My other post today, I detailed all my Apple lightning adapters ,as shown in the above photo, that I used for my iPhone and iPad. I did not want to go down this route with my new MacBook Pro. So I had a quick look online to see what options were available,
One of my favourite brands is Choetech. They now have a twin pack USB C to USB 3.0 adapters that are compatible with MacBook 12″, ChromeBook Pixel, Nexus 6P and other USB-C devices. As these are also USB 3.0, they supports faster transmission speed up to 5 Gbps. They are also backward compatible with USB2.0 and 1.1 which means all my existing USB devices will connect to these at no extra cost to myself. They also include the built-in 56k ohm resistor follow Type C standard specification. OTG, hot plug and play design is supported with no external driver needed and without software installation. These are very lightweight and designed and constructed with premium grade metal. And a fraction of the price of the Apple own branded adapter.
Another option from Choetech is gorgeous USB C to USB 3.0 cables. Look at the quality in the photo above. The cable is a braided cord, resistant to kinking, bending, and environmental damage. It also features fast sync USB 3 speeds up to 5 Gbps with compatible USB 3.0 device. It is also backward compatible with USB 2.0 and 1.1.
But for me the adapters are just what I needed. Small and perfect and a fraction of what Apple charge for their adapter. This adapter will allow me to charge and sync my iPhone 7 Plus and connect all my “legacy” USB 2 devices.
Useful Links
More information on the Choetech USB C to USB 3.0 Twin Pack Adapters – Click HERE.
More information on the Choetech USB C to USB 3.0 Twin Pack Cable – Click HERE.
More information on the Choetech range – Click HERE.
I have a confession. I have a rather large collection of dongles, all Apple lightning adapters.
I took the photo the other day but didn’t include multiple versions of a dongle. For example I have 4 3.5mm to headphone lightning adapter.
So let’s have a closer look at each adapter and its price. Working from the top to bottom of the photo.
– Lightning to USB 3 Camera adapter – This is the new camera adapter from Apple which now includes the ability to charge at the same time and supports USB 3 – £39
– Lightning to 3.5mm headphone adapter – I have 4 of these for my iPhone 7 Plus – £36
– Lightning to USB Camera adapter – the original one, which costs £29. I have 2 of these. £58.
– Lightning Digital AV adapter – HDMI and a charging slot- £49
– Lightning to VGA adapter – VGA and a charging slot – £49
– Lightning to 30 pin adapter – 0.2m – £39
In addition to the ones shown, I have somewhere amongst all my cables the lightning to 30 pin adapter £29 and lightning to micro SD adapter £19.
So in total, if I was to re-purchase all the adapters again it would cost me £279. I think I am in the wrong business. I need to be selling dongles!
Over the weekend, I went out with my Apple iPhone Plus photographing various places across Dartmoor National Park.
No filters were used for any of the shots below To view the original photo, just click on it. The only apps used were the default camera app and Adobe Lightroom mobile (for editing and snapping raw photos).
Before I set off on my huge walk, I tucked into a lightweight meal.
The above breakfast is from the Cafe on the Green, Widecombe on the Moor.
You can park near to Saddle Tor. Well its an uphill walk from the car park all the way to the top of Saddle Tor. From the photo above you can see Saddle Tor and Haytor in the distance.
Saddle Tor is a huge lump of granite and provides views for miles across Dartmoor.
From the top of Saddle Tor, you can see Haytor shown above. The telephoto lens was used for this shot.
About 50% of the way walking up to the top of Saddle Tor, I was able to snap this landscape view.
A quick flip in to portrait mode to snap this shot of a Dartmoor pony.
On the outskirts of some woodland area around Haytor, I noticed this toadstool. Highly poisonous and hallucinogenic. Its called a fly agaric. Portrait mode was not used for this photo.
The only way to take this photo of the ponies was using the telephoto lens. Using the normal wide angle lens, the ponies were just small dots.
The above photo is of Widecombe on the Moor. A historic village on Dartmoor baked in history.
And a quick flip over to the telephoto lens to get closer to the action.
And finally one of my three labradors, George, Fury and Tiggy.
Bellever Forest is based in Dartmoor National Park, Devon, UK. The East Dart River runs through Bellever Forest which makes a great setting for having a picnic. Alternatively you can enjoy several walks around the forest, or enjoy some great views from the top of Bellever Tor. This is the map reference for finding Bellever Forest using Google Maps – https://goo.gl/maps/2bsmxtHyRRB2
There are 4 trails that you can walk along. The Bellever, Easy Access, Postrbridge and Lich Way Trail. For more information on these trails, Click HERE. I have walked the Bellever and Easy Access trails, both of which were enjoyable.
There is parking and toilets. Cars and motorbikes pay £1 for up to two hours and £2 for over two hours. There is a flat rate for minibuses of £4.
Typical Dartmoor fog descends over Bellever Forest.
Dartmoor Ponies are common in the forest.
As its an active forest, tree felling is common place.
You get some really vivid colours too.
On a foggy day, the view from Bellever Tor can be restricted.
View of Bellever Tor
Walking on the Easy Trail is fairly well marked. About one quarter is on soft grass tracks, which can be muddy at times.
Finally, the summit of Bellever Tor in the fog.
Bellever Forest Timelapse – Having a picnic near the river is recommended.
Bellever Forest is a fabulous place to visit, either to relax and take in the scenery or try out one of the walks around the forest and up to Bellever Tor.
Looking at the tree trunk the edges when zoomed in reveal the same issues. Portrait mode works better when there is a defined edge and not bits of hair.
If you look at the crosses the portrait effect works quite well. The shot that worked better out of the two cross shots had less strong light interfering with the scene. The sun was the culprit.
So the new MacBook Pro’s got announced along with the new pricing for all of the mac range. Eye popping expensive. Also, your iPhone 7 lightning headphones cannot connect to the new MacBook Pro’s, nor can the iPhone 7 connect to the new devices, without spending money on adaptors from Apple.
I cannot get over the higher pricing of the devices. Also will the Touch Bar be ergonomically easy to use without getting hand strain? Not sure what to make of Touch Bar at the moment. The Touch ID is a nice touch and been able to switch users with it was one of the key plus points.
£2,349 – 2.6GHz Intel Core i7 w/ Touch Bar 256GB
£2,699 – 2.7GHz Intel Core i7 w/ Touch Bar 512GB
If you think the new MacBook Pro pricing is expensive, which it is, it is worth realising that base model MacBook Pro is now £200 more expensive than the model it replaced.
Opt for the 15 inch version, and this is now £300 more expensive than the model it replaced. Gets even better.
All the above prices is for the default model. You can increase the cost during the checkout process.
– Mac Mini price increased from £399 to £479
– Mac Pro has increased from £2,499 to £2,999
– The 4K and 5K iMacs are now £300 more expensive
So shout your views across in the comments! My main takeaway is the crazy higher pricing.
One is shot in RAW using Adobe Lightroom and the other with the default Apple camera app. For fairness I have cropped both to 16:9.
Shot 1 –
Or do you prefer shot 2?
Whichever you prefer please say why too!
Once I have a few replies I will reveal which one started as a RAW photo.
Update. Shot 1 was shot using raw. Shot 2 comes from the iPhone default camera app. Personally I prefer shot 1. But shot 2 is slightly more realistic to the original scene.
Welcome to my review of the DJI Osmo Mobile. The DJI Osmo Mobile is the new gimbal from DJI for your smartphone.
The Key Features
– ActiveTrack technology built into the DJI GO app allows the Osmo Mobile to automatically keep your smartphone facing you as you move. (not available on the android app currently, only iOS)
– The Osmo Mobile’s 3-axis gimbal system smooths out the movements you make, turning every shot into cinematic video.
– With a few taps, the Osmo Mobile motion timelapse feature shoots video showing the passing of time.
– The Osmo Mobile lets you share special moments in real time using YouTube Live inside the DJI GO app.
– Shoot better photos in low light, with powerful camera stabilisation and full manual camera control.
– The Osmo Mobile’s panorama function automatically captures and blends 9 separate photos together to create one stunning photo.
– Used with its range of accessories, the Osmo Mobile can be mounted almost anywhere, giving you even more opportunities to get that perfect shot.
– Enjoy more than just DJI GO. Osmo Mobile is open for developers to customise.
Above is the optional base to quickly drop the DJI into. The underneath of the base also has a standard tripod screw.
The photo below shows the extension arm secured into the tripod base. The tripod legs extend further in one solid movement.
Video Overview of Hardware, Accessories and DJI Go App
The Lowdown
– The Osmo Mobile supports smartphones measuring from 58.6mm-84.8mm width and up to 8.4mm thick.
– ActiveTrack – The fastest it can track is the same as its Max Controllable Speed, 120°/s.
– ActiveTrack is a feature currently only available on iOS.
– YouTube Livestreaming or Stream Live to Facebook.
– DJI Go App – Lots of extra features (see video) but needs update to fully support iOS 10 and the iPhone 7 Plus telephoto lens.
– iPhone 6S Plus or 7 Plus does not fit with a case on.
– Apart from the normal timelapse mode, there is a motion timelapse option
– The optional base has a tripod screw underneath
– The DJI Go Movie editing app has a wealth of great music but does seem to degrade video quality slightly compared to using iMovie in iOS.
– Connects perfectly every time. With the iPhone 7 and the loss of the headphone jack, it becomes impossible to use an external mic without some trickery or additional hardware.
Sample Video from the DJI Osmo Mobile using the iPhone 7 Plus
My Experience
I have used the DJI Osmo Mobile extensively now and I was surprised that none of the reviews and YouTube videos mentioned that if you are using the iPhone 7 Plus or similar sized phone, it won’t fit or stabilise with any case fitted. I tried with the Apple silicone and leather case. Also, at the time of writing this review (I delayed the review too hoping for an update from DJI), the DJI Go app only supports 1080p video at 30fps and not 60fps as per the default camera app. You can use the DJI with other third party camera apps. The iPhone 7 Plus telephoto lens is not supported in the app either yet from DJI. It looks like DJI need to update the app properly for iOS 10! To connect the DJI to a tripod you will need the extension arm. This has a standard tripod mount screw underneath. If I had know this prior to purchase I would not have bought the DJI tripod base, as this used with the extension arm is not still enough in the winds of Dartmoor.
In the photo above you can see the extension arm is attached to my normal tripod and securely. I am keeping the DJI tripod base as this works well indoors as a lightweight alternative. The plastic base from DJI is ideal for placing the DJI Osmo Mobile into for quick use, say on a table for editing VLOGs.
The motion time lapse mode is fantastic. Panoramic shots are spooky good. The gimbal just moves all buy itself to take the panoramic photos. However, the file size outputted is only around 3mb vs the native iPhone app which can be over 3 times this size.
One problem using the DJI with the iPhone 7 is the OIS on the iPhone sometimes conflicts with the DJI. There is not much you can do about this, accept during post processing when this can be fixed. All the footage shown has not been adjusted to enable you to see what you get first hand.
Despite some of the negatives, which will likely be solved when DJI updated their app, I have found the DJI Osmo Mobile a joy to use. The included software adds lots of extra functionality and the active tracking is superb.
Conclusion
Despite some bugs in the DJI Go app, it is one of the easiest gimbals to use and setup. It also works really well and the extra options provided by the software make it a joy to use. Highly recommended.
More detailed information and pricing on the DJI Osmo Mobile – Click HERE.
Last night in the UK, Apple released iOS 10.1 along with updates to the Apple Watch, Apple TV and the MACs.
I was extremely keen to update to iOS 10.1. The official changelog is as below. Some of the bug fixes had been impacting my iPhone 7 Plus but are all fixed for good.
And for the Apple Watch, watch OS3 fixed the following –
But the update also including extra fixes not listed.
– At the same time as going live with iOS 10.1, Apple Pay got switched on for Japan.
– For UK citizens using the Three UK network, iOS 10.1 was a huge and important update and the new carrier update to Three 26.0 fixed 4G connectivity, other connectivity problems and issues connecting to a Three Home Signal Booster. I am on Three UK and can confirm the change. The specific issues were with the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.
– Worth noting is everyone can now use the Portrait mode in the camera app, although it is still shown as in Beta. However, it works extremely well.
Updating the Apple Watch
I updated my Apple Watch as soon as my iPhone 7 Plus was on 10.1 by going into the Apple Watch app on my iPhone and manually checking for the update that was around 61mb. Word of warning, it took me about 25 minutes to update
Gavin's Gadgets & Photography 