Photography Gear

A recent spate of camera purchases has indeed improved my photographic skill, but perhaps not in the way you may be thinking. 

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. 

After teasing a new release over the past few days, Phase One has finally unveiled the new XT digitally-integrated field camera. 

Sony has introduced two new crop-sensor camera bodies with the a6100 and a6600. Were they worth the wait? 

Traditionally, the most extreme supertelephoto lenses have mostly remained the purview of first-party manufacturers aside from a few exceptions, but Sigma recently dipped its toes back into the waters with the 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sports lens. Can it keep up with Canon and Nikon's variants? This great review will answer that question for you.  

Canon's mirrorless lenses have been met with much acclaim, but many photographers are anxiously awaiting a truly professional level body to accompany them. A Japanese newspaper is reporting that that camera, equivalent to a 1D flagship body, will be announced sometime in 2021. 

The most advanced Nikon camera ever created is right around the corner. But does anyone care?  

New gear always excites any photographer like a kid gifted with a new toy. More often than not, we always just end up taking random photos of a cup of coffee or even the lens cap on a table to test out the new camera.

In this video, I look at the difference between 17 of the modifiers in my studio. With such a huge selection of modifiers out there, it is often hard to work out what you need. Hopefully, this video helps.  

When it comes to light modifiers, there are hundreds if not thousands of options: soft boxes, beauty dishes, grids, umbrellas, etc. After all is said and done, I truly think that I have finally found the perfect modifier. 

The cult of celebrity is alive and kicking, now seemingly the domain of the "influencer". However history is littered with photographers who attained celebrity status — step back 80 years and Weegee made the unusual step from press photographer to, well, influencer! This was long after the second of our two articles, which looks at the wet collodion plate process.

I am a big advocate of calibrating equipment. For this reason, I regularly make sure my monitors, cameras and, lenses are calibrated and working correctly. Printers, on the other hand, are a device that I've never done anything beyond using the factory settings. I figured it might be a good idea to reconsider that. 

Following its younger predecessors, C100 and C300, the C500 gets an upgrade that is not just a face-lift, but an arsenal of new features that are aiming to satisfy today's filmmaker's standards and demands.

Last week, Sony announced two APS-C cameras and two more G-series lenses for their crop-sensor system. In this first-look review, I share my thoughts after photographing birds with the new a6600 and E 70-350mm f/4.5-6.3 G OSS. 

With so much speculation, bookmakers would be delighted over the ever-shifting odds regarding what Sony is going to announce next: will it be the much-delayed a7S III, or the greatly-anticipated a9 II? With the rumor mills in fine fettle after a short summer break, we may have an answer: in the next month, Sony will announce the a9 II. Allegedly. 

Following a premature leak via the company’s social media accounts, Nikon has made the official announcement for their new Nikon D6 DSLR. It is being hailed by the Japanese manufacturer as its “most advanced DSLR to date.”

Nikon says:

While the Pixel 4 may soon be upon us, right now, the Pixel 3 and 3a series arguably represent the high-water mark for smartphone photography today through a combination of decent optics and more-than-decent artificial intelligence. 

Sigma's Art series of lenses took the photography world by storm a few years ago, and perhaps none was more hotly anticipated than the 85mm f/1.4 Art lens. That lens finally came to the Sony E mount last year, and this great video review takes a look at it to help decide if it is the right portrait lens for you.  

The 24-105mm lens is rarely the one you think about first when the subject is landscape photography. However, this lens is one of my most used lenses and has been for several years. 

While a quick trip to do some shooting in the city might involve little more than throwing a body or two in a duffel bag and heading out — an odd overlap with your average serial killer’s check list — heading off somewhere exotic can require a bit more planning. What else should you throw in the bag? 

Today, I thought I’d take you through the sometimes agonizing process of figuring out the best way to light on location and some of the tools and techniques I use to get around the obstacles. 

Us photographers love our expensive gear that features the best quality in optics, autofocus, sensor design, and more and offers us the utmost control of every last setting. So, could you take a shooting challenge with the lowest quality camera and absolutely no control over any settings? Check out this fun disposable camera challenge.  

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.  

Finding a good and yet affordable workflow and backup system is a tough task for most of us. Being not overly technical, it took me a decade to get to a point where my images felt safe. 

Having a photobooth is something I recommend every wedding photographer to have. The problem is that not all photobooths are created equal.  

Take a quick moment to watch Profoto’s latest clip showing off their wireless flash trigger, Connect, used by Hélène Pambrun. When you’re done, give Profoto’s accompanying story a read.

 Pambrun has recently risen to fame shooting the likes of Tony Bennett, Ben Harper, Ed Sheeran, and Dua Lipa. She is currently Harry Styles’ tour photographer.

Originally released in 2012, the CamRanger has finally announced the CamRanger 2. Set to be released on September 16th, the wireless tethering device has added a variety of features including support for Sony and Fujifilm, an SD Card slot, and dual-band Wi-Fi. The starting price is $349. 

Technology in the video world is moving at a blistering pace. With new features being released seemingly every month, once-hyped cameras are being tossed by the wayside faster than ever in favor of the next big thing.

There seems to be a new modifier coming out of China every other week; in this video, I go over the key lighting modifiers I use as a food photographer. 

This week we continue the A to Z of Photography with an interview with contemporary photographer Benjamin von Wong, renowned for his attention grabbing, fantastical images. We follow this with a history of Vivitar, a camera and lens manufacturer that didn't make cameras or lenses! 

When you think of ND filters, you probably think of 3-stop or 6-stop filters or maybe even a 10-stop if you really want to go extreme. But what about a 16-stop filter? This fun video shows what it's like working with such an insane filter.  

The 35mm focal length is one of the most commonly used by photographers, and it is a crowded space for manufacturers. Lens Rentals recently completed optical tests on Tamron's SP 35mm f/1.4 Di USD lens, and perhaps surprisingly, it has beaten out all of the competition. 

When you are new to photography, the veritable plethora of controls on a modern camera can be a bit overwhelming. This helpful video tutorial will show you which controls and settings you should focus on the most to master your camera and take more ownership of your creative process. 

A few years ago, Samyang was known for producing cheap but quality lenses that used manual focus only and were particularly loved by astrophotographers. Recently, they've started to branch out into creating autofocus lenses. Does their 45mm lens for Sony shooters maintain that optical quality while adding good autofocus performance?

Making food look amazing on set is as much the job of the food stylist as it is the photographer and retouchers. Here are the tools that a food stylists uses to get the job done.

Nikon is anticipated to announce the upcoming release of the D6 next week. The actual release isn’t expected to follow until late 2019 or early 2020. This is in line with what’s expected to be a paring down of their DSLR line-up to focus on higher-end models. What should we expect from Canon in return? 

The Panasonic S1H is an absolute monster of a camera that's aimed squarely at videographers and filmmakers. And while it looks fantastic on paper, you might be wondering how it holds up in real-world use. This excellent video review answers just that question. 

I’ll admit it, I’ve jumped on the MacBook Pro bandwagon a lot later than most. Just a couple of years ago I was beating the drum about how great the old Macbook Air was for photographers. The thing is, after a few weeks with the 13” MacBook Pro, in some ways, I still feel that way. 

The number of failed shutters being reported on the Sony a7 III and a7R III Facebook groups has raised a few eyebrows over the last couple of months. Are the latest Sony cameras more susceptible to mechanical failures or is it simply the case that lots of people are suddenly reporting it? 

If you believe the advertisements of smartphone manufacturers, the cameras of those devices are amazing and suitable for professional use. Sometimes (often?) these advertisements turn out to be fake, shot with professional DSLR cameras. But how good are those smartphone cameras really?

Whenever we see a photo we really like and want to recreate ourselves, one of the most tempting things to do is to ask what camera settings the photographer used. Here is why that's actually the wrong question to ask the majority of the time. 

While Canon's RF lenses have been met with general acclaim, many photographers have been clamoring for a more professionally oriented R mount body from the company. While that camera has not been announced yet, the firmware update recently teased by Canon seems to show a major improvement in autofocus performance on the way for the EOS R and EOS RP. 

Zeiss is well known for making spectacularly sharp lenses, but with that high optical quality often comes a correspondingly large price tag. However, the Batis 85mm f/1.8 is much cheaper than some of its counterparts, making it an intriguing option for many photographers. This great video review takes a look at the lens to help you decide if it's right for you.  

With the growing popularity of mirrorless cameras due to their more compact size and weight, tripods have also been evolving to be more portable. But it doesn't mean that less weight automatically means better. 

Most portrait photographers have a preferred focal length that they tend to use for most shoots. Two of the most common focal lengths are 85mm and 135mm, and this great video compares the two to help you choose the right lens for you. 

Canon's mirrorless lenses have been esoteric, exquisite, and... expensive. While they're certainly spectacular pieces of glass, some photographers have been waiting for the more standard workhorses to come along. The good news is that they are on their way quite soon.  

Getting into off camera flash can be daunting. This video covers a great and cost effective way to get your first set up without having the fear of buying the wrong equipment. 

As part of a relatively big batch of announcements, Canon announced today the successor to their semi-professional DSLR line, the Canon EOS 90D.  

It was February 2017 when Canon released the EOS M6 APS-C mirrorless camera as a whole new line different from the EOS M5. The EOS M6 was actually more like a buffed up EOS M3 that came much later. 

In a recent video, we take a look at the FeiyuTech AK2000 gimbal to see how good it is and if it's worth recommending. This gimbal is the smaller version of its bigger brother, the AK4000, and I wanted to see how the little one compares.