This personal blog comprises whatever I feel like saying on any given day, which often involves topics like new media, journalism, Web technologies, Scheme/Lisp, Free and open source software, societal issues, photography, cinema film, Boston, and humor. Many things noted here are solely for the benefit of future Web searchers trying to solve particular esoteric problems, and are not of general interest. This blog is largely insulated from my professional life, and vice-versa. I attempt to provide full disclosure of any and all potential conflicts of interest. My site currently gets over 1000 unique visitors a day.
If you, like me, forgot to put IFFBoston on your calendar-- well, you still have today and tomorrow.
I was only reminded myself because, while walking with a big camera over my shoulder in Central Square the weekend, I made repeated eye contact with a Katee Sackhoff lookalike. In front of Starbucks (ha). I assumed at the time that, if it was indeed her, then she was looking at me because I was suspected paparazzi, so I kept my hands off my camera and walked on.
Googling right now for confirmation Sackhoff was in Boston was what reminded me of IFF.
P.S., Just say NO to celebrity 'news' and paparazzi stalkers.
Got a Nikon SB-28 with a broken hotshoe foot?
One of the SB-28 strobes I bought last year came with a broken foot. I didn't bother to repair the foot at the time, since it still fit fine in the cold shoe of and umbrella adapters. Now that I've decided to sell my set of SB-28 units, however, I decided to up the resale value by replacing the foot.
In the US, the foot part itself costs only $2, plus about $5 shipping and handling, from Nikon Parts (voice: 310-414-8107).
I won't go into detailed instructions here; just a few tips for people are are experienced at such repairs.
The only tools I needed were a small Philips screwdriver for the external and internal screws in the foot, and a slotted jeweler's driver for depressing the tabs of the white partial ring.
When removing the foot, note that it will remain tethered close to the chassis of the flash by a very thin and fragile flat cable. Do not break this cable.
One important thing to note is the proper assembly of the foot. Note that the half of one face of the partial ring has a ramp, and the white tab of the locking pin travels along this ramp. Verify that the locking pin can be extended and retracted by turning the dial.
One final suggestion I have is that, if you're buying a replacement foot and plan to keep some SB-28 units, order an extra $2 foot at the same time. These feet are infamous for breaking, and are presumably designed to break easily, to sacrifice a $2 piece of plastic rather than cause extensive damage to the camera and or strobe.
Getting ready this morning for shooting the Boston Marathon, I decided it was time to get the alternate hood for my Canon 17-35/2.8 to fit. Yesterday, I shot the Women's Olympic Marathon Trials with this lens, and for a few shots I could've used an alternate hood.
The standard hoods for Canon EF lenses are generally designed for full-frame film or sensor, but the majority of Canon DSLRs have an APS-C sensor that means a 1.6X magnification factor. Since there is a narrower visual cone out of the front element, a longer hood can be used. Since the 17-35/2.8 is by design an ultra-wide lens, the standard hood, the Canon EW-83C, does not block as much flare-causing light as would be helpful.
A couple months ago, after a bit of searching, I found David Burren's alternate lens hoods page. I then ordered a Chinese knock-off of the EW-83J on eBay. It arrived weeks later, was of surprisingly crappy quality, and didn't actually fit on the 17-35, so it sat around unused.
Ten minutes with a metal file this morning has the EW-83J knock-off mounting OK on the 17-35. (I filed the plastic hood, not the lens.) The best part of having such a cheap-crap hood is that I will not hesistate to cut a finger hole in the underside, to be used for adjusting a polarizer.
If anyone finds an alternate hood that works unmodified on the 17-35, please do let me and/or David Burren know.
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