Last week review 18-2026

Weekly Review 18-2026: Another rainy—and quite warm—week! 😉

This blog post addresses the question of why the Lumix S1II makes for the ideal companion to the Lumix S1R II. The Lumix S1R II is an absolute dream camera, boasting 44 megapixels, 8K video recording capabilities, and a host of other impressive features. Until now, I had always used the Lumix S5IIX. Technically speaking, that camera was truly state-of-the-art—so, strictly speaking, there was no actual *need* for a companion camera to go alongside the Lumix S1R II.

However, one has to admit that the Lumix S1II shares the exact same body design. Consequently, all the controls are identical—from the dedicated buttons for switching between photo, video, and slow-motion modes, to the rear display itself. Previously—when switching between the Lumix S1R II and the Lumix S5IIX—I constantly had to readjust my muscle memory, which eventually became a hindrance over time.

Initially, I intended to resolve this issue by purchasing a Lumix S1IIe. However, I ultimately ended up going with the standard Lumix S1II after finding a great deal—even though the price difference compared to the S1IIe is actually quite substantial. In return, I now own a camera that delivers incredibly high burst speeds—up to 70 frames per second, for instance—and offers a robust feature set on the video side as well.

All in all, I am very satisfied with this purchase. I do, however, have one minor criticism: regarding the new SmallRig cage—which is designed to fit both the S1II and the S1R II—the structural crossbars unfortunately make it slightly more difficult to grip and turn the dials located on the top of the camera. SmallRig really should have stuck with the cage’s previous design in this regard.

Then, earlier this week, there was a relatively major outage: many websites with .de domains were simply inaccessible due to DNS-related issues. By now, the problem appears to have been resolved; according to initial statements regarding the DNS, the issue was likely caused by expired certificates.

Meanwhile, there is a bit of friction—or perhaps annoyance—brewing in the open-source community. It concerns a purported port of the highly popular Windows application, Notepad++, for macOS. However, this version appears to be improperly licensed; furthermore, it seems the developer brazenly copied both the visual design and the logo directly from the Windows version. There is a dedicated webpage addressing this matter, where the creator alludes to a trademark dispute—one that, by all accounts, has since been settled. Personally, I welcome the prospect of a potential port, as I have been a long-time user of Notepad++.

On a different note, there is some potentially welcome news for owners of Sony E-mount cameras: the manufacturer Meike has released a new lens for the Sony E-mount (specifically for APS-C sensors), available in two different colors. It is a 56mm f/1.7 lens which—with an effective focal length of just under 85mm (full-frame equivalent)—should serve as a fully-fledged portrait lens. This offering is similar in scope to the Sigma 56mm f/1.4, which is also available for various mounts—including, of course, Sony E-mount—as well as the MFT (Micro Four Thirds) mount, where the 2x crop factor naturally results in a distinct visual aesthetic.

Versions for Nikon Z and Fuji X mounts are expected to follow.

All in all, it has been another very eventful week. I hope you enjoyed the articles, and I look forward to reading your questions and comments.

ciao tuxoche