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Shutter Muse

I share my adventures, with photo tutorials and reviews of the latest camera gear along the way. Sign up to my newsletter to hear the latest stories.

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Peak Design's new roller bag is here

Hello Reader, Peak Design has been one of my go-to brands for camera-carrying solutions in the past decade or so. I have reviewed every bag they've ever made. Backpacks, camera straps, and sling bags have always been their thing, but many people wondered if they'd ever create a carry-on roller. Today is that day. The new Roller Pro uses an ultra-slim carbon telescoping handle to minimize intrusion into the bag's main compartment, and a new made-to-fit XL Camera Cube allows photographers to...

Hello Reader, Last month, the explanation of my current photo backup routine struck a chord with many people. I received a lot of great feedback and quite a few follow-up questions. I love the questions because they help me to shape future content, and that's just what I'm doing today. Regarding travel backups, one commenter asked how I manage my Lightroom catalog while traveling. Truth be told, I have had this same question MANY times before. It has always been clear that this is a sticking...

Sony's new USB-C dual battery charger Hello Reader, Sony's old main-powered camera charger is a clunky 10-year-old design, so I was excited to see them launch a new USB-C dual battery model. The Sony BC-ZD1 is a dual-battery USB-C charger for the NP-FZ100 camera battery used in Sony Alpha cameras such as the a7 IV, a7R V, a9 III, a1, a1 II, FX3, FX30, ZV-E10 II, a6700 and many more older models. In short, if you’re an avid Sony shooter, you are likely dealing with this type of battery. This...

Hello Reader, For the past nine years, I have regularly updated a series of posts detailing my photography backup routine. This is done in an attempt to receive fewer "HELP, I just lost all my photos" emails. Having just purchased a few new pieces of kit in the November sales to tweak my backup setup, I thought it was prime time for another update in the series. Hit the link below to see how I protect my photos. >> My Professional Photo Backup Routine – 2025 Edition Much Requested - With...

Peak Design's upcoming camera bag tested already. Hello Reader, First, as promised in my email last week, a look at Peak Design's latest camera bag. A great ultralight bag that isn't yet available to the public but will be very soon via the Kickstarter campaign linked in the review. Exclusive Review >> Peak Design Outdoor Sling 7L Last Day Secondly, I wanted to remind you that the 5DayDeal Photography bundle ends within the next 24 hours. So many other photographers have rushed in to get this...

Hello Reader, Gura Gear's camera bags are extremely popular among nature and wildlife photographers. I've often encountered entire groups using all the Kiboko backpacks. The US brand has just introduced the new Mara duffel bags, made from the same ultralight materials as their camera bags and designed as the perfect global travel companion for the Kiboko. I was given exclusive first access to the Mara bags, and I am now bringing you my in-depth review at the link below. >> Gura Gear Mara...

F1 Las Vegas

Hello Reader, A few weeks ago, I posted a review of the new Shimoda Urban Explore camera pack. I had a lot of good things to say about it, not least because they hit a much lower price point than they had with their previous bags. Moreover, they also offer a 25% discount during the Kickstarter campaign–but this ends in just a few hours. Shimoda bags have been incredibly popular among my readers, but sometimes, their price has been a barrier. If that were the case, this new bag and the huge...

Fun weekend at the Las Vegas F1 Grand Prix! Hello Reader, After leaving Alaska last week, I headed to Las Vegas for the inaugural Las Vegas F1 race. Getting up close and personal with F1 cars is always an incredible experience, and I'm grateful for the hospitality shown to me by the Red Bull and Alpha Tauri teams. If you watched it on TV and knew what to look for, you might have seen me in the back of the Red Bull Racing garage with a headset on later in the race, standing next to a certain...

Eagle in Alaska

Nikon Z8 + 600mm f/6.3 VR S Hello Reader, I just returned from a few days in Alaska, where I tested the new Nikon 600mm f/6.3 VR S lens. Honestly, the weather was awful, but that's how it sometimes goes. This is a fascinating lens. It might be as sharp as a 600mm f/4, but less than half the price and weight. Nikon has done a great job with this. If you want to subscribe to the Shutter Muse YouTube channel, I have added some quick tips and behind-the-scenes clips using the 1-minute YouTube...

Hello Reader, When I got my new iPhone 15 Pro Max last week, I was eager to see how to incorporate the phone's new USB-C port into my photography workflow. At first, I experimented with backing up my camera directly to a portable SSD, using the iPhone to manage the files and folders. I'll write more about that next week. In the meantime, I wanted to tell you about another unexpected discovery I haven't seen anyone else discuss. I connected various Sony, Nikon, and Canon cameras to my phone...