Your one stop shop for everything photo-video
Good sliders aren’t cheap. Most cheap sliders are rarely good. But when your budget’s ultra low, what are you going to do? Either you buy something that you’ll probably use twice and throw away, or you build your own.
The latter is the option chosen by YouTuber Atti Bear in his most recent video. In it, Atti shows us how he build his slider with items bought from Ikea for a total price of less than $20.
Well, it looks like the US Army aren’t too happy with DJI, after releasing a memo stating their discontinued use of DJI products. They quote “cyber vulnerabilities” as the reason, although they don’t say specifically what those vulnerabilities are.
What’s interesting is that it doesn’t seem to target a specific drone. In fact, while it does mention “DJI Unmanned Aircraft Systems”, the ban doesn’t seem to be restricted to just drones, at all. The memo specifically states that the Army must “halt use of all DJI products”.
I make quite a few stitched panoramics. Occasionally I shoot them when I go on holiday and find a cool place. Mostly, though, I shoot them when I’m location scouting. When I come across a new area to potentially photograph somebody in the future, I fire off a few shots to stitch in post. They’re very handy for that. But they often suffer from the same problem. All kinds of warping and perspective issues.
The effect is bad enough if your lens already has some natural distortion of its own. When multiple images are stitched it worsens the issue. This video from photographer Rex Jones comes to the rescue, though, showing us how we can correct it in Photoshop. A great method for perfect distortion free images.
We all have those nagging doubts when it comes to what we shoot. No matter how good others tell us we are or how amazing they believe our work is, we feel like frauds. We struggle constantly, whether it’s with ideas, budget, time, stress. And when you sit and think about it, there are more reasons to quit than to keep carrying on.
It’s bad enough when other people tell us what we can’t do. When we tell ourselves, it can be truly devastating. It’s a topic explored by Simon Cade in this video. He talks about what he goes through, how he feels, and why he should just quit.
The Godox AD-B2 has been dreamt of ever since the AD200 was announced a few months ago. It wasn’t much of a stretch to assume Godox would release something like this given the H1200B extension head. The head lets you plug in a pair of AD600 lights to get 1200Ws of power. The AD-B2 essentially does the same thing for the AD200, letting you double up the power.
According to this review from photographer Rob Hall, though, not quite. When one compares a single AD200 in the standard S-Fit adapter to a pair of AD200 in the AD-B2, one expects there to be a stop of difference (double the power). Robert’s observations yield quite a substantial increase over that. And it’s all down to a very simple difference in design.
We all harp on about the latest 4K this or 8K that. But do we really know what we’re saying? Most of the time, probably not. It all comes down to how the camera’s sensor actually records each of those pixels in the image, which is largely guesswork.
In this video Cooke Optics interview cinematographer Geoff Boyle. He explains that it’s basically all down to the nature of a Bayer pattern filter array. What’s really happening when your sensor sees an image and why your camera’s resolution is lying to you.
Lenses fogging up usually isn’t a big problem for me here in the UK. But it is a problem I’ve faced while shooting in warmer climates. You go from a nice cool air conditioned building to the hot and humid outdoors and there it goes. Within 10 seconds, your lens is virtually impossible to see through.
If your lens is weather sealed, it’s just a waiting game for it to clear up. If it’s not, you can face long term consequences. This two minute tips video from David Bergman offers several ways to prevent fog on your lenses when you change environments.
Now, we’re not suggesting Interfit just ripped off the design of Alien Bees’ Digibee lights. But you have to admit, the resemblance is just uncanny. Not to mention the fact that the specs are also pretty close. As is the name. In fact, the only real difference appears to be the Interfit “Honey Badger” has a Bowens mount on the front.
The Alien Bees lights have such a distinct design that it’s hard to imagine this is a coincidence. And if the appearance didn’t convince you, the specs and price are bound to.
Memory cards are the biggest pain in the backside for photographers. We have to keep getting new ones whenever we upgrade because cameras make bigger files. Video requires higher bitrates. Our low capacity slower cards can no longer keep up. And we need a bunch of them, because we need to shoot backups, use multiple cameras, or lose them.
Storage technology is always changing, too. You have to keep up-to-date with what’s the best, and the best value, to spend your money wisely. Tom of Tom’s Tech Time decided to put 10 of the current range of popular micro SD cards up against each other to see how they compare.
Camera straps have always been a personal thing for me. I find one I like and I stick with it for as long as possible. My favourite used to be a chunky Nikon NPS strap I got about 15 years ago. It stuck with my main camera as I upgraded for about a decade, then it broke. Now I use the strap that came with the Nikon D2h, and Peak Design anchors so I can use it with all my cameras.
For some people, though, there are no readily available straps that just really feel right. For photographer Nick Mayo, that meant making his own out of an old leather belt. It’s how he makes all his camera straps. In this video, Nick shows how he makes them from recycled belt leather.
Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.
Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe
Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.
John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 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.
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!