what photography related item did you buy this week?

[L0n3Gr3yW0lf]

I haven't bought it yet BUT I am so tempted to get a replacement pen for my Asus Zenbook Pro Duo (that's the photography relationship, I use the pen on 80% of all the pictures I edit on my laptop) because Asus is an arse and does not offer replacement nibs for it's Asus SA200H active pen ... forcing me to pay 50$ for a pen that comes with one stock nib and one backup nib ... and this would be my 3rd pen in 1.5 years. Talk about being greedy and/or inconsiderate ... at least with Apple and Microsoft, you can actually buy replacement nibs.
But I am holding off right now and I'm waiting for Asus support to reply on compatibility and another brand pen supports, some peeps say Microsoft Surface 3 Pen might work ... but still, a stupid design of a 3.000 $ machine where the main focus (and adverts) are on pen support and creative usage.

 

[JensM]

Am somewhat on a roll, so added to last weekends stuff (G9 grip/battery, PL 15mm, P20mm and a GX1 with power zoom) with a GX9 with add-on handgrip, a 12-32, a 45-150 and a Nissin 40 something in a bundle. Everything secondhand, and some at bottom prices.

 

[Brownie]

Am somewhat on a roll, so added to last weekends stuff (G9 grip/battery, PL 15mm, P20mm and a GX1 with power zoom) with a second hand GX9 with add-on handgrip, a 12-32, a 45-150 and a Nissin 40 something in a bundle.

Wow! I don't feel so bad now!

 

[JensM]

Wow! I don't feel so bad now!

I am planning a slim down sale in the near future, probably the three "new" kit lenses, the Nissin and some primes I have from earlier on, but that has become surplus to requirements (or lust for other primes). When done, I would be in the black for the GX1 and 9 houses and be soundly underway towards a PL 25. Depending on how I like the GX9, I may ending up either off-loading that or my GX8.

 

[retiredfromlife]

Am somewhat on a roll, so added to last weekends stuff (G9 grip/battery, PL 15mm, P20mm and a GX1 with power zoom) with a GX9 with add-on handgrip, a 12-32, a 45-150 and a Nissin 40 something in a bundle. Everything secondhand, and some at bottom prices.

If it is the Nissin i40 I found the battery compartment contacts sag with time and now I have to pack the negative ends of the battery with some little bits of folded aluminium foil to raise the height a bit. I put these on the top of the negative ends and close the door gently so not to dislodge them.
Great little flash and so easy to adjust compared to other I have used.

 

[JensM]

If it is the Nissin i40

Thats the one, thanks for the heads-up!

 

[ChuckG]

You're going to need the aftermarket lens collar, too.
Personally, I'd recommend the Olympus 75-300, which is lighter, less expensive and just as good IQ. The wider FL comes in handy.

I bought another book about bird biology and behavior. Knowing your subject is a great way to improve your photography!

I think I'm transitioning from "a photographer who shoots birds" to a "birder who takes pictures". On my last outting I didn't even bring a camera (other than my smartphone).

Thanks for the info. When it is close to the time to buy one, maybe I will rent both to see which one I like better.

 

[retiredfromlife]

I picked up an extra battery for my Panasonic G85 this week. Saving up to buy the Panasonic 100-300.

The 100-300 goes really well with the G85, it is what I have. Originally I going to get the Olympus 75-300 for the wider end, but the dual stabilization won me over. It really makes a difference. If I lean against something 30th sec at the 300mm end is not too hard. F8 sharpens it up a bit as well, but 5.6 at 300mm is usable. I tend to use ISO 400 to keep the SS up with this lens.

 

[pake]

Dammit... Saw a used Oly 12-100mm f/4 at a low enough price and tried my luck in getting a discount - and got one! I was a bit hesitant to buy from the online marketplace it was on but it turned out that the seller was our own @Vivalo which meant I didn't have to worry about a thing anymore and I wired the money and he sent me the lens. If one can't trust a fellow mu-43er, then who can you trust?!

I would have gotten the lens already today if the post office had sent me the "ready for pick up" SMS-notification 3-4 minutes earlier after my visit to the supermarket. Oh well... I'll get it soon enough though.

 

[Mack]

E-M1 Mark I (used) being converted to "Full Spectrum" for playing with IR. This: https://www.lifepixel.com/shop/conv...d-cameras/used-olympus-e-m1-camera-conversion

Printed out a 8x11.5 inch matte print of ColorChecker's "Foliage" color (RGB=87, 108, 67) since that seems to be the favorite color to set manual white balance in for IR photos. Foliage around here is pretty much dead and brown for winter so the foliage color card helps for setting a WB in my old Dimage 7 which is what I am using for IR in the meantime. Setting the WB on the green seems to help keep the foliage "IR white" and separates that from the darker sky blue better - as I understand it. The SOC image is less red as happens with the normal Auto WB shooting IR.

 

[Mike Wingate]

Godox 60x60cm Soft box with grid and S2 grip, plus a Pixapro 2m stand.

 

[Toddster]

A dual monitor stand and a 2nd 24" monitor. I considered a larger single monitor but I like the 24" View Sonic that I have now so I just added a used Dell Ultra-sharp for more space. A nice cheap solution.

 

[Brownie]

A dual monitor stand and a 2nd 24" monitor. I considered a larger single monitor but I like the 24" View Sonic that I have now so I just added a used Dell Ultra-sharp for more space. A nice cheap solution.

I've often wondered what two monitors does for you. I use two at work, but that's in order to have more than one document visible at a time. Do some of your processing program take advantage of dual monitors?

 

[Toddster]

Do some of your processing program take advantage of dual monitors?

Yes. When editing I will dedicate my calibrated monitor to the image and have my tools on the 2nd monitor.

 

[Brownie]

Yes. When editing I will dedicate my calibrated monitor to the image and have my tools on the 2nd monitor.

Interesting. I just checked and Darktable will do that. I have an old 20" laying around going unused, I could put the tools on it and leave my Dell for the image. I'll add this to the list of stuff I gotta' do!

 

[Erich_H]

Just paid up for an 1983 vintage AGFA Selectronic 3 with the f:1.9/50 mm and the f:2.8/135 mm AGFA Color lenses. Also in the lot: an AGFA daylight development tank.

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Waiting for it now. Maybe tomorrow...

@L0n3Gr3yW0lf: guess what I haggled for, and got for free in this deal (after I already paid!):
A nice looking Yashica Minister, with eveready case!

 

[L0n3Gr3yW0lf]

I haven't bought it yet BUT I am so tempted to get a replacement pen for my Asus Zenbook Pro Duo (that's the photography relationship, I use the pen on 80% of all the pictures I edit on my laptop) because Asus is an arse and does not offer replacement nibs for it's Asus SA200H active pen ... forcing me to pay 50$ for a pen that comes with one stock nib and one backup nib ... and this would be my 3rd pen in 1.5 years. Talk about being greedy and/or inconsiderate ... at least with Apple and Microsoft, you can actually buy replacement nibs.
But I am holding off right now and I'm waiting for Asus support to reply on compatibility and another brand pen supports, some peeps say Microsoft Surface 3 Pen might work ... but still, a stupid design of a 3.000 $ machine where the main focus (and adverts) are on pen support and creative usage.

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Well ... isn't that peachy ... now I have to experiment with my money on finding a solution to the problem if I want a long term solution instead of keep buying Asus Pens. Thank you ASUS, so few people have this laptop that there's no posts online on compatibility with Microsoft Surface Pens.
(I replied to myself to keep the context of the story easy to read)

 

[L0n3Gr3yW0lf]

Just paid up for an 1983 vintage AGFA Selectronic 3 with the f:1.9/50 mm and the f:2.8/135 mm AGFA Color lenses. Also in the lot: an AGFA daylight development tank.

View attachment 870559

Waiting for it now. Maybe tomorrow...

@L0n3Gr3yW0lf: guess what I haggled for, and got for free in this deal (after I already paid!):
A nice looking Yashica Minister, with eveready case!

YOU M............ *takes deep breaths* ... *tell's myself I can do this* ... congrats

 

[cjoliprsf]

Got my C/Y mount adaptor for Canon EF. I then use a EF to M43 adaptor for the M4/3 camera. This way, I can use the lens with my 2 camera systems (Canon and M4/3).
This is a chipped adaptor that permits a Canon camera to signal when focus is on, which greatly helps the manual focusing. This particular type is called EMF and is nice because it is programmable: by doing a certain sequence of shots, I can tell the adaptor the focal length and max aperture of the lens, and then the chip tells the camera, and I can see it on the Exif.

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I can now have fun with my

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[Michael Meissner]

A dual monitor stand and a 2nd 24" monitor. I considered a larger single monitor but I like the 24" View Sonic that I have now so I just added a used Dell Ultra-sharp for more space. A nice cheap solution.

For me, I've found having a single large monitor is better than dual monitors for working from home. Note, with the Covid lock down, I haven't been making many pictures, and I don't do much post processing. I am a computer programmer, and I'm on the system a lot.

I got an Acer 34" Nitro (3440x1440). I had used dual monitors for a bit, but having the line between the two monitors was really annoying. If you are running separate programs in each screen, displaying different documents, or doing photo editing with the picture on one monitor, and the text/etc. on another, dual monitors can work well. But I found I was constantly having to move programs and adjust windows so that a display would not cross the screen boundary. If I'm displaying pictures, the color differences between the two monitors was also annoying. Finally, the area where I can set up the monitors was not wide enough to handle two 1920x1080 monitors side by. By going with the single large display, it was a little less wide, and the monitor fit the space I have. And there is no annoying middle line separating the two monitors.

However, I discovered you have to carefully check what your system can support. I first got a 4K monitor (3840 x 2160), but I discovered my work laptop just cannot support a 4K monitor. So I downgraded to a 2K monitor. The work laptop could support the 2K monitor using displayport, but my older home desktop could not support it, and I had to upgrade the video card.

Now, if you are buying the monitor specifically for photo or video editing, you may want to choose a different option. A common complaint is the monitor is not bright enough compared to some other monitors, and the color gamut is a little muted. It is bright enough for me (but I'm not near a window or other sources of light that could require bringing up the brightness).