Post your latest purchases.

[Clovishound]

After my experience at the beach earlier this week, I decided to get some, at least minimal, protective gear in case it rains when I am out shooting. Rather than spend a bunch of money on a top of the line product for something that would likely be only very occasionally used, I opted for something inexpensive, but reasonably well made. The Pup had bought one of these for herself and I thought it would fit the bill.

I has a large clear plastic back that you can either look through the viewfinder, or see the backscreen. The two openings on the side are for your hands, and have cinches on them to help keep things dry. It seems fairly heavily made, and ought to last for many years of occasional use. It also stores in a small, flat package, so I can easily keep it in my bag all the time. The other nice thing is that it is pretty much universal, so I don't have to buy a different model for different cameras and lenses. BTW, it cost less than a decent meal out. The down side is that it's too small for my long tele.

I decided I wanted something for those occasions when I needed protection for my long lens. I decided on a package of these disposable rain capes. They came as a package of 5 for just a few bucks each. They take up almost no space in my bag, and can be used for a wide variety of camera/lens combos. They aren't terribly heavy plastic, but should last for several uses, with just a little care, and are cheap enough to toss without a second thought. I didn't really want to unfold this and put it over the camera in case I had trouble refolding it. It has a long tube with a drawstring for the lens, and another tube at the other end oriented at 90 degrees. This tube is for the camera itself, and is large enough to fit over a tripod and probably be able to get your head under and your hands in. Alternately, you should be able to see the backscreen well enough through the plastic.

If I find that I want to shoot in the rain a lot, I will likely investigate some higher end options. This should work just fine for occasional/emergency use, and will give me more confidence than relying just on the weather sealing of my camera and lenses.

 

[SkvLTD]

Got Cobra walkies for a, now cancelled, epic road trip, but when that comes back together I would be pretty set if anyone else decides to tag along!

 

[Blue439]

I like Peak Design products, even though I sometimes deplore their purely functional, very politically correct approach —how I regret my elk hide should straps from Germany...! As a lot of my photo work happens with the camera on a tripod, the body is almost always equipped with that orange L-shaped bracket that allows me to quickly change from landscape to portrait mode in the Arca-Swiss jaws of the tripod head. That bracket is not compatible with what Peak call a “Capture Clip”, still I do have a number of those Clips lying in wait on my photo bags, and I am happy to use them when the L-bracket is not on the camera and has been replaced by just a minimal Arca-Swiss–type base plate. It secures the camera that slides in with a satisfying click, and I never has a scare with one of those.

The Capture Clip:

I have just bought an extra one today to attach onto the “Pro Pad”, another Peak gizmo that I’ve had for years but never used and which looks like this:

This year we are going to the UK for Christmas and New Year’s, and while I will be doing some tripod photography there too (they do have some Romanesque churches left!), I suspect I will oftener do handheld, and sometimes (often?) dispense with the photo bag altogether, hence the appositeness of this belt thingy to secure the camera whenever I need both hands to deal with my 2½ year–old granddaughter!

I will report back on that Pro Pad early next year!

 

[bluzman]

After reading a lot of reviews and watching many YT videos, I sold my Z50 and bought a Z50ii. The Z50, which I'd had for 5 years, was my only mirrorless camera. I got it as part of a bundle that included the two original kit lenses and FTZ lens adapter. My interest in the Z50 was twofold. I wanted to see what the mirrorless world was all about without investing a lot of money and I wanted to do that with an APS-C camera. The Z50 fit the bill. I've been very pleased with the Z50 and, over time, I've added several other Z mount lenses.

When the Z50ii was released, some (many?) reviewers expressed disappointment in it mostly because it lacked IBIS, used an old sensor, wasn't weather sealed, and only had one card slot. On the plus side, a fully articulated screen was added as was a headphone jack and the ability to charge the battery via a USB-C port. The biggest pluses, however, are the Expeed 7 processor (the same one used in the Z8 and Z9 flagship camera) with all the great improvements in auto focus algorithms including a specific set up for birds. Also, generally overlooked IMO, is the the ability of the Z50ii to use faster UHS-II SD cards. At any rate, the general conclusion has been that the Z50ii is not the highly hoped for unicorn, a mirrorless D500.

I shoot a D500. It's been my go-to wildlife camera ever since I got it. I hoped Nikon would offer a mirrorless equivalent and perhaps someday it will. I'm not suggesting that my Z50ii will replace my D500, at least not for now. OTOH, its burst rate with mechanical shutter is 11 fps and it will buffer 200 RAW+JPG files, on par with the D500. It uses the same proven sensor as the D500 and the Expeed 7 processsor is a game changer IMO. Oh, and FWIW, the D500 lacks IBIS as well. Anyway, it's going to be interesting to see what this new camera can do when shooting wildlife. Maybe it will replace my D7500.

 

[Blue439]

Congrats on your new camera, I hope you have lots of fun with it!

 

[Dawg Pics]

After 20 years or so, my telescope is falling apart and not worth upgrading. I just checked the Woodland Hills Camera and Telescope site, and the Explore Scientific 8" dobsonian is on sale for about 1/2 off, so I just got it. Can't wait for delivery. Yay.

Southern California needs rain, so a new telescope delivery should cure that.

 

[blackstar]

After 20 years or so, my telescope is falling apart and not worth upgrading. I just checked the Woodland Hills Camera and Telescope site, and the Explore Scientific 8" dobsonian is on sale for about 1/2 off, so I just got it. Can't wait for delivery. Yay.

Southern California needs rain, so a new telescope delivery should cure that.

Exciting news! I ordered one after reading your post. It's only $460, so I thought it was small. However, the video shows that both the scope and base holder (what's the name?) are huge—they are 25 lb and 21 lbs! I had never used a telescope before (maybe peek a view or two). So, Dawg, would you be kind to share your experience with Telescope? First, what can you do with this ES Dobsonian? Other than viewing the night sky targets, can you put a camera on and take images? How do you find a target? Does it have tracking/guiding functions? How do you work with the base holder? Do you just place it on the ground? Eager to know.

 

[Blue439]

Southern California needs rain, so a new telescope delivery should cure that.

Oh, so you are one of those too, aren't you? I am as well. When they need rain around here, they ask me, and I go spend 20 euros on a full, splendid car wash at the Karcher station. The car comes out glistening clean, you need sunglasses to look at it.

Then it is guaranteed to rain in the next 24 hours.

 

[Dawg Pics]

Oh, so you are one of those too, aren't you? I am as well. When they need rain around here, they ask me, and I go spend 20 euros on a full, splendid car wash at the Karcher station. The car comes out glistening clean, you need sunglasses to look at it.

Then it is guaranteed to rain in the next 24 hours.

Yes, that would be me. My husband washes his car weekly, so SoCal has developed an immunity to it.

 

[Dawg Pics]

Exciting news! I ordered one after reading your post. It's only $460, so I thought it was small. However, the video shows that both the scope and base holder (what's the name?) are huge—they are 25 lb and 21 lbs! I had never used a telescope before (maybe peek a view or two). So, Dawg, would you be kind to share your experience with Telescope? First, what can you do with this ES Dobsonian? Other than viewing the night sky targets, can you put a camera on and take images? How do you find a target? Does it have tracking/guiding functions? How do you work with the base holder? Do you just place it on the ground? Eager to know.

Adventures in astronomy. This scope does not have a Go-To option, and for me, being 5' 3" and out of shape, it will be a bit awkward to haul it into the yard, but I can deal with that. (Going back to the gym ) My old scope's optical tube assembly (OTA) is almost 45" long and 29" around. The scope can be moved in pieces. I'll probably add a handle of some kind to the OTA. The rocker-box just sits on the ground, and you set the scope inside of it. It turns like a lazy-Suzan. If you are tall, you can put it up on a small platform or large step-stool to get the focuser higher up.

I use basic star maps and star-hopping to locate objects, which takes a lot of learning with regards to the sky. Start with easy targets. It takes a bit of practice aiming the scope because everything is backwards. I had to think of it as pushing or pulling the object, not the scope. When I first got my scope, I didn't have any kind of phone app, so I used the internet and a book, which I still use. You use the finder scope on top of the OTA to help locate objects, binoculars also help. Unfortunately, the finders on these scope are behind the focuser, and you have to be a contortionist to use them. They can be moved or you can add a right-angle finder. Many people upgrade their scopes. I'll have to see how my back handles it.

An 8 inch mirror is considered to be medium with regards to scope size, but it has a good bit of light gathering capacity. In my backyard, I could see Saturn's rings, and globular clusters (some star resolution depending on the glob). M80 was a dim, fuzzy spot, but I was delighted to located in my somewhat light polluted yard. With a good bit of awkward hunting, I was able to locate and view the Ring Nebula. After I located it, I had no trouble putting my scope right on it. It was difficult because it was straight up over my head. Your brain has to learn how to see dim objects. It has been a long time since I tried to find it again.

You can make setting circles to help you position the scope to correct azimuth and altitude to locate objects. There is a phone app that can do that, but I found it awkward to use.

Congrats on your new scope. Cloudy Nights forum is a great source for amateur astronomers. There are lots of beginners on there as well as very experienced hobbyists.

As far as attaching a camera, I know you can get attachments for phones, and you have to get an adapter to attach a dslr in order to get focus in the viewfinder. Then you probably need a counterweight to keep the scope on target. I never got around to doing that, but I'd like to one day.

 

[blackstar]

Adventures in astronomy. This scope does not have a Go-To option, and for me, being 5' 3" and out of shape, it will be a bit awkward to haul it into the yard, but I can deal with that. (Going back to the gym ) My old scope's optical tube assembly (OTA) is almost 45" long and 29" around. The scope can be moved in pieces. I'll probably add a handle of some kind to the OTA. The rocker-box just sits on the ground, and you set the scope inside of it. It turns like a lazy-Suzan. If you are tall, you can put it up on a small platform or large step-stool to get the focuser higher up.

I use basic star maps and star-hopping to locate objects, which takes a lot of learning with regards to the sky. Start with easy targets. It takes a bit of practice aiming the scope because everything is backwards. I had to think of it as pushing or pulling the object, not the scope. When I first got my scope, I didn't have any kind of phone app, so I used the internet and a book, which I still use. You use the finder scope on top of the OTA to help locate objects, binoculars also help. Unfortunately, the finders on these scope are behind the focuser, and you have to be a contortionist to use them. They can be moved or you can add a right-angle finder. Many people upgrade their scopes. I'll have to see how my back handles it.

An 8 inch mirror is considered to be medium with regards to scope size, but it has a good bit of light gathering capacity. In my backyard, I could see Saturn's rings, and globular clusters (some star resolution depending on the glob). M80 was a dim, fuzzy spot, but I was delighted to located in my somewhat light polluted yard. With a good bit of awkward hunting, I was able to locate and view the Ring Nebula. After I located it, I had no trouble putting my scope right on it. It was difficult because it was straight up over my head. Your brain has to learn how to see dim objects. It has been a long time since I tried to find it again.

You can make setting circles to help you position the scope to correct azimuth and altitude to locate objects. There is a phone app that can do that, but I found it awkward to use.

Congrats on your new scope. Cloudy Nights forum is a great source for amateur astronomers. There are lots of beginners on there as well as very experienced hobbyists.

As far as attaching a camera, I know you can get attachments for phones, and you have to get an adapter to attach a dslr in order to get focus in the viewfinder. Then you probably need a counterweight to keep the scope on target. I never got around to doing that, but I'd like to one day.

Thanks, Dawg. I read some online reviews on this scope. They were all positive, with only some shortcomings with its accessories. Do you have plans to upgrade the red dot viewfinder and the eyepiece?

 

[Dawg Pics]

Thanks, Dawg. I read some online reviews on this scope. They were all positive, with only some shortcomings with its accessories. Do you have plans to upgrade the red dot viewfinder and the eyepiece?

I will have to see how the finder functions, but I'll probably need magnification in this light pollution. I am sure the one eye-piece is fine, but you need different focal lengths for planetary viewing. I'll PM you about that.

 

[Blue439]

My latest purchase was a new shoulder strap from Peak Design. To tell the truth, I didn’t need one at all, but got seduced by the lovely-looking “coyote” color they came up with recently —how vain can we be?

Anyway, I first bought a Slide model, which is wider than my usual Slide Lites, just before Christmas, and so I took it with me to the UK, even though I knew almost immediately that I didn’t like the semi-rigid section it has that’s supposed to go around your neck or over your shoulder. It is not supple enough and felt very strange and not comfortable, in my opinion. So, as soon as we returned home, it put it up for sale on eBay and ordered a Slide Lite in the same color. It arrived yesterday and I’m in love with it. Did I say vain?

Oh, and I also upgraded my phone. It was about time, I still used an iPhone SE from 2016 which still worked OK and I liked its small size. I don’t want to carry one of those enormous devices that don’t fit nicely in pockets and so I looked for the smallest iPhone in existence, and I found the 13 Mini was the smallest (still a bit larger than the SE), so I got one secondhand in pristine condition. This has nothing to do with photography but I mention it here because I used it to take the photo of the Slide shoulder strap below for eBay purposes!

I will take a photo of it one of these days and put it up in the Tabletop section of the forum.

The Slide strap, you can see the semi-rigid part lying very flat on the table:

... and the Slide Lite that replaced it (corporate picture from Peak):

My photo above is much more accurate in terms of color of the material!

 

[Blue439]

Today’s acquisition is this Ulanzi FM-01 Filmog Ace fog machine. This nifty little gizmo is supposed to produce haze, fog or smoke based on the various tips you place on it. I procured it as part of a renewed effort to tackle some tabletop/pack shot/studio photography before the season of outdoor heritage photography picks up again with the return of milder days. I have yet to use it but hope to do so shortly. I have seen good reviews and how-tos on Youtube and I hope to have fun with it!

 

[Peter7100]

Today’s acquisition is this Ulanzi FM-01 Filmog Ace fog machine. This nifty little gizmo is supposed to produce haze, fog or smoke based on the various tips you place on it. I procured it as part of a renewed effort to tackle some tabletop/pack shot/studio photography before the season of outdoor heritage photography picks up again with the return of milder days. I have yet to use it but hope to do so shortly. I have seen good reviews and how-tos on Youtube and I hope to have fun with it!


View attachment 414484


View attachment 414485

Looks like a fun gadget. Looking forward to seeing the results.

 

[BF Hammer]

My latest purchase was a new shoulder strap from Peak Design. To tell the truth, I didn’t need one at all, but got seduced by the lovely-looking “coyote” color they came up with recently —how vain can we be?

Anyway, I first bought a Slide model, which is wider than my usual Slide Lites, just before Christmas, and so I took it with me to the UK, even though I knew almost immediately that I didn’t like the semi-rigid section it has that’s supposed to go around your neck or over your shoulder. It is not supple enough and felt very strange and not comfortable, in my opinion. So, as soon as we returned home, it put it up for sale on eBay and ordered a Slide Lite in the same color. It arrived yesterday and I’m in love with it. Did I say vain?

Oh, and I also upgraded my phone. It was about time, I still used an iPhone SE from 2016 which still worked OK and I liked its small size. I don’t want to carry one of those enormous devices that don’t fit nicely in pockets and so I looked for the smallest iPhone in existence, and I found the 13 Mini was the smallest (still a bit larger than the SE), so I got one secondhand in pristine condition. This has nothing to do with photography but I mention it here because I used it to take the photo of the Slide shoulder strap below for eBay purposes!

I will take a photo of it one of these days and put it up in the Tabletop section of the forum.

The Slide strap, you can see the semi-rigid part lying very flat on the table:




... and the Slide Lite that replaced it (corporate picture from Peak):

View attachment 414314

My photo above is much more accurate in terms of color of the material!

I find the real killer feature of Peak Design straps to be the "Anchor Links" for attaching to the camera. I do have the Slide, and the extra padding does make carrying a heavy lens combo better. But I found that I have other straps I also like using, and you can just buy the Anchor Links (the ends of the Slide strap) and they attach to normal straps and allow you to use them with the round links also. I have 2 canvas straps I like using them now. This allows me to match a strap to the appropriate load of lens as needed.

 

[Blue439]

I find the real killer feature of Peak Design straps to be the "Anchor Links" for attaching to the camera. I do have the Slide, and the extra padding does make carrying a heavy lens combo better. But I found that I have other straps I also like using, and you can just buy the Anchor Links (the ends of the Slide strap) and they attach to normal straps and allow you to use them with the round links also. I have 2 canvas straps I like using them now. This allows me to match a strap to the appropriate load of lens as needed.

Oh, the padding was fine by me, it's the semi-rigidity of the padded section that didn't sit too well. And yes, I have for a long time contemplated the possibility to use my softest-best-of-all-times-preferred shoulder strap, the Eddycam elk hide pictured below, on Anchors. I'm sure I will do it one day!

 

[Blue439]

Another tripod is coming !

For some time, I have been thinking about doing a bit more studio photography. For that, I already have all the equipment I need, except that I always wanted a big tripod with a rack and pinion central column. My big Gitzo is splendid but doesn’t have a central column, and every time I need to raise or lower the head I must adjust all three legs together, which is a pain. I know I have always said that using the central column defeats the very purpose of using a tripod, but on a very heavy one, and in a studio, the objection is not so valid.

Now, I don’t mean one to acquire of those salon stands that are the ultimate comfort but demand that you have a room that’s solely devoted to taking photos, which is not my case —plus you have to have a Hasselblad to mount on one of those things, or at least a Phase One, because a full-frame mirrorless camera will look ridiculous, size-wise, and will make the salon stand looks absurdly overkill.

So, instead, I was looking at professional tripods such as the Manfrotto 161MK2 B, still heavy duty but more reasonable... except in price: at almost 1,000 euros apiece, it seemed largely too expensive for something that’s not even carbon fiber, but aluminum. True, there are smaller, les expensive models in the Manfrotto lineup but they are more limited in terms of performances.

There I was facing the same conundrum and still grumbling about the price, when I started to look for another little piece of gear I needed: a ball-head, but equipped with a horizontal arm that would allow me to easily mount the camera in zenithal position to shoot flat-lays. On Amazon I found just what I needed, a 76-cm Neewer arm that seemed to fit the purpose just fine.

It is then that, by a miraculous stroke of luck (thank you dear Lord if you are responsible for anything in this happening), I discovered someone selling Manfrotto 161MK2 Bs for barely more than 400 euros —more than 50 percent discount! I jumped on it, and am not waiting to receiving it on Wednesday.

This is the beast, I will take photos of my copy when I receive it, and underneath I add the Neewer horizontal arm for good measure!

 

[Blue439]

My last Nikon acquisition: a pair of reading glasses refitted with Nikon optical lenses. Below is the nice authenticity card I got.

Now, is that brand loyalty, or is it brand loyalty?

 

[Blue439]

Among the recent purchases (I’ve suffered a rather serious attack of GAS in January), a leveling base (probably superfluous) for the horizontal arm described above, and a new geared head by K&F Concept to replace my ageing Benro. The K&F one is supposedly splendid, I find it a bit stiff at the moment but that’s probably normal as it is brand new. I will soon put it to the test in the field, and in the meantime, I am having fun shooting it!

Nikon Z7 II, Micro-Nikkor Z MC 105mm, ƒ/2.8 S macro lens. Gitzo tripod, Arca-Swiss Cube C1 geared head. Flash lighting. Composite shot made up of 17 focus-stacked exposures, set automatically using the built-in function in the camera. Stack processed with Helicon Focus software, Method C.