La Marzocco Mistral 2GR Rebuild - Page 19

Equipment doesn't work? Troubleshooting? If you're handy, members can help.
LukeFlynn
Posts: 1293
Joined: 10 years ago

#181: Post by LukeFlynn »

cebseb wrote:Ha. Photo gear. Talk about money pit.

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My favorite is my 200 f2 paired up with basically any modern body (D800E in this case). Just can't be beat.

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Espresso photography is a bit more complex than what I'm used to. Lots of flare and reflections that need to be tamed down with polarizers and carefully placed lighting. Macro droplet shots get fickle as well because the darn drops are moving! And forget about trying to do it all yourself since you may end up with a mess on your hands. A ruined B&W filter in my case, ha.
Is that a 400 2.8 with a TC on it? xD That's some serious reach right there. I really want that 24-70....... My next lens is going to be a nice portrait (Something - 70 2.8) or a 300 2.8.

Wouldn't mind having a D800, but it's little brother (D600) is more practical for me.. That resolution + High ISO doesn't cut it.. plus the CF cards would get expensive for this 70MB raw files. Superb for studio and portraiture though.. that picture is stunning.

cebseb (original poster)
Posts: 567
Joined: 9 years ago

#182: Post by cebseb (original poster) »

Update :

Had my first crisis two days ago!

I was pulling a shot like I always do and when the pump kicked in, the sound that came sounded a lot like how a waterboat motor sounds like when reaching speed. I looked underneath my counter at the enclosure (a 5 gallon Tupperware tub) I use for my water pump /motor to find it half filled with water! Woops!

It ended up being an easy fix. The brass, 3/8 to 1/4 input fitting for the water pump developed a crack that leaked the water. Quite glad it didn't short anything out!

Anyways, on to better news. I tried my hand at portafilter handles yesterday and I think they turned out quite well!



I haven't finished them yet since I'm looking to brand them in some way. The next project will be a modified paddle lever!

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cuppajoe
Posts: 1643
Joined: 11 years ago

#183: Post by cuppajoe »

cebseb wrote:Espresso photography is a bit more complex than what I'm used to. Lots of flare and reflections that need to be tamed down with polarizers and carefully placed lighting. Macro droplet shots get fickle as well because the darn drops are moving! And forget about trying to do it all yourself since you may end up with a mess on your hands. A ruined B&W filter in my case, ha.
To get pix of the pour with the droplets suspended, set up camera on tripod in a darkened room and set it up for fastest frame rate. An offboard flash that will keep up with the camera would work better than the onboard. As you are working close you don't need that much power for exposure. You want a 'strobe' effect and let the flash do the capture. Basically start the coffee flowing, and when it gets close to where it's looking like you want use a remote to trigger the camera and let it blast away for the duration of the shot.
David - LMWDP 448

My coffee wasn't strong enough to defend itself - Tom Waits

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