We’ve made it to another weekend, which means another edition of our accessory roundup. Today, we’ll be looking at a few lights, some Leica gear, and some rugged accessories, but first, as always, let’s check out what’s on sale.

Sony Sales

Photo: Richard Butler

The Sony a7R V, a camera with a whopping 61MP sensor that makes it great for landscape or product photography, is currently on sale for $400 off its MSRP.

Photo: Richard Butler

If you don’t need that much resolution, the a7 IV is also on sale for $300 off its MSRP. It’s an older model that doesn’t include some of Sony’s latest tech and refinements, but it’s still a capable stills camera.

Tough travel backpacks

Image: Pelican

Pelican is well known for its ultra-rugged hard cases, but the company has recently started making soft goods as well. The Trvl Aegis collection includes several types of bags, including backpacks, slings, duffel bags and rolling bags; some of them feature a “hybrid” construction, which Pelican says provides the “quality construction and protection of a hard case with the versatility of a soft case.”

Aegis backpack

Buy at Amazon

Buy at B&H

Aegis rolling duffel

Buy at Amazon

Buy at B&H

The hybrid packs come in various shapes and sizes, so you’ve got options no matter how light or heavy you pack. If you want a bit more protection, the company has also introduced a new line of hard-sided luggage cases, which it calls Trvl ATX. They don’t seem quite as burly as the company’s classic Air cases but feature creature comforts such as 360-degree spinner wheels, compression straps, and dividing pockets.

The ATX series sits between the Aegis hybrid bags and the standard Pelican Air cases when it comes to durability. Image: Pelican

Pelican ATX

Buy at B&H

The company has also introduced a variety of accessory “Modpaks” that let you add organization to your Trvl bags in the form of toiletry bags, extra pouches, and packing cubes.

Leica’s birthday

The $625, limited edition teddy bears appear to have sold out, but there’s plenty more Leica 100 gear available. Image: Leica

Leica is celebrating its 100th year of business this year, and part of the “100 Years of Leica” event is selling a variety of products meant to mark the occasion. Perhaps the most notable are the teddy bears – there were two limited-edition models that have already sold out, designed to look like important members of the Leitz family, as well as a more standard bear holding a plush Leica.

The bear, as well as a variety of other Leica 100 products such as a leather bracelet, magnifier, “100”-emblazoned hotshoe cover and even cufflinks, won’t be available until May. However, there are a few knickknacks currently listed for sale in Leica’s online store: a set of color pencils that comes with a cut-out paper M camera that you can color however you want, a pin, and a 3D wood puzzle. The latter two are sold out but aren’t listed as limited edition, so there’s a possibility there’ll be a restock.

A colorful spotlight

Image: Nanlite

Nanlite’s new COB light acts as an upgrade to its bi-color FC-120B spotlight. The FC-120C has many of the same features, such as the ability to accept USB-C power, Bluetooth app control, and dimming, but it swaps out the LEDs for ones capable of putting out full RGB color.

While this does come with a brightness penalty – the bi-color version can put out 17,450 lux when paired with the included 45° reflector, while the RGB version can only do 12,850 lux – it obviously gives you more options when it comes to what color you want to light a scene with.

The FC-120C uses a proprietary FM mount for light modifiers but comes with an adapter that lets you use accessories made for the industry-standard Bowens mount.

$295 at Amazon

$295 at B&H

Ultra-fast, ultra-rugged

Photo: LaCie

LaCie, a Seagate-owned brand known for its rugged portable drives, has released a new rubber-coated SSD that’s meant to withstand drops, dust, water, and even, according to the company, “pressure from a 2-ton vehicle.” Appropriately named the Rugged SSD Pro5, it has an IP68 rating and comes in 2 and 4TB variations.

While the Pro5 is undeniably tough, it doesn’t come at the cost of performance. The company says you can expect read speeds of up to 6700 MBps and write speeds of up to 5300 MBps and that you should have no issues editing 8K footage stored on the drive. Part of that is thanks to its Thunderbolt 5 interface, which allows for speeds up to 10,000 MBps. If you don’t have one of the few computers with Thunderbolt 5 ports, it can be used with USB and Thunderbolt 4, though even the latter won’t be capable of hitting those peak speeds.

Buy at B&H

A splash of color

Image: SmallRig

We’ve covered quite a few SmallRig video lights in the accessory roundup, but none as small and portable as the RF 10C. It’s a 10W light that’s around the size of a flashlight, that the company pitches as being perfect for “backlighting and background light for smartphone video shooting.” It can cast light in four colors, depending on what your scene calls for: “sunset orange,” blue, white and red.

The RF 10C has a built-in battery, rechargeable by USB-C, and comes with 20 gobos that let you cast light in the shape of a heart, window, semi-circle, and more. The light has two standard 1/4″-20 mounting threads, and the extending barrel gives you the option of having a diffuse or narrow beam.

$53 at Amazon

$53 at B&H

Read last week’s roundup

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We’ve been thrilled with the response to our DPReview pop-up store, which opened before the holidays and features limited edition items from our 25th Anniversary collection of DPReview swag. If you’ve been planning to place an order but haven’t done so yet, act soon: the pop-up store will disappear on January 31.

What’s in the store? You’ll find the DPReview logo on apparel like t-shirts, sweatshirts and baseball caps. Of course, to honor DPReview’s early history, many items are designed in dark mode with a black background.

Visit the DPReview pop-up store

If you’re a camera nerd, head over and take a look.

If you’re not feeling nerdy enough to want DPReview-branded swag, we’ve also designed products with photo-friendly slogans like ‘Say Cheese’, ‘Photo Department’, and ‘I ♥ Bokeh’.

Why a pop-up store?

Readers have been asking us about DPReview merchandise for years, so we decided to do something about it. So, if you’re one of those who’s emailed or messaged us asking where to find things like DPReview shirts, now is your chance.

Of course, when you buy our gear, you support DPReview and our mission to bring you the best online information and reviews about digital cameras.

Additional details

All items in the DPReview pop-up store include free worldwide shipping.

If you have specific questions about products or ordering, you can contact store@gearpatrol.com for help.

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As a photographer with a strong interest in history, I often find myself captivated when the two worlds collide. Looking at pictures of historical events, even seemingly mundane ones, sparks my imagination and transports me back in time.

More than the historical events themselves, I’m drawn to the people in these photos. I try to envision their lives, their experiences and the world they inhabited. I remind myself that they aren’t just historical figures frozen in time but real people who lead lives as complex as you or me, and I often wonder about their experiences, the people they knew, and the eras that shaped them.

Perhaps this is because old photographs serve as a reminder of our own mortality. Historical photos whisper to us that our time on Earth is finite and that one day, we, too, will become subjects of historical curiosity.

Photo: Nelson and Roswell Moore

This fascination with the past, coupled with my interest in photography, is probably why a recent video by the BBC caught my attention, telling the story behind portraits taken of some of the last survivors of the American Revolutionary War.

The Revolutionary War was fought between Great Britain and her American colonies from 1775 to 1783 over Americans’ desire for independence. Ultimately, the colonial forces prevailed, and, as we all know today, the United States became an independent nation.

“Historical photos whisper to us that our time on Earth is finite and that one day, we, too, will become subjects of historical curiosity.”

Fast forward about eight decades, and the US found itself embroiled in yet another conflict: the American Civil War. It was around this time that two brothers, Nelson and Roswell Moore, photographers from Connecticut, got the idea to use the then-nascent technology of photography to preserve images of the last surviving veterans of the American Revolution.

According to the BBC, newspapers at the time would publish details of the United States federal budget. This included lists of Revolutionary War veterans who were still receiving government pensions. Don Hagist, author of The Revolution’s Last Men: The Soldiers Behind the Photographs and editor of the Journal of the American Revolution, told the BBC that by the 1860s, it was becoming apparent that very few Revolutionary War veterans remained. This realization spurred the Moore brothers to track down what they believed to be the last six living veterans to capture their portraits.

Photo: Nelson and Roswell Moore

The Moore brothers’ portraits were unveiled in 1864 and subsequently published that same year in the book The Last Men of the American Revolution by Reverend E.B. Hillard. The book also included biographies of each veteran, based on interviews conducted by Hillard, although, according to Hagist, Hillard likely employed some creative license in his biographical accounts.

Fortunately, these invaluable photographs are not confined to the BBC’s archives. They’re preserved and freely available for download from the Library of Congress, an exceptional resource for historical imagery of all kinds.

As it turned out, the six men photographed by the Moore brothers weren’t the only remaining Revolutionary War veterans. Following the publication of their photos and Hillard’s book, other veterans came forward. However, the images captured by the Moore brothers remain invaluable historical artifacts, preserving the likenesses of men who fought for America’s independence. Gazing into their eyes, I’m struck by the realization that these men could have met George Washington in person.

One of photography’s enduring truths is that we often can’t predict which images will hold significance for future generations. History will ultimately be the judge. However, as photographers, we possess the ability to capture and preserve these visual records, even if their immediate importance is not readily apparent.

Next time you see an old historical photo, pause for a moment to think about the person or people in that photo. Who were they? What were their lives like? And reflect on the fact that, someday, far in the future, someone may be looking at a picture of you, wondering the same thing.

Finally, have you had the opportunity to capture any photos of historical significance or photograph something important before it disappeared forever? If so, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

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