Tag Archive for 'gear'

F-Stop Satori Camera Pack

Published
by
Dan Carr
on October 14, 2009
in Test
. 5 Comments

Almost more than any other question I get asked is ” What camera bag do you use?”  This is the answer…… well, one of them anyway.  F-Stop is a company which specializes in camera bags for the adventure minded photographer.  If you like to ski, hike, climb or ride a bike with your gear these are the bags for you.  My main use for the Satori is backcountry skiing and my previous one saw some heavy action over an 18 month period.  During this time, F-Stop was constantly seeking feedback from a group of action sports photographers including myself and others like pro climbing photog Tim Kemple.  The result of our findings and feedback is this newly updated pack released this month.    F-Stop bags are available in limited stores but also available directly from their web store HERE.  Hopefully the photos at the bottom give you an idea of just how much stuff you can fit in this bag. There is plenty of room in the pack for all my camera gear as well as things like shovel and avalanche probe ( see photos below).  This new version is available in Red, Black or Green.  If you are looking for something similar but a little bit smaller then check out the F-Stop Tilopa.  It is almost identical in design, only slightly smaller.

Most photographers go through a perpetual search for the perfect camera bag.  Well I can finally stop that search, for backcountry ski photography this is THE bag and it will also suit photographers of many other outdoor sports.  The seam-sealed zippers keep your kit safe and dry and the material is incredibly durable.  The last version I had showed hardly a scuff after 18 months of use!

The HUGE internal camera compartment allows me enormous flexibility in choosing what equipment I carry with me and with the excellent harness system I can easily carry 30-40lbs all day long with no problems.

By removing the XL camera block and replacing it with a smaller one I can also use this bag for an overnight camping trip or a weekend trip away to the city where I only need a 1 camera, 1 lens setup with room for clothing and a laptop.

Out with the old and in with the……..smaller and lighter.

Published
by
Dan Carr
on March 19, 2009
in Gear Reviews
. 3 Comments

I think over the last 3 years, about 75% of the photos i have shot have been with the Canon 70-200 2.8 L IS.  So today I sold it.  Wait….what!??!  Yep, it’s gone.  You see I was thinking about it, when do I ever shoot that thing at 2.8?  I’m always outside and 2.8 is quite a narrow DOF to hit a moving target with when you are not using auto focus (I don’t like using AF).  The few times i did use it at wide’ish apertures where for portrait type stuff and then that was mostly at between 70mm and 90mm.  Any more than 100mm with a aperture of 2.8 and at a distance to get head and shoulder shots of something and you are looking at a very thin DOF again which i tend to find a bit too thin to get all of someones face in focus.  If i ever did shoot any lifestyle at longer lengths then i was stopping down to at least f6.4 or f7.1 to get every part of the person in focus.  The shot on the right for example of Charley Ager taken yesterday.  200mm on my 2.8 with f6.4 was just enough to get him tack sharp all over and blow the background out nicely to get those backlit snowflakes to show up.

Just over a year ago Canon announced the 70-200 f4 L IS.  Unbelievably they were tested by many of the leading websites and magazines and found to be even sharper than their f2.8 brother.  BUT they are half the weight, half the diameter and even an inch shorter.  For someone like me who is often skiing with a lot of gear on my back, any weight reduction is a blessing and as you may have guessed by now I have purchased one of these 70-200 f4 ISs. It was actually even $300 cheaper than my used f2.8 lens sold for so I have money in my pocket, 750g less weight on my back and an even sharper lens than i had before.  Actually what I am going to do with the $300 is buy an 85mm 1.8.  As I mentioned , when i did use my old lens wide open it was in that shorter range so the 85mm 1.8 will give me that option and being a prime not a zoom, will do it with even sharper results and also with a 1-stop advantage allowing me a very narrow DOF if i need it or ability to shoot in even lower light.  It was sad to see my old 2.8 go, it has been responsible for most of my favorite images and travelled with me faithfully for so long but i think this new combination just makes more sense for me.

What kind of memory cards do I use?

Published
by
Dan Carr
on January 26, 2009
in Gear Reviews
. 0 Comments

Here’s a quick post on a question I get asked quite often.  What kind of memory cards do I use?

I exclusively use the Sandisk Extreme III memory cards.  When I first got into photography I had the 2GB vesrsions of this card and I have never experienced a single failure.  I think it’s safe to say that most photographers pick one type of card and unless they experience any failures, most likely stick with that type/brand for a very long time.  The thing that initially attracted me to these cards was that they are rated down to -25 degrees C.  I have actually used these in far colder temperatures and as I said, so far so good.  At the time the Extreme IV cards were not available and even though they are now, for me I dont think the download speed of UDMA technology is worth the price premium just yet.

These days I use the newer 30mb/s versions of the Extreme IIIs in my cameras.  4GB cards in my 1DMKIIN and 8GB cards in my 5DMKII.  To download the cards I use the Sandisk Extreme USB2.0 card reader which I think is excellent value at only around $25.  The tests performed on this site indicate that it is right up there with the fastest readers when combined with the Extreme cards.  The other nice thing about the Sandisk cards is that it includes a copy of the VERY useful file rescue program RESCUEpro with each card.  The program has saved me several times from accidental card formatting and has always succeeded in brining back my photos!  It also works well on normal hard drives, not just the CF cards.  This isn’t intended as any sort of comparison against other cards at all , i’m sure that other brands also have very reliable cards that can withstand similarly harsh conditions.  But in my experience the Sandisk Extreme IIIs have been great in cold, damp or wet environments.

Video accessories for the Canon 5D Mark II: Part 1 – Microphones

Published
by
Dan Carr
on November 30, 2008
in 5d Mark II
. 11 Comments

Tomorrow I will be taking delivery of my new Canon 5d MarkII digital SLR camera.  This camera has been in development for a very long time and pre-orders for the camera after it’s announcement were staggering.  Its is in VERY short supply around the world but I am lucky enough to be taking delivery of one of the first to make it into Canada.  The camera shoots 22 megapixel full frame stills but this post doesn’t concern the still photo capabilities which will be covered in later posts once I have had a chance to test it out.

As well as taking still photos, the 5DMKII can also shoot 1080p HD video with its 35mm sensor allowing you to capture incredible quality video at a fraction of the cost of other camera systems that produce a similar “look”.  With the 35mm sensor and ability to use Canon’s vast array of quality lenses, this camera is quickly breaking down the barrier between two industries.  Look no further than Vincent Laforet’s website to view an incredible short film shot with the camera.

For a stills photographer such as myself it poses some interesting questions, until a couple of weeks ago I knew very very little about video production and what tools are needed to get the job done.  I’m sure that I am not the only photographer going through this learning process right now so I’m going to keep track of what I am learning on my blog here. I should also point out that at this time I do not know if video will play a part in my business, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared! The question that I am primarily covering with this post is “What accessories are we going to need to shoot quality video productions with the Canon 5d Mark II?”

Initial tests from various photographers indicate that the video quality is excellent, but the sound quality from the on board microphone is poor, not only that but it also picks up noise from the camera mechanisms such as the IS, aperture and just simply touching the camera body.  Not to worry though, the 5DMKII has a separate 3.5mm mic input so that you can attach a much higher quality external mic;

Sennheiser MKE 400:  This microphone comes highly recommended from several sources.  Features that are useful for us are the hot shoe mounting capability and also its relatively small size, easy to stash in your existing camera bag.  The casing is all metal so it should be rugged and it has the 3.5mm jack that is necessary to plug into the 5D.  This type of Mic is known as a “Shotgun” style mic and is very directional.  Another interesting feature is the rubber mounting points above the hotshoe which help to isolate noise from the camera.  Also available for it is the MZW400 wind muff kit which fits on the mic for use outdoors to eliminate wind noise.  The mic and the accessory wind muff can be yours for about $250 which seems like a decent deal to me and I will be ordering one soon to play with.

UPDATE: Now that people have taken delivery of their 5dMKIIs it seems there may be a problem with using the Sennheiser MKE400.  I haven’t had a chance to play with one just yet but several people have reported hearing a considerable amount of hiss.  This is somewhat strange, the mic itself works fine with many other video cameras so it would seem to be a compatibility issue with the MKII, perhaps something to do with the impedance?  I’m not sure but you can find info on the problem on the Cinema 5D forum.  Perhaps a workaround will be thought up soon and I will update this with new info as it becomes available.

In the meantime, several people have reported much greater success using the Rode VideoMic instead.  Similar in design to the senheiser but powered by an onboard 9v battery.  There is an interesting comparison video here on Vimeo.

Some microphones do not have a 3.5mm jack on them, instead they use a plug called an XLR.  The XLR plug is generally used in professional audio applications so I can forsee a lot of people wanting to use XLR terminated mics for the 5D.  To do this you will need some sort of converter and the perfect solution is manufactured by a company called BeachTek. The DXA-2s compact XLR adapter allows 2 XLR microphones to be plugged into it and the resultant signal is output through a stereo cable with a 3.5mm jack right into the 5dMKII.  The small converter requires NO batteries and also has a further auxillary 3.5mm input so you could still attach a mic like the Senneheiser MKE400 to it and balance that with an XLR mic.  This little box will allow you to record 2 audio inputs onto seperate audio tracks in the video so that they can be edited individually on your computer.  I also have word from the guys at BeachTek that they are in the process of designing a NEW model specifically for the 5DMKII!  This product will be called the DXA-5D and will include a headphone monitor output to allow you to check on your sound levels, as well as an LED level meter for both channels so that you can check input levels at a glance.  The new product is expected to ship in the first quarter of 2009 and if you contact them via their website they will put you on a mailing list to keep you up to date on developments.

If you are looking for a good way to mount various audio devices to you DSLR then you should also check out my review of the IKAN Cheese Stick JR and 10″ Articulating Arm HERE.  With these 2 products you can easily mount a shotgun mic or lavalier receiver to your camera, as well as LCD monitors.

In upcoming posts continuing on this topic I will be looking at more accessories that will be useful for the 5dMKII as I discover them!

UPDATE : Check out another cool accessory for the 5d – the Glidecam HD-2000

All Content © Dan Carr 2008