Recently in Gadgets Category

Orbis ringflash adapter

By Martin Joergensen | March 5, 2009 8:30 PM |

MJ0_3849.jpgI have always been fascinated by ringflash photography, but the only ring flashes I have shot extensively with myself have been the compact macro ones.
Large, studio-style flashes have been out of my reach due to some agonizing price tags.
But that has changed. With the appearance of ringflash adapters from several manufacturers, ringflash photography has become if not directly inexpensive then at least approachable. The ringflash adapter is in essence a light modifier, which will fit on your speedlight and transform its light to a ring shape.

I have fooled around with the Orbis adapter lately. Orbis is a New Zealand product, but widely available. I have been very pleased with its capabilities. But before I go into details about the Orbis, let me just briefly describe the physique and principle of a ringflash to you.

Ringflashes fall in two main categories: small ones for macro work and large ones for portraiture and fashion. I'm covering the first category here, and will return to the macro ringflash later.

Continue reading Orbis ringflash adapter.


Canon sucks... literally

By Martin Joergensen | February 4, 2009 4:09 PM |

canon-sucks.jpgThis story is just hilarious! It seems that Canon's service center in Russia has been receiving some complaints, which were a bit surprising - over vacuum cleaners!
And for a good reason, because some one has been selling Canon brand vacuum cleaners, and obviously managed to get others to believe that we were talking brand name products. The looks of the machine with the Canon logo could fool most people and add to that the manual and number plate seen here.
This Canon does hopefully suck.
Thanks to Canon Rumors for the heads up.


Flash Waves strobe triggers

By Martin Joergensen | January 15, 2009 8:52 PM |

MJ0_9381-01.jpgI had had my eyes on these flash triggers for a while, and had tried to purchase a set since they were first announced. They seemed to be a good compromise between the industry standard in the form of the expensive Pocket Wizards and the cheap so-called eBay-triggers, which are found under a large number of different names.

During Photokina 2008 I got the chance to meet with Korean SM-Development, the company behind the triggers, and managed to bring home a set – one transmitter and two receivers. I have since then used them for almost all my off camera flash shoots, and can now report about my experiences, which are overall very good. Continue reading Flash Waves strobe triggers.


Yeah Baby!

By Martin Joergensen | December 15, 2008 1:54 PM |

composer.jpgA few years back I stumbled over a weird contraption called the Lens Baby. A primitive lens  construction – no offense, it really is – consisting of a single lens, a bellows and a Nikon mount. No aperture, no focus ring, no electronics, no nuttin'. Just a lens, which you can bend and squeeze to almost any position. The samples I saw shot with this little thing and its price made me order one right away. It's not often you get a lens at less than 100 USD.

It was fun, but not an easy lens to master. I ran around for a couple of weeks and bent and squeezed I did land a few lucky punches, but never really got the effects, which I thought I would, and the lens spent more time in its small plastic bag than on my camera. The loose aperture rings, my inconsistent results, the dark viewfinder. No, I didn't find that easy at all.

But that has changed now!

Continue reading Yeah Baby!.


I want a pair!

By Martin Joergensen | September 23, 2008 5:58 PM |

nikonian-clogs.jpgNow, how cool is that? A pair of Dutch wooden shoes painted in Nikonian colors and with a Nikonian logo? They are in no way comfortable, but indeed extremely cool. They were custom made on order from Dutch Nikonian Albert as a gift to Katarina from the Nikonian staff and presented in the Nikonian booth at Photokina.

But you will unfortunately not find them for sale in the Nikonians PhotoProShop although I'm sure they would sell like newly baked bread and become an instant cult item.

But you will have to dream about them and enjoy the picture.


Nikon, give me!

By Martin Joergensen | September 7, 2008 1:08 PM | | Comments ( 4)

sb-900.jpgA bit frivolous, maybe, but I think I'm entitled to put forward a wish list to Nikon, outlining some of the stuff I'd like to see from them in the coming time. As an enthusiastic Nikonian and a somewhat nerdy gear head, I feel it in my right to represent other photo buffs in wanting even more new stuff.

Nikon has shown extremely good shape in the recent time, raising the bar several times and demonstrating a new and refreshing willingness to go different ways. The D3 and D700's superior "low rez" full frame sensor. The D90's video mode. The rumored MX format in a rangefinder camera.

Based on that I'd like Nikon to give me... eh, us (in no particular order):
Continue reading Nikon, give me!.


Now I know where I was

By Martin Joergensen | July 17, 2008 10:51 PM | | Comments ( 6)

solmeta-dp-gpsn2.jpgGeotagging is a huge thing right now. The world is flooding with navigators and GPS-gadgets that can plot anything on a map down to a few feet of accuracy. A good friend of mine - and fellow Nikonian by the way - has a wristwatch that tracks his whereabouts. Every time he enters his home after having jogged or ridden his high tech bike, it downloads his route over a wireless connection and is able to plot it immediately on a map.

Tagging images has been an option in Nikon cameras for a while, and The Nikonians PhotoProShop is now able to deliver a GPS that talks to Nikon cameras. My kind mail-lady delivered such a gizmo this morning (and fed the dog biscuits as she always does), and it's currently charging in a USB-port on my laptop - the GPS, that is, not the dog...  Continue reading Now I know where I was.


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