DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY NEWS FROM ePHOTOzine

 

You probably know how much easier life can be with the right accessories if you use your iPhone every day. These tools are made to fit into your daily life without any problems. They include charging solutions that save you time and small gadgets that help you work or create.

We want to help you find some of the most useful iPhone accessories today.

 

Smart accessories

 

Let's start with something as easy as charging, many people now use wireless charging pads all the time. Simply put your iPhone on the pad; you don't have to look for cables or worry about broken connectors. This is a small change, but it keeps your desk or nightstand neat and your phone always ready to use.

A portable power bank is almost a must-have for people who are away from home a lot. These small batteries fit in any bag or pocket and can give your phone a boost when you really need it. Some models even let you charge quickly, so you don't have to wait long to get back to your calls, replacements, or messages.

People are already interested in the iPhone 16, which is the next step in Apple's line of products. You won't have to worry about compatibility when you decide to upgrade because many of these accessories are made to work perfectly with the newest models.

 

Tools for creativity and productivity

 

Of course, not everything is about charging, and you might want to try a clip-on lens if you like to take pictures with your iPhone. You can use these small lenses to try out wide angles, close-ups, or even artistic effects right on your phone. You can easily carry them around, and they can give your photos a new look if you're taking pictures of your family or a cityscape.

On the other side, it's fine to type short messages on a touchscreen, but if you need to write longer texts or emails, a Bluetooth keyboard can be very useful. These keyboards connect wirelessly and are often slim or foldable, so you can use them at a café, on a train, or anywhere else you can find a moment to work. It's an easy way to make your iPhone more useful.

Also, if you really want the newest and finest features, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is the best choice, and using accessories like lenses or keyboards can help you get more out of your device. If you're looking to upgrade without breaking the bank, platforms like Back Market offer refurbished iPhones and certified accessories that meet high standards—often at a lower price. It's a smart way to stay up to date while keeping your budget in check.

Getting the newest gadgets for your iPhone is about finding the ones that really fit your needs and habits. A wireless charger, a portable battery, a lens, or a keyboard can all help make your day-to-day life a little easier. These accessories are a great place to start if you want to get more out of your current model or are thinking about getting a new one. The best gadget India's gadget is the one that makes your life easier without getting in the way.

  Every year for one weekend in August Ramsey and the people who visit take a step back in time and celebrate the 1940s. The event, which you can find more information about on the Ramsey 1940's weekend website, is a great place to take your camera to and you're also guaranteed to have some fun while you are there. If you can't get to Ramsey there are plenty of other events that take place right across the country.     1. Gear Suggestions

If you arrive before the crowds then a 50mm lens is perfect for capturing people in costume but when the masses arrive or if you like to have a little more versatility, pack a zoom lens that gives you wide to mid-range focal lengths. A tripod's always helpful, particularly if you're heading to the dance in the evening when the light will be lower. They can be a little clunky and can get in the way though so you may like the flexibility a monopod gives you instead. Flash may be handy in the evening, but you could just turn up your ISO slightly or pop your camera on a tripod and use slightly longer shutter speeds.
 

2. Picking A Subject

When you arrive you'll find plenty of people dressed in 1940s clobber and RAF uniforms who are perfect for a nostalgic portrait shot or two. Some people will be so fabulously dressed they'll just shout: 'photograph me' at you but make sure you take a good walk around to see who else is hiding among the vehicles and stalls. You could get a few candid snaps of the crowds as you do so too.

 

 

3. Ask If It's OK

When you do find your subject make sure you ask their permission and don't be in a hurry to photograph them where they stand as you could look back and realise you have a modern car or burger van ruining your shot. You can try and throw the ugly background out of focus but if you have the time, make the effort to chat to your subject and ask them to move somewhere that's more appropriate. You still may want to throw the background out of focus and leave all the attention on your subject, but at least the blurred objects and shapes will be more fitting to the era you're trying to capture. If you can, do take your time when you're looking through the viewfinder and pay particular attention to their costume. It's amazing how straightening a skirt or fastening up a button can make a big difference to the overall shot.

 

4. Capture Movement

If you hang around for the dance you'll need fast shutter speeds to freeze the action on the dance floor or put your camera on a tripod and slow your shutter speeds to blur the movement of the skirts/dresses as they spin around. There will also be plenty of candids off the dance floor such as to capture too. 
 

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  If you're looking for a project that you can shoot over several weeks or even months have a go at creating a collection of images that all share the same colour.

As this is something that can take quite some time to do, it's something you can shoot alongside your other types of photography or you could try working on several different 'colour themes' all at once.

Your subjects don't have to be the same but it's important that the colour is, that way once you have a few images in your collection, you can begin to group them together to create panels and triptychs to hang on walls or post in online galleries.  

 

As you don't know what you'll be photographing until you see it, it's best to take a zoom lens out with you. By doing so you'll have various focal lengths to play with plus if you plan on walking for a while, you won't have lots of kit weighing you down.

You can sit and create a list of items organised into colour groups you can photograph or try visiting a location and wandering around to see which colour would be best to shoot in that particular place.

Do remember that the lack of other colours does mean you'll have to work harder to ensure your composition is interesting. That means you need to pay particular attention to textures, lines, shapes and framing.

     

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A well-timed image of two Bee Eaters has been awarded this week’s Photo of the Week.

Taken by Lillian, it shows the birds in sharp focus with vivid colours and precise markings captured in fine detail. The timing is spot on, holding the moment with clarity and capturing their interaction beautifully. The richness of colour, the precision of detail, and the balance across the frame combine to make this an outstanding example of wildlife photography.

Every Photo of the Week (POTW) winner will be rewarded with a Samsung 128GB PRO Plus microSDXC memory card with SD adapter, providing top-tier storage for all your creative needs across multiple devices. But that's not all! In January 2026, we’ll crown our 2025 Photo of the Year winner, who will take home the ultimate prize of a Samsung Portable 1TB SSD T7 Shield, courtesy of Samsung. It’s time to shoot, submit, and showcase your best work for a chance to win these incredible rewards!

 

The camera body has that famous red dot and the lens sits comfortably, definitely looking the part. A fairly compact Leica zoom that covers the essential standard focal lengths, has a useful 1:3.3 magnification and brings Leica quality within our grasp has to be attractive. Does it deliver that Leica quality? Let's find out, combining the lens with the 60MP Leica SL3 Full Frame mirrorless body. It looks like a formidable and impressive combination, so putting it through its paces should be interesting indeed.

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 28-70mm f/2.8 Handling and Features

The Leica SL series, with its pseudo-DSLR styling, always looks solidly well made, be it the camera bodies or the lenses. The Leica name in itself invites high expectations. The construction is big and chunky, not so much in actual size or weight but in physical size of the controls and engravings. This is very true of the Leica SL3 provided to review this lens with the huge control dials and the huge LEICA logo showing little of the diminutive finesse of the Leica M series. The 28-70mm f/2.8 lens shares this ethos up to a point, but in fact is about as compact as it is going to get within the range. The finesse is apparent in the engravings around the front element, the focal length settings around the lens barrel being, in contrast, large and bold.

 

 

There is a supplied petal lenshood that bayonets firmly into place. There is no retaining catch, nor is one needed. The hood is well made, but the actual seating onto the front of the lens is such that it is just slightly fiddly to insert. There are smoother fitting hoods. Within the bayonet fit for the hood is a standard 67mm filter thread. The front and rear elements are coated with Leica's Hydrophobic Aqua-Dura coating, helping to repel moisture and grease. The lens as a whole is dust and splash resistant, a close to essential feature in variable weather conditions.

Weighing in at a fairly modest 572g (613g with hood), despite the Magnesium-Aluminium body, it is also quite compact at 72mm x 102mm. There are few controls, just the focusing ring and the zoom ring. The former is electronic, very smooth but with a higher degree of resistance than many. Focusing is selected via the camera, so no AF/MF switch, and is virtually silent as well as being snappy and accurate. Focusing is down to 0.19m at 28mm, for a maximum magnification of 1:3.3, and 0.38m at 70mm for a maximum magnification of 1:4.6.

 

 

Optical construction is 16 elements in 12 groups, including 3 Aspheric and 1 floating group that helps maintain quality at all focus distances. The electronically controlled aperture is capable of being set to operate in steps of either one third or one half stops.

 

 

Finally, the high quality L mount enables use of the appropriate L mount Leica, Panasonic and Sigma lenses. 

In many ways, a lens that hardly exists is the best lens, in that its operation should not get in the way of the photographer. The more dials and settings there are then the more complex and the less intuitive it becomes. The Leica SL 28-70mm is as simple as it gets and once the camera is set up it becomes an extension of the photographer's vision.

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 28-70mm f/2.8 Performance

At 28mm central sharpness is excellent from f/2.8 to f/8, very good at f/11 and f/16 and fair at f/22. The edges are fair at f/2.8, very good from f/4 to f/8, good at f/11 and fair at f/16 and f/22.

At 50mm, central sharpness is excellent at f/2.8, outstanding at f/4, excellent at f/5.6 and f/8, very good at f/11 and f/16 and fair at f/22. The edges are excellent from f/2.8 to f/8, very good at f/11, good at f/16 and fair at f/22.

At 70mm, central sharpness is very good at f/2.8 and f/4, excellent at f/5.6 and f/8, very good at f/11 and f/16 and fair at f/22. The edges are very good from f/2.8 right through to f/11, good at f/16 and fair at f/22.

The longer focal lengths clearly even out the sharpness centre and edge and the standard overall is very satisfactory.

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 28-70mm f/2.8 MTF Charts Previous Next

How to read our MTF charts

The blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges.

For this review, the lens was tested on a Leica SL3 using Imatest. Want to know more about how we review lenses?

 

CA (Chromatic Aberration) is held to very low levels, especially at the centre, and is also well under control at the edges. There is little sign of colour fringing, even with severe subjects.

Distortion is very close to zero, measuring -0.02% barrel at 28mm, +0.05% pincushion at 50mm and +0.25% pincushion at 70mm.

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 28-70mm f/2.8 Chromatic Aberration Charts Previous Next

How to read our CA charts

Chromatic aberration (CA) is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software.

Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimize the problem, hence they usually cost more.

For this review, the lens was tested on a Leica SL3 using Imatest.

 

Bokeh is smooth and shows good gradation in the out of focus areas. This results in a great backdrop for portraits and flower studies in particular, but of course for any subject that is required to stand out in front of a defocused background.

Flare is minimal, with only very slight tendency to create artefacts. Even the most severe lighting is handled well.

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 28-70mm f/2.8 Sample Photos Previous Next

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 28-70mm f/2.8 Aperture range Previous Next

You can view additional images in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own reviews, photos and product ratings.

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Value For Money

The [AMUK]Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 28-70mm f/2.8 ASPH|Leica+Vario-Elmarit-SL+28-70mm+f/2.8+ASPH[/AMUK] lens is priced at £1650.00

Extending that range brings in:

• [AMUK]Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70mm f/2.8 ASPH|Leica+Vario-Elmarit-SL+24-70mm+f/2.8+ASPH[/AMUK], £2390

There are also three possible Sigma alternatives:

• [AMUK]Sigma 28-105mm f/2.8 DG DN Art|Sigma+28-105mm+f/2.8+DG+DN+Art[/AMUK], £1399
• [AMUK]Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 DG DN II Art|Sigma+28-70mm+f/2.8+DG+DN+II+Art[/AMUK], £1129
• [AMUK]Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary|Sigma+28-70mm+f/2.8+DG+DN+Contemporary[/AMUK], £779

Leica has a premium price, but not excessively so and it does deserve its Leica heritage in terms of quality.

 

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 28-70mm f/2.8 Verdict

Leica quality at more realistic price levels can be an attractive proposition, and here we have a very, very good lens that should give many years of excellent service. The price is not excessively high so it is in line with other quality marques.

The lens is simple in terms of handling and is a pleasure to use. The images look great, the only slight downside being a slightly weaker performance at 28mm at the edges. Being aware of the optimum apertures to use, this need not be a deal breaker, but a stronger edge performance would lift the lens into a higher category.

In summary, a very likeable and easy to handle lens that delivers great images and can be Recommended.

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 28-70mm f/2.8 Pros

• Very Good to Excellent sharpness
• Fast f/2.8 constant aperture
• Well controlled CA
• Very low distortion
• Very good flare resistance
• Weather resistance
• Close focusing
• Excellent AF performance

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 28-70mm f/2.8 Cons

• Lens hood slightly fiddly to insert
• Moderately high price
• Slightly weaker edges at 28mm

 

[REVIEW_FOOTER]R_features=4|R_handling=4.5|R_performance=4.5|R_value=4|R_overall=4|A_level=4|A_text=Recommended – A likeable and easy to use lens that delivers great images|E_id=8027[/REVIEW_FOOTER]

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Zoom burst photography is a photography technique that is achieved by zooming your lens in or out whilst the exposure is being taken. It's a great technique for exaggerating movement or for just adding an abstract feel to an image. Colourful subjects or scenes with patterns work well as they help create a really striking zoom burst that's full of bright, colourful lines.

 

1. Equipment Check List

To get the desired effect, you'll need your zoom lens and a tripod, to keep the image steady, plus this will allow you to have your hands free to smoothly control the zoom. A zoom with a good range to play with will mean you can get a really even effect, with some nice long streaks guiding the eye through the image. You'll also need a remote or cable release to eliminate any shake caused by pressing the shutter. If you don't have one, then use the self-timer setting on your camera. Using the flash on your camera or an external flash gun can help to add sharpness and freeze the image too.

 

2. Get The Zoom Right

The key to success with this technique is to get the amount of zoom burst right. If the zoom is too obvious then it may disguise the subject. If you don't zoom enough, then the image won't have the desired effect. You don't want your exposure to be too long, otherwise, your shots will be overexposed, but it needs to be long enough to enable you to create the zoom effect.

To create the effect you can zoom in or out, most people choose to zoom out. Press the shutter and wait for a while, around half to three-quarters of the exposure should do it, and then you need to zoom out in a smooth and fast manner. Leaving the image to develop for half to three-quarters of the exposure beforehand allows some definition to be captured in the image before the zoom is added. Try somewhere between 1-3 seconds for your starting exposure length and extended if it's needed. If you can, it's worth locking the focus, too so it stays constant.

Use a small aperture and an ISO of 100 or 200 for the best results. If you find that your images come out overexposed, it's probably best not to make the exposure time shorter as this will make it more difficult to fit the zoom in. Fit a polarising filter or ND filter instead and try again.
 

3. Experiment & Try Again

It's then quick and easy to see on the screen if your attempt was successful. If it wasn't, you can try again straight away. Experiment with the shutter speed and zoom timing until you find something that works for you and your subject. You may find you need to crop the shot for better composition but as the vanishing point will be in the middle of the frame, this won't cause any problems.

To be different, why not zoom in, try a shorter zoom, experiment with city lights at night or rotate the lens to add circular shape to your lines? If one idea doesn't work just delete the image and try again.

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