You like it, you love it, you can’t get enough of it. That’s right, it’s time for another exciting episode of “What is it?”
If you think you know what is shown in the preceding video (0:28), then please leave a comment. The answer will be revealed in a post update.
Tech Tip: Click on the icon for Full screen (f), located in the lower-right corner of the video frame.
Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Arrowhead Spiketail dragonflies (Cordulegaster obliqua) were spotted along small streams at undisclosed locations in Fairfax County and Prince William County, Virginia USA.
Male and female Arrowhead Spiketails are similar in appearance. They can be differentiated based upon several field marks.
Male
This individual is a male, as indicated by his “indented” hind wings and terminal appendages.
07 JUL 2014 | Fairfax County | Arrowhead Spiketail (male)
Arrowhead male and female cerci are similar in appearance, and it can be challenging to see the epiproct clearly from some viewpoints. When in doubt whether an individual is male or female, look for indentations at the base of the hind wings of males.
07 JUL 2014 | Fairfax County | Arrowhead Spiketail (male)
Female
This individual is a female, as indicated by her rounded hind wings, terminal appendages, and prominent subgenital plate (ovipositor) at the tip of her abdomen.
21 MAY 2019 | PNC. Wm. County | Arrowhead Spiketail (female)
Although Arrowhead male and female cerci are similar in appearance, there is no mistaking the subgenital plate of female spiketails! It’s easy to see why “Spiketails” is the common name for Family Cordulegastridae.
21 MAY 2019 | PNC. Wm. County | Arrowhead Spiketail (female)
So the take-away is simple: If you see a subgenital plate then the individual is definitely female; if not, then it’s probably a male.
Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
The mystery item featured in my last blog post is a Beetle Spin® 1/8 oz fishing lure.
Beetle Spin® 1/8 oz fishing lure.
Perhaps the bigger mystery is how the fishing lure ended up where I found it, stuck in the bark of a tree (about head height) quite a distance from a small stream that might be fish-less. There was no fishing line attached to the lure. Anyway, there it was.
Beetle Spin® is one of the classic all-purpose fishing lures that is a nice addition to my tackle box.
Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages. It’s time for another exciting episode of “What is it?”
If you think you know what is shown in the preceding photo, then please leave a comment. The answer will be revealed in a post update.
Copyright © 2022 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
I don’t know exactly what eBay is today, but I know it was a Den of Thieves where people could go to buy and sell stuff, usually used. And I know several people who were ripped off (lost money) on eBay, both as buyers and sellers. As a result, my mindset toward eBay has been “avoid it like the plague!”
eBay seems to have evolved into an Amazon-like online superstore where you can shop for new stuff as well as buy/sell used stuff. Imagine my surprise when I rolled the dice and ordered a hard-to-find item from a vendor in Japan and the experience turned out to be 99.9% positive. Mind blown!
The Backstory
A long time ago, I bought a “tele conversion lens” and adapter for my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ150 superzoom bridge camera. Both accessories were made by Panasonic. Using the tele conversion lens, the actual magnification is 1.7 times the display. For example, at 24x — the maximum zoom magnification of the FZ150 — the actual magnification is ~40x!
When I upgraded to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300, I wanted to be able to use the same “tele conversion lens.” It was unclear to me whether the DMW-LA5 adapter that works with the FZ150 would fit my FZ300. I was aware that Panasonic also made (past tense) a DMW-LA7 adapter for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200, but I wasn’t sure the same adapter/lens combo would work with my FZ300.
Impasse Breakthrough
Recently I stumbled across a comment by a Panasonic employee in the Q&A section of an archived product page for the DMW-LA7 adapter (regret I can’t remember where I read the comment) in which the employee clearly stated the adapter is compatible with the FZ300.
Product image courtesy Panasonic Store on Amazon.
Turns out the adapter is no longer made by Panasonic so I started searching online for a place to buy the adapter, new or used. After a lot of fruitless searching, I found several vendors on eBay that sell the adapter. I fully expected the adapter would turn out to be a knock-off of some sort, but hey, it’s essentially just a metal tube with screw threads on both ends so I figured any DMW-LA7 compatible adapter should work. I decided to place an order with a company called “Japan-Excite.”
My order was delivered 10 days later. I was STUNNED when I opened the “parcel” and discovered the adapter is original equipment from Panasonic, in the original box, and apparently new! And I was delighted that it fits perfectly on my FZ300 and with the DMW-LT55 tele conversion lens.
Needs Improvement
So why did I say the experience was 99.9% positive? Because the “parcel” used to ship the product looked like a laminated paper bag of some sort — it reminded me of the brown paper bag lunches my mother used to pack when I was in elementary school. Inside the bag, the item was packed in bubble wrap enclosed by corrugated cardboard folded four times to fit around the bubble wrap (open on both ends). All of that said, the product was delivered in good condition. But I must say that I would NEVER ship merchandise from Japan to the United States (or vice versa) using anything less than a sealed cardboard box with plenty of packing material surrounding all sides of the product.
Summary
Long story short, all’s well that ends well although I can’t help but feel like I was extraordinarily lucky!
In summary, the Panasonic DMW-LT55 tele conversion lens works with either the DMW-LA5 or DMW-LA7 adapter: the DMW-LA5 adapter works with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ150; the DMW-LA7 adapter works with both the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300.
I’m eager to field test the new adapter with my FZ300 to see whether the tele conversion lens performs as well as it does using my FZ150.
Related Resources
Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Eureka! I found my RadioShack Digital Multimeter.
In a recent blog post, I said I would like to use a multimeter to test the actual voltage output of the GyroVu USB TO PANASONIC DMC-GH2 (DMW-BLC12) BATTERY 40″ CABLE w/ 3.1A USB POWER SUPPLY that provides continuous power for my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300 superzoom bridge camera. This blog post features the results from that test and more.
Panasonic rechargeable Li-ion camera battery
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300 uses a Panasonic DMW-BLC12 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery (7.2V, 1200mAh), shown below.
Panasonic DMW-BLC12PP 7.2V Li-ion battery (front).
The positive and negative terminals of the battery are marked on the back of its case.
Panasonic DMW-BLC12PP 7.2V Li-ion battery (back).
I set the multimeter to measure voltage and touched the black test lead to the negative (-) terminal, then touched the red test lead to the positive (+) terminal. The LCD on the multimeter displayed a voltage of 07.29V, as shown below. That’s good!
Voltage output from Panasonic 7.2V Li-ion battery.
GyroVu continuous power adapter
Next, the GyroVu “USB Charger” (shown below, to the lower-left) was plugged in a 120V AC electrical outlet. The GyroVu dummy battery was connected to the 3100mA USB connector on the GyroVu USB Charger.
Product image courtesy GyroVu.com.
Although the positive and negative terminals of the dummy battery aren’t marked on its case, they are in the same places as on the Li-ion battery.
Once again I set the multimeter to measure voltage and touched the black test lead to the negative (-) terminal, then touched the red test lead to the positive (+) terminal. The LCD on the multimeter displayed a voltage of 08.36V, as shown below.
Voltage output from GyroVu dummy battery for Panasonic.
GyroVu says the output voltage of the dummy battery is 8.0V, so 8.36V seems to be within specs.
For what it’s worth, the Owner’s Manual for the model of RadioShack Digital Multimeter that I used specifies the accuracy of the multimeter is +/-0.8% of the reading, or in this case +/-0.07V.
Therefore I think it’s safe to say the GyroVu dummy battery has a slightly higher voltage than the Panasonic Li-ion battery. Is the higher voltage cause for concern?
Perhaps the more important question is whether amperage matters more than voltage. Regular readers of my blog might recall that I used my Drok USB Tester to measure an amperage of 0.45A drawn by the camera when it was connected to the GyroVu adapter and powered on. Is that amperage safe for the camera?
I’m not sure of the answer to either question, although I am certain further investigation is required.
Anker external power bank
Each GyroVu “dummy battery” adapter cable features a USB connector that can be used to connect your digital camera to an external power bank such as the Anker PowerCore+ 26800 PD 45W), shown below.
Product image courtesy AnkerDirect.
My Drok USB Tester was connected to one of two USB ports on the Anker power bank. The output voltage of the power bank was 5V, same as the GyroVu “USB Charger.”
The GyroVu dummy battery was plugged into one of two USB ports on the Anker power bank. Once again I set the multimeter to measure voltage and touched the black test lead to the negative (-) terminal, then touched the red test lead to the positive (+) terminal. The LCD on the multimeter displayed a voltage of 08.36V (shown above) — exactly the same as when I used the GyroVu “USB Charger” as the source of continuous power.
Voltage output for GyroVu dummy battery for Panasonic connected to Anker PowerCore+ 26800 PD 45W.
At this point I think it’s safe to say the Anker power bank is safe to use as a source of continuous power for my Panansonic Lumix DMC-FZ300 camera, that is, assuming the ~8.0V output of the GyroVu dummy battery isn’t a problem.
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.
Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Since I started exploring ways to provide continuous power for my digital cameras, I have been guided by two questions. 1. Will it work? 2. Is it safe? I watched a YouTube video recently that reminded me of the latter question.
External Power for Cameras, the Safest Options by Graham Houghton (14:53) inspired me to search online for an inline voltage meter with USB connectors.
Drok USB Tester
After watching several more YouTube videos, I decided to buy a Digital Meter USB Tester Multifunction Digital Voltmeter/Ammeter/Power Meter/Capacity Tester/Charger 5in1 USB Panel Meter, available from a company in the United States called “Drok.” The MSRP for the Drok USB Tester is $15.99. The one I ordered from the Drok Store on Amazon cost $9.99.
Product image courtesy Droking.com.
The device features one male USB connector for input, and two female USB connectors for output.
Product image courtesy Droking.com.
GyroVu continuous power adapter
The next photo shows a GyroVu USB TO PANASONIC DMC-GH2 (DMW-BLC12) BATTERY 40″ CABLE w/ 3.1A USB POWER SUPPLY. The device can be used to provide continuous power for my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300 superzoom bridge camera.
Product image courtesy GyroVu.com.
The “USB Charger” — a small white power brick — was plugged into a 120V AC electrical outlet. Look closely at the full-size version of the following image. Notice the USB Charger output is 5V=3.1A. (3.1A = 3100mA.)
Product image courtesy GyroVu.com.
Testing the GyroVu continuous power adapter
The Drok USB Tester was connected to the 3100mA USB connector on the GyroVu USB Charger, shown above.
The USB cable for the GyroVu dummy battery was connected to “Output 1” of the Drok USB Tester; the dummy battery was inserted into the battery compartment of my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300.
The last photo — the same one featured in my last blog post — shows the LED display on the front of the Drok USB Tester after my camera was powered on, indicating the output voltage of the USB Charger was 5V and the camera was drawing a current of 0.45A.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300 (121mm) plus Raynox DCR-250.
The output voltage of the GyroVu dummy battery is 8.0V so the “dummy” battery must contain a DC-to-DC step-up converter.
I plan to use a multimeter to test the actual voltage output of the GyroVu dummy battery, that is, as soon as I can find my RadioShack mulitimeter. (Someday I’ll get organized so I know where everything is!)
Sidebar: Deep Dive into Tech Specs
The Web page for the GyroVu continuous power adapter shown above says the product is for the Panasonic DMC-GH2 camera. How could I be sure the device would work with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300 digital camera?
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300 uses a Panasonic DMW-BLC12 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery (7.2V, 1200mAh). Turns out that’s the same battery used by the Panasonic DMC-GH2. I know this thanks to Wasabi Power for providing a list of Panasonic cameras that use the DMW-BLC12 battery. (See the Web page for the PANASONIC DMW-BLC12 AC POWER ADAPTER KIT WITH DC COUPLER FOR PANASONIC DMW-DCC8, DMW-AC8 BY WASABI POWER, a product similar to the GyroVu continuous power adapter.)
Editor’s Note: The MSRP for the Wasabi Power continuous power adapter is $23.99 — nearly $10 less than the MSRP of $33.95 for the GyroVu USB Power Supply. You might be wondering why I didn’t buy the Wasabi Power device.
Notice the Wasabi Power device uses round connectors rather than USB connectors. I prefer the GyroVu devices because the USB connectors on their dummy batteries give me the flexibility to use them with my Anker PowerCore+ 26800 PD 45W battery as a power source for select Canon, Fujifilm, and Panasonic digital cameras that I own.
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.
Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Female and male Yellow-sided Skimmer dragonflies (Libellula flavida) were spotted at a small pond at an undisclosed location in Prince William County, Virginia USA.
Female
The first individual is a female, as indicated by her mostly yellow coloration and terminal appendages.
17 JUN 2021 | PNC. Wm. County | Yellow-sided Skimmer (female)
Female dragonflies have a pair of cerci (superior appendages) that have little or no function.
Mature male
The last individual is a mature male, as indicated by his light-blue pruinescence and terminal appendages.
17 JUN 2021 | PNC. Wm. County | Yellow-sided Skimmer (male)
Male dragonflies have three terminal appendages, collectively called “claspers,” that are used to grab and hold female dragonflies during mating: an upper pair of cerci (“superior appendages”) and a lower unpaired epiproct (“inferior appendage”).
Immature male Yellow-sided Skimmers look similar to females of the same species. Terminal appendages can be used to differentiate the sex of immature males and mature females.
Related Resource: Yellow-sided Skimmer (male and female) – a blog post by Walter Sanford.
Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
In my last blog post, I mentioned that minor vignetting can be a problem when the Raynox DCR-250 close-up filter is mounted on some macro- and non-macro camera lenses.
Canon 100mm macro lens
In case you’re wondering whether vignetting is a problem when using two step-down rings with the Canon 100mm macro lens, it isn’t. As it turns out, the front lens element is recessed quite a bit from the lens barrel so the step-down rings cover little if any glass. Source Credit: Raynox DCR-250 close-up filter, by Walter Sanford.
The first photo shows the front lens element of the Canon 100mm macro lens is in fact recessed quite a bit from the lens barrel.
Lens barrel without nested step-down rings.
The next photo shows the nested 67-52mm and 52-43mm step-down rings that I use to mount the Raynox DCR-250 on my Canon 100mm macro lens. Look closely at the full-size version of this image and you should see the step-down rings don’t cover any of the camera lens.
Lens barrel with nested step-down rings.
Disclaimer: This might or might not be true for other makes and models of 100mm macro lenses.
Panasonic Lumix superzoom bridge cameras
The camera lens will need to be adjusted for at least some slight telephoto zoom in order to eliminate the vignetting caused by mounting a 43mm filter on a lens with a 52mm filter size. Source Credit: Raynox DCR-250 close-up filter, by Walter Sanford.
A Guide To Using Raynox Close Up Lenses on the FZ200 Camera, by Graham Houghton is the second item listed under “Related Resources” in my last blog post. Page 6 of Graham’s excellent guide describes a simple way to set-up both my Panasonic Lumix DCR-150 and DCR-300 superzoom bridge cameras so that vignetting isn’t a problem.
p. 6, A Guide To Using Raynox Close Up Lenses on the FZ200 Camera, by Graham Houghton.
For the DMC-FZ300, press the “Menu/Set” button on the back of the camera, then select the camera icon in the left side-bar. Navigate to page 7/7 and select “Conversion”; select the icon for close-up lens. When the camera is powered-on, it will zoom to 4x (121 mm) automatically and the aperture will be limited to f/4 or smaller (f/4 to f/8).
For my older DMC-FZ150, the set-up process is the same except “Conversion” appears on page 5/5. Zoom is set to 4x and the aperture is limited to f/3.6 or smaller (f/3.6 to f/8).
Using either camera, the lens can be adjusted for greater than 4x zoom, resulting in more magnification.
Post Update
You know, sometimes I wonder “What was I thinking?”
Although I like Graham Houghton’s trick for using one of the “Conversion” settings to quickly solve the vignetting problem on the Panasonic superzoom bridge cameras, I dislike the fact that aperture is limited by that setting. That’s a bad trade-off, in my strong opinion.
Another strike against using the “Conversion” setting: flash is disabled, including both the built-in flash and the flash hot-shoe. I like to use flash for macro photography, so this is a deal-breaker for me.
Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
I watched a video by Micael Widell recently that reminded me the Raynox DCR-250 close-up filter is a good value given its versatility.
Before I bought the Raynox close-up filter many years ago, I was skeptical that it would work. I still can’t explain why it works with many lenses I own including both macro- and non-macro lenses, but I can tell you with certainty it does work and works well!
Canon 100mm macro lens
The Canon 100mm macro lens has a maximum magnification of 1:1. Micael Widell says adding the Raynox DCR-250 close-up filter to the lens increases the magnification from 1x to 2x. According the B&H Photo Specs page for the Raynox DCR-250 close-up filter, its magification is 2.5x.
Calculating magnification is tricky and not as straightforward as one might think. In this case it doesn’t matter whether Mr. Widell or B&H Photo is correct, the fact of the matter is adding a Raynox DCR-250 close-up filter to your lens should at least double the magnification.
The first photograph shows the following equipment, couterclockwise from the upper-left: “snap-on universal adapter” for Raynox DCR-250 close-up filter; Raynox close-up filter mounted on a 52-43mm step-down ring; and a 67-52mm step-down ring.
Several mounting adapters for Raynox DCR-250 close-up filter.
The Raynox DCR-250 close-up filter comes with a “snap-on universal adapter” for mounting the filter on lenses with a filter size from 52-67mm. The universal adapter clips on the front of a lens the same as a lens cap. That’s OK for use in a photo studio but less than ideal for use in the field. In my opinion, it’s better to use inexpensive step-down rings to mount the close-up filter more securely.
Canon EOS 5D Mark II macro photography kit.
The Rube Goldberg rig shown above has a lot of parts, but for the purpose of this blog post focus on the Canon 100mm macro lens and Raynox DCR-250 mounted on the lens using nested 67-52mm and 52-43mm step-down rings.
In case you’re wondering whether vignetting is a problem when using two step-down rings with the Canon 100mm macro lens, it isn’t. As it turns out, the front lens element is recessed quite a bit from the lens barrel so the step-down rings cover little if any glass.
Panasonic Lumix superzoom bridge cameras
Both my Panasonic Lumix DCR-150 and DCR-300 superzoom bridge cameras feature a 52mm filter thread size. So it’s simple to use a 52-43mm step-down ring to mount the Raynox DCR-250 close-up filter on either camera lens.
Raynox DCR-250 not mounted on the camera lens.
The camera lens will need to be adjusted for at least some slight telephoto zoom in order to eliminate the vignetting caused by mounting a 43mm filter on a lens with a 52mm filter size.
Both cameras feature a 24x zoom lens, so when the Raynox DCR-250 is added to the kit the actual magnification will vary depending upon the focal length for which the camera lens is set.
Raynox DCR-250 shown mounted on the camera lens.
Related Resources
Copyright © 2021 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
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