Really Right Stuff BH-55 Review

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For my birthday I ordered a Really Right Stuff BH-55 Ball Head (you can order yours at www.reallyrightstuff.com) . I have had the ball head for a little over a month now. I can safley say that it is the best ball head that I have ever used.

Fit and Finish:

The fit and finish of the BH-55 is absolutely stunning. The BH-55 is made with very high quality parts. The BH-55 has a nice heft to it when you hold it in you hand. Despite being mass manufactured the BH-55 is artfully crafted. All of the knobs have a nice drag to them and an excellent feel. The quick release is well made and has a smooth and quick operation.

Use:

The BH-55 ball head shines above all others in usage. It makes using a tripod a dream. Before using the BH-55 I did not like using tripods. The main reason for my dislike of tripods was that the ball heads that I have used in the past sagged and were hard to operate. The BH-55 has absolutely no sag even with my heaviest combo of a Canon 1DMKIII and Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS. The thing that makes the BH-55 shine is that it allows you to have a set tension on the ball that allows for a nice drag. You can move the camera around with the drag set properly and then release the camera and it will not sag or droop. It also is an extremely smooth ball because of the size.

Recommendation:

I would recommend this ball head to anyone that can afford the price. The price is hefty, but this ball head is worth every penny. I will primarily be using this ball head in the studio. If you need a travel ball head I would look to one of the other Really Right Stuff designs that is smaller and lighter.

Really Right Stuff BH-55

Tweet I just ordered a new ball head. The Really Right Stuff BH-55. This is an industry leading ball head. It is noted for its exceptional build quality. I will be posting a full review as soon as it arrives.

Here is a link to the specs on the BH-55 Really Right Stuff BH-55

Razzle 900

Tweet Just a few days back I had my 25th birthday. It was an amazing day thanks to my friends and family. My wife had a little something extra to surpass me with. That little something extra arrived today in the shape of a Razzle 900 camera. I have not had time to do a shoot with the camera, but I will be doing one soon. I will update this blog with pictures of the camera asap.

The Razzle 900 is a Polaroid 900 body that has been converted to shoot with a 4x5 back, and has a nicer lens this particular one has a Fujinon 150mm f5.6 W lens. The beauty of shooting 4x5 is that you have a large negative which is just stunningly beautiful. The images quality form this camera will be amazing. Especially considering that it is a small folding camera that can be hand held.

The front page of the Razzle website has a picture of my camera. Here is the link.

Camera Bags

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Pelican 1510
Domke F1X
Melvin and Moon

Domke F6
Banana Republic Camera Bag


Domke F803

The above pictures are of my favorite camera bags. I get asked a lot of questions about camera bags. Mostly what bags do you use and why.

Pelican 1510- this is the largest Pelican case that is carry on approved. I bought this case last Christmas because I was in need of a hard carry on case for transporting my camera gear around. This case can hold my 1DMKIII with 70-200f2.8 IS mounted with lens hood reversed, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 85mm f1.8, Canon 24mm f1.4, Lens Baby 2.0, Rocket Blower, a few CDs, 3 Pocket Wizards, cables for Pocket Wizards, card case, note pad, pens, clips, business cards, a few ponchos, 3 way power adapter, a few gels, the battery charger for the 1D MKIII, and a bunch of AA batteries. I use this case mostly for transporting gear from my home to my end destination and will then switch bags to one of the soft bags.
You can purchase the Pelican from Amazon here Pelican 1510-004-110 Medium Carry-On Case with Padded Dividers.

Domke F1X- this is the big boy bag that everyone will recognize you as a PJ with. It is a big heavy canvas bag. I love it. I use this bag when I am going to need to carry a lot of gear and wont be able to go back to the car or studio to swap out gear. It is a soft bag with out much padding which keeps the weight of the bag down. It is also a really easy bag to shoot out of. This bag can carry almost everything that the Pelican 1510 can. One of the best features of the Domke bags is the gripper strap. The strap grips really well to your shoulder and does not slip.  You can purchase the Domke F1X from Amazon here Domke 700-10S F-1X Little Bit Bigger Bag (Sand).

Melvin and Moon- this is primarily used as a grip bag. It is a big nice canvas bag. It generally hauls around a Nano stand, power cables, A clamps, Super Clamps, reflectors, Gaff tape, flash brackets and other grip accessories.

Domke F6- This is a smaller F1X it takes away the pockets on the outside of the bag except for a front pocket and a rear pocket. This bag can hold 4 lenses and a camera body. This used to be my primary walk around bag. It is made of the same canvas as the F1X. It is a soft bag that conforms to the body. Also the bag wears in really well. I have used this bag for about 4 years and it is in amazing shape. Like the F1X it is a water resistant bag. I use the standard Domke 4 pocket insert which is a bit snug if you want to put the 70-200 in the bag with the lens hood on. I generally put the lens hood in the larger compartment or on my strap.  You can purchase the Domke F-6 from Amazon by clicking here Domke F-6 Little Bit Smaller Bag (Sand)

Banana Republic Camera bag- this bag pulls double duty. This bag is primarily my man bag but also serves as a camera bag for events where I have to be more dressed up. I throw the Domke 3 pocket insert into the main compartment and it allows me to put three lenses in the bag. I then just swap out lenses. The front compartment has enough room to store a flash and a battery pack and a cf card case. This is not the most easy bag to work out of but when I shoot grip and grins at social events this is usually my go to bag.

Domke F803- this is my new go to walk around bag. It holds three camera lenses, some batteries, a note book, and has room for a few pocket wizards. This is the rugged wear edition. It has a coating of wax on the outside that makes it more watter repellent than the other Domke bags. It also wears in really well. Like all Domke bags it is a soft bag with minimal padding.  You can purchase the Domke F803 from Amazon Domke 701-83A F-803 Camera Satchel Bag (Brown Waxwear Finish)

When I am looking at camera bags I am looking for a bag that will be easy to carry, will wear in well, and has minimal padding. I like bags with less padding because they give you more room for gear and are lighter weight. Also I find that a lot of photographers put too much faith in the padding in their bags and will treat them carelessly. I find that if you are gentle with these lightly padded bags that they work really well.

What Nick Uses

Tweet People ask me all the time "What gear do you use?" This is a post dedicated to the gear that I use.

Canon EOS 1DMKIII

Canon 24mm f1.4

Canon 50mm f1.4

Canon 85mm f1.8

Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS

2 Alien Bee 800s

2 White Lightening Ultrazap 800s

1 Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed with S Head

Vivitar 285HV

Canon 580 EXII

2 Alien Bee foldable medium sized soft boxes

1 Alien Bee Beauty Dish

1 Speed-o-tron Beauty Dish adapted to Elinchrom mount

1 Elinchrom Deep Throat

1 Elinchrom shoot though umbrella

1 Westcot grey 24in umbrella

1 Alien Bee 64in PLM

1 Elinchrom ELOcta

2 4x8 California Sunboucne

Reflectors both the real photographic thing and rescue blankets

Pelican 1510 case for camera

Storm case of some sort for Alien Bees

Melvin and Moon grip bag

Old Tenba stand bag-way to heavy

Grip Stuff

Super clamps

Unbrella adaptors

Silks

A Clamps

Gaff Tape

A lot of extension cords

Power splitters

24in 2.7ghz iMac with 4gb of ram

Photoshop CS3

Lightroom 2.4

Adobe DNG Converter

Adobe Bridge CS3

Wacom Intous 3 6x8 Tablet

Sandisk Cardreader

Sandisk Extreme III cards both SD and CF

Gepke card case

A slew of hard drives from Western Digital, Sandisk, Maxtor and others.

Domke F1X

Domke F6

Domke F803 Rugged Wear

The above is the gear that I use pretty much everytime that I shoot. Below I have a list of suplimental gear that I use when I shoot for fun or when required by a client

Olympus RD-35

Toyo View C 4x5

Calumet 120mm f3.5

Mamiya 645 1000s

Mamiya 80mm f2.8

Mamiya 45mm f2.8

Tenba Road Case

Razzle 900

I buy the gear that I need to get the job done. From time to time I also rent gear. I use www.lensrentals.com to rent gear.

This is just a quick run down. I plan on posting a more complete list with pictures and maybe a few reviews later down the road.

Nick

Paul Buff PLM

Tweet A few months back I purchased a 64in Silver Paul C. Buff PLM. The PLM is my new favorite lighting modifier. I bought the PLM for a shoot for a community college. I bought it because I needed a big light source that was also light weight and portable, and had a small footprint. The PLM fit the bill perfectly. I also purchased the white front diffusion panel for it. It produces a great softlight when the front diffusion is on. It is also parabolic and allows you to use less power to get a good amount of flash output. With the front diffusion panel off it produces a nice contrasty light. Also the PLM is very afforadable at under $100 for the 64in. You can buy the PLM at http://www.alienbees.com/plm.html. I am in no way related to or funded by Paul C. Buff this is my unbiased review. I will post a few pictures that were made using the PLM later.