Fstoppers gear reviews are written by photographers who actually use the equipment — not benchmark testers looking at spec sheets. This section covers cameras, lenses, lighting, accessories, bags, software, and everything else in a working photographer's kit. The goal is always the same: give you an accurate picture of whether something is worth your money before you spend it.
Pocket cameras and action cameras used to put convenience and ruggedness ahead of image quality, but in the past few years, we have seen remarkable steps forward, and now, you can have your cake and eat it too. If you are looking for one to add to your kit, check out this fantastic video overview that will show you the best pocket, action, and 360 cameras for summer 2022.
Samyang has long been known for making affordable and sharp manual focus lenses, but recently, they have started producing autofocus lenses as well, but they have still managed to keep prices below those of many first-party options.
Sony's FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II takes what was already an impressive lens and improves on it to make it even better, making it a desirable option for a lot of photographers and filmmakers looking for a fast and versatile telephoto zoom.
Fujifilm's GFX line of mirrorless cameras turned the paradigm of medium format on its head by making it far more affordable, so much so that it has become a viable alternative to full frame, particularly for people like portrait, wedding, and landscape photographers.
Ever since the EOS R5 hit the market, Canon has pushed ahead with vigor in the mirrorless market, and it looks like they have no intention of slowing down. In fact, the company seems to be planning a camera that will challenge Sony for the crown of resolution by quite a bit.
The Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II is the second iteration of the company's fast telephoto zoom, making it an appealing tool for a lot of professional photographers and filmmakers. It brings with it a wide range of improvements over the original, and it looks like quite the impressive lens.
Fujifilm's GFX line of medium format mirrorless cameras turned the paradigm of large-sensor cameras on its head by making them highly competitive on price, so much so that they became viable alternatives to upper-level full frame options.
The Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM lens was one of the first made for the company's full frame mirrorless mount, and it put the photography world on notice by showing Canon was committing to a new standard of image quality in their RF lenses, a standard that has been upheld in many of their lenses released in the last few years.
Graphic tablets allow photographers to work with precision when it comes to editing and retouching. Let’s take a look at how a large but cable-free tablet can affect your workflow and comfort.
The Canon EOS R10 is here, and it offers a lot of performance at a very affordable price, making it a great entry into the company's mirrorless systen or a reasonable backup body for photographers already shooting in it.
Nikon's first throwback retro camera, the Df, received a lot of mixed reviews upon its release, with most people noting that it placed a little too much emphasis on form and not quite enough on function. The Z fc mirrorless camera keeps the look but ups the ante, providing a nice set of balanced specs at very reasonable price.
While Canon has been pushing aggressively in the mirrorless space, one place they have yet to explore with the RF mount is APS-C — until now, that is. The EOS R7 is here, and it fills the place left by the highly popular 7D DSLR series. This great video takes a first look at the camera and the kind of image quality and performance you can expect from it.
At just two inches long and 4.6 ounces (130 g) in weight, the Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 9mm f/1.7 ASPH. lens is ridiculously portable, making it a great wide angle option for Micro Four Thirds photographers and filmmakers.
Tamron has made a name for themselves in the last few years by creating lenses that are highly practical and offer great image quality without costing an arm and a leg.
Today, I’m reviewing the XDynamics Evolve 2 Drone. I’ll share thoughts on build, performance, and other details as well as my favorite features. Drones, or “airplane cameras” as my kids call them, are an awesome piece of technology that can take your photos to a whole new level.
Sony users have a ton of choices available when it comes to lenses, with many manufacturers offering a wide range of focal lengths and maximum apertures that can fit just about any budget. If you are wondering how to navigate all those choices, check out this great video that will show you 10 excellent third-party lenses for Sony mirrorless cameras.
Sigma first hit the jackpot with the 35mm Art, which kicked off the entire series. The 35mm f/1.4 DG DN Art is the update to the original, and it brings with it a variety of improvements and new features. This excellent video review take a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.
If you work a lot in the field or like to take long road trips, you know how difficult it can be to have access to enough power to keep all your devices charged and running. Anker's 757 Portable Power Station has a ridiculous amount of power to spare, and this great video review takes a look at its performance and applications.
35mm lenses are popular for good reason, as they offer a versatile focal length that is neutral enough for a variety of applications, including portraits, street photography, events, astrophotography, and more. The Viltrox 35mm f/1.8 AF is one of the more affordable options out there, but it still offers a range of great features.
Samyang has long been known for producing sharp and highly affordable manual focus lenses, but in recent years, they have moved into producing autofocus lenses as well, while still keeping those budget prices that have endeared them to many photographers.
Zeiss lenses are known for providing sharp and contrasty images with silky-smooth bokeh, making them favorites of a lot of photographers. For photographers looking for a 35mm lens, one option is the Zeiss Loxia 35mm f/2, and 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.
I love to photograph waterfalls, rivers, and seascapes. Those subjects make up nearly 50% of my portfolio. And when photographing those, I need to have proper footing to move around freely and focus on the subject and composition. So the topic of this article is proper water shoes that I finally found after testing several brands over the years.
The Panasonic GH6 mirrorless camera is here, and it came with a variety of new features and improvements over the popular GH5. This great video review takes a look at the camera and the sort of performance you can expect from it in practice.
There’s an old bit of nonsense that states there are two factors that affect price when buying a tripod: stability and weight. Benro has proved there are two more. So, is their Hydra 2 worth their cost?
Canon's RF lenses have been highly impressive, offering fantastic performance and image quality while pushing the envelope of lens design, but on the other hand, many of them are quite expensive. There are some budget gems available, however, and this fantastic video will show you three great options that get you a lot of performance and image quality for not a lot of money.
At the moment, all of the focus on Canon cameras and lenses is on the RF line, but before that series existed, there was the EF-M line, which is still hanging around and offers small and impressively affordable bodies and lenses. If you are looking for such a setup, check out this fantastic video tutorial that offers a comprehensive guide to all the lenses in the EF-M system.
I’m increasingly impressed with the products from ON1. Does their latest software update, ON1 Resize AI 2022, live up to the standards of the other products from that stable and its "Perfect" heritage?
There are many ways to create a glow effect in Photoshop using layers and blending modes. What if you could do it in a fraction of the time and get even better results? Would you be interested?
Fujifilm's XF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 R LM OIS WR lens offers X series photographers a ton of reach at a relatively affordable price, making it suitable for anything from sports to bird photography and more. 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.
24-70mm f/2.8 lenses are the workhorse of choice for a variety of genres, offering a versatile focal length range in tandem with a wide aperture that allows them to tackle a lot of needs with ease. Which one is right for you, though?
24mm lenses are quite useful, as they offer an attractively wide focal length that is not so extreme that significant wide angle distortion starts to creep in. Premium 24mm lenses can easily run well over $1,000, though. On the other hand, the Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8 is quite affordable. Can it keep up with those more expensive options?
Billingham Eventer II is the latest camera bag from the UK-based manufacturer, Billingham. This bag is an update on a previous version that was probably the most expensive camera bag that Billingham produced at the time. The Billingham Eventer II now holds the mantle of being the most expensive camera bag produced by the company.
Users of Luminar Neo from Skylum will get a solid update when they launch the Windows or Mac raw editor today. The app gains MaskingAI, a feature that applies artificial intelligence to masking objects, saving a lot of time in the editing process.
A wide angle zoom lens is a great one to have in the bag for a variety of genres and scenarios, and for Fujifilm shooters who do not need an expensive f/2.8 option, there is the XF 10-24mm f/4 R OIS WR lens. This great video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.
A 35mm lens with a wide aperture has long been one of the most popular options for both photography and filmmaking, offering a wide but relatively neutral focal length that can cover everything from portraits to landscapes.
With the release of the Z 9, Nikon ensured that the race for best full frame mirrorless camera was a three-horse race between them, Canon, and Sony. This great video takes a look at the Z 9 in the field and how well it tackles a tricky subject, birds in flight.
While 85mm lenses are generally the classic choice of focal length for portraiture, 135mm lenses are a popular second choice that offer a different look and a bit more compression than their shorter cousins.
The early 2000s were a golden age for digital cameras. Companies like Olympus, Nikon, Sony, Canon, Ricoh, and others seemed to release an endless stream of unique, quirky, and often excellent cameras. I was lucky to work at a large camera store at the time, and almost every day, I remember unboxing some new gadget that was pushing the boundaries of design and resolution.
A 35mm lens with a wide maximum aperture is a classic choice for a wide range of applications. With a wide but still mostly neutral focal length and lots of light-gathering and subject-isolating power, it is equally at home in the studio, at a wedding, or on the street.
24-70mm f/2.8 lenses are the workhorses of choice for a lot of photographers and filmmakers, as they cover a range of the most commonly needed focal lengths and pair them with a wide maximum aperture, making for a versatile combo. However, such lenses are rarely cheap.
Fujifilm is widely considered the king of film simulations and for good reason. Anyone who has owned a Fuji camera over the past decade appreciates the variety of excellent film recipes that can be created in camera and no doubt has their own go-to simulations they love to use. But is there a better way to give your photos a vintage look?
The Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro lens was widely respected for being a versatile hidden gem in the company's offerings, bringing with it 1:1 macro performance, some of the best image stabilization in any lens, and, of course, extremely sharp images. The RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM is its successor, and it brings with it some worthwhile improvements, most notable being i
It used to be that if you wanted to change the color of an object, you generally needed to jump into Photoshop to do it effectively. However, Lightroom has gained some quite advanced features in the last few years, and it is now possible to convincingly change the color of many objects without having to resort to Photoshop.
High-quality zoom lenses are expensive, usually running over $2,000, and as such, most of us are always looking to get more mileage out of what we already own. The thought of doubling your zoom's reach with an affordable 2x teleconverter is definitely appealing, but will it work in practice? This great video review takes a look at the situation for Sony shooters.
I'm a long-time Apple fan. I'm thoroughly in the ecosystem, with MacBook M1 Max laptop, a Studio Mac, iPad Pro, and iPhone. I've also had the Apple Watch since the first edition and now have a Series 7 Apple Watch planted on my wrist.
If you have ever used a wide angle lens to photograph a building from ground level, you have probably encountered a frustrating dilemma: either you include way too much foreground in the shot or you angle the lens upward and make all the buildings look like they are about to fall over.
Nikon has kicked it into high gear with the likes of the Z 9 and NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S, keeping the pressure on Sony and Canon to continue innovating and pushing the envelope. This great video features two photographers testing out the latest from Nikon and discussing how it compares to some of their best DSLR cameras and lenses.
100-400mm zoom lenses are some of the most popular out there, offering a versatile focal length range that can tackle a wide range of scenarios including everything from sports to wildlife photography and more.
The 24-70mm zoom range is versatile, and for many photographers and videographers, it's probably one of the best starting points when building out your lens collection for a new mount.
When it comes to supertelephoto zoom lenses, Canon mirrorless shooters have two options, the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM and the RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM. With different prices and feature sets, these two lenses fill different needs, and this helpful video comparison will help you choose the right option for your work.