The Hidden Cost of Saying “Gear Doesn’t Matter”
“Gear doesn’t matter” is usually spoken from a place where most decisions are already behind the speaker. It sounds supportive, even generous. The trouble begins when this sense of closure appears precisely where attention to differences, limits, and concrete choices is still required.
The New Tamron 35-100mm f/2.8 Review: Small Lens, Serious Portrait Power?
The Tamron 35-100mm f/2.8 steps into a space that many overlook, covering a range that makes sense for portraits, events, and travel without the bulk of longer zooms. If you carry gear for hours or move fast on location, weight and balance stop being small details and start shaping how you shoot.
The Lens Upgrade You Think You Need vs. the One You Actually Do
Most photographers approach lens purchases with a familiar mental checklist. They identify a problem, usually something technical, and then shop for a solution. The logic seems airtight: if the images aren't sharp enough, buy a sharper lens. If the background blur isn't creamy enough, buy something with a wider aperture. If the autofocus hunts too often, upgrade to the newest generation with better motors and tracking algorithms. That's wrong.
Canon RF 28-70mm f/2.8 IS STM Review: A Lighter Take on the Standard Zoom
Canon’s RF 28-70mm f/2.8 IS STM fills a gap that many ignore until they need it. If you’ve ever avoided a standard zoom because of weight, this lens quietly challenges that decision.
Can 12 Megapixels Really Be Enough?
The idea that 12 megapixels is not enough has been repeated so often that you might accept it without testing it yourself. The Sony ZV-E1 challenges that assumption in a way that forces you to rethink how much resolution you actually need.
Tamron Announces the 35-100mm f/2.8 Di III VXD for Sony E-Mount and Nikon Z-Mount
Tamron has announced the 35-100mm f/2.8 Di III VXD, a constant-aperture standard zoom lens for full frame Sony E-mount and Nikon Z-mount mirrorless cameras. The lens will be available on March 26, 2026, priced at $899 for the Sony E-mount version and $929 for the Nikon Z-mount version ($1,249 CAD and $1,299 CAD, respectively).
WANDRD PRVKE 21L Zip V4 Review: Best Bag for Photography and More?
The WANDRD PRVKE 21 L has been a popular camera bag, typically nailing its Kickstarter campaign goals just minutes after launching. V4 of this bag has just been released. This is a review of the 21 L Zip, with this model dispensing with the roll-top. I'll go over what I like and what I didn't like.
The Complete Photographer's Guide to Memory Cards: Specs, Speeds, and What Actually Matters
Memory cards are the most overlooked purchase decision in photography. We agonize over camera bodies for months, research lenses obsessively, and then grab whatever SD card is on sale at checkout. This approach works fine until you're shooting a wedding and your buffer locks up during the first dance, or you're recording an interview and the camera stops mid-sentence because your card couldn't keep up.
From Everyday Carry to Day Hike: WANDRD PRVKE V4 Backpack Review
If you only had one bag that can fit your camera gear comfortably, can let you bring it every day, can withstand less-than-ideal environments, and can adapt to other things when you don’t need your camera, this might be one to consider.
Sky Replacements Didn’t Ruin Landscape Photography: This Argument Ruined It
Uh oh. A conversation about AI in photography? Let the witch hunt begin. We all know that AI is rapidly becoming a dominant and controversial topic in our industry. I am not here to proclaim one way or another, but simply to open a dialogue between the technical modernization of art and, of course, the purism of the art form.
Commercial Real Estate Photography: The Overlooked Market With Real Money
Commercial real estate photography is getting more serious, and agents are paying attention. If you already shoot residential listings, there’s a clear opening to step into higher-paying work without starting over.
Premiere 26.0 Drops “Pro” and Adds Powerful AI Masking
Premiere Pro is no longer called Premiere Pro. With version 26.0, Adobe has renamed it Premiere on Desktop, and that shift comes with tools that could change how you handle masking, transitions, and overall timeline speed.
APS-C vs Full Frame: The Sales Numbers No One Talks About
Full frame cameras dominate headlines, but APS-C models are quietly outselling them by a wide margin. Shipments in 2025 show a gap that challenges the idea that bigger sensors are the obvious end goal.
Putting the Peak Design Travel Backpack Through Its Paces: Making the Grade
I've been looking for a bag that meets my needs for a long time. I've always been a traveling photographer, taking my gear to some of the hottest, coldest, wettest, and driest places on the planet. A bag has to do a lot to make the grade. Escalating my needs, over the last few years I've also been working as a photography guide in Canada's sub-Arctic, the high Arctic, and Antarctica. These regions don't settle for everyday quality. In these extreme environments, the bags either work or your gear gets ruined.
Choosing The Best Prime Lens: Size Matters
There are so many fabulous prime lenses that have been launched these past 12 months—and continue to be launched—it’s hard to know which direction to go if you’re looking to buy a new one. The choice can be overwhelming and confusing.
An example that has stood out for me recently is 35mm primes. Viltrox has an astoundingly good, yet large, 35mm f/1.2 LAB. In comparison, there’s Artizlab’s tiny Classic 35mm f/1.4. Two 35mm lenses new to market, both shoot very fast. One weighs around 970 g—the other, a mere 157 g. It is quite a difference.
Why Instant Film Is Winning While 35mm Film Is Dying
The analog photography revival is real. You can see it at every wedding reception with a disposable camera basket, every college campus where students dangle point-and-shoots from their wrists, every TikTok tutorial on how to load a roll of Kodak Gold. But if you follow the money instead of the aesthetics, you'll find two radically different stories unfolding under the same "film is back" umbrella.
Nikon ZR vs Nikon Z8: Side-by-Side Tests That May Surprise You
The Nikon ZR promises cinema-level features in a body that overlaps heavily with the Nikon Z8, and that overlap raises a real question about what you’re actually gaining. If you shoot both photo and video, the choice affects how you work day to day, not just how your footage looks.
How to Use a Strip Softbox for Portraits: Key Light, Rim Light, and Background Setups
A strip softbox can change the way your portraits look with one small shift in light placement. If you shoot people and want more control over shape, edge highlights, and background spill, this modifier earns its place fast.
When Wide Angle Isn’t Enough for Landscape Photos
Southern Utah forces you to think bigger. When the land stretches for miles and the sky takes up half the frame, small compositional mistakes get exposed fast.
Stop Letting Couples Text at Midnight: Real Communication Rules for Wedding Work
Clear communication shapes every part of your wedding business, from the first inquiry to the final gallery delivery. If you handle it poorly, you invite stress, missed bookings, and couples who expect access to you at all hours.