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PetaPixel is reporting that GNARBOX appears to be dead. The GNARBOX 2.0 SSD launched on Kickstarter in 2018 and let users back up photos and videos in the field, review and rough-cut footage, cull and edit images, show selects and more.

It's more than a portable hard drive. Or, at least, it was. The company has apparently gone dark, which leaves existing customers looking for support — and the required app — in the lurch. Without the app, which has been removed from the App Store, new customers can't actually use all the features that the device promises. We've contacted GNARBOX for comment but haven't yet heard back. We'll update this article if we do.

What does the GNARBOX 2.0 SSD promise? The device, which is still being sold by retailers like Amazon, Adorama and B&H, promises one-step backup in the field. You can perform some functions with just the device, using the onboard OLED and buttons. Content can be backed up to the hard drive using either of its USB 3.0 Type-C ports or the onboard SD card reader. There's also an integrated micro-HDMI port. The water, dust and shock-resistant device is built to high standards.

Where GNARBOX separates itself from other portable hard drives is through the connected mobile apps, which allow users to preview RAW photos, make selections, edit and trim video, and showcase the files on the hard drive. The problem is, that app is no longer available. If you just recently got the GNARBOX 2.0 SSD, you're basically stuck with an expensive portable hard drive. The device costs $499 for a 256GB model, $599 for a 512GB model and $899 for the 1TB version. That's without a charger and batteries, by the way.

Basically, it's buyer beware at this point. While we await official word, which may never arrive, PetaPixel also points out that the corporation behind GNARBOX, Mygnar, Inc., has a 'forfeited' status. It's had this status since late October.

Meanwhile, customers are concerned.

Hey @lensshark do you know what’s happening with @GNARBOX? App is no longer on the iOS/IPadOS App Store, and they seem to have be all quite on the socials front since early November.

Great product, that I hope won’t be a useless pile of plastic if I can no longer get the app…

— Des Paroz (@desparoz) December 26, 2021

Therein lies the major issue. Without the app, while somewhat functional, the device fails to offer its promised features. Companies go out of business and products lose customer support, but not all products lose core functionality when the manufacturer vanishes.

It's a shame that just over two years after the GNARBOX 2.0 SSD became available at retailers worldwide, the device seemingly has gone out to pasture. We hope that's not the case, but you don't need an app to know that the signs aren't looking good.

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A year in review: the biggest stories of 2021 (in our world)

At the end of last year, 2021 felt as though it could represent a fresh start after a tumultuous year that saw COVID-19 impact nearly every facet of our lives (and the photography industry). As it turns out, despite the widespread availability of safe vaccines (in much if not all of the world), not much was different in 2021. Between the numerous COVID-19 variants, supply chain constraints and the global chip shortage, 2021 almost seems to blur together with 2020.

Still, many new products were announced and even if some were delayed, much progress has been made by nearly every company in the industry, especially on the high-end full-frame front, which saw Canon, Nikon and Sony all release impressive professional cameras that will inevitably push the mirrorless market to the next level.

Let's take a look at the biggest news stories in the photography world throughout 2021.

January: Sony announces its flagship a1 mirrorless camera

Sony started the year strong, announcing its flagship Alpha 1 (a1) camera system on January 26, 2021. The 50MP camera can shoot up to 30 fps with zero blackout, records 8K video at up to 30p and features a 9.44M dot OLED viewfinder that can be refreshed at up to 240fps.

As the saying goes, Sony threw everything short of the kitchen sink into the a1 and it shows. It’s a camera that would work for nearly any professional photographer who gets their hands on it. It’s fast, powerful and very versatile. Yes, it's expensive, but what did you expect?

February: NASA shares Perseverance’s first 360° view of Mars

Less than a week after NASA's Perseverance rover landed on Mars, it sent back a detailed 360-degree image showing an interactive perspective of its landing site on the Martian surface. The images were captured with the rover's onboard color navigation cameras (Navcams), which are placed on the remote sensing mast (or head) of Perseverance.

You can look around the entire image using the below video in supported browsers:

NASA has published many more images since this 360-degree image was released and will do so for years to come. To see keep tabs on new videos as NASA publishes them, subscribe to the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory YouTube channel and NASA's YouTube channel.

March: Nikon confirms development of its Z9 mirrorless camera

One week after confirming to DPReview in an interview that it was working on a professional mirrorless Z-series camera, Nikon announced it was developing the Z9, a full-frame flagship camera that we now know uses a 46MP stacked CMOS sensor capable of capturing JPEGs at up to 30 fps and recording 8K video at up to 30p. This sensor, which delivers the fastest readout rate of any full-frame camera we've seen, has allowed Nikon to make the Z9 the first camera in its class without a mechanical shutter.

Much like Sony's a1, the Z9 is Nikon's no-compromise camera for professionals in every genre of photography. And, as Richard Butler noted in our initial review of the camera, the Z9 offers one of the most DSLR-like experiences we've seen from a mirrorless camera, much in part to Nikon's implementation of its 3D AF Tracking – 'the progenitor of modern AF tracking systems.'

April: Canon lifts the veil on its EOS R3 flagship mirrorless camera

While Canon's EOS R5 and R6 mirrorless cameras continue to be some of the best sellers in the full-frame mirrorless market, Canon took to the stage in April to announce the EOS R3, its first high-end mirrorless camera designed with sports, wildlife and photojournalism in mind.

The EOS R3 is built around a stacked 24MP CMOS sensor capable of shooting up to 30 fps with the electronic shutter and recording 4K video at up to 120p. The camera also offers an entirely revamped version of Canon's Eye Control autofocus system that debuted in Canon's EOS 3 camera in 1998. This system enables users to change the focus point inside the electronic viewfinder by looking at where they want to focus, and while it might sound as though it's more of a novelty than a professional feature, here are DPReview's Richard Butler's thoughts on Eye Control, as shared in our initial EOS R3 review:

'Eye Control should be taken very seriously, even by those who think it sounds gimmicky. Particularly when combined with the powerful subject recognition system that overrules the need for precise AF placement, the R3 felt to me like it had the power of a 1D Series camera lurking beneath an interface that is unprecedentedly easy to use.'

Reviews Editor Carey Rose further elaborated on the experience of using Eye Control AF while shooting sports in a follow-up article.

Eye Control AF aside, one of the more peculiar details of the EOS R3 is its name. While the '3' might be a nod to the EOS 3 camera that was first to feature the Eye Control feature, it seems odd to not make it an EOS-1 Series camera despite effectively being an EOS-1D X Mark III camera in a mirrorless body. Could this mean Canon has more in store for an EOS R1 camera in 2022? Possibly.

May: Sony puts the final proverbial nail in the A-mount coffin

Over the past decade, little news has been heard surrounding Sony's A-mount camera system and lenses. While there have been rumors over the years, an interesting tid-bit discovered in May 2020 suggests the A-mount is, for all intents and purposes, dead.

At some point leading up to May 2020, Sony removed the product pages for its a68, a77 II and a99 II DSLT* camera systems from its website, removing any mention of the last A-mount cameras to be released. Sony still hasn't commented on the matter, but this, along with the cameras being removed from many online retailers' websites, seems to be a clear indicator that the A-mount is gone for good.

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*Sony's use of fixed translucent mirrors means the term 'DSLR' is technically a misnomer for the majority of its A-mount cameras.

July: Leica’s shows off its first smartphone, the Leitz Phone 1

Over the years, Leica has partnered with various smartphone manufacturers to stamp their name on the imaging capabilities of their respective camera systems. This year, however, Leica took its mobile game a step further by introducing the Leitz Phone 1, a photo-centric smartphone named in honor of Leica founder Ernst Leitz.

Sure, the Leitz Phone 1 might look like little more than a rebranded and redesigned Sharp Aquos R6 smartphone, but it still oozes the Leica look thanks to being designed in Germany with many materials Leica uses in its various digital rangefinder cameras and, of course, the signature Leica 'red dot.' The interface is also Leica-inspired with a camera app that emulates the typography and design language of Leica's recent M-series rangefinders.

The Leitz Phone 1 runs on Android 11, is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888 chipset, offers 256GB of storage and has 12GB of RAM. At the time of the release, Leica didn't specify a price point, as it was limited to Japan, but the phone has since made its way around the globe and currently retails for between $1,800 and $2,000 on various auction sites and third-party online retailers.

August: Google researchers developed new method for upscaling low-resolution images with incredible results

A before and after example showing Google's Ai-powered upscaling of 64 x 64 pixel portraits.

Over the years, we've seen various upscaling technologies demonstrate how low-resolution photographs can be brought back to life through clever techniques. Google researchers, however, appear to have developed one of the most impressive techniques to date, which they showed off in August 2020 in a blog post titled ‘High Fidelity Image Generation Using Diffusion Models.’

As we summarize in the above post, the researchers use a multi-step process to upscale images with impressive results. In very simplified terms the researchers take a low-resolution image and upscale it while applying pure Gaussian noise before using an AI-powered noise reduction process.

In the researchers' own words, this new technology ‘achieves strong benchmark results on the super-resolution task for face and natural images when scaling to resolutions 4x–8x that of the input low-resolution image [and pushes] the performance of diffusion models to state-of-the-art on super-resolution and class-conditional ImageNet generation benchmarks.'

You can check out our coverage above and read the entire article on Google's AI blog.

September: Ricoh announces the GR IIIx a compact camera with a 40mm equiv. lens

Three years after releasing its GR III compact camera, Ricoh announced the GR IIIx in September 2020. This iterative update is effectively the same 24MP GR III camera known and loved by compact users, but swaps out the 28mm equiv. F2.8 lens in the original GR III for a new 40mm equiv. F2.8 lens.

This move came in response to users, according to Ricoh, who had been requesting a more standard lens instead of the 28mm equiv. wide-angle lens used in the original GR III. In Ricoh's own words, the GR IIIx 'harmonizes all the benefits of the ever-evolving RICOH GR series with a new, innovative perspective perfect for dramatic, inspiring street photography.' While we're not sure adding a newer lens to a three-year-old camera is quite as dramatic as Ricoh would make it seem, we do enjoy seeing a 40mm equiv. lens in front of one of the most capable and pocketable compact cameras on the market.

October: Olympus becomes OM System

The camera brand formerly known as Olympus is now OM System. On January 1, 2021, OM Digital Solutions became the owner of what was previously Olympus' imaging division, following a deal struck in late 2020. It was unclear initially what OM Digital Solutions intended to do with the Olympus brand name, despite releasing the Olympus-branded PEN E-P7, but in October the picture became clearer when OM Digital Solutions released a teaser video showcasing the OM System, the brand name it's chosen to use for the imaging technology it acquired from Olympus.

While the first OM System camera remains in the shadow, the OM System 20mm F1.4 PRO lens shows OM Digital Solutions has started the transition to its own brand and is ready to 'break free' from the Olympus brand that has forever cemented itself in the photography history books.

October: Apple unveils its pro-oriented M1 Max, M1 Max Pro computers

In last year's edition of this news round-up, we included the introduction of Apple's first M1 computers and concluded that slide with a question on what we could expect from more powerful Apple computers using in-house silicon. This year, we received the answer in the form of new MacBook Pro models powered by Apple's new M1 Pro and M1 Max chipsets.

Based on the same architecture as Apple's M1 chipsets, the M1 Pro and M Max push Apple's custom silicon to the next level with improved performance capable of powering serious post-production workflows at-home or on-the-go. Unified memory ensures both CPU and GPU have access to RAM as needed, and a 16-core Neural Engine accelerates machine learning-based tasks. In addition to improved performance, these new MacBook Pro models brought back a handful of details creatives have been asking Apple to bring back for years: an SD card slot, a MagSafe charging solution and an HDMI port.

As DL Cade shared in his review of the new M1 Max for DPReview, 'No other laptop on the market can compete with the new MacBook Pro's combination of power, efficiency, design and build quality.' Furthermore, the included HDR/WCG display capable of 1,600 nits peak and 1,000 nits sustained brightness is both game changing and disruptive for creatives: its pre-calibrated video modes allow for both HDR and SDR grading on-the-go, while a 150 nit 'Design & Print' mode allows photographers to easily edit for print. No colorimeters or spectrophotometers required as these modes are specifically tuned to P3, sRGB or appropriate gamut.

October: DJI releases one of its boldest creations yet, the Ronin 4D cinema camera

In what has to be one of the most unexpected releases of 2021, DJI unveiled the Ronin 4D, the world's first 4-axis cinema camera that's capable of recording 8K/75p video with its full-frame sensor. The camera, which looks like a Frankenstein'd RED camera with a gimbal attached, is available in 6K and 8K versions, both of which can recorded Apple ProRes RAW as well as your usual array of ProRes and H.264 codecs.

The camera system features an interchangeable lens mount with options for DJI's proprietary DL-mount, as well as M-mount cameras. DJI said it's at least theoretically possible to use the system with other lens mounts, due to the short flange focal distance, but still hasn't confirmed whether or not we'll see other mount options available in the future.

Another intriguing feature of the camera is the inclusion of a LiDAR Range Finder, which casts more than 43,000 points as far as 10M (33ft) to track subjects in a unique AMF mode that will automatically turn the follow focus system wheel during recording, with an option to manually take over mid-shot if needed. The LiDAR Range Finder is also used to create a LiDAR Waveform, which is a waveform-style representation of subjects in a scene and is used to quickly focus on subjects, as Jordan Drake shows off in our DPRTV review of the Ronin 4D:

Other features include wireless transmission inspired by its line of drones, as well as an array of accessories that expand on the already-impressive feature set of this unique cinema camera. Head on over to our initial coverage to learn more about DJI's first foray into the cinema camera world.

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Lightning is a widespread atmospheric event. Per the Met Office in the UK, there are three million flashes of lightning every day on Earth, or about 44 strikes per second. Despite this, scientists haven't been able to conclude how exactly lightning forms inside a thundercloud. That could be changing though, with the help of new video recorded by a team of researchers.

In 2018, a very important lightning bolt flashed overhead the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope array in the Netherlands. These telescopes made detailed recordings that were just recently processed. A new paper due to be published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, outlines what triggers lightning.

'It's kind of embarrassing. It's the most energetic process on the planet, we have religions centered around this thing, and we have no idea how it works,' said Brian Hare, a lightning researcher at the University of Groningen and a co-author of the new research paper. 'People have been sending balloons, rockets and airplanes into thunderstorms for decades and never seen electric fields anywhere near large enough,' said Joseph Dwyer, a physicist at the University of New Hampshire and a co-author on the new paper. 'It's been a real mystery how this gets going.' Dwyer has been studying lightning for 20 years.

The LOFAR 'superterp'. This is part of the core of the extended telescope located near Exloo, Netherlands. Photo by LOFAR / ASTRON, used under CC BY 3.0

For such a common phenomenon, and one that has been seriously studied for hundreds of years, how did it take so long to gather good data? Clouds are opaque, for starters, and even advanced cameras have struggled to see through the clouds and witness lightning forming. Scientists have ventured into the storm to try to figure out. However, 'For a long time we really have not known what the conditions are inside a thunderstorm at the time and location that lightning initiates,' added Dwyer.

Dwyer and the rest of the team employed LOFAR. The radio telescope network is typically used to investigate distant galaxies and stars, but it's also well-suited to lightning observation. When there are thunderstorms overheard, LOFAR can't observe deep space, so it's instead tuned to detect the radio pulses that originate in lightning flashes.

It's not the first time radio detectors have been used for observing lightning, but LOFAR is state-of-the-art and can is much faster, about 200 times faster, than previously-used instruments. It can also map lightning in three dimensions. 'The LOFAR measurements are giving us the first really clear picture of what's happening inside the thunderstorm,' said Dwyer.

As a lightning bolt forms, it produces millions of radio pulses. To turn this huge collection of data from thousands of LOFAR antennas into a 3D image required sophisticated algorithms. After analyzing the data from August 2018, the team determined that the radio pulses supported one of two leading theories about how common types of lightning form. The new observations support the idea that lightning starts with ice crystals inside the cloud. As Quanta Magazine puts it, 'It starts with clusters of ice crystals inside the cloud. Turbulent collisions between the needle-shaped crystals brush off some of their electrons, leaving one end of each ice crystal positively charged and the other negatively charged. The positive end draws electrons from nearby air molecules. More electrons flow in from air molecules that are farther away, forming ribbons of ionized air that extend from each ice crystal tip. These are called streamers.'

Each crystal tip produces 'hordes of streamers,' and these streamers continue to branch off repeatedly. The streamers heat up the surrounding air, which then pulls electrons from air molecules, and thus a larger current flows to the ice crystals. When a streamer becomes hot and conductive enough, it becomes a leader, along which lightning can travel. Below is an animated GIF of the data recorded with the array:

'This is what we're seeing,' said Christopher Sterpka, the first author on the new paper. 'After the avalanche stops, we see a lightning leader nearby.'

Surprisingly, there's a bit of overlap between the lightning research and COVID. Recent findings observed that lightning activity dropped by more than 10% during the first few months of the ongoing pandemic. Researchers believe that this is due to lockdowns because people traveled less, and there were fewer pollutants in the atmosphere, which reduced possible nucleation sites for ice crystals.

The new research hasn't dissuaded all scientists from believing a rival theory that cosmic rays from outer space collide with electrons inside thunderstorms. Perhaps cosmic rays still play a role.

Ute Ebert, a physicist at the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, studies lightning initiation but wasn't involved in the new study. She notes that despite the high-resolution data provided by LOFAR, the new paper doesn't show ice crystals ionizing the surrounding air. 'Where is the first electron coming from? How does the discharge start near to an ice particle?' There's also the matter of precisely how streamers turn into leaders. Streamers become hot and conductive, but the exact series of events is not settled.

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Darktable 3.8.0 is now available. The latest version of the open-source photography workflow application and RAW developer adds new features, UI improvements, editing tools, improved file support and more. The list of additions and changes is lengthy, so we'll only be discussing the highlights in this news article. If you'd like more information about the latest Github release, click here.

The keyboard shortcut system has been reworked in version 3.8.0. You can now control darktable with external devices, such as MIDI devices and game controllers. Standard keyboard/mouse shortcuts can also now recognize mouse movements and multiple button/key presses and long presses/clicks. Any shortcuts users created before version 3.8.0 will need to be redefined after updating.

There's a new diffuse or sharpen module. You can simulate or revert diffusion processes to reconstruct images from lens blur, hazing, sensor low-pass filter, or noise. You can also use the module to simulate watercolor smudges, increase local contrast or perform surface blurring. You can define specific rules for applying diffusion across edges, too.

The perspective correction module has been renamed to 'rotate and perspective' and now lets the user manually define correction settings by drawing lines or rectangles over the image. This replicates the old keystone correction functionality from the old 'crop and rotate' module. A new LMMSE demosaic algorithm has been added. It's well-suited to high ISO and noisy images.

darktable user interface (version 3.1.0)

Darktable 3.8.0 adds support for the Canon .CR3 RAW format. The support is provided by LibRaw, so users will need to have at least exiv2 version 0.27.4 with BMFF support activated. Speaking of camera support, compared to darktable 3.6, there's a lot of new support, including for the Canon EOS R-series of cameras, numerous Canon DSLR cameras, a few Leica cameras and three Sony cameras, including the A7 IV. White. Balance presets and noise profiles have been added for numerous cameras as well. For the full list of newly-supported cameras, click here.

Darktable 3.8.0 is available for Windows, macOS and Linux. It's worth noting that this version will be the last that supports macOS 10.7 and building with Xcode 11. The next major release will require at least macOS 10.14 to run and Xcode 12 to build.

To download darktable 3.8.0, head over to the darktable website. For the full list of new features, changes and bug fixes, read the full release notes.

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You may have heard the classic Crowded House song 'Four Seasons In One Day.' Now, there is a video that displays the changing of all four seasons through a brilliant series of transitions. Using a Mavic 2 Pro and third-party app Litchi, Arvids Baranovs chose about 30 distinctive locations in Latvia—from winding rivers to National Parks—and put his aerial hyperlapse skills to use so he could illustrate the changing of seasons.

'The change of seasons is such a self-evident phenomenon that we take it for granted yet we struggle to catch it in the act. Look outside: nature seems so static compared to the hectic lives we must live. At best, we might notice a sudden heatwave or an unexpected freeze, a violent storm or a particularly vibrant sunset. But in fact nature is everything but still – it’s in constant motion changing and morphing, we just function on different timescales,' Baranovs describes in his article for PetaPixel.

He also muses that the gradual changing of seasons over time is why most humans are unable to recognize substantial threats to our planet such as climate change. Baranovs drove thousands of miles, returning to the same locations throughout the year time and again so he could capture footage to illustrate his vision. He recorded the exact GPS of his launch spot and the height. Litchi is useful for saving mission data. This enabled Baranovs to blend the same shots taken at different times of the year.

Instead of including a narrative in the video, he let the footage itself convey his message – there is no clear beginning or end to nature, itself. Running just a bit over seven-and-a-half minutes the viewer is taken through a variety of locations that change from Summer to Fall, followed by snow, and finally the rebirth of foliage that signals Spring has arrived.

Baranovs also credits the words of French philosopher Henri Bergson (1859–1941) as inspiration for the video, specifically 'The Perception of Change' ('La perception du changement').

'Change is absolute and radical: it has no support. We are misled by sight, which is only the avant-garde for touch: it prepares us for action. But if we switch to hearing a melody, we have a better sense of indivisible change, although we still do have a tendency to hear a series of notes. This is due either to our thinking of the discontinuous series of efforts needed to sing the melody, or because we see the notes on the conductor’s script. But if we come back to sight and think about what science teaches us, we see how matter is dissolved into action, how there are no things that move, but only changes in the rhythms of motion. Nowhere do we see this “substantiality of change” better than in our inner life. We are misled by thinking of a series of invariable states with an unchanging ego for support, like actors passing over a stage. But there is no underlying thing-ego that changes. All we are is a melody; this is our duration (interfused heterogeneous continuous change), although we are led by practical interest to spatialize this time.'

More details explaining how Baranovs executed this project can be found on his blog.

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Accessory and optics manufacturer Viltrox has announced a new Canon EF- to Sony E-mount adapter with a built-in OLED display, full autofocus support and EXIF data transfer capabilities.

The EF-E5 Smart Mount Adapter, as Viltrox refers to it, is a fifth-generation adapter that improves upon its predecessors with new features as well as a built-in OLED display that shows the focal length, aperture and focus mode of the attached lens. The adapter supports full autofocus capabilities of EF lenses on Sony E-mount cameras, with a clever dial on the side of the adapter for switching between phase detection autofocus (PDAF) and contrast detection autofocus (CDAF) modes.

The adapter will automatically transfer EXIF data from the lens to the camera, meaning aperture adjustments made on camera should set the correct aperture on EF lenses with electronic aperture controls. The EXIF support also means IBIS is supported with compatible Sony E-mount cameras.

Viltrox has also hidden a micro USB port on the inside of the adapter that can be used to update future firmware as newer cameras and lenses are released.

The Viltrox EF-E5 Smart Mount Adapter is available today via Viltrox’s online shop for $199. It comes with front and rear caps for protecting the adapter when not in use.

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TTartisan is bringing its 90mm F1.25 lens, previously only available for Leica M mount cameras, to five other lens mounts. Now, the ultrafast prime will be available for Canon RF, Fujifilm GFX, Leica L, Nikon Z and Sony E mount camera systems.

As with the M-mount version, all five versions for other mounts are constructed of 11 elements in seven groups, including two high-refractive elements. Other features include a 77mm front filter thread, a 10-blade aperture diaphragm, an aperture range of F1.25 through F16, a clicked aperture ring and it has a minimum focusing distance of 1m (3.3’).

While TTartisan is offering it for GFX-mount cameras, the company does note the Fujifilm GFX-mount version has a decent bit of vignetting around the edges, as visible from the image below:

The manual-focus lenses all measure 81mm in diameter and the length ranges from 96mm for the Fujifilm GFX-mount to 107mm for the Nikon Z-mount. Weight ranges from 371g to 403g (13–14.2oz). Below is a sample gallery of images taken with the lens, provided by TTartisan:

The TTartisan 90mm F1.25 is available through Pergear’s online shop for $435, a $305 decrease from the price of the Leica M-mount version (which is still available and retails for $740.

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In this week's episode, Chris and Jordan head to The Camera Store to buy the cheapest digital stills and video cameras they can find, and challenge themselves to shoot an entire episode with what they end up with. One of them has a better time with this experiment than the other...

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get new episodes of DPReview TV every week.

• Introduction
• Cheapest cameras we could find
• Sample photos/footage
• XZ-1 Handling
• XZ-1 Specs
• XZ-1 Initial Impressions
• XZ-1 Image Quality
• Jordan's Safari 5 Nightmare
• Conclusion

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Lead image: An artist's interpretation of a rogue planet with the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex in the background. Credit: Bordeaux University / ESO.

A team of astronomers have discovered at least 70 new rogue planets. There may even be up to 170 rogue, or free-floating planets (FFPs). It's the largest group of rogue planets discovered at once.

The new study outlining the research has been published in Nature Astronomy. The first author, Núria Miret-Roig, is an astronomer at the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux, France and the University of Vienna, Austria. Miret-Roig said, 'We did not know how many to expect and are excited to have found so many.'

To find so many rogue planets, the team worked through about 20 years of data from various telescopes, including European Southern Observatory (ESO) facilities. 'We measured the tiny motions, the colors and luminosities of tens of millions of sources in a large area of the sky,' said Miret-Roig. 'These measurements allowed us to securely identify the faintest objects in this region, the rogue planets.' Rogue planets are elusive. Their masses are similar to planets in our Solar System, but without a star to orbit, rogue planets are exceedingly hard to spot.

The very small red dot at the center of this image (click to enlarge) is a recently discovered rogue planet, located in the area of the sky occupied by Upper Scorpius and Ophiucus. Credit: Bordeaux University / ESO

Per the ESO news release, the team used observational data from the ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT), the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA), the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) and the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope in Chile. 'The vast majority of our data come from ESO observatories, which were absolutely critical for this study. Their wide field of view and unique sensitivity were keys to our success,' said Hervé Bouy, an astronomer at the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux, France, and project leader of the new research. 'We used tens of thousands of wide-field images from ESO facilities, corresponding to hundreds of hours of observations, and literally tens of terabytes of data.' The team also used data from the European Space Agency's Gaia Satellite, which is a space-based telescope. Combining data from ground- and space-based telescope for the new research is a momentous occasion.

What makes a rogue planet so difficult to find? A rogue planet is far away from stars, so rogue planets are very dark and challenging to image. However, for a few million years after they form, rogue planets still glow, so they can be detected by sensitive cameras on large telescopes. The ones found by Miret-Roig and her team have masses comparable to Jupiter and the planets the team found are within the Scorpius and Ophiuchus constellations.

This image shows the location of 115 possible rogue planets, as noted by red circles. The precise number of rogue planets discovered by the team range from 70 and 170, depending upon the age assumed for the region that was studied. This image assumes an intermediate age. Credit: Bordeaux University / ESO

A previous study by US scientists claims that the Milky Way may be home to more than 100 billion free-floating planets. 'There could be several billions of these free-floating giant planets roaming freely in the Milky Way without a host star,' Bouy added. By studying the newly located rogue planets, astronomers hope to learn more about planet formation. Currently, there are two primary theories about rogue planet formation. Some people believe that the planets form from a gas cloud collapsing that was too small to form a star. Others think that rogue planets may be planets that somehow got away from a parent system. The team's paper outlines that they found an excess of rogue planets by up to a factor of seven, which suggests that other formation mechanisms may be at play, and also adds credibility to the planetary system ejection theory.

Advancing technology will aid in rogue planet discovery and research, including the ESO's new Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), which is currently under construction in the Chilean Atacama Desert. The ELT should begin observations later this decade. 'These objects are extremely faint and little can be done to study them with current facilities,' said Bouy. 'The ELT will be absolutely crucial to gathering more information about most of the rogue planets we have found.'

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Venus Optics has released the Laowa Argus 45mm F0.95 FF, its latest full-frame lens in its growing Argus series that also includes its Argus 35mm F0.95 FF and Argus 33mm F0.95 CF APO lenses.

The 45mm manual lens is constructed of 13 elements in nine groups, including one aspherical element, one extra-low dispersion element and three utra-high-refractive index elements. If features a 15-blade aperture diaphragm, has an aperture range of F0.95 through F16, uses a 72mm front filter thread and has a minimum focusing distance of 50cm (19.7”).

The Laowa Argus 45mm F0.95 features a physical aperture ring that can be de-clicked with the flip of a switch. It also features a 300º focus ring throw and uses an internal focusing design, which Venus Optics says has been designed to minimize focus breathing. Together, these features make this lens an ideal optic for shooting video.

Below are a collection of high-resolution sample photographs, provided by Venus Optics:

The lens is available in Canon RF, Nikon Z and Sony E mount versions, with each measuring roughly 76.8mm (3”) in diameter by 110mm (4.3”) long, and weighing roughly 835g (1.8lbs).

The Laowa Argus 45mm F0.95 FF is currently available to purchase in all three mount options for $799 through Venus Optics’ online shop.

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To call 2021 an innovative year for the camera industry is an understatement. Now, you could point out that 2021 was a year of relatively few product releases, hampered by numerous supply chain issues, and you'd be correct. However, what the industry lacked in quantity, it certainly made up for with quality.

The Nikon Z9 became not only the first Nikon flagship camera to rely on an electronic shutter, but also took DPReview's 'Product of the Year' award. Canon revived its Eye-Control autofocus, with a completely redesigned system, unlike anything we've seen before. The DJI Ronin 4D video camera combined the stability of a 4-axis gimbal with 6K imaging and LiDAR focusing technology. Jordan Drake and I both used the Ronin 4D, and it lived up to the hype.

Preparing to write this article, I had a difficult choice ahead of me. Reviewing the latest cameras and lenses is a unique privilege, and one that I very much enjoy. However, it is a transient experience. A few days here with a new camera release. A week there with a lens to test. How can something become a favorite when the experience of using it is a fleeting one?

Instead, I looked toward an item of photo gear which is far more consistent. Something which needs to be dependable, functional, and stylish, all at the same time. Something which all of us as photographers rely on every time we head out the door.

At 2.5 lbs with strap and dividers, The Wotancraft Pilot 10L is reasonably lightweight. Its supple materials mold to the body comfortably, and is compact enough to stow in any travel situations.

So my 2021 gear of the year is a camera bag: the Wotancraft Pilot Travel Bag 10L, to be exact. At first glance it portrays a rugged, timeless look. The styling really does speak to me, and I even love the color. Its waxed Cordura construction and vintage rucksack design would be as much at home on the streets of a modern metropolis as on the seat of a World War 2 Jeep. Wotancraft market its bags with images of mountain hikes, motorcycle tours, and camping excursions, and even features their new line of camping accessories. The goal is clear: These bags are made for adventure.

Waxed CORDURA fabric, and weather resistant zippers provide excellent protection for camera gear. The side pouches are very secure due to the strong elastic closures.

Okay, so maybe my beard isn't quite as dapper as would be expected from the target audience, and I probably won't ever own a motorcycle. But I have used the Pilot in many kinds of weather, and have taken it through the airport quite a few times, not to mention carrying it around in all our videos for the last six months.

The upgraded 'Fidlock' closure opens easily with a quick side motion, and internal magnets will automatically close when brought together.

The clamshell cover folds closed, without any gaps that let in the elements, and all is secured with the a solid black-painted brass hook. It's supposed to show the brass underneath as it ages. Very Leica-esque! However, I highly recommend the 'Fidlock' upgrade which is the nicest magnetic clasp I've every used. A quick flick of the wrist opens the lock, and the magnetic design practically closes itself when the flap is closed. The Pilot holds a perfect amount of gear, with a well-designed grippy strap that spreads the weight comfortably. A classic trio of professional lenses with a large camera is no problem.

The Wotancraft Pilot 10L has enough space to hold a classic trio of professional zoom lenses with a camera body. The origami style dividers are slim, and fold in various positions to allow stacking of smaller lenses.

I like the zippered front pouch for all my memory cards and filters. The interior tablet sleeve does double duty as storage for microphones and cables. Attaching Wotancraft's accessory pouches on the front of the bag provides removable space for power banks, chargers and batteries. The tripod straps on the bottom are expandable for various sizes of tripod, and most importantly, removable if not needed.

Front accessory pouches can be added to the front of the Wotancraft Pilot, expanding its usable storage.

There's even a zippered back pouch which I've never needed to use, but it's there. Unlike many other bag designs, the open side pouches seal fairly tight, so if I were to place something in them (other than a water bottle) it might actually still be there later in the day.

And yet, for my money, the most useful features are the two loops of webbing on the top of the bag and the hollow tube, if you will, on the front of the bag. Gloves, hoodies, jackets, umbrellas and so much more can be lashed or fed through these loops. They are incredibly useful when traveling or taking photos. The Pilot is a handsome, feature rich bag, that travels well, and stands up to heavy use.

Webbing on the top cover has various storage uses. Sweaters and jackets can be fed through the bag securely. Handy straps on the bottom are wide enough to hold compact tripods, and are removable if not needed.

Even with all the well thought-out features that Wotancraft has designed into this bag, perhaps the best thing about it isn't a feature at all. For me, the best part of the Pilot 10L bag is that nothing about it has ever annoyed me. I think that's an under-appreciated factor amidst all the marketing and innovations that make promises of a superior product.

Maybe the best compliment that I can give this bag is that, while I'm using it, I never really think about it at all

A camera bag is a pretty simple thing, or at least it should be. It needs to hold our desired gear safely, and maybe look good while doing it too. However, what makes me really covet a bag is that it does everything I ask of it without ever causing an issue. As good as a bag can be, if it sticks a little bit on the latch, or has hard to open zippers, or is a struggle to get under the airplane seat, the experience will always be tainted, even just a little.

I've never had an experience with the Wotancraft Pilot that took me out of the moment or caused me frustration. Maybe the best compliment that I can give this bag is that, while I'm using it, I never really think about it at all.

2021 has been an interesting year, with a few innovative products that, I will admit, gave me a case of 'Love at first shot.' However, the piece of gear that turned out to be a long lasting love was hanging off my shoulder the whole time.

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