Black and White Pics

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by empire23

lol i'm usually gone by the time they figure someone was taking pics of them. I usually shoot at maximum FPS and move on asap, that way i don't get into ackward situations.

Ah! That's a good tactic! I always wondered about this.. Kinda awkward situation IMHO. Heh..

[Chai]

You don't need a high FPS camera in that case. Just need a fast AF and minimal shutter lag.

[empire23]

High FPS is important because people's actions and expressions keep changing, thus shooting a burst of say 12 to 20 shots is one of the easiest ways to get a usable shot. Sometimes a step might not be right, the position might be out and such, high FPS comes in handy then.

I don't use AF much, since i normally prefocus, stick to hyperfocal and make sure that people go into my field of focus, not focus my camera on a particular subject. Makes shooting more fun and of course while on foot, this is a far more flexible arrangement than AF.

Anyways here's a simple guide on how to further weatherproof and make sure shit like sand, dirt and water don't get into your lense.

List of Items

1. ScotchBrite cloth
2. Dupont Krytox 205GPL (it's like liquid PTFE)

1. This is what you need.



2. Look for potential points of infiltration, recessed focusing rings are a particular target.



3. Apply light film of grease.



4. Turn ring and allow grease to seep in and infiltrate the lense.


5. Most of the grease should be in the lense now.



6. Wipe off excess grease with wet microfiber cloth.



7. Repeat the same for Zoom ring and weatherseals.

[Chai]

Then you bought the wrong camera.

[empire23]

Well it was either the 1Ds Mark III or a Leica MP, because i crop alot and most of my shots only use 1/10th the original image, and the MP is a full manual camera and uses film, 4k USD for a full manual without a lense is hard to swallow, but T-Max does put out a 30 megapixel equivalent image and that's hard to beat in terms of usable detail.

Plus, You never get a second chance when shooting candid portraiture most of the time, so when i do get a pic, the 22 mpixels helps. Maybe i'll get the Leica MP after my midsem with a Summilux 35mm 1.4 ASPH, taxi work should more than pay for it. Or maybe an older Hassie 503CW with Gripwinder, depends on how discreet i want to be.

[Adrian Wong]

Permission to adapt this into a mini-guide, empire23?

[empire23]

It's ok with me lol.

I finally finished up the tripod one i talked about too. Simple really and makes the tripod so much easier to deploy. As per the above guide, one can use lithium grease, but i prefer Krytox due to it's long term ability to grease joints.

This guide is for a Gitzo tripod with ALR and g-lock collars, but i guess the same principles apply to other tripods as well.

You will need 3 things.

1. Grease Solvent
2. Krytox Grease, GPL105 is good too
3. A microfiber cloth

I suggest some form of cleaning everytime the tripod is exposed to salt water or sand, as salt water can corrode the screw threads (as they're made of aluminum), and sand can wear away the threads. Plus as tripods age, the grease wears out, which may cause unwanted wear and tear.


1. Unscrew the locking joints all the way till they come out.



2. Pull the leg out all the way until you can see the plastic brackets





3. Remove the Plastic leg brackets, note their position and that they have circular notches that fit into the holes on the leg.



4. Squirt degreaser on the threads AND inside the locking screw and let it settle for awhile. Then wipe it off with the microfiber cloth. Make sure the threads are as clean as possible. Since the locking screw can't really be disassembled, after degreasing it, just soak it in waters, dry with the cloth and shake it.



5. Apply a good amount grease and use your fingers to rub it along the threads, so that it's even. Dab a little along the inside of the screw locks too, but not too much, it's hard to clean up and makes the grip of the screw less secure, but it makes it easier to deploy.




6. Repeat the same process for anything that might have come into contact with saltwater and sand. The bottom screw of the my tripod for example could use some greasing as threads were getting tighter.



The end, hope you enjoyed the guide.

[empire23]

Graduationnnnnnn. If you must know, i didn't graduate, next sem lah.

[Adrian Wong]

Hehe.. They look so happy.

Do they know yet that they are going into a lifetime of servitude, with long hours and poor pay?