While OWC has made enclosures that could pair with Mac mini's for a long time, the OWC miniStack STX is the first that brings a Thunderbolt hub into the mix, making it an ideal storage and working drive solution for creatives.
Now 66 E-mount lenses in, Sony is reworking more of its popular focal lengths and modernizing them with the latest standards. The new Sony PZ 16-35mm f/4 G takes a classic and gives it new life.
The Nikon Z 28-75mm f/2.8 lens gives shooters a focal range close to the ever-popular 24-70mm f/2.8 S but with slightly fewer features for about half of the price, making it an incredibly attractive option for photographers at every level.
I would describe Apple's Studio Display can be best summarized as a great-looking monitor that doesn't specialize in any one thing but manages to hit high notes in many areas instead. It's pretty bright and has accurate, consistent colors. But the display market is competitive, and many will be questioning its value proposition.
Currently, the longest-reaching telephoto zoom lens in the Nikon Z-mount system, the Nikkor 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S faces a lot of eager potential customers who are going to balance its longer focal length with overall size and cost. I can’t say it will disappoint.
Ever since Apple moved to the M1 chip, we’ve consistently lauded the performance improvements we’ve seen. It feels like with each iteration we say “most powerful” or “surprising” in some way, but those are still perhaps the best words to underscore just how impressive the M1 Ultra in the new Mac Studio is. Because it is impressive.
Rotolight, an award-winning LED lighting company based in the UK, has recently released the $1,399 AEOS 2, a circular LED that can be used as a constant video light as well as a strobe for still work and has zero recycle time. As an added bonus, the light features a series of built-in filters and gels that allow users to create nearly any look and mood imaginable and a mobile app for controlling and changing settings when the lights are in awkward and precarious positions.
Last year, Ricoh Imaging released the Pentax K-3 Mark III, which proved to be an excellent (yet expensive) DSLR. Ricoh says the Pentax-DA* 16-50mm f/2.8 ED PLM AW is the "ultimate general professional-grade zoom lens" for APS-C DSLR systems like the K-3 Mark III, and I have to say it lives up to that.
The full-frame Nikon Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S has many long-lens photographers excited about being the last piece of glass they’ll ever need to buy. With a built-in 1.4x teleconverter effectively replacing the need for a 500mm or 600mm f/4 and state-of-the-art optics from Nikon, there’s potential to be something truly special.
Every time Samsung launches a key phone, it points to its camera performance as a reason to take the plunge and plunk down the money to go the premium route. And while things are certainly improved here, they are only incrementally so, at least for now.
The debate over which lens and accessories are best for macro photography has gone on since the beginning of the craft. With so many options out there ranging from just a $8 to over $1,000, it is definitely a daunting field to enter. Thankfully, photographer and YouTuber, Wolf Amri, has decided to tackle that subject in this new video.
Photographers and videographers who shoot large campaigns leave sets with a ton of data that needs to be ingested, backed up, and organized for editing. For successful businesses, one measly SD card slot on the back of a computer doesn't cut it. For them, a multi-card ingestion device is a must, and right now the SanDisk Professional Pro-Dock 4 is absolutely unbeatable in that department.
Sigma has sneakily been releasing a number of compact, wide-aperture lenses designed for mirrorless cameras. Already on the company's seventh addition to the “I” series, the new 20mm f/2 DG DN is now the widest of its kind yet.
After reading my story on its $300 SD Express card, Ritz Gear reached out and insisted that I try it for myself. The company even included an SD Express card reader in an attempt, I assume, to show its value. After testing, I am at a loss: this is so much worse than I ever thought it could be.
In photography, the “cutting edge” doesn’t always happen with the most expensive gear; the ability to produce a quality lens at a price lower than ever is just as innovative. Canon’s RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM is my case in point.
Early access to Luminar Neo is giving us the first look at its four prominent features: Dust Spot Removal, Relight AI, Powerlines Remove tool, and Luminar Share app. With a full release around the corner, is Luminar Neo living up to expectations?
When Profoto released the cordless, battery-powered B1X monolight in 2017, I was rather skeptical. Why should a company release a new light if it offers mild improvements over the old model? Faster recycling, better battery life, and more modeling lamp output aren’t exactly groundbreaking. Yet the build quality, the ability to freeze motion, and the number of flashes per charge make this light worth every penny.
Fylm.ai was originally created with professional video color grading in mind, but the browser-based editor recently added support for RAW photos. That sounds nice, but does it have something unique to offer a relatively crowded space?
If you have been searching for an ultra-wide lens for the Pentax system recently, you likely will come across the $1,400 Pentax-D FA 21mm f/2.4 lens announced late last year. Whether or not you should buy it depends on how much you like Pentax.
There has been a lot of chatter and excitement surrounding the Nikon Z 28mm f/2.8 lens when it was announced as a special pairing (along with a special version) with the Z fc camera. As one of the smallest and lightest lenses released for the Z mirrorless system that comes paired with one of the shorter focus distances, the $297 "pocket" lens packs a lot of punch in a tiny and affordable package.
Leica has finally officially revealed the M11 Rangefinder, letting us finally put all the rumors of what we may or may not expect to rest. Now that it's here, what has five years of development given us?
The Profoto B2 is a small, seemingly-"underpowered" light that was released back in 2015 and that has been with me for the past two years. Having bought it used and taken it on trips, shot in-studio, and photographed on-location, there are a lot of good things to say about it.
The Kamvas Pro 24 (4K) is Huion's flagship pen display: a high-resolution graphics display that delivers most of the benefits of a Wacom Cintiq Pro 24 at about half the price. In the two months I've spent using it on-and-off in preparation for this review, I've come to three important conclusions: (1) this is an excellent product, (2) a large 4K pen display is the best way to edit your photos, and (3) I can't realistically use this display as my daily driver.
ImagenAI is a personalized photo editing assistant that is designed to learn individual photographer's styles using artificial intelligence (AI) to help make applying bulk edits to entire catalogs quick and easy. So, does it work, and are we about to enter into a new age of AI editing?
In all my years in photography, I don’t think any camera has had as much buzz leading up to its release as the Nikon Z9. There were many reasons for that, both good and bad, but now that the camera’s here, does it live up to the hype? After one week of using it, I think so.
What makes instant film fun to use decades after its peak in popularity? I’d wager it’s the same things that made it fun back in the day: not overthinking things and staying in the moment while also creating unique-looking prints that convey those fleeting moments so perfectly. The Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo takes a different approach.
The Z9 takes a massive leap forward in technology and levels the playing field between Canon and Sony both in its construction and capabilities. While Nikon may have been late delivering a professional mirrorless system, the 120 frames per second (FPS) burst, 8K video, impressive battery life, and "always-on" EVF more than make the wait worth it.
Despite a nearly two-year global supply chain shortage, Nikon has been making good on the company's promise to deliver a plethora of new lenses for the mirrorless Z system. Filling in most of the missing gaps from the F-mount lineup with greatly improved lenses, this time with a unique and affordable "in-between" focal length lens for everyday use, the $297 40mm f/2 Z.
In the last few years, Chinese lens manufacturer Venus Optic has released a plethora of versatile, unique, and affordable fast aperture lenses for most camera systems on the market. Today the company has officially launched the latest lens in the Argus lineup, the Laowa Argus 45mm f/0.95 FF -- one of the first full frame 45mm lenses with a maximum aperture of f/0.95.
Light and Motion made some lofty promises when it announced the Reflex LED lighting system. Designed to be both a still and video light, it can certainly do both, but we wanted to see if it truly could replace standalone classic strobe systems like the Profoto A1X.
The TourBox Elite has been the subject of a lot of attention since the launch of its Kickstarter and with the crowdfunding campaign coming to a close, we decided to take a closer look at it to see if it's worth your backing.
Although Adobe's new Creative Cloud (CC) Express is designed to make the company's services more appealing to the average person and not just professionals, the premise of the platform mimics both Canva and Picsart. So how does it stand up?
Last year I got my hands on a weird little controller console called the TourBox that would end up being an invaluable part of my editing workflow. I reviewed the original TourBox controller, with its assortment of buttons, dials, and scroll wheels, and loved how it allowed me to map certain shortcuts and functions in Final Cut Pro X, Lightroom, and Photoshop to save a lot of time while editing.
The designated "I" in the title says it all. It stands for imaging, making it clear what Sony prioritized when it developed the Xperia Pro-I. This is more like a point-and-shoot Alpha camera first and smartphone second, yet putting the two together does lead to inherent advantages over competitors.
The new Venus Optics Laowa 85mm f/5.6 2x Macro lens is one of the smallest macro lenses that I’ve ever used for a full-frame sensor. It is even smaller than the Laowa 50mm f/2.8 2:1 for Micro Four Thirds, and that’s no mean feat!
Canon’s latest mirrorless camera takes on a new shape and reaches all new heights in performance. With its stacked 24-megapixel sensor, blackout-free silent shooting, eye-control autofocus, and improved subject detection, the EOS R3 might just be the new camera to beat.
The Canon PowerShot Pro1 was released almost 18 years ago and is seen as a "bridge camera" between a point and shoot and DSLR, but cost about the same as the latter. Unable to balance price versus features, it would be the last of its kind.
When Profoto released the B10 and B10 Plus, they made headlines for how portable and powerful they were. That was 2018. In 2021, Profoto takes the concept of a portable powerful battery-powered strobe further by launching the B10X and B10X Plus.
What does it take to make a camera stand out? Some companies go for specs, some go for looks, some go for versatility. DJI went for all three with the Ronin 4D.
Ricoh brought the GR IIIx into its lineup to largely address focal length, but to also cement the case that this compact camera shoots bolder than its size would otherwise indicate.
A few months ago Unistallar and Nikon announced the launch of a new smart-telescope called the eVscope 2. The two companies claimed it was the world's most powerful and simple-to-operate digital telescope for consumers. While I absolutely agree the system is incredibly easy and actually fun to use, dubbing it as the world's most powerful is a hefty over-promise.
Drones are fun. It doesn’t matter if we’re flying them or looking at drone photos and videos, there’s still that sense of wonder and awe as earthbound humans. That excitement carries over to watching not only any new drone, but in this case a high-end one that promises so much. There’s always inherent hype when a company like DJI announces a drone, and in the case of the Mavic 3, it may be justified.
There have been a lot of interesting light solutions for creatives released in the last few years, but they were either a slight improvement over a previous generation (like the Profoto A1 to A1X) or something to serve a niche corner like the Lumee from Spiffy Gear. Nothing has been really groundbreaking... except perhaps for the StellaPro Reflex from Light and Motion.
It is extremely difficult to come into a review of the new MacBook Pro with a truly neutral mindset. The original M1 was just so darned impressive that a follow-up naturally has enormous shoes to fill. Somehow, not only does the MacBook Pro powered by M1 Max meet expectations, it exceeds them: this computer is a marvel.
There are two things a camera should have to be good at astrophotography: a large image sensor and the ability to manually control camera settings. Yet somehow, the Google Pixel 6 Pro manages to capture stunning astrophotographs with the press of a single button. The image sensor, though much bigger than previous iterations of the Pixel line-up, is still tiny in comparison to mirrorless or DSLR cameras. But it’s the powerful machine-learning software within that makes the Pixel 6 Pro so good at capturing the stars.
XP-Pen's new Artist Pro 16 is one of the most compelling entry-level graphics displays on the market. It's lightweight, well-built, highly customizable, color-accurate, and all for a price that will make Wacom owners blush. It's not a perfect product, but no other Full HD pen display on the market offers this kind of experience and build quality for just $450.
A little over a year ago, Kolari Vision released its lineup of high-end and ultra-rugged drop-in filters for Canon's EF-to-RF mount adapter with a built-in filter slot, making the company the first to come to market for such a product. But does getting to market first make them any better than the competition? Is the price worth it?
The iPhone has been the best smartphone for video capture for some time, and the iPhone 13 Pro is no different -- it's currently our pick in that category. So, naturally, adding ProRes 4:2:2 10-bit capability only makes that better, right?
Not many people own a 4x5 camera let along actually use them, which makes Lomography's new LomoGraflok 4x5 Instant Back particularly interesting. It allows those with 4x5 Graflok-equipped large format cameras to shoot with Fujifilm Instax Wide film It's niche, but should appeal to a very small, but passionate, group of photographers.
What if a company released a high-end action camera that didn’t look exactly like the device that popped into your head when you read “action camera”? That's what DJI did with the Action 2, and it’s got... magnets?