By: Steve Kossack

As a landscape photographer, workshop instructor and guide I do a lot of work in the field. And a lot of shooting. As a matter of fact, I do so almost constantly. Although I'm not what one might call an equipment junkie, I have to admit that I don't do a lot of searching or thinking about new equipment. I do realize though that these are my tools, and if new and better are out there, I need to know about them. That's what this wonderful website you are reading now does for me. I can see what's new and hot, and most importantly how it handles in the field.

Usually I can figure out what equipment will do — even, why I'd like to have it. The missing part of the puzzle is how well will it do in the field, and how long will it last. Will it work for the long run or will constant use quickly bring it to its knees. And when it does fail, how responsive is the company to handling repairs?

This information is hard to come by. I mostly find out by trail and err...