Scout Images

I just thought I would share some images that were taken during my weekend up in Newcastle. I have never been heavy on post processing but there are a few here that really do need some work to get the best out of, but I have yet to find the time to sit down and play with them.

This was a slightly different weekend away for me, I was very gear heavy, lugging the Kitchen Sink, thus having more options than usual. However, I feel rather stupid when I bring items with me that I dont use, but in this instance I made use of every lens I brought. So what was my Kitchen sink this weekend?

• Nikon D300 + MB-D10
• Nikon F80 + MB-16
• Tokina 10-17mm fisheye
• Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8
• Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR
• Nikkor 60mm Micro
• Nikon SB-800
• Cokin ND Grad filter kit (ND4, ND8, holders, adaptor rings)
• C-Pol filters
• Dell Wasabi Zink Printer
• Phottix Geo One

The F80 was loaded up with a roll of Ilford Delta 3200, which I am still finishing but I hope to get this processed and scanned in the near future.

So what did I get up to?

It has been a bit of a long and enjoyable long weekend for myself, with a triple dose of photography, something that I have not been able to do in a long time.

First up was a compact only day, where a few friends and I did a pretty nice hike from Otford lookout down to Burning Palms and the Figure 8 pool. This hike is rated as “HARD” and really lives up to that rating, hence I didnt complain about only bringing a compact camera. So which compact did I bring? The Sony Cyber-Shot TX5 got the honours that day, mainly because it is so small and lightweight as well as being waterproof without a case, and it was in good company with a Panasonic Lumix LX-3 also in attendence.

This exercise was followed by a long nights sleep, but the next night I found myself hauling out an insane amount of gear to participate in a model shoot. My D300 got another decent workout, along with my AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8 and AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 VR. Being a night shoot there needed to be light, so out came my Nikon SB-800 and SB-600. These were used in conjunction with some coloured gels and the diffuser panel from a Phottix 5-in-1 reflector.

I ended the ANZAC day long weekend with a trip out to the Royal Botanical Gardens. For this trip I decided to travel light, my shoulders still being sore from the weight of the previous nights adventures with the Lowepro Magnum 400AW, so out came my Nikon D60. If you remember my earlier post “Who needs a proper macro?” then you will remember that although I own a Sigma APO EX DG 180mm f/3.5 Macro, I dont always use or carry this behometh. This time, instead of using a Marumi close up kit with my Nikkor AF-D 50mm f/1.8, or my Tamron 70-300mm (1:2 Macro), I was using my Nikkor AF-S DX 35mm f/1.8 with a set of Phottix Nikon AF Extension tubes. My baby Nikon SB-400 and Phottix Duo Cable provided the lighting.

I have to apologise as I am still working on the Velvia scans as mentioned in this post. Also I have updated my gear location, at the moment I only have a SB-400, my other flashes are on loan!

I have been rather quiet on the photo front lately, partly because I have been busy and partly because I have been shooting film. However I joined a very good friend on a roadtrip last weekend and headed down to Canberra to see the “Masterpieces of Paris” exhibition. Like any good roadtrip there were pictures, so I thought I would share a few with you all. Sadly no photography is allowed in the National Gallery so these were taken on the way and around the lake in Canberra.

Taken with my Nikon D300 + MB-D10 with my trusty Tamron SP 17-50mm f/2.8 and the ever useful Tamron 70-300mm.

Apologies to anyone who is on a slow connection. This is going to be a pretty big post with quite a few pictures.

Firstly I just wanted to a few more pics from my trip up to the Blue Mountains, these include a 9 shot HDR (using Photomattix) of Siloam Pool, and a few panos (stitched using Auto Pano Pro) taken from Echo Point and Gordon Falls. All of these shots were taken using my D300 + MB-10 and Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 mounted on my Manfrotto 714B with my Phottix Ball Head. This set up is light enough to carry when hiking, but tripod and head combination really is a bit too light for the load of the camera.

Next up is a series of black and white conversions I did of the beautiful cakes and coffee from Lindt Cafe, Darling Harbour. These were taken using my D60 and the RAW files processed using Capture NX2.

Finally, I wanted to share a few shots that I took whilst I was out at Fiesta at Darling Harbour. I was feeling like a film day so I am yet to see a lot of the results as they are still sitting on Pan F 50 inside my FM2n, but I was smart enough to have brought my D300 with me. So there I was snapping pics on both cameras using a Series E 50mm f/1.8 and my AI Nikkor 135mm f/2.8.

I realise that it has been a while since I have posted photos, SORRY. This is a combination of not having a lot of time to go shooting lately and even less time to process the few photos I have taken. Hopefully this will change in the near future with the addition of a lighter D60 which will mean I will be carrying around a DSLR more often (once I find the money to buy a smaller, lighter lens to match).

In the mean time I thought I would share some of the stuff that I have managed to shoot recently.

These were taken at North Head (Manly) a few weeks back. Most of these are HDR’s and a few variants of a HDR pano, which all take an immense time to construct. I have to admit that I am not happy with the results but I thought I would share my triumph over the technique. For this set I used my D300 + MB-D10 with either the Nikkor AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8, Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8, Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 VR or the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8. I also used my trusty Manfrotto 055 Pro B with the Phottix ball head and the Phottix Geo One on this occaision.

This set of images was taken during last weekends trip up to Palm Beach with some friends. This trip was more for an unwind so photography played second fiddle but both the D300 and the Fujifilm F100fd (and its waterproof housing) saw some action.

Yesterday I was out and about with this Phottix gear, this time with my Nikon D300 and I just thought I would give you all an update on how they are performing. I will get some pictures up soon…hopefully before I scratch the units (although my ball head has already lost some paint as it was a demo unit).

Firstly, the Geo One on the D300 works well. As on the S5 Pro, the Geo one rapidly and reliably locks up the GPS satellites and inserts your position into the EXIF. The bonus of using the Geo One with the D300 is the D300′s ability to turn off its meter (and the Geo One) when the camera goes into standby, you may recall that I mentioned that the S5 Pro went through its battery very quickly as the meter and the Geo One did not turn off.

As for the Ball head….well since I last mentioned it I have moved the head to my trusty Manfrotto 055 PROB from its home on my Manfrotto 714B. It was rather annoying that I dont have more ArcaSwiss style quick release plate, but other than this, the ball head did a good job. My only gripes with this ball head was the amount of tightening that was required to prevent slippage of my camera (D300 + MB-D10 + Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8 or Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 VR), this means the ball head will get moved back to my 714B to to save it from being regulated to being purely a light stand.  Otherwise the ball head was both easy to use and dealt with the load adequately. It will work nicely when smaller lenses are and lighter loads are in use.

Yesterday’s project was mainly panoramic and my experiences indicate that a ballhead is definitely better than a pistol grip head for this work, although a levelling base or a self centreing column is really needed to get the best out of any tripod.

Looks like I will be getting some more ArcaSwiss style quick release plates and the Phottix ball head and Geo One will remain in my arsenal. I will have to consider a levelling base and a larger ball head in the future…maybe a Markins M20.

Just been using the Phottix Geo One for a little while now and thought I would just let you all know how it is going.

I picked up this unit a little while ago and have been using it with my Fuji S5 Pro as my D300 has been away for repairs. Since then I have taken the unit around with me for most of my roaming and even on a day trip into the Blue Mountains.

My initial thoughts are that it works nicely. The time to initaially establish a connection varies but is mostly under a minute, however there have been occaisons when it has refused to connect (when indoors or when there is excessive cloud cover). Unfortunately the S5 Pro does not turn off its meters when the Geo One is connected so I cannot comment on warm start up times, this will have to be done when the D300 returns. There are no problems with integration, the Geo One does what it says it does, it writes straight to the EXIF in the S5 Pro and from what I have heard the D300 as well.

The bad news…it drains batteries! On the Fuji S5 Pro the meters dont turn off when the Geo One is connected, so both the camera meter and the Geo One remains on the whole time the camera is on, and if your like me and are used to keeping the camera on all day your batteries drain mighty quick. This is a problem for me as the S5 Pro has an annoying propriortry battery (thanks Nikon for not sharing the battery) and I only have two of these NP-150s. I do not own a MB-D200 so I cannot use AAs either. I had to stop using the Geo One during the Blue Moutains trip as I was worried of running out of battery. There should be no issue with the D300 as I have more batteries, the MB-D10 and the D300 will turn off the its light meter (and the Geo One) if left at idle.

So far I am very impressed with this unit and would have no problems continuing to use it.

I just thought I would follow up on my experiences with the Lowepro Inverse 200 AW after mentioning this purchase here, and here.

As we do, I was and still am looking for a bag to fit a very tough spec, mine being:

• very comfortable to wear for long periods of time
• quick access to gear and for lens changes
• carry, one large SLR + grip + lens, one large telephoto lens and a flash (in my case either a D300 + MB-D10 + Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8 or a Fuji S5 Pro + Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8, either the Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 VR or the Sigma 180mm f/3.5 macro)

In order to do this the only logical way is to store the long lens vertically. ENTER the INVERSE, being a beltpack with a shoulder strap, comfort and accessibility are no problem. According to Lowepro fitting a 70-200VR attached to camera is an option, and with an internal height of 21.5cm, things are looking promising…..more

Just wanted to let you all know that I have been busy and spent last night adding more reviews. So I am pleased to let you know that you can now read my thoughts and opinions on:

Nikon D300 + MB-D10

Fuji S5 Pro + MB-D200

Wolfeyes Defender 260

Sanyo Eneloop AA

Powerex Imedion AAA

Just keep in mind that these are MY opinions and thoughts and NOT technical reviews.