Recent Gear Articles

Sigma Announces Prices and Availability for Four New APS-C Primes for Canon RF Mount

Sigma has officially announced the pricing and availability of four APS-C format DC DN prime lenses for Canon's RF mount system. The lenses, part of Sigma’s Contemporary line, include the 16mm f/1.4, 23mm f/1.4, 30mm f/1.4, and 56mm f/1.4, and are designed for photographers and videographers seeking compact, high-performance lenses. These additions expand Sigma’s APS-C lens offerings to six for the RF mount.

A Review of the Venus Optics Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift Lens

Avoiding converging lines and keystone distortion with a wide angle lens can be tricky, which is why a shift function can be so useful. This great video review takes a look at the Venus Optics Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift and the sort of image quality you can expect from it in practice.

How to Choose the Right Camera for Video

If you're looking at trying a new area of photography or videography, or are just getting started in the craft, there's no doubt that making the right decision on gear is a difficult one. As the number of options has surged, so has the number of voices.

Panasonic Releases Firmware 2.0 for S1H Camera: 5.9K Raw Video Over HDMI

The Panasonic S1H is already quite the powerhouse camera, with impressive specs that should satisfy the needs of lots of filmmakers and videographers. Panasonic is increasing the camera's capabilities all the more with the release of firmware 2.0, which will enable 5.9K raw video output over HDMI.

Is the Canon RF-S 18-45mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens the Affordable Alternative to More Expensive Options?

Many of my Canon's RF mount mirrorless lenses have been spectacular performers, but on the other hand, many of them have been quite expensive — sometimes eye-wateringly so. At $299, that makes the Canon RF-S 18-45mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM a refreshing prospect? Can its performance and image quality surpass its budget price, though? This excellent video review takes a look at what you can expect.

StillMotion Shows Us How to Stabilize Video

StillMotion is back again and this time they are showing us different stabilization options. Personally I am a huge fan of the Steadicam Merlin but it's not cheap.

an intro to EOS stabilizers // canon cinema caravan from stillmotion on Vimeo.

What Kind of Cameras Was Canon Making 25 Years Ago?

Camera technology was in a very different place in 1998, and it was quite an exciting time, as it seemed like every month brought another major leap forward in digital technology. The PowerShot Pro70 was one of the company's first bridge cameras, coming two years before the release of the D30, their first in-house DSLR. How did this extremely early digital camera perform? This neat video review takes a look at the historical camera.

Alert for Photographers: Package Theft Soars to Record Levels

As the holiday season approaches, the Better Business Bureau has issued a warning to photographers, revealing that package theft is currently "at an all-time high." This troubling trend is a cause for concern, especially as we anticipate an increase in package deliveries during this busy holiday season.

A Review of the Affordable Samyang AF 45mm f/1.8 FE Lens

A good 50mm lens with a wide aperture is one of the most useful a photographer or filmmaker can own, suitable for everything from portraits to low-light work. At $299, Samyang's AF 45mm f/1.8 FE is an affordable option, and this great video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

Standing Out In The Crowd: ColorCase's Pelican Cases

I see it all the time. There are places in the world where photographers flock. This usually results in about a dozen black hard cases spinning their way around the luggage carousel. This gives every photographer in the arrivals lounge a chance to pick up every case and inspect it. Telling one Pelican from another is a fool's game. Even my stickers don't always help, as everyone else puts stickers on their cases as well. Solution: ColorCase.
A Review of the Sony FE 50mm f/1.4 GM Lens

The Sony FE 50mm f/1.4 GM lens brings some of the company's best design and features, promising high levels of performance and image quality at a competitive price. How does it hold up in practice? This fantastic video tutorial takes a look at what you can expect.

[Video] An MIT Lab Figures Out How To Shoot 1 Trillion Frames Per Second

Okay this video has been emailed to us a bunch of times, and it has already made the rounds on a bunch of blogs BUT I'm still not sure I understand this story at all. Researchers at MIT have created a "video system" made up of 500 sensors that can capture light movement at 1/1,000,000,000,000th of a second. Now after watching this video and reading the official MIT press release, my mind is pretty much blown. It's clear that this camera is not actually filming a native 1 trillion fps but are they saying that the speed of light is so fast that essentially the shutter speed of the composited frames would in fact be 1 trillion fps when strung together? I know there must be some physics gurus out there that can explain this in simple terms! No matter what is actually going on here, it's still pretty geeky and extremely cool to watch such a complicated setup record some of the fastest images ever created.
A Hands-on Look At the New Fujifilm XF 18mm f/1.4

The Fujifilm XF 18mm f/1.4 is the latest lens announced by the company. This lens has been designed for Fujifilm's X-mount APS-C cameras and offers an exciting upgrade to the previous XF 18mm f/2.0 lens. With its wider aperture and better overall design, it could become a popular option for Fujifilm photographers.

The EMEET SmartCam S800, Better Than Your Average Streaming Webcam

Since the pandemic, I have had an ever-growing demand for online courses and workshops via various streaming services such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Although I can use my relatively small mirrorless cameras for streaming, they are still too big to mount on my screens. So, a good-quality streaming webcam is the answer.

Freefly Shipping New MoVI Controller

Freefly systems, makers of the game-changing MōVI 3-axis stabilizer, is now shipping their MōVI Controller, designed to enhance and make a true two-person stabilizer setup. The second user can now control the pan, tilt, roll, focus, iris and zoom of a MōVI-mounted camera while the main operator holds the system. It is shipping for the M5, M10 and soon to be releleased M15 systems.

A Review of the Apple QuickTake 100, a Neat Digital Camera From 1994

It is easy to look at modern digital cameras and forget just how spoiled we really are. After all, the latest generation of cameras make it almost impossible to miss the shot. Even a decade ago, digital cameras were far less capable, and if you turn back the clock three decades, digital models had barely just come into existence. This fun retro review takes a look at one such camera, the Apple Quicktake 100.

Affordable and Versatile: A Review of the Viltrox 35mm f/1.8 AF Lens

35mm lenses with wide apertures are some of the most important and popular options out there, equally at home in a huge range of scenarios, including portraits, weddings, events, astrophotography, and more. Premium 35mm lenses can easily run north of $1,500, which makes the Viltrox 35mm f/1.8 AF a breath of fresh air. This great video review takes a look at the lens and if its performance and image quality allow it to compete with those much more expensive options.

Photographic Presents Under $100 for the Coming Season of Goodwill

Sadly, the world in which we’re living has become more polarized, with hatred splitting communities and war tearing countries apart. Many people roll their eyes when the holidays approach, but perhaps we should all be happy it’s only a few weeks away and think about what would help other photographers and brighten their days.

A Review of the New Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN Contemporary Lens

Sigma's new 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN Contemporary lens offers APS-C shooters a very nice combination of ultra-wide focal lengths in tandem with a wide maximum aperture, making it a nice option for a variety of shooters, including landscape photographers, events shooters, and much more. How does it hold up in practice? This awesome video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in usage.

Best Budget Cine Lenses: Sirui Night Walker 24mm, 35mm, and 55mm T/1.2 lenses Review

In the world of filmmaking, quality often comes with a hefty price tag. But Sirui's latest offering — a trio of cine lenses designed for super 35 sensors — challenges this narrative. Affordable yet robust, these lenses offer impressive capabilities that can benefit both novices and seasoned professionals.

The Ultimate RF Lens Setup for Wedding Photography

Wedding photography demands lenses that balance versatility and artistic flair. Picking the right ones not only simplifies your workflow but also ensures you’re prepared for every moment of the day.

Amir Valinia Shoots A Music Video With The iPhone

Yes, this has been done before; but never this big. Amir took things up a few notches by shooting Paul Wall's new video "I Need Mo" featuring Travis Barker. I hope that Amir gives this another shot now that the iPhone 4 is out. The video quality is stunning on the new phone. View the finished music video in the full post. <
A First Look at the Pixel Fold, Google's First Foldable Smartphone

The Pixel Fold is the first foldable phone engineered by Google. I had a chance to preview this feature-packed productivity tool that is actually both a phone, and a tablet in one. In this review, I will discuss the Pixel Fold from a photographer’s perspective, its myriad of camera features, and its use as a productivity tool for creative professionals.

A Review of the Sirui Night Walker 35mm T1.2 S35 Cine Lens

The Sirui Night Walker 35mm T1.2 S35 Cine lens offers extreme light-gathering power in tandem with a useful focal length, making it a desirable option for filmmakers and photographers alike, and at $349, it will not break the bank either. Can it offer the sort of performance and image quality professionals demand? This excellent video review takes a look at what you can expect.