My investment in two new Drift 720P Action Cameras

Today I finally got to test out my new investment into two Drift 720P Action Cameras and wow am I over the moon with these Action Cameras.  I installed both Drift 720P Cameras into the Auto Test Car with one GoPro Hero Action Camera. 

The video below is the end result.... Now to close with, again I'm really over the moon with the Drift 720P Action Camera Model and as a matter of fact, I've got this gut feeling that I'm going to be buying one more or two more of them in the future.... Enjoy the video people...  and see you all soon.

Kevin Webster: Coronation Street; Manchester Crown Court

GRP TV: Broadcaster Of Motorsport

Pixel King Pro: ITTL: Nikon Version Third Generation Trigger Review

Welcome back to yet another review, also thanks to www.ukhighland.co.uk for supplying me with my brand new Pixel King Pro:  ITTL Third Generation Triggers.

Right well it's very good news for us Nikon shooters, because we now have 100% control over the light out put of our Nikon branded speedlites via the new Pixel King Pro triggers.  Yes, people you have read that correctly the new Pixel King Pro Radio triggers allows us Nikon Shooters to control our speedlites just like we do when we use the Advanced Wireless Lighting System aka Nikon's Creative Lighting System.  How, Pixel has managed to enable us Nikon shooters to do such a thing with radio frequencies then I do just NOT know, but the one thing I do know is that Pixel should go and get them selfs a cookie out of the jar, for they have made an amazing achievement here, as a matter of fact Pixel, you boys and girls take the jar with you and thank you so much.

Right so what is the difference with the new Pixel King Pro Radio Trigger over the 1st Pixel King Radio Trigger ?  Well there are a number of improvements that Pixel has made, for example again “we Nikon Shooters can now have 100% full control over the output of our speedlties wirelessy with the new Pixel King Pro Radio Trigger”, so in your face canon users, you guys were the winners with the first pixel king, but this time round it's us Nikon Shooters that's the real winners.

Right moving on so what else has changed, well at the top of the list we have

1)  The actual Pixel Transmitter it's self is actually made out of metal and not plastic.  Not only that but the transmitter also acts as a transceiver too, yes you read that correct, but again I'll repeat that again the Pixel Pro transmitter is NOT just a transmitter but it is also a transceiver too, when used via it's own in built slave mode.

2)  No auto focus, yes people Pixel has removed the auto focus off the Pixel King Pro.  In my honest opinion then that is a good thing, as I found the old auto focus a waste of time.  What I mean is if my radio triggers are going to activate the auto focus system on my speedlites then why do I need an auto focus on my transmitter ?  So again in my honest opinion well done to Pixel for dropping the auto focus off the transmitter.

3)  it appears that Pixel have taken the testing button off the Pixel Opas and added it to the top of the Pixel King Pro Transmitter and painted it white at the same time (nb:  exact same button is black on the Pixel Opas).

4) the battery compartment door is now permanently fixed to the actual transmitter it's self.   So it really does appear that Pixel has been taking notes from their customers in order to improve the King range.  No more bending down to pick up the battery door off the floor.

5) there is now six new buttons and a sexy lcd pannel at the rear of the unit, which when the unit is switched on Pixel has made sure that you see their illuminated Pixel Logo before you are greeted with an operating system that looks remarkably like the “Commander Mode” on the Nikon Creative Lighting System.

6) there is a metal mounting bracket which you use with an L bracket, this is for when you use the Pixel Pro as a receiver i.e. when you turn the Pixel Pro into it's slave mode.

7)  It is fully compatible with the first generation of Kings, but this is subject to a firmware update of the first generation Kings.

Right now that I have listed some of the main obvious improvements / changes to the new design of the Pixel King Pro, then lets move on and have a quick look at some of it's other main features.  The new Pixel King has a light ratio feature built into it, I'm not to sure though when I my-self would use this feature?  But the light ratio feature does read from 1:8 to 8:1.  When it comes to light ratio, then all I know about it, is that it means something like, your highlights are twice as bright as your shadows or vice versa etc... etc... so again I'm not to sure my-self as to when I would actually be using this feature my-self, but hey I guess one day that I may get to grips with it and learn it.

Right moving on then, next up is the group function settings, basically when you press the channel buttons repeatedly on the side of the Pixel King Pro, then the King Pro will switch the selected group to either TTL, Manual, or Off, it will continue to repeat this pattern if you continue to press the group selection button.  Naturally if your in Manual mode then you may increase / decrease the power output of your Nikon flash via the control buttons located at the back of the unit.

For us Nikon shooters, then the Pixel King Pro is exactly what the first Pixel King trigger should have been from the start.  When the first King was released then it was the Canon Shooters that was the real winners.  But this time round with the Pixel King Pro then it is us Nikon shooters that are the real winners this time and boy are we loving it!

The Pixel King Pro is a fantastic Radio Trigger or should I say Transceiver ?   With an operational range of 300 meters, a sync speed of up to 8000s. Pixel has really proved to us all that they really are big players within the photographic market and are a force to reckoned with.  I mean come on they have worked out how to get Nikon shooters to have full wireless control of their speedlites via “radio frequency”, how the designers / engineers at Pixel have managed to do this, then I don't know, but it is one heck of a remarkable achievement for them.  (NB:  Pixel I hope you are enjoying your jar of cookies).

My only one gripe though with the new Pixel King Pro is then, that the receiver is made out of plastic still, even though the transceiver / transmitter is now metal.  So come on Pixel sort it out and make our receivers metal too, as they take a good kicking in our bags / ruck sacks too, as a matter of fact Pixel, those Bishop Radio triggers that I got off you, then one of them now has a crack in it's plastic body from where they have been bouncing around in my photographers bag.  So next time Pixel please let us see you make the receivers metal too.  I'm sure that I speak for many photographers out there when I say that we don't mind paying that little bit extra / more for an improved product.

Blog over thanks for reading and hope this blog posting helps you all..

Cheers


Gareth Preston aka Strober

Meeting interesting people thanks to my C.O.M. Project

In my last blog I talked about all the things it was that I was learning with regards to my “City Of Manchester” photographic project.  Also due to the fact that I've become more committed to this project than before, then I have now taken the decision to launch my “City Of Manchester” project here onto blogger as well.  Basically this means that my City Of Manchester project now has it's very own blog here on blogger.  This means that all photographs of the C.O.M. will be uploaded onto it's own blog instead of being uploaded onto this one.  Not only that but my C.O.M. project can also now be found on Flickr too.  So for the new C.O.M. blog then click here and for the new C.O.M. Flickr Group then click here.

Right moving on then, then this blog is NOT about the new things that I've been learning from my ongoing C.O.M project.  Instead it's about some of the interesting people it is that I have been crossing paths with in the last few days.  For example I've seen / meet a few T.V. Personalities during my C.O.M. Project.  Not only that but I've also crossed the paths of what appears to be a few Professional Photo-journalists, which is perhaps the more formal name for what some people would refer to as the Paparazzi ?  But to me then there Photo-journalists.

I had picked up on the news story of actor Michael Le Vell (real name Michael Robert Turner)who plays the role of Kevin Webster in Coronation Street.  The story was that Michael Le Vell was on trail at Manchester Crown Court as he had been accused of 12 offences relating to a young girl, 5 of which were related to rape.   

However, on the 10 September 2013, Michael Robert Turner was found “NOT GUILTY” on all 12 charges.  So it was because of this story that seen my-self meeting a few of these interesting people who do work both in front and behind the camera lens.  So with out name dropping I'll just post a few pics to this blog to see if you can guess who they are?

Now to finish with then a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Michael Robert Turner for winning his trial.  On a personal note then I for one was keeping my faith in the British Justice System as they do say that the British Justice System is designed to project the innocent party, which in this case  was indeed Michael Robert Turner aka Kevin Webster of Coronation Street. 

Cheers

Gaz aka Strober

PS:  Can you guess who these people are ?  I'll start you off, the first pic above is Michael Robert Turner aka Kevin Webster.

City Of Manchester Project Still Going Strong

Well my City Of Manchester Project over on Facebook is still going very strong.  Basically the whole project is about documenting the City Of Manchester in photographs and wow have I just been doing that.

Since starting this project of mine then I'm surprised at what it is that I have actually learnt.  For example just look at this Crime Scene Investigator below....  sorry that should be "Crime Scene Examiner" as this is the British Transport Police that we are talking about here.  This "Crime Scene Examiner" is from the Scientific Support Unit of the British Transport Police.

What he is doing here, is he is gently scratching off flakes of paint from the graffiti on the train and putting these flakes of paint into plastic containers in order for them to then be taking away for analysis.  His job looks pretty cool right ? He even gets to carry a DSLR and a Speedlight too and to take photographs of these kind of incidents.

But he comes the un-cool side of this guys job, tomorrow his working day may be very different indeed. so instead of taken samples of paint from trains, then this guy could then be taken samples of blood off the ground and photographing a corpse instead.  So can you see just how really un-cool this guys job really can be ?

Now to sign this blog off with, then again I've been learning a few things that I just did not think that I would ever be learning and it's all thanks to my current photographic project the "City Of Manchester".   Any way guys I'll leave you with some more photographs that I did take of the City Of Manchester the night of 28th August 2013.

Shooting Night Life in the City Of Manchester

I've managed to get my-self out and about again in the City Of Mancehster but this time it was at night.  The first thing that I did learn about shooting in the City @ night, is then that the Crime Rate is allot higher and that people are more prone to confronting you with reagards to taking their photographs.  Which is in stark contrast to shooting in the City during daylight hours.

Any way I still had a good night out and it is another experience that is only going to help me to become a better photographer.

Gaz aka Strober