Not many people really appreciate the GoPro for exactly how advanced it is. For a device that small, it boasts a mighty sensor and can capture media in incredibly high resolutions like 5.3K (with image stabilization no less)… but that tiny form factor has one trade-off, the fact that it doesn’t support interchangeable lenses – and, to be honest, that seems like the one thing that makes photographers and videographers not take the GoPro seriously, even though it outputs videos comparable to larger cameras like the ones from RED and Hasselblad.
So what if you could just switch out the GoPro’s fisheye lens for something much more advanced, like some serious DSLR or film camera lenses? Well, the folks at Canada-based Back-Bone managed to hack together a GoPro Hero12 to make it universally compatible with a whole range of DSLR lenses. The Back-Bone H12PRO comes with quite a few interesting tricks up its sleeve. The front features a special mounting armature to load professional camera lenses, giving your GoPro Hero12 the ability to shoot in ultrawide but also telescopic, or even macro, depending on the lenses you’ve got on hand.
For the folks at Back-Bone, creating this modified GoPro was about allowing the action camera to achieve its full potential. The GoPro Hero12 is a multimedia beast, capable of shooting 5.3K HDR videos and even stills with its 27MP shooter. For a camera this capable, restricting it to a simple fisheye lens is quite a disservice if you ask me, which is why the modified H12PRO is so compelling.
The H12PRO lets you attach a variety of mounting brackets, giving you the choice between M12, CS, and C-mount lenses. It’s pretty much the same size as the existing GoPro, which means it also supports the company’s Media Mod, allowing you to add extra accessories like directional mics, flashes, etc. The H12PRO also packs GoPro’s Enduro Battery, offering longer battery life, especially in cold conditions.
With the Media Mod and the ability to pretty much attach any kind of lens to your GoPro, the H12PRO gives you the most powerful camera setup that can fit in your pocket. It’s cheaper and smaller than a flagship phone, and shoots higher quality content than cameras twice or thrice its size. The H12PRO has a tripod mount on the bottom, allowing you to attach it to tripods, gimbals, or even small-ish drones with decent payload abilities. Heck, the folks at Back-Bone are also selling an optional Micro Four-Thirds mounting plate to let you attach MFT lenses to your GoPro. If that isn’t the wildest, most brilliant upgrade to the world’s most advanced action camera, I don’t know what is. After all, an action camera is just a camera designed to capture high quality content at a great frame rate, right? So why not exploit its abilities to the max?!
Back-Bone’s H12PRO is available on its website. The $849 kit includes the following:
H12PRO modified HERO12 Black camera
Aluminum Tripod Mount
Original folding GoPro mount
Enduro Battery
5mm C-Mount ring
M12 to CS adapter
M12 locking ring
Plastic cap (C-Mount)
USB-C Cable
Curved adhesive mount
Mounting buckle
Spare protective glass filter
Understandably, a modified HERO12 won’t be covered under GoPro’s warranty program, but Back-Bone does offer a 6-month repair guarantee against faulty parts or defects, and a zero-labor-cost repair warranty for a year (you just pay for parts and shipping).
Take a look at any professional camera and its design has a certain logic to it. Especially if you look at the heavier DSLRs, they’re made to be ergonomic and held a certain way. You can’t hold a DSLR with your left hand, the grip’s made in a way that only promotes right-handed usage. Similarly, not all cameras come with screens that pivot 180° to face forwards. In short, a DSLR or Mirrorless camera is made to record other subjects, not yourself. In comes the VoCam concept to change that.
A winner of the Red Dot Design Concept Award, VoCam explores a vlogger-specific camera style that enables self-recording among other recording styles. The three key areas where the camera truly shines is A. in its orientation-agnostic form that can be held in portrait and landscape formats for the recording style and social media outlet of your choosing, B. the adjustable screen that faces all the way forward so you can record yourself as effortlessly as you would on a smartphone, and C. the grip on the side that opens up into a pop-out handle/grip for carrying your camera while walking and recording. The camera is also pretty much designed to be an expert kit right out of the box. It doesn’t need extra lenses or additional accessories like tripods. Sure, you can upgrade your camera with USB storage, gimbals, etc., but the VoCam is designed to be as capable as possible with minimal upgrading required!
Designer: Fan Chenchen
The VoCam’s design comes from China-based designer Fan Chenchen, with inspirations that clearly feel like a hat-tip to Polaroid’s fun, young-demographic-friendly style. It features an f1.8 lens on the front that seems to be the exact same one found on the Sony RX100, and if we’re going by that reference, the VoCam also probably has a massive 20.2MP 1-inch CMOS sensor underneath, allowing for high amounts of light capture that is perfect for shooting in all kinds of light.
What’s really remarkable about the VoCam is that it isn’t just a camera. It’s a full-fledged recording station that has the best of all worlds. The lens, like I mentioned earlier, is top-notch, but the camera also comes with a 180° adjustable screen that lets you record others as well as yourself. There’s a rather large pop-out flashlight on one side of the camera that can be made to face any which way, and on the other side, right underneath the detachable grip is an adjustable boom mic of sorts, giving you the ability to record videos with stellar audio to match.
To keep the purists happy, however, the VoCam has a tripod mount located on its side (visible through the hollow part of the flashlight). It also has an SD card slot and a USB-C port to keep the camera charged.
If your loved one is into action sports, filmmaking or photography, a camera or accessory would be a highly appreciated gift, to say the least. And there’s never been a better time to own a new camera, as the latest technology will let them take better photos and video than ever. It can be difficult to know where to start, though, with all the camera models out there, let alone the numerous accessories like backpacks, memory cards, tripods and more. Fortunately, we’ve done all the research and found cameras at a wide range of prices, along with accessories that will help your giftee get the most out of their gear.
Canon EOS R10
Will Lipman Photography for Engadget
Though it just came out, Canon’s EOS R10 is near the top of the list for desirable camera gifts, thanks to a mix of great handling and strong performance. It has a nice big grip and generous controls, so it’s easy to change commonly used settings. It can shoot bursts at up to 23 fps, and the eye- and face-detect autofocus is powerful enough to keep up. Video is solid too, with up to 4K 60p resolution, 10-bit color and super slow-mo (1080p at 120 fps). It also comes with a flip-out display and built-in flash. The main drawback is the lack of in-body stabilization.
The Hero 11 is GoPro’s most refined action camera yet, so it’s guaranteed to please any adventurous folks on your gift list. It now comes with a 27-megapixel sensor, offering a significant bump over the previous 23-megapixel chip. With that, you get the highest resolution video of any action camera (5K 60p and 4K 120p), with 10-bit color across the board. It also has a faster f/1.9 aperture. The higher resolution enables the horizon-leveling feature that keeps things steady when the camera tilts, on top of GoPro’s class-leading HyperSmooth stabilization, now in its fifth generation. You probably don’t need to update if you’re coming from a Hero 9 or 10, but it’s far and away the best option otherwise.
Sony’s A7 IV is a follow up to the immensely popular A7 III, and would be guaranteed to please any photographer for Christmas. Resolution is up over the last model to 33 megapixels and image quality is much improved overall. And video is finally on par with rivals as well, with 4K at up to 60 fps and high, billion-color 10-bit quality. Autofocus is incredible for both video and stills, and the in-body stabilization does a good job correcting camera shake. The biggest drawbacks are rolling shutter that limits the use of the electronic shutter and the relatively high price.
Panasonic’s GH5 II is an update and not an overhaul of the original GH5, but it’s still the best value in a mirrorless camera for video – and a great gift for a videographer. New features include improved stabilization, 10-bit color for 4K 60p video, All-I capture, PD charging via USB-C and new video streaming options. The drawback is the continuous video autofocus that’s not up to par with rivals, but it’s better than before. For around $1,700, it costs less and delivers more than most rival cameras.
Having a good fluid-head tripod is a must for shooting video, but they can get quite expensive. For a gift that won’t break the bank, Libec’s TH-X is a great choice. It can handle cameras up to 9 pounds, and includes a sliding plate that makes it easy to balance your camera. It offers smooth tilting and panning, easy leveling, a quick-release plate and 2-stage legs. It weighs just 3.1 KG and best of all, costs only around $200.
One of the most useful accessories out there for vlogger on your Santa list are Joby’s famous mini-tripods, and the best one for the money is the GorillaPod 3K. Attaching your camera couldn’t be easier thanks to the secure clip-in mounting plate with a built-in level. And the flexible legs let you set your camera anywhere to shoot, or even wrap it around a tree or other object. And of course, you can bend them out for the ideal vlogging angle and steady out your shooting, to boot. Best of all, you can now pick one up at Amazon for just $45, a bargain for such a versatile tool.
The ProTactic 350 AW II from Lowepro is a versatile camera backpack that makes a great gift for any photographer. It’s comfortable whether you’re doing a shoot across town, in the middle of nowhere or in another country, and spacious enough for a generous amount of photo or video gear. Lowepro claims you can carry a Pro DSLR and 24-70mm zoom, plus eight extra lenses or flash units, along with an additional DSLR and 13-inch laptop. It’s also modular, with adjustable dividers, removable straps and multiple pockets.
With its rugged, practical design, Peak Design’s Everyday Messenger Bag is an ideal gift for adventurous or photo-shooting loved ones. It’s built with a lightweight yet durable 100-percent waterproof recycled 400D shell with the ingenious Flexfold dividers in the main storage area. It also offers a pair of zipped pockets, two elastic side pockets and a compartment big enough for a 13- to 15-inch laptop. I own one myself and find it practical both for work and daily activities, letting me fit a camera, lens and laptop along with my wallet and keys. It’s not the cheapest bag out there at $230, but your Dad won’t have to buy another for a good long while.
If you’re not interested in paying for Adobe’s subscription services, the best video editing software gift idea is Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve 18 app. It gives users two ways to edit, with a Cut mode for quick projects and Edit for more advanced videos. Plus, you get Resolve’s well-known color correcting tools, the Fairlight audio editor, along with the Fusion graphics and compositing system – everything needed to deliver a project.
A good light is an awesome tool in your favorite photographer or videographer’s arsenal, and a relatively affordable gift to boot. One of the best all-around models is the Nanlite LitoLite 5C RGBWW Mini LED Panel. It weighs just 4.8 ounces, but offers dimmable lighting across a range of colors, with adjustments either on the fixture or via a smartphone app. It mounts on any wall or light stand via a magnet or quarter-inch threads, has cordless operation and a battery that runs for 1.5 hours at full power (charged via USB). The most interesting feature is special effects that range from a cop car’s flashing lights, flames, candlelights, a lightning storm and more.
If the vlogger in your life doesn’t already have one, Rode’s wireless and shotgun microphones are solid, affordable gifts. The VideoMic Go is ideal for interviews and run-and-gun shooting, thanks to the crisp directional audio and relative ease of use. It comes with a shock mount to eliminate bumps or vibrations that could interfere with sound and doesn’t require a battery, unlike past Rode models. Meanwhile, Rode’s Wireless Go II is one of the most popular wireless lavalier mics out there, functioning as both a microphone (for up to two subjects) and wireless transceiver. It offers a reliable connection and good audio quality, or you can maximize clarity by connecting external 3.5mm microphones like Rode’s $80 Lavalier Go, the Sennheiser Pro Audio ME2 or others.
There’s no point in buying your favorite photographer UHS-I cards anymore when faster UHS-II models can be found at nearly the same price. That’s the case with Lexar’s 64GB or 128GB 1667x V60 UHS-II cards, available at just $33 and $50, respectively. While not as fast as a top-of-the-line 2000x card, you still get faster read and write speeds (250 MB/s and 120MB/s) than any UHS-I card for a fraction of the price. If speed is of the essence, then SanDisk’s top-end V90 cards with 300MB/s read and 260MB/s write speeds can be found for $80 and $150, respectively.
Many new camera models these days, including the Panasonic GH6, Fujifilm X-H2, Canon EOS R3 and EOS R5, along with others include CFexpress Type B slots that are multiple times faster than SD UHS-II cards. Prograde’s Type B Gold with 1700 MB/s read and 1500 MB/s write speeds are a good value, available in 128GB and 256GB versions for $100 and $140 respectively. And if even more speed is required for 8K or RAW capture, ProGrade also offers the 165GB and 325GB Type B Cobalt versions compatible with 8K and RAW on the EOS R5 for $180 and $450, respectively.
Nothing ups video production value like a camera slider for doing “dolly” moves, and one of the most affordable and gift-friendly models is Edelkrone’s SliderOne V2. It’s relatively lightweight and small at just 20 centimeters (8 inches), so it’s portable enough to fit in a camera bag. It offers smooth operation that’s easily programmable from a smartphone, and works nicely with other Edelkrone products like the HeadONE motorized panning system.
No matter how advanced photography tech may get, there’s something about DSLRs and the fact that they always reign supreme. Anyone who owns a DSLR takes the utmost care of their precious camera, it’s their most prized possession! They’re always looking for the best ways to take care of and amp up their camera. And, for those photography lovers, we’ve curated a collection of accessories that promise to function as the perfect sidekick to your DSLR. This bunch of accessories will elevate the functionality and usability of your camera, giving your pictures that extra professional edge and boost!
Looking quite like a miniaturized stage setup from Coachella, the Photon was designed to give your photography the next big hardware upgrade. With an incredible camera now being able to fit right in your pocket, it only made sense to make expert studio lighting accessible to everyone too. The Photon isn’t your regular lightbox. It’s a modular system of more than 2700 LEDs arranged within 75 LED blocks. You can trigger any arrangement of LED blocks at any time, lighting up your subjects/products in ways that you never imagined… and you don’t need to manually move lights to change your lighting setup. You can just press a few buttons on your smartphone to switch off one LED block at one location and trigger another one at a different location to dynamically change your light arrangement.
Meet RGKit Play, a set of delightfully modular robotic components that you can put together to create your own motion rig. Comprising all sorts of toys and tools like wireless motors, belts, pulleys, turntables, rails, light controllers, and sensors, RGKit Play lets you easily and effectively create rigs to film professional-style videos, move/animate your products, create motion sculptures, and even make stop-motion films without breaking the bank! RGKit Play puts you in the role of the DOP (Director of Photography) as the robots carry out your vision. You can shoot professional-looking videos, or even create stop-motion flicks using RGKit-compatible stop-motion software. Moreover, the kit even lets you build complex dioramas or kinetic art pieces, bringing your sculptures and illustrations to life by using moving, sliding, and other interacting modules to add motion to your art and designs!
Designed to echo the V4’s aesthetic, each ‘DSLR Cube’ can be used as a standalone carry-along pouch for when you just want to have a camera with you. If you really want to up your game, the V4’s additional accessories even include a passport case that snaps to the bag’s side and even though the bag is thoroughly weatherproof, an additional silicone coated nylon fabric rain cover shields your entire bag from the harshest rain, sleet, and snow… making your travel, adventure, and photography game absolutely hardcore!
Quite literally designed to be the most essential accessory to your phone, laptop, tablet, and even your DSLR, the MoovyGo works as a single solution to your charging needs, allowing you to plug all your devices into one single power source. The tech built within the MoovyGo establishes the power requirements of each device, so your laptop gets its appropriate amount of power, while the power supply to your phone, tablet, and DSLR are all calibrated to their specifications. It also houses within it a power bank, allowing you to charge your portable devices on the go, and even houses a 10W Qi wireless fast-charger on its upper surface, allowing you to quickly juice your smartphone, wearable, or your wireless earphones when the going gets tough.
The DJI FPV X is an RC camera car concept for Filmmakers designed by Parth Kashikar and DAAPworks and comes in handy for enhancing the ease of use and equipment safety. This cool idea came across when Parth participated in a student film project and identified the loopholes in the traditional systems. First up, the RC camera dolly has a larger platform to lower the center of gravity, thereby reducing rollovers’ risk at high speeds. The adaptive stabilization tech at the robotic camera pivot point helps in eliminating the shakiness too. Taking inspiration from the DJI VR headset, the person can control the camera movement by moving in the intended direction in the 3D space. Parth imagines using an existing DJI controller to drive the vehicle in any direction – even recording the motion paths to be replayed in case the intended shot is not achieved. The RC vehicle has easy to replace modular parts to make repairs convenient.
Moment’s Camera Organizer is ideal for storing cameras and lenses, while a battery pouch allows you to easily carry extra batteries, SD cards, and cables. The Tech Organizer and Mini Organizer offer storage for stuff like charging cables, power banks, headphones/earphones, so you can easily pop them out of your bag and carry them to your makeshift workspace, having all your work paraphernalia right on your desk instead of embedded inside your backpack.
I’m of the opinion that a camera is only as good as the person wielding it… so an accessory for the photographer makes as much a difference to the output as an accessory for the camera does. An unlikely product that’s poised to massively upgrade your capabilities as a photographer, the Langly Field Jacket was designed by photographers, for photographers. Its triple-layered construction allows the wearer to stay sheltered in the rain, wind, and even the snow. Developed around a proprietary technology called Weathershield, the jacket keeps water, dust, and snow out while still remaining breathable on the inside. While the build and the fabric allow photographers to overcome tough weather conditions, the design of the jacket itself only enhances that fact. On the outside, the jacket has four cargo pockets that can fit lenses as large as 200mm, while allowing you to holster your camera while you’re preparing yourself for a shot.
Sitting at the junction of style and security, Hardgraft’s chestnut-colored Frame Camera Bag comes with an all-leather exterior and a protective padded melange grey wool interior. Its universal size makes it ideal for all kinds of SLRs, and a padded divider even gives you ample storage for additional lenses and other accessories. The Frame Camera Bag’s all leather construction truly gives it a distinct appeal, with its unified design made entirely from that chestnut brown Italian tanned leather. The bag comes with an adjustable leather strap and even sports a reverse nylon zipped pocket on the side for any other belongings you may have on you.
Designed to be modular, functional, expandable, durable, and versatile, the OneMo has an answer for any sort of scenario. The bag comes with a spacious 25L inner that can be infinitely segregated using modular walls, allowing you to carefully pack and secure your belongings. Whether it’s a camera, a microphone, an expensive lens, or just a pair of clothes, these modular walls flex and bend to form the layout you need, changing every time you change your gear. Modular compartments aside, the OneMo even comes with its own detachable storage unit which transforms into a secondary shoulder bag for stuff like drones, lenses, etc.
The Pinhole Pro comes with completely machined metal construction. The absence of a glass lens makes it more resilient and impervious to damages like scratches, smudges, etc. What’s the most interesting is that the Pinhole Pro features a variable aperture, with pinhole sizes going all the way from 0.1mm to 0.8mm in diameter. The pinhole diameter is adjustable by the dial around the lens, allowing you to play with multiple pinhole diameters, allowing for real-time experimentation and manipulation, a feature that doesn’t exist in any model so far. Smaller pinholes provide crisp details but require a lot of light, while larger pinholes are great for shooting vintage, Hitchcock-esque videos!
The Leica Leitz Phone 1’s camera comes with a massive 1-inch sensor. In fact, it’s so comparable to a DSLR, the phone comes with its own camera lens-cap.
Earlier today, Leica announced its first-ever smartphone, the Leitz Phone 1, centered around its revolutionary camera tech. Announced at a virtual press event in Tokyo, the phone sports a familiar clean design that we’ve come to expect with Leica. It houses a Snapdragon 888 processor on the inside, and sports a 20MP primary camera with a massive 1-inch sensor (the largest for any smartphone). To complement the powerful camera, Leica even ships a magnetic lens-cap that lets you conceal it, for protective + privacy reasons.
On the front, the phone sports a large 6.6-inch OLED display with a scalable 240Hz refresh rate (a camera is only as good as its viewfinder, no?) The display even houses a hole-punch selfie-camera, logging in at 12.6MP. Other specs include the Snapdragon 888 processor with 12GB RAM and 256GB of storage, along with an impressive 5,000mAh battery so you could shoot all day long and not worry about depleting your phone’s energy.
While the smartphone market is pretty saturated at this point (with some companies like Samsung releasing more than 20 different smartphones in a given year), the Leitz Phone 1 at least looks really refreshing. That matte black back is a beautiful contrast to the glitzy and glossy smartphones of today, and there’s definitely a lot of praise for that grippy textured-metal frame, that isn’t just great to look at, it’s wonderfully tactile too. Lastly, that Leica logo on the top-right corner is just perfectly executed, tying in with how the German company brands its cameras. The Leitz Phone 1 is currently just limited to Japan, and will be exclusively sold by Softbank. It isn’t cheap, with a price tag of 187,920 Japanese Yen (or $1703 USD)… but then again, the Leica brand-name doesn’t come cheap either.
Instead of having 3 lenses coming together to give you computational portrait blurs, a larger lens and sensor would turn the iPhone into a DSLR killer.
To be honest, it’s not like DSLRs can really hold a candle to the iPhone. Yes, they’re better cameras, they’re more expensive, more versatile, more professional… but they aren’t as popular as the iPhone camera. According to studies, 1.43 trillion photos were taken in 2020 – 91% of which were through smartphones, and just 6% through digital cameras. Considering iPhones make up a significant chunk of all mobile phones, I’d call it game set match on the DSLR… so here’s my question. Why doesn’t Apple just make a bigger better camera that is popular but also a qualitative powerhouse?
“Camera bump? What’s that?”
This iPhone by Slovakian designer Laci Lacko shows us what a single-shooter large-lens iPhone would look like. Two years ago, a phone that looked like this would be considered downright repulsive, but after the kind of cameras we’ve been seeing on newer phones (especially that whopper camera module on the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra), it doesn’t feel all that bad. It’s highly reminiscent of those slim point-and-shoot cameras we used back in the 2000s, but all in all, I don’t feel as repulsed today as I would have in 2018. The single lens on the iPhone would end up fulfilling the role of multiple lenses. It would be much better at generating authentic bokeh during portrait mode, and a larger sensor would mean much more light entering the camera, resulting in a greater dynamic range, and MUCH better low-light performance. The iPhone could easily do all this without any computational algorithms, allowing the iPhone’s image signal processing to work on other details.
The lens, at least on this concept, is a 35mm shooter with an aperture of f1.4. That massive aperture would allow large amounts of light to hit the camera sensor, creating incredible low light performance and great bokeh, but at the same time, the phone’s ability to regulate the aperture would also give it the ability to shoot crisp photos too, keeping everything in focus. The biggest disadvantage of having just one lens on the camera is that you’d sacrifice the wide and ultrawide shooting abilities that the current iPhones have… perhaps the only reason Apple (or no other company, for that matter) is putting all its eggs in just one basket, uh, camera. That being said, Xiaomi is reportedly working on a camera with a liquid lens (similar to the human eye) that can change in shape, allowing it to go from telephoto to macro, or even to ultrawide. This technology would essentially make extra camera lenses redundant, as the liquid lens camera would easily be able to be a jack of all trades.
It’s still fun to conjure up these possibilities – I personally believe concepts help shape future innovations and even public demand. Whether there’s public demand for a single large-lens camera on an iPhone is still yet to be determined. That being said, let me leave you with this mysterious patent for an SLR-style large-lens camera system filed by Apple.
Imagine if the words “Shot On An iPhone” weren’t a distinction. What if the iPhone was just as powerful as a DSLR, so those words “Shot On An iPhone” were more of an assumption than an achievement. Well, in order to be compared to a DSLR, you’d need a powerful sensor and interchangeable lenses… and the iPhone definitely has one of those.
Although the iPhone DOES come with multiple camera lenses, it’s worth noting that only one of them is really the primary, versatile camera, while the others (the Wide Angle and the Telephoto) are more specific in their function. The +Lens modular system by Shawn Wang relies on empowering the primary camera with add-on lenses – much like the way you snap lenses onto your DSLR. Unlike most smartphone camera-lenses, Wang’s +Lens system is both exhaustive and powerful. The system consists of four add-on lenses that come in a nice, AirPods-case-shaped box along with a holder that lets them snap right onto your iPhone. These lenses, apart from augmenting your iPhone’s photographic abilities, come with their own focus rings, giving you precise control over how you capture the world around you. Wide-angle, Fish-eye, Telephoto, and Macro lenses give you the versatility of a DLSR in the convenient portability of an iPhone, and the +Lens holder even features a slot to add modules like an external flash. Combine the power of the interchangeable lens system with that of the iPhone’s computational photography chops, and you’ve really got the best of both worlds, right in your pocket!
Smartphones have taken over the camera market for normal everyday shooting, but they’re still not nearly good enough for talented creators. Whether your loved one is into landscapes, filmmaking or vlogging, they’ll need a decent compact or mirrorless...
Nikon has at last released software that turns your fancy DSLR or mirrorless camera into a high-end webcam. Other major camera makers have rolled out similar tools in the last several months, as video calls became much more prevalent amid stay-at-hom...
Following most of its rivals, Sony is helping you look better on Zoom calls with a software release that transforms its mirrorless, compact and DLSR cameras into webcams. The Imaging Edge Webcam app for Windows 10 works on models from the 2014 A7S up...
