April 26, 2024

WEIZE 12v100Ah LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Rechargeable Battery Open Box (In Progress)

August 14, 2020 by 2 Comments

Hey guys!

Thanks for checking out my latest video on the WEIZE 12v 100Ah LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Rechargeable Battery.

I’ve completed up to the third part, “A Closer Look” below is an index of the sections available for viewing.

—————–
This Video Contains up to the Open the Box Segment for the full video.

1. Intro (00:00)
2. Open the Box (00:30)
3. A Closer Look (12m16s)
4. Conclusion (Pending)

The Open the Box segment shows me opening the box for the item as it was shipped to me.

I inspect the packaging, item itself, any accessories, and product literature, to include warranty and company information inside the box.

Issues so far is that there was no User Manual, Warranty or Company Information inside the box.

This was very suspicious to say the least, but is consistent with the limited information on the original Amazon listing for the item.

The original listing, as of August 13, 2020, shows the item is no longer available. The listing further removed WEIZE as the seller/shipper for the item.

Not having any user manual, warranty or company information is clearly an ommission of key information inconsistent with traditional reputable business practices which normally include information about the product, and of course, about the company.

I’ll continue to search for information pertaining to the WEIZE battery company. They sell a number of regular batteries and it will be surprising that all of the other boxes did not include their information.

File: 20200623 0943 Weize Open Box Combo 02A Up to Open the Box (03m07s)
* Includes up to Open the Box segment.

(PID: 20200623_0943)

Filed Under: WEIZE Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Three Flash Tests in Direct Sun (Post Production)

July 23, 2019 by Leave a Comment

In this episode I test out three flashes to see how they perform when used in direct sun.

The Flashpoint Zoom Li-Ion R2 TTL, Streaklight 360 and XPLOR600 are all taken through a simple field test to see how they can provide fill flash when shooting a subject in direct sun.

Determining the capability of your flashes in direct sun conditions is a good exercise to do to be able to decide which flash to use on your next shoot.

[PID: 20190628_1722]

Filed Under: Flashpoint, StreakLight 360, XPLOR600 TTL, Zoom Li-Ion R2 TTL Tagged With: , , , , ,

K2 Broadway Inline Skates Cuffs Removal Modification

May 29, 2019 by Leave a Comment

K2 Broadway Inline Skates Cuffs Removal modification.(May 29, 2019 9:00 p.m.) In this video I modify a pair of new K2 Broadway Inline Skates by removing the plastic cuffs. I go into the process of removing the cuffs, and then test the final results on the Seminole Wekiva Trail here in Altamonte Springs, Florida.

The cuff removal process is rather straight forward, and only involves removing four rivet stile attachments which secure the cuffs to the skates.

Because the upper portion of the K2 Broadway’s “soft boot” is still rather stiff, removal of the cuffs result in little or no reduction in support.

Future modification to the skates to the boots are still needed to provide more freedom of movement in the ankle when elongating the leg forward and permit the skate to keep all four wheels on the ground.

For now, the cuff removal modification served its purpose. Additional tweaks to the skates are planned to improve mobility and increase flexibility expanding intricate movement opportunities for an enriched skating experience.

[PID: 20190430 1500 K2 Broadway Skates Cuff Removal v9]

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Power Bright 2300watt Inverter Open Box and Install

February 21, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Currently working on an open box video and install of a Power Bright 2300w 12v to 120v Inverter into a 2018 Ford Transit 250 Cargo Van.

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FL (Feb. 21, 2019) Currently working on an open box video and install of a Power Bright 2300w 12v to 120v Inverter into a 2018 Ford Transit 250 Cargo Van.

[Ref: PID: 20190221_1100]

Filed Under: Open Box, Power Bright Tagged With: , , , ,

Rhino EVO 24 Slider Motion ARC Stuttering Problem Reviewed

November 1, 2018 by Leave a Comment

I ordered two of these. One of them started “stuttering” during the motion. Rhino Customer Support said they needed a video showing the problem to further assist me with my problem. 

Who is Rhino and what equipment is involved: (See links below):

Rhino Slider EVO System

 
When the email came back from Rhino support requesting that I recreate the problem, video record it, edit and post it for them to see, I thought this was a bit strange.
 
Especially since my email at least gave them a good idea what I was experiencing with their unit which, during the motion would “stutter” at various points along the motion tracking. Basically as if the slider was running over a piece of gum stuck on the rails. And that gum, was moved to various places along the track as well.
 
Nonetheless, the request by Rhino to basically create a mini-production recreating the issue meant I would:
1. Unpack all the relevant gear to recreate and record the problem;
2. Bring additional gear to record that system experiencing the problem;
3. Spend the time associated with the preparation, production, and post production of all of the above;
4. Sit on my hands and knees for Rhino support to give me either a general “your system is ??” or a specific “send it in and we’ll take a closer look,” and “your out of warranty, not our problem, or other blow off response.”
 
Okay. I said if I do produce a video, I’ll include it in my YouTube channel for reference for any body experiencing the same issue.
 
At the time of this posting I have recorded a very basic review of the Rhino EVO 24 stutter issue and will not allocate the time needed to edit it and post it online.
 
At the end of the day, and night, I suppose this experience was a worthwhile effort. Fortunately, I have two of these systems. The second system did not “stutter” and I’ll include that footage in my troubleshoot video for Rhino.
Filed Under: Rhino Tagged With: , , , , ,

Anker Ultra-Compact Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard Model A7726 Boot Camp Windows 10 Connectivity Issue Resolved (Placeholder)

July 25, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Currently working on the full article on this post. 

Filed Under: Anker Tagged With:

Nikon D500 vs CamRanger: “Failed to start movie recording. Invalid Status” Error Message

July 18, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Nikon D500 vs CamRanger: “Failed to start movie recording. Invalid Status” Error Message

LAKE MARY, Florida July 18, 2018 — Over the past couple of weeks I’ve attempted to incorporated the CamRanger Wireless Camera Control device (CamRanger) into my video production work-flow without success. Eventhough the CamRanger  successfully connects to my Nikon D500 DSLR camera, it will not trigger the camera’s video recording mode. Instead, it presents me with “Failed to start movie recording. Invalid Status” error message.

For those of you who are not familiar with the CamRanger device. It is described by it’s founders Dave and Melissa Pawlowski on their website as follows:

CamRanger is a stand-alone device that connects to select Canon or Nikon DLSR cameras with a USB cable. It creates its own WiFi network that your device (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Android, or Mac or Windows computer) can then connect to. The free CamRanger app then enables control of the camera. There is no need for an existing Internet connection or other equipment.

Generally, my previous experience using the CamRanger has been successful when using it with a Nikon D800 and D4.

That is why I find it interesting, however also frustrating to experience the “Invalid Status” error message and of course the inability to enjoy the device as it was intended to be used.

I’ve contacted CamRanger support via email and received a prompt support from Dave.

We are currently attempting to trouble shoot the issue, which is why today I’ve produced a video recreating the error message.

Once posted, I hope the video sheds some light on the CamRanger “Invalid Status” issue for Dave and the YouTube community to review and hopefully come up with a solution,

 

Filed Under: CamRanger Tagged With: , ,

Using Godox AD360ii-C (for Canon) with a Nikon DSLR: Is it possible?

June 12, 2018 by Leave a Comment

While deployed to Afghanistan I took a chance and ordered the Godox AD360ii  (a/k/a  Flashpoint Streaklight 360, Bolt VB-22, Cheetahstand CheetahLight CL-360) for a Canon 7D Mark ii DSLR issued to me to photograph military events. The reason I decided to buy the Godox 360 was to use the promised 3x times flash power it has over standard hotshoe style flash systems.

Since most of my photography took place outdoors during the day either from early morning to late afternoon, the Godox 360 series flash system seemed to be a good choice to do the job. After a little research, I ordered the Godox 360 system with battery pack and waited patiently for it to arrive to my military base in a remote part of Afghanistan.

If making a decision and taking a chance of ordering a third party flash system wasn’t enough complications just to get my hands on the Godox 360, many vendors had problems shipping the battery pack version of the kit to Afghanistan due to lithium battery shipping restrictions. Making the matters worse, i had to order from one of the random sellers on Amazon which did not have a problem to ship it to Afghanistan. Turns out the Amazon seller I used was Letwing based in China. My fear of ordering the Godox 360 from the arbitrary Amazon seller Letwing will eventually come to haunt me to this day due to their lack of customer service responsiveness. But more on that perhaps later.

Eventually, I did receive the Godox 360 flash system for the Canon DSLR I was using. 

After getting over the size of the flash head, especially when mounting directly onto the hotshoe of the DSLR camera, I began taking pictures with it. 

Though this is not a full review of the Godox 360 flash system, I do describe how the unit performed under rigorous military use in a combat zone. In a nutshell, the Godox 360 did perform outstandingly under a number of conditions to include full sun outdoors, poorly lit conditions indoors, and when remotely fired using its built in wireless receiver. 

The Godox 360’s TTL system worked flawlessly, I did manage to find a way to bounce the flash using a large Rogue Flash Bender II not designed to fit around the large reflector of the Godox 360. But I made it work. I developed a dependency on using the smaller Rogue Flash Bender on a standard flash system. Therefore, and after ordering the large version of their flash bender, I was back in business. 

One thing that I praise Godox for doing is actually making each and every position of the Godox 360’s flash head a solid click and lock based system. That is to move the head to a different angle up or down, or to twist the head around, a button is required to be pressed. Othersize, the weight of the large Rogue flash bender would have caused the flash head’s position to move either while shooting or while holding (or running around) with the Godox 360.

Getting this article back on track, I should now turn the discussion toward using the Canon version of the Godox 360 with a Nikon DSLR. I’m genericizing the Nikon camera because the primary issue is whether the Godox 360 flash system designed for a Canon DSLR can be made to work with a Nikon DSLR.

Well, at first you might think why not just buy Nikon specific Godox 360 flash units. Sure, that is an option, and I have already done that – once.  So I do have a fully Nikon specific Godox 360 flash I purchased from Adorama so it’s called a Flashpoint Streaklight 360 (for Nikon).

Having ordered the Nikon specific Godox 360 I now at least have the peace of mind of being able to use it with my Nikon DSLRs without worry of  whether it will be fully compatible and functionally, especially when set to fire in TTL mode.

However, when looking at the two Godox 360 Canon based flash systems just sitting in a box I decided to see if they can be configured to work with a Nikon DSLR. At the least, could I set the Godox 360’s I have for Canon to manual mode, and have them triggered some way from my Nikon DSLR.

Thus far I have tried or explored the following steps with the indicated results below: 

  1. Just connecting the Godox 360 (Canon) within my existing Godox (or compatible) flash arrangement;
  2. Physically replacing the hotshoe plate on the AD360ii-C to a Nikon hotshoe plate.
    1. This actually is not supposed to work as indicated in a similar product here. However, the same “will not work” warning for the actual AD360 Nikon hotshoe replacement plate is not present in the listing here. This approach, is therefore, unverified.
  3. Updating or changing the internal Firmware of the Godox 360 (Canon) so it will programatically work when receiving Nikon signals either via the hotshoe or via wireless transmitter.
    1. Didn’t get this far in my research due to finding out that the AD360ii-C will adapt “off camera” to the transmitter it is receiving signals from (i.e., R2 connected to a Nikon DSLR camera configured to the same Channel and Group).

I did eventually find out according to listings for the AD360ii-C in the features text (see listing here that the AD360ii-C “when used off camera (not on the hotshoe)” will flash properly while adapting to the respective transmitter being used. Whereby: 

  • When using the AD360II-C off camera, Canon E-TTL II or Nikon i-TTL system can be automatically switched according to different cameras when adopting the Godox 2.4G wireless X system.
  • According to a listing for the product here. (i.e., 

So when you put the R2 (Nikon) transmitter on your Nikon DSLR and set the respective settings on the AD360ii-C (for Canon) to corresponding Channel and Group settings, the AD360ii-C will receive and process the Nikon R2 Transmitted signals.

I have confirmed this somewhat by simply trying it out (Step 1 above) and when you watch the AD360ii-C display panel the indicator screen changes from “Canon” to “Nikon”.

Further tests are going to be made to see if in fact the TTL information is being sent, received and processed by the AD360ii-C flash unit to properly expose the subject. Additional tests will be conducted to verify that when sending “manual” power settings to the AD360ii-C flash from a Nikon R2 equipped DSLR, the manual flash power is also being adjusted accordingly. 

 

I’ll include reference links to the above steps 1-3

 

References:

Godox.com

GODOX Photo Equipment Co.,Ltd.
Factory Add: Building A4, Xinhe Huafa Industrial Zone, Fuhai RD West, Fuyong Town, Baoan District, Shenzhen 518103, China
TEL : +86-(0)755-25701197,25726373 / FAX : +86-(0)755-25723423
Sales Enquiries: godox@godox.com / Marketing Promotion: marketing@godox.com
After-Service & Technical Support: servicesupport@godox.com

Godox AD360ii-C Wistro Instruction Manual

Other References:

Unverified Approaches: Swapping out the Canon hotshoe with a Nikon hotshoe plate:

  • Actual AD360 replacement hotshoe –> here. (URL: http://www.cheetahstand.com/product-p/cl-360xnhs.htm)
  • Similar replacement hotshoe which clearly says it will not “work” to convert a Canon flash to work with a Nikon camera’s hotshoe –> here. (URL: http://www.cheetahstand.com/product-p/v860xnhs.htm).

Product Listings indicating that the AD360ii-C will work “off camera” when triggered by a Nikon DSLR equipped with an R2 transmitter.

  • Link: http://www.schoolofimaging.ca/97611-GODOX-WITSTRO-AD360II-C-TTL-FLASH-W-BATT.aspx

States that:

When using the AD360II-C off camera, Canon E-TTL II or Nikon i-TTL system can be automatically switched according to different cameras when adopting the Godox 2.4G wireless X system.

Filed Under: Godox Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Flashpoint XPLOR600 Battery Issue

May 20, 2018 by 1 Comment

The Flashpoint XPLOR600 battery operated strobe light offers the power of portability by freeing the photographer from having to plug into a 120v power outlet. Yet, the XPLOR 600 adds even more flexibility with optionally allowing the unit to be plugged into a traditional AC power outlet.

But where is the fun in plugging the XPLOR 600 into the wall, when you have the freedom of the battery at your fingertips?

Bursting the expectation bubble time.

Well, all is good with a battery operated, powerful and portable strobe when the battery is actually working. So this article will focus on a recent issue I personally encountered with the Flashpoint XPLOR 600 battery pack failing to recharge.

Okay, admittedly the battery packs were sitting for a number of months. I have three XPLOR 600 units, two of which were used more so than the third unit. Hence, the reason why the third unit’s battery indicated a completely dead battery when pressing its battery level charge indicator button.

So at first glance, just plugging the dead XPLOR 600 battery pack into its charging unit to recharge it seemed like the first and only course of action to take to get the battery back to full charge and ready for the next XPLOR 600 shoot.

Not so fast.

The signs of a problem reared its ugly head when the battery charger’s indicator lights seemed to get ahead of the battery pack’s indicator lights. That is, the charger showed its progress via its indicator lights during the time the two units were connected together. However, a quick check about an hour later revealed the battery charger was indicating  three bars of successfully charged battery progress while the battery’s progress indicators, when pressed, actually was still reading read or not charged at all.

At this point, the idea of letting rechargeable batteries sit for a while, causing them not to work anymore, first came to mind. However, the other two batteries seemed to be just fine. 

Being that the replacement cost of a new XPLOR 600 battery at the time of writing this article was listed on Adorama’s website as $180, the prospect of just ordering a replacement battery wasn’t the first thing that came to mind.

So, the next course of I took was to review the warranty information for the XPLOR 600 unit. That was even more depressing. The equipment was only warranted for only one (1) year. So I was a full 5 months past warranty.

Being past warranty and with the battery costing $180 to replace didn’t settle well with me so I motivated myself to take on the customer service black hole with Adorama, or Flashpoint (really Godox rebranded) manufacturers.

We all of done it before. Send them a polite email, and the first thing they ask for is an invoice, and then politely say your past warranty coverage while including a link to the replacement item on their website. Oh yea, while expressing their appreciation for your continued loyalty as a customer.

Draft of this article stops here – will continue.

Actual response from Adorama.

Research for prospective solutions to the problem online and results.

Last words and general comments about limited warranty times for expensive electronics, and whether this means one should consider the extended warranty “offers or gimmicks” when purchasing future expensive products online.

 

Filed Under: Flashpoint Tagged With: , , , ,

Manfrotto 577 Video Adapter Plate (501PL) & Vello V-Rig Bracket Reviews

December 31, 2015 by Leave a Comment


Manfrotto 577 Adapter (501PL) & Vello V-Rig Bracket Reviews

Manfrotto 577 Adapter (501PL) & Vello V-Rig Bracket Reviews

1. Manfrotto 577 rapid connect adapter with sliding mounting plate (501):

In this video the Manfrotto 577 Video Adapter Plate is reviewed highlighting two issues regarding the 577’s glitchy safety catch and dysfunctional lever.

2. Vello Tripple Shoe Bracket (V-Rig):

The Vello V-Rig Tripple Shoe Brackets is also discussed which comes in 4.1, 5 and 6.5 inch sizes.

The V-Rig provides three additional shoe mounts and is attached to a camera’s existing shoe mount.

The V-Rig has a 1/4″-20 mount as well at its base. It also has built-in backstops for secure mounting and is made of machined aluminum-alloy construction.

An issue I felt could be a problem with the V-Rig is the restricted use of the center shoe.

Because it is in the middle portion of the “Y” of the bracket, the space can tight when trying to fit a device on this middle shoe.

A Video Mic just fit when mounted on the middle shoe. In addition, after mouting a device on the middle shoe, this completely takes up the inside space a device can use when mounted on the lower outer shoe.

Another issue related to the middle shoe there is no sideways space inward from the lower outside shoe. This means only outward facing devices can be used.

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Filed Under: Brands, Manfrotto, Vello Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,