Product Highlight: Air Direct from Tether Tools

Tech

Air Direct is Tether Tools’ new wireless control system. Use it to connect your camera to a computer, tablet, or smartphone for fast file transfers and camera control with your own tethering software such as Adobe Lightroom, Capture One, or Smart Shooter. The system is compatible with all cameras that have the ability to tether, including Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, Sony, Panasonic, Olympus, Phase One, Hasselblad, and others.Air Direct couples USB-C technology with 802.11 AC wireless protocol... Continue Reading >

A Light Box and Portable Studio for Portrait Photographers

By Betsy Finn, M.Photog.Cr.
Tech

A light box or portable studio may not seem like a tool portrait photographers would use very often. But what about using one to take your marketing imagery to the next level? I’ve been wanting to try a light box for just this purpose. Could I use it to create consistently styled social media peeks at products my clients order? The possibilities intrigued me.At first glance the Foldio3 from Orangemonkie seems like a good fit for this task. It collapses to an easy-to-store size, assembles... Continue Reading >

Review: CamRanger 2 offers wireless camera control

By Stan Sholik
March 2020 issue Tech

Straightforward and reliable wireless mobile remote control of lighting gear on location has been available for years. However, camera viewing, control, and support have lagged behind. Being able to tether a camera wirelessly to a phone or tablet offers distinct benefits to different types of photographers. Portrait photographers can show images to their subjects during a shoot without moving them out of position. Wedding photographers can stage a camera for close-up yet unobtrusive photos.... Continue Reading >

Product review: BenQ SW270C Monitor

By Stan Sholik
February 2020 issue Tech

Color accuracy is the goal of every photographer, and it’s critical in portrait, fashion, and landscape photography. That’s why the introduction of the BenQ SW270C monitor is significant. Developed as part of the BenQ SW line, it’s designed for maximum color accuracy for still photographic applications. The 27-inch monitor delivers 2K resolution (2,560x1,440) and 99% Adobe RGB and 100% of sRGB color spaces. It has multiple input options, including USB-C for connecting the latest Apple... Continue Reading >

Product review: Westcott FJ400 Strobe and FJ-X2M Trigger

By Betsy Finn, M.Photog.Cr.,
January 2020 issue Tech

When you work on location with strobes you need consistent color temperature, dependable batteries, and control of your light output. New from Westcott, the FJ400 Strobe (400Ws) and FJ-X2m Universal Wireless Flash Trigger is an impressive duo that dominates in all three areas.© Betsy Finn I noticed no color temperature variance across any of my images.The best part is the trigger’s compatibility with many cameras so you’re not locked into a brand or model. The FJ400 strobe and the... Continue Reading >

Product review: Datacolor’s SpyderX Studio

By Stan Sholik
December 2019 issue Tech

If you’re looking for a color management system that covers everything from image capture to print output and is affordable to boot, Datacolor’s SpyderX Studio promises the solution. The suite includes the Spyder Cube for image capture white balance and raw file conversion, the SpyderX Elite monitor calibrator, and Spyder Print for printer profiling—all the necessary tools for a completely color-managed workflow. I tried the Studio suite in my own studio.Image captureWhy use a... Continue Reading >

Ready to go: New Wacom Intuos Pro Small tablet

By Joan Sherwood
July 2019 issue Tech

© Courtesy WacomThe new Wacom Intuos Pro Small completes the line of the latest generation of Intuos Pro tablets. It has the same active area as the previous generation and comes with the Pro Pen 2, which has 8,192 pressure levels in both pen tip and eraser. At 0.99 pounds the Intuos Pro Small weighs a third less than its predecessor. It connects via USB-C, Bluetooth Classic, or Bluetooth LE to mobile devices.                                            The six ExpressKeys, the Touch Ring,... Continue Reading >

Highly focused LED Fresnel

June 2019 issue Tech

© Courtesy NanLiteThe NanLite LitoLite 8F Focusable LED Fresnel is compact and suited for use on-camera, on a light stand, or on a tripod. It’s easily portable at only 0.7 pounds and offers powerful, flicker-free light output in a range from a 10-degree spotlight to a 60-degree flood, dimmable from 0 to 100 percent.It uses high-efficiency LEDs that produce up to 560 lumens of illumination, comes with warming (3,200K) and cooling (6,500K) filters, barn doors, and a case, and also has an... Continue Reading >