Welcome to The Photo Video Guy. I share training, ideas, opinions and tips to help you make better photographs and videos.
Have questions? Excellent! Please click this link to fill out the simple form to submit a question
At some point, all serious and emerging photographers realize the need for a light stand. So we head into our local camera store or go online in search of the one solution to myriad problems. After all, we don't have tons of space to store kit, and we've all been down the road of buying something that looked perfect and actually, wasn't.
Read MoreWhat? Am I serious? Isn't Lightroom the most awesomest bestest photo application on the planet? For some people yes, but for others it's a bad trip. Let's take a look at both sides and you can decide if Lightroom is right for you.
Read MoreWhen hot shoe flash just doesn't have enough oomph, photographers go to studio strobes. The challenge with strobes has always been availability of power. Most major strobe vendors have developed high output battery pack systems so AC is not always required, but these packs have been in most cases heavy and expensive. Profoto released the self-contained B1 series a while back and they have been very successful. Now available is the B2 system which uses an external generator pushing 250ws. It's pricey so let's have a look.
Read MoreWhen it comes to full frame, Nikon was first into the big megapixel game. Now both Canon and Sony have entered the pool, and Nikon has done a version upgrade from the original class opening D800 and D800e. What does the D810 bring and how does it fit the needs of the working photographer?
Read MoreI've been a photography educator for a long time and a photographer for much longer. On a saddeningly regular basis, I meet folks working hard to improve their photography trapped in what I call the Well of EXIF. There are schools of thought that say studying other people's EXIF can help you make better images. I violently disagree.
Read MoreThis video helps educate photographer's in selecting a macro lens
Read MoreFor a number of years, my go to wireless remote system was a Hahnel Giga T Pro. It worked very well, but I was often perturbed because the user interface was not very intuitive and I always had to go back to the manual when some time had passed without me using it. The Giga T Pro has been replaced by the Captur system. Let's see if it improves on things.
Read MoreLet's cut to the chase here. Sony makes brilliant sensors. They understand video at a level not found in many other places. While the company struggles in other lines of business, Sony's photo business continues to do well. Despite false starts like the failed smart phone clip on lens/camera, Sony gets Compact System Cameras (CSC) Continued evolution of their lines has produced a series of winners. Recently they released the A7 Mk II, a mirrorless with high megapixels and superb dynamic range. So why isn't the world going to Sony?
Read MoreWhen it comes to consumer level DSLRs, no branding is better known than the Canon Rebel line. Potential buyers still walk into stores and say "I want a Rebel". Good on Canon for getting the marketing right and remaining consistent in their messaging. With the latest release cycle, the Rebel lineup forks, so it's worthwhile to take a look at what's happening.
Read MoreAnnouncing two new bags from Think Tank - the Trifecta lineup!
Read MoreWhen the tsunamis hit Japan, they trashed a lot of manufacturing and this resulted in delays to see new products. Glass manufacturing was specifically impacted. Nikon has resolved those issues and has announced three new lenses this week.
Read MoreMore and more, I encounter photographers who want to work while mobile, before they get a chance to get back to the "main" computer and import the images into Lightroom. They want to upload to a laptop daily, do some edits, may be even post some work, but not have to duplicate everything when they get back home nor have multiple catalogs and try to remember where everything is and which version is current.
Read MoreDXO is well respected for their lens analysis tools and their excellent DXO Optics post-processing software. So I was quite interested when I started getting seed emails saying the DXO was going to change the face of photography. Was it some new amazing software? A new way to process RAW images? A new way to correct for lens issues? Umm. No. It's a camera that you stick to your smartphone...
Read MoreThe good folks at Macphun have updated their killer Black and White plugin and standalone editing app called Tonality Pro.
Read MoreWhen I think wide angle, I don't think 35mm or 28mm. Heck I don't even think 20mm anymore, for me wide angle is something more. I find that my 16-35/2.8 L spends a lot of time on the 1Dx. My favourite wide angle for the last couple of years has been the 14/2.8 L from Canon. It's ridiculously sharp, has near infinite depth of field and has very low distortion. Who could want more? Well as of right now, I do.
Read MoreFollowing the recent review of the Nikon 1 V3, the good folks at Nikon have sent along their newest 1 series camera, the J5.
Read MoreOne of the fastest growth areas for mirror less cameras has been in video. In fact many videographers who started out on traditional (read Canon) DSLRs have switched to mirrorless cameras from Sony and Lumix. They understand that even at 4K resolution, you don't leverage full frame sensors or even what a good crop sensor pushes out so they take advantage of smaller size and great glass for richer video.
Read MoreAdobe this week released Creative Cloud 2015. The release means new versions of everything in Creative Cloud 2014 including bug fixes and new features. If you are a Creative Cloud, or Creative Cloud Photographer's Bundle subscriber you get it as part of your subscription. The real question is what's in it that you just have to have?
Read MoreYou've been in this situation. You are out shooting and the longest lens you have with you, just doesn't have quite enough reach. You can make the shot, but you will be cropping in a lot in post and you know that doing so is going to cost you image fidelity. But, buying a super telephoto just isn't going to happen. You don't have a business case, or even the funds for something really long, and you wouldn't use it all the time anyway. Is there an option? Yes, the option known as a teleconverter. In this video, I explain how teleconverters work, where they make sense, when you cannot use one and both the upsides and downsides of these wonderful tools.
Read MoreI spent the day at Jungle Cat World near Bowmanville today. It's a small private zoo at Taunton Road and Highway 115/35 in Clarington County Ontario. There are those who are opposed to zoos, but seeing what these folks do, without government funding or "help" to preserve and help endangered species persevere makes me disagree.
Read More
The site of The Photo Video Guy featuring articles, reviews, tutorials and a podcast for your enjoyment and skills development.
If you get value from here, please support the channel on Patreon. Once there, click Membership
Looking for something in particular? Search all the posts for the content you are seeking!
Have a question on photography or video? Click this link to send us your question.
Subscribe to our articles via RSS by clicking the link below.
Subscribe to the Make Better Photos and Video Podcast via RSS by clicking this link
Regular readers know that I am a big fan of Really Right Stuff products. Their customer service is superb. If you choose to purchase from them at their site, please let them know that I referred you.
The Photo Video Guy is the creation of Ross Chevalier. Please feel free to link to your site, but please don't lift content without attribution.
