Photography Gear

I recently tested out the Hasselblad CFV II and 907X with the XCD 4/45P lens, which Hasselblad totes as the smallest medium format setup on the market. 

It might seem like a silly question; after all, modern lenses are almost universally optically superior to their vintage counterparts. But photography is about more than technical perfection, and vintage lenses may actually be the better choice for a variety of photographers and situations.  

Back in the days of film cameras, a few select Canon bodies had a very interesting feature: autofocus points controlled by your eye. The feature never made it over to the digital side of things, but that may change soon enough, with a new patent showing Canon researching the possibility of adding it to its mirrorless line of cameras.  

A good macro lens is one of the most versatile you can own, useful not just for close-up shots, but also as an ultra-sharp portrait lens. Tamron's SP 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 VC USD is highly affordable, and this fantastic video review takes a look at the kind of performance you can expect from it in practice.  

Modern digital cameras can shoot remarkably quickly, but as impressive as they are, they have less machinery to move around than film cameras. This fun video shows the incredible mechanics behind an old 16mm film camera at 1,000 fps, allowing you to see how it all came together to produce watchable footage.  

For hybrid shooters looking to stay compact and within a certain budget, choosing between the Fujifilm X-T4 and the notably older Sony a7 III can be a challenge. This short video puts the two head to head. Which one would be your choice? 

The Canon EF 135mm f/2L is one of the company's most beloved portrait lenses, but having been released in 1996, you might wonder if it can keep up with today's high-resolution sensors. This excellent video pairs it with such a sensor to see how it performs. 

Today, Panasonic introduced their latest full-frame L-mount lens. The Lumix S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 Macro O.I.S. is a telephoto zoom lens that opens up possibilities in a wide range of shooting situations. 

For most of us, there's a lot of excitement involved in buying a new camera, but it might not be the best investment for upgrading the content you create. Here are 5 things you should upgrade first. 

A wide-aperture 35mm lens is one of the most versatile a photographer can own, suitable for a huge range of applications from portraiture to astrophotography or even as a walkaround option that lives on your camera. For Fuji shooters, there is the XF 23mm f/1.4 R lens, and this excellent video review takes a look at how it holds up in practice.  

With the release of the EOS R5 and EOS R6 to complement the EOS R and EOS RP, Canon has created a very well-rounded line of full frame mirrorless cameras at a variety of price points. Which is the right one for you? This excellent video discusses the line from a wedding photographer's perspective.  

When Japan Industrial Partners acquired the Olympus Imaging Division, it wasn't entirely clear what the future would hold for its storied lines of cameras. For fans of the cameras, there is a bit of good news: we can expect to see a new high-end camera from OM Digital Solutions at some point.  

A lot of photographers like to use a shallow depth of field for portraiture; however, if you are lighting your subject with flash, you will be limited by the flash sync speed of your camera. There are ways around this, however: high-speed sync and ND filters. Both come with their own pros and cons, and this excellent video discusses which is better for your work. 

Many newer mirrorless cameras are on the more expensive side, but we have also seen a few budget models that offer affordable entry points into the world of full frame mirrorless. This excellent video review takes a look at one such option, the Nikon Z 5. 

The Sony a1 mirrorless camera is here, and it takes a no-compromise approach to its design that is meant to handle whatever photo or video work you can throw at it. This great video review takes a look at the camera for both photo and video applications and discusses the sort of performance you can expect from it in practice.  

70-200mm lenses are highly versatile, and though f/2.8 is the professional standard, not everyone needs that wide aperture or wants to spend the money to carry around that sort of bulk.

Having previously spent a few months with the 24-megapixel Nikon Z 6II, today, we move to its bigger brother, and I will begin a series of essays on Nikon’s latest high-resolution entry into the mirrorless camera market, the new Nikon Z 7II. 

When it comes to modern autofocus lenses, your options are typically cheap-feeling plastic up to nice-feeling plastic. Finally, there’s an option for getting the build quality of a beautiful, vintage prime with modern optics and coatings.  

The 35mm focal length is great for a huge variety of uses and is one of the most often-used lenses in a lot of photographers' bags. For Nikon mirrorless shooters, there is the NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.8 S, and this great video review takes a look at the performance you can expect from it in practice.  

In this video I walk through my office desk set up at my studio and go through in detail what I use, and why I use it. Considering I spend more time here than anywhere else, I thought it wise to spend a bit more time and money on it.

Everyone loves a good deal and as every photographer will tell you, buying camera gear is a great way to spend a lot of money. This useful video gives you 10 way so save some serious cash when investing in new equipment. 

What can you possibly shoot in a snowstorm in northern Iceland in the middle of winter? There's not a lot of wildlife around and landscapes are a no-go, but hardy horses might just save the day. 

One of the worst experiences any photographer can go through is breaking a piece of gear beyond repair. The question is, however, at what point is "broken" too broken to use? 

Many camera bags are created for limited applications. Not all bags can be as useful for every shooting situation. However, this expansive camera bag system just might have covered most, if not all. 

Getting close to birds is forever a problem, the closer you get the more likely it is that the birds will notice you and fly away. However, a floating hide can transform your ability to get up close and personal with birds on the water. 

Third-party lenses for Sony are plentiful and some slightly more obscure manufacturers have been producing some quality glass in the last two years. This 24mm f/1.8 lens from Viltrox — with autofocus — is going to cost a mere $399, making it a full thousand dollars less expensive than the Sony equivalent. 

Soon you'll be able to capture footage and have it automatically transferred to a cloud-based platform where editors and production teams can get working on it.  I remember the 56k Modem sound and the slow downloading of a YouTube video I wanted to watch. Back then I thought YouTube was ridiculous. Who would ever use it and actually wait for a video to download? 

While the Canon EOS R5 and the Sony Alpha 1 may represent different classes of cameras in their respective company hierarchies, there's a lot more that's similar about the two than initially meets the eye. It's with that in mind that Tony and Chelsea Northrup put the two cameras through the gauntlet to see how they compare on the big stuff. 

For many photographers, using a hand held meter is considered next-level — particularly for film photographers. Often times though, they are a bit bulky and can get in the way. Is the Reveni Labs Spot Meter is the solution we've been waiting for? 

For a lot of photographers, the need to edit and present their portfolio on the run is ever-present. Can the iPad Pro meet the needs of a modern photographer? 

There’s an age-old debate in photography and filmmaking regarding the role of gear in the creative process. Will better equipment make you a better photographer? No. But also yes. 

Sony’s a7S III packs a remarkable number of features into a ludicrously compact body, but would you be better off with the new Sony FX6? 

Superzoom lenses can be useful in that they cover a huge range of focal lengths without the extra weight and bulk from carrying a bag with lots of more specialized lenses. For landscape photographers, they can be especially useful, and this great video discusses why you should consider adding on to your arsenal.  

Phone cameras have come quite a long way in the past decade, going from an easy way to take casual snapshots that can be quickly shared with family and friends to powerful devices that can produce high-quality results in a wide variety of scenarios. This neat video shows just how far they have come. 

Canon's supertelephoto lenses (informally known as the "big whites") are crucial for wildlife, sports, and photojournalism work and are also widely known as some of the best optics the company produces. As Canon continues to build out the RF mirrorless lens lineup, it looks like a lineup of supertelephoto lenses is coming soon. 

Photographers use their computers a lot. I'd say 50% of the time spent working as a photographer or creative professional would be done on a computer. What if that could change into a more enjoyable experience, where you exchange your keyboard, which was designed for typing, for a console. Enter Monogram’s Creative Console Studio. 

We're used to iterative developments in camera lines? Nikon's D800, D810, and D850 all provided incremental improvements. So what is unusual about the latest incarnation of Fuji's X-E lineup, the X-E4? 

The Fujifilm GFX 100S takes the company's flagship medium format monster and shrinks both its size and price almost by half with very little sacrifice of features. With this and the company's other GFX cameras, we are now seeing medium format prices well into the realm of full frame. What does that mean for the future of photography? 

The X-E4 is the newest camera in Fujifilm's X Series of cameras, and it brings with it a range of new features and improvements at a very reasonable price. This great video review takes a look at the camera from a stills perspective and the kind of image quality and performance you can expect from it.  

The long-awaited Sony a7S III finally made its appearance last year, and it has received a lot of good press. If you have been considering the camera for your own work, this great video review takes a look at the camera and how it holds up in practice.  

With the Salsa Photobooth and its new features, you can do your part to make weddings safer as well as make more money.  

A 35mm lens with a wide aperture is one of the most versatile options out there, suitable for everything from portraits to events coverage and more. This excellent video review takes a look at an affordable option from Sigma, the 35mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary lens. 

For the first time in history, Nikon released a camera that carries the mark II addition in its name. It is indeed the same camera as the mark I, but with a lot of improvements. I reviewed the Nikon Z 6II to find out if it is worth the upgrade.

One thing, which is always absolutely essential to nail in photography, is the focus. There are several approaches to focusing in landscape photography and in this article, I will pros and cons of MF, AF, and BBF. 

Photographers need the best batteries possible to ensure their power-hungry gear works when it's needed most. Question is, which lithium AA batteries are best right now? 

The Fujifilm X100 series has always been popular among photographers looking for a pure shooting experience, and the latest iteration is a powerful and nimble machine. This excellent video review takes a look at the X100V and how it performs in practice.  

After a string of gear-related articles extolling the benefits and/or drawbacks of buying a particular camera system, and before launching into another such series in the weeks to come, I wanted to step back for a moment and re-evaluate a question larger than whether or not any particular camera is worthy of its place in your camera bag. 

For those photographers looking for a light and compact telephoto zoom for the Sony system, wait no longer. The Tamron model is here and made to impress. 

Canon's RF 85mm f/1.2L USM is the company's premium portrait lens, practically begging to be shot wide open for natural light portraits, where its f/1.2 aperture can turn backgrounds into nothing but amorphous blurs of light and color. This awesome video shows the sort of shots you can get with it.  

A few years back I wrote a lifetime review on the Canon EOS 5D II. Since then I upgraded to the Canon EOS 5ds and 5DS R cameras, 5 years down the line I thought it apt to have a detailed look at them.