camera for bee, wasp and hoverfly id?

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camera for bee, wasp and hoverfly id?
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dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46245
Location: yes

Posted: Sat May 30, 20 10:53 pm Post subject:

fire and people in the dark are easy compared to wildlife

F8, get close, 60th/s for the fire, available light and very gentle speedlight for folk as required

clubbing life is easy compared to wildlife
F8 slow +slow sinc flash with a 20th natural, with no cues for the subject etc, over shoot again onto the previous shot by a fraction of a second etc

other settings are available
that style can very much capture the mood

i got quite good at that one

wildlife is "challenging" in a good way, punk party on fire or clubbing was fun to learn, this is a mix of fun and frustrations

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46245
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Jun 18, 20 6:42 pm Post subject:

Manfrotto XPRO 3-Way Geared head

Manfrotto XPRO Fluid Video Head

Manfrotto 190XPRO Aluminium 4-Section camera tripod

i can probably knock a better priced deal together online than the stated prices locally, with extras or discount if i ask nicely and i do want to support my local camera shop, i might negotiate down to about 2/3 of the price if i do it well, or i will get nice and useful bits etc, ie similar value to online

online is not always best value, and i need to ask them if that really will meet my specs.

i do not need to carry it further than the yard
i do want stable, detail adjustable and freeform tilt and pan

it looks like kit that is compatible and fits my needs

what do you recon for kit ?any thoughts much appreciated .

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46245
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Jun 19, 20 5:54 pm Post subject:

3 section legs were a little taller and a bit cheaper, similar but a little bigger when folded

i have the MVH500AH video head which was a third cheaper and very nice

the geared one is on order or we will look for an alternative

i got a legs and head bag and supported my local camera shop:lol: nice win win

happy bunny with it so far, well-made and well-designed for the job

i need to do some customization with cheese plates/brackets for accessories(light/sound maybe) and a brollie clip or hood holder) for shade or rain

there are several useful threaded mountings on the tripod and head parts
not least i can take the camera on or off the tripod head mount in one click with the strap round my shoulder.
that is nice, i don't often drop one(any more)

and i ain't dropping this one
if i go down with it(see floor of tin mine

) we go together

the other thing is that once i get the other head i can have matching camera to tripod mounts on the big lens as well as under the camera body.
that saves a lot of time going from lens mode to lens mode and if it is a head change only needs one grub screw turned .

very nice kit from what i know so far.

the combo is what i have wanted for 40 yrs, known how to spec for 20 years and at last it is affordable at non nasa/hollywood prices

as is the pooter/software to go with it

£3/4 million ikigama and quantel etc in the 1980's started my hope for good dig image control
camcorders were ok but crude
film is expensive in cash and time
in 1997 i first used a dig stills and pooter for snaps and saw the potential of both, the affordable kit was not up to it, so i compromised and worked ways of using low res dig stills/printing and mini movies for fun and am-art which is a pity as i had 5 yrs at art skooll learning to drum and corrupt the young and do have some pro skills although i never want to do the usual ways of "selling yer soul" with that stuff

this has potential for stuff i would enjoy and maybe other folks will as well, hope so

kit has got a lot better in the last few years, now the kit is better than me , so far

maybe not the printer, i can make that dance beyond what it was made for, which is nice

ps it is a good general purpose , ink in 4 tanks printer but not a "photo quality" one which was daft money compared to this one

that said it is ace for proofing and cheap to run for that or office stuff but mostly it is well registered enough for multi pass printing using good papers and layers (i killed a few printers learning how to do that)

i need to feed it unusual papers and see what it does but so far i really like that photoshop can take control of it to mix the inks etc.

camera nerds unite:lol:

"what happened to the Bluesmobile?"
"i swapped it for a camera"
"ok"

Shane

Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 3467
Location: Doha. Is hot.

Posted: Sun Jun 21, 20 7:31 am Post subject:
I've got the MVH, too - as you say, very easy to use. I've had mine a few years now and it's still as good as new.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46245
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jun 21, 20 9:59 am Post subject:

tis nice , very smooth and stable and able to hold all the lenses.
the clip on/off

the legs are nice as well, no dancing and easy to adjust accurately

compared to amcam stuff this makes life easy rather than a challenge,
the rubber grips on my two legs are ace, and now i am getting used to the leg clips and handling adjustments are fun rather than worrying in a "am i going to drop that"sort of way

i am looking forward to the 3 way geared head for macro, the last few mm or degrees makes a difference

it removes the minute amount of shutter shake as well, i really do not miss using a sandbag to reduce mirror kick

i have had a few cameras that made ponies look unathletic

ps mylar is ace

Shane

Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 3467
Location: Doha. Is hot.

Posted: Mon Jun 22, 20 3:52 am Post subject:
You can lock the mirror up on modern DSLRs - much easier than sandbagging

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46245
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Jun 22, 20 6:48 am Post subject:
that would sometimes help i spose, not having a mirror is ace

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46245
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Jun 26, 20 4:31 pm Post subject:
playing with the big lens in good light was fun

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46245
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Jun 30, 20 10:54 am Post subject:

second head, just call me zaphod

and two polarising filters are now in the shop

the price of the head from the suppliers had gone up by 40%* so if folk need camera kit getting in quick on existing stock might be sensible

* i got mine at 8% over the quoted price as a first best offer from them which is nice, hence the filters which i needed anyway.

a good local pro level shop has advantages over online or chain store sales

especially as i was reminded that if i was changing a 77m lens swapping the filter at the same time saved getting 2 of them

nice shop, they know how to make customers happy

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46245
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Jul 01, 20 4:54 pm Post subject:

just collected those and am rather enjoying not ripping them out of the box to play, deferred pleasure is fun

final figures make it that the chap in the camera shop sold me the head at 10% over the price he quoted, but he had to pay 35%(detail but still important if folk want kit) more from the makers

nice call on his part and i have the kit i need for that super precise sort of thing

i am thinking i should get the "strap on"2x batteries and charger and usb(so i can use my lv kit properly with it) and sideways buttons battery pack thing now rather than later

that and a couple of (make that a few of) decent cards and i am sorted for kit on or off grid

and another cheese plate,+ a bag of bolts

a decent mic rig would be nice but small steps, if i can find a cheapish but functional one tis a no brainer

Shane

Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 3467
Location: Doha. Is hot.

Posted: Thu Jul 02, 20 4:09 am Post subject:
For mics, take a look at Rode. I've got one of these - should be more than sufficient for shooting at garden range. You can get a fluffy cover for it to cut down wind noise, but for a proper windy day you'll need a more effective wind shield.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46245
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Jul 02, 20 11:47 am Post subject:
ta, i had noticed rode seemed popular among the pro kit users i will see what they have that is adaptable to my various wants

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46245
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Jan 25, 21 1:54 pm Post subject:

i got the battery strap on(oo err

) and it seems to work, the balance is better as well

i also got a couple of £10 "generic"batteries which are identical apart from the words on them, they work as well, paying an extra £65 for a label is a bit silly, bit of a punt but it turned out ok, they have 25% more capacity than the named ones from 2 yrs ago as an extra bonus

the grip has the advantage of direct charging via usb which means it should work with a battery bank and via that potentially from the portable solar panel which would be ace for an off grid photoshoot

decent SD cards were a fraction of previous prices so those along with the off grid leccy could make otter snaps plausible if i can

A get there legally/without harming folk
and
B still carry and climb

the climb bit could be avoided with a low tide scramble

Shane

Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 3467
Location: Doha. Is hot.

Posted: Tue Jan 26, 21 4:44 am Post subject:
I bought a couple of generic batteries too. Like you say, fifty quid cheaper and work just as well - only difference is the camera complains that they are not OEM and refuses to remember battery information (not that I use that feature anyway).

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46245
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Jan 26, 21 9:52 am Post subject:

apart from the writing they are identical to canon ones, same plastic for body and clip on terminal protector

the camera seems to think they are "native" and works as normal which is ace, i was expecting it might do the electric bit but not the electronic clever bit
the wireless remote button is another accessory that is identical to the canon one apart from one letter in the id on it, ditto re function

over the years i have found quite a few bits of kit that are exactly the specs of the "branded" version for a fraction of the price, a few have been as alike as a sticky label over the brand name

i guess those are the production overuns(to allow for setting up and quality control etc)

the battery grip is ace, it is ergonomic to handle, drops the centre of gravity and centre of horizontal balance
the r body is quite light having no mirror and feels a little front heavy even with the 35 to 115 on it
and it has buttons that can be turned on for using it turned to portrait format which is a bonus as well as being usb compatable which means the solar/battery bank can power me or i can plug it in at home for video stuff*
a well used £200 quid when that is less than 5% of the overall kit cost

*i have not played with that yet, learning to use a leccy real camera rather than film is enough to start with

going for the r rather than a d5 or similar was a good move, not having a flappy mirror, no matter how well-made, is nice.
a slight aside i found my 35mm and sd informed me that film is still a thing although a bit niche so i might have a go with that at some point, i do rather like film even if leccy can do many things very well or even better than film

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