Tag Archive for: tether

Outside fashion shot for sunglasses with extreme styling and flash Part II : let’s talk gear

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Because size matters

Today Part II from the workshop “working on location in Emmeloord”
In this workshop the challenge is to use not so interesting locations and create awesome shots.
In the previous blogpost we showed set 1 and talked a bit about the gear, today we dive a little bit deeper in the deep reflector.

But first let’s take a look at the setup.
The third set we used during the workshop (set II will follow the next time) was a small house near the beach, this is an interesting location but in all honesty I had the most trouble with this one to create something interesting. But by using the lines in the location and changing my angles of shooting I think we got some interesting looks.

For the images I used our Geekoto GT200 and a large reflector

As you can see this is a pretty large reflector.
And that’s exactly the reason I love using those on location.
The thing is that even with a 200W strobe you are still not “killing” the sun from let’s say 3 meters distance, and when you love those Day2Night shots, or love to shoot HSS you will have to run almost constantly on full power, but even with fill in flash…. ok you get the idea without any reflectors even a 200W hybrid strobe with HSS is not perfect for all day Day2Night photography

However as soon as we start to add light shapers the story becomes different.
When we add a striplight like the Rogue flashbenders or any other brand of course we will actually lose lightoutput compared to the bare strobe.
But luckily we can also add light to the output.
You probably also know from studio use that reflectors can have a huge impact on the lightoutput of your strobes. And the same goes for outside. We are using a Bowens converter to hold our Geekoto and connect the reflector. The reason the reflector is so deep is that it will focus the light more the deeper the reflector (on average, it also depends on the material of course) in usage this can mean the difference between shooting a strobe on 1/3rd power instead of full power, and that is something you really notice.

As an added bonus I love the look of these deeper reflectors, they are not as harsh as some smaller reflectors but they still give a tremendous deep shadow and high contrast. If you order one make sure you also order a grid if that’s available. I’m using a generic brand from AliExpress, if you are shooting with Hensel it’s called the 14″ reflector (which is even larger than this one) and for Elinchrom it’s called the MaxiLight or MaxiSpot. I highly recommend getting one for outside work.

 

The iPad solution

As you can see in the image I’m using an iPad on location.
I’ve been using MacBooks for years but the disadvantage of a MacBookPro is that they are very fragile on location, they can easily fall down, attract dust like crazy and have loads of opening to collect dirt. Plus they are very expensive to replace or repair.

The iPad on the other hand can be securely fastened to just one stand with the awesome Ulanzi holder (we got so many questions about it that we added it to our webshop).
The nice thing about the iPad is that it will run all day on one charge and the lightoutput is really nice for outside work, as long as there is no direct sunlight hitting the screen of course.

During this workshop I shot wireless to the iPad but in 99% of the cases I’m using an IQwire USBc-USBc 15meter tether cable to shoot to the iPad using CasCable. Ive been using this combination for a while now and it never disappointed me, if something goes wrong the advantage of the iPad is that you just close an app and start it again and it all works fine again. But to be complete I’ve experienced a super smooth workflow so far with little to no problems. This is also the main reason you see me using the iPad more and more during shows, especially with Adobe releasing great updates to their Lightroom and Photoshop apps which makes the iPad a real workstation now a days.

Especially on location you want gear you carry around easily and don’t have to be afraid that something falls down during the hike to the next location.

 

The results

Ok let’s take a look at the results from the third set during this workshop (next time set 2)

Model/Styling : Nadine
Sunglasses : Sparks
www.fotografie-workshops.nl for the Dutch workshops
www.frankdoorhof.com/shop for my gear

 

 

New IQwire tethering solutions from cables to defense

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IQwire Carbon Black, the new Tether line-up.

New IQwire tethering solutions from cables to defense

 

Tethering is one of the biggest upgrades in your workflow you can do.

But what is tethering?

Let me first make clear that our company StudioFD is the European Distributor for IQwire tethering solutions, from cables to defensive systems.
This doesn’t mean my opinions or conclusions are colored. However, we only sell and promote products I use myself or 100% support.

When we talk about tethering we mean that you connect your camera to a PC/Mac or even tablet/phone. And when you take your images they immediately also appear on the desktop. This doesn’t only mean your client can check your images but it also is a great way to check focus, composition, and use for example overlays, presets, crops, etc. Plus it’s a safe way to backup images while shooting.

Now, one could think that you can use any cable to connect your camera to your device but that’s not 100% true. When cables start to wear and tear you can literally damage your camera or device and in extreme instances cause fire.

IQwire cables are built to last.

I’m still using my first cable and it’s been through some pretty rough shoots, to say the least.

Let’s take a look at the new products we are introducing today.

Length

According to some 4.7 mtrs is all you need, and if you want more you can always extend your cables.
It will depend on the situation. But for me personally, 4.7 mtrs never worked. My laptop is at 1.50mtrs high and I’m shooting mostly from 1.70mtrs height. Meaning that I can not move around a lot before my cable starts to float above the floor, thus creating a chance that people trip over the cable.

Extending is also not ideal. Connectors are always influencing the signal and over time connectors can become less effective and even cause unstable connections. Also on locations these extensions are very sensitive to water, dust, etc.

This is why IQwire (a brand designed by and for photographers) is supplying cables in 5 and 10-meter lengths in one piece. And with the introduction of our new Generation 2 Carbon Black cables, we are now also supplying a very nice 15 meters in length, also in one piece.

 

So why can we do it?

The way our cables are designed in combination with inline boosters and intelliconnect connectors warrants a very fast and stable data transfer aimed at modern high-resolution and high-speed cameras. But due to the length in one piece, they are also much less sensitive to damage from the outside. You can even put a knot in the cables.  (Although we don’t advise this, just like backing over one with a truck… yeah it happened and it still worked).

So let’s take a look at our new cable design.
I love black 😀

iqwire-carbon-black-the-new-tether-line-up

But we don’t stop there.

Defensive system

Of course, we are very careful with our gear. But accidents happen and even with our angled connectors it still happens people bump at the camera and destroy the port. So this had to be solved. But when you start we have to take care of the whole chain. And because we don’t want our defensive system to stop your workflow it was designed with exactly that in mind.

Speed and safety

 

IQwire QRCL tether lock, Quick Release Cable Lock

The QRCL is the base of our tether cable management system.
QRCL is a precision machined 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum Arca-Swiss compatible camera plate with an integrated tool-free easy-release carbon fiber composite tether lock.

Our patent-pending system lets you lock in or release your tether cable in a matter of seconds without the use of any tools. QRCL will keep you shooting so you don’t have any unexpected cable disconnects and help you keep from breaking the connector on your cable. Because you take out the cartridge with the cable you don’t have to reroute your cable every time you connect to your camera. Which means less strain on your cables in the long run. And of course, much faster connecting and disconnecting.

QRCL is built for IQwire cables and will fit any camera with a tripod screw attachment. QRCL comes complete with a 1/4-20 attachment screw and two carbon fiber composite tether lock cartridges.

New IQwire tethering solutions from cables to defense

the IQwire Quick Release Cable Lock works with IQwire and other cables. And it’s easy to take off when you don’t need to tether anymore

Now that we have a proper connection to the camera we still have the cable sticking out of the port. So there is more …

New IQwire tethering solutions from cables to defense

 

The IQwire UCMD, Unplanned Cable Modification Deterrent

The UCMD is exactly what the acronym stands for—a deterrent for unplanned cable modifications (accidental USB connector damage).
UCMD is a precision machined 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum USB connector protector that bolts directly onto the IQwire QRCL camera plate. The patent-pending system provides a shield for the USB connector. This means we are also protecting your port and cable from accidental bumps into the camera and when you accidentally place your camera on the connector.

UCMD is built for our IQwire cables and requires the IQwire QRCL for deployment.
UCMD comes complete with two attachment screws and a 2mm hex wrench and is camera specific so contact us if you are not sure.
The UCMD is not compatible with power grips except for the Fuji GFX 100 II.

Ok, so now we have the cable connected…to the camera and protected the port, but what if….
Someone sti, ll trips over your cable and pulls it…
In that case we are still not 100% safe, the camera OR laptop will end up on the floor. So we need to also solve this problem,

And that means we are now also introducing the final step in a,100% (well ok you guys are creative 99%) safe, stable and super fast tethering workflow.

Quick release = quick save

The IQwire ACDS, Advance Cable Defensive System

The IQwire ACDS gives you a defensive system for those accidental cable events where someone yanks the cable right out of your camera along with half the USB connector. ACDS attaches to the right-angle end of our IQwire cables and creates a quick-release release.

ACDS comes complete with the quick relight-angle fiber composite block, along with two 18″ right-angle stingers. The second stinger can be stored as a spare or used as a quick release on the computer end.

By combining the two stingers you now have a “breaking point” at the computer and camera side. This means your gear and cable will probably survive the event. By using the stingers and ACDS you are also protecting your main cable connector against extensive wear and tear extending its lifetime.

New IQwire tethering solutions from cables to defense, this a one of the defense mechanismes. the Avanced Cable Defensive System, or ACDS New IQwire tethering solutions from cables to defense. Use the stinger of the Advanced Cable Defensive System on the computer side

Conclusion

New IQwire tethering solutions from cables to defense

There is a huge difference between products designed by companies working in the photography business and products designed by photographers. So let’s see how these new products will impact my workflow.

IQwire cables are very fast but most of all stable. I’m teaching a lot of workshops in the studio or on location. And especially when shooting fast series I want the images to come in at the same speed without any stutters. So the attendees can follow what I do in real-time. With the IQwire cables, I can shoot at full speed with my Sony A7RV. The images appear almost instantly on the big screen. And when I lose connection it connects faster than any cable I used before. Especially when under pressure, trusting your connection is vital. The new Generation 2 cables are ready for the new generation high resolution and high-speed cameras.

When teaching at events I often have to run from stage to stage so taking a cable off my camera and putting it back on several times a day is no problem for the IQwire cables. But it becomes very frustrating fast. So with the new QRCL I can now just take the cartridge out and put the camera in the bag. And when I’m at the new location it’s a matter of just clicking the CA, and cartridge back in and I’m ready to shoot.

During events it’s sometimes very crowded and people do bump into you. Also, the UCMD will be mounted,d on my camera from now on during events. In the past I’ve damaged some ports and although I’m always careful, cameras do tip over or people bump into them. With the UCMD it’s another thing I don’t have to think about anymore.

Finally

And finally, for me maybe the biggest one, the ACDS
We’ve tried several solutions ourselves and although they work fine it’s far from the ACDS in elegance and protection. I’m routing the main cable into the ACDS at the camera side so the connector on my main cable is protected. Plus I can now connect one of the stingers to the camera via the QRCL and on the laptop side I’m using the second stinger to create a “breaking point” for the laptop.

We will probably end up with 2 ACDSs’ one with a 5-meter cable for the very small sets and a 15-meter cable for all the rest. The 15 meters is a real beauty for studios and larger sets. It gives you so much freedom 😀

See www.iqwire.nl for Dutch customers.
New IQwire tethering solutions from cables to defense or available in our webshop www.frankdoorhof.com/shop

The best way to protect your camera during tethering

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After using other products for years I used everything I liked and didn’t like to get something that would be as close to perfect as possible.
The result… the CableBlock.

The best way to protect you camera during tethering is to make sure there is as little stress as possible on your port.
Our IQ-wire cables use angled connectors on the camera side, which already makes the connection more safe if the camera would roll over the cable. But to make it 100% safe you need to make sure the cable is 100% secure.

When using solutions that are hanging on your camera are just a safeguard, the cable will still move around when you shoot or switch from landscape to portrait mode, in the end it’s a lot better than no protection, but for longer use it’s not the way to go.

The CableBlock is a Arca compatible mount with special guides for thinner and thicker cables.
It’s smaller than other solutions so it’s still possible to open up your battery compartment and on smaller cameras it’s much more comfortable in your hands. It’s also not necessary to use a coin or screwdriver to mount or unmount the CableBlock, you just use the little “holder” and turn it to tighten or loosen the screw, it’s super easy. Of course the CableBlock is protecting your camera also by using 4 rubber feet. And finally it’s bright red 😀

And the best thing….. it’s only 35.00 euros including 21% VAT.
You can get the CableBlock here.

Although mounting it is super easy, we still get some questions about the best way to route the cable, so in this video I show you how to do it quick and easy.

tethering without wires

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I love Sony cameras, but sometimes I feel a little bit left out in the cold by manufacturers, I even sometimes feel they don’t care or don’t realize that Sony is really very fast becoming a major (if not THE major) player. For example I’ve been bugging CamRanger since day 1 for Sony support, their response is very basic… it won’t work and it will never work because Sony doesn’t support it…. well it’s weird that Capture One for example shows live view (which according to CamRanger is not possible…. don’t get me wrong I LOVE Camranger, heck I would buy one if they would support Sony in a heartbeat.

 

What do we/I really need?
Something a lot of manufacturers seem to miss.
For me personally I don’t need to see my live view, I don’t need to do settings or anything else fancy, I just want my images to come in, preferable the JPGs in small sizes, show the images and that’s it.

 

Now where do I want it?
The new iPad pro has me all excited, and yeah I know it’s “just” an iPad but the screen size is very handy for us on location and I strongly believe that (because it’s Apple) Adobe and other app makers will start making apps especially for the iPad pro and to be honest I see myself working on an iPad Pro much more than on my MBP when flying or traveling. So my initial thoughts was to use the Sony Remote control software to shoot tethered to my iPad Pro during workshops (which we now already sometimes do during location workshops with small groups) and that works flawless, however…. we can’t get the files to my MBP, so I was actually looking into that and while searching for solutions I found a company called DSLRdashboard

 

You might know their software for iPad, iPhone and Android, but you might not know they also have a desktop version, well at least I didn’t, and it works flawlessly just connect the Sony via their smart remote app to the wifi network and start the software, search for Sony and within seconds you’re up and running. And it’s fast, plus we tried it out throughout the whole studio area and we have pretty good coverage everywhere, so I’m very happy with this. Now the only thing Sony needs to fix is that the EVF doesn’t work in smart remote (which it did in the past).

 

But is that all?
No.
While doing my research online I more and more became convinced that although CamRanger might not support Sony there must be another solution, the CamRanger is in essence a rebranded and customized TP-Link router so what did they do, well very quickly you will find out that there is a firmware flash option that will run a modified firmware on the router and that will actually transmit your files, as long as the camera has a PC-Remote option, which the Sony has. So I thought “why doesn’t it work”… and the more I looked online the more it puzzled me, according to all the programers it would work with any camera that has PC-Remote and according to the app makers it wouldn’t work…. but what doesn’t work. If you read closely they all talk about the fact that Sony doesn’t allow to change settings etc. but I don’t care about that, I just want the files to come in and I couldn’t care less about time-lapse etc.

 

So I decided to just order the TP-Link somewhere and as soon as it’s in I’m gonna try to make it work to transmit just the JPGs, so keep looking at my blog and social media for this, I could be totally wrong but in my opinion it should be possible to do it, if the Sony smart Remote can make a connection and transfer RAW or JPGs why not via a router, what’s the difference if you only need JPGs…. I’m not a programmer but it doesn’t seem like much to just show images to students right?  we will see 😀

 

Anyway, long story short.
Here is a video in the digital classroom series on wireless tethering, and I also included a tip to shoot tethered with your iPhone without the need for internet 😀
Make sure to subscribe to my channel and share the link 😀