Gary's Photography Blog

Sony DSLR shutter count

2014-05-17T03:45:00.002-07:00

now as anybody with a Sony DSLR will know the camera doesn't tell you what the total shutter count is so for quite a while it was impossible to tell. There is however a website that allows you to upload a photo to and it checks the exif data for you and gives you the total shutter count. My A450 is currently on 39165 photos.

link to the site http://tools.science.si/index.php

Tamron 70-300 USD

2014-04-17T03:41:00.000-07:00

very impressed with this lens, AF is fast and image quality is excellent

this is one of the first photos taken with it

Jessops, it's still not the best customer experiance

2014-04-11T13:46:00.000-07:00

A while ago, before it shut down and re-opened I tried to order online from Jessops, the camera I tried to order wasn't in stock and there was no chance of getting it, Jessops didn't tell me this, I only found out when I contacted them a few days later and the camera was needed as a birthday present so I had no choice but to go out and buy one there and then, I then decided never to order online from them, since it's now quite famously under new ownership I thought I'd try again.

I needed a new telephoto zoom lens as my old one was broken (AF failed), I decided which one I wanted (Tamron 70-300 usd), Jessops had it listed and it was equally the cheapest I could find - my local camera shop doesn't stock this lens and given the choice between ordering from Amazon or a dedicated camera shop, I chose the camera shop - I figure by supporting the camera shop they will be more likely to survive and be there when I want to look at something in store.

So I ordered the lens on the Friday, on the item it said "special order - delivery usually within 30 days" and "free next day delivery". 30 days vs next day is quite a difference. The lens wasn't in stock, I only know this because I checked the online tracking and it told me it's on back order, it's a good job I don't need the lens in a hurry. How about changing the website so when an item isn't in stock it doesn't keep saying free next day delivery?

After a week I contacted them on their website using the click to chat instant messaging function, here I was told it will be up to 28 days from point of order, same as the email confirmation, he didn't check to see if there was any other information available, he just quoted the standard delivery times (which could be 28 days, could be 30 days - they say different things in different places). I made a suggestion they change the website and order confirmation so they no longer say conflicting things, I was polite about it, I was making what I think is a fairly straight forward and common sense suggestion, I didn't get a reply though, that's where the conversation just ended, after a while I closed down the web page.

So one week in, no lens and not the best customer service either - lets hope it gets better soon.

update, two weeks in and still no lens, I tried using the click to chat again only to be told that they can't check on the progress of an order and I was given a premium rate phone number to call or an email address to contact them on. Unfortunately as soon as they finish a click to chat it asks for feedback on the service, clearing the conversation including the contact details I'd just been given. I've found an email address on the website so I've emailed that.

update 2, so I've had a reply to the email, apparently my lens will be delivered to them later this week and delivered to me by the weekend.

update 3, lens still not here and it's showing as back ordered online still, it's three weeks since I ordered it

update 4, delivered, at last. Only a few days short of 4 weeks, I don't think I'll be ordering from Jessops again in the near future.

Photowalk - Science and Technology Facilities Society buildings - choice of 4

2014-03-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

The Science and Technology Facilities Society have organised a series of photo walks around some of their buildings in June and July of this year - more details are available at http://www.stfc.ac.uk/photowalk

there is also a competition that they are running along side this with a top prize of £750 or a trip to CERN

minolta 100-200 f4.5 sample images

2014-03-22T05:11:00.001-07:00

minolta 100-200 f4.5, a set on Flickr.

These were all taken with my minolta 100-200 f4.5 lens

tamron 10-24 sample images

2014-03-22T05:10:00.001-07:00

tamron 10-24, a set on Flickr.

these were all taken with my tamron 10-24mm wide angle lens

sony 18-55 kit lens sample images

2014-03-22T05:09:00.001-07:00

sony 18-55 kit lens, a set on Flickr.

these were all taken with the Sony 18-55 kit lens, the mk1 version

sony 30mm macro sample images

2014-03-22T05:02:00.001-07:00

sony 30mm macro, a set on Flickr.

This is a set of photos taken with my 30mm 2.8 macro lens - the SAL30M28.. As a macro lens it's ok, it doesn't have the working distance of a longer focal length lens but it's very sharp.

New lens - Tamron SP 70-300mm f4-5.6 Di USD Lens

2014-03-21T13:46:00.003-07:00

This lens is on it's way to me, it's to replace my broken Sigma 70-300, the sigma stripped it's focus gears and isn't worth paying to get fixed. It also had fairly poor image quality so even if it still worked I would have been considering replacing it. The old Sigma has the same aperture as the new lens, the new lens however should have much better image quality and also much faster auto-focus thanks to it's USD focus motors.

I haven't decided what I'm going to do with the sigma yet - they do sell for about £10-£15 broken on ebay - there is enough of them breaking that I'm able to make this prediction.

When the new lens arrives I'll do some side by side comparisons of the two lenses to show the difference in IQ.

I'm also considering selling my minolta 100-200mm f4.5, when the sigma was working I hardly used the minolta, IQ was a touch better on the minolta but because the sigma has a much greater range that was the one I kept in my camera bag.

perfect effects 8 - grunge strong filter

2014-02-11T14:22:00.001-08:00

For a limited time onone software's picture effects 8 is being given away - see link below
www.ononesoftware.com/landing/pe8offer/

I've been having a play with it, the first photo here is straight out of camera, the second one is with the grunge strong effect added.

restoration sign, a photo by GaryDavidson on Flickr.

restoration sign perfect effects 8 - grunge strong filter, a photo by GaryDavidson on Flickr.

DIY camera/flash mount

2014-01-29T07:59:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I half cheated, I bought the ball mount. It was from ebay and cost less than £5 so there is no way I'm going to build one. I'll also confess to cheating with the other half as well, I didn't make the clamp. I already had it but I had to drill the hole a bit bigger to fit the bolt through. So yes all I really did was bolt one to the other.

It's not perfect, a DSLR is too heavy and moves about a bit, but it will work fine for a compact camera or for a flash. I was thinking about drilling a new hole further up the clamp but there is supporting plastic on the inside that I don't want to drill out, I think it will weaken the clamp too much. Instead I'll keep an eye out for a better clamp to use.

2013-12-08T12:09:00.000-08:00

I gatecrashed an autotest today to fill a few hours, this was part of the HERO LEJOG rally

what is HERO?

basically anything over 30 year old is allowed in

what is LEJOG

entry starts at £2500 so it should come as no surprise that something like this is was the first car through

add in a few of these

and that many of these I haven't counted them all

how about some big old mercs

I liked this SAAB

there were about 3 or 4 golfs

a one headlight wonder

proper mini

a much more down to earth porsche

some old rovers

a few random others

So, are these cars rare enough for you? No, then get ready to say "epic fucking spot" a few times.....

enjoy

Clayton-Le-Woods Service Reservoir

2013-10-28T14:43:00.002-07:00

Clayton-Le-Woods Service Reservoir was originally built in 1883-84, this reservoir was built to provide water for the Leyland area in Lancashire. The Reservoir was taken out of service back in the 1940's but remained as a backup until the 1980's. It's now about to be demolished to make way for some new homes. Before it gets pulled down they have opened it up to the public so I took a wander around with my camera. Here are some of the photographs.

The whole set of photos are available on my flickr page
http://www.flickr.com/photos/garyd155/sets/72157636729458594/with/10367378815/

Lego Camera

2013-06-29T15:25:00.001-07:00

I'm a member of Leyland Photographic Society and we have 5 themed competitions, one of them for next year is 'shadows', this could be my entry unless I take something better.

Lego Camera, a photo by GaryDavidson on Flickr.

SALT 7 - Soviet Auto Luxury Tours - Cheshire

2013-06-12T04:49:00.003-07:00

This weekend I hitched a ride along in a Trabant for the SALT tour around Cheshire, visiting both Hack Green secret nuclear bunker and Jodrel Bank telescope.

here are a few photos all taken with my Lomo lens

I've still got a load more photos to process that I'll get put up soon.

getting out and about and shooting.......at last

2013-04-18T13:02:00.001-07:00

It's been quite a while since I last updated my blog, I've not been out much with my camera so that's my excuse. I've mainly been sat in my living room hunting cars down on the internet for my project instead. But this weekend I'm off for the first shoot, I'm going to a Porsche 924, can't wait.

My Next Photography Project - 50 'Crap' Car

2013-01-29T04:18:00.002-08:00

I’m ready to launch my latest photography project, this one I’m basing it on a book called ‘Crap Cars’ by Richard Porter (link - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0563522100) In the book he lists 50 cars that he believes to be the 50 worst cars ever made. Now this is this opinion, but I think there are many others who disagree with him and love these cars.

So my project is to meet 50 people who love these cars, one for each car and tell their story, I’m hoping they’ll be quite interesting. I’ll find out why they love them even though for others they aren’t exactly their dream car.

Some of the cars on the list are going to be quite difficult to track down – according to the website howmanyleft.co.uk, there are no Alfa Romeo Arnas left on the road in the UK. Also there are only four Subaru XTs left and I’m a bit worried about finding a Hyundai Pony – there must be somebody out there who loves this car enough to have looked after one? The scrappage scheme will have taken quite a few of these off the roads making the whole job that bit harder.

This is the list of cars

50. Lancia Monte Carlo

49. Porsche 924

48. Ford Scorpio

47. Cadillac STS

46. Renault Safrane

45. Jaguar XJ40

44. Ford Escort MK1V

43. Yugo Sana

42. Mitsubishi 3000GT

41. Rover 800

40. Volvo 340

39. Delorean DMC-12

38. Vauxhall Belmont

37. Triumph TR7

36. Rolls-Royce Carmargue

35. Talbot Tagora

34. Suzuki Wagon R

33. Volvo 262C

32. Subaru XT

31. Nissan Sunny Coupe

30. Skoda Estelle

29. Renault 9

28. Maserati Biturbo

27. Daihatsu Move

26. Alfa Romeo Arna

25. Hyundai Pony

24. Fiat Strada

23. Subaru Justy

22. Austin Maestro

21. Toyota Space Cruiser

20. Fiat 126

19. Daihatsu Applause

18. Ferrari 400

17. Austin Ambassador

16. Yugo 45

15. Datsun Sunny 120Y

14. Aston Martin Lagonda

13. Susuki SJ

12. FSO Polonez

11. Seat Marbella

10. MGB

9. Trabant

8. Reliant Robin

7. Bond Bug

6. Nissan Serena

5. Lada Riva

4. Morris Marina

3. Suzuki X90

2. Austin Allegro

1. Volkswagen Beetle

I’ve setup a Facebook page for this project - http://www.facebook.com/garydavidsonphoto. Since everybody is on Facebook, it will give me quite a decent platform for explaining the project to people. Also it might help me track down some of the rarer cars.

I’m also setting up a Kickstarter project to raise funds for a self published book – here is a link to the Kickstarter project - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1228736198/1918719728?token=133b23dc- it’s not gone live yet so this is just a preview

Canon Pixma MG2150 printer review

2013-01-04T23:40:00.003-08:00

I have bought this printer for use at home, basically for general use at home rather than photo printing. I normally send out for my prints but I've decided to run a few off and compare the quality I get here versus lab prints.

I bought the printer for £25 so it really is a budget choice.

Ink cartridges

It takes two different cartridges, black & colour. These are available in two different sizes - standard and XL. The cartridge codes are

Colour CL-541

Colour CL-541XL

Black PG-540

Black PG-540XL

on the first print I have two issues

issue 1 - the colour is off - and I mean way off, this is a photo of the output and the lab print, the lab print is the larger of the two. This can be fixed by getting the printer colour calibrated, I didn't expect it to be spot on but I thought out of the box it would be better than this.

issue 2 - there are marks being left by the printer on the print - these look like they are being caused by the rollers in the printer as it feeds the paper through. This is a deal breaker for me, Canon in their marketing blurb claim the printer can produce lab quality prints - if any lab sent me prints with these lines on I'd return them demanding re-prints or a refund.

I'll upload some photos showing these issues when I get a chance.

So for £25 does it do the job I need it to? Yes - I only need it to copy things and for general printing. If you want to do any photo printing then don't get this printer.

Michael Freeman's Digital Photography Reference System

2013-01-03T07:49:00.000-08:00

I have bought myself Michael Freeman's Digital Photography Reference System. It is a set of 7 different items that are aimed at helping an enthusiast photographer improve.

the items are
a book covering the Art of Digital Photography - this is the main book. it contains 4 different chapters - composition, colour, light and subjects & styles. this is where I feel I'm learning the most from this.

a digital camera handbook - a handy little guide to digital cameras and what the different functions are used for.

digital photography workflow - I'm always interested in different peoples workflow, not just for tips on how to do things easier but also how they make sure everything is backed up. Also, how they keep track of their files so they can find them again easily.

a book on image editing and special effects - a very handy book that covers the basics of digital photo editing and some more advanced things to try as well

a shooting tips pocket guide - worth a read but I found that I knew most if not all of this already. It's probably more suitable for a beginner.

a shooting tips wallet guide - contains an exposure table and an ISO table plus some basic hints and tips. I would have liked a hyper-focal distance chart as well in here.

a DVD with 50 mins of video

It all comes in a metal presentation case and the RRP on this is £59.99 but you should be able to pick this up a bit cheaper.

I have learned quite a lot from this so I can quite happily recommend this to somebody who has progressed beyond a beginner and still wants to learn. It will also make an excellent gift for somebody, it's very well presented in the case and the books have that quality feel to them.

366 challenge day 366 - 31st december

2013-01-03T05:57:00.001-08:00

This is my final photo from my 2012 photo a day project, a self portrait.

366 challenge day 366 - 31st december, a photo by garyd155 on Flickr.

Hahnel Triad 90PG tripod review

2013-01-03T05:16:00.001-08:00

I have been bought the Hahnel Triad 90PG tripod as a Christmas present, i'm not sure what was paid for it but they are selling for between £75 and £100, I'm reviewing it as a £75 tripod.

The basics
It's a three legged tripod (you can get 5 legged ones, and I know tri = 3)
There are two adjustable centre columns - long and short
It has a pistol grip ball head - you squeeze the trigger when you want to move the head.
It also has a hook on the bottom of the centre column that you can attach a weight to increasing stability in windy conditions.
It also comes in a fairly robust case with shoulder strap

I have used this with a Sony A450 and a variety of lenses. the heaviest so far being the Tamron 10-24, the tripod had no problems with this, it's rated at being able to hold 7kg and this camera/lens combination weighs about 1.5kg. 7kg is quite some weight, considerably more than I will ever need to put on it and more than most tripods in this price bracket are rated at.

Overall I'm very impressed with this tripod, it's very well built, sturdy and holds the camera very still. I would very happily recommend this tripod, not just to those on a budget.

I'll add more to this review over the next few months including some photos.

december 2012 mosaic

2013-01-02T09:09:00.001-08:00

Here is my last mosaic from my 2012 year in pictures project

december 2012 mosaic, a photo by garyd155 on Flickr.

sensor cleaning

2012-12-17T05:47:00.002-08:00

I was asked recently how to take a test shot to find out if you have any dust spots on your sensor, here is my reply

You want pick something plain - clear sky, flat light coloured wall, white piece of paper.

Pick your lens that goes to the smallest aperture (the smaller the aperture (higher F-stop) the more likely these are to show up) and set your camera in either Aperture priority or full manual and take two test shots

one at the smallest aperture possible - this will show every piece of dust, I then ignore this photo but it's up to you, I only take it just to see the difference.
another at F16 - this is usually the smallest aperture I go to (after that you get diffraction reducing sharpness) and see what appears.

If anything shows up at F16 then I clean my sensor.

Then repeat the test shots and see if anything shows up, but don't worry about what is there on the smallest aperture shot if you never shoot using it.

If you have paid to have it cleaned then both shots should be clear.

I will add some photos of test shots next time I clean my sensor.

Christmas Lights

2012-12-05T09:04:00.001-08:00

Since we have got all of the decorations out, I decided to use some of them for a photo opportunity, this is a set of green LED lights.

green, a photo by garyd155 on Flickr.

November 2012 Mosaic

2012-12-03T07:49:00.001-08:00

Here is my November 2012 mosaic. One month left to go.

November 2012, a photo by garyd155 on Flickr.