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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About Dvir Barkay
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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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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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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Hoya Pro1 Digital Circular Polarizing Filter Review
This is a review of the Hoya Pro1 Digital Circular Polarizing Filter in both 72mm and 77mm filter thread sizes. Polarizing filters are designed to reduce glare and reflections of light while at the same time greatly enhancing the natural colors and saturation of an image. This filter is produced by Hoya which is one of the most respected producers of photographic filters, ocular lenses, and optical components in Japan.
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Sony FE 2x Teleconverter Review
Released in 2016 alongside the Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS and Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter is an essential addition to Sony’s full-frame E-mount lineup. Given the relative lack of dedicated telephoto options available to the mount, the Sony FE 2x Teleconverter dramatically enhances the versatility of the lenses it is compatible with: the Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS, the Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS and the recently released Sony 400mm f/2.8 GM…
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Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM Review
Frequently overshadowed by their more versatile brethren, macro lenses rarely receive much fanfare upon their release. Nonetheless, it is their function as close-up-photography specialists that makes them essential for a range of photographic pursuits like product photography, print reduction and close-up photography of living subjects. This role has made macro lenses a vital element of a camera manufacture’s lens catalog. Their niche design means that that new macro lenses are released rather infrequently, but all major manufactures have at least…
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Recommended Sony A9 Settings
Sony’s first professional-grade sports-oriented camera, the A9, has created quite a stir ever since its introduction last year. It’s a 24MP, full-frame mirrorless camera that takes up to 20 frames per second with no viewfinder blackout, native 4K video recording, silent operation, and a price that massively undercuts the competition. The result is a camera that is designed to compete with the best of Canon and Nikon’s offerings. In this article, I will provide information on how to best set up…
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Guide to Motion Blur and Panning in Photography
In photography, conveying motion is one of the most challenging tasks due to the very nature of a stills photograph. You are essentially freezing a specific moment in time rather than capturing the whole of the sequence from which this moment originates. When set to fast shutter speeds, our cameras can break down whole events into precise frames that tell a story in hundredths and thousands of a second. Nowhere are fast shutter speeds more common than in the fields…
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Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS Review
Announced alongside the Sony Alpha 9 body last year, the Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM is a crucial addition to Sony’s expanding full-frame E-mount lineup. The last couple of years has seen Sony release some beautiful lenses for their full-frame mirrorless cameras, but a glaring hole remained at the telephoto range of the lineup. With the introduction of the Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM, Sony has released a lens that covers a very useful focal range that can appeal to…
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Sony A9 Review
In the camera world, real innovation is hard to come by and indeed more elusive than the camera manufacturers would like us to believe. Nowhere is this more pronounced than in the field of professional sports, wedding, and action photography where Canon and Nikon’s hegemony has created a field of highly competent cameras whose qualities are tied to their reliability and consistency more so than their innovation. Based on the decades-old DSLR design, these cameras rely on having accurate focusing…
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What Is Back-Button Focus?
One of the key areas many photographers often struggle with, especially when starting out, is focusing. Being able to properly acquire focus on a subject or a scene is critical in making sure that the photograph is sharp where it needs to be. In this article, we will cover back-button focus in detail and go over its pros and cons. If you are not yet familiar with this technique, check it out below, as it might change the way you…
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How to Photograph Wildlife in Yellowstone National Park
This is the final installment of our guide to photographing wildlife in Yellowstone. The new page (the seventh in this guide) offers suggestions for photographing bison, pronghorn, and more animals in Lamar Valley. Or, start at the beginning to see tips for photographing wildlife in Yellowstone everywhere from Fishing Bay Bridge to Washburn Range.
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Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM Review
Introduced in 1999, the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM has long been regarded as a benchmark in Canon’s lineup in terms of image sharpness and focusing performance. At the time of its introduction, the EF 300mm f/2.8L IS replaced the very successful EF 300mm f/2.8L USM which was one of Canons best lenses. With this update, Canon gave the EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM a wholly new optical formula with one fluorite element and two UD-glass elements along with…
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Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x Review
This is an in-depth review of the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM with a built-in 1.4x extender, a telephoto zoom lens targeted at enthusiast and professional action photographers. For many years, Canon users shooting serious wildlife and sports photography had come to accept that the only telephoto lenses on offer by Canon that achieved top of the line performance were their prime lenses. At the time, the only Canon zoom lens in the telephoto range was the Canon EF…
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What to Photograph in Costa Rica
The forest floor gave way to a small black pond which was by now almost indistinguishable from the muddy trail which led to its bank. Towering over the basin of the pond were the Ceiba trees, like obscure shadows that were closing a casket over the ground below. Every now and then an opening in the forest canopy revealed a night sky which had grown far more compelling since we first set out at dusk. La Selva was rich with…
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What to Photograph in the Yucatan Peninsula
The sweltering January sun offered little respite from the hounding mosquitoes which prowled the ruins of Chichen Itza in the Mexican Yucatan. Known since the early years of the Spanish conquest, the once glorious city had been eroded by centuries of isolation by the time British explorer and archaeologist Alfred Maudslay first set foot there in 1888. While strong willed and greatly experienced by his previous forays in the ancient Mayan cities of Guatemala, Maudslay endured tremendous hardships for his…
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What to Photograph in Greece
Greece is one of those countries one must visit in their lifetime, thanks to its rich historic and cultural heritage, stunning landmarks and its natural beauty. Although there are many spots to check out in Greece, I will guide you through some of the most ancient and beautiful parts of this amazing country.
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Dabbling in Street Photography
I am a nature photographer. The implication being that the bulk of my work concentrates on documenting and working with the natural world around me. Now one can make the claim that human beings are very much a natural part of the environment. But over time, our uniqueness as a species and our unique way of life has created a strong distinction between ourselves and the natural world which we inhabit (and so often destroy in the process). My work…
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Fire and Brimstone
A little less then a year ago I posted an article at PL detailing the itinerary of a day in Yellowstone National Park. Since that article I had the pleasure of revisiting the park during my yearly foray to the land of “fire and brimstone.” The reason I visit the first National Park of the United States history every year is for a project I have undertaken to document the change of seasons that occurs there every autumn. Yellowstone National…
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