Photo Accessory Reviews

The most important tip I would like to share about travel photography is never buy a new camera or lens before traveling to Bhutan or even Carhenge. The next most essential travel photography secret is that using your equipment has to be instinctive; when a photo op presents itself you may only have a few seconds to get a shot. There’s no time to think about what menu to use or how to turn on continuous AF, or what exposure mode you’re in. Using your camera has to be instinctive; you should see—or even anticipate—then click the shutter. It’ll make travel more fun, too.

A 100mm f/2.8 full-frame lens that produces bokeh that looks like soap bubbles? Sign us up! But does the bokeh really look like suds?

One of my favorite camera straps and a brand that’s widely used by professionals is going away. I’m sad to confirm the rumors that UPstrap production is ending soon, likely by the end of this year. The message today is simple and clear: if you want to buy one of the professional camera straps that I think are the best on this planet, order one now.

If you're a landscape photographer who strives to capture great images in the camera, rather than resorting to post-processing, the quick tutorial below is just what you need. In barely 10 minutes you'll learn what an accomplished pro says are the three lens filters you need, and how to use them.

While image stabilization in camera bodies and lenses has stretched the bounds of slow shutter speed usage, there’s nothing that can take the place of a good tripod in terms of image sharpness and the ability to take advantage of today’s camera technology. Working with HDR, with very long exposure times, and the ability to shoot at virtually any aperture and shutter speed without resorting to excessive ISOs are obvious benefits. 

Easy-to-carry travel tripods are more popular than ever, as photographers have turned to mirrorless cameras and correspondingly small lenses to lighten their load. The challenge is finding an appropriately robust model that doesn’t sacrifice stability, quality and features—just to be small.

Wacom recently introduced their new line of Bamboo tablets, and we thought we’d revisit the use of stylus and tablet tools to give it a try. For our test we worked with the Bamboo Capture, described by the company as most apt for enthusiast digital photographers, although there are three intros in this new line.