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Various links go to my affiliates, I earn from qualifying purchases! Nikon released a firmware update for the Z5 that specifically says improved and expanded eye autofocus functionality. That’s a solid upgrade! Let’s take a look… You can download the firmware update from the the Nikon USA website . Obviously if you are outside of the USA then check your country specific Nikon website for the update in case there are regional differences. Here’s my video testing out the new firmware compared to v1.20 and a Canon EOS M6 Mark II with two lenses that have a similar field of view. Though, not a lot of those Canon testing clips got into the video… Consider picking up a Nikon Z5 Digital Camera through my affiliate links: B&H Photo Video Amazon Adorama Best Buy ebay Used on KEH Here is the official list from Nikon’s website: Added support for the iOS version of NX MobileAir . Use NX MobileAir version 1.0.4 or later. Added support for MC-N10 remote grips . Added support for ML-L7 remote c...

Links in this post might go to my affiliates where I earn from qualifying purchases! I’ve had multiple comments on my videos recently asking me how to get photos from old cameras, or more recent cheaper cameras that don’t support connecting wirelessly to a smartphone.  There are various ways to do it, but here I’ll cover the few I tend to use. Here’s a link to the combo USB memory card reader on Best Buy I showed in the video. I haven’t personally tried it but it looks versatile. Make sure it has the port and memory card types you need before considering it. Search for memory card readers: B&H Photo Video Amazon Adorama Best Buy ebay Connecting a smartphone to a normal USB memory card reader with a USB-C to USB-A adapter. Probably cheaper than buying a dedicated reader. Here are the ways I tend to use: Use a computer between the camera and phone. This is the most common and foolproof way. Besides buying a dedicated memory card reader you can usually connect your camera directly to...

I was planning on making a simple comparison video between the Canon EOS R50 and the Canon EOS M50 Mark II. Right before I starting recording I received an e-mail that I gained access to Bing Chat , the new GPT AI natural language website and extensions to the Edge browser. This goal seemed like a good test of Bing Chat to see if it can work for this use case. I used Chat GPT to summarize the video transcript: Bing Chat isn’t capable enough to do this and it’s limited to 2000 characters per message. ChatGPT appears to have a limit around 4000 and it’s significantly better at using the text I provide it. Why that happens is impossible to say with what I know, but I’m guessing that it’s a mix of low processing budget, confusion from web results, and maybe a simpler model overall with not enough training on each subject.  Bing Chat called the Canon EOS M50 Mark II a DSLR camera which is incorrect. Opening Talk Canon is a well-known camera brand that produces high-quality cameras for both...

I’ve been branching out into creating review videos of various products to see if it makes my overall work viable. Right now the videos are focused on Amazon’s video creator hub ( my storefront ) but I also upload to YouTube. Links are potentially affiliated, I earn from qualifying purchases!  Taking product photos. The company Vera Forma sent me a men’s belt to make a video on. In turn I wanted to produce decent quality product photographs to use for video thumbnails. While out with friends I started looking for something to spice up the photos. I had made a video about the belt itself with my usual cutting board surface. The Vera Forma Navigator belt video:  https://youtu.be/NoCBnvS26Ns Or check it out directly on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3JeoJOk While at Lowe’s I had noticed 18 inch square vinyl flooring tiles. They were only around $1 to $3.50 per tile and you are able to purchase single tiles. The vinyl tile area of Lowe’s. Here are the specific tiles I purchased. In the store yo...

I heard recently that the owner of my local camera shop is looking to retire. According to this article on Rock River Current he’s soon to be 67 so that makes sense. I wish him well! Camera Craft Tom’s father Bob had purchased Camera Craft in 1966, so for its current run the shop has been in their family for effectively two generations. That’s a lot of built up knowledge and expertise. Here is a statement in the Rockford Current article about the shop’s overall age: “Camera Craft has enjoyed an excellent reputation in our community for nearly 100 years, and it is due to a long list of dedicated team members over the years who are passionate about photography and sharing their expertise with our customers,” he said.Tom Brady Before them it looks like the shop had been around a long time. Impressive longevity! I do personally remember going to their Edge Brook location a few times many years ago. In a local photographer group, Tom made a post about what he would like to get out of the e...

I’m a fan of the 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary lens, but it isn’t perfect. In this video I talk about enjoying a beautiful Japanese styled garden while they had a Christmas holiday lighting event while doing photography with the Sigma 16mm and the Canon EOS M6 Mark II. I’ve photographed this garden for years but always find unique ways to enjoy photography there! This lens is available for multiple mirrorless mounts. There would be slight field of view differences between this Canon EF-M version and the Sony, Fujifilm, and L-mount versions but other than that pretty similar. At the garden. Check out the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary lens through my links: B&H Photo Video , Amazon , Adorama , ebay , Walmart , and used on KEH . Or check out the trio of Sigma DC DN primes on B&H . Make sure you get the correct lens for your mount! As an affiliate of these shops, I earn from qualifying purchases!  You can learn more about the lens on Sigma’s website too. A great photo oppor...