Andrew Reid

Nice shots. With the telephoto modules on the 14 Ultra they benefit from 3 things: - Computational side - Fast apertures - Very close minimum focus distances As a result, especially at the closer focus distances the small sensor look disappears. The apertures are fast at F1.8 and F2.4 which for long lenses is impressive especially as they are the size of postage stamps in your pocket. The computation side has also taken a huge leap. On the main sensor there's so much more depth information and a shallower DOF to begin with which helps the bokeh simulation to be much more convincing. On this shot of the car it has just embellished a bit the background separation which was already there at 1", F1.63. It really is an extraordinary shot getter in every way. Fast, tiny, wide range of Leica modes and you can create so many different styles of shot in a couple of seconds with a few swipes. It is the moment for me when I realise that traditional mirrorless cameras and especially the lenses aren't long for this world.

I have one on the way after looking at the image samples here: https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_14_ultra-review-2683p5.php The 75mm F1.8 lens in particular... Like some of the famous Zeiss Distagons it has a floating element to get close. With such a fast aperture in combination with the close-focussing abilities make it look incredible. The 14 Ultra in fact has two such lenses, a 75mm and 120mm. And the main imager is 1" Which also in the close-to-mid focus range has a very shallow DOF. I have lighted tweaked that last one in Pixelmator Pro, the JPEGs have a surprising amount of chonkiness to play with. Then there's the RAW capabilities... With Motion Cam Pro there's the RAW Cinema DNG recording. Within Xiaomi's own camera app is the expert RAW mode for stills, with Leica's colour tuning. This allows you to completely turn off any noise reduction and sharpening... one of the main caveats of modern smartphones. I think at £600 used this is the real deal. The 15 Ultra doesn't change things very much, indeed to go any better would require a big leap. We're talking at least Micro Four Thirds size sensor instead of 1", and F1.4 maximum aperture. And to make this pocketable is going to require a lot of physics bending. There are some other options like the Oppo Find 7 Ultra, and Vivo X100 Pro which have a large 1/1.4" sensor on the telephoto lens, 200MP. But the lens quality itself is a bit compromised as a result. The Vivo X100 Pro has the Zeiss modes, Zeiss lens simulations, even RAW video built into the main camera app I believe. But I find Xiaomi's image processing with Leica to be the best of the bunch. Looking forward to when it turns up from CEX this weekend with the photography kit which gives it ability to use filters and a proper shutter release button! I think for street photography requiring stealth, 3 lenses in one pocket and very high speed, this is a better choice than a proper camera, X100 VI or Leica Q. The ultimate shot getter?

TikTarrif

Yep, great tech. An area where China leads Japan (and everyone else) by far.

Makes me want to get a Panasonic LX15 and do a parody TikTok channel. By the way a quick look at the shots on this page... https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_14_ultra-review-2683p5.php Should give people pause for thought spending a grand on a compact! That 3.2x lens in particular at close focus distances is a gem.

Allison Johnson (ex-DPReview) has written this for the Verge... https://www.theverge.com/tech/649145/canon-powershot-g7x-iii-tiktok-how-to-buy Suppose you are an alien. You've grown up with a smartphone all your life, never touched a DSLR or mirrorless camera before and had no desire to as they were all £5000 and too big. Then you're bombarded by attractive people in beautiful places taking photos with a flash. Canon is the default choice as the Powershot series have always had the highest sales, some might say nicest colour and definitely the most brand recognition. The G10 is old but popular with CCD lovers and Gen Z, but the G7 X II takes it too a new level - modern 1" sensor, proper video, flip out screen and RAW. And importantly it was always a lot smaller than a Fuji X100 and has a zoom. So for the alien, it becomes the best camera choice bar none. I had the G7 X II and the III but didn't stick with 'em. Of course we know there are far better choices for compacts and flash photography. The Sony RX1, the Fuji X-T30, Panasonic LX100 and numerous others. Yet the appeal of the G7 X series stays purely due to the massive traction it's gained in explainer videos on TikTok from really attractive influencers. There must be a lesson somewhere here for the camera manufacturers. Gerald No-shots doesn't sell cameras. Models do.

I don't see how Blackmagic or anyone else can trust the US enough to make decisions a few months from now. Trump's handling of tariffs where they come on and off at random intervals, means the required level of stability in economics and tax just isn't there for companies like Blackmagic to be making major decisions like relocating production. Added to that the Trump government's blatant undermining of the law, undermining judges, illegal deportations and arrest of European tourists at the border, just shows that the USA is now officially a lawless country or on the way to being one. Investors hate chaos. Lawless behaviour from the government is a recipe for total chaos and if I were Blackmagic or any other camera company right now I wouldn't be waiting a few months to see how it all pans out, I'd be waiting for 5 years and a new government. Which means the US is probably going to have a recession and a massive downturn in foreign investment.

I agree it's all bonkers, added to which the fact that America leads the entire world in services, especially tech and financial services, which more than make up any so-called trade deficit in terms of physical goods production, and a lot of these services are highly subsidised by cheap manufacturing of products abroad. Take the iPhone for example. The hardware is imported, but the services are an export to the entire world, in terms of the App Store, iCloud, Apple Studios and so on. So if the hardware is no longer to be made affordably thanks to Chinese wages and factories the size of cities, the revenue goes down for ALL of Apple's services. The US is 90% a services economy, so it stands to lose an incredible amount of money and high quality jobs if such products are undermined. Apple is only one example, there's also Microsoft, Google, Amazon who have highly profitable service exports built off the back of Chinese made hardware. And the geo-political side of this is very dangerous for the US. Europe especially and the rest of the world have massive leverage over US services, if they wanted to boot out VISA, Mastercard, PayPal, eBay, Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft or tax their digital services at 25%, that would destroy the US economy and there would be massive unemployment. Trump doesn't know his arse from his elbow and it's why his businesses all failed.

Of course if you're a professional camera tester you'd think it's just dust, easy mistake to make!

Canon price increases on all products coming within 2 weeks. https://www.canonrumors.com/price-increases-coming-from-canon-usa/ This will have a ripple effect too, on second hand prices globally. It might finally be time to stop buying shit.

The going rate for an a7R V in mint condition used is currently £2500 which is quite tempting.

Did you open it yet?

Granted, hilarious as all the job losses and the rise of a fascist dictatorship in the West is, we must remind ourselves to buy local because it'll be local businesses that die first in all this buffoonery. For example, the niche smaller camera shops in America which import from Asia. Smaller Chinese manufacturers that make niche products like camera cages and rigs. And so on. It'll be good for the climate though won't it?

I can only assume MPB must have now seen this thread, because they have given me nothing but radio silence on all channels since a week ago. The CEO himself Matt Baker, has now ignored 3 emails after starting off all chipper. A Sony RX1R which was described as having a bit of dust on the sensor (easy to disassemble and clean, I have done it before with one), turned out to have a laser damaged sensor with a string of damaged pixels. So if you do purchase from MPB make sure you are luckier than I have been.

A sign of things to come for those outside the US. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce82391x2kyo Sony raising PS5 prices in double digit percentages. This is all to protect the ailing US market and... Just because they can. Because when there's an expectation all your rivals will have to raise prices as well due to a global force, and they all go up together that means they can get away with it as there's no cheaper competition keeping them in check. It's like a cartel, or a monopoly. Trump is the shit that just won't flush.

Yes this week.

Did you happen to receive an A7S III with faulty bluetooth for just over a grand? And a Leica Q? Maybe it will turn up in about 3 months speaking french?!

New set of pre-order cancellations for the US. https://www.fujirumors.com/fujifilm-to-suspend-orders-for-gfx100rf-x100vi-and-x-m5-black-only/ Many more to come.

Whilst watching YouTube with my popcorn last night the thought did occur that Blackmagic probably can't exactly upend their manufacturing over night and move stuff to other countries on a whim, let alone Sony... and given how unstable the Fascist Regime of American Trade (FRAT) policies are, it would probably be a pretty silly business decision anyway to make any decision at all based at a time like this based on the real life Apprentice USA episodes airing daily that can come up with real laws that are either permanent or about as long-lived as a non-chlorinated Liz Truss lettuce. Even the FRAT cabinet itself is almost as unstable as the economic circumstances they've created, with Elon probably on his way out in a similar manner to this...

I'll believe it when I see it 😉

Who will take America's place on the global stage. Clue... It won't be Belgium.

He is a liability. The tariffs could be back at any moment, he's giving the market a jump scare like he's in Scream 3. Which means if you are China or Japan with trillions invested in the US and in dollars, you are likely to start selling and putting the money somewhere else. Personally I am hoping they give it to me.

In the testing process we discovered some interesting special sauce, hence I have held off on the release to go through that as well... but this week it will be out along with some of the extras too. Get your ALEXA LUTs ready 🙂

China holds nearly $1 trillion in US debt and could tank the bond market if they wanted to. Indeed, they now might. I wonder if Drump and his cronies even realised this basic economic fact before deciding on their trade war bullying move. Or maybe it's a mistake to believe they even care about the country... And it's all about enriching themselves personally with some stock market manipulation. Either way things could be about to get very nasty for the world economy. Buy a camera now before the new prices hit.