Choosing a monopod looks like a straightforward job, right? After all, they’re just an extending pole with a camera mount on top. That much is true, but there are lots of features, design differences and add-ons that can make a big difference. So whether you’re choosing your first monopod or upgrading a battered old friend, here are 10 tips for choosing a monopod.
Olympus PEN-F review in 2024
The Pen-F was a high-water mark for the PEN brand, with its beautiful design and construction and surprising practicality. Today, the lack of 4K video will be an obstacle for vloggers and hybrid shooters, but for stills photography it’s as effective now as when it was launched in 2016. All this is reflected in its scarcity and high used prices, however.
Has the jump to 40MP really worked for Fujifilm?
Does there come a point when lens optics can no longer keep up with sensor resolution, and has Fujifilm’s 40MP sensor reached that point. Optical properties are not as scalable as you might imagine. You might be able to miniaturize sensors apparently ad infinitum, but lenses have very definite limits to their resolving power and their resistance to diffraction.
Bridge cameras are back! Panasonic revives this classic all-in-one concept for 2024
Panasonic has clearly seen the potential of a bridge camera revival, and I think it’s right. Often much-derided in their time, bridge cameras could be making a comeback. And in this social-obsessed, post-resolution content creation universe, the timing might just be perfect. Years ago, bridge cameras were a serious market segment, and maybe it could all happen again.
3 Legged Thing Pano Clamp review
Verdict: 4.5 stars The 3 Legged Thing Pano Clamp could transform the usefulness of your tripod head if you shoot video, panoramas or panning shots. It fixes one of the principal problems with ball heads by adding a panning axis above the ball, where you actually need it, rather than below the ball where makers always put it.
Joby Beamo Studio Creator Kit review
Verdict: 4.5 stars Joby makes a lot of content creation gear for new users or beginners on a budget. The quality and performance may not impress professionals, but Joby gear is typically easy to use, very effective and excellent value. This definitely applies to the Beamo Studio Creator Kit, which has impressed me more than any other Joby product.
Sony A7 II review in 2024
Verdict: 4.5 stars The Sony A7 II was launched back in November 2014, which is a long time ago in the fast-moving world of digital camera technology. Yet for everyday stills photography, not that much has changed. Its 24MP sensor is on a par with modern rivals, its hybrid AF system lacks AI subject recognition but is still fast and responsive, and while its burst speed is a modest 5fps and it doesn’t shoot 4K video, these are not things that everyone needs. As a general purpose stills camera, the A7 II still feels fresh and modern – and it’s so cheap it’s hard to believe Sony can afford to keep selling it.
Olympus OM-D E-M1 III review in 2023
Verdict: 4.5 stars The OM-D E-M1 III may have been superseded by the OM-1, but it runs it very close in so many areas that – depending on the type of photography you do – it could prove just as good. You can occasionally buy it new, but it’s most likely you’ll need to buy used. I bought my example in excellent condition from MPB at well under half the price of a new OM-1.
Nikon D800 review in 2023
Verdict: 4.5 stars The Nikon D800 is the first of Nikon’s full frame DSLR multi-megapixel monsters, but Nikon had been making cameras for decades up to this point, so there’s nothing unfinished or experimental about either its design or operation. This is a tough, durable, effective DSLR that captures still images of a resolution that only a handful of cameras surpass even today.
Nikon’s retro revival is great to see, but it burned its boats with lenses
The Nikon Z fc offers beginners and vloggers a charming old-school camera look with thoroughly modern tech inside, while the new Nikon Z f delivers the same retro charm in an altogether better-made full frame model. So what’s the problem?