Photography Gear

The Nikon D800 is an impressive 36mp which puts in the same realm as SOME medium format cameras. The Camera Store decided to film a video comparing the D800 and the similarly equipped Hasselblad H4D which has a 40 megapixel sensor. The Hasselblad has the advantage of a much larger sensor and a better, sharper lens but the D800 censor is designed to shoot at higher ISOs.

Earlier this week we announced the upcoming Blackmagic Cinema Camera, an extremely well-priced 2.5K resolution high-definition video camera. Well, it didn't take long for this sucker to go up for sale, and now you can pre-order it at B&H Photo. At such a tempting price point, who here is going to grab one as soon as they can?  

The Nikon Vs Canon war rages on, this time Nikon fan boys will gain a little ammunition. As you may have heard, the 36mp sensor inside the Nikon D800 is the highest rated sensor of all time (a 95), beating even medium format cameras that cost over $50,000.00.

It seems that the good folks over at Engadet.com have managed to get their hands on the newly announced Canon Cinema 1D C at NAB in Las Vegas. For those not familiar with the camera, it's basically two Canon 1dx's in one. Ok maybe not, but it does record 4k video footage while maintaining a regular dslr camera body.

The 645 PRO app is designed with photographers in mind. With cell phones being used more and more for taking pictures, it's no wonder that this app is coming out for the iPhone. Aside from shooting raw, it has plenty of features that will grab your interest.  

The guys and Brain Farm has been featured on Fstoppers a few times now for their incredible video work and seemingly endless budgets. In this video, Brain Farm teams up with Schiebel to produce the most capable, video recording, radio controlled helicopter in the world. Check out the full post to see their demo reel. 

Due later tonight is an official announcement of Nikon's new D3200 DSLR. But Nikon Switzerland seems to have beaten the rest of the world to the punch. They published a wonderful PDF: a price list outlining Nikon's entire line-up -- including the D3200, a wireless transmitter, and new lens...  Via Nikonrumors.com

If you have ever used dual monitors, it's very difficult going back to using just one. I'm forced to use one tiny monitor on my laptop every time I travel and its always made working on the road a slow and painful task.

This week the Fstop Academy released some BTS footage and a short film shot with the new Sony NEX-FS700. On their site they also have a great write up as well as a complete video overview reviewing Sony's new 4k Super 35mm toy for the video boys. Enjoy!

If you've missed the news, NAB 2012 is going on right now. NAB is the big video show that gives professional broadcasting companies something to look forward to. To that point, there are budget options and other video announcements that are sure to peak the interests of budget shooters as well.

Canon has issued a product advisory for the 5D MkIII, admitting that the company's newest addition currently on shelves has some issues exposing correctly while the backlight is on. Canon is working on the issue, but has not yet stated anything specific about possible solutions...

Creating 3D images of interiors, with furniture, colors and textures is a time consuming process to say the least. But now Matterport, a device prototyped from an Xbox Kinect, uses twin lenses on a hand held unit to render a three dimensional space.

In this second installation, Chris Niccolls over at The Camera Store TV, compares the Canon 5D Mark III and Nikon D800, with photojournalist Mike Drew. Mike and Chris look at how these two cameras handle fast action in low light and how JPEG processing compares to the RAW files.

If you are not a seriously hardcore, professional editor then I doubt you will give the Eizo FDH3601 a second glance. With it's 4k display that supports a resolution of 4,096 x 2,160 pixels or the equivalent of four 1080p displays in a 36.4 inch frame, this monitor would be the perfect companion for Canon's 1D C, C500 or any high res shooter.

There is no doubt that Nikon and Canon are putting a lot of effort in creating better video features in their flagship DSLR cameras. One of the most talked about new features has been Nikon's clean, uncompressed 1080p output from the camera's HDMI connector.

Canon unloaded a ton of news this morning. Apart from specifically releasing specifications for the EOS 1D C (Cine) DSLR and the C500, they're also apparently working on a few other things, including four lenses and other 4K cameras -- the C300 was definitely just the beginning. Full specs and tons of photos after the jump!

EOSHD.com reports that Canon is working on both lower- and higher-end versions of the C300, the C100 and C500. While we're unsure about the C100, new rumors indicate that Canon could be ready to announce the C500 along with the previously rumored Cinema EOS 1D DSLR made specifically for video! And all this could happen before the weekend, when NAB 2012 is set to kick off.

You may remember R.J. Kern and Amanda Tipton from a shoot we featured on here before - well they're at it again and this one is pretty awesome too. Using the PhaseOne 645Df camera and the Capture Pilot w/Camera Control photo app they got some really cool images. They had the models lay flat on a white seamless background while they shot a typical wedding day in a 2D approach.

Ok, so the Lord of the Rings reference is a bit dramatic. But photographers ask this question of each other all the time: "What lens could you not go without?" Imagine that you had to pick one lens for your camera for the rest of your life. Which lens would that be? Could you be completely satisfied with an 85mm f/1.4, or would you grab the 70-200mm f/2.8? Decisions decisions... 

As many of you have probably already read, Sony Corp announced that it is cutting 10,000 jobs, which translates to 6% of its global workforce. Sony has been struggling with negative profits for four straight years, mainly due to its floundering television division. But what does this mean for Sony’s camera division?

I don't know if it really is the smallest camera in the world like makers Hammacher Schlemmer claim, but it's probably the smallest camera that looks like a camera! It's powerful 2 megapixel sensor can capture still images at 1600 x 1200 resolution and captures video at 30 fps at 640 x 480 resolution. It even has built-in autofocus!  

Hard drives are something we all need. But in an industry that advances (i.e. depreciates) so quickly and with increases in price due to flooding in Thailand, how can we be sure we're getting what's right for us? And how can we stay technologically flexible with upcoming releases when we have 'old' hard drives? Do I need Thunderbolt? Do I need more than two hard drives?

It seems a new issue has popped up for the Canon 5dmk3. Multiple people are reporting that there is a light leak through the top LCD panel that directly affects metering. The easiest way to detect this issue is to put the body cap on the camera body as well as cover the viewfinder. Then place the camera in "P" mode at ISO800 and press the LCD backlight button. 

For those of you that prefer real world testing to shooting test charts, you may be interested in seeing Mark Wallace's newest review. In this video Mark goes out and shoots the brand new Canon 5D Mark III. On paper the 5D3 may not look like much of an upgrade from the M2 but the focusing, metering, and ISO performance show huge improvements.

On the D3100, D5100, and D7000, Nikon placed a rather low video recording time limit for a single clip. Currently, it's somewhere in the area of ten or 20 minutes, depending on the model. However, Nikonhacker.com has come up with a crack that will extend this limit to a much more reasonable 25 to 30 minutes. Read after the jump for more info!  

Today, Tamron announced the availability of what they are calling "the new super performance full-frame zoom lens features class-leading resolution and Tamron’s proprietary VC (Vibration Compensation) image stabilization and USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive) , with resolution at the top of its class." It is available for pre order now from B&H Photo.  

For the photographer who likes to travel light, it has always been a challenge to find flash modifiers that are both effective and easy to use on the go. ExpoImaging has long been making accessories, but their recently released Rogue diffusion panels for their popular FlashBenders will be a welcome addition to any strobist’s kit. 

Photographer, Michael J Moore was granted access to a creepy and abandoned state mental hospital for this fashion shoot. He used a combination of lighting setups but mainly, the Phase One 645DF camera with a Profoto 8A 2400W and various Profoto strobes. With all three different lighting set ups, Michael did a great job at capturing that Vanity Fair-esque look that we all know so well.

As photographers, we are always in search of that new unique lighting modifier to add to our bag of tricks. I recently saw this video on Strobist where Amber Gray claims her Broncolor Para FB could actually reduce the amount of post production on her models.

The web is abuzz with comparison articles on which $3000 DSLR camera is the best bang for the buck. Kevin Good with CrisisLab recently did a side by side comparison of the Canon 5D Mark III and the Nikon D800 in several real world tests. His tests include Resolution, Rolling Shutter, High ISO Test, and Durability.

Fstoppers reader Jason Kolsch just put together a beautiful 2 minute promo video of the new Nikon D4. The D4 is shooting stills at an impressive 11 frames per second but the Phantom (the camera that this video was shot with) was shooting at 1000 frames per second. The beauty of gadgets in motion should bring a tear to any nerds eye.

We get asked to show our lighting for our Fstoppers Original interviews all the time but it seems like we always forget to shoot our lighting schemes. StillMotion just released a killer video that shows how they light interviews with key, fill, hair, and background lights.

The Canon 5D MkIII and the Nikon D800 are two of the hottest cameras on the market right now. In this video commercial photographer Nathan Elson joins up with The Camera Store's Chris Niccolls to see how these two cameras stack up in the image quality department. Enjoy!

Are you in the market for a new camera/laptop bag? Before you buy a common backpack, you may want to check out the One System by Undfind. The One System includes the One Bag (a messenger style bag) that can hold a laptop or tons of camera gear, and the smaller Waist Shooter that can hold a ton of useful camera accessories at your hip.  

In the age of cutting back and serving the mass consumer, seemingly little has been done to cater to smaller, more precisely defined markets. But Canon's new 60Da announced today marks an exception.

Perhaps no DSLR camera has caused such a stir as Nikon's new 36mp DSLR camera. Not only does it provide the most megapixels of any compact DSLR yet, but it also falls below the $3,000 mark!

Hot on the heels of NAB 2012, Sony's Europe website posted the NEX-FS700E Camcorder. The hitlist of features include a Super35mm CMOS Sensor, 4K RAW output with a future upgrade, up to 240fps @ 1080p, built-in ND filters, and 50/60Hz switching. Pricing is still unannounced, but EOSHD's sources tell them it will only be $8,000!

Pye Jirsa from SLRLounge.com recently sat down with Peter Hurley for an exclusive interview. Peter talks about his history as a photographer, his DVD, his favorite gear, business techniques, and PH2. Peter is a huge character and as always he makes the interview a pretty entertaining watch.

Via NikonRumors, this is something everyone should know about: a do-it-yourself $30 wifi kit for the Nikon D4! It really speaks for itself. Read on for the details. Who knows, maybe something similar could be done for the 1D X. I wouldn't be surprised at all...  This is what NikonRumors had to say:

Between great announcements, imagined concepts, and juicy rumors, there's never a dull time for gearheads. These last few weeks are no exception. In the full post, read of Zeiss' new 15mm lens, the only Leica you can bring to a white party, some w i d e Hasselblad rumors, and then some.  

New gadgets:

It's bound to happen. With new gear comes new bugs and Canon Rumors has already reported on the first two issues with Canon's 5D MarkIII.

Everyone knows that Rebates come and go. Right now however many companies have substantial rebates on some of their top gear. The bad news is apparently a lot of these rebates are coming to an end on April 1st (no joke here). We recently got a phone call from the guys at BH Photo, and I've combined all the major deals into one post.

Even though both Patrick and I purchased the Nikon D4 and D800 the day the preorder became available (and we are NPS members) the cameras still have not been shipped to us. Ironically B&H was kind enough to send us a 5DM3 for review and we should receive it by tomorrow.

Photographer Dave Hamilton takes us behind the scenes on his latest shoot with hockey legend, Trevor Linden. This video is very informative and well produced - including a lighting diagram for each of the different setups. Aiming to get that perfect cover shot for Vancouver View Magazine's April 2012 issue, Dave was able to get some nice shots using his Canon 5D Mark II.

TrekPak on KickStarter is one of the lastest funding projects aimed at photographers.