The Phoblographer

You can save on the gear you want thanks to these tremendous camera sales.

If you’ve been saving up for a new camera, now’s the time to buy! You can grab a Canon EOS R for just $1,599! The OM Digital Solutions (Olympus) E-M1X is only $1,999. If you’ve been eyeing the Sony a7 III, now you can get one for $1,698! The a7r II is $1,598, the a7r III is $2,298, and the a7r IV is just $2,998! You can save $1,000 on the Sony a9 as well! Then, there are massive deals from Pansonic. The ‘built like a tank’ G9 can be yours for only $1,097.99. The Panasonic G7 with a lens can be had for only $497.99! Come and see all the other camera sales.

Be sure to check out our reviews section. You’ll find it’s one of the most comprehensive review databases on the web. All the cameras below are there. There are also hundreds of reviews on camera bags, lighting gear, lenses, accessories, software, and more. Now, check out the camera sales below and snap up these deals while you can! The deals will be over soon.

Mirrorless Camera Sales

Canon

Canon EOS RP Full-frame Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera + RF24-105mm Lens f4-7.1 IS STM Lens $1,299 (Save $100)

Canon EOS R Mirrorless Camera $1,599 (Save $200)

Olympus Camera Sales

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II Black Body with M.Zuiko Digital 12-200mm F3.5-6.3 Lens Kit $1,699 (Save $300)

Olympus OM-D E-M1X $1,999 (Save $1,000)

Panasonic

Panasonic LUMIX G7KS 4K 14-42 mm Lens Kit $497.99 (Save $302)

Panasonic LUMIX G9 Body Only $1,097.99 (Save $202)

Sony Camera Sales

Sony a7R II, Body Only $1,598 (Save $200)

Sony a7 III $1,698 (Save $300)

Sony a7 III with 28-70mm Lens $1,898 (Save $300)

Sony a7R III $2,298 (Save $501.99)

Sony α7R IV $2,998 (Save $501.99)

Sony a9 $2,998 (Save $1,001.99)

When you need to get from shoot to published the fastest, which photo editor excels at culling, importing, and exporting?

Between the shoot and the edit is the cull — the dreaded time spent sitting behind the computer, sifting through photos for keepers. Slow software only makes the tedious task worse. Importing can take several minutes, even hours, with large uploads. But, can a specific photo editor speed up the culling process?

I speed tested several programs to find the fastest photo editors. Watching photos upload is the photography equivalent to watching paint dry, but timing the process helped illuminate which programs offered the most culling speed. I focused on the importing, culling, and exporting process and briefly looked at the time required to load individual images.

I timed five popular culling programs and photo editors. Out of those five, one is a photo browser designed only for the culling process without editing tools: Photo Mechanic Plus. The other four are photo editors with RAW digital asset management built-in: Adobe Lightroom, Capture One, DxO PhotoLab, and Luminar 4.

The Photo Editors Speed Test Rubric

To test each photo editor’s speed, I worked with roughly 6 GB of data – 110 RAW files from the Nikon D850. I focused on culling rate: testing importing, building previews, and exporting. I did not test the speed of editing tools, which are typically brief enough to be difficult to time accurately.

Speed varies based on several different factors. These programs were run on a 2015 MacBook Pro running Big Sur with 16 GB of RAM. The original files were stored on a portable LaCie external hard drive via USB 3. While I’m sharing my experience, times won’t be exact on other machines.

The speed of copying photos from an SD card is largely hardware-based. Instead, we looked at the time it took to copy those 110 photos from the external hard drive to a catalog. I timed how long to add the photos to a catalog and generate a standard preview. I also looked for any lag time loading individual photos. Finally, I timed an export of 110 JPEGs, original size, quality set at 80, to the same hard drive.

Here are the winners.

Photo Mechanic Plus

Import: Less than five seconds, or 2:44 to build a catalog with previews

Export: N/A, but it takes less than 5 seconds to send to Lightroom or Capture One (after which, you would have to wait for them to upload there).

The Jist: It’s not a photo editor, but photographers can save some time by culling photos before importing them into Lightroom or Capture One.

Photo Mechanic Plus created a contact sheet of photos in less time than Lightroom could load the photo previews before the import. In about five seconds, Photo Mechanic Plus created a contact sheet of 110 pictures. Some of those photos were red, indicating that they hadn’t fully loaded yet. But, those images loaded almost immediately after scrolling.

Comparing Photo Mechanic Plus to programs like Lightroom and Capture One is a bit like comparing Apples to Oranges or Apple to Windows. Photo Mechanic is more like what Preview on Mac or Windows Photo Viewer would be like if photographers designed it. Photo Mechanic simply accesses the files on your computer. It doesn’t build a preview of the image or a catalog. The browser is simply a high-end photo viewer that allows you to quickly view, compare, tag, and cull your images.

Photo Mechanic, however, has a new program. Photo Mechanic Plus still doesn’t have editing tools, but it does build catalogs. Those catalogs open up a few more organization possibilities compared to the folder hierarchy. To organize your photos in a way that’s different than the folders, Plus is the version you’d want. Even building catalogs was the fastest option, still only taking under two and a half minutes to build previews for 110 photos. Still, the catalogs were not self-explanatory, and if you simply want to speed up imports, the cheaper, original Photo Mechanic will do ...

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Hi Chris & Phoblographites,

Is that the right way to say it? It’s taken a fair bit of time for me to work up the courage to submit this to you, but I think I might have just what you want! I’m Noir Zy, no affiliation to Noiz, a photographic alter ego to an Australian photographer based in Melbourne. The anonymity is intentional and a part of who I am. I’ll do my best to write as Noir Zy, but for a moment, let’s hear from the creator.

Noir Zy came into existence a little over two years ago on the encouragement of my best friend, who wanted me to show my work, but having suffered a lot of depression, burnout, and incredible anxiety around photography at the time, I couldn’t bring myself to do it anymore. A combination of very high standards, frustration with the business, and just exhaustion from all the editing meant that even though I was doing my best work, I hated all of it. There was one thing I really enjoyed, though; the process of shooting. So I started to come up with a concept whose pieces I’d been playing with for years. (Officially, I’ve been a photographer at a professional level for about six years, counting Noir Zy.)

It needed to be repeatable, simple to set up and control, involves a deep understanding of light, but unique and crucially, involve no need for photoshop or conventional editing techniques. I always keep the raws, but they shouldn’t be needed. I did some research on some of my ideas and hit on smoke as a medium.

Smoke was something I’d played with before, even in my earliest studio work, as far as I could tell, and even now, nobody uses it except for the odd atmospheric. It’s an alluring substance, but you do need a proper smoke machine, something that can fill a warehouse, or it doesn’t work very well. 120 AU bucks later, and I had a machine that’s never stopped giving. It has been both the most frustrating and most magical part of the experience.

The rest of the style came together naturally. I needed something I hadn’t done a lot before but still involved people, that landed Boudoir as a genre; I didn’t want to deal with color, just light, so I chose black and white, and I didn’t have a studio, so people’s houses would become the studio. The name, Noisy Noir, shortened and spiced up a little, became Noir Zy. The point was the imperfections, back to Noir Zy.

I shoot smokey black and white noir boudoir. All of my work is explicitly shot in-camera. I work digital, but the Canon black and white processing have a real charm to it, and so those are my base prints! Kind of; I keep the raws, of course, just in case ;). And the settings on the camera are tweaked to jack up the contrast and apply some filters to improve skin impression. People who work with me get the entire collection shot on the day, warts and all. Yeah, I know, it’s breaking a cardinal rule of pro photography; I do a lot of that. It’s kind of my thing.

I used a Canon 5DMKII for the majority of my older work until it died; a veritable gramps at 350k images. I use the 5D MKIII at the moment. I’ve tried the Sony cameras, but they just don’t handle my needs that well and are hard to use. Plus, more importantly, Canon has the Nifty Fifty, which is my go-to lens. I have an 85mm f1.4 lens from Samyang that’s utterly gorgeous, but full manual shooting in smoke is nearly impossible, or at least is a craft I’m still getting good at, particularly with how small the canon viewfinder is. I shoot dual images; full-resolution raw and half resolution jpeg. Given that Noir Zy is more about web consumption, this is an acceptable compromise, and in-camera downscaling adds some sharpness. For lighting, I use an off-camera 480EXII on some cheap Chinese hardware. I have some wooden blinds from Bunnings taped to a cheap boom from eBay and a Chauvet Hurricane smoke machine. It’s the 800-watt model. Those alone can handle 90% of my needs.

My vision ...

Canon is looking to expand their number of more affordable RF Lenses pretty quickly.

It took a while for Canon to introduce many affordable RF lenses for the EOS R, EOS RP, EOS R5, and EOS R6. Now, though, things are starting to change. We have already seen solid options like the RF 35mm f1.8 Macro, the RF 50mm f1.8, and the RF 85mm f2. Then there are lenses like the RF 600mm and RF 800mm f11 primes, and the excellent RF 24-105mm f4-7.1, and RF 24-240mm f4-6.3. These lenses have made Canon’s Full Frame Mirrorless system much more palatable to more than just top-end pros. There’s still a long way to go, but Canon is apparently busy at work on four new primes that range from f1.4 to f1.8. We’re pretty excited, and you should be too. We’ve got all the deets after the break.

The Japanese patent website Hi-Lows has no fewer than four new patents for Canon RF lenses. All of the new RF lenses will be wide to standard focal length primes with fast apertures. If these go into production, which we assume they will, Canon will bolster its RF ranks with even more affordable options for photographers. Let’s take a look at the lenses that have been patented.

Canon RF 24mm f1.4

First up is the patent for an RF 24mm f1.4 prime. We’re sure Canon has Sony’s brilliant 24mm f1.4 GM in their sights when they decided to patent this. If the lens makes it to market, it will be the widest prime lens on Canon’s RF system. It will be great for everything from landscapes to street photography and astrophotography to documentary work. Being an f1.4 lens, the price should be quite a lot cheaper than the f1.2 options on the platform. I would expect it to cost around $1,599 – $1,799.

Canon RF 28mm f1.8

The Canon RF 28mm f1.8 will be a much cheaper wide prime than the 24mm f1.4. Like the lens above, this will be a fantastic lens to use on photo walks and for capturing every life. The fact that it’s an f1.8 lens means that this option should be priced nicely below $1,000. However, I wish that Canon would pick an aperture for their cheaper lenses and stick with it. We could either have a nice set of affordable f1.8 lenses or f2 lenses, but mixing them up will just become messy. Still, this lens will likely be very popular.

Canon RF 35mm f1.8 (Non Macro)

When it comes to Canon RF lenses, the RF 35mm f1.8 Macro is one of our favorites. It’s small, light, super sharp, and incredibly affordable. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with it when we reviewed it. But it’s a little odd for Canon to be thinking about a refresh for this lens so soon. While this one is touted as being non-macro, the original wasn’t really a true macro either. Still, it did have a very close minimum focusing distance. Perhaps this new version will include weather sealing, the lack of which we bemoaned with the original. Again, this lens should be well under $1,000. It should be closer to the $600 mark.

Canon RF 50mm f1.4

The Canon RF 50mm f1.4 is set to be the smaller, lighter, and more affordable brother to the f1.2 version we’ve been waiting for. The RF 50mm f1.2 is a stellar lens in every way, but it can be a chore to carry around. A 50mm lens that sits nicely in between the f1.2 and f1.8 options is sorely needed. There’s no word on if the f1.4 RF lenses will be L models or not. I believe they will be, and that means weather sealing will be there. Price this lens around the $1,500 mark, and it will fly off the shelves.

Canon RF Lenses Aplenty

So, there you have it. Canon certainly seems to be working on fleshing out their RF lenses. We’re excited that more options will be coming to Canon users. We’re more excited that Canon is working on making more affordable lenses. Are you excited about any of the patents for Canon RF lenses? Will any of them be day one purchases for you? Let us know in the comment section below.

On the next episode of Pro Camera Reviews, we’re discussing AI and body tracking technology in cameras.

We’re aware that this is a bit extreme. But, it’s surely possible that AI is going to majorly change the way we do things. AI Body Tracking is sort of here already, but it’s going to explode in a huge way soon. Eventually, you’re going to be able to rely on the camera to do almost everything. But at what point are you just pushing a button? We’re discussing that in our next episode of Pro Camera Reviews.

On the Next Episode

Be sure to subscribe to our Youtube and Flipboard TV channel for more.

AI Body Tracking Is Coming to Cameras in a Bigger Way: Cameras have things like face and eye detection. But a lot of work has been done to also do body tracking. In some ways, camera systems already do this. But it’s going to get even more advanced It’s also going to become a lot more prevalent. Chris and Brett will talk about how this is going to affect photography going forward. And they’ll also discuss the idea of the camera doing all the work vs the photographer.

First Impressions- Sony a1: We finally have it in our hands. Sony’s new, do it all camera, the Sony a1. Sony really broke the mold with this camera, and the listed specs rightfully wowed photographers everywhere. The Sony a1 is the company’s new flagship camera that’s designed to crush the incredibly impressive Canon EOS R5. We’ve been able to play around with the camera for a couple of days, and we’re ready to share our first impressions with you guys and gals. Will the camera wow us off the bat like the list of specs did, or will we find out that it’s not what it’s cracked up to be. Join us on this week’s Pro Camera Reviews to find out.

About Pro Camera Reviews

Pro Camera Reviews happens every Sunday. Sign up to join us! Please Register here.

Pro Camera Reviews is a web show by the Reviews Team of The Phoblographer. Join them as they candidly discuss the products they’re actively reviewing and the gear they’ve just reviewed. Open Q and A from the audience towards the end of the show. Every Sunday at 7pm EST.

Please register here.

If you’re looking for a fun time while staying safe, we strongly recommend that you tune in for Pro Camera Reviews. It’s a weekly show where the staff tackles a couple of issues in the Photo World. They mostly pertain to cameras and lenses, but sometimes things get a bit more serious. This is partly because we still feel that we need to be educators and leaders in this space. Additionally, we also need to be responsible. Episodes are done on Zoom and are recorded. They’re Live Streamed to our Facebook Page, then shared on Flipboard TV and YouTube. We recommend that you subscribe to us on Youtube to keep up.

Lighting is everything when getting the sunkissed look in your photos.

Fact: most people go about getting those gorgeous golden skin tones using post-production. But what if I told you you didn’t need to. Instead, you can get it by shooting in-camera, and you won’t need post-production. The photos will be perfect right out of the camera. Like a perfect steak, a good portrait shouldn’t be touched at all. And we’re going to talk about how to get those great golden skin-toned portraits.

Daylight or Shade White Balance

First off, everyone knows to shoot during the Golden Hour. Depending on the time of the year, this can last a long time outside. It’s otherwise usually called Sunset or Sunrise. Shoot during that time if you want to work with natural lighting. But later on, we’re going to talk about how to do this any time you wish.

Start by changing your white balance. Set it to Daylight. If your camera doesn’t have that, choose to set the white balance manually. Specifically, you should be able to dial in the kelvin number yourself. Dial-in 5200K or 5500K. This is the daylight setting. It’s usually good enough for what you need to do. Otherwise, choose the shade setting. The shade setting looks at the scene that you’re in and makes it warmer. After all, it’s designed to be used in dim lighting. The only way to balance out the cool light from the shade is to warm it up using this white balance.

For more on this, we’ve got our very own cheat sheet. You can read more about the golden hour effect via the previous hyperlink.

The Keep Warm White Balance Setting

Lots of cameras have a particular setting that will keep the white balance warm. Sony, for example, has that in the menus. But other cameras do it through the specific white balance setting. You can tell it to preserve the white point–which will make the photo more neutral. Otherwise, if you set the camera to keep the images warmer, it will do so. This is fantastic for portraiture if you like that look. More importantly, it will keep those golden skin tones when shooting portraits.

Part of this also depends on the lenses you’re using. For example, the image above was shot with a Tokina 100mm f2.8 lens. Tokina’s lenses render warmer than Sony’s. So too do Tamron’s. Sigma and Sony lenses tend to remove all sorts of character. They’re incredibly clinical.

If you’re really looking for a great system for this, shoot with Canon or Fujifilm. Canon’s color science has always been top-notch in combination with their lenses. Fujifilm’s lenses are work very well with the company’s film simulations.

Don’t Underestimate What a Gel Can Do

Here’s where we’re going to talk about using gels and creating your own light. This is best done with a strobe that can do high-speed sync. That means that it can overpower the ambient light of the sun. If you add a warming gel to light, you’ll get the look of the golden sun. That will translate into those beautiful warm golden skin tones that everyone looks for. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think the image below was shot in natural light.

Here’s a fuller tutorial on how we did this shot.

Can you do this with a constant light? It’s challenging to do it. You’ll need to shoot with an electronic shutter speed. That’s probably going to create banding because you’re using artificial light. Balancing the aperture and ISO to the constant light is also really difficult to do. Quite honestly, it’s easier with a flash.

With a flash, you get other cool things like the effects of fast flash duration. That helps kill the ambient light. It also helps add an extra layer of crisp details with specular highlights.

Give it a try!

PrismFX announced their new PrismFX Radiant filter, and it seems pretty cool!

PrismFX does some pretty cool things. They brought back a lot of character that’s been engineered out of lenses. And we discussed them on an episode of Pro Camera Reviews. They recently announced the new PrismFX Radiant Filter. At first, we thought it was just a sunburst filter. But, then we looked closer and that doesn’t really seem to be the case. If you look at the effects, you’ll see it’s a lot more complicated than that.

First off, look at the filter itself in the lead image. The PrismFX Radiant Filter reminds us of a petri-dish or a seriously scratched-up filter. In this case, though, it’s intentional. Depending on where the light hits from, you’re going to get a different effect. I think that’s really cool. It’s going to be sort of randomized to a point. And being visually impaired, believe it or not, makes me think I’ll understand this filter more.

I’ve got Keratoconus. It’s a condition where the eye isn’t normally shaped. So there are sweet spots in my glasses where I see clearly. The angles are also everything. With the PrismFX Radiant Filter, that seems to be the case too.

PrismFX is saying this filter refracts and highlights the light. They’re calling it an “explosive display.” And I’m not too sure about that. It’s more of a burst of light. When I think of explosions, I’m thinking about something closer to astigmatism. But that’s not really the case here. The PrismFX Radiant Filter can also rotate like a Circular Polarizer. So as you rotate, you’ll get different renders.

Practically speaking, I can see how this may slow down a shoot, which is probably going to give you better photos. But it’s also going to annoy a model. Try holding a pose for some time while a photographer futzes around with a filter. Personally, I find that rude. Instead, while the model is doing makeup or a wardrobe change, I’d recommend testing the lights. Then you can figure out what look you’re going to go for. It’s a much more efficient use of a time.

Of course, this will work best with constant lighting. But I wonder how this will look with strobes. I’m even more curious how this will look with gelled strobes. Some of you are probably wondering why you’d do this in-camera and not in post-production. Honestly, some photographers are just sick of sitting in front of computers all day and night.

I’ve been testing some of their filters myself for a little while. And I really like them. They let you have a lot of fun. Overall though, they’re pretty pricey. However, some of these filters are doing brand new and unique things. They’re not just revamping Tiffen and Hoya filters. It’s nice to see some innovation, something completely different. The entire staff here gets bored of reviewing the otherwise very cookie-cutter photo industry.

The PrismFX Radiant Filter will come in the 77mm filter size or 4×5 square filter size. You can pre-order one for around $65. PrismFx doesn’t make a lot of smaller filters. They figured you’ll just buy a larger filter and then adapt it to a step-down ring. And that’s usually the smartest approach. Just use a good step-down ring, or else they can get stuck and caught.

All images are taken from the PrismFX listing page.

On the next episode of Pro Camera Reviews, we’re discussing the Sony a1.

Photographers have been on the hunt for a professional camera with innovation. Smartphones are just so good these days. It seems like they’re keeping up with higher end cameras. But, then the Sony a1 came out and changed that in huge ways. It joins a bunch of other cameras that are absolutely fantastic at what they do. Other manufacturers looked on in shock, so is it really worth the hype? And we’re discussing that in our next episode of Pro Camera Reviews.

On the Next Episode

Be sure to subscribe to our Youtube and Flipboard TV channel for more.

AI Body Tracking Is Coming to Cameras in a Bigger Way

Cameras have things like face and eye detection, but a lot of work has been done to also do body tracking. In some ways, camera systems already do this, but it’s going to get even more advanced. It’s also going to become a lot more prevalent. Chris and Brett will talk about how this is going to affect photography going forward. And they’ll also discuss the idea of the camera doing all the work vs the photographer.

First Impressions: Sony a1

We finally have it in our hands. Sony’s new, do it all camera, the Sony a1. Sony really broke the mold with this camera, and the listed specs rightfully wowed photographers everywhere. The Sony a1 is the company’s new flagship camera that’s designed to crush the incredibly impressive Canon EOS R5. We’ve been able to play around with the camera for a couple of days, and we’re ready to share our first impressions. Will the camera wow us off the bat like the list of specs did, or will we find it’s not what it’s cracked up to be. Join us on this week’s Pro Camera Reviews to find out.

About Pro Camera Reviews

Pro Camera Reviews happens every Sunday. Sign up to join us! Please Register here.

Pro Camera Reviews is a web show by the Reviews Team of The Phoblographer. Join them as they candidly discuss the products they’re actively reviewing and the gear they’ve just reviewed. Open Q and A from the audience towards the end of the show. Every Sunday at 7pm EST.

Please register here.

If you’re looking for a fun time while staying safe, we strongly recommend that you tune in for Pro Camera Reviews. It’s a weekly show where the staff tackles a couple of issues in the Photo World. They mostly pertain to cameras and lenses, but sometimes things get a bit more serious. This is partly because we still feel that we need to be educators and leaders in this space. Additionally, we also need to be responsible. Episodes are done on Zoom and are recorded. They’re Live Streamed to our Facebook Page, then shared on Flipboard TV and YouTube. We recommend that you subscribe to us on Youtube to keep up.

Profoto updated their iPhone app to give it TTL and High-Speed Sync, but Apple ProRAW isn’t ready for it yet.

Recently, Profoto updated their iPhone app. The Profoto app has a camera built-in that lets you use flashes like the B10 as a strobe. Except instead of shooting with a real, dedicated camera, you’re using your iPhone. The recent update includes TTL algorithm changes and lets you use Apple ProRAW. We spoke with Profoto’s product manager and tested it out for ourselves. It’s a stark reminder of just how limited a camera phone’s sensor still is.

TTL Flash with a Phone Is Here, and It’s Finally Improving

Last June, Profoto updated the app to give it High-Speed Sync (HSS). For those who aren’t photographers, it basically means that you can overpower the sun. It’s a widespread tactic for photographers to use in daylight. It can kill the ambient light–which is always great! But, HSS was only available in manual mode. Now, it can work with auto mode.

But this month, the Profoto app got another update. The app already had a TTL auto exposure mode for using a flash, but Profoto switched it for a new one. Essentially, the new TTL acts accordingly with the Xenon flashes on an iPhone.

The way you use it is by setting the flash power. Then the TTL algorithm will set the ISO and shutter. Since the app only uses the rear cameras, you can’t do a selfie with it easily. TTL works through ISO and aperture. TTL stands for “through the lens” metering and reads these two parameters. But all modern smartphones don’t have real apertures. Instead, they’re fixed at somewhere around f1.6 depending on what lens you’re using.

The problem here is one that’s still making us scratch our heads. Essentially, you’re shooting in a version of Program Auto mode. And if you shoot with High Speed Sync, you’re traditionally shooting in manual mode. If manual mode comes, then you’re still only controlling the ISO and the shutter speed. Your only other parameter is your flash output power. But with a strobe like the Profoto B10, you’re getting a lot of power anyway. If you crank the power up, you’re going to get an overexposed image.

The other parameter here is flash duration. One of the reasons you buy Profoto to begin with is the fast flash duration. It acts almost as a second shutter speed. The effects include killing the ambient light and stopping fast motion. It’s something most small flashes can’t do at all.

For the record, the following photos are what HSS looks like with actual cameras. This look wouldn’t be possible otherwise, unless there’s a heck of a lot of post-production. The point is to get all the details in the environment without darkening the details on your subject.

Profoto TTL with Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max ProRAW

I think we can all agree that Apple majorly hyped up the ProRAW feature. Photographers who know better yawned at this, but the folks who don’t know better were super excited. Luckily, the new Profoto update lets you shoot in ProRAW. So I went ahead and tested it. I used my trusty Profoto B10.

Overall, it showed me how limited the iPhone’s camera is. Quite honestly, it makes a Micro Four Thirds sensor look full-frame. Inside, and with very controlled lighting, the photos look great. If anything, the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max will bring out a ton of detail. Apple still also does this thing with lots of skin smoothing. I hate that. But some of you may love it.

A Quick Test Outdoors

Outdoors is where High-Speed Sync really matters. And that’s where we found a major problem. The system essentially balanced us out with the scene. This was shot outside at 3pm before a major winter snowstorm is coming, for what it’s worth. The clouds really are white. But the dynamic range is what’s killing me. As you can tell in the photos above, the dynamic range is pretty lacking.

I went to edit the RAWS in RNI Films, which is my favorite app. To say that the RAWS made me cringe is a bit of an understatement. So, I tested it i...

Half-hearted attempts at making flashes and other lighting accessories are not winning anyone over.

To get ahead in many photography genres, photographers need to learn how to light using flashes and strobes. Fortunately, you can buy excellent (and affordable) gear from the likes of Godox, Flashpoint, Westcott, Profoto, and others. All of these companies have been innovating in this space, and they have found a way to bring costs down. However, first-party companies have become incredibly stale when it comes to making flashes. They still charge the earth for their lights too. A new announcement from Canon pretty much confirms our thoughts. Let’s talk about this after the break.

A recent article on Canon Watch sheds light on a new flash transmitter from Canon. Wow! Exciting stuff, we know. The Canon ST-E3-RT (version 2) now offers rear curtain sync. It can control up to 15 Speedlites, and it has 8 custom functions. If this sounds a little underwhelming, well, that’s because it is. To top it off, in true first-party fashion, the price of this new transmitter is through the roof! You can pick up this transmitter for $299! Ouch. There are several third-party flashes out there that come with a transmitter for this price.

First Parties Flashes Are Being Out Gunned From Every Direction

The heading for this section may seem a little over the top. However, it’s totally true. First-party flashes from Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, Olympus, and many others have are not worth the premium prices they command. There has been no innovation from them on this front in donkey’s years. Meanwhile, Godox, Flashpoint, Westcott, and others are breaking new ground when it comes to affordable, feature-packed lighting. For half the cost of a Canon Speedlite, you can buy a couple of wirelessly controlled options. They have all of the same features, that put out the same amount of light, and that just work. Heck, for the price of a Canon El-1 Speedlite, you can buy a couple of wireless, battery-powered strobes. You’d even have money left over to get some modifiers.

Long gone are the days when we would look to the industry leaders for innovation in this space. All of the innovation and forward-thinking is now coming from third-parties. The likes of Canon need to do some serious soul searching to catch-up and figure out a way to offer value for money. Sure, one could argue that even flashes from third-parties haven’t really changed the lighting game. Still, they have tried changing the lighting business model. Most third-party lighting companies aren’t overcharging based on a brand name. They have started implementing smartphone controls. They have even been working hard to innovate when it comes to modifiers that can attach to speedlights. We’re not saying that third-party flashes are perfect. They’re not. However, at least they aren’t committing daylight robbery, and they’re trying to move flashes forward.

It’s Time to Focus on Other Things

Look, we understand that some photographers absolutely feel the need to use first-party branded lights. Still, there are options out there that are better and cost less. Unless the likes of Canon and Co. really start pumping resources into their flashes, they need to give it up. If you want to charge the amount of money you do, figure out how to implement Bluetooth controls. Maybe find a way to implement LIDAR and AI. This way, flashes can get hyper-accurate readings needed to provide perfect exposures based on angles, distances, and depths. Let’s face it; TTL has its issues. If first parties aren’t going to commit to pushing flash technology forward, step aside and let others focus on it. What flashes do you use? Let us know in the comment section below.