Articles

Spending your hard earned cash on an expensive lens can be frightening.  Enter the Lenscoat line of lens covers to protect your investment from scrapes, dings, bumps, and general harsh weather conditions.

The Lenscoat lines of products are made of closed-cell neoprene.  The covers are advertised as a thermal barrier to protect optics from rapid changes in temperatures as well as providing a more forgiving surface for your hands when working in cold weather.  In addition the covers are meant to provide a light level of protection from scrapes and dings.  The Lenscoat line is also sufficient to break up the visual impact of some of the massive ‘white’ monsters such as the Canon 400mm L series lenses when nature photographers are on location.

Over the past several years panorama stitching software has come a long way. I can remember back when I was amazed as the free stitching utility software that came with my Canon EOS back in the early 2000’s. Since then I have recently taken a second look at panoramic stitching software and I have to admit I was amazed how far it has come.

One package I had a good look at was the suite of tools provided by Autopano. You can find their website at www.autopano.net.

Autopano has two software packages designed for photographers that like to spend time with their cameras and not in front of a computer. The Autopano Pro 2 and Giga 2 software packages have a lot in common. I’ll start with the commonalities and then move on to the differences.

After working with a Lowepro Orion Trekker II photo backpack for the last 8 years, I found myself looking for a new backpack.  Time and wear and tear had taken their toll on my good friend.  In addition, my growing collection of photo gear meant I needed an upgrade.

Before going into a review, I wanted to share my requirements for a backpack.  My full wish list included room for 1 to 2 camera bodies.  Capacity for at least 3 to 4  lenses, the largest of which should be a 70-200mm 2.8 zoom lens.  I also wanted the bag to have rain protection.  Finally, I wanted a way to carry a tripod.