Photography Gear

For 32 years Kenji Yamaguchi has been National Geographic’s resident mad scientist camera engineer.

Allow me to state that for the record before we dive in here, gear does not make the photographer. A talented artist can make an image with whatever falls into their palm, but for those of us who have the luxury of choice, be it the pocket sized Ricoh dangling from Moriyama's wrist, or Crewdson's cherrywood 8x10, a powerful image is about the framing of a moment, the machine it is see

Patrick and I have been in Iceland for 2 weeks with Elia Locardi filming our next tutorial on landscape/travel photography. We brought a truck-load of gear with us but our favorite piece has been our DJI phantom quadcopter. Here's a quick cut of our best drone footage in Iceland. 

Keisuke Iwaya is an amateur Japanese astrophysicist. On July 20th, 2014, he sent a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera into the Earth’s stratosphere from Obihiro, Japan for the first time ever.

From now until December 24th, Hasselblad is offering 40 percent off of their H5D series of cameras and lens bundles. They are also offering 20 percent off of lenses when bought with H5D, H5X, and Certified Pre-Owned bodies. If you've been waiting for the right time to purchase a Hasselblad, this may be it. 

GoPro HEROs may be flying in their own cape by late next year according to reports from the Wall Street Journal. GoPro, who currently leads the market in wearable consumer point-of-view cameras is said to be developing their own multi-rotor helicopters equipped with high-definition cameras.

Capturing the launch of a space shuttle is undoubtedly a tremendous task to take on. Add to that the pressure of capturing the last space shuttle launch and you may have one of the most immense photographic endeavours of your career. In a very passionate and insightful video talk, Dan Winters takes us through the process of accomplishing said task.

I’ve just read a comment from a photographer who said it’s time to stop shooting in black and white. He claimed we don’t see the world in black and white and it was something only done in the past due to the limitations at the time and it’s time to move on.

The Panasonic Varicam 35 was announced earlier this year along with what feels like a million other 4K cameras claiming to better than one another. With this much competition it is hard to stay a head of the pack. RED has been attempting to do this for years with the resolution game, but recently there has been a shift towards low-light performance.

The recently released Samsung NX1 totes a promising list of specs: 4K video at 24fps recorded to the new H265 codec, 1080p at 60fps, 28MP stills, 205 phase detection AF points, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. However, none of that matters if what comes out of the camera looks like crap.

As someone who has owned countless backpacks, both for photography and for trekking, I can tell you that fit and comfort are second to none when deciding what pack to purchase. My partner sometimes struggles when selecting a pack, as her options can sometimes be limited depending on the brand.

Black Friday, love it or hate it, always manages to produce some tempting deals on the tech front, and tablets are no exception this holiday season. Numerous stores are selling cheap, poorly made Android tablets at prices that you can only believe once you open the box and realize what you just bought.

As a relatively recent convert to Instagram, a former outsider-looking-in, there are a few things about the app that I don’t particularly care for or make use of. Like most people I know, I’m not at all tempted to make use of the built-in, over-cooked, HDR-gone-wrong filters. When I do post a photo taken on my phone, it’s been edited in VSCO Cam.

As I start to get more campaign work via Instagram for product photography, I've found that I need to use every bit of my creative mindset to get the shot I want. All the while I must also play to some of the iPhone's limitations.

Before you blindly answer this question, you should know that fast memory cards are not only for sport and wildlife photographers. Wedding, event, and portrait photographers all benefit from having cards with fast write speeds to capture that unexpected moment. Even landscape photographers who take far less images can benefit.

Samsung’s new flagship model, the NX1, will be available in stores on Monday, November 24, just in time for the holidays. Announced at Photokina in September, the NX1 boasts a 28 megapixel BSI (backside illumination) APS-C sensor with 205 phase detection autofocus points capable of firing 15 frames per second.

Sony seems to be stealing the show this week, first with the US release of their new 16-35mm f4 and then the announcement of the world’s first stacked CMOS sensor, they just keep bringing the fire with today’s announcement of the a7II by Sony Japan.

Anyone who shoots film (either stills or motion) knows the frustration of an ever-shrinking pool of available equipment. Finding a quality, tested and working 8mm system can be particularly difficult. Danish father/son company Logmar Camera Solutions, founded in 2009 in Aalborge, DE has the dream of reviving and reinventing the 8mm movie camera.

With the Removu R1, you can check the scene a GoPro is capturing wirelessly. No matter what kind of risk you're taking, the remote and live view screen will allow you to fully control the camera while in action. This is a must have accessory if you're tired of draining your phone battery or need a hands-free solution to view and control your GoPro. 

Shooting for the majority of my career with nothing more than an iPhone and various mobile devices, it's a struggle to find that same look and feel of high-end flash photography without going to my DSLR and speedlights. Enter a new addition to the world of mobile photography with Lume Cube.

Eizo monitors are known by many as being among the top of the line monitors, that come with a premium price tag. With the announcement of the ColorEdge CG318-4K, Eizo is hoping to raise the bar even further, pushing out 4K resolutions in a 31.1" screen with built in self color calibration systems, and perhaps most importantly, 99% coverage of the AdobeRGB color spectrum. 

Smooth video is critical for a professional touch on any video shoot. Currently, there are a number of stabilization options from traditional and expensive Steadicam systems to simple weight-balanced gimbal-based rigs like the Steadicam Merlin.

Over the past couple of decades, technology has changed every aspect of modern life both at work and at play. We now live in a digital era dominated by high-end digital cameras, mobile phones, smart tablets and even intelligent watches.

The photography megastore B&H has purchased 50 FlashDiscs from us as a "test run" and they just went on sale minutes ago. B&H will ship anywhere in the world (if you are wiling to pay the shipping costs) but shipping to Canada is particularly reasonable. Jump on this before they sell out in a few hours.  

6 months ago Dylan Patrick flew to Charleston SC for a week to film our latest tutorial; The Cinematic Headshot. As always, editing this 6 hour tutorial was much more difficult than we expect but I'm excited to announce that it is finally available. 

After two months of waiting, Sony a7 owners can finally round out the "holy trinity" of pro-zooms with the 16-35 f/4.0. The lens is now available in limited quantities from B&H.

There are many cine-arms on the market and there's one more on its way. On November 3rd the Infinity Arm, a Kickstarter project, reached its goal of $50,000 with just under 200 backers. Of all the arms out there, none boast the heavy lifting capability like the Infinity Arm. This little product is said to support over 10 lbs.

Known for their well-built camera backpacks that cater to photographers and videographers who take their kit on outdoor adventures, F-Stop Gear is unveiling the "Shinn," a backpack that has an impressive 80 liter capacity.

It's no secret that I, personally, have some mixed feelings about the Nikon Df. I've written a brief opinion piece here describing my frustration at the Df winning a Red Dot design award, had conversations with many pro photographers on either side of the debate (Fer Juaristi rocks a pair of Df cameras), and even debated on adding one of them to my bag.

Just when you thought the basic 5-in-1 reflector couldn't get any better, Westcott has announced their new 10-in-1 Omega Reflector. The unique design of the Omega allows you to use it like a ring light, a gobo and a flag rather than just your boring old traditional reflector. At 38 x 45 inches, the Omega offers your typical black, white, silver, gold and 1-stop diffusion surfaces.

The Syrp Genie is a great, though imperfect, timelapse machine that has recently added another trick to its arsenal: repeatable motion.

FroKnowsPhoto's own Jared Polin recently got his hands on the previously unannounced DJI Inspire 1 to get some test flights in with DJI's upcoming new drone. The new system shows off 4K video, larger, more powerful carbon fiber body, and an affordable $3K price tag. Fro was able to get an inside look at this new drone system, and pull some footage from his test flight. 

Announced through Digital Transitions, is the new A series from Phase One. The A series is a line of medium format camera systems, with the power of mirrorless technology. This new system combines the power of Rodenstock optics, and ALPA bodies, making the first digital medium format camera system without the use of a mirror and in a much smaller package. 

UPDATE: They are sold out. The Fstoppers FlashDisc has become the number 1 selling flash modifier on Amazon US. We are working as quickly as we can to get the FlashDisc in other countries but it's a slow process. We are currently running a test with 50 units in Europe and they are available for purchase right now.  

We've seen them at every company event...the dreaded photo booth!

When he's not sitting in southern California traffic, San Diego editorial photographer, Rob Andrew, spends his days freelancing from one gig to another with all his gear in tow. In order to stay nimble, Rob has developed a style of shooting creative food photography with a surprisingly minimal amount of gear.

The guys at Photo Rumors tested the new Canon EOS 7D Mark II and the DxOMark results are a bit haunting for Canon users. In the comparison charts below they found the highly anticipated Canon EOS 7D Mark II tests similar to the five year old Nikon 300s.

Taking portraits at wide apertures and consistently nailing focus is is not an easy task. In fact, it’s a skill that must be practiced in order to master it. However, an aspect not often discussed in regards to capturing sharp images has nothing to do with the lens used or the f-stop. Here is the ultimate guide to capturing tack sharp images at wide apertures.  

At the most basic level, photographers seem to be in two camps when it comes to image file types. There are those who care about the look of their images and shoot with big RAW files and those who don’t and use the smaller JPEG files.

Filmmaker Michael Tapp recently hit me up to share his latest experience with the people you typically find in New York City's Times Square and the Sony A7s.

If you've played a few shooter video games in the last two decades, chances are you've seen at least one with a point of view that is looking from the top-down. The team over at Corridor Digital wanted to recreate this style in a video short (which also meant doing it all in a single take!) so they partnered with DJI to make it happen.

Atomos, known for their field recorders, has recently announced a new portable power solution. The Power Station, as it is called, has the ability to power up to 3 devices simultaneously and features hot swapping. The device is powered by Sony L-series batteries, but adapters for Canon LP-6 and Nikon EN-EL15 battieries will be available. 

Owners of Sony Alpha and NEX camera bodies have long been complaining about the rotational barrel wobble experienced with mounted lenses. Entering what is quite a unique product space, Fotodiox recently released the Tough E-Mount that replaces the original body mount of these cameras.

At the end of any speaking engagement I'm involved in, I usually offer a bit of advice which includes "Don't go into debt over this".  If you're just starting out, trying to make a go at a career in photography, you need to focus on learning the craft, mastering your equipment, and trying to build your business to a point where you have a steady and somewhat consistent income.

It's that time of year! No, not Halloween...It's Photography Trade Show & Convention Season! There are many expo's though out the year, but the two biggest would have to be Emerald Expo's Wedding & Portrait Photography International (WPPI) in Feb/March, and PhotoPlus Expo (PPE) in October. The latter starting today!

LG Electronics has launched its new Digital Cinema 4K Monitor in the US, a professional-grade desktop display that delivers the intense detail and color accuracy for the photo, video and graphic design markets. The monitor is strikingly affordable, as the 31-inch screen is set to sell for $1399. 

Announced this morning, preceding PhotoPlus Expo, is the brand new Epson SureColor P600. Kicking off the new SureColor P line, the P600 uses Epson's UltraChrome HD Ink to deliver high quality and affordable prints from your home.

CineStill released another motion picture film stock to the still photography world today, an ISO 50 film with a daylight white balance. 

Las Vegas based commercial photographer Michael Herb recently got his hands on Westcott's 59 inch Zeppelin  to test out on location in the Nevada desert. The photoshoot featured three models in an apocalyptic theme at a salt lake bed. In the behind the scenes video he shows just how difficult it can be to put together the Zeppelin on the separately purchased speedring.

This week I wanted to  share a few of the tools we commercial photographers use to create our tabletop images. Particularly the items used in photographing beverages. There's a lot of trial and error when it comes to this sort of photography, often times we find ourselves using things in ways far from their originally intended purpose.