Lensrentals Blog
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The Nikon D5 Review: Roller Derby and Mammoth Cave Testing
The weekend before last, I had quite a trip planned for my birthday. I was going camping at Mammoth Cave, with a side trip to see some friends play roller derby in Bloomington, IN. I had originally planned to bring only my Mamiya Universal and some instant film for a personal project I’m working…
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Hands On With The Panasonic Varicam LT
Panasonic’s new Varicam LT is basically a lighter-weight, more compact version of their Varicam 35, which has seen relatively wide adoption since its introduction in 2014. Weighing in at 6 pounds (body only) the Panasonic Varicam LT is a capable alternative for applications such as gimbal work or…
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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…
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Country Of Youth – Making A Documentary in Ethiopia With A Mirrorless Camera
There are times when the smallest decision can make a large impact. I do believe that we have the opportunity to change a life by simply making one small decision. When I’m given the chance to help through photography, I feel it’s my duty to pay it forward. Recently, I partnered with Nadus Films…
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Is the New RED Weapon, the Weapon of Choice?
The choice is simple; are you cool, or are you boring? That has to be the big decision RED wants you to make, right? Sure, the argument could be made that you choose RED for the stunning 6K resolution that it offers, or the 16.5 plus glorious stops of dynamic range, but really you want it because…
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Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GMaster Emergency Tear Down
OK, I usually don’t respond to requests to disassemble things. I have a day job and the blog stuff is my hobby. But every so often the Bat Signal get’s raised over Gotham Internet and Aaron and I feel the need to fight the crime of massive overreaction and stomp out the flames of…
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Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 G Master Lens MTF and Variance
We are pretty excited about the new Sony G Master Lenses for FE mount cameras. Our excitement may be a little different than yours because we see the Sony FE lenses as an evolving new product. There were some things we really liked and some things we really didn’t like about the first FE mount…
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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,…
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Sony Goes World Class: The 24-70mm f/2.8 GM MTF and Variance Tests
I was one of those who noted Sony had some troubles, as manufacturers often do, with some of their first generation lenses for full-frame FE mount cameras. When they announced the G Master lens series I was really excited to test them. I was expecting Sony to have made progress both with optical…
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Now In Stock: ARRI Alexa Mini & ARRI Amira
There’s no need to bury the lede on this one, so here it is: Lensrentals now carries the ARRI Amira and Alexa Mini. Some of our video clients, especially those with the benefit of higher budgets, may already have worked with one of these cameras. Many have also probably had experience with similar…
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Just the Lenses: The 70-200mm f/4 Comparison
There is a very good reason that we haven’t gotten around to testing one of the most commonly used zoom lenses until just now. We forgot. I was testing the Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 G OSS lens because we had just torn one down, I was impressed by the construction, and I wanted to see if the copy-to-copy…
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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…