 One of my favorite things to do as a photographer is hike in beautiful places and take pictures. I’ve carried camera gear in a wide variety of bags and with a number of different carry systems. The greatest challenge…
I’ll freely confess to having a bit of hate (no love) relationship with the standard camera straps that come with new cameras.  I’ve purchased no less than six new cameras in the past four years, and you can find the…
 Sigma’s recent ART series has primarily been dominated by wide aperture primes along with a few unique, wide aperture zooms. The one exception previously has been the Sigma 24-105mm f/4 OS. The Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM ART lens take…
New lenses for Canon’s mirrorless system have been somewhat few and far between, but the Canon EF-M 18-150mm f IS STM that launches with the new EOS M5 camera is the second this year (first being the rather excellent little 28mm…
Has Canon finally gotten mirrorless right?  That’s the question on all of our minds as the Canon EOS M5 is released.  At first glance everything seems mostly positive.  The camera now has a rapid burst rate, built in EV-F, and…
 I’ve been covering the Sigma ART series since early on (I actually covered the 50mm f before the 35mm f, but I’ve basically only missed the 24mm f in the entire series), but there is one focal length that more…
Part of what I do as a reviewer is connect with different brands.  I enjoy the process of building a relationship and getting a sense of a company.  When I began a new partnership with Simons Camera (a retailer in…
 Venus Optics is a new lens manufacturer from China that was founded by a group of macro enthusiasts who wanted to push the envelope of what was possible in macro. Their website notes that in particular they were interested…
The new flagship of Sigma’s wide angle lineup has arrived:  the Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM ART.  This lens is positioned to square off directly with Canon’s extremely expensive EF 11-24mm f/4L lens.  This is a sizable, heavy lens (though not…
The Sigma 85mm f ART is by far the most requested lens since Sigma launched the ART series line.  I’ve been asked when it was coming since I did my first ART series lens review several years ago.  It’s finally…
ShareMe Concept I get invitations from various companies to review their headsets, headphones, and speakers pretty often (usually several invites a week). Because my primary review focus in on photography, I often decline those invitations, but I do typically take a…
What a difference a week can make!  We had been enjoying an unseasonably mild November, and just last Thursday  (November 17th) I was out for my “day off hike” (I try to get out into the woods and decompress on…
More than Just Bluetooth I got my introduction to Bluetooth speakers a few years back with a Bose SoundLink. I followed that with a Sony SRS- X5, and after I got a reputation as a reviewer I’ve reviewed and used…
 Oh, the Drama! Wow! When I made a video about preordering the day of the formal announcement of the 5D Mark IV, I had no idea that I was about to become embroiled in controversy. The initial response was…
Laowa 12mm f Zero D Image Gallery New lens company Venus Optics has released their newest (and possibly most interesting) lens – the Laowa 12mm f Zero D.  The Laowa 12mm not only has an incredible 12mm full frame coverage…