Mixer: Banned Cameras, $99 Glass & Sony’s Comeback

Tonight we put three stories on the table and let the room fight over them. 6:00–8:00 PM PDT. Bring one opinion.

1. The Banned DJI Osmo Pocket 4. FCC authorization still pending, so officially DJI can’t sell it in America. In practice? Any US photographer with a phone can grab a Pocket 4P on Temu for ~$659, shipped from Oregon. The ban has no teeth.

2. Sony’s Kumamoto Factory: Back Online. The 6.8 quake on July 28 halted the fab that feeds everyone’s sensors. Partial restart Aug 4, full capacity by mid-August. The industry dodged the big one.

3. TTArtisan’s $99 AF 85mm f/1.8. Full-frame, autofocus, E + Z mount, 11-blade aperture. Sony’s equivalent: $648. Democratization of portrait glass, or the opening shot of The Gear Apocalypse — depends on your seat.

House rules: mute when not talking, recording is ON, bring one defensible opinion.