Anza Borrego

I spent a couple of days shooting in the Anza Borrego desert. Will post more images when I get back home. Definitely an amazing place.

The amazing Anza Borrego desert.

Pentax 645D User Review

This is a non technical review of the Pentax 645D from a user’s perspective and not a professional camera reviewer (or a writer).  I’m hoping it will be useful to those interested in the camera and those who actually want to use the camera for taking pictures instead of discussing the merits of digital medium format vs smaller formats or comparing images of dollar store props scattered around color charts and bottles.

Continue reading Pentax 645D User Review

Panasonic, are you &*#!%@^ serious ??

All right, I do like the Micro Four Thirds system Panasonic has going, it’s well designed for fully automatic or manual shooting and all the important controls are easy to get to. But like with any camera system, not everything one wants comes with the camera, for example a remote shutter release.

Often times I find myself having the camera on a tripod, especially with the longer lenses to avoid camera shake. While the camera (GH2) has a two second timer that can delay shake from the initial trigger push, it’s not always enough. In addition, if one wants to use the cameras bulb mode for long exposures the build in functions don’t work to well (or at all).

I did some research and found that panasonic sells a remote trigger for the camera and ordered it for my trip to california where I plan to do some long exposures along the coast.

The DMW-RSL1 is essentially a button on a wire that can be locked in the down position. Nothing more, nothing less. It also costs 89 canadian dollars at the local photo chain and comes in at over 100 dollars with local sales tax. This is a shameful money grab on behalf of Panasonic for an accessory that is ridiculously simplistic and does not even provide rudimentary time lapse capabilities like the old nikon coolpix remotes.

I realize that companies want to make an extra buck on accessories, and that is fine, but this here is a blunt rip off. The Pentax remotes that do the same thing (wirelessly) and work with the 645D, a much much more expensive camera cost 33 dollars at B&H or 23 collars on amazon. One would figure that the accessories for high end gear would be more money because the end customer already spent thousands of dollars on the initial system so 100 extra dollars here and there is not a big deal given the initial cost of the system.

Shame on you Panasonic.

The Panasonic DMW-RSL1 Button on a wire.