fbpx

DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

Search

Submit A Story

The Infinite Retouch Panel for Photoshop makes retouching fun again

by 2 Comments

It seems photographers are constantly looking for the best ways to retouch their photos–search any photography group and you won’t have to scroll far to find a post about dodge and burn or frequency separation. Recently, Stefan Kohler, Pratik Naik, and the rest of the Infinite Tools team added a new panel to their Infinite Tools Suite: The Infinite Retouch Panel.

This panel is geared toward providing the most useful tools in a retouching workflow and considering their history of creating other Photoshop tools to help with creativity and workflow, I decided to take a serious look at this panel to see if it is worthwhile as a photographer and retoucher.

[Read More…]

The Sennheiser MKE 400 is an almost perfect on-camera shotgun microphone

by Leave a Comment

As more people have taken to vlogging and creating other content for YouTube over the last few years, on-camera shotgun microphones have become extremely popular. One of the more well-known and long-established names in microphones is Sennheiser, who also make a couple.

They’ve recently released the second iteration of the Sennheiser MKE 400 on-camera shotgun mic and it sees a massive change in both appearance and quality over its predecessor. It’s designed for use with both smartphones as well as “real” cameras and includes some great features for both types of user. I’ve been using one for a few weeks now, so here are some of my thoughts.

[Read More…]

The Cosyspeed PhotoHiker 44 is the most comfortable photography backpack I’ve ever used

by 2 Comments

I am notoriously difficult to find backpacks for, as I’ve mentioned on here before. I picked up a Tamrac Cyberpack 6 quite a while ago and it took 16 years to finally find another bag that felt as nice to wear. Now, I’ve found one that blows both of them away in the comfort stakes. Completely. That bag is the Cosyspeed PhotoHiker 44, which was recently launched on Kickstarter (and hasn’t quite ended yet).

What makes it so special? Well, unlike most camera backpacks, it’s a hiking bag that you can carry camera gear in. Rather than a camera gear bag that you can put on your back. This means it’s designed specifically for all-day carrying comfort while still being able to hold a lot of gear. Allow me to explain…

[Read More…]

Luminar AI review from a hobbyist photographer’s eyes

by 4 Comments

Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more integrated into image editing. And the first editing software that comes to mind when you mention AI is Luminar AI (announced here). I was honestly curious to test it out ever since it came to market. So I did, and I thought it would be great to share my impressions.

I would describe myself as an experienced hobbyist. I’m not a pro photographer, but I have some experience and have been doing it for a long time. I’m going to write this review for the average Joe photographer. Mostly because I think Luminar AI is more suitable for “everyday shooters.” That said,  even if you’re a professional, feel free to check out how it performs and decide if it would be something you’d incorporate into your workflow.

[Read More…]

Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium – A true Wacom competitor?

by 2 Comments

In recent years, new pen tablet brands have appeared, some have presented interesting products, but the vast majority of them have tried to gain space in the mora affordable pen tablets, or at least cheaper than the brand considered as the reference, Wacom. As far as I can remember, no new brand was really capable of beating Wacom. But that has changed.

Now, Xencelabs has arrived, which although it is a new company, has a team that already has many years of experience in the development of Pen Tablets, and they are aiming to the premium market. Xencelabs has just launched the Pen Tablet Medium, which can be purchased with or without the Quick Keys Remote. the version with the Quick Keys Remote is the Pen Tablet Medium Bundle, this is the one I have to test.

[Read More…]

Reviewing Sony’s first ever digital camera 25 years after its release

by 5 Comments

Even though they didn’t really start to take off as a camera manufacturer until after they bought Minolta in 2006, Sony’s been in the digital camera game for quite a while. They were one of the first companies to release one to general consumers and if memory recalls, they actually weren’t too bad for their time. This one even has a selfie mode!

Of course, the 25-year-old Sony DSC-F1 can’t keep up with their new A1 flagship, as evidenced in this retro-review by Gordon Laing. He puts the camera through its paces to see how it performs and points out some of the issues with using proprietary tech and connections in hardware, making things somewhat inaccessible for future generations.

[Read More…]

The DigitalFoto Tree Frog is an awesome pocket LED light for small products and macro

by Leave a Comment

Over the last few years, I’ve become a big fan of small pocket-sized LED lights. They used to not be as good as they are now, offering pretty limited functionality and they just didn’t produce great colour. But LED tech has come a long way since in a few short years, leading us to where we are today with products like the Digitalfoto Tree Frog.

I have two DigitalFoto Tree Frog lights that I’ve been using to light my 3D printer for live streams and for shooting small product photos and b-roll. We’re still in lockdown here, so that’s pretty much all I can point my cameras at right now. One of Tree Frogs I have is a pre-production model and the other is a final retail version. For this review, I’m only going to focus on the retail version.

[Read More…]

The Gitzo Légende tripod and backpack offer quality well above their current price point

by Leave a Comment

The Légende is the newest travel tripod and bag combo from Gitzo, with both products sharing the same name. It’s currently running as an Indiegogo campaign and will go on general sale once it’s over, with the ability to buy either item individually or both as a kit.

I’ve been trying out both the tripod and backpack for a couple of weeks now and putting them through the limited paces I can while we’re still on lockdown here in Scotland, but here are some of my thoughts on Gitzo’s new Légende tripod & backpack combo.

[Read More…]

Organic looking images? The K&F Concept Black Mist filter reviewed

by 3 Comments

Can a filter really help make digital images look more organic/film-like?  We take a look at the new Black Mist filter from K&F Concept.

Essentially, the Black Mist filter is designed to add some atmosphere into an image. As if there was a slight fog or mist present. You can see it here in this shot of my son. Taken on a nice clear but overcast day. Using the Black Mist filter makes it look like there’s a slight haze in the distance.

[Read More…]

Nikon 50mm F1.2 S review – Going head-to-head against the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art

by 1 Comment

Like how Nikon has been aggressively marketing the internal diameter of the Z mount being 17% larger than the Nikon F mount, the larger mount allows more flexibility in the optical design of the Z lenses just like their newest 58mm f0.95 Noct lens. Today I won’t be testing on the 58mm f0.95 as I’m not really a fan of manual focus. We will take a look into how Nikon latest 50mm F1.2 lens will hold up against the popular 3rd party lens – Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art series.

[Read More…]

Recent Posts