Not everyone will ever have the need to shoot tethered to a computer but if you do, it can really come in handy. Whether it is for quickly getting your shots to your computer, using the computer to control the camera’s settings remotely, or to easily send the image to a monitor for other people to review live, shooting tethered is sometimes the only way to do what you want.

For most general purpose photography you probably won’t ever need a remote control. However, if you are doing product shots, macro shots, and especially long exposure shots, using a remote control can help avoid the camera shake of pressing the shutter on the camera. There are both cheap and pricey wired remotes but Phottix decided to go one better and make their remote wireless. Continue reading to find out all the details.

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.

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.

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.

One of the main problems that many people have when starting off is getting their lighting to look right. Westcott is one of the biggest and oldest lighting companies around and recently they came up with the idea of a lighting kit for beginners.

Carbonite (http://www.carbonite.com) is an off-site storage solution whose mission statement is “Our mission is to provide an inexpensive, reliable and truly easy-to-use solution for the mainstream PC user; one that is simple, safe and always on™.” As photographers, backup should be a SERIOUS consideration and anything that is simple, automatic, and affordable sounds like something we should all look at.

Lighting is a difficult concept to master but to put it simply, the larger the light source, the softer the shadows are going to be. A large softbox will really do wonders for portrait and product photography. The Amvona DP-LH-3497O enSuite™ Light Head kit is a great example of this giving you a large diffuse light source at an incredibly affordable price.

When doing long exposure shots or when working closely with your subject, a remote shutter release for you camera can prove invaluable. It used to be that wired remotes ruled the market. These days, wireless remotes are becoming very affordable. But how good is a wireless switch when compared to a wired one?