Gear of the Month | January 2026

We’ve no time to wish each other a happy new year – I’m afraid there’s simply too much exciting new gear to cover. Manufacturers have wasted no time in 2026, and the slate of new cameras and lenses for January has already filled up with some seriously tempting goodies.

Probably the biggest splash of the month has been something that street photographers have been waiting on for some time – a fully black & white Ricoh GR camera. The new Ricoh GR IV Monochrome delivers all that pocketable GR goodness in a body that’s monochrome only, for a fantastically purist experience.

But elsewhere we’ve got new lenses from Nikon and Leica, a much-coveted video accessory from DJI, and a very intriguing addition to Fujifilm’s Instax range. So, like I said, no time for pleasantries – here’s all the top photo and video releases you need to know about from January 2026.

Ricoh GR IV Monochrome Digital Camera

The Ricoh GR IV Monochrome, built for black and white photography, sits alongside the GR IV and GR IV HDF as the most specialised model in Ricoh’s compact range. It pairs a 25.74-megapixel, AA-filterless monochrome APS-C sensor with an 18.3 mm f2.8 lens and built-in red filter, recording luminance directly for crisp detail, smooth tonal gradation, and controlled contrast. Fast autofocus and five-axis stabilisation keep it responsive and discreet for street, travel, and everyday photography.

£1,599.00 View

Now this is very exciting. Ricoh has launched an ultra-specialised model in its GR range of slimline, street-friendly compacts – the GR IV Monochrome. As you might expect, it’s a black & white camera, with its APS-C CMOS sensor having no colour filter of any kind. Not only does this mean it’s monochrome only, but it also improves the camera’s sharpness, tonal gradation and fine detail, delivering ultra-crisp images.

This Monochrome model also has a built-in physical red filter, which can be switched on or off, and behaves like a red filter does when used with black & white film – darkening skies, separating clouds, and improving the contrast in foliage and skin tones. If you’re someone who just can’t get enough B&W, and finds yourself converting most of your images to mono after the fact, it might just be time to cut out the middleman and switch to a camera that naturally shoots in your preferred medium!

Nikon Z 24-105mm f4-7.1 Lens

With a variable-aperture optical design for FX-format cameras, the Nikon Z 24-105mm f4-7.1 lens positions itself as an entry-level zoom covering wide-angle to short-telephoto ranges. The 12-element construction with ED and aspherical elements maintains resolution through the zoom range while internal focusing supports fast, quiet autofocus. A 0.2m minimum focus at 24mm supports close-up framing at longer focal lengths, within a compact 350g body with a customisable control ring.

£529.00 View

An affordable starter zoom for Nikon Z mirrorless cameras, this is an ideal lens for covering a bit of everything. The Nikon Z 24-105mm f4-7.1 offers a variable aperture in order to keep size and cost down, and as such it comes in at a very manageable weight of 350g – making it a great choice for travel. It’ll also work with Nikon’s lighter DX-format cameras like the Nikon Z50II – in such cases, the smaller sensor format means it’ll deliver an equivalent focal range of 36-157mm, putting all manner of different subjects in play. A customisable control ring allows the lens to be set up to suit your shooting style, and the quiet internal focusing system means it’s also well-suited to video.

DJI RS 5

The DJI RS 5 is a lightweight commercial stabiliser built to support mirrorless camera setups up to 3kg with confident, controlled movement. It balances quickly with fine-tuning knobs and a low-friction axis design, then locks and unlocks automatically as you power up or down. Stronger motors and DJI’s latest stabilisation algorithm keep shots steady while walking, running, or switching to native vertical shooting.

£485.00 View

A lightweight, handheld stabiliser for video, the powerful DJI RS5 is fully compatible with popular cine and mirrorless cameras like the Sony FX3, Canon EOS R5 Mark II and Panasonic Lumix S5 II. With upgraded torque and improved stabilisation algorithms, it’ll smooth out movement from walking and light running without over-correcting, avoiding the “floaty” feel that gimbals can sometimes create. The RS5 also makes it easy to switch quickly from shooting vertical to horizontal video and vice versa – handy for content creators.

Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo Cinema Instant Camera

The Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo Cinema is a hybrid instant camera built for short-form video and tactile printing, driven by a physical Eras-based effects dial that shapes both image and audio. The Mini Evo records 15-second clips and stills through a fixed 28mm f2.0 lens, then turns selected frames into Instax Mini prints with a QR code linking back to the original video. Its vertical, cine-style body and mechanical controls keep the process hands-on from recording to print.

£329.00 View

The next evolution of Instax? It just might be – the Fujifilm Instax Mini EVO Cinema camera takes the ethos of fun and experimentation embodied by the Instax film cameras, and places it in a body capable of capturing short-form video. Able to capture 15-second video clips and stills, the Instax Mini EVO Cinema is controlled by a press-and-hold trigger, giving it the feel of a classic Super 8 camera. And the “Eras Dial” on the side allows you to give you footage and stills the look of a particular decade, from the 1930s to the 2020s.

Fujifilm Instax Mini Link+ Printer

The Fujifilm Instax Mini Link+ is a compact instant photo printer that turns smartphone images into physical Instax Mini prints with minimal setup. It connects wirelessly via Bluetooth and prints JPEG, PNG, HEIF and DNG files in around 15 seconds, producing small, punchy colour prints with smooth gradation. The built-in rechargeable battery keeps it ready for repeated printing sessions without needing external power.

£129.00 View

If you can’t get enough of the Instax look, the Fujifilm Instax Mini Link+ Printer allows you to turn basically any image into a physical Instax print. Accepting JPEG, PNG, HEIF and DNG image files, the Instax Mini Link+ takes about ten to fifteen seconds to spit out a beautiful print of an image sent to it via Bluetooth, producing an image with bright, poppy colours and smooth tonal gradation.

Leica 35mm f1.2 Noctilux-M ASPH Lens

Leica brings Noctilux speed to a 35 mm focal length with the launch of the Noctilux-M 35 f1.2 ASPH. As a series first, this lens features a 10-element design with 3 aspherical elements for strong contrast and controlled aberrations. Thanks to the trademark f1.2 aperture and 0.5m close focusing, users can achieve strong separation at close distances in a wider, more contextual field of view. A dedicated floating element also ensures consistent performance from close focus to infinity, naturally aligning this lens with reportage and street photography.

£7,700.00 View

The class-leading speed of the Leica Noctilux line arrives in 35mm format with the new Leica 35mm f1.2 Noctilux-M ASPH lens. A Leica M-mount lens for rangefinder cameras, the Leica Noctilux-M 35 f1.2 ASPH is compact and well-balanced, with a stunningly bright F1.2 maximum aperture for maximum light transmission. It also features an integrated pull-out lens hood to control flare and reflections, and of course, has been manufactured in Wetzlar to Leica’s peerless standards of quality.