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Join me on a photo walk of a beautiful Japanese garden that was holding a summer festival. For this outing, I decided to work with some older equipment to see what kind of results I could get.  This was the second day of the event. It had rained on the first day, so I think that had an effect on this day; there wasn't quite as much going on as I had seen in previous years, but it was still fun to check out! Keep in mind throughout this article that italic text descriptions were generated by Gemini Pro 2.5 and were not specifically based on my video's information. A sign for the 2025 Japanese Summer Festival at Anderson Japanese Gardens. My Gear for the Day The Sony A7S camera with the Sony FE 24-70mm F/4 OSS lens attached. The camera I was using was the Sony A7S. This is a video-focused camera, but it works just fine for photos. However, I did have it set up in a mode that was not perfect for the situation. With the A7S, I was using the Sony FE 24-70mm F/4 OSS lens. I wanted s...

Join me on a photo walk of a beautiful conservatory that was holding a special dinosaur and historic plants event. The whole thing was indoors, which is great for avoiding the rain that was happening, and I was curious to see what they set up.  Or check out the point-of-view photography video that's a mix of ambient sound, GoPro footage, and the resulting photos.  A first person view of the dinosaur exhibit inside the conservatory. The A7S is a very video-focused camera, but it's also pretty good for photos. I paired it with a pretty standard zoom lens for this, the Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS Lens. Having that fixed maximum of aperture of f/4 through the entire zoom range makes it a nice, consistent lens for both photography and video work. The Sony A7S camera with the Sony FE 24-70mm F4 lens attached My Custom Camera Settings for the Day To make my shooting process faster and more efficient, I set up two custom modes on the camera's main dial. My first cus...

In this article, I'm going over my experiences with this setup. It's a Sony ZV-E10, which is video-focused, but I used it for mostly photography with a Viltrox 28mm f4.5 "pancake" lens. It's a very compact setup, which is great. But considering this is a video-focused camera, there are some quirks. And this lens itself is very unique. So, let's check it out.  Holding the Sony ZV-E10 with the Viltrox 28mm f/4.5 lens attached. I went to a beautiful Japanese-style garden in my area to take photos. It's a nice spot for casual photography. Considering that, I wanted to go as simple as possible with settings, so I was mostly using program mode with this setup. In photography, Program Mode, often indicated by a 'P' on the camera's mode dial, is an automatic shooting mode. In this mode, the camera automatically sets the aperture, shutter speed, and usually the ISO to achieve a correct exposure based on whatever metering mode it is in. However, the phot...

Lately, I've been shifting more towards Sony equipment for my video work, and there are a few key reasons behind that decision. Let's talk about it in this article!  A close up of the video rig. I initially tried using the Nikon Z30 as a replacement for my Canon EF-M equipment I sold a while back. While I knew of users saying the Z30 can overheat, I wanted to test that for myself so I gave the camera a chance.  Unfortunately, it consistently overheated after about 25 minutes outputting 4k through HDMI. That's with no internal recording and a DC coupler instead of a battery. The Canon M6 Mark II camera had no issue outputting 4k through HDMI, but would overheat doing internal recording, so I thought the Z30 might be similar. Sadly that's not the case.  The Sony ZV-E10 with the Atomos Ninja V. It's a problem when I'm filming longer videos, like detailed lighting equipment reviews that can take an hour or two. Or filming multiple hands-on equipment videos. So I...

This year I was able to photograph the Bristol Renaissance Faire in Wisconsin with my friend's Sony a7R V mirrorless camera. Paired with the Sony 28mm f/2 and 85mm f/1.8 lenses.  Renaissance fairs are a great option for people interested in photography. You can capture performance artists, intricate props, unique architecture, and many other subjects. I mostly go there to enjoy the time and atmosphere with friends, but it's great to get some photography in as well.  First Impressions: Build and Ergonomics The Sony A7R V stands out for its build quality compared to other Sony cameras like the a6000 and a7S that I currently have. It feels impressively solid and has that professional-grade heft without being overly bulky. Even though it's a high technology camera, it doesn't overwhelm you with its size like cameras with a built-in grip can do. One of my friends trying the camera out. The fully articulating back screen is an ideal design. This setup is the best I've se...