Jazz Hands At the Camera Shop

It is going to be winter here in Australia in a few months and all of the citizens who have forgotten what it is like to be cold and miserable are going to be reminded. The most poignant ones will be the photographers who will go out on landscape shooting expeditions, get up pre-dawn to freezing conditions on top of the local mountain range, and then try to actually poke away at the controls of their digital cameras.

The cruel amongst us will laugh as their frozen little fingers try to hit the tiny buttons and fail, and their looks of anguish will be treasured. Or they could buy a pair of warm gloves just to spite us...

The trouble with the average warm pair of gloves is that they make the hands inside them feel good, but are only a little less clumsy as they hold the camera. They can be bulky, slippery, and awkward. Enter the Aquatech company with their pair of Sensory Gloves.

They are as warm and toasty as you could want - and I assure you I tried them on in the studio and they were delightful - but they are also safe for camera use. The inside of the palms and fingers are lined with non-slip dots.

In addition, the ends of the forefinger and thumb are fitted with flaps and small holes to allow you to poke your finger through them and activate touch screens or delicate controls. Once done, you can slip the end of the fingers back into the warm.

Luxury? Try half way up Bluff Knoll in a blizzard or out on an Antarctic expedition and see how little luxury costs...

Wrestling With An Octopus

I was put in mind of this analogy when photographing today's product for the column. It also had certain features of trying to hang out wet washing upside down or put a toddler back into a play suit. There were more things to do than could be done and new surfaces kept emerging. I think it was invented by M.C. Escher...

It's the Aquatech All-Weather kits for cameras and lenses - the professional version of the simple plastic bags that people use in winter. The AquaTech ids far and away more successful and versatile, however, and is really the only answer for extra-long and extra-expensive lenses.

The cover goes down your right arm, over the camera and lens, and draw-strings closed at the front. The basic kit gives you perfect cover for a DSLR or mirror-less camera with a standard zoom lens and then there is also a longer supplementary cover for medium telephotos. A separate kit goes for this longer lens cover straight away but I daresay there are extra lens covers that you can add at any time.

The construction is thick nylon cloth with water-protected zippers and a hood over the back part of the camera that goes close to your face. An additional sealed eyepiece means even if water leaks down you it cannot get into the camera.

In short, there are enough seals and snugs at all points of exposure to ensure that you can get your picture without damage. of course, a UV filter at the front of the lens is necessary but you know that already. You can go out into " What the heck am I doing this for? " weather with thousands of dollars worth of camera and lens and come back with thousands of dollars worth of camera and lens...
The difficulty I had was trying to make it look like a sensible package on the table - in the end I just gave up, shot it from several angles, and will leave it to your imagination.

In-store right now, or go to the on-line shop and order it. Aquatech make all sorts of protective gear for photo work but they cannot tell you what you are doing this for...

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

It has finally arrived - rain. Time to consider what to do with your photography for the next three months:

1.   Stay inside and drink.
2.   Go outside and take pictures.
3.   Bring your waterlogged equipment in to the repair department and hope it can be rescued.

Assuming that you won't be permitted to do the first, and you would like to avoid the third, give a thought to some of the products that we stock designed to cope with wet weather.

If you are going to be outdoors in intermittent showers or mist, good camera and lens protection can be had with flexible hoods and pouches made by Op/Tech, Aquatech,Think Tank,or Kata. They range in price, durability, and complexity from simple plastic bag sleeves to fitted raincoats that cover arms, flashes, and long tele lenses. The really cheap ones are really cheap and are a good insurance policy for landscape shooters. The expensive ones are intended for working sports pros or wildlife photographers who might be standing in a drizzle for hours. Of course those of us who have elected to stay inside and drink may burst into laughter at this point, but let's move on.

If it is going to be splashy as well as drizzly, consider one of the Dicapac DSLR or compact housings for your camera. You won't be able to use a long tele, but you can go to a moderate zoom and the thing will happily exclude water to 5 metres. That's money well spent with an expensive camera.

If you don't want to haul out a big DSLR but still want to stand in the rain, Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Panasonic, Olympus, and Fuji all make dedicated little waterproof compact cameras that can dive right in to depths of 3 to 10 metres. Some are even shockproof so when you slip over during the football riot no harm will be done. They give compact results, but these can be very good.

Finally, if you must, you can get specially-made cases for even the largest or oddest DSLR and film cameras. These are the pro jobs that are made of fibreglass, perspex, aluminium, and crystallized money. Expect to be quoted a price that would feed a third world village for a month.

Now, I have to go. There is a Mr. Toddy waiting for me ....inside.

AquaTech ND-3 Housing for sale

We have a pre-owned AquaTech ND-3 housing up for sale. The housing is to suit a Nikon D3 & includes a port for a Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 lens.

The housing has been owned & used by a professional only a few times. Is in mint condition & shows no sign of damage or cosmetic wear. The glass on the port is clean and shows no scratches or knocks. The housing is rated to a depth of 10 meters. Perfect for all kinds of surf photography & general shallow underwater photography. 

RRP is $3249, Come in now and grab a bargain for only $2000 with 14-24mm port included.