June 2017

Think Tank's Turnstyle 20 v2.0: The perfect day pack for your DJI Mavic Pro

Now that I’m doing more drone photography and videography, I needed a good way to travel with my drones. There are some really sweet hard cases, , but unless you’re working out of a vehicle its pretty heavy and bulky. Since many of the great drone locations are best reached by hiking or biking, I wanted something light and convenient, that would also hold my tablet and tablet mount.

Getting started with drone photography: A Resource Guide

DJI Mavic Pro There is plenty of information on the web about drone photography, but I’ve learned from experience that it is spread far and wide, and it can be very time consuming to get the bits you need. It can also be expensive if you order the wrong drone or even worse crash your drone because you were missing a key piece of information (yep, done that). So we’ve put together a resource guide that provides at least one approachable path for you to get started, have fun, and develop the confidence to push yourself and your drones further. We’ll be adding to this guide on a regular basis, so please let us know what additional topics you’d like to see included!

Finally, a hard-shell photo case with Think Tank features and flexibility

All of us have wrestled with the need to protect our photo gear while traveling on increasingly-crowded commercial airliners, but still have it available in a more-convenient, soft-sided, package when we get closer to where we are going. I get questions about how best to do this all the time from our readers and safari participants. Over the years we’ve had a variety of solutions, but none have been ideal. Now, leading photo bag maker has teamed up with leading hard-shell case maker SKB to create a unique hybrid offering. The combination cases offer a Think Tank designed set of dividers in the form of a removable backpack, enclosed in an SKB hard case. As always, if you , you’ll get free shipping and a free gift. The prices are amazingly reasonable, too!

Sony a6500 tested: Solid upgrade for top of the line compact mirrorless

Sony Alpha a6500 Mirrorless Digital Camera (Body Only)One after another Sony has been knocking down the barriers for those considering switching from full-size DSLRs to smaller, mirrorless, APS-C cameras. Better autofocus, high frame rates, and an increasing selection of lenses for its E-mount make the Sony a6000 family an excellent choice. Image quality is also highly competitive, as you’d expect from the company that makes sensors for much of the industry. One of the few remaining Achilles Heels has been its control and menu system, which have been hard to like. That was our biggest beef when we . With our recent field test of the newer we can confirm that Sony has made progress on the camera’s interface, but it is still more quirky than we’d like.

Reolink Argus: Extended test of a clever wireless outdoor camera

small_Reolink Argus product shot.jpgI’ve written a lot about various kinds of remote cameras, especially for how they can be useful for security and monitoring. There are plenty of models for indoor use, and for outdoor use with wired power, but not very many choices for completely-wireless outdoor cameras. In particular, I wanted one that didn’t require a paid monthly subscription to a cloud service. So I was excited when the folks at Reolink contacted me about their new Argus model.