The heritage heart of the LUMIX GH line of cameras is catering to the filmmaking community. Back in 2009, as an early adopter of the GH1, I clearly remember how astonished I was to be able to (almost) fit such a powerful filming tool into my pocket. The specs and quality were remarkable for those early days of mirrorless cameras. Fast forward, and like me, who has aged and gained some weight, LUMIX’s latest camera model is also a bit bigger and bulkier. Many (myself included) feel it’s time for a major facelift to introduce the next generation of camera bodies in a more modern housing. However, looks aside, it’s proving extremely capable in terms of video specification and general usage.

Its predecessor, the GH6, was a fine camera that was let down by not being good enough when it came to autofocus performance (you can read the review here). If you’re a Panasonic user, you’re likely familiar with the frustration of seeing an AF “green square” indicating focus, only to find the camera’s focus is actually elsewhere. Well, those days are long gone. First, Panasonic’s full-frame cameras, the S5II and S5II X, showed that AF could be treated differently, and then came the LUMIX GH7. The “trick” was moving away from contrast-based AF and implementing PDAF (Phase Detect Auto Focus).

LUMIX GH7 strengths

Part of testing the usage of such a versatile camera was to put it through its paces and shoot a mini-documentary with it. To do so, I found myself in an amazingly small and quiet Japanese fishing resort. In all my visits to the country, I had never witnessed such a calm place. Maybe it was the season or just the karma of the sea. Whatever it was, if you are ever in Japan, I suggest you explore this area if you are into down-to-earth vacationing next to spending endless hours at the sea.

Takeno is the town, Hitotomaru is the refurbished guesthouse, and Keisuke-san and his lovely wife Nozomi-san were my hosts. The couple has been running this place for the last 8 years, ensuring all guests witness Japanese hospitality at its best.

This little town is very picturesque, and the light during the afternoon was a dream come true for anyone who is into photography and filmmaking. Like with many of my mini-documentaries, I was looking for a very simple and basic autofocus zoom lens to work with, one that many might carry with them anyway. After a short search, I opted for the Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm f/2.8-4 MFT lens. This lens costs around $998 (now reduced to $798), but to enhance the overall picture aesthetic, I decided to use an anamorphic adapter on it – one that would still allow me to use the autofocus functionality of the camera. For that reason (and pure curiosity to see how it performs), I chose to work with BLAZAR’s NERO 1.5x anamorphic adapter.

LUMIX GH7 and lens setup in the field

LUMIX is great at giving us very capable filming tools. (Personally, I’m still wishing for a more simplified camera menu, one that is a bit more intuitive). When it comes to my lens choice for filming this mini-doc, the Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm was fine. On “normal days,” this focal length zoom range was great, but when attaching the NERO 1.5x anamorphic adapter to this lens, I could only use it from 25mm onward (otherwise, you would see the adapter image circle). Also, as this is not a constant aperture lens, when zooming in to around 25mm, the aperture closes to f/3.7, which, of course, makes it less ideal for indoor use under lower light conditions. I was aware of all of these obstacles before going out to film, but was willing to bear the consequences in favor of having a relatively small setup.

The NERO, a 1.5x anamorphic adapter, looks very stylish and is very lightweight (399g/0.87lbs only), but please take into consideration that it is not a “cheap” product. In fact, $999 (the cost of this adapter) can buy you an entry-level anamorphic lens…However, this product’s build quality and overall look, next to allowing a 1.5x squeeze ratio, ignited my imagination. In my mind, I was prepared to achieve a BLAZAR Remus-like aesthetic, highly regarded within its price range. Unfortunately, this did not happen. One should take into account that when using such a lens/adapter combination, the center of the image will be sharp, but the edges of the picture will suffer. I would recommend not using any black pro mist filter in front of this lens as it will make the picture even softer. In the above documentary, I cut around 16% of the image’s edges to make the softness less obvious.

Regardless of the lack of a strong “anamorphic caricaturist,” one of the advantages of working with such an adapter is getting nice widescreen footage without throwing out sensor information.

One can’t have it all

With Panasonic’s LUMIX cameras, one of the things that I never got along well with is their flat picture profile. I’m aware that many get great results when using V-Log, but for me, at times, things look too red(ish), especially when skin tones are involved. This is why I was extremely curious to see how the collaboration between Panasonic and ARRI can benefit users when using this camera. For those who are not aware of this cooperation, Panasonic licensed LogC3 (ARRI’s third Log generation) to be used with this camera (and LUMIX GH6, too). To activate LogC3 in your LUMIX camera, you must obtain the license key here. (Say goodbye to $199.95). After activating the ARRI software in the camera, you can use the LogC3 picture profile. Now, one of the ways to benefit from using that picture profile is by downloading and using ARRI’s library of LUTs. As of June 2024, there are 87 looks to choose from. For the above mini-documentary, I mostly worked with those LUTs, and to be honest, I was really satisfied!

Now, of course, I wanted to use ARRI’s picture profile at the best available resolution/codec/data rate, but when diving into the different camera recording modes, one thing became apparent. Think of the camera menu as a blanket – cover your head, and your feet get cold; pull it down, and your nose freezes. This is how I felt when trying to dial the best available settings in each parameter for internal recording. Below are a few examples: (External recording to Atomos or Blackmagic-supported devices might cover a greater “blanket range,” though).

• Want to record in ProRes RAW internally? The 4:3 open-gate mode is not available (from 17:9 only). The resolution will suffer a bit (5.7K instead of 5.8K), and the ARRI LogC3 picture profile can not be used (V-Log only).

• Want to use ARRI LogC3? The highest recording resolution is 5.7K, in ProRes 422HQ at 17:9 only. (No 4:3 open-gate)

• Changing to MOV? Now, one can shoot in 5.8K, but in 4:2:0 color space and Long GOP codec only. (All-I at C4K).

So, I’m sure you get where I’m heading with these samples. At the end of the day, on a paid gig, one must come prepared and know what you need to deliver. For example, if you are on set to film green screen, maybe using Long GOP 4:2:0 is not the best choice.

BUT, after ranting about some of the camera’s shortcomings, I want to look at the half of the full glass. If you have a bit of time, just head to our Camera Databases and check out what the GH7 can do in terms of dynamic range, rolling-shutter, and latitude. As my colleague Gunther, who is in charge of doing our lab test, describes it: “Panasonic did it again – the LUMIX GH7 is in a class of its own considering the Micro Four Thirds sensor size! Not only does it show good rolling shutter values, also the dynamic range results don’t disappoint. They are quite similar to the recently tested Sony A9 III or the Canon EOS R5 C, for example. As mentioned, it plays in the league of recent consumer full-frame cameras with those results (a bit on the lower end, though).

Done exploring our lab test? Check out the camera recording modes.

Let’s talk IBIS and autofocus

In a recent production for the Austrian national broadcaster, Nino, my colleague, was asked to DP and choose the filming equipment that made the most sense for such a gig. Filming took place in a condensed-spaced van, and it wasn’t possible to interfere during the recording. Nino and the production team needed a mirrorless camera that could reliably focus on the participants’ faces inside the van while also offering good stabilization performance to smooth out “light driving bumps.” After multiple tests, Nino decided to work with a blend of LUMIX cameras, all from their latest generation, as those proved to be head-and-shoulders above their predecessors regarding AF reliability.

Speaking of cameras with “In Body Image Stabilization” (IBIS), the smaller sensor allows Panasonic to exceed expectations here. In general, the performance is rock solid.

In conclusion

The Panasonic LUMIX GH7 camera is a great option for anyone who needs versatility. On top of that, if you are filming nature, take full advantage of the Micro Four Thirds sensor. Meaning that one can travel with smaller zoom lenses and achieve the same focal length on the tele side as going with larger sensors, cameras, and larger lenses. I only wish a special addition, LUMIX GH7, for nature lovers (bird watchers in particular), would someday find its way to the market. I’m seeing too many people schlepping around much heavier cameras and lenses from other brands, unaware of the advantages of working with a Micro Four Thirds sensor camera.

If you are a full-time news cameraman or a solo documentary filmmaker, you will also learn to appreciate the 32-bit float XLR DMW-XLR2 audio module. Running and gunning with a camera that allows you a safety net in audio recording is a welcome thing. Last but not least. I hope future versions of the GH family of cameras will look more modern and stylish. Yes, we don’t make our purchasing decisions based entirely on looks, yet a nice-looking camera might feel nicer in our hands.

Recording modes for the above video: ProRes HQ, 5.7K, 5728×3024, 24p

What do you think about the LUMIX GH7? Do you have any experience working with it? What is your favorite feature, and, on the other hand, what would you like to see changed? Please share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.

Keeping up with the latest trends, SIRUI, a reputable manufacturer of lenses, tripods, lights, and accessories, has now introduced their first-ever full-frame autofocus lens for Sony E, Nikon Z, and FUJIFILM X cameras. The Sony A1 II and the SIRUI 85mm lens arrived at our office more or less at the same time. After carefully examining the A1 II, we decided against doing a review on the camera alone, since video-wise it offers almost the same as its predecessor, the original A1. Instead, we decided to pair these two together!

Sony A1 II

Sony’s flagship mirrorless camera, the A1, was introduced over three years ago. Of course, when we heard about the upcoming Sony A1 II, our expectations were high. In case you missed it, you can check out our Sony A1 review here and our Lab Test here). When it comes to video, the original Sony Alpha 1 already performed well. About two years ago, it received a significant performance boost with a firmware update that added 8K XAVC HS, 4:2:2 10-bit internal recording option. So with the new camera, one can also expect 8K recording in up to 30fps, next to 4K/60 for normal recording and 4K/120 for high-frame-rate. (240 fps in full HD).

Fast forward to today’s announcement. Now we can share that the Sony A1 II keeps the same sensor (50,1PM) and processor as the older model, but includes new features and operability inherited from the a7R V and a9 III. For example, there is a new dedicated AI processing unit to help with enhanced autofocus and recognition performance, focus map, enhanced active mode electronic stabilization, and the ability to import up to 16 user LUTs.

When it comes to the A1 II camera body, it is EXACTLY the same as the Sony a9 III, featuring a 4-axis multi-angle LCD monitor and a similar button layout.

Summary

The Sony A1 II is a nice flagship camera, but for filmmaking, with the introduction of the 4-axis LCD screen and a9 III-like camera body, it brings a bigger increase in functionality rather than picture quality (see our rolling shutter test results above). Yes, video noise levels might be a bit better and S-Log compatibility with other higher-end cameras from Sony’s line might have improved, but all in all, the video picture quality of both cameras is rather the same. We haven’t tested the camera for photography, so I tend to believe that in this department the increments are greater. In a nutshell, we are talking about an “evolution”, not a “revolution”.

SIRUI Aurora 85mm Full-Frame f1.4 Autofocus lens

On the other hand, the new SIRUI Aurora 85mm full-frame autofocus lens, is a pleasant surprise! Taking into account that this is SIRUI’s first autofocus full-frame lens, they did very well.

What not to expect

Please allow me to align expectations first. The new Aurora 85mm is an “electronic lens”-meaning, it needs to be connected to the camera to power up. I’m mentioning this, so you are not surprised when your aperture doesn’t physically change when rotating the aperture ring. On top, don’t expect physically hard stops for minimum and maximum focus distance. As with many other AF lenses, this lens is designed to be suitable for photographers first, and videographers second.

The advantages of using the SIRUI Aurora 85mm lens

Fast F1.4 aperture

We tested the lens on the new Sony A1 II and found it to be surprisingly sharp even when being wide open at f1.4. Stopping it down a notch to F2 yields a slight improvement in sharpens.

Fast accurate silent autofocus operation

I was surprised to see how fast, quiet, and accurate focusing is (And we are talking about a pre-production lens.

“Brilliant image quality”

While the term “brilliant” usually belongs to marketing, we found the following when testing the lens:

• Bokeh: very nice and smooth, cat-eyes in the corners (no traces of “onion rings”).

• Chromatic aberration: visible but well controlled.

• Lens flares: well controlled.

• Focus breathing: well controlled.

• Sharpness: sharp even at f/1.4.

• Distortion: pincushion distortion is visible.

Top this with being lightweight (540g, thanks to using an aspherical lens), and very accessible price ($499 now, and $599 early next year), and you get a very versatile portrait lens that can easily be mounted on gimbals for example.

Lens body design

Next to being optically capable, there are two clutch buttons on each side of the lens. One for switching between autofocus and manual focus, and the other, for “clicking” or “de-clicking” the lens aperture. There is an additional button market with “AFL”. It is an assignable button, but I left it on “focus lock” as this proved to be very convenient while filming.

From my experience filming with this lens, the body seems to be solid. If there is anything I can criticize here, it is the lens cap (as it doesn’t keep the lens secure or stable when placed on a table.). I’m not sure what the issue is, and why such an elementary part of the lens is so difficult to produce effectively.

To complete this offering and ensure that the lens is “up to date”, like with most SIRUI’s lenses, there is a USB-C input connector for updating firmware if needed.

Conclusion

As a company that produces lenses, SIRUI went a long way from offering simple manual focus lenses to what we have here today. I truly believe that entering the full-frame autofocus lens market can contribute to their reputation and increase their customer base. This lens is the first of an entirely new product line and as such, I’m curious to see if the quality will stay consistent in further lenses to come. All in all, it has a solid modern sharp “look” that allows putting different kinds of filters in front of it for “look adaptation”. In fact, two 67mm filters are included with this lens. One is for UV protection, and the other is a 1/4 black mist which will be very helpful in “breaking” the sharp look that is much associated with such a lens.

In the future, I hope to see an evolution of the Aurora line to suit the needs of filmmakers even more. Taking such a lens, adding hard stops, and gears will make it very desirable. SIRUI already has experience using similar optical designs in their S35 line of lenses (Sniper/Nightwalker) so hopefully the same can be done here.

What do you think about SIRUI’s move to enter the ever-growing full-frame autofocus market? Do you think that such a lens is beneficial for your production? Please share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.

Let me state right at the beginning that this is in no way a fully comprehensive review. It’s a first look the DJI Air 3S which I took to a series of beautiful maiden flights, and my first impressions with the drone, as someone who’s flying various DJI drones multiple times per week (especially the Mavic 3 Pro Cine).

Drone confusion – where does the DJI Air 3S fit into DJI’s lineup?

Before we dive into the specifics of the Air 3S, let’s look at DJI’s lineup of “foldable” drones and how they are positioned with regards to their capabilities, and where the new Air 3S will fit in. 

At the bottom end, there’s the still-new DJI Neo which is clearly an entry-level drone that delivers “okay” quality video for amateurs and can be flown in lots of places due to its ultra-low weight of 135 grams. Next is the DJI Mini 3 which shoots better video and photos and can also be flown in many places without permissions because it weighs only 249 grams. However, I think the Mini 3 might be discontinued eventually as we actually have a DJI Mini 4 Pro, but no normal Mini 4 drone. I guess the Neo is taking that entry-level spot now, and the weight and size differences between the Mini 4 Pro and the Neo actually give them a better separation in the market between the two entry-level drones than the Mini 3 and Mini 3 Pro had before. 

Confused? Me too. But wait, I am only getting started …

DJI Air 3 vs. Air 3S vs. Mavic 3 Pro

In the middle of DJI’s lineup of foldable drones, up until now, there’s the DJI Air 3 sitting right above the Mini 4 Pro. In case you missed the great review of the Air 3 by my colleague Jakub, check it our here.

The Air 3 has the beautiful 70mm telephoto camera as the second option, but what’s funny is that main 24mm camera is the same 1-over-1.3 inch CMOS camera that we have in the Mini 4 Pro. And I guess it didn’t sit well with DJI and many of their users, that essentially all of their drones except the high-end Mavic 3 Pro uses the same main camera. The gap between that tiny sensor to the exceptionally good 4/3 CMOS Hasselblad camera that is the main camera in the Mavic 3 Pro, which has been my main drone since it was released, was just too big. In comes the 1-inch sensor for the main camera of the new Air 3S, which offers considerably better low-light capabilities and overall image quality and rendition. 

Image quality delivered by DJI Air 3S cameras

Video from both cameras look exceptional, and it’s great that 10-bit D-Log M and full manual camera controls are available on both cameras. While I didn’t have a chance yet to really test the low-light capabilities of the Air 3S, it’s clear that it will be a lot better in this regard than its sibling, the Air 3, with its much smaller sensor. The new 1-inch sensor offers 50 megapixels in photo mode and up to 4K with 60 frames per second in HDR and 4K 120 for high-speed recordings.

New LiDAR enables better low-light flying and obstacle-sensing technology

A first in a DJI drone is the forward-facing LiDAR sensor in addition to camera sensors around the drone and the downward-facing infrared sensors. With the LiDAR, the drone is less dependent on good ambient light to manoeuvre around obstacles, it now can also do this in low light and near darkness. 

This better obstacle-sensing technology also enables a “Smart” return-to-home feature that actually avoids obstacles and shows you the return path while the drone lands itself. 

Built-in storage, H.265 compression

When taking off for my maiden flight with the drone, I didn’t even bother putting a micro SD card inside because the Air 3S now comes with 42 GB of built-in storage, which gave me about 1 hour and 20 minutes of recording time in H.265 4K at 25 frames per second. And now you don’t even have to power the drone up anymore when connecting it to a computer, the internal drone storage will show up as an external drive.

Talking about codecs, the DJI Air records in the very efficient H.265 codec at a maximum of 130 MBps, and the maximum resolution is 4K. I’ve gotten spoilt recording ProRes in the Mavic 3 Pro Cine, which comes with a built-in 1TB SSD, but I have to say that the H.265 out of the Air 3S is beautiful too and absolutely broadcast-ready. I’ve yet to test how the compression holds up in low light environments but I have a feeling that H.265 is doing a lot better here than much older drones that were only recording the less efficient H.264 at a similar bitrate. 

DJI Air 3S review conclusion – a more affordable allrounder drone

To conclude this first-look review of the DJI Air 3S, I have to point out that this drone will definitely serve you well if you want to produce professional-grade video images with a drone even in low-light situations, but don’t need all the bells and whistles of the high-end Mavic 3 Pro.

DJI Air 3S falls in C1 category / A1 subcategory

One very important thing you need to consider is the fact that in Europe, the Air 3S with its 724 grams falls in the C1 category and the A1 subcategory which is much less restrictive than the C2 category of drones. The Mavic 3 Pro is a C2 category drone because it weighs more than 900 grams, and that means a considerable amount of regulations need to be followed and more permissions need to be obtained you want to fly that drone in a lot of spaces. Apart from a comparatively low price of just around 1100 Euros or dollars, this for me is the main reason why the Air 3S with its 1-inch sensor and low-light shooting and flying capabilities will definitely find its market even among professional video shooters and filmmakers. 

What do you think about DJI’s newest addition to their drone lineup? Are you looking to upgrade from an older model, or finally get into the drone game? Let us know in the comments below.

Well, same procedure as every year. I am picking up the new DJI OSMO Action 5 Pro camera from the
CineD headquarters in Vienna in early September. DJI sent the adventure combo, which includes two additional batteries, and there is also a selfie stick I’ll take along on the trip.

Please have a look at the video first, and find below a summary of what is new/different. A bonus feature of the video is related to shooting with ND filters and the artifacts that can appear.

The camera body & battery

First observation of the camera body, which is the same size as last year’s OSMO Action 4 – the rear screen is bigger, now reaching almost to the edges:

Both the front and rear screens are now OLEDs. The feel of the Record button has vastly improved, and the diving capability is now better than previously – now 20m vs 18m without an additional case. When I insert the battery, I notice the bigger size – now 1950mAh- instead of the 1770mAh of the previous generation Action 4 camera.

OSMO Action 5 Pro Camera settings
Nino shares the instructions from DJI to install the special Mimo app for camera testers, and
using the app, I am downloading the latest and greatest firmware (01.00.06.09 as of today).

The next step is looking at the camera settings. Switching to Pro mode, using D-Log M 10bit gamma curve. Aha, there is a new +/- slider for “texture,” aka sharpness and “noise reduction” – very nice! In
previous generations, these were not accessible to the user. I keep both at “0” for now.

Next discovery: in 4:3 mode, using the full sensor height, you can now shoot up to 120 frames per
second in 4K mode! Very nice, as the Action 4 cam only allowed 60fps in 4:3 (it offered
120fps in 16:9 mode, though):

Also, I am setting the cam to “Rocksteady+” mode, which crops further into the image, thus reducing the resolution but offering superior stabilization, which will be needed riding on the rocky trails. While still debating with myself if a 128GB miniSD card will be sufficient for the trip, I discover the internal storage: 47.8GB of internal storage is available for shooting! That can be a very nice backup if you run out of card space.

Now, I am ready to head out into the Austrian Alps.

DJI OSMO ACTION 5 Pro Review – field observations

First, let’s talk about battery life: not only have the batteries gotten bigger, now the processor is using 4nm technology. Hence, I could shoot around 30 minutes of footage throughout the entire day and still have 60% of the battery remaining. This is a vast improvement!

Image quality: Second, it looks like the dynamic range of the 1/1.3″ sensor has improved. Never before was I able to pull shadows like this on an action cam (again, using the official DJI D-Log M to Rec709 LUT):

Also, the auto exposure in-camera manages to maintain a nice balance between shadows and highlights without clipping:

Unfortunately, the bitrate has dropped massively compared to the OSMO Action 4, which is rather surprising.:

• in 4K 4:3 30p mode the Action 5 Pro only shows ~60Mbit/s where the Action 4 shows 130Mbit/s
• in 4K 4:3 60p mode bitrate increases to 80Mbit /s (Action 4 stays at 130 Mbit/s)
• only in 4K 4:3 120p mode the bitrate reaches ~110 Mbit/s

This low bitrate is definitely not enough, as compression artifacts show up in darker sections of foliage and meadows or grassy areas. They become very muddy and lack any detail:

We reached out to DJI, and they were very responsive, but up until now, we haven’t gotten a factual reply on the bitrate other than their intention is to “optimize file sizes.” Hopefully, a future firmware update will resolve this, restoring the 130 Mbit/s bitrate of the previous generation Action 4!

The front and rear OLED screens are much easier to read in bright sunlight, and the Rocksteady mode on rough trails is really, really good.

Also, the sound quality has vastly improved. Previously, sound on action cameras was basically useless. You can hear yourself in the video, and I find the audio quality much improved, with less sensitivity to wind noise than before.

Additionally, you can now connect two DJI mics directly to the OSMO Action 5 Pro (without a receiver) and enable in-camera audio backup, which records an additional stereo track from the built-in camera mics.:

This feature is very handy for recording proper sound in an interview situation, for example. Well done, DJI!

Summary

All in all, I enjoyed riding my bike and shooting with the OSMO Action 5 Pro! There were no quirks, no hang-ups of any kind – the camera just felt solid and very reliable.

I do hope the low bitrate can be improved in a future firmware update because this is the only sore point I have with the camera.

Are you considering purchasing the OSMO Action 5 Pro? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

If you are short on time, let me summarize everything I’m about to write: Canon just dropped a little bomb! Take everything you liked from the EOS C70—like its lightweight and compact design—and combine it with everything you would want to have from the EOS C400 but maybe could not afford or justify, like a full frame 6K resolution sensor, triple ISO, and newer recording formats. And here you have it: The EOS C80—the ultimate cost-effective cinema camera Canon ever produced. 

Canon EOS C400 little (big) brother/sister

Basically, it takes many of the features found in the new EOS C400, such as: 

• Full frame backside illuminated sensor for providing a 6K (up to 30p) recording capability.

• Triple base 800/3200/12800 ISO (when filming in Canon C Log 2/3)
• A faster sensor readout for an improved rolling shutter performance. (In the mini-documentary, take a look at the shots where I’m filming Touyo on the train. Pay attention to the vertical lines outside).

• The two new updated video file formats are also available. XF-AVC S and XF-HEVC S allow the use of a professional long file naming structure next to metadata. 

Compared to the EOS C70

When compared to the EOS C70, the new EOS C80 can record internally in full frame, 12-bit Cinema RAW LT, up to 6K/30p. (Note: The EOS C70 now enjoys a hefty price drop of $1000 bringing it to $4,499)

• Looking for recording in Cinema RAW ST quality? Then switch to S35 crop mode.

• The 4K 422 10-bit recording is oversampled from 6K.

• Needless to say, this new camera’s lowlight capabilities and auto-focus performance are similar to those of the EOS C400. 

The Canon EOS C80 body design is very similar to its predecessor and retains almost the same dimensions and compactness as the EOS C70. Additionally, new features were added, such as: 

• 12G SDI out terminal. (It can output simultaneously from HDMI, too.)

• Ethernet terminal and internal Wi-Fi for remote camera operation. 

• Multi-function shoe terminal for using some third-party audio accessories. (Like the Tascam XLR Microphone Adapter, CA-XLR2d-C).

Other enhancements that I find extremely valuable are: 

• An improved LCD with a greater brightness.

• A new LCD panel lock mechanism.

• A 1/4-inch hole is added, too, to secure the tripod plate more firmly.

• Redesigned top handle that enables the multi-function shoe functionality. 

• Even the joystick has undergone a slight adjustment and is now positioned closer to the thumb for easier operation. 

Autofocus and recording media

When it comes to autofocus, the dual-pixel CMOS AF II continues to shine, this time with added animal and full-body detection. In fact, in the above video, I used autofocus 95% of the time and moved to manual focus only in “difficult” situations (flat surfaces like when filming a book, for example).

Interestingly, but not surprisingly, Canon decided to keep using SD media cards in this camera. If you are into internal RAW recording, the company recommends using V90 cards.

On my shooting day, I was using an Angelbird V60 card which held up admirably most of the time, BUT for continuous recording next to high frame rate filming, please use V90 cards for your peace of mind.

Overall handling

If you are used to working with the EOS C70, you will feel right at home. If you are used to working with Canon cameras in general, you will feel very comfortable, of course.

Nothing really interrupted me from successfully concluding the day-and-a-half shooting days I had with Tuoyo. Everything fell into place nicely. As a long advocate of working with an EVF, I had to get used to working with the LCD. Not so easy if you are wearing reading glasses, but as this camera is being categorized as a “cinema camera,” I tend to understand why Canon is not adding an EVF to it.

It is worth noting that, like the EOS C70, the new camera has only a digital stabilization function, but obviously, this cannot be used when filming in RAW recording mode. 

I also “chose” to work with the only RF lens we currently have at the office, the 24-105mm f2.8. It makes the package a bit larger but is very capable in terms of image quality. 

What I struggled with most was getting Adobe Premiere (latest edition) to recognize the C-Log 3 files correctly. When importing the RAW footage to Premiere, the default is always C-Log 2 (Why? A good question)…So, in order to change this setting to C-Log 3 on multiple clips, one needs to create and save a new “present.” Sounds easy, no? Bottom line, at least on my computer, using the save “C.Log 3 preset” did nothing and I needed to correct each clip in the above video manually.

Other possible applications

It’s worth mentioning that the new camera is also suited for VR content creation in addition to virtual, VFX, and live productions, but it is beyond the scope of this review to discuss all those enhancements. 

Pricing against the competition

I would like to compare the price of the EOS C80 to two cameras. One is Canon’s own EOS 400 as there is some overlap between them, while the EOS C80 will retail for $5,499 the EOS C400 will set you back for $7,999. So basically, one will have to decide if the added features in the EOS C400 justify the $2,500 price difference.

Another camera that got A LOT of attention after its recent price slash is the RED Komodo X. And again, those who were considering purchasing the Komodo X might recalculate their steps. Each camera has its strengths and weaknesses, but the $1496 cheaper price tag on the EOS C80 might make the decision for some a bit easier.

Conclusion

Canon did their homework, and it’s nice to see that they are keeping the same price policy that they started with the launch of the EOS C400, meaning, releasing modern, capable cameras at a very attractive price point. The EOS C80 is simply a great value-for-money camera by Canon, especially if you care about full-frame sensor size and 6K resolution.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the very talented and enthusiastic Tuoyu Song (宋拓宇) for being patient with me. We managed to nail this story in one and a half shooting days. More about her work can be found here.

The above short film was recorded in C log3, full fame 6K/25p, Cinema RAW LT, and graded with a LUT made with fylm.ai. (Try it here). Lens: Canon RF 24-105mm f/2.8 L IS USM Z. Mic: DJI Mic 2. Light: SIRUI C150X 150W Pocket Light.

I’m curious to hear your thoughts on the new Canon EOS C80. Would you consider getting it instead of the EOS C400 or RED Komodo X? Please share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.

In this article and video review, I want to leave aside the “pro features” of the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 camera. Even if only to make a point, I might come back to it in the future or produce a mini-documentary solely filmed with this camera. But this time, not a word about Pro Mode, D-Log, 10-bit recording, or anything else that comes close to putting this device in a situation that requires “control.” This is all about ease of use, mobility, functionality, fun, and out-of-the-box picture quality.

Let’s start with a bold statement: “I would like to thank DJI for saving my marriage.” Please don’t take me too seriously here, but if you are someone’s spouse and/or parent, you might recognize yourself in the following scenario and know exactly what I mean.

As a camera junkie and a person who has been committed to bringing “true to life camera reviews” for years, I have been shlepping DSLR and, later, mirrorless cameras with me wherever I go, including family vacations and trips. The box of excuses was always full. From “I have to meet a deadline for testing this camera” to “I have to capture those priceless family memories.” These are all true statements, but at what cost?

Whatever the scenario or excuse, one thing hasn’t changed: the little irritation that my wife and kids have while I point a camera at them or lag behind them searching for that “best vacation shot.”

So, how is this all connected to the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 camera? Well, here we go.

A family vacation is around the corner. What camera should I take?

As some of you might know, the amazing Japan is my second home, and as such, every year my family and I spend the summer months here. At the beginning of our stay, we dedicate a few days to having a family vacation, and there is ALWAYS a new camera to test (hint: a LUMIX GH7 review is currently in the making).

For this vacation, I wanted it to be seamless. I didn’t want the kids to pose or hear anyone complaining about me lagging behind. As a mirrorless camera advocate, the Osmo Pocket 3 was not really on my radar, but this time, I wanted to take a closer look at it, and let me tell you, since then, I’ve been hooked.

DJI Osmo Pocket 3 review – good morning sunshine

In all the years of testing cameras, I had never experienced a filming device that did not disturb but rather complemented and supported a vacation (yes, this also goes for comparing it with mobile phones). The overall handling and ease of use were something that I did not expect at all. Flip the screen, go through some basic settings like resolution and frame rates, choose what you want the gimbal to do, decide if it is a normal video or slow-motion, photos, timelapse, choose just what you are after, and that’s it.

Other advantages of this camera:

• Fast charging next to the possibility of having an additional “battery handle” if you purchase the “Combo Creator” package. This assures constant power for the entire day.

• Filming at up to 4K/60p is possible without cropping the image. Recording at a high frame rate (up to 4K/120p, no crop) is also possible for maximum family fun.

• DJI Mic 2 connectivity for superior 32-bit float audio (Creator Combo)

• Robustness: I was a bit afraid of having the Osmo Pockt 3 in my pocket…I was not so sure how the gimbal part of the camera would react, but I’m pleased to report that it withstands extensive walking and frequent pocketing, enduring countless times of being pulled out for filming without any issues.

Now, it is not that those specifications were unavailable before in other filming devices; it is more about how DJI delivered them.

DJI Osmo Pocket 3 review – handling

Cameras generally come in a horizontal shape, forcing you to mostly use two hands when filming. The same horizontal placement applies to pointing mobile phones if you are filming in a traditional 16×9 way. To allow “one-hand camera handling” and also support better fluid movement, many camera manufacturers are offering “tripod handles”, while third-party companies will take it a step further and try to sell you all sorts of gimbals. All that effort goes into achieving what the Osmo Pocket 3 is already doing in the first place without any additional accessories, namely, comfortable, vertical, single-hand handling supported by a built-in gimbal for smoother movement. As many of you already know, this concept simply works well. Now, back this functionality with a 1-inch sensor, and many close-up shots will get a desirable shallow depth of field.

Filming effortlessly

I don’t know about you guys, but back in the old days, I used to be a BIG director when it came to family vacations. Nowadays, I just want to save memories, and as we all know, in today’s fast-paced world, memories, as well as kids, do not stand still…

This is where the Osmo Pocket 3 shines. Take it out of the pocket, twist the LCD screen to power it on, and seamlessly integrate it into your movements! This thing is so small that it does not irritate anyone, and, at the same time, one does not have to be precise with framing. I mean, the lens is wide but not too wide, so it’s great not to worry too much about framing, especially in extremely bright outdoor conditions (by the way, a wider magnetic lens is included with the “Combo Creator Package”).

I was also surprised to see (actually hear) that the audio coming from the internal microphones is fine for ambient sound next to capturing the dialogue from people standing next to you. I’ll touch on the subject of audio a little bit further down the road.

What did I miss and hope to see in the future?

We all operate cameras differently and have different expectations, so maybe the ultimate filming device is still not here, yet I do believe that the Osmo Pocket 3 is a game changer (I can’t believe that I just used this word)… For even greater flexibility, I hope that the company will consider the following:

• Try to improve the gimbal even more. I want the “walking duck movement” to be a thing of the past.

• Consider adding an internal memory with a capacity sufficient for recording an hour or so. With this camera, you’ll find yourself filming more frequently (whether that’s fun or not), and having an internal backup for when your card fills up would be greatly appreciated.

• This is more of a personal wish, but two tiny DeadCat windshields to stick on both internal microphones would be great to have. They wouldn’t get in the way when operating the camera and could improve the overall sound quality when filming outdoors.

• The red color recording indication currently displays on the left-hand side. On bright days, it is not so easy to see the LCD screen, so preferably, a red-colored frame to indicate recording would have been great to have.

• When touching the screen to change focus, the execution is fast. I wish there was a way to adjust the focus speed.

• Moiré is visible in fine lines. Hopefully, this can be improved.

Vlogging

As I gain trust working with the Osmo Pocket 3, I’m now experimenting with vlogging and find it to be extremely easy and intuitive. Touch the LCD screen to point the camera toward you, and it will recognize your face and start following it. The same can be done when the camera is pointing toward others. Actually, the kids had a good five minutes of trying to “escape from the camera” until they lost interest.

If you go with the “Combo Creator” package option, the simplicity of operation is maintained and even enhanced with the inclusion of the DJI Mic 2. Turn on the camera and transmitter, and they will locate each other easily. Use the camera menu settings to enable 32-bit float audio recording (happening on the transmitter itself). Also, formatting the 8GB internal memory of the mic is done throughout the camera menu settings, too. It is worth mentioning that after powering the DJI mic 2 once, there is no need to worry about the device recording audio. Every time you start filming, the mic will start recording automatically. My advice is to turn “Vibration ON” so you can easily confirm that audio recording is indeed taking place.

Last but not least, a second DJI mic 2 can be connected to the camera, too, if wanted/needed.

With so many superlatives, is this the only device needed for capturing videos and photos?

To maintain adequate video/picture quality, DJI limited the degree of digital zooming to 2.0x. While this was mostly OK for recording video, it felt a bit limiting for taking photos. I would recommend having another camera (or a mobile phone) with you if taking photos is your priority.

The MIMo App

I do recommend downloading DJI’s Mimo App. First, it will notify you and then allow you to download the latest camera firmware update. In addition, many of the basic camera controls can be executed via the app, which is helpful if you are a vlogger.

Conclusion

It has been a while since I have so thoroughly enjoyed using a camera that mostly works for me. Its compact size, 1-inch sensor, handling, and robustness all make a strong case for this powerful little camera. I simply cannot imagine a future family vacation without it!

Do you know what the hardest part of conducting this review was? Going back to filming on a mirrorless camera. Suddenly, it felt so limiting… The DJI Osmo Pocket 3 certainly exceeded my expectations. I wonder if the same concept can be applied to a device with a larger sensor, say APS-C (just out of curiosity). Would it make the camera so much larger to the point of defeating its purpose? Probably yes, yet those who are concerned about the current sensor size might be willing to explore such an optional device.

And to answer my question at the start of this review, is the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 the best camera for traveling, family, and vlogging out there? In my opinion, absolutely! All in all, well done, DJI!

Do you already have the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 camera? What is its main usage: documenting your family, vlogging, or doing something even more demanding with it? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Back in February while traveling to Japan to cover CP+, I also had the opportunity to meet with two top FUJIFILM managers, Yuji Igarashi-san and Watanabe-san, for a conversation about the newly announced X100VI. If you missed this friendly talk about the camera, don’t hesitate to head here and learn more.

Fast forward to the present. We had the camera here at the office for a bit and took it for a spin. While I was concentrating on exploring the video capabilities of the X100VI, I asked my dear colleague Florian to dive into checking the following:

• How fast will the camera overheat (not so fast – just make sure your setting “temperature” is set to “high”)
• Occasional use for taking pictures by carrying it around

Together, we tried to understand why people became so hooked on this camera, as we had never seen such a tremendous wave of preorders before.

X100VI – provoking emotions

When holding the camera for the first time, there is no doubt that FUJIFILM managed to create a piece of equipment that stirs emotions. The feeling of holding something that is beautiful to look at and feels classic to the touch immediately uplifts your mood. Top this with relative ease of use, (meaning: fixed lens, compact size, lightweight 512g “point and shoot” camera) and you have a winner. In other words, mobile phones are great for taking photos and videos because they are always with us, but if you are looking for something that does not rely so much on computational image-building, has a much larger sensor (40.2MP APS-C in this case), fits into a (larger) pocket, and contains FUJIFILM’s famous film simulations, then this camera might be interesting for you to explore.

Great for learning composition?

I don’t know about you guys, but for me, there are times when “learning with the feet” is much better than “learning through the head”. In this regard, a fixed focal length camera is a great tool to practice getting your composition right. Zoom lenses are fantastic (of course!) but a fixed focal length lens can make one think harder about how to compose the shot instead of simply twisting the zoom barrel.

An anamorphic adapter on the fixed 23mm lens?

As I wrote earlier, we are a bit late to the party with this review and as such, I wanted to create something that looks a little bit different, and in my opinion, there is no better way to explore that possibility than by adding an anamorphic adapter to the lens to achieve a more pronounced look (and in all honesty, why make life easy when I can spit blood?)…

It starts with the fact that the lens has an inner thread you can attach any filter to. This means that a “special” ring adapter is required to attach an adapter or any filter to the lens. As the one we ordered from Amazon “got lost on the way”, Florian simply printed one at home on his 3D printer. The anamorphic adapter I chose to work with was an “ancient” one from SLR Magic. This Anamorphot-40 1.33x adapter is supposed to function when working in autofocus mode and also, as the X100VI records video on the 16×9 portion of the sensor, it was best suited for the job in coming up with a 2:35.1 frame aspect ratio.

I love working with soft diffusers in front of my lenses in order to “break” potential digital-looking footage, but this time I did not do so well. My choice to work with a 1/4 black Pro Mist in front of the anamorphic adapter proved to be “not so good”. Don’t ask me why I chose this overly strong strength, but after seeing the final results, I realize I should have used a 1/8 black Pro Mist instead.

The interview with Alp is a good example. I had to run it twice as the strength of the Pro-Mist filter really bothered me so much that I unscrewed it from the adapter at some point.

What to like

First, we have to take into consideration that this camera was never intended to be a “best-in-class mirrorless camera for video”. As such, I (we) have to align our expectations and treat it for what it can best offer. For me, it is its mobility and ease of use. Top this with 20 attractive film simulations including the new REALA ACE, and here you have a camera that you can always have with you, or if needed, serve as a backup device for filming.

Building on my previous comments about the stylish camera and its compact size, FUJIFILM has optimized it to be ideal for the occasional shooter. A 6.2K video (6240×3510) is nice to have, especially when dropped down on a 4K timeline (for additional sharpness and reframing if needed). Also, the 200Mbps is good enough for capturing good-looking videos. F-Log2 for maximum dynamic range and post-color correction are there, too. Like its predecessor, the built-in ND filter is a must, although it has only two fixed positions, “on” and “off”. As such, I occasionally found myself screwing in an additional ND filter to compensate for the strong outdoor light.

Unlike some cameras in its size, this one has a hybrid electronic/optical viewfinder.

What I would like to see improved

There is a list of things I would have loved to see done a bit better, but in all honesty, I can discard those concerns because I don’t see FUJIFILM implementing such enhancements in future XV100xx models. Simply put, a larger handgrip, a bigger capacity battery, and a fully articulated LCD screen (just to name a few) would affect the overall nature of this camera.

So continuing along the line of “the camera has fixed hardware”, I can only ask for software enhancements. One of those changes will be the ability to switch between the EVF and LCD screen AFTER pressing the record button. Currently, the last position you choose will be locked, which is very inconvenient while filming. I also wish that the autofocus would be improved next to the IBIS performance. (As this is the first X100xx camera to have an IBIS, things can only get better from here).

Also taking the camera limitations into account when recording audio in the camera – for monitoring audio, you will have to be equipped with a USB-C to 3.5 female jack cable, and for connecting your mic, you will need a 3.5 to 2.5mm jack adapter. Not convenient at all, but I guess it falls under those hardware limitations that cannot be changed.

Last but not least, regardless of which recording resolution you choose, when filming in HQ mode the camera will crop the video by 1.23x. Then, the 23mm lens becomes almost a 30mm lens. Now, for me personally 23mm is not wide enough, so 30mm is even less attractive.

For those who are looking for “high data rate video recording”, please look elsewhere. As the camera uses a UHS-I SD card, the maximum data rate is restricted to 200Mbps. Thankfully, for many purposes, this still looks great, and what helps here is the ability to record in 10-bit color depth and 4:2:2 color sampling. (H.264/H.265 codec flavors only).

Final words

It was truly nice to play with this camera. Is it a “professional tool”? Well, in my opinion, anything you can work and make money with is a professional tool… Personally, the newly announced X-T50 is a more desirable option (review coming soon), BUT at the end of the day, who can argue with the fact that FUJIFILM has created the most wanted camera in their history?

Now, the key question is whether they can meet the demand within a reasonable timeframe!

A BIG thank you to Alp Ruben. More about his cooking and hosting initiatives can be found here.

What do you think about the X100VI? Did you pre-order one or do you have one already? If so, how do you like it? Please share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.

The Avata 2 is DJI’s third FPV drone. After the first try with the rather large DJI FPV, the Avata cinewhoop was introduced in August 2022. The newly announced second-generation Avata brings various improvements.

DJI Avata 2 – lighter & quieter

First of all, the new Avata is more than 30g lighter. The take-off weight of the DJI Avata was 410g, while the new Avata 2 weighs 377g/0.83lbs. Despite having the same size 3 inch propellers as the first Avata, the overall size increased slightly (180 x 180 x 80mm – Avata versus 184.5 x 212 x 64mm – Avata 2). The good thing is that DJI somehow made the new Avata quieter. They claim the drone only produces 81 dB.

The visual sensors on the drone body are now positioned at a rear bottom edge so they also cover the back of the drone as opposed to the downward-facing sensors of the first Avata. The drone, of course, still features the propeller guards.

Another difference is motor orientation – the Avata featured a so-called “pusher” orientation with the motors facing down. The new Avata 2 has the motors facing up, which is known as a “puller” configuration.

I like how easily accessible the SD card slot and the USB-C port are on the Avata 2. This is, unfortunately, not always the case with FPV cine whoops. The first Avata had these ports hidden on the inside of one of the prop guards right next to a propeller.

Battery and flight time

Compared to the first Avata, the battery design is now more in line with other DJI drones. The new battery inserts into the drone’s body and clicks in place, there is no need to connect any cables. DJI says each battery equals up to 23 minutes of flight time. That is a huge improvement from the previous Avata, which offered up to 18 minutes. It is also hard to compare with other FPV drones, which usually offer somewhere between 4 and 8 minutes of flight time.

The good thing is that the drone itself also features 30W PD fast charging. With the included USB-C cable, it takes about 1,5 hours to fully charge one battery. The charging hub offers up to 60W charging – this fully charges one battery in about 45 minutes. Additionally, it features DJI’s power accumulation function that can concentrate the remaining power from all three batteries into one.

Compared to most other FPV drones, battery management is much easier with DJI. Regular LiPo battery packs, which most other FPV drones use, require constant care. You need to keep an eye on the battery voltage when flying to not drain it too much; you always need to return it to a storage voltage after use; you need to store it properly. DJI has been making these intelligent flight batteries that do all this for you, so it is much easier to just charge them and fly.

Camera

The drone has a new camera unit. It uses a 4:3 12MP 1/1.3” image sensor. It is the same size as the one found in the Osmo Action 4. The lens is an ultra-wide 13.1mm equivalent focal length with a fixed f/2.8 aperture (155° FOV). The focus is fixed with a range from 0.6m to infinity.

The camera offers a variety of recording modes up to a 4K 4:3 60fps

• 4K (4:3) 3840×2880 @60/50/30fps
• 4K (16:9) 3840×2160 @60/50/30fps
• 2.7K (4:3) 2688×2016 @60/50/30fps
• 2.7K (16:9) 2688×1512 @120/100/60/50/30fps
• 1080p (4:3) 1440×1080 @120/100/60/50/30fps
• 1080p (16:9) 1920×1080 @120/100/60/50/30fps

As you can see, the drone does not offer framerates lower than 30fps. DJI told us they are not including 25 and 24fps modes because it would not look smooth in the Goggles. There are three shooting angles – standard, wide-angle, and ultra-wide angle.

On top of the standard 8-bit normal color mode, the Avata 2 offers an H.265 10-bit D-Log M mode with a maximum bitrate of 130 Mbps. This, of course, offers maximum flexibility in post-production. The good thing is that you can also change sharpness levels (-2,-1,0,1,2) and noise reduction (-2,-1,0,1). I prefer to keep both values as low as possible and apply these in post-production if necessary.

The drone offers two types of electronic stabilization:

• RockSteady – this mode applies a smooth stabilization to the footage and it works in both 4:3 and 16:9 shooting mode and at any shooting angle.
• HorizonSteady – this mode keeps the horizon level in the footage, but it only works at the standard shooting angle and in 16:9 modes. The field of view is therefore a bit limited in this mode.

You can also choose not to apply any kind of stabilization in the drone, and if you shoot in wide-angle mode, the footage will contain gyroscopic data so you can then stabilize the footage with a supported app such as Gyroflow. To save the footage, on top of the microSD card slot, the Avata 2 has a larger internal memory of 46GB.

Gimbal

Just like with the first Avata, the camera is fixed on a 1-axis motorized gimbal that allows for up/down tilting up to about 90° both ways. In both normal and sports modes, the gimbal is active, so the camera keeps a fixed angle relative to the horizon. In manual mode, the gimbal remains fixed relative to the drone body, which makes it possible to perform dives, for instance.

I appreciate that DJI designed the drone frame to protect the gimbal in case of a crash. You have a plastic frame with a rubberized stripe on each side of the gimbal. I think it might save the camera in some situations.

Image transmission

The drone uses the DJI O4 video transmission for low-latency (as low as 24ms) feed up to 1080p 100fps. The dual-frequency bands (2.4GHz and 5.8GHz) with automatic switching help to avoid interference. The O4 supports a video transmission bitrate of up to 60Mbps.

DJI Goggles 3

The new Goggles 3 features an integrated battery in the headband – the same as we have seen in the Goggles Integra. This way the overall weight of the Goggles (410g/.09lbs) should be better balanced. DJI claims the integrated battery should last for up to three hours. I usually still had more than 50% of the battery left in the Goggles after emptying all three batteries for the drone.

DJI further added a forehead pad, so the Goggles do not sit on the face anymore but more on the forehead. The pad features a hinge so the Goggles can be slightly adjusted to sit well in front of the eyes. There is an SD card slot on the inside, two folding antennas, two buttons, a joystick, and a USB-C port.

Inside the Goggles, there are two 1080p micro-OLED displays with adjustable diopters (from -6.00 to +2.00). There is also a de-fog feature that spins the internal fans at maximum speed.

Real view

Perhaps the most notable new features of the Goggles 3 are the two front-facing cameras. These offer a feature called real view. The real view aims to provide a quick view of the surroundings without the need to remove the Goggles. This way you can, for instance, quickly swap the drone’s battery and take off again while keeping the Goggles on.

The cameras offer a 2D mode (view from one camera only), and a 3D mode which combines both cameras to provide a sense of distance. There is also a picture-in-picture (PiP) mode that shows both the drone’s feed and the view from the front-facing camera (only works in 2D mode). For my taste, these cameras could have a wider field of view.

Another cool feature of the Goggles 3 is Live View Sharing – the ability to stream the drone’s feed to a mobile device. This is possible in the DJI Fly app either via a compatible USB-C cable or wirelessly via a wi-fi connection.

DJI RC Motion 3

As with every new FPV drone from DJI, with the Avata 2, we get a new motion controller. The new RC Motion 3 controller mainly aims to provide a different flying experience and bring beginners into the world of FPV flying. The new controller is smaller and lighter than previous generations and offers some new features. It can, for instance, be used to navigate through the menus in the Goggles which is faster than using the joystick on the Goggles. Naturally, with the RC Motion 3, you cannot access the manual mode. You can only fly in normal or sports mode.

Easy ACRO mode

Another new feature with the Avata 2 and the RC Motion 3 is the Easy ACRO mode. It allows for three moves done automatically by the drone after combining a dial and a button on the motion controller:

• Front/backflip
• Left/right roll
• 180° drift

Although I did not expect to like it much, I enjoyed this mode. The footage of the flips of the drone even looked quite usable after the RockSteady stabilization was applied.

FPV remote controller 3

Thankfully, DJI designed a new standard controller for the Avata 2 as well. Having used other FPV drones and having muscle memory, this is how I prefer to fly the drone. The controller now has the antenna integrated into the body so it is quite compact.

Aside from all the other buttons, some of which are customizable, there is a rocker on the controller that changes the flying mode between normal, sport, and manual.

Manual mode

The manual mode is the way to get the most speed, control, and flexibility. For safety reasons, however, the manual mode is not available by default, so simply switching to it will not work. You need to go to the controller menu and enable it there. At the same time, it is necessary to adjust the screws behind the throttle joystick to prevent it from recentering.

If you want to try the manual mode, however, I recommend training in an FPV simulator first. When you activate it, the drone asks you to position both joysticks in a required position before really switching itself into manual mode. That is a nice safety feature. When flying, if you get into trouble, you can always switch back to sport or normal mode and the drone stops and hovers on the spot. The manual mode with the Avata 2 is fun, one thing I noticed is that the drone did not let me go into a full dive. It stops from tilting down quite early. Perhaps there is another setting in the menu that I might have missed.

Pricing and availability

DJI Avata 2 drone is available now and you can choose from two different packages:

• DJI Avata 2 fly more combo (single battery) which costs $999 (from €999 in Europe)
• DJI Avata 2 fly more combo (three batteries) which is priced at $1,199 (from €1,199 in Europe)

All Avata 2 drones come with the RC Motion 3 controller only. If you want the DJI FPV Remote Controller 3, you need to purchase it separately for $199 (from €149 in Europe).

Last but not least, the Avata 2 ND filter set from DJI will set you back $79 (from €69 in Europe).

Conclusion

The Avata 2 is a really good drone overall. I like how it offers a suitable flying mode for all skill levels. The camera of the drone got significantly improved as well and I think the image is very much on par (if not better) than the GoPro HERO12. When I return the Avata 2 to DJI, I will definitely have a hard time going back to my other FPV drones which are just much more complicated to fly, deal with the GoPro on the back, care for the batteries, and so on.

Do you use FPV drones for your productions? What do you think about the DJI Avata 2? Is it finally time to stop mounting GoPro cameras on FPV cinewhoops? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section underneath the article.

In the tech and camera world, there are a few things that arrived much later than when they were announced and at a much higher price. Remember RED’s original announcement of “3K for $3K” from 2008? The promise was a 3K resolution camera for 3000 dollars. We never saw that camera, especially not for that price. Or the Tesla Cybertruck? That pickup truck was delayed several times over years since its announcement and it only recently started shipping. The price of the Cybertruck is also 50% higher and it offers less range than initially promised.

DJI’s initial 8K promise

In 2021, DJI announced the Ronin 4D, which featured a 6K camera unit, the Zenmuse X9-6K. I reviewed it when it came out and was absolutely amazed by the amount of innovation that DJI packed into this unique camera.

While the Ronin 4D 6K started shipping shortly after its announcement, DJI also announced an 8K version of their camera module, the X9-8K, which was supposed to start “shipping soon”. Over two years have since passed, and of course people started making jokes that the 8K camera would never appear. 

Finally Introducing Ronin 4D 8K

Except for the two-year delay, DJI actually delivered at the end of 2023, and opposed to the other products I mentioned above, DJI are exceeding our expectations and keeping the price as promised: Here is the Ronin 4D 8K, featuring the Zenmuse X9-8K camera unit that can also be purchased separately for previous owners of the Ronin 4D 6K.

The obvious upgrade from the 6K version of the X9 is, that you can shoot full-frame 8K at up to 60 frames per second, uncropped, and 4K with a full-sensor readout at up to 120 frames per second with the X9-8K. It’s really rare to see an 8K sensor to be able to deliver such high frame-rates, and it opens up lots of possibilities for cropping in post.

Physical limitations and 8K 120p

The Ronin 4D is perfect for filming fast-paced sports scenes, but of course the gimbal unit has limitations on how long your lenses can be (physically and from a focal length perspective). The longest you can usually go with a prime that will physically fit is around 85mm, which is not very telephoto on a full-frame sensor. But let’s say you shoot at 8K and only finish in HD, then you’ll be able to crop into the image in post production up to 4 times, which makes it very usable again. 

Of course, shooting slow-motion in 4K using the full sensor at 120 frames per second is a great thing to have! It’s something that users of Sony FX3, FX6 or an a7S III have become used to over the last few years, albeit with a slight crop. It’s great to see that DJI Ronin 4D users can also enjoy this feature with full sensor readout.

Ronin 4D 8K Lab Test

We performed an extensive Lab Test for the Ronin 4D 6K when it was announced, testing Dynamic Range, rolling shutter and exposure latitude. I highly encourage you to read the Ronin 4D 6K Lab Test article, in case you missed it! The results for the 6K camera were already quite impressive. 

For the X9-8K camera, we also ran a preliminary Lab Test, and I say preliminary because we don’t have a production firmware for the 8K camera yet. For this reason, we didn’t do all of the tests yet, but we of course wanted to find out how the new 8K camera stacks up against the 6K version of the X9. 

Dynamic Range Expansion Mode

One thing to highlight is the dual native ISOs of the X9-8K, which are ISO 320 and 1600. This only changes when you enable a menu item called “Dynamic Range Expansion”. This new mode is only available for frame rates of up to 30 frames per second and the Ronin 4D 8K switches the signal processing from 12-bit to 14-bit. The dual native ISO also changes to 800 and 4000 ISO, which is more similar to the 6K camera, which is 800 and 5000 ISO.

It’s important to point out that a 14-bit sensor readout still seems to be quite a rarity in the camera world. Only the FUJIFILM X-H2S also offers 14-bit color depth in a consumer camera, which we have also performed a Lab Test for.

The preliminary Lab Test results for the X9-8K camera are impressive, to say the least. Switching on “Dynamic Range Expansion Mode” will result in up to one additional stop of dynamic range, depending on the recording mode. For example, at ISO 800, we measured 13.8 stops of dynamic range at a signal-to-noise-ratio of 1, and still 12.7 stops of dynamic range at a signal-to-noise-ratio of 2.

Switching from 8K to 4K with a full-sensor readout, the results became even more impressive. At ISO 800 in 4K, we measured 14.2 stops at SNR=1, and 13.1 stops at SNR=2.

We will run these tests again with production firmware installed, once it’s out. If confirmed, this would put the Ronin 4D 8K in 4K mode almost on par with the ARRI ALEXA Mini LF, one of the best performing cameras we ever tested.

How much and when?

DJI is selling the Ronin 4D-8K as a combo, including their 17-28mm T3 lens, a ProSSD 1TB and the ProSSD mount, and much more, for just below $13,000 US dollars.

If you already bought a Ronin 4D-6K, you can purchase the Zenmuse X9-8K gimbal camera separately for around $3,600 dollars. This is a very fair price for the incredible sensor performance you are getting with the new X9-8K.

Are you as excited about this new camera sensor as we are? Do you own a DJI Ronin 4D and are planning to also purchase the X9-8K for it? What kind of projects do you use the Ronin 4D for mostly? Let us know in the comment section below! We love to hear what you have to say!

Even in post-pandemic times, live streaming is here to stay and only destined to grow. Whether you’re holding a corporate meeting, covering a sports event, or teaching an online class, you might be looking for a simple solution that transcends the capabilities of your smartphone or laptop’s webcam.

OBSBOT is a Chinese company that focuses on developing camera tools aimed at facilitating your life when streaming content. Their new Tail Air PTZ 4K streaming camera recently landed on my desk and I was able to test it for a few days. Let’s take a look!

OBSBOT Tail Air – camera and image settings

The OBSBOT Tail Air essentially combines a tiny 4K UHD camera with a 2-axis non-removable gimbal that can be controlled remotely in many different ways. The device comes in a nice carrying case and, while it’s not the tiniest gimbal-mounted camera on the market, it’s still relatively light and portable. Indeed, the whole camera system weighs 350g and measures approximately 7×7.3×13.3cm.

The camera module packs a 1/1.8” 8.4MP CMOS sensor that is paired with a 23mm (equivalent) f/1.8 lens. A fixed lens with a fixed aperture equals two things: a) the “up to 4x” zooming function is performed digitally, and this has a strong impact on image quality; b) if you want to use the camera outdoors without compromising on your shutter speed, then you have to purchase OBSBOT’s optional ND filters, which I didn’t have for this review.

The camera offers both automatic and manual exposure modes, and you can manually adjust your settings using the OBSBOT Start mobile app (available for both iOS and Android), even while recording/streaming – which is nice. Tunable parameters include essential settings such as shutter speed, ISO (100-6400), EV, and white balance. You can also customize your picture style, although I think it’s just better to leave it on Standard.

Additionally, you can toggle between manual (MF) or autofocus (AF-S or AF-C) modes. Focus distance can be adjusted manually using a virtual control wheel inside the app if needed, but I have to say that continuous AF works reasonably well in most situations, although it sometimes struggles a bit in dimly lit environments. The camera can also focus on pretty close objects, as you can tell from the picture below.

Gimbal, power options, and build quality

The camera gimbal can pan ±150° and tilt ±90°. Unfortunately, 360° horizontal range of motion is not natively supported, although it can be achieved using an optional 360° Rotation Charging Base.

Talking about power, the back of the unit has a USB-C power port that can be used to connect the camera to mains power or a portable battery. On top of that, the Tail Air has a built-in 1500mAh Li-Po battery. According to OBSBOT, the battery takes about 90 minutes to fully charge and can keep the camera running for about 2.5 hours when shooting in 1080p30. I found these figures to be pretty accurate in my own tests.

This means that you can stream from pretty much any location on Earth, as long as you have access to the internet and… well, your event is shorter than 2.5 hours. As a workaround, you could use the optional 360° Rotation Charging Base, which is claimed to extend battery life to around 7 hours.

The camera is decently built and has a 1/4”-20 threaded hole at the bottom that makes the Tail Air easy to mount on a small tripod or a light stand. Moreover, its front-facing LED status indicator proved to be extremely useful, especially when I was trying to film myself using AI-based tracking and gesture control (continue reading for more details).

Recording and streaming content

Although the Tail Air is mainly designed to be a live-streaming device, it can actually behave as a traditional, standalone camera, if needed. Indeed, it can shoot 4K UHD videos at up to 30fps or 1080p up to 60fps using the H.264/H.265 codecs (up to 80Mbps) and store them internally on a Micro SD card (up to 512GB in size). One note: these recording settings are slightly hidden inside the menu system of the app, and I wish they were more immediately accessible from the main UI.

On top of that, the camera also has a robust set of connectivity features that allow you to include it in many different types of live-streaming workflows. For example, you can:

• use the Micro HDMI port on the back of the camera to connect it to an encoder or live production switcher;

• connect the camera to a laptop using the USB-C port on the back of the body – which supports the UVC (USB Video Class) protocol – to connect the Tail Air to a switcher, or use it as an external, remotely controllable webcam;

• stream content directly to YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, and other popular platforms via the OBSBOT Start App;

• use the optional USB-C to Ethernet Adapter to incorporate the camera in an NDI-based environment.

While this is quite a lot for a consumer camera, I soon found out that you can only use one of these modes at a time. So, for example, enabling UVC over USB-C will disable NDI and the HDMI output, and vice versa.

Controlling the PTZ camera

When it comes to remotely controlling the Tail Air PTZ camera, you have two main options. The first method is pairing the camera to the OBSBOT Start smartphone app via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. I found the app to be well-made, stable, and pretty straightforward to connect and use.

From within the app, you can monitor the live image feed, manually adjust camera settings, playback clips and save them to your phone’s gallery, manually control the gimbal using a virtual joystick, or enable/disable the AI tracking and framing features (more on this later).

The second method for controlling the camera is by using a dedicated remote controller. However, connecting the two devices requires you to follow a very specific pairing process outlined exclusively in the user manual. Once that’s out of the way, you can remotely control the gimbal via the controller’s physical joystick, use its side zoom rocker to digitally zoom in/out, trigger record, activate auto tracking on humans and pets, or turn the camera on/off. The remote charges via USB-C, works in the Bluetooth range, integrates a laser pointer for presentations, and can be used to control up to 3 Tail Air units.

AI-powered tools – Auto Tracking, Director Grids, and Gesture Control 2.0

Ok, it’s finally time to talk about the most interesting features of the OBSBOT Tail Air, which are also the ones that impressed me the most: its AI-driven tools. At first, I was afraid that the brand relied on Artificial Intelligence as a buzzword to steal their audience’s attention. But after playing around with the camera for a while, I was really surprised by the performance and utility, especially for a solo shooter.

• Auto Tracking: The camera can automatically detect and track humans and pets, but you can also manually select an object by drawing a box on the screen. Unfortunately, my dogs weren’t very collaborative, so I ended up being the only test subject. At first, I wasn’t really happy with the results I was getting – especially in terms of image composition – but then I found out I could adjust tracking speed (slow/standard/fast) and even tell the camera where I wanted to be positioned inside the frame.
  
  After making these changes, things got much better. Especially, since the maximum controllable speed of the gimbal is 120°/s, I was impressed by how quickly I could move in space. However, this also revealed the other side of the coin, which is a pretty bad rolling shutter.
  
  There are still situations in which the tracking system can get a bit confused. That happens, for example, when a large obstacle gets in the way, or your shot includes multiple human subjects. Still, the performance of a product in this price range is quite remarkable and should provide satisfying results for most users, even in dimly lit rooms.

• Directors Grid: Using AI, the camera automatically creates multiple angles of your subject. These can be monitored from a dedicated tab within the app, and you can quickly select which angle goes “on air”. Essentially, it’s like having a virtual live switcher at your fingertips.
  
  The biggest limitation of this tool is that some of the angles are so cropped that they become pretty much useless unless you’re OK with low image quality. Sometimes “content is king”, as they say.

• Gesture Control 2.0: Now, this is where things get interesting. Do you remember I said there are two ways of controlling the gimbal – app or remote? Well, “good things come in threes” and, in truth, you can also control the gimbal remotely using only… your hands.
  
  Hence, by performing specific gestures in front of the camera, you can start/stop recording, engage Auto Tracking (this can also be done by double-tapping on your subject in the app), or zoom in/out on yourself. Depending on the command, the front LED indicator changes color and the camera emits a specific sound.
  
  This worked very well in my experience, and it can be very useful for streamers and presenters who need to shoot content on their own, but don’t want to have a smartphone or remote controller on them.

USB-C to Ethernet Adapter for NDI workflows

The NDI protocol allows you to share video sources over a local area network (LAN) via Wi-Fi or Ethernet, and the OBSBOT Tail Air is fully ready to support it. However, this comes at a price. Indeed, you will need a paid activation key to enable NDI on your device. Additionally, if you want to rely on a more secure wired Ethernet connection, you also need to purchase the optional USB-C to Ethernet Adapter.

Once you’re all set, you can share a clean, low-latency 4K video feed over your network – the 4K image looks pretty crisp. As usual, activating NDI mode will disable the HDMI output. The NDI video source can then be detected by live streaming software like OBS Studio, for example. This type of workflow is particularly useful if you’re planning on including the Tail Air in a multi-camera live streaming production with other NDI sources.

Although I don’t often rely on NDI technology for my productions, connecting the camera to my LAN using the adapter was fairly easy.

Audio recording

The OBSBOT Tail Air can record audio out of the box thanks to its dual built-in microphone. Nonetheless, I found this solution to be barely usable, since the internal mic also picks up a lot of undesired sounds generated by the camera and gimbal. This is particularly true when tracking subjects.

Luckily, you can easily work around this by connecting an external microphone to the camera via its 3.5mm jack input. For my tests, I used a SYNCO G2 (A2) wireless microphone system and I achieved much cleaner results. I think this is the way to go if you want your live streams to sound professional.

Audio levels can be easily adjusted via the app, and there’s also an option to apply noise reduction to the signal. This can come in handy to improve the sound coming from your internal mics, but in any case, I wouldn’t set it beyond 1 on the 3-step noise reduction range.

Conclusion

So, should you buy the OBSBOT Tail Air? As usual, the answer depends on your specific needs. If you often need to shoot yourself walking around your space during live presentations, and you don’t have high expectations of image quality, then I think the AI Auto Tracking and Gesture Control features can help you tremendously in your job.

Overall, the system can be a valid option if you’re just starting out with live streaming and you’re looking for an end-to-end solution that doesn’t require too much effort to set up and use. The camera produces a nice 4K image (you can see a comparison with the built-in FaceTime HD camera of my MacBook Pro M1 Max – 2021 version – below), although image quality rapidly degrades when you zoom in. Also, by using an external microphone, you can still deliver professional audio.

However, if top-tier image quality is a concern and you often need to zoom in/out on your subjects or stream from a low-light environment, then I’d probably look somewhere else.

Price and availability

The OBSBOT Tail Air is now officially available to order for $499. Pricing for the accessories and NDI activation key is as follows:

• Smart Remote Controller –
• 360° Rotation Charging Base –
• ND Filters –
• NDI Activation Key –

For more information, please visit OBSBOT’s website here.

Do you often produce live-streaming content? Do you think the AI tools of the OBSBOT Tail Air can facilitate your work? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!