There’s a two week return period here if you order online, but even that is too short to find out whether you actually like using something or not. That’s mainly for quick tests and checking if there are any manufacturing defects.
The photography purchase that I regret the most is the ND filter set (8, 64, 1000) that sits in the drawer for the last … well … ever since I’ve purchased it, unfortunately. I’ve used the filters like three times and that’s about it. Nowadays I wouldn’t have bought them, maybe vario-ND at best. Now the filters are way too small for any of my lenses anyways – 55mm filters vs. 67 and 72mm filter threads.
What sucks is that this is a very niche equipment and I have little to no hope of ever selling them. Lenses and cameras are already hard to sell, let alone small diameter filters…
It was the Arca Swiss Cube used by Simon Baxter that made me want to get a geared head in the first place. But I couldn’t afford that particular one. If ever I make it rich, I’ll buy their products for sure.
Does anyone have any watch/device recommendations for backcountry navigation? I want need something that does not require a connection to a cell phone, can load externally sourced maps, and can manually create pins/markers so I can breadcrumb my path when leaving trail. There are a bunch of different products available, so any personal experience you have with these gizmos would be helpful in narrowing down the list a little.
Organic maps is also a good choice as a frontend for open street maps. OSM is just too good compared to Google maps. It has all the niche trails and paths to a ridiculous extent. Sometimes I ask myself who mapped a route in the middle of nowhere in an obscure trail, it’s that detailed.
Just download the maps for offline use and you’ll be golden even without cell service as GPS works just fine. Unless you live near a war zone and its being jammed by Russia In that case better pack a compass
Its been a while since I looked into OsmAnd. At the time, there was no way to integrate USFS maps, or include ‘layers’ that were not already baked in. Or, at least, not that I could figure out. Has that changed?
Actually there are several places (including national parks) in the US where the government employs GPS interference measures from time to time. I had it happen during my last trip into White Sands…paper map + compass is always the backup.
I don’t hate tripods: I rather like them! But just about all of my photography means hand-held.
I do hate ball heads: an abomination on the face of the earth. One screw to send your setup to pot in all dimensions all at once. If it hasn’t done it all by itself anyway!
Yeah they are from USFS, they get packed as kmz/kml too (some 3rd parties).
I just had a look at OsmAnd’s site and so much has changed since I used it just a few years ago. Then I realized that what seemed like ‘a few years’ was, in reality, a decade ago (2015). Jesus…
Anyway, It looks like it can handle them, or all I need to do is convert to gpx first. Thanks for bringing OsmAnd up!
If you want a device, your phone + a decent app is still the best bet. With a backup powerpack. I have been using GPX Viewer Pro for more than a decade now. They have a “pay once” model, and source very good maps you can download offline.
But I would second
and always carry a compass + paper map for anything but well-marked short hikes. And, of course, headlamps
I thought I had left GAS behind me, but apparently it found its way back.
A few weeks ago, while photographing a sports club event and constantly switching between my 24mm and 50mm primes, I caught myself thinking: “If someone ever makes something like an RF-S 17-70mm f/2.8 or faster for my R10, I’m buying it.” And what happens next? Tamron announces exactly that lens.
It already exists for Sony and Fuji, so please, someone tell me it’s not worth €650
That’s what I thought before experiencing the Arca-Swiss P series ones. They handle like butter, such low stiction and such precise friction control. Even my small p0 can handle my 1Dx+400/4 setup (less rigidly but I can still aim precisely).
They only announced it this week for the RF mount, at least in Germany you can only pre-order it. That’s why I am asking if the optical properties are good, anyhow, I am not sure if I want to spend money on it and can justify it.
In that case better pack a compass