Advice & Questions for buying/using Accessories

ronanc15

Looking at buy some lighting equipment. where do most of you guys get your stuff? Bricks and mortars store or online? Softboxes etc

ThOnda

The cheapest is on-line. The best selection you can see and check is in DML. The prices are higher in the city centre. Barker in Cork are also well stocked with plenty to choose from.
And there is also NI with lower prices, just two hours on M1 (from Dublin).

trebor28

need some advice on what accessories one should buy besides the camera and lens.

im thinking of taking the plunge and getting the d3100 with the standard 18-55 lens.

my question is, what else should i be getting??
at some stage ill probably purchase a 70-300 lens etc. but for the interim what should i need.

in terms of memory cards is it better to spend a bit more than just your standard cheap one? or would it make a difference??

what about a lens cap/filter? should i purchase one of these straight away or is it an urgent requirement.

cleaning kits?

at some point i might get a monopod but ill concentrate and the camera, and its accessories first.

and advice greatly appreciated!

paulusdu

Im heading off to Italy for a week or so and need to grab a small portable tripod. What are peoples opinions on the Goriilapod range for out and about ? I just need something small, sturdy and not overly expensive. Mainly for shooting a few landscapes, portraits, etc. Or is there any other brand that i should be looking at before i hit the shops ?

Just to add, it is for a Nikon D7000

unklerosco

Just wondering if anyone can recommend a decent inkjet printer, either A4 or A3.

I'm just looking for a printer, not a printer/scanner job.. Doesn't need to be mega awesome just something that I can print the odd pic on, up to A4 prints. I'll be using it the odd time to print A4 brochures for work also. I have a larger MFP printer for day to day use....

Anyone got any recommendations?

GreyEagle

Taking a sailing trip this summer and would like to get some shots on board without worrying about spray or salt getting into the camera.

I'm wondering if there is a generic waterproof box to hold a Samsung or Panasonic compact camera?

Ideas welcome.
GE

greeneyedspirit

If you do a forum search, you'll find plenty of threads on waterproofing
Aquapac do water/sandproof pouches for various size cameras, to name but one supplier.

Tallon

What make / model do you have?

conor360

I had something else in mind when i seen the title of this thread :pac::pac::pac::pac:

Tallon

conor360 wrote: »

I had something else in mind when i seen the title of this thread :pac::pac::pac::pac:

Roche_zero

Hi
Hope someone out there can help me make up my mind. Want to get new Tripod was thinking of the Manfrotto 055XPROB is this a good one?. Was thinking of Heavy Duty Grip Ball Head or a 3-Way Head to go with it. I like to do landscape, sport, and Micro photography.

Thanks

Brendan

pixbyjohn

Your choice is a wise one in my opinion. That tripod has a 7 kg load capacity.

coL

It is a great tripod I have one myself and I would recommend it highly.

My only advice would be to try out the gripball head before you buy.

It sounds great in theory and it is the one that I went for. However it is difficult to move it and take photos along the horzontal plane at a constant level when the internal pole is in the vertical position.

What I do is move the internal pole to the horizontal position and that fixes the problem. Not a major issue but something that takes a few minutes to find a solution to the first time you set up and a few extra seconds to do every time you set up thereafter. Also I don't think the gripball head is great with the heavier pro equipment although it handles my D3100 easily.

(I realise the above description might be a bit confusing but if you try out the tripod before you buy you will see what I mean. Feel free to PM me)

Slightly Bunkers

I could do with a hot shoe flash for my canon. Has anyone any one used any of the Yongnuo flash range? They are really reasonably priced but I am guessing that is because they are not great?

Thanks

Kenny Logins

They're fine. I'm very happy with mine (467), and I plan to buy another (560II).

Ben D Bus

Ben D Bus wrote: »

Now that I've mastered ambient/available light ( ), I want to try off camera flash.

I inherited a difficult to understant Metz which I can use with a Hahnel combi remote control/flash trigger. But afaik I can't control the output of this flash. It's full power or nothing.

Can someone recommend a flash that allows me to dial in a power setting. TTL or Nikon CLS are not a priority so I don't feel the need to spend the money on a Nikon SB unit at the moment. Once I can manually set the power I'm happy.

A quick check of Berminghams website shows Sunpak & Nissin units at much more agreeable prices. But I really don't know what I'd be sacrificing compared to Nikon's own products.

No strobe experts to advise?

I see there's a pre-owned SB-600 on Berminghams website at the mo. €199. Worth the additional cost over the Sunpak or Nissin offerings?

Damokc

hi, just wondering what would people recommend on a remote for a canon 1100d? one of the wireless ones or a wired one?the wired ones act the same as the camera shutter with half pressing for autofocusing ect. would the freedom of the wireless outweigh the fact that it is just a "button" we'll say if you understand me?

pixbyjohn

Damokc
I use these on my cameras and find them excellent. Great range also.
They have the half press for focus etc.
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/RW-221-Wireless-Shutter-Remote-CANON-600D-60D-1100D-/370501155205?pt=Camera_Camcorder_Remotes&hash=item564396f985

samhail

I have a nice LowePro bag that can hold my way-too-many lenses, and camera with battery grip, and everything else i have picked up from eBay.

Can anyone recommend a smaller bag (link?) that i can carry canon 600d with battery grip attached and a lense mounted and a spare lense?

LFC5Times

I have a Sony DSC HX 9v and I'm looking to buy a couple of extra memory cards for my travels.

I have come across two sites selling similar memory cards but I'm wondering is it a case of one price being too good to be true.

Both are Sandisk 16GB Extreme SD Cards, one is Class 10 45MB/s and the other is Class 6 15MB/s.

Needless to say the better of the memory cards is the cheaper one. See links below.

http://www.mymemory.co.uk/SDHC/SanDisk/Sandisk-16GB-Extreme-SD-Card-%28SDHC%29-45MB_s---Class-10

http://www.picstop.co.uk/sandisk-ultra-ii-secure-digital-card-sdhc-class-6-16gb

stevenf17

I can recomend mymemory anyway, bought stuff off them before and they've always been spot on.

You can also go amazon if want http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Secure-Digital-Capacity-Extreme/dp/B0037FLUYU/ref=sr_1_4?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1341476923&sr=1-4 if you get 2 of them you get free shipping so it works out at around 32-33€ for the 2 cards.

SD cards are dirt cheap these days so the prices certainly aren't too good to be true!

LFC5Times

stevenf17 wrote: »

I can recomend mymemory anyway, bought stuff off them before and they've always been spot on.

You can also go amazon if want http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Secure-Digital-Capacity-Extreme/dp/B0037FLUYU/ref=sr_1_4?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1341476923&sr=1-4 if you get 2 of them you get free shipping so it works out at around 32-33€ for the 2 cards.

SD cards are dirt cheap these days so the prices certainly aren't too good to be true!

Unfortunately the seller in the above link won't ship to my destination

stevenf17

LFC5Times wrote: »

Unfortunately the seller in the above link won't ship to my destination

I hate when amazon do that, they've changed the main seller since this morning!

Just click on "66 new from £10.50" underneath where it says IN STOCK and amazon is the 4 one down! Add to basket and then go to basket and change how many you want, it'll be the one that has "Eligible for Free Super Saver Delivery" on it

cnocbui

http://www.memoryc.ie/products/type/Flash_Memory_Cards/SD_Secure_Digital/index.html#Capacity=16GB&page=0

They certainly ship here ;-)

Is a Class 10 micro sdhc card any different speed wise to a a Cl 10 SD card?

Pricewise it looks like they can be had cheaper sometimes than the same spec SD card. Just pop them in a SD adapter i would have thought.

joepenguin

Hi all.
I've been playing with the idea of buying some ND/ND grad filters. I am thinking about getting a set of six (nd2,4,6 nd grad2,4,6) cheap ones to try them out without spending too much. This set seems like good value: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/9size-Metal-Adapter-Ring-6-Cokin-P-Series-Filter-Set-ND2-ND4-ND8-G-ND2-4-8-LF6-/170812989824?pt=UK_CamerasPhoto_CameraAccessories_CameraLensesFilters_JN&hash=item27c53f6180#ht_2762wt_1272

I know the quality wont be top notch but if anyone has any experience with them, or could give me any pointers it would be appreciated. I only want to buy them if they are value for money as opposed to cheap.

I will be using them on sigma ex lenses on digital (widest been 18mm) and hopefully on film, widest 20mm (approx 13mm on 1.6 crop sensors)

Cheers

Mr.Saturn

Hey, does anyone know where you can pick up a Canon Shelphy photo-printer in Dublin, at a halfway decent pricetag?

dirtyghettokid

we have decided to split the tech threads into different threads, as it was a bit difficult to find info in the one large thread. think needle in a haystack!

this thread is for all questions relating to camera accessories of any brand.

flyingsnail

Does anybody have a recommendation for a fast usb based card reader. I only need it to read SD and CF

Thanks

john47

I'm looking to buy a new photo printer and want to print up to A3 size. I have a budget of about €500. Nice B&W is a must as I know some printers to colour grand but do B&W crap. Is this budget realistic and can ye suggest anything.

Thanks

John Ryan

sebphoto

flyingsnail wrote: »

Does anybody have a recommendation for a fast usb based card reader. I only need it to read SD and CF

Thanks

I'm using sandisk (ImageMate).
Is small, fast and reliable.

mdebets

Where in Dublin can I buy a Peli Case (other than Conns, as they only have the Storm range and I want to try it out first)?

pixbyjohn

Ben D Bus wrote: »

No strobe experts to advise?

I see there's a pre-owned SB-600 on Berminghams website at the mo. €199. Worth the additional cost over the Sunpak or Nissin offerings?

The SB 600 is a super flashgun and with most nikon cameras there is a wireless remote trigger built in to the onboard flash to allow you use the 600 off camera with ttl and you can also manually control the power too.

Ben D Bus

pixbyjohn wrote: »

The SB 600 is a super flashgun and with most nikon cameras there is a wireless remote trigger built in to the onboard flash to allow you use the 600 off camera with ttl and you can also manually control the power too.

Ended up getting 2 Yongnuo flashes on ebay for less than the price of the SB600. They come with TTL and full manual control as well as slave mode.

nedd

Hi.

I am looking to a second Lens. I currently have a Niikon D5100 with kit 18-55 lens. I want to get something a little longer and I am seriously constrained by budget. I have €200 to spend.

I can get the following new for more or less my budget:

Nikon 55-200 - €170
Tamron 70-300 - €160
Sigma 70-300 - €215

I don't know much about lens quality and I'm wondering what people think about the Tamron and Sigma lenses here? They give me longer zoom for the same price but is it worth it?

My other option is maybe a second hand Nikon 55-300, I haven't looked yet but would hopefully be able to get it close to budget.

Anyone have any opinions or alternatives?

Thanks

dirtyghettokid

nedd wrote: »

Hi.

I am looking to a second Lens. I currently have a Niikon D5100 with kit 18-55 lens. I want to get something a little longer and I am seriously constrained by budget. I have €200 to spend.

I can get the following new for more or less my budget:

Nikon 55-200 - €170
Tamron 70-300 - €160
Sigma 70-300 - €215

I don't know much about lens quality and I'm wondering what people think about the Tamron and Sigma lenses here? They give me longer zoom for the same price but is it worth it?

My other option is maybe a second hand Nikon 55-300, I haven't looked yet but would hopefully be able to get it close to budget.

Anyone have any opinions or alternatives?

Thanks

i'm actually selling my nikon fit sigma 70-300mm. it's a fine lens, but your camera does not have a build in AF motor, so focusing is manual. would that bother you? otherwise, with any lens that you are going to buy, check to make sure that there is a auto-focus switch on the lens.

nedd

dirtyghettokid wrote: »

i'm actually selling my nikon fit sigma 70-300mm. it's a fine lens, but your camera does not have a build in AF motor, so focusing is manual. would that bother you? otherwise, with any lens that you are going to buy, check to make sure that there is a auto-focus switch on the lens.

Ok, so that is something I didn't think of. Neither of the lenses mentioned there have autofocus. I would need autofocus.

so that reduced my options to the Nikon 55-200 only. Even the Sigma 50-200 which does have autofocus is too expensive.

dirtyghettokid

nedd wrote: »

Ok, so that is something I didn't think of. Neither of the lenses mentioned there have autofocus. I would need autofocus.

so that reduced my options to the Nikon 55-200 only. Even the Sigma 50-200 which does have autofocus is too expensive.

definitely have a look for second hand items on adverts.ie

siobhanod93

I want to get a lens hood and a UV Filter for my Nikon D3000 with a 18-55 lens. I don't want to spend a crazy amount of money, but can anybody give me some recommendations please and/or good websites?

brinty

siobhanod93 wrote: »

I want to get a lens hood and a UV Filter for my Nikon D3000 with a 18-55 lens. I don't want to spend a crazy amount of money, but can anybody give me some recommendations please and/or good websites?

Siobhan, Ebay or amazon are you're only man on this, shouldn't cost you more than €20, you'll generally get a bundle of hoods, filters, macro attachments, tripods, cases etc together for a small price. Example below,
http://www.ebay.com/itm/52mm-Lens-Hood-Cap-CPL-UV-Filter-For-Nikon-D3000-D3100-New-/400423521302?pt=Camera_Filters&hash=item5d3b1a0c16

If you contact sellers directly, they'll maybe do you up a whole bundle of accessory items (depebding on what you want) and you could save on shipping costs. It might be a false economy though in that you could end up with loads of stuff you don't need and will never use.

OriginV

Any dealers or stores in Ireland selling the likes of a glidecam or other stabilizers?

r3nu4l

Brand new to digital SLR photography...moving from point and shoot/phones :pac:

So advice please on this card:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0084DWD6E/

I'm thinking of the 64 GB version.
I'm using the entry level Nikon D3300 so just wondering if this card will be suitable for shooting footage with the camera as well as taking photos? Roughly how many photos will go onto a 64GB card?

Thanks in advance.

sebphoto

r3nu4l best practice is to get a few smaller cards instead of one with high capacity.

How many photos on the card?
See this

r3nu4l

sebphoto wrote: »

r3nu4l best practice is to get a few smaller cards instead of one with high capacity.

Thanks sebphoto. Is that in case a card fails?
That's about the only reason I can think of but then again...IANAP (I am not a photographer :pac:)

EDIT: Also, I forgot to ask, can the D3300 handle UHS 2 and 3, or just UHS 1? I can't seem to find definitive information anywhere (or at least I don't know what photography blogs/sites are/are not reliable or trustworthy with information).

sebphoto

r3nu4l wrote: »

Thanks sebphoto. Is that in case a card fails?
That's about the only reason I can think of but then again...IANAP (I am not a photographer :pac:)

All depends from your approach.
Say you're on holidays and have only one card. Say something will go wrong and you would like to repair such card. If you won't have spare one then you won't take any more pictures during your trip as otherwise it won't be possible to recover some (or even all) images.
In my opinion it's better to have couple 8 or 16Gb cards instead of one 128Gb. It's just another electronic device, so I would be really careful, but that's me and my sense of precaution. I shot weddings and I must feel confidence with my gear. It must be reliable.
Think about it.

Re memory cards for D3300, see this

ptyloch

Hi Guys,

Looking for advice on a video head to support a Canon 600D with the following lenses: Canon EF-S 18-135, Canon EF-S 10-22.
I already have a Manfrotto tripod and a three way Manfrotto head but would like to have the video head as well.
Any ideas are welcome!

Thanks

PS: amateur use only :-)

ValueInIreland

Manfrotto have several Video heads. The MN-MHXPRO-2W is a good bet for you at about €135. The MN-MVH500AH is only a few € more at €145. If the budget won't stretch, then there is the MN700RC2 at about €90.

If you have a Manfrotto 190 or 055, there is a really cool replacement Centre Column, where you can easily level a half ball built into the top of the column. Have a look at it here: http://www.manfrotto.ie/search?q=levelling+centre+column

Ps, Manfrotto have had a .ie website for a few months now which shows product stocked by their Irish Dealers - with links to them!

Turquoise Hexagon Sun

Three enquiries:

1. Tripod: I've always had rather flimsy tripods but will be looking for something a bit better but on a budget. I don't use my current tripods a lot but really probably should use one more and I'm thinking it's due to me not having a decent, sturdy one to begin with. I'm on a tight budget (aren't we all :P) so I'm guessing I'd spend 100-150. Is this even possible at that price? To give you context, I like shooting portraits and will use the tripod for video in the future. The rather light, Canon 6D will be sitting on it.

2. I'm also in search of a versatile lens, again mostly for portraits with a little zoom too. Would be nice to find a decent lens that can be wide but have a nice bit of zoom too. 28-135mm might be ideal. However on my old 7D I had that as a kit lens and it was pretty flimsy and broke over time.

3. Sliders for video in Ireland. Any help with this would be great. Thanks.

ptyloch

Turquoise Hexagon Sun wrote: »

Three enquiries:

1. Tripod: I've always had rather flimsy tripods but will be looking for something a bit better but on a budget. I don't use my current tripods a lot but really probably should use one more and I'm thinking it's due to me not having a decent, sturdy one to begin with. I'm on a tight budget (aren't we all :P) so I'm guessing I'd spend 100-150. Is this even possible at that price? To give you context, I like shooting portraits and will use the tripod for video in the future. The rather light, Canon 6D will be sitting on it.

2. I'm also in search of a versatile lens, again mostly for portraits with a little zoom too. Would be nice to find a decent lens that can be wide but have a nice bit of zoom too. 28-135mm might be ideal. However on my old 7D I had that as a kit lens and it was pretty flimsy and broke over time.

3. Sliders for video in Ireland. Any help with this would be great. Thanks.

1. I have a Manfrotto set of tripod legs and for photography they are great, not so much for video.They seem to twist when I'm panning. If I could reccommend something it would be a dedicated video tripod, with double legs. It will be heavier and take up more space but once you put a video head on it you'll see the diference. Amazon and adverts are your friends, though tripods seem to hold their value well. Try the warehouse section on amazon. Do some research on brands, I'm a Manfrotto addict but there's loads more out there.

2. Can't help here.

3. I recently bought a slider called Sunrise second hand and again have to say stick to well known brands for quality. It's my first slider, don't have much experience with them, but got to try a Konova and the difference between it and a Konova was massive,
as was the price (Konova was 500, Sunrise 120 new). Again, research, research...

Turquoise Hexagon Sun

ptyloch wrote: »

1. I have a Manfrotto set of tripod legs and for photography they are great, not so much for video.They seem to twist when I'm panning. If I could reccommend something it would be a dedicated video tripod, with double legs. It will be heavier and take up more space but once you put a video head on it you'll see the diference. Amazon and adverts are your friends, though tripods seem to hold their value well. Try the warehouse section on amazon. Do some research on brands, I'm a Manfrotto addict but there's loads more out there.

2. Can't help here.

3. I recently bought a slider called Sunrise second hand and again have to say stick to well known brands for quality. It's my first slider, don't have much experience with them, but got to try a Konova and the difference between it and a Konova was massive,
as was the price (Konova was 500, Sunrise 120 new). Again, research, research...

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. That's great information

I used Manfrotto but through friends and colleagues and I found them easy to handle and very sturdy. I never thought to buy a video tripod, I'll look on Adverts and Amazon like you said.

It's good to hear that you are a first time buyer of a slider. I'm in the same boat, almost. It's definitely going to be a summer purchase. I'll look up the Sunrise as that's in and around my budget.

Thanks again and let me know if you ever put up your work with the slider, even if it's test footage.

marienbad

I really know very little about photography and I have a Panasonic Lumix G2 camera .

I am looking for a wide angle zoom lens as I need to take some rowing photos .

Is that beyond the capabilities of this camera ?

Any help much appreciated .

cnocbui

The G2 is one of many cameras that are in the Micro Four Thirds system. Cameras in this system all share a common lens mount and lenses and bodies are made by Panasonic and Olympus. Olympus lenses can be used on Panasonic bodies and vise versa.

There is a wide range of lenses available that you can use with the G2 and what lens you require will depend on what lens you currently have so what is needed to go wider can be determined.

Do you currently have the 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 kit zoom on your G2? The 14-42mm part denotes the range of focal lengths the lens covers, which relates to the angle of view, which for that lens varies between 75° and 29° (the shorter the focal length the wider the field of view)