Rokinon 14mm f2.8 Review

October 12, 2023July 18, 2012 by Dan Carr

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 …

Tamron 24-70 F2.8 DI VC Review

October 12, 2023July 15, 2012 by Dan Carr

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 …

Seagate GoFlex Thunderbolt / USB3 Drive Review

October 12, 2023July 2, 2012 by Dan Carr

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 …

Rode Stereo Videomic Pro Review

October 11, 2023June 27, 2012 by Dan Carr

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 …

Outlets To Go 320 – A New Travel Essential

October 11, 2023June 26, 2012 by Dan Carr

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 …

Canon 40mm f2.8 STM Pancake Review

October 10, 2023June 23, 2012 by Dan Carr

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 …

Hands On With The New Canon 40mm f2.8 STM Pancake Lens

October 12, 2023June 20, 2012 by Dan Carr

I’m away in Europe at the moment and I got word that a store in the UK had the new 40mm f2.8 Pancake lens. I’m pretty excited about this lens since I’m always trying to shave some weight off the gear that I carry and I’ve never been satisfied with ANY of Canon’s 50mm offerings. A pocket sized 40mm might just be the ticket so I ordered one right away. Below I have posted a hands on video with the lens so that you can get a bit of a feel for how small it is. I also give some …

Le Mans 24 Hours – 2012 – What worked & what didn’t ?

May 24, 2019June 20, 2012 by Dan Carr

Whenever I set out on a lengthy photography trip there are always many considerations when it comes to packing. Every trip requires something slightly different and my recent trip to Europe was no different. This trip was firstly to shoot the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a motorsports event in France. I shot this race last year as well and wrote an extensive report on it at the time, along with a short video about the gear that I packed for that trip. Last year the sole purpose of my trip was to shoot the race, but this year my …

Tascam DR-100 MKII Review & Comparison To Zoom H4N

October 12, 2023June 5, 2012 by Dan Carr

Small, portable audio recorders have become much more popular since the start of the s0-called DSLR revolution. Of course they have always been around in the professional industry but when people began filming with DSLRs they quickly realized that the sound on those cameras was simply awful. A solution was needed and a great many people jumped on the Zoom H4N as that solution. At the time when the 5D MK2 was released there weren’t a lot of options at a price point that made sense to someone who is only shooting with a camera worth a few thousand dollars. …

Redrock Micro DSLR Baseplate Review

October 12, 2023May 30, 2012 by Dan Carr

If you are even remotely serious about shooting video with a DSLR then you’ll quickly find that you need to add a few accessories. For me a follow focus is the first thing I would pick up, as you’ll see in the following photos I use the excellent O’Connor F-Focus DM. To attach a follow focus unit, and many other cine style accessories to your camera you are going to need a way to add rods. In the cine world there are three rod standards: 15mm lightweight, 15mm studio and 19mm studio. If you aren’t familiar with these then O’Connor …

Sonnet Echo Expresscard Thunderbolt Adapter Review

October 18, 2023May 19, 2012 by Dan Carr

I’m sure by now that you are aware of the Thunderbolt standard and how it has a theoretical throughput that is much faster than Firewire 800, USB 2 or 3 and eSATA. Like many people I excitedly bought one of the newer Macbooks last year when they first featured Thunderbolt ports but sadly Thunderbolt accessories have been relatively thin on the ground. Some blame high licensing fees imposed by Apple and Intel whilst some blame technical difficulties and incompatibilities with the implementation of the technology. I’ve had my Macbook Air for nearly a year now and until the Sonnet Echo …

Affordable Stuido Gear From Impact

October 12, 2023April 28, 2012 by Dan Carr

The fine folks at B&H Photo were kind enough to send me some of their studio gear from the house brand Impact. I’ve written a little review about each individual piece and this post is designed to be the index. If the prices of studio support equipment usually makes you wince then you should definitely take a look at the Impact brand. Please do take a look at the reviews as there are some caveats with some products but over all I’ve been pretty impressed.