PetaPixel recently published an open letter from photographer Usman Dawood entitled: "Dear Camera Companies: Please Make a Fast Lens Between 50mm and 85m." Today, I am asking for the pretty much the opposite: slower, lighter prime lenses.
If you have a TLR camera, here's a simple trick you can try to help you to focus more easily. All you'll need is some rubber bands, scissors, aluminum foil, and a ruler (optional).
Olympus reportedly has a mirrorless camera called the E-M1X up its sleeve, and the camera has now been leaked through a set of photos and specs.
Having learned photography in the time of manual analog film cameras, I know digital feels different. And for me, it’s all about the "left and right of photography."
While the Canon EF and Nikon F lens mount ecosystems are teeming with 3rd-party lenses, the new Canon R and Nikon Z full-frame mirrorless lens mounts completely lacked 3rd-party glass... until now. The Chinese brand KIPON has announced that it's the first out of the gate.
I recently did a comparison between old and new Kodak Ektachrome E100 film. But first an amusing story about how these two rolls met.
For many years, I have been modifying and adapting lighting and camera equipment to better fit my style of shooting. The process of altering lighting gear, as well as combining products that were not originally intended to work together, is of particular importance to me these days, as I constantly mix and match the best from many different brands.
Canon officially joined the full-frame mirrorless camera wars back in September with its new EOS R, but one of the glaring omissions from the features list was in-body image stabilization (IBIS). But that may soon change: Canon will reportedly be including IBIS in the next EOS R camera.
At night, it can be especially difficult getting enough light to shoot film. There are no color emulsions with speeds higher than ISO 800, and most stocks don’t even exceed 400. Pushing enables you to add sensitivity past the recommended ‘box speed’ of your film.
The Denver-based tripod maker Colorado Tripod Company has announced the world's first hollow titanium ballhead. It's called the Highline Ballhead Titanium, and it's designed to be ultra-light, ultra-strong, and ultra-versatile.
Camera reviewer Michael Andrew (AKA Michael the Maven) has quite a bit of experience in shooting with Sony mirrorless cameras, and he decided to share what he believes are 5 killer features and 14 weaknesses that you'll find in the lineup.
Is it too good to be true? A cheap M mount lens that goes all the way to f/1.1? Does the $369 7artisans 50mm f/1.1 lens belongs in the bargain bin or on your camera?
If your camera has an Electronic Front-Curtain Shutter (EFCS) feature and it's turned on, here's something you might want to know: it could be giving you noticeably worse bokeh when you're shooting at faster shutter speeds. Photographer Manny Ortiz shows the difference in the 4.5-minute video above.
Here's some big news in Europe that hasn't made a big splash in the US and has largely flown under our radar: the very day after Photokina, Tetenal announced that it's in financial turmoil. Tetenal is one of the largest photochemical businesses in the world and produces chemicals for brands like Ilford and Kodak.
"Color science" is a term that's thrown around a lot these days when discussing the merits of various digital cameras and brands, but how much of it is real color differences and preferences, and how much of it is simply brand loyalty? Tony Northrup recently conducted a blind poll of 1,500 photographers to find out.
Fujifilm killed off the last peel-apart instant film when it discontinued its FP-100C back in 2016 despite an effort from Impossible founder Florian Kaps to keep it alive. But now, two years later, Kaps has just announced the re-birth and re-invention of peel-apart instant film: it's called ONE INSTANT.
Smartphones are sometimes marketed these days as being capable of shooting "DSLR-quality photos." Samsung went a step further: it was just caught using an actual DSLR photo to fake its smartphone's "portrait mode."
There are two major trends in photography today. The first is the ever-increasing numbers of photos being made. I can't even be bothered to look up how many billions of photos are being uploaded to Instickrbook every minute or every day or every year. It's a lot. This is usually talked about in terms of how many photos there are, and how we are drowning in them.
"The Possession Of Hannah Grace" is a new Hollywood thriller that hit theaters at the end of November 2018. What most theatergoers won't know is that it's the first Hollywood feature film shot start-to-finish on a full-frame mirrorless camera, the Sony a7S II.
Shoot a classic film camera but wish it had better ergonomics? BUTTER GRIP is a new line of 3D-printed grip attachments designed specifically for a large number of vintage cameras.
Two months ago, Sony released a major firmware version for its popular a7 III and a7R III mirrorless cameras. Version 2.0 brought new features and improvements... including the ability for a wide range of adapted lenses to make use of all the camera's autofocus modes.
ZY Optics has unveiled the new Mitakon Speedmaster 65mm f/1.4 lens for the Fujifilm G mount. It's the fastest standard-length native lens available for Fujifilm's GFX medium format mirrorless cameras.
Hasselblad. The company that went to the moon. A company known for producing some of the most iconic cameras in history. Since 1948, when Hasselblad produced its first consumer camera, it has built a strong reputation within the industry. As with many companies, it has had a few bumps in the road, but for the most part, it remains a highly respected organization.
Samyang has announced the new XP 35mm f/1.2 lens for Canon EF cameras. Also called the Rokinon SP 35mm f/1.2, the new premium-quality manual-focus lens is designed to meet the needs of professional shooters.
DJI has announced the new Osmo Pocket, the world's smallest 3-axis stabilized camera designed for the masses. It's small enough to fit in your pocket while still shooting high-quality photos and videos.
Compared to companies like Canon and Nikon, which produce f/1.2 and even f/1.0 full-frame camera lenses, Sony's E-mount lenses max out at f/1.4. But it's not that Sony can't match the faster lenses on the market -- it just doesn't see a need to.
Canon is reportedly planning to launch an high-resolution EOS R full-frame mirrorless camera with at least 75 megapixels.
Beware: instant cameras that produce Zink photos may not be a good option for preserving memories long term.
Peak Design is probably the most well-known camera bag brand to leverage Kickstarter to launch their products, going way back as early as 2014 with their camera straps. And since then, there have been many camera bags brands who have tried to follow their footsteps -- some successfully, and some not.
Think modern day Photoshop beauty retouching is impressive? In the future, your professional-grade camera might be able to retouch subjects for you in real-time. Here's a 30-second video that shows this technology in action.
Here's a peek of what's to come in the camera industry: Sony is reportedly getting ready to announce two new full-frame sensors, one of which will be capable of 60 megapixel photos, 16 channels, and 8K video recording.
Google Pixel 3 smartphone has a Night Sight feature that uses AI to capture "mind-blowing" photos in near darkness. Photographer Pierre T. Lambert wanted to see how the tech stacks up against a pro-grade camera, so he did a low-light shootout pitting it against the Sony a7R III.
Nikon's new full-frame mirrorless Z lens mount is designed to be futureproof over the next 100 years and "redefine possibilities." How crazy are the possibilities? Get this: the Z-mount could theoretically accept lenses with apertures as large as f/0.65.
For some time now, my favourite portrait lens has been the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 art. This lens, as many of you may know, is simply incredible when it comes to performance. Even the price of this lens isn’t unreasonable when you compare it to some alternatives currently available.
Color fringing in photos is most often due to chromatic aberration, when a camera lens doesn't focus all colors onto the same point. It's a common problem, especially with cheaper lenses, but we may soon be seeing much less of it thanks to a new breakthrough at Harvard.
We're a couple of days away from Black Friday 2018, and both camera gear companies and retailers are slashing prices to provide the industry with some of the biggest discounts of the year. We're putting together a list of some of the sweetest deals out there for your shopping benefit.
This past week, I had a bit of an accident with my Fujifilm X-T1 while doing some urban exploration in an abandoned fuel bunker. To cut a long story short, I ended up going for a swim in very oily water in a large partially flooded pump room with my camera.
Light diffusion panels can cost $80 to $100 or more when purchased retailed, but very little when you make them yourself, and to do so is very simple. I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked about my diffusion panels and where I get them from. The ones I use in my studio have all been custom-made to fit my needs, and I’ll show you just how to make your own.
The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is a telescope that will contain the largest digital camera ever built. Here's a 4-minute video in which the folks at Gizmodo pay a visit to the 3.2-gigapixel camera that's the size of a small car.
Leica has announced the new D-Lux 7, a powerful yet compact camera the company is calling the "Swiss Army knife of Leica compact cameras."
I have major gear envy syndrome. Every new release seems to bring with it a feature that makes me jealous enough to attempt to justify a ridiculously expensive purchase. But even for those of you happily using your 5-year-old DSLR (I secretly envy you), there is always the question of when to upgrade your camera gear.
Sony's a7 and a9 series of mirrorless cameras have a bad reputation for their grip ergonomics, and rightly so. I love my Sony a7 III and it's still the best camera on the market for my particular needs, but the grip just isn't anywhere near as good as what you find on a pro DSLR.
Google's new Pixel 3 and 3XL smartphones are packed with new AI camera features, including one called Night Sight that lets you shoot natural-looking photos without a flash in near darkness. The first reviews are starting to emerge, and the technology is blowing people's minds.
I’ve had many cameras in my 36 plus years as a photographer. I started with a Pentax K1000 (a brilliant camera) then I moved on to my beautiful Hasselblad and many Canons. The cameras come and go, either from wear and tear or the demands of needing new technology. But in all my time my as a photographer, I’ve only had 3 tripods.
2018 has been the year the mirrorless camera war exploded, with Canon, Nikon, and even Panasonic unveiling new full-frame mirrorless cameras to compete against the current champ Sony. Canon and Nikon have already taken a chunk out of Sony's lead, but Nikon has much loftier ambitions: it believes it can become #1 in full-frame cameras "quite soon."
Back in its heyday, Polaroid made seven 20x24-inch instant cameras, and only six of them are known to exist today. Marco Christian Krenn of Analog Things recently paid a visit to the camera found at Supersense in Vienna. In this 10-minute video, Krenn shows how this ultra-rare camera is used.
I’m no stranger to the iPad. In fact, it once caused me not to get a job at an Apple store shortly after college. I was asked in an interview, “What do you think of the new iPad,” and I answered honestly (mistake number one in a job interview I would learn).
Freelance film photographer Casey Cavanaugh has always wanted a Hasselblad Xpan, but the cameras cost thousands of dollars used and have been out of his reach. So, Cavanaugh decided to build his own.
Some months ago, I did a speed riding photoshoot with FriedeFly in the Swiss Alps. I was able to try out some new stuff in the snow and managed to capture some really nice shots. During the shoot, I also played around with my old Jinbei DC II 600 V flash since I was fascinated by shots of skiers made with flash that overpowers the sun.
After years of owning a near 100% share of the full-frame mirrorless camera market in Japan, Sony's monopoly is finally under attack. The latest sales numbers show that Canon has already jumped to a 22% share after the launch of its EOS R system.