Bought any photography stuff today?

[clarion]

OM1 was indeed beautiful, and I was very lucky indeed that my first camera happened to be one.  The OM10 devoured batteries, and didn't have the adaptability of the 1.  It is dead easy to replace the seals (I did it on my OM40), but I guess they're much harder to source than when I did mine.

[AndyK]

OM1 was indeed beautiful, and I was very lucky indeed that my first camera happened to be one.  The OM10 devoured batteries, and didn't have the adaptability of the 1.  It is dead easy to replace the seals (I did it on my OM40), but I guess they're much harder to source than when I did mine.

Ebay user 'Interslice'. Sells excellent DIY lightseal kits extremely cheaply. I've resealed at least a dozen cameras using his kits.

<edit> Jon Goodman (interslice) is not using Ebay anymore but instead is selling direct while he reorganises his business. He can be contacted direct here: jgood2196 AT aol.com

Another seal kit seller can be found here.

[numbnuts]

After watching Prof Brian Cox on the telly I've just bought this, it's a 6 inch Celestron C6-SGT XLT GOTO telescope

[David Martin]

The institute have been thinking of getting a decent camera for PR work etc. So it looks like they are going for the new D3200 and an SB700. That should be fun to play with.

[David Martin]

Seeing docsquid's pics inspired me a bit so I have now god a nice set of very solid Ai extension tubes (withouth the prongs) on my desk. Looking forward to trying them out soon.

[docsquid]

It's very flattering to think that I might have inspired anybody!  Hope you enjoy the extension tubes!

[geraldc]

Bought an adaptor so I can use my dad's manual focus K Mount Pentax lenses on my Lumix G2. I now realise how much heavier metal and glass is, than plastic and glass.

[hulver]

A Canon EOS 550D Ti2 to replace my now quite old 300d
A Speedlite 430 ex II

The camera comes with 2 18-55mm lenes, a 28-90mm lens, and a 90-300mm lens.

Also a tripod and camera bag.

I was looking for a camera to replace my 300d, and saw this one. I thought at first that is was massively overpriced, but when I scrolled down the listing and saw that it came with 4 lenses, a decent flash (that I've been considering getting for a while) and a bag the price suddenly didn't seem that high.

I can re-sell some of the lenses (we'll end up with 5 18-55mm lenses between us when this comes) and make back some of the extra.

[JT]

A Lowepro Streamline 100 bag for my MFT Lumix.

I haven't unboxed it yet (Amazon purchase) and I'm afraid it will look like a manbag!   

[mike]

I haven't unboxed it yet (Amazon purchase) and I'm afraid it will look like a manbag!   

..googles...

yep.  Manbagtastic   

(time to embrace your inner european..........)

[JT]

I haven't unboxed it yet (Amazon purchase) and I'm afraid it will look like a manbag!   

..googles...

yep.  Manbagtastic   

(time to embrace your inner european..........)

Thanks! Time for some red jeans then... 

[Jaded]

Tan leather jacket too...

[andyoxon]

Probably won't go with red...


 

[David Martin]

A set of Pixel Soldiers appeared on my desk today. Quite nice. They have good indications of action and are groupable. So you can set your trigger to fire any combination of up to three groups, and each receiver is in one group. The receivers have some degree of communication with the flash - when you half press the shutter the trigger lights up with a green light. And it relights when the flash is again ready to fire. Smart. blinky red when on but not active.

Range is up to about 100m line of sight but anything in between will drastically reduce that, even foliage.

I'll be testing them in anger on Friday taking pictures at a seminar (angled and heavily gridded main flash to catch the speaker but not spill onto the slides, a second gridded flash to rim light from behind angled so the audience do not see it directly. They will be on separate groups so I can fire one or both. I might set up a third flash on group 3 for more general shots when there is nothing on screen.

[Wombat]

A Lowepro Streamline 100 bag for my MFT Lumix.

I haven't unboxed it yet (Amazon purchase) and I'm afraid it will look like a manbag!   

A pleasant change for lowepro to make something that isn't boring black or grey.  I have 2 lowepro bags, one black, one grey....  I would much prefer a friendly colour, maybe leafy green, or lurid orange or something not boring bloody black.  Enjoy your manbag!

[docsquid]

Yes!  I have...

Yesterday I got a Canon EOS-M.  For those times when you can't carry all the full clobber, or you don't want to, or you haven't set out to take photos, but would like to be able to should the opportunity arise.  It is basically an EOS650D without the mirror in a compact form.  I got it because it is a Canon, so I don't have to learn another menu system, because it is an APS-C sensor and therefore promises to be better than smaller sensor compacts, and because it can act as a full back-up, and take all the standard Canon lenses, using a lens adapter - so if the 5D3 should fail, I haz a plan!

I took it out yesterday.  General impressions:  Very solidly built.  Much better than a plastic compact.  Slightly larger, of course, but still handbaggable, particularly with the 22mm pancake lens.  The latter is BRILLIANT - an absolutely stonkingly good f2 lens.  The kit zoom lens is a kit zoom lens - sound, as good as the 15-85 EF-S lens I used to use on my 7D. 

It is very easy to use.  In particular the autofocus - you can compose the shot and then touch the screen to define the area or spot you want in sharp focus and it does it.  Very neat solution using the touch screen.  Also easy to use exposure compensation which is the feature I use most.  All the standard manual control features there, plus a lot of creative auto stuff, and some creative filters, which I haven't played with yet.  It doesn't have built-in flash, but then again, neither does the 5D3, and I don't usually use it anyway. 

It doesn't have a swivelling view screen, but then again, neither does the 5D3 - and I haven't found one of these to be very useful in the past, so I don't miss it. 

I like it.  It will do the job for me very well.

Piccy from yesterday

Betty's Wood by AlvecoteWood, on Flickr

[drossall]

Pentax K30 body as a birthday present I'm still investigating all the extra features over my K110D.

[geraldc]

D600

Oops

[Wombat]

Oops indeed!  I do hope you already had a load of other stuff, and aren't starting from scratch.

I'm currently musing over buying a better mid-range zoom as an everyday lens to replace the wobbly plastic kit lens on my Sony A55 I've had for nearly 2 years now.  Taken over 10,000 frames so far, and a lot more to come... (unless I weaken even more and buy an A65 or A77.. I am pretending the A99 does not exist)

[geraldc]

My brother's the really keen photographer, when he upgrades, I get given his old kit. So I have a fair bit of kit.
The other half used to run her school photography club in the days of film, but recently has been using a high end compact. From her blog, she got contacted by LBC to buy the rights to use one of her photos to use on their website, and so her enthusiasm for 'proper' photography was renewed, hence N+1.

[drossall]

Pentax K30 body as a birthday present I'm still investigating all the extra features over my K110D.

I may have confessed this elsewhere. Here's what happened, honest

We went on a mini-tour for a break. For the last night, I'd booked us in to an hotel in Burgess Hill. As we drove into the industrial estate where it was located, I saw Park Cameras. I'd heard of them, but I'd no idea they were there

And it was my birthday

I browsed their site that night, and found that the K-30 price had just gone through the floor, and there was a cash-back offer to boot

So the next morning...

That's a bit more than oops

[perpetual dan]

You booked into a hotel in Burgess Hill for the last night of a holiday? You deserved a treat after that!

[drossall]

Hotels all look the same in the middle of the night, with your eyes shut.

We just wanted somewhere within striking distance of Brighton, so that we could see the Royal Pavilion. And I got to go over Ditchling Beacon on the way there, albeit only by car.

[rogerzilla]

5 rolls of Rollei infrared film ready for next year (it can take a while to arrive).

Fantastic stuff and much better than the old Kodak HIE.  Shoot it through a Hoya R72 opaque filter* and use 1/60 at f/8 in full sun.  Develop in Rollei D74 (after a pre-soak in water to get rid of the anti-halation layer) and every shot will be a winner.  No need to bracket, although you do need to guesstimate the focus shift a little; long lenses are not a good idea.  Yes, you can do IR digitally, but the exposures become ludicrously long; your average CCD is about as sensitive to IR as your eye is, i.e. only very slightly.


*this is where a rangefinder camera helps; they laugh in the face of opaque filters

[Mrs Pingu]

A Canon EOS 550D Ti2 to replace my now quite old 300d
A Speedlite 430 ex II

The camera comes with 2 18-55mm lenes, a 28-90mm lens, and a 90-300mm lens.

Also a tripod and camera bag.

I was looking for a camera to replace my 300d, and saw this one. I thought at first that is was massively overpriced, but when I scrolled down the listing and saw that it came with 4 lenses, a decent flash (that I've been considering getting for a while) and a bag the price suddenly didn't seem that high.

I can re-sell some of the lenses (we'll end up with 5 18-55mm lenses between us when this comes) and make back some of the extra.

How are you finding it, Hulver?
I'm pondering the 350 to 550 upgrade if I can get my darkroom equipment sold. Had a look on ebay and the prices are mad! Don't really understand why people spend £400 for one on there when mpb have bodies for about the £300-325 mark that come with a 6 month warranty...