Gear

There is one thing that constantly keeps cropping up in both my own work, and in the work of others I see around me. I've worked with more and more photographers and videographers lately who just shoot with a single zoom for most of what they do. So many people I see seem to be producing strong work with one decent zoom. This post asks a very simple question that keeps bouncing around in my head. "Just how many lenses do we actually need?".

The LitePanels 1x1 has arguably been the industry standard for LED lighting in many news and documentary productions. At the recent CineGear show, LitePanels demoed their latest product, an update to the award winning 1x1. The new "Astra" light claims to have an output 4x greater than the original 1x1. Nate Weber from Newsshooter.com shares the first look in this video.

Michael Schmidt of Chemnitz, Germany, shares a video review of Canon's new and quite affordable EF-S 10-18mm IS STM lens. The lens features silent focusing thanks to its stepping motor (STM) and even throws in built-in image stabilization (IS). While the lens exhibits some minor issues (some expected distortion seems quite controlled for this focal length), overall image quality seems fantastic and the lens' focusing motor is truly silent and smooth.

Though it's not yet safe to say that 4K has "landed," it is getting close. There are more capable hardware solutions landing on the market every day. G-Technologies is getting ready to show off some new 2K and 4K ready storage solutions for the market: the G-DRIVE ev 220 and a new G-RAID with removable drives.

It's official! The world's fastest mirrorless camera lens is going to be shipping worldwide in the very near future. With a 40mm focal length perfect for many situations, the lens is topped with a maximum aperture of f/0.85. The prime lens is now in stock based on their press release. Looks like the Voiglander 17mm f/0.95 has some competition now!

LaCie has upgraded their iconic "Rugged" line of portable drives and challenges WD's most recent bus-powered portable drive by offering Thunderbolt 2 and USB 3 in the same water, dust and drop resistant package. With the SSD versions, the LaCie Rugged is stated to perform up to 387 MB/s. With the standard hard disk version performing up to 122 MB/s.

Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) previewed a new operating system for the Mac as well as iOS 8 for the iPhone, which comes with a host of new features due out this fall. While many features of Apple's new iOS releases leave out older devices, this one will improve your iPhone's camera (past, current, and future) with some great features we've all been too patient to see.

This little DIY "hack" from MrCheesyCam on YouTube shows you how to add a 3 stop ND filter to lenses that you might otherwise not be able to (such as the MFT Rokinon Fisheye as shown in the video). All the components needed for this nifty little mod cost well under $10.

B&H Photo is having a huge sale on Nikon gear, with up to $480 in savings per lens when bundled with a camera body. If you're looking to upgrade your Nikon camera gear, now might just be the time to do it. B&H Photo is also offering huge discounts on the Zeiss Touit Lenses for the Fujifilm and Sony mirrorless mounts when bundled together. The Zeiss 32mm Touit in particular was reviewed quite highly by Fstoppers last year.

Cambo recently gave the world a sneak peek at a new compact ACTUS View Camera designed specifically for mirrorless cameras (perfect for the α7 series). This system features several improvements over their old X2 system as detailed below. The "core system" will reportedly include the bellows, bayonet, and a choice of Sony, Canon, or Nikon camera mount.

Medium format Phase One shooters have a new lens to lust over, as today Phase One and Schneider lenses announced the availability of the Schneider Kreuznach 40-80mm f/4.0-5.6 leaf shutter zoom lens. This is the second zoom lens designed for the Phase One 645 camera platform. It is the latest in the close collboratioin partnership between the two companies.

B&H Photo & Video is clearing out some inventory on their Sandisk Compact Flash cards, so you're able to pick up some new memory at a considerable discount. Most notably, the 64GB CF Card (120MB/sec) can be found for $64 off. Other notable prices include $30 off on a 32GB card, and smaller discounts as you go down the line. To take advantage of these, click here.

When it comes to camera memory cards, most of us gravitate towards Sandisk and Lexar. Maybe PNY or Sony too. Samsung has been making memory cards for other companies for quite some time, but only recently have they decided to branch out and brand them as Samsung. So how do they perform? Surprisingly, or maybe unsurprisingly, quite well.

I've always been a Lowepro fan. I own pelicans, Think Tank, ONA, swag backpacks... the works. But for some reason I keep gravitating back to Lowepro. I currently own both the old and new versions of the Pro Roller bags. In an attempt to show how well protected your gear is inside the new Lowepro Pro Roller X-Series, Lowepro decided to do the ridiculous.

Let me preface this by saying I hate calling anything the "ultimate." Odds are, I've missed something in the market that might be better. It's nearly impossible for me to keep a pulse on everything in this massive and expanding industry. But if anything comes as close to "ultimate" in the video tripod world, it would be the Benro S8 Video Tripod.

If you're like me (and basically every photographer I know), you're a little bit paranoid. Your heart skips a beat when you hit "Format" on your memory cards. You don't trust a source unless it's backed up. ioSafe was not originally built for photographers, but it certainly caters to them with a fireproof, water proof and basically life proof design. With the addition of specialized apps, ioSafe looks to be a the way to store and monitor your precious images and video.

Some may have noticed a good portion of the DIY and Kickstarter projects for film photography revolve around the 4x5 format. That's likely because, for lovers of film, it's the best format out there. The negative size allows for incredibly sharp and enlarged prints. It's possible (just) to handhold a 4x5 camera for street photography. And despite many film stocks' deaths by the second, you can still get some of the most popular films in 4x5 sheet film packs.

Lomography has officially began a Kickstarter project to try and fund their first release an instant film camera. Multiple colors, lens choices, exposure settings, and more! With 30 days to go on they currently have $32,000 raised of their $100,000 goal. The settings for this camera look pretty cool and, I think, worth backing.

The RagLite LED systems are a product seeking backing on Kickstarter to do a production run of what appear to be LED strips on fabric that can be rolled up, powered by battery, are waterproof, and claim a CRI of 95. With several rewards being offered, including various sizes of their light, they seek to raise about $25,000. Read on for their video and more information on these unique lights.

On Tuesday, May 27, 2014 from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM eastern daylight time B&H is hosting a panel discussion with special guests Eduardo Angel, David Flores, and Mathew Frazer who will explore and discuss the new 4K Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4. The GH4 has a lot of hype behind it, and for good reason- The camera is shaping up to be a video monster.

The whole idea of what a camera strap should look like and how it should perform changed when the MoneyMaker hit the scene just a few years back. Gone were the days of tactical black nylon. A new era of stylish form and function began when Tulsa, Oklahoma based wedding photographer turned entrepreneur Matthew Swaggart founded HoldFast – a luxury line of leather camera gear and accessories.

Zoom North America has officially announced the release of their brand new H5 Hand Recorder. With many features you will find on the flagship H6 microphone but for more than $100 less, the H5 employs a system of interchangeable input capsules, allowing the best microphone to be used for every recording situation. The H5 is currently available for pre-order for only $269.99.

You might someday find yourself working within the overall vision of someone else – like an editor, an art director or, in this case, a director of photography – when shooting on assignment for publications as big as Sports Illustrated. Limited time with your subject and being asked for simple lighting against a simple background isn’t uncommon in this industry. So how would you go about getting the type of photographs your employer wants plus creating a dramatically lit and colored set for yourself?

When I got a chance to try the new Fuji XF56mm f1.2 I jumped at it, not just because it was substantially cheaper and lighter than the Canon 85mm f1.2 II I’d played with last year, but because this lens is a clear shot across the bow at Canon and Nikon, with a lens aimed at professional portrait shooters. This was a new line in the sand, but could this thing play with the big boys?

Last month, Lytro announced their second generation light field camera they call Illum. The Illum system is clearly geared at serious amateur and professional photographers interested in experimenting with variable focus photography. This new mini-documentary features photographers using the Illum system, the technology behind it, and their creative process.

Last month, the guys at PetaPixel reported the first successful recovery of stolen gear due to the service Lenstag. In related and more recent news, this past weekend a pawn shop in Boston, Massachusetts did a little detective work of their own to recover a stolen Nikon D3100.

Meet Bebop, the newly announced drone from Parrot. This particular quad-copter has a built in 14 MP camera, 3-axis stabilization, creates its own WiFi hotspot, embedded GPS with flight control, can be operated at a distance up to 2km, and weighs under 400g.

We heard that this was going to happen, but now it's official: GoPro has filed for IPO after their 2013 sales shot up 87.4% to $985.7M. Amidst other camera companies like Sony and Nikon who are struggling of late, GoPro is stands tall with outstanding growth and sales.

Sony posted some pretty staggering losses last week, and Nikon is apparently not faring much better as the company stock value fell "4 percent to 1,567 yen, its lowest close since March 2011. The company announced net income of 46.8 billion yen for last fiscal year, missing its own forecast of 50 billion yen.*" When peering at the chart of stock value over the last year, it's not a great outlook.

If you have been wanting to get into using the new Sony full frame compact cameras, they're on instant rebate today. The a7 is $200 off and the a7r with the E-mount adapter is $250 off. Before you pick one up, make sure to check out our review. If nothing else, the sensors are beautiful.

Tonight, alongside its a7s announcement, Sony announced the RX100 III, the third successor in the RX100 line. You can even pre-order the camera right away for $798.00 for delivery in late June, or continue reading for more specs.

Sony's high ISO full frame compact camera announced earlier this year finally has a price: $2,498. It's more than the a7r and a7 and probably more than some of you guessed. That said, the performance of the ISO is impressive and if they are able to solve the rolling shutter issues with a firmware update it stands to be a heck of a camera. In addition to pricing, we also have specifications for the new full-frame compact, and B&H is now accepting pre-orders.

Just the other day, Canon announced the 16-35mm f/4L IS lens. The general announcement was left with confusion, anger, annoyance and felt an awful lot like when Canon announced the unnecessary 24-70mm f/4 IS back in 2012. Between these announcements and others much like it, as well as general quietness on announcing an updated 50mm lens, we have to ask...What’s the problem, Canon?

Nikon provided a new video highlighting the benefits of using its fluorine coating, first used on the just-announced updated 400mm f/2.8 lens. In addition to adding a certain clarity to the image because of its antireflective properties, the new 400mm f/2.8 benefits from the fluorine coating's ability to repel just about anything that might hit it. I want this on all of my lenses!

Sony, a company I think many of us really want to succeed in the imaging space, posted their fiscal year results that ended March 31, 2014. The company reported a $1.29 billion loss overall with the imaging division down 2% over last year, the third straight year of losses for the division.

Finally, the last Nikon product announcement for the day: Nikon has just rolled out the new Nikon 1 S2 mirrorless camera system, an update to the 2013 Nikon 1 S1. The new S2 features a 14.2 MP sensor (up around 4 MP from the S1), shoots full-HD 1020p video, and fires at 20 FPS. It comes in four colors, and will have a price of $446.95 (including the kit 11-27.5 f/3.5-5.6 kit lens).

If you plan on picking up the newly announced Nikon 400mm f/2.8E you'll definitely be interested in looking into the new TC-14E III, Nikon's latest 1.4x teleconverter. This baby will boost the focal length of your lens by 1.4x, only reducing the light by one stop. This will effectively turn your 70-200 f/2.8 into a 98-280 f/4.0, or that new 400 f/2.8 into a crazy 560mm f/4.0.

In the wake of Canon revealing two new super-wide zoom lenses (here and here) Nikon has a nearly polar opposite announcement of their own. They just announced a new 400mm f/2.8 lens. It is likely that Nikon timed this announcement to allow for use of the new 400mm at the FIFA World Cup.

There has been significant chatter on both the Fstoppers staff and in the general comments we've been hearing and reading regarding Canon's move to introduce slower lens iterations, but with image stabilization, of their older faster glass. We've heard arguments on both sides of the table, but we're curious: what do you think?

During an initial meeting with local publication NFocus Magazine, the Editor-In-Chief asked for a unique aesthetic on Louisville's theater and arts community and wanted a massive group shot, but not your traditional group shot. I threw out the idea to shoot actors and their "characters" from directly overhead on a theater floor, as if they were action figures laid out and organized. Two seconds after I uttered the idea, I realized I had no clue how I would pull it all off.

When you’re backed by the likes of Silicon Valley superstars like Youtube co-founder Jawed Karim, Y-Combinator, and a half-dozen or so other techie entrepreneurs, you know you’ve got something good. That something good is Lumoid, which rents photo gear at unheard-of prices, especially when you add in a few perks...

Today, Nikon released a major firmware update for their D800 and D800E HDSLRs as well as minor patches for the UT-1 transmitter and a few CoolPix cameras. This is the first significant update for the D800(E) since about this time last year. The update (v. A 1.10, B 1.10) brings with it something that I wish all Nikon cameras had.

Announced tonight, Canon adds the 16-35mm f/4L IS to it's prestigious L series line of lenses. With an Optical Image Stabilizer system, the 16-35mm f/4 IS adds up to 4 stops of correction for great performance, even in low light. While this announcement is exciting for many of us, it also has many of us scratching our heads in confusion.

Canon has added another STM (stepping motor) lens to their lineup for those of you who are already fans of the 70D and Rebel T5i (though the T5i does not take advantage of the STM technology nearly to the degree the 70D Dual Pixel Sensor does). The 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 EF-S IS STM LENS has just been announced, and though it's not what many of us desire in a lens, being the unpleasant combination of variable aperture and slow, it does come in at a very enticing price point.

Edelkrone raised a few interested eyebrows with their unique slider design a while back, but with their recent add-on items, the latest of which is the "Action Module," both filmmakers and manufacturers alike are taking a long look at these innovate products. The Action Module not only brings timelapse and repeatable moves, it does so in a simple, intuitive way.

If you've been a long time reader of Fstoppers, you might recall one of my original editorial pieces: How China Changed the American Lighting Industry. At the time of its publication, I had just come off a recent spell of a few years at an American photographic lighting company and got to see first hand how American greed led to a Chinese takeover of the industry. In the years following that article, the problem hasn't gotten any better. If anything, it's gotten far worse, and to the detriment of you as a consumer.

Earlier this week Samsung showed me their new NX3000 consumer-level camera via video call. You might not know it, but Samsung is flying up the sales charts in the mirrorless interchangeable lens compact camera market. They're number two behind Sony, mostly because their aimed specifically at the very wide consumer market with well-priced items. The new NX3000 is no different at $529 and will fit into the current line between the NX300 and the NX Mini.

Photographer Sam Hurd is sharing yet another one of his artistic photography techniques with his followers. He mastered The Brenizer Method, he basically had all of Amazon on backorder for Prisming, he ripped the lens mount right off his 50mm for Freelensing, and then he did some convex Lens Chimping. This time around, Sam attached an old anamorphic movie lens to his 85mm in order to shoot a very cinematic wide field of view. Take a look at how it works!

Known for its top of the line outdoor adventure camera bags and backpacks, F-Stop Gear recently unveiled the Loka Ultralight, or "UL," a revision of the popular Loka backpack. In this review I’ll go over the differences between the UL relative to its older brother, and point out who this pack is and isn’t for.

Check out this footage taken at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Montery, California (my old stomping grounds!) from Cheesycam.com. The footage is, because it is on Vimeo, not 4K obviously since it's not supported, but you can download the original footage here. What do you think?