What’s everyone’s experience been like of the Fenix 9
Pro 43mm GPS accuracy? I’m coming from an Epix Pro Gen 2 42mm and have read bad things about GPS accuracy now that the watch is 100% metal and they dropped the GLONASS constellation. I don’t want to pay £700 upgrading for worse GPS performance just to have slightly improved maps experience and a more bling watch.
https://the5krunner.com/2026/09/14/garmin-fenix-9-pro-gps-accuracy/
Has anyone used this camera / lens combination? I want to pick one up as an upgrade to my RF 85 f2 STM, but concerned about lack of IS.
However, I also own the RF 24mm and 50mm 1.4 VCMs and generally have no issues with them if I keep the shutter speed high enough. Would the 85mm with no stabilisation at all be risking it?
Has anyone used the Canon RF 24mm f1.8 Macro for astrophotography? I am getting really bad coma in the corners. Just look at the shape of the stars in the top left hand corner. This was only an 8 second single exposure shot wide open on a tripod with my R8.
Is the RF 24 f1.4 VCM much better for astro? I’ve just ordered one.
I’m thinking of upgrading my RF 85 f2 STM to the 1.4 VCM. I have an R8. Will lack of IS be an issue? I currently own the 50 1.4 VCM and getting very sharp handheld shots with that.
What kind of minimum shutter speed do you need to get sharp shots at that focal length with no IS?
Has anyone made the switch and can discuss whether they were satisfied with the upgrade?
I shoot a lot of events, festivals etc and my RF 70-200 f4 L just doesn’t have the speed for many situations.
Are these 25W PD 10,000 mah Anker Redux USB-C powerbanks still good in 2026? I have two of them and they charge my iPhone 17 Pro to 146%. I’ve looked into the new equivalent, but they seem bulkier and I am not interested in built in cables since I prefer Apple branded cables. An actual screen with percentage would be nice rather than 4 dots.
Do you think charging an iPhone 17 Pro from empty to full 1.5 times is about right for a 10,000 mah power bank? Not sure how long they are supposed to last but probably had it for about 4 years.
I brought a 25,000 mah 165w Anker charger for my MacBook Air and debating whether to replace the 10,000 ones as well as they are so handy for throwing into a backpack on the go.
Not great for a case that costs £59. And no, before you say I’m not careless when I plug the USB-C cable in, so it has nothing to do with that.
I want to talk about aspect ratios. Why is it that it’s 2026 and the only aspect ratios Instagram accepts for stories without automatic cropping is 16:9 and 4:5, even though the post aspect ratio is now the taller, widely accepted 3:4 format? I find this a strange quirk.
Yes I know there are work arounds like using a third party photo editing software to create borders when exporting, and pinching your photos to resize, but those methods are annoying, imprecise and result in loss of quality, and you also loose those nice colour gradient top and bottom borders.
I want to talk about aspect ratios. Why is it that it’s 2026 and the only aspect ratios Instagram accepts for stories without automatic cropping is 16:9 and 4:5, even though the post aspect ratio is now the taller, widely accepted 3:4 format? I find this a strange quirk.
Yes I know there are work arounds like using a third party photo editing software to create borders when exporting, and pinching your photos to resize, but those methods are annoying, imprecise and result in loss of quality, and you also loose those nice colour gradient top and bottom borders.
I’m off to a festival next week and I know there’s going to be bright and sunny daytime conditions, and I want to be using wide apertures for portraiture without overexposed highlights.
Can anyone recommend a good ND filter for a Canon RF 50 1.4 VCM that will allow me to shoot wide open in the middle of the day? My camera’s fastest shutter speed is 1/4000 sec (R8).
Thanks.
Can anyone recommend a good waterproof case for snorkelling in the sea? I am currently using a floating YOSH case which is ok but seems too big for the standard iPhone so the there’s always a gap between the lens and the case, and it suffers from focusing issues which means half the videos I take come out blurry, and when you want to shoot above water there’s always water drops on the case which blur any photos. The Osmo is much better in this regard.
Need to be able to press the camera side button easily underwater too so the case sides need to be seamless.
I have tried the DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro but the ultrawide isn’t ideal for taking videos and photos of people and animals, hence why I prefer the 24mm of the phone.
Can anyone recommend a good waterproof case for snorkelling in the sea? I am currently using a floating YOSH case which is ok but seems too big for the standard iPhone so the there’s always a gap between the lens and the case, and it suffers from focusing issues which means half the videos I take come out blurry, and when you want to shoot above water there’s always water drops on the case which blur any photos. The Osmo is much better in this regard.
Need to be able to press the camera side button easily underwater too so the case sides need to be seamless.
I have tried the DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro but the ultrawide isn’t ideal for taking videos and photos of people and animals, hence why I prefer the 24mm of the phone.
What’s your opinion of automatic transmission in new petrol compact cars like the Corsa and Peugeot 208? I’ve driven both manual and automatic and i’m torn. I’ve always driven manual and like the control. Automatic is great for driving in traffic and in town, and I know it’s the future, but sometimes feels like it revs too much on the open road and I hate the lag between putting your foot down and accelerating. Are they just for lazy people who don’t want to change gear, or is there any performance advantage with the more powerful automatic engine options?
Has anyone had any experience of driving both for extended periods?
Went to a festival the other weekend and took some photos with my new Canon RF 50 VCM. Really nice lens for events. I used it mostly for photos and none of these images were shot with any image stabilisation. I was a bit apprehensive buying it for my R8 as all of my other lenses are stabilised, but it performed really well and pairs great for event work with a 24mm prime and a 70-200. Super sharp lens across the frame even wide open. The autofocus is incredibly good for capturing dancers and musicians paired with AI subject detection and servo HS continuous shooting. Feel free to ask any questions!
Has anyone else noticed their iPhone 17 Pro screen is less bright than it should be?
I will often go and pick up my phone after it’s been lying cold on my office desk for a while, and immediately notice the screen brightness changes in front of my eyes. Which is weird as the automatic brightness settings and True Tone are switched off, and it’s not a temperature issue either, so it shouldn’t dim automatically.
I’ve noticed my iPhone 17 Pro screen dims automatically. I literally see it change brightness. Even when the phone isn’t particularly hot. I’ve turned off auto brightness, reduce white point, True Tone.
I’m typing this now on 100% brightness and it really isn’t that bright. The phone is slightly warm but has not been on charge and has been left on standby recently.
I do a lot of photography and sometimes have no idea if exposure is correct or not when using my phone, reviewing Lightroom images or working in Lightroom. I’d say it’s on par with my M5 MacBook Air screen even though that screen is LCD not OLED.
I just acquired another prime lens for my R8: the RF 50 f1.4 VCM, as I didn’t have a 50mm prime in my collection. It’s the fastest lens I own and seemed a bit extravagant, but I need it for low light event work when even 1.8 struggles and I don’t like raising the ISO too high. It seemed like a good opportunity to test all of my RF lenses on a tripod to compare sharpness in Lightroom.
My current lens collection includes a mix of non-L and L glass: RF 24 1.8 Macro, RF 35 1.8 Macro, RF 50 1.4 L VCM, RF 85 f2 Macro, RF 100 2.8 L Macro, and RF 70-200 f4 L.
What surprised me is just how sharp all of this glass is, even the budget primes. I could not tell a difference between the 35 1.8 and 50 1.4 when compensated for distance to subject due to different focal lengths, at least when stopped down to 2.8. They are both tack sharp and the difference is imperceptible. The same could be said for the 70-200 f4 at 70mm compared to the 50 VCM. And the 85 f2 vs. the 100 f2.8.
I honestly think there’s no justification of buying L lenses for image quality alone. If you are shooting in low light, or shooting moving subjects, and have a particular need for f1.4 or f1.2, or need specialist features for a particular purpose like weather sealing or macro, then obviously you need the right tool for the job. The extra stops of light gathering of faster primes will be useful for low light as you will have less noise and cleaner photos, and they might be a tiny bit sharper when wide open, but stopped down there is no difference. And that’s pixel peeping on a MacBook screen at 100%.
I was tempted to get the RF 35 F1.4 VCM as well but I don’t think I’ll bother. The 1.8 is that good.
Just my thoughts.
I need some buying advice please.
Stills photographer here and shoot a range of landscape, event photography, macro and portrait.
I’m in the market for a new 50mm lens as I am missing that gap in my focal length range, but also open to upgrading one of the lenses I have to something a bit sharper and faster. I should say I shoot with a Canon R8 (doesn’t have IBIS).
My current lens collection includes the RF 24 & 35 f1.8 Macro, RF 85 f2 Macro, RF 100 f2.8 L Macro and RF 70-200 f4 L. I generally prefer primes as I need minimum f1.8 for festivals and events.
I there’s some great deals on new RF 35 and 50 1.4 VCM lenses at the moment in the UK, so my choice is probably between one of these two.
I have no complaints about my 35 f1.8 Macro - it’s a really sharp lens and has IS. But the 1.4 version would be great for event photography in low light and is probably even sharper. However, I would loose the IS (I would have to sell it).
The other option is the 50 VCM, which would fill the gap between my 35mm prime and the 70-200. I feel like an expensive prime at the classic portrait focal length would be quite special, whereas with the 35, if I’m shooting landscapes I’m probably stopping down to f8-f11 anyway and f1.8 is still pretty nice for environmental portraits. 35mm is also probably better for video - although I’m more a stills photographer.
Would appreciate any advice.
I’m going to a festival soon and want to do some videography. I’m mostly a stills photographer but getting more into event photography and videography. I need a gimbal to smooth things out as my previous experience of shooting concerts handheld at 4K 60 FPS ends up looking very juddery.
I’ll be shooting with my R8 and RF 35 1.4 VCM. Will the DJI RS 3 Mini handle that combination?
Just ordered a 35 1.4 VCM as I managed to pick one up new for less than for £1300. I have been using the excellent 1.8 STM version for my R8 and it’s my most used focal length, along with my beloved RF 85 f2.
Has anyone used this lens for astrophotography? I know 24mm is the preferred focal length for astrophotography, but I would get a lot more use out of the 35mm for general video and stills, so couldn’t justify the 24 VCM. I have been using the 24 1.8 STM for Astro until now, but that lens suffers from bad coma.
Also, will lack of IBIS be an issue for me for general photography when not using a tripod?