
Matthew Richards
Matthew Richards is a photographer and journalist who has spent years using and reviewing all manner of photo gear. He is Digital Camera World's principal lens reviewer – and has tested more primes and zooms than most people have had hot dinners!
His expertise with equipment doesn’t end there, though. He is also an encyclopedia when it comes to all manner of cameras, camera holsters and bags, flashguns, tripods and heads, printers, papers and inks, and just about anything imaging-related.
In an earlier life he was a broadcast engineer at the BBC, as well as a former editor of PC Guide.
Latest articles by Matthew Richards

3 Legged Thing Window Mount Clamp review: ideal for drive-thru photo opportunities!
By Matthew Richards published
Review The 3 Legged Thing Window Mount Clamp has a soft-touch rubber connection that mounts to your car window and turns your whole vehicle into a camera support. Just park up and enjoy the view

3 Legged Thing Phil review: meet Phil – smarter than your average smartphone mount
By Matthew Richards published
Review The 3 Legged Thing Phil sets out to be a multi-talented, multi-functional smartphone holder and mount, with premium materials and high-precision construction

The best lenses for landscapes in 2025: ultra-wide zooms for sweeping vistas
By Matthew Richards last updated
Buying guide Discover the best lenses for landscapes that capture the wider view, from rolling hills and rocky mountains to enchanted forests

3 Legged Thing Legends Tommy carbon fiber tripod review: a real rock star of a video tripod
By Matthew Richards published
Review The 3 Legged Thing Legends Tommy carbon fiber tripod aims to give rock-solid support for video cameras of all shapes and sizes

3 Legged Thing Annie Professional Studio Microphone Arm review: let your voice be heard
By Matthew Richards published
Review Forget lights, camera, action – the 3 Legged Thing Annie is all about the power of the spoken word, and recording it to best effect

The best cheap lenses in 2025: affordable lenses for mirrorless cameras and DSLRs
By Matthew Richards last updated
BUYING GUIDE My pick of the best bargain lenses offers great performance and creative versatility without breaking the bank!

Canon RF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 review: a new mirrorless lens, or a skeleton from Canon’s DSLR closet?
By Matthew Richards published
Review The Canon RF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 is designed to be lightweight and inexpensive, but it feels to me like a throwback to the last century

Best lenses for bokeh in 2025: fast primes for brilliant background blur
By Matthew Richards last updated
UPDATED Here's my choice of the best lenses for bokeh. Isolate your subject and make it stand out against a dreamy blurred backdrop

Canon Maxify GX7120 / GX7150 review: Canon’s range-topping business inkjet gets a minor refresh
By Matthew Richards published
Review The Canon Maxify GX7120 / GX7150 is packed full of office-friendly features but we’ve seen most of them before

Canon Maxify GX6120 / GX6150 review: a fast multi-function inkjet printer for the office, with cheap running costs
By Matthew Richards published
Review The Canon Maxify GX6120 / GX6150 is a business-oriented 4-ink printer that packs speedy high-volume printing into a conveniently compact build

Canon Pixma TR160 / Maxify BX110 review: one for the road, it’s a mobile inkjet printer
By Matthew Richards published
Review The travel-friendly Canon Pixma TR160 / Maxify BX110 gives you the option of printing in mono or color, anywhere, anytime and for any reason whether it’s documents or photos

Pentax WG-1000 review: gear up for the great outdoors with this waterproof and shockproof compact camera
By Matthew Richards published
Review You can submerge the Pentax WG-1000 to watery depths of 15m / 50’ for up to an hour, drop it from a height of 2m / 6.5’ and scrub it with disinfectants. It’s a very resilient little camera, let's bring on the adventure

The best gimbal heads for tripods in 2025: effortlessly track the action with big lenses
By Adam Waring last updated
UPDATED For wildlife, sports and action photography, there’s no beating a gimbal head for smoothly tracking moving subjects, especially if you’re using a big telephoto lens

The best geared tripod head in 2025: set up your shots with perfect precision
By Matthew Richards last updated
UPDATED When you need to get your compositions absolutely bang-on, a geared tripod head lets you make fraction-of-a-degree adjustments…

The best camera sensor cleaner
By Matthew Richards last updated
Updated Clean up your act, or at least your image sensor. These top kits are just the job for mirrorless cameras and DSLRs

Leofoto G2 Geared Pan Head review: Level up with this streamlined geared head
By Matthew Richards published
Review The Leofoto G2 Geared Pan Head enables ultra-precise dual-axis tilting over a fairly limited range, plus full 360-degree panning rotation

Leofoto Ranger LS-365C tripod review: amazingly solid and sturdy for a 5-section tripod
By Matthew Richards published
Review The beautifully crafted Leofoto Ranger LS-365C carbon fiber tripod legs folds down small but offers a decent maximum height and mighty 20kg / 44kg load rating. Bring your own head

Leofoto PG-1 Gimbal Head review: a smooth operator that wants to be a skeleton in your camera closet
By Matthew Richards published
Review The Leofoto PG-1 Gimbal Head can support up to 25kg / 55lb yet only weighs 1kg / 2.2lb thanks to some skeletal design work and precision engineering

Leofoto LH-36LR Ball Head review: a compact, low-profile ball head with a weighty 18kg / 40lb load rating
By Matthew Richards published
Review The Leofoto LH-36LR Ball Head is cleverly designed, beautifully engineered and luxuriously finished, with a clever twist or two along the way

Leofoto VH-30R Two-Way Head review: tilt and pan with panache and get a handle on the action
By Matthew Richards published
Review The Leofoto VH-30R Two-Way Head works well for stills and video, mounted on any kind of support, enabling full and free movement with a fluid feel

Benro GD3WH Geared Head review: gear yourself up for some high-precision adjustments
By Matthew Richards published
Review The Benro GD3WH Geared Head offers ultra-precise micrometric adjustments for triple-axis pan, tilt and swivel adjustments

Nikon Z 28-135mm f/4 PZ review: Nikon’s first full-frame video lens aims to move the goalposts for moving pictures
By Matthew Richards published
Review The Nikon Z 28-135mm f/4 PZ is aimed squarely at cinematographers and videographers, taking Z-mount cameras into new territory

Vanguard LVL Universal Tripod Levelling Adapter review: coming in one shape but several sizes, it aims to help us all keep a level head
By Matthew Richards published
Review The Vanguard LVL Universal Tripod Levelling System takes a previously featured component from a Vanguard tripod and adapts it to cater to the masses. It’s useful for stills and great for video

Neewer LiteTrip LT38 carbon fiber travel tripod review: one for the road and for life in the fast lane
By Matthew Richards published
Review The Neewer LiteTrip LT38 carbon fiber travel tripod bucks recent convention and is comparatively quick and easy to set up

Neewer HD True Colors Variable ND Filter ND2-512 (1-9 stops) review: extra stopping power without the risk of X cross shading
By Matthew Richards published
Review The Neewer ND2-512 (1-9 Stops) HD True Colors Variable ND Filter combines a variable density filter with an add-on regular ND filter, coupled by magnetic attraction
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