Reviews |All I want for Christmas is…

All I want for Christmas is…

Review

24. Global Shutter

My last Christmas request is for a global shutter to arrive. There have been lots of development notices and steps made, but we’re yet to see it feature in a commercially available consumer camera.

Global shutter technology takes the idea of an electronic shutter a huge leap further. Instead of the signal from the photoreceptors being read in sequence, it is read simultaneously from every pixel site. 

One of the challenges posed by global shutter is dealing with the heat that’s generated by the sensor. It also requires faster readout speeds. However, there are some enticing benefits in addition to enabling faster shutter speeds and frame rates.

For a start, it would put an end to the problem of rolling shutter that can make vertical lines lean when the camera is panned and that makes straight moving objects (like a swinging golf club) bend.

Also, it might, for example, be possible to apply different exposure times across the sensor. That would introduce a whole new method of HDR (high dynamic range) photography. Exposure bracketing and high-resolution compositing could also take a step forward with multiple exposures being possible in a fraction of the time that is currently required.

I wonder if we could look at the live view image on the back of a camera and manipulate the exposure of different parts of the scene with taps and strokes before taking the shot?

It would certainly be an exciting development in camera technology!

All I want for Christmas is fully customisable menus

23. Totally Customisable Menus

My Menu screens and Quick Menus are all well and good, but what I’d like to see is fully customisable menus on cameras. Instead of having to assign a small selection of features to a specific page, I’d like to be able to rearrange the whole menu. You’d just highlight a feature and drag it to where you’d like it to appear.

It might be a bit dangerous to delete any items from the menu, but perhaps there could be a page that is normally hidden and you could assign any unwanted features to it. Then, if you realised that you needed to use a normally unwanted feature, you could reveal the hidden page to find it.

As well as making it easier to find the features you use most often, a fully configurable menu would enable you to group features in a way that works for your style of photography or videography. If you’re not into video at all, for example, you could hide all those features.

Creating a completely customisable menu would also save manufacturers some heartache trying to work out the optimum configuration for all the different potential uses of a camera. They can leave it to the photographers to find what works for them.

This is something that could be rolled out with a firmware upgrade, I wonder if we could get it on Christmas Day?

All I want for Christmas is multi-spot metering

22. Multiple Spot Metering

I can’t claim this one as my idea, but when Graham Parry suggested it on Facebook, I knew it had to go on my Christmas wish list.

It wouldn’t be the first time that this has existed, but it would seem like an excellent addition to a live view enabled camera with a touchscreen.

In tricky lighting conditions, you could simply select Multiple Spot mode and then tap on the most important areas of the scene. The camera could then recommend the exposure settings that would produce the best balance for those areas.

Of course with a mirrorless camera’s ability to preview the impact of exposure settings, you could move the multiple points around until you found an exposure that delivers the result that you want.

All I want for Christmas is more controls on lenses

21. More Controls on Lenses.

When I was testing the Nikon Z 7 recently, I customised the focus ring of the lens so it could be used to adjust exposure compensation and I found it so useful! Even with a dedicated exposure compensational dial, it’s quicker and easier to adjust the exposure using the lens ring. I usually find the lens ring more easily without having to look away from the viewfinder than I can the dial.

I also tend to have my left hand on the lens even when I’m using a very small optic, it just comes naturally to me to raise my hand in support. That means I only need to move my thumb or index finger a little to rotate the ring and adjust the exposure.

And of course, the beauty of shooting with a mirrorless camera is that you see the impact in the viewfinder. It makes adjusting the exposure seem even more part of the creative process.

Of course, the focus lens ring also needs to be used for focusing in manual focus mode, and it reverts automatically on the Z 7 and Z 6. However, we’re starting to see a few buttons appear on lenses and these extend the scope of a lens ring. Pressing a lens button while rotating a ring, for instance, could allow exposure compensation adjustment in manual focusing mode.

I’m all for it so I’m adding a request for more controls on lenses to my Christmas wish list.

All I want for Christmas is universal wireless charging

20. Universal Wireless Charging

I’ve had an Apple Watch for a couple of years now and I love it. Amongst the many things I like about it is its wireless charging. It’s always seemed a little bit of a misnomer to me because there is still a wire between the USB port and the dock – it’s not magic!

But the watch just attaches to the dock by magnetism. As a result, there’s no fiddling about finding the port on the watch when I want to charge it. And of course, it also means that the Watch is a sealed unit so it’s waterproof.

Although I appreciate the waterproofing, it’s the simplicity of the charging that I really like. It seems so much slicker to charge it than wired devices.

Wireless charging is rolling out top-end mobile phones, but it hasn’t made an appearance in cameras yet. I can’t wait for it to happen.

And if we can have one charging doc that can cope with a range of devices at once, that would mean waving goodbye to all those battery chargers and cables. Instead, there’d just be one pad and a single cable. You get home from a shoot and just pop your camera, phone, power bank, flash and watch etc down and it all charges. Nice and easy!

Yes please Santa.

All I want for Christmas is...

19. A Full-Frame Panasonic GH5

Although Panasonic made a development announcement about its full-frame mirrorless cameras, the Lumix S1 and S1R, it hasn’t revealed a great deal of detail about their specifications. However, one thing we do know is that they will be the first full-frame cameras to shoot 4K video at 60p. That immediately sets up a certain level of exception for the other video specifications.

The Lumix S1R is the high-resolution model of the pair and it has a 47Mp full-frame sensor. The means it’s likely to appeal to landscape, still life and studio photographers. The S1, on the other hand, has a 24Mp sensor. This is likely to make it more of an all-rounder. But I’m wondering if it could also offer a similar video specification to the Panasonic Lumix GH5?

All I want for Christmas is...

Although it is a Micro Four Thirds camera, the GH5 is hot competition for the full-frame Sony A7S II, offering professional videographers an extensive range of features in a compact body. Aspects such as 4:2:2 colour, 10-bit recording and All-Intra compression enable it to produce highly-detailed footage with rich tonal data and impressive dynamic range. It means that the footage can withstand an impressive degree of grading.

There’s also a 6K anamorphic mode with a de-squeeze display option so that footage looks natural on the camera’s screen. Even if you don’t have an anamorphic lens you can get more resolution from a regular optic by capturing 4:3 4992×3744 footage and cropping to 5K 16:9 video.

If Panasonic could harness that type of specification in a full-frame camera, it would be a nice Christmas present for lots of videographers!

All I want for Christmas is...

18. Uncropped 4K video on a Canon mirrorless camera

Canon has been very quick to adopt some technologies. It saw the potential of touch-screens before some other manufacturers, for example, and in many cameras, it combines their use with a full range of buttons and dials.

It also started putting Wi-Fi connectivity in its cameras quite early on and it gives photographers a good degree of remote control via its smartphone app. More recently, it’s also been including Bluetooth communication to make connecting to a camera even quicker and easier.

But for some reason, Canon has been very slow to get properly onboard with 4K video in its interchangeable lens cameras.

When the EOS M50 was announced we got quite excited to see 4K video listed on its specification sheet, but our enthusiasm waned when we discovered that the autofocus system is limited to contrast detection instead of the phase detection that operates in other modes.

Even worse, there’s a 1.6x crop applied when 4K video mode is selected. That’s on top of the 1.6x crop that comes from the APS-C format sensor. It means the 15-45mm kit lens produces an angle of view similar to a 38.4-115.2mm optic. That changes its appeal somewhat to vloggers as you can’t really shoot with the camera at arm’s length and you need to use a tripod or other support to shoot from further away.

Even the recently announced full-frame EOS R applies a 1.7x crop to 4K (3840 x 2160) video. This disappointing to anyone wanting to see the wide-angle view of their full-frame lenses.

It would be nice if Santa were to bring uncropped 4K video to Canon mirrorless cameras this Christmas.

Nikon mirrorless cameras: price, specs, release date announced

17. A mirrorless Nikon D3500

The mirrorless tide has been rising for a while and 2018 has really been the year of full-frame mirrorless cameras. It began with the Sony A7 III, a great all-rounder with a price that makes mirrorless full-frame photography accessible to enthusiast photographers.

Much of the year was also consumed with speculation about what Canon and Nikon would introduce to the full-frame market.

Now Nikon has revealed its hand with the widely acclaimed 24Mp Z 6 and 45Mp Z 7. They’re very nice, capable cameras aimed at enthusiast and professional photographers.

So what’s next for the brand?

Well a top-flight full-frame mirrorless camera to rival the Sony A9 would seem logical. But what about something for less experienced photographers?

For years the Nikon D3XXX DSLR line has been my pick for new photographers. They have a nice balance between price and features, an excellent Guide mode that teaches you about photography and their images quality is very good. So I’d really like to see an APS-C format mirrorless camera from Nikon that builds on this.

An affordable camera that introduces photographers to the concepts of interchangeable lens photography and helps them capture high-quality images. The type of camera that inspires them to shoot more and turns them into dedicated photographers.

So I’m adding a mirrorless Nikon D3500 to my Christmas wish list.

Leica M10-P Review

 16. A Leica M Camera with an Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) Built-in

Leica’s M series film cameras are legendary and their build quality is superlative. And since Leica shaved 4mm off their depth so they’re the same thickness, the digital models have felt more in keeping with their forebears.

They exude quality, from the beautifully knurled dials to the smooth movement of the lens focus ring. The menus are also clean and uncluttered. You can find all the features and controls that you need quickly so you can concentrate on the most important aspects of photography, exposure and composition.

But rangefinder focusing?

It’s a pain. If you’re lucky and the subject has some nice clear lines of contrast, you should be okay, but there are plenty of times when those two versions of the images are hard to see and making sure they overlie one another is near impossible. It gets frustrating.

However, if you slip the optional 2.4Mp Leica Visoflex electronic viewfinder in the hotshoe, the focusing experience is transformed. Suddenly, you’re able to see a magnified view and focus peaking to you can be sure you’ve got the focus exactly where you want it.

What’s more, the introduction of a touch-screen with the M10-P means you can specify the point you want magnifying with just a tap your finger of the screen.

Instead of being frustrated, you’re in the moment, adjusting the focus with confidence and seeing the image the exposure settings taken into account.

What I’d really like, though, is for that EVF to be built-in. That would bring the M-series bang up to date. It would retain the sense of control but bring M-System manual focusing into the 21st century.

 

 

Panasonic Lumix LX100 II Review

15. Panasonic LX100 II with A Tilting Screen

I’ve mentioned before what a nice camera the Panasonic Lumix LX100 II is. Despite its compact size, it has a Four Thirds type multi-aspect sensor and it’s paired with a superb lens. Consequently, it produces high-quality images.

That multi-aspect design means that the sensor is a bit bigger than is required when shooting in any of the available aspect ratios (4:3, 3:2, 1:1 and 16:9 ). As a result, when you switch between the different ratios, you still capture high-resolution images and the angle of view of the lens stays the same.

Panasonic has also given it an aspect ratio switch on the lens barrel. If you scroll down, you’ll see that I’ve already put in a request for more manufacturers to do this. It means you can switch quickly between the different image ratios without delving into the menu.

Also, that switch, combined with the aperture ring, shutter speed dial and exposure compensation dial really promotes creativity. Seeing the switch reminds you to make that composition decision at the shooting stage.

However, there’s one aspect of the LX100 II that’s disappointing. The screen is fixed. It would be so much nicer if the screen, which is touch-sensitive, could be tilted. This would make composing images from creative angles a lot easier.

According to Panasonic, the LX100 II would have to be a bit bigger if it had a tilting screen, but I’d be happy to accept that.

Of course, if it had a tilting screen, I’d probably be asking for a vari-angle screen. But I’m prepared to compromise.

All I want for Christmas is

14. Manfrotto Tripod Quick Release Plates for Specific Cameras

A few weeks ago I was sent the Gitzo Traveler A, a carbon fibre travel tripod that’s specifically designed for Sony A9 and A7-series cameras. It’s a lovely tripod, but what I particularly like is the fact that the quick release plate is shaped to fit the camera body. It has a lip along the front edge that is perfectly shaped to accommodate the front edge of Sony A7 cameras. It means that the camera can’t slip or twist on the plate.

It got me wondering why we don’t see bespoke quick release plates from Manfrotto? There’s quite a selection available from Really Right Stuff, but they’re not directly compatible with Manfrotto tripod heads.

Manfrotto tripods and heads are very popular so it would be nice if the company could introduce a range of quick release plates that are designed to fit specific cameras. They look so much neater on the camera and they hold it more securely.

There are few days left before Christmas, so there’s still time for the engineers to make my wish come true.

 

Which Sony A7 camera should you buy?

13. A Full-Frame Sony Camera with Full Touch-Control

Touchscreens are fairly standard on cameras now. But there’s quite a lot of variation in the level of functionality afforded to these screens. Some manufacturers, notably Canon, Nikon and Panasonic enable extensive touch-control. They even let you make setting selections in the menu by touching the screen. Fujifilm has also started enabling gesture control on its recent cameras.

Others like Olympus give quite a bit of control but the main menu is off limits. The settings in the Super Control Panel (usually called the function menu or quick menu on other manufacturers’ cameras), however, are available for selection with a tap on the screen.

Sony

Sony, however, really restricts the degree of touch control that’s available with the A9 and its A7-series cameras. For example, there’s no touch control with the main menu and function menu. Nevertheless, you can use the screen to set the AF point, even when you’re looking in the viewfinder. That’s very handy and it’s nice that this functionality is paired with a joystick that can also be used to set the AF point.

In addition, you can double-tap on the screen to zoom quickly into images to check sharpness. You can even pan around the image to check different areas. But oddly, you can’t swipe on the screen to scroll between images.

When I interviewed Yosuke Aoki, Vice President and Head of Digital Imaging Group at Sony Europe, shortly after the A9 was launched he said that Sony would listen to users comments and a firmware upgrade could introduce more functionality. Greater use of the touch-screen was one of the aspects we spoke about, but it still hasn’t come along.

I don’t want this to be at the expense of buttons or dials. Those traditional controls are all still highly desirable. But it’s nice to have different ways to controls camera. It makes it far more intuitive to use.

I’m still hopeful that Sony will get fully on-board with touch-control on its full-frame cameras.

All I want for Christmas is an aspect ratio switch

12. More Cameras with Aspect Ratio Switches

When I tested the Panasonic Lumix LX100 II recently I was reminded how nice it is to be able to switch aspect ratio quickly. So often the decision about an image’s aspect ratio is made at the processing stage. But with a dedicated switch being so prominent, the LX100 II encourages you to make that decision at the shooting stage. That’s good news for image composition.

The beauty of an aspect ratio switch is that when you see a scene you can quickly flick between the options and assess the composition. And when you change from the standard 4:3 or 3:2 to 16:9 or 1:1, you may find that a step or two in one direction or the other really improves the shot. If you make your aspect ratio decisions on the computer, however, you Can’t take those steps.

Also, if you spend time selecting the right exposure, white balance and colour mode to get your image looking just right in-camera, it’s nice to have the aspect ratio correct as well.

Most cameras offer some aspect ratio settings, although Sony tends to limit users to 3:2 and 16:9, but the options are buried in the menu. Of course, you may be able to assign the setting to the My Menu or Quick Menu screen, but that’s still not as easy to use as a switch.

So, I’m asking for more manufacturers to give their cameras aspect ratio switches this Christmas.

 

All I want for Christmas is a mirrorless Canon camera with an AF point Joystick

11. A Mirrorless Canon camera with an AF point Joystick

Canon was very quick to see the potential of touch control. And in most cases, it has also recognised that many photographers want touch control combined with physical controls. However, it’s yet to give one of its mirrorless cameras a joystick for setting the autofocus point.

Even the full-frame EOS R, which is aimed at enthusiast photographers, doesn’t have one. To be fair the ‘Touch & drag’ option that allows you to set the AF point using the screen while you look in the viewfinder works well. But there are times when it’s faster, easier or more convenient to use a dedicated control.

Elsewhere we’ve seen manufacturers adding this functionality, but so far Canon has resisted. Maybe we’ll get lucky this Christmas?

All I want for Christmas is a mirrorless Canon camera with an AF point Joystick

10. Dials with Selective Locks

It must seem like photographers are impossible to please sometimes. If a camera dial doesn’t have a lock we complain that it gets knocked out of position. If it has a lock, we complain that it’s too fiddly to use.

Some manufacturers including Fujifilm, Olympus and Panasonic, however, have a neat solution. Selective locks on their top-end cameras. You can chose whether to lock the dial or not. They’re great because you can leave the dial unlocked while you’re shooting and lock it when you put the camera in your bag. Or you can leave them always unlocked or locked – whatever you prefer.

However, with the exception of Fujifilm, these selective locks tend to be limited to the mode dial. Even Fujifilm only uses them on the shutter speed and sensitivity dial. It means that the exposure compensation dial is unlocked.

So please Santa, can selective locks to be used more widely? I’m fed-up of fiddling with locked dials when I want to make quick settings change. And even worse, I hate shooting with the wrong settings because an unlocked dial has moved while I was carrying the camera between shots.

All I want for Christmas is Animal Eye AF

9. Animal Eye AF Firmware Update

Eye Autofocus, or Eye AF, has been around for a little while. But since Sony has enabled it in continuous focusing mode it’s become a very desirable feature. It’s enquired after as soon as a new camera is announced.

The ability to identify one of the subject’s eyes and to focus on it in a flash is incredibly useful to wedding, portrait and social photographers. 

What’s more the eye stays sharp even if the subject moves towards or away from the camera. It means you can be braver with the aperture selection and shoot with shallow depth of field if you want because the most important part of the subject is sharp.

It’s part of what has made the Sony A9, A7 III and A7R III popular cameras with these types of photographers.

At Photokina, Sony said that Animal Eye AF is coming soon. There was no more information than that. We don’t know if it will be in a new camera or if it will be a firmware upgrade.

Naturally, we’re really hoping that it will be a firmware upgrade. It’s a reasonable expectation as when I interviewed Yosuke Aoki, Vice President and Head of Digital Imaging Group, after the Sony A9 launch, he indicated that more functionality would come through firmware upgrades. It’s a strategy that has worked well for Fujifilm, winning the company more loyal users. 

All I want for Christmas is Animal Eye AF

Why do we want it?

You may have noticed that we’re dog fans here at Camera Jabber. We can’t resist photographing our dogs. They make willing subjects and don’t seem to get bored of romping about. So Animal Eye AF would be a big bonus for us and legions of dog lovers.

Wildlife photographers and videographers will also appreciate it enormously. It would get the focus right where it needs to be.

Who First?

Now that Canon and Nikon are in the full-frame mirrorless market, and Panasonic will soon be joining, Sony probably feels the need to raise its game a bit further. What better way than to offer a firmware upgrade to existing cameras? Or maybe someone will beat them to it?

Either way, what a Christmas present it would make!

Profoto B10 Announced

8. App-controlled lighting for Live View Adjustments

App-control of studio lights isn’t new. Broncolor has had it for a while and Profoto recently introduced it with its new B10 lights. But what I’d like is something a bit more advanced.

Imagine if you could take a shot, ping the image to your phone and then adjust the lighting by moving your finger on the image? Even better, how about being able to do it in live view mode?

It’s something I suggested to Anders Hedebark, the CEO of Profoto a while ago and he looked at me like I was mad. But the way technology is developing, I think it could be possible.

OK, so getting it by Christmas might be a bit of a stretch. But how cool would it be to be able to tap on part of the scene and drag your finger down to reduce the power of the nearest light? And then you could tap and drag on another part to adjust the brightness of another light. It would be like using Adobe’s Targeted adjustment tool but in real time and before you even press the shutter release.

 

All I want for Christmas is in-camera angle recording

7. In-camera angle recording

Maybe it’s because I shoot with my left eye, but I’ve never been very good at getting horizons level in my shots. That’s why I always turn on the electronic level as soon as I’m handed a new camera.

If you’re shooting with the viewfinder, the electronic level is a major bonus. You can see straight away whether everything is aligned or not. However, if you’re using the screen to compose the image, it can be trickier. In bright light, for example, it’s hard to see the line at all. On other occasions, it’s hard to see if the line has changed colour or is level – especially if the screen won’t tilt towards you.

However, it struck me a while ago that if the camera can tell whether it’s level, it could also record the angle at which the shot was taken. And if that information is recorded with the image, then surely it wouldn’t be too much of a drama for the image to be levelled post-capture. This could be done in-camera or using software like Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom or Camera Raw.

Of course, these software packages have levelling tools, but they rely on there being something straight in the scene. And although the automatic tools can work quite well, they don’t always get it right.

So I’d really love it if we could have in-camera angle recording in time for Christmas please!

Best full-frame camera: Nikon Z 7

6. A mirrorless Nikon camera with Two card slots

I’ve shot extensively with the Nikon Z 6 and Z 7 and they’re really fabulous cameras. Their control layout is excellent and they feel great in your hand. Crucially, the images they produce are also fantastic – whether you shoot with one of the new Z lenses or an F-mount optic.

I think the 24Mp Z 6 is exactly what a lot of Nikon photographers have been hoping for. It’s the all-rounder of the two and it’s a great choice for enthusiasts.

Meanwhile, the 45Mp Z 7 is like a mirrorless version of the D850 and is aimed at pro or semi-pro photographers. It’s superb. Its AF system isn’t quite as snappy as the Z 6’s, but it’s fast enough to shoot sport and it captures lots of detail.

Either camera would make a good choice for shooting weddings. But there’s one aspect that makes some people anxious, they each only have one memory card slot.

For many photographers, including many pros, a single card slot isn’t much of an issue. I shoot with one card 99% of the time and I’ve never lost any images through card failure. But for wedding photographers, the stakes are a bit higher.

I asked a few wedding pros if they’d ever had an SD card fail on them at a wedding and a couple said they had once. It’s not a frequent occurrence, but it is a very stressful one.

 

XQD Card

Nikon has plumped for XQD media in the Z-series, and that is more robust and reliable than SD media, but many wedding pros have got used to the safety net of a second card. Splitting raw files on to one card and Jpegs onto another means that if one card fails, they still have all their images.

The decision to keep the Z camera size down and use just one card port is something that’s likely to be debated for some time to come. In a couple of years, we may look back and wonder what all the fuss was about. However, it’s a real shame that there’s a doubt at the back of some people’s minds about the new Nikon Z-series.

Neither the Z 6 nor the Z 7 is designed to replace the Nikon D5, the company’s flagship DSLR. When a mirrorless replacement comes out I think it’s a fairly safe bet that it will have two card ports. But I can’t help wishing that Nikon would quash the issue and introduce a mirrorless camera with two card ports now.

 

All I want for Christmas is a Pentax Mirrorless camera

5. A mirrorless camera from Pentax

The mirrorless camera market has been building for a while but the arrival of the full-frame Canon EOS R and Nikon Z 6 and Z 7 will take it up a notch. Many photographers have been waiting for the two biggest names in camera manufacturing to commit properly to mirrorless technology before investing.

So it looks like 2019 could be a big year for mirrorless cameras. But where does that leave Pentax? It dabbled in mirrorless cameras a few years back. There was the cute, but unpopular, Q and the unwieldy K-01. Since then, it’s been very quiet on the subject.

All I want for Christmas is a Pentax Mirrorless camera

And it hasn’t exactly been bombarding us with new DSLRs either.

In fact, much of the recent conversation about Pentax seems to centre around whether it will stay in business. It would be a real shame to lose Pentax. Many photographers started their photography with a Pentax camera and many still have a selection of lenses.

Also,  Pentax has introduced some great technology over the years. Its DSLRs tend to be rugged and durable for instance, and the SR (Shake Reduction) system has evolved to enable horizon correction and composition improvement. 

It would be lovely if Pentax could introduce a mirrorless camera that saw it right back in the game. To be honest, I think it’s unlikely, but I’m prepared to believe in a Christmas miracle.

New Kuvrd Universal Lens Cap promises complete protection

4. A Lens Cap that Stays on

A traditional lens cap is a simple and easy to use device but most camera manufacturers seem to struggle to produce caps that stay on. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard the clatter of a lens cap behind as I’ve been out with my camera. And it seems nigh impossible for a lens cap to stay on when a camera and/or lens is in a bag.

There are a few soft caps available these days that are designed to protect your lenses a bit more, but I wish the ones that are supplied with lenses did their job a bit better. Maybe Santa can get his elves working on it in time for Christmas?

 

All I want for Christmas is Instant wireless image sharing

3. Instant Wireless Image Transfer

A few manufacturers now have cameras with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity built-in to enable a permanent low-energy connection to a phone ready to transfer images automatically. However, none of them works flawlessly.

Of all those I’ve used to date, Nikon’s SnapBridge system in the Z6 and Z 7 is the best. However, even that doesn’t reconnect and operate automatically after the paired camera and phone have been out of range of each other. I find it can usually be triggered to reconnect and transfer by opening the app and tapping on the phone and camera icons, but it’s frustrating that it’s necessary.

I have an Apple Watch that manages to reconnect to my iPhone without me having to do anything and I wish camera manufacturers could manage to do something similar with a camera and phone connection.

Why Auto Transfer Images?

I love the ease with which I can share my shots on social media when small versions of images shot on a camera transfer automatically to my phone. I can even give them a tweak with Snapseed or Instagram on my phone before sharing them if I like.

That automatic connection is far easier than faffing about firing up the camera’s Wi-Fi network and connecting my phone each time I want to transfer an image. Without it I sometimes find myself shooting a scene twice, once on a camera and the second time on my phone to share. That’s crazy!

So please, can I have a stable camera to phone wireless connection and instant automatic image transfer for Christmas?

All I want for Christmas is...

2. GoPro audio connection update for Karma Grip

GoPro may have introduced the Hero7 Black with its amazing HyperSmooth stabilisation, but I’m still hoping that the company will update the Karma Grip to enable an audio connection. Of course, it might choose to do this with a hardware update, but what I’d really like is a firmware update that enables the USB port in the existing Karma Grip to be used to connect a mic.

We’re big GoPro fans here at Jabber HQ, and we all have a Karma Grip. It might be largely unnecessary with the Hero7 Black, but it’s a really useful accessory for the Hero6 Black. As well as stabilising the footage very effectively, it’s comfortable to hold and has controls to stop and start recording.

That’s really useful. Instead of having to reach round to press the record button on the camera, you can use the control on the Grip.

Mic Adapter

GoPro makes a mic adapter for its cameras, but they connect to the same ports as the Karma Grip. That means you’re left with just the onboard mics. They’re not great at the best of times and when the Hero6 is mounted in the Karma Grip, it’s worse.

However, the base of the Grip has a USB-C port. It’s used for charging the Grip, but surely it could also be used to connect a mic via an adapter? Maybe there are some vital connections are missing, which would mean that GoPro would have to bring out the Karma Grip 2.

Either way, it would be a neat solution to the GoPro audio issue. The Hero cameras are designed for action with etc Karma Grip smoothing out wobbles and shake. It’s not ideal to have mic cables trailing from the camera, but the base of the Grip would be a convenient location.

So I’m adding a GoPro audio connection update for Karma Grip to my Christmas wish list.

 

All I want for Christmas is...

1. A Sony A7 camera with a vari-angle screen

If I had to pick one stand-out camera of 2018 it would be the Sony A7 III. It’s a superb camera at a great price. In fact, its price has really put the cat among the pigeons because it’s a tough one for the manufacturers to match.

Its 24Mp full-frame sensor packs a nice balance between detail and file size, plus noise is kept under good control. It also has an excellent autofocus system that gets fast-moving subjects sharp, Eye AF that works incredibly well in continuous focus mode and there’s a generous array of video features.

However, if there’s one feature I wish it had, it’s a vari-angle screen.

A tilting screen is great for low-level images until you want to shoot landscape format images. Then suddenly it’s no use at all. It really frustrates me. Of course you can connect your phone to the Wi-Fi system and use that as a remote screen, but it’s not so easy to do when you’re shooting handheld.

A vari-angle screen is also useful for selfies and self-portraits (i think there’s a difference). You just flip the screen out and round to face the front and you can see the composition. You can even tap on the screen to makes sure that the focus is in the right spot and then set the self-timer running.

It’s also handy for video if you want to vlog or present to camera. The alternative is to connect your phone or use an external monitor. It’s all feasible, just not as useful as a variable screen.

So that’s why, all I want for Christmas is a Sony A7 camera with a vari-angle screen.