About This Blog    |    Press and Contact Info     |   Available Languages:

English Chinese (Simplified)

ENQUIRIES: 08 9428 7200

26 May

Posted at 16:25h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

I am not being rude to either you or Gitzo. When you give them money and they hand you a product it may be the last time you see each other. The things they supply are so well made that you would be hard pressed to break them in a lifetime. Their best bet for repeat business is to keep designing unique camera supports - you may never woear out the last thing you bought but you might be so pleased with it that you'll come back with more money. Thus the studio three-way head you see in the top image. The GHF 3W. Under a kilo weight. Supports 13 Kg. Arca/Swiss plate included. Three way fluid damped. Foldable levers. Horizontal/vertical option when tilted. Locking lever to keep camera on head even when you lose yours. Rotatable levelling bubble. The price is serious folding money but if you want a rock-solid head for your rock-solid Gitzo tripod here it is. I can't have one because I haven't finished my Gitzo Studex 5 and large format head yet. It's been holding studio cameras since 1990 and I still haven't chewed it up....

21 May

Posted at 08:45h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

Or canned haze. In actual fact canned mineral oil, propane, and butane. A spray can that you can carry in your photo effects bag to create atmosphere in your shots. You've seen how Hollywood film and video producers use mist, haze, and atmosphere effects to inject visual tension in a scene - every horror shoot seems to have something boiling along the ground. In many cases it's made with water on dry ice. Good for a Transylvanian feel but the vapour created is heavier than air and tends to drop fast and disperse. The actors have to bite one another quickly while the mists roil. For a higher haze you need a different aerosol. Some have tried smoke but it can be too light, tending to drift up in spirals instead of spreading out all over the set. Unless you are prepared to torch the woods along with CALM, you may not get a wide dispersal of smoke. The answer between the two is the pressure can you see in the heading image. One of the staff members put me onto it, expecting...

19 May

Posted at 10:47h in Blog, Education by [social_share]

Eventually, every photographer ends up buying a tripod for one reason or another. And no other genre calls for a tripod as much as landscape photography. But the question is, do you buy cheap or go for a gold standard model? If you buy cheap, you put your gear and image quality at risk. If you buy right the first time, your tripod should last a lifetime. We have collated four of the very best tripods ideal for your next landscape adventure. What’s more, we have a list of tips for using a tripod in a landscape setting for the first-timers out there.      Manfrotto Befree 2N1 Aluminum Tripod With 494 Ball Head - Twist Lock   Manfrotto is without a doubt the most popular choice for tripods for all genres of photography and videography. And the Manfrotto Befree range is fast becoming a household name. The Manfrotto Befree Aluminum Tripod With 494 Ball Head is an excellent option for landscape photographers looking for stability and portability.     The 1.5kg tripod supports a load of 8kg and a maximum height of 149.6cm. Thanks to the 4-section...

19 May

Posted at 10:45h in Blog, Education by [social_share]

Imagine you are going to take a portrait of a friend, family member or client. Looking at your current kit, you might already be able to take a good photo, but how do you make your shots stand out from the competition? To put it in plain simple English, you will need to increase your accessories game. Levelling up your lens and lighting choice can help produce some stunning results. This article will explain what an ultimate setup for portrait photography looks like and how you can add specific items that will enhance what you do. For The Best Results, Use a Class Leading Camera Like Sony's a7R IV.   First of all, if you're looking for a professional camera body to deliver outstanding portrait photos, look no further than the Sony a7R IV digital mirrorless camera. A favourite choice amongst professional and commercial photographers, the Sony's 61MP Full-Frame Exmor R BSI CMOS Sensor pairs with its BIONZ X Image Processor. You'll achieve exceptional quality without missing a beat thanks to 567-point Phase-Detection Autofocus and the ability to capture up to 10 frames per...

19 May

Posted at 08:52h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

As a photo enthusiast who turns every dial and pushes every button on a camera - often inadvertently - I am keenly aware of the harm that I can do to my images. This becomes evident when I use one of the lenses that the Fujifilm system makes on a standard camera. It's the 27mm f:2.8 pancake lens - the original one with no aperture ring. I keep examples of this on X-T10 and X-E2 camera bodies and use them all the time ( Love the convenient size for reportage or mini-studio shots. ) All is well in the aperture line as long as you control this from the thumb wheel. All the apertures plus ' A' setting right next to f:16...

17 May

Posted at 09:05h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

Dale Neill recently posted a piece on Facebook comparing the hit rate of  good results between the roll-film, 35mm, and digital eras. Like Dale himself, it was funny and dead-on accurate; 6 good shots whether the shooter was using 120 film, a 35mm cassette, or a digital card with 2000+ files on it. As Dale said, it shows that we took a darn sight more care to get the exposure and composition right when we knew we were paying a higher price for it. The 19-year-olds can stop snorting their contempt and show us old geezers just how wrong we are...

14 May

Posted at 08:55h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

My recent RAID system failure and recovery has proved to be more of a boon than I expected. Not to the bank account - this is boonless most of the time - but to the image collection as such. Because it caused me to review what was sitting there. Some people are on top of their images through careful catalog work - assigning stars and ratings, organising collections, typing in key words, etc. All the computer program texts go into this in great detail even before they teach you how to spoil the colours. I have tried to make my way through the literature but always lost the will to live after half a chapter. As a result I have adopted the practice of named folders containing named folders, and then depend upon my ability to intrigue myself later with odd titles. Mostly it works. I can go to "cars" and see every car show I have attended - further foldered into years if it was a regular thing. At first glance it seems quite regimented. So I thought until I casually...

12 May

Posted at 08:10h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

I am grateful to Camera Electronic in general and Daniel Ward in particular for their ability to get me out of trouble. It is a condition I experience frequently as I operate photographic machinery. It's as well that no one trusts me with a motor torpedo boat or a herd of geese...

10 May

Posted at 09:39h in Blog, Dick's Rant by [social_share]

Some venues make a great fuss about cameras - rock concerts and Russian air bases for instance. This is because they do things in these places that they don't want you to photograph. Perhaps they would be more lenient if the bands or bombs were less harmful or more attractive looking, but that's just speculation. Accept that fact that your Kodak will get you into trouble. Note, Kodak also don't welcome cameras, but that's because they already have enough...