28 Years Later, a sequel to the 2002 zombie movie 28 Days Later, was reportedly shot using an iPhone 15 Pro Max. Wired did some investigating after seeing an on-set image shot by a paparazzo, and says that “the use of Apple smartphones as the principal camera system on 28 Years Later was subsequently confirmed to Wired by several people connected with the movie.” This news comes shortly after Apple spent a considerable amount of time touting the iPhone’s capabilities as a video camera during its iPhone 16 Pro announcement event.

Looking at the on-set image posted by Just Jared, you’d be forgiven for not spotting immediately spotting the phone. Like with many ‘Shot on iPhone’ productions, it’s buried beneath tons of gear, including what appears to be an external lens, monitor, matte box, and more.

The rig on the right of the image reportedly contains an iPhone. Image: Just Jared

The movie’s director, Danny Boyle, and cinematographer, Anthony Dod Mantle, are no strangers to using cutting-edge and sometimes unusual cameras to make their movies. In 2009, Dod Mantle’s work on Slumdog Millionaire – also directed by Boyle – earned him the first Oscar for Best Cinematography awarded to a movie shot mainly using digital cameras instead of film. The pair also worked together on 127 Hours, a movie partially shot on Canon DSLRs.

Perhaps the most relevant precedent is 28 Days Later itself. Boyle and Dod Mantle shot much of it using the Canon XL1, a CCD camcorder that recorded to DV tapes. In the 2012 documentary Side By Side, Boyle talks about how using several of the relatively inexpensive cameras helped them shoot the iconic scene where Cillian Murphy walks through an empty and trashed London despite the production not having enough money to shut down the city.

Image quality-wise, the iPhone 15 Pro – which can shoot Log footage at 60FPS in ProRes – is vastly superior to the XL1. Talking about shooting 28 Days Later in Side By Side, Boyle reminisced, saying, “if you were in a wide shot with a small figure in it, they were just two or three pixels. I mean there was nothing there, there was just the color.”

Still, shooting 28 Years Later with iPhones is an interesting choice. The original movie had an estimated budget of around $8 million – that wasn’t a lot of money to shoot a film with in 2002, so it’s easy to see why they didn’t want to spend a ton on camera gear. 28 Years, meanwhile, has a reported budget of around $75 million.

While that’s relatively modest by today’s standards, entry-level cinema cameras have gotten so inexpensive that the crew almost certainly could’ve afforded them if they’d wanted to use them. For reference, the 2023 sci-fi film The Creator had an estimated budget of around $80 million and was famously shot using a Sony FX3. Alex Garland, the writer of 28 Days Later and 28 Years Later, also recently shot a $50 million movie that made use of the DJI 4D-6K.

We likely won’t know why this decision was made until the crew publicly acknowledges the iPhone’s role in filming, but when they do, they’ll likely talk about it extensively. The decision to shoot on smartphones has historically been a big focus in the PR cycle leading up to the release of films shot on them, such as 2015’s Tangerine or 2018’s Unsane.

According to Wired, the iPhone wasn’t the only camera used to shoot 28 Years Later: unspecified action cameras were also used to film scenes involving farm animals. The outlet says Apple was informed the production would be using iPhones and that the company “provided technical assistance to the moviemakers.”

28 Years Later is set to release in June 2025 and will reportedly be the first of three new movies in the franchise. Its sequel is currently being called 28 Years Later Part II: The Bone Temple, though there’s currently no information on what it’s being shot with.

Source link

Things have been a bit calmer around the DPReview offices this week, but we’ve still found a range of new accessories that have hit the market. Before we get to those, though, let’s check out the deal of the week:

Old but Gold

If you were hoping that the arrival of the Canon EOS R5 Mark II would make it easier to get the original EOS R5, you’re in luck. The camera, which received a Gold award when we reviewed it in 2020, is currently $500 off the list price. You won’t be getting the latest and greatest features the Mark II has, such as a stacked sensor for faster shooting, 8K/60 video, or Eye Control AF, but you’ll also be saving $1,400.

Another Gold winner from Canon, the EOS R6 Mark II, is also $500 off its MSRP. It’s an all-around solid enthusiast-tier full frame camera, and a great deal at $2,000 body-only.

Super fast storage

The Envoy Ultra is for people who need to move a lot of data in a little time. Image: OWC

OWC has announced the Envoy Ultra, which it says is the ‘first and fastest Thunderbolt 5’ external SSD. According to the company, the drive, which comes in 2TB and 4TB versions, can operate at a blistering 6000MB per second.

Of course, finding a computer that can take advantage of that speed may be difficult – you could count the laptops equipped with Thunderbolt 5 on one hand – but if you plug it into a Thunderbolt 4 computer, you can be sure you’re maxing out the port.

The one quirk is that the drive uses a built-in cable rather than a detachable one. On one hand, that means you’ll have the frustrating experience of showing up with your SSD but realizing you left the cable to connect it at home. But on the other, it is a bit of a weak point on a drive advertised as ‘waterproof, dustproof, and crushproof.’ If the cable breaks, you won’t be able to simply replace it.

The Envoy Ultra is available for pre-order on OWC’s website, and the company says it’ll ship in ‘late October.’ The 2TB model is $399.99, and the 4TB one is $599.99.

On-the-go power

Put your batteries in this battery. Image: llano

This week, FStoppers wrote about an accessory that’s not exactly new but could be useful: a battery bank with two slots for Canon LP-E6NH batteries.

The company that makes the gadget, llano, says it can recharge two batteries in two hours. It also includes two USB-C ports that can either be used to charge the bank itself or to charge other devices, such as your phone.

At $109, it’s certainly not the cheapest battery bank out there, and it is worth noting that many cameras these days can directly charge from a regular battery bank via USB-C. There are also third-party LP-E6NH batteries from brands like K&F Concept that have USB-C ports built into them, so you don’t need a special charger to recharge them.

However, if you’re not looking to buy more batteries and your camera can’t charge via USB-C, this could be a good way to keep your camera going while away from a plug. The brand also makes power banks for Canon LP-E17 batteries, Fujifilm NP-W126S and NP-W235 batteries, and Sony NP-FZ100 batteries. One thing to note if you’re shopping around on llano’s Amazon site is that it also makes regular battery chargers that don’t have power banks built-in and thus need to be plugged into the wall to charge your batteries.

$109 at Amazon

Redesigned Satchels

Image: ProMaster

ProMaster has updated its lineup of Jasper camera bags, adding a new size of satchel and a rolltop pack. The company says it’s redesigned the main compartment, adding sewn-on accessory pouches to the removable insert. The bags also include straps fitted with quick-release buckles to hold a tripod. The bags all have a water-resistant treatment and include a rain cover.

The lineup now includes a $99 ‘small’ 4L satchel, a $119 ‘medium’ 6.8L satchel, and a $139 ‘large’ 10L satchel, which ProMaster says can carry a 16” Macbook Pro along with a camera, lens, and other accessories.

Image: ProMaster

The new rolltop pack costs $159 and has 7.5L of space in its main compartment, with up to 9 additional liters in the rolltop section. Like many camera-focused backpacks, your actual camera gear is stored and accessed on the side of the pack that’s facing your back, which adds an extra layer of security.

Small Satchel

$99 on Amazon
Medium Satchel

$119 on Amazon
Large Satchel

$139 on Amazon
Rolltop Pack

$159 on Amazon

A new version of ACDSee

Image: ACDSee

ACD Systems has announced a new version of its photo editing and organization software, ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2025. As with many products this year, the main selling point is AI – the software now includes an AI-powered upscaling and noise reduction tool, which can be GPU accelerated alongside the rest of Photo Studio’s AI features.

The company also says it’s improved its AI selection mask and sky replacement tools. Outside of AI, the company has also added tabs to Photo Studio’s management mode, the ability to easily copy a file’s path, and an activity manager.

A lifetime license for the software, which is set to be released later this month, currently costs $149.99 from the company’s website.

Keep an eye out

This week, Petapixel covered a company that’s making an electronic variable diffusion filter. While this type of tech has been around for ND filters for a while, but this is reportedly the first time it’s being used to give footage a dream-like glow rather than to darken it.

The tech is made by LC-Tec, and likely won’t be commercially available until next year. When it does hit shelves, though, it could be a way to get a very cool effect when shooting videos.

Shooting for the New York Times

Finally, let’s round out this roundup with an educational opportunity – because what is improving your camera setup if you’re not also improving your photography skills? This week’s piece of photography content comes from YouTuber Justin Mott, who recently released a video detailing how he approached a portrait assignment from the New York Times (via Fstoppers). The video mainly focuses on process, going into detail on planning the shoot, working with the subjects and organizing the photos for delivery afterwards.

Mott provides a link to the final story that has one of his images, as well as a gallery of the photos he took on the assignment. If you’re interested in the gear side of photojournalism, Mott also made a video detailing what cameras and lenses he brought to the shoot.

For those who are more into cinematography, YouTuber Luc Forsyth recently made a video going over how he packed and prepped his gear before heading out to work as a director of photography on a relatively high-budget shoot. It also has a fair number of tips that could be useful for working photographers as well.

Click to see last week’s accessory roundup

Source link

As part of our twenty-fifth anniversary, we’re looking back at some of the most significant cameras launched during that period. Without question, the Fujifilm FinePix X100, announced fourteen years ago today, is one of those cameras.

It wasn’t the first large-sensor fixed lens compact: that honor goes to Sigma’s DP1, which squeezed one of its 20.7 x 13.8 mm Foveon chips into a small, minimalist body, but it was the first to really catch the collective photography imagination.

Back in 2010, the first Mirrorless cameras were arriving, so you could buy a Panasonic GF1 with the company’s 20mm F1.7 lens or an Olympus PEN, also with the Panasonic 20mm F1.7 if you had any sense. But those were the only options if you wanted a small camera with good image quality. Both were, at that point, very obviously a technology and lens system that was still developing.

Beyond these you only really had two choices: you could buy a DSLR if you wanted a Four Thirds sensor or anything larger, or an enthusiast compact based around a Type 1/1.7 chip (7.4 x 5.6mm), which was, at best, one-fifth of the size. Maybe a Type 2/3 (8.8 x 6.6mm) if you were really lucky, but that’s still a two-stop difference compared with the smallest-sensor DSLR, simply because the sensor is no better than 1/4 the size. But even the smallest DSLRs weren’t particularly small, especially once you put a lens on them.

Read about the subsequent history of the Fujifilm X100 series

With its APS-C sensor and F2 lens, the X100 had an immediate image quality benefit over any existing compact camera, and its self-contained nature meant it made more sense as a second camera for DSLR owners who didn’t want to have a foot in two lens mounts by becoming a Mirrorless early adopter.

Then there were its looks. These may not play a part in the end images (though the “is that a film camera?” response from bystanders wasn’t a bad way to raise the idea of taking their photo), but they made the camera look and feel a bit special. And who ever said photography is a pursuit based on cold rationality?

This is probably what people mean when they refer to ‘classic styling.’ Photo: Andy Westlake

So the X100 had appeal on multiple levels: it was one of the smallest cameras to offer such high image quality, it would work alongside other systems without complicating your commitments, it looked good and took really good-looking photos.

It was also, at launch, recognizably a work in progress. Our original review had a page dedicated to bugs and odd behaviors, many of which got ironed-out over a series of firmware updates. It was slow, it was quirky and yet it caused an awful lot of photographers to fall in love with it.

I still have my original X100 and will sometimes still use it (which probably wouldn’t have been the case were it not for the significant improvement in autofocus that came nearly three years after its original launch). After fourteen years it really shows its age, and my experience is somewhat spoiled by having spent a considerable amount of time shooting with its five successor models.

The X100 (Rear) has long ago been superseded but its most recent descendent, the X100 VI (Front) is still very much in demand. Photo: Richard Butler

We’ve seen many attempts by other manufacturers in this space: Leica’s APS-C X series pre-dated the X100 but seems to have been superseded by the full-frame Q models, while the 28mm equiv Nikon Coolpix A and X70 and XF10 from Fujifilm seem to have fallen by the wayside. Only Ricoh’s move of its much-loved GR premium compacts to APS-C seems to have had anything like the longevity of the X100 series. And, while there’s plenty of skepticism from people who aren’t 35mm equiv fans and those put off by its recent five minutes of fame on TikTok, the X100 started a series that’s still very much in demand, fourteen years later.

Source link