Popular Gear Reviews

The Sony a7S has been the subject of a hotbed of conversation for the past four or five months as a camera with a lot of potential to really shake up the cinema world. This of course was extremely interesting to me as a videographer. I've finally gotten my hands on the camera and after a few days shooting with it on set, I'm not quite ready to write a review, but I do think it is important to address a feature about which I feel lied to: 4K.

In today's world of hyper-exposure to media and art, it is a rare occurrence when a piece just grabs you by the heartstrings. Day in and day out you see another reiteration of the same old concept. But every once in a while, there's that moment when you come across another photographer’s work that leaves you in awe of their talent and unique vision. It's the kind of work that inspires you, and also makes you a bit jealous for not coming up with it yourself.

Late last year, Trevor Dayley wrote an article which introduced me to the Mastin Labs Portra 400 film emulation preset system. As a long time Kodak Portra 400 shooter I was thrilled to see side-by-side comparisons of Portra 400 against digital with the preset. They looked darn near identical. Now Kirk Mastin, the mastermind behind the presets is gearing up to release his Fuji 400H preset system and I couldn't be more excited.

With the effortless launch of Capture One 11, it only made sense to go back and share a hidden gem of a seminar that helped me greatly with color editing. Capture One's cutting-edge color editing ability, now combined with the newfound layer and opacity capability breathe a new sense of life into a process that can sometimes feel overwhelming and daunting.

When I received the RAVPower FileHub my first thought was "This thing is light. It can't be what it says it is." and boy was I wrong. While it definitely is not perfect, the RAVPower FileHub is an extremely versatile, handy, device for those that like to travel light.

One of the disadvantages of GoPro and DSLR video setups is your inability to use them in a broadcast setting. GoPro attempted to address this with their HEROCast system to the tune of $7,500, which is out of the reach of most average consumers. So when the guys behind FREECAST reached out about having us check out their new affordable wireless transmission system, it was a no-brainer to give it a go.

Making its start as a wildly popular Tumblr blog, the “Black Dogs Project” was created by Massachusetts-based portrait photographer Fred Levy. The goal of Levy’s project is to bring to light the reality of black dog syndrome, which is an observance that black dogs tend to always be adopted last from shelters. Now made into an inspiring hardbound photo book, I’d like to share some of my favorite cute doggy photos from “The Black Dogs Project” and give an overview of the charming stories within.

Whether you’re a photographer or videographer, you know the difference lighting can make in creating a compelling shot. While there are dozens of tools and techniques you can leverage in your next shoot, the Godox TL60 tube light might offer the creative possibilities you’re looking for, particularly for video work. Want to see what makes it so special?

Edelkrone has established a glowing reputation as builders of thoughtful, premium camera stability and slider products. The latest addition to this line was an upgrade to their motorized, all-in-one slider, the SliderONE PRO. Here is our in-depth review after spending six weeks with this professional, app-controlled video accessory.

At half the price of the Nikon equivalent, how does the Viltrox 35mm f/1.8 AF Lens for Nikon Z fair? Pretty darned good in my opinion. Third-party lenses can be a hit-or-miss affair with a lack of sharpness, and cheap construction, Viltrox, however, is certainly not guilty of that.

The Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM APO Macro is somewhat of a red herring that doesn’t get talked about very often. Most macro shooters are content with a 100mm macro lens, and most portrait shooters tend to go with a 70-200mm for their telephoto needs. 150mm just isn’t a focal length that is commonly seen these days. Does that make this Sigma lens a sleeper gem or just another lens to overlook in favor of other options?

DJI turned some heads last month when they unleashed their latest version of their Phantom series, the Phantom 4. The Phantom 4 has become a breakthrough drone with its new high-end features at a consumer price. Not only does it fit a consumer budget, but it also is an easy and safe drone to fly for beginners. How do I know this? This is the first drone I have ever flown, and we put it to the test.

Is this the king of flash? Well, very likely, yes. The Profoto Pro-11 is the world’s most expensive flash, that behaves like the world’s most expensive flash. I had the Pro-11 unit to review and here are my thoughts.

Westcott is known for their amazing lighting products. Not only do they have great lighting modifiers and lights, but they are also constantly coming up with new technologies and products that make life as a photographer easier. Their new line of flex lights promises to do just that, but how do they perform in the real world?

"Vintage" point-and-shoot digital cameras are all the rage among Gen Z today, and while you can cruise eBay to find something used to scratch that itch, what can you get for about the same money new?

Long exposure photography is a staple of the craft and a right of passage for beginners, but if you have some photos or a time-lapse that wasn't a long exposure and you think it might have looked good as one, look no further.

Wireless video transmitters have always been extremely expensive, until now.

When I sat down to read the copy of Picture Perfect Lighting by Roberto Valenzuela my first expectation was a book that parroted much of the same content that many other photography books had already laid out many times in the past. Basic lighting tips, the exposure triangle; the usual sorts of stuff that you'd expect from a typical book on photography. To my surprise, however, Picture Perfect Lighting offers a delightfully unique glimpse into lighting that can help beginners and veterans alike.

In the new online course from Masters of Photography, street photography icon Joel Meyerowitz discusses his career, his technique, and teaches students how to apply those lessons in becoming a better photographer.

As a former standard zoom lens user, I noticed that 28mm was one of my most preferred focal lengths according to the metadata in my image catalog. Seeing this choice that I've made subconsciously, as well as the obvious advantages of using primes, I finally decided to switch all my zoom lenses with primes. The Nikon AF-S 28mm f/1.8G was my final choice for a wide-angle prime. So far, it looks like I've made a good decision.

With so many plugins out there to choose from and with nearly everyone trying to emulate old film looks, is this new plugin worth considering? Check out our review.

The recently released Samsung NX1 totes a promising list of specs: 4K video at 24fps recorded to the new H265 codec, 1080p at 60fps, 28MP stills, 205 phase detection AF points, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. However, none of that matters if what comes out of the camera looks like crap. Fortunately, Andrew Reid over at EOSHD got his hands on the new camera to put it through its paces and the NX1 turns out to be quite the performer. In his tests he compares footage from Samsung’s newest flagship body to other heavy-hitting video-shooters such as the Panasonic GH4 and Canon 5D Mark III, and the Samsung proved that it can hold its own with the big boys. Take a look at the footage and see for yourself.

Creating beautiful and compelling imagery through the medium of photography is a difficult challenge. Capturing a scene as it unfolds is both art and truth in storytelling. Today, digital photography presents the effortless platform for image capture. Excelling technology allows anyone to pick up a camera and take excellent photographs. One might say the ease of digital imagery has opened doors across platforms. We’ve seen this paradigm before; we witnessed the introduction of gateway tools in the world of photography since the dawn of the medium, each time bringing in new and excited enthusiasts who will go on to redefine what it is to be a photographer. In 1981, well before the surge of digital technology, there was a camera that similarly ushered in a generation of photographers: the Canon AE-1 Program.

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. I’ve put the book to the test to see if the quality lives up to the claims made on their website and the Instagram advertisement that led me to them.

I remember when GoPro first came out with their action cameras and owned that corner of the market for a while. Fast forward a few years, the action cameras have been reduced in size while being able to capture higher resolution photos and videos. Also, several other companies joined the action camera market with their own versions many sharing similar designs that of the GoPro action camera.

Continuing on my reviews of the Sigma Art line which is becoming slowly available for native Sony E mount, today I'm going over my thoughts on the 20mm f/1.4 Art in that native E mount.

It's been the nuisance of the modern, technological era: shaky video. Shaky video not only is annoying, but the fix is usually expensive, bulky, and not too practical — until recently. DJI, one of the most innovate companies going right now has the answer to that problem, at a consumer price. It’s called the DJI OSMO.

When considering what lens to buy, there are a few features and technical aspects you should consider to help make your choice. If being able to customize the way your lens focuses is important to you, you will want to check out the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2.

I’ve been a user of the original One Man Crew for many different videos. It’s ability to get elegant motion video clips have made it a go-to piece of gear for when I need my interviews to have an interesting look to them. When I heard that an updated version was being released, I was excited to see if a few issues were fixed. In this gear review, I'll break down what is fixed, and what left me wanting more.

Sirui's launched the Venus 150mm T2.9 1.6x Full-Frame Anamorphic Lens. Beyond its sharp imagery, pleasing bokeh, and unique anamorphic flare, its standout feature is the remarkably close minimum focus distance. This capability sets the lens apart, elevating it to a distinct tier of optical brilliance.

Anybody of a certain age remembers the ViewMaster, a favorite childhood toy that read circular reels through a bright red stereoscopic viewfinder, rendering images from those reels in vivid, 3D detail. If nothing else, the color of Kandao’s new QooCam EGO viewfinder gives away that someone at that company has fond memories of the ViewMaster.

Today, I’ll offer you my thoughts on the new Fujfilm GF 50mm f/3.5 R LM WR medium format lens.

Life as a photographer or videographer means cords — lots and lots of cords. Personally, I hate them, mostly because I'm a klutz and will invariably wrap myself in them and take down the entire set in one fell swoop. I've done my best to minimize wires in my life, but one area that's remained stubbornly dependent on physical connections is broadcasting anything on my television. The Nyrius Aries Pro seeks to change that with its 1080p wireless HDMI system, and the results are quite good.

For years, videographers shooting in dark situations frequently ran into the issue of a ton of noise in darks and shadows that would oftentimes make some footage difficult or impossible to use. Many have heralded the release of the a7S II with applause due to its power for video in low-light situations and even to record bursts of high frame rates in HD, so we took one into the deep recesses of an abandoned power plant in New Orleans to see how it did.

My favorite drives of the last several years have been these newer, compact, portable SSD drives, especially as they’ve become more affordable. But G-Technology’s G-Drive Mobile Pro SSD is in a class of its own for those that need real speed.

Almost every accessory brand is taking the horizontal-to-vertical rotation mounts very seriously. Let’s see what Ulanzi’s range of options have to offer.

Sound is a critical aspect of content creation in today’s world. Whether it’s for a YouTube channel, Twitch streaming, interviews, or podcasting, your voice will reflect who you are, and where you are recording can also have a profound effect on the audio. Viewers are used to loose camera work videos, but if the audio is bad, then most of the time, viewers give up. So, we tested out the new DJI Mic to see if does indeed produces great sound quality.

For the last week, I've been playing with the new DJI's completely reimagined modular action camera system, the Action 2. Aspects of this new system are ingenious, but it is far from perfect.

Pictured above are the two lenses currently available from Moment that I stumbled across while browsing Kickstarter and immediately knew I had to have. The 60mm Tele and 18mm Wide are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, while maintaining the sturdiness and incredible optics of products ten times their size. The following are my first impressions after they landed on my porch.

In this section of my five-part series, I’d like to look at the overall experience of shooting with a medium format camera versus shooting with a full frame or APS-C sized sensor. We’ll also look at some of the unique quirks to take into account with the Fuji GFX 50S.

The "Masters of Photography" courses are a collection of online lessons provided by, as the name implies, some of the top photographers around today. I tried their Joel Meyerowitz course to see what I could learn about street photography from one of the best in the game.

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.

If you're like me (and basically every photographer I know), you're a little bit paranoid. Your heart skips a beat when you hit "Format" on your memory cards. You don't trust a source unless it's backed up. ioSafe was not originally built for photographers, but it certainly caters to them with a fireproof, water proof and basically life proof design. With the addition of specialized apps, ioSafe looks to be a the way to store and monitor your precious images and video.

As a working professional, I rely on my gear and need it to perform in all conditions. Recently, I was given the opportunity to field-test the new Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7 Di III VXD. It may just surprise you, as it did me.

Epson asked me if I was interested in reviewing the EcoTank photo ET 8500 all-in-one printer. I said yes and got the opportunity to use the printer for a month. Is it worth investing in this printer? Let’s find out.

Sigma is known for making high-quality affordable lenses. Here’s why the new Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG DN lens is a lens you should consider.

The new HEX Ranger Sling XL bridges the gap between a large backpack and a traditional sling, combining elements of both for photographers who want to travel light without leaving almost everything at home.

What do you get when you cross a solo event photographer’s working bag with your favorite business travel backpack that you can also take on a day hike through the Adirondacks to photograph your favorite waterfall? How close are we to having the perfect photographer’s camera bag that ticks each and every box?

There’s a variety of options for creating panoramas. Lightroom and Photoshop both have it built in, not to mention the variety of standalone programs. One, however, stands far above the rest: here’s the best program to get if you want to create panoramas.

If you’re looking to add a hint of cinematic flair to your Fujifilm X100V images, I have the perfect accessory for you.