The market for compact and lightweight tripods has exploded in recent years. Well, Falcam has decided to stir the pot with their new TreeRoot carbon fiber tripod that challenges the big leagues in a compelling way. Is it the right choice for you? It certainly offers plenty within its portable frame.
For landscape photography, summer is a curse. Harsh, bright light and blue skies give some photographers nightmares. They stay inside and read Fstoppers articles. Probably. No one really knows—they keep so quiet. Maybe they should read this article, because summer just so happens to be a fabulous time of year to grab a camera and wander into town for a spot of street photography.
Earlier this year, Insta360 released its first AI-powered smartphone gimbal, packed with impressive features, including Deep Track 4.0, which offers advanced tracking capabilities. However, many of these advanced features were exclusive to iPhones, leaving a gap for Android users. Fortunately, Insta360 has addressed this with the release of its latest AI Tracker attachment for the highly popular Flow 2 Pro smartphone gimbal—an easy-to-use attachment that enables Android users to take full advantage of the gimbal’s advanced AI tracking algorithm.
The Nikon 35mm f/1.4 and 35mm f/1.8 lenses are both excellent, offering different advantages depending on your needs. Here's which one to pick for your bag.
If you’ve ever wanted to dive deep into the entire process of editing a photo—from raw files to final stylization—this video is a must-watch. It’s a thorough tutorial that walks you through every step, and trust me, it’s packed with insights.
Creating dreamy images is more than just throwing effects on a finished photo. Learning specific compositional techniques can significantly increase how evocative your images become.
I am not going to lie, I have been stuck in an awful rut for almost a year. My creativity took a dramatic fall, and I had no get-up-and-go when it came to photography. Until now...
When working in Photoshop, even the most powerful computer can sometimes lag as projects grow more complex. This can become frustrating and disrupt your creative process. Rather than jumping to expensive hardware upgrades, consider optimizing your current setup.
The chemical stains on Samuel McKinney's hands told the story of his profession before he ever opened his mouth. Fine brown flecks of silver nitrate freckled his fingertips; years of handling pyrogallic developer had yellowed his nails. His clothes reeked faintly of sulfur and ether no matter how many times his wife scrubbed them.
Choosing between shade and backlighting for outdoor portraits can dramatically affect how your subject appears. Knowing when to use each can elevate the quality and style of your photography significantly.
It’s been a while since I’ve used a lens that felt like a must-have. That's because most lenses have simply been upgraded versions of past offerings. But this lens is different.
The recent resurrection of film and instant film cameras never really interested me until a few months ago. I love shooting digital, mostly because I can just keep going until my heart is content, but that was until I discovered this gem of an instant film camera.
While the 360 camera market has seen a lot of entries from established names like GoPro and Ricoh, as well as upstarts like Insta360 and Kandao, there's one industry giant that's been notably silent: DJI. That may about to change.
I’m a victim of Instagram ads. They are responsible for an unsettling number of impulse purchases I’ve made, and the most recent is the Godox Lux Master Retro Camera Flash.
Coming from a photography background, venturing into the video realm can feel overwhelming. While I'm confident in most aspects of photography, the learning curve for filmmaking is steep and often more complicated than expected.
Photography has always been about capturing light to preserve moments. For over a century, that meant exposing a roll of film and then disappearing into a darkroom or waiting for a lab to develop the images. It’s easy to forget how different this process was before digital cameras came along. In the 1970s, the idea of instantly seeing a photo on a screen felt like science fiction. Yet it was in this era of film and chemicals that a young engineer quietly built a device that would change photography forever. What follows is the story of how the first digital camera was invented and how it transformed the way we take and share photos.
I’ve gotten to spend some time getting to know Canon’s newest flagship camera, the Canon EOS R1. And I’ve got thoughts.
ASUS has announced its latest laptop designed for creative professionals, the ProArt P16 (H7606), featuring high-end specifications tailored to the demands of digital artists, video editors, and content creators.
The Think Tank Walker Pro 24L is a bag designed for versatility, durability, and comfort. Its sleek profile is ideal for the photographer on the go. Does the bag hold up to its predecessor?
Throughout November and December, demand for portrait sessions, product photography, event coverage, and gift-giving surges, presenting photographers with both opportunities and vulnerabilities. Increased business volume, higher-value transactions, and a need for rapid turnaround create conditions ripe for specific types of threats. These threats often come from external malicious actors who exploit holiday chaos.
Whether you’re working with portraits or textured scenes, sharpening helps guide the viewer’s eye to key elements. Here's how to do it like a pro using Photoshop.
When Dwarflab announced the development of the Dwarf 3 Smart Telescope, I could not contain my excitement. I thoroughly enjoy astrophotography. For me, that has been limited to subjects like the Milky Way or Aurora Borealis. Deep Space photography and solar imagery have always been a dream of mine, but the learning curve and costs can be extraordinary. The Dwarf 3’s promises are big, but does it deliver? In this article, I put this smart telescope to the test.
I love space! Seriously! Whenever we have clear skies, I really appreciate spending my time looking up at the...
An 85mm lens with reliable autofocus and decent optics can make a noticeable difference in your portrait work. But with costs often in the thousands, getting great portraits often means balancing price, functionality, and performance carefully.
If you're in the market for a new macro lens for your Sony E or Nikon Z mount, you're definitely going to want to check out the new Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Di III VXD. I recently had the pleasure of testing this lens to review for you all, and I have to say, in price, quality, and features, it is spot on. Let's dive into it, and I'll share why.
Mistakes are an unavoidable part of film photography, often teaching lessons far more memorable than successes. You may be all too familiar with the frustration of putting effort into your photos, only to ruin the results later in the development stage through impatience or oversight.
Portable flash units that balance power with versatility are valuable tools for creative lighting setups. The Godox AD200Pro II TTL Pocket Flash builds on its predecessor’s success with thoughtful upgrades, including better cooling, enhanced modeling lights, and improved usability.
You don’t get good fast prime lenses at a bargain price—definitely not below $400. That’s what we thought. But this lens from Sirui seems to be an absolute hidden gem that we need to talk about.
Ricoh Imaging has officially announced the development of the GR IV, the newest model in its GR series of compact digital cameras. Scheduled to be released in Autumn 2025, the GR IV continues the GR tradition of prioritizing high image quality, responsiveness, and portability, aiming to be a versatile and highly capable snapshot camera.
Zoner Studio’s Spring 2025 update introduces a smarter, faster way to edit photos, built around a powerful new AI-driven Local Adjustments tool. Formerly known as Zoner Photo Studio X, the software has been renamed to reflect its evolution—but everything familiar is still here, just with more power under the hood.
Lenses like the Sigma 35mm f/1.2 Art and Sony 35mm f/1.4 GM have long dominated the fast 35mm space on Sony E-mount. But Viltrox, with its new 35mm f/1.2 FE LAB, is aiming right at the high end. Is this latest entry in Viltrox’s already impressive LAB series a competitor for the best-performing 35mm on E-mount?
Always photograph with the end in mind. Make life easier for the guy in the darkroom, or the person in Lightroom—usually you.
Editing in dramatic black and white images can elevate the impact of your shots significantly. It’s a way to strip away distractions and focus on the emotions and details that make scenes compelling.
Sigma has continued to enhance its reputation for crafting high-quality, affordable optics, and its new RF-mount lenses—the 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary and 56mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary—are no exception. Designed with APS-C sensors in mind, these lenses aim to provide a balance of portability, performance, and cost-efficiency, making them highly appealing to enthusiasts and professionals alike. Here’s a closer look at what makes these lenses stand out, their practical performance, and their specific pros and cons.
The latest AI selection tools in Lightroom and Photoshop are set to significantly simplify your editing process. By automating precise selections, these tools reduce the complexity of edits, allowing you to focus more on creative decisions.
OM System has announced the release of the OM-5 Mark II. It’s an evolution from the Mark I, adding some much sought-after improvements to this popular camera's predecessor.
With modern zoom lenses for mirrorless cameras getting better and better each year, more people lean towards their utility, and this is especially common in all-purpose APS-C lenses like Sigma’s 18-50 f/2.8 and Tamron’s 17-70 f/2.8—but which of the two is better?
Shift lenses, or tilt-shift lenses, are pretty rare across all brands and seem to be quite an engineering challenge. Most of us thought that their ability to zoom was impossible, but Laowa seems to have proven otherwise.
When even a compact tripod is too large, photographers don’t have many options for supporting their gear outside of tabletop tripods. In that narrow market, the offerings can feel gimmicky or cheap. In contrast, Leofoto’s MT-04 brings their CNC-machined aluminum build quality and feature-rich ball head to the smallest total tripod package I’ve tried.
Photoshop is a powerful tool for enhancing deep space images, offering capabilities that go beyond traditional astrophotography software.
In this article, I share the photo editing workflow I use for all my photos, and if you want to achieve high-quality results, this is for you.
SmallRig has joined forces with YouTuber Gene ‘Potato Jet’ Nagata, resulting in the SmallRig x Potato Jet Tribex video tripod. This hydraulic tripod can be set up in just a few seconds, making it perfect for situations where speed is of the essence. This is my honest review of this unique tripod.
New camera gear can be exciting, but the novelty wears off fast. If you’ve ever bought something new only to feel uninspired after a few weeks, you’re not alone. Better photos don’t come from better gear; they come from better habits. Developing the right habits can improve your work more than any new camera or lens ever will.
Some cameras are built for power, others for portability. Micro Four Thirds cameras aim to balance both, offering a lightweight system without sacrificing performance. But with full frame cameras becoming more affordable and APS-C sensors improving, is Micro Four Thirds still worth it?
When photographers debate lens quality, few brands stir up as much discussion as Zeiss. The Zeiss 55mm f/1.8, despite being over a decade old, still attracts plenty of attention—and debate.
I’ve spent a lot of time pondering the best prime lens to use in recent years, as I’ve wanted to keep my gear to a minimum. Not so much to save on bulk or weight when taking it on a trip somewhere, but more to simplify my photography. I like just having one or two prime lenses. It forces me to work a little harder and look a little harder for compositions. That, to me, is what photography is all about. We should put a little effort into our craft and enjoy the process as we do it.
With so many carbon fiber travel tripods on the market, it's hard to know which is right for you. However, Falcam has just released its latest TreeRoot tripod, which will turn some heads.
