A macro image of water droplets on moss, called October, by ePz member KristinaZvinakeviciute, has been awarded the Photo of the Week accolade.

This is a superb close-up image with great lighting, and the soft, warm glow at the top of the frame gives the whole scene a dreamy feel. The tiny drops cling to the moss capsules and pick up the colors of their surroundings, while the creamy bokeh in the background adds extra interest.

The shallow depth of field keeps the central stems and drops nicely sharp, with the rest of the moss softening into green tones. It’s a beautiful macro image.

Every Photo of the Week (POTW) winner will be rewarded with a Samsung 128GB PRO Plus microSDXC memory card with SD adapter, providing top-tier storage for all your creative needs across multiple devices. But that's not all! In January 2027, we'll crown our 2026 Photo of the Year winner, who will take home the ultimate prize of a Samsung Portable 1TB SSD T7 Shield, courtesy of Samsung. See the terms & conditions and prize procedure for more information.

It’s time to shoot, submit, and showcase your best work for a chance to win these incredible rewards! Want to be our next POTW winner? Just upload an image to our gallery where you'll also find all of our past POTW winners.

Cross polarising effect is where you use a pair of polarising filters - one on the camera and one on the light source (behind the subject) to show stress in plastic which appears as wonderful multicoloured pattern. It used to be quite difficult as the filter needed for the backlight needed to be large and polarising gels are not only hard to find but also quite expensive. But there is a modern-day solution and it's staring right at you! Your LCD computer monitor. Yes, this can be used as the light source and even though you didn't realise - it has the polariser built-in.

You'll need to use a camera with a polarising filter either attached or positioned in front of the lens. Of course, you'll need a monitor and a steady support will also be useful. A tripod is ideal but it could be something as simple as a pile of books just so long as the camera is set to the correct height.

Some clear hard plastic items - filter cases, plastic cutlery, plastic glasses, cassette and cd cases or geometry sets are a few options - will also be needed as well as something to hold the plastic item steady in front of the computer monitor. Where possible ensure your items are scratch-free as these can spoil the effect. 

Step-by-step cross polarisation photography instructions:

1. Turn the monitor on and remove any desktop clutter and change the screen saver to a neutral colour. The other option is to create a plain mid-grey image about 800x600 pixels and call it grey.jpb. Drag this to the web browser to display it and then hit the f11 key to display the browser full-frame without menus. And then hold down the ctrl key and tap the + key until the grey image fills the monitor window.

2. Position the plastic item in front and in the centre of the monitor. A clamp is a useful tool for this but really, whatever you use just has to get the area you want to photograph in the centre of the monitor.

3. Attach the polarising filter to your camera and position the camera in front of the plastic so all you see is an area of the plastic with the grey image totally filling the background. If you can't get close with your camera use the lens at its telephoto setting to fill the frame and avoid edges of the monitor showing. If you still can't get close enough you will have to crop off areas you don't want later.

4. Rotate the polarising filter and watch the colours of the plastic become stronger and the grey goes darker. If you have it set up correctly the grey monitor will go totally black, and the colours in the plastic will be brilliant.

You can use any exposure mode and shooting at the metered setting should be fine. Underexpose a little if you want even more dramatic colours.

For an extra level of abstractness bring a second item even closer to the lens to make the whole image have a multicoloured filter. By experimenting you can often find undiscovered gems.

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The latest winner of our popular daily photography theme which takes place in our forums have been chosen and congratulations go to TonyMat1 (Day 10 - British Wildlife).

Daily Theme Runners-Up

If you didn't win this time, keep uploading your images to the daily competition forum for another chance to win! If you're new to the Daily Theme, you can find out more about it in the Daily Theme Q&A. 

Well done to our latest runners-up, too, whose images you can take a look at below.

Day 11

Movement

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Day 12

Mood

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Day 13

Self Portraits

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Day 14

Coast Out Of Season

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Day 15

Fungi

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Day 16

Fallen Leaves

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Day 17

Autumn Macros

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You’ll find the Daily Themes, along with other great photo competitions, over in our Forum. Take a look to see the latest daily photo contests. Open to all levels of photographer, you’re sure to find a photography competition to enter. Why not share details of competitions with our community? Join the camaraderie and upload an image to our Gallery.

1. Think about lens choice

Working close with wide-angle lenses can give creative results, however, flare will be more of a problem. A macro or telezoom lens is ideal but still fit a lens hood to prevent flare. Do check the frame to make sure the lens hood hasn't crept into the frame though. 

If you find the leaf is silhouetting against the sky just add a little fill-in flash. You can also position the flash behind the leaf to create your backlight if the sun's not playing ball or when at home, use a window or even a lamp as your light source. You just need to place a piece of tape over the leaf's stalk and stick it flat against a window. You won't have to worry about wind blowing your subject around at home either.

2. Leave space between the subject and the background for good bokeh

Having space between your leaf and its background will help create the distraction-free blurry background we're after. Using an aperture to throw other leaves out of focus can help too.

When it comes to metering it's best to take a reading from the leaves to ensure they are correctly exposed and switching to spot metering will help. If the background's dark you may need to reduce the exposure by about half to one stop to ensure it stays dark. If it's light, open up half to one-stop and bracket if you are unsure. Check your histogram too to make sure your shot is correctly exposed. To make the light around the edge of your subject 'sparkle' you may need to overexpose the shot slightly.

After Autumn gives way to Winter you can use this backlighting technique to enhance the sparkly appearance of frost and ice which works particularly well when working with plants. 

Autumn is the perfect time for capturing close-up/macro shots and this is something you can do even if you're a compact user who doesn't have an arsenal of lenses at their disposal. Be on the lookout for subjects that have interesting textures or are full of colour, plus look on the ground as well as up at the trees as you'll find conkers and other interesting items that make the perfect subject for an Autumn macro shot. 

Use the close focus mode

To get started, you're going to need a compact camera that has a close focus. Around 10cm is fine, however many modern compacts focus much closer now. The macro mode is usually indicated by a flower icon and you need to ensure this is selected otherwise your camera won't know you want to shoot macro shots. Plus, this mode will also usually mean your camera picks a larger aperture (small f-number) so you get backgrounds that are nicely thrown out of focus. 

A tripod will help prevent camera shake and if you plan on shooting fungi and other subjects that are close to the ground, one that has a reversing centre column will help but it's not essential. A beanbag or even your camera bag can be used as a support for a quick snap if you don't own a tripod.

1. Working with low light conditions

For locations where there's not much light, such as in woods, you may need a small reflector to bounce more light on to your subject. If you don't own one try making your own from a piece of card and silver foil. You can use your camera's built-in flash but it tends to be a little harsh which can result in fungi looking a little too shiny and can take away from the overall atmosphere of the shot. Do try taking a few shots with it, though and see what you think. You never know, you may prefer the shots with flash rather than without. 

So you don't cause camera shake by pressing the shutter button you can use your camera's self-timer on its shortest setting. By doing so, you'll not be pressing the shutter button as the exposure begins, reducing the chances of shake spoiling your shot. 

2. What Can I Photograph? 

Autumn means lots of gorgeous coloured leaves falling off trees and they can make interesting macro shots on their own or you can use your macro leaf shots as textures in other photos. Look for different patterns and shapes but this doesn't mean they have to be perfect as little imperfections can add interest to your shot. Make the most of backlight to really make your images 'pop'. 

As the leaves fall off the trees, they become bare, and this gives you the chance to capture shots of bare branches and bark which again, make great textures for background montages. Also, consider textures that can be printed as triptychs - three photos framed in panels side by side.

3. Look for the first frost

In the Autumn, the first frost of the year usually appears and can make interesting photos when it covers leaves or grass. Head for open spaces (lawns and fields) rather than places that are sheltered, which can stop frost from forming. Side and direct light will help emphasis the way the frost glistens and it will last longer in shaded areas but you'll need to use a reflector to bounce extra light into the shot. For shots that capture the patterns and textures frost creates, get in close and avoid using flash.

Conkers are becoming ripe and falling so be on the lookout for them. Don't just go for brown ones either as they look just as good when popping out of their bright green shells. They are perfect subjects for an Autumn still life when used alongside leaves and even berries. If you do use berries you may need to adjust your shooting position as reflections can be a problem due to them having an almost shiny surface.

4. Focus on the small details

To give your close-up work a more abstract feel remove your subject from its surroundings by focusing on a small part of it. Look for interesting shapes and textures that you can focus a tight crop on. Overcast days are good for this sort of technique as the diffused light will help bring out detail in the shapes, lines and form you're capturing.     

When you had out in autumn, the first thing that you're likely to be greeted with is fallen leaves on the floor. Take advantage of these and create some great photos!

It's worth packing a polarising filter as one of these will enhance autumn shades and help reduce glare. Then basically, all you need to do is find some autumn leaves, arrange them if you wish then photograph them. Try and get a mix of varieties if you can and if you can wait until the next morning to photograph them, they'll be covered in droplets of morning dew or if you wait until the temperature drops a little more they'll have a dusting of frost, giving you the chance to shoot some abstract Autumnal shots.

1. Look for interesting patterns

2. Go close-up and abstract

3. Backlight the leaves

4. Experiment with settings

Experiment with your camera's white balance settings to find the best colour balance for your shot and if you feel the autumn tones need more depth, use your camera's exposure compensation control and dial a - stop in. You don't need to go too low, a half or one-stop should be fine. Having said that, if you shoot in RAW you can always give the colour in your shots a boost when you're back on your computer. 

- Partner Content -

Talking-head ads often have one obvious problem after AI enhancement: the person starts looking too polished. Skin becomes unnaturally smooth, small facial details disappear, and the final video can have that familiar "AI plastic" look. 

That can hurt an ad, especially when the goal is to make the speaker feel REAL and trustworthy.

Vmake Labs' Portrait Pro scene is designed for this kind of footage. It can sharpen and improve facial details without pushing skin toward an overly smooth finish. That makes it worth testing for creator ads, founder videos, product explainers, and other campaigns where the person on screen needs to look clear without losing natural texture.

Why talking-head ads fail after basic enhancement

A talking-head is harder to enhance than a product-only shot. The person has skin, hair, eyes, teeth, fabric, and a product label in the same frame, and all of them move. Basic enhancers treat them the same. They crank sharpness and smoothing globally. The result is predictable:

• Skin loses pores and fine lines, then looks waxy.
• Hair turns into a solid helmet, especially curly or fine hair.
• Product in hand gets softer while the face gets too smooth.
• Background starts to buzz or pulse when you export to 4K.

Viewers notice it fast. In a creator ad or founder video, trust drops when the person does not look like themselves. 

So, the better enhancement approach is to treat the face as a separate visual priority. Facial details need enough sharpening to restore clarity, while skin needs to retain its natural variation. Hair and eyes need their own level of detail too.

That is the main reason Portrait Pro in Vmake Labs can make sense for talking-head ads. Instead of relying on a general enhancement pass, it puts more attention on the portrait area. This can help to enhance video quality when the original footage is slightly soft, compressed, shot in poor lighting, or recorded with a phone camera.

What Portrait Pro does differently

Vmake Labs is an AI social video studio for small businesses that need help to generate, enhance, and optimize video to capture attention and drive sales. It is built for social operators, SMB owners, and UGC creators who have to turn product clips into post-ready social video fast.

Inside that studio, enhancement is split into tiers and scenes so you don't use a hammer for every job.

• "Fast" for quick cleanup
• "Quality" for an AI-powered rebuild with richer details
• "Master" for cinema-grade polish at 2K, 4K, and 8K, when the clip needs to hold up as a hero ad

Then the scenes handle intent. The "Studio" gives real footage a more cinematic look. "Portrait Pro" is specifically for people. If your video is 80% face, that is the one you want.

Think of it as a larger model that knows the difference between skin and other surfaces. 

When you use it:

1. Skin keeps texture. Instead of smoothing everything, it preserves small details — pores, fine lines, eyebrow hairs — while cleaning compression blocks. The face looks clearer, not airbrushed.
2. Product in hand stays sharp. When a creator holds your tote, serum, or gadget, Portrait Pro keeps label type and material definition. So the eye can read the product while still believing the person.
3. Large areas stay stable. White desk, studio paper, or a blurred room behind the speaker does not band or flicker when you push to 4K or 8K.

That combination matters because most talking-head ads are shot on a phone in mixed light. You want the bump to 8K for the homepage hero, but you do not want the "beauty filter" look that kills credibility.

A practical workflow that keeps skin natural

Small teams who live on TikTok, Reels, and Shorts do not have time to re-shoot. They reuse authorized assets they already own. Here is how they fit Portrait Pro into a real day:

1. Clean your own clips first

If your best testimonial has an old editing app logo that is semi-transparent in the corner, or old captions baked over the product, run it through Vmake Labs ai watermark remover first.

Vmake Labs watermark remover tool now has Smart Pro feature, which is built for hard cases — moving, animated, or semi-transparent text that sits on top of complex backgrounds like canvas or skin.

It detects more of those fine, moving marks and blends the background with finer edge repair, so you do not get a big blur patch where the text was. Only use it on footage you own or have explicit rights to edit.

2. Pick the right mode and scene

Next, upload the cleaned clip to the Video Enhancer. Choose:

Mode: Quality for most talking-heads, Master if this is going to be your main ad for a week or you need to crop it to multiple ratios

Scene: Portrait Pro

That is it. 

Don't stack extra sharpening on top in another app. Let Portrait Pro do the skin work. If you need to enhance video quality for background details too, Master will give you more headroom at 4K without pushing the face into that waxy look.

3. Check at 100% before you export

Pause on three frames: eyes open mid-sentence, a slight smile, and a side turn. Zoom to 100% on your phone.

• Do you still see pores on the cheeks and forehead?
• Do eyebrows and eyelashes stay separate, not clumped?
• Does the background get cleaner while the skin stays soft but real?

If yes, you are done. If skin still looks too smooth, you probably had beauty mode on during recording. Re-record with it off and run Portrait Pro again — it preserves texture, it does not invent it from nothing.

When to test Portrait Pro

• Founder ads: You are on camera explaining why you made the product. You need to look clear, not filtered.
• Creator UGC: You have permission to reuse a creator's review. Their face is the thumbnail. Plastic skin hurts click-through.
• Product explainers: Face in corner, product in hand. Both need detail at the same time.
• Paid cuts you will run for a week: If you are spending on it, the extra minute for Master + Portrait Pro pays back in credibility.

What Portrait Pro is not for: product-only spins, flat-lays, or catalog videos where no person is present. There, Studio in Master gives you that more cinematic product look without worrying about skin.

Talking-head ads work because a real person says a real thing. The job of enhancement is to make that person easier to watch, not to make them look like someone else. Portrait Pro is Vmake Labs' answer for that — more natural skin texture, sharper product when it shares the frame, and less of that AI plastic that makes viewers scroll away.

- Partner Content -

It's 8:40 pm. You just photographed the last product for tomorrow's Shopify launch. But this time on the kitchen counter, under a single overhead bulb. The good light left with the sun 3 hours ago. The photo comes out dark. A little grainy. Edges slightly soft.

Now you've got two choices. Fix it tonight, or wait for daylight and shoot it again. Manual editing isn't really a third option. 

Fixing this by hand in Photoshop means hours of layered adjustments, and that's if you already know curves and noise reduction. Most sellers don't have that on tap at 9 pm, with 20 more products still waiting.

Here's the wrong question at this time: is it good enough? 

A photo can fail two ways. One is just weak pixels, buried under noise or bad light. The other is a mistake made the second you pressed the shutter: wrong color, bad crop, a spot that's pure white with nothing in it. 

Only the first is fixable tonight, and that's exactly where AI can actually help.

Why a Dim Photo Actually Costs You on Shopify

A dark product photo doesn't just look unpolished; it actively works against how shoppers browse. A dim listing does three specific things wrong on a Shopify store:

• It loses the grid. Shopify listings live or die on the grid view, where a dozen thumbnails sit side by side. Shoppers scan in under a second per item. A dim photo reads as low-effort next to properly lit competitors in the same category, even if the product itself is identical.
• It compresses worse than it looks. Shopify runs every uploaded image through its own compression to generate the different sizes it serves across devices. That compression is lossy, and it hits hardest in areas that already have thin data. This is exactly what shadows in an underlit photo are. A dim shot that looks merely soft on your phone often comes out blockier and noisier once Shopify's CDN has re-encoded it, because there was less real detail there to begin with.
• It hides the details shoppers are actually checking. Fine details like texture, true color, and finish. Low light flattens all of it, which pushes hesitant shoppers toward "read more reviews" instead of the checkout button.

How to Fix Low Light Shopify Images.

Not every dim photo needs a reshoot. Before deciding, it helps to know what's fixable tonight versus what isn't. Here's the actual process, using a men's perfume shot set to launch tomorrow as the example.

Upload the Image and Run the Enhancement Pass

Upload the product photo to any AI image editing tool. For this example, let us use Wink to enhance image quality. 

Since this is a product photo, select product mode rather than a general enhancement setting. 

Product mode is tuned to protect edges, text, and material texture instead of smoothing everything evenly, which matters when there's label copy or fine detail to preserve.

Don't judge the result at thumbnail size. Zoom into the label, the edges, and any dark areas to see what actually changed.

When you observe, the difference shows up in a few specific places:

• The label text is sharp again. "Nocturne Pour Homme" and the fine print underneath- the volume, the batch year- were on the edge of legibility in the dim shot. Now the letterforms hold their edges instead of blurring into the glass behind them.
• The bottle's shape reads clearly against the backdrop. The dark glass no longer blends into the shadow behind it, so the silhouette and the cap detailing separate from the background instead of merging into one dark mass.
• Nothing about the actual product changed. Same bottle, same angle, same light source. The tool just recovered detail that was already sitting faintly in the file.

Check the pixel dimensions before you export.

A clean, well-lit photo can still be too small for Shopify's zoom-on-hover to work. 

If the file's under roughly 2000px on the long edge, that's your cue to run it through Wink's image upscaler before uploading. Upload the enhanced photo, pick 4K as the output, and hit start.

That lands you right around 3840-4096px, which happens to match Shopify's own recommended size for clean zoom, without handing you a file that's bigger than it needs to be. 

Skip 8K here.

What AI Enhancement Can Actually Rescue

Grain can be fixed because it's noise layered on top of real pixel data, not a replacement for it. The actual shape and color the camera captured are still underneath. The enhancer identifies the random noise pattern and strips it out, leaving that real data behind. 

It may be difficult, especially in shadows and dark glass, since that's where the sensor had the least light to work with.

Detail loss can be fixed because the information was never actually erased, just compressed. Weak light shrinks the range between highlight and shadow, so texture that needs contrast to read ("Nocturne Pour Homme" against dark glass, an embossed cap) flattens into near-uniform gray. 

But it's still there, encoded in tiny tonal differences too small to see at that compressed range. Stretching that range back out is what makes it visible again, which is why the label comes back legible without the bottle's color or shape ever changing.

Softness may be partially fixed, and this is where the distinction lies. Motion blur caused by a long exposure may be remedied since the edge simply became smeared for a few pixels and its initial position is still retrievable from its surroundings.

Out-of-focus blur cannot be corrected because the lens did not resolve the edge in the first place. There is actually a difference between blurred information and non-existent information. That's the actual boundary of what enhancement can do here.

The 30-Second Decision Checklist

• Colors look accurate, but the shot is dark, grainy, or a touch soft → Enhance it.
• Colors look off, blue-tinted, orange-tinted, washed out → That's white balance. Reshoot, or correct color before anything else.
• Product is cropped, cut off, or badly angled → Reshoot. Framing can't be recovered after the fact.
• Bright areas are pure white with no visible texture → Reshoot. There's no data there to bring back.
• Photo looks fine at normal size but blurs or pixelates when zoomed → Upscale it before uploading.
• Photo is both dark and small → Enhance first, then upscale. Doing it in the other order just stretches the noise.

Most late-night product shots land in that first bucket. That's the good news. The problems that actually need a reshoot are rarer than they feel at 9 pm.

Shopify-Friendly Export Sizes

The Final Takeaway

Enhance first, retake only when the file leaves you no choice.

The best product photo on Shopify doesn't look enhanced. It looks accurate. The goal was never to make the perfume bottle glow. Instead, it was to let shoppers see it the way it actually looks under normal light. That distinction matters more as AI tools get easier to reach for. 

Remember that overcorrection reads as fake just as fast as a dim photo reads as careless. Both cost trust. 

The sellers who win on Shopify aren't the ones with the most processed images. They're the ones whose photos simply tell the truth, clearly, in whatever light they had.

We can't let October pass without mentioning a close-up photography subject many photographers shoot spectacular images of at this time of year and that's fungi.

So, if you're venturing into the world of fungi photography for the first time or just want a quick reminder on what kit you'll need, have a read of our guide on photographing mushrooms, toadstools and fungi.
 

1. Pick the right season

The reason why this technique is something that's mentioned at this time of year is that fungi tend to like Autumn and Winter when it's cooler and wetter. You might even find them establishing themselves on your lawn if conditions are right. 

2. Head somewhere dark and damp

Think dark, damp places such as dense woodland areas where not much sunlight can get through. Search under piles of leaves and look around the base of trees. After a spell of particularly wet weather, they will start to show themselves in more places than you might expect!

3. Use a macro lens

A good macro lens is a must as fungi aren't the largest of subjects and your shots will have more impact by getting in close.

4. Stabilise your kit

Low light means longer shutter speeds so you're going to need a support for your camera. Some tripods can be adjusted so they sit low to the ground but you could just use a beanbag if your tripod isn't so flexible. Consider using a remote / cable release so you don't introduce shake at the start of the exposure but if you don't own one just use your camera's self-timer.

5. Pack a polarising filter

On particularly damp days shine can be a problem and mushroom tops can end up overexposed. To combat this, fit a polarising filter to the end of your lens which will reduce the shine. You may be wondering why you couldn't just head out on a dry day and there's no reason why you can't, however as David Pritchard explained a blog post: "There’s no better time for photographing mushrooms than after (or during) rain. The colours strengthen, and everything adopts a lovely sheen." 

6. Tidy the surroundings

It's sometimes worth cleaning the specimen up that you're photographing before you take your shots. Have a look at what's in the back of the frame, too to see if there's twigs or anything else that could prove to be distracting in the final shot. Please don't pull plants out of the ground or damage parts of a tree for the sake of a photo, though. It's important that you leave things as you found them once you've finished taking your images. Of course, you may prefer the natural look which means you won't have to brush any dirt off the mushroom at all.

7. Shoot down low

Fungi like the floor which we know isn't the most comfortable angle to work from but it does mean viewers of your images will be drawn into the fungi's world much more successfully if you shoot from low down. The fungi will also have a three-dimensional feel to them as they'll have more height, plus you'll be able to capture shots of the underbelly, too.

8. Think about your composition

As mentioned in the above point, once you've got your position on the ground, you'll be able to not only photograph the top of the mushroom's dome but underneath it too. This gives you the chance to capture some of the textures and colour the mushroom has to offer as well as exaggerate the height of it. Try to capture mushrooms in a group, as a variety of sizes will add interest of the piece. Odd groups are more pleasing to the eye than pairs but if you have one particular good specimen, don't overlook shooting it standing on its own. If you include the background and how much distance you put between you and the mushroom will change every time so do take some time to assess the scene before hitting the shutter button. 

9. Shed some light on the image

Fungi may like dark conditions but it's not something that's easy to work with as a photographer. The most interesting part of the mushroom is the underbelly and to highlight the textures, shapes and colours you're going to have to bounce light into the scene. You can use your camera's built-in flash but this will often result in a harsh light that doesn't really add anything to the photograph. Instead, use off-camera flash and bounce the light off other objects. You can also play around with backlight which should create a halo around the mushroom's top. If you don't have a flashgun experiment with a torch or use a reflector to bounce light onto the underbelly of the mushroom.

10. Use a shallow depth of field

Throwing the background out of focus will not only help isolate your subject but it can also hide unwanted clutter. Add a bit of backlight and your subject will pop from the frame.

© GoPro

GoPro has rolled out a free firmware update for the MISSION 1, MISSION 1 PRO and MISSION 1 PRO ILS that rebuilds how the cameras shoot stills. The shutter now responds the instant the button is pressed, and holding it down shoots continuous photos, with more than 100 at 12MP or more than 20 RAW files at 50MP. The MISSION Monitor app for iPhone and iPad also gains a histogram, waveform, RGB parade and false colour, along with wireless camera connectivity. GoPro Labs firmware adds anamorphic lens support for the MISSION 1 PRO ILS, covering squeeze ratios from 1.33x to 2.0x.

From GoPro:

GoPro, Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRO) released a free update that enhances MISSION 1 Series cameras' photography capabilities. Photo shutter response has been dramatically improved to provide hair-trigger sensitivity for improved photo capture accuracy, and holding the shutter button down will capture continuous photos in rapid succession.

GoPro also updated its recently debuted MISSION Monitor app with four new professional exposure tools and wireless camera connectivity, and released a new version of GoPro Labs firmware that adds anamorphic lens support to MISSION 1 PRO ILS for film and television professionals.

Since launching earlier this year, the MISSION 1 Series has earned 12 top industry awards from 10 leading consumer technology, photography, and outdoor publications, including Best Overall Action Camera from WIRED, Best Action Camera in the Tom's Guide Awards, and editor's choice awards from PCMag, Tom's Guide, Gizmodo, and The Shortcut.

MISSION 1 Series Photography Update: High-Performance Shutter Response + Continuous Photo Capture

MISSION 1 Series cameras have received a ground-up rebuild of how they capture photos, transforming them into rapid-fire photography solutions:

• Rapid Photo: With the free firmware update, all MISSION 1 Series cameras will now feature zero-lag, ultra-responsive shutter button response that results in photos being captured the instant the shutter button is pressed.1
• Continuous Shutter: Press and hold the shutter button to capture photos continuously—more than 100 photos at 12MP or more than 20 RAW photos at 50MP.1
• Buffer Indicator: A new on-screen indicator signals when the camera is approaching its buffer limit.
• Updated Shutter Sound: A modernized shutter sound delivers clear, distinguishable audio confirmation for each photo as it's captured.

This new photography experience makes MISSION 1, MISSION 1 PRO, and MISSION 1 PRO ILS a natural match for the Point-and-Shoot Grip. The grip's lightweight, rubberized metal frame turns the camera into a high-performance handheld point-and-shoot camera that's ideal for run-and-gun, on-the-go street and travel photography. Two cold shoe mounts accept accessories like Light Mod 2, making it a complete handheld setup for hikes, concerts, and road trips. The grip is available as a stand-alone accessory or as part of MISSION 1 PRO Grip Edition.

"For photographers, by photographers. That's how we approached updating the MISSION 1 Series photo experience," said Jensen Granger, GoPro's Creative Director of Photography. "This update opens an exciting new chapter for photography on GoPro. Put a MISSION 1 Series camera in the Point-and-Shoot Grip and you have a seriously capable travel camera that's durable, mountable and can even shoot 8K video. It's the camera everyone from first-time buyers to seasoned photographers will want in their bag."

MISSION Monitor: New Exposure Tools + Wireless Connectivity

MISSION Monitor, the free iPhone® and iPad® live-preview app for MISSION 1 Series cameras,2 is being updated with four new professional monitoring tools that enhance exposure and color control, plus wireless connectivity and support for the aforementioned enhanced photography experience:

• Histogram: A real-time graph of every brightness level in the frame to confirm a balanced image, protect highlights, and avoid crushed shadows at a glance.
• Waveform: Maps brightness across the frame, showing exactly which parts of a shot are clipping or underexposed, not just whether something is off.
• RGB Parade: Displays the red, green, and blue channels side by side to confirm neutral tones are truly neutral and catch color casts before they become a problem in post-production. It's especially useful when shooting in GP-Log2, where a color cast is nearly invisible to the naked eye.
• False Color: Replaces the live image with a standardized color map that instantly shows which parts of the frame are clipping, which are underexposed, and whether skin tones are landing where they should.
• Wireless Connectivity: Connects to the camera wirelessly for cable-free live preview and image monitoring.
• New Photography Experience: Supports the all-new Rapid Photo and Continuous Shutter capture updates.

GoPro Labs: Anamorphic Lens Support for MISSION 1 PRO ILS

GoPro Labs, a public beta firmware program that enables GoPro camera capabilities beyond stock features and controls, now adds anamorphic lens support to MISSION 1 PRO ILS with the latest GoPro Labs firmware update. Paired with the camera's Micro Four Thirds™ mount, it brings anamorphic filmmaking to the world's smallest, most rugged compact cinema camera with interchangeable lenses.

Anamorphic lens support includes compatibility with GoPro's Emmy® Award-winning HyperSmooth video stabilization. GoPro Labs firmware also writes pixel aspect ratio metadata to the video file so desktop playback and editing tools like Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve recognize the true shape of the image and correct it automatically.

Squeeze ratios of 1.33x, 1.5x, 1.6x, 1.8x, and 2.0x are supported, with presets for fast switching between anamorphic and spherical lenses. An on-camera desqueeze preview for the rear screen is coming soon.

Availability

The all-new photography experience for MISSION 1 Series cameras is available now as a free firmware update via the GoPro Quik app or on GoPro.com.

The MISSION Monitor app update is free and available today on the Apple App Store® for devices running iOS 18 or later.

The updated GoPro Labs firmware supporting anamorphic lenses is available to download for free from GoPro Labs.

London Camera Exchange (LCE) has opened entries for its Photographer of the Year 2027 competition, inviting photographers of all skill levels to compete for a share of a £10,000 prize fund across 14 categories. Free to enter, the competition offers opportunities for photographers to gain national recognition, with winning and shortlisted images showcased at The Photography & Video Show 2027 at ExCeL London. Entries are open until midnight on 20 January 2027.

From London Camera Exchange:

• London Camera Exchange annual photography competition returns with £10,000 prize fund – now open for submissions
• Quick, easy and free to enter for photographers of all levels and experience
• 14 diverse categories from Landscape and Street to Wildlife, Portrait and Travel, plus publicly voted ‘People’s Choice’ and ‘Emerging Talent’ for photography students
• Exhibition and awards presentation at The Photography & Video Show at ExCeL London, with winning and shortlisted works featured in a special commemorative book

London Camera Exchange is calling for entries to its LCE Photographer of the Year 2027 contest, inviting photographers to showcase their creativity and compete for a share of a £10,000 prize fund and gain national recognition for their work.

Now established as a major platform for photographic talent – and celebrating creativity, skill and inspiration – LCE Photographer of the Year is free to enter and open to photographers of all experience levels, aged 18 and over. Images can be taken anywhere in the world.

Entries open on 12 October 2026 and close at midnight on 20 January 2027. Photographers can submit a maximum of one image per category, with 14 categories offering opportunities to depict everything from dramatic action and landscapes to wildlife, portraits, creative scenes and everyday events. Participants can submit their images in-store at any of LCE’s 26 retail shops around the UK, or online at https://poty.lcegroup.co.uk/.

Lee Harasyn, managing director of LCE, commented, “London Camera Exchange is celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2026, so we are aiming for this year’s competition to be our biggest and best yet. LCE Photographer of the Year has developed into an exciting platform for photographers to showcase their talent and compete for major prizes. With a £10,000 prize fund, 14 categories and an exceptional panel of judges, there are more opportunities than ever for photographers to achieve recognition for their shots.”

Following the success of the Emerging Talent category in previous years, photography students studying in the UK are again eligible in this dedicated section, with the winner receiving £500 worth of LCE vouchers and an additional £500 awarded to their photography department, university or other place of study.

The popular ‘People’s Choice’ category will also return, giving photographers the chance to put their images directly in front of the public and encourage friends, family and fellow photography enthusiasts to vote for their work. The image receiving the most eligible votes will become the People’s Choice winner.

The competition offers a substantial prize for every category winner, with each of the 14 category champions receiving £500 worth of LCE vouchers and a trophy. The overall LCE Photographer of the Year will be presented with an additional £2,500 worth of LCE vouchers, while the Emerging Talent winner’s place of study will receive a further £500.

2026 overall winning image, ‘Fish Eyes’ by Sophia Spurgin

Finalists will be invited to the LCE Photographer of the Year awards ceremony at The Photography & Video Show 2027, taking place at ExCeL London from 13 to 16 March 2027. All the finalists’ images will be displayed at a high-profile exhibition in the show entrance.

A selection of shortlisted entries will also be included in a stunning LCE Photographer of the Year special edition commemorative book, with a complimentary copy provided to featured entrants. The winning images will be announced at the awards ceremony, and via London Camera Exchange’s social channels and national and specialist media, delivering further opportunities for photographers to share their work with new audiences.

The 2027 competition will be judged by four distinguished photography experts: Angela Nicholson, founder of SheClicks, Chris George, content director of Digital Camera World and Creative Bloq, award-winning professional portrait and travel documentary photographer Jimmy Cheng and internationally acclaimed street photographer Peter Dench.

Lee Harasyn continued, "We want LCE Photographer of the Year to celebrate photography in all its forms. From emerging photographers developing their style to experienced professionals, we’re looking forward to seeing the creativity, originality and different perspectives that photographers bring to this year’s competition.

"Being able to honour the winners at The Photography & Video Show at ExCeL London makes the 2027 competition particularly exciting. We can’t wait to discover the images that will make this year’s shortlist and share them with photography audiences across the UK and beyond."

Images can be captured using any device capable of producing a digital image of sufficient quality and resolution for entry, including cameras, drones, smartphones, tablets and other digital imaging devices. Images must be the entrant’s own work and AI-generated imagery is not permitted. The judges will assess shortlisted images based on composition, lighting, subject matter and technical skill, with photographs judged anonymously. The overall winner will be selected by the judging panel from the 14 category winners.

Categories:

• Action
• After Dark
• Birds
• Creative
• Emerging Talent
• Events
• Landscape
• Macro
• People’s Choice
• Pets
• Portrait
• Street
• Travel
• Wildlife

The competition is generously backed by major photo industry brands including headline sponsors Canon, Fujifilm and OM System, as well as partners Nikon and Sony, and affiliates Cewe, Lexar and Sigma.

LCE Photographer of the Year 2027 is open to photographers worldwide, although prizes are limited to photographers who are resident in the UK. No purchase is necessary to enter or win. LCE Photographer of the Year is free to enter and attend.

LCE Photographer of the Year 2027 key dates

• Entries open: 12 October 2026
• Entries close: Midnight, 20 January 2027
• The Photography & Video Show 2027: 13 to 16 March 2027, ExCeL London
• Awards ceremony: Timings to be confirmed and communicated to shortlisted entrants.

For more information and please visit the LCE Photographer of the Year website.

After summer ends and the chips, candy floss and plastic buckets have long left the seafront, the British seaside resort morphs into a place that's desolated and full of photographic potential. 

1. Gear Suggestions

A zoom lens will give you the flexibility of both wide and telephoto options in one lens which is good news for the photographer who doesn't want to be carrying too much kit on their seaside walk. Plus, you don't really want to be changing lenses when there's a strong breeze blowing sand and salt which could damage your equipment. A tripod will help you steady your camera while the strong coastal breeze blows around you.

2. Be Prepared

A bonus with this time of year is that parking's a doddle and accommodation should be cheaper if you're planning a full weekend of photography. 

Don't forget to check the all-important weather forecast and make sure you note down what time the tide will be on its way back in. If you don't,  you could find yourself paddling through saltwater with your camera gear if you do head for the beach. 

3. Light And Feel

Low-angled light will give colourful beach huts more punch while a bright blue sky dotted with white clouds will add a bit of life to what can be drab looking shops and piers. 

If you find that Mother Nature has realised you're at the coast and as a result predictably turns the sky grey don't be too down-hearted as a storm brewing over the sea will always look good. To give the sky more detail fit an ND filter to your lens but if it's still too dull and flat, shoot the scene anyway and try converting it to mono when you're back in front of your computer. If all else fails, there's always the option to shoot some macro detail of nets, ropes and wet pebbles on the beach. Just remember to fill the frame to give your shots more impact. 

4. Photograph People

The ice-cream seller may be long gone but you will get the odd resident, brave surfer and fishermen still walking around the empty seaside towns. Even though it's always polite to ask before you take your shot, sometimes candids, where you snap a couple of shots without them knowing you're doing so, do work better. Many people won't mind you taking their photograph if you ask politely enough though so don't be afraid to approach someone with your camera and a pleasant smile. Try getting in close if they have a strong face that will make a good character portrait then stand back to give the shot more context. This can work well with a lonely surfer stood on a damp, deserted beach or with a café owner clearing tables in an empty shop. 

5. Life's A Beach

The pier is a photographic opportunity not to be missed at this time of year as you won't have tourists walking into your shot and morning fog can be found circling the supports, making them an eerie photographic opportunity. Go wide, shooting from the beach if possible or shoot from the top, using the pier as a leading line into your image.

Godox has introduced the A2, a compact xenon flash designed to give smartphone photographers greater control over lighting. It combines a dedicated flash, bi-color LED, magnetic accessories, and Bluetooth wireless control through the Godox Camera app.

Xenon Flash and Exposure Control

The A2 delivers a guide number of approximately 15 (GN15, ISO 100, meters) and supports TTL automatic and manual flash modes. High-speed sync reaches up to 1/8000 second, allowing users to balance flash with ambient light in bright conditions.

Godox specifies approximately 400 full-power flashes per charge, with a recycle time of around two seconds at full power. For best results, the company recommends keeping the flash within 2 meters of the subject.

Bi-Color LED and App Control

The bi-color LED provides continuous lighting for video and photography, with color temperatures adjustable from 2800K to 6000K through the app and brightness from 1% to 100%. Godox lists CRI and TLCI ratings of 96 or higher.

The Godox Camera app offers Natural, Even, and Contrast flash effects in Auto mode, along with manual adjustments. Bluetooth supports wireless control up to 15 meters, while NFC-assisted setup simplifies pairing.

Magnetic Mounting and Accessories

The A2 features a dual-sided magnetic design for flexible mounting. Optional accessories include a honeycomb grid, barndoors, a snoot, and a full CTO filter for warming the light. Godox recommends using the flash off-camera when working with light-shaping accessories.

A separate smartphone wireless flash trigger for compatible Godox speedlights and outdoor flashes is listed as upcoming and will be sold separately.

Godox A2 Specifications

• Product type: Smartphone xenon flash
• Guide number: Approx. GN15 at ISO 100, meters
• Flash modes: TTL and manual
• Flash output: 1/128 to full power, in 1/3-stop increments
• High-speed sync: Up to 1/8000 second
• Full-power flashes: Approx. 400
• Recycle time: Approx. 2 seconds at full power
• LED color temperature: 2800K to 6000K
• LED brightness: 1% to 100%
• CRI/TLCI: 96 or higher
• LED power: Approx. 3W continuous, 18W burst
• Wireless range: Up to 15 meters
• Battery: 7.7V, 500mAh
• Charging: USB-C, 5V/2A; approx. one hour
• Dimensions: 63.8 mm diameter × 25.8 mm
• Weight: Approx. 93g
• Colors: Four options

For more information, please visit the official Godox A2 product page.

The self-timer feature is something which is available on most camera models and it's a shutter delay that when activated, stops the shutter from firing and taking the picture when the shutter button or release is pressed for a designated amount of time. This delay is useful for a number of reasons which are listed below. 

1. Close-Up Work

The other advantage of having a timer is to save you having to use a cable release when the camera is mounted on a tripod or resting on a secure base. You set the timer and the delay means there's no hand contact that could potentially cause camera shake when the shutter is pressed. The 10-second delay is not really necessary for this, so that's where the shorter delays come in handy.

2. Self Portraits And Group Shots

The idea is you can take self-portraits without having to be seen stretched out as you fire the camera at arms' length. All you do is activate the timer, press the shutter release and move in front of the camera, strike a pose - all within the timer's limit - and then you'll be the focus of your photo.

It can also be used to ensure you're in a family or group shot. You can arrange a small or larger group of people and allow space for yourself, activate the timer and move into the shot. This saves you having to give the camera to the waiter or tourist to take the photo, preventing an embarrassment or even potential theft!

3. Low Light Photography 

As with close-up work, your camera's self-timer can be used to reduce the chances of camera shake spoiling your shots when working in low light. At this time of year, your self-timer will be useful in dark woodland where you may be photographing close-ups of fungi. Again, you won't need a really long delay, a couple of seconds will be fine. 

4. Check Your Focus

There are a few things to do to help improve your photos when using the self-timer. The first is ensuring accurate focus. If you're doing a self-portrait you won't be in the photo when you press the shutter and as a result, the picture could end up blurry as the camera could lock focus on the background. One way around this is to point the camera at something that is at the same distance that you will be when the photo is taken. Press the shutter release and recompose before running in front of the camera. In a group shot this is easy - make sure you either focus on a person to the side if you're going to be in the centre or focus on the centre person and join the group at the edge.

5. Check The Edges Of The Frame

The other thing to avoid is a table edge being in the frame when you are taking a group shot in a restaurant or bar and decide to use a nearby table as support. The camera, when set to wide-angle, may pick up an edge of the support. Move the camera so it's right at the edge of the table, making sure it's balanced well and cannot fall off!

Another problem you may be faced with when resting the camera on a flat surface is that the height may not be right when you look through the viewfinder and often the heads or feet of your group will be cut off. If this happens, try and angle the camera so all of your group is in the shot.

A black and white street photograph titled 'Back Alley Blues', shot by PeterDavidson, has won our 'Photo of the Week' (POTW) award.

The low angle works well, with a crushed can and other litter close to the camera and a man walking at the far end of the narrow alley. The brick walls add depth, and the black and white treatment brings out the textures of the brickwork and ground. The timing and composition are excellent, making this a very good example of street photography.

Every Photo of the Week (POTW) winner will be rewarded with a Samsung 128GB PRO Plus microSDXC memory card with SD adapter, providing top-tier storage for all your creative needs across multiple devices. But that's not all! In January 2027, we'll crown our 2026 Photo of the Year winner, who will take home the ultimate prize of a Samsung Portable 1TB SSD T7 Shield, courtesy of Samsung. See the terms & conditions and prize procedure for more information.

It’s time to shoot, submit, and showcase your best work for a chance to win these incredible rewards! Want to be our next POTW winner? Just upload an image to our gallery where you'll also find all of our past POTW winners.

As photographers, when we think of mood, we think of stormy, dark and dramatic, but mood can equally relate to any lighting type that evokes a feeling. Photographically then, mood can readily be associated with weather conditions – calm and misty mornings, dramatic cloudy days with sunbeams and often, the most dramatic mood can be obtained on those days you might think offer less promise – as it only takes a break in stormy clouds to give a magnificent, moody image.

How To Capture Mood In Your Images

To capture dark and dramatic mood successfully, be prepared to wait for breaks in the weather, sometimes you just have to sit out the rainy spells – in the car if you're lucky; but when the weather breaks you can be rewarded with a few minutes really exciting lighting.

When the light does come, be prepared to work quickly. Good lighting doesn't wait for the photographer, and often its over just as quickly as it arrived, so think in advance whether you are going to need a graduated ND filter, or if you need to bracket the shot to put together an HDR (High Dynamic Range) picture. Don't wait for the light before considering that you need a filter or need to bracket exposures to cope with the contrast range, as when the light's gone – it's gone. Checking your histogram after the event to find that your exposure is wrong it's too late – you can't bring it back.

For misty, early morning moody images, again the weather forecast is an essential pre-planner – there is no point sleeping in to find that you've just missed a delicate, moody sunrise. Similarly, there is little point getting up early to find the weather isn't ideal.

The key to capturing mood is to pick the right day and location – as is all landscape photography, but the real secret is to be fully prepared for when the "mood" arrives.

The zoom lengths on compact cameras keep growing and even though this makes more photographic subjects accessible to compact users, it does bring one problem and that's camera shake.

Manufacturers do install modes and features to help combat the issue, such as the shake reduction, but there are still a number of things that you can do to ensure your images are sharp every time.

1. Use A Support

When you think of a camera that sits on a tripod your first thoughts will probably be of a DSLR but just because you're using a camera with a body much smaller than a DSLR doesn't mean you shouldn't use a support. This can be a tripod, monopod, something smaller such as a Gorilla Pod or even a beanbag. 
 

2. Use Your Camera's Self-Timer

Even when you're using a support the small action of pressing the shutter button can still move the camera slightly and cause shake. As a result, when shooting a static subject you can use your camera's self-timer function so there's a delay between you pressing the shutter button and the exposure beginning. 
 

3. Increase The ISO

As longer shutter speeds mean the camera has to be held still for longer periods of time, shake can be a problem, particularly when working hand-held. To increase the shutter speed you can switch to a higher ISO but do take care when increasing ISOs as noise will be introduced at some levels. Where possible, try to stay below ISO400. If long shutter speeds are a must, always use a support as working without one will just result in shake spoiling your shots.
 

4. Check The Image On Your LCD

As images can be previewed on the built-in LCD screens available on compact cameras it means that shots can be checked for sharpness before leaving the location you're shooting in. However, it's not always that easy to tell if a shot is sharp by just checking the screen so if your camera has the option, it's always worth using the zoom magnifier when previewing to get a closer look at the shot. 

5. Edit In Post Production

You can slightly sharpen images in various pieces of editing software but don't overdo it as the shot won't look right. Boosting the contrast a little can help as well, but again don't go too mad with it. There are ways to reduce noise, too if high noise is a problem. 

Datacolor continues to invest in the ongoing development and enhancement of its SpyderPro software. Following the major feature upgrade introduced last year, its flagship display calibration solution now receives another significant enhancement: Deep Calibration mode. This new technology delivers an even higher level of color accuracy and elevates display calibration to a standard previously associated primarily with professional reference and proofing solutions.

In November of last year, Datacolor introduced the largest software update in SpyderPro's history. Key additions included 3D LUT export for calibrating external video monitors, support for modern display technologies such as OLED, QD-OLED, Mini-LED, and Apple XDR displays, the introduction of Device Preview Plus for simulating content appearance on smartphones, tablets, printers, and other output devices, as well as the integration of Content Credentials to increase transparency in digital content.

With the introduction of Deep Calibration, Datacolor takes the next important step forward in display calibration technology.

A New Standard for Color Accuracy

SpyderPro's existing Standard Calibration already delivers outstanding color accuracy, achieving an average Delta E00 of 1.26. A Delta E value between 1 and 2 is widely recognized throughout professional image editing, photography, and graphic design as the benchmark for color-critical applications.

The new Deep Calibration mode improves this result to an average Delta E00 of 0.83. This enables SpyderPro to surpass the Delta E00 1.0 threshold, below which color differences become virtually imperceptible to the human eye. Such performance is typically associated with high-end reference displays and professional proofing workflows.

How Does Deep Calibration Work?

The new calibration mode utilizes a significantly higher number of measurement points across the entire grayscale range. This allows color deviations to be detected and corrected with much greater precision.

Key benefits include:

• Improved red-green neutrality
• Reduced blue-yellow color casts
• Higher white point accuracy
• Enhanced grayscale precision
• Cleaner shadow detail
• A more comprehensive calibration report

In extensive comparison tests across a wide variety of displays, including OLED, Mini-LED, XDR, and traditional LED-LCD monitors on both Windows and macOS systems, Deep Calibration delivered measurable improvements on every display tested. On average, grayscale accuracy improved by 30%, while some displays achieved improvements of more than 50%.

Speed or Maximum Precision? The Choice Is Yours.

With the introduction of Deep Calibration, SpyderPro now offers two calibration modes designed to meet different workflow requirements.

Standard Calibration

• Professional color accuracy
• Average Delta E00 of 1.26
• Fast calibration process

Deep Calibration

• Advanced measurement methodology with significantly more measurement points
• Average Delta E00 of 0.83
• Approximately 30% higher accuracy

Users can now choose whether they prefer to achieve excellent calibration results quickly or require the highest possible level of color precision for the most demanding workflows.

Free Upgrade for Existing SpyderPro Customers

The new Deep Calibration mode is provided free of charge to existing SpyderPro owners as part of the latest software upgrade. Users of Spyder, SpyderX, or SpyderExpress can upgrade to SpyderPro via the Datacolor website and take advantage of these advanced calibration capabilities.

With the introduction of Deep Calibration, Datacolor once again demonstrates its commitment to continuously enhancing its products and delivering meaningful value to customers long after purchase through powerful software updates. For photographers, videographers, content creators, designers, and prepress professionals, this new feature unlocks a level of color precision that until now has only been achievable with significantly more expensive reference-grade solutions.

About Datacolor

Datacolor, a global leader in color management solutions, provides software, instruments, and services that ensure the accurate reproduction of colors in materials, products, and images. Leading brands, manufacturers, and creative professionals around the world have trusted Datacolor's innovative solutions for more than 50 years to consistently achieve the right color. The company provides sales, service, and support in more than 100 countries throughout Europe, the Americas, and Asia. For more information, visit www.datacolor.com.

- Partner Content -

macOS 27 Golden Gate has just arrived in September, but recovery software has not moved at the same pace. If camera footage, project clips or exported videos disappear from a Mac or memory card, these five tools cover very different recovery jobs — from simple deleted-file scans to fragmented camera video and unfamiliar file formats.

Losing video is rarely a small problem. A single deleted MOV may contain an entire interview, while one formatted SD card can wipe out a day's shoot. The best video recovery software for Mac should therefore do more than find files: it needs to work with current Macs, recognise common camera storage, preview results where possible and give you a safe way to recover to another drive.

macOS 27 Has Changed the Mac Recovery Picture

Apple released macOS 27 Golden Gate on 14 September 2026. Golden Gate is available only for Macs with Apple silicon, while Intel Macs remain on earlier macOS versions. That means older utilities need a closer compatibility check before you depend on them.

There is another change worth knowing about. Apple's macOS 27 release notes say that if Rosetta was already installed, it is not automatically restored after the upgrade. Rosetta itself is still available, but an older Intel-only utility may not launch until the translation layer is installed again. That is relevant to free tools such as PhotoRec, whose official macOS download is still offered as an Intel 64-bit build.

For MacBook data recovery, the storage device matters just as much as the operating system. Deleted footage on an SD card or external hard drive may still be recoverable if its blocks have not been overwritten. Deleted data on an internal Mac SSD is a harder case because TRIM can make those blocks unavailable to recovery software. 

Before You Install Any Recovery Software

Recovery software cannot undo new data written over the old footage. Before choosing an app, stop using the storage device that held the missing video. If it is a memory card, remove it from the camera. If it is an external drive, disconnect it until you are ready to scan.

On a Mac, check Trash and any backup before starting a full recovery scan. Videos managed through Photos may also have another copy in iCloud or another synced library. If Time Machine was enabled, check the relevant backup or local snapshot. If the file is no longer available through any of those routes, this guide to recover permanently deleted videos covers the broader options across Mac and other devices.

Avoid installing the recovery app onto the same drive that contained the missing files, and never save recovered footage back to that source during the first pass. Both actions create new writes. For a failing or unstable drive, a byte-for-byte image or clone is preferable because it lets you work from a copy rather than repeatedly reading the original hardware.

If the footage came from a camera card, there is no need to repeat every SD-card recovery step here. ePHOTOzine already has a dedicated guide on how to recover deleted videos from SD card.

How We Chose These Mac Video Recovery Tools

We compared current Mac recovery tools on the things that decide whether footage comes back, rather than on feature-list length: product documentation, Mac compatibility, free-tier limits, video-specific features, disk-imaging options, file-system support and pricing.

Video recovery also needs a slightly different test from ordinary document recovery. Large camera files are often fragmented, so finding a MOV or MP4 signature is not always enough to rebuild a playable clip. Preview matters, as does the ability to work from an image when the source drive is questionable. And for photographers using newer cameras, support for an unusual file type can matter more than the total number of formats printed on a product page.

For a wider comparison beyond video, this current round-up of mac recovery software covers more general Mac data-loss scenarios.

Best Video Recovery Software for Mac: Five Picks

1. Disk Drill 6 — Best for Camera and Drone Footage

Disk Drill 6 is the most video-focused general recovery app in this group. CleverFiles lists full support for macOS 27 Golden Gate, and the Mac version works on current Apple silicon hardware. Its normal scan can recover deleted files from APFS, HFS+, exFAT, FAT and other file systems, but the more relevant feature for ePHOTOzine readers is Advanced Camera Recovery.

That mode is designed for video recorded by cameras, drones and action cameras, where a large clip may be split across non-contiguous areas of a memory card. Instead of treating the file as one simple block, the software attempts to reconstruct the fragmented recording. That is particularly useful when a conventional raw scan finds an MP4 or MOV but produces a file that will not play correctly.

Disk Drill also lets you create a disk image of a memory card or drive before scanning it, so you can work from a copy rather than repeatedly accessing the original storage device. On Mac, the free edition can scan and preview recoverable files, and it can restore data protected in advance by its recovery-protection features. The important catch is that recovery of ordinary unprotected deleted files requires PRO on macOS. 

Ideal for: photographers and videographers recovering footage from SD cards, action cameras and drones, especially when fragmented video is a concern.

Platforms and pricing: Mac and Windows. On Mac, scanning and preview are free; full recovery of standard lost files requires a paid licence.

2. PhotoRec — Best Free Option

PhotoRec is the answer if the budget is zero. It is open-source, has no recovery-volume limit and uses file signatures rather than depending on a healthy file system. That makes it useful when a card has been reformatted or its directory information is badly damaged.

The trade-off is usability. PhotoRec runs in a text-based interface, and signature recovery does not normally preserve the original filenames or folder structure. A card with hundreds of clips can therefore come back as a large collection of generically named files that you need to inspect afterwards. There is also no polished preview workflow comparable with the commercial apps above.

macOS 27 adds a compatibility wrinkle: CGSecurity's current 7.3-WIP Mac download is labelled Intel 64-bit, although the page notes that M1 Macs can run it. On Apple silicon, the cleaner route is Homebrew: brew install testdisk installs PhotoRec and TestDisk, and Homebrew currently provides a Golden Gate bottle for Apple silicon. This makes PhotoRec a viable free Mac video recovery option on the newest OS without relying on the vendor's Intel archive.

Ideal for: technically comfortable users who need free video recovery software for Mac with no recovery-size cap.

Platforms and pricing: macOS, Windows and Linux. Free and open-source.

3. R-Studio for Mac — Best for Advanced Recovery

R-Studio is less friendly than Disk Drill, but it gives experienced users far more control over how a scan is performed. The Mac edition supports APFS, HFS+, HFSX, exFAT, NTFS and several Linux and Unix file systems, and it can work with disk images, damaged partitions and RAID layouts. For a mixed studio environment, that breadth can be useful.

Its raw-file search can also be extended with user-defined known file types, which helps when a standard signature database does not cover a format you need. That said, this is still general-purpose Mac data recovery software rather than a dedicated camera-video reconstruction tool. If the main problem is a fragmented action-camera clip, a specialised camera mode may be the better first attempt.

Compatibility deserves a note this year. R-Studio's current download page and system-requirements documentation list macOS 26 Tahoe, while its main product information has not yet been fully updated to macOS 27 Golden Gate. The application is a native Apple Silicon build, so this looks like a documentation lag rather than a technical barrier — but if you have already upgraded, run the demo before you buy.

Ideal for: advanced users dealing with disk images, complex partitions, RAID or several file systems rather than one straightforward deleted clip.

Platforms and pricing: separate Mac, Windows and Linux editions. R-Studio for Mac starts at $79.99 for a permanent licence.

4. DMDE — Best Low-Cost Recovery Option

DMDE sits in an unusual place between free recovery utilities and expensive professional software. Its interface is dense, but the free edition is much less restrictive than many commercial trials: it can recover up to 4,000 files from one selected directory per request, and DMDE says there is no limit on how many times you repeat that operation.

For video work, that can be enough when a card contains one shoot folder and you only need a manageable set of clips. DMDE supports APFS, HFS+, exFAT and FAT among other file systems, offers raw signature recovery, and includes free disk-imaging and cloning tools. That last feature is useful when you want to preserve a card or questionable external drive before experimenting with scans.

The catch is the interface. DMDE exposes low-level disk and partition tools alongside recovery functions, so if you are not sure what an option does, do not randomly click it. Express is $20 for one year and Standard is $48 for a perpetual licence. For users comparing low-cost data recovery software for Mac, it offers more actual free recovery than most scan-only trials.

Ideal for: users who want a capable free tier, disk imaging and low-cost paid recovery, and do not mind a technical interface.

Platforms and pricing: macOS, Windows, Linux and DOS. Free edition available; paid options start at $20.

5. Data Rescue 6 — Best for Unusual Camera File Types

Data Rescue 6 earns its place for a FileIQ feature. If Deep Scan does not recognise a particular file type, FileIQ can analyse several healthy samples of that same type and look for a repeatable pattern that Data Rescue can use as a custom file module. The documentation recommends at least three sample files.

That can be useful with less common camera outputs, proprietary containers or a new workflow that is not yet in a recovery tool's built-in signature database. It is not magic — FileIQ does not work with every file type, and a learned signature cannot restore data that has already been overwritten — but it gives you another route when the problem is recognition rather than the storage device itself.

Data Rescue also includes a clone workflow, which fits the safer approach of working from a copy when the source drive is unstable. Its current Mac pricing gives new users up to 1 GB of recovery for free. The Standard licence is $79 and provides unlimited recovery for 30 days, while the Professional tier is sold annually.

Ideal for: photographers dealing with an unsupported or unusual file type for which they can provide healthy sample files from the same camera workflow.

Platforms and pricing: Mac and Windows versions are available. New Mac users can recover up to 1 GB free; Standard costs $79 for 30 days of unlimited recovery.

What "Free Video Recovery for Mac" Really Means

The word “free” is unusually slippery in this category. Some apps are free to download but charge before they write a recovered file to disk. Others let you restore a small amount of data, which may be fine for documents but almost useless for a 4K video clip.

PhotoRec is the clearest example of genuinely free Mac video recovery: there is no paid edition and no recovery-size cap. The cost is time and convenience. You work in a text interface and may lose original names and folder structure.

DMDE takes a different approach. Its free edition limits each recovery request to 4,000 files from the active directory rather than imposing a small gigabyte allowance. For a memory card with a few hundred clips, that can be surprisingly practical.

Data Rescue 6 gives new users up to 1 GB, which is enough to test the recovery path or retrieve shorter clips but can disappear quickly with high-bitrate footage. Disk Drill's free Mac edition is strongest as a diagnostic tool for unprotected deleted files: scan, filter and preview first, then decide whether the files are worth paying to restore. R-Studio also offers a demo, but its restrictions make it more useful for evaluating what the software can see than for recovering a full video archive.

So if you are searching for Mac video recovery software free of charge, look past the download button. The useful question is how much data the app will actually write back, whether preview is available before payment, and whether the free tool can handle the file system and camera format involved.

Why a Recovered Video Sometimes Won't Play

Finding the filename is only half the job. Video files are large, and cameras often write them across multiple areas of a card as recording continues. A basic raw recovery scan may recognise the beginning of an MP4 or MOV but fail to rebuild every fragment in the correct order. The result can have a plausible filename and file size yet still refuse to open, freeze after a few seconds or show damaged frames.

This is why trying another recovery engine can make sense. Different tools reconstruct files differently, and a camera-specific recovery mode may succeed where simple signature carving does not. If the source card is valuable, create an image first and run those experiments against the image rather than repeatedly scanning the physical card.

There is also a point where recovery ends and repair begins. If recovery itself worked but the MOV or MP4 still will not open, an open-source tool untrunc can use a healthy reference clip — ideally from the same camera — to rebuild parts of the damaged container. On macOS it is more technical than the five apps above and may need to be built with Homebrew dependencies, so it is not a general recovery pick. But it is a useful free option when the file exists and the remaining problem is playback rather than deletion.

When Mac Video Recovery Software Won't Help

There are two cases where continuing to scan is usually the wrong move.

The first is permanent deletion from an internal Mac SSD. Modern SSDs use TRIM to tell the drive which blocks are no longer needed. Once those blocks have been cleared or made unavailable, a recovery app cannot recreate the original video from nothing. Backups and local snapshots become much more important in that scenario. The same issue appears repeatedly in a recent Mac recovery discussion, where users point back to Time Machine, local snapshots and the limits imposed by TRIM. The thread is anecdotal rather than formal documentation, but the practical lesson is sound: internal SSD recovery is not the same as undeleting a file from an SD card.

The second is physical failure. If a hard drive clicks, repeatedly disconnects, disappears from Disk Utility, becomes unusually hot or produces severe read errors, repeated DIY scans can put more stress on it. If the footage is important enough to justify professional recovery, stop using the device and get the hardware assessed before it deteriorates further.

Which Mac Video Recovery Tool Should You Try First?

It depends on where the footage was and what you are willing to spend.

Deleted clips on an SD card or from a camera or drone: start with Disk Drill, which handles fragmented footage best of the five. No budget at all: PhotoRec, accepting the Terminal and the lost filenames. Somewhere in between, with a real free allowance: DMDE. Reformatted volumes, RAID or a drive you need to image first: R-Studio. A file type nothing seems to recognise: Data Rescue 6 and FileIQ.

And if the loss was on your Mac's internal SSD, check your backups and snapshots before you run a single scan.

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The latest winner of our popular daily photography theme which takes place in our forums have been chosen and congratulations go to BydoR9 (Day 6 - 'Orange' Colour).

Daily Theme Runners-Up

If you didn't win this time, keep uploading your images to the daily competition forum for another chance to win! If you're new to the Daily Theme, you can find out more about it in the Daily Theme Q&A. 

Well done to our latest runners-up, too, whose images you can take a look at below.

Day 1

Autumn Landscapes

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Day 2

Autumn Abstracts

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Day 3

Spider's Web

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Day 4

Gardens In Autumn

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Day 5

Rainy Days

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Day 7

Autumn Reflections

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Day 8

Creative Indoor Shot

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Day 9

Landmarks

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You’ll find the Daily Themes, along with other great photo competitions, over in our Forum. Take a look to see the latest daily photo contests. Open to all levels of photographer, you’re sure to find a photography competition to enter. Why not share details of competitions with our community? Join the camaraderie and upload an image to our Gallery.

Britain is full of wildlife, and autumn's a great time to get out and capture a few shots of the small mammals, birds, deer and other creatures that can be found here.
 

1. Birds

As we head towards winter it gets harder for birds to find natural food so by placing feeders in your garden with different types of food in (fat and nuts) you'll be able to attract different species of bird that you can photograph. An important side note to remember is to not remove the feeders when you've finished as the birds may have become reliant on your garden as a source of food.

Capturing shots of these small, shy creatures isn't as easy as dashing out into your garden with your camera and snapping a quick shot. You need to place branches near feeders to give you more natural-looking shots, wait patiently and quietly for your subject to land and you'll need to know your gear well before heading out onto your lawn. Long lenses are essential if you want to capture frame-filling shots and for pin-sharp images, a tripod is a must.

For more in-depth tips on photographing birds, take a look at these articles:

• Photographing Garden Birds
• How To Photograph Birds In Your Garden
• Tips On Photographing Garden Birds
• Tips On Photographing Robins

2. Spiders And Webs

Spiders seem to be everywhere at this time of year and they make great photographic subjects themselves (if you don't mind getting close) but for those who like to keep a bit more distance, have a go at photographing their webs instead. They're very photogenic on a frosty morning or after it's rained. For more tips, take a look at this technique: Spider Web Photography.
 

3. Mammals

Many of the mammals, big and small, are shy so long lenses, patience and the ability to stay hidden are generally a must when photographing them.

Squirrels, who'll be on the hunt for food at this time of year, are a popular photographic subject but do take something waterproof with you when heading out to photograph them as you can end up laying on the damp ground to get a shot of them foraging for food. Using bait is a good way to attract squirrels and you can place it in front of less busy backgrounds so you capture a better-looking shot. Fore more squirrel photography tips, take a look at this article: Photographing Red Squirrels.

It's mating season for deer which means there are plenty of action shots waiting to be captured of males fighting. Their antlers look particularly impressive at this time of year and their shape can look great when silhouetted against the morning light. Throw in some mist and autumnal shades and you have the recipe for a successful wildlife shoot starting to come together. You will need a long lens so you don't spook them and it's safer for you to work with quite a bit of distance between you and your subject anyway. Remember to approach from downwind and if you have it, camouflage clothing will help you blend in with your surroundings more.

October to December is breeding season for a lot of seal colonies around the shores of Britain and this is when they come to shore, making locations like Donna Nook on the east coast very popular with wildlife photographers. If you are planning a trip to photograph pups and their mothers please always put the animals' welfare first and respect the location you're photographing. You'll generally need a telephoto lens to capture a decent image, although some seals can be found close to paths. Take a monopod if you're planning on walking and don't always shoot from a standing position as getting low down will give your shots a better perspective.

Preserving Nature as Preserving Ourselves

© Damir Faizulin/LOBA 2026

The winners of the 2026 Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA) were revealed at the World of Leica in Wetzlar, Germany. Damir Faizulin took the main prize for his series on nature and daily life in the mountains of Dagestan, while Laila AnnMarie Stevens won the Newcomer Award for her Clayton Sisterhood Project. The inaugural LOBA Women Grant went to Valentina Sinis, who will use it to continue her long-term project in Iraqi Kurdistan.

From Leica:

The results are in and the recipients of the three awards have been announced. The winner of the main Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA) is Damir Faizulin, whilst Laila AnnMarie Stevens was honoured in the Newcomer category, and Valentina Sinis was delighted to receive the LOBA Women Grant. The awards ceremony was once again a highlight of the Celebration of Photography, held on the evening of the 8th of October at the World of Leica in Wetzlar.

The two winning series from the 46th LOBA edition impressed the five-person jury, who made their selections from over 400 entries. Nominations for the main category were received from over 130 experts hailing from around 50 countries and spanning the wide spectrum of the international photography scene. The Newcomer Leica Oskar Barnack Award was selected in collaboration with 28 institutions and universities from 18 countries, and the LOBA Women Grant was awarded for the first time based on an open-submission application model. Numerous proposals were received describing compelling projects. 

The LOBA, first awarded in 1980, is now among the most renowned and highly endowed photography prizes worldwide. The Main Prize LOBA winner is awarded €40,000 and Leica camera equipment worth €10,000, while the winner of the Newcomer Award receives €10,000 and a Leica Q3. The LOBA Women Grant is endowed with €10,000, and the selected applicant also receives a Leica Q3 camera, as well as professional support during the implementation and production period.

Damir Faizulin: Preserving Nature as Preserving Ourselves

2026 Leica Oskar Barnack Award Winner

In his award-winning series, the Russian photographer draws our attention to the nature and way of life in the mountains of Dagestan in the North Caucasus of southern Russia. Faizulin illustrates the threats to the delicate balance between the inhabitants and nature in his images. He documents current developments and the emerging tourism industry, modern architecture and the neglect of established structures and culture, while at the same time celebrating the region’s beauty.

“I first visited Dagestan as a tourist in 2020 and immediately felt a connection to its cultural fabric, the meaning of the moment and my personal interest in the region. I had a strong feeling that the region was about to undergo rapid change, and I wanted to document these developments. This is why, in 2021, I moved to Dagestan to explore the region in greater depth. It’s important to me that a photograph does not simplify reality, but rather helps us recognise its complexity.” - Damir Faizulin

Damir Faizulin was born in Uzbekistan in 1986. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, his family moved to Russia. Until the age of 33, he successfully pursued a career as a martial artist and professional wrestler. He then attended photography workshops with the documentary photographer Dmitry Markov in Kaliningrad. He has been working on independent projects since 2020, and the LOBA is the first international competition in which he has participated.

Laila AnnMarie Stevens: Clayton Sisterhood Project

2026 Leica Oskar Barnack Award Newcomer

The American photographer is inspired by her longing for memories of her ancestors, which is reflected in her black-and-white series examining contemporary queer kinship structures and the continuing legacy of strong, self-confident black women. The focal point of her work is the way of life created by the photographer’s two sisters and four nieces, who moved from Queens, New York, to a shared house on a plot in Clayton, North Carolina.

“When selecting these images, I wanted the works to reflect the various ways in which connection is expressed across generations. It’s incredibly encouraging to have my work recognised in this way. Taking into account the current political climate in the United States, where so many rights relating to autonomy, care and visibility are being actively challenged, this award has given me high hopes.” - Laila AnnMarie Stevens

Born in South Jamaica, Queens, New York, in 2001, Laila AnnMarie Stevens started working with the New York Times at the age of 20, having her pictures published in the ‘Metropolitan’ section. Since then, her work has appeared in various other major publications. She studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and gained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography and Media.

Valentina Sinis: The Last Butterflies

2026/2027 LOBA Women Grant

By winning this award, Italian photographer Valentina Sinis will be able to continue her long-term project in Iraqi Kurdistan. Her series focuses on Kurdish women who have left their homeland to join the armed resistance. In a new chapter, the photographer will explore how the struggle shapes and transforms ties to land and family, as well as a sense of belonging, through portraits, landscapes and images of abandoned places. The human cost of the female fighters’ commitment will also be explored. The results of this new chapter in her body of work will be presented at LOBA next year. Photographer Valentina Sinis, originally hailing from Italy, lives and works in China, Iraq and Italy. Through her extraordinary work, she sheds light on everyday realities and the lives of people who are not usually covered in the media. Her photographs have already been published in many international newspapers and magazines.

“The Last Butterflies powerfully depicts the new role that women have been playing in war for some time now. The images show how they are joining together to fight for their country without men, in a clear and moving depiction. It’s important that Valentina Sinis is able to continue and complete this project.” – Karin Rehn-Kaufmann 

Quotes from the 2026 LOBA Jury:

Karin Rehn-Kaufmann: “On behalf of the entire 2026 LOBA jury – Jane’a Johnson (Scholar and Curator, Curatorial Assistant, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, USA), Celina Lunsford (Artistic Director and Curator of the FFF, Fotografie Forum Frankfurt, Germany), Paolo Pellegrin (Photographer, Italy) and Gu Zheng (Professor, Fudan University School of Journalism, Shanghai, China) – I offer my heartfelt congratulations to the winners.”

The jury engaged in “intense discussions, and that is precisely where the strength of the process lies”, explains Karin Rehn-Kaufmann. “These were fascinating discussions – about the photographers’ integrity, their stories and, of course, their visual work”, adds Celina Lunsford. “The quality of the work was high, as were our expectations.” Jane’a Johnson also shares this view: “The discussions were lively, respectful and in-depth. Each of us brought our own unique perspective to the table. The atmosphere was very friendly, and by the end, we all felt a strong connection.” Commenting on this year’s cohort, Rehn-Kaufmann emphasises: “As is so often the case, I was impressed by the wide spectrum of themes. The visual styles were also diverse, ranging from classic documentary approaches to poetic, experimental narrative styles. This year’s selection struck me as being particularly multi-layered and nuanced. It was less about making quick visual impact and more about encouraging long-term exploration and depth of photographic research.”

“The significance of this prize cannot be overstated”, emphasises Jane’a Johnson. “It is a real financial boon for photographers, providing access to high-quality equipment and forging a link to the legacy built by some of the most significant photographers ever to pick up a camera.” Consequently, the LOBA is now recognised as one of the world’s leading awards: “Whenever I’m at a photography festival or conducting research, the leading photographers are always familiar with this prize”, notes Celina Lunsford, adding: “Nowadays, the shortlist also acts as an excellent overview for curators, festival directors and editors.” 

Comments on the Two Winning Series:

“Damir Faizulin’s series Preserving Nature as Preserving Ourselves impressively illustrates just how closely the well-being of humanity is linked to the state of our natural environment. Using calm, unhurried and occasionally humorous visual language, he sensitively addresses one of the most pressing issues of our time with a nuanced approach. His photographs invite us to reflect on our responsibility towards nature, encouraging us to reconsider our relationship with the environment. The visual coherence of the series is particularly compelling. Combining documentary precision with poetic visual language, Faizulin’s method creates photographs that are both moving and thoughtprovoking. It’s precisely this balance between thematic relevance and emotional depth that makes the work so special.” - Karin Rehn-Kaufmann

“With the Clayton Sisterhood Project, Laila AnnMarie Stevens has created an intimate and authentic body of work. Its focus is on community, belonging, and female solidarity. Telling a story of resilience and the power of community, she approaches her subject with warmth, respect and sensitivity. The series highlights just how important solidarity and connection can be as sources of strength and hope.”  - Karin Rehn-Kaufmann

Exhibition and catalogue: The 2026 LOBA Catalogue is being published to accompany the exhibition at the Ernst Leitz Museum. It presents the entire 2026 LOBA Shortlist alongside their complete photo series, interviews and background information. Following the show in Wetzlar, the 2026 LOBA exhibition will be displayed at various Leica Galleries and featured at photography festivals.

Further information about this year’s winners is available at: www.leica-oskar-barnack-award.com

- Partner Content -

CleverFiles has updated its Disk Drill photo recovery software with broader support for Panasonic RW2 files and faster, more stable TIFF detection. Available for Windows and macOS, version 6.3 also brings improvements to DNG detection and Advanced Camera Recovery, including changes for photographers who shoot video.

Expanded Panasonic RW2 Support for RAW Photo Recovery

RW2 is Panasonic’s RAW image format, used to store camera originals for processing in a compatible editor. Disk Drill already supported RW2; version 6.3 adds recognition of additional variants, extending compatibility within the format.

For photographers trying to recover deleted RAW photos, the change is relevant when an earlier version did not recognize their Panasonic files. If the image data remains on the card or drive, scanning with 6.3 gives the software a chance to identify the newly supported variants.

Faster, More Stable TIFF Detection

Disk Drill 6.3 improves TIFF detection speed and stability during scanning. The change applies to identifying TIFF images on the scanned device, including edited photographs saved on external drives and other project storage.

TIFF files often contain work completed after the original capture, such as retouching or preparation for printing. The update therefore covers both camera originals and saved edits, with faster detection for photographers searching through a collection of missing TIFF images.

Other Changes That Matter to Photographers

Disk Drill 6.3 also improves DNG detection and fixes an issue that could prevent some DNG files from being found.

The update includes several further improvements relevant to photo storage and recovery:

• Faster DeepFAT32 scanning. The updated scanning method improves speed on FAT32 volumes, a file system used on some memory cards and removable drives.
• Better thumbnail generation on Windows. Improved thumbnails help photographers recognize images in the results before opening individual previews.
• Corrected preview rotation on Windows ARM. The release fixes an image rotation issue in the preview window on ARM devices running Windows 11 Home.
• A fix for scanning byte-to-byte DMG backups. Disk Drill addresses an issue affecting scans of these disk images, which provide another way to work with a copy of a storage device.

Both platform releases also add RWL recovery within Advanced Camera Recovery. RWL is a separate RAW format associated with Leica cameras.

For photographers who also shoot video, Advanced Camera Recovery is designed to reconstruct fragmented camera files, whose data may be stored in separate locations on a memory card. The module also supports photos and audio from supported devices.

Version 6.3 improves reconstruction of Insta360 files and adds a choice over whether ACR should attempt to recover corrupted files or skip them. These changes give users more control over a camera recovery scan, alongside broader improvements to the module’s performance and stability.

Availability and Free Recovery Options

Disk Drill 6.3 is available for Windows and macOS, with free scanning and previews on both platforms.

On Windows, the free edition includes up to 100 MB of data recovery. The allowance applies to total file size, so the number of photographs it covers depends on the selected images. Disk Drill PRO enables recovery beyond that allowance.

On macOS, saving unprotected files found through a scan requires PRO. The Windows walkthrough below shows how to review and recover photographs.

For photographers choosing the best photo recovery software for a particular job, a free scan offers a way to assess the results: check whether the missing images appear and preview supported files before purchasing.

Disk Drill Overview: Finding and Recovering Lost Photos

The following Windows walkthrough covers RW2 and TIFF recovery from a connected storage device. For readers looking to recover deleted photos from SD card storage, CleverFiles also provides a detailed guide to recovering photos from memory cards.

Scan the Storage Device

Install Disk Drill on your computer, keeping the installation off the device containing the missing photographs. Connect your SD card through a card reader, or plug in the external drive you want to scan. If Windows asks to format the device, dismiss the prompt.

Open Disk Drill and locate the device under Storage Devices. Check its name and capacity so you select the correct one. Choose the physical card or drive.

Selecting a storage device in Disk Drill.

Click Search for lost data, and select Universal Scan when the scan-method dialog appears.

Selecting Universal Scan to search for lost photos.

Allow the scan to finish, then click Review found items. You can review results during scanning, but waiting until completion gives you the full set to examine.

Find and Preview RW2 and TIFF Images

Select Pictures to narrow the results to image files. To locate Panasonic originals, enter rw2 in the search field and look through the matching files. If necessary, use the file-size or date filters to reduce the list further.

Select an RW2 file and open its preview. Look for the subject and composition you recognize, then check the displayed file information. When several shots look similar, inspect them individually before choosing which ones to save.

Previewing RW2 photos in Disk Drill.

Clear the RW2 search before looking for TIFF images. Enter tif to find filenames containing either .tif or .tiff, then select a result to preview it. Check that it is the version you need if the drive contains several exports of the same photograph.

Previewing TIFF images in Disk Drill.

Review the Deleted or lost and Reconstructed groups, rather than relying on a single results folder. Mark the photographs you want using the checkboxes beside them. Your selection can include both formats, allowing you to recover deleted images together.

Recover the Selected Photos to Another Drive

Click Recover and choose a destination on a different physical drive. For photographs lost from an SD card, a folder on your computer is suitable. If you scanned the computer’s internal drive, use an external drive with enough free space.

Choosing where to save the recovered photos.

Confirm the destination and let recovery finish. Open the saved RW2 files in an application that supports RAW files from your Panasonic camera, and inspect the TIFF images in your photo editor. Check the full images for missing areas or visible damage. For a layered TIFF, also check that the expected layers are available before returning the file to your editing workflow.

What Affects Whether Photos Can Be Recovered?

Stop using the card or drive as soon as photographs disappear. Deleting a file usually marks its space as available for reuse; new data can overwrite the image data still there. Setting the device aside preserves the opportunity to recover deleted photos.

The cause of the loss also matters. A missing folder or an unreadable file system can leave the underlying image data intact. An interrupted write, however, may produce an incomplete photograph because some data never reached the card. A guest article on Larry Jordan’s website explains why photos become corrupted on SD cards, including interrupted transfers, power loss, and faulty media. These situations help explain why recovering a missing file and repairing a damaged image are different tasks.

Disk Drill can also create and scan a byte-to-byte backup, letting you work from a copy of the storage device. If a card is physically damaged or repeatedly disconnects, consult a recovery specialist before further attempts.

When the cause is unclear, a data recovery community can be a place to ask for help assessing the symptoms. A useful post should include the card or drive model, its reported capacity, what happened before the loss, and any steps already attempted. Describe whether the photographs disappeared, stopped opening, or became inaccessible along with the entire device. Those details make it easier to distinguish a file problem from a storage problem and discuss an appropriate next step.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will Recovered RAW Photos Retain Their Lightroom Edits?

Lightroom Classic normally stores adjustments in its catalog, and may also save them in XMP sidecar files. Reconnect the recovered RW2 to its existing catalog entry to regain access to those edits. If the catalog is missing, look for the matching XMP file or a catalog backup; the RAW file alone does not contain adjustments stored elsewhere.

Can Recovered Photos Have Different File Names?

Yes. Recovery may preserve names and folders when the original file system records are available. Files identified by their internal signatures can receive generated names. This does not itself indicate image damage. Embedded capture dates and camera information may still help you organize the recovered photographs.

Can Photos Be Recovered After a Quick Format?

Often, yes. A quick format may replace file system information while leaving image data available for recovery. The outcome depends on how the device handled formatting and whether the data remains readable. Formatting that erases the underlying data has a different outcome, so a successful recovery cannot be assumed from the word “quick” alone.

There are several places in the UK, and the rest of the world, where you may find your tripod easily fits into three small holes already made by fellow photographers with their kit. Joking aside, there are several locations that are considered to be honeypots for photographers, and often tourists, which means it can be difficult to shoot something that's different to every other shot produced in that particular location. 

You can, of course, head off in search of your own locations but this can take time and these popular, honeypot locations are popular for a reason: they're very photogenic so why should you ignore them? Instead, we've thought of a few simple things you could try to make your shot slightly different to everyone else’s. 

1. Change Focal Length Or Orientation

The majority of landscapes are shot with wide-angle lenses, however, if you switch your wideout and replace it with a telephoto lens you will start to shoot photos of a popular location in a slightly different way. 

Telephoto lenses allow you to be much more selective with what you include in-frame. You'll be able to focus on detail that would be lost in a wider shot, plus telephoto lenses make it easier to crop out a blank, boring sky. 

By standing back and zooming in with a telephoto lens you'll be able to compress perspective so objects in the background will appear to be closer to your foreground subjects than they do with the eye. This means mountains can look like they are towering over foreground detail, almost as if they are stacked on top of one another. 

Do take your tripod with you when using telephoto lenses as they do make camera shake more prominent. 

If you're not using a DSLR with interchangeable lenses you can switch from a landscape orientation to portrait to give your shot a different perspective and feel. 

2. Move Your Feet

It's worth scouting out your chosen location for viewpoints that show the popular spot in a different way. This could mean climbing a near-by hill, moving further down a beach or changing the side of a lake you take your photos from. 

3. Weather

In a previous article, photographer John Gravett said: “There is no such thing as bad weather, only different types of lighting.” With this in mind, try heading to a popular photographic location on days when the weather's not playing ball. Stormy days with heavy skies, rain and mist work well at the coast while foggy mornings can add an extra level of interest to an over photographed scene, particularly if you can get up high so you can shoot down over it. Landscapes can often look moody when photographed in bad weather and you can enhance the mood further by converting your shots to black & white.

Do remember to protect your equipment correctly when heading out in the rain with a waterproof cover and keep a microfibre cloth handy for drying surfaces. It's also worth packing a few lens cloths, as rain on the lens can spoil photos taken on rainy-days. 

4. Season

If you do a quick search online for the location you want to take your photos in you'll soon see what season most people visit it in. Do take the time to shoot at the same time of year as everyone else as some subjects, such as woods in autumn, do look particularly great during certain times of the year. However, don't be afraid to approach the same location during other months to get a shot others may not have. 

5. Time Of Day

If you don't want to wait for a whole season to pass, you could just try visiting your chosen location at a different time during the day. Instead of shooting a sunset, get out of bed early and use the cooler morning light in your shots. Another bonus of early mornings is there will be less people around so you won't be fighting for space and you shouldn't get people walking through your shot. In towns and cities, venture out in the evening as the sun sets to capture the outline of buildings that have shape thanks to their lights rather than shooting in the day. 

This article is Bob’s fault.

Bob posts Film Friday pictures, which makes him a good bloke in my book. But he’s bought a camera to do it with – an Olympus 35RC. (Actually, Bob’s bought a couple of cameras, but only one of them overlaps my own experience). Anyway, I have a 35RC, and I also owned one in the distant past. It was one of several stumbling attempts on my part to own a rangefinder camera. I didn’t really feel I was successful until I acquired a Leica M6 around 20 years ago. That definitely cured my desire for a rangefinder camera that did exactly what it said on the box.

But please don’t try this at home, because it could be costly: if you don’t already own a Leica and you are not thoroughly devoted to the cult of Leitz film cameras, it’s really not worth it. If you own an M6, you know all about it, and you can stop reading now. If you own an M4 or M5, it’s cool. And if you own an M3 or M2, you will possibly have an indefinable sense of superiority as you read.

But let’s go back to the Olympus, and why this might be a camera that you want to consider picking up on eBay, or extracting from an elderly relative’s chest of drawers. Because it’s not a bad little device, at all. If you are going to buy a camera from the Golden Age, when engineering plastics were a lot less popular (and good) than they are now, and before autofocus had become the one and only way to get pictures sharp, this could be a good ‘un. Why? Read on…

First, it’s really small: if you remember cigarettes, a 35RC takes up as much space as a pack of king size, with a lighter stuffed down in front of it. That’s really not very big. It’s all metal and glass, though, with only a few bits of plastic trim, so it’s got a bit of heft. Sadly, though, it’s not a wonderfully balanced camera – dangle it on a neckstrap, and it doesn’t sit at all straight and level, so it may annoy you by digging the top edge into your ribs. The strap lugs are at the front of the body, and most of the weight is behind them.

Second, although the specification looks quite modest with a fixed 42mm f/2.8 lens and shutter speeds from 1/15 to 1/500 second, that will cope with a lot. It’s much more elaborate than the fabled Olympus Trip – not only because it has a far wider range of shutter speeds and a rangefinder built in, but because it offers full manual control as well as automatic operation with Shutter priority. That means, incidentally, that it will continue to function if the battery is dead (as the battery in mine was when I got it out for this article. Just follow the ‘Sunny f/16 Rule’ – which used to be printed on the inside of every film box, or on the instruction leaflet that came inside them before manufacturers realised that the reverse of the card box could be printed with instructions. These days, the inside of film boxes contains data about processing times in the recommended developers, but the Rule still works, and it’s easily found on the internet. But since you’re here, if you use a shutter speed of 1/ISO, then you’ll need f/16 in bright sun, f/11 if there are only faint shadows, and f/8 if it’s ‘cloudy bright’. Use f/5.6 in open shade, or on duller days, and let the film’s latitude soak up minor errors.

And the results are really rather good. If you want to read a hymn of praise, have a look at Ken Rockwell’s writer-up on his website: he goes into detail about the excellent quality of the lens, and raises the concept that it’s actually the ideal focal length for 35mm, because the focal length is close to the diagonal of the frame. There’s a rule of thumb that says that a lens that gives a ‘natural’ human-eye view of a scene meets this: doing the maths, this works out at fractionally over 43mm for a frame of 24mm x 36mm.

And it’s a good general-purpose focal length, working decently for portraits and landscapes without going to extremes, so that for one way of thinking it’s a comfortable and straightforward way of working that doesn’t give the distortion that’s typical of mobile phone portraits, and avoids the ‘can’t get it in’ feeling that many people suffer if they use my favoured short telephoto walkabout lens. In other words, it offers many people a good compromise in a world of extremes. 

And my own results bore this out: the pictures I took with my 35RC while I was writing this article scanned right at the top end of my experience for sharpness and pleasant tonality – although the tactile experience of shooting with it falls short of making it a favourite (see further down), the results run way ahead of expectations for such a simple and basic camera. Many modern kit zooms fall significantly behind it.

This article has taught me a couple of things – OK, I already knew that it’s a good idea to take the batteries out of cameras and flashguns when you’re not using them for a while (they discharge, and start corroding – and then even good brands leak unpleasant, corrosive chemicals into the battery compartment. At best, a little cleaning is required: at worst, you fight to remove the battery and find that the corrosion has spread, and has damaged contacts or even circuits inside the camera). On loading a film to take some shots for this article, I discovered that the meter didn’t work – dead battery. A spare from my battery box, dated 2020, didn’t do the job: a new battery restored normal service.

And there was more. I have never used front lens caps very much. I tend to lose them and forget about them. Mostly, this doesn’t matter, because I always use the lens hood, and this protects the lens just about as well as a cap, or a filter.

But the 35RC didn’t have a hood. Carrying it around, I have, I discovered, managed to scratch the front element: the scratches are small, but right in the middle, so stopping down won’t reduce any effect they have. I deliberately took some shots with the sun falling on the lens to see how bad the problem is… And the results really surprised me: even the very visible scratches you can see here don’t lead to flare above the levels you might reasonably expect from the most modern and multicoated of lenses.

The upshot is that a bout of insomnia saw me going onto eBay and buying a hood for my 35RC: and also getting hoods for two other lenses I’ve recently acquired without hoods – a 55mm f/1.7 Rokkor, and a 50 mm Nikkor f/1.4. I don’t plan to repeat my errors. With these optics, it won’t matter that the lens size goes up quite a bit, and as the Olympus is so small, and I mostly carry it on a shoulder strap these days (rather than in the pocket of a leather jacket), it’ll be fine, too.

You might reasonably ask what’s wrong with using the lens cap: lots, I’d say! The big issue is the missed pictures. There’s nothing that reminds you to take the cap off when you shoot in manual mode, and in Auto mode, you find out because you can’t take a picture (the meter window is next to the lens, and the lens cap covers it: if the lens can’t open up far enough to give correct exposure, the shutter release won’t work). The first wastes a frame (maybe several), and the latter allows the world to move on, taking your decisive moment with it.

And the 35RC is excellent for street work, as this casual shot shows: with zone focus and such an underwhelming shutter sound, it won’t matter if you put it to your eye. I find that there’s a comfortable sort of ‘undergrip’ that gives me good results, paired with the gently wide angle of view and fast film (my standard has been Ilford HP5+ for many years: it’s reliable, utterly consistent, and gives nice, straightforward negatives).

Going back to the man who inspired this article, I asked Bob if he was happy to be mentioned in this article: he responded very positively, and wrote about his experience of the camera. His words are in italics, and the images in this section are all his.

I bought my Olympus 35RC as I wanted a compact film camera to take on my urban wanderings and I often go out with this and my digital E-M10 Mk. IV for a day out in London for some urban photography. I have a lovely Olympus OM-2n, but it is a tad on the heavy side when carried with the E-M10 all day.

I love the 35RC - it is very compact (It really does fit in my coat pocket), lightweight, and very quiet and discreet. The shutter is essentially silent against the background of the city and security guards don’t give it a second glance! The 42mm f2.8 lens is plenty sharp enough and fast enough for my needs and the camera has full manual control in addition to a shutter priority auto exposure mode. The viewfinder has scales showing you the shutter speed and aperture. The maximum shutter speed is 1/500th of a second - this is common for cameras of the era (1970) and might be limiting for some applications but for capturing life in the city, it is fine. You are not going to be covering the Olympics with a camera like this, after all.

Rangefinder focussing takes a little adjusting to if you are used to an SLR but once you are there it is very fast in the field. The focus throw is short and it is easy to get to where you need to be. Zone focussing seems to work OK with the 42mm lens. I very rarely miss focus with this camera.

One thing to note is that it required the now rightly banned mercury batteries. There are several workarounds that you will find online but I went for a voltage reducing MR-9 adaptor from The Small Battery Company, so I can use the very long lasting SR43 batteries. As far as I am aware, they are the only place that sells these in the UK - note that Amazon/eBay are awash with cheap MR-9 adapters that don’t reduce the voltage, only adapting the battery to fit in the battery bay.

These cameras are readily available on eBay at reasonable prices but many are sold with the light meter not working. Mine was one of these but the fix is often fairly easy - 10 mins with YouTube and a soldering iron brought my meter back to life. The meter does not give you a reading, it just drives the auto mode - full manual needs no battery, but you will need an external light meter (I have a collection of apps on my phone). Or you can trust your instincts and the exposure latitude of the film…

The other thing to check if purchasing is the rangefinder patch - these can get very dim over the years. they can be cleaned professionally but this is not something that I would feel confident in doing - having taken the bottom off to fix the battery issue I am in awe of how well engineered these cameras are - the innards are very tightly packed! Again, there are a couple of workarounds online.

I would always want a 35RC in my camera collection - I keep checking eBay as I am thinking of getting a second one against the day that mine eventually packs up.

Bob is clearly in love with his 35RC. But do I love my little Olympus? A hard question: I certainly respect it, and its ability to do the job competently. Winding on always sounds as if the sprockets are about to slip (they never have), and the shutter release has a long and rather unsatisfactory feel to it, leading to an underwhelming click. These aren’t things that matter to the picture, but they are aesthetically less pleasing than the sensations that a Leica gives. Are they worth the difference in price between the two cameras? As I suggested in the second paragraph, probably not, for the vast majority of users.

But I’m not planning on parting with mine just yet!

- Partner Content -

Clever Cleaner’s recent updates have expanded its photo and video cleanup tools, giving iPhone users more ways to reclaim storage before installing iOS 27.

Apple released iOS 27 in September, just a few weeks after Clever Cleaner received its biggest update to date. The major Clever Cleaner 3.0 release arrived on 17 August, bringing a refreshed interface, expanded Smart Cleanup, new compression options and broader Swipe controls. Smaller updates since then have largely focused on performance, stability and other refinements.

The timing is useful for anyone whose photo library dominates iPhone Storage: a major iOS update needs free local space, while some of the features enabled afterwards can continue using several gigabytes of local storage.

Why iOS 27 Makes Free Storage Worth Checking First

Before deleting anything, it is worth checking both the update itself and the amount of space currently available on the iPhone.

Open Settings, General, then to Software Update to see the iOS 27 update available for your device. The download size shown there is not necessarily all the free space the installation process will need. A major operating-system upgrade has to download, prepare and install a new system build, which requires additional temporary working room. The exact requirement varies between devices and existing iOS versions, but keeping roughly 15-20GB free is a sensible target for a major upgrade such as iOS 27.

Next, open Settings, go to General, then iPhone Storage. This view shows what is using local space and can surface recommendations such as offloading unused apps. iOS can also remove some re-downloadable app data and temporary files when space runs low without deleting personal information.

For photographers, finding that 15–20GB buffer can be harder than it sounds. Apple estimates a 12MP ProRAW file at around 25MB and a 48MP file at around 75MB. For ProRes, Apple says files can be up to 30 times larger than HEVC and requires at least 10% of the device’s storage to be free before ProRes recording can begin. A nearly full iPhone can therefore affect shooting before it affects anything else.

There is also a second consideration after the upgrade. Apple says the next generation of Apple Intelligence can require up to 14GB of on-device storage on certain supported devices, with up to 8GB required on other Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhones. Clearing only the bare minimum needed to complete the upgrade could therefore leave the phone short of space again soon afterwards.

For that reason, the better goal is not simply to make iOS 27 install. It is to leave enough headroom for the new system, its features and the next photo or video shoot.

What’s New in Clever Cleaner

Clever Cleaner is an iPhone cleaning app that focuses on the Photos library rather than trying to act as a general-purpose system cleaner. 

Its biggest recent update arrived in August. The redesigned app expanded Smart Cleanup so that it can work across similar photos, screenshots and Live Photos, added more compression options, improved the selection of similar images and widened the ways users can browse and sort their library in Swipe mode.

CleverFiles positions it as a freemium iPhone cleaner with no adverts or mandatory subscription. Swipe mode remains unlimited, while the other cleanup tools have a free daily allowance that refreshes each day. Premium is optional for unrestricted use.

The app is organised into modules. Similars groups duplicate and visually similar photos. Videos lists clips from largest to smallest. Compress reduces the size of photos, videos, screenshots and Live Photos. Screenshots and Live Photos gather those two categories on their own. Swipe steps through items one at a time, left to delete and right to keep. Smart Cleanup runs several of these jobs in one tap, with each option switchable.

Processing happens locally on the device rather than by uploading the library to a cloud service. That is relevant to photographers who may have client work, embargoed images or other material they would prefer not to send to an external server.

As an iPhone cleaning app, Clever Cleaner works inside Apple’s permissions. It can organise and reduce media in Photos, but it cannot reach into every part of iOS.

How to Clean Up iPhone Storage Before Installing iOS 27

If there is not enough storage to update your iPhone, start with the largest, safest wins rather than deleting files at random. 

Start With iPhone Storage and Apple’s Recommendations

Open Settings, go to General, then iPhone Storage and wait for iOS to calculate usage. The category bar shows where the space has gone, while the list below identifies apps holding the most data. Work out which category is actually the problem before deleting anything. On most photographers' phones it will be Photos, but not always.

This screen is also where you should look for an existing iOS update file if storage is still blocking the installation. A failed download can remain on the device until you remove it.

Remove Duplicate and Similar Photos From iPhone

The Photos app has its own Duplicates utility, which is useful for obvious copies. It is not, however, very effective for near-identical shots: several pictures of the same subject or multiple attempts at the same composition.

Clever Cleaner groups similar-looking images as well as duplicates, making it easier to remove duplicate photos from iPhone without manually scanning thousands of thumbnails.

Similar does not mean interchangeable. Two frames may differ in focus, expression or motion, so photographers should review each group before removing it.

Target Large Videos and Compress Media You Want to Keep

Video can produce a faster storage gain than deleting hundreds of ordinary photos. Clever Cleaner lists videos by size, helping identify the clips responsible for the biggest jumps in storage use.

Compression is another option when deletion is not appropriate. Photos, videos and screenshots can be reduced in size, but important originals should be archived elsewhere first.

Live Photos are also worth looking at. Clever Cleaner can compress one by removing its motion component and retaining the still image. This keeps the shot in the library while reducing the space used by data the photographer may never need.

Empty Recently Deleted, but Check iCloud First

Deleting media does not always produce the storage change you expect immediately. Apple keeps deleted photos and videos in Recently Deleted for 30 days unless you permanently remove them sooner.

Open Photos, go to Collections, find Recently Deleted under Utilities, unlock the album and remove the items you no longer need. This is a step an iPhone storage cleaner cannot complete on your behalf.

Check iCloud Photos first. When it is enabled, deleting an image on one device also deletes it from the other devices using the same synced library. Apple recommends keeping separate backup copies because iCloud Photos keeps devices in sync rather than acting as an independent archive.

Offload Unused Apps and Review Large Attachments

If the photo library is already tidy, return to iPhone Storage and look at large apps, downloaded films, podcasts and message attachments.

Offload apps you rarely use if you want to keep their documents and settings. For apps with large local downloads, remove those downloads first where possible. 

This can free enough space for iOS 27 without touching finished photographs or current projects.

Delete a Stuck Update and Try Again

If you can’t update your iPhone because of storage even after clearing space, check whether a previous iOS download is still present. Go to iPhone Storage, find the update, tap it and choose Delete Update. Then return to Software Update and download iOS 27 again. Apple recommends this process when an update repeatedly fails.

If the issue continues, Apple supports updating from a trusted Mac through Finder, or from a Windows PC using Apple Devices or iTunes. This can help when an over-the-air update fails, but it does not remove local storage requirements completely. Apple still advises freeing content manually if the device does not have enough space.

What an iPhone Cleaner Can and Can’t Clear

An iPhone cleaner is most useful when it works on content Apple allows third-party apps to access. In Clever Cleaner’s case, that means the Photos library.

It cannot simply erase System Data, clear every other app’s cache or uninstall apps on your behalf. Those areas remain controlled by iOS or by the apps that created the data.

For System Data and app caches, use iPhone Storage to identify the source and the app’s own controls where available. For unused apps, use Apple’s Offload or Delete App options. The cleaner’s role is narrower, but on a photo-heavy phone it may still cover the largest part of the problem.

Keep Enough Room for the Next Shoot — and the Next Update

Once iOS 27 is installed, the easiest way to avoid another emergency cleanup is to keep some headroom. If you use iCloud Photos, Apple’s Optimise Storage can keep smaller device versions while full-resolution originals remain in iCloud. Important work should still have a separate backup.

It is also worth offloading rarely used apps and moving completed shoots off the phone. On supported Pro iPhones, Apple allows ProRes recording directly to compatible external USB-C storage, keeping very large clips away from the internal drive.

A little free space is useful for more than updates: it gives the camera room to record and leaves capacity for the next shoot.

Availability

Clever Cleaner is available now on the App Store for iPhone, and runs on iPad in compatibility mode. The app is free to download and use daily, with an optional Premium upgrade for unlimited cleanup.

Here are 7 things you can still photograph when you're stuck at home sheltering from the bad weather.
 

1. Photograph Cutlery

The kitchen holds a world of photo opportunities and all you need is some imagination to exploit it. Forks, colanders, wooden spoons etc. can make interesting photographs when shot right. For more tips, have a look at these articles:

• Tips On Shooting Cutlery
• How To Photograph Kitchen Utensils And Cutlery

2. Explore The House With A Macro Lens

Take a different look at your home through a macro lens. You'll find patterns, textures and shapes you didn't know existed until you looked down a macro lens. Cushions, glasses and salt & pepper pots can all make interesting subjects. 

If you do not own a macro lens, just try using the lens's minimum focusing distance. Or consider investing in a close-up lens.

It's important when shooting close-up and macro photographs to use a tripod and a remote release - so as to maximise depth-of-field, avoid camera-shake, and ensure accurate focusing. Anchor your camera firmly, though, and your shutter speeds can be as long as you like.

Maximising depth-of-field, by setting an aperture of f/16 or smaller, is important because the closer you get to your subject the more limited depth-of-field becomes. At a larger aperture, such as f/5.6, parts of the subject will almost certainly be out-of-focus.

Using a tripod also makes it easier to ensure accurate focusing. Even at a small aperture you may only have a few millimetres of depth-of-field in front of and behind the point on which you focus - and the natural sway of the body when hand-holding can easily take you outside that, and leave you with an unsharp image. You'll also find it easier, if you have an autofocus camera, to switch to manual focusing.

3. Coloured Liquid In Glasses

Get a selection of glasses, add water and your choice of food colouring to them. Place them on a clear, reflective surface (glass on white paper works well) and place a large piece of white card behind them. If you want to light the background use your flash off-camera to do this. You want an even light that will bounce off the background back onto the scene you're photographing without causing flare. 

5. Frozen Items

This technique is brilliant with a macro lens but will work with the lens at minimum focus. 

Freeze water in a suitable clear container. Once frozen place the container or either a white or even coloured surface so it shows through the container. If you have a lightbox, place the container onto it so light shines through from the bottom. If you don't have a lightbox, just be creative your whatever furniture you have. Ideally, being able to get a lamp or flash under the ice container is what you want.

A 50mm macro lens with the camera on the tripod will let you get closer to capture the patterns that form in the water and cracking ice as it melts. Use a kettle of hot water and gently pour it onto the ice to cause cracks and to start the melting process. Look through the viewfinder for interesting patterns and snap away. 

A twist on this is freezing objects - leaves, flowerheads, shells, pebbles - in the container and then shooting them.

Obviously, this idea needs a little bit of planning, so get the container in the freezer early on and try shooting some of our other ideas while you wait for the thing to freeze. 

6. Cross Polarisation

Cross polarising effect is where you use a pair of polarising filters - one on the camera and one on the light source (behind the subject) to show stress in plastic which appears as wonderful multicoloured pattern. 

You can use an LCD computer monitor as a light source, plus they have a polariser built-in. You'll need to use a camera with a polarising filter either attached or positioned in front of the lens. Of course, you'll need a monitor and a steady support will also be useful.

Some clear hard plastic items will also be needed as well as something to hold the plastic item steady in front of the computer monitor.

For step-by-step tips on how this technique works, have a read of this: Easy Cross Polarisation

7. Capturing Oil On Water

With a few items you'll find around your house you can create interesting abstract shots of oil on water. You'll need a camera with a close focus facility, tripod, a light source, a clear dish, water, oil and something to add colour to your shot (card, paper, t-shirt....etc.). You'll find a guide on what to do next in our article full of tips on how to photograph oil on water with just a basic set up.

Following on from the recently reviewed Panasonic Lumix S 20mm f/2.5 lens, which gained the accolade of Highly Recommended, we have a virtually identical looking 18-40mm f/4.5-6.3 zoom. These virtually identical siblings, both intended for full frame L mount cameras, offer a choice between prime and zoom: fast aperture with fixed focal length or restricted apertures with the added versatility of the zoom. Size, weight and cost are all very similar, so the choice is without penalty in that respect. This leaves us with choices that depend very much on the sort of photography/videography to be undertaken, the photographer's style of shooting and how the quality of results does or does not become an issue. Let's take up the 24MP Panasonic Lumix S9 once more and see how it all works out, both in the field and in the studio for the technical tests.

Panasonic Lumix S 18-40mm f/4.5-6.3 Handling and Features

A quick glance at the previous review will show that the 18-40mm measures up almost exactly the same as the 20mm f/2.5 did. The zoom lens weighs in at just 154g (measured) and 67.9mm x 40.9mm with lens retracted. However, once rotated past the click stop that marks the point the lens retracts, it is extended for use. There is virtually no change in the balance of the lens when extended. There is no lens hood provided, but to be fair, the lens is very resistant to flare anyway.

There is no lens hood provided, a shame especially with a wide angle lens. One can be purchased and will need to use the 62mm standard filter thread. The front element is quite small, but not particularly vulnerable. It has a Fluorine coating to repel dust, moisture and grease and this makes it easier to keep clean. The lens is also dust, splash and freeze resistant. The operational range is from -10C to +40C. 

Moving backwards along the lens barrel, our tour of the lens arrives first at the slim but well knurled focusing/control ring. The feel of this is quite firm, but not excessively so. Behind this is the zoom ring. This does extend the lens barrel, the most compact position being marked by a white dot and representing the retracted position. If we switch the camera on whilst set to the dot, we are reminded to extend the lens for use. The zoom ring physically extends the lens and has clear and accurate settings marked at 18mm, 20mm, 24mm, 28mm, 35mm and 40mm. This focal lens range is considered to be from ultra-wide to wide standard, offering a very versatile span of focal lengths. This is ideal for travel.

Closest focus is 0.15m (0.49') and enables some powerful close range image making. The aperture range alters with focal length in the usual way, from f/4.5 at 18mm to f/6.3 at 40mm. This is perfectly usable in a world where high ISO values can yield consistently excellent results, plus of course the huge benefit of image stabilisation. There is no stabilisation in the lens itself, so we rely upon the camera IBIS where available. 

Optical construction is 8 elements in 7 groups, including 3 aspheric, 2 ED (Extra Low Dispersion) and 1 UHR (Ultra High Refractive Index). The lens is also designed to reduce focus breathing, a feature that will be appreciated by videographers. A fairly modest number of elements does help to ensure reduced flare and increased contrast, so this bodes well for performance. The diaphragm comprises 7 rounded blades, helping to ensure smooth bokeh, although with limited maximum apertures there may well be limits on what we can expect.

The well finished L mount is firm but does enable the lens to be locked positively into place. Handling is fine, perhaps a tad less smooth than the 20mm lens, but certainly still a great optic to use. Much of the joy in use comes with viewing the results on a computer monitor, so let's get straight down to seeing exactly how that performance works out.

Panasonic Lumix S 18-40mm f/4.5-6.3 Performance

At 18mm, central sharpness is excellent from f/4.5 to f/16 and very good at f/22. The edges are very good from f/4.5 to f/11, good at f/16 and fair at f/22.

At 24mm, central sharpness is excellent from f/5 to f/16 and very good at f/22 and f/25. The edges are very good from f/5 to f/11, good at f/16 and fair at f/22 and f/25.

At 40mm, central sharpness is excellent from f/6.3 to f/16, very good at f/22 and good at f/32. The edges are excellent from f/6.3 to f/11, very good at f/16, good at f/22 and fair at f/32.

Panasonic Lumix S 18-40mm f/4.5-6.3 MTF Charts

CA (Chromatic Aberration) is highly unlikely to be a problem. There is virtually no sign of colour fringing in most image making, even in the most challenging circumstances.

Panasonic Lumix S 18-40mm f/4.5-6.3 Chromatic Aberration Charts

Some barrel distortion can be measured, giving values of -1.0% at 18mm, -0.20% at 24mm and -0.47% at 40mm. 

With the maximum apertures available being quite restricted, the potential for super-smooth bokeh is reduced. Even so, results are very respectable and do not descend into becoming ragged.

Flare is not a problem in normal use. Artefacts can be generated under extreme lighting conditions, but the intrusion into the image is minimal.

Vignetting is extremely low and is very impressive for any zoom lens, especially one that extends into ultra-wide territory.

Panasonic Lumix S 18-40mm f/4.5-6.3 Sample Photos

Panasonic Lumix S 18-40mm f/4.5-6.3 Aperture range

You can view additional images in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own reviews, photos and product ratings.

[HOOK]position_1[/HOOK]

Value For Money

The [AMUK]Panasonic Lumix S 18-40mm f/4.5-6.3|Panasonic+Lumix+S+18-40mm+f/4.5-6.3[/AMUK] is priced at £499.00

Perhaps the following could be considered alternatives:

• [AMUK]Lumix S 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6|Lumix+S+20-60mm+f/3.5-5.6[/AMUK], £469
• [AMUK]Lumix S 14-28mm f/4-5.6|Lumix+S+14-28mm+f/4-5.6[/AMUK], £668
• [AMUK]Sigma 20-60mm f/2.8-4|Sigma+20-60mm+f/2.8-4[/AMUK], £749
• [AMUK]Sigma 24-60mm f/2.8|Sigma+24-60mm+f/2.8[/AMUK], £869

The review lens looks perfectly good value and certainly is punching above its weight regarding quality of results.

Panasonic Lumix S 18-40mm f/4.5-6.3 Verdict

The Lumix S 18-40mm f/4.5-6.3 lens offers the usual zoom advantages, but without some of the usual disadvantages that go with that. The zoom is, of course, always ready for a number of shooting scenarios. A prime lens can be equally useful up to a point, but has the main advantages of speed and size. With ultra high ISO values being available, do we need that fast maximum aperture? Maybe, but perhaps for reasons of bokeh for portraiture as much as anything else. It's a matter of the individual's requirements and their shooting style.

In any event, what is absolutely clear is that to call this lens a kit lens would be to do it a great disservice, as it is punching far above that level. A satisfactory price level, superior image quality and great handling all combine to delivery a Highly Recommended lens.

[REVIEW_FOOTER]R_features=4|R_handling=4.5|R_performance=5|R_value=4.5|R_overall=4.5|A_level=4.5|A_text=Highly Recommended – A lovely high-quality ultra-wide to wide-standard zoom lens.|E_id=8027[/REVIEW_FOOTER]

Reflections are something you can shoot all year round but as bright colours and bold shapes make the most interesting reflections, autumn's the perfect season to try this technique.

1. Where should I go?

You can head to a picturesque area of landscape where you have reservoirs and lakes by the dozen to pick from. You can also stay a little closer to home and take a walk through your local park after it's rained and use the puddles that have formed as your reflective surface. If you have a pond in your garden and a tree or two that's decorated with autumn colours, you don't even have to walk to the park as you can set your gear up in your own back garden to shoot these abstract style shots.

2. Photograph The Wide Landscape

If you head to a national park area you can capture a few wide shots where you include the body of water in the photo with the tree line and rolling hills sitting alongside it. For this, you want an almost mirror-like reflection and this means shooting on a very still day. Better still, do your research and find a lake or reservoir that's sheltered by hills or find one where at least part of it's out of the way of the wind. It helps if you're an early riser too as the air tends to be stiller first thing in the morning than later on in the day. Ripples still a problem? Try using a slightly slower shutter speed to blur them.

You'll need a tripod to stop shake creeping in and a remote / cable release can be handy but it's not essential. You could even start your exposures via a Smart Phone if the camera you're using has wireless capabilities. 

When working with slower shutter speeds by lakes, have a look at the distant trees and other objects that can move in the breeze to see if they've blurred slightly. If you do have a problem with blurry trees, try taking two exposures then combined them when you're back in front of your computer. The first exposure needs to be shot with a slower shutter speed and the second with a quicker shutter speed that won't allow movement to be introduced into your background. 

It's also a good idea to pack an ND Grad Filter as you'll find that the reflection will look darker than the 'real' scene that's creating it. If you line up the darker part of the filter so it sits over the sky and finishes at the shoreline, you'll produce a shot that balances the exposure of the bright sky/surroundings with the reflection.

3. More Abstract?

Shooting reflections on their own, particularly if the water's slightly choppy, will result in interesting abstract images. You just need strong colours and / or shapes to create shots with real impact and Autumn's oranges and reds are just the shades you need to produce abstract shots that really pack some punch. You can shoot a wider shot of the landscape, as above, then crop in when you're back in front of your computer but it's much easier to just frame up so the water's surface is your main point of focus. Some lenses struggle to focus on moving water so you may need to switch to manual focus so you get a sharp shot.

Just remember to shoot plenty of photos at quite quick intervals as the patterns created by the moving ripples will change quickly.

If you prefer to shoot water flowing and falling over rocks, use a slower shutter speed to blur its motion. As a result, you'll have smooth waves of water that have the autumn shades/colours of the trees dotted along the banking flowing through it.

Thanks to its warm, golden colours and varying weather, Autumn is a very photogenic season. However, the different locations you can shoot in coupled with weather and light changes can occasionally make setting the correct exposure tricky. With this in mind, here's a quick check list of ways you can ensure your exposure's correct every time. 

Photo by David Clapp

1. Use An ND Filter

Placing an ND Filter over your lens will balance the brightness levels of the ground and sky so that sky detail can still be seen without the ground appearing underexposed.

2. Check Your Histogram

Even though digital cameras do have good built-in meters you still need to keep an eye out for burnt-out highlights as you'll lose detail in these areas. A good way to check if your image is correctly exposed is with the histogram.

A 'good' histogram that shows an even exposure will peak more towards the middle and get lower to either end. If the graph is occupying mostly the left-hand side it means your image has more dark tones than light (underexposed) and if it’s shifted to the right, there are more lighter tones (overexposed) which means you could have really bright areas that look blown out.

Also, as a side note, when you playback your images there’s an option you can set that makes the highlighted areas 'blink' so you can pinpoint their exact location. Check your camera's manual for the instructions on how to do this. 

Photo by David Pritchard. 

3. Work On Overcast Days

Overcast days give you the perfect conditions for capturing autumn shots in woods and forests. Why? Well, on sunny days it can be hard to keep contrast to a minimum and you can end up with large areas of dark shadow and patches of bright, dappled sunlight that's broken through the forest's canopy.

4. Meter From The Right Spot

Positioning yourself so the yellow and orange coloured leaves can be backlit will add extra punch to your shots, but again, your camera can get confused by the variety of light sources around. As a starting point, you can meter for the mid-tones but it's best to take a meter reading from the leaves to ensure they are correctly exposed. Also, by doing so the background, which you'll want to be thrown nicely out of focus, should appear darker, allowing your subject to 'pop' from the frame.

5. Use Exposure Compensation

Mist and fog are common conditions to be shooting in at this time of year but you may find you have exposure problems once out in the field. This is because camera meters are often fooled into underexposing misty scenes so they come out looking very grey, rather than light and airy. You can fix this by using the + compensation option. How many stops you need to move up by will depend on the scene and how many EV steps you can go up by will depend on the camera you are using. 
 

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