Gear Reviews

Digital camera reviews, lens reviews, strobe reviews, camera bag reviews and more.

Breakthrough Photography Universal Arca Quick Release Plate Review

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UPDATE: May 3rd 2017 – After publishing this review, the folks at Breakthrough Photography reached out to me to let me know that they just launched two additional sizes in their quick release plate lineup: an 85mm plate designed for the foot of longer zoom lenses or super telephoto lenses, and a smaller 40mm plate for mirrorless cameras and point and shoot cameras. They offered to send these additional plates to me so that I could add photos to this review, which has now been completed. Hopefully nobody is still screwing their cameras directly onto a 1/4″- 20 stud on …

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tamrac anvil super 25 review

Tamrac Anvil Super 25 Super Telephoto Backpack Review

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I’ve had the Tamrac Anvil Super 25 in my office for a few months now, and I’ve taken it on a couple of wildlife photography trips here in Canada, packed with my Canon 200-400 f/4 L IS attached to a Canon 5D Mark IV. That’s exactly the kind of setup that this bag is designed for; A super telephoto lens and a camera. In my experience, there’s two scenarios where a bag like this is a useful piece of kit. Firstly, when you’re shooting a sports event and your super telephoto lens doesn’t fit into your regular roller bag or …

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Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6E VR Review

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Exploring the Creative Possibilities of a Super Telephoto Lens I’ve been a Nikon DSLR shooter for over 10 years now. Starting out with the small but mighty 6-megapixel D70S that did so much to crack open the hobbyist/amateur market, I’ve been lucky enough to build up my skills and photographic repertoire just as digital photography technology seemed to evolve and mature in parallel. For many, that initial leap in to the DSLR world is soon followed by the realization that the performance and creative capabilities of any camera are limited nearly as much by lens choice as by megapixels, shutter …

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The History of Canon, the FD Mount and the EF Mount

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  The origins of global electronics and precision optical giant Canon Inc. can be traced back to humble beginnings in the town of Roppongi, in Minato-Ku,Tokyo 1933. Takeshi Mitarai and three friends, Goro yoshida, Saburo Uchida, and Takeo Maeda founded the ‘Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory’ in a small street-side workshop, and set to work dismantling and examining cameras built by industry leading European manufacturers. Traditionally fetching a high premium in the Japanese market, Precision Optical Instruments dreamt of producing cheaper, Japanese made alternatives. In 1934, having conducted their research, Precision Optics prototyped Japan’s first domestically designed and manufactured 35mm focal-plane …

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F-Stop Kenti Photograpy Pack Review

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The Kenti photo pack is another addition to the popular Mountain Series of bags from f-stop. These bags are designed specifically with outdoor, nature and adventure photographers. Compared to the other Mountain Series bags, the Kenti has some very different design features, namely, zippered access to both sides of the bag. Two camera bodies with lenses already attached can be quickly reached and stowed away again in record time. If speed is important in your photography then you should definitely read on. Bag Design & Features Without a water bladder in the bag the Kenti is a very comfortable pack. Unfortunately that …

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Canon Vs. Kenko Extension Tubes

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Extension tubes are a useful accessory that allows you to shorten the minimum focus distance of a lens by moving it further away from your camera’s sensor. In other words, it allows you to get closer to your subject and often create macro-like images without the need for a dedicated macro lens. If you aren’t yet familiar with extension tubes, I would first encourage you to read my guide: The Ultimate Guide to Extension Tubes. Having read the guide, or perhaps you already know all about the tubes already, you’ve obviously come to the conclusion that you’d like to buy some …

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New Peak Design Everyday Backpack, Tote and Sling

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UPDATE These new bags were funded via Kickstarter and are now available on the Peak Design store. At the end of 2015, photography accessory manufacturer Peak Design launched their incredibly popular Kickstarter campaign for the Everyday Messenger bag. Before the campaign was over, they’d raised over $4.5million and broken some serious Kickstarter records! This week their back at it again, and now they’re looking to expand their photography bag lineup by introducing the Everyday Backpack, the Everyday Tote and the Everyday Sling. Being the kings of Kickstarter, they set a $500,000 goal and promptly blew through that (and the $1million) …

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Think Tank “My 2nd Brain” Laptop Bag Review

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NOTE: Sadly this bag has been discontinued. I liked it a lot, so I’m hopeful that they will eventually launch a new version but for now I would direct you to the Think Tank Retrospective 30 for 15″ laptops and the Retrospective 7 for 13″ laptops. The Best Laptop Bag for Photographers? For a lot of photographers, being on the road is part and parcel of the job and that means having a way to easily carry around a laptop, along with hard drives, power cables, memory cards holders and maybe even a Wacom tablet. There are camera bags that …

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Lowepro Highline RL x400 Travel Roller Bag Review

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Lowepro’s First Travel Bags Lowepro have been making photography bags for decades, but recently they launched a series of travel bags that applies their knowledge to a new market. I was particularly interested in the Highline series, but it must be underlined that the Highline backpacks in that range are not camera bags at all. They have no internal padding for camera gear whatsoever. It’s a Lowerpro bag, but not as you’ve seen before! At the top of the Highline series is the x400 roller bag, and this one instantly peaked my interest for a number of reasons. The backpacks …

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