The Zacuto Finder
April 20, 2010 by Moose
Filed under Accessories
Using the MC-36
April 20, 2010 by Moose
Filed under Accessories
The little MC-36 doesn’t seem to be a common accessory in folk’s bag. I get a lot of questions about it so here’s a quick video on it
A number of years back in the BT Journal, I wrote about how I like to make star trails (follow link for PDF) with digital cameras. The method permits you to capture star trails and not the noise. In that article I mention a couple of ways of assembling the final star trail. Those methods have been blown out of the water by my good friend Russell Brown!
The genius that is Russell Brown not only figured out a better way to assemble star trails but also put the trails in motion! That’s right, you can watch your star trails in motion! Russell being Russell not only figured out how to do it, but he is sharing the whole recipe with you so you can do it too! So, give this a gander and if it totally sucks you in (and it will), you’ll want to watch this to see how it’s done.
Nikon GP-1 Site
April 13, 2010 by Moose
Filed under Accessories, Camera Tech
It’d new to me, Nikon’s GP-1 microsite. It’s pretty cool with good info and if you’re new to GPS, geotagging or the technology, it brings you up to date pretty fast. It also shows you how to use the GP-1, Nikon View to create custom maps showing others your travels. I’ve seen my friend Scott Diussa use this in his shows and it was cool enough I loaded ViewNX just so I could create the same thing. Check it out, knowledge is a good thing!
SB-900 Moose Primer
February 25, 2010 by Moose
Filed under Accessories, Camera Tech
Flash is an incredibly important tool for photographers. There is tons of great info on the web already on the SB-900 which includes our Fl Bird video at Kelby Training. This video is just a simple, get you up and running video. This video expresses all my current settings. So if you see an older video or text, anything posted prior to this date, then those setting are not my current settings. Hope this helps!
The Nikon MC-36
January 1, 2010 by Moose
Filed under Accessories, Technology
02.15.10
Though who have shot with me know I’m not a huge cable release fan, in fact, I never use them. Almost never. When Do I use them? The only time is doing star trails when I need to use the timer of the MC-36. If that’s the case, why is the MC-36 and MC-DC2 (attaches to GP-1) in my camera bag all the time? Because you just never know when you might need a cable release. While I rarely use them, they are always with me just in case.
Epson P7000
January 1, 2010 by Moose
Filed under Accessories, Camera Tech
02.15.10
The Epson P7000 is an essential tool to me to do everything from image storage, backup and transportation to teaching. There isn’t a trip I do not have it with me along with 4 spare batteries. It is just that important to my workflow. Why is there a cable behind it. You can shoot with the P7000 tethered which is so bloody cool.
Nikon R1C1 unit
January 1, 2010 by Moose
Filed under Accessories, Camera Tech
02.15.10
This is simply just the coolest tool, flash I’ve ever used. I just wish I had a reason to use it more often. It comes out perhaps a half dozen times a year when i have small critters, subjects to photograph. You can use the SB-200 flash units anytime, anywhere TTL but I just use it for macro work. It attaches right to the front of the lens with the units rotating on the ring whereever you need to place them. They are fired with the SU-800 which is a great unit. I have a couple of them which get used as part of the R1C1 kit or to fire off SB-900s in other setups. You’ll notice I have diffuser material in place in the flash units. It’s always there to soften the light even more.
Nikon SB-900
January 1, 2010 by Moose
Filed under Accessories, Camera Tech
02.15.10
The SB-900 or flash is an incredibly important tool to wildlife photographers. There’s a ton on the web already on the SB-900 so at this time, don’t have anything more to add but will for wildlife photographers in the future. The SB-900 has this special accessory, the WG-AS1. The purpose of this is to provide protection in wet conditions. The SB-900 handles white balance in a whole new way (and comes with a filter holder that fits inside the soft light dome!) which includes the camera body settings. It has 3 illumination patterns along with a 200mm zoom capability. It doesn’t have a 5th battery compartment but does have the new SD-9. And there is the much heralded better control buttons, switches and panel info. It is THE flash!
Lee .9 Split Grad
January 1, 2010 by Moose
Filed under Accessories, Camera Tech
02.15.10
Controlling exposure in our photograph is very important. We have a number of tools to do that, none more important that the Split Grad Neutral Density. I personally rely on the .09 Lee 4×6, here you can see why. Shooting at Swiftwater Lake, making a straight shot you get this image. But this is not what folks saw the other day in the blog. The “glow” above the mountain line brought in a number of emails. That glow is from using a split grad at the point of capture which darkens the sky and opens up the foreground.
By simply holding the filter again the front of the lens (as in using my hand to hold the filter) and then lowering the gradation down while looking in the viewfinder, the filter does its job. The final image effect can only be accomplished by using the split grad at the point of capture. It’s a vital tool, it’s key.
Nikon SC-28 / 29 Cords
January 1, 2010 by Moose
Filed under Accessories
02.15.10
The SC-28 and SC-29 are important accessories to the wildlife photographer. Being able to take the flash off camera is important. The SC-29 cord on the right has an AF illuminator built into it. Not always necessary but it can be at times so it’s the cord I choose to shorten for use on the tripod with the Wimberley Flash Arm. Both cords have a “hot shoe” attached to the top of the camera body end so the GP-1 can be attached when the cord is in use. All modifications were done by me.
Nikon SD-9
January 1, 2010 by Moose
Filed under Accessories, Camera Tech
02.15.10
The SD-9 is a must, period! This is the external battery pack for the SB-900 and when shooting at 8fps, this is the only way you’re going to keep up with the action. If you look at my Whimberly, you’ll see a gray velcro strap, that’s to hold the SD-9 onto the Whimberly Head and out of the way. This also keeps the cord policed so it’s not dangling around to scare wildlife.
The case for the SD-9 is designed to attach easily to a lighting stand, your belt loop and the one thing most folks miss, to keep the power cord policed when not in use. This keeps the cords from getting twisted and knotted or tangled with other gear in your camera bag. The SD-9 holds 6 AA batteries and their power go directly to the capacitor in the SB-900. The batteries in the SB-900 power its computer. In both devices I use PowerEx 2700mHn batteries that I get from Thomas Disturbing. I really don’t know how many I have, a few pounds worth but as you can see, I mark the year I bought the battery right on it with a gold pen.
Lexar CF Cards
January 1, 2010 by Moose
Filed under Accessories, Camera Tech
02.15.10
Yeap, I use only Lexar CF Cards. Their size and speed has changed over the years, but not their commitment to a quality item. You see that 300x or 600x speed rating and probably wonder why invest in faster cards when your camera isn’t going to even make use of all that speed. For me it’s real simple, I plug in up to four readers at one time after a days shoot and with one click in DigitalPro, I upload all four cards. With that 600x speed, a task which might take as long as an hour with older cards is done in 15min. And when loading just one card, you can’t beat the Lexar ExpressCard Reader! You can’t buy time that I know of, expect with Lexar 600x cards!
Buffalo 500GB Ext Drive
January 1, 2010 by Moose
Filed under Accessories, Camera Tech
02.15.10
Road warrior workflow is a must, at least it is for me. For that reason I don’t trust any of my images to the internal drive of the notebook for long term storage. Being a person who has had both of his notebooks stolen, I’m not going through that pain again. I travel with four of these Buffalo 500GB externals, what you see here are the Master Drives for stills and video. I have a second set which are the backups. Every night prior to hitting the sack, all images are edited and moved and filed to the external. And then just before lights out, I hit the button in DigitalPro and these harddrives and backed up and cksum while I sleep. The Master resides in the briefcase and the backups are in the photopack. They’ve never let me down and that’s after float plane and helicopter flights, dirt roads and float trips. They just work!
The Better Beamer
January 1, 2010 by Moose
Filed under Accessories, Camera Tech
02.15.10
The BetterBeamer is an important tool for increasing your depth of field when shooting flash. It’s a real simple tool but I’d watch the video for the whole story. The folks at LensCoat make the
Moose Peterson Gear List
Blogs Moose Reads
Website Archives
Moose @ Kelbytraining
Appearances:
in 16 days
in 23 days
in 1 month, 1 day
in 2 months, 3 days
in 2 months, 11 days
in 2 months, 17 days
in 2 months, 18 days
in 2 months, 19 days
WarbirdImages.com
A2A Workshop
PS for Shooters
