Canon's Next Run at the Hybrid DSLR - The 80D

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Canon's Next Run at the Hybrid DSLR - The 80D

I am predominantly a Canon shooter.  I own over a dozen Canon lenses.  I'm not switching anytime soon, but I've also been pretty hard on Canon because the things that matter most to me, well, let's say we don't appear to be really well aligned these days.  One place we definitely align is the criticality of delivering a hybrid platform that hobbyists and enthusiasts can afford and benefit from.  This is XXD space, until this announcement led by the superb Canon 70D.  The 80D is an evolutionary step ahead, so let's see what's coming.

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My Sigma Service Experience

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My Sigma Service Experience

When we make purchases, we all tend to spend a lot of time concerned about the price of acquisition and the buying experience.  When I get a car, I interview the Service Department because I will see those folks for years and more often that the sales professional.  Our camera equipment follows the same pattern.  Quality of service is critically important.

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First Look : Astropad

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First Look : Astropad

Regular readers know that I am an advocate of tablets for editing photographs.  I have been a Wacom user for a long time, using the Bamboos, a variety of the Intuos and Intuos Pro line as well as two different sizes of the Cintiq.  I have clearly spent more than enough money into this sort of device.  In 2015, I first became aware of an app service called Astropad that would turn your iPad into a working tablet for editing purposes.

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ON1 Photo 10 Update - Now Available Resize 10

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ON1 Photo 10 Update - Now Available Resize 10

While the entire ON1 Photo 10 suite is extremely awesome, I really want to credit the ON1 team.  When I first saw ON1 Photo 10, just prior to formal release, i was impressed but noticed that there was no standalone Perfect Resize.  Many of the functions were in other modules, but for me, and a lot of other pros, Perfect Resize had proven itself as the fastest and most consistent resizing tool on the planet, back to when it was still called Perfect Fractals.

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Announcement Review : The Canon 1Dx Mark II

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Announcement Review : The Canon 1Dx Mark II

I've been a cheerleader for the original 1Dx since mine arrived just before the London Olympics.  It built on the framework of the 1D Mark IV and the 5D Mark II to make a superbly capable professional camera.  I loved it then, and it is my go to body to this day.  When word started to leak that there was a new version imminent, lots of folks asked me what I thought.  I was very clear then.  The only thing that would make a Mark II extraordinarily compelling would be a significant increase in dynamic range.  The Mark II was officially announced on Feb 1, 2016.  Let's take a look at the announcement and see what Canon has done.

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REVIEW : RØDELink Filmmaker Kit

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REVIEW : RØDELink Filmmaker Kit

The demand for fast, high quality video increases every week.  Youtube and Vimeo libraries continue to grow as more and more people and companies use mirrorless and DSLR cameras to create video content for friends, communities and customers.  We also know that the thing that destroys good video fastest is bad audio.

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REVIEW : Nikon AF-S Nikkor 200mm-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

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REVIEW : Nikon AF-S Nikkor 200mm-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

The space of long reach zooms at affordable pricing has long been the realm of third party lens builders such as Tamron and Sigma.  And, they've done a really great job producing very good glass at pricing that serious amateurs can afford.  Nikon surprised the marketplace this past fall with the announcement of their entry in this space, that is priced very competitively with the third parties, so folks want to know, is it good, and is it better than the alternatives.

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Peak Design Everyday Messenger - First Impressions

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Peak Design Everyday Messenger - First Impressions

I was one of those people who supported this project via Kickstarter.  I received my bag earlier this week, about two days before it showed up in retail stores.  Not exactly the early preview I was expecting, particularly given that some folks have had theirs for well over a month.  I liked the concept online very much and paid my money to support a company whose products I really like and recommend highly.  Sometimes, expectations and reality don't end up in the same place and this is what happened to me.

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Nikon CES 2016 : Assessing the Announcements

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Nikon CES 2016 : Assessing the Announcements

Nikon decided to use the Consumer Electronics Show as the vehicle for their first product announcements of 2016.  CES is best known as the debut site for new electronics and another four million iPhone cases, not so much for photography and video.  Still, Nikon made some pretty distinctive announcements that tell us about the company direction and give us a sense of what they see coming up.

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Using Tethering For A Successful Shoot

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Using Tethering For A Successful Shoot

When you're working to a deadline, or with a client who needs to see the work quickly, tethering is a huge asset.  No one is scrambling over a miniscule image on the camera, you aren't looking at some JPEG rendition, you see the converted RAW on a large screen in real time.  Fortunately, most cameras can be tethered.  Let's look at some options to make that work.

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