Buyer Beware! - Camerabox.co.uk

I recently decided to sell my HD camcorder and replace it with a DSLR with HD video capability. I opted for Canon's budget 500D camera body as I only use the videos for YouTube etc, so couldn't justify splashing out on a 7D or 5Dmk2. Stills are my first love, and I'm more than happy with my 1Dmk3.

Anyway, I checked with several companies, and nowhere seemed to have just the body only in stock. There was no point in me buying the kit, as I have more than enough Canon lenses. The only place that did have it in stock was Camerabox. I'd never used them before so I did a bit of Googling to see if they were reputable. Most review sites seemed to give them either 1 star or 5 stars, but there was one review that caught my eye... It said that since using Camerabox, his card had been cloned. Seeing as they were the only company to have the camera in stock, and being as impatient as I am, I went ahead and ordered it.... after double checking I had fraud protection on my credit card!!!

3 days after receiving the camera, I've received a phone call from my credit card company listing a whole load of transactions I know nothing about. Now normally I wouldn't like to jump to conclusions... but... I haven't used this particular card in at least 6 months other than this one purchase at Camerabox, therefore I'm 99% certain, especially as others have had the same problem, that someone there is cloning the cards of their customers!

The card company are currently building a case before going to the police.

My advice to anyone reading this, is to check who you're buying your equipment from, and to make sure you are protected.

More Hasselblad testing...

Spent a day in London doing some more tests with the Hasselblad H3D II. This time I got to use the 50MP Beasty...

RayFlash Ring Flash Adaptor

I'm always interested in equipment that enables me to do what I want wherever I want. I've been reading a lot recently about ring flash adaptors for speedlites on websites such as the Strobist. Lots of people were raving about them, but I hadn't seen anyone in the commercial world try them out. At the recent SWPP convention I thought I might as well pick one up and try it out on a shoot.

As I write this there are 2 choices. The RayFlash, and the Orbis. Both work in a similar way, taking the light from a single speedlite and reflecting it into a ring shape around the camera lens. I opted for the RayFlash for the simple fact that it's supported by the on-camera speedlite. The Orbis needs to be hand held, which I didn't like the idea of - although there are plans to release a bracket for this.

First impressions are pretty good. It's fairly well constructed. It's very light, but then it needs to be to prevent from damaging the head of the speedlite. It fits onto my Canon 580EX II very securely using the locking mechanism on the top. My only real gripe is that due to the weight and the slight play in the speedlite head, it doesn't sit perfectly around the lens. This is fixed by resting my hand against the back of it whilst shooting to correct it. My hand is usually in roughly that position anyway to support the lens, so this really isn't too much of an issue.

In terms of performance, I was really impressed! Obviously, as it's only powered by a speedlite it's not going to be amazingly bright, but it's bright enough to achieve f/8 at ISO200 for a half length portrait.

The RayFlash will never out-perform a proper ring flash, but it definitely as an application in the commercial world as it's immensely portable and gives a perfectly usable light output.

Here are a couple of sample shots and a video of it in use...

Film Vs Digital

There's no doubt that in today's commercial world, digital is king. Everybody wants their images now, or in many cases, yesterday!

I shoot digital 99% of the time, but from time to time I like to get out one of my many film cameras and play around with them. There's something that makes you feel very different when you shoot with film. You have no LCD to review your images, so you have to know what you're doing when you click the shutter. Otherwise you're just wasting money.

One of the issues that is faced by photographers in the 21st century is the increasing notion that it's the camera that is doing all the work and that photographers are simply operators. I'm sure most people have heard the phrase "Your camera takes amazing photos!!!". You don't get that with film! Somehow it make you seem proper.

Digital is here to stay, and I'm sure film will gradually die out completely over the next 10 years or so. Until then, it's a lot of fun to play with, but commercially it's no longer a viable option. Not for me anyway.


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For anyone that does still shoot film, you'll probably know that the EXIF data on your scans relates to the scanner. Well I found a cool little tool that lets you add EXIF data to your scanned film images to give you the camera and film details.

Obviously you need to know what settings you used, but it's still a cool little tool to be able to use.

Click here

The program you want is "Reveal"

Have fun!

Canon 1D MarkIII

Despite the world being in financial crisis, it's important to work on doing the best job you can. As a result of this, I've just upgraded my camera body to the Canon EOS 1D MarkIII.

Charged and ready to go!

As someone who uses Speedlites a lot when shooting on location, battery power is important. I have lots of spare AA batteries for use on shoots so that I never run out. This is all well and good until I get back with a whole bunch of used up batteries and I'm shooting again the next day!

Enter the Maha C801D Battery Charger! Not only does it charge 8 batteries at a time, but it does it in 1 hour! It also has a conditioning feature which drains the batteries and then trickle charges them over a period of 14 hours which increases their life and their performance. A digital display on the front gives an indication of the current charge status of each battery, which is pretty neat!

Portable Lighting

Been after a bag to carry around my outdoor lighting kit for a while now. Happened to see this in a camera shop just before a shoot the other day. It's designed to carry a Manfrotto tripod, but it fits everything I need inside and also has a handy shoulder strap which helps carrying.

My Digital Darkroom

Taken some time out this week to overhaul my workspace. Got a new desk from Ikea and just generally tidied up.

Still got loads to do! Need to find a new home for my Canon Pro9000 A3+ Printer as well as sort out and recycle (yeah I do my bit!) 100s of photography magazines.

Non-Photography Photography Gear

Photography gear is expensive, we know this, and we accept it. It makes me laugh though, when I look at how much stuff I have and buy to do my job that isn't actually photography related!

Things like gaffer tape and velcro, or the 10 large spring clamps I bought today.

Homebase and B&Q are awesome for all these weird and wonderful bits and pieces that come in handy, and the great thing about them is that they aren't priced like photographic equipment!

Bye Bye Velbon... Hello Manfrotto!

Waaaaaaaaaaaaay back in 1998 when I was doing my diploma in foundation art studies, I bought my first tripod. It was a cheap £20 Velbon with a fixed pan/tilt head. At the time it did the job as I never really used tripods much.

Well as I shoot more and more cars in low light I'm going to need something a bit more solid, so I've just bought myself a Manfrotto 190XPROB with a 486RC2 Ball Head. My main reasons for the 190 are that it goes down VERY low! The centre shaft can be used horizontally with the legs almost flat to the floor! This should help me get some pretty cool shots.

If you're wondering how I got this shot, it's actually several shots layered up together in the same way I did the Gingerbread man further down the page.

Apple iPhone

Got my new iPhone just over a week ago! Woohoo!

I have to admit that I'm a mac geek and have wanted the iPhone ever since the rumour of its inception!

I upgraded from my Sony Ericsson last May, but at the time, Apple weren't releasing the iPhone in the UK. The closest alternative to the iPhone was LG's iPhone imitation..... the LG Prada.

The Prada is an ok phone. There are things I like, and things that annoy me. I'd always had Sony Ericssons before, so it took some time to get used to, but I tell you something... the iPhone seriously kicks it's arse!!!

I've never had a phone that is such a pleasure to use! The touch screen is awesome and youtube videos look better than they do on my iMac! Battery life is better than my Prada and browsing the web is easy!

The best thing for me personally is being able to sync all my calendars and contacts with my iMac. It's helped me be much more organised when I'm out and about. I now have a much better idea of where I should be and who I should be with! hahahaha

I also use it for showing clients and potential clients examples of my work as the 3.5" widescreen display is great for showing off photos. You can even plug the iPhone into a TV to view them big!

Anyone who's debating whether to get one really should! The only major drawback is everyone wanting to play with it!!! hahahaha