Posts Tagged ‘kit’
Canon Remote RC-1 Review
Specs:
- Connectivity Technology: Infrared
- Supported Cameras: 5D Mark II, Canon 300D, 400D, 450D, 500D
- Max Operating Distance: 5 metres
- Price: £20
Review
For those people that own any of the above cameras I would recommend the RC-1 remote control. The size is perfect for fitting in my small travel backpack and I’m glad that it isn’t connected by a wire to the camera.
The remote has three modes, immediate shot, 2 sec delay and off. The 2 second delay mode is extremely useful, as its gives you enough time to hide the remote when you want to be in a photograph taken by yourself.
The only negative thing I can say about the remote is that it can be a problem to get it to work from behind the camera – as the infrared receiver is on the front of the camera. The remote works fine about 1/2 a metre away from the back of the camera, anything more then you might have to start moving round the side. However i never find this an issue as I’m normally right behind the camera when I shoot.
Pros:
-Small size.
-Clips on to strap.
-2 Second mode.
Cons:
-Can be a pain using it behind the camera.
Tags: Canon Remote RC-1, kit, Review
Posted in Photography (All), Reviews & Tips | No Comments »
Lowepro Rezo 160 Shoulder Bag Review
- 4 holders for compact flash cards.
- Dimensions – 23.9 x 21.3 x 14.5 cm
- Water resistant cover
- 2 comparments
- Price approx £23
Review
For my back packing trip around Australia and New Zealand I was looking for a small camera bag to hold my 400D Camera and 2 lenses (28-135mm 3.5-5.6 + 10-22mm 3.5-4.5) both with filters and lens hood. I’m glad I picked the Lowepro Rezo 160 Shoulder Bag as it did the job well. From scorching 40 Celsius Australia Outback heat to the Freezing Glaciers of New Zealand the bag protected my kit. The water resistant cover also came in useful, as to my surprise it rained a lot in Sydney (one of the wettest days of 2008!). For me this bag is an ideal travel bag as it easy to get access the camera while the bag is still on you.
Now to the limits of the bag. The largest lens I’ve managed to fit in the bag while fixed to the camera is a 200mm 2.8L Canon Lens – with filter & hood on – and this is a squeeze! I’ve recently updated my kit and replaced the 28-135mm with a 24-105mm 4L Lens. With the new lens attached to the camera with filter and hood on the equipment fits with a little room to spare – see the image below. This still leaves enough room for the 10-22mm Lens or a 430ex flash gun.
If you own a XXD model I would recommend up sizing to a Lowepro Rezo 180 Shoulder Bag. But for owners of XXXXD and XXXD Cameras this should suit your needs.
Pros:
-Water resistant cover is very useful and it works.
-Can easily hold accessories ie compact flash cards, filters, batteries.
-Very Useful for carry on luggage.
-Easy access to get the camera out while you have the bag on.
-Good padding all round the bag.
Cons:
-May become a tight squeeze for XXD models. XD models will defiantly not fit!
-The single strap used to carry the bag can dig in if you over load your bag.
Tags: Bag, kit, Lowepro Rezo 160 Shoulder Bag, Review
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Travel Photography – Kit Guide
This post is a collection of hits and tips of what equipment to take for backpacking trips. Below is a list of what I took around Australia and New Zealand for 5 weeks, plus some other product recommendations. These aren’t intended to be set rules but just an aid in making decision before you set off.
Cameras
If you own a SLR I’d recommend taking a compact too. My wife took a Canon PowerShot A590 IS Digital Camera (8.0 MP, 4xOptical Zoom)
If you don’t own a SLR and you want to pack very light on camera equipment I would recommend the following…
I met quite a few people with this type of advance digital camera who were travelling for 6 – 12 months, and they suited their needs.
The SLR I took was a Canon 400D, this suited my needs as it’s quite light and didn’t require too much room in my bag.
Accessories for your SLR Camera
The price tag of a battery grip put me off the idea of using one, so I purchased an additional battery pack which worked out fine. I would admit that if your were travelling somewhere very remote with no wall socket for days, then a battery grip that can take AA batteries would be worth the investment.
My Remote control came in handy for long exposure photography. If you want to save a few pounds you can use the delay on the shutter to get a good night shot – however you will have to wait a few seconds every time.
Lenses
I’d recommend taking only 2-3 lenses maximum. The main lens you need to suit travel photography is a good all round zoom lens. See the recommendations below.
I took a 28-135mm IS f3.5-5.6 lens. This provided a balance on range and quality. I was especially impressed with the result from a Glacier trip.
Suitable additional lenses are the following.
The other lens I took was a 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 lens. This worked great for landscape shots.
Lens hoods
I also took the lens hoods for both these lenses. These did aid in reducing lens flare, however they were mainly used to protect the lens. I know hoods are not cheap for what you get (a bit of plastic) but they reduced the scuffs and bumps on the filter and lens.
Filters
I took a polariser for each lens and had a standard UV filter for protection. With the weather down under been mainly sunny (we did get some rain) the polariser worked great in bringing detail and depth to the blue skies.
Memory
I took 30GB of Memory with me, which I just filled in 5 weeks. Memory is so cheap now – if I had have ran out there where plenty of shops about to buy more. If you are going to see any wildlife I would recommend purchasing fast memory. I went on a dolphin trip and needed all the fps I could get, using the SanDisk CompactFlash 4GB Extreme III memory my buffer never maxed out.
Bag
I took a lot of time in researching this purchase and left it last on my list as I wanted to make sure everything I wanted to take would fit in.
The Lowe Pro bag was at its limit with
- Canon 400D Camera
- 28-135mm lens with lens hood
- 10-22mm lens with lens hood
- 72mm polarizing filter
- 77mm polarizing filter
- rc-5 remote
- cleaning cloth
- Spare battery
- 5 compact flash cards
Tripod
I knew I wanted to do some long exposures, so some form of stability would be required. I settled on the gorillapod in the end after reading a few reviews.
In terms of price and size its great value. It managed with the weight from the camera and lenses fine. The only negative point I have about it is that it’s frustrating to get into the right shape. To aid this I got a tripod head – Manfrotto MN-484RC2 Ball Head this made positioning a lot easier.
The gorillapod came in really useful in Sydney.
In the 5 weeks down under I took mainly wildlife, landscape and cityscape photographs. This set up suited me fine. I support the rule that less is better when travelling – it makes you more creative to get the most of what you have.
Tags: guide, kit, Travel
Posted in Photography (All), Reviews & Tips, Travel | No Comments »
