We recently got hold of the Phottix Battery Grip with built-in rechargeable battery to test out on our Canon Rebel XTI. I have to admit… this is a pretty cool item for the price, and its incredibly convenient. If you shoot your Digital Rebel a lot, this is one of those “must have” items, for the price.

Adobe has released the update to Lightroom 1.2 with a number of improvements and support for more cameras like the Canon EOS 40D. One thing that caught our eye was better noise reduction for Bayer sensor cameras. What this may sound like an oddball technical phrase, this applies to a lot of cameras such as Canon’s and Nikons. We wanted to take a look at this feature and see what kind of a difference it would make.

There are plenty of technical articles out there covering all of the details and specs and differences with the EOS 40D. I think this camera is going to be one of the most significant cameras of the coming year, so I am going to go over a few of my experiences with it, now that I have had one for a week.

While a good camera bag, like the Change Up bag we recently reviewed, can make all the difference in the world when it comes to getting to your gear quickly as well as keeping it safe when traveling, even the best bag can still be a little cumbersome when you really need to get to your gear when the action is in full swing. When you have a few lenses and accessories you need to carry, sometimes a bag just doesn’t cut it. The Think Tank Photo Module Speed Set is designed for the photographer on the go that has to be as mobile as possible and still have access to as much equipment as possible.

I do a lot of product work and getting the lighting right is always a challenge because different types of objects will reflect light differently. A very dark object may need a lot more light on it to pull out the detail where a shiny object may cause you all kinds of grief with reflections. Often, getting things just right is just a matter of trial and error, but starting with a decent setup can save you tons of work later. Today we will dissect a recent product shoot and see why I decided to use flash heads.

A photographic umbrella (known as a brolly in some places) is exactly what it sounds like, just like the umbrella you would use in the rain except these are designed to bounce, reflect, or soften a light source. There are two basic types of umbrellas, bounce and shoot thru. A bounce umbrella is one that you aim the light into and bounce back towards the subject and a shoot thru umbrella is where the light is aimed at the subject through the umbrella making the umbrella act like a large softbox.

It seems like every day there is another company popping up making camera bags and accessories. For the most part, these other bags are cheap imports that you wouldn’t dare trust to secure your precious equipment nor are they designed with how you work in mind. The folks are Think Tank Photo separate themselves from the pack with extremely high quality bags designed by professional photographers.