Florida Birding Festival - St. Augustine - Day 3
With the Leica 100 - 400 mm broken and not sure of how the GH5 would perform I decided to take the G85 with the new Lumix 100 - 300 mm lens for this morning's shoot. A big thank you to Tom Curley, Panasonic for overnighting me tis lens - it is most appreciated. I am very pleased with the performance of this lens and for the price it is truly worth it.Here are some images all captured with this kit.
Misshaps do happen - Day 1 and 2 with the Panasonic Lumix GH5
Day two of the Florida Birding Festival in St. Augustine started great with lots of interest in the GH5 combined with the Leica 100 - 400. Then disaster struck when someone wanted to test the kit to photograph birds in flight. Not supporting the camera while undoing the tripod clamp sent the GH5 and lens down to the boardwalk (I saw it in sloooooooow mooooooo) - total separation of lens from camera in a flash. NOT GOOD. The GH5 seems to be working fine but they are both going off to be repaired and tested as soon as I return home on Monday.Now for the good news - the GH5 is just awesome - no questions asked. Birds in flight, awesome focusing and equally awesome performance. I am more than impressed with the stills performance and the quality of images from this camera and lens combination. I am still working on the best settings for the style and subject matter I like to shoot but even so, the results are impressive. Images are sharp, the color rendition is great and focusing is impressive.Here are a few images from last evening and this morning.
So the lens and camera body will be shipped for repairs and I will be back in business soon.
Silhouettes And Negative Space Photo Contest - Viewbug
It was a pleasure to be the judge for the Viewbug "Silhouettes And Negative Space Photo Contest"Congratulations to all the winners - CLICK HERE TO SEE THE IMAGES
Ding Darling NWR and The Venice Rookery
So impressed with the capability of the the Lumix G85 and Leica 100 - 400 mm combination. Here are a few images from Venice Rookery and Ding Darling NWR.
Ruffled Feathers
A few more images from Ding Darling NWR. Wading birds in breeding plumage just look wonderful when they have their feathers ruffled. 
Reddish Egret at Ding Darling NWR
Managed a little time at the Ding Darling NWR on Sanibel Island. The Reddish were very active but because of the water levels remained at a distance. These two images were captured using the Panasonic Lumix G85 and the Leica 100 - 400 mm lens. It is nice to have an 800 mm equivalence. 
Signature Series by Think Tank Photo
The newly released Signature Series from Think Tank Photo is a modernized version of the classic shoulder bag. Hand sewn, advanced fabrics blend weather protection and durability with the classic feel of fine wool. Genuine leather detailing and metal hardware add character and stand up to the rigors of daily use. In addition, the zippered flap provides full closure and security to the main compartment, or tucks away when not in use. The Signature 10 fits a 10” tablet; the Signature 13 fits a 13” laptop. With our special relationship with Think Tank, by clicking here you will be able to add free gear and receive free shipping on your orders of the Signature bags and all of their other gear.If you just want to check out the Signature Series - click here
Lumix G85 4K Photo
On my visit to Ft. Myers I wanted to test the 4K Photo Mode capability of the Panasonic Lumix G85. The image shown was captured in 4K photo mode on March 14, 2017. The entire sequence was imported as a video file. I did not want to select and save a JPEG file in camera. Saving a JPEG is the suggested method for 4K Photos. The video frames were exported at individual TIFF files with a frame resolution of 3328 by 2496 pixels (an 8Mb file) this was processed in Capture One ver. 10 and exported as a JPEG for web display. The camera was mounted with the Leica 100 - 400 mm lens, hand-held using "Dual IS". For reference purposes the scene's exposure triad was ISO 800, f6.3, 1/250 sec.
Micro Four Thirds Lenses and more
The Micro Four Thirds Consortium/org. has published a detailed list with specifications of Micro Four Thirds Lenses, Four Thirds Lenses and adaptors. This is a 45 page PDF document that you can review or download using the following link:MFT LENSES
Lume Cube Review
The makers of Lume Cube have a new smaller and less powerful but a highly efficient light designed for phone photography called the Life Lite. This is a smart, Bluetooth controlled, pocket-sized Lifestyle Light for iPhone, Android, DSLR or a GoPro. The Life Light will be available in March.This gadget review however, is of the original Lume Cube and the cheaper version that does not have any bluetooth connectivity. Both are identical in performance and while you can controll one with a smart phone the lite version is all manual. I have been using the Lume Cube for many months and have been most satisfied with its performance and portability. I have used these lights for macro, video and portraiture and love the results they have helped produce.Specs:
- Type LED
- Output Variable: 0 to 1500 Lumens
- Strobe: Variable 1/8000 to 1 second
- Mount Type: 1/4"-20 female
- Power Source: Integrated battery
- Battery Duration: 100% Brightness: 20 minutes; 90% Brightness: 60 minutes; 50% Brightness: 120 minutes
- Power Connector: USB (for charging)
- Waterproof Depth: 100' / 30.5 m
- Dimensions: 1.5 x 1.5 x 1.5"
CLICK HERE TO ORDERThe Lume Cube comes in a small cube shaped cardboard box that contains the Lume Cube and a USB charging cable.You do need to unscrew a small cover to access the charging port. This access cover is a requirement as the Lume Cube is rated to be waterproof to depth of 100 feet.Shaped as a cube, the unit has two rubberized push button switches on the top and a 1/4 20 mount that can be used to mount the light on a light stand, tripod or any flexible light mounting device.The two push buttons control the video light and the alternate flash function of the device. Each time you depress the on/off video switch the light cycles through 10 levels of intensity.
You can also control the Lume Cube using the mobile app. Lume Cube has simplified its lighting controls with a proprietary wireless, Bluetooth-enabled app, available on both Apple iOS and Android. The app is capable of controlling up to 5 Lume Cubes simultaneously. The app allows you to adjust the brightness, flash duration and red eye latency on each Lume Cube independently; and with its onboard optical sensor, Lume Cube can be configured as a slave flash unit to be fired by any other external flash.You have to register your Lume Cube to sync it to your app once registered you can control all your Lume Cube’s power and settings separately.Lume Cube Setup and test for portraitsTo test the Lume Cubes I fitted two Lume Cubes on two separate light stands. The “Main” Lume Cube was place so as to create Rembrandt lighting on the dummy head. The second was place to create a gentle fill. As you can see from the image below, the Lume Cube, due mainly to its size creates a fairly hard light. The settings were ISO 200, f/1.7 at 1/125 sec. using a Panasonic Lumix GX85 body and a Lumix 42.5mm f/1.7 lens wide open. The light emitted is cool and for this test I used an X-Rite Color Checker Passport to balance the temperature.
The second test was conducted with the same placement of the lights but instead of the Lume Cubes facing the dummy head directly the light was bounced off two Rogue Flash Benders. No Diffusion material was used.As you can see the light was much softer and way more pleasing in the image below. The settings were ISO 640, F/1.7 at 1/80 sec. Clearly there is about 3 stops of light loss when using the Flash Benders. However, the soft light is excellent for portraiture.
Lume Cube for Macro/Close-up PhotographyThe Lume Cube produces a really hard light as it is a very small light, but also a very powerful one. The Lume Cubes were about 1.5 inches from the subject. Exposure triad: F/4, 1/800 sec., ISO 640. The lens was a 30mm macro with an extension tube. Camera: Panasonic Lumix GX85.The following is the setup:
The image shown below is a 45 image stack using the GX85's focus bracketing feature.
The portability of these little powerhouses has me convinced, and I tend to carry two in my bag at all times.CLICK HERE TO ORDER
Lume Cube LITE Announced
Lume Cube has recently announced the Lume Cube LITE. This is priced at just $69.99, which is $10 less than the OG Lume Cube. Essentially the Lume Cube LITE is the same build quality as the Lume Cube, with just two features pulled out to cut costs. The Lume Cube LITE is stripped of the Optical Sensor (which is primarily for Professional DSLR Flash Photographers) as well as the Bluetooth connectivity (sometimes not needed for your everyday use), cutting the Lume Cube down in both weight, and in price! It still has the same 10 settings of bright light output, the same clean beam angle provided by our built-in fresnel lens, but the Lume Cube LITE has a manually triggered Strobe Light mode. CLICK HERE TO ORDER 
CLICK HERE TO ORDER
Aquatic Birds of Florida
Before I say anything, I want to make it perfectly clear that I am not a videographer. I captured these clips while I was in Florida during the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, late January 2017. All these were captured during my photo walks/drives in Black Point Wildlife Drive in Merritt Island. The primary purpose was to tryout the "In Body Image Stabilization" aka IBIS of the Panasonic Lumix G85 camera body. The camera was used with the Leica 100 - 400 mm lens at its full extension that is an equivalent of 800 mm (most of the time). All footage was captured hand-held and in many instances during high winds and rain. It is important to note, that all the footage was captured before Panasonic released two major firmware updates, one of the camera and the other for the lens. What this means is that the Dual IS function was not in effect when these videos were captured. I was very impressed with the performance of this camera and lens combination and will be doing a comparison to see the impact of the new firmware when I am at the next conference in St. Augustine in April.To see the video in 4K please CLICK HERE to be directed to YouTube [video type="youtube" id="i1exFCyhtGU" width="600"]Default Message[/video]
Panasonic Lumix Camera and Lens Firmware updates - Feb 8, 2017
Panasonic yesterday released firmware updates to its G 80, 81 and 85; GX80 and 85 camera bodies; and the Leica H-RS100400 lens.The firmware update to the G80,81 and 85 fixes the following:
- Reduced operation noise during the shooting standby or the motion picture recording.
- Dual I.S.2 function with the interchangeable lens H-RS100400 is available.(Firmware update of the H-RS100400 is required.)
The firmware update to the GX80 and 85 fixes the following:
- Reduced operation noise during the shooting standby or the motion picture recording.
- Fixed a problem that camera fails to connect to the Picmate server.
The firmware update to the Leica H-RS100400 lens fixes the following:
- Dual I.S.2 function is available.(Firmware update of Dual I.S.2 compatible model is required.The firmware of the DMC-G80/81/85 should be ver.1.2 or later.)
- Fixed the instability of Auto Focus when the focus switch set to [5m - ∞], using Olympus Corporation's OM-D E-M1 MarkII.
PLEASE NOTE: THE UPDATES ARE SPECIFIC FOR EACH MODEL. PLEASE ENSURE YOU USE THE CORRECT UPDATE FOR YOUR CAMERA.Thes updates can be downloaded using the following link:Panasonic firmware updates
LRTimelapse version 4.7.5
LRTimelapse version 4.7.5 has just been released. Here is the link for the update:https://lrtimelapse.com/download/If you do not own the best Timelapse processing application (it works in tandem with Adobe Lightroom) you can get it here:
This update improves support for external ramping tools like the timelapse+ View and improvements for working with Cinema-DNG files. The windows version does not need java installed anymore (likewise as on mac) and along with this there are several fixes and improvement to make your workflow easier and more streamlined. Preview generation has been significantly improved and several new cameras are now supported.
Adobe CS 6 Dead (Retired) and CC subscription prices go up in some countries
Without any press release or announcement, Adobe has officially retired the CS 6 products. The CS 6 web page reads:
Adobe and currency fluctuations
Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival Day 3
A very bleak, cold and windy morning in the Titusville area. The morning photo drive yelled very little compared to days one and two. A trip to the visitor center was worth it for the Painted Bunting. Images captured with the Panasonic Lumix GX85 and the Leica 100 - 400 mm lens.
Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival Day 2
Iffy weather with grey skies and a cool wind. It sure made the birds hunker down in the mangroves. Not to be a dettered my group were all ready to make the most of it. Personally I am waiting to photograph the Roseate Spoonbills that have been quite elusive at Black Point. I was however, rewarded with a fairly decent sighting and a photograph of a Clapper Rail. It was nice to get an image of the bird in its entirety. All the images except the last two were photographed using the Panasonic Lumix G85 body with the Leica 100 - 400 mm. lens. What an amazing combination.
Silhouettes at first light. 
Flight after flight of White Pelicans flew in to land and feast in the shallow waters of Black Point Drive
Missing Rosettes Spoonbills but there were enough Herons and Egrets and a decent Glossy Ibis.
Not to miss out on ducks the Northern Shoveler families were a lot of fun to photograph.
Finally here are two images that I posted earlier on FB that were captured using the new Panasonic Lumix FZ2500
Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival Day 1
Took a small group on a photo drive to Black Point this morning. A fair amount of bird activity but not many spoonbills. I used the Panasonic Lumix G85 with the Leica 100 - 400 mm lens for all the images shown here. Low light performance is not bad at all. Most of the images were at ISO 1600 and some at ISO 400. All images captured hand-held, confirming the 5 axis IBIS and the lens IS combination truly works.Please click on any image for a larger rendition.
Panasonic Lumix GH5 - WOW!!!!
What a great way to start the new year. Panasonic today announced the full specs for their flagship camera the GH5. Here are two links that say it all:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eRbB6kLCE8&t=327sandhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbYLMFbiMtA
