The Canon EOS R6 III is an enthusiast-class camera with a new 32MP full-frame CMOS sensor, aimed at photographers and videographers who need high burst rates and fast readout speeds.

Key specifications

• 32MP full-frame CMOS sensor
• Built-in image stabilization rated to 8.5EV
• 40fps burst rate w/ pre-capture
• 3.0", 1.62M dot fully-articulating screen
• 7K recording up to 60p (Canon Cinema Raw Lite)
• Oversampled 4K <60p, 4K 120p
• 3:2 Open Gate recording up to 30p

The Canon EOS R6 III will be available from late November at a recommended price of $2799, a $300 premium over the Mark II's launch price. The EOS R6 II will formally drop to a $2299 price point. There'll also be a variant costing $100 more, designed to work with the professional stop-motion software, Dragonframe.

The EOS R6 III will be available as a kit with the RF 24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM for around $3150 and with the RF 24-105mm F4.0 L IS USM for $4050.

Index:

• What's new?
• What is it?
• In Context
• Body and handling
• Video
• Initial Impressions
• Sample gallery
• Press release
• Specifications

What's new?

New sensor

The 33MP FSI CMOS sensor at the heart of the EOS R6 III is a new one for Canon's hybrid mirrorless lineup, having only appeared recently in the cinema-focused EOS C50. Canon isn't claiming any particular technological leaps with this sensor, but our initial testing shows that it has even faster readout speeds than the lower-resolution chip found in the EOS R6 II. As usual for Canon, it has a dual pixel design with two sub-pixels at each location, one capturing the left half of the image, the other capturing the right, allowing the entire sensor to be used for phase detection AF.

The faster readout speeds, paired with changes to the card slot and processor (Canon says it's the same generation, but has some improvements) allow for big improvements to video capture. The stabilization system has also gotten a bit of a bump, going from 8EV to 8.5EV.

Updated ports

The EOS R6 III replaces one of its predecessor's dual UHS-II SD card slots with a CFexpress Type B one. While you can still use most of the camera's features with an SD card, you will need to use the faster, larger and more expensive storage to record Raw video.

Speaking of video, the EOS R6 II's microHDMI port is no more on the EOS R6 III. In its place is a full-size one, which is much more appropriate on a camera destined to be many people's workhorse.

Better burst

Despite having the same rates, the EOS R6 III improves on its predecessor's burst rates, no longer requiring a special Raw Burst mode to enable pre-burst capture. Instead, there's now a pre-continuous shooting option that you can simply enable when in the H+ drive mode. Canon says this is largely thanks to that CFexpress card slot and its faster write speeds.

Raw Burst mode is no longer on the camera, though it's hard to be sad about that. While there were benefits to Raw Burst mode, such as it displaying bursts as a single thumbnail in the playback menu, it was overall a relatively clunky experience. To edit the photos you took outside of Canon's own software, you had to select the individual frames you want, and save them as a standard .CR3 Raw files, JPEGs, HEIFs or combinations thereof. That extra step is no longer necessary.

Raw, 7K and open-gate video

The Canon EOS R6 III gains the ability to record Raw video internally at up to 7K/60 in Canon's proprietary Canon Cinema Raw format. It can also now shoot 'open-gate' video at up to 7K/30, recording the entire area of the sensor to produce a 3:2 image that you can take vertical and landscape crops from.

The menus for selecting your recording mode have also been updated. The EOS R6 II presented you with an overwhelming list containing each possible combination of resolution, frame rate and compression settings, but the EOS R6 III thankfully lets you choose these all independently.

The EOS R6 III also now gains a dedicated red tally lamp, making it obvious to both you and your on-screen talent when you're recording.

AF Upgrades

Looking at the autofocus system, it seems largely the same as the one in the EOS R6 II, with subject recognition support for people, animals and vehicles, as well as an auto mode. However, Canon says the algorithms underpinning those modes have been updated to match the ones on cameras like the EOS R1 and EOS R5 II, making it even more reliable.

The EOS R6 III also gains the Register People Priority feature, where you can train it to recognize a specific person and principally focus on tracking them over other people that may be in the scene.

While the cameras theoretically have 'Digic X' processors, Canon says it's made intergenerational improvements to the chip that allow for some of the EOS R6 III's new features.

What is it?

The EOS R6 III is part of the class of "do anything" hybrid cameras.

The EOS R6 III is Canon's enthusiast-tier full-frame camera, which means it's designed to excel at pretty much whatever you want to shoot with it. Like the rest of the cameras in this class (and its predecessor), it's capable enough for most kinds of photography, from landscape shooting to fast-paced action and sports, and comes equipped with the kinds of video features you would've had to buy a cinema camera to get just a few years ago. It also has weather sealing and dual card slots.

Of course, there are some things that separate it from the even higher-end Stacked sensor cameras like Canon's own EOS R5 II. It misses out on a bit of extra resolution and a few features that pros might want, such as the ability to control the focus point with your eye, in-camera 'AI' upscaling and Action Priority modes. Canon says the latter two require a still-expensive co-processor that just wasn't in the budget for this camera, but it should still easily handle whatever tasks enthusiasts throw at it.

It can shoot at a 40fps burst rate for up to 150 seconds in Raw and JPEG, and supports pre-burst capture, which can help if you're just a bit too slow to the shutter. You no longer have to use the somewhat clunky Raw burst mode to access these features, like you did with the EOS R6 II.

The EOS R6 III's Register People Priority supports up to ten faces, and will prioritize them according to your set order.

Canon has included its now-standard autofocus system, which has subject recognition for people, animals and vehicles, as well as an auto mode that searches for those within the scene. It also supports registering a specific person and having the camera prioritize them when choosing which subject to focus on.

It also supports HDR output, with its ability to produce 10-bit HEIF stills with the PQ tone curve, in place of JPEGs. While PQ isn't as broadly supported as the HLG curve used by other companies like Nikon and Panasonic, it can, at least, simultaneously record both HEIF and Raws, unlike Sony, which makes you choose between Raw capture and HDR output files. When shooting video, it can capture HDR video footage using either PQ or HLG. The latter is more widely supported when it comes to playback and is a new addition compared to the EOS R6 II.

Speaking of video, the EOS R6 III is well-equipped for motion pictures too. It supports internal Raw recording, a false color overlay to help you nail exposure and the >4K open gate capture gives you greater flexibility in post.

The EOS R6 III in context

The EOS R6 III is launching into a market segment with robust competition. Its predecessor was still quite a sensible option, so we've included it in the comparison, alongside the Nikon Z6III, which offers a similar combination of fast shooting, top-tier autofocus and incredible video specs. We're also comparing the Sony a7 IV, as its 33MP sensor makes it an obvious competitor, even if it can't match the speed of the other cameras on this list.

The Z6III's partially Stacked sensor has higher read noise than other designs, which gives it a disadvantage when raising the shadows (though, importantly, this has no impact on the midtones). We'll have to wait until we get a production EOS R6 III to see how it performs in this regard. In both cases, it's worth checking to make sure whether the lenses you want exist before choosing a system, as both companies place restrictions on third-party lens makers.

While the a7 IV is still a quite capable camera, it's starting to look a little dated compared to the competition. Its rolling shutter performance when shooting full-width video is noticeably bad, it doesn't offer internal Raw video (though it's not an essential feature for most users), and while its autofocus is extremely capable, it's no longer the best that Sony offers. While Sony does allow third-party lenses on E-mount, buyers should be aware that it limits non-Sony lenses to 15fps (not that this is a problem for the a7 IV, with its 10fps max burst rate).

Body and Handling

The EOS R6 III hews close to Canon's tried-and-true design formula, and its body is very similar – though not exactly the same – as the EOS R6 II. It has a hefty grip that fits well in your hand, even with a heavier lens attached. It has an array of customizable buttons – nine in total – which can have different functions depending on whether you're in stills or video mode. Switching between the two modes is handled by a dedicated lever to the left of the EVF.

The autofocus joystick and surrounding buttons are placed within easy reach of where your thumb naturally falls when you're holding the camera, and are grouped in ways that helps you tell which one you're pressing by feel, even when your eye is up to the EVF.

Screen and viewfinder

The viewfinder and LCD have been unchanged from the EOS R6 II, though that's not really a complaint. The rear 3.0" screen is fully-articulated, which will be welcome to those using the camera for video. It's relatively bright, but can be a little difficult to see in extremely bright sunlight.

The viewfinder is large and can refresh at up to 120fps for a very responsive preview. It's not the highest resolution model out there, though, and it can't quite manage to show you a proper HDR preview when you're shooting in PQ mode, though it does have Canon's OVF simulation mode that gives you a better idea of how much dynamic range you're capturing, at the cost of truly previewing your exposure.

There's no discernible viewfinder blackout when shooting in at the highest burst rate settings using the electronic viewfinder, though it'll show up when shooting in lower burst rates or with the mechanical shutter.

Ports

The EOS R6 III has all the connectivity you might expect from this class of camera: USB C, headphone and microphone sockets, a multi-function hotshoe, 2.5mm remote terminal and full-size HDMI port. The latter represents a bit upgrade from the less-reliable and robust microHDMI port found on the EOS R6 II.

It has two card slots: one CFexpress Type B, and one UHS-II SD. You'll have to use the former if you want to record Raw video internally.

Battery

The EOS R6 III uses 16Wh LP-E6P battery, to give battery life ratings of 270 shots per charge via the viewfinder and 510 if you use the rear screen. These numbers jump to 390 and 620, respectively, if you engage power saving mode. As always, the CIPA-defined tests tend to under-represent how many images you can actually get, with double the rated figure not being unusual, but they're useful to compare between cameras. These are reasonable but not great for a camera likely to be used quite heavily by an enthusiast photographer.

The camera will still work with older batteries such as the LP-E6NH, though it warns that not all features will be available, and that some accessories won't work. Most notably, the camera loses support for network connectivity, refusing to connect to your smartphone or other devices.

Video

The EOS R6 III has all the video assist tools most shooters will need: proxies, waveform and false color, dual-level zebras and Log/HDR view assist.

The EOS R6 III The highlights are its ability to record 7K open-gate footage at up to 30p, and support for oversampled 4K footage at up to 60p. It also lets you record in Canon's C-Log 2 or 3 response curves, and now has a button that defaults to opening the Color menu, making it a bit easier to switch between Log and non-Log recording.

It provides both DCI and UHD 4K options, though, humorously, the true 24fps mode is only available when recording DCI. Its Raw mode also lacks a 16:9 mode, but can record open-gate at up to 30p, from which you can take a UHD crop.

Its autofocus options remain the same throughout its recording modes; you still get continuous autofocus with subject recognition even when recording 4K/120 and 1080p/180. This is true both in the standard video recording mode and in the Slow-and-Fast mode that doesn't record audio and produces a file that plays back at a slower framerate.

Recording modes

While the EOS R6 III shares a sensor with the fan-cooled EOS C50, Canon includes several more options on its more cinema-focused camera. As an example, the EOS R6 III doesn't have an HQ Raw mode, nor does it support crop modes in Raw. It can, however, still record proxy files to its SD card slot, which could be quite useful when shooting Raw video.

Both the 4K and Full HD modes can be used in the "Fine" oversampling modes at all but their highest frame rates; the former from 7K capture, and the latter from 3.5K capture. However, Canon does note that, while the 4K/60 Fine mode is still oversampled, it won't have the same image quality that you get from the 4K/30 and slower modes.

Rolling shutter

The R6 III has some truly impressive rolling shutter rates across its full-width recording modes, achieving excellent readout speeds in pretty much every mode we tested (though we haven't been able to measure the Raw modes yet, as we aren't able to decode the footage). Using the oversampled "fine" setting will roughly double the readout speeds over the standard ones, suggesting the standard mode is skipping half the lines, but they're still quick enough that fine mode should be usable in almost any scenario.

The only mode we'd advise any caution around is its 7K open gate setting. 17.9ms is still very fast, and will improve if you take a landscape crop of the frame, but if you're showing the full frame a little artifacting may start to creep in if you're capturing very fast pans or subjects.

Workflow

Canon includes a variety of tools to help making shooting video and, in particular, nailing exposure, easier. The EOS R6 III has options for both waveform monitoring, which provides more detail about what parts of your image are clipping than a traditional histogram, and a false color overlay, which makes it easier to tell if your skin tones are properly exposed.

It's also now much easier to set your white balance in video mode; you can capture it from the live view, rather than having to set it from a still image on the card (a process that, on other Canon cameras, meant switching into stills mode, taking a picture of your gray card, then switching back into the video mode before diving back into the settings). Speaking of live view, the camera also provides access to level gauges and magnification while recording, so you can make sure your horizon is perfect and your subject is in focus while you're rolling.

The EOS R6 III lets you upload LUTs into the camera, so you can preview an effect you wish to apply, but you can't bake the result into your footage. The EOS R6 III can output lower-resolution proxy files to an SD card while you capture your main footage to the CFexpress card. The only exception is Open gate shooting, where you can capture a proxy alongside Raw shooting but not if you're using MP4 as your main output.

One feature Canon's retained for its cinema cameras is shutter angle, which derives the shutter speed from the recording framerate, rather than an absolute setting. This means you don't have to adjust your shutter speed after changing frame rates to retain the same level of motion blur. It's a setting that most of the EOS R6 III's competitors, such as the Nikon Z6III and Panasonic S1II, have, but that it lacks.

Initial Impressions

By Mitchell Clark

Is it weird to say that the EOS R6 III is kind of surprising? Not the mere fact of its existence, of course; the enthusiast full-frame camera is the market's bread-and-butter, so Canon updating its model makes sense. But it feels like the kind of upgrade you'd see from a company trying to claw customers away from competitors, not one already at the top of the market.

The EOS R6 II, which Canon says will remain in its lineup for at least the medium term, is still a very competitive camera. Not only does it earn second place in our under $2500 buying guide, but Canon tells us it's the top-selling full-frame camera on the market, from any brand. It feels like Canon could've just made a few small improvements and called it a day, and if you just glance at the spec sheet or list of new features, you might get the impression that it has. But the changes it's made are ones that really matter, especially when it comes to competing with the other cameras in this class.

It feels like Canon looked at what other companies were doing, and said "okay, us too, but better."

Essentially, it feels like Canon looked at what the other companies were doing, and said "okay, us too, but better." Sony's shooting 33MP? The EOS R6 III does too, but with the blistering speeds of the lower-res Nikon Z6III and Panasonic S1II, so you no longer have to pick between higher resolution and being able to shoot faster than 10fps. Those two cameras also offer Raw video, another spec the EOS R6 III has caught up on. And for good measure, Canon threw in full-width 4K 120p for the people who like slow-mo, and open gate recording, since Panasonic shooters are so keen on it.

With every Canon release, there are people quick to point out how it's segmenting the market; what features does it lack that higher-end models do? Of course, there are features the much more expensive EOS R5 II has that this doesn't, but they're ones we're told have hardware costs and that, frankly, most people won't find themselves missing. If there are features Canon cut to make its more expensive models more appealing, they aren't obvious to me.

Canon says this camera is still squarely aimed at stills shooters, albeit ones who also need to be able to shoot video, so we're definitely looking forward to getting our hands on a production model to see if the ultra-fast sensor comes with any image quality impact, as was the case with the Nikon Z6III's 'partially Stacked' sensor. Even if there is, though, we're clearly well into the evolution of Canon's 6-series line; in the DSLR days, the EOS 6D was a decent camera, but one with obvious compromises relative to higher-end models. With the EOS R6 III, those compromises are getting much harder to find.

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.

Photo: Richard Butler

Canon has announced the RF 45mm F1.2 STM, a super-fast normal prime lens for full-frame at the unexpectedly reasonable price of $470.

The 45mm F1.2 is a wide-aperture lens that fits alongside the existing 24, 28, 35, 50 and 85mm STM lenses, but offers an F1.2 maximum aperture, rather than the F1.8, F2.0 and F2.8s of its siblings.

It's a relatively simple design with 9 elements in 7 groups, and the samples we've taken so far suggest it exhibits quite significant vignetting, as you open the aperture up. The lens also requires the use of distortion correction as part of its design. Canon suggested to us that it's a lens that delivers "character" rather than being for "MTF chasers."

Photo: Richard Butler

Far from normal pricing

It's driven by a gear-type stepper motor and has a relatively large amount of glass to move, so it's not the fastest to focus lens Canon makes. In use we found the performance to be comparable with the likes of the RF85 F2.0 STM: reasonably quick for most things but with a slight 'chuntering' sound and vibration if it's trying to continuous AF on a static subject.

The lens is relatively compact: 78 x 75mm (3.1 x 3.0") and accepts 67mm filters. It weighs 346g (12.2oz). Minimum focus distance is 45cm (17.7"), yielding a maximum magnification ratio of 0.13x.

The thing that makes the 45mm F1.2 stand out, though, is the price. At $470 it's less expensive than the 85mm F2.0 STM and significantly below the $2699 list price of the L-series 50mm F1.2L USM. If you want a lens hood to go with it, you'll need to pay an extra $70.

The Canon RF45 F1.2 STM will be available from December 2025.

Canon RF45 F1.2 STM sample Gallery

With thanks to Lensrentals for the loan of the Canon EOS R5 II used for this 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.

One of the most memorable situations I've photographed was on a short flight with my husband on July 4th, 2016. He flew us from Centennial, Colorado, to Limon, Colorado, and on the way home, we were treated to an incredible sunset, plus the start of fireworks while in the air. Photo: Abby Ferguson

Welcome back to another edition of our community-focused Question of the Week! For those unfamiliar, this series invites you to share your experiences and insights in response to photography-related questions. Thus far, we've primarily focused on the gear side of things. We asked about your process for buying new cameras and lenses, how you deal with defective lenses and your favorite local camera shops. That last one had some really great photographs of unique camera shops!

This time around, though, we're shifting focus. We want to know more about what you actually use that gear for. After all, the point of having a camera and lens is to take photographs, and we want to know about images you've created that stand out in your mind.

What's your most memorable photograph or situation you've photographed?

Photography can put us in positions to capture remarkable moments. For example, we recently shared photos from Dan Zafra, who had the rare experience of photographing red sprites above the Milky Way while in New Zealand. "I’ll never forget the adrenaline rush of seeing those first frames appear on my camera, realizing what I had captured," he said of the occasion. Many of us have likely had some similar feelings, even if it was on a smaller scale.

Unforgettable photographs don't have to be so dramatic, either. Sometimes it's quiet, unassuming moments that lead to memorable photographs. Or, at times, the situation you're in is more memorable than the photograph itself.

This week, we want to hear the stories behind your most memorable photographs or the most unforgettable situations you've photographed. Tell us what, where and who made it so memorable. We want to know why it was so special. Even better, share your image, too. Show us the scene and show off your work. Next week, we'll be highlighting some of our favorites in an article on the homepage of the site.

Click here to answer the Question of the Week

Image: DJI

It's been less than a year since DJI released the Osmo Mobile 7 (and 7P), and yet, the company has already announced its successor. The Osmo Mobile 8 is a subtle upgrade, but it brings a handful of new features such as 360-degree horizontal panning, Apple DockKit support and the ability to track cats and dogs.

The Osmo Mobile 8, like its predecessors, offers three-axis stabilization. However, it adds full 360-degree horizontal rotation, which is a first for the Osmo Mobile lineup. The full rotation capabilities will make it easier to create sweeping panoramic shots and full-circle follow videos.

Image: DJI

The new gimbal supports three different subject tracking methods, including another first for the Osmo series: support for Apple DockKit. Support for Apple's tracking technology enables subject tracking with the native iPhone camera app, as well as the 200 iOS apps that are compatible with it. Alternatively, the DJI Mimo app for iOS and Android offers DJI's proprietary ActiveTrack 7.0.1 tracking technology that can track people, pets or objects. The app uses both the wide-angle and telephoto lenses to follow a subject even in challenging situations, and it can even detect multiple subjects.

DJI also brought over support for its Multifunctional Module, which it introduced with the Osmo Mobile 7P, though with even more tracking modes. The little accessory is now capable of tracking dogs and cats in addition to humans, so that users can get epic videos of their pets. The module attaches magnetically to the gimbal and offers an integrated light with temperature and brightness controls. It also functions as a microphone receiver, supporting DJI's Mic 3, Mic 2, and Mic Mini, and has indicator lights to monitor tracking status.

The Multifunctional Module offers a light with brightness and temperature control and a tracking status indicator. Image: DJI

The Osmo Mobile 8 reintroduces the side wheel that was first featured on the Osmo Mobile 6. DJI had nixed the wheel on the base Osmo Mobile 7 model, instead only offering it on the 7P. The rest of the Osmo Mobile 8 remains consistent. It has numerous on-handle buttons for faster control and offers an integrated tripod and a built-in extension rod. DJI promises 10 hours of battery life from the gimbal, and it can also charge your phone while you're recording.

Unfortunately for US customers, as with other DJI products this year, the Osmo Mobile 8 will not be officially available in the US. However, it is available globally starting today for £135 / €159.

Logo: PPA

The Professional Photographers of America (PPA) has announced the launch of PhotoVision, a new resource for photographers looking for educational content. The new subscription-based streaming platform is aimed at all levels and various disciplines, with updated videos and resources each week.

At the time of its launch, PPA's PhotoVision platform featured more than 2500 videos and 1700 articles. PPA will release new content weekly, so that number will only continue to grow. The videos range from short options, similar to YouTube Shorts, to long-form, step-by-step content and documentary-style stories. There are also curated playlists that offer multiple videos around a single topic.

A screenshot from the PPA PhotoVision website.

PPA says that PhotoVision is aimed at helping photographers at every stage of their professional and personal journey. As a result, it offers a broad range of articles and videos. That includes inspirational content, business-focused materials, on-set segments and tutorials on lighting, posing and more. PPA says it's meant to "nourish the educational, experiential and entertaining vision" of photographers.

The Professional Photographers of America (PPA) is a nonprofit association dedicated to supporting photographers. The PhotoVision platform is just the latest of its offerings, which already include equipment insurance, certification programs, business advice, contract templates, networking, legal advocacy and more.

PhotoVision is free for all new and existing PPA members. Alternatively, if you prefer not to become a PPA member, you can still access the full PhotoVision platform for $50 per year or $5 per month.

Photo: Richard Butler

The Fujifilm X-T30 III is a subtle refresh of the company's least expensive SLR-shaped X-mount mirroless camera. It sits above the rangefinder-styled X-M5, adding a viewfinder, and below the image stabilized X-S20, and shares its 26MP APS-C sized BSI CMOS sensor with all three models.

The update brings more advanced subject recognition autofocus, improved video capabilities and a Film Simulation dial, putting one of its key distinguishing features to the fore.

But how does that leave it fitting into the marketplace, particularly in the light of inflation and tariff led price increases? The Fujifilm X-T30 III retails for $1000, body-only or $1150 with a 13-33mm F3.5-6.3 OIS kit zoom.

We're primarily going to compare it with the similarly-priced Nikon Z50II and Canon EOS R10, both also mirrorless cameras with unstabilized APS-C sensors. We'll also look at the more expensive X-S20, which is built from very similar components but with a different control system and image stablization.

And, although they don't really fit in the tables, we're going to include some detail about the OM System OM-5 II ($1200) and Sony a6400 ($1000) too.

Resolution

There's not much to choose between cameras in this class, in terms of resolution. At 26MP the Fujifilms have a few more megapixels then the EOS R10, but not to a degree that makes any real difference.

There's a bit more of a gap to the 21MP Nikon and the 20MP OM-5 II, but it's still only about a 12% difference in linear resolution, so we wouldn't recommend selecting between these cameras on the basis of pixel count. All the current cameras use sensors that are modern enough that there's not a huge difference in performance (the move to BSI doesn't make a big difference to IQ in sensors this big).

Stabilization

Photo: Mitchell Clark

None of the $1000 APS-C models from Fujifilm, Canon, Nikon or Sony includes in-camera stabilization.

All of them tend to come bundled with stabilized lenses, which means you can use slower shutter speeds without having to worry about hand shake, when you're using that lens. But you'll have to upgrade to a more expensive camera if you want an in-body stabilization system that tends to work better for video. The OM System OM-5 II is the least expensive option, while you'll need to spend a fair bit more again to get in-body stabilization and an APS-C-sized sensor.

Continuous shooting and Autofocus

Photo: Richard Butler

As comparatively lowly models in their respective ranges, none of these cameras is designed as an out-and-out action camera, and yet they all boast shooting rates (at least in their distortion and flicker prone e-shutter modes) that exceed those offered by professional sports cameras, not much more than a decade ago.

None of these models is really designed for pitch-side use, but they'll do pretty well for capturing short bursts of movement.

The Nikon has the most reliable AF system here and a pretty deep buffer: tracking whatever you point it at pretty well. The Canon is a touch behind, but still very capable. All four models have subject recognition modes trained to identify and lock onto specific subjects, and if you're shooting one of these subjects, the performance gap between the Fujifilm and its peers definitely narrows.

The Sony is very good at general tracking and eye detection but has little subject recogniton beyond this. The OM-5 II is also limited to humans in terms of subject recognition and its tracking AF is well off the pace.

Viewfinder and screens

Photo: Shaminder Dulai

There's not a lot to choose in this class in terms of viewfinders: they're all built around the same 2.36M dot OLED panels, with the optics mounted in front of them affecting how large the finder ends up looking. Nikon does the best job here, though its large viewfinder hump also making it the tallest camera here by some margin, as a consequence.

There's a bit more of a decision to be made when it comes to rear screens. The X-T30 III has the highest resolution screen, with its 900 x 600 pixel resolution, but it's also the only one that tilts up and down, rather than extending to the side and rotating.

The Nikon promises a slightly larger panel, but with slightly reduced 720 x 640 pixel res. The Canon offers this resolution and the smaller panel. It's a similar story with the OM-5 II: a 2.36M dot EVF with 0.69x magnification, and a 3.0" 1.04M dot fully articulated rear screen. The Sony has the largest viewfinder, at 0.7x magnification but also the lowest res rear screen: approximately 720 x 415 pixels in a 16:9 aspect ratio.

Video

Photo: Richard Butler

Video is one of the areas that distinguishes between cameras at this price. All four of the main cameras we're looking at can shoot 10-bit footage, either as Log footage to maximise flexibility for color grading, or as HDR footage for playback on high dynamic range displays.

All these cameras boast pretty good specs, including the ability to capture 4K/60 if you can tolerate some degree of crop (though it makes capturing wide-angle footage harder and will tend to be noisier). The Nikon has the most dependable video autofocus in this group, and also lets you capture and monitor external audio without the need for adapters. Only the X-S20 has image stabilization, though, and even then it's not the smoothest of systems.

Both the OM-5 II and a6400 show their age or, at least, the age of their processors, by only being able to capture 8-bit video. This limits the flexibility of its Log footage (especially the more ambitious S-Log3 curve, and means it can't shoot true HDR footage.

OM System's in-body stabilization means the OM-5 II is an easier camera to shoot video with than most of the others here, but its autofocus undermines it, in this regard, so all of them will require a bit of work in one way or another.

Dimensions

The X-T30 III is the smallest of cameras here, by some margin, and also the lightest.

There are some definite downsides to this: the X-T30 III has lots of external controls but also the least surface space to fit them on, so, perhaps unsurprisingly, it feels the most fiddly and cramped to operate.

The Nikon is the only camera in this group not to have an autofocus joystick; something that's also the case for the OM-5 II and a6400. And, while the Nikon's tracking AF makes up for this to an extent, we generally find it more engaging to be able to pre-position or move the AF point via a tactile control point.

Ergonomics are ultimately a matter of taste, but it's only really this omission that stops the Nikon being the standout camera, in this regard. For us, the Canon and the Nikon are the most comfortable of this cohort to shoot with.

Kit lenses

Photo: Richard Butler

One of the biggest differences between the cameras in terms of real-world use isn't down to the cameras themselves at all: it's the lenses they come bundled with. A lot of users in this price bracket tend to primarily use these 'kit' zooms, so choosing the most flexible one makes a significant difference.

The X-T30 III comes with a retractable manual zoom that goes much wider than the ones offered by its peers, which is hugely useful, especially if you're used to shooting with the relatively wide angle lenses that smartphones tend to feature. The Nikon and X-S20's power zoom lenses perhaps offer the best balance between wide-angle capability and reach at the other end, but we've liked what we've seen of the new 13-33mm so far.

The OM-5 II's default 12-45mm F4.0 kit lens comes from the company's 'Pro' series and, as the branding implies, it's a rather more substantially built option than its peers. It has a constant F4.0 maximum aperture, so while it's a third of a stop darker in absolute terms and a whole stop darker in equivalent terms at the wide end, it's brighter by both metrics at the long end. And its 24-90mm equivalent range is pretty handy, too, though it takes the combined cost to $1600, $450 more than most of these other rivals.

Summary

The Film Simulation dial is one of the X-T30 III's changes, relative to its predecessor and also represents one of the camera's stand-out features, relative to its peers. Photo: Richard Butler

The cost of an 'entry-level' camera has risen markedly in recent years. There are a couple of cameras for sale cheaper than these, but you really notice the corners that have been cut and the build quality that's been sacrificed. But if you can stretch to the $1000 mark, you have a choice of very capable models.

All these cameras offer excellent image quality, increasingly sophisticated autofocus and video capabilities that would have been unthinkable, quite recently. There are definitely factors to help you choose between them, whether that's the Fujifilm's attractive range of color modes, the provision of an AF joystick or the inclusion of a headphone socket for audio monitoring, but for the most part it's hard to go far wrong.

The Fujifilm X-T30 III is a very subtle refresh of its predecessor. We can't imagine many Mark II owners choosing to make the upgrade, but its specs are enough to keep it competitive against its immediate peers.

Read our intial impressions of the Fujifilm X-T30 III

War photography is incredibly demanding, requiring superb technical skills, a finely tuned kit and the ability to adapt and survive in harsh environments. Photojournalist Jonathan Alpeyrie knows this all too well, having spent more than 20 years covering major conflicts across the globe, including those in Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, Gaza and the international drug trade. In a recent video, Alpeyrie walked through his kit for assignments, while also sharing his experiences and insight into being a conflict photographer.

Alpeyrie said that he has been packing the same way for over 20 years, and his kit is straightforward: a camera, flak jacket, phone, bag and computer. These days, his gear includes the Canon EOS R camera, which he said he likes because it's discreet and allows him to look more like a tourist than anything else.

On the lens side, Alpeyrie recommends not skimping on quality. "The lens is where you want to spend your money. The body you can pick and choose," he explains in the video. His current lens of choice is the Canon EOS R 50mm F1.2L USM. He says the 50mm lens is the only one he uses right now, in part because the wide aperture is ideal for working in dark situations. It's also smaller than other lenses, which is helpful when you're taking cover from artillery fire. He says he has had larger lenses, such as 200mm or 300mm, break in these situations.

Beyond gear choices, Alpeyrie shares lots of valuable insights in the video. He touches on how he protects his camera and memory cards in dangerous places, the importance of knowing your camera and how to use manual settings, tips on framing and composition, and so much more. It's well worth a watch all the way through.

Image: DxO

Software company DxO has announced a modest update for its Raw processing software, PureRaw, which promises to make it easier to use as an alternative to Adobe's Camera Raw (ACR). It should result in a more streamlined and flexible workflow when using PureRaw and Photoshop in combination. The company also announced minor changes to PhotoLab and Nik Collection.

DxO announced PureRaw 5 earlier this year, which offered more robust upgrades. PureRaw 5.5 is a minor update, featuring a single change: the ability to edit non-destructively by opening files from PureRaw as Smart Objects in Photoshop.

The new workflow means users can process files in PureRaw instead of Adobe Camera Raw, and then open them in Photoshop to continue editing. Because it's a Smart Object, users can also re-process the Raw file at any point, even after saving and closing the Photoshop file. It unlocks the ability to use PureRaw as an alternative to ACR while still maintaining a non-destructive editing workflow.

DxO says that PhotoLab 9.2 offers better AI masking tools. Image: DxO

Outside of the PureRaw update, DxO also announced small updates to PhotoLab and Nik Collection. With PhotoLab 9.2, the company says its AI masking tools, which were added to PhotoLab 9 this summer, are now even better. It promises greater precision and fewer artifacts and smudging around selections. Additionally, the company added the ability to reorganize masks and submasks, and created the ability to filter your library by editing stage.

In Nik Collection 8.2, DxO expanded its Analog Efex option with a new paper texture tool. You can access Analog Efex from a toolbar option in Photoshop, and then select from 30 different paper textures, including fine-art matte and watercolor paper. You can adjust various parameters to fine-tune the link, including changing the color of the paper and selecting different blending modes.

PureRaw 5.5 is available for free for owners of DxO Pure Raw 5. All others will need to purchase either a new license for $130 or an upgrade license from DxO PureRaw 3 or 4 for $90. Likewise, PhotoLab 9.2 is free for those with DxO PhotoLab 9, or $120 to upgrade from 7 or 8 and $240 for a new license. Nik Collection 8.2 is available for free to Nik Collection 8 users and costs $100 for an upgrade license or $170 for a new license.

Photo: Mitchell Clark

Disclosure: DPReview attended Adobe Max, with Adobe covering travel and lodging expenses.

The subscription payment model is a tough one; customers have made it clear that they're fatigued by having to pay for everything every month, and companies have to continuously justify why their software shouldn't just be a one-time payment.

It's an argument we've seen time and time again here at DPReview almost any time Adobe's Creative Cloud comes up, with commenters bemoaning the lost days of simply being able to buy Photoshop once (at least, until the next version came out in a few years).

In the age of generative AI, Adobe seems to have found a new answer: being a one-stop shop for AI services that would typically require separate subscriptions. Partner Models in particular have come up again and again at this year's Adobe Max conference, from keynotes to product demos. And while AI will almost certainly have terrifying implications for society at large and the art of photography in particular, I find myself coming away strangely optimistic for the future of the artform, at least as a hobby.

In the age of generative AI, Adobe wants to be a one-stop shop for AI services

Let's lay some groundwork quickly for those who haven't been following along. This week, Adobe announced and released several new features for Photoshop and Lightroom, programs that many photographers consider essential.

As usual, most of it revolved around AI: there's a chatbot coming to Photoshop that you can ask to make certain edits and complete tasks for you, the Generative Remove tool that lets you erase unwanted distractions is now better, and you can "Harmonize" foreground and background layers to turn compositing into a single-click process.

AI from partners, and Adobe

Photo: Mitchell Clark

The biggest change, though, is the introduction of Partner Models. Up until now, features like Generative Fill, which let you add AI-generated elements to your images, and AI Upscale, relied on Adobe's in-house Firefly models. And while you can still use those, Adobe's now letting you use other models too, such as Google's goofily-named Nano Banana image generator and Topaz Labs' increasingly popular upscale, denoise and sharpen models.

Rather than relying on separate paid subscriptions and apps for each of those services, it all happens within Photoshop using AI credits that are included in your Creative Cloud plan (provided you've chosen the right one).

Put another way, Adobe is mediating your relationship with other AI vendors. It doesn't want you to view them as separate services that you have to manage depending on what tasks you have this month, but tools you can access within its apps that – importantly – you don't have to pay for separately.

The company laid the groundwork for this change in advance, changing up its Creative Cloud subscription earlier this year with its plans now centering around how many AI credits are included. In retrospect, it's obvious that this was vital if it wanted to let its users access otherwise expensive AI models without needing a separate subscription.*

What's the impact?

This could be a sign of profound changes to come for photographers. Not because I think the future of Creative Cloud as a subscription hinges on whether this gambit works. Realistically, that battle is over; it seems like most people are willing to pay the rent, and, realistically, there's probably a lot of overlap between the anti-subscription and anti-AI crowds. (I say this with love.) No, it could be something much deeper.

While many of us hobbyists like to imagine that being a professional photographer would let us pursue all our artistic ambitions in interesting locales, the reality is that the largest market for paid photography is less glamorous commercial work; capturing images to be used in advertisements and other collateral by corporations.

Try as they might, companies have never been able to fully extract the photographer from that equation

But try as they might, companies have never been able to fully extract the photographer from that equation; there's still a human who has to hold the camera and make what are ultimately creative decisions. Generative AI may finally be the thing that lets them do that. At the very least, there's a good chance that human photographers will become less and less important in the creative process. The photo doesn't quite match the senior VP of marketing's vision? They can fire up Photoshop and have generative AI "fix" it with a simple prompt.

To be clear, this isn't a hypothetical future; during its keynote, Adobe showed an example of using the Generative Fill tool to change which direction a model was looking. Higher-ups could always mandate changes, but the barriers to them doing so have never been so low; before, they would've had to weigh the costs of dragging everyone back into the studio. Now, all it takes is a couple of clicks and some AI credits. And with tools like Firefly and Express, Adobe's trying to make it so you don't even have to know which model works best for which purposes.

Our AI, your voice

Custom models are Adobe's solution to living in what it calls a "content-first" world. Image: Adobe

It goes even further. Adobe also introduced something called Custom Models, which lets you feed your existing work into its Firefly AI and train it to produce images in a similar style. There's also a super-charged version for corporations that will let them dump their entire intellectual property into it, generating on-brand content (yuck) without the need for any artistic input. The work of all the creatives that have worked with the company becomes grist for the ever-accelerating content mill.

Okay, so what about the part where I said I don't think it's the apocalypse? Well, for those of us who do photography as a hobby, not a job (which I suspect is actually most of us), this approach could be helpful, especially if AI tools are only a very occasional part of how we work with our images.

Take Topaz's Gigapixel upscaler, something that gets recommended relatively frequently in our forums and comments. It's not something I'd personally spend $12 a month on, but it's something I'd sometimes use to touch up older photos if I had access to it. If it's just included in my Creative Cloud subscription, I can do so without really having to think about it.

The drive to add more and more AI features could also result in more features that are genuinely useful to photographers. Work that went into features like the cloud-based remove tool could inform tools like Lightroom's Assisted Culling tool, which has to recognize eyes that are out of focus and missed exposures.

Lightroom has its fair share of AI features, but largely remains a bastion for people who care about photography.

Cloud processing is making it possible to search your Lightroom catalogue using natural language, rather than having to rely on tags that you've manually added. And while Adobe views the AI Photoshop assistant more as a way to automate repetitive tasks, it could be a powerful tool in helping people learn a piece of increasingly complicated software.

There are clearly still lots of people at Adobe who recognize that photography can be a passion, not just a means to an end, and who are finding ways for AI to enhance what humans do, not replace it. And, at least for now, they still seem to have the space and resources to do that work.

Adobe is building tools for people who don't care to learn the craft they're practicing

However, that work is being showcased alongside the latest innovations in placing business needs over human ones, and tools built for people who don't care to learn the craft they're practicing. See the Firefly video editor, for people who want video edited but don't want to edit it, and Photoshop AI assistant for people who want things photoshopped but don't want to Photoshop it.

At the end of it all, it's hard to say what vision will win out, or what balance will be struck. Certainly, the latter seems to be the one being sold the hardest here at Max, but maybe that's just because it's not as prima facie enticing to an audience that still includes a lot of creative people. I'm not sure who's buying that vision of the future, and I'm honestly a little scared to find out. But I do think that it'll come with a lot of side benefits for photographers, intended and not.

* It also likely represents some big deals between Adobe and other AI companies, which doesn't help assuage my concerns about how bubbly the map of the AI economy looks one bit.

Earlier this week, we released our review of the OM System OM-5 II. We didn't find any surprises when it comes to image quality (it uses the same sensor and processor as its predecessor, so it would've been a bit odd if we had), but, as always, our review processes included using the camera a lot. That leaves us with a collection of images to share with the audience, both as illustrations and as proof that we've put in the work.

Of course, if you're not familiar with what this camera is capable of, the sample gallery will be a good illustration; it includes high-ISO examples, as well as a few shots taken using some of the camera's computational photography modes. You can also check out our pre-production sample gallery below to see more sample images from the OM-5 II.

See the production 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.

Production sample gallery

Pre-production sample gallery

Photo: Porsche

In 2017, a group of apprentices from Porsche Leipzig GmbH undertook a dramatic conversion of a Porsche Boxster, transforming it into a unique camera car. It was kept behind the scenes, but now, the company has made details of the vehicle public, showing off the highly modified vehicle along with information about its conversion.

Porsche says nine apprentices modified the Porsche 718 Boxster S as part of a project for their second year of training. The idea came about because the previous camera car, an older Porsche Boxster, could no longer keep up with current models on the track. The apprentices were then tasked with converting the new vehicle with guidance from training supervisor Carsten Pohle.

Photo: Porsche

To convert the Boxster, the team removed the soft-top roof and installed a robust roll bar, which doubles as an elevated mounting point. They added steel tube mounts on the front, rear and sides to allow for additional camera positions. The crew also painted the vehicle and all of its add-on parts with matte black paint to cut down on reflections when filming.

Of course, with people aboard the vehicle, safety also needed to be a consideration. Porsche says that they padded both the front and rear luggage compartments and added harness systems. There's also a standing platform between the front seats and rear trunk with the necessary safety harness. There is still plenty of risk for the photographer sitting exposed in the front luggage compartment or standing up in the middle of the car. Still, these positions do enable a very clear view for filming and photography.

Photo: Porsche

The company also provided details on how the car was built with photography and videography workflows in mind, too. For example, the team added internal wiring that allows for a direct connection between the camera and laptop, with the latter able to be securely mounted in the passenger area. There's also an inverter to supply power and recharge all of the camera equipment.

Porsche says that the car has been used regularly for filming shoots on the Leipzig track since its completion. External productions have also used the vehicle, including shoots for Motor Presse Stuttgart. Motorsport legend Walter Röhrl has even been filmed with the camera car. Most recently, the car ventured beyond the Leipzig track, serving as the camera car for the Tutto Bene Hillclimb near Lake Maggiore.

Photo: Dan Zafra

Photography has a way of leading us into rare and unrepeatable moments. Such was recently the case for photographer Dan Zafra, the co-founder of Capture the Atlas. While capturing the dark skies of New Zealand, Zafra witnessed red sprites flashing above the Milky Way. Making it even more special, the scene was accompanied by some Aurora Australis glow and a little comet called SWAN.

Zafra says he was photographing at the Clay Cliffs, South Island, New Zealand, on October 11, 2025 under clear skies when he began to notice faint flashes on the horizon from a distant thunderstorm over the Southern Alps in New Zealand. "At first, they looked like normal lightning, but after a few test shots, I realized my camera was capturing red sprites," Zafra explained.

Red sprites are luminous flashes that occur high above thunderstorm clouds, typically at altitudes between 50 and 90 kilometers (unlike traditional lightning, which is within the lower atmosphere). They are almost impossible to see with the naked eye, but in images, they appear as red tendrils and usually only last a few milliseconds. They are a rare phenomenon, especially in New Zealand, where major lightning storms are rare.

Zafra said it was even more magical because of how things aligned. He explained that he could see the Milky Way glowing above the horizon while seeing red tendrils of light above the storm hundreds of kilometers away. "It was one of those moments when you know you’re witnessing something you’ll probably never see again," he said.

To capture this incredible event, Zafra used a Sony a7 III with a Sony FE 24mm F1.4 GM lens. His settings for the sky exposure were F1.4, 10 sec. and ISO 6400, while the foreground exposure was a longer 2 minutes (with the rest of the settings remaining the same). He says he used minimal contrast and noise adjustments during processing. He blended the foreground for clarity, but didn't use any other stacking or star-tracking techniques.

Zafra also created a timelapse video of the event that shows the sprites flashing in real time. It shows just how fleeting those flashes are.

Zafra added that, as far as he's been able to find, there are no previously registered images or timelapses showing red sprites and the Southern Hemisphere Milky Way together. "I’ll never forget the adrenaline rush of seeing those first frames appear on my camera, realizing what I had captured," he explained. "I felt incredibly lucky to be there; in the right place, at the right time, and ready for it." Moments like these remind us how powerful a tool photography can be.

As previously announced in our forums, on our homepage, and via a Halloween‑orange banner on the site, we will be upgrading the software that powers DPReview's discussion forums. During this upgrade, the forums will be in read‑only mode while we migrate all existing forum data to the new system.

The forums will enter read‑only mode on Friday, October 31, at 1:00 pm Pacific (20:00 UTC). During the read-only period, you can continue to browse, read, and search the forums, but you won't be able to create new posts or upload photos. We expect the forums to come back online beginning Wednesday, November 5.

The move to a modern platform will ensure the forums remain healthy, secure, and sustainable for the years ahead. It will allow us to roll out important performance improvements and new features.

When the upgrade is complete, your discussions, posting history, photo albums, private messages, and other data will all be preserved.

Want a preview of the new forums? Our Community Manager, Mathew Anderson, put together a 5‑minute video walkthrough, which you can find at the top of this article.

To learn more about the upgrade and why we're doing it, please see our detailed forum post.

Read our post about the forum upgrade

We've also published a comprehensive FAQ about these changes. If your question isn't covered, add it to the FAQ forum thread and we'll find the answer.

Read the FAQ

Finally, thank you to everyone who's contributed to the forums over the years – the experts, the beginners, and yes, even the trolls. We can't wait for more discussions, debates, and shared discoveries in the years ahead.

Photo: DJI

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently voted unanimously to give itself sweeping new powers to ban electronic devices retroactively. The vote makes a nationwide DJI ban even more likely after December 23, 2025. This decision builds on years of threats to ban DJI products due to apparent security concerns and legislative action against the most popular drone maker.

The move, first reported by The Verge, means that the FCC can ban devices previously approved for entry into the US if it deems the company behind them a national security risk. It's being framed as a national security measure aimed at protecting US networks from backdoors in Chinese telecom gear. But it's also part of intensifying efforts to restrict technology from foreign companies, especially Chinese firms.

The FCC's decision is just the latest threat to DJI. There have been calls to ban DJI products since 2017, driven by worries that the drones could send sensitive data to China, a risk the company has repeatedly downplayed. At the end of last year, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual defense spending bill, outlined a potential path toward a ban, although it did not specifically name DJI. It requires an "appropriate national security agency" to declare that a company's products don't "pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States." That risk audit must be completed by December 23, 2025.

"It would result in an automatic ban of all new DJI products that use radio transmitters in the US"

If the risk assessment isn't completed by December 23, DJI products (and those by other companies) will be added to the "Covered List" under the Secure and Trusted Communication Networks Act. That move would result in an automatic ban of all new DJI products that use radio transmitters in the US, which would include drones, gimbals and the Osmo line of pocket-sized cameras. At the time of writing, no security agency has taken up the audit, despite more than 10 months having passed and only a few months to go before the deadline.

In a statement to The Verge, DJI's global policy head, Adam Welsh, said the company welcomes an investigation. "As the deadline approaches, we urge the U.S. government to start the mandated review or grant an extension to ensure a fair, evidence-based process that protects American jobs, safety, and innovation," he said.

"[T]he continued use of such equipment that is already in the hands of users would remain authorized"

There are limits to the potential ban, though. A 60-page document outlines how the FCC order will work; importantly, it won’t confiscate or deactivate products that are already in the hands of consumers in its current form. "[T]he continued use of such equipment that is already in the hands of users would remain authorized," it says. Additionally, it says the FCC must provide public notice, conduct a "public interest analysis," and allow the opportunity for public comment for a minimum of 30 days.

With the December deadline approaching, DJI's future in the US market remains tenuous. The company hasn't made any of its releases this year officially available in the US (though some units have snuck through to stores), and that looks likely to continue as DJI’s next steps remain uncertain.

Plate: Markus Hofstätter

While many choose to focus on the fast-moving world of modern photography, Markus Hofstätter, an award-winning photographer, builds his art on patience, tradition and tangible connection. Using large-format analog cameras and labor-intensive wet plate processes, he creates portraits that are as much about human interaction as they are about photographic technique. I had the opportunity to (virtually) sit down with Hofstätter, learning more about his background, technique and mindset.

His passion for photography began around 2008, well past film's heyday, while photographing billiards games, a challenge that soon turned into far more than a casual hobby. After learning the ropes, Hofstätter started capturing weddings, local events and more, to make money from his photography. It was all digital, though. But one day, he picked up a Mamiya 645E. While Hofstätter still photographs digitally, from that point on, analog processes became central to his personal work.

Plate: Markus Hofstätter

With his Mamiya 645E in hand, Hofstätter started taking portraits of people on the streets, which sparked a general love of portrait photography. Another turning point came when he had a friend let him try a 4x5 Linhof Master Technika. The large-format camera sparked a new interest for him.

However, Hofstätter says he got a bit bored with that as well. He then stumbled on a video of photographer Ian Ruhter making massive collodion wet plates and fell in love. "I tried to learn that by myself on 4x5 plates, and I failed so badly for many months. I only made black plates, so that was very frustrating," he said. But he didn't give up. He picked up a book by Quinn Jacobson and started making his own chemicals, eventually figuring out the process. Hofstätter says he hasn't looked back since.

These days, Hofstätter uses a Kodak 2D camera (which he modified, as you can see above) for studio setups and a Century No.2 for outside. He's mostly working with historical processes like wet plates and salt prints.

He explained that he is a very independent person and loves to work with his hands, which is part of why he's so drawn to the old analog processes. It is stressful trying to get everything right for a successful print, but Hofstätter says the demanding process keeps him sharp, a kind of creative tension that helps him focus. "I was always a little stressed or anxious before pool tournaments," he said. "Then I learned that when the stress comes, it means I get extra energy. It means I'm ready now, and I'm going to be extra careful and extra good because the stress is here. It's the same in the darkroom."

Hofstätter sees benefits for portraiture from the slow analog process. His sessions result in only a single plate, which is drastically different from a portrait session with digital cameras. Of course, that also introduces challenges. You only have one shot to produce an image, after all. Hofstätter said that means you have to really figure out the individual before starting to take the photograph.

Plate: Markus Hofstätter

Hofstätter also explained that with wet plate processes, the subject is involved in the whole process. They get to see the plate getting prepped, the camera set up, the development and so on. That means he gets a lot more interaction with the people he's photographing, which lends itself to a different type of connection. The longer exposure times also lend themselves to unique results for portraiture. "I get to capture something different with the process because you have to sit still for two to three seconds," he explained. "You cannot fake good energy if you're not in a good mood for three seconds. So you get a different kind of personality, a real personality."

"If you want really great portraits, take at least 30 minutes per person."

Looking at Hofstätter's work reveals truly intimate, powerful portraits. Creating portraits like that involves a deep knowledge of how to work with people. "Portrait photography is mostly not about technique, it's about how you handle people," he said. It also requires a lot of trust and connection with the subject. When asked how he builds that trust, Hofstätter emphasized the importance of time. His main suggestion: take time. "If you want really great portraits, take at least 30 minutes per person," he said. "Chat with them before you even get started. Get to know who they are."

Plate: Markus Hofstätter

Of course, every person is different. Each individual will require a slightly different technique to get them comfortable in front of the lens. One method he likes to use is to have the subject close their eyes and only open them when they are ready. Then, when the eyes open, he takes the photograph. It gives the subject time to collect their thoughts and relax before he creates the image.

When asked whether he plans to explore other historical processes, Hofstätter said it isn’t a priority right now. "I want to create, I don't want to try. I figured it out now, and I just want to create portraits. At some point, when I'm limited, then I'll try something new," he explained. He gave an example of this problem-solving from when he was photographing a couple comprised of a woman with really dark skin and a really light man. The process is only blue-light sensitive, so she nearly completely disappeared. So, Hofstätter had to figure out a different recipe for his chemicals and tweak his lighting, which enabled him to get all of the skin tones to better handle such situations.

That doesn't mean Hofstätter is entirely opposed to trying new things, of course. A few years ago, he came across an antique retouching desk dating back to the late 19th and early 20th century. While many only associate retouching with digital processes and Photoshop, retouching has been around nearly as long as photography itself. After staring at it for those few years, he finally decided to put it to use. In a recent video and blog post, Hofstätter shared the process of learning how to retouch a plate with the antique table, which he said is more comfortable than the LED table he had used in the past.

Hofstätter was retouching his plates prior to buying this table using Photoshop. He explained that his retouching is always to make the digital copy look like the original. Seeing a plate in person is a much different experience, since tilting it or moving around it changes how the shadows and highlights appear. Because of that, he'll dodge and burn in Photoshop to get the digital version closer to the original. These days, he also shares videos of his plates to provide a better view of how they look in real life.

A preview of "The White Rabbit," an image included in his storytelling-based portrait series. Plate: Markus Hofstätter

As his practice continues to evolve, Hofstätter is preparing a book that pays tribute to the individuals who have inspired him. At the same time, he is delving into more story-driven work, weaving narratives into his plates while continuing with these historical processes. You can see more of his work on his website, his Instagram or his YouTube channel, and you can sign up for his newsletter to stay up to date on his Inspired series.

Photo: Mitchell Clark

Disclosure: DPReview is attending Adobe Max, with Adobe covering travel and lodging expenses.

Over the past few days at the Adobe Max conference, I've been able to talk with product managers from the Photoshop and Lightroom teams, and demo some new and in-the-works features that didn't get much time, if any, in the keynote presentation. We'll go over the most interesting ones here, and wrap up with some of the things I'd like to see in future releases.

The Lightroom Demos

Assisted Culling and Auto Stacks

The tool lets you fine-tune most of the parameters.

The headlining Lightroom feature this year is Assisted Culling, which is available as an "early access" feature in Lightroom and Lightroom Classic. We've gone more in-depth on it here, but essentially, it's a way to quickly sort through dozens or hundreds of photos so you only see the ones that are exposed properly and in focus. There are controls to set how picky you want it to be, and you can easily mark photos the system rejected as selects, or vice versa.

The culling tool can be accessed either in your library or in the import window, depending on where you're trying to use it.

Adobe has also updated the Stacks feature in Lightroom. While it has long been able to group photos by capture time, it can now do so based on visual similarity too (and, again, you can choose how similar photos have to be to be stacked together). Combining the two features lets you process a lot of photos very quickly. When you have your selects, you can run a batch process on both them and the rejects, applying colored labels, star ratings and/or flags, or adding them to an album.

The system generally works with both files in the cloud and on local files, though at the moment, you can only do visually similar stacking on local files in Lightroom Classic, not Lightroom.

Adobe says Assisted Culling is currently geared towards portrait photography, but that we can expect to see controls that make sense for other genres of photography in the future.

A better remove tool

Note that this selection doesn't include the player's shadows.

Adobe has also been hard at work on the remove tool, which photographers can use to automatically get rid of distracting elements in their photos. For one, it can now detect and delete dust spots from your sensor or lens, and can do so as a batch process. So, if you've just come back from a shoot and realized your sensor was dirty, you won't have to go through each photo to fix them manually one by one.

The remove model also now supports smarter object detection. Previously, if you selected a person and asked Lightroom to remove them, it'd do it, but might leave their shadow or reflection. Worse, it might look at the image, see that there's a shadow, and try to insert something into the selected area, defeating the point entirely. Now, if you select the Detect Objects box, it will automatically detect and remove shadows and reflections too, even if you've only selected the object.

With the "Detect objects" option selected, Lightroom fully selected the players' bodies and their shadows, even though I didn't completely scribble over them.

Adobe also says it's updated the model used in its reflection removal tool, allowing it to handle more complex situations.

While all the features we've talked about so far have been available on the desktop versions of Lightroom, there's a new one coming exclusively to the Mobile and Web versions (for now): automatic blemish removal. It's available as a Quick Action in the retouch menu, and, as with most Quick Actions, there's a slider to control how strong you want the effect to be. Adobe says it's one of the most requested features, but that it's rolling it out in Early Access to get feedback before making it more widely available (it is messing with people's faces, after all).

Smarter searching

It worked in this example, but didn't do so well in others. When I tried "black and white portraits" and "people with cats," it included images that didn't match those descriptions, and didn't find all the ones that did. Clearly still a work in progress!

Another feature that's in beta is an improved search tool that's much better at the semantic-type searching you may be familiar with using in cloud-based photo management tools from the likes of Apple and Google. While you've been able to search for things like "dog" or "person" for a while now, the improved search is much more granular. In the demo I saw, the presenter searched for "man standing at the end of a pier," and it was able to find the photo he was looking for.

It's currently only on Lightroom for the Web (which means it only works on photos you've uploaded to your account), and it has to do a scan of your library after you turn it on. While Adobe says it plans on bringing it to the desktop in the near-to-mid-future, you'll currently have to go to your profile, then enable the Improved Search feature in the Technology Previews section to use it.

What the heck is color variance?

The color variance slider, with no changes applied. Photo: Richard Butler

If I'm being honest, when I originally wrote about Adobe adding a "variance" slider to the point color panel, I wasn't completely sure what it did. After seeing it in action, though, I get it: it essentially lets you select a hue in your image, and then move similar hues either closer to it or further apart, removing or adding color contrast.

Turning the slider up can (in this case, over-)emphasise the difference between similar hues in your image.

The original use for it was for evening out skin tones, which helps demphasize blemishes without entirely smoothing someone's face. However, it can also be used to emphasize subjects in your scene without having to resort to globally increasing contrast, saturation or clarity. I saw demos of it being used to make foliage, which had looked relatively monochromatic in the original picture, really pop, or to make the Taj Mahal stand out despite being behind a thick layer of smog.

Agentic Editing

Suggestions are like presets, but instead of preset changes, they analyze the actual image you're applying them to.

The Lightroom team also showed me a beta feature called Edit Suggestions, which they described as their first toe into the waters of "agentic style" editing. It's a bit of a mix of the current Quick Actions found in Lightroom Mobile and Web and the Adaptive Profiles that analyze your photos to give you a better baseline for your edits (though the team tells me it doesn't rely on the tech from the latter).

Essentially, it's a tab that says "make my photo look" and then gives you several pre-made options, such as "vintage" or "cinematic." It will then change a bunch of parameters, such as color mixing, grain settings, curves and, of course, the standard exposure sliders.

Lightroom explains what changes it made, and of course lets you refine the tweaks it made.

The team made it clear that these aren't just presets, though; it won't make the same exact changes each time. Instead, the adjustments it makes, and how far it takes them, will be based on the specific photo. Ask for the same thing on a different photo, and you'll get different settings.

It's easy to imagine a more open-ended version of this in the future, similar to the AI assistant that's coming to Photoshop, though the team isn't making any announcements in that direction yet.

The Photoshop demos

With Photoshop, I didn't get to see many features that I hadn't already written about, but I was able to get some insight into how they worked under the hood and how the folks at Adobe were thinking about them.

Same remove tool improvements

To start, the Remove tool received the same updates as the one in Lightroom, and should now be better at removing both an object and any reflections and shadows it may cast. And while the process still uses cloud-based generative AI, Adobe says that they were able to make the model so efficient that the feature doesn't cost any of the generative credits that come with its plans (which is good news for those using the standard Creative Cloud plan or the inexpensive Photography plans, which only come with a few).

I also got a pro tip from Stephen Nielson, Sr. Director of Product Management of Photoshop, who said that people often try to use the Generative Fill feature to remove unwanted elements from an image, rather than the Remove tool. He doesn't recommend that. For one, it costs credits, and two, it's actually not as good at erasing something from an image; you might end up with the problem that most of us are likely familiar with, where you try to get rid of something, only to have it replaced by something else.

Generative Fill and Partner Models

You can now use Topaz's Gigapixel upscaling model from right within Photoshop, though doing so will require premium credits.

With that said, Generative Fill has gotten a big upgrade with the introduction of Partner Models, which let you do image generation not just using Adobe's own Firefly AI, but also with services like Google's Gemini 2.5 Flash Image (AKA Nano Banana) model. Nielson says the new models available, including Adobe's latest-gen one, will now be much better at following prompts, when they couldn't before (though that didn't stop users from trying). For example, if you wanted it to change the color of someone's sweater, or even add a whole new overcoat, Generative Fill is now much better equipped to do so.

While a lot of photographers would rather not use generative AI to alter their images, Partner Models touches on other features as well. For example, if you frequent DPReview's forums and comments, you'll likely have seen recommendations for several of Topaz Labs' AI tools, such as the Gigapixel upscaler and its denoise software. The AI models underpinning those are now available to use in Photoshop, alongside Adobe's own models, without you having to have a separate subscription for them.

The local selection

The select tool did a pretty decent job with this very complex object (even if it did miss a few very low-contrast spokes and treat the two bikes as one).

Speaking of AI models, the subject select tool, which lets you cut out an object from an image, has been improved, too. Nielson said this actually came in April, when Adobe added the ability to run the subject recognition process in the cloud, using a more complex model that could do a better job with fine details. Now, though, that model no longer requires the cloud; it can run right on your computer.

I asked Nielson if that was something the Photoshop team was interested in bringing to more AI features, and while he cautioned that not every model could even be run on today's desktops and laptops, it was definitely something the team considered. "If we can bring a model to run locally, yeah, we'll do it," he says.

Jarvis, label my layers

The splashiest feature was likely the Photoshop AI assistant, which I actually didn't get to see a demo of; it's currently only available in closed beta and in Photoshop for the Web. The idea is that you'll have a chat box that you can type commands into that an AI will try to execute within Photoshop. The crowd-pleasing demo shown during the keynote asked it to name all the layers, but Adobe says it'll be able to make adjustments to how your image looks and even give you feedback on your current edits.

The latter part was, to me, a surprisingly big focus for Adobe. Nielson says the AI isn't analyzing whether the image or design is good or bad, per se, but rather just looking for ways that it could be better (though it wasn't exactly clear where the definition of "better" comes from). While he conceded that it could be used as a tool to learn how to do more complex edits or to remind you how to do a specific operation, he says they don't want it to just be a super-powered help tool. They view the AI more as an automation tool, something that'll do repetitive tasks that you can't be bothered with, but with a contextual understanding of your image that you wouldn't be able to get with, say, Actions or macros. Speaking of, though...

Action-packed

Adobe is carefully reworking the Actions panel. Image: Adobe

I also got a sneak peek at some of the progress being made to the updated Actions panel, which can also suggest edits to you based on the image you're working on. According to Pete Green, another Photoshop product manager, it pulls suggestions from a bank of over 500 pre-made actions. The team is also working on revamping the workflow for creating and recording custom actions, letting you add icons and labels to them to make them easier to pick out from the list.

According to Green, there's been a lot of effort to make sure the actions made by the new system are backwards-compatible, and that all your existing actions should still work. He says the team is being meticulous about the updates it makes, with the knowledge that actions are a long-standing and vital part of many people's workflows.

What's next?

Looking at the demos I saw this week, the thing that stood out to me most is that the gap between Lightroom and Photoshop's purposes has never been wider. Photoshop has become Adobe's main tool for dealing with imagery, and several of its features may seem like utter anathema to those who care about capturing moments and whatever truths may lie within them. Lightroom, meanwhile, is laser-focused on the needs of photographers, gaining features that I suspect will be quite popular, especially with our audience.

I do think there's room for a bit more of Photoshop to bleed into Lightroom, though. I was honestly surprised that Lightroom isn't getting the Topaz partner models, as I can imagine a lot of photographers wanting to use those, especially on older photos. The Lightroom team told me that they haven't ruled out the possibility of adding them and that customer feedback would be an important part of their considerations.

That raises the question: what would you like to see in Photoshop or Lightroom? Leave a comment down below or in our forums.

As previously announced in our forums, on our homepage, and via a Halloween‑orange banner on the site, we will be upgrading the software that powers DPReview's discussion forums. During this upgrade, the forums will be in read‑only mode while we migrate all existing forum data to the new system.

The forums will enter read‑only mode on Friday, October 31, at 1:00 pm Pacific (20:00 UTC). During the read-only period, you can continue to browse, read, and search the forums, but you won't be able to create new posts or upload photos. We expect the forums to come back online beginning Wednesday, November 5.

The move to a modern platform will ensure the forums remain healthy, secure, and sustainable for the years ahead. It will allow us to roll out important performance improvements and new features.

When the upgrade is complete, your discussions, posting history, photo albums, private messages, and other data will all be preserved.

Want a preview of the new forums? Our Community Manager, Mathew Anderson, put together a 5‑minute video walkthrough, which you can find at the top of this article.

To learn more about the upgrade and why we're doing it, please see our detailed forum post.

Read our post about the forum upgrade

We've also published a comprehensive FAQ about these changes. If your question isn't covered, add it to the FAQ forum thread and we'll find the answer.

Read the FAQ

Finally, thank you to everyone who's contributed to the forums over the years – the experts, the beginners, and yes, even the trolls. We can't wait for more discussions, debates, and shared discoveries in the years ahead.

Image: Sony

Sony has released firmware updates for the a9 III, a1 II, FX30, FX3 and PXW-Z300 camcorder, bringing C2PA content credentials to video for the first time. Additionally, Ver. 4.00 for Sony's two flagship mirrorless models promises to improve autofocus capabilities and add other upgrades.

Sony first teased Content Credentials for video at the launch of its PXW-Z300 camcorder this summer, saying the feature would be available via a future firmware update. Now, that time is here, with it and the a9 III, a1 II, FX30 and FX3 getting support for the "Write Digital Signature" function for movies.

The embedded digital signature confirms that the content was captured by a specific Sony camera and not generated by AI. Going even further, Sony says that the system can "detect 3D depth information in video content, enabling highly accurate verification that videos were captured of actual, existing subjects" to offer two levels of authentication.

As with the stills Digital Signature tool, this is a paid license. And, as of now, that license is only available for certain media outlets, not for general use. The firmware update page reveals that Sony still hasn't specified when its Camera Authenticity Solution, and therefore Content Credentials, may be expanded to general users.

It plans to add support for C2PA standards for video on the a7R V, a7 IV and a1 in November

Still, it's good to see Sony expanding its content authenticity efforts, and the feature showing up for video on Alpha cameras alongside the cinema cameras is a good step, especially as more and more news agencies adopt them into their workflows. Sony added that it plans to add support for C2PA standards for video on the a7R V, a7 IV and a1 in November 2025, and the a7S III sometime in 2026.

Beyond content authenticity, the firmware updates for the a1 II and a9 III also bring about some autofocus upgrades. Both now support improved subject detection and tracking capabilities. According to the company, the updated system will provide "stable recognition of people even in complex situations such as crowds or team sports." Ver. 4.00 also promises more precise and consistent tracking, even when the subject is small or if they are temporarily obstructed.

Additionally, the a9 III is being updated to let you to set the subject recognition to Auto, instead of manually selecting your subject type. That feature was available on the a1 II when it launched, but it is new on the a9 III. Like the a1 II, you'll be able to exclude certain types of subjects from the auto mode for faster processing.

There are smaller updates for the cameras, too. Both now offer Sony's FL2 (Film 2) and FL3 (Film 3) to the Creative Look options, promise improved metering when using bounce flash and add support for the Preset Focus function with non-power zoom lenses. The a9 III also enables the ability to customize whether you change the Shooting Mode, Drive Mode or Focus Mode using the dial or the menu.

You can see all of the changes available in Ver. 4.00 for the a9 III and a1 II, and download the new firmware on the respective support pages.

Sony a9 III Ver. 4.00

Sony a1 II Ver. 4.00

Image: Affinity

At the beginning of this month, rumors were buzzing as creative app platform Affinity pulled all of its software from sale. Now, we have answers to why, as parent company Canva has announced an all-new version of Affinity. The update is a complete refresh, resulting in a single, free app.

Previously, Affinity was a suite of three apps: Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo and Affinity Publisher. Now, under the direction Canva, all vector, photo and layout tools are in a single app called Affinity. A "one app to rule them all" type of situation, if you will. That means users can tackle a diverse range of tasks, from graphic design to Raw photo processing and retouching to laying out brochures. The app's file support reveals how diverse the platform is. It supports PSD, AI, PDF, SVG, TIFF, IDML and more.

Affinity provides access to familiar photo editing tools and supports non-destructive editing. Image: Affinity

Like previous versions of Affinity Photo, the new app supports non-destructive editing, so users can go wild on edits or changes without losing the original. It also features tools to help speed up repetitive edits, including Smart Selections, live filters and batch processing. Affinity also says that GPU acceleration helps keep editing fast. It promises a high-performance engine with real-time updates, instant previews and edits at up to 10,000,000% zoom, even with endless layers.

Affinity says the updated app is fully customizable, letting users can build a workspace that flows with their process. It says you can choose what tools are (and are not) displayed and rearrange panels. You can also save multiple setups for different types of projects and share those customized views with others. That could be an ideal feature for creative teams or educators.

The new Affinity allows you to fully customize what tools are displayed. Image: Affinity

The new Affinity offers some integration with Canva as well. Users can export Affinity projects to Canva with a few clicks, making it easier to share with clients.

One of the concerns when Canva acquired Affinity in 2024 was that a subscription model would be introduced. After all, Canva operates on a subscription model, but Affinity Photo and its other apps were the go-to perpetual license option for photographers who wanted to avoid Adobe's subscription. Luckily, with this announcement, Affinity says the app is free for everyone. Ash Hewson, the CEO of Affinity, even goes so far as to say it is "completely free, forever."

Tabs on the top allow you to switch between different tools related to design, photo editing and layout. Image: Affinity

There is a slight catch, though. One of the key features of the Canva integration within Affinity is its AI tools. However, using those AI tools requires a Canva premium account, which costs $120 per year. With that subscription, users have access to the new Canva AI Studio, which offers Generative Fill, Expand & Edit and Remove Background. However, it also includes tools that most people honestly won’t need or use, a scheme that's similar to what the other big Adobe competitor, Davinci Resolve, does.

Affinity told us that the server connection AI tools require comes at a cost, but they know not everyone wants to use AI tools. So, those who don't want AI features can use the app for free, and those who would like access can pay a month-to-month fee. The company clarified that no one is locked into a year-long subscription with cancellation fees, and that you don't lose access to your work if you stop paying. Hewson also specified that Canva AI "runs on the user's device, and work is not accessed to train AI features."

The new Affinity is available today for Mac and Windows. An iPad version is coming next year. Existing Canva users can activate Affinity with their existing account, but existing Affinity customers (and new users) will need to create a free Canva account to download Affinity.

Image: Canon

As with other brands, Canon's lenses feature many letters and acronyms in the lens names. Seeing something like Canon RF 24-105mm F4L IS USM can leave you scratching your head if you don't know what each of those things means. Each acronym refers to something useful, though, so understanding how to decipher Canon lens names can help you quickly grasp what the lens offers without digging into specs. In this article, we'll be breaking down Canon's common lens terminology, demystifying the company's lens names.

Lens mount type

The Canon RF-S 14-30mm f/4-6.3 IS STM PZ lens is built for mirrorless RF mount cameras. Image: Canon

As with most first-party lens offerings, the first part of every Canon lens name refers to the lens mount. It's important to know what mount your camera uses so that you buy lenses that are compatible.

RF and RF-S

If the lens name starts with RF or RF-S, the lens is specifically designed for the company's EOS R mirrorless cameras, which use the RF mount. These lenses are not compatible with the company's DSLR cameras, which use the EF mount.

It's also important to know the difference between RF and RF-S. RF lenses are built for full-frame cameras, while RF-S lenses are Canon's APS-C lenses designed for its crop sensor cameras.

Both use the same mount, so you can use RF and RF-S lenses on any Canon EOS R camera. However, since RF-S lenses are meant for APS-C cameras, they project smaller image circles. The camera will automatically crop for you, but using such a lens on a full-frame body will only utilize part of the sensor, meaning you’ll lose the full-frame sensor’s benefits and image area. Using an RF lens on an APS-C camera, on the other hand, primarily results in a change in field of view due to the crop factor.

EF-M

EF-M lenses are for Canon’s discontinued EOS M mirrorless cameras, which use APS-C sensors. Canon officially discontinued the system in October 2023, focusing development on the EOS R lineup.. You cannot use EF-M lenses on EOS R cameras.

EF, EF-S

Lastly, Canon EF and EF-S lenses are the brand's legacy DSLR camera lenses. EF stands for Electronic Focus. These lenses work with Canon's full-frame DSLRs and APS-C DSLRs. You can also get adapters that allow you to use EF lenses on EOS R mirrorless cameras.

EF-S lenses are designed for APS-C DSLRs. They are not compatible with full-frame DSLR cameras. You can, however, use EF-S lenses on EOS M and EOS R cameras with an adapter.

Focus systems

The Canon RF 85mm F1.4 L VCM uses a VCM autofocus system. Image: Canon

After the focal length and aperture information, you may see various acronyms in the lens name that refer to the type of autofocus motor the lens uses.

VCM

The VCM in the lens name means it uses a Voice Coil Motor to drive autofocus. VCM autofocus systems are powerful, fast and quiet, and they are typically used in higher-end, professional-grade lenses.

USM

USM stands for Ultrasonic Autofocus Motor. These lenses offer manual focus override and fast, smooth and comparatively quiet autofocus. The original, 'ring-type' USM system is typically used in Canon's DSLR lenses and its professional telephoto lenses.

Though not in the lens name beyond USM, many more recent lenses use a Nano USM autofocus system. Nano USM is a specific type of motor that combines attributes of both USM (speed) and STM (smoothness) technologies. These lenses are generally meant for action photography and videography.

STM

STM stands for Stepper Motor, which provides quiet and smooth autofocus ideal for video applications. Canon's consumer and enthusiast lenses typically use its stepper motor.

Optical technology and image quality

The RF 85mm F1.2 L USM DS lens features Canon's Defocus Smoothing coating. Image: Canon

You may see additional acronyms when a lens offers special optical technology or image quality features. These include IS, DO, DS and BR.

IS

IS stands for Image Stabilizer. As with any brand's image stabilization system, it aims to reduce the effects of camera shake to produce a sharper image. If you see IS in the name, that means it offers optical image stabilization, and you can see how many stops of stabilization it offers in the lens's description.

DS

DS, which stands for Defocus Smoothing coating, is meant to improve the out-of-focus elements (bokeh) in your photos. Canon says it makes bokeh smoother compared to lenses without this feature.

DO and BR

Both DO and BR Optics refer to lens elements. DO, or diffractive optics, are special Fresnel-style lens elements that allow for a more compact size while maintaining quality. For example, they allow Canon to make telephoto lenses, like its EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM, smaller than they otherwise would be without DO elements. Canon’s DO lenses often have a green ring on the front for quick identification.

Though not included in the lens name, you may see BR, also referred to as BR Optics, in descriptions of Canon lenses. BR refers to Canon’s Blue Spectrum Refractive lens element, which it says eliminates color fringing and chromatic aberrations.

Lens class and special features

The Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM Z lens is part of the L lineup of professional lenses and is compatible with Canon's Power Zoom Adapter. Image: Canon

Finally, just like other lens companies, Canon has some specific lens classes or special features that may be included in the lens name.

L

If you see an L in a Canon lens name, such as in RF 85mm f/1.2 L USM DS, that means the lens is part of the brand's L series, which stands for Luxury Lens. L-series lenses are Canon's professional offerings, made with higher optical quality, improved weather sealing and build quality and better overall performance. They demand steeper price tags as a result. Beyond having an L in the name, L-series lenses also typically have a red ring around the end of the lens.

Z and PZ

If you see a Z in a Canon lens name, that doesn't mean it works with Nikon Z mount. Instead, it means that the lens is compatible with Canon's Power Zoom Adapter PZ-E2 and PZ-E2B. Those adapters enable motorized control of the zoom ring for smoother video work.

You may also see PZ, which stands for power zoom, in the lens name. That means the lens offers an electronic zoom mechanism instead of a zoom ring. Just like the Power Zoom Adapter, PZ lenses are ideal for video applications.

Macro, TS-E and MP-E

Canon now spells out its Macro lenses, with the name simply including the full word. If you see Macro in the name, that means the minimum focusing distance is smaller, allowing you to get closer to your subjects. Some EF mount macro lenses are labeled as MP-E, though, indicating 'Macro Photo.'

TS-E refers to tilt-shift lenses, which allow you to adjust the focal plane (tilt) and perspective (shift). Canon hasn't released any tilt-shift lenses for its mirrorless system, so all TS-E lenses are EF mount offerings.