Jon Sienkiewicz Blog

If you grew up in America, your idea of an electrical wall outlet is a flat rectangle with two receptacles where one can plug in the cord from a lamp, toaster or other 110-volt gizmo. Here are five products that may change that mental image forever.

When we reviewed the Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Ultra-Zoom Lens in Sony APS-C mirrorless mount, we were truly impressed that a long-reach zoom that small (< 5 inches) had such outstanding IQ, focused to 5.9 inches and cost less than $700. But I must confess that all the while, I was eagerly awaiting the Fujifilm X version of this beauty. I finally landed a sample, and here’s what happened.

We started looking for DIY skins for cameras and lenses and discovered a literal treasure trove of sticky things that are camera-related, at least remotely. We limited our search to AliExpress, an online merchant with whom we have had sporadic success. We think you’ll like some or all of them, so we’re sharing our findings here.

The L-bracket has moved from the realm of the exotic into the everyday world of real utility where it belongs, thanks in large part to the success of the QR11 L-bracket from 3 Legged Thing. After four years of unbridled success, the 3LT QR11 L-bracket has been upgraded to version 2.0, adding manifold improvements suggested by users.

Benro has reinvented the tabletop tripod. The Benro Tablepod Flex is one of those products that makes you smack yourself on the head and yell, “Why didn’t I think of that?” But there’s more than just sizzle here—there’s a fully flexible leg hidden inside each of the three rigid carbon fiber legs, and man are they useful.

Any craftsman will tell you that it’s important to have the right tool for the job. The same goes for photography and video production. Here are three excellent tools that you’ll want to own.