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18 Feb

Posted at 07:31h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

SPECIAL RULES: Two lenses only. Photographers proceeding past this point will only be allowed two lenses. More than two will result in the excess optics being confiscated and put into landfill. You have been warned. I don't take anything for granted these days when I read official notices - particularly if it is me writing them. I have no idea whether anything is real any more so I just play along and edge closer to the door. The idea of One Lens To Rule Them All is popular in some circles. It makes a good debating point for a camera club meeting or a cage fight. Everyone can have an opinion and after they have expressed them, you can have a good time going around and seeing if they actually uphold their own ideas. The number of lenses in the average camera bag or equipment cupboard put the lie to this one. Note: No sensible retailer would deny people the chance and advantage to own multiple lenses. We've got our own opinions too, but they need not confine you. Buy as many lenses...

16 Feb

Posted at 08:49h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

As we are all watching more screens these days with moving pictures that show people speaking, we are all familiar with the slightly out-of-sync presenter. They are generally heard slightly before or after their image is received and the sounds do not match the lips. This is not much of a real problem, but our brains keep poking us and complaining that something is not right. We start to lose concentration, watching the disparity between sound and vision. Pretty soon we have to actually stop looking at the speaker and just listen to what they say - a dangerous thing, as the quality of audio may also be poor - and the quality of the thoughts being expressed even worse. We all remember the wagon wheels in old cowboy movies that went slowly backwards, even as the Deadwood Stage went rollin' on over the hills. A slight disparity between the speed of the spokes as they turned and the frame rates of the movie cameras - each spoke being the same, they could be made to go forward and backward at will....

14 Feb

Posted at 09:10h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

Or, The Good Old Days. Of course no-one ever shoots film in old cameras and of course they never develop their own negatives and then scan them. This would be absurd, now that we have 100+ megapixel digital cameras all over the place. And wait until you see the 1000+ megapixels cameras that my brother-in-law said he heard about...

11 Feb

Posted at 08:09h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

As a kid there was a standing joke in school when it came time for English assignments. Every year some other student would attempt to sneak in a holiday book report on " My Friend Flicka ", and every year they would get a failing mark in English. Mary O'Hara was not a bad writer, nor was the book awful in itself, but English teachers used to use it as a yardstick of committent and then beat the students with that yardstick. Well, Flicka may have been friendly, but flicker is not. The person who makes videos will encounter it in many guises, and they are all bad news. People are sensitive to two things when watching moving pictures; audio quality and flickering light. You can generally get an adequate level of the former by choosing a camera system with a separate mic input and then attaching a good quality microphone like a Røde onto it  ( Shameless CE shop plug...

09 Feb

Posted at 09:02h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

If you have a need or desire to spy on people or animals, come on down. We've got just the things for you. The trail camera concept is a one that a lot of people can share. Hunters, farmers, wildlife researchers, and security-minded individuals who may have valuable crops growing in inaccessible portions of state forests spring to mind. In all these cases the photographer cannot be on-site all day, every day - nor can they afford to keep the cameras rolling 100% of the time in hopes of seeing Big Foot, Yowies, or Judge Crater pass by the lens. A selective sentry is needed. This is where the Minox trail cameras come in. Minox has long been famed for tiny cameras and excellent binoculars. Now they have unattended photo stations that you can place in bushland and forests to monitor and record activities for you. The reason they work is better battery performance these days, micro recording media, and circuitry that can monitor activity over a specified area and start recording when movement is detected. A number of these cameras have black-LED...

04 Feb

Posted at 09:07h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

And the only thing that prevents Dom from jumping fences in the Bavarian countryside right now are the emigration laws. He's got the perfect ride for the job sitting right next door to the Murray Street CE shop - the Surron Storm Bee F electric dirt bike. It's so exciting that they've had to tie it down and warn people not to climb aboard. I was in taking pictures and even I was tempted...

02 Feb

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

I am inclined to take things at face value if I can see their faces.I believe in new equipment when I see it in the hands of our local wholesaler's representatives and when I can find it on the shelves of the shop. Until then the novelties are nice to speculate about but to be honest there have been promises made in the past that are still pending. It is much the same in my other hobbies...

31 Jan

Posted at 07:58h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

I met a man one day who took pictures with film cameras - a number of different makes and models. They were competently focused and exposed and he made notes about the exposures. Since this was long before digital photography was even thought of, the results were put down onto monochrome and colour negative films, with the occasional roll of colour transparency. I don't believe he processed the films himself - in those days there were many developing services around town. He did keep careful records that matched the results to the shooting notes.There were tests of cameras, lenses, flashes, and films. Perhaps of tripods or other accessories too, for all I know. All done honestly and with care.And no other pictures that I knew of. A magnificent body of test work but no conclusions drawn that proceeded to help him make art of any kind. I felt very sad about this.At the same time I was thrashing about, photographically speaking, with a succession of cameras and lenses. I tried lots of films on lots of subjects...

28 Jan

Posted at 10:53h in Blog, Reviews by [social_share]

As we move into summer, it's time to consider a new action video camera - enter the DJI Action 2. The DJI Action 2 is the latest entry by the geniuses at DJI. They are makers of some of the best consumer drones, gimbals and, of course, action cameras. Summer is a time for getting outdoors and enjoying time exploring your world with friends and families. What better way to make everlasting memories than with an Action 2 camera. Not only is it compact and highly portable, but it's also next-generation technology delivering impeccable 4K video in and out of the water.      The folks at DJI claim that the DJI Action 2 is their most versatile and powerful action camera to date. The cube-shaped components utilize impressive magnetic attachment methods to pair either a power pack or a dual-screen system. What's more, the magnetic system allows for fast applications of a wide range of DJI accessories to keep your kit safe and to enable hands-free video capture. The DJI Action 2 is available in two unique combos. The first is the...