Meyin RF-604

The Meyin RF-604, a wireless flash trigger, first got my attention because of its name.  I assumed that this was a new product evolved from the Yongnuo RF-603.  I’m probably not the only person mislead by the name.  The “RF-604” is not a Yongnuo product but it sure appears to be an evolved version of the Yongnuo RF-603.

Although it was the product name that caught my attention, it was the locking wheel that caught my eye and convinced me to buy one.  (The Yongnuo RF-603 does not have a locking wheel and fits loosely to the camera hot shoe.)

The Meyin RF-604 is somewhat larger than the Yongnuo RF-603 and 602.  So, far the RF-604 appears to be compatible with both.

I’ll have more to say about the RF-604 after I’ve exercised it a bit.  So far, so good.

Going Pro

No, not that kind of Pro.  I just got a GoPro Hero 3 “Black” – the famous “Point of View” (POV) action camera.  Don’t even know how to use it yet.  The Hero 3 just seemed like a good idea; especially as I’m about to go on vacation at the beach.  (Don’t expect action videos of me – those will be of my granddaughter!).

No, I haven’t thrown my G series cameras away.  In fact, the G1X is still my carry around camera and was used to get these pictures of the GoPro Hero 3.  I’ll have the G1X with me on the beach vacation as well (plus the 7D).

The GoPro (should probably call it the Hero 3 but I think they are all the same size) is a very small camera.  On the other hand, except for rare instances of hand holding, it will always be in some kind of case because the GoPro does not have a tripod mount.  Here it is compared to a quarter.

 

Here’s the GoPro in its waterproof case as coming out of the packaging.

 

I also got a case for the GoPro and accessories

The GoPro Hero 3 Black should be a lot of fun.  I hope to report many more excellent adventures with it.

Branches

This scene caught my eye a few mornings ago. The bare branches in bright sunlight really stood out against the pattern and dark roof in shadow. I grabbed my G1X to record the scene before the light changed. A simple snapshot, right?

Unfortunately, from my only vantage point, the G1X did not quite have the zoom for the composition that I wanted. OK, I’ll just crop it. But what if I couldn’t crop or didn’t want to deal with editing? I then remembered the digital tele-converter feature of the G1X.

Changing to 1.5X digital tele-converter was all that was needed to get this composition. Of course, the image file is JPEG only. If I’d wanted to make a large print I would have shot in RAW then edited and cropped to taste but this snapshot is just what I wanted.

The Last Roll of Kodachrome

The story behind the shots taken on the last roll of Kodachrome film. http://youtu.be/DUL6MBVKVLI.

(My own experience was not quite as successful.)

YN565EX Returns!

In August, I reported that my Yongnuo 565EX had failed. Since this flash was purchased directly from China (ThePhotoGadget), I agonized over whether to return it, have it repaired or simply absorb the loss. Eventually, I decided to return the 565EX to The PhotoGadget and see what would happen.

The good news is that Yongnuo repaired my 565EX under warrantee at no cost. The repaired 565EX has the same serial number as the original.  It seems to work.

The bad news is that shipping to China cost $65 and that the ship/repair/return process took over three months!

Yongnuo did not include a report or notes on the failure or repair. The PhotoGadget noted that mine was an older version of the YN565EX and that the latest version is more reliable. I hope so!

My conclusion is that I’ll use the YN565EX with reduced confidence for a while. Also, I’ll be buying Yongnuo products from USA vendors in the future.

Best of 2012

Better late than never and it wouldn’t seem right to post my best images of 2012 in 2013 so, in no particular order, here goes:

 

 

 

 

 

Although none are masterpieces, these are my best and favorites of the past year.  Interestingly, only two are of my granddaughter and four are from my Canon 7D while only one is from my G1X.  None of these will replace any of my Top Ten.

… and now let’s see what I can do in 2013.

Canon 10-22mm Zoom

No, this isn’t an accessory for my G1X but for my 7D.  Having passed on both the EOS-M and G15, I felt OK about asking Santa for the Canon 10-22mm zoom.

Above is a scene that I routinely photograph using my latest toy equipment.  The 10-22mm was set for the widest angle, 10mm (16mm equivalent on the 7D sensor).  Wow!  That’s wide! 

In comparison, the 15-85mm zoom (my usual lens with the 7D) at 15mm seems more than a bit zoomed-in (above).

At 22mm, the above view is as tight as the 10-22mm will go.

I tried the above odd combination of wide angle and close-up with the front of the lens about 8 inches from the rose.

All shots taken from the in-camera JPEG using the “Faithful” color setting and not cropped but down-rezzed.

I walked around a bit and grabbed more shots while trying to get a feeling for the lens.  Of course, care must be taken to avoid severe perspective angles but the lens itself does not appear subject to noticeable distortion.  I think I’ll like the 10-22mm zoom.