Tune-Up Time With Manfrotto

How many of us get a tool kit with our new digital cameras these days? In the old film days it was common for the box containing the SLR or rangefinder camera to have a complete tool pouch including a stilson wrench, set of spanners, lens brace, film jack, and a bottle of optical antiseptic. In the case of some Kodak cameras you got a 8-round clip of .30-06 ball ammunition and a toothbrush.

I think we are being done - nowadays you're lucky to get a battery charger and a squidgy little lens cloth with some. Even the instruction manuals are on a CD...or are a web address.

Well, all that having been said, it is refreshing to see that Manfrotto, the famous Italian tripod and lighting accessory manufacturer, has realised that users of their equipment still like to be able to maintain the goods. Their recent carbon-fibre monopod model is a...well... a model of a good product. It works and will keep on working.

The monopod idea is brilliant for anyone who is toting heavy cameras or lenses and needs some relief from the weight. I spend 4 hours shooting dancers on WA Day with a long zoom and a heavy little camera. The Manfrotto monopod I use - an early cousin of this one - takes all the weight out of my arms and puts it down, while not occupying a big triangular patch of floor. Makes the difference between an easy job and a arm breaker.

Well, like some older Manfrotto CF tripods, this one has three lever claps to adjust the sections. Far faster than screwing the sections together like some cheaper monopods. As they are acting on springs, there will come a time when they grow weaker, and need to be adjusted. This is where Manfrotto have been smart - they moulded a plastic box spanner onto a grip and clipped it to the shaft of the monopod.

If the weather changes or the equipment ages, you just tighten up as you go.

Brilliant. Combine it with the Manfrotto 234 or 234RC tilt top and you've got the smartest quick support in town.

Sirui For The Not Quite So Serious - Part Two

Okay. You have your new mirror-less system camera, you have a card and a battery and have read the instruction book.

You have booked a trip to the Landscape Coast during the sunset season. You are all set to make fabulous postcard views and insightful artistic statements...and you only need one more thing.
You need a tripod.

Trust us. The Landscape Coast will supply all the ocean and sunset you can handle but if you are trying to capture it by balancing the camera on the bonnet of the tour company's 4WD you will be disappointed with the results.

Sirui to the rescue with an extremely lightweight travel tripod plus ball head combination, The T 024X and C10X come as a package deal inside a nylon travel bag. It is ideal for you as a mirror-less user whether you are walking out to the coast or out to the airplane...in both cases weight is a factor and at .8 Kg this choice is a blessing. All thanks to a lightweight yoke casting and carbon fibre legs.

It will hold up to 6 Kg of camera and lens so it is unlikely that you can exceed the spec there. It will come up to 139 cm. so you can deal with your camera out on the rocks with some comfort and confidence. It is weather-resistant so when you are caught by the spray or rain you are not in too much trouble.

The head has an Arca Swiss-fitting quick release and plate - you are not going to have to fumble about in the dark trying to attach the camera. The usual bells and whistles - weight hook at the bottom, reversible column, macro column, and leg spread ( ...for when you graduate to lying in the mud taking pictures of mushrooms...don't laugh...it is coming...)

The leg locks are the screw type and go to a slim line to fit in that carry bag. The whole thing folds back 180º on itself to become smaller. You can easily fit it into your suitcase for longer trips.


Safety note: That red button on the side of the ball head is a saving feature. If the Arca Swiss-size jaws are loosened, it prevents the quick release plate and your camera from lurching sideways onto the ground.

Tripod tip from the experienced. Put three bits of cardboard - or better three bits of carpet tile - into your pocket when you head out into the bush or down to the beach. Put these down as pads under the legs and they won't disappear into soft sand or moss. Much more stability.

Second tripod tip. Wrap one of the CF legs with a strip of reflective tape so that you can see the little beggar in the twilight and don't stumble over it.

Sirui For The Serious - Part One

Sirui? Are you serious? Sure we are.

The larger of the Sirui tripods that appeared in the Little Studio turns out to be a compact design - the company recognizes that people are travelling more these days and need to travel lighter. We also know that they may be travelling with the DSLR rather than the mirror-less systems - hence the need to hold heavier loads.

The Sirui T 2204X and the Sirui K30 X are partners - albeit partners that you have to purchase separately and mate together. They are designed for supporting the larger system cameras while still retaining lightness and compact size themselves. These are components for people who are going to stand at the airline counter and look over the excess-baggage price list with nervousness.

The tripod starts out as a carbon fibre design with screw-lock legs. The yoke is a lightweight forged casting - more weight saved. It folds back 180º into itself for space saving. it packs into a nylon case with the K-30 X head still attached.

You might just get away with it in the cabin locker or at least not get charged extra in the hold. Give it a try and remember to be pleasant - you never know your luck.

The whole rig only weighs 1.9 Kg all up and can support up to 30 Kg. You want to ponder going out in the morning with 30 Kg of photo equipment stacked around you - mainly ponder what you'll feel like as you come back at night. Perhaps best to take only three giant telephoto lenses out at a time, eh?

Whatever the state of your joints and back at 6:00 PM at least you will know that the Sirui T 2204X / K30X combo is not responsible for the pains. Hope the pictures come out okay.

The Single Most Important Tripod You Can Own

There's a dramatic statement that will bring a cheer to the lips of the wholesalers - praise indeed for this Manfrotto Befree tripod. They are going to have to be careful when they say the name - it is the MVKBFR-LVE - but it is well worth the attention of the video shooter.

Most of the tripods that have been reviewed in this column are intended for still camera use - from big studio jobs to tiny travel models. They may feature three-way or ball heads but they rarely pan and tilt in a way that would help a video maker. This Manfrotto product is different.

Oh, it has many of the standard Manfrotto features - it folds back upon the centre column to save carrying space and it has four-tube extension legs with lever locks. The leg angles are dictated by swivel levers at the top that allow several angles of splay. There is a hook on the centre column to allow you to put a weight on it to further steady the assembly. So far, so normal.

The part that departs is at the top of the centre column. Manfrotto have included a levelling cup  - it is the part you see in red in the illustration with a locking collar above it. Like the bigger-cousin leveling heads on larger Manfrotto gear, this allows the videographer to set up the legs on ground than may have a pronounced slope and then correct the position of the video head so that it is absolutely level. 

This means that panning action will be level as well and the camera operator will not be fighting the camera as it comes to the end of a long shot. To assure the user that they have indeed corrected the list there is a spirit level on the panning plane.

Okay, you have the tripod set up and the head leveled. The next thing to do is to attach the camera and here Manfrotto have used their standard long video mount with provision for anti-twist pins. The plate slides in from the breech and is locked in with a thumb screw. You should not be able to inadvertently dump you video camera out the breech either - there is a positive lock that must be slid open to allow it to come out.

The control of the camera's movement is dependant upon a long control lever out the back - Manfrotto have realised that different people need different lever angles and have put a user-adjustable arc on the head.

The smoothness of the camera movement is of prime concern - this is damped with a fluid drag head in pan and tilt - you can increase resistance to slow things down.

But we are still left with the dramatic statement there in the header - "most important"...aficionados of other tripod brands might cavil at this. But consider - the most important influence on any video sequence is not the actors or the props - it is the steadiness with which the thing is perceived on the screen. Do what you like with 4K and frame rates and framdamboozle synchronization...if the picture jumps on the screen everyone knows you are a dud.

The most important tripod you can have is the one you carry with you all the time - and USE all the time - and with something as small and sturdy as this Manfrotto, there is no reason you cannot use it for every shot. Then everybody will be ready for their close-up, Mr. DeMille.

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Camera Electronic's 12 Days of Christmas sale starts today! 12 days of 12 great offers, valid for that day only online and in-store. Today is 30% off selected tripods, including the entire Manfrotto range. See here for all Day 1 deals.  Keep your eye on our e-newsletter, website and Facebook for the 12 days Christmas period!

Red And Black - Stendhal's Tripod

Go On. Look it up. Better yet...read it.

This tripod from Manfrotto - one of  the BeFree series - addresses four complaints I have had about other firm's work in the past. In addition to a great deal of Italian style, I am delighted that:

1. The tripod has colour. All too many of them are black and dull, and apart from the aesthetics of that, they are a camouflaged menace in a darkened studio, or out in open air after dark. A black tripod has three black legs splayed out there just waiting to trip up the unwary or hard of seeing.

2. The leg angle adjustment can be made with one hand, and is not hard to understand. I've owned tripods that concealed their angle adjustments in under the leg itself and then invited you to insert your fingers in there....Then they snapped shut like a nutcracker! These red ( thank you, Manfrotto ) levers have three possies - closed, tall leg, or short leg, and that is it.

3. When it folds back together on itself for travel, the three legs have somewhere to go close to the quick release holder. Many other tripods adopt the folder leg but when they come home to roost there is no room for it.

4.The smaller knobs are actually shaped bars that define which way to turn them to loosen or tighten the screw. This is again a blessing in a darkened studio or paddock.

See the Manfrotto range on the Camera Electronic website here

Bargain Alert - Dawn Patrol

This is an extra late-night bonus weblog post for Tuesday, the 29th of November. The heading picture shows what was happening in the Stirling Street store this morning at about 11:00.

I recognise the activity. The staff are either setting out a stack of Cullmann tripods for a once-in-a-lifetime clearance sale or are constructing an anti-aircraft mounting for a Lewis gun. Given that this is one of centennial years of WW1 either conclusion is possible.

If you need a tripod for your DSLR or mirror-less camera at a bargain price, or would just like a shot at a passing Halberstadt you should repair to 230 Stirling Street early in the morning and get in while the getting is good.

I use a Concept 622T tripod with my Fujifilm outfits and it has been one of the best purchases of my digital career. I note there are some of them in the stack and also some of their heavier brothers. No idea what the prices are likely to be but they are going to go and the people they go to are going to be happy.

Press The Button, Max!

 

I used to be a dentist and a rifle shooter. You needed a steady hand for both sports, particularly if you wished to do them on the same subject at the same time. You could go for the trifecta and attempt to thread a needle as well, but few people went in for that sort of thing...

On the photo side of things, we have long been enjoined to use some form of steadier to fire off our cameras. If we are trying to get the ultimate sharpness that the sensor is capable of, we need to shoot without moving the camera.

We use tripods, and in the Little Studio, I use a studio stand, to hold the apparatus firm. I turn off the VR or OS or VC mechanism. And up until now I have been connecting a mechanical cable release or electric switch to the Fujifilm cameras and shooting that way after I presumed that all vibrations had died away.

Today I conducted an experiment with one of the quieter Fujifilm cameras - the X-100 - to see just how much improvement is to be had. I used a bare finger on the release button, a soft release pad on the shutter button, and a mechanical cable release. The conclusion is that the cable release is no better than the soft release.

If you have a solid tripod or stand, the action of a finger shot is no worse than the complexity of the cable release. There is always the option of engaging the self-timer in the menu at 2 or 10 seconds and letting vibration damp down in that interval. I do like the soft releases in hand-held shooting, and also find them to be valuable in the studio.

Where an electric switch release is a blessing is when you need to be over near a studio flash holding a flag or a gel to modify the light at the time you release the shutter. You can shoot the electric switch with one hand...or stomp on it on the floor...while the other hand(s) are engaged. Just don't expect to be able to do the exact same thing two times in a row.

Note, your camera needs to have a threaded release button, like a Leica or a Fujifilm to be able to take the spigot of the soft release. Flat finger pads can have something glued on the top to spread the load but this is do-it-yourselfery.

PS: I still shoot the occasional tooth out of someone's head but this is only to amuse the children at Christmas lunch.

Note the UD photo-tip - the plug for the electric release is a tight fit in the camera and it's hard to grasp it for removal. The tape wrapped around the end means it pulls out easily and safely.

Uncle Dick

Okay Guys...Or Second-Guessing The Market

I'm not in the loop of CE management as far as what gets purchased. And I'm not in the loop of CE management about what gets sold, either. Frankly I'm grateful that they still let me in the front door and I get the occasional cup of coffee...

Which means I was delighted to see the presence of an official CE coffee machine at the new Murray/Queen St. shop. Note the We Love Photography mugs.

In my first visit to the new shop I noted carefully the choices that had been made regarding some lines of equipment. Of course you will always get the big players - the Nikon, Leica, Sony, Fujifilm, Canon, Olympus, Pentax, etc - but it is the choices of what to stock for the other bits that is interesting. I looked at what was there and tried to see into the minds of the management - why was something chosen for the shelf?

a. Tripods. You'll see from the quick shot that we have essentially three shelves of tripods and monopods. I see Gitzo, Manfrotto, and one Velbon. The Gitzos are the high-priced ones, the Manfrotto more economical and the Velbon the low end. They are ALL not big tripods - in fact three of them would qualify as traveller tripoids. There is a sprinkling of video gear there, including one video moonopod. Here's how I read it:

The shop caters to pros as well as amateurs - and some of the pros need big things like that video monopod. They can get that at Stirling Street but they might need it at a time when Stirling St. is closed - hence it is wise to keep one unit in the city. The Gitzo gear is expensive traveller or high-end customer...and some of these may work all hours on St. Georges Tce. and can't get out to Stirling St.

Manfrotto tripods are a standard of the industry as far as design so nearly everyone else from tourists to city workers can be accommodated with one model or the other. Manfrotto are a no-question sale.

And the little plastic one at the bottom? Well, you never can tell when a traveller's luggage will disappear and if their tripod goes with it they need a fast, cheap replacement here in Perth.  That could well be the emergency pack for photographers right there.

b. Bags. I see the in two divisions - style and utility. The various hanging leather and canvas ones in the first photograph are intended to look good as well as protect the cameras - in some circumstances the appearance of the camera case is more important that the gear it contains - people have been judged on externals more than you'd think.

The Lowepro bags in the second shot are the workhorses of transport - people can load a whole holiday's worth of equipment in them and haul it through the world with some hope of geting it home in one piece. I know - I've got a ratty old Lowepro Nova1 that did just that and it was precisely the right blue nylon choice for the job. It looked like exactly what it was but it rounded the world twice.

c. The Hahnel rack. When you want to control flashes or cameras remotely and you need to do it with radio signals rather than light pulses, Hahnel should be one of the first brands you look at. The designs are sturdy, use standard AA batteries, and do not depend on you having WiFi, apps, passwords, or strange computer commands. They are a simple as they can be and they work every time. Good choice for the trigger market.

Okay, so far I think the management has thought it all out well. You may agree, but then you may have also different needs. I didn't get to see all of the shelves - perhaps you should pop in there one day this coming week and see for yourself. I'm going back when they have a bag of coffee beans.

The new Murray St store is now open at 2/324 Murray St, Perth.
The Stirling St store remains open at 230 Stirling St, Perth.
For opening hours, see here

Seriously Tripod

Seriously tripod. Seriously light. Seriously Gitzo.*

The travel tripod is a major division of the photo accessory world - thank goodness. People have recognised that they need the sort of support that a tripod brings to their architecture, travel, and landscape shots. Even with the mind-boggling stabilisation systems on board modern cameras (Ask the Fujifilm, Nikon, and Olympus reps about this next time they have a demonstration day in the shop, but be prepared for a full lecture...).

People still need the tripod for the 1/2 second to 1/2 hour exposure. And if they are going overseas they need to take something light to do it with.

The Gitzo tripod you see in these pictures is probably the best light tripod in the world. It has positive twist locks on the carbon fibre legs. Also reversible legs, an extendable centre column, and two position stops on the legs. The head is probably the slickest casting you have ever seen and the ball that revolves in it is freely adjustable for friction - but when it is released from constraint it is the smoothest turning one I have ever felt.

There is a wealth of good thinking as well. The triangular shape of the quick release platform is not just an attempt at art deco Gallic style - it is shaped that way to allow the legs to fold in tight when it is closed into travel configuration. Some other tripods from some other manufacturers fail in this area - I know because I own one - and the legs tend to jam out when you try to put it into a bag.

The finish and fit on the head is also of such a high standard as to suggest art as well as utility. Go for utility by all means but please your eye at the same time...

* The bottom line is that it is expensive. If you are pinching pennies pass further down the car. This tripod is intended for the people who need or want the best and can afford it. They pay now and never have to buy it again.

Note: I used a Gitzo Studex IV tripod to take the pictures of the Gitzo travel tripod. I'll never buy another because I simply can neither fault it nor wear it out. At my age, it has prettier legs than I do.

See the full Gitzo range on the Camera Electronic website here.

The Gambol With the Gimbal

Never gamble with your gimbal when you gambol with the sambal...the deer that is, not the hot sauce. You're on your own with the hot sauce.

The product today is mechanical, rather than optical. It has no glass in it, but several moving parts. It is second cousin to a gun mount, but not nearly as noisy.

The underslung gimbal mounting  - also known as a Wimberley mounting after one of the many makers - is a form of suspension for specialist use in photography. Shooters who want to use long telephoto lenses and who need to follow the movement of wild animals, aircraft, racing cars, surfers, or field sports players will be interested. It is the answer to a number of their needs.

At this point let me introduce an analogy that was explained to me when I asked about the differences  flying helicopters as opposed to fixed-wing aircraft. I was asked to think of a large imaginary bowl in the sky - hemispherical and slippery.

The fixed-wing aircraft rides inside this bowl. If it is up on the inside surface of the bowl...in a bank, turn, or climb - and the pilot lets go - the plane runs down the inside of the bowl and settles into a stable position on the bottom.

The helicopter rides on the outside surface of an inverted bowl. When the pilot takes his hands off the controls the helicopter falls down over the outside of the bowl. The pilot needs to fly it all the time.

The operator of a big, long, heavy telephoto lens mounted on a ball head tripod is in the same position as the helicopter pilot - the lens is either held up all the time or locked in position. It is unstable. Gravity is trying to take it off centre.

The underslung mount is generally on a tripod, but when an unwieldy lens is mounted, natural forces cradle it at the bottom of the arc of swing on the mount - it retuns to a stable position. It is much less fatiguing to watch and wait with it.

This example of the underslung gimbal is by Promaster and is a marvel of economy. It is heavy and precise enough to stand the long commercial lenses, however it has smooth damped action as it swings about. It is like operating a good gun mount.

Like a gun mount, it has marked divisions on the turntable and on the horizontal axis. I can't really say why they are there because most photographers would not fire their cameras to instructions from a director, but perhaps they are there because it looks cool. The mounting platfom rises up and down to accommodate different lenses and there is a channel grip at the bottom of it that is stated on the box as " industry standard ". They really mean Arca -Swiss but they don't say it because I'll bet their lawyers warned them off.

The whole assembly is well made and would be a good alternative to a ball head or three-way for the nature and outdoor shooter.

Kit Without Being Kitsch - the Fujifilm 18-55 lens

Sometimes you look out over the vast heaving sea of camera lenses and all you can see to the horizon is...kit lenses. Whether they are attached to Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Sony, or Fujifilm digital cameras*, they are there in serried ranks - ready to head out to take the initial shots.

People sometimes think of them as stop-gap measures...lenses that you use until you can purchase something bigger and longer and faster and more expensive...training-wheel lenses, if you will. Well, as a camera shop we would never discourage you from buying more lenses, but we can let you into a litle secret at the outset...kit lenses are very good.

It's percentages really - you can say that, for an average shooter, the camera set at factory defaults and on an automatic setting will deliver the picture they want about 85% of the time. It's the same for the kit lens - Average Joe or Average Jane will get what they need 85% of the time with the kit lens - particualrly if it is an 18-55mm focal range for an APS-C camera.

Of course as they advance in knowledge and skill, they become Excellent Joe and Excellent Jane and find they need wider, faster, longer, closer, etc in their lenses. And they can expect to pay more money and we can expect to take it. Isn't nature wonderful? But there is still a solid foundation of goodness in that kit lens.

The 18-55mm f:2.8-4 R LM OIS lens from Fujifilm can be clapped onto a new X-T2, X-Pro2, X-E2s, X-T10...or any of their older cousins...and for the most part stay clapped on there. It would be a very hard choice to beat for family pictures, casual portraits, landscape trips, holidays, car shots, pet shots, and product shots.

I could do a great wedding with one - I use flash for weddings - and the people who use the higher ISO settings on the newer cameras could do pretty much as well. The facility of not having to change lenses between shots would be priceless. For the techno-geeks out there who point out the inherently higher distortion percentages of any zoom lens vs any prime lens my answer would be: " When was the last time you saw a bride who was made up of right angles? ".

The OIS is the key to most of what this baby can do on the run. Lots of camera systems now have some form of stability aid - some are in the lenses and some in the bodies. This one goes with the Fujifilm idea of having it in the lens - whatever type, the effect is to allow you to use two shutter speeds slower than you could normally hold without paying a picture penalty. It won't take the place of a tripods for some work but it'll get you closer to that decision line than before.

As a trip lens it would be perfect if you were going to do urban and semi-rural pictures. I'd not hesitate to use it as the ONLY lens for a European or North American tour if I was not out in the bear-and-mountain-goat belt. Everything else would be well within the reward zone. Note: for wildlife you need longer lenses and for little life you need the Fujifilm 60mm macro lens. But you knew that already.

The one clincher for a kit lens is the price - they are often significantly less expensive than the exotic lenses in any manufacturer's range. Combine that with their utility and you've got a combo that you can't really beat! They're easy to pickup...( groan...)

*No, Virginia, you can't attach the same lens to all the cameras. At least not without a hammer and bad language...