Best spotting scopes of 2022

Pablò, Unsplash Best for photographers Nikon Fieldscope ED50 Angled Check Price Attaches to your DSLR with a 50mm lens that helps you focus on every color.  Best for stargazers Celestron Regal M2 100ED Check Price A 100mm lens delivers vivid images and the 20x minimum magnification brings the night sky to your backyard.  Best budget… Continue reading Best spotting scopes of 2022

The Nikon Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S is a smaller, lighter, more affordable super-tele

Nikon With only a few gaps over the years—most notably from 2005 to 2013—Nikon has nearly always included a powerful 800mm telephoto lens in its lineup, going all the way back to the mid-1960s. Yet for its fledgling mirrorless Z-mount, the lens selection has until now been curtailed at the 400mm mark, at least without… Continue reading The Nikon Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S is a smaller, lighter, more affordable super-tele

The photographer’s guide to thrifting

Earlier this year, The New York Times reported on the comeback of 35mm SLR film cameras. Even as smartphone cameras improve, millennials and Gen Zers continue to rediscover the joys of buying second-hand gear on Etsy and eBay. According to eBay, vintage camera sales have been on the rise since 2015, and the pandemic era… Continue reading The photographer’s guide to thrifting

Best telephoto lenses of 2022

Zoom in with precision. Harrison Haines, Pexels A quality telephoto lens is typically one of the first speciality lenses that a photographer adds to their gear bag. A 70-200mm lens is considered a medium-tele length and proves useful for many photographers for its versatility. It can shoot everything from portraits to wildlife and sports.  Technically speaking,… Continue reading Best telephoto lenses of 2022

New gear: Samyang AF 35mm f/1.4 FE II focuses faster, handles better

Samyang Back in 2016, South Korean optics manufacturer Samyang (also known by Rokinon) made headlines with its first-ever autofocus-equipped lenses, a pair of primes for Sony E-mount. It has since expanded its AF-capable lens lineup considerably. And late last year, Samyang began overhauling those earliest designs, first with an update to the 50mm f/1.4 prime.… Continue reading New gear: Samyang AF 35mm f/1.4 FE II focuses faster, handles better

Is this prototype Leica the world’s most expensive camera?

Leitz Photographica Auction The 40th Leitz Photographica Auction (which also celebrates the auction house’s 20th anniversary) is taking place this June. It’s the biggest opportunity for photographic collectors to drop five-, six-, and seven-figure sums on important, weird, and otherwise wonderful camera gear. At the 39th Leitz Auction, for example, the headline Leica MP Black… Continue reading Is this prototype Leica the world’s most expensive camera?

10 Instagram accounts to follow if you love nature & wildlife photography

Dan Bracaglia Nature photography has been around ever since the dawn of the photographic process. After all, the very first commercially published book of photographs, by one of the earliest inventors of the medium, William Henry Fox Talbot, was called The Pencil of Nature. And while many of the subjects of his photographs (calotypes) were… Continue reading 10 Instagram accounts to follow if you love nature & wildlife photography

New gear: Sony 16-35mm f/4 power zoom lens for full-frame mirrorless

Sony Sony’s lineup of E-mount “power zoom” lenses—those with electronically-powered zoom control—has just grown to six with the arrival of the new Sony FE PZ 16-35mm f/4 G zoom. Shipping this summer, it’s just the second E-mount power-zoom to support full-frame bodies, joining the Sony 28-135mm f/4. It’s also the smallest lens of its type… Continue reading New gear: Sony 16-35mm f/4 power zoom lens for full-frame mirrorless

Best telescopes for 2022

Celestron Best for astrophotography Celestron NexStar 8SE Telescope Check Price It guides you toward the good stuff. Best value Coleman Astrowatch Reflector Telescope Check Price Look deep into the sky on a small budget. Best for kids Celestron PowerSeeker 70EQ Telescope Check Price This beginner-friendly scope leaves room to grow. The best telescopes really resonate… Continue reading Best telescopes for 2022

Before color photography, there was the Lippmann process

Nick Brandreth Nick Brandreth fell in love with alternative processes during an apprenticeship at the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York over a decade ago. When the apprenticeship ended, he was hired by the museum and has been leading workshops and researching historic photographic processes ever since. He can teach you how to make… Continue reading Before color photography, there was the Lippmann process