What Photography Related Item Have You Bought or Sold This Week?

[Bryan Conner]

I have the Sunwayforo Geared head also, which I use most for precision landscape framing. For that purpose it’s great.
What would you say differentiates this head from a ball? Just thinking about it seems like it would be somewhat restrictive in use?

It is restrictive in use, which is why, in my opinion, it needs to be mounted on a leveling base which gives you some lateral adjustment. But, this "restriction" is also what I like about it. It is much easier for me to get the camera level on the head after leveling the tripod head for panoramas. Even though my Linhof ballhead has adjustable resistance to keep the camera from "flopping", it is still difficult for me to loosen the head a bit with one hand to enable me to to move the camera on the head with the other hand. For me, this is partly because of the infinite possibility of movement direction of a ball head. I want to tilt the camera up a bit, but I instead tilt it up and a bit to the left. Sometimes, it feels like leveling a heavy camera/lens on my ballhead is like trying to herd cats. But that is just me. A head like the VH-30R will rotate and move up and down. So, when I get the head level using the leveling base, I can put my camera on the head and then the camera is level laterally and I only have to level it up and down. It isn't easy for me to explain it. I didn't understand it myself until I tried a small version on my monopod.

For me, each type of head has its place and each type has advantages and disadvantages.

 

[PKM-UK]

Pulled the trigger on some new processing tech - now awaiting a Mac Studio M4 Max 16-Core CPU, 40-Core GPU, 12-Core NE, 64GB UM, 2TB SSD.

(And, of course, the bill... ).

Phil

 

[BasilFawlty]

Pulled the trigger on some new processing tech - now awaiting a Mac Studio M4 Max 16-Core CPU, 40-Core GPU, 12-Core NE, 64GB UM, 2TB SSD.

(And, of course, the bill... ).

Phil

Congratulations! That’s the same configuration I plan to upgrade to (from loaded M1 iMac), with the exception of the SSD. I’ve determined to only upgrade to 1TB then build my own external 4TB for a lot less than what Apple charges for SSD.

 

[PKM-UK]

Congratulations! That’s the same configuration I plan to upgrade to (from loaded M1 iMac), with the exception of the SSD. I’ve determined to only upgrade to 1TB then build my own external 4TB for a lot less than what Apple charges for SSD.

Cheers!

A bit of soul searching in choosing the final specs, given Apple's eye-watering upgrade costs, but having assessed our current set-up (MacBook Pro M1 Max 10-Core CPU, 32-Core GPU, 12-Core NE, 32GB UM, 1TB SSD + 2x 4TB external SSD's - and a 10TB HD TimeMachine) we stumped up for the 2TB internal.

I think 2TB will be a worthwhile upgrade for our needs, but I fully understand your preference for external SSD's (ours have been absolutely seamless in use).


(Karen managed to get us a small discount on the deal, which helped to soften the blow a smidge... ).

Phil

 

[BasilFawlty]

Karen managed to get us a small discount on the deal, which helped to soften the blow a smidge...

That’s great! I can get a 10% discount when I buy with my veteran’s discount. It’s not much but I’ll take it.

 

[Hali]

Cheers!

A bit of soul searching in choosing the final specs, given Apple's eye-watering upgrade costs, but having assessed our current set-up (MacBook Pro M1 Max 10-Core CPU, 32-Core GPU, 12-Core NE, 32GB UM, 1TB SSD + 2x 4TB external SSD's - and a 10TB HD TimeMachine) we stumped up for the 2TB internal.

I think 2TB will be a worthwhile upgrade for our needs, but I fully understand your preference for external SSD's (ours have been absolutely seamless in use).


(Karen managed to get us a small discount on the deal, which helped to soften the blow a smidge... ).

Phil

That’s fabulous!!! It sounds like it is going to be an amazing editing machine! Glad you got a discount on it. I am a windows user but have a preference for Puget Systems machines which are not quite as pricey as that Mac is but close.

 

[StevenAunan]

I’ve determined to only upgrade to 1TB then build my own external 4TB for a lot less than what Apple charges for SSD.

This is the way.

 

[Bucolic Old Sir Henry]

Pulled the trigger on some new processing tech - now awaiting a Mac Studio M4 Max 16-Core CPU, 40-Core GPU, 12-Core NE, 64GB UM, 2TB SSD.

(And, of course, the bill... ).

Phil

Jealous! My M1Max Mac Studio is beginning to feel a little old in the tooth, so I'll be interested to hear how you get on with the M4.

Unfortunately, SWMBO needs a new iPad, and my 2018 iPad Pro was definitely arthritic dealing with RAWs from the R5ii on our last trip away from home, so those may have to come first...

 

[PKM-UK]

Jealous! My M1Max Mac Studio is beginning to feel a little old in the tooth, so I'll be interested to hear how you get on with the M4.

Unfortunately, SWMBO needs a new iPad, and my 2018 iPad Pro was definitely arthritic dealing with RAWs from the R5ii on our last trip away from home, so those may have to come first...

Hi Gareth,

still looks like being towards the back end of April for delivery - once it's set up I'll try to post a few NR/ Processing comparisons vs my MacBook Pro.

Between now and then our new NAS gear * may be arriving, at which time I will be disappearing down a rabbit hole into a world of tech pain (and fun).

(* Synology DS1522+ DiskStation with 48TB of HDD's/ providing a 21.8TB RAID).

Phil

 

[Bryan Conner]

I didn't think to include my pc build (self-built) in this context, but I do use it for photography purposes so here goes...and it was a few weeks ago.

intel i9 13900F processor
64gb DDR5 memory (2x32GB) 6000M/Ts
Samsung 990 Pro 2tb NvME M.2 SSD as C drive
Samsung 980 1tb NvME M.2 SSD as current year image storage and Lightroom Catalog storage.
Gigabyte RTX 4060 Gaming OC graphics card

I also have an external HDD for image archiving and some internal HDDs/or SSD for photography books etc, along with my private business data.

It is the most responsive PC I have ever had in terms of Lightroom, even though I mostly use Bridge/ACR/Photoshop. It did make Lightroom fun again, which I use for the occasional print.

 

[Grahamk]

Hi Gareth,

still looks like being towards the back end of April for delivery - once it's set up I'll try to post a few NR/ Processing comparisons vs my MacBook Pro.

Between now and then our new NAS gear * may be arriving, at which time I will be disappearing down a rabbit hole into a world of tech pain (and fun).

(* Synology DS1522+ DiskStation with 48TB of HDD's/ providing a 21.8TB RAID).

Phil

C

Hi Gareth,

still looks like being towards the back end of April for delivery - once it's set up I'll try to post a few NR/ Processing comparisons vs my MacBook Pro.

Between now and then our new NAS gear * may be arriving, at which time I will be disappearing down a rabbit hole into a world of tech pain (and fun).

(* Synology DS1522+ DiskStation with 48TB of HDD's/ providing a 21.8TB RAID).

Phil

I’ll be very interested in any comparisons you can do. Beginning to think about upgrading my 2015 iMac which has served me well but is a little slow with some of the latest software.

 

[PKM-UK]

C

I’ll be very interested in any comparisons you can do. Beginning to think about upgrading my 2015 iMac which has served me well but is a little slow with some of the latest software.

Hi Graham,

I'll post some examples of NR and other 'timetable' processing tasks, once I get it set up. (Possibly linking some raw files you can download/ compare).

Phil

 

[RedCobra]

Just bought a Neewer fluid head to try on my R5 MkII and RF 100-300 f/2.8 on a smallish tripod to save wear and tear on my shoulder whilst camping out near the bird feeders. The ball head I have was not good for panning between feeders as I needed two hands to hold the camera and lens after releasing the ball head tension knob. Then reposition and tighten.

 

[Grahamk]

Hi Graham,

I'll post some examples of NR and other 'timetable' processing tasks, once I get it set up. (Possibly linking some raw files you can download/ compare).

Phil

Thanks Phil, looking forward to the results.

 

[StevenAunan]

I recently asked who was interested in the EOS R50 V, my own interest being a second body with better video capabilities than my R7. But then I found a refurbished R50 with the RF-S 18-45mm kit lens for $449 (currently $559). So I bought that and sold my R7 to MPB.

https://www.usa.canon.com/shop/p/refurbished-eos-r50-rf-s18-45mm-f4-5-6-3-is-stm-lens-kit?color=Black&type=Refurbished

I don't want the kit lens, but it's a cheap place to start. What I'd really like to see is an f/1.8 RF zoom lens like the Sigma EF 18-35mm that came out in 2013.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/967344-REG/sigma_18_35mm_f1_8_dc_hsm.html