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iOS 9.3

Yesterday along with the hardware announcements, Apple released iOS 9.3.

I updated my phone without any issues but the update to the old iPad2 did not work.  It would loop on the setup screen and each time fail when it tried to authorise itself with Apple’s servers.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7501205?start=0&tstart=0

As you can see from the above link it was mainly iPad2’s with Cell and GPS functionality affected.

The usual way to recover from this type of situation is to boot into recovery mode and restore.  You did backup before you started your upgraded?  I had and so soon got everything back, but do remember to directly attach via the iPad cable direct to a USB port on the computer, for some reason I could not get it to work using a Thunderbolt Hub.

BOOTING INTO RECOVERY

  1. With the device is OFF, press and hold the Home + Power buttons together until the screen turns ON.
  2. Now, connect your phone to the PC using USB cable and while keeping the Home button pressed.
  3. When you see a screen iTunes icon and of a USB cable, release the Home button.

I left my iPad connected to the computer during the above as its much easier then trying to plug it in while holding home button.  People say that does not always work but it did for me.

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iPad Pro goes small

iPadProGenerally each September we get an iPhone and iPad update from Apple.  This time there was no iPad update but we got a giant iPad Pro.

Well this time the standard sized iPad got the same updates.  Called by many the iPad 9.7, this has all the features of the larger in a smaller package.  With the recent updates to Lightroom and the new web functionality I look forward to see if we have a workable RAW workflow.  If we do then I think i’ll be placing an order.

Apple also announced a new line of Lightning adapters that allow you to connect the tablet to a USB camera adapter, SD card reader or Ethernet cord.

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Leica SL 90-280mm officially announced

Tiny Leica Mirrorless SLOne can hardly call the Leica SL a system yet but with the adapters to use M glass and S glass plus TL lens available if you can put up with a crop factor it has options.

Leica SL 90-280mm

This week Leica announced the second native lens. Instead of the traditional 70-200mm they have gone for a 90-280mm. Available to order now and released on the 24th March 2016.

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Getting Close and too Close

PuffinIn general with wildlife photography getting close is an issue and so many photographers including myself revert to the big guns, or in my case a 300mm f/2.8 and a x1.7 teleconverter.

But often with patience the wildlife will slowly come closer to you.

In fact in the above shot a puffin eventially got too close and I could not take a photograph as it was closer the the minimum doc using distance.

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Discover Lincolnshire Day

Lincolnshire's Lincoln Cathedral

This weekend was Discover Lincolnshire Day, if your after a weekends break then Lincolnshire has everything to offer, from antique fairs, castles and historic cathedrals, to motorcycle and car racing at the iconic Cadwell Park.

Baby seal

For a photographer like me then the views of the Lincolnshire Wolds to the fantastic architecture of the buildings, there is always something to photograph, and as we head into spring the parks and nature reserves have much to offer.

PhotoWalk-2

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Learn to Play Day 2016

Learn to Play Day

I am not a brilliant musician, whilst I used to be in the choir as a child, I am now limited to poor banjo and piano playing.

Not enough people play an instrument in the UK, which is a shame.  To help encourage people this weekend is learntoplayday.  As with many of these things its just not advertised enough.

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Full Frame Pro Lens and the Mirrorless Question

Sony FE 24-70mm f2.8 G Master LensMirrorless cameras are gradually gaining traction amongst professional and semi professional users.

The advantage of a smaller, lighter body appeals to many.  We now have full frame mirrorless cameras such as the Sony A7 and the Leica SL.  When Leica released the SL they also released a huge no compromise zoom lens for which they got a lot of criticism, but now we have the Sony G range of lens coming out.

The point people keep missing, is that for 35mm full frame, high quality fast lens are large and heavy.

I have to admit, I like having the choice.  As a Leica user who also uses a Nikon SLR, when the focus system gets as good as pro DSLR’s I can see me  having the latest Leica SL and a few large pro lens for when I need them, and for times when I do not, either a small M prime lens or a DX crop Leica TL lens on the body.

 

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Monthly Visit to Lincoln Cathedral – Colour

Cathedral Visitors and Photographers

This weekend I made one of my monthly visits to Lincoln Cathedral.  I generally wonder round the uphill area of the Bailgate taking photographs and then go into the cathedral for a while.

Generally I take black and white photographs.  A job that the Leica M8 excels at.  This time I took two cameras, my Leica M4 loaded with Kodak Tri-X and my digital M8.

My outdoors street photography was all done with the M4, and as I have not quite finished the film yet, you will have to wait a while longer before seeing the results.

In the Cathedral itself, I switched to the Leica M8 so I could crank up the ISO some more.  I was shooting the 24mm lens which on the M8 is an effective field of view of about 35mm.  My 24mm is only f/3.8, so shooting film was not really an option, unless I was willing to push the film, but the rest of the roll had already been exposed at 400 ISO.  One of the many advantages of digital is the ability to change the ISO from shot to shot.

For a change I have decided to post a colour shot.  Despite it still being winter, we still had the odd moment of sun breaking through the clouds and the light through the stain glassed windows is always remarkable.

Below is a snap from a couple of years ago.

Cathedral Red Light
Cathedral Red Light
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Coffee accessories – Tamper

Tamper

Over the last few years, I have really gotten into high-quality coffee. During my free time, I have even started to experiment with the coffee I drink to get the best taste and have even got a milk frother from this link after reading through the various frothers reviews available on it. For home and office use, I generally drink brewed coffee.  At home I make it in a Chemex.

Chemex

While when at the office I use an Aeropress.

Aeropress

I have a cheap basic expresso machine at home but tend not to use it much, getting much better results with my brewing methods.

But I enjoy a good espresso, and espresso based milk drinks, and I would like to make that at home, so this past few weeks I have been practicing my technique using my basic espresso machine.

The internet is a wonderful tool for learning, I have fixed my plumbing from watching YouTube videos, so I have been researching and learning how to make reasonable espresso using basic equipment.

Tamper-2

I have mastered the milk and can now make wonderfully sweet creamy steamed milk with lots of microfoam.  So now I have been experimenting with the espresso itself.

While changing the grind and dose has improved things, I was getting too much expansion blocking the flow of water so it was time to buy a real tamper.

Tamper-3

Tonight it arrived so I have been experimenting with different pressures, grind and dosing, so far its looking good and it will be interesting to see how far I go with this.