It is common to see a mixture of old and new models discounted during this period of the year, so if you have specific DJI goodies on your wishlist, you have come to the right place. We will be listing all the best drone and accessory deals right here.

Prices and savings subject to change. Click through to get the current deal prices.

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DJI Osmo 360 Camera Adventure Combo

Waterproof 8K 360° Action Camera with 1-Inch 360° Imaging, Extended Battery Life with 3 Batteries, Native 8K 360° Video, 105GB Built-in Storage, 360 Action Camera

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• DEAL @ AMAZON

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DJI Mini 4K

Drone with 4K UHD Camera for Adults, Under 249 g, 3-Axis Gimbal Stabilization, 10km Video Transmission, Auto Return, Wind Resistance, 1 Battery for 31-Min Max… Read more

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DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Vlogging Camera

Vlogging Camera with 1'' CMOS & 4K/120fps Vlog Camera, 3-Axis Stabilization, Fast Focusing, Face/Object Tracking, Digital Vlogging Camera for YouTube

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DJI Neo Fly More Combo

Mini Drone with 4K UHD Camera for Adults, 135g Self Flying Drone that Follows You, Palm Takeoff, Subject Tracking, QuickShots, Stabilized Video, with RC-N3 and… Read more

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DJI Neo

Mini Drone with 4K UHD Camera for Adults, 135g Self Flying Drone that Follows You, Palm Takeoff, Subject Tracking, QuickShots, Stabilized Video, Built-In Propeller Guard… Read more

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DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo Plus

4k Drone with Camera, 1-Inch CMOS, 4K Drone for Beginners, Obstacle Sensing, ActiveTrack 360°, 225° Gimbal Rotation, Extended Battery Life

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DJI Mic 2 (1 TX + 1 RX)

Wireless Microphone with Intelligent Noise Cancelling, 32-bit Float Internal Recording, Optimized Sound, 250m (820 ft.) Range, Microphone for iPhone, Android, Camera, Vlogs

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DJI RS 4 Mini Gimbal Stabilizer

The DJI gimbal RS 4 Mini's auto axis locks makes setup even faster. Perfect for capturing those fleeting moments or quick scene transitions. Intelligent Tracking… Read more

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DJI Air 3

(DJI RC-N2), Drone with Medium Tele & Wide-Angle Dual Primary Cameras, 46-Min Max Flight Time, Omnidirectional Obstacle Sensing, 48MP Photos, 4K/60fps HDR, Compliance with FAA… Read more

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DJI Mic Mini (2 TX + 1 RX + Charging Case)

The DJI Mic Mini lavalier microphone transmitter is small and ultralight, weighing only 10 g, [1] making it comfortable to wear, discreet, and aesthetically pleasing… Read more

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DJI Osmo Mobile 7P Gimbal

The Multifunctional Module packs intelligent tracking, DJI Mic 2/DJI Mic Mini reception, and lighting features into one compact unit. Pair it with your phone gimbal… Read more

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DJI Air 3S Drone Bundle

RC 2 Fly More Combo (with Screen) 4K HDR, 45-Min Max Flight Time Bundle with 128GB Memory, Landing Pad, Backpack, CPS 2 Year Warranty, Lens… Read more

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DJI Black Friday drone deals to expect

Several top drone brands are expected to offer excellent Black Friday deals. DJI is one of the most prominent, known for its high-quality models with advanced cameras and stable flight controls. DJI’s Mavic and Mini series often feature prominently during the Black Friday period.

Last year, we saw the DJI Avata 2, Mini 4 Pro, Air 3, and Mavic 3 all drop in price over Black Friday.

DJI Mini 4 Pro was one of 2024’s biggest sale items

The DJI Mini 4 Pro was considered a hot ticket item last year. Amazon featured the Fly More combo in its Black Friday sale with $450 off. The combo dropped to below $1300 and came with a 128 GB SD, 3.0 USB Card Reader, Landing Pad, Waterproof Backpack, Strobe Lights, and more.

When do drone Black Friday deals start?

Officially, Black Friday begins on November 28, 2025, but many retailers roll out deals long before then. For drones, early deals might start as soon as mid-November, especially from retailers like Amazon, B&H, and Best Buy. With more retailers starting their sales early, Black Friday has become a season-long event, with some of the most competitive deals potentially surfacing the week before Black Friday itself. Keep an eye on the most popular stores for flash sales or one-day deals, as these can sometimes feature high-end drones at record-low prices.

Is Black Friday the best time to buy a drone?

Black Friday is one of the most popular times of the year to buy a drone, thanks to exclusive discounts on high-end and entry-level models alike. Retailers and major brands like DJI, Autel, and Skydio often offer substantial savings on some of their most popular drones, making it easier for new hobbyists and professional photographers to get top-tier gear at a fraction of the usual price. Additionally, bundles with extra batteries, carrying cases, or propeller guards frequently go on sale, making Black Friday the ideal time to build a complete kit.

Entry-level drones, ideal for beginners, are often priced under $200-$300 and offer basic features for learning to fly. Mid-range or “prosumer” drones appeal to enthusiasts with features like 4K video, enhanced stabilization, and intelligent flight modes that capture cinematic shots. Professional-grade drones, designed for advanced users and content creators, may also see reduced prices. These drones are often packed with premium features like obstacle avoidance, high-resolution cameras, and extended flight times.

The post DJI Black Friday 2025: best drone deals & early sales appeared first on Imaging Resource.

Two of Nikon’s DSLRs, the Nikon D850 and Nikon D750 were also standout cameras in my mind. The D850 was, at launch, my pick for the best Nikon DSLR ever, a title it still holds in my mind.

The D850 took the flagship Nikon D4 DSLR and crammed it into a more traditionally sized body. Very few compromises were made to shoehorn pro-level tools into the smaller body though. It was a pro camera, just smaller.

The Nikon D750 was a step below the D850 in terms of features. More affordable than the D850, the D750 had a nicely rounded set of tools, but it was targeted toward a high-end enthusiast customer rather than a working pro. 

Both of these cameras were successful because they picked their customer and stuck to the features those customers would want, with no unnecessary bells and whistles. 

These two cameras are nearly directly parallel in today’s Nikon lineup. The Nikon Z8 and Z6 III are closest to the D850, with the Z8 targeting the pro photographer customer, and the Z6 III aiming for the video crowd.

The Z5 II is very similar to the D750, and it’s unapologetically targeting the photographer who doesn’t need advanced video tools. It’s polished, has the best features of Nikon’s higher-end models, is compact, and is several hundred dollars less than the D750 of old.

This camera is the successor to the Nikon Z5, and like its siblings, the Z6 and Z7, the first version did not have fantastic autofocus. Nikon won’t admit to that, but anybody who worked with those systems knows they were not on par with competitors. But the mark II and mark III versions of all these cameras have really upped the ante.

Nikon Z5 II

What We Think

The Nikon Z5 II is a full-frame mirrorless camera with a 24.3-megapixel CMOS sensor and the EXPEED 6 processor. It supports 4K UHD recording up to 60 fps (with a 1.7× crop) and Full HD at 120 fps. The camera includes 5-axis in-body image stabilization, a 273-point hybrid autofocus system with subject detection, and dual UHS-II SD card slots. It features a 2.36-million-dot EVF, 3.2-inch tilting touchscreen, weather-sealed magnesium alloy body, and USB-C power delivery. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for wireless transfer and tethering.

Reasons to Buy

• Excellent autofocus with subject detection for people, animals, vehicles, and airplanes
• Outstanding low-light performance with usable images up to ISO 12,800
• Compact and lightweight body ideal for travel
• 5-stop in-body image stabilization
• Dual card slots (CFexpress Type B/XQD and SD UHS-II)
• Clean 4K video with 10-bit N-Log recording
• Flip-out LCD perfect for vlogging and self-recording
• Excellent battery life and menu system
• Pro-level features at an accessible price point

Reasons to Avoid

• Electronic shutter limited to 10 fps (5 fps mechanical)
• Video features don’t match the Z6 III for serious videographers
• 24-megapixel resolution is lower than that of some competitors ‘

Specifications

• Sensor: 24.5MP Full-Frame BSI CMOS
• Processor: EXPEED 7
• Video Resolution: 4K 60p
• Continuous Shooting: 30 fps (electronic)

• Stabilization: 7.5-stop VR
• Viewfinder: 3.69m-Dot OLED EVF
• LCD: 3.2″ 2.1m-Dot vari-angle touchscreen
• Battery Life: Approx. 360 shots (CIPA)

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The Nikon Z5 II will be one of those cameras that people hold onto for years longer than you’d suspect, as it is so well-tuned for its key users. This isn’t a camera with every feature under the sun—it’s a camera with the right features for the vast majority of photographers and social media content creators.

PRODUCT

Low-Light Performance That Exceeds Expectations

Nikon did not update the imaging sensor in the Z5 II; it’s still the same 24-megapixel sensor found in the Nikon Z5, but the new EXPEED 7 processor in the body improves nearly every aspect of operation. 

In an era of 60-megapixel sensors, the 24-megapixel resolution of the Z5 II might not seem high enough resolution, but there are two reasons why this sensor was the right choice for this body. 

The first reason, although debatable, is that 24 megapixels is large enough to create large-format output. You can easily make prints large enough to hang on your wall. You can print around 17×22 on a 300dpi printer without losing much detail. 

For larger prints that will be viewed at a distance and that are output at 150 dots-per-inch, you can do around a 24×40 inch print without losing detail. And with Photoshop and other image editing tools able to scale images nearly perfectly, you can go much larger. 

You can even crop nicely on a 24-megapixel sensor and still have great detail. This shot is about a 50% crop, and the hawk’s eyes are visible; the feathers have great detail. 

The second reason that 24 megapixels is the right choice is light gathering. The resolution of a sensor is directly tied to its light-gathering ability: the fewer the pixels, the better the low-light performance. 

Since a full-frame sensor is a fixed size, the more pixels you put on the sensor, the closer they have to be and the smaller they have to be.

The smaller and nearer the pixels are, the worse the low-light performance. 

There’s a simple analogy to explain this. Place a glass and a bucket outside when it rains. Both the bucket and the glass will get the same height of water, but the bucket will have much more water in it. In this analogy, the water is incoming light, and the bucket is the bigger pixel. The more you gather, the better the low-light performance. 

The native ISO range goes up to 51,200, expandable to 102,400. I wouldn’t shoot at 102,400 regularly, but the fact that you can push to ISO 12,800 and still get usable images is remarkable.

Wedding photographers, event shooters, and anyone working in challenging lighting conditions will appreciate what this sensor can do.

I loved most of the low-light shots I got with this camera, especially these scenes on a beach as the sun was setting. The sun was nearly set in some of these photos. The low-light performance is really great.

This shot was lit only by the red light above it. It’s grainy because I shot at ISO 36000 handheld, but there are stars visible in the sky. Here’s what it looks like after Photoshop’s AI denoise processing. Here’s the sky zoomed in.

Keep in mind that WordPress, which our site runs on, heavily compresses images on upload. There’s no way to show you the lack of noise in this image because noise is added back in when the image is recompressed.

And this photo is mostly noise, but I think it’s impressive because it was shot at ISO 64000 at 1/4th of a second at f/5. I was on f/5 because I forgot to change the aperture between the last shot and this one, but I ran this through Photoshop’s AI noise reduction, and I get this.

I mean, that’s ISO 64000 handheld at a quarter of a second. That’s Crazy.

GALLERY

Nikon Z5 II Image Quality

The image quality on the Z5 II is where this camera really stands out. The 24-megapixel sensor might not sound impressive on paper when you’re comparing it to 45-megapixel or 60-megapixel cameras, but for most photographers, 24 megapixels is more than enough resolution. 

I haven’t seen a camera with bad image quality in the last decade, so it’s no surprise that the sensor in the Z5 II makes a great photo, but the resolution, plus the low noise from the sensor, makes the Nikon images easier to work with. 

Nikon has always had great color science, and that continues here. Skin tones look natural without a lot of post-processing work, and the dynamic range is wide enough that you’ve got good latitude in both highlights and shadows during post.

Images from the Z5 II are beautifully rendered, with plenty of detail and accurate color. 

In these close-up shots of bees, the plants are as vibrant as they appeared to me. This portrait of my son in front of fall foliage has good colors without getting oversaturated. 

Autofocus is Reliable

The autofocus on the Z5 II is fantastic. I think Canon and Sony still have a little bit of the edge when it comes to eye detect autofocus and tracking subjects when they pass out of view or are temporarily obscured, but that gap is closing. This is a huge improvement over the original Z5.

The 299 phase-detect AF points cover approximately ninety percent of the frame, and the system includes subject detection for people, animals, vehicles, and airplanes. In my testing, the autofocus locks on and tracks subjects well, even in lower light conditions. 

It works very well for people; it can easily focus on animals, including birds, and in my close-up shots of the bees, it was able to follow them as the flowers they were on were blown around in the wind.

I was impressed with the performance of the autorocus on birds of prey.

I was more impressed by these shots of bees. Not only did the AF catch them mid-gathering, but it tracked them flying. I had the animal detect on here, though these obviously aren’t the dogs and cats that mode is designed for. Without an “insect” subject detection setting, animal AF is as close as I could get. It’s hard to grab shots of bees in flight, and I hadn’t yet turned on the pre-release capture. 

Key Photo Specifications for Photographers

The 24.3-megapixel full-frame sensor is paired with Nikon’s EXPEED 7 processor, which is the same processor found in the Z8 and Z9. This means you’re getting the latest processing power.

In-body image stabilization is rated at five stops, which in practice seems accurate but is hard to measure without expensive testing gear. I certainly had no problems walking and photographing at the same time, and the only real motion blur I experienced was user-error settings-wise. 

You can handhold longer exposures than you’d expect, especially when paired with lenses that have their own stabilization. The photo earlier in the article that was taken at 1/4th of a second is a good example of this.

You also get pro-level speed with this camera. The max frame rate with mechanical shutter is eleven frames per second in RAW, and the electronic shutter goes up to thirty frames per second. That’s faster than any pro camera of five years ago could achieve, it’s double what the Z5 could do, and really, it’s all you need even for the fastest moving sports. But, and this is a big but, that 30 frames per second is JPEG only. So, you’re trading raw editing capabilities for speed. That’s fine for many shooters, but for pros, that might make this a no-go.

There’s also pre-release capture, which is my favorite function of the modern mirrorless era. When shooting birds and wildlife, it’s almost impossible to snag the moment the animal makes its move.

Before pre-release, I’d occasionally fire off some shots in case a hawk I was photographing was about to leap from its perch. With pre-release, I never have to worry about that. When my slow human brain detects movement, I press the shutter all the way, and the camera saves the shots before that moment.

All cameras should get this feature.

But, and again it’s another big but for some, the pre-release capture is JPEG, so that you might get that decisive moment, but it won’t be as high-res as if you were shooting one of Nikon’s other cameras that can capture RAW at the full frame rate. 

Dual card slots are critical for professionals, and the Z5 II delivers. You get one CFexpress Type B (CFe B) slot and one SD UHS-II slot. I appreciate having dual-slot redundancy, especially when shooting important events or travel photography, where you can’t go back and reshoot.

But, since it’s one CF E B and one SD card, a photographer needs to bring one of each card to have backup. And if they plan to fill up a card and switch to another one mid shoot, they’ll need another CFe B card and another SD card. Without the two different types of cards in your camera, there’s no backup capability.

The battery is rated to perform slightly worse than on the Z5, likely because the EXPEED 7 processor takes up more power. While I didn’t have access to the Z5, the difference was not at all noticeable from what I remember of the Z5. On my final day of testing this camera, I shot back-to-back videos with combined times of just under an hour, and the battery still had plenty of juice. 

I am a fan of the Nikon menu system. Sony’s system has a lot more settings and tweaks to it, but it is a confusing mess. Nikon and Canon have much better menu systems, with some features more accessible on each system. But as someone who’s been shooting Nikon cameras for decades, I’m more familiar with Nikon’s organization than Canon’s.

Video Performance for Content Creators and YouTubers

With a much faster processor than the previous version, the Z5 II handles better, but it is nothing to write home about. You can shoot 4K at up to 30fps, which gives you excellent image quality. For most YouTube content and social media posts, 4K/30 is perfect. You can capture 4K/60 but with a hefty 1.5x crop. All of my YouTube videos, including the one I shot for this video review, are captured at 4K/24. 

I’ve been using this camera for a lot of my A-roll footage, some studio work, and out in the field for B-roll, and it is great for those applications. 

If you need slow motion, you can shoot 1080p at 120fps, which gives you nice 5x slow-mo in a 24p timeline. The 10-bit internal recording to N-Log gives you good color grading flexibility if you want to do more professional color work.

The flip-out LCD screen is more than good enough for vlogging and self-recording. The screen is bright and responsive, and having that articulation means you can get creative with your angles. The LCD screen gained an additional million dots, and it’s very usable in bright sunlight. The touchscreen is fast and responsive as well, which makes changing settings during video shooting easier when filming yourself. 

Like other Nikon camcorders, there’s a toggle to switch between still photography and video mode, and settings in each mode are sticky.

I find the claimed five-stop IBIS system works well when shooting handheld video. For run-and-gun shooting where you’re moving around, the combination of in-body stabilization and a stabilized lens gives you footage that’s smooth enough to use without additional gimbal stabilization in many situations.

That said, the sensor isn’t “stacked,“ which is a term that refers to the circuitry and how fast the processor reads the sensor. Because it’s not a stacked sensor, the Z5 II exhibits rolling shutter when panning quickly. So if your shooting style is to move from place to place, recording a mostly static shot in each location, this is a good choice. It’s not such a good choice if you’re doing videos of airshows where you’re panning a lot. 

The USB-C port can be used for power delivery while recording, which means you can shoot indefinitely if you have a power bank or wall adapter. There are no artificial recording time limits, though, like most cameras without active cooling, you need to be aware of heat buildup during extended 4K recording sessions.

For social media creators and YouTubers, the Z5 II is a perfect tool. You get professional image quality, reliable autofocus for talking-head videos, good low-light performance for various shooting conditions, and enough video features to create content that looks great without needing a full cinema camera setup.

Nikon Z5 II vs Z6 III: Which is Right for you?

The Z6 III is the obvious comparison, even though it’s priced around $2,500—roughly $1,000 more than the Z5 II. Specs-wise, it’s the next nearest Nikon camera. What does that $1000 get you? 

The Z6 III has a partially stacked sensor that gives you faster readout speeds, which means less rolling shutter in video and better performance with the electronic shutter for stills. It also has more advanced video features, including internal RAW recording options, higher frame rates in 4K, and better heat management for longer recording times. The Z6 III also has a better EVF, faster continuous shooting speeds, and more robust AF tracking.

Watch Our Nikon Z6 III Review

But if you’re primarily a stills shooter or someone who shoots video but doesn’t need all those professional video features, the Z5 II gives you 80-90% of the photography performance of the Z6 III for 60% of the price. (That’s a rough estimate.) For photographers who occasionally shoot video for social media or YouTube, the Z5 II’s video capabilities are more than adequate.

The Z6 III is mostly an upgrade for serious video users who need features like higher bit rates, longer recording times without overheating, and more professional video codecs. If you’re a wedding videographer or someone shooting commercial video work, the Z6 III makes sense. If you’re a photographer who also creates content, the Z5 II is the smarter choice.

With Nikon’s recent acquisition of the high-end cinema camera company RED, we’re likely to see its mirrorless cameras get increasingly powerful video features, tools that the ideal Z5 II customers don’t really need.

Why the Z5 II Is Excellent for Photography

I’d been hesitant to return this camera to Nikon, keeping it far longer than I should have. That’s because this is a fantastic travel and everyday camera, and I’ve been enjoying taking it to family gatherings, trips to the beach, and the occasional school graduation. The body is small and light relative to something like the Nikon Z9, although it is naturally not as small as Nikon’s APS-C cameras.

The battery life is excellent despite the lower battery life specs. Nikon didn’t provide a second battery during testing, so I never had a backup one, and even on full days of taking travel photos, I didn’t run out of juice.

Nikon’s menu system is excellent. The controls on this camera are excellent, and everything works really as you would expect it to work.

One of my favorite things about this camera is that it’s lightweight, compact, and affordable. Nikon has really been trying to compete with its rivals by giving you cameras at a slightly lower price point than you would expect for similar systems from similar manufacturers.

Should You Buy the Nikon Z5 II?

Yes, if you want a capable full-frame camera that delivers excellent image quality, reliable autofocus, and strong video features without paying for capabilities you won’t use. At around $1,800 (as of this article), the Z5 II is an exceptional value. You’re getting performance that was reserved for cameras costing upwards of $3,000 just a few years ago.

This is the camera I’d recommend to someone moving from APS-C to full-frame, to someone who wants a lightweight travel camera without sacrificing image quality, to content creators who need good video alongside their stills work, and to photographers who wish for reliable performance at an accessible price. It’s also a great second camera or backup camera for the wedding or event photographer.

The image quality is excellent, particularly in low light, and the autofocus is reliable and fast enough for most shooting situations.

However, if you need the absolute fastest autofocus tracking, higher frame rates for sports, or professional video features like internal RAW recording and longer 4K recording times, you’ll want to look at the Z6 III or Z8. The Z5 II isn’t perfect for every use case, but for what most people actually shoot, it delivers where it matters. 

That’s why I think this is one of the best cameras Nikon has made—not because it has the most impressive spec sheet, but because it gets the fundamentals right at a price point that makes full-frame photography and quality video accessible to more people.

The post Nikon Z5 II Review – The Best Nikon for the Serious Photographer, and for Some Videographers appeared first on Imaging Resource.

A macro lens provides a new way to look at the world. When you’re so close to a tiny subject, you start to see details that are invisible to the naked eye. Insects look like they’re from Star Wars, flowers have intricate parts, and the colors are more prominent. Even everyday things like a key or a spiderweb take on a new look.
Macro lenses are specialized so that they magnify the world without adding distortion. Most telephoto lenses have a focal length of 80mm or longer, which allows them to do double duty as a portrait lens.

This guide helps you pick the right macro lens for your system without wasting time sorting through dozens of similar-looking options. We chose lenses that consistently deliver sharp detail, smooth focus handling, and reliable performance across Canon RF, Nikon Z, Sony E, Fujifilm X, Micro Four Thirds, and L-Mount. And because macro photography can be demanding, we highlight the strengths and trade-offs you should expect before buying.

Our Picks

This guide highlights the strongest macro lenses across each major mount. Macro photography depends heavily on magnification, working distance, stabilization, and optical clarity. The lenses selected here consistently deliver reliable performance in real-world close-up shooting, from product photography to insects and fine-detail textures.

Canon’s RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM leads the pack with its extended 1.4x magnification and close-range stabilization, making it one of the most flexible macro options for full-frame shooters. Nikon’s Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S remains the benchmark in the Z system thanks to its long working distance, vibration reduction, and consistently sharp S-line optics. Sony’s FE 100mm f/2.8 Macro GM OSS brings 1.4x magnification and optical stabilization to E-mount, offering close-up capability that goes beyond traditional one-to-one.

For Fujifilm users, the XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro provides true one-to-one reproduction, optical stabilization, and weather sealing, making it the strongest APS-C macro in the system. Micro Four Thirds shooters get the highest-magnification autofocus option available with the OM System 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO, which delivers 2x life reproduction and has in-lens stabilization. And for L-mount, Sigma’s 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art combines strong optical consistency with a comfortable working distance, making it the most balanced all-around macro choice for Panasonic, Leica, and Sigma bodies.

Our Picks at a Glance

Canon RF

Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM

What We Think

The Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM is a full-frame macro lens offering 1.4-times magnification. Hybrid Image Stabilization helps control motion at close distances. Weather sealing and L-series optics make it suitable for outdoor and studio macro work.

Reasons to Buy

• 1.4× magnification provides more reach than standard 1× macros
• Hybrid IS helps stabilize close-range handheld work
• Weather-sealed build for outdoor macro shooting
• Consistent sharpness across the frame.

Reasons to Avoid

• Focus shift can appear at certain distances
• Larger and heavier than many competing 100mm macros
• Not the quietest AF at very close focus distances

Specifications

• Magnification: 1.4 times
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.26 meters
• Stabilization: Hybrid Image Stabilization
• Weight: 730 grams

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I’ve shot with the Canon RF 100mm f/2.8. It’s the most capable all-around macro lens in Canon’s system because it goes past the traditional 1× limit, and is still a great portrait lens. Being able to shoot at 1.4× magnification gives you more room to work with smaller subjects without needing adapters or diopters, and the Hybrid IS actually very useful when shooting handheld at very close distances. It also transitions well outside strict macro shooting — the working distance and rendering make it a solid choice for product photography and controlled studio setups.

Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro

What We Think

The Laowa 100mm f/2.8 provides two-times life-size magnification for extremely small subjects. Its apochromatic design reduces chromatic aberration at close range. Manual focus enables precise adjustments for controlled macro shooting.

Reasons to Buy

• True 2× magnification without accessories
• Apochromatic optics reduce fringing at close focus
• Good working distance for a 2× lens
• Solid build with minimal focus breathing

Reasons to Avoid

• Manual-focus only
• No weather sealing
• No image stabilization
• Can be challenging handheld at 2×

Specifications

• Magnification: 2x
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.25 meters
• Stabilization: None
• Weight: 638 grams

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This lens is one of a handful of third-party lenses for Canon, and it’s a great macro lens as long as you don’t need to rely on autofocus. Since so many macro photographers change focus by moving the camera, the lack of autofocus is less of a problem than, say, in a portrait lens. This great lens is available for several mounts, and while it’s one of the oldest lenses in this guide, it holds up incredibly well against newer glass.

Nikon Z

Nikon Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S Nikkor

What We Think

The Nikon Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S delivers consistent sharpness across the frame. Its 105‑millimeter focal length provides a useful working distance for insects and product photography. Vibration Reduction improves handheld stability during macro shooting.

Reasons to Buy

• High optical quality
• Strong macro performance
• Useful working distance

Reasons to Avoid

• Reduced autofocus speed at close range
• Limited stabilization on some models
• Working distance challenges at higher magnifications

Specifications

• Magnification: One times
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.29 meters
• Stabilization: Vibration Reduction
• Weight: 630 grams

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The Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S is Nikon’s most consistent macro performer, offering strong optics, a useful working distance, and stabilization that makes handheld macro more realistic. At 1× magnification, the lens maintains clarity from edge to edge, which is a big deal when you’re shooting small subjects with complex textures.

The S-line coatings help keep contrast stable even in patchy natural light.

When not shooting macro images, the lens is a good (but not amazing) short telephoto lens. Autofocus performance for non-macro shots is good, but again not on the level of Nikon’s portrait-specific lenses.

Beyond macro, it doubles well as a general-purpose short telephoto. The rendering is clean, the weight is manageable, and autofocus performance is predictable for both macro and non-macro shoots.

Laowa 90mm f/2.8 2× Ultra Macro APO (Z mount)

What We Think

The Laowa 90mm f/2.8 is designed for mirrorless systems and provides two-times magnification. Its compact build is unusual for a lens capable of extreme macro work. Apochromatic optics help preserve clarity and color accuracy at close distances.

Reasons to Buy

• True 2× magnification in a compact design

• APO optics control color fringing well

• Lightweight for an extreme-macro lens

• Specifically optimized for mirrorless flange distance

 

Reasons to Avoid

• Manual-focus only

• No stabilization

• Very short working distance at 2×

• Not weather sealed

 

Specifications

• Magnification: 2x
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.20 meters
• Stabilization: None
• Weight: 619 grams

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The Laowa 90mm f/2.8 is compact for a lens that captures up to 2x life-size magnification, a range I refer to as “hyper macro.”

This lens was designed specifically for mirrorless cameras instead of being an SLR-era lens with a built-in adapter. I have not tested this lens personally, but have seen images from this lens, and they’re excellent, especially considering the lens is about a third as expensive as the Sony 100mm f/2.8 Macro GM.

As with most Laowa macro lenses, it’s a manual-focus lens that takes a bit more patience to get a perfect shot, but many photographers use manual focus instead of autofocus for this hyper-macro range.

This lens is also available for Sony’s E-Mount.

Sony E

Sony FE 100mm f/2.8 Macro GM OSS

What We Think

The Sony FE 100mm f/2.8 Macro GM OSS offers 1.4-times magnification for close-up subjects. Optical SteadyShot stabilization supports handheld shooting. The floating-focus system maintains detail during close-range adjustments.

Reasons to Buy

• 1.4× magnification extends macro capability beyond 1×
• OSS provides useful stability in low-light or handheld macro
• Excellent frame-wide sharpness and contrast
• Smooth focus transitions for close-up video work

 

Reasons to Avoid

• On the heavier side for Sony macro options
• Focus breathing is visible at some distances

Specifications

• Magnification: 1.4 times
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.25 meters
• Stabilization: Optical SteadyShot
• Weight: 715 grams

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Sony’s 100mm GM macro is my Editor’s Choice pick for macro lenses, and it’s one of the best macro lenses ever built. Optical quality blows me away, and autofocus is driven by Sony’s linear motors, with a total of four motors to drive the AF. Optical Steady Shot adds several stops of image stabilization, which makes handheld macro shooting easier than with any other macro I’ve used. At 1.4x life, macro images are already amazing, but the 2x teleconverter allows you to shoot at nearly 4x life size.

It is also a great portrait lens, giving you two lenses for the price of one.

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art (Sony E)

What We Think

The Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art provides a longer working distance for insects and detailed textures. Its mirrorless‑optimized optics ensure consistent frame-wide sharpness. The aperture ring and customizable functions allow flexible control for macro techniques.

Reasons to Buy

• True 2× magnification in a compact package
• APO design limits fringing at close distances
• Good balance on L-mount bodies
• Extremely high detail at maximum magnification

 

Reasons to Avoid

• Reduced autofocus speed at close range
• Limited stabilization on some models
• Working distance challenges at higher magnifications

Specifications

• Autofocus Motor Type: HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor)
• Image Stabilization: No (Relies on IBIS)
• Lens Mount Compatibility: Sony E (Full-Frame)
• Weather Sealing: Dust and Splash Resistant Structure & Water-Repellent Coating

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This lens was in my kit before the 100mm Sony came out, and it’s a great third-party macro lens.

The Sigma 105mm DG DN Art offers a solid working distance at 1× life, which makes it easier to photograph insects or small objects. Sigma optimized this version specifically for mirrorless bodies, and it has great image quality across the whole frame. The aperture ring adds control for careful exposure adjustments during macro sessions. I think all lenses, at least all high-end lenses, should have an aperture ring.

It’s also a lens that handles general telephoto tasks well, which allows it to shoot non-macro too. It has great rendering and almost no chromatic aberrations. For Sony shooters who want a predictable, well-built macro lens that doesn’t break the bank, this is the go-to choice.

Fujifilm X

Fujifilm XF 80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro

Reasons to Buy

• True 1× magnification with strong edge-to-edge sharpness
• Effective stabilization for handheld macro
• Fast, accurate linear-motor AF
• Weather-sealed for outdoor fieldwork

Reasons to Avoid

• Large and heavy for an APS-C lens
• AF slows near the minimum focus distance
• Higher price than most Fuji primes

Specifications

• Magnification: 1x
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.25 meters
• Stabilization: Optical Image Stabilization
• Weight: 750 grams

• Shop at Amazon

The XF 80mm f/2.8 is an image-stabilized 1× magnification lens with sharp contrast across the frame. The linear-motor AF system holds focus well even when subjects shift slightly, which is helpful for insects that don’t like to sit still. Most of Fujifilm’s lenses have weather sealing and sturdy construction, and this is no exception.

This lens is larger than many Fuji primes, but the performance justifies the bulk. The stabilization helps with handheld shots, and the image quality stays consistent even in tricky mixed lighting. It’s the lens that gives Fujifilm shooters the least amount of problems when they need reliable close-up detail.

I’ve only shot this lens for product reviews, but I have seen countless examples of the image quality from this nice piece of glass.

Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2× Macro APO (X mount)

What We Think

The Laowa 65mm f/2.8 is a lightweight macro lens that offers two-times magnification. Its apochromatic design minimizes fringing for cleaner close‑up detail. The compact size makes it useful for field macro photography.

Reasons to Buy

• High optical quality
• Strong macro performance
• Useful working distance

Reasons to Avoid

• Reduced autofocus speed at close range
• Limited stabilization on some models
• Working distance challenges at higher magnifications

Specifications

• Magnification: 2x
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.17 meters
• Stabilization: None
• Weight: 335 grams

• Shop at Amazon

Laowa appears in this guide many times because they make a line of solid macro lenses. I’ve used several of them and have not been let down. This 65mm f/2.8 is a compact APS-C macro lens that still manages to deliver 2× lifesize magnification, which is rare at this lens size. The apochromatic design helps control chromatic aberration, keeping image detail, especially when you’re working extremely close. Its small size makes it easy to carry, which is one of the main advantages of APS-C.

It’s a manual focus lens, but for macro lenses, autofocus isn’t as important as with something like a sports lens. It gives Fuji shooters access to magnification levels beyond what the native lineup offers.

Micro Four Thirds

Olympus 60mm f/2.8 M.Zuiko Digital ED

Reasons to Buy

• Compact and lightweight for travel or field macro
• True 1× magnification
• Internal focusing prevents lens extension near subjects
• Weather-sealed construction

 

Reasons to Avoid

• No stabilization
• Shorter working distance than 90mm option
• AF slows at very close distances

Specifications

• Magnification: One times
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.19 meters
• Stabilization: None
• Weight: 185 grams

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I don’t shoot Micro Four Thirds often, but when I’m shooting MFT and want a macro lens, this is a great one to pick. It’s not the newest or the fastest, but it has great image quality.

This is an older Olympus lens that has been brought along in the transition from Olympus to OM Systems, but even as an older lens, it’s a great performer.

L-Mount

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art (L‑mount)

What We Think

The Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro Art offers strong optical performance and a long working distance. An aperture ring enhances manual exposure control. The lens maintains high contrast and detail at life‑size magnification.

Reasons to Buy

• High optical quality
• Strong macro performance
• Useful working distance

Reasons to Avoid

• Reduced autofocus speed at close range
• Limited stabilization on some models
• Working distance challenges at higher magnifications

Specifications

• Magnification: One times
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.295 meters
• Stabilization: None
• Weight: 710 grams

• Shop at Amazon

This is the same lens featured in the Sony and Nikon section, only with a mount for Sigma’s L-Mount Alliance, a lens standard shared by several manufacturers. You can find more information on this lens above.

Laowa 90mm f/2.8 2× Ultra Macro APO (L‑mount)

What We Think

The Laowa 90mm f/2.8 provides two-times magnification while remaining compact for a lens with this capability. Apochromatic optics reduce fringing at close distances. At 619 grams, it offers extreme macro reach without excessive bulk.

Reasons to Buy

• True 2× magnification in a compact design
• APO optics control color fringing well
• Lightweight for an extreme-macro lens
• Specifically optimized for mirrorless flange distance

Reasons to Avoid

• Manual-focus only
• No stabilization
• Very short working distance at 2×
• Not weather-sealed

Specifications

• Magnification: 2x
• Minimum Focus Distance: 0.20 meters
• Stabilization: None
• Weight: 619 grams

• Shop at Amazon

This is the same lens featured in the Sony and Nikon section, only with a mount for Sigma’s L-Mount Alliance, a lens standard shared by several manufacturers. You can find more information on this lens above.

The post Best Macro Lenses for Photographers: Our top Picks Across all Major Mounts appeared first on Imaging Resource.

External SSDs have revolutionized portable storage, delivering speeds up to 20x faster than traditional hard drives while fitting in your pocket. Modern external SSDs can handle 4K and 8K video editing directly from the drive, and withstand drops, dust, and water. Whether you’re backing up RAW photos in the field, editing ProRes video on location, or need reliable storage that won’t slow down your workflow, the right external SSD transforms how you work with large files.

Why Trust Us

Our team has been testing storage solutions for photographers and videographers for over two decades. We actively use external SSDs in real-world creative workflows, from backing up shoots in remote locations to editing 4K video directly from portable drives.

We have tested virtually every drive in this list. Where we have not tested a product, we have consulted with our partner photographers and videographers and verified their feedback with trusted reviewers. Thanks to our approach, we stand behind all the products in this list, and would trust them all with our most important data. 

We never take payment for placement, and even though our articles contain affiliate links, affiliates never influence our editorial rankings.

Affiliate Disclosure: We may earn a commission from purchases made through our links.

Our Picks at a Glance

Key Takeaways

For creators starting out, the Crucial X10 and LaCie Rugged SSD4 offer excellent performance and durability without breaking the bank. Professional workflows demanding maximum speed benefit from the Samsung T9‘s 2,000MB/s performance or the OWC Envoy Pro FX‘s Thunderbolt connectivity. High-capacity users should consider the Crucial X10’s 8TB option for massive portable libraries. The Samsung T7 Touch provides biometric security for sensitive projects, while external enclosures from TerraMaster and OWC let you build custom solutions. Bus-powered convenience means most drives work without external power, making them perfect for field work.

Best Picks by Category

Best Budget Drive: Crucial X10
Best Rugged Drive: LaCie Rugged SSD4
Best High-Speed Drive: Samsung T9
Best Professional Drive: OWC Envoy Pro FX
Best High-Capacity Drive: Crucial X10 8TB
Best Secure Drive: Samsung T7 Touch
Best Budget Enclosure: TerraMaster D1 SSD Plus

Portable External SSDs

Ready-to-use external SSDs offer the convenience of plug-and-play operation with guaranteed compatibility and warranty coverage. These complete solutions include the drive, enclosure, cables, and often software utilities. Modern portable SSDs deliver impressive performance while remaining compact enough for daily carry.

Budget

Crucial X10

The newest member of Crucial’s portable SSD family offers massive capacity options up to 8TB while maintaining the compact form factor of smaller drives. Performance rivals more expensive alternatives at a better price per gigabyte.

Rating: 4.2

Pros

• Available in unusual 6TB and massive 8TB capacities
• Improved performance over the previous generation
• IP65 water and dust resistance
• Excellent value per gigabyte at high capacities

Cons

• USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 interface is slow compared to the USB 4 interface standard
• Performance varies by capacity
• No bundled software or utilities

Who is this for?

Creators who require extensive portable storage and seek a better price-per-gigabyte than premium drives. Also, the Crucial X10’s 8TB version is our top choice for high-capacity users.

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The LaCie Rugged SSD4 is the latest in the company’s well-regarded series of “rugged” drives. I’ve been using these drives while on the road for well more than a decade. This drive is “adventure proof” and is resistant to shocks, drops, water, freezing temperatures, and being crushed. We tested the claims in this review and found that it handled all the abuse we could put it through.

It’s not just durable, it’s fast, with transfer speeds around the maximum 4,000 MB/second, even after spending a night in the deep freezer, being tossed across my driveway, soaked with a hose, and being driven over.

You can read our full review here.

Best

Samsung T9

Samsung’s latest flagship portable SSD delivers impressive 2,000MB/s speeds in a compact, durable package. The T9 represents the sweet spot between performance, portability, and price for professional creative work.

Rating: 4.5

Pros

• Consistent 2,000MB/s read and write speeds
• Dynamic thermal management prevents throttling
• Rugged design with 9.8-foot drop protection
• Available up to 4TB capacity

Cons

• Premium pricing compared to older models
• No IP rating like the T7 Shield
• Requires USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 for full performance

Who is this for?

Professional photographers and videographers who need reliable high-speed storage for demanding workflows and aren’t constrained by budget.

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Samsung T7 Touch

A premium portable SSD that combines fingerprint security with fast USB 3.2 Gen 2 performance. The T7 Touch offers the same blazing speeds as the standard T7 but adds biometric unlock functionality for enhanced data protection.

Rating: 4.1

Pros

• Built-in fingerprint sensor provides convenient biometric security without software requirements.
• Fast USB 3.2 Gen 2 performance with read speeds up to 1,050MB/s and write speeds up to 1,000MB/s.
• Compact credit card-sized aluminum design with excellent build quality and heat dissipation.

Cons

• Premium pricing compared to the standard T7 model for the added fingerprint functionality.
• The fingerprint sensor can be finicky with certain finger positions and environmental conditions.
• Limited to older USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface rather than newer 20Gbps or USB4 standards.

Who is this for?

Content creators and professionals who frequently handle sensitive data and need the convenience of biometric security without compromising on transfer speeds.

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Crucial X10 Pro

The X10 Pro delivers flagship-level performance at a mid-range price point. With USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 support, it achieves real-world speeds approaching 2,100MB/s – fast enough to edit 4K video directly from the drive while remaining affordable for most creators.

Rating: 4.5

Pros

• Exceptional 2,100MB/s speeds for the price
• Available in capacities up to 4TB
• Hardware encryption with password protection
• Compact keychain-friendly design

Cons

• Requires a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port for full speed
• Performance limited to 1,000MB/s on standard USB ports
• No IP rating for water/dust resistance

Who is this for?

Creators who want professional-level performance without premium pricing and have modern devices with faster USB ports.

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Ultimate

OWC Envoy Pro FX

The Envoy Pro FX stands out as the only external SSD offering both Thunderbolt 3/4 and USB connectivity in one device. With speeds up to 2,800MB/s over Thunderbolt, it’s the ultimate portable storage for professional workflows.

Rating: 4.8

Pros

• Dual Thunderbolt 3/4 and USB 3.2 compatibility
• Blazing 2,800MB/s speeds over Thunderbolt
• IP67 water and dust rating
• Military-grade drop protection

Cons

• Premium pricing reflects professional positioning
• Requires Thunderbolt connection for maximum performance
• Limited to 4TB maximum capacity

Who is this for?

Professional filmmakers and photographers who work with multiple devices and need the fastest possible portable storage without compatibility concerns.

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OWC Express 1M2 (TB4)

Note: The OWC Express 1M2 is primarily a USB4 device, but it’s also compatible with Thunderbolt 4 and Thunderbolt 3 ports. The same enclosure works across these interfaces, with performance scaling based on the connection type.

Rating: 4.8

Pros

• Universal compatibility works seamlessly with USB4, Thunderbolt 4, and Thunderbolt 3 connections with automatic speed optimization.
• Professional-grade aircraft aluminum construction with patent-pending heat sink design ensures reliable performance under demanding workloads.
• Future-proof design supports current NVMe SSDs up to 8TB and will accommodate larger capacities as technology advances.

Cons

• Maximum performance is limited to connection type, with Thunderbolt 3 systems restricted to 20Gbps rather than full 40Gbps speeds.
• Substantial size and weight compared to traditional portable SSDs may not suit users prioritizing ultra-portability.
• Requires investment in high-quality NVMe SSD to achieve advertised performance levels, increasing total system cost.

Who is this for?

Professional users with mixed system environments who need a single high-performance storage solution that works optimally across USB4, Thunderbolt 4, and Thunderbolt 3 connections.

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ProGrade Digital PG10

ProGrade Digital’s flagship external SSD delivers professional-grade performance with sustained write speeds that don’t drop during extended transfers. Available in capacities up to 8TB, it’s designed specifically for demanding video workflows and high-volume photo editing.

Rating: 4.8

Pros

• Exceptional sustained write speeds of 2,000MB/s (4TB/8TB) with no cache depletion during long transfers
• Professional dual heat sink design prevents thermal throttling during intensive workflows like 8K video editing
• Power-sensing LED indicator alerts users when the host device isn’t providing the recommended 15W for optimal performance

Cons

• Premium pricing reflects professional positioning and specialized workflow optimization features
• Requires USB4 or Thunderbolt 4 connections to achieve maximum performance specifications
• Larger physical footprint compared to consumer portable SSDs due to professional cooling requirements

Specs

• Interface: USB4 (40Gbps), compatible with Thunderbolt 4/3
• Read Speed: Up to 2,500MB/s (v1), 3,000MB/s (v2)
• Write Speed: Up to 2,500MB/s (v1), 3,000MB/s (v2)
• Sustained Write: 1,500MB/s (2TB), 2,000MB/s (4TB/8TB)
• Capacities: 2TB, 4TB, 8TB
• Construction: Dual internal heat sink design
• Power: 15W recommended, LED indicator
• Software: Refresh Pro compatibility for health monitoring
• Warranty: 3 years
• Includes: Rugged carrying case, certified USB4 cable

Who is this for?

Professional videographers and photographers working with 8K footage, ProRes workflows, and multi-TB file transfers who need guaranteed sustained performance without thermal throttling.

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External SSD Enclosures

External enclosures let you build custom portable storage solutions using standard M.2 NVMe SSDs. This approach offers flexibility in choosing capacity, performance, and price while often providing better value than pre-built drives. You can upgrade the internal SSD as needed and choose from a wide range of interface options.

Budget

TerraMaster D1 SSD Plus

TerraMaster’s compact enclosure transforms any M.2 NVMe SSD into a portable external drive. The aluminum construction provides good heat dissipation while the USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface delivers solid 1,000MB/s performance at an affordable price point.

Rating: 3.9

Pros

• Supports any standard M.2 2242/2260/2280 SSD
• Tool-free SSD installation
• Excellent value compared to pre-built drives
• Compact aluminum design with heat dissipation

Cons

• Limited to USB 3.2 Gen 2 speeds (1,000MB/s)
• No IP rating for environmental protection
• SSD must be purchased separately

Who is this for?

Budget-conscious creators who need flexibility in choosing their own SSDs, who don’t require maximum speed.

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Sabrent EC-SNVE

A simple, affordable enclosure that gets the job done without frills. The Sabrent EC-SNVE offers USB 3.2 Gen 2 speeds and tool-free installation in a compact design that’s perfect for basic portable storage needs.

Rating: 3.9

Pros

• Very affordable entry point for DIY external storage
• Tool-free SSD installation
• Compact and lightweight design
• Works with any M.2 NVMe SSD

Cons

• Basic plastic construction
• Limited to 1,000MB/s speeds
• No advanced features or software

Who is this for?

Users who want the most affordable way to convert an internal SSD to external storage.

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Best

ORICO M.2 Enclosure

An affordable USB 3.1 Gen 2 NVMe enclosure that offers solid performance and transparent design aesthetics. Available in multiple variants, including 10Gbps, 20Gbps, and USB4 models to suit different budgets and performance needs.

Rating: 4.1

Pros

• Budget-friendly pricing makes high-speed NVMe storage accessible to more users without significant investment.
• Tool-free installation process with clear transparent design allows easy SSD installation and visual confirmation.
• Multiple connectivity options available, including standard USB 3.1, 20Gbps, and USB4 variants for different use cases.

Cons

• Build quality feels less premium than aluminum alternatives with plastic construction that may crack under stress.
• Heat management can be problematic during sustained transfers, especially with high-performance NVMe SSDs installed.
• Performance inconsistencies were reported across different models, with some users experiencing disconnection issues during heavy use.

Who is this for?

Budget-conscious users who want to repurpose existing NVMe SSDs or need affordable external storage without requiring premium build quality or maximum performance.

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Satechi USB4 NVMe SSD Pro

A premium USB4 enclosure featuring an elegant design and professional performance. The Satechi enclosure combines aluminum construction with polycarbonate casing for optimal heat dissipation and delivers up to 3,840MB/s transfer speeds with tool-free installation.

Rating: 4.2

Pros

• Tool-free installation with a silicone pin system allows easy SSD swapping without screwdrivers or tools
• Premium aluminum and polycarbonate construction provide excellent heat dissipation while maintaining elegant aesthetics
• Wide compatibility supports USB4, Thunderbolt 5/4/3 interfaces with backward compatibility to USB 3.2 and 2.0

Cons

• Premium pricing puts it in competition with pre-built professional SSDs rather than budget enclosures
• Not compatible with double-sided NVMe SSDs or drives with pre-installed heat sinks
• Short included USB4 cable may require additional cable purchase for optimal device placement

Specs

• Interface: USB4 (40Gbps), Thunderbolt 5/4/3 compatible
• Max Speed: Up to 3,840MB/s read, 3,200MB/s write
• SSD Support: M.2 NVMe 2280/2260/2242/2230, up to 8TB
• Construction: Aluminum with polycarbonate thermal case
• Installation: Tool-free with silicone pin system
• Dimensions: 4.4 × 2.7 × 0.9 inches (112 × 69 × 23mm)
• Weight: 7 oz (197g)
• Includes: USB4 cable (5.9″/15cm), thermal pad, clear case
• Compatibility: Mac, PC, Linux, iPad
• Warranty: 2 years

Who is this for?

Creative professionals who want the flexibility of choosing their own NVMe SSD while maintaining premium build quality and maximum USB4 performance.

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UGREEN 40Gbps M.2 Enclosure

A feature-rich USB4 enclosure with active cooling that delivers exceptional performance and reliability. The UGREEN enclosure features intelligent thermal management and premium aluminum construction for sustained high-speed operation.

Rating: 4.2

Pros

• Intelligent PWM cooling fan automatically adjusts speed based on temperature, keeping SSDs up to 20°C cooler during intensive transfers
• ASM2464PD chipset provides excellent compatibility across USB4, Thunderbolt 4/3, and backward compatibility to USB 2.0
• S.M.A.R.T. monitoring with TRIM optimization ensures data security and maintains optimal SSD performance over time

Cons

• An active cooling fan generates noise that may be distracting in quiet environments compared to fanless alternatives
• Slightly larger footprint than passive enclosures due to internal cooling system and ventilation requirements
• Premium pricing compared to basic USB 3.2 enclosures, though competitive for USB4 performance levels

Specs

• Interface: USB4 (40Gbps), Thunderbolt 4/3 compatible
• Max Speed: Up to 3,800MB/s read, 3,000MB/s write
• SSD Support: M.2 NVMe M-Key/B+M-Key 2280/2260/2242/2230, up to 8TB
• Chipset: ASMedia ASM2464PD with USB4/Thunderbolt certification
• Cooling: PWM intelligent turbo fan with automatic speed control
• Construction: Aluminum alloy with thermal pads
• Features: S.M.A.R.T., TRIM, UASP support
• Dimensions: 4.5 × 2.1 × 0.8 inches (115 × 53 × 20mm)
• Includes: Anti-drop silicone case, USB4 cable, installation tools
• Compatibility: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android
• Warranty: Not specified

Who is this for?

Power users and content creators who need maximum USB4 performance with active cooling for sustained workloads like 8K video editing or large file transfers.

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Ultimate

CalDigit Tuff Nano Plus 2TB

The pinnacle of rugged portable storage, this military-grade SSD features IP67 waterproofing, 3-meter drop protection, and blazing-fast NVMe performance. Pre-loaded with a premium SSD and optimized for professional workflows, it’s built to survive the harshest environments while delivering consistent 1,088 MB/s speeds.

Rating: 4.8

Pros

• Military-tested durability with IP67 certification for complete dust and water resistance up to 1 meter depth
• Exceptional sustained performance at 1,088 MB/s read speeds with no throttling during extended use
• Premium all-aluminum construction with protective rubber bumper and included carrying case

Cons

• Premium pricing reflects professional-grade build quality and features
• Slightly larger than basic portable drives due to rugged construction
• Pre-formatted for macOS, requiring Windows users to reformat before use

Specs

• Capacity: 2TB
• Interface: USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps)
• Compatibility: Thunderbolt 3/4, USB4, USB-C, USB-A (with adapter)
• Performance: Up to 1,088 MB/s read, up to 1,000 MB/s write
• Durability: IP67 rated, 3-meter drop tested, MIL-STD tested
• Dimensions: 4.01″ x 2.14″ x 0.57″ (10.19 x 5.44 x 1.45 cm)
• Weight: 0.22 lbs (100g)
• Warranty: 2 years
• Included: USB-C to USB-C cable, carrying case, rubber protective bumper

Who is this for?

Professional photographers, videographers, and content creators who need maximum durability and performance for mission-critical work in challenging environments.

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Acasis TBU405

A professional-grade Thunderbolt 4 enclosure that combines maximum performance with robust build quality. The TBU405 delivers consistent 2,500MB/s+ speeds while maintaining excellent thermal management for sustained professional use.

Rating: 4.7

Pros

• Thunderbolt 4 interface for maximum compatibility
• Excellent sustained performance with thermal management
• Professional build quality at competitive pricing
• Supports the latest M.2 NVMe SSDs

Cons

• Limited to Thunderbolt-equipped devices
• Higher cost than USB alternatives
• Professional features may be unnecessary for casual use

Who is this for?

Professional content creators who need Thunderbolt performance with better value than premium brand alternatives.

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LaCie Rugged SSD 2TB

A professional-grade rugged SSD combining Seagate FireCuda NVMe performance with military-standard durability. Built for content creators who need reliable speeds for 4K video workflows and extreme IP67 protection, this palm-sized drive delivers consistent performance with comprehensive data protection services.

Rating: 4.6

Pros

• Solid NVMe performance up to 1,050 MB/s with Seagate FireCuda technology for smooth 4K video editing
• Extreme durability featuring IP67 waterproofing, 3-meter drop resistance, and 2-ton crush protection
• Complete professional package includes 5-year warranty, Rescue Data Recovery Services, and Adobe Creative Cloud membership

Cons

• Performance is limited to USB 3.2 Gen 2 speeds rather than higher-end Thunderbolt interfaces
• No port cover protection, despite an IP67 rating, may allow dust accumulation over time
• Higher price point compared to basic portable SSDs without professional features

Specs

• Capacity: 2TB
• Interface: USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), Thunderbolt 3 compatible
• Performance: Up to 1,050 MB/s read, up to 1,000 MB/s write
• Durability: IP67 rated, 3-meter drop tested, 2-ton crush-resistant
• Dimensions: 3.85″ x 2.55″ x 0.66″ (9.8 x 6.5 x 1.7 cm)
• Weight: 0.22 lbs (100g)
• Security: Seagate Secure self-encrypting technology
• Warranty: 5 years with Rescue Data Recovery Services
• Included: USB-C cable, USB-C to USB-A adapter, Adobe Creative Cloud (1 month)

Who is this for?

Professional photographers, videographers, and content creators who need reliable 4K video performance with military-grade durability for field work.

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Complete Comparison Chart

Notes:

• *Maximum speed depends on the installed SSD performance for enclosure-only products
• All weights are approximate and may vary by capacity
• Prices shown are typical retail ranges and may vary by retailer
• Interface compatibility: USB4 and Thunderbolt 3/4 are backward compatible with USB-C
• All products include USB-C cables; some include additional adapter cables

FAQs

Should I buy a pre-built external SSD or build my own with an enclosure? Pre-built drives offer convenience, warranty coverage, and guaranteed compatibility. Enclosures provide flexibility, better value, and upgrade potential. Choose pre-built for simplicity, enclosures for customization, and cost savings.

How fast should my external SSD be for 4K video editing? For smooth 4K editing, aim for at least 1,000MB/s sustained transfer speeds. The Samsung T9 (2,000MB/s) and Crucial X10 Pro (2,100MB/s) provide excellent headroom for demanding codecs like ProRes. For 8K workflows, consider Thunderbolt enclosures like the OWC Express 1M2.

Do I need Thunderbolt, or is USB 3.2 sufficient? USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20Gbps) handles most creative workflows, including 4K video editing. Thunderbolt 3/4 (40Gbps) benefits users working with 8K footage, large RAW photo batches, or multiple high-resolution streams simultaneously. The OWC Envoy Pro FX offers both options.

What are the advantages of external enclosures over pre-built drives? Enclosures let you choose your own SSD for better performance or value, upgrade capacity later, and often cost less than equivalent pre-built drives. The TerraMaster D1 SSD Plus, equipped with a quality M.2 SSD, usually outperforms more expensive pre-built options.

How important is durability for portable SSDs? Very important for field work. Look for IP ratings (water/dust resistance) and drop certification. The Samsung T7 Shield (IP65, 9.8ft drops) and Crucial X10 (IP65) handle outdoor shooting conditions. Most enclosures lack environmental protection, so factor this into your decision.

What capacity should I choose for photo and video work? For photographers: 1-2TB handles large RAW libraries. For videographers: 2TB minimum for 4K projects, 4TB+ for longer productions. The Crucial X10’s 8TB option suits users with massive archives or multiple active projects.

Can I use external enclosures with any M.2 SSD? Most enclosures support standard M.2 2280 NVMe SSDs, but check compatibility. Some support multiple sizes (2242, 2260, 2280). Performance depends on both the enclosure’s interface and the chosen SSD’s capabilities.

Are external SSDs reliable for long-term storage? While more reliable than mechanical drives, SSDs aren’t ideal for long-term archival storage. Use external SSDs for active projects and working files, then archive to cloud storage or traditional drives. Most external SSDs include 3-5 year warranties.

How do I secure sensitive client data on portable drives? Look for hardware encryption support. The Samsung T7 Touch offers fingerprint authentication, while the Crucial X10 Pro and OWC Envoy Pro FX support password-based AES 256-bit encryption. Always enable security features for client work.

What’s the difference between sequential and random performance? Sequential speeds (like 2,000MB/s) apply to large file transfers. Random performance affects small file operations and general responsiveness. For video editing and large file transfers, focus on sequential speeds. For running applications directly from the drive, random performance matters more.

Should I buy now or wait for USB4 drives? Current USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 drives like the Samsung T9 and Crucial X10 Pro offer excellent performance for most creative workflows. USB4 drives provide more headroom but at a higher cost. Unless you’re working with 8K footage regularly, today’s drives are more than sufficient.

Do I need Thunderbolt, or is USB 3.2 sufficient? USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20Gbps) handles most creative workflows, including 4K video editing. Thunderbolt 3/4 (40Gbps) benefits users working with 8K footage, large RAW photo batches, or multiple high-resolution streams simultaneously. The OWC Envoy Pro FX offers both options.

Can I use these drives with older computers? Most external SSDs work with older USB ports, but at reduced speeds. USB 3.0 limits performance to around 500MB/s regardless of the drive’s capability. The OWC Envoy Pro FX includes USB-A adapters for maximum compatibility.

Do I need software for external SSDs? Most drives work plug-and-play without software. Samsung includes Samsung Magician for monitoring and optimization. OWC provides a Drive Guide for formatting and security setup. Third-party tools like CrystalDiskInfo can monitor drive health.

What’s the difference between Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 enclosures? Both offer 40Gbps bandwidth, but Thunderbolt 4 provides better compatibility, universal USB4 support, and stricter certification requirements. For pure speed, they’re equivalent, but Thunderbolt 4 ensures future compatibility with new computers.

The post Best External SSDs – Top Picks for Photographers & Videographers appeared first on Imaging Resource.

I have a long history with Hasselblad cameras. I grew up in an era when the Hasselblad 500-series cameras were the pinnacle of medium-format photography. I personally shot with the Hasselblad 501 and put plenty of rolls of 120 and 220 film through it. 

When digital medium format cameras came to market, they were simply versions of the original film cameras that replaced the removable film magazine with one containing an imaging sensor. The bodies were upgraded to communicate electronically with the backs, but compared to today’s cameras, they were wildly unsophisticated. 

Hasselblad made a radical departure from its historical boxy 500-series cameras when it introduced the X1D 50C camera, a medium format system in a body that was clearly designed to look like the “modern” look of a DSLR of the era. 

I remember seeing it at the Photokina trade show in Germany, and being fascinated by it. Instead of a medium format camera built around the tradition of a film body, this was a body built around a digital sensor.

It was not a perfect camera by any means. Focus was slow, operation was slow, and while the images were beautiful, using it was a chore.

The X2D was a major upgrade, tackling a lot of the issues photographers like me had had. It had a combination of contrast and phase detect autofocus versus the contrast detection system of the X1-series. As someone who leaves their memory cards at home often enough that I keep one in my wallet, having built-in 1TB of storage was a brilliant idea. 

That camera had around seven stops of In Body Image Stabilization (IBIS), better than most full-frame cameras. It had around 15 stops of dynamic range, on par with the competing Fujifilm GFX100RF camera. 

Despite limitations, it was a usable and impressive camera in a way that the X1D was not, at least in uses like portraiture and landscape. It still lagged behind full-frame cameras for documentary work, lifestyle photography, and fast-paced journalism, but it was a solid and usable camera.

Hasselblad’s New Generation of Medium-Format 

With the new Hasselblad X2D II 100C, the company is hoping that the fourth time’s a charm, and largely it is. I enjoyed shooting with it more than the other X-series Hasselblad cameras, and more than some full-frame and APS-C cameras I’ve reviewed over the years. 

It’s still not a “fast” camera, but a medium format camera is unlikely to ever catch up to the performance of a similarly priced full-frame mirrorless, or even full-frame cameras that are a fraction of the price. Interestingly, the X2D II launched with a lower price than the X2D, at about $7,700 versus the $8.200 price of the X2D. 

Mostly Excellent Autofocus

The biggest update is in the area where the X-series has been particularly weak, the autofocus. It now has continuous AF aided by LiDAR, and while it’s hard to say how much of the improved AF is better focusing algorithms, and how much is the LiDAR, it is unquestionably better at autocusing than predecessors. 

The AF-S system of the older X-series cameras made them impractical for anything besides landscape photography or portrait work, where the subject isn’t moving. They were cameras you’d use to capture a bride and groom cutting their cake, but not one you’d use to capture them dancing. 

With the new subject-detection autofocus system, aided by LiDAR, the X1D II 100C can nail subjects including humans and animals, for the most part.

A good test of the new autofocus system came at a No Kings protest. I would not have brought the original X2D to a protest rally, as there’s little chance it would have focused accurately on people marching and holding signs, but the X2D II managed to capture images that the X1D and even the X2D could not. 

A person walking straight at the camera would have been too much for the AF-S on the X2D, since the focus would have locked on where the subject was at the time of shutter release. The blur might have been virtually unnoticeable, but it would be there.

The 425-point phase detect system, coupled with the new AF algorithm, tuned out the other spectators in favor of the main subject.

In this photo of my son, the camera had a hard time picking out the face. This is tricky for an eye-detection AF system, but I’ve captured many shots like this and the face detection is more accurate. In both images I’ve set the frame with the paintbrushes between myself and my son to see if the camera would leap onto the brushes. As brightly colored vertical elements, they could easily confuse an AF system, and they did not

That said, when pixel peeping, the minitature is in the sharpest focus. It’s relatively in the plane of the eyes, but there’s a tad more focus there than on the frames of his glasses or his eyelashes.

Animal Eye AF works very well, though it’s hard not to focus on the big eyes of a cat, but squirrel eyes are harder to detect since they’re black against dark fur, and the X2C II 100C nailed it.

At three frames per second, this camera isn’t winning any speed competitions, but in animal detection mode iit was fast enough to grab a few shots of swooping seagulls, and the animal-detect AF latched right onto the birds.

I also had the nwith me, and unsurprisingly, the R6 III outpaced it significantly. Still, the X2D II isn’t meant to be a photojournalist camera for fast-moving events, and it held up nicely. 

Read Our Caon R6 III Review

It’s still a camera designed for portraits, environmental portraits, some street photography, landscapes, and fine art, but you can also put it in your camera bag and bring home in-focus images that the X2D and X1D would have missed. 

An All HDR Workflow

The X2D II has an end-to-end High Definition Range (HDR) workflow, allowing it to capture, display, and process images with a massive tonal range. The HDR pipeline is 16-bit, meaning color and brightness information is nearly lossless from capture to output. 

On the surface, this doesn’t seem different from shooting raw files, but a raw file is designed to provide a standard definition image, so any adjustments to tonality need to be done in post-production. 

With an HDR workflow, every aspect of the process is tone-mapped to give you the most color-accurate image possible, with the maximum dynamic range available from capture. 

The display on the X2D II is HDR, so that you can preview and review the full amount of dynamic range captured on the device. When editing photos on an HDR display, you can work with the full dynamic range available more easily than working on an SDR display. When preparing images for devices like the iPhone, iPad, Apple displays, and any other HDR device, you’ll know what the result will be. 

To evaluate the HDR content, the camera has a 3.6-inch OLED touchscreen with 2.36 million pixels and a brightness of 1,400 nits. I had no problems using the camera in bright sun. The EVF is 5.76 million pixels and a .87x magnification.  

The EVF doesn’t have the highest resolution on the market. That distinction goes to the 9.44 million pixel resolution EVFs found on cameras like the Sony a9 II and Canon R1. But the EVF is the same resolution as the Canon R5 II. From a component standpoint, this is the one under-spec’d part of the camera. 

Note: The image compression used by WordPress is pretty aggressive. Evaluating these images after saving the draft, it’s obvious that the benefits of the HDR workflow are not going to be apparent here. Saturation of these images is washed out and details are softened compared to the originals.

Impressive In Body Image Stabilization (IBIS)

The Hasselblad X2D II 100C has a claimed 10 stops of IBIS, which is best in class. More accurately, it has IBIS that blows other systems out of the water. The medium format Fujifilm GFC100 has 5.5 stops, and the Canon R1 has up to 8.5 stops. 

Ten stops of stabilization are insane. It’s impossible to measure just how accurate that claimed rating is, but the lack of motion blur in images where I was panning to track a subject is impressive. Even when shooting birds in flight—something this camera was not designed to do—I saw no motion blur unless I was shooting too slowly. 

Video – Or Lack Thereof

There is no video recording capability on the X2D II, which may be enough to turn off some potential customers. I have no personal issues with the lack of video capabilities, as I wouldn’t want to capture from a 100MP sensor, and I’d think it would have considerable problems with overheating. 

If you need a video camera, don’t buy the X2D II, but I suspect that if you’re considering this camera, it isn’t for video anyhow. 

Hands On

I utterly and unabashedly love the design of the X2D II, and have always loved the style of the X-series. When I first used it, it felt futuristic. In my review of the X2D, I mentioned that all other cameras were built around a film workflow. (Consumer-level cinema cameras did not yet exist.) SLRs were designed around the shape needed for the film canister. DSLRs evolved around that same design, and mirrorless cameras continued that tradition. 

The X1 was one of the first cameras designed specifically for digital photography. Digital sensors are flat since there is no film canister. The size and thickness of the body are just thick enough to house the massive sensor, electronics, and a battery. The design is form-follows-function.

The double-edged sword of the design is that it was likely responsible in part for the performance of the earlier cameras. You can cram a lot of electronics in the part of a camera where film would have gone, and the X-series has little of that space. 

The X2D II 100C carries on that tradition, and even slims down compared to previous models. It feels very similar to the Fujifilm GFX100RF. However, the Fujifilm camera is designed to emulate the analog past that original Hasselblads dominated, and the Hasselblad feels like it’s designed for the future. 

Controls are sparse. The back of the camera has only the display with four buttons to control scrolling through menus and making menu selections, as well as a button to bring up the menu. There’s an AE-L and AF-D button. 

The latter is used to control the subject detection of the X2D II. Although that doesn’t seem like an obvious choice for a dedicated button, most systems require programming a custom button to handle AF subject control, and having a button just for the AF system is a smart idea. 

The back has the rear control dial and a joystick that does double duty, selecting menu settings and moving through the interface. 

The top deck is equally sparse, with just a power button, LED screen, mode button, ISO/WB button, and a front control dial. On the front is just a programmable button and the lens lock button. 

The power button on the top deck is my one quibble with the layout of the camera. Most cameras use a switch to turn the camera on or off, while the X2D II uses a press-and-hold power button. This design is to keep the top of the deck flat, but pressing and holding a button to power the camera on feels like a slow and cumbersome step. The camera might activate as quickly as a toggle switch, but it definitely feels slower to activate. 

Excellent Menus

Most digital cameras have awful menus. They’re cluttered, poorly organized, and many of the settings are impossible to determine from the names they’re given. I spent ten minutes the other day trying to remember where the picture profile settings are on a Sony camera, and then wondering why it calls things PP1, PP2, etc., instead of S-Log3/S-Cine3. 

The large LCD screen allows for big, visible controls. But it’s not just the size of the layout I like, it’s the way it’s laid out. Many cine cameras have a similar user interface where tapping a setting brings you immediately into the options, with clear ways to move between choices. The Hasselblad X2D II has one of the nicest interfaces on any camera today.

Lens Limitations

The Hasselblad X-series lens lineup comprises fewer than ten lenses, which is a much smaller number than any mirrorless full-frame system. It’s an even smaller collection than Fujifilm’s medium-format GFX-series lenses. 

There are third-party options available for the Hasselblad system, and the lenses Hasselblad makes cover a wide range of focal lengths and apertures, so the relative dearth of lenses is probably not an issue for a potential customer of the X-series. It’s just good to keep in mind you’re buying into a system with fewer options than some others.  

Software Woes

As of this article, Lightroom and Photoshop only have preliminary support for Hasselblad raw files. Capture One users will be disappointed to find out that there is not, nor likely ever will be Hasselblad support.

Capture One started life as software for the Phase One medium format camera system, and even though Capture One broke off from Phase One years ago, the grudge between the two is ongoing. 

The alternative is to use Hasselblad’s Phocus software, which, as is the case with most camera manufacturers’ software, is dismal. The software is required for tethering workflows, but runs like molasses. 

On my Mac Studio, which is fast enough to edit multiple streams of 4K footage in real time, Phocus often took more than ten seconds to load a file fully. Sometimes the full image data would fail to load until an adjustment was made, at which point the resolution and saturation would suddenly load.  Sometimes dragging sliders had no effect at all. 

With support for the full HDR workflow of the Hasselblad files, I’d like the Phoocus app to be speedier and for the tools to all work properly all the time.

Image Quality

While I usually discuss image quality earlier in a review, I’ve left this to last because the image quality on the X-series has always been impressive. The X2D II 100C is no exception. 

Files are as detailed as you’d expect from a 100MP sensor. With the HDR pipeline, colors are rich and accurate. If image quality is your main objective in camera selection, this has some of the best I’ve seen in any camera, ever. 

Images, in short, are superb. From the saturated colors of fall foliage to the skin tones in a portrait, the Hasselblad X2D II 100C delivers. In many ways, the image quality is the primary feature of this camera, with the design, autofocus, IBIS, and display secondary features. 

However, the tradeoff with the high resolution of a 100 megapixel sensor is a higher amount of noise relative to lower resolution sensors, all else being equal.

Image noise is a function of the size of the sensor and the number of pixels. A sensor needs to be covered from edge-to-edge in pixels, so when the number of pixels increases, they get smaller and closer together. It’s the size of these pixels and their proximity to other pixels that determines the light-gathering abilities of the sensor. 

You can think of this like putting a both a glass and a bucket outside in the rain. They both will have the same height of water after the rain stops, but the bucket will have more total water. When this comes to light, the bigger the bucket, the more light gathered. 

So, a 100 megapixel medium format camera would have more noise in low light or high ISO than a 50 megapixel medium format camera sensor. There are technologies that change this equation. A Backside Illuminated Sensor (BSI) gathers more light than a traditional sensor due to how the wiring is structured. 

In any case, the 100 megapixel X2D II 100C produces roughly the same amount of noise as the Sony a7R V at 61 megapixels. The sensor is smaller than medium format, but the lower resolution means bigger pixels. 

If you don’t need the 40 megapixel difference between the a7R V and the X2D 100C, then that Sony, or any mirrorless camera with a 60mp BSI sensor, would have the same low light performance. With the Sony, you get some of the best autofocus in the business, a smaller body, a larger selection of lenses, video capabilities, and a price that’s a few thousand dollars cheaper. 

To follow along with that math, a 50 megapixel camera would have even less noise, albeit at half the resolution as the 100 megapixel sensor in the X2D II 100C. 

I don’t think that most customers considering the Hasselblad are between it and a full-frame camera, just as I don’t think most Leica customers are considering alternative systems. 

Despite any noise tradeoffs, the HDR workflow and 100 megapixel sensor are hard to beat. 

Who Is This For

The Hasselblad X2D II is not a camera for the masses. It’s even more particular of a camera than a Leica, in that it’s designed not only for a specific type of customer, but a specific type of shooting. 

That said, it’s much more flexible than one might expect. The new autofocus, the HDR workflow, the IBIS, and the image quality make it an incredible option for a photographer looking for the ultimate in portable medium-format photography. 

The X2D II 100C feels faster, smarter, and more accurate than any Hasselblad X-series camera. Finally, it fulfills the promise of that first X1 camera I saw at Photokina so many years ago. 

The post Hands-On With the Hasselblad X2D II 100C — Hasselblad Finally Got it Right (Mostly) appeared first on Imaging Resource.

We’re already seeing early discounts across Canon RF and EF lenses, Nikon Z-mount glass, Sony E-mount G Master optics, and third-party options from Sigma, Tamron, and Samyang. Retailers will soon start to roll out bundle offers, cashback deals, and flash sales ahead of the big day.

Prices and savings subject to change. Click through to get the current deal prices.

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When do Black Friday lens deals start?

Camera and Lens deals typically begin surfacing in mid-November, as major photo retailers look to get ahead of the competition. Expect to see “early Black Friday” discounts from Amazon, B&H Photo, Adorama, and WEX Photo Video well before November 28, with the strongest price drops hitting during the long weekend and extending through Cyber Monday (December 1).

Is Black Friday the best time to buy a new lens?

Yes, Black Friday offers the deepest lens discounts of the year. You can expect anywhere from 10–30% off current models. For seasoned photographers and beginners alike, that can mean hundreds of dollars saved on pro-grade optics.

Popular all-rounders like the Canon RF 24–70mm f/2.8L, Sony 70–200mm f/2.8 GM II, or Nikon Z 85mm f/1.8 S regularly feature in these sales, as do compact primes and travel zooms. Third-party brands such as Sigma and Tamron often push aggressive promotions too — sometimes offering comparable image quality for significantly less.

You’ll find lens discounts across a range of major outlets this season, including:

• B&H Photo
• Adorama
• Amazon
• WEX Photo Video (UK)

Why you can trust Imaging Resource this Black Friday

At Imaging Resource, lenses are our bread and butter. We’ve tested, reviewed, and compared hundreds of them, from entry-level primes to high-end professional zooms, and we know what real-world performance and value look like.

Our team will be tracking verified discounts throughout the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period to make sure the offers we feature are genuinely worth your time and money. Bookmark this page, check back often, and make sure your next lens upgrade is the right one at the right price.

The post Black Friday lens deals 2025: What to expect on lenses during sale season appeared first on Imaging Resource.

If it feels like new camera models have fewer upgrades for the photographer, yet massive upgrades for video creators, you’re not wrong.

The Canon R6 III is a modest (yet important) update for photography, but nearly a brand new camera from a video standpoint. For still shooters, the Canon R6 III feels almost identical to the R6 II, while the  R6 III is so much better at video that the R6 II seems almost comically underperforming by comparison.

Because Canon and Nikon caught up to the sophistication of Sony’s full-frame mirrorless system, all three companies have been introducing models with only modest improvements in photo features, but major upgrades in video specs.

There are a few reasons why new models seem so video-centric.

The most obvious is that camera processor power and storage are improving at a fast enough clip to have caught up to basic 4K capture, and now can do professional-level recording in enthusiast-level bodies.

The competitive landscape is another reason cameras are getting more video features. The video creator economy is booming, thanks to YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and dozens of other social media tools. A camera’s features follow the money, and the money is in video.

But for photographers, we might be seeing the end of radical improvements in photography-specific features in hybrid cameras, and settling back to the incremental improvements of the DSLR era.

Simply put, it’s because there’s not a lot more you can do with still photography. Cameras now come with 40 frames per second capture, they have more than a dozen stops of dynamic range, and eight or more stops of In-Body Image Stabilization (IBIS) when body and IBIS are combined. Newer CFexpress cards and in-camera buffers provide stupendous write speeds.

It’s not surprising then that the R6 III has more features than its Mark II predecessor, but fewer of them are targeted to the photographer.

Watch Our Full Video Review

Features – What has and Hasn’t Changed From the R6 II.

In ergonomics and features, the R6 III is practically unchanged from the Mark II, with the biggest difference being a new battery and the addition of the CFexpress Type B (CFe Type B) slot. A new full-size HDMI port is a welcome addition to the body, as the smaller HDMI port on the R6 II is prone to breaking. There’s now a tally light on the front for recording video, and as someone who has blown many a shoot forgetting to hit record, that’s a great addition.

There’s a tweak to the top dials with the addition of a Slow and Fast mode, but essentially, the camera is indistinguishable from the R6 II just from looks alone.

Internally, the camera gains a new 32.5 megapixel sensor versus 24.2 for the R6 II, and new AF algorithms improve AF detection and “stickyness.” The R6 III does not have the action AF found in Canon’s newer high-end bodies, but the improvements over the Mark II are noticeable, if not major. The focus system is now very similar to the new C50 cine body.

In my tests, the AF system was improved (as advertised), but still a bit sluggish-feeling compared to the R5 II. One of my favorite subjects to test autofocus is birds in flight because they move quickly, change direction rapidly, and have such teeny tiny eyeballs. 

IBIS is about a half-stop better when combined with optically-stabilized lenses. ISO sensitivity has increased from ISO 64000 to ISO 102,400, which is expandable to an absurd ISO 204,000, perfect, I suppose, for capturing photos of Navy SEALs operating under the cover of night.

Both share the same 40 frames per second (fps) and 12 fps mechanical capture rates, while the pre-capture rate improves just slightly from .3 seconds to .5 seconds.

For still photography, that’s pretty much all that has changed. See our photo and video spec charts below for a complete comparison.

Massive Video Improvements in the R6 III

The Canon EOS R6 Mark III is a big leap in Canon’s hybrid video system. The improved video features make it more closely resemble the new one than the R6 III. The video overhaul feels similar to the Canon 5D series, which saw major video improvements in each model.

The new camera now has 7K internal RAW up to 60p, and oversampled 4K for 10-bit 4:2:2 full-sensor capture. The R6 III captures 4K 120p with audio, which Canon says is a first for cameras in this class. At 2K it has a staggering 180p. Videos can be recorded in XF-AVC and HEVC, and impressively, it now has All-Intra recording.

To help with post-processing color editing, the R6 III can record in both C-Log 2 and C-Log 3, on par with Sony and Nikon bodies at this price range. The CFexpress Type B card allows for that internal RAW recording.

With 7K internal RAW, 4K 10-bit 4:2:2, the faster frame rates, and the pro-level grading, make the R6 III one of the most impressive video cameras in Canon’s lineup, and in the market in general.

The new Slow and Fast dial on the top deck gives shooters quick access to the super-fast and super-slow recording settings, which saves dives into the menu system. Canon’s menu system is uncluttered and easy to use, but preventing trips to the menu is always good.

The R6 III doesn’t stop at a new video codec and raw recording; it has gained quality of life improvements. The Mark II has waveform monitors, tally lamps, a tool to magnify the video image while still recording to check focus, and has shockless white balance. Canon says that the new focus acceleration and deceleration speeds have been tweaked ot create better focus racking with autofocus.

Canon makes a capable app for image transfer and for camera control, though I couldn’t test it for this review as it only works with publicly available cameras. Based on the functionality of the other Canon cameras, the ease of image transfer is a plus compared to many different company apps.

Handling and Autofocus

If you liked the design of the R6 II, you’ll enjoy the design of the R6 III, as it’s virtually unchanged from the Mark II body. I’ve always liked the feel of Canon’s sculpted grip better than some competitor designs. Even shooting with the long, holding the body lightly by the grip was no problem, and felt well-balanced.

I wish that the R6 III had gained a better EVF and LCD screen, as they’re a bit low-res for the price of this camera. Most of the time, I’d shoot video with this camera; I’d have it hooked up to an external HDMI display anyhow, so it’s not a dealbreaker for me, but it’s disappointing with a new upgrade of this system.

I’ve never been a fan of the placement of the photo and video control switch on the left side of the body. It requires a second hand to toggle modes, which I find annoying. I know the switch is placed on the left to prevent accidental toggling, but I prefer the placement of the switches on the Nikon, Sony, and Panasonic systems, which are found on the right side of the camera..

Performance feels identical in every way, as the camera is almost identical in every way. The change in pre-capture speed is impossible to detect, since it’s working in the background and is very slight.

Also impossible to detect are the improvements in IBIS. A half stop of increased stabilization with an optically stabilized lens is so minimal when capturing still that it is also impossible to detect.

In video operation, though, the added stabilization is more apparent. I shot with the Canon 100-500mm at the full 500mm length, and while the video was not perfectly stable while handholding, I would not expect it to be. The resulting footage was easily stabilized in post, albeit with the crop necessary to keep such a long focal length still.

The AF is noticeably better, though still not on par with Canon’s cameras featuring activity detection. I still found hunting on animal detection mode, and when photographing birds (which do not have their own detection setting), the camera would often jump to the closest bird, and not focus on them as the primary subject moved around.

Animal eye detection and tracking are still better on some competitor cameras, even the Sony a7C II, which is a fraction of the price of this camera. Sony and Canon trade off AF capabilities, with some subjects more accurately tracked on each system. I shot the high-resolution A7c R while on a safari in Brazil, and it was able to lock onto the eyes of birds as they flew through tall grasses, while this R6 III would indicate it was following the whole bird rather than its eye, and lost track against complex backgrounds. 

Still, it’s a powerful AF system, and it’s better than the predecessor. The action-priority focus system found in the higher-end cameras would have been a welcome addition, but at least the R6 III sees an overall improvement. 

Possibly it’s just that the Sony system has a better implementation of displaying the focus points, keeping the focus indicator firmly on the eye of a moving person or animal. At the same time, the Canon AF seems to track eyes nearly as well, but doesn’t always display a small box over the eyes of the subject.

Image Quality

The R6 III is a more-than-capable camera for any subject, from landscapes to portraits to editorial to sports.

Canon’s praised “color science” is on full display in the R6 III. Fall foliage images are nicely saturated without being overblown. The blues of the sky are vibrant, and skin tones are neutral. Evaluating RAW files required the beta version of Canon’s Digital Photo Professional (DPP)software, which is cumbersome, to put it mildly.

For reviews, I avoid heavy editing, sticking largely to cropping and exposure adjustments to compensate for in-field mirroring. Since I’m not familiar with the editing tools in Canon’s DPP, I opened the raw files in Canon’s software, exported them as 16-bit TIFFS, and then imported them into Capture One. 

After all the moving back and forth, I found the out-of-camera JPEG files ot be very similar to the 16-bit TIFF files created from the RAWs, only a bit brighter and more saturated than the raw files. This is to be expected, and it goes to show how good the JPEGs are from modern cameras. 

As with all JPEG files, even the high-res ones started to fall apart under heavy editing, but for capture-and-done workflows, the JPEGs are excellent. 

There should be raw converters from Adobe and Capture One around the release date of this camera. 

The R6 III also captures in HEIF, a better format than JPEG for color adjustments without using raw files, though Capture One, which I use for image editing, does not support 10-bit HEIF for some reason, so I used the Canon workflow. 

Like with other Canon cameras, raw files can be created in several sizes. These various raw sizes were more helpful on lower-powered computers that were standard years ago, but most modest computers and above have no problems with the full-sized raw files. The smaller formats reduce storage requirements, but I’d rather pay more for storage than throw out image data. If you’re upgrading to a higher-resolution camera, using a smaller raw file doesn’t make much sense to me.

It’s not surprising that the image quality is excellent, particularly with Canon’s sharper lenses. I shot with the Canon RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM.

The image quality on the 100-500mm is slightly muddier and with low contrast at the long end, while prime lenses like the Canon RF35mm F1.4 L VCM Lens make superbly sharp images. 

Thanks to the higher resolution sensor in the R6 III compared to the R6 II, I was able to crop photos like this Northern Harrier without losing detail in the image. 

I used the long 500mm focal length of the RF 100-500mm lens to create a close-up of this dragonfly, and the compound eyes are clearly visible in the shot, as is the bright color of its head. 

Interestingly, animal-detect AF mode locked onto the face of the dragonfly, despite it not looking like any mammal I’ve ever seen. 

Video In The Field

The interesting thing about video features is that they’re hard to write about and hard to show off on something like YouTube. The 7K recording is a massive improvement, and it allows for pretty extreme post-capture cropping and reframing. When 4K first showed up in cameras, it was used similarly. Most YouTubers edit and upload in 1080p, due to the processing requirements for editing, and YouTube’s lackluster support for 4K.

Many consumers had yet to upgrade to 4K televisions when the capture resolution showed up in mirrorless cameras, making 4K perfect for cropping to HD. Likewise, 7K recording isn’t intended to display footage in 7K, but to provide wide latitude in editing composition.

I found absolutely no overheating while shooting in any resolution or codex, though most of my testing occurred in early fall in New York, where daytime temperatures hovered around 60 degrees.

Video quality is excellent, just as was the case with the R6 II; improvements come down to post-processing editing. I did not have a LUT specific to this camera. Still, generally Canon C-Log2 and C-Log 3 worked for basic color correction, and the 10-bit overhead allowed for corrections without highlights getting overblown.

For audio in studio use, it connects to the digital hot shoes on the R6 III for cable-free audio recording. I did not have access to that XLR adapter, but I’ve used it previously on other camera systems with good results. It makes the R6 III one of the best choices for the studio where creators also want a capable photography camera.

At the Connecticut Audubon Society Cosal Center wildlife refuge, I was able to capture murmurations of starlings at 180 as they shifted and changed patterns in the air. I also captured a dragonfly at 180fps as it lifted from a handrail on the beach walkway. If you’ve ever seen how fast a dragonfly moves, you’ll understand how impressive that is without a specialized camera. 

Purchase Recommendations

If you’re a stills-only user of the R6 II, the R6 III is probably not worth upgrading to unless you need the higher-resolution sensor, tweaked AF, and bigger battery. With the performance of the R6 III so close to that of the R6 II photo-wise, it’s a complicated upgrade path.

Canon says the R6 II will remain in the lineup. Any price changes to the R6 II won’t be announced until after launch, so I have no direct cost-based recommendations, but as the R6 III is being released ahead of Black Friday, I suspect we’ll see at least temporary discounts on the R6 II.

However, if you’re an expert-level or pro-level video-shooter, or this is your first Canon camera, and you’re looking to shoot both photos and videos, this is a no-brainer.

Canon R6 Mark III vs Canon R6 Mark II — Comparison Summary

Video Feature Comparison

Canon R6 II and R6 III Comparison

Canon R6 III – Photo and Video Specs

Photo Specs

• 32.5MP full-frame CMOS sensor (same as the Canon C50)
• DIGIC X processor
• Dual Pixel AF II with improved AF algorithm
• No DIGIC Accelerator (so no Action Priority), but includes Register People Priority.
• Up to 40 fps electronic and 12 fps mechanical shutter
• Pre-continuous shooting up to 0.5 sec (improved from R6 II)
• 6.5 stops of IBIS, up to 8.5 stops coordinated with IS lenses (7.5 at periphery)
• Subject Track IS — keeps subject centered via digital stabilization
• New color filter modes (creative looks from Canon’s V-series)
• Native ISO 100–64,000 (expandable to 102,400)
• Same EVF and touchscreen as R6 Mark II
• Improved buffer thanks to the addition of a CFexpress Type B slot + UHS-II SD slot
• LPE6-P battery (same as R5 Mark II, ~600 shots per charge)

Video Specs

• Full-width DCI 4K 10-bit 4:2:2 up to 60p oversampled from 7K (slight quality drop at 60p)
• 7K up to 60p RAW internally
• 7K up to 30p open gate RAW or HEVC (first for a hybrid Canon ILC)
• Full-width 4K up to 120p with audio
• DCI 2K/1080p up to 60p oversampled from 3.5K
• 2K up to 180fps with audio
• Full-width DCI recording is supported
• Slow & Fast mode from Cinema line — choose playback framerate, burn-in slow motion
• Same codecs as C50: XF-AVC and HEVC; intra recording now added (previously IPB only)
• C-Log 2, C-Log 3, and full log/gamut support
• New Magnify Recording Display — check focus while recording
• New video white balance system with shockless WB and adjustable response time
• Tally lamps and waveform monitors included
• Focus acceleration/deceleration algorithm from C50 and C400 for smoother focus pulls.
• Full HDMI port
• Proxy and sub-recording options for RAW video

The post Canon R6 III Hands-On Review – One Small Step for Photography, One Giant Leap for Video-Kind appeared first on Imaging Resource.

After more than a decade of waiting for a proper successor to the RX1R II, we were expecting something big. The original was groundbreaking; we hoped this one might be too.

Instead, we got… a sensor update. And a steep price hike.

I’ve had the RX1R III in hand for a week of real-world shooting, and I’ve got to say: it’s not just underwhelming-it’s frustrating. There are a few things to like, but the problems stack up fast. Let’s start with the good (it won’t take long) and then dig into where this camera goes wrong.

As a note, usually we get cameras in to test for several weeks. With the RX1R III, the press is only getting access for several days. Since the image quality of the sensor and power of the autofocus in the RX1R III is on par with the cameras that already use this, my review focused less on that, and more on the confusing aspects of the camera.

That said, it’s unlikely that after more time with this camera, my opinions would have changed.

Watch Our Hands-On Review Video

What’s Good About the RX1R III

Sony gave this camera the same 61-megapixel full-frame sensor found in the a7R V and a7CR, packed into a body that’s even smaller than the a7CR. That’s no small feat. You also get Sony’s latest AI-based autofocus system, at least on paper.

And that’s it. That’s the entire list of pros.

The previous RX1R II shoehorned the sensor and focus from the a7R II, which was cutting-edge at the time, into a surprisingly small body. This update takes the internals of the current a7R V and sticks them in what is essentially the same shell.

The image quality in the camera is impressive, as is the image quality of the a7CR and a7R V, which share the same sensor.
Photos are rich in detail with resolution so high that you can easily crop shots to frame your subject. With 61 megapixels, there’s plenty of data to use for post-processing adjustments.

The camera can shoot in several different RAW modes, as well as high-quality HEIF. HEIF is a much better format than JPEG, and I encourage all JPEG shooters to give HEIF a try instead.

As of the writing of this article, there is no raw converter for Lightroom or other camera apps, so images were opened and reviewed in Sony’s Imaging Edge desktop app.

What’s Changed-And What Hasn’t

There’s this concept in camera design we used to talk about where I worked previously, we called “table stakes”-the minimum feature set needed to even sit at the table in today’s market.

When few cameras had subject detection autofocus, the lack of this feature in a camera wasn’t a problem. But when the first cameras with subject detection showed up, it became the new table stakes. Camera systems without subject AF are often compared unfavorably to those that do.

The RX1R II met those stakes a decade ago and handily exceeded them. The RX1R III? Not even close.

Let’s start with that 61MP sensor. It’s high resolution, which means more cropping flexibility-but also more noise at moderate ISO settings. Usually, you’d rely on IBIS to compensate for slower shutter speeds and keep ISO lower.

But the RX1R III doesn’t have IBIS. Ten years ago, fine. Today, it’s an oversight that makes a noticeable difference in real-world results.

I’ve spent a lot of time in the comment section on our video review of this camera, and there are plenty of people who say that IBIS isn’t necessary. That’s true, strictly speaking. You don’t need IBIS, but it’s a staple on all but the lowest-end cameras.

IBIS allows you to shoot at a lower shutter speed to avoid noisy images. A 61 megapixel sensor is noisier (all things being equal) than, say, the 42 megapixel sensor in the a7C II. IBIS would help compensate for that.

Since Sony managed to squeeze a whole pro-level mirrorless camera into the RX1R II, people were expecting an update, especially a decade-long update, to have this key technology.

With IBIS, this camera would be vastly more useful for street photography and to capture quickly moving animals while panning. Billing this as a travel camera means that there are certain expectations for its use.

IBIS would allow shooters to handhold as the sun sets on a foreign travel destination, or to capture images of your travel partner while you’re both walking. In the dim interior of a coffee shop in another country, handholding at slower shutter speeds would result in noticeably cleaner photos.

A 10-Year-Old Lens on a Modern Sensor

There’s a catch with this camera, despite the sensor’s excellent performance. This camera ships with the same Zeiss 35mm f/2 lens as the RX1R II. Not a redesign. Not an updated version. The same lens.

It was fine when Sony’s autofocus was slower. But now that the AF system is lightning fast, pairing it with an outdated, slow-focus lens creates a performance bottleneck. You can even hear the motors working-something you don’t expect in a $5,000 camera.

To be fair, some reviewers haven’t noticed the lag. But I use the a7R V daily-I know what this sensor and AF system should feel like. This doesn’t match it. It’s not very far off from the a7R V or the a7CR, but it’s not on par with them either.

I even shot some tests with our kittens, using multiple bodies for comparison: my a7R V, the Nikon Z6 III and Z5 II, and this RX1R III. The subject detection on Sony, Canon, and Nikon can usually lock onto a cat’s eye without breaking a sweat.

But with this RX1R III, I missed a lot of shots. This is either because the lens is holding back the AF system, or because the lack of IBIS meant my movements introduced blur.

That said, when the camera does hit, and that is the majority of the time, the image quality is superb. Zeiss glass is still Zeiss glass, and paired with that sensor, you can get gorgeous shots, albeit with some chromatic aberrations if you pixel-peep.

Major Ergonomic Misses

The RX1R III lost the tilting LCD screen of the RX1R II, which is something that confused and infuriated many reviewers.

All of the photo press are friends, and after a company’s briefing, we often call or FaceTime each other to talk about the products. Every one of the five calls I had about this camera started off discussing the lack of a tilting LCD screen.

This isn’t the first time a feature has been removed in a camera’s update, but a tilting screen makes a camera more usable. A fixed-in-place screen is just odd.
If you’re framing at eye level, it’s fine. But if you’re shooting low to the ground-flowers, pets, wildlife-you’re getting down on the ground. For overhead shots, it’s nearly impossible to see a non-tilting LCD screener. That’s something I haven’t had to do with a modern camera in years.

The built-in EVF is better than the pop-up version on the RX1R II, which always seemed to collect grime, but it’s still not great. It’s small, doesn’t have excellent resolution, and doesn’t inspire confidence when manually focusing or checking fine details.

And the LCD? Also mediocre. It washes out in sunlight unless you crank the brightness, at which point your already bad battery life becomes worse.

Speaking of Battery Life

Sony says you’ll get around 250 shots per charge. That’s pretty accurate-I got 75 shots and dropped to 61% battery. Not ideal for travel or street shooting. You’ll need a second battery, minimum.

Worse yet, the SD card and battery live in the same compartment under the grip. If you’ve got a tripod plate attached, you have to remove the camera from the tripod, unscrew everything just to change batteries or swap cards, and then put the plate back on and attach it to the tripod again.
Sony fixed this in the ZV series. Which makes me think they didn’t redesign this body at all-they just made minor tweaks and called it a day.

Other Frustrations and Missed Opportunities

Let’s run through the rest:

• No joystick. You can move AF points using the touchscreen, but if you’re left-eye dominant like I am, your nose hits the screen.
• No locking dials. Not the worst omission, but come on-it’s 2025.
• No 4K/60 video. You’re stuck at 4K/30, which is fine for some travel footage-but again, $5,000.
• Fixed lens. No flexibility. And for this price? You could have an interchangeable system.

There is one small but appreciated detail: when you turn the camera vertically, the interface rotates. That’s great. But it just reminds me of what could have been.

This Could Have Been a Killer Vlogging Camera

Imagine this: a lightweight, full-frame compact with a slightly wider lens, flip-out screen, digital audio support, and the same mic system found in Sony’s ZV series.
Throw in IBIS, and this could have been the ultimate street/travel/vlogging hybrid. Sony got this close, then gave up.

The Bigger Picture

Some commenters pointed out that adjusted for inflation, the RX1R II would cost around $5,000 today. That’s Fair.
But the a7CR is $3,000. It has IBIS, a flip screen, better video, interchangeable lenses, and vastly better battery life.
So for two grand more, the RX1R III gives you… a smaller body, an old lens, and fewer features.

If you’re a Sony shooter, just buy the a7CR.

Final Thoughts

Sony built its reputation on miniaturization. Radios that fit in a shirt pocket. A Walkman that shrunk every generation. Cameras and lenses that beat DSLRs in size and specs.

The RX1R II was part of that legacy. The RX1R III? Not so much.

It’s the same size, with minimal innovation, and a feature set that doesn’t match the price. Give me this camera at a7CR pricing, and maybe we’re talking. Still not a great value-but at least closer to making sense.

As it stands, this is a $5,000 reminder that progress isn’t guaranteed-even from Sony.

The post Hands On Review of Sony’s Premium Compact RX1R III: Is the Sony Fan Disappointment Warranted? appeared first on Imaging Resource.

As we run up to Black Friday, companies are starting to announce their best sales of the year. We will be bringing you all of the best deals on Smartphone Black Friday Deals In 2025.

How do Black Friday Deals Compare to Other Sale Events

Most smartphone manufacturers have discounts for Black Friday, while the rest of the year, they offer more sporadic deals, usually on just a few products they’re trying to clear out of inventory.

Those deals are hard to predict, and can sometimes have only minor discounts, while generally, Black Friday deals offer greater savings.

Should I Wait Until Black Friday to Buy Photo and Video Gear?

If you find a deal in this guide even before Black Friday, it’s likely to be the largest discount available for the whole Black Friday season. Companies rarely offer sales in October or early November and then offer the same products at a higher savings.

Imaging Resource Buyer’s Guides

If you’d like to see our guides to finding the best gear in dozens of categories, check out our Buyer’s Guides section. The Smartphone Videography Accessories and  Smartphone Photography Accessories guides should help you pick the things you need to take your smartphones further.

Related Buyer’s Guides

Pro Hybrid Video Cameras | Sony Cameras | Canon Cameras | 360 Cameras | Budget Mirrorless Cameras | Memory Cards | Cameras for Beginners | Waterproof Cameras | Action Cameras | Instant Cameras | Budget L-Mount Lenses | Micro Four Thirds Budget Lenses | Nikon Budget Lenses | Budget Fujifilm Lenses | Smartphone Videography Accessories | Smartphone Photography Accessories | Photography Accessories | External SSDs | Webcams for Streaming | NAS Devices | Microphone for Video Creators

The post Smartphone Black Friday Deals In 2025 appeared first on Imaging Resource.

As we run up to Black Friday, companies are starting to announce their best sales of the year. We will be bringing you all of the Best Camera Accessories Black Friday Deals in 2025.

How do Black Friday Deals Compare to Other Sale Events

Most photographic and videographic manufacturers have discounts for Black Friday. The rest of the year, they offer sporadic deals, usually on just a few items they’re trying to clear out of inventory. Those deals are hard to predict, and can sometimes have only minor discounts, while generally, Black Friday deals offer greater savings.

Should I Wait Until Black Friday to Buy Photo and Video Gear?

If you find a deal in this guide even before Black Friday, it’s likely to be the largest discount available for the whole Black Friday season. Companies rarely offer sales in October or early November and then provide the same products at a higher savings.

When is Black Friday

This year, Black Friday lands on November 28, 2025, followed by Cyber Monday on November 31. Like every year, popular online retailers will be cutting prices across their lineups.

Imaging Resource Buyer’s Guides

If you’d like to see our guides to finding the best gear in dozens of categories, check out our Buyer’s Guides section.

All of our Buyer’s Guides

Pro Hybrid Video Cameras | Sony Cameras | Canon Cameras | 360 Cameras | Budget Mirrorless Cameras | Memory Cards | Cameras for Beginners | Waterproof Cameras | Action Cameras | Instant Cameras | Budget L-Mount Lenses | Micro Four Thirds Budget Lenses | Nikon Budget Lenses | Budget Fujifilm Lenses | Smartphone Videography Accessories | Smartphone Photography Accessories | Photography Accessories | External SSDs | Webcams for Streaming | NAS Devices | Microphone for Video Creators

The post Camera Accessories Black Friday Deals in 2025 appeared first on Imaging Resource.