Arthur Felig was not a man to use compact cameras for delicate pieces of ethereal art. His batting record with still life bowls of fruit was woeful. I do not think he ever used a graduated neutral density filter at the seaside in his life. Yet...
Choosing a back pack for exploring the less developed corners of the empire is a delicate task. One must accurately assess the opportunities that will be presented as well as the risks that will be run. This is why our featured article - the Think Tank Trifecta 8 - will be on the short-list of many adventurers. The basic idea of the Trifecta 8 is to take enough equipment onto the wild to enable you to capture images of the savages whilst not weighing you down in case you need to make a run for it. Modern thinking has provided us with mirror-less cameras and lenses of reduced size and weight and this is all to the good. Now we have a way to carry them about the person. Just as Kipling’s cavalryman spent the winter preparing his spring campaign - paring an ounce of weight where he could to extend the range of his mount - so we can reduce the amount of gear we carry. But it still needs to be accessible at short notice when we come across a...
a. Give their credit card details to an unknown person on the other side of the world for a small camera accessory that they could just as easily buy in Perth?b. Air-freight a small camera accessory half-way around the world to Perth?c. Think that they support the conservation of the ecology of the planet while compelling someone to fly a jet aircraft halfway around the world to deliver a small camera accessory?d. Need a small camera accessory - since the cameras we use have every conceivable function built-in?e. Stock a small camera accessory that yields about $ 2.00 profit if it sells immediately and $ 20.00 loss if it sits on the shelf for six months?f. Take pictures that are never again looked at - sitting as they do on hard drives or in computer bodies - with expensive small accessories that have come half-way around the world?g. Enter pictures taken with small accessories into photo contests that are destined to be seen only by other people who are willing their competitors not to win?h. Put up photo contests that...
How many of us get a tool kit with our new digital cameras these days? In the old film days it was common for the box containing the SLR or rangefinder camera to have a complete tool pouch including a stilson wrench, set of spanners, lens brace, film jack, and a bottle of optical antiseptic. In the case of some Kodak cameras you got a 8-round clip of .30-06 ball ammunition and a toothbrush.I think we are being done - nowadays you're lucky to get a battery charger and a squidgy little lens cloth with some. Even the instruction manuals are on a CD...
I was conscious of the anomaly of what I was doing but it was all for a good cause; I was trying to determine which of the new Mag Mod light shapers would be the best for event coverage. I had inveigled Chelsea Bunz - the Steampunk Absinthe Fairy - to come in and pose for head and shoulders shots with the IceLight 2 and Promaster LED 120 portable lights and I thought to take advantage of the chance for some Mag Mod experienmts. They were duly conducted but I am still in a quandary.For those who came in late, the Mag Mod light shapers are designed to attach firms to portable speed lights and to give either colour, diffusion, or concentration for the flash. I want something that will let me front up to Steampunk patrons of Rigby's Bar in St. Geo. Tce when they have one of their Steampunk Balls and take well-lit portraits in a flash. I need to do full-length, half torso, and head and shoulders.I most definitely don't want to do it with a tripod...
I have not reviewed many fish-eye lenses in this column over the years - not for any sinister reason, mind, but really because I am at a loss as to what images will be best captured with them.I do not swim underwater with the fish and rarely go to pop concerts or inaugurations that might have tens of thousands of people attending them. I rarely go into caverns or cathedrals, and generally do not take the wide view of the place. So for me, the fish-eye view is a novelty.For others, it can be the exact way they see the world...
When we get a big-name camera we sometimes get a big name complex...
I have waited a decade for a straight line like that...
Canon users please draw nigh and give attention. We have a good thing for you.This blog post looked to be difficult for me - I do not use the Canon system cameras and I am somewhat clumsy with modern file storage and transfers. I trembled at the amount of complexity that I feared would be involved.Then I read the instructions and looked at a YouTube advertisement. It turns out that what looked like an elephant in the room was the little one from Walt Disney and I need not have feared looking like a Dumbo. This Canon hub is as easy as to use.Think of it as a 1 Terabyte storage device that you can put files into from Canon cameras or various smartphone devices. It connects to your television to let you store videos or see still files. You fill it up and away you go.Ideally, the connection to your phones and Canon cameras is wirelessly via WiFi or NFC. They realise that some people have older gear so there are ports in for USB connections and you can...
Okay, your friend has come with you into the shop - or perhaps it is the other way round. You may have the whole fam damily in there as well, and that can make for distraction and pressure - better to just keep it to two customers and one sales person. Note: the sales person does not have to be the owner of the shop. The staff are perfectly qualified to help, teach, and bargain, and you gain nothing by waiting for the boss. In fact, you lose time...