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Review of the Haida M10 Filter System and 6 & 10-stop neutral density filters

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Although many lens filters were pretty much eradicated by the advent of digital photography, there are two which still hold a lot of value that can’t really be accurately replicated in Photoshop. Those are polarizers and neutral density filters. You can try, but you’ll never get it looking exactly like the real thing.

Recently, I’ve been trying out Haida’s M10 filter system, along with their circular polarizer, 6-stop M10 drop-in ND filter and the 100x100mm square 10-stop Red Diamond ND filter. The weather’s been kind of crappy here in Scotland lately, but I did get out to give them a try and do some slightly more objective tests, too. Here’s what I found out and what I think.

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A hands on first look at the new Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

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It’s only just been announced, but The School of Photography was lucky enough to be the first to get their hands on the new Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III in the UK, so they’ve posted a review video. In it, they put the camera through its paces, testing the camera for both its photography and video abilities, exploring the new features on a model shoot.

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Blackmagic Pocket 4K/6K cage comparison – SmallRig vs Nitze

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If you’ve had a go at shooting video for any length of time with any camera that has a DSLR or mirrorless-like form factor, you soon realise that you need some form of cage. You need to attach handles, lights, microphones, external batteries and all kinds of doohickies. Sure, you have a cold shoe on many cameras, but you can only attach one thing to that.

When it comes to the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, there isn’t even a cold shoe. There’s just a 1/4-20″ screw thread, and it can’t handle a lot of weight attached to it. The solution to this problem is to add a cage.

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The Feelworld FW279 is a super bright 7″ external monitor that can’t be beat at its price point

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If there’s one certainty when it comes to shooting video, it’s that at some point, you’ll want to pick up an external monitor of some kind. One big problem that many of them have, though, is that they can be quite difficult to see outdoors when it’s bright. I’ve tried a few from different brands over the years, but when it comes to bang for your buck, one company that’s pretty tough to beat is Feelworld.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been using Feelworld’s newest super bright 2,200 nit 7″ Feelworld FW279 monitor, now that the sun’s starting to make brief appearances here in Scotland. And so far, I really like it.

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I spent a week photographing concerts with the Canon EOS R and here’s what I think

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Canon Portugal sent me a Canon EOS R with the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens for me to test. Unfortunately, it was only possible to keep it for a little over a week, but I still managed to make the first day of the MEO Mares Vivas Festival where I am the official photographer. This gave me the opportunity to test it during the day in good light for the assembly of the venue, but also at night in concert, which was what I was most interested in seeing.

I had already tried some mirrorless cameras, from other brands, and I confess that I was never very satisfied. Certainly, never to the point of wanting to chang I had already tried the Canon EOS R once, but only for a few minutes, which was not nearly enough to form an opinion about it.

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First impressions of the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K

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The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K attracted me the instant it was announced. I’d been looking at upgrading from my Nikons to something a little better suited to shooting video for a while and on paper it looked like the perfect solution. I’ve been in possession of one for a couple of weeks now, so I wanted to give you some of my initial thoughts about the camera and how I see it fitting into my workflow.

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After 16 years, I’ve finally found another backpack that I love – The Lowepro ProTactic BP 450 AW II

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I’ve not generally been the biggest fan of backpacks. Around 16 years ago, I got a Tamrac Cyberpack 6, which I love and it’s served me well over the years. I’ve bought and borrowed other backpacks in the intervening years, but invariably I’ve hated them for one reason or another. But my Cyberpack 6 is getting a little old now, they don’t make them anymore, and my friends at Lowepro insisted that I give the new ProTactic BP 450 AW II a go.

I’ve tried a few Lowepro backpacks in the past, and they really didn’t do my back any favours. But I’d heard a lot of good things about the original ProTactics, so I decided to give it a shot. I’ve been using it for a couple of months now, and, well, I don’t hate it. In fact, I really quite like it.

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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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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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If you have a giant phone and shoot on location, you need the Cosyspeed Phoneslinger

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The evolution of mobile phones has been an interesting journey to follow. They started off as huge bricks of things and manufacturers were all trying to make them as small as possible for years. Then, all of a sudden, phones got “smart”, and now they seem to get bigger and bigger again every year.

This “growth” can be a pain for photographers who work on location. Giant phones are annoying in your pocket all day, scrambling around in the wilderness digging into your leg. But if you put them in your bag, then you can miss important calls and messages. That’s where Cosyspeed’s new Phoneslinger steps in.

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