Recent Gear Articles

Brevitē Announces 'Under the Radar' Camera Bags

Brevitē has announced two interesting bags, the Rolltop and the Rucksack. Designed to minimize the appearance of being a camera bag with expensive gear inside, they offer a great alternative if you're looking to be a bit more discreet or fashionable.

[Extreme Light] This Handheld LED Light Produces Over 15,000 Lumens For Overpowering The Sun

Now this is pretty interesting. Recently at the 2012 SHOT show (tradeshow for outdoors and hunting), Foursevens revealed their new lithium powered LED light. Unlike typical LED lights, the XM18 produces an unprecedented 15,000 lumens of light. According to my simple calculations, the XM18 might be more powerful than your low to mid level Arri HMI lights!
Fstoppers Reviews the Viltrox 23mm f/1.4 APS-C (Don't Buy the Fuji Equivalent)

Viltrox comes with a pedigree for manufacturing good quality lenses at a low price point, so the entry of the 23 mm f/1.4 in Fuji X-mount and Sony E-mount is highly anticipated, not least because it is nearly $600 cheaper than the Fuji equivalent. Is it worthy of the hype and does that make it the perfect travel prime?

A Beginner's Guide to Camera Settings

No matter what you shoot, perhaps nothing is more important than mastering the three fundamental camera settings: shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. If you are new to photography and looking to learn the fundamentals, check out this awesome video tutorial that will show you everything you need to know about using the three exposure parameters to create technically correct images and to begin to explore your creative voice with a camera.

Introducing AlbumStomp - Gorgeous Photo Albums Made Easy

I've reviewed BlogStomp in the past, and decided it was a tool that all photographers should be using to create simple and beautiful collages. Announced today from the same team is AlbumStomp, containing all the features you've come to love from BlogStomp, but for the use of creating brilliantly beautiful and simple photo albums for your clients.

My iPad and Me: Making Lemons Into Lemonade

In the grand tradition of turning lemons into lemonade, I thought I would share with you a quick story about how a less than desirable situation for me this weekend turned into a chance to improve my business and my approach.

What Can You Accomplish With a Barebones DSLR?

Professional photography gear has become good enough to handle almost any situation you can throw at it. But how about budget gear? This great video takes a look at how far you can push a basic DSLR and kit lens and if it can stand up to the demands of a professional photographer.

Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM Will Cost $2,600 - Here’s Our First Hands-On Look

Today Sony finally announced pricing and shipping times for their upcoming release of the FE 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master OSS lens and teleconverters. First introduced in early February alongside the FE 85mm f/1.4 GM and FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM lenses, the 70-200mm GM will be shipping in July and cost $2,600. The 1.4x and 2.0x teleconverters designed to exclusively fit the new 70-200mm GM will each cost $500 and ship in July as well. Sony allowed me to use one of the first retail production models off the assembly line and share my images with you, so let’s dive into sample images and my thoughts on how it stacks up.

Tamron Announces the 17-35mm F/2.8-4 Di OSD Lens

Tonight, Tamron announced the Tamron 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di OSD lens, an incredibly small and light weight ultra-wide-angle zoom for 35mm full-frame DSLR cameras. With an emphasis on portability and reducing backlight flare, this could be THE ultra-wide-angle lens to make it’s way into your bag.

The ELB 400 - Elinchrom's New Portrable Strobe Announced

With the recent announcement of the Profoto B2, Elinchrom's position in the ultra-portrable strobe pack market was somewhat overshadowed as the former exceeded the Elinchrom Quadra Hybrid in many aspects. Not to be outdone, Elinchrom has now announced the release of its next generation on-location pack and head kit known as the ELB 400.

The Monitor That Made Me Say Wow: A Review of BenQ’s 4K PD3200U

In the last few years, monitor technology has gone in a number of new and unique directions, with technology like ultra-wide aspect ratios, HDR support, and 8K resolution. Each of those features appeals to a particular user, but it almost seems like content creators have been left out.

We Review the Benro Rhino 24C Carbon Fiber Tripod

If you would put your trust on just one tripod for all the shooting requirements that you commonly face, what features are non-negotiable for you? Let’s see if this carbon fiber tripod from Benro would fit that description.

What Are Your 2021 Camera Predictions?

2020 has been quite the year for camera gear, with groundbreaking cameras like the Canon EOS R5 and highly impressive lenses coming to the market. 2021 is shaping up to be another exciting year for gear enthusiasts, and this interesting video discusses what we might see.

Custom Automotive Hard Drives And Thumb Drives For Unique Client File Delivery

As some of you may know by now, I'm a commercial photographer that gets some great opportunities to shoot epic movie and tv cars. Honestly, most of my paid shoots are portrait-related, but I just love all things cars and my clients know that. Last year, I came across a rad company called Flash Rods that makes custom memory storage (hard drives and thumb drives) based from 1:18 scale models and matchbox cars, including movie and tv cars like the Ecto1, Back to The Future Delorean, and A Team Van to deliver my files to clients.

A Review of the Unique Leica Q3 43 Camera

The Leica Q3 43 stands out as a premium fixed-lens camera designed for enthusiasts and professionals who prioritize quality over versatility. With a 43mm f/2 lens and Leica’s impeccable craftsmanship, it offers an appealing combination of functionality and elegance.

A Review of the Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM Lens

Canon's EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro lens was known for being a bit of a hidden gem in the company's lineup, offering true 1:1 macro performance, sharp images, top-notch image stabilization, and more, making it a versatile option for everything from macro work to portraits and weddings. The RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM is its successor, and it brings with it some new features and improvements over its already impressive predecessor, and this great video review takes a look at the performance and image quality you can expect from it.

Step Up Your Landscape Photography Using Tiffen's Pro100 Series Filter System

The more you photograph people, places, and things, the more you understand how much control the available light has over the outcome of your image. Taking advantage of tools like filters to limit or modify the light coming into your camera is a great way to craft a unique image and even add a dramatic flare that you may not be able to create otherwise.

Portable and Affordable: A Review of the Canon RF 16mm f/2.8 STM Lens

Canon's RF lenses have been mostly both spectacular and expensive, which is what makes the RF 16mm f/2.8 STM rather unique, as it comes in at an impressively affordable price and is quite portable on top of that. This excellent video review takes a look at the lens and the kind of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

Fstoppers Review of the 3Pod Monopod for Field Photography, Video, and Self Defense?

The smaller size, lighter weight, and ability to get a high angle shot has made the monopod a useful tool for many photographers and videographers, especially for subjects like sports, wildlife, and run and gun situations. I got to review the new 3Pod Orbit Monopod to test its features on a couple of different projects to see how it holds up to real world shooting scenarios.

Still a Great Option for Many: Fujifilm X-T4 Re-Review

Yet another re-review of a discontinued but still very valid camera. The Fujifilm X-T4 slightly moved away from what made Fujifilm unique, but not in a bad way. It pushed the series into new areas and appealed to the dual creator quite confidently. Is it still worth getting today?

[Gear] The Staggering 3-Ton, 3.2 Gigapixel Camera

Imagine the storage you would need to shoot with a 3.2 billion pixel camera. With 189 image sensors, and weighing 3 tons - this will be the world's largest digital camera. It's called the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and is being engineered by SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The goal of the project is to “capture the widest, fastest and deepest view of the night sky ever observed." They are looking to the LSST to learn more about

[News] Canon's 5D Mark III Has Issues

It's bound to happen. With new gear comes new bugs and Canon Rumors has already reported on the first two issues with Canon's 5D MarkIII.

Issue One:
Image Stabilization Noise
A couple of lenses have been exhibiting strange noises when the shutter button is half depressed on the 5d MarkIII but the image quality is not affected and the noise does not occur during Live View. The two known affected lenses are