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Video tripods are the best type of tripods to use for shooting landscapes

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During my recent visit to the USA, I decided to forego the lightweight travel tripods and go with something a little more substantial. Something that could stand up to all day use at NAB 2019 as well as trekking around the Arizona landscape.

I also needed something that would work for video. So, my tripod for this particular adventure was the Manfrotto 190X Video tripod & 500 fluid head. The ideal setup for shooting video at NAB, but some might think it a little unusual for landscape photography. For me, though, and I mentioned this briefly in a vlog I made during the trip, video tripods make the best landscape tripods. I want to tell you why.

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The Chargetech 124K is a beast of a power station with a 124,000mAh battery

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Is that a power bank in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? That was my first thought when I was introduced to this beast delivering over 462Wh of power. That’s right, 124,800mAh at 3.7V.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love power. I always have a Xiaomi 20,000mAh in my backpack and I’ll take an Omni 20 or Ultimate out for production, but this… this is far beyond any photographer’s wildest dreams.

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Shooting Sigma’s “Big Three” f/2.8 Pro zoom lenses in the Arizona desert

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Last month, DIYP made the visit to NAB 2019 in Las Vegas. While I was in the neighbourhood, I decided to head to Arizona for a couple of weeks after the show ended. I’ve always wanted to explore the desert, and this was my chance!

With me, I took Sigma’s “Big Three” f/2.8 Pro zoom lenses – the Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 Art, Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 Art and Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 Sports. These were the only lenses I took with me and shot with during the trip, and here are some of my thoughts.

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The Hollyland Mars 300 is an affordable HDMI transmitter with decent performance

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I’ll be honest. I’d never heard of Hollyland when they reached out to me and asked if I could have a look at their Mars 300 wireless video transmitter (Amazon | B&H). Will I be keeping my eye out for more stuff from them after having tried read? Read on to find out. 

The Mars 300 is a new entry-level wireless video transmitter. So why would you need or use one of these?

Well, there are a few different use cases for wireless video transmitters.

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The Omnicharge Ultimate is a beast of portable AC, DTAP and USB power

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The Omnicharge Ultimate has a whopping capacity of 34,800mAh. This is a lot of juice. If you are looking for V-mount compatible, you’d be looking at about a 125Wh battery. But, I am jumping ahead of myself. Let’s start again.

The Omnicharge Ultimate is basically a power bank on steroids. It is similar to your 10,000mAh power bank that you carry everywhere because your phone battery gets nuked by midday. Only it is three and a half times as strong and features an AC outlet, a super-detailed LCD monitor, a variable DC output and a 3 USB ports.

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The ultimate, long-term review of Nikon 300mm f/2.8 VR

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Was there a better world out there, a world free of bullshit and insanity?

Maybe.

But what world have you seen that you liked better is my question to you.

And once you get to the bottom of the answer, you’ll find a new kind of freedom. Heck, you might even feel like quitting your job and buying a plane ticket to some exotics places, with only your backpack. You might wonder which lens to bring.

The Nikon 300mm f/2.8 would be on the top of my list.

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A landscape photographer’s review of Samsung Galaxy S10+

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This is not meant as an in-depth review of the Samsung S10+. The review will chiefly discuss the cell phone’s camera capabilities from a landscape photographer’s standpoint.

The first thing I noticed when I began using the Samsung S10+ was how well calibrated the screen is in terms of colors, black point and contrast. What I see on the display is extremely close to what I see on my calibrated computer monitor. That to such a degree that I now use my phone as a point of reference when re-calibrating my monitor.

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Review shows the Panasonic S1 is a very capable camera – Mostly

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The Panasonic S1 and S1R full-frame mirrorless cameras have been discussed at great length online since their initial announcement last September at Photokina. After they launched in March, the discussion hotted up even more. People wanted to know what the photos were like, what the video was like, lens compatibility and so on.

As they’ve started to get into the hands of more people, we’ve seen a few reviews. But the one review many have been waiting for is Kai Wong’s, in the distinctive Top Gear-esque style (old Top Gear, not new Top Gear) that he’s made his own. Now, he’s finally released one for the Panasonic S1, and it looks like it doesn’t suck.

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G-Technology Shuttle XL EV with Seagate IronWolf Pro overview

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The G-Technology Shuttle XL EV is a beast of a RAID array and has the storage and speed to deal with just about anything you can throw at it. Or so they say.

As anyone who has read any of my articles before, you would know that as a video producer, I need lots and lots of fast storage. And if you haven’t read any of my stuff before, well, just assume that as a video producer, I need lots and lots of fast storage. 😉

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