Talk of a new Ricoh GR IV has been circulating for quite a while, so its announcement was only a matter of time. What’s interesting is not just what Ricoh has done with the new camera (or not done), but the way it presents the art of capturing moments as important – and it is. The GR is not my favourite camera, but Ricoh’s philosophy is refreshing in a market dominated by numbers and specifications and quarrels over whose cameras are better.
The three best beginner DSLRs you can still buy new
DSLRs still have a lot to offer compared to mirrorless cameras, especially for someone who is more interested in photography than video. Starter DSLRs are cheap to buy, easy to handle and easier to understand than most hybrid mirrorless cameras. The battery life is longer and there are large numbers of good-value DSLR lenses to choose from, both new and on the used market.
What’s the smartest way to get manual control of your camera? Get a ‘dumb’ lens!
Modern cameras aren’t really set up for manual control. You can adjust the shutter speed, lens aperture and focus manually, but you have to do this indirectly via the mode setting, command dials and manual lens focus rings that are designed more as an emergency override than a front-line control. But there is an answer.
This is why manual controls on cameras matter, and it’s not about clinging to the past
Cameras are tools, right? They are there to do our bidding. But while a modern digital camera will do just that, just as old-school analog cameras did, something has changed. A new layer of context-dependent electronic interfacing has inserted itself between the physical controls at our fingertips and what the camera actually does. There is no longer an obvious, direct, mechanical connection between the camera and us.
Sony FE 28-60mm f/4-5.6 review
Rating: 4.4 stars This unloved kit lens often bundled with the Sony A7C and A7C II looks a bit of a joke, with its barely 2x zoom range and f/4-5.6 maximum aperture. It looks like yet another cheap kit lens to be discarded as soon as you can afford something better. Well let me tell you, it’s no joke. It’s small, it’s cheap, it’s a practical everyday carry and it’s so sharp you could cut yourself.
Manual photography: Why shoot manual at all?
Digital cameras have had auto-exposure and autofocus for so long now that a whole new generation of photographers may never have used manual controls, and an older generation of photographers raised on manual cameras may have abandoned these controls long ago in favor of labor-saving automation. But even today, all DSLR and mirrorless cameras, and many high-end compacts, still offer manual control. Why? And is it still worth shooting in manual when autofocus and auto-exposure are so much easier and quicker?
The Sony RX1R III is like a stuck record… sorry, Sony
When the original 24MP Sony RX1 came out in 2012 it was amazing – a full frame compact camera with a fixed 35mm Zeiss lens. It was extraordinary, dazzling. The RX1R II arrived in 2015 with almost double the resolution, hybrid phase detect AF and a pop-up EVF – even better! These cameras were expensive but exceptional for the time. And now, at last, in 2025 we have a long awaited Mark III.
New Tamron 16-30mm F/2.8 Di III VXD G2 completes Tamron’s trio of f/2.8 full frame zooms
The new Tamron 16-30mm F/2.8 Di III VXD G2 slightly extends the focal range of the old 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD at both ends of the scale while maintaining the constant f/2.8 maximum aperture. It features Tamron’s fast and precise VXD linear AF motor and a 16-element optical design which includes XLD, LD and GM elements. It’s also moisture-resistant.
Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Lite Zero-D FF launched, a new mirrorless version of an existing DSLR lens
The Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Lite Zero-D FF is an ultra-wide full frame mirrorless lens in Sony, Nikon, Canon and L mount versions, though only the Sony and Nikon versions have autofocus – the Canon and L mount versions are manual focus only.
OM System launches the OM-5 II: so is it really new or just a routine refresh?
It was only a matter of time, you might think, before OM System put its latest 20MP stacked sensor in the OM-5. But no! The OM-5 II keeps the same (non-stacked) sensor as the OM-5 and makes do with some tech tidy-ups and a few functional tweaks.