There's no doubt that air fryers have been having a moment, but they haven't pushed the humble multicooker completely out of the limelight yet. If you somehow haven't jumped on the Instant Pot bandwagon yet, you can give it a try for much less right now. Amazon has discounted the six-quart Instant Pot Duo by 50 percent, bringing it down to $50. We've seen this model dip slightly cheaper in the past ($48), but this is the best price we've seen in many months.
The benefit of a multicooker like this one is that it can do many things, acting as a jack-of-all-trades in your kitchen. The Duo in particular has seven cooking modes: pressure cook, slow cook, rice cooker, steamer, sauté, yogurt maker and warmer. It also has 13 customizable "smart programs" that take a lot of the guesswork out of preparing common foods like soup, beans, rice, poultry and more.
Both kitchen newbies and seasoned home cooks can make use of an Instant Pot like this. For those just getting into cooking, it'll help you prepare new foods that you may have never tried before, sometimes even more quickly than you could do just with a pot on stove. For those who cook all the time, it'll make it easier to prepare a lot of food during the holidays by giving you another countertop machine to employ when your other appliances are in use. Plus, it's a great tool for meal prepping.
It's also worth noting that the model on sale has a six-quart capacity, which sits in the middle of the Duo's lineup. It's a great size for most families as it's able to make food for up to six people at once. If you decide to take the plunge into the Instant Pot world, be sure to check out our guide for tips and tricks, recipe inspiration and more.
We've finally reached the point where a robot can vacuum for us — but smart vacs aren't cheap. Eufy, from parent company Anker, makes solid and affordable robot vacuums that often go on sale. In fact, we recommend waiting until a good deal like this comes around before diving in so you can join the robot revolution while saving some cash. Right now Amazon is hosting a sale on Eufy vacuums with discounts of up to 44 percent on the smart vacs. The sale includes the Eufy RoboVac 11S, which is down to $140 from its list price of $230, just be sure to click the box to apply the $60 coupon.
We tested the 11S in our budget robot vacuum guide and named it the best bang for your buck. We particularly liked the way the slimmer profile was able to get under low-slung furniture and thought its collision avoidance was remarkable. It's relatively quiet, and did a good job of cleaning the carpets, only missing the occasional crumb. It doesn't have WiFi, but the included remote takes on most of the scheduling features you'd find in an app. Overall, it impressed us with its smarts, especially for the price, which is now an even better deal.
Another robot mentioned in our guide is the Eufy RoboVac G30, it's just $180 right now, which is a steep 44 percent lower than its $319 list price. The G30 is a newer model than the 11S, and features Dynamic Navigation 2.0, improved navigation software that relies less on random patterns to choose its cleaning path. Anker gives the Pascal (Pa) units to rate the suction of Eufy vacuums, and the G30 is rated to 2000pa, which is on the higher end of the spectrum (the 11S above rates at 1300Pa). With WiFi and a dedicated app, you can control it from your phone, or even with Alexa if you have an Echo smart speaker or display.
The Eufy RoboVac X8 Hybrid got a well-deserved honorable mention in our best robot vacuum guide. It's a robot vacuum and mop in one, which you can get for $320 right now, instead of its usual $650. The sale price takes 15 percent off, and the clickable coupon discounts another $230. We liked the amount of customization you get with the X8, including a "tap and go" feature that gets the vac to clean an exact spot. You can also straight up control the robot manually, which we thought felt like controlling a slow and slightly clumsy RC car.
The "hybrid" in the name refers to the mopping features. When you want to wipe down your hard floors, there's an on-board water tank to fill and included mopping cloths to attach. You'll also want to mark off the no-go zones wherever there's carpet.
The X8 uses LiDAR laser scanning to navigate and unlike some smart vacs, the X8 can learn where not to go through virtual no-go zones you set within the app. We were impressed by how well the X8 navigated, but you should note that if you prefer to set your boundaries using boundary strips, the X8 doesn't come with any, you'll have to buy those separately.
Nike's interest in the blockchain extends beyond buying a digital collectibles startup. The apparel maker has introduced ".Swoosh," a blockchain-based platform that will let members collect and eventually create virtual jerseys, shoes and other goods they can wear in games and other online spaces. You may get access to real-world products and special events, too. The creation of an "inclusive" community is important, Nike says, although the company isn't shy about wanting to make money — you can buy virtual products using conventional payments, much like you would a physical pair of runners.
The .Swoosh platform is currently in beta. Sign-ups start November 18th, and you'll need an access code if you want to avoid sitting on a waiting list. Nike doesn't start official "programming" until December, and the first community-shaped virtual collection is poised to launch in early 2023. The brand's initial community building will focus on the US and some European countries.
Nike also hinted at how it will motivate some creators. After that first collection arrives, the firm will launch a community challenge that gives winners a chance to co-create virtual items with Nike. They'll earn a royalty on whatever products they ultimately sell.
The debut comes just under a year after Nike bought RTFKT to accelerate its virtual goods business, and represents its first major push into the field. Nike also faces some competition from athletics wear rivals eager to profit from the blockchain. Adidas has participated in NFT drops, for instance, while Reebok has released its own collectible items. The .Swoosh rollout could help Nike counter those challenges by creating a go-to hub for digtally-savvy fans.
Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts chastised Elon Musk on Sunday after the billionaire’s glib response to a request for information about Twitter’s new verification policies. “Perhaps it is because your real account sounds like a parody?” Musk tweeted Sunday morning after Markey criticized the company’s new $8 per month Twitter Blue subscription.
Senator Markey countered: “One of your companies is under an FTC consent decree. Auto safety watchdog NHTSA is investigating another for killing people. And you’re spending your time picking fights online”. He said, “Fix your companies. Or Congress will.”
Twitter suspended its new paid account verification less than two days after launch. It’s been a disaster. Trolls were able to impersonate celebrities, politicians and brands, leading to chaos. One managed to tank the stock of the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, claiming the company would offer insulin for free. Another said Lockheed Martin was reassessing its military contracts with countries and territories with poor human rights records.
It’s only Monday, but it’s already shaping up to be another week filled with Twitter drama. Have you signed up to Mastodon yet? Let me know. I’m still on Twitter. For now.
Magic Leap's glasses were supposed to lead us into the augmented reality era. But despite raising nearly $2 billion by 2020, it didn’t quite happen. Like Google Glass before it, Magic Leap felt like a false start. But the company isn't dead yet. With a new CEO onboard – former Microsoft executive Peggy Johnson – it's aiming for something far more practical: AR for the enterprise. It’s a retread of the HoloLens playbook, sure, but according to Devindra Hardawar, after the endless drumbeat of metaverse hype (mostly from Meta), it’s nice to be genuinely surprised by a new headset. Read on for his impressions.
Meta is stopping development on its smart displays and fledgling smartwatch project, according to Reuters. The company's executives reportedly told employees – those left after mass layoffs that saw 11,000 people lose their jobs – that it would end work on Portal devices. The Information reported in June that the Portal made up less than one percent of the global market of smart displays. Meta has yet to release a smartwatch, though there have been multiple reports and leaks over the years. Now, we'll never see it.
Studio Ghibli recently tweeted a teaser video showing both its logo and Lucasfilm's, as well as a photo of a Grogu figurine. Now we know what those posts are hinting at. Together, the two companies created a short film, hand-drawn by Studio Ghibli. Better yet – you can stream it right now.
Samsung’s The Frame TV series came out in 2017. Engadget’s Amy Skorheim bought a 43-inch model back in 2019 and is a big fan. The picture is bright, the sound is clear and its Tizen OS is easy to figure out – but she forked out over $800 for it. But The Frame does a great job of looking like art hanging on her wall. The thin panel has picture-frame edges and mounts flat against the wall, like a giant photo. The panel connects via a thin wire to an external receiver/port hub/tuner box combo, helping to maintain the illusion of artwork, not a TV panel.
If you’re looking to buy additional storage for your PC or PlayStation 5, you don’t have to wait until Black Friday to score a deal on some of the best solid-state drives on the market. Ahead of Thanksgiving, Amazon is holding a sale on Samsung storage gear, including the company’s excellent NVMe models. PS5 owners will want to turn their attention to the Samsung 980 Pro. After a 53 percent discount, the 2TB model with heatsink is $190, down from $400. It’s the perfect plug-and-play upgrade for Sony’s latest console, meeting all the compatibility and cooling requirements set out by the company.
Amazon has also discounted the non-heatsink versions of the 980 Pro and 970 Evo. The latter is the highlight here. At the moment, you can grab the 2TB model for $160, rather than $500. The 500GB is also discounted by 54 percent, making it $60 at the moment. Both the 980 Pro and 970 Evo are great options if you want to add a fast Gen4 NVMe to your PC – just make sure you have a compatible motherboard and processor. If you want to give life to an older PC, Samsung’s excellent SATA SSDs are included in the sale.
Those looking for portable storage are also in luck. The 1TB and 2TB versions of the T7 Shield are currently 44 and 48 percent off, respectively. That means you can get the more expensive model for $150, and the 1TB variant for a record low of $90. Best of all, all three colorways – blue, black and biege – are included in the sale. The T7 Shield is an Engadget favorite. The combination of USB 3.2 Gen 2 support and IP65-certified protection make it a great option for anyone who wants a fast and reliable backup solution.
One last product worth highlighting is the Samsung EVO Select microSD. Amazon has discounted all four models, with the 512GB variant receiving the largest price cut. After a 47 percent discount, you can get that version for $45. It typically retails for $85. The EVO Select microSD is a great option for those looking to beef up their Nintendo Switch with fast storage. Make sure to check out the rest of the sale to see if there's something else that might fit your needs.
A couple of days ago, Studio Ghibli tweeted a teaser video showing both its logo and Lucasfilm's, as well as a photo of a Grogu figurine. Now we know what those posts are hinting at. Apparently, the two companies worked together to create a short film hand-drawn by Studio Ghibli. It's entitled Zen - Grogu and Dust Bunnies, starring the beloved alien toddler from The Mandalorian with a strong affinity for the Force and the "susuwatari" from Hayao Miyazaki's animated films My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away.
According to IGN, the short film was directed by Katsuya Kondo, who's known for his character design work and a style that's deeply tied with Studio Ghibli's films. It also features music by Ludwig Göransson, who composed the scores for the previous two seasons of The Mandalorian. Zen - Grogu and Dust Bunnies, will be available for streaming today November 12th on Disney+, exactly three years after The Mandalorian debuted.
Zen - Grogu and Dust Bunnies, a hand-drawn animated Original short by Studio Ghibli.
— Star Wars | Andor & Tales of the Jedi On Disney+ (@starwars) November 12, 2022
Grogu will be back and will be reunited with "Mando" in the third season of The Mandalorian after leaving to train at Luke's Jedi Temple by the end of the second season. Disney gave fans a glimpse of what they can expect when the show comes back sometime next year in a trailer released during the company's D23 expo in September.
My first “adult” TV was a 200-pound CRT monstrosity that lived inside an even more monstrous, 300-pound cabinet with doors. After that, I upgraded to a monitor-and-laptop setup that stowed in the hidey compartment of my coffee table. The thing is, I loathe black mirrors; the blank void that stares out when a TV is off creeps me out. (I blame The Ring.) I decided all screens had to stay hidden if I wasn’t actively watching them and just avoided a wall-mounted TV altogether – until the market came up with one that looks like art when it's off.
Samsung’s The Frame came out in 2017. I bought a 43-inch model back in 2019 and have been a big fan ever since. On the inside, it’s a thoroughly serviceable smart TV with a QLED panel and Samsung’s Tizen OS (which the company just licensed for use with non-Samsung TVs). The picture is bright, the sound is clear, and Tizen is easy to figure out – but I forked over $800 for the namesake feature.
The Frame does a great job of looking like art hanging on my wall. The thin panel has picture-frame edges and mounts flat against the wall, like a giant photo. The panel connects via a thin wire to an external receiver/port hub/tuner box combo, which means you can actually drop the wire behind the drywall and have it pop out elsewhere, furthering the illusion that there’s nothing electronic going on here. The brick walls of my old house aren’t letting that happen, so I hide the wire behind a plant.
Amy Skorheim
As for the effect, I’ve had people come over who asked me whether we had a TV at all, standing just a couple feet from The Frame. It’s fun to turn it on and witness their total surprise. I will say I’m jealous of the latest models, which have an anti-reflective matte finish that I wish my older model had. I think it enhances the effect.
The Frame’s elegant hardware is a perk, but the other important factor in the art-not-TV illusion comes from Samsung’s Art Store, an $8 monthly subscription that grants access to a ton of art to display. There are collections from the Louvre (though picking a Vermeer to hang on your wall might stretch credulity) as well as the Museum of Fine Arts Budapest, Etsy, Life Picture Collection, Saatchi Art, van Gogh Museum Amsterdam, BBC Earth, Magnum photos and lots more. I tend to go with abstracts and modern photography, and my kid likes the illustrations and wildlife photos.
But if you (understandably) have subscription fatigue from the 25 different services you pay for and don’t want to add another to the list, the included “Samsung collection” offers 10 artworks for free. You can also use your own images if you prefer (just make sure they’re large format or they’ll look pixelated). Personally, I’ve never tried using my own images; I leave art to the professionals.
Amy Skorheim
I like to swap out the image a couple times a month, and can easily kill an hour picking the next piece of art to grace my walls. There’s an option that’ll rotate through all images in a collection, automatically switching at regular intervals, from every 10 minutes to once a week. I firmly believe adding a mat to the image makes it look more real. After you pick the image you want to display, you have the option of selecting no mat, a modern mat or a shadowbox mat. Both mats come in ten different colors, but I’ve never found anything that beats the antique white color in the modern mat option.
Considering the Frame is technically always-on, you may have reservations about the TV’s energy usage. In art mode, Samsung says a 65-inch Frame consumes about 50 watts of power. I’ve personally made a series of changes in life – downsizing square footage, trading a car for an e-bike, cutting out meat, etc. – to ease my carbon footprint, and I allow myself this minor indulgence. But if that aspect weighs on you, you could even consider the same carbon offsets people buy when they fly.
Plus, there are a couple of features that make sure the Frame isn’t always on. With Night Mode, the TV shuts itself off when the lights go out. Then in the morning, after sensing light again, it turns the art back on. You can also set it to detect when there’s motion in the room, turning off when no one’s around. When I tried this, my model kept turning off and never sensing motion again, despite me doing jumping jacks right in front of it, so I opted to disable that feature. The same sensors that detect darkness and (theoretically) movement also adjust the brightness of the image, so it never looks too intense, a trait that keeps things looking more like a framed oil painting and less like a TV. Which, for me, is the whole point.
The first headlights to adorn automobiles weren’t all that much better than squinting real hard and hoping any cows in the road had the good sense to move out of your way. The dim light cast by early kerosene oil and acetylene gas lamps made most travel after dark a fool’s errand.
Today, of course, the latest generation of headlights work much like modern televisions with tightly packed arrays of pixelated lights blinking at up to 5,000 times a second, allowing drivers to essentially use high and low beams at the same time. Until very recently, however, cutting-edge features like that weren’t allowed on vehicles sold in the US due to an NHTSA regulation set in the 1960s. But thanks to a multi-year lobbying effort on the part of Toyota, those regulations changed this last February — now America’s roadways are about to become a bit brighter and a whole lot safer.
How headlights evolved from open flames to laser pixels
Following the short-lived idea of using open flames to light the way, the first electric headlights appeared on the 1912 Cadillac Model 30 and, by the next decade, were quickly becoming mandatory equipment across the nation. The first split-intensity headlights offering separate low and high beams were produced in 1915 but wouldn’t be included in a vehicle’s OEM design until in 1924 and the floor-mounted switch that controlled them wouldn’t be invented until three years after that — a full decade of having to get out of the car just to turn your lights on and blink between brightnesses!
The advent of sealed beam headlights with filaments for both low and high beams in 1954, and its widespread adoption by 1957, proved a massive technological leap. With low beams for dusk and evening driving, and high beams for late night travel on otherwise unlit roads, these new headlights would drastically extend the hours of day a car could safely be on the road.
The first halogen light, which would itself quickly become a global standard, debuted in 1962. But halogens at that time were about as popular in the US as the metric system — we still preferred tungsten incandescents. That changed with the passage of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 and the formation of the National Highway Transportation Authority (the NHTSA) in 1968, which took the existing hodge-podge of state-level vehicular regulations and federalized them, as well as the formal adoption that year of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 108, which dictated that all headlights be constructed of sealed beams.
kampee patisena via Getty Images
By the 1970s, halogen bulbs, with their increased brightness and efficiency compared to tungsten incandescents, became the industry standard. The ‘80s, in turn, saw US regulations expand to allow for replaceable-bulb headlamps, which the European market had already been enjoying for a number of years. The ability to swap out a bulb rather than an entire headlight unit, combined with recent material advances that saw lamp lenses constructed out of plastic instead of glass, drastically reduced the cost of making and operating headlights. And by the ‘90s, halogens had themselves fallen to the wayside in favor of modern xenon and LED lighting technologies. The 21st century has seen further advances to not just the lighting technology itself — hello halo and laser headlights! — but also the control systems that direct the beams.
Due to differences in their relative transportation regulations, the rate of technological adoption has diverged between US drivers and their European counterparts — often with the Americans lagging behind. As with replaceable bulbs in the ‘50s and glare reduction efforts in the ‘30s, Europe has shown itself far more willing to innovate and readily implement recent headlight advances, in part to restrictions imposed by FMVSS 108. Because Standard 108 defined headlights as only having high or low beams — and legally requiring they remain separate — it tacitly excluded all of the technical advances that followed, specifically adaptive driving beam (ADB) headlight systems as found in Audi’s matrix LEDs, Lexus’ Blade Scan LEDs or Ford’s Adaptive Front Lighting System, none of which you will currently find operable Stateside.
Those and similar ADB systems have been available in the Europe, Canada and Japan since the technology's debut in 2004 (though, technically, the 1967 Citroen DS did also feature headlights that swivel in sync with the steering). It would be more than a decade — not until Toyota’s monumental 2015 petition — before the NHTSA would even consider allowing their use in the North American market. In fact, it took another three years beyond that for the agency’s bureaucratic skullduggery to wrap up and it wasn’t until February of this year — a year and a half ahead of schedule because they had to satisfy a requirement set forth in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill — that the NHTSA amended the regulation.
“NHTSA prioritizes the safety of everyone on our nation’s roads, whether they are inside or outside a vehicle. New technologies can help advance that mission,” Dr. Steven Cliff, NHTSA’s Deputy Administrator, said in a February press release. “NHTSA is issuing this final rule to help improve safety and protect vulnerable road users.”
“Adaptive driving beam headlight systems, or ADB, use automatic headlight beam switching technology to shine less light on occupied areas of the road and more light on unoccupied areas,” the NHTSA further explained. “The adaptive beam is particularly useful for distance illumination of pedestrians, animals, and objects without reducing the visibility of drivers in other vehicles.”
How Adaptive Driving Beams bend light around rain
Broadly, ADB are headlights that actively adapt to the prevailing weather conditions such as redirecting light around falling rain and snow, extending them ahead of turns or dimming the high beams towards oncoming vehicles only. These systems often leverage the same forward-facing cameras used by the adaptive cruise control system and can be programmed to not just illuminate the road ahead but display prescient navigation information as well.
Audi outside of the US, for example, offers Digital matrix LED headlights — LEDs arrayed in a grid pattern and granularly controlled by a central processor called a DMD (digital micromirror device). They operate much like the digital projection technology they’re based on.
”At its heart is a small chip containing one million micromirrors, each of whose edge length measures just a few hundredths of a millimeter,” Audi’s Lighting page explains. ”With the help of electrostatic fields, each individual micromirror can be tilted up to 5,000 times per second. Depending on the setting, the LED light is either directed via the lenses onto the road or is absorbed in order to mask out areas of the light beam.”
Those masked areas are where the light isn’t bouncing off falling water or glaring into the eyes of other drivers. What’s more, the system will project “dynamic leaving- and coming-home animations” onto nearby surfaces, as a treat. More practically, the system can angle the beams to illuminate farther into turns.
Similarly, the HD Matrix LED system found on later model year A8s, under specific circumstances, will dim the vehicle’s high beams without any human intervention. When the headlights are set to Automatic, the vehicle is going over 18 mph outside of urban areas (as dictated by the navigation system), and the front camera sees an another vehicle, the headlights will darken and dim individual LEDs in 64 stages — roughly several million potential patterns — to “mask out other vehicles while continuing to fully illuminate the zones between and adjacent to them.”
Ford’s high-resolution Adaptive Front Lighting System, which debuted in Europe this past August, offers similar capabilities. The company notes that roughly 40 percent of accidents occur on UK roads after sundown. Glancing down at bright infotainment displays while on dark roads can temporarily blind drivers, so Ford’s headlights will project speed limits, navigation cues and road hazard warnings onto the road itself. What’s more, the beams can “bend” around corners and penetrate fog, rain and other inclement weather conditions.
“What started as playing around with a projector light and a blank wall could take lighting technologies to a whole new level,” Ford engineer Lars Junker said in a press release. “There’s the potential now to do so much more than simply illuminate the road ahead, to help reduce the stress involved in driving at night. The driver could get essential information without ever needing to take their eyes off the road.”
Mercedes’ Digital Light system, on the other hand, uses a unique light module consisting of three LEDs mounted in each headlamp. Their light is reflected by a thumbnail-sized array of some 1.3 million micromirrors, each of which is controlled via an onboard graphics processor to precisely bend and attenuate the beams. According to Mercedes, that fidelity enables its Highbeam Assist to function two magnitudes more precisely in excluding oncoming traffic than conventional 84-pixel arrays.
At the other end of the spectrum, Lexus’ Blade Scan high-definition headlights, which debuted in Asian markets in 2019, only utilize 24 LEDs per headlight. Rather than an array of micromirrors, Lexus uses a pair of rapidly-rotating mirrors to direct their light through the lens and onto the road. Per the company, this allows the system to aim with 0.7 degrees of accuracy and detect pedestrians at the roadside up to 184 feet away.
Unfortunately, for as cool as these capabilities are and as technically legal as they are, American drivers still have a short wait before they come stateside. That's because the NHTSA must now devise a set of testing requirements by which to measure and regulate adaptive headlights under the revised standard. In the short term, it means we’ll likely see more new vehicles equipped with ADB-capable-but-disabled hardware that can be activated over-the-air later on, once the regulations have firmed up.
“While adaptive headlights have been approved, the testing requirements for approval put forth by NHTSA is still under discussion,” an Audi representative told Engadget. “Because of this, [I’m] afraid we are still not able to offer the matrix functionality in the US at this time and continue to work with regulators to bring this safety relevant function to market.”
If I’m honest with myself, my one true hobby is collecting hobbies. I play guitar and record electronic music. I picked up painting last year. (I am objectively horrible at it.) I cook. I brew beer. I dabble in DIY electronics. I’m an avid hiker. An on-again-off-again runner. I’ve flirted with boxing. Oh, and I write. Obviously.
Now I’ve added photography to the list. I explored it a bit back in high school and college, but had only picked up a camera (that wasn’t built into my phone) outside of work a handful of times since. Then in 2021, after a couple of years exclusively using my phone’s camera for review photos, I decided I desperately needed to upgrade. I eventually settled on the Fujifilm X-T30, in part because I had a limited budget. But, while I went out in search of an affordable workhorse to up my photo and video game at Engadget, what I ended up with was the perfect camera to rekindle my interest in the art of photography.
Terrence O'Brien / Engadget
Let’s start with what attracts many people to the Fujifilm family in the first place: the controls. My first photography experiences were with film. Sure, it’s been a long time since I last used a film camera, but at least I have some level of comfort there. Unlike most digital cameras, Fujifilm’s X series mimics the look and feel of a 35mm film camera. There are dedicated dials for shutter speed and exposure compensation, and many of Fuji’s first-party lenses have physical aperture rings. If I had sprung for the X-T3 I’d have even gotten a dedicated ISO dial. But there are two programmable dials that can be mapped to control ISO and aperture, even if you’re using a lens without an aperture ring.
This makes the X-T30 far more tactile and satisfying than other digital cameras I’ve used, whereas I would usually just put them in aperture priority and forget about it. Without a PASM dial (Program, Aperture priority, Shutter priority and Manual) as a crutch, I’ve been forced to learn the camera’s various options inside and out. I also have to think more carefully and critically about each exposure. Yes, you can essentially put the X-T30 in shutter or aperture priority mode by changing certain settings to auto, but you can’t just turn a dial and be done with it.
Terrence O'Brien
The other big thing for me is the film simulations. Fuji cameras have a built in set of profiles that are supposed to mimic particular film stock. Think of them kind of like Instagram filters, but less terrible. Astia is tuned for portraits, Velvia is perfect for landscapes, Eterna gives you that low-contrast cinematic look, and so on.
And that’s just scratching the surface: You can tweak the settings further to fine-tune your straight-out-of-camera (SOOC) JPGs to achieve various styles and approximations of other films. There’s even a whole little Fujifilm subculture dedicated to “film recipes” that aim to capture the general vibe, if not the look of many classic film stocks. One of the best resources for this is Fuji X Weekly, where Ritchie Roesch shares and shows off various recipes to try and recreate things like Kodak’s Portra 400 or Ilford Delta.
Because I’m someone who likes to obsess over tiny details and tweak things, this is perfect for me. When I first discovered Fuji X Weekly I spent several days going through the recipes that were compatible with my particular camera (and some that weren’t), punching in the settings and taking test photos, saving my favorites to Evernote for easy recall. Fuji makes it simple to load up to seven of these presets with the Q menu, so I can essentially go out with seven different “films” loaded in my camera and switch between them as the situation dictates.
What I like most about this setup is that I can just go out and shoot, and come back with great looking photos that don’t need any editing. I can decide in the moment: Would this be better with a warmer color palette? Should I be turning up the saturation here? How would this scene look in high-contrast black and white? And I don’t need to do a lot of menu diving to test different looks out.
Terrence O'Brien
I always shoot in RAW + JPG, in case I change my mind later or if something doesn’t come out quite how I wanted. But being able to basically see the finished product and focus on actually composing photos, as opposed to spending even more time sitting at a laptop is great. It’s exactly what I need in a hobby: less staring at a computer screen.
Without getting absurd and gimmicky – artificially limiting how many pictures I can take or using only one preset for at least 24 shots in a row – this feels about as close to shooting film as I’m gonna get on a digital camera. And while, yes, I know I could always just go back to shooting on film, I’d really rather not. I like many of the modern conveniences afforded by a digital camera. Plus, 35mm film and quality development services have gotten quite expensive. Even expired rolls of lower-end stock can fetch a decent price on Craigslist.
It’s not all roses, though. The X-T30 is limited to recording 10 minutes of 4K video at a time, which can make shooting reviews a PITA. And, perhaps more importantly, I may have joined the Fujifilm flock at the exact wrong time. For years the company cultivated a loyal fan base with its philosophy of “kaizen,” which saw it continuously updating even older devices to bring new features and bug fixes. Unfortunately, the company has started to move away from that in recent years.
The X-T30 last received a firmware update over one year ago, in early October of 2021, and that was almost entirely minor bug fixes. It wasn’t even three years old at that point. The company introduced the X-T30 II around the same time which from a hardware point of view is almost identical, but it has a host of new software features and film simulations. There seems to be no technical reason that many of those features couldn’t be ported over to the slightly older camera, especially the film sims, but Fuji has left some of its users out in the cold.
Terrence O'Brien / Engadget
Here’s hoping Fujifilm remembers that it attracted dedicated followers by focusing on the experience and delivering regular meaningful updates to users. Because, while I love my camera, and do think it is probably the best camera for me, I’m a little concerned that I discovered the Fuji community just in time for it to evaporate.
Sony has revealed another selection of games that will be available to PlayStation Plus subscribers on the Extra and Premium tiers. The headliner for many folks is one of the most beloved games of all time,The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (a game from Microsoft-owned Bethesda Softworks, fact fans). The special edition of the classic 2011 RPG includes updated visuals and other features.
Subscribers will soon be able to play three of Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy-branded games at no extra cost: Rainbow Six Siege (both the PS4 and PS5 versions), The Division 2 and Ghost Recon Breakpoint. Several Kingdom Hearts games are on the way as well. You'll get access to Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX (a remastered collection of four games), Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue,Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory and the most recent mainline entry in the series, Kingdom Hearts III.
On top of that, you'll be able to check out Oddworld: Soulstorm – Enhanced Edition (which features a new game mode) and space shooter Chorus. PS4 and PS5 versions of both games will be available. Also on the docket are classic indie walking sim What Remains of Edith Finch, puzzle title The Gardens Between, Earth Defense Force: World Brothers, Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain and Onee Chanbara Origin.
There are some worthy PS3 titles coming to the Premium lineup this month, in the form of five more Ratchet & Clank games. You'll get access to Ratchet & Clank, Ratchet & Clank 2: Going Commando, Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, Ratchet & Clank: Deadlocked and Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction.
These games will be available on November 15th. It's a pretty solid batch of additions to PS Plus Extra and Premium. Perhaps these titles will help Sony gain back some of the PS Plus subscribers Sony has lost in recent months.
