Recent Gear Articles

A Review of the Astounding Fujifilm GF 80mm f/1.7 R WR Lens

Typically, medium format lenses have smaller aperture sizes compared to full frame lenses, making it uncommon to find one with an aperture wider than f/2. However, the Fujifilm GF 80mm f/1.7 R WR stands out in this regard, as explored in this detailed video review. The review takes a deep look at the lens' capabilities, highlighting its image quality and performance in real-world scenarios.

Creating Better Nightscapes With Lonely Speck

When shooting the Milky Way and nightscapes, there are several ways to get cleaner images with less perceivable noise and other techniques to increase dynamic range. Ian Norman from Lonely Speck has been putting out tutorials for shooting at night for a few years now, and his newest video goes into addressing ISO noise by mixing two different techniques to create a better resolving and cleaner final composition.

Will Modern Lenses Have an Increased Dependence on Lens Corrections?

I see a growing number of new lenses hitting the market that rely on lens correction. These lenses have some benefits, but are lens manufacturers taking shortcuts with these lens designs? Will we be seeing more and more lenses with this reliance on lens correction in the near future?

Canon May Create More Unique Lenses Like the 600mm f/11 and 800mm f/11

Canon's RF 600mm f/11 IS STM and RF 800mm f/11 IS STM lenses are some of the most interesting optics to come along in quite some time, and despite some photographers initially questioning them, as reviews have started to come out, it seems Canon has a couple of winners on their hands. In a recent interview, Canon indicated that the company may release more such lenses.

What Is an Aspherical Lens Element?

One of the most commonly touted features in lens design are aspherical elements, though you might wonder just what that rather technical-sounding name refers to. This excellent video will give you an introduction to aspherical elements, including what they are, how they function, and why they are so highly desired by photographers.

Important Things to Look For When You Choose a Camera Bag

There is a bamboozling range of different camera bags on the market, and deciding which to buy is a veritable minefield. Here are some explanations of the various bags, their purposes, and what to look for when choosing yours.

[UPDATE] Oprema Jena: New Zeiss Biotar 75mm f/1.5 Joined by Biotar 58mm f2

An updated version of the Biotar 58mm f2 will join the already announced Biotar 75mm f1.5, as the first two pieces in Oprema Jena’s lineup of modern remakes of classic lenses, the company announced today. Oprema is offering 58 people the chance to get the Biotar 75 and Biotar 58 – both originally produced by Carl Zeiss -- as part of a special rewards bundle in the current Kickstarter campaign for the Biotar 75. The 58 Biotar 58s will be pre-production models with serial numbers between 1 and 58. A pledge of $1,999 USD would allow someone to get both lenses at $2,500 less than the combined projected retail price for the lenses. The Biotar 75 is expected to go on the market next summer at a projected retail price of $2,499, with the Biotar 58 following by the end of 2018 at a projected retail price of $1,999.

Photographer Gets Creative, Turns Coconut Into Camera

Nope, we're not joking. Photographer Kotama Bouabane is creating photographs using coconuts. While he used the fruit in several different ways to create images, his most interesting method simply involves tape, a coconut, and some photo paper! Read on and check out the video for more!

12 Weeks of Christmas: 6 of the Greatest Digital Camera Firsts

Digital cameras are so pervasive in photography that it is difficult to remember a time when it was only possible to shoot on film. Yet as pervasive they are with the market is only about 30 years young, what are the six greatest "firsts" that we have seen in that time?

Our First Look at the New Sony FE 20-70mm F/4 G

There's definitely more than meets the eye with this new standard zoom lens option. Aside from a wider range and a smaller size, let’s see what else this has to offer.

A Review of the Fujifilm XF 90mm f/2 R LM WR Lens

The Fujifilm XF 90mm f/2 R LM WR gives users a nice long telephoto focal length in combination with a wide aperture, which makes it an appealing option for a range of users, particularly portrait and wedding photographers. This fantastic video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in usage.

Leica Announces A New Camera Simply Named: Leica M

Today Leica announced a ton of new toys. One of them was simply called the Leica M. Leica said they took care of all the M9 problems and put everything in one nice package for $6,950, which is the same price as the M9 when it was released. The Leica M is now available to pre-order in black and silver.

How to Acoustically Treat a Room to Remove Echo and Reverb

Our new studio in Puerto Rico had so much echo that it was ruining the audio in all of our videos. I'm happy to say that we have finally figured things out, and we've learned a few things that might help you as well.

How to Shoot While Tethered to Your iPhone or iPad

Shooting tethered can be useful for so many things, from having a better screen to view an image on, to being able to record what your camera sees for real behind-the-scenes footage. In this video, Jiggie Alejandrino shows you how he does it and how valuable it can be.
Why Do Lenses Flip Images?

Why do all lenses, including the one in the human eye, flip an image upside-down? Or do they? It's far easier to understand than you might think.

[Video] How To Shoot Video With The Nikon D4

The Nikon D4 may not be a huge improvement over the D3S in terms of image quality but as a video camera there is no comparison. The most important updates include audio controls that allow you to dial in silky smooth sounding audio from an external mic as well as an audio out jack for headphone monitoring. The camera can also shoot at 1080P in standard full frame, 1.5 crop, or 2.7 crop meaning that you now can get almost a 200mm reach from a 24-70mm lens without losing quality. In this video I'll show you how to manage these new features.

Experimenting With Different Weird Lenses and an Anamorphic

An experimental photographer has mixed a series of weird lenses while keeping the same anamorphic lens in order to test out how the combinations impact the image quality and bokeh in its video capabilities. Some of the combinations gave interesting, shallow bokeh.

Does the Panasonic S1 Secretly Have Dual Native ISO Just Like the S1H?

Aside from 6K/24p, one of the most exciting selling points of the S1H that Panasonic launched back in May was its dual native ISO, a feature that allowed users to switch between ISO 640 and 4000 without changing the levels of noise. Strangely, it seems that this feature might also have quietly been included in the much cheaper S1.

Check Out This Affordable Ring Light For Video Or Stills

In the past a ring light/flash was a piece of gear that few photographers could actually afford. Today there are a few cheaper options including the Diva Ring Light that can be found on eBay. In the video below Olivia Tech does a quick review of the $200 unit. Now you may still be thinking that is a little steep but when you look at similar products, the price isn't too bad.
A Review of the Sony a7R V Mirrorless Camera

The Sony a7R series of mirrorless cameras has consistently been celebrated for delivering among the highest resolution figures seen in full-frame cameras, complemented by a diverse array of functionalities catering to various photographic styles and uses. The a7R V stands as the latest and greatest in the series, and this detailed video review explores the camera, offering insights into the kind of image quality and performance you can expect from it in usage.

Fujifilm Announces Fuji X30, Ready for Pre-Order

Fujifilm announced the replacement for the X20, today -- the X30. While the camera still features a 12-megapixel 2/3" CMOS X-Trans sensor combined with the EXR Processor II, the X30 almost doubles battery life, continues the X20's quest for snappier performance, features numerous refinements to the controls and body as a whole, and offers full 1080p video recording at 60fps.

Portable and Versatile: A Review of the DJI Pocket 2

DJI's Osmo Pocket gimbal was a great device, offering capable performance in a tiny package that could go anywhere with ease. The Pocket 2 comes with a bevy of new features and improvements over the original model, and this fantastic video review takes a look at what you can expect from it in practice.