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January 2018

26 Jan

Posted at 05:48h in Dick's Rant by [social_share]

As I was formerly a shop assistant in Camera Electronic, you might think it would be the last place that I'd ever go after retirement. Not a bit of it - I'm in there every blessed week, and for good reasons: a. I get to see what the latest real goods really look like - as opposed to just cruising the internet for the kickstarter images. If I am going to be taken in by shallow appearances and foolish desires, I want to do it for myself. b. I get to see what the local professional trade is using. Of course I secretly know that most of the pros have a gadget bag filled with things that they have made themselves out of matt board and gaffer tape...

25 Jan

Posted at 06:30h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

They may be famous for it, but I assure you - the city is in Saxony. And it was the home of the Ihagee camera factory - makers of the little gem you see in the heading image. I first encountered the Exakta cameras through advertisements in Popular Photography in 1965. Oldens in New York were selling them for about $ 79.00 US at the time and it has always rankled with me that I did not send off my money and get a brand new one. To give you a comparison, a new Asahi Pentax Sv camera with a CdS meter was selling for $ 99 US at the time. It was a time of Elvis, dinosaurs, and the 70¢ malted milk in every drug store. The Exakta was the first really successful SLR, and despite the factory being bombed flat and the Soviets stealing everything that was not nailed down, the company did come back for a number of years after WW2 to make these cameras. They are fine machines, if somewhat quirky. I was never able to get my head...

24 Jan

Posted at 06:55h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

Most people know that Ireland for a long time had no snakes - having had them all removed by St. Patrick. I'm not sure if anyone has seen fit to smuggle more back in the meantime, but the Hähnel company has played with the legend a little by naming one of their products " the Viper ". * You can regard that as wry humour if you like, but the fact remains that it is a good product - a control system for TTL flash from external speedlights. I found two versions on the Camera Electronic accessory wall - for Nikon and for Canon. I shouldn't wonder if they might not think up versions for other flash systems, now that the mirror-less movement is rolling on. j Briefly, the transmitter and control box allow the coupling of the maker's flash units wirelessly and with TTL control over a 100 metre range. You can send out signals to three different groups of flashes and control what they are going to do from the transmitter itself - no need to go out to the flashguns. You...

23 Jan

Posted at 05:44h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

Precision workers to the front, please. Those of you who are accustomed to hanging out the side of helicopters photographing volcanoes handheld with a 6000mm lens may take a day off - possibly to bandage yourselves and possibly to recruit your nerves with strong tea...

18 Jan

Posted at 08:33h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

Like everyone else who reads this column every morning*, I read other columns every morning - Fuji Rumours, Fuji Love, and DP Review almost every day. The Fujifilm Cameras Australia Facebook column every few days. Ken Rockwell whenever I am feeling liverish. You can vary the menu to suit your own brand - Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Sony, Olympus, Flapoflex...

17 Jan

Posted at 09:44h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

I am in an excellent position to write on this subject as I have served a long apprenticeship in the trade of buying - and in many cases I have bought junk. Like most people who have done this, there were a number of factors that entered into it: a. I have had money that was burning a hole in my pocket. b. I have felt a vague need for something. c. I have not thought sufficiently about the design of something - or the materials  - or the construction. d. I have not had any experience with the goods in question. Only the last in the list had any real validity - the rest were somewhat of a shame on me. But once having gone through the process of buying the junk, and finding out all about it, I could eliminate this in the future. Let me help you out with one little matter from our photographic accessories in the shop - the business of the cable release. In this case it will be specifically the mechanical release. Look on your camera and see if there is...

16 Jan

Posted at 08:50h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

The phrase " Standard Of The Industry " is wonderful. It has the sort of authority that is slowly slipping away from the rest of society. Time has eroded the power of the religious authority figure, the holder of civil power, the educator. A century of propaganda and counter-culture has made us doubt everything...

15 Jan

Posted at 07:46h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

Unlike some internet humorists, I am not jealous of the comedic efforts of others - particularly when they are expressed in a concrete form. Thus I present an item that was given to me on New Year's Eve by a friend. You may see similar things in the shops at a discount now that Christmas is finished. DO buy one, if only to encourage the manufacturers for next year. The camera you see is dedicated to taking sweet images. I am not sure if it is available in professional black, but as I prefer the silver with brown covering, I am delighted. And it is just the retro style that fits in with the rest of the studio furnishings. While the lens may not be removable, it has a usable zoom range. Multicoated, too. Not so sure about the 12 x zoom, though, as I only see an 18-55...