Kamerakraft is a small (pretty much one person) company located in France offering grips for M-mount cameras, straps and a few additional accessories. We will be having a look at their LM10Grip V2.1 for the Leica M10 series here.
Martin recently reviewed Lomo’s replica of a Petzval lens. I commented, perhaps slightly snidely, that vintage Petzval lenses are still around, often for less money, and often with better centre sharpness – and certainly with a vast choice of models and thus rendition nuances.
Martin suggested I share my knowledge in an article. And like an inverse Spice Girl, one became two. This one seeks to introduce you to the weird magic of Petzval lenses and their widespread availability from old cinema film projectors. The next will look at adapting them, and indeed any old projection lens, to a modern-day camera.
So here we go, I guess.
All pictures were taken on full-frame evils: a Sony a7r2 and an a7cr. Some were cropped; all were adjusted for proper blacks and whites according to ancient darkroom principles. None had additional sharpening or aberration correction applied.
Continue reading Projector Lenses – Reviving the Joy of Old Petzval Lenses (Guest Article)
Pergear entered the memory card market later than many of the bigger players, but in 2022 and 2023 they launched high-spec CFexpress Type B and Type A cards at far more budget-friendly prices. They’re quickly carving out a place for themselves alongside more established brands.
When they asked if I wanted to test their newest card, I agreed—mainly because I wanted to see how it stacks up against the cards I already use in my cameras. Let’s take a closer look.
I tested this card on a 46 Mp Nikon Z7ii
You can see this review as a YouTube video here!
TTArtisan had earlier released LED lamps in the shape of a 35mm film roll. Later, they also released the RGB version of those lamps. Tiny LED lamps that can be easily carried in a pocket and hidden behind any object to be photographed, adding an extra element to the images. Now, they have released camera flashes in that format, the M01 flash together with the wirelless trigger J01. Let’s have a brief look at them.
I tested these falshes on a Nikon Zf and a Nikon Zfc.
You can see this review as a YouTube video here!
Sample images in high resolution here.
Continue reading Review: TTArtisan Flash M01 + Wireless Trigger J01
Do you even need a tripod these days? To be honest, the necessity of tripods has been significantly reduced thanks to highly effective in-body image stabilisation, improved image quality at high ISOs and AI noise reduction, super-wide dynamic range of today’s digital sensors, and in-camera HDR modes.
Despite modern tech making tripods less necessary in some situations, they’re still invaluable in plenty of others. Tripods remain essential for long-exposure and astro photography, staging group photos, and focus stacking, to achieve sharp and crisp landscapes from close foreground to infinity, and especially for macro photography. Other applications where tripods are crucial include architectural photography, when you need to set up your camera with supreme precision, or when taking a series of shots with incremental panning to create panoramas. They also free up your hands for attaching or removing accessories like lens filters and microphones. Furthermore, tripods are indispensable for video work and studio photography.
So, which tripod should you choose?
Many of us know about high-end tripods like Gitzo and RRS, but are we always willing to pay a premium for that level of quality and reputation? And what about newer, lesser-known brands? one of them: the Fotopro Origin Plus Travel Tripod, a model that promises innovation and stability at a competitive price. Let’s have a look!
You can see this review as a YouTube video here!
Sample images in high resolution here.
