Reviews » Jarred Sutton Photography

iBird Pro For Android Review

Aug 232010

(feel free to click slides for larger view)

iBird pro is finally here in the android market! Now this might be a slight divergence from my typical photography, but for us photographers on the constant go we rely on our digital companions to pick up the slack for us. Sure we could use a regular field guide, but sometimes you forget it and what is always with you? Your phone. It is completely interactive, searchable and notable. It has been on the iPhone for quite sometime and now with the recent influx of android users we are starting to get some fantastic apps as well. Plus it costs no more then your regular field guide at Barnes & Noble. I have taken a ton of screenshots from using the program on my Motorola Droid and I thought I would add my 2 cents on the subject without adding any mobile operating system prejudice .

The app is listed as a 20mb download from the market. Once installed my phone tells me it is a total of 11.47mb. Not bad for such a tool that can do so much. Many games take up more space. All the bird data is stored on the SD card (we will get to that.)

Once the app is stored we locate the app (in this case I put it in a folder of mine) and click to launch.

Synchronization and Getting Started

When the app starts up you are first asked to register and then you are greeted with this synchronize screen. Here is where you can select some or all of the bird data you would like to sync (add) to your SD card. The amount of data is quite large and is recommended to use a wi-fi connection to provide fast and steady transfer of all the information. Watch how long your screen takes to time out (darken) or connect it to your power outlet and make sure it stays awake while plugged in so your phone doesn’t sleep breaking the data download connection. You might ask yourself why so much data? Well if you are adventurous like most birders and wildlife enthusiasts that 3g connection of yours doesn’t follow you everywhere. The beauty of this is that all the function of the app including photos, sounds, info and plates are accessible with no Internet connection. There are some Internet features built-in (we will get to it soon) but they are not crucial to using the full functionality of the app.

Main Screen

This is the main screen where you start out. It’s simple yet customizable. You can quickly type in part or all of a birds names and the results will sort themselves live right in front of you. A fantastic feature that will save you from having to scroll all the way through. Even Latin capable for those who are more familiar with the specifics.

You can change the order of the bird list by first name, last name, or family name. A great feature for those who might be accustomed to a certain order their paper field guides may use.

Search

From the main screen by hitting the menu button on your device you get 3 options. Search, quick access to your marked favorites, and more where you can find settings and other goodies. The search is a fantastically deep option that allows you to search by a huge list of options.

This is how the search section looks. To list all the options you have to search: (great for newbies learning to bird, or tricky rare identifications) location, shape, size, habitat, primary color, secondary color, backyard feeder, family, conservation status, observed state/month, song, song pattern, length range, weight range, wing shape, flight pattern, tail shape, wingspan, leg color, head pattern, breast pattern, belly pattern, back pattern, crown color, forehead color, cere color, throat color, nape color, eye color, bill shape, bill length, ear tuft, game bird, order; Phew! (see gallery for all the extra section images) More then enough options to cover the ‘General, Impression and Size’ (G.I.S.) technique.

You will go through those listed options and check them off as you go. They even give you visual or auditory examples of your choices. A huge plus if you aren’t too sure how to describe a song or pattern of plumage. My one issue when going back and forth through looking at the options is how to jump back to the options. When in some of the choice option sections you might instinctively click the back button and that will bring you back to the main screen with all the birds. It appears you need to click the search option in the upper left corner to get back to your choices. It’s a small price to pay and something that may get cleared up. It by no means impedes your ability to search, but may take some time to get used to.

The settings menu is nice and simple. It allows you to backup/restore your notations and favorites, choose your language, remember your location with note entries, and loop sounds if you don’t always hear the key notes the first time.

Bird Selection Screen

Once you select a bird from your results list you see this screen first. A plate (drawing) of the bird. All your options will be on that dual gray slidable bar along the bottom. Your options include: birds and their plumage types, audio sounds, range, similar, identify, facts, photos, Birdpedia, mark as favorite, Flickr, notepad, family, portrait, ecology. Many of these options are self explanatory. Although don’t mistake them for short and sweet. Many of these options are jam packed with goodness and information. The great thing about this program too is that not only are you ID’ing birds, but you are learning a wealth of information. A huge key to not only finding them, but knowing how to find them. Making your photographic agenda that much easier. If you want to get closer to nature take note people.

Internet Features

I love these built in Internet accessible features such as Birdpedia and Flickr. They don’t require opening the browser to view. A HUGE plus. Although android can be a multi-tasking wizard I don’t always like to jump around. I don’t know if all of you have had the pleasure of using a Wikipedia like service, but including it in the app is a smart move.

Identification

Identification can be done through an immense description of the bird and its features. Some of us are highly visual people and this might not feel as comfortable. They do provide both drawings (plate(s)) and photos for us visual people. One thing lacking here I personally think are arrows pointing to major distinguishable features. Helps things move quickly in my experience. I don’t know if it’s a trademarked feature however so it very well may not be their fault. That being said the described identifying characteristics include: Body details such as weight, height, overall colors and patterns for both the body and head, flight patterns and characteristics, general characteristics that would be seen as your more ‘key’ identifiers, range and habitat, breeding and nesting, foraging and feeding, diet, vocalization, similar species, breeding location, breeding type, egg color, number of eggs, egg incubator(s), incubation days, nest material and migration.

The more section includes not only the settings section as I mentioned earlier, but key shortcuts to more useful resources. Such as FAQ in your web browser, their twitter page, the support forum to as the community questions, synchronizing more birds if you didn’t select all, sending a crash report, and the glossary.

The Glossary

The glossary is an awesome feature for those who might not understand all the jargon throughout the program or even one you came across in some bird literature. You can even leave notes to come back to.

Stability

When it comes to usage of this app on my Motorola Droid the stability is absolutely impeccable. They have taken real care and time in producing this app. I know as I was one of the people bugging them on their Facebook page eager for release details! Although my experience was limited in directly getting responses they made sure to keep their eager fans aware and informed as necessary while still keeping in the trade secret goodies. I have been really wowed by this application and can’t wait to dig around more and get the most out of this application. I think 20$ is a steal as I was willing to pay 30$ which I believe is the price on the iphone. There may be some differences (I don’t own apple products), but I can tell you there is nothing I felt was missing and nothing that failed to work. I have run into zero force closures (crashing) while using all its features.

Another thing to note is that upon registering you get a 6month trial to register for making your own personal field guides at www.WhatBird.com. A great touch to an app that already offers so much. I hope this encourages you to give this a try (you have 24hrs to return it on the android market) and I can guarantee that you won’t be disappointed. I want to note that I paid for this app out of my own pocket and was not approached or encouraged to write this. Just me up late on the computer wanting to share a great nature photographers tool that has just recently hit the Android market.

Take a look at many more screenshots I couldn’t post here on a gallery I hosted here

Pros:

- Full featured field guide on the go
- Immense amount of searchable options
- Many options that allow newbies and amatures to feel comfortable
- Not only a tool but a resource that helps you learn
- Quick access to help and news update services
- Glossary for Jargon
- 6 month free trial at www.whatbird.com
- Built in browser for many of the expanded internet options ex. birdpedia
- Priced very fairly
- Incredibly Stable
- Satisfies both the visual and literary birder
- Main functions all functional without data connection including audio and photos
- Audio continues to play as you work within the application

Cons:

- Slight issue with moving between searchable options
- Possible better location for marking your favorites. Maybe adding a star option in the bird list?

Notes:

- Addition of arrows on key identifying features would be awesome (possible trademark issue holding it back?)
- 20$ is an introductory price so get it at that price while you can!

Direct Link if your on an Android Mobile Click Here

Scan The QR barcode with your Barcode Reader to go straight to the app in the android market!

Affordable softboxes don’t have to be hard to come by

Gear, Reviews Comments Off

Feb 072010

I don’t know about you , but for me softboxes are just too expensive. I enjoy doing portraiture and the like part time, but paying more then 100 even 200$ dollars for a softbox -probably not made here anyway- is not my idea of wise spending. So in my search if an alternative and not looking to cut corners I looked to eBay. I realize many cut corners on eBay to find cheap alternatives, but when I search I look for the most qualified items to stand up to the wear and tear. I came across a softbox sold by the user “PhotoLoving 2008.” I bought my unit several months ago, but a very similar product seems to be offered here from the same seller. I wanted to share a bunch of photos and a sort of review of their product if you are in the market for something similar. I had always wanted a nice softbox for my SB-800, but I never could afford it.

You’d be suprised what you can do with n speedlight off camera. There is quite a lot of power. So much so it works in this 60cm x 60cm (24″ x 24″) more then well. When looking for a softbox it also had to be easy to use. I had read about a collapsible version via an umbrella mechanism which sounded closer to what I wanted, but it still wasn’t enough. I wanted something ultra compact and could go eaisly anywhere and the only difficulty would be dealing with the stand.

This is as small as a package that it gets. Can you believe that? I was surprised myself. I used a NikonD70 for some scale to show you truly how small it is. I mean it’s smaller then many collapsible reflectors (in width)! I will demonstrate piece by piece as I build it into its full setup to show you how it works; with a little description along the way.

This is where we start. All the basic items that come in a kit. Lets break them down and their uses:

Collapsible Softbox – This is the main piece. It folds together easily like this and then you twist it like a regular reflector to collapse it down to a very small size. Have I stressed how smalled it gets yet?
Carrying case – It’s a lightweight nylon carrying case with a zipper running half way around its circumference. Every piece you see in the picture above fits inside of it.
The adapter – This is the magical piece that comes included and allows you to attach your speedlight and point it into the softbox itself. There are two versions. One that is now currently sold and the other that I requested from the last of the batch. Both versions work, but to be honest I prefer the older model. Some will differ in their opinion. More later on the comparison.
Ring adapter – (Sorry to use adapter twice, I just realized it.) The ring you see is the piece that will attach to the softbox. The rear of the sofbox has protrusions as the structure curves to form the structure. They are slid over the ring itself and holds it firmly in place.
Inner baffle – This is a great idea in the softbox. The inner baffle is attached inside about 1/4 of the way in from the front. It adds an extra layer of diffusion for the light before it hits your subject. I am not sure if most come with it, but to my knowledge they don’t. A very nice attention to detail.
Outer diffusion screen – The outer screen material is of high quality. I find no issues with color contrast and the velcro lining for attachment is of high quality. I haven’t found any issues so far and it fits onto the softbox perfectly.

These are the two adapter models. The one on the left is very similar to the style offered (left) and the one that was one of the last at the warehouse (right.) Their customer service was spot on and something I value in a company.

I prefered this setup for one reason. I don’t trust small ball heads. Does the small ballhead work? Sure does. And there is a great advantage; you don’t need anything else other then a light stand. However I own an umbrella bracket and I prefer using that as an adjustment.

The newer ball head may be better and probably is then the one I recieved. It works and for that I can’t complain. Usually due to the weight of the softbox it only stops tilting at the tightest position. Also on the newest it appears to have gotten rid of the plastic baseplate on top.

The back of the box.

The inner setup sequence.

Here’s the back view and setup once you have your speedlight installed. I pushed the highlights to show you some more detail in the shadows. I only have one flash and the pop-up doesn’t cut it All the more reason to take that speedlight and use it off camera.

All wrapped up in a neat little package. (any simpsons fans out there?)

This softbox comes with everything you need and is of high quality. I have used this on shoots and it has performed flawlessly. Whether it was formal portraits at a sweet sixteen or just shooting solo it has performed flawlessly. I can highly recommend you get one of your own and start improving your photography. It’s a great light modifier and controls light in a much more controlled fashion then an umbrella. Both forms of light moifiers are important, but when you need to control light and prevent scatter this is your go to product.

Dina was a good sport and allowed me to photograph her using the new softbox. Worked just as I wanted with no issues. In the first photograph of her I added a high wattage incandecent bulb to provide some color and separation from the back. It was great too as I don’t normally like using incandecents, but our basement is so damn cold it worked as a local heat source. The softbox was simply setup 45 degrees from the subject and above the eye line close to the subject. Nothing left to it. One great thing to add about the sale of the sofbox is that the seller actually adds a great visual manual so you know exactly what you are getting. No guessing and completely upfront. I think its a steal for ~60$

Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX DG HSM Review

Reviews Comments Off

Jul 202009

In my constant quest for affordable yet quality glass beyond 500mm I came across the Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX DG HSM. Also known as the Bigma. I’ve been shooting with the Nikon 80-400mm for about a year now. I love the lens and it’s a solid performer. It’s stabilized and has a sweet spot at f/8 that just makes you grin. However, there are times where you need more length to reach your subject. Particularly birds lead me to this venture. It also allows me to get closer to my subject with out getting too close where I scare them away. Knowing biology aside, it can’t hurt to have a lens giving you a slight edge. I’ve used two other 500mm lenses in the past. One being the Sigma 150-500mm and also two years ago I gave the Tamron 200-500mm a try. The Tamron was light weight and the 150-500mm brought convenience to the table with optical stabilization. The sigma 50-500mm gave me the most worries. We are talking about a 10x zoom here. This is a massive range. I also had to consider how this will pair to my photography. More often then not when I travel I find myself needing to go long, but also to come back out wide. Ideally we would all like a 600mm f/4 and 200-400mm f/4, but at the cost of a new car I have opted out for right now (more power to you if you have it.)

Over several days I opted to put it to the test in the field. I could shoot brick walls and static distant subjects, but to me that’s all meaningless if it can’t capture the subjects I want in the environment they live in. If I couldn’t get it to perform in the wild then I didn’t want to use it at all. Now although I have used a 500mm (750mm equivalent on DX) I was used to having a stabilized 400mm (600mm equivalent) giving me an easier time hang holding even though I did use it on a tripod often.

Now I am not a big believer normally in getting a good copy of a lens, but for this lens it made me feel it was necessary. My first copy I was not happy using. Overall it was soft and the chromatic aberrations were a tad high on contrasty subjects. It didn’t feel worth the money at all. A little discouraged, but I decided to swap it once more with J&R electronics. They sent me out a new one and I did some more testing. First I checked out a site discussing front and back focus here. I did some lab tests in my basement. It proved to be useful in demonstrating how your front and back focus control in the D300 (also D700, D3, and D3X to my knowledge) and markedly improve your lens. Lots of testing though is needed to get it right. There is one down side to using that built in function however. Nikon designed it solely for Nikon lenses. Only each individual Nikon lens has its own identifier differentiating a 70-200 from a 600mm for example. It’s fair enough that Nikon wants you to buy Nikon, but I wish the 3rd party manufacturers would have reverse engineered more id numbers. When I would attach my Sigma 10-20 or my Sigma 150mm it would read as the same lens. I tried changing identifiers through the menu system with no luck in fixing the problem. Thankfully the 50-500mm has a separate code so your mileage may vary.

Lastly before we get down to business here with some examples I wanted to mention that I feel once you move toward the 400-600mm range extra special responsibility comes into play. Exercising proper long lens technique and providing a stable platform is crucial. As you may already know that the further ut you go the more vibration and shake is amplified. Taking extra precaution and being more aware is crucial. The first day I think I was a little loose when it came to handling the lens. For that reason I came back with a few keepers leading me to think the lens was bunk. However after my second day out I was convinced. As you will see I spent some time with a great egret (as well as some other birds) and was able to make some images happen that I couldn’t with the reach of the Nikon 80-400mm.

So lets dive right into these images shall we? I am providing them on zoomify so that you can really zoom in and see every pixel. I am trying this instead of the usual 100% crops. These images have not been processed in the slightest. No black point, white point, cropping, saturation, you name it and it doesn’t have it. By clicking on the image you will be taken to a new page with the image in zoomify mode. You can click on the plus (+) or minus (-) icons, click and hold to drag it around if zoomed in or use your scroll wheel on your mouse to zoom in and out.

Camera: Nikon D300, Focal Length: 420mm, AF-C, AF Fine Tune +1, Aperture: f/8, Shutter Speed: 1/640, ISO: 200, Matrix Metering, Exposure Comp -1.3, No Flash, WB: Auto

A main subject for me to test contrast were the great egrets. They are a reliable subjects around here and can be found at least once a day on average. He was exhibiting a behavior that I don’t normally catch. He was calling quite loudly and boy was I glad that I had this lens on hand and it came out as sharp as it did.

Camera: Nikon D300, Focal Length: 500mm, AF-C, AF Fine Tune +11, Aperture: f/6.3, Shutter Speed: 1/30, ISO: 400, Matrix Metering, Exposure Comp 0, No Flash, WB: Auto

This American robin was digging around for its morning lunch. I shot this out of my car window early in the morning before the light would greet him. I think the f/6.3 aperture was part of the softness seen around the eye, plus I was tweaking the AF fine tune at the time. Also lets not forget I am balancing a 750mm equivalent lens handheld at 1/30th of a second.

Camera: Nikon D300, Focal Length: 500mm, AF-C, AF Fine Tune +1, Aperture: f/8, Shutter Speed: 1/125, ISO: 400, Matrix Metering, Exposure Comp +0.7, No Flash, WB: Auto

This mockingbird would hangout hopping from limb to limb calling around for his mate. I slowly crawled out of the car to remove the distracting asphalt background at window height to get this nice out of focus green background. I had a beanbag (using one of ‘thepod’ bean bags) on my knee photographing the mocking bird on a freshly rained on parking lot floor.

Camera: Nikon D300, Focal Length: 500mm, AF-S, AF Fine Tune +2, Aperture: f/8, Shutter Speed: 1/400, ISO: 200, Matrix Metering, Exposure Comp 0, No Flash, WB: Auto

This was a pleasant surprise. This green heron stopped in for a visit and hung around for much longer then expected. I chose to share this image as many people wonder how sharp a subject is when it fills less then half the frame. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Camera: Nikon D300, Focal Length: 50mm, AF-C, AF Fine Tune 0, Aperture: f/8, Shutter Speed: 1/100, ISO: 200, Matrix Metering, Exposure Comp -0.7, No Flash, WB: Auto

This mute swan was so close I had to go all the way out to 50mm to make this shot work. In hind site I wish I had a closer eye on exposure, but when a male mute swan is breathing down your neck it gets your attention. His family actually entered the water at another point and I was in his way of him meeting up with them. So I side stepped and he soon swam on by.

Camera: Nikon D300, Focal Length: 500mm, AF-C, AF Fine Tune +2, Aperture: f/7.1, Shutter Speed: 1/60, ISO: 400, Matrix Metering, Exposure Comp -0.7, Flash: TTL Front Curtain, WB: Cloudy

Being in upstate New York allowed me to try out flash with the lens. I was very satisfied with the results. Especially reading about how it seems some 3rd party lenses may report false distance information resulting in improper flash usage.

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For this next section I am am using two photographs to show two scenarios. How the lens handles being used wide open and also it’s zoom range.

Camera: Nikon D300, Focal Length: 50mm, AF-C, AF Fine Tune 0, Aperture: f/8, Shutter Speed: 1/200, ISO: 200, Matrix Metering, Exposure Comp -0.7, No Flash, WB: Auto

There is absolutely nothing special about this image. Simply a plain quick snapped image (no regard for exposure either) to show you how wide the lens is and then in a matter of seconds…

Camera: Nikon D300, Focal Length: 500mm, AF-C, AF Fine Tune 0, Aperture: f/6.3, Shutter Speed: 1/640, ISO: 200, Matrix Metering, Exposure Comp -0.3, No Flash, WB: Auto

…You are this close into the action. This image of the egret also shows how unusable it can be at the open aperture with contrasty subjects. To be fair I haven’t tweaked the lens and I think that would help a little bit. When shooting in such a high contrast scenario I would stop down to at least f/7.1 where the chromatic aberration falls off dramatically. Plus Nikon Capture NX 2 also helps to tone it down as well with out damaging the image.

My initial impression of the lens is impressive as it is of a decent build in size, but still hand holdable. Not with out a little wrist pain at first if you have the battery grip going with your camera. The finish is very nice. I do enjoy the EX finish on their EX lenses. However I will say that if you use your lenses heavily the finish will wear off. Is this covered under warranty? That I don’t know. According to Sigma’s service department if the coating is removed under normal wear and tear scenarios they will fix it. Not if it is due to abuse. My sigma 150mm macro has been a work horse for several years and I have never desired to have it repainted. However the bigger advantage of choosing an EX lens over their standard lens is that it comes with a 6 year 4 year warranty. The Sigma 150-500mm lens does not (only 1 year) and if you have ever injured a lens it costs a pretty penny.

The lens mount I am a big fan of. Their lens mounts normally have finger like indents so that gripping the lens is much easier. It also has a longer foot then the Nikon 80-400mm lens. Plus I am going from a 77mm thread to an 86mm thread. If you use filters it could be a pain in the butt. Especially considering 86mm threads are more expensive. I don’t normally just use the lens hood as protection and it has served me well for quite a long time now. However I am considering UV or clear filters. I just don’t like shooting through extra glass. The barrel itself comes out of the box a tad stiff. However after the first few turns it rotates like butter. Smooth with no hiccups. They do provide a locking mechanism to prevent lens creep and also to not allow it before 100mm when a tele-converter is attached (I’d hate to the hear that sound.) When using a tele-converter you are strictly in manual focus mode when using either the 1.4x or the 2x. I have read about tricks to block contacts to get auto-focus to work, but I have not tried that and it should obviously be done at your own risk. Also when it comes to auto-focus speed it is fast. Not as fast as a prime I would say, but a major improvement over the Nikon 80-400mm. This is obviously due in part to the HSM technology built into the lens. It utilizes a rear focusing motor for faster accuracy.

Having a faster auto-focus is also important to me as this is ideally a sunny day lens. Using the D300 helps, but I find the sweet spot of this lens is around f/8. Aperture f/6.3 is usable, but not for high contrast subjects. An immediate quality boost happens as you hit f/7.1 and you finally fall into the right place as you arrive at f/8. I did find myself pushing to ISO 400 to make things happen at times. To be fair I was shooting at dawn or dusk. When working in overcast skies it really isn’t bad.

After sitting down with my images and making an extremely hard decision I opted for the Sigma 50-500mm lens. I felt it provided me opportunities in my local area that I could not get with the Nikon 80-400mm. In all honestly I wish I had both. I loved the Nikon 80-400mm when I was on my expeditions with Lindblad. I do recommend testing this lens before getting rid of your lens your primary lens you are comparing it too. The sharpness is highly impressive to me with such a zoom range and I am very excited at what this lens will allow me to do on future adventures.

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If you felt I left anything out let me know. I will do my best to update the review whenever I discover something new about this lens. All the best!

Camera: Nikon D300, Focal Length: 500mm, AF-C, AF Fine Tune 0, Aperture: f/6.3, Shutter Speed: 1/640, ISO: 200, Matrix Metering, Exposure Comp -0.3, No Flash, WB: AutoCamera: Nikon D300, Focal Length: 500mm, AF-C, AF Fine Tune 0, Aperture: f/6.3, Shutter Speed: 1/640, ISO: 200, Matrix Metering, Exposure Comp -0.3, No Flash, WB: Auto

Update on the Phottix Plato N8 for Startrails.

Reviews, Updates 4 Responses »

May 292009

I mentioned in the previous review that I found a solution using the Phottix Plato N8 remote for startrails. I finally had the chance when I traveled two hours north into New York from New York City. The photo you see above is the result of what the batteries in the remote would hold out too. I got off about 115 images at 30second intervals. Compiled them using startrails (for free) and wallah. It was not as long as I wanted, but based on a rough estimate fresh batteries would have gone much longer. I originally tested the remote with this process to see if it could get past the Nikon ~100 image limit in one release previously. I fired off at least 200+ images testing Nikon’s single release factor plus all the testing photos with it. I’d estimate it to be able to shoot at least 300+ images which wouldn’t be too shabby. Next time I will test over a longer period of time.

Okay, so as for what I was talking about with gaps. Here is a photo that I took in Baja California Mexico using the MC-36 interval timer wired remote which has a minimum of 1 second gaps. Zoomed out you can’t tell what I mean by the gaps it causes. Keep in mind the larger gaps are a few images I had to pull from the sequence due to a random unrepeatable digital camera anomaly (drives me nuts I can’t repeat it to get it repaired, but happy it doesn’t seem to occur often.)

This is a 100% crop. What I mean by this is I zoomed in at 100% and then cropped out what I saw. See all those tiny little dash lines? I feel if you blow up a nice star trail this could be an issue (click image for full size.)

Here is the photo taken from the New York scene at the beginning of this post. The lines are much more crisp and solid. Something I personally prefer. The sky isn’t as dark as a lonely Baja California isle, but it sure is enough to make a point. This is also a 100% crop (click image for full size.)

This is just one more plus about the remote. Battery life will have to be something I will need to officially time, but I’ll be honest. I don’t want to stay up to 3-4 in the morning waiting for batteries to die :-p. I will probably just use the timer on my photos and check it beginning to end of the last frame taken. Leaving me with a margin of error of thirty seconds to a minute.

One other thing I wanted to address about the remote was based on a comment I received on my review of the unit. Due to the unit having the convenience of sliding into the hot shoe it will also block the pop up flash from fully rising. I wanted to note that you could let the transmitter hang over the lens barrel, just plain hang down, hold it to your tripod using a rubber band or even double stick velco tape. I wouldn’t let it dangle too unsupported as it may stress the headphone port. Not sure how well reinforced it is and it could deteriorate over time.

UPDATE: Check out Flipping Typical for a non software based font solution. Link was provided from Thomas Goodwin. Thanks!

Last but not least I found a neat program I wanted to share. it is for those of us who want to find fonts for projects or in any other scenario. It is freeware and is designed to show you exactly all the fonts that are on your computer. The program is called Free&Easy Font Viewer 2.0. You can get it at www.download.com and give it a try. It has helped me in a bind when working on a few projects of my own. There is an advanced version, but the freeware version does all that I need.

Phottix Plato N8 Review D200/D300/D700/D3x…

Reviews 3 Responses »

May 222009

Inspired by Moose for photographing birds during nesting season I went in search of a solution. A solution to keep me over 10 feet away from my subject and still be able to trigger my camera. I have a Nikon D300 so this particular device might not work on every camera in the world, but by use of its interchangeable cable design it does for most. From Canon, to Nikon and Sony…etc.

My frustrations with finding a device began when I heard the price of Nikon’s 9.8 foot extension cord (something against an even 10 feet?) According to B&H Photo it’s 80$! There is no way in hell I’m paying 80$ for copper wire and a cable that may contain lead in the state of California. To be fair if you check B&H’s summer catalog it lists for 70$… (get a price quote from them if you really want to go that route) WOW what a bargain! Sarcasm aside I sought out a different solution. I did what most people in the 21st century do, search Google for other products. I found a few remotes, but they are old technology and still not within my price range. Taking the next logical step when no company in the US of A makes a product you want; I searched eBay.

Searching eBay I came across a few decent looking and well received products. Unfortunately a lot of them use CR 123 batteries; both expensive and impracticable. Finally after searching I found the Phottix Plato N8. It takes AAA batteries (convenience and I only use rechargeables which are better for the environment as well as recyclable) and looked light weight with simple operation. There are plenty of videos and at least one other review out there. What I wanted to do was add more views and a description of the product through use and application. All the snapshots I took will be in a gallery for all the angles I could thinking of taking a picture for.

When the unit arrived it came in a presentable package with an insert and a pamphlet of instructions (see gallery.) Everything was spelled out on the pamphlet on how to use the device. There is also an instructional video out there that explains its function in video form for those that prefer to not deal with written text :-p. The construction of the device appears to be well built. I dropped the main transmitter unit by accident and it fell flat and continues to work. The battery cover to both devices could be an issue for some. The covers are not attached and must be handled carefully as without them you can’t complete the circuit. They slide in and stay in just fine.

Experimenting with the device lead me to an issue that I later solved. I almost always have my D300 in continuous high mode. The trick was that 9 out of 10 times when you choose single shutter release and hit the button it fires off two frames. I am not to sure why it’s doing this, but a quick remedy is to just put it in regular shutter release mode on the camera body if you want to prevent this. Say if you have limited shooting capacity or you don’t want too many duplicates. The remote works just like a shutter release cable. You can half press the button on the wireless remote allowing auto-focus operation. If you don’t want it to auto-focus every time just put the camera in manual auto-focus and pre-focus where you want. A huge factor for me is also the dual communication. What’s the point of walking 100+ feet (goes amazingly further, more on that in a moment) if you don’t know the camera is taking photographs?! The top of the remote will have two green lights that stay lit when half pressing to let you know it’s within range.

Speaking of range; I wanted to test how far away it truly can fire that shutter. The unscientific way of testing was setting her up on a tripod and taking a walk. I had Dina stand by for confirmation and security of the gear. I set the Camera on a tripod with my Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 and set the zoom to 35mm. When multiplied by a 1.5x crop factor it works out to almost 50mm. An angle of view equal to our own eyesight. I used my shoe counting off paces toe to heel tip. I was able to walk in front of the camera with the unit facing forward and get the camera to fire with little problem at 800 paces or unscientifically around 800ft! This sucker is only rated for 320ft. I couldn’t point the device right at it, I had to arch my shot just a tad to get a good shot from ~800ft.) These are in wide open scenarios with little to no RF interference. So results I’m sure will vary. To be fair I wanted to test the device facing the other way. Since normally we will be photographing in the direction behind the camera and not in front of it.

Walking with the device turned around and the device facing in the opposite direction (fits in the hot shoe both ways) I was able to get to about 500 paces or approximately 500ft being able to get a shot off. In my tests these were near maximums. I had to do some fiddling of the remote direction to get it to shoot 500ft or so and in the other direction of 800ft it was shooting quite well. This device goes more then the 320ft stated and I would stay in that range to make sure that you get constant shooting without worry.

Keep in mind this remote has dual functionality as it can plug right into the attaching cable and can be used as a wired remote; however you do need batteries in the remote to work. Battery life appears to be quite good as I have run some tests and it is as fast as hitting a wired remote release. It also has a 2second timer mode that counts out 2 seconds on the remote (not the camera), a continuous shutter mode where it pumps out five shots in succession, and a bulb mode that operates just like locking the shutter release in. You will have to put your camera in continuous high, continuous low, or bulb in shutter priority to take advantage of this. In a single shutter release mode on your camera it will not keep sending the signal for repetitious shooting.

(Pardon the ugly plastic. It comes pre-applied for protection. Has a glossy front that loves finger prints. Not really a concern though.)

Curious about all these modes I sought a solution for star trails! Star trails involves taking a series of images on a locked down tripod of the night sky over a period of time. Then compiling them on your PC. I have purchased the MC-36 remote and I detest its price and remedial superiority to the interval timer in camera. What I decided to do (after finding bulb mode on the remote didn’t work) I tried the continuous mode on the remote. I took a piece of rubber I had laying around and strapped it to the remote release on the wireless remote using a rubber band. Wallah! I had continuous shooting that did not stop after 100 continuous releases! Nikon puts a limit (somewhere around 100 shutter releases depending on which camera you have) on how many shots can be taken with one held press of the shutter; even with a remote cable (or in this case wireless) release. Why I have never gotten an answer. Why a professional grade camera can’t fire 100+ images in one session is beyond me. Especially when the CF card, buffer and 30″ or so exposure would allow for it. Please note I locked down the wireless remote in that 5 pulse continuous mode. For reasons why see here. Your only limitation of course is battery life. Living in NYC I can’t actively test its battery life, but it held up way past 100 shots so I am very happy. Will save me a ton on some big expensive remotes that are available. I checked the time stamp on my images and it fired off two seconds back to back and occasionally with a one second gap. A one second gap came standard with the MC-36 so to me it is a fine trade off.

All in all it appears to be the best product on the market. The dealer however makes me very upset. I had an on going dispute with them as it took a century to ship. I wanted this for spring and as spring was waning it came. It took them a week at least for the item for ship. That is because I inquired about what different cables would cost so I could use the device with different cameras. With that request they held my unit up for shipment. I never asked them to do so and it even said they do not combine shipping on their auction page. So what’s the deal?! It took three weeks to find out when it would ship or if it even had. Not until I said I won’t buy a cable until I know the unit even shipped did they tell me the status. 1.5 months later I got my item! Obviously my situation may have been a rarer case, but none the less I thought I should share ( and per encouragement of my friend and great photographer Thomas Goodwin.) The business is called HKSUPPLIES and the user is etefore. It’s a hard deal to pass up at 45$. Just don’t ask about extra cables until after you get your item to prevent a hold up. By the way the cables cost around 9$ in case you are curious. That took a while too, heh.

Pros -

Convenient AAA Batteries.
Compact & Light.
300ft+ range in unobstructed space.
Two way communication to know if the device is still able to trigger the camera.
Wireless and attached modes.
Halfway depressing button allowing activation of auto-focus and vibration reduction from afar.
Interchangeable camera-to-unit cables purchasable via contact with Hong Kong supplier eBay account for ~9$.
Low price point of 45$ plus free regular shipping.
Came with four free AAA batteries, Toshiba. (Get rechargeables, Maha Imedion brand come pre-charged, can be charged over 500 times and hold 85% of their charge up to a year!)
Multi-Directional; not limited like an infrared beam would be.
Sturdy Build
Multi-function operation (2sec timer, single shutter release, continuous 5-burst mode, bulb)
Main wireless unit mounts in hot-shoe.
Built in security to prevent interference or cross triggering. They come pre-configured, but you can re-sync yourself.
Able to shoot star trails with solid lines and not dash lines (see more here.)

Cons -

Made in China (nothing better else where though)
Long shipping period so plan ahead. Anywhere from 1-3weeks. Aim longer then shorter.
Low re-sale
Out of country support (They definitely try to help and be attentive, but be very clear as to what you want and keep it simple!)
When connecting the remote directly to the camera via the cable it still requires batteries.
Battery covers are not attached, so be careful!
Top of remote loves fingerprints.

Update 3/19/2010: I have had a mixed experience with their customer service. Make sure to be clear, well documented, and precise with your complaints/concerns/exchanges/returns. I had a major issue with the 10-pin connector wire. I contacted them a total of 4x before getting a response out of them. Very upsetting. The problem with the cable was it just wouldn’t work unless it was hanging out of the socket. My other 10-pin devices were flawless so I knew the cable was the problem. I finally got my replacement cable. However they never told me when it was sent. So unfortunately this is discouraging to deal with them, they however offer the best/most convenient product on the market it seems. They also seem to have replaced the cable with a coiled spring like cable. Maybe they knew of the issues? Either way I thought I would share. All the best.

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