• US senators call on Army to answer questions over disbanding of futuristic drone battalion
• Letter to General LaNeve raises concerns over US commitment to NATO allies and Ukraine
• Drones are changing the face of the battlefield, and the US could miss out on important lessons and innovations

A group of bipartisan US senators is questioning why the US Army has decided to shut down a cutting edge drone battalion that was set up to understand the shifting battlefield dynamics in Ukraine.

The 3rd battalion of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment was founded in November 2025 by former chief of staff for the US Army Gen. Randy George. But less than a year later, acting chief of staff Gen. Christopher LaNeve announced plans to disband the battalion as part of a ‘back to basics’ approach.

But there are concerns the decision could harm the US military's warfighting capacity, and its ability to learn from a rapidly evolving battlefield technology.

Senators question decision to disband drone battalion

The letter, signed by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Sen. Thom Tillis, Sen. Angus S. King, Jr., and Rep. Michael R. Turner, requests that Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll and General LaNeve provide the data and analysis behind the decision to disband the drone battalion, and also questions “if this decision was based on Department of Defense leadership guidance or was an Army-internal decision.”

“We have deep concerns that eliminating this specialized drone unit will limit our ability to learn from allies, particularly the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and hinder our efforts to modernize drone warfare at the speed necessary to compete on the modern battlefield. This specialized unit was a prudent response in a moment when the character of warfare is changing faster than a conventional formation’s ability to adapt,” the letter states.

The letter also points out that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and US coordination with the Armed Forces of Ukraine provided the basis for the new battalion, providing a “prudent response in a moment when the character of warfare is changing faster than a conventional formation’s ability to adapt.”

Additionally, disbanding the unit “hurts our ability to acquire the critical knowledge and skills that can be gained from working with and learning from Ukrainian soldiers.”

“We respectfully request the Army brief us on how it intends to continue learning lessons on drone warfare from Ukraine in the absence of the Unmanned Assault Battalion. We request this briefing to occur no later than September 21st, 2026,” the letter concludes.

Why are drones changing the battlefield?

The conditions on the frontlines of Ukraine, often compared to the trench warfare of the Great War, have spawned a boom of specializations in drone technology.

From reconnaissance and electronic warfare to logistics and CASEVAC, drones are now essential to Ukraine’s war effort.

Numerous innovations in drone technology are keeping Ukraine in the fight. Autonomous drones capable of hunting and destroying Russian Shahed drones have been used to great effect, and supply lines across open ground are being bolstered by ground robots capable of lugging 210 kilograms cross-country.

But not all drone innovations are in Ukraine’s favor. Ukraine’s military intelligence recently warned that Russia is developing new drones designed to cut electricity cables to cause power cuts through the winter months.

So there is a valid level of concern over the disbanding of the US drone battalion. If the US army has no way to deploy or test systems within a dedicated drone unit, it may miss out on vital lessons that could shape future conflicts.

• Sony unveils the FE 8-14mm F3.5 G lens
• It's the company's first fisheye lens, covering a 180-degree field of view
• It costs $1,600 / £1,500 / AU$2,299

Sony has unveiled its first-ever fisheye lens, the FE 8-14mm F3.5 G, which becomes the widest-angle lens in the company's burgeoning lens range — and I've had my hands on it ahead of the announcement.

I'll admit, it caught me off guard to realize that Sony didn't have a fisheye lens for its mirrorless cameras until now — after all, there are a huge number of Sony lenses already available — but the 8-14mm will no doubt appeal to fans of the distorted, ultra-wide perspective.

Popular for astrophotography, urban landscapes, sports such as skateboarding, and hiphop music videos, fisheye lenses are the widest-angle lenses available, and now there's finally one available with the Sony name on it.

The compact optic is designed for full-frame cameras, and has a maximum f/3.5 aperture across its 8-14mm zoom range. It certainly feels the part; it's dust and moisture resistant, includes a zoom lock, clicked / de-clicked aperture ring, focus switch, and a rear filter holder (which is handy, as the lens doesn't accepted threaded filters because of the bulbous front lens element).

Zoom and focusing are internal, which usefully means that the lens barrel doesn't extend when zooming, while close focusing is just 0.15m, with a 0.22x maximum magnification — you'll often want to make the most of the minimum focus distance to emphasize subjects in the frame.

At its widest 8mm focal length the lens covers a full 180-degree field of view, meaning that much of the built-in lens hood is in the frame — these files need processing to remove the pronounced vignetting. Zoom in to 14mm, however, and the hood is out of the shot completely.

I've never really got on with fisheye lenses — the ultra-wide and distorted perspective isn't one I particularly like or feel that I can utilize — whereas I prefer ultra-wide rectilinear lenses (which correct that distortion for straight lines).

However, I'm challenging myself and giving Sony's first fisheye lens a proper go. It's early days in my testing of the the FE 8-14mm F3.5 G lens, and I look forward to sharing my review soon.

The lens is part of Sony's 'G' range of enthusiast-level lenses, and is priced at $1,600 / £1,500 / AU$2,299.

Kodak PixPro AZ653: two-Minute Review

If you thought bridge cameras (aka superzoom cameras) were a thing of the past, you’re probably not alone. This area of the photography market hasn’t received too much attention over the past few years, especially now that the lower end of the mirrorless camera arena has some solid options, providing decent specs at a reasonable price.

However, the main selling point of bridges camera has always been the expansive zoom range, something the Kodak PixPro AZ653 has in absolute abundance. The 24-1560mm equivalent zoom lens will cover just about every subject you could possibly hope to encounter, from everyday street scenes to distant wildlife. My favorite lens is my 70-200mm f/2.8 'trinity' zoom, but after having such a long zoom range at my fingertips, it has been tough to go back to a mere 2.8x zoom, even if that lens' wider aperture and quality are streets above for quality.

If you’re after a lightweight camera to take with you on your travels, and you don’t know exactly what photographic opportunities you’re likely to come across, the AZ653 is a petite option that will cover every base.

Autofocus is smooth, if not the fastest you can find on a camera at this price point. It certainly won’t be able to keep up with the fastest animal subjects, so if you’re looking for a wildlife camera, you might be better off with an interchangeable lens model that uses high-end phase detection AF. For slower animals at a distance, however, the massive focal range positions the AZ653 as a good, budget-friendly safari camera.

Image quality, meanwhile, is impressive for a bridge camera, especially one with such a small sensor. The limited area of the chip does place limitations on what the camera can achieve, because of the tiny photo sites, but in good light at least, images are sharp and detailed, even if they do suffer from extreme color noise.

Handling, meanwhile, is decidedly DSLR-like, which is a good thing if you’re used to a larger camera body. It’s comfortable to hold and to operate single-handed, while all of the controls are logically placed. Having a manual control ring on the lens is a huge bonus too, giving the AZ653 a premium edge and a professional look to boot.

It might not be an image quality match for a pro-level mirrorless camera, nor is it going to outgun even the entry-level interchangeable lens offerings from Canon or Nikon, but the Kodak AZ653 is a powerful bridge camera that goes easy on the shoulder and on the bank balance.

Kodak PixPro AZ653: Price and release date

• $449 / £349 / AU$ 750.99
• Available worldwide now
• Limited availability/ backorder lists current in the UK

The AZ653 is designed largely for entry-level users who aren’t ready to invest in an interchangeable lens system, or photographers looking to minimize their kit. The camera is available globally, priced affordably at $449 / £349 / AU$ 750.99.

This makes it significantly cheaper than buying a mirrorless camera with a comparable specification and adding a super telephoto lens. For example, a Canon EOS R100 and RF800mm F11 STM telephoto prime lens would set you back a combined price of approximately $1228 / £1359 / AU$ 2000.

It also costs around 7x less than the Sony RX10 V — a premium bridge camera launched this year, which is superior in most regards except for its lesser zoom range.

• Price score: 4/5

Kodak AZ653: Specs

Kodak PixPro AZ653: design

• Small and lightweight body made possible by the small sensor format
• Reasonable build quality, though mostly plastic
• Fixed 3-inch LCD makes composing shots difficult

Bridge cameras are, by definition, designed to bring together the size and weight benefits of a compact camera with the superior handling characteristics of a DSLR or mirrorless model. By bridging this gap, cameras like the AZ653 are able to offer a generally unrivalled balance of portability and versatility. At least, that’s the objective.

Of course, this was far more of an obvious benefit before the advent of the mirrorless revolution. The difference in size and weight between a Bridge camera and a DSLR such as the Nikon D850 was far more pronounced than between the AZ653 and an entry-level mirrorless model like the Canon EOS R100 or Nikon Z30. Even higher-end cameras like the Canon EOS R6 Mark III, Nikon Z50 II, Sony a7C II, or Fujifilm X-T5 with a standard zoom lens have a comparable footprint.

That last part is important, though. The lens on the AZ653 is anything but standard. As soon as you take the vast zoom range into account, the projected weight differences diverge dramatically. I say projected since the exact dimensions of a mirrorless equivalent to the 65x zoom can only be estimated – no such lens exists.

The EFL (Effective Focal Length) 24-1560mm F2.9-6.7 optic is only possible because of the smaller 1/2.3in sensor at the heart of the camera, and if you were to try and build a similar lens with an image circle big enough to cover an APS-C or full-frame sensor, it would be more like a telescope than a photography optic.

The Kodak AZ653 is well-proportioned and very comfortable to hold. The deep handgrip is reassuring and allowed a firm grip even with my large-ish hands. Despite the body’s small size, there is ample room for around three fingers on the lower part of the grip at one time, while the forefinger sits precisely over the shutter button.

The zoom control surrounds the shutter release and operates with minimal travel, allowing rapid activation of the power zoom. A nice touch is the ability to zoom using the control ring on the lens instead, which is a far more intuitive action for photographers who have committed two-handed camera work to muscle memory. The downside is an artificially long zoom travel; it takes multiple twists of the ring to zoom from the widest focal length to the longest.

The feel of the zoom indicates it's an electronic fly-by-wire system, where the ring isn’t physically connected to anything mechanical, but merely acts as a switch that drives a motor to move the lens elements.

With an optical system this long, the operation is slow and at times, a little stuttery – the zoom stops halfway through its journey and there’s an obvious pause while the onboard computer recalculates where it should be placing the elements. This proved frustrating during my testing, and resulted in multiple missed shots.

Manual focus was a little more successful when using the ring, and I could make relatively precise adjustments. You can access this by moving the position of a switch on the lens barrel, which is another nod to the DSLR influence and adds to the professional experience. The magnified preview image is low-resolution, however, and isn’t especially useful.

The camera features a PASM mode (exposure) dial on the top plate, next to the power button. This provides access to the usual array of control modes, including full Manual and Auto, along with several creative shooting positions, including Scene modes, a Wireless mode for remote operation and file sharing, Movie Mode, Face Beautifier mode for in-camera retouching, and a Custom setting position.

The dial itself is too easily moved in my opinion. In several cases, I’d switched mode without realising, either because I’d nudged the dial with my finger or while getting the camera in and out of my bag, which again meant some missed shots.

The build quality is actually quite good. It is largely made from plastic, but this feels reinforced and not significantly inferior to many recent mid-range mirrorless cameras. I wouldn’t necessarily trust its resistance to rain and dust as such, but the outer shell doesn’t give the impression of cheapness, while the rubberised grip and viewfinder surround lend a more premium edge.

• Design score: 3.5/5

Kodak PixPro AZ653: performance

• The power zoom system is slow, especially when using the lens control ring
• The camera is not as quick to boot up and shut down as comparably priced mirrorless models
• Focus speed itself is quite snappy

With such a long zoom range, there’s always a risk of sluggish autofocus performance. This is often purely because of the additional glass elements needed to provide such a great magnification, making it a more demanding task for the autofocus motors. That being said, the actual dimensions of the optical system are much smaller than the effective image results – the lens is a physical 4.3mm to 279.5mm unit.

As such, the elements are quickly moved into position once the camera has found the correct focus distance, with minimal delay. It’s not quite as smooth as the stepper motors or ultrasonic drives found in many top-level mirrorless optics, nor is it as quiet, but it puts in a respectable performance for the price.

The limiting factor is going to be the autofocus system in the camera itself. Unlike the majority of mirrorless cameras, which use phase-detection AF, the AZ653 shares the slower contrast detection system found in many compact cameras, smartphones and older interchangeable lens bodies.

Without dwelling for too long on the technical specifics, phase-detection autofocus uses specialized sensors to measure the focus position of the lens by looking at how front- or back-focused the light projected through it is. Meanwhile, the AZ653’s contrast-detection AF merely looks for edges of objects in the frame to estimate how far it has to move the lens to get the maximum contrast.

As such, contrast detection has a tendency to hunt, moving the lens elements back and forth to test the correct placement. As expected, this slows down reaction times and isn’t suitable for rapid sports and animal subjects.

The EVF is small but fairly detailed. All of the relevant camera settings are displayed, and it is sharp enough to judge focus with ease. The LCD, on the other hand, is underwhelming. It makes use of only 460K dots, which isn’t enough to accurately assess the quality of captured images.

All files look smudged, not helped by the matte texture of the screen itself. The non-glossy surface makes it easier to preview images in bright light, but critical sharpness is almost impossible to check with any sense of confidence.

• Performance score: 3.5/5

Kodak PixPro AZ653: Image quality

• Surprising quality in good lighting
• Mushy JPEGs even at low ISO settings
• Limited to Full HD (1080p) video - no 4K or greater

Image quality is quite surprising. In good light, RAW format files from the AZ653 are rich in detail, and the lens is able to deliver crisp results. Having the RAW capability is a huge bonus and can honestly be considered a staple feature of an enthusiast camera now that many smartphones come equipped with their own RAW mode.

Kodak has been smart not to overstretch the sensor with resolution. The 20 million pixels are more than enough for everyday uses, and by keeping pixel count lower than most APS-C and Micro 4/3 cameras, the AZ653 is able to maintain a workable level of noise control and a reasonable dynamic range.

Sure, highlights clip more easily than when shooting the same scene on both the AZ653 and an APS-C model like the 26MP Fujifilm X100VI, but the performance is better than many larger-sensor cameras of last decade.

In-camera JPEG shooting is a different matter, and the quality is far less impressive. Default noise reduction is too aggressive and fine detail is rapidly obliterated, creating a smudged look common to compact cameras. Color noise reduction itself isn’t especially effective either, leaving behind too many colored blotches.

When shooting RAW, I was able to increase the ISO to about 800 before grain became a major problem which is, once again, impressive. My advice would be to increase the sensitivity of the AZ653 rather than to brighten underexposed RAW files — unlike many of the more ISO-invariant cameras we see today — this should produce a better balance of image texture and noise pattern.

Regarding lens quality, sharpness does drop off towards the long end of the zoom range. The slightly blurred results reminded me of shots taken with a budget Tamron 70-300mm DSLR lens I used to own back in the day – fine detail just isn’t present, almost as if your shots were taken through a greasy window. Files are usable on Instagram, but won’t be suitable for prints.

• Image quality score: 3/5

Testing Scorecard

Should I buy the Kodak PixPro AZ653?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider

How I tested the Kodak PixPro AZ653

• I spent around two and a half weeks with the AZ653
• Images were taken in both good light and low-light conditions, shooting in JPEG mode and RAW
• Most images were shot handheld to test the usability at longer focal lengths

I spent several weeks shooting with the PixPro AZ653, taking in multiple different lighting conditions. I shot in both JPEG and RAW formats to see how differently the built-in processing algorithms might process the images to my own RAW workflow.

Since one of the reasons to buy a bridge camera is for weight saving, I decided to shoot mainly handheld, as this would be how many users would experience the camera. I wanted to thoroughly check the ease with which someone might capture sharp images at the longer focal lengths.

I mainly used Aperture Priority (A) and Manual (M) modes for both creative freedom and to test the auto exposure systems.

To explore the noise performance, I shot with the camera at each ISO setting, from 100 through to 3200, using a tripod to ensure any drop in sharpness was not due to camera shake at the lower sensitivities. I also worked through the focal range, capturing the same scenes from the widest to the longest zoom settings.

First reviewed: September 2026

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 shortlisted entries were announced last week, and one contender in particular caught the eye — a photo of a swift in flight as an aeroplane looms overhead, shot by 16-year-old photographer Jack Crockford, from the UK.

'Great shot!' chimed a few people in the 500 or so comments on TechRadar's Facebook post, which also received almost 25k reactions. The majority of the comments, however, focused on the camera gear element of the headline (not the photo itself or the age of the photographer), which pinpointed that the photo was captured with a 10-year-old Nikon DSLR.

In case you were wondering, the camera in question is the enthusiast-level Nikon D500 (APS-C), and Crockford paired it with the Nikon AF-S 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR telephoto zoom lens to get the shot.

Cue the age old photography debate I've read time and again in my 15+ years writing about camera gear — is it the gear, or the photographer, that gets a great photo?

The correct answer, of course, is that there's no simple, single answer — it depends on the context and subject being photographed — and that the end result is the work of both tool and creator. For Crockford, however, gear certainly empowered him to get his WPOTY award contender.

Sometimes, gear really does matter

I'm all for celebrating the photographer, and rightly so. The craft and dedication (and, sometimes, a dash of fortune) required to create an image that stands out is undeniable, and deserves appreciation.

I see it in myself — I have a better eye for a photo now than I did at the start of my career, and I'm still improving (emphasis on having an eye for it to begin with).

But to those that simply said in the comments section; "it’s not about the camera", or "photography was never about the equipment", and “it’s the singer, not the song", I say you'll need more than luck to get a photo like the image in question — a distant bird in flight.

Skill alone doesn't reach 600mm, a lens does. Nor is your iPhone bagging you that shot. You need telephoto reach, and decent autofocus helps.

Technically speaking, enthusiast-level and pro-level mirrorless cameras are the most advanced cameras today for wildlife photography, thanks to dedicated subject tracking modes (which, in many models, includes bird detection autofocus), and faster-than-ever burst shooting. You are more likely to get a technically sound image with modern camera gear.

Many of the comments defended DSLRs, but the point of the article was never to attack the format, which in the current market has essentially been replaced by mirrorless, but to highlight how popular (and capable) these systems are still.

DSLRs are still seemingly the camera of choice for wildlife photographers — if the shortlisted entries for WPOTY 2026 are anything to go by. I still rock my Nikon D800 which precedes Crockford's camera, and its age doesn't stop if from taking good photos.

You don't need the latest gear to get the (wildlife) shot, but it does help. But for the incredible shortlisted entries in WPOTY 2026, it took skill and gear to get the shot. There is a gear bottom line required to stand a chance.

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 winners will be unveiled in October, and you can see the winning images in the flesh when the exhibition begins in October at London's Natural History Museum, UK — you can grab tickets here.

I’ll lay my cards on the table and admit that I wasn’t very familiar with Hohem before I arrived at IFA Berlin 2026. But interestingly, the Chinese tech company has revealed one of the most innovative products at the conference so far, in my view, with the Eyepic 2-in-1 Pocket Gimbal Camera.

This product, Hohem told me, is a real “first” — not only because it’s the company’s first actual camera, but because it’s what Hohem describes as “the world’s first 2-in-1 pocket gimbal camera”.

What sets this model apart from other compact video cameras? I got the chance to watch a demo and speak with Hohem about the Eyepic 2-in-1, and learn about its tech specs, features, and design quirks. Here’s everything you need to know.

It’s all about versatility

Hohem told me that the Eyepic is targeted at a more casual, everyday user or vlogger, rather than those looking to take professional-grade video. Even so, its capabilities are commendable.

It offers native 4K vertical video capture at up to 60fps, which is ideal for users who want to film a TikTok or Instagram Reel, for instance. But a Hohem representative showed me that by merely rotating the on-board 2.51-inch touchscreen, the camera will reorient, enabling you to seamlessly switch to capturing landscape video instead.

But it gets even better.

As I watched, the Hohem demonstrator swiftly removed the camera unit from the device, revealing that the Eyepic is capable of fully hands-free shooting. He attached the unit to a lanyard on his neck to film a video, and I can see this being incredibly useful for creators who are on the move. The camera unit is magnetic, so it could really be attached to all sorts of accessories, be that a tripod, a fridge…you name it.

What’s more, the camera is highly waterproof, and Hohem told me it can even withstand being around 10m (32.8ft) underwater if, say, you want to take a video while swimming or diving. I was also interested to find that when the camera is detached, the gimbal retracts and locks, and a user can view a 1080p live preview of the action on the Eyepic’s touchscreen.

From what I saw in the demo, it appeared that the Eyepic was more than able to capture smooth, high-res video in a flexible, versatile manner, and this could really help it stand out from top-tier rivals like DJI and Insta360. It can also capture video in slow motion, although Hohem said that this will likely be at a lower resolution, potentially around 1080p.

While Hohem wouldn’t reveal the Eyepic’s price just yet (trust me, I tried), I was told that the model is expected to launch around the time that CES 2027 kicks off, which is early 2027.

IFA, Berlin's huge annual tech expo, is where some of the biggest tech firms unveil their latest innovations — and this year is one of the strongest we've seen in a long time for interesting new releases.

IFA is a great place to find fascinating new gadgets and devices, ranging from next-gen AR glasses to self-driving personal mobility vehicles, and from weird new kitchen appliances to armies of humanoid robots.

We've chosen the top products from those that were nominated for our IFA 2026 'Best in Show' awards to produce this list of our 25 winners, based on how innovative they are, how well they serve their intended use, and the degree to which we think they'll influence their area of the tech market.

There were many more products that we really liked, of course, but we had to be ruthless — here are our top picks from IFA 2026.

Anker Soundcore Sleep Earbuds 4 Pro

The best technology delivers real-world benefits, and what could be more beneficial than a good night's sleep? The Soundcore Sleep Earbuds 4 Pro use in-ear PPG optical sensors to monitor your heartrate, which is more accurate than other optical tracking methods thanks to the rich capillaries and stable position of your ear canal. That monitoring delivers data to the smart-screen, phone-free SleepHub charging case.

The Sleep Earbuds Pro feature passive isolation as well as 30dB active noise cancelling, and the case-based snore monitoring system detects and masks the sound of your partner snoring using its built-in sounds. Despite the addition of multiple new components the housing is thinner than previous generations, and even more comfortable for side sleepers.

Anker's BioSync dynamic audio system monitors relaxation in real time, dynamically adjusting the audio content and structure to help you find the most effective sleep sounds. Sleep earbuds are something that can truly improve your health and happiness by improving your sleep, and these look like a really smart upgrade.

Agibot A3

Agibot is doing some amazing things with humanoid robots, and the full-sized Agibot A3 combines multiple capabilities in a lightweight, extremely dynamic model: if you're assembling a robot dance troupe or planning a big exhibition, the A3's the bot to buy.

The A3 weighs just 55kg, has a power-to-weight ratio of 0.218kW/kg, and delivers up to 12kW of instant peak power, enabling it to somersault. Its battery runs for up to 10 hours and is hot-swappable in seconds, so it's great for applications where it needs to last all day. It'll happily fit in an SUV for travel, too.

In addition to voice and app control, the A3 delivers industry-first touch sensing that adds physical interaction to its controls. It also has a 360-degree multi-array mic system for accurate voice recognition, even in noisy environments.

One of the most exciting features of the A3 is its large-scale swarm co-ordination, which uses precise UWB positioning to enable performances by up to 100 individual robots. That makes it possible to create very complex, high-impact performances for big events, as well as enabling multiple units to work smartly in environments such as factories or warehouses. The awareness and the uptime make this a great new approach to robotics.

Hypershell X Ultra S

The Hypershell X Ultra S exoskeleton helped mountaineer Adriana Brownlee in -30C temperatures on Mount Everest, supported athlete Aurélien Fontenoy's 4,037km Route 66 journey while recovering from injury, and is currently being trialed by search and rescue organizations worldwide.

Before Hypershell, exoskeletons cost $100,000 and above; the same capabilities are now available to consumers for less than $2,000, in a device weighing under 2kg.

The X Ultra S is an end-to-end AI motion-control system that uses an AI model to transform raw sensor data directly into motor torque, enabling faster response, smoother adaptation, and more natural human-machine synchronization.

There are 12 active modes, including walking, cycling and running, and a new Gentle Assist mode for older adults and users with short or shuffling strides. Fitness Mode adds resistance, turning a walk into a workout.

But it's the price that won us over here — this could be a game changer for getting people with limited mobility out and doing more things that they love, from hiking to just visiting the local stores.

JMGO IRIS Ultra Max

The IRIS Ultra Max is one of the world’s first true 4K 120Hz flagship smart projectors, delivering native 4K (rather than pixel-shifted) at 120Hz from input to output, all from its very compact case.

The Ultra Max's dual iris system has 6+9 blades, the highest count in its class, which promises to improve stray light suppression by 11.34% for a more accurate picture, while delivering class-leading contrast, with a quoted ration of 10,000:1. The MALC 6.0 Triple-Laser Engine delivers an impressive 6,500 ISO lumens of brightness, making it more visible in more lighting conditions, and with a promised ability to recreate 110% of the BT.2020 color space, with an astounding color accuracy of delta-E of 0.7, meaning it's truly capable of pro-level color range and accuracy.

The IRIS Ultra Max also introduces an industry-first 3-in-1 Optical System that integrates 0.88–1.7:1 Optical Zoom, Four-Way Lens Shift (V ±130%, H ±53%), and an AI-Powered Gimbal (360° H, 150° V) into a unified projection architecture. This makes it more more flexible than traditional projectors to positioning, because it has so many different options for correcting its picture. It gives small home theater setups top-tier performance without compromise.

DJI Osmo Pocket 4P

Designed for vloggers and movie-makers alike, the Osmo Pocket 4P is the world’s first dual-lens pocket gimbal camera. It delivers cinema-grade imaging in a pocket-friendly form, and features DJI's Academy Award-winning Ronin stabilization.

The main lens is a wide-angle 20mm equivalent with an f/2.0 aperture, and a new 1-inch CMOS sensor that offers 17 stops of dynamic range and over one billion colors via DJI's new 10-bit D-Log 2 color profile.

That's supplemented with a 60mm medium-tele portrait lens, which gives you 3x optical zoom and up to 12x digital zoom. Its f/1.8 aperture is particularly good for creating bokeh effects by compressing the background and pulling it closer to the subject.

The Osmo Pocket 4P also features the latest version of DJI's ActiveTrack, which uses AI algorithms to maintain tracking lock at up to 12x zoom. It can actively track up to eight people, framing groups and centering anyone new who steps into the field of view.

RayNeo GT Max AR Glasses

The RayNeo GT Max AR Glasses are the world's first AR glasses to support Dolby Vision playback as part of creating a virtual cinema experience. They deliver up to 1,200 nits of perceived brightness, a 120Hz refresh rate, and real-time SDR to HDR conversion for super-clear images, too. Their optical system is 29% thinner and lighter than traditional designs, and delivers an industry-leading 59-degree field of view.

One of our favorite features is the adjustable virtual screen sizes, with a choice of 227 inches, 267 inches or 307 inches. That's clever: the tighter size is ideal for spreadsheets and productivity apps if you're using them as a display for a phone or laptop, while the larger sizes deliver immersive gaming and video.

Steady, Pinned and Follow modes enable you to anchor the screen or have it move with you, and 3DoF spatial tracking maintains the screen position without straining your eyes, and keeps subtitles, taskbars and image edges within the viewing area as you move. These look like the most advanced way to take a screen with you everywhere, and they could be indispensable for long flights.

TCL P80 Ultra

If you spend as much time on your phone as we do, you'll be blown away by the screen of the TCL P80 Ultra. It's the first phone to integrate NXTPAPER eye-comfort technology, with a 1.5K sharp AMOLED display for reflection-free reading even in bright sunlight, and a button that instantly turns your P80 Ultra into an e-reader with paper-like viewing.

The P80 Ultra has nano-etched anti-glare glass, eliminating surface reflections without reducing brightness. It also features circular polarized light technology, which changes the light output to more closely replicate the characteristics of natural light, and flicker-free dimming.

The camera's pretty special too. It's a 50MP 3x periscope telephoto lens with a 50MP 1/1.56-inch large-format sensor, capturing more light per pixel than smaller sensors and enabling 6x lossless zoom. Image stabilization eliminates motion blur in photos and video, and TCL's MuseFilm filters promise cinematic-quality images. But it's the groundbreaking display that really won us over — a lot of people will find it much kinder on the eyes.

Lenovo ThinkBook 14x Gen 2

Lenovo's ultra-light laptop makes even ultraportables look positively porky: at just 2.18lbs / 990g and just 12.9mm thick it's one of the lightest and thinnest laptops around, making it ideal for business travelers and students alike — especially if you opt for the backlit keyboard, which is really helpful in dimly lit rooms and airplanes.

Lenovo has somehow managed to give the ThinkBook 14x the super-thin treatment without sacrificing connectivity, so in addition to its Wi-Fi 7 it features two 10Gbps USB-C ports, two 5Gbps USB-A ports and an HDMI 2.1 port, so there's no need to haul a hub around with you. It also has a spare M.2 slot that enables you to expand its storage, which makes this a solid long-term investment.

The ThinkBook 14x Gen 2 is also one of the most customizable ultraportables, powered by Intel Core 7 (Series 3) processors and with display options including vivid OLED and touchscreen LCD. It's good-looking too, with a choice of metallic finishes including Luna Gray, Celestial White, Mystic Violet and Veil Blue.

EarFun Wave Pro X

EarFun's headphones consistently deliver premium performance without the premium price tag, and the Wave Pro X are the brand's best yet. They feature a patented dual-driver system that places a 40mm diamond-like carbon driver and a 10mm liquid crystal polymer driver on a precisely aligned axis, creating a more natural and detailed sound than you typically get from multi-driver designs.

The Wave Pro X feature an 8-mic AI system that continuously optimizes the hybrid ANC system, even in wired AUX mode, and the Qualcomm QCC3095 chipset delivers Bluetooth 6.0, aptX Lossless, LDAC, USB Audio and Auracast. Add AI translation and up to 90 hours of battery life to the mix and you've got a truly excellent pair of headphones — EarFun has been working on these for a long time, and even delayed them in order to get the tuning just right.

Urevo CyberPad 3

The CyberPad 3 is a home/office treadmill that's designed differently to traditional models. Its WalkFree Adaptive Speed Control uses pressure sensors built into the running board, which detect your stepping motion to automatically start and stop operation; when you're walking or running it takes data from the motor to calculate speed adjustments in real time.

Its multi-user support is smart too, capturing raw weight and stride-rate data to generate a structured user profile that's directly linked to the speed-control algorithm.

The support structure is made from Q235 steel with a side frame of die-cast aluminum, and it utilizes a redesigned transmission path to deliver an exceptionally compact construction: the ultra-slim body is under 11cm thick. Despite its small size it features a 15% incline-lift mechanism and a 42cm running belt, with its size based on analysis of human shoulder widths.

Plaud One

Plaud One is a wearable AI companion that combines three key features that are usually separate: wearable conversation capture, context that builds across day-to-day conversations, and AI that can analyze data and take appropriate action. It can capture online meetings, and face-to-face discussions and phone calls, and it has built-in eSIM and 4G LTE for phone-free operation.

What makes Plaud One different is that it understands context. Instead of treating each recording as a standalone transcript, it can retain context across multiple discussions — so a conversation from one meeting can be connected to a later conversation or call.

That understanding enables the Plaud Agent to help you take action, identifying next steps and completing tasks across tools such as Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion, and Slack.

Minisforum MS-S1 Max-P495

The MS-S1 Max-P495 delivers large-model AI computing from an exceptionally small footprint with a very high specification. It combines AMD Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 495 with up to 192GB of unified memory to run 128B+ LLMs locally, delivering up to 126 TOPS, and its unified memory architecture eliminates VRAM bottlenecks while also reducing latency.

That power is cooled by a high-performance thermal solution featuring a copper base, six heat pipes, dual fans and phase-change cooling, and it's encased in a fully scalable design, with a slide-out chassis for easy upgrading and a rack-ready form factor.

With 4x PCIe expansion, dual 10Gb Ethernet, dual 40Gbps USB4 v2, Wi-Fi 7, and a built-in 320W PSU, the MS-S1 Max-P495 delivers future-proof power for desktop systems and scalable AI clusters alike — it's a mind-blowing beast made to meet a new kind of research and development need.

XPPen Magic Pro 13

XPPen's Magic Pro 13 is a mobile drawing pad designed for creative pros, featuring an industry-first hardware-level drawing display mode that delivers low latency, native color output and higher bandwidth video transmission over a simple one-cable connection, giving you a paper-like experience with 16K pressure sensitivity and cursor hover support.

It's the first drawing pad in its category to come with dual-USB support, enabling you to benefit from a high-speed data connection while charging your Magic Pro 13.

The Magic Pro 13 features the new Shelf digital asset management system and XPPen's Canvas software, designed to deliver a simple and intuitive sketching experience for capturing ideas when inspiration strikes. And for creatives on the move it offers two thermal management modes, balancing performance and energy efficiency based on different creative scenarios.

Strutt ev1c

Strutt's ev1c reimagines the power chair with three major advancements: Strutt's evSense sensing array, a quad-drive drivetrain, and a modular, connected design.

eVSense uses two LiDARs, 10 time-of-flight sensors, six ultrasonics and two cameras to create 3D maps in real time, powering the Co-Pilot collision avoidance for people, pets, and edges, and the Auto-Pilot, which enables you to select on-screen destinations, or use LLM-powered voice commands such as "Take me to the kitchen" — basically it's a self-driving personal mobility vehicle.

The drivetrain features four-wheel independent suspension, ABS, active steering, and an integrated electronic stability program (ESP), safely managing 13-degree slopes, cobblestones and rough terrain without slippage or tipping. And when it's time to travel, it breaks down into five modules for easy trunk storage. It looks like a genuine move forward for this kind of mobility device.

xTool M2 Color Craft Laser

The xTool M2 is the first desktop machine to combine full-color CMYK printing, laser engraving and laser cutting into one enclosed Class 1 system, delivering a full print-then-cut workflow. Simply print your full-color design onto a piece of wood, leather or acrylic, and the xTool M2 Color Craft Laser cuts or engraves the exact contour with camera-guided precision. And there's a built-in air-assist pump, an industry first for a semiconductor laser, that keeps cut edges clean by reducing carbonization and yellowing.

Having these three capabilities in a single device is a huge power-up: instead of having to print on one machine and engrave or cut on another, you can turn your raw idea into a finished, professional-looking product in a single operation. It's ideal for stickers, labels, signage, personalized gifts, and small-batch products — you could start a whole business with this one device. And because it's an enclosed system, it's also very safe.

Perlegear AX1 Smart Adaptive Mount

The Perlegear AX1 Smart Adaptive Mount answers an interesting question: what if your TV mount was as smart as your TV? The AX1 is an AI-powered, motorized TV mount that can automatically adjust the height of your TV to different viewing positions, so for example you might have it low for solo TV watching, but raised for watching sports with friends, or for following an on-screen fitness app or motion-based game.

The AX1 is controllable via gesture commands, its mobile app, via remote control, or via Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri. It can distinguish between single- and multi-person viewing, with the latter calculating the best screen height for the group, and it's capable of moving a 200-pound / 90kg TV up to 15.7 inches / 400mm vertically, with real-time obstacle detection that stops and reverses the move if the path is blocked.

Speediance Gym Monster 3

The brilliantly named Gym Monster 3 delivers serious strength training for home workouts, combining the experience of a Smith machine, barbell, dumbbells, cable machine, rowing machine, pulley system, and squat rack into one streamlined setup with up to 200lbs / 90kg of intelligent digital resistance.

Twin 800W direct-drive motors deliver smooth, consistent resistance through every rep, and it's adjustable in one-pound / 0.45kg increments, so you can progress at your own pace, rather than make big jumps you might not be ready for.

The Gym Monster 3 is controlled via a clever Bluetooth Ring Control that enables you to make adjustments without stepping away or breaking your flow, and it features four dedicated training modes: Standard, Chain, Eccentric, and Fixed Speed. It also features a built-in AI coach that can guide you from your first session onwards.

Midea GreenApex Dishwasher

The humble dishwasher hasn't changed much since Josephine Cochrane's 1886 invention went electric in the late 1920s and gained spray arms in the 1950s. But the Midea GreenApex is very different from traditional grease-busters. It's a dual heat-pump system that uses a single coordinated heat pump platform to deliver washing, rapid drying, and dry storage in a single appliance.

The GreenApex is 50% more energy efficient than conventional dishwashers, delivers 30-minute rapid drying and 168 hours of dry storage without continued system operation, and offers gentle heat-pump drying at around 45°C, so you don't need to worry about high temperatures damaging more delicate items. It feels like a major leap forward for an appliance type that doesn't often have the phrase 'cutting-edge' associated with it.

Reolink OMVI 2i Ultra

The Reolink OMVI 2i Ultra Security Camera features an innovative, decoupled dual-lens tracking system in which the individual lenses operate fully independently of one another. Unlike in other dual-lens or hybrid zoom security cameras, the two lenses here are not mechanically linked, so the fixed 130-degree 4K wide-angle lens never moves, while the telephoto camera is free to rotate anywhere, including to cover areas outside the field of view of the main lens.

This means that when the 4K camera's on-device AI spots a person, vehicle or animal, it triggers the pan-tilt camera to lock onto and follow that subject even after they exit the wide camera's field of view — but you don't lose any recording from the wide camera's view during that time.

You can also use the wide-angle view to redirect the pan-tilt camera to a particular location by simply tapping that point in the live camera view, or have the wide camera and the pan-tilt camera monitoring two distinct locations, such as your driveway and a side gate.

Navimow H510 Pro

The Navimow H510 Pro features four key innovations: precise edge finishing, zero-turn steering, adaptive mowing intelligence, and 3D modelling.

Rather than edging with a trimmer line, which can be noisy and cause minor damage, the H510 Pro has an extendable robot arm that performs zero-gap edging quietly and safely — it's the most interesting and smart version of this technology that we've seen.

The all-wheel-drive system protects your turf too, with a zero-steering system that avoids dragging the wheels across the grass during lateral turns. And the Adaptive Mowing Intelligence feature analyzes grass growth patterns to determine the optimal mowing frequency, using the 1/3 cutting rule to preserve lawn health.

With 3D terrain modeling rather than the industry-standard 2D, and a sensor array including infrared as well as LiDAR and vision for low-light reliability, and triple-sensor avoidance to protect wildlife, the H510 is a smart solution for even the most challenging lawns.

DJI Romo 2 Series

The Romo 2 Series is a robot vacuum that won't be defeated by obstacles such as deep rugs, sliding door tracks and other barriers. That's because it has robotic legs that can step over obstacles as high as 4cm, and double-step thresholds up to an impressive 8.5cm.

It also features a built-in LiDAR-guided ultra-wide-swing robotic arm to extend the mop's reach, and its powerful suction system features an automatically lowering plate that forms a semi-seal on carpet for better extraction of dust and allergens.

The Romo 2 Series also benefits from the tech of DJI's flagship drones, with a Structured Light-Speckle projector and dual fish-eye vision sensors for full 3D depth perception. It can detect items such as cables and training pads as thin as 2mm, and its AI can distinguish between debris and liquid, as well as deal with transparent obstacles such as glass doors and mirrors.

Acer Vero 16

With so many laptops sacrificing easy maintenance and repairability for super-skinny styling, the Acer Vero 16 is a breath of fresh air. While it doesn't skimp on style or power — it's highly portable, delivers up to 180 platform TOPS with an Intel Core Ultra X9 processor 388H, and can be configured with a stunning 16-inch 3K OLED display — it's made with longevity in mind.

A tool-free latch provides easy access to the Vero's innards, and the battery and SSD are replaceable, while the system is designed to support the next two generations of processors if you want to upgrade. Fully 70% of the chassis consists of a blend of PCR (post-consumer recycled) and bio-based oyster shell material, and it meets US military standards for toughness. This is a laptop that's built to last, in a way that's rare to see — and very welcome.

Asus ProArt GR1X

The Asus ProArt GR1X is tiny, measuring just 150 x 150 x 51mm. But there's nothing small about its specification. Designed for advanced content creation and local AI workflows, it delivers data center-class compute inside a mini PC, removing the need to run LLMs remotely while eliminating cloud latency, cost, and IP protection concerns for pro creators.

The ProArt GR1X features the groundbreaking Nvidia RTX Spark 'superchip', which means you get a 20-core Grace CPU and a 6,144-core Blackwell GPU, delivering up to one petaflop of FP4 AI inference performance. With up to 128GB of LPDDR5X unified memory at 9,400MHz, it enables you to run up to 120B-parameter LLMs locally, and render entire 3D scenes on-device in Windows 11.

That kind of power demands highly efficient cooling, and Asus has developed an advanced precision-cooling system that delivers 1.6x more efficient thermal coverage than standard compact systems. Asus also solved the challenge of metal-enclosure signal attenuation by embedding the Wi-Fi 7 antennas behind a glass-like signal-transparent material. It's quite the design coup, and an impressive showcase for Nvidia's new elite chip.

EcoFlow STREAM 5000 / STREAM AC 5000

The EcoFlow Stream series is a plug-and-play modular system for residential solar energy generation and storage that's designed to be renter- and apartment-friendly. It can add battery storage and smart power-management to existing solar PV installations, as well as being employed to create a new home system from scratch.

The Stream Series features EcoFlow's Oasis 3.0 home energy management system, which understands dynamic energy tariffs, keeps an eye on the weather forecast, and continuously analyzes your home energy needs to optimize generation, storage and consumption.

That means you can give the EcoBot AI agent instructions such as "I need my car charged by 7am tomorrow at the lowest possible cost" and it will implement the necessary steps, or have your energy schedules reconfigured automatically when you have visitors or other instances of increased demand.

From October the EcoFlow Stream series will also get a new feature: Local Mode, which gives you uninterrupted operation and local app control even if there are cloud or connectivity outages. It's a very powerful (no pun intended) system that's been designed with the real world in mind.

Tapo D260

The Tapo D260 wired/wireless security camera is a video doorbell that delivers all the benefits of high-spec security without the potential downsides: it stores facial recognition data locally to protect privacy, and no features are locked behind a subscription. It's advanced, yet totally cost-free once you buy it.

It has 4K resolution, a wide 180-degree field of view to cover the entire doorway, and delivers sharp detail in subjects up to 30 feet away.

The D260 features multiple intelligent detection and recognition features, including radar as well as the obligatory infrared motion sensor. These enable it to discount false alerts from things such as moving branches or passing headlights, while on-device AI can recognize people, packages, vehicles, and animals.

If you wish, you can opt in to build a library of family and friends using facial recognition, and there's even a voice changer to disguise your voice when speaking to unfamiliar callers. In a world where people are sick of subscriptions, this offers a great security upgrade without the monthly fee.

• Fujifilm unveils XF 400mm F4.5 R LM OIS WR telephoto prime lens
• It's equivalent 609mm focal length is ideal for bird photography
• The lens is weather-sealed, weighs 1.2kg and costs $3,200 / £2,499 / AU$4,949

Fujifilm camera gear is better known for its retro looks than its wildlife and sports photography prowess, but the company is looking to close the gap with Sony, Canon and Nikon through the launch of a new super telephoto prime lens — the new XF 400mm F4.5 R OIS LM WR lens.

It's designed for the Fujifilm X series of crop-sensor (APS-C) cameras, such as the X-T5 and X-H2S, and has an equivalent focal length of 609mm and bright maximum aperture that make it a prime candidate for bird photography.

I had a special hands-on session with the lens ahead of its September 4 announcement, pairing it with Fujifilm's speediest mirrorless camera, the X-H2S, to photograph birds of prey in the grounds of a stately home in the UK. Could the camera and lens surprise me? You bet!

About the Fujifilm XF 400mm F4.5 R OIS LM WR lens

The new 400mm F4.5 lens isn't actually the longest in Fujifilm's XF range — that accolade goes to the 500mm F5.6 R LM OIS WR (equivalent 762mm focal length). However, it's arguably the one that Fujifilm bird photographers have been waiting for, and it's compatible with the company's 1.4x and 2.0x teleconverters which can extend that reach (at the cost of reduced maximum aperture).

Fujifilm had both lenses at the event it was hosting for the 400mm lens hands-on, and the design of the two optics is strikingly similar, as hinted by the nomenclature. 'R' denotes an aperture ring is present, 'LM' that autofocus is powered by a linear motor, OIS that they're optically stabilized (the 400mm is rated at providing 5.5EV of stabiliztion) and 'WR' tells us that the lenses are weather resistant.

Boy, did I need that weather resistance — there was incessant, light, sideways rain for much of the photography experience, and the 400mm stood up to the task just fine (better than the birds did).

It's also equipped with a focus limiter with Full or 7m to infinity options — using the latter improved my hit ratio of in-focus shots of the birds in flight, because it removes the minimum 2.75m focus distance up to 7m from the range the linear motors scan for.

The lenses are similar in size and in weight too, but by weighing 1,245g and measuring 240mm in length, the 400mm F4.5 is slightly smaller and lighter — impressively so for a lens of this focal length and maximum aperture.

It also comes with a tripod collar, a loop to securely attach a strap, plus a mighty lens hood — all features I'd hope for in a serious super-telephoto prime.

The shooting experience

I'll be the first to admit it, but I struggled getting a single usable photo at the start of the session. Changing a few camera and lens settings helped; using the focus limiter, selecting a wide autofocus area and the bird detection autofocus mode, and then shutter priority (set to a minimum 1/1250sec) with auto ISO.

The bottom line is that tracking birds in flight requires true skill, real understanding of the subject (and a slice of luck), especially if you're new to it. This proved to be one of the toughest photography tests, and for the first 30 minutes I had nothing to show for my efforts.

We switched to some portraits of the birds which gave me the chance to get close up, and to take comparison shots at the various aperture settings (which proved to me how sharp the lens is even at its maximum f/4.5 aperture). Then I suggested to the Walks with Hawks group hosting the session that we started the birds off from a longer distance, giving more room in the frame to begin with as the birds took to flight towards us, making them easier to track.

This new approach made the task much more manageable, and yielded plenty of keepers that I'm really happy with. The lens's autofocus was essentially silent and lighting fast, and the camera's autofocus tracked the subject and, provided I kept the bird in the frame, gave me an impressively high hit rate (see the originals of some of my favorites below, which can easily be cropped tighter).

Fujifilm for wildlife, then?

Incidentally, I also had some high-end full-frame Sony gear, including a super-telephoto zoom with the same focal length as the Fujifilm, and I used it later on that day in my local nature reserve. For me, that setup still felt snappier than Fujifilm.

As things stand, Fujifilm remains a couple of paces behind regarding autofocus performance. Emphasis on as things stand — the camera I was using is a few years old, and the entire range is built on a processor and autofocus system introduced in the X-T5 in 2022. Even back then, autofocus performance was perceived as a weakness.

We can expect the next generation Fujifilm processor soon, presumably through the rumored X-T6, which could result in speedier cameras and refined autofocus performance.

Even until then, Fujifilm is better at wildlife photography than the comments sections make out. And it just future proofed the genre with this incredibly good 400mm F4.5 lens, available from the end of September for $3,200 / £2,499 (Australia price TBC).

DJI has upgraded its original 360 camera, the Osmo 360, in typically swift fashion with the second-gen Osmo 360 II, which arrives almost exactly one year later in September 2026.

The Osmo 360 was a majorly impressive product considering it was DJI's first stab at a new market otherwise dominated by Insta360, and it stood shoulder to shoulder in 2025 with the Insta360 X5 and GoPro Max 2.

There was one major drawback versus its rivals, however (of which the X5 has since been updated with the Insta360 X6); where Insta360 and GoPro's cameras featured replaceable lenses for a cost-effective fix in the event of damage, the Osmo 360's were fixed.

It comes as no surprise, therefore, that DJI has remedied the situation by introducing a replaceable lens design in the Osmo 360 II. Predictably, there are other tasty upgrades worth knowing about, too, and I will cover them all in this article, which also gives a fuller picture of the best 360 cameras now available.

1. DJI Osmo 360 II vs DJI Osmo 360: design

• The Osmo 360 II's lenses can be replaced
• Both cameras waterproof up to 10m and weigh 6.5oz / 183g

If recording action sports in 360 degrees is your thing, then the Osmo 360 II is the better pick over the Osmo 360; its lenses can be removed, should they ever get damaged, and replaced with new ones. This is, of course, a much more cost-effective fix than buying an entirely new camera.

Not only can the lenses be replaced, but DJI says that the surface of the lenses has a tougher 'Ultra-Hard' optical coating that's more able to withstand scratches. Again, this is a practical-use case win — the lenses in 360 cameras are bulbous and at high risk of scratches and knocks.

Besides the replaceable lens design, the squat, 6.5oz/183g cameras, each with 10m waterproofing, otherwise look and feel largely the same.

• Design winner: DJI Osmo 360 II

2. DJI Osmo 360 II vs DJI Osmo 360: Performance

• The Osmo 360 II's battery has a 10% capacity increase
• Despite the same 10m waterproofing, the 360 II shoots better underwater footage

Both cameras are waterproof up to 10m, but DJI actively discouraged actually using the original model underwater to shoot video. It seemed that at the processor level, it wasn't able to produce decent-looking 360 footage.

That situation has changed with the Osmo 360 II, with DJI encouraging its use for water-based video. We don't know the specifics, but presumably DJI has fixed any software/metering/stitching issues with the original, and the Osmo 360 II can now be used for recording underwater, rather than simply being waterproof.

If you're ever likely to shoot underwater 360 footage, then there's only one winner here: the Osmo 360 II. Other performance improvements include a higher-capacity battery — a 2,150mAh unit compared to 1,950mAh — and those batteries are interchangeable between cameras.

• Performance winner: DJI Osmo 360 II

3. DJI Osmo 360 II vs DJI Osmo 360: Image quality

• Same 1/1.1-inch sensors and f/1.9 lens
• Osmo 360 II ups 8K frame rates to 60fps, improves slow motion recoring, and shoots HDR photos
• Dynamic range has been upped one stop to 14.5EV
• Timelapse mode upped from 8K to 16K

Besides the major improvement in the quality of underwater footage, the Osmo 360 II is a modest upgrade regarding image quality. The boost in dynamic range from 13.5EV to 14.5EV stands out, while 8K frame rates have been upped from 50fps to 60fps for smoother motion. The maximum resolution for the 360-degree timelapse mode has been doubled to 16K, too.

Photo resolution remains the same at up to 120MP, but the latest model adds HDR capture to the mix. Ultimately, despite DJI touting a 'major leap' in 360 image quality, for land-based recording, there's not much to choose between the two cameras.

• Image quality winner: DJI Osmo 360 II

4. DJI Osmo 360 II vs DJI Osmo 360: price and availability

• Osmo 360 II Standard Combo costs £509 / AU$921, while the Adventure Combo costs £639 / AU$1,096
• The original Osmo 360 was £409.99 / AU$759, but its price has come down further a year later
• No US availability for the Osmo 360 II, but the Osmo 360 can be had for $549.99

With those new features comes a price hike. DJI has upped the price of the Osmo 360 II significantly compared to the original — it'll cost around 25% more when it's launched on September 15. It's also not available in the US.

Meanwhile, the Osmo 360 has come down in price since its launch and in some regions can be had for almost half the price of its successor. It's also available in the US, albeit for a higher relative price compared to other regions.

GoPro's Max 2 can be found for less than either DJI model, while Insta360's X6 is the priciest pick of the lot, by some margin.

• Price winner: DJI Osmo 360

DJI Osmo 360 II vs DJI Osmo 360: Early verdict

The Osmo 360 II is a minor update that addresses two major weak points of the Osmo 360; it introduces a replaceable lens design and improves the quality of underwater footage. These improvements alone will be worth it for those shooting underwater and action sports, but they result in a significant markup in price, especially since the Osmo 360 has also come down in price.

The GoPro Max 2 also costs much less than the latest DJI model, but the Osmo 360 II remains much cheaper than the Insta360 X6 and is, arguably, the most compelling of all 360 camera options (unless you're in the US where it's not available).

Ultimately, DJI has swiftly added the polish and durability needed to its original 360 camera with the Osmo 360 II, and it's a top option in this market.

For further details about each model, to check out our in-depth reviews, linked in the introduction.

• Caira is adding generative video editing powered by Google’s Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash and Runway’s Aleph 2.0
• The feature can relight, reframe and extend captured footage or add simulated camera movements using natural-language instructions
• Every edit must start with footage shot on Caira, while AI-generated results are saved separately and marked using Google’s SynthID

Camera Intelligence, the AI camera startup that created Caira, an AI-native Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera, today announced Generative Video Editing is being added to the existing Caira camera system. Camera Intelligence claims it is the first company to integrate video-generation models into a mirrorless camera system.

Generative Video Editing works through the Caira app with footage captured on the existing Caira device — it can’t generate its own AI video. A private beta opens for current Caira customers, before becoming part of the paid Caira Studio software package in Autumn 2026. Pricing hasn’t been announced.

"Last year we were the first mirrorless camera to edit photographs with generative AI, and we learned a great deal from the conversation that followed," said Vishal Kumar, CEO and co-founder of Camera Intelligence. "This year, after shipping Caira a large majority of our surveyed backers said generative editing for video would be useful to them - a clear impetus to bring these ideas to life.”

Powered by Google’s Gemini Omni and Runway’s Aleph 2.0

Powered by Google's Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash and Runway's Aleph 2.0, Camera Intelligence is the first company to embed video generation models directly into a mirrorless camera system.

Through the Caira app, you can apply visual and camera-motion effects in-the-moment to footage you have already captured with Caira via a series of templates guided by natural language.

We first reviewed the Caira camera last year. It combined a proper Micro Four Thirds hardware with the simplicity of a smartphone (the Caira snaps onto your iPhone using MagSafe) into a weird but impressive hybrid.

Under the hood it’s running a proper Micro Four Thirds sensor, powered by Qualcomm and Google silicon but its real party trick is Google’s ‘Nano Banana’ generative AI — a powerful on-device editor paywalled for $7p/m, which also unleashes smart voice control, and edits are rapid and impressive, meaning you can edit on the camera, without ever needing to open a laptop.

Staying rooted in photography

Video editing will work through a curated library of templates which can perform color grading or simulate drone-style sweeps and other complex camera paths. At launch the new system will contain Relight, Reframe, Camera Motion and Set Extension template. You can further refine them with conversational editing. Output will be in 720p and 1080p with it taking one to three minutes to generate depending on the resolution.

Since there is no text-to-video functionality every edit has to begin with footage you’ve captured with Caira. When you generate a video it is saved as a separate file from the original and watermarked with Google’s SynthID so it is clearly marked as AI-generated content.

This new Generative Video Editing feature forms part of the Caira Studio app, launching in Autumn 2026. The app will contain the already existing Image Editing feature together with one more, as yet unannounced feature. The private beta opens today and existing Caira customers can register their interest to join.

With the new Generative Video Editing features if feels like Camera Intelligence wants to put generative AI as close as possible to the act of filming while reassuring filmmakers that it isn’t trying to make filming unnecessary. That requirement keeps Caira rooted in photography: whatever the AI adds afterwards, the creative process begins with someone behind a camera choosing what to shoot.

A near-total lunar eclipse occurred last week. I was on vacation at the time, with no serious camera gear for a few windy and soggy days camping on the southwest-facing Wales coastline in the UK. However, I had packed the Oppo Find X9 Ultra, together with its 300mm (13x) teleconverter lens.

The eclipse felt like a perfect test for the flagship phone's camera skills. Where I was and Europe, the maximum 96.2% eclipse took place an hour before moonset / sunrise, meaning the moon would be low in the sky, while in North and South America it was in the middle of the night with the moon higher up.

Having set my alarm for a horribly early hour, I poked my head out of my tent at 4:15am to check on the weather, and was greeted with an enticing view of the eclipse underway in its partial phase, ahead of its maximum.

Excitedly, I threw on some clothes, picked up the Oppo kit and a tripod, and hiked down to the beach to get set up ahead of the eclipse's maximum, which would take place about an hour later.

Clouds covered the moon before I was able to fire up the camera, but I patiently waited. And despite not being able to see much of the partial phase of the eclipse, fortunately, a break in the clouds meant that I got to see the moon's eclipse at its maximum — and I was able to see what the Oppo kit was capable of.

Setting up for photographing the eclipse with a phone

The Oppo Find X9 Ultra is the only current phone with a 10x optical lens (the Galaxy S23 Ultra was Samsung's only previous effort), with a 230mm effective focal length that works pretty well for moon photography by itself. However, for an even closer view, the teleconverter lens is a better bet.

The teleconverter is a proper add-on lens that's designed to work with the phone's better-quality 3x optical lens, providing a 300mm equivalent focal length. Oppo notes this as a 13x zoom in the dedicated 'Hasselblad Teleconverter' mode in the camera app, which can be increased to 30x (690mm) or 60x (1380mm) digitally.

You'll need to use a tripod to stabilize the phone, and to capture sharp shots of distant subjects, especially in low light — I used a Heipi 3-in-1 tripod, which includes a dedicated phone clamp within its ballhead.

I like taking manual exposure control for astrophotography, but sadly the phone's dedicated mode for the teleconverter is stripped back (I've previously tried it for sports photography and came away frustrated by the experience).

There are the three zoom settings, a 'stage' mode, ±2EV exposure compensation, and then a basic array of controls which includes Auto HDR, aspect ratio, timer and interval shooting modes. That's about it.

I missed having the option to shoot in RAW format, exposure bracket (to get more detail from the light and dark parts of the moon), increase resolution from 12MP to 50MP and manually set white balance, shutter speed and ISO, which would otherwise be possible in the phone's 'Hasselblad Master' mode (Oppo's version of a Pro mode).

My desire for manual control was magnified when the phone completely underexposed the moon when in photo mode (see above), which felt odd given that when I switched to video mode — where 4K up to 60fps with Dolby Vision, Ultra Steady stabilization and focus lock are available — the exposure was fine.

It's actually possible to use the teleconverter lens in the Hasselblad Master mode with the 3x camera and gain those manual controls, instead of the simplified dedicated mode. However, the image is upside down (since the teleconverter's optical construction comprises mirrors, to keep its size down), plus you lose the digital zoom capabilities — so composing the shot was highly impractical when working in reverse.

The teleconverter is a serious bit of gear, but the mode that's designed to work with it would benefit from inheriting some of the serious controls the phone is capable of (which could be entirely possible with a firmware update).

Still, I found a workaround — with a quick response taking the photo immediately after switching from video recording to photo, I was able to snap shots of the moon before the exposure went too dark again. Not ideal, but it worked.

How good are the images?

I wasn't able to compose a shot with the moon framed by landmarks or a point of interest but, simply put, the tripod-mounted Oppo Find X9 Ultra with teleconverter lens delivered the best-quality eclipse photos I've got of the moon so far with a phone.

The 13x setting of the teleconverter is best, but the 30x digital zoom setting is usable too. Detail using the 60x setting was too soft for my liking. But the fact that I've been able to get such a close-up image of the moon during a near-total eclipse, with a phone and teleconverter lens, shows how far smartphone cameras have come.

I'd still opt for my mirrorless or DSLR camera with telephoto lens for the best-quality moon photography but, having previously written off phones for the task, I could happily pack light with just the X9 Ultra instead.

• The FarseerTech RocXZoom is raising funds on Kickstarter
• You get a 50x hybrid zoom and 20x optical zoom from the camera
• Dual-stabilization technologies mean everything stays still

The FarseerTech RocXZoom stands out for a number of reasons: it's been developed by ex-DJI engineers, it solves some of the most persistent pain points for taking photos at high zoom levels, and it can recognize more than 300 bird species thanks to on-board AI.

It's also soared past its original goal on Kickstarter (via PetaPixel), raising more than 25x its target at the time of writing thanks to 350 willing backers. The campaign will continue to be open for contributions until Saturday, September 28.

In the words of the creators, the RocXZoom is "a compact long-range optical assistant integrating recognition, tracking and zoom" with "robotic precision to break the limitations of traditional long-lens tripods" to give you extremely smooth recordings at extremely high zoom levels (which are usually notoriously difficult to stabilize).

You get a 50x hybrid zoom, 20x optical zoom, and 40mm-2000mm equivalent reach with the camera, plus the bird recognition we mentioned, plus human and object detection too. Dual stabilization is provided by an integrated gimbal and electronic image stabilization, and the demo shots and hands-on tests all look suitably impressive.

Extreme zoom solved

"At extreme zoom, every heartbeat creates motion blur, yet RocXZoom turns challenging long-distance shots into controlled, trackable handheld captures — ideal for birding, wildlife, outdoor observation and distant action moments where lengthy setup time would make you miss the shot," reads the sales pitch.

While there does seem to be some trade-off in terms of image quality (a small 1/2.5-inch type sensor and a lens ranging from f/1.8 to f/3.9), the promise is that anything you're looking at long-distance through the RocXZoom will remain stable and in the frame, even if it's moving or you're moving (or both).

As always with crowdfunded projects, there's no guarantee that putting your money down will ultimately get you a product. The specs of the camera, its shipping schedule, and its final price could all change as the campaign continues.

The camera has already been shown off at CES 2026, however, which gives it more credibility. If you've decided you want in, the cheapest early bird level sits at $499 (that's about £370 / AU$700 with a straight currency conversion).

Almost all of the big names in cameras — Canon, Sony, Nikon, Fujifilm, Panasonic, OM System, Sigma, Ricoh, Pentax and others — hail from Japan, the home of modern digital photography.

Want one of the best mirrorless cameras? Unless it's a Leica or a Hasselblad, right now it'll come from Japan. But a new superpower is rising up in the camera industry, and that's China.

Take DJI, which is headquartered in Shenzhen. It has surpassed GoPro to lead action cam sales, and dominates numerous other sales charts with its pocket vlogging cameras and range of drones.

Insta360, meanwhile, leads the way in 360 cameras. And within interchangeable-lens camera ecosystems, Chinese lens manufacturer Viltrox is a growing force, producing lenses for Sony, Nikon and Fujifilm cameras and, more recently, L-mount.

A string of recent reports and rumors suggest that certain China-based manufacturers are about to break new ground by producing their first mirrorless cameras — and I think this could be the dramatic shake up that the industry needs.

What Chinese mirrorless cameras can we expect?

First, there are the concrete reports. Insta360 CEO Jingkang 'JK' Liu revealed the 360 camera specialist is making not one but two mirrorless cameras. He described one of these as being "a shape no one thought of" that has "the potential to completely change the way we take pictures", while leaked pictures of the other point to a minimalist Micro Four Thirds body.

Liu's reference to a new camera shape, along with the Insta360 CEO's recent post about replacing photographers with "intelligent photography robots" (remarks he clarified somewhat when I interviewed Insta360) has me thinking that a completely new kind of camera could be on the cards.

And it's not just Insta360. Viltrox, which makes superb lenses for multiple camera systems — many of which I have reviewed, most recently a superb 'pancake' optic — is in an excellent position to disrupt Canon and Sony's 70%-plus share of the digital camera market.

Viltrox makes top-quality lenses for a fraction of the price of proprietary optics, though it's yet to produce a zoom lens (I'm expecting one soon enough, though). If it could apply that same value principle to an equally high-quality camera body, it could potentially dominate the beginner segment of the market, with its own lenses already in production. For many, mirrorless cameras are simply unaffordable, and Viltrox could change that situation.

Think about it: Viltrox might have already made the lenses for a future Viltrox mirrorless camera. Currently, it makes optics for the full-frame and APS-C formats (we're yet to see a Micro Four Thirds lens, despite a teaser suggesting we should have some by now).

If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on a beginner-level Viltrox mirrorless camera in the APS-C format, with an L-mount. Why so? We've seen reports of two new Viltrox APS-C format prime lenses for L-mount.

Two new lenses don't mean much in isolation. But when you consider that there are no current APS-C format camera bodies using the L-mount, that begs up the question: why make lenses that no current camera can use, unless you're making that camera yourself?

I might be getting ahead of myself. But an industry that's long been dominated and shaped by the big three — Canon, Sony and Nikon, more recently joined by Fujifilm, which has wrestled third place from Nikon after it sparked a surge of interest in retro cameras — could do with a shake-up.

I don't mean another AI-powered shake-up, along the lines of the Nano banana-equipped Caira camera, which can make live edits to your photos in-camera based on word prompts, but a shake-up that makes mirrorless cameras more affordable, and in which the form factor / handling playbooks are ripped up. Those are the kind of changes I'd be excited to see.

• DJI fixed twelve Osmo Action 6 to LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 reusable rocket
• The cameras recorded POV footage of China's first successful land-based orbital launch and recovery
• There were no special modifications to the consumer-grade cameras

Action cameras are designed to be tough, surviving drops, knocks and being fully submersible. But DJI just upped the ante with the most extreme durability test; fixing twelve unmodified Osmo Action 6's to LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 reusable rocket for its orbital launch and return to earth.

Surviving 500C heat, the consumer-grade action camera successfully recorded the whole thing — China's first successful land-based orbital launch and recovery — and you can watch the uncut, unedited, one-take nine minute POV footage on DJI's global YouTube channel (below).

The video has amassed 750,000+ views and 2,000+ comments so far in its first two days, with viewers amazed by the immersive footage of the rocket's entire journey. ‘The most stunning launch footage I've ever seen’ says one, while another viewer said they 'can't believe it [the Osmo Action 6] survived a full rocket launch and landing'.

It wasn't just the thrilling visuals capturing people's attention. Another comment pinpointed the audio of the video, saying: 'Being able to hear the valves and actuators through the hull of the ship was next level! Loved it!'

DJI's Osmo Action 6 is a consumer-grade action camera that costs from $425 / £329 / AU$669. It can record 4K video up to 120fps onto a 1/1.1-inch sensor, with up to 13.5EV dynamic range (and seemingly continue recording in 500C heat!).

In a press release shared with TechRadar, DJI shared additional behind the scenes pictures of the project, some of which you can see below, and in one picture the charred remains of an Osmo Action 6 that they recovered the footage from. How it kept recording is beyond me.

As well as capturing shake-free footage from twelve key POV perspectives for some of the most immersive rocket footage ever, DJI had a Mavic 4 Pro drone covering angles of the launch from the air, and its upcoming Osmo 360 II for 360-degree cam ground-level shots.

The project is a true showcase of DJI action cameras in, ahem, action, as well as its drones and 360 cameras. For the rest of us, outdoor adventure clips of downhill biking and skiing are the best we can hope for.

• OM System has shared a YouTube teaser for upcoming camera launch
• The viewfinder experience is the teaser's key focus, and the camera's form is revealed
• The launch is set for September 9

Since Japan Industrial Partners acquired Olympus in 2021, creating OM Digital Solutions and rebranding new cameras as OM System, we've seen upgrades for every Olympus camera series except one: the PEN-F / PEN E-P7 line of digital rangefinders.

The Olympus PEN-F is a camera that's much admired for its stunning retro looks, described by some as the 'best looking camera ever made'. Olympus fans have been calling for a successor to the series for years — and they might finally be about to get their wish.

A YouTube video from OM System (below) just teased what could be the long-awaited successor to the PEN-F, and it's coming on September 9.

The teaser focuses on the experience of using the built-in 'rangefinder'-style viewfinder — a hallmark of PEN cameras — and then reveals the camera's form factor, with some detailing of the top plate.

Based on these low-key visuals, we could be looking at the spiritual successor to the beloved Olympus PEN-F — which inspired the design of the stunning OM-3 — or perhaps a re-imagining of the low-cost Olympus PEN EP-7.

Either way, the rangefinder-style camera is getting Olympus fans excited, if the comments section of the YouTube video are anything to go by. "Let's go!" chime several viewers.

Given the length of time between the original Olympus models — the Pen-F is 10 years old, and the Pen EP-7 five — there are a few upgrades that could find their way into this new camera, including a speedier stacked sensor, improved phase-detection autofocus, and additional computational photography modes.

All will be revealed on September 9, and you can follow the live event on the OM System site, which is advertising a five-day program of live discussions, all seemingly centered on the new camera.

August's celestial wonders aren't done yet. Following the stunning total solar eclipse and the peak of the Perseid meteor shower a couple of weeks ago, we're set for another extraordinary show this week — a lunar eclipse.

On August 27-28, night sky observers in North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Western Asia are in for a treat, with a 96.2% lunar eclipse and 'blood moon' occurring.

It's not a total lunar eclipse — the next one of those takes place on December 31, 2028 (yes, new year's eve!) But for many, this week's eclipse will be the best until then, so it's well worth staying up late/getting up early for.

Here's exactly when and where the lunar eclipse can be seen — and my pro tips for capturing it with your camera of choice.

When and where to see the August lunar eclipse

The lunar eclipse can be seen on the night side of Earth, which on August 27-28 means that large portions of North America and South America, plus the western half of Europe and Africa, will enjoy the best of the eclipse — its maximum.

Further afield, viewers in eastern Europe and western parts of Asia will catch a glimpse of the eclipse — the penumbral and partial phase, but not the maximum 96.2% — while Australia won't see it at all. In total, 44.4% of the global population can catch a glimpse.

A large portion of the US is ideally placed to see the lunar eclipse, including Washington DC and New York, because it reaches its maximum at 12:12am ET time, and the moon will be relatively high in the night sky.

Across Europe, the maximum eclipse occurs at 6:12am (CEST), which is 5:12am BST. In cities including London, Paris and Madrid, the maximum eclipse is around one hour prior to sunrise and as the moon sets, meaning the moon will be very low in the sky — offering the prospect of superb photography opportunities.

Those timings are for the maximum eclipse, but the 'penumbral' eclipse begins almost three hours before, and ends almost three hours after. Even as much as 90 minutes before maximum, the moon will start turning red as it moves into a partial eclipse phase.

• The timeanddate.com website provides exact times, dates and places for every eclipse, including for August 27-28, wherever you are in the world. It's a comprehensive resource, also covering eclipse FAQs, such as what is a lunar eclipse is, why the color of the moon changes and more.

Planning your photos of the lunar eclipse

The full eclipse cycle will last for about five hours in total, but you don't need to be on the alert for all of it. Let's take New York city as an example.

There, the event kicks off with a penumbral eclipse at 21:23pm ET (August 27), but viewing starts to get interesting from 22:33pm when the partial eclipse begins. This is a good time to set up your camera gear, because the moon will begin to lose its brightness, and will start turning reddish at its edge.

You'll soon see the weird sight of a crescent moon with a blurry straight line between the bright and dark areas. That's the line of Earth's atmosphere being projected onto the lunar surface.

At 00:12am ET (August 28), the eclipse reaches it maximum, and the moon will be at a viewing altitude of 38.3 degrees, which is relatively high in the sky. At 96.2%, a sliver of bright area of the moon surface remains, but the rest should be a reddish color to the naked eye. This is the maximum phase, when you should takes lots of photos.

From then on, the bright area of the moon increases once more during the partial eclipse phase, which finishes at 1:51am ET, and the eclipse is fully finished at 3:02am. You may wish to stay up for the entirety in order to capture key phases of the eclipse — great for a montage — but the main activity will be in the hour around its maximum.

Meanwhile, in London the timings are less favorable, but the components for photography could be ideal. The penumbral eclipse begins at 2:23am BST (August 28), the partial eclipse begins at 3:33am, while the maximum eclipse is 5:12am, at which point the moon is close to the horizon, and it's approximately an hour before moonset/sunrise.

In the UK, you'll need a clear vantage point looking west to southwest to see the moon (and a dose of luck, if the forecast for cloud is accurate), and if you can plan to include landmarks/points of interest in the frame, it should make for dramatic images of the eclipse's maximum phase. The moon will have set below the horizon before the partial eclipse (after maximum) ends.

Camera gear for the lunar eclipse

So, how do you do photograph a lunar eclipse? The good news is that you don't need any filters, as you do with a total solar eclipse. The bad news is that since the moon is so small, you're going to need some magnification for the moon to fill most of the frame. That means either using a telephoto lens, whether that's on a DSLR or a mirrorless camera, or a superzoom compact/bridge camera. Taking decent photos of the moon with your phone is going to be a tougher challenge.

In terms of focal length, a 600mm-equivalent lens (25x zoom on a phone, approx) should fill most of the frame with the moon. You might want to use a slightly wider-angle lens to include landmarks in the frame.

On a smartphone, typically the best optical zoom reach you'll have is 5x. The quality of a digital zoom is poor, and only gets worse the more you zoom in. Some flagship devices such as the Oppo Find X9 Ultra have better telephoto reach — 10x in the case of that phone — and a teleconverter accessory to further extend the maximum reach. My advice for most people is to use a camera with a telephoto lens instead.

Whatever camera you opt for, I recommend attaching it to a sturdy tripod support — especially if you're capturing multiple phases of the eclipse with landmarks in the frame. A tripod minimizes camera shake for sharper shots, and delivers the continuity you need for capturing the phases. Alternatively, find a secure surface to rest your camera on. A self timer or a remote shutter further minimizes camera shake, while shooting in the RAW format rather than JPEG/HEIF gives you more flexibility for editing.

A lunar eclipse isn't easy to capture, but you will have plenty of time to play with various settings of your DSLR/ mirrorless/ superzoom compact camera. As well as a wide range of colors, lunar eclipses bring a lot of changes in brightness. Also bear in mind that when zoomed-in, the moon is a very fast-moving target (blame our rotating planet).

Consequently, I recommend setting the white balance manually — the Tungsten setting will maintain the color accuracy of the bright moon and rich blue of the night sky.

You'll also need a high shutter speed. So, as the moon dims in brightness, increase the ISO (try ISO 200 during the partial phase, and ISO 1600 during the maximum phase) and open the aperture (start at about f/11 and experiment).

However, it's not just about getting a sharp image, because during the partial eclipse, the moon will be part-bright and part-dim, so you have to make a choice about which side of the moon to expose for. The answer, of course, is to try both, many times over.

Take a spare battery out with you, make sure your memory card has plenty of space on it, and prepare for a marathon post-processing session. Most of all, cross your fingers for clear visibility — cloud cover puts paid to the best-laid plans!

• Get more tips on how to photograph the moon

As TechRadar's Cameras Editor and a professional photographer, I regularly have my hands on top-rated camera gear. However, my absolute favorite photo that I took this month was casually snapped with my Google Pixel 8 Pro smartphone.

I used my Pixel's dedicated Long Exposure photography mode, which, unlike the latest iPhones, has its own space in the camera app and makes what is otherwise a fairly complicated technique with my pro mirrorless camera really quite simple.

Is my photo technically perfect? No. I took it and several similar shots handheld while taking a walk on a beach with a friend. If you look closely at the fine detail, it's a little blurry in parts. To really get the best out of this mode, a tripod support or firm surface would have yielded technically better results, but it really wasn't the moment for serious gear.

And considering these images were made with my phone, handheld, the results really are something. I'm not surprised, mind you — the Long Exposure mode was made available to Pixel phones a few years ago, and I have regularly been using it ever since.

If you use a Pixel phone, it's a mode well worth playing around with — you might just bag a frame-worthy shot. And if you shoot with an iPhone, I'll quickly explain how to get this effect in the camera app.

Long exposure, explained

There's very little to run through with the Google Pixel's Long Exposure mode. It has its own place in the camera app, and you simply try to keep the camera as steady as possible during capture, much like you would with the Night Sight mode.

Long Exposure blurs movement, while keeping stationary subjects in sharp focus. It works particularly well for blurring fast movement, say, of moving water or traffic light trails at night, but a Pixel is less suitable for truly long exposure photography — of moving clouds, for instance — because there's a limit on the time of exposure.

Once you've taken a photo using the Long Exposure, the image appears in your gallery alongside the standard photo without the effect applied (see below). For some of the photos in this article, I've taken them into the editor and played around with the exposure and color settings — I think the black and white edit looks particularly striking — and made other edits such as straightening the horizon.

If you shoot with an iPhone, it is possible to get the same effect, but not through a dedicated mode like Pixel has — instead, it's buried in the Live Photo interface (or you can try the Spectre app). At night, iPhone also has Night Mode Max for long exposure astro shots.

For daytime long exposures, you'll need to enable the Live Photo mode (which effectively takes a three-second video and selects the best frame for your gallery). Next, hit the Live button in the top left of your photo in the gallery, select Long Exposure, and your iPhone will produce a long exposure shot from the frames in that Live Photo sequence. This handy YouTube Shorts explainer takes you through the process.

The same advice for technique applies — keep the camera steady. However, we've played around with the iPhone's Long Exposure editor in the TechRadar office, and it's not quite as effective as the Pixel's.

Hopefully, one day we'll see Apple release a dedicated mode for this shooting style, because iPhone users are missing out — it really is the kind of effect that can bag you framable shots.

Have you tried long exposure photography with your Pixel, iPhone, or other camera gear? Do share your experiences in the comments below.

• Nikkei Inc's 2025 report is in, and it shows a growth in global camera shipments
• Canon extends its lead at the top, while Fujifilm leapfrogs Nikon to #3
• Fujifilm shipments have more than doubled since 2023

The global shipment numbers for digital cameras sold in 2025 are in from Nikkei Inc (see boxout) and they make for encouraging reading for the industry as a whole. But the news is particularly good if you're a fan of Canon or Fujifilm.

The biggest growth in shipments since the dawn of the smartphone was led by Canon once more, which tops the table with 4.5 million units (a huge increase of approximately one million more units year-on-year), while Sony maintained second place with 2.42 million shipments, following a much smaller increase.

It's a change in rankings, however, that catches the eye — Fujifilm leapfrogged Nikon to complete the top three; while Nikon's shipments saw a small dip, Fujifilm's grew significantly to surpass one million units, shipping 1.16 million versus 740,000 the year before (and 430,000 units the year before that).

Panasonic also enjoyed a major leap in shipments for 2025 to keep hold of position #5, while Ricoh Imaging stole sixth from OM Digital, thanks to the launch of its flagship premium compact, the GR IV.

You'll notice there's no mention of Leica or Hasselblad. That's because the numbers are for Japanese camera manufacturers only, which do in fact make up the vast majority of global digital camera sales.

I've listed the data for the last three years, below, but what can we can learn from the numbers?

The camera shipments data

The brands are listed below in order of camera shipments (and market share), with the year-on-year change in market share for 2025 in bold. You can find this data compiled at Mirrorless Rumors.

2025 ranking

Canon – 4.5 million units (45.7%, +2.5%)
Sony – 2.42 million units (24.6%, -3.9%)
Fujifilm– 1.16 million units (11.8%, +2.8%)
Nikon – 880,000 units (8.9%, -2.8%)
Panasonic – 430,000 units (4.4%, +1%)
Ricoh Imaging – 210,000 units (2.1%, +1.3%)
OM Digital – 150,000 units (1.5%, -0.4%)

2024 ranking

Canon – 3,53 million units (43.2%)
Sony – 2.33 million units (28.5%)
Nikon – 960,000 units (11.7%)
Fujifilm – 740,000 units (9.0%)
Panasonic – 280,000 units (3.4%)
OM Digital – 160,000 units (1.9%)
Ricoh Imaging – 70,000 units (0.8%)

2023 ranking

Canon – 3.34 million units (46.5%)
Sony – 2 million units (27.9%)
Nikon – 810,000 units (11.3%)
Fujifilm – 430,000 units (6.0%)
Panasonic – 260,000 units (3.6%)
OM Digital – 180,000 units (2.5%)
Ricoh Imaging – 60,000 units (0.8%)

What the data tells us (and what it doesn't)

To start with, it's important to understand that the numbers are for shipments only, and do not indicate revenue. Some brands specialize in pricey high-end gear, others cover a broader spectrum, meaning revenue rankings could be different.

For shipments, however, Canon remains the #1 camera brand, enjoying a huge growth in shipments for 2025. It covers more categories than any rival; DSLR, mirrorless and compacts, and has options for all budgets and experience levels, from the PowerShot V1 to the EOS R100 and EOS 5D Mark IV. Sony, meanwhile, has maintained its position in second place.

When we get to the rest, the numbers can be skewed somewhat year-on-year given the smaller numbers, based on busier or quieter product cycles. For example, Ricoh saw a big bump in shipments in 2025 with the launch of the GR IV, whereas it had no flagship new products the previous two years.

Nikon actually had a decent year, with its TechRadar award-winning Z5 II. Even still, it has plateaued somewhat in recent years, now with a shift in focus to cinema gear following its acquisition of RED which may have acted as a potential shipments handbrake in the immediate.

There's no denying Fujifilm's impressive growth, however. Its numbers go beyond individual models, and point to an overarching demand for retro gear, sparked by the success of its own X100 series, especially the X100VI from 2024. Going from 430,000 units in 2023, to 740,000 in 2024 and 1.16 million in 2025 is remarkable, especially with global component shortages and delays to stock (and those numbers do not take into account Instax).

Will the retro boom, which is also seen in Fujifilm's mirrorless cameras such as the X-E5, continue? 2026 has been a pretty quiet year so far for new products — in fact, no new Fujifilm or Nikon models so far — so I'm not so sure.

As a longtime Nikon fan, I'm a little worried. Its last new camera was the Zr from September 2025, and the Z5 II before that in April. It has seemingly abandoned beginner cameras and its Coolpix brand, too. Sony has arguably had the strongest year so far with the new A7R VI, FX5, and the revival of its popular bridge camera series with the new RX10 V, so I expect it to only extend its lead above Fujifilm.

What do you make of the shipment numbers? Which camera brand do you shoot with? Make sure you vote in our poll and have your say below.

• Flock's CEO says its drone business is doing well
• The drones are deployed in first responder situations
• Privacy groups say the devices are open to misuse

While the public backlash against Flock's camera technology continues, it seems it's not damaging the company's bottom line too much: Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley says that drones are "probably our fastest growing business right now", accounting for just under half of forward-looking revenue at the last count.

The comments were made on The All-In Podcast (via Business Insider), in a wide-ranging interview that covered AI, facial recognition, the criticism that Flock is facing, and how the company is improving on safety and misuse. Default data retention for Flock's license plate readers has now been reduced from 30 days to 7 days, for example.

On the drones, these flying machines are being sold to law enforcement agencies and local authorities as DFRs — Drones as First Responders. The idea is that a drone can take off and weigh up a potentially volatile situation before police officers can get there, leading to valuable intel being gathered as quickly as possible.

Langley actually gives an example in his interview: an emergency report in the Dallas-Fort Worth area about a man brandishing a gun. A drone was dispatched, found that the 'gun' was actually a large lighter, and the incident was de-escalated before any face-to-face confrontation had happened.

Privacy concerns continue

Despite Flock's insistence that its drones and license plate readers are more helpful than harmful, privacy groups continue to question the guidelines in place around the technology, and the potential for misuse. The company says it's working hard to stop its cameras being used for unauthorized spying, as has happened in the past.

Without proper oversight, the worry is that drones will be used for an increasing number of surveillance tasks — and not always with the right oversight. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has said that the adoption of drones like the ones Flock sells "jeopardizes privacy in communities across the country".

That's particularly true when automated AI is involved, or vulnerable people are targeted, the EFF suggests. Meanwhile, American Civil Liberties Union analyst Jay Stanley has written about multiple concerns with drones: their use for intimidation and surveillance, a lack of proper oversight, and a squeezing out of consumer drone operations.

Judging by the reactions to The All-In Podcast interview, the general public — or at least those on X — aren't happy about the increased use of drones as first responders,. even if Flock's CEO is. "Do not normalize mass surveillance," comments one user, summing up the overall feeling on the thread.

• Versa is the world's first 2-in-1 pocket gimbal camera and drone
• It launched on Indiegogo on August 18, with pricing starting at $499
• HoverAir said Versa has FCC approval, however FCC granted it 'erroneously'

Editor's note: HoverAir's promotional material stated that the Versa had received Federal Communications Commission (FCC) certification — meaning it's cleared for import, sale and use in the US.

However, the FCC since wrote to TechRadar, stating that the certification was granted 'erroneously' and that it's 'considering further action against HoverAir for apparently willfully violating the FCC’s Covered List rules'.

DJI dominates the drone space, leaving precious little room for others. However, HoverAir has repeatedly had a go at cracking the market, innovating in gaps left by the leading drone maker.

First we had the X1, the first self-flying drone that took off from the palm of your hand for easy aerial 4K selfies, which was followed up by HoverAir's X1 Pro with beefier 8K video. DJI reacted swiftly, answering with the Neo (and consequently Neo 2), which cost much less than HoverAir's.

Then there was HoverAir's Aqua, the world's first waterproof drone, which remains unique today. Now, we have the new Versa — the first 2-in-1 pocket gimbal camera and drone — making a trio of firsts.

The Versa looks like HoverAir's previous X1-series efforts, only its wings can be removed in a simple motion, leaving the drone body as a DJI Pocket-like pocket gimbal camera. Drones and gimbal cameras are two increasingly popular camera categories — and the Versa can be both.

It seems like an obvious move when you think about it. After all, both camera types feature a camera unit supported with a 3-axis gimbal. But can the Versa genuinely serve in both capacities? We'll find out very soon, once our Versa review sample lands.

HoverAir has, it seems, another advantage over DJI, saying the Versa has US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) certification. This means the Versa can be sold in the US, while DJI is still banned from selling its new products there.

There could be light at the end of the US ban tunnel for DJI, mind you, with recent news that a judge is set to review evidence that has categorized DJI as a Chinese military company. It's a decision that DJI described as "a significant step toward correcting an unjustified designation".

For now, though, the DJI ban remains in place, and it's a huge headache for the leading drone maker — and one that was just compounded by an impressive-looking rival product that will be sold in the US.

The lowdown on the Versa

We learnt more about the Versa when HoverAir launched the product on Indiegogo on August 18, and it will make its public debut at the IFA consumer electronics show, which takes place in Berlin, Germany, from September 4-8.

The self-flying camera shoots 4K video up to 60fps onto a 1/1.3-inch sensor, 4K HDR video up to 30fps with 10-bit color depth and up to 17.5EV dynamic range, plus 12MP photos (there's no mention of RAW format).

It features a host of flight modes that simplify aerial selfies, including palm take-off and landing, AI subject tracking, auto framing, bird's-eye flight mode, plus voice and gesture commands.

It can pair with your phone or HoverAir's Beacon device (debuted with the Aqua) for clear audio, and has a maximum 14-minute flight time (realistically it will be less than that), with flight speeds up to 36km/h and a solid Level 5 wind resistance.

The drone / pocket camera weighs 230g, placing it in the restriction-free category of beginner drones, or just 163g with its propellor guards removed when in use as a pocket gimbal camera.

In the hand, the Versa features a DJI Pocket-like rotating OLED haptic screen, which measures 1.64 inches on the diagonal and can hit 800 nits of brightness.

Overall, those look like a solid set of features for what could be a game-changing 2-in-1 camera. Where HoverAir struggles to compete with DJI, however, is on price.

According to the Versa's Indiegogo page, it will cost $499 for the Versa only, $887 for the Fly More Combo, which presumably will include additional batteries and a charging dock, or $1,270 for the Creator Combo. For the next 24 hours, those prices are slashed for early backers, who do so at their own risk (HoverAir is a reputable drone maker, though if you're in the US it could still be worth proceeding with caution).

HoverAir has shared a product promotional video on its YouTube, below. What are your first impressions of the HoverAir Versa? Let me know in the comments below.

Thermal Master DV2: 30-second review

The Thermal Master DV2 is a handheld thermal imaging monocular that the maker positions in different ways depending on which storefront is visited. On its own birdwatching page, it is billed as the first dedicated thermal camera built specifically for spotting birds and wildlife.

Elsewhere in the same company's catalog, and on Amazon, it appears instead as a general-purpose thermal monocular for hunting, camping and rescue work. Whatever your interest, the hardware underneath is identical.

At the centre of the device sits a 256 x 192 sensor with a 12-micron pixel pitch. Thermal Master runs that raw feed through what it calls the RazorX engine, a three-core processing pipeline built from an FPGA, an ASIC and an AI upscaling block badged X³IR. The result is a 512 x 384 output image, twice the native resolution, though this is achieved through interpolation rather than by a genuinely higher-resolution sensor.

Detection is rated up to 1000m for a human-scale target, with shorter recognition distances quoted for smaller subjects such as birds. A 10mm f/0.8 manual focus lens feeds that sensor, and the whole thing is viewed on a 5-inch touchscreen running at 1280 x 720. That screen rotates and folds, making it compact to carry and easy to use. And the camera can be used without a phone, making deployment quicker and easier.

Connectivity can be used for streaming over Wi-Fi or for offloading captured images and video from the camera, and it supports RTSP for near-no-lag transmission. A laser pointer helps mark whatever has been spotted, and a Picatinny rail fitting lets you mount the DV2 on other equipment.

Thermal Master sells the DV2 directly from its own site and through Amazon in several regions. Pricing is $499/£459 via Amazon, which seems reasonable since this isn’t a phone add-on, but a standalone camera.

The value of this product entirely pivots on the use case. If you need to identify animals or people at range, then it could be invaluable, but it's not suitable for every job.

Thermal Master DV2: price and availability

• How much does it cost? $500/£460/€530
• When is it out? It is available now
• Where can you get it? Direct from the Thermal Master website, with shipping from regional warehouses in the US, UK, EU, and China. And via online retailers.

At the time of review, the DV2 carries a price of $489 USD direct from Thermal Master. For that price, you get the camera, a battery charger, one battery and a few accessories, like the Picatinny rail attachment and carry case.

For quick delivery, it can be purchased from Amazon.com for $499, from Amazon.co.uk for £459.99 and from the EU Amazon sites for €529.99.

There aren’t any obvious retail competitors because professional bird watching isn’t something most companies see as a new market opportunity.

A more general-purpose device is the Axion Compact Thermal Monocular, but that’s priced at $1449.97 on Amazon for those in the USA.

A slightly more realistic choice is the TOPDON TS004 and TS004 Pro, monoculars designed for hunting, rather than birdwatching. The standard TS004 has a resolution of 256 x 192 and costs a little over $400, while its Pro brother is $759.95 and sports 384 x 288 resolution. The Pro quotes detection at up to 650 yards, which is less than the DV2.

• Value score: 3.5/5

Thermal Master DV2: Specs

Thermal Master DV2: Design

• Camcorder vibe
• Large touch screen
• Only one battery included
• Confusing buttons

Many handheld thermal cameras still borrow the shape of a barcode scanner or a torch, but the DV2 looks closer to a small camcorder. The optics are at the top end, with a lens cap protecting the manual-focus telephoto. The lens cap isn’t tethered, so I recommend not dropping that black item in the dark the first time you use this device.

Its defining feature is the fold-out 5-inch touchscreen, which rotates 360 degrees and folds 180 degrees, rather than staying fixed in one position. This lets the operator adjust the display if the target area is above or below the camera's natural line of sight.

The rotating, folding screen lets the display angle toward the eye, whether the DV2 is held low, mounted on a tripod, or fitted to a rail system via its Picatinny adapter.

A downside of this design choice is that if you fold out the display at 90 degrees to the camera, its most natural position, the weight causes the camera to fall over. Therefore, at a minimum, you need a small tripod, even if one isn’t included with the DV2.

To operate the device, the red button on the rear is depressed for what seems like an inordinately long time before a fancy video graphic announces that the DV2 is ready for action.

But before you do that, the 21700 battery needs to be inserted into the DV2, something you are told to do, but there are no indicators I could see which end of the battery goes in first.

Eventually, I found a video of someone demonstrating the camera and realised the correct orientation, but it wasn’t labelled or mentioned in the quick start guide.

Documentation for this product isn't a strong point, since months after release there is still no proper manual.

What’s also slightly odd about the battery is that the case has positions for two, but Thermal Master provides only one. And yet, the charger accepts two. Given that the retail unit cost of a 21700 battery is less than $10, and it would be much less than that for Thermal Master, it's confusing why two aren’t provided from the outset.

If you don’t intend to buy another, then the charger is also superfluous, since you can charge the one included in the DV2 by using a provided USB-C cable. Except you might not want to, because you might struggle to power the DV2 while it's on a tripod, since the USB-C port is on the same underside as the threaded tripod hole.

That’s confusing, but the bit that genuinely made me scratch my head was that the second button next to the power on/off one didn’t initiate video and picture capture. No, it toggles through the different colour representations, something most people would set and forget.

To take a picture or video, you have to touch the screen, which, if you're zoomed in on a distant bird or animal, is likely to twist the camera and ruin the framing. Not sure who made the choice not to include a shooting trigger, but it was a poor decision.

Another slightly odd feature is that this device has a laser pointer, activated by a quick press of the power button. I can’t think of anything more likely to cause roosting birds or other wildlife to exit stage left than being shot in the eye with a laser, so why they included this, I’m unsure.

I'm also confused by the addition of the Picatinny rail adapter, which implies that after you've watched the birds, your next step is to shoot them. That's not really the sort of bird watching I'm familiar with, but what do I know?

Overall, the build quality is decent, and it feels relatively robust. From a design perspective, there appear to be numerous aspects where the engineers creating it didn’t really appreciate how it might be used and what potential customers might be expecting.

Design score: 3.5/5

Thermal Master DV2: User experience

• Questionable ergonomics
• Dire mobile app
• Focus challenges
• Recognition vs detection

I might have got the wrong end of the stick, but the primary purpose of this device is to take pictures and video using the thermal sensor, isn’t it?

This seems obvious, but due to how poorly organized the device menus are for doing just that, perhaps I’ve entirely misunderstood this device.

I’ve already mentioned that you can’t initiate capture with a simple button, but the touch screen menu goes one step further. Taking a picture isn’t on the top-level menu; it requires you to go to a second page, and then a third, to do the one task this device is made for.

The top level is full of things you won’t want immediate access to, I’d contest, and this arrangement makes almost no sense I can fathom.

At first, I concluded you were probably meant to use the mobile app to take pictures so you don’t touch the camera, but I was wrong.

Connecting the camera to the phone involves an overly complicated procedure that would make anyone used to Apple or Bambu Labs products incandescent.

For starters, both devices need to be on the same Wi-Fi network, so this won’t work in the field unless you bring a portable Wi-Fi access point along.

The phone needs an app that, for Android users, needs to be downloaded from the support pages and then side-loaded onto the phone. I’ve long been critical of Thermal Master apps, and how there is always a new one for each camera, and this one isn’t even on the Play Store.

Once you install the app, you can go to a specific page on the camera with no instructions on which icon it's behind, then get a QR code that connects the two.

To use this feature, you must be in control mode, where the barcode is shown, so you can’t do anything on the camera when the phone takes over. Once the two are connected, you have three features.

One of which is the color control, another is the Thermal Master eye (Red/Green imaging mode), and the other recalibrates on the image. There isn’t any way to change from still image to video, use the aiming reticule, hotspot tracking, or access the picture album, so 80% of what the DV2 does is unavailable.

But also, you can’t take a picture other than using your phone's inbuilt feature to take a screenshot. And, if you capture images using the phone, they are not transferred to the phone.

So anything you manage to capture needs to be downloaded from the camera in a separate exercise using a USB-C cable.

Being brutally honest, it appears that the hardware team started work on the DV2 many months before the software people, who appear to have met it a couple of weeks before it was launched.

I suspect that this connectivity was supposed to use Bluetooth, but time ran out, and it also did for all the other missing features of the phone app.

If you ignore the phone app nonsense - and I recommend you do - and focus instead on the functionality built into the camera, then the user experience is much better, if a little limited compared with some of the other Thermal cameras that this brand makes.

What’s lacking here is a visible-light sensor, the data from which could be used to enhance thermal captures and help with focusing. I’d put focusing as the single most challenging part of using the DV2, because when you're presented with blobs of moving colour on the screen, it's hard to tell whether they’re moving in or out of focus.

Once focus is dialled in, as long as you don’t move the camera, you definitely need a tripod; then you can develop a practical workflow.

What’s important to realise is that this is for capturing things that aren’t especially close, and this hardware would be of zero use to anyone repairing electronics or fixing engine problems. And, because it's not meant for that, some of the features seen on other cameras, like floating temperature text, are missing on the DV2.

Also, the range of this device allows you to identify the thermal signatures of humans and animals long before you can determine where they are going or what they are doing.

Hilariously, to make this understandable, the DV2 datasheet breaks this down into four detection range levels, where the thing being detected will trigger up to three pixels on the sensor. These are 300m for a 1.8m human, 250m for 1 1.5m Hog, 200m for a 1.2m Coyote, and 50m for a 0.3m Dove.

Where I live in England, we have only two of those creatures since Wild Hogs and Coyotes aren’t endemic, but I get the idea. The camera's relatively high frame rate helps with identification, but only when they’re larger than three pixels on the sensor.

Thermal Master marketing takes this capability and extrapolates it to claim the camera can detect human-sized heat signatures at 1094 yards (1000m, or 1km). To be clear, at that range, an adult human would be a single pixel on the sensor, and for them to be recognised as such, they’d need to be four times closer.

I guess the single pixel, if consistently lit, might tell you something is coming, just not what it was.

• User experience score: 2/5

Thermal Master DV2: Camera

Image output is a 512 x 384 frame, built from a native 256 x 192 sensor through the RazorX engine's AI upscaling. As with any interpolated output, this can improve apparent detail without genuinely increasing sensor resolution.

And, in the DV2, this works well enough, making the thermal image clear and readable, with good separation between different heat sources even at a distance.

Digital zoom is available up to 8x, but zooming this way involves taking smaller and smaller sections of the sensor area, which results in grainy/blocky results. When you start with such a low sensor resolution, this is always going to be an issue.

Five colour palettes are available for translating temperature data into a viewable image, along with nine tactical reticule modes in five colours, a feature set that leans towards the hunting and outdoor positioning of the device rather than its birdwatching marketing. Since that type of hunting isn’t common in the UK, I can’t comment on its usefulness for that role.

But in other regions, where the number of people accidentally shot by others during the hunting seasons is significant, it could be a lifesaver.

A 50Hz refresh rate should keep motion reasonably smooth when tracking a moving subject, whether that is a bird taking flight or an animal moving through undergrowth. The issue here is that there is a sweet range where this can happen, but the further out a target is, the more difficult it becomes to track, especially if it moves out of frame.

There is a tendency to scan wildly around, trying to locate the heat source before it moves behind an obstruction or leaves the area entirely.

The camera offers similar technology to what Thermal Master is providing with its accessory phone cameras, but the optics here are predictably better. That results in better end results and clearer images, even if the resolution is still relatively low.

• Camera score: 3/5

Thermal Master DV2: Final verdict

The device's underlying hardware is solid. However, other aspects of this device are less than perfect, and the lack of proper documentation alongside some less-than-polished software detracts from the overall experience.

That’s a shame because the fundamental foundations of this device are good; it just needed to come to market in a more holistic package than it did.

I hope Thermal Master is motivated to finish the DV2 like it patently should have been. With some effort on the interface and software components, it could be something all dedicated birdwatchers and wildlife enthusiasts will want in their backpacks.

But at this time, especially in terms of the software and menu ergonomics, it still needs some work.

Should I buy a Thermal Master DV2?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Viltrox AF 26mm F2.8 EVO: one-minute review

If you're searching for a high-quality and compact lens for your Sony or Nikon mirrorless camera, then the excellent value Viltrox AF 26mm F2.8 EVO is well worth considering.

Compared to Nikon and Sony's own alternatives, the Viltrox 26mm f/2.8 strikes a balance of premium design, compact size and reasonable pricing most compellingly of all.

For $299 / £279 (approximately AU$500), you get a wide-angle prime with bright f/2.8 aperture, rugged metal body that measures just 25.8mm in length, rubber-sealed mount, twin dials and a fabulous magnetic lens cap design.

Not only is the Viltrox lens around half the price of the Nikon alternative, but it packs more features, while Sony's closest alternative is a physically larger and pricier 24mm F2.8.

Viltrox's lens isn't perfect, mind you; optically it's not the sharpest lens I've used and the maximum f/2.8 aperture setting is prone to flare, which reduces contrast. Autofocus can be a little fussy too.

Those drawbacks aside, the Viltrox AF 26mm F2.8 EVO is another high-quality hit from the established Chinese lens manufacturer that deserves to live on your Sony or Nikon camera.

Viltrox AF 26mm F2.8 EVO: price and availability

• Available in Sony E and Nikon Z-mount versions
• It costs $299 / £279 (around AU$500), with a 10% discount at launch
• A magnetic lens cap and filter is supplied

The Viltrox AF 26mm F2.8 EVO full-frame lens launched for Sony E-mount and Nikon Z mount mirrorless cameras. It can also be used with either's APS-C cameras, with which it has an effective 39mm focal length. The lens costs $299 / £279 (not directly available in Australia), but I regularly see 10-15% discounts on the Viltrox site and at Amazon. At the time of writing, there's 10% off the 26mm lens.

Viltrox has another autofocus pancake lens, the 28mm f/4.5, which is just one third of the price. However, that lens is much more basic, and for a fair comparison on value, consider Nikon's own 26mm f/2.8 pancake lens, which has a slightly simpler design yet is almost double the price.

Sony's choices are much more varied — there are low-cost (and lower quality) options such as the 20mm F2.8, while premium options such as the 24mm F2.8 are pricier and physically much larger. TTArtisan sells a AF 27mm f/2.8 pancake lens that costs around $130 / £110 less, but I've not tested that lens.

So while the 26mm F2.8 EVO is hardly cheap for a Viltrox lens, it is still excellent value considering its quality and the available alternatives. I think it's an excellent quality to size and price ratio. For other primes, check out my best Sony lenses and best Nikon lenses guides.

Viltrox AF 26mm F2.8 EVO: specs

Viltrox AF 26mm F2.8 EVO: design

• Just 25.8mm in length and 6oz / 170g
• Metal components, rubber-sealed mount
• Clever magnetic lens hood

Lightweight, rugged and convenient, the Viltrox AF 26mm F2.8 EVO fits the bill for everyday photography.

It's clearly made from premium materials, with a metal barrel and rear mount with rubber seal to keep out moisture and dust.

And despite its compact dimensions, the lens fits an impressive number of controls, squeezing in focus and aperture control rings. Unsurprisingly, each ring is very narrow, and getting a secure grip on the focus ring is a little fiddly, but I certainly prefer having those shrunk-down controls rather than none at all.

The aperture ring is clicked with no option to de-click it for video use. Again, I'm not surprised about this given how small the lens is — there really is no spare space to fit this control.

Like all recent Viltrox lenses, the 26mm pancake features a USB-C port in its rear mount, through which firmware updates can be installed.

The simple optical construction comprises eight elements in six groups, and includes two aspherical elements. The front lens element is tiny. In fact, the 43mm filter thread isn't even built into the lens itself, but the supplied lens hood.

Said dual-purpose lens hood is suitably compact, but I found it didn't provide the sort of protection against lens flare that I would hope for (more on this in the performance section).

The lens hood has a neat trick up its sleeve mind you — it's magnetic. The supplied lens cap snaps onto the lens hood magnetically, doing away with the traditional pinch lock lens cap design. The hood screws onto the lens, but you can bypass the hood because the front of the lens is also magnetic.

Viltrox's neat magnetic system is a revelation, and I hope other lens manufacturers follow suit. It might not be suitable for all lens types mind you, say those with floating lens elements which use electromagnetism, such as Viltrox's own 85mm F1.4 Pro.

Close focusing goes down to 0.2m, which delivers a maximum 0.2x magnification. This is no close up lens, therefore, but I've certainly tested plenty of lenses with a lesser maximum magnification factor.

At launch, the 26mm lens is available in Sony E and Nikon Z-mount versions. There's no word yet on L-mount or X-mount versions (nor Canon RF, as per usual).

To truly appreciate the benefit of its compact dimensions and lightweight 6oz / 170g design, cameras such as the Sony A7C series and the Nikon Z f series are a good bet. And as a full-frame lens, you can also use it with APS-C cameras with a 1.5x crop factor, such as the Sony A6700 and Nikon Z50 II. It could be a fabulous option with the Lumix S9 or Sigma BF too, should an L-mount version land.

Viltrox AF 26mm F2.8 EVO: Performance

• Bright maximum f/2.8, but risk of strong lens flare at this setting
• Detail is impressively sharp for such a small lens
• Autofocus is decent, but I've used snappier lenses

Viltrox's smaller 28mm F4.5 lens wins for compact size and price, but for image quality, the 26mm F2.8 EVO is a step up.

True, it's not the sharpest lens I've ever used, but optical quality impresses, especially given how small and lightweight the lens is.

I regularly used the lens' maximum f/2.8 aperture setting, with which it's possible to get shallow depth of field and pleasant enough bokeh. There's no discernible drop in sharpness at this setting from the peak f/5.6 to f/8 settings, either.

However, lens flare is prominent at f/2.8 when shooting towards the sun and strong light sources, which massively reduces contrast. In some scenarios I rather liked the effect — it was at times characterful and dreamy. At other times, I wished the distortion was better controlled.

Vignetting (darker corners) is also visible at f/2.8, though nothing too dramatic, and remains even up to f/8. The worst of these lens distortions would be less noticeable when pairing the lens with an APS-C camera where the outer portion of the image is cropped out. Otherwise, using f/4 to f/11 aperture settings delivered impressively sharp images, generally free from severe lens distortion.

I tested the lens exclusively with a Nikon Z6 II camera. Not the latest mirrorless camera by any means (that'll be the Z6 III), but one with snappy autofocus and subject detection modes. Even still, I found myself fighting focus hunting more than usual when using the Viltrox lens, compared to a lens like, say, my Nikon 24-70mm F2.8 S.

I'll try the Viltrox 26mm lens with another camera when I get the chance, but so far I'm not fully impressed with its autofocus performance.

Should I buy the Viltrox AF 26mm F2.8 EVO?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Viltrox AF 26mm F2.8 EVO

• Viltrox sent me the Z-mount version of the 26mm lens
• I paired it with my own full-frame Nikon Z6 II
• I regularly used the lens for a month, across a wide range of scenarios

I used the Z-mount version of the Viltrox AF 26mm F2.8 EVO lens with my own Nikon Z6 II full-frame mirrorless camera regularly over the course of one month. My main focus was real world use over technical studio-based tests, though I typically use lenses in scenarios that test their technical capabilities.

For example, I took the same photo in a sequence to see how quality compares using each of the lens' full aperture settings, starting at f/2.8 through to f/16. I checked for bokeh, lens distortion and sharpness at each setting, too.

I was particularly keen to check quality of the maximum f/2.8 aperture, and how the lens copes in strong daylight, especially with such a small lens hood supplied. I photographed landscapes, portraits and documentary-style moments.

First reviewed August 2026

• Trump levies huge tariffs on 'sensitive' drones, such as those heavier than 25kg
• Tariffs have also been applied to a range of other countries, such as the EU, UK, Japan, and Taiwan
• Trump says the tariffs will help strengthen national security while also bolstering the domestic drone market

President Trump has levied a new set of tariffs against imported drones and their components for national security reasons.

For ‘particularly sensitive’ drones, such as those over 25kg, those with docking stations, or those with thermal imaging capabilities, the tariffs are 100%.

“President Trump’s drone tariff program will protect the national security of the United States and its defense and defense-adjacent industrial base, supporting and creating American jobs,” the White House fact sheet said.

Strengthening US industry through national security

Drones below the 25kg threshold will still be subject to a 25% tariff, with drones imported from the European Union, Japan, Liechtenstein, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, and Taiwan subject to a 15% tariff. The United Kingdom has a lesser tariff of only 10%.

The intended consequence of these tariffs is to strengthen the US domestic drone construction industry and the wider domestic drone market.

Outside of outright upping the cost of drones in the US as vendors pass on the costs of drones to consumers, the tariffs will also likely increase the costs of an already constrained supply of specialized drones in the US market.

Many drones imported from abroad, particularly those from China, are used for specialized purposes such as search and rescue and power line inspection. As the US does not have the dedicated industries and resources to quickly begin manufacturing these drones, there will likely be a huge increase of demand for a very limited supply.

The new tariffs also close a loophole allowing Chinese parts to be assembled into a drone in the US. The fact sheet states that drones for commercial and US military purposes “rely on foreign sources for critical Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) components, which poses significant risks to U.S. national security and creates cybersecurity vulnerabilities.”

The tariffs are due to kick in on September 3 2026, giving the US drone market just 21 days to adjust or pay massively inflated import costs.

The 2026 solar eclipse has come and gone, and viewers across parts of Europe, where totality was visible for approximately two minutes before sunset, were treated to quite the show.

It was a different story for me, however. I was on a family break in the hours before the eclipse reached its 91% peak, where I was in the UK, and was entirely unprepared.

As a photographer in this kind of situation, normally I would be frantically fiddling with camera gear and searching for the best nearby location, but the stars didn't quite align to capture the experience on this occasion.

And despite a flood of spectacular eclipse images being shared online, and the fact that there won't be another eclipse this good in the UK in my lifetime, do you know what? I'm OK with how this eclipse played out for me.

Rather than getting bogged down with gear and camera settings and composition, I simply relaxed and enjoyed the spectacle with family. It was an otherworldly yet unencumbered experience, and I'll always remember that soft golden light over those few minutes, and the eclectic methods that people around us were using to watch the eclipse — from DIY pinhole cameras to colanders. It was a moment shared that brought communities together.

Sure, it might have been a different story if I were in northern Spain on an organized trip for eclipse totality, but to echo my former colleague Phil Berne's sentiments after the 2024 eclipse, I don't think any image I would have taken could do an ounce of justice to the real thing. Watching it, in community, was enough.

It still pains the photographer in me a little that the lead image in this article is of the marina where I watched the eclipse take place, along with the shadow of a colander projecting the sun's mostly eclipsed image onto a wall, both shot with my Pixel, rather than a perfectly composed, awe-inspiring eclipse photo.

However, I have gained more as a human being from making the eclipse a shared experience, and I'm still enjoying the best 2026 eclipse shots by the photographers and creatives who really went for it. You can vote below for your favorite from a selection of shots that stood out to us.

• This year's Perseid meteor shower is active up until August 24
• It peaked on August 12-13, but will be clearly visible in the Northern Hemisphere again tonight
• Head to a dark sky area and look up any time between 11pm and 5am

As if a total eclipse before sunset across parts of Europe wasn't enough, the Perseid meteor shower peaked on the same day, August 12 (with a rare six-planet alignment chucked in for good measure).

You'd think that as a professional photographer I would've had all the gear for the 2026 eclipse (which maxed at around 91% where I was in the UK), but I opted to simply enjoy it with my family and a colander. The Perseids on the other hand, were the celestial show that I got my gear out for.

Like the six planets, the conditions aligned for optimum photography of the Perseid meteor shower; a dark new moon and clear dark skies graced where I live during peak activity. It was warm enough to be out in shorts, too.

I set up my Google Pixel 8 Pro phone on one tripod and a Nikon Z6 II mirrorless camera with pro 24-70mm Ff/2.8 S on another side by side in my garden, and sat back with my son. And once our eyes had adjusted to the dark, the fun began within minutes.

How I photographed the Perseid meteor shower

For meteor photography, you absolutely need a method of keeping your camera completely still. I recommend a tripod support, though at a pinch you could prop your gear on a solid surface.

For my Pixel phone, I selected the Night Sight mode in the camera app. Once it had detected that the tripod-mounted device was completely still, the crescent moon on the photo icon changed to stars, indicating that the astrophotography mode had become available.

Hitting the photo icon on screen then starts a +4 minute timer on screen, at the end of which an optimized night sky image appears in the phone's gallery, together with one second-long timelapse video covering that entire sequence.

The alternative is standard the Night Sight mode, though to have any chance of a bright enough exposure, you'll need to manually increase the exposure time to the maximum possible six seconds. The astrophotography option yields much better quality results. For other devices besides the Pixel, check for equivalent photo modes.

Meanwhile, I set my Nikon lens to its widest 24mm focal length and an f/3.5 aperture, and set the Z6 II camera exposure settings manually to 20 seconds and ISO 3200. Any slower and the stars would start to streak (trail) rather than be distinct dots (the astrophotography rule of thumb for crisp stars is calculated as follows: focal length multiplied by shutter speed = 500 or less).

I usually shoot night sky photos in RAW format, and set the white balance to the tungsten setting for a rich blue color. I manually focus the lens to infinity and then dial it back a fraction.

Once the mirrorless gear was ready, I took the meteor photos with a self timer to avoid camera shake that occurs when pressing the shutter button by hand. The Z6 II can take up to nine consecutive images with the timer option, which in this scenario covered three minutes each time (given each photo is 20 seconds long). Alternatively, I could have locked the shutter button down with a remote release and the camera would run all night, which is what I do for star trail photography.

Smartphone vs mirrorless: which rig did I prefer?

Given the need for a tripod support, I didn't really feel that the phone was any more convenient than the bulkier mirrorless system, despite its simpler design.

Furthermore, the astrophotography mode remains illuminated on screen during the 4+ minute process of capturing a single image, which was somewhat of a distraction — you don't want a bright screen in sight when watching a meteor shower. Conversely, the Nikon camera's screen goes dark during each long exposure, which complimented the whole experience much better.

More importantly, I found that I couldn't rely on the Pixel's astrophotography mode auto editing. In almost all of the final photos, there were no visible meteors despite them clearly occurring during the four minute capture and being in frame, confirmed when I watched back the one-second timelapse video sequences (see below).

It seems as though for the most part, the Pixel device edits out meteors (and passing planes) in favor of a clean night sky image. It reminded me of my experience photographing the northern lights with a Pixel a couple of years back — I found the astrophotography mode over-edited.

The Nikon camera, meanwhile, faithfully recorded each meteor in frame during the 20-second-long exposures. And, with a little creative editing, I could composite multiple meteors from multiple photos into one (assuming from images with identical composition) to get a final image with multiple meteors. You can see some of my photos below.

Put simply, I preferred the handling of the mirrorless camera, and the faithfulness of the images it produces, over my experience using a Pixel phone.

The Perseids lowdown for tonight

The Perseids are active up until August 24, but your best best is getting out asap this week. Last night, August 12 into the early hours of August 13, was the peak, but you can expect to see plenty more meteors tonight and in the coming evenings.

During peak activity, you can expect around 50-100 visible Perseid meteors per hour under dark skies in the Northern Hemisphere. Pre-dawn hours are recommended, but I saw plenty at around midnight once I had settled down — you can try any time between 11pm and 5am local time.

You can follow my gear advice above but, honestly, just like with the solar eclipse, the Perseid meteor shower is arguably best enjoyed purely for the magical spectacle that is, without getting bogged down by gear.

I must've been sat with my son for over an hour in the warm weather, watching the night sky intently for where the next meteor would appear, delighting in each one, plus another hour by myself after he had gone inside to bed.

Some meteors appeared like faint white lines, others began as multi-color streaks and finished as blazing fireballs. Sods law the fiercest meteor I saw all night happened after I had packed up the camera gear to call it a night at around 2:30am. Trust me, it really was something.

I plan to head out again tonight to a nearby historic site with both cameras once more to get better framed shots including points of interest, but it's the Nikon that I'll be relying on.

Europe's 2026 solar eclipse has been and gone, leaving in its wake a flurry of once-in-a-generation images. I've picked out some of my favorites, which you can peruse below, but there's one shot that really outshone the rest for me.

Captured by a small camera crew in rural Spain, the photograph is of Olympic skateboarder Danny León jumping mid-air on a half-pipe as the moon eclipses the sun behind him. Since posting it on Instagram (see below), the image of the synchronized eclipse stunt has gone viral.

León hasn't yet disclosed the equipment used to photograph the epic shot, but has said that he'll share the backstory soon. All of the best images I've seen so far of the August 12th solar eclipse have been taken on mirrorless cameras, so I wouldn't be surprised if this is the same.

What I was surprised to hear was that the majority of TechRadar readers photographed yesterday's eclipse with just their smartphone's camera. Based on a poll of 825 people, close to 50% of respondents said they were planning to capture it with their phone.

Meanwhile, 30% said they wouldn't bother photographing it at all and instead planned to watch it with solar eclipse glasses, or, if you were like me, through a shadow made by a pinhole in a sheet of paper (my version of a DIY box projector or colander).

Of course I couldn't help but sneak a photo of it on my iPhone. Even though it isn't advised because of the potential damage it can do to the sensor, as long as you're only quickly snapping a pic, then you likely won't create dead pixels — it's more if you were to point it at the sun for a prolonged period of time.

If you didn't manage to capture the 2026 solar eclipse, enjoy this selection of some of my favorite shots of the major celestial event, and make sure to let me know which one is your favorite by voting in the poll below.

• A total solar eclipse can be seen today across select places in Europe
• To enjoy the spectacular celestial event you'll definitely need solar glasses
• And to photograph it, you'll want a solar filter to protect your gear

If you didn't already know it, there's a total solar eclipse today, August 12. Totality will occur in parts of Spain, Portugal, Greenland and Iceland, and a partial eclipse will be visible further afield across Europe, including the UK, and even as far as northern North America. If you're in any of those regions, it promises to be a truly unmissable spectacle.

A poll on the TechRadar WhatsApp channel showed that plenty of you are planning on photographing the 2026 eclipse (voting is still open, and you can vote below). That's great, and you should definitely go for it — but you should definitely also read our how to photograph a solar eclipse guide and, most importantly, taking precautionary measures to protect both your eyes and your gear.

You'll need solar glasses to protect your eyes while looking directly towards the Sun — with astronomical demand, good luck buying some at this late stage — but also a solar filter for your camera gear.

If you're in any doubt about the risks to camera kit, take this post by Lensrentals, as your warning. The risk to unprotected camera gear when you point it directly at the Sun, even for short periods, is clearly seen in the photos of damaged rental gear returned to Lensrentals following the 2017 solar eclipse in the US (and in the YouTube video below).

Photographing a solar eclipse — the risks to camera gear

Sensors were the most commonly damaged component, whether that was in a DSLR or mirrorless model. The intense light and heat generated as it was focused through the lens without a solar filter attached literally melted sensors — and you can see the permanent damage in the image above.

That's not all. Lensrentals shared photos of melted shutters, lens aperture blades (see the lead image), mirror damage in DSLRs, and even damage to a built-in ND filter system in one of its cinema cameras. All this damage is permanent, and repairs are costly.

You really don't want to take any shortcuts for today's solar eclipse. Protect yourself, and protect your gear! You can find further eclipse safety at the NASA site.

Will you be watching the solar eclipse? If you're photographing it, what gear will you be using? Make sure you vote in our poll below, and share your favorite shots with us at news@techradar.com — we'll feature your best images in our follow-up coverage.

• A total solar eclipse takes place on August 12, 2026
• It can be seen in its totality across select places in Europe, and in part as far afield as northern North America
• Read on to find out how and what to photograph, and be sure to pack your solar glasses!

A total solar eclipse is happening on August 12, with totality occurring in parts of Spain, Portugal, Greenland and Iceland; but even if you live further afield across Europe and even as far as northern North America, you will be able to see a partial eclipse.

The spectacular event, which occurs when the Sun disappears behind the Moon, happens every 18 months or so, with areas that experience totality falling into darkness during daylight hours.

However, only a small fraction of the Earth has a good view of each total eclipse, meaning it's effectively a once-in-a-lifetime event in any single place — North America experienced one in 2024, but won't again until 2044, in different parts of the continent.

Former TechRadar Phones Editor Philip Berne shared his experience of the total solar eclipse in 2024 and described it as a "silent, dazzling fury" that proved to be a tough photography challenge. For him, though, simply experiencing the event, photography aside, was magical.

Whether you plan to photograph the eclipse or simply take it in (wearing solar glasses essential to protect your eyes), the event is not to be missed. Below I'll outline key location and timing details about the 2026 total solar eclipse, and share my top tips for capturing this moment with your camera, whether that's a mirrorless, DSLR, or smartphone.

I'd love to hear from you too. Will you be watching the solar eclipse? If you're photographing it, what gear will you be using? Make sure you vote in our poll below, and share your favorite shots with us at news@techradar.com.

Total solar eclipse 2026: where and when

The totality of the 2026 solar eclipse will be visible from the northern half of Spain, the northeast corner of Portugal, eastern Greenland, and western Iceland.

Snæfellsjökull in Iceland will get the total eclipse for the longest period, at two minutes and 10 seconds, from 5:45pm, while at Gijón in Spain totality begins at 8:26pm and will last for one minute and 46 seconds. Barcelona and Madrid will enjoy a 99%+ eclipse at 8:29pm and 8:32pm respectively.

The sun will be 91% obscured for viewers in London at 7:13pm. Fairbanks, Alaska gets a maximum 37% eclipse at 8:27am AKDT, while Presque Isle, Maine will experience 28% at 1:50pm EDT.

Our sister site space.com has a more detailed breakdown of locations and times. For an even more detailed breakdown of the precise time and places to watch the total eclipse you can visit the European Space Agency website, or consult an interactive map at the Time and Date site.

Total solar eclipse 2026: how to photograph it

Pick your spot
Once you've researched if / when the eclipse is taking place where you are, you'll need to figure out a good place from which to observe it. Open areas with a wide, clear view of the sky are a safe bet. Better still, if the sun will be low in the sky during the eclipse where you are, consider including landmarks or points of interest in the shot during the eclipse phases. Bear in mind that the sun's position in the sky will move during the phases.

Gear essentials:
As for the best gear, there's no single right answer, because it all depends on the kind of image you're hoping for. A closeup of the sun requires a telephoto lens (around 500mm, or 20x zoom with a phone), whereas a shot that includes the landscape, other viewers, or points of interest for context works with a wider, standard optic. A DSLR or mirrorless camera with manual exposure control will give you the best chance of nailing the shot, but the best camera phones which also have these features can work too.

I'd advise using your camera's screen to compose the shot rather than a viewfinder — a tilt or articulating screen will make setup easier, as will a tripod support for eclipse sequences, freeing you up to enjoy the experience rather than getting bogged down with gear.

Protect your camera gear:
You'll also need dedicated accessories to protect your gear and get the best shots. A solar filter protects your camera sensor and ensures proper exposure. You'll need the filter for all the eclipse phases when the sun is visible, except the brief moment of totality.

Protect yourself:
Finally, before you settle down to basically look directly at the sun, you absolutely need to be wearing eclipse-approved solar glasses to safely experience the event.

For more detailed advice, check out our breakdown of how to photograph an eclipse, compiled for the previous 2024 event. It covers gear, camera settings and more.

Total solar eclipse 2026: what to photograph

The good folks at mpb.com have shared the following breakdown of the eclipse phases with us, together with photo ideas, and supplied images for this article.

First contact:
The Moon visually begins to overlap the Sun. Opt for a telephoto lens, and a suitable solar filter to capture the eclipse’s progression.

Partial phase:
The Moon gradually covers an increasing portion of the Sun. Use this moment to create a sequence of multiple images from the same frame, or to look for crescent-shaped shadows cast on the ground.

Baily’s Beads and diamond ring:
Just before totality, sunlight filters through the irregular lunar limb, creating small, bright points of light called Baily’s beads. When only one intense flash remains, this creates the 'diamond ring' effect for a very brief moment.

Second contact:
This marks the beginning of totality, when the Moon completely covers the Sun and the corona starts to become visible. It’s at this moment that you can remove the solar filter from your camera — but only for the period of totality.

Totality:
The solar corona appears and the environment changes in a matter of seconds. The light dims, the temperature may drop, and some bright stars may become visible.

Third contact:
This marks the end of totality, and Baily’s beads and the diamond ring may reappear. Replace your filter as soon as sunlight reappears.

Final partial phase and fourth contact:
The Moon continues to move until it no longer covers the Sun. Use this moment to complete your sequence.

Total solar eclipse 2026: share your experience

We'd love to see your solar eclipse photos. Share them with us at news@techradar.com, and vote in our poll below to let us know what camera gear you plan to use to photograph the event with. We'll share the results of the poll, and the best snaps, in the coming days.

• The FCC wants to take 'military-grade' DJI drones off sale
• Numerous DJI models would be affected
• You can comment on the proposals until September 2

There's been a ban on new DJI drones and cameras in the US since last December, but now the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is making moves to retroactively take some models off shelves that were approved before the ban came into effect.

Specifically, the FCC wants to pull "military-grade" drones from stores (via PCMag), which apparently includes every model with LiDAR obstacle avoidance or thermal cameras. That would affect drones such as the DJI Air 3S, the DJI Avata 360, the DJI Mini 5 Pro, and the DJI Mavic 3T, for example.

Drones that weigh over 55 pounds (nearly 25 kilograms) will be included in the retroactive ban, as well models that use docking stations. The criteria laid out by the FCC is broad enough to cover a substantial number of drones in DJI's current range.

Now, if you've already bought one of these drones in the US, the FCC isn't going to come and take it off you. However, unless the regulator changes course, these models won't be available to buy in the US from September 2.

You can take action

DJI has already complained long and hard about the original ban, pointing out that its drones were blacklisted for security reasons without any actual security audit taking place. It's also taking a very dim view of the new proposals by the FCC.

"People could continue using DJI products they already own, but the same models in use today might no longer be available to purchase in the future," says DJI in a blog post. "This is a total reversal from the FCC's previous position, and it is U.S. operators that would bear the cost."

DJI argues that safety agencies, small businesses, and farmers in the US who rely on DJI equipment will be faced with more expensive and difficult upgrades in the future, and it's asking for the public's support while the FCC proposal is considered.

You can have your say during the public comment period up until September 2: head to the Drone Advocacy Alliance website to make your feelings known, and to explain to the FCC how you use drones and their capabilities for non-military purposes.

• AirPods with cameras are apparently still coming...
• ... but the next model, due in 2026, won't have them
• In truth, little is known about these new buds (which is how Apple likes it)

For some reason, Apple fans are clamoring for new AirPods with cameras built in, and we've been hearing plenty of rumors that they're on the way. But a new report suggests they won't actually be the next Apple earbuds we see.

According to stalwart Apple correspondent Mark Gurman (via his Power On newsletter), Apple has two AirPods models on the go.

The flagship ice-white buds we've been reporting on are set to have tiny AI cameras — and Gurman has now backed up rumors of their being slated for a 2027 release.

But some models are expected in 2026: Gurman mentions another pair of buds (with a lot less known about them) that are likely to come along the 2026 iPhones at the end of the year.

The coverage doesn't specify whether these are AirPods, AirPods Pro or even over-ears, but the latter seem unlikely, because the AirPods Max 2 are only a few months old.

Could it be a possible Beats release? TechRadar's Jacob Krol recently spent a few days at Apple's Beats HQ and pressed the highly successful Apple subsidiary brand on some much teased Beats headphones, spotted on various occasions at the World Cup recently, but the company remained tight-lipped on those.

For now, we'll have to wait and see.

Are cameras worth the wait?

Questions concerning whether AirPods with cameras would even work aside, Apple faces the question — given the recent backlash over glasses that see — over whether most buyers would even want that.

The point of the tech is, apparently, to let an AI assistant see what's going on around you. The hardware is part of a big AI push Apple is undergoing.

That's despite consumers' appetite for AI dropping as fast as companies' desperation for AI increases. I don't see many AirPods buyers opting for a new pair of earbuds without a genuine reason they'd be useful (and no, smarter Siri doesn't count), especially if their whole schtick is that they're always spying on you.

Often when we see a tech product delayed, it's because it's just not ready yet. But with the camera-toting AirPods, it's more likely that we're not ready yet... or maybe we just don't need them.

DJI Osmo Pocket 4P: One-minute review

The Pocket 4P marks a big moment in DJI’s hugely popular series of compact vlogging cameras, being the first model with two lenses, even if Insta360 stole its thunder with the Luna Ultra, which it released in June.

I’ve already reviewed the single-lens Pocket 4, and it’s a brilliant handheld 4K camera. The ‘P’ version is largely identical but for its dual-lens array and a ‘refined’ 1-inch sensor that's equipped with LOFIC tech, plus a new D-Log 2 color profile.

For the most part, you can discover all you need to know about the Pocket 4P's design and performance in my Pocket 4 review. In this write-up, I'll focus on the new features of the bulkier model, and the real difference they make.

And I can say this right now: now that I’ve tried the Pocket 4P, it’ll be hard for me to return to single-lens models like the Pocket 4. That additional 3x telephoto lens unleashes a wide variety of shooting options to complement the highly capable ultra-wide main camera. On-the-go sequences with DJI's superb subject tracking in play, for example, can be particularly dynamic. It really is like having two cameras in one tiny device.

That being said, there is an inevitable design compromise: twin lenses make for a bulkier camera unit, with inexplicably no protective housing currently available, and a top-heavy design. If you already own a Pocket, and are wondering if the new Pocket 4P is worth it, or if it’s worth jumping ship from DJI to the Insta360 Luna Ultra, check out my Pocket 4 vs Luna Ultra article.

For me, the first-generation Luna Ultra is a compelling alternative with its 8K video and detachable module, but I can also tell that the Pocket 4P is a fourth-generation product — it feels more polished overall. It has neat accessories of its own, too, such as the magnetic fill light and remote module. As such, DJI's dual-lens Pocket 4P is now my top compact vlogging-camera pick.

DJI Osmo Pocket 4P: price and release date

• Announced on May 14 2026 at Cannes Film Festival, available from July 30
• Available in black or white versions, priced from £529 / AU$959. No US availability at launch
• Variety of bundles available, including a Vlog Combo kit for £605 / AU$1,099

Despite essentially having no competition in markets such as drones and, previously, gimbal vlogging cameras, DJI has always priced its products competitively. It usually undercuts rivals where actual alternatives exist, too, such as GoPro and Insta360 action cameras.

Insta360 outright said it wasn’t going to compete on price, but rather on features when speaking about its Luna Ultra, and that has turned out to be the case. Where the Luna Ultra starts at $770 / £650 / AU$1,230, the Pocket 4P comes in at £529 / AU$959 — though it's not available in the US at launch. Meanwhile, the single-lens Pocket 4 costs from £429 / AU$749.

Considering that the Pocket 4P has the extra camera with its own sensor, that price increase over the Pocket 4 feels completely justified, and in my book the Pocket 4P is excellent value, especially when you consider the quality of the 4K video footage it's able to produce.

The Pocket 4P is available in Black or White versions, and there are bundles available. The Vlog Combo, for example, includes the DJI Mic 2 Mini wireless mic, remote controller, fill light, tripod stand and tripod grip, and costs £605 / AU$1,099 — that's the bundle I'd go for.

• Price score: 5/5

DJI Osmo Pocket 4P: specs

DJI Osmo Pocket 4P: Design

• Dual 20mm f/2.0 and 60mm f/1.8 lenses
• Otherwise the same design as the Pocket 4, with rotating screen and gimbal-mounted camera
• USB-C charging and 107GB of internal storage in addition to micro SD

Save for the bulkier dual-camera system and a total weight of 8.1oz / 230g, the Pocket 4P’s design is identical to the Pocket 4; it’s extremely compact, features a 2-inch touchscreen which rotates 90 degrees between vertical and horizontal formats, and a customizable five-button array, with a joystick that controls gimbal movement or zoom.

The extra two buttons, revealed when the screen is rotated to horizontal, help speed up access to various settings. For example, the C button can be assigned for direct access to two custom profiles — handy if you regularly switch between, say, color settings such as D-Log and shooting modes such as slow motion.

It certainly pays dividends to spend time customizing the camera to suit how you use it, so that you’re not fussing with settings when you're out and about.

For me, the single-lens Pocket 4 feels perfectly balanced, and it’s notably smaller than Insta360’s Luna cameras. The 4P, however, somewhat sacrifices that advantage on the alter of dual-camera versatility — it’s a little top-heavy, and I found it more comfortable to use with a tripod grip and mini tripod attached. The Luna Ultra feels more balanced because its handle is bulkier (see the Pocket 4 / 4P / Luna Ultra comparison photos, below).

Gimbal movement still feels smooth, and the shots steady and smooth, despite the extra weight of the cameras.

At launch there's no hard-shell protective case for the Pocket 4P, as there is for the Pocket 3, nor a slimline gimbal protector, like you get with the Pocket 4. This means the bulkier camera module remains somewhat unprotected, which is something DJI needs to be rectify ASAP.

There are also no dedicated ND filter kits from DJI at launch, though I fully expect that situation to change very soon through third parties (it might even have done so by the time you read this).

As with the Pocket 4, there’s the fill-light accessory, which attaches magnetically to the gimbal’s arm and is powered by the camera, and which lets you choose between three brightness levels and three color temperatures.

The light won’t make much of a difference to your images in bright daylight, but in low light and for indoors, it’s game changing for vlogging. I found the warm setting at the medium brightness level was a sweet spot for the times I wanted to use the light.

Then there’s the tiny remote control, borrowed from the Osmo Mobile 8P. This easily connects to the Pocket 4P over Bluetooth, and can be used to remotely view and control the camera. It’s a neat answer to Insta360’s modular controller in its Luna cameras, though the DJI module doesn’t feature a built-in mic, as Insta360’s does.

For occasions when you're taking hands-free shots with the Pocket 4P rested on a surface or support, the remote controller is super-handy. The controls are slightly stripped back versus the camera’s control layout, but the key controls, such as touch subject-tracking, record, and gimbal movement / zoom are there.

• Design score: 4.5/5

DJI Osmo Pocket 4: Performance

• Improved subject tracking
• 107GB of built-in memory added
• Higher-capacity battery extends record times

A major feature in Pocket cameras is subject-tracking autofocus. You really don’t want to be messing around moving the gimbal manually with the joystick, which can be fiddly and jerky. Thankfully, subject tracking, the latest version of which DJI calls ‘ActiveTrack 7.0’, is super-reliable — you double-tap on the subject, and the camera does the rest. For me, it performs slightly better than Insta360 Luna’s tracking, even if it does at times feel like its ‘keeping up’ with fast-moving subjects rather than keeping them central.

Battery life is solid, though you will notice it drop quicker with certain modes, such as 4K 60fps video recording, hyperlapse, and slow-motion 240fps. The camera also gets pretty warm pretty quickly when using these modes, though I’ve not had it overheat and shut down during my testing.

With compact vlogging cameras such as the Pocket series, the battery is non-removable, so you are relying on that USB-C rechargeable internal unit. I found myself conscious of having to charge the camera on heavy use days — that’s life with a Pocket. There is, however, an optional battery grip available to extend shot life.

In addition to a microSD card slot, DJI includes a generous 107GB of built-in storage. That’s enough for a lot of 4K clips, even when utilizing the maximum 200Mbps bit rate.

Recording internally, you'll need to transfer files either over Wi-Fi or wired USB-C. Thankfully, there’s next-gen Wi-Fi 6 and USB 3.1 support on board, delivering fast transfer speeds and making for an efficient workflow on the move.

As with other Pockets, the 4P can get a little warm when you're using its more power-hungry features, such as 4K 60fps and hyperlapse. I've not had any overheating issues to the point where the camera shuts down, but I was aware of the camera warming up while holding it.

• Performance score: 5/5

DJI Osmo Pocket 4: Image and video quality

• 1-inch sensor ultra-wide camera, and a new 3x telephoto, up to 12x zoom
• D-Log2 profile with up 17EV dynamic range
• Low-light further boosts the improved 14 stops dynamic range

There is one minor difference between the Pocket 4P and Pocket 4’s ultra-wide 20mm f/2.0 camera: the ‘refined’ 1-inch sensor, which unleashes a new log color profile, D-Log 2.

DJI says the refined sensor features LOFIC tech — which in simple terms is like super HDR, only it works in real time, which differs to HDR. I first came across the term LOFIC when reviewing the Oppo Find X9 Ultra phone.

The fruit of LOFIC and D-Log 2 is an expanded 17 stops of dynamic range, while the regular Log profile has around 14 stops. D-Log 2 is only available with the ultra-wide camera because it’s linked to the sensor tech, whereas the new 3x telephoto camera uses a separate 1/1.28-inch sensor.

D-Log 2 also isn’t available in every shooting mode, such as Slow Motion 240fps, although like the Pocket 4, that 10x slo-mo is available in 4K, or up to 200fps when using the 3x telephoto camera.

I’ve shot the same clips in D-Log 2, D-Log and ‘Normal’ color profiles (all 10-bit) to make quality comparisons, especially regarding dynamic range, and to see how easy it is to grade the footage for a consistent look. I’ve also shot using some of the built-in color profiles, such as ‘NC film’ and ‘Movie’.

The level of detail that the Pocket 4P is able to hold, especially in D-Log 2, is majorly impressive, especially for such a small and affordable camera. For me, outright 4K image quality is where DJI has the edge over Insta360, and most leading smartphones.

Is D-Log2 enough reason to upgrade from the Pocket 4? Not for me, but there is a more compelling reason: the second camera. The 60mm f/1.8 telephoto optic is essentially a 3x portrait lens, with a pleasant shallow depth of field for upper-body vlogging and shooting closeup details. It’s limited to D-Log or Normal color profiles, but the overall quality is really, really nice, and the footage gives a totally different perspective to the ultra-wide camera's.

Where that 3x lens really shines is when it’s coupled with some of the Pocket 4P’s major features, such as active tracking. With the tighter perspective, creative camera movements tracking a subject on the move can look particularly dynamic, especially where there are other objects in the foreground.

The zoom capabilities are further extended — where the Pocket 4 was limited to a 2x lossless zoom and 4x digital zoom, the Pocket 4P again has the 2x lossless zoom with the ultra-wide lens, plus 6x lossless with the telephoto lens and up to a 12x digital zoom.

The quality of that 12x zoom is okay at a pinch, but if quality is your main concern, I wouldn’t go beyond the 6x setting.

I don’t like the way the heavier dual-camera setup impacts how the camera feels in the hand, but it’s a game-changing feature for this type of camera, and for me it now feels impossible to return to the single-lens format.

The Luna Ultra goes one step further for resolution, with 8K video recording. Personally, I’m happy with a camera that is limited to 4K recording, but whose quality at this resolution, especially regarding dynamic range and color, is more pleasing on the eye. That's the Pocket 4P.

• Image and video quality score: 5/5

DJI Osmo Pocket 4P: testing scorecard

Should I buy the DJI Osmo Pocket 4P?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

DJI Osmo Pocket 4P: also consider

How I tested the DJI Osmo Pocket 4P

• DJI loaned me the Pocket 4P Vlog Combo kit for a couple of months ahead of the July 30 release
• I shot plenty of 4K footage with the various color profiles, and used the various accessories
• I compared it to the single-lens Pocket 4 and dual-lens Insta360 Luna Ultra

I used the DJI Pocket 4P for almost two months ahead of my review embargo, during which time I regularly shot 4K video using the 20mm and 60mm lenses, the various frame rates up to 240fps, and the range of color profiles, including the new D-Log2. I tried the various shooting modes too, such as hyperlapse, and took photos in the regular and SuperPhoto modes.

In the Vlog Combo kit was a DJI Mini 2 Mini, remote module and fill light, and I tested both those accessories. I generally recorded onto the camera's internal memory, transferred files through USB-C and checked transfer times, ran the camera battery down, and checked recharge times using the supplied USB-C cable.

During my review period I also had the Pocket 4, enabling me to assess the key differences between the single- and dual-lens models. I also had the rival Insta360 Luna Ultra, again allowing me to make direct comparisons.

• First reviewed: July 2026
• Read more about how we test

The analog resurgence has been one of the biggest tech trends of 2026 after making a slow comeback last year.

Whether you’ve made the switch from a smartwatch to a Casio or you’re taking a trip down memory lane with your old iPod, more users are reverting to analog devices to escape brain-rotting algorithms and indulge in nostalgia. The same goes for the best compact cameras — and Lola is one of the next emerging brands to embrace this simplicity.

In October 2024, Lola launched its flagship $109/ £79/ AU$159 camera, a compact device that leans into early Y2K digital photography but with smartphone connectivity features. The camera was a response to the rising lo-fi tech craze, gaining exponential traction among Gen-Z users, and I grew increasingly curious.

Retro tech has become quite a prominent theme in my life at the moment. Recently I ditched Spotify and spent some time with the Miko cassette player by Gadhouse, but coming across the Lola camera online unlocked memories of my childhood I’d completely forgotten about.

I haven’t used a digital camera for the best part of 15 years, so it was time for a reunion.

A tiny camera, but a big first impression

For the past few weeks, the Lola camera has lived inside my everyday bag, and I used it at every opportunity I could — but I will never forget how I felt when I first took it out of the box.

First of all, the camera is absolutely tiny with dimensions of 3.75" x 0.75" x 2.25" and a weight of 0.5lbs (approximately 225 grams). I can’t remember if that’s always been the standard size for a digital camera, but I felt like a giant holding it in my hands. That said, it’s a handy pocket-sized device with a simple design to go with it.

Just like your average point-and-shoot camera, Lola has a built-in flash, supports SD cards, and packs an array of 19 fun effects, as well as 9 scene modes including Party, Beach, Night, & Portrait. One of the biggest differences is its USB-C charging port, which also comes in handy for transferring images to your smartphone.

Lola has numerous editions of its digital camera, including a cute Betty Boop-themed version and one in a clear shell finish that lets you see the inner workings of the camera. I quite like the stripped-back standard silver version because it’s minimal, but can still turn heads.

Then it was time to put the pedal to the metal.

Classic, but with a twist

Overall, Lola is a camera that’s bound to satisfy casual users who want to revert to a compact smartphone alternative for snapping images and creating memories. It’s great for taking photos to fill up a scrapbook or for your next Instagram photo dump, but it’s not one for established photographers who want crisp results. If anything, it’s for those who want to embrace imperfection.

Going into it, I knew that it wasn’t going to give picture-perfect results like professional cameras, but I developed a quick admiration for it as a beginner-friendly device. While its 8MP resolution is low by modern standards, it’s more than enough in this case, producing clear-looking images with a soft lo-fi finish that looks more authentic than a retro smartphone app filter — particularly for outdoor shots.

I found taking photos outside much easier than taking photos indoors, and for the most part, the camera adapts very well to natural environments. In some cases, however, it can be quite sensitive to sunlight, resulting in harsh, overexposed spills in the images.

This can be fixed with a few minor tweaks in the settings, and they don’t require a lot of photography knowledge. All I did was bring the exposure down to -1, increase the ISO to 100, and enable the Daylight preset in the White Balance setting. You can see the difference it made in the images below.

While these amendments made a big difference, it does mean that some parts of your image will appear darker than others in order to balance out the harshness of the light. In the second image, you can see the footpath and trees are slightly darker, but the grass patch in the background isn’t as overexposed, so for me it’s not too much of a setback.

But another feature that caught my eye was Lola’s surprising x20 digital zoom, which goes further than you think. Of course, the further you zoom in, the more crunchy your image will turn out, but zooming roughly halfway to two-thirds in is great for spotlighting the finer details of architecture and infrastructure, or for framing subjects in an entirely different way.

Lola takes everything you loved about your 2006 digital camera and puts it back into a refreshed device, but this is the 2020s, and the company is fully aware of your social media-posting intentions. This is where the SD card adapter comes in handy.

One of the biggest pain points I found with digital cameras 15 years ago was the importing process, which usually required a laptop or computer to transfer your images, since smartphones weren't as advanced as they are now. Admittedly, I was probably just too lazy to do this.

With the Lola camera, all you have to do is insert the SD card into the adapter, which goes into your phone’s charging port. You can then select the images you want to import right from your camera roll, and they’re imported in seconds, making it a lot easier to share them with your friends. For me, this was the icing on the cake.

Digital photography is timeless

There’s a handful of elements with the Lola camera that could do with some improvement (mainly its sensitivity), but for a $100 digital camera I think it has solid value for casual users. But beyond that, reverting to a digital camera removed the obsession with the finer details, evoking a deeper appreciation for being in the moment.

Sure, you can add effects and filters on the camera, but you can’t fine-tune individual settings such as saturation, contrast, shadows, and highlights on the device itself. That way, you have no choice but to embrace the realness and humanity of capturing what's before you.

I recently attended a bridal fitting for one of my closest friends, and instead of using my phone, I captured everything with Lola (I haven’t shared the images for obvious reasons). Though these photos have since been imported to my iPhone gallery, they stand out differently because I know how they were taken, and I look back at them filled with the same feelings of excitement from that day.

Simple, effective, and raw at its core, I’m going forward with a new attitude to memory-making. For some reason, somehow you remember the joy of each moment more vividly.

Fancy taking to the skies? DJI is the brand you're probably looking at — it's the name behind almost all the best drones around right now. If you're new to the world of drones, figuring out your options is tricky. This article is here to guide you through your options. I'll run through the main DJI ranges and who they're aimed at, and then once you've narrowed things down you can hop to the relevant section to read our reviews for each model. Let's get started...

Note: You'll only be able to see product cards for the models currently available to buy in your region. Due to FCC issues, not all DJI drones are available in the US. Hit the More details button to read our main takeaways for each model, and for a link to the full review.

DJI range guide

DJI Mini
DJI's flagship compact drones, and the best-selling range for beginner pilots. These are all sub-250g models, which means they come with little-to-no flight restrictions, depending on where you fly.
• Check out the Mini lineup

DJI Air
A step up from the Mini series, aimed at enthusiasts. These drones fall into the next weight category up, which means they're sturdier and you'll be able to fly for longer, but you'll need your region's equivalent of a certificate of competency before you fly.
• Check out the DJI Air lineup

DJI Mavic
Top-tier consumer drones with industry-leading camera performance. These are another step up from the DJI Air range, and again you'll need a certificate of competency before you fly.
• Check out the DJI Mavic lineup

DJI Neo
The cheapest, smallest, lightest and simplest DJI drone. It comes with single-push take-off from your hand, designed for aerial selfies (this kind of drone is sometimes referred to as a selfie drone).
• Check out the DJI Neo lineup

DJI Avata
FPV (first person view) drones, designed to be used with goggles for immersive high-speed and responsive flight — legally you need a 'spotter' with you when flying drones through goggles.
• Check out the DJI Avata lineup

There are a few standalone options to be aware of. The Lito is a straightforward beginner drone at an extremely wallet-friendly price — it's a step down from the Mini range in both price and capabilities. The DJI Flip is another beginner drone with vlogger-friendly features. At the other end of the scale is the DJI Inspire range, aimed at professionals — the kind of thing that might be hired for productions.

DJI Mini drones

DJI Mavic drones

DJI Air drones

DJI Neo drones

DJI Avata drones

Outliers

Insta360 is the major player in all-seeing 360-degree cameras and is no stranger to innovation, also incubating the first 360-degree drone in 2025, the Antigravity A1.

In another first, Insta360 recently released a dual-lens compact vlogging camera, the Luna Ultra, which is a Wall-E robot lookalike that shoots 8K video, with neat detachable remote screen and mic.

And if a recent post on Weibo by its founder and CEO Liu Jingkang, aka 'JK', is to be taken at face value, the company wants to lead us into a new era of camera altogether.

The Weibo post by JK was picked up by The New Camera and after translation reads:

“Our product vision is to build a ‘Cameraman’ — an intelligent photography robot capable of automatically composing shots and capturing moments like a professional photographer, allowing users to remain fully immersed in the present.