Olympus Pen E-PL2 records video without sound. Why?

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Just recorded a music performance using friend’s E-PL2 camera. None of the video files have any audio data at all! Any idea why? I searched on-line for answers but only found people raving about how great the audio is.

Posted in camera and lens | Tagged | 11 Comments

Joel Rosenberg died.

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Joel died yesterday.

I will miss him. His wife and kids could use our support.

News agencies and blogs are expressly permitted to use this photograph of Joel Rosenberg. A byline (©Oleg Volk) would be appreciated.

Posted in interesting people | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments

Olympus E-PL2 first impressions

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Just borrowed that camera with 20/1.7 lens from my friend DDB. First impressions:

User interface is very awkward. I had to read the manual in detail just to figure out manual exposure.

AF is very good. Face recognition and tracking work well. Playback controls also awkward.

LCD is good straight on, marginally useful at an angle.

The lens seems quite sharp at all apertures. Image detail and clarity is remarkably good, possibly because of lens-specific optimization. Colors seem muted though. Some sensor noise as expected but with very natural-looking “grain”.

Zoomed-in manual focus is quite effective.

Tightened strap works well for stabilization.

For my use, 20/1.7 isn’t long enough, would have preferred 45/2.8 macro. Not sure if lack of image stabilization in GF1 would matter a lot, but I expect its controls would be better laid out.

Posted in camera and lens | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Say Uncle’s new holster for M&P9

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Oleg Volk

At the Lucky Gunner shoot, I got to see an awesome set of gun-leather made for Say Uncle by Michael.

Both Michael and his wife Jennifer wore holsters of his making, and they stood up very well to the wear and tear of daily use. I recommend.

Posted in holster, pistol | Tagged | 7 Comments

One of the Lucky Gunner shoot organizers

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Angela with Kriss 45ACP submachine gun

Angela not only did much of the shoot organizing but also ferried cold water and ammunition to shooters all day. She’s looking pretty fresh here despite the many hours spent running back and forth in the heat!

Kriss | EOtech | Lucky Gunner

Posted in ammunition, interesting people, weapon | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Stephen Camp died

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Stephen was the authority on all things Hi-Power. A Loginov noted in Light in the Window, the measure of a man’s life is in the memories he leaves in the hearts of others…and in the knowledge he passes along.

Obituary

Posted in book, interesting people | Tagged | 2 Comments

More from Lucky Gunner shoot

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Oleg Volk

The guest of honor shooting WW2 M1 Thompson

Czech vz58 7.72x39 rifle with AAC 762SD suppressor

Lucky Gunner | Czechpoint | Advanced Armament

Posted in ammunition, interesting people, rifle, sound suppressor, weapon | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

A few good blogs

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Western Rifle Shooters

Radio Free NJ

Forgotten Weapons

Atomic Nerds

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Cyrano had his sword. She has her Mauser.

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Posted in interesting people, rifle | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

A very implied portrait

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Oleg Volk

In this photo, Morgan was wearing shorts and a tanktop. Anything less than that is in your own mind. Should be perfectly safe for work 🙂

Posted in interesting people | Tagged , | 7 Comments

The order of battle

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Posted in humor, interesting people | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The order of battle

Where I was this weekend: Lucky Gunner shoot

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Oleg Volk

http://smallestminority.blogspot.com/2011/05/start-em-young.html MP40

http://tractioncontrol.well-regulatedmilitia.org/?p=10309 Kriss semi
http://tractioncontrol.well-regulatedmilitia.org/?p=10314 Kriss auto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4SWdL7s5NQ BAR 30-06

http://mytumultuousadventure.blogspot.com/2011/05/oleg-volk-at-work.html Taking photos

Had the opportunity to shoot several interesting weapons:

MP40 — as always, very pleasant to fire but feels entirely too toy-like.

M3A1 “grease gun” — love it, my favorite. Primitive but reliable and controllable.

Stg44 (current semi-auto version) — comfortable to fire, ergonomics are completely awkward. No place for the forward support hand that’s not hot metal.

BAR — uncontrollable hand-held, nice from a bipod.

SW76 — more controllable than I remembered it from a decade ago, but still awkward

Scorpion in 7.65 — the big surprise of the day! Very controllable and comfortable to fire. Can be operated with one hand.

DP27 — my favorite in light machine guns. Fixed barrel doesn’t work as well for sustained fire, but it’s far more controllable and comfortable that MG42, for example. Not sure how it would compare to the Bren. Certainly more friendly to left-handed users.

Suomi K31 — after the PPSh, not very impressive. Ergonomics and controllability inferior to the stamped Russian version.

Romak — nice trigger, low recoil…but theEast-Euro optic on it was wretched.

RPD — the other surprise of the day. After ten rounds, I passed that rattling contraption to the next shooter. Very unpleasant to fire.

All that was improved by the presence of American and German WW2 reenactors, helpful Lucky Gunner staff and many friends.

Posted in rifle, rkba, weapon | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

AXTS ambidextrous receiver

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Oleg Volk

AXTS AX556 receiver duplicates magazine and bold releases on both sides. Seems useful to me. Both additional controls are fenced to avoid accidental activation.

Posted in rifle, weapon | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Adjusting camera to individual lenses

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Oleg Volk

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/cameras/1ds3_af_micoadjustment.html

I just looked at the images form this weekend and found many photos taken with the 85/1.8 severely back focused. Running the tests showed that it had to be adjusted to +7(!) for clear images.It’s a wonder I got any focused images before, but using smaller apertures in studio masked the effect.

For me, the best and quickest way turned out to use live view at 10x magnification and then checking AF with mirror down, first at 0, +5, +10, +15, then narrowing down the results. The difference in sharpness has been drastic. I also re-checked my 200/2.8 and 300/4 and did not find any need for adjustments.

Posted in camera and lens | 5 Comments

Outtake from a poster shoot.

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Posted in interesting people | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

A strutting turkey

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Posted in beast | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Roy helps me with photo shoots in Knoxville

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Roy is a model, a location scout and possibly a photographer in his own right in the near future.

Posted in interesting people | Tagged | 1 Comment

Но слышу: — Жив зараза. Тащите в медсанбат! Расстреливать два раза уставы не велят.

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Oleg Volk

This cat was alone of her litter to survive a euthanasia attempt. By the time my friends adopted her, she was terrified of people and possibly slightly brain-damaged. She’s very pretty and well coordinated, but acts as if she suspects all people of trying to murder her again. Very skittish.

Posted in pet | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Sniper Pro Shop Summer training schedule released

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Course schedule and application

These guys are local to me and very good — and a heck of a deal, too. I recommend.

Posted in interesting people, self-defense, training | Comments Off on Sniper Pro Shop Summer training schedule released

Slower on her feet, no slower on the draw.

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Oleg Volk

Given the typical attraction of predators to injured prey, contingency planning is prudent.

P3AT | IWB Bladetech holster

Posted in hoster, interesting people, pistol, prey, self-defense, weapon | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments