Gearing Up For A 90,000 Stadium Shoot
This weekend, my brother Chris Owyoung and I will be shooting something a little exciting: a concert at a 90,000 stadium. We’re shooting for the band with all access, charged with the task of producing promotional and documentary photos of the show. With a show this big, gear is an important question. Even with all [...]
Review: Nikon D600—The People’s Full-Frame DSLR
With the introduction of the Nikon D600, Nikon has delivered a full-frame DSLR at their lowest price yet for such a large sensor. More than that, the D600 delivers huge resolution and many of the features found in the Nikon D800 for nearly a third less the cash. In many ways, the D600 is the [...]
Review: JH Audio Custom Earplugs
As a music photographer, I always say that the best piece of advice I can offer to aspiring concert photographers is to wear earplugs. I’ve worn earplugs to almost every single show I’ve shot in the past 5 years, and at somewhere around 100 shows a year, I think it’s fair to say that I’ve [...]
Nikon Lens Reviews—Comprehensive List
I thought it would be useful to put together a small list of the Nikon lenses that I’ve reviewed, as well as some thoughts about the gear and links to sample photos. I’ll be updating this list as I use and review Nikon gear. Hit the jump for links to my reviews on all these [...]
Review: Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 VC – A Nikon 24-70mm Alternative?
The midrange zoom is the go-to lens of countless photographers’ kits. Offering a wide-angle to short telephoto range in a single package is the key to this design’s success, especially when paired with a constant f/2.8 aperture that professionals require. Tamron’s newest entry into the midrange zoom market packs nearly identical specs to Nikon and [...]
Review: Fuji 18mm f/2 Wide Angle XF Lens
The Fuji 18mm f/2 is the most compact of the new X-Mount lenses, though perhaps just a little shy of the pancake designation. At 18mm on the X-Mount’s APS-C sensor, this lens provides basically a the same field of view as a 28mm on full-frame. For most street or photojournalism-style shooters, this is going to [...]
Review: Fuji 18mm f/2 + 35mm f/1.4 + 60mm f/2.4 Group Lens Review
Almost as interesting as the Fuji X-Pro1 were the three lenses developed for the new X-Mount camera. Instead of the standard wide-to-telephoto kit lens, Fuji opted for three fast prime lenses right out of the gates. This is a collective review of the Fuji XF prime lenses released with the new Fuji X-Pro1: the Fuji 18mm [...]
Next Generation MacBook Pro Announced
Yesterday Apple unveiled their next generation MacBook Pro in the 15″ model. The biggest feature of the new notebook is a high resolution Retina display, Apple’s terminology for a screen with a pixel pitch so high that individual pixels are indistinguishable at normal viewing distances. For the 15″ next gen MacBook Pro, this is 220 [...]
Shooting Tips, Camera Settings & Tricks For The Fuji X-Pro1
The Fuji X-Pro1 is an excellent camera that excels at image quality. However, out of the box, the camera isn’t quite setup for optimal shooting in terms of speed and ease of use. After shooting with the Fuji X-Pro1 for the last 6 weeks with a full kit of the Fuji 18mm f/2, Fuji 35mm [...]
Review: Fuji X-Pro1 – The Best Mirrorless Camera?
With what started as a seeming novelty, the market for mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras (MILC) has exploded over the last two years. Changing the half-century format of 35mm using a reflex mirror and pentaprism to offer a TTL experience, mirrorless cameras promise the quality and flexibility of a DSLR system without of the bulk. While manufacturers [...]
Review: Nikon 85mm f/1.8G Telephoto Lens
With Nikon steam rolling through what feels like a complete update of their prime lens arsenal, it was inevitable that the workhorse 85mm f/1.8D would be replaced eventually. Enter the new Nikon 85mm f/1.8G AF-S, which incorporates a silent wave focusing motor and a completely new optical design. Weighing in at less than a third the cost [...]
Review: Elinchrom Quadra Ranger System
For a portable location lighting solution, speedlights have long been a staple due to their small size. However, speedlights often leave photographers wanting in power, especially when shooting in bright sunlight. The solution of battery-powered strobes have traditionally been much larger and tremendously more heavy than speedlights. Enter the Elinchrom Quadra Ranger series. The Quadra [...]
Review: $4 Battery Charger for Nikon D700 EN-EL3E (Nikon MH-18a Alternative)
Somewhere along the way, I lost the battery charger to my Nikon D700. This is what happens when I “clean” my office. Searching a replacement on Amazon.com, I was faced with a simple decision: Go with the OEM Nikon MH-18a charger for $39.95 or roll the dice and go with a no-name charger for $4.41 [...]
Review: 240gb OWC Mercury Extreme 6G Pro SSD
The advantages of a sold state drive (SSD) are many. With no platters to spin up or other mechanical parts, read, write and random seek times are extremely fast – much faster than conventional hard disk drives (HDD). In addition, SSDs run cooler and silently – another bonus over HDDs. What all these benefits mean [...]
Comparison Review: SanDisk Extreme Pro vs Transcend Extreme Plus
I reviewed the Transcend Extreme Plus 600x 16GB CF cards back last August. Since then, I’ve also picked a pair of SanDisk Extreme Pro 600x 16GB CF cards as well. I’ve been using both cards in tandem and have put both through their paces at dozens of shows and thousands of images shot and transferred over the [...]
Nikon D800 vs Nikon D800E – Choosing The Right One
In a strange twist for a camera manufacturer, Nikon announced two different models of the new Nikon D800 full-frame DSLR, much to the confusion of many. While it’s common for other consumer electronics items like a television or phone to have options, the offering of two nearly identical products from a camera maker is a [...]
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 [...]
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