Sony debuts RX10 V, its first new all-in-one camera in years

Sony recently announced the RX10 V all-in-one camera, the first new model in the series in years, with plenty of zoom and more battery life than its predecessor.

Sony’s new kit comes in a form factor known by photographers as a ‘bridge camera’. It’s a bit more than a point-and-shoot camera, but it doesn’t have the interchangeable lens design of a DSLR. Put more simply, bridge cameras provide the convenience of a point-and-shoot camera, but with more optical zoom and premium features.

Like the previous model, the Sony RX10 V supports both wide-angle and telephoto photography. Its built-in lens zooms out as far as 24mm, with the option to punch in as far as 600mm via a variable f/2.4-4.0 aperture.

Sony described the new camera’s NP-FZ100 battery as lasting around 630 still photos. According to the brand, that’s “roughly 50 per cent more than the previous model”. It’s faster, too, snapping photos at up to 30fps, up from 24fps.

Powering the RX10 V is a one-inch stacked Exmore RS CMOS sensor and Sony’s BIONZ XR processor. Several features from the brand’s Alpha cameras have trickled down, including subject recognition, 4K at 120fps video recording, and a reworked grip and larger digital viewfinder combo.

The camera can also function as a livestreaming device, supporting 4K 30fps quality via USB-C. It also supports Wi-Fi file transfers and connecting with Sony’s cloud service via the Creator’s App.

Out in Australia later this month via camera retailers and Sony’s online store, the Sony RX10 V costs $3,499. Because of the camera’s versatility, Sony advertises it as an all-in-one option for taking travel snaps up close and from afar, plus some nature and sports photography, without some of the complexity that comes with DSLRs.

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Homture AI Magic Frame adds generative AI to your photos

Giving a loved one a photo of a treasured memory is always a winning idea. I’ve had success in the past wrapping up a nice family snap and gifting it to Mum or the grandies — they love that stuff. If you can’t decide which photo to use, a digital photo frame that cycles through an entire album is a good alternative.

Which digital photo frame do you pick, though? They all do the same thing, right? With generative AI currently the big thing in tech, some brands are trying something different to stand out in a crowded field. One of them is Homture, which recently came out with the AI Magic Frame.

It’s a 10.1-inch 1920 x 1200 digital frame that adds a generative AI touch to your pictures. Via a companion app, you can upload pictures to a cloud server without the need for a subscription. These photos then cycle through on the frame, much like a regular digital frame.

What it does differently, however, is use AI to upscale and produce short videos based on your photos. As demonstrated on Homture’s website, the AI Magic Frame can transform black-and-white photos into colour. Its generated short videos loop, and can be activated via motion sensing, so it starts playing when you walk past.

Adding photos to the frame doesn’t cost anything, but the generative AI features use a credits-based system. Homture includes 2,000 credits with the digital frame, which is enough for 20 generative AI videos. Once the credits get used up, Homture charges $7.99 for 500 credits, $14.99 for 1,000, and $29.99 for 2,000, according to the Australian App Store listing.

At the time of writing, the Homture AI Magic Frame is on sale for $199 via the brand’s website, down from its usual price of $299. It’s also coming to local retailers, including Harvey Norman, Amazon, and eBay.

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Amazon Prime Day Australia: what you didn’t know you could buy

You might be surprised what you can buy on Amazon these days. And with Prime Day deals in full swing, it is the perfect time for a quick reminder of what is on offer, beyond the usual tech and toys.

Amazon Australia’s Prime Day is on now and runs until 11:59pm AEST on Monday 13 July, seven full days of deals across hundreds of thousands of products, from big global brands to thousands of Australian small businesses. We visited Amazon’s Sydney office to see a sample of the range in person, and plenty of it surprised us.

The Garmin Forerunner 965 GPS sports watch

Ninja’s Crispi air fryer and pizza oven

The Kindle range on display, including the new Colorsoft at 30 per cent off

Ring and Blink cameras, Kindle Scribe and Eero Wi-Fi routers

Everyone knows Amazon for tech, and there is no shortage of it. Garmin smartwatches are heavily discounted (the Fenix E is half price), Sennheiser Momentum 4 SE headphones are 59 per cent off, the Nikon Zf camera range is 37 per cent off, Ring cameras are up to 53 per cent off, Blink up to 72 per cent off and Eero Wi-Fi systems up to 30 per cent off. The Kindle range is discounted too, with 30 per cent off the new Colorsoft and $220 off the Kindle Scribe. There are fun surprises as well, like the Kodak Charmera keychain digital camera, the Fujifilm Instax Mini Link 3 smartphone printer with Super Mario case at 39 per cent off, and the H03 Sunrise Alarm Clock for gentler mornings.

But the everything store lives up to its name in categories you might not expect:

• Toys: 39 per cent off the animatronic Star Wars Grogu Action Buddy, savings across LEGO sets (we spotted the Disney castle at 20 per cent off in Amazon’s office), plus PAW Patrol, Fisher-Price and Mattel.
• Cosmetics and skincare: K-beauty stars like SKIN1004 (47 per cent off), COSRX Snail Mucin essence (60 per cent off) and d’Alba (41 per cent off), plus French pharmacy favourites including Avène at 68 per cent off and La Roche-Posay at 30 per cent off.
• Staple refills: 57 per cent off Cyborg Sport creatine, 54 per cent off Finish dishwasher tablets, 40 per cent off L’Or espresso capsules and 43 per cent off Nestlé Starbucks pods, the boring essentials you never want to run out of.
• Fresh food: 25 per cent off a range of Harris Farm Markets products, handy if you do not have a store nearby, or just want to skip the trip.
• Appliances: 58 per cent off the Ninja Slushi frozen drink maker, 34 per cent off the Ninja Crispi air fryer, 42 per cent off the Ninja Woodfire outdoor oven, 53 per cent off the De’Longhi Eletta Explore coffee machine, 40 per cent off the KitchenAid stand mixer and 39 per cent off the Dreame X50 Ultra robot vacuum.
• Personal care: up to 39 per cent off the ghd Platinum+ straightener, 60 per cent off the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean 9000 bundle and 60 per cent off Oral-B electric toothbrushes.

Staple refills: creatine, coffee capsules, dishwasher pods and snacks in one order

Korean skincare, including Skin1004 and d’Alba, alongside big name beauty brands

The LEGO Disney castle, spotted at 20 per cent off ($359, down from $449)

The Star Wars Grogu Action Buddy animatronic, 39 per cent off

The upshot: a lot of the errands that eat into your weekend can be knocked over in one cart, often at a discount right now.

Fresh fruit and veg from Harris Farm Markets, delivered via Amazon

Also new this year, Amazon Haul joins Prime Day for the first time. It is Amazon’s budget corner with hundreds of thousands of items under $5, and Prime members get an extra 25 per cent off everything, applied automatically at checkout all week.

Pro tip: price check with Amazon Lens

Here is a clever way to use Amazon’s tech to save money. With Amazon Lens in the Amazon app, you can take a photo of a product you spot in a retail store, upload an image or scan a barcode, and the app finds exact matches and similar items, so you can compare prices on the spot before you buy.

Just tap the little camera icon in the Amazon app search bar, take a snap, and Amazon will tell you if they sell it. Handy when at the shops for a quick price comparison

Prime Day deals are exclusive to Prime members. New members can jump in with a 30 day free trial, then $9.99 a month or $79 a year. Head to amazon.com.au/primeday to browse the full list.

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Motorola’s $400 Razr Fold launch discount is pretty tempting

Phones aren’t cheap these days, but if you wait for the right time, you can snag a decent discount. Or, in the case of Motorola, eye off a sizable launch deal, which the phone brand has done for its upcoming Razr Fold and Razr 70 Ultra foldables.

At launch, the Motorola Razr Fold is $400 off, bringing it down to $2,399 at a bunch of Australian retailers. Likewise, the Razr 70 Ultra is $1,799 at launch, a $200 discount on the flip-style phone.

Foldable phones are among some of the pricier handsets currently available, but the Razr Fold is one of the relatively lower-priced options. I thoroughly enjoyed reviewing the Razr Fold, particularly its intuitive multitasking controls, long-lasting battery, and high-quality cameras. I’m also about to test the Razr 70 Ultra, which I’m eager to see in person after Australia missed out on the Razr 60 Ultra.

Via JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman, both phones are discounted from now until 5 August, several weeks after Motorola’s latest devices launch on 15 July. Telstra also has a $400 discount on the Razr Fold, in addition to a $600 trade-in bonus. But Telstra’s offer ends sooner, lasting until 15 July.

A closer look at the Razr Fold & 70 Ultra deals

For JB, the retailer’s Razr Fold and Razr 70 Ultra deal also pairs with a trade-in offer. For the Razr Fold, you can get a $600 JB Hi-Fi gift card when trading an old phone towards the new handset, while a $400 gift card comes with the Razr 70 Ultra for the same thing.

• Motorola Razr Fold: $2,399 (was $2,799)
• Motorola Razr 70 Ultra: $1,799 (was $1,999)

JB Hi-Fi also offers a $1,800 discount on the Razr Fold if you switch your phone plan to the retailer’s $99 monthly plan (which uses the Telstra network) for 24 months. Alternatively, it’s a $1,500 discount on the Razr 70 Ultra by signing up to JB’s mobile plan.

At Harvey Norman, the outright discounts are the same. The difference here is the telco offer. Harvey offers the Razr 70 Ultra for $0 upfront when pre-ordered with an Optus $69 plan, provided you stay with the plan for 36 months. Similarly, the Razr Fold costs nothing upfront when joining Optus’ $79 plan for 36 months.

• Motorola Razr Fold: $2,399 (was $2,799)
• Motorola Razr 70 Ultra: $1,799 (was $1,999)

Keep in mind that Harvey Norman’s Optus deals only last until 15 July.

Alternatively, you can buy one of the phones outright and pair it with one of Australia’s cheapest SIM plans.

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Oppo Reno 16 F gains a telephoto camera and a big price bump

It felt like it was just a few months ago that Oppo launched the highly capable Reno 15 Pro and the more affordable Reno 15 F. That’s because it was just less than half a year ago, and Oppo already has the Reno 16 phones waiting in the wings for an Australian launch later this month.

Like the preceding phones, the new Oppo launch consists of the Reno 16 Pro and Reno 16 F models. Likely a result of the ongoing global memory shortage, both phones are noticeably pricier than the previous models.

In Australia, the Reno 16 Pro costs $1,599, a $200 increase from the Reno 15 Pro, while the Reno 16 F is $999, a sizable $320 leap over its Reno 15 counterpart. A 14.3 per cent price increase for the Pro model is fairly consistent with the cost increases passed on by other brands. However, the Reno 16 F’s 47 per cent price increase compared to the Reno 15 F is substantial.

Reno 16 Pro vs Reno 16 F similarities and differences

Despite the big price bump, the Oppo Reno 16 F is fairly similar to its predecessor on paper. It uses a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chipset with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM. Again, the phone has a 6.57-inch AMOLED screen, plus a 6,500mAh battery with 45W wired charging speeds.

But there’s one thing the Reno 16 F gains to bring it closer to the Pro model: a telephoto camera. Both phones get a 3.5x optical zoom lens alongside an ultra-wide camera and a main lens. Oppo’s Pro model gets larger sensors and a higher megapixel count on the main camera (200MP vs 50MP), but the telephoto addition on the Reno 16 F is something not all $999 phones possess.

Both phones look similar, but the Oppo Reno 16 Pro sports the more powerful specs. Image: Oppo.

As for the Oppo Reno 16 Pro, it wields a MediaTek Dimensity 8550 Super chipset, with 12GB of the faster LPDDR5X memory. It’s the smaller of the two phones, with a 6.32-inch AMOLED screen. Despite the smaller form factor, the Reno 16 Pro still gets a 6,000mAh battery, courtesy of silicon-carbon technology, with up to 80W wired charging speeds.

As for why the short gap between Reno releases, Oppo typically has a six-month cycle between launches. However, Australia sometimes only gets one set of Reno phones in a year. For example, we didn’t get the Reno 14 series. Instead, we got the Reno 13 and Reno 15 phones.

Oppo Reno 16 series release date in Australia

Online listings for both Reno 16 phones are live on Oppo’s website ahead of the Australian launch on 23 July. Once on sale, local retailers will sell the phones, including JB Hi-Fi, Officeworks, Harvey Norman, and The Good Guys.

Both phones come in a ‘Pop White’ finish designed to look like it floats off the back panel. If that’s a bit much for your tastes, the Reno 16 Pro also comes in ‘Starlight Black’, while the Reno 16 F has a ‘Twilight Violet’ colour option.

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Samsung’s top-end OLED TV looks stunning on a wall

As far as OLED TVs go, the Samsung S95H is very bright. I mentioned as such in my review of the S95H, which brings you all the benefits of OLED technology, even in a bright room.

But you can only get so much of what Samsung’s high-end OLED TV does from a written review. So, I spent a lot of time filming the TV for the GadgetGuy YouTube channel to give you the best possible look at what it can do.

It’s a remarkable TV, especially if you can wall mount it. Samsung’s ‘FloatLayer’ design adds a nice metallic border surrounding the display, but it’s not as striking when putting the TV on its stand. Regardless of your setup preference, though, the S95H continues Samsung’s recent strong track record of making high-quality OLEDs with excellent anti-reflective coatings.

Definitely take a look at the TV in action, even if you just want to see what modern OLED TVs are capable of.

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Win one of 10 $100 Amazon gift cards to spend on Prime Day!

It’s inescapable, impossible to miss: Amazon’s massive annual Prime Day sale is on right now. To help you save even more money while shopping the many Prime Day deals, we have $1,000 worth of Amazon gift cards to give away!

But you need to be quick: this giveaway is only open until Friday, so you have time to use the gift card during the Prime Day sale.

Returning for another big site-wide sale, Amazon Prime Day is on now, 7-13 July. Access to all the incredible deals is included with a Prime membership, priced at $9.99 per month.

This year’s sale includes hundreds of dollars of savings across all kinds of tech. From discounted AirPods, affordable security cameras, and big price drops on home appliances, Amazon has a lot of top-notch deals to peruse.

With so many great deals, this sale is something you don’t want to miss.

How to win an Amazon gift card for Prime Day

Thanks to the folks at Amazon, GadgetGuy is giving away 10 Amazon gift cards each valued at $100, bringing the total prize pool to $1,000. As if the big Prime Day savings weren’t enough, 10 lucky winners will be able to put $100 towards their next Amazon purchase. Note: this giveaway is open to Australian residents aged 18+.

For your chance to win one of these gift cards, read on for all the details.

Simply fill in the giveaway entry form below; the more entry methods you complete, the greater your chances of winning.

If you can’t see the entry form below, visit the page directly and fill in your details.

GadgetGuy & Amazon Prime Day giveaway

Remember, this giveaway ends very soon. Entries close on Friday, 10 July at 3:00 PM AEST, after which the winners will be sent their gift cards via email, ready to spend on the Prime Day sale.

Good luck to everyone who enters, and be sure to share the giveaway with any friends and family keen to make the most of their Amazon shopping.

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