Video from Canon 5D Mk II
Written by Dilip Muralidaran on September 23, 2008 – 1:41 am -Check this. 5D Mark II Videos, will be live in 12 hours. 
Posted in camera, photography equipment | 1 Comment »
Canon EOS 5D Mark II - High ISO Pictures.
Written by Dilip Muralidaran on September 23, 2008 – 1:16 am -Check out this Blog. Looks bloody awesome to me.
Posted in photography equipment, review | No Comments »
Manfrotto 682B - Self Standing Monopod.
Written by Dilip Muralidaran on April 2, 2008 – 11:27 am -I decided to write something about Camera Support after my friend Richard brought to the table some interesting discussions about table top tripods and Angle Finders.
I recommend reading his piece before you really proceed with mine so that you get a background as to where from we are approaching this problem. I will try and make as much as an honest and unbiased review highlighting the pro’s and cons of the equipment i purchased.
I have a Manfrotto 190B Pro tripod already but the problem with that is that its too heavy for me to carry around easily, especially when you are doing photography on the go. I was aware that for a long time i needed a good monopod that would be quite lightweight for me to carry around and at the same time be able to quickly set it up and use it unlike the tripod which takes time to setup.
Here is a quick look at the Manfrotto 682B monopod.
So what’s so really special about the Manfrotto 190B monopod that makes it stand out from the others sold out there in the market? It’s also a pseudo tripod. I used the word pseudo because it does not do the job of a good sturdy tripod but comes in place to compensate where tripods are impossible to practically use and setup, like say street photography or on the go bird photography while you drive down the beach.
The Monopod is called a “Self Standing Monopod” because like the tripod, you can take your hands off this when the legs are in place at the base and the monopod will stand on its own. I’ve tried this and its quite sturdy.
Of course you need to keep a couple of things in mind. You would not want to put the tripod in a windy place on self standing and expect it to stand and do all the dancing, i bet you would be very regret full shortly 
Here is another closed-in view of the retractable legs…
As you can see, the legs are concealed in the monopod legs and you need to unscrew them out of the leg, reverse them and screw it back.
There are however a couple of drawbacks that i will list at this point of time with this monopod. Firstly if you set the retractable legs on the base of the monopod, carrying it around may be a problem since you may hurt somebody if you bump into them or even yourself seriously if you fall with it. Secondly screwing the retractable legs is a bit cumbersome a task since it requires quite a few turns.
Nevertheless, this is still great equipment, for the advantage and nice if offers over other monopods. I guess after all every piece of equipment is a compromise on something or the other as each does something best on its own.
I tested my Sigma 24-70 lens which is a very very heavy piece of glass and i managed to get good shots at F/14 and more numbers in bulb mode with the legs screwed onto it. I’m yet to test the Canon 75-300 USM III lenses, i think that will be the ultimate test, especially at focal lengths past 210MM and lesser F numbers post say F/11 and more.
On the whole i think the Manfrotto 682B is a good option to consider if you are looking for a good monopod and want something better than the traditional ones. You need not really use the retractable legs at the bottom and still this will be a good piece of equipment to own, why?
Its quite light from my personal opinion compared to my tripod. Its weights about 1.15 Kilo grams. It can take loads upto 12 Kilo grams and the maximum height is 172 centimeter. It costs less than US $ 125.00 and is quite an affordable piece of equipment for the aluminum frame and build.
I guess thats pretty much everything i could say about the monopod, i will try post sample images from using this in the near future so that we can really evaluate this better.
Posted in Camera Support Equipment, camera, monopod, photography equipment, review | No Comments »
Manfrotto 682B - Self Standing Monopod.
Written by Dilip Muralidaran on April 2, 2008 – 5:57 am -I decided to write something about Camera Support after my friend Richard brought to the table some interesting discussions about table top tripods and Angle Finders.
I recommend reading his piece before you really proceed with mine so that you get a background as to where from we are approaching this problem. I will try and make as much as an honest and unbiased review highlighting the pro’s and cons of the equipment i purchased.
I have a Manfrotto 190B Pro tripod already but the problem with that is that its too heavy for me to carry around easily, especially when you are doing photography on the go. I was aware that for a long time i needed a good monopod that would be quite lightweight for me to carry around and at the same time be able to quickly set it up and use it unlike the tripod which takes time to setup.
Here is a quick look at the Manfrotto 682B monopod.
So what’s so really special about the Manfrotto 190B monopod that makes it stand out from the others sold out there in the market? It’s also a pseudo tripod. I used the word pseudo because it does not do the job of a good sturdy tripod but comes in place to compensate where tripods are impossible to practically use and setup, like say street photography or on the go bird photography while you drive down the beach.
The Monopod is called a “Self Standing Monopod” because like the tripod, you can take your hands off this when the legs are in place at the base and the monopod will stand on its own. I’ve tried this and its quite sturdy.
Of course you need to keep a couple of things in mind. You would not want to put the tripod in a windy place on self standing and expect it to stand and do all the dancing, i bet you would be very regret full shortly
Here is another closed-in view of the retractable legs…
As you can see, the legs are concealed in the monopod legs and you need to unscrew them out of the leg, reverse them and screw it back.
There are however a couple of drawbacks that i will list at this point of time with this monopod. Firstly if you set the retractable legs on the base of the monopod, carrying it around may be a problem since you may hurt somebody if you bump into them or even yourself seriously if you fall with it. Secondly screwing the retractable legs is a bit cumbersome a task since it requires quite a few turns.
Nevertheless, this is still great equipment, for the advantage and nice if offers over other monopods. I guess after all every piece of equipment is a compromise on something or the other as each does something best on its own.
I tested my Sigma 24-70 lens which is a very very heavy piece of glass and i managed to get good shots at F/14 and more numbers in bulb mode with the legs screwed onto it. I’m yet to test the Canon 75-300 USM III lenses, i think that will be the ultimate test, especially at focal lengths past 210MM and lesser F numbers post say F/11 and more.
On the whole i think the Manfrotto 682B is a good option to consider if you are looking for a good monopod and want something better than the traditional ones. You need not really use the retractable legs at the bottom and still this will be a good piece of equipment to own, why?
Its quite light from my personal opinion compared to my tripod. Its weights about 1.15 Kilo grams. It can take loads upto 12 Kilo grams and the maximum height is 172 centimeter. It costs less than US $ 125.00 and is quite an affordable piece of equipment for the aluminum frame and build.
I guess thats pretty much everything i could say about the monopod, i will try post sample images from using this in the near future so that we can really evaluate this better.
Posted in Camera Support Equipment, camera, monopod, photography equipment, review | 1 Comment »