Jordan and I were naughty this year and Santa put something in our stocking that was less useful than a lump of coal. Naturally, we decided to review our gifts and see if there was any merit to mass-produced photo gear on the cheap.
Kate Woodman has mastered taking exceptionally creative images in small, mundane spaces and teaches others how to do the same. What started out as a necessity has now become an art form.
ArduCam, a Chinese company known for making open-sourced hardware and software for Arduino and Raspberry Pi systems, has launched a $25 Autofocus Camera for Raspberry Pi boards that offers a resolution 40% higher than the standard 12-megapixel Raspberry Pi HQ camera while maintaining the compact form factor of the 8-megapixel Raspberry Pi V2.
One of the most important tools in a photographer's toolkit is something many may be surprised by - a color-accurate monitor. But why are they so expensive, and why should a photographer spend so much on one?
Chinese lens manufacturer ZY Optics has announced the Mitakon Creator 135mm f/2.5 APO Portrait Lens, a $299 manual-focus telephoto prime for DSLRs and mirrorless cameras.
Of all the various factors and variables involved in photography, light is by far the most important one. Photographer Karl Taylor argues that control over light will actually supersede the quality of a camera.
The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc across the economy, and one niche hit particularly hard has been the world of museums, which has seen ticket sales plummet due to lockdowns and people staying away from indoor spaces. Now the largest art museum in the US is facing a massive budget shortfall, and it's looking into selling art to pay bills.
Atomos—the purveyor of HDMI monitor/recorders like the popular Ninja V—has just released a 4K HDMI-to-USB capture card that lets you turn your professional camera into an ultra-high quality webcam for streaming or video conferencing. The best part? It costs just $80.
Sayang/Rokinon this morning unveiled the third lens in its "Tiny Series" of compact autofocus primes for the Sony E-Mount. Following in the footsteps of the 45mm f/1.8 and 75mm f/1.8, the company released a $400 AF 35mm f/1.8.
Photographer and YouTuber George Muncey of Negative Feedback recently set out on an ill-fated adventure in film scanning. He went out and bought the cheapest 35mm film scanner he could find online—the DIGITNOW! 135, which costs a whopping $60 on Amazon—and tried it out so that you don't have to.
Over the past couple of years, the barrier to entry for full-frame has dropped significantly—starting with the $1,300 Canon EOS RP, and followed by the almost-as-cheap $1,400 Nikon Z5. But it seems Canon may be planning to release an even cheaper EOS R camera in 2021.
Over my past 7 years as a professional photographer, I have received many questions from startups and amateurs who are worried about the considerable investment they thought they had to make on cutting-edge equipment. Luckily, I am able to suggest more affordable alternatives while keeping quality as high as possible.
If you're looking for a cheap lens for capturing ultra-shallow depth of field, Hong Kong-based lens maker Meike has got you covered. They just unveiled a manual focus 50mm f/1.2 lens for Sony E, Nikon Z, Canon RF, and Canon EF mounts that will run you just $360.
Earlier this week, Acer unveiled a new crop of computers, including a rugged laptop, some monitors, a creator desktop, and the product we're most interested in: a more affordable ConceptD 3 Ezel laptop that's aimed at creators on a budget.
Food photographer Joanie Simon of The Bite Shot has put together a helpful tutorial that shows you how to capture "dramatic food photography" using an extremely cheap DSLR. Specifically, she picked up a used Canon Rebel T2i with a kit lens for just $200.
Camera and lenses aren't the only photographic essentials that cost money. A decent machine with plenty of RAM and fast storage (preferably SSD) and rather expensive serious photography software are must-haves, too.
We had exactly one last take to get this right. “Hold...hold...okay go!” We all held our breath as our motorized graham crackers moved toward each other, hoping the last twelve hours weren’t a complete waste.
Anyone who has had any exposure to still life photography or studio work will know just how expensive backdrops can be. I have a couple from Kate Backdrops company, one of which I use very often, but I've been hankering after a few more.
The friends behind the YouTube channel Dumb Drum have released their latest low-budget recreation: a sweded shot-for-shot remake of the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer that's both funny and surprisingly accurate on the details.
Not everyone needs the massive terabytes of storage that are possible with a RAID/NAS/DAS storage device. But you don’t need to fill up all the drive slots in one of these devices to get the advantages offered. This article is going to look at how to set up a storage device similar to offerings from Synology and Drobo with a small amount of storage (4-8TB) that gives you the benefits of the RAID redundant storage now with room to grow with your storage needs.
Filmmaker and YouTuber Dan Mace is a big fan of the S*itty Rigs blog, where creatives share the crappiest DIY rigs they've ever used in order to get the shot on a budget. In his latest video, Mace tries out five of the rigs that he felt had the most potential... so you don't have to.
Kirk Schwarz over at Practical Photography recently put together a short tips video for anybody who wants to get into toy photography. If you've never taken these kinds of photos but have always wanted to try, you'll find Schwarz' tips for shooting an "explosive" toy photo on a budget in the video above.
Photographer Isaac Alvarez of Unplug Productions is at it again in a video that shows you how to capture striking, professional-grade "ink-watch" photography in your own living room using only the most basic equipment.
Westcott just announced an exciting new 400W/s monolight and universal wireless trigger that promise to provide a killer combination of portability, affordability, and compatibility for on-location photographers who have been relying on Godox/Flashpoint for their lighting needs.
Photography is an art and a commercial business. As a black-owned, woman-run business, Judah Avenue is both a passion project and an entrepreneurial breakthrough for me. I quit corporate America to pursue my art. As a girl who was born and raised in Ghana, that simply wasn’t something that was ever presented as a viable path for me.
When photographer Scott Choucino of TinHouse Studio first got into off-camera flash photography, he found himself struggling to find good info on putting together a solid affordable setup. That's why he created this video: a beginner's guide to his favorite super-cheap off-camera flash set-up.
Bird photography—or any wildlife photography, really—is one of the most expensive genres you can get into. A professional birding setup can easily cost you $20,000+. But can you can similar results for 10x less? Bird photographer Jan Wegener decided to find out.
Want to get started in macro photography but don't have much to spend? There are ways to jump into the niche using mostly the gear you already have (assuming you don't have a dedicated macro lens). Here's an 8-minute video by NatureTTL that'll point you in the right direction.
Budget brand Yongnuo has announced a new version of its 35mm f/1.4 lens for Canon DSLRs, adding an ultrasonic motor and USB port to the lens, but otherwise keeping the design largely unchanged.
Finding a $500 camera setup that can deliver stunning portraits as well as a wide range of other types of photography was a challenge, to say the least! First and foremost I had to put together some bare minimum requirements/standards.
As a true fan of the wildlife documentary genre, I have been itching to create my own short wildlife video project ever since I started doing wildlife photography. That being said, and despite having some previous experience with videography and video editing, producing a high-quality wildlife video always seemed like a too difficult task for a single person with a non-existent budget and some pretty basic gear, and so I never pushed myself into trying it.
Shooting professional-quality portraits with artificial lighting doesn't have to weigh heavily on your bank account. Here's a 22-minute video in which photographer Sean Tucker shares how to shoot great portraits using a single speedlight and a cheap modifier.
In addition to the new XS and XS MAX, Apple has also announced the new iPhone XR, the latest budget iPhone that still packs a mean punch.
GoPro has just announced a brand new HERO to its action camera family. The $200 HERO becomes the most budget-friendly camera in the GoPro lineup, joining the $300 HERO5 and $400 HERO6. It's a camera that makes "GoPro accessible to all," the company says.
Lighting equipment can be expensive, but sometimes you can get great results using makeshift products that won't put a dent in your wallet. Here's a 15-minute video from Dustin Dolby of workphlo that looks at how you can shoot high-quality product photos using something as basic as an IKEA MELODI lampshade.
I recently got bored and decided to expand a super-budget project I'm working on. I love gridded beauty dishes for dramatic artsy stuff, beauty, and as a generally very versatile modifier. However, even a cheap one is out of budget for this project. So... I made one.
How much of a difference is there between using an expensive high-end lighting setup and shooting the same portraits with cheaper gear? Photographer Patrick Hall of Fstoppers made this illuminating 9.5-minute video that compares a $10,000 studio lighting setup with a $425 option. Can you tell the difference between the resulting photos?
I love DIY props and big scenes in photography that are well designed. Not many of us photographers have the place or money to create our own stages so I wanted to challenge myself to make one in our living room with a very low budget.
Photographers often receive requests for free images and services, and messages from friends asking for your services at extremely discounted rates are not much better. Here's a helpful 3-minute video by Josh Enobakhare of Olufemii Tutorials in which he shares a number of ways that you can avoid needing to give that awkward "no."
Need to take portraits and don’t have access to a lighting kit? No worries – this 4-minute video from Jay P. Morgan of The Slanted Lens will show you how you can turn a bathroom – or any room for that matter – into a softbox to create beautiful soft light.