After more than half a century of looking forward to coming together as a family across distance and generations in one location to share a meal and stories, it finally dawns on me that Thanksgiving is actually the perfect Three Blind Men & An Elephant's "one person's subjective truth may not be another's, and neither may be the actual truth. But...
Read more2017 Gear of the Year Awards, Plus Our Second Annual Elephant Award
Sit back, kick up your feet - even close your eyes if you'd like -- as we cover the best gear of the year and explore the best example of the Three Blind Men and Elephant ethos of recognizing that one person's subjective truth may not be another's, and neither may be the actual truth.
Read moreSony a7R III: 2017 Medium Format Camera (!) of the Year
Reasonable people can disagree, but after spending two days and nights shooting with the a7R III and a pile of glass, OMG - it's clear to me that the a7R III competes with medium format digital cameras more than it does with most full frames, and blows them all away for video. Your mileage may vary.
Read morePanasonic GH5 Cage Review (My Favorite Thus Far): smallRig
The 3BME YouTube community is amazing as I was shown yet again - this time by viewer Gregory Gallaspie, who has co-designed a GH5 Cage configuration with smallRig that is my new favorite. Zacuto is more robust and smoother, but the GH5 Cage smallrig configured for my particular needs is just outstanding - and half the price. Does that mean the Zacuto is over-priced? Not necessarily - watch.
Read morePanasonic G9: Whoa.
The G9 took me completely by surprise -- and I know I'm not the only one. I REALLY like it.
Read moreI Join Tony & Chelsea Northrup's Quest to Supply Water Filters to Hurricane Maria Victims in Puerto Rico →
What do we use our gear for? Today, I published a PSA for the Northrup's clean water project with Michael the Maven, and contributed a limited number of signed prints for those who'd like one. Feels good to be part of that community called...humanity.
Read moreSony a7R III: I Go Hands On and Get a Jones for One →
Doesn't mean I'm going to buy one - yet. Need to spend much more time with it. But what's unequivocal is that the a7R III is the most capable camera I've ever had in hand. Here are the three videos I shot and published while up in NYC for PPE and Sony's latest camera launch...
Read moreGH5 Ultimate Rig, Zacuto, and...Plankton
The GH5 is small, fast and nimble. A 7" monitor, an articulable EVF and a cage...are not. How to reconcile?
Read moreOn the Open Road: GH5, FS5, Atomos, Zacuto, & Cartoni (Episode 1)
We were excited to road trip, see things and test gear. Then it started to rain...
Read moreRedRiver Papers' Palo Duro Etching Inkjet Printing Paper - I really like it.
I'm starting to print again. Things are a little different than they were back in my darkroom days.
Read moreSony RX10 Mark IV is a Paradox: Big, Fast, Slow, Small
You can belittle it if you want, but the do-it-all RX10 IV is an incredible engineering feat, addresses the single biggest issue of the Mark III (autofocus), and really makes you think long and hard about just how much better a top end DSLR and prime telephoto have to be in order to justify the difference in price.
Read moreIt's Only August, But I'm Naming Panasonic GH5 2017 Camera of the Year
It's been almost three months since I named the Panasonic GH5 2017 camera of the year. Nikon has released the D850, Sony has released the a7R III, Light is finally shipping the L16, and rumors are swirling around a new camera from Panasonic.
But none of it has changed my mind.
Read moreThe ONE Must-Have Lens for Your Sony FS5, FS7 or FS7 II
I am SO far behind, but I'm working to change this. For now, enjoy the video I delivered MONTHS ago on YouTube on Sony's new FE 18-110mm f/4.
Read moreOld Pros Telling Tales, Episode 1: Follow Focus, Old School
I met Barry Braverman at NAB 2017 in the press room, and over the course of five or ten minutes had a great conversation. THIS is why you go to NAB: the people.
Read moreAll My GH5 Videos in One Post!
Well, this is one way to play catch up: put all the videos I've done on the Panasonic GH5 and related lenses over the last couple of months in one post. Enjoy -- and if you like what you've seen here, please remember to give a thumbs up, subscribe to our YouTube channel and consider using our affiliate links or even directly supporting us with a contribution via PayPal in the "MORE" section below each video on YouTube. Thanks!
Read moreFujinon MK 50-135 T2.9 on Sony a6300 with Zacuto Scissors: Killer Combo
Along with its wider brother (MK 18-55 T2.9), Fujinon's 50-135 T2.9 cine zoom has just gorgeous image quality -- especially when paired with Sony's little a6300. The key is to truly lock the lens down on such a small body, and for that Zacuto's Scissors is fantastic: it locks the lens in place on your rail system by literally screwing into the lens itself, so you don't get flexing in either direction. If you have a Sony e-mount camera, you'll want to take a look at this pair. You may also want to look at the rig I used to hold it all together, the Sachtler Ace Baseplate; SmallRig 15 carbon fiber rods; Really Right Stuff L-bracket; and the edelkrone FocusOne.
Read moreI've Got to Figure Out How to Keep Up on This Blog
Just a quick note to apologize for leaving so much off the blog. This is all a very part-time thing I'd like to make almost-full time (we start shooting a documentary short tomorrow), Still sorting it out. Will try to get a pile of YouTube videos reposted here over the next couple of day, but you can always go straight to our YouTube channel. Thanks for your patience!
Read moreSleepless Over Sony's a9: what is it really, and for whom?
Sony a9 Aimed at One Thing: Dethroning the DSLR Kings of Pro Sports Photography
We are in NYC at the Sony press event announcing the $4,500 a9, and one thing is staggeringly clear. Sony may demur in public, but everything about this camera --along with the simultaneously announced $2,500 FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G-Master OSS lens screams "DSLR technology is so last-century, especially for sports photography." Here's why.
Read moreSony a99II Hands-On: Specs Gone Wild
The a99II [B&H|Amazon] is sick-fast with a unique pellicle mirror arrangement enabling hybrid phase detect autofocus. Along with a pile of other specifications including the 42 megapixel sensor from the a7r II, this a-mount camera is aimed at giving existing a-mount users a reason to keep investing -- and maybe even toppling the Canon 5D franchise. But it's never that simple, is it?
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