Author Topic: Bought any photography stuff today?  (Read 169128 times)

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #50 on: 02 February, 2012, 01:59:39 pm »
Guess what just landed (gently) on my desk..


IMAG0244 by davidmamartin, on Flickr

Shiny, Shiny, Shiny :)
"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #51 on: 02 February, 2012, 02:23:12 pm »
Looks like a fancy waste paper bin from that angle ;D
Getting there...

Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #52 on: 05 February, 2012, 12:34:59 am »
I should have bought some photography stuff today, purely to resell on ebay.

The charity shop is selling Canon & Minolta 35mm autofocus SLR's at £2.99!  :o :o :o
If it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is...

Charlotte

  • Dissolute libertine
  • Here's to ol' D.H. Lawrence...
    • charlottebarnes.co.uk
Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #53 on: 07 February, 2012, 04:24:34 pm »
Whoops, a secondhand Nikon strobe related accident.  You can never have too many SB26s as far as I am concerned.
Commercial, Editorial and PR Photographer - www.charlottebarnes.co.uk

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #54 on: 07 February, 2012, 05:43:15 pm »
Absolutely. Though I seem to have a fair collection of SB24s
"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #55 on: 07 February, 2012, 06:23:01 pm »
if you cant find used SBs, my stuff is canon and their flashguns are either expensive or awful (or expensive *and* awful) for off camera stuff, so I bought a couple of yongnuo speedlights, < 50 quid each and they've been fantastic.

ed_o_brain

Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #56 on: 08 February, 2012, 12:07:16 am »
I had a yongnuo speedlight and tbh it was cr4p.
didn't fire when it was supposed half the time and that was when it was mounted in the hotshoe.

It lit quite unevenly too.

Charlotte

  • Dissolute libertine
  • Here's to ol' D.H. Lawrence...
    • charlottebarnes.co.uk
Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #57 on: 08 February, 2012, 08:35:53 am »
If you look carefully, you can get a used SB26 for about sixty quid (the one I got yesterday was fifty, from a used camera dealer).  That's about the same as a new Yongnuo unit and I'd take a fifteen year old SB in good condition over a brand new eBay special any day.  The SB26 was introduced in 1994 and discontinued in 1999 and cost over two hundred quid.  Anything that went for that sort of money over a decade ago was hot stuff and built to last!

The reason I like them so much iis that they do all the things that strobists like (full manual control, PC synch, zoom, swivel and so on) and they have a built in optical slave.  That's not so uncommon, but it's damned useful because it cuts down on the number of triggers you need.

But the best bit is that they do something that no other flash can do.  Seriously, I've looked - this is unique.  When you use manual optical slave, you usually have to set all your flashes on manual optical slave.  You can't start mixing and matching iTTL and manual or your manual flashes will go bang too early. The SB26 is so useful because it can be set to slave mode with a delay, so it will ignore the monitor pre-flash from other units and only go pop when the main burst is fired. 

Which means it's an absolutely perfect background, fill or separation light because you can just wedge it somewhere or sling it on a stand and let it do its funky thing.
Commercial, Editorial and PR Photographer - www.charlottebarnes.co.uk

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #58 on: 08 February, 2012, 11:50:39 pm »
definitely one up on the SB24 (though the strobe setting was fun..)
"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

Mrs Pingu

  • Who ate all the pies? Me
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Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #59 on: 09 February, 2012, 12:49:25 pm »
Thanks to Mike, this :)
Too much gym kit (and possibility of droppage at the gym) to take it home today so I'll have to wait until Saturday to have a play....
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Charlotte

  • Dissolute libertine
  • Here's to ol' D.H. Lawrence...
    • charlottebarnes.co.uk
Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #60 on: 09 February, 2012, 10:18:44 pm »
Oh dear, it's all arriving at once.  You've got to love buying stuff from China on eBay.  Thanks to a recommendation from a friend, I now have one of these:



...wot allows you to do stuff like this:



:D
Commercial, Editorial and PR Photographer - www.charlottebarnes.co.uk

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #61 on: 11 February, 2012, 04:22:03 pm »
A green (not yellow-green) b/w filter, which I've been trying to find for a while in the right size.  It's too aggressive for most portraits but is good for landscapes because it balances the sky and ground better (it darkens blue sky like a yellow filter but also brightens grass and trees).  Select the green RGB channel in Photoshop and you can see the effect, exaggerated a bit.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #62 on: 11 February, 2012, 04:45:42 pm »
That dish looks nice :)

I've ordered a Nikon F4 and just had the delivery date put back till mid March. Apparently it has backlit buttons...

Charlotte

  • Dissolute libertine
  • Here's to ol' D.H. Lawrence...
    • charlottebarnes.co.uk
Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #63 on: 11 February, 2012, 06:43:46 pm »
You mean a D4, Jord?  Or are you really going to get an F4 in all it's 35mm, discontinued glory?
Commercial, Editorial and PR Photographer - www.charlottebarnes.co.uk

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #64 on: 11 February, 2012, 07:30:32 pm »
I don't think an F4 had backlit buttons.  In fact, it only had about three buttons, including the shutter release.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #65 on: 11 February, 2012, 08:10:10 pm »
werent tempted by the 800 then?

(fantastic website!)

Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #66 on: 12 February, 2012, 10:07:09 am »
D4 must be a flashback saying F4 as I always wanted one. Probably get a D80 September or so. I can't imagine the D800 it's going to be anywhere near as good as the D4 above 800 iso.0 but not till

Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #67 on: 12 February, 2012, 10:08:45 am »
I should give up posting via phones way too many mistakes!

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #68 on: 12 February, 2012, 01:39:50 pm »
I can't imagine you going for a D80 :)
"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #69 on: 12 February, 2012, 05:33:10 pm »
Back home now so hopefully I'll get my numbers correct! I did think about the D800 and cost wise it is a bit of a bargain but I think in this dull country the high iso ability of the D4 is a real bonus. All reports seem to indicate that the D800 is about the same as a D700 in low light which considering the pixel count is simply amazing but the D4 is meant to be a stop better than the D3s which is a stop better than the D700 so the D4 should be far superior in anything above 800 iso apart from being a superior built camera.

I've also heard reports of the D800 needing an extra stop on the shutter speed to reduce blur with the big sensor - I don't really understand this! But a pro has said he got slightly soft images at 100 sec and an 85 mm lens. I'd have thought he would be very safe at that shutter speed!

I think I'll get a D800 late in the year to replace the D700. I plan on keeping the D4 for 4/5 years so the cost isn't that important (as it is my living!).

Nikon seem to have turned everything on it's head. As a photographer who isn't really interested in kit I find myself trawling forums trying to gain a bit more information on the cameras. Exciting times. I can't wait to see what Canon smash back at Nikon!

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #70 on: 12 February, 2012, 06:02:26 pm »
I may have bought a Canon G11.  More to follow.
Getting there...

Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #71 on: 12 February, 2012, 11:01:26 pm »
You've got to love buying stuff from China on eBay.

May I ask which shop on eBay this was from? I've been looking at and thinking about buying lights etc for a while now.
Weather forecast for the weekend?
It's character building verging on epic.

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #72 on: 12 February, 2012, 11:07:18 pm »
Proper studio lights? The Hobo Merlin from Cotswold Photo look very interesting.
"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #73 on: 12 February, 2012, 11:46:55 pm »
Proper studio lights? The Hobo Merlin from Cotswold Photo look very interesting.

Yep, proper studio lights. Thanks for the info. I'm looking at them now.
Weather forecast for the weekend?
It's character building verging on epic.

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: Bought any photography stuff today?
« Reply #74 on: 13 February, 2012, 12:14:53 am »
I like the remote control, and the features/price look good. There is a review somewhere.. http://www.lightingrumours.com/hobo-merlin-300-studio-flash-review-1648 may be it..
"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes