How To's
How to Use Interview Transcripts as an Editing Tool
I was introduced to the benefits of interview transcription a surprisingly long time after I’d started learning about documentary filmmaking. Tired of introductory-level film classes and spending hours discussing editing theory between screenings of Koyaanisqatsi, I decided to take a Journalism 101…
Four Ways to Light On Location And Still Stay Mobile
I love using lighting while on location, but I’ve certainly experienced the downfalls. While bringing lighting gear outdoors is great for light control, bringing off camera lighting with you while shooting outdoors makes the process cumbersome, and really limits your mobility. However, I’ve found a…
A Look at Electromagnetic Focusing
If you’re like me you like to know what’s going on inside your camera or lens to some degree. They are tools, and if I want to get the best use out of my tool I need to know it’s strengths and weaknesses. You may not have noticed, especially if you shoot just Canon or Nikon, but there’s been a…
Packing Photography Gear for International (or Domestic) Travel
For the last couple of years, I’ve become pretty good at packing my bags for travel, while making sure all of the gear I need arrives safely and securely. Certainly, packing bags and traveling effectively is an art form in its own right, and I wanted to take you through the process of my packing,…
Focal Length Guide for Shooting in Large Spaces
There can be a lot of guessing involved when choosing gear for an unfamiliar venue. The techs at LR are consistently asked questions about the best focal length to use for an event. There are focal length calculators online like this one that can help determine which is right for you, and this…
How to Clean Your Camera Lenses (And Check For Problems)
In the past, Roger has shown us time and time again, that internal dust and other artifacts rarely have an effect on the image quality produced by your lenses. With how complicated the optics in a lens are designed, lenses are rarely affected by these small flaws such as lens dust. That said, every…
The Long-Awaited, Scary and Amazing Fuji Lens Teardown
For, oh, about 2 years now, every time we do a lens teardown I get emails from Fuji shooters asking me to tear down one of their lenses. There are several reasons we haven’t. For one thing, we have far fewer copies of those lenses so there is less reason to work on them. Since we can’t get parts…
A Peek Inside the Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-90mm f/2.8-4 ASPH
We always get excited when a lens comes out with some new technology or major changes. This time, the new technology came from an unexpected source when Leica released the Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-90mm f/2.8-4 ASPH lens. I know most of you don’t think of Leica as technological groundbreakers and most of…
LensRentals Review of the Kessler Second Shooter Slider
Full disclosure: I watch a lot of cooking shows. Top Chef, Mind of a Chef, and No Reservations are some of my go-to’s, but my absolute favorite (and by far the dorkiest) is Good Eats. A sort of founding commandment or mantra of that show kept popping into my head over my last couple weekends when…
How to Use AF Microadjustment on Your Camera
The most common questions and complaints I hear almost always have to do with AF accuracy, in one way or another, even if they don’t seem like it at first. “I’m trying to focus on this person’s eyes, but the ears are in focus instead,” or, “This lens is front focusing like crazy,” or, “This fast…
A Comprehensive Guide to Getting Started in Automotive Photography
Automotive photography has reached a broader audience over the past several years with car enthusiasts on social media showing off tastefully modified cars. It seems car photographers are a dime a dozen nowadays, but the good ones have a certain style about their images that can be spotted a mile…
Using the Zacuto Zgrip Relocator for C100 with the Movi M5
We are currently teaming up with our friends over at Zacuto as a part of the #withmycamera Giveaway. Today, you can win a $600 LensRentals.com Rental Credit as well as a $1250 Zacuto Gift Card! Check out all the details here! I think this would be a great opportunity to talk about one of my…