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Every car brand produces something extreme every once in a while. So did Mercedes Benz. Now, I happen to know someone at a Mercedes Benz dealership.

Put the two together and Dennis jumps in his car to go and do a shoot of the latest extreme machine from the MB company. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a one-brand-fan. I’m a “wolf-in-sheeps-clothing” extreme machine technique lover!

So, how special is this car then? Well, there are more Ferrari Enzo’s in this world. 199 More to be precise. Only 100 will be produced of both chassis. (convertible and coupe) Personally, I like the coupe even more than this convertible. It has more bite to it and has a few very nice details. Like a carbon fibre torsion bar right behind the front seats.

So, how about some specs? This car does 0-100 km/h in less than 4 seconds, Vmax is limited at 320 km/h, it has a 5.5 litre V8 with a massive compressor, which produces 582 bhp.

The body is made completely out of carbon fibre. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen so much Carbon in or on one car. Not even on a race car. The donor for this type of car is a default CLK 200, which is completely ripped a part by AMG, but boy it leaves the shops looking good!

I’ve got to buy myself a mobile carstudio one day… The DTM AMG is placed right in the front row in the showroom. Like somebody would miss it… It’s pretty close to the entrance and to another car (a brand new S series) so I didn’t have much room to manouvre.

 And the problem with shooting cars in general is the fact that you always have the disturbing backgrounds. A bit of photoshopping then? No. I would have to recreate the windshield so that it appears to have a big empty space behind it. Cutting out the car itself and placing it in another surrounding isn’t too difficult. Ah well, one day…

Check out more images in the gallery, folder… ah, you guess it.

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Last week, I’ve been on a sailingtrip with my uncle. His ship is a so called “Tjalk” of around 20 meters (approx. 60 feet) in lenght, which is a type of sailingship that was used for transporting all kinds of stuff in the late 1800′s.

Some info on the Waddenzee as well. This part of the sea between the mainland and the islands differs in depth between approx. 60 centimeters and 19 meters. As it is a part of the North Sea, you have to be aware of the tides and do a lot of math. (if you don’t want to get stuck on a sandplate for a week ) A Tjalk has got a flat bottom (okay, that sounded a bit funny) and therefor can rest on a sandplate / bank. Which we did. But one of the anchors “crabbed” overnight, which left us 15 meters too far up the sandplate. The KNRM gave us a hand by tugging the ship the next morning.The exact location of our “adventure” on the sandplate can be downloaded here: (Google Earth) Location – Google Earth

The pictures of this trip can be found in the gallery. (Waddenzee folder)

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Yesterday I decided to do it. I transferred some money from my savings account to my normal account and started to search for the lowest price. Something I had been doing for over the past few months.

I decided to go for a descent lens, a sharp lens, a more than good carry around lens. I wanted the Canon EF 70-200 F4.0 L USM. Why not the F/2.8? Or the F/2.8 IS? Cash, or the lack of that is. Not that this lens is “cheap”, but what a bang for a buck!

Just after I had bought my 20D, I wanted something I could zoom with. I didn’t want the EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM, which should be given away for free. I tried something a little more sturdy. I found this old piece of metal, which turned out to be pretty descent. The range was okay too, calculating from the kitlens, the EF 18-55. I purchased the EF 70-210mm f/3.5-4.5 USM.

Two things about the 70-210. I always found it “a bit” soft at 210mm. And I always doubted the 210mm. Well, I was right. Check the images below. Both images are shot on auto, from about three meters from the magazine. It turns out the 210mm is more like 190mm!

 

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A month ago I went to the “BHV Expo Rally”, check some pictures I took there in the gallery.

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Meyer Optik – Gorlitz Telemegor 400mm f/5.5
Type: Prime lens  |  Focal Length: 400mm  |  F/ : 5.5 – 22

Ebay Value: ~ 150 euro
Purchased for: 25 euro

I mainly use this lens for moonphotography. I like to try stuff. And I especially wanted to try out an older lens, which is ofcourse a wee bit cheaper than a new one. Now, I not only bought this lens, but also a Soligor 2X extender. This brings the Focal Lenght to a wopping 800mm ! The extender cost me five euro’s by the way. The M42 EOS adapter was already in my posession a week before I purchased the lens and the extender. The M42 EOS adapter was mine for 17,50 euro.

Don’t forget the cropfactor of a non-full frame digital reflex camera. So 800mm multiplied by 1.6 brings the grand total to 1280mm, which is enough for a shot of the moon. However, I do want to try if there’s another extender that will fit between the Soligor and the M42 adapter…

As mentioned in the intro, the lens was mine for 25 euro. The average lens of this brand and type is sold for between 120 and 150 euro. Seems like a fail-safe way of trying out stuff!

Resized to 800 pixels:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The 2nd and 4th of june, I’ve been to the “Pinksterraces” on the Zandvoort Circuit

The photo’s can be found in the “Zandvoort R” folder! I really wanted to get the hang of panning. It took a lot of testshots and time, but eventually.. I did it! I’m pretty pleased with the results.

Tip: check the Zandvoort pitlane webcam

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I stopped all my biddings. Why? I found this site, www.secondlifecameras.com
I found this 500mm M42 mount lens. An oldy of course.

In order to fit this lens, you need a M42 EOS adapter, which I’d already bought. So I went over to the company in Soest. When I arrived and wanted to check the lens, the tap seemed to be deformed. Old transport damage probably. The man told me he had several other “big ones” and took two others from the shelf. One of them was to be mine 15 minutes later! It was / is the Meyer Telemegor f/5.5 400. Along with that I bought a Soligor 2x extender. So the lot totals at 1280mm ! (400 x 2 x 1.6) I will be uploading some files in the near future.

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Yes I know, it has been a while…
What’s up. I’m still bidding, nut now on some other items.

I recently purchased a Remote Control, but not the way too expensive Canon one, nope I’ve bought the Adidt M1-C3 with a cordlength of 0.8 meters. This is three times cheaper than the Canon remote, but can do exactly the same. Okay, the build quality is.. let’s say “Chinese” but I’m sure it won’t come apart. I didn’t buy the Cokin rings yet. First I wan’t to experiment a bit with an old Hanimar 500mm f8.0 mirror telelens. I’m still bidding and I hope the guy who’s selling will contact me shortly. The lens has a P2 mount, but a M42 adapter ring is included. Of course, that won’t fit on my 20D, but I also bought a M42 EOS adapter today.Let me help you look for the “nice old stuff” on Ebay:
- Canon M42
- Canon FD
- mirror lens Canon

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I’m currently bidding on some items. Items of which I think I need them. Well need, I just like to have them and play around. One is a Canon Ring Flash Unit, the other is ,or are actually, some Cokin P-rings.

The Cokin rings are needed to screw my 50mm reversed on to my 100mm lens. Glewing two rings with the proper sizes together will create a firm connection between the two lenses. The reversed-lens technique is cheap way of creating a macro lens. (have been fooling around with a couple of my lenses, an article will follow one of these days.)When I recently created some sort of connected-some-reversed-some-not-lens with a total of four lenses, it actually worked! Sort of… The next problem I faced, was good light on the macro subject. You need a lightsource very close to the lens. A ring flash. The most ideal unit would be the Canon MR-14EX, this is one expensive mother however. So I thought it might be a good idea to stick to the “cheap method”.

The unit I’m bidding on is a TTL (Through The Lens) flash unit, while my camera only works properly with a E-TTL unit. Will this pose a problem? I’m not sure.I think the main issue is that the flash unit will lock up when used on a digital EOS. On my search for an answer, I found this very detailed EOS Flash document, written by NK Guy of PhotoNotes.org. Some other interesting ring flash documents? Here, here and here.

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We first had the idea to go here, but it’s prohibited to enter that area. maybe sometime soon we’ll return and let a guide show us around…

Instead, we went here. (article in Dutch) In short; back in 1793, Cornelis Jan van Nellesteyn bought this house and the surrounding parks. He then ordered the lot to be demolished. A neo classical mansion was build. Along with the mansion, a mausoleum for the Nellesteyn family was build. Photo’s of the mansion and the mausoleum can be found in the “Leersum” folder in the gallery.

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