09 Nov Here’s Another Stop For Free From Olympus
Seems that I have made a mistake. This is not the first time - I made another one in 1959...
November 2015
09 Nov F-Stop It Or Else…
...Or else resign yourself to taking your entire camera outfit onto the plane in your pants pockets. If you are wearing cargo shorts and shooting with a Canon 1Dx and a 100-400 lens your 22-hour non-stop flight to Toronto should be memorable. You'll be able to dine out on the story for years. Standing up straight will be another matter.Should you wish to live a more normal life, we suggest that you come into Camera Electronic and have a look at the f-stop range of camera bags. This column features a couple of mirror-less models that show some unique features - and may help with your next holiday.The smaller one is the model m206 - listed as a Micro ICU Tiny. It is going to be good for a small mirrorless body, one little zoom lens, and the charger. You can also pack in a miniature tablet or mobile phone and a couple of cards. Whack it through the scanner at the airport and heave it up into the overhead locker and you're all set. All you need now is...
06 Nov Autopoling Is Not Against The Law
Well, not against Australian law, anyway - it does, however, defy gravity. And thereupon hangs a tale.Actually thereupon hangs a lot of stuff. Manfrotto Autopoles seem to have been around since the 1950's and have been seen in photographer's studios, designer's lofts, upmarket shops, and possibly bomb sites. They are one of the niftiest solutions for supporting things that Manfrotto make. And Manfrotto make a lot of supporting structures!Basically they are a two-part metal tube with rubber ends that can be slid between two surfaces and then jacked outwards to wedge the tubes rigidly between those surfaces. Note that I didn't restrict myself to saying floor and ceiling - Manfrotto Autopoles can equally well be placed between two walls and locked into place - they can even be used to separate teenagers in a car on a long trip.They come in different sizes and different diameters so you can come close to the measured span you need to wedge into before activating the mechanism. The wedging is done with a lever and roller and is surprisingly powerful. You must make...
06 Nov Now’s The Time For Christmas Cheer…
The start of November is finally here.Take some advice from the blogging hackAnd get some Olympus money back.Thank you, thank you, here all week...
05 Nov The Three C’S – Bringing Order To Disorder
We at Camera Electronic love order and abhor disorder and therefore we are in complete accord with the desires of the Manfrotto company to bring organisation to the studio. Here are three items made by Manfrotto to do just this.They look like little white plastic C's with added lumps. They are from three separate Manfrotto packets - the 064, the 206, and the 093. They're referred to in the catalog as cable clips in the three sizes.You know how the electric mains cable for the studio monoblock heads is plugged into the back of the heads and then dangles down to the floor? And curls itself around your leg when you are just standing there doing nothing? And pulls you to the ground? Those of you who saw the film "Anaconda" will recognise the circumstance instantly.Well these three sizes of cable clip prevent this. They attach to the different-sized tubes of a Manfrotto light stands and the little channel at the side carries the AC wire up and down close to the stand. The wire can slip up and down...
05 Nov A Gripping Tale Of Manfrotto
I often wonder if Manfrotto make one of everything. Their catalogs are one of the most comprehensive and well-organised documents for any shop. Of course this stuff is accessible on the net, but what a pleasure to see a well-printed book that you can refer to instantly for camera support or light support.A particular pleasure has been the Manfrotto practise of numbering their equipment simply and then organising a number index in the back of the book. If they have been wise enough to number the goods clearly - with a number that doesn't peel off - then the whole process of sales is much easier.A small cavil; of late the simple numbering system that prevailed a few years ago in the tripod section has given way to complex codes. We could sort out " 055 " pretty well...
03 Nov A Tale Of Two Cities – And You’re In One Of Them
This will be a far, far better thing than you have ever done before. And when you are done you can go to a far, far sweeter rest than you have ever known...
02 Nov Super Clamp – Super Powers Activate!
All hail the Manfrotto Super ClampWe never shall forsake it,It grips your bits and never splitsAnd you'll never ever break it.They used to say the key to the Universe was 42*...
31 Oct Yellow And Black And Money Back!
Yes!There is nothing quite as nice as getting money back...
29 Oct When Is A Soft Box?
When indeed. A question that might puzzle the ages - it certainly has received the attention of the manufacturers. Some of their answers are worth looking at.We all know what a standard soft box looks like - we get the medium size square ones when we buy an Elinchrom D-Lite 4 or D-Lite 2 kit. Four metal rods, a funny-shaped ring, a black fabric pyramid , and a diffuser screen for the front. Clap it together and it does the soft-box look beautifully.Big ones from this same manufacturer can come in octagonal, rectangular, or narrow strip configuration - the all have their own characteristics and they are all needed for certain classes of photography. You can even get generic ones from other makers that will fit the Elinchrom and some of them have umbrella-like self erection. Great for travelling with it.Really huge ones are also made, but photographers contemplating putting these together need a will of iron, muscles of steel, and the language of a stoker on a bucket dredge. Once erected, they provide a buttery-soft light but when they...