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13 Best Accessories for the Fuji X100F

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Continuing my coverage of the Fujifilm X100F, I wanted to detail the accessories that I deemed best to go with this awesome little camera. Vello LH-X100 Lens Hood (+Filter Adapter) The X100F doesn’t come with a lens hood and you have the option of buying the official Fuji one, or the Vello one for one third of the price. I decided to check out the Vello one, and I’m really pleased that I did! It’s essentially identical to the Fuji one, apart from the Vello name stamped on it. I do wish they hadn’t branded it with such large lettering, …

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Gear Check: My Fujifilm X100F Is Here!

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Fujifilm got so much right with the original X100, launched way back in 2010, that all subsequent versions of the camera still look almost identical at first glance. The X100S and X100T models both sported a 16MP X-Trans sensor, and seemed like relatively small updates over the first version, but Fuji caught my eye when they launched the X100F. The “F” jumps up to a 24MP APS-C sensor, the same one in the much loved X-T2 and X-Pro2. It also features a 91-point AF system and processing speeds that allow it to shoot in RAW at up to 8fps. On …

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Gear Check: FA-HSA Hot Shoe Adapter From Really Right Stuff

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Last month I came across this awesome little accessory that I think many people might find different uses for. It’s called the FA-HSA Hot Shoe Adapter and it’s made by Really Right Stuff, makers of the best camera support gear on the planet in my opinion (just check my gear list!). Note that at the moment, the FA-HSA is not listed amongst all the other RRS gear on the B&H Photo website for some reason. I suspect this is because it’s a relatively new addition to their lineup. You can buy it direct from RRS though, and I’ll make sure …

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Think Tank Vs. Aquatech Eyepieces

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I recently began using the new Aquatech Sport Shield Rain Covers for some of my camera setups and I’ve been incredibly impressed by them. Just like the Think Tank rain covers, the Aquatech ones require the use of a camera-specific eye piece. When I first wrote this blog post Think Tank were selling their eyepieces for $35 and the Aquatech ones were only $20. Much of the purpose of the post was to inform people that the Aquatech one work with the Think Tank covers, and therefore you can save yourself a bit of money. Well, fast-forward a little bit …

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Gear of the Year – 2016

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What new gear did I come to rely on in 2016? Which items outperformed my expectations and what has earned itself a permanent place in my gear closet?

Gear Check: New Lens – Canon 24-105 f/4 L IS II

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I’ve added the Canon 24-105 f/4 L IS II to my kit recently, so I thought I’d write a little about that decision, and explain what I’m most likely to use it for. When the Canon 5D Mark II came out many years ago, I purchased it as a kit with the original 24-105 f/4 L IS and used that lens for some years. It was responsible for creating some of favourite images back then, although you could not call it an absolutely stellar performer in terms of image sharpness. It was adequate for professional use, but never blew my …

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Gift Ideas for Photographers

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Every year I put together a gift guide on Shutter Muse at this time of year, and it’s usually one of the most popular posts of the year. Over the past few years I have been carefully monitoring which products people click on in these guides, and this helps me craft a list of items that I know people are really going to be interested in! There’s something for everyone in this year’s guide, and even if you don’t need to shop for a gift right now, it’s a great way to check out some of the awesome little gadgets …

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Gear Check: LensCoat LensSack

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Anyone that dabbles in wildlife photography should have a photography bean bag in their kit. There are many opportunities to photograph wildlife from a vehicle, whether it’s your own car or a jeep on safari. When you do that, you’ll need a place to rest your camera! In fact, bean bags are much more useful than that. You can also use the on the ground to get beautiful low angle images of shorebirds on a beach, or any number of other small creatures. The first bean bag I got was the Gura Gear Sabi Sack, now sold by Tamrac under …

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My Biggest Annoyance with the Canon 5D Mark IV

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There’s no such thing as the perfect camera, and whilst I have been extremely happy with the 5D Mark IV in general, there’s something that really began to frustrate me on my recent trip to The Canadian Rockies: Cropped 4k video. Although Canon might tell you otherwise, the 5D Mark IV is not a camera that has been designed for video professionals. It lacks even basic video camera software functions like focus peaking. That said, it does shoot in 4K and delivers video files that can look pretty good. Since I had this 4k capability in my day-to-day camera, naturally …

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The Lens I Wasn’t Sure I Could Love: Canon 11-24mm f/4 L

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I picked up the Canon 11-24mm f/4 L earlier this year, and at the time it was a bit of a rushed decision. Canon was about to implement a significant price increase, and I’d had it in mind that I might buy the lens later in the year anyway. I had two worries about this lens before I bought it. Firstly, I knew it was huge compared to my other small zooms like the 16-35 f/4 L IS, and the 24-70 f/2.8 L II – lenses that are basically always in my bag. Secondly, the bulbous front glass element prevents …

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Gear Check: GoPro Hero5 Black

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GoPro recently launched the new Hero5 Black and Hero5 Session, alongside an impressive looking drone called the Karma. I often take a GoPro on photography trips because I like to use them to capture some behind the scenes content, like this aerial timelapse that I posted earlier in the year. Up until now, I’ve been using the Hero4 Black which shot 4k video, but didn’t have an LCD screen. If you wanted the LCD screen, you had to use the Hero4 Silver, but this didn’t shoot 4k. Frankly, GoPro’s product lineup was rather silly up to this point, but now …

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