Rode VideoMicro II Review: Tiny Mic, Big Sound
I use various microphones on my YouTube channel and while the majority of them would be considered high-end, the one I’ve been using recently is the Rode VideoMicro II.
I use various microphones on my YouTube channel and while the majority of them would be considered high-end, the one I’ve been using recently is the Rode VideoMicro II.
As the mirrorless camera market hits its stride and companies have caught up on their typical prime and zoom lens offerings, we see new offerings in non-traditional focal lengths. I can’t remember writing the words “all-in-one” in my decades in the tech press world as I have in the last year.
Sony has announced the new Sony FE 20-70mm f/4 G lens, a compact, lightweight lens with a wider field of view than the traditional 24-70mm focal length.
The Sigma 60-600mm for Sony E-Mount is a versatile, compelling, and unique lens with a mindblowing 10x optical zoom range. As with any all-in-one lens, it’s not without its compromises, and the $2000 price puts it up against Sony’s native FE 200–600mm f/5.6–6.3 G OSS, even though the Sigma has a more versatile zoom range.
Sony's Alpha 7R V has the company's most advanced autofocus system that is remarkably powerful, but while the company has displayed its engineering prowess with Real-Time Recognition, it has also revealed its most significant weakness: interface design.
Canon’s new RF 135mm f/1.8 L IS USM is an essential lens in the company’s mirrorless system, not only because the focal length is a staple choice of portrait, wedding, and corporate photography, but because Canon's latest prime is truly exceptional.
In my brief first look at the X-T5 launch event, I talked about the new smaller size of the Fujifilm X-T5 and its image quality. Fujifilm fans have a lot to love in the X-T5, and it's a big enough upgrade for customers of the X-T4 to consider moving up to the X-T5.
The battery is the least thought-about accessory a photographer or videographer depends upon to get a job done. These small hunks of chemicals allow electricity to flow through our gear, allowing our creativity to flow.
SmugMug and Flickr (which was acquired by SmugMug in 2018) have announced a new nonprofit organization called the Flickr Foundation, whose mission is to help keep "billions of historic and culturally significant photographs safe, sound, and accessible for future generations."
Logitech has boldly entered into a pro microphone category dominated by well-known brands and comes out smelling like a rose: its Blue Sona hits every note.
DJI has announced a new member of its Mini drone lineup: a sub-249 gram drone with a 1/1.3-inch sensor called the DJI Mini 3.
Working on videos for my YouTube channel, I’ve been finding that even the SSDs I own aren’t able to keep up with the transfer speeds needed for live editing of 10-bit 4K video. As I test things for PetaPixel, like the super-high resolution cameras with 6K and higher footage capabilities that using the fastest drives possible becomes increasingly important.
DJI’s recent release of the Mavic 3 Classic slightly confuses the company’s drone lineup but gives consumers a drone that’s better suited to most creative’s needs and better suited to customer checkbooks.
7Artisans has announced a new large-aperture prime lens for the Leica M Mount, the M35mm f/2 Mark II, an updated model of its previous 35mm f/2 for Leica rangefinders that has since been discontinued.
Belkin’s Continuity Camera iPhone Mount with MagSafe for Mac Notebooks (yes, that is the entire product name) is a valiant attempt to bring Apple's iPhone-based webcam video solution to Mac notebooks, but it falls short. Literally.
The Fujifilm Instax mini EVO is a combination digital camera, traditional Instax printer, and photo printer for smartphone photos, all in one.
Sony's latest Alpha 7R V camera sports some seriously impressive capabilities that make it hard to ignore. But given the other cameras in Sony's line, even if this is the latest and greatest, is it the best for you?
Tamron’s trend of making atypical focal length lenses continues with the new 20-40mm f/2.8 Di III VXD lens. Like previous lenses in its "Frankenfocal" category, this new one is a success in everything that matters, from size, to resolution, to price.
At a media event in New York City last week, I spent several hours with the new Fujifilm X-T5, and I came away with some interesting first impressions. The camera is a lot better, but not necessarily because of the specs.
Fujifilm has announced the X-T5 camera which utilizes the company’s fifth-generation 40.2-megapixel X-Trans CMOS HR sensor in a body that the company says is smaller than each of the three previous X-T cameras.
DJI has announced the new Mavic 3 Classic, a drone that shares many of the same features of the Mavic 3 but drops the additional telephoto lens.
Sony’s Alpha camera system has evolved significantly in the three years since Sony released its predecessor, the Alpha 7R IV. The new Alpha 7R V not only has caught up with the other cameras in the system, but it has also surpassed them.
Sony has announced the Alpha 7R V full-frame camera which features a brand-new AI focusing system. Called Real Time Recognition, this “deep learning” trained system can detect not only humans but also birds, animals, planes, trains, cars, and insects.
Adobe's Frame.io team has announced new Camera to Cloud (C2C) integrations with Red and Fujifilm, allowing for immediate and real-time uploading to Frame.io, where the footage may be edited, annotated, and approved remotely.
Adobe has announced new additions to the Lightroom suite, including AI-powered masking and better Adaptive Presets, which the company says will be rolling out to users this week.
Adobe has released what it calls a “major” update to Photoshop on desktop, Photoshop for iPad, and Photoshop for web. Adobe also announced “transformative new features in Adobe Camera Raw.
Microsoft’s Experience Center in New York City was the scene of a press launch of the new Microsoft Studio 2+ all-in-one PC, Microsoft Surface Pro tablet-designed laptop, and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5.
At first glance, the Tamron 50-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD seems like Frankenstein’s monster of lenses. Super-telephoto lenses that provide a relatively wide focal length are uncommon and generally awful. Making a lens with such a wide range of focal lengths is complicated, yet Tamron made one that performs well across the zoom range.
After some brief hands-on time with Microsoft's two new laptops that were unveiled today, the Surface Pro 9 is a more attractive product for the photographer and videographer due to the Intel 12th Gen processor, and the portable form factor is more practical for photographers on the go.
Photographer and photography instructor Micahel Andrew has launched a Kickstarter campaign to address what he sees as the common shortcomings of lens filter systems called the Maven Magnetic series.