Reviews | PetaPixel https://petapixel.com/topic/reviews/ Photography and Camera News, Reviews, and Inspiration Sat, 20 Jan 2024 22:54:24 +0000 en-US hourly 1 191656271 The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review for Photographers https://petapixel.com/2024/01/20/the-samsung-galaxy-s24-ultra-review-for-photographers/ Sat, 20 Jan 2024 22:54:24 +0000 https://petapixel.com/?p=723115

Like the majestic Canada Goose, I escaped a particularly brutal winter by flying south. As temperatures back home plummeted to a balmy -40 degrees, my plane landed in San Jose, California. San Jose is the West Coast convention center capital of the tech world, and Samsung was there for the brand new Galaxy S24 series of smartphones.

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TTArtisan 10mm f/2 APS-C Review: An Affordable Ultra-Wide Lens https://petapixel.com/2024/01/20/ttartisan-10mm-f-2-aps-c-review-an-affordable-ultra-wide-lens/ Sat, 20 Jan 2024 19:00:25 +0000 https://petapixel.com/?p=722217

I like wide-angle lenses. So, when Pergear asked me to review the TTArtisan APS-C 10 mm lens, I gladly accepted. In this article, I will share my user experiences and feelings about the lens, construction, etc. This is not a technical review as I am not equipped for that.

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The Battle of the 135mm Lenses: Which Lens Takes the Portrait Podium? https://petapixel.com/2024/01/13/the-battle-of-the-135mm-lenses-which-lens-takes-the-portrait-podium/ Sat, 13 Jan 2024 15:01:25 +0000 https://petapixel.com/?p=721975 Nikon vs Canon vs Sony 135mm lenses

The 135mm focal length is one of my favorite portrait ranges due to its compressed rendering of people’s faces, as well as lending itself to stunningly dramatic full-body environmental portraits. Last year saw the release of two new 135mm lenses, one each from Canon and Nikon. Take into account the venerable Sony 135mm G Master and you have all three of the major full-frame mirrorless companies now offering a 135mm f/1.8 lens.

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Using the 2003 Nikon Super Coolscan 5000 ED to Digitize Film in 2023 https://petapixel.com/2024/01/11/using-the-2003-nikon-super-coolscan-5000-ed-to-digitize-film-in-2023/ Thu, 11 Jan 2024 18:46:15 +0000 https://petapixel.com/?p=722001

In this modern age, all of us film photographers need a way to bring a physical strip of film into the digital space. Whether you are just trying to post your images on social media or make an inkjet print, scanning is a necessity for most analog photographers.

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DJI Ronin 4D 8K Review: A Stable Platform Gets a Resolution Boost https://petapixel.com/2024/01/09/dji-ronin-4d-8k-review-a-stable-platform-gets-a-resolution-boost/ Tue, 09 Jan 2024 15:01:39 +0000 https://petapixel.com/?p=721346 DJI Ronin 4D 8K review

I’ve been in the camera review game for a decade and a half and while the pleasure of checking out new gear hasn’t diminished, it’s very rare for me to be truly excited about a new camera. Well, that happened two years ago with the DJI Ronin 4D release, and now we have an impressive new 8K version to check out.

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Reviewing The Forbidden Lenses That Canon Doesn’t Want You to Have https://petapixel.com/2024/01/06/reviewing-the-forbidden-lenses-that-canon-doesnt-want-you-to-have/ Sat, 06 Jan 2024 15:01:32 +0000 https://petapixel.com/?p=720890 Forbidden Canon RF AF lenses.

Many camera manufacturers choose to support, or at least turn a blind eye to, third-party lens makers. Some even wholeheartedly embrace them. However, Canon has infamously taken a stance to deny third-party manufacturers access to its RF mount. The fascinating twist is that many companies were beginning to produce manual and autofocusing lenses before the crack-down, creating an exclusive market of very rare lenses that hit the streets before the curtain fell.

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Best Kit Lenses of All Time: My Five Favorites https://petapixel.com/2023/12/30/best-kit-lenses-of-all-time-my-five-favorites/ Sat, 30 Dec 2023 18:00:42 +0000 https://petapixel.com/?p=720235 Panasonic Leica 12-60mm f/2.8-4 Vario in the field

We all have to start somewhere. For most of us, that means a basic DSLR or mirrorless camera kit with a compact, handy general-purpose zoom lens. Undoubtedly, we can't wait to ditch our basic kit lens for something faster or more versatile. A kit lens is something we feel we need to graduate from to call ourselves an accomplished photographer. But is that really the case? Maybe the humble kit lens has more to offer than we think, so today we will look at our five favorite kit lenses of all time.

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Revisiting Nikon’s Legendary D700 DSLR 15 Years After Its Release https://petapixel.com/2023/12/26/revisiting-nikons-legendary-d700-dslr-15-years-after-its-release/ Tue, 26 Dec 2023 17:49:49 +0000 https://petapixel.com/?p=719913

My first digital ILC (interchangeable lens camera) was the Nikon D40, which I purchased during my senior year of high school in late 2007. That camera was followed by the Canon T2i (550D), which I bought in 2010, primarily because of Canon’s significantly more advanced video features; I have always been an active filmmaker as well as a photographer. Like most people, my first two lenses for each of these cameras were the kit 18-55mm zoom and a cheap nifty-fifty prime lens, so the cost of switching systems wasn’t exactly high.

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Worse Than a Lump of Coal: A Review of Terrible Gear https://petapixel.com/2023/12/23/worse-than-a-lump-of-coal-a-review-of-terrible-gear-from-wish/ Sat, 23 Dec 2023 15:00:38 +0000 https://petapixel.com/?p=719731 Christmas wishes

Jordan and I were naughty this year and Santa put something in our stocking that was less useful than a lump of coal. Naturally, we decided to review our gifts and see if there was any merit to mass-produced photo gear on the cheap.

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Asus ProArt Station PD5 Review: Not Much More Than a Pretty Face https://petapixel.com/2023/12/23/asus-proart-station-pd5-review-not-much-more-than-a-pretty-face/ Sat, 23 Dec 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://petapixel.com/?p=718201 Asus ProArt PD5 PC Review

When Asus launched the updated ProArt Station PD5 earlier this fall, it looked poised to deliver a powerful, accessible machine to creative professionals. Unfortunately, despite lofty and worthwhile goals, the ProArt Station PD5 is not quite the impressive machine I had hoped for.

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Pentax K-3 III Monochrome: APS-C Becomes Black and White https://petapixel.com/2023/12/19/pentax-k-3-iii-monochrome-aps-c-becomes-black-and-white/ Tue, 19 Dec 2023 15:00:25 +0000 https://petapixel.com/?p=719271

The Pentax K-3 III Monochrome is among the most affordable cameras designed exclusively for black-and-white photography and a very good APS-C DSLR.

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Nikon Z 600mm f/4 S TC VR Review: Can a Lens Be Worth $15,500? https://petapixel.com/2023/12/16/nikon-z-600mm-f-4-s-tc-vr-review-can-a-lens-be-worth-15500/ Sat, 16 Dec 2023 15:01:10 +0000 https://petapixel.com/?p=719042 Nikon 600mm review

In the early summer of 2023, I had an opportunity to play with the soon-to-be-released Nikon Z8. We met up with the Nikon crew in Yellowstone National Park to photograph some wildlife and the good folks at Nikon also had another surprise for us out there.

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Shimoda Urban Explore Hands-On: My New Favorite Everyday Carry Backpack https://petapixel.com/2023/12/12/shimoda-urban-explore-hands-on-my-new-favorite-everyday-carry-backpack/ Tue, 12 Dec 2023 19:08:49 +0000 https://petapixel.com/?p=718465 Shimoda Urban Explore Review

I am on what feels like an endless hunt for a backpack, or even set of backpacks, that I actually like to use. I'm looking for comfort, build quality, and maybe a tinge of style. Finding this bag is harder than it sounds, but Shimoda's new Urban Explore comes the closest yet.

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Canon RF 10-20mm f/4 L Review: A Full-Frame Favorite Gets Even Wider https://petapixel.com/2023/12/12/canon-rf-10-20mm-f-4-stm-l-review-the-return-of-a-full-frame-favorite/ Tue, 12 Dec 2023 15:01:25 +0000 https://petapixel.com/?p=718287 Canon 10-20mm f4 L lens

The Canon EF 11-24 f/4 L lens was an extremely wide-angle lens that found popularity with DSLR users. Although it could easily be adapted to RF mirrorless cameras, doing so would make its bulky size more cumbersome and it was quite expensive -- but now there is an RF solution.

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Leica Q3 Review From a Canon Photographer: Hit and Miss https://petapixel.com/2023/12/11/leica-q3-review-from-a-canon-photographer-hit-and-miss/ Mon, 11 Dec 2023 21:12:55 +0000 https://petapixel.com/?p=718311 Leica Q3

Like many photographers, I've spent years hunting the impossible combination: a high-quality camera that's also compact. Must haves: a great sensor and a wide aperture wide angle lens. Today, I’ll walk you through the meandering journey that eventually led me to the Leica Q3.

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Tamron 17-50mm f/4 Di III VXD: Not a Perfect Lens, But Still a Good One https://petapixel.com/2023/12/09/tamron-17-50mm-f-4-di-iii-vxd-not-a-perfect-lens-but-still-a-good-one/ Sat, 09 Dec 2023 15:00:55 +0000 https://petapixel.com/?p=717804 Tamron 17-50mm f:4 Review

Tamron has built a reputation for creating some unique focal ranges. Take, for example, the 35-150mm that recently hit the market and really impressed. What might seem at first to be an odd range can end up being very useful. So the same could be expected of the 17-50mm f/4 Di II VXD, right?

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Phase One XC Review: A Camera in Search of a Photographer https://petapixel.com/2023/12/02/phase-one-xc-review-a-camera-in-search-of-a-photographer/ Sat, 02 Dec 2023 15:01:32 +0000 https://petapixel.com/?p=717216 Phase One XC

The Phase One XC is an unusual camera, and not just because of its $62,490 asking price. It's designed with a specific purpose in mind and it sports a fixed lens in front of a massive 150-megapixel medium format sensor.

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DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Review: Compact, Capable, Powerful https://petapixel.com/2023/12/01/dji-osmo-pocket-3-review-compact-capable-powerful/ Fri, 01 Dec 2023 21:45:39 +0000 https://petapixel.com/?p=716539

The DJI Osmo Pocket 3 skips the smartphone as a capture device and uses an integrated camera, essentially taking the front of a DJI drone and mounting it to a control stick. It is also one of the few creator gimbals I like and love using.

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Using the Sony a9 III for Concerts as Dave Matthews Band’s Photographer https://petapixel.com/2023/11/30/using-the-sony-a9-iii-for-concerts-as-dave-matthews-bands-photographer/ Thu, 30 Nov 2023 20:04:37 +0000 https://petapixel.com/?p=716902 Why Global Shutter Matters

Like most photographers, I’ve never reviewed a piece of gear before. Also like most photographers, I tend to voraciously read reviews each time I consider upgrading. Many of these reviews parse through micro-level analysis of pixel detail, noise levels, and test charts but to me fail to answer the simple question: “will this help me get the shot?”

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The Best and Worst Cameras and Lenses of 2023 https://petapixel.com/2023/11/30/the-best-and-worst-photography-equipment-of-2023/ Thu, 30 Nov 2023 19:01:37 +0000 https://petapixel.com/?p=716776 Best and Worst of 2023

Where has the time gone? It's been ten years since Jordan and I started our annual roundup of the best and worst products in our industry. Every year we give our opinions on the cameras we feel deserve the top spot as well as any honorable mentions that have also made a positive impression. Perhaps even more exciting, though, is our vote for the most infamous photo and video products of the year.

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