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 7D Replacement Possibly Spotted at the World Cup

The desire for more info and leaks about Canon's upcoming EOS 7D Mark II (possibly not called that) is strong, and the image above is a good case in point. Spotted by a Northlight Images reader, the camera circled in red is always seen at the same spot on the pitch and is always covered up, despite the fact that every other camera is uncovered.

LensRentals Celebrates Independence Day with Some Gratuitous Lens Mutilation

A couple of weeks ago I got an email asking if we would be willing to take some lenses, remove the electronics, fix the aperture wide-open, and permanently lock them at infinity focus. It seems the person who needed this done was having trouble finding a legitimate repair shop or service center that was willing to do it.

Well, illegitimate is our specialty, so I started negotiations about just how exorbitant a fee we would charge for this work. We quickly arrived at a fair price (no money, but we get to take pictures) and yesterday received brand new copies of the Canon 100mm f/2 and Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art to work on. If you’re the kind of person who slows down to view car wrecks or spent $200 on fireworks for the 4th of July holiday, you might like this.

This is the First Photo Taken with the Sony Curved Sensor

Released in an article earlier today, what you see above is the first photograph taken with Sony's revolutionary curved sensor. And while you can't really tell much about the quality or any other specifics about the sensor from it, it's still exciting to see that this tech isn't just schematics on a piece of paper -- it's real and it works.

Rumor: Canon’s 5D Mark IV Might Feature 4K Video

One of the hopes people had for the Nikon D810 was that it would feature 4K video, but even though Nikon made it obvious in the press materials that this camera is a capable video machine, the rumored 4K capability never came to fruition.

You can understand, then, why we'll suggest you take this next rumor with a grain of salt. Nothing like getting our hopes up only to have them dashed.

Sony Drops the Price of the RX10 by $300, Possible Response to Panasonic’s FZ1000

When we announced the Panasonic FZ1000, we told you why many saw it as a Sony RX10 'killer.' Priced $400 cheaper and boasting a newer 1-inch 20.1-megapixel sensor and longer-reaching 16x 25-400mm equivalent f/2.8-4.0 lens, there were a lot of reasons for Sony to be worried... oh, and the Panasonic shoots 4K as well.

Now, quite possibly in response to all of the Panasonic talk and the competition they're anticipating from this new camera, Sony has dropped the list price of the RX10 by a whopping $300.

Ridiculously Thin Hand-Made Lens Leaves Pancakes Behind, Borders Crêpe Territory

There’s a good chance you’ve never heard of the company that goes by the name MS Optical, and we won't blame you. It’s a one-man operation, run by Mr. Sadayasu Miyazaki from Honcho, Japan. But you might want to take not of them now.

Specializing in unique lens designs, MS Optical focuses on creating small pancake lenses for the Leica M Mount. But MS Optical’s latest creation leaves the 'pancake' title in the dust... this thing should be called a crepe lens.

Rumor: Canon 7D Mark II and Potential 100-400mm Replacement to Arrive at Photokina

It's shaping up to be quite a year at Photokina in Germany, with Leica, Sigma and now Canon all expected to drop some serious equipment at the expo. The Canon news comes by way of Canon Rumors, who got wind from a known source that both the 7D Mark II (or whatever the replacement will be called) and a new telephoto lens will both officially arrive in September.

GoPro Cameras Get Simple, High-Quality Filters with Lee’s New ‘Bug’ Lineup

GoPros are popular little action cams. Between the company's brilliant marketing and the well-liked hardware, it’s not difficult to see why they decided to go public. But as impressive as the little cameras may be, they do have their limits. Most notably: the lack of exposure controls when it comes to capturing something.

To help combat that problem and also spice up the action cam footage being captured, Lee Filters has announced a new line-up of holders and filters for GoPro’s latest Hero models.

Rumor: Sony to Release a Full-Frame RX 1 with a Black & White Sensor in Late 2014

It seems Sony is intent on capturing that segment of the market that would like a Leica but can't afford one. First, the company released the A7 and A7r, full-frame mirrorless cameras that were the first in the world with autofocus. And now, if rumors are to be believed, they're working on a black-and-white only version of the fixed-lens Full Frame RX 1.

Sigma Offers ‘Try Before You Buy’ Program for Its DP2 Quattro Camera

Sigma raised some eyebrows when they announced their upcoming DP Quattro cameras with their new Foveon Sensor and... unique... design. But even with eyebrows raised, at $1,000, the overhead for investing in this new and interesting tech might be a bit steep for some.

In hopes of convincing these people that the camera is worth the investment, Sigma has announced a new “Try Before You Buy” program that will put the funky looking shooter in the hands of at least a few curious souls.

Ansel Adams’s Arca Swiss 4×5 Camera Set to Be Auctioned Off Next Month

It’s not often a piece of photographic history as important as this goes up for auction. What you see above is the Arca Swiss 4x5 camera that Ansel Adams used between 1964 and 1968. Set to be auctioned off with a plethora of old Leicas by Revival Auction Company, this item is very highly regarded because it may be the first of Ansel Adams cameras to be auctioned off.

Humor: Main Photo in Cheap Photography Tips Article Shot with $4.5K of Equipment

If something seems too good to be true, that's probably because it is. A great example of this was sent to us by a reader earlier this week when he found one of his photos had been purchased for use by an Austrian publication. Great news, right? Well, not entirely.

The photo is being used at the top of an article on shooting photos without expensive equipment, the caption implying that it was a smartphone camera that yielded these epic results. But of course, that's not the case.

Nikon Officially Unveils the D810: Touts the ‘Best Image Quality in Nikon History’

There are two ways to look at an incrementally improved DSLR: either the company missed an opportunity to improve something that has fallen behind the industry standard, or they are leaving well enough alone and not 'fixing it if it ain't broke,' so to speak.

Nikon's replacement for both the D800 and D800E, the D810, falls into that latter category: an incrementally improved DSLR that probably won't receive too much flack for it.

Latest iPhone 6 Rumors: Larger Version to Feature OIS, Smaller Will Not

We've already seen that Apple plans to take some serious photographic steps forward when it comes to the its newest mobile operating system, iOS 8, but we have yet to find out what the Cupertino giant has up its sleeve hardware wise.

Of course, even if we haven't heard from Apple, that doesn't mean we don't have some idea what's on the way. As the iPhone 6's inevitable announcement draws ever nearer, vague hardware rumors are beginning to solidify.

Rumor: Canon Has a 1D X Mark II and 5D Mark IV in the Works for Early 2015

If you've been following the most recent rumors regarding the long-awaited Canon APS-C flagship 7D Mark II, you know that the latest news is that Canon has some fancy new sensor technology in the works, and that it's supposed to re-establish Canon as an imaging leader.

None of the rumor sites have been able to pin down what this sensor tech actually is, but its existence seems a near certainty; and now, it looks like the 7D won't be the only release to benefit from it. Canon may be refreshing the 5D and 1D lines as well.

Review: The Olympus TG-850 is a Capable Tough Cam with a Selfie Problem

Beaches, babes, sun and surf. It's summer, and that equals one thing: you can't take your precious DSLR to the beach. Well, not unless you want to gamble on a costly repair bill after butterfingers drops it in the sand. The beach is a time for relaxation, not being an overly protective nanny of the expensive camera that mom won't let you get wet.

Photography of your family while you ride the waves and soak up the sun should be carefree, and for that you'll be wanting a tough and waterproof camera. One that not only stands up to day-to-day abuses, but that you can hand off to your little ones worry free so they can go do what they do best and take selfies in the surf: the TG-850 is that camera.

Video: Demo of the New Features Built Into the iOS 8 Camera App

Many of the exciting features coming to camera apps on iOS 8 will come through third party developers who take advantage of the new API we learned a bit more about yesterday. But Apple's not letting them have all the fun.

The Cupertino company has added a few new features into the stock app as well, and Bill Savage of the Bill Savage Tech YouTube channel demonstrates these new features in the quick video above.

Make Your Own DIY Steadicam for $20 and a Bit of Elbow Grease

The steadicam has become a staple in the cinematography industry. The problem more often than not, though, is that not a lot of people can afford one.

And so, since production models range in price from a several hundred to a several thousand, a number of tool-savvy people have set out to create their own DIY options. One such example is this extremely solid and good-looking creation by Instructables user and photographer survival434

Amazon’s ‘Fire Phone’ Comes with a 13MP Camera and Unlimited Cloud Photo Storage

Today, Amazon showed us that where there’s smoke, there’s most definitely Fire. After years of rumors that Amazon was working on a phone, CEO Jeff Bezos officially unveiled Amazon’s first attempt at a smartphone at today's event.

It’s called the Amazon Fire Phone and it comes to market with a few interesting, photo-centric features that go beyond the standard camera specs.

‘What’s In My Bag’ Video from Erik Almas is Full of Both Great Gear and Great Advice

“What’s in my bag” posts oftentimes come across as a bit pretentious. Between pulling out this body or that piece of glass, it’s easy for the post/video to become a game of “look what I have that you probably don't have because it costs $XX,XXX.”

But when done right, they can be both interesting and informative, as photographer Erik Almås demonstrates in this fantastic walkthrough of his camera equipment.

Report Claims the Sony A7s’ Image Quality is Comparable to Medium Format

Sony’s new A7s camera has been blowing minds when it comes to low-light performance; and, frankly, with a full-frame sensor made up of pixels three times as large as those in the A7r, we expected impressive low-light performance. But it seems low-light performance isn’t the camera’s only forte.

According to a report by Michael Reichmann of The Luminous Landscape, the image files he's getting from the A7s are capable of going toe-to-toe with medium format cameras in terms of image quality!

Hexo+ Autonomous Camera Drone Lets the Adrenaline Junkies Film Their Own Stunts

Adrenaline junkies who want to capture their stunts on video have thus far been limited to two options. They either had someone else photograph/film them, or strapped an action cam to themselves for some first person point of view shots. Now, thanks to Hexo+, they have a third option: have your autonomous drone film you from above.

GoPro Teams Up with BMW, In-Car GoPro Control Coming to a Bimmer Near You

In a very strange partnership, it’s been announced that GoPro and BMW have teamed up to add the ability to control GoPro cameras right from within the dashboard of BMW vehicles. Starting in July, this partnership will allow any owners of 2012 or later BMW or Mini vehicles to take control of the WiFi-enabled action cameras without ever leaving the driver's seat.

This Impressive DIY Human-Sized Lightbox Creates Even Lighting Anywhere in Minutes

When trying to perfectly light an object, there’s a method of shooting it inside of an environment called a lightbox -- essentially a 360° softbox that emulates the soft, natural, even lighting you would get on an overcast day.

Lightboxes are fairly small in size, meant for lighting small objects for product photographs and so on. But what if it were possible to create a human-sized lightbox for use with people? It turns out you can, and in the BTS video above, photographer Kevin Lynch shows off his version.

Sony’s A7s Takes on Canon’s 5D Mark III in Side-by-Side Low-Light Test

So far, all of the Sony A7s high-ISO tests we've seen -- from your standard static test to some beautiful production-level footage -- have only shown the A7s. There have been no side-by-side comparisons to show if this really is outperforming the competition substantially, or if it only seems like it is.

I Replaced My Dual Screen Editing Setup with a 34-Inch 3440×1440 LG Monitor

As a photographer, I’ve long been an advocate of a dual screen set-up for a more efficient workflow. After all, what is better than having the ability to spread out all your applications palettes across multiple screens? For a couple of years now, I’ve had a Dell U2412M 24” (1920x1200) and Dell U2713HM 27” (2560x1440). That is no longer the case...

Rumor: Panasonic to Announce a High End Compact with f/2.0-2.8 Lens & 4K Capability

When it comes to high-end compact cameras, Sony doesn't exactly have a monopoly on the genre, but the RX100M3 is probably the most talked about of the offerings. With its nifty pop-up viewfinder, a 1-inch sensor and a bright 24-70mm f/1.8-2.8 lens, it is quite the point-and-shoot.

But it soon might have some stiff competition, if news out of the Panasonic rumor mill is to be trusted.

Back to Basics: Useful Tutorial Shows You How to Properly Assess & Clean Your Gear

Most camera gear is built with longevity and strenuous activity in mind, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take the best possible care of your gear. To that end, Canon’s service and support team recently put out this video showing the best practices for making sure that you properly and thoroughly clean and check your gear so it can keep working for as long as possible.

Sony’s A7s Put Through a Production Level Low Light Test, Continues to Impress

We’ve shown you the incredible low-light capabilities of Sony’s 4K-capable A7s camera before. But for the most part, the previously-released tests were fairly static and didn't offer much in way of production-level footage.

EOS HD's Yosh Enatsu took note of this fact, and decided to put together an impressive production-level comparison to show you just how well this mirrorless beast can handle the dark.

The Electro-Optic Camera

The Electro-Optic Camera was designed and constructed by Eastman Kodak Company under a U.S. Government contract in 1987 and 1988. Kodak's Microelectronics Technology Division (MTD) had announced the first megapixel CCD in 1986. In 1987, a government customer asked Kodak's Federal Systems Division (FSD) to build a prototype camera around the new CCD. It was a true skunk works project with a very small team. Ken Cupery was the project manager. I (Jim McGarvey) was the lead engineer. MTD engineer Bill Toohey designed the CCD analog circuitry, and technician Tom McCarthy assembled the whole system.

Deal Alert: SanDisk Storage at Very Deep Discounts, Today Only

It’s not all that unusual to see deals on SanDisk storage, but the deals are quite a bit more discounted today than they have been in a long while. As part of their special Gold Box, Amazon is offering a number of impressive discounts on SD Cards, CF Cards, and even SSDs if you’re looking to give your computer a solid performance upgrade.