Viltrox stepped up to the plate last year and delivered its first pro-level lens in the form of the AF 75mm f/1.2, which is a devastatingly good lens. It has followed that with the 27mm f/1.2 that has a tempting price of just $545.
A while ago, I reviewed a couple of attachments by Apexel for phone cameras. They asked me to review their night vision scope but I told them nobody would believe my review of a product like that! I inquired if I could write a review of a couple of LED light kits and they agreed.
If there was ever a focal length that the manufacturers tend to put by the wayside, it's the trusty 28mm prime lens. You see, ultra-wide lenses are dynamic and 24mm lenses are admittedly more versatile. However, the 28mm range is probably my preferred focal length for walking the streets with only one prime lens.
A 12mm full-frame equivalent lens isn't my idea of a versatile do-everything piece of kit, but Fujifilm really needs something like this to supplement the very expensive -- and heavy -- XR 8-16mm f/2.8 zoom. That is a great lens, but it's beyond many people's needs and budgets. Enter the Fujifilm 8mm f/3.5 prime.
The 105mm macro lens has been a long-standing staple lens for most professional photographers, and I have never met a wedding photographer who didn't have one in their kit.
In my line of work, a lot of cameras corss my path. Like any good tools, they only do their best work when they match the specific tasks for which they were intended. It seems that lately, the majority of cameras I've looked at have been fairly pricey devices, so I was happy to get to review a new affordable entry onto the market. And of course, I don't have expectations that it will compete with higher-end products, but can the $479 EOS R100 even do what it was designed to?
If there was even a sliver of doubt that Xiaomi wanted the mobile photography crown, the 13 Ultra is the phone to dispel that notion and cement that pursuit. Xiaomi equipped it with the tools to take on the best, no matter who the other brands are.
Sony has been working hard to re-release new iterations of its existing lenses because although many of the early lenses were decent, they still left much to be desired. The original G Master zooms, for example, were priced like high-grade professional lenses, but came up short optically.
Venus Optics had a big hit with the original Laowa 24mm f/14 probe lens. What first garnered snickers and jokes, proved to be a unique video lens and the peri-probe lens with a 90-degree rotating end soon followed. Now Laowa has some serious competition from a company with a name I struggle to pronounce.
Pen display tablets have been getting better and more affordable, so it makes sense that all-in-one devices like the Huion Kamvas Studio 16 would follow the same path. But what makes this device a little different is it's a pro pen tablet made for designers, illustrators, and photographers to help them get their art created quickly and easily while also being a fully functional Windows PC.
I recently stated that the Alpha 7RV is my favorite Sony camera to date, and one of the most ideal platforms for what I want personally in a camera. Since then I've had the pleasure of using the Nikon Z8, and it has definitely made an impression on me as the best Nikon camera I’ve used so far. When we saw that the price was similar, it made perfect sense to do a shoot-out between the two.
Lume Cube has been producing some interesting and creative lighting solutions for both photographers and videographers over the last few years that add an impressive amount of versatility to their users toolkits including the Tube Light Mini. That being said, the question remains that given the number of competing RGB lights on the market, are they good enough, and are they worth it?
My friend Cemal Ekin of Kept Light Photography asked me to try the Apexel FL07 RGB LED light kit and provide my comments.
How do you make the excellent Tamron 11-20 f/2.8 DI III RXD for Sony E-Mount even better? You release it for Fujifilm X-Mount as well.
Product photography is often considered one of the most complicated and challenging genres. Besides having the right lenses and props to decorate the shot, you'll need a variety of light shaping options to create the best looking photos. This is where the $399 Halumin H18 Soft Light brings something interesting to the table.
Vivo saves its best camera features for its flagship X-Series, but some of that trickles down to devices like the V27 Pro. It’s just a question of how much happens to fall into place.
Vecteezy is a significant player in the stock image space, providing visual content for some of the world's top brands. Vecteezy recently launched a reverse image search feature that relies upon artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver licensable media matching an input image.
Apple pretty much always hypes the performance of its machines, but in recent years that hype has been justified. The M2 Ultra sounded like an impressive chip on paper, but does it actually do enough to earn its asking price in a market that has gotten very competitive?
Photographers use their monitors even more than their cameras, probably by a large margin. Even the best monitors should be calibrated to ensure that the colors users see are accurate. However, calibration can be expensive and tedious. TruHu aims to make the calibration process very easy and much more affordable.
My first experience with an almost full production Nikon Z8 took me to stunning Yellowstone National Park. In the week or so that I had to play with it I found it to be a most enjoyable camera, and I was able to review most of the major aspects of the cameras handling and capabilities. However, there were still some features that I needed to test, and for that I would need to wait for a final firmware Z8.
The Google Pixel 7a is a rarity. It's a mid-range phone that performs above that spec in many areas, making it hard to pass especially when the price starts at $499.
The DJI Inspire 3 is a drone that I had actually given up hope on ever seeing. The Inspire 2 was released way back in 2016 (the hot camera that year was the Nikon D500, to give you some perspective), and progress with UAVs has been incredibly rapid since then.
It's no secret that I have had an anti-Apple attitude in the past. As much as I may have made jokes at their expense, I have nothing against them. My perceived bias stems more from a fierce loyalty to the PC; I use to custom-build gaming rigs as a kid. Ever in search of more gaming power, I saw Macs as boring, work computers. However, now that I'm older, what I truly need a computer for is exactly that -- work.
Last September, Nikon released the Z mount 17-28mm f/2.8 lens. Immediately, two specifications piqued my interest when it came to how this lens would perform with astrophotography and nightscapes: it was a wide-angle lens and also fast at f/2.8.
Adventure or travel photographers will sometimes find themselves in rather extreme environments. Alaska, Iceland, Antarctica, or even Yellowstone National Park in the winter can be very cold. So, does Haukland's Parka Pro Photography Jacket successfully combat low temps and wet weather?
One of the most frequently asked sets of questions I receive from other photographers is: What print lab do you use? Which online photo printing service is the best quality? Who prints the best quality photos?
When I reviewed the Laowa Argus 35mm f/0.95 I was struck by how bad it was, but also how good it could be. Normally, I rate a lens based on how well it handles flare, how sharp it is, and how well it controls chromatic aberrations. Going by the above criteria, the Argus should have failed spectacularly.
The Nikon Zfc is a crop sensor mirrorless digital camera designed to replicate the classic Nikon FM2 Film camera, often considered one of the best 35mm film cameras of all time. While the system looks amazing and definitely brings a huge hit of nostalgia, does it live up to that legacy?
When it comes to macro photography, having the right lens is critical for achieving the best possible images. As such, the updated $547 HD D FA Macro 100mm F/2.8 ED AW from Pentax brings a refreshed optical formula optimized to work better with larger megapixel DSLR's but, sadly, not much else.
Check out our first YouTube video with Chris and Jordan, and the full written review!
Every time I review a Leica digital rangefinder, the major argument against buying one becomes a matter of price versus practicality. How can I recommend a camera that is neither affordable nor versatile?