The Monocle Minute

In 2020, Fujifilm launched the X100V, a fixed-lens, premium digital camera with a determinedly classic design. This technical and style triumph was soon adopted by a new generation, who discovered that looking through a lens-finder was cool. As people posted images of themselves on social media with their new gear, waiting lists lengthened and resale prices grew. Now, Fujifilm has announced the launch of the new X100VI model, which replicates the former design in most ways but upgrades the sensor to about 40 megapixels.

It has been well received by critics and many shops have already sold their stock even though the public won’t be able to get their hands on the cameras until tomorrow. Fujifilm also plans to release 1,934 limited-edition models to celebrate its 90th anniversary in 2024. In the UK, where the price will be £1,934 (€2,255), these will only be available to people who enter a ballot.

At a time when many of us take high pixel counts and slick features for granted on our smartphones, a move towards a more considered way of shooting photographs can only be a good thing. No smartphone can match a camera for sensor size; bigger pixels are better for drawing in more light and reducing image noise. Add in the supreme ergonomics of a camera compared to a smartphone’s slim slab of metal and glass, and you are ideally equipped for taking better photos.

As a champion of photography, Monocle is pleased to witness the revival of the camera as a must-have for a new generation of cool creatives – even if they have to wait in line.

David Phelan is Monocle’s technology correspondent. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.

Emmanuel Macron has embarked on a three-day visit to Brazil to meet the country’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. It’s a rare sign of diplomatic rapprochement between the two leaders, whose countries haven’t historically found much common ground. Today, Macron and Lula will launch the third Scorpene-class diesel-powered submarine built in Brazil with French technology at Rio de Janeiro’s Itaguaí shipyard.

The launch is part of a $10bn (€9.2bn) programme that will build Brazil’s first nuclear-powered submarine by the end of the decade. Though France and Brazil hold different approaches to Russia over its war in Ukraine, establishing a presence in South America might help to keep France’s technology industry out of choppy waters.

Thailand’s ice-cream market is next in line for the Tao Bin treatment. Fresh from shaking up the vending-machine industry, the Bangkok-based engineering company recently debuted its first soft-serve ice-cream machine at a shopping mall in the Bang Kapi district of the Thai capital.

The idea to tackle ice cream emerged from the research undertaken to make the perfect ice cubes for Tao Bin’s popular drinks machines, which have become a common site in public places and office lobbies across Thailand. Thomas Morrison, Tao Bin’s chief technology officer, will be joining Monocle at The Chiefs conference in Hong Kong tomorrow. As he shares news of the company’s international rollout, delegates can expect a few extra scoops.

Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor, the sisters behind English indie-folk band The Staves, join Robert Bound in the studio. Their John Congleton-produced fifth LP, All Now, is lyrically rich and full of moments of euphoria. They discuss how to work with your siblings, finding the confidence to make bold decisions and why they always return to an early influence: Sister Act.