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Twenty twenty-five seems to be the year of camera designers letting their imaginations take over – there’s been the Sigma BF, Fujifilm’s GFX100RF (on test in this issue) and then the Fujifilm X Half. The BF is a brave attempt at making a simple camera in the age of the most advanced camera tech there’s ever been. The X Half is a brave attempt at making a digital camera that works more like a film camera… and a half frame one at that. The GFX100RF is a brave attempt at making a digital medium format camera that’s a fixed-lens compact using its high resolution to deliver longer focal lengths via cropping. Apart from messing with our minds, what’s going on? More precisely-targeted products – a better description is probably “niche”…

Panasonic has followed Nikon down the route of a partially stacked sensor as a means of gaining increased speed in various areas without a huge jump in the purchase price. The Lumix S1II has the same body and control layout as the S1RII which was introduced earlier this year, but with the new partially-stacked 24.1 megapixels (effective) BSI-type CMOS sensor which enables continuous shooting at up to 70 fps. In the partially stacked design, the extra circuitry which enables a faster data read-out is located around the edges of the sensor rather than in a separate layer. It’s a less complex arrangement and consequently less expensive to manufacture but still enables a significant increase in the shooting speed for stills and the video bit rates. The 70 fps top speed…

After a long hiatus – nearly ten years, in fact – Sony has re-introduced its RX1R fixed lens, full frame compact camera. The third generation version matches a 61 megapixels ‘Exmor R’ BWSI-type CMOS sensor with Sony’s latest ‘Bionz XR’ image processor and has the same Zeiss Sonnar T* 35mm f/2.0 prime lens as the previous model. The new model also still has a magnesium alloy bodyshell but has been redesigned so the viewfinder is now a fixed part of the camera – located at the top left – rather than a pop-up module as before. Additionally, the monitor screen is now fixed rather than tilt-adjustable which partially helps keep the RX1R II extremely small… sized at 113.3x67.9x87.5 mm (WxHxD). It weighs in at 498 grams, including the battery and…

Although the Fujifilm X Half (a.k.a. the X-HF1) does things a bit differently, it’s essentially a reprise in concept of the X10/20/30 line of retro-styled fixed lens compact cameras which was discontinued in 2016. The X20 and X30 models used a 2/3-inch version of the ‘X-Trans CMOS II’ sensor while the X10 and X20 had an optical viewfinder which was replaced by an EVF on the X30. The X Half goes back to an optical finder and has a vertically orientated BSI-type CMOS sensor sized at 8.8x11.7 millimetres (versus 8.8x6.6 millimetres on the original models). However, it has a conventional Bayer-pattern filter arrangement rather than X-Trans, and the effective resolution is 17.74 megapixels. In reality, it’s actually a one inch, 2:3 aspect sensor with 20 MP resolution that’s cropped to…

Fujifilm’s upgrading of its X mount mirrorlesss camera line to the 40.2 megapixels ‘X-Trans CMOS 5 HR’ BSI CMOS sensor and the faster ‘X Processor 5’ engine is almost complete with the arrival of the RF-style X-E5 (will the X-Pro series be next?). Consequently, the X-E5 steps in as the RF-look alternative to the DSLR-look X-T50 and obviously also boasts a similar feature set to the X-T5 and the X100VI. There’s also a new XF 23mm f/2.8 R WR slimline prime lens (equivalent to 32mm) that’s initially only available bundled with the X-E5, creating a viable alternative – especially in terms of size – to the fixed-lens camera (especially as the latter is still hard to get). And, of course, going down the X-E5 path gives you the flexibility of…

Current to 13 September: Exhibition. Snap Blak: Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Photography. This exhibition together dynamic examples of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island photography that champion Indigenous self-representation, with assertions of visual sovereignty that resist prevalent stereotypes and re-present their people. At the Queensland Gallery Of Modern Art (Gallery 3.5), Stanley Place, South Brisbane, Queensland 4101. Entry is free. Gallery hours are 10.00am to 5.00pm daily. For more information visit www.qagoma.qld.gov.au Current to 19 October: Exhibition. Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2024. 100 winning and finalist images from the 60th edition of the world’s biggest competition for wildlife and nature photography. At the Australian National Maritime Museum, 2 Murray Street, Darling Harbour, Sydney, NSW 2000. Entry fee is $25 for adults with concessions for children under 15 (and…

Cano Judging 40 categories of imaging products is a mammoth task especially when it involves the input of 26 magazine editors all with strong opinions. This is the yearly challenge of the TIPA World Awards run by the Technical Image Press Association and it member magazines, but it’s a refining process that really brings into focus – no pun intended – products that, for one reason or another, stand out from the pack. As a member of TIPA’s Technical Committee – sister publications Australian Camera magazine and the UK’s Digital Camera – are TIPA members – I see the selection process from beginning to end and it provides a comprehensive overview of what’s been happening in terms of innovations, trends and new directions. It very much provides ‘the big picture’…

IT’S FAIR TO SAY THAT, AS WITH the X100VI, you’re unlikely to buy a fixed lens camera as your primary video-making tool, but it’s quite likely that you still might on occasions want to shoot video clips with your GFX100RF. For this job, the camera is massively over-qualified, so it could still work as a supremely portable video camera for more serious applications. However, it’s definitely designed for photographers first and foremost so, for example, the video mode is buried in the submenu for the drive and self-timer settings. Not surprisingly, though, the GFX100RF borrows quite a bit of video goodness from its G mount sibling, the GFX100S II, starting with external recording to a SSD over USB C in the Apple ProRes codecs – including HQ and LT. The…

There’s nothing like a dip into the archives to reveal just how much things have changed in the professional photography industry, especially over the last couple of decades. In the early 1970s, medium and large format cameras were considered the only choice for professionals, especially for studio work. Thirty-five millimetre film was mainly the domain of press and sports photographers. Black-and-white film was still in extensive use for many applications and, although colour was no longer thought of as the work of the devil, many pros ran their own darkrooms for processing and printing B&W. Here’s a selection of what was on the pages of this magazine 50 years ago when it was called Professional Photography In Australia. This is a snapshot of the September/October 1975 issue. Cover photograph –…

Sony’s FX3 FE mount cinema camera has become the tool of choice for many videomakers at all levels and the new FX2 offers much the same capabilities but is more of a hybrid camera as it also offers more for stills photography. In this regard it steps up to the 33 megapixels ‘Exmor R’ BSI-type CMOS full frame sensor that’s also used in the A7 IV and it gains a built-in EVF which is adjustable for tilts of up to 90 degrees. It employs a 1.3 centimetres OLED display with 3.68 megadots resolution and 0.7x magnification and supplements a fully articulated monitor screen which has a resolution of 1.03 megadots and touch controls. The FX2 shares several other features with the A7 IV including its AI-based ‘Real Time Recognition’ AF…

Continuing OM System’s ‘get back to nature’ philosophy, the new Mark II version of the mid-range OM-5 mirrorless camera is being offered in a smart-looking ‘Sand Beige’ colour as an alternative to silver or black. While the basics remain the same as before – size, styling, sensor, processor, EVF, monitor screen battery and key specs – the OM-5 Mark II benefits from some important upgrades. Chief among these is the much better designed menu system from the OM-1 Mark II and OM-3 which is easier to navigate and, subsequently, a whole lot more efficient. The new camera also inherits the dedicated ‘CP’ button from the OM-3 which provides direct access to the ‘Computational Photography’ modes. These include the ‘Live ND’ virtual neutral density filters (with ND2/4/8/16 settings), multi-shot high-res capture…

The more you delve into video making with a mirrorless camera or a DSLR, the more you’ll find out about the limitations of their audio capabilities… and the more you’ll come to realise just how important is the sound side of any production. An external microphone is the least that you can do to improve audio quality, but an external digital recorder takes things a lot further, and the brand that’s made its name in portable digital audio equipment is Zoom. Introduced back in 2014, the original Zoom H5 digital audio recorder was one of the first models with interchangeable microphone models which made it exceptionally versatile. Consequently, it has become a staple for many sound recording applications including podcasts, interviews, dialogue audio and in-the-field work. The H5studio version incorporates…

When Fujifilm launched its GFX lates digital medium format camera system - initially with a 50 megapixels sensor – the least successful model in the first-generation line-up was the compact, rangefinder-style GFX50R. Frankly, that was a bit of surprise given it was undoubtedly an appealing combination of size and capabilities, but it meant there hasn’t been a 100 megapixels version which, on paper at least, you’d think would be an even more attractive proposition. Instead we now have a fixed-lens camera with Fujifilm’s latest-generation ‘GFX 102MP CMOS II’ medium format sensor. Obviously it’s a lot more compact than a ‘100R’ body might have been especially after you’d attached a lens, but the fixed-versus-interchangeable consideration has different aspects when you’re talking about a camera costing a bit over $8500 and a…

The inaugural International Aerial Photographer of the year competition got airborne with over 1500 entrants who had the chance to win in either a portfolio category (requiring a minimum of four images) or a single photograph. The very first International Aerial Photographer of the year is Joanna Steidle from the United States while the International Aerial Photograph of the year award was won by Australian photographer Ignacio Palacios. The competition received a total of 1549 entries. Joanna Steidle is a professional drone pilot and artist who is based in the Hamptons on Long Island, New York state. Commenting about her win she says, “Aerial photography offers so many possibilities not yet explored. Every day is exciting as I look for unique subjects and moments. I try to stay away from…