Hi everyone,

For my last outing I took my modified pistol grip with me. I think that it does help as I can further brace myself by pulling my elbow into my side and using the trigger shutter release on the grip. I modified the grip, a JJC grip that I’ve had a while, fitted one of my favorite Manfrotto type quick release system thingies, used a cable tie to give the cable some strain relief, taped around the 3.5mm plug end of the cable to seal it and fitted a tripod strap eyelet and Peak Design quick release clip to bottom so that I can attach a wrist strap if desired. I’ve rotated the Manfrotto quick release at 90 degrees to normal so that the plate part on the camera doesn’t obstruct the camera’s battery compartment lid. You might also notice that I’ve superglued the lock shutter button on the side of the grip below the plug in the off position and taped over it as this gets knocked too easily. Works well!. 🙂

All the best,

Leigh

Hi everyone,

Long time, no post. 🙂 I hope this finds you all well. I’ve not been able to get out very often but I have more or less finalised my gear choice as largely dictated by my osteoarthritis pain in my legs and lower back. To this effect I’ve got my gear down to what I consider pretty much an absolute minimum.

Some while back I bought one of those Tech Pouches by Wandrd. It can accommodate my E-PL8 camera with EV-4 electronic viewfinder and M.Zuiko 12-45mm f/4 lens, a small, fast, prime lens such as my M.Zuiko 17 mm f/1.8 or 25 mm f/1.8 or as shown in the pictures below, my even smaller Lumix 20 mm f/1.7, two or three spare batteries and a small four card SD card case, some lens wipes, a small flash unit and a Manfrotto rain cover, from another of my bags, which fits the pouch perfectly, like a hand in a glove. The prime lens fits inside one of the elasticated pockets inside the pouch’s main compartment as does the flash and thus they’re secure and don’t rattle about. The (NEEWER) battery/card pouch fits neatly in the pouch’s front compartment and can easily be removed if required and placed in an inside jacket pocket to keep the batteries warm on a cold day.

I have to say that I’m impressed with the water-resistant properties of the Tech Pouch which got very wet in a recent outing and everything inside stayed dry but the addition of the rain cover gives me peace of mind to further protect against heavy precipitation. The rain cover has two slits, one on each side through which one threads a shoulder strap. I decided to remove the Wandrd strap and use the one belonging to the Manfrotto bag. Although the Wandrd strap does work, I didn’t much like the quick-release magnetic catch which can and has come apart on occasions and securing it with a couple of cable ties as I originally did prevents attachment of the rain cover. I fitted two carabiners as a temporary measure whilst I wait for some attachable 30mm D-rings to arrive and this arrangement seems a lot more secure and the strap is wider and spreads the weight better.

Below some pictures.

I’m really hoping to get out more when I am able to, Autumn is probably my favorite time of year photographically with the fabulous colours in the foliage.

Kind regards

Leigh

Update: Now with D-rings attached.