Gear Reviews

Over the past two years, I've been trying to replace my Induro CT-114 tripod. Looking through countless offerings of various brands, I learned that finding a tripod that fulfilled all my requirements and didn't cost a fortune wouldn't be easy. As Leofoto released their LQ-365C, I thought I had finally found the perfect tripod.

Fujifilm's new X-T5 mirrorless camera is an exciting step forward for the ever-popular X-T series, bringing with it a wide range of upgrades and innovative features. How does it stand up in practice? This excellent video review takes a look at the camera specifically for photography work and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in those scenarios.  

Canon has released a series of nice primes that are reasonably priced and in a friendly size and weight. Most of these lenses also have 1:2 macro abilities. The latest one is the RF 24mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM. Let’s find out if it's just as great as its siblings. 

Pen tablets and controllers for editing and retouching definitely help photographers, especially when working on large batches of images. These editing tools from Xencelabs seem to expand that to a whole new level. 

The Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN Contemporary lens is a small, light, and fast zoom lens suitable for a wide range of subjects. I spent a week testing the 18-50mm, and I was very impressed with this tiny powerhouse of a lens, which is now available for Fujifilm X Mount cameras. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moATGjg7kfQ

DJI has just released the Mavic 3 Classic. Very similar to the standard Mavic 3, the new DJI Mavic 3 Classic has one major difference that brings the price down significantly. Does that change compromise its performance or make it less attractive? Take a look at this pilot's first impressions. 

Infinite Color for Infinite Tools is a color grading plugin for Photoshop. We put it through its paces. 

Let me rewind the clock by a decade: it’s the tail end of 2012, and the NYPD was in the process of clearing out Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan. Over the last year, Occupy Wall Street had been picking up steam, with an encampment filling the better part of the park and protests regularly spilling out into the streets.  

85mm lenses with wide apertures are about as popular as can be, but they are often quite expensive as well. Thankfully, in the last few years, we have seen an influx of affordable yet impressive third-party options, with two of the most notable being the Samyang AF 85mm f/1.4 FE II lens and Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art. Which one is right for you?

The Fujifilm X-T5 mirrorless camera is here, and it brings with it a huge variety of upgrades and new features. This great video review takes a look at the new camera and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.  

With shorter daylight hours and longer dark, cold, and wet nights, it's time to think about what to shoot indoors: something new perhaps? For myself, it's going to be trying something new, and that's macro with the Astrhori 85mm f/2.8 Macro Tilt lens.  

Most dedicated macro lenses have a 1:1 maximum reproduction ratio, which means they can project an image of the subject on your camera's sensor up to the same size it is in real life.

If you value accurate colors and a high-quality computer display, Eizo is one of the better choices. The company released two professional 27-inch screens towards the end of 2022. One of them has 4K resolution and the other WQHD resolution. Let’s take a close look at the latter. 

The folks at Skylum who make Luminar Neo have promised more extensions by the end of the year, and there are three more new ones coming soon.  

The first is their Upscale extension, then the Background Removal AI tool, and SuperSharp AI.

Samyang has been long known for creating sharp, highly affordable lenses, and in recent years, they have added autofocus capabilities to many, increasing their appeal. One such lens is the AF 85mm f/1.4 FE II, which offers the popular combination of a classic portrait focal length and a wide maximum aperture. And at $799, it is far more affordable than many comparable lenses.

The Microsoft Surface line offers a lot of versatility for creatives in the Windows ecosystem, and the new Surface Laptop 5 is here, pairing a high-quality touchscreen with the convenience of a portable laptop with all-day battery life.

The Fujifilm X-H2 brought the company's first high-resolution sensor to the X Series along with a variety of upgrades and new features, all with the classic Fujifilm experience, making it a desirable camera for a wide range of users.

85mm lenses with wide maximum apertures are wildly popular for portraiture work, offering a classical focal length in tandem with that shallow depth of field that a lot of photographers love. However, such lenses can easily run north of $2,000, which is what makes the Samyang AF 85mm f/1.4 FE II, which retails for $799, a breath of fresh air.

The Sony a7R V is here, and the company's newest resolution monster mirrorless camera has brought with it a wide array of impressive new features and upgrades. If you are wondering what you can expect from the camera, check out this great first impressions video that examines the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in real-world usage.  

Both the Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary lens and 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art lens fill the popular role of the wide-aperture standard zoom and do so at prices that significantly undercut those of first-party options. So, which is right for you? This excellent video comparison takes a look at both to help you decide.  

Tamron has continued to establish themselves as a company that creates both lenses that make smart compromises to get to affordable price points and others that push the boundaries of design. The new 20-40mm f/2.8 Di III VXD is quite the interesting option, sitting somewhere between a wide angle zoom and a standard zoom.

Coming in a relatively small and portable package and at a price that will not break the bank, the Canon RF 15-30mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM offers photographers access to all the most common ultra-wide angle focal lengths along with a few extra useful features. Can it offer the sort of performance and image quality professionals need? This excellent video review takes a look. 

The 24-70mm f/2.8 lens is one of the most popular and important options out there, found in a huge range of genres and applications, where its combinations of a wide aperture and commonly used focal lengths make it a prized choice. That being said, such lenses tend to be rather expensive.

Alongside the new EOS R6 Mark II mirrorless camera, Canon recently announced the RF 135mm f/1.8 L IS USM lens, an update to one of its most respected and loved lenses, the EF 135mm f/2L. The company's RF portrait lenses have set high standards — very high, in fact. Can the 135mm f/1.8 L keep up? This great first look video examines the lens and the sort of images it can produce.  

ON1 Photo Raw 2023's is reaching a point where we don't need other apps to process our photos. It indeed addressed some of our most significant developing and editing annoyances. 

On-camera monitors are an essential tool for anyone doing video work, but a proper display is often quite expensive. Modern iPhones and iPads have spectacular screens, however, and in those displays are a ton of potential for filmmakers.

Camera filters have improved a great deal over the last decade. It wasn't that long ago when it was completely acceptable for filters to produce blue-cast images with a significant loss in detail. We now have manufacturers producing highly innovative filter systems, such as the new Kase Wolverine IV Magnetic filter system.  

The new OM-5 camera may, at first look, take you by surprise. However, you may have noticed that OM Digital Solutions (OMDS) knows what they are doing. As their first anniversary arrives, they yet again deliver another excellent camera for a specific type of photographer. 

It is no secret that photographers like wide-aperture lenses, and with the advent of mirrorless cameras, we have seen the release of many 50mm f/0.95 lenses, offering photographers ultra-narrow depth of field and loads of bokeh. One such lens is the Meike 50mm f/0.95, which offers that extra-wide aperture for a variety of APS-C mirrorless mounts and does so at a very affordable price.

The OM System OM-5 mirrorless camera is here, and it brings with a lot of the company's innovative features and technology at a relatively affordable price. This excellent video review takes a look at the new camera and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice. 

A wide-aperture 24mm lens is useful for a huge range of applications ranging from astro work to event photography, and when you add in macro capabilities and image stabilization, it becomes all the more versatile.

The AstrHori 85mm f/2.8 Macro & Tilt lens is one of the weirdest options you will come across, and at $329, it is also surprisingly affordable. So, what all can you do with it, and does it offer the performance and image quality needed to make all those strange functions worthwhile? This great video review takes a look at the lens and what you can expect.  

Venus Optics has established themselves as a company that produces unique and high-quality lenses that enable new and interesting creative approaches. Their newest lens is the Laowa Argus 25mm f/0.95 APS-C APO, made for a wide variety of APS-C mirrorless cameras.

The fifth Extension coming to the Luminar Neo editing platform is Focus Stacking, a tool for achieving a deep depth of field in a photo by merging (or stacking) up to 100 source images. Now, creating photos that are in sharp focus from the front to the back of the image becomes much easier, whether you’re shooting macro photography, portraits, or landscapes. 

The latest and greatest from Sony is finally here and the Sony A7RV has the latest in autofocus technology 

Delivering an updated product once a year every year guarantees a spike of hype and sales, but brings with it some challenges — challenges that continue to get bigger as a product matures and competitors arrive. The GoPro HERO11 Black launched last month, but what do the latest upgrades mean for a company whose value has fallen by 90% from its peak just a few years ago? 

iPads have evolved from fun content consumption devices to seriously powerful creative tools, and they are fantastic options for a wide variety of photo and video work. The latest generations of the standard and Pro models are here, and they bring with them a wide variety of new and improved features.

The 24mm focal length is popular for offering a versatile wide angle of view, but not one so wide that significant distortion starts to become an issue. For Sony photographers and filmmakers, the FE 24mm f/2.8 G offers a very portable design meant to pair with company's lightweight mirrorless cameras to offer easy run-and-gun shooting.

Each one of us has a favorite go-to lens, be that a prime, a wide angle, or a telephoto. There's always one lens we will tend to use more than the rest. But what if you could only take one lens with you on travels? What one would it be?  

Viltrox has earned a reputation for producing very affordable lenses whose image quality often surpasses what you might expect at their respective prices. And at $429, the AF 13mm f/1.4 lens continues that trend, offering a wide focal length and wide aperture for Sony, Fujifilm, and Nikon APS-C users.

The Fujifilm X100 series of mirrorless cameras has long been popular for both its image quality and for the shooting experience it provides. If you have never used one and are curious about what it is like, check out this excellent video review that discusses just why it is such a fun camera to work with.  

The Sony a7 series has become one of the most highly respected and popular lines of mirrorless cameras, well known for offering an excellent balance of photo and video features that allow creatives to produce professional work in just about any situation. So, is the a7 IV still the hybrid camera to beat?

While Canon initially focused on full frame cameras and lenses with the RF mount, the release of cameras like the EOS R7 and EOS R10 and associated RF-S lenses has shown that the company also intends to develop APS-C options in tandem with the full frame line.

Tamron has established itself as a maker of both pragmatic lenses at practical prices and more unique designs that the photo world has not seen before. The new 20-40mm f/2.8 Di III VXD is one of those more unique designs, offering an interesting focal length range that sits between two more traditional zoom ranges (16-35mm and 24-70mm).

Macro lenses with short telephoto focal lengths are some of the most useful and flexible optics a photographer can own, giving you access to a world of detail all around us, but also doubling as a fantastic option for tack-sharp portraits and more.

With autofocus achieving superhuman heights in recent years, its ability seems limitless. But when narrative filmmaking, nothing beats the human touch. 

Canon makes some really impressive lenses, but of course, they come at prices that match that stellar performance. Do you really need that to spend that much, though, or would you be better off going with a more affordable option? This interesting video compares two 50mm options from the company to help you decide.  

The new Tamron 20-40mm f/2.8 Di III VXD is one of the more interesting lenses to come along in a while, offering an intriguing focal length range that sacrifices reach at the long end compared to a 24-70mm for the ability to go wider than the usual 24mm, putting it somewhere between a standard zoom and an ultra-wide angle zoom.

24mm lenses with wide apertures are some of the most versatile out there, offering a reasonably wide (though not overly so) focal length in tandem with a lot of light-gathering and subject-isolating power. The Canon RF 24mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM takes that versatility and adds in macro capabilities and image stabilization, making it quite the intriguing option.

Wedding photography generally requires at least two and often several lenses to get through the entire day, and as such, any lens that can take the place of a few offers a significant increase in convenience.