The reason why this installment is called "For now" is that there will always be other useful things that will come along that haven’t been covered yet. It’s funny really but you may just be walking somewhere then you notice something that may just be useful for a shoot you want to do or that you may just do. These things can just come really.

Item #11: The extension cord. Most, if not all, of the AC cords that come with your camera battery charger or your AA batteries or even some computers will have the rounded plugs not the flat ones that we’re used to so we all go out and buy individual adapters. Nothing wrong with that but one real option is to have a short extension cord with the rounded sockets. These will accommodate both the flat ones and the rounded plugs. I make my own so that I can customize it to the length I want. I have really long ones for studio lights but I have a really short one for my camera bag. What for? I don’t like having to disturb people (especially clients) with my having to grab all the available AC sockets. I plug everything I need to plug into one of these. Everything is localized and other people can still use the other wall sockets. If you’re not up to making one of your own, most boys and girls in grade school can now do this or you can befriend your neighborhood handyman and have him/her do it for you.

Item #12: The light meter. Now we’re getting into more serious stuff. Light meters are sometimes thought of by amateurs as a throwback to the time when photography was for film and you couldn’t get instant feedback like we do now with digital cameras. While you do get the definite benefit with the DSLR LCDs, there is still much that can be said about why people should or at least consider using light meters. One major consideration, of course, is cost. This Polaris flash meter does all the basics and then some. It is a decade old and has shown no signs of slowing down. It’s still in the market selling for roughly the same price as it did before (around Php8,000). It takes ambient readings and reflected readings. (For those of you who don’t know the difference, please refer to past columns.) You can actually buy an attachment for this extending the capabilities of the unit to include a spot meter. Not the best in the world but it’ll certainly do. Other flash meters won’t even allow you to force the meter to always under or over expose but this one does.

What do you do if you want something better? Well fork out something like Php20,000 (not really sure about the numbers anymore since I haven’t bought a light meter since I got that Polaris and this next one was given as a gift. God bless you, Ed Tuviera!) to buy a higher end Sekonic 508 or whatever is current. What will it do that my Polaris won’t? This one has a built-in spot meter which zooms! You can get more precise readings by making the meter concentrate on a much smaller area. Comes in really handy. Another great feature is the two ISO settings. If you always want to say, get ISO readings in 100 and then in 400, you can set those to either and with the press of a button, see alternate readings. Did I say this thing was handy? A good, really professional feature is the fact that this is weather-sealed and thus is supposed to be more durable. I said "supposed" because within a few years, the part where you attach the necklace cracked and I couldn’t attach the necklace thing anymore. The Polaris still has its necklace. For me to always carry this baby around, I make sure I wear a belt and attach the holster to my belt. It’s not something I like to do but that’s the way it goes.

Why is this thing so expensive? It’s because it’s the variety which also does work for cinematography that is, movie making. Have I used that feature? Nope but this was a gift so can’t really complain.

Item #13: The extra charger. Yes, Canon cameras like all others come with a charger for the battery so why get something that doesn’t even look like the original? The answer is simple: It has a car charger facility and it’s dirt cheap: Php600 when I got it. It comes with an AC adapter so it can alternate for your original charger or stay in the car so that if you’re on your way to a shoot and you realize that you don’t have a battery charged, you don’t need to kick yourself on the behind. Just unplug whatever you have in the car’s cigarette lighter socket and plug this in. Will you have time to fully charge a battery? Maybe, maybe not. Depends on the trip.

Afraid to use an original manufacturer’s battery on this (I’ve seen this for Nikon also)? Buy one of two generic batteries like those sold for Php400 or Php600 and use these as a stopgap. These batteries don’t last as long as the original thing but when you’re desperate, you’re desperate.

Item #14: The Automatic flash. Why on earth will you buy one of these monsters? This actually resembles Mjolnir, the mystic hammer of Thor, Norse god of thunder as depicted by Marvel Comics. Really amusing that it blasts really powerful light. It’s very durable, a bit heavy and necessitates a pc-synch socket on your camera. (A what?) Cameras like the Nikon D40X or the Canon 450D will not have these but the Nikon D80 and Canon 40D and all models above these will. This socket allows the connection of an external flash including studio units. Again, why? You’d definitely forego things like iTTL or ETTL which was supposed to give you really accurate results all the time. The answer depends on you but here are some: Those TTL technologies are great but not always. Also, sometimes you really need power on a budget and a Canon 580EX II, last I checked was still hovering around Php20,000. This Sunpak 544? Around Php6,000. Bought in 1999 and still going strong even after having been dropped on concrete and asphalt.

Another thing is this: The TTL systems of camera are still based on reflected readings no matter what the manufacturer says so there is still much to be said about accuracy though they are getting it right. With the Sunpak 544, I can make it shoot always at 1/8th the power and set my aperture to something like f/5.6 and my shutter speed to 1/60th of a second. Will that always work? If I keep track of how far I’m supposed to be it does. Also, since I like bouncing the flash burst off a ceiling, I adjust either the aperture or the power accordingly. You say you can do that with your 580EX? Of course, you can. I do it with a 550EX. But you keep doing that and you burn out that flash tube. One 550EX of mine has already had two replacements. It’s well used so no complaints. The Sunpak? No replacement after nine years of good service. Also, if it does burn out, I still have my more expensive, ETTL-equipped 550EX handy. It’s just a matter of extending the life of my more expensive flash. Want to try something different? Put your TTL flash on the hotshoe and still connect a potato masher flash (that’s one thing we call these monsters). You can fire the TTL flash directly on your subject while the potato masher hits the ceiling and gives light to the background for a more natural look. It’ll injure your arm you say? The chronic tendonitis in my right hand hasn’t bothered me in a long while.

It’s Holy Week everybody. Those of you who are Catholic, please pray and try not to have so much fun. Those of you who aren’t, please don’t make so much noise. All of you, take out the cameras and shoot!

Thank you very much!