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November 2017

15 Nov

Posted at 10:04h in Dick's Rant by [social_share]

We've been selling Wimberley heads for years in various forms. When I started working for the shop a decade ago there was a stack of Indian-made castings in the store-room that were intended for use as long-lens gimbals. The quality was on the high agricultural level - the castings were big and sturdy, and any reasonable use would see the things good for decades. But the things were bulky and insensitive to the locking mechanism That was then and this is now. In the interim we have seen genuine Wimberleys come through occasionally, and have also noted similar devices in the Really Right website as well. The prices were really right too, if you looked at them from the perspective of the accountant for the wholesaler. Now we have a good alternative right in-store - the Sirui carbon fibre head. The level of sophistication and finish is everything that any could be desired - look at the clever design that lets one portion of the casting act as a clamp on another one with the no need for gouging serrations. The finish on...

14 Nov

Posted at 14:10h in Dick's Rant by [social_share]

Shocked, I tell you. But there is good news  - Manfrotto has come up with a cure for shock. I was intrigued to see this big rectangular messenger bag in the storeroom. In the Manfrotto section as well, were you only expect to find light stands, tripods, and other hardware. And even more intrigued with two things - it had a sign on it promising anti-shock...

10 Nov

Posted at 11:14h in Dick's Rant by [social_share]

No, We're not talking about another footballer's romance or a North Korean threat - it's the Lastolite Ezybox Micro - possibly the lightest of the large diffusers for speed lights. Certainly one of the easiest to put on and off. Speed light diffusers have a long history - all the way from those rigid plastic panels that you clipped above the Metz 45-series hammerhead flashes in the 1970's through to the strobist craze five years ago. There were innumerable things that attached to your speed light with rubber bands and velcro straps. Nearly all of them worked and nearly all of them were a pain. The ones that went on easily, came off easily - usually when you moved your camera from horizontal to vertical. The ones that stuck tight needed a welder's degree to attach and an oxy torch to take off. And the matter of needing a diffuser in the middle of an event shoot meant that both of these possibilities could occur at the same time. The heavy ones strained the joints of the speedlights - you would have...

09 Nov

Posted at 10:15h in Dick's Rant by [social_share]

I once tried to tether my DSLR camera to my laptop computer in my studio. It was successful, after I studied the camera manual, the camera maker's website, the internet forums, Ken Rockwell, and the entrails of a brace of white doves. I may have gone a little over the top with the pentagram and the candles, but at least I could eventually see the pictures on the Macbook Pro at the same time as they were on the live view screen of the camera. The only problem I encountered then was figuring out why I wanted to look...

07 Nov

Posted at 10:37h in Dick's Rant by [social_share]

Here's one for current professionals, budding professionals, and professionals who have long since gone to seed. A wonderful product that will stop you from killing someone. You're doing an event - a school ball, a corporate dinner, a ceremony...

06 Nov

Posted at 08:22h in Dick's Rant by [social_share]

It all got so much easier  - thanks to new advances in technology. The venue was Elizabeth Quay, the event a display called Toyota At the Quay. It was one of four motoring events available on the same day - a case of Perth's feast or famine mentality when it comes to car shows. I chose it as the one closest to home, with the easiest transportation, and no entry fee. Birds aren't the only creatures that go cheap, cheap around here...

03 Nov

Posted at 10:14h in Dick's Rant by [social_share]

Panasonic once paid for my good opinion*. I am not sure I ever delivered on that deal, but it is not too late to make up for it now. The subject is these humble electric components - their batteries. I don't know if you have ever gone into an electronics-parts store and looked over their battery rack. It can be the most frightening thing you'll ever see. In the case of one I frequent, there seem to be more varieties of battery sold than equipment to put them in. And I'm not talking about the lithium-ion batteries that power our digital cameras - that's a whole 'nother field of mines when it comes to standardisation...

02 Nov

Posted at 11:14h in Dick's Rant by [social_share]

Well, it took two or three goes, and several changes of cars and underwear, but I think I have finally been able to set the Fujifilm X-T series cameras in the ring against each other and compelled them to show their best. Remember that this was internal testing - no glorious landscapes or attractive girls to distract the scientist/writer/geek. Nothing but the sound of the air conditioning running and the old-time radio. The X-T10 is my camera. The X-T2 and X-T20 were shop stock. The lenses used - a Tokina 35mm f:2.8 macro in an adapter and the native Fujinon 35mm F1.4 - are my possessions. The 35mm Fujinon is being run without a filter on the front and the lens optimizer turned on. The Tokina and adapter are just whatever they are...