DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

Search

Submit A Story

Sony’s ZV-E1 is a cut-down FX3 in a vlogging form factor

by Leave a Comment

Sony has now officially announced the new Sony ZV-E1 (buy here) mirrorless camera. It follows on with the general theme of the ZV-1 and ZV-E10 in that they’re targeted primarily towards vloggers. In many ways, it seems to be just as good as the Sony A7S III and Sony FX3 – at least on paper. It contains the same full-frame 12.1-megapixel sensor capable of shooting 4K video at up to 120fps (in a future firmware), but there are some key differences.

Well, there’d have to be. When the A7S III and FX3 cost $3,499 and $3,899, respectively, and the new ZV-E1 costs $2,198, you know there are going to be some compromises somewhere. Let’s take a quick look at the specs and see where Sony’s skimped to bring the price down as low as they have.

[Read More…]

Watch: How good (or bad) is an $8.50 tripod?

As the saying goes, “one isn’t rich enough to buy cheap things.” But is a dirt-cheap piece of gear worth buying after all? Adam Harig wanted to find out, and he found the cheapest tripod money could buy. I’m taking $8.50 cheap, folks; we spend more on takeout. So, is an $8.50 tripod indeed such a bad choice? Let’s see it in Adam’s “cheap tripod review.”

[Read More…]

How to light and photograph Lego building interiors

by Leave a Comment

Shooting the interior of a brick-built scene can be very challenging for a LEGO photographer because most models restrict camera angles and limit lighting opportunities.

When I shoot official LEGO sets, I have to really work around what the designer of the set has created, with displayability and playability as their priorities. It’s a lot easier to shoot a MOC (My Own Creation) because I have designed it with different priorities: camera angles and lighting.

[Read More…]

Lighting Setup: How to light your portraits with £50 LED tubes

by Leave a Comment

In the last year or so, I’ve experimented with and tested a huge range of LEDs lights. From the $15,000 Panalux film production monsters to the versatile Godox S-fit compatible heads to the incredible Rotolight panels. But this week I take a look at the other end of the pricing spectrum as I play with the very affordable PixaPro RGB tubes.

[Read More…]

Review: Insta360 announces its first gimbal – The AI-tracking Insta360 Flow

by Leave a Comment

Insta360 is most famous for its 360-degree cameras and action cameras. It looks like they’re taking a little change of direction and expanding out into helping you get great video with your smartphone, too. Insta360 has now officially announced the Insta360 Flow (Buy here). It’s its own take on the now ubiquitous smartphone gimbal, and having played with one now for a little while, I think it’s pretty good.

In a gimbal market dominated by companies like DJI and Zhiyun, it’s interesting to see Insta360 enter it. We’ve seen many other companies come and go in the gimbal world, but Insta360 isn’t just some random no-name brand that pops up out of nowhere and disappears just as quickly. If they’re going to have a go at something, they’re going to do it properly. And properly is exactly what they seem to have done.

[Read More…]

World Press Photo 2023 regional winners show why AI will never kill photography

The World Press Photo has announced the regional winners of its 2023 photo contest. Just like last year, the selection includes incredible, moving images taken in all corners of the world. Other than making me cry, these images reminded me why Ai will never replace photography and why photojournalism and documentary photography are here to stay.

[Read More…]

Meta is introducing a verified badge, but of course it’s not free

by Leave a Comment

The rumours last month were correct: Meta is introducing a verified status similar to Twitter’s Blue Tick. Imaginatively called ‘Meta Verified, ‘ the new feature rolled out first in Australia and New Zealand in the first phase of testing. Meta has now opened it up to US-based users.

The feature will be available on both Facebook and Instagram, and users will have to submit a valid government ID and pay a subscription to access it.

[Read More…]

Astrophotographers, don’t miss the “celestial parade” as five planets align this week

Astrophotographers and astronomy enthusiasts rejoice, as this week we’ll be treated to a “planetary parade.” Starting tonight, as many as five planets of our solar system will get aligned in the sky: Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus, and Mars.

[Read More…]

DIYP Reviews the Laowa Argus 28mm f/1.2 lens for still photographers

by Leave a Comment

Not every day, I get to put my hands on an f/1.2 lens. And a 28mm at that. So obviously, I was curious to test the new Laowa Argus 28mm f/1.2 lens. While my guess is that Laowa is targeting video photographers with this lens, I think it could be a wonderful asset for still shooters.

Before diving in, let me make sure that we are clear on the two most important spec points of this lens: It is an f/1.2 lens, and it’s manual. I guess you can see where I am going with this.

[Read More…]

Mitakon recreates Leica’s Summaron M 28mm f/5.6 at a tenth the cost

by Leave a Comment

Mitakon has announced their newest lens. It’s full-frame Mitakon Creator 28mm f/5.6, which they say “recreate[s] the iconic Leica Summaron M 28mm f/5.6 lens with faithful adherence to the original lens characters”. Except, in this case, Mitakon is doing it at a fraction of the $3,095 price the Leica lens demands. In fact, it’s an entire order of magnitude cheaper, at only $299.

Exactly how well the Mitakon adheres to the Leica original remains to be seen, but this is where Mitakon claims to be aiming its sights. Given the price difference, though, even without the Leica name stamped on it, I expect it won’t be identical in terms of image quality.

[Read More…]

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts