09 Jan The Triumph Of The Will I Or Won’t I…?
The Temptation was always there. Whenever it threatened to go away, I made sure it stayed, and provided new reasons to give in to It...
January 2015
08 Jan A Good Idea For Eyes With Hoodman
This is better than a poke with an eye with a burnt stick. 23.8 % better.You don't want to know how we measured that percentage...
08 Jan Well, Hush My Mouth With Beseler
Yes, it's real.A Beseler Cadet II enlarger.Yes, it's new, sealed in the box. Yes, you can do 35mm enlargements in your darkroom with it. If you buy it from us we'll give you a free set of Ilford Multigrade filters and an easel to use with it.If this seems like a pretty retro advertisement for a store that is crammed full of digital cameras and accessories, bear in mind that there are still dedicated film workers out there and people who would like to experience the art as it once was.No-one as yet has come in and asked for daguerreotype plates ready-made or a jug of mercury but we would not be surprised...
08 Jan A Proper Footing For Canon And Nikon
Don't be a slew-foot - be a screw foot. With Cullmann.Okay, you've seen the big new lenses from Nikon and Canon that have substantial foot mountings under the balance points of the lenses. Wonderful idea - it lets you mount them onto substantial tripods and then get steady long-distance shots.You've seen the new tripods from Cullmann - the Concept series. The 625 and 628 in particular will be of interest to the owners of the larger lenses. What they may wish to consider is an additional little purchase that can really improve the performance.The removable plate you see on the left in this photo is the one that comes with the smaller Cullmann Concept tripods - the longer one on the right comes with the bigger units. If you get one of these to match your large lens, purchase one of the smaller ones at the same time. The model number is OXC 380.Take this smaller plate apart - remove the circlip and pop the stainless steel out . Open the rubber lock on the larger plate and slide the...
07 Jan Bulk Is Back – Bounce In And Buy Big! Ilford!
Yay! After interminable questioning from the retro film enthusiasts, we how have good stocks of Ilford HP5 ( 400 ISO) and Ilford FP4 (125 ISO) bulk film.These are fresh 100ft. ( 30,5mtr) rolls of 35mm filmso that you can load your own cartidges cheaply. No excuse not to fire off that motor drive now!In the fridge down the back....
07 Jan Australia Day Is Coming – Buy A Tripod
Where's your patriotism? Did this country become great without the tripod? Of course not! Now do your duty!Ahem. Just trying out my Sam Kekovich mask. It seems to work - I feel like a lamb chop.The real point of this is to suggest you come in and get a tripod for Australia Day. If you are going to go shoot surfers at sunset with a six hundred millimetre lens you might consider a heavy-duty model from Manfrotto, Cullmann, or Gitzo. But if you are just going to capture the fireworks with a mirror-less or small DSLR consider a small tripod from Velbon, Inca, or Haldex.We got 'em - stocks in for the Christmas rush. They're inexpensive - $ 50 - and they're light to carry. But they have a surprising steadiness with these smaller cameras and are compact enough to pop into the boot of your car - and stay there forever.Bonus: they make useful fighting tripods if the bogans watching fireworks on the foreshore get out of hand. Do take your camera off the top and put it away...
06 Jan Pursuant To Our Previous Communication…With Nissin
This is the only time in your life when you will read good news that starts with " pursuant to our previous communication...
06 Jan Retro Is As Retro Does…Are We There Yet, Leica?
I have long struggled with the word "retro" in modern culture - in particular when it is applied to photography. I think I am expected to know what it means, but at my age I can't remember...
06 Jan Shut Dat Shutter
If you have a mirrorless camera - like the Fujifilm X-E2, The Olympus E-P5, or the Panasonic GX-7, you can conduct an interesting experiment.Set the camera so that it will fire the shutter with the lens off. Put it to manual, and the shutter speed to 1/60 of a second. Take the lens off, and look into the open mount as you press the shutter button.What the heck was that!? It was the shutter snapping into place, opening for 1/60 of a second, then snapping shut again, then opening up. If you had put a cigar end in there you could have cut it off...
05 Jan Kerboom!….With Nissin And Fujifilm
Well, it works.I have just given the new Nissin i40 flash a run with the little Fujifilm X-10 that takes the editorial photos for our shop - and i am impressed. Impressed enough to fork out some of my own money for one.It slotted onto the hot shoe and went into TTL mode flawlessly - no big surprises there. Tilt, auto zoom, all the bells and whistles we expect from modern flashes.Then I turned it to Manual and shot the sequence of flashes you see in the photos. 1/128, 1/16. and 1/1. But you see how it worked? - no cord connection - the flash operates as a slave from the X-10's little weeny on-board flash.So, you can hold it in your hand, shoot your main from the end of your arm, and have the little on-board peeper as a fill. Or put it on the shoe, dial it up to 1/1 and do fill flash out in full sunlight. With the X-10, 20, 30 or X-100 series cameras you can synch up to at least 1?100 - I tried...