Equipment

Photographers use all kinds of equipment to craft their art, from cameras and lenses to lights and accessories. We cover the latest news and information on the tools of the trade in the photography industry.

Canon 6D vs 6D Mark II: A Real-Life Noise Comparison

Canon released its 6D Mark II in 2017, and the Internet has been abuzz ever since then discussing its high ISO performance. There have been reports that the Mark II creates more noise at high ISOs than the original 6D.

Canon 85mm Shootout: f/1.2 vs f/1.4 vs f/1.8

Canon currently offers three different 85mm lenses: the $370 85mm f/1.8, the $1,600 85mm f/1.4L IS, and the $1,900 85mm f/1.2L II. If you're wondering how they stack up, check out this 9-minute video by self-proclaimed photography nerd Kai Wong, who recently went hands-on by comparing the trio in a shootout.

Are $5 IKEA LADDA Batteries Identical to $20 Eneloop Pro Batteries?

Do you use Eneloop Pro rechargeable batteries in your photo equipment? You may be able to get the same performance at a much lower cost. This interesting 7-minute video from Matthew Eargle of AirborneSurfer looks into whether these relatively expensive batteries ($20 per pack of 4) are actually identical to the much cheaper IKEA LADDA batteries that cost just $5 per pack of 4.

A Fully Loaded $14,000 iMac Pro vs. a Fully Loaded $6,000 iMac

Is it worth upgrading to the latest fully loaded iMac Pro, which will cost you $14,000? Filmmaker Parker Walbeck recently went hands-on to find out. Here's his interesting 4-minute video review that looks at the speed comparisons between a fully loaded iMac Pro and a fully loaded $6,000 iMac.

I Bought a Nikon 13mm f/5.6 AIS ‘Holy Grail’ Lens: Here’s the Unboxing

Late last Wednesday night, I was browsing the B&H Photo website looking for a refurbished Nikon D810. I entered “Nikon refurbished” as my search term, then sorted the results by price from high-to-low so that the D810 would float to the top. Lo and behold, right above the D810 as the first result was a “New Arrival” Nikon 13mm f/5.6 AI-S, refurbished with case.

Man Discovers His $15 ‘Zorki’ Camera is a $800 Leica in Disguise

The Zorki is a series of 35mm rangefinder cameras that were made in the Soviet Union from 1948 and 1978. Since they were originally designed to be cheap Leica clones, it's not uncommon to find fake Leica cameras that are actually modified Zorkis. But one Russian camera collector recently found the opposite: his $15 Zorki turned out to be an $800 Leica.

LENSCAPT: A Hinged Camera Lens Cap You’ll Never Misplace

LENSCAPT is a new "faster lens cap" that's designed to never fall off your lens. It works by screwing onto the lens' filter threads, allowing it to remain secure and safe. The lens cap then pops out to the side, swiveling around a hinge rather than being completely removed, so is always ready for use.

Sony 400mm f/2.8 Lens Spotted at the Olympics

There have been reports of Sony developing a 400mm f/2.8 E-mount lens for the a9 mirrorless camera, and now the once-mythical lens has just been spotted in the wild. A taped up version of the monstrous white lens was seen this week at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

How to Get STF-Style Bokeh Without a $1,000+ STF Lens

Smooth Trans Focus (STF) was invented by Minolta in the 1980s and became available in the Minolta 135mm f/2.8 STF in 1999. The special design of the lens with an Apodization (APD) filter allows for the smoothing of out-of-focus areas, or bokeh. The APD filter reduces the light transmitted through a lens, but the strength is gradually decreased toward the center of the filter.

How We Made a Mobile Darkroom for a Homemade 16×20″ Camera

In December 2015, Shane Arsenault and I had started talking about a joint photography project with the purpose of using his 16”x20” Bellows Camera on a larger scale, which would give us the freedom to work outside a conventional studio space.

This New Phantom Camera Can Shoot 4MP at 6,600FPS

Vision Research has announced its latest Phantom high-speed camera, the Phantom v2640. This camera is the fastest 4-megapixel camera ever made, capturing a stagging 6,600 frames per second. Drop the resolution down to 1080p, and you can shoot at a whopping 11,750fps.

5 Reasons to Buy a Contax T2

I recently went on short vacation in Italy. Visiting La Spezia was the perfect opportunity for me to finally try out the famous Contax T2 that I got recently. I hit the streets of La Spezia with the camera loaded with Kodak TX400 film.

Debunking 6 Myths About the Fujifilm X-Trans Sensor

The Fujifilm X-Trans sensor is evil, its design is seriously flawed, and it causes all kinds of issues. At least, that's what pops up on the Internet every now and then.

The First GoPro Was This 35mm Film Camera

When you think of GoPro, you probably picture a neat, compact digital action camera, but the original GoPro was actually a 35mm film camera. Here's a 7-minute video by Thirty Five Studio that takes a look at the camera and shows what it can do.

$10,000 vs. $425 Portrait Lighting: Can You Tell the Difference?

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?

Shootout: $4,990 Zeiss Otus 28mm vs $4,250 Leica Q

In the pantheon of lens focal lengths, 28mm is a bit of an outlier. Photojournalists are more apt to reach for the 35mm, while many manufacturers have settled on 24mm for primes and the wide end of their zoom lenses. But 28mm has become visually familiar to consumers because its field-of-view equivalent can be found on many smartphones like the iPhone.

The Story of Sean Flynn’s Leica M2

This is a story about a camera, a rather special camera. Every camera has a history, so they say. But it is not all that often that one has such a rich and documented history. One that was thought to be lost but has been found again. This is the story of Sean Flynn’s Leica M2.

Canon May Add Fingerprint ID to Its Cameras and Lenses

Fingerprint ID is used on many smartphones these days for security and identification, but would you like to see the same feature on your camera gear? Canon has apparently developed a fingerprint ID system that can identify the photographer using the camera or lens.

One Photographer’s Switch from Canon DSLR to Fuji Mirrorless

Photographer Mark Duffy recently switched from Canon to Fuji, trading in the former to pick up the latter, and in this 14-minute video he shares his thoughts and impressions. For those of you who may be looking to hear insights into what the first experience with a mirrorless setup is really like, coming from the world of DSLRs, then this is a video for you.

Nikon Night Photography Showdown: D850 vs the D750, D810, and D5

My name is Lance Keimig, and I'm one of the instructors for National Parks at Night, a workshop program focused on night photography in national parks. All five of us instructors are primarily Nikon shooters. Between us, we use the D750, D810, D3s, D4s, and D5. Although we are generally happy with our current cameras, some of us are ready for an upgrade.