2025 Northern Lights Photographer of the Year

The Northern Lights Photographer of the Year competition has announced its 2025 winners. Hosted by travel photography blog Capture the Atlas, this marks the 8th year of the contest and highlights 25 of the most outstanding Aurora images captured over the past year.

The selected images from this year's contest showcase stunning scenes from across the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The top 25 photographers represent 15 nationalities, with image locations ranging from Iceland and Norway to Australia and New Zealand and more. Geomagnetic activity was exceptionally high throughout the year, allowing photographers opportunities to capture Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis in unusual locations.

The winning images are curated by Dan Zafra, editor of Capture the Atlas, with the selection based on image quality, the story behind the shot and the inspiration the photo conveys. You can see all 25 of the winning images and find tips on photographing the Northern Lights at Capture the Atlas.

Lights & Ice

Photographer: Tori Harp

Location: Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park, New Zealand

Camera gear: Sony a7R IV, Sony 20mm F1.8 G

Technical details: Sky and ice cave: F1.8, ISO 2000, 20 sec; Abseiler shot: F2.8, ISO 1250, 1/50 sec

Caption: I originally found this ice cave, called a moulin, 8 months prior to setting up this shot in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. Glaciers are a very dynamic environment, so I kept going back to monitor the changes of this moulin over the 8-month period. As the opening of the cave formed, I envisioned setting up a night shot with my friend abseiling down the mouth of the cave with New Zealand’s amazing starry sky in the background.

One magical night, everything finally came together! To my surprise, the Aurora Australis also lit up the sky. I managed to capture my friend’s silhouette perfectly placed in the center of the cave’s opening, and I love how the pinky tones of the aurora contrast with the icy colors of the cave. This dream shot ended up coming out better than I had originally envisioned, and I had a great night with my friends exploring the glacier!

Essence of the Arctic Night

Photographer: Giulio Cobianchi

Location: Haukland Beach, Lofoten islands

Camera gear: Nikon Z6II (astro-modified), Nikon Nikkor Z 14-24mm F2.8 S

Technical details: Panoramic of 21 shots in 2 rows:

• Sky: 10 shots, 14mm, F2.8, ISO 5000, 10 sec
• Landscape: 10 shots, 14mm, F3.5, ISO 5000, f3.5, 13 sec
• Myself: 1 shot, 14mm, F3,2, ISO 6400, 8 sec

Caption: Autumn in the Arctic is the best time to capture the “double arc” of the Milky Way and the Aurora Borealis. The nights have finally turned dark again after the endless summer days when the sun never sets. The summer Milky Way is already high in the sky shortly after sunset, and the Northern Lights return to dance across the sky in bands of pink, red, violet, and green.

During my last tour in September, I captured this 360° panoramic image at the border between Haukland and Vik Beach, where rugged mountains meet the wild Norwegian Sea. The intense Northern Lights and the bright moonlight softened the Milky Way, but the combination of all these elements in the Arctic sky felt absolutely magical — just as the Lofoten Islands always do.

Frozen Silence Beneath the Lights

Photographer: Nikki Born

Location: Riisitunturi National Park, Finland

Camera gear: Canon EOS R6, Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG HSM Art

Technical details: 14mm, F2.8, 10 sec

Caption: This night was truly unforgettable. Capturing the famous frozen trees of Riisitunturi beneath the Northern Lights had been a dream for years.

In March 2025, we set out to make it happen, but the weather challenged us with thick clouds all week. On our final night, we hiked into the park, hoping for a glimpse of the sky. The wind was biting, and we took shelter among the frozen trees, waiting in silence. After hours of nothing, we finally gave up and began the hike back to our cabin.

Then, just as we were about to call it a night, a break appeared in the clouds. We grabbed our gear and hurried back up the Riisitunturi Hill. The moment we reached the top, the sky burst into vivid shades of green. It was an explosion of light and wonder.

This night was the experience of a lifetime: the dream shot I had longed for and a moment that words can hardly describe. Photographing the Northern Lights demands patience and persistence, but when they finally appear, time stands still, and nature reminds you just how amazing our world can be.

Sueños en Eystrahorn

Photographer: Pablo Ruiz

Location: Eystrahorn, Iceland

Camera gear: Nikon D810, Nikon AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm F2.8G ED

Technical details: Panorama 2 rows of 8 photos:

• Sky: F2.8, ISO 6400, 6 sec
• Ground: F2.8, ISO 6400, 15 sec

Caption: Without a doubt, one of the most challenging aurora panoramas I’ve ever taken was this one at one of Iceland’s most spectacular locations.

Capturing a panorama with reflections and auroras that move so quickly is quite difficult. It was the photograph of my dreams, so I arrived in the afternoon to prepare the angles and options for the night. Clear skies and very little wind looked perfect for capturing reflections in the different pools.

Auroras were already visible in the sky during the blue hour, so I quickly headed to the spot where I had planned the composition. The wind shifted, making it difficult to capture the reflections, but the moment the sky exploded, the wind stopped, and for a few brief moments, I achieved my dream photograph. It was a great joy to witness and capture such a moment.

Twisting Turn

Photographer: Virgil Reglioni

Location: Scoresbysund, Greenland

Camera gear: Sony a7C II, Laowa 15mm F2 Zero-D

Technical details: 15mm, F2.0, ISO 2500, 1.3 sec

Caption: Behind every image lies a deliberate process — a fusion of coordination, timing, and technical precision carried out from a ship navigating some of the harshest conditions on Earth. Photographing the aurora over the ice is never about luck; it’s the result of preparation, teamwork, and experience. From the ship’s bridge to the camera deck, every movement is carefully planned to give the lights their best possible stage.

During the day, we navigated through fields of icebergs, scouting for the perfect one — a curve, a ridge, or a translucent arch to anchor the composition. Guided by how the aurora moves across the Greenlandic sky, we aligned our chosen iceberg and ship precisely, uniting earth, ice, and sky in one luminous image.

Working closely with the bridge crew, we searched for newly formed ice strong enough to hold the vessel steady. A stable platform was vital — it allowed us to capture long exposures between half a second and two seconds, every moment of stillness essential as the aurora began to dance above.

When the Northern Lights intensified, our focus shifted. We exposed for the highlights, preserving the delicate shapes of light without losing their definition. Each frame became a balance between nature’s raw power and the patience of observation.

Aurora Comet Lemmon

Photographer: Petr Horálek

Location: Skaulo, Sweden

Camera gear: Canon EOS Ra, Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM

Technical details: F1.4, ISO 2500, 3.2 sec

Caption: The night of 24 October, 2025, was incredible. I had just moved to Sweden, where I organized an astrophotography workshop. We headed to Skaulo, where we found an incredible viewpoint over Suotojärvi Lake.

This night coincided with the C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) Comet, which was only discovered back in January 2025. The comet was so bright that we could see it with our naked eyes, even when it was very low on the horizon.

Fortunately, I had my camera with me! I photographed the comet darting through the sky beside the bright Aurora Borealis. Capturing two stunning natural phenomena in one shot was an exhilarating experience. The comet and the aurora appeared to be in a sort of dance, giving us an amazing show that I’ll remember forever.

Corona Blast Aurora Geomagnetic Storm

Photographer: Roi Levi

Location: Kirkjufell, Iceland

Camera gear: Sony a7S III (astro-modified), Sigma 14mm F1.4 DG Art

Technical details:

Caption: This image was captured during the March Equinox, as a geomagnetic storm structure brought a mesmerizing light show. A full-zenith Auroral Corona erupted overhead – powerful, bright pillars of light radiated across the sky, creating a stunning crown-light blast shape.

This rare phenomenon occurred on March 21, 2025, when a CME struck Earth, triggering a G2 geomagnetic storm. The shot is a 360° panoramic stitch of 21 frames, capturing the entire Aurora shape and a complete sky view. I used a Sigma Art fast F1.4 lens to get a fast exposure and capture the pillar structure.

Kirkjufell is one of Iceland’s most iconic mountains, and witnessing the aurora here was a one-of-a-kind experience. With the Kirkjufellsfoss waterfalls in the foreground, this image is a dynamic representation of the sweeping auroral corona.

Speechless

Photographer: Ralf Rohner

Location: Hudson Bay, Canada

Camera gear: Canon EOS R (astro-modified), Sigma 28mm F1.4 DG HSM Art

Technical details: F2, ISO 6400, 5 sec

Caption: I was flying at 35,000 feet over Hudson Bay, Canada. As a commercial pilot, night flights often test one’s patience and endurance. Confined to a narrow seat, surrounded by seemingly never-changing instruments, the pilot stares into a boundless darkness and wonders what drives him to endure such long, lonely hours. The monotony can seem endless – until suddenly, everything changes. There are rare nights when the sky rewards you for all that fatigue and isolation.

Above a silent sea of clouds, cocooned within a fragile shell of metal, the pilot witnesses something extraordinary. Curtains of light dance across the heavens, painting the darkness with vivid greens and purples. In that breathtaking moment, every struggle feels justified, and words simply fail. What I couldn’t express with words, I captured in this photograph.

The Northern Crown

Photographer: Mari Jääskeläinen

Location: Pyhäjärvi, Finland

Camera gear: Sony a7 III, Sigma 14mm F1.8 Art DG HSM

Technical details: F2, ISO 2500, 1.6 sec

Caption: I step outside and take a look at the sky above my house. It’s time. I feel the adrenaline rush in as I gather my gear and put on more warm clothes.

Just a quick drive to the lake nearby and I’m all set up for the night! During active nights, I always follow the real-time solar wind data to predict what’s yet to come. On this night, there were no significant CMEs as far as I remember. And I was perfectly fine with that, as this could be the night when I finally get the shot I’ve dreamed about for a long time.

In my mind, I imagine the Northern Lights creating a clear, bright green spiral to the northern sky, just above the trees, so the foreground would fit perfectly into the frame. I couldn’t believe my eyes when the auroral arc started taking the exact shape I had only dreamed about for so long! Perfect reminder of how beautiful these subtle auroras can be!

Neon Nightfall

Photographer: Andres Papp

Location: Türisalu, Estonia

Camera gear: Canon EOS 6D, Samyang 14mm F2.8

Technical details: F2.8, ISO 6400, 5 sec

Caption: I shot this image on a quiet, rocky beach as a strong aurora storm rolled in from the north. At first, it was just a low green arc, but it quickly erupted into vertical curtains of lime and rare magenta. To connect the sky with the foreground, I illuminated the shoreline rocks with a strong 365 nm UV light torch, which made the minerals pop and added the surreal glow you see in the image.

The challenge was balancing everything—an exposure of about 5 seconds to keep the aurora structure sharp and managing the UV spill so it didn’t look artificial. What keeps me coming back to Northern Lights photography is this mix of science and magic: you study forecasts and KP indices, but the real reward is when the sky does something unexpected, and you’re prepared to capture it in a single, colorful frame.

Gibson Steps Aurora

Photographer: Jeff Cullen

Location: Great Ocean Rd, Victoria, Australia

Camera gear: Canon EOS 5DS, Samyang 14mm F2.8

Technical details: F2.8, ISO 1000, 30 sec

Caption: I had been struggling to find the motivation to get out and shoot. The aurora was predicted, as were the clouds, but I decided to take the chance and drive the hour to this iconic destination. The cloud prediction was correct, but I still went down the 86 steps to the beach and crossed the sand to the Gog and Magog sea stacks. The clouds started to clear, and I was able to shoot some great images before the aurora died down. I packed up and had another nearby destination in mind.

Climbing back up the stairs, the beams were so big and bright in the corner of my eye! I ran back down to the beach and quickly set up my camera again. This image shows the magic that happened that night; I was absolutely amazed and astounded that such a weak aurora forecast brought me such a brilliant show.

Moral of the story: Go and shoot! There is nothing to lose, but the finest nature photos to gain.

Guardians of the Aurora

Photographer: Daniel Mickleson

Location: Taranaki, New Zealand

Camera gear: Canon EOS R5, Canon 16-35mm F2.8L II USM

Technical details: F2.8, ISO 1250, 13 sec

Caption: A rare aurora event lit the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island in vivid curtains of pink and green. In the foreground, the rock formations known as the Three Sisters stand as guardians of the shoreline, while the sacred Taranaki Maunga rises in the distance. Within Te ao Māori (the Māori worldview), such natural features are not just landscapes but ancestral presences, carrying the role of guardianship. Beneath the aurora, earth, sky, and ancestry converge in a moment both fleeting and timeless.

After capturing my first aurora during the May 2024 storm, I was hooked. Travelling several hours from my home to this special location, I hoped the forecasts would be correct. Even with a near–full moon, the powerful display shone across the sky. I could see the beams dancing overhead — a truly spectacular sight.

One Autumn Night

Photographer: Jesús Garrido

Location: Abisko, Sweden

Camera gear: Sony a1, Sony FE 14mm F1.8 GM

Technical details: F1,8, ISO 4000, 3.2 sec

Caption: The 1st of October 2025. That night, at the very moment I stepped outside my home, I somehow knew it was going to be a great one. The solar activity was looking really good, and I kept thinking that I had to find some open water to catch those reflections. Soon, the lakes would be completely frozen and covered in snow, so this felt like the right time to look for reflections before winter settled in.

I drove to a little bay of Lake Torneträsk in Abisko, a place I like because it’s usually quiet and protected from the wind. A few moments after arriving, the Northern Lights started to move slowly across the sky, and then suddenly they began to dance. Red tones rose on the southern horizon while the lake remained perfectly still, reflecting every single thing that was happening above me.

Celestial Fireworks on New Years

Photographer: Sara Aurorae

Location: The Otways, Victoria, Australia

Camera gear: Nikon Z7II, Nikon Nikkor Z 20mm F1.8 S

Technical details: Panorama: 6 Frames, F2.5, ISO 1250, 13 sec

Caption: On New Year’s Day, beneath the dark Australian sky, my friends and I were met by celestial fireworks with the Aurora Australis unfurling in a sudden, breathtaking bloom above our quiet campsite in the Otways of Victoria. Ribbons of rose, violet, and green shimmered, visible even to the naked eye, as if the universe itself had heard our resolutions for 2025 and joined in our celebration.

The spectacle arrived without warning, giving me only moments to reach for my camera. Though the foreground may be plain, I don’t mind it, as the lines of trees on the right lead your eye to the stunning light show in the sky. This photograph holds something far greater — a reminder that even in life’s simplest scenes, magic can find us when we least expect it.

Auroral Reflections

Photographer: Travis D. Amick

Location: Ketchum, Idaho, USA

Camera gear: Sony a7R IV, Sony FE 14mm F1.8 GM

Technical details: Single shot, 14mm, F1.8, ISO 2000, 8 sec

Caption: The night commenced with the eagerly anticipated arrival of a large coronal mass ejection (CME) destined to impact Earth. CMEs, a primary cause of significant aurora displays, serve as an excellent catalyst for the aurora to be observed in lower latitudes, particularly during substorms, which are brief “bursts” of heightened auroral activity.

The notification of a CME impact came ringing in much earlier than expected from SpaceWeatherLive. I was well prepared and quickly headed out to a secluded pond just north of Ketchum, Idaho. After the initial impact, time seemed to slow down, and only a faint auroral glow was present on the horizon. I was ready to throw in the towel when suddenly, there was an explosion of color and the brightest naked-eye red flares I’ve ever seen.

I ran down to the pond to get this particular shot of the vibrant red flares intertwined with the colors of the aurora reflecting off the tranquil pond. Within minutes, the substorm subsided, and the aurora once again receded to just a glow on the horizon. The aurora demands patience and meticulous planning, but it’s worth it for those fleeting moments of awe.

Hasselblad X2D II 100C | XCD 35-100mm F2.8-4 E @ 100mm | F4.0 | 1/180 sec | ISO 3200 Please download the original and view on an HDR display, where the light on the right of the subject's face is rendered more realistically. Photo: Richard Butler

Sometimes you just know. Sometimes it's in the moment you hit the shutter, but more often I find, it's the moment the review image pops up on your screen or viewfinder: you've caught exactly the moment you wanted to. Or, perhaps something even better than you anticipated.

I always struggle with choosing my photo of the year, because I think of myself primarily as a writer who's a keen photographer, rather than as a photographer (still less, a YouTuber). Like the majority of DPReview's readers, I'm a keen amateur always pushing myself to get better. And one of the core photography skills I'm still working on is the ability to select and assess my own images. But I knew, in the moment I'd taken this one, that it was the best thing I'd shoot this year.

And I'm going to fight my inner Britishness and try not to be bashful or stumble about between self-deprecation and false modesty. I got this photo because I put in the work. There was definitely an element of good fortune and serendipity to it, but I got this photo because I made it happen.

There was definitely an element of good fortune and serendipity to it, but I got this photo because I made it happen.

I say this because I took this photo in the midst of a conversation on precisely that topic. I'd flown into London earlier that afternoon and was enjoying a pint outside my favourite pub with two of my closest friends. One of them, a former DPReview colleague, was saying how impressed he'd been with some of my recent portrait photos, the other was teasing (/haranguing) me for not being able to accept the compliment.

As we chatted, another group of people arrived and stood next to us, among them a young woman in a pink top with pink and orange hair and quite striking checkerboard trousers. It was a pretty loud outfit, so quite hard to ignore but it was also, by some strange coincidence, the same shade of pink as the wall of the intentionally Instagram-friendly cake shop opposite us.

I'd say "picture the scene" but you don't have to, as I apparently included a photo of it in another article, four years ago. This story takes place where the people are standing: the pink wall is parallel with the right-hand edge of this photo. It were a copy shop/reprographics house, back in my day. Photo: Richard Butler

Emboldened by Andy's kind words (and with no contribution from the beers I'd drunk or the fact I was nearly hallucinating with tiredness/jet-lag), I decided to ask if she'd pose for a photo. The moment I opened my mouth I remembered that, back in the UK, I don't have an accent working in my favor, but the strength of my "your outfit matches that wall" argument and the promise that it'd only take a moment, was sufficient, regardless.

Unfortunately, and for this I am blaming the timezone change, I'd not noticed how dark it had got. My subject was very game in trying to pull exaggerated poses in front of the matching wall for me, but the light was much flatter and greyer than it'd been a few moments (hours?) ago.

I was just about to give up, when I noticed that the previous shot I'd taken had a distinct orange tinge catching my subject's outline. The interior lights of the Instagramable bakery were beginning to overwhelm the fading grey light of dusk, and even in my slow-witted state, I knew what to do next.

"Could I ask you to take a step to your right, so you're more in front of this window?" I asked, repositioning myself so that I'd be shooting from the direction of the glow. Suddenly, there was something: my subject's face bathed in orange light, with the pink wall still visible behind her, each element working with her intensely dyed hair.

Once you've found some nice light, it's so hard to resist making more use of it. Photo: Richard Butler

Still not great, but at least one of the shots, good enough. I showed them to my subject and she smiled in response. But, more importantly, she relaxed a little. I knew I was onto something, but the familiar urge to keep shooting was being tempered by my promise that it wouldn't take long, and that I'd let her get back to her friends.

"Can I do one more? More of a head-and-shoulders?" I asked. I don't know whether the response was an attempt to engage more with the camera or to try to hear what I was saying, but my subject leaned a little further toward me. Further out into the light spilling from the window, suddenly lighting up her eyes. I hit the shutter before anything could change and hoped like hell that eye detection would do its thing.

"Omg, that looks so cool"

The image appeared on the back of the camera, given stunning vibrancy by its HDR rear panel. Pinks and oranges leaping off the screen and eyes directly connecting with the viewer. "I'm not going to get a better one than that," I concluded, immediately, and thanked my subject for her time, promising a copy of the shot as soon as I could. "Omg, that looks so cool," came back the response, when I did.

I took another couple of portraits in the cake shop's high-beam glimmer that evening, including one that my friend likes of himself (which he never does), until I felt that I'd been taking the risk of waving thousands of dollars of borrowed camera around in central London long enough.

There's a bit of a story behind all the other images I considered for this piece: stories of nice light, photos their subjects have really liked, moments of serendipity. But, particularly if you download the original and view it in HDR, this one feels like it stands out. Sometimes you just know.

Richard's favorite photos of 2025

It's partly a reflection of the cameras I've reviewed this year, but I find it interesting that three of my potential shots of the year were shot in black and white, and three are HDR photos, either out-of-camera or as after-the-fact conversion.

Our favorite pictures from this year's Editors' photo challenges

One of the secret pleasures of being Managing Editor of DPReview is that I get to run our monthly Editor's photo challenges. Each month, we challenge readers to show us their best photos that illustrate a new theme.

Don't tell the staff, but this is basically the best part of my job. We frequently share winning images from international photo competitions here on DPReview, but I'll put the photos submitted by members of our community up against any of them. DPReview readers may have a reputation for being pixel-peeping nerds, but behind that facade are some incredibly dedicated, master photographers.

On the pages that follow, you'll see two of the staff's favorite photos from each Editors' challenge over the past 12 months. To ensure a full year of fantastic photos, we're going all the way back to the winners of our December 2024 challenge (since the winners of our December 2025 challenge won't be announced until the very end of the year).

With that, we present our favorite Editors' challenge photos from 2025, presented in random order.

The empire of the midnight sun

Photographer: BasilG

Month: July

Challenge theme: Landscape photography

Photographer's description: Spectacular view of the midnight sun in Senja, Northern Norway. This region, with its mountains rising straight from the sea and the stunning midnight sun, is among my favourites for landscape photography. It took me two attempts to capture this photograph as I had imagined it, as I was caught in a thunderstorm on the first attempt.

Equipment: Nikon Z7 + Nikon Nikkor Z 14-24mm F2.8 S

Aletch Glacier, Switzerland

Photographer: mattalatta

Month: February

Challenge theme: Winter games

Photographer's description: The genre of Adventure Photography can be quite challenging. One has to have the stamina to manage the trip while expending extra energy to carry camera gear and capture photographs. This often requires anticipating shots, running ahead and photographing as your partners move through your frame. In this photo, safety was a primary concern as we skied along a crevassed glacier with seracs hanging above us. I was in the back, waiting for my friends to create a leading line to the peak framed in the picture. Moving quickly through this section of the glacier was important, so I only had a moment to capture the frame.

Equipment: Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II + Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm F4.0 IS Pro

Colors, canal, cloud

Photographer: Anders A

Month: April

Challenge theme: Red, green and blue

Photographer's description: Mum spoke enthusiastically about the vivid colors of the tulip fields in Holland. I started to wonder what they might look like from above, from a drone. This was in 2015, and drone tech was still very new and far from something everyone had. So, my tulip-loving friend Ulf and I drove the 1,000 km down to Holland on a chilly day in April 2015 and started criss-crossing the landscape. And my god, it looked fantastic! This is probably the best shot from the trip, from outside Sassenheim. The canals are used to flood the fields after harvest, to kill off germs and parasites.

Equipment: Sony a7 + Sony FE 35mm F2.8 ZA Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* + HAB Paparazzo heavy lift drone

Driving through the highlands

Photographer: JohnnyBE

Month: August

Challenge theme: Road trip

Photographer's description: This photograph was taken around 1:00 AM during an all-night road trip through the Highlands of Iceland. Experiencing and photographing such a remote place with no one else around was truly unforgettable.

This photo was taken from a drone, with the main challenge being to find the right composition to capture this epic location, while at the same time including my car for scale and perspective. The blue light worked beautifully with my exposure settings, allowing me to convey the mood of the moment, from the dark volcanoes to the distant blue sky.

Equipment: Hasselblad L3D-100C

Kings of the street

Photographer: SFStreets

Month: January

Challenge theme: B&W street

Photographer's description: Every year, the San Francisco Low Rider Council holds the "King of the Streets" event, where lowriders cruise along Mission Street. This year I caught a skateboarder come riding by one of the entrants, between 17th and 18th Streets. We all survived the encounter.

Equipment: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Riding on UFOs

Photographer: Dan da Lanci

Month: May

Challenge theme: Human-powered travel

Photographer's description: "Close Encounters of the Third Kind:" two bikers in their "spacy" vehicles meet in the middle of nowhere, and I found that the scene has something of the famous film directed by Steven Spielberg.

Equipment: Sony SLT-A55 + Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF)

Close encounters

Photographer: prahja

Month: November

Challenge theme: Compact camera bonanza

Photographer's description: Taken whilst on an exploratory caving expedition in Borneo in 2013 (to find, explore and survey new cave passages). The mist and formations were a good opportunity to try out a lightweight photography setup.

Equipment: Canon PowerShot G1 X

The underside of water

Photographer: Thorgnyr

Month: March

Challenge theme: Water

Photographer's description: Often during winter, Lake Thingvallarvatn freezes. The view of the ice from below can be spectacular, especially during the thaw period; the ice has broken into flakes and then froze again. This was the case when this picture was taken. I started taking pictures without the diver but felt the scale was missing. So I got my buddy to pose for me.

Equipment: Canon EOS 5D Mark III

Ho! Ho! Happy holiday little fella

Photographer: Hooyat

Month: December

Challenge theme: Happy holidays

Photographer's description: The boy was watching children lining up to take pictures with Santa Claus. Santa noticed the boy was watching him for quite a while. He was alone with his mom. Santa came over, peeked around the fence, and told them he would take a picture with the boy... free of charge and ahead of the queue. Happy holiday.

Equipment: Nikon Z6 II + Nikon Nikkor Z 24-70mm F4 S

Moonlight star trail over a wild tulip field, Blufi, Sicily

Photographer: astrodariogiannobile

Month: April

Challenge theme: Red, green and blue

Photographer's description: What is happening in Holland on this “day?" Nothing except that... we are not in the daytime, and we are not in Holland!!! Strange? Absolutely yes. We are in Sicily, of course, and what you see is a real field of wild tulips growing near the village of Blufi.

Equipment: Canon EOS 6D + Canon EF 8-15mm F4L Fisheye USM

Beach sprint

Photographer: LuMa

Month: June

Challenge theme: Chasing summer

Photographer's description: A great afternoon with the kids, family and some wonderful beach fun. I was just lying around in the shallow waters and snapping away at my kids fooling around with their games. It's always more fun when the camera is waterproof.

Equipment: Olympus Stylus Tough TG-860

Pretty big jump

Photographer: Gbeeston

Month: May

Challenge theme: Human-powered travel

Photographer's description: I built this jump with my friend over a week, and it turned out a little larger than we had imagined. The day we tried hitting it was a little muddy, so getting up to speed was a challenge. After a few run-ups, he pulled the trigger. Neither of us was expecting to get that much height off the lip!

Equipment: Canon EOS R8 + Canon EF 50mm F1.8 STM

Summer love?

Photographer: softmarmotte

Month: June

Challenge theme: Chasing summer

Photographer's description: Taken during the alpine mountain summer at a swimming lake with views over the distant glaciers. A typical scene of young people flirting and maybe falling in love. Savoie, France.

Equipment: OM System OM-1 + Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm F4.0 IS Pro

Day of the Dead

Photographer: JeffryzPhoto

Month: October

Challenge theme: Fall follies

Photographer's description: In Mexico, this time of year means preparations for Day of the Dead, or Día de Los Muertos: the time when departed souls can return to visit loved ones left behind. Marigolds feature prominently, their color and scent helping to guide them.

Equipment: Fujifilm X-T4 + Fujifilm XF 8-16mm F2.8 R LM WR

Under

Photographer: Cliff Connell

Month: March

Challenge theme: Water

Photographer's description: On one of the last hot days in autumn 2011, just before our southern Australian Easter swell kicked in, I had just finished a long session of surfing some pretty big, clean waves when I decided to get back in to capture some in-water shots of the rest of the crew. Most of the shots I got that morning were pretty average, except for this one of a young guy duck diving under the closed-out section of a 5-6 foot wave. It made my day!

Equipment: Canon EOS 20D + Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II VC LD

Spiral spiral

Photographer: fatplanediaries

Month: September

Challenge theme: Pixels in your pocket

Photographer's description: I spent a summer with family in Europe. At the time, I only brought a prime for my camera, so I ended up using my Samsung for all other focal lengths. My camera ended up becoming my B cam, as I enjoyed smartphone photography quite a bit that vacation.

Equipment: Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus

2023 New Mexico White Sands yucca

Photographer: garyphx

Month: July

Challenge theme: Landscape photography

Photographer's description: Taken late in the day on our way out of White Sands National Monument. I actually stopped to take a different photo. Then saw this lone Soaptree Yucca on top of a large dune. The grain of the "sand" and ripples on top are classic White Sands.

Equipment: Leica Q2 Monochrom

New Year's Eve, Mt. Hood, Oregon

Photographer: rainrunner

Month: December

Challenge theme: Happy holidays

Photographer's description: New Year's Eve at Mt Hood, Oregon, each year, if weather permits, we snow camp on New Year's Eve and watch the fireworks show at Timberline Lodge.

Equipment: Sony a7 IV + Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 Di III VXD

Curtain call

Photographer: findhenryb

Month: November

Challenge theme: Compact camera bonanza

Photographer's description: I would never grab a photo during a performance, but when the curtain call took place, I grabbed my camera and made this quick frame at the Paris Opera House.

Equipment: Leica D-Lux 8

On Iceland's ring road

Photographer: Phantogram

Month: August

Challenge theme: Road trip

Photographer's description: In spring this year, I was chasing the northern lights in Iceland. When the weather was not promising, I was hitting the road for a better location. However, bad weather often gives the nicest shots. This picture was made close to Djupivogur, a small town in the east fjords, with blistering winds and between rainstorms.

Equipment: Sony a7 III + Sony FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS

Balloons over Myanmar

Photographer: light_reaction

Month: September

Challenge theme: Pixels in your pocket

Photographer's description: This photo was taken while soaring above Bagan, Myanmar. This moment was guided by a UK army veteran piloting our balloon – a tradition in Bagan where British and international pilots work alongside local crews. Ballooning here is more than a visitor’s thrill: it’s a source of pride and support for the local community, with companies employing hundreds of locals and funding projects in education, health, and heritage conservation, ensuring that the ancient temples continue to inspire and sustain those who call Bagan home.

Equipment: Apple iPhone 8

Ryland Bell

Photographer: owenleve

Month: February

Challenge theme: Winter games

Photographer's description: Professional snowboarder Ryland Bell on location with Warren Miller Entertainment. This was shot in the Chugach Mountains with Points North Heli-Adventures, a heli-ski operation based out of Cordova, AK. This is a seldom-ridden line as conditions have to line up just perfectly.

Equipment: Nikon D800

Foggy fall in Norway

Photographer: hach

Month: October

Challenge theme: Fall follies

Photographer's description: This photo was taken from the roadside overlooking a small farm. Underneath is the Tyrifjorden lake, covered by fog. The location is at Sollihøgda (Sunny heights), just north of Oslo.

Equipment: OM System OM-1 + OM System 40-150mm F4.0 PRO

Monte Sant'Angelo di corsa

Photographer: Luigi Azzarone

Month: January

Challenge theme: B&W street

Photographer's description: While I was visiting a beautiful town in Italy, the Puglia region, I saw these works drawn on the wall. I waited for the right moment to immortalize the beauty of youth, the desire to live.

Equipment: Nikon D7100 + Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 16-80mm F2.8-4E ED VR

I captured this night photo of the Kiggins Theatre in Vancouver, Washington, during the annual DB Cooper conference. Adobe's Project Indigo app did a great job of rendering the photo in a way I would have expected from a DSLR or mirrorless camera. Photo: Dale Baskin

Most years, my Gear of the Year shortlist writes itself. There are usually two or three products that clearly stand out, and the hardest part is simply narrowing it down to one.

2025 was different. We've seen some great products come through the DPReview office, and I've enjoyed using many of them, but none really inspired me in the way I expect to make the cut. In fact, I reached a point last month where I considered not even writing a Gear of the Year column this time around.

And then one day, it hit me. I picked up my iPhone to take a photo, opened Adobe's Project Indigo app, and… Shazam! I'd been racking my brain trying to think of what hardware I had enjoyed using most this year, and in a moment of mental clarity I wish I could achieve more often, the answer was staring me in the face. Literally, it was in my face as I held the phone up in front of me: the gear I enjoyed using most this year wasn't a piece of hardware, but an app.

Project Indigo is available for free (at least for now) on the iOS App Store. Adobe says it is considering an Android version as well.

We all know that smartphones can't compete with large sensor cameras when it comes to ultimate image quality or tactile experience. But they do have this sneaky ability to tag along with us wherever we go, always at the ready.

Autumn leaves cover the forest floor. Captured with Adobe's Project Indigo app. Photo: Dale Baskin

The thing that always frustrates me about smartphone cameras isn't that they can't compete with large sensor cameras in terms of image quality – I mean, who would ever expect that they could? – but "the look." You know exactly what look I'm talking about: that over-processed, over-sharpened look with shadows pushed to within an inch of their life. It's a signature that screams "smartphone photo."

This is where Adobe's Project Indigo comes into the picture. It's a free product from Adobe Labs that promises "SLR-like" quality from your iPhone. According to Adobe, it accomplishes this using a number of techniques, including underexposing highlights more aggressively and combining more frames (up to 32) than the iPhone's native camera app. In theory, this should result in fewer blown-out highlights and less noise.

In practice, Project Indigo delivers. To my eye, photos taken with the app usually look more like a well-processed image from a mirrorless camera. The aggressive tone mapping is gone, replaced by images where highlights roll off naturally, and shadows actually look like shadows.

To achieve this, the app uses profiles specifically calibrated for each phone and camera module. That specificity is great, though it can also introduce friction; one of my few frustrations was waiting a few weeks for the Project Indigo team to release an update calibrated for the new iPhone 17 Pro Max I've been testing.

"To my eye, photos taken with the app usually look more like a well-processed image from a mirrorless camera."

The main downside to the Project Indigo app is that all this computational processing requires computational power. The app works on iPhone Pro models as far back as the 12 (and regular iPhones back to the 14 series), but it's not a tool for rapid-fire photography, typically taking 1 to 5 seconds to process a single image, depending on the model. It can also generate some serious heat; my older iPhone 14 Pro gets hot to the touch after just a few photos, and I can practically see the battery indicator get shorter as it works.

The good news is that the iPhone 17 Pro Max, with its newer processor and better thermal management, barely seems to notice the load. It's frustrating that Project Indigo struggles on older hardware, but I appreciate that this is a proof-of-concept product; Adobe is engineering for the future, not the past.

There are also plenty of tools in the app that I haven't explored yet, including its own Night Mode, multi-frame super-resolution modes when using sensor-cropped "zoom" (such as the 2x and 8x modes on the iPhone 17 Pro), and AI noise reduction derived from Adobe Camera Raw.

This photo of a snowberry bush looks pretty close to what I would expect from a typical mirrorless camera. Photo: Dale Baskin

If it sounds like I haven't thoroughly tested Project Indigo, it's because I haven't. I've been using it for several months, not because I planned to review it, but because I genuinely love the natural-looking photos it produces.

It made me enjoy taking photos with my phone again, and that alone is enough to earn it my Gear of the Year.

Adobe says it's exploring future directions for Project Indigo, including an Android version, a high-quality portrait mode with more control and higher quality than native apps, and even video recording with computational video features. I'm excited to see where Adobe goes with this, but even if it just stays as it is – a tool that lets me take nicer, more natural photos on the device I already have in my pocket – I'm a fan.

Photo: Tristan Fewings / Stringer / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Martin Parr, a highly acclaimed British documentary photographer, passed away at the age of 73 on December 6. Parr was best known for his images that captured British life over a career spanning more than 50 years.

The Martin Parr Foundation posted a statement on its website on Sunday that he died at his home in Bristol, England. "He is survived by his wife Susie, his daughter Ellen, his sister Vivien and his grandson George. The family asks for privacy at this time," the statement added.

"I make serious photographs disguised as entertainment"

Parr, born in 1952 in Epsom, Surrey, England, was a member of Magnum Photos, an international cooperative of photojournalists. While his work was often filled with playfulness and satire, it also carried an underlying critique of contemporary life. "I make serious photographs disguised as entertainment," Parr told Architectural Review in 2020. He was known for using strong, highly saturated color, often with direct flash to exaggerate everyday scenes. His work captured ordinary people and objects, including British seaside resorts, shopping, parties, fairs and family outings.

A prolific photographer, Parr published more than 100 photobooks during his lifetime. Parr also edited 30 photobooks, including The Photobook: A History (2004–2014), a three-volume series that offered an in-depth examination of the photobook itself. His work has been featured in countless exhibitions, and he has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Sony World Photography Award for Outstanding Contribution to Photography in 2017. In 2024, he was recognized as an inductee of The International Photography Hall of Fame.

"His humour, his clarity, and his vision shaped many discussions across the agency and within the wider photographic world."

He was also an educator and mentor, serving as Professor of Photography at The University of Wales Newport campus from 2004 to 2012. In a statement to Magnum photographers, staff and estates on Sunday, Magnum co-president, Lorenzo Meloni, wrote, "Martin played a significant role within Magnum and in our wider community. He supported younger photographers, he pushed conversations forward, and he stepped up when leadership was needed. His humour, his clarity, and his vision shaped many discussions across the agency and within the wider photographic world."

Tributes to Parr have been pouring in, with photographers of all levels sharing stories about his impact on the photographic community. On Instagram, photographer Joel Meyerowitz described Parr, his friend of 50 years, as a "legend in the world of photography," adding that "his wisdom and visual humor will be greatly missed."

Mt. Jefferson, a volcano in the Cascade Mountains, is illuminated at sunset near Sisters, Oregon, on November 18, 2025. I had my Olympus OM-1 with me when the sunset suddenly became very intense, and I managed to snap this photo in the brief time before the light faded away. Photo: Dale Baskin

Our year-end photo contest, "Your best photo of 2025," is now open for submissions.

What was your top shot this year? Share one image you captured in 2025 and tell us about it. Make sure to tell us the story behind the photo in the caption and why you chose it as your photo of the year. Pick carefully – you can only submit one photo!

Click here to read the full rules and submit your top photo from 2025.

Submissions will open on Monday, December 8th, and you have until Sunday, December 14 (GMT) to submit entries. You can read the full rules on the 'Your best photo of 2025' challenge page.

Essential details: All entries must include a title and a caption that tells us the story behind the picture and why you chose it (minimum of 25 words). Please read the full rules before submitting your photo.

DPReview editors will review every photo you submit, and we'll publish our favorites in a slideshow on the DPReview homepage.

Enter the "Your best photo of 2025" challenge

The Minolta MND35 promises 18x digital zoom and 64MP JPEGs. The manual says it has a 13MP sensor. There is no connection whatsoever between this camera and the original Minolta company. Image: Minolta Digital

It'd been going on for months before I knew about it, but in the space of a couple of days, I received a text from my former colleague and saw a post on Reddit highlighting it. Minolta cameras had hit the shelves at Costco.

That's odd, I thought, surely Sony, which absorbed the Konica Minolta camera business, hadn't launched a budget line without telling us. And, by the same logic, presumably Konica Minolta wasn't allowed to use the Minolta name on cameras, as part of the deal with Sony. So what was going on?

The answer was stranger than I'd expected. There is, it seems, a US company that hunts around for well-known brand names that have fallen out of use. Trademark rules are designed to protect the names and brands under which products are sold, so that third-parties can't sneakily benefit from the reputation and goodwill the original seller has built up. But you can only maintain a trademark that you're using to trade. It turns out that neither Sony nor Konica Minolta had continued to use its trademark for anything camera-related, so a Californian company had stepped in and claimed it.

"You can only maintain a trademark that you're using to trade"

This company is in the business of claiming orphaned trademarks and licensing them on to other companies. The result is that New York company Elite Brands can now sell cameras in the US under the Minolta name. Elite Brands also licenses the names (former cinema camera and projector maker) Bell + Howell and owns the Rokinon brand under which it sells Samyang-made lenses.

This situation, where the name is now owned and used by companies with absolutely no connection back to the original manufacturer, is, perhaps, one of the more extreme examples of how legacy names stumble on as zombie brands. More common is that the original company collapses and the rights to its name get bought out of receivership by a company with no intention of trying to continue the original business. Other times the original brand merges with another that has a different focus, so its name gets licensed out to someone wanting to operate in the consumer industry.

But whatever the specifics of each story, the licensing process allows brand names to rise from the dead and shuffle their way onto shops' shelves and websites.

Rollei

The Rollei name is used on a wide range of products, including this recently announced 85mm F1.8 that appears to share its specs with the one made by 7Artisans. Image: Rollei

Rollei appears to be an example of the former situation. The name was bought when the original company collapsed in 2004, and it sells a wide range of products under the name, though they are all photo related, at least. It also licenses the name to a German film marketing and distribution company that sells Rollei film. In addition to this, it's also licensed the name to Hong Kong's MiNT Camera, for use on its reproduction of the Rollei 35AF film compact.

Yashica

The FX-D cameras being sold via Kickstarter are only some of the products being sold under the Yashica name.

One of the most obvious instances is Yashica. Yashica was a pretty well-respected camera maker for much of the 20th century but was eventually bought by Kyocera, which ceased production of the last Yashica products in 2005. It subsequently sold the name to a company in Hong Kong, which is responsible for the recent products being sold under the name.

We're not sure whether the Yashica / I'm Back co-branded version of the digital module ever existed, beyond this composite image. Image: I'm Back

New owner JNC Datum Tech appears to be responsible for the SLR-shaped, tiny-sensor cameras being sold on Kickstarter. Film cameras and basic compacts are also available with the name, and a tie-up was even announced to use Yashica branding on I'm Back's somewhat clunky digital film modules and a "micro mirrorless" camera called MiMi, though it's not entirely clear how much of that came to pass.

Vivitar

Vivitar branding appears on a lot of products, some of which still relate to photography. Image: Vivitar

Vivitar is a slightly more interesting case, because the originator of the brand was never itself a manufacturer: even at its height, it was a brand name being used to market and sell contract-manufactured products. It eventually collapsed and, the name having passed through various hands has, since 2008, been owned by a company headquartered in New Jersey, called Sakar International, of whom we'll hear more, later. The Vivitar name is now used on everything from bathroom scales and Peppa Pig-branded scooters.

As well as looking at whether a brand name is being used on original or innovative products, or items with any real relationship to the types of product on which the brand's reputation was built, I find it interesting to look at the About Us page on these legacy brands' websites, to see how much of a connection to the originating company's actions they imply they have. Rollei licensee Hans O. Mahn has the honesty to point out that it licensed the name in 2004, giving at least a hint that there's no particular connection back to the earlier events on the timelines that so often make an appearance.

Kodak

Personally I find the case of Kodak particularly fascinating, in part because of how stong people's feelings towards the brand still appear to be, despite some of the things that have been done with its name.

Kodak entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2012, selling off many of its businesses, including its consumer film business, to settle its debts. The revived company was primarily focused on industrial print and packaging. However, recognizing how powerful a brand it had with consumers, it set out licensing its name for a wide variety of products.

The Kodak Charmera keyring camera, "inspired by the Kodak Fling" is available in seven styles, but you don't know which you'll get. It's been created by Reto Production, one of a range of licensees of the Kodak name. Image: Reto Production

The most visible are the PixPro series of compact digital cameras, along with the multiple companies it's let use its name on clothing. Its name is also used by companies making half-frame film cameras and the Charmera keyring digital cameras with their gatchapon / lucky-dip styling that, if not quite viral, appeared moderately contagious earlier this year.

Kodak's licensing efforts appear a little more restrained than they did back in 2018, and it's worth noting that the company licenses its name to different companies in different regions. For instance, the Kodak name in Europe is licensed by GT Company, a French company that has also licensed the Agfa brand for digital cameras.

Polaroid

Sakar tried to launch a modular system, where the sensor is a lens/sensor module, under the Polaroid name in 2013. Photo: Lars Rehm

Perhaps the most interesting example is Polaroid. As with Vivitar, the rights to its name changed hands several times following the collapse of the original company. Sakar International (which owns the Vivitar name) used the name for a while, using it to sell camera modules that connected to smartphones and attempted to launch a modular camera system (conceptually not unlike the Ricoh GXR system) where lens-like units with the sensor built into them could be attached to a camera unit. Unfortunately the styling of these was lawyer-excitingly similar to the design of Nikon's 1 system cameras and lenses, so were withdrawn.

In an unusual turn of events, a project to revive instant film manufacture, boldly called The Impossible Project, managed to take ownership of the Polaroid brand name, meaning that, just sometimes, zombie brands can be brought back to life.

The Polaroid name is back in the hands of an instant film maker based in one of the original company's last factories. Image: Polaroid

There are the seeds of something similar at Kodak, too, which has recently regained the ability to sell its photo film to the public, after over a decade out of the consumer market. The licensing will still continue, but you can again buy products made by Eastman Kodak from the continuation of the original company.

What's the value of a brand name?

Ultimately, brand licensing is something of a high-wire act. Companies understandably want to maximize the amount of money they make by licensing the brand name they own, but if you're not selective about who and what that name is associated with, you can undermine the public perception of the brand and risk reducing its value to both yourself and your licensees.

Licensing isn't inherently a bad thing, but the quality of the products you allow to wear the name then reflects on all the others. Which becomes important if, like Kodak, you want to also sell your own products under that brand. Image: Kodak

It's hard to imagine that many people buying a Vivitar-branded personal massager are making any connection back to the Series 1 lenses of the 1970s. Perhaps simply being a vaguely familiar name has some value in a time when dizzying number new brand names (both emerging and transient) are being plastered over the countless products being sold on sites like Amazon. But in the case of Kodak and Polaroid, there is some connection to the original products on which those names' reputations were built. Or, at least, there are for some of the products.

"It's hard to imagine people buying a Vivitar-branded personal massager are making a conscious connection back to Series 1 lenses"

The Minolta example, where there is no connection at all between the products being sold and the reputation that the name would seem to imply is an extreme case, but the closer you look at the world of brand licensing, the more it should make you question what, if anything, that brand name you have vague fond memories of, now represents.

Mt. Jefferson, a volcano in the Cascade Mountains, towers over the landscape of central Oregon. I captured this photo on an exceptionally clear day (through a spotless airplane window), and converted it to black and white using Exposure X6 software with the Ilford HP5 Plus film style. Photo: Dale Baskin

Our December Editors' photo challenge theme is "Shades of Gray."

This month, we're celebrating the art of black and white photography. Whether you're focused on the interplay between light and shadows, ethereal high-key images, or using darkness to create mood and mystery, we challenge you to show us the world in monochrome. Strip away the color and show us your best black and white images!

Photos can be submitted between Sunday, December 14, and Saturday, December 20 (GMT). The challenge is open to photos captured at any time.

Important: Images MUST include a title and a caption of at least 25 words to be eligible. We need to be able to share the story behind your photo. We will consider both photos and captions when selecting our winners, so make sure to tell us that story!

Visit the challenge page to read the full rules and to submit your photos for consideration as soon as the challenge opens.

Visit the challenge page to see the full rules

This week, Sony announced a new enthusiast mirrorless camera, the a7 V. As is becoming tradition, members of the DPReview editorial team gathered to discuss it, going over what's new, how the camera fits into the market, and touching on why this kind of camera has gotten so expensive lately.

If you want to see how the a7 V performs, check out our sample gallery and review. We'd also love to hear from you; what do you think of the a7 V? Let us know in the comments below and on our forums.

What role do the shadows hold in this image? Canon 5D IV | Canon 70-300 F4-5.6 | 128mm | ISO 400 | 1/500 sec | F7.1 Sandwich Harbor, Namibia

Today, I'd like to dive into the use of shadows in landscape photography. Shadows are almost always part of nature: we often shoot using a (almost-)point light source (the sun or the moon), and even if the light is soft (like it is after sunset or during a cloudy day), the light is almost always directional, which means that some areas of the image are darker compared to others.

So, if shadow is an almost integral part of photography, we ought to at least give it some attention and understand how it works in comparison to other components of the image, and perhaps see how we can use its characteristics to enrich our photography, which is what I intend to do here.

I would say that the first function of shadows is to promote separation and thus depth. As I've mentioned in the past, separation of the different image layers is important to help viewers discern the actual distance between the subjects, thus helping them perceive the scene's depth, which is present in 3D reality but can be absent in the 2D image.

This image of dunes in Sandwich Harbor, Namibia, would be absolutely flat without the shadows. The dunes are the same exact color, and without the dark areas, it would be impossible to understand the shapes in the scene and its depth, rendering it flat and boring. Canon 5D IV | Canon 70-300 F4-5.6 | 70mm | ISO 400 | 1/1250 sec | F8

Below are two aerial images of Cono Arita, Argentina. One was taken before sunrise, with flat light, and the other after sunrise. I'm not trying to claim that one is better than the other, but I'd like to urge you to see how different they are, and why. There is some difference in color, sure, but the main source of change is most definitely the cone's shadow. What role does the shadow serve here?

DJI Mavic II Pro | 1/15 sec | F3.2 | ISO 400	DJI Mavic II Pro | 1/60 sec | F8 | ISO 100

There is a similarity and a difference between the roles I mentioned above. The shadow creates depth. Clearly, it stretches from the cone to the very edge of the salt pan, thus making it easier to perceive the distance between them. But it isn't really the factor separating the different layers – it's the difference in color and texture which does that in this example. By the way, can you understand what problem I have with the composition in the second image?

The second image above leads us to a second use of shadows: extending the subject and changing its shape. If used correctly, the shadow of a subject can help the photographer manipulate the shapes in an image to better fit the composition and the photographer's vision. Take, for example, the following image, which I took a long, long time ago in Jerusalem.

Ultra-orthodox Jews walking back from the temple in the early morning. You could say that the shadow is the main part of the subject, being larger and more prominent (different from its surroundings). In any case, it helped me balance the compositional masses in the image. Without the shadow, there would be nothing to counterbalance the person's compositional weight, and the image would be right-heavy. (Jerusalem, Israel) Canon 7D | Canon 70-200mm f/4 | ISO 200 | 1/1000 sec | F4

In this image from Deadvlei, Namibia, the shadow again extends the subject and allows me to have a good foreground element. It also parallels the tree itself (which is a bit obvious since their shapes are naturally similar), but moreover, it parallels the sunstar flare on the top part of the image. In addition, the dune's shadow on the horizon adds a layer and enhances depth. It also prevents the background trees from grabbing too much attention and overlapping the main tree. Canon 5D IV | Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L III | 31mm | ISO 100 | 1/80 sec | F16

I'd like to divert now and talk about the use of shadows to create and enhance the atmosphere in a landscape image. Shadows have a tendency to interfere and appear inside lit parts of an image, thus enhancing the texture and diversifying the light, which may appear minor but is, at least in my opinion, not so at all.

Trees' shadows enrich the lighting and add texture to this image, balancing the viewer's attention between the different compositional elements. (Jargant River, Mongolia) DJI Mavic III Classic | 1/400 sec | F10

Again, the shadows add texture to the light, making the image more interesting. (Jargant River, Mongolia) Canon R5II | Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 | 80mm | ISO 100 | 1/320 sec | F11

This can also appear in much, MUCH larger scale:

The gradient of light on the top right shows us that the total solar eclipse is, in fact, just a huge shadow cast on Earth by the moon. I claim that the image wouldn't be half as good without this gradient, since it's not only a compositional element but also an extension of the subject, drawing a link between the faraway eclipsed sun and the Earth's sky. As homework, take a good, long look at this image and try to understand the roles of the different subjects, how they counterbalance each other, and how they contribute to the overall composition. (Lake Cuesta Del Viento, Argentina) DJI Mavic II Pro | 1/10 sec | F2.8 | ISO 100

Lastly, I'd like to present the rare case of the shadow being the actual subject. This is hardly common, but if you use it right, it could be very interesting and curious to the viewer. Take a look at the image below.

In order to take this shot without my shadow appearing in it, I had to hide in the shadow of the tree on the right. Canon R5II | Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 | 58mm | ISO 100 | 1/80 sec | F14

Instead of including both the tree and its shadow in the image, I chose only to include the shadow. By doing this, I selected a totally different subject in terms of shape, compositional weight, color, and, most importantly, in essence. This subject could be viewed as a negative of the other trees in the frame.

Firstly, the shadow is almost perpendicular to the other trees. Moreover, it's dark on a light surface, whereas the background trees are light on a somewhat-darker surface. These harsh differences enhance the image and cause it to be much more interesting. The fact that you usually don't see a shadow as a subject draws the viewers' eyes and makes them try to understand what exactly it is they're seeing. All this can take a very simple composition and elevate it into something greater.

Erez Marom is a professional nature photographer, guide and traveller. You can follow Erez's work on Instagram and Facebook, and subscribe to his mailing list for updates.

If you'd like to experience and shoot some of the world's most fascinating landscapes and wildlife with Erez as your guide, take a look at his unique photography workshops in Zambia, Greenland (solar eclipse), Colombia and more.

Erez has recently published his first e-book, "Solving the Puzzle," thoroughly explaining his views about composition in landscape photography and beyond.

Selected Articles by Erez Marom:

• Lava Frenzy: Shooting Fagradalsfjall Volcano
• Behind the Shot: Tambora Sandwich
• Parallelism in Landscape Photography
• Black Hole Sun: Shooting the Total Solar Eclipse in Argentina
• Winds of Change: Shooting Changing landscapes
• Demon of the Deep: Shooting Kawah Ijen Volcano
• Shooting Kīlauea Volcano, Part 1: How to Melt a Drone
• Whatever It Doesn't Take

Canon's recently announced EOS R6 III is aimed at hybrid shooters and has a strong suite of features for both stills and video shooting. We've already analyzed its still image quality, but now let's take a look at how its video modes perform in front of our studio test scene.

As a reminder, the EOS R6 III can do full-width DCI or UHD 4K* video up to 120p. At 60p and below, you have the option of using Canon's "Fine" mode, which delivers oversampled footage from 7K capture, though the company adds the intriguing caveat that the 60p fine mode won't be quite as detailed as the lower framerate ones. The R6 III can also shoot open-gate footage using the entire sensor, and supports internal Raw recording using Canon's C-Raw format.

* - The camera performs the same in its UHD and DCI modes, so whenever you read about the EOS R6 III's "4K" performance in this article, know it applies to both.

Starting with the open gate mode, the 6912 x 4608 image the EOS R6 III produces captures lots of detail, appreciably more than the 5952 x 3968 open gate image from the Panasonic S1II. The difference will almost certainly be less noticeable in motion, but the EOS R6 III's higher resolution allows for a bit more room to crop in if you're delivering a vertical or horizontal 4K video (or if you shot a bit too wide, and are trying to take a 9:16 vertical crop without using the full height).

The increased detail versus the S1II is still there, though slightly less obvious, when you're using the oversampled 4K mode. The Z6III offers similar levels of detail, though at default settings, it appears to apply more, or less subtle, sharpening than Canon does.

However, the EOS R6 III loses its edge in detail when you bump up to 4K/60. The oversampled fine setting is massively more detailed than the line-skipped standard mode, but, as Canon said, it's less detailed than the oversampled footage from 24p mode. Interestingly, the rolling shutter figure is the same, so its perhaps a processing difference, rather than a readout one, presumably for reasons of heat.

The Nikon Z6III's output is again sharper (and more sharpened), but it's not far off the output of the Panasonic S1II. This isn't because Nikon and Panasonic's 60p modes are more detailed than the 24p ones; it's because Canon's oversampled 60p mode isn't as detailed as its 24p one. Perhaps most painfully, though, is that even the EOS R6 II's 4K/60 footage has a slight edge in detail over its successor's.

The sensor isn't fast enough to offer an oversampled 4K/120 mode, but the EOS R6 III's is at least full-width, so switching to it won't change your field of view like it will with the S1II, which has a 1.24x crop for UHD, or the Z6III, which has a 1.5x crop. The 4K/120 capture is as detailed as the EOS R6 III's other line-skipped modes, but this leaves it a long way behind the S1II's 4K/120 footage, and even the Z6III's. Despite those being derived from a smaller area of the sensor, it's very likely they're derived from more pixels that aren't spread as far apart as they are on the EOS R6 III.

Raw Video

As always, when discussing Raw video options, it's worth keeping in mind that the difference between Raw video and Log video is nowhere near as stark as the difference between Raw and JPEG for stills when it comes to editing flexibility. While shooting in Raw for video gives you control over noise reduction, sharpening* and white balance, it doesn't offer substantially more latitude to adjust your footage's lightness than Log footage does.

With that in mind, the EOS R6 III's Raw footage looks good, capturing a lot of detail from either the entire sensor in open gate mode, or from a 7K 1.89:1 crop derived from that footage. The latter can be shot in up to 60p, though going above 30p will require switching to Canon's Raw Lite format, which compresses the footage more. If there are compromises to detail that come from that, they're not evident in our test scene.

It's also worth pointing out that, unlike with the S1II's Raw modes, Canon applies lens distortion corrections to its Raw footage. That arguably makes them a bit less Raw, but means you won't have to manually apply them after the fact, which is especially important for those RF-mount lenses that heavily rely on those corrections as part of their optical formulas.

* - Put another way, shooting in Raw puts the onus of noise reduction and sharpening on you.

Summary

The EOS R6 III's higher resolution sensor has its benefits, but its slower readout speeds hurt its full-width slow-motion performance.

The EOS R6 III's open gate mode provides exceptional amounts of detail for this class of camera, as does its oversampled 4K/24 mode. Its 4K/60 mode isn't quite as strong as those of its competitors with faster, lower resolution sensors, though, and you'll pay a significant detail cost to gain full-width 4K/120. The convenience of maintaining your field of view is definitely a benefit, but its partially stacked sensor rivals will maintain more consistent detail levels for your slow-mo shots.

Still, it's hard to complain about the quality of the video we've been able to capture with the EOS R6 III outside of the studio. Annecdotally, when I sent Mykim, our director of video and platforms, a cut of a video we'd shot using the EOS R6 III, she asked which camera we had used, saying the footage had a "really nice visual quality to it, distinct from other videos we have done." (It is worth noting that we shot it at golden hour on a beach, so it was quite literally being shown in its best light.)

We'll cover other aspects of the video shooting experience in our full review, but in terms of image quality, the EOS R6 III has a lot to offer.

Sony a7 V | Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II | 70mm | F2.8 | 1/80 sec | ISO 250 Photo: Mitchell Clark

This week, Sony announced the a7 V, its latest hybrid camera which uses a 33MP 'partially stacked' sensor to achieve high burst rates. We got the chance to use a pre-production model, which luckily coincided with what may have been the last few sunny days of the year in the Pacific Northwest. We used the opportunity to take some street portraits, action shots of animals, and more.

We've just got access to a build of Adobe Camera Raw that supports the camera's losslessly compressed Raw files and have added a couple of conversions of images shot in that format.

If you want to read more on the a7 V, you can check out our review of it here, or watch our video on it below. It contains a few sample videos shot with the a7 V, though look forward to seeing more footage from it in the future.

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.

Image: Leica

Leica has introduced new color variants of select lenses in its lineup, bringing its popular olive green colorway to three M-mount primes. The company has also announced a glossy black 50mm lens in its Classic lineup.

The new Safari lineup of lenses includes the Summilux‑M 35mm F1.4 ASPH., Summilux‑M 50mm F1.4 ASPH. and Summicron‑M 28mm F2 ASPH. All three lenses feature a silver-chrome brass focus tab, the feet scale in red and the meter scale in white. Otherwise, the lenses keep the same optical design and features as the standard black and silver versions, but with the matte olive green finish found on Safari edition camera bodies.

Image: Leica

Leica is also offering a glossy black finish of the Summilux‑M 50mm F1.4 Classic. The glossy finish is meant to wear through to brass over time, giving a vintage look to the lens with use. As with the Safari edition lenses, the finish is the only change on the Summilux‑M 50mm F1.4 Classic.

In addition to unveiling the Safari and glossy black lenses, Leica also announced that the M EV1 is now available for purchase in the US. The camera was already available elsewhere, but a delay in FCC approval meant it was not cleared for sale in the US at the time of launch in October.

The Leica Summilux‑M 35mm F1.4 ASPH. Safari is available now for $6795, the Summilux‑M 50mm F1.4 ASPH. for $5495 and the Summilux‑M 50mm F1.4 Classic in glossy black for $4595. Those interested in the Leica Summicron‑M 28mm F2 ASPH. Safari will have to wait a bit longer; it will be available on February 12, 2026, for $5995.

Buy now:

Product photos: Mitchell Clark

This week, Sony announced the a7 V, the latest enthusiast-class mirrorless camera to use a 'partially stacked' sensor to achieve the fast readout speeds required for high-speed bursts and video. It's entering a market segment with stiff competition, both from other cameras using similar sensor technology and ones that achieve pretty similar performance even without it.

To see how it competes, we'll compare it to similarly positioned cameras – the Canon EOS R6 III, Panasonic S1II and Nikon Z6III – in a variety of categories. We'll largely leave out comparisons with the a7 IV for now, as we'll be discussing it in more depth in an upcoming article.

Price

As this segment of the market has become more capable (and as inflation and, in the US, tariffs have continued to raise costs), the price tags on the cameras have also risen. The a7 V is in the same ballpark as competitors like the Canon EOS R6 III and Nikon Z6III, though it's the most expensive among the three. And not just because it's the most recent release.

It is, however, still a fair bit cheaper than the Panasonic S1II, at least in the US. In the UK and EU, the prices for all four cameras are more evenly matched, with the Z6III being the only one that really stands out as considerably cheaper.

Resolution and speed

Like its predecessor, the a7 V has a 33MP sensor, which provides 16% more linear resolution than the 24MP models used by Panasonic and Nikon. Sony has joined those companies in using a "partially stacked" sensor, though, which uses more complex circuitry to increase readout speeds.

Canon's sensor in the EOS R6 III provides a similar level of resolution and, at first glance, speed, despite the company using an FSI design. However, it's worth noting that in e-shutter mode, it drops to a 12-bit readout rather than a 14-bit one, which is a concession the other models don't have to make in most circumstances.

It's hard to say whether that difference will end up being mostly academic, though. The Canon's lower bitrate readout hurts dynamic range, resulting in more noise in the deepest shadows. But while the specs make it seem like the a7 V will maintain more dynamic range during continuous shooting, we've also seen that partially stacked sensors can have less dynamic range in their e-shutter modes, which may make the difference in bit depth less consequential in practice.

The issue is most prevalent on the Z6III, as it happens in all of its shooting modes, whereas the Panasonic S1II can achieve better dynamic range when using its mechanical shutter. However, it can't maintain that performance while using its electronic shutter because of the impact it would have on its rolling shutter rates. Sony says the a7 V will also be able to get great dynamic range when using its mechanical shutter, but early reports indicate that its DR drops in e-shutter mode, suggesting there'll be a price to pay there, too.

Viewfinder and screen

The tilting/articulating mechanism on the a7 V and Panasonic S1II also gives you plenty of clearance for microphone, headphone and HDMI plugs when shooting video.

The a7 V hasn't made any big strides with its viewfinder, which, like the Canon's, is starting to feel a little dated, but its rear display is among the best in class. Not only is it larger and higher resolution than the ones Canon and Panasonic use, but it features a mechanism that lets you tilt it in line with the sensor, while also being able to fully articulate it for shooting at odd angles, or taking video of yourself, all without fouling the ports on the side of the camera.

All four companies give you the option to run the EVFs at a very responsive 120fps. Panasonic and Nikon's are higher resolution, which can be nice when reviewing photos, and the Z6III's can reach up to 4000 nits peak brightness, making it more visible even in harsh sunlight. Sony advertises that the a7 V has "blackout-free" shooting, though we'll have to test whether it truly continues to live refresh the preview as you're pressing the shutter, or if it's achieving the blackout-free effect by displaying the previously shot frame, as competitors like the Z6III and EOS R6 III do.

Autofocus

The a7 V gains Sony's latest autofocus system, which we've found to be one of the most capable around when it comes to tracking and overall reliability. It offers a wide array of autofocus selection points, for both tracking and non-tracking, and like with Canon and Nikon, its general tracking system works in conjunction with its subject recognition one. If the camera recognizes a subject under or around your selection point, it'll track it using the dedicated algorithms for it; otherwise, it'll attempt to track whatever is there. Panasonic takes a different approach, requiring you to switch between generic tracking and subject recognition.

Speaking of, like all the cameras in this comparison, the a7 V can recognize several subject types: humans, animals, birds, vehicles and planes, and is alone in offering a dedicated insect mode. It also has part recognition, narrowing in on a person, animal, or bird's eye, or the nose of an airplane.

Sony also offers an "Auto" mode, like Nikon and Canon, and allows you to select which subject types you'd like to be included in it.

Continuous shooting and pre-capture

The a7 V can shoot at a very respectable 30fps with its electronic shutter and, like most of its peers, has an option for pre-burst capture, where the camera will start saving images to the buffer when you initiate autofocus, and then write them to the card once you've fully pressed the shutter button, which can help you capture a moment even if you're a bit late to the draw. Its framerates aren't quite as high as those from Canon and Panasonic (though again, see the discussion about the EOS R6 III's 12-bit readout in burst rate, and the Sony's potentially reduced DR despite its 14-bit readout), but they should still be sufficient for all but the quickest action.

Sony's edge is in its pre-capture configurability. Panasonic only lets you use pre-capture with its "SH" burst rates (so 30, 60, or 70fps), and Canon is even more restrictive, with its pre-burst capture setting only usable with its 40fps mode. Sony, meanwhile, lets you use it in each of its e-shutter burst modes, and lets you fine-tune how far back you want it to save, from a mere 0.03 seconds (1 frame at 30fps) before you fully pressed the shutter to a whole second. Both options make it easier to avoid having to sort through dozens of pictures taken before the most important moment.

Battery

When it comes to battery life ratings, Sony is clearly the standout. The a7 V is rated to get over double the number of shots using the EVF compared to the EOS R6 and S1II, and has a 75% lead over the Nikon Z6III. We're looking forward to testing it more to see if it has to make compromises, such as dimming the screen after a very short period of inactivity, to get such a high rating, but we're used to Sony squeezing a lot from its large NP-FZ100 batteries.

While the CIPA ratings aren't typically reflective of the literal number of shots you'll get out of a charge, they work as an indicator of what kind of experience the camera will provide, and it seems like the a7 V will let you go a long time without having to use a charger...

Ports, storage and connectivity

The a7 V is the only camera in this comparison to lack a dedicated remote trigger terminal... though theoretically you could use the second USB-C socket as one, provided Sony updates its remote to use the more modern cable type, instead of the microUSB / Multi terminal one that this replaces.

... which is funny, since it has double the number of charging ports as its competitors. The a7 V features two USB-C ports, one mainly meant for data, which supports speeds up to 10Gbps, and one for power delivery, which tops out at 480Mbps. This setup will let you charge the camera while tethering, without draining your computer's battery, or let you plug in potential USB-C accessories while also charging the camera or transferring data from it.

Canon, Panasonic and Nikon's cameras each only have a single USB-C port; the EOS R6 III and S1II's at least run at the same 10Gbps, while the Z6III's is 5Gbps.

The a7 V is also the first mirrorless camera we've seen to support the Wi-Fi 6E standard, which should let you transfer images off your camera wirelessly using the faster (and less crowded) 6Ghz spectrum, provided the standard is certified in your country. The rest of the cameras can only use the 2.4 and 5Ghz bands.

Outside of these two standout specs, the a7 V has the same set of ports that's become standard on this class of camera: 3.5mm jacks for microphones and headphones, and a full-size HDMI port.

HDR shooting

Like the rest of its competitors, the Sony a7 V has the option of shooting 10-bit HEIF files encoded with a high dynamic range tone curve, which will look more vibrant and capable of more realistic highlights when shown on a display capable of HDR playback*. However, you can't capture HDR output files and Raws at the same time on the Sony; it's one or the other. Neither Canon, Nikon, nor Panasonic require this same trade-off, so you don't have to give up editing flexibility for straight-out-of-camera HDR.

* - which may be easier said than done, as HEIF files don't enjoy nearly as broad compatibility as JPEGs do.

Video - resolution, framerates and workflow

The list of video modes in the a7 V is spartan compared to the ones on other cameras, but the ones it has are well-executed.

The Sony a7 V can record full-width UHD 4K footage oversampled from 7K capture at up to 60p, and can do 120fps at 4K with a 1.5x crop. Unlike its competitors, there's no option to natively record the higher-resolution capture, nor is there an open gate recording mode or internal Raw recording (or, indeed, external Raw recording via HDMI), if your shooting requires these arguably niche features.

What will likely matter to everyone shooting video is overheating performance. The a7 V has an apparently very impressive heatsink, with Sony saying you can expect to be able to record 4K/60 footage for up to 90 minutes, while Canon only quotes 23 minutes for the EOS R6 III (though you can get more out of it if you switch out of the oversampled mode). Panasonic promises essentially no limit for 4K/60 recording on the S1II following its most recent firmware update, though that camera has an internal fan to keep things cool, while the Sony does not.

The a7 V lacks the variety of assistance tools that some of its competitors have; shutter angle and waveform monitoring feel like particularly notable omissions, as they make it easier to avoid mistakes in fast-paced shooting environments.

A feature Sony includes that others don't is its "AI Auto Framing" mode, which lets you set up the camera on a tripod and have it crop in on you or another recognized subject, following it around the scene. This can automatically give you a more dynamic shot where you would've had a static one if you're shooting without a camera operator. There are also several controls for it, letting you choose how tight you want it to punch in and how quickly you want it to follow you.

Video - rolling shutter

Given the a7 V's fast sensor, it's no surprise that its rolling shutter is very well-controlled, despite the fact that its 4K modes are derived from higher-resolution capture.

We consider rates below 15ms to be excellent, so we wouldn't expect to see jello-like artifacts in anything but the whipiest of pans, or on the fastest of moving subjects, from any of these cameras. As such, it's unlikely the differences between these cameras will matter for almost all shooting.

The extras

We wouldn't have minded a customizable front-plate button or two.

While Sony has tweaked the ergonomics of the a7 V, those of us at DPReview who've had the chance to hold it still don't find it to be quite as comfortable as the other cameras in this comparison or Sony's high-end models like the a1 II or a9 III. And while you won't find yourself starved for control points, most of the other cameras in this category do have an extra customizable button or two compared to the a7 V.

Sony has implemented a multi-shot high-resolution mode in the a7 V, which promises to capture more detail with less noise. However, as with the similar mode on the Z6III, you have to combine the photos after the fact using desktop software. The Panasonic S1II has a similar feature, but it works both handheld and with a tripod, and is combined in-camera, making it much more versatile. None of these systems will work that well with moving subjects – Sony's and Panasonic's have some level of motion correction, but you lose the benefits in areas of movement – but with the S1II's, it's easier to just try it to see if it works; if not, you'll still capture the image, just without the bump in image quality. Canon doesn't have a comparable mode on the EOS R6 III.

Summary

It's clear that the a7 V is a much better competitor to the latest crop of enthusiast cameras than its predecessor was, and is a strong hybrid offering. And while it's not the most versatile video camera out there, for those without very specific requirements, it looks to be a hugely competent all-rounder, and one that can last all day on a single charge at that. It'd be hard to pick the wrong camera in this category (or, by the same token, to declare one as head and shoulders above the rest).

We'll have to put it through more testing to see if it delivers on its promises of excellent image quality despite its speed, and to see if its autofocus meets our expectations for what Sony is capable of. If it does, it'll be a very strong contender in the market.

Image: Panasonic

Many of Panasonic's lens names can look downright intimidating. Case in point, the Panasonic Lumix G X Vario PZ 45-175mm F4-5.6 ASPH POWER O.I.S. lens. It's certainly a mouthful, and can be a head-scratcher in terms of what everything means. In this article, we'll be breaking down Panasonic's lens terminology to help you read its lens names with confidence.

Mounts, lens class and collaboration branding

Like many other companies, Panasonic starts its lens names with letters or terms that indicate the mount, lens class or any collaborative branding.

Lumix G and S

Panasonic makes cameras with two different mounts: Micro Four Thirds (MFT) and L-mount. The Lumix G lineup consists of lenses specifically designed for its MFT mirrorless cameras, and therefore, they utilize the MFT mount and are not compatible with L-mount cameras. Lumix S lenses are L-mount lenses made for the company's full-frame mirrorless cameras.

Pro and X

The Lumix S Series Pro 70-200mm F4 is an L-mount full-frame lens that's part of Panasonic's Pro lineup. Image: Panasonic

After the letter identifying the mount may come an 'X' or 'Pro' designation, such as in Lumix G X Vario PZ 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 Power O.I.S and Lumix S PRO 24-70mm F2.8. The 'X' series of lenses is exclusive to the MFT system, so you will only see that designation on Lumix G lenses. They sit at the top of Panasonic's MFT lens lineup, offering better build and image quality than those not in the X series.

The Pro series also encompasses top-tier lenses, though Pro lenses are designed for full-frame L-mount cameras. As the name suggests, they are meant for professionals. As a result, they promise more advanced optics with improved weather-sealing and autofocus compared to non-Pro lenses.

Leica DG, Summilux, Vario-Elmarit and Nocticron

The Leica DG Summilux 9mm F1.7 ASPH lens features Leica's Summilux branding. Image: Panasonic

Lastly, some lenses will have Leica-related branding that references collaboration between Panasonic and Leica. The two companies began collaborating in 2000 and have renewed their partnership multiple times since then.

If you see 'Leica DG' on a Panasonic lens, that indicates it was designed and manufactured by Panasonic to Leica's quality standards. Leica DG lenses are designed specifically for MFT systems. In addition to the Leica DG designation, you may see other Leica terms on Panasonic lenses that reference specific features.

Summilux is a Leica name that combines the Latin words 'summi' (maximum) and 'lux' (light). Lenses with 'Summilux' in their name offer a wide maximum aperture, typically ranging from F1.4 to F1.7 on MFT lenses.

Vario-Elmarit combines Leica's 'Vario' (meaning zoom) prefix with 'Elmarit,' which refers to lenses with a maximum aperture of F2.8. Lenses with this phrasing are Panasonic Leica DG zoom lenses for MFT cameras that offer a maximum aperture of F2.8 or F2.8-4 in the case of the Leica DG Vario‑Elmarit 12–60mm F2.8–4 ASPH Power O.I.S. lens.

Lastly, some Panasonic lenses feature the Nocticron branding, which is a Leica trademark that refers to premium lenses with a fast F1.2 maximum aperture.

Lens technology

The Lumix G X Vario PZ 45-175mm F4-5.6 ASPH Power O.I.S. offers power zoom capabilities (PZ), aspherical elements (ASPH) and Panasonic's enhanced stabilization (Power O.I.S.). Image: Panasonic

Panasonic also includes various lens technology features in its lens names, when applicable. These can refer to zoom, stabilization or optical design features.

PZ

PZ is a brand-agnostic term that stands for Power Zoom. These lenses offer an electronic, variable-speed zoom that's designed for video use.

O.I.S and Power O.I.S

O.I.S. stands for Optical Image Stabilizer, which is Panasonic's stabilization system that aims to reduce blur that results from camera movement. The company also offers lenses with Power O.I.S., an enhanced version of O.I.S. for even better stabilization.

ASPH and Nano Surface Coating

Some lenses feature 'ASPH' in the name, which refers to the fact that the lens uses aspherical elements to correct optical aberrations for improved image quality. Aspherical lens elements are a general optical technology used across manufacturers, but Panasonic sometimes calls attention to the feature in the lens name. If you don't see it in the lens name, that doesn't mean aspherical lens elements aren't in use; some lenses simply don't feature the term in their name.

Finally, Panasonic's 'Nano Surface Coating' is a multi-layer anti-glare coating that it applies to lens elements to reduce ghosting and flaring for improved light transmission and color rendition.

My favorite photo I took this year is a reminder that being in the right place at the right time can make all the difference between a good shot and a great one. Sony a7R V | Sony FE 50-150mm F2 GM | 150mm | F2 | 1/320 sec | ISO 800

Picking out your favorite photo that you took in a given year can be a difficult prospect, especially if you're then trying to write something meaningful about it. Which will make for the best article? The one with the best story? The one that taught me something? Or maybe the most aesthetically pleasing?

Thankfully, the choice was relatively easy this year, since there was one that had all three. Our studio in Seattle is only a few train stops away from Pike Place Market, so often when I'm testing a camera or lens, I'll leave for work a bit early so I can walk through it to get some pictures.

Another photo I took that morning. These hallways would usually be packed shoulder-to-shoulder with people during normal hours. Sony a7R V | Sony 50-150mm F2 | 110mm | F2 | 1/250 sec | ISO 2500

I must've woken up extremely early this particular morning, though, because I was there at 7:30, well before the crowds arrived and before most shops even opened. At first, I thought that would make things more difficult; if no one's here, what is there to take pictures of? I was wrong on two counts, though; one, there were at least a few people out and about, and two, being relatively alone in a place usually packed wall-to-wall with people lets you see things that you wouldn't normally see.

This brings us to the fruit stand in question. Normally, the hall behind them would be bustling with people, making it difficult for anyone in particular to stand out, and blocking many of the beautiful neon signs from most angles. This time, though, there was none of that, so I was able to spot the two people standing at the stall, their faces lit by its warm lighting, contrasting the cool dawn light that was just starting to creep into the market.

being in the right place at the right time doesn't do much for you if you don't have the right tool to capture it

Of course, being in the right place at the right time doesn't do much for you if you don't have the right tool to capture it. Thankfully, this time around, I was testing out Sony's 50-150mm F2 GM lens, which is still one of my favorite pieces of photography gear released this year (spoiler alert?). Shooting at 150mm let me really isolate the shoppers from the background, and the fast aperture works wonders with all the artificial lights, melting them away as swirls of beautiful, vibrant color. If someone asked me to sell them on this lens, this picture would be one of my opening arguments.

Of course, it would then have to be followed by some more extremely strong points, since this lens is bonkers expensive. This picture also reminds me how lucky I am that getting to test high-end photography equipment is part of my job; I absolutely could've captured something similar with a much cheaper (not to mention less bulky) setup, but I'm not sure it would've had all of the magic. That means there's almost no chance I would've gotten this picture without this job, so it's hard not to feel at least a little thankful when I look at it.

Not that it's entirely luck. That lens and the a7R V it was attached to would've done me no good if I just spent the morning sleeping in and watching YouTube on the couch. I was only able to get the photo because I made the effort to wake up early and go to a photogenic place. It's an obvious lesson, but one I'll remember going into the new year; the pictures or videos that only exist in my head won't become real unless I go out and make them real. And once I'm out, I may find things I hadn't expected that also make for a great photo.

Honorable mentions

While it was relatively easy to pick a favorite this year, there were a few other shots I took that I feel are worth highlighting. You can check them out in the gallery below.

Image: Westend61 / Westend61 via Getty Images

Welcome back to our Question of the Week series! This reader-focused series aims to get our photographic community to share thoughts on all sorts of photography-related topics in our forums. We pose questions about gear, favorite camera stores, advice, problem-solving and more, and you share your thoughts and opinions.

This week, we’re leaning into the holiday spirit! The season of giving (and occasionally re-gifting) is upon us, and that means it’s time to unwrap some memories – both heartwarming and hilarious.

What are the best (and worst) photography-related gifts you've received?

What’s the best photography-related gift you’ve ever received? Maybe it was a dream lens that caused you to take on an adventure deep in the mountains, or a handmade camera strap that’s now an essential part of your kit. And what about the worst? Perhaps someone thought you needed yet another "World’s Best Photographer" mug, or that odd lens filter set that turned every photo a shade of green.

In this edition of our Question of the Week series, we want to hear your gift stories: the memorable, the useful and the truly baffling. Share your favorites (and flops) in the forum link below. Photos of the gifts (or what you created with them) are also more than welcome! We'll highlight some of your most entertaining and heartfelt responses in next week's roundup.

Click here to answer the Question of the week

The Sigma BF isn't a template all other cameras should follow – there are plenty of times a camera designed around a viewfinder is valuable – but it's a fascinating take on what a picture-taking device can be. Photo: Al Power

No, I'm not trolling you. If I'd wanted to just prompt incredulous or angry comments, I'd have opted for the Sony RX1R III: a camera I genuinely really like, but recognize only appeals to a very narrow group of photographers that happens to include me.

The Sigma BF is simply a really good camera. This may not be obvious if you can only view it from the perspective of how other cameras work, but if you're able to put your preconceptions to one side and try to look at things anew, it's a consistently elegant piece of design. And I don't just mean the eye-catching body.

Ignore the looks, look beyond the basic specs and stop worrying about how many dials you think a camera should have. Ask yourself, instead, what is a camera for? It's to take pictures, perhaps to inspire or encourage you to take pictures, and to capture the light emerging from the scene as best it can.

Completely aside from the exterior design, the ability to shoot more true-to-life images without having to switch modes or worry about compatibility would probably be enough to make the Sigma my Gear of the Year. Photo: Richard Butler

Most modern cameras are built on well-established conventions. They may have done away with the mirror and the film, but a lot of them are still shaped like SLRs from one end or other of the 1980s. Or, perhaps, they resemble 1960s rangefinders, but they're all products of established thinking. They are a series of decisions made long ago, repeated out of habit with any new ideas and features (often clumsily) lumped into already overwhelmed menu systems.

Opinion: the Sigma BF is not the revolution I'd hoped for, but the effort that's gone in it is obvious

After a flurry of experimentation in the early 2000s, cameras settled back into a series of familiar shapes and archetypes. And, right back to some of those early models, they shot 8-bit JPEG images designed for printing or viewing on the CRT monitors of the day.

The Sigma questions all of this. It isn't designed to fit in with the established camera aesthetic, its interface isn't an outgrowth of design decisions made twenty years ago and it doesn't think photos are solely about prints or playback on a type of monitor people no longer have.

Instead, it's a body designed to appeal to people who don't think of themselves as photographers. It doesn't obscure your view of the scene behind a bewildering head-up display of incomprehensible icons, but instead is designed to just show you your framing. And it shoots images optimized to make the most of modern displays and phones.

We've been stuck using standard-DR JPEGs since the dawn of digital. Almost all modern cameras have an option to capture true HDR imagery, but do so in the HEIF format that remains poorly supported and awkward to share. The BF shoots HDR photos with every shot, and embeds this additional tonal information into otherwise standard JPEGs, so you have universal compatibility with added vibrancy and realism when viewed on an increasing number of modern devices.

Technology: the Sigma BF brings a breakthrough for photography

This 'Ultra HDR JPEG' approach has also been adopted by Google for its Pixel phones, and is central to the marketing push behind Hasselblad's X2D II camera (which takes the extra step of providing an HDR-capable rear monitor). In any other year, the Hasselblad might have been my Gear of the Year for this feature alone, but it was just one element of what makes the Sigma so original.

I was asked, when I first wrote about it, whether I was only excited by the Sigma because it's a refreshing change after nearly twenty years of using and writing about cameras that, for better and worse, operate in a broadly similar manner. It's a question I'd already asked myself while I was using the camera. I genuinely believe it's not. Photo: Al Power

None of which is to say the BF is perfect. The interface would definitely benefit from another round of refinement, now it's been in more people's hands. Image stabilization would certainly be a benefit, as would a faster sensor, better suited to use without a mechanical shutter. A less sharp lip along the leading edge of the camera and a less comically small battery wouldn't go amiss, either.

Experience: What's the most interesting camera of 2025 like to live with?

Ultimately, though, these Gear of the Year articles aren't necessarily meant to be about the best equipment released in any given year, but the one we had an enjoyable or memorable experience with, and the BF excelled in that regard. Not just because it accompanied me on some enjoyable travels, not just because it's interesting, but because, when I looked back at my photos to write this article, they really jumped out at me.

I liked this photo already: well worth all the antihistamines I had to take to take to visit a pub with cats, but downloading it and viewing it on my phone recently made me realise I'd never seen it in full HDR. Download it, look closely in the cats' eyes and tell me the BF doesn't make sense. Sigma 35mm F2 DG | F2.2 | 1/40 sec | ISO 250 Photo: Richard Butler

I published a gallery of images from the Sigma before we discovered is HDR feature, and I realised I'd not gone back and re-examined my shots on an HDR display. All of a sudden, the steam rising from the Punjabi meal I'd enjoyed in London caught the sunshine again, making my mouth water; the eyes of the pub cat I'd photographed glowed a liquid green to grab my attention. The photos I already knew were illuminated afresh.

Richard's Sigma BF sample galleries:

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 article); we do so in good faith, so please don't abuse it.

Image: Sony

Sony announced its a7 V camera today, and included in that announcement was the new version of its standard zoom kit lens. The FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS II is a subtle upgrade to meet the demands of Sony's latest camera, making it a well-rounded kit for creatives who do it all.

The primary update in the FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS II is improved autofocus capabilities that allow it to handle the faster burst shooting rates of the new a7 V. Sony says it is capable of up to 120 fps with AF/AE tracking and it can track and focus while zooming. It also offers breathing compensation to reduce shifts in angle of view for smooth rack focusing.

Beyond the improved autofocus, the new lens keeps the design and features of its predecessor. That includes the same optics, which are comprised of nine elements in eight groups, with three aspherical elements and one ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass element. It features the same seven-blade aperture and offers Sony's Optical SteadyShot image stabilization. It can focus as close as 0.3-0.45 m (0.99-1.48').

Image: Sony

Given that the optical design remains the same, the new version retains the same size as the previous iteration. It weighs 293g (10.4 oz) and measures 72.5 x 83mm (2.875 x 3.375"). It uses a 55mm filter thread. It offers weather sealing to protect against dust and moisture, and features a fluorine coating on the front element to repel water and oil. There are no on-lens controls, except for a zoom and focus rings.

The FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS II will be available in February 2026 for $449, which is the same as the current list price of the original version. A kit with the Sony a7 V and FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS II will also be available in February 2026 for $3099. You can pre-order both now.

Preoder now:

Specs:

The Sony a7 V is an enthusiast-tier camera with a new, full frame, 33MP 'partially stacked' CMOS sensor, with a focus on high burst rates, capable autofocus and a complete suite of video features.

Key Specifications

• 33MP full frame 'partially stacked' sensor
• IBIS rated to 7.5EV in the center
• AI-derived recognition for six subject types
• "Blackout-free" continuous shooting at 30fps
• Configurable pre-burst capture up to 1 second
• 3.2" tilting/fully-articulating display
• Dual USB-C ports for power and data
• 4K 60p derived from 7K capture, 4K 120p with 1.5x crop
• AI-based auto-framing in video

Sony says the a7 V will be available from late December 2025 at a recommended retail price of around $2899.

Index:

• What's new?
• In context
• Body and handling
• Video
• Initial assessment
• Sample gallery
• Press release
• Specifications

What's new?

New sensor

Like its predecessor, the a7 V features a 33MP sensor, but with extra readout circuitry to improve readout speeds (which were one of the a7 IV's weak points). We've seen this "partially stacked" technology in 24MP cameras like the Nikon Z6III and Panasonic S1II, but here it's being applied to a higher-resolution sensor.

Sony says this allows the a7 V to achieve much higher burst rates than its predecessor – 30 fps, up from 10 – and to do so with a full 14-bit readout, rather than requiring Sony's destructively lossy Raw compression. The maximum e-shutter speed has been increased to 1/16000 sec, too. The company also promises it won't have the same dynamic range reduction we saw with the Z6III, where increased read noise was evident if you pushed the shadows in post. Though we'll have to see if these claims are borne out in testing.

The IBIS system has also been upgraded, now stabilizing the sensor by 7.5EV, up from 5.5EV with the a7 IV.

New processor, new autofocus

The sensor is paired with a new "Bionz XR2" processor, bringing Sony's most up-to-date autofocus system to the a7 line. While the previous camera had human and animal recognition, the a7 V gets the autofocus system found on most of Sony's other modern cameras, with support for recognizing six subject types, as well as a configurable 'Auto' mode.

The Subject Recognition: Auto mode can be fine-tuned so that it only looks for the types of subject you expect to encounter. You can also select how specific the focus is (eg whether it looks for birds' eyes)

The Human / Face / Eye recognition is significantly upgraded from the previous camera, with the a7 V trained to recognize humans in all sorts of different positions, so that it continues to track the same person and re-finds their face faster, even if they are partially obscured.

The camera also gains a few new focus area settings, and Sony says it performs autofocus calculations 60 times per second. (It hasn't shared the a7 IV's rate, but says the a1 II does 120 calculations per second.)

The processor is an update to the one found in Sony's earlier cameras, such as the a1 II, a7R V and a6700, which paired their image processors with an "AI" coprocessor to handle autofocusing duties. Now, both functions are bundled onto one chip. Rather than providing for new features, this seems to be a play to make the system more efficient when doing the same tasks.

New Raw format

In among the new features, Sony says there's a new, 'lightweight' Raw system. We weren't given any more information than this, and there isn't any third-party support for them, yet. The only thing we can say is that they end up being a similar size to Sony's old, damagingly lossy Raw format, but hopefully without the potential pitfalls.

AI-powered features

Apart from autofocus, the new processor allows for several other features that are based on complex algorithms created by machine learning. The first is Auto Framing: a video mode that crops in and then follows your subject around the frame. This lets you set up a wide-angle shot, then have the camera pan around the scene to make it look like you had a camera operator. The feature offers three levels of crop and includes options to show the wide shot first before punching in shortly after your subject enters the frame.

There's also a framing stabilizer option that uses the digital video stabilization to not only move a crop within the sensor to counteract shake, but also to maintain your subject's position in the frame (either centrally or in a position you've defined). In both cases, the video is then upscaled to your chosen resolution.

Pre-burst capture

The a7 V gains the pre-burst capture system that first appeared in the a9 III. This lets you capture images for up to one second between the time you initiate AF and the time you fully press the shutter button. You get quite fine-grained control over the period of time before the full shutter press that gets retained. 1 second is the maximum, 0.03sec (i.e., 1 frame at the camera's maximum 30fps) is the minimum, so you can tune it to match your response time, rather than always capturing a full second's worth of images prior to full-press.

Despite the minimum duration being based on 30fps shooting, you can use pre-burst with any of the camera's shooting rates.

A video upgrade

The faster sensor lets the a7 V capture most of its video modes at up to twice the framerates its predecessor could deliver. It also gains the auto-framing and framing stabilizer modes discussed above.

There are a few other nice-to-haves, too, such as the option to upload your own LUTs to let you preview the scene with your intended grading. The camera can also embed the LUT alongside your footage, so that it's also available to whoever's editing the project. However, unlike the FX series cameras, there's no option to simply burn the LUT onto your video.

In context

The a7 V lands in the most competitive part of the market: between the out-and-out pro models and the somewhat pared-back entry-level models. This puts it up against some very good opposition: the recently-released Canon EOS R6 III, the recently firmware-boosted Panasonic S1II and Nikon's Z6III.

We don't have room to compare all five here, so we're going to include the more expensive Panasonic S1II here, as it's built around a similar sensor to the Nikon Z6III but gets a bit more out of it, in terms of image quality, video and speed. We'll include more about the Nikon in a follow-up article, soon.

* When combined with a stabilized lens

The table works as a striking illustration of just how far behind the latest generation of cameras the a7 IV was, a situation the a7 V has mostly rectified. Sony's E-mount also remains a leader in terms of openness and the availability of a wide range of first and third-party lenses, though it's worth noting that several big players have recently promised to start producing options for L-mount. Sony also only allows third-party lenses to continuously autofocus at 15fps and below, a limitation that wasn't a factor on the a7 IV, but that a7 V users may bump up against.

Other companies are also offering more video options than Sony; both the Canon EOS R6 III and Panasonic S1II have modes for open-gate recording, DCI 4K and internal Raw video, all of which the a7 V lacks. Sony also hasn't implemented exposure assistance tools such as a waveform monitor or false color overlay, though it has AI tricks that Canon and Panasonic don't offer.

Body and handling

The a7 V uses an updated version of the body from the a7 IV. This means it has two main command dials, a toggle-lockable exposure comp dial on its shoulder and a third, fiddly command dial on its rear plate. However you wish to shoot, the a7 V can be set up to put the parameters you care about at your fingertips.

The front grip has been redesigned to make it feel more comfortable, though it doesn't gain the tilted-forward shutter button design that the company's pro-grade a9 III and a1 II benefit from.

We're still not great fans of the new grip: it's large enough, but the two of us shooting with the camera both found it dug into our fingers a little. This isn't helped by the unyielding grip texture on the camera that does nothing to cushion the hand.

Menus

The a7 V uses Sony's latest generation menus, which are certainly an improvement on the ones used in earlier models. They definitely have their foibles still, though.

The a7 V uses Sony's newer menu system, which represented a big step forward from the a7 III. It's been updated slightly from the previous model through the addition of a Home/Status Panel screen at the top of the menu. We're not fans, as it's easy to navigate away from by mistake (not ideal for quick settings changes), and it can get in the way of reaching the actual menus. The ability to minimize it as you navigate to the left-hand tabs serves no obvious purpose, beyond reinforcing the sense that it's a potentially good idea shoehorned into a context where it doesn't quite fit.

As with any menu system, you can learn it in time, or use the My Menu system and Fn menu to circumvent the need. But the a7 V's very high level of customization comes with the price of a long, complex menu frequently featuring an odly trunctd nmng systm.

EVF / rear screen

The a7 V uses the same 3.69M dot viewfinder as its predecessor, with the optics giving 0.78x magnification.

It gains a tilting cradle on which its slightly larger, fully articulated rear screen is mounted. This means it can be tilted up or down, close to the back of the camera for waist-level or overhead stills shooting as well as flipping out to the side for videos or selfies. The added movement also lets you move the screen away from the camera, reducing the risk of the screen fouling your cables when you flip it out. The new panel has around 2.1M dots, giving around a 1024 x 682px resolution.

Flipping the screen out over-rides the viewfinder's eye sensor by default, so the rear screen won't black-out if you bring the camera too close to your body when working at waist level. We had occasional issues getting the finder to work when the screen was re-stowed, though (closing the screen seems to put the camera to sleep).

USB ports

The a7 V becomes the second camera we've encountered to have two USB-C ports: one for high-speed data transfer, one for charging, using the USB-PD standard. It's worth remembering which is which: the upper port can transfer files at up to 10Gbps, the lower one is around one twentieth of this speed.

It's perhaps noteworthy that many recent Sony cameras had retained a USB Micro B socket alongside their USB-C data port, to maintain compatibility with the company's "Multi Terminal" accessories. The second slot on the a7 V appears to essentially be a continuation of this USB 2.0 socket in a new shape.

Battery

The a7 V uses the same NP-FZ100 battery that the a7 series has used for several generations, now. It's a fairly substantial 16.4Wh unit that powers the camera to a rating of 750 shots per charge if you rely on the rear screen and 630 shots per charge if you use the viewfinder.

These are both impressive figures for a camera in this class, especially given that the CIPA-defined tests tend to significantly underestimate the number of shots most people find they actually get. Everyone's usage differs, of course, but so long as you don't spend lots of your time reviewing the images you just shot, it's not unusual to get double the rated number of shots.

Video

The Sony a7 V records full-width UHD 4K footage at up to 60p, downsampled from 7K capture, and also offers 4K 120p recording from an APS-C-sized region of the sensor.

The camera can also use the sensor's extra resolution to power its AI Auto Framing mode, which will recognize a human in the scene and crop in on them, like a camera operator might if they were zooming in and panning around to keep a subject in frame. You can configure how tight you want the framing to be and how quickly you want the camera to move the frame to keep up with the subject. Similarly, the highest tier of digital stabilization also has a 'Framing Stabilizer' option, which aims to keep your chosen composition locked onto a selected subject, even while the camera is moving.

There's also a slight caveat to the full-width 4K 60p mode; to actually get full-width recording, you have to turn on a mode called Angle of View Priority, which Sony says turns off in-camera noise reduction. The company claims it doesn't affect dynamic range or oversampling, but we'll have to test it out more once we have a production unit.

Sony includes its S-Log3 and S-Cinetone color modes in the a7 V. The former is designed to capture as much dynamic range as possible, but will require color grading before delivery, while the latter is designed to have a subtle, movie-like appearance that's flat enough to provide a little editing latitude.

Recording Modes

Compared to its competitors, the a7 V actually has relatively few recording modes, since it only records compressed, 16:9 video. However, it offers a few choices of codecs and compression types, which you can choose between depending on what you're shooting and how capable your editing computer is.

Sony's menus for choosing your recording mode aren't the nicest to navigate, but they get the job done. You start by choosing your file format to determine your resolution and compression, and which are named using Sony's somewhat cryptic branding (XAVC HS 4K for 4K H.265, XAVC S-I 4K for 4K H.264 All-I, etc). Then, you can go into a separate menu to choose your frame rate and bit rate/depth and chroma subsampling settings.

* Not available in "XAVC HS 4K" H.265

**1.0 crop only with Angle of View Priority on

Rolling shutter

As with other partially stacked sensors we've seen, the a7 V manages to get excellent rolling shutter rates for video. In 4K/24, it reads out the full-width of the sensor in 14.5ms, with similar results for its 4K/60 modes. The 4K/120 mode with its APS-C crop is, obviously, much faster, reading out in 6.9ms.

Temperature limits

While the a7 V doesn't have a fan, it has the graphite heatsink introduced with the a7S III built into the IBIS unit for better thermal performance in the camera's more demanding video modes. At roughly room temperature (20°C, 68°F), the company says you can expect to get around 90 minutes of recording time at 4K/60. At a torturous 41°C (105°F), the company claims it should still be able to manage up to 60 minutes of 4K/60. Though it doesn't specify, we assume these figures are for indirect heat and with the overheat warnings relaxed.

Initial assessment

by Richard Butler

The a7 V should mean no Sony user need look jealously at other brands. But the reverse is also likely to be true.

The Sony a7 V looks like a hugely capable all-rounder, promising high resolution for its class, paired with fast shooting, the latest AF features and the ability to shoot fast, smooth video. It represents an appreciable step forward for Sony shooters, and perhaps it needed to.

The a7 IV was the first mid-range full-frame camera to push beyond 24MP, but this somewhat undercut the video, where any gain in detail was offset by levels of rolling shutter higher than its preexisting rivals. And while, back in 2021, you could fairly confidently address the impossibly complex question: "which of these models has the best autofocus" with the simple answer: "the Sony," much has changed since then.

In the four years since its launch, the rival offerings from Canon and Nikon have caught up in term of generic subject tracking, and moved ahead in terms of the range of subjects they recognize. Both brands have also made big advances in video, offering faster speeds, smoother readout and Raw video capture. Canon's recent EOS R6 III finally matched the a7 IV's remaining standout quality: photo resolution.

Sony FE 35mm F1.4 | F1.4 | 1/1000sec | ISO 100 Photo: Mitchell Clark

The a7 V moves the series forward in several ways. It maintains the resolution of its predecessor but adds a lot more speed. We'll need to confirm Sony's claims that there are no image quality costs to its move to a faster, 'partially stacked' CMOS sensor, but it's certainly not impossible, given what Panasonic achieved with the S1 II. This speed is backed up by the arrival of the company's latest subject recognition modes, along with a tunable Auto subject mode to make it easy to make the most of them. All of which should be welcomed by Sony stills shooters, because it'll only expand the range of photographic scenarios at which the a7 V should excel.

E-mount video shooters also gain some significant improvements. Frame rates and rolling shutter performance are given a boost by the faster sensor and processor, and the a7 V gains the clever auto-cropping mode from the full-frame ZV-E1 vlogging camera, which should be good for single-person projects. These improvements, supported by good battery life and promises of decent thermal performance make should make the a7 V's video competitive with its peers.

It's worth noting, though, that options such as open gate shooting, native resolution video and internal Raw capture that are becoming common elsewhere aren't present here. Maybe Sony (perhaps correctly) doesn't believe enough mid-market hybrid shooters are going to need these features, or perhaps they're being saved for a future FX series camera. Either way, it feels like the a7 IV story all over again, with the a7 V looking competent, rather than excellent for video.

That's why I keep stressing the a7 V's appeal to existing Sony shooters, because while it looks to do pretty much everything very well, there's not a lot, beyond its impressive battery life, that you can point to that screams "it's better than its peers at..."

Maybe we're past the point at which each new camera reaches greater heights than the competition, but Sony's latest feels like a camera that clears the current bar, rather than raising it. The Sony a7 V looks like a hugely capable all-rounder, but that's likely to be more exciting to Sony users than to the wider market, because so do its peers.

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.