Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips
This isn’t the typical camera review; however, the Nest security camera has a very special place in my heart over the recent months. It’s helped me identify and catch a couple raccoons and, most recently, a pair of burglars/vandals who broke into my bookstore and warehouse. [Read more…]
I was so pumped when the Canon 6D Mark II rumors were pouring out and when it was announced. Then, early reports concerned me about the image quality; however, I was also a little hopeful that the numbers and charts wouldn’t necessarily reflect real world experience. After using the 6D Mark II for a few weeks, I’m disappointed to say that the images produced by the Canon 6D Mark II are as bad as the number and charts suggest. [Read more…]
The Huawei Mate 9 is an Android phablet that features a 20MP black and white, along with a 12MP dual-lens camera. Huawei sent me the Mate 9 to try out and I’ve been using it as a second phone for a couple months now. [Read more…]
The Transcend RDF9 is a basic USB 3.1/3.0 memory card reader with slots for CF, SD and microSD cards. These are the memory cards I use on a daily basis – and I think that’s probably true for most photographers. [Read more…]
If there’s one thing I hate, it’s sitting at a desk for hours on end. As a photographer, video editor and blogger, I’m tied to a desk quite a bit. Fortunately, standing desks are a thing now and their popularity has led to significant competition that has really driven prices down over the past couple years. Last summer, I got an Uplift Desk and have loved every minute of it.
The Uplift Desk is great – but it was not cheap at around $800 for my configuration. Autonomous contacted me a couple months ago and offered to send me a desk to review. While their new SmartDesk 2 starts at $299, the option I configured ended up being $524 for the dual motor version, walnut surface and accessory kit. As such, it was more feature-rich on paper than the Uplift Desk I already have. [Read more…]
I’ve been flying Yuneec’s Q500 Typhoon 4K quadcopter for several months. It is the total package from what you want and expect from a drone for the serious consumer. I’m a huge fan and all-aboard the Yuneec train.
I was introduced to Yuneec in April 2015 at NAB and got the chance to try out the Q500 series last fall. This review is long overdue but the recent price drops across the Typhoon line make them more attractive than ever and have nudged me to spread the word about this great little drone.
The flight and image capture experience is very similar to what you get from a DJI Phantom series drone. The biggest and most important difference for me is the included ST10+ transmitter from Yuneec. [Read more…]
The Instax Mini 8 is one of the most popular cameras in the world and is part of the epic line of compact instant film cameras from Fujifilm. Although the Mini 8 is several years old, it is a perennial best seller for both casual and enthusiast shutterbugs. [Read more…]
The OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock allows you to extend the connectivity options of Apple’s increasingly port-stingy computers. It adds several connections to your existing computer, including 5 additional USB 3.0 ports, ethernet and HDMI ports. [Read more…]
Epson unveiled its SureColor P600 13″ printer last fall and started shipping earlier this year. As a replacement for the popular R3000, the P600 is a first P-series (for “photo”) printer in the SureColor line. The ink set is entirely new and with deeper black density and improved contrast ratio and dynamic range.
As a 13″ printer, the P600 sits in the mid-range enthusiast and low-end of the pro market, while the 17″ Epson SureColor P800 is the latest Epson P-series printer that replaced the extremely popular 3880.
[Read more…]
Monitor calibration is one of the necessary evils that photographers must learn to cope with now that every image we create must pass through our computer in this digital age. Fortunately, there are some pretty handy tools to take on that challenge.
Datacolor is one of the industry leaders in the monitor calibration market and the new Spyder5 tool makes it painless for the most part.
There are actually three different iterations of the Spyder5 monitor calibration tools – Spyder5EXPRESS, Spyder5PRO and Spyder5ELITE, which cover the most basic calibrations to the most advanced, respectively. This review covers my experience with the Spyder5ELITE. [Read more…]