Hi,

One of the zips went on my Manfrotto Compact 1 Advanced Shoulder Bag for CSC camera bag which I purchased earlier this year which is most unusual as I have several of their bags and have never had any problem with them. I returned the bag for inspection and they sent me a no-quibble warranty replacement by overnight post. Unfortunately the model I had, which I reviewed, is now discontinued but the later model Advanced Shoulder Bag III Medium is virtually identical in size and pretty much the same in terms of features. It lacks the older bag’s small back compartment but I do like the detachable padded shoulder strap’s swivelling style fixtures as the fixed stitched type strap attachments really do cause the strap to get tediously twisted up all the time. I also much prefer the more discrete black Monfrotto branding and the two more heavily padded internal dividers. I like that the two internal pockets have a slit opening rather than a flap with velcro fixing as the velcro always looses its strength after a while. In common with one of my other Manfrotto bags it also has a fitting for attaching a small lightweight tripod eg. a Gorillapod but, as a matter of personal preference, I choose to put my Manfrotto Pixi EVO 2 tripod plus Ulanzi Claw quick release in the top compartment where it fits nicely and still leaves enough room for a few small items. As I’m not attaching a tripod I chose to use the front compartment to store a small lens brush, some lens wipes and a microfibre lens cloth for quick access. I like to give credit where’s it’s due, quality gear, quality service!. This type and size of bag is perfect for my requirements, it’s compact, lightweight, well-padded, fits nicely under an aircraft seat or on a train tray table etc., is made of rain resistant material and it comes with a rain cover for use when the weather gets really inclement..

Hi everyone,

I did a recent post on my camera rain cover which started me thinking. I added a suitably threaded (62mm) Cokin adapter ring to the front of the B+W clear glass filter which in turn screws onto the front of my lens hood. The Think Tank “red whip”, tightened behind the lens hood, stops the cover slipping back towards the camera body and the Cokin ring absolutely prevents any likelihood of it slipping off of the front of the smooth metal lens hood, works like a charm 🙂 🙂 . As they used to say in the A-Team, “I love it when a plan comes together” 🙂 . The front filter, although not a must have, not only serves to significantly increase protection against rain, especially driving rain getting in it’s a lot easier and quicker to wipe dry when rain drops get on it compared with the front of the lens recessed as it is with the hood fitted. If for any reason I decide not to fit the filter I can still screw the Cokin ring directly onto the lens hood to serve its purpose.

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi everyone,

Although mainly purchased for my landscape work I did want to try out my 1/8 and 1/4 strength K&F Concept black mist diffusion filters at the wedding. On balance I think that I prefer the 1/4 strength as the effect is that bit more pronounced. I was there as a guest and not in any official capacity, I don’t do weddings and, relatively rarely, people shots except of family. This one taken with the 1/4 strength filter. I Really like the lighting effects. Olympus OM-D E-M1 mk 1 and M.Zuiko 25mm f/1.8. One thing that I do like about their filters is the grippy knurled pattern around the edges which makes screwing them on and off than much easier. They also have a thin “nano” form factor which doesn’t cause them to vignette on my wide angle lenses. Another thing, at least in these filters, is that they don’t have any discernible colour cast. To date these are working well for me as I generally prefer a degree of warmth and softness/diffusion in my images. I’ve been doing this for years in post processing but sometimes it’s artistically interesting to see the effects whilst composing the shot. I can always take a shot with and without the filter and see which I like best later.

Kind regards

Leigh