The Matchbox MBX Construction II set of toy vehicles.
I love toys — always have and always will. When I was a young boy, I was especially fond of toy dinosaurs, Matchbox vehicles, and building scale models, to name a few.
I always check the toy department whenever I visit stores that stock, well, toys. I was delighted to find a small selection of Matchbox toys during a recent trip to Target. After looking at every box hanging on a display wall, I chose the MBX Construction II set. In my opinion, commercial vehicles have more character than say most automobiles.
According to the side panel of the packaging, the following vehicles are included in the toy set (from right to left, relative to the preceding photo): Matchbox Skidster; 1966 Dodge A100 Pickup; Matchbox Water Worker; Man TGS Dump Truck; and 2014 Chevy Silverado.
I stumbled across a YouTube video that features two favorite Lesney Matchbox toys from my childhood: the yellow “Evening News” van; and the red double-decker bus.
A Möbius Strip is an astounding object that has one side and one edge. I’m not sure whether it’s correct to say a Möbius Strip is three-dimensional, but it certainly isn’t flat.
A quick-and-dirty photo of a home-made Möbius Strip.
Observe the marching ants shown in the following video animation and you should see the chartreuse Möbius Strip actually has only one side!
Make a Möbius Strip and run your finger all the way around the edge of the object and you might be amazed to see your finger ends up exactly where it started!
The dragonfly exuvia was photographed against a pure white background (255, 255, 255) using the “Meet Your Neighbours” (MYN) technique.
Several photos were taken using my Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital camera, a Kenko 12mm extension tube, and Laowa 25mm Ultra Macro Lens, set for f/4.0 (the sweet spot for this lens) at ~3.0x magnification.
15 NOV 2020 | The Beacon of Groveton | rose flower
The preceding photograph shows the same rose bud that was featured in my last blog post, two days later.
Tech Tips
A rose flower cutting from the landscaping at The Beacon of Groveton was photographed against a pure white background (255, 255, 255) using the “Meet Your Neighbours” (MYN) technique.
I used my Fujifilm X-T3 digital camera, a Fujifilm 11mm extension tube, and Fujinon XF80mm macro lens.
One external flash was used to backlight the background (a piece of translucent white plastic) and another flash was used as a key light on the subject.
Check the EXIF/IPTC info for the photograph for complete details regarding photo gear and camera settings.
This photo is a “one-off,” that is, not a focus-stacked composite image. Although the camera aperture was set for f/16, only a small part of the image is in focus.
“You look like the last rose of summer” was one of my Irish mother’s favorite sayings. Miss you, Mom!
Tech Tips
A rose bud cutting from the landscaping at The Beacon of Groveton was photographed against a pure white background (255, 255, 255) using the “Meet Your Neighbours” (MYN) technique.
I used my Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera and an 18-55mm zoom lens, set for 55mm. One external flash was used to backlight the background (a piece of translucent white plastic) and another flash was used as a key light on the subject. Check the EXIF/IPTC info for the photograph for complete details regarding photo gear and camera settings.
“GyroVu” sells inexpensive adapter cables and power sources that enable continuous AC power for studio photography and long-lasting battery power for field photography.
After a month of exploration and experimentation with several gadgets similar to the GyroVu product line (see Related Resources at the end of this blog post), I strongly endorse GyroVu as the most flexible solution and best value for your money.
Both GyroVu USB adapter cables featured in this blog post use the same AC power supply (MODEL: KeKe-F16C). I recommend buying a “cable with power supply” for one camera model, and “cable only” for other cameras you own.
For example, I bought a “Cable with Power Supply” for my Canon EOS 5D Mark II and a “Cable Only” for my Fujifilm X-T3.
This blog post is one in a series of posts related to continuous AC power and long-lasting battery power for select Canon, Fujifilm, and Panasonic digital cameras.
The Fujifilm X-T3 digital camera was released during September 2018. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that some official Fujifilm power supply accessories for the X-T3 are no longer available.
The Backstory
I posted a comment on the preceding YouTube video.
I like to use the USB port on my X-T3 for tethered shooting. Can you/anyone recommend a product that will enable me to power the camera via the battery bay using either an Anker battery or a 120 V electrical outlet? Thanks!
Billy, one of the Fuji Guys, kindly replied to my comment.
What followed was a long tumble down a rabbit hole before I stumbled across a third party product that looked like it would be an acceptable substitute for the official Fujifilm power supply accessories that Billy recommended.
The Bescor product sells at a price point of ~$40. The comparable continuous power rig for Canon EOS 5D Mark II that I reviewed in my last blog post costs ~3.6 times more than the Bescor rig. See where I formed my strong opinion that the Canon product is overpriced?
All of the cables used by the Canon rig are slightly thicker than the ones in the Bescor rig. I speculate the thicker Canon cables might work better and last longer than the thinner Bescor cables, but as I said, that’s just speculation.
Is the Canon rig so much better than the Bescor rig that it’s worth a lot more money? Time will tell. In the meantime, I’ll say this: If the Bescor product doesn’t last as long as the Canon product, then I could replace it multiple times and still be ahead in the game!
Coming full-circle to the beginning of this blog post, I think it’s fair to ask how long a camera manufacturer should support its products. In my strong opinion, two years isn’t long enough. I’m just spitballing a number, but I think at least three- to five years seems reasonable. At the time I bought my X-T3 I had no idea I would want to be able to provide continuous power for studio photography. Two years later, I can still buy a new X-T3 camera but can’t buy some official Fujifilm power supply accessories — c’mon Fujifilm, you can and should do better!
Related Resources
This blog post is one in a series of posts related to continuous AC power and long-lasting battery power for select Canon, Fujifilm, and Panasonic digital cameras.
The Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital camera was released during November 2008. Yep, 2008 — that’s 12 years ago! Imagine my surprise when I discovered that some official Canon accessories for the camera are still available. For a premium price. More about that at the end of this blog post.
Two items are required in order to provide continuous power for the Canon EOS 5D Mark II.
The AC Adapter is connected to an alternating current (AC) electricity outlet; the adapter converts AC power to direct current (DC). The DC Coupler connects to the AC Adapter (using the barrel connector end of the cables) and the “dummy battery” goes in the battery compartment of the camera, replacing the Canon LP-E6N Lithium-Ion Battery Pack (7.2V, 1865mAh) used by the Canon EOS 5D Mark II.
Tech Tips
The battery compartment door must be closed in order for the camera to power-on.
This continuous power rig should work with any Canon camera that uses a Canon LP-E6N battery. That being said, I haven’t tested it with other models of Canon cameras. “Trust but verify,” as Ronald Reagan said.
The total cost for both items is $144.00. In my strong opinion, the Canon-brand power adapter is overpriced by a factor of nearly four times. In other words, you pay a premium price for the comfort of knowing the products will work safely with your camera.
I wasn’t happy spending a lot more money than I think the product is worth, but was willing to do so when I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. I wish I knew then what I know now — I could have saved a lot of money!
Are less expensive continuous power solutions available? In a word, yes. More later in a series of follow-up blog posts.
This blog post is one in a series of posts related to continuous AC power and long-lasting battery power for select Canon, Fujifilm, and Panasonic digital cameras.
The power bank is one of two recommended by Fujifilm, so it’s reasonable to assume the battery is safe to use. That being said, I must admit I was hesitant to test the battery with a relatively expensive digital camera like my Fujifilm X-T3!
Naturally I wondered whether the Anker battery meets the specifications to function properly with the GyroVu adapter cables. The specifications for the battery are printed on its textured case, in tiny letters that my tired old eyes are unable to see without using a magnifying glass!
Anker PowerCore+ 26800 PD 45W battery
Notice the specifications highlighted by the red rectangle superimposed on the full-size version of the preceding photo. [USB] Standard Output is 5V at 3A, within specs for the GyroVu adapter cables.
What are the take-aways?
Knowing the battery should work, and more importantly, should be safe to use, I was encouraged to test the battery as the power source for my Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Fujifilm X-T3 digital cameras. I’m pleased to report both cameras work as expected. More later in a series of follow-up blog posts.
WARNING
The B&H Photo Web page for the GyroVu USB to FUJIFILM NP-W126 Dummy Battery Intelligent Cable (40″) says the cable is compatible with Fujifilm X-T1 digital cameras (see the section entitled “Overview”). THAT’S INCORRECT! The page also says the cable “allows the use a USB power source to power devices that use a FUJIFILM NP-W126 battery.” THAT’S ALSO INCORRECT!
Fujifilm X-T1 digital cameras use an NP-W126 (7.2 V) battery; Fujifilm X-T3s use an NP-W126S (8.4 V) battery. The names for the two batteries are similar but similar is not the same, as indicated by the difference in their voltages.
The GyroVu Web page for the USB TO FUJIFILM (NP-W126S) BATTERY 40″ ADAPTER CABLE says the cable “Connects any power source with USB female connector to Fujinon Cameras using NP-W126S battery” and specifies the output voltage as 8.4 V. That means the GyroVU cable will work with Fujifilm X-T3 digital cameras and will not work with Fujifilm X-T1s.
Post Update: Further testing shows an NP-126S battery can be used to power-on my Fujifilm X-T1. I cannot explain why the Fujifilm brand battery works and the GyroVu and Bescor power sources don’t.
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