29 Mar The Working Life Of the Fujifilm EF X-500
No, I don't mean how long it will continue to work - goodness, if you treat a flash right you can get decades out of it. Exercise it regularly and don't drop it off a cliff...
March 2017
28 Mar The Speed Light In The Studio – Fujifilm EF X-500 Makes A Debut
The use of speed lights in indoor situations is sometimes looked upon with condescension - there are so many dedicated strobe units that run off power packs or as monoblocks that the studio shooter comes to think of that as the only legitimate way to proceed - how very limiting this is...
27 Mar The Fujifilm Flash Comes Of Age
If you are opposed to the use of electronic flash in any form for your photography - for artistic, technical, or cultural reasons, this will be a thin week.If you are dedicated to a camera system other than Fujifilm, you might also wonder whether you are going to get much on your plate. Have faith - there are a number of good lessons here for you as well that you can apply to the equipment of your choice. The close approximation of some flash systems will let you benefit.We showed the externals of the Fujifilm EF-X500 flash on the 6th of January this year - the column got a large number of readers. I've added a couple of the images to help illustrate this series but this week is dedicated to what the thing actually does - and did - in my studio.A quick basic recap for those who don't want to plough through the Jan 6 post: the flash is a classic TTL hot-shoe electonic flash with more power than the previous Fujifilm offerings. It contains provision for commander...
24 Mar Sony Week – Part Five – The Repair Department Secret
Be prepared to be frustrated - I am going to tease you unmercifully in this column.Normally I don't do this - the idea, after all, is to entertain you and win your loyalty to Camera Electronic. To entice you to come on down and leave your money on the counter. So I don't berate you and I don't make false promises - and I don't dance around telling you that I know something that you don't. Until now.Oh, it's not just me. It's the staff in the Camera Electronic Repair Department too. They know something that you don't.Okay - the Sony connection first. Great cameras that they are, Sony mirror-less digital camera bodies have the same basic problem that all other cameras with removable lenses - dust and particles will eventually get into them and onto the sensor. Be you ever so careful or ever so obsessed, the dust will eventually beat you. And as all digital camera owners will discover, you need a sensor clean.Up till now, there have been any number of sensor cleaning tips, kits, bits of...
22 Mar Sony Week – Part Four – The Local Tourist
It is no fun being a local tourist - particularly if you have lived in the place for 53 years. The exciting mustn't-miss glamour spots of the 1960's have not worn well. Some of them peaked when the America's Cup races were held and some of them have yet to do so...
21 Mar Sony Week – Part Three – The Model A Test
I regret that title. I suddenly realised that Sony - as well as Henry Ford - used to make A model cameras too. Hopefully readers will be able to separate them in their minds*. The Sony products do not have wire-spoke wheels or rumble seats. A pity in some respects...
20 Mar Sony Week – Part Two – How Do I Know It Is A Full Frame?
So as not to keep you in suspense...
20 Mar Sony Week – Part One – Lifting the Lid
Opening the box on a new camera is like lifting the lid on either a treasure chest or a can of worms. Don't let that image put you off - it depends if you are fishing for compliments or bass.This week's exploration is of a Sony mirrorless camera and two lenses. These were chosen from the Camera Electronic stocks to find out what the brand is like to handle and to see whether there is a real usable difference between the full-frame system and an APS-C system. To this end, lenses that would give a similar field of view were selected:Sony Alpha 7 II and Fujifilm X-Pro1Sony 50mm and Fujifilm 35mmSony 28mm and Fujifilm 18mmThe true believers of each brand are free to jump up and down, wave spec sheets, and berate each other as much as they like - the committee of the camera club needs to fill a hole in the year's entertainment roster and a fist fight will do nicely. I am jut going to play cameras in the studio and out in the field.First comment, though,...
17 Mar Smart Enough To Be Dumb
Way back in the 1960's I bought a book in a secondhand bookstore in Spokane, Washington, that was made up of Kodak pamphlets. These were loose-leaf style instructional treatises that explained how to use the Kodak materials of the day to do professional work. I thought they were the official word from on high. They were actually the official word from Rochester, New York. They made a million of them dealing with any and all aspects of photography. Some were arcane and dry and some were very entertaining.Later in the 1980's and 1990's I rejected all the principles that they taught - sure that I knew better. Besides, they spoke of films and processes that had been superceded - so how could they have any relevence? I foolishly gave the looseleaf binder full of pamphlets away...
16 Mar The Nano-State
Not the nanny state - that's a different ketle of fish. We're talking about minor equipmant and accessories that we can use for major photography.Light stands, like porridge, come in three sizes; too big, too small, and Goldilocks. Errr...