Articles from Alex Coleman

If you’ve wanted a creative way to easily share snippets of your photography, you might’ve considered making or ordering stickers. Actually making custom stickers and labels requires juggling multiple machines—a more complex process compared to just printing photos at home. Liene aims to change that with the PixCut S1, an all-in-one photo printer and sticker cutter that integrates printing, cutting, and lamination into a single device. But does it live up to the promise? Let's dive into the details.

For content creators, working on location often comes with an unpredictable challenge: where to get power. Whether you’re in the middle of a remote landscape, shooting an all-day event, or simply trying to keep your gear running without hunting for a plug, a portable power station can be a game-changer. The VTOMAN FlashSpeed 1000 is a high-capacity, fast-charging, and budget-friendly power solution designed to keep your cameras, drones, laptops, and lighting setups running anywhere.

When it comes to affordable prime lenses, Meike has been steadily refining its offerings. The new Meike 55mm f/1.8 Pro is the latest in their lineup, and it aims to challenge not only budget-friendly competitors like the Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 but even premium, older options like the Zeiss 55mm f/1.8. With an attractive price tag, competent autofocus capabilities, and image quality not often found in lenses at this price point, does it live up to the "Pro" designation?

SmallRig has recently unveiled the RC 220B Pro LED Video Light, marking a significant evolution in its COB lighting lineup. Promising professional-grade performance in a lightweight, compact package, the RC 220B Pro is positioned to be the go-to light for video creators of all levels. I’ve had the opportunity to put it through its paces in real-world production environments to see how it stacks up.

Hollyland has officially unveiled its latest wireless mic solution, the Lark M2S microphone. Tailored for content creators who demand excellent audio quality without compromising convenience or dominating the shot, this sixth-generation Lark Series microphone delivers on multiple fronts. Here’s why this ultra-mini wireless microphone deserves a spot in your production toolkit.

When even a compact tripod is too large, photographers don’t have many options for supporting their gear outside of tabletop tripods. In that narrow market, the offerings can feel gimmicky or cheap. In contrast, Leofoto’s MT-04 brings their CNC-machined aluminum build quality and feature-rich ball head to the smallest total tripod package I’ve tried.

Pergear has introduced the second-generation 12mm f/2 lens, bringing improvements in design and functionality to this affordable APS-C wide angle lens. Here’s a closer look at what the new Pergear 12mm f/2 II lens has to offer.

For content creators working in the field (or even just on location, yet away from an outlet), a power station can be an invaluable accessory. In this review, I’ll be taking a look at the Bluetti Elite 200 V2, a battery pack with over 2,000 Wh of capacity, and showing just how useful it can be to power all the camera, video, and computer gear you might want.

When it comes to lenses, photographers who hear "ultra-wide" and "fast apertures" are usually bracing for an equally impressive price tag. The Viltrox 16mm f/1.8, however, seeks to deliver excellent optical quality and unique lens features at a reasonable price—in this review, I’ll see if Viltrox can execute a truly great ultra-wide prime.

Tripods are an invaluable tool for travel and landscape photography, and there are countless models to choose from. I’ve tested many over the years but found that a specific size and style just fit me best. This review will look at my last year using the Leofoto LS-284CEX and LH-36 head.

For any videographer, getting your equipment setup just right is key to achieving smoother workflows and better-quality shots. Recently, I upgraded my gimbal setup with a few accessories that have made a significant impact on both my shooting experience and footage quality. Looking back, I wish I had invested in these upgrades much sooner.

If you’re creating content on your iPhone, Apple’s storage pricing can make it very difficult to justify using storage-heavy workflows like ProRes. Lexar’s Go Portable SSD, however, is specially designed to be the perfect external storage pairing for iPhones and other USB-C mobile devices.

What happens when you combine just about every feature and size into a line of camera bags? You end up with a pretty great bag (and a long review)! In this review, I’ll be taking a look at PGYTECH’s 40L Flex bag from their new OnePro line.

New connection standards like USB4 offer photographers great opportunities to speed up their workflow. OWC has been one of the first to offer USB4 products to photographers and videographers, with products like their excellent Atlas Card Reader. Today, I’ll be taking a look at the storage side of their USB4 portfolio and reviewing the Express 1M2 portable NVMe SSD.

Portable SSDs can offer amazing speed for content creation applications like transferring photo libraries or editing 4K video, but many suffer from a slowdown after prolonged use when their faster cache is depleted or the drive heats up too much. ProGrade has announced a new line of portable SSDs designed to address both of these issues: the PG10 Pro SSD.

While the image of a harried producer talking into a wireless headset on a film lot might be a cliche, there’s a good reason why these products exist. Saramonic’s WiTalk 9 series of headsets offer an affordable way to access professional quality wireless communication, ideal for productions, drone operations, or other content creation endeavors where hands-free communication is essential.

ProGrade Digital makes a wide range of memory cards, targeting their products at the professional market. While their Iridium line of CFexpress Type A cards have already shown fantastic performance in my hands-on review, the combination of their blazing speed and larger capacities left them with a higher MSRP (although still at a good price per GB, to be clear). With the Gold line, ProGrade is bringing many of the desirable features to a lower pricepoint and capacity.

After 10+ years, I’ve realized no single camera bag is perfect, but some get close. The Nanuk N-PVD 30L combines a high-quality bag with a useful storage system. In this review, I’ll go through what I loved and explain how it fits into Nanuk’s broader “N-CUBIK ecosystem.”

For Sony shooters, most modern bodies offer a choice: inexpensive SD cards or the pricier Type A cards that offer far higher performance. Pergear’s latest Type A card is designed to offer much of the performance of the Type A form factor, but at a more budget-friendly price per GB. In this review, I’ll test out the 256 GB model to see if it really delivers on the value promised.

Tripods can run the gamut from tiny tabletop-style tripods to hefty production-grade setups. The Pineta Peak system from YC Onion sits towards the bigger end of the spectrum but blends smart use of materials and features to make it a reasonable purchase for many photographers and videographers. In this review, I’ll take a look at the system and give some context for why you might want to add this tripod to your kit.

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.

It's easier than ever to get started with video, thanks to the great video capabilities of most cameras (and even phones!), but having the right accessories can make a huge difference. Here are some essential accessories every videographer should consider adding to their kit.

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.

Truly affordable macro lenses, especially for hobbyists who are just starting out, are tough to find. The Pergear 60mm Macro lens promises magnification beyond the standard 1x reproduction ratio, but at just $200, can it really deliver usable results? In this hands-on review, I’ll test out this lens and take a detailed look at its performance.

The Nik Collection, a set of seven photo editing tools, has just received a version number update. Version 7 brings with it primarily speed and workflow improvements, but is that enough to justify a whole new upgrade? In this review, I’ll discuss the new features, improvements, and even a surprise missing feature of this venerable editing suite.

Hollyland’s latest wireless transmitter, the Pyro H, is now available. In this review, I go hands-on with this impressively-specced transmitter and see if it can fulfill everything that Hollyland promises.

On my most recent photography trip, I was reminded of some key landscape and travel photography lessons. In this article, I want to dive into how you can apply these to your next photography trip.

OWC has announced a number of new storage products in advance of the NAB Show in Las Vegas. Their new products include industry-leading CFExpress Type A cards with support for the 4.0 standard, the new Envoy SSD for a compact external SSD with a USB-C interface, and new capacities for their Envoy Pro Elektron and Envoy Pro Mini SSDs.

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.

Recently, Godox launched the V1Pro, an upgrade to the popular V1 flash. But with the V1 already at the top of the pack, was there much to improve? In this review, I’ll be comparing the Godox V1 and V1Pro to determine which you should consider adding to your flash photography kit.

The Godox X3 is a premium flash trigger, with a crystal clear OLED touchscreen and minimalist design. But does this trigger have the brains to match the beauty? In this review, I'll test the X3 versus Godox's previous flagship trigger and help you figure out which option is best for your flash kit.

Looking for a gimbal that's capable of stabilizing your mirrorless camera, phone, or action camera, all without taking up too much space in your bag? Zhiyun's newly announced Crane-M2 S brings the unique features of the larger M3, including a fill light, USB-C fast charge, and a built-in display, to the more compact form-factor of the Crane-M2. Want to see what makes this gimbal such a powerhouse?

DJI’s Mavic 3 is an amazing drone, but DJI’s pricing for their filters isn’t so amazing. Fortunately, companies like PGYTECH have made a range of filters compatible with the Mavic 3’s unique mount and camera setup. Are they worth pairing with the high-performance camera the drone is equipped with? I put PGYTECH’s Mavic 3 filter series to the test in this review.

While it’s always fun to window-shop $14,000 lenses, the best value for the dollar can be had from some simple $30 or less accessories. Over the last year, I’ve found 4 pieces of gear that have earned a permanent place in my bag — here are my favorite cheap and functional accessories that can all fulfill a variety of roles.

If you’re into astrophotography, a drone typically isn’t your camera of choice. That’s why I was surprised to see Haida’s release of a light-pollution reducing filter for the new Mavic 3, which they’re calling the NanoPro Clear-Night Filter. Does this filter change the experience of shooting with a drone at night?