If you’ve ever lusted after a really fast lens—even faster than f/1.2—imagine how compelling the thought of an affordable f/0.95 lens might be. Well, buckle your gadget bags folks, because the Zhongyi Mitakon Speedmaster 25mm for Micro Four Thirds cameras is an f/0.95 that pops into the shopping cart for less than $400.
As the name implies, the Fotodiox LED Studio-in-a-Box is a self-contained tabletop studio that features interior LED lighting that has a daylight color balance of 5600 Kelvin. The CRI, or Color Rendering Index, is 85 (on a scale 0 to 100).
Photographers are an inventive lot. Most have of us have improvised one thing or another in pursuit of our obsession, be it a soft-focus diffuser made from a discarded nylon stocking, studio lamp handcrafted from a Home Depot shop light, or a gadget bag recycled from an army surplus gas mask pack. But here’s a bonafide useful tool that Greg Montano, owner of Dexter’s Camera in Ventura, California, created more-or-less out of necessity, and has been using professionally since.
The holidays are approaching and that’s a good excuse to buy a new photo bag for yourself or a loved one. Here’s a collection of my seven favorite photo bags, gleaned from full reviews that appeared in this column over the past couple of years.
Photo backpack fans listen up! Everything good about Peak Design’s photo messenger bags now comes in backpack shape, in two sizes plus an innovative sling.
If you live on a planet that doesn’t have lightning, you might make it through life without a surge protector. But if you live here on Earth, better pony up and use protection.
The monochrome mode on most digital cameras is a convenience that is best avoided. Conventional wisdom says that it’s far, far better to shoot Raw and convert to monochrome—or at least to start with a color JPEG. But Fujifilm suggests that their ACROS film simulation mode might even top the best Raw converters. Does it?
The frost is on the pumpkin, folks, and that means it’s time to get ready for fall. Here are five things to have in mind as we slip from Daylight Saving Time into the long nights and short days of winter.
We couldn’t stump you with 13 general photography questions last week, so let’s see how you do on a lens quiz. Answers at the end—peeking is for haters only.
Photokina, the photography “show of shows,” opens in Cologne, Germany on September 20. The size of this biennial event is monstrous—you have to experience it to believe it. In 2014, a total of 1,074 exhibitors from 51 countries hosted 183,297 attendees. We’re taking serious show here. In honor of Photokina, here’s a pop quiz to test your knowledge of photography.
Carpenters are known to say things like, “Measure twice and cut once.” It’s hard to argue with that advice. But what about photographers? Should we trust the words of folks who deal mainly with images?
My friend Kasia (not her real name) bought a Click Bit bracelet last month to track her photography activity and immediately became obsessed with recording every detail of her camera life. Not passively obsessive, either—she’s become a compulsive, fanatical, evangelistic, raving maniac. But let’s go back to when she was still just chubby Kassie…
The moon was full last week, and two lunatic things happened to friends of mine. One got a bad case of ransomware on her Mac (yes, that’s Mac as in MacBook Air). The other had a microSD card self-destruct in his Android cell phone. Bad things happen in threes and, oh yes, I hit a curb and blew out a tire.
The difference was this: I had a spare in my trunk. I didn’t wait until the curb bit me to prepare for the disaster. My two friends? Well…
I’ve been taking pictures for so long that when I began, practically all cameras were made in Japan or Germany, ISO was spelled ASA and image files were paper folders where sleeves of negatives were stored.
Despite my ample experience, there are mistakes that I make over and over again—not every time I go out, thankfully, and not even every week—but often enough. Do you do these too?
The “Back to School” bug bit me and I volunteered to teach a digital photography workshop at my local library. You may have had the same inclination at one time or another, but never got around to putting together a syllabus and some example images. Here are a few tips that will help you create an informative, worthwhile photo class for your community.