As the year draws to a close, I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your support and custom in 2025, and wish you all the best this festive season. It's been an interesting year in the industry, and your continued support and trust in Hireacamera has helped make sure it has been a profitable one.
I wanted to highlight some of the fantastic creators we've collaborated with this year, taking our kit all over the world and putting it through its paces.
We collaborated multiple times this year with accomplished photographer Jonny Gios, as he put the latest equipment from Sony through its paces. My personal favourite was our article covering his January trip to Iceland titled,
A Telephoto Titan in the Land of Fire and Ice. Jonny captured some incredible landscape shots wtih
Sony's FE 70-200mm GM OSS II, and his insight into his shooting techniques and experiences with the lens made for a visually stunning, fascinating article.
Similarly extreme but significantly closer to home, this year we once again collaborated with former stuntman-turned pro videographer, Aslan Steel, as he brought his 2 day workshop
Chronicles: An Adventure Filmmaking back to
Kendal Mountain Festival 2025. In association with
Osprey and
RED, Aslan's sessions were designed to boost fundamental videography skills, and offered the opportunity to combine operation with absailing on giant climbing walls, providing an entirely new perspective on what is achievable in such a setting.
Now onto one of our favourite projects, and something we've been involved in for over a decade.
Dreamflight is a UK-based charity that provides a life-changing experience for children aged 8 to 12 who are living with serious illnesses or disabilities. Every October, the organisation takes almost 200 children from across the UK on a 10-day holiday of a lifetime to Orlando, Florida.
During the trip, the children visit major theme parks like Walt Disney World and SeaWorld, but the charity’s mission extends beyond entertainment. By leaving their parents behind, the children gain a newfound sense of independence and confidence, often realizing for the first time that they aren't alone in their struggles.
Hireacamera provides a selection of equipment each year to make sure these vital memories are captured forever, and this year Dreamflight's DOP Jon Boast was kind enough to provide a selection of wonderful pictures, as well as a write up on this year's trip.
This year was also thoroughly interesting on the product front, with significant releases from all major brands. From Canon, the
EOS R6 Mark III and
EOS C50 were the standout heavy hitters, effectively bridging the gap between enthusiast photography and professional cinema. The R6 III quickly became the ultimate hybrid workhorse, boasting a 32.5MP sensor and 7K RAW internal recording. Meanwhile, the C50 redefined "compact" for filmmakers, packing full-blown Cinema EOS power into a modular body small enough for complex gimbal and drone work.
From Sony, the
a7 V dominated 2025 as the ultimate hybrid workhorse. Its 33MP partially stacked sensor virtually eliminated rolling shutter, while AI-driven autofocus and 30fps burst rates bridged the gap between enthusiast gear and the professional Alpha 9 series. Meanwhile Sony's
FX2 arrived as the Cinema Line’s "missing link," packing a full-frame sensor into a compact, fan-cooled body. By introducing a built-in tilting EVF and 32-bit float audio, it provided solo filmmakers with a cinema-grade tool that simplified complex shoots without the high price tag of an
FX3.
The Fujifilm GFX 100RF broke the mold by cramming a massive 102MP medium format sensor into a sleek, rangefinder-style body. It became the go-to for landscape and fashion photographers who wanted world-class resolution without the bulk of a traditional studio rig, effectively proving that ultra-high resolution could be portable.
The Fujifilm GFX Eterna 55 marked the brand's bold move into high-end cinema, utilizing the G-mount system to deliver a distinctive medium format aesthetic. With its specialized sensor and robust cooling, it offered filmmakers incredible dynamic range and a unique "large format" look, solidifying Fuji's position as a serious contender in the professional video market.
Finally from the big hitters,
the Lumix S1R II debuted in early 2025 as the high-resolution flagship of the lineup, featuring a 44.3MP BSI CMOS sensor and 8K/30p video capabilities. It finally brought Phase Hybrid AF with AI-driven subject tracking to the "R" series and offered a massive 177MP handheld high-res mode, successfully modernizing the original S1 body with a lighter, more agile design.
Later in the year, Panasonic released the Lumix S1 II and its "essentials" counterpart, the S1 IIE. The S1 II served as the speed specialist, utilizing the brand's first 24.1MP partially stacked sensor to achieve 70fps blackout-free bursts and 5.1K/60p Open Gate recording. Meanwhile, the S1 IIE provided a more accessible entry point by pairing a standard 24MP BSI sensor with the same pro-level ergonomics and 8-stop stabilization found in its higher-end siblings.
For a full list of cameras available for hire, just head here.
On the lens front, Sony dominated headlines with the release of the FE 28-70mm f/2 GM, a lens that challenged the traditional dominance of prime lenses by offering a constant f/2 aperture across a versatile zoom range. This was soon followed by the equally ambitious FE 50-150mm f/2 GM, which allowed portrait and event photographers to replace multiple prime lenses with a single, high-speed telephoto optic.
Nikon and Canon also pushed technical boundaries with flagship updates and specialized video glass. Nikon completed its high-end trio with the Z 35mm f/1.2 S, which joined the 50mm and 85mm variants to offer a complete set of ultra-fast professional primes. Meanwhile, Canon focused on the growing hybrid market by launching the RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM Z, a lens that utilized an internal zoom design and power-zoom compatibility to cater specifically to filmmakers and high-end content creators.
For our full range of
lenses, just head here.
Heading into 2026, there's a whole lot to look forward to. The winter testing season is the perfect time to put the latest equipment through its paces before jobs pick up in the spring, it looks like it should be an exciting year for digital cinema as the major players continue to innovate in a relatively affordable market space. Elsewhere, the increased inclusion of AI micro-management in new camera bodies and existing firmware update feels somewhat inevitable, here's hoping that such systems are a help rather than an obstruction.
We'll of course be back with more collaborations than ever, our usual array of free hire days across bank holiday weekends, and some exciting new website changes to boot. Until then, I hope you have a fantastic Christmas break if you get one, and an exciting or relaxing new year, depending upon your preference. Cheers!
Adding item to the basket... 
