Category Archives: Photography gear

*TRP Vector Straps, now available through Mettle Cycling!

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Mettle Cycling

I’m teaming up with my good friend, and fellow photographer, Randall (owner of Mettle Cycling) to offer the TRP Vector camera wrist straps.  We chose the Vector in particular, as a great option for those who like to tote their cameras along for the ride because they’re light, easy to get on and off one handed, and while on, they’re comfortable and secure.  I’ve been using the Vector straps, almost exclusively on my various cameras lately because they are comfy, and very low profile.

Vector Straps

Available now in all 4 colors, go and visit Mettle Cycling HERE to see the camera straps (available with free shipping for the straps by using FREESHIPPING at checkout), along with tons of beautifully handmade, cycling goods.  If you’re into journeying on two wheels, or just like to see great velo-photography, have a look at the Mettle Blog HERE.  Great insight into various goings on here in the Pacific Northwest, along with different projects like Leave It On The Road, where a great group of folks raise money to fight cancer doing what they love, to help support those they love.

Happy Holidays to all, and I hope this entry finds you and all of yours, well.  Keep on keeping on, and for the other TRP straps, you can always find them HERE.

Stay tuned, and up to speed with stuff here by adding your email to the top right of the page, or find me on the socials;  Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Instagram.

Thanks for the read, and happy shooting,

Tyson

*The Panasonic Lumix GX8 vs GX7 showdown. How much of an upgrade is it, really? Well… w/ @LumixUSA

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gx7 vs gx8

Well, my friends, I have been enjoying the comparison between these two great cameras, and in this article I would like to present my opinions and findings regarding how they directly compare to each other in regards to performance and file output, once and for all (for my purposes, anyway).  Here’s my disclaimer… I don’t work for Panasonic.  I’ve always researched and purchased my own gear, and do these tests in an attempt to help others like myself see what I wish that I could have seen in cases before buying stuff.  Enjoy and I hope this shows you something you’ve not yet seen.

I’ve been looking at the comparison from the angle of one who is curious about replacing my historically favorite micro 4/3 camera in the GX7, with it’s intended upgrade in the GX8.  I’ve now had the GX8 for a couple months and have shot a few thousand images with it, so I have been able to get a good feel for how it handles, performs and how the files look when digging into them.  With the GX8, Panasonic has given us an increase in size, resolution and features, which have all looked good on paper, and I’m now wanting to really see that come through in practice, which in most cases, it has.

Here is what I’ve seen, and what I’ve found…

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*Goal Zero, clean, portable, endless power for a digital world.

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PanhandleGap

Does that sound like a commercial pitch?  I’m sorry, I’m just trying to be creative with these articles and the idea of writing about batteries, or rechargeable, storable and portable power might not tick too many boxes for those of us looking for a humorous review on the latest, greatest camera gear.

With that said, I can’t even begin to count the times over the past few years that I’ve been frustrated by low shot volume lithium ion, camera batteries.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s amazing technology, and the lifespan on many of these batteries is so far beyond what older batteries were, but with all the power hungry features in todays cameras, combined with the ever growing desire to see these machines not only become more powerful, but smaller and lighter, power is going to be compromised.  Anyone shooting an Olympus EM5/10 or Sony alpha camera can relate, I’m sure.

Enter Goal Zero, a solution for those of us who travel, shoot in the field or enjoy having some of the creature comforts while out in the wild, wild world.  A very cool company producing some very cool products.  C’mon in to read and see more…

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*Holy S#!† The new FW updates for the @Sony a7II and #Metabones EF smart adapter have created a monster.

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P1050568

Sorry for my dirty, foul mouth. I’m just blown away by how much better my a7II and Canon EF lens setup has become overnight.  Long overdue, the Sony a7II got the much ballyhooed Uncompressed 14 bit RAW update (as opposed to that weird 11/7 compressed stuff, which is still nicely, an option) along with the return of the on sensor Phase Detection AF to the a7, pro-sumer camera with third party lenses.  Why they kept this out to begin with is beyond me, and really one of my gripes with the Sony approach as a whole, but now that it’s here, it is friggin’ amazing.  It is like I have an entirely new camera.  C’mon in for firmware update links, and a video comparison between the auto focus speed and performance from the original firmware on the a7II and Metabones mark IV adapter, and now that they’ve both very recently been updated…

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*Quick look! Check out the dynamic range recovery on the GX8, which also happens to be on sale!

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GX8dynamicrange

I am mere hours of work away from posting my GX7 vs GX8 final comparison, but going through images from my work trip last week, I came across a snapshot I took while rushing to catch the tram.  The sun rise was begging to be recorded, and I quickly pulled my GX8 (on sale for $200 off right now DOH! see it at B&H HERE and Adorama HERE) with the PL15mm out of the bag and literally stopped walking for a second to take this shot.  The sky dominated the exposure, as it should have in this case, and just now I tried bringing up the shadows to see what I could get as I’d not really pushed any of the GX8 frames quite this far, in this way.  Well, color me frigging impressed… have a look:

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*Pana-Leica 15mm f/1.7 ASPH Lens on Sale!

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leica 15mm on sale!

This little gem is on sale for $70 off right now.  I’m not normally a sale pumper unless it is for stuff I use, I like and I would recommend.  If you’ve been on the fence, or waiting for this lens to drop a little, here’s a great opportunity to save a good amount of money on a great little lens.

Find the Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 15mm f/1.7 Aspherical lens on sale at Adorama HERE and B&H HERE.

If you’d like to see my review on the Leica 15mm, you can read that HERE.

Or, if you’d also like to read the head to head (to head) between the Leica 15, and the two Lumix Pancakes (14mm and 20mm) I did a comparison article HERE.

It is a great mate to any of the micro 4/3 cameras, especially the GM bodies, and is compact and lightweight enough to go largely unnoticed in the bag.  I’ve been shooting the 15mm on the new GX8 with its 20mp sensor providing great results for me.

 

*The Panasonic GX8 done grow’d up! A first look comparison w/ @LumixUSA

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Panasonic Lumix GX7 vs GX8 Comparison

Panasonic has done well to progress the hybrid market bringing industry leading video features to remarkably affordable price points over the years.  The GH line has always pushed into new territory with budget oriented motion shooters compared to all else available on the market.  Along with cutting edge video features, they’ve also done well to provide competent still shooting devices incorporated into these wonderful, little mirrorless cameras.  The GF and GX lines have historically incorporated a more still shooter driven skill set in a smaller, rangefinder style body while adding admirable video features as well.

There’s been no hiding my love for the GX7 over the past few years.  In my mind, it has been the best balance of quality, size, feature and price yet available in the mirrorless landscape, playing to all of the benefits of a smaller format, mirrorless construction and very high end lens availability through the system partnership with Olympus, and third party collaboration and support from companies like Leica, Sigma, Voigtländer and many others.

With the GX8, Panasonic has brought us a newer, more beefed up version with the m4/3 system’s first 20mp sensor, dual IS feature and various 4K video and still modes in a camera that, while a bit bigger, can still fit into a large pocket with the right lens.  A great machine, but is it truly a step forward in all ways?  Having been shooting this camera extensively for the last month and a half, I feel comfortable giving my opinions and comparisons between the GX8 and it’s predecessor.  C’mon in…

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*Brand new, TRP Vector strap available, and giveaway winners!

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TRP Vector Straps available now

The brand new, hand built Vector straps are now available via the TRP Camera Straps Page HERE for $27 delivered ($33 outside of the US).  They’re light weight, low profile and comfortable wrist straps for any camera.  Utilizing very high end materials, I’ve chosen to build these with both comfort and function in mind.  They’re great when wanting to keep weight and bulk down, comfort up all while maintaining a casual, modern look.

The Vector Straps are now available along with the Garda and Cascade Straps.  Come on in to see who won free straps from our social media giveaway…

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*Social media giveaway! Be one of the first to get a brand new TRP Vector camera strap #trpcamerastraps

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vectorlead

The new TRP Vector straps are low profile, lightweight wrist straps made from blended, 24 plait braided line utilizing high end materials like Vectran, Cordura and high tenacity Polyester.  Strength, style, fashion and function.  Used in high performance, professional sailing, this rope is built to last.  I personally, hand build each and every strap, and I’ve been testing these for the last 6 months.  They’re dialed.  The brand new, Vector straps will be released next week, and for a chance to win one, shipping included, I’m going to try something newish (for me and the blog anyway).  

We’ve done a giveaway with each of the other straps, and this time, I wanted to also start up bit of a reward for helping me get the word out, guerrilla marketing style.  Being that I hand build each and every strap myself, I want to do my best to keep costs as low as I can to both make enough money for this whole venture to make sense, but to keep the delivered price as low as possible to make sense for you as well.  The more I can sell, the more I can invest, etc, etc.  Kind of my own kickstarter so to speak, except you don’t have to put money in to get this going, I’ve already done that.

The idea here is getting the word out, and figuring out a way to reward those who help me do that.  Here’s what I’m thinking…

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*Using the Kipon EF to m4/3, smart adapter. Things are getting interesting w/ @adorama

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kipon ef to m4/3 af adapter

The Kipon EF Lens to Micro 4/3 mount smart adapter is a fairly big deal.  Not just because it enables aperture adjustment for the electronically controlled EF line of lenses when adapted to a micro 4/3 camera body, but it has also bridged the proprietary technology to gain the use of full auto focus and lens based image stabilization capabilities.  Having followed a fairly similar path into the micro 4/3 world as I would imagine many others, I came from a long standing investment in the Canon system.  I still shoot my Canon full framers, and have compiled some very nice glass over the years that tends to sit on the shelf more often now that I shoot the micro 4/3 system.  I’ve been waiting for a solution to merge my two beloved systems, and Kipon has produced it.

Enter the new, Kipon EF>m4/3 Smart Adapter. Come on in for some insight and my experience over the last month…

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