Modifiers for Off Camera Flash

I found my old Lastolite Micro Apollo 45 softbox buried under a stack of competition prints today. I bought it for on camera flash use intially, but started using the Stofen Omnibounce instead for size (not that I can find it anymore!). It got me to thinking about modifiers other than the humble umbrella. So I popped along to the Strobist Flickr Group and popped the question.
Almost immediately Kev Yong pointed me at to a site talking about Nikon SB800 modifiers. Although I shoot Canon, the modifiers still apply to Canon flashes also. My intention is, of course, for Off Camera flash now, so softbox sizes well in excess of the 8X5.5" Micro Apollo are now longer an issue.

Cokin Filter Wallet

One of the things I'm really bad at is putting my filters back in their plastic pouches. I stopped using Cokin Grad filters because they scratch easily, and at the time, they only made Grad Grey rather than Neutral Density filters. Instead I used Hitech filters supplied by Teamwork Photo in London. However I still managed to scratch these eventually. Without excusing myself, it was a combination of putting them in my pocket and tearing the plastic pouches that did it. Shooting over the bank holiday at the start of May, one of travelling companions pulls out a black pouch. I did a double take: it was a Cokin filter pouch. Great, I thought, now I can order more Hitech Filters and put them in a Cokin pouch.

The pouch holds up to 7 filters with filter holder and adaptor rings. A neck strap and belt attachment is included. It's on my shopping list now, along with a new set of Hitech Hard ND Grads!

Update: I'm now on my second one of these Wallets. I lost the first one! Anyhow. This is really a great purchase. Currently it holds 4 Hitech Filters, a number of rings, a Circular Polariser and a Cokin Wide Angle holder.

Canon 1D MkIII

A bunch of lucky photographers will be jumping up and down with the news that their new camera is now shipping in the US and Canada. The 10 Megapixel, 10.5 fps camera will certainly be the one to cause gearheads to pack up and go home when they see one. Maybe now there will be a flood of 1D MkII and MKII N's on the market!

Canon Powershot S5 IS

Just to muddy the choices in the large compact market, Canon have announced the S5 IS. This replaces the S3 IS (no 4 though, 4 is an unlucky number). It's an 8 MP camera with a 12X zoom and shift type Image Stabliser. The processing is done with the new Digic III processor. Other features include the 2.5 inch variable angle display and a hotshoe for external flash.

Video wise, this camera will shoot 640X480 with stereo sound, up to 4Gb or 1 hour. This depends on a fast memory card.
Overall this camera looks very impressive. It has features that would make me favour it over a camera like the Olympus SP550.
E.g. IS, the hotshoe and the vari-angle LCD. The 550 does shoot RAW though and has an 18X zoom, with a 28mm equivalent wide angle vs 36mm on the Canon. Now the S5 with wide angle and RAW would be the one for sure!

Flickr on PDN

There's a great article on Flickr as a stock source over on PDN.
Via Strobist

Ringflash adapter for Canon 580ex and Nikon SB-800

One of the more interesting things I saw at Photofest Ireland, was a new Ringflash adaptor for the Canon 580ex (SB-800 due out soon).

Created by a Czech photographer, it uses prisms and mirrors to get an even distibution of light around the ring.
It looked very cool. As I'm using a 550ex and the Sigma 500 Super, I enquired about these flashes. Apparently some 550ex users have cut slits in the sides and this has worked for them.
More information at Flaghead, Robert White and Warehouse Express in England. Barker Photographic are the Irish Distributers.

Photocite

I've been blogging about a lot of things for a long while. My Lightroom Blog is probably my most regular one these days. I've let my personal blog lapse and will probably let it die, now that this one has begun. Why? Because the only things I really posted on there recently were photo related. As my photoblog Random Panderings is very active, I thought it was time to supplement it with photo related news, opinions and links. Hence Photocite. It's a perversion of Photo, photosite and cite, as in photosite inside a digital sensor and cite, as in to quote.

A little background is in order before I plunge into the recent ideas, tutorials and news, that have been hanging around my brain for the last few weeks needing an outlet. I shoot mainly digital on a Canon 20D, with a 400D backup. I've played with Nikon and certainly have no issues with using them. Just remember the shutter speed is on the back! I have a large collection of lenses, mostly Canon L or Sigma EX lenses (bar the 18-200 Sigma). Too many in fact. I process with Lightroom and use Photoshop for pixel based editing on the special images. This gets rarer as Lightroom gets better. I'm a beta tester for Lightroom, but obviously cannot talk about any features that may or may not be happening or anything related to it.
I shoot lots of things. Bands, portraits, landscapes, architecture, rubgy.. the list goes on. My main areas are places and people mostly.

I have both film and digital experience, along with my own studio setup. Recently I've been working with Off Camera flash a lot. More on this later. I've achieved my LIPF and LBPPA distinctions also.
Well, that's enough of an intro. Let the fun begin.