Tamron AF 60mm f/2.0 SP on a Canon EOS 60D

Announced in mid 2009, the Tamron 60mm F2 macro lens provides 1:1 magnification for APS-C sensors. This Tamron 60mm macro is available in Canon, Sony and Nikon mounts and it incorporates two low dispersion elements to compensate for various aberrations, lets you achieve 1:1 magnification at a working distance of 100mm. The F2 maximum aperture makes it a whole stop faster than other lenses in the same class. The Tamron AF 60mm f/2.0 SP Macro Lens is the world’s first and currently the only 1:1 macro APS-C size lens with a maximum aperture of F2.

What’s with the name?
Like all Tamron lenses, this lens has a very long name – Tamron AF 60mm f/2.0 SP DI II LD IF 1:1 Macro Lens

• SP – SUPER PERFORMANCE :  Tamron SP (Super Performance) series is a line of ultra-high-performance lenses designed and manufactured to the exacting specifications demanded by professionals and others who require the highest possible image quality.
• Di – DIGITALLY INTEGRATED :  Di (Digitally Integrated Design) is a Tamron designation that applies to lenses that have been optimized for digital capture using advanced multi-coating techniques and optical designs that assure excellent image quality across the entire picture field.
• LD – LOW DISPERSION : Low dispersion (LD) glass elements in a lens help reduce chromatic aberration; the tendency of light of different colors to come to different points of focus at the image plane.
• ASPHERICAL : These innovative optics allow us to achieve the ultimate in image quality, and at the same time produce lenses that offer remarkable zoom ranges in extraordinarily compact packages.
• IF – INTERNAL FOCUSING : Internal focusing (IF) provides numerous practical benefits to photographers including a non-rotating front filter ring that facilitates the positioning of polarizing and graduated filters, and more predictable handling because the lens length does not change during focusing.

Tamron likes the names of their lenses to be descriptive. For this post I will just refer to this lens as Tamron 60mm F/2.

Specifications

What’s included?

The Tamron AF 60mm F/2 comes with a detachable lens hood, manual, and registration form. There’s no padded case included like most Sigma Lenses.

Strong Points and Reasons to buy this lens:

• Fast F/2 Fix Aperture.
• Full Time Manual Focus.
• Internal focusing system for enhanced ease of use.
• Excellent Image Quality / Excellent Optics.
• Light / Compact / Perfect as an all around Portrait / Macro Lens.
• Meticulous countermeasures against ghosting and flare.
• Gives you a working distance of 100 mm or 3.93 inches.
• Great for Low Light.
• Features 1:1 life-size.
• Cost ($365.99 after $100 mail-in rebate at the time of writing).

Weak Points :

• No VC /IS /OS /VR.
• Focus Ring a little tight.
• No Weather Sealing / Proofing like top of the line macro lenses from Canon or Nikon.

Impression:
I’m not a big fan of macro photography. In fact I sold my Canon EF 100mm F/2.8 macro lens after owning it for less than a year. It’s a great lens, but I have not use it much that’s why I sold it. For occasional macro photography, I used my lovely EF 85mm F/1.8 and an extension tube.  While that combination worked fine for me, I felt that  the Tamron 60mm F2 Macro has a lot to offer so I decided to give it a try. For me there were three driving factors for purchasing this lens, like everyone else, the F/2.0 aperture attracted me to try out this lens, currently it is the only macro lens sporting this maximum aperture, second is the focal length, it’s between 100mm and 50mm macros, it’s great for everyday use and like what other reviewers are saying, I get two lenses in one, it’s a macro lens that doubles as a portrait lens. Third is the price, it’s a no brainer, a macro lens for only $365.99 after a $100.00 mail-in rebate.

The Tamron 60mm macro lens is light, seems well made and feels good on my hands. It is entirely made of hard plastic with a metal lens mount making it light and easy to handle. If you’ve ever had a Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 or the Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 or the Tamron 90mm F/2.8, the quality is very much the same. Although not like top brand macro lenses which cost more, the quality of this lens is very descent and will last a long time.

Autofocus is just fine, not fast, not slow, definitely slower and noisier than my 50mm F/1.4 and 85mm F/1.8.   I like the large rubberrized focus ring, easy to grip but I find it a little tight to rotate.

Since the Tamron 60mm F2 Macro lens features an internal focus mecahnism  the lens does not extend and the front element does not rotate when focus is adjusted. Another feature of this lens that I like is the Full Time Manual Focus, which can come really handy at times.

Fresh Tomatoes - Tamron AF 60mm F/2 SP Macro Lens

Conclusion:

Overall I like the lens, results are stunning. So far I didn’t find any focus or exposure problem. The only thing I can say is, I find the focus ring a little tight. Other than that, it’s a great lens, great for still macro, great for portraits. If you plan on going after insects, you may have some difficulty on that area, but you might still be able to catch a few. So if you are looking for a macro lens, or a portrait lens, I can highly recommend this lens, it is a great macro and portrait lens.

The Tamron AF SP 60mm F/2 Macro available from:

Amazon| Adorama | B & H

Photos of the Tamron AF 60mm F/2 SP Macro Lens

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For some sample photos taken with the Tamron AF 60mm f/2 SP Macro Lens, please click here.

Fits Nicely on the EOS 60D

I was about to buy my second black rapid strap when i stumble upon the Quick Release Dual-shoulder Camera Neck Strap from Rainbowimaging. It looks ok so I decided to try it out.

(LEFT)Quick Strap | (RIGHT)Black Rapid RS-1

Seems to be made of fine materials, comparing it to my RS-1, for me the RS-1 feels more soft and comfortable to use. I guess I’ll find out when I get to use it more often. I like the design of the bracket that attaches to the camera because I can attach my QR plate with 1/4″ screw, making it tripod ready at anytime, the only down side in doing this is when shooting in portrait mode with a battery grip the bottom would be quite thick and awkward to hold. It’s nice that the two straps can be detached if I only want to use one of them.

Connector and Base Plate Bracket

Overall, I like the strap, it’s cheap, a decent knock off of the original, seems durable and can seem to handle heavy load. I just need to mentioned that I’m a little bit worried about the latch or connector that came with the strap, I still believe that the BlackRapid ConnectR-2
is of more superior quality, so far my Canon EOS 60D with BG-e9 Grip and 70-200mm F/4 and a flash didn’t fall when I tested it, I’m just not sure how it can handle it when I’m on the go shooting an event. I know my Black Rapid can. For now I’m using it on a lighter load like a body and a 24-70mm lens and I’ll leave the heavy duty stuff with my black rapid.

If you are looking for a cheap dual-shoulder strap, you may want to check out the Quick Release Dual-shoulder Camera Neck Strap from Rainbowimaging. It’s only $29.95 and is fulfilled by Amazon making it eligible for Amazon Prime or $24.99 + $3.00 shipping if you buy it from RainbowImaging.

More Photos:

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The Sunwayfoto DPL-03 Arca-Swiss Compatible Universal L-Plate is priced at $89 at the time of this writing. First of I must say it is made of high quality materials, build quality is excellent. If you are looking for a cheaper alternative to the more expensive Arca Swiss type L Plate from Really Right Stuff and Kirk Enterprises, then, you might want to take a look at the Sunwayfoto L Plates.

We all know why we need an L Plate or L Bracket for our camera so let’s go right into the review. I bought my DPL-03 L-Plate from Amazon, and it came  nicely pack on a small red and black box with a really great protective padding. When I was holding the package, the first think I noticed was it was really light(80g).

Top/Front side of the box

Bottom side of the box

Inside rotective paddings

The Sunwayfoto DPL-03 L-Plate is precision CNC machined from solid aircraft-grade aluminum, it feels really nice and sturdy and I can tell that it can last a life time. In the box you will find the DPL-03 L-Plate, 3 different size allen wrench, a 1/4″ hex screw and two extra small screws that goes underneath the base of the plate to serve as a lock when place on an arca swiss type clamp. The DPL-03 is the only model with a removable / movable backstop, meaning it can be mounted on either side of the rail and it can also be mounted in 3 different positions on each side, making it flexible and compatible with most type of DSLR’s. This is the reason why I picked the DPL-03 from the other models, I’m planning to use it on my EOS 60D and EOS 40D. So far I have only tested it on my EOS 60D and my feelings are mixed.  Sunwayfoto has 4 L-Plates in it’s line up, DPL-01, DPL-02, DPL-03 and DPL-04. DPL-01,02 and 04 doesn’t have movable/ interchangeable backstop, dpl-04 has the widest based for really large camera.

Fits Nicely on the EOS 60D

Does not block the battery door

Does not get in the way of the rotating screen

The Good:Without the 60d battery grip(BG-E9), the DPL-03 fits snugly on the EOS 60D, it’s like a perfect fit. It does not block the battery door which is important, the rotating display screen of the 60d can be freely rotated to any position and switching from landscape to portrait is just plain easy.

The Bad:Since this is a Universal L-Plate it’s really not designed for a specific camera and because the side bracket is not completely open it blocks most of the entry points on the left of the 60d, like the HDMI, mic port, and the shutter release cable. There’s just no way for me to fit the mic jack on top or the shutter release cable on the bottom. The only work around is to adjust the bracket to have some space between the bracket and the camera, but doing so may introduce unwanted vibrations when using it in portrait mode. Another way is to use a hacksaw to remove the obstruction on the side.

With the BG-E9 Battery Grip

Fits OK on the EOS 60D with battery grip

from the back

Completely blocks the battery door of the grip.

Rotating screen can be adjusted to any position

Also works on portrait mode

Now the mic port and shutter release ports are free from obstuction.

The DPL-03 also works when the BG-E9 Battery grip of the 60d is attached. It actually works better for me, first I never take out my battery grip, it’s on my camera 100% of the time so taking it on and off would be too much. This actually solves the obstruction problem. if I use it with the battery grip, it frees up the mic port, hdmi and shutter release cable, the usb is still block but that’s ok, since I never really use it.

The bad: It block’s the battery door completely. But since I use two batteries all the time, may not have to change batteries that often.

Conclusion:

Overall all, the DPL-03 L Plate from Sunwayfoto is a great product, quality wise, it is excellent. Usability? It depends on what you need, how you use your camera with it and on what type of camera you have. It somehow works for me, but I still can’t decide if I will keep it or if I’m going to return it. I still haven’t tested it with my older EOS 40d, maybe after that, I can decide if I’m keeping it or not.

The Sunwayfoto DPL-03 Arca-Swiss Compatible Universal L Plate is available at:

• Amazon
• B & H Photo

More photos of the Sunwayfoto DPL-03 Arca-Swiss Compatible Universal L Plate:

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So which one should you get, the IS or the Non IS version of the famous EF 70-200mm F/4L USM Lens, I myself was in this situation. And to complicate things more, there’s still the EF 70-300 F/4-5.6 IS USM which also offers great image quality coupled with more reach for a much lower price. Thank goodness the newer EF 70-300mm F/4-5.6L IS USM was not yet around during those times.

Canon EOS 40D with Canon EF 70-200mm F/4L IS USM Lens. ISO 500, 200mm, 1/200, F/6.3, manual exposure.

Anyway, to answer the question, which of the two 70-200mm F/4L USM lens should you pick? Is the addition of IS really justifies the high price? In my opinion, yes, the IS has more glass compare to the non IS, and because it has IS, it offers an additional four stops of shake correction. Because of this IS version is handholdable in low light just like 70-200mm F/2.8L IS. Another great feature of the IS version which is not present in the Non IS, is the weather sealing protection. Other than these mentioned features, both lenses have excellent image quality, build quality of both lenses are great, it all boils down to what you really need and to what you can afford. I went with the IS version and I’m really happy with it’s performance. Why did I choose it over the Non IS, it’s because I use it mostly handheld, and I feel that IS will really help me capture better pictures(great for coffee drinkers like me). If you will use this mostly on a tripod or a monopod I would go with the Non IS version.

I also use the Canon EF 70-200mm F/4L IS USM Lens and Canon EOS 60D for sports photography. ISO 1000, 200mm, 1/250, F/4, shutter priority.

I also got some questions why I choose the EF 70-200mm F/4L IS over the F/2.8 L IS version, the fast F/2.8 aperture is certainly nice to have, but I felt that for my needs the F/4 was enough, I also considered the price, weight and the size of the two lenses, the F/2.8 L is more expensive, bigger and heavier, I use my F/4L regularly and it’s really comfortable especially if I’m going to shoot for long periods of time. I also took into considerations the advancement in technology, newer canon camera bodies now sports a higher ISO’s that are way better compare to those camera bodies release 2 or three years ago, the F/4, combined with the 4 stop IS and high ISO, I can get the photos I needed, and for low light, I can rely on my Canon EF 85mm F/1.8, Canon EF 50mm F/1.4 and my Tamron AF 28-75mm F/2.8 SP.

Canon EF 70-200mm F/4L IS USM Lens perfect for daytime outdoor events. ISO 100, 200mm, 1/500, F/4, aperture priority.

In the event that I really need an F/2.8 on a 70-200mm range for an important work, I won’t hesitate to buy one or I can easily rent it from places like Borrowlenses.com.

Get the Canon EF 70-200mm F/4L IS USM from:

Amazon | Adorama | B & H | Rent

Get the Canon EF 70-200mm F/4L USM from:

Amazon | Adorama | B & H | Rent

Canon EOS 60D with Canon EF 70-200mm F/4L IS USM Lens. ISO 1600, 200mm, 1/250, F/5.6, manual exposure.

When I want to get close to nature and shoot wildlife, I turn to my favorite lens, the Canon EF 70-200mm F/4 L IS USM. I’ve had the this telephoto lens for almost two years now and all I can say is, it’s really an amazing lens. It’s sharp on all focal lengths, it’s got image stabilization and it’s light compare to it’s bigger brother the Canon EF 70-200mm F/2.8 L IS USM I and II. Sure an F/2.8 is really faster than an F/4 especially in low light, but the size, weight, price and current technological advancement of new camera bodies sporting higher ISO’s made me choose the F/4L IS over the F/2.8L version. Besides, if I really need an F/2.8 on a shoot, I can always rent it from Borrowlenses.com. You can rent Canon EF 70-200mm F/2.8L IS USM I for only $54.00 for three days and the EF 70-200mm F/2.8 L IS USM II for $68.00 for three days.

Canon EOS 60D with Canon EF 70-200mm F/4L IS USM Lens. ISO 1600, 200mm, 1/250, F/5.6, manual exposure.

The EF 70-200mm F/4L IS USM when paired with an APS-C camera like the Canon EOS 7D, 60D, 50D and Rebel series cameras, is perfect if you want to get close. It gives you a 35mm equivalent focal lenght of 112-320mm (using canon’s 1.6x crop factor)

Although not really an lens for bird photography, adding patience can help you capture some pretty amazing shots.

A longer focal is for sure the choice of many wildlife photographers out there, but the 70-200mm F/4 can surely make lots of amazing wildlife photographs, all you need is creativity and lots of ideas.

The Canon EF 70-200mm F/4L IS USM is available from:

Amazon | Adorama | B & H | Rent

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Ness Flores

The Yongnuo RF-603 Wireless Radio Flash Transceiver (left) and PT-04 Wireless Flash Receiver

Let’s compare the specs:

The Yongnuo RF-603 Wireless Radio Flash Transceiver (left) and PT-04 Wireless Flash Receiver (right)

The RF-603 (left) has a much lower profile than PT-04.

You can see from the photo above that the Yongnuo RF-603 transceiver unit has a much lower profile than PT-04 Wireless Flash Receiver.

The bottom of the RF-603 (left) and PT-04(right).

As mentioned earlier in my review, the RF-603 despite having an upgraded metal foot lacks a locking lever to secure it in place when attached to a flash stand / light stand. This is a must have to some people, but for me, it’s not that of a big issue.

Inside the battery compartment of the RF-603.

Two places where Yongnuo lacks in ergonomics design, here’s one, in the placement of the channel dip switch and the On/Off switch. The channel dip switch is hidden inside the battery compartment making it hard to reach specially when you need to make quick last minute changes.

The RF-603 (left) and PT-04(right) with attached Yongnuo YN-560 flash.

Above you can see the RF-603 and PT-04 with flash attached. Here’s the second place where the RF-603 lacks in ergonomics, once a flash is attached to the RF-603, there’s no way to reach the On/Off switch. I like how the On/Off switch of the PT-04 is positioned, even if there’s an attached flash, it is still reachable.

The RF-603 (left) and PT-04(right). Some versions of the PT-04 comes with an umbrella holder, a great plus.

The Yonuno RF-603(left) and CowboyStudio Pt-04(right) with attached Yongnuo YN-560′s

So which one will you get? It really depends, they bought work, the RF-603 offers more distance(100m), uses 2 regular AAA batteries, it’s a transceiver type device, each unit can act as a transmitter and / or a receiver, it’s also a wireless remote shutter release. On the other hand, the PT-04 has been here quite a while, works for most application, doesn’t have the ergonomics design flaw of the RF-603 that I have pointed out. I have both, currently I have 2 PT-04 transmitter and 4 receivers and a pair of RF-603 and 1 more pair on the way. I can use them together side by side thanks to the RF-603′s transceiver design, all I need is to attached my PT-04 transmitter on top of the RF-603 hot shoe and it will trigger my PT-04 receivers the same time the rf-603 triggers other rf-603′s. Let me just mention that after using the PT-04′s for almost a year, I’ve seen it misfire a lot of times, and I have to retake the photos because of luck of light. I find the RF-603′s pretty accurate especially in long distance application. But again, I have not tested this. In the end it’s a decision you have to make. If you can get by some of the mentioned weaknesses of both devices then one of them maybe right for your application.

Review of the Cowboystudio PT-04 I did almost a year ago.
Review of the Yongnuo RF-603 here.

Where to buy?

For corrections, inquiries or suggestions regarding this post, please let me know, I do value your inputs, feel free to post a comment below. Thanks.

The Yongnuo RF-603 Wireless Radio Flash Trigger and Wireless Shutter Release

I was looking for a wireless radio shutter release remote control for my Canon camera’s when I found this on Amazon. I’ve heard about the Yongnuo RF-602 before, but since I already have a set of PT-04 which has almost the same features and specification, I did not pay much attention to it. I bought the RF-603 for two reasons, 1st for it’s wireless shutter release functionality, (which really works by the way) and 2nd for it’s wireless flash trigger functionality.

The Yongnuo RF-603 uses 2 AAA batteries. You can also see that the RF-603′s hot shoe mounting foot is now made of metal. Upgraded to add more strength and durability.

Description:

The Yongnuo RF-603 is a 2.4GHz wireless remote system just like it’s older brother the Yongnuo RF-602. It is a remote shutter release as well as a multi-functional radio flash trigger which can synchronously trigger flashes and studio strobes. Each unit in the pair can act both as a transmitter and or as a receiver, just put one on top of the camera’s hot shoe and you now have a receiver and the rest will function as receivers.  Each unit of the RF-603 are powered by two AAA  batteries unlike the RF-602′s transmitter which is powered by a more expensive and sometimes hard to find CR2 battery. It can trigger 1 flash with one set, since one serves as trigger and one as a receiver. You can also buy additional transceivers to trigger more flashes at the same time. The RF-603 is not compatible with the older RF-602, so if you have an existing RF-602 receivers, it  cannot be triggered by an RF-603 directly. But don’t throw them yet, because the RF-603 has a hot shoe, you can put your current RF-602 transmitter on top of the RF-603 and it will still trigger your old RF-602 receivers without any problem. I have not tested this setup but I’m pretty sure it will work. I have tested it in combination with my current set of PT-04′s and they worked like a charm.

The Yongnuo RF-603 on a Canon EOS 60D with a PT-04 Transmitter on top to trigger my existing PT-04 Receivers.

Also here you can see how the RF-603 is connected to the Canon EOS 60D shutter release input connection to function as a wireless remote shutter release.

The Yongnuo RF-603 on a Canon EOS 60D with a PT-04 Transmitter on top to trigger my existing PT-04 Receivers.

The Yongnuo RF-603 Wireless Radio Flash Trigger and Wireless Shutter Release Box Set

What’s in the box?

• A User’s Manual in English and in Chinese
• 2 RF-603 transceivers
• 1 C1 shutter release cord with 2.5mm jack (will only work for Canon Rebel XS/XSi/T1i/T2i/T3i/ and Canon EOS 60D only)

Specification:

• FSK2.4GHz wireless remote system
• 16 selectable operating frequencies for eliminating interference
• Range: 100 meters
• Flash sync speed: Up to 1/320, but I tested to work on 1/250, best at 1/200 on a Canon eos 40D
• Shutter release : half-press, full-press
• Shutter interface : 2.5mm socket
• Studio flash light interface : Standard PC Socket
• Battery: 2 x AAA
• Stand-by time: up to 45 hrs
• Size : 37mm x 30mm x 81.5mm (W x H x D)

The Yongnuo RF-603 (left) has a much lower profile compare to the PT-04 Receiver (right)

 Impression:

The build quality of the RF-603 is really good, I like it better than the PT-04. It feels quite solid and it is quite noticeable that it is made of quality plastic material including the battery doors which as we all know will have the most beating aside from the hot shoe mounting foot. I’ve read some articles about the older RF-602 having weak battery doors which easily broke. It’s a different story with the RF-603, it seems that Yongnuo did some needed upgrades. Also the RF-603′s hot shoe mounting foot is now made of metal and not plastic like the older version which is a welcome changed. A plastic feet can cracked overtime especially when too much pressure is applied from  clamping cold shoes and when used with heavy speedlights.  With a metal mounting foot, it adds strength and you won’t hesitate to use a flash as big and as heavy like the Canon 580EX II combined with a softbox or some sort of light modifier. One thing missing on the bottom mounting foot is a locking ring or lever, it relies on friction when used on the camera’s hot shoe or when placed on a flash stand.  Maybe not a big issue but not having a locking ring can be an issue in some situations. Thankfully Yongnuo didn’t forget to add the hole in the metal plate of the shoe mount that accomodates the locking pin on Canon speedlites.

The RF603 has 16 channels. However the dip switches not only require a tool but are located inside the battery compartment making the channel feature annoying and pretty much useless. I mean, what where they thinking putting the dip switch inside the battery compartment, and underneath the batteries.

Range, it’s rated at 100 meters, I have not tested it that far but in approximately 30 to 40 meters and behind a wall, it works and no misfire.

One great feature of the RF-603 is  it’s wireless shutter release functionality, just put one of the units in the camera’s hot shoe, while you hold the other unit on your hand, hook the included cable from the RF-603 to the camera’s remote shutter release input and you now have an instant wireless remote shutter release. A half-press activates auto-focus, a full-press releases the camera shutter. For Canon users, if you are using your cameras back button focus(like me) to activate autofocus, the half-press on the RF-603 won’t work, you must switch your camera back to the default auto focus (AF) settings by going to your camera’s function menu. I like this remote shutter release better compare to most common traditional ones because it uses radio frequency and not infrared. I can control the camera from any angle even from behind a wall or from afar not just from behind or front like what most common infrared remote shutter release does.

By the way, the included C1 shutter release cord with 2.5mm jack will only work for Canon Rebel XS/XSi/T1i/T2i/T3/T3i and EOS 60D. For owners of the Canon EOS 20D/40D/50D/7D/5D/1D series you will need to purchase the Yongnuo RF-603 C3 Shutter Release Cable separately. I also bought one for my Canon 40d.

The Yongnuo RF-603 works well with my current set of PT-04 .

Pros:

• Inexpensive
• Works well. So far, it’s reliable.
• Great Build quality.
• Upgraded metal foot.
• Uses regular AAA batteries.
• You get 2 devices in 1 packaged. Serves as a wireless remote flash trigger and as a wireless remote shutter release.

Cons:

• No locking lever on bottom foot
• Synch speed is limited to 1/200, at 1/250 there’s minimal shadowing at the bottom on a Canon eos 40 and EOS 60D
• On / Off switch hard to reach when flash on top.
• Channel Dip Switch is inside battery compartment

Conclusion:
To summarize it all, the RF-603 works. The best thing about it is, you get 2 device in 1 packaged, a wireless flash trigger and a wireless remote shutter release. For me the only thing I don’t like about it is the sync speed limitation. I just wish I can use a shutter speed at least at 1/250. The missing locking lever on bottom foot really doesn’t bother me that much. Would I recommend? My answer is yes, I’m actually getting one more, for my needs, it works, and I actually like it better than my PT-04. And with the RF-603, I can still use my existing PT-04′s. If you are someone who works with lights a lot, has 2 or more flash, and you can get around the limitations that I have mentions above(like me), then this is a great solution, it’s really cheap, build quality is pretty good and it works.

Where to buy:

I will update this post as I continuously use the RF-603.

Yongnuo RF-603 and Cowboystudio PT-04 Comparison

For corrections, inquiries or suggestions regarding this post, please let me know, I do value your inputs, feel free to post a comment below. Thanks.

An ordinary messenger bag converted to a camera bag using the Tenba Pro Digital 2.0 Photo Insert

I really like my new walk around camera bag. Believe it or not, it’s an Aeropostale messenger bag I both years ago. I converted it to a camera bag by using a camera / photo insert from Tenba. The Tenba Pro Digital 2.0 Photo Insert is a perfect fit for most messenger bags out there. I got mine from Adorama. The actual size of the insert is Length 13in x Width 4.5in x Height 8.5in. My messenger bag dimensions are L 14in x W 5in x H 11.5in. A perfect fit.

The Tenba Pro Digital 2.0 Photo Insert.
Dimensions: L 13in x W 4.5in x H 8.5in

Product Description
The  Pro Digital 2.0 Insert from Tenba, can be used as a replacement or for use in other suitable bags. The Insert provides 3 in-line pockets suitable for a DSLR body, 3 lenses and flash. The inserts are highly customizable so you can fit the gear that you need. I can fit a Canon EF 70-200mm F/4L IS USM with lens hood reverse, Canon EF-S 10-22mm Wide Angle without a lenshood, a YN-560 or a 430EX II flash, a Canon EOS 60D with Grip and a Tamron 28-75mm attached a demb pro flash diffuser , extra camera batteries. All these on the insert alone, I can bring more accessories and put them built-in pockets of the messenger bag if need to.  I bought this insert because there are times when I want to travel light, with just 1 extra lens a flash, memory cards, batteries and ettl cord. This is the answer to my needs. Best of all, I can now use different bags when I want to. I’ve tried it with my other messenger bag which is a little bit smaller than the one on the photo above and still fits without any problem.

Features:

• Well designed compartments.
• Customizable inserts.
• Offers good protection.
• Convert most bags like messenger bags and backpacks to a camera bag.

The Tenba Pro Digital 2.0 Photo Insert is well built, the padding are enough to protect my gear.  But if you are looking for more solid protection, this may not be the answer. You might want to use a real camera bag for a more robust protection.  This is a great solution if you are looking to carry light gear, great as a walk around companion. Other thing I like about it is, because it can convert any bag into camera bag, I can now carry my camera gear inconspicuously. I can highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a new way to pack their gear and for those who want’s to use a camera bag that doesn’t look like a camera bag.

Available from Adorama and BHPhotoVideo.

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Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Ness Flores

Rokinon BGC-50D Digital Battery Grip for Canon 50D/40D/30D/20D

I’m a big fan of battery grips. Why, for one thing it gives me extra battery life, and best of all, a second shutter release button making portrait shots really easy. I recently bought a Rokinon BGC-50D Battery Grip for my Canon 40D to replace the old one. I choose this over other third party brands out of curiosity, first, out of all the other cheap knock off battery grips this is the only one under $35.00 that inclues a wireless remote shutter release and an external battery pack. How about that?

In the box: The Rokinon BGC-50D Digital Battery Grip together with a Remote Control and an external battery pack with belt clip a user manual and a quick starter guide.

What’s in the box:

• Rokinon BGC-50D Battery Grip
• Remote Control
• External Battery Pack with belt clip
• User manual
• Quick Starter Guide

Features:

• Features dual battery slots for extra battery power
• Two vertical shutter buttons, one on each side – You can flip the camera which ever way you want and you’ll still be able to reach a shutter button.
• Strong and durable
• Includes an external battery pack that attaches to your belt for extra power if needed.
• Includes a remote control to conveniently control your camera from a remote distance.
• Uses your camera’s own lithium batteries and you can use up to 8 ordinary AA alkaline batteries on the external battery pack.

Description:

The BGC-50D was designed to work with the Canon EOS 20D, 30D, 40D and 50D. It comes with a nice useable english manual that describes how to use the products and other items that came with it. The BGC-50D battery grip feels really solid. The construction seems made of high quality plastic. The ergonomics are somewhat different from the original Canon BG-E2N battery grip and it’s many replica’s. One of the noticeable difference is that, the BGC-50D has two shutter release button on each side.(As shown on the photo above.) The usual AE lock / FE lock and AF start buttons are somewhat laid out on an awkward way. Maybe it’s just me, but I like how the buttons on the original canon grip are position, they are easy reach and really easy to use. With the BGC-50d it may take time to get use to the ergomics. One other important thing that is missing this battery grip are the rubber exterior grip. I feel that without this, this really isn’t a battery grip, simply because, I can’t really grip it with my hands, since it’s all plastic, it’s really hard to hold without a rubber on the exterior. For me this is a number one requirement for all battery grips. The battery pack that came with it works, it accommodates up to 8 AA batteries which will give you more battery life if needed. The downside, the cable that came with is a little bit short which makes it harder to use especially when your on the move. It doens’t work quite nicely with my black rapid strap. It would have been nice if Rokinon just made a AA battery cartridge like the one that came with the BG-E2N.

The Remote Control works and this is a really nice addition to the grip. With this wireless remote control you can remotely access the shutter from within a distance. It can be use from both the back and the front side.

Conclusion:

The Rokinon BGC-50D Digital Battery Grip for Canon 50D/40D/30D/20D is not for me. Not because of the quality, but because, I still prefer the features and ergonomics of the BG-E2N. The addition of a remote control shutter release and having two shutter button on each side is it’s strongest points. If you are someone who don’t care about the ergonomics or if you don’t care about the layout of the buttons, then the BGC-50D is for you. It’s solidly built and it works. As for me,  it will take some time to get my muscles accustom with the layout.

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The Rokinon BGC-50D Digital Battery Grip for Canon 50D/40D/30D/20D (Black) is available at Amazon.

What’s in the box? YN-560 Flash unit, flash stand, soft pouch, instruction manual and a 2 page leaflet with a quick guide and overview of the flash unit.

This is a review of the Yongnuo YN-560 Flash unit. A month ago, I bought my first Yongnuo flash unit, the YN-560. At first, I was really hesitant, but after reading some good reviews specifically on the YN-560, I took my chances and bought one from Amazon. I figured, if it does not work, then I’ll just return. Exactly one month after purchasing the first unit I find myself holding my second YN-560, I like it so much I bought a another unit from Amazon. The YN-560 is a manual flash that is easy to use and is perfect for most type of photography application, most especially strobist type of work. I have been continuously using my YN-560s to see if it will fail, but so far it has perform well according to specification.

A Description of the YN-560

YongNuo is a third party manufacturer of cheap flash units from China, their products started popping up on ebay in late 2009 and became widely known to most photographers in 2010 at least to me. In the past year they’ve improved the quality of their products from mediocre to above average, especially with the release of the YN-560 which directly competes with mainstream flash units like the Canon 580EX II and Nikon SB 900.

YN-560 shown with the built-in bounce card.

When I got my first unit, my first impression was that the YN-560′s build quality is really great, it feels really solid and does not look cheap at all, except for the back display, which uses a row of LEDs.  Many will agree that the  YN-560  looks more like  a Canon 580EX II, they are also similarly sized, and like the 580EX II, the YN-560 has a built-in bounce card  for softer reflected light and beautiful catch light. The flash head tilts and swivels without the use of a bounce lock found on the canon 430ex II and 580ex II. I like it, this really simplifies things, now I can move / rotate /swivel the flash head without worrying about the release bounce lock. The flash head’s build quality feels solid and sturdy and with the looks of it, it can handle all the swiveling, bending and rotating, I tested it several times when I got my first unit, and it was perfectly fine. The flash head can be moved up from 0 – 90° left from 0 – 180° and right from 0 – 90° .

The YN-560, features a new and improved zoom function, and according to them, it’s better than their previews products. By pushing the button on the flash,  it can cover focal length range of 24 to 105mm. It is motor driven and can be quickly adjusted using the buttons on the back panel. When zooming in and out, there is a sound which indicates the activity, this is one of the features I actually tested when I got my flash and suggest you do this test to, there are some units that has a faulty zoom motor like the one that David Hobby (The Strobist) got.

Back display of the YN-560.

One thing I don’t like about the back panel is that there are no separate indicator for the zoom and power level indicators, when I change the zoom settings, the light indicator will revert back as a power level indicator after 5 seconds or so, I won’t know what my last zoom setting was until I press the – or + zooms button which will display the last zoom setting I was in.  I guess it’s no big deal, especially for a $65.00 flash unit.

What I Like about the YN-560

1. The best thing I like about the YN-560 is that, I really find it easy to use, the buttons on the back panel are well designed, except for the zoom and power level indicators I’ve mentioned, but once you get to know it, it’s no big deal and won’t affect the performance of the unit. When adjusting the flash power using the buttons on the panel, I find it easier to press compare to my Canon 430 EXII, the buttons on the 430ex II are kinda stiff and sometimes requires me to push twice for it to recognized the adjustment, the buttons on the YN-560 are made of rubber and are well sized.
2. Has remote S1 and S2. Compatible with Canon’s wireless remote features, therefore I can trigger it remotely using my Canon 60d’s built-in pop-up flash.
3. Build quality is great and feels really tough / solid.
4. Now includes a Standard PC Port.
5. Recycle time is fast and accurate.
6. So easy to swivel / tilt /rotate / and doesn’t have a release knob.
7. New and improved battery doors.

The YN560 now includes a Standard PC Port.

New and improved battery doors. Better than older models.

Notes :

The YN560 is a manual flash and doesn’t support E-TTL or I-TTL.  On camera or off camera, the YN560 can only sync up to 1/320.

More Features:

• Improved  Zoom Function
  Covers Focal Length  Range of 24mm To 105mm.

• Guide Number: 58 At ISO100, 105MM

• Slave Function ( S1, S2 Mode)Can be triggered remotely by Canon 580 EX II, STE2, or the built-in flash on a Canon EOS 7D, EOS 60D, Rebel T3i. It’s quite accurate, I’ve tested it using my Canon 60D’s built-in flash to trigger the YN560, outside on bright sunlight and it works fine.

 
• Sound Indicator

When The Charging cycle Is Finished, The Flash Will Give A Sound, So  You May Concentrate On The Creation Process.

• Supports External Power Pack
  Compatible with Yongnuo’s SF-18 And SF-17 battery pack models

• New PC Synchronous  Port
  The YN560 now includes a  Standard PC Port.

• Super Fast Recharging Recycle
  Recharges a fraction of a second faster than the 430EXII at full power
• Supports High Speed Continuous Shooting
  YN-560 can support  8FPS  high speed  continuous shooting under power level of 1/8 and below.

• The Improved Power Saving Mode

• Automatically saves your settings

• Overheat Protection

Sample Photos:

I have use the YN-560 on outdoor events.

Daytime Outdoor Events.

Daytime Outdoor Events.

I use it frequently on macro.

Macro Photography.

Macro Photography.

Other application.

Portraits.

Portraits.

Review Conclusion:
For more than one month of continuously using the YN-560, I find that it is a reliable manual flash. I actually have two of this units and luckily both of them still works. The YN-560 Speedlite is all a strobist would hope for and what’s good about it is the price, it’s really affordable. It’s a lot for $65.00. I highly recommend the YN-560 for someone looking for an easy to use manual flash.

If you decide to get one, I would suggest that you buy from a U.S. dealer that has a good return policy, just in case you get a faulty one. I buy most of my gear from Amazon, and every time I buy I always check if it’s Sold and Ship by Amazon if not, at least I opt for Fullfilled by Amazon, this way, if ever one of my order is faulty, i can easily return it with no questions asks.

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Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Ness Flores

Op/Tech 18″ SLR Rainsleeve Covering a Canon EOS 60D with a EF 70-200mm F/4L IS USM.

It’s a good thing I always have the Op/Tech rainsleeve in my bag. It rain a little bit when I was in the forest last Sunday. It just feels good to know that I have it there just in case I’ll need it. This rainsleeve is a Polyethylene design for cameras with an attached lens of at least 7″ diameter and 18″ long. It’s just right when you are using a lens in the 70-200 or longer zoom range. I don’t use it on smaller lenses, it’s just annoying to use, there’s just too much excess sleeve. But for longer lenses, I don’t have any problem and I recommend it to anyone looking for a cheap rain protection. It only cost around $6 – $7 a pack which contains two sleeves. I just love this rainsleeves I always keep one on my bag together with large freezer bag. Just remember not to poke a hole and your gear will stay dry even if you shoot all day.

Features:

• Protects your gear from dust and inclement weather;
• Designed for handheld use or tripod application;
• Unique eyepiece opening adapts to most viewfinders for viewing through the lens- not plastic!;
• Fits lenses measuring up to 7″ (17,8 cm) in diameter & up to 18″ (45,7 cm) in length;
• Drawstring lens opening offers easy access and a snug fit; Includes two Rainsleeves per package

Pros:

• Cheap, you get two sleeves in one pack.
• Keeps your gear dry.
• So small and easy to carry, I can store it anywhere in my bags.
• Works with tripods, monopods and handheld.
• Works really well for longer telephoto lenses.

Cons:

None. If you are looking to use this on shorter lenses, it’s just not made for them.

There are two varieties of the Op/Tech rainsleeve, the Op/Tech 18″, which was design for cameras not using a external flash, and the other one is design to accomodate and external flash

Buy it from Amazon :

• Op/Tech 18″ SLR Rainsleeve for Cameras with Lenses up to 7″ Diameter, 18″ Long
• OP/TECH USA 9001142 Rainsleeve-Flash, 14 Inch Protective Cover for Camera and Flash.

Buy it from Adorama:

• Op/Tech 18″ SLR Rainsleeve for Digital & Film Cameras with Lenses up to 7″ Diameter, 18″ Long.
• Op/Tech 14″ SLR Rainsleeve-Flash, for Digital & Film Cameras with Lenses up to 7″ Diameter, 14″ Long, plus Camera Shoe-mounted Flash – 2 Pieces

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Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Ness Flores

Wow!!!! All I can say when i first saw it, was Wow!!!. It looks like or close to a Canon 580EX flash, the build quality seems very good. I bought this as an additional flash for strobist setup. Now I have two flash the 430 ex II and this.

YongNuo Speedlite YN-560.

First off, the YongNuo Speedlite YN-560 is a manual flash with a guide no. of 58 @ ISO 100, 105mm. This is comparable to mainstream flash from Canon or Nikon. I’d like to emphasize that it’s a manual flash that  doesn’t support E-TTL or I-TTL.

YongNuo Speedlite YN-560.

First impression.

Overall, I think I’m going to like it. This is a lot for $65.00.  It came nicely pack on a box and wrap on a bubble wrap. It also includes a nice felt drawstring bag and a small stand. It has a PC Sync port, the charging cycle is fast at  3 seconds or less, faster than my 430Ex II, it has sound indicator that tells you if the charging process is done. Because of the improved wireless triggering sensor, I can use my Canon 60D’s built-in flash to wirelessly remote control the YN-560 without any problem. The indicators on the back panel is quite confusing at first but it gets easier to understand once you get the hang of it. The battery doors are nice, this is one of the reason why I did not get the YN-468 even though it is E-TTL compatible. Most people who bought the YN-468 complained that the battery door broke within a month.  To summarize it all, here are the reasons why chose this flash:

• price, it’s really cheap for $65.00.
• this flash’s build quality feels really solid.
• power are comparable to high end flash from Canon and Nikon
• controls are well placed and easy to use, in fact, in manual mode, this is easier to use than the 430 EXII.
• supports external battery pack.
• includes a bounce card which can come really handy.
• supports power saving mode.
• pc connector plus hot shoe.
• remote ‘S1′ and ‘S2′ mode.
• compatible to canon’s wireless remote flash systems, can be controlled by a canon 60d’s built-in flash,a 580 ex on S2mode, or probably even an ST-e2 (have not tested it but it should work).
• recycle time is fast
• swivel and tilt work great, awesome for bouncing flash, or for any creative position.

After a night of playing with it and comparing it with my 430EX II, I can say that I can recommend it to anyone looking for an easy to use manual flash. In fact the only thing I find missing on this flash is the E-TTL, overall, it’s a great buy for $65.00. You can buy the YN-560 Speedlight from Amazon.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Ness Flores

Cropped – Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 – Macro / Close-Up Test Shot 75mm at F/4

The Tamron AF 28-75mm F/4 can also be use to get some pretty amazing close-up, it is not a true macro lens since it won’t give you a 1:1 magnification. According to it’s specs it’s magnification ratio is 1:3.9 at 75mm, and minimum focus distance is 0.33m or 13″ (entire zoom range). The sample photo above was taken at around or close to 13″ and was shot in aperture priority at F/4. I was really surprised and happy when I saw the sample close-up shots in front of a monitor. Below are the sample photos all shot at 75mm at different apertures from F/2.8 to F/11.

All test was shot in Raw and exported to jpg using Lightroom, no adjustments where done. Please click on each photos to zoom.

Macro / Close-Up Actual Test Shot 75mm at F/2.8

Cropped – Macro / Close-Up 75mm at F/2.8

Cropped – Macro / Close-Up 75mm at F/4

Cropped – Macro / Close-Up 75mm at F/6.3

Cropped – Macro / Close-Up 75mm at F/8

Cropped – Macro / Close-Up 75mm at F/11

The Tamron AF 28-75mm F/2.8 Mounted on a Canon EOS 60D

Before anything else, I got mine from Amazon for a sale price of only $468.16 on April 1, and I just mailed the $25 rebate form to Tamron USA, so this lens only cost $443.16 after the rebate, and all I can say after using it continuously for more than a week now this is a lot of glass for the price, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a lens in the 24-70mm range.

I bought this lens to replace my year old Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 VC. I sold it after getting my Canon EF-S 10-22mm F/3.5-4.5 Ultra-Wide Angle Lens. Now I have perfect trio, the EF-S 10-22mm, tamron 28-75mm F/2.8, and the Canon EF 70-200mm F/4 IS USM.

I was really hesitant at first, and I really wanted the Canon EF 24-70mm F/2.8, I didn’t even bother to look at the Tamron at first. My eyes were stuck at the Sigma 24-70mm EX and the Canon 24-70mm F/2.8, then while I was reading some reviews I came across the Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 and all reviews say that it has a great optics and produces excellent image quality across the board, so I look deeper and was convince and finally bought it, thinking that I’ll just return it if it doesn’t work the way I want.

Ok so let’s get on with the review. The Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8  is a fast zoom lens, compatible with both full framed and APS-C sensor cameras. It is regarded as the smallest and lightest in the history of Fast Zoom Lenses, and yes it is, up to now, it still is the most compact lens in the 24-70mm focal range competing with top name brands like Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony and Sigma. This little gem has a fast F/2.8 fix aperture and is very affordable. It bears the SP designation, for Super Performance which is Tamron’s top of the line lenses.

What’s with the name?
Like all Tamron lenses, this lens has a very long name – Tamron AF 28-75mm f/2.8 SP XR ZL Di LD Aspherical (IF)

• SP – SUPER PERFORMANCE :  Tamron SP (Super Performance) series is a line of ultra-high-performance lenses designed and manufactured to the exacting specifications demanded by professionals and others who require the highest possible image quality.
• XR – EXTRA REFRATIVE INDEX GLASS : XR (Extra Refractive Index) glass can bend light rays at steeper angles, thereby decreasing the physical length of the lens while enhancing imaging performance by minimizing optical aberrations.
• ZL – ZOOM LOCK : Another original Tamron mechanical engineering concept is the Zoom Lock (ZL), a simple convenience feature that prevents undesired extension of the lens barrel when carrying the camera/lens unit on a neck strap.
• Di – DIGITALLY INTEGRATED :  Di (Digitally Integrated Design) is a Tamron designation that applies to lenses that have been optimized for digital capture using advanced multi-coating techniques and optical designs that assure excellent image quality across the entire picture field.
• LD – LOW DISPERSION : Low dispersion (LD) glass elements in a lens help reduce chromatic aberration; the tendency of light of different colors to come to different points of focus at the image plane.
• ASPHERICAL : These innovative optics allow us to achieve the ultimate in image quality, and at the same time produce lenses that offer remarkable zoom ranges in extraordinarily compact packages.
• IF – INTERNAL FOCUSING : Internal focusing (IF) provides numerous practical benefits to photographers including a non-rotating front filter ring that facilitates the positioning of polarizing and graduated filters, and more predictable handling because the lens length does not change during focusing.

Tamron likes the names of their lenses to be descriptive. For this post I will just refer to this lens as Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8.

Specifications:

What’s included?

The Tamron AF 28-75mm F/2.8 comes with a detachable petal lens hood, manual, and registration form. There’s no padded case included like most Sigma Lenses.

Build Quality.

The Tamron AF 28-75mm F/2.8 build quality is descent. It’s light, made of plastic and rubber and feels solid enough. It has no weather proofing and no dust sealing. It’s lighter than my previously owned Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8, the 17-50mm is way bigger and heavier, and the 17-50mm can smash the 28-75mm if they fight 1 on 1 on the ring. Comparing it to the kit lens, the 28-75mm wins hands down. The zoom and focus rings are just the right size, perfect for my hand, it is well damped, not to tight, not too loose. Also the zoom and focus rings are made of rubber which are really nice to grip.  The Tamron 28-75mm extends when zooming, but the front element doesn’t rotate, making it perfect for CPL users. The focal length lock is a great addition, maybe when the lens gets old the lock will surely prevent zoom creep, which is common on most zoom lenses.

Strong Points and Reasons to buy this lens:

• Fast F/2.8 Fix Aperture
• Excellent Image Quality / Excellent Optics
• Light / Compact / Perfect for the traveler
• Great for Low Light
• Cost

Weak Points :

• No Full Time Manual Focus
• No VC /IS /OS /VR
• No Weather Sealing / Proofing like the Canon 24-70mm L

Performance

The Tamron AF 28-75mm feature a built-in focusing motor, the lens extends when zoomed, but does not change length on focusing and the front of the barrel does not rotate. The focus ring however rotates during autofocus, so I’d like to remind you to keep your hands away from it.

Auto Focus of the Tamron AF 28-75mm F/2.8 is quite good and probably better than the Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8, it’s consistent and acquires focus fast. It also performs great in low light situation, it doesn’t hunt, again, in this case, I find it better than it’s younger brother 17-50mm, and my nifty-fifty ( EF 50mm F/1.8).

Manual focus is very smooth and well damped, almost as nice or close to the EF 85mm F/1.8.

Here are sample photos taken with the Tamron 28-75mm mounted on a Canon EOS 60D. Sample photos were taken at 28mm and at 75mm at apertures F/2.8, F/4, F6.3 and F/8 at ISO 100, white balance set to Daylight. Photos were taken between 10 and 11 am. During the test the camera was mounted on a tripod and all images were taken in raw format and was converted to jpg using adobe lightroom 3, no adjustments where done to the photos, all are OOC(out of camera).
Shot at 28mm

Test Scene Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Test at 28mm F/8

Cropped – Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Test at 28mm F/2.8

Cropped – Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Test at 28mm F/4

Cropped – Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Test at 28mm F/6.3

Cropped – Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Test at 28mm F/8

Shot at 75mm

Test Scene Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Test at 75mm F/88

Cropped – Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Test at 75mm F/2.8

Cropped – Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Test at 75mm F/4

Cropped – Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Test at 75mm F/6.3

Cropped – Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Test at 75mm F/8

Conclusion:
Tamron AF 28-75mm f/2.8 SP XR ZL Di LD Aspherical (IF) is a great lens, has a descent built and will give you great image quality in such a small package, in fact the only downside I can see with this lens is, it doesn’t have VC / IS or OS, but none of the lenses in this class and focal range has. Overall, I highly recommend this lens for those looking in the 24-70mm range. It’s way cheaper than the Canon or Nikon, but can give you excellent results.

You can get the Tamron AF 28-75mm from Amazon and is available in the following mounts:

• Tamron AF 28-75mm f/2.8 SP XR ZL Di LD Aspherical (IF) for Canon Digital SLR Cameras
• Tamron AF 28-75mm f/2.8 SP XR ZL Di LD Aspherical (IF) with Built-In AF Motor for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
• Tamron AF 28-75mm f/2.8 SP XR ZL Di LD Aspherical (IF) Lens for Konica Minolta and Sony Digital SLR Cameras
• Tamron AF 28-75mm f/2.8 SP XR ZL Di LD Aspherical (IF) Lens for Pentax Digital SLR Cameras

The prices of SDHC cards have recently gone up especially in sizes 8gb, 16gb and up. When i got my new EOS 60D about a month ago, I new I needed some new set of SDHC Cards, and since I’ve  been a long time user of  the Sandisk Extreme III Cards, that was my first choice. But when I saw the price of the Sandisks cards I was a little surprise, because I got mine for about $20.00 each about a year ago when I bought four of them. So I decided to browse for more options on Amazon, that’s when I saw the Trascend Class 10 SDHC, there were a lot of good reviews and some negative ones, but I decided to give it a try and bought 3. Now I have 5 Trascend 8gb SDHC Class 10 Cards and just about to order a 16gb. I have been using them for more than a month now and it hasn’t given me any problems yet and I’m pretty satisfied with it’s performance. I have already use it to shoot some short video clips on my Canon EOS 60D and the performance is more than adequate.

Features / Specifications :

- Fully compatible with SD 3.0 Standards
- SDHC Class 10 compliant
- Compatible with all SDHC-labeled host devices (not compatible with standard SD)
- Easy to use, plug-and-play operation
- Built-in Error Correcting Code (ECC) to detect and correct transfer errors
- Complies with Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) portable device requirements
- Supports Content Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM)
- Allows In System Programming (ISP) for updating firmware
- Supports auto-standby, power-off and sleep modes
- Mechanical write-protection switch
- RoHS compliant
- Limited Lifetime Warranty*

I have not fully tested it in shooting video on my 60D, but based on the few video clips I shot, it looks like I won’t have any problems with. I did quick comparison test between my Sandisk Extreme III 8gb Class 6 SDHC card and the Transcend 8gb Class 10  SDHC. Here are the results.

Sandisk  = 37 photos in 24 secs
Trascend  = 29 photos in 24 secs

The test was conducted using my canon eos 60d in high speed mode of 5.3FPS.  The camera was also set to shoot in the Highest Resolution Raw format. In the test I was continuously pressing the shutter for 24secs. I was actually a little surprised with the result. The Sandisk Extreme III Class 6 surely beats the Transcend Class 10 in terms of write speed. The Extreme III has a read /write speed of up to 20mb/sec and the transcend (according to one reviewer from amazon ) has a 20mb/sec read and only 16mb/sec write.  It’s clear that the Trascend has a slower write speed, which explains why the transcend only recorded 29 photos in 24 sec compare to the sandisk’s 36 photos.

Conclusion :

If I really need a fast and reliable card maybe for videos, I will get the Sandisk Extreme Class 10 SDHC Cards, but for what I need right now, the transcend is more than enough. It’s seems pretty reliable and well built just like the Sandisks. We’ll see in the next few months, if it breaks, I’m surely going to post it here for others to read.

Where to buy:

Final Version of the Samyang 35mm f1.4 AS UMC lens

Summary

Pros:

• very good, momentarily even splendid image quality in the frame centre,
• good image quality on the edge, even on full frame,
• low lateral chromatic aberration,
• moderate distortion,
• splendidly corrected astigmatism,
• the smallest vignetting in the 1.4/35 class lenses,
• decent work against bright light,
• very good price/quality ratio.

Cons:

• visible longitudinal chromatic aberration,
• noticeable coma.

In this summary you can write just one thing: aces of the photographical market, it’s high time you got down to work seriously! If Samyang is able to launch a 540$ lens which, when it comes to the image quality, is only slightly worse than the Canon 35L, which can compete on equal terms with the Nikkor 1.4/35G and leaves far behind the Sony 1.4/35G; if such a lens is able to correct the lateral chromatic aberration, coma and vignetting the best of all instruments in this group and it is not worse when it comes to the distortion and astigmatism correction, what else could be said here?

It is known – the reputable companies will try to tempt us with an ultrasonic autofocus, weather-resistance or a barrel made of magnesium alloys. These features are important and worth being taken into consideration for sure. You should remember, though, that we pay a lot for them because Canon and Nikon lenses can be even four times more expensive than the Samyang, tested here.

Tested and Reviewed by LensTip.Com

Now available in the U.S. and sold under the Rokinon brand name, Get it now at:

• Canon Mount – Adorama | B & H | Amazon
• All other mounts – Adorama | B & H | Amazon

Read the full and detailed review at LensTip.Com.

Sample photo from the Samyang 35mm F/1.4. You can see more sample shots at Lenstip.Com.

This is my New Acer 24 Inch WideScreen LED Monitor. It’s a Ultra-slim 24″ LCD Display, featuring a LED backlight, 1080p support with HDCP, 1920 x 1080 Full HD Resolution, 12,000,000:1 contrast ratio, 5ms response time, DVI, HDMI and VGA video inputs, also features the usual adjustable display angle and best of all a 3 year limited warranty.

Features:

• 24″ Widescreen LED Display
• Resolution 1920 x 1080
• Contrast ratio 1000:1
• Response time 5ms
• Inputs HDMI, DVI, & VGA
• Brightness 250 nits
• Dimensions 15.77″H x 20.04″W x 6.53″D (11.8lbs)
• 3 year warranty

Specification :

First Impression:

Packaging of the Acer S242HL is great, the lcd screen is well padded, and securely intact. The user guide is completely useless and only contains the specification of the monitor. All the external controls are located underneath the LCD including the power button. It would have been nice if it was located  on the front  and not underneath, but it’s ok, it really doesn’t bother me. The S242HL is super light and slim mainly because  it is made of plastic. It has a black glossy finish which is prone to fingerprints. There are no built-in speakers included in this lcd monitor.

I bought this monitor from a local Staples for a sale price of $178.99, pretty cheap compare to it’s regular price that runs anywhere from $205.00 – $250.00. I was hesitant at first mainly because I wasn’t sure of the quality and I only found one review of this monitor which isn’t favorable. But then, $178.99 is really cheap for a 24″ Widescreen LED Monitor. So I went ahead and bought it.  Late that night, I decided to to hook it up to my Dell Vostro Laptop as a second monitor replacing my old 19″ Dell LCD Monitor. I have had the 19″  Dell for two years now and I love it, the color is crisp and sharp and doesn’t need frequent calibration and it’s way better than glossy screen of my Vostro Laptop.

I turned off all the lights, so I can clearly see the quality of the display output especially the color. The first thing I notice is it has a warmer feel compare to my old monitor, this is using the windows default ICC profile (“SRGB display profile”).  Next thing I did was to open my lightroom 3 catalogue to see how the photos will look like, and I was disappointed. The last thing I did was to apply a the ICC profile that I was using for my 19″ Dell and it worked great. The colors are just spectacular and the photos now look almost if not exactly the same as my old dell monitor.

Conclusion :

Overall, it’s ok for it’s price. Comparing it to the Dell Ultrasharp Series LCD Monitors which cost more than half of the price of this monitor (around $520), the Dell wins, no questions asks. But then again, after using the icc profile for the Dell U2410, the colors, brightness, contrast and saturation has greatly improved and I’ve decided to keep. But I will still test it continuously for the next 8 days and if it breaks, I will return it for a refund.

You can read the full review of this monitor from Digital Versus, you can also download icc profiles for your monitor from them. The one I’m using is right here.

Where to buy:

• Adorama
• B & H
• Amazon

A quick look at my new lens, the Canon EF-S 10-22mm Ultra-Wide USM Lens. This is the newest lens in my collection and my second dx / crop / aps-c format lens (not compatible with full framed sensor cameras like the 5d and the 1ds series Canon cameras), the other is the Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 VC.

First let me tell you that this lens is simply awesome. It’s sharp across all focal lengths. The lens build quality is great, it’s hard plastic body feels really solid and well made, the rubberized zoom ring feels really smooth, comparable to my ef 85mm F/1.8 usm and my canon ef 70-200mm F/4 L IS USM.

The Canon EF-S 10-22mm is not weather sealed and certainly not dust-proof, but I don’t find it to be a problem. The lens does not extend when zooming, but the inner elements of the lens move in and out inside the barre. It’s front element does not rotate making it easy to use a polarizer.

The EF-s 10-22mm uses Canon’s USM for smooth, fast and silent operations, did I mention fast, yes the AF is really fast and doens’t hunt even in dark situations, and it also features a full-time manual focus. (The camera needs to be in One Shot AF mode in order to take advantage of this feature.)

Features :

• Excellent optical quality and true wide-angle coverage with select digital SLRs
• Superior AF performance and speed, with full-time manual focus by simply turning ring
• Close-focusing to 9.5 inches — fill the frame with subjects as small as 3.6 x 5.4 inches
• Relatively compact size and light weight for an ultra-wide zoom lens
• Inner focusing system (no front element rotation); length doesn’t change if zoomed
• Circular aperture design — natural highlights, even stopped down two stops
• Electronic diaphragm — manually-set apertures stay constant from f/4.5 thru f/22
• EF-S lens mount — exclusively for EOS 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D and Digital Rebel bodies

[Show as slideshow]

Specifications

As an addition to the excellent feature set of this lens, Canon included three Aspherical lens elements and a Super-UD element commonly found on Canon L Lenses.

Why I bought this lens?

Like most photographer who are getting their first ultra-wide angle lens for their aps-c sensor camera, I was torn between the Tokina 11-16mm F/2.8 and the Canon EF-S 10-22mm F/3.5-4.5 lenses. My first choice was the Tokina 11-16mm, because of it’s fixed F/2.8 aperture, perfect for low light and night time photography vs the EF-S 10-22mm F/3.5-4.5 variable aperture. The reason I went with the EF-S 10-22mm over the Tokina is the Focal Range. I prefer the 10-22mm over the 11-16mm and in the end In the end I chose the EF-S 10-22mm and bought it. I thoroughly tested it for a week to see if it was really what I need, if not I will return it in exchange for the Tokina 11-16mm F/2.8, I also did some test shots in the 11-16mm range to see if I can get a hang of it, but no. I still preferred the 10-22mm, for me the Tokina’s 11-16mm range is too short. In low light, I’ll just boost my ISO if I need too, yes, I’ll get some noise for sure, but that can easily be fixed with the help of my favorite noise reduction software Topaz DeNoise available from Topaz Labs, you can download a trial version for free.

Conclusion / Recommendation:

The Canon EF-S 10-22mm F/3.5-4.5 is an excellent lens with excellent image quality. If you are a Canon shooter with an APS-C (Crop) camera and doesn’t need the Fixed F/2.8 aperture of the Tokina, then this is the ultra-wide lens for you. In the end it all boils down to the kind of work you’ll use it for. For me, after testing it thoroughly for more than a week, I felt that it is the right lens for me. It’s been my primary lens, since I got it. A perfect pair for my Canon EOS 60d. I use it for interiors, landscape, cityscape, extreme portraits, street photography, you name it. I use it indoors and outdoors, in bright light and low light.

Where to buy?

• Amazon
• Adorama
• B & H

A Few Sample Photos:

This is a follow up on the mini review a wrote for my Tamron 17-50mm VC back in March of 2010. You can read the post here.

For the past 1 year and 19 days at the time of posting, the  Tamron SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II VC  has been my primary lens. It’s the lens that I use most the time other than my Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 II. I’ve use it in events, rallies, birthday parties. I’ve use it in hot and cold weather conditions, I used it day or night and it still take great pictures except for the occasional hunting when it is really dark.

I’m really happy with my decision to buy it over the more expensive but impressive Canon EF-s 17-55. Mainly because I was able to save around $450, the EF-S 17-50mm was around $1099 at that time. I then use the savings to get myself a EF 85mm F/1.8 USM Prime Lens which is a great lens for portraiture and macro when paired with an extension tube.  As  I remember I was set to get the Canon brand, but what made me picked the tamron was really the price. $1099 is a lot of money and for me to spend that much on a lens that is not L quality is too much.

Ok, let’s disect this lens. The Tamron SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II VC has a somewhat textured finish as you can see on the photo on the left, it’s entirely made of hard plastic, but it feels really solid and very well made, in fact it’s heavy, heavier than my previous, EF 28-135mm IS USM, it weighs 21.8 oz, or 1.365 lbs. with the lens cap and lens hood on. When attached to the EOS 20d they weigh 3.020 lbs or 48 oz. The lens mount is made of entirely of metal which is important.  The zoom and focus ring are rubberized which add to the overall excellent feel and handling of the lens. The size of the focus ring is just for my hand, I can easily reach on and turn it when needed. Full-time manual focus would have been nice, but I don’t miss it. I know that already before I bought it. With this lens, I have to flip a switch to engage AF / MF  and to use the focus ring. Manual focus is nice, it’s smooth, almost like the EF 85mm F/1.8 USM.

Here are some of the features I love:

• Takes outstanding photos.
• F/2.8. Great for low light.
• VC (Vibration Compensation) really works, adds 4 stops of stabilization, perfect for hand held low light situations.
• Heavy, makes the weight well balance for my tastes.
• Made of hard plastic but has excellent build quality, very solid.
• Metal lens mount.
• It’s sharp especially when stop down.
• Auto focus is consistent and fast, although in very dim light, like any other lens, it hunts.
• Manual focus ring works great, not too tight, not too loose.
• The front element of the lens does not rotate during focusing or zooming, making it ideal for filter use.  This is important if you love usin CPL.
• Comes with a great Lens Hood ( I used it 95% of the time). Perfect for protection and shade.
• Although not weather sealed like L lenses, it’s durable enough and can handle the beating.
• Zoom ring  locked is a great addition. THis will surely prevent Zoom Creep if it ever happens. This is a big problem with the Canon ef 28-135mm IS USM
• Perfect for Street Photography. Shoot at 17mm and you can capture people in it’s environment, shoot at 50mm for close-up portraits.

What I don’t like:

• After a year of continous use,  I’ve noticed that  some dust has accumulated on the inside, which does not affect image quality.
• A little soft at F/2.8
• No full-time manual focus. I need to flip a switch to engage AF/MF.

The Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 VC in action:

The Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 VC doing Candid Street Photography

The Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 VC at a Motorcycle Event

The Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 VC doing some close-up macro showing the details and vivid colors of a basketball

The Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 VC doing strobist setup

The Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 VC doing Portrait Street Photography

The Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 VC at night doing Street Photography and Motion Shots in Low Light

The Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 VC at night doing Street Photography and Motion Shots in Low Light

You can see more of my photos that were created using the Tamron 17-50m F/2.8 VC on my 2011 and 2010 Photos of the Day Section.

Conclusion
This lens is not perfect, it has it’s own weaknesses. But when you learn to work around those weaknesses, it will give you excellent results. Would I recommend it? Yes I would, definitely. If you are sure that you will not upgrade to a full frame sensor in the future, this lens is perfect. This is one of the reason why I chose it over the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens. This and the Canon EF-S line of lenses won’t work on full framed dSLR like the EOS 5D, 5D Mk II, and all the 1D, and 1dS Series.

If I’m going to buy a lens in the $1000 + price range I’ll make sure that I get myself an L quality lens and something that will work on a full framed sensor. But that’s just me.

Here are some photos of the Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 VC

[Show as slideshow]

The Tamron SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II VC is available from Amazon, B & H and Adorama in Canon and Nikon Mounts:

Canon Mounts

Nikon Mounts:

Wow, first review for 2011. Ok, this review is about my Wacom Bamboo Pen Tablet, model CTL460.

The Wacom Bamboo Pen Tablet is a type of computer input device that can be use to write, sketch or even draw on your computer. Instead of using the mouse, you use a Pen. Just like writing on paper. I use it mostly when post processing some of my photos in Adobe Photoshop. It really makes editing easier inside the digital darkroom. I’ve had this table for a long time but I’ve never really payed attention to it. Then a month ago, I was talking to one of my friends and he mentioned that he’s using his Wacom Bamboo tablet to edit his photos in PhotoShop. That’s when I remembered that I have one, still new in a box, I got this on sale with a coupon at staples for probably around $24.00 or less, that’s why I bought it.

Anyway, it’s a joy to use once you get used to it, and like what I said, it makes editing easier in the digital darkroom.

Features:

• 512 levels of pressure sensitivity on the pen tip for natural pen and brush strokes
• Battery-free, ergonomic pen with two programmable switches
• Textured work surface for a pen-on-paper feel
• Attached fabric pen loop conveniently secures pen
• Easy USB connection
• Included in the package with every Bamboo Pen:
  • Corel® Painter™ Essentials 4.0 (Win and Mac) for creating natural media art and turning photos into digital paintings

Technical Specification:

Tablet Dimensions (WxH):        9.8″ x 6.9″ (249mm x 175mm)
Active Area (WxH):        5.8″ x 3.6″ (147mm x 91mm)
Pressure Levels:        512 on Pen Tip
Resolution:        1270 lpi
Max Data Rate:         133 pps
Accuracy:          +/- .02 in (+/- 0.5 mm)
Tablet Weight:  12.8 oz
Connectivity:  Standard USB
Orientation:  Reversible for right- or left-handed users

What I Like About it?

• Affordable.
• Light, small, portable.
• Very Easy to Install on Windows 7. Nothing adjust, except if you’re right handed or left handed.
• Makes burning, dodging, masking and painting easier. Or I could just say it makes post processing easy and fun.
• The Pen is easier to use and navigate while in Photoshop(once you get to know how to use it.) and it’s really a relief on my wrists.
• The pen is  sensitive enough and and works really well for me.
• It comes with a tutorial, but I never really used it.

What I don’t Like ?

• Since I’ve been using it for a month now, I have gotten the hang of it, and I always use it when I’m doing work in Photoshop. Maybe the only annoying thing for me is when I’m using  two monitors, I only do my editing on the monitor on my left,  by default the tablet sees the dimensions of the two monitors combined which is a big working area(2880 x 1800), at first it was hard because since the tablet is small, I was only left with half of the tablet when working with Photoshop. But later on, I found out I can disable one of the two monitors from the Bamboo Properties.
• There are times rare times when it gets sluggish or the pen seems slow to response. This happens when I have a lot of photos open in PhotoShop, like 8 to 10 images loaded at the same time. So I close those that I don’t use and, goes back to normal. It looks like a memory issue and not really related to the tablet.
• High learning curve for some beginners to get use to the tablet.

For what I do, it’s perfect. Now it’s hard for me to use a Photoshop brush with just the mouse, with the Wacom tablet and pen everything seems to be accurate and I love the details I get out of my work. I highly recommend this to all those people who love to work in Photoshop.

Where to buy?

• Amazon
• Adorama

Topaz Adjust is a Photoshop Plugin, which means you’ll need Photoshop to use it. It will run on versions of adobe photoshop cs3, cs4 and the latest, cs5.  I use the plugin on my finishing touches, mainly to pop the photo, add contrast, color  and detail. Also with Topaz adjust, you can create a great looking pseudo HDR sort of HDR like looking images from just one photo, be it a jpg, tiff, or your camera’s native raw file, and I can say that it does it really good.

I’ve had Topaz adjust for quite sometime but I never really tried it until a month ago, and when I finally use it, all I can say is, it’s just an awesome tool, it has tons of presets to choose from, and best of all, you can fine tune it’s presets until you get the look you like. It is really a great tool and is only $49, way cheaper compare to other similar plugins like Lucis Pro which cost around $500. Topaz Adjust is available on their website at TopazLabs.Com. I highly recommend it and this plugin should always be in every photographers gear box.  Scroll down to view some of the sample images and to continue on the mini review.

Let’s take the first sample photo above, this is an hdr created in photoshop cs5 and as you can see on the left it’s dull and kinda boring, now if you look on the right side you will see an improved version of the image with better color, contrast and with much more detail, and in this image I use one of the built-in presets (Color Blast)  and did little tweaking on the slide bars.

Above is another hdr image in the fish market in DC, this hdr was also created using PHotoshop CS5. I really liked the final output in Photoshop CS5, but for the sake of testing Topaz Adjust I decided to give it a go to see how it will look like, and frankly I was blown out with result. The photo look much better than before.

After having tried Topaz Adjust, I was impressed with it’s capabilities, Topaz Labs description of Adjust is true to itself:

Topaz Adjust is the easiest way to make your photos pop. Adjust optimizes image exposure, color, and detail strength for stunning image results. Quality exposure adjustment in Photoshop is cumbersome and sometimes frustrating. Topaz Adjust makes this process simple, fun, and highly rewarding.

With a total of 39 presets  you get a lot for your $49.00. Go give it a try for free for 30 days, download the trial here now.

Next week I will try to give a full review of the product. For now here are some more photos that were enhanced using Topaz Adjust:

The Giottos CL1001 Large Cleaning Kit with Small Rocket Blaster, a kit that packs a lot of punch. I’ve had this kit for over a year now, and is as reliable from the first day it arrived. I bought this kit because of the included rocket blower, I was looking for one at that time, but when I saw this kit, together with the brush, I immediately bought one. The rocket blower and the brush is great in situation where you just need to blow dust out of the lens without wiping or touching the lens, perfect in dusty surroundings.

Details

• 5.3 Inc Rocket Blaster
• Lint-Free white micro fiber cleaning cloth (not shown in photo)
• Alcohol and ammonia-free cleaning
• Soft goat’s hair brush
• Safe for use with all camera, digital cameras, filters, cell phones, LCD screens, eyeglasses, binoculars and other optical equipment

Impression:
It’s a great product, and like what I have mentioned above, it is still as reliable since the first day I got it. I highly recommend you get one. I frequently use the rocket blower, the brush and cloth, sometimes I also use the included alcohol cleaning solution. I have not use the included swabs. I shoot on most weekends and after every shoot, I use the rocket blower to blow dust out of the lens and then use the brush to lightly brush off any remaining dust debris, and lastly, if needed, I use the cloth to wipe off smudges if there’s any, but this seldom happens. If I need to use the cloth to wipe the lens I always use the rocket blower first, then the brush and the cloth last, never wipe your lens when there’s dust around, there’s a chance it might get damage, it’s a good practice to blow out the dust first before using a cloth to wipe it. I also use the rocket blower to clean the sensor on my canon bodies, most of the time it’s the only thing I need, if not I also have some Visible Dust Sensor Swabs for cleaning my sensors.
Where to buy:

• Amazon
• Adorama

Hope you find this tip/review helpful. If you have some questions or suggestions, I’ll be happy to hear them. Please feel free to post a comment below.

I was looking for an affordable ETTL Flash Sync Cord and I found this Opteka E-TTL II for Canon Cameras, having use some opteka products and found them to be reliable, I decided to give this a try, hoping that I would be lucky enough not to experience some of the mishaps that other reviewers from amazon have mentioned on their review of this product. I mean for $19.00 + free shipping from ebay, it’s not bad. This same item is sold at amazon for around $25 by 47Street Photo.

Features:

• Heavy-duty coiled cable (Extends up to 4 Feet)
• Compatible with Canon Brand & Canon Compatible Flashes
• E-TTL & E-TTL II Compatible
• 1 Year Warranty

First Impression

It came in a nice little box, Opteka has redesigned their packaging for all their products, and it looks nice. After opening the box, and holding the item, it looks like the cord is built from good quality materials. Looks really great, and sturdy enough to handle rigorous usage.

Now the Testing: I first tested it on my Canon 20d with Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 VC, in ETTL mode, the first shot was great, I was impressed. But that’s it, the next shot I took, I noticed that the flash output has been decreased significantly when I look at the back of my 430EX II, I saw that it’s in TTL mode, no mater how much I adjust my flash compensation, the flash output won’t changed. I replace the flash batteries with newly charged ones thinking that it’s probably because of the batteries, but output are still the same, the ETTL worked three times but that’s it. When I switch my flash to manual mode, the flash won’t fire at all.  So next thing I did was to try it on my Canon Rebel XS with 50mm F/1.8, the Flash didn’t fire at all, whether in ETTL or Manual mode. I decided to return it, and thankfully 47Street Photo has agreed to give me a full refund and they sent me a prepaid return shipping label.

Recommendation:
Unfortunately like many others who bought and reviewed this product at amazon, I was really disappointed. This product is so unreliable I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. If you are looking for a reliable Flash Sync Cord I would suggest sticking with your camera manufacturer.

Do you have any experience with a reliable third party flash sync cord? Which brand?

Questions, comments or suggestions? Let me know what you think. Just leave a comment below.

This is a quick look at the awesome Vanguard SBH-300. Manufactured by Vanguard, this ballhead is made of solid magnesium alloy, and I can tell that the build quality is excellent without the heavy price tag. The SBH-300 can support up to 70lbs./32 kg, which is an overkill for me. It can handle my eos 20d with EF 70-200mm F/4 IS USM like a toy. I had this ballhead since February of 2010 and up to now it’s still in A+ condition. One feature that I like is the plate locking mechanism, to release the plate I have to un-tighten a knob, but this won’t release the plate, there is a second lock that I have to press to fully release the plate, that second lock is the red button on the opposite side. This is an excellent feature which is a must on all plates to protect the camera from accidental drop. Let’s look at the manufacturer’s description below:

The strongest of all the SBH ball heads, SBH-300 is a lightweight brute. SBH-300 precision-cut ball head moves swiftly and steadily so you won’t miss the action.  Constructed of solid, strong magnesium alloy, it\’s durable and yet lighter in weight than the industry standard. Unlike other ball heads, SBH ball heads are designed with molded body parts, not assembled cut parts, like the competition. Its smooth locking knobs allow you to move the ball head swiftly and securely into the perfect position, even with the heaviest lenses and cameras. It includes two bubble levels, 360-degree scale, fine-tuning knob and a safety lock for extra stability. A special universal VANGUARD quick shoe for body/lens is also included so you can upgrade your system to quick-release immediately.

Features:

• Lightweight magnesium alloy
• Precision-cut ball head
• Large camera plate has outstanding loading capacity for professional gear; supports up to 70 lbs./32 kg.
• Includes sliding quick shoe

Impression:

After spending sometime with this ballhead I find it to be precise, reliable and tough. Having seen some of ballhead from leading manufacturers, I can honestly tell that the quality of the  SBH-300 can equal or exceed them. However to my needs it is an overkill so I’m planning to get the SBH-250, but I will still keep the SBH-300.

Recommendation:

For $99.00 buy it, you won’t regret it, it’s a steal. If you are looking for a heavy duty ballhead that can support up 70lbs of gear this is the ballhead for you, or if you need a much small ballhead then try the sbh-50, sbh-100 and sbh-250.

Vanguard SBH Ballheads are available from the following manufacturers:

• Amazon
• Adorama
• 
  BHPhotoVideo

I can’t believed my eyes when I saw this at Amazon. It’s an exact replica of the LumiQuest ProMax System, without the price tag. The Opteka FS-80 Universal Flash Modification System is only $19.95 compare to the $55.95 price of the ProMax.  Now take a look at what you’ll get for get for $19.95, three interchangeable inserts, white, gold and silver as well as the removable frosted diffusion screen, just like the Promax.

Manufacturers Description:
The Opteka FS-80 Flash System allows 80% of the light to bounce off the ceiling while 20% is redirected forward as fill light. The system includes interchangeable white, gold and silver inserts as well as a removable frosted diffusion screen. The Opteka FS-80 will give you studio-like control in a convenient kit that attaches in seconds with touch fastener tabs and folds flat for storage in a sturdy pouch. Light loss varies between 1 – 2 stops, depending on insert used, and the height of the ceiling.

Features:

What’s Included :

• Opteka FS-80 80/20
• White, Gold, Silver Inserts
• Prosted Diffussion screen
• Velco Strips

My Impression:
I have not thoroughly tested it,  but on the  initial test I did after opening the package, I’m quite satisfied with the results. I love the 80/20 when there’s a low white ceiling where I can just bounce of the light, or I can just stick in the white insert if no ceiling is available, I also find the frosted diffusion screen to be effective in softening the light. Below is one of the photo taken using my 430EX and the Opteka FS-80 attached. I use the white insert, no red flash gel attached and no diffusion screen, it was taken in the streets during Halloween.

The Opteka FS-80 attaches to your flash using a velcro strip, but I didn’t want to permanently attach a verlcro on my flash so I bought the Opteka CL-1 Clinch Band for Diffusers, Softboxes, and Light Modifiers it is the same as the LumiQuest Cinch Strap again, for a much lower price. The Opteka CL-1 Clinch Band will hold other compatible accessories like the LumiQuest Gel Holder and HonlPhoto 8″ Regular Speed Snoot to mention a few.

Two more photos below, taken with the Opteka FS-80 diffuser attached, including the white insert and a red gel using the lumiquest gel holder.

Using the Opteka FS-80 Flash Diffuser with White Insert, with added red gel on a lumiquest gel holder.

Using the Opteka FS-80 Flash Diffuser with White Insert, with added red gel on a lumiquest gel holder.

So far I’m quite satisfied with the Opteka FS-80, but, compairing it to my Demb Flash Diffuser Pro which I gotten used to, I will go with the Demb, but we’ll see. Oh one thing I didn’t like about the Opteka FX-80 and the LumiQuest Promax is it’s flexibility, there is no way to use it in portrait mode unless you get the flash of camera or use a flash bracket, unlike the Demb which is capable of Landscape and Portrait orientation. I will try to find the time to take some sample pictures and do a thorough review of the product.

Where to buy?

More photos of the Opteka FS-80 :

Opteka CL-1 Clinch Band for Diffusers, Softboxes, and Light Modifiers

Opteka CL-1 Clinch Band for Diffusers, Softboxes, and Light Modifiers attached to 430EX II.

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Opteka FS-80 with White Insert attached

With frosted diffuser attached.

With frosted diffuser attached.

with frosted diffuser attached.

with frosted diffuser attached.

To put it summary this book is awesome. Joe McNally’s approach to writing books is perfect, he makes it fun to read, I never got bored with this book.

Short Description of the Book:
When it comes to photography, it’s all about the light.

After spending more than thirty years behind the lens—working for National Geographic, Time, Life, and Sports Illustrated—Joe McNally knows about light. He knows how to talk about it, shape it, color it, control it, and direct it. Most importantly, he knows how to create it…using small hot shoe flashes.

In The Hot Shoe Diaries, Joe brings you behind the scenes to candidly share his lighting solutions for a ton of great images. Using Nikon Speedlights, Joe lets you in on his uncensored thought process—often funny, sometimes serious, always fascinating—to demonstrate how he makes his pictures with these small flashes. Whether he’s photographing a gymnast on the Great Wall, an alligator in a swamp, or a fire truck careening through Times Square, Joe uses these flashes to create great light that makes his pictures sing.

Who is this book for:

• For those people with solid understanding of Flash Photography.
• For Advanced Amateur and Professional who intends to improve their knowledge on Flash Photography.

What I Like?

• Full of information, advance technics, ideas.
• None Canon or Nikon specific, as long as you understand Flash Photography, you’ll enjoy it.
• Beautiful inspiring sample photos
• Fun to read. You’ll enjoy it.

Conclusion:

Buy it. If you are someone who would like to improve your flash photography skills, this is it. The book caters for a all types of audiences, whether you use Canon or Nikon. This is a treasure chest full of knowledge from the Master Photographer Joe McNally, go get yours, you’ll enjoy it.

Where to buy?

This guys are the best sensor cleaners.

I have a few dust specs on the sensors of both my 20d and rebel xs, I don’t bother to clean them or send my camera bodies for professional cleaning because the dust are so few I can quickly remove them in post. Then I came across the VSwab from Visible dust and decided to give it a try. I both the smallest kit they have which is $19.95, they call it the EZ Sensor Kit and it has 4 swabs and a 1ml Smear Away cleaner. The kit is small and can easily fit into my bag.

I tried it first on my Canon 20d, it’s very easy and it works. I used two swabs because I noticed I missed 1 on the right corner so I repeated the process, on my Rebel XS, I was able to clean the sensor using just one swab.

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Before you buy the swab please refer to the VisibleDust.Com’s DSLR Sensor Size Chart, if you are not familiar on sensor sizes, and if it’s your first time to clean your camera’s sensor, don’t be afraid, there’s acomprehensive guide here. Please remember, before you try to clean your sensor, make sure that your work area is clean and free of dust as much as possible.

You can buy VisibleDust products from Amazon:

In this week’s review, I’m going to talk about my favorite camera backpack, The Lowepro Fastpack 350. I have the red one that I got from ebay for only $70.00 which is a good price at that time because as I remember, at the time I bought this bag, probably a year ago, this bag was selling at around $125-$135.00.

This is not my on the go bag, I use this when I travel out of town, where I will need to bring extra gear like a 15inch laptop, lots of cables, chargers etc.

Pros :

• Lightweight and comfortable.
• Doesn’t look like a camera bag
• Well padded shoulder strap.
• Well-Padded camera compartment with adjustable dividers
• Zipper side for laptop
• Memory card holders
• Lots of compartments, great for small accessories, like chargers, filters, small light modifiers
• Water bottle storage
• Water resistant fabric
• Durable, excellent build
• Provides excellent protection for camera gear and Laptop.
• Best of all, the side-entry camera access feature allows me easy and fast access to my camera. Ready to shoot anytime.

Cons :

• Doesn’t include an all weather cover.
• A monopod strap will be a good addition.

Overall, I like the bag, it allows me to be carry lots of gear, like my 15 inch Dell, a 20d or 40d with a ef 70-200mm attach, 3 lenses(tamron 17-50mm F/1.8, ef 85mm F/1.8, 430EX II, pro optic auto extension tube). In the accessory compartments I can fit small things, like chargers, extra batteries, laptop charger, flashlight, manuals and some other stuff that I will need. I can also put a small rebel xs with a nifty 50 inside the top accessory compartment.

It’s certainly not a perfect bag, but the overall design simply outshines a few missing features. Besides, I don’t think I can ever find a perfect camera bag. There is however a bag for every job.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Ness Flores

First of, here’s a few words to describe the Demb Flash Diffuser Pro, lite, simple, reliable and it simply works. I bought my Demb Flash Diffuser 4 months ago, and I have been using it ever since. I’m glad I bought it. I’ve use it in events, gatherings, children’s party and it never fails me.

I first learned about this product when I was searching flickr for easy to use flash diffuser, there I found the Demb Flip-it group pool. I was hesitant at first because there aren’t many reviews that talk about the Demb Flash Diffuser Pro and at that time it was still new, so what I did was I made my own DIY Demb Diffuser out of household items I can find in the kitchen, you can see it here. It works, and I use it for sometime before deciding to get the real one.

Features I Like:

• Simple
• Made of Good Quality Material
• Reliable
• Small/Easily Fits on any of my bag or jacket
• Works well all around. Indoor, outdoor,high ceiling.
• Can also be use as a pop-up flash diffuser. See the pictures at the bottom.

What I don’t Like:

• Like any other diffuser that uses a velcro loop system, I’m not sure how long the velcro system will last.

Where I have use it?

• Macro – I use flash 90%-95% of the time when taking macro photos to improve the quality of light and I do that with the help of the Demb Flash Diffuser.
  
• Events – Here’s one occasion that I have use the demb from start to finish. Please click here.
• Indoors with high ceiling
• Outdoors
• Fill flash

Here are some of the photos of the Demb Flash Diffuser attached to my Canon 430EX II in used on my Canon EOS 20D.

What is a Battery Grip?

A battery grip also frequently called the vertical battery grip is an accessory for most dslr. It’s main purpose is to provide extra battery life for your camera. With a battery grip you can use two batteries at the same time, giving you enough power to last shooting all day.

Benefits:

• Provides extra battery life
• adds a second shutter release when you want to shoot in vertical position
• adds better handling of your camera
• in some battery grip models, you can use AA batteries to power your dslr.
• makes you look cool

Negative side:

• makes your camera looks big
• adds weight to your camera
• Battery Grip from your camera manufacturer is really expensive, compare to third party grips

You can buy battery grips from these reputable stores:
Adorama
Amazon

To be continued: