Videos

Tony and Chelsea Northrup recount gear-buying mistakes, starting with an eBay Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 that proved grey market, so Nikon refused warranty repairs. They advise reputable dealers, checking warranty cover, avoiding flaky adapters and off-brand batteries, and not paying for frame rates or 4K that still life never needs.

James Popsys talks beginners out of accessories he is often asked about: filters, especially graduated ones whose effect Lightroom replicates free, drones, expensive carbon-fibre tripods bought before knowing they will be used, Gnarbox and SSDs, cleaning kits, monitor calibrators, Loupedeck controllers and L brackets, invoking diminishing returns.

James Popsys lists kit worth buying when starting out: a camera covering several focal lengths, not necessarily interchangeable-lens, a standard prime like a nifty fifty (25mm on Micro Four Thirds), an affordable telephoto rather than the priciest option, and a cheap, accessible bag so the camera gets used.

Andrew Boey, who has taught photography for more than twenty years, discusses when a photographer should upgrade a camera body. The seventeen-minute Beyond Photography talk evidently weighs the arguments for and against replacing working equipment, the kind of practical gear-buying question he returns to across his tutorials and courses.

Tony Northrup photographs his father with a 50mm f/1.8 on full frame, APS-C and Micro Four Thirds bodies, showing smaller sensors crop the view but not exposure. He multiplies focal length and aperture by crop factor (1.5, 1.6 or 2) for full-frame equivalents, arguing equivalent lenses are similar sizes.

Karl Taylor sets out what to weigh before buying a camera: define purpose, since landscape work values tonal range over frame rate. He compares full frame, APS-C and medium format sensors, explains why larger photosites beat cramped smartphone pixels, stresses lens quality over megapixels, and contrasts DSLRs with mirrorless.

Fenchel & Janisch explain two DSLR timelapse methods. The quick method records video manually at 1/30 to 1/50 shutter and f/4 to f/8 for five-plus minutes, then speeds it up. The professional method shoots stills with an intervalometer, allowing 50-second exposures at f/8, ISO 100, for night motion blur.

Andrew Boey shoots close-ups of potted plants during lockdown with a tripod, stool, LED light and close-up filters on a 50mm lens. He angles black card away from the light for solid blacks, drops ISO to 400, picks f/8 for depth and underexposes a stop for a low-key look.

Karl Taylor suggests ten shoots to practise indoors: window-lit natural light portraits, photographing children with toys as props, a one-light setup simulating sunlight, single-light rim lighting, natural light food, still life, one-light product photography with reflectors and flags, a bottle shot using daylight and a phone torch, and splash photography.

Jordi Koalitic presents ten creative photography ideas to shoot at home during quarantine. Without narration, the four-minute piece evidently shows each setup and its resulting image in quick succession, using everyday household objects and simple tricks, with the gear listed as a Sony A7R III and 16-35mm lens.