Latest Gear Reviews

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. The Snap Touch is an all-in-one camera and printer just like the original, but this time it comes packed with a 3.5-inch LCD touch screen and full video capabilities.

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. With the current lineup of available add-on lenses for our mobile devices, we can capture some macro or even wider shots.

Pixellu released SmartAlbums about two years ago, and it was a game changer for wedding photographers. Creating albums was made easy and affordable, even for those who don’t know a thing about design. They are back with a new product this year and aim to change the game again. This time, they bring a slideshow solution called SmartSlides. I had the chance to access the beta in its early stage and wanted to give you a first impression. Wedding photographers, be sure to read this article. You may find a new product to sell while not doing much more work!

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. For users of the new line of MacBooks, things got a lot more difficult recently, as drives with native USB Type-C ports are few and far between so far. A few scattered offerings are around, and the Caldigit TUFF is a drive squarely aimed at being compatible with future devices, as well as a good option for professional on-location use.

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. You also come here for a host of perspectives on anything that has to do anything with the art of photography and things related. You come here for news, gear, pictures, and stories about how photos are made. And you come here for the little things. We do care about the little things. Here's a review of a little thing, The Peak Design Field Pouch.

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. But at $3,699, it’s an investment decision not to be taken lightly since one could pick up a DJI Ronin-M for 1/3 of the cost. We spent three months with the Osmo Raw, and despite some success, major issues piled up.

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.

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. I expected better quality when compared to the Phantom 3 Pro, but not this much. I decided to run a few tests comparing photos and video with the two drones going head to head. 

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. Running their latest Android 7.1 along with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 paired with 4GB of RAM and both a 5 inch and 5.5 inch display option. Let's dig into why this might just replace your iPhone and finally bring you to the dark side, Android. 

Announced on Fstoppers a while back, the Platypod Pro Max Camera Support is one of my favorite recent additions to my primary camera kit. The Platypod Pro Max Camera Support is a wide, stable, and ultra low-profile platform that allows you to set up a large tripod head, camera, and lens on both horizontal and vertical surfaces. The larger platform is solid and even more stable than it’s predecessor for better results.

Lensbaby has been making creative effect lenses for SLR and DSLRS for many years, and maintain a high level of popularity among a wide range of photographers. They have three primary “looks” that they sell in their lenses: selected focusing, soft focus, and a “twist” effect (similar to a Petzval lens). Until recently, their lenses were only available in SLR mounts, but they have begun to offer mount options for mirrorless cameras as well. Their new lens, the Trio 28, combines their three classic optics into a single lens. Does it give you the best of all worlds? Let’s find out.

Back in June, I reviewed the Hawkesmill Jermyn Street Camera Bag, which I continue to love to this day. I have used it every day for the past nine months, easily swapping in panels for when I need to carry camera gear and removing them when I just need an awesome daily bag. I mentioned in that review that Hawkesmill would soon be releasing smaller versions of their luxury bags geared specifically towards mirrorless camera users. I’ve been using the smaller version from my first review for the past several months and am ready to kick off the new year with some of my thoughts regarding this bag.

The more you photograph people, places, and things, the more you understand how much control the available light has over the outcome of your image. Taking advantage of tools like filters to limit or modify the light coming into your camera is a great way to craft a unique image and even add a dramatic flare that you may not be able to create otherwise.

Peak Design is a camera accessory and bag maker that began on Kickstarter, producing the Everyday Messenger bag. They designed the Everyday Messenger in cooperation with photographer Trey Ratcliff, who supposedly had quite a bit of input on its usability. Peak Design recently released three new bag lines following its most recent take to the crowdsourcing site that started it all for them. I supported the campaign and, after a bit of a run-around with a delivery service clearly feeling the pre-Christmas rush, received the Everyday Tote in time for this review.

This week, ON1 Software released their new Photo RAW 2017 processor. It functions as both a raw processor and a simple editing workflow that can be used as a standalone application or as a plugin within various other editing applications such as Lightroom. In this article, we will take a quick look at Photo RAW 2017 in order to provide some first impressions on what ON1 is touting as one of their most powerful tools to date.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent hours browsing sites like B&H Photo Video comparing different tripods, tripod heads, and their features. You may also take it a step further by watching reviews until your eyes burn before you decide to finally make that decisive click and add one to your shopping cart. It’s an understandable practice if you ask me. Perhaps you’re in the market for the best travel tripod money can buy. If that’s the case, you’d be hard pressed to find a better option than the Gitzo GT1545T Series 1 Traveler Carbon Fiber Tripod.

Do you live tied down? Weighed down by the ball and chain? Feel like you're living with a leash on? No, I'm not talking about your love life, I'm talking about that tether cord attached to your camera. In-studio or on-location tethering has become a necessity, especially if you're working with clients. The thought leader in their cable tethering technology, Tether Tools, has created their latest product, Case Air, to help make photographers live free again. 

After shooting flash for a handful of years, I have acquired a small arsenal of lights that are suited for different needs. I have the large studio lights that are great for overpowering the sun, small hot shoe flashes that have the ability to use features like TTL and high-speed sync, and then video lights that allow me to see exactly what my light is doing before I take an image. So when I saw that the Phottix Indra500 TTL could do all three, I was instantly intrigued.

The idea of a travel tripod causes hesitation. On one hand, you have a size that makes bringing a tripod on location no longer a physical strain. On the other, these tripods tend to be thin, causing them to be less sturdy than larger, thicker tubed tripods. The key to a good travel tripod is striking a balance of size and strength. For the past few years, MeFOTO has been the leading brand in travel tripods with their wide selection of sizes. Their introductory line of tripods offered everything from tabletop height to a full size 64" tripod. With their newest release, they seem to be pushing the boundaries of how small a tripod can really be. 

Blackmagic sent me one of their 4.6K URSA Mini Cameras to play with, and after just a few short days of messing around with it, the URSA Mini certainly made an impression. A RAW, 16-bit, 4608 pixel-wide impression to be specific. In short, this camera system is a beast, and comes at a price point that is very attractive.

More and more photographers are starting to adopt a minimalist approach to their photography gear. What this means is that users want and need smaller bags that accommodate their gear. Having a small camera body and a couple lenses is almost useless if you have to let them rattle around in larger traditional camera bags. Fashioned after WWII army backpacks, the Wotancraft Scout shoulder bag has the looks and size to fill this need, but does it have the functionality to stand out in the growing market?

In early October, Sony announced a new addition to their a6000-series of APS-C mirrorless cameras. This camera, the a6500, is the new flagship of Sony’s crop-sensor line and costs $400 more than the previously released a6300. So what are we getting for that extra cash? Check out my first hands-on look of the 24.2-megapixel Sony a6500.

Canon has always been known for its fabulous portraits lenses: the 85mm f/1.2 and the 135mm f/2. I used to own and love both of them, with a preference for the first. When I bought into the Nikon system, I was afraid I would miss these two optics. But truth be told, the Nikon 85mm f/1.4 is at least as good as its Canon equivalent if not better! Regarding the 135mm, that’s a whole different story as the Nikon’s is quite old now. However, they recently announced the 105mm f/1.4, and I had the chance to put my hands on it for a few weeks! Let’s see how it compares with other portrait lenses and if it could potentially replace a 135mm.