Recent Gear Articles

Budget Camera Shootout: Canon vs. Fuji for Portraits

Quite possibly the most basic gear you can get for shooting nice portraits is a 50mm lens on a crop body camera. This combination of fast prime and smaller sensor creates almost the ideal conditions for this type of photography. So, how do some of the options in the field stack up?

The Godox AD400 Pro: Priced Too High, Too Low, or Just Right?

Godox has been disrupting the lighting industry for several years now with their budget-friendly options for studio strobes and on location lighting. The Godox system is growing even larger with the addition of their newest on-location light, but does this new light make sense to those budget-conscious photographers that have adopted the system?

Tiffen Introduces Lowel GL-1 Power LED Light

Being a photographer who loves using off camera lighting, I am always intrigued by new and innovative lighting gadgets. Tiffen unveiled the Lowel GL-1 Power LED Light at PDN this week, and it is definitely something different in comparison to the types of lighting I am used to.

Why Manually Focusing Is Easier With Mirrorless Cameras

Accurately manually focusing on a modern mirrorless camera is significantly easier than on a normal DSLR, which opens up many new avenues. This great video will show you how mirrorless cameras make it convenient and what that means for you.

Should You Use Teleconverters Instead of Longer Lenses?

Long telephoto lenses can be very expensive, but a reasonable alternative is a teleconverter, which attaches between your camera and lens and increases its focal length. However, teleconverters come with their own set of drawbacks. This excellent video discusses the use of teleconverters, including why you might want to consider one for your own work.

Shooting With a 1998 Original Gameboy Camera

The Gameboy Color from the late Nineties had a camera module you could buy separately. I owned one of them and I remember enjoying it, particularly paired with the Gameboy printer. But, just how bad was the quality back then?

Canon's New Ultra-Sensitive Camera Shows Incredible Video of the Milky Way and an Awesome Glowworm Cave

The ME20F-SH is Canon's latest, crazy-high ISO camera, able to record clean video at over ISO 4 million (not a typo). Early footage was lackluster in content, and early media stated the natural security-field uses for such a camera. But the latest video suggests the ME20F-SH could be used to shoot incredibly beautiful footage of our world that wouldn't have been able to be captured the same way in the past.

Which Is the Most Underrated Lens?

The wisdom of crowds can sometimes provide valuable insight, so we want to know which lens you think is the most underrated. Here are a few of mine too.

Feiyutech a1000: Still the Best Mirrorless Gimbal You Can Buy

With the sheer number of gimbals on the market today it can be difficult trying to decide which one you should buy. The innovation in gimbals continues and for the most part, manufacturers are trying to produce gimbals that can hold more and more weight. This may not be the best strategy especially considering mirrorless cameras are becoming mainstream.

Is This The Ultimate Portable LED Light?

Light. We see it all around us as billions of photons pass right by us, bouncing against objects like "Punch-Me-Clowns." As photographers, we're obsessed and spend our lives figuring out how to manipulate them, and it could be an exhausting task to pursue, but that's about to change.

The Ultimate Portable Set Up for Photographers

Having a completely portable office with multiple screens will revolutionize how you shoot on location. The good news is that this particular set-up is easy and it doesn't have to break the bank.

Running an $8.5K Camera Under a Shower — For Science (Pentax 645Z Weatherproof Test)

The Pentax 645Z digital medium format camera has been receiving a lot of buzz since its announcement earlier this year. It's been hailed for its CMOS medium format sensor which offers unrivaled image quality and unheard of high-ISO capability when compared to CCD sensor models. The Penatx 645Z even features weather sealing to boot. That's why the guys over at QusabesdeTV on YouTube put together this video showing off the quality of this weather sealing.

Is LiDAR the Master Plan for Apple Smartphone Cameras?

September is fast approaching, which means we’ll soon be getting a new iPhone announcement. It’s a safe assumption that Apple will be announcing a faster processor and a better camera. But how can smartphone cameras continue to improve without the ability to include large lenses and larger sensors?

Save $1,700 on a Top-level MacBook Pro Today Only

The MacBook Pro is the most popular laptop of choice for creatives, able to tackle just about any task you can throw at it with ease, while also offering a beautiful display and all-day battery life. Today only, you can get the top-level model of the 16-inch MacBook Pro for $1,700 off.

Is the Sigma 56mm f/1.4 Another Winner for the Fuji X Mount?

The Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary lens for Fujifilm was first released in 2022 and added to their growing line of X Mount prime lenses, which also includes the 16mm and 30mm. This trio of contemporary lenses is designed to be compact while delivering high-quality results at an affordable price. While these lenses offer slightly less features than the Art series of lenses, making them more affordable to a wider audience, the image quality is not compromised in any way, and these relatively inexpensive prime lenses make them a compelling option to explore.

A Review of the Impressive Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM Lens

It used to be that most supertelephoto zoom lenses were significantly below the standards demanded by professionals, leaving you to either buy a stratospherically priced prime or make do. However, in the last few years, we have seen an explosion of better lenses, and one of the most impressive options out there is the Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM. This excellent video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of image quality and performance you can expect from it in practice.

Why Should You Change Your Camera Brand?

Investing in a camera system is a costly business. Once you are tied to a particular brand, you seem stuck with it. Changing is a big decision, but there can be good reasons both to and to not swap systems.

Zero Distortion: A Review of the Laowa 15mm f/2 Lens

In the last few years, Laowa, a Chinese company, released some very interesting lenses. Several of their wide-angle lenses have been praised for excellent performance and can be bought at relatively reasonable prices. The Laowa 15mm f/2 is one of these lenses and is currently the fastest 15mm lens that you can buy. Of course, there is the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art, and although that lens is almost double the price, Sigma's Art lenses have developed quite the following due to their incredible performance. But can the Laowa beat it? Kaiman "Kai" Wong helps us find out in this video review.

'Planet Earth II' Is BBC's Most Cinematic Series Yet, Here's How

How did technology make "Planet Earth" so much more cinematic? If we go back to how it was done back in the day and compare it to the technology we have today, it's quite a leap. Back in the day 35mm was the broadcast standard. The 35mm cameras were bulky and heavy, they were perfect for studio and not for the shots that they needed. In the filming circles and the BBC insiders saw 16mm film as being for amateurs. But, thanks to David Attenborough first taking his 16mm camera out to shoot abroad and coming back with footage of animals never filmed before, it changed opinions. This made the program that later became one of the best wildlife documentaries of all time.

Apple iMac Pro Shipping in Two Days, Here's the First Hands-On

While the Mac Pro remains stagnant in its development with a completely modular redesign promised sometime next year, Apple is finally ready to ship the iMac Pro this Thursday. Featuring up to 18-core Intel Xeon processors, 128 GB of RAM, 16 GB of video memory, and 4 TB of Apple's fastest PCIe SSD storage to date, it's no slouch. But how does it perform in the real world? YouTuber Marques Brownlee gives us a first hands-on with Apple's latest professional workstation.

What's Been in a Photographer's Bag Over a 30-Year Span

We've all see those "what's in my bag" videos on YouTube, but this one was particularly interesting to me, as it's a fun walk through camera history. Check out how one professional landscape photographer's gear bag has evolved over the course of three decades.

A Review of the Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera for Photography

The Canon 7D and 7D Mark II were two of the company's most popular DSLRs, as they offered professionals and advanced amateurs many of the features from higher-level cameras like the 1D series at much more affordable prices. Now that we are in the mirrorless era, the EOS R7 has picked up that torch and has brought with it a huge range of new features and upgrades sure to catch the eyes of a lot of photographers. This great video review takes a look at the camera from a photographer's perspective and the image quality and performance you can expect from it in usage.

Some Helpful Advice for Beginners Regarding Shutter Speed

Along with aperture and ISO, shutter speed is one of the three fundamental parameters that determine the overall exposure and look of a photo. Shutter speed has both a technical and creative aspect, as you can also leverage it for making effects that would not be visible to the naked eye. If you are new to photography, check out this helpful video tutorial that will give you some useful advice regarding choosing shutter speeds.

Fstoppers Review the Perfect Bag for Your DJI Mavic, the Miggo Agua Stormproof Drone Lander

Tiny drones like the DJI Spark or Mavic are fantastic because they can fit in any bag. However, not all bags are equals when it comes to protection and usefulness. The Miggo Agua Stormproof Drone Lander was designed specifically for compact drones, keeping them safe no matter the conditions you are working in. I’ve had it for a little while now and couldn’t see myself going out for a walk with my drone without it. Here’s my full review of this handy bag.

Thoughts on the New OM System OM-1 Mirrorless Camera

Olympus (or OM System) is back, and it has made some impressive steps forward with the new OM-1 mirrorless camera that re-establish it as a competitive camera manufacturer. No camera is perfect, of course, and this great video discusses where OM System should invest time and money next to continue to reassert the brand.