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