Gear Reviews

For many of us, a 50mm lens is the first "proper" lens that we ever bought. The kit lens can be great but there's nothing quite like a good wide aperture prime lens. Thanks to a rental company in the UK called Hire A Camera, I was able to test and compare what I think might be the best 50mm lens ever made. 

Haida recently sent me their new M10 Filter holder kit for review. I tried to spice up our review video with an interesting photoshoot and ended up destroying our Nikon D850 in a rogue wave. 

I hope I'm not the only person who does this, but up until recently, I had not used any of the cataloging features from any image editing software. This isn't because I thought any of them were particularly bad; instead, I just have my own way of managing files and their locations. However, ACDSee has changed my mind about this.  

Today, I begin a series of five articles going in depth into my experience shooting with the Fujifilm GFX 50S medium format mirrorless camera for an entire month. 

Earlier this year, I wrote a full review of the new LensCoat LegWrap Pro. From the title, "The Best Way to Carry a Heavy Tripod Setup," you can probably guess that I liked it. Here I take a look another new tripod accessory from LensCoat, the LegCushion, and see how it compares to my beloved LegWrap Pro. 

Fstoppers writer Andy Day recently published his thoughts on why Canon and Nikon should get into the full-frame fixed-lens camera segment and what that would mean for us as photographers. The Slanted Lens also did a great comparison of three existing options for a compact fixed-lens camera. 

Maha's new Powerex MH-C980 8 Cell Charger/Analyzer is out and it's a full-featured, professional charging beast. Check out the nitty gritty on one of the most advanced AA/AAA battery chargers on the market.

Are you in need of a powerful, versatile, and compact RGB LED light that won't break the bank? I was and this might now be my favorite hot light for shooting on location.

The Ricoh GR series has a long history stretching back to the film era, when they were known for their high quality (particularly for a point and shoot) 28mm lens. Ricoh has continued that tradition of quality as the series has moved into the digital era, and the third iteration looks to be quite a great option for those looking for a quality pocketable camera.

The Panasonic S1 has been making waves as the company's first full frame camera, replete with a fascinating feature set in a rugged body. Nonetheless, it's part of a very inundated full frame camera market, and it has a lot of stiff competition. How well does it fare against the competitors? This great video review seeks to answer that question.  

Have you ever needed to shoot jewelry on location, like wedding rings during a wedding? Then you may know about the difficulties of acquiring a good image.

The Panasonic S1 is the company's first foray into the full frame camera market. Though it's their first camera of the sort, they've had a lot of experience in the micro four thirds realm and have brought that knowledge to the S1 to give themselves a head start on the competition. How well did they do?

When it comes to shooting video, a camera screen can be a bit small and challenging to see. Depending on the type of work that is being done, sometimes it is nice to have an external monitor that can help us compose the perfect shots.

Skylum's Luminar 3 has been rapidly advancing with new features, and today, they've released Luminar 3.10. It's a free update for current users. This new update features significant enhancements and content-aware recognition to the software’s Accent AI filter, as well as other improvements to its Library. 

It's been about a year since the Sony a7 III has been released, and a lot has happened in that year, particularly with a flurry of new mirrorless cameras with similar capabilities coming to the market. Is the Sony a7 III still one of the best choices for hybrid shooters in comparison to other mirrorless options? This great video explores exactly that question. 

When the Sony a9 first came out, it was hailed as a massive step forward and a challenger of Canon's flagship 1D X Mark II and Nikon's flagship D5 at a lower price than both. And although it looked amazing on paper and in early reviews, questions about its longevity remained. After almost two years, this great video discusses how the a9 has fared over the long-term. 

The Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD has been a remarkably popular lens, while the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM remains a top performer for standard zooms, albeit at nearly triple the price. Is that increased performance worth the price difference? This helpful video review helps answer that question. 

Part of Sigma's lens philosophy seems to be: better optical quality, compact size be damned. And perhaps no lens more distinctly shows this idea than the 40mm f/1.4 Art. But is that gigantic size worth the results? This great video review answers that question. 

I've owned lots of image de-noisers over the years. I've used external apps, Photoshop/Lightroom plugins, and I've used the noise reductions controls built into Photoshop and Lightroom. They all work to some degree, but you wind up trading noise reduction for details, and I've never found a noise reduction aid that didn't have some rather large trade-offs.

I know this article is sponsored, and some of you may pull back a little because of that. I don't blame you; I mean, I'd personally have reservations too, but I genuinely mean every bit of praise I give to Luminar 3. This software is seriously awesome, and in this article, I'm going to explain why.  

DSLR shooters may not think they need a 360-degree camera (they don't), but that doesn't mean there is no reason to get one, and Kai Wong makes the case why this 360 camera is worth your investment.  

Changing the overall color tones in your image can be very powerful. You can drastically change the emotions or the vision of the shot by simply color grading the image. If you are not exactly sure on how to create your own gradient maps, this might be the perfect tool for you.  

I spent several days creating images in nasty, cold conditions on Mount Washington and the mountains of New Hampshire to see how this new mirrorless camera would perform. There were some issues, but no major malfunctions or failures. Overall, I’d say it’s a step sideways from the D750 or D800, but not a big step up at this point. 

If you're a fan of extreme lenses, the Venus Optics Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 lens is one that should definitely be on your radar. With its insane focal length, it's a fascinating lens to shoot with — both a lot of fun and a challenge. Check out our review of this interesting lens.  

Announced at CES 2019 earlier this year, Seagate showed off their updated line of Backup Plus external hard disk drives. Here's a first-look review at these inexpensive travel-sized storage options. 

A quick trip into downtown Los Angeles allowed me a closer look at one of my photographic heroes. 

Annie Leibovitz is one of the main reasons I am a professional photographer today. She was the photographer that made me (and still makes me) look at her work and simply say, “Wow, how the heck did she do that?”

I understand that the term "best" is mostly subjective and in many cases, it's entirely based on individual requirements. The recent releases from Datacolor boast some pretty cool new features, but, do they make them the best? 

A filter can be an essential tool when it comes to getting the shots we have in mind helping us shoot anything from long exposures to balanced video. Today, Polar Pro released their Variable ND filter giving us the option to spin a ring for further control of how much light we let through the lens.

Last autumn, I finally decided to get my butt in gear and become FAA Part 107 Certified to be able to fly my drone commercially. Since I had pretty limited time in the busy fall season, and had zero prior aviation knowledge, I decided to give one of the many online courses out there a try. 

There are dozens of options in the video-editing software space. There's a new entrant, Wondershare’s FilmoraPro, which promises pro-grade tools and features without a pro-grade price. 

As someone who has previously used the Movavi Video Editor 15, I was really interested to see what the full suite had on offer. After using the Movavi Video Suite to edit some of the videos that I recently posted on YouTube, I have to say I'm quite impressed. 

A few months ago a company called F&V sent me their latest flagship light to test and review. Since then I've been using it regularly for some of my photography and all of my recent YouTube videos. Here are some of my thoughts on what I think could be the best LED light currently on the market. 

When shooting action sports I’m always looking for ways to get shots that the other photographers aren’t, but lots of times due to safety concerns by the promoters, I can’t get to places I want to shoot from during the event.

Olympus has released the world's most expensive Micro 4/3 camera, the E-M1X. Is it worth $3,000? Let's find out. 

Can the Osprey Transporter Wheeled Duffel 120L stand up to being dragged all around the world (including Antarctica) by an adventure film crew?  

If you spend a lot of time under the night sky, you already understand the challenges: weather, setting up in the dark, and processing. Astro Panel 2.0 is a nifty Photoshop Plug-in that can automatically ease a lot of processing challenges and greatly improve your night sky photos. 

I thought I'd seen iPhone camera capabilities stretched just about as far as they could go with add-on apps, but I was wrong.

Ten years ago I decided to start using filters for my landscape photography again. In those days the best choice was Hitech or Lee, and I chose the latter. I was very content with those filters and I shot many beautiful landscapes with it. But ten years left some serious traces of use. It was time to replace the filters… I chose Kase filters.

In a previous article, I reviewed the Prince Street by ONA and for the most part, I had some very positive things to say about it. More recently ONA sent me The Big Sur to review and I've been using it quite extensively for the last few weeks. 

Photographer Mathieu Stern decided to test out a vintage Leica lens that retails for nearly $4,000 on eBay. He tested its capabilities in a series of photos, the results of which he says don’t justify the hefty price tag. 

Fujifilm has expanded its weather-resistant lens lineup for X-series cameras with the introduction of the Fujinon XF16mm f/2.8 R WR. I got the chance to take a pre-production sample for a first look. 

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that the team at Interfit just took the crown for "Best Affordable Strobe With A Nature-Inspired Name" from the longtime champ Alienbees. First things first, let's get the introductions out of the way. Interfit has been around for what I would describe as "forever".

Fujifilm have placed themselves squarely at both ends of the sensor-size war, skipping 35mm full frame altogether and instead concentrating on APS-C and medium format. In this review we'll be taking a look at the second addition to their GFX series of cameras, the rangefinder-styled GFX 50R. 

For a long time, Leica was known for producing some of the best cameras on the market. Some of the most iconic images in history have been shot on a Leica and the M series has remained one of their most sought after and almost idolized series of cameras. Recently I had the immense pleasure of testing the Leica M10-P and here are some of my thoughts on the camera. 

As a photographer who definitely likes to push the thin depth of field envelope, the announcement of the 105mm f/1.4 Art from Sigma was a dream come true. With the release date getting pushed back numerous times and my hopes dashed with each delay announcement, I am pleased to review the real world working features of this magical piece of glass. 

Have you ever noticed that your camera's autofocus is consistently back or front-focused? It may not be your fault. Check out this review and how-to on calibrating lenses using the Datacolor SpyderLensCal.

They say the third time’s the charm, and that’s certainly the case with Fujifilm’s new X-T30. I got a chance to take a hands-on look at a pre-production X-T30 and put it through its paces recently. How did it do? 

Ultra wide rectilinear lenses are not very common and the few existing options are expensive. But the Irix 11mm f/4 combines non-fisheye design with a friendly price. Is it too good to be true? 

The Canon EOS RP is an intriguing camera: it's an incredibly cheap and light full frame mirrorless body, but of course, to get to that price point, compromises had to be made. This informative and balanced review will help you decide if the EOS RP is the right camera for you.  

It's rare to find a camera bag that ticks all the boxes when it comes to function, durability, comfort, and price. If I'm looking to only carry a camera and a couple lenses plus some accessories, the HEX Raven DSLR Mirrorless Bag is my go-to choice.