Wacom Cintiq 16 brightness issue solved

Since my switch from Apple to Windows, I’ve had a less than stellar experience with my Wacom Cintiq 16. I couldn’t get brightness and contrast right and it has this odd behaviour.

Minimum brightness is at 75, goes up to 100, however when you move from 75 to 0 it seems to stay the same brightness before becoming dull at 0. It’s obscure and mystifying that Wacom would put out an application in this way. Yes, that strange behaviour is apparently apparently the settings working as designed? Continue reading “Wacom Cintiq 16 brightness issue solved”

Taking camera photos on a budget

I’m often asked how I get my gear photos. People like showing off their gear and as a result, camera photos have become more popular.

There is obviously a lot of work (and gear) that goes into good stock camera photos, but there are also ways to produce good photos on an extremely low budget. When I say extremely low budget, I mean under $10 assuming you have the camera and lens to take the photo and another piece of gear you want to photograph.

Continue reading “Taking camera photos on a budget”

Choosing between Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 & 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6

To kick things off, let me say there are no winners or losers. This is like a competition between toddlers at pre-school where everyone gets a prize. This isn’t a direct technical comparison between the two and it isn’t about proving you should buy one in particular. This is about guidance on how I made the choice between the two. Continue reading “Choosing between Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 & 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6”

Using Godox with the Sony A7iii/A7riii

I’ve written this article as there seems to be a gap in the information provided by Godox specific articles, videos and Sony flash articles with specific reference to the Godox system and how to use it with Sony cameras. Like any camera system, there are unique ways the lighting system works and this can be confusing for many people.

I’ve noted this is specific to the A7iii and A7Riii, however, this is due to these being the only two Sony cameras I have. As a result, I can’t test it across the entire range of Sony cameras. It may or may not be applicable, feel free to try it out, it won’t break anything. Continue reading “Using Godox with the Sony A7iii/A7riii”

Solving ONA’s glaring omission

We all know ONA bags. Awesome, incredible, beautiful, I have the Prince and Bowery in antique cognac and I love them. The craftsmanship is amazing and the leather is beautiful.

But water doesn’t love them. Leather and water is always a bad combination, like mixing medicine and heavy machinery, or alcohol and skydiving. If you want to destroy a leather bag quickly, take it out into the rain. I have no doubt your equipment will survive, the leather is thick and it will take a while for the water to penetrate, but that’s only part of the problem. When you are paying the sort of money you are for ONA bags, I expect the bag to survive unscathed as well. Continue reading “Solving ONA’s glaring omission”

A7riii Settings Spreadsheet

You have to love the internet, it’s become a treasure trove of information and people create and share content all over the place that they have taken the time to create. The best part about it, is that the majority of this content is free, you just have to decipher between the bull#$%@ (like some of the youtubers who have absolutely no clue).

I can’t claim the credit for this, it came complements of someone by the name of Dennis from Florida (included a screenshot) from DPreview who has created a spread sheet which covers every single setting on the A7Riii along with links to the help files for the various settings, along with some links to videos from the likes of Mark Galer. File is downloadable. Continue reading “A7riii Settings Spreadsheet”

How to carry a Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 or Sony 100-400mm (or any other brand for that matter)

I often cringe when I see the responses to a forum post on how to carry a Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 or Sony 100-400mm. People seem completely oblivious to the damage they are doing to the mounts on their cameras. Worst yet, they are happily advising other users to do the same.

How do you know whether to reconsider how you carry your camera/lens combination? If it comes with a lens collar that allows for attachment directly to the lens, the rule of thumb is to use the lens attachment as these lenses are likely to be heavier than the camera body. Continue reading “How to carry a Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 or Sony 100-400mm (or any other brand for that matter)”

How to get Fujifilm classic chrome with a Sony A7iii or other Sony Cameras

When I first made the shift to Sony, one of the concerns I had was about the loss of Fujifilm’s Classic Chrome, one of my favourite film simulations and probably the only one I use on a regular basis. It wasn’t a show stopper, but I really like the subdued colours for days where I am shooting in midday sun and can’t avoid it.

Fortunately, moving to Sony doesn’t mean the end of Classic Chrome, or many of the other simulations, which can be replicated in some form. Obviously it’s not a perfect science, but I thought I would would put out something so other people don’t don’t through the process as well: Continue reading “How to get Fujifilm classic chrome with a Sony A7iii or other Sony Cameras”

Godox – An easy way into lighting

In the past, the Chinese brands were guilty of copytetion, taking copies of established brands products and pushing them onto the market. In some cases, you picked up reasonable quality gear at a budget price if you couldn’t afford the expensive stuff, in other cases you picked up poor quality copies that last a matter of months or weeks before dying and leaving you out of pocket with no warranty.

Godox is one of these brands that is really starting to impress me. They started off with good quality copies, but these days they are innovating with their own solutions. Lighting solutions, like the AD200 are a good indication of Godox doing good things differently and right.

Continue reading “Godox – An easy way into lighting”