Pergear has delivered another ultra-cheap lens to follow up on the Pergear 25mm F1.8, that I reviewed earlier this year. That lens roughly corresponded to a traditional 35mm focal length on full frame (37.5mm), while the new lens, the Pergear 35mm F1.6, has an 52.5mm equivalent focal length, making it a “normal” lens for either Sony or Fuji APS-C shooters and a short telephoto (70mm) for M43 shooters. It joins the 25mm F1.8 as two of the least expensive new lens I’ve ever covered…and two of the smallest. This gallery will share photos from the lens that I take during my review period along with my video review. Photos taken with and review done on a Sony a7RIII body in APS-C mode.
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Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52018DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!
Keywords: pergear 35mm, 35mm, pergear, F1.6, 1.6, Pergear 35mm F1.6, Pergear 35mm 1.6, Review, Dustin Abbott, Portrait, EOS M, EF-M, Fuji X, Sony E, a6500, a6400, X-T3 Sony a7RIII, Sharpness, Resolution, Bokeh, Video Test, Sample Images, Real World, Bargain, discount code
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
When I show up to do a portrait shoot, a wedding, or shoot certain events, I’m often strapping on my Cotton Carrier harness system. It’s very functional, helping to distribute the weight across my body, gives me quick access to two cameras, and helps reduce fatigue for a long shooting day.
It also looks like I’m wearing a flak jacket.
While harnesses are practical, efficient ways to carry gear (particularly big telephotos), not everyone wants to look like they’ve joined the SWAT team. If you are looking for a stylish way to carry a camera or two while retaining quick access to them, look no further than the hand-made leather straps from Moon.
I spent some time out in Alberta a few years back with a friend that owns a leather shop (and does leather repair), and it gave me a whole new appreciation for the difference between actual leather and the typical cheap bonded leather we so often see. It made me realize that the reason a lot of my cheap belts were splitting and looked terrible after a year or so was because they were, essentially, a throw-away product with very little actual leather involved. Genuine leather, by contrast, stands a very good chance of lasting most of your lifetime. I started changing the kinds of belts that I buy (as you can see from the photo above), and my good quality leather belts still look great after several years of use.
Moon’s ideology is pretty similar. Their website says this, “We make high quality leather camera straps for DSLR and film camera users. All of our camera straps are hand made. We only use high quality leather to make camera straps that will last a lifetime and look even better over time.” I chose the Vintage Brown Dual Leather strap, and I’m actually excited to watch it age…because while it looks great now, I know the leather will just acquire more patina and personality over time.
Moon is a European company based in the small country of Latvia, and a quick look at their website shows that they’ve definitely tapped into the hipster, Instragram culture that would look at home on the pages of a fashion magazine. The materials in my new Moon camera strap look premium with the whole assembly looking like it was designed more in a tack and bridle shop than the typical camera gear factory. That’s intentional, of course. There are three materials that I can see: leather, metal in the buckles and straps, and some braided material that is a part of the “safety strap”.
The setup is pretty simple and straightforward. You connect one (or two) of the attachment lugs (“moon candy“) to the camera strap lug on the side of your camera. You can attach two if you want to carry the camera in a traditional fashion, though I prefer to use the secondary lug that screws into the tripod mount of your camera. I don’t like having a strap lug on the right side of the camera as I find it far more likely to interfere with the operation of the camera. It’s easy to quickly screw that connect in or out of the baseplate of your camera (I have grip extenders or brackets on several of my cameras, so I just choose one of the threaded holes underneath).
My one criticism of the Moon strap is here, actually. To attach the “moon candy”, you need to use a screwdriver to loosen the threaded pin that holds the folded over leather together, connect it to the strap lug mounted on your camera, and then screw everything back down. It was a tight fit on my Sony cameras, and the process takes a few minutes. Peak Design’s “anchors”, by contrast, can be connected in seconds without tools. If you utilized different carry systems for different purposes this might slow you down enough to be deal breaker.
If you want to connect the leather lugs and leave them (which is probably the case for most of you), however, it’s very easy then to connect the “leash” connector to take the camera on or off the strap.
Once everything is attached, putting the strap carrier on is a piece of cake. Just slide your arms through the straps and put it on like a set of suspenders.
And suspenders is really what it looks like. Stylish, leather suspenders…that just happen to have cameras attached to them. The secondary strap that connects to the camera moves smoothly up and down the main strap, allowing you to very quickly and easily pull up the camera for the shot and then let it slide back down out of the way.
I also find that the weight distributes surprisingly well. I’ve attached telephotos to the cameras and it still wasn’t bad, though I would still prefer the higher mounting position of a harness for big telephotos so that they don’t dangle so far down that they are in danger of hitting things. For moderately sized camera/lens combination (which is what most people are using!), the balance is great, though. The closer the two cameras are in weight, the better the balance and weight distribution will be, but I even found that I could take one camera off and use the dual strap with just one camera attached without issue. The weight felt less balanced than with two cameras, obviously, but I consider this to a valid approach. You also have the option of disconnecting the straps from the metal joining ring in the back and just use one strap individually (these are actually two camera straps with the metal joining ring that you clip into to convert them into a harness). You can make the conversion in less than a minute once you learn the right positioning of the metal bits in the clips and latches.
The cameras hang down in a position where they are really out of your way until you need them, and while you need to be conscious that they are there when crouching, for example, I was able to successfully do so without hitting the camera off the ground. When shooting with one camera, the other stays down out of the way without straps interfering with each other (which happens to me sometimes when I go out with two cameras and two straps).
There is extra material there that you can adjust for your body type, though it looks to me like there is a limit to how far you can take that. Most of the models in their advertising shots look pretty slim. I find that using the single strap in a sling position is fairly close fitting, and I’m quite slim, though there is plenty of strap to carry it just over the shoulder (a carry position I’m not really comfortable with). If you have a larger body type you might want to shoot them an email and ask just about the sizing to make sure it will be comfortable for you.
All in all, the Moon Dual Camera strap is a pretty sweet way to carry a few cameras comfortably while having instant access to them. It’s stylish, functional, well made, and, while not cheap, it’s designed to last a lot longer than the cameras you’ll attach to it. It’s pretty much perfect for those of you who shoot weddings, portraits, or events with two bodies (to avoid switching lenses) The strap I reviewed comes in at a pretty expensive 185 Euros, but that does include taxes and free shipping to anywhere in the world. You can use the code DUSTINABBOTT284 to get 15% off, which helps ease the sting. Style doesn’t come cheap, but at least you are getting a handmade product that is anything but throwaway…and perhaps for you, that makes it worth the money.
Keywords: Moon Camera Straps, Moon Strap Review, Leather Camera Strap, Moon Dual Strap, Dustin Abbott, Moon Leather Strap Review, Camera Strap Review, Peak Design, Black Rapid, Cotton Carrier, Hipster, Stylish, Instagram, Moon, Moon Camera Accessories, Discount Code
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
There are few people that don’t enjoy the mesmerizing images of the night sky filled with stars over a beautiful foreground scene. It was a friend of mine, Royce Bair, who popularized the term “nightscape” for these type of images. Some of my own nightscape images have numbered amongst my most popular images that I’ve shared. Almost everyone likes these images, but fewer know how to shoot them. It’s actually not as complicated as you might think, and in this short article that I am sharing in conjunction with my friends over at Alien Skin software I hope to demystify the process.
What Will I Need?
Here are the essentials:
A camera with good ISO performance. This usually means either a DSLR or quality mirrorless equivalent. Typically a full frame sensor will give the best results because of its superior light gathering ability. I prefer the Canon EOS 6D for this type of work.
A good lens with (preferably) a large aperture and low coma. Coma describes the distortion of distant points of light, particularly along the edge of the image circle. Coma will make points of light (like stars) looking like flying ducks or flying saucers. Not good! My new favorite lens for this kind of work is the Tamron 15-30 f/2.8 VC (read my review here), and I also recommend the Samyang/Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 as a budget option (you can read that review here).
What you don’t need is a cable or remote release, for the simple reason that the optimum exposure is about 15-20 seconds. Longer exposures (those 30 second or longer) will begin to show movement in the stars (star trails are a different kind of shot). I also recommend having a good headlamp or flashlight for some light painting (and to help you see in the dark!) There are also helpful apps like SkyLive that help you plan which nights are going to be your best bets for getting good results.
Shooting Tips
As cool as shooting the stars is, a good photographer knows that he/she will need a good foreground/background subject to anchor the night sky into reality. Mountains are always good, along with rock formations, abandoned structures, a weathered tree, etc… The area I live in is short on mountains, but has a number of old farmhouses that in the process of falling apart, and they work well for my purposes. Here is a gallery of nightscapes that I have previously shared to give you an idea of what I am talking about.
I have found that a headlamp is more helpful than a flashlight during the setup stage simply because holding a flashlight leaves you with only one free hand. The image above is a selfie I took with a single exposure – it shows a secondary nice purpose for using a headlamp. I find that a typical camera setup will be:
ISO 1600-3200
Shutter Speed 15-20 seconds
2 Second Timer mode
Aperture value f/2.8
It’s a good idea to find out where infinity focus is on your lens in advance, as you can’t always trust the hard stop (where you physically turn the focus ring to its maximum position). During the daytime autofocus on the clouds and then look at the distance scale. This should give you a pretty good idea of where true infinity focus is for your lens. You can also choose a very bright star at night and use Live View 10x magnification and make sure that the point of light becomes small and hard rather than large and soft (out of focus). I will typically then turn off autofocus on the lens to make sure that the camera doesn’t try to acquire focus after that and ruin your hard work.
If you have a foreground subject, it might be a good idea to shine your light on it and make sure that your composition is decent. It can be hard to determine this in the dark as the camera probably won’t be able to truly simulate that extreme an exposure time. Illuminating your foreground will give you some feedback on the LCD of your camera. Take a test shot with those settings, and then review your result. Sometimes ambient light provides all the light you need on your foreground, but if you need more, simply start a new exposure and then play your light over the foreground subject for a count of 3-4 seconds and then quickly get it off the subject. Too much light will cause white outs, and you will be surprised by how little light is needed to make a big difference. Larger foreground subjects may require a more elaborate lighting setup, but we will keep it simple here for our purposes. Some trial and error will help you get a sense for your own unique setting.
Processing Nightscape Images
Once you have acquired your images, a few simple processing steps will make a big difference. I’ve put together a little video processing tutorial that I will share with you that will help you get the most out of your nightscape images. Here is the before photo that we will start with (I shot this with the Tamron 15-30 VC I mentioned above).
Here is the final image when the processing steps in the video have been applied. You can see how that the finished image has more visual punch both in the foreground and in the night sky. I should note that this photo was shot in less than ideal conditions. The SkyLive app I mentioned above gives you a rating based on the conditions of where you are shooting, and this night only received a 63% rating, so you can image how much brighter the stars would be on a good night.
I hope this little combination of photography and processing tips can help you to go out and make some amazing nightscape images of your own. There are few types of photography that are more rewarding, and getting images like this are easier than what you might think!
Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. Thank you for your support.
Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52014 in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
One very important test for a wide angle lens is how it handles the night sky. One optical flaw that many lenses exhibit is called “coma”, or when points of light like stars are distorted and appear more like flying saucers than points of light. As you can see here, the new Tamron SP 15-30 VC passed this test like a champ. I didn’t shoot many shots (it was about 20 below with the windchill…Fahrenheit…and the conditions weren’t perfect where I was shooting (too much light pollution), but this is a marvelous result nonetheless. Take a look at the image resolution of this amazing lens. http://bit.ly/1Aac03H This lens has done a great job in all the scenarios I have thrown at it thus far and is my new pick for a wide angle zoom…period. It is just awesome! My full review will go live this week (filmed the video review yesterday).
Technical info: Canon EOS 6D, Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD, Processed in Adobe Lightroom 5, Adobe Photoshop CC, and Alien Skin Exposure 7
Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. Thank you for your support.
Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52014 in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
One of the key challenges for the modern photographer is finding a way to distinguish their work from the homogeny of a million and one other photographers around them that are doing pretty much the same thing. I do believe that ultimately the old fashioned ingredients of talent and an eye for seeing the world in a unique and creative way are one’s greatest assets in making their work stand out (that, and being motivated enough to go the extra mile of getting out of bed early or investing a little more thought into planning and execution). But like it or not, it isn’t enough to be just a good photographer these days. You also need to have some post-processing skills. I’m a gear guy, and as a professional lens reviewer I am fortunate enough that I am able to use gear worth tens of thousands of dollars every year that doesn’t belong to me. Few people have that kind of opportunity, however, but here’s the good news: if you learn how to do a great job with post processing you can still produce stunning work that stands out even if your gear isn’t top drawer.
In this video workflow tutorial we are going to examine how we can take a relatively simple photo of a horse with a nearly high key background due to the snow beyond and turn it into what looks like a formal oil painting using a combination of Alien Skin Exposure and Snap Art. These are both amazing pieces of software for giving your photos that extra bit of magic that help to set them apart from the crowd.
In this workflow tutorial we will go from the original shot here:
To this “Formal” traditional portrait…all in about ten minutes.
Imagine the potential of this workflow for your portrait work! One final point for consideration: backdrops are expensive and not particularly easy to transport. The use of textures and Snap Art in your post processing can both save you money and a lot of effort when shooting on location. Best of all, using the code “dustinabbott” will get you 10% off all Alien Skin products in their store. Check out this video tutorial to see the magic happen.
Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. Thank you for your support.
Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52014 in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
This is the word that comes to mind when I consider both the condition of the snow (just know that I had to trudge through some DEEP stuff to get this image…my ankles are still cold as I type!) but also the image quality that I am seeing after my first 24 hours with the new Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD ultrawide zoom. This is the very first of its kind, combining the stabilizer of a lens like Canon’s new EF 16-35mm f/4L IS lens (which I reviewed in detail here) with the wider aperture and (almost) focal length of Nikon’s Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G lens. It is the only stabilized, f/2.8 full frame lens with a focal length this wide, so know that not only is Tamron trying to build a great lens optically, they are also going into uncharted territory with the feature set and design of this lens. It is already a winner when it comes to features; but it is a winner when it comes to image quality?
As I begin to critically examine the images I am getting so far out of this lens, I’m going to have say that signs point to yes. This little article is a unique one; a preview of sorts. We will examine this particular image and the story it tells.
First, as all of you photographers know, this is one of the most challenging types of shots for any lens. The sun (which was extremely bright – bright enough to require an exposure of 1/640th at f/11, ISO 100) is right in the frame, and thus this is a completely backlit image. I added about a half stop of exposure to the foreground in post to balance it with the sky, but that is only real tweak here.
It quickly becomes apparent that contrast is exceptional in the lens. Despite the challenging shooting conditions the contrast is perfect. There is great definition in all of the snow textures, with very clear definition between shadows and highlights. Note also that the sky is nice and blue despite the intensity of the sun. This is pretty important, because the design of this lens (like the Nikon) precludes the use of any traditional filters. I suspect that aftermarket adapters for square filters will probably surface in six months or so. I’ve got just such a system for the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8, and it makes the lens even more dynamic. The use of multiple exposures would have helped a bit with this image, but all of the highlight and shadow information is here already, so it would be very easy to process this photo even further.
Next up: flare and ghosting. I don’t see any loss of contrast due to flare here, and while there is some ghosting/veiling that you can see in this 100% crop, it is so minor as to be nearly nonexistent. This is an exceptional performance for a wide angle lens, and matches or exceeds anything that I have previously tested. This crop also shows that the sunburst/sunstar here is also VERY attractive, and that is a big deal to me.
This particular image is stopped down to f/11, which I did to exaggerate the sunburst and give more definition to the bursts due to the aperture blades. Examining our resolution is still important here, however, as many wide angle lenses don’t sharpen up in the extreme corners even when stopped down. This image is at 15mm, where both the scale of the image circle requires a lot of resolution and where distortion is likely to play the biggest role. This second crop takes a look at the extreme bottom left corner of the image.
We can see that the detail is still very, very good here. No mushiness, and the textures remain nicely defined. There is the slightest bit of distortion apparent, but I have been very impressed with the LACK of distortion for such a wide focal length. This is a great performance, and definitely excels against my Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 because of the fairly extreme distortion that lens exhibits in the extreme corners. Note also that no profile yet exists for this lens in Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw, so there has been absolutely no distortion correction applied here.
But what about the other side? Sometimes lenses can be decentered so that they are sharp on one side but not the other. Let’s take a look at the extreme right corner from the new Tamron:
The performance here is just as good. Good textures, minimal distortion. Consider the resolution test for this image passed. When we step back and look at the image as a whole, it certainly gives a very sharp appearance. I love the crisp resolution on the patterns created by wind on the snow’s surface.
How about chromatic aberrations? An image with such extreme highlights and shadow contrasts should be the ultimate primordial ooze that the beast of color fringing could arise out of. Let’s look at another crop:
These branches should really show fringing if the lens were prone to chromatic aberrations, but I have to say that Tamron’s use of expensive elements and fancy coatings are doing a superlative job here. There has been absolutely no correction for chromatic aberrations to this image, and yet I don’t see fringing in the transition from dark to light in the branches, nor do I see them in the crops of the snow (which would also really show off CA). That’s a fabulous performance!
This final crop would also show CA due to the deeper shadows from the footprints and the extremely bright “lip” of where the footprints are made in the snow.
Fringing is once again resisted, and there is nice contrast between shadows and highlights along with great resolution. There is a TON of texture information in this image, but everywhere I click in the image I am very satisfied with the resolution. This looks to be a lens that is ready to face the challenges provided by the high megapixel bodies from Nikon, Sony, and now Canon.
This isn’t a perfect lens. It is the largest in its in both weight and length. It cannot use traditional filters. These are both a big deal, but if neither of these factors are deal breakers for you, I think you are going to very impressed. The image stabilizer works well (I’ve already gotten some good handheld shots even at a full second!), the AF seems accurate, and the lens seems to be built very sturdily. I’m going to keep digging over the next little while, but I feel like Tamron has another hit on their hands with the SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD. Stay tuned! Here’s a video that looks at unboxing the lens and a little more about the build and features.
Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. Thank you for your support.
Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52014 in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews! Preorder the Tamron here:
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Quality “speedlites” or compact flash units are amongst the most indispensible tools in any photographer’s arsenal. Photography is about light, and good photographers not only use light but through tools shape it to their purpose. I love using natural light, but there are moments when I recognize that the available light in a certain setting just isn’t going to cut it. For that reason I own a number of portable flash units, or speedlites in Canon parlance. Today we going to take a close look at the Metz 64 AF-1 flash unit, which is the new flagship model for German manufacturer Metz.
Innovators
Innovation has come but slowly to the electronic flash segment of the photography industry, but one of the leading innovators through recent years has been the Metz flash company from Germany. They have pioneered such innovations as touch screen control, a USB port for firmware updates, and a secondary flash head/reflector on the front of the flash to provide fill light while tilting the flash head to “bounce” the light off a ceiling or wall.
All of these innovations have culminated in the Mecablitz (is that not a delightful word?) 64 AF-1 flash, the new flagship model for the Metz line. It is currently the most powerful compact flash unit in the world, with a max guide number of 64m, which works out to an amazing 210 feet at ISO 100. In other words, it packs a powerful punch. The touchscreen has evolved to a highly useful color version loaded with easy to find (and select) menu options. I can very clearly remember how overwhelming it was to try to find options in the almost incomprehensible menu systems of some of my other flash units, and I would often just resort to adjusting what settings I could in camera. Consider that problem solved with the 64 AF-1!
Like the newest top end flashes from Canon and Nikon, the 64 AF-1 now features coverage over the zoom range of up to 200mm (up from the earlier standards of 105mm), and with its diffuser dropped, it can provide coverage as wide as 12mm (3mm more than the competition). The flash unit has exceptional capability to match its output to your desired shooting conditions. The flash unit is loaded with ports, from a USB port for firmware updates to a sync port (for wired pairing) to a port for an external power source. It has a sleek, professional build that is ready to weather the bumps and bruises that come with serious photography.
The 64 AF-1 is exceptionally versatile. It can be fired in full E-TTL/II mode in this Canon model (including multiple zone AF metering), but the unit will be available in Nikon, Olympus/Panasonic/Leica (Four-Thirds System), Pentax, and Sony “mounts” with full compatibility with each of these system’s automatic metering. I was very pleased with the unit’s accuracy in this mode, as it provided very pleasing and well balanced light. The secondary reflector on the front allows for unusually gentle light when the flash is set in bounce mode even when mounted on the camera. But when you are ready to venture out of the automatic modes, you will find a host of options, including high speed, strobe, master, slave, and servo modes.
Power to the People
But most of us are looking for one quality above all when using a compact flash unit: power! Power to illuminate large groups at weddings, or to provide fill flash from a distance, or to overpower the ambient lighting conditions to get dramatic portraits. In the shot above I had to overcome the sun backlighting this family with incredible intensity. I cranked up the power of two 64 AF-1 units and got the shot I wanted.
I often shoot my flash units through umbrellas or softboxes to provide more gentle lighting, but this means that some output is lost. The ability to dial up more power is always welcome, and the 64 AF-1 offers more of that precious power than any other flash unit. That in and of itself is the single most compelling reason to give it a look, but a huge secondary reason is the extreme ease of use due to the large, color touchscreen and intuitive menus. Oh, and that secondary fill light is a treat for those times when you need to mount the flash on the camera and bounce the light.
But what if you don’t have all of those fancy modifiers and intend to use your flash unit on the camera? With the 64 AF-1 I was able to nicely illuminate my model from a long distance, giving the scene a balanced look without harsh shadows or overly cool tones. In other settings I was able to meter for a moody sky while still having enough “punch” from the flash unit to balance the lighting on my model. I shot some shots at 200mm from a long distance away. I deliberately shot the images below with just a single 64 AF-1 mounted on the camera body; no flash modifiers or light stands. There is a whole other world of possibilities that opens up with those, but the 64 AF-1 had enough flexibility to allow me to accomplish what I wanted without anything complicated…or anything extra.
And for many users that is what matters most.
That additional power adds a great deal of flexibility when you begin to add in light modifiers as well. I’ve created a lot of great images with one or two Metz 64 AF-1 flash units used with softboxes, grids, umbrellas, and even snoots. I liked these units enough that I sold off several of my Canon units and replaced them with the Metz 64 AF-1 units. I prefer the menu system of the Metz units, the secondary head for bounce flash shots, and the great power and recycle time of the Metz units. Here are just a few of the shots that I’ve taken for clients in the past six months where I have used the Metz lights.
Conclusion
In summation, I gave the Metz 64 AF-1 flash units the highest praise that I can think of – I bought them for myself. I currently own two of these units and am considering adding another. They have served me very well so far. They are effective, easy to use, work perfectly in the TT-L modes, and provide me with a plethora of lighting options. The one “killer feature” that they lack is built in wireless capability, but fortunately I am already invested in Yongnuo’s incredibly good yet cheap YN-622C triggers. They have proven both easy to use and reliable, even in very cold weather (important here in Canada!) These flash units are not cheap, but they provide more power at a better price than the first party options. Plus, I get to say the word “Mecablitz” when I tell people about my flashes! (A portion of this article appears in the Fall 2014 issue of PhotoNews Magazine.)
Metz 64 AF-1 Flashes can be purchased in Canada at Amplis Foto in Canon compatible models and Nikon compatible models. Using the code “AMPLIS52014” will get you 5% off everything in your cart and is stackable with other promo codes as well. Amplis Foto provides the warranty work for the Metz brand in Canada, and I got mine from them.
Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. Thank you for your support.
Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52014 in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! If you want to go directly to this lens, click here: Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
I took this shot while traveling in November. The town of Perth, New Brunswick, is near the Northwest end of the province. The town grew on both sides of the St. John River, so the “Andover” literally refers to the “and over” – the settlement on the far side of the river. I shot this in the morning after a snow the night before, so the fresh snow can be seen on the far bank but the river itself was completely still. I’ve cooled the image a bit to give it the rich blue tones that suit the mood and temperature of the day.
Technical information Canon EOS M, Canon EF-M 22mm STM, Processed in Adobe Lightroom 5, Adobe Photoshop CC, and Alien Skin Exposure 7 (now released!! – use code “dustinabbott” to get 10% off!)
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