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Laowa 15mm f/2 Initial Impressions on the Sony a7R III

In my other recent articles, I’ve been singing the praises of the Zeiss Loxia Lenses. However, the widest Loxia lens is 21mm. Sometimes, you just want wider. I’ve heard good things about the Laowa 15mm, so I decided to get one. Here’s my initial unboxing and impressions of the lens: After using it for an ...

Zeiss Loxia 25mm f/2.4 Review, Sony a7R III thoughts, and Farewell Leica – for now.

Over the past year, I’ve been primarily shooting with the Leica M262. It’s been a lot of fun, I’ve captured some great images, and I’ve really enjoyed using manual focus and compact lenses. During that time, I learned some interesting things about my shooting style and preferences: I like to be close to the subject ...

UW Cherry Blossoms – Panasonic G9 and 8-18mm f/2.8-4 Outing

The University of Washington in Seattle is known far and wide for their cherry blossoms on campus. This was the first time that we ever had a chance to go up and see them first hand. It was crazy weather! Snow, rain, sunshine, we had it all – except blue skies. Even though I have ...

Selling on Amazon and the A to Z Guarantee Scam

I’ve been selling my used photography gear on Amazon for a few years now. It’s been good, but it’s also been horrible! First, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of selling on Amazon. Pros of selling on Amazon.com Broad audience of customers. Listing of items is quick and painless. The sales process ...

Baking Snickerdoodle Cookies with Anya

Anya is a big fan of YouTube. She’s been asking me if she could put a video of herself on YouTube for quite some time now. Today was the perfect opportunity. It was wet and cold outside, Vanessa and Nadia were out of town, and it was just the two of us. It was a ...

I’m a Black Belt! Now What?

Preface Saturday, February 10, 2018, I earned my solid black belt in Shotokan Karate. It was exactly one year since I earned my probationary black belt. It’s a major personal accomplishment and something that I’ve been working toward for many years. I’ve been wanting to write about my karate experiences for a few years now, ...

1970s Leica Leitz Canada 90mm Tele-Elmarit-M f/2.8 Review – Part Two

This Presidents Day weekend, our family headed down to Long Beach, WA. Time to bring along the 90mm Tele-Elmarit-M f/2.8, and test out this lens some more. Previously, I wasn’t too impressed with the sharpness of this less wide open, nor it’s contrast. Granted, I’ve been spoiled with modern Summicrons like the 28mm, 50mm, and ...

1970s Leica Leitz Canada 90mm Tele-Elmarit-M f/2.8 Review

I already have a 75mm APO Summicron lens that I am quite pleased with. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to own a 90mm APO Summicron as well ($4,200 new). Since a new 90mm APO is out of my budget right now, that doesn’t mean I’m not on the hunt for one at a ...

Leica 75mm f/2 APO-Summicron-M ASPH Review

Without a doubt, this is my favorite lens and focal length to date for the Leica M system. That pretty much sums up this review right here. What do I like about it? I actually really like the focal length – a lot! Quite often, other systems use 85mm or 90mm for their portrait lenses. ...

G9 Vlog Setup Test with the Rode VideoMic Pro Plus and Panasonic Leica 8-18mm f/2.8 – f/4.0

How’s the G9 for a run and gun vlogging camera? In this video, I briefly test the G9’s IBIS, autofocus, and audio (with the Rode VideoMic Pro Plus) with the Panasonic Leica 8-16mm f/2.8 – f/4.0 lens. Shot in the Cinelike D profile and slightly graded in DaVinci Resolve. Audio hasn’t been altered from what ...

Sigma 16mm f/1.4 for Sony E Mount Review

For the last couple of months, I’ve been shooting with a Sony a6500 (prior to selling it for a Panasonic G9). One of the lenses that I purchased to use with the Sony was the new Sigma 16mm f/1.4 lens. Why? Fast aperture, wide angle, inexpensive, and close focusing – everything I like in a ...

Panasonic G9 – Review

Review Summary: This Panasonic G9 is the best Micro 4/3 camera ever! It’s so good when matched with Olympus f/1.2 primes that it gives the Sony a6500, Fuji X-T2, and Canon 5D Mark IV a run for the money. Check out the video for more… These photos below also appear in the video. They were ...

ACDSee 2018 Ultimate Review

In this video, I compare and review ACDSee 2018 Ultimate to Lightroom, PhotoMechanic, and touch on Capture One. Can ACDSee replace Lightroom?  

Camtasia 9 Review

In this video, I review Camtasia 9 and compare it to the quality of video from a free solution. * There is a slight audio issue with the video which I realized after editing is the result of mixing frame rates of different types of footage – unfortunately unavoidable for this review.

ON1 Photo RAW 2018 Review

Like many other photographers, I’ve had it with Adobe’s subscription model. It’s time to jump ship! I’m done paying them a monthly fee for software that hasn’t really improved much in years. The newest CC iteration of Lightroom (not the classic version) is too basic, too expensive, and settings quite often get lost in syncing ...