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August 2016

31 Aug

Posted at 02:18h in News by [social_share]

I have been experimenting for the last few months with long lenses attached to my Fujifilm X cameras by means of adapters. The tests were encouraging as long as there were suitable subjects some distance away. Yet I had never gotten to grips with the long zoom made by Fujifilm themselves - now was the time.Each manufacturer presents their material in a different way - some go for simple cases to protect their lenses and some go for quite elaborate hard cases. Fujifilm has packed the XF 100-400mm  f:4.5-5.6 RLM OIS WR lens in a sturdy box, a cardboard cradle, and a cloth wrapping...

30 Aug

Posted at 06:34h in News by [social_share]

You may not own a Fujifilm camera or five, and you may not have a Fujinon lens or five and a Fujifilm flash or two, but this column still has a message for you. And if you DO own the foregoing, you need to sit up and take notice right now.Camera manufacturers sometimes engage bag making companies to make branded carry-alls, rucksacks, or promotional duffel bags. Most of them are just an excuse to get the brand name out there on show, and can be seen as a cynical exercise in geek training. The marketing department probably sit around in a karaoke bar on the Ginza at 3:00AM making bets on whether they can get their fan-boys to buy underwear with the camera name emblazoned on it...

29 Aug

Posted at 00:00h in News by [social_share]

I always follow what the Hahnel company put out as accessories for digital cameras as they frequently hit the exact spot that other manufacturers miss. That, and the fact that they are a recognised brand that has a base outside of Asia for marketing. Don't get me wrong - I use lots of Asian-branded accessories and they do mostly fine - but I know that there are odd brands that have no real store backup like Hahnel. If they break the only option is a bin.Well, Hahnel are different. They not only develop useful gear but they listen to feedback and improve the design as they go along. The Captur range of camera and flash controllers are a case in point.I've not explored their options of time-lapse and motion, light, and sound detectors but I have used the Captur remote flash or camera trigger and can attest that it does the job brilliantly. No time delays and no balky behaviour from the transmitter or receiver.I put it down to the fact  that they finally got smart and included a simple...

26 Aug

Posted at 23:00h in News by [social_share]

Is there any more thrilling sound than the trumpets announcing a new camera? We all wake up and look about us, even if we are devotees of a different system.In this case it is the latest evocation of a full-frame Canon DSLR - it'll be the next in order in the 5D line - the Canon EOS 5D Mk IV.You may be forgiven for thinking that with the EOS 5D, 5D Mk II, 5D Mk III, 5DS and 5DS R, and now the EOS 5D MkIV that Canon have had more marks than the Spitfire...

25 Aug

Posted at 23:00h in News by [social_share]

Spotted this roll-up sign at our recent Photo Live Expo 2016 at the Novotel Langley and I am sorry that I did not get to speak further with the gentleman who manned their stand - as it was I was engaged at one of our own stalls all the day.Still, the internet is a good resource, and the web address:www.cameraenthusiastsinsurance.com.au turned up the entire website and most of the information that is necessary. I was pleased to see that it is organised in a business-like manner...

24 Aug

Posted at 22:30h in News by [social_share]

Okay, there are days and days. And some days you are in a daze.I have to confess that I have forgotten to take a picture of the subject of this column - the Canon SX 60 HS camera. It was in my hand for a day, and I shot pictures all over the place with it, and then forgot to set it down on the table and take a picture of it. My only excuse is I was so excited about what it does that I concentrated on that and let the external appearance go.Okay, You're looking at this weblog column on a computer. Google over to the Camera Electronic site for the camera and see what it looks like and read the gush about it. Then come back and I'll tell you what I found out.Right. The target buyer for this camera has always been stated to be the newbie African or Alaskan traveller. They would benefit from the long zoom contained in the camera and as it can be run in a pretty sophisticated way straight out of...

23 Aug

Posted at 23:30h in News by [social_share]

At the risk of sounding like a Me-Too blogger, I wish to draw attention to a course being run by the Shoot Workshops next door. It is a workshop on Picture Framing and will be run by Aaron McPolin on Sunday, the 4th of September - not that far into the future.The workshop costs $139, but this is the sort of thing that just does not come along every day. In fact, I would be prepared to say that in Perth this does not come along ANY day. It is the chance of a lifetime for some of us.We all make files. We all make images. Some of us make pictures. Few of us make pictures that hang on walls. And damned few of us make pictures that deserve to hang on the walls.Part of this is the files, part of it is the images. After that a great deal of it is the aesthetic that either supports or condemns the image. Here is where Aaron may be able to offer the insight to help us improve our pictures.The blurb...

22 Aug

Posted at 23:00h in News by [social_share]

I have been trying to bring the normal Uncle Dick cynicism to bear on the products of the Sigma Corporation of Japan. You understand it is not just native meanness on my part - though there is a great deal of that - but a cocked eyebrow and sidewise squint often helps me to see further into a design than wide-eyed acceptance.I think this would have been more successful with their lenses ten years ago. The earlier devices from Sigma were aimed at a different market, and you could tell by looking.  Oh, the optical performance of the glass was good, and the value for money was there, but the appearance and design of the barrels and the firmaments was a bit problematical.The external finish in those days was a sort of a plastic crackle coating - I'm not sure if it was a paint or a texture pressed into the components. It did have a certain charm, but if you started to use the lenses extensively and were not careful how you packed them you could find it wearing...

22 Aug

Posted at 01:52h in News by [social_share]

About a year ago I posted a column about the Fujifilm 27mm EX 2.8 mm lens I had just bought. I speculated that it would be a useful addition to the menagerie of glass I keep. I didn't know the half of it.For the last 40 years we've been accustomed to thinking of standard prime lenses as wide-aperture affairs. Ever since the 50's we have clapped lenses onto our cameras with maximum apertures of f:2...

18 Aug

Posted at 23:30h in News by [social_share]

I used to be a little reticent about taking package shots - it always seems to be somewhat of a cop-out on the part of an illustrator to just show the outside of the box. Some products had a little printing on the outside but some were the classic " plain unmarked box "...