Gear Reviews

Wireless mics have come a long way in the last few years. In this post, we will look at four different systems, with a focus on the newest mics from Rode and DJI.  

Generally, as you move into supertelephoto focal lengths, lens prices start to increase simply because of the sheer amount of glass it takes to produce such extreme images. That's why, at $699, the Tokina SZ 900mm f/11 Pro Reflex MF CF is an intriguing option. Can it offer good performance and image quality despite that modest price? This excellent video review takes a look.  

The Google Pixel 7A smartphone strikes a nice balance between price and performance, making it an intriguing option for many Android users. This excellent video review takes a look at the phone and the sort of performance you can expect from it in usage.  

In the last few years, the increasing image quality and decreasing size of drones has made them a fantastic addition to landscape photographers' toolkits. The DJI Mavic 3 Classic strikes a nice balance of price and capabilities, making it an intriguing option.

The Fujifilm X-T5 mirrorless camera takes the company's beloved X Series design and form factor and adds a huge range of new features and upgrades, most notable being a new sensor with the highest level of resolution ever seen in the line. This excellent video review takes a deep look at the camera and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in usage. 

When it comes to traveling as a nature photographer, one trouble spot comes up: charging. I recently fell down the rabbit hole of portable power stations, and let me share with you the difference a good power station makes for the road-tripping photographer. 

Often, as a wildlife photography enthusiast, I would love to have more reach when out in the field. This excellent video features a brilliant young photographer who is looking for a big performance from this small portable device. 

Canon has released some awfully impressive mirrorless lenses, but with all that top-level performance often come high prices as well. That is why, at $349, the Canon RF-S 55-210mm f/5-7.1 IS STM is a breath of fresh air. How much performance and image quality can it offer at that low price? This excellent video review takes a look at everything you can expect.  

The Sigma 17mm f/4 DG DN Contemporary lens is so small that it barely reaches past the grip of the camera to which it is attached, making it an intriguing option for anyone looking for a highly portable wide angle lens. This great video review takes a look at the lens and if it can back up that portability with the performance and image quality professionals demand. 

After 27 years, Canon finally released a new 135mm lens. Instead of a new EF lens, it’s an RF lens, obviously. How does this expensive lens perform, and is it worth the upgrade if you’re still using the old but trustworthy EF version? 

Fujifilm's latest X Series sensor bumps its resolution to 40 megapixels, putting the company's APS-C sensors on par with many full frame options in terms of detail and even pushing toward medium format levels. Medium format still holds the image quality edge, but how significant is the difference? Will APS-C satisfy your needs?

With a 4K OLED panel, motorized built-in calibrator, and a range of other premium features, the ASUS ProArt PA32DC 4K OLED monitor is a top-of-the-line option that promises the sort of performance professionals demand. This excellent video review takes a look at the display and the performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice. 

Adobe recently rolled out one of its biggest Lightroom feature updates in quite some time: AI noise reduction. Promising to vastly out-perform the previous system, the new functionality has some stiff competition from many other options. How does it perform in practice? This great video overview takes a look at what you can expect.  

When they first came out, iPads were fun devices built for things like content consumption, but in recent years, they have evolved into some of the most powerful and versatile creative tools out there. Sitting at the top of the lineup is the iPad Pro M2, and this great video review takes a look at why it is so useful, particularly when paired with the latest Apple Pencil.  

Priced at just $679, the Canon EOS R50 is one of the most affordable mirrorless cameras on the market right now, though it still comes with a nice range of capable features. This great video review takes a look at the camera and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.  

Canon makes a range of mirrorless cameras that range from sub-$1,000 to well over $5,000. The EOS R7 and EOS R8 both sit at $1,500, making them an appealing pair of cameras that balance capabilities and cost. Which is right for you, though? This great video comparison takes a look at both to help you pick which is right for you. 

The Fujifilm X-H2 mirrorless camera took the highly respected X Series and added a high-resolution sensor for the first time ever, making it a desirable option for a wide range of creatives. This excellent video review takes a look at the camera and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in usage.  

Lightroom Classic is playing catch-up. AI-based masking had been around for a long time in programs like ON1 Photo Raw, but has only recently been released in Lightroom. Now, Adobe has turned its hand to noise reduction. Does it stand up to scrutiny? 

The Canon EOS R8. Is this the lightest, smallest, most diverse, and most affordable full frame Canon mirrorless camera yet?

With a 45.7-megapixel sensor and a lot of dynamic range, the Nikon Z 7II mirrorless camera looks like a strong candidate for a lot of landscape photographers. How does it hold up in practice? This great video review features an experienced landscape photographer discussing his thoughts months after switching from a medium format setup.  

The Sigma 17mm f/4 DG DN Contemporary lens brings with it the promise of excellent sharpness at a useful focal length and in a very small and portable package, making it ideal for genres like landscape and architectural photography. This excellent video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in usage.  

In recent years, energy has become a very hot topic. With the cost of solar energy at its lowest point ever, it only makes sense to look at products such as the Jackery 1000 Pro. Be it power outages at home or on-location shoots, having a solar power generator is a necessity in the modern digital workspace. 

The Canon EOS R5 showed the world that Canon was extremely serious about professional mirrorless cameras, and while it remains a highly impressive camera, features like a 45-megapixel sensor and 8K raw video are overkill for many photographers and filmmakers.

Fujifilm's X-H2 mirrorless camera brought a high-resolution sensor to the beloved X Series for the first time, along with a wide range of other new features and upgrades, making it an intriguing camera for many users. This great video review takes a look at the camera and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.  

The new Canon EOS R8 mirrorless camera can be considered the replacement of the older EOS R and EOS RP cameras. It promises to be a great camera at a reasonable price point. Canon Netherlands sends me this camera for a review. Let's find out how it performs. 

7Artisans has gained a reputation for making extremely affordable lenses, and while that sometimes means you may have to take a hit in image quality, the 15mm f/4 produces surprisingly good results without breaking that trend of low cost. This excellent video review takes a look at the lens and if its results are right for your needs. 

The Fujifilm XF 56mm f/1.2 R WR promises users some of the best and most extreme optical design and performance on the platform, including an especially wide aperture, pleasing bokeh, and sharp images. 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.  

Canon has some incredible lenses in their lineup, but with all that performance and image quality often come eye-wateringly high price tags. And yet, they also a lens for APS-C cameras that costs only $149, and it far outperforms its very affordable price tag.

Fujifilm's X-T5 mirrorless camera was a major step up for the X Series, and along with it came the XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro lens, which offers a normal focal length in tandem with the versatility of a true macro lens, all in a small, lightweight, and affordable package, making it a very interesting option for a wide range of applications.

Canon's latest lens, the RF 100-300mm f/2.8 L IS USM, is here, and it promises some of the most extreme design and optical performance ever seen, making it an especially intriguing option for a wide range of photographers, including sports and wildlife shooters. This excellent video takes a look at the new lens and what you might be able to expect from it.  

Smoke and haze have been a long-time tool of the trade. But smoke-in-a-can and giant fog machines beware. This pocket-sized fog machine lives up to the name of Smoke Genie.  

Samyang has long been a favorite brand of budget lens buyers, creating affordable manual focus options that often bunch well above their weight in terms of image quality. The company now includes autofocus in many of their lenses, but prices have remained competitive.

Today, we’ll have a quick look at SmallRig’s latest solution for camera stability, the AS-100 FreeBlazer Heavy-Duty Carbon Fiber Tripod System. 

DJI's Inspire series of drones has long provided users with some of the company's top capabilities and features for high-level filmmaking. The Inspire 3 is here, and it brings with it a huge variety of impressive upgrades. This great video overview discusses the new drone and what you can expect from it.  

If you’re looking to add a hint of cinematic flair to your Fujifilm X100V images, I have the perfect accessory for you.  

Earlier this year, I tested out the NiSi Black Mist 1/4 Filter for Fujifilm X100 Series. The filter is designed specifically for the X100 series, from the original X100 right up to the current X100V model.  

At over $15,000, the Nikon Nikkor Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S sits at the very top of the lens mountain in terms of price, but does it also bring performance and image quality to match? This great video review takes an in-depth look at the lens and if it can justify that massive price tag.  

The Canon EOS R8 is a relatively affordable entry point into Canon's full frame mirrorless system, making it an intriguing option for a wide variety of users, whether as a main or backup body. This great video review takes a look at the camera and the performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.  

Black and white cameras are a bit of a rarity, but they have been steadily present for years, and many photography purists swear by them both for the experience and the quality of images they provide. And so, as both a black and white camera and a DSLR, the new Pentax K-3 Mark III is an especially interesting camera. How does it perform in practice?

Samyang, well known for many years for creating fantastically sharp and affordable manual focus lenses, has moved into creating autofocus options as well in recent years. Despite the addition of autofocus, their lenses remain competitively priced, which is what makes the AF 75mm f/1.8 for Fujifilm X Series mirrorless cameras so intriguing.

I have a very small office space, which I use for work and filming tutorials. For the filming part, I was looking for a compact lighting solution. Typical studio lights are often quite large and wouldn't have provided the versatility I needed. That's why I'm glad I got introduced to the Colbor CL60R, which I review in this article. 

Black and white cameras are a bit of a rarity, but those who use them generally swear by the way they render images. The new Leica M11 Monochrom rangefinder offers an impressive range of features paired with a top-of-the-line sensor, and it may just be the best black and white option yet.  

While Canon has always made some of the world's most impressive lenses, they really kicked it into another gear when the RF mount came along. It seems they have no intention of stopping, with another impressive lens on the way soon.  

If you are a beginner photographer, filmmaker, or content creator in the process of learning about and investing on lighting, quality should be alongside affordability and ease of use. The Nanlite FS-60B might be something worth considering.

The AstrHori 85mm f/2.8 Macro & Tilt lens is definitely one of the strangest lenses to come along in a while, and yet, behind that weird design is a highly affordable option that promises to tackle the responsibilities of three or four separate lenses. Can it perform all those functions suitably and offer the performance and image quality professionals demand?

The most fundamental distinguishing factor of lenses is whether they are primes or zooms. Each type has distinct advantages and disadvantages, and as a beginner, it is crucial to learn the differences so you can make the right choice for your needs and budget. This helpful video tutorial will show you everything you need to know about the two types of lenses.  

Canon's EOS R5 mirrorless camera showed the industry that the company was deadly serious about the professional mirrorless market, but alongside it came the EOS R6, which was arguably a more pragmatic option, offering most of the EOS R5's features and capabilities at a much more affordable price.

The Canon EOS R8 offers an affordable route into the company's full frame mirrorless lineup, making it an appealing choice for a wide array of amateurs and professionals alike. This excellent video review takes a look at the camera and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in usage.  

Leica's M11 rangefinder represents a notable step forward for the iconic M series, bringing with it a wide range of new features and improvements that are sure to capture the attention of many photographers. How does it hold up in practice, particularly against the reputation of its predecessors?