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Panasonic aims for top spot in 4K video with new Lumix GH5

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Back in 2009, I learned to shoot video on the now-classic Panasonic HVX200.

At that time shooting HD video to memory cards was pretty new in the video world. The HVX was released just a couple of years before the Canon 5d Mark II changed the whole video market. The HVX200 recorded SD (standard def) video to DV tapes, but 1080i recorded to Panasonic’s early flash storage, the P2 card. The problem was that our (only) 8gb P2 card could only store 11 minutes of HD video at a time at a cost of well over $1000! These days you can buy over 500gb of some of the fastest SD cards on the market for that for that much.

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A review of the $95 Viltrox Nikon F lens to Sony camera speedbooster adapter

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The fact that I’m writing this review is the result of someones slip up, a happy accident and unexpected windfall for a mate. The VILTROX NF-E mount Focal Reducer Speed Booster.

Here’s the backstory, a close friend ordered a Viltrox basic adapter to use Nikon Ai lenses on his Sony A6000. We got him a great price on eBay, about $32.00 as I recall, and the adapter promptly arrived almost exactly on the due date.  It sat on his bedroom cupboard along with a little Nikon 35-70mm zoom he bought at the same time for several weeks, then a few days ago he finally brought the camera/lens/adapter combo to the coffee shop so I could show him how to shoot using manual focus with his A6000.

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The first full Irix 11mm f/4 review is out and it looks very impressive

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The Irix 11mm f/4 isn’t quite available yet, but the reviews have started coming in already. First mentioned at The Photography Show last year, it’s a much anticipated lens by landscape, architecture and astrophotographers looking to get ultrawide with full frame bodies.  Depending on the brand of camera you’re using, this is the widest non-fisheye full frame lens you can get.

Photographer Christopher Frost managed to get his hands on the Firefly version of the 11mm f/4. He tested it out with Canon 6D and EOS M3 cameras and posted his findings to YouTube.

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I switched from Canon to Sony a year ago. Here are five things I miss (and five that I like)

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You’ve seen many photographers switching from DSLR to mirrorless. Manny Ortiz did the same thing and switched to this system completely. After shooting with Sony mirrorless camera for a year, he gives an honest review of the system. He is very satisfied with it, and as you know, he makes awesome photos. But, he speaks honestly and mentions both advantages and disadvantages of this camera. So, if you’re thinking of switching to Sony mirrorless, you should definitely watch this.

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Sony portrait lenses: GM 70-200mm 2.8 vs. 85mm 1.4

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Choosing your portrait lens is not a trivial thing. most good portrait lenses are not cheap, and they will probably serve you for a long time. Preferences may depend on budget, size, focal length, aperture and any other number of factors.

Photographer Manny Ortiz has a quick video up comparing two fo the more Sony popular portrait lenses: The 85mm 1.4 GM and the 70-200mm 2.8 GM. While this is not a pixel peeping kind of review (frankly they are both really nice lenses), it sheds some light on how each one performs and how they feel in the real world.

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Review: The 2017 Wacom Intuos Pro

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This Valentine’s day, I got a little present from my love, Wacom. It was the brand new Intuos Pro!

They refreshed the product line this year so I got a chance to check it out. Surprisingly, I found the update to really tighten up on a lot of areas. I didn’t have to do a review, but I actually felt it should be done since they improved this product in a lot of ways. If you’ve been wondering about it, this is for you.

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Hands On With the New Tamron 70-200mm G2

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If you’ve read any photography website or stopped into our store recently, you probably know that the creative options available to photographers are as numerous as ever. One aspect of photographic gear that has seen the most rapid expansion in quality options as of late, is lens selection. With brands like Tamron leading the way in high quality lenses, photographers are no longer limited to buying lenses from their respective camera manufacturer, if they want top quality. Often times the name associated with a brand demands a large portion of the price tag. Recently, Tamron proved to us yet again why their brand is worth looking at with their new 70-200mm f/2.8 VC G2 lens.

As a follow up to their ever-popular introduction into stabilized telephoto zooms, their new 70-200mm G2 not only gains the aesthetic improvements of their newer lenses, but gets upgrades to just about everything; lens coatings, faster autofocus motors, better image stabilization, and better image quality.

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How I work with Color Harmonies to improve my photos

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Being a full-time huge fan/buddy of the guys over at the RAWexchange store, I often get asked to check out their new material. Well friends, let me tell you that their newest endeavor to start selling in-depth tutorials is one of their best ideas yet. Stefan Kohler created a Colors & Photoshop tutorial that is two and a half hours video. And it’s jam-packed with everything you could ever hope to know about colors and how/why they work the way they do in Photoshop. Don’t be scared by the lengthy duration – it’s super-handily broken up into a bunch of smaller videos; each is about a different subject or a certain tool. That way you can absorb the info a bit at a time (because it is a lot), and then you can always jump back to reference one subject and re-watch just that video when you’re ready to give it a go.  Some of the subjects he covers in the tutorial include…

  • Gaining an understanding about what color is and how it works
  • Understanding the principles behind color work and learn to apply it to your own images
  • Learn what color harmonies and schemes are and how to apply them
  • Additive and substantive color editing using blending modes
  • Learn to use colors for complex masking (like selecting detailed lace)
  • How to ‘fix’ photos with ‘bad’ color
  • Techniques on color correcting and matching skin tones
  • How to use curves to fix color issues in ways you may never have considered

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This is how Canon’s f/0.95 Dream Lens performs on a Sony mirorless body

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Do you use a DLSR lens on a mirrorless camera? Have you ever considered buying a “Dream Lens” for it? It’s pricey and relatively rare, so it’s worth thinking it through. But a member of Sonyalpharumors, Austrokiwi, allowed us to share his review. He bought a Canon 50mm F0.95 lens for his Sony A7rII. And this is how it performs: [Read more…]

The comprehensive Fuji EF-X500 speedlight flash review

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In 2016, I joined team Fuji after being extremely impressed with the X-T2 body. I had been watching mirrorless technology for a while, but this was the first time a system had everything I wanted in a camera body. While I finally had a satisfying mirrorless experience, with great autofocus, low-light capabilities, and image quality, I quickly realized the system was lacking in the flash department. Not only did Fuji lack a dedicated speedlight, but the low market share has also kept 3rd party companies from building dedicated lighting products for Fuji systems.

After plenty of delays, the flagship Fuji EF-X500 speedlight has finally hit shelves globally. While it fills a monstrous gap in the system, it comes with a steep price of $449.99, which may be a tough pill to swallow for photographers who have become accustomed to affordable feature-rich solutions such as the Godox X series lighting. I have been holding out myself, but thankfully Fuji friend Jeffrey Lewis Bennett let me borrow his 3 EF-X500s to see if they were right for me. Here’s what I found in my testing.

*Note, my accompanying video is quite long and goes over the flash in-depth, so if you are interested in a specific portion you will find links in the video description, as well as the category headers.

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