Recent Gear Articles

I Shot an Entire Wedding on a Cell Phone, the Sony Xperia Pro-I

Using a phone to shoot professional work isn't new, but most instances involve situations where the photographer has almost full control. But how would a phone stand up to the same test if the photographer had little to no control over the lighting and environment?

Who Makes the Best 135mm Lens?

Wide-aperture 85mm lenses are the classic choice for portrait photography, but, of course, they are not the only focal length you can use. 135mm lenses have long been a popular alternative choice, and several companies make impressive options. This great video review compares the Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM, Samyang AF 135mm f/1.8 FE, and Sigma 135mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art lenses.

A Review of the Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 G OSS Lens

70-200mm f/2.8 lenses are highly popular workhorses, suitable for a huge range of genres and applications. That being said, they are both expensive and rather bulky. If you do not need that extra aperture to stop, but still want the versatility of that focal length range, a 70-200mm f/4 can save you both bulk and money. This excellent video review takes a look at Sony's option, the FE 70-200mm f/4 G OSS.

My New Filming Set Behind the Scenes

For the last couple of months, Patrick and I have been moving into our new homes in Puerto Rico and building out personal studios in each. Let me show you what I've built.

7 Helpful Tips to Improve Your Landscape Photography

Creating a successful landscape photo takes creative vision, solid technique, and often, a bit of luck. If you would like to improve your landscape images, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you seven helpful tips sure to help you improve your photography.

My Go-to Gear for Nighttime Landscape Photography

Shooting landscapes at night often calls for gear that isn’t entirely essential for shooting during the day. Here are some suggestions for shooting single images, as well as star trails and time-lapse photography.

We Review the Moment Mobile Filmmaker Cage

I have a cage for my iPhone. But I thought about how I could it to rather use MagSafe instead of clamping it in each time I wanted to shoot a video. And now Moment has released the perfect MagSafe-equipped Mobile Filmmaker Cage. They’ve sent one over for me to test, and here are the results.

Canon Is Finally Bringing Out a Premium 35mm Prime Lens Soon

Once they got serious about mirrorless cameras and lenses, Canon wasted little time expanding the RF mount's offerings, but one standard lens that is still missing is a fast, premium 35mm prime. No doubt, that lens is coming eventually, and it looks like we can expect it later this year.

A Review of the Voigtlander APO-LANTHAR 50mm f/2 Aspherical Lens

Voigtlander is known for making rugged lenses with good image quality, and the Voigtlander APO-LANTHAR 50mm f/2 Aspherical is no exception to that rule. This great video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in usage.

A Review of the Fujifilm XF 23mm f/1.4 R LM WR Lens

Wide-aperture 35mm lenses are some of the most popular out there, at home in a quite varied range of applications, including portraiture, weddings, astrophotography, traveling, and a lot more. For Fuji shooters, there is the XF 23mm f/1.4 R LM WR lens, and this awesome video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

Can This Affordable, Long Zoom Lens Keep Up With More Expensive Options?

100-400mm zoom lenses are some of the most popular out there, offering a highly versatile focal length range suitable for just about everything from wildlife photography to sports and more. There are many versions of such lenses at a wide range of prices, with the Canon RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM sitting at the budget end of things, and this excellent video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in real-world usage.

Do You Need the M1 Ultra Chip in Your Mac Studio?

The Mac Studio is powerful — ridiculously so. It comes in two flavors, the M1 Max and M1 Ultra, and you might be wondering which version is right for your needs. This great video review discusses both and weighs their performance and cost to help you decide.

What Gear Do You Actually Need for Landscape Photography?

When it comes to photography gear, what do you actually need to get the image and what is probably a waste of time buying? That can be a tough question to answer, or is it? With the photography market pushing everything at you from all corners, it all depends on what you are hoping to achieve with your landscape photography.

Wotancraft Releases WWII Military-Inspired SCOUT Bag

Wontancraft has announced their new Scout camera bag. Known for combining old-school craftsmanship and modern-day functionality, their World War II 50s-style bag is designed for just that. The newest bag in their line boasts an accordion-style opening, YKK waterproof zippers, and water-repellent Cordura fabric. The main compartment is compatible with Wotancraft pocket modules for organizing your gear.

A Review of the OM SYSTEM M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/4 PRO Lens

One of the best parts of the Micro Four Thirds system is the wide selection of sharp but quite portable lenses, and if you do not need a particularly wide aperture, the OM SYSTEM M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/4 PRO is especially compact and light while also not breaking the bank. This excellent video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

Have Tripods Become Obsolete?

Modern cameras support fantastic image stabilization, and ISO noise is not a problem anymore. We can shoot freehand in dusk conditions and get stunning, sharp photos. So, have tripods become obsolete?

A Review of the Versatile Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD Lens

Tamron has established itself as a manufacturer of superbly practical and affordable lenses in the last few years, but they have also started to push the boundaries of lens design to create some impressively extreme lenses. One such lens is the 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD, and this excellent video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

Why You Should Consider a Superzoom Lens for Landscape Photography

Superzoom lenses are often overlooked because their extreme focal length ranges mean inherent compromises in image quality, but in recent years, we have seen some impressive advances that make them viable options for a lot of work. This excellent video features an experienced landscape photographer making a case for using a superzoom lens for landscape work.

A Review of the New Samyang AF 135mm f/1.8 FE Lens

Samyang has long been recognized for creating affordable and sharp manual focus lenses, but in recent years, they have expanded into autofocus options, vastly increasing the versatility of their offerings while maintaining budget prices. One such lens is the AF 135mm f/1.8 FE, and this excellent video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

Shooting Portraits With an Insane 400mm f/2.8 Lens

Traditionally, portraits are shot with focal lengths between 50mm and 135mm, though there is no reason you can't use a longer focal length. Nonetheless, 400mm f/2.8 lenses are traditionally reserved for professional sports and wildlife photographers who need a lot of reach and the ability to capture as much light as possible. With super-sharp results and a narrow depth of field, they seem like a great (if somewhat impractical) option for portraits, and this fun video shows you what you can expect.

The Bokeh Monster: A Review of the Sony 135mm f/1.8 Lens

While the 85mm focal length is the classic choice for portrait photography, 135mm is a popular alternative, and there are some real gem lenses to be found there. One such option is the Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM, and this great video review takes a look at the lens and the impressive performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

Who Makes the Best 50mm Lens, Canon or Sony?

Perhaps no lens has a wider price range than the 50mm, which can cost anywhere from under $100 to well over $2,000 depending on the sort of performance and image quality you are after. Two options at the top end are the Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM and Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM, and this great video review takes a look at both and which edges out the other.

Eight Camera Settings You Can Ignore if You Are Shooting Raw

Modern cameras offer a wide variety of settings to change the behavior and customize to your own preferences. There are also a lot of basic settings you choose once and forget about it. Did you know there are settings you can ignore completely? I found eight of those.

A Review of the New Irix 21mm f/1.4 Dragonfly Lens

Irix is known mostly for making manual focus wide angle lenses with rugged build quality and nice image quality, and the new 21mm f/1.4 Dragonfly lens seeks to continue that trend. The lens comes in Canon, Nikon, and Pentax DSLR mounts (and can be easily adapted to mirrorless), and this fantastic video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

Is This Strange Sigma Lens Worth a Look?

Sigma makes some pretty standard lenses, but they also create some more unique and less heard-of designs that can be the sort of creative shot in the arm that excites a lot of photographers. The 65mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary, which sits in a strange middle ground between 50mm and 85mm, is one such lens, and this great video review takes a look at the sort of image quality and performance you can expect from it in practice.

Aputure Is Winning the Flexible LED Market

Aputure’s new flexible LED panels may be the best in class. Intellytech and Westcott will have some serious competition. How do they all stack up?

Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo Vs Instax Mini LiPlay: Side by Side Image Comparison

Fujifilm Instax cameras are now the most popular instant cameras on the market. From these instant cameras, the Instax mini series holds the largest portion of the market. And the latest Instax mini camera is the Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo. With its retro camera-like design, how does this new Instax camera compare against the previous Instax Mini LiPlay?

Nikon Z9 Firmware Update Makes It Even More Incredible

The Nikon Z-series has a highly impressive firmware update coming, particularly for the Z9. Version 2.0 turns Z9 into a videography and sports photography titan, and if you have any interest in using it for either of those (or a great many other uses), you're going to want to check this out.

Is That Expensive Prime Lens Really the Best Choice for Portraits?

Wide-aperture 85mm prime lenses are the classic choice for portrait photography, but that does not mean they are right for everyone. This excellent video comparison takes a look at two options, the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 L USM and the RF 70-200mm f/4 L IS USM, to help you choose the right one for your work.

Why the New Platypod Is an eXtreme Improvement in Their Lineup

Ok — let’s start with a disclaimer: I’m a fan of Platypod (both the company itself and the products individually). The most compelling photographs show us the world in a way we’re not used to seeing, which is where the Platypod excels.

What It Is Like to Photograph a Wedding in the Rain

I estimate over 90% of my shots are taken indoors, so I don’t give much thought to how my cameras would perform in a rainstorm. I’m in the minority with my lack of concern in this area, apparently, because I frequently see photographers voice their concerns when a new camera is announced that does not have weather-sealing.

Why Is This My Favorite Photography Purchase Ever?

Gear isn't always about megapixels, dynamic range, or pixel-peeping. This piece of gear has changed nothing about the quality of my photos, but it might be my favorite purchase ever.

Photo and Video Aren’t the Same: Here’s Why

I came into photography after being a newspaper videographer for several years. I thought that my video skills would transfer cleanly into photography, and while in some ways that were the case, in more ways, it was not. Here's a video that breaks down exactly why that is.

10 of the Weirdest Digital Cameras Ever Made

The form of the digital cameras has become relatively standardized. There are certainly variations from manufacturer to manufacturer, but the basic design is generally stable across companies. That was not always the case, however, particularly in the early days of digital. This neat video takes a look at 10 of the weirdest digital cameras ever made and just what made them so unique.

My Perfect Camera Carrying SystemWith QD

With every camera comes a nice strap, often mentioning the name of the brand. Although the strap works nicely, there are much better solutions. In the last decade, I have found a solution that suits my own needs. Since I often get questions about it, I decided to write an article about it.

A Look at an Interesting and Unique Lens From Sony

Once you get wider than 20mm, you generally do not encounter apertures wider than f/2.0, save for a few rare circumstances. One such option is the Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM, which positions itself as a fantastic creative tool for a wide variety of uses, and this excellent video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

5 Things Camera Companies Won't Tell You

The camera industry is quite the well-oiled PR machine, with short update cycles that get photographers drooling over new gear every few months and a lot of hype drummed up over the latest and greatest camera or lens — some deserved and some not so much. This great video essay discusses five things camera companies will not tell you, and it is well worth giving it a listen.

Which Nikon Z Midrange Zoom Is Right for You?

With the release of the Nikon NIKKOR Z 28-75mm f/2.8, I thought it would be a good time to take a look at the current list of options for photographers of all types.

We Review the Sony 16-35mm G f/4 With Power Zoom

When I first heard of this Sony 16-35mm f/4 lens with power zoom, I looked at it as a gimmick feature. But after actually getting to use the lens, I think people are really going to love this lens.

A Look at the New Nikon NIKKOR Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S Lens

Nikon has really started to step it up in the professional mirrorless realm lately, and the new NIKKOR Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens is particularly emblematic of that, offering professional-level performance and image quality in an extremely portable design, all at a frankly insanely low price. This great video takes a first look at the new lens and what you can expect from it in real-world usage.

Rhino Dolly Brings Slider Shots to Big Productions

Kyle Hart has been making photo/video products we love for over a decade now. We love our Rhino Slider, but it's never been big enough for long dolly moves. The Rhino Dolly is here to change that.