GerrySiegel

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Yard landscape trimmer......<div></div>

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Fancy Euro designer chair, only USD 5000.00 or so.....<div></div>

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Peter, I own the FL 50,not R model, and it is a wonderful flash. For the OMD EM-1 (and corollary models) it is a little bit large and top heavy. Has a high voltage power pack input so it is professional aimed for the wedding and event shooter.... Great with a bracket and full featured, except for the remote part which I would like to have for sure if it were then available, like the latest FL 50R. I have two others in my stable that are no longer in production, but can be found used still for Olympus cameras. They are the two AA cell flashes, the really old and tiny Oly FL 20 and the less old but medium size FL 36R. Both will connect in suitable flash modes with the OMDs and are not as large as the FL 50 while in the hot shoe. I have read a lot of good things about the FL 600R Henry mentioned and some of the smaller Metz four AA battery flashes that are compatible. Depends on your power and recycle needs. I like being able to adjust flash power from the back of a flash via a dial. And most of the current models allow that. As well as off camera use in remote mode or as a slave flash.... A bounce and swivel head sometimes comes in handy too. For long range flexibility situations. Wide angle panel feature is nice to have also for appropriate lens coverage. You would likely be pleased with any of the ones mentioned. Good shopping, meaning good research from customer feedback on line. If I had to choose I guess I would go for the FL 600R, which seems to be the one most closely designed for the OMD generation. From what I have read, the FL 600 R is a good reasonably powerful one with video light and decent recycle speed. Latter is not so vital for me, but is for many who reject the 2 AA models on that ground......hope this helps a bit.

The currency of photo work has become devalued for many obvious reasons. Idea. Volunteer for a non profit that is hurting for volunteer help. Like the Wounded Warrior Project. Do photography for your own self esteem. I still see enough of the aloha spirit left to make me pleased with the people of this island. Sorry you have had disappointments in your personal experiences, Holly.

I trust certain places for their camera knowledge and history. I just bought a small flash (out of production FL36R) in LN- condition from KEH plus a couple bucks for the immaculate manual. Totally satisfied, and have a trust that if I have a problem the company will listen....Used is their principal business. I have bought refurbed camera from B and H with a 90 day factory warranty about four years ago. Still going strong and I never had to use the extended warranty I then bought. KEH has unusual stuff like stereoscopic viewers of course. I have no interest in learning eBay tactics because I buy not often and like to buy new if I can afford same, as in lenses which last a long long time so amortization of cost you see.....not every one can or chooses to afford new I understand. A bargain is a ripe goal for all humans,nay? Fifteen years ago, I use to buy all my Canon FD lenses used at a local consignment place where I could power up a camera and test them out.. and I bought a whole Bronica kit from a seller.They are naturally out of business, online has taken over. This may not answer your question at all, Harry, but bottom line for undersigned is that I prefer to not bid and buy from places that take in high quality used gear. Never been burnt, don't like the idea at all...the hassle of returning from HI. Only one return to KEH promptly handled. I mean who needs time and aggravation, cost it out. Time being ever more important in my lifeline.. KEH Atlanta seems fair in price and evaluation description, I give them that. And have large inventory for choice. I am not interested in less than EXC+ since I do not want to diddle around with lesser quality. Does that help,Who knows. Some people like to shop the used way, not me so much lately. Too much discretionary income perhaps, but drink my espressos at home,:-) gs

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Sounds like assurances are not going to help in your case. But these mold and fungi are little plants. Like many plants they need an environment to grow in. I try to take away their sustaining environment as much as possible. Like keep them in a dry place. Not a warm place, where heat and humidity combine. Do not give them the leather or nourishment they need to grow on. Some plastics are munchies for fungi. Give shoes and clothes -and yes lenses- a good sun bath or airing routinely. My environment is like many in tropics. And we have lots of spores, sure, and have to replace-or treat- certain things from time to time. I do not believe in your contagion theory that you and others follow, but I have no scientific proof. So my last thought. Get knowledge. Do some reading. And just remember,it is only a lens even if you love it. If you really want to scare yourself read about Valley Fever in California. OTOH don't do that......heed Paul M's experience. And try to get fear factor under control, you don't need it and it swallows rational decisions and takes the fun out of a hobby. I do wish you well.

If it is fungus I would not be OCD about infecting other lenses or gear. The stuck part may be due to something apart from the blemishes. I can't diagnose it from the picture. I have lenses with haze which I think is a condensation of something in the lens, perhaps the original lubricant. I have other oldies that get no blemishes. If you can work it some, maybe the stiffness may get better, maybe not. Get an estimate for a cleaning and inspection, perhaps by a third party that works on Nikon. It cost me 150.00 just to get my Swift binoculars cleaned ( a place in Texas that specializes in Swift optics) and some fungus removed or polished away and a thing called collimation, but it was worth it. Call around, including KEH in Atlanta for an estimate prior to inspection and then you can decide. But it happens to the best of gear. And it is not like a virus....not from my experience. How you store lenses is important. I won't repeat the details so frequently covered in threads on PN.... Good luck.

One reader on line suggests that it controls the focus beam operation on flashguns that have red beam focus spot assist. So by this argument, when off camera on a bracket or handheld on a cable, the beam is not going to be aimed right and should be turned off the person writes.... Possible? Doesn't sound like it is worth the effort to make that switch off to me....hmm. My OMD has its own focus beam which overrides the flash one...so, there we stand. I will continue to leave it in the ON position.

I never gave this much thought until I bought a used FL 36 R from KEH to match my small OMD EM-1 camera. So it says to leave CLP mode ON when camera is in the hot shoe. Fine. Got that part. I get the idea that CLP stands for "clip" am I right so far? right? Ok, but if I use the camera not in its clip or hot shoe, but on a cord on a flash grip or bracket I am told by the two manuals to switch this CLP to OFF. So, got me to thinking, -electronically speaking that is- what change does this make to the flash output or configurartion. Do any of the modes get altered. Is TTL not still TTL. Does the output adjust to make some difference. An idle question, but one that has me wondering since I use my flashes on a bracket or stand some time. I checked English Bob ( EB's) guide-for those who remember h im- and he tells how to set it but not any explanation I can see.....I could do a test, but I see no change. Not visible change.....maybe I need to ask Olympus and make it part of their FAQ.....Or is it obvious and I can't get it. Won't be the first time. gs

Photos are used for propaganda by both sides and for dicey motives. They inflame passions above analysis and rational thinking. It is difficult to know their authenticity and whether they represent the "real"face of a conflict or an outlier extremist act. ( Recall the disputable atrocities pictured of the (so called)'Hun/ Boche' warriors via cartoon graphics and selected photos in Belgium 100 years ago in WWI ) On balance, I have to say I agree with Lex i.e. prefer to see the photos, and make my own judgment. We delegate that choice to media discretion or journalistic sensibility which is an editorial or business decision I expect....but I am not a party to those decisions so I do not know... It is a tough photo ethical problem hard to quantify or reduce to a formula. Just today I read the picturing of militant sects in Iraq and Syria by an act of atrocity that some extremist viewers apparently applauded. How is that possible I can't imagine even. From Australia I see this blacked out image..... Not a video game!. The blood is not fake. Is this the face of terrorism. If it is, then I prefer it be shown and not expurgated. No one is forced to look. http://mashable.com/2014/08/11/babaric-photo-shows-australian-child-holding-severed-head-in-syria/

Yea, Alan, I had the same reaction to those images, and was shocked at the casual slaughter. As well as the employment of young kids kindnapped to be soldiers in Africa. Christoper Hitchens in his books would likely argue that religious intolerance plays a big part. If you are schooled to hate the other tribe I mean.....And if doing a godly deed... First World War re examined, In Britain, I read that the battles against non whites in Sudan, Kitchener and the cavalry was the primer for spirited warmongering in the next war. Maybe, But then the machine gun and giant arms of Krupp cannon in WWI did not stop the second war against white faces and nations of kin folk leaders. I get lost in the causes and history of conflict. Politicians, Lannie, like to say " We can't stop these differences by force. Only DIPLOMACY." And I believe they mean it. But lately that hasn't happened so well either. Our social institutions are not up to our technology in developmant and maturity writes Barbara Tuchman in her books like March of Folly etc... Heck..What would she write now of this here century vis a vis the 14th. That old century of invasion, slaughter, and plague.

I am reminded of the documentary footage in the movie " Judgment at Nuremberg" where the panel of 3 judges watches scenes of concentration camps. It was a more powerful argument of culpability on a grand scale than any of the words used by the prosecution . Stevens did not stop the film to alert the audience " Graphic images follow that may upset some viewers." But a sanitary and justified war has always been promoted. As Kipling and other writers did in World War I where the blown body scraps of soldiers pulverized by shells( factory loaded by women incidentally) at battles like Loos and Verdun, losses of both sides, were not displayed to the British public. And not to my knowledge in Germany or Austria Hungary. Losses were kept out of the press by official fiat..the why is up for discussion. Perceived need to recruit bodies to fill ranks of blind armies that' clash at night.' I find the book and movie " Johnny Got His Gun" by blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo as powerful an anti war theme as any I have seen. Not a popular book, but an honest one. The question persists. Why does hate inspire such savagery and hostility. Is it part of our psyche to kill on industrial scale and then cover up the results? Hide the grisly parts. In the Great War, -before we gave them numbers,- the UK was stirred to war fury (except for such as Bertrand Russel) and general officers like French and Haig felt that being blooded was a good thing for an empire. The USA has had its share of war fever and denial I hasten to add..... A war poem of the time, WWI, began " Dulce et decorum est....(.Sweet it is to die for one's country." A big lie that was once acccepted.) My father decided to go to prison rather than be drafted to fight that brutal and costly war. I never blamed him once I studied history.... there are reasons to fight wars, that I understand. But the costs should be faced.

One can downplay some of the features of the Olympus flagship E-M1, but rugged build, magnesium alloy frame, water resistant seals throughout and professional design structural members and firm solid feel dials, puts it up there with other fine cameras in its competitive bracket. I think what I see in Fuji is a trend towards the rangefinder look and feel whereas OMD- EM-1 reminds some of the beloved OM-1 of yore, a pint sized jewel of a camera. But then it is in the eyes of the beholder. We need that guy in Modern Photography who would do a strip down analysis and peek into the guts and the wiring and the ease of access for adjustment. Remember him? But who strips down anymore. We just buy and trade- some of us...heaven forbid it being called plasticky, even as plastics are getting a lot of usage in tech gear. Some are even used on our aeroplanes.. 'Plasticky' aircraft? gs

Easiest camera to see what you are getting when there are high contrasts ismy mirrorless now with an electronic finder which is as big or bigger than the DSLRs. Micro 4/3 is no slouch on its finder.... I am getting just a little prejudiced or perhaps brainwashed, whatever, but sometimes I want a quick shot. Mirrorless delivers with fewer needs to chimp. I can put up a live histogram over the photo, or do other stuff... To Sanford: My only outdoors venture today, I am not a paid dripping CNN stormchaser, no way.....<div></div>

From one of their on line ad designer comments, they made two prototype new flagship models in four thirds. Son of E-5 and son of EM 5.... The mirrorless model in micro four thirds allowed an unlimited size to the eye finder screen being all electronic. That part makes sense now that electronic viewfinders are crisp and have good refresh times. Plus the ability to overlay all kinds of stuff like active histograms. One gets used to live histograms. I have great respect for Fuji but am now invested in Olympus and no regrets. We have room for several mirrorless companies. Mirrorless has inherent advantages I am learning about as we go along. Explains their popularity.

Nothing like that, Sanford: I stay indoors with a six pack....you youngsters can run in the rain and jump over fallen limbs. First storm has passed so far with little rain or wind on this island. Knock wood... Not disappointing to our school -out kids. Next Sunday we will see about second blast, which can move any which way and even maintain hurricane strength. (Pacific is large and our chain is like a pebble. thus the rare quality of a strike) Meaning hard to hit . But all islands prepared ass well as possiblr. Toilet paper and rice are the big items for the ladies For men, it is not bottled water but BEER! Semper paratis.

I got a neighbor who would say squirt it with WD 40, and then laugh at his little sporting suggestion:-). Forget WD40. Harold. It need bench testing by skilled techies..... Some are always made on Mondays in the Chinese factory and show a defect in factory spec while in use. No statistically significant dial ones I can see.,..... Not a whole lot from what I read... My E-M1 had an inactive port, the one that outputs to HDMI TV from HDMI D size mini cables (not supplied) Took me a while to 1) buy cable, and 2) send to Oly. Problem solved and apparently needed a new major circuit board. Do not hesitate to send it in for service, after Summer,,, Mine got one week turnover and upgrade to latest firmware in process. Don't be half safe as Dial soap ( no pun) used to advertise. Send it in post haste....best thing. Give them full details. Strip off finder cup and battery, just send in body with body cover. Good luck and come back with your story of what happened, Harold. This is after all the company;s flagship and is pricey. I am buying the extended warranty, just in case......from B and H is best price right now....aloha, gs

If you are shooting in a crowded aisle and a tripod is impossible, a monopod will give you long term support and small adjustments to the view you can not equal merely handheld during a long ceremony or graduation or musical event. And sensor or lens image stabilization is wonderful but will never take the place of solid support for all times and all season. Think of panning smoothlhy handheld in video without at least a monopod to keep consistent shots---one day you may want to do a video clip, stranger things can materialize"-). Carbon fiber Manfrotto with lever adjusters has been in my kit with RRS monopod clamp for a long long time . As Henry might agree its height its length can also be used to get high up like hold auxiliary flash and maybe other things in lighting. For a walking stick per se I use a Leki, purpose made with handles to match and spreaders for soft soil. It has an emergency 1/4 camera thread but I consider that not as useful as it sounded at first. Meaning a combo does not work for me.... Lots of stuff in the archives on monopods, Harry. Try look.

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Anders, to take off from there, it can also be synonym for buttocks, derriere.... As in a' bum bag,' (giving a photo spin on the topic) what we call a fanny pack here. (And in England a fanny I am told could be something more salacious or lewd according to our UK friends, ask Simon Jenkins.:-) ) I think the word 'bum' as a noun has lost fashion, and I haven't heard 'hobo at' all in my lifetime. As a verb 'bum' is now innocuous, as in "can I bum a dollar from you." And so on and so forth, etc. etc. Language is interesting and always evolving. The homeless, seriously though, is no subject for wit and a great social problem that can't be ignored. Oahu is struggling with it. People in tents living on the beach. For a week not bad, but not as a permanent domicile. Medical and food and sanitary needs and storm protection....

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