Tags Posts tagged with "Gear review"

Gear review

Introduction

If you have been following this blog for some time or you are familiar with my Street Photography, you know I love using a flash when shooting. Especially during times before the COVID-19 lockdown(s), I would really enjoy walking about taking photos with a flash. The most important thing for me as a street photographer has always been manoeuvrability and portability, others might call it minimalism, and for that reason, I try to carry as few things as possible with me. My largest camera as of today is the Fujifilm X-Pro1 with the XF18mm attached to it, which lately has felt a bit too big for my needs, and my Ricoh GR, which is just perfect. Since I love working with flash, I also use similarly sized flashguns. Such as the Flash Q20 II or the all-time classic, but now discontinued Fujifilm EF-X20. What would be the point of carrying a flash that is bigger than my camera? For example, my old Yongnuo YN560II when paired with my Ricoh GR was just plain silly. It even felt silly mounted on my X-Pro1 and only looked size-appropriate on a DSLR. 

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from Bertrand, the founder of Tiny Flash. I opened it up and read it, and to my surprise and excitement, I saw it was about a new pocket-sized flash that claimed it worked on any camera (analogue or digital)! I wrote back to Bertrand, expressing my excitement and desire to review his flash. After a few days, the prototype reached my door! Here are my thoughts about it.

Hyperion Camera Straps - Black with Black on X-Pro1
Photo by official Hyperion Camera Straps website - Black with Black on X-Pro1

Introduction

Every street photographer devotes time and attention to choosing the perfect camera for street photography. Choosing the right kit is an essential part of the enjoyment of street photography. If one makes the wrong choice, it will most probably ruin the overall experience for him/her. However there are other things a street photographer should invest some research time into. Such as camera accessories.

Accessories play an important part in one’s comfort. So today, I am going to review one of those accessories, the camera strap. In my opinion, the most important thing in a street photographer’s arsenal after the camera (and lens). It plays a very important role in the overall experience and especially during long street photography sessions that last well over 4-5 hours. At least that is how I feel.

The Fujifilm X100F for Street Photography

Introduction

It had been a while since our friends from Fujifilm Hellas had send us a camera for a review. But the wait has definitely been worth it as recently I received the amazing little Fujifilm X100F to try out and review. Fujifilm let me keep the camera for 3 whole weeks and I also got to take it with me to Berlin for 4 days! When in Berlin, I didn’t take any other camera with me, on purpose, in order to really get to know this little gem. To find out more about what I think of the Fujifilm X100F for Street Photography, just read on!

Before we jump into the review though, I would like to remind you of our previous camera reviews that you might find interesting. We have written reviews on the, Fujifilm X-Pro2, the Fujifilm X-Pro1, the Ricoh GR, the Fujifilm X-T10, the Fujifilm X-T1, the Fujifilm X70 and the Canon EOS 6D.

As I have mentioned before in the past, all the cameras we review here on Streethunters.net are reviewed in a particular way and under specific circumstances. They are reviewed as street photography cameras specifically. We do not care less about pixel peeping, lens distortions, chromatic aberrations or anything like that. What matters as far as we are concerned is how the camera handles in the streets!

Now that this intro is over, let us look into the Fujifilm X100F for Street Photography!

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K&F Concept Camera Backpack Review Cover

Introduction

Finding the right camera bag for street photography is a very subjective choice. Some street photographers will prefer to travel light, heading out on the streets with just one camera and one lens in hand and a spare battery or memory card, whilst others will opt to carry the proverbial kitchen sink with them when out shooting – multiple cameras, lenses, flashes – the works. Personally I’ve always shied away from using a backpack for street photography as they have traditionally appeared a little overkill – hulking great black monstrosities festooned with zips, buckles and compartments that absolutely scream “I’m a camera nerd!”. Packed and bursting to the gunwales with a bit of camera gear for any eventuality, such backpacks for me epitomise the excesses of gear acquisition syndrome, and are exactly not what the street photographer needs. Plus I’ve harboured a somewhat irrational dislike for wearing backpacks ever since reading one of those dreadful style-magazine type articles which said a grown man should never be seen wearing a backpack – something about them making the wearer look like an overgrown schoolboy together with their excessively utilitarian appearance, which has also stuck with me.

As a result, I’ve always preferred the single strapped messenger bag style (practicality and back pain be damned!). For my street photography camera bag needs over the last few years I’ve been relying on the Lowepro Event Messenger 250 (with space for laptop and several cameras or lenses if I want them), or if travelling lighter, the nifty Cosyspeed Camslinger Streetomatic. But, things are changing. Backpacks are getting trendy – or at least it appears that way judging by the sheer number of Fjällräven Kånken backpacks I see being worn by students from my local art school. So, I figured it was time I put my initial misgivings aside and try a camera backpack for street photography. Something that looked more ‘casual street’ than Terminator-style uber photo machine. Enter the K&F Concept camera backpack.

K&F Concept CY to FX Lens adapter review

Introduction

If you are like me you probably like making things a little bit more interesting every once in a while by escaping your comfort zone in street photography. You can escape your comfort zone with 2 ways. You can either change technique, for example switch from shooting narrow to shooting wide, or you can change gear. One of the most fun experiences for me when I feel I want to try out “new” gear is to shoot street with legacy glass. I have 2 C/Y (Contax/Yashica) lenses that are amazing! They produce lovely images and they are as good as new. If you log on to eBay you can find so many high quality lenses in great condition that you can purchase for very reasonable prices. Of course you need an adapter to use them with your modern mirrorless cameras.

There are many adapters to choose from, from really cheap ones to really expensive ones. Today we are going to review the K&F Concept lens adapter that is in the mid to low cost range. We will be looking at the K&F C/Y to FX lens adapter also know as the Contax Yashica Lenses to Fuji X Camera Mount Adapter.

Fujifilm X-Pro2

Introduction

About three weeks ago our friends from Fujifilm Hellas sent us the Fujifilm X-Pro2 so we could try it out. Put it through it’s paces. Give it a whirl. You know the drill. So, what did I think of the Fujifilm X-Pro2 for Street Photography? Read on and you will soon find out!

But before we jump into the good stuff, I would like to remind you of our previous camera reviews that you might find interesting. We have written reviews on the Fujifilm X-Pro1, the Ricoh GR, the Fujifilm X-T10, the Fujifilm X-T1, the Fujifilm X70 and the Canon EOS 6D. All cameras we review here on Streethunters.net are reviewed in a particular way and under specific circumstances. They are reviewed as street photography cameras specifically. As mentioned in previous posts, we do not give a rat’s bum about pixel peeping, lens distortions, chromatic aberrations or anything like that. What matters as far as we are concerned is how the camera handles in the streets!

Now that this intro is over, let us look into the Fujifilm X-Pro2 for Street Photography!

Fujifilm X70 product photo

Introduction

During September I had the luck to try out the new Fujifilm X70 compact camera. I was very excited when I received it directly from our friends at Fujifilm Hellas. This is the 3rd camera Fujifilm Hellas has sent us for a review. In July they sent us the Fujifilm X-T1 and in August the Fujifilm X-T10. Besides the cameras sent to us by Fuji we have also reviewed the compact wonder of a camera Ricoh GR, the timeless Fujifilm X-Pro1 which is at the time of this writing 4 years old and still kicking serious butt, and the big and powerful Canon EOS 6D.

All cameras we review here on Streethunters.net are reviewed in a particular way and under specific circumstances. They are reviewed while doing what they are meant to be doing, shooting in the streets! We don’t care about pixel peeping, lens distortions, chromatic aberrations or anything like that. What we care about is how well a camera handles in the streets, in other words, how good it is for street photography. So today is time to look into the Fujifilm X70 for Street Photography!

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Cosyspeed Streetomatic

Avid streethunters.net readers may remember our first ever gear review just over a year ago featured a review of the Cosyspeed Camslinger Camera Bag. Now that we’re a bit more experienced and we’ve got some more reviews under our belts, we’ve been given the opportunity to revisit Cosyspeed’s product line. The guys at Cosyspeed were kind enough to send over a preproduction prototype of their new Streetomatic camera bag for me to try out on the streets. Cosyspeed camera bags are quite unusual in that that they offer street photographers the unique facility to wear their camera bags on their hips like a utility belt, and they can also function as a regular messenger ‘sling’ bag if desired. I’ve been using the Cosyspeed Streetomatic for street photography extensively over the last month, and I’m going to share my findings with you in one of our comprehensive street hunter reviews.

This review was amended on 3/9/2015 as a result of planned changes by Cosyspeed to the production model of the Streetomatic. See ‘Update’ for further details. The score ratings remain the same, but the summary text at the end of the review was altered to take into account these changes.