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Reviewing the low-budget XP-PEN Deco mini7W Bluetooth graphics tablet

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XP-Pen has just launched its new tablet, the Deco mini7W. It’s a small but powerful table and the fact that it connects wirelessly to the computer makes this tablet much easier to use and much more versatile. I just had to test it, and when XP-Pen sent me this one to test, I was completely delighted with it.

I’ve been editing my images with a pen for a long time. With the mouse, I can’t get the level of control and detail that a graphics tablet and a stylus pen can give me. Working with a stylus pen is, for me, much more natural.

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This filter system is the ultimate variable ND solution

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Have you ever wanted a set of filters that could offer 1 to 9 stops of light reduction without having to screw in different filters? Then check out the latest kit from Haida with their Nano Pro Magnetic Variable ND.

Variable ND filters have come a long way in the last few years.  They offer a great combination of image quality and versatility. While there are a few different types of variable ND filters, the most common normally come in two verities:

Ones that offer a very wide range of ND reduction. Say, for example, one to eight stops with no limitations on rotation.  These tend to cause image quality issues like the dreaded X pattern when you try to reach their advertised limit or surpass them.

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First review of the new Nisi 15mm f4 lens

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Nisi is best known for its high–quality filters. The company recently changed its name to Nisi Optics, showing a new and extended vision geared towards producing quality lenses.

The Nisi 15mm f4 has been long in the making, but these days finally hit the market. The lens is available in full-frame mounts for Nikon Z, Canon RF, and Sony E. It also comes with a Fuji APS-C X mount. The lens offers a whopping 112 degree of field of view for full-frame cameras, which equals a 14,5mm focal length.

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The first review of the Godox AD100Pro shows a versatile flash, but it’s not for everybody

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The Godox flash lineup is ever-expanding. It’s just something we’ve come to expect now. But when they recently announced the new Godox AD100Pro, it made a lot of people go “huh?” [insert John C. Riley gif here]. What was the point? Can’t we already do this with the Godox V1? Or the AD200 with the H200R round head? What’s the benefit?

Well, yeah, kinda. But also no. In this video, Rob Hall goes through just about every feature and detail you could possibly want to know about the Godox AD100Pro and… well, when you watch it, the existence of this light and why you might want one or several in your bag actually starts to make sense – at least for some shooters.

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Another fast fifty? – The TTartisan 50mm f/1.2 review

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2020 finally seems to be coming to an end! And let’s be honest here – This hasn’t exactly been the coolest year in recent history. But right before we close shop and welcome, a hopefully improved, 2021, a Chinese lens manufacturer apparently decided that we needed something cool to play with for our APSC cameras!

On December 18th, TTartisan announced the immediate availability of their new offering, the 50mm f/1.2. I was fortunate enough to try out the lens for about 3 weeks prior to release, and I thought I wanted to share my experiences with you here. But do we really need yet another fifty? Well, this lens does bring a couple of nice things to the table, including a ridiculously low price point at just 98$USD, so let’s have a closer look at it.

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Osee G7 camera monitor takes on the top 3000 nit monitors

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When I saw the first reviews of the Osee 4k UltraHD monitors, I was impressed. I really wanted to get a unit and see if the price tag (more than Lilliputs and Feelworlds, less than Atomos) made sense. It had a lot to offer, at least on paper: 3000 NITS, both HDMI and SDI pass-through loops, and an IPS panel. We got a G7 kit and used it for a month. Our tl;dr – it’s awesome; for a full breakdown, hit the jump.

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A funny lens hood to kill all window reflections

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Have you ever wanted to shoot out of a window, but the reflections ruin the shot?  Introducing the Haida super wide-angle silicone lens hood (Amazon, B&H).

As the name describes, this is a silicone hood for your lens. It’s has a designed contort to seal around a window to cut out unwanted reflections. It comes in two sizes, One for 50-70mm lens and another for 70-90mm lens. Most of my lenses are on the larger side, so I opted for the 70-90mm version.

The large hood is 210mm wide and is designed to stretch over your lens to hold in place. You can even do this while the lens is mounted. Check the photo above.

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The pro panel speeds up your editing in photoshop

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John Weatherby has developed a panel for Photoshop that will help you speed up your editing workflow. There are quite a few panels out there. The first one was probably made by Tony Kuyper, who created luminosity masks back in 2006. Other than that, Infinite Tools, Lumenzia, and Raya Pro are probably the best-known panels.

These panels’ prime function is to create luminosity masks. The task is quite complex for someone who is not a Photoshop master. And even for them, these panels save time. For example, light masks will create a mask for the brightest pixels in an image. A good use case to understand this is when you want to reduce some of the highlights of a river white-water. You would select a good light mask and apply a curves layer that pulls down those highlights.

I took John’s Pro Panel for a spin and tested some of its actions.

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How to use masking and augmented sky in Luminar Sky Replacement

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A few days back, I compared Photoshop and Luminar AI Beta’s sky replacement feature. When I turned to Luminar AI, I struggled with a mountain that was too warm for my taste. It turns out, I managed to overlook an important sky replacement tool; the masking brush. In this article, I will show you how to use masking to improve the sky replacement algorithm. Further, I also have a closer look at what Skylum calls Augmented Sky.

Skylum’s goal with Luminar AI is to create a processing software for the casual user who doesn’t want to spend hours editing an image. The developers have designed the software to help photographers make quick and precise adjustments using the power of AI.

It’s time to employ masks and play around in Augmented sky.

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First review of Laowa’s 15mm F/4.5 shift lens – It’s a marvel for $1,200

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When Laowa announced their upcoming 15mm F/4.5 shift lens, I was intrigued. I mean, there is no tilt in this lens, but for most of my architecture work, shift is enough. Especially for a 15mm lens that is marked with zero distortion. For $1,200 this lens coupled with the Canon R5 is a beast combo. Let’s have a look at this unique lens.

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