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As part of the work on our review of the Fujifilm X100VI, we've shot and processed our standard studio test images with the camera.

Our test scene is designed to simulate a variety of textures, colors and detail types you'll encounter in the real world. It also has two illumination modes to see the effect of different lighting conditions. $(document).ready(function() { ImageComparisonWidget({"containerId":"reviewImageComparisonWidget-4137715","widgetId":918,"initialStateId":null}) })Recent Videos

Given the camera is based on a sensor we've seen before, there are few surprizes in terms of its performance. It produces more detail than the 26MP sensor in the X100V$(document).ready(function() { $("#icl-5922--942022866").click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(5922); }); }). Inevitably it shows more noise at the pixel level than lower-res sensors, but is comparable when viewed at the same output size$(document).ready(function() { $("#icl-5923--822446852").click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(5923); }); }), up until the very highest ISO settings$(document).ready(function() { $("#icl-5924-1412444404").click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(5924); }); }).

Lens performance

The studio scene is not intended as a lens test: we typically use very high-performance lenses at an aperture that delivers high levels of cross-frame consistency with little risk of diffraction limiting the performance. However, with the X100VI, we have no choice but to use the built-in lens.

The 35mm equiv field of view means we have to move much closer to the target but this is still at over 40x focal length, so not especially close-up. An aperture value of F5.6 means we're not being especially challenging.

And the X100VI's lens appears to acquit itself well in these circumstances. In the JPEGs it's comparably detailed near the center as the X-H2's results, using our standard 56mm F1.2 R testing lens (though the X100VI is possibly having to apply more sharpening$(document).ready(function() { $("#icl-5925--466670728").click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(5925); }); }) to deliver this result). Things get a little softer towards the corners and exhibit (easily corrected) lateral chromatic aberration and some vignetting in the Raw conversion, but overall the lens appears to be doing a good job in front of a high-resolution sensor.

As with all the other 40MP X-Trans cameras, the Adobe Camera Raw conversion isn't showing the same levels of contrast or sharpening that the camera's own JPEGs do, so it's worth downloading the Raw files to see whether your preferred software and processing workflow produce results you're happier with. But overall, we feel it does well.

Image: mood.camera

A new camera app that wants to offer a film-like experience is now available. The mood.camera app (iOS only) targets fans of analog photography and consists of 14 film-like filters. I was given early access to the app to test it out and see if it offers anything different from similar apps on the market.

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There's been a resurgence in analog photography recently. Though many desire the look of film, they don't necessarily enjoy the process (and time) of using analog cameras. mood.camera aims to bridge the gap between film and digital by offering filters that emulate film stocks such as Kodak Portra, CineStill and Chrome.

Inside the app, users can imitate a change in ISO (ranging from 100 to 3200) and will notice less detail and more grain the higher you go. There's also a digital tonal range dial that impacts the amount of contrast and saturation in an image.

Image: Dan Ginn (made with mood.camera). Filter: Chrome

This isn't the first app trying to emulate the look of film photography. Other apps, such as 1998 Vintage Camera and VSCO, offer filters that provide a classic look, as does Hipstamatic, one of the first smartphone apps within this niche.

What sets mood.camera apart is how it provides an analog-esque process to image making. Whereas other apps provide a live preview of filters and simulations, mood.camera doesn't.

The app's developer said the intention was to "mirror the classic film camera experience." To see how the images turn out, you must view the photos in Apple's Photos app.

Image: Dan Ginn (made with mood.camera). Filter: Kodak

Some obvious features are missing in the app. There's no portrait mode, which the developer says is because "Apple does not let you capture ProRaw and depth data." There's no night mode either, which the developer claims is possible to add but isn't interested in doing so at this time.

Image: Dan Ginn (made with mood.camera). Filter: Chrome

Having used the app for a week, it did bring a new sense of enjoyment to mobile photography. I liked not having a live preview of my images. Its absence allowed me to worry less about the outcome and focus more on the process of creating photographs.

There was a distinct difference in each of the filters, and while they'll never be 100 percent like stock film, they're close. Unlike some apps I have tried before, I found it easy to navigate through the different filters in mood.camera, and the app itself was quick and responsive.

Image: Dan Ginn (made with mood.camera). Filter: Cine

If you want to adapt your smartphone photography workflow and like the classic look, then mood.camera is worth trying. There's a seven-day free trial available before committing to a paid subscription.

mood. camera is now available on the App Store and costs $1.99 per month or $14.99 as a one-time purchase. A free trial is available to evaluate the app.

Image: Sigma

Sigma has announced it will be offering six of its DC DN APS-C lenses for Canon's RF mount, making it one of the first third-party manufacturers to sell autofocus RF lenses under license.

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The DC DN 18-50mm F2.8 fast standard zoom will be available from July 2024, offering a 29-80mm equivalent range on Canon's 1.6x crop APS-C bodies.

This will be followed, later in the year, by the DC DN 10-18mm F2.8 fast wide-angle zoom, giving 16-29mm equivalent coverage.

The company's four F1.4 primes will follow on from this, giving EOS R100, R50, R10 and R7 users a choice of 16mm, 23mm, 30mm and 56mm lenses that give 26mm, 37mm, 48mm and 90mm equivalent focal lengths.

The lenses, all part of the company's Contemporary series of mid-priced lenses, are already available for Leica L, Fujifilm X and Sony E mounts, with three of the four primes also available for Nikon Z mount.

With the lenses being made under a license from Canon, Sigma says it's been able to optimize the AF speed and support features such as image stabilization and lens aberration correction. The news coincides with Tamron also launching a licensed RF-mount APS-C lens.

No details of pricing have been provided.

SIGMA launches interchangeable lenses for Canon RF Mount system

SIGMA Corporation (CEO: Kazuto Yamaki) is pleased to announce the upcoming launch of interchangeable lenses for Canon RF Mount system. This addition allows users to enjoy high performance, and high quality SIGMA lenses in native mount on their Canon RF Mount system.

[Lineup]

For detailed product information, please refer to the link below.

< Launch in July, 2024 >

SIGMA 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN | Contemporary

Petal Type Lens Hood (LH582-02) supplied

Product information：https://www.sigma-global.com/en/lenses/c021_18_50_28/

< Launch in fall of 2024 and onwards >

SIGMA 10-18mm F2.8 DC DN | Contemporary

Push-on Petal Type Lens Hood (LH706-02) supplied

Product information：https://www.sigma-global.com/en/lenses/c023_10_18_28/

SIGMA 16mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary

Petal Type Lens Hood (LH716-01) supplied

Product information：https://www.sigma-global.com/en/lenses/c017_16_14/

SIGMA 23mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary

Petal Type Lens Hood (LH554-01) supplied

Product information：https://www.sigma-global.com/en/lenses/c023_23_14/

SIGMA 30mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary

Lens Hood (LH586-01) supplied

Product information：https://www.sigma-global.com/en/lenses/c016_30_14/

SIGMA 56mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary

Lens Hood (LH582-01) supplied

Product information：https://www.sigma-global.com/en/lenses/c018_56_14/

* These products are developed, manufactured and sold under license from Canon Inc.

[Main specifications and features]

Control algorithm including AF drive and communication speed optimization has been developed specifically for Canon RF Mount interchangeable lenses. In addition to realizing high-speed AF, the lens also supports AF-C (Continuous AF), in-camera aberration correction* and in-camera image stabilization. The mount is rubber-sealed to cater for use in a variety of environments.

* Available on supported cameras only.

Image: Tamron

Tamron has announced it's developing a version of its 11-20mm F2.8 Di III-A RXD fast wide-angle zoom lens for Canon RF-mount APS-C cameras.

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The 11-20mm F2.8, which is already available for Sony E-mount, will offer an 18-32mm equivalent range on Canon's 1.6x crop cameras.

The lens, released under license from Canon, was announced simultaneously with SIgma's announcement that it will offer six of its DC DN range of APS-C lenses for the same mount. Notably all seven lenses are for the smaller format RF-mount models.

The company says the 11-20mm will be available before the end of 2024. No details of pricing has been given.

TAMRON announces development of first CANON RF mount lens

The compact, lightweight, fast-aperture F2.8 ultra wide-angle zoom

11-20mm F/2.8 Di III-A RXD (Model B060)

April 23, 2024, 12AM ET / April 22, 2024, 9PM PT, Commack, NY – Tamron Co., Ltd. (President & CEO: Shogo Sakuraba; Headquarters: Saitama City, Japan; “TAMRON”), a leading manufacturer of optics for diverse applications, announces the development of TAMRON’s first CANON RF mount lens, 11-20mm F/2.8 Di III-A[1] RXD (Model B060), an ultra wide-angle zoom lens for APS-C mirrorless cameras. The lens is expected to launch within 2024.

TAMRON’s lenses for mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras are highly regarded for their combination of superior optical performance and compact, lightweight designs. After receiving many requests from customers to offer lenses compatible with the CANON RF mount, TAMRON made the decision to develop a lens for the CANON RF mount under a license agreement.

The 11-20mm F2.8 is a fast-aperture zoom lens covering a focal length range from ultra wide-angle 11mm to 20mm[2], with a maximum aperture of F2.8 across its full range of focal lengths. With a surprisingly compact and lightweight design for a fast, ultra wide-angle zoom lens, the lens feels well balanced when attached to a compact APS-C mirrorless camera body, making it ideal for regular use. Despite its small, lightweight design, it also delivers high-level imaging power with an uncompromising optical design. Wide macro shooting is possible at 11mm with an MOD (Minimum Object Distance) of 0.15m (5.9”) and maximum magnification ratio of 1:4, and its stunning close-range shooting performance enables creative use of perspective at the wide end. The lens also incorporates an AF drive system with an RXD (Rapid-eXtra-silent stepping Drive) stepping motor unit that is remarkably quiet. The lens accurately captures not only still images but also video. It is also highly practical, with Moisture-Resistant Construction, Fluorine Coating, and other features designed for outdoor shooting, enabling users to easily enjoy the high image quality of this ultra wide-angle large-aperture F2.8 lens under a range of conditions.

Product Features

1. Fast-aperture ultra wide-angle zoom lens
2. Compact and light weight
3. Outstanding optical performance
4. MOD of 0.15m (5.9”) and maximum magnification ratio of 1:4
5. High performance autofocus RXD stepping motor for both still and video use

[1] Di III-A: For APS-C format mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras

[2] The full-frame equivalent of 17.6-32mm.

Launched in 2023, the T-series is Moment’s current line of premium add-on lenses for smartphones and comprises an entire lens ecosystem, including cases, filters, filter mounts, and other accessories.

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Compared to the previous M-series introduced in 2017, the new T-series has been designed for the larger image sensors and bigger pixel counts in the latest generation flagship smartphones, using 25% more glass, an additional lens element and a larger bayonet mount. In addition, the larger dimensions should help avoid vignetting on smartphone cameras with focal lengths of 24mm equivalent or wider.

We had three Moment T-series lenses available to test: the Tele 58mm telephoto lens, the Wide 18mm lens and the Fisheye 14mm lens. The Moment T-series line-up also includes a 10x macro and anamorphic lenses for video shooters, the Anamorphic 1.33x and the Anamorphic 1.55x.

Moment offers a variety of options for attaching the lenses to your smartphone, including a universal lens mount that should work with most smartphones. We used Google’s latest top-end smartphone, the Pixel 8 Pro, with its dedicated Moment case for our tests.

Buy now:

From $130 at Moment From $130 at Amazon $(document).ready(function() { SampleGalleryV2({"containerId":"embeddedSampleGallery_9220074070","galleryId":"9220074070","isEmbeddedWidget":true,"selectedImageIndex":0,"isMobile":false}) }); Build quality and ergonomics

All three lenses come with a metal body and are reassuringly hefty, giving you the impression of having shelled out your money for a premium product. In the box, you’ll find a lens cap and a pouch, and in the case of the 18mm lens, also a screw-in metal hood. The 58mm tele and the 18mm wide lenses offer a filter thread. There is no way of attaching filters or hoods to the fisheye lens.

All lenses come with a pouch in the box.

The Google Pixel 8 Pro dedicated case looks like any generic plastic lens case but comes with a bayonet-style mount for attaching the lenses. Lenses are attached with a 1/4 turn motion, similar to a mirrorless camera or DSLR, but lack the reassuring click sound when the lens locks into place. Still, the connection is solid and tight.

Lenses are attached to the bayonet mount in the lens case with a quarter-turn motion.

Moment recommends mounting their lenses in front of the smartphone’s primary camera module, which offers better overall image quality on some smartphones than the ultra-wide or tele modules. The Moment case for the Google Pixel 8 Pro allows you to mount lenses in front of the phone’s tele module. This would, of course, only make sense for the 58mm tele, but in practice, it does not work. With the lens attached, the Pixel camera automatically switches to its primary camera and uses digital zoom instead. Moment offers a dedicated app that can be configured to force the device to use its telephoto camera. However, the app is currently only available for iOS.

The tele lens adds quite a bit of bulk and weight to your smartphone. Image Quality Moment Wide (18mm equivalent) lens

On the Pixel 8 Pro, the Moment wide lens expands your options in terms of wide-angle shooting. It widens the field of view of the primary camera module but is still closer to the primary camera than to the Pixel’s ultra-wide in terms of focal length.

Overall image quality is not massively impacted by the add-on lens, across all light conditions. The camera tends to use a very similar ISO value with the lens attached, and global image parameters, such as color, dynamic range or contrast, are very close to the Pixel image without the lens attached. The same is true for image noise, but the Moment lens introduces a slight corner softness, and our lens sample also had a soft spot towards the bottom center of the frame.

The Moment lens was also somewhat prone to lens flare when shooting in bright sunlight, even with the hood attached. Focus was still working well, though, and both distortion and vignetting were well under control.

Moment Fisheye (14mm equivalent) lens

The Moment fisheye lens offers a slightly wider field of view than the Pixel 8 Pro’s built-in ultra-wide camera, but the difference is relatively moderate.

As you would expect from a fisheye, its images display a much stronger distortion than the built-in ultra-wide camera, but depending on the use case, this can be a desired effect and a legitimate reason for using the Moment lens. You’ll have to live with quite soft corners in your images, though.

With the Pixel 8 Pro’s ultra-wide camera delivering excellent detail and low noise, even in low light, using the Moment fisheye with the primary camera doesn't offer any real benefit in this respect. Like the wide lens, the fisheye is a little more prone to flare than the built-in cameras. Focus works just as well with the lens attached as without.

Moment Tele (58mm equivalent) lens

When mounted in front of the Pixel's primary camera, the Moment tele 58mm tele lens achieves, as one would expect, a narrower field of view, but not as narrow as the Pixel’s own 2x tele mode, which is achieved through digital zoom.

Shooting through the Moment lens with the Pixel's primary camera gives you a slight advantage in terms of fine detail over the digitally zoomed image. Still, given the Moment image's wider field of view, this advantage is canceled out when viewing the same crop area. Given both images are captured by the image sensor in the primary camera module, there is no noticeable difference in terms of image noise, but in some conditions, we noticed a slightly reduced contrast with the Moment lens and, surprisingly, chromatic aberrations appear to be better controlled with the Moment glass.

You can also combine the Pixel’s 2x zoom with the Moment lens for roughly a 4x tele factor, but the result is pretty underwhelming. The Moment lens magnifies the digital zoom’s imperfections, resulting in a relatively obvious lack of detail. You’re better off using the Pixel’s dedicated tele camera with its native 5x tele in almost any situation.

The Moment Tele provides some advantages in terms of portraiture. Background blurring is not as pronounced as with the artificial bokeh of the Pixel's portrait mode, but you do not get the same segmentation errors around the subject, especially in fine details, such as hair. This said, current flagship smartphones, such as the Pixel, have become very good at isolating the subject from the background, and you have to zoom in fairly closely to spot the imperfections.

Conclusion

The Moment T-series lenses are nicely made, and the case and lens mount designs work well together, giving you the impression of converting your smartphone into a much more serious piece of photographic equipment.

However, out of the lenses we have tested, the fisheye is the only one that offers a unique perspective unavailable through one of the Pixel’s built-in cameras. In addition, shooting with the add-on lenses mounted in front of the Pixel 8 Pro’s primary camera does not really give you an advantage in terms of image quality. The built-in ultra-wide and Google’s 2x tele zoom mode are just too good for that.

You also do not get any aperture control, as you would get on an interchangeable lens camera and the Moment lenses eliminate one of the most apparent advantages of a smartphone camera: ultimate compactness and simplicity.

Overall, the Moment T-series lenses are an interesting option for smartphone photographers who like to experiment with gear. The fisheye provides a unique look, and the telephoto's natural bokeh is nice for portrait shots, but you should not expect massive improvements to your smartphone's camera capabilities.

The Moment lenses might make more sense on smartphones with less capable ultra-wide and tele cameras, but if you own a current top-end device, it's hard to justify the cost and added bulk.

What we like:

• Premium build-quality
• Well-designed Bayonet mount
• Expansive lens ecosystem
• Fisheye lens adds a new perspective
• Telephoto lens provides natural bokeh for portrait shots

What we don't like:

• No real image quality advantage on to-end smartphones
• Added weight and bulk
• Some corner softness and flare on the wide and fisheye lenses
• Some local softness on the telephoto lens

Buy now:

From $130 at Moment From $130 at Amazon

Photo sharing site Photobucket recently revealed that it might license the images it hosts to teach AI models.

Photobucket’s recent reveal that its 13 billion images may soon be licensed to teach AI models raises questions about copyright and how to protect your images.

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Cloud storage is a useful tool that allows us to back up our images and share them with others quickly. It’s not perfect, though. Constant monthly payments and the possibility of data loss or leaks turn many people away. Now, with the rise of cloud-based companies potentially using your data for AI machine learning, it begs the question: what can we do to keep our files safe and, most importantly, under our own control and private?

We learned recently that Photobucket, one of the internet’s oldest photo and video storage sites, was in talks to license user data to companies wanting to use it to train AI models. In an interview with Reuters, the company’s CEO, Ted Leonard, said, "We need to pay our bills, and this could give us the ability to continue to support free accounts.” This means granting third-party access to the 13 billion images and videos uploaded to the platform.

Changes to T&Cs

It’s possible for Photobucket to do this thanks to an update in its terms and conditions, which gives the company carte blanche to analyze and incorporate data from user images. The privacy policy states, “We, and those third parties we may contract with, may also use your images in a general and anonymous way for training artificial intelligence ("AI") algorithms and/or machine learning models and subsequent commercial uses derived therefrom.”

Cloud companies having the ability to scan user images is nothing new. Popular services such as Dropbox, Google Drive and Adobe Cloud can all scan images, as can many others. Google and Adobe have both been accused of accessing user data to train AI, though both companies deny doing so.

"It’s possible for Photobucket to do this thanks to an update in its terms and conditions."

Personally, I’m not comfortable with anyone other than myself and those I authorize accessing my images. That’s even more true now when there’s no clarity on how severely AI technology will impact those working in the photo industry.

Some may suggest reverting to backing up images locally to a hard drive. For many, including myself, this isn’t a realistic option. As someone who travels a lot, I find storing my files in the cloud much easier than carrying multiple hard drives whenever I’m on the move.

Finding privacy in the cloud

Thankfully, there are alternatives to the status quo and several cloud services that emphasize keeping user data private, away from the eyes of company employees and third parties. Of course, every service can update its T&Cs, but it would be bad business for those who have marketed themselves as taking user privacy seriously.

Over five years, I’ve tested and reviewed dozens of cloud storage services. The first question I ask when looking at a service is: does it offer zero-knowledge encryption? This type of encryption gives the user a unique key, which even the software developer can not access, and by extension, means they can’t grant third-party companies access to your files. This means only the user, or those they share their encryption key with, can access their data.

"The first question I ask when looking at a service is: does it offer zero-knowledge encryption?"

When considering platforms that offer zero-knowledge encryption, it can be difficult to know where’s best to back up your files. Having tried the good and the bad, there are some services I feel confident recommending to others.

The two I’m currently using are pCloud and Sync.com, as I find them the easiest to use, and the pricing, overall, is affordable. They’re both available on desktop and mobile and offer useful features for photographers and videographers, which I’ll break down in more detail.

pCloud

pCloud was one of the first services I used. It has fast sync speeds and no file size limits, making it ideal for those working with large files. It also has a built-in native media player to view high-resolution images and videos.

pCloud has fast sync speeds and no file size limits, but charges extra for zero-knowledge encryption.

Unfortunately, pCloud charges extra for zero-knowledge encryption, so you’ll pay $4.99 more on top of your standard monthly fee, which is between $4-$8 per month on selected plans. Personal plans max out at 2TB of storage space, which some users may find limiting.

Buy now:

From $49.99/year at pCloud Sync.com

With Sync.com, users don’t need to pay extra for zero-knowledge encryption, as it’s incorporated into all plans, including the free plan. Personal plans also offer up to 6TB of storage space and unlimited monthly data transfers.

Sync.com includes zero-knowledge encryption by default, but sync speeds can be slow.

One limitation: sync speeds are not the quickest, with uploads and download speeds being considerably slower than other options. Also, moving files around can feel cumbersome, with the drag-and-drop function not being the smoothest.

Buy now:

From $8/month at Sync.com Other zero-knowledge cloud alternatives

If you find these services' storage space too limited, Mega is a good alternative. Personal plans reach up to 16TB of storage space, and zero-knowledge encryption is included at no extra cost, although monthly plans are costly. Personal plans can cost up to $32 per month, though you can reduce this to $26 if you pay annually.

IDrive is a good option for those not ready to go all-in with cloud storage, as it offers both local and cloud-based backup for your data. You can clone your entire disk (including operating system and applications) and IDrive will mail out a copy in the event of a complete machine malfunction. The cloud aspect works like any other service, allowing you to upload, download and share your files with others, and they’re all protected with zero-knowledge encryption.

The wrap

In closing, my intention here is not to fearmonger. The reality is more brands are using AI imagery. More apps are being made to generate AI imagery, and cloud companies are gaining the power to use our (real) photographs to help it all happen while making more money.

I want no part of that. It’s more important than ever to have complete control over our photographs and to ensure cloud companies don’t maximize their bottom line at the expense of our privacy. To not be complicit in this, we must seek out alternative services to store our images. Not only to ensure our privacy but also to ensure we help protect the future of our industry.

Interview participants (all with Ricoh Imaging Company, Ltd.)
Second from Right: Tomoki Tanaka, General Manager, Pentax Division

Others, left to right:
Kazuhiko Shibuya, Pentax Division, Business Management Department, Overseas Sales Section
Hiraku Kawauchi, Marketing Group, Marketing Communication Department
Takeo ("TKO") Suzuki, Designer, Pentax Division
Ryutaro Aratama, Group Leader, Overseas Sales Section, Business Management Department

Everything analog is suddenly cool again, and photography is no exception: There's an incredible renaissance happening in film photography, led by a generation who grew up never knowing anything other than digital cameras.

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The growth has been explosive by any measure; on a recent tour of used-camera stores in Tokyo, owners consistently told me that they're seeing about 3x the level of film camera sales now compared to pre-pandemic times. More remarkable is that I don't think I saw any customer older than 40 in any of the mainstream shops I visited.

Old cameras are just that, though: old. They may or may not work, and if they stop working, the only option is usually to fork out for another one. Wouldn't it be great if there were a brand-new film camera with a warranty and service available?

That's exactly what the Pentax division of Ricoh Imaging has been thinking, led by a passionate young designer, Takeo "TKO" Suzuki, the designer who first had the idea of Pentax developing a new film camera, with the full support of Pentax's General Manager, Tomoki Tanaka.

In this recent YouTube video, designer Takeo "TKO" Suzuki discusses some of the design choices on the upcoming Pentax film camera.

The project has been ongoing, albeit largely under wraps, since late 2022, but Pentax revealed the following details about the camera in an announcement and a YouTube video where TKO went into more depth on March 1 this year:

• The project is going forward; the camera will ship sometime this summer
• Compact design with a half-frame format (2x the exposures on a 35mm roll)
• Manual film advance and rewind
• Vertical image format
• A wide-angle fixed lens
• Zone focusing
• Mostly automatic exposure, but with "shooting modes" for user control

I was in Tokyo when the announcement was made and managed to interview Tanaka, TKO and team members about a week later. We covered Tanaka's vision for Pentax going forward, as well as many details about the camera itself. Here's how that went, with some slight paraphrasing on my part for clarity:

Ricoh Imaging's vision for the Pentax brand

Dave Etchells: What's your vision for the Pentax brand? What do you see as your unique place in the market, and how do you plan to leverage that going forward? What do you see as the relationship between film and digital products, say, five years from now?

Tomoki Tanaka: Our vision is to offer products to photography enthusiasts; that's the main point. Photography doesn't just mean digital cameras or analog cameras, though, but both. As of today, we don't know the future of these categories, but it's clear that film camera use has been increasing in recent years. Five or ten years from now, there might be new technology that will change everything, so it's hard to say that far in the future. We believe that both digital and analog cameras will be available though. Some people prefer digital, some people prefer analog, and some may like both. Our mission, our vision, is based on user demand; we always try to offer products to users based on their demand.

We, of course, can't speak for other manufacturers, but so far, we are the only one to have the potential to offer both analog and digital to the users. That is our vision for now: whether they are film or digital users, we want to be able to serve the enthusiasts.

"Our mission, our vision, is based on user demand; we always try to offer products to users based on their demand." The biggest surprise in the latest announcement about the Pentax Film Camera is that it will use a half-frame format with vertically-oriented frames on 35mm film.

Photo: Ashley Pomeroy, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons The future of film cameras

Dave Etchells: I know you can't read the minds of your competitors, but I think there's going to be a very robust market for new film cameras, given the high level of interest, especially with the Millennials and Gen-Zs. Do you think other companies might enter the market for advanced compact film cameras once you've demonstrated success?

Takeo "TKO" Suzuki [TKO]: Yes, we don't know the situations of our competitors, but we expect that some will enter the film market. We even hope that what we are doing will stimulate the market overall. The analog photography industry is supported by many people with great dedication to it. It's wonderful to have such people, and we'd like to support them as a camera manufacturer. It's very difficult to try to do that only by ourselves, though, so we hope we can do it together with other manufacturers to pass on the film culture to the next generation.

"We want to be a pioneer, but we don't want to be alone."

Dave Etchells: Ah - as they say, a rising tide floats all ships; if you can get other companies to participate, that would be good for you, too, vs just having a monopoly.

Tomoki Tanaka: We want to be a pioneer, but we don't want to be alone.

Making the new film camera a reality

Dave Etchells: For a long while, you weren't sure that it would even be possible to manufacture a new film camera, but you announced just a week before our meeting that you've firmly decided the project is feasible and you're going ahead with it. When was that decision finally reached, and what was the last piece of the puzzle that made you realize it was possible?

TKO: It was when we were able to create a prototype, and I could take a picture with it. I didn't expect that anyone would give us the OK to proceed with this project without a first shot actually being made by the prototype, so that was the moment. I was very moved when I was able to take the first picture with the prototype. It even brought tears to my eyes.

"I was very moved when I was able to take the first picture with the prototype. It even brought tears to my eyes."

Dave Etchells: I can imagine; you'd had a dream, and finally, it was in your hands.

TKO: A dream, yes.

Dave Etchells: It must have been a lot of work to build the prototype - and you had to have a lens for it. Did you just take an existing lens that you had and kind of hack it together into something for the sake of a test?

TKO: It's newly designed for this project specifically. We, of course, referred to other cameras' lens designs, but we didn't just use an old one as it was; we redesigned it. To make the prototype, we had to make a whole new lens just to be able to build one prototype camera. We actually didn't have the necessary equipment or molds to rebuild old designs, so we had to start over from scratch.

Dave Etchells: Wow, that's a big investment to make, just to decide if the project would be possible or not.

TKO: Yes, it was a lot.

The new film camera will carry the Pentax brand, a famous name in photo history. In 1957, the Asahi Pentax (AKA the Asahi Pentax AP) arguably kicked off the SLR boom. Some aspects of its design became industry standards, including its rapid-wind film advance lever, film-rewind crank, instant mirror return and microprism focusing aids on the viewfinder screen.

Photo: Andriy Matusevich, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Pentax vs Ricoh branding

Dave Etchells: Part of the announcement was that the camera will carry the Pentax branding. How did you decide on that? I was kind of expecting to see the Ricoh name used, given that the GR series has more of a compact rangefinder feel to it than current Pentax models.

TKO: Actually, this was simply because we considered this product to be a Pentax brand product from the very beginning; we simply started working on it as a Pentax project and announced it as the Pentax Film Camera Project in December of 2022.

You mentioned the Ricoh Auto Half when we were talking earlier - We didn't start off thinking of it as a half-frame camera. That's why we only just now declared that it will be half-frame format; we decided to do that during the process, but we didn't have the Ricoh Auto Half in our minds in the beginning.

"We considered this product to be a Pentax brand product from the very beginning."

Dave Etchells: Ah, so you actually started out thinking in terms of full-frame and only later turned to half-frame when the idea of making it vertical-format came about.

TKO: Yes, we only decided on half-frame later. When we made the first announcement in December 2022, we didn't have any such details yet. We communicated with the market [and that led us to the idea of vertical format and half-frame].

Dave Etchells: I like that. It's a story about having a vision for a product but then talking to the market to refine it. I've always appreciated that about the Film Project; you've gotten very close to the users to see what they actually want.

Incorporating feedback from film photographers

Dave Etchells: Before we talk about some of the details you just announced, what was the most surprising thing you discovered as the concept developed?

TKO: It was the fact that we have so many friends and supporters in the analog world. There were many, many more than we expected, so we were very surprised. We were very moved by how cooperative they were and how much they wanted to help with our project. It was also very encouraging to have a sense of such camaraderie that we're not alone in doing this. There are many many supporters, that's very encouraging.

Tomoki Tanaka: There were many strong friendships that contributed. Once we had an opportunity to talk with someone for example, they would introduce us to the next person, and the next and the next. 'Film' people have many connections, and everyone has been so cooperative. So their friendliness, their connections … I don't know if that's a good English word. The connections and relationships with each other really increased our opportunities to talk with analog camera people.

The used film camera market is red hot right now. The owner of Used Camera Box in Shinjuku (Mr Tanaka, above) told me he's getting 100+ customers per day, 80% from outside Japan. (Stay tuned for an upcoming article on used-camera shopping in Tokyo.)

Photo: Dave Etchells

Dave Etchells: I can imagine that. Film shooters are a very passionate, supportive and close-knit group. For a manufacturer to come along and say, "Hey, we're with you, we're going to make this happen," it's very powerful; I can see it really being embraced.

TKO: We receive comments directly through our distribution channel, and also via SMS comments [phone texts]. We watch these comments every day and try to understand what they're thinking. But we were also surprised that many comments were from overseas countries, not just Japan.

Dave Etchells: It was interesting to me as I was touring the used camera stores here that first, I don't think I saw a single customer over the age of 40 the whole time, except in some of the small, very collector-oriented shops. Secondly, there were a huge number of foreigners from all over the world. One shop owner said that 80% of his customers are from other countries. So as strong as the interest is in Japan, it might be even more in other countries.

Tomoki Tanaka: It's just a guess, but maybe it's that there's demand outside of Japan, but the product is available here [so that's why there are so many foreigners hunting for film cameras here.]

Dave Etchells: Yeah, there's really nowhere in the US where you can go and put hands on remotely as many cameras as you can here in Tokyo. There's a large used-gear dealer in Atlanta (KEH) that has perhaps 500 film bodies on hand and another in Portland, Oregon (Blue Moon Camera) that has a similar number in stock, but only people who live nearby can visit either one, and you can probably find 5-10x as many bodies just in Shinjuku.

Ryutaro Aratama: I've heard that some camera fans from overseas countries first stop in Shinjuku and find a favorite camera, then go to Kyoto or Osaka or for another trip.

Dave Etchells: Ah yes - I came across a couple of stories exactly like that, just among the people I met. One person was buying a camera and a couple of lenses before going to Kyoto to shoot with them. It's nice to see people using old cameras again; it's like they're still loved and they still have a place.

I'd never given a second thought to cranking a film-advance lever, but the moment TKO mentioned it, it brought a flood of memories. So many moments in my life are connected through that quick flick of a finger. I dug out an old and battered family K-1000 to pose for this shot.

Photo: Dave Etchells

Sweating the little details

Dave Etchells: Some design choices seemed obvious to me, while others were quite surprising. I immediately loved the idea of mechanical film advance and rewind, but TKO mentioned that this approach was more costly. What makes a manual mechanism more expensive, and can you give us a rough idea of how much more it costs to make a fully mechanical system?

TKO: At this moment, we cannot disclose any figures, but it is true that to have a mechanical film winding means the number of parts, such as screws or gears, is many more than with an electrical system. So it's more difficult to assemble, and it needs more training, much more training, even for experienced assembly workers. It's not just the parts cost itself, but everything around it takes more time and money. Despite the fact that it costs more, though, we decided to equip the camera with a mechanical system because we believe that one of the fun parts of using a film camera is winding the film. I really wanted to make that happen and deliver it to the users, our target users.

[Author's note: There aren't just more parts, but they have to be strong enough for people to crank on them, applying much more force than a tiny electric motor would. This adds cost as well.]

The Ricoh Auto Half first debuted around 1960, and a whole range of variants were sold through the 1970s. It featured a 25mm F2.8 lens (equivalent to 36mm on a full-frame camera). The optical design of the lens in the coming Pentax Film Camera draws its optical heritage from the Pentax Espio Mini, but the angle of view was inspired by the Ricoh Auto Half.

Photo: Hiyotada, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The logic behind going vertical

Dave Etchells: The choice of a vertical format was a real surprise to me. Once TKO explained it in the video, though, I was like, "Well, of course!". Was this a decision you made very early in the project, or was it a point you arrived at only after a while?

Tomoki Tanaka: I believe it wasn't openly discussed, but it was in his [TKO's] mind from the beginning. He needed to carefully study whether it would really be suitable for young users these days or if it would be accepted by the market, so he spent a lot of time interviewing knowledgeable people and potential users. He received a lot of great advice and very helpful information.

Dave Etchells: So you found people liked the idea? I've never used a half-frame camera, but I expect it will be a shift for older photographers like me to think of vertical format for everything. You found that both older and younger thought it was a good idea, though?

TKO: We were afraid at first that long-time analog users wouldn't like the idea of half-frame. After the YouTube video, though, many older people say they understand the concept, saying "we know that this camera is for young people."

Dave Etchells: Even though I'm an "old person," this is a camera I would buy and think about starting up my darkroom again for. I like the idea that it immediately cuts processing costs in half for users. I don't know if labs are set up to print half frames separately, but even if printed two up it would probably be fine. (In fact, it could even be a storytelling component, where you would take pairs of pictures that you wanted to see together.

These shots of Japanese actress and model Riko taken with a Ricoh Auto Half show how the half-frame format looks as a standard 4x6 print. The new Pentax Film camera will have about the same angle of view and perspective.

Photo: BARFOUT, Copyright © Brown's Books, all rights reserved, used with permission

Dave Etchells: This is a bit the same question over again, but the idea of a vertical frame and half-frame 35mm format go hand in hand. Did half-frame drive the idea of vertical format, or was it the other way around?

TKO: I myself shoot with a smartphone every day, so using vertical format is a very normal everyday activity for me. One day I was using a half-frame camera, looking through its viewfinder at a small street with traditional Japanese buildings, and I realized how well they fit in a vertical frame. It was really refreshing to be able to see a vertical composition, not on a smartphone but in a viewfinder.

Tomoki Tanaka: Actually, in the old days, even after we had smartphones, people would take pictures with them this way. [Gestures, showing a horizontal format.] But now, everyone just takes pictures in the vertical. The times have changed, and we have to follow.

Historically, photography was always this way [horizontal], maybe because of our … can I say eyes? But now, people are seeing pictures on their smartphones… Maybe in the future, movies will be vertical too, made for smartphones.

The Pentax Espio Mini was sold in the US as the Pentax UC-1. Its 32mm f/3.5 lens was highly regarded for its sharpness, contrast and overall image quality, despite its simple 3-element triplet design. The new Pentax Film Camera will use a newly designed but similar triplet arrangement.

Photo: Butkus.org camera manual site, used with permission

Lens details

Dave Etchells: You said that the lens was inspired by the field of view of the Auto Half models and the optical design of the Pentax Espio Mini's lens. How were the optical designs of those two camera lines different, and what sort of design did the Espio have that you've brought forward?

TKO: So, to confirm, we referenced the Espio's lens design, not the Auto Half's; it was just the angle of view of the Auto Half that we followed, not the design itself. [Editor's note: The Auto Half featured a 25mm lens, equivalent to 36mm on a full-frame camera, but Pentax declined to state a specific number for the new camera's lens.]

I thought that the natural angle of view when looking through the viewfinder of a Ricoh Auto Half is very suitable for everyone, for everyday use. The Espio Mini was a famous compact film camera that had many fans. We decided to use the Espio Mini lens as a reference because of its high-quality image; even the R&D people rated it very highly. We can also apply the latest technology coatings to it; I think it has the potential to become a modern masterpiece.

"The [Pentax] Espio Mini was a famous compact film camera that had many fans. We decided to use the Espio Mini lens as a reference because of its high-quality image."

Dave Etchells: This is sort of a technical detail, but can you tell me how many elements were in the Espio lens, and are you using the same number in the new one?

TKO: The Espio Mini's lens is a triplet, a very simple lens system with just three elements. It's very simple, but our engineers tried it and got very good results. It's beautiful with just the triplet, very natural and very clear, so we optimized the triplet. The lens on the Espio Mini was very nice; this new lens is a new design but it's very similar.

Dave Etchells: So the new lens is a triplet also?

TKO: For right now, we'll just refer you to the Espio Mini's triplet lens construction. The Espio Mini was a full-frame camera though, so we had to do some refining to adjust to the half-frame format.

Zone focusing

Dave Etchells: TKO mentioned in the video that the camera would have zone focusing rather than a continuous range. Is this only the case for manual focus, or is it true for autofocus as well? If the latter, isn't there a potential loss of sharpness for subjects at distances between the discrete settings? [Author's note: Think of zone focus settings in terms of close-up, portrait or landscape, although Pentax didn't reveal how many zones there would be.]

TKO: In this camera, focus adjustment is assumed to be only zone focus. We adopted zone focusing because we believe that zone focus is the best mechanism for young users entering the world of film cameras to take a step from pan-focus to the next level. Zone focus is a style in which users judge the distance visually and select a proper zone. So there actually isn't any autofocus, it will be the user selecting their own setting. This style is very suitable for snapshots, and you can adjust it, switch it very intuitively.

"We adopted zone focusing because we believe that zone focus is the best mechanism for young users entering the world of film."

I tried taking pictures with a prototype and found it really fun to judge the distance myself, decide the distance and take the picture. I realized that I had completely forgotten how much fun it was. Of course there will be failures, but I believe that failure is one of the charms of film photography.

Tomoki Tanaka: In the case of digital cameras, we can see the picture right after we shoot it, and many people like to check the screen to see if it is in focus or not. But in the case of film cameras, we take the pictures, and we have some hope for how they will turn out, but we don't know until we get the results. So, in this sense, making a picture all by yourself and having responsibility for the focus can be fun.

The difference between digital and film shutters

Dave Etchells: TKO said that the electronic shutter mechanism is specifically optimized for film camera use. What's the difference compared to shutters in digital cameras like the Pentax WG or Ricoh G series cameras?

TKO: Film cameras need to prevent light leakage, not only when shooting but also when the power is off. Even if you're not using the camera, the film is always there, so that makes it extremely sensitive to light leakage. It's not just the shutters themselves but the mechanism around them; the entire camera body has to be designed to avoid light leakage. It's a much more serious problem than in digital cameras.

When I read that the new camera would have "shooting modes," I immediately thought of the standard PASM dial. Pentax declined to give any specific details, but TKO's observation that aperture won't have a lot of effect on the images due to the half-frame format and relatively wide angle lens suggests that any modes won't involve aperture control. (To be 100% clear, though, Pentax gave no indication of what "shooting modes" might mean.)

Photo: Richard Butler

What's meant by "shooting modes"?

Dave Etchells: TKO also mentioned the ability for the user to choose the shooting mode via a control dial. What did he mean by shooting mode? Will there be anything like PASM options, or was he referring to something else?

TKO: We can't disclose all the details of this yet, but basically, the camera can shoot automatically, controlling the aperture and shutter speed by itself. But if that is all you have, if everything is controlled by the camera, you won't be able to enjoy changing the settings yourself, so we're considering making it possible to choose from several shooting modes. I'm afraid we can't go into more detail on this right now, but there will be some choices that the user can make.

Tomoki Tanaka: We can provide good pictures by having the camera control the exposure, but we want to let the user apply their own modifications. That's what we want to make available.

Dave Etchells: It may be too early to ask this, but will the camera have an entirely manual exposure mode, as in the user can set an exposure of F8 at 1/250?

TKO: Please wait. <laughter> But I want to say that because the camera is half-frame, the depth of field will be very great, so adjusting the aperture may not be very effective in changing that.

Despite the best exchange rates in decades, film prices are high in Japan, just like the US. (When this photo was taken, a 3-pack of 36-exposure Kodak Gold 200 film cost ¥6,180, or about $40.) While it trades off some ultimate image quality, the Pentax Film Camera's half-frame format will make photography a lot more affordable for users.

Photo: Dave Etchells

Getting film into the hands of consumers

Dave Etchells: Moving on to a related but non-camera subject, I see that Ricoh has begun selling film. I think that's a brilliant move, but I would like to hear the thinking behind it. Was this made possible through any particular partnership or collaboration?

Ryutaro Aratama: We are trying an experiment selling film directly. We would like to cooperate with film manufacturers and others to try to improve both the supply and price.

Dave Etchells: What brands are you selling right now?

Tomoki Tanaka: An assortment; some Fuji and Kodak films, and monochrome films by Ilford; actually several assortments.

Ryutaro Aratama: This is a trial, though; we source them on the spot, and once one is gone, it's gone.

Tomoki Tanaka: This is a trial project, a trial challenge, and we will have to work together with people in other territories as well to gain experience. The aim isn't mainly to sell film but to build relationships and give opportunities to consumers.

Pentax has a "Clubhouse" in the Yotsuya neighborhood of Tokyo, where Pentaxians can come to see and hold the current lenses, have cleaning and light service performed on their cameras and attend exhibitions, classes and seminars. They say it's an important way for them to stay close to their users.

Photo: Pentax Division, Ricoh Imaging Company, Ltd.

What about the high cost of processing?

Dave Etchells: Doing a film sales trial is easier for you to do in Japan than in other countries, given that you have your own retail locations here. Do you have any plans or strategies for reducing the high costs of film and processing in other parts of the world as well?

TKO: We haven't come to any specific plan. We need to first establish relationships with development or printing companies. In the end we hope we can help to improve the cost or lead times. We've begun setting up relationships with several partners around the world. We've just started, though, and want to continue the process

Tomoki Tanaka: Indirectly, if we can grow the analog film business in the world, higher volume always makes the cost come down. Perhaps we can indirectly help with that, but we don't want to be directly involved in film development. We just want to increase the size of the pie for everyone.

Pentax has long been known for making water-resistant and waterproof/shockproof cameras. Their latest model is the WG-90, announced in November, 2023. It's a 16 megapixel/5x zoom model that's waterproof to 14m (46 ft.), shockproof against a fall from 1.6m (5 ft.), and freezeproof to -10C (14F). The future of the WG (weather-resistant) camera line

Dave Etchells: Finally, the WG-90 has been released since I met with [Ricoh Imaging president, Noboru] Akahane last year. How does the WG line fit into Pentax's overall strategy? What has the market trend been like for waterproof/rugged cameras in recent years? Is it increasing, decreasing or holding steady?

Tomoki Tanaka: I think it's stable. We don't have market data except from our own sales history, but we believe there is a demand for water-resistant or waterproof and shockproof types of cameras, and I see this continuing. We at Pentax have offered products like this for a long time, probably more than 30 years. Our first water-resistant camera was the Zoom-90 WR; I remember it clearly because it was shipping back when I first joined Pentax in 1992. We believe that there is a demand from users so we should offer the product.

The WG-90 is just the latest in a long string of weather-resistant and waterproof cameras. The Pentax Zoom-90 WR was first released in 1991, the year before current General Manager Tomoki Tanaka joined the company.

Photo: Butkus.org camera manual site, used with permission

Conclusion

Pentax is making a big bet on the rebirth of film by being the first major manufacturer to commit to making a new film camera in decades. It's no small thing, as they've had to start completely from scratch, recapturing the expertise of retired film-era engineers, reviving or replacing decades-gone supply chains and setting up mass manufacturing to meet global demand for a product more mechanically complex than not only today's digital cameras but even late-model film cameras with motorized film advance and rewind mechanisms.

It all began as one man's passion project, but TKO's enthusiasm is infectious, and the idea of a new film camera, hopefully even a line of them, turned into a passion project for the company as a whole.

Every company gets excited about its latest products, but what I felt at Pentax was on another level; there's an overriding sense of doing something new and almost revolutionary, of being part of a movement rather than just adding the next checkbox to an already-bulging digital feature list.

At the heart of it all is the film community itself. There's truly a new generation of photographers rising, sharing an excitement about photography that digital cameras and cell phones could never ignite. As has been true of photographers in any era, they're supportive of each other and happy to do whatever they can to help other people enjoy the craft, too.

"Every company gets excited about its latest products, but what I felt at Pentax was on another level."

Pentax tapped into and became a part of that community, letting their efforts be guided by what they heard people asking for rather than imposing their own ideas on the market.

Will it work? We'll see this summer, but if they can bring a well-built, reliable and attractive modern film camera to the market, I think they're going to have more demand than they can handle.

On a parting note, I do hope that the enthusiast community will recognize and accept that they're not the primary target for this particular model. If it succeeds, there'll be other cameras coming, some designed for us, but right now, Pentax needs to focus on the under-40 crowd I saw almost exclusively in the Tokyo used camera shops. That's the mass movement that Pentax needs to ride to not only kick-start their own product line but hopefully reboot the whole analog film world as well.

All that said, while I'm more of an SLR or at least an advanced-rangefinder sort myself, I plan to be one of the first in line to buy a new Pentax film camera when they're released. Who knows, maybe my enlarger and developing trays will find their way back into a spare bathroom again :-)

Image: TTArtisan

Today, TTArtisan has officially released its new AF 56mm F1.8 autofocus lens for X and E-mount cameras. The APS-C portrait lens is another budget offering from the China-based company.

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The 56mm F1.8 lens has ten elements in nine groups and has nine aperture blades. The lens is built with a stepper motor, which TTArtisan claims delivers fast and quiet autofocus. It has a minimum focusing distance of 0.5m (19.6") and a minimum aperture of F16.

TTArtisan says the lens has a full aluminum build, weighs between 233-245g (8.2-8.8oz), and includes ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass. This should help reduce the amount of color fringing that may occur in an image.

This is only the company's fourth autofocus lens, but it's the second one it has announced in recent weeks, following the TTArtisans AF 35mm F1.8, released early this month for Sony E-mount cameras.

Pricing and availability

The TTArtisan AF 56mm F1.8 ships globally and is available immediately. It has a suggested retail price of $158.

Buy now:

$168 at Amazon $158 at TTArtisan

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Photo: Shaminder Dulai

If you haven't signed up for the free DPReview newsletter, you're missing out. It's more than a recap of the website; we regularly share behind-the-scenes information, reader questions of the week, photo challenges and exclusive stories that can only be found in the newsletter.

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In the last three months, we have given newsletter readers early sneak peeks at our testing and talked about our studio scene, product studio and what's going on in the DPReview mail room (you never know what might be dropping by). We also give newsletter readers an exclusive heads-up on what's happening around our office, complete with candid sharing of what the DPReview editors are thinking about and debating. Sometimes, we even let slip which camera review we're working on and if it is coming out the following week.

Last month, the newsletter also hosted DPReview Camera Debate Madness of March (and part of April). Readers and editors weighed the choices between primes and zooms, lens-focusing design, viewfinder- or touchscreen-only cameras, and more. After four rounds of debates and voting, we crowned a champion and experience trumped gear lust. Relive every play-by-play to discover who won and how. Join our next event by signing up for the newsletter.

There's also our ongoing 'Question of the Week' segment, where we turn the microphone toward you. Last week, we asked: What's the perfect portrait lens, and why? Nearly 100 readers wrote in to share their takes, and every week, we share some of our favorite responses in the following newsletter. What did people have to say? Sign up to find out. Join us by answering our next question every week. This week, we're asking you: If you could update one camera from the past and bring it back to the market, what would it be? Have a hot take to share? Sign up and join the community by sending in your response.

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And we don't just stop at the news. Newsletter subscriber benefits include behind-the-scenes articles, letters to the editor, exclusive contests, sneak peeks on what we're working on, ways to share feedback directly with DPReview editors to help us shape future stories and more! There is no AI here, only real people writing the newsletters and reading your feedback (me!).

Image: 7Artisans

7Artisans has released a new manual focus 50mm F1.4 Tilt lens, compatible with Sony and Fujifilm APS-C cameras, as well as Olympus and Panasonic Micro Four Thirds cameras.

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The new 50mm lens is made up of seven elements in six groups and has 12 aperture blades. It has a minimum focusing distance of 0.5m (19.6") and weighs 364g (12.8oz). 7Artisans states the lens has a full metal build but does not mention weather sealing.

At the front of the lens is a numbered aperture ring, with the depth of field scale and distance scale focus ring sitting just behind. Users can rotate the lens a full 360-degrees and the tilt axis moves left to right. The company has yet to confirm how many degrees the lens can tilt on either side.

Although photographers commonly use tilt lenses for architecture photography and to experiment with depth of field, 7Artisans claims the 50mm F1.4 offers enough clarity for portraiture, claiming distortion of only 1.9%.

Search engines will likely confuse the new 7Artisan lens with another 50mm F1.4 tilt lens made by TTArtisan. Although similar brand names, they're two separate companies, so it's worth confirming who you're buying from should you decide to purchase either lens.

Pricing and availability

The new 50mm F1.4 tilt lens is now available from 7Artisan's website and Amazon at a suggested retail price of $226, and could be an affordable option for those looking to be more creative with their photography.

Buy now:

$226 at Amazon $226 at 7Artisans

Image: Fujifilm, including photo by Jonas Rask

Entries for Fujifilm US's Limited Edition X100VI raffle are now officially open. Entry is free and only open to US residents (18+). The raffle closes on April 21st (11:59 p.m. EDT), so if you want access to Fujifilm's highly talked about camera, you'll need to enter quickly.

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Unlike other photography raffles, the prize isn't a free camera. Instead, you're entering to win an opportunity to purchase the camera at the list price of of $1995.95 (plus taxes and shipping). That's still considerably cheaper than the aftermarket prices. Fujifilm will select a total of 200 winners and will notify them via email on April 25th.

Fujifilm states there will be a set deadline for winners to purchase the Limited Edition X100VI, but is yet to confirm when that is. The company doesn't say how long winners will have to wait to receive their cameras either.

Fujifilm US originally allocated its 300 units of the 1934-strong limited edition on a first-come, first-served basis. But then said it had "intercepted a large number of suspicious X100VI Limited Edition orders," which it then canceled. The fact that 200 units are again available suggests it canceled a large number of the 'confirmed preorders' that were listed on eBay immediately after the initial release.

You can enter with an email address, after which you will receive a unique authentication code that you'll need to submit. Fujifilm then asks for your full name, address and that you agree to the T&Cs. You can only enter once and the company says it will actively monitor potential duplicate entries, voiding any it finds guilty of misusing the entry form.

The distribution of these 200 units is likely to bring an end to the surprisingly complex international saga of the limited edition's allocation.

To be in with a chance to win, simply head over to the Fujifilm US Events website. Good luck!

Image: Blackmagic Design

Alongside the Ursa Cine, Blackmagic Designs also announced the Pyxis, a $3000, 6K full-frame (36 x 24mm) modular camera. It will be available with PL, locking Canon EF or Leica L mounts.

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As with most of Blackmagic's cameras, the Pyxis offers a series of aspect ratios and crops in different frame rates, extending from 6048 x 4032 pixel 3:2 open gate at up to 36p, to 17:9 DCI 4K at up to 60p taken from a Super35 (∼APS-C) region of the sensor. Unlike the Ursa Cine models, the Pyxis appears to use a conventional Bayer color filter pattern.

The Pyxis captures to CFexpress cards or outputs over USB-C to an external SSD or over Ethernet. It uses Blackmagic's proprietary demosaiced and compressed 'Blackmagic RAW' format and can generate H.264 proxy files alongside. It has a built-in 4" Full HD LCD panel that can act as an HDR display thanks to its 1500 nits peak brightness. Despite being described as a box camera, the Pyxis includes extensive direct controls, as well as this display.

The camera features a series of mounting points for handles, viewfinders and other accessories and has a replaceable side plate that can be swapped-out for one with a SSD/phone holder or a standard rosette connector.

The Pyxis includes a series of mounting points and comes in a choice of three lens mounts, now including the Leica L mount.

Image: Blackmagic Design

The sensor is a dual conversion gain design that Blackmagic indicates as offering native ISO or 400 and 3200, with these two states used to provide all higher and lower ISO values (rather than using variable amplification as is usually done in stills cameras). Blackmagic claims 13 stops of DR.

The presence of dual conversion gain, its 36p open gate max frame rate and the need for substantial crops to achieve 60p (a very narrow 2.4:1 6048 x 2520px mode being the highest resolution at which it can be delivered) may point to the use of the 24MP Sony Semiconductor sensor that appears in a wide array of other cameras, From Panasonic's S1H to Sigma's fp and Nikon's Zf. If this is the case, then there'll be appreciably worse rolling shutter than the likes of Sony's (much more expensive) FX6, but with the advantage of higher resolution capture and the greater format flexibility that comes with this.

The Blackmagic Pyxis is available from June 2024 at a recommended price of $3,000.

Blackmagic Design Announces New Blackmagic PYXIS 6K

NAB 2024, Las Vegas, USA - Friday, April 12, 2024 - Blackmagic Design today announced Blackmagic PYXIS 6K a next generation digital film camera that features a versatile box or cube design so you can rig up the perfect camera for your production! This new model features a massive 36 x 24mm 6K sensor with 13 stops of dynamic range and dual CFexpress media recorders, all in a customizable body. Blackmagic PYXIS 6K is available in three models, with customers able to choose between L-Mount, PL or Locking EF lens mounts. Blackmagic PYXIS 6K will be available in June from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide from US$2,995.

The Blackmagic PYXIS 6K will be demonstrated on the Blackmagic Design NAB 2024 booth #SL5005.

With multiple mounting points and accessory side plates, it’s easy to configure Blackmagic PYXIS into the camera customers need it to be. PYXIS’ compact body is made from precision CNC machined aerospace aluminum, which means it is lightweight yet very strong. Customers can easily mount it on a range of camera rigs such as cranes, gimbals or drones. In addition to the multiple 1/4″ and 3/8″ thread mounts on the top and bottom of the body, Blackmagic PYXIS has a range of side plates that further extend their ability to mount accessories such as handles, microphones or even SSDs. All this means customers can build the perfect camera for the any production that’s both rugged and reliable.

Blackmagic PYXIS features a massive full frame sensor with a native resolution of 6048 x 4032. That's almost three times larger than a Super 35 sensor and allows customers to shoot with a shallow depth of field or to use anamorphic lenses uncropped for a true cinematic look. Whether users are shooting in bright sunlight or in almost no light at all, the 13 stops of dynamic range with dual native ISO up to 25,600 provide stunning low noise images in all lighting conditions.

Using the full area of the sensor gives customers a unique open gate 3:2 image which also lets customers reframe their shots in post production. The large sensor also lets customers work in true 6:5 anamorphic without cropping, making widescreen cinematic images more detailed and in higher resolution than previously possible.

With 3 models, customers can choose between L-Mount, EF or PL lenses, making Blackmagic PYXIS compatible with the largest range of cinema and photographic lenses in the world. The L-Mount model works with the latest full frame lenses from Leica, Panasonic and Sigma but can also accommodate lens adapters, allowing customers to use a wide variety of new and vintage lenses. The EF model lets customers use high quality photographic lenses customers already own from DSLRs or even Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras. Or the PL model lets customers work with professional cinema lenses from Zeiss, ARRI, Cooke and more without needing an adapter.

Blackmagic PYXIS can shoot in all standard resolutions and frame rates from HD up to DCI 4K and even 6K. Customers can even shoot stills at 24.6 megapixels. Blackmagic PYXIS will shoot up to 36 fps at 6048 x 4032 3:2 open gate or 60 fps at 6048 x 2520 2.4:1 and 60 fps at 4096 x 2160 4K DCI. For higher frame rates customers can window the sensor and shoot up to 100 fps at 2112 x 1184 Super 16.

The built in LCD on Blackmagic PYXIS is more than just a simple status display. It’s a 4″ high resolution HDR touchscreen that is also perfect for monitoring and reviewing shots on set. Its full HD resolution means customers can frame and focus their shots without needing to carry around a bulky external monitor. Customers can even use the display as a focus assist station.

Blackmagic PYXIS features a logical design that puts important functions such as ISO, WB and shutter at their fingertips with both touchscreen and physical controls. A row of 3 customizable function buttons means customers don’t have to go hunting through menus on a tiny screen to find a command. The controls can even be locked to avoid accidentally changing settings during a shot or when the camera is out of reach on a rig.

The innovative side plates expand the riggability of their camera even further. The standard plate included with Blackmagic PYXIS is made from the same aircraft grade aluminum as the camera body and features 2 1/4″ thread mounts and one 3/8″ thread mount, allowing customers to add microphones, brackets or other accessories. Or customers can attach the included SSD plate which offers a convenient location to securely attach a USB-C drive for recording or even a mobile phone for live streaming.

Blackmagic PYXIS records in Blackmagic RAW to preserve control of detail, exposure and color during post production. It also records HD H.264 proxies in real time making it easy to share media around the world in minutes. This means images always maintain unprecedented resolution and quality for color, keying, compositing, reframing, stabilization and tracking in HD, 4K or 6K.

The Blackmagic PYXIS features two built in CFexpress card recorders, and a USB-C expansion port for recording direct to external flash media disks or an SSD. CFexpress media are more durable and faster than even older media so are perfect for recording full resolution, 12-bit Blackmagic RAW files. Plus, with dual CFexpress slots, customers can keep recording because customers can hot swap full cards without stopping.

Blackmagic PYXIS supports creating a small H.264 proxy file in addition to the camera original media when recording. This means the small proxy file can upload to Blackmagic Cloud in seconds so their media is available back at the studio in real time. The ability to transfer media directly into the DaVinci Resolve media bin as editors are working is revolutionary and has never before been possible. Any editor working anywhere in the world will get the shots.

When uploading to Blackmagic Cloud, customers can use an Apple or Android phone to get a connection to the internet via mobile data. Simply connect the phone to the USB-C port and Blackmagic PYXIS will configure for mobile data. Customers can also connect via wired Ethernet using the camera’s Ethernet port. This lets customers get their media out as customers shoot so post production teams anywhere in the world can start work in real time.

Blackmagic PYXIS supports the optional Blackmagic URSA Cine EVF to make outdoors and handheld shooting accurate and easy. Customers get an integrated high quality 1920 x 1080 color OLED display with built in proximity sensor, 4 element glass diopter for incredible accuracy with a wide focus adjustment.

Blackmagic PYXIS features a wide range of connections for audio, monitoring, power and more. The camera includes a 12G-SDI out for monitoring with support for HDR and Ultra HD output. That means customers can connect an SDI display for on set monitoring of images, with or without overlays that show critical information and camera status. SDI allows for much longer cable runs than HDMI making it easier to reach monitors that are further away on set.

Blackmagic PYXIS features a built hardware streaming engine that supports RTMP and SRT streaming to YouTube, Facebook, X and more. For internet access, customers have two options, one to connect via Ethernet or customers can connect a 4G or 5G phone for mobile data. As the streaming is built into the camera, customers can see the stream status and data rate in the viewfinder and the LCD.

"Since the introduction of the original Pocket Cinema Cameras, our customers have been asking us to make it in a more customizable design," said Grant Petty, Blackmagic Design CEO. "But we wanted it to be so much more than just a Pocket Cinema Camera in a different body. The new Blackmagic PYXIS is a fully professional cinema camera with more connections and seamless integration into post production workflows. We think customers are going to love the incredibly adaptable design and we can’t wait to see how they use it!"

Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Features

• 36 x 24mm full frame 6K 6048 x 4032 sensor.
• Open gate 3:2, full height 6:5 anamorphic and Super 35 for creating cinematic content.
• Choice of models with L-Mount, PL or locking EF lens mounts.
• Records full resolution up to 36 fps or 120 fps windowed.
• Built-in 4″ HDR 1500 nit LCD screen.
• Records Blackmagic RAW and H.264 proxies.
• Extremely fast dual CFexpress card recording.
• Ethernet or mobile data for mobile remote streaming.
• Optional Blackmagic URSA Cine EVF.
• Features 12G-SDI for monitoring with status overlay.
• Professional mini XLR input with 48 volt phantom power.
• Complete streaming solution for YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and more.
• High capacity BP-U series batteries.

Availability and Price

Blackmagic PYXIS 6K will be available in June from US$2,995, excluding duties, from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide.

Multi-shot modes can have their moments, especially if there's any degree of motion correction available. I had to borrow a tripod to capture this shot and even after all that it doesn't show a major boost over the single-shot image of the same scene.

Sony a7R V | Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II @ 28mm | ISO 100 | F9 | 1/400 sec
Photo: Richard Butler

This is probably going to be an unpopular opinion, but I'd argue that multi-shot high-resolution modes are all but pointless.

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Not entirely pointless: I'm sure there are applications out there where the subject stays still enough and where it's practical to bring a tripod, and the improvement is worth the effort. And if you're someone whose photography it suits, then I'm happy for you. But that's very rarely the case, so it's just not a feature I find very useful, and it's certainly not one I'd use to choose one camera over another.

A lot of this is because most implementations are terrible. Noticeably, every brand appears to have a slightly different implementation, with the exact approach, the number of shots and whether they can be combined in-camera differing. This strongly points to it being an area in which each manufacturer is patenting its own approach and blocking others using it, and in doing so, making it harder for anyone else to deliver a usable/useful version.

Lost in a thicket of patents

It's no surprise that some of the earliest pixel shift modes came from Olympus and Pentax: two companies that committed early to the idea of in-body stabilization, both looking for other features it could be used to deliver.

The Pentax system shoots four images, canceling out the Bayer pattern so that it has full-color information for each output pixel. This delivers greater color resolution with less aliasing, greater sharpness (through lack of demosaicing) and the improvement in noise that comes from combining multiple images. These individual shots are combined into a finished output file.

The Olympus method shoots eight images: four canceling out the Bayer pattern, then moving to position 1/2 a pixel offset from this and repeating the process to quadruple the output resolution. This system also combines the images in-camera and is unique in letting you set a delay if you were shooting, say, product photos and needed time for your strobes to recycle between shots.

Panasonic currently has one of the best (least-terrible?) high-res implementations. There's an eight-shot mode with the option of 4X or 2X the normal pixel count, with or without motion correction, or a handheld mode. But the fact that it's essentially three modes, each with its own trade-offs, hints at how far from ideal they all are. At least they're combined in-camera, though.

Panasonic G9 II | Panasonic 12-60mm F2.8-4 Asph OIS | ISO 100 | F5.6 | 1/320 sec
Photo: Jeff Keller

It's been mostly downhill from here, though. Sony first adopted a Pentax-like four-shot mode that had to be combined on a computer, before later adding a more Olympus-like 16-shot option. Nikon also offers a choice of Pentax-like Bayer-canceling or an Olympus-like res-boosting one, each with the option to perform it twice for a greater noise/tonal quality improvement. But, like Sony, these need to be combined off-camera, which requires a level of patience, file management and messing around in clunky own-brand software that builds into an appreciable hurdle.

Thanks to the complexity of the X-Trans sensor, the mode on its X-series camera requires 20 shots to deliver its pixel shift mode. Personally, I find that most subjects (even landscapes) have too much movement to wait this long and, on a grander scale, that life might be too short for such a commitment.

Limited benefits

I wanted to capture this burnt-out car, abandoned outside a defunct car dealership before it disappeared. I made the effort to arrive early on one of the only spring mornings with any light and then combined the images when I got home. As a result, I have a bit more detail, some odd cross-hatching in areas of movement, 16 massive Raw files and more information than I wanted about the lens' corner performance. Yay.

Sony a1 | Sony 16-35mm F2.8 GM @ 16mm | ISO 100 | F9 | 1/100 sec
Photo: Richard Butler

Not only are they slow and clunky to use, but the benefits of multi-shot mode are often limited. Even with a static scene and optimal conditions, a 100MP multi-shot mode won't match the results of a 100MP camera, but in most situations it often won't even deliver its own maximal performance.

Unlike smartphones, which make extensive use of multi-shot combination, most large-sensor cameras read out their sensors quite slowly, creating appreciable delays between each shot, raising the risk of subject movement. The more sophisticated systems correct for this motion to some degree but do so by dropping back down to using a single image's data, throwing away the detail benefit for any subject that's moved, as well as leaving ghosts and artifacts around the image.

They're also based on making precise sub-pixel movements, so are very sensitive to any camera motion, and can't apply stabilization because the mechanism is too busy making pre-planned movements.

Finally, the flip-side of the higher resolution pushing aliasing to higher frequencies is that, just like a high-resolution sensor, the shots are quickly limited by diffraction. This means that you'll need very sharp lenses, fairly wide open if you want to minimize the degree to which lens shortcomings and diffraction eat away at the hoped-for resolution boost.

My point being that it's very easy to go to considerable extra effort for minimal gain. You still get the noise benefit, of course, but you can gain that by pressing the shutter button several times and merging the images yourself: you don't really need a special mode for that.

Handheld multi-shot modes

Hand-held multi-shot modes don't work the same way as tripod modes, so don't offer the Bayer-canceling benefits or the same level of additional detail capture, but they're usable in a much wider range of circumstances. This was shot on an impromptu hike on which I didn't want to play tripod-sherpa.

OM System OM-1 | 12-40mm F2.8 Pro II @ 18mm | ISO 200 | F5 | 1/1250 sec
Photo: Richard Butler

Increasingly, we're seeing handheld multi-shot modes appear, and these can be used in a broader range of circumstances. But it's worth noting that these aren't quite the same thing. Instead of moving the sensor in a precise, controlled way, they measure the degree to which your hand shake has moved the camera, then combine some of a burst of shots to try to boost detail levels. You don't gain the Bayer-cancelling improvement in color resolution or sharpness through this approach, and won't see the same degree of detail improvement.

Old man yells at cloud?

Ultimately, I'm not so vehemently against multi-shot modes that I don't think they should exist. Even if they're only useful to a tiny subset of users, I certainly don't begrudge those people gaining a feature they want. But they're so often so awkward to use and offer so little benefit in most circumstances, that I find it hard to be that enthusiastic about even the best (least-bad?) versions.

There's a chance that my position is every bit as solipsistic as those who argue that cameras shouldn't have video modes, just because they don't use them. I'd like to think that my position is slightly different in that I dislike them because I don't use them and have found them to be highly impractical and often awkward to use.

But to each their own. I'm certainly not about to start marking a camera down for having an extra feature, no matter how much clutter it adds to the menus. But equally, I'm not about to take up the cause of any commenters demanding that it's a feature every new camera MUST have.

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The Sony FE 16-25mm F2.8 G is a relatively compact wide-angle zoom E-mount lens aimed at street and travel photographers.

We were able to get our hands on the lens for a day and figured most readers would be curious to see some street and architectural photography out of this lens, so we hit the streets of downtown Seattle and ducked into the Seattle Public library when the weather turned ugly.

View our Sony FE 16-25mm F2.8 G sample gallery

Note: 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.

Buy now:

$1198 at B&H Photo$1198 at Adorama

Image: Sony

Sony has announced the FE 16-25mm F2.8 G, a fast, compact wide-angle zoom designed as a twin to the recent FE 24-50mm F2.8 lens.

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The 16-25mm is roughly the same dimensions as the 24-50mm and offers essentially the same features. This makes it a little longer but narrower than the existing 16-35mm F4.

Buy now:

$1198 at B&H Photo

The design is made up of 16 elements in 13 groups, including three extra-low dispersion elements to rein in chromatic aberration and four aspherical elements (one of which is an ED aspheric), helping to keep the lens compact. The optical performance is better than the original 16-35mm GM, and not far behind the newer GM II, the company says.

It uses twin linear motors to drive its internal focus design and doesn't require the additional power of Sony's XD linear motors, the company tells us. It is fully compatible with the a9 III's 120fps modes.

Image: Sony

The 16-25mm can focus as close as 0.17m (6.7") at the 16mm or 0.22m (8.7") at the 25mm end in manual focus mode. These figures increase to 0.18 and 0.24m in autofocus mode, decreasing the 0.23x maximum magnification to 0.2x.

Like the 24-50mm, it has an aperture ring with a switch to enable or disable the clicks between positions. Other than this, there's an MF/AF switch and a customizable focus hold button on the side.

Focus breathing is fairly minimal, according to the demonstration we were shown, and this can essentially be eliminated when used with a camera that supports Sony's focus breathing compensation function. The lens is also compatible with the company's 'Dynamic' IS feature that relies on extensive communication of gyro data between the lens and camera.

The Sony FE 16-25mm F2.8 G will be available from May 10th at a manufacturer's recommended price of around $1199.

Sample gallery

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

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Buy now:

$1198 at B&H Photo

Press Release:

Sony Electronics Announces a Compact Wide-Angle FE 16-25mm F2.8 G Zoom Lens

A constant F2.8 full-frame E-mount lens that offers high-resolution image quality, a wide-angle zoom range and excellent portability

SAN DIEGO. April 16, 2024 – Sony Electronics is pleased to announce the FE 16-25mm F2.8 G (SEL1625G), a large-aperture wide-angle zoom lens compatible with Sony’s α™ (Alpha™) E-mount cameras. This latest addition delivers sharp imagery from 16 mm through 25 mm while maintaining a maximum aperture of F2.8 over the entire zoom range. The FE 16-25mm F2.8 G is the smallest and lightest constant F2.8 zoom lens that Sony has produced to date. The compact design is a signature feature of Sony’s G lens series and makes it a highly portable lens option.

The FE 16-25mm F2.8 G’s wide-angle lens offers photographers and videographers an expanded range of creative expression, allowing them to capture a variety of subjects including landscapes, architecture, portraits, and selfie-shooting. This new addition follows the FE 24-50mm F2.8 G standard zoom lens announced February 2024, both offering many of the same characteristics including filter diameter, aperture, and compact size and weight.

“The FE 16-25mm F2.8 G was designed to offer creators a wide-angle lens option that perfectly balances large-aperture, compact form factor, and high-image quality. This is the 73rd addition to our E-mount lens line-up, and just another step in our commitment to providing photographers and videographers with the perfect lens solutions for their specific needs,” says Yang Cheng, Vice President, Imaging Solutions, Sony Electronics Inc. “The FE 16-25mm F2.8 G is a fantastic lens with high-resolution performance, beautiful bokeh, and high precision autofocus. It is a perfect companion to the Alpha 7C R and Alpha 7C II compact full-frame camera bodies, and together they offer an unbeatable lightweight set-up.”

Key Features of FE 16-25mm F2.8 G

The FE 16-25mm F2.8 G features an impressively compact and lightweight design with a width of 74.8mm (about 2.94 in), length of 91.4mm (about 3.58 in), filter diameter of φ67 mm, and weight of approximately 409g.

This lens incorporates advanced optical technology to deliver exceptional image quality across the entire frame. By incorporating three Extra-Low Dispersion (ED) elements and four aspherical lenses (including one ED aspherical lens), the lens design effectively minimizes various optical aberrations, including chromatic aberration.

The FE 16-25mm F2.8 G combines an 11-blade circular aperture and the optimization of spherical aberration to produce the signature smooth bokeh known to the G lens series. Moreover, it offers functional close-up shooting capabilities with a minimum shooting distance of 0.18m and a maximum magnification of 0.20x when using autofocus (AF)i.

The lens is equipped with two linear motors that enable exceptional autofocus performance, delivering high-speed, high-precision, and quiet focusing capabilities, even when capturing fast-moving subjects. These linear motors ensure swift and accurate focusing, allowing photographers and videographers to maintain sharpness and clarity in their images and videos, even in challenging shooting situations. Furthermore, it supports high-speed continuous shooting with AF/AE tracking of up to 120 frames per second, a feature capable of being used when paired with the Alpha 9 III full-frame mirrorless cameraii.

The FE 16-25mm F2.8 G excels in video performance, ensuring smooth and precise focusing even when shooting high-frame-rate videos such as 4K120p or FHD240piii. The lens is equipped with linear response manual focus (MF), allowing videographers to make precise focus adjustments with ease. Additionally, it supports in-body Active Mode Image Stabilizationiv and Focus Breathing to optimize video capture.

The lens is equipped with practical and user-friendly functionality including a customizable focus hold button, aperture ring, aperture click ON/OFF switch, and a focus mode switch. The FE 16-25mm F2.8 G’s design is dust and moisture resistantv, and includes a fluorine coating to further prevent dirt from sticking to the front surface of the lens.

Pricing and Availability

The FE 16-25mm F2.8 G will be available for pre-sale April 17, 2024, and purchase May 10, 2024. It will retail for approximately $1,199.99 USD and $1,599.99 CAN, at a variety of Sony's authorized dealers throughout North America.

i Maximum magnification is 0.2x (AF)/0.23x (MF) with a minimum focus distance of 0.18 m (0.59ft) (AF) / 0.17 m (0.56ft) (MF) at the 16 mm end of the range and 0.24 m (AF) (0.79ft) / 0.22 m (0.73ft) (MF) at the 25 mm end of the range for superb wide-angle close-up performance.
ii Sony test conditions. Maximum continuous frame rate may be lower in some shooting conditions. Continuous shooting speed may vary depending on the lens used in AF-C focus modes. Visit Sony’s support web page for lens compatibility information.
iii Depends on the camera used.
iv Compatible models only.
v Not guaranteed to be 100% dust and moisture proof.

Sony FE 16-25mm F2.8 G specifications Principal specificationsLens typeZoom lensMax Format size35mm FFFocal length16–25 mmImage stabilizationNoLens mountSony E, Sony FEApertureMaximum apertureF2.8Minimum apertureF22Aperture ringNoNumber of diaphragm blades11Aperture notesRounded bladesOpticsElements16Groups13Special elements / coatings3 ED lenses, 1 ED Asph, 3 AsphFocusMinimum focus0.17 m (6.69″)Maximum magnification0.23×AutofocusYesMotor typeLinear MotorFull time manualUnknownFocus methodInternalDistance scaleNoDoF scaleNoPhysicalWeight409 g (0.90 lb)Diameter75 mm (2.95″)Length91 mm (3.58″)Zoom methodRotary (extending)Power zoomNoZoom lockNoFilter thread67 mmHood suppliedYesTripod collarNo

Image: Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design has unveiled its latest URSA Cine camera, a 12K camera with support for interchangeable Arri PL, Arri LPL, Canon EF and Hasselblad lens mounts. It features a large sensor, propriety memory and a slew of industry-standard connections.

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At the heart of the URSA Cine 12K is a RGBW 36x24mm 12K sensor, which Blackmagic Design says can support resolutions from 4K to 12K. It also claims the sensor can capture 16 stops of dynamic range, the most ever for a Blackmagic Design camera. It can shoot open gate 12K from its full 3:2 region at up to 80p or from a 16:9 full-width region at up to 100p.

The Ursa Cine 12K uses the same RGBW pixel layout as the existing, smaller-sensor URSA Mini Pro 12K. This devotes half of its resolution to capturing luminance (detail) data and then divides the remaining pixels equally between red, green and blue. The array is specifically designed so that it can be sub-sampled to deliver 8K or 4K footage from 12K capture, without the need for cropping.

The other significant change is how the camera stores data. The camera comes with a propriety 'high-speed memory module,' a decision Blackmagic Design says they made to "eliminate all the problems of media cards" to ensure a more reliable and faster data pipeline. It comes with an 8TB module and can capture 4 hours of Blackmagic RAW in 12K or 20 hours in 4K. An additional 8TB modules will cost $1695, and a 16TB version is also being worked on. An optional 'Blackmagic Media Module CF' unit can also be used to add dual CFexpress slots.

Image: Blackmagic Design

To transfer footage from the module, there are docks for direct download, or you can utilize the camera's 10G ethernet port, Wi-Fi with SRT (Secure Reliable Transport) streaming, or the industry-standard Lemo and Fischer connections. Using the latter options, Blackmagic Design says the transfer rates are near real-time, which should aid remote viewing and logging of footage.

On the capture front, the camera uses 12K Blackmagic RAW and captures Full HD H.264 proxies simultaneously allowing faster cloud sync and post-production workflows. Various settings are supported, ranging from 12K/80p open gate to 8K/224p (2.4:1) and 4K/240p. In addition to its 3:2 open gate mode, it can shoot 16:9, 17:9, 2.4:1 and 6:5 anamorphic. There's also support for Super35 9K in the same aspect ratios, providing compatibility with older cinema lenses.

Not mentioned in the press release but teased in a video demo, Blackmagic shared it is working on a URSA Cine 17K. The new camera won't be available until the end of 2024, and pricing has yet to be determined. The 17K version will use a 50.8x23.3mm sensor (essentially a wider version of the sensor in the 12K model), which makes it close in size to 65mm 5-perf film (23mm). The larger sensor rules out the use of the Canon EF mount, so the camera will likely use Arri PL and Hasselblad mounts.

All current URSA Cine 12K features will be carried over into the 17K version, except for built-in 2/4/6 stop ND filters. Blackmagic says the 17K sensor is too large for the ND filters to fit.

Pricing and availability

The Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K is now available for $14,995. Accessories, such as a viewfinder, lens mounts, grips and rails, can be added as add-ons to customize your build. Blackmagic says initial shipments will be limited to "high-end customers."

Press Release Blackmagic Design Announces New Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K

Las Vegas, Nevada, April 12, 2024 — Blackmagic Design today announced Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K, a revolutionary new digital film camera that introduces new advanced technologies with total integration into the post production workflow. This new model includes a new large format RGBW 36 x 24mm sensor with larger photo-sites for 16 stops of dynamic range, interchangeable PL, LPL and EF lens mounts, and industry standard Lemo and Fischer connections. Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K comes with 8TB of high performance storage built in and also includes high speed networking for media upload and syncing to Blackmagic Cloud. Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K is available immediately from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide from US$14,995.

The Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K will be demonstrated on the Blackmagic Design NAB 2024 booth #SL5005.

URSA Cine features a revolutionary new sensor designed for incredible quality images at all resolutions from 4K to a massive 12K. The larger sensor builds on the technology of URSA Mini Pro 12K with larger photo-sites leading to an astounding 16 stops of dynamic range. The unique RGBW architecture provides equal amounts of red, green and blue pixels. This means it is optimized to deliver incredibly rich colors at all resolutions and provide the ultimate in image quality and flexibility.

URSA Cine is designed to meet the demands of any high end production. The evenly weighted camera body is built with a robust magnesium alloy chassis and lightweight carbon fiber polycarbonate composite skin to help customers move quickly on set. Standard Lemo and Fischer connectors let customers control the camera remotely while providing power for lens motors and other accessories. Customers also get 12G‑SDI out, 10G Ethernet, USB-C, XLR audio and more.

The full sensor area gives customers a stunning 3:2 open gate image which lets customers reframe their shots in post production. Or customers can use the large sensor area to shoot anamorphic and deliver in a range of aspect ratios with 1.3, 1.5, 1.6, 1.66, 1.8 and 2x de-squeeze factors. Plus, customers can shoot in 4K, 8K or 12K using the entire sensor without cropping, retaining the full field of view of their lenses. There are even 9K Super 35 4-perf, 3-perf and 2-perf modes for full compatibility with classic cinema lenses.

Different projects require different lenses which is why URSA Cine features an interchangeable lens mount. Customers can quickly switch between PL, LPL, EF and Hasselblad mounts. Plus, each mount has contact pins to read lens metadata for monitoring and for use in post production.

URSA Cine lets crews work faster on set with multiple monitoring options. The fold out monitor has a large 5″ HDR touchscreen on one side and an external color status LCD on the other. On the right side of the camera, there’s a dedicated assist station with a second 5″ HDR touchscreen which allows crew to work around the camera without needing external monitors. There’s even a dedicated focus puller’s mode to help customers get perfect focus.

The wide range of industry standard connections on URSA Cine make it perfect for high end cinema production. The 7 pin Lemo and 3 pin Fischer connectors at the front provide record start/stop and 24V power so are ideal for on board accessories such as focus motors. Camera power is provided by a standard 24V 8 pin Lemo connection, plus there's an additional 2 pin Lemo 12V connection at the rear for lower voltage accessories.

Blackmagic RAW files store camera metadata, lens data, white balance, digital slate information and custom LUTs to ensure consistency of image on set and through post production. URSA Cine records to the included Blackmagic Media Module 8TB, allowing customers to capture over 4 hours of Blackmagic RAW in 12K or a massive 20 hours in 4K.

URSA Cine includes a high performance, optical low pass filter that is precisely matched to the sensor. The OLPF also incorporates updated IR filtering that improves far red color response which, when combined with Blackmagic RAW processing for the URSA Cine, preserves color and critical image detail for new levels of image fidelity.

URSA Cine is the first digital film camera with ultra fast high capability Cloud Store technology built in. Blackmagic Media Module is fast, rugged and includes a massive 8TB of storage. The high speed storage lets customers record at the highest resolutions and frame rates for hours and access their files directly over high speed 10G Ethernet. Or customers can use the media customers already own with the optional Blackmagic Media Module CF, which has dual CFexpress slots.

Blackmagic Media Dock accelerates post production workflow by making it faster and simpler to start editing and color correction. Mount up to three Blackmagic Media Modules for high speed access to media from multiple URSA Cine cameras all at the same time. The four high speed 10G Ethernet ports allow up to four separate edit workstations to connect directly and it is extremely fast, even when a lot of users are connected at the same time.

URSA Cine supports creating a small H.264 proxy file in addition to the camera original media when recording. This means the small proxy file can upload to Blackmagic Cloud in seconds so their media is available back at the studio in real time. The ability to transfer media directly into the DaVinci Resolve media bin as editors are working is revolutionary and has never before been possible.

Now customers can live stream from film sets. URSA Cine features a built hardware streaming engine that supports RTMP and SRT streaming to major platforms or directly to clients. Simply connect to the internet via Ethernet, high speed wifi or even connect a 4G or 5G phone for mobile data.

URSA Cine supports the optional Blackmagic URSA Cine EVF to make outdoors and handheld shooting accurate and easy. Customers get an integrated high quality 1920 x 1080 color OLED display with built in proximity sensor, 4 element glass diopter for incredible accuracy with a wide focus adjustment. A built in digital focus chart ensures customers get perfect viewfinder focus setup.

URSA Cine includes an 8-pin Lemo power connector at the back of the camera that works with 24V and 12V power supplies. That means it’s easy to use the camera with existing power supplies, batteries and accessories. URSA Cine comes with a massive 250W power supply and B Mount battery plate so customers can use a wide range of high voltage batteries from manufacturers such as IDX, Blueshape, Core SWX, BEBOB and more.

URSA Cine comes with everything customers need to get started on set. Every camera comes in a rugged Pelican case with custom foam cutouts that precisely and securely fit the camera and its accessories. The PL lens mount comes preinstalled on the camera body, plus customers get an interchangeable locking EF mount for a strong and secure attachment when using heavier cine lenses. Customers even get a massive 8TB Media Module preinstalled, formatted and ready to record. Customers also get a top handle, antennas for high speed wifi, baseplate, 24V power supply and high voltage B mount battery plate for quick set up.

"We wanted to build our dream high end camera that had everything we had ever wanted," said Grant Petty, Blackmagic Design CEO, "Blackmagic URSA Cine is the realization of that dream with a completely new generation of image sensor, a body with industry standard features and connections, and seamless integration into high end workflows. There’s been no expense spared in designing this camera and we think it will truly revolutionize all stages of production from capture to post!"

Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K Features

• Cinematic large format sensor with a massive 16 stops of dynamic range.
• Lightweight, robust camera body with industry standard connections.
• PL and locking EF mounts included with optional LPL mount available.
• Blackmagic RAW for real time 12K editing.
• Generation 5 Color Science with new film curve.
• High performance OLPF for reduced moire and aliasing.
• Build in ND filters for shooting in varying conditions.
• Shoot up to 80 fps in 12K, 144 fps at 8K and 240 fps at 4K.
• High performance Blackmagic Media Module 8TB for recording included.
• Recording media compatible with the Blackmagic Media Dock.
• High speed wifi, 10G Ethernet or mobile data for network connections.
• Built-in RTMP and SRT live streaming.
• Optional Blackmagic URSA Cine EVF.
• Includes DaVinci Resolve Studio for post production.

Availability and Price

Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K is available now from US$14,995, excluding local duties and taxes, from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide.

Sigma owner and CEO Kazuto Yamaki, who spoke to us at the CP+ conference in Yokohama, early this spring.

Photo: Richard Butler

"Unfortunately, we have not made any significant progress since last year," says Sigma owner and CEO Kazuto Yamaki, when asked about the planned full-frame Foveon camera. But he still believes in the project and discussed what such a camera could still offer.

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"We made a prototype sensor but found some design errors," he says: "It worked but there are some issues, so we re-wrote the schematics and submitted them to the manufacturer and are waiting for the next generation of prototypes." This isn't quite a return to 'square one,' but it means there's still a long road ahead.

"We are still in the design phase for the image sensor," he acknowledges: "When it comes to the sensor, the manufacturing process is very important: we need to develop a new manufacturing process for the new sensor. But as far as that’s concerned, we’re still doing the research. So it may require additional time to complete the development of the new sensor."

"It may require additional time to complete the development of the new sensor"

The Foveon design, which Sigma now owns, collects charge at three different depths in the silicon of each pixel, with longer wavelengths of light able to penetrate further into the chip. This means full-color data can be derived at each pixel location rather than having to reconstruct the color information based on neighboring pixels, as happens with conventional 'Bayer' sensors. Yamaki says the company's thinking about the benefits of Foveon have changed.

"When we launched the SD9 and SD10 cameras featuring the first-generation Foveon sensor, we believed the biggest advantage was its resolution, because you can capture contrast data at every location. Thus we believed resolution was the key." he says: "Today there are so many very high pixel-count image sensors: 60MP so, resolution-wise there’s not so much difference."

But, despite the advances made elsewhere, Yamaki says there's still a benefit to the Foveon design "I’ve used a lot of Foveon sensor cameras, I’ve taken a bunch of pictures, and when I look back at those pictures, I find a noticeable difference," he says. And, he says, this appeal may stem from what might otherwise be seen as a disadvantage of the design.

"I've taken a bunch of pictures... when I look back at those pictures, I see the difference"

"It could be color because the Foveon sensor has lots of cross-talk between R, B and G," he suggests: "In contrast, Bayer sensors only capture R, B and G, so if you look at the spectral response a Bayer sensor has a very sharp response for each color, but when it comes to Foveon there’s lots of crosstalk and we amplify the images. There’s lots of cross-talk, meaning there’s lots of gradation between the colors R, B and G. When combined with very high resolution and lots of gradation in color, it creates a remarkably realistic, special look of quality that is challenging to describe."

The complexity of separating the color information that the sensor has captured is part of what makes noise such a challenge for the Foveon design, and this is likely to limit the market, Yamaki concedes:

"We are trying to make our cameras with the Foveon X3 sensor more user-friendly, but still, compared to the Bayer sensor cameras, it won’t be easy to use. We’re trying to improve the performance, but low-light performance can’t be as good as Bayer sensor. We will do our best to make a more easy-to-use camera, but still, a camera with Foveon sensor technology may not be the camera for everybody."

"A camera with Foveon sensor technology may not be the camera for everybody"

But this doesn't dissuade him. "Even if we successfully develop a new X3 sensor, we may not be able to sell tons of cameras. But I believe it will still mean a lot," he says: "despite significant technology advancements there hasn't been much progress in image quality in recent years. There’s a lot of progress in terms of burst rate or video functionality, but when you talk just about image quality, about resolution, tonality or dynamic range, there hasn’t been so much progress."

"If we release the Foveon X3 sensor today and people see the quality, it means a lot for the industry, that’s the reason I’m still passionate about the project."

This article was based on an interview conducted by Dale Baskin and Richard Butler at the CP+ show in Yokohama, Japan.

We have a winner for sensor Top Trumps: the LSST camera is the world's largest astronomy camera. It's more than 350 times the size of a full-frame sensor, for reference.

Photo: Jacqueline Ramseyer Orrell/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

"Space," according to Douglas Adams' Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. "is big. Really Big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space."

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It turns out the same is true of cameras made to map space. You may think your full-frame camera is big but that's nothing compared to the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) camera recently completed by the US Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

You may have seen it referred to as the size of a small car, but if anything that under-sells it. SLAC has essentially taken all the numbers you might recognize from photography, made each of them much, much bigger and then committed to a stitched time-lapse that it hopes will help to understand dark matter and dark energy.

Unlike many astro and space projects, LSST is recognizably a camera: it has a mechanical shutter, lenses and rear-mounting slot-in filters.

Image: Chris Smith / SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

We got some more details from Andy Rasmussen, SLAC staff physicist and LSST Camera Integration and Testing Scientist.

The LSST has a 3100 megapixel imaging surface. That surface is an array made up of 189 individual sensors, each of which is a 41 x 40mm 16.4MP CCD. Each of these sensors is larger than consumer-level medium format and when arranged together gives an imaging circle of 634mm (24.9"). That's a crop factor of 0.068x for those playing along at home.

The individual pixels are 10μm in size, making each one nearly three times the area of the pixels in a 24MP full-frame sensor or seven times the size of those in a 26MP APS-C, 61MP full-frame or 100MP 44 x 33 medium format model.

To utilize this vast sensor, the LSST has a lens with three elements, one of which is recognized by Guinness World Records as "the world’s largest high-performance optical lens ever fabricated." The front element is 1.57m in diameter (5.1 ft), with the other two a mere 1.2m (3.9 ft) and 72cm (2.4 ft) across. Behind this assembly can be slotted one of six 76cm (2.5 ft) filters that allow the camera to only capture specific wavelengths of light.

One of the six 76cm (2.5 ft) filters that are swapped over, typically once the camera has shot a set of images of the 1000 regions of the sky it captures.

Photo: Jacqueline Ramseyer Orrell/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

This camera is then mounted as part of a telescope with a 10m effective focal length, giving a 3.5 degree diagonal angle of view (around a 634mm equiv lens, in full-frame terms). Rasumussen puts this in context: "the outer diameter of the primary mirror is 8.4 meters. Divide the two, and this is why the system operates at f/1.2."

That's f/0.08 equivalent (or around eight stops more light if you can't remember the multiples of the square root of two for numbers that small).

Each 16MP chip has sixteen readout channels leading to separate amplifiers, each of which is read-out at 500k px/sec, meaning that it takes two seconds. All 3216 channels are read-out simultaneously. The chips will be maintained at a temperature of -100°C (-148°F) to keep dark current down: Rasmussen quotes a figure of < 0.01 electrons / pixel / second.

But the camera won't just be used to capture phenomenally high-resolution images. Instead it'll be put to work shooting a timelapse series of stitched panos.

The sensor array under construction in 2020. Each of the sensors in the 3 x 3 array being installed is a 41 x 40mm chip. The final camera uses 189 of these imaging sensors, plus another 8 for positioning the camera, along with 8 wavefront sensors at the corners of the array.

Photo: Farrin Abbott/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

The camera, which will be installed at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, will shoot a series of 30 second exposures (or pairs of 15 second exposures, depending on the noise consequences for the different wavelength bands) of around 1000 sections of the Southern sky. Each region will be photographed six times, typically using the same filter for all 1000 regions before switching to the next, over the course of about seven days.

This whole process will then be repeated around 1000 times over a ten-year period to create a timelapse that should allow scientists to better understand the expansion of the universe, as well as allowing the observation of events such as supernova explosions that occur during that time.

The sensors, created by Teledyne e2v, are sensitive to a very broad range of light "starting around 320nm where the atmosphere begins to be transparent," says Rasmussen: "all the way in the near-infrared where silicon becomes transparent (1050nm),"

The sensors, developed in around 2014, are 100μm thick: a trade-off between enhanced sensitivity to red light and the charge spread that occurs as you use deeper and deeper pixels.

No battery life figures were given, but the cost is reported as being around $168M.

Madagascar. A huge, wild, faraway Island. Even mentioning its name provokes an exotic, exciting feeling in my soul. I had wanted to visit Madagascar for many years before finally realizing my plans in 2022. It was one of the most wonderful trips I've done in recent years, one that stayed with me for a while. It included many adventures, diverse and exciting locations, new experiences and a heck of a lot of photography. Enough photography to be interesting (in my opinion, at least) even for the general photography crowd, not to mention nature photographers.

Madagascar may not be a beginner's destination in the sense that it poses some challenges to the traveler. My scouting trip included extremely long drives (one of them two days in total, during which we had to sleep in a guest house surrounded by a very tall metal wall...).

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In some locations, sleeping conditions aren't on par with the expectations of the typical western tourist. The already-poor country was also badly hit by COVID-19, which left some of its better hotels permanently closed. It is currently recuperating and reinstating the tourism infrastructure, domestic flight schedule and higher-tier accommodation possibilities.

While it has more than its fair share of domestic problems, Madagascar is an absolute heaven for wildlife and landscape enthusiasts. In this series of articles, I'd like to tell you the story of my scouting trip to this magical island. I hope it gives you new insights and information about its sheer natural diversity and triggers your interest in visiting. While a Madagascar trip is not always easy or comfortable, it is extremely worth it for the adventurous soul.

Without further ado, let's move on to my first stop on the trip: Andasibe-Mantadia National Park. Andasibe Park is located about 150 km (3-4 hours) east of Madagascar's capital of Antananarivo, near the small village of Andasibe. It consists mostly of a vast rain-forest, which is habitat to numerous species, many of them endemic, rare and endangered, among which 11 lemur species, including brown lemurs, Diademed sifaka lemur, wooly lemur and others. There are several chameleon species and numerous bird and insect species. Andasibe is especially known for its population of the largest lemur species, the Indri Indri.

In general, lemurs are quite hard to photograph. They are energetic, move around quickly and often, and are increasingly reluctant to get close to humans since feedings are being phased out (a wonderful thing in any other respect). They live in dense forests, so good viewings and compositions are few and far between. The photographer often has to chase the animal as it moves through the canopy, which can be challenging and exhausting, especially in the wet, muddy, humid environment. I got back to the lodge absolutely dirty with mud and plant material from head to toe every day.

An adult Indri Indri in the rain.

Canon 5D4, Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3
F6.3 | 1/500 sec | ISO 1600 | 516mm

Indri Indri (locally called Babakutu, which may be translated as "father of a little boy") is a diurnal tree-dwelling lemur. It lives in family groups, feeding mainly on leaves but also seeds, fruits and flowers. Photographically, the Indri Indri is a wonderful subject. The black and white fur (with hints of brown and grey) is starkly contrasted by its beautiful, large green eyes (and by the colors of its forest habitat). It is also very loud and often bursts into song, allowing easier detection and photography of the singing itself.

The only photographic disadvantage is that it chooses to stay high up in the canopy most of the time (other than when going to the toilet), which can harm the shooting angle; remember, as wildlife photographers, we usually prefer an eye-level vantage point. When you see an image of an Indri Indri at eye level, chances are it was shot during human feeding, which should be avoided and discouraged.

The song of Babakutu is made of high-pitched glissandos and can be heard from far away. In my opinion, it's pure joy to listen to. It's very much an arboreal equivalent of a whale's song.

Canon 5D4, Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3
F6.3 | 1/320 sec | ISO 3200 | 600mm

Besides the Indri Indri, there are several other beautiful lemur species in Andasibe.

Brown lemurs are some of the most common lemurs, but they're fun to photograph. They are also the most likely to climb to eye level, making them easier to capture.

Canon 5D4, Canon 70-300mm F4-5.6
F5 | 1/160 sec | ISO 3200 | 176mm

Eastern wooly lemur. Contrary to popular belief, they don't usually smoke illicit substances.
More seriously, this lemur species is highly endangered due to rapid habitat loss.

Canon 5D4, Canon 70-300mm F4-5.6
F5.6 | 1/100 sec | ISO 800 | 277mm

The Diademed sifaka lemur is one of the largest and most colorful lemur species. Classified as critically endangered, population estimates for the species range between 6,000 and 10,000 individuals.

Canon 5D4, Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3
F6.3 | 1/1250 sec | ISO 3200 | 388mm

An eastern lesser bamboo lemur (also known as the gray bamboo lemur). These lemurs are extremely quick and nimble, jumping from branch to branch in the thick forest. They are also incredibly cute and furry.

Canon 5D4, Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3
F5.6 | 1/500 sec | ISO 3200 | 324mm

Malagasy chameleons are known for their striking colorations. I shot several species of chameleons on the trip, but the most beautiful one was the male Parson's chameleon, whose coloration was especially vibrant and eye-pleasing.

A close-up portrait of a male Parson's chameleon. Note the amazing coloration on the abdomen.

Canon 5D4, Canon 70-300mm F4-5.6
252mm, F5.6, 0.2 sec, ISO 100

Another close-up from a different angle. The horns are nicely visible here.

Canon 5D4, Canon 70-300mm F4-5.6
F5.6 | 1/250 sec | ISO 3200 | 244mm

In addition to the usual close-ups, I took one ultra-wide angle image with my 11-24mm to better show the chameleon's habitat.

Canon 5D4, Canon 11-24mm F4
F11 | 1/4 sec | ISO 800 | 11mm

It's interesting to note that the female Parson's chameleon is comparatively dull in appearance. I guess the male is dressed to impress!

A female Parson's chameleon.

Canon 5D4, Canon 70-300mm F4-5.6
F5 | 1/200 sec | ISO 1600 | 155mm

In the next article in this series, I'll talk about shooting the Red Tsingy, a man-induced beautiful natural phenomenon, which was the next stop on my Madagascar trip.

Erez Marom is a professional nature photographer, photography guide and traveler based in Israel. You can follow Erez's work on Instagram and Facebook, and subscribe to his mailing list for updates and to his YouTube channel.

If you'd like to experience and shoot some of the world's most fascinating landscapes with Erez as your guide, take a look at his unique photography workshops in Svalbard, Greenland, Madagascar, the Lofoten Islands, Namibia and Vietnam.

Erez also offers video tutorials discussing his images and explaining how he achieved them.

Selected Articles by Erez Marom:

• Landscape Composition - Balancing the weights
• Lava Frenzy: Shooting Fagradalsfjall Volcano
• Landscape Composition - Separation of Elements
• Parallelism in Landscape Photography
• Black Hole Sun: Shooting the Total Solar Eclipse in Argentina
• Winds of Change: Shooting Changing landscapes
• Landscape Composition - Negative space
• Shooting Kīlauea Volcano, Part 1: How to Melt a Drone
• Whatever It Doesn't Take

Image: Atomos

Atomos has announced the Ninja Phone, a monitor and recorder that connects cameras with HDMI out ports to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. The unit acts as a 'co-processor' to encode a camera's HDMI signal to 10-bit ProRes or H.265 and send the encoded video to the phone. There is also support for USB-C mic input.

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A Ninja Phone iPhone app was also announced to control the unit. Through the app, users can control settings and file transfer between the Ninja Phone and their iPhone. The app will also allow for vertical video capture, live streaming and remote file uploading to cloud services. An encoded ProRes file can also be saved locally to the phone as a .mov file, allowing users to build some redundancy into their workflow by having the source camera and iPhone both save the same file.

There are some limits, however. Source camera output taps out at 1080/60p, meaning you can't send a 4K signal from a camera to the Ninja Phone.

No plans were shared for bringing the device to Andriod phones or other USB-C iPhones.

Atomos' announcement today spent considerable time gushing about the iPhone 15 Pro/Max display stats (2,000,000:1 contrast ratio and support for Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG). Atomos has said the device leans on Apple's A17 chip to decode the video feed and display video with no latency, so it's unclear how dependent the Phone Ninja is on Apple's tech or if there are technical limits for if/when the Phone Ninja may come to other devices.

Pricing and availability

The Atomos Ninja Phone is expected to ship in June 2024 at an MSRP of $399. The unit will also require a $59 phone case, which Atomos says is needed to "ensure that the locking cable system can be deployed."

Press Release Now your phone can be a Ninja too!

Melbourne, Australia, April 12, 2024 — Atomos announces Ninja Phone, a whisper quiet, 10-bit video co-processor for smart phones and tablets that lets you record from professional HDMI cameras.

The first release of Ninja Phone, demonstrated at NAB 2024 at the Atomos booth (C4931) is designed for iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max and their amazing OLED display. It's a powerful combination that uses Atomos' world-beating knowledge of Apple ProRes encoding and Apple's cutting-edge silicon and screen technology to create the world's most beautiful, portable, and connected professional monitor-recorder.

Atomos has a proud history of working closely with all leading Japanese camera manufacturers and as you would expect from an Atomos product, the Ninja Phone lets you connect any professional camera with an HDMI output to Apple's magnificent OLED screen in HDR.

The Ninja Phone encodes the camera's HDMI signal to ProRes or H.265, both formats at superb 10-bit quality for perfect HDR. The encoded video is sent via Ninja Phone's USB-C output to the iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max's USB-C port. The iPhone's super-advanced A17 system-on-a-chip decodes the pristine camera sensor image to display on the high-resolution iPhone screen.

The display is a massive improvement over typical built-in screens that come with most cameras, boasting a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio and supporting Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG. It can display 11 stops of dynamic range with a peak brightness of 1600 nits, perfect for HDR and outdoor viewing.

The Ninja Phone iPhone app, downloadable from the App Store, controls and coordinates the operation of both the Ninja Phone and the iPhone, making them feel like a single, responsive device. For social media creators who need to shoot in 9:16 portrait mode, the Ninja Phone app adjusts to horizontal or vertical video modes. The Ninja Phone app will run on iOS and iPadOS, and will be downloadable at the time of shipping.

The camera's output appears on the iPhone screen with zero latency thanks to Atomos' super-efficient ProRes pipeline - encoding on the Ninja Phone and decoding via Apple's state of the art iPhone.

We've added professional video and cinematic smarts to the world's most advanced phone, says Atomos CEO and Co-Founder Jeromy Young. Ninja Phone is for the thousands of content creators who capture, store, and share video from their iPhone 15 Pro but aspire to work with professional cameras, lenses, and microphones. At the same time, the Ninja Phone is a perfect tool for longer-form professionals who want to adopt a cloud workflow without a complex and expensive technology footprint.

The ProRes-encoded video can be stored on the phone as a .mov file and/or simultaneously transcoded by the iPhone to 10-bit H.265 for workflows like camera to cloud, or live streaming via the iPhone's built-in 5G and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity.

The Ninja Phone accommodates external iPhone accessories by integrating a separate USB-C hub to allow necessary professional add-ons like wireless USB-C microphones, for perfectly synchronizing video and audio. Third-party accessories are supported via the Ninja Phone with more added over time.

Powered by standard NP series batteries, a battery eliminator, or a USB-C 5V/3A input, the Ninja Phone charges the iPhone while in use with any of these power sources, ensuring long phone operation can match professional shoots.

Atomos has developed a unique and rugged locking ecosystem to maintain a secure grip on connected HDMI and USB-C cables. With Atomos locking cables, it is the most robust capture cable system available today, although it is fully compatible with standard, non-locking cables.

The iPhone 15 Pro's enhanced connectivity opens a door for Ninja Phone users to make full use of Atomos' Cloud Services (ACS). These include super-efficient Camera to Cloud workflows, remote live production, and cloud editing. With ACS, content creators can publish video to social media within minutes, and filmmakers can send their footage to their postproduction team via the cloud for the fastest possible production workflow.

I'm so proud that Atomos is once again teaming up with Apple to unlock video creativity through ProRes, and this time it's on Apple's most advanced device ever, the iPhone 15 Pro. I'm especially pleased that this product has no fan and is whisper quiet. Atomos has always had an amazing relationship with Japanese camera manufacturers too, and now the Ninja Phone connects these incredible cameras directly to an iPhone's storage, monitor and its extraordinary wireless and cell networking,” added Young.

Thanks to the iPhone 15 Pro, this is the first time Ninja users will have access to an OLED monitor screen, which, at 446 PPI, is by far the highest resolution, most capable HDR monitor that's ever been available to them,” added Young. It's the perfect partner for many of the new, smaller format mirrorless cameras coming out of Japan, for example Fujifilm's X100 and G series, Canon's R5 Series, Sony Alpha Series, Nikon Z series cameras and Panasonics GH and S series.

Remarkably, the Ninja Phone weighs in at just 95gms, and a sprightly 335gms when coupled to an iPhone 15 Pro.

The Ninja Phone will cost USD/EUR 399, excluding local sales taxes, and is expected to begin shipping in June 2024. Customers will also need to choose the case for iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max, not just to protect the phone in normal use, but to ensure that the locking cable system can be deployed. The cases will be available separately at USD/EUR 59 each, also excluding local sales taxes.

In summary, the Ninja Phone is an essential addition to any filmmaker's toolkit. It combines road-tested Atomos ProRes expertise with an out-of-this-world screen, proven professional monitoring features, and built-in mobile connectivity for collaborative, remote editing.