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The Best Camera Strap For Nature Photographers

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Camera Strap For Nature PhotographersIn photography, all the gear talk usually revolves around cameras and lenses. The lonely camera strap never gets much attention.

But, the camera strap is pretty important in nature photography, because it needs to allow you quick access to your camera and needs to be comfortable (and strong enough) to support larger lenses that are common in nature photography.

I’ve tried all kinds of camera straps in the last ten years, and was never really satisfied with any of them until last year when I finally found the wonderful straps made by Peak Design.

There are a lot of things I love about their camera straps, but the one thing that really stands out to me is how freely they move. They’re made out of that same material as the seatbelts in your car, so the strap slides across your clothes super easily. This is great for nature photographers because we always need quick access to our camera in case we’re walking around and see a butterfly land on a flower (it won’t be there for long!). [Read more…] about The Best Camera Strap For Nature Photographers

Why You Should Get Insurance For Your Gear

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Photo by Bryan Fenstermacher (used under the CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license)
Photo by Bryan Fenstermacher (used under the CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license)
Photography is an expensive hobby. You might’ve started with something small and inexpensive, like a point and shoot camera. But, then the passion was probably too much to control, so you moved onto a more manual camera, or even a DSLR. Then came all the fancy lenses and tripod. And, before you knew it, all your camera gear became more valuable than your car.

If that sounds anything like you, then it might be a good idea to consider getting insurance for all of your camera gear.

Insurance helps protect the large investment you’ve made in camera gear and it gives you “peace of mind” — so you don’t have to worry about your gear getting stolen, and instead you can just focus on taking photographs (pun intended, heh). [Read more…] about Why You Should Get Insurance For Your Gear

Benefits of a Full Frame Camera

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CMOS SensorOne of the most common questions that comes up when upgrading your digital SLR is whether or not to go with a “full frame” camera or stick with a crop sensor. There’s good and bad things about both types of cameras, but here are a few benefits of the larger “full frame” sensor: [Read more…] about Benefits of a Full Frame Camera

Three Great Tripod Accessories

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Sometimes it can be really annoying to get your tripod in the EXACT position you need it. Just when you think you’ve got it set up how you want it, you lock in the ballhead, and realize your camera just moved down half an inch, which totally ruins your composition.

Well, luckily there are a few accessories that can help make your life easier: an L-bracket, a tripod collar, and a bubble level. [Read more…] about Three Great Tripod Accessories

Check Out Our New Gear Page

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Recommended Gear
One of the most common questions I get by email is about what camera gear I use and would recommend. So, I thought it was time to create a “recommended gear” page here on PN.

You can check it out at: https://photonaturalist.com/recommended-gear/

You’ll notice that I only listed a few products, and that I’ve only listed Canon gear. I decided to only include stuff that I’ve personally used and would recommend to a friend. I believe ANY camera or lens is capable of creating remarkable images, but Canon is just what I happen to use. [Read more…] about Check Out Our New Gear Page

Why You Shouldn’t Carry Too Much Gear

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Photo by Martin Taylor
Photo by Martin Taylor
A few weeks ago I had a horrible accident: I cracked the LCD screen cover on the back of my Canon 5D Mk II.

I was carrying two cameras at the time, and wanted to change lenses on my other camera, so I put the 5D on my tripod, and began switching lenses on my other camera. Then, about ten seconds later, my tripod fell backwards (with the 5D still on it), and there just happened to be a big rock where the 5D landed 😉

I sat there staring at my 5D on the ground for about five minutes, terrified of the damage I’d see when I picked up the camera. [Read more…] about Why You Shouldn’t Carry Too Much Gear