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Canon’s free Dual Pixel 3D software turns supported EOS R photos into 3D models

The Windows-only Dual Pixel 3D Converter uses depth data in compatible Canon EOS R images to create 3D models, stereoscopic photos and MP4 clips, no dedicated 3D camera required.

Bagel with mashed avocado, sliced cherry tomatoes, extra avocado slices, a poached egg, herbs, and chili flakes on a white plate with a yellow napkin on a wooden table.Canon

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

How it works

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

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

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

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

Compatible cameras

Compatible camerasRequired compatible lenses
EOS R5 Mark IIRF24-70mm F2.8 L IS USM
EOS R5RF24-50mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM
EOS R6 Mark IIIRF24-105mm F4 L IS USM
EOS R6 Mark IIRF24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM
EOS R7RF35mm F1.8 Macro IS STM
EOS R8 Mark IIRF50mm F1.8 STM
EOS R8RF70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM
EOS R10RF70-200mm F4 L IS USM
RF85mm F2 Macro IS STM
RF100mm F2.8 L Macro IS USM
RF-S18-45mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM
RF-S18-150mm F3.5-6.3 IS STM

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

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

About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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Adobe is adding even more AI to its beginner-friendly versions of Photoshop and Premiere

The 2027 update to Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements targets casual editors who want AI help without a steep learning curve.

Person wearing a colorful poncho and beanie stands with arms outstretched on a grassy hill; mountains, blue sky, and clouds in the background. Editing crop marks are visible.

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

Photoshop Elements 2027

Desert landscape split diagonally for before-and-after comparison; left side appears muted and less detailed, right side is brighter and sharper with an AI editing panel overlay.
Photoshop Elements is gaining Adobe’s AI Assistant, which can handle some edits for you based on text prompts.
Adobe

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

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

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

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

Premiere Elements 2027

Boat floating on water near a glacier with “ALASKA” carved into the ice; dense evergreen trees along the shoreline.
Premiere Elements 2027 can turn plain text into graphics.
Adobe

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

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

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

Elements Organizer

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

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

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

Availability

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

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

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

About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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

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Capture One’s latest update includes automatic culling and more Canon support

Capture One’s newest release brings AI-powered automated culling when shooting tethered and expands second-generation wireless tethering to two additional Canon cameras.

Laptop on a stand displaying photo editing software with an image of a person in dark clothing; thumbnail previews and editing tools are visible on the screen, with a blurred patterned background behind the laptop.Capture One

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

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

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

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

Three photos showing a red and white dress, each with AI interface labels: No issues detected, Likely Closed Eyes, Black frames, and the Review During Tethering option highlighted.Capture One

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

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

About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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

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Sony’s new 400mm and 600mm GM lenses weigh just under a kilo for wildlife and sports

The two new G Master primes have a lot in common, including sub-2.2lb weight.

Large white telephoto lens attached to a black camera body mounted on a tripod outdoors, set against a blurred green and brown background.Dale Baskin

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

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

LensWeight (g)Weight (lbs)
400mm lenses
Sony FE 400mm F4.5 GM OSS994 g2.2 lbs
Nikkor Z 400mm F4.5 VR S1160 g2.6 lbs
Sony FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS2895 g6.4 lbs
500/600mm lenses
Sony FE 600mm F6.3 GM OSS995g2.2 lbs
Nikkor Z 600mm F6.3 VR S1390 g3.1 lbs
Sony FE 600mm F4 GM OSS3040 g6.7 lbs
Sigma Sports 500mm F5.6 DG DN OS1365 g3 lbs

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

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

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

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

Two white and black lenses stand upright on a white background.Sony

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

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

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

Sample galleries

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

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

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About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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

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Fujifilm’s Pal 2 is a complete redesign and a more direct challenge to the Charmera

The Pal 2 drops the original’s rounded shape for a rectangular, retro body and adds new hardware specs. Fujifilm is also launching the Instax Link Wide 2 printer alongside it.

Silver Instax camera held in a hand above a DJ mixer, with colorful lights and displays in the background.Fujifilm

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

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

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

Camera held in a hand with decorated nails, screen showing camera settings and a small icon; background blurred with purple lights.Fujifilm

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

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

Top view of a silver Instax camera with a display featuring the Instax logo, round dials on each side, and BACK and PLAY buttons in black and orange.Fujifilm

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

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

Two compact Instax photo printers, one white and one beige, positioned side by side on a wooden table; background includes plants, a blue binder, and a plaid pillow in a cozy living room setting.Fujifilm

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

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

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

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

About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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

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There are a surprising number of lost lens caps in Yellowstone’s waters

Lens caps were the most commonly recovered non-trash item from Yellowstone’s hydrothermal features, offering a reminder to keep loose camera gear secure.

Wooden table neatly organized with clusters of camera lens caps, various hair accessories including claw clips and scrunchies, sunglasses, credit cards, and pacifiers; a map appears along the right edge of the table.

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

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

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

Assorted small toys, trinkets, badges, and souvenirs are arranged on a wooden table, including miniature cars, shovels, figurines, keychains, and a blue snowshoe; part of a map appears at the right edge.
There were also quite a few instant photos found in the thermal areas.
Margery Price / National Park Service

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

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

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

About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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

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This week in photo gear: The launches you may have missed

A rangefinder-style Micro Four Thirds body, Apple’s first moving-aperture phone camera and many new lenses all landed this week. Get caught up on everything we saw released.

Silver Olympus OM System digital camera with extended zoom lens held in a hand, viewed from above on a plain gray background.Richard Butler

This year started out quite quiet for new cameras and almost as quiet for photography-related gear in general. We saw some lenses and a few cameras trickled out in the first half of the year, each of which told us something interesting about the market, but there have been fewer releases than in past years. Thankfully, this week marked a bit of a shift, and we suddenly had some actually new products to share. In case you missed some of it, here’s all we saw over the last seven days. 

OM System PEN

Front view of OM System PENRichard Butler

Perhaps the standout launch this week was the OM System PEN, a compact, Micro Four Thirds camera built around a 20MP sensor that marks the first time in a decade that a Pen camera has been sold in North America. The camera is aimed at travel and everyday use, offering a compact build with retro styling at a very reasonable price.

OM System M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 III

A person holding the OM System PEN with a 14-42mm lens attached and extended.OM System

Released alongside the PEN was an updated model of OM System’s standard zoom, the M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 III (28-84mm equiv.). The new version is a small upgrade, but it finally offers weather sealing and lets you focus more closely. It is slightly larger than its predecessor, but it’s still quite small for what it is, fitting nicely on cameras like the new PEN. 

Laowa 180mm F4.5 1.5x Ultra Macro APO for X and F-mount

A Nikon F-mount manual-focus version launches alongside it, but the Fujifilm variant is the headline story as it ends a long wait for AF Laowa glass on the X-system.Laowa

While not a new lens, Laowa announced this week that the previously released 180mm F4.5 1.5x Ultra Macro APO is now available for Fujifilm X-mount and Nikon F-mount. It is the first autofocus Laowa lens available for X-mount, and offers a 270mm equiv. field of view on Fujifilm’s APS-C cameras. The price is also a pleasant feature: it costs just $499. 

Sony FE 8-14mm F3.5 Fisheye G

The Sony FE 8-14mm F3.5 G Fisheye lens with focus and aperture markings, held in a hand against a gray shirt background.
The Sony FE 8-14mm F3.5 G Fisheye lens.
Dale Baskin

Sony released a lens this week that is a first in its lens lineup. The FE 8-14mm F3.5 Fisheye G is the company’s first standalone fisheye lens for E-mount, and it says it’s the most compact lens of this type. At 8mm, the lens provides a circular fisheye image, which will be very familiar to anyone who watched 90’s skateboarding or music videos, while zooming to 14mm results in an image that fills the frame. 

Sigma 20-60mm F2.8-4 DG Contemporary

A person holds a Sony camera up to their eye with the Sigma 20-60mm F2.8-4 attached.Sigma / Jack Redgate

Sigma announced two lenses this week, one of which was the 20-60mm F2.8-4 DG Contemporary, a kit lens upgrade for E and L-mounts that is remarkably compact. It weighs 385g (13.6oz), and is 88mm (3.5″) long at its shortest (it extends as you zoom). It is limited in on-lens controls, but Sigma says it’s dust and splash-resistant, and at $849, it’s relatively affordable, too. 

Sigma 85mm F1.2 DG Art

A pair of hands holding the Sigma 85mm F1.2 Art attached to a Sony body.Sigma

For those looking for a more portrait-focused lens, the new Sigma 85mm F1.2 DG Art may be of interest. Like the above lens, it is available for E and L-mounts and is the company’s third F1.2 prime lens, joining 35mm and 50mm options. A lens of this type will have some bulk, but Sigma says it is the “smallest and lightest in its class,” and it weighs just 905g (31.9oz). It’s also significantly more affordable than the Canon and Nikon 85mm F1.2 lenses, coming in at $1599. You can see sample images from the lens here. 

Nine Nikon cinema lenses

A Nikon-branded 50mm T1.9 cinema lens with gold accents.Nikon

Not to be left out of the slew of announcements this week, Nikon announced it will be releasing a series of nine T1.9 cinema lenses. Details are still sparse on most of them, including availability, pricing and focal lengths, but it did say one of the nine lenses will be a 50mm. We’ll have to wait for more details, but it does appear Nikon is busy at least.

Fujifilm XF 400mm F4.5 R LM OIS WR

Professional digital camera with a large telephoto lens on a wooden surface; sunlight casts shadows across the scene.Abby Ferguson

Fujifilm released the XF 400mm F4.5 R LM OIS WR at the end of last week, but for the sake of thoroughness, we’re including it here. The $3200 super-telephoto prime lens rounds out its trio of such lenses, joining the XF 500mm F5.6 R LM OIS WR and XF 200mm F2 R LM OIS WR. It provides a 609mm equivalent focal length on X-mount cameras, and is relatively compact and lightweight for what it is. 

Apple iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and iPhone Duo

Image showing the four colors of the iPhone 18 Pro: black, silver, light blue, and burgundy.Apple

Shifting gears away from lenses, this week marked the release of Apple’s latest iPhone lineup, which includes the iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max and Duo. The most notable update from a camera perspective is the variable aperture found on the main camera of the 18 Pro and Pro Max, which ranges from F1.48 to F4. It also finally unlocks manual control over some settings within the native camera app.  

The Duo is Apple’s long-awaited entry into the folding phone market, and while it doesn’t feature very advanced cameras, it does offer some camera tricks. 

Insta360 Luna Pro

Black handheld camera gimbal in a hand outdoors, with green plants and purple flowers in the background.Mykim Dang

Lastly, Insta360 announced the global release of its Luna Pro, a single-lens gimbal camera aimed at creators who want a portable, stabilized camera for social-ready video. It keeps the specs of the main camera found on the Luna Ultra, and comes in at $600, $170 less than its dual-lens sibling. You can see our hands-on footage here. 

About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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

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This 24-inch camera was built to spy from 80,000 feet

The San Diego Air & Space Museum unpacked an unused reconnaissance camera associated with the Lockheed A-12, showing off the camera that produced six-foot-long negatives.

Large, green, circular optical device with a glass lens and multiple bolts held in a hand; shown indoors near machinery and office chairs.All Day Aviation

Photographers usually discuss focal length in millimeters. But the San Diego Air & Space Museum’s newly unpacked reconnaissance camera is identified in inches: 24 of them, or roughly 610mm. According to the museum, an even longer 48-inch version followed. 

The camera was part of a cache of unused 1960s-era equipment supplied with the museum’s Lockheed A-12, the CIA’s Mach 3 reconnaissance aircraft and the predecessor to the SR-71 Blackbird. The video is nearly 20 minutes long and begins with substantial background on the A-12 (it is an aviation channel, after all) so photographers may want to jump to the 11:47 mark, where the museum gets into the cameras and how they were used. 

In the video, host Gordon Permann walks through some of the challenges of making a sharp photograph from about 80,000 feet while traveling at roughly 2500 mph. The ground would move hundreds of feet beneath the aircraft during an exposure, resulting in a blurred image. Making matters worse, neither the aircraft nor the terrain would necessarily be level. The solution was motion compensation: the camera itself would “skew,” or make a small movement as its aperture opened, counteracting image smear.

Another fascinating feature is simply how much film these systems used. Permann first shows the standard film canister used in reconnaissance aircraft from the 1950s through the 1990s, which he says held roughly 1200 feet of film. But the A-12 and SR-71 Blackbird needed still more film, so a larger canister was made. The museum has one of those, too, which Permann lifts in the video. He explains that the larger camera used a five-inch-wide film strip, with around 4.5 inches of usable image area. Each individual frame measured about six feet long.

Permann says the system could image more than 100,000 square miles in a single hour, capturing huge swathes of land or sea at once. He also recounts a Blackbird making a turn with its camera running and pointed out to sea. When the film was developed, analysts reportedly spotted a U.S. destroyer on the horizon, 94 miles away, and were able to identify the ship’s type despite the distance.

A separate, still-factory-wrapped camera in another crate is the real mystery: its 1953 date predates the A-12 project by six years, so it couldn’t have come from a Blackbird-family aircraft. The museum is seeking the public’s help to identify what airplane it may have been used on, so anyone with a theory can head to the video and share it in the comments.

About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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Laowa is releasing its first autofocus lens for Fujifilm X-Mount: a macro monster

A Nikon F-mount manual-focus version launches alongside it, but the Fujifilm variant is the headline story as it ends a long wait for AF Laowa glass on the X-system.

A Nikon F-mount manual-focus version launches alongside it, but the Fujifilm variant is the headline story as it ends a long wait for AF Laowa glass on the X-system.Laowa

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Laowa has announced that it is bringing its 180mm F4.5 1.5x Ultra Macro APO lens to Fujifilm X-mount and Nikon F-mount. The lens was originally released almost exactly one year ago for Sony E, Nikon Z, Canon EF, Canon RF, and L-mounts, and the new additions mean that most photographers, no matter their system, have access to an affordable macro lens, though not every mount offers autofocus. 

A Nikon F-mount manual-focus version launches alongside it, but the Fujifilm variant is the headline story as it ends a long wait for AF Laowa glass on the X-system.Laowa

The Fujifilm X-mount version, like the E, Z, and EF-mount iterations, is an autofocus lens and marks the first autofocus Laowa lens for X-mount cameras. The Canon RF, L-mount and Nikon F versions, though, are manual focus only. Complicating matters further, the autofocus versions of the lenses only have their full abilities from 1.5m (4.9′) to infinity. For subjects between 1.5m and the lens’ minimum focusing distance, 30cm (11.8″), you only get “limited autofocus assistance for focus stacking.”

On Fujifilm X-mount cameras, the lens offers a 270mm equivalent field of view. Optically, all mounts are the same, with an apochromatic design and 12 elements in 9 groups, which Laowa says results in excellent sharpness and reduced chromatic aberration. It features a nine-blade aperture diaphragm. 

A Nikon F-mount manual-focus version launches alongside it, but the Fujifilm variant is the headline story as it ends a long wait for AF Laowa glass on the X-system.Laowa

The exact weight depends on the mount, but the Fujifilm X version is the heaviest of the bunch, weighing 526.2g (1.2 lbs). All iterations are compatible with 62mm filters. 

Laowa’s 180mm F4.5 1.5x Ultra Macro APO for X and F-mounts is available for purchase today for $499. 

About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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Hands-on with Insta360’s Luna Pro: How its new gimbal camera handles the real world

We tested Insta360’s Luna Pro gimbal camera in low light, while rock climbing and aboard a working lobster boat. Check out how it held up.

Black handheld camera gimbal in a hand outdoors, with green plants and purple flowers in the background.Mykim Dang

Insta360 has announced the global launch of the Luna Pro, a compact, single-lens gimbal camera designed for vlogging and social-first video. The camera is Insta360’s second entry in the category after the dual-lens Luna Ultra, sharing the more expensive model’s Type 1 sensor, Leica-branded 20mm-equivalent F1.8 lens and 8K Dolby Vision video while omitting its dedicated telephoto camera. You can learn more about the camera in our full coverage.

A spec sheet is one thing, but we wanted to see how the Luna Pro holds up in the real world. To that end, we brought it into a dim listening bar, attached it for first-person rock-climbing footage and took it aboard a working lobster boat. The videos above and below look at stabilization on moving water, the effectiveness of the camera’s zoom, and its close-up shooting abilities with animals and other natural subjects.

The resulting footage offers a more practical look at how Insta360’s lower-priced Luna model handles unpredictable, active settings, and where the single-lens design may be enough for creators who do not need the Luna Ultra’s dedicated telephoto camera.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjry506x-Ww
About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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Insta360 Luna Pro brings 8K Dolby Vision to a cheaper, single-lens vlogging camera

The single-lens Insta360 Luna Pro pairs many of the Luna Ultra’s flagship features with a lower price.

White and black handheld action cameras positioned upright on a tree trunk outdoors, each featuring a small display screen with a landscape image; green foliage blurred in the background.Insta360

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Insta360 is continuing its challenge to DJI’s popular Osmo lineup with its second gimbal camera in just three months. The Luna Pro is a single-lens device designed to take on the DJI Osmo Pocket 4, targeting creators who want a more portable option for stabilized, social-ready video without the higher price tag of the dual-lens Insta360 Luna Ultra.

The Luna Pro shares the Luna Ultra’s headline Type 1 sensor and Leica-branded 20mm-equivalent F1.8 lens specifications, but lacks that model’s dedicated telephoto camera. The Luna Pro can record HDR video in Dolby Vision at 8K/30, as well as 4K/120 footage for slow motion. It features a dedicated low-light mode called PureVideo that uses AI to reduce noise and enhance brightness and detail, which works up to 4K60. The camera can also record 4K/30 vertical video using 6K oversampling for social-first sharing and can take up to 37MP still photos.

Selfie being taken at night using a small camera with an attached light; city lights and buildings are blurred in the background.
The Luna Pro is compatible with a range of accessories, including an attachable light.
Insta360

Insta360 says the Luna Pro offers a 2x zoom mode that crops in on the center region of the sensor, which still provides a 4K window, plus 4x ‘HighRes Zoom,’ which Insta360 says uses AI to maintain detail and quality. It supports 10-bit I-Log, preserving more color, highlight and shadow detail for grading and supports ACES workflows. It also features in-camera Leica color profiles and other filters for those who are after more polished looks straight out of the camera.

As a gimbal camera, it offers 3-axis stabilization, promising smooth footage even when moving. It also offers multiple subject tracking modes, including single person, multi-person and pets. 

At a table with food and coffee, one person holds a small camera remote displaying a selfie on its screen, while a compact camera is positioned upright on the tabletop.
The touchscreen on the Luna Pro is removable and can function as a remote.
Insta360

Like its sibling, the Luna Pro features a detachable two-inch touchscreen that can be used as a remote control. Insta360 promises up to 4 hours of use, and it also supports fast charging. It includes 47GB of built-in storage, though it also accepts microSD cards up to 2TB for those who need more storage space. It weighs 215g for the black version, though the white comes in 3g heavier. The camera is also compatible with a range of accessories, including Insta360’s mics and its head tracker, which you can see in action in our hands-on footage.

The Luna Pro will be available globally beginning September 10 for $600, or $170 less than the dual-lens Luna Ultra. For U.S. customers, the Luna series has a clear advantage over DJI’s current Osmo Pocket models, which are not officially available in the country because DJI is affected by the FCC’s Covered List restrictions on newly introduced foreign-made camera equipment. For those in the U.S. who like the idea of a gimbal camera but find the Luna series a bit steep, the Osmo Pocket 3 remains available for $439 because it was released before DJI was added to the FCC’s Covered List.

About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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The iPhone 18 Pro is here, complete with a variable aperture and manual camera controls

Apple has unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max at its annual fall event, both of which feature an adjustable aperture and more control over images and videos.

Image showing a phone camera with aperture bladesApple

Apple has announced the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max at its annual fall keynote. Although the company started the event with AI features, the standout change in the new models’ camera system is the adjustable aperture.

Apple is pitching the new aperture system as a way to get more “creative control” while taking images and videos. Contrary to the rumors, the adjustable aperture is available on both sizes of the iPhone Pro. The company says it comprises six laser-cut blades, each thinner than a human hair.

Like the 17 Pro models, the 18 Pro and Pro Max feature a 48MP main camera with a 24mm equiv. lens. The ultrawide and telephoto cameras are also unchanged from their predecessors, both of which use 48MP Type 1/2.55 (23.5mm²) sensors.

Screenshot of the Apple Pro Controls UI for the iPhone 18 Pro.Apple

The main camera is the only one that features the new adjustable aperture system, which can go from F1.48 to F4 (the 17 Pro’s main camera had a fixed F1.78 aperture), allowing for four adjustments. Apple is also finally adding “Pro Controls,” which allows users to manually control aperture, white balance and shutter speed, something people have been asking Apple to add for years. Additionally, its Photography Styles option now supports control over grain.

For video features, the camera supports 4K time-lapses, and you can now use cinematic mode (which adds fake background blur) at up to 4K/60.

Apple also touched on image authenticity, a hot-button topic in the age of AI. We’ve seen other phone manufacturers, like Google, implement C2PA content credentials in their cameras, letting you verify that a photograph hasn’t been altered since it was taken. Now, Apple is following suit, characteristically introducing its own system called Apple Reference Image.

Illustration of the iPhone 18 Pro's aperture blades.Apple

The company says it’s made possible by a new sensor in the main camera that “can sign every pixel it sees.” Photos taken in the “Reference mode” will capture “signed sensor data that Private Cloud Compute develops into an unalterable reference image.” Oddly, the Apple Reference Image authenticity feature is not available in China, and won’t be available in the EU to start.

The company also says it’s adding support for the SynthID standard, which adds an invisible watermark to images created or edited using AI.

The iPhone 18 Pro features an A20 Pro system on a chip, which has a 6-core CPU with 2 “super” cores and 4 efficiency cores. It also features a 7-core GPU that Apple says is 40% faster than the previous generation. It should offer double the AI processing capacity as a result of double the neural cores. Apple also says it’s doubled the battery life, despite the battery being smaller. It supports faster wired charging, letting you charge it to 50% in 15 minutes.

Image showing the four colors of the iPhone 18 Pro: black, silver, light blue, and burgundy.Apple

Apple is offering the Pro in four color options this year, where it’s traditionally been three. It will be available in black, silver, “Glacier” blue, and “Burgundy.” Last year, some people were upset that there wasn’t a black option, so this will likely be a welcome addition to the lineup.

The iPhone 18 Pro will cost $1199 for the 256GB version, while the Pro Max comes in at $1299. Both the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max are $100 more than their predecessors.

About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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How an all-women crew covered one of trail running’s toughest races

Salomon’s new film goes behind the scenes as the team navigates unpredictable weather, demanding mountain terrain, long days and rapid-turnaround decisions to document UTMB.

Misty mountain town at dusk with buildings lit up; centered white text reads “INCREDIBLY CLOSE.”Salomon

I love watching adventure stories, especially when they pull back the curtain on the work required to tell them well. Salomon’s short documentary, The Women Who Took Over UTMB, does exactly that, following an all-women photo, video, and social team as they cover UTMB, one of trail running’s largest and most demanding events.

The team is there to document 23 Salomon athletes across five races and nearly 400 kilometers of mountain terrain over six days. They’re navigating unpredictable weather, road closures, long drives around the Mont Blanc massif, patchy connectivity, tight turnaround times, and the physical effort of carrying heavy camera kits to the places where the most compelling moments might unfold.

The film covers a lot, including the logistics of capturing an event like this. It is easy to see a dramatic mountain-running image or polished race recap and forget the chain of decisions behind it: where to position a photographer, how to get a camera operator ahead of an athlete, when to stop shooting and start transmitting and how to keep creating after little sleep. The crew has to make those calls constantly, while contending with rain, snow, exhaustion and a mid-race course adjustment.

I’ve helped a runner during a far less intense ultramarathon and got a small taste of just how grueling the experience can be, even without the pressure of covering it or the burden of camera gear. Calling this assignment demanding would be an understatement, and the team did a phenomenal job producing photo, video, and social coverage throughout the event.

The fact that the content team is made up entirely of women adds a welcome dimension in a space that has been male-dominated. The film touches on why this team was assembled in the first place and on some of their experiences as women in the field. It also highlights that these are simply experienced creatives doing incredibly difficult work at a very high level, supporting one another and finding the human stories within a massive endurance event.

For anyone interested in adventure, storytelling, sports photography, filmmaking, or the often-invisible labor behind major event coverage, it’s a compelling watch.

About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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Fujifilm XF 400mm F4.5 sample gallery: testing the new wildlife prime

Fujifilm’s latest long prime aims to make 400mm shooting more portable. Check out our sample gallery to see how it performs.

A white lens attached to a black camera sits on a worn, wooden bench.Abby Ferguson

Earlier this week, Fujifilm announced the XF 400mm F4.5 R LM OIS R, a super telephoto prime lens for its APS-C X-mount system. We had the chance to test it out ahead of its launch, putting the compact, 609mm-equivalent lens to work photographing birds and other distant subjects.

Bird photography is not a genre I have spent any time with, but the lens made the process feel approachable (and I’m not determined to get the perfect bird photo). Its autofocus moved quickly from the 2.7m (8.9′) close-focusing distance out to infinity, which was helpful when I wanted to switch from a near subject to one in the distance. It isn’t entirely silent, but the autofocus is quiet enough that I didn’t worry about its sound disturbing the wildlife I was trying to photograph, especially at the distances I was shooting from with this focal length.

Silver camera lens with visible aperture ring featuring f-stop numbers and a textured grip, resting on a wooden surface.Abby Ferguson

The XF 400mm F4.5’s manual focus ring has a relatively long throw distance, so I wasn’t able to react quickly with subject changes while on manual focus. But that proved useful for fine adjustments. It has enough resistance to make precise changes easy, and its texture feels especially good under a fingertip. The clicked aperture ring has a deliberate, satisfying action, and it can be locked into place for operation through the camera’s dial.

The XF 400mm features a maximum aperture of F4.5, which gives it a slight advantage over the company’s XF 500mm F5.6 when light is limited. It gave me some flexibility when photographing birds, but I still had to rely on fairly high ISO settings while shooting in the woods at dawn or trying to freeze fast-moving subjects. Photographers who regularly work in very dim conditions may want more light-gathering ability, but F4.5 should be plenty practical for wildlife and action in brighter conditions. It also keeps the price and size much more reasonable than they otherwise would be.

Professional digital camera with a large telephoto lens on a wooden surface; sunlight casts shadows across the scene.Abby Ferguson

At 1245g (2.7 lb), this is still a substantial lens (as all super telephoto lenses are), but it is impressively manageable for its reach. I wouldn’t shoot one-handed with it, though I was comfortable carrying the camera and lens that way while walking around. Fujifilm says the lens is weighted toward the rear for better maneuverability when panning, and it felt well matched to the X-H2 I was using.

I didn’t have enough time with the XF 400mm F4.5 for a full technical evaluation, but I came away happy with the images it produced. More importantly, it made my first more deliberate attempt at bird photography mostly enjoyable (minus the biting flies I had to deal with on one trail).

Sample gallery

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

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About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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

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Lomography’s Fisheye No. 2 Graffiti is a budget gateway to analog fisheye

The new camera features the same 170° optics and fixed F8 lens as the standard Fisheye No. 2, wrapped in a new graphic design.

A colorful, toy-like camera with a large yellow lens and artistic designs is held in a hand against a blurred, vibrant graffiti wall background.Lomography

Lomography recently launched the Fisheye No. 2 Graffiti, a redesigned version of its long-running Fisheye No. 2 camera that pairs a 170° fisheye lens with a graffiti-styled 35mm body. It sits below the brand’s LomoApparat in price, and Lomography says it packs bulb mode, multiple-exposure capability and a built-in flash into a compact, beginner-friendly body.

The Graffiti edition shares its core optics and feature set with the standard Fisheye No. 2 but distinguishes itself with its graphic design. It still is a point-and-shoot camera with a fixed F8 aperture and 1/100 sec shutter speed. There are also no ISO settings. Its bulb mode allows for long exposures, and multiple-exposure support lets photographers play with layered images in camera for unexpected results. 

Red and blue neon signs displaying the word IZAKAYA are illuminated against a dark background, with reflections on nearby surfaces and additional neon symbols and text surrounding them.Lomography

Lomography describes the lens as producing heavy vignetting and spherical distortion, characteristics that the brand frames as exciting features rather than flaws. The camera focuses as close as 10cm, which opens up the opportunity for exaggerated wide-angle close-up shots. The beginner-friendly features and its relatively affordable price make it an ideal option for experimental shooters looking for an easy entry into analog fisheye photography.

This isn’t the most affordable camera Lomography has launched this year, either. The brand recently added a $35 half-frame camera that gives photographers twice the frames on a single roll of film. These build on a broader industry trend of releasing beginner-friendly film cameras, a pattern Kosmo Foto’s Stephen Dowling recently argued is good for the medium.

The Fisheye No. 2 Graffiti is available now for $69 through the Lomography shop.

About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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Fujifilm rounds out its sports and wildlife trio with a 400mm F4.5

The XF 400mm F4.5 shares nearly the same optical design as the XF 500mm F5.6, but Fujifilm claims it will offer better sharpness.

Large telephoto camera lens with tripod mount, black finish, positioned horizontally against a dark background; glass elements visible at the front reflecting light.Fujifilm

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Fujifilm has announced the Fujinon XF 400mm F4.5 R LM OIS WR, a new super-telephoto prime lens for its APS-C X-mount system. The company says the lens delivers exceptional sharpness in a relatively compact package aimed at wildlife and sports photographers.

The XF 400mm F4.5 is positioned as a sister lens to the previously released XF 500mm F5.6 R LM OIS WR. Alongside the XF 200mm F2 R LM OIS WR, which Fujifilm sees as a set, the three lenses cover full-frame-equivalent focal lengths from roughly 305mm to 762mm.

Large white Fujinon camera lens with tripod mount shown horizontally on a black background, details and controls clearly visible.Fujifilm

The new 400mm F4.5 provides a 609mm equivalent focal length on X-mount cameras. It is also compatible with Fujifilm’s 1.4x and 2.0x teleconverters, providing equivalent focal lengths of 852mm and 1219mm, respectively. It offers 5.5 stops of optical image stabilization and is weather resistant with 20 sealed points, two must-have features for most wildlife and sports photographers. 

Fujifilm says the 400mm lens shares a nearly identical optical design to the 500mm, with some slight changes to the rear group. It features 21 elements in 14 groups, which include 4 ED and 2 super ED elements. According to Fujifilm, its engineering team in Japan says the 400mm is sharper than the 500mm. It is also slightly lighter than its 500mm sibling, weighing 1245g (2.7 lbs). It measures 239.5mm (9.4′) long with a 104.5mm (4.1′) diameter. The lens is compatible with 95mm filters.

Close-up of a metallic camera lens control panel with engraved labels, featuring switches for focus range, image stabilization (OIS), focus mode options (AF, MF, and preset), and a SET button.Fujifilm

The XF 400mm F4.5 uses a linear motor for autofocus, which Fujifilm says results in silent operation. It can focus as close as 2.7m (9′) and offers a maximum magnification of 0.16. There is a focus limiter switch to prevent it from focusing closer than 5m away, resulting in faster autofocus when photographing distant subjects. Near the front of the barrel, a Focus Control button works in tandem with a Focus Select switch, allowing photographers to choose whether the button activates autofocus, locks AF, or recalls a preset focus distance. 

The XF 400mm F4.5 R LM OIS WR will be available sometime in mid-September for $3200. That’s a $200 premium over the XF 500 mm’s launch price, but that lens now retails for $3599 due to tariff-related price increases.

Sample gallery

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

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About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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

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DJI’s new Osmo 360 II is a small step forward for video, and a big one for repairability

DJI will lead with native 8K at 60fps, but the ability to replace a scratched lens without retiring the whole camera is the real star of the show.

Two black DJI action cameras with wide fisheye lenses positioned upright on rocky outdoor ground, with blurred brown rock formations and blue sky in the background.DJI

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DJI has announced the Osmo 360 II, its second-generation 360-degree action camera. The latest version is an iterative successor rather than a redesign, building on the original model’s dual square-sensor design and 8K panoramic capture, without substantially changing the camera’s core hardware or shooting concept.

M-PI-dji-osmi-360-lens-kit
The Osmo 360 II now features interchangeable lenses, so they can be replaced if damaged.
DJI

One of the most consequential changes is the move to swappable lenses, rather than the fixed ones used by the original Osmo 360. Following in the footsteps of Insta360, DJI now sells a replacement kit for $30, which is substantially more affordable than having to replace the entire camera if you accidentally scratch or crack a protruding lens.

The camera uses two Type 1/1.1 square sensors (one for each lens) with 2.4 μm pixels, matching the sensor specifications of the original Osmo 360. The company says each of its sensors features “an imaging area equivalent to that of a 1-inch CMOS sensor with a 4:3 aspect ratio,” or 123mm² each.

DJI claims 14.5 stops of dynamic range from the camera, which is one additional stop compared to the previous model. As with most dynamic range claims, though, we’d take that number with a grain of salt, and DJI hasn’t specified where that extra stop is coming from. There’s every chance it’s mainly due to noise reduction, although DJI did somewhat quietly switch to a LOFIC sensor in its Osmo Pocket 4P to improve dynamic range.

M-PI-dji-osmi-360-ice-climbing
The Osmo 360 II shoots 8K video at up to 60fps, a step up from the original model’s 8K/50 cap.
DJI

The camera is capable of up to 8K/60 video, up from the original version’s 8K/50. Slow motion video also gets an increase, with up to 4K/240 possible, compared to a max of 4K/100 previously. Panoramic photo resolution remains at 120MP, though it gets the benefit of HDR this time around. DJI also added a ‘Spotlight Follow’ mode that promises to track your subject, keeping them in the center of the frame, with footage up to 4K/30 possible in this mode. 

DJI has also updated how users connect the camera to its Mimo app. It now supports the ability to tap to connect using NFC. The Osmo 360 II keeps the same 105GB of onboard storage and is waterproof to 10m (33′) without a case.

The DJI Osmo 360 II will be available for purchase outside of Asia starting on September 15. As expected, it will not be officially available in the US. In most EU countries, the new camera will cost 589 EUR.

Close-up of a black action camera with a front display screen showing footage of a motorcyclist on a scenic road bordered by orange rock formations and a low sun.DJI

DJI Osmo 360 II

About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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

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KEH Camera is now Zeiss’s official US and Canada repair partner – even for decades-old lenses

Every Zeiss photography lens, from current Batis and Otus ML glass to decades-old vintage optics, now has a single factory-authorized repair address, effective September 1.

Three camera lenses of different sizes and a camera body positioned on a white surface, with a black KEH Camera carrying case featuring the brand’s logo and a red KEH cleaning cloth in the background.Zeiss / KEH

Zeiss has named KEH Camera its exclusive authorized repair and service center for photography lenses and equipment in the US and Canada, the two companies announced today. The Atlanta-based used-gear specialist will handle work on everything from postwar Zeiss Jena glass to current Otus ML optics.

KEH will handle both in-warranty and out-of-warranty work for those in the US and Canada. The KEH technicians are trained directly by Zeiss and will use genuine manufacturer parts along with Zeiss-approved calibration tools and procedures, according to the announcement. The companies specify that all repairs will meet Zeiss engineering standards. 

Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 4/20 camera lens with visible glass elements and engraved front ring text, positioned on a white background.
US and Canadian customers now have an official service and repair options for Zeiss Jena lenses.
KEH

The most important detail of the announcement is the scope. Coverage extends to “decades-old legacy lenses,” with the companies specifically citing postwar Zeiss Jena optics, the 1960s Contarex system and large-format Zeiss lenses built for Linhof and Graflex, alongside current Batis and Otus ML lines. “Be they new or legacy ZEISS cameras and lenses, we are confident that KEH Camera has the skills necessary to provide value to our loyal optics owners,” said Tony Wisniewski, senior manager for Zeiss Photography Americas.

The coverage of older lenses represents a reversal of Zeiss’s long-stated position: its photography service pages state that legacy Hasselblad, Contax/Yashica, Rollei, Carl Zeiss Jena and Zeiss Ikon gear “can unfortunately no longer be repaired by Zeiss,” directing owners to independent workshops. Now, though, the companies have confirmed that even Yashica and Rollei optics can be serviced by KEH.

For gear that previously fell under Zeiss’s service policy, the new partnership replaces a rather roundabout arrangement. Until now, Zeiss instructed US photo lens owners needing warranty service to contact their dealer or the distributor in the country of purchase, rather than sending equipment to a dedicated Zeiss service center. Under the new agreement, users can initiate repairs through Zeiss’s online service portal, with KEH coordinating shipment. Customers can also drop off equipment at KEH’s retail location in Atlanta. 

KEH already serves as an authorized repair partner for Sony and Sigma, and says it is the only reseller in the camera industry with manufacturer-approved repair facilities. Its track record shows that repair is central to its business. KEH chairman and CEO Glenn Kaufman connected the Zeiss agreement to that mission, explaining that it’s “a natural extension of what KEH has always stood for: keeping great gear in circulation and out of landfills.”

Two black camera lenses with lens hoods, set side by side at an angle on a white background, featuring blue and yellow markings on the barrels.
Zeiss released two prime lenses last year: the Otus ML 50mm F1.4 and Otus ML 85mm F1.4. However, while they feature Zeiss branding, the lenses are manufactured by Cosina in Japan.
Zeiss

Zeiss “decided to kind of hit pause on photo, to wait and see what happens” during the pandemic, Wisniewski told us last year, while continuing to sell the lenses it already made. That pause ran nearly six years, ending with two Otus ML lenses in 2025. This partnership to expand repair options for customers in North America suggests the company’s renewed investment extends past new products.

Disclosure: MPB, a competitor to KEH in the used-gear market, is a DPReview sponsor. This article was produced independently.

About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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The ColorChecker, photography’s most important 24 squares, turns 50

Calibrite is marking the anniversary with a virtual museum of the chart’s five decades.

Color calibration chart with 24 colored squares set against a blue background, with gold confetti and ribbons at the top.Calibrite

If you’ve ever held a small card of 24 colored squares up to your subject, you’ve used a piece of imaging history that just hit a milestone birthday. The ColorChecker (also called the Macbeth chart if you’ve been around a while) is turning 50, and Calibrite has marked the occasion with a virtual museum for the little chart that helps photographers keep colors accurate. 

The anniversary hub for the occasion includes a timeline from the founding of the Macbeth Artificial Daylight Company to today, along with fun facts about the card and some of its famous uses. It also breaks down the purpose behind each of the 24 patches and features a quiz to test your knowledge of each color. 

The small chart debuted in a 1976 paper, “A Color-Rendition Chart,” by C.S. McCamy, H. Marcus and J.G. Davidson, written while Macbeth was a division of Kollmorgen. The idea was simple but clever: each patch was locked to a spectral reflectance value instead of a printed ink mix, so the card could be measured, reproduced and trusted across different materials and lighting conditions. 

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For more demanding work, the Digital SG version offers 140 color squares — including the original 24, a 17-step grayscale ramp and 14 skin-tone targets.
Calibrite

When photography went digital, the ColorChecker came along for the ride. Shoot a Raw file with one in the frame, then feed it into Adobe Lightroom or DxO PhotoLab, and you get a custom camera profile that pulls your colors closer to how the scene actually looked. The ColorChecker Digital SG, though, saw an expansion of color, jumping to 140 squares that include the original 24 colors, a 17-step grayscale for fine tonal control, and 14 dedicated skin-tone patches.

The card has changed hands a few times: Gretag, GretagMacbeth and X-Rite all owned it before Calibrite took over. It’s also changed in size. The original measured roughly 13 by 9 inches, with proportions that closely match a 35mm film frame, and it now comes in a range of sizes, including one barely bigger than a postage stamp for macro subjects. But the patch layout and spectral targets have stayed consistent enough that profiles built around the standard remain interchangeable. Fifty years on, and photographers still reach for this tool for the same reason they always did.

About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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The latest version of DxO’s Adobe alternative brings AI depth masking – no subscription required

DxO is bringing its AI-powered Depth Masks to PhotoLab10, along with plenty of other masking updates, automatic sensor spot removal and a new color grading wheel.

Close-up of a woman with dark bangs and closed eyes against a pink background, her lips highlighted in bright green by a PhotoLab 10 AI mask overlay, with mask tool icons visible on the mouth.DxO

DxO has announced PhotoLab 10, the latest version of its subscription-free Raw editor. The new iteration of the app offers more advanced masking tools, a new color grading wheel, automatic sensor dust removal and direct connectivity to Affinity, all under the company’s perpetual license. 

Most of the updates revolve around masking changes. That includes the addition of Depth Masks, which it previously released as part of Nik Collection 9 earlier this year. DxO says the feature uses AI to build a detailed depth map from any Raw file, based on distance from the camera, even without embedded depth data. It allows photographers to independently target the foreground, midground or background for more precise editing. 

A group in the sea, with one person lifting another above the water; both are highlighted in green. An editing software mask creation window appears in the top right corner.
The updated AI Masks feature lets photographers mask all people at once, combine only chosen individuals or isolate each person separately.
DxO

DxO is also expanding some of PhotoLab’s existing AI-based masking tools. The company says that the AI Masks tool can now identify every person in a scene and allows photographers to create a single mask for all people, combine only selected people into one mask or create individual masks for every person. For even more control, the tool even allows photographers to select individual features of people, such as eyes, hair and lips. 

Users can now also select individual features such as eyebrows, eyes (as a whole or breaking out the iris, pupil and whites), teeth, facial hair, face skin and lips from the list of selectable AI Mask categories. It should offer even more fine-tuned control while retouching portraits. The masking updates also include an expanded U Point toolkit, DxO’s approach to creating local adjustments based on the color and luminosity of a sampled point. Users now have access to a brush-based Control Brush and elliptical Control Points alongside the existing circular ones. 

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DxO brought its color grading wheel from Nik Collection 9 into PhotoLab 10, offering tone-zone color control separate from the existing hue-based wheel.
DxO

PhotoLab 10 adds more than masking changes. DxO has brought over the color grading wheel introduced with Nik Collection 9, which puts shadows, midtones, highlights and global color on a single wheel. It’s tone-based grading, distinct from the hue-targeted color wheel that remains in the app. It also added an AI-powered sensor dust removal tool that automatically removes sensor spots on Raw files. Lastly, there is now a new export option for Affinity, Canva’s now-free professional image editing software, so photographers can send images directly to that platform for additional editing. 

PhotoLab 10 is available starting today for macOS and Windows. A new license costs $250, while upgrades from PhotoLab 8 or 9 are $130. A 30-day free trial is available on DxO’s site.

About the Author: Abby Ferguson holds an MFA in photography and blends a fine-art background with extensive editorial and commercial experience. She built and led an in-house imaging program for a large vacation rental company and has served as an associate editor at Popular Photography. She also teaches at a local community college and serves on its Photographic Technology Program Advisory Board, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for the medium.

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