The X100VI isn’t some washed-up spiritual successor intent on riding on the X100V’s coat-tails. Okay, it is — but that’s not its whole schtick. Fuji’s gone to great lengths to make this an upgrade worth having, even if the bumped-up price is a little harder to swallow. It’s wearing a $1,600 price tag in the US — up $200 from the original. That’ll translate to R34,000 when it lands in South Africa in March.

Expensive, not expansive

We can’t blame Fuji for holding onto a nearly identical design where the X100VI is concerned. Part of the original’s appeal was its small stature — and why mess with a good thing? The hybrid viewfinder has stuck around, holding onto the same OLED display and simple switching abilities we saw last time ’round.

That isn’t to say it’s all recycled content. It’ll weigh around 43g more than its older sibling and adds 2mm of depth to the main body. The grip has been “fine-tuned” for a more comfortable hold, and it’s had its back buttons rearranged to get out of your right hand’s way. Small changes, sure, but it allowed the brunt of the budget to go somewhere more important — internals.

The camera of my eye

If you’re unfamiliar with the X100 series, it and the original are mirrorless digital cameras at heart. Where the X100VI trumps the original is in the inclusion of Fuji’s latest 40.2-megapixel X-Trans CMOS 5 HR sensor and X-Processor 5 engine keeping it all running. It’s also managed to somehow shove in 5-axis in-body image stabilization (IBIS) functionality — all without compromising on that so-portable chassis.

Couple those upgrades with the 23mm f/2 fixed lens and six stops of stabilization from the IBIS functionality, and you’ve got a camera that’s far more capable of stepping into more real-world situations and environments and performing well. It’s a whole lot faster than the original, too, thanks to the X-Processor 5 engine and will spew out images at a higher resolution with the new 40.2-megapixel sensor.

It’s also upped its video-shooting powers, now entering into 6.2K/30P territory, up from the older model’s 4K capabilities. Oh, and because it’s 2024, Fuji’s employed “deep learning AI technology to detect and keep focus locked on continuously moving subjects, such as animals, birds, cars, motorcycles, aeroplanes, insects and drones.”

It’s all let down slightly by rocking the same UHS-1 SD card slot and battery featured in the X100V. We get it — size restraints and all — but we’d have liked the option to get a full day of photography without a nearby wall socket. If you’ve got the funds, a spare battery wouldn’t go amiss.

Okay, Google, your time is up. After spending years as Android’s default subordinate, Google Assistant is heading for the door. We’re not revealing any sudden prejudices against the search giant’s efforts, but rather making some room for a newcomer to the party: ChatGPT. OpenAI’s entry might already be available as a standalone app across Android and iOS, but its abilities when it comes to phone functionality are limited.

That’ll be changing soon, if the folks over at Android Authority are correct in thinking that OpenAI is currently working on functionality that’ll let Android users swap Google Assistant out for something a little smarter. In the ChatGPT Android app — version 1.2023.352 — it saw the addition of a new activity going by the name “com.openai.voice.assistant.AssistantActivity”. It’s automatically disabled, but turn it on, and it’ll activate the same sort of overlay that turns up when activating your default assistant from any screen.

Launching the feature won’t net any results before it closes and hides its true nature. That, and a new XML file added in the latest version of the app named “assistant_interaction_service” and a whole host of other too-codey names we won’t list here, all implying some half-baked feature that’s still in the throes of development. That’s fine. We can wait.

We just… won’t be waiting very long. OpenAI isn’t the first to be struck with the idea of turning its AI into an assistant, and it won’t be the last. There’s no official word on when we can expect the feature to land, but we’re guessing it’ll be before the likes of Google and Microsoft’s entries — especially considering the former’s announcement of Assistant with Bard back in October 2023.

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Copilot is all keyed up

If the unceasing news surrounding Microsoft’s foray into generative AI wasn’t a big enough clue, the company is more than eager to get a move on artificial intelligence. Not only did Copilot — previously known as Bing Chat — just hit Android and Apple’s respective app stores, but the generative AI is getting its very own landmark on future Windows PCs.

Specifically, it’s getting a custom Copilot key, right alongside the Alt and Arrow key if the promotional video is anything to go by. Rather than allowing users the chance to try out Copilot for themselves, Microsoft is going the U2 route, shoving tech that might’ve otherwise been ignored down our throats from the get-go.

Microsoft announced the change in a blog post yesterday, noting that the key would be introduced later this year, and will be “ushering in a significant shift toward a more personal and intelligent computing future where AI will be seamlessly woven into Windows from the system, to the silicon, to the hardware,” before noting that the new addition is one of the more significant departures made to the keyboard in over thirty years.

Dell’s incoming line-up of XPS laptops will be the first to get the new key — which can be found standing in the shoes of the right-hand-side CRTL key, lodged in between the Alt and arrow keys. It feels like an all-too-calculated change that was designed to confuse users and garner the company an onslaught of clicks for the quarterly earnings.

Enter the Xbox Series S… toaster?

Xbox isn’t the most serious of companies in the gaming space. Where other companies like PlayStation prefer to adhere to strict design guidelines (to the PS5’s detriment), Xbox likes to have a little fun. A little over two months ago, it was raffling off a glorious Diablo IV-themed Series X that we’d probably do some less-than-savoury acts to get in our hands. That’s not even mentioning the million or so other themed consoles, controllers, fridges, and now, toasters.

Yes, you read that correctly. Toasters. Xbox — the company that just spent $80 billion on a game company — is selling toasters. Ones that look like the company’s Xbox Series S console and will even imprint the iconic logo onto whichever piece of bread gets the honour of sitting in the Series S toaster. There’s just one problem: it’s a Walmart exclusive. Even if you could perform some wizardry to get it across the border, it’s sold out everywhere.

If a toaster and fridge aren’t enough to complete your home’s makeover, the appliance’s release is reportedly part of a collection of Xbox-branded items including noodle bowls, mouse pads, pen holders, and storage boxes. When and where these will be hitting shelves, we can’t say.

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NASA’s next mission involves sending your name to the Moon (really)

If you aren’t already involved in NASA’s inner workings, there’s a good chance you won’t be included in the company’s VIPER mission — which will send out the agency’s first-ever robotic moon rover. Unless you’re one of the few to get their names aboard the rocket ship, that is. Newbies to NASA might not know that it’s grown fond of attaching the names of interested youths (and 23-year-old journalists) before blasting those rockets up to space.

The VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) mission will be the next to take a list of names with it, as it attempts to scour the Moon’s South Pole in search of water ice. The VIPER robot can measure the location and concentration of water ice, with successful scouting promising to alter how we carry out long-term space missions in the future.

“VIPER represents the first resource mapping mission on another celestial body and will deepen our understanding of how frozen water and other volatiles are distributed on the moon, their cosmic origin, and what has kept them preserved in the lunar soil for billions of years,” NASA said.

As for getting your name on board, the process is as simple as heading to this here webpage, entering your name and a PIN code that’ll give you access to a ‘boarding pass’ that’ll be needed ahead of the official launch, currently pencilled in for November 2024. So far, around 13,000 people have signed up for the project.

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That isn’t to say that you shouldn’t record absolutely stunning memories to be shared with your online circle. But this festive season, it’s worth waiting until the moment’s truly done before sending it out into the world. The easiest way to do that is to record the marvelousness that is festive joy the way humans have done for nearly two hundred years – using a regular camera. A Canon camera, obviously.

#CanonReConnects you to what matters

Everyone is familiar with the one person who views every event through a smartphone screen. You encounter them at concerts and plays, at family and work get-togethers, or just out roaming the world in general. They see everything, they’ve got proof that they were there, but they’re never really present for anything or anyone. These folks trade the experience for the memory and don’t get to enjoy either. Putting down the smartphone and taking up a camera is the answer.

That’s what Canon believes and it’s the basis behind a giveaway the brand has launched. All prospective participants must do is share their own #CanonReConnects moment on social media (well after the event, obviously – let’s not be hypocritical). The prize? A Canon camera of their very own, to do with as they will but cataloguing the moments that define life in sharp detail seems like an ideal use-case.

Sharing the moments that you’re grateful you were present for is only part of the equation. Interacting with one of Canon’s list of influencers, each of which will be sharing their own #CanonReconnects moments online, and using the hashtag for your own post in their replies, will guarantee entry for the company’s prize draw.

At the end of it all, all participants will have spent more time with the people they love and admire most in the world. That’s the spirit of the festive season and it’s the spirit that Canon is trying to bring into this world this December.

Whether these gifts are headed to a video vamp, a photo phenom, or just a general social media wannabe’s tree, you’ll find that everything is a confirmed hit. No, really, everything. That may account for some of the larger price tags but nobody said that pursuing photography and its close colleagues was an affordable hobby. Come on, guys.

If you don’t find anything to your liking in here, mosey on over to the Dec23/Jan24 issue of Stuff, where we’ve got this same category with a bunch of different kit. If you can’t settle on a present after that, unfortunately we’ve run out of ways to help you.

Gift Guide 2023 – Photography Edition

Lenspen NLPK-1 Cleaning Kit 

Everybody has camera lenses (somewhere) but not everybody cleans them the way that they should. Let’s put it this way. A somewhat clean shirt probably isn’t going to cut it. There’s a reason this gift guide opens with a relatively simple cleaning solution from Lenspen. A retractable brush, a blower, a dense microfibre cloth, and the patented ‘pen’ portion keep camera lenses free from specks of dirt and dust. Your intended recipient should probably also stop eating pasta next to their camera bag but this little add-on will minimise the damage that’s possible from a bowl of alfredo.

R500 | ormsdirect.co.za

Joby GorillaPod 5K tripod 

It just wouldn’t be a photographic Christmas without one of Joby’s Gorillapods under the tree. The second-best thing about it is that the legs can be configured into as confusing a shape as possible before you wrap the thing. The best thing about it is that you can mount a photographic device — camera, smartphone, action cam — in an unlikely spot and get some genuinely interesting angles of a given subject. And that’s what this gift guide is all about — looking at things in a different light.

R2,160 | outdoorphoto.co.za

Samsung T4 Shield 

Media files, even if you’re snapping pictures (“going in RAW”, we believe it’s called), can be massive. Massive files require massive storage. And since large files take ages to copy, an SSD with a little more speed than most is a must. The T4 Shield from Samsung is certainly cocky enough, claiming to be nearly ten times faster than other external HDDs. We’re not going to dig into that number, since there’s a lab and graphs involved, but the T4 is undeniably speedy. That’s what counts when whipping out several impressive gigabytes of uncompressed files to work on while they sit alone in front of a computer.

from R4,250 (2TB) | samsung.co.za

Pelican Memory Card Case 

Any photographic type knows exactly why a Pelican case costs what it does. They might have something for that R100,000 camera but we doubt they’ve given the same consideration to the collection of SD and microSD cards rattling around their satchel. As per this gift guide, correct that oversight with the Pelican Memory Card Case. It’s a slim plastic protector that’ll keep those precious memories stored (and organised) until they get back to the laptop and the real work begins.

R1,000 | ormsdirect.co.za

DJI Osmo Mobile 6

No matter how lightly a creative type packs, there’s always going to be that one person at an event rocking little more than a lavalier microphone and a smartphone on a gimbal. Don’t let your friends envy that person. Let them be that person. The DJI Osmo Mobile 6 requires that a high-end smartphone is slotted in but once it’s in, balanced, and synced with the gimbal, it’s possible to capture and track targets, zoom, tilt, and pan with a single hand. What they’re doing with the other hand probably has something to do with something long and cylindrical. You know, a microphone.

R3,300 | istore.co.za

Rode Wireless Go II 

Microphones don’t have to be wired and complicated. The Rode Wireless Go II, as the name suggests, is a wireless microphone system that’ll capture and transmit your audio with ideal clarity (provided you remember to switch the blasted thing on). Since your mate — you know, the person you’re reading this gift guide for — knows their way around audio-visual content creation, we’re sure that’s not going to be a problem.

R7,150 | takealot.com

GoPro Hero12 Black Creator Edition 

What do you give the creator who has everything? You give it to them all over again, of course. GoPro’s Hero12 Black is an excellent action cam in its own right. The Creator Edition comes with enough extra bits to turn it into a portable vlogging studio. The Volta Battery Grip folds out into a serviceable tripod, there are flash and microphone attachments for the included housing, and there’s also one of GoPro’s Enduro batteries so they never miss a moment of what we’re sure is entirely captivating footage.

R16,000 | sportsmanswarehouse.co.za

Manfrotto Compact Advanced Tripod

Photography is hard enough when you have to lug around bags, cameras, and batteries. Why complicate matters by adding an overly heavy tripod into the mix? This Manfrotto effort weighs just 1.4kg, supports up to 3kg, and tucks away neatly when not in use. That goes for everything — the five-segment legs and the three-way pan and lilt head, which also folds down when they’re finished being arty with those expensive snappers they’re so proud of.

R2,200 | cameratek.co.za

We all have someone we wish we could reconnect with – be it a family member, an old high school friend, a neighbour, or a colleague. The festive season often deepens this longing. Instead of increasing screen time and settling for online interactions, why not truly engage with the people who matter most during the holidays?

As festive celebrations draw near, the anticipation of creating new, cherishable memories grows. This year, consider a unique gift for someone you’ve lost touch with: a camera. Just a camera. It’s more than a gift; it’s an invitation to engage, to show interest, and to forge a closer bond. Encourage them to set aside their smartphone and capture those spontaneous, heartfelt moments with a camera.

Bringing loved ones closer with #CanonReConnects

As the leading provider of high-quality DSLR and mirrorless cameras, Canon encourages people to capture special memories with loved ones this festive season. Whether it’s with cousins, neighbours, or community heroes, Canon encourages you to build genuine connections in person, making everyone in your life feel more connected and captivated.

The best part? You can win your very own Canon camera!

Here’s how:

1. Capture your festive moments and share them on Instagram using the hashtag #CanonReConnects.
2. Engage with content from Canon’s handpicked influencers:
   • Paula Bee
   • Kierran Allen
   • Zizi Moloko

Remember to tag your favourite Canon content creator and use the #CanonReConnects hashtag in your posts.

It’s more than just a competition; it’s an opportunity to give the gift of reconnection and preserve those irreplaceable festive memories.

Massive sensor, but also fast

To start, the GFX100 II features the newly-developed GFX 102MP CMOS II HS high-speed image sensor. It’s important to remember that at 43.8mm x 32.9mm in size, this sensor is approximately 1.7 times larger than a regular 35mm full-frame sensor – with image quality that needs to be experienced to be believed.

Powering this beast is the high-speed X-Processor 5 image processing engine, which in combination with the sensor, doubles the signal readout speed compared to 2021’s GFX100S.

If you thought that large format cameras are slow, think again. Thanks to this improved signal readout speed, the GFX100 II is capable of continuous shooting of up to 8.0 frames per second, up from 5.0 fps on the previous GFX model. With a reinforced buffer memory, it now opens the GFX Series up to sports photographers looking for only the best image quality.

Taking this performance one step further, the GFX100 II is also the first GFX Series camera that features Fujifilm’s AI-based subject-detection AF, developed with Deep Learning technology. The use of an improved algorithm has evolved not only Face/Eye AF but now allows photographers to automatically track animals, birds, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, aeroplanes, trains, insects, and drones.

Videographers take note

On the videography side, the GFX100 II supports 8K/30P video recording, plus it can also record 4K/60P 4:2:2 10-bit video internally and features F-Log2, broadening post-production flexibility. This range of video features allows videographers to explore completely new avenues due to the possibilities of the large format sensor of the GFX100 II.

The camera is further equipped with the best Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) on a Fujifilm camera yet – a high-magnification and high-definition 9.44-million-dot EVF with 1.0x magnification. It boasts a smooth refresh frame rate of approx. 120fps in Boost Mode to accurately identify a subject’s fast movements. Alternatively, the 3.2-inch Tilt-Type touchscreen monitor at the back can be used, consisting of approx. 2.36 million dots.

This while low light performance has improved thanks to the five-axis In-Body Image Stabilization (IBIS), now set to an impressive eight-stops – more than any other camera in the complete Fujifilm lineup.

For those looking for even larger images, GFX users can use the Pixel Shift Multi-Shot function. This controls the IBIS mechanism to shift the image sensor by 0.5 pixels at a time and shoot 16 RAW images in quick succession, with the dedicated software combining these to generate a mouth-watering 400MP image.

Price and local availability

The Fujifilm GFX100 II large format mirrorless camera, with its improved speed, AF, and video capabilities, is available from photographic shops nationwide, with a suggested retail price of R159 999 incl. VAT.

To borrow a phrase, the Samsung Galaxy NX was ‘business in front, party in the back’. To the untrained eye, it looked like any other mid-range camera. You could mount lenses, prod a button to take a snap, and revel in the large (for the time) 20MP sensor. But spin the thing around and you were bathed in the glow of a 4.8in touchscreen. And that existed because this was the world’s first mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera to run Android. You know, the phone OS.

Android on a camera, in 2013! Bloody hell! Could you play Angry Birds on it, then?

Indeed. In fact, since the Galaxy NX had the clout of a pretty good Android tablet, it could go a lot further. You could even tackle a few tracks of Asphalt 8: Airborne, although you’d feel like a massive idiot while doing so… and would need to plug in headphones, as the piddly speaker only played system sounds. Add a SIM and you could make Skype calls too. But sensible types would use Android and wireless connectivity for on-device editing and flinging snaps to social networks and cloud storage, directly from the camera.

Sounds amazing. Or terrible. Or possibly both. It’s… going to be both, isn’t it?

You could write a pros and cons list as long as your arm for the Galaxy NX if you could find a big enough strip of paper. It was solid, with a great screen, and could capture good JPEGs. But RAW support was poor, and Android compromised the experience, making the unit slow. Pros reckoned it wasn’t camera-y enough; normal people had a heart attack on seeing the price: from R18,000, which back then could net you an Android smartphone and a quality digital camera. All in all, then, not the prettiest picture. It was gone by 2017.

Insta360 GO3: A tiny mighty action camera

Let’s start our adventure with the pocket-sized marvel, the Insta360 GO3. This little dynamo is all about spontaneity, ease, and insane angles. Whether you’re skateboarding through the bustling streets of Tokyo or hiking up Mount Kilimanjaro, the GO3 is your ideal thumb-sized travel buddy. Let’s unpack the GO3 first:

1. Sharp and Clear: The Insta360 GO3 lets you relive your experiences in up to 2.7k resolution at 30FPS, it records up to 45 minutes in 1080p at 30FPS. Its single wide-angle lens, magnetic back, and innovative action pod with a 2.2” preview touchscreen allow you to capture every detail, ensuring your travel memories are as crisp as the moment they happened.
2. Snap with Style: With a 3.7MP photo resolution, this tiny titan packs a punch in the photo department too. Instantly turn your adventures into shareable snapshots with added shooting modes such as HDR photo, timelapse, and interval which takes photos at specific intervals.
3. Adventure-Ready: With three mounting accessories included in the box, the GO3 is always up for the challenge. The standard box includes a magnetic pendant for those POV shots, an easy clip for caps, and a pivot stand to place the GO3 on any surface.
4. Your Adventure, Your Way: The GO3’s portability, voice control capabilities, internal storage, and hands-free operation make it an ideal choice for on-the-go adventures. Plus, with waterproof capabilities of up to 5 meters, this camera is as spontaneous as you are.

Insta360 X3: The 360-degree Maestro

Now, let’s dive into the immersive Insta360 X3. If you’re all about capturing every angle and creating jaw-dropping 360-degree videos, this camera is your ticket to a new version of storytelling. This is what we love about the Insta360 X3:

1. Visual Brilliance: The X3 boasts an impressive 5.7k resolution at 30FPS, delivering crystal-clear footage that’s perfect for reliving your most epic moments. And even in single-lens mode, it maintains a stunning 4k resolution at 30FPS.
2. Megapixels Galore: With a mind-blowing 72MP resolution in 360 mode (yes, you read that right!), the X3 lets you capture 360 images with incredible detail and clarity.
3. Extended Recording: Enjoy an epic 81 minutes of recording time under 5.7K at 30FPS, and 1-hour battery life on a full charge so you never miss a second of the action.
4. Dive deeper: With a new waterproof rating extending to 10 meters, the X3 is your ultimate underwater companion. Its dual-lens setup ensures you capture every angle in breathtaking detail, making those underwater adventures truly unforgettable. Pair the X3 with the new X3 Invisible Dive kit and invisible selfie stick for unobstructed, crystal-clear 360-degree underwater footage. With IPX8 waterproofing down to a staggering 50 meters, the deep blue becomes your canvas.

So, which Insta360 action camera suits your style?

If you’re all about portability, and creative videography and you are looking for the freedom to shoot from any angle, the Insta360 GO3 is your perfect sidekick. But if you crave the power to capture your entire world in stunning 360-degree, and you’re ready to dive deep into the heart of adventure, the Insta360 X3 is your ultimate companion.

Your journey, your choice—Insta360 has you covered, no matter where your wanderlust takes you. Strap in, gear up, and let the adventure begin! Visit www.180by2.co.za, the best place to find 360 action cameras and VR technology in South Africa.

OpenAI, the company behind the wildly successful ChatGPT large language model (LLM), has announced DALL-E 3, a much-improved text-to-image AI generator that’s supposedly safer, smarter, and can leverage ChatGPT to create prompts on the fly.

DALL-E 2 is still one of the more sophisticated generative AI platforms out there, and even then, it gets things wrong – ignoring specific prompts or just making things look plain weird. OpenAI reckons those issues will be far less prominent, with DALL-E 3 being more understanding of situational context.

Aside from understanding user prompts better, DALL-E 3’s coolest addition is probably its ability to pair up with ChatGPT. Rather than waste valuable time thinking up a semi-legible prompt, just have ChatGPT do it for you. You’ll still need to think up the general idea, but ChatGPT will turn that idea into a longer-form paragraph, giving DALL-E more to work with, thus creating better results.

You won’t be able to fiddle with DALL-E 3 just yet. Only ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise users will get the chance to poke around DALL-E’s innards in October, with a later release planned for research labs and the OpenAI’s API service sometime before Spring’s end. OpenAI is being rather coy about a public rollout and didn’t commit to a release window.

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Even Uber Eats is jumping on the AI bandwagon

Uber Eats has confirmed that it’s bringing AI into its food-delivery app because of course it is. This is 2023, after all. It’s called a bandwagon for a reason. Uber’s gone down the ‘AI assistant’ route here, though South Africans might have to wait their turn before getting to experiment with the artificial intelligence, with the feature first hitting the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK.

The AI assistant, which is powered by Google’s PaLM 2 LLM, is about as safe as an AI model can get. It’s got about as much functionality as Samsung’s Bixby did back in 2019, with the whole idea being to ask the chatbot for help finding restaurants or specific food items nearby while taking other contexts into consideration.

Want curry for under R100, and to be delivered in under 30 minutes? Uber’s assistant will try its best to help you out, answering in a somewhat human-like way to feign sophistication. Uber reckons that discussing your potential food order with a machine will cut down on scrolling through the app aimlessly in search of what to eat for lunch that day. It’s possible we’re being slightly too cynical, not having tested the AI assistant for ourselves. But unlikely. If TechCrunch’s demo is anything to go by, it looks like we are right.

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Internet is restored!

Léon Thévenin, the cable-laying ship responsible for repairing three broken subsea cables, has finally completed work on the Sat-3 cable, after previously repairing the Ace and Wacs cables earlier this month, according to Telkom subsidiary, Openserve (via TechCentral).

“Openserve is pleased that the restoration on the Sat-3 undersea cable, which experienced a break recently, has been completed. The completion of this work is good news for internet users as this means that there is more available capacity and improved network resiliency,” the company said.

It’s not yet confirmed what caused the three undersea cables to fall into disrepair, though many believe that a rockfall off the coast of the Democratic Republic of Congo was responsible for the damages. Whatever the case, with the repairs complete, South Africa should no longer be suffering poor internet speeds and connections. If you’re still having issues… you might want to take that up with your ISP.

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You’ve got a Pal in me, Instax

Here at Stuff, we’re fans of Instax. The company’s Mini 12 film camera was the most recent product to capture our hearts (and ugly mugs). Now, the company is moving towards a more kid-friendly line-up, with the Instax Pal being the first to enter your child’s sticky hands once it launches in October for $200.

The Pal is tiny. Like, really tiny. So tiny that it’ll fit into the palm of your hand and doesn’t feature a built-in viewfinder or any sort of printing functionality. That’s a job for the included Instax Mini Link 2 printer, which talks to the Pal through a companion app. For a device that’s supposedly geared toward kids, Instax is making the process rather more complicated than it needs to be.

It starts to make a little more sense once you get a look at what a ten-pack of Instax film costs. The digital printer’s inclusion allows for more trial and error, meaning kids won’t be burning through a ten-pack every couple of minutes. The Mini Link 2 also allows for filters, stickers, and custom-shutter sounds – all features in other words that’ll be most appreciated by someone on the younger side.

Even so, $200 is a lot of money. Local pricing and availability for the Pal is yet to be confirmed, though we’re bracing ourselves for a R4,000+ price point, accounting for the Mini Link 2’s R2,000 price.

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Fujifilm’s GFX line-up of large-format cameras has a new top dog. The GFX100 II not only has a whopping 102MP sensor but also promises better shooting speed, auto-focus (AF) performance, and video quality.

The new flagship camera uses its newly developed GFX 102MP CMOS II HS high-speed image sensor consisting of 102 million pixels. The sensor is 43.8mm x 32.9mm – or about 1.7 times bigger than a 35mm full-frame sensor.

Obviously mirrorless, and therefore already more compact, the GFX100 II has Fuji’s high-speed X-Processor 5 image processing engine. This is double what the previous model, the Fujifilm GFX100S from 2021, provided in signal readout speed. This enables it to continuously shoot up to 8 frames per second, up from 5.0 fps.

How do you like your shots, moving or still?

Its video recording has also gotten a boost. This is the first GFX model that supports 8K/30 video recording. It can also record 4K/60 4:2:2 10-bit video internally and features F-Log2 – which is helpful in post-production.

The electronic viewfinder (EVF and thankfully not another EV acronym to confuse electric vehicle lovers) is the best yet on a Fujifilm camera and has a refresh rate of about 120fps in the camera’s boost mode. There’s also the useful 3.2in Tilt-Type touchscreen monitor at the back, which can, you guessed it, still be tilted.

Like everything else in the world right now, artificial intelligence (AI) is finding a bigger role. The GFX100 II features Fujifilm’s AI-based subject-detection AF. You’ll get face or eye autofocus (AF) but it also automatically tracks animals, birds, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, aeroplanes, trains, insects, and drones.

If the large-format sensor isn’t big enough for you, you can use its Pixel Shift Multi-Shot function. This lets you shoot 16 RAW images in quick succession, which its software will combine into a 400MP image.

The Fujifilm GFX100 II goes on sale in South Africa in October 2023 for R160,000.

GFX100 II with a side of lenses

Fujifilm is also launching three new lenses in its GFX lineup. There are two new tilt-shift lenses, the Fujinon GF30mmF5.6 T/S and the Fujinon GF110mmF5.6 T/S Macro, which are ideal for architecture, landscape and commercial photography. They retail for R80,000 and R70,000 respectively.

The Fujinon GF55mmF1.7 R WR lens offers better bokeh effects and will retail for R45,000.

Stuff has long been a fan of Fujifilm cameras, so we’re looking forward to reviewing this when it lands next month.