Being a photographer is not something that you do, it’s something that you are. I get emailed a lot by people about equipment, settings, photoshop editing and all manner of ‘technical stuff’. I also get asked a lot about what my top advice is for taking better pictures and the answer is not in a plugin or a shiny new camera… I find it funny that as photographers when somebody outside our trade asks about a great picture that they have seen that as photographers we often answer stating that the camera is just a ‘tool’ and no camera can make you take better pictures....

Rode has announced the new Rode NT-USB+, an update of the company’s popular Rode NT-USB desktop USB microphone, released in 2014. It’s designed for voiceovers, podcasting, streaming and even singers who want to capture studio-quality sound into their computer without a bunch of expensive equipment and interfaces. And it satisfies that need easily, requiring only a single USB cable directly from the microphone to your computer. It brings “next-generation” features over the original NT-USB, with a studio-grade condenser capsule with a tight cardioid polar pattern to minimise unwanted environmental sounds....

Well, this is a bit of a surprise if true. Panasonic has long shunned other autofocus systems in favour of its proprietary “Depth from defocus” system used in its Micro Four Thirds cameras. And while Panasonic might be happy with it, many Panasonic users are not. But now it seems like Panasonic might actually be changing their tune if the above video is to be believed. It was posted by Film Studi-O-taku Hi, based in Japan who says that the “magical camera company fairies” (which could mean he’s protecting his source or it could be completely made up) got word to him that the GH6 will include standard phase-detect autofocus....

After Sony’s 1,000fps smartphone camera announcement earlier this year, other manufacturers are playing catch up. Sure, the new iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X shoot 1080p at 240fps, but it’s not 1,000fps is it? Samsung are hitting back, though. According to Etnews, the Korean electronics manufacter are now developing their own 1,000fps smartphone camera sensor. It’s expected that this sensor will come in the next generation of Galaxy S phone. The design differs from Sony’s slightly....

Before the proliferation of speedlights and portable strobes over the last few years, people always asked me why I’d take flash out in the daytime. It was often difficult to formulate an answer that they’d accept. They never really “got it” unless I took them on a shoot with me so they could see first hand. This video from photographer Manny Ortiz embodies the answer in my head, though. Essentially it’s about having options....