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Sony has announced the new Sony Burano (buy here), a compact CineAlta cinema camera designed for solo shooters. It bridges the gap between Sony’s Alpha series cinema series like the FX3 (buy here) and its high-end Venice (buy here) cameras.
The compact, lightweight camera features a fast hybrid AF system with built-in IBIS for smooth, steady, and sharp shots. It also sports a built-in ND filter, and its full-frame 8.6K sensor offers dual-base ISO for 16 stops of dynamic range.
It’s happened. Panasonic has announced the G9 II (buy here) and finally brought phase detection autofocus to its Micro Four Thirds line of cameras. No longer should it hunt 10ft behind your subject or get confused if they move or blink.
The G9 II comes with a 25.2MP Live MOS sensor, 779-point hybrid AF system, 7.5 stop IBIS, 60fps burst shooting with continuous AF, 4K video up to 120fps, and dual UHS-II SD card slots. And it costs less than $1,800.
Fuji has announced the new Fuji GFX100 II (buy here). Surprisingly, it’s a whole $2,500 cheaper than its predecessor while sporting a number of improvements. Boasting a newly revamped 102-megapixel sensor, it shoots 4K60p as well as 8K30p video.
The Fuji GFX100 (buy here) successor adds AI-based autofocus, with the same sort of subject detection and tracking we’ve seen in the Fuji X-H2S (buy here). It also includes native Frame.io integration for easy cloud backups while you shoot.
Today, we are moving things up a notch by using LED lights for wedding photography. If you’ve ever photographed a wedding, there is a good chance you used a strobe to capture the event. Maybe it was a hot shoe strobe, or maybe you set up strobes on light stands in strategic places on the floor. But you can do better with LED video lights.
I started experimenting with LED lights for weddings a while back, but I was always missing on some power. Now, I am using a couple of Zhiyun x100 LEDs (those), and let me tell you, 100 Watts makes a big difference.
Simmond Lens has announced the CineShade (buy here). It’s a cover that slips over the end of our lens, providing a mask that matches the field of view of your composition. Like lens hoods and matte boxes, its goal is to block stray light, which causes flare.
While it can’t hold filters, it’s a much smaller option than a matte box for blocking unwanted light while filming. If you don’t actually need any filters – or you’re using screw-on filters – this might be a practical option.
Today, we are going to create two amazing scenes in a super small space, and almost zero budget, but we have a secret weapon, the Smoke Genie. The Smoke Genie is a portable smoke machine for small sets. This video uses the Genie (buy here), but PMI also recently announced the Smoke Ninja, which has similar features but for a smaller budget.
Motorised pan-tilt heads typically come in two flavours. They’re either fairly small and compact with a somewhat limited feature set, or they’re ridiculously huge, designed for broadcast cameras, costing tens of thousands of dollars.
Nikon subsidiary, the UK-based MRMC, is looking to bridge that gap. The MRMC SR-1 is a small robotic head providing pan and tilt control in a pretty compact form factor. You can even add roll control and focus motors.
Pergear has updated its 14mm f/2.8 lens for full-frame mirrorless cameras with a new Mark II version. Like its predecessor, which is less than a year old, the new Pergear 14mm f/2.8 II is a manual focus, manual aperture lens.
It’s available for Sony E, Leica L (Leica, Panasonic and Sigma), Nikon Z and Canon RF mounts. Historically, such a wide-angle f/2.8 lens for mainstream cameras would cost over two grand. This one, though, is only $269.
The fact that we’re seeing any new Polaroid cameras at all in 2023 is pleasantly surprising. What’s not so pleasant, but probably more surprising, is the price tag. At $599, the Polaroid I-2 (buy here) isn’t exactly cheap!
We’re not done with the surprises yet, though. This Polaroid camera is something quite special. It’s the first Polaroid camera to provide manual exposure controls, including variable aperture and user-controlled shutter speed.
Panasonic Lumix Japan has teased an upcoming new camera. From the video, we can see by the “G” that it’s going to be part of the company’s Micro Four Thirds lineup. A Panasonic G9 II has been expected for a while, and this could be it.
The use of the phrase “New Phase” in the teaser suggests that whatever the camera is, it will get phase detection autofocus, like the recently released Panasonic S5 II. This also suggests it’s a higher-end body.
Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.
Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe
Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.
John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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