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Viltrox sent me the EF-M 23mm f/1.4 and 33mm f/1.4 (aka. the Canon EOS M system) lenses to make a video on. I will be keeping them, so look forward to future videos on these compared to other equipment I have on-hand. These lenses add to the few fast aperture native autofocus lenses available for the Canon EF-M mount. Viltrox EF-M lenses All of this information is based on firmware v1.0.5, which is the one installed in the lens upon release. Check out the Viltrox 23mm f/1.4 AF Lens through my affiliate links: B&H: https://bhpho.to/34tulOU Amazon: https://amzn.to/31lk6Lw eBay: https://ebay.to/3je6OGJ Check out the Viltrox 33mm f/1.4 AF Lens through my affiliate links:  B&H: https://bhpho.to/3d3xicN Amazon: https://amzn.to/37d2ohc eBay: https://ebay.to/2T42UWD As an affiliate of these shops, I earn from qualifying purchases!  The large maximum aperture gives you a lot of flexibility. In that video, the two focal lengths are compared side-by-side so you can decide which one might ...

A friend is writing up an English composition paper about photographers. She wanted people to answer a list of questions related to that. I decided to write up responses for her instead of doing an interview. That should be easier for her and it gave me something to post on here. Here are the questions and my responses. Reflection photo at an Anime Central convention. Question: How many years have you been a photographer (or counted yourself as one)? Around 2002, so approximately 18 years. Question: Would you call yourself an amateur, a hobbyist, or a professional photographer? Hobbyist Question: Are you self-taught or do you have school/formal training? How long did it take before you were confident in your skill? Self-taught, mostly from online sources and learning by doing. I’d say it took around 7 years to have a solid foundation of knowledge and practice. Question: What do you feel makes a professional photographer? Someone that can financially support the majority of their life w...

Viltrox Ninja 400 Get the Weeylite Bi-Color LED Video Light through my links: Amazon , B&H Photo Video , and eBay . As an affiliate of these shops, I earn from qualifying purchases!  Ethics Statement: Keep in mind throughout this article and related video that Weeylite sent me this video at no cost and I will be keeping the light. They had no say in the content of the video.  Weeylite is part of Viltrox. The company is popular for lenses and adapters such as the 0.71x EF to EF-M speed booster that I have.  Specifications from their website: Model: ninja 400 Dimming method: Host control/iphoneAPP/Bluetooth/DMX Color temperature: 2500K-8500K t 300(fixed) Brightness: 20% ~ 100% (Adjustable) Max.Brightness: 12750 LM Max.illuminance: 3570 Lux / 2m, 16700 LUX/1m. (Use the machine glossy condenser to test the data) Lamp beads: Constant power output, up to 150W Continue light time: About 1 hour (Lithium battery “BP-L60A” 14. 4V 5.4Ah) Group: 6 Group (A,B,C,D,E,F) Channel: 1~19 Color render...

In the attached video, I visit my city’s downtown area to try out this camera backpack from Endurax called the ED-V6. I take a detailed look at the backpack and internal messenger bag while also doing photography.  The backpack with messenger bag. The backpack is a nice gray color that I think works well in more professional situations, which is why I brought it downtown instead of going out to my usual nature areas. Keep in mind that Endurax sent me this at no charge for test and to make a video on. Check out the Endurax ED-V6 Vintage Camera Backpack through my links on Amazon.com and eBay.com . Or visit the Endurax store on Amazon to see their other bags. As an Amazon and eBay Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases!  I’m 6 ft tall so you can get an idea of the backpack’s size. Features of note: Two bags in one. You get a full backpack and a messenger bag. I don’t like commenting on price but it currently priced very reasonably considering the two bags. The i...

Two cameras with kit lenses. I have a pair of 15-45mm kit lenses. One came from a used Canon EOS M5 that I bought on eBay . The other came with one of my M50 bodies . After checking firmware versions I found out that the older lens had 2.0.0 firmware instead of 3.0.1 of the newer one. Checking the Canon website I was able to download the newer version and decided to go through the update process. (Links are affiliated, I earn from qualifying purchases!) The video with details on the process. DISCLAIMER: ATTEMPT FIRMWARE UPDATES AT YOUR OWN RISK. FIRMWARE CHANGES ALWAYS COME WITH A CHANCE OF FAILURE THAT WILL RENDER YOUR EQUIPMENT NOT FUNCTIONAL. DON’T COME AT ME COMPLAINING THAT YOUR LENS OR CAMERA ARE BRICKS. BEST CASE THERE WILL BE HAVING TO SEND THE GEAR TO CANON FOR REPAIR. As of the making of this video and article, Canon USA’s website is down due to a ransomware hack. We will be using the Canada website, but if I remember later on I will update this page with the USA link as wel...

Kaizen (改善) means improvement, or rather continuously improving something incrementally. The third camera in the A7s series was just announced after nearly 5 years since the previous version. I think the A7s III follows the kaizen approach well. It improved on the previous model a lot! There are a ton of videos already upon the first day of announcement, so a lot of information is out there to look over.  The Sony A7s III Check out the camera through my affiliate links: B&H: https://bhpho.to/3gjG4ny Amazon: https://amzn.to/2BEeumb Best Buy: https://bestbuy.7tiv.net/4bekG   As an affiliate of these shops, I earn from qualifying purchases!  The A7s III has a fully articulating LCD screen. The first Sony FF mirrorless to have it. I haven’t had access to the camera, so keep that in mind throughout this article. It’s possible I might get a few features wrong or not exact to how they work in practice. Do your own research and verify anything you are specifically interested ...

Nikon announced the Z5, or as they call it the “Z 5”. At face value it’s a lower-end version of the Z6, but I don’t think that’s as clear cut as it appears. It’s about value to specific users and use cases. In my mind it’s a continuation of their D600 and D750 line in Z mount. A camera that has a lot of value for the price upon release.  The Nikon Z5 with the new compact 24-50mm kit lens. Get the Nikon Z5 through my links: B&H: https://bhpho.to/39tFgdr Amazon: https://amzn.to/32TdGFb Best Buy: https://bestbuy.7tiv.net/PPovQ   As an affiliate of these shops, I earn from qualifying purchases!  Had they released it as the first Z mount camera, I might have stuck with Nikon gear. I was deeply into Nikon full-frame F-mount for a few years. At the end I had a D600 and a D750 with a few f/1.8 primes as the main kit. When they announced the Z6 and Z7 I was scratching my head. Why would I get something that was missing features from my DSLRs? Back then being mirrorless wasn’t ...

Expecting anything from the Canon EF-M system is an exercise in futility, but my job is talking cameras and it’s fun to speculate on if and what successors to the Canon EOS M5 and M50 could be like. Well that and I want to write up a wish-list for my ideal EF-M camera, haha… Links are potentially affiliated in this post, I earn from qualifying purchases!  Canon EF-M cameras. Now that the Canon EOS R5 an R6 were officially announced, there is the potential that we could see new equipment in the EF-M system. I don’t think it will happen until those cameras are actually being sold. The R5 is apparently coming out on July 30th and the R6 will be on August 27th.  The R6  is looking like a nice combination of features for the price. People in the RF system now have two professional level bodies to go along with their kit like the 28-70mm f/2 lens… What could be the next EF-M camera body? There are rumors floating around, but they have little substance and are low in the rumor r...