Accessories
Sensor Swabs
Dust is the enemy number one of clean photography, even more so
for digital SLRs. Yuval always carries with a couple of type 2 sensor
swabs ordered from B&H in New York. But before fiddling with
the camera's sensor, identify where the dust is. Wipe the outside
glass of the lens clean. Take an overexposed picture with the smallest
possible lens aperture against a a uniform, light background. The
dust will become visible. To make sure it is not on the inner glass
of the lens, use a different lens and repeat the test, or wipe the
inner glass of the lens clear. If the dust visible in the first
image has not moved, it is very likely on the sensor.
Memory and Storage
Memory is the final frontier of the digital photographer, especially
when shooting RAW. Compact Flash prices keep falling and capacities
increasing. Nevertheless there is still a huge price difference
in prices between compact flash (60 US$/Gigabyte) and mobile harddrives
(1 US$/Gigabyte).
A price effective solution is a simple USB
OTG (on the go) mobile harddrive enclosure. OTG is the latest
addition to USB. An OTG drive will work as a host, so that the camera
can be connected directly to the drive - no other appliance needed.
If you consider an image tank that also displays the images, there
are only a handful that can handle RAW files. These are expensive
and feature a little thumbnail screen. In Yuval's opinion you are
better off buying a subnotebook such as a Fujitsu
LifeBook P1000. The advantage of such a solution is that you
can even do some simple processing on the machine and email quickly
a first cut of the pictures. Requirements for the notebook: a PCMCIA
slot or a compact flash card reader, longest possible battery life,
small form factor. Nice to have: USB2 (for additional external hard
disk storage - there is never enough storage space).
Batteries and Charger
Batteries are another limiting factor. Yuval recommends, when possible,
to buy appliances that run on standard AA or AAA batteries. In most
places of this world you can easily buy batteries of that format
in case your rechargeables are down and you absolutely need some
juice, now! Unfortunately manufactures are not very supportive of
such standard format, so LiIon and other technologies have not arrived
yet to these standard sizes. Instead manufacturers use proprietary
form factors. While these proprietary batteries deliver excellent
performance, they are a pain for the traveler: each format requires
its own charger; batteries in proprietary formats are more expensive
and difficult to find, especially in exotic location where AA or
AAA might be available.
Filters
In the digital age, most filters can be applied back at home with
Photoshop. Not so the polarizer filter. Neutral density filters
can be helpful in high contrast situation. The trade-off is against
luggage space. You choose.
Next stop the airport. Destination you choose!
Thank you for reading so far
Yuval Levy
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