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Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ Night Mode reviewed – nice work, but a bit too late

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When it comes to adding a night mode camera, Samsung was late to the party. The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S10 received that addition through an update last spring, whereas the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 came with a pre-configured Night Mode camera. Night Mode replaced Bright Mode which allowed you to take long exposures in low-light conditions. It was kinda automatic and you had no control whether to turn it on or not.

And this is my biggest issue with Bright Mode. It turned on automatically based on how dark it was. In other words, the software decided which mode to use in low light, not the photographer. Night Mode is a different story.

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Are graduated neutral-density filters really useful?

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For a few years now I have been using various different filters. I mostly use them to reduce the overall light coming into the camera or to help control reflections. It seems though I always overlooked one type of filter: the graduated neutral-density filters (ND Grad for short)

I honestly thought that graduated neutral-density filters wouldn’t work very well in the real world. While they offer a reduction of light on selective parts of your image, they do so in horizontal lines. Sure, I can use this to cut the light out in the sky, but what about buildings, trees or other landscape elements that go “across the line” like the tree in the image above?

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The best wireless mics for $200 – DIYP reviews RODE Wireless GO

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I remember the first time I bought a wireless lav system. It was a lot of money, but I finally bit the bullet and bought my first wireless Sennheiser G2 system. There I was, $600 down, but as happy as a clam. At the time, you couldn’t get a (decent) wireless body-packs for less than $450. My eyes were always set on Sennheiser though. Fast-forward half a decade later, and we have a bunch of wireless options. The prices have been going down and good quality has become more affordable. At $200.00, the Rode Wireless GO is one of the cheapest, most discreet, featured pack wireless systems on the market.

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We ordered a bunch of Flickr prints and here’s an in-depth review

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In August this year, Flickr brought back its photo printing service. Alex (a.k.a. Shaka1277) ordered two prints to see what they look like, and he kindly shared his impressions with DIYP and our readers. But, many people wanted to know more about prints from Flickr and about the ordering process itself. So, we ordered a bunch of them and here we bring you a truly in-depth review.

I printed some of my photos: color and black and white, digital and film; in different finishes and different sizes. You’ll see what they look like, and I even did some torture-testing. I got everything in photos, videos, and of course – in writing, so you can get a full picture. So let’s get right into it!

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Keeping it small, using rear filters for the Sigma 14-24 f2.8 Art DG DN

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A while ago Sigma joined the L mount alliance along with Panasonic and Leica.  Although it wasn’t really till recently that we started to see the true results of this collaboration when Sigma released their new fp camera.  They also released several “designed for mirrorless” lenses like the 14-24 f2.8 Art DG DN. Those lenses are both smaller and lighter than their DSLR counterparts.

One of the new features of the 14-24f2.8 Art DG DN lens is the built-in rear filter holder. It allows you to lock in a gel filter, which you can cut using the template provided with the lens.

This is a relatively inexpensive way to reduce the amount of light coming into the camera. I used to cut ND gels to fit into my MC-11 adaptor and while they worked, the gels could easily scratch, bend and crease, while also reducing image quality a little. I don’t know, maybe it was the particular ND gel I used.

What if you wanted something that is more durable with better optical performance, but without needing a huge 150mm filter system to attach onto the front of the lens?

Introducing the Kase rear filter set designed exclusively for the Sigma 14-24 f2.8 Art DG DN.

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Hands on with the Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III – A landscape perspective

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My main objective isn’t to provide an in-depth ‘review’ of the lens, but I hope to offer the reader a few insights in terms of how the lens performs from a landscape photographer’s perspective. A photographer who usually prefers to shoot ultra wide angle. I received the Tamron 17–28 in October and have had time to play around with the lens a little; enough to form an opinion and to shoot some example images (by adding a Dark Reader extension to your browser it will be possible to view the images on black).

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Z mount and F mount go head-to-head in this Nikon 85mm f/1.8G vs 85mm f/1.8S comparison

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One of the biggest issues any time a new camera system is released, is the lack of lenses. It’s what held back Sony’s first couple of generations, and it’s one of the hesitations amongst buyers towards Canon and Nikon’s mirrorless offerings – especially when the native RF and Z mount lenses are so expensive.

Fortunately, both Nikon and Canon have a long history and have released their own lens adapters for the new systems. But how does a Nikon 85mm f/1.8G lens compare to the Nikon 85mm f/1.8S? That’s what Dariusz Breś wanted to find out, so he compared the $427 F mount lens to the $797 Z mount lens on the Nikon Z7.

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Litra Torch 2.0 vs. Lume Cube 2.0 – Action Light comparisson

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A few years back we tested the original Lume Cube vs the Litra torch. We were pretty aggressive and we threw the lights, froze them, and dunked them in water. Since then, Litra advanced to Litra Torch 2.0, and Lume Cube recently released the Lume Cube 2.0. We wanted to revisit our review and see how the two new Action Lights compare. This time though, no lights were hurt during the shooting.

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Hollyland Mars 400S – Amazing quality wireless video at an affordable price

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Wireless video transmission used to be extremely expensive. It still can be if you need higher-end kit, but it’s started to come down to much more reasonable prices. One such reasonably priced wireless video transmission is the Hollyland Mars 400S which comes in at only $649 and supports both HDMI and SDI inputs and outputs.

I’ve been using the Mars 400S for a few weeks now, and have found it to be quite useful in situations where I wouldn’t normally be able to stand right next the camera to monitor what it sees while it’s recording. Is it the right system for you? Well, keep reading, and you’ll be able to make that decision for yourself.

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Rode NTG5 – The ultimate all-rounder shotgun microphone

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The Rode NTG5 short shotgun broadcast microphone came with a lot of interest and intrigue. The biggest question being “What’s with the holes?”. The NTG5 has an all-new design over Rode’s previous shotgun microphones, which Rode says helps to produce a more natural true-to-life sound. We put the NTG5 to the test to see how that claim holds up.

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