Recent Gear Articles

The New Fuji Your DSLR Will Love To Hate

The new Fuji XT1 is Fuji’s best designed, highest performing X Series camera yet. It's the young buck on the block, a DSLR-styled body that’s turning heads left and right. It’s tiny, packs a huge punch and there is no doubt in my mind that it will be delivering a TKO to more than a few DSLRs. But is it really that good? I pushed this thing hard for a solid month to bring you the review, read on to find out.

Seagate's Backup Plus Fast Is a Pleasant Surprise After All

Fellow writer Jaron Schneider earlier reviewed Western Digital's My Passport Pro Thunderbolt hard drive. However, this was an answer (if already planned) to Seagate's Backup Plus Fast 4TB drive. What's the big deal...? Both drives combine two, RAIDed 2.5" mobile hard drives into a single enclosure to allow for the best possible dollar/performance ratio when it comes to mobile drives.

Side-by-Side Video Bitrate Comparison on Nikon D800 with NikonHacker Firmware

After yesterday's post, Lars Steenhoff sent us an updated, side-by-side comparison of video bitrates on the Nikon D800 at 3200 ISO with NikonHacker's new firmware. Steenhoff comments that the 64Mbps file has more noise as a result of less compression, but cleans up easily in a final file output that is cleaner with just a little noise reduction. For those interested, he has also made the original 64Mbps and 24Mpbs files downloadable on Dropbox, too.

Michael Ash Smith Photographs an Entire Wedding on Instant Film

Michael Ash Smith is a commercial wedding, portrait, and lifestyle photographer based out of Barto, PA. As a hybrid photographer, much of Michael's work is done on 35mm and medium format film with some instant film here and there for special occasions. He recently shared images from a wedding he shot over on the Junebug Weddings blog. The difference? Everything he shot that day was with instant film.

Lytro Finally Introduces a Camera That Creative Professionals Will Want

The Lytro field camera was cute, but completely impractical for anyone who really wanted to take professional imagery. It was a weird rectangle that just never felt like anything more than a toy. Today Lytro intends to change that with the release of their professionally-focused Light Field Camera Illum. It comes with a 30mm-250mm lens equivalent with a constant f/2.0 aperture and will ship starting July 2014 for $1,599.

Despite Form Without Much Function, Nikon Df Wins Red Dot Design Award

Today, NikonRumors published a brief story about Nikon's winnings in the 2014 Red Dot awards. Every year the fellows at Red Dot in Essen, Germany select products in various fields with outstanding design. In the past, Nikon has been awarded Red Dots for their D4, 1-series mirrorless system, and various coolpix cameras. This year Nikon took home three Red Dots for their ACULON T51 binoculars, D5300 APS-C DSLR and, surprisingly, the Df.

Amazon Customer Seems Awfully Excited for the Sigma 50mm

As much as I love to use Amazon for buying products, this had me scratching my head. Amazon user Keith Fuller posted his 5 star review on the Sigma 50mm F1.4 DG HSM Art Lens that hasn't been released. Oh, and he even pointed out that he does not own the lens. He hasn't even tried it out. NICE!

Nikon D800 Video Bitrate Comparisons with NikonHacker Firmware

To date, Nikon users haven't enjoyed the benefits of Magic Lantern hacks appreciated by many Canon shooters. However, this is slowly changing as NikonHacker has added firmware hacks for a variety of Nikon DSLRs. Using recent NikonHacker updates, Lars Steenhoff has shared his own 54Mbps sample, albeit without comparisons for the moment. NikonHacker user, LPowell, however, has shared a series bitrate comparison videos with the Nikon D800.

Excellent MoVI Tutorial Explains What It Is, What It Isn't & Best Uses

It's pretty easy to get caught up in the MoVI hype- it's an outstanding achievement in camera stabilization technology. Magnanimous Media, a large video rental house in Chicago, took some time to explain what the MoVI is really good at, while also tempering expectations on what it can do and what a traditional steady cam would better for.

Zeiss Otus 85mm f/1.4 to be Announced at Photokina

According to Canon Rumors, the next addition to the Zeiss Otus line of high performance, manual primes is going to be an 85mm. The 85mm Otus will be like the 55mm in that no corners will have been cut in optical design and build. As of yesterday, the Otus 55mm is still the king of all 50-ish-mm lenses according to DxO (even the Sigma).

Zeiss Otus Bests Sigma 50mm Art, but What Has the Best Value?

Though no one at Sigma has ever told me they were gunning to best the Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus when they released the 50mm f/1.4 Art, it's been pretty widely accepted that was their goal (since crushing Nikon and Canon glass doesn't seem to be a challenge lately). But recent DxO tests show Sigma fell short of this. But it's pretty easy to see it's still the best 50mm on the market.

Debao SU800 Flash Commander Review

Nikon has not updated their master commander (SU800) for their CLS system for 9 years. Lucky for us, a Chinese company has made a knock off that is cheaper, has a ton more power and takes AA batteries. For Nikon users looking for a way to remotely control the power of your speed-lights or just have a decent backup, this might be the remote trigger for you. (They also make a Canon version that I did not review.)

The WD My Passport Pro Thunderbolt HDD is Beastly in Weight & Performance

WD, of the Western Digital Company, released what I thought to be an outstanding addition to their line: a thunderbolt-powered dual hard drive that promised speeds of up to 233 MB/s. No additional cables, small, user-selectable RAID and fast? The My Passport Pro looked like it could easily be the road-version of my Lacie d2. But it's more than that. It replaced my Lacie.

Contact Lenses with Micro Cameras Patented by Google

Google's new patent, contact lenses with built-in micro cameras, is definitely a technological breakthrough (if it can be brought to fruition). However, it can also be seen as pretty scary. I'm all for innovation, and am by no means a luddite. However, I do enjoy what privacy I have. Google Glass is already pushing the envelope... but a camera hidden in a contact lens?

The Pentax 645Z is Official, Featuring 4K, a 51.4 MP CMOS Sensor & 3 FPS Shooting

We saw specs for the Pentax 645Z leaked a couple days ago, but now we can compare them to the official announcement made by Pentax. The 645Z is a medium format monster of a camera featuring a 51.4 megapixel sensor, 3 frames per second shooting, full HD video at 60i/30P frame rate and internal 4K resolution recording (3840 x 2160 pixels; in Motion JPEG or AVI video format).

Cinematic Industrial Video Shows How Kessler Products Are Made

Cinescapes Collective is a Saskatchewan, Canada based production group that has been putting together unique documentary content that has a dramatic and cinematic aesthetic. Their most recent short tells the story of Kessler, the creators of popular video production gear like sliders, cranes, and now motion control products.

First Look: Panasonic GH4 at 96 Frames per Second

EOSHD shared this video shot with a pre-production Panasonic GH4 (now available for preorder) at 96 FPS. In our previous posts about the newly announced GH4 we've been pretty excited about a 4K video camera system with a sub-$2,000 price-tag. This camera is poised to give the more expensive systems a real run for their money and with features such as 96 FPS recording there's even more reason to consider adding this to your bag.

Pentax 645z Specs Leaked

According to PhotoRumors, the Pentax 645z medium format digital camera is coming April 14th and will be absolutely loaded. The replacement to the 645d will feature a 52.99Mp CMOS sensor like the new offerings from PhaseOne and Hasselblad, shoot ISO 100-204,800, and shoot full HD video and 4K in "interval mode". In addition, the 645z is rumored to not have an AA filter (like the D800E, D7100) for better sharpness, live view with contrast AF and focus peaking, and a new 27-point (25 cross type) AF system.

Review: Using the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 in a Lifestyle Shoot

As a working photographer, my gear is obviously very important to me. My most-used lenses, Canon’s 35L and 50L, are both long time favorites and are glued to my camera almost 24/7. For many reasons, I’ve been a fan of Canon’s prime lenses for a number of years, taking both the good, the bad, and the price tag that they each have to offer. When something new like the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 comes up I, like most of us, give it a quick once-over and then head back to the comfort of our expensive name brand gear.

Astonishing Sony A7s Low Light Video Demo

The Sony A7s is making a lot of buzz on the internet right now for its insane ability to push ISO high and basically see in the dark! Sony released a demo video on the Youtube channel SonyHowTo for us all to watch. To be honest, the results are impressive.

LifePrint Makes and Shares Photo Prints

LifePrint is a Kickstarter project looking to change the way people share their images. The device prints instant, Polaroid-esque, photos off iOS and Android devices through their proprietary app. While the printer technology is interesting in itself, there's something about this project that could really change the way we share photos.

Sigma Shocks Us with New 50mm f/1.4 Priced Far Below Expectations

If you had to guess, you probably would have guessed $1200 for the upcoming and highly anticipated Sigma 50mm f/1.4. It's the most common guess I've heard. It's a good guess, and one that takes into consideration the quality that Sigma has been putting out recently and the pricing of competitors. But it would be a wrong guess. That's right, Sigma has decided to keep the lens in the sub-$1000 price range at only $949.

Lomography Announces New Russar+ 20mm Lens

Lomography, the company behind the reinvention of the Petzval lens, announced a new Russar+ optic this week. The Russar+ is a 20mm f/5.6 - f/22 M mount lens that is based upon the 1958 Russar and is compatible with M mount analogue and L39 digital cameras.

Nikon Announces New AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G ED VR Lens

For only $896.95, you can pre-order the new Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G ED VR Lens from B&H today! With an estimated ship date of April 24, you could be shooting with some new gear in no time. The details listed for this lens make it off to be quite nice and perfect for anyone looking for a not-too-cheap and not-too-expensive do-a-lot lens for their bag.

Dropbox Introduces Carousel, A New Mobile Gallery

Dropbox posted today on their blog about a new mobile gallery they are releasing called Carousel. The gallery will be for displaying photos and videos from your life and they are claiming it is "unlike other mobile galleries." The size of your Carousel isn't constrained by the space of your phone, so no more worrying about losing your life's memories as they will always be in one place.

Lensbaby Unveils a New 5.8mm f/3.5 Circular Fisheye Lens

You heard right! Lensbaby announced the official release of their new 5.8mm f/3.5 Circular Fisheye Lens early this morning. It is currently available for pre-order for only $299.95 on B&H right now and the sample photos and details listed are definitely something that might make you consider adding this to your bag.

B&H Deal: SanDisk 64GB SDXC Extreme Class 10 UHS-1 Memory Card

B&H is currently running a pretty nice deal on their SanDisk 64GB SDXC Extreme Class 10 UHS-1 Memory Card's. They are regularly priced at $69.95 but are now marked down to $49.95! For anyone who has a camera that only shoots to SD (like myself), this deal is perfect. Grab some while the deal lasts.

ProMediaGear Takes Their Dual Curved/Straight Slider to Kickstarter

Earlier this year at WPPI, ProMediaGear showed us something we thought was really awesome: a slider that easily flips between curved and straight. It's a really simple idea that no one had ever thought of: why can't the two types coexist? Now ProMediaGear wants to get their slider to market faster through crowd-funding on Kickstarter.

Blackmagic Announces a Broadcast Camera with a Massive Viewfinder: Studio Camera

Apparently Blackmagic has been busy this past year, as not only have we seen the URSA at NAB, but also they just announced the Studio Camera. Inside its magnesium alloy body you get a massive 10” viewfinder, 4 hour battery, talkback, tally indicators, phantom powered microphone connections and built in optical fiber and SDI connections that let you connect to your switcher with a single cable.