Hi folks,

I think that you all know that I’m always looking for a small lightweight tabletop type tripod to accompany me on my travels and I think this is my best effort yet, the Slik Multi Pod 3×4 Multi Purpose Compact Tripod Kit, catchy name 🙂 , which incorporates a ball head. Tripods are not something that I often get very excited about but this one holds a lot of promise

Tripod with integrated mobile phone mount, telescopic center column attachment/selfie stick etc., GoPro (I don’t have one) mount attachment thing or cold shoe mounting gear like perhaps a microphone, LED light or small field monitor etc.,  and mesh case. If you’re a Vlogger then this might well prove to be a very versatile setup.

With legs not extended and mobile phone mount flipped up.

With legs fully extended and mobile phone mount retracted as it would be to mount a camera. The large knurled knob makes tightening/loosening the tripod screw fairly easy.

With tripod legs fully extended and center column extension fitted and not extended.

Center column/selfie stick fully extended. I wouldn’t risk one of my MFT cameras on this but it should be fine for smaller cameras like my TG-5 or a mobile phone.

Mobile phone attached, you can see the cold shoe on the top of the mobile mount. This is where the GoPro attachment fits or maybe another cold shoe mounting device. I very rarely take pictures with my mobile phone, that’s what my cameras are for 🙂 , but I know that an ever-increasing number of folks do, and it’s still handy to have an integrated mount for a phone, just in case.

E-M5 mk II , grip and M.Zuiko 12-40 mm mounted with legs not extended. This is just about my heaviest combination of body and lens and it supports it well.

As above with tripod legs equally fully extended. The legs don’t add much in height but they increase stability and can be individually adjusted in 5 locking stages to suit uneven surfaces.

I think that it’ll also work well with my diminutive Tough TG-5 and you can of course also use the legs folded flat as a grip. I think that it’d also work as a chest pod. It’ll also be very useful in conjunction with the TG-5’s amazing telescope macro mode.

So a pretty versatile, well thought out, bit of kit. It wouldn’t be well suited for large, heavy DSLRs and/or lenses but it’s perfect for my MFT gear and also my TG-5. Lastly it very much ticks the “it has to be small and light” box. 🙂

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi folks,

Although I’m not a follower of fashion, only retro fashion perhaps, if that’s not too much of a contradiction in terms 🙂 . I just couldn’t resist this Birthday present to myself a really nice black faux leather half case with red stitching to match my red/black Cordweaver neck strap for my PEN-F. A bargain at £17 on Amazon. It’s nicely made, fits beautifully and finishes off a beautiful looking camera as well as providing a nice grip and a bit of extra protection which can never be a bad thing. It has a press stud fastening flap allowing access to the battery and memory card compartment so it can stay fitted all the time, nice as I don’t want to have to keep taking the case on and off. It also comes with a matching wrist strap which I’ll probably find a use for.  It has an aluminium section in the base which gives added protection to the underside of the camera but doesn’t add excessive weight. I’ve always liked black, red and silver colours they go together very well.

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi folks,

In many ways my wife is always an inspiration to me. I’ve often joked with her that her handbags are like Dr. Who’s T.A.R.D.I.S. Full of “useful things” that she “might just need” just like my camera bags are for me. So I set myself a small challenge to see just how much small lightweight camera gear I could fit into one of my tiny Manfrotto camera bags and here’s the result, oh and for the record, my packed camera bag  weighs in at less than her packed handbag and at the less than princely sum of £7 my camera bag cost me considerably less than any of her handbags. 🙂

First off to give a sense of scale, the bag is approx. 8 inches wide –

Back pocket: memory card case for 6 spare cards, 4 moist lens wipes, 2 spare camera batteries in a neoprene case, a 52-58 mm step up ring which adapts my ND filter to fit my 9-18 mm lens and a pair of filter wrenches.

Main compartment left: Olympus PEN-F with Lumix 12-32 mm (37 mm filter thread) and JJC hood (which will accept 58 mm filters), hard case (originally designed for stereo ear buds) containing Olympus 9 mm fisheye body cap lens (or maybe my 15 mm body cap lens) and a 58 mm variable ND filter.

Main compartment right: M.Zuiko 9-18  mm (hood fitted), Lumix 35-100 mm (hood fitted). Underneath these lenses my Lumix 14 mm or Lumix 20 mm, Olympus M-CON macro converter (fits the 12-32 mm, 35-100 mm , 14 mm and 20 mm lenses) and the hood for the 14 mm or 20 mm into which the M-CON sits neatly.

Lastly I fitted two sticky pad/feet things to my lens back caps to cushion them. So my camera, a total of six lenses (I’m counting the M-CON as a lens) and other vital stuff that that I “simply must carry with me and I might just need” all into a small, discrete, lightweight bag. Whilst I was taking these shots she came into the room, saw me sitting on the floor taking pictures of the bag and it’s contents on the carpet and said, with a smile on her face and a look that one usually reserves for animals and small children,  “I won’t ask!” and then walked out. She knows me too well!. 🙂

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi everyone,

Following on from my post yesterday I thought I’d do a posting with a selection of shots taken with my M.Zuiko 9-18 and 14-150 mm lenses.

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi everyone,

If you’ve been following my blog for a while then you’ll know that I have an obsession with compact and lightweight kit for travelling and I’ve been experimenting again and I think that I’ve probably arrived at my best load out yet. My new Olympus PEN-F, M.Zuiko 9-18 mm and 14-150 mm lenses and my Olympus Tough TG-5 as a second camera which is weatherproof and rugged and which can also serve as a backup. I’ve used the 14-150 mm quite a bit in the last few years and it’s very sharp and light. All of this in one of my  very small Manfrotto shoulder bags which were bargains at £7 each 🙂 🙂 and which are small enough to just about squeeze into your average hotel room safe.

So coverage from, in full-frame terms, 18 mm ultra-wide angle through to 300 mm telephoto. The TG-5 also has an amazing macro mode which focuses down to 1 cm! as well as USB charging and a useful 24 mm- 100 mm zoom range. Throw in a couple of spare batteries for each camera and spare memory cards and I’m good to go. Another bonus is that this bag is easily small enough for air travel carry on luggage to fit under the seat in front and still allow leg room, I don’t like putting my camera gear in the overhead lockers unless I’m forced to do so.

Another of my obsessions is rain protection so I dug out an Olympus camera wrap thing that I got in with something that I bought as well as a couple of my small red nylon waterproof  drawstring bags. Even though the 14-150 mm and especially my TG-5 are both weather-sealed,  two lessons that I learned the hard way a long time ago on a boat in Greece is that, prevention is much better (and a heck of a lot less costly) than cure and you’ve got to have somewhere to keep things separate if and when they get wet and my PEN-F and 9-18 mm are not weather sealed so they add an extra layer of protection in transit which is never a bad thing. It’s a snug fit but it works. 🙂 Pull a rain cover over the bag and one has three layers of protection against the elements.

If this all sounds like paranoia and overkill, if you’ve ever been caught out in the open in heavy rain storm or drenched by waves out at sea in rough weather, you’ll appreciate that it isn’t !. I’m not really overly concerned about my TG-5 as it’s waterproof down to a depth of 15 meters which is a part of the reason why I bought it and what makes it a good choice of a lightweight all-weather backup camera but my other gear wouldn’t take too kindly to a soaking.

Best wishes,

Leigh

If your preference is for big heavy DSLR kit and lenses then you are probably reading the wrong post. 🙂 If, one the other hand, you have an interest in small, lightweight, cameras and lenses then please read on…….

Hi folks,

Sadly, at my advanced age, I have to concede that the opposite is much nearer the truth, my camera is probably too sexy for me. 🙂 . Rain, rain and more rain and the forecast for the next few days, yes, you guessed it, even more rain, you just gotta love the UK weather. So, frustratingly, after weeks of lockdown,  I haven’t been able to put my new camera through its paces yet except for setting it up to my preference and taking some indoor test shots.

I think I’m going to have a lot of fun with my new Olympus PEN-F which I bought “preloved” in near mint condition for a very good price. I’m really looking forward to testing it out and it has some very interesting features and, it IS a very sexy camera, especially in the silver finish and thus puts a huge tick in my “I like retro looks” box 🙂 . It also fits hand-in-glove with my preference for lightweight kit, especially when combined with a few of my fast and lightweight M.Zuiko primes like my 12,17,25 and 45mm lenses and/or small compact zooms like my M.Zuiko 9-18  mm and Lumix 35-100 mm. I can carry this camera and three lenses, plus the obligatory spare batteries and memory cards and my M-CON macro converter, in one of my very compact Manfrotto bags.

Another small, but financially important, plus for me is that the camera uses the same BLN-1 batteries and thus my USB chargers as my OM-D cameras. Don’t be fooled by it’s retro styling though, this camera has a 20 MP sensor, a 50 MP JPEG/80 MP RAW hi-res shot mode, silent electronic shutter modes and just about every other feature that one could expect to find in a modern digital camera as well as Olympus’ great solid build quality. I really like the dedicated exposure compensation dial on the top as well as the highlight/shadow control wheel which puts these controls right where you want them and of course that  very interesting dial on the front.

Can’t wait to try it out properly a post some shots taken with it.

Kind regards,

Leigh

Hi folks,

I’m very excited by my new camera, more news when I upload some shots taken with it. It’s a camera I’ve been hankering after for ages.

Can you guess what it is yet? 🙂

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi folks,

I’ve been looking for one of these LCD hoods for a while. The problem is that all the one’s I’ve found require sticking parts to the camera, something that I didn’t want to do. Enter the Movo LH30 Deluxe LCD Hood Shade for Flip-Out DSLR Camera and Camcorder LCD’s (for 3″ Screens). , catchy name huh?!. It’s cheap and cheerful and it does the job, it’s not made well enough to last a lifetime and it perfectly fits my OM-D E-M5 Mk II articulated screen.  I think that they are also available for 2.75, 3.25 and 3.5 inch screens under the MOVO and NEEWER brand names.

I don’t usually use the LCD screen very much out and about even though they have their uses, partly because I’m so used to using viewfinders for all these years, partly to conserve battery consumption and partly because in strong sunlight and in hot countries etc., they’re absolutely flipping useless, you can’t see a darned thing. This lightweight unobtrusive little bit of kit works like a charm. Always nice when one finds something that one’s been looking for for ages and it works as expected. 🙂

Best wishes.

Leigh