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.

Gizmodo Puts Six Different Action Cameras Through a Thorough Review

When it comes to choosing an action cam to film your daring, crazy and possibly stupid adrenaline–fueled endeavors, there is no shortage of options. To help you make a more informed decision based on your needs and performance of the cameras, Gizmodo has tested six different action cameras, quite literally putting them head-to-head.

Samyang is Teasing Us Yet Again, Will it Be AF Lenses This Time?

Last month, Samyang released a couple of teasers that many believed were leading to the announcement of the new logo and autofocus lenses. And while the new logo did make an appearance, the major AF update that people were expecting never came.

Now the company is teasing us yet again with an ad from their Facebook page that invites viewers to "join the journey to the next level of creativity." A journey that will apparently lead to "the second step of Samyang Optics in 2014" and begins on April 28th.

Toshiba’s New microSD Cards Set a Speed Record, Feature 8x Faster Write Speeds

As cameras get smaller, one of the places they can choose to save space is in the memory card department. A great case in point is the new Nikon 1 J4, which ditched standard SD cards in favor of their smaller micro counterparts.

The problem with this move is that microSD cards tend to be much slower than standard SD, but that might not be the case for too much longer thanks to Toshiba.

DxOMark: The Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art Series Lens ‘Comes Seriously Close’ to the Otus

We have our own Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art lens on the way for full review, but until then it's interesting to see what some of the big names in gear review are saying about this optical beast and how it compares to the Otus it was meant to compete with.

Today, one of the biggest of those reviewers, DxOMark, released the results of its tests -- and news is good if you're planning to pick one of these beauties up.

Lensbaby Announces 5.8mm f/3.5 Circular Fisheye Lens

Lensbaby... you either love them or hate them. While many may consider them the Holga of the digital age, it's rather obvious from their existence that there are plenty of individuals who enjoy the quirky effects their (comparatively) cheap lenses offer.

And yesterday, they added a new lens to their repertoire: a circular fisheye for Canon and Nikon DSLRs that is receiving a surprising amount of attention.

Sony Reveals Insane A7s Low-Light Demo, But How Much Will Night Vision Cost?

With only a 12-megapixel sensor and ISO expandable all the way up to 409,600 for both stills and video, everybody knew that that the Sony A7s was going to be a low-light beast... and yet the performance is still taking us by surprise.

Yesterday a short demo video shot at NAB was shared online to a plethora of "oohs" and "aahs," and today, the Sony How To YouTube channel released yet another mind-blowing demonstration of the camera's night-vision capabilities.

Sigma Slaps a $950 Price Tag on the 50mm f/1.4 Art Series Lens, Shocks Us All

The first reviews have been clear: the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art series lens delivers quality on par with the exceptional $4,000 ZEISS 55mm f/1.4 Otus. That's no small feat, but just how impressive that fact was revolved entirely around what the company decided to price the lens. Well the answer is finally official, and it's going to blow some minds.

You'll be able to get Otus-quality PLUS autofocus for, get this, only $950!

New Leica S to be Announced at Photokina, Packs a 40-50MP CMOS Sensor & 4K Video

From some talks with a Leica rep at the 2014 NAB show, it looks like Digipixelpop has found out that the next Leica S will be announced at Photokina in September. Packing a 40-50MP medium format CMOS sensor and 4K video, it's an interesting addition to Leica's current line-up, but one we probably should've seen coming considering PhaseOne, Pentax and Hasselblad have all already hopped on the CMOS medium format train.

Sigma 50mm Matches the Otus in Almost All Tests, Said to Cost One-Fourth as Much

Just days after publishing their glowing review of the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art series lens that ranked it leaps and bounds ahead of the Canon and Nikon competition, SLRgear finally got their hands on the ZEISS Otus for comparison.

And it seems ZEISS will have to work hard to justify the rumored price difference between those two lenses...

DigitalRev Pits the Canon 1D X Against the Nikon D4s in Paparazzi Style Shootout

The Canon 1D X is a couple of years old by now, but that doesn't mean it can't hold its own with the big boys of today. And so DigitalRev decided to put the camera up against Nikon's new D4s in a paparazzi-style shootout that you'll either find funny or annoying, depending on how you feel about DigitalRev humor in general. (Note: There are a few curse words and some innuendos in the video. Might be better to save this one for after work.)

Live Stream: Watch Sony Announce the 4K Full-Frame 12MP A7s Live at NAB

Normally, when a camera announcement is about to drop, we wait for the official word and then summarize the good parts for you in a post. But since it's Sunday evening and rumor has it this is a fairly video-specific announcement, we thought we'd do something a bit different.

In 30 minutes, Sony's NAB presentation is set to go live, and instead of watching that ourselves and then telling you about the Sony A7s that will supposedly be announced, we thought we'd just let you watch it for yourself. And if you're checking this late, don't worry: the embed will have a link to the replay so you can watch the presentation, too.

First Sigma 50mm Art Lens Review Claims Nikon and Canon Aren’t On the Same Level

When Sigma announced their 50m f/1.4 DG HSM Art lens, they included some extremely dramatic statements. Not only did they say that they wanted to beat out Canon and Nikon, they intended to blow them out of the water, stating that they were aiming to make the lens as good, if not better, than the $4,000 Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus Distagon T*.

Last month we shared a somewhat shady review of the lens, which came with plenty of skepticism, so today we're sharing with you a review from a much more reputable source, SLR Gear.

Leaked Photo of Rumored Leica T Type 107 Mirrorless Camera Appears Online

The rumored, 4K capable Sony A7s that we're supposed to see for the first time tomorrow evening isn't the only mirrorless camera set to drop in April. The Leica/Panasonic partnership is also working on a mirrorless shooter -- the long-rumored Leica T Type 107 -- and we just got to see our first picture of it thanks to the folks at Leica Rumors.

Canon 1D X and 1D C May Have Autofocus Issues… When Shooting Below 0° C

A report on Canon Rumors is pointing out an issue with Canon's flagship full-frame DSLR and its Cinema counterpart: the 1D X and 1D C. Apparently users have been reporting problems with the 1D X's AF when shooting in less than 0° C, and if an anonymous report sent to CR is accurate, Canon knows about the problem.

Yet Another Rumor Suggests that Fuji Will be Going Full-Frame Mirrorless Soon

Murmurings that Fujifilm will be one of the next companies to introduce a full-frame mirrorless camera aren't new. The X200 is supposedly going to be full-frame and Fuji's executives themselves confirmed that they "would like to challenge" the full-frame market when they spoke to DPReview at CP+.

Pilling on to all this talk is a new piece of info sent to Fuji Rumors that seems to indicate the X200 isn't the only camera Fuji might be packing a full-frame sensor into. According to the tipster -- who is a new source, so extra salt on this one -- the X-Pro2 is also going to be a full-frame camera.

Lensbaby Venturing Into iPhoneography, Unveils New Sweet Spot Lens

iPhone lens attachments are nothing new, but soon there will be a new company vying for the attention of smartphone shooters: Lensbaby. The decade-old selective focus lens maker has unveiled a new patent-pending Sweet Spot Lens, which is designed specifically for giving iPhone photos Lensbaby's trademark look.

Samsung’s Latest Display Options Include a 4K, Billion-Color Model for $700

In the world of photography, one of the most vital components is the display on which you view and post-process your images. And while many of us are holding out for the day 'retina' displays become the norm on a larger scale, it's not quite the reality, yet.

However, Samsung is giving us a bit of an introduction to it, if you will, with three new display models the company is releasing in the coming weeks.

Olympus’ TG-3 Tough Cam Sports Serious Macro Capabilities Like Focus Stacking

The PEN-like Stylus SH-1 wasn't the only camera to get its debut tonight. Olympus also introduced a new Tough camera, the Stylus Tough TG-3, whose claim to fame is impressive macro photography capabilities including an automatic focus stacking feature that'll help expand your depth of field when you're shooting really tiny subjects.

Gear to Geek Out Over: LensRentals’ New Lens Adjustment Rig is Awesome

First and foremost, if you aren’t at least a little Geeky, this post is not for you. Unless you’re one of those people who thinks ‘just take some pictures, dammit’ when I write some article about resolution testing. In that case, you might like this article because we’re taking pictures to test lenses. Sort of.