26/08/2008 – Choosing Your Cameras For Traveling

This week should be a ‘light week’ for posting on Flying With Fish and somehow this is my third post for the week. This post is also the second installment of Flying With Fish Video.

In this installment of Flying With Fish Video I discuss choosing your camera body selection for traveling. Many photographers purchase mismatched, or incompatible, camera bodies which forces them to pack excess weight and use valuable space in their bags, while traveling. In this video I’ll go through choosing ‘matched cameras’ to add to save you space and weight while also making your experience in the field with your cameras easier.

Happy Flying!

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23/04/2008 – Incredible Pocket Sized Tripod : The Manfrotto 3007 Kit

After posting about the Ultrapod II in mid-February, on Flying With Fish, I received quite a few messages asking me if I had tried the Manfrotto 3007 tabletop tripod. In the weeks following my post the folks at Bogen/Manfrotto sent me the complete Manfrotto 3007 kit, including the 3007 Tabletop Tripod, 482 Mini-Ballhead, 3007x Extension Post and Bogen 345 Bag to test out and take on the road.

Since late March I have been using my Manfrotto 3007 kit extensively on trips throughout the United States and around the world. I initially used the 3007 as a hidden light stand on engagement sessions shoots in Philadelphia, San Francisco and later a bridal session in Hong Kong; and I also used the 3007 for a series of industrial architecture shoots in in the past few weeks in Philadelphia, Frankfurt, Incheon and New York City. I have to say that I love this pocket sized tripod!

The Manfrotto 3007 is very different than the Ultrapod II and they seem to do two very different jobs in my kit set up. I have been able to find unique uses for both tripods, but overall the Manfrotto 3007 is extremely versatile, very compact, exceedingly easy to travel with and able to withstand a significant weight load stably at unusual angles.

Any compact tripod can double as a compact light stand, this is fairly easy. I often place a small light behind my subjects for some added backlight, and the Manfrotto 3007′s unique auxiliary extension post, that adds approximately 6-to-10 inches is great for fine tuning the secondary back light in tight spaces.

The real test of any compact tripod is to be able to stably hold the weight of a full-size camera with a heavy lens. Throughout my projects I have used the Manfrotto 3007 and the 482 mini-ballhead to hold a Canon 5D, with BG-E4 grip, with some heavy lenses, including the Canon 14f2.8,16-35f2.8, 24f1.4 and 24f3.5 tilt-shift at some very precise angles for some long exposures. Some shots were made with the 3007x extension post, others without, either way the tripod and the head held these heavy camera/lens combinations flawlessly.

I don’t think I could have ever imagined using such a compact, lightweight, tripod for such precise work with the sets ups I was using in the past. The full range ball-head gives top notch profession precision and flexibility, while the overall kit can be disassembled and easily carried in your back pocket (not that I suggest trying to sit down with a disassembled tripod in your back pocket).

While the supplied carry-case is not my ideal design, it does it’s job. Two individual slots hold the tripod with head and the extension post separately. This makes the ultra-quick set up and tear down easy. The belt loop on the back is perfect for attaching to any belt system,or lashing it onto a bag such as the Mountainsmith Tour or the Newswear belt system.

At approximately US$80 for the complete kit, I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t add the Manfrotto 3007 to their kit!

Below are two photos of my Canon 5D w/24f1.4 attached to the Manfrotto 3007 while shooting the Incheon Transportation Center, in Incheon, South Korea. Along with these two photos is a photo shot from this set up.

Happy Flying!

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