Popular Gear Reviews

First, second, third, and fourth generations of several companies’ drones are now out on the market. But it’s only as we head into 2016 that the drone race is really on and that all the other possible players with their collectively interesting ideas who might have lagged behind a little are now crossing the halfway point. That race won’t end anytime soon, as the consumer drone market’s innovation is only picking up. I caught up with Vantage Robotics Co-Founder and CEO Tobin Fisher on a beautiful San Francisco morning on Crissy Field, where he let his company's new 4K drone, “Snap,” do just that.

Venus Optics Laowa have made a name for themselves by producing unique lenses for all the major camera systems. From the 24mm f/14 probe lens to their series of Zero-D lenses, Laowa have produced excellent optics at reasonable prices. Today's focus is on the exact opposite of the spectrum from their Zero-D series - the 4mm f/2.8 Circular Fisheye.

Have you noticed it's been almost impossible to miss all the discussions, arguments, praise, and ads about Skylum's new AI-based software editor, LuminarAI​? It's available for purchase now, and people will get a chance to see how it measures up to their expectations.

In a perfect world, raw files would be as light as JPEGs. Even better yet, every camera manufacturer would use a similar and open format such as DNG. Unfortunately, as we all know, we don't live in a perfect world. However, one company named Dotphoton is about to change it all!

Although I've never been a high-end retoucher or digital artist, today, I'm going to play one. I've got my hands on a Wacom Cintiq touchscreen tablet/monitor and the Loupedeck CT, a customizable input device.

When it comes to tough cameras, the first to come to mind are the waterproof, freeze-proof, drop-proof compact cameras. Usually these are from the likes of Olympus, Nikon, or Canon.

You might think 40mm sounds like a strange focal length. I know I did. But this lens surprised me in all the best ways.

In perhaps one of the best photography books you'll own, Californian photographer Tim Mantoani has archived photographic legends with his book project, "Behind Photographs." Since 2006, Mantoani has been photographing notable artists holding some of their most iconic photographs. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this project is the mammoth format each portrait was shot on Mantaoni uses the enormous 20x24 Polaroid camera to capture these individuals. Taking on a project of this literal size was not a small feat. After a portrait session with notable San Francisco photographers Jim Marshall and Michael Zagaris, Mantoani quickly realized he was on to something historic and began to formulate a plan.

Do you have an eye for editing video? The editor often wields the power and ability to breathe life into a piece of motion work, or to kill it off. But where do you go to learn how to edit? Inside The Edit recently launched the world’s first end-to-end online program, and while it’s not without it’s considerations, it represents a giant leap forward for anyone who wants to get hands-on experience in the world of motion storytelling.

Back in 2018 Nikon released the Coolpix P1000, a super zoom bridge camera with an optical zoom of 125 times. No other camera has this optical zoom range. It could be an alternative for all those part time wildlife shooters. Or perhaps not?

Photography has always been about capturing moments, but with the Leica M11-D, it’s also about rediscovering the art of simplicity. Leica’s M-series cameras are widely known for their timeless elegance and exceptional craftsmanship, and the M11-D takes this philosophy a step further.

Leica is a company that is synonymous with premium quality at a premium cost in the photography industry. So when Leica co-engineered their second-generation dual-lens camera with Huawei and placed it on the affordable $599 Mate 9 smartphone, I was eager to try it out.

For both artistic and commercial work, a mid-range zoom is virtually an essential piece of kit. Sony’s 20-70mm f/4 puts a new spin on the traditional mid-range formula, but is it really that good? In this review, I look back on the last year of using this lens and consider whether it truly has a place in the E-mount ecosystem.

Often when going through a set of images via Lightroom, we use a preset we like, export the images, and then tone back some of the color or "effect" from the preset, once in Photoshop. There has always been a need for a way to easily dial back a preset and now there is.

500px just introduced their RAW app. It uses the new iPhone raw image capabilities to make editing on the go easier and as intuitive as possible. The app gives you the capability to export to your social networks as well as your 500px profile, where you can sell the images and make 60% of the profit. It also has an Assignment section, which I believe will be used to give photographers paid projects depending on their location. Is editing raw images on mobile devices the future of post-production? By the looks of what Lightroom has done with their mobile apps in which you can edit your raw images by using a smaller proxy file, it might be the way the industry is moving.

Everyone is talking about the Canon, Sony, and Nikon full frame mirrorless cameras. But there is another brand that isn’t getting a lot of attention: Panasonic. It released the Lumix S5 last year and now I got a chance to review this camera.

It was only a matter of time before Canon would release a true macro lens for the RF mount. Instead of an RF version of the ever-so-popular EF 100mm macro lens, Canon had a little surprise up its sleeve. I got a chance to review this amazing lens.

Magnets have long been used for their quick and sometimes strong holds. But is a magnetic camera strap a good idea?

When I look back on the end of 2023, it'll be at Wacom's One 13 Touch. That's where it's going to start for me. I'm a bit older, and I've been using Photoshop for decades with a mouse. I was curious if I'd learn that the phrase about teaching dogs new tricks, old as this one may be, would prove to be true or not. Let's also take a look at whether the entry-point price for the One 13 Touch should tempt the rest of us who haven't jumped yet.

Obsura 2 has been out for a while, but somehow I missed it. Now that I've connected to this photo app I'm happy to sing its praises.

Ten years ago, time-lapse photography wasn't really a big thing. Fast forward to now, and it's everywhere. GoPros and point and shoot cameras come equipped with easy options and can be stuck on anything from panning egg timers to $6000+ time lapse rigs. In a market full of options, Cinetics Axis360 is forging a new niche that any photographer interested in the genre should take a look at.

Known as “radical gear for the detail-obsessed,” Peak Design has a reputation for having a specific purpose for every cinch, strap, pocket, loop, and cord. In this line, Peak Design’s outdoor hikers, climbers, and adventurers paired up with the most detail-oriented gear nerds to bring us their revolutionary "Outdoor Bags" line. I had the opportunity to give the gear a test run for about a month. From traveling with the backpacks on photo assignments to grabbing the slings on my way out the door in my city-slicker life, I’m here to report my feedback on Peak Design’s newest line.

Being lazy is one of my favorite traits, so walking needs to be avoided at all costs. I'm kidding... well, not really. This wireless remote for my camera has saved me quite literally thousands of steps in my light painting processes.

In order to stand out from the competition, smartphone companies are placing a lot of their focus on developing the best cameras possible for their devices. The Leica-branded two-lens design of the Huawei Mate 10 Pro camera deserves a closer look.

So what’s it like to shoot in 12K video? This was just one of the many questions I had which inspired me to take the Blackmagic Design URSA Mini Pro 12K out for a spin and see how it would perform in the real world.

There are a ton of speedlight modifiers on the market today. Some utilize the miracle material we call Velcro, others use rare-earth magnets to affix their product to your flash. Photoflex takes a more traditional approach with their latest speedlight modifier by developing a collapsible octobox style modifier specifically designed for speedlights.

Olympus has started 2020 positively with the announcement of two cameras and a lens. I had the chance to test-drive the pro camera in Costa Rica to give you a full rundown.

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. But what if I told you that there’s a device you can use today, with the camera and lens you already have, that has the potential to capture places that are light years away from Earth?

Today I’ll be talking about the Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art lens for Sony E mount. As with my prior review of the 35mm version, I will be going over the topics that are relevant to me which are sharpness, focusing, bokeh, and usability.

Most of us over 30 have at least one box of old photo prints in a closet somewhere, and digitizing them is a worthwhile if tedious task. The Epson FastFoto FF-680W scanner seeks to make quick and easy work of that task while still producing high-quality results, and in this review, we take a look at what you can expect from it in practice.

With dual Thunderbolt 3 ports, eight drive bays, and an optional SSD acceleration bay, Drobo’s 8D is its fastest storage array yet. But the benefits of Drobo aren’t necessarily in speed, but instead in its user-friendly BeyondRAID system that takes the complexity out of managing your RAID setup. If you don’t like thinking about your backup but like to trust it’s going to work for you at all times, this might be the way to go.

Datacolor’s new Spyder Checkr Photo is a sized-down version of the original Spyder Checkr professional color reference tool while also being a vast improvement over the previous smaller version, the Spyder Checkr 24.

I recently had the opportunity to try out Lexar's modular workflow line of products which is an array of modular components that fit into a multi-bay, hot-swappable hub that connects to your computer via Thunderbolt or USB 3. After spending a few weeks with this interesting product, here is what you need to know. In this review I will be covering the hub itself, along with the SSD, SD Card Reader, and USB Hub modules.

A video recently posted by COOPH, “5 Photo Hacks with Your Umbrella,” provides photographers creative inspiration for a tool that is typically seen as single purpose. Chances are, you will finish it feeling inspired.

If you follow big name photographers or pages like FamousBTSMag on Instagram or elsewhere, you’ve likely seen a parabolic reflector. Even more likely is the prestigious names that are Broncolor or Briese plastered on the side. The results that these modifiers produce are absolutely gorgeous, there’s no doubt there. They offer the most even light spread of any modifier, a large range of sizes, and incredible versatility. If you’ve done some research, however, you’ll throw the idea of shooting with one out the door because of their incredibly steep price. A few months ago, I stumbled on a company by the name of Parabolix. What I found seemed entirely too good to be true.

The Viltrox 27mm f/1.2 Pro lens is the second offering in the company's line of lenses designed to appeal to professional photographers. In this review, we will find out if this lens has what it takes to get the job done for serious amateurs and professionals alike.

Skylum has kept reviewers well stocked with pre-release versions of Luminar Neo, and I've reported on the results. Nowm we've got the release version, although it is still not complete, which I'll detail below. Here's our review.

The Insta360 Titan has to be the most aptly named 360 camera on the market in many senses of the word. Size, image quality, price tag — take your pick. The Titan delivers on its name in all of those ways, but is it worth it?

ON1's relatively new to market Photo (RAW) 2017 has pushed their first major update into beta which Fstoppers managed to get our hands on for an early review. In December, we took a look at the original launch of Photo (RAW) 2017 and were impressed by many of the features but ultimately felt that it did not offer enough benefit to recommend switching to over existing raw editors. With this latest iteration ON1 has promised a series of impressive new features that it feels will launch it into contention as a top tier raw editing tool.

Shift lenses provide crucial solutions to problems faced by architectural and real estate photographers, and until recently, options have been extremely limited. Let’s take a look at this new shift lens option from Laowa.

Most gimbals that have been released in the last few years have had a similar design and aesthetic. For the most part, they've had a long handle where the batteries go in and the gimbal head on top. Recently, Zhiyun-Tech released their latest gimbal and I believe this will have quite the impact on the gimbal industry as a whole.

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. After doing some research I stumbled upon film 645 cameras. And so it began.

For all the stranded Mac users out there who’ve bought into the future that’s not quite here yet, there has been no shortage of products hitting the shelves to take you right back to the port-filled glory you once lived with. With all those ports taken from you, there is now an extra box on your desk just so you can reconnect the devices you use on a daily basis. USB-C and USB 3.1 promise so much in terms of potential that just isn’t realized yet. In the interim, connectors, hubs, and dongles are filling the void. At the high end, one such device is the CalDigit Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station.

Sony has announced the ninth addition to their G Master series, the FE 135mm f/1.8 GM, and it's the sharpest lens I've ever used. Check out all the details and download my raw photo files in this first-impressions review.

For people that want to connect their cameras to their smartphones for control it can be a nasty bug ridden adventure. If you look at apps designed to connect for Nikon, Canon, and Sony cameras you'll see reviews that go from faint praise to horrible.

Shooting with an iPhone is an excellent alternative in places where a DSLR is overkill, but in its default configuration, it lacks quite a few features. The company Moment offers solutions to most of my issues, starting with their superb wide angle lens.

Pixrit is the latest in social media content managers specifically targeting photographers. With tag lines like, “Designed for photographers, by photographers,” and, “Schedule 1 month of sharing in less than 5 minutes,” they have set high expectations for a service that already has some strong competition.

When it comes to camera bags for landscape photography, several vital components are needed to ensure they perform as expected. Will this Fernweh 50L bag from WANDRD tick all the necessary boxes? In this review, we will find out!

While shooting with an iPhone is great because you always have it with you, DSLRs still offer much better ergonomics. But what if there was a grip designed to pimp your smartphone and get more buttons and wheels?

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.