With the holiday season fast approaching, it’s a good time to decide what to buy for the photographer in your life (or for yourself). In this guide, I’ve compiled a list of the best gifts for photographers in 2018. The products below are arranged by price – under $20, under $50, under $100, and over $100. I’ve used almost all these items myself and strongly recommend them. The ones I haven’t are on my own Christmas list this year!
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Sony FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA Lens Review
Introduced alongside Sony’s first full-frame mirrorless cameras in 2013, the Sony Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA lens was the first fast-aperture, “standard” focal length prime lens available for the FE mount. The 50mm prime lens has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years, with many new lenses in this focal range introduced by lens manufacturers over the last half-decade. Sony themselves now offer four different 50mm prime lens options for the FE mount. Beyond the FE 55mm f/1.8…
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How Color Impacts Photographs
At a technical level, color can be complicated; just see our recent article on sRGB vs Adobe RGB vs ProPhoto RGB. But at an artistic level, it is one of the most important parts of an image, impacting emotions and interest unlike almost any other element of photography. This article introduces the concepts of color and color relationships, including how to use them to take the best possible photographs.
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sRGB vs Adobe RGB vs ProPhoto RGB
Color spaces are essential in photography; they apply in some way to every photo you take. The most well-known color spaces are sRGB, Adobe RGB, and ProPhoto RGB. But what makes them so important? Beware: There’s a lot of misinformation about this topic online. Outdated and inaccurate recommendations abound – but so does a lot of valuable information, if you’re willing to learn it. This article introduces sRGB, Adobe RGB, and ProPhoto RGB, and when to use each one.
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Sony RX100 VI Review
Announced in June 2018, the RX100 VI is the latest iteration of the Sony’s RX100 series of pocketable high-end compact cameras. The last few years haven’t been kind on point-and-shoot cameras with smartphone cameras now the tool of choice for most casual photographic situations. This has nearly eradicated the point-and-shoot camera market, but one niche segment remains seemingly unscathed: advanced bridge cameras like the Sony RX100 VI. With its large 20.1-megapixel stacked 1-inch imaging sensor, the RX100 VI captures more…
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The 10 Elements of Composition in Photography
Sometimes, it helps to take a step back from broader discussions on creativity to look at the truly fundamental elements of composition. Although there are countless elements of composition in art as a whole, this article covers the ten most important that are specific to photography – critical parts of nearly every photo you take. They’re divided into two main categories: objects, and their relationships. These are nothing less than the building blocks of creativity.
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Nikon Z7 Firmware Update Wishlist
Without a doubt, camera firmware is one of the most important parts of any modern digital camera, and this is especially true for mirrorless cameras that have a lot more electronics compared to DSLRs. The Nikon Z7 is Nikon’s first attempt at getting into the mirrorless market. Considering that it is a first generation camera of its kind for the company, it is already highly capable and solid, something that cannot be said about other mirrorless camera launches we have…
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Understanding Focus in Photography
One important technique to understand in photography, especially when you’re starting out, is the concept of focus. If you don’t focus properly, you will end up with blurry photos even when all your other camera settings are correct. Focusing can be easy or difficult depending on your subject, like a nonmoving landscape versus a fast-moving bird in flight. This guide covers everything you need to know in order to focus properly and capture sharp images.
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PL Cyber Monday Sale – 50% Off All Courses
We are excited to offer the biggest promotion we have run to date on Photography Life on Cyber Monday. During the day tomorrow, you can grab ANY of our photography courses at a whopping 50% discount! And if that’s not enough, we are also extending our huge discount on the bundles, so that you can save even more! Please note that this offer is time sensitive and the deal will expire on Tuesday, so we recommend that you act quickly.
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Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Review
The 70-200mm focal length f/2.8 lens has become a staple in the photography world with each camera manufacturer offering their variant on this now classic design. The history of the autofocus-capable 70-200mm f/2.8 lens within the Canon universe stretches all the way back to 1989 with the introduction of the Canon 80-200mm f/2.8 L lens, whose high quality and innovative design went a long way in cementing Canon’s strong market position heading into the 90’s.
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The Very Best of Photography Holiday Deals of 2018
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals popping up left and right (and a bit early this year, no surprise!), we decided to compile some of the best for our readers. If you want to get a good gift for the holidays or just grab a great product at a low price while you can, take a look at the sales below on Nikon, Canon, Sony, and other camera equipment – there are some really good ones this year! We…
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21 Photography Tips for Intermediate Photographers
In this article, I want to share some of the most important tips I have learned as a photographer over the years – the bits of knowledge that I try to keep in mind for every photo captured, and the things I wish I knew early on. Almost all these tips are related to composition and creativity, not camera equipment, but it’s a bit deceiving; you still need a grasp of the technical side of things if you want to…
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Camera Memory Card Compatibility Guide
With so many new cameras out today, it might be difficult to figure out exactly what type of memory cards they can support. Some cameras have a single memory card slot with particular specifications, while others have dual memory card slots, sometimes with completely different specifications. We decided to make a comprehensive table with popular modern cameras and their memory card slots along with their specifications, in order to make it easy for our readers to decide what memory cards…
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Apple iPad Pro 2018 Review for Photography Needs
One of the big updates of this year from Apple was the new iPad Pro 2018 models that come with an insanely fast A12X Bionic chip that is capable of outperforming even some of Apple’s own laptops in performance. With up to to 1 TB of storage, a USB Type-C port that allows plugging in most types of accessories and devices, and a very compact / lightweight footprint, Apple has been trying to push the new iPad Pro as a…
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The Three Elements of a Good Photo
Every successful photo has three things in common, and they’re not particularly surprising. The proper aperture, exposure, and focusing distance? The right camera, lens, and tripod? Successful use of hyperfocal distance, ISO invariance, and ETTR? No! The three variables that matter the most in photography are simple: light, subject, and composition.
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Double the Distance Method Explained
One tricky part of landscape photography, along with other genres such as architecture, is making sure that your nearest and farthest subjects are both as sharp as possible. We’ve written before about a few techniques to maximize front-to-back sharpness, and I thought it would be worth emphasizing one of the most important ones again: the “double the distance” method. Here’s how it works.
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Best Entry-Level DSLRs of 2018, Ranked
At the beginning of the year, I had a chance to test several entry-level DSLRs side by side and review which ones were the best. Today, I’d like to circle back and rank some of these cameras for photographers who are trying to decide on a DSLR, either for yourself or as a gift; it’s that time of year, after all. Hopefully this list gives you a good idea of which camera will be right for you.
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Nikon Z7 Review
This is an in-depth review of the Nikon Z7, the first iteration of a high-resolution mirrorless camera that Nikon released in August of 2018. The camera was announced together with the 24 MP Nikon Z6 and the 24-70mm f/4, 35mm f/1.8 and 50mm f/1.8 Z-mount lenses. One could argue that Nikon’s entry into the mirrorless market took too long, but many Nikon shooters waited patiently for this highly-anticipated system to see the light of the day. With over 100 million…
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Shooting With The Kolari Vision 720nm and 850nm Anti-Reflective External Infrared Filters
I upgraded from an infrared-converted Nikon D7200/720nm to a Nikon D750/550nm combination this past spring. Although I suspected the D750/550nm filter would suffice for most of my infrared needs, I was hesitant to forego the bright whites produced by the 720nm filter. As such, I decided to test two of Kolari Vision’s external filters to determine how well they would perform on my D750/550nm configuration.
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Tokina 300mm f/4 ATX Review
Recently, as I packed my cameras for a trip, it dawned on me how much the contents of my camera bag have changed since the first days of my photographic journey. With all the professional grade Canon cameras and lenses neatly tucked in my bag, it was easy to forget that it wasn’t so long ago when my camera of choice was an entry-level DSLR (Sony A100) and a consumer-grade telephoto zoom lens in the form of the Tamron 70-300mm.…
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