Back In the Saddle

Back from holidays and ready to write.

A plane trip these days is either heaven or hell, and it is no always a question determined by which ticket you purchased. Of course there is something to be said for the front section of the plane - the seats have leg room, you can put them back to sleep, and they give you a blankey to cuddle up into. When the champagne takes effect. Back in cattle class you at least get a free beer, so that is nice.

Note for new travellers. before you go, go. Go every time you can, because when you are up in the air, going is problematical.

 Now on to cameras. I used a Fuji X100 for the trip - you'll see some results from it in coming blogs. Perfect solution for the pictures I knew I wanted. Kudos the the Nikon people for making their SB 700 flash so easy to adjust - it was the other partner in success for this venture.

 I used a bag that worked well, but as I travelled about with it I kind of wished I had popped for a small Billingham bag from the shop here. They are so light but well built, and the top flap is easy to open and secure...it makes a deal of difference to the user when they are not fumbling through a big zipper or awkward buckles as they try to haul their camera out for use. The Billinghams are derivatives from English shooting bags, I have no doubt, and these are some of the best accessories you can get.

 Of course I did observe other photographers at the events. I felt for the ones who seemed to be carrying large back packs, though to be fair they might have been packed with sandwiches and bottles of beer, in which case I admire them for their foresight. In any event, I think the people who were getting the best experience out of the shows were either doing it with dedicated mirrorless Fujis like me ( and don't we all like to have our on judgement applauded, even by ourselves...) or the users of the lighter DSLRs with moderate wide zooms. In particular I noticed the fine results one chap was getting with a Nikon D610. He wasn't lugging a full bag of glass and consequently could go hard all day.

 One final note - there were a few people who were using tripods for some of the interior work. Good idea, as they probably got to maximise their depth of field over the shots, but I noticed that their mobility was a little compromised between shots. If they were carrying tripod bags they could stow the legs in there when they were on the trams. Good idea - protects the tripod and stops you from putting out the eyes of the other riders...

 One more final note - Perth's Multirider card system on the trains and buses far outstrips either Sydney or Melbourne for convenience of use. They may send more people on journeys, but they don't touch on or off with as much speed as we do. But I did like the airport train in Sydney. Fast, clean, and efficient.

New Bags In Stock

It has been a morning. Two giant boxes full of Billingham bags have arrived and I have been plastering on the price stickers. As soon as they are bar coded they should be good to go - and Billingham are one of the best of all bags for going.

I've harped on the lightness and convenience thing before - Billingham meets these requirements easily, as well as being good enough looking to pass for a fashion bag - if you are fashionable. They can be small enough for mirror-less cameras or big enough for full DSLR systems and are designed to be reconfigurable whenever you need to shift to a different load of gear.

Best of all, they are a long-term investment. They have leather trim and brass attachments and heavy twill straps so that they age well. You might change your camera or lenses...and you do...but you need never change your Billingham.

Now Hear This....Think Tank

With the advent of audio and video recording on modern digital cameras ( as opposed to the old cylnder gramophones we used to use with the dageurreotypes ) a whole new species of gear needs to be taken along; microphones, windshields,cables, mixers, headphones, etc. When the etc. starts to overwhelm you, please remember that Think Tank make a whole dedicated series of cases and bags for these new bits.

We've placed the audio-orientated products at the end of out Think Tank rack but don't think that you are restricted to just these - as you brows the TT rack you'll see that they have a case or pouch for nearly any piece of professional gear - if you work in the rain there are dedicated covers for cameras, lenses, and flashes. If you run round mountains with heavy lenses there are belt packs to evenly distribute the crushing weight that you will regret as soon as you are half-way up the slope... There are dedicated pouches for sandwiches and water bottles filled with brandy for the trip down.

Should you wish to carry your laptop through the airport there are dedicated pouches that will protect it in the overhead locker - your bigger gear can go into a rolling case with walls thick enough to stand the attention of the baggage handlers. If your arguing skills are up to it, there are deceptively small camera cases that might let you get your apparatus into the overhead locker without raising suspicion. Smile sweetly and try not to sweat.

Do I use Think Tank? Yes I do - a 17" laptop case and it is just excellent for travel.

Plea For Mercy - Come Buy A Billingham Bag

It would appear that the English summer has yielded a bumper crop of Billingham bags. This has resulted in the delivery of 3.5 metric tonnes of them to the shop. Please see the heading image.

This will be gladsome news for the users of the Leica, Fuji, and Olympus system cameras - Billingham bags are ideally suited for the traveller or professional who has decided to do it with the slimmer cameras but still needs the best of housing for them.

Billingham bags are grown on the south slopes of Heath in the West Midlands. Each bag is lovingly nurtured on the stalk and picked only when ripe. This results in the full flavour of the canvas, leather, and brass coming though in the finished product. These are bags with a proud history - remember that English bag makers were equipping the British Army during the Napoleonic wars with much the same care - if it was good enough for the Duke of Wellington, it should be good enough for you...

Apart from the history, the bags are a practical answer to an elegant camera carriage - if you have ever struggled through an airport with the average camera bag banging and pulling at you as you struggle with the cardboard suitcase and crate of chickens, you'll know how bad it can be. Remember as well, that every bit of weight is charged for these days when you fly, and a lighter bag means a heavier purse.

Oh enough of the flannel. We're dying here under the weight of stock so please come down here and rescue us. You'll be doing a humanitarian deed as well as getting a top-quality product.

Kata Casket - Studio In The Field

Anyone who has ever tried to carry an entire set of studio monoblock flash units, stands, cords, and light shapers to a shoot outside their own studio knows how difficult it is. Everything has sharp edges, delicate parts, and a mind of its own. You CAN be tripped up and strangled by inanimate objects, particularly if they have discussed it amongst themselves beforehand...

Beat them. Store them safely and securely in the Kata PALMS-2 rolling casket. It will hold three monoblock heads, three stands, folded umbrellas, cords, and reflectors - in short a complete studio light setup. It is padded and armoured on the edges that will hit the ground, and the rolling wheels are extendable to the side for extra satability. Look at the sad pictures - the editorial studio is currently full of people and I have to use the yard... - the casket is a big blue one with the characteristic yellow Kata lining.

If you are a constant user of a field studio, you might elect to replace one of the monoblock heads with a camera and one of the tripod spots with a folding backdrop. Then you can really be portable - everything in one case.

Note that the casket is also big enough to hold earth from your own country if you need somewhere to sleep during the day...

Lighten Up On Monday Morning

So, it's been a big weekend, has it? Feeling a little wrung-out, are we? Tired and emotional during the weekend?

Perhaps it was the effort required to haul 100 Kg of camera equipment to the BBQ that did it. That weatherproof pack with the automatic rain cover and the tripod strapped on the back in case you needed to do a quick award-winning landscape photo while the snags were cooking. The pack with the integrated water bladder, in case you were trapped more than 200 metres from a Dan Murphy's...

Bit of a pity that you didn't get a chance to take all your cameras and lenses and laptop out of the pack and hook up the tethered cables - it would have been the hit of the night. They could have done selfies in HDR at 36 megapixels and 120,500 ISO. And the waterproof feature of the bag would have been useful after the third slab of VB...

Steel yourself to look at the illustration of the back pack. If the background colour is a little hard to take, just think of Berocca...The interior colour is absolutely correct - KATA have realised that photographers work in dim spaces, not a few of them mental spaces, no I never said that, and the black-coloured equipment that the Pro's use is easy to lose in the black-coloured bags. So the made it bright yellow and clean and soft in there. You might still be grubbing around desperately trying to fish out the fisheye but at least you'll be able to see it.

The rest of the bag is tough but light - it has a set of human-shaped straps that will not dig into your diaphragm, and it has enough interior space to take anything that you could humanly need on a tourist holiday or a your next BBQ. Including the Berocca.

The Optical Marsupial

Anyone who owns two lenses and one camera has a problem - at some stage of the game they are going to have to change whatever is on the camera for whatever they are carrying in their camera bag. If they do not have a camera bag they have two problems, and if they are trying to do it in a hurry on in the twilight in the deepest part of the bush surrounded by tiger snakes...well they have more than two problems.

Here are a few suggestions to ease the situation:

1. Do not go into the bush at twilight in snake season, or if you do, ask for someone to drop a daisy-cutter bomb about 5 minutes before you enter the area.

2. Get yourself a lens-changing pouch. This will save you from dropping one or both of your lenses into the dirt.

The two smaller pouches seen in this post are made by Think Tank and Lowepro. They are both equipped with a belt loop to fix them to your off-side. The Lowepro has an additional shoulder strap.

The Lowepro is a traditional flap-top design with thick padding inside. There is a secure zipper around the edge of the lid - it is fairly water-resistant.

The Think Tank design has a purse-top that closes with a draw string. There is a separate compartment under the pouch with a waterproof cover.

The idea of these is that you can carry your spare lens in it for your venture, but as you are gently juggling the camera and optics out there in the field, you have somewhere to literally drop the one you are changing while you attach the new one. Wise photographers will keep some sort of a strap on their camera to sling it round a neck or shoulder while they do this.

The same sort of idea appends to the Lowepro Passport Sling II bag - you can sling it over a shouldeer then rotate it forward around your waist to give the effect of a secure kangaroo pouch in the front. Open it, extract the new lens, drop the old one in there - all safe and sound and not too much of a war-dance to do it.

Remember - make it easy on yourself and take it easy when you shoot. No-one benefits from over-complexity - ever.

Davy Crockett, D-76, And Digital

I wasn't born on a mountain top in Tennessee, but I have done my share of shooting with the old-fashioned muzzle loading rifles. Mostly range targets, some little hunting, the occasional tin can - mighty tasty them tin cans, if you stew 'em...

I learned early on that the car-load of rifles, pistols, shotguns, cannon, and associated accessories necessary for a day at the range - or a weekend at the state championships - was an absolute assurance of one thing. Dirty firearms to clean. No trophies, no medals, no ribbons - just barrel after barrel of black sooty goo to boil out and oil up. I loved it, of course, but I did realise that there was never going to be any sporting success.

Different on the hunting field. One firearm ( generally a flintlock ), one small bag containing a powder flask, a bit of oiled rag, and six lead balls. If you have to walk all day in the heat, if you are dumb enough to walk all day in the heat, it is better to walk light than heavy. No hunting trip needed a variety of arms because the wise hunter went out for one thing only and if he got it, came home.

Note: I also learned 50 years ago not to shoot anything big in a bog. It is hard enough hauling your own carcase uphill let alone something else's...

In the film era ( D-76, remember) I had to relearn my lesson. I hauled a heavy leather box full of heavy brass and glass German cameras and lenses on a vague weekly hunt for photographic subjects. As I did not know what I was looking for, I took something in case I found it, and as I never found it, I just hauled the equipment home. Uphill, as often as not.

Digital. I carry one camera, with one lens, in one bag. I pick my subject field before I set out, clip on the lens that I need, and away I go. The percentage of success over failure has increased and the reward of comfort is inestimable. This colours my sales behaviour in the shop when people come in looking for bags, cases, or steamer trunks to carry their gear. It also means I am selling smaller camera systems to people who can benefit from their focussed capabilities.

That's not just a pun, folks. Focus. If you are going to Europe for a tour, take a zoom lens by all means but take a small one on a small camera. Your shoulders at the end of a hot day traipsing about Magnetogorsk in January or through the snow drifts of Madrid will thank you.

And never shoot a moose in Madrid. You'll be skinning it for hours and where are you going to put 1000Kg of meat on a Kon Tiki tour bus?

Micro Sports Bag For Maximum Comfort - Lowepro Sport

Sold a bag the other day to an active photographer. She bought it with the need for a very light but sturdy container for hiking - something that would hold a DSLR and a couple of lenses but not weigh her down in itself. She chose one of the Lowepro Sport types and went away very happy.

Got me to thinking if there was one from their range that had a similar configuration but was aimed more at the photographer that would be carrying a micro 4/3 or other mirrorless camera system. It turns out that the Flipside Sport 10L is the one.

Flipside defines it as a bag that has the main compartment zip opening toward the body and Sport is the name that Lowepro use for their light nylon-covered packs. I suspect the 10L means that it holds 10 litres of gear. This could be scientifically measured at the pub but I am confined to the editorial desk. Suffice it to say there is a good space in there for a mirrorless and as many lenses as you like, as well as a flash.

The side flaps are a general purpose pocket on the right - including a space for a hydration bladder and delivery tube - and a tripod pouch on the left side.. The usual weatherproof cover is tucked into the bottom of the case. The internal camera tray comes out and has its own integral rain cover.

The shoulder and lumbar areas are open-cell foam covered in nylon mesh - they evidently expect you to get sweaty and they are giving some relief to the areas that bear the weight.

Note on the shoulder straps that there are two "D" rings to which you can attach camera straps.

Final fillip is the pair of multipurpose hook and cord straps on the outer back that can be used to secure loose articles of clothing.

These seem to be available in a bright orange or a blue-grey. A very good prospect for the active lightweight traveller.

Now You See It - Now You Don't...The Art Of The Travelling Camera

No good me poking fun at you, like I did in my last post, without holding out some hope for the future. In the future I will also poke fun at you...

No, folks, what I mean is we do have some really good solutions down here at the shop for the tourist who wants to travel light and safe, and bring back good images.

First - cameras. Well, I favour my Fuji X -10. Other people love their Leica D-lux or their Panasonic Lumix cameras. Canon make the ever-popular G 15 and it is ever-popular because it is a great tourist camera. The Olympus Pen people also know the value of a lot of good in a small package. Pick one that you like and can afford and go with confidence

But the business of taking it along is what we are considering here - I mentioned the heavy-lift thing in the last post. If you have eschewed that look at some of the pictures of camera bags from different manufacturers that are being used to house the same example camera.

The camera is the Fuji X-20. Soooo nice. If I could think of a plausible reason to get it as well as the X-10 I would buy one, but so far...

1. Kata ZP-6 DL

A classic square bag with the addition of a sewn finger loop at one corner and a nylon neck- cord. Battery/card pocket and nice padding. $ 22.00.

2. Think Tank Lens Changer 15 V2.0

Round drop pouch with drawstring top and a very sturdy belt loop in back - reinforced with a nylon bar to rest on your belt. $ 29.50.

3. Lowepro ILC 50 Classic

Traditional box pouch with a heavy shoulder strap - the roomiest option here and well suited for quick grabs of the camera. Plenty of room inside and on an outside pocket for cards and batteries. $ 45.00.

4. Op/Tec Digital D-Shortie Soft Pouch

Wrap the camera in this soft neoprene case ad you can safely bundle it into a pocket or your main luggage. There is a harness strap that lets you pop the camera out for use but still tether it to the case.
$ 24.20.

And the model in the leading image? Jo Armstrong. I just included her because everybody needs to see beautiful girls sometime...

Thinking Inside The Box - A Modest Proposal

'Tis nearly the tourist season - the safari and cruise tour companies are gearing up for the influx of Australian tourists and the Australian tourists are gearing up for a world of pain. We are assisting them.

Not a day goes by down here but what someone comes in and tells us that they are going on a holiday and they want to take their camera. And their camera. And their lens, lens, lens, lens, lens...and the laptop and the three chargers and the flashes and spare batteries and....perhaps a spare memory card, if the price is right.

And a lightweight tripod that folds into the size of a pocket pencil and can hold a Canon 1Dx with a 100-400 lens on it rock solid in an arctic gale.

And the whole lot should go into a bag that can be put in the overhead locker, leaving enough spare room for he 1 litre bottle of duty free Drambuie.

I find lithium pills help a lot these days...

Let me put forward a modest proposal - as Johnathon Swift did - that will make your trip successful. It will involve a week of experimentation but pay giant dividends when you are out across the globe.

Day One

1. Go to the linen press and get out all your teatowels. Find the empty cardboard box your TV came in and bring it in from the shed. Get some rope.

2. Set out all the camera bodies, lenses, chargers, laptops, batteries, and tripods that you are going to take on your trip in your lounge room.

3. Wrap each component up in a teatowel. Pack the parcels into the TV box. Jump on it if they will not all fit in, but get them in there.

4. Rope the box up and then tie it onto yourself. You can tie it over one shoulder, over two shoulders, or around your waist - your choice. Use Boy Scout knots.

5. Put your hat on, go out the front door, and set out to walk to Mundaring Weir.

6. Give us a call down at the shop when your vision starts to go. We've got a book down here that records the distances of various customers - one chap made it to Welshpool from Belmont before the St. John's Ambulance people got him.

Day Two

1. Put one camera body, one lens, and one spare battery into a shopping bag. Add a tripod if you must.

2. Rope that to one shoulder.

3. Hat, door, Mundaring.

4. See how much further you got? Take the bus home.

Day Three

1. Put a mirrorless camera and one lens - or a bridge camera, or a compact zoom into your jacket pocket. Put a Cullmann pocket tripod in the other pocket

2. Mundaring is nice this time of year, isn't it. I remember coming up here when I was courting. They had water in the dam then...

Scientific note: It is possible to get an entire 2-body, 5-lens, laptop, refrigerator, and year's supply of cheese into a Lowepro Santiago DV 25 pocket pouch. All you need to do is remove all the space between the nucleus and orbiting electrons of each atom of the outfit and shake them down together. It can be done with a black hole, but only once. The unpacking is the problem...

Not Just Any Old Bag - Billingham

You can carry your camera in nearly anything - a dedicated camera case, a trendy backpack, or a paper bag if you like. Some cameras thrive on this sort of thing, and if you have a waterproof underwater model you can haul it around in a goldfish bowl...

But if you have something nice - really nice...like a Leica or a new Fuji X-series camera - well, you'll want to do your gear and yourself more justice. After all, what we carry can say as much about us as what we wear.

The Billingham range of bags say that we are practical without losing sight of tradition - that we have some real style in our soul -that we appreciate the finer things of life. They also protect our valuable cameras very well and let us get in at them easily without asking us to navigate a maze of zips and velcro.

Look at the sepia-toned images of the Billingham f2.8. You can see that it is the model with the khaki cavalry twill bag and brown leather trim, but look closer to see the hand stitching on the edges and the solid brass fastening post. No wonder that Billingham has the word guarantee on their product booklet - and it is for 5 years. These are made with the same dedication that the English use for their finest shooting bags.

Look at the solid brass buckle and heavy webbing. The kind of construction that can slog through the trenches and not come apart.

Even if your usage is not likely to be as traumatic as that - these bags are the most desired in the street. People will know you know cameras when they see you with one.

And you won't be sorry you bought it.