The folks at B&H along with Vello have just come out with their Extenda. This is a very cool tool that has lots of applications in our photography. The example I’m using here is wildlife because it was something I could test with instantly. But I see applications for video work and client tethered so I’ve just scratched the surface of its possibilities.
Here’s the first obvious application. The Extenda was connected via the USB port to the D500 (connected to 300PF). Set up remotely out in the cold (Zero degrees), I’m over 50′ and one room away by the fire watching the feeder on my iPad mini. When the subject appears, you tap the shutter release button (white circle on the right) and the camera fires, all realtime. It’s just that simple! Set up, connecting and learning took seconds which was nice.
In this scenario if you see your subject landing at a spot where you did not focus, tap the screen of your device and the camera refocuses on that spot.
And if you don’t like a setting, another tap brings up a menu that permits you to change camera settings. If you’ve been watching this website since it went live in ’95, you know I’m obsessed with remote photography. I’ve tried them all and this is the best so far. It’s only $129 which is the hardware (not your smart device) and app for Nikon / Canon. Like I mentioned you can access settings, focus, you can browse photos captured on the camera, Live View and an Auto View that displays each picture after capture. I don’t know the total range of the Extenda yet but can tell you at 50′ it fires the camera as fast as you can tap the shutter release. If you’re looking for this kind of tool, I highly recommend it!