Adobe Lightroom 4 Beta’s Best New Features
Today Adobe has released the beta version of Lightroom4, the successor to their popular image management and RAW processing program. As regular readers will know, Adobe Lightroom 3 is my RAW processor of choice, so I’m very interested to see how the new beta release performs. Lightroom 3 was a massive update to the series [...]
Review: Singh-Ray Vari-ND Filter – The Best ND Filter
Neutral-density filters are a mainstay of landscape and travel photographers desiring long exposure for specific effects like the motion blur of water. However, outside their utility with outdoor photographers, the ND filter has immediate uses for anyone shooting portraits and working with flash photography. The Singh-Ray Vari-ND is a unique kind of neutral density filter. [...]
The Best Photography Gifts – Holiday Gear Guide 2011
I regularly get asked for recommendations on what gear people should start out with, use, and upgrade to, so I thought that this year I’d put together a list for the holidays. Because who doesn’t love photography gifts? Here’s my list of recommendations if you’re looking for those best of gifts: photography equipment.
Primes vs Zooms For Event Photography
The eternal dichotomies. Good vs Evil. Night vs Day. Nikon vs Canon. Primes vs Zooms. When it comes to available light event photography, the photographer is often pulled between constraints – the two biggest of which are limited access and limited lighting. As a result, we’re also often split between the solutions to these problems [...]
Using Filters As Lens Protection
While most DSLRs incorporate a UV/IR filter layered over the sensor, eliminating the need for a UV filter over the lens, many photographers are still worried about one of the added benefits of a lens filter: protection. To this point, here’s a quick look at the pros and cons of using clear filters as lens [...]
Review: 16GB Transcend Extreme Plus 600x CF Cards
My 4GB Sandisk Extreme IV CF cards have served me well for shooting somewhere in the ballpark of one thousand bands at concerts and festivals over the last few years. However, when faced with a string of summer festivals, I was in need of a pair of fast, large-capacity compact flash cards for my Nikon [...]
Review: Nikon 35mm f/1.4G AF-S
The latest addition to Nikon’s stable of fast primes, the Nikon 35mm f/1.4G AF-S offers Nikon users a classic focal length with all the cutting-edge features we’ve come to expect. With a big price tag, the question with the 35mm f/1.4G is whether it has the performance to match. We’ve put this fast prime through [...]
Review: Hearos Extreme Earplugs
As you know, I always recommend wearing earplugs when shooting live music. More than any technical help with settings or how to shoot, wearing earplugs is probably the best advice I could possibly give to anyone looking to shoot live music. Whether you’re shooting at the front of the stage as a fan or in the [...]
Review: Nikon 75-150mm f/3.5 Series E
If you’re looking for an economical, constant-aperture telephoto zoom, I may have the answer for you. No, not a third-party lens like the Tamron or Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8, either of which will set you back nearly a $1000. I’m talking about a 30-year old manual focus lens that Nikon only produced between 1980 and 1983 [...]
Review: Nikon 400mm f/2.8 Super Telephoto
So. You’re a music photographer and you have a big, arena-busting concert to shoot with all the trimmings. The only problem? You’re shooting from over 40-meters away. The solution? Go for a big gun like the Nikon 400mm f/2.8 VR II with lip-smacking Nano Crystal Coating goodness and tell that soundboard who’s boss. Here’s my [...]
Review: Nitecore Defender Infinity
With an beautiful design, tough-as-nails build quality, and the performance to outshine much larger traditional lights, the compact Nitecore Defender Infinity is a serious flashlight. That this small takes ubiquitous AA batteries – including the fantastic Sanyo Eneloop cells – just makes it even more of a killer, tactical tool. Here’s my review of the [...]
Review: Black Rapid DS-1 Double Strap
Let’s just get this out of the way. If you shoot with two DSLRs, you need the Black Rapid Double Strap. There is no better way to carry and shoot with two cameras in my opinion. As a live music photographer, I use two DSLRs for just about everything. I see other shooters trying to [...]
Review: 4Sevens Quark AA LED Flashlight
LEDs have been ubiquitous in electronics for years, but it’s only in the last several years that LED flashlights have really come into their own. These new generation of torches aren’t your standard weak, power-hungry Maglites – they pack super-efficient LEDs that are bright enough to scorch your retina at full power. As a music photographer, [...]
Graph Paper Press – The Best WordPress Themes For Photographers
These days, marketing for a photographers stretches out past the traditional methods of mailers, postcards, portfolio books, and even word of mouth. A website these days is essential for just about any business model, and photographers are no exception. Moreover, blogging and social networking of one’s work is playing an increasingly important role in the [...]
Review: 11″ MacBook Air – The Mobile Photographer’s Laptop?
When the original MacBook Air debuted in 2008, the general reception seemed to be, “Cool – but I’ll pass.” Moreover, due to its premium price point and underpowered offerings, professional photographers didn’t even give the first generation a passing glance. On the release of the second generation of MacBook Airs in late 2010, the new [...]
Review: Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
The Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 update in 2007 replaced the venerable Nikon 28-70mm f/2.8 – itself a beast of a lens and longtime staple in the bag of many pros. With the latest incarnation of Nikon’s midrange zoom, the 24-70mm f/2.8 features a broader range, Nano Crystal Coating, and a built-in AF motor. What’s more, we [...]
Review: Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G – The Best Wide-Angle Lens
The Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G AF-S. Introduced along with the Nikon D3 in late 2007, the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G set a new standard for ultra-wide angle lenses – primes and zooms alike – across the board. After all, it’s not every day that a lens inspires a grass-roots movement to make a Nikon F-Mount to Canon [...]
Review: Nikon D7000 – Nikon’s Best DX Camera
Looking at the new Nikon D7000′s specs, you might be right to confuse the newest DX DSLR as a replacement for the Nikon D300s at first blush. After all, it features many of the same specs, as well as some new features and flat-out improvements to Nikon’s DX line of cameras. Let’s take a [...]
Review: Nikon SB-700
Only introduced in 2004, the Nikon SB-600 has felt outdated for years. This deficit has been especially notable since the replacement of the Nikon SB-800 with the Nikon SB-900 in 2008, which left a huge disparity between the flagship Nikon speedlight and the middle-market option. The Nikon SB-700 changes all of that completely, updating the base-level flash [...]
First Impressions: Nikon SB-700 Speedlight
I’ll be doing a full review of the Nikon SB-700, but I wanted to share my first impressions of this new speedlight.
Review: Mamiya M77 Rubber Lens Hood
A few months ago, I lost the lens hood to my Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR I. To be honest, I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner – the lens hood on that zoom has always had a very weak lock and constantly came loose. And so, rather than buy the stock Nikon hood again, I went [...]
Review: Nikon 24mm f/1.4G AF-S
While Canon users have been overpaying for beautiful fast primes for years, Nikon shooters have long been denied this privilege, with a distinct lack of “modern” choices in the arena of fast glass. In particular, many have lamented the absence of fast, wide-angle option, especially after the discontinuation of the Nikon 28mm f/1.4 AF-D in 2006. [...]
The Best P&S Cameras – Late 2010 Edition
Everyone has to start somewhere, and countless music photographers working in the photo pits started out as fans in the crowd. Point & shoot cameras have the advantage of being compact, unobtrusive, and relatively inexpensive. Here’s a look at three quality point and shoots for the budding live music photographer that were introduced in 2010.
Review: Nikon 85mm f/1.4G AF-S
The classic 85mm f/1.4 – a long-admired and respected lens in any mount, and especially renowned as the Nikon AF-D, introduced in 1995. As part of their recent push to update all their fast primes – and introduce a few new ones – Nikon’s new 85mm f/1.4G AF-S with Nano Crystal Coating represents a fully modern [...]
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