HoverAir Aqua: One-minute review

The HoverAir Aqua is a drone unlike anything else on the market right now, and for once that's not marketing hyperbole. Manufacturer Zero Zero Robotics has built the world's first truly waterproof self-flying camera — one that can take off from and land on the surface of the water, and follow you through waves and spray that would destroy most consumer drones. If you're a solo watersports enthusiast who's ever wished you could capture good-quality aerial footage of yourself without hiring a drone operator, the Aqua is literally the only game in town.

That monopoly on novelty is both the Aqua's greatest strength, but also the lens through which you need to evaluate it. Because while the concept itself is undeniably thrilling, my real-world testing revealed a product that feels very much like a v1.0: innovative and impressive in the right conditions, but rough around the edges in ways that its steep asking price make harder to forgive.

Perhaps the most important thing to understand before buying is how the Aqua's tracking works. Unlike DJI drones that use computer vision to lock onto and frame a subject, the Aqua tracks the Lighthouse, a wearable device you strap to your arm. While this is an eminently sensible solution for an environment where reflections, spray and constantly moving surfaces would confound visual tracking, it has real consequences for your footage: in Orbit mode, for instance, I found my head was consistently cropped out of frame, because the drone is circling the Lighthouse, not me.

There are other niggles too. My review sample suffered from persistent Lighthouse connection drops — reconnecting almost immediately each time, but loudly announcing every single event via an intrusive, irritating voice alert. And one of my best video clips was ruined by a water droplet on the supposedly hydrophobic lens, which feels like a major concern for a drone built around water compatibility.

It's also worth noting that the Aqua's maintenance demands are higher than any non-aquatic drone I've tested: after saltwater sessions, you'll be rinsing, patting dry and checking battery compartments as soon as you get home.

That being said, take it out on a calm sea on a bright morning with your paddleboard, and it does something no other drone can do. For the right user — the solo surfer, kayaker or SUP rider who wants hands-free aerial footage without risking a wrecked drone — the Aqua is really the only viable option on the market.

HoverAir Aqua: Price and release date

• Launched globally on May 28 2026 — except in US
• Priced from $1,299 / £1,129 / AU$1,999
• Fly More Combo available online only

The HoverAir Aqua has had a long road to market, being initially teased in August 2025 ahead of a successful Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign. Nearly a year on, it's now available globally — except in the United States, where it's apparently falling foul of the same regulatory issues that have kept DJI's recent launches off the shelves. So while I've been given US pricing, it's not yet available in buy in the States.

Three bundles are available at launch. The Standard Combo ($1,299 / £1,129 / AU$1,999) covers the basics: the Aqua itself with one battery, a USB-C cable, the Lighthouse wearable with armband, a repair kit, and a single waterproof battery bag. The Basic Combo ($1,399 / £1,219 / AU$2,199) adds a second waterproof bag, an extra smart battery, and a charging hub. Step up to the Fly More Combo ($1,499 / £1,299 / AU$2,986, online only) and you get two additional smart batteries, three waterproof battery bags, a maintenance kit, and the charging hub — the most complete package for anyone planning longer sessions on the water.

Given that the Aqua's 23-minute battery life is on the shorter side for a drone at this price point, those extra batteries in the higher-tier bundles are well worth considering. A single charge isn't going to last a through even a modest paddle session, so building a battery collection from day one makes sense.

At $1,299 / £1,129 / AU$1,999 for the entry-level bundle, the Aqua is a significant investment. It's substantially more expensive than the HoverAir X1 Pro and well above most entry-level drones from DJI. Zero Zero Robotics is clearly pitching this as a premium, specialized product for water sports enthusiasts rather than a mass-market flyer, and the pricing reflects that.

• Price score: 3.5/5

HoverAir Aqua: Specs

HoverAir Aqua: Design and build quality

• Non-foldable quadcopter body weighing 249g
• Striking hot orange finish
• No carrying case included in any bundle

The Aqua cuts a distinctive figure on the beach. Where most consumer drones play it safe with black, grey or white, HoverAir has gone for a vivid hot orange color finish. The color makes the drone easy to spot both in the air and on the water, as well as conjuring up images of life jackets and buoys. It feels entirely appropriate for a water-focused drone.

While folding drones dominate the market, the Aqua is a rigid, non-foldable quadcopter — a deliberate decision by HoverAir to preserve structural integrity and waterproofing. At 202 x 206 x 64mm and 249g, it's lightweight and compact but certainly not pocketable; the non-folding body means it takes up noticeably more bag space than a DJI Lito or Mini would.

Which brings me to the Aqua's most glaring accessory omission: there's no carrying case or pouch included with any of the three bundles. The higher-tier combos include waterproof bags for the batteries, but nothing to protect the drone itself. That leaves the lens and propellers exposed to whatever else is rattling around in your backpack. For a drone pitched at outdoor adventurers, I felt this was a pretty major oversight.

With minimal clearance between the propellers and the underside of the body, the Aqua needs either a flat, hard surface or a dedicated landing pad for land-based launches — I'd strongly recommend picking one up if you ever plan to use it away from the water. You can hand-launch and catch it in the air instead, which is what I did throughout testing, but that's not something I would necessarily recommend to anyone new to drones.

On the front of the drone sits a 1.6-inch AMOLED screen, which lets you switch flight modes and review settings without reaching for your phone. In bright sunlight it's big and bright enough to be legible, and when you're balanced on a paddleboard in the middle of the sea, not having to fumble with a smartphone is a welcome convenience. The Lighthouse wearable is similarly straightforward: a chunky, rubberized device designed to be worn and forgotten while you focus on whatever you're riding.

As mentioned above, the Aqua's maintenance demands are quite extensive. After flying in salt water, the drone needs a thorough rinse in fresh water and a careful pat-down with a clean cloth before its next flight. The battery compartment features a color-coded indicator strip that flags the presence of any moisture before you insert a battery, which is a clever touch, but you'll also need to remember to fully dry your hands before swapping cells on the water. So, owning the Aqua comes with an ongoing upkeep commitment that goes well beyond what you'd expect from a conventional drone.

• Design score: 4/5

HoverAir Aqua: Features and flight performance

• Up to 23 minutes of battery life
• Tracks using Lighthouse unit rather than camera
• No object avoidance tech

The most important thing to understand about how the Aqua flies is also the thing that most sets it apart from conventional follow-me drones. Rather than using computer vision to identify and frame a human subject — the approach DJI takes with its excellent ActiveTrack tech — the Aqua locks onto the Lighthouse wearable.

In a watery environment, where reflective surfaces, spray and constant movement would make visual tracking unreliable, this makes sound engineering sense. In practice, however, it produces some frustrating results. During an Orbit flight — where the drone circles you at a set distance — my head was consistently cropped out of frame, because the drone is orbiting the Lighthouse on my arm rather than centering me as a subject. Anyone who cares about precise, well-composed shots should know that the Aqua will keep you in the frame most of the time, but it won't always frame you the way a human operator would.

So planning your shots is key – and because you can adjust tracking distance and height, you should be able to get the angles and framing you're looking for. It might just take a couple of attempts.

That said, the SUP mode I tested (designed specifically for stand-up paddleboarding) performed very well. With a calm sea, minimal wind and good visibility during a rare UK May heatwave, the Aqua tracked my position reliably and kept pace with me comfortably. The drone can theoretically fly as close as 50cm above the waves, and in calm water it did so confidently.

I'd be keen to test it in choppier conditions, where the claimed Level 7 wind resistance and wave-skimming abilities might face a stiffer challenge, but those aren't the conditions I had available. For now, consider the flight performance assessment here a fair-weather one.

One highlight that absolutely does deliver as promised is the turtle flip: should the Aqua end up upside down on the water, it can right itself and take off again without any intervention. I tested this, and it works exactly as advertised. A small thing perhaps, but a reassuring one.

Less reassuring was the persistent connection instability between the drone and the Lighthouse. On every single flight I conducted, the two devices repeatedly lost and immediately re-established their link. Each dropout triggers an audible robotic voice announcement — both for the disconnect and the reconnect — which quickly becomes maddening. Whether this is a hardware defect specific to my review sample or a wider software issue remains to be seen, but it's something HoverAir will need to address urgently. A drone that narrates its own technical difficulties every few minutes is not a relaxing filming companion.

The Aqua offers three control methods beyond the automated flight modes. The Lighthouse itself handles single-button launches and returns; the HoverAir app provides touchscreen manual control, though with a short effective range and imprecise joystick inputs that make smooth maneuvers difficult; and HOVERAir's Beacon twin-stick controller offers what could well be the most satisfying manual flying experience of the three — but without one, I wasn't able to test it during this review.

Battery life came in slightly under the claimed 23 minutes during real-world use, which is par for the course with drone manufacturers' quoted figures. The more meaningful battery consideration is simply having enough of them: 23 minutes goes quickly when you're mid-session, and the Fly More Combo's three-battery setup feels sensible.

It's also worth noting that, like all HoverAir drones, the Aqua uses ShadowTrack positioning rather than active obstacle avoidance — meaning it won't autonomously fly around objects in its path. On open water that's rarely going to be an issue, but it's worth bearing in mind if you plan to fly it on narrower waterways or on land. Thankfully, the sturdiness of the design and the protected propellers means that minor, lowish speed collisions with trees or fences shouldn't result in a wrecked drone.

• Flight performance score: 4/5

HoverAir Aqua: Image and video quality

• 1/1.28-inch CMOS sensor offering 4K up to 100fps
• H-Log (10-bit) support for post-production grading
• Hydrophobic lens

Let's start with the elephant (or should that be whale?) in the room. The Aqua's lens is treated with a hydrophobic coating designed to repel water droplets, which seems to me a vital feature for a drone that launches directly off the surface of the sea. During my testing, a single water droplet on said lens ruined several minutes of otherwise usable footage. For a drone whose entire identity is built around being in and around water, a wet lens is inevitable. This issue alone has the potential to leave users seriously frustrated — even if, as with me, it only happens the one time.

When the lens is clear, the results are encouraging. With a maximum bitrate of 160Mbps (double that of the DJI Neo 2) the Aqua produces clean, detailed 4K footage in good lighting conditions. There are two main shooting options to choose between: the default color profile delivers vibrant, punchy footage at up to 60fps, and is perfectly usable straight out of the drone; the flat H-Log profile, which tops out at 30fps, gives you more latitude in post-production. I graded some H-Log footage and was able to dial back the slightly over-saturated tendencies of the default color science to arrive at something more true-to-life and cinematic. For anyone planning to edit their water sports footage seriously, shooting H-Log is probably the way to go.

The hardware has its limits, though. The 1/1.28-inch sensor, f/2.55 aperture and single-axis mechanical gimbal mean the Aqua can't compete with the best camera drones on pure image quality — the DJI Air 3S, for instance, produces far superior footage, and costs less.

But that comparison only tells part of the story: the Air 3S would not survive the conditions the Aqua was built for. Judged purely as a water-capable camera, the Aqua has no rivals. Judged as a camera drone in general, it sits firmly in the average tier for its price bracket. The 2x digital zoom is soft, as it tends to be on small sensors, and low-light performance isn't a strong suit given the narrow aperture.

Stills come in at 12MPwith HDR support, plus the ability to shoot in RAW DNG, and are competent if unspectacular — serviceable for social media use, but not the Aqua's primary selling point.

• Image and video quality score: 4/5

HoverAir Aqua: Testing scorecard

Should I buy the HoverAir Aqua?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

HoverAir Aqua: also consider

How I tested the HoverAir Aqua

• Tested during SUP session and from dry land
• I tested various control methods and flight modes
• I captured both videos and photos

I was provided with a review sample of the Aqua well ahead of its global launch, which gave me time to test it over several sessions on the UK coast, mainly in hot, sunny conditions that were ideal for getting out on the water, if not entirely representative of the rougher seas and stronger winds that the Aqua may face in the hands of real-world buyers.

My primary test was a SUP session at the beach, during which I flew the Aqua using the SUP automated flight mode and assessed its tracking performance, framing and reliability in a real watersports context. I also flew it over dry land to evaluate its capabilities as a general-purpose drone. I tested the app-based manual controls, though I wasn't able to assess the Beacon twin-stick controller during the review period.

On the camera side, I captured footage using both the default color profile and the flat H-Log setting, grading the latter in post-production using DaVinci Resolve. I also ran through the Aqua's post-flight maintenance routine — including a fresh water rinse and dry-down after saltwater use — to evaluate the ownership demands of an aquatic drone.

• First reviewed: May 2026
• Read more about how we test

Camp Snap CS-Pro: two-minute review

Forget your high-resolution mirrorless camera, your beautiful full-frame sensors — 2026 is the year of the cheap compact camera! Retro-styled, ultra-affordable cameras are back in a big way, following greatly exaggerated rumors of their death at the hands of the smartphone.

The original Camp Snap, released in 2023, was one of the big beneficiaries of this trend. A digital compact costing around $59 / £65, its USP was a feature that it didn't have – a screen. By removing the LCD, the camera evoked the feeling of shooting with an old film disposable — you literally could not see the images you'd taken until you downloaded them onto your computer, just as you couldn't see your images from a disposable until they came back from the development lab.

The Camp Snap CS-Pro, or Camp Snap Pro, is an upgrade of the original, adding a few improvements and gaining a refreshing visual makeover that calls to mind premium compacts like the Fujifilm X100VI. The core concept hasn't changed, though; it's still a screen-free digital compact camera, with a small sensor that's going to produce images that are almost certainly less detailed and high-quality than the ones produced by your phone. But if you're looking for top-notch quality, you are very much missing the point.

The guts of the camera are built around a 1/3.06-inch sensor with 16MP of resolution — double the pixel count of the 8MP original Camp Snap. This sensor is paired with a fixed-focus lens with an equivalent focal length of 22.5mm — nice and wide to fit plenty in the scene — and a fixed aperture of f/2.2. Just as with the original Camp Snap, there's nothing in the way of settings controls; you point, you shoot.

Well, not quite nothing. The CS-Pro adds a dial to its top plate, which provides access to a number of filmic looks. As well as the Standard (STD) look, you also have VTG-1 and VTG-2 ('VTG' meaning 'vintage'), which are stylized color filters that give your image a distinct and decidedly retro-style look. VTG-1 provides an overall warm tone, while VTG-2 pumps up blues and yellows for a hyper-saturated look (think Kodak Ultramax film). Finally, you have the monochrome 'B&W' dial.

So, it's not a reinvention of the Camp Snap wheel. Far from it. Having used the CS-Pro on a few photographic excursions over the past few weeks, I can safely say that if the original Camp Snap wasn't your cup of tea, the CS-Pro won't be either. The resolution upgrade adds a bit of detail and definition, but the small 1/3.06-inch sensor still limits its dynamic range and ability to handle contrasting light situations. It's going to get blown out of the water by even your smartphone, never mind a compact with a proper-sized sensor like the 1-inch chip in the new Panasonic Lumix TZ300 / ZS300.

But again, quality isn't the point. The Camp Snap was a knockabout hit of nostalgic fun for a generation raised on disposable film cameras and cheap digital compacts, and the CS-Pro is all those things too. Once again, the screen-free design serves to create a relaxed shooting experience, and adds a sense of anticipation that recalls the good old days of waiting for your film to come back from the chemist. And if some of your shots turn out to be a bit crap (and they will) — who cares? It's all part of the fun.

I'm glad that Camp Snap didn't let success go to its head and come out with too expensive a camera. By keeping its price to two figures, the CS-Pro sits firmly in the realm of fun, a camera so simple that a child can use it, but with enough retro charm and style to appeal to adults.

Camp Snap CS-Pro: price and availability

The CS-Pro is available from Camp Snap's website. Its initial launch price is $99 / £90 (around AU$180), but discounts are frequent — in the UK, at time of writing, it's currently sitting at £68. This is a little more expensive than the original Camp Snap, but not by much – Camp Snap are clearly aware that affordability is a big part of their camera's USP and aren't messing with it. This was the main mistake I felt the firm made with its Super 8-aping CS-8 video camera — at a starting price of $199 / £152, it was just a bit too expensive for a low-quality camera whose main attraction was its novelty factor.

Even with the slight uptick in price, the CS-Pro is one of the most affordable options in the retro-styled digital compact arena. It's cheaper than the more complex and sophisticated RewindPix, which offers a huge range of film-style filters via its app-based digital darkroom.

Camp Snap CS-Pro: design

• Styled after popular premium compacts like the Fujifilm X100
• All-plastic build, lightweight and doesn't feel too robust
• Point-and-shoot operation, with dial for selectable retro filters

As mentioned, the Camp Snap CS-Pro looks at first glance a lot like a premium retro compact in the Fujifilm X100 series, with its black body and silver trim. However, if you were to actually hold both cameras side by side, this illusion would fall apart very quickly. Fujifilm's cameras are gorgeous, all-metal things, their build reflecting their four-figure price tags. The CS-Pro, meanwhile, consists of nothing but plastic and more plastic. It feels cheap, because it is cheap, and doesn't even pull the RewindPix's trick of adding internal metal weights for a bit of extra heft.

Interface-wise, on the top plate you have just the shutter button and the dial with the selectable film filters, the latter of which also functions as the on/off switch. On the rear you have a simple LCD panel that provides a running shot counter — useful if you're a forgetful sort and aren't sure when you last offloaded your pictures.

Beside the screen, you may notice two rows of small holes — amusingly, these are actually for a speaker, which plays recorded stock sounds when the camera is turned off and on and when the shutter is fired. These tinny, generic 'clunks' sound like they were downloaded from a website with a name like 'freemidisoundfx.com', and for all I know they probably were. Unnecessary, but harmless — and you can turn them off.

In the bottom corner is a row of four LEDs which serve as battery indicators — and I must say, I've been shooting with the Camp Snap for weeks without charging it once, and my battery level is still very healthy. Camp Snap rates the battery to 500 shots, and I believe it.

In the top-left corner is the optical viewfinder. It's a tiny thing — a far cry from the big, lovely viewfinder on the RewindPix — and the fact that it's both above and to the left of the lens means what you see through it bears only a passing resemblance to what your captured image is going to look like.

On the front, beside the viewfinder, there's a flash. One of the common complaints about the original Camp Snap was the rather weak-beer effort of its piddly LED flash, and the manufacturer has compensated in spades by throwing in a powerful Xenon flash. I'll talk more about this in the next section, but for now it's worth noting that a switch on the front allows you to toggle it between 'Off', 'Auto' and 'Forced'.

Also, surprisingly, the lens on the front has a 37mm filter thread, meaning you can attach protective UV filters, NDs, polarisers or special-effects filters if you have them in the corresponding size. I'm going to be honest — I think the crossover between 'Camp Snap buyers' and 'lens-based filter enjoyers' is vanishingly small, and I find it hard to imagine many people using this feature. But I'm not complaining.

There are lugs for a strap, but no strap is included in the package — no pouch or case either, though Camp Snap did at least find room to pack in a USB-C cable for charging. The port is located on the bottom of the camera, along with a screw thread for mounting on a tripod, and a screwed-on panel that houses the built-in 4GB micro SD card, which you can unscrew to access directly if needed.

Camp Snap CS-Pro: performance

• Images are bright and punchy, but fine detail is lacking, and it can't handle high lighting contrast
• While fixed-focus lens makes operation easy, it can be creatively limiting, and there's no close-up ability
• Xenon flash is ludicrously overpowered — you can thankfully stick with the sensible 'Auto' setting

I'll say it straight out — I find my images from the CS-Pro to be very likeable. Are they high-quality? Absolutely not. They do not stand up to close scrutiny on a pixel level, and I would not make prints from them. But in good light, the CS-Pro produces images with bright, punchy colors — vivid blue skies, pleasant greens, and rich, golden sun.

The wide lens allows you to reliably fit plenty into the frame. Running a few shots helps you get used to finding the sweet spot of distance from your subject — being too close gets you a blurry mess. As a rule, if you're trying to capture an image of a specific object, animal or person, you want at least a meter's distance. Close-ups are a no-no, and you're not going to get creative effects like shallow depth of field.

The extra megapixels on the sensor has definitely improved matters compared to the original Camp Snap, with landscape-style images in particular looking much better thanks to greater detail for delineating distant subjects. However, the small size of the sensor means that dynamic range is still an Achilles' heel. Contrasty light situations are pretty much a no-go – you're all but guaranteed to get blown-out white highlights, or murky impenetrable shadows, or if you're really up against it, both. There's just a physical limit to the kinds of shooting situations the CS-Pro can handle.

However, one thing that can help matters here is the filter dial. Giving your images a retro glow with VTG-1 or VTG-2 can be a handy way to make a blown-out highlight look like an artistic choice, rather than a technological limitation. Indeed, I am generally a fan of the filter dial, even if I do think offering just three options other than the Standard look is rather tight-fisted.

VTG-1 is lovely and warm — great for sunny evenings. I can see it getting a lot of use in pub gardens and the like. VTG-2 is bright and saturated, giving your images just a bit more zing; like Kodak Ultramax, I'd take it to a day at the beach. And the B&W filter delivers a nice level of tonal contrast for moody monochrome, ideal for days when the weather is overcast and uninspiring. Dull light makes Camp Snap images very dull indeed, and the B&W filter is an excellent way to get around this.

As mentioned, a few more filters would have been nice by default — though there is a library of community-made filters to explore, as well as the option to create your own, so that does have the potential to extend the camera's lease on life. Camp Snap also sells its own downloadable add-on packs of filters, which goes some way to explain why there are so few to begin with.

I was excited by the idea of the Xenon flash, but having tested it out, I feel that a hammer is being used to crack a nut here. It is an incredibly powerful unit, much more powerful than the CS-Pro needs, frankly, and every time I have set it to the full-power 'Forced' mode, I have ended up with a blown-out, overexposed mess of an image. Thankfully, the 'Auto' mode does much better, providing balanced exposures that illuminate the subject well.

It also merits mentioning that the shooting experience of the CS-Pro is nice and brisk. One of the common complaints about the original Camp Snap was that it had some truly deleterious shutter lag. This has been corrected for the CS-Pro thanks to an upgraded processor. While there's no burst mode per se, I was able to fire off successive shots at a rate of about 1 per second — the only feature that fell behind, amusingly, was the artificial free-midi-download shutter-release noise. And I can live with that.

Should I buy the Camp Snap CS-Pro?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Camp Snap CS-Pro

• I received a loan unit of the Camp Snap CS-Pro for testing
• I have taken it out on a number of photo excursions in London and on a short rural mini-break
• I’ve shot in variable light conditions throughout April and May, with a mixture of bright and overcast weather

So far, I've used the Camp Snap CS-Pro to capture more than 100 images, over a period of several weeks, during which time I took it on several days out in London as well as on a countryside mini-break in Gloucestershire, UK. The weather was quite variable during my time with the camera, though predominantly bright and sunny. I used the CS-Pro indoors and outdoors, and aimed to capture a broad range of subjects and situations.

First reviewed May 2026

Insta360 Mic Pro: one-minute review

The Insta360 Mic Pro is Insta360's flagship wireless microphone system, and it enters the crowded small wireless mic sector with two features that its rivals (most notably DJI) simply can't match: a customisable E-ink display on each transmitter, and a three-microphone array that uses digital signal processing (DSP) to simulate different polar pickup patterns.

The E-ink screen is the more immediately striking of the two. Via the Insta360 app, you can push any image you like to the circular 1.22-inch, 6-colour display and it'll stay there persistently, even when the transmitter is powered off. And unlike an OLED display, E-ink consumes power only when refreshing the image, not while showing it, which means it adds almost nothing to battery drain. It's a clever and well-executed idea.

The selectable polar patterns are perhaps more interesting in theory than they proved in practice during my testing. The Mic Pro's three-microphone array uses DSP to synthesise four distinct modes: omnidirectional, super-directional, cardioid and figure-8. These are not true multi-capsule configurations (they're digitally constructed from omnidirectional inputs) but the differences are real. In everyday use, though, I found myself leaving the mic in omnidirectional mode most of the time. Where the polar patterns become more useful is when you mount the Mic Pro on a camera's cold shoe and switch to cardioid or super-directional mode, turning it into a passable on-camera directional mic — something DJI's Mic series doesn't allow for.

Elsewhere, the Mic Pro's spec sheet impresses: there's 32-bit float internal recording, 32GB of onboard storage, NPU-powered AI noise cancellation, timecode sync, up to 400m wireless range, and impressive multi-channel flexibility with 4-to-1 and 2-to-4 configurations. That last one — distributing two transmitters to four receivers simultaneously — may be particularly valuable for multi-camera productions.

In my testing, the feature that impressed most was the noise cancellation. Tested against a running fan in my office, the Mic Pro's Strong noise cancelling setting completely eliminated the background drone, easily outperforming the DJI Mic 3 in the same conditions. There are some minor design caveats worth noting, but the Mic Pro's core audio credentials are excellent.

Insta360 Mic Pro: price and release date

• Launched May 19 2026
• Priced from $99.99 / £89 / AU$159.99 for single transmitter
• Available in three options

The Insta360 Mic Pro is available now in three configurations. The entry-level option (£89 / $99.99 / AU$159.99) gives you a single transmitter only, which makes sense if you're buying into the Insta360 camera ecosystem and/or connecting directly via Bluetooth, or recording on the transmitter's own internal storage. The middle-tier 1 TX + 1 RX bundle (£179 / $199.99 / AU$319.99) is the obvious choice for solo creators, while the full 2 TX + 1 RX kit (£279 / $329.99 / AU$529.99) adds a second transmitter and charging case for two-person setups.

For context, the DJI Mic 3, the Mic Pro's closest competitor, currently retails at £269 for the 2 TX + 1 RX bundle, making the Insta360 £10 more for broadly comparable headline specs, though with genuinely different feature sets.

Insta360 Mic Pro: specs

Insta360 Mic Pro: Design

• Transmitter's E-ink display can be customized
• Clip or magnetic attachment
• Receiver features small OLED screen

The Mic Pro transmitter is a small cylindrical puck 38mm in diameter and just 12.2mm tall with the E-ink display taking up one face entirely. It weighs 19.7g without its clip or button magnet attached, making it light enough to clip to a lapel without dragging on clothing.

That E-ink display is the first thing anyone will notice about the Mic Pro, and rightly so. At 1.22 inches with a 197 PPI resolution, it's sharp enough to render logos and text cleanly, and its six-color capability means branded graphics translate well. The persistent display could be a practical boon for multi-mic setups where visual identification of TX units matters – and because E-ink draws power only during refresh, it barely contributes to battery use. It's a well-thought-through implementation of a novel idea.

For mounting, the Mic Pro follows the now-familiar dual-approach used by DJI and others: a small clip for collars, caps and lapels, and a button magnet for direct attachment to thinner fabrics. The Mic Pro clip doubles as a cold shoe adapter that lets you mount the transmitter directly onto your mirrorless camera — effectively transforming it into an on-camera directional microphone when paired with the cardioid or super-directional pickup mode. As far as I'm aware, this isn't something DJI's Mic series supports, and it expands the Mic Pro's versatility for run-and-gun filmmakers.

The receiver is a conventional rectangular unit with a cold shoe clip, USB-C and 3.5mm outputs, and a small display for monitoring levels and settings. It's not especially compact by current standards (it will feel a little awkward when plugged into your smartphone, for instance), but it does the job.

The charging case is where things get a little more mixed. It looks smart, with a transparent front panel that shows you what's inside — two TX units, one RX, plus dedicated spaces for clips and magnets, and two smartphone adapters. My concern is a practical one: that transparent panel will attract fingerprints and may scuff with regular use. The hinged opening also took some getting used to; it's not quite as smooth or intuitive as DJI's case designs.

There are two other niggles worth mentioning. First, there's no dedicated space in the charging case for the 3.5mm audio cable — a small but irritating omission. Second, the Mic Pro's included windshields don't fit inside the charging case either, which means they (like the audio cable) will need to go in the carrying pouch instead. DJI's windshields fit neatly inside the Mic 3 and Mic Mini 2 cases, which is a design touch that makes a difference if you're packing light.

On the subject of what's in the box: as mentioned, a soft zip-up carry pouch is included, big enough to fit the charging case plus cables and windshields. It's a welcome inclusion. Less welcome, for those like myself using older iPhones, is the absence of a Lightning adapter as standard — though with Apple's transition to USB-C, it's hard to be too surprised that Insta360 has made the Lightning plug an optional extra.

Insta360 Mic Pro: Performance

• 10 hours battery life (transmitter), 11 hours battery life (receiver)
• Up to 400m range
• Superb two-level noise reduction

The Mic Pro's audio quality is superb. Recordings are clean and clear, with a 48kHz sampling frequency and 24-bit wireless transmission that's standard for the class. 32-bit float recording is also supported but as always with these kind of mics, it applies only to internal onboard recordings, not to the live wireless signal.

That said, those internal recordings — stored on the transmitter's 32GB onboard memory — could come in very useful for demanding content creators. 32-bit float means you can recover audio from unexpectedly loud events in post without clipping or distortion, and the available recording durations are generous: up to 44.8 hours of 32-bit mono, or 22.2 hours of 32-bit stereo. The stereo internal recording capability (available due to the transmitter's three-mic array) is also a nice touch for recording ambient soundscapes and ASMR-style captures, and unique to the Mic Pro in this category.

The four selectable polar patterns — omnidirectional, super-directional, cardioid and figure-8 — are generated by combining the inputs from three microphone capsules using DSP rather than using discrete capsules for each mode, and I found the results to be good but not transformative. The differences between modes are audible, but in most recording scenarios omnidirectional will serve you perfectly well. Where pattern selection becomes most valuable is in cold shoe mounting: in super-directional or cardioid mode, the Mic Pro functions as a credible on-camera directional mic, giving you a single piece of hardware that covers both lavalier and shotgun mic duties. It could be very handy for solo creators looking to reduce the amount of kit they have to carry around.

The noise cancellation is where the Mic Pro most clearly distinguishes itself from the competition on audio quality, however. The system offers two levels — Weak and Strong — driven by an onboard NPU. In my testing with a fan running continuously in my office, the Strong setting completely eliminated the noise, with no audible trace remaining in the recording. I tested the DJI Mic 3 in the same conditions and found it less effective; the Mic Pro's Strong mode outperformed it clearly. Weak mode also did a solid job, which is important because there are real-world situations in which Strong mode can't be activated (such as when you're recording without a receiver).

The Mic Pro can pair directly with Insta360 cameras including the X5, X4 Air, Ace Pro 2 and Go Ultra via Bluetooth, delivering 48kHz audio without a receiver. In theory, it's a good way to cut down on complexity for anyone who owns a recent Insta360 camera. In practice, however, I found that when testing with an Ace Pro 2, I couldn't access noise cancellation or adjust the Mic Pro's settings (apart from gain) through the camera menu. It's possible this will be addressed through firmware updates but at the time of writing, DJI's OsmoAudio ecosystem integration feels considerably more complete and polished.

The maximum range from transmitter to receiver is quoted at 400m in open conditions, matching the DJI Mic 3, and the battery life of 10 hours for the transmitter and 11 hours for the receiver should see through a full shooting day with ease. A five-minute fast charge delivers 1.5 hours of additional use, too.

Should I buy the Insta360 Mic Pro?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Insta360 Mic Pro: also consider

How I tested the Insta360 Mic Pro

• One week of testing indoors and outdoors
• Connected to Panasonic Lumix GH6 and Insta360 Ace Pro 2
• Tested indoors and outdoors

I've had plenty of time to test the Mic Pro in a range of scenarios and configurations: indoors and outdoors, in noisy and quiet environments and paired with the Panasonic Lumix GH6 mirrorless camera and the Insta360 Ace Pro 2 action camera. I've been able to test it clipped it to my clothes as well as mounted on the GH6 like a shotgun mic, and I was also able to compare its performance and noise cancelling capabilities directly with those of the DJI Mic 3.

• First reviewed: May 2026
• Read more about how we test

Sony A7R VI: Two-minute review

Highly-detailed images or blazing-fast performance — historically, you'd have to pick one or the other when choosing a camera. However, Sony has now given us both in one model — the A7R VI — and for me, it's the perfect mirrorless camera.

I've shot everything from detail-rich landscapes to fast-moving wildlife photography while testing the A7R VI, and it hasn't missed a beat. I've really appreciated the huge number of pixels I have to play with, which means that heavily cropping into images is entirely possible.

Its new 66.8MP stacked full-frame sensor resolves more detail than the sensor in the 50MP A1 II — Sony's previous flagship camera for quality and performance — and most of that camera's speed in terms of sensor readout.

I say 'most', because its readout speed is half that of the A1 II, and able to support autofocus up to 60fps, but it has certainly been sufficiently speedy for just about every scenario I've used it in. And rolling shutter distortion is minimized compared to the A7R VI's predecessor, the A7R V — I shot with both cameras at the same time in order to make direct performance comparisons.

Even better, the A7R VI costs £4,500 / AU$6,999, which seriously undercuts the pricier A1 II. Considering what the A7R VI can do, the A1 II feels somewhat redundant, especially when the speed-specialist A9 III is also on the scene for the likes of pro sports photographers who demand the absolute fastest performance.

Of course, that's still a decent chunk of anyone's money, and the A7R VI costs a lot more than the still-incredible A7R V, which has fallen in price since its launch in 2022, and is probably the better value pick if detail is all that matters to you.

However, given the upgrades here, which also include a new and higher-capacity battery type, the A7R VI's starting price feels justified. I've been reviewing cameras for 15 years, and I think Sony just made the first one that's perfect. I could happily dine out on its skills for many years to come.

Sony A7R VI: price and release date

• Announced on May 13 2026
• The body-only price is £4,500 / AU$6,999

Yes, the A7R VI'S £4,500 / AU$6,999 launch price is higher than that of the A7R V, which cost £4,000 / AU$5,499 on its announcement late in 2022, and which can now be had for around £3,000 / AU$4,799. That said, the A7R VI is more camera — it's not just a resolution king, but a speed demon too.

When you consider what the A7R VI is capable of versus the Sony A1 II, which costs more than £6,000 / AU$9,999, it feels like excellent value.

• Price score: 4.5/5

Sony A7R VI specs

Sony A7R VI: Design

• Still lightweight and small versus rival high-resolution full-frame cameras
• Rugged design and excellent ergonomics
• Touchscreen features a 4-way axis, the detailed EVF detail packs 9.44m dots

For recent models, Sony has made great strides in improving how its cameras handle, and how easy the menus and controls are to navigate. It's no longer the case that rival Canon and Nikon cameras are simply easier and more intuitive to use.

For starters, Sony has improved the design of the grip — on the A7R VI it's even bigger and more pronounced than before, no doubt to house the upgraded and physically larger new battery type which debuts here (more on this in the performance section).

The new bulb button on the camera's top plate illuminates key buttons in low light, making them easier to find in the dark, and there's a tally lamp for video recording. Each port sits behind its own rigid door, which when in use sits neatly out of the way. These are all lovely additions to what is otherwise a very similar design to the A7R V.

Like before, we get three control wheels for exposure adjustments (one of which is lockable), four custom buttons (though not one on the front of the camera, sadly), a grippy AF joystick and a four-way control dial which also includes drive mode and ISO shortcuts.

There's a neat 3.2-inch touchscreen with 4-way articulation, meaning the screen can be flipped out to the side and viewed at awkward angles, whether you're shooting in vertical or horizontal format. There's a highly detailed 9.44m-dot EVF, too, but this time it's a HDR DCI PW display which Sony says is 3x brighter than the one in the A7R V.

We get twin card slots again, and each slot accepts either an SD card or one of Sony's CFexpress Type A cards. Per gigabyte, CFexpress Type A cards are among the most expensive, more so than CFexpress Type B used in rival cameras. Of course you can use cheaper SD cards, but you'll want a CFexpress card to get the A7R VI's speediest performance for burst shooting and so on.

Naturally, with this being a pro body, the A7R VI is weather-resistant. I'm not in the habit of wrecking cameras, and certainly not review samples that I have to send back, but you can feel that the A7R VI is rugged too. The back-right control dial has a tiny bit of give, and could be a weak point, but it performed fine during my review.

If I was to have one criticism, it's that the camera body still feels a little cramped — many of the controls are small and tightly packed together. You'll also want a vertical grip when pairing the A7R VI with big lenses for better balance, such is its compact design. But overall, the A7R VI is as good a camera body as Sony has ever made.

• Design score: 5/5

Sony A7R VI: Performance

• The sensor is stacked with rapid readout speed, minimizing rolling shutter distortion
• A new higher-capacity NP-SA100 battery makes its debut
• Subject tracking autofocus performance further boosted with new chip

While the A7R VI's design is a minor upgrade, its performance reaches new levels thanks to a new 66.8MP stacked sensor, new Bionz XR 2 processor, combined processing and AI chip (as in the Sony A7 V), and an entirely new battery. Let's look at each of these in more detail, starting with the sensor.

Not only is the sensor the highest-resolution for the full-frame format at 66.8MP, it's a stacked sensor, which means a faster readout speeds, and a half-stop boost in image stabilization performance, now up to 8.5 stops.

Stacked sensors power everything from rapid autofocus speed to minimizing rolling shutter distortion. The A7R VI's is faster than the A7R V's regular 61MP sensor, but not quite as quick as the A1 II's 50MP stacked sensor, nor the A9 III's 24MP global shutter.

We also get a next-gen processor, the Bionz XR 2. Top features include 10fps burst shooting (mechanical shutter) for up to 535 frames in compressed RAW, and up to 30fps blackout-free (electronic shutter) for up to 150 shots — the latter is a three-second burst.

One of the buttons can be assigned as a burst-shooting boost, meaning you can tick over at, say, 10fps in using the electronic shutter and up this to 30fps when a key moment occurs.

Burst shooting is also supported by the pre-capture feature, where up to one second of shots can be buffered with the shutter half-pressed, before you fully press the shutter to engage a sequence.

Like in the A7 V, the A7R V combines the processing chip with the dedicated AI chip — the setup found in previous-generation cameras like the A7R V — into a single chip, for greater efficiency and power conservation, and for smarter autofocus and accurate auto white balance and color rendition.

In addition to a boost in the maximum possible length of burst shooting sequences before the camera slows up, there's an auto subject-detection mode this time around, which is very handy if you regularly switch between subject types, plus dedicated subject-tracking modes for as humans, birds, animals and vehicles, with the camera able to recognize head, eyes and even body shape (human pose), to intelligently understand where exactly to focus on, with a super impressive hit ratio of sharp shots.

I photographed a lot of birdlife, and found the bird detection autofocus super reliable, and even able to pick out subjects when they only took up a small portion of the frame. Those who like to use spot focusing will enjoy seeing the size options expanded, with new XL and XS options for wider or even more precise focusing.

And then there's the new battery, a NP-SA100 unit with 2,670mAh capacity. For Sony photographers, this one is a big deal — the first new battery for Sony mirrorless cameras in nine years, since the legendary NP-FZ100.

The new battery is physically larger and has a 17% bigger capacity than the NP-FZ100's 2,280mAh, which already delivered rival-beating power, so that's the good news.

The bad news is that the batteries are not forwards / backwards compatible. You can't use your stock of NP-FZ100 batteries in the A7R VI, nor can you use the new NP-SA100 in an older Sony camera.

Batteries, along with the continued use of Sony's own CFexpress Type A cards, are another potential costly extra, which will no doubt irritate some Sony fans keen on the A7R VI. I certainly enjoyed having two NP-SA100 batteries and a charging dock for long weekends of heavy shooting, and would personally factor that into a purchase. The bottom line, though, is that the new battery's life is better — and who wouldn't want that?

• Performance score: 5/5

Sony A7R VI: Image and video quality

• The highest-resolution full-frame sensor in a mirrorless camera, and it's a stacked type
• 66.8MP equates to 28MP with a 1.5x (APS-C) crop
• Dynamic range boosted by one stop to a class-leading 16 stops

The 'R' series of A7 cameras have always been about detail — delivering the highest-resolution stills that Sony cameras are capable of. And the A7R VI boosts the series further, from 61MP to 66.8MP, and this is achieved with a substantial boost in performance thanks to the stacked sensor.

There are some who would have preferred an even bigger boost in resolution over a boost in speed — there was a time when the A7R VI was rumored to come with a (regular) 100MP sensor. For me, however, as someone who photographs everything from landscapes to portraits and wildlife, I prefer the versatility of the A7R VI's sensor. It's basically perfect for my needs.

With a stacked sensor, there's a risk of some compromises in image quality, especially in low light. Thankfully, in the case of the A7R VI, the opposite is true, and dynamic range is further boosted from 15 stops to 16 stops.

I don't usually need 66.8MP stills, but being able to crop into such large files can be super handy. For example, I took a lot of bird photos, and even with Sony's 400-800mm lens, which is its longest telephoto lens, the tiny, distant subjects at times appeared small in the frame.

No problem: I could crop right in and still enjoy super-sharp detail. To give you an idea, the 1.5x (APS-C) crop mode is still 28MP, which is a huge file size. Employing that crop with the 400-800mm lens is effectively like having a 1200mm lens! This is where high-resolution cameras can be particularly helpful.

Color is also improved, with the subject-detection AI chip analyzing the scene for better auto white balance (AWB). For example, where older AWB systems might look at a lush green woodland scene and compensate with the opposing tone, resulting in an overly magenta hue, the A7R VI knows it's a woodland, or a person in the shade, and will select the right tone for the scene.

Video recording looks similar to the A7R V's going by the numbers: 8K up to 30fps and 4K up to 120fps, and still no open-gate recording, but the new stacked sensor minimizes rolling shutter distortion, making the A7R VI a better option for video than its predecessor. It's also equipped with more filmic color profiles.

• Image and video quality score: 5/5

Sony A7R VI: testing scorecard

Should I buy the Sony A7R VI?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Sony A7R VI: also consider

How I tested the Sony A7R VI

• Sony loaned me the A7R VI four weeks before it was announced
• I had four lenses to use with it, plus twin batteries and a charging dock
• I've taken photos and videos of a wide range of subjects to test key feature

I had the chance to test the Sony A7R VI for four weeks ahead of its announcement, and used it with four lenses: a small 24mm f/2.8 prime, the 28-70mm F2 GM, 70-200mm F4 G OSS II Macro and 400-800mm F6.3-8 telephoto zoom. I was also supplied with two batteries and the twin charging dock.

Given the camera's high-resolution stacked sensor and latest processor, which incorporates the previously separate AI chip, I wanted to test the camera's image quality and performance in a wide range of scenarios, which included landscape photography, wildlife photography, portraiture and more.

I also tested its burst-shooting skills, shooting in both the mechanical and electronic shutter modes, and noting how many photos the camera could capture before slowing up.

Sony also loaned me the A7R VI's predecessor, the A7R V, so I was able to make various performance comparisons, especially around high-speed photography.

• First reviewed: May 2026
• Read more about how we test

Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S II: One-minute review

Hot on the heels of the Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S II, Nikon has delivered its second mark II lens for its Z-mount mirrorless cameras — and the Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S II is another 5-star success.

The pro telephoto zoom builds on the original Z 70-200mm by being much lighter (and a fraction smaller), featuring a totally removable Arca-Swiss compatible tripod collar, and offering better close-focusing skills and a new optical design which improves image quality in various ways, especially bokeh.

I found the pricier Sony 50-150mm F2 GM a more exciting telephoto zoom to test, but there's no such lens for Nikon cameras yet; and, overall, it's hard to find fault with Nikon's latest stellar 70-200mm f/2.8. While it easily joins the ranks of essential Nikon lenses there is a big jump in price — it costs $3,199 / £2,999 / AU$5,399, where its predecessor cost around $2,600 / £2,600 / AU$5,100 at launch, and that lens is now available for less.

Is the new lens worth the extra? For me, yes. My own 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II for Nikon DSLRs was my most-used lens for weddings and portraiture work, and it has paid for itself time and again over its years of heavy use.

When I made the switch from DSLR to mirrorless, I continued using that lens via an adapter, such is its quality and versatility for paid work, until the day I could consider upgrading to its Z-mount successor.

The Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S was enticing, but I didn't see enough of an upgrade over my DSLR lens to make it worth splashing out. The mark II version, with its new optical design and lightweight body, is the upgrade I've been wanting all along, especially for long shoot days.

Nikon has squeezed every bit of quality in can into a lightweight successor to what was already a stellar telephoto zoom, and I expect many pro Nikon photographers to buy, and rely on it for years to come.

Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S II: Price and availability

• Costs $3,199 / £2,999 / AU$5,399
• Two tripod collars and a lens hood included

At $3,199 / £2,999 / AU$5,399, the mark II version costs a lot more than the current price of the original, which is now available for around $2,397 / £2,379 at leading retailers, or closer to $2,100 / £2,100 / AU$4,000 secondhand.

I think the weight savings and improved optical design with better close-focusing are worth the extra outlay, and Nikon lenses often receive healthy price cuts soon after launch, too — for example, the 24-70mm f/2.8 mark II briefly saw a 10% saving, so the 70-200mm's pricing might become a moot point soon enough.

In the box, Nikon includes the (removable) tripod collar, a foot-less collar, plus a lens hood which features a sliding door for easy access to attached filters and adjustments a breeze; the lens accepts 77mm threaded filters.

Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S II: specs

Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S II: design

• The lightest 70-200mm f/2.8 lens available, weighing just 2.2lbs / 998g
• Tripod collar is fully removable, and you'll save 182g of weight when you don't need it
• Multiple function buttons and a customizable control ring, but no display

Size-wise, the 70-200mm mark II measures up similarly to Nikon's previous offerings. It's slightly smaller than the mark I for Z-mount, but slightly bigger than the version for DSLRs (see my photo comparison above). However, there is a big weight saving.

The Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S II weighs 2.2lbs / 998g, or 2.6lbs / 1,180g with the tripod collar attached — the latter for me is more often how I would set a lens like this up even without using a tripod, because the collar provides an easy hold of the lens between shots. Even factoring in the tripod collar, that's over 25% lighter than other Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses (the mark I weighs 1,360g without collar and 1,440g with it, while the DLSR version is a fraction heavier again), and the lightest lens of its kind for any lens mount.

The tripod foot is now Arca-Swiss compatible, which is probably the most popular tripod-plate type. Don't need the tripod collar? There's a 182g weight saving to be gained by removing it, and Nikon also supplies a lighter foot-less collar that can go in its place. For shoots when you know you won't be using a tripod, that's a decent weight reduction that will be appreciated over long hours lugging around gear (although, as I said, I prefer keeping the tripod collar attached).

One chief reason for the weight saving is the new optical design. Nikon has done away with three lens elements: the mark II has 18 elements in 16 groups, while the mark I has 21 elements in 18 groups.

With a simpler optical design, you might expect a compromise in terms of image quality, but the opposite is true — I'll talk more about image quality in the performance section below. There are also 11 aperture blades, versus nine blades in the other two 70-200mm lenses, and inevitably, the additional blades will form a more rounded diaphragm for pleasant and smoother bokeh — again more on this below.

Close focusing has been improved too — it's 0.38m at 70mm and 0.8m at 200mm, delivering a 0.3x maximum magnification at 70mm, compared to 0.2x in the mark I. For a telephoto zoom such as this, those are impressive close-focusing skills — not quite in the realm of macro photography, but easily versatile enough to capture little details sharply, such as wedding rings.

As for build quality, the lens is exactly what you would hope for from a pro optic: it's rugged and weather-resistant, equipped with lightning fast autofocus motors, and packed with a suite of external controls, including clicked aperture control and a customizable control ring.

The supplied lens hood now features a door which slides open for easy access to threaded filters — that's a handy addition for circular polarizer and variable ND filter users, because these (often essential) filters require rotating to adjust strength and you would otherwise have to remove the lens hood to access them.

The only thing that's arguably missing is a digital display for the lens settings, nor are there focus-distance markings, meaning you'll need to check the camera's displays if you need such information. The former could be helpful, but it would add weight to the lens.

Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S II: Performance

• Practically no lens distortions at any focal length or aperture setting
• Dreamy circular bokeh, especially at 200mm
• Speedy and practically silent autofocus

I've tried the lens at every key focal length and aperture setting, and I've struggled to find a single optical weakness; it's pin sharp even at f/2.8, and lens distortions are extremely well controlled.

Take the scene below, with dappled background light. It's a testing scenario for any lens, but chromatic aberration, flare, ghosting and vignetting are all well controlled, even with the aperture set to f/2.8 — the widest aperture, which is typically where lens distortions are most obvious.

Bokeh is dreamy too, especially with the lens set to 200mm. It's more defined (read: smaller) at 70mm — that's to be expected at a wider focal length. Only an even wider maximum aperture at 70mm, say f/2, would make bokeh a similar size to what we get at 200mm. Ultimately, the more you zoom in, the bigger bokeh gets. You can see below how bokeh changes at the wide and telephoto settings as I reduce aperture from f/2.8 to f/4, f/5.6, f/8 and f/11.

I've really appreciated the improved maximum magnification which now goes up to 0.3x, if you make the most of the lens' 0.38m minimum focus distance at 70mm, or up to 0.25x at 200mm. I'm often wanting to photograph little details, and the mark II lens is more versatile than the previous-generation lens for such tasks.

It's also a supremely fast lens for autofocusing — the exotically named Silky Swift VCM (voice coil motors) make light work of the moving 18 lens elements precisely for accurate, lightning quick and practically silent autofocus. Nikon says it's up to 3.5x faster than the previous 70-200mm lens and 50% quieter, plus focus tracking while zooming is 40% more effective.

The lens provides 6-stop vibration reduction image stabilization, which pairs effectively with sensor-based stabilization in pro mirrorless cameras such as the Nikon Z8 (which I paired with the lens for this test). For example, I've been able to get sharp handheld shots at 200mm using shutter speeds as slow as 1/4 sec (though not every time).

Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S II sample images

Should you buy the Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S II?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S II

• Nikon loaned me a sample unit for four weeks, and I used it with the Nikon Z8
• I've taken identical photos at 70mm and 200mm, adjusting only aperture throughout the sequence to compare image quality
• I've shot street photography, portraits, landscapes, closeups and more

I was fortunate to get a long review period with the 70-200mm lens, and to be able to use it with Nikon's pro Z8 mirrorless camera. During this time, I had a week-long trip to China where I was able to use the gear in wide-ranging scenarios; at night for street photography, taking portraits and so on.

When I test lenses, I make sure all in-camera lens corrections are turned off. I shoot in RAW & JPEG format and compare files between uncorrected raws and processed JPEGs, which allows me to check for lens distortions, such as vignetting and chromatic aberration.

By taking a sequence of identically composed images at the wide and telephoto settings of the lens, beginning at f/2.8 and cycling through the aperture range in full stops, I can see which settings are best for quality, plus how bokeh looks and changes at various apertures.

First reviewed April 2026

DJI Mic Mini 2: one-minute review

The DJI Mic Mini 2 is DJI's second-generation entry-level wireless microphone system, replacing the late 2024-released Mic Mini, which we previously rated as the best small wireless mic.

The headline new feature is a set of interchangeable magnetic front covers for the transmitter units, available in colors ranging from white and black to a vivid magenta. Beyond the colorways, the other notable addition over the original Mic Mini is a trio of voice tone presets — Standard, Rich, and Bright — designed to let users subtly shape their vocal recordings.

Everything else will be instantly familiar to anyone who owns the original Mic Mini: the same compact and lightweight transmitter and receiver form factor, the same 24-bit 48kHz audio quality, the same maximum range of 400m with the standard receiver (or 300m with the mobile receiver), and the same claimed battery life of 11.5 hours for the transmitter and 10.5 hours for the receiver, extendable to 48 hours total using the charging case. Two-level active noise canceling is included, and the system is compatible with DJI's OsmoAudio ecosystem, meaning it connects wirelessly without a receiver to devices like the Osmo Action 6 and Osmo 360.

In my testing, audio quality proved crisp and clear, and the active noise canceling did a solid job of taming ambient noise. The voice tone presets, however, were a different story: the differences between Standard, Rich and Bright were so subtle in practice as to be barely worth mentioning, let alone factoring into a buying decision.

That verdict could stand in for the Mic Mini 2 as a whole, really. For buyers new to the world of wireless mics, it's an excellent option: lightweight, affordable, versatile, and easy to use. But for anyone coming from the original Mic Mini, the interchangeable covers and voice presets aren't a compelling reason to upgrade.

Also worth noting: DJI has confirmed that a Mic Mini 2S is coming this summer, bringing with it internal storage for solo recording and support for up to four transmitters simultaneously. If those features matter to you, it's worth sitting tight for now.

The Mic Mini 2 is a fine product sold at a great price. It just happens to be a product that DJI has already announced it will meaningfully improve in a matter of months – which makes it a harder sell than it might otherwise be.

DJI Mic Mini 2: price and release date

• Priced from £49 / AU$89
• Sold in two bundles – but transmitters not available separately
• Available now (except in the USA)

The DJI Mic Mini 2 was released worldwide on April 28 2026 – although, as with all recent DJI products, it will not officially launch in the USA. Not yet, anyway.

DJI offers the Mic Mini 2 in two bundles: the DJI Mic Mini 2 (2 TX + 1 RX + Charging Case) package costs £89 / AU$149 and includes two transmitters, a receiver, a charging case, two windscreens, two white magnetic front covers, two black magnetic front covers, two magnetic clips, two magnets, a carrying pouch, a USB-C mobile phone adapter, a 3.5mm audio cable, a USB-C charging cable and a box of multi-color magnetic front covers (see below).

Also available is the DJI Mic Mini 2 (1 TX + 1 Mobile RX + Charging Case) bundle, which includes a single transmitter, a mobile receiver, a small charging case, one windscreen, one black magnetic cover, one white magnetic cover, one magnetic clip, one magnet, one USB-C charging cable and a carrying pouch. It's priced at just £49 / AU$89.

Unlike the original Mic Mini, DJI doesn't appear to be selling Mic Mini 2 transmitters (mics) solo – at least not at launch. That's a shame – for some buyers using the Osmo Audio system or linking the transmitter directly to their phone via Bluetooth, a receiver and charging case may not be necessary.

However, the overall pricing seems much cheaper than the original Mini, which at launch cost £145 / AU$245 for the complete kit and £49 / AU$69 for individual TX units. So in terms of value, I think the Mic Mini 2 has a lot going for it.

DJI Mic Mini: specs

DJI Mic Mini 2: Design

• Transmitters support swappable front panels
• Clip or magnetic attachment
• Receiver offers manual audio gain, but no monitoring

If we're talking transmitters (also known as the TX units), the Mic Mini 2 looks a lot more like the full-size Mic 3 than it does the original Mic Mini. There's one key difference though: the Mini 2 supports swappable magnetic front covers, which can be prised off with a fingernail and replaced with another of a different color.

The DJI Mic Mini 2 (2 TX + 1 RX + Charging Case) bundle I was sent to review features a whole range of covers, from staid white and black to eye-popping magenta. These might come across a little gimmicky on paper, but they're harmless and fun – even if I can't really think of too many practical reasons why you'd need them (DJI markets them for outfit matching).

Besides the covers, the TX can be fitted with a clip-on furry windshield for outdoor use, as well as two other magnetic accessories for mounting: a small clip for attaching it to collars, caps and lapels, and a single (but sufficiently strong) magnet for clipping it directly to thinner fabrics. The clip's direction can be selected when attaching it, which is handy.

There's also an indicator light and a couple of buttons for powering on/off and pairing the TX with different devices, but other than that, the TX is pretty simple. It doesn't feature on-board storage and, with no USB-C port, can only be recharged in the charging case.

The standard receiver (or RX) looks identical to the original Mic Mini's to my eyes. It suffers from the same drawback, too: with no on-board LCD display, there's no way to monitor levels on the hardware. Still, I suppose that's what the more pro-friendly Mic 3 is for – the Mic Mini 2 is the affordable option, and cuts must be made somewhere. The receiver does have a clip for attaching to clothing, which can also slide onto a camera cold shoe, plus a USB-C adapter for plugging into smartphones (there's a Lightning adapter too, which I used with my iPhone 13, but it's an optional extra rather than included in the box). There's also a 3.5mm jack, dial for adjusting audio levels and power and pairing buttons.

Additionally, the new DJI Mic Mini 2 (1 TX + 1 Mobile RX + Charging Case) bundle comes with a mini receiver unit designed only for attaching to a mobile phone (as with the standard RX, this appears to be the same mobile RX that was available as an accessory for the original Mic Mini). I didn't test this myself (check out our experience with the receiver via the link above) but it's much lighter, smaller and more streamlined than the standard RX, and won't look as awkward when plugged into your handset.

DJI Mic Mini 2: Performance

• 11.5 hours battery life (transmitter), 10.5 hours battery life (receiver)
• Up to 400m range
• Two-level noise reduction and three voice tone presets

The Mic Mini 2 offers 24-bit 48kHz quality audio, just like the original Mic Mini. It's similar in other ways, too: there's a maximum range of 400m between TX and RX; the claimed battery life is the same (11.5 hours for a TX, 10.5 hours for the receiver and a total of 48 hours with the charging case); and there are two levels of active noise cancelling included. Both generations also feature automatic volume limiting to avoid clipping.

And, like the first Mic Mini, it also works seamlessly with OsmoAudio ecosystem products like the DJI Osmo Action 6 and Osmo 360 cameras and Osmo Mobile 8 smartphone stabilizer.

In fact, aside from the changeable covers, the only major difference I could find between this second-gen Mini and the first is the addition of three voice tone presets – Standard, Rich and Bright – which are designed to slightly tweak how vocal recordings sound. In practice, I found the differences between the three settings to be negligible, so I would say that owners of the original Mic Mini have no compelling reason to update to the new model.

Newcomers looking for a cheap wireless microphone option that performs well will be very happy with what's on offer here, though. I found the Mic Mini 2's quality to be crisp and clear, and a noticeable step up from the built-in mics found in smartphones, vlogging cameras and mirrorless cameras, and the mounting and connectivity options and general ease of use make it a joy to live with. The two-level active noise cancelling works well enough too – I tested it with a fan running in my office and, while it could still be heard whirring away even on the strongest noise cancelling setting, it was reduced enough to prevent it becoming an issue.

Interestingly, DJI tells me that a Mic Mini 2S is coming later in 2026, offering some real upgrades over the original Mic Mini. The Mini 2S's TX units will have internal storage space to support solo recording, and users will be able to connect up to four transmitters to a single receiver. It's launching this summer.

Should I buy the DJI Mic Mini 2?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

DJI Mic Mini 2: also consider

How I tested the DJI Mic Mini 2

• Several days of testing indoors and outdoors
• Connected to iPhone 13, DJI Osmo Action 6 and Panasonic Lumix GH6
• Tested with Bluetooth, OsmoAudio and RX

I've not had a huge amount of time to spend with the Mic Mini 2, but in the several days since my sample arrived I've managed to test it both indoors in quiet conditions and outside amongst traffic and wind noise. I've also paired with my iPhone 13, a DJI Osmo Action 6 action camera and my Panasonic Lumix GH6 mirrorless camera, testing it with and without the receiver unit involved.

• First reviewed: April 2026
• Read more about how we test