credits: Panasonic Panasonic has added another small prime to its full-frame lineup with the new Lumix S 20mm f/2.5, an ultra-wide lens for L-Mount cameras. It sits between Panasonic’s existing 18mm f/1.8 and 24mm f/1.8 in focal length, but physically it is much closer to the company’s newer compact 40mm f/2 and 18-40mm f/4.5-6.3. The 20mm measures 40.9mm long and weighs 142g, comes in black or silver, has dust- and splash-resistant construction, and uses the same 62mm filter size as those other two compact Lumix S lenses. Inside are 11 elements in nine groups, including three aspherical elements and three ED elements, with a seven-blade aperture diaphragm. Minimum focusing distance comes in at 0.18m, giving the lens a maximum magnification of 0.15x. Autofocus is designed for both photo and video use, while the lens also gets a customisable focus ring and Fn button. That Fn button becomes even more useful with the upcoming Lumix S9 firmware 2.1 update, where it can be assigned to functions such as Crop Zoom directly from the lens. One obvious comparison is Sigma’s 20mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary, which has been available for L-Mount since 2022. The Sigma gives you a slightly brighter f/2 aperture, but it is also considerably larger at 72.4mm long and weighs 370g, compared with 142g for the Panasonic. There is a fairly substantial price difference too, with the Sigma currently sitting at $769 compared with $499 for Panasonic’s new 20mm. The Panasonic Lumix S 20mm f/2.5 is expected to begin shipping in October for $499, with the Lumix S9 firmware 2.1 update arriving next month as well.

credits: Capture One Capture One version 16.8.6 for desktop and 4.1 for mobile is here. And besides a few nice additions, the update also brings Capture One’s newer wireless tethering system to two more Canon cameras. 2nd Gen Wireless Tethering now works with the Canon EOS R3 and the brand new EOS R6 Mark III (do not worry, we will take a much closer look at the new Canon R6 in this week’s Sunday magazine issue), joining the EOS R1 and EOS R5 Mark II, which received support earlier this year. Capture One says the R3 and R6 Mark III were the two cameras people requested most after the feature first launched. The idea is to provide transfer speeds and reliability closer to a wired connection while getting rid of the cable, and the feature works across both desktop and mobile. There is also day-zero RAW support for the new Canon EOS R8 Mark III, so you can open and process its RAW files in Capture One from the start. On desktop, Capture One is also expanding Assisted Review, its AI-powered culling feature introduced in beta with version 16.8. Assisted Review looks for common technical problems such as missed focus, closed eyes and poor exposure, helping separate potentially unusable shots from the rest of a shoot before you start going through everything manually. The useful change in 16.8.6 is that Assisted Review can now work automatically during tethered shooting. Previously, you had to manually start the analysis, but it can now check each photo as it is captured and flag potential problems while the shoot is still happening. Assisted Review is still officially in beta and remains desktop-only for now. Capture One 16.8.6 is out now for macOS and Windows, while Capture One Mobile 4.1 is available for iOS only.

credits: Affinity Canva’s Photoshop competitor Affinity just received a new update, and photographers are getting quite a few new tools. Version 3.3 adds more control over curves, blending and masking, alongside a new Blend Tool for creating and adjusting repeated or transitioning elements. There is also a new scripting system that can automate repetitive pixel, vector and layout tasks, including parts of a photo-editing workflow. The more interesting changes are happening inside RAW processing and colour editing. Affinity says it has substantially reworked its RAW development engine, particularly the way it handles exposure, highlights and shadows, with the goal of producing more natural tonal and colour transitions. Curves have been updated too and are now hue-preserving, so changing the brightness of different tonal ranges should have less of an unintended effect on colour. Affinity 3.3 also introduces separate Hue and Saturation curves, borrowing an approach that is already common in professional video colour grading software. New global presets have been added as well, including support for applying them across batches of photos. Affinity now also has a dedicated Astrophotography Studio, giving astro photographers a separate workspace specifically for processing night-sky photos. Affinity itself remains free, although some of the AI-powered functionality connected to Canva requires a paid Canva subscription, which is $18 per month.

credits: Sony Sony has unveiled its first compact professional super-telephoto prime, the FE 600mm f/6.3 GM OSS, and the big story here is just how light it is for a 600mm full-frame lens. It weighs only 995g and measures 263mm long, while still accepting standard 95mm front filters. For comparison, Nikon’s Nikkor Z 600mm f/6.3 VR S weighs 1,390g, making the Sony almost 400g lighter. It is also cheaper, Sony is pricing its new 600mm at $3,699, compared with $5,196.95 for the Nikon. Another competitor/alternative is Sigma’s 500mm f/5.6 DG DN OS Sports, but the Sony gives you an additional 100mm of reach while weighing about 370g less. Inside are 24 elements arranged in 17 groups, including three Super ED elements and one ED element, paired with an 11-blade circular aperture. Autofocus is handled by two XD Linear Motors, with one driving each focus group. Minimum focusing distance is 2.5 meters, and maximum magnification reaches 0.25x. Optical stabilisation is built in as well, while the exterior gets the usual controls you would expect from a G Master telephoto, including four customisable Focus Hold buttons, a customisable function ring, several dedicated switches and a weather-resistant construction. The 600mm also works with both of Sony’s existing teleconverters, which opens up even longer focal lengths. Add the 1.4x teleconverter and it becomes an 840mm f/9, while the 2x turns it into a 1200mm f/13. The Sony FE 600mm f/6.3 GM OSS is available to preorder for $3,699 and will begin shipping in October.

credits: Fujifilm The Fujifilm Instax Pal is back for a second generation, and this time it looks more like an actual camera. The original Pal was a tiny, strangely rounded digital camera that launched three years ago, but Fujifilm has pretty much gone back to the drawing board for the Instax Pal 2. The new model has a small, chunky design inspired by classic film cameras, complete with a built-in optical viewfinder, something the original did not have. There is also a shutter button and a small screen on top that can be used when viewing and framing photos. It is still a fully digital camera, though, so there is no instant film inside the Pal 2 itself. Photos can instead be transferred through Bluetooth to the Instax Pal smartphone app and then sent to a compatible Instax wireless printer. There is also a microSD card slot for storing photos directly on the camera. One interesting feature is the ability to switch between the proportions of Instax Mini, Square and Wide, as well as a frameless format. The app can then be used to add filters, text, stickers, and it can function as a remote shutter. Fujifilm has also added an Animation mode, which shoots 10 frames in succession and combines them into a short flipbook-style animation. Fujifilm says many of these changes came directly from feedback it received about the original Pal, which explains why the second generation is such a big redesign. And apparently the Pal 2 photos can also be printed through compatible Instax Evo hybrid cameras, giving it another route to physical Instax prints. The Fujifilm Instax Pal 2 will be available later this month for (a pretty pricey) $169.99, with black and white versions available.

credits: Viltrox Viltrox brought quite a bit of new gear to IBC 2026, one of the world’s major annual trade shows for broadcasting, filmmaking, photography and media technology, held in Amsterdam. This year, Viltrox arrived with seven new autofocus lenses covering full-frame and APS-C cameras, alongside a new flash and camera monitor. Four of those lenses are new full-frame L-Mount models, the AF 14mm f/4 L, AF 20mm f/2.8 L, AF 40mm f/2.5 L, and AF 50mm f/2 L. These are relatively small-aperture lenses compared with some of Viltrox’s more ambitious recent releases, covering everything from ultra-wide shooting at 14mm through to a normal 50mm prime. Their arrival also represents a significant expansion of Viltrox’s still relatively young L-Mount lineup. The bigger full-frame announcement is the Viltrox AF 35mm f/1.4 Pro, which joins the company’s higher-end Pro series. Viltrox has not provided the full optical specifications yet, but the combination of a 35mm focal length and f/1.4 aperture puts it into the everyday fast-prime category. APS-C shooters are getting two considerably faster lenses with the Viltrox AF 18mm f/1.2 Pro and AF 40mm f/1.2 Pro. On a typical 1.5x APS-C camera, those focal lengths work out to roughly 27mm and 60mm equivalent, giving you a wider environmental option and a short-telephoto option, both with very bright f/1.2 apertures. Viltrox also used IBC to show that it wants to expand beyond lenses. A new high-power flash is on the way, although detailed specifications have not been released yet. There is also the new Viltrox DC-X4 camera monitor, meant for video production and providing a larger external display for checking composition, focus and exposure. For now, this is all obviously just more of a first look at Viltrox’s upcoming lineup and not a complete product launch, but it sure looks like Viltrox has quite a bit of new gear on the way over the coming months.

credits: Canon A new Canon patent suggests the company is looking at ways to make longer macro lenses more compact, and one of the designs could potentially point toward something like an RF 200mm f/4L Macro in the future. Japanese patent 2026-144200 describes a five-group optical setup where only two groups move during focusing, while the front, middle, and rear groups stay in place. That is particularly useful with macro lenses because getting all the way down to 1:1 magnification normally requires quite a lot of focusing movement, which can make longer macro lenses pretty big and heavy. The patent includes four optical designs ranging from roughly 88mm to 175mm, with the longest coming in at around 175mm f/3.6 and measuring approximately 189mm long. That is actually not much shorter than Canon’s old EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM, which is about 186mm long, but having less glass moving back and forth during focusing could potentially help reduce weight and improve autofocus performance. The shorter 90-130mm designs are probably less interesting as potential products, simply because Canon already has the RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, which covers much of that range and can already reach 1.4x magnification. That makes the longest design the one to watch. It could potentially form the basis of a new 180-200mm macro lens, perhaps something along the lines of an RF 200mm f/4L Macro with modern autofocus and image stabilisation. A longer focal length would also give macro photographers more working distance than Canon’s current 100mm, which can be handy when shooting insects and other subjects that do not exactly appreciate having a lens pushed right up to them. Canon has not announced anything yet, though, and patents regularly cover designs that never become real products. For now, there is already the Laowa 180mm f/4.5 1.5x Ultra Macro APO for RF mount, although unlike some of the other mount versions, the Canon RF model is manual-focus only.

credits: Wise Wise has announced a new generation of CFexpress 4.0 Type B memory cards, and the main change with the MK-IV series is something we are likely to hear more about as cameras increase bitrates, dual VPG certification. The 512GB card carries both VPG400 and VPG800, while the 1TB, 2TB and 4TB versions jump straight to VPG400 and VPG1600. That means the cards are certified to maintain the sustained write speeds required by both current cameras and future models that may demand much faster media for their highest-quality recording modes. All four capacities can reach up to 3,700 MB/s read speeds. Maximum write speed starts at 3,000 MB/s for the 512GB card, rises to 3,200 MB/s for the 1TB version and reaches 3,400 MB/s on the 2TB and 4TB cards. Sustained write performance varies much more depending on capacity, 900 MB/s for 512GB, 1,800 MB/s for 1TB and 3,300 MB/s for both the 2TB and 4TB models. Wise is positioning that performance for things like 8K and 12K RAW video, as well as long continuous RAW photo bursts where write speed can become the bottleneck. Heat is another area Wise has worked on with this generation. The company says the new cards use around 45% less power and produce roughly 45% less heat than conventional PCIe Gen4 media, which should reduce the chances of thermal throttling during long sessions. The cards are also shockproof and X-ray proof, with an operating temperature range of -12°C to 72°C. Wise has not talked about pricing yet, but the entire MK-IV series is expected to reach retailers in early October.

credits: OM System Alongside the new OM System PEN, which we looked at in yesterday’s magazine issue, OM Digital Solutions has introduced the M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 III, a refreshed version of its small standard kit zoom. The lens covers 14-42mm, or 28-84mm equivalent on Micro Four Thirds, making it an straightforward zoom for everything from wider street photos to tighter portraits. The biggest change from the previous 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 II is not the optics, though. OM System has given the new version an IPX1-rated splash-proof and dust-proof design, following a similar update to the 17mm f/1.8 II and 25mm f/1.8 II primes last year. The other useful improvement is closer focusing. The previous 14-42mm II could focus down to 25cm, with a maximum magnification of 0.19x. The new Mark III cuts that minimum focusing distance almost in half to 13cm, reaching 0.26x magnification at 14mm, or roughly 0.53x in 35mm-equivalent terms. It is also very important to separate this lens from OM System’s existing 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ. That model is the much slimmer electronically controlled pancake zoom and remains a different lens altogether, it also does not have the new model’s IPX1 weather resistance. Optically, the new 14-42mm III uses eight elements in seven groups, including three aspherical elements. It is still a very small lens despite the added weather sealing, weighing 125g and measuring 50.5mm long, with a 46mm filter thread at the front. For comparison, the electronic 14-42mm EZ pancake weighs only 93g. The OM System M.Zuiko Digital 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 III will arrive in late October for $349.99.

credits: Canon Tomorrow is the big day, but a major new leak is giving us a much closer early look at the Canon EOS R8 Mark II before its official announcement. One of the latest details is improved weather resistance, with Canon reportedly describing the camera internally as “fully weather-sealed.” The original R8 already offered some protection against dust and moisture, but Canon itself stopped short of describing it as completely sealed, so this appears to be a meaningful upgrade. The R8 II is also expected to retain the 24MP full-frame sensor from the R6 Mark II, with a native ISO range of 100–102,400, while adding 7.5 stops of IBIS and a sensor protective curtain. Autofocus will reportedly use Dual Pixel AF II with Deep Learning AI, alongside improved animal tracking and Register People Priority. The latter allows you to register specific people so the camera can recognise and prioritise them when several faces are in the frame. There is also finally a rear joystick for controlling the AF point. Shooting speeds are expected to reach 40 fps with the electronic shutter, accompanied by 20 fps pre-shooting, a maximum shutter speed of 1/16,000s, and a newly confirmed 1/200s flash sync speed. Interestingly, the camera is still expected to completely ditch the mechanical shutter. In terms of video, we are apparently getting 6K-oversampled 4K, 4K/60p and 1080/180p, plus Canon Log 3, downloadable colour filters and new LUTs. The unusual ability to create 3D video from 2D photos is also still mentioned in the leaked specifications, although exactly how it works remains unclear. Other changes include a dedicated side door for the SD card, while the camera continues using the LP-E17 battery. Pricing has now been corrected from the previously rumoured $1,799 to $1,899 as well. The Canon EOS R8 Mark II is expected to be officially announced tomorrow, September 15, with shipping beginning in October.

credits: Pentax Ricoh Imaging has officially discontinued all of its current Pentax K-series DSLRs, bringing the current chapter of Pentax digital SLR cameras to an end. This is not exactly unexpected. The Pentax KF was discontinued earlier this year, followed by the full-frame K-1 Mark II just last week, leaving Pentax without a current DSLR in production. Ricoh has now confirmed that this is part of a wider transition and fortunately not the end of Pentax DSLRs altogether. The company says it is moving into a “new stage” and has thanked photographers who have supported the K series over the years. Pentax’s digital SLR story stretches back to the *ist D in 2003, followed by cameras such as the K100D in 2006, which introduced sensor-shift stabilisation to the lineup, and the K-1 in 2016, Pentax’s first full-frame DSLR. What is more interesting, though, is what happens next. Ricoh says it is already developing a completely new series of K-mount DSLRs based around an entirely new concept. The company is not ready to show the cameras yet and admits that development will take time, but it specifically says it intends to build on more than half a century of K-mount history. Ricoh President Yasutomo Mori also explained that simply making cameras for existing Pentax owners is not enough to keep the brand going. Engineers are apparently looking at what a modern DSLR would need to offer to attract younger photographers, while still keeping the experience that separates an SLR from a mirrorless camera. Ricoh has not said what that means technically, and there are currently no specifications, model names, prices, or release dates for the next generation. What it has confirmed, however, is that Pentax is not moving away from DSLRs.

credits: Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve just got another big update for photographers, with Blackmagic Design expanding the relatively new Photo page in DaVinci Resolve 21.1. The Photo page was first introduced in April before officially launching in June, and this latest update adds native photo support for several more camera systems. That includes Fujifilm GFX and X-series cameras, Leica SL cameras, and the Sony a7R VI, meaning their files can now be opened and edited directly inside Resolve without first having to convert them into another format. Blackmagic is also expanding tethered shooting, although this remains limited to the paid Studio version. Fujifilm GFX and X-series cameras, Leica SL models, and the Sony a7R VI can now be controlled directly from Resolve, joining the Canon and Sony cameras already supported. You can adjust settings such as ISO and exposure from within the software, shoot directly into an album, and assign a custom keyboard shortcut to open live view. RAW processing has received some attention too. Blackmagic has reworked the sharpening applied after RAW conversion, while individual RAW parameters in the Inspector can now be reset without wiping out the rest of the adjustments. DNG files also gain distortion, chromatic aberration, and vignetting corrections. There are a couple of other additions as well. Adjustments in the Inspector can now be controlled using DaVinci Colour Panels, including Blackmagic’s Micro Colour Panel. The existing Resolve FX Sky Replacement tool has also been brought over to photos, automatically isolating a sky so it can be replaced. DaVinci Resolve 21.1 is already available, as a free update.