Gear Check

Test

Canon 24-70 f2.8 II Preview – Hands On

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This lens has been a long time coming as it was originally announced back in February but faced many unspecified delays on the way to dealers. I just received mine this morning, one from the first small batch that made it to Canada. I plan to do a proper review within the next week or so once I’ve had some more time with it but being one of Canon’s most anticipated lenses ever, I also wanted to post some first impressions and a couple of samples that I shot this afternoon. I performed all my initial tests with the lens …

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Lowepro Flipside Sport AW Review

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I’ve previously reviewed the Lowepro Photo Sport 200 which I found to make a good lightweight adventure photography bag for one camera, one lens missions. This year Lowepro added to their lightweight lineup with the Flipside Sport 10L and 15L and they were kind enough to provide one for long term testing. After a few months of usage I’ve drawn my conclusions so read on to find out more! Overall Design I’ve never really understood the name designation of these packs as side does not flip at all, the aforementioned Photo Sport 200 had a side opening and would have …

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Manfrotto Pro Photo Lino Vest Review

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The folks at Manfrotto Canada recently provided me with one of their Lino Photo Vests for evaluation and I’ve been using it for a couple of months now. Being an item of clothing I felt I should wear it in my introduction video so take a look below as I run through the main features of the vest. Key Features The Manfrotto vest doesn’t have as many pockets as some of its competitors out there like the Domke vest but the most important pockets are well thought out. Frankly it would be unhealthy to ever fill all of the pockets …

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Hitech Pro Stop 10 ND Filter Review

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The kind folks at B&H recently provided me with several products from the filter company Hitech for testing and review. I’ve already reviewed their 100mm modular filter holder and now it is time to take a look at one of the most talked about filters, the 10-Stop ND. Let’s start with the basics, why would you need a 10-stop ND filter ? In the vast majority of cases the reason to use one is going to be to create long exposure photographs of flowing water and skies. A 10-stop filters will allow you to take some truly LONG exposures even …

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Hitech 100mm Modular Filter Holder Review

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Physical construction and design The unit that I was provided with is Hitech’s newer modular system, not to be confused with their previous offerings which featured a set number of filter stages in 2-stage and 3-stage offerings, and not to be confused with previous plastic holders. The main plate of this holder is very nicely machined aluminum with thoughtfully recessed holes for the mounting screws. The kit that I’m reviewing came with options for up to three drop in filters and a separate 105mm adapter. It also came with some spare crews of varying size and nuts to put it …

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Paul C. Buff Einstein Flash Review

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Over at ProPhoto Coalition I have written up something about the Enstein flash system and why and how I have been using it for the past year. I know a lot of people have been asking for my feedback on this particular product. Please head on over to read my thoughts.

Rokinon 14mm f2.8 Review

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The Rokinon 14mm f2.8 is the same lens as the Samyang, Bower and Pro Optic 14mm f2.8 and is currently the cheapest way to get into the ultra-wide lens game for Canon and Nikon cameras. The kind folks at B&H Photo lent me this lens for a couple of weeks to make some evaluations and I’ll be discussing the Canon EF mount version here, though I expect all conclusions to hold true for the various other mounts that are also available. First Impressions I’ve made a quick video hereto show the lens in my hands. I think it’s a useful …

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Tamron 24-70 F2.8 DI VC Review

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I’ll admit to being a bit of a Canon lens snob, it’s fairly obvious if you look down my gear list anyway. In my career I’ve only owned one non-Canon lens and that was a Sigma 15mm Fisheye. The Tamron lens caught my eye, and the eyes of many others because it is the first (and still only) 24-70 f2.8 lens to feature image stabilization or Vibration Compensation as Tamron call it. Canon’s original 24-70 did not include it, in fact that lens may even have pre-dated the invention of it, but many people assumed that it would feature in …

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Seagate GoFlex Thunderbolt / USB3 Drive Review

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On a recent trip to Europe I underestimated the amount of drive space I would need to take with me. I was forced to go to the nearest computer store and purchase another drive. If I was going to have to do this I wanted to make sure that I picked up something that would at least be useful in the long term. I use a Macbook Air when I travel and I hadn’t yet purchased any Thunderbolt drives to go with it. At the time of writing (June 2012) Thunderbolt drives are still few and far between and those …

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Rode Stereo Videomic Pro Review

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The Rode Stereo Videomic Pro is an upgrade to to the previous Stereo Videomic in a much smaller and more lightweight package. It takes a lot of design cues from the new Videomic Pro, using the same style of suspension system and a metal hotshot. Many who owned the original Videomic will know that the weak point in its design was the strength of this suspension system so it’s nice to see upgrades across the board now in Rode’s on-camera range. Watch the video below for some first hands on impressions and it will also give you an excellent idea …

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Outlets To Go 320 – A New Travel Essential

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The Monster Outlets To Go 320 has just been added to my Travel Essentials list. This tiny little device will expand one plug socket into three, and also add two USB ports at the same time. The USB ports are powerful enough to charge an iPhone or an iPad and most importantly for me, the unit itself is compatible with 110v to 250v. This means that it will not go POP if you plug it into a wall in the UK or other European countries. Note that it is not a voltage converter though, but this is not a problem …

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Canon 40mm f2.8 STM Pancake Review

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Just a few days ago I took delivery of this exciting new lens. I posted an article outlining some initial impressions which I’m sure many of you have read. If you haven’t read it then be sure to watch the short video below which gives you an excellent idea of the size of the lens in my hands. I’ve now had a short time to take some simple images with it and draw some conclusions. I went up to London to find a few subjects that could test the usual things like sharpness, vignetting and chromatic aberration. Unfortunately the weather …

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