Fstoppers » Review

Fstoppers Reviews the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art Lens

Jaron Schneider — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:41:45 +0000

Shock, dismay, joy, and envy. These emotions have been running wild since Sigma announced their new 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM lens. It’s the first lens in our modern age to maintain that open of an aperture through a zoom range and it’s also equipped with auto focus. This type of innovation has been unheard of from Sigma until recently, but now it’s almost expected. The main question I wanted to answer about this lens was: “Is this lens for real, or relying too heavily on the hyped, somewhat gimmicky nature of that innovation?” [more]

Here I Am: The Story of Tim Hetherington, War Photographer

Aaron Lindberg — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:55:15 +0000

Tim Hetherington, without a doubt stands high among the elite of war photographers.

There is no way that one can possibly encompass the magnitude of an individual within the pages of a single book. Alan Huffman makes that attempt with his biography Here I am: The Story of Tim Hethergington, War Photographer.
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Fstoppers Reviews the FujiFilm X100S

Zach Sutton — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 23:50:44 +0000

The FujiFilm X100S appears to be the camera everyone is seeking this summer. The upgrade to the highly successful X100 has promised faster speeds and additional features and the early reports have been singing its praise. So much praise, in fact, that Zack Arias recently made the statement that it will single handedly kill the DSLR in its tracks. But will it? [more]

Review: You Should Want Sigma’s 120-300mm f/2.8 Sport Lens

Jaron Schneider — Fri, 31 May 2013 12:50:49 +0000

Large, imposing and drop dead gorgeous, the new Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 EX DG OS APO HSM AF is one hell of a lens. Sigma has done an outstanding job in recent months producing some top quality lenses and they didn’t let up on the gas with the first Sport category offering in their new global vision. With two levels of optical stabilization, a wide open f/2.8 aperture, crazy fast and accurate AF and a beautiful body build, you want this lens, even if you don’t know it yet. [more]

The Best* Portrait Lens You’ve Never Heard Of: The Nikon 135mm f/2

Nicholas Gore — Wed, 29 May 2013 02:46:33 +0000

The Nikon 135mm f/2 DC is a bit of a gem in the portrait game but as the title might suggest, you might not have heard of this lens. This may be due to one of a few reasons: The primary being that it’s a reasonably old lens; it hasn’t been updated optically in its nearly 25 years in the Nikon lineup. Another being that even if you have heard of it, it’s probably because it has gotten a bad reputation as a “soft focus” lens due to its unique Defocus Control feature. [more]

Fstoppers Reviews the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC HSM Prime Lens

Jaron Schneider — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:02:50 +0000

Sigma, hot on the heels of the outstandingly successful 35mm f/1.4 Art lens, has been releasing and announcing new lenses in their Global Vision realignment like crazy. Recently they released the 30mm f/1.4 lens for APS-C cameras, and I had high expectations for it after being told that the president of Sigma was aiming it to meet the performance set by the 35mm. So did it? [more]

Fstoppers Reviews the Benro S2 and S4 Video Monopods

Jaron Schneider — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:55:23 +0000

Monopods, once really only useful in a handful of situations, have evolved into irreplaceable members of our creative arsenals due to the advent of high quality video being produced in DSLRs. The idea of a “video monopod” might frighten video purists, but there are those such as Patrick Hall and myself who swear by them. Manfrotto’s version was a fantastic foray into the medium, but slightly pricey. Benro recently released their more affordable versions, and I was more than ready to see if they were able to hold their own. [more]

Fstoppers Reviews Digital Photo Retouching: Beauty, Fashion and Portrait Photography E-book

Rebecca Britt — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 20:23:52 +0000

Beauty retouching can be an arduous task in any photographer’s workflow. The amount of detail that can go into retouching a glamor portrait can easily run into several hours. Learning the secrets of the pros can be even more difficult. Julia Kuzmenko McKim has made learning easy with her new book entitled ’Digital Photo Retouching: Beauty, Fashion and Portrait Photography‘ [more]

Fstoppers Reviews SLRLounge’s Natural Light Couples Photography Workshop DVD

Zach Sutton — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 00:31:54 +0000

I’m a strobist by heart. When I first got into photography, I didn’t even begin shooting portrait work until after I had gotten at least a flash. That purchase, quickly turned into studio strobe after studio strobe until I found that I was completely controlling all light sources during my shoots. So who better to review SLRLounge’s latest DVD, ‘Natural Light Couples Photography Workshop’, right? [more]

Fstoppers Reviews Light-Weight & Portable MeFoto Tripods

Jaron Schneider — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 14:42:05 +0000

While walking the floor at WPPI, there was one item we kept seeing over and over again: the MeFoto tripod. It seemed like everyone had one, and we had never heard of the brand. So we spoke with the guys at the MeFoto booth who agreed to let us test them out. Now after using all three sizes of MeFoto tripods, I can see why they were everywhere: they’re excellent. [more]