Popular Gear Reviews

Color Theory Pro Will Help You Manage Color Like a Pro

Managing colors is one of the most important things photographers need to get right. It’s true for portrait, landscape, and wedding photographers—all of us. And there are a lot of approaches to getting the color right.

Rugged and Powerful: Fstoppers Reviews the Elinchrom ELB 1200

The Elinchrom ELB 1200 is the almost perfect battery pack for any photographer who shoots with flash. Powerful but not too cumbersome to carry, it has a lot of features to seduce you! Find out through this review if it has a place in your kit or not.

Fstoppers Reviews the Alter Rapid Filter System

Early on in my career, I was quite reluctant to use any kind of filter system. I was under the impression that any filter effects could be achieved by utilizing a few techniques such as mean stacking. I've changed my mind since then and I now regularly use filters for my work. The issue is they can be a hassle, however, a company called Alter may have a solution.

Fstoppers Review of the Blackmagic Video Assist 4K Video Monitor and Recorder

Aimed at DSLR filmmakers looking to invest in a larger production kit, the Blackmagic Video Assist 4K is a seven-inch touchscreen monitor that doubles as a video recorder. I was able to use the Video Assist during several shoots last month in Chicago, and I’ll go over the features, build quality, uses, and talk a bit about pricing as well.

Fstoppers Reviews the Insta360 Go 2: Leveling Up the Action Camera

On the surface, it doesn’t look like Insta360’s latest entry in the GO lineup is all that different from its previous model. Looks, in this case, are very, very deceiving. The Insta360 GO 2 fixes every issue with its predecessor and in the process, has become a versatile and eminently usable camera in its own right.

Fstoppers Reviews the Insta360 One X: An Upgrade for an Already Solid Camera

Insta360 seems to be determined to bring 360 video into the mainstream, with a range of easy-to-use cameras that span from low-res models meant to piggyback off your phone, to high-end professional models with six lenses. The new Insta360 One X takes many of the best bits from all of these devices and puts them into a standalone 360 camera that sits at the top end of their consumer lineup, just below the Pro models.

Fstoppers Reviews NiSi 100 x 100mm Nano IRND 3.0 10-Stop ND Filter

The 10-Stop ND filter is one of the favorite filters of most landscape and urban photographers, as it extends the exposure time and makes possible achieving different results. The filter market is growing and NiSi is quite popular these days. So I decided to test NiSi 10-Stop ND filter with V5 holder system to see if it is a good option.

ProGrade Iridium CFexpress Type A 4.0 Cards: Futureproof Performance?

CFexpress Type A has been a bit of a niche card format compared to the bigger Type B cards. Mostly used in Sony cameras, Type A cards haven’t seen as wide availability or as high specs. However, ProGrade has just launched their Iridium line of Type A cards, which promise to take performance into the next generation.

Saramonic Ultra Mic Review: Can It Compete with DJI and Rode?

Last week, I received an email from Saramonic. They wanted to sponsor a video featuring their new Ultra Mic System. But unlike every sponsored video request I've ever gotten, they didn't want control over the video, they asked for a fair and honest review, comparing their product to two of the industry leaders: DJI and Rode.

Fstoppers Reviews the Hawkesmill Jermyn Street Bag

I am going to be completely up front with you: this is an expensive camera bag. It is, in fact, the most expensive camera bag I have ever owned, and I have owned many. Instead of buying this bag, you could easily purchase a very solid prime lens. But you know the old saying "you get what you pay for"? Well sometimes that turns out to be 100 percent true.

Dehancer Will Get You Into Film Emulation With a Clever Plug-in

If you're tired of struggling to get the "right" look on your still images, Dehancer is coming to the rescue with a solid plug-in for Photoshop, Lightroom Classic, Affinity Photo, and Capture One. It's available for Mac and Windows.

Field Review of the Godox Junior Retro-Inspired Flash

Let me rewind the clock by a decade: it’s the tail end of 2012, and the NYPD was in the process of clearing out Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan. Over the last year, Occupy Wall Street had been picking up steam, with an encampment filling the better part of the park and protests regularly spilling out into the streets.

Pocket-Sized Powerhouse: A Review of the LumeCube XL COB LED Light

The LumeCube XL 60 W RGB Mini COB LED Light has hit the market, promising professional-quality lighting in a very compact design. With features aimed at both content creators and professional photographers and videographers, I put this "Pocket-Sized Powerhouse" through its paces to see if it lives up to the hype. This article discusses my experience with it.
Red Giant Audio/Video Sync Program Pluraleyes Makes Editing a Lot Faster

If you aren't using some sort of software to sync audio, you're sitting in your edit bay manually matching audio to video queues, be that sounds, video hints or timecodes. But what if you could just dump all your camera footage from an interview and all the audio from your recorder into one program and hit one button to sync them all quickly and accurately? You can with Red Giant Pluraleyes, and it's nearly perfect.

Fstoppers Reviews the Fotodiox Pro Nikon F to Fujifilm GFX Lens Mount Adapter

Lens mount adapters are available in huge numbers for mirrorless cameras thanks to the reduced flange distance they offer. Nearly all Full Frame and Medium Format mounts have been adapted to the Fujifilm GFX series of cameras now, and today we'll take a look at the middle-of-the-pack Fotodiox Pro Nik(G)-GFX Lens Mount Adapter and discuss what it is and what it isn't to see if it would fit the bill for you.

Fstoppers Reviews RhinoShield 0.6X HD Wide-Angle Lens for the iPhone

Smartphone photography is fast becoming a significant genre within the industry. Many professionals actually use their smartphones for commercial purposes and for good reason. The portability and connectivity many smartphones offer, give it a great advantage in many scenarios.

Product Photography Made Easy: We Review the Ombar Light Box

The Ombar Photo Studio Light Box is a 24”x24” LED box designed to make product photography simple, even for those with limited studio skills. In this review, we discuss the features, pros, and cons and whether this might be the light box for you.

We Review the Westcott Optical Spot by Lindsay Adler

The Westcott Optical Spot by Lindsay Adler is a modifier that can be used to create a variety of in-studio effects including shapes, patterns, hues, and selective shadowing of a subject or background. If you are a portrait photographer, this device can open up a myriad of creative options for you and your clients.

Are These Memory Cards Really Worth It? We Review the OWC’s Atlas Memory Card Line

OWC’s Atlas line of memory products, which includes SDXC, CFexpress Type A and B models, and high-performance readers, isn’t cheap. However, they promise leading performance and integration with their Innergize card management system. But can users really make use of all that performance? In this review, I’ll take a look at the ecosystem and test out all the features.

Fstoppers Reviews the WANDRD HEXAD 45L Duffel Bag

In every photographer’s ongoing search for the perfect bag, until recently it seemed there was a gaping hole: a 45-liter bag suitable as hand luggage on short-haul flights, offering the possibility to combine camera gear with a few days’ worth of clothes. The HEXAD Access Duffel from WANDRD fills that gap and does an incredibly good job of it.

Our First Look at the New Sony FE 20-70mm F/4 G

There's definitely more than meets the eye with this new standard zoom lens option. Aside from a wider range and a smaller size, let’s see what else this has to offer.

Are Fluidstance Balance Boards a Good Way to Keep Photographers Healthy?

Photographers sit for so long during the day — an average of ten hours for the photographers I interviewed — that it's affecting their health in potentially disastrous ways. In this review, I'd like to help you decide whether adding a Fluidstance balance board to your office could provide a valuable way to protect your health.

How to Make Your 4K Footage Look Like It Was Shot in the 90s

So many photographers have recently been dipping their toes in the world of video. You can edit photos like a pro, but maybe you just can't seem to figure out video editing; it's very complex – like an onion, so many layers – and now you have to deal with sound design! If you've used presets for your photo editing, then you should definitely consider plugins for your video editing. Red Giant sent us a copy of their recently updated Universe 2.1. Jump on in and see what it's all about.

Power Station for Photographers: We Review the Bluetti AC60

I have been searching for a portable power station that can meet my energy needs on the go and power my home office during power outages for some time now. And with the Bluetti AC60, I found a compact solution.

Fstoppers Reviews the Tenba Axis 20L Backpack

For those of us who insist on lugging our gear out on location, a sturdy backpack is a must-have. As a hiker, climber, and chronically over prepared photographer, I’m used to packing a heavy load up the side of a mountain. That’s why I was so excited to get my hands on the 20L Tenba Axis Backpack.

Fstoppers Reviews Haida’s NanoPro Mist Black Filter: Softer Can Be Better

While many reviews look at how sharp a lens can be, for this review, we’ll be looking at a filter that does the opposite. Haida's NanoPro Mist filter is actually designed to add a soft glow, while still keeping fine details. Now, before you think about the JCPenney portrait studio shots of the past decades, this filter is subtler. Haida’s NanoPro Mist filter is instead designed to diffuse the highlights and soften the overall contrast, bringing the filmic characteristic of halation to digital. Does it live up to the task?

Is This the Answer to All Your Color Issues? We Review Datacolor’s Spyder Checkr Photo

Color. Vivid green forests, melty brown chocolate, voluptuous red lips: color is the reason that compels so many of us to reach for our cameras. When I was approached about reviewing Datacolor's Spyder Checkr Photo, I was skeptical. Color is one of the most-often stated reasons clients approach me. Was this little device just another gimmick marketed to chroma junkies, or was it a tool that would fine tune my color-centric work? I gave it a try, and I’m here to share my findings with my fellow artists who love color as much as I do.

Perfect Power Solution for Photographers on the Road

A few weeks ago, I reviewed the Bluetti AC60 compact power station. This device was already great on its own. But, I had a critique about its capacity of only 403Wh. Today, I show how to extend the AC60 to become the perfect power solution for the road and the office.

Sally Davies' 'New Yorkers' May Be the Best Photography Monograph Of 2021

As a photographer and a photography critic, I see and review hundreds of photo books. Most, unfortunately, are not all that good. Some are actually outright bad, and others are okay, but ultimately just bring more of the same to the table. This is not the case with Sally Davies' first-ever monograph, "New Yorkers."