I was in the market for a hand-strap. Nikon offers a AH-4 hand-strap for their cameras, but that accessory is over $70 USD. Not something you buy without knowing if it 'suits' you. Sure, I could get the official AH-4, and find out after a couple of days that it's not my cup of tea. Chances are slim that the store will get it back with a full refund, since it's used.
So I started to look around for a cheaper option, and I found one (well, several) on eBay. This Nikon Hand-Strap II is supposed to be official in/from Korea, but even the Korean Nikon website only shows the original AH-4. So it's a (cheap) knock-off, but that didn't keep me from getting one.
As promised, the second part of the Billingham 225 Camera Bag review. This part will be more on the experiences I had during my 2.5 week driving around in Spain (~5500km in total).
The bag is roomier than expected. There were roughly two configurations that I carries around;
- Nikon D300, Nikon 17-55 f/2.8 and a Nikon 85 f/1.8, Panasonic Lumix LX-3
This was the 'easy-way-out' configuration.
- Nikon D300, Voigtlander 20mm, Nikon 35mm f/2, Nikon 50mm f/1.8, Nikon, Nikon 85mm f/1.8 and a Lensbaby Composer
I used this configuration about 80% of the time, since those primes force you to think about composition etc. There's not always room to change lenses. The best example of this is an 'almost' Gigapixel creation I made of the cathedral in Toledo with my 35mm lens. To completely capture the cathedral I had to take 72 photos (result can soon be found in the Panoramas section of my website).
The bag is pretty safe in regards to pick-pockets, and prying fingers. All the zippers etc. protect your gear very well. Downside is that you need to open a lot of things before you get to your gear (every advantage has its disadvantage....)
Adobe released Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 into the wild. The application can be downloaded from the Adobe website. The trail can be upgraded to a fully functioning version when you enter a valid serial number.
New features are;
- Flickr integration
Really nice feature. I do wonder how (and if) it works across multiple computers.
- Easy sharing
- Lens correction
- Support for DSLR video's
- Image watermarking
- Tethered shooting
For Nikon and Canon Cameras
- etc.
After I downloaded the new version I installed it on my MacBook. The 'old' Lightroom v2.x can be used besides the new version.
Billingham 225As some of you might have noticed, I was looking for a new camera bag. Yesterday, the mailman delivered the Billingham 225 (Black/Tan version) I ordered at Kamera Express.
The reason for me getting this bag is that it holds more space, pockets, zippers etc. than my Crumpler Daily M. It's also safer in regards to prying fingers. Additional advantages are that the bag is less conspicuous, and looks way better than the Crumpler (I know... taste....).
As most of you will know, Adobe release its latest Creative Suite (CS5) a couple of days ago. Personally, I only use Photoshop and Dreamweaver. For the casual photographer, the CS2 or CS3 version of Photoshop is probably more than you ever need. So are there reasons for upgrading (or reinstalling)?
First, Adobe doesn't really support the older versions of Photoshop anymore, or the operating system you run at this moment has some issues with an older version. So an upgrade will happen sooner or later. But apart from compatibility issues with the OS, there are some new features available for the (casual) photographer. The following features are the ones I'm most interested in;
- Easier ways of doing complex selections
Basically a tedious job in every earlier version, so I have my reservations on this feature.
- Content Aware Fill
Create-photos-in-Photoshop-instead-of-by-using-a-camera feature.
- HDR Imaging
Let's see if it beats Photomatix Pro.
- Automatic Lens Correction
I now use PTLens on the photos that need the correction.
- 64bit support (!!!!)
A feature that's long overdue.
- Better Black and White conversion
I mostly use Nik Silver Efex Pro at the moment.
In this post I'll be evaluating Photoshop CS5 on some of the points I mentioned above. Others will become a separate blogpost later on. For the moment, I'll be starting with 'upgrading' from CS4 to CS5, and see if that goes well (after I've cloned my MacBook disk with SuperDuper! to make sure I can always go back if things go sour).
Another thing that I need to check out is compatibility with earlier versions of Action scripts, and (older) plugins. Just check the CS5 or Photoshop tag for all the related posts about Photoshop CS5.
For the last year I've been searching for a <24mm prime. I did have some requirements for this new lens;
- It should be flare resistant.
I hate flares on my wide-angle lenses (my Nikon 17-55mm, and Sigma 10-20mm)
- It should be small (as small as possible).
Not a 'look-at-my-camera-with-this-huge-lens' lens.
After much deliberation I bought the Voigtlander Color Skopar 20mm f/3.5 SL II @ Robert White (direct link) in the UK.
RRS D300 L-PlateAfter getting the Arca-Swiss Monoball Z1, the next logical step was getting an L-plate for my camera. An L-plate is a camera plate that allows you to position the camera in landscape- AND portrait-mode on the ballhead. Normally you would use the drop-notch on the ballhead to position the camera in portrait mode. This drop-notch is available on most ballheads, but seriously limits the movement of the ballhead, and it puts the camera in a lower (and on most times in an awkward) position.
;)
