Posts by Author: John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
How to build your own realistic artificial sun with soap and a satellite dish
Nov 3, 2020
John Aldred
Simulating daylight with artificial lighting is not a trivial task. You’re faking a light that’s 93 million miles away. That means it’s an extremely tiny…
The Zhiyun Crane 2S is a powerful 3-axis gimbal that’s small enough to fit in a backpack
Nov 3, 2020
John Aldred
I’m going to open this post with a very subjective, but completely honest, opinion. The Zhiyun Crane 2S (first look review here) instantly became my…
Monster Adapter’s new LA-KE1 mounts Pentax K lenses to Sony E cameras with AF and aperture control
Oct 30, 2020
John Aldred
All the crazy lens adapter combos seem to be coming out of the woodwork now. Yesterday we had the Leica M to Nikon Z adapter,…
Optical design leak shows Canon’s RF 50mm f/1.8 isn’t just a rehoused EF lens
Oct 30, 2020
John Aldred
More information about Canon’s upcoming RF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens has started to leak, including its optical design. Once again, this comes from Nokishita, and…
The Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift is the widest shift lens available for full-frame cameras
Oct 30, 2020
John Aldred
Venus Optics has announced their new Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Shift lens for Canon EF/RF, Nikon F/Z, Sony FE, Leica L and Pentax K. Covering…
ILM used a Canon 5D III and Nikon 28mm lens to shoot space scenes for The Mandalorian
Oct 29, 2020
John Aldred
It’s funny how a company can use both the latest insane bleeding-edge tech as well as gear that’s deemed “obsolete” by the masses in order…
The Rode VideoMic NTG is now fully compatible with your iPhone or iPad’s lightning port
Oct 29, 2020
John Aldred
The most hotly debated topic I see about iPhones isn’t how good (or bad) the cameras are, but it’s still the fact that they removed…
The Magic Ring II is a grip frame for your gimbal with built-in D-tap power points
Oct 29, 2020
John Aldred
Sometimes, you need to go a little “extra” with your gimbal rig. Sometimes, you need the two-handed holding power that only a solid frame can…
The Insta360 ONE X2 has a touchscreen OLED UI, IPX8 waterproofing and longer battery life
Oct 28, 2020
John Aldred
When Insta360 released the original Insta360 ONE X in 2018 (review here), it kind of shook things up for the pocket-sized 360 camera market. It…
Here’s how you can light product photography using small LED light sources
Oct 27, 2020
John Aldred
Lighting products is a lot of fun, but it can be quite tricky. Most lights we use in the studio for shooting products are huge….