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| Images: pexar, SmallRig, Nikon |
Welcome to this week’s accessory roundup. If we’re being honest, it’s been a bit of a dry one out there for accessory news; manufacturers have likely been busy getting ready for the upcoming Amazon Prime Day event that starts on October 8th, and the busy sales season that’ll follow the month after. However, we’ve dug deep and found some accessory news for you. Before we get to that though, let’s go back to talking deals for list a moment…
OM Cameras on sale
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The OM-5, OM System’s compact Micro Four Third camera, is currently on sale for $1,000, $200 off its MSRP. When we reviewed it, we appreciated its capable stabilization, size, and weather sealing. While it certainly has some drawbacks like using microUSB instead of USB-C and the company’s older menu system, the less expensive price takes the sting out of those a bit.
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The company’s high-end camera, the OM-1 II, is also $400 off, bringing its price to right under $2,000, body-only.
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Taking a slight – okay, massive – step up in size, weight, and price, the Nikon Z8 is also $400 off. It’s one of the most powerful full-frame cameras we’ve reviewed to date, and won our Gold award last year.
Frame It
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It’s easy to understand where the name comes from, but Lexar better hope that a certain animation studio isn’t feeling particularly litigious. Image: Lexar |
Lexar, a brand probably best known for its memory cards and readers, has launched a new sub-brand to sell digital photo frames called ‘pexar.’ The announcement was made at IFA last month, but it flew under the radar for a bit until sites like Digital Camera World and PetaPixel picked up on it.
The first pexar-branded product is a 28 cm (11″) digital picture frame with a 2000 x 1200 touchscreen display that can go up to 400 nits of brightness, 32GB of built-in storage, a magnetic stand that lets you use it in portrait and landscape, and an anti-glare display. It also has an SD card slot and a USB-A port to let you expand how many pictures it can hold, but the company says you should be able to fit “over 40,000” images on it before you need to do that.
There’s also an app that lets “up to 512 users” connect to the frame and upload images or videos to it. This could be useful for those giving it as a gift to a family member or friend and who want to keep it updated with recent photos, or someone who wants to use it as a way to display their own photography without having to do prints.
At $160, it’s certainly positioned as a premium product, though it’s also not the most expensive option in the category. It also has a higher resolution than The Wirecutter‘s pick for a 38cm (15″) digital photo frame. The company also says that a smaller 25.7cm (10.1″) version is in the works and will launch sometime this month.
Lights, camera, action
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| Image: SmallRig |
Chip-on-board lights, or COB lights, have become popular tools for both photographers and videographers looking for a continuous light source. Recently, both SmallRig and Lume Cube announced portable COB lights, which could be handy if you find yourself needing a fill light. Both lights can be remotely operated with an app.
As its name implies, the SmallRig RC 100B is a 100W-class light. It uses bi-color LEDs, so you can have it output light at 2700-6500K. There are two different RC 100B kits; the first is the “mobile” version which mounts to a handle and includes an adapter plate that lets you use two NP-F batteries instead of the V-mount ones the light natively takes. The standard version, meanwhile, includes a light stand adapter and USB-C cable for power. Both versions also have a mini XLR input for DC power.
The mobile version retails for $199, and the standard one is $229.
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| Image: LumeCube |
The Lume Cube XL puts out less light – it’s only a 60W-class source – but adds RGB capabilities that let you output in different colors. Like the SmallRig light, it includes a reflector, and can accept power input via USB-C. It doesn’t include a built-in battery mount, though you can buy a battery handle separately, but does come with a power adapter that lets you plug it into the wall.
The Lume Cube XL is available for $249.
A trip to the museum
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| Photo: Nikon |
This one is less of an accessory and more of a place you can go to see a ton of camera gear. Nikon has announced that it’ll reopen its museum on October 12, after closing it while relocating its headquarters. There, you’ll be able to see around “1,300 products and technologies” from Nikon’s camera, lens, binocular, and industrial businesses. Perhaps most excitingly, the consumer section has a “touch and try” section, though the company’s map doesn’t have much detail on what types of products you’ll be able to get your hands on.
Admission to the museum is free, but you’ll obviously have to physically be in Tokyo if you want to visit.
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| Image: Nikon |
If you do want to buy something, the museum has a gift shop that sells “15 types of acrylic keychain” that depict cameras and lenses, which are quite adorable and only 500 yen (around $3.40 US at time of writing).
Click to see last week’s accessory roundup
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