The lab techniques for accurately testing the qualities of a batch of coffee are out of reach, for even the most maniacally obsessed coffee nerds in search of the perfect cuppa joe. But what if you could instead electrocute your brew to determine if it's indeed good stuff – right in the mug?

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Product photos: Mitchell Clark

Nikon has announced the ZR, a video-focused camera with Red co-branding. It features the same 24.5MP 'partially Stacked' sensor as the Z6III and inherits many capabilities from the more stills-oriented camera, but gains a new Raw video codec, video-focused UI and internal 32-bit float audio recording – a first in the industry.

• 24.5MP full-frame 'partially Stacked' CMOS sensor
• Nikon Z-mount
• 7.5EV IBIS
• Up to 6K 60p
• R3D (NE) Raw video codec
• 4" 3.07M dot (1280 x 800px) 1000 nit display
• CFexpress Type B / microSD
• Autofocus subject detection for people, animals, vehicles and planes
• Internal 32-bit float
• No mechanical shutter

The ZR retails for $2199 – $500 cheaper than the Z6III, and has been available since October 2025.

Buy now:

• What's new
• How it compares
• Body and handling
• Video capabilities
• Video image quality
• In use: photography
• Conclusion
• Specifications
• Press Release

While the ZR's heart may be the same as the Z6III, less the mechanical shutter, it's not immediately obvious by looking at it. The camera has a boxy, EVF-less design with a minimal grip, making it easy to mount on a gimbal without having to worry about clearance.

On the back is a massive 4" 3.07M dot display. It's in a video-friendly 16:10 aspect ratio, with a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution. It has a peak brightness of 1000 nits. Nikon says it supports the P3 color gamut, giving you a more accurate preview of what your colors will look like, when working beyond the limits of sRGB.

On the back of the display are the Nikon and Red logos. The ZR is the first camera since Nikon's acquisition of Red to come with both companies' branding (unless you count the Z-mount Raptor's body cap).

The ZR includes a new Raw video codec called R3D (NE), alongside Nikon's N-Raw format and ProRes Raw. While it's not exactly the same as the Redcode Raw that Red's cinema cameras shoot, it is made to be cut together with it and uses the same Log curve and color gamut.

Importantly, this means you can use the Look Up Tables, or LUTs, that already exist for Red cameras, making it much easier to cut footage from the ZR and Red's cinema cameras together.

When shooting in R3D (NE), the ZR can capture 6K and DCI 4K at up to 60p, and UHD 4K at up to 120p. These same options are available for N-Raw, though the red-flavored Raw doesn't have any compression settings like the ones available for N-Raw. We'll touch on the differences between the ZR's Raw formats later on in this review, but have covered them in more depth in a separate article.

R3D Raw also comes with a different approach to gain. Instead of applying it in-camera based on your ISO setting, the camera will lock it to either its low (ISO 800) or high (ISO 6400) gain step. If you adjust your ISO, the camera will note it as a metadata tag and adjust its metering to capture a different balance of highlights and shadows, but it won't change the amount of gain added to the footage. This approach is comparable to the Cine EI (exposure index) mode Sony includes on its video-focused cameras, and gives you more control over your video's lightness ("ISO") in post. By contrast, N-Raw is shot with variable gain, just like photo mode, so you can't adjust this after the fact.

Alongside R3D (NE), the ZR supports the two other Raw formats the Z6III could shoot: Nikon's own N-Raw codec, as well as Apple's ProRes Raw. Though, as has been the case in Nikon's previous cameras, the widely-supported ProRes Raw option isn't available at the camera's fastest resolutions and frame rates.

The ZR is the first mirrorless camera to include fully-internal 32-bit float recording for audio. If you're unfamiliar, 32-bit float encodes audio in an entirely different fashion than traditional 16 or 24-bit encoding, allowing it to record a much wider range of values than would be possible. Typically it's combined with dual gain amplifiers to ensure both quiet and loud sounds can be captured.

The benefit is that you don't need to finely adjust gain and worry about clipping (other than the point at which your mic itself it overwhelmed). While we've seen other cameras, such as the Panasonic GH7, that support 32-bit float recording with an external XLR adapter, the ZR can do it without one, obviating the need for a costly accessory.

What's more, it can be used to record audio from the camera's internal microphone – using OZO directional technology from Nokia – as well as from the 3.5mm microphone jack, meaning you can use it all the time.

While the ZR has a traditional 3.5mm microphone input, it also includes a digital hotshoe with support for audio. Nikon sells a compact microphone that uses it, and Tascam offers an XLR adapter.

Currently, it's unclear what abilities other third party companies have to create accessories for it. For example, some DJI wireless microphone receiver packs can plug directly into the digital hotshoes on Sony's cameras, making it so you don't have to connect them with a 3.5mm cable. Whether they'll make something comparable for Nikon's system remains to be seen.

You only need to look at the ZR to recognize that it's a competitor to Sony's FX range of cameras for film makers. Its lack of viewfinder will draw immediate comparison with the FX3 and APS-C/Super35 FX30 models, but the price is more in line with the FX2. However, the Nikon has a sensor much better suited to video than the FX2, which uses the rather slow to read-out chip from the a7 IV.

Despite the apparent similarities (high res 60p Raw capture), it's not quite a like-for-like competitor to Canon's C50, which launched on the same day. That is an unstabilized, actively-cooled camera, rather than a hand-held model. The provision of capabilities such as a timecode socket, desqueeze preview modes for working with anamorphic lenses and the option of bolt-on mount adapters suggests a focus on industry use, rather than beginners and owner-operator outfits.

7K/60
7K/30 open-gate

The Nikon ZR looks essentially like one of Sony's small FX models but without their active cooling. And, in the same way that the FX2 and FX3 share much of their hardware with the more photo-focused a7 IV and a7S III bodies, respectively, the ZR is essentially a video-ized Z6III. So, while you lose the viewfinder, photo-friendly body shape and mechanical shutter, you gain more Raw video options, a hotshoe with digital inputs and 32-bit float audio. Despite this, Nikon has brought the ZR in at a price significantly below that of the Z6III.

But, more significant is that it undercuts the price of the FX2, which isn't built around an especially video-adept sensor, and at nearly half the $4100 asking price of the FX3, which has comparable rolling shutter, but captures native 4K, rather than the Nikon's 6K. In most regards, the ZR looks like a bargain.

The ZR is a relatively compact body, immediately bringing to mind the original Sony FX3, but without the prevalence of 1/4-20 mounting points, and without the finned exhaust ports, as the ZR does not feature active cooling.

It's just as much a Z6III shorn of its viewfinder as anything else, and has a similarly solid-feeling build. It uses the same fibre-reinforced plastic that Nikon has been using for some years, which gives a good sense of solidity without adding excessive weight. This is likely to be a benefit if you choose to mount it on a gimbal.

The ZR has most of the ports you'd expect from a video camera: USB-C, running at 3.2 speeds and 3.5mm headphone and microphone jacks. The one surprise is the presence of micro, rather than full-size, HDMI. It does make sense given the camera's smaller form-factor, but those planning to routinely plug in monitors or external recorders to this camera will likely wish for a more robust connector.

Its storage mediums are also unconventional. While its CFexpress Type B slot is exactly what you'd expect on a high-end video camera, the secondary UHS-I microSD card slot isn't. It's not fast enough to support most of the formats that the camera can so you can't use it to backup your recordings, nor can it be used to record proxies (though if you're shooting in R3D (NE) or N-Raw, proxy files will be recorded to the main card). Most people, then, will likely just use it for transferring settings and LUTs, or perhaps for shooting stills.

The Nikon ZR uses the same EN-EL15c battery as the Z6III. It's a 16Wh battery which powers the Z6III to a respectable 390 shots per charge when shooting photos and 100mins of "actual" video shooting, according to CIPA's standardized tests.

Nikon hasn't provided the rated values for the ZR, but they're pretty comparable: good, but not exceptionally so.

As you might expect, Nikon is putting most emphasis on the ZR's Raw capabilities, but for many people, good 10-bit Log footage offers a less data-intensive workflow with plenty of editing flexibility (there's a much smaller difference in editing flexibility between 10-bit Log and 12-bit linear Raw than between JPEGs and Raw stills).

The ZR offers plenty of gamma-encoded video options, in a choice of All-I ProRes 422, 10- or 8-bit 4:2:0 H.265 or 8-bit, 4:2:0 H.264 MP4s.

As is often the case, the most data-intensive options aren't available in ProRes. And, like the Z6III, the ZR needs to crop in to an APS-C / Super35 region to shoot 4K/120 or 100.

Even if they're not necessarily the easiest options to capture or work with, the ZR's Raw video modes are likely to be the most eye-catching.

The camera can capture either the Red-derived R3D NE Raw or the existing Nikon N-Raw at up to 6K/60. It has to drop to 30p to utilize the more widely-supported ProRes RAW codec.

It's worth noting the different ways the R3D and N-Raw modes handle ISO. Currently, most software doesn't support lens corrections for R3D NE, though the format itself does, and they can be added using Red's RedCine-X Pro transcoding software.

The ZR is the first Nikon camera to let you set exposure in terms of shutter angle, out-of-the-box (it's was added to the Z8 and Z6III in firmware, post-launch). This is especially valuable on a camera that can shoot 60 and 50 fps footage as readily as it can 30, 25 or 24p, as it means you can switch frame rates and have the exposure time respond accordingly, avoiding the risk of forgetting, and shooting footage with too high or low a shutter speed, after you switch.

As with the Z6III, the ZR's compressed footage is very detailed in both 4K and 5.4K. However, Nikon has clearly changed how it processes this footage, and it appears to be applying less, or more subtle, sharpening than the Z6III.

Compared to hybrid stills/video cameras, the ZR has similar levels of detail to the similar-pixel-count Panasonic S1II, as well as to the Canon EOS R6 III's oversampled 4K mode. However, the Canon's 7K open gate footage provides much more detail than the ZR's 5.4K capture, though it will take up more storage and has to be edited before delivery. The highest-resolution footage you can get from the ZR offers more detail than the Sony a7 V's oversampled 4K footage, though some of that is almost certainly aliasing. That's also the case if you compare the cameras' 4K output, with the ZR's having more aliasing, thus not necessarily representing the scene better. It's also worth noting that the ZR comes in at a substantially lower price point than those cameras (though with a corresponding decrease in stills capabilities).

While bumping up to 60p doesn't come with a cost to field of view or detail, if you want to shoot in 120p, the camera will have to crop down to a smaller APS-C region of the sensor. This results in less detail being captured, as is expected given the extra noise coming from using a smaller region of the sensor, and the higher shutter speeds required for shooting at higher frame rates, though it's the same amount as captured by the APS-C 24p mode.

The ZR shares a video IQ quirk with several of Nikon's other cameras, in that, for around the first second of an H.265 recording, the bitrate is substantially lower, resulting in noticeably softer and blockier footage. While it's certainly a ding against a hybrid camera, having to leave a second of lead time on each of your shots is borderline unacceptable for a video-focused camera.

The Nikon ZR supports internal Raw recording to three different formats: N-Raw, ProRes Raw, and R3D NE, a format currently unique to it. They all have the common caveats associated with Raw recording – using it will require post-processing (often using specific editing software), and the difference between Raw and Log isn't anything like as great as the difference between Raw and JPEG for stills – but for those that need it, it's available.

As you'd expect, the ZR's three flavors of Raw capture comparable amounts of detail at their 6K settings, though their default LUTs offer fairly different foundations to build your own grade on. Despite the similar image quality each version of Raw offers, there are substantial differences between what it's like to shoot them. You can read our in-depth comparison below.

N-Raw or R3D NE: how to choose

The ZR's N-Log mode for H.265 does more than just record in a different gamma; it also has a big impact on the amount of apparent detail in the footage compared to the camera's default H.265 color mode. Even with the LUT applied to roughly match color and lightness, the footage is substantially softer. When shooting in N-Log, the camera doesn't appear to apply any of the "Picture Control" adjustments, including sharpening, which may account for some of the visual differences; rather than doing it in-camera, it seems like Nikon is assuming that those shooting Log will want control over sharpening in post.

Despite sharing a sensor, Log footage recorded in H.265 from the ZR clearly has more noise reduction in the shadows than footage shot on the Z6III with the same settings. This noise reduction isn't applied to Raw footage, but for those who would prefer smaller file sizes will have to give up some control over how sharp the footage is straight out of camera. Given the controversy around the Z6III's relatively noisy and sometimes flickering shadows when recording Log, it's not surprising that Nikon has made some changes.

By Mitchell Clark

The Nikon ZR produces the same level of image quality as the Z6III. But the shooting experience is a world apart.
Nikon ZR | Nikkor Z 24-120 F4 S | 90mm | F5.6 | 1/160 sec | ISO 200
Photo: Mitchell Clark

As with other video-focused cameras, there will be photographers who ignore the ZR's Red branding to focus purely on the sensor and the boxy shape, reminiscent of a rangefinder. If that's you, we implore you: do not buy this camera.

Of course, it can take stills, and it even has a switch on the top to go between its photo and video modes. But its lack of a mechanical shutter essentially rules out flash photography (it can only sync at 1/60 sec), and means you may have to deal with banding when shooting under artificial lighting. And while I'd welcome a rear display this large and bright on a hybrid camera, I still found myself missing an EVF when shooting pictures with the ZR.

While I, like many of you, would love it if Nikon (or anyone, for that matter) released a camera roughly this shape and size aimed at photographers, the ZR isn't it. It's a video camera that can shoot the occasional still when needed, and should be treated as such.

By Mitchell Clark

• Great video quality across formats (with a few caveats)
• Large, bright screen makes monitoring easy
• 32-bit float audio relieves stress of clipping audio
• Video-specific controls and menus are easy to operate
• Autofocus generally capable and controllable
• Wide array of recording options with well-controlled rolling shutter
• IBIS very capable for vertical shooting

• Sensor not the best for Log/Raw workflow
• Noise reduction reduces peak IQ in H.265
• H.265 footage uses very low bitrate for first second
• Could use an extra button or two
• Screen interferes with audio ports
• Some video tools (zebras, focus peaking) need some work
• microHDMI and microSD aren't wonderful
• Open-gate would've been a nice option

As the Nikon ZR is a video camera, we thought it best to present the majority of our conclusion as a video, primarily shot using the ZR and with lots of sample footage.

To briefly summarize: on the vlogging to production workhorse spectrum, the ZR sits far closer to the Sony ZV-E1 and Panasonic S9 at the vlogging end of things side of things, rather than on the S1H and FX3 side. But for those who are looking for that kind of camera, which will likely be the majority of shooters, it's remarkably capable at that job.

The ZR has a few first-gen quibbles, which isn't necessarily a surprise. As it stands, it feels like Nikon was able to incorporate some of Red's expertise as it finished up the ZR, rather than building it from the ground up with that knowledge. What's there is quite good, but it'd be interesting to see what a version of this camera would look like if that production-focused perspective were available earlier in the process.

Nikon also seems to already be taking some of the user feedback to heart. At the time of writing, the company is promising a firmware update to the ZR that will:

• Allow users to record using the more sophisticated Log3G10 in H.265, instead of being stuck with N-Log
• Bring "general quality improvements" to H.265
• Let you use focus peaking and view assist concurrently when shooting in R3D NE
• Add a further compressed version of R3D NE, as is available when shooting N-Log (a big help in the time of skyrocketing storage costs)

If all of that comes to fruition, the ZR will be further refined as everyday vlogging/video camera. And while it may not be the best pick if your intent is a multi-operator, budgeted production, its very competitive price certainly makes that easier to accept. This capability, combine with a price that makes the camera punch a fair bit above its weight, earn it our Gold award.

Scoring is relative only to the other cameras in the same category. Click here to learn about what these numbers mean.

Compared with Nikon's own Z6III, the ZR is the obvious choice for video-first shooters, thanks to its larger, brighter display with video-focused menu, 32-bit internal float, and the option of using the more sophisticated R3D NE format. By default, the ZR sharpens its footage less, which we find to provide a better starting point for editing, though it also has more aggressive noise reduction, which is especially noticeable when shooting H.265 in Log. That means you lose a touch of detail in the shadows, but we'd consider it a fair trade-off (and one that could be fixed with a firmware update). For anyone intending to regularly shoot stills, though, the Z6III will be a much better option.

While we haven't tested the Sony FX2, we are familiar with its sensor, which has much slower readout speeds and requires a crop to an APS-C region to do 4K/60, which the ZR does not. Unless you have a very specific need for a production-focused camera, the ZR is a much better choice, thanks to its faster sensor, 32-bit float audio, choice of Raw and Log workflows, and larger screen. The FX2 will likely have cleaner footage in the deep shadows, and has a mechanical shutter and EVF for stills, but those qualities can also be had in cameras much better suited to both stills and video than it.

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This extra-wide tiny house features a remarkably spacious and open interior that sleeps two in comfort. The "Tiny Mansion" also boosts living space with a huge rooftop terrace that's more than large enough to host parties on.

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Adobe has rolled out a handful of updates to Photoshop and Lightroom aimed at smoothing out common editing bottlenecks. The latest additions include tools for composite photos, organizing complex files, finding images with natural-language search and managing work from large shoots.

In Lightroom, Adobe is delivering on some features it showed off at its Adobe Max conference in October of last year. One is the improved search functionality, which allows users to search with natural language, much as they may be accustomed to in cloud-based photo management tools from the likes of Apple and Google. It was previously available in Lightroom for the Web, but is now available in the desktop version as well.

The AI Filters in the Assisted Culling tool allow users to quickly sort out images that are in focus.

Image: Adobe

Another Max-previewed feature that is now fully available is Assisted Culling, which makes it easier to sort through large quantities of images. The tool is an AI-powered filter that allows users to quickly narrow down images by sorting out those that are properly exposed and in focus. It gives users control over how picky they want to be, and still lets them select or reject images that the system would have done the opposite.

Speaking of speed, Adobe says that interactive slider performance will be five times faster in this update. It's also added support for all Sony a7 V formats, since it previously didn't support the new compressed Raw format Sony introduced with that camera. Lastly, there are new film-inspired presets for those interested in editing to create a more retro look.

The Rotate Object tool is found in the Contextual Task Bar, making it faster to access transformation tools.

Screenshot from Adobe's demo of the feature.

In Photoshop, Adobe has made its Rotate Object tool widely available, following the feature's public beta release in March. Rotate Object makes it much easier to refine composite images, saving users from the traditional multi-step process of adjusting an object's position with separate Transform tools. It essentially turns a 2D object into a rotatable 3D image, allowing users to adjust its angle and perspective in real time to make it fit more naturally into a scene.

Adobe also added a Layer Cleanup tool to Photoshop, which can streamline and declutter files by renaming layers and automatically removing empty ones. Plus, Firefly Boards are now integrated with Photoshop, making it easier for creatives to move from concept phases to final execution.

All of the new features are available in Photoshop and Lightroom as of today.

Chinese battery giant CATL and automaker Changan announced the launch of the Changan Nevo A06, the world's first mass-production electric vehicle (EV) powered by sodium-ion batteries. It's due to hit the market mid-2026, and it marks the moment a technology long trapped in the lab finally steps onto the road.

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A tiny trailer with huge ambitions, the new Skookum from Alberta-based Tactical Overland is a family trailer specced for clans with surnames like "Amundsen" and "Hillary." Because this trailer is built to push beyond the usual limits of off-roading and overlanding, making camp out of the most remote parts of Canada, even in the dead of winter. It collapses inward for travel but expands into a two-story 4-sleeper base camp with space to work, cook, shower and live your best off-grid life.

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An aquarium can really add a touch of class to a home or business, particularly if it's got some fancy fish in it – but such fish can be very hard to keep. So, why not just buy a weirdly lifelike "robofish" like this one, that needs nothing more than a daily battery-charge?

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NASA astronaut and Artemis II commander, Reid Wiseman (foreground), and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist, practice lunar photography at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Photo: NASA / Kelsey Young

The Artemis II mission came to a successful end a few weeks ago, but excitement over the historic journey remains high, thanks in part to the remarkable photographs the four-person crew captured aboard Orion. It turns out those images were successful because the astronauts were doing more than pointing a camera out the window and hoping for the best. Before launch, they received dedicated photography training to help them document the Moon, Earth and the spacecraft’s journey between them.

A post shared by Reuters (@reuters)

In an Instagram video from Reuters, NASA flight operations imagery instructor Paul Reichert explains the photography training process for astronauts. He says that when individuals are first brought on as astronauts or astronaut candidates, they receive about four to six hours of training from him and his fellow instructor, Katrina Willoughby. The goal at that point is to bring them to a basic level.

Before astronauts are assigned to a specific mission, Reichert says they may take some classes and have the opportunity to check out gear to get familiar with it. Then, once an astronaut is assigned to a mission, they have about 10 classes, which he says amounts to about 20 hours of training.

The crew practiced for the mission using an Orion mock-up and a large, inflatable moon.

Photo: NASA / James Blair

According to the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Willoughby and Reichert, who are both alumni of the RIT photographic sciences program, worked with the Artemis II crew for two years to ensure they were fully prepared. Mission pilot Victor Glover said their training included on-the-ground drills that involved taking pictures inside a mock-up of the Orion capsule, according to Reuters.

"Most people can use a camera and get a photo that is good enough, but good enough isn't what we're after scientifically. We’re really teaching the astronauts how to go beyond the basics," Willoughby says in the RIT article. "Being able to understand how to use the equipment, and what the options are, gives us a lot more capability."

Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover and Mission Specialist Christina Koch gather images and observations of the lunar surface to share with the world during the lunar flyby on the sixth day of the mission. The crew spent approximately seven hours taking turns at the windows of the Orion spacecraft as they flew around the far side of the Moon.

Photo: NASA

Images taken on such missions play an important role in research, but their importance goes beyond that, too. "There are pictures we want to get, and then there are pictures that the team is depending on. The imagery is their data," says Willoughby. "If something breaks, for example, we need a picture or video to show us on the ground what's going on. Sometimes, the imagery is what is needed to move forward, so it is important that the crew can get it right the first time."

A Reuters article also details the camera gear chosen for the mission and why those particular devices were selected. We've seen lots of questions here at DPReview about why NASA opted for the Nikon D5, a decade-old camera. The answer appears to come down to what was tried and tested. "We had a lot of flight experience with it," Reichert told Reuters. "We knew it could handle radiation, at least several years of radiation dosage on the ISS, and it didn't have any problems with it."

The Smart ForTwo was a much-loved microcar that came with an array of customization options over the years, but its biggest strength was its small footprint. It practically took up half of a parking spot, and I’m happy to say its successor follows that same recipe.

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If you’re a longtime viewer of The Simpsons, then you know at least two things about Homer: he loves doughnuts, and he’s an absolutely terrible designer of vehicles. But that doesn’t mean no one should ever combine vehicle design with doughnuts, as French company aérOnde has shown us with its aérOnde (“Air-Round”) airship that looks like a giant, flying doughnut covered in white icing.

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It’s generally believed that the most complex systems of our world began from very simple things. Then, as a force of survival, evolution began to occur, and things gradually became more complex. This same perspective applies to science’s general understanding of the origin of life. The entire complexity of the molecular system, and life as we know it, all began from something very small, and has evolved into the concept of genetics and modern biology.

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The Thypoch's first autofocus lens is an F2.8 for full-frame.

Photo: Mitchell Clark

Over the past few weeks, lens maker Thypoch has been teasing the release of its first autofocus lens. But rather than entering the world of autofocus with a prime, as many of its peers have done, it's introducing the first China-designed and developed zoom for full-frame. And it's an F2.8 zoom, at that.

How has the company gone from making M-mount manual-focus primes to an F2.8 zoom for full-frame? Quickly, says the company's Go-to-Market manager, Xavier Luo.
"The project began at the end of 2024," he tells me: "and it's taken almost a whole year to make the lens ready for large-scale manufacturing."

"In China, this would be considered quite a long time," he says, when I express surprise at the short timescale.

I ask him to expand on why the company decided to jump straight to zoom lenses, and why this particular specification. "We are very good at making zoom lenses," he tells me: "we have a cinema lens background and already make dozens of [manual focus] zooms. Two times, three times, even ten times zooms for full-frame, APS-C and Micro Four Thirds, so we have a lot of experience."

And, there's a degree of pride at stake, too, he suggests: “There’s strong anticipation across Asian markets, with Chinese users in particular eager to gain a wider choice of lenses, because the Chinese brands’ prime lenses have become more and more competitive both in terms of price and optic performance. These people are hoping to get a some kind of zoom product in the market so that maybe people can buy a zoom lens with a prime lens price."

The company settled on a 24-50mm as its first product for a number of reasons, Luo tells us:

"We know it has a lot of controversial points." he says: "The core value of the zoom lens is zoom, right? So people are arguing [about] that in the Sony 24-50mm comments. But we noticed that people are getting more and more focused on a lightweight lifestyle in recent years. People are trying to get more lightweight cameras, lightweight bags and lightweight everything. A 24-50mm can cover the daily use, or for your travel."

Shenzhen Dongzheng Optical Technology has already made a range of manual focus cinema zooms under its DZOFilm brand name.

Image: DZOFilm

The other critical factor was that they believed this range would let them make a better lens. "[we didn't want to be] too ambitious, and make a 24-70, that kind of zoom lens," Luo tells us.

"When making zoom lenses, the biggest difficulties is to have a well-controlled distortion and at the same time have a really good sharpness," he says: "We think making a 24-50 means we can control it really well both in terms of sharpness and other [factors, such as] spherical aberration and distortion."

Some of this comes from it taking a different approach: "If you shoot with the Sony 24-50mm original lens with in Raw you may notice that it has in-body distortion correction," he says: "Third-party zoom lenses can be limited by the body communication protocol."

"In-body distortion correction means you have a perfect JPEG file but you don't have that in the Raw file. So for optical designers, it gives convenience: they don't have to worry too much about distortion, and that's a big deal, because they have only focus on the sharpness side. But for us, it's totally different: our designers have to look at both factors."

"We asked Sony, but we didn't get any official confirmation," he tells us: "we actually want to pay the protocol license fee, but we couldn't get any official reply. We think they have a more open attitude towards third parties."

We asked what the biggest challenge was of developing an autofocus zoom for the first time: the optical design or the mechanical design. "It's the physical design," Luo tells us: " more specifically, it's the software and electronic parts because in the autofocus lens domain, the level of the electronic and software decides the maximum optic performance in the lens."

Unlike the Sony 24-50mm F2.8, Thypoch's design features internal zoom and does not requre any software distortion correction.

Photo: Mitchell Clark

"It's totally reversed, compared with manual lenses," he says: "with manual lenses, the optic performance leads the mechanical design. But, you know, [for autofocus] it's totally different: it depends on how much weight the lens motor can drive and the precision it can deliver."

The company developed its own STM motors for the task. "I think still 90% of lenses use STM focus motor," he says. The company spent a lot of time working on making sure focus speed was competitive, and that focus is precise and doesn't hunt in video. "we tested the autofocus precision in a lot of scenarios and to make sure [it performed well] whether people are using it for photography or video."

As well as a design with no software distortion correction, there's another obvious difference between Sony's 24-50mm F2.8 and Thypoch's lens, despite the similar dimensions and weight: the Voyager 24-50mm is an internal zoom design.

This has a benefit beyond just retaining the lenses' compact dimensions, says Luo: "it's better for people who are trying to make vlogs or short video, when they are using the lens on gimbals or even if they are [working] handheld."

For now, the company is focused on the E mount for two reasons, we're told: "We think Sony E-mount has the biggest user group, and [we think] this lens fits the Sony Alpha users' interests. But we are still waiting to see what's happening in this industry, but our focus is just on E-mount right now."

But also, given the recent history of other manufacturers taking non-licensees to court, "Sony has a more open mind for third-party lenses."

Thypoch hasn't revealed all the details of the 24-50mm F2.8 yet. It's already publicly teased that the lens is coming, and shown it at the NAB trade show in Las Vegas. We're hoping this means we don't have to wait too long for the rest of the details, including the price, to be made public.

"I think when we reveal the price, people will be surprised by the high quality performance ratio of this product."

We've been shooting with the Thypoch 24-50mm F2.8 and have produced this gallery of sample images. As always, you can download the Raw files, to see how it performs.

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; we do so in good faith, so please don't abuse it.

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