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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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DIYP tests out the new SpyderX Elite – Datacolor’s “fastest and most accurate” monitor calibrator

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Along with camera profiling, monitor calibration is one of the most vital things a photographer can do to ensure their work looks the way they intend it to look throughout the whole imaging process. There are various devices out there for calibrating monitors, and now a new one has been added into the mix.

Yesterday, Datacolor announced the new SpyderX Pro and SpyderX Elite, adding to their lineup of monitor calibration tools. They say it’s their fastest and most accurate calibration device to date. Well, I’ve had a SpyderX Elite here for the past couple of weeks, so let me tell you about my experiences with it.

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The Weeview SID 3D is an entry-level 3D camera that’s a whole lot of fun to use

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Small compact camera technology and tiny sensors have come a long way in the last few years. This is largely due to the advancement of smartphone cameras. But the benefits that those small sensors bring to the table can also be applied to other cameras. Cameras like those which can record 3D video in a package that easily fits in your pocket. The Weeview SID 3D is one such camera, and I’ve had one for the last few weeks.

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The Deity S-Mic 2 shotgun microphone punches well above its weight

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Amongst the various types of microphone that are available, a good shotgun microphone is probably my favourite. It’s certainly the type of microphone I use most often. Their design allows them to pick out very specific directional sounds while ignoring the rest of the world around them – at least, that’s the theory.

You might remember that a while ago, lighting company Aputure decided to get into the microphone business with their new “Deity” microphones. Well, Deity Microphones is now it’s own separate company and I recently received their new Deity S-Mic 2 shotgun microphone. Priced at a fairly modest $359 it’s quite the bargain if it lives up to its claims, so I wanted to put it to the test.

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