Think Tank Skin Set Review

July 28, 2025July 17, 2011 by Dan Carr

Last month I went to France to shoot the 24 Heures du Mans in Le Mans and before I left I grabbed a few extra items to make my assignment a little easier. First up was the Think Tank Hydrophobia 300-600 rain cover. The next think I wanted to do was take a look at the Think Tank Skin system to carry some additional items around with me while I was shooting. A lot of you know me for my winter sports photography and for that I use a variety of specialized bags from F-Stop but this time I needed …

Think Tank Hydrophobia 300-600 V2 Rain Cover Review

July 28, 2025July 11, 2011 by Dan Carr

NOTE: Think Tank have now launched a V3 version of this rain cover that is improved in several ways, and also much cheaper, in response to competition in the marketplace. Please head here to get the details about the new Hydrophobia covers, which also now come in an expanded range of sizes to fir DSLR and mirrorless systems. You guys know I’m a big fan of Think Tank’s photo accessories and I use several of their solutions on a regular basis for my photography business. Last month I flew to France to cover the 24 Heures Du Mans, arguably the …

Manfrotto 055 Mag Photo-Movie Head Review

October 10, 2023June 29, 2011 by Dan Carr

DSLRs with HD video capabilities have changed the way many of us shoot and many photographers are being asked to return from assignments with videos, or simply making that choice themselves to make their business stand out from the crowd. The problem is that DSLR video is incredibly susceptible to camera shake because in-body image stabilization has yet to be implemented in these larger cameras. Combine that with the tendency to create rolling shutter artifacts when panning too fast and you quickly realize that a good video head (fluid head) is necessary to get even a reasonable job done unless …

Fuji x100 Full Review Including Firmware Update Impressions

October 12, 2023June 27, 2011 by Dan Carr

Boy has this been a long time coming! We first learned about the Fuji x100 way back in September 2010 where it was shown in prototype form at Photokina. The internet was instantly ablaze with hands on impressions (as much as you can get from a prototype) and forums were full of excited people in love with Fuji’s classic design. An astute move by Fuji’s marketing department capitalized on peoples desire and the official x100 page gradually leaked a series of in-depth preview articles discussing every aspect of the camera over the next 8 months. By the time they actually …

Zoom H1 Audio Recorder Review

July 30, 2025June 6, 2011 by Dan Carr

The Zoom H1 has been around for a year or so now and I’ve mentioned it before on this site but only now had a good reason to pick one up for myself. At the time of writing this I’m packing my gear to head to France to shoot the 24 Heures Du Mans, arguably the worlds greatest motor race. I decided that the sound of the cars on the track would be interesting to capture for some multimedia content after the event and the H1 looks to be a reasonable solution. Ever since DSLRs began to record video, photographers …

Canon EF 500mm f4 L IS Review

July 30, 2025June 1, 2011 by Dan Carr

You might be wandering why I’m going to talk about this lens when Canon has already announced it’s replacement, due to hit store shelves in December 2011. Whilst it’s true that the new EF 500mm f4 L IS II is 17% lighter than this version, the optical improvements will be fairly minor. It’s tough to improve on the quality of any of Canon’s super telephotos. The list price of the upcoming MKII 500mm is $10,000 but the current version is selling for “only” $6900. When version 2 hits the second hand market there is sure to be an explosion of …

Introducing the F-Stop Satori EXP Backpack

July 30, 2025May 22, 2011 by Dan Carr

Last week we took a look at the newly released Guru 28 liter backpack. This week I’m giving you guys a first in-depth look at the soon to be released F-Stop Satori EXP which is due to be on sale this coming July. This pack sits at the opposite end of the Mountain Series to the Guru, with a Capacity of 62 liters and as the EXP designation implies this one will hold everything you need on your next expedition. The pack might be larger than the F-Stop Tilopa backpack, but by forgoing the waterproof TPU base seen on the …

Canon 8-15 f4 L Fisheye Image Samples

November 1, 2023May 20, 2011 by Dan Carr

If you aren’t familiar with this upcoming lens from Canon then check out my previous post with all the details. We still don’t know when this lens is going to become available and Canon is currently tight lipped about how badly production schedules are being affected by the situation in Japan. Last week though, the Canadian camera store Henry’s hosted a show in Toronto and the 8-15 f4 L was on show for all to see. What made it a little different this time is that people were allowed to use them and shoot photos of them to their own …

Quick Review: Aquatech Monopod Wrap

October 12, 2023May 17, 2011 by Dan Carr

The Australian company Aquatech are best known for their underwater camera housings but over the last few years they have been slowly releasing a range of very well thought out accessories for photographers and in particular, long lens shooters. I have an assignment coming up in June that will see me carrying my longest glass around on my monopod for a whole week whilst putting in some serious leg work. While looking over the B&H website last week I noticed this new monopod wrap from Aquatech and thought it might come in handy. It also coincided with some shooting I …

Canon T3i – Video Digital Zoom Function

October 10, 2023March 31, 2011 by Dan Carr

In Feb. 2011 Canon launched the Rebel T3i. Occasionally consumer level products offer a sneak peek at something which may filter up to pro gear in a more refined manner. The T3i, or 600D depending on where you live has one such interesting feature. The feature in question is called Video Digital Zoom. Now before you all yell BLEUGH …. digital zoom sucks… bare with me. Yes in general digital zoom does suck so this feature comes with some caveats. Unfortunately Canon has not provided any information on exactly how they are implementing this zoom mode so there is a …

The Ultimate Wildlife Lens – Canon 200-400 F4 L IS USM EXTENDER 1.4×

October 11, 2023February 7, 2011 by Dan Carr

The full press release for the Canon 200-400 first announcement can be found here. I wanted to touch on a few further thoughts about what is an incredible lens. For years Canon shooters complained about the old school style of the Canon 100-400 f4.5-5.6 L IS. With it’s push pull design many people found that it sucked in dust and there were also large variations in the quality of them. Sometimes you could get a great copy, and if you didn’t mind dealing with the odd zoom design you could make some great images with it. Many wildlife photographers used …

Canon T3i Vs. T3 (600D Vs.1100D) Which one is for you ?

October 10, 2023February 7, 2011 by Dan Carr

It’s not very often that Canon announces multiple SLR cameras on the same day, and even rarer that the two place next to each other in the product lineup. Canon just announced (FEB 2011) the new T3i and T3 DSLRS, also called the 600D and 1100D depending on whether you are in N.America or Europe. For the rest of the article I will refer to them using the N.American nomenclature of T3i and T3 but the European models are just the same! The consumer DSLR market has become incredibly competitive over the last few years especially with Sony flexing their …