Nikon Announces the D3400 and new AF-P Lenses
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Nikon has announced the latest release in their D3XXX lineup of DSLR cameras, the D3400 along with four new AF-P lenses.
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REVIEW : The Fujifilm X-Pro 2 - Is This The Best Mirrorless for You?
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Straight up, I need to thank the PR team at Fujifilm Canada for helping me get my hands-on an X-Pro2 for this review. While the camera was announced a while back, they have been scarce for the media and the nice people at Fujifilm never forgot about me. They sent me an X-Pro2 body and 23/1.4R lens for this review.
Read MoreREVIEW : IKAN Beholder DS-1 Gimbal
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Anyone shooting moving video knows the perils of shaky cam. We've all seen The Blair Witch Project and no one needs to see more of that kind of nausea inducing motion. The IKAN Beholder DS1 Gimbal is designed to keep your camera steady and offer smooth movements when shooting handheld, although you can tripod mount it just to use it's movement capabilities.
Read MoreREVIEW : Sony PXW-X70 Video Camera
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In this article, I take an in-depth look at Sony's PWD-X70 XDCAM prosumer video camera. I was very impressed as you will see in the article. There is also an accompanying demonstration and sample footage video included as a link in this article.
Read MoreREVIEW : Sony UWP-D11 Wireless Communications System
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I recently had the opportunity to work with a new wireless microphone kit from Sony in order to write a review. I want to thank the awesome people at Henry's for providing the gear.
Read MoreThink Tank Releases Video Rig Bags
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If you shoot video as I do, using a pro camera, you already know what a pain it is to find a bag for your rig that doesn't require you to disassemble the entire thing to put it away. My friends at Think Tank have just released a set of bags that may just be perfect for you.
Read MoreShould you buy a drone from DJI?
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It's safe to say that the best selling camera drones around come from DJI. They are very popular and when they work well are easy to fly and produce excellent footage.
The real challenge is the rest of the time, such as when you have a problem. In fairness, DJI has achieved significant improvements since the first Phantom. That was mostly a flying crash waiting to happen. The current Phantom 4 is a superb flight experience with good control capability and a decent enough telemetry app called DJI GO.
Read MoreREVIEW : Broncolor Siros S
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Broncolor is known by professional photographers and demanding enthusiasts the world over. My first experience was a very long time ago with a product called the Broncolor Hazy. If I recall correctly, it was similar to today's Hazylight, basically a flash modifier simliar to a softboxbut rigid. The light as I remember it was beautiful, but for a number of reasons I ceased having the opportunity to work with Bron products for a very long time.
Read MoreFirst Look : Hands-on with the Hasselblad X1D
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Today, at the invitation of Henry's Professional Services, I attended an event allowing professionals to get hands on with pre-release iterations of the Hasselblad X1D coming this August.
Read MoreA Great Display for Editing - BENQ SW2700PT
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In a previous post, I wrote about the importance of display calibration to ensure that what you are editing ends up looking correct when displayed elsewhere or printed. One of the other less simple challenges is finding a superb monitor for editing your work.
Read MoreUsing the Lee Big Stopper
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At some point or another, most photographers have wanted the look of a long exposure, such as moving clouds, blurred motion, creamy water, but are limited by the reality of exposure. If we take a typical sunny day, we know that our exposure at f/16 and ISO 100 will be about 1/125 of a second. No smooth blur there. The solution is a Neutral Density filter. And, if you want a big drop in light transmission, the go to answer is a Lee Big Stopper.
Read MoreREVIEW : Sigma 85mm f/1.4 - not just for portraits
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Say 85mm lens to a photographer and depending on that individual person you will get different answers. The reason is that for a long time, the 85mm was the de-facto portrait lens. It's still ideal for portraiture to be sure, but an 85mm can do so much more!
Read MoreREVIEW : Sigma ART 24mm f/1.4
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When it comes to wide angle lenses, the field of view of a 24mm on a full frame sensor is both super popular and easy to shoot. Once you go much wider, one has to pay a lot more attention to angles and perspective exaggerations. On a crop sensor, a 24mm delivers pretty darn close to my opinion of the best "one lens prime" out there, the 35mm. In this review, we'll take a close look at Sigma's ART Series 24mm f/1.4
Read MoreNew from Think Tank Photo - THE Bag for Your Lighting Rig + MORE
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Thanks for stopping by. You've probably figured out by now that I am a huge fan of the products from Think Tank Photo. US based readers who order via the link on this site (click the link on the sidebar) can get bonuses when they go through me. For readers elsewhere, there's a large number of Think Tank Photo resellers and some keep a really good selection on hand.
Read MoreMy Day With Peter Hurley
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On March 24th, 2016 I got to spend the day with Peter Hurley. Thousands of people have done so in classes and workshops, and I count myself as fortunate for having done so, but yesterday was different and special. Peter was in Toronto to deliver his Illuminating the Face workshop presented by Henry's Learning Labs, and I had the honour and pleasure to both introduce Peter to the attendees and to help with the setup and assist him over the course of the day. It was really quite amazing.
Read MoreREVIEW : Nikon AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4E PF ED
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There are many ways to make photographic lenses as we all know, some more efficient than others, some better suited to particular use cases. One of the greater challenges in creating longer focal length telephoto lenses has always been balancing focal length with physical size and weight. Canon embarked on a limited series of lenses several years ago using a technology that they call Diffractive Optics. You can recognize a Canon DO lens by the distinct green line. Recently, the folks at Nikon have done something similar and released their own design using a new element mode called Phase Fresnel or PF. At the outset, it looks and sounds like DO. Since I am a huge fan of DO, I wanted to check out Nikon's Phase Fresnel system and they graciously loaned me one to try.
Read MoreCameron HSS-240 Receivers en route
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Prior to the 2015 holidays, I had an opportunity to review a set of TTL radio trigger/receivers under the Cameron brand, an exclusive to Henry's here in Canada. Finding a set of radio controllers for hotshoe flash that supported three groups, four channels, TTL, manual flash and remote power control without breaking the bank has always been a challenge.
Read MoreREVIEW : Sigma ART 35mm f/1.4
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When the Sigma ART 35/1.4 first appeared on dealer shelves, I put one on a camera very briefly and drew a few conclusions. In the store, focus was very quick, as quick as the Canon 35/1.4 I use regularly I thought. It was also very large comparatively speaking and felt very well built and a but heavy, that being a relative term for a guy who spends a fair bit of time waving fast telephoto primes around. I had no card in my pocket so didn't make any test shots and then time moved on. Recently there has been a resurgence for full frame shooters with interest in a fast 35mm, sometimes for street work and for others as their walk around lens. So I arranged with my local Sigma dealer to obtain one for a short review.
Read MoreProfoto Announces Firmware Update for B1
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If you are a user of the Profoto B1 strobe, there is a firmware update (D1) now available at www.profoto.com for the B1 that corrects a minor bug where the B1 might restart after being turned off using a Profoto Air Remote. Applying the update takes less than a minute. Download the update, plug the B1 into the computer via USB and run the update.
Read MoreAnnouncement Review : The Pentax K-1
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For those of us with some "tenure" in photography, the Pentax name will always evoke memories. Whether the ubiquitous M42 screw mount, or the tack driving Super Takumar lenses, to the monstrous and wonderful Pentax 67, that brand is bound to the history of photography. The advent of digital, along with financial challenges looked to be putting the boots to the once famous name, but a strategic acquisition by Ricoh has pumped new blood, and financial stability into the once damaged brand. Now, after years of rumours, Ricoh has announced the Pentax K-1, the first full frame Pentax branded digital SLR.
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