Carl Weese at The Online Photographer just posted a piece on the Pentax 70mm f/2.4 DA lens that reminds me why a) I really want companies other than just Canon and Nikon to thrive and flourish in the DSLR market, b) equipment doesn’t have to look the way we expect it to look to be good, and c) Pentax is still a cool company.
Worth a read.
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Recently Michael Reichmann wrote a piece at the Luminous Landscape web site about his trial of the Induro C413 tripod during his recent expedition to Antarctica. (See Testing the Carbon Fiber Induro C413 in Antarctica.) In general he praised the tripod and suggested that Infuro might compete with better known brands like Gitzo and Manfrotto. He concluded:
The new Induro Carbon Fibre tripods are a very worthwhile addition to the marketplace. Professional photographers now have a strong alternative to the Gitzo line, and Induro will likely garner some significant marketshare.
I had a chance to check out these tripods at a local camera shop recently, and they seemed pretty impressive to me. I’m considering the C313 model which is smaller than the one that Reichmann tested but otherwise quite similar.
There is just one problem. I recently posted messages on a few photography discussion forums and asked if anyone had any experience, good or bad, with these tripods – in particular the C3.. and C4xx models. I got exactly zero response. I’d love to hear from anyone who has any experiece with these models in the Induro line before I buy one.
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From time to time I shoot indoor theatrical or musical performances where the use of flash would be inappropriate… and probably get me ejected from the theatre! From what I understand, many people like to photograph these subjects with primes (for their wider apertures) or with wide aperture zooms. I have successfully shot such subjects with the former, but I don’t own the latter.
Newer DSLRs that have image stabilization and can produce good low-noise images at higher ISO values let us push the limits of natural light photography in these situations.
This example was shot with my EF 24-105mm f/4 IS zoom on a tripod and with image stabilization. (I leave the ballhead somewhat loose and sometimes use the tripod as a monopod.) I can often shoot in the 1/25 to 1/60 of a second shutter speed range and get good results as long as my subjects aren’t moving too fast.
I picked up a new camera body last night. While part of me is fascinated by the technology, another part remembers that it is really about the photographs and not about the camera. Soooo… I’m going to resist the temptation to rattle on about the new gear. :-)
But I will try to take some photographs soon…
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