Gear Reviews

Although you may not be ready to admit it, the iPhone is a professional video camera for many shooters. We use ours with a handheld gimbal at almost every shoot to get super steady moving shots. Feiyu Tech recently sent us their SPG Plus two-handed gimbal, and I tested it out. 

Earlier today, Sony announced the a9, a revolutionary mirrorless camera with a spec sheet that at first looks like it's full of typos. Did they really mean 20 frames per second? Is it actually 693 phase-detect autofocus points? Continuous burst raw capture up to 241 frames? But sure enough, the a9 delivers on it all.

Being a master of keyboard shortcuts isn’t just a party trick to impress friends and clients, it’s a path to a faster and more efficient editing process which makes you more of an asset as a video editor. Whether you’re hoping to earn a Pro Certificate or just become faster in post, one way to get you there sooner is to invest in a dedicated keyboard. 

Super-telephoto lenses are essential to the craft of sports and wildlife photographers who are shooting great distances away from their subjects, as well as to other creative photographers looking to flatten or fill the frame to create unique images.

Outsourcing for me has always been one of those things I just never thought to be possible. How could someone who doesn't know what I’m thinking know how I want an image to look? Sometimes I don't even know what I want an image to look like and some of my favorite images have come from playing around while editing.

With digital photography, the ways to present our work have evolved and grown exponentially. Web galleries alone are numerous, and it can be difficult to find the one that matches your needs and expectations. But then, there are a few such as ShootProof that pretty much do everything most photographers need.

Picture this: you and some friends are on a week-long backpacking trip in Alaska, and it’s a frigid 20 degrees Fahrenheit outside. You really don’t want to get out of your sleeping bag.

If you have ever imagined your very own photography coffee table book, this review will probably get you designing it straightaway. Saal Digital, a German photo printing company offers the High-End Photobook, which, at least on paper, has all the bells and whistles you would like to see in a book containing your finest work.

There are a lot of GH5 review videos currently online but most of them are pretty lacking. Youtuber iPhonedo, just released the most complete review I have seen and it's definitely worth watching whether you own the camera or not.  

I really believe that the URSA Mini Pro is the best camera that Blackmagic Design have ever released. That doesn’t mean that it’s the perfect camera for everybody, but it’s reaching out to a much wider audience than its predecessors. 

Priolite makes strobes that should cause any photographer to perk up, because they sync at any speed and any power. The prospect of being able to shoot freely with a flash without having to worry about shorter battery life, power loss, or gradation issues is certainly appealing. Check out our review of the Priolite strobe system. 

Without a doubt, one of the most popular and useful pieces of gear a photographer can own is the 70-200mm f/2.8 telephoto lens. This lens is so amazing that it has become a staple for photographers shooting wildlife, portraits, headshots, sports, weddings, events, and even landscape photography.

PRO EDU, a company known for producing photography tutorials, has come to the podcast game nearly a decade after they became popular. Late to the game or not, the podcast should not be quickly dismissed. In a world bombarded by media, this broadcast is refreshingly analog in nature.  

It’s easy to think of underwater housings as a one trick pony. I mean, the name “underwater housing” suggests a very specific use. But in reality, these housings are good for protecting camera gear in all sorts of extreme conditions.

Once you've had the opportunity to feel the power of the community and your following, going without it must be hard. Casey Neistat is back with his daily vlog, and one of his latest videos is a review of the Samsung S8, which, according to the review, gives you more than an iPhone 7. The general feeling of the vlog now is that he's more relaxed, and is more responsible to his viewers.

What could possibly go wrong with a $350 camera that claims to do it all? Kaiman Wong takes it out for a spin and shows us just how much compromise must be made to get that price down.

Best suited for the those that run light on camera gear, the Lowepro StreetLine BP 250 is a great looking pack that has just enough features to be called a camera bag at all. Its unique collapsable interior pockets allow for a couple photography items to be stored securely, otherwise it’s free-for-all with what you choose to throw inside. This well-made bag is not without issue, however.

Fujifilm's XF 50mm f/2 WR is the third addition in the series that have affectionately become known as the "Fujichrons." These are compact, lightweight, weather resistant, and have extremely fast autofocus.

Having the ability to power our gear is something we often take for granted. Without power, the most expensive gear becomes an overpriced paperweight. Worst of all, passing opportunities are lost. One of my least favorite situations is to be traveling in a foreign city when I can’t find information because my iPhone battery is dead. This is where Goal Zero comes in.

Mastin Labs out of Seattle is the creator of some of my favorite film emulation presets for Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw. Today they're releasing their latest preset pack, Portra Pushed. Check it out my review of the pack after the jump. 

As shutter speed is the limiting factor in taking pictures of the night sky, we often seek out more expensive lenses that open up that bit more or check Fstoppers if there’s a new low-light, high-ISO king of cameras on the horizon.

I trust I'm not the only one who has had their eye on Fujifilm's GFX 50S.

There are many instances where I’m working on site and I need to adjust camera position while on a tripod. From interiors and architecture, food and product photography, often a tripod alone can’t provide the convenience or flexibility I need to get a job done quickly.

Broncolor is often referred as the top high-end flash manufacturer. Their units are all assembled by hand in Switzerland, and the Siros L is no exception to the rule. However, the latest addition to their product line is much cheaper than their other battery-powered flash, and it’s a monobloc unit, just like the Profoto B1.

It can cost a few hundred bucks to send hard drives between the US and the EU. Services to send your data online are available, but what about a pay-as-you-go solution?

We at Fstoppers have always been big fans of the incredible photographers and retouchers who form Retouching Academy. The talent and educational knowledge of Julia Kuzmenko McKim has been shown in our 2015 Fstoppers workshop, through many posts on Fstoppers and Retouching Academy, and is condensed in her Studio Beauty photography tutorial.

Last fall I reviewed the Intrepid Camera, a low-cost 4x5 large-format film camera. Although the sentiment behind the camera was admirable, I found it lacking in finish and functionality. Well now Intrepid has come out with their second version which aims to correct many of the flaws of their first generation. Were they successful? In a word: Yes! 

So you've got a DSLR that records video. You think, "Hey, I can shoot video and make buku bucks." Well guess what? There are fun video toys for you and your DSLR, and I am here to tell you about one of them today: the Elvid FieldVision 7-Inch On-Camera Monitor Version 2. 

We've previewed this very special filter before, and now come back with results from testing it in the field. The STC's Astro-Multispectra Filter blocks out artificial light of our modern world in the form of light pollution and increases contrast to reveal faint deep-sky objects.

We've all been there. You were hired for a run-and-gun shoot only to find the location has terrible lighting. Or your shoot is running later into the evening and the sun is going down fast, without any lighting to plug in. The ISO gets cranked up, and your exposure is saved at the expense of adding unwanted noise to your image.

This week I was invited to the head office of Rotolight in Pinewood Studios, London to check out one of their flagship products, the Rotolight Neo. This is an LED light that can mount to your camera or can be used off camera using boompoles or light stands.

I have always had a passion for cars, which is what set me in the path of becoming a photographer. From casually taking photos of various cars with a point-and-shoot at local events in the beginning, I decided to go beyond that and see where I could go with a camera.

Apple is a company photographers and videographers follow with a mixture of excitement and dread. On the one hand, the Cupertino-based computer and software maker has given us the iPhone and a host of great hardware and applications for editing and sharing imagery. On the other hand, they have discontinued things dear to many, forcing inferior follow-up products on us.

Photography has come a long way since my 35mm high school days. We've seen it go from film, to prohibitively expensive, low-resolution digital, to stunning high-res cameras in every phone. But the method of viewing digital images has been limited to print and computer screens.

A few weeks ago I was introduced to Picspotr, which is a place for photographers to keep track of everything from their finances to contracts, clients, packages, and more via computer and mobile device. Once I hopped on and signed up, I began to really like the way everything worked.

Prism photography isn’t exactly a new thing. In fact, many photographers have been taking advantage of the unique, light bending properties of glass and clear resins to add an artistic flare to their images for some time now. The issue previously had been finding a prism that would work for you and fit neatly into your kit.

For me, storage is a huge pain. On one hand, it’s simple. Buy a bunch of hard drives, back everything up, repeat. But I want to simplify it further. I hate having one system that’s speedy for in-office editing and another that’s slow, but network-connected.

Camera sliders are often one of the first accessories that independent filmmakers purchase, just after a tripod and microphone. The simplicity in their design and valuable ability to create subtle motion instantly add production value. Cinevate recently updated its Duzi slider to its fourth version, and I got a chance to review one this past week. 

In case you missed it, the GoPro Karma was recalled last year due to sudden loss of power which would cause the drone to crash mid-flight. Not a good thing for a first drone from any company, let alone GoPro. The re-release for the Karma drones fixed the issue by adding latches to keep the battery secure during flight, but were there any changes to the Karma drone to improve it? 

I recently traded my Nikon DSLR for an unbranded mystery camera for a few days to test out an entirely new concept: camera as a service. 

Polaroid has been an iconic brand for over 80 years in the photo community. Even though they have had a few recent slips to adapt to the fast-growing tech world, it's finally finding its grass roots in the latest generation of photographers. Their latest offering comes with the incredibly fun and portable Polaroid Snap Touch.

I’m sure many of you have wished at times that you could decrease your presets' opacity in Lightroom. There isn’t any real option existing, or so I thought until I stumbled upon The Fader by Capture Monkey. It's a simple plugin which allows you to increase or reduce your presets' strength. 

“The best camera is the one you have with you.” To an extent, that quote is correct, and with current cell phones having pretty good cameras built into them, this is usually a camera we all have with us most of the time. Sometimes, we find ourselves wanting more out of our cameras in the phone.

There are countless hard drives of all shapes, sizes, types, speeds, and capacities flooding the market now. As professionals, it's often quite a task to wade through the hype about every new offering and decide what's really the best drive for us.

Here at Fstoppers, we will get you information on the newest announcements, the most exciting technological developments, the most jaw-dropping photo shoots. But you're not just on this site for that.

Chinese drone manufacturer DJI turned heads in 2016 with the release of the Osmo Raw, the world’s first handheld steadicam system with raw video capabilities. The appeal was obvious; the ability to capture enough data for effective color grading in post production, whilst utilizing the portability and effective steadicam technology from the original Osmo.

This is more or less the camera that started film photography for me. Since developing an appreciation for Joey L’s work, I wanted to shoot medium format. The focus falloff and rendering was just so surreal compared to full-frame and crop-sensor cameras that I had been shooting with. Unfortunately, the cost of entry was a little steep for a digital back.

As most of us know, DJI came out with the Phantom 4 Pro a few months back and decided to add a few collision/infrared sensors to it along with putting a larger sensor inside of the actual camera itself with a mechanical shutter to allow for more control of the camera. After my buddy, Vin, got his Phantom 4 Pro, I realized this whole sensor size thing was no joke.

Apple lovers around the world, including myself, now have some serious reason to leave behind their beloved iPhone they have for the new Google Pixel. Introduced back in October the phone was welcomed with huge praise boasting some incredible specs.