Category: Gadgets

(Pocket-lint) – The GoPro Hero 11 Black is still fresh on the scene, and it’s one of our favourite action cameras ever.

Despite being newly released, GoPro has still managed to give a staggering discount on its flagship camera ahead of Black Friday 2022.

What’s more, this deal is live in both the UK and the US, so most of our readers can get in on the action.

The only catch is that it relies on having a GoPro subscription, so you’ll need to sign up for $49.99 / £49.99 a year to take advantage. Even then, it’s a cracking deal, and the lowest price we’ve seen this camera at so far.

If you’re skiing this winter, or just looking for a camera that can handle whatever life throws its way, the GoPro Hero 11 Black is likely the best tool for the job.

The new sensor allows for vertical and horizontal crops of the same footage, meaning you can cover all of your favourite social media platforms with one clip.

As always, it’s rugged and waterproof, while class-leading slow-motion makes for some epic action shots.

If you’ve been thinking of investing, now might be the time, as the prices are likely to climb once the sale ends.

More Black Friday 2022 US deals

We’ve rounded up some other great deals, below:

Writing by Luke Baker.

(Pocket-lint) – The GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini, as the name suggests, is a miniaturised version of the brand’s latest flagship action camera.

It was originally slated for launch in October, but delays pushed the launch back. As of today, though, the diddy action camera is finally shipping.

The GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini is essentially the same camera as its chunkier sibling, only the screens have been removed to reduce the size, as well as increase durability.

This makes the Mini ideal for applications like FPV drones, where you won’t be looking to frame your shot, but instead worrying about weight, size and robustness.

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Another key difference is that the battery is built-in and non-removable, however, GoPro says it still uses their newer Enduro battery technology, so it’ll perform well in low temperatures.

The Hero 11 Black Mini also adds an additional set of mounting tabs to the rear of the camera, which means that it can be mounted in a wide variety of locations.

It utilises the same 8:7 sensor as the Hero 11 Black, allowing for 360-degree horizon locking, shot reframing and the new HyperView digital lens.

Since there are no proper screens, you’ll need to pair the camera with the GoPro Quik app to access the more advanced settings. However, if you’re a GoPro subscriber, the camera can automatically upload edited highlight videos to the cloud every time it’s plugged in to charge, pretty handy.

The GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini is available at $299.98 / £299.98 for GoPro subscribers, its normal MSRP is $449.98 / £449.98.

It’s available today from GoPro’s website, with other retailers to follow.

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Writing by Luke Baker.

(Pocket-lint) – The R7 is Canon’s flagship APS-C camera, it launched alongside it’s cheaper sibling the R10, and the two bodies are the first APS-C cameras to utilise the brand’s RF mount – previously reserved for full-frame cameras.

The R7 is effectively the successor to the long-standing Canon 7D series of DSLR cameras. But, since it’s 2022, it’s now a mirrorless body. This means it gets an electronic viewfinder and a slightly sleeker body, along with some speedy burst shooting capabilities and superior autofocus.

The 7D was always a great pick for wildlife and sports shooters, and on paper, this sounds like it should best it on all fronts. So, how does the Canon EOS R7 fair in the real world? We’ve been putting it to the test.

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Design

• Body: 132.0 x 90.4 x 91.7 mm
• Weight: 560g (612g with card and battery)
• Weather sealed body
• New AF point selector and rear control wheel

Aesthetically, the Canon R7 matches the rest of the Canon lineup with its smooth sweeping curves and hardy plastic construction. If you’ve used any Canon bodies, even DSLRs dating back decades, you’ll no doubt find the button layout familiar and intuitive.

One thing that’s new, though, is the placement of the rear wheel. It now encircles the AF selector joystick and is placed high up to the right of the EVF. We’re not sure what the logic is behind this positioning, but we aren’t particularly taken with it.

We found it harder to use when looking through the EVF and often found ourselves accidentally nudging the wrong control when aiming for the joystick or the wheel. For the most part, it works as intended, but we much prefer the traditional layout found on cameras like the R6.

The on/off switch now has a movie mode function added, which makes it very convenient to switch to video shooting. It remembers your settings when you switch between modes, too. We’re big fans of this addition.

Around the front, there’s an AF/MF switch that’s positioned near your ring finger when the camera is in use. We found this fairly easy to operate and could imagine it coming in especially handy if you’re using the camera to film yourself.

Elsewhere, the buttons and their layout are fairly familiar. We were pleased to find that almost everything is within reach of your right hand, making one-handed shooting nice and easy. 

When the camera is turned off, the shutter closes to protect the sensor during lens swaps. We love this feature and would like to see other manufacturers adopting it, too, it makes changing lenses in less-than-ideal conditions a much less stressful affair.

Overall, it’s a very ergonomic design and feels very comfortable in the hand. It doesn’t quite have the same premium feel as a body like the Fujifilm X-H2, but it feels robust enough and is weather resistant for added peace of mind.

Connectivity and displays

• Dual SD card slots
• Micro HDMI, 3.5mm headphone and mic sockets, USB-C
• Flip out 2.95-inch 1.62 million dot LCD
• 2.63 million dot OLED EVF

The Canon R7 features dual SD card slots, there are no fancy video codecs in use here and so no need for expensive CFexpress cards. We’re glad to see two slots included, as this allows you to either bolster your storage space or, more likely, back up your files on the fly.

Port selection is crucial for any hybrid shooter, and Canon has done a good job here. A full-size HDMI would have been nice, but Micro HDMI gets the job done, it’s just a little less sturdy. If you want to record externally, the HDMI can output YCbCr 4:2:2 10bit when HDR PQ is enabled, at other settings it’s 8bit 4:2:0.

We praised the Fuji X-H2S for its port layout, which allowed you to access the HDMI and microphone ports with the screen flipped out, but actually, what Canon has done here is even better. In this case, you can’t access the HDMI, but you can access both the headphone and microphone sockets. Since the HDMI would most likely be feeding an on-camera monitor, it’s less likely to be needed, so this is probably preferable for most users.

The LCD is a 2.95-inch touchscreen with a 1.62 million dot resolution, the same one found on the Canon R6. It gets the job done handily and is clear and responsive, but it’s nothing to write home about.

The same can be said of the EVF. It works well and is pleasant to use, but it’s significantly smaller and lower resolution than that of the Fuji X-T5. It is, at least, 120Hz, which makes motion very smooth when looking through the eyepiece.

Photos and videos

• APS-C CMOS sensor – 32.5MP stills
• Sensor shift IBIS: up to 8-stops
• Up to 30fps burst shooting /  15fps with mechanical shutter
• Up to 4K 60fps / 1080p 120fps video
• 4:2:2 10bit colour when CLOG3 or HDR PQ is active

Photo performance is strong, with speedy burst rates available and a quick and effective auto-focus system. There’s plenty of resolution and some of Canon’s colour magic that provides saturated and lifelike tones.

We found that ISO speeds up to around 6400 provided nice clean JPEGs without muddying the image too much. At 12800 and beyond there’s too much noise reduction to be used for any serious work.

There is a range of subject detection options that work across both video and photo modes, this includes tracking for people, animals and vehicles. All do an admirable job, but, as usual, it’s most reliable with human subjects. In any case, we were very pleased with the high success rate.

Overall, we were impressed with the images that we were able to capture with the R7 and, really, only noticed one significant downside. The sensor has a relatively slow readout speed, this means that when shooting bursts with the electronic shutter it’s fairly easy to introduce rolling shutter effects that manifest as wobbly lines that should be straight.

If you stick to the mechanical shutter, this effect disappears entirely, but you’ll be stuck at a maximum of 15fps and lose the luxury of silent shooting. For us, this wasn’t a major issue, but it may be off-putting for sports and wildlife photographers.

When it comes to video, performance is pretty great, too. The oversampled 4K, or 4K Fine as it’s called in camera, looks particularly nice, but you are limited to a maximum of 30fps. Meanwhile, the subsampled 4K mode allows for up to 60fps, at the cost of a slightly less detailed image. 

You get 10bit colour when shooting in CLOG3, which is great for colour correction, but there are no professional-grade codecs onboard. You could, of course, use an external recorder if you need something like ProRes.

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We found the lack of slow-motion options to be a bit disappointing, you can record at up to 120fps in 1080p, which is nice to have, but lags behind competitors. Many similarly specced cameras will allow for 240fps at 1080p, and in an ideal world, we’d have some high-speed options for 4K, too.

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To recap

The Canon R7 is an extremely capable and well-priced camera but it’s let down by its lack of lens options. If Canon releases some more compelling glass for the RF-S system, it’ll be much easier to recommend.

Writing by Luke Baker. Editing by Verity Burns.

(Pocket-lint) – When Fujifilm released the X-H2S this summer, we all knew that an X-H2 would be arriving at some point, but few were expecting the specifications that have come along with it.

It has the highest resolution sensor that we’ve ever seen in an APS-C mirrorless camera, along with 8K video recording and it comes at a significantly lower price than its speedy sibling.

Fujifilm’s latest hybrid body is an appealing prospect, indeed, but what’s it like to use in the real world? We’ve been putting it to the test.

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Design and connectivity

• Dimensions: 136.3 x 92.9 x 84.6mm
• Weight: 660g
• Displays: 1.28-inch settings LCD, 3-inch flip-out monitor, OLED EVF
• Ports: Full-size HDMI, USB-C, 3.5mm headphone and mic sockets

The X-H2 utilises the same great chassis as the X-H2S. Aside from the little white “X-H2” text on the rear, and the lack of an “S” badge on the front, the two cameras are identical. They both come in at the same weight, too, so you can’t really tell them apart in the hand.

This means that it benefits from the same deep hand grip and ergonomic design, and despite being a bit hefty, it manages to be one of the most comfortable camera bodies to hold. The large settings display is still present on the top, and as was the case when we tested the X-H2S, we found it extremely handy. The standout feature was the ability to check our remaining battery life and storage space without even needing to turn the camera on. That’s the kind of thing you really miss when you switch back to your daily shooter.

The displays and connectivity are the same on this camera, too. The flip-out LCD is great and usable in almost all lighting conditions, while the 3.68 million dot OLED EVF is sharp and clear. You get a full-sized HDMI port, along with headphone and microphone sockets and a USB-C port. As with the X-H2S, the USB can be used for charging or data transfer, but it doesn’t allow you to record to a portable SSD.

Photographic performance

• X-Trans CMOS sensor – 40.2MP stills
• Up to 20fps burst (1.29x crop) / 15fps with mechanical shutter
• 160MP pixel shift multi-shot
• Maximum electronic shutter speed 1/180000

The biggest advantage offered by the X-H2 is its extremely high-resolution sensor. It’s a traditional back-side illuminated sensor, rather than the stacked sensor found on the X-H2S. This means it can’t offer the same extremely fast burst rates, but instead produces a much more detailed image that’s more suitable for large-format prints or cropping in.

We tested the camera with a combination of the XF 18-120mm, XF 16-55mm and XF 56mm F1.2. Across the board, we were very impressed with the results that we were able to achieve. Images are sharp and detailed, whilst also benefitting from Fujifilm’s renowned colour science.

Film simulation modes are sometimes considered a bit of a gimmick, but we found ourselves using them quite frequently on the X-H2. There are 13 to choose from, including a couple of black-and-white options. These modes essentially apply a LUT in camera, saving you some editing time after the fact. We’re quite keen on the “Nostalgic Negative” preset, which gives images a bit of warmth and a slight shift toward magenta tones.

With high-resolution sensors, noise is often a concern. Thankfully, we found that ISO settings up to around 3200 are extremely clean and noise-free, and results are usable up to around 12800. Very impressive stuff.

As we mentioned, the X-H2 is no match for the X-H2S when it comes to burst rates, however, it offers the same speed when you’re using the mechanical shutter. And 15fps with autofocus is not to be sniffed at. We did think that the autofocus was a little less reliable for fast-moving subjects, but it does a pretty excellent job overall.

Interestingly, there’s one area in which the X-H2 is the fastest, and that’s the maximum electronic shutter speed. It goes all the way up to an astonishing 1/180000 sec. Does anyone need a shutter speed this high? We’re not so sure, but if you’re looking to freeze motion entirely, and have enough light, this could be the camera for the job. It could also be handy if you need to take a photo of the surface of the sun at f/1.2 with no ND filter.

Finally, we have a feature called pixel shift multi-shot, wherein the camera physically moves the sensor and takes 20 images of a scene that can be combined into one gigantic 160MP photo. You need a tripod for this, along with a completely static subject for it to work, which severely limits its usefulness. Nonetheless, it’s a pretty cool feature that was previously exclusive to Fuji’s more expensive GFX lineup of medium-format cameras. The images aren’t combined in the camera, which we found a little disappointing, but it’s easy to do using Fujifilm’s Pixel Shift Combiner software on Windows or Mac.

Video performance

• Up to 8K 30fps/ 4K 60fps / 1080p 240fps
• Internal ProRes 422, HQ and LT support
• 7-stop in-body image stabilisation
• 2x digital zoom at 4K with little to no loss in resolution

With video shooting, it’s a similar story, the higher-resolution sensor allows you to shoot video at up to 8K resolution, rather than 6.2K on the X-H2S. However, you also give up some speed, losing 4K 120fps recording, which was one of our favourite modes on the X-H2S.

The 1080p 240fps slow motion is still available, but it suffers the exact same issues that we saw on the X-H2S. We’re not sure what makes this mode so grainy and unpleasant, but we’ve still got hope that Fujifilm can clean it up in future firmware.

On this model, you still get all the same internal ProRes recording options as the pricier X-H2S, along with the ability to output up to 12-bit RAW video to a compatible recorder over HDMI. 

In our testing, the X-H2 performed quite similarly to the X-H2S in terms of stabilisation, dynamic range, autofocus and colour reproduction. Given that it’s about $500 cheaper, and can also record 8K, that’s a pretty big win.

The X-H2 also has a digital zoom function, that utilises the higher-resolution sensor to allow for up to 2x digital zoom at 4K without any noticeable loss in quality. This can come in handy, especially for wildlife shooting, and is a feature that’s not available in the X-H2S.

However, there’s one area that lets the X-H2 down for video, and that’s its rolling shutter performance. Depending on how you shoot, this could be a potential dealbreaker. In 4K standard mode (which offers up to 60fps) the rolling shutter is roughly on par with the Sony A7 III, which is not bad at all. However, when you bump things up to 4K HQ (oversampled) or 8K recording, the rolling shutter effect gets progressively worse, and it’s very noticeable at 8K.

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Writing by Luke Baker. Editing by Verity Burns.

(Pocket-lint) – Sony last updated the Alpha 7R camera in 2019 and – having already updated the A7 and A7S in recent years – it was about time to push out an update to the highest-resolution model. But how exactly do you push further when the A7R already featured a mega 61-megapixel full-frame sensor? 

The manufacturer’s answer – seemingly – is to make it smarter. The A7R Mk5 has landed with the same sensor as before, but with a much smarter autofocus brain and an updated, fully-articulating monitor. We went hands-on with the latest Alpha to see what it was like. 

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Familiar looks

• 131.3 x 96.9 x 82.4mm – Magnesium alloy body
• Dust and moisture resistant – anti-dust system
• E-mount 
• Fully articulating LCD touch monitor

Sony’s approach to the full frame market has consistently focused on the idea of creating solid, but compact devices that last even in not ideal conditions. That’s not changed with the new Alpha 7R V. The body is made from magnesium alloy, which is lightweight and sturdy but is also sealed against water and moisture for shooting in inclement weather. The sensor also features an anti-dust system, to ensure that dust isn’t attracted to it. 

One new addition is the LCD monitor that flips out from the side. It can be rotated and angled in almost any direction, making it the most versatile monitor in Sony’s current Alpha lineup. You can flip it out to the side and have it facing you when recording yourself, or flip it down and around so that it’s primed and ready for portrait shots. Plus, it’s not just touch-sensitive, but the user interface has been redesigned so that you can control all of it with a swipe or tap on the touchscreen. 

The touchscreen is joined by the electronic viewfinder which – this time – features a 9.44 million dot display and 120fps refresh at its full resolution, making it a very sharp and smooth EVF. 

You get Sony’s traditional cluster of buttons and dials, most of which live either on the back of the camera, to the right of the viewfinder and monitor, or on the top of the camera. Sony still on insists on having the menu button to the left of the viewfinder, away from all the other buttons you’d use to control that menu, which remains puzzling. 

Otherwise, it feels like a well-proportioned camera, with a good grip around the front and on the back, making it really easy to hold. Although, with a good G Master lens on it, you will feel the weight. 

Living the autofocus dream

• AI-powered autofocus – dedicated chip
• Human body, face and eye tracking
• Animal face and eye tracking
• Plane, train, car and insect recognition

Sony’s Alpha cameras have offered fantastic autofocus for a few years now, in fact, it’s one of the primary reasons to choose the company’s cameras over the competition. Offering fast and accurate focus with smart features like face and eye detection with real-time tracking has set it apart from other brands. 

For 2022, with the Alpha 7R V, Sony is ramping it up further and has built a processing unit with AI-powered ‘deep learning’ capabilities dedicated to autofocus. 

It can now recognise more than just eyes and faces and can detect entire human bodies, understanding where the head, face and eyes are in relation to the shoulders, hips and knees. Moreover, it can track the entire person in real-time, for both stills and video. 

It’s hard to show a sense of what it’s like to use and we’ve only had a relatively brief session to test it so far, however, it really is impressive seeing it work in the flesh. 

With fast-moving subjects – like the break-dancers in the gallery above – it was able to focus on the dancers’ faces accurately. Even when they weren’t facing us head-on, or when their face was upside down or partially covered, the camera seemed capable of keeping the relevant area in focus, and it does so really quickly, shooting bursts of photos. 

The new AI recognition and focus capabilities also extend to other objects. You get animal tracking and focus, which includes mammals and birds. For the first time, however, you also get insect recognition as well as vehicles like cars, trains and planes. The idea is that you can quickly shoot a burst of photos in autofocus, and keep the desired object pin-sharp in the frame, even if it’s moving quickly. 

Sensor and video capabilities

• 61MP backside illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor
• 35mm full-frame – 3:2 – 693 PDAF points 
• 8K video at 24/25p – 4K at 50/60p 
• 5 axis 8-stop in-body stabilisation

The ‘R’ in A7R stands for ‘Resolution’, because – typically – this is the model with the highest resolution sensor. In fact, the new model uses the same 61-megapixel backside-illuminated Exmor R sensor that was featured in the previous A7R IV. That gives you the ability to crop quite far into the sensor while retaining a pin-sharp image. 

Along with a new Bionz XR image processing engine and an upgraded graphite heatsink for heat dissipation, it’s enabled some pretty high-end video capabilities. You’ll be able to shoot up to 8K resolution at 24/25 frames-per-second and do so for up to 30 minutes continuously. Or – if you like – shoot 4K up to 60 frames-per-second, or shoot a Super35 4K with 6.2K oversampling. 

It is worth noting here that there is a 1.2x crop on the highest resolution 8K shooting, so you won’t get as wide a shot as you can if you use the 4K mode. In stills mode you can shoot up to 10fps bursts with full AF/AE using the mechanical shutter, or 7fps with the electronic shutter. 

To aid the enhanced autofocusing, the latest sensor has both contrast detection and phase detection autofocus, with the latter offering an impressive 693 points of detection, covering almost 80 per cent of the sensor, ensuring you can tap to focus even towards the edges of the frame. Add that to the 5-axis, 8-stop in-body stabilisation, and you should have sharp images, in most light conditions even if your subject is moving. We can’t wait to test it further. 

Ports, battery and charging

• USB-C with Power Delivery – USB 3.2 up to 10Gbps
• Bluetooth 5.0 – Wi-Fi built-in
• 3.5mm ports for headphones and mic
• Multi-interface shoe – Dual CFExpress Type A slots (UHS-II SD compatible)
• NP-FZ100 battery – up to around 530 shots 

Just like other high-end full-frame Alpha-series cameras, the A7R V is equipped with all the ports and connection options you could need. There’s a USB-C port that can accept power, so you can use Power Delivery capable adapters to refill the battery quickly, plus it’s USB 3.2 and can handle data transfer rates up to 10Gbps. Wireless transfer and connectivity should be speedy too thanks to Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi with 2×2 MiMO. 

You get two memory card slots that are compatible with CFExpress Type A and SD/SDXC (UHS-II). Of course, to get the most out of the camera and its fast burst shooting the CFExpress is the one to use, although that costs considerably more than an SD card. 

You get 3.5 ports for mic input and headphone output, plus the digital multi-interface shoe for connecting hot-shoe accessories to the top of the camera. 

As for the battery, that’s the Sony NP-FZ100 which can handle up to 530 shots on a full charge when using the LCD display or 440 with the viewfinder. You get 150 minutes of continuous video recording on a full charge. 

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To recap

Sony’s latest ‘R’ series camera cranks things up a notch, adding impossibly smart autofocusing and tracking capabilities to a camera that was already very good. We suspect it’ll become the camera of choice for experienced photographers who do a lot of shooting of moving objects, whether that be cars, animals or athletes. 

Writing by Cam Bunton.

(Pocket-lint) – There’s one subreddit that’s dedicated to showing off amazing photos of interesting weather formations. The photos are something special. 

From all over the world people are uploading images of amazing storms, breathtaking views or just incredible photos of our world. We’ve collected some of our favourites for you to enjoy. 

An eerie storm

This photo is almost picturesque. A beautiful photo of a field and a classic red barn with a curious storm forming above. 

A colourful storm

Some of these weather formations are particularly interesting for just how colourful they are. This one from Edmonton Canada and appears to have turned the sky pink. 

A very green storm

This photographer managed to capture a very green view of an inbound storm at Sioux Falls in South Dakota. 

No filters were applied to the image, it was merely the result of natural colours created by the storm. 

Supercell thunderstorm

Some of these weather conditions are simply astounding. This one is apparently a supercell thunderstorm that was forming over Bolton, Kansas. 

It looks like there’s been an explosion from a distant volcano that’s then spitting its angry dustclouds into the skies above. 

Moose Jaw thunderstorm

From southern Saskatchewan in Canada comes this magnificent photo of a thunderstorm over Moose Jaw. 

We especially like this one because of the deep colours of the green fields below the storm and the deep dark blue of the sky too. 

A tear in the sky

This one looks like a tear in the clouds as if the entire sky was made of clouds and then something cut them in half. 

Tornado

Some of these photos are of incredibly dangerous weather formations and yet somehow they end up looking like beautiful marvels of nature. 

This tornado captured near Akron, Colorado is one such sight. One Redditor commented that it looked like a painting. 

Apocalyptic sky in Northern California

Some of these views are interesting because they’re influenced by different things. This is not only a glorious weather pattern but also is this colourful because of nearby wildfires. 

A massive Supercell

This is an incredible supercell storm that was photographed over Western Texas. It was around 60,000 feet high and remarkably impressive. 

We thoroughly appreciate astronomy photography and images of the night sky in general. This one is particularly impressive with the mix of weather and the wonder of the stars. 

A Crazy Twister

The United States sure has some wild weather. This photo shows a pretty daunting twister making its way through Wyoming in the US. 

A crazy thunderstorm

This is one ferocious thunderstorm. Not one you’d want to be out and about in. The lightening has made some really cool patterns in the sky. 

A clear day

Not all of the weather photographs on this list are of angry and foreboding storms, twisters or tornadoes. Some are just of beautiful clear days with golden fields stretching off as far as the eye can see.  

Stormy sunset

Though the weather might look foreboding, we like this image because of the framing of the beachline and the brilliant lines that have been created.

Microburst in the sunset

Another brilliantly framed photo, this time from Poland. Here we see a wonderfully straight road with curious weather happenings on both sides of it. 

Writing by Adrian Willings.