Hi everyone,

I don’t particularly like nor do I take many pictures using flash as portraiture isn’t my chosen genre and I much prefer natural light, only the occasional family portrait but as I’ve mislaid my Godox TT-350 flash I thought I’d get something to replace it, especially with the holiday season fast approaching, visiting family, kids, grandkids etc.. I’ve turned the place upside down looking for my TT-350 to no avail, as is usually the case it’ll no doubt turn up in the last place that I look for it 🙂 or, probably more likely, long after I’ve given up looking for it!.

I stumbled upon this very small (74×50×72mm), lightweight (130g), retro-styled flash. It’s not got any bells and whistles and if one was in the market for a state of the art flash with bounce/swivel head, diffusers, more power, TTL and faster recycling then I’d say “this isn’t the flash you are looking for” 🙂 . It has manual and auto modes like one of my flash units from the 70s or 80s, two remote trigger modes marked S1 and S2, comes with a short off-camera flash sync cable, small soft pouch, ridiculously small print manual (PDF on their website) and takes two AAA NiMH rechargeable (of which I fortunately have plenty) or Alkaline batteries. With a guide number of 12  (ISO 100, metres) it’s not going to light up the Royal Albert Hall but should be just fine for portraits and suchlike uses.

Because it’s not dedicated to any make/model of camera it will work with most film cameras and digital cameras alike with center contact hot shoe connection or off-camera with the supplied sync cable, both of which are nice bonuses. As far as flash guns go it doesn’t get much more basic than this. The inner dial is purely for reference, one adjusts by setting the flash-to subject distance against the chosen ISO. You then read off the top section of the dial which indicates which flash power to select for a particular lens aperture to obtain a “correct” exposure.

As anyone familiar with the exposure triangle will instantly recognise half as much light intensity illuminating the subject (in this case flash output power better expressed as output duration) requires twice the size of the lens aperture opening (+1 stop) and vice versa to obtain a correct exposure given a certain ISO setting and subject distance as the light will drop of as the distance increases, thus it doesn’t communicate with the camera in any way, no TTL here. Of course you have to keep the camera’s shutter speed at or below the camera’s fastest flash synch speed which for me would generally be 1/250th sec.. All intuitive stuff for any “old school” photographers, with the emphasis, at least in my case on old. 🙂 You have full manual control of light output by rotating the knurled top dial which has 7 click stop settings (1/1-1/64 power). They state light distribution 24mm-105mm lenses (12mm-50mm MFT lenses) so it should be a good match for my 12-45mm f/4 M.Zuiko PRO zoom lens and my range of f/1.8 MFT prime lenses such as my M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.8 shown fitted below.

For my occasional usage it would seem to tick the boxes, unlike my larger Godox unit it fits neatly inside one of my very small camera bags and doesn’t take up much room and, importantly, add very much weight which means that I’m more inclined to take it with me on my travels and thus potentially use a flash more often than I have previously. As the saying goes “the best camera is the one that you’ve got with you” the same could be said of flash guns not that I can ever remember feeling particularly disadvantaged by not having one with me given my photographic interests. However I think it would make a nice compact flash to accompany one when travelling light. I’ve never made any secret of my love of retro-styled things so it handsomely ticks that box 🙂 , seen here, of course! 🙂 ,on my equally retro-looking, beloved, Olympus PEN-F digital camera which styling-wise is a nice match right down to the faux leather covering which is firmly the look that Godox and myself 🙂 were aiming for.

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi,

I took my PEN E-PL8 and my tiny 9mm and 15mm OIympus body cap lenses for a short stroll along the seafront in Bognor. This whole setup goes in my pocket. Two shots, one taken with the 9mm f/8 fisheye body cap lens and the second taken with the 15mm f/8 body cap lens. With minimum processing to taste. Given good light these two little lenses are capable of performing very well. It’s a miracle that I got anything as I forgot to fit my electronic viewfinder and, in bright sunlight I couldn’t see a darned thing on the LCD screen, that’s why I detest them so.

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi everyone,

Oh how I love pottering about finding solutions for my photographic gear problems 🙂 . I wanted to find a way of both protecting my 20mm lens plus lens hood when fitted to the camera and also something to protect it when it’s loose in my small bag whilst I’m using my 12-32mm or 14mm lenses.

Solution using what I had to hand, some time back I bought a couple of neoprene lens “hats” and more recently several silicone lens caps. So I wondered if I could use both together and they fit perfectly inside each other and over the lens. When the lens isn’t mounted, I can separate them and reverse the silicone one and put the neoprene one back over it. It also adds an extra layer of protection, not that it’s absolutely needed, to the lens when mounted on the camera with the added bonuses that it’s quicker and less fiddly to fit and remove and less likely to be lost or damaged when compared to a traditional lens cap and it cushions and protects the whole lens from knocks. No more fumbling around with, dropping or misplacing the lens cap. 🙂

As they used to say in the A Team: “I love it when a plan comes together!”. 🙂

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi,

Shown below my main camera and lens cleaning solutions, past and present, missing from the shot my large microfibre cloth.

My very first cleaning accessory, the small puffer brush, advantages, very small, light and compact, disadvantages, a pretty feeble “puff” but as they say, “any port in a storm” 🙂 and better than nothing. Then there’s my “rocket” type blower, advantage, a more forceful “puff” but, for me, takes up too much room in a small camera bag. My Hama lens pen, I choose not to use the more abrasive end but the brush end is pretty effective at removing dust and it is quite soft. I prefer my, smaller, lipstick style Matin M-6328 Small Size Goat Hair Dust Brush, advantage verses the lens pen, very compact, lighter and easy to accommodate in my small bag, has a cap over the brush end to keep it clean when not in use and very soft bristles. I always have some Zeiss wet wipe sachets in my camera bag, my wallet and mobile phone case for the times when I require a wet cleaning solution and I’ve used these for years, I reckon that Zeiss know a thing or two about lenses 🙂 .

If neither of my puffers would, as the saying goes, “knock the skin off of a rice pudding” then my next cleaning tool on its maximum setting certainly would!, although I’ve not so far been inclined to test this theory. 🙂 So, lastly, my latest addition, my Nitecore BB2 USB rechargeable electronic air blower which I don’t habitually take out with me as it’s the heaviest of all but I use it back at base for thorough all round cleaning. “Puff” or more appropriately “blower” rating awesome and three-strength variable, really does work. It has a built in air filter and a detachable brush and I use it for cleaning camera bodies and lenses but I prefer to use either my lens pen or smaller lens brush for cleaning the lens glass/filters as I feel that they’re softer. Not an exhaustive cleaning accessory list but what I have and do use.

Totally unrelated but I heard on the radio that scientists are claiming that drinking two cups of tea a day helps one’s memory. I can’t remember how many cups I’ve had today but sounds good to me ,now where the blazes did I leave my cup?

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi,

My beloved, faithful Olympus PEN-F shown here with M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.8 lens. With its iconic retro rangefinder styling and homage to the original PEN-F film camera. Looks are one thing but it has everything that I require in a camera and it’s always an absolute delight to use. It’s also the only PEN series camera that they made with a built in electronic viewfinder which I regard as essential. If they ever did a mk 2 version I’d get one in a heartbeat, mind you with its 20 MP sensor, electronic shutter and other great features it’s only really weather-sealing that would tempt me. You’d think that it’s attracts attention which I certainly don’t want but, if anything, it has the opposite effect as it just appears to be some old geezer with a film camera, little do they know!, about the camera that is. 🙂

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi,

I thought I’d get one of these, this time for my BLS-5/BLS-50 batteries as used in my Olympus E-PL5 and E-PL8 cameras and some later models of OM-D series cameras. I tested it quickly and it charged two pretty flat batteries in approximately 2.5 hours. I like the built in hard-wired USB cable terminating in a USB A male connector which stores in the base of the charger when not in use although be aware that it is very short, they do supply a short (40cm) USB extension cable with it but it’s a tight fit and doesn’t really add much to the overall cable length so I used one of my longer USB extension cables with it for this test. Not an issue if the charger is sitting on a desk next to or close by the USB power source eg. my Anker 5-port USB charger or one of my USB power banks, laptop etc. but something perhaps to consider if using another power source such as a USB port in a vehicle or a USB charger plugged into a raised wall socket. I like the red charging indicator LEDs, one for each battery slot, which blink once for charge up to 25%, twice for up to 50%, three times for up to 75% and light solidly when fully charged. They do them for all sorts of camera battery types so, I’m guessing that they all behave roughly the same. Here it is next to one of my older USB single battery chargers for comparison, As you can see it’s very slightly taller but overall pretty much the same size as the single battery charger.

Best wishes,

Leigh