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The iPhone 18 Pro is the first iPhone with a variable aperture on its main camera – four fixed positions from f/1.48 to f/4, with the wide-open setting half a stop faster than before. Apple has also finally put aperture, shutter, white balance and a histogram into the stock Camera app. And the photo-authentication feature that comes with it? Not available in the EU at launch.
This week’s episode is dedicated to remembering our dear colleague and friend Rodney Charters, ASC, who passed away in Amsterdam during the show – we will dedicate more time to him in an upcoming episode.
We work through Johnnie’s first hands-on demo of our SmallRig x CineD OrBrella prototype and the 200 pre-orders that sold out in just days, all the winners of our CineD Best-of-Show Awards at IBC 2026 – from the Adobe After Effects AI Assistant and the Deity PR-4 to the Aputure STORM CS32, NANLUX Matrix 2500C, Atomos Shinobi 7 II and Hollyland Pyro 7 Ultra – the Teradek Bolt 7, Sony’s DWX Gen 4 and its US patent problem, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo, SmallRig’s iPhone 18 cinema kit, the latest Pixboom Spark update, the Canon EOS R8 Mark II, Tilta’s Pyro 7 Ultra cage, the SNAPGRID Core, SmallRig’s Nano power banks, the Saramonic WiTalk Base, Angelbird’s new CFexpress Type A v4 cards and a new MZed Storytelling Session.
This episode is sponsored by Hollyland – check out the LARK A1 on their website. (18:36 in the episode)
(05:33 in the episode)
Johnnie spent all of IBC at the SmallRig booth presenting our OrBrella, and he brought the latest prototype into the studio: a 60W light that opens like an umbrella in about five seconds, with flippable LED strips for extra punch, 2,700–6,500K plus green-magenta, V-mount, mains or USB-C PD power, and an NP-F plate in development. The first 100 pre-order units went in roughly a day and a half – and so did the next 100.
The next stage is a crowdfunding campaign with SmallRig from around 24 September, before the light moves to its final $199 price. Visitor feedback is already being worked in: shorter, possibly L-shaped USB-C cables, and DMX control under consideration. Johnnie credits Stefan from DoPchoice, his mentor on the project, for helping choose the diffusion fabric. And to the Hudson Spider comparisons: we think anyone who sees how it deploys and how the indirect light works will see a very different product.
Read more: SmallRig x CineD OrBrella Light Introduced
(21:14 in the episode)
Nino walks through how we pick the winners: the whole team votes category by category, the majority decides, and sometimes two products share an award. Eligibility has become more flexible, because most manufacturers now launch between trade shows – a product counts as long as it was not already shown at the same show a year earlier.
First up is AI innovation, where the Adobe After Effects AI Assistant wins. It does not only answer questions – it can organise and label a messy project you inherited from a motion designer, or build a bouncing-ball animation you can still edit keyframe by keyframe. Nino’s wish for a future version: show the steps on screen instead of only describing them in text.
Read more: Winners Announced – CineD Best-of-Show Awards at IBC 2026
(28:41 in the episode)
The Deity PR-4 is a tiny four-input, six-track field recorder with two XLR inputs with phantom power, a 3.5mm stereo input, 32-bit float and simultaneous recording to SD and a fixed 64GB internal SSD. It can also act as a wireless timecode master over 2.4GHz for Deity’s own transmitters. Nino’s point: a two-person documentary crew used to buy a recorder, a timecode generator and a backup strategy separately – now it’s one $440 box. Johnnie’s question for the audience: does it start recording when you hit record on the camera? Let us know.
The same segment covers two more winners: a cage for Marshall’s tiny CV500 broadcast cameras from Excelsius Designs in the broadcast category, and the DJI Osmo Pocket 4P as our camera award winner, after its strong lab test results. Johnnie also gives a shout-out to the Bosma Vega H2, which has been updated heavily since we spoke to the manufacturer in June.
Read more: Deity PR-4 Detailed
(37:10 in the episode)
OWC’s new dock wins our accessory award. Because Thunderbolt 5 has separate lanes for video, it can drive two HDMI 2.1 displays – up to 4K at 240Hz or 8K at 60Hz each – without slowing down the storage connected to it. It also has 2.5Gb Ethernet, USB-C and USB-A ports, SD and microSD slots, and charges the laptop with 140W, all over one cable. It needs its own power supply, but for Nino it’s one of the first docks that doesn’t ask you to compromise.
Manfrotto also picks up an award for the video version of its One tripod, with its quick-release head and easy switch between tripod and slider.
Read more: OWC Thunderbolt 5 Dock with Dual HDMI Introduced
(40:28 in the episode)
The DZOFILM Arles zoom pair wins in the lens category. We like the 10mm overlap between the two zooms, which means you can swap lenses in the middle of a sequence and the framing still matches. Add the consistent T2.6 across the range and color matched to DZOFILM’s primes, and you have a documentary-friendly set. Nino puts the price at around €2,500 per lens.
Read more: DZOFILM Arles Zooms Announced
(42:03 in the episode)
Lighting gets two awards this year – and no, not for our own light. The Aputure STORM CS32 is a 3,200W full-color point source that still runs from normal mains power, works with Aputure’s motorized Fresnel and uses the BLAIR-CG light engine, which gets a lot of praise for its color consistency. Nino recommends Eric’s interview with Brandon from Aputure, who he says brings the same energy as Ted Sim.
Read more: Aputure STORM CS32 Explained
(44:10 in the episode)
The second lighting award goes to the NANLUX Matrix 2500C, a weather-sealed full-color fixture with four integrated heads in one housing and NANLUX’s own light engine. Where the STORM CS32 is a very bright point source, the Matrix is more flexible: several units combine without gaps into the kind of arrays that are now popular for events.
Read more: NANLUX Matrix 2500B and Matrix 2500C – First Look
(45:16 in the episode)
Monitoring was debated at length in the team, so the award is shared between two very different products. The Atomos Shinobi 7 II is a bright 7-inch HDR touchscreen monitor with HDMI 2.0, up to 4K60 and USB-C camera control for most Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon, Panasonic and Sony mirrorless cameras. Nino told Atomos’ new CEO in person that he welcomes the company’s renewed focus on monitors and recorders, with FSI (Flanders Scientific) kept as the brand for production monitors.
Read more: Winners Announced – CineD Best-of-Show Awards at IBC 2026Note: Interview video with Atomos will follow shortly.
(46:59 in the episode)
The other monitoring award goes to the Hollyland Pyro 7 Ultra: a 1,500-nit 7-inch monitor that works as a transmitter or a receiver and is compatible with the other Pyro units. It offers 4K60 transmission at around 20ms latency – maybe not quite enough for every focus puller, but very good – plus 3G-SDI and HDMI 2.0. For Nino, the fact that it is both a transmitter and a receiver is what makes it so versatile.
Read more: Hollyland Pyro 7 Ultra Explained
(48:52 in the episode)
The first Bolt update in four years keeps Teradek’s 6GHz zero-delay video platform but adds a third antenna and a dedicated 900MHz radio. That radio acts as a wireless Ethernet/USB cable replacement, so camera control and live color management with Pomfort LiveGrade no longer need Wi-Fi on set. There is also a full-color OLED display with a frequency analyzer, automated RF management, wired pairing and USB-C DP Alt Mode for iPhone. The transmitter is 20% smaller than the Bolt 6 XT.
A transmitter/receiver bundle costs $6,000. Nino’s question is whether camera control over the same link justifies that price today – though as a typical rental item, the Bolt 7 will likely end up in rental houses anyway.
Read more: Teradek Bolt 7 Introduced
(53:04 in the episode)
Nino interviewed Mark from Sony’s audio team, who explained why true 32-bit float wireless transmission isn’t really possible with the bandwidth available. The bodypacks now record 32-bit float as a backup – but not in the US. A Zaxcom patent on simultaneous transmitting and recording is still in force there, so US customers can’t do both. Sony expects the patent to expire in the next few years and hopes a firmware update can lift the restriction then, but nothing is promised. And since the US and European units use different frequencies, you can’t just import the European version.
Read more: Sony DWX Gen 4 Wireless System Detailed
(56:53 in the episode)
The main camera gets a new sensor, a new lens and a variable aperture with four fixed positions: f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8 and f/4. Johnnie wonders how durable the tiny aperture blades will be if you drop the phone. The stock Camera app gets aperture, shutter, white balance and a histogram. Nino’s theory: once there is a real aperture, Apple had to give you the other controls as well. Apple Reference Image cryptographically signs photos to prove they are authentic – yet it isn’t available in the EU at launch, which Nino finds hard to understand.
The foldable iPhone Duo is less interesting for filmmakers: two cameras, no telephoto, a fixed aperture, no ProRes, Log or pro controls. But its almost iPad mini-sized screen could make it a great tool for editing on the go.
Read more: Apple iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max Announced
(01:07:25 in the episode)
SmallRig’s cage for the iPhone 18 (most of it also fits the 17) uses the HawkLock system, so accessories can be attached, removed and moved around the cage quickly – important if the iPhone is also your everyday phone. Both hosts like that rigging makers now keep phone setups small and flexible, rather than turning the phone into a bulky camera. Tilta’s Khronos system is the alternative.
Read more: SmallRig iPhone 18 Cinema Kit Introduced
(01:09:42 in the episode)
Pixboom plans to ship every Kickstarter pre-order by the end of October. New in the current firmware: 12G-SDI for monitoring up to 4K60, pre-record, a conventional RAM buffer mode next to the Spark’s stream-to-card design, a browser remote, an open API and a reworked UI. 12-bit RAW, promised by the end of the year, should bring the camera close to 14 stops. Internal ProRes RAW and a broadcast module are in development.
Johnnie also visited Pixboom in Shenzhen during his China trip, and that factory tour video is coming soon.
Read more: Pixboom Spark Updated
(01:14:24 in the episode)
The R8 Mark II adds the one thing everybody asked for: 5-axis IBIS, three and a half years after the original shipped without it. Video is oversampled 4K with 10-bit 4:2:2. Johnnie calls it a photo camera that can also shoot video. Nino is less forgiving about the micro HDMI port and the single SD slot in 2026. Both agree the new “classic” design looks good – and that it reminds them of another brand.
Read more: Canon EOS R8 Mark II Announced
(01:17:45 in the episode)
Tilta’s $99 cage keeps the Pyro 7 Ultra’s ports and vents clear and adds NATO side handles and an HDMI clamp. Over USB-C, the monitor shows Nucleus-M II lens data, focus scale overlays, wireless focus/iris control and remote start/stop right in its own UI. Nino notes that Hollyland is increasingly integrating with other manufacturers – it is also a recommended accessory for Sony’s new DP5 and DP7 monitors.
Read more: Tilta Monitor Cage for Hollyland Pyro 7 Ultra
(01:19:52 in the episode)
Nino spoke to Stefan from DoPchoice about the SNAPGRID Core, a rigid 40-degree honeycomb grid that snaps onto the ARRI Omnibar 2 and 4, with versions for Astera Titan and Helios tubes. It directs the soft output of these tubes without the flapping of fabric modifiers – ARRI used it as a backlight on its own booth.
Read more: DoPchoice/Ellar Works SNAPGRID Core Modifier Explained
(01:21:53 in the episode)
These power banks have a built-in retractable USB-C cable, USB-A and USB-C ports, fast charging and a mounting point for rigs. Nino’s reminder: after fires on planes, most airlines no longer let you use power banks on board – you can bring them, but you can’t charge your laptop from them.
Read more: SmallRig Nano36 and Nano72 Introduced
(01:23:47 in the episode)
The WiTalk Base scales a wireless intercom system to 64 users: up to nine work without a hub, and users can be split into eight private groups. Johnnie saw almost everyone at the SmallRig booth wearing intercom headsets. Nino points out how many Chinese brands are now challenging the established pro players with intercoms for smaller crews.
Read more: Saramonic WiTalk Base Detailed
(01:26:42 in the episode)
Angelbird’s fourth-generation Type A cards (AV PRO and AV PRO SE) are built for higher sustained write speeds, mainly for the Sony FX5 – the only Type A camera with internal RAW and up to 4K240. In Johnnie’s interview, Roman Rabitsch explains that older cards handle most FX5 RAW modes, but the new ones are the safer choice for long high-frame-rate recording. The interview about memory prices will follow separately.
Read more: Angelbird AV PRO CFexpress Type A v4 Explained
(01:28:47 in the episode)
Our educational pick of the week: the recording of the “Breaking the Framing Rules” webinar is now part of MZed Pro. It covers framing conventions such as lead room, headroom and off-center framing, and how breaking them on purpose can support your story, with examples from well-known films.
Read more: Breaking the Framing Rules – Now on MZed
There’s more IBC coverage coming over the next one or two weeks. Which winner would you have picked? Let us know in the comments below or on YouTube, write to us at podcast[at]cined.com, and subscribe to Focus Check on your favourite podcast platform.
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Videographer with a deep audio background — including 7 years at a microphone manufacturer. Currently working in broadcast production and specialized in video podcast production. Co-founder of Yon.studio