Recent Gear Articles

A Quick Look At The Freefly Mimic Controller In Action With The C300MKII

The Movi gimbal stabilizer by Freefly changed the video world when it was released a few years ago, and the new "Mimic" controller aims to make the system even better. Instead of controlling the camera movement with a standard controller with joysticks, you can now use your arms as though you were the one holding the camera.

Venus Optics Just Unveiled Their Fastest and Widest Lenses

For Sony E-mount and micro four thirds (MFT) users looking for wide and fast lenses, look no further. Venus Optics has released two new lenses to help assuage your needs. Their new 15mm f/2 E-mount is the world's fastest E-mount rectilinear lens with a 110-degree field of view, and a fast wide open f/2 aperture promises to be an extremely fast and sharp lens. The 7.5mm f/2 is the widest rectilinear lens ever designed for MFT cameras, lending itself to extremely wide fields of view and wide aperture use for everything from cameras to drones.

Hasselblad To Release Expensive Re-Skinned RX100 as the "Stellar"

Apparently all the bad press surrounding the Lunar hasn't deterred Hasselblad from their present course of skinning current Sony cameras with the expensive "H" logo and wood accents. PhotoRumors is reporting that Hasselblad will be releasing a compact camera called the "Stellar" that will just be the RX100 with some fancy aesthetic additions. Well, at least they aren't toting megapixels, right?

Is This the Weirdest 35mm Camera That Canon Has Ever Made?

For a huge Japanese corporation that’s thought to be incredibly conservative, it’s easy to forget that Canon hasn’t been afraid to try out some radical designs over the years. This one is up there with the best of them: a point-and-shoot that looks like a video camera and featuring a flash where you'd never expect it.

Broncolor Gen NEXT 2018 Is Now Open

If you are under 30 and looking to step up your photography game, here is your chance: Broncolor is launching this year again its Gen NEXT contest.

Polaroid's New Instant Print Socialmatic Camera is Coming Next Month

Yes, the instant print camera popularized by the one and only Polaroid is back and in a new form factor for 2015. The long awaited Socialmatic doesn't use film but rather snaps and shares your photos via the web and social media options along with delivering nifty adhesive prints of your photos. Wrapped in an Android based OS that shares to Facebook, Twitter and of course Instagram, I'm interested in seeing how people respond to its release come January.

SanDisk Memory Card One-Day Sale & Other Deals

B&H is having a SanDisk 1-day sale that is offering some pretty good prices, like a 64 GB SD card for $41. Also you can grab a refurbished Nikon D600 or D800 for a bargain. Rounding out the product news, Sigma's new 17-70mm f/2.8-4 lens has arrived in stock for $500.

Storm-Proofed Bags With Innovative Design Announced by Miggo

Last year Miggo launched Pictar, a revolutionary iPhone camera grip, but they haven’t stopped working on innovative designs since then. They return to Indiegogo with a brand new line of storm-proof camera and drone bags called Agua. Every single product of this upcoming collection is IPX3 standard storm-proof while retaining quick-draw ability.

Fstoppers Reviews the Kandao QooCam 8K: The Holy Grail of 360 Cameras for Photographers?

In the automotive world, there’s a saying that there’s no replacement for displacement — a bigger engine is a bigger engine, and that’s all there is to it. One can say that this is the approach that Kandao is taking with its new QooCam 8K: more resolution and larger sensor sizes that make for quite an appealing 360 camera on paper and, as it turns out, in real life too.

Canon Patents More Interesting Lenses

Canon has produced some incredible RF mount lenses thus far, and they have shown they have no plans of slowing down. A new set of patents have emerged, and they show quite a versatile lens in the works.

Fstoppers Reviews the Ugreen 2-in-1 Lightning and Micro USB Cable

This is a quick review of something very simple: a charging cable. "A charging cable?" you may wonder. "Now, why would anyone care about that?" Well, the cable reviewed is a special kind of cable: it combines an Apple Lightning connector and a micro-USB connector. That is nothing new, but it is done well here and actually a much more useful thing than you'd expect.

Canon Adds New Cinema Prime with the CN-E35mm T1.5 L F

Canon rather quietly snuck a new lens onto the market today, announcing the CN-E35mm T1.5 L F single-focal-length Cinema prime lens designed for large-format single-sensor digital cinematography cameras employing Super 35mm or full-frame 35mm imagers. This brings Canon's cinema lens family up to six.

Fstoppers Reviews the Barber Shop 'Bob Cut' Messenger Camera Bag

I have to admit, I have become quite the collector of camera bags. So after entering the world of mirrorless cameras, I thought, what better excuse do I need to get a new, smaller, lighter camera bag? Enter the Bob Cut medium messenger from Barber Shop bags.

6 Lighting Setups Any Photographer Can Use

Having a few simple lighting setups available at your disposal is one of the most important tricks any photographer can have up their sleeve. In this post, I'm going to share with you six of my favorite lighting setups for wedding photographers, but really any photographer can use these simple tips.

37.5MP CMOS-Based Leica S with 4K@60fps and CCD-Based Leica S-E Medium Format DSLRs Announced

In a perhaps not-so-surprising turn of events, Leica has entered the medium format CMOS market with their new Leica S. At 37.5 megapixels, this doesn't seem to be the same 50-megapixel Sony sensor everyone else is using, naturally. This time, Leica means business with a weather-sealed magnesium body capable of 4K video at 60fps and 3.5fps still shooting between ISO 200 and 6400. Looking for the more traditional CCD version? Leica updated that, too, with the new breakout S-E.

LensCoat LegCushion Vs. LegWrap Pro: Which to Buy for Your Tripod?

Earlier this year, I wrote a full review of the new LensCoat LegWrap Pro. From the title, "The Best Way to Carry a Heavy Tripod Setup," you can probably guess that I liked it. Here I take a look another new tripod accessory from LensCoat, the LegCushion, and see how it compares to my beloved LegWrap Pro.

Are Smartphone Cameras Going Too Far With AI Technology?

Smartphone cameras and AI technology can produce beautiful results. Many of them can intelligently boost colors in an image, blur out a background to mimic larger optics, or even change how you look. The question is: how far is too far with smartphones and AI manipulation of images?

Why the 24-70mm Isn’t as Boring as You Think

The 24-70mm lens has often been labeled as the “boring” option, sandwiched between the extremes of wide angle and telephoto lenses. But this lens, rather than being uninspiring, could be just what you need.

Comparing the Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 to the Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7 Di III VXD

A supertelephoto zoom lens is a fantastically versatile piece of equipment that can open up new creative opportunities in a wide variety of genres. Nowadays, there is a range of options available to photographers, and this excellent video compares two of the most intriguing lenses: the Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 and the Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7 Di III VXD.

[Gear] Accessories For Better Audio On Your DSLR Video Projects

Hey there everyone, my name is Mike, and I’m one of the new Fstoppers crew. Today I’m bringing you up to speed on some audio gear you might find useful for your video shoots. Besides using an H4N to record second-system sound, what else can you do to get better audio for your video projects when shooting on a DSLR? This question plagues a number of video shooters I know, sometimes because of budget, or simple the need to keep their kit as small and portable as possible. Click to see the full post here.
[BTSV] Photoshoot With Hockey Legend Trevor Linden

Photographer Dave Hamilton takes us behind the scenes on his latest shoot with hockey legend, Trevor Linden. This video is very informative and well produced - including a lighting diagram for each of the different setups. Aiming to get that perfect cover shot for Vancouver View Magazine's April 2012 issue, Dave was able to get some nice shots using his Canon 5D Mark II.

The Lyrid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight

Tonight marks the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower, with plenty of meteors visible from mid to late April each year, so get your camera ready and learn how to capture them in all their glory.

Review of the Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS

A 300mm lens with an aperture of f/2.8 is a wonderful lens. But it’s often large and heavy, or so it used to be. Although the diameter of the lens is unchanged, Sony managed to keep the weight within acceptable limits. It makes the FE 300mm GM OSS a great tool to work with.

[Video] The Canon 5DM2 Vs The New Canon C300

Just a few weeks ago Canon announced the new C300 video camera to join the professional video world. Many people were confused because the specs didn't seem that much better than the 5DM2 but the price was way higher ($20k). In the video below Jonathan Yi does a great job of showing many of the benefits of the C300. If I had a little bit more money I would be tempted to buy one of these myself.
The Future of Technology and the Art of Photography

As technology in photography continues to evolve at a rapid pace, many photographers find themselves grappling with the implications of these advancements. While some embrace the new tools and possibilities, others express concerns about the potential impact on the art form itself.

LaCie, CalDigit, and Promise Announce New Thunderbolt 3 Desktop Storage Systems at NAB 2016

A new 12-bay storage solution by LaCie, four- and eight-bay systems by CalDigit, and four-, six-, and eight-bay systems by Promise announced Monday at NAB 2016, all support Thunderbolt 3, even before Apple has a single device that supports the protocol. That shouldn't be the case after Apple computer announcements expected this summer (or perhaps through a refresh any moment); and some PCs already have Thunderbolt 3 support. But with mass adoption already around the corner, these three companies are showing they're ready to take on the transition to the new standard.

A Review of the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art Lens

A 24-70mm f/2.8 is a bread and butter lens for a lot of photographers and videographers, covering a lot of the most commonly needed focal lengths and offering a wide maximum aperture to handle low-light situations. They can be rather expensive, however. Sigma's 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art is significantly more affordable than most first-party options, and this excellent video review takes a look at the performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

Smart and Waterproof: Reviewing the Inrigo Camera Backpack

There’s a number of camera bags on the market, and some meet the demands of their photographers and many don’t. Inrigo has created a camera system that puts the value of your kit at the center of its design while giving you the tools to keep your gear working through the most humid and wet places on the planet.

Blackmagic to Release New Cinema Camera with Passive Micro 4/3 Mount

Blackmagic Design today announced a second model of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera that features passive Micro Four Thirds lens (MFT) mount, so customers now have an even greater choice of lens options when shooting. The new Blackmagic Cinema Camera MFT model supports any Micro Four Thirds with manual iris and focus, and is also easily adapted to other lens mounts such as PL via third party adapters.