Photo Accessory Reviews

We started looking for DIY skins for cameras and lenses and discovered a literal treasure trove of sticky things that are camera-related, at least remotely. We limited our search to AliExpress, an online merchant with whom we have had sporadic success. We think you’ll like some or all of them, so we’re sharing our findings here.

The L-bracket has moved from the realm of the exotic into the everyday world of real utility where it belongs, thanks in large part to the success of the QR11 L-bracket from 3 Legged Thing. After four years of unbridled success, the 3LT QR11 L-bracket has been upgraded to version 2.0, adding manifold improvements suggested by users.

Creative photographers use special effects camera filters to produce unique images and videos that make us wonder, “How did they do that?” The Black Pro-Mist filter from Tiffen is a screw-in filter that delivers results that cannot be created consistently using any other method. The Tiffen Black Pro-Mist filter…

Need a portable drive for those massive files you’re making as a content creator? Or perhaps a reliable backup drive to sidestep disaster when your computer melts like a Marshmallow Peep in a 1500W microwave? Two or three big names dominate the external hard drive offerings at online retailers, and it’s tempting to just pick one with the size and price that appeals the most. Here’s a better plan: the Mercury Elite Pro Mini Portable Drive from OWC, a company that’s been providing computer gear for professionals for 33 years.

Time to hit the Reset Button and put your notions of Image Quality on Pause. In our everyday lives as photographers we prize sharpness, saturation, acutance and absence of aberration when we idealize the images we want to capture. Now it’s time to recognize that images that are blurred, smeared, warped and otherwise traumatized can be beautiful.

Lensbaby lenses produce images that are intentionally unsharp, because optical aberrations can be beautiful. In a word, a Lensbaby turns blur into bliss.

We put three brands of UV filters through a very basic, real-world test. The brands we tested are K&F Concept, Urth and Okko. Never heard of them? Us neither, before this. Here is our report.