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...
Post Archive By Spencer Cox - Page 46
Best Entry-Level DSLRs of 2025 for Beginners, Ranked
Over the years of working for Photography Life, I've had the chance to test almost every entry-level DSLR out there and review which ones are the best. Today, I’d like to circle back and rank these cameras for photographers who are trying to decide on a DSLR, either for yourself...
Colorado Mountains with the Nikon 58mm f/1.2 Noct
Now that Nikon is releasing a 58mm f/0.95 Noct for their Z system, it’s worth taking a look back at their older Noct lens - the 58mm f/1.2 - if only for curiosity's sake. This is one of Nikon’s most famous lenses, especially for portraiture and nighttime photography, where its...
Comparing 5 Top Wide-Angle Astrophotography Lenses
If you want to shoot sharp photos of stars, it helps to have the right lens for the job. After all, a good lens during the day might be a dud for resolving pinpoint stars in a photo’s corners at night. Here, I’ve tested five popular wide-angle lenses for astrophotography:...
The Refining Process: How to Visualize Your Composition
I suspect that many photographers have realized their best photos frequently come after several “getting there” images - scenes where something interesting stands out, and you gradually improve upon your early attempts, creating a composition that looks more and more refined by the end. The trend has been so clear...
Nikon Z7 First Impressions and Sample Photos
I'm sure you already know that we’re going to test the Nikon Z7 camera to its limits here at Photography Life. We have six orders coming our way in total, and we plan to put each copy through its paces while we travel to Jordan and Turkey throughout October. So...
Five Sigma Global Vision Lenses Announced
As part of a slew of Photokina-related announcements yesterday, Sigma has announced five new lenses. Four are for full-frame cameras, and one is compatible with Micro 4/3 and Sony E mount crop sensor cameras. The 28mm f/1.4 Art, 40mm f/1.4 Art, 70-200mm f/2.8 Sport, 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3, and 56mm f/1.4 (for...
Fuji GFX 50R Announcement
Fuji just announced their rumored (comparatively) affordable medium format mirrorless camera, the GFX 50R, a 51.4 megapixel camera with a rangefinder design, due in November 2018. The retail price is $4500, which, though not cheap, makes it the least expensive medium format digital camera ever upon launch. The GFX 50R's...
Recommended Fuji X100F Settings
The Fuji X100F is the fourth in Fuji's line of X100 cameras - the X100, X100S, X100T, and X100F. Although it has a refined design and fairly intuitive menu, the camera's large number of options and controls can make it overwhelming for new buyers. Hopefully, this guide will help clear...
Peak Design 45L Travel Backpack Review from a Landscape Photographer
Carrying the right amount of camera equipment in a comfortable, accessible bag is an eternal problem for photographers, or at least for me. At this point, I’ve settled on a system of a technical hiking backpack with a camera insert for my longer landscape photography trips, but I haven’t yet...