Category: Gear Reviews

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Godox S2 Bracket – Bowens Mount Review

The Godox S2 bracket for Bowens mount is a must have if you want to expand your light modifier capabilities. It will work with almost any Speedlite and the full Godox light lineup that don’t already have Bowens mount.

The quality is excellent and it is well built. It hold a Speedlite V860 II-S perfectly and securely. I have tried to dislodge the flash once secured in the S2 and doesn’t matter how hard I shook the unit it did not budge. It mount well on the light modifier but must say that there is a little play. But once again it look like it would take a lot to break to dismount the bracket. There is a another hole for an umbrella but you’ll need another screw to hold it in place.

The S2 cost around $30 and weight 680 g. It will fit the Godox AD 400 Pro, AD 200 Pro, V1 Round Head Speedlite, and all of the Godox Speedlite line up. The website mention that it is possible to fit 2 TT 350. The S2 version is smaller than the S1 and fit a wide range of light. I highly suggest this unit if you are in the market for a Bownes mount bracket.

PerGear : https://www.pergear.com/

You can buy the S2 bracket here : https://www.amazon.ca/Godox-Speedlite-AD200Pro-Honeycomb-Reflector/dp/B07YCDKGQJ

https://www.amazon.com/Godox-Speedlite-AD200Pro-Adjustment-integrated/dp/B07YCDKGQJ

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Manfrotto XPro A4 Fluid Monopod Review

The Manfrotto XPro A4 Fluid Monopod with fluid tech base is a solid piece of equipment. It is tall, sturdy, and pans very smoothly. It is on the pricier end but worth every penny in my opinion. I used it for shooting wildlife and with my flash as a light on a stick. I am also looking forward to bringing it on more trips and commercial shoots in the near future.

Let’s take a look at the specs. Feel free to take a look at the Manfrotto website for more details.

  • Weight – 1200 g or 42.3 oz
  • Min height – 68 cm or 26.7 in
  • Max height – 192 cm or 75.5 in
  • Safety payload – 8 kg or 17.64 lbs
  • Top attachment – 3/8″ and 1/4″
  • Front tilt – 19 deg to -19 deg

The fluid tech base is a nice addition to this kit. It provides a very controlled way to tilt the monopod and can be removed if desired. I placed my Canon 7d with the Canon 100-400 L lens on it as a test to see if the monopod would bend when using it horizontally fully extended. There was no give and it can be used to get different perspectives safely.

I highly suggest the Manfrotto XPro 4A if you are in the market for a solid monopod.

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Godox V860 II-S. 5 Compatibility tips for the A7III

The Godox V860 II-S flash is compatible with the Sony A7III mirroless camera.  There is some minor issues that I have found and so far I was able to work my way around.

1 – Compatibility with the A7III
2 – Shutter Speed
3 – Flash menu compatibility
4 – AF assist beam
5 – Issue with live view display brightness

  1. The flash is compatible with the A7III for the most part.  This will lead to the next few points…
  2. The shutter speed is limited to 1/250 sec. when the flash is power on.  To change that you’ll need to use the high shutter speed mode on the flash.  Then you’ll be able to reach 1/8000 sec.
  3. The options in the Flash Menu on the A7III are working for the most part.  Two of the flash mode options are greyed out.  Other than that the flash exposure compensation seems to work on the camera and the flash independently.  Meaning that you can setup the camera at +2 stops or the flash at +2 stops.  Then you’ll have +2 more stops of light for your image.  Now if you choose +2 in the camera and the flash it seems to add the two and create a +4 stops of light.  So it look like you can add the two…
  4. The AF assist beam feature on the Godox V860 II-S is not compatible on the A7III…  The feature is suppose to fire a quick pre-blast of light to help to camera focus in low light situation.  I haven’t seen any pre-flash in my test…
  5. One major issue is with the live view display when the flash is power on.  The A7III have an option to have the Setting Effect On or Off.  When On the live view will show you the changes made with the settings on the screen, changing the brightness of the scene.  When Off, the brightness stays the same and there is no changes to the live view when changing settings.  The problem occurs when the Setting Effect is On and the flash is power on.  The setting is then switch to Off and there is no way to see the changes made to the exposure, which quickly become a problem when using the flash as a fill flash.  The solution is to go to Custom Key and set Shot. Result Preview to one of your button.  This feature brings back the Setting Effect On when activated.  That way you can now see the changes made to the exposure of your scene with your flash turn On!

So far those are the issues that I have found.  I hope that there will be a firmware update for the Godox flash at some point soon.  It seems that the Sony A7III firmware 2.0 did not fix any of those issues…  I will add to the list if I find more issues.

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Godox V860 II S Overview

Are you looking for an affordable flash for your brand new a7III?  Well don’t look any further because I might just have the flash for you!  I recently purchased a Godox V860 II-S on camera flash for my a7III and let me tell you that I am very pleased so far.  It cost a total of $225 cdn and it is a fraction of the price than the equivalent Sony top of the line flash.  Powerful, well design and easy to use, this flash is definitely a must for my kit.

The V860 II-S is made for Sony camera, S for Sony, C for Canon, N for Nikon, etc.  The V means that it comes with a Li-ion battery instead of the TT version who use AA batteries.  The big advantage of using the Lithium battery is the recycle time of 1.5 sec at max power vs 2.6 sec with best AA on the market.  Also you’ll be able to shoot over 600 bursts vs 230 with AA.

The flash is pack with features and modes that you would expect from the big brands.  TTL, Manual, and Multi Strobe.  It can be use as a master or a slave if you have more than one or use a transceiver.  The features includes flash exposure compensation, flash exposure lock, 1/8000 sec. high speed sync, second curtain sync, just to name a few.  It is very powerful with a guide number of 60m or 190ft and covers a 20-200mm range.

So far I feel like this unit is as well built as my Canon Speedlite 580 EXII.  Time will tell if it is the case as my Canon flash is suited for a multitude of weather and never had any issues no matter what type of scenario I found myself into.  All and all I think this is a very good purchase for $225.

Stay tune for my future review on the V860 II-S.  The next step for me is using this flash in many environment and occasion as possible to give you a solid review!

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Sony A7III – Cheap Power Bank Setup That Last Hours!

The next generation battery for Sony mirrorless cameras is known to be better and more reliable.  The NP-FZ100 battery is a major upgrade from the NP-FZ50 model.  Most photographers and videographers will no longer need to carry half a dozen batteries in their bag anymore.  The only unfortunate part is that the NP-FZ100 costs about $120 and there are not many third party brand options on the market yet.  I did some research when I was waiting for my A7III to be delivered and only found options north of $100…  There are now a few more options on the market and the prices are slowly going down, but I needed a more affordable option now.  I came across one photographer who uses power banks instead of batteries.  It looked like I could get more power for way less money, so I decided to invest in this setup and let me tell you- I don’t regret it!

First, let me run you through what you need and the cost for the whole setup.  I purchased a Anker PowerCore 13 000 battery for $41.99 (CDN),  a Andoer A7III dummy battery $51.99 (CDN),  a SmallRig Switching Plate 1598 $10.99 (CDN),  a cold shoe mount $4 (CDN),  and some velcro $7 (CDN).  The whole setup cost me $116 (CDN)- $4 cheaper than a new Sony NP-FZ100!  The kicker is the Anker PowerCore 13 000 provides me with 13 000 mAh of power compare to the NP-FZ100 – 2280 mAh.  So that’s about 5 times the power for more or less the same price!

The video shows how to setup it up and what it looks like once mounted on my SmallRig A7III cage.  I will say that I don’t even notice the battery pack and I can film for a few hours worry free.  I usually use this setup for video or gigs that don’t require me to be mobile a whole lot.  I work with the the normal battery when I shoot outside.  The best part is that I can recharge my NP-FZ100 battery a few times via USB to the camera with the Anker PowerCore 13 000 if I don’t use it to directly power with the dummy battery.  I did a few overnight gigs where I didn’t have access to power and the Anker power bank was  enough to keep my A7III and Feelworld F6 monitor going the entire trip.

I highly suggest you look into this affordable setup as it might save you from running out of power at an unfortunate time.

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Canon Speedlite 580 EXII – Review and Tutorial.

This is 6 parts series on the Canon Speedlite EXII.  Every video covers a different topic.  I should also mention that I created these videos a few years ago.  The content is still relevant to the other and newer Canon Speedlite.

 

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Manfrotto 055 + XPro 3 Way Head Review

Here is one of my favorite tripods.  I have traveled around with this setup and taken many images with it.  This setup is on the heavier side but it is sturdy.  I had the tripod in the ocean, streams and rivers, windy conditions and stable environments.  It has handled all situations so far.  Hope you enjoy this review!

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Tamron Tap In Console

I purchased the Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 G2 version late last year and I have been super impressed with the build quality and how sharp the lens is.  Unfortunately the lens needed some AF adjustments when I first got it.  So I went ahead and spent $80 to purchase the Tap In Console.  I created this video to help anyone out there trying to figure out how to adjust their Tamron lens.

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Looking for last minute shopping ideas?

Here is a few ideas for last minute Christmas shopping.

Get Luminar, the brand new Macphun editing software for MAC.  Luminar is the new simple but yet very powerful editing software.  Imagine a blend of MAC Photos, Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop for only 69.99 CDN$. (from the app store)

Aurora HDR 2017 for MAC.  A new version of this complete HDR software is available for 119.99 CDN$.  There is good improvement versus the older version and you no longer have to choose between the normal and pro version.  Aurora is the best HDR software in my opinion because it will let you take over so much controls in the creation process.

Pulse by Alpine Labs.  Pulse is a remote trigger for your DSLR or mirror less camera.  It plug straight to the camera and allow you to wirelessly control your camera from your smartphone.  You can take control over the settings of your camera to create time-lapse,  HDR,  long exposure,  video or simply take a single photo.  Price tag of $100.

Gnarbox.  The Gnarbox is waterproof, shockproof, dustpoof and ready for your adventure.  Connect your smartphone via wifi to look,  edit or share pictures.  It hold up to 128 GB of full resolution footage and have a battery that last 4-6 hours.  Just have to connect your camera or insert your card to transfer files to the box. Pre order for $299.

Genie Mini by Syrp.  The Genie mini is an extremely easy-to-use device to create smooth panning motion time-lapse or real-time video.  This motion control device connect to your smart phone giving you all the tools for easy control.  It is compatible with a huge range of cameras and works with GoPro, mirror-less camera or DSLR.  This compact unit is for sale for USD $250.

Capture Pro Clip by Peak Design.  The Capture Pro Clip is a pro-quality camera carrying clip. Rigidly carry any camera on any backpack strap, belt or bag.  It can also be use as a tripod head itself.  You wont break the back for this great clip as it only cost around $80.

Memory Card Case by Pelican.  This water resistant, shockproof, dustpoof little case can carry 8 SD Cards & 16 Mini SD Cards.  It is compact and allow safe and easy storage for your memory cards.  There is another model that can store 6 compact flash cards. These cases go for $30.  

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Third Party Batteries. Should You Buy Them?

Having more battery power for your camera can make the difference between coming home with the shot you were looking for or running out of juice just before the golden moment.  Unfortunately most factory brand batteries are very expensive as most of them come with a $100 price tag.  So you might break the bank if you want to carry 3-4 batteries with you at all times.  But what about those cheap third party brand batteries, do they work?

I recently had to purchase some new batteries for my Canon 7d.   I looked for a deal or a good price the Canon LP-E6 battery online.  I had no luck as most of the links I looked at offered the battery for $100.  I decided to go ahead and buy 2 BM LP-E6 batteries just before leaving for Bali.  It cost me $35 for the 2 batteries and shipping.  I used them heavily during my 2 week trip and must say that I saw very little difference between them and the Canon one I still had in my bag.  In all fairness my Canon battery is old and probably looses it’s charge quicker than a brand new one but still I was able to shoot all day with a BM battery.

All and all I believe that the BM batteries I bought are great and hold their charge long enough in a very hot climate.  I would love to be able to try them in a very cold environment as well.  The batteries are compatible with the Canon 7d, meaning that I can see their status on my body or in my menu.  I was able to shoot around 500-600 photos without fully draining the charge.  I don’t use the Live View Mode unless I shoot very specific scenes, so it could be a little different for someone that uses the Live View Mode a lot on their camera.  That being said I was deleting photos on my camera everyday for about 20 minutes on the same charge that I used to shoot them.  I came back home with hundreds of great photos and never ran out of power in the field.

So should you buy them?  My answer is ABSOLUTELY!!   How can you go wrong with two batteries for $35.  You can get six batteries for the price of one Canon LP-E6…  Click here to take a look at these BM LP-E6 batteries at Amazon.ca

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Wacom Intuos Pro Tablet

www.manuelmartelphotography.comI only have good things to say about the Wacom Intuos Pro Tablet.  This device allowed me to take precise control of my brushes while working in Photoshop or Lightroom CC.  The pen gives me a whole new level of freedom and allows me to decide on the amount of pressure that I apply to every stroke.  This tablet saved me a lot of time and wrist pain over the last two years.

I will keep the impressive feature list short and I will share some of my favorites.  The tablet delivers 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt recognition.  Pan, zoom, and navigate naturally with gestures on the multi-touch surface like the tracking pad on a an Apple device. The tablet recognizes application-specific shortcuts and lets you customize them to your liking.  It is wireless and works on MAC or PC.  For the full specs please visit the Wacom Intuos Pro Official Website

 

Click here to buy a Wacom Intuos Pro tablet at a great price from Amazon.ca

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5 Great Camera Gadgets You Should Look Into!!

Photography can be an expansive hobby as you will always look for the next lens or camera body you can afford.  You might get to a point where the next purchase will cost an arm and a leg…  So you save money for a while and wait.  Meanwhile you might get your hands on a gadget or two that can improve your camera kit and satisfy you untill the next big purchase.  I did some research and found 5 reasonably priced products you should definitely look into.

  • Pulse by Alpine Labs.  Pulse is a remote trigger for your DSLR or mirror less camera.  It plug straight to the camera and allow you to wirelessly control your camera from your smartphone.  You can take control over the settings of your camera to create time-lapse,  HDR,  long exposure,  video or simply take a single photo.  This slick looking gadget will be available during the summer 2016 at a price tag of $100.

 

  • Gnarbox.  The Gnarbox is waterproof, shockproof, dustpoof and ready for your adventure.  Connect your smartphone via wifi to look,  edit or share pictures.  It hold up to 128 GB of full resolution footage and have a battery that last 4-6 hours.  Just have to connect your camera or insert your card to transfer files to the box.  This boomproof external hard drive will be available in September 2016 and you can pre order it for USD $250

 

  • Genie Mini by Syrp.  The Genie mini is an extremely easy-to-use device to create smooth panning motion time-lapse or real-time video.  This motion control device connect to your smart phone giving you all the tools for easy control.  It is compatible with a huge range of cameras and works with GoPro, mirror-less camera or DSLR.  This compact unit is for sale for USD $250.

 

  • Capture Pro Clip by Peak Design.  The Capture Pro Clip is a pro-quality camera carrying clip. Rigidly carry any camera on any backpack strap, belt or bag.  It can also be use as a tripod head itself.  You wont break the back for this great clip as it only cost around $80.

 

  • Memory Card Case by Pelican.  This water resistant, shockproof, dustpoof little case can carry 8 SD Cards & 16 Mini SD Cards.  It is compact and allow safe and easy storage for your memory cards.  There is another model that can store 6 compact flash cards. These cases go for $30.