Every so often we'll hear about certain influencers and photographers stealing photos or using stock images to develop and build their Instagram accounts. On the surface, this seems horrifically bad I mean really really bad (insert Trump gif) but if we take a minute to really consider things, is it?
In the last few years, we've seen massive changes occur in the photography industry with whole camera divisions and markets wiped out and replaced. More than likely this will continue and the photography industry is going to be vastly different in the next five years.
We all know things can go wrong and sometimes they might be due to circumstances out of our control or due to a simple mistake. I'm certain we also know how important it is to be prepared for those unfortunate but inevitable situations. Clients, however, may not be as understanding and this is why it's important to have measures in place to ensure continuity.
For many photographers, Canon has been the source of a lot of frustration. It seems they've been holding back features and not innovating as much as other companies in the market. Companies like Sony have been pushing things forward with exciting announcements regularly and Canon has been doing pretty much the exact opposite, but is this about to change?
For many landscape and architectural photographers, a good filter system can be an absolute godsend. The kind of results you can produce are very difficult if not at all possible without them and it's for this reason they are ever more popular. Wine Country Camera is a company that specializes in making filters and their system looks pretty special.
When it comes to video editing software many of us may swear by one of the two popular options available from Adobe and Apple. Although they are great, they can be quite convoluted in some sense and the learning curve is extremely steep. Movavi have a fantastic alternative available with their Video Editor 14 Plus software.
Canon is definitely late to the party when it comes to developing a professional mirrorless system, however, being late isn't always a bad thing. There are advantages to being second or even third to market when it comes to new products. Unfortunately for Canon, Sony seems to have anticipated this with the a7 III and competing is not going to be easy.
When it comes to gimbals, there are so many great options available these days for almost any kind of setup. Feiyu-Tech is one of those companies that tend to make really good gimbals which have gained a lot of popularity recently. The Feiyu A2000 is one of those gimbals that offers plenty of features and its high weight capacity makes it a fantastic option.
When the Fujifilm X-H1 was first released in February this year, I wrote an article about how it was a disappointment. I'm certain many Fuji shooters will disagree with me about this, however, I stand by my points and this latest video from Kinotika describes many of my sentiments.
Safely removing drives... Is that still a thing? I'm assuming that most, if not all of us have removed a drive without going through the process of safely removing it from our computers. I mean who has time to sit and wait? It's much quicker to simply disconnect the drive and carry on with our day, but could this be a disaster waiting to happen?
Architectural photography isn't the cheapest genre of photography, mainly due to the fact that tilt-shift lenses are a little expensive. Sure there are cheaper options, however, they generally perform worse and may not be worth it. A company called Venus Optics might just have the solution with their Magic Shift Converter.
Many of you may reply to the title of this article with an abrupt "No," and prior to using the Canon 5D Mark IV for my own videos, I would have agreed with you. It's easy to judge this camera based on the specs because in all fairness they're not exactly groundbreaking, however, the 5D Mark IV might secretly be a great video camera.
GNARBOX recently launched their latest Kickstarter campaign for the GNARBOX 2.0 SSD. This portable hard drive allows you to backup, store, and, even edit your photos and videos. Their version 1.0 which also launched on Kickstarter gained a huge amount of popularity and the campaign for version 2.0 is doing extremely well.
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.
The Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro Lens is an incredible lens which offers the ability to get extremely close to your subjects. Venus Optics has decided to take direct aim at this very niche area of photography with their latest addition, the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro Lens.
The argument of full-frame versus APS-C seems to be an ever-growing one. There are always discussions happening somewhere online about how one is better than the other for various reasons. This video pits the Sony a7 III against the Fuji X-H1.
For the longest time, I've been trying to move away from using Lightroom and instead use Capture One all the time. Even with the latest update, Capture One is still much faster and more effective for editing, especially when it comes to the high-resolution files I normally work with. The only thing that prevented me from switching over completely was the lack of support for the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport.
For many architectural photographers, tilt-shift lenses from Canon are the go-to option. These particular lenses are quite possibly the best available, and although Nikon has their variants, they just don't seem to be as good as Canon. The problem, however, is that Canon doesn't currently offer the best camera to put those lenses on with cameras like the Nikon D850 and Sony a7R III offering much better noise performance and dynamic range. In this video, I adapt Canon lenses to Fuji's medium format camera.
Ten years ago if you posted a video of kittens playing, you may have gained a significant number of views. YouTube was still relatively new at that point and the perception towards it was very different. The perception has gradually changed and this is due in part to the kind of content now on YouTube and the success it has developed for many content creators. In his latest video, Casey Neistat discusses an article posted on Bloomberg describing how success on YouTube still means a life poverty.
Making videos on Premiere Pro using just my mouse has been getting really old really fast. Keyboard shortcuts are a way to make the whole process a little less monotonous, but it's still not perfect. Recently, however, I've been testing the Sensel Morph tablet and I think I've found the best thing for Premiere Pro.
NiSi Filters is currently developing a filter holder system with square filters for your smartphone. On the surface this may seem like a gimmick, however the more I think about it the more I start to like the idea of this product
Fujifilm has recently announced the X-H1, a larger APS-C mirrorless camera that leans more towards the video crowd. Although this camera is definitely an interesting one, I can't help but feel a little disappointed with the features.
Ever since the Canon 5D Mark II, it seems as though Canon has been dragging their feet when it comes to innovating. Their new announcements and releases tend to be met with quite a strong negative response, and although this may not be an overall consensus, it's prominent enough.
One of the really great things about the Fuji GFX 50s is the fact that it has a shutter built into the camera instead of it being in the lens. With a sync speed of only 1/125 of a second, on the surface, this may seem like a massive downside for the Fuji compared to the Hasselblad X1D which uses a leaf shutter mechanism. Instead, this one feature opens the GFX to a whole world of adaptable lenses and possibilities.
There have been far too many occasions in the past where I've been holding back from either starting a project or completing it. I would start procrastinating, finding different reasons and excuses to do anything but the project at hand. This mostly came down to the fact that I was unhappy with the work I was producing. I wanted my work to look like the stuff I saw on Instagram or Fstoppers, however, no practice no progress. Fortunately, for the most part, I have been able to remedy that mentality, although the feeling does creep up from time to time.
Up until now, Canon is still the only full-frame manufacturer that offers a 50-megapixel camera. The Canon 5DS R is still very much my favorite full-frame camera to use for any professional work. The usability and image quality are what appeals so much to me. Medium format, however, has always been seen as something that's a little out of reach for many photographers, but with releases from Pentax and Fuji the price has really come down and they're much more viable now than they have ever been. In my latest video, I decided to compare the Canon 5DS R, The Fujifilm GFX, and the Pentax 645Z to see how they perform against one another.
When it comes to filming, using a fast shutter speed is generally a bad idea. For most applications, you'll probably want to keep your shutter speed somewhere around 1/60 of a second, maybe even slower, depending of course on what frame rate your shooting at. The reason for this is because it allows for more smoother and cinematic looking footage which isn't choppy or harsh looking. Faster shutters speeds generally can be a little jarring to look at. The problem with this is that to compensate for this slower shutter speed you may need to stop your lens down. This, in turn, prevents you from getting that shallow depth of field, especially when filming outdoors.
To many of us, it's become apparent that mirrorless is the future for cameras. The huge advancements in short period of time have made them very popular. Companies like Fuji, Sony, and Panasonic have developed some fantastic cameras, and their respective ecosystems are growing fast with new lenses and accessories. Currently, Canon and Nikon have remained behind when it comes to effective and professional mirrorless systems and many disappointed professionals have already jumped ship to other manufacturers. As it becomes clear that Canon is developing their own model, here's what I think it needs to compete with those alread out there.
Medium-format cameras have long been known for their excellent image quality and incredible ability when it comes to rendering colors. Phase One's latest camera, the IQ3 100MP Trichromatic, takes this a step further and you can now get extremely accurate and effective colors, straight out of the camera. To learn more about the Trichromatic and how it compares to the "standard" 100MP back from Phase One, check out my previous article. The main issue with medium-format cameras such as these is that they cost significantly more than what most of us would like to pay. What if we could attain that level of quality without needing to spend anywhere as close?
Wildlife photography is one of the more expensive kinds of photography, with some popular lenses costing over $10,000. For many photographers, trying to get close enough to the subject may require longer 600mm lenses, but when you consider the price for each of them, a little research can definitely go a long way. The Canon 600mm F/4L II is a little cheaper than the Nikon 600mm F4E; however, sometimes the price isn't a major factor when deciding which to buy.
Medium-format cameras have long been known for being able to produce incredible and vibrant colors. This is one of the main reasons behind why many professionals upgrade and spend so much on these systems. The colors that you can achieve with the 16-bit sensors are very desirable and allow much more flexibility in post. Currently, the 100MP sensor is the only CMOS sensor that is 16-bit capable based on the hardware, and most people who shoot with these cameras are very happy with the results. Phase One, however, decided it wasn't good enough and released their new Trichromatic back.
2018 is coming up fast and Tony Northrup has uploaded his latest video with his camera predictions. Although predictions can very often be wrong, it doesn't stop us from trying. On occasions, many of us, including myself, tend to make predictions based on what we hope to see in the future.
On the surface, this may seem crazy, performing a drop test on a glass ND filter, but, hear me out. I've been speaking with Breakthrough Photography about their filters and one of the things that came up was the fact that their filters are made of tempered glass. They seemed really confident about how strong their filters were so I, of course, wanted to know how strong. After a few initial, probing questions, I asked them if I could do a drop test on their filters to demonstrate their durability. To my surprise, they not only agreed but, they sent me an extra filter specifically for the test.
You may have read my review of the H6D 100c where I demonstrate how several of Hasselblads high-end lenses are being outperformed by regular full frame lenses. You may have also seen some reviews on YouTube where reviewers weren't too happy with the lens line-up or performance of said lenses for the Hasselblad X1D. I still maintain that there isn't a single lens from Hasselblad currently available, that can outperform the top full frame lenses. Well, what happens when you couple one of the best full frame lenses currently available on the market with the X1D?
In the last few years, it seems a number of new filter manufacturers have popped up, significantly improving the competitiveness in this particular market. Neutral density filters have been known for being quite expensive and this one of the key reasons why many photographers still avoid using them. In recent years, however, companies like NiSi Filters and Breakthrough Photography have been delivering some incredible products with much more palatable prices to help photographers get the look they desire. In a previous comparison done by Fstoppers, Patrick Hall demonstrated how good the filters from Breakthrough are, and in fact, they won that particular comparison. Breakthrough claims their filters are the sharpest and most color neutral in the world, so I wanted to see how they perform against NiSi.
