Posts Tagged remote

Psst, wanna know how to fire a camera remotely?

Posted by Cameron in Equipment, How do I do that, Photography, Technology, Video on June 6th, 2009

Made up the first in hopefully a few “How do I do that?” videos, this one detailing the very basics of remote firing of a camera.  Hopefully someone gets something out of it! :-)

“How do I do that?” – Remote camera firing from Cameron Laird – Photographer on Vimeo.

, , , , , , , ,

No Comments

PocketWizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 field review

Posted by Cameron in Equipment, Photography, Technology, Video on May 12th, 2009

This is a field test/review of my new PocketWizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 units. Testing was done in a method which represents that of a working photographer, therefore I haven’t tested the units with the antennas positioned in the numerous wacky positions suggested by PocketWizard at this page [link]

Testing notes:  I set the flash to 2/3 stop over so that it was easily visible on the tree trunk; both units had been updated from firmware 4.10 to 4.25; all batteries were fully charged and/or new.

A busy working press/editorial photographer really doesn’t have the time to constantly adjust the positioning of the units to maximize range according to PocketWizard’s tips.
I have found both units to work perfectly well in very close range however my main reason for purchasing these was to have perfect reliability. Unfortunately this is not possible in my working environment. Hopefully there will be a simple solution soon.  I still love my bunch of PocketWizard Plus II’s for remote camera triggering and simple non-ttl flash triggering however I feel pretty let down by this latest product from the PocketWizard stables.

Please note PocketWizard – I would be love to product test any new improved devices for you!
Click the “HD is off” button to watch the review in 720P high definition on Vimeo

PocketWizard MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 field review from Cameron Laird – Photographer on Vimeo.

, , , , , , ,

17 Comments

Just got my new PocketWizards!

Posted by Cameron in Equipment, Photography on April 28th, 2009

Just took delivery of my new PocketWizard FlexTT5 and MiniTT1 after a LONG wait. I can’t believe that B&H Photo insist on full payment for a product even when they are on a lengthy backorder. Oh well, I was happy to pay but them having close to $1000 of my money for 2 1/2 months seem a bit rich.
There has been quite a lot of negative feedback about the actual range of the new PocketWizards. When I placed my order they advertised range up to between 800 and 1200 feet. I notice now, following many negative reviews, that the spec page has changed to a range of 30 – 1200 feet depending upon variables. Hmmm. I will do my own short video review and post it on here soon.

, , , , , ,

3 Comments

Technical timelapse assignment – want to help?

Posted by Cameron in Equipment, Photography, Technology on April 4th, 2009

Hi readers!

I am fortunate enough to have landed a great timelapse assignment that is slightly trickier than normal. I am 90% sure I have it all sorted but would love some feedback on some of the “tech” parts.
  • Camera is to be mounted on a train, which will be travelling all over the state of Queensland, Australia (area – 1.85 million km or 715,000 miles)
  • Images are to be captured over a five month period in various increments from sunrise to sunset every day
  • Images are to be transmitted immediately after capture
  • Images need to be of a high enough resolution to be used as single ’stand-alone’ photographs as well as be put together in resolutions from full HD down to YouTube size
  • I want my client to have access to any of the images at any time they require
I am fine with the type of camera, the software and so forth but I thought some of you might be able to help with the final transmit part.
The camera will be connected to a mains powered netbook running Windows. I was considering using DropBox and having the camera put its captured photos in the DropBox folder which would then instantly sync with the DropBox web interface and any computer connected to that DropBox account.
The computer will have a 3G wireless data card connected to Telstra’s NextG service. The NextG service has excellent coverage (as shown below) however undoubtably it will be out of range at times.
Here are a couple of questions…
  • Any recommendations on a particular netbook/notebook? It will only be running timelapse software and wireless connection software as well as the background DropBox software but will need to be on and reliable for five months.
  • As the netbook will be unattended have you got any good tips on achieving maximum reliability?
  • Any idea of the longest run of USB cable that is reliable? (from netbook to camera)
  • Should I set up some sort of remote software so I can log in to the computer and fix any problems?
  • Any other things I am forgetting?
[Click image to see fullsize]

, , , ,

3 Comments

Handyman with a soldering iron!

Posted by Cameron in Equipment, Photography, Technology on March 6th, 2009

Had a bit of a brainwave today and realised I could adapt my cheapo chinese intervalometer (which is AWESOME!) to work with both my 1DMKIII’s and my new G10. I cut the 3 pin N3 type plug (for EOS1DMKIII) off and soldered on a 2.5mm stereo plug wiring it as pictured below.

I then added a 2.5mm female stereo socket to the left over bit of cable with the 3 pin N3 plug wiring it so that it matched up with the wiring as above. Both work perfect!

, , , , , ,

3 Comments