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Showing posts with the label Sam Kieldsen

DJI's Osmo 360 II fixes its predecessor's flaws, and remains much more affordable than Insta360

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DJI Osmo 360 II: two-minute review Just a year after launching its debut 360 camera, the Osmo 360 , DJI has delivered a sequel that addresses pretty much every complaint I had with the original — without asking you to pay through the nose for the privilege. The Osmo 360 II looks and feels almost identical to its predecessor: same dimensions, same weight, same general shape. But DJI has used that 12-month gap wisely, fixing the two biggest issues I had with the original Osmo 360 in one swift update. First, the lenses. They're now built with a tougher optical coating, and — far more importantly — they're user-replaceable if you crack or scratch one. For anyone using this camera to capture action sports, that alone might be worth the modest price increase. Second, DJI's approach to underwater shooting has changed. The waterproof rating hasn't budged from 10m, but where DJI once activ...

I test 360 cameras for a living and the new Insta360 X6 is my favorite — but the price is hard to swallow

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Insta360 X6: two-minute review 10 years after Insta360 launched its first 360 camera, the X6 arrives as the anniversary flagship — and it arrives in a much, much busier 360 camera market . This time, Insta360 is defending its home turf against a resurgent GoPro Max 2 and a highly capable debut from DJI in the Osmo 360 . There's a feeling, then, that the X6 has to be something more than just an annual refresh. For the most part, it delivers. The squat body houses a pair of larger 1/1.1-inch sensors, and while I wouldn't call the resulting jump in image quality dramatic when set directly against the X5's footage, its effect on where the X6 sits against the wider field is significant. The GoPro Max 2 has owned daylight sharpness in this category since launch, and the Insta360 X5 has owned the night. The X6 is the first small 360 camera I've tested that doesn't ask you to pick o...

I tested the affordable Ruko U11Mini 4K drone — and it's no match for DJI's new flyer

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Ruko U11Mini 4K: One-minute review DJI's dominance of the consumer drone market is so total that you have to wonder whether any rival can land a meaningful blow. The Ruko U11Mini 4K is the latest contender to step into the ring, and on paper it looks like a credible one: a sub-250g folding quadcopter with a 1/2-inch CMOS sensor, 4K video, and an optional touchscreen controller that's clearly modeled on DJI's own RC series. Unfortunately, the closer I looked, the more the U11Mini 4K's limitations revealed themselves, and the gulf between Ruko and DJI's similarly-priced beginner drones remains huge. In the air, the U11Mini 4K is a mixed bag. Flight is reasonably stable in calm conditions, but it's easily pushed around by wind, and during one flight I experienced an alarming voltage drop that triggered an unscheduled emergency landing. The touchscreen RC3 controller is a soli...

I tested the Leica SL3-P, and it's a masterclass in restrained design

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Leica SL3-P: One-minute review The Leica SL3-P is not a camera for everyone, and it knows it. There's no red dot logo on the front — that easy-to-spot symbol of prestige has been deliberately omitted in favor of a clean, all-black anonymity. Only the word 'LEICA' in white block capitals above the lens mount gives the game away. This is a camera built for photographers who'd rather be invisible than show off, and that philosophy runs all the way through it, with minimal controls, a stripped-back UI, and a design language that says a lot through everything it leaves out. The SL3-P is built around the same full-frame sensor as the Panasonic Lumix S1R II. (Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen) Getting to grips with it takes some patience if you're arriving from a more conventional mirrorless system. With only four labelled buttons on the body, a lot of control is handed off to the ...