Category Archives: Photo Gear

How To Work With A Model (or Anybody Else) When The Windchill is 4°

Posted on by
Selina

Selina, Downtown Columbus Ohio. Windchill 4°.

You would think a windchill of 4° Fahrenheit (-16°C) would be too cold for a photo shoot, but not with some models. Selina and I booked this January shoot weeks in advance so we knew it would be cold, but we had no idea how cold until the day arrived. Despite the frigid temperatures, Selina did no want to reschedule for later. When we created the image above the windchill was 4°. By the end of the shoot the windchill was 3°.  Incidentally, this image made it into my photography book (page 217). Here’s the story behind this image and how to work with a model (or anybody else) when it is so cold.

Continue reading →

Buyer’s Guide: Recommendations For The Best Photography Equipment, Software, Books, DVDs, Online Photo Labs, and More

Posted on by

Welcome to my online buying guide for photographers. With over 80 articles it is one of the most comprehensive photography buyer’s guides on the web.

I get lots of photo questions, especially at this time of year, and many of them begin with “What is the best . . . .” They usually come from photographers or someone who is shopping for a photographer.  If you are shopping for yourself, or for a photographer in your life, this series is for you.

My “best of the best” series recommends the best photo gear, accessories, software, books, DVDs, online photo labs, and a whole lot more. Thanks to the information in these articles I get emails from photographers thanking me for saving them time, frustration, and a lot of money.

This article is reposted annually in November with some updates in between. Reposted: November 30, 2024. Most recent update: December 19, 2024.

Continue reading →

Buy What You Can Afford!

Posted on by
My go everywhere camera kit, mid 1980s-1990s.

The first rule when choosing camera gear is to buy what you can afford. It is hard to enjoy taking pictures if you are worried about how to pay for the camera you are holding. So buy what you can afford now, and upgrade later. And the second rule? We will get to that later.

Continue reading →

Buyer’s Guide: Recommendations For The Best Photography Equipment, Software, Books, DVDs, Online Photo Labs, and More

Posted on by

Welcome to my online buying guide for photographers. With over 80 articles it is one of the most comprehensive photography buyer’s guides on the web.

I get lots of photo questions, especially at this time of year, and many of them begin with “What is the best . . . .” They usually come from photographers or someone who is shopping for a photographer.  If you are shopping for yourself, or for a photographer in your life, this series is for you.

My “best of the best” series recommends the best photo gear, accessories, software, books, DVDs, online photo labs, and a whole lot more. Thanks to the information in these articles I get emails from photographers thanking me for saving them time, frustration, and a lot of money.

This article is reposted annually in November with some updates in between. Reposted: November 30, 2024. Most recent update: December 19, 2024.

Continue reading →

National Camera Day!

Posted on by

Kodak 126 Instamatic Camera and Kodachrome 64 film cartridge.

I just learned today is National Camera Day. Who knew?

This Kodak 126 Instamatic cartridge camera was my first camera. It was a gift from my parents when I was in high school. I used print film cartridges for about 3 years. It was not until I was in college that I made the switch to slide film cartridges.

Continue reading →

How to “Rate” Photos in Your Camera

Posted on by

Camera LCD zoomed in on a Grackle photo. iPhone photo.

It is simple to rate photos in your camera, provided you have a rate button. (Later on I will tell you what to do if you don’t have a rate button.)  If you take a photo you want to find quickly when you download the memory card, just push the rate button.  When you download the photos on your memory card you can use Adobe Bridge (more about Bridge later) to quickly find your rated photos.

Continue reading →

Radio Controlled Speedlites: Yongnuo YN600EX-RT vs Canon 600EX-RT

Posted on by

Yongnuo 600 EX-RT Speedlite and Yonghuo YN-E3-RT Transmitter.

Yongnuo 600EX-RT Speedlite and Yongnuo YN-E3-RT Transmitter. Click to see a larger version.

Should you spend $549 on a Canon 600EX-RT speedlite, or $138 on Yongnuo’s nearly identical clone, the YN600EX-RT? And what about the radio transmitters? Canon’s is $299 and the Yongnuo copy is $95. So you can buy three Yongnuo speedlites plus the radio transmitter for a total of $509, less than the price of one Canon speedlite. The price advantage is clear, but what about quality, reliability, and service issues? Continue reading →

A High Quality, Compact RØDE VideoMic for Your DSLR and Smartphone

Posted on by

RØDE VideoMicro in use at Acadia National Park.

Let’s face it. While many recent DLSRs, ILCs and smartphones can give you excellent visual quality in the videos, the sound quality of the built in microphone leaves a lot to be desired. For a modest amount of money you can bring the sound quality up to par with the visual quality. That is why video mic sales have exploded.

Continue reading →

GoPro: Amazing, Small, Inexpensive, HD Video Cameras

Posted on by

GoPro HERO12 Black. Click image for a larger version.

Looking for a small, mountable, “ideal for sports and action”, inexpensive, high definition video and still camera with a waterproof housing and image quality that Lucasfilm (the Star Wars people) calls “amazing”? This camera will go anywhere and mount just about anywhere. Prices range from $279 to $399 (which is a lot less than your typical DSLR with HiDef video).

Continue reading →

The Best Panorama Gear: Living in Panorama Heaven

Posted on by
180° Panorama: Yosemite Valley at Night. Eagle Peak, Yosemite Point, and North Dome. Yosemite National Park. Right click to see a larger version.
Really Right Stuff makes an excellent, simple to use panorama set up that won’t take up a lot of room in your camera bag. After using bigger, more awkward panorama gear, switching to Really Right Stuff’s set up was like being in panorama heaven. It is compatible with the Arca-Swiss-System. Continue reading →

The Best Closeup Photography Equipment

Posted on by

Forget-Me-Nots, Thorne-Swift Nature Preserve, Michigan

Forget-Me-Nots, Thorne-Swift Nature Preserve, Michigan

There are several ways to do closeup photography. Closeup filters, extension tubes, and macro lenses are the most commonly used options. The best gear for you depends on your preferences, how you want to work, the subjects you are after, how much stuff you want to carry, and how much you want to spend. I cover your best options.

Continue reading →

Inexpensive Gifts (Starting at $8) for Photographers

Posted on by

Flash adapter and umbrella for an shoe-mount electronic flash.

Flash adapter and umbrella for a shoe-mount electronic flash.

There are a lot of practical and inexpensive (more or less) gifts for photographers. Here is a nice list of items starting at $8. To make it easy to track them down, these items are individuality linked plus most of these items can be found in the Misc Goodies section of my photography store which has direct links to Amazon.com. Prices are current as of the date of this post, but prices do fluctuate. Some items can be temporarily unavailable. These items are not listed in order of price.

Continue reading →

Camera Choices: Using Full Size Test Images from DPReview.com

Posted on by

Panasonic Lumix ZX20 (left) vs Canon SX260 HS (right)

I was comparing the Canon PowerShot SX280 HS with other cameras with similar features (shirt pocket size, 20x zoom range) like the Panasonic Lumix ZS30. There weren’t full reviews of either camera so I went back to reviews of the Canon SX260 HS and the Panasonic ZS20, assuming the current cameras would be somewhat better than the older models and that both would have the pedigree traits of their predecessors (which is often but not always the case for a camera’s family tree).

Continue reading →

Buyer’s Guide: Recommendations For The Best Photography Equipment, Software, Books, Magazines, DVDs, Online Photo Labs, and More

Posted on by

Welcome to my online buying guide for photographers. With over 75 articles it is one of the most comprehensive photography buyer’s guides on the web.

I get lots of photo questions, especially at this time of year, and many of them begin with “What is the best . . . .” They usually come from photographers or someone who is shopping for a photographer.  If you are shopping for yourself, or for a photographer in your life, this series is for you.

My “best of the best” series recommends the best photo gear, accessories, software, books, DVDs, online photo labs, and a whole lot more. Thanks to the information in these articles I get emails from photographers thanking me for saving them time, frustration, and a lot of money.

This article is updated annually in November with some updates in between. Most recent update: December 10, 2024.

Continue reading →

Camera Settings for Trunk or Treat

Posted on by

Trunk or Treat, sponsored by the Graceland University Enactus program, Lamoni Iowa.

If I am photographing an event and the light is constant, I shoot in manual mode for the most accurate exposure and the best color. But if the light is variable, there isn’t time during an active event to be constantly changing the exposure because you will miss too many photo ops. That means shooting in an automatic mode.

Continue reading →