Jon Sienkiewicz Blog

Introducing the Gitzo Légende tripod and camera backpack, two milestone products from the camera accessory manufacturer known for a century of greatness. Backed by an unlimited lifetime warranty, user-replaceable parts and build quality in a class by itself, Gitzo Légende is certain to be the centerpiece in your arsenal of photo gear for many years to come.

Sigma’s new 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports zoom lens delivers in a big way. Among all lenses that reach 600mm it has the greatest zoom range at 10X. This potent professional tool has a few surprise features, too.

I ordered a circular polarizing filter in 67mm size from Amazon. The price was $7.99. Two days later I was outside shooting through the new CP filter in all of the traditional polarizer situations. The last previous time I bought a polarizer it cost more than $50. So what did I discover? Was this deal a Bargain or Bagel? 

This story includes a concise but clear explanation of how polarizers work.

The right accessory makes photography more fun. Some photographers pursue accessories that are keys to unlock new activities, like macro or time-lapse photography. Us? We love gadgets of all sorts and shapes, and we’ll never have too many. Thankfully, the goodies on this list are all budget friendly. And BTW, if you’re searching for a photo-related Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or May/June Grad gift, here are some cool ideas.

Fisheye lenses abound, and many are priced under $199. Products like the Meike 6.5mm f/2 ($129) and 7artisans Photoelectric 7.5mm f/2.8 ($139) plus offerings from Bauer, Rokinon, Opteka, Samyang, Venus and some camera manufacturers are very affordable, exciting and—by and large—pretty damn sharp. But using one effectively can be tricky. Here’s what extensive hands-on practice has taught me so far.

My 35mm f/2.8 Tokina AT-X M35 PRO DX Macro was discontinued in 2010, but I’ve always liked it because it’s small, it focuses quickly and it’s extremely sharp. It’s for Nikon cameras with APS-C size sensors and was a constant companion for my now-retired 12-megapixel Nikon D90. So I decided to see how it performed on my full-frame Nikon Df. Man, did I get a surprise!

Carpenters are known to say things like, “Measure twice and cut once.” It’s hard to argue with that advice. But what about photographers? Should we trust the words of folks who deal mainly with images?