Accessory roundup: photography flavored keys, a cheaper grip, and more

Images: Akuko Labs, Pgytech, ProGrade

It's Saturday, which means it's time for another accessory roundup. This week we're taking a look at cards, keyboards, and getting a peek at something that one of our favorite accessory makers is working on. But first, the deals.

Midrange madness

Photo: Shaminder Dulai

OM System has its flagship Micro Four Thirds camera, the OM-1 II, on sale for $2,000, $400 off its original MSRP. That's the same price as the just-announced OM-3, which owes a lot of its DNA to the OM-1 II, and which we quite enjoyed shooting with. If you're into birding or other action / wildlife photography, the OM-1 II is one of the fastest cameras you can get at its price point.

Photo: Dale Baskin

If you're looking for a mid-range camera with a larger sensor, Canon's excellent EOS R6 II is also on sale for $200 off MSRP.

The perfect keyboard for arguing about cameras

Image: Akuko Labs

This one's for people who are enthusiasts of photography and keyboards. The Aperture Priority keycap set, spotted by PetaPixel, uses a legend that's clearly inspired by the type Leica uses on its cameras and lenses but goes much further than that. The modifier keys feature various photographic symbols, such as an exposure comp meter, flash symbol, aperture ring, and more. Akuko Labs, which designed the set, says it's "inspired by the timeless craftsmanship of analog photography."

It's worth noting that this is likely only going to be for those who are pretty deep into the mechanical keyboard world. If you're not familiar with group buy preorders, or if it's news to you that people would be willing to pay $79 for a set of keycaps – not a full keyboard, mind you, just the caps – or $65 for a single keycap made out of aluminum and designed to look like a shutter button, these probably won't fit on your keyboard anyways. But for people with a foot in both worlds, it could be a fun addition to your collection.

High-capacity cards for Sony

Image: ProGrade

If you're a Sony shooter in the market for a beefy storage card, you have a new option. ProGrade has launched a 960GB version of its "Gold" CFexpress Type A card. At $439 it's certainly not cheap, but that price does put it at around $60 less than many other Type A cards with a similar amount of storage. That's likely because it's a CFexpress 2.0 card, meaning its maximum write speeds are capped at 800 MBps versus the blistering 1800 MBps speeds that more expensive CFexpress 4.0 cards can hit. However, if you care more about capacity and price than how quickly you can clear your buffer, it could be a decent option.

Get a grip

Image: Pgytech

Earlier this week, Leica announced a luxurious $329 grip meant to attach to your phone, making it feel more like shooting with a compact camera. Accessory maker Pgytech has also released something similar, though at $60, it's much more affordable. The MagCam Phone Grip attaches to your phone using magnets, either via Apple's MagSafe or the Qi 2 standard, and gives you a zoom rocker, shutter button, and a button that lets you switch modes or cameras. The controller part of the grip can also be detached and used wirelessly if you want to attach your gripped phone to a tripod using the built-in 1/4" thread and control it remotely.

The grip isn't just for improved ergonomics, though, as its main body actually houses a battery that can keep your phone topped up via wireless charging, so you don't have to worry about it dying after your photo shoot. The grip also detaches from the magnetic puck that connects it to your phone, so you can easily store your phone in your pocket and then quickly attach the grip when you want it. It comes in three colors: black, gray, and "mint green."

One caveat for iOS shooters: the grip won't let you switch shooting modes or use the quick launch feature when paired with an iPhone. These features do work with Android, though.

Keep an eye out

Image: Peak Design

This isn't accessory news per se, but rather news that accessory news is coming. Peak Design, a company famous for its photography-focused bags and camera straps, has been teasing that it's making a roller bag and saying that details will be coming "soon." As for what design flourishes the company will include to make it stand out, we can only guess – though its Instagram posts make it seem like the handle might be carbon fiber, which implies that this will likely be a very premium product, similar to the company's much-loved travel tripod.

Asymptomatically approaching perfection

When we get the chance, we like to share some of our favorite bits of knowledge from around the internet as part of this roundup. This video is a little different, as it's not so much about any concrete knowledge – rather, it's a meditation on precision. Over the course of 21 minutes, we get to see two people who are unquestionably dedicated to their craft struggle with the question: how close is close enough?

"On a millisecond scale, we did it. On a microsecond scale, we definitely didn't. It's just who we want to be today."

It's a question we're all too familiar with here at DPReview, especially as cameras improve to the point where even the slightest imperfections become measurable. Even that, though, pales in comparison to shooting video at 82,000 FPS, where 0.00005 seconds can be the difference between getting the shot and not getting it. If you're at all interested in the processes behind creating high-quality content for the internet, it's absolutely worth a watch.

Read last week's roundup