It doesn't seem too long ago that E Ink reading devices were all the rage, but new developments don't seem to create the same buzz as before. Viwoods is hoping to change that with the pocket-friendly AiPaper Reader.

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Category: Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: E-Ink, E-Paper, E-reader, 4G, Android, Artificial Intelligence

A cut-in half Canon EF 400mm F2.8L IS II lens from 2010, shown surround by all the components from which it's made, in the foyer of Canon's Utsunomiya factory.

Photo: Richard Butler

"RF lenses are better," said Go Tokura, head of Canon's Imaging Group: "they are adjusted digitally, giving more consistent results."

These words tumbled around my head as the Tohoku Shinkansen raced us from Tokyo towards the Canon lens factory in Utsunomiya, about 110km (70mi) north of the capital.

I'd been fortunate enough to be seated at Tokura's table at dinner the night before. Despite the language barrier, we were able to talk a little about lenses over scribbled sample variance graphs. It had been clear he wasn't referring to digital distortion corrections, but I couldn't be totally sure what he meant. The Utsunomiya factory is home to both a production facility and much of Canon's lens development facilities, so I was hoping I'd find my answer there, in amongst the messages the company wanted to communicate.

The E5 series train of the Tohoku Shinkansen that took us from Tokyo to Utsunomiya.

Photo: Richard Butler

Canon describes Utsunomiya as its flagship lens facility, where it builds its broadcast lenses, as well as many of the high-end, L-series photographic lenses and optics for semiconductor manufacture. Canon also has factories in Taiwan and Malaysia, where many of its less expensive lenses are produced.

Canon says it builds its different products to different tolerances, with L-series super telephoto lenses requiring 15x the precision of the lenses in its point-and-shoot compacts, whereas broadcast lenses are made to 70x the precision and its industrial applications (including equipment for semiconductor lithography) demand tolerances 1500x finer.

That was a recurring aspect of everything we saw in the factory: different processes and varying technologies depending on the scale of production and the cost of the end products. And while, understandably, Canon wanted to demonstrate the highest precision work it does, it was the degree to which this know-how filters down and gets mimicked or adapted to large- and mass-production scales that interested me.

A Canon master craftsman demonstrates a glass element following machine polishing.

Photo: Richard Butler

For instance, the company says it uses four different types of aspherical elements in its different products. Sometimes the size of the element dictates which technology is used but the production scale: how many it has to make, also plays a critical role.

At one end of the scale are conventional ground glass aspherics, which need to be carefully polished to yield the perfect shape. To achieve the perfect shape, meticulous adjustments must be repeated over and over. It’s a delicate process that demands a significant amount of time and precision.

However, the process is too time-consuming and expensive to apply when you're making large numbers of lenses, so Canon has developed a series of other aspheric technologies. This includes glass molded aspherics, where molten glass is pressed between metal molds. As we this was being explained, it was impossible to ignore the heat and light radiating from the array of large metal and glass equipment stretching to fill the rest of the room. During the time it took to show us glass elements being polished, those molding machines continued their work, pressing and forming element after element.

The $2600 Canon RF50 F1.2L on the left includes a polished glass aspheric element as well as other, unspecified aspherics. The $470 Canon RF1.2 STM on the right uses a less expensive plastic molded aspheric that is more easily produced in large volumes.

Photo: Richard Butler

These glass-molded elements still need a degree or polishing, but can be created in much greater numbers. Sitting between these two technologies are what Canon calls "replica aspherics" where a molded resin layer is bonded onto a (compartively easy to make) spherical glass element. We were told this technology has been refined since it was first used on EF lenses, and is now able to deliver several times more deviation from spherical shapes and with several times more accuracy for elements used in the latest RF-mount designs.

Plastic molded aspherics, used in compact camera lenses and the likes of the RF28mm F2.8 STM and the new RF45mm F1.2 STM are made in other facilities, allowing the use of complex elements in lower cost products.

The company says its lens polishers continue to get better, meaning the lens designers can design even more ambitious lenses and know they can be manufactured. But they also say they're constantly trying to recreate some of the skills in automated processes. And it's this ability to produce aspherics on larger scales, and improvements in the quality of those elements that is driving up the performance of a lot of the lenses we encounter.

Much of the factory visit was built around showing-off details like this. For instance, Canon demonstrated the Blue Refractive optics glass that bends short wavelengths of light to a greater degree than longer wavelengths, allowing its use to correct axial chromatic aberrations (the colored fringes on out-of-focus highlights). The glass was first used in Canon's EF35mm F1.4 L II USM but has been the continuously developed since then, with an improved version being deployed in the recently released RF20mm F1.4 L VCM. As with the improvements in replica aspheric production, we were told how much more effective the new material was, but asked not to report the specific number.

A Canon technician inspects a lens element before it's installed into an assembly of an RF100-300mm F2.8L IS USM.

Photo: Richard Butler

Towards the end of our tour, we followed the assembly process of the RF100-300mm F2.8L IS USM (there are videos on YouTube showing this part of the tour). It's a multi-stage process of assembling, aligning and adjusting lenses, with a series of technicians each focused on one step of the process, overseen by a highly experienced staff member known as a 'meister.'

Much of the process is done by hand, with checks of each process along the way. Then, at the end, one technician's job is to ensure the different groups are correctly aligned. The 100-300mm has 23 elements arranged in 18 groups, and each attempt to correct the alignment of one group or assembly can then highlight an issue with another, resulting in an iterative process, bringing the lens closer and closer to the designed performance level.

This way of working, with around six technicians and a meister, allows Canon to produce nine 100-300mm lenses per day. It has the advantage that the technicians can easily turn their attention to the construction of other lenses, when a batch of 100-300s is complete. The same workstations can also produce Canon's 400, 600, 800 and 1200mm RF lenses, along with the EF400mm F2.8L IS III USM, which we were told is the last EF ultra-tele still in production.

A workstation in which multiple assemblies are brought together as an RF100-300 F2.8L IS USM comes together.

Photo: Richard Butler

Further along on the tour we were shown a large rectangular box, the size my last flat in London, full of robotic arms and conveyor belts, that conducts many of the same steps: inserting and UV-bonding circuit ribbons into lens assemblies, adding rollers and springs on which internal cams can move, attaching and assembling the USM motors around the focus groups. Lens elements already positioned in plastic lens assemblies were fed in at one end of the machine and a series of robot arms carefully conduct each step of the process as the lens passes through cubicles within the box, each containing a machine playing the role of a single technician.

The machine we were shown was making EF 24-105mm F4L IS II USM lenses but can be reconfigured to make EF 16-35mm F2.8L III USM: the two lenses having been designed with similar layouts and a high degree of shared componentry to allow one series of robots to build either lens. Unlike the hand-made approach, the whole setup would need to be significantly redesigned and rebuilt to be able to assemble any other lens, at significant investment cost.

A technician iteratively adjusts the different elements of an RF100-300 F2.8L IS USM, carefully monitoring the ways in which each adjustment improves and degrades the performance.

Photo: Richard Butler

Alignment checking wasn't done within this machine, instead being conducted later, manually. But we were then whisked past a machine assembling RF lenses and told that this machine performs the iterative process of assessing and fine-tuning lens alignment, automatically. Here was the digital adjustment that Go Tokura had been referring to, when he said that RF-mount lenses are being built to a higher standard and with greater consistency: automated fine-tuning of alignment, in a way that was previously only possible for ultra high-end lenses produced by hand.

It's not just Canon making constant improvements, of course. But it's interesting to get an insight into the small improvements that, cumulatively, have seen lenses improve dramatically over the last ten or so years. Aspherics becoming easier to make and hence more readily used in new lens designs, constant improvement of optical materials and advances in production processes all keep pushing lens performance upwards.

The visit to the Utsunomiya factory let me find out what the head of Canon's camera business, Go Tokura (left) had told me, the evening before.

Photo: Canon

The Utsunomiya factory is primarily focused on very high-end lenses, but what stood out to me is the way Canon has tried to adapt its highest-precision but labor-intensive manufacturing methods so that some of those benefits can appear in lenses we can actually afford. I could see why Tokura wanted to share his enthusiasm for that.

An ambitious plan to sequence genomes for 1.85 million eukaryotic species on our planet is underway. It's a massive undertaking that will dramatically enhance our understanding of biology, and inform conservation and biodiversity restoration efforts.

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Category: Biology, Science

Tags: Wildlife, Genome, DNA, Artificial Intelligence, Google, Conservation

The Eire tiny house is the latest model by Australia's Häuslein Tiny House Co. Featuring a length of 8 m (26 ft) and a simple interior that's arranged on one level, it has a contemporary design with extensive glazing that spans almost the entire living room wall.

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Category: Tiny Houses, Outdoors

Tags: Building and Construction, Tiny Footprint, Micro-House, House, Home

Full-time four-wheel drive is one of those annoying things that’s great to have until you really need it. At that point it stops working, unless you undo one of the things that lets it work well the rest of the time.

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Category: Automotive, Transport

Tags: 4WD, Farming, Agriculture

In a world-first trial, scientists used a one-off CRISPR gene edit to switch off a liver “fat brake” gene, slashing stubborn LDL cholesterol and triglycerides in patients whose levels refused to budge on standard treatments.

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Category: Medical Innovations, Body and Mind

Tags: Heart Disease, Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, Cholesterol, gene therapy, clinical trials, Monash University

New research has found that the loss of social memory – recognizing friends and family – in Alzheimer's disease (AD) could come down to specific structures around brain cells. And targeting this delicate scaffolding may potentially prevent this heartbreaking stage in cognitive decline.

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Category: Alzheimer's & Dementia, Brain Health, Body and Mind

Tags: University of Virginia, Alzheimer's disease, Dementia, neurons, Neuroscience, Memory, Brain

It's now actually not that unusual to see quadruped robots that have powered wheels for feet, allowing them to either walk or roll as the situation dictates. The modular D1 is different, though, in that it can also operate as either one quadruped or two self-balancing bipeds.

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Category: Robotics, Technology

Tags: Quadruped, biped, Modular, Convertible

Beyond the innovative Sunflower X radiant stove/heater we looked at a few weeks ago, Fire Maple makes a full lineup of gear essentials that rank among the market's most portable. Another of its clever 2025 releases, the Antarcti Gas Fire Pit is a fire bowl so collapsible you can carry it in a backpack. It runs on the same style of tiny gas canister as a backpacking stove, making it the lightest, most portable gas fire pit you're likely to encounter in or out of the wild.

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Category: Gear, Outdoors

Tags: Fire, Camping, Backpacking, Backpacking, Bikepacking, Hiking

Panasonic Lumix Pro Services will be ending in eight European countries and the United Kingdom as of November 30, 2025. The company shared the news on the Lumix Pro support websites for each respective country, as reported by Petapixel.

Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom are all impacted by the change. These are not the first countries to lose their Pro Services, however. Panasonic shut down its Ireland program in 2022.

The support sites have a banner stating, "We will be closing our LUMIX PRO service on 30 November 2025. This step allows us to refocus on new activities designed to better support our customers and creators." It goes on to explain that current members will be able to log in and manage their accounts until December 31, 2025. New registrations haven't been available since September 18, 2025, according to the sites.

Lumix Pro Services is a membership program for Panasonic users that offers prioritized support, extended warranties and other benefits. The program is aimed at professionals, as it helps users get a working camera in their hands faster than without the Pro Services program. This can take the form of faster repairs, loaner equipment or both.

The US Pro Lumix Services membership has two tiers: Red and Platinum. The Red tier is free and promises service turnaround times of three to five business days and loaner equipment for repairs that require more than seven business days. The Platinum tier costs $199 per year, but brings additional benefits, including a two-day turnaround time on repairs and loaner gear if the repair takes longer than that. It also offers a member-only hotline, 20% off out-of-warranty repairs, free sensor or EVF cleaning for up to four cameras per year and more.

In the UK and most EU countries, however, Lumix Pro Services was a single-tier membership that was completely free and unlimited. It only required the ownership of one Lumix S camera body. Members then got a seven-day turnaround on repairs at no charge. It offered worthwhile value to Lumix users, but unfortunately, it will no longer be available in the previously mentioned EU countries or the UK.

We reached out to a Panasonic spokesperson, who made it clear that there are no planned changes for Lumix Pro Services in the United States. They weren't able to provide any additional insight into changes in the other countries, however.

Canon RF45 F.2 STM | F1.2 | 1/320 sec | ISO 100
Processed with Adobe Camera Raw, distortion profile applied, vignetting correction off

Photo: Richard Butler

The Canon RF45mm F1.2 STM is the company's unexpectedly bright addition to its budget STM range of lenses. It offers a super-bright aperture with a near 'normal' focal length, in a package costing under $/£/€500

It's the same basic idea as Nikon's 35 and 50mm F1.4 lenses: a more compact, more affordable fast prime for full frame. Not necessarily offering the same levels of sharpness as the more expensive options, instead allowing some imperfection in the name of affordability and 'character.'

But whereas the Nikon releases were met with some confusion, as the F1.4 lenses unexpectedly sit below a series of sharper but slower F1.8 lenses, Canon's eye-catching use of a slightly brighter aperture seems to have grabbed more attention.

But how does it perform? We took it a pre-production copy and shot it on the highest-resolution RF-mount body currently available, to see how it looks.

The first thing you'll notice is significant vignetting, which can be corrected to some degree by the camera's JPEG engine. As you might also expect from such a bright lens with such a small front element, there's also a fair degree of mechanical vignetting in the bokeh, giving a cats' eye effect.

The lens can be pretty sharp, without the dreaminess that was common on DSLR-era F1.2 lenses at wider apertures, but the slightly slow, autofocus that you can feel shuffling back and forth when in continuous AF may be contributing to not all the portraits being as sharp as they could be.

See for yourself whether this fast, compact normal is worth the trade-offs.

Buy now:

With thanks to Lensrentals for the loan of the Canon EOS R5 II used for this gallery.

Please do not reproduce any of these images on a website or any newsletter/magazine without prior permission (see our copyright page). We make the originals available for private users to download to their own machines for personal examination or printing (in conjunction with this review); we do so in good faith, so please don't abuse it.

Godox has announced a modular lighting system designed for photographers who use multiple camera systems. The system consists of the iT32 Mini Flash and the X5 Wireless Flash Trigger, which acts as both an interchangeable hot shoe and a wireless trigger. It allows users to switch seamlessly between camera brands and supports both on- and off-camera use.

The standout feature of the new lighting system is the modular, versatile design. It uses a magnetic interface to connect the X5 to the iT32, allowing for speedy setup. The X5 comes in versions for every major camera system, so cross-brand shooters can pick up multiple versions of the X5 instead of needing separate flash units for each camera.

When attached, the iT32 flash is able to automatically detect the X5 version. The flash will then display the model type, battery level and charging status on the screen. When detached from a flash unit, the X5 automatically switches to trigger mode and can wirelessly control the iT32 and other Godox Wireless X System flashes. That means users can use the X5 for multi-light setups. Because the iT32 does not have its own hot shoe, users will need at least one X5 module for on-camera use.

Beyond the modular design, the iT32 flash is pretty standard. It features a touchscreen display, a built-in reflector and diffuser and an LED modeling light. The flash head can rotate 270° and tilt 90°. It offers a guide number of 18 meters (59.1') and users can control it wirelessly from up to 80 meters (262.5') away. However, the range for separated triggering drops to 20 meters (65.6'). It supports TTL and manual control.

The iT32 offers fast sync speeds of up to 1/8000 sec, or 1/80,000 sec with Sony cameras equipped with a global shutter. The flash duration can be as short as 1/30,000 sec, and Godox promises a 1.5-second recycle time and up to 510 full-power flashes. It recharges via USB-C.

The Godox iT32 Mini Flash & X5 TTL Wireless Flash Trigger are both available for pre-order now. The iT32 costs $79, while the X5 for Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon and Panasonic/OM System cameras costs $20. The Sony X5 version costs slightly more at $25. You can also purchase it as a kit that includes the iT32 and one X5 for $99 ($104 for the Sony version).

I don't dip into the automotive world too often, but when I do it's usually to highlight a new electric micro-car. And that's precisely what's happening now – after years of pioneering the electric two-wheel segment, Niu Tech has doubled up for the MM.

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Category: Automotive, Transport

Tags: Electric Vehicles, Compact, city car, EICMA 2025

For its ninth generation revamp, the legendary go-anywhere Toyota Hilux pickup is getting a major makeover inside and out. The 2026 model will be available in an all-electric flavor for the first time, in addition to the existing diesel hybrid powertrain version that was introduced earlier this year. And later on, you'll also be able to get a hydrogen fuel cell-powered truck too.

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Category: Automotive, Transport

Tags: Electric truck, Electric Vehicles, Toyota, Pickup

Despite high-profile advice to avoid Tylenol when pregnant and a potential warning-label change to highlight risk, a comprehensive umbrella study of existing reviews has found no credible link between acetaminophen use and autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

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Category: ADHD & Autism, Brain Health, Body and Mind

Tags: University of Liverpool, Tylenol, ADHD, Autism spectrum disorder, Neuroscience, Developmental conditions, Acetaminophen

A rather striking cross between an oversized adventure van, toy hauler and globetrotting expedition vehicle, the Epicore Action Van does wild exploration and adventure a little differently. Instead of living like a miniaturized palace, its tall, wide, pop-top-expanded monocoque living space supplies the strict necessities and encourages occupants to spend long days immersing themselves in the surrounding mountains, deserts and forests. Its massive gear garage stores, organizes and maintains all your tools of adventure, while its roomy interior sleeps, feeds and toilets four people while ensuring they don't get so cozy they miss dawn patrol.

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Category: Expedition Trucks, Adventure Vehicles, Outdoors

Tags: Campervan, expedition vehicles, Iveco, Off-road, RV, Motorhome, Motorhomes, smart RV

This custom tiny house provides an apartment-like living experience for its owners – and their pets too. Despite its length of just 36 ft (11 m), it squeezes in a spacious living area, a well-stocked kitchen, and a downstairs bedroom.

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Category: Tiny Houses, Outdoors

Tags: Building and Construction, Micro-House, Tiny Footprint, House, Home

The father and son team behind the world's fastest quadcopter we featured last year has now built what essentially looks like a flying photovoltaic panel, in a bid to create a drone that's powered by solar alone.

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Category: Drones, Consumer Tech, Technology

Tags: DIY, Solar Powered

Sleep isn't just rest, it's a crucial biological process. It keeps your mind sharp, your thoughts clear, and your reactions quick. But in today's fast-paced world, skipping sleep has become common, even though our bodies crave it as much as oxygen.

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Category: Sleep, Wellness and Healthy Living, Body and Mind

Tags: Sleep, Brain, focus

Caffeine appears to do the opposite of what you might think when it comes to the heart. Scientists have found that a cup of coffee a day actually protects the heart from atrial fibrillation – a condition that can lead to stroke and heart failure.

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Category: Heart Disease, Illnesses and conditions, Body and Mind

Tags: University of Adelaide, University of California San Francisco, Coffee, Caffeine, Atrial fibrillation, Heart Failure, Stroke, Heart, Age-Related