Verdict: 4.8 stars The Insta360 ONE RS 1-inch 360 is a step up in quality for 360 cameras, using 1-inch sensors and cameras (co-developed with Leica) to offer better quality than regular 360 cameras. It’s easy to use but powerful and it can do some amazing things. It also feels very well made, and the companion app makes it easy to produce regular ‘flat’ videos. It’s even good value, for a 1-inch sensor 360 camera, but if you’re just trying this stuff out, the Insta360 ONE X2 is much cheaper and for novice users just as good.
Not all video is vlogging
Opinion: I’m currently reviewing the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 6K G2 for Digital Camera World and it’s been an eye-opening experience. It’s reminded me that not every videographer is a vlogger.
Image stabilization and gimbals are not the same
Camera makers often say their in-body stabilization, whether it’s optical stabilization, digital stabilization or both combined, can deliver ‘gimbal-like’ steadiness. That’s sometimes true, up to a point, for a certain style of shooting, but the fact is that stabilization and gimbals are two completely different things that work on two completely different principles.
Sony A7R II review
Verdict 4.5 stars This is a review of a camera launched seven years ago, but one that was until recently still on sale at crazy prices. The A7R II’s tech may be years old, but its 42MP sensor offers huge image quality, its 4K video is cropped but still useful, and its value for money – either new if you can still find it, or on the used market – is just out of this world.
Olympus PEN E-P7 review
Verdict: 4.5 stars There’s a lot to find fault with in the E-P7’s specs. It has an MFT sensor, it has no viewfinder, it doesn’t even have phase detect AF and it’s expensive for what you get. What changes your mind is using it. It’s pocket sized but handles brilliantly, its 14-42mm kit lens is compact like no other, its AF is lightning fast and Olympus’s creative color and Art Filter modes are in a league of their own. The specs don’t tell the story; this camera has real class.
3 Legged Thing Levelling Base review
Verdict: 3.5 stars The 3 Legged Thing Levelling Base sounds like it could solve a lot of problems. It’s a way of giving yourself a level base for panning shots or panoramas using a similar system to video tripods with bowl bases. But the adjustment range is limited, the pan axis in the base seems unnecessary (and isn’t levelled) and while the 3 Legged Thing Levelling Base is beautifully made, it’s also pretty expensive.
I like the Nikon Z30 more than I thought I would
When I attended the Nikon press briefing for its new, affordable vlogging camera, I was not convinced. I thought it was a rather lazy and predictable reworking of Nikon’s Z50 and Z fc cameras with essentially the same hardware in a new skin. I haven’t really changed my mind about that, but having actually tried […]
I bought a camera launched five years ago… but why?
I often don’t buy cameras until they are five years old. That’s not because I’m tight with money but more because I’m cautious about how I spend it (oh, maybe that’s being tight with money). I also think that cameras that have been on the market for a few years are both safe buys and […]
Should you stop trying to find the one perfect camera?
You know the old saying, “Jack of all trades, master of none”? It’s a weary old adage that we’re probably all sick of hearing, but the annoying thing is that it’s actually true. And never more so than when you’re talking about photography kit. The headline highlights cameras, but it applies to lenses, tripods, camera […]
Peak Design Capture Clip V3 review
Verdict 5 stars ★★★★★: How can something so small be so useful? The Capture Clip V3 lets you carry a camera securely from any belt or strap, releases it in an instant and clamps it tight when you’ve finished shooting. It can hold up to 90kg, apparently, and the Arca-style camera plate will slide straight into […]