Tis the season!

For years, this next set of posts are always a favorite of mine, as it gathers ideas for you to gift to the photo/video fan in your world, and of course. maybe just purchase something to make your life easier! Plus, want to give you enough time to take advantage of the coming sales!

Come back daily for fresh categories of selected products!

A couple of things to note:

*most everything in the posts have been tested and worked with, so the reccos come from a real place.

*Cameras systems are generally not included, as it it such a personal , and expensive proposition that you should research via multiple sources, with a major one, putting a camera in your hands to make sure it it what you want to commit to.

*If someone asked me what to recco: Fuji, Nikon, Sony, or Canon my answer is – YES!

OK, to start here is a scanner that has been posted about before, and is a great product for families and extended families. I wanted to give you time to read about, buy one, scan your family photos, send it off to another family member, have them scan, and so on, creating a huge shared family history through photos.It has gone from the 640w to the 680w sinceI first saw it.

Here is a link to the latest version. 

I love to scan old photos.
Seriously, being able to scan negatives and slide from my archives is one of my favorite evening pastimes. Set it up, scan and store. It almost becomes a treasure hunt, especially with the negatives.
One thing I was not scanning much were all of the 4×6 photos in my storage boxes. You know, we all have them. The personal records of our lives.
The neg sleeves from the commercial labs, like Fromex, had a short cut to the strips, and was, honestly a bit of a pain to deal with.
There are services where you pack all of your precious family photos into a box, and send them overseas to be scanned. Scared the heck out of me, so never did it.
The I saw a demo of the Epson FastFoto 640 

When I first saw the Epson FastFoto last year, I had a feeling that this was a breakthrough product. Being able to bulk scan my family snaps, with speed, AND scan front and back for the older ones (people used to put notes on the back) was a win. And sitting on a small bit of a desktop? Worked for me!
Until I get to try these things out myself, I can’t truly comment.
After having one to test for a bit. I’m convinced.

Pure winner.
There is one downside that I’ll broach later. Continue Reading »

It’s that time of year when we all look at how to update our tools, and keep up with improvements in your equipment.
Sometimes though, we get tempted to look back at some previous gear that may still have some life.
That’s what I did.
Here are my latest 3 revivals:

Rummaging through some drawers, I came across my Canon S100, digital camera which was truly pocket sized. To give you an idea how long I had this , there was a 1GB SD card in it.

Ordered some fresh batteries, cheap on Amazon, and hit the streets.
Wow!
The color right out of camera was exceptional! With a zoom lens, multiple options for scene choices, this camera has now become a staple in my camera bag. Or my jeans.

It’s not fast, but it still shoots straight!

Then, I was looking at a video camera from DJI, the Osmo Pocket 1st gen.
This is a slim, pocket sized, all in one gimbal , and while only shooting HD, is still a handy device while on a walk about. It does have all of the standard gimbal choices of movement, and shoots stills as well, with a pano stitching feature.

It connects to the DJI Mimo app, which is pretty robust, and has tutorials.
This camera needed some tender loving care (wasn’t charging) from DJI and $70 later, it was as good as new!

DJI repairfolks were all over it and were great communicators! Checked in with call after the repair to make sure all was good.

It records to a Micro SD, and with all of the accessories I had used years before, ithas worked its way back into the content capture repertoire.

They are up to V3 with a larger viewing screen, 4K, and a $600 price tag.
This one is working fine, just needed to add my phone for a larger viewing screen and is quite handy.

The last one (for now)is a utility bit of gear. Power when you need it!

At an event, I saw one of the shooters using a Quantum Turbo SC battery pack to power his speedlight.
I was always a fan as this gave you full power with super fast recycling times, and a looooong time of usage.
I used to work a bit with Quantum lights, which have gone out of favor, but the battery pack could power a bunch of my speedlights, with proper cabling.
My pack wasn’t charging, so I found a repair place on EBAY, and for $50 he repaired the pack, and its as good as new!
I can use it with Nikon, Nissin, and of course, Quantum strobes. Like I said , just need the right cables to connect the battery to the speedlight

The lesson to me was this: I’d rather repair, than recycle.
As long as the gear can be effective.

Sure, there is nothing like getting fresh updated tech, and the dopamine hit from opening that packing , charging it up and working with it.

Sometimes though, you have some quality choices right there in your drawer.
Have a look, you may be surprised. It’s a fun journey, and productive journey.

Don’t get me started about the Contax T3 waiting for a fresh roll of film!

And next up will be the Holiday Gift Guides, so you can still get the new, while appreciating the old.

It’s crazy.
Internet is our life blood, and when it’s slow, or crashes all the time, or maybe needs to reconnect constantly, your life slows down.
In a one bedroom apt I was needing an extender just to increase the reach of the modem/router.
My NYC experience.
Then, in discussions with people who know more than I do, my internet provider, told me my 12 year old modem/router combo unit , was waaaay out of date and, BTW, they were moving to separate pieces of a modem AND router. An upgrade was inevitable.

The extender I had been using was a NetGear, so I checked out their products first.

Enter the NetGear Night Hawk Wi-Fi 7 router RS 300

Yep, wanted you to have the whole name!

With a simple setup to my cable providers modem, all of the sudden, my wi-fi speeds were blazing!
All over my apt!
Plus I was also able to plug in an ethernet connection to the desktop.

It is also future proof, as my internet provider assured me they were upgrading the internet speed for no charge in the coming months and this router is ready!
There is an app associated with the router, so you can test your speed anytime.
Here is mine from this morning:

Screenshot

I know, it may seem like a boring product to purchase and install.
I assume it’s like putting on a new roof on a house.

You absolutely need it, as you will get super fast , UNINTERRUPTED speed.
And you’ll see the advantages immediately.

Happy to unplug the extender as my apt and all devices now have uninterrupted solid wi-fi!
That’s 2 phones, desktop and laptop, 2 tablets, 2 smart TVs, 2 Alexas

To be fair, I did have to reconnect my smart TVs to the new network. Took only minutes.

Phones and computer, and Alexas were already recognizing the change.

Once again, the specs:

Here are some specs:
• WiFi Coverage
2,500 sq. ft. (no, my apt is not that large, but good to know there is room to move))
• Speed
9.3Gbps
• WiFi Bands
– 2.4GHz (2×2), 0.7Gbps, 40MHz, 4K-QAM
– 5GHz (2×2), 2.9Gbps,160MHz, 4K-QAM
– 6GHz (2×2), 5.8Gbps, 320MHz, 4K-QAM
• Processor
Powerful quad-core 2.0GHz processor
• Memory
512MB NAND flash and 2GB RAM
• Antenna
Four (4) high-performance internal antennas and high-power amplifiers(critical part)
• Ports
One (1) 2.5Gbps Internet port
Two (2) 2.5Gbps Ethernet LAN port
Two (2) 10/100/1000Mbps Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports
One (1) USB 3.0 port

You can pick one up here.

Fujifilm had a few intros of new products today for the full range of image makers.There are links to each item for more details on the photos below. Hover and click.

Please note, I have not yet handled any of these units, and will do a real world review once I do.

At the top, there is nothing like a favorite lens getting an improvement!
Seriously, my everyday lens is the Fuji 16-55 2.8, which lives on my X-H2.
Yes, it’s a hunk but it is sharp as a tack, and produces beautiful bokeh.
Today, Fuji announced the revise version of this lens .

The key differences are 37.4% less weight, slightly shorter(43in), and for video production an option for “clickless” aperture: Quiet, and smooth.
The price will be the same as the previous model, $1200 USD.
As a daily user of the 1st edition, less weight and length will bring me in, especially in a street photography situation.
For video, I have been stuck on the 18-55mm, but with these these changes on the 16-55mm, it will be the shift to a one lens situation I have been hoping for.

For the newer content creators they are introducing the X-M5 :

A relatively inexpensive ($800), 26MP camera on a body that can record up to 4K/60P, with powerful digital image stabilization.

Listening to the content creator market’s need, the 3 onboard mics can be configured 4 different ways, with the most unique one being a front and back mic for interview situations. Very cool.

Plus a noise reduction function to reduce things like air conditioner noise.

New bit rates of 8 Mbps and 25 Mbps have been added for users to select from the “Media Recording Settings” when creating video content. These options reduce the transfer time to external devices such as smartphones and improve the time required to upload video directly to social media. 

In that same realm, those that may post direct to Tik Tok, IG stories, or Snap, the X-M5’s new “9:16 short movie mode” also allows users to create vertical videos in camera.

Single SD card slot, and it appears that the older block batteries used in the X-t2 and X100series should work.
Fuji is listening.

Then the latest tele lens, FUJINON XF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR.

Perfect for birding and wildlife photography, with 20 sealing points in the barrel.

Aa sport lens, it has the length and speed, and if the newly leaked news about an AF firmware update pans out you may finally have the Fuji lens the action photographers have been waiting for.
About $3000.

Now awaiting the new firmware update!

When you need support for your camera (or smartphone), and you are on the move, a solid tripod is the call.
On the move is the key phrase as I like to travel as light as possible, while getting the results I need.
Through the years I have tried many solutions, and have come to this list of criteria for the right tool:
*Weight
*Size/Length when closed, and max height
*Versatile ball head
*Price
There are a lot of options out there, and this Manfrotto Befree Advanced AS twist carbon tripod checks all the boxes.

At the end of the post I’ll give you a concise pluses and minuses on this tripod!
Continue Reading »