NSN Safety Plate for Gitzo Tripods

I'm just a rookie owner of my very first Gitzo tripod, but I'm a firm believer in the old saying: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." It was only a day or two after giddily placing my order for my GT3541XLS Systematic tripod that I stumbled across a forum topic titled "Gitzo base plate fell out."  I curiously read on, wondering what the hell these people were talking about. Base plates? What are they, and why would they be falling out? As I continued to read, a collection of very similar sounding, bone-chilling...

E-P1 Firmware Update 1.1

Apparently word has spread to Olympus about the slow focusing speed of the E-P1, and they’ve released a firmware to makes things a bit snappier with both kit lenses. Initial reports indicate 40%-50% faster focusing! Instructions for updating firmware using the Olympus Master 2 software that came with your E-P1 can be found...

Lightroom 2.5 and ACR 5.5 released

Finally, official E-P1 support in Lightroom! Details and downloads at the following...

Wildlife viewing etiquette

Some of the human company you’ll encounter at wildlife refuges here in the east may not exactly be the polite-thinking-type, or the thinking-type at all. The optimistic side of my brain says they act that way because they simply don’t know any better. The pessimistic side says they do it because they just don’t care. Maybe it’s a combination of the two. So I’ve compiled a short list of my outdoors etiquette in an effort to try and educate folks that might not have thought about some of this stuff before… some are obvious, some are not so obvious. Pass it on...

Slight RadioPopper-Ezybox Mount Modification

Last week I received my two non-velcro mounts from Kevin King & the gang out at RadioPopper HQ, and I must say that they’re sooo much easier to use than the old velcro method.  I was skeptical at first that the plastic would be tough enough to hold everything firmly, but it does a really nice job. It feels durable and doesn’t seem like it’s going to crack or break under stress in any way (even with the strobes at 90° angles, upside down, etc.)  My 580EXII’s fit like a glove, and the RadioPopper units are held very firmly in place...

Adobe Camera Raw & DNG Converter 5.5 RC Released

New release candidates for both ACR and the DNG converter! Newly supported camera models include: Nikon D300s Nikon D3000 Olympus E-P1 Panasonic DMC-FZ35 Camera Raw 5.5 includes a correction to the demosaic algorithms for Bayer sensor cameras with unequal green response This means I can finally open, convert and process my Olympus E-P1 .ORF files… thank you Adobe, thank you! Hit the link below for the free download and full details at the Adobe Labs site:  Adobe Camera Raw 5.5 + Adobe DNG Converter...

New RadioPopper PX Receiver Mounts

Been waiting a while for these new velcro-free mounts for my RadioPopper PX units. Pick them up for $9.95 each until September 24th, 2009 at 5pm, MST. Hit this link for details and ordering information. Here's a post with some alternate images of the mounts and a slight modification...

Olympus E-P1, week 1

After almost one full week with the new camera, I figured I’d share my initial impressions for those who may be interested. First off, I’ve got to give thanks to the company that made it possible for me to own the E-P1, Amazon.com. They continue to amaze me. Somehow, someway, I received a magic tracking number last Thursday night and my Olympus E-P1 Pen was delivered last Friday afternoon, even though it wasn’t supposed to arrive until this Tuesday. I don’t know how or why it happened that way, but a huge thank you goes out to the folks at Amazon – or...

No more backpacks or satchels.

I think I first started to realize it at the Daytona 200 this year: Backpacks and shoulder bags just won’t work for me. No matter what I did, no matter where I went, I simply wasn’t satisfied with the uncomfortability of a shoulder bag or the slow and restrictive storage of a backpack. I know I said in a previous post that the Kata 3N1-20 was my new favorite go-to bag and a pretty good compromise, but after that weekend at the track I was looking for something totally different. Changing lenses at night and in a hurry was a clusterfuck, and I found myself...

MH-01 – One fantastic monopod head

This year was the year that I blew my wad and ponied up for the 500mm f/4. Purchasing that lens changed things quite a bit (heh, to put it mildly). It also changed some things that I hadn’t fully considered at first, such as how to solidly support the beast. Hence the hunt for a decent monopod head. For years I had been doing just fine using an old, used, forty dollar Manfrotto 680 monopod with a 234RC tilt head. It worked great. My 70-200 and 300 f/2.8 both had RC2 quick release plates on them that I could use interchangeably with my Manfrotto ballhead...