RØDE makes some of my favorite audio equipment across the range of prices. Today at IBC they announced something they seem really proud of: the Stereo VideoMic X, an on-camera microphone that excels at capturing amazing audio in short ranges, making it ideal for foley and ambient scene-setting audio in productions.
Sigma has announced several new pieces of gear in preparation for Photokina this coming week. Firstly, they have announced the availability of two different versions of the150-600mm f/5-6.3, one a Sport line lens and the other a Contemporary line member. They also announced the 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 lens, also a member of the Contemporary line. Finally they announced the first global vision accessories: teleconverters and filters.
Sigma is adding to their dp Quattro line with the dp1, a 19mm f/2.9 fixed lens (28mm equivalent to full frame). To those fans of the system, this now completes two of the three cameras in the lineup with the last one surely not far behind.
Nikon has announced the latest member of their full frame camera family, the D750. The camera is an advancement specifically for Nikon in the video realm, as the new camera's 24.3 megapixel sensor captures full HD video at 60p, a feature that is becoming a necessary standard for any modern video camera. Nikon also announced a new super-fast wide angle lens, the 20mm f/1.8 EG, and a hybrid video speedlight featuring an LED video light in addition to the traditional strobe.
This morning at IBC in Amsterdam, SanDisk announced the impending release of the highest capacity SD card in the world: the 512GB Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I card, 90 MB/s recording speed with 95 MB/s transfer speed. They also announced a faster CF memory card, with 128GB capacity with a write speed of up to 440MB/s and transfer speeds up to 515 MB/s. Dang.
I have used a lot of hard drives over my career and that includes what was to me, at the time, the rather excellent Lacie d2 Thunderbolt. It wasn't long, however, until other manufacturers came up with better options leading to the d2 feeling a bit underwhelming. That changes today with the announcement of the d2 Thunderbolt 2.
Legendary Swedish camera manufacturer Hasselblad announces a new medium format camera body, the H5X, this week in preparation for photokina. The newest addition is to utilize Hasselblad’s latest capture functionality, working seamlessly with current H System lenses. With a retail price of $5930.00 without viewfinder, $7469.00 viewfinder included, the H5X sits at a practical entry-level cost for new medium-format shooters or those seeking a backup for the H5D.
Throughout my career so far I have failed over and over again. Although it’s the successes that I'm remembered and known for, it’s the failures that are always the catalyst. At the end of the day, the key to success lies in failure. This improvisational beauty shoot was only a success because I set myself up to fail.
Following in the footsteps of the Hasselblad H5D-50c, PhaseOne IQ250, and Pentax 645z comes Mamiya's 50-megapixel CMOS solution, the Leaf Credo 50. Available with PhaseOne/Mamiya DF, Hasselblad H1/H2/H4X/500-series, and Contax 645 mounts, the Leaf Credo 50 opens Sony's latest medium format sensor to a greater range of systems still loved by many. But is it cheap?
The rumored Zeiss Otus 85mm f/1.4 is now a reality with its official announcement today. This uncompromising premium lens, available for both Canon and Nikon mounts, is the second offering in the Otus line-up following the well-received Zeiss 55mm. Carrying the price tag of $4,490, the Otus 85mm is a nod to professional photographers who require impeccable image quality and lens construction.
Great photographers need to be excellent problems solvers that can rig up anything. Getting lights into tight spots or building new sets in tight quarters are just a few examples of what a photographer is faced with on a daily basis. When you are running a team of people, working with clients on set, or doing a test shoot by yourself, you will always have a new idea or inspiration that challenges you to light something differently. The Master Clamp is the tool to help you rig it up and not look like a fool in the process.
The state of California is simply unmatched when it comes to beautiful, picturesque imagery in the United States. As the birthplace and home of timelapse photographer Hal Bergman, it was his goal to compile as much of the visual wonders California has to offer in to a tight four-minutes time. His newest video, aptly titled “California,” combines four years of filming in to a marvelous treat for the eyes that any citizen of the world can appreciate. Beyond the video, Hal also speaks to Fstoppers about the behind-the-scenes work and equipment used in the making.
Among the biggest complaints about the Sony α7 line is the lack of glass available for the new FE mount. So far they've done a good job producing two semi-fast standard primes (a 35mm f/2.0 and a 55mm f/1.8), and two slow-ish pro-zooms (a 24-70 f/4.0 and a 70-200 f/4.0). Yesterday, Sony Japan released a teaser image for a 16-35mm FE lens. The 16-35mm would round out the "Holy Trinity" of FE lenses, making the α7 line an even more appealing option to people who rely on those focal-lengths — though it would be nice to see them make some f/2.8 zooms, too.
Really, really good news out of Blackmagic today, as they just informed me that they have updated the firmware of the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K to allow for in-camera formatting of the SSD. So will this be coming to the Pocket Cinema Camera and the Cinema Camera? Yes, yes it will.
As a commercial photographer, I specialize in product, food, and architecture. One of the products we've been shooting a lot of lately is jewelry, specifically jewelry for catalog use. In my opinion, jewelry is one of the hardest things to photograph, and many photographers don't know where to start. Whenever we're tasked with photographing shiny, reflective, spherical objects, our studio sounds like a group of sailors on leave with all the profanity flying around (often times strung together to make complete sentences).
A lot of my work is on the road, which is why I spent a long time looking for the best mobile storage options before eventually landing on the WD My Passport Pro and the LaCie Rugged SSD. But when I'm not on the road, I'm at my desk editing a wide range of video. It's here that I realized I needed not only a reliable backup, but also a powerful and fast working drive to burn through edits. What I found was the G-Speed Studio, and I love it.
I live in constant fear of either accidently formatting a card or having data corruption of information before I get back to my main workstation. Because of this somewhat totally rational fear, I tend to back up cards on location during or right after shoots. To fill this remote backup need, I tested the LaCie Rugged 500GB SSD which offers USB 3 and Thunderbolt 2 speeds in a tiny package.
With the rise of smartphones and lack of expandable storage locally, many manufactors have been creating storage solutions with options to access over a wireless network connection. While this isn't anything new, it appears as Western Digital is releasing a one-step solution for photographers needing to backup SD cards on location.
Case Logic has been making bags, tablet sleeves and accessory holders for quite some time, but this was my first time reviewing, and using, a dedicated camera bag from the company. The Luminosity DSLR Split Backpack is a hearty, sturdy bag with a few neat compartments and a unique design that is aimed toward either the professional photographer or pro-sumer who needs to protect their gear while on the go. When considering this bag, know that protection was at the forefront.
A new line of manual-focus lenses, designated with the Loxia title, have been announced by Zeiss. The initial compact lenses to be released later this year, a 50mm f/2 and a 35mm f/2, are crafted specifically for Sony’s E-mount full-frame α7 cameras. Christophe Casenave, product manager at Zeiss, says there is “growing desire for a digital manual-focus experience” on Sony Alpha 7/7R/7S cameras and that the Loxia line is “ready to exceed those expectations.”
You may remember back in June when Austin Rogers posted the press release about the upcoming Cambo Actus, a view camera designed to work with mirrorless cameras. Well, it's finally here and the gang over at Capture Integration have put it through it's paces.
Pictured above are the two lenses currently available from Moment that I stumbled across while browsing Kickstarter and immediately knew I had to have. The 60mm Tele and 18mm Wide are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, while maintaining the sturdiness and incredible optics of products ten times their size. The following are my first impressions after they landed on my porch.
Though we have no confirmations that the price drops are permenant, we can probably assume them to last a long time if not forever. Canon has cut prices from $1000 on the higher-end lenses to $50 on the more affordable glass across their product line. In all, there are 26 lenses discounted as of today.
If music and EDM photography is your dream job, this next interview is just for you. The fourth session in the Fstoppers series over at the TogTools Podcast is finally up, and it's a very unique and interesting one. This week's guest is Fstoppers Staff Writer Rebecca Britt who is an amazing commercial and EDM photographer based in Texas. Aside from being with Fstoppers for a very long time, Rebecca is also a team member at Retouching Academy and runs the largest collective of EDM photographers on social media. In this interview, Rebecca shares her own story and gives a lot of useful tips on how to be a successful music/commercial photographer.
Olympus announced the successor to the successful micro four thirds E-PL5, creatively named the E-PL7. It has a few new features that MFT photographers will like, but the flip down screen will be getting most of the attention. Olympus designed the screen with optimal selfie composition in mind. The styling of the camera screams "vintage modern," the oxymoron of choice for many camera makers in that market.
With a saturated market for photographers, there are so many pitfalls a photographer can plunge into that can prevent them from being successful. Taking a step back to analyzing yourself and your business can be the first step to improve and guarantee chances of success for the future. Here are a number of things to look out for, these things can be what is preventing you from reaching your potential.
Fujifilm announced the replacement for the X20, today -- the X30. While the camera still features a 12-megapixel 2/3" CMOS X-Trans sensor combined with the EXR Processor II, the X30 almost doubles battery life, continues the X20's quest for snappier performance, features numerous refinements to the controls and body as a whole, and offers full 1080p video recording at 60fps.
As much as I like to rely on Tamron VC for moving video shots, it only make the footage less shakey and doesn't make the footage more fluid. This is where camera stabilizers like the Steadicam and the Glidecam have come in, but both options tend to be extremely heavy and take a long time to properly calibrate. There have been a few new innovations in camera stabilization, the latest of which is the Casper Mini which solves both the aforementioned problems and works ideally with smaller cameras, what I think are the future of filmmaking.
One of the most overlooked, yet most used items in a photographer's arsenal, is the grip kit. A grip kit isn't something most photographers set out to buy, build, or assemble, it's generally born from necessity. Over the years we find ourselves on jobs needing certain things that we don't have readily available and we end up improvising to get the job done. Usually we make a mental note of how we can be more prepared in the future, which often times leads to adding small "grip" items to our pack list. When we collect enough of these items, they typically make their way into some sort of crate, bag, or box also known as a grip kit.
It's that time! We have the third session in the Fstoppers series over at the TogTools Podcast ready for you all to enjoy - and it's a great one! This week's guest is Staff Writer Adam Ottke. Adam shoots fine art and travel photography, but he also serves as the Art Director for a small creative agency he started called Curate the World. In this week's podcast, Adam discusses his love for gear, how he got started in photography and as a writer for Fstoppers, how to hustle in this industry and why collaboration is important for creating strong artistic ideas.
