Issue 16 · Sunday 1 November 2026 · 4 min read
Mirrorless shipments slide while prices climb; Canon's R8 Mark II at $1,899; a third unannounced Fujifilm registered
In this issue: What's hot · New gear (2) · What people are saying (2) · Industry news (3) · One takeaway
What's hot
Mirrorless sales slip as bodies get dearer in 2026. An Amateur Photographer column works through this year's CIPA figures and finds mirrorless shipments sliding even though the cameras themselves have never been more capable. Full-frame is taking the heaviest hit. The writer puts it down to a pile-up of causes rather than one: higher prices, a sense that performance has plateaued, phones that cover most people's needs, and almost no fresh models at the cheap end.
This is the backdrop to every buying decision you make for the next year: longer gaps between generations, fewer affordable launches, and list prices that keep drifting upward — which pushes older and second-hand bodies back into contention. Shipments fell an average of 6% over the first eight months of the year, with full-frame down as much as 20%, while per-unit prices rose by up to 10% and total shipment value still edged up just over 3%. Part of the component cost rise is AI data centres competing for the same memory chips cameras need. Amateur Photographer
“If your phone can service 90% of your photography and video needs, where is the motivation to invest in a dedicated capture device”
New gear
Canon EOS R8 Mark II — Canon's smallest full-frame body returns at $1,899, $250 above the original R8, with in-body stabilisation as the headline change and the same 24.2MP sensor recording 4K up to 60p oversampled from 6K. IBIS is the one thing R8 owners wanted, and it arrives in a body light enough to actually carry on a weekend walk. Both R8s run the small LP-E17: in a 4K 24p studio test the Mark II managed 1 hour 5 minutes, against the R6 Mark II's 2 hours 17 minutes. Fstoppers
LightPix CoGrip — a machined aluminium thumb rest for the Ricoh GR IV and GR III that keeps the hot shoe usable, passing the multi-pin contacts through so a TTL flash or trigger still fires. Thumb grips normally sit in the shoe and block it, forcing GR shooters to pick between a secure hold and flash. Versions exist for the X100VI, X-E5 and X-M5 too; the spring-loaded mount copies the camera's own shoe, and it's sold via Amazon and B&H. Pentax & Ricoh Rumors
What people are saying
Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo 2 — DPReview's Abby Ferguson expected previewing shots to kill the fun of instant film and ended up a convert: a digital point-and-shoot that prints to Instax Mini, with a 4.5-inch touchscreen, face-detect AF and ten lens plus ten film effects. Useful if you've dismissed hybrids — checking a frame before committing a sheet changes how much you're willing to experiment. Her main gripe: prints came out flatter and less saturated than the screen, and internal-memory files cap at 6.1MP, against roughly 12.8MP when saved to microSD. DPReview
Peak Design Everyday Sling — a three-size sling reviewed by Digital Camera World's Matthew Richards, who rated it as much for daily carry as for camera kit, wearable over the shoulder, cross-body or around the waist. A realistic weekend carry: the 6L took a Nikon Z6 III with a 24-70mm f/4 S plus a 70-180mm f/2.8. Prices start around $99 for the 3L, $129 for the 6L and $135 for the 10L; the shell is weather-resistant rather than rainproof, with a waterproof 900D base liner. Digital Camera World
“It’s wonderfully versatile and adaptable, both in what it can carry and how your stuff is accommodated.”
Industry news
Fujifilm FF260004 — A third unannounced Fujifilm body, code FF260004, has appeared in Chinese MIIT filings; Fuji Rumors speculates X-T6, X-Pro4 or GFX180, none of it confirmed.
FujiMod custom firmware — Developer justice-jake's unofficial firmware for the X70 and other EXR II bodies adds a film simulation editor, a 65:24 aspect ratio and HDMI live view; bricking risk is real.
Sony Monitor & Control 3.1.0 — The update brings a6700 and ZV-E10 II support, white balance fine-tuning on bodies that allow it, and automatic reconnection when a camera link drops.
One takeaway
Upgrade what you already own before buying a body. Most of what landed this week was not a camera: a free app update, a hacked firmware project, a grip, a bag. With launches thinning at the affordable end and per-unit prices climbing, the cheapest real improvement to your weekend kit this season is usually a software release or a piece of carry gear that gets the camera out of the house. Save the body money for when a genuinely new sensor arrives. Amateur Photographer
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How this issue was made. Researched and written by an agent, produced on 1 November 2026, 07:04. 32 sources read, 0 unreachable. Every link above goes to the primary source. A person sets the brief and steers it; no person edited this text before it was sent.
Every issue
- 1 NovMirrorless shipments slide while prices climb; Canon's R8 Mark II at $1,899; a third unannounced Fujifilm registered
- 31 OctSony's $80,000 RIALTO 65 65mm head, Viltrox's $829 35mm f/1.4 Pro, and Nikon's profit upgrade with a camera-sales cut
- 30 OctNikon's $14,000 120-300mm with a built-in teleconverter, Viltrox's $829 35mm f/1.4, and Canon warning on 2027 prices
- 29 OctCanon EOS R8 II on sale, Sigma FP2 pre-orders open, Nikon's 120-300mm f/2.8 lands, rebates end Nov 1
- 28 OctSigma announces a deliberately soft 50mm, Thypoch's X-mount 23mm f/1.4 goes up for pre-order, FX5 slips to January in the UK
- 27 OctInstax Mini Evo 2 lands (and splits reviewers), CIPA's compact surge, Nikon's 105mm macro at $896.95
- 26 OctCIPA: DSLRs down 35%; Fuji XF50-140mm II incoming; Z30 kit at $596.95
- 25 OctThypoch's 100mm cine prime, Zhongyi's first autofocus 35mm, and a rumoured $13,999 Nikkor
- 24 OctSigma FP2 at $2,199, a vintage 50mm f/1.4 for 2027, and Nikon's rumoured $16k zoom
- 23 OctSigma's 50-120mm f/2.8 sells out at launch, R8 II lands at $1,899, Nikon f/2.8 zooms discounted
- 22 OctNikon Z8 at $3,296, Leica's carbon-fibre F1 Q3 43, and a $1,399 Summilux clone
- 21 OctPixii liquidated, EOS R8 Mark II ships at $1,899, Nikon Z5 starts bowing out
- 20 OctFlashback's $179 half-frame digicam, two 35mm f/1.4s incoming, $1,000 off a Nikon Z8
- 19 OctCIPA's shaker table explained, AstrHori's $398 220° medium-format fisheye, Voigtländer 90mm f/4 ships
- 18 OctCanon's patent for a 70-200mm f/2 full-frame zoom: 23 elements, internal zoom, probably never built
- 18 OctGetty's Chapter 11 exit, Tamron's four-mount f/2.8 zoom, and a $99 full-frame pancake