Every photographer loves shooting when the conditions are easy and the light is great. Traditional portraiture has taken place in studios where the lighting and conditions are easily controlled, consistent, and repeatable. Once the initial investment of effort has been…
Canon was leapfrogged by Nikon in a huge way in the megapixel wars when Nikon introduced its D800 body several years ago. The debate about the necessity of all of those MPs will continue to rage for the foreseeable future,…
Samyang/Rokinon has entered unchartered waters with the release of the new 50mm and 135mm lenses (both of which I am currently reviewing). Previously they have primarily offered budget alternatives to a variety of large aperture primes that typically cost a…
Which Fifty is the Most Nifty? People have been using 50mm “normal” lenses for most of the past century, and no focal length has been more popular. 50mm lenses are called “normal” because they roughly approximate the typical human field…
Here is a collection of images from the new Samyang/Rokinon 50mm f AS IF UMC lens. This recently released prime has great image quality with some vintage character and beautiful drawing. It does have some chromatic aberrations, but few other…
The new Samyang/Rokinon 135mm f/2 ED UMC lens has pretty incredible optics at a relatively inexpensive price. It is a beautiful portrait lens – provided you get things in focus. I will be sharing images here throughout my review process,…
I have just completed my full review of the new Tamron SP 15-30mm f Di VC USD ultrawide zoom lens. You can read the review here or watch it here. This is a stunningly good lens, and is the second…
Every year there are a select number of lens announcements that I find personally exciting. I reviewed no less than 15 lenses last year, and this is the fifth already this year, so a lot of gear passes through my…
One of the key challenges for the modern photographer is finding a way to distinguish their work from the homogeny of a million and one other photographers around them that are doing pretty much the same thing. I do believe…
“Pristine” This is the word that comes to mind when I consider both the condition of the snow (just know that I had to trudge through some DEEP stuff to get this image…my ankles are still cold as I type!)…
Headphones just never go away. It seems like the craze in our house right now is all about headphones. “So and so just got Beats…” There is just something about the immersive experience of a great pair of headphones that…
The Challenge of Sound Anyone who has done video on a DSLR is familiar with the challenge of getting good audio. The Canon 5DMKII started a DSLR video resolution, and people were floored by the quality of the video footage…
Here is an image gallery to accompany the review of the Canon EF 100-400mm f IS USM II. There are a number of sample galleries here, including photos of the lens, general shots taken with the lens, and even a…
Great First Impressions Confession: this was one of my most anticipated lens reviews of the year (Tamron’s upcoming 15-30mm f VC is another). This lens has been referred to as “the unicorn” in various internet forums because it has been…
I’ve just completed my full text and video review of the Zeiss Distagon T* 2.8/15mm wide angle prime lens. This expensive optic is at the top of the heap in terms of image quality in an ultra wide angle lens,…