Nikon.

The company has disqualified the video that won first place in its Small World in Motion competition, stating it “did not comply with the competition rules regarding generative AI.” That rule is relatively simple: “AI generated videos are not permitted and Sponsor holds the right to request the original video for verification.”

The video in question supposedly showed “abnormal beating of airway cilia in a child with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), a rare genetic disorder affecting respiratory function,” and the original press release announcing it as the winner had several paragraphs describing the importance of the imagery and how it was captured.

Nikon’s statement says the decision came “after thoroughly re-evaluating the video and supporting materials and consulting with members of our judging panel.” It also clarifies that the decision “is based solely on the submitted video’s eligibility under the rules outlined for this competition” and “should not be interpreted as a judgment of the entrant’s professional reputation, scientific contributions, or intent.”

What the statement doesn’t say is what role generative AI played in the video’s creation; whether it was fully synthetic, or if it was used to edit something that was once a real image. You can still see it in news coverage of the competition and it looks otherworldly, but, to me, that’s the case for authentic microscopy videos, too. The BBC says the winner “acknowledged using AI,” and reports that other scientists raised the alarm about the video, with one expert in PCD saying that the cells in the video “look nothing like those from PCD patients.”

The company says the incident shows it needs to re-evaluate its rules and procedures moving forward, though as AI tools and people’s familiarity with them and willingness to use them advance, it seems likely that this will continue to happen, despite a growing market of tools designed to identify AI-generated or edited content. The reality is that many of the existing tools are, essentially, guessing, or rely on watermarks embedded by tools made by companies acting in good faith. Someone looking to enter a doctored or generated video into a competition would be able to bypass those relatively easily.

In light of the incident, Nikon has changed the rankings of the Small World In Motion competition, which awards a prize of $3000 for first place. That spot has been awarded to the former second place winner, Nguyen Nam Nhat, who submitted a video of “a tiny roundworm and a single-celled Dileptus” moving around. Second place now belongs to Benedikt Pleyer’s video of jellyfish larvae, and third place goes to Dr. Andrew Moore for their video of “synchronized cell division in neighboring cells.” You can view all the winners on the Nikon Small World website.

Google has made its free tool for identifying SynthID watermarks available to the general public, potentially making it easier to tell whether what you’re looking at was created by or edited with generative AI. While the tool is only looking for a watermark, rather than analyzing the image to see if it’s AI-generated, an increasing number of companies are starting to add SynthIDs to the images, video and audio generated by their AI tools.

The tool, called SynthID Detector, is relatively simple. You can upload an image, video file or audio clip to it, and it will scan for a SynthID. Google says that AI tools from itself, Nvidia, OpenAI and Kakao use the standard, so the tool should be able to tell whether AI was used to create the thing you’ve uploaded. Apple has also promised to start using SynthIDs to watermark its AI-powered photo manipulation tools later this year.

Mitchell Clark

Rather than try to add easily-removed metadata, SynthIDs are invisible watermarks added to AI-generated media, which should theoretically survive modification like cropping, adjusting colors or being compressed by a platform that isn’t even attempting to preserve the watermark. Also importantly, the watermark shouldn’t be detectable in the final output.

There is one somewhat annoying gotcha with the tool: it requires you to sign in with a Google, Apple or OpenAI account to actually check anything. This extra friction may be enough to dissuade someone from casually checking an image, and doesn’t really feel like it should be necessary.

It’s also worth noting that it is very limited. While many major players are represented in the list of companies on board with SynthID, there are plenty that aren’t. As the tool’s homepage warns, it doesn’t detect whether the image was made by AI, it can only tell you whether it was made with a specific subset of models. It’s also binary, only telling you if an image has a watermark or not. Unlike more robust (and, in some ways, more limited) tools like Apple’s Reference Image system or Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) Content Credentials, there’s no way to see the original image, or tell whether the AI simply tweaked a real photo or created an image wholesale.

Mitchell Clark

Still, it’s an important piece of the puzzle as SynthID is gaining popularity. After all, a watermark isn’t particularly useful if it’s invisible and you have no way of checking it. You’ve been able to ask Google Gemini if an image has a SynthID watermark in it for a while now, and Google’s Chrome browser and Search engine will flag images with them in some cases, but the detector is a much lighter-weight solution, and provides an option for those who may be checking an image because they’re morally opposed to using AI, and who likely wouldn’t view being able to ask an AI chatbot about it as an acceptable option.

I’m going to argue that Sigma’s 50-120mm F2.8 is one of the most interesting lenses this year. And not just because I’ve been asking for something like it, for years.

Different formats have different strengths and weaknesses, generally offering a different balance of size, price and image quality. But they can only live up to their full potential if they have lenses that let them deliver the size or price benefits they should be capable of.

For various reasons that have very little to do with the merits, or otherwise, of APS-C, most of the biggest camera makers have heavily focused their lens development on full-frame. This has left us in the odd situation where Canon, Nikon and Sony all make some quite nice APS-C bodies, but with lenses for them being distinctly few and far between.

But, as was the case in the DSLR era, third-party makers such as Sigma and Tamron have helped fill the gap. And, refreshingly, for the most part, the big camera makers have let them.

Finally, with the arrival of Sigma’s new 75-180mm equiv zoom, APS-C users across multiple systems can put together some pretty flexible kits that take full advantage of the size, price, image quality balance that the format should be able to provide.

Richard Butler

Incrementally, the choice of compact primes for APS-C has expanded, with autofocus options from the likes of Sigma, Tokina and Viltrox spanning a wide range of focal lengths. In terms of zooms there are a choice of wide-angles, and both Tamron and Sigma offer some interesting fast standard zooms

Even the camera makers themselves seem to recognize this need, with Nikon, Sony and Fujifilm all offering 16-50-ish F2.8 options. And, collectively, these options will cover a wide range of photography situations.

The addition of a modern approximation of a 70-200mm equiv for APS-C rounds out this lineup. It means you can keep your kit small and relatively affordable across an even wider range of photography. And it’s hard to convey just how small the Sigma 50-120mm is, until you see it in person.

Obviously, a 50-120mm F2.8 is not fully equivalent to an F2.8 75-180mm lens on full-frame (120/2.8 ≠ 180/2.8), but it lets you do the things that make a 70-200mm lens on full-frame so popular, while maintaining the size and price benefits you get in return for the image quality trade-off.

I loved the original APO Sigma 50-150mm F2.8 EX II HSM in the DSLR era because it was two-thirds the size of a 70-200 and two-thirds the price. It was a much easier to handle and less potentially intimidating lens than a 70-200, helping give me the confidence to shoot some of my first public portraits. And it was much easier to carry than the second-hand 70-200mm F2.8 I’d previously bought and that sat at home unless I was absolutely sure I’d need it.

Richard Butler

The new Sigma not only repeats that trick but improves on it. It’s so much smaller and lighter than an actual 70-200mm lens (even compared with Canon’s RF 70-200mm F4 with which it’s approximately equivalent) that it means I can keep it with me, even if I’m not anticipating needing it.

So, APS-C users, you have a choice: you can believe the bottom-line-benefitting talk of ‘upgrade paths,’ and saddle yourself with a heavy, expensive 105-300mm equiv lens (which can have their uses, but that aren’t necessarily the same as those of a 70-200mm), or you opt for the Sigma, and gain approximately 70-200 utility in a lens you can fit in a coat pocket. As an APS-C shooter, I know which makes sense to me.

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Yashica has announced a new compact camera called the Crew, which it says is “inspired by the collective energy of friend groups, production crew, and travel companions” and designed “to turn distance into connection.”

Unlike the undeniably retro Y16 the company announced last month, the Crew features a more classic compact form factor, looking much like many of the other cameras being sold under the Yashica brand name. However, while cameras like the City 100 feature a fully articulating screen, the Crew features a 3.0″ LCD (in a slightly unusual 16:9 aspect ratio) that flips up, making it ever so slightly quicker to grab a selfie of you and your friends.

That’s the idea, anyways. In practice, that may be a bit of a struggle, thanks to the camera’s retracting lens, which the company boasts features a “6x optical zoom.” According to the images on the company’s website, it has a focal range of 4.3-24.8mm, which works out to around 32-183mm equiv., given the camera’s sensor. While 32mm equiv. is still relatively wide, you may struggle to capture more than a person or two at that setting with sensible framing unless you have particularly long arms.

Yashica

That sensor seems to be the one found in many of Yashica’s other cameras: a 13MP model in the minuscule Type 1/3.06 (16.45mm²) format. For reference, that’s almost three times smaller than the Type 1/1.56 (48mm²) that the iPhone 17 uses for its main camera, and is still substantially smaller than what you’d find in the 2000’s-era compacts it’s aping. That, combined with the lens’ very slow apertures (F3.1-6.4, or F22.8-47.2 equiv.) mean the camera will struggle in all but the best light, though it does have a flash to help out a bit; it’s unclear whether it’s a xenon tube or an LED.

Some people may be able to overlook that because they’re going for a lo-fi aesthetic, or because this camera takes its compact moniker seriously. Yashica says it’s 26mm (1″) thick when powered off, and weighs just 126g (4.4oz), which means it may genuinely fit in a relatively small purse or bag, or even a pants pocket.

It can shoot 2.7K (2688×1512, a bit higher-res than FullHD) video at up to 60p, and can even upscale that to 4K, though we wouldn’t expect stellar results. Likewise, it has the option of producing up to 36MP images though, again, the sensor is only 13MP.

The Crew has a removable battery and USB-C charging. The company says it’s designed to be an “approachable introduction to photography for the next generation of image-makers” that offers “more creative flexibility than a smartphone while maintaining point-and shoot simplicity.”

While I’m not entirely sure the inclusion of seven color filters delivers on the promise of creative flexibility – the camera doesn’t seem to offer much manual control – it definitely delivers on the approachability. It costs just $168, or 1,320 Hong Kong dollars for a standalone model, though you can pay $10 more to get a version with a 32GB microSD card. It will be available in black or silver, starting later this month, around October 26.

Like many other compacts on the market, the Crew is being sold under a brand name that people may remember (or be familiar with from shopping for vintage cameras), but it’s not really the same company anymore. The Crew and Yashica’s other cameras are branded and distributed by the Hong Kong-based 100 Enterprises, though it’s not entirely clear who actually produces them.

Yashica

Yashica Crew

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Meet Florent Chouffot

Home base: Belfort, France

Florent Chouffot, known in the community as Adynatoon, is fascinated by the relationship between various insects and plants. From delicate flowers to elaborate traps, Florent reveals the unexpected beauty of carnivorous plants. He shares how a Panasonic S1R and vintage lenses help him balance scientific detail with imaginative close-ups.

“I’m a French amateur photographer who’s been into the hobby since the early 2000s. I’ve always been fascinated by weather phenomena, especially thunderstorms. What frustrated me most was how fleeting these moments are, sometimes lasting only minutes… or just milliseconds in the case of a lightning strike. Photography felt like the obvious way to hold onto them.

Around the same time, I started growing carnivorous plants. I think they are the perfect expression of nature’s extreme adaptations, with extraordinary shapes and colors, and so many fine details you can barely see with the naked eye that deserve to be showcased. So from the very beginning, I’ve had these two interests: skyscapes and plant close-ups.”

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 Lester has to share.

What’s in Florent’s bag

Florent Chouffot

Favorite cameras(s): Panasonic DC-S1R

“I’m currently using a Panasonic DC-S1R. It offers the best balance of features for the way I work, and when I bought it, it was a great bargain for what it delivers. I don’t need advanced autofocus – or much autofocus at all – and I don’t need speed. What I value is low ISO noise and very high detail. I also appreciate how many different lenses I can mount on it.”

Favorite lens(s): Pentax K SMC 55mm F4 macro

“For plant macro photography, I use a Pentax K SMC 50mm F4 macro – a lens from 1975! 50mm is an easy focal length to work with, perfectly suited to plants, and the lens, stopped down to F8, is fantastic from center to corner, with near-zero aberrations, no distortion and a punchy rendering. It’s also a real pleasure to use, with its beautifully dampened focusing ring.

I also use a Samyang 135mm F2 for more distant subjects, a very affordable lens that delivers excellent image quality. Unlike the Pentax, I almost always shoot it wide open for that dreamy look while keeping the important parts sharp wherever they sit in the frame. For wide-angle work, I have an old Pentax K SMC 28mm F3.5, though I might actually use it more for macro than for landscapes.”

Favorite bag: “My bag is a Manfrotto Gear Backpack M that I bought in 2014. I’ve changed cameras and lenses far more often than I’ve changed bags…”

Any unusual accessories you carry?

Florent Chouffot

Must-have accessories: “When going out in the field, I usually bring a small Godox flash with a diffuser, a remote controller, a Canon close-up lens and a reverse ring. Of course, a tripod for lightning and any night shooting session.”

“The most unusual camera I’ve used was an Imacon Ixpress 528C medium-format digital back with an integrated fan, mounted on a Mamiya 645DF. It came with a humongous battery-powered dedicated hard drive just to save the photos, so I had to attach it to my trouser belt while shooting. Believe me, I never complained about the size of Compact Flash cards after that. The setup was heavy and clumsy, but I really liked the unique image rendition and later regretted selling it.

The reverse ring has to be one of my favorites, because it turns a wide-angle lens into a high-magnification macro tool for just a few bucks. I use one with the old Pentax 28mm F3.5 lens. There are compromises (image quality isn’t even across the frame, unlike with most dedicated macro lenses), but it’s great fun, and it still amazes my hiking companions a bit like a magic trick.”

What makes carnivorous or insectivorous plants the perfect photo opportunity for you?

Florent Chouffot

“I shoot outdoors for obvious reasons when it comes to weather, and indoors with my plants when the sky isn’t particularly interesting. I have a terrarium filled with carnivorous plants that grow year-round under a horticultural LED panel, so I always have subjects available, even if the best angles can sometimes be tricky to get.

The only carnivorous plant I’ve photographed in its natural habitat so far is the oblong-leaved sundew (Drosera intermedia) in a nearby swamp. I sometimes go out looking for small critters as well, though they tend to be a much bigger source of frustration than plants, for a reason I probably don’t need to explain.”

“Leaves often look more interesting when backlit, because the light reveals the internal structure rather than just the surface. For carnivorous plants, backlighting can also show what’s inside the traps, creating unique, eerie images. When I photograph my own plants, I have all the time I need to find the best angle, the best light, and the exact moment when the plant looks most interesting.

Fully developed traps are an obvious subject, but many plant parts are actually just as interesting at various stages of their development, both from a botanical and an artistic point of view. I also like to show carnivorous plants both as people expect them to look – animal-like, almost aggressive – and in their much less familiar aspects: delicate, subtle or simply through their flowers.”

What’s changed since the beginning?

Florent Chouffot

“Learning is a permanent process. New techniques, but also a lot of trial and error with gear. I’ve experimented with everything from reverse rings and lens stacking to early digital medium-format equipment, just to explore different looks and understand what various systems are capable of.

What improved my photography most was simply practicing a lot, learning how both my gear and my subjects interact with light, and looking carefully at other people’s work on photography sites and forums like DPReview.”

What unusual environments are there around Belfort?

Florent Chouffot

“The most unusual environment I’ve worked in was a completely dark bunker where I photographed a cave-dwelling spider, Meta menardi, that had not yet been recorded around Belfort. There was no ambient light at all, so I worked entirely with flash.

Another memorable place is the swamp where I found the Drosera. It’s a fragile ecosystem that requires real care just to move around without damaging anything. The visit felt special because I had to move very slowly, almost the way you do when photographing animals, but for reasons of fragility rather than flightiness.

Simply finding the plants in that specific habitat was already rewarding, as they’re very small.”

While you said plants are easier than insects, what strategies still help to capture a great shot?

Florent Chouffot

“Practice as much as you can and don’t hold yourself back. Cameras and lenses are far more versatile than you often read online. People tend to present their own style and preferred gear as a universal truth – “X is better than Y”. For instance, I’m not a film photographer, and I don’t like the usually grainy results, but I think it’s wonderful that the option still exists for those who love the look or want to delve into it.

See what your preferred subjects are and discover how and with what you enjoy shooting them. The results matter, but so does the actual process. With my old Pentax lens, turning the super-smooth focusing ring to find focus is genuinely satisfying and makes me feel more connected to my photography. With so many cameras and lenses available, any of them can serve someone’s creativity if approached with an open mind.

When I photograph carnivorous plants, I always try to balance the scientific and the poetic. I’m interested in both the morphological features and the atmosphere the scene creates as a whole. It’s about celebrating the beauty and uniqueness of these plants, explaining why they look and function the way they do, while also trying to spark the viewer’s imagination.”

Florent 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 Florent’s other work on Instagram.

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.

Sometimes the future creeps up on you quicker than you expected. We’ve been thinking about re-starting our Throwback Thursday series for a while, but Sigma’s announcement of a 75-180mm equivalent lens for APS-C rather forced our hand.

This year marks 20 years since Sigma launched the original APO 50-150mm F2.8 EX HSM DC, a fast 75-225mm equivalent zoom for APS-C. A lens that gave APS-C DSLR users the range and utility of a classic 70-200mm but without the cost or weight of one.

DPReview marked the date with a single-paragraph news story along with Sigma’s press release, which was our standard level of lens coverage, back when the site had only a single full-time member of staff. We described it as “very interesting sounding.” Even for Phil’s level of British understatement, this is to significantly under-sell the lens. At a time when full-frame was out of reach for all but the most committed enthusiasts, this gave APS-C users a lens they hadn’t had before: a dedicated, fast 70-200mm equiv.

Richard Butler

A slightly revised Mark II with very similar specs was released in 2008 and a copy made its way to the DPReview offices. It must have been a Nikon version as there are samples in the review gallery of the Nikon D5000 and D300S reviews the next year. There’s one shot by Phil, but the rest seem to be by me. Because I loved that lens.

Sigma

I’d arrived at DPReview as the owner of both an APS-C DSLR and a 70-200mm F2.8 that I barely ever used because it was just too big and heavy to casually carry around. Even having bought it second-hand, it ended up being one of my least cost-effective photographic purchases ever.

The 50-150mm was a revelation: it was less than two-thirds the size of most 70-200mm F2.8s, less than two-thirds of the weight and something like two-thirds the price. Unsurprisingly, it was much more directly comparable with the dimensions of Canon’s popular 70-200mm F4, but offering a range I found more useful and with an extra stop of light capture on the APS-C cameras we tended to be testing.

Richard Butler

Richard Butler

It had the range to let me shoot things like bike racing and also made a pretty handy portrait lens, as it was much easier to handle and much less intimidating than a full-sized, tripod-footed 70-200 F2.8. And its compact size meant I did actually carry it around with me. And got more photos, as a result. The 50-150mm taught me an important lesson about how different formats can shine, if they’re properly supported.

I used it regularly over the time we had it and was disappointed when its stabilized replacement used the same housing as the 70-200mm F2.8 launched alongside it: giving up the size and weight benefits that appealed so much in the first place. It’s what perhaps made me a little over-excited when, years later, Fujifilm and Samsung produced similar lenses, even though they weren’t as small or light as I’d hoped.

I think I’ve requested or asked after a 50-150mm successor almost every time I’ve met Sigma’s CEO, Kazuto Yamaki. I thought I was reading too much into his response when he seemed more positive about the idea, last time we met.

But the only thing that excited me more than hearing that Sigma was about to lauch a spiritual successor to the 50-150mm F2.8, was unboxing it for the first time and finding out that the new lens is even smaller and even lighter than its DSLR forbear. And, looking at the images: sharper and better able to focus, too. I wonder if this new lens will inspire the same decades-long appreciation.

Sigma has announced the 50-120mm F2.8 OS DC | Contemporary, a fast telezoom for APS-C mirrorless cameras. The lens delivers a 75-180mm equivalent range for Fujifilm X or Sony E mount cameras and an 80-192mm equiv range for Canon RF users.

The lens is a spiritual successor to the excellent APO 50-150mm F2.8 EX DC HSM from 2006, but manages to add stabilization and downsize considerably.

At just 67mm wide and 99mm long (3.90 x 2.63″) for the E-mount version, the lens is smaller than a standard can of Coke (both the 330ml and 12oz versions). Its length extends by 25% when zoomed to its full extreme but is still only a fraction longer (5mm/0.2″) than Canon’s RF 70-200mm F4 in its retracted form. It weighs 390g (13.8oz), which again is remarkably similar to the weight of a full can of Coke.

Richard Butler

The 50-120mm completes a trio of F2.8 zooms for APS-C mirrorless, alongside the existing 10-18mm F2.8 and 18-50mm F2.8 lenses. Despite its longer range and similarly bright aperture, it shares a 55mm filter thread with the 18-50mm. It’s the only member of the F2.8 DC set to have a dedicated aperture ring and image stabilizaton.

That stabilization is rated at 6.5 stops of correction at 50mm and 4.5 stops at the 120mm long end, per tests conducted to CIPA’s standard methodology.

Richard Butler

The new lens uses a “high response linear actuator” for autofocus and has seemed swift and reliable from our usage so far, though we’ve not been trying sports shooting with it just yet.

The optical design utilizes 18 elements in 13 groups, including one fluorite-like FLD element, three super-low dispersion elements and four aspherics. The company says it’s been designed to exhibit minimal focus breathing, to extend its usefulness to video. It features 11 rounded aperture blades to keep bokeh circular.

Richard Butler

The lens barrel features a zoom ring, focus ring and a dedicated aperture ring (on the Sony and Fujifilm versions, at least) with an ‘A’ position. The Canon RF version will have a smooth-rotating control ring instead of an aperture ring.

As part of the Contemporary series it’s been designed to be dust and splash resistant. Its presence in Sigma’s more affordable line also means it’s priced at a remarkably reasonable $799.

Shooting experience

I’ve been shooting with a Fujifilm mount version of the lens for a week or so and I’m still caught off-guard occasionally that I’m using a 70-180mm equivalent, rather than a standard zoom.

Richard Butler

The aperture ring, the first on one of Sigma’s DC zooms for mirrorless, works nicely with the X-T4 and X-H2 bodies I used it on, though I did wish the lens could be locked in or out of the A position, rather than it simply being spaced a little further beyond F22.

For the size and the price, I was willing to forgive some pretty major image quality issues but didn’t encounter too many.

Close focus isn’t this lens’s strength, with the corners getting extremely soft and swirly if you shoot a flat subject a 50mm. Things are a lot more predictable near minimum focus distance at the long end of the zoom.

The swirliness makes a reappearance in the bokeh at times, but not in a way I found objectionable. In general, I found the bokeh to be soft and attractive, without any fussiness, which isn’t always a given for a fast tele zoom.

Richard Butler

In general, sharpness seems impressive, despite the use of X-Trans sensors, which our standard lens processing doesn’t always show to its best effect. There appears to be a small degree of pincussion distortion being corrected at both ends of the zoom, but nothing dramatic (it doesn’t appear to account for the close-focus strangeness at short focal lengths).

Richard Butler

It’s hard for me to be completely dispassionate about a lens that I’ve been hoping someone would make, for years, but I’m genuinely stunned by how small and easy-to-carry Sigma has managed to make the 50-120mm F2.8 OS. I look forward to shooting it for longer, once RF-mount versions are available, to see how it behaves on the EOS R7, since that’s currently the highest-res Bayer APS-C sensor.

As always, we’ve included Raws for download in our gallery, including some close-focus examples and a couple of aperture comparisons, so you can make your own assessment.

Sigma has announced that it’s bringing its 16-300mm F3.5-6.7 DC OS (24-450mm equiv.) APS-C lens to Z-mount. While it may not be the most exciting addition to the lineup – Nikon APS-C shooters have already had access to a very similar option from Tamron – it’s representative of what may be an important shift: it’s the first zoom lens the company has been allowed to release for the mount.

The 16-300mm F3.5-6.7 has been around for a bit over a year for Sony E, Canon RF, Fujifilm X and even L-mount cameras, and this new version uses the same optical formula. It comprises 20 elements in 14 groups, with one FLD element, four SLD elements, one piece of high refractive index glass and four aspherical lenses.

It can focus on objects as close as 17cm (6.7″) at 24mm equiv., and 105cm (41.4″) at 450mm equiv. At 70mm, it can achieve 0.5x (1:2) magnification.

It uses linear motors for focusing, and Sigma says the optical stabilization is good for up to 6EV of correction at the wide end and 4.5EV at the long end. For Z-mount users, that’s definitely a nice-to-have, given that Nikon hasn’t made any APS-C cameras with in-body stabilization.

As you’d hope given that it’s made for a smaller sensor, the lens is relatively compact and lightweight, at around 125mm (4.9″) long and 630g (22oz). It can accept 67mm filters.

All of these specs make the lens an extremely close competitor to the Tamron 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD, which, beyond not being able to go quite as wide as the Sigma, offers essentially the same set of features in a body that’s within a few millimeters and grams. (The Tamron happens to be the first third-party autofocus zoom lens released for Nikon’s APS-C system.)

While there will certainly be those excited to have another all-in-one zoom option, perhaps more exciting is what this announcement may potentially mean. Sigma has offered Z-mount versions of a few of its APS-C prime lenses for a while now, though, notably, not the one that directly competes with one of Nikon’s offerings. However, none of its quite good zoom lenses were available for the mount. While the 16-300mm arriving for Nikon systems doesn’t come close to guaranteeing that we’ll get more exciting options like the 17-40mm F1.8 DC Art, the just-announced 50-120mm F2.8 DC Contemporary or the 10-18mm F2.8 DC DN, it does seem like a bit more of a possibility today than it did yesterday.

Like the other versions of the lens, the 16-300mm F3.5-6.7 DC OS for Z-mount will cost $769.

Tamron has announced that it will be bringing its full-frame 20-40mm F2.8 Di III VXD lens to Z-mount. The lens originally launched in 2022 for E-mount, but now it’ll be available for Nikon shooters.

Optically, the lens is unchanged, featuring a 12-element, 11-group construction with four low dispersion elements, two molded glass aspherics and one hybrid aspheric. It has a minimum focusing distance of 0.17m (6.7″), and allows for a maximum reproduction of 1:3.8 (around 0.26x) at its wide end. It has 9 aperture blades.

Tamron

One of the appeals of a zoom lens with a relatively limited focal range is its size and weight. The Z-mount version of the 20-40mm is 89mm (3.5″) long, and is 380g (13.4oz). There are very few lenses that you could consider direct competitors to this; other Z-mount ultrawide zooms will either start wider, and not go as tight, or start a bit tighter, and go further. Perhaps the closest analog is Sigma’s 20-60mm F2.8-4, which is around the same weight, but isn’t available for Z-mount and can only achieve F2.8 at its very widest setting.

Odd focal lengths have always been a staple of Tamron’s lineup though, and the company has lenses that you could use alongside it to go wider (the 12-20mm F2.8) or further (35-100mm F2.8 or 35-150mm F2-2.8) without leaving any gaps in coverage.

As the VXD in its name indicates, the lens uses linear motors for autofocus, which should make for smooth and fast focusing. That could be especially useful for video, as the lens’s focal range seems like a natural fit for vlogging. It’s threaded for 67mm filters, as are many other Tamron lenses, and the company says it’s sealed for dust and moisture resistance.

The Z-mount 20-40mm F2.8 Di III VXD costs a bit of a premium over the $699 E-mount version, retailing for $729. That is, however, still less than you’d pay to buy the version made for Sony cameras and an adapter, and may offer a more consistent experience. The lens will be available starting October 22nd.

Tamron 20-40mm F2.8 Di III VXD specifications

If you’re in the US and have been waiting for your chance to buy a Ricoh GR IV, this may be the moment. B&H Photo and Adorama currently have the three different versions in stock for their retail prices, something that hasn’t reliably been the case for the past few months, according to Gear Patrol staffer James Tirado, who has spent a while casting a jealous eye at the product page.

It’s hard to say how long they’ll stay in stock, so it’s probably worth acting fast if you’re sure you want it. And if you aren’t, perhaps check out our reviews; we have one for both the standard GR IV and its Monochrome variant, both of which are available at time of writing. The HDF version, which switches out an internal ND filter for a high diffusion one that creates a glow around highlights, is also in stock.

Of course, there is one reason you may potentially want to hold off: the company has already announced that an “x” variant, which swaps the 28mm equiv. lens for a 40mm one, is due out later this year. Of course, if the standard edition, and the former GR IIIx, are any indication, that one may also be quite hard to get a hold of, too.

Ricoh GR IV

Ricoh GR IV Monochrome

Ricoh GR IV HDF

If a standard GR IV is too pedestrian for your tastes, the company is also coming out with a limited-edition anniversary edition this month. There will only be 6000 available, so you’ll probably need to act fast to get your hands on one, too.

You can never have enough of a good thing, right? So, for this week’s Question of the week, don’t worry about your GAS problem and instead lean into it. Demand from camera manufacturers that their cameras all lack that one key feature you wish were included. A feature so effective or powerful, you’d sell all your other gear to get it.

As the lead image in this article indicates, I’m a huge steampunk fan. If I were a camera engineer, the one feature I would want is a steampunk skin for my favorite camera. I could easily see this on some of the more retro-looking cameras, such as the Fujifilm X-M1.

So, with that said…

What one camera feature that doesn’t yet exist would you like to have?

Let’s put everything on the table, from the mundane, simple tweaks to the outrageous additions that would break the industry and even spacetime itself.

Drop a reply in the comments section below, and if you’ve got a photo to include of one of your cameras that looks like it might have been overengineered, it may be selected for next week’s article on this topic!

Amazon’s fall Prime Big Deal Days sale is officially underway, running through October 7. Similar to previous Amazon sales events, there’s a lot of marketing and hype, but once you cut through all that there are some good deals hidden in the noise, including all-time low prices on some cameras. However, let’s set expectations: not every deal here is the lowest price we’ve seen, and discounts often skew toward older models. We’ve tried to include only products whose prices represent a good deal relative to historical pricing, but even then, some have been cheaper in the past.

Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days prices require a Prime membership, and prices can – and do – change mid-sale. The deals below were current as of the time of writing, but may sell out or expire before the sale ends on October 7. It’s also worth checking out competing retailers like B&H or Adorama, that often match some Prime Day prices.

Camera deals

Richard Butler

Camera discounts can be hit-or-miss during Amazon’s sales, but this is a good one if you shoot Nikon. The Z8 is at the lowest price we’ve seen, including body-only and with the 24-120mm F4 kit lens, and the Z6 II and Z5 match their all-time low prices. Those last two are previous generation models, but remain capable cameras if one appeals to you. Also worth noting: the Fujifilm X half is $100 cheaper than it was during Amazon’s Prime Day in June.

Nikon Z8 $3297 (was $4300)

Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 24-120mm F4 S lens $4197 (was $5200)

Nikon Z6 II $1297 (was $1750)

Nikon Z6 II with Nikkor Z 24-70mm F4 S lens $1897 (was $2350)

Nikon Z5 $897 (was $1147)

Canon EOS R50 V with RF-S 14-30mm F4-6.3 IS STM PZ lens $749 (was $949)

Fujifilm X half $449 (was $650)

Panasonic Lumix S9 $1098 (was $1198)

Lens deals

Sony

The lens selection this time around is thin, but there are options for different budgets, particularly if you shoot Sony – its FE 50mm F1.4 GM is at the lowest price we’ve seen. Canon’s RF 800mm F11 IS STM matches its all-time low price, making it an inexpensive way to get a lot of reach on a Canon mirrorless camera.

Sony FE 50mm F1.4 GM $1198 (was $1398)

Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM $1498 (was $1798)

Sony E 35mm F1.8 OSS $400 (was $600)

Canon RF 800mm F11 IS STM $899 (was $1198)

Action camera and drone deals

Amazon

Similar to Prime Day last June, some of the best discounts are on action cameras, vlogging cameras and drones – though the list of models is limited.

DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Creator Combo $495 (was $629)

DJI Osmo Pocket 3 $395 at B&H (was $439)

GoPro Max2 $300 (was $500)

GoPro LIT Hero $180 (was $270)

DJI Neo $139 (was $199)

DJI Flip Fly More Combo with RC 2 $588 (was $779)

Memory card and storage deals

Amazon

The cost of memory has risen dramatically as demand by AI tools and data centers has spiked, so memory cards and storage cost much more than they have historically, even when on sale. A discount today is a discount relative to current pricing, not a return to what you would have paid a year or two ago. There are no bargains here that demand action, but if you need cards or SSDs now, these prices are lower than what we’ve seen recently.

Memory cards

Sony Tough CFexpress type A 160GB $330 (was$399)

Storage

SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable SSD $210 (was $300)

SanDisk 2TB Extreme Portable SSD $360 (was $451)

SanDisk 4TB Extreme Portable SSD $715 (was $860)

Samsung T9 Portable SSD 2TB $350 (was $490)

WD 20TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive $550 (was $815)

Accessory deals

Rode

Rounding things out, there are some healthy discounts on gimbals, microphones and printers.

DJI RS 4 $369 (was $469)

DJI RS 4 Mini Combo $309 (was $459)

DJI RS 4 Mini $259 (was $369)

Røde Wireless ME $70 (was $106)

DJI Mic Mini (2 TX + 1 RX + Charging Case) $79 (was $99)

Shure MoveMic Two Wireless Lavalier Kit $279 (was $389)

Canon Pixma Pro-200S Professional 13″ Wireless Inkjet Photo Printer $479 (was $648)

Canon Selphy CP1500 with RP-108 ink and paper set $170 (was $200)

Canon Ivy 2 Mini Photo Printer $90 (was $120)

Full-frame has been the center of attention for the past few years, which can result in it overshadowing other formats. But, with the right support, different formats have their place, and we all lose out if those options are neglected.

Full-frame gets its name – and much of its level of manufacturer backing – from the fact that it allowed photographers to use their film-era lenses as originally designed. The economics of sensor manufacture pushed the likes of Canon, Nikon and Konica Minolta into the use of smaller sensors at the start of the digital era, but the large user-bases, including professional users with existing lens commitments, along with significant R&D investment having been spent on building up lens lineups, created powerful incentives to move to sensors that captured the “full frame” that those film-era lenses were designed to project.

That same push from users wanting to keep using their existing lenses, along with an audience now familiar with the image quality of digital full-frame, ensured that similar pressures came to bear as the industry moved across to mirrorless, such that the dimensions of “35mm” film still dominate the pro and enthusiast-focused products from Canon, Nikon and Sony.

And this concentration of development efforts means “full-frame” is the most extensively supported format on the market. Canon, Nikon and Sony all make APS-C cameras, but the bulk of their lens investment has been focused on full-frame, just reinforcing that format’s primacy in their lineups.

Richard Butler / Mitchell Clark

But that doesn’t mean it’s the best format or even some kind of carefully considered optimum. Like all formats, it’s an arbitrary choice; in this instance, it dimensions came about because a German engineer decided to use silent-era cinema film the wrong way round, more than a century ago.

Every sensor format represents a trade-off between size, price and image quality. Larger sensors (or film formats) have an inherent image quality advantage because they have more light-capturing surface, but the lenses needed to provide any given field-of-view have longer focal lengths, making them bigger, heavier and more expensive. You can hunt around for exceptions: a particularly large or small body, or one especially small prime lens, but for the system as a whole, the overall trade-off remains true.

Full-frame digital can offer spectacular image quality, but even with the move to mirrorless, its cameras and lenses are larger than their film-era counterparts were. If the 35mm film format was a Goldilocks balance of quality vs portability and cost, then digital full-frame isn’t, because it offers a completely different balance. Better image quality, but with both a size and financial cost (and these differences are worth considering before you decide to point out that 35mm film could be called ‘small format’).

If you’re after something closer to the balance of size, price and image quality that 35mm film offered, you might find it in APS-C instead. Its smaller sensor means it doesn’t match the depth-of-field that 35mm film offered, but in terms of IQ, camera and lens size, it’s much closer to being a match. Just compare the size of the Nikon FE, Fujifilm’s X-T5 and Nikon’s Zf, paired with appropriate lenses, to confirm this for yourself.

Richard Butler

Likewise, for travel and wildlife in particular, the smaller Four Thirds format lets you further downsize the whole setup, giving lenses with longer reach or compact prime-lens combinations that let you travel light. Yes, you pay an image quality cost for moving to a smaller format, but you might end up with a shot that you simply wouldn’t get if your kit becomes too unwieldy to carry with you. 

The same is true in the other direction: 44 x 33mm Medium Format offers around a two-thirds-of-a-stop advantage over full-frame, at the same exposure, if you want better image quality. But those same downsides of larger, more expensive lenses are inescapable.

All formats are arbitrary size/price/image quality trade-offs. They may be popular or well-supported, but none is inherently best, because each has an innate compromise at its heart. And what makes sense for you, isn’t necessarily ideal for everyone.

Those other options, and that ability to choose a format that suits your kind of shooting, will only exist if those formats continue to be supported by manufacturers and by photographers. We lose that choice if we decide that some formats are lesser, or just stepping stones to another, rather than treating each as an entity in its own right.

Last week, we had the opportunity to spend some time with DJI’s latest 360 camera, the Osmo 360 II. It features replaceable lenses, dual Type-1/1.1 (92mm²) sensors (which, when recording 360, are combined to roughly the area of a Type-1 (128mm²) sensor) and can record 360 video at up to 8K/60p, or flat video at up to 4K/120p*.

I thought it’d be a good opportunity to check in with the state of the 360 camera market, having been an early adopter of them in the mid-2010s, when it seemed like the future of content consumption may involve a cardboard headset with a phone in it.

Spoiler alert: it didn’t. In the video, I go through how people are using 360 cameras these days, if not to create 360 content, and take a look at some of the pros and cons of cameras that capture the entire world around them. You’ll also get to see a lot of footage shot on a 360 camera, as we filmed it almost entirely using the Osmo 360 II (giving me a new appreciation for how DJI’s cameras can automatically sync with the wireless microphones I typically use.)

If you want a higher-level overview of the camera, you can also check out our unboxing below.

*- You can also choose to sacrifice some resolution to go even slower with the camera’s “4K” (3840×1920) 240p mode.

Last month, we announced a special mini-challenge event that invited the community to submit a themed photo, with the theme rotating every 48 hours. This meant 15 distinct themes with 15 opportunities to submit a photo throughout September.

Below is a selection of the challenge participants in no particular order. Read on to see what wild and diverse photos, and the story behind them, came about from this event.

Something that moves

GulfCoastFL

GulfCoastFL: What are the odds I would catch this hummingbird just as it passes our Blue Angels bluebird house while being pursued by a lizard? I see these lizards every day trying to ambush the hummers on our feeders. Quick as the hummers are, I think they are safe.

Photograph of a framed photograph

jaberg

jaberg: This photo of my father, walking in a local park, hangs in the corner where his chair once sat. The rest of the “decor” is a work in progress. My partner and I are still figuring out where things should go – most of this is waiting for an assignment.

I still see dad daily at his assisted living, but I miss having him here, in his corner.

An everyday object with an interesting story

Myles Baker

GWKilgore: I’ve owned a fair few watches over the years, from my first Timex more than half a century ago to my latest smart watch bought a few months ago. It’s rare that I do not have one on my wrist.

I wear them for much the same reason that I use cameras, there is something tactile & real about both that you don’t get with the ubiquitous smartphone.

This particular watch is the oldest one that I currently own & was a gift from my wife on our first wedding anniversary, 32 years ago. Constant wear over the years shows on the case & strap, but it still keeps on keeping on.

Oddest thing around your neighborhood

Ansel Spear

Ansel Spear: The inappropriately scaled and situated Ben Ainslie building was built in 2014 in Old Portsmouth, the historic quarter. It was designed to give Ainslie’s racing team a local foothold during the 2015 / 2016 America’s Cup Series, held in the Solent, off Portsmouth, using AC45F foiling catamarans.

After getting through sponsors Land Rover and INEOS at an injudicious rate of knots, Ainslie’s lot up-sticks and leaves, leaving us with a colossal blot on the landscape. To call it an eyesore would be an understatement.

Most photogenic scene in your neighborhood

Joachim Wulfers

Joachim Wulfers: One of the exhibits at a hot road show.

Something old that you still use

jaberg

jaberg: My Grandfather’s coffee mug. My father had an identical cup. It’s an object that has always been in my life – I literally can’t remember a time when it wasn’t present, and it might predate my birth. My nephew has that mug now. I don’t drink from Grandpa’s mug anymore. It sits on my dresser, organizing my “carry” pens, pencils, etc., and serves as a location for (non-e) tickets to upcoming events. A twice-daily reminder of my grandfather, my father, and from where I come.

Something outside that makes you happy

cbf_si

cbf_si: Cultural heritage cannot be replaced, but it must be preserved. The photograph shows shepherds’ attire on the nearby mountain of Velika Planina, where cows are still grazed and cheese is made by hand. Photo taken at the 53rd National Costume and Clothing Heritage Days held in Kamnik, Slovenia.

Something you couldn’t replace

beorn76

beorn76: A Moka Bialetti that has seen so many coffees over the years, never a flinch, always ready to please its many admirers eagerly and patiently waiting.

Something growing or changing

Spid

Spid: Chilies ripening in the glasshouse, awaiting their turn to be turned into something hot and tasty.

What’s on your dinner plate?

david kohn

david kohn: When in Roma, the pigeon doesn’t get your pizza.

There are more 48-hour themes to check out in the event’s album, along with many interesting stories about the photos from our community. We would love for you to join in on the discussion!

This month, Nikon released the Z5IIC, which is essentially a version of its Z5II mirrorless camera, but with the viewfinder removed and a lower price point. And while that top-line summary is closer to the whole story than usual, there are a few nuances that are worth looking at if you’re trying to decide between the two models.

No EVF

Richard Butler / Mitchell Clark

The most obvious difference between the two cameras is that the Z5II has a (particularly nice) electronic viewfinder that you can use in sunny conditions, or when you’d prefer not to look at a rear screen, and the Z5IIC does not. How much that will bother you comes down to personal preference; are you willing to give up an EVF to save some money, and do you value you the camera being a bit smaller and easier to get into and out of a camera bag?

While both the Z5IIC and the Z5II have 3.2″ fully-articulating displays, the one on the more expensive, full-size model is a bit higher-resolution at 2.1 million dots, versus the Z5IIC’s 1.04M. That’s not as big a difference as those numbers may seem – they equate to 1024 x 682px and 720 x 480px, respectively – but while we found the screen to be quite usable, it is undoubtedly not quite as nice. Neither comes all that close to a display you’d find on a smartphone, though.

Storage

Richard Butler / Mitchell Clark

This is another relatively simple arena: the Z5II has two UHS-II card slots, while the Z5IIC has one. This could be a slight annoyance when shooting video, where it can be nice to have your recording automatically roll over to a second card once you’ve filled one up, and can bring some peace of mind if you’re a photographer worried about the possibility of your card dying before you can offload it (something that can happen, but very rarely). That assurance is also nice if you’re capturing a once-in-a-lifetime event or trip.

Most shooters, however, will be perfectly well-served by a single card-slot camera. And in cases where you absolutely must have backups, Nikon’s app lets you automatically transfer 8MP JPEGs from your camera to your phone as you take them. (Unfortunately, there’s no option for full-size JPEGs or Raws, unless you have the camera directly connected to Wi-Fi and set to automatically upload to Nikon’s Imaging Cloud service).

Controls and handling

Richard Butler / Mitchell Clark

The Z5IIC and Z5II have, once again, very similar controls, with essentially the exact same mix of programmable buttons on the top, rear and front plates. (The one difference: by default, the button to the right of the mode switch on the Z5II is set to AF On, while on the Z5IIC it’s focus and exposure lock, though either can be customized to behave like the other). Likewise, both cameras have twin top-plate control dials.

The one control omitted on the Z5IIC is a joystick, leaving you to control your AF point using the touchscreen or the multi-directional controller. When we were using it, we frequently found ourselves reaching for the nonexistent joystick, since it can be more convenient than using the touchscreen, especially if you’re shooting at odd angles. But at least we never had to worry about how to control the focus point when we had the camera’s EVF up to our eye…

There is one other difference between the two: the Z5II has three user-defined settings on its mode dial, while the Z5IIC only has two, replacing the third with a “Scene” setting.

Scene modes

Richard Butler / Mitchell Clark

Choosing the Scene setting lets you select what you’re trying to take a picture of and have the camera automatically optimize some of its settings for it. For instance, if you set it to sports, the camera will do its best to choose a fast shutter speed. If you instead tell it you’re trying to capture a dusk or dawn scene, it’ll set the white balance to preserve the colors as your eye sees them.

This isn’t a feature Nikon has included on its full-frame cameras before, so it’s absent on the Z5II. This may make the Z5IIC seem more attractive if you’re looking for your first camera and aren’t accustomed to having full control over the wide variety of settings mirrorless cameras offer. (However, we believe you’ll be better served by learning to make those decisions yourself, rather than using a somewhat clunky mode that can restrict your creative freedom).

Size and weight

Richard Butler / Mitchell Clark

Despite the Z5IIC’s lack of an EVF, it isn’t substantially lighter than the Z5II. It comes in at 620g (22oz), versus 700g (25oz), a mere 11% reduction.

Likewise, it’s only marginally shorter at 81mm (3.2″) tall, rather than 101mm (4.0″). We did find the lack of an EVF hump meant it was easier to slip in and out of a camera bag, but it being the same thickness and width as the Z5II means you’ll probably need to have a dedicated bag to carry it around in. Once you have a lens mounted, it’s a bit big for all but the roomiest of purses, and would struggle to fit in even the most generous of jacket pockets.

Autofocus

Richard Butler / Mitchell Clark

Both cameras have very similar autofocus systems, with all the features we’d want from a modern mirrorless option, including the ability to recognize and track various subjects. And while we haven’t done our in-depth testing on the Z5IIC yet, the experience we’ve had with it gives us no reason to suspect that it won’t perform the same as the Z5II.

The one other autofocus difference: the Z5II has an AF assist lamp, which the camera can use to add a little extra illumination when it’s trying to focus in an extremely dark scene. The Z5IIC trades this for a tally light to indicate when the camera is recording video.

Pricing, now and in the future

Richard Butler / Mitchell Clark

Many people have been quick to point out that, at the moment of the Z5IIC’s launch, you can buy a standard Z5II for around the same money, or even less. And if that’s the still the case as you’re reading this, our advice is straightforward: you should buy the Z5II.

However, it’s worth keeping in mind that MSRP is always an opening bid. This is likely the most expensive the Z5IIC will ever be (at a price that still makes it the joint second least expensive full frame camera ever), and, based on past pricing trends, we expect it will be sold for remarkably cheap after a few months on the market. That is, after all, what it seems to be designed to do. If and when you can buy it for as much cheaper than the Z5II as the delta between the cameras’ MSRPs suggests, it’ll be a much easier recommendation if you’re trying to save some money while starting a new hobby.

Summary

The Z5IIC and Z5II are much more alike than they are different. Beyond what we’ve covered in this article, they’re essentially the same, spec-for-spec, with the same stabilized sensor, mechanical shutter, burst rates, ports, video modes and more. It’s remarkable how inexpensive Nikon has managed to make the Z5IIC without making it feel cheap, both in terms of features and build.

Deciding between the two will largely depend on your budget and how much you value an EVF and the other features the Z5II offers.

Nikon Z5II

Nikon Z5IIC

The Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards has announced the finalists of its 2026 competition. This year’s edition drew more than 10,000 entries, which the competition says was the highest number in its history. Photographers hailed from 112 countries.

This year’s finalist selection includes 40 individual finalists, 3 under-16 finalists, 4 Portfolio Category finalists and 9 video finalists. The individual competition also includes 4 categories of its own: mammals; birds; reptiles, amphibians and insects; and aquatic species. The Overall, Category and Highly Commended Winners will be announced on December 8 at an awards ceremony in London.

The competition was founded in 2015 in part to promote conservation, and to that end, every year it lends support to a sustainable conservation organization. This year, it is working with the Born Free Foundation, an international charity that rescues and protects wild animals from exploitation while also conserving threatened species and their natural habitats.

You can see a selection of the finalist images below, and see the full gallery at the competition website.

Push Over – Barbara Seiberl-Stark, Austria

© Barbara Seiberl-Stark / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

Photographer’s description: A lion pride was playing in the riverbed of Ruckomechi in Zimbabwe – The picture was taken during my very first Safari this year in june in Zimbabwe. We were out for a game drive early in the morning and were lucky to spot a pride of young lions in the dried-up riverbed just in front of the Kavinga-Camp. The rising sun bathed the landscape in glorious light and the lions had obviously a lot of fun. As there were 7 of them, it was hard to decide in wich direction or on what scene to point the camera. From all photos, I took this morning ‘Push over!’ was the funniest.

Location: Zimbabwe

Technical details: Sony a1 II | Sony FE 300mm F2.8 GM OSS | F2.8 | 1/1600 sec | ISO 1000

Lessons – Heather Cudworth, USA

© Heather Cudworth / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

Photographer description: Amboseli was in the midst of a 4 year drought. The land was extremely parched. Elephants are known for giving themselves dust baths. This behavior provides protection from the sun and soothes their skin. While observing elephants tossing dust and mud over their bodies is somewhat common, I don’t think the huge plume of dust delivered directly to this youngsters face would have been possible if not for the extreme dry conditions. While this photo is objectively funny, there is a lesson to be learned by us humans, too. Our actions create ripple effects which spread far and wide. Much like this cloud of dust this baby elephant is about to endure! Mum took a break from walking to enjoy a soothing dust bath. She began to pick up piles of dirt, dust, and grass and toss them effortlessly over her head. She paused for a moment then gathered a particularly large amount of debris. She pulled her trunk back as if she was winding up for a strike-out pitch, then proceeded to shower her youngster with presumably the most high-pressure dust bath he’d ever experienced, directly to the face! Whether she was teaching him a lesson in cleaning his skin, keeping his mouth shut, or both, I don’t know. However, I am certain she got her point across. Listen to your mother, little one.

Location: Amboseli National Park, Kenya

Technical Details: Canon EOS R5 | Canon RF 100-400mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM | 300mm | F5.6 | 1/200 sec | ISO 100

If I can’t see you – Cliff Fawcett, UK

© Cliff Fawcett / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

Photographer’s description: I watched this bull in South Africa stroll toward a group with absolute confidence, until he got within twenty yards. Suddenly, the trunk went up, the eye went into hiding, and he executed a very slow, very awkward U-turn. We’ve all been there; he just happens to weigh six thousand kilos. I was observing an elephant herd in Addo National Park, when one juvenile caught my eye, repeatedly swinging his trunk with reckless abandon. It meant I completely ignored the other thirty magnificent, full-grown elephants at the same waterhole to stay glued to one goofy youngster messing about. I kept the frame tight, resisted the urge to look away, and waited for the motion to peak. I certainly didn’t plan for him to blindfold himself, but the moment he slapped his trunk across his eye, it was peak toddler logic: if I can’t see you, you can’t see me. The second I saw it on the screen—I knew it was going straight to the Comedy Wildlife Awards.

I like to say I have a mind trained in psychology and a life shaped by adventure. What is means is that my work is rooted in an understanding of what grabs human attention and creates lasting meaning and all as an excuse to see as much of this crazy beautiful planet as possible. I’m not obsessed with gear and I don’t put too much focus on rigid composition rules. It’s about learning to see the quiet signals in images that actually move people.

Location: Addo National Park, South Africa

Technical Details: Nikon Z7 II | Tamron 100-400mm F4.5-6.3 Di VC USD | 400mm | F6.3 | 1/1000 sec | ISO 800

Sexy mantis – Diego Perez, Peru

© Diego Perez / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

Photographer description: A tiny green mantis peeks over a leaf during a night walk in an area of Cusco, Peru, that is still waiting to be protected. I decided to enter this photograph because almost everyone I showed it to had the same reaction: they laughed immediately, even if they could not quite explain why. At first, the mantis seems to be sunbathing, or perhaps striking a rather glamorous pose. But there is also a small visual trick: half of the insect is hidden behind the leaf. Its hind legs disappear from view and, suddenly, its enormous forelegs begin to look almost like a pair of human legs.

I have photographed mantises several times before and have always found them surprisingly difficult subjects. Their long bodies, tiny heads and oversized forelegs are almost the opposite of the proportions that normally make an easy portrait. At first, I tried photographing this one with its entire body in the frame, but the images felt too familiar. So I began lowering my angle and using the leaf to hide different parts of the insect. That was when the image suddenly came together.

It was actually the first insect I photographed on the very first night of the trip, during a night walk in Camanti, Cusco. I was there documenting the forests and wildlife of the proposed Bosques del Araza Regional Conservation Area, one of Peru’s rainiest landscapes and an area increasingly threatened by illegal gold mining. The proposed protected area seeks to safeguard the headwaters of several important rivers and the biodiversity they support.

Location: Camanti, Cusco, Peru

Technical Details: Canon EOS R5 C | Venus Laowa 100mm F2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO | F14 | 1/200 sec | ISO 100

The different one – Dirk Koster, Netherlands

© Dirk Koster / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

Photographer description: I took this photo in 2025 in the Masai Mara, Kenya, in the Oltepesi area. Three young giraffes were standing side by side on the open, dry savanna and looked back at me with great curiosity. Then I noticed that right behind the middle one stood a single umbrella acacia, perfectly lined up with its head and neck. Suddenly that giraffe seemed to be ‘wearing’ the tree, like a green hairdo or a rather fancy hat. The other two looked completely normal, which made the middle one ‘the different one’. Nothing was staged or arranged; it was simply a matter of being in the right spot at the right moment, and seeing it. For me that is what wildlife photography is about: looking closely, being patient, and letting the animals tell the story. Sometimes they have a great sense of humour. Dirk Koster is a semi-professional nature and wildlife photographer from the Netherlands. After many years as a business consultant, he now has more time for photography. What he looks for in nature is not so different from his former work: not just what is there, but how things relate to each other. He is drawn to stories and interaction between animals. His photos are found, not staged. His work is regularly awarded on https://dk-foto.nl, and in mid-November 2026 the book ‘100 mooiste bomen van Amsterdam’ (The 100 most beautiful trees of Amsterdam, Noordboek) will be published with his photographs. Earlier he photographed in Guatemala as a member of Photographers Without Borders.

Location: Masai Mara

Technical Details: Sony a1 | Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM | 63mm | F4 | 1/1600 sec | ISO 100

Angry Bird – Jan Wittmer, Germany

© Jan Wittmer / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

Photographer description: During my photo trip to the island of Helgoland, I encountered a goldcrest for the very first time – and it was love at first sight. Europe’s smallest bird wandered around on the ground right in front of me, presumably searching for food. To get a perspective at eye level, I placed my camera on the ground. My heart was pounding, and my finger was glued to the shutter as the tiny bird darted back and forth every second. Suddenly, it came to a complete stop and looked straight into the camera. That was the exact moment this photo was taken.

Location: Helgoland, Germany

Technical Details: Sony a1 | Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS | 400mm | F5.6 | 1/4000 sec | ISO 1600

Are You Kidding Me? – Kevin Lohman, USA

© Kevin Lohman / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

Photographer description: A young Great Horned Owl had barely settled onto its perch before a protective squirrel launched a surprise aerial tackle, knocking it into the grass below. The most unbelievable part? The squirrel repeated the stunt two more times. The owl and squirrel were shaken up, but unharmed. I have been observing and photographing Great Horned Owls at this location for around nine years, and I had never seen anything like this before. An adult pair was raising two chicks, and once the young owls began branching, I started visiting them regularly in the mornings and evenings to observe their behavior. On this particular morning, I spotted one of the seven-week-old owlets perched in a pine tree along the path.

As soon as I saw the young owl, I stopped and watched it for a few minutes. It was fairly close to the ground, and I did not want to get too close. While I was standing there, the owlet hopped onto another nearby branch. I liked the way the pine branches framed it against the sky, so I raised my camera and began photographing as the young owl looked up and over its shoulder.

Just as I pressed the shutter for a burst of images, a squirrel suddenly launched from a nearby branch and landed directly on the owlet’s head, knocking both animals out of the tree. It happened so quickly that the squirrel essentially photobombed my photograph! I moved to another position and found the owlet sitting in the grass. It appeared to be fine and gradually worked its way from the ground back into the tree. Then, incredibly, a squirrel knocked it out of the tree again. The owlet climbed back up once more, this time moving closer to its mother, who was perched nearby. Surely that had to be the end of it. But no. A squirrel knocked the young owl out of the tree for a third time! After photographing these owls for so many years, I could hardly believe what I was watching. The same young owl had been knocked out of the tree three times in about an hour and a half.

After the third encounter, the adult female began hooting, and the owlet eventually made its way back up to her perch. She began preening the young owl, and the two finally settled down together. I stayed for a while longer, but everything became quiet. When I returned that evening, the mother and owlet were still perched together, with no squirrel in sight.
That morning, as was often the case during my morning visits, I was there by myself. I was handholding a Nikon Z9 with a NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S. Working with a long lens allows me to remain at a distance, stay quiet, and reposition easily without disturbing the owls. Handholding also lets me respond quickly when unexpected behavior unfolds. In this case, I was shooting a burst at 20 frames per second at exactly the moment the squirrel appeared. I certainly wasn’t expecting a squirrel to come flying into the frame and land on the owl’s head!

Location: Natural Bridges State Beach, Santa Cruz, CA, USA

Technical Details: Nikon Z9 | Nikon Z 400mm F2.8 TC VR S | TC engaged | F4 | 1/1000 sec | ISO 1000

Elvis – Paolo Torre, Italy

© Paolo Torre / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

Photographer description: This caiman emerged from the water in an area with a lot of floating vegetation, and part of it remained on its head. It resembles a 1950s rock and roll hairstyle.

Location: Pantanal, Brazil

Technical Details: Nikon D300S | 300mm | F5.6 | 1/1000 sec | ISO 200

Oops – I think I just parped – Carolyn Moore, UK

© Carolyn Moore / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

Photographer’s description: In the spring of this year, I went with a friend to a spot that we knew had a healthy population of hares. Our plan was to see how close we could get to the hares without disturbing them using a little of what we knew about fieldcraft – it is important to stay below the horizon when tracking hare and to disguise solid shapes – such as human shapes! Sure enough, there were a few hares in the field and the grass was just long enough to give a bit of protection to the hares and set a nice backdrop for the photographs. I set myself up with a long lens and tripod on the edge of the field using camouflage netting and wearing camouflage clothes. I stood next to the hedge using the netting to break the solid shapes that would be caused by me and my tripod. The next stage was to send my friend off to walk the perimeter of the field on the other side of the hedge with the intention of not disturbing the hares but encouraging them into, rather than away from, the field.

I didn’t need to wait for long, several hare came close to where I was standing without seeing me, enabling me to snap away without worrying them at all. I think the image shows just how relaxed this little fella was. It was a joy to watch them going about their activities and seemingly totally relaxed. This is what wildlife photography is all about for me!

Location: Wiltshire, UK

Technical Details: Canon EOS R5 II | Canon EF 500mm F4 L IS II USM + Canon EF 1.4x III | F5.6 | 1/2000 sec | ISO 2000

Ballet Dancer – Robert Nairn, UK

© Robert Nairn / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

Photographer description: I am 69 and an amateur photographer and member of Ayr Photographic Society. I am a general photographer but enjoy wildlife photography and was inspired by David Bailey and bought an Olympus OM1 in 1978. However, having four children I did not return to more serious photography until after I retired. This image was taken in Dumfriesshire, Scotland with a Nikon z8 and 100-400 mm lens.

Location: Dumfries, Scotland

Technical Details: Nikon Z8 | Nikon AF-S 300mm F2.8G IF-ED VR II | F3.5 | 1/3200 sec | ISO 500

#ForTheGram – Rosie Barrett, UK

© Rosie Barrett / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

Photographer description: I went on a photography mission in Finland and my absolute dream species was the brown bear. After a few days of observing bears in the woods, I was lucky enough to encounter a family with 3 playful yearling’s. They were all climbing up and down the trees and one stopped for just a moment in this perfect pose. Pretty sure he knew it was for Instagram..un-bear-lieavable!

Location: Finland

Technical Details: None provided

Spicy Orangutan – Tanner Mansell, USA

© Tanner Mansell / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

Photographer description: A wild orangutan in the rainforests of Borneo appears to deliver a perfectly timed gesture toward the camera. As he finishes a meal with one finger extended, it creates the unmistakable impression that he is flipping off the lens. Though entirely coincidental, the moment captures an almost unsettling reflection of ourselves in one of our closest relatives. Taken in the disappearing jungles of Borneo, the photograph highlights both the intelligence and personality of these critically endangered great apes. Orangutans have so much personality, and there’s something wonderfully familiar about their expressions and gestures. Even though he was completely wild and just enjoying his food, I couldn’t help wondering, “Does he know what he’s doing?” That’s what makes the moment so funny to me.

I also hope the photograph encourages people to appreciate orangutans and care about protecting them. Beyond the humour, these remarkable animals face the loss of their forest habitat, and their future depends on conservation.

Location: Borneo Jungle

Technical Details: Sony a1 | Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II | 200mm | F4 | 1/640 | ISO 640

Out of water – Thong Duy Vu, Vietnam

© Thong Duy Vu / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

Photographer description: On a gentle sunlit afternoon, a little sunbird excitedly set off for a five-star spa deep in the forest. From afar, he spotted a “natural bathtub” – a bright red banana blossom, filled with cool water and plenty of sweet nectar. He landed on the blossom and savored the sweet nectar. After his treat, he hopped into the “tub” and began enjoying the refreshing, cool water. He tilted his head this way, stretched his wings that way, and wagged his tail, sending droplets splashing all over his body. The feeling was incredibly relaxing and refreshing. With his tiny beak, he carefully preened each feather until all the dust was gone. Then, he hopped back onto the edge of the tub, enjoyed some more nectar, and didn’t forget to sing a few cheerful notes as if to say, “Today I must be the freshest, cleanest, and most dazzling bird in the forest!” He jumped back into the tub, repeating his routine—tilting his head, spreading his wings, wagging his tail—but alas, why wasn’t there a single drop of water left? He looked up at the sky and exclaimed, “Oh my goodness, where did all the water go? What kind of half-finished bath is this?” He thought, this spa definitely deserves a one-star rating. I should’ve just bathed in the rain earlier. What a buzzkill! In the end, he had no choice but to dust off his wings and fly away, muttering to himself, “Next time I go to a spa, I need to check the calendar.” And just like that, the fancy five-star spa trip ended with the water running out.

Location: Vietnam

Technical Details: Nikon D4S | Nikon AF-S 200-400mm F4G IF-ED VR II | 400mm | F4 | 1/1000 sec | ISO 1000

Little Godzilla – Udo Harms, Germany

© Udo Harms / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

Photographer description: This squirrel had taken a bit too much in its mouth – but with a few firm bites, the greenery was made to fit. Taken with the Nikon Z6 II and AF-S Nikkor 500mm PF, 1/1000 sec., f8.0, Iso 4500

Location: Hannover, Germany

Technical Details: None provided

Playing Dress-Up – Phiané Oosthuizen, South Africa (U16 category)

© Phiane Ooshuizen / Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

Photographer description: I captured this photograph of a Southern Double-Collared Sunbird (Cinnyris chalybeus) at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in Cape Town, South Africa. These tiny nectar-feeding birds are closely connected to the fynbos of the Cape and play an important role as pollinators. Southern Double-Collared Sunbirds are one of the nectar-specialist sunbird species found in the Cape Floristic Region, and Kirstenbosch is home to an incredible diversity of birdlife, with more than 125 bird species recorded in the Garden. What made this particular moment so special was that the bird was feeding from a flower. He pushed his beak deep into the flower to reach the nectar, and when he pulled away, the petal came with him. For a moment, it looked as though he had suddenly put on an enormous beak and was playing dress-up! It was such a funny and unexpected little moment that I was so grateful to have captured it.Photographing birds like this requires a lot of patience. They are incredibly quick and constantly moving, so you can spend a long time waiting for the right moment. I love that aspect of wildlife photography – you cannot force the photograph to happen. You have to slow down, sit quietly and observe. Eventually, if you are patient enough, these tiny birds begin appearing all around you, almost like little fairies moving between the flowers. Kirstenbosch is one of my favourite places to photograph because of the incredible combination of wildlife, flowers and the Cape landscape. The Garden lies against the eastern slopes of Table Mountain and contains beautiful natural areas of fynbos and forest. The Cape Floral Region is exceptionally rich in plant diversity, and the fynbos provides an especially important habitat and food source for sunbirds and other pollinators.

For me, wildlife photography is about more than simply getting a technically good photograph. It is about noticing the small, unexpected moments in nature and capturing something that someone else might otherwise miss and never get to see, and now the joy of that moment can be shared. This photograph is special to me because it captures both the beauty and the playful, unpredictable character of one of the Cape’s smallest birds

Location: Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Western Cape, SA

Technical Details: Canon EOS R5 | Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM | 363mm | F7.1 | 1/1250 sec | ISO 5000