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Export Photography photography Technik Technology

Tethered Shooting with NIKON D600 Fujifilm X100, Sony NEX (NEX-5 and NEX-7)

Tethered Shooting with Fujifilm X100, Sony NEX (NEX-5 and NEX-7) is not possible – or?
Apprently there is no way to control camera settings remotely but there are ways to release from the distance – and in case of the X100 very, very, stylish 😉

 

It’s great to change the perspective, mount the camera on a long window cleaning extender and show the view from above.

Three different cameras are used for this, the Nikon D600, the Sony NEX and Fujifilm X100.

NIKON D600
Even with a light lens very heavy on a 4 meter extender but it has the most options for remote control.

  • Via USB and the free MAC Software Sofortbild (get the version from http://www.sofortbildapp.com/ not from the APP store for the D600)
  • With Nikons Wireless Mobile Adapter WU-1B
  • With another wireless remote control

Even over short distances the Nikons Wireless Mobile Adapter WU-1B gives you a lot of pain, especially in wifi dense areas like public events where everybody has the mobile phone  / wifi switched on.  On top, the app is, let’s say – not very sophisticated. E.g. after each start, you have to swich ‘download’ image off if you don’t want to have huge RAW files being send to your IOS device (and blocking everything…)

Back to the roots. A small battery povered, HDMI capable monitor and a remote release. Or just a remote release and many  ‘blind’ shots, keeping what’s useful later.

For the Sony NEX (NEX-5 and NEX-7), the normal infra-red remote control will not work, because you will be out of the line-of-sight when you are below the camera on the pole. There is a simple solution.  Just get one of the cheap second-source remote for NEX, carefully open it. Unsolder the infra-red LED  and use an telephone cable as extension. You can fix it on the extender somewhere close to the camera’s IR sensor. Monitoring is optional via HDMI and an external monitor.

Fujifilm X100

The company Hama produces since decades pneumatic remote shutter release devices. They cost less than 50 € and come with two tubes, one roughly one the second nine meter long. It is so decent, no IR emission, silent and fits so nicely the X100 style

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Export Photography Things Uncategorized

YES-YOU CAN Photography tricks and techniques that really work – macro photography using extension tubes

If you are starting with macro photography, you may start looking for the right equipment. Maybe you have a point-and-shoot camera or any other camera with an build in fixed lens, then you probably have an macro mode of the camera.

For cameras with interchangeable lenses, like Nikon, Canon or Sony you can buy very nice macro lenses for $$$ or just an set of extensions tubes for $ (starting at 5-10 $ / EUR in some China shops).

Of course, you will need other things too. An good tripod is important. Maybe some remote shutter release is also nice to have. This article leaves all this out and concentrates on the extension rings.

The floral pictures below were taken form a distance of approx one meter with extension rings and an 200mm telephoto-lens.


 


But – one after the other.

I have purchased a set of extension tubes for Nikon bayonet in China. Delivery took about 10 days. The price was around 8 US $, it passed through customs without problems.

I have ordered the simplest rings / tubes. They are mechanical, they do not transmit focus or aperture information to the camera. You have to set this manually. This is not a problem, you don’t really need auto-focus in macro mode.


 


the tubes have no glass elements.


they have different length – by combining them you get different macro / magnification levels.


 


for this demonstration, I have used the Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.8d


this is the set-up without extension tubes


and this the resulting picture


now using different tube combinations


don’t forget – aperture and focus can only be set manually now (check your lens)


 


you will get much closer to the object


getting more details


even closer


getting even more details.

Try different non-macro lenses and ring combinations. Below are some examples of what is possible


 


 


 

Instead of extension tubes, you may also use bellows which give a bit more flexibility but you may need to modify them to adopt to your camera


 


 

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Export Photography photography Technology Uncategorized

Prime Time for good old stuff – Part 1: Adapter

Prime-Lens for the mirrorless

The new mirrorless system cameras can deliver outstanding quality. However, sometimes it lacks of interesting lenses. If you don’t need autofocus and you can live perfectly with aperture priority – just adopt your good old stuff (or find something used).

Adapter are available on a variety of lens / camera combinations like M42 to Sony E-mount, to Fujifilm X1 Pro, or Micro Four Thirds. The same for Pentax K or Nikon lenses.

Those are simple mechanical adapter, no lens needed and you will be able to focus to infinite (the same does not work to some other cameras like adopting M42 lenses to Nikon requires a lens or you lose the focus to infinite)

These adapters are cheap, price range is roughly from 5 to 50 €/$)


NEX-7 with 70’th ASAHI Super Takumar 1:1.8/55

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Export Flying photography Photography Technology UAS

From above – von oben

Since a while I am doing aerial photography.

On the flying platform, I use mostly an modified Canon S90 to take picture up to altitudes of around 100 Meter. The Camera is stabilized and shutter release, tilt and pan can remotely controlled. The ‘camera view’ is downstreamed via an 5 GHz video link and displayed on a battery powered control monitor.

Video / HDMI control monitor.

However, sometimes it is not necessary to get as high as 100 Meter. A few meter are sometimes sufficient to overlook a crowd or a wedding audience.

But for those occasions, I prefer to use the DSLR. With an monopod to hold the camera up and to release the shutter with the remote-control wireless or per wire works quite well in many situations. Except, that it is ‘guess-work’ if you don’t want to mess around with the control monitor and the cables. And you can’t control more tan the shutter release.

There are also nice options for tethered shooting with the NIKON DSLRs. Sofortbild is a very nice – and free – application if you have an MAC. It controls the camera via the USB port. However, you need an laptop to use the software, there is no iPad or iPhone version available. Another thing to carry and to handle. Not suitable at all occasions.

Since a while, Nikon has wireless adapters for the DSLRs but they are very expensive.

Recently Nikon released the WU-1b which can provide a cheap (50€) solution for remote shooting. It connects to the USB port of the camera.


It is a small dongle.

 

 

It provides wireless-hotspot like functionality. After installing the App to you Apple or Android smart device,  connect to the wifi hotspot.

the last leave


You will be able to see the live view picture, set the focus point and release the shutter and – optionally download the pictures directly to your smart device (I don’t recommend this – time consuming).


You also may use a pan – tilt head to control the direction in which you camera points. Cool for concerts or sports events. You can place the camera before the event and control it remotely.

DON’T FORGET TO SECURE THE NETWORK 😉


 

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Export Photography

Playing with dimensions

Transformation

A normal picture, photography is two dimensional, right? Usually it shows x and y.
To create (to take) a picture, a digital camera normally has a sensor which has also some x,y dimensions, or resolution in both axes. But not always.
In many industrial and sometimes in surveillance applications, line cameras are used. They have a resolution of, for example x=2048 but y=1 simply one line.
Two dimensional images are produced by moving either the camera or the objects or both. Those line cameras have the advantage of using much less bandwidth while being capable of providing high resolution in one axis.

Tram
Tram

Taking movies with a normal movie-camera adds another dimension, the time. In the data stream contained in a mp4 file you have x,y and elements of the time, t.
What happens if you play around a bit with those dimensions and exchange y with t to create an two dimensional image? Taking only a ‘slot’ of each individual picture and using the time component for the other axis?
Have a look at the pictures how the time transforms. It is like a hymn to the ‘slow-something’ movement. As faster the objects move as less visible they are….

Persons