Buying Guides

Here are ten Holiday Gift Ideas for your picky photographer friends and family. We have created this list of great gear and gadgets that almost any photographer would love to have.

Why is it that everyone spends so much time and effort evaluating a SLR/DSLR camera when the lens is far more important. Don’t believe me? Then why is it that the best lenses available easily cost more than most of the SLR cameras on the market. Let me ask the question a different way.  If a professional photographer had to give up either his lenses or his camera for a lesser model, which do you think he would choose?  He will choose to give up his camera.  Why?  Because any camera that will fit his lenses will still allow him to make beautiful shots.  But the kit lens will be limiting no matter what camera its mounted to. So again I jump on my box and state what I often have stated: When you are buying a camera, you are buying into a system. So when you are considering a camera, consider all of the lenses available for that camera as well.  The interface and feel of one camera means nothing if you dont’ like the lenses available.  And once you drop a few thousand dollars on lenses for your camera, you likely aren’t going to switch brands.  So do …

So, you’re ready to purchase your second (or possibly your third) lens for you camera gear collection.  I’m going to assume you’ve been shooting with your SLR for about a year, maybe more, and you’re comfortable with the technical side of photography.  I’m also going to assume you’ve been smart about your upgrades to date and you’re adopted a reasonable upgrade philosophy.  In other words, you’re thinking intelligently about which holes you need to fill with your lens upgrades.  A second or third lens is not likely to replace the lens you already have.  I would expect that the lens you have is a jack-of-all-trades (master of none) type, something like an 18-200mm zoom with a variable max aperture starting in the f/3.5 range.  Or possibly you have two lenses, an 18-50mm and a 50-200mm, both with variable apertures starting in the f/3.5 range.  They’re good as all-around type lenses, but they aren’t allowing you to get the extra pop that you want in your photographs.  And that’s why you’re looking to upgrade.  Of course the needs of your upgrade depends on where you want to go.  And so I’ve separated out the different upgrade scenarios based on where you …

Getting ready to set up your wish lists and year-end purchases? We want you to spend your money wisely. But there are five areas where you should consider only the products that fit your needs exactly, We’ll share these product categories with you and we’ll explain why.

Third and final installment in the series, we discuss the appropriate time to upgrade, and what things should be considered when upgrading. We share with you an upgrade philosophy to help you plan for the future.

So you have a camera and you would like to know where to go next. Before you get into buying high-end lenses, there are many things to consider. This article will help you figure out what essential items you should get sooner than later.

Are you striving to get into the world of photography beyond the point-and-shoot variety? Itching to take more control over your camera? Then you’ll need to get some gear that will fit your desires. But don’t go at it alone, this handy buying guide will help you figure out what you should be looking at when buying your first intermediate setup.

Tripods come in all sizes, and price ranges.  The expensive ones are definately worthwhile and as soon as you can justify the expense, they’re well worth the price tag.  But if you’re like me, you’d rather spend what little cash is available for your hobby on things like lenses and filters.  I truly believe it’s essential for every photographer to own a tripod, but it doesn’t need to cost you an arm and a leg.  Here’s a list of essential features that your tripod should have: Strength – If the tripod can’t hold your equipment, it’s worthless.  It needs to be able to support all the weight of your gear and then-some.  The stronger your tripod is, the less it will be influenced by other forces.  Most of the time, this is the main reason for cost differences. Control – You should be able to easily use your tripod’s head.  Most of the more inexpensive tripods include a Tilt/Pan head.  Ball heads are more expensive because of their larger range of motion but may be more difficult to use.  Get whatever you are comfortable with.  Note that when you can afford a more expensive tripod, the heads are often purchased …

With the ease at which we can post-process an image these days, the concept of using a lens filter is often overlooked. Filters do a lot to improve the quality of your photos, head and shoulders above any post-processing that you can apply. The reason is simple: You are controlling the data that actually gets to the film or sensor. Filters serve one primary function: Controlling light. If you are a landscape photographer, you should have a fairly nice collection of filters in your bag. You’re dealing with an uncontrollable light source (the sun or moon), the best way to control light in your shots is to use a filter. Here are a few filters that no landscape photographer should be without.