Frederik Bøving – frederikboving

Review: XTAR VX4 Universal Smart Battery Charger and a few AA Li-ion batteries

Rechargeable? No thanks…

A few years back I tried my best to like and use rechargeable batteries. I figured it would be both cheaper and better for the environment. Long story short: I was disappointed. The batteries quickly lost capacity and I found them sitting in the charger more and more, until I gave up and went for disposable batteries.

Disposable batteries - the pile just grows and grows — Disposable batteries – the pile just grows and grows

Since then my use of batteries has only increased. Not only in camera gear, but in all sorts of appliances where a power supply is not feasible. Most recently, I have bought some WiFi enabled digital thermometers for my summer house, and each requires 3 AAA batteries! So it quickly adds up.

Of course I make sure to dispose the batteries correctly so it can be re-used as environmentally friendly as possible, but without being an expert, I would imagine that the industrial process of re-using the content of the disposable batteries would require a lot of energy. Not good for the environment either.

Try again?

So when XTAR reached out to me with the suggestion to test some rechargeable batteries and a charger, my first reaction was not that enthusiastic. But I have seen how battery technology has developed over the years, and the battery in my iPhone 15 is truly impressive. So out of curiosity I wanted to see what a modern rechargeable battery can to.

XTAR kindly sent me 4 rechargeable AA Li-ion batteries. You probably know the different battery sizes like AA and AAA, but the AA is very common and used in many appliances.

Without going too much into the technical details, a Li-ion battery has some features that I really appreciate. First, it does NOT mind partial charging. Other battery types require that you run it empty to maintain the capacity and I find that really annoying, as I never get it done. But the Li-ion happily works with lots of topping up!

Secondly, it self-discharges very little, only 1-2% per month. This is great if you have gear that you use seldom (like a backup flash) where you just want it to be ready when you pull it out from the back of the shelf to help you out.

Third, it charges fast – especially if you do partial charging – going from 20% to 80% is super fast.

And finally it holds a lot of capacity – the ones XTAR sent me hold 2500 mAh, which is 25-50% more than other battery types and disposable batteries. Just to give an example, the battery for my Nikon D4 holds 2000 mAh, or less than the XTAR AA battery, despite being much larger in physical dimensions.

VX4 Universal Smart Battery Charger from XTAR at work

Good news is that the downside is with the engineers! A Li-ion battery is complicated to regulate so it gives the output required, and therefore pretty advanced electronics is needed to make a Li-ion battery work properly. In this vein, it is important that you use a charger designed for the Li-ion battery, and thats why I was happy that XTAR also supplied a battery charger named VX4. This way, I know that the battery will be managed correct during charging – the Li-ion battery is a bit “fragile” due to its advanced nature, so do not stress the battery! Make sure the charger is designed to handle Li-ion batteries.

VX4 Universal Smart Battery Charger from XTAR — Lots of options for different battery types to be charged in the VX4

The VX4 charger can handle several different battery types and I must admit the table on the back side of the tin makes me a bit stressed, but you can see it above to check if your battery type is covered. For me the AA and AAA will cover the vast majority of what I need.

The lower part of the battery contacts is spring laden and can move back and forth to accommodate different physical sizes of batteries.

The VX4 comes with a power supply and a USB-C cable, so you can make use of the VX4 without the power supply and instead connect it to your PC or a power bank or whatever has sufficient “juice” to feed the VX4. If you have read other reviews by me, you know how much I love USB-C, but I will spare you and not elaborate further!

The test

The batteries came charged from XTAR (nice service!), so the first time around did not reveal much about the speed of charging. However, I did learn that the charger has an advanced LCD screen that can show a lot of technical details and the short-and-sweet 2-pager manual explains it all. As I am not an engineer and simply want to charge my batteries, I have not dived into all the aspects of the charger.

VX4 Universal Smart Battery Charger from XTAR showing all batteries being charged

But it gives really illustrative graphics that lets you follow the charge process. And I am happy to report that also I understand what the charger says when it has charged the batteries in full – please see above!

The most brutal and demanding battery test that I can think of (as a photographer) is to use the batteries in a flash! The energy required to recharge the flash fast after it has gone off is simply brutal. Even flashes with built in batteries tend to go tired very fast, so it will be interesting to see how the XTAR AA batteries manages this.

Nikon Speedlight SB-400 and XTAR AA Li-ion

My little beloved Nikon flash SB-400 takes two AA batteries. It is a very simple small flash that fits my Nikon cameras. It’s only “advanced” feature is the ability to turn the flash light upwards to give you more indirect light for your subject. It does not even have a test button (!) so I had to mount it on my trusty Nikon D4 to test it.

Test results

At continuous high release mode where the camera fires rapidly, the flash could keep up with approx 30 shots, and after that it started to miss every second shot or more (i.e. the flash did not fire when the camera shot).

At continuous low release mode, to my surprise, I got the same result approximately. After some time, the flash could not keep up.

In single release mode, firing approximately once every second, the flash managed to re-cycle and be ready for at least 50 shots (after that, I stopped testing – I think it will be able to go on and on…).

After firing 150 shots with flash activated I stopped the test and took out the batteries. They felt warm – not alarming, but noticeable, and to me this is an indication that the test put the batteries to work!

Testing with conventional disposable batteries, I got the same results, and my thinking is that the limit is in the flash’ ability to recycle fast enough (i.e. consume the juice from the battery fast enough) rather than the battery not being able to feed the flash as fast as it asks for.

Recharging the battery, my hope was that the XV4 charger would show me how much was left in the battery, but I could not figure out how to do this and I think it is because there are some limitations to the 1.5V battery and the features around capacity. However, what I can report is that after having fired around 150 shots with flash activated, it only took the charger 15-20 minutes to re-charge the battery to full. That is truly impressive!

Conclusion

My little non-scientific test has convinced me that Li-ion batteries have come a long way and that XTAR both in terms of the batteries and the charger delivers a really solid product. Had such a product been around way back when I first tried rechargeable batteries, I would not have ditched the disposable ones for good a long time ago.

The one thing I have not tested is how the capacity declines over time. But I can say that my iPhone is at 89% of original capacity with more than 400 charging cycles completed. I think you will find the XTAR batteries deliver roughly same performance.

At around 25-28 EUR for four AA batteries, this technology is certainly not cheap. But if you multiply the price for a disposable AA battery with just half the cycles XTAR promises, I think you will find the business case more than justify the (seemingly) tall price for these batteries.

Continued reading

Review: XTAR GoPro battery charger on-the-move

Review: XTAR Camera Battery Charger

Apple Magic Mouse unboxing and review

Apple Magic Mouse

After fiddling with the track pad on my Macbook for months without getting really well acquainted, I decided it was time to cave in and buy a mouse. I chose to stay with the Apple family and got a Magic Mouse for around 100 EUR here in Denmark.

Choosing a mouse for your computer is very much in personal preference territory, so I am a bit cautious to name this blog post “review”, but have done so in lack of a better. I strongly recommend that you test your to-be mouse in real life before purchasing – it is really important that ergonomics works in your favour, especially if you spend many hours in front of a computer.

Apple clearly put form over function when designing the Magic Mouse. The design is slim and minimalistic with visible physical buttons or LED indicators. The mouse can register you touching and tapping it almost like a track pad. The far end of the mouse is one big button that gives a noticeable click when pushed.

Apple Magic Mouse — The box. Notice the low and slim design of the Magic Mouse – clearly form has taken priority over function.

Unboxing and installing

You don’t find much in the box: the mouse, a cable and a super brief user guide. I was happy to notice that the cable has USB-C connectors in both ends as it allows me to charge the mouse using chargers I already have (the lightening connector is slowly being phased out).

This is my 2nd Magic Mouse. My first approx 1 year old Magic Mouse has the Lightening connector, so be sure to check that you get a copy with USB-C if you share my enthusiasm for industry standards!

Connecting and installing the Magic Mouse on a Mac is easy: simply connect the cable to both the mouse and the Mac and everything is taken care of! No installation of software or drivers or the like – it just happens as soon as the cable is connected. How it works in a Windows computer I do not know, but on a Mac it for sure is super easy!

I also tried to charge the Magic Mouse before using it. In my case there was no need for this as the mouse was fully charged, but I did notice that there is absolutely no indicators showing the battery charge level. I could have used a small bar of LEDs telling me how the charging progresses, or just that it actually IS in progress. But no sir, no such help. Also, some will find it annoying that you find the charging port at the bottom of the mouse, so you have to flip it over to connect the cable.

Configuration and use

You’ll find the configuration of the mouse under the bluetooth devices in the settings menu. It is also here you can find the charging level of the mouse – it is shown in the top of the menu “Mouse settings”.

There are several options for configuring the Magic Mouse, and playing with the tracking speed to find the level that works for you is a good place to start. I recommend you turn on the “natural scrolling” option to enable you to scroll just moving your finger up and down the the mouse – this for me is a real time saver! Notice that there is a small animation top left that illustrates how the option you’re hoovering works.

Conclusion

For me the purchase of the Magic Mouse to relieve me of the trackpad mysteries and quirks was a great decision, maybe in part because I know the Magic Mouse from my Mac Mini already! I now struggle to remember my mouse every time I grab my Macbook on the way out the door, but it is a price I am willing to pay, as I can work a lot faster with the mouse. And if I forget the mouse, I can still make it work with the trackpad, albeit at a slower speed.

The Magic Mouse is not for everyone. First the ergonomics has taken the backseat to give room for a very slim and minimalistic design, and if you sut in front of a computer 9-5, you may want to go for a mouse where ergonomics has taken priority. That said, working approx 3-4 hours a day with this mouse works for me with no issues, but as I said in the beginning: test your to-be mouse in real life before purchasing.

I would like to see some LED indicators showing me the charging level, or even if it IS charging, but I guess Apple figured that minimalistic has to go all the way.

I am not so annoyed that the charging connector sits at the bottom of the mouse, but it is a bit annoying that finding the charging level is deep into the settings menu. Also, you get warnings that the battery level is low only when the battery is alarmingly low – it would be nice to get a fair warning a bit earlier.

I find the “invisible buttons” work really well – it is easy for me to control the scrolling in windows just moving my finger up and down the mouse with a light touch. Also the mouse tracks really well even though I use it on a wooden tabletop which is far from ideal.

So all in all I am a happy camper! The price is a bit steep as we know it with Apple, but if design is important to you, this could be a good option to look into. And it comes in different colours, so you can style it to your preference.

From Nikon Z6ii to Z7ii – is that a good move?

A sideways move

I recently swapped my Z6ii for a Z7ii, and in this blog post I want to share what the differences “feels” like and if I made the right choice. Both cameras are mirrorless and has the same user interface, so I consider this a sideways move as the main difference is found in the sensor resolution. More about this later. Also, I mainly use my Nikons for photography and not video production, so the following will be looking at the two as cameras only.

I swapped cameras using mpb.com, a company that I have used for selling and buying a lot of gear. They of course do make a margin for every item you buy or sell, but they are easy to do business with and the goods you sell them are never returned once they have passed the quality check. If you prioritize convenience over making a super sharp deal, you may want to follow the link (no, I am not sponsored). So in this case I bought the Z7ii used and in part payed for it with my used Z6ii.

I have had the Z6ii for some years now, and I moved from the D750 to the Z6ii back then. If you want to read more about that move, the post is right here. It may help you decide if moving from DSLR to mirrorless is for you.

The Nikon lineup

Before diving into the details, it may be good to take a look at the Nikon competition with Nikon itself: Where is the Nikon Z6ii positioned in the different mirrorless options that Nikon offers?

As I see it, the Z6ii is the middle-of-the-road camera that does everything well but nothing particularly good. It’s a general purpose camera that will please many photographers and it is reasonably priced as well. If we look upwards, the Z7ii is the high resolution big brother that offers approx 20 MP more resolution – a linear jump of around 87% relative to the 24 MP the Z6 has. So the Z7ii is for landscape, architecture, interior, astro, macro and maybe some product photography, but as the auto focus is not impressive, I would not use it for fast moving subjects at all (sports, wildlife).

If you are in the market for some of the best AF that Nikon offers, I would look towards the Z6iii or the Z8, subject to how much resolution you need and the size of your wallet. With the Z9 flagship camera, Nikon for the first time got the AF just right and able to match the competition from Sony and Canon. And the Z9 AF has now trickled down to first the Z8 and later the Z6iii. This could also be a reason for why you may want to wait and see how the Z7iii performs when it is announced – it should be right around the corner and may have the same top-of-the-shelf AF as the Z8. My non-scientific testing of the AF on the Z7ii reveals that the AF is not bad, it is just not the best available. And when you shoot macro, the Z7ii still seems to love to focus on the background and not the subject. So in conclusion, if fast AF is important to you, no need to upgrade from Z6ii to Z7ii – there is not much improvement here, despite a big jump in AF points. Look for the Z6iii or the Z8 instead (or wait for the Z7iii).

This is probably the biggest difference between the Nikon Z7ii and the Z6ii! The design and shooting experience is very much the same.

Same same, but different

There are so many similarities between the Z6ii and the Z7ii that I suspect Nikon to use the same production line for both cameras, right up to the point where the sensor is to be installed. If you pick up a Z6ii or a Z7ii with a piece of gaffa tape over the logo, you will not be able to tell the difference as all these things are the same:

Weight (down to the gram!)
Size
Buttons and dials
EVF resolution
Rear LCD resolution and movement
Top LCD
Expeed Processors
Weather sealing
Card slots (number and specs)

So if you were hoping for a better shooting experience with the Z7ii, then you will be disappointed. Not that I have any complaints in this department, I have gotten used to the Z6ii and can work fairly fast with the layout. And the grip is sufficiently deep for my big hands. But the two cameras are super identical and I would say from a shooting experience point of view, it IS the same camera.

If you browse through the spec sheet, then the differences start to appear, ignoring resolution for now:

Subject	Nikon Z6ii	Nikon Z7ii
ISO Range	100–51,200	64–25,600
Autofocus Points	273 AF points	493 AF points
Continuous Shooting	14 fps	10 fps
Buffer Capacity	Up to 124 RAW images	Up to 77 RAW images
Base ISO	ISO 100	ISO 64
Video Modes	4K UHD up to 60p (with crop)	4K UHD up to 60p (full sensor readout)
Anti-alias filter	Yes	No
Battery life	340 shots	360 shots

The difference in FPS is maybe a bit surprising, but the Z7ii is slower as it has the same Expeed processors, but need to move larger files

But, with all respect and noting that your mileage may vary, there is nothing in the above list that really stands out as a game changer for my landscape photography. Maybe only that I was happy to see the Z7ii dropped the anti-alias filter, as this should give the best working conditions for the high resolution sensor.

Resolution monster?

So, let’s finally get to the point with the Z7ii: the resolution. It offers around 20 MP more than the 24MP Z6ii senor and that is a linear jump of 87%. Truly impressive!

Sorry to be the party spoiler, but if you look at the effect on the image resolution covering 2 dimensions, then the addition 20 MP may not impress you so much. The thing is that the addition resolution obviously has to cover 2 dimensions, so you “only” get a 37% jump when you look at the two axes isolated. I know this may be more psychology than mathematics, but for me I get this sinking feeling: huh, is that it?

Add to this that you can get post processing software that intelligently can bump up the resolution of any image. What is the point then?

A sensor resolution around 24MP is probably the sweet spot when choosing the size of the resolution: you have sufficient to work with and the files are not annoying big to work with in post processing and file copying. So IMHO you really need to be sure you need the resolution.

If you think that lots of resolution is the precondition for large print, then I beg to differ. My argument is this: A billboard poster has a resolution around 1-2 MP! How come? It is probably some of the largest print you can think of and the resolution is so low? The answer is viewing distance. The bigger the print, the larger you will naturally make the viewing distance. Otherwise you will be too close to the print and will be studying with head movements like watching a tennis game! I have printed 70×100 cm images from a Nikon D700 with 12MP and never missed a pixel.

So why did I go with the Z7ii with the above line of thinking? The answer is: cropping! I have recently needed to crop dramatically in some of my work to make it fit an exhibition format in portrait orientation. And when cropping, the resolution all of a sudden is super relevant as it enables you to get decent resolution even though a large chunk of the image is removed.

I admit that more careful planning of the shots and/or better choice of focal length could have mitigated the issue without the need for cropping. But it nice to know that I can crop down a landscape image shot with a 50mm and get a – for me – useful result. Your mileage may vary of course, but for me this is a very welcome luxury.

Conclusion?

As the Nikon Z6ii and Z7ii in so many ways is exactly the same camera, I think you need to be absolutely sure you need the additional resolution. The approx 1000 EUR price difference further adds to the need to consider this carefully.

That said, the Z7ii produces some absolutely stunning images. As I traded in my Z6ii to partly finance the Z7ii I have not been able to make a head-t0-head compare of the two cameras, but I think the Z7ii is some of the best I have ever seen from any Nikon camera (disclaimer: I have never tried the D850). Maybe the sensor is different? Maybe the anti-alias filter gives the last umph? Maybe the additional resolution puts on display just how good the Nikon Z lenses (S series) are? I don’t know and I probably never will. But I do know that with this investment I have put myself in the difficult position where the only explanation for bad images is found a few centimeters behind the EVF.

Review: GoPro Dual Charger with Enduro Batteries

Time to upgrade

My trusty regular GoPro batteries started to act funny here in January 2025. One simply grew fat (!) and would no longer fit into my GoPro HERO10 Black, and the other one told me there was 85% capacity left and two seconds later the GoPro would shut down with a message that there was no more battery! This happened on a cold and windy afternoon in Denmark, so maybe this is what is to be expected, but I had greater hopes for my less-than-two-years-old original GoPro batteries.

So, replacement batteries needed! Just to clarify: I prefer to buy batteries from GoPro rather than a 3rd party vendor. You probably can save a decent amount of money this way, but as operational stability and a minimum of surprises is important to me and my video production, I happily pay the premium buying original batteries. Your mileage may vary of course.

Package solution

A bit by chance, I came across this package from GoPro with a charger and two Enduro batteries. Enduro apparently works better in cold weather and they are only a few bucks / Euros more expensive than the light blue regular GoPro batteries.

GoPro Dual Charger with Enduro Batteries — Before the unboxing this is what the tin looks like. The Enduro batteries are white where the normal ones are light blue.

Also, I have so far been happy with (only) two batteries. My videos are mostly less than 10 minutes a piece and hence I shoot in relatively short bursts of 1-2 minutes at 4K and 25-30 FPS. So two batteries covers my needs, but you may find that for longer productions you need more than two.

I was happy to find that the new batteries looks a lot like the old ones other than the colouring. They fit nicely into my GoPro HERO10 Black. The tin promises compatibility with HERO9 Black, HERO11 Black and HERO12 Black, but I have not tried these combinations.

Charging, first time

Charging the batteries for the first time took several hours, so I left it alone overnight and the next morning the two LEDs had changed from amber to green. I noticed that one battery completed charging faster than the other and apparently the charger gives priority to the battery with the most capacity, so you get one fully charged battery asap! Smart!

I used my Apple charger which yields 15-20 Watts and it worked well with the GoPro dual charger.

First use

Reading the specs, I was a bit surprised to find that the capacity of the two batteries is exactly the same, so how can one be more “Enduro” than the other, especially in cold weather?

I have no answer to this good question, but using the batteries at winter I can confirm that the Enduro batteries seem to last longer. And they have a very different “curve” in terms of remaining battery: My regular ones seem to drop very fast in the beginning of use and then have a more flat curve towards running flat. The Enduro ones seems to be more linear, i.e. they are much better at delivering a steady decline in remaining capacity than the regular light blue ones.

If you read the 2021 review by DCRainmaker, it seems to confirm that systematic measurements show a much improved performance by the Enduro batteries over the regular ones. I have not been able to compare the regular ones with Endurance, as both my regular batteries are broken. However, although I cannot provide evidence, I have a pretty good feeling that the difference is solid.

Conclusion

For me and my use of the GoPro HERO10, this package is just right. It may not be the cheapest option out there, but my philosophy is that it is better to be safe than sorry, also when you pay a little premium. If you work in cold conditions like me (= Winter in Denmark) and struggle to make the regular light blue batteries perform in the cold, then the Endurance batteries may be just what you have been looking for.

Review: Gregory Crewdson by Walter Moser

If you are interested in the work of Gregory Crewdson and want to understand more about the artist, his background, etc, then this book is just perfect for you. It presents a lot of his work and a number of articles provides insight and analysis of this spectacular photographer.

However, when reading this book I was more fascinated by the amount of work Gregory Crewdson puts into every single image. Nothing is left to chance. Large crews with actors and make-up artists are part of making the spectacular scenes that are then documented with a camera. It seems like arranging the camera and hitting the shutter is the 0.0002% of the work.

The people in the images are often inactive and with strangely little interaction. Some of them gives me the same feeling as watching a painting by Edward Hopper. A strange feeling that something is off, but you cannot really put your finger on it. And there are tons of details in each image to study – a witness to the effort and planning that has gone into his large scale productions.

As a landscape photographer where I mostly document what is already there, the work of Gregory Crewdson is a great inspiration. He is the most opposite to a snapshot as you can possibly get. And as such a reminder that good a photograph is more made than taken.

You probably don’t want to follow his lead all the way. But he is a great inspiration for me – my boundaries for what a “shot of the scene” is has definitely moved since I read this book and saw his works. Even as a landscape photographer, I am not afraid to re-arrange a few branches that don’t look right or add a flash in a corner to spark some interest. Maybe not a 20-30 person production planned weeks in advance, but a little nudge in the direction of controlling and managing more inside the frame. And for this inspiration I am ever so thankful. And if you seek a similar vein of inspiration, this books comes highly recommended.

From Garmin Vivoactive 3 to 5

From Vivoactive 3 to 5 – but why?

My wifes Vivoactive 3 started to act funny in terms of battery life. Being 3-4 years old, we figured that a repair would be futile and cumbersome or both, and started to look for alternatives. As Garmin on a regular basis pushes out new versions of their products, our eyes caught the Garmin 5.

Here in December 2024 the Vivoactive 5 is on offer, so a good guess is that the version 5 will be replaced by a version 6 anytime soon. This gives some options for getting a version 5 on offer and this is exactly where we ended up. We did not skip version 4 deliberately, but timing wise it just happened that we were in the market for a new Vivoactive when the version 5 seemed to be the current (and soon to be replaced) version.

So in this blog post I want to relay what it feels like to upgrade from version 3 to 5. It will not be a complete and specs based blog post, rather a “what did we notice along the way” kind of post. So not very scientific or systematic, but we hope it will give some insight to what an upgrade is like, and hopefully this can help you, if you sit on the fence and consider a similar upgrade.

The Garmin Vivoactive series is positioned in the Garmin universe as a budget friendly and feature-rich watch that does not offer the “I’m a triathlete (wannabe)” features of say the Garmin Fenix watches, but on the other hand offers sufficient functionality for the weekend warrier. So my take on the Vivoactive is that it is one of the best options in terms of bang for the buck when we are talking Garmin.

If the whole sports watch universe is new to you, please be aware that a watch is so much more than the watch. You start tapping into an ecosystem that will collect data and metrics about you, and in order to maintain a line of consistency, you probably will be inclined to stay with the brand that you already have. So look at alternatives like e.g. Suunto, Apple and Polar (just to mention a few) before you make the plunge. But given that we are talking Garmin in this particular case, lets dig in.

Unboxing Vivoactive 5

The box with the Vivoactive 5 is light, actually so light that I feared that they had forgotten to put the watch in there! But it was there along with the usual suspects: a charging cable and some paperwork. My fear of missing the watch in the box was perhaps justified, as the spec sheets tells that Vivoactive 5 is only a tad more than 40 grams! That is really impressive!

Garmin Vivoactive 5 — In the box I found the watch itself, a charging cable, safety information and a super condensed getting started guide with a QR code to a more elaborate user manual.

The first thing I noticed is that the charging connector is still the Garmin proprietary one – some things apparently don’t change! I had hoped to find USB-C that even my bicycle light now make use of, but no, Garmin sticks to the Garmin connector.

Appearance

Comparing the appearance of the two, they are rather similar, which is good news, as it is a small and light watch. However, the Vivoactive 5 is more refined. The bezel is smaller and more rounded, the screen seems larger and with better contrast.

Also, then you compare the watches from the side, the Vivoactive 5 seems more elegant and rounded in the design; more discrete if you like.

I was happy to find that the 20mm width of the straps is unchanged, and hence the leather straps that we have bought as an accessory could easily be moved from the Vivoactive 3 to the Vivoactive 5. As you are likely to wear the Vivoactive round the clock in order to get the most data and the best metrics, you may find that your skin does not agree with the constant contact to the rubber straps. If you buy the straps off-brand as we did, this will not break the bank (this blog is not sponsored by any vendor).

Migration

Moving from the Vivoactive 3 to 5 could hardly be easier: the Vivoactive 5 presents a QR code on the display and once you scan that using the camera on your smartphone, a guided process starts that takes you through the migration from 3 to 5. It really could not be easier.

The precondition for this is that you with the Vivoactive 3 were fully engaged in the Garmin ecosystem and have the Garmin app downloaded. As soon as the connection to the new watch is established, data is transferred to the app as with the Vivoactive 3. The biggest challenge is actually to disconnect the old watch in the app!

Whats new?

The biggest difference you’ll notice immediately is the much better display on the vivoactive 5. It is visible in broad daylight and in the dark and appears much improved over the vivoactive 3. This is probably due to improved resolution, but also that the contrast is much better in the newer display.

Feature wise the Vivoactive 5 has more to offer and we have noticed:

Body battery: An index between 0 and 100 that indicates how well charged your body is and say if you have lots of energy to meet a challenging day. It is fun to see how it raises as you sleep and drops during stress or just being active.

Sleep quality: A measure of the quality of your sleep. With different colours the graphics shows if you were sleeping light, were awake, REM etc. And a good nights sleep often goes hand in hand with a large increase in your body battery reading.

Oxygen saturation: Is probably self explanatory. You can measure it on demand, periodically or continuously. It is interesting to follow, but be aware that it requires a lot of light from the LEDs on the back of the watch and hence is taxing for the batteries.

With all these good improvements, we were a bit sad to see the barometer being discontinued, probably in order to keep production cost down. The Vivoactive 5 still provides GPS-based elevation data but it is with less precision than the barometric one. As we live on the 3rd floor, keeping track of staircases climbed is both important and fun!

There are a lot of features shared between the two watches and hence these do not get attention here. You can both pay with your watch and listen to music on both the Vivoactive 3 and 5.

In terms of battery life, we were actually quite happy with the performance of the Vivoactive 3 until the battery more or less collapsed overnight. With the Vivoactive 5 we hope to see roughly the same performance, but we have not had the watch sufficiently long to assess the battery performance.

Summary

We’re happy campers! The much improved display is a pleasure to use and the watch also seems to be a bit more snappy in its response when you swipe and browse through the menus. The body index, sleep quality and oxygen saturation are all useful new features for us. The only real down side is the loss of the barometer, but time will show if the GPS will be able to provide compensating data.

Review: Lexyne Zecto Drive 250+ Bicycle Front Light black

Replacement needed

I’m a big fan of the small compact rechargeable bicycle lights from Lezyne. I have had a front light for years, but the battery was getting a bit tired and the charging was based on min-USB (?) which in my house is becoming more and more seldom. Everybody seems to be moving towards USB-C as the industri standard and I welcome it with open arms. It is a much needed simplification if you ask me and greatly reduces the need for multiple chargers in a household.

Also, the output from bicycle lights has improved massively even over the last few years, and I wanted to tap into this development and see what a brand new light could do.

Zecto Drive 250+ Bicycle Front Light black

Here the Zecto Drive 250+ Bicycle Front Light is to the right and my trusty copy of what I believe to be an earlier model. The pencil is just there to give a sense of proportions.I really like the concept of this Zecto Drive light. It is small, compact (fits a pocket easily) and delivers plenty of run time per charging for my city life needs. But if you need a lot of Lumen output, you may want to look for other options.

Lezyne Zecto Drive 250+

When it arrives, the Zecto Drive 250+ does not make a big impression. It is mounted on a small piece of black cardboard with a few instructions and a QR code for more elaborate instructions and specifications. I welcome this as it minimizes the packaging that I have to get rid of after “unboxing” the product.

Zecto Drive 250+ Bicycle Front Light black — Here the light is mounted using the rubber “belt”. You can easily mount the light using the handlebar or the stem on your bike.

You can mount the light using the rubberized “belt” that can reach around the handlebar on your bike, or you can use the clip to mount it in a belt or the like.

The first thing I did was to put the Lezyne in the charger – there is no USB cable supplied, but I have plenty already and found an available USB-C cable in my existing park of chargers next to my desktop. When it charges, the green LED on the front of the light flashes green.

When the LED turns on steady green, the charging is complete. A little hinged rubber cover can then be closed in order to protect the USB-C port from the elements. I believe this is a precondition for the IPX7 classification. I am no expert in these classifications, but understand that the Lexyne light can be submerged into 1 meter of water and still be functional. We do have much rain in Copenhagen where I live, but I doubt I will ever make use of this impressive capability!

To turn the light on or off, you press the on/off switch for 2 seconds. This is a smart design, as it prevents the light from being turned on or off by accident when not in use, i.e. lying in a bag or a pocket.

You have to apply a good amount of force to the button before it reacts. I have gotten used to this as I have used the Lezyne lights for several years, but you may want to test this IRL in your local bicycle shop before you invest.

Light modes

If you hit the on/off switch quickly when the light is on, the light toggles through 6 light modes as depicted below. These are not explained in great detail, but as you can see the first 2 gives steady light and the next 3 involves flashing light and the final one pulses between strong and less strong.

The Lezyne remembers the mode you used the last time, so when you long press the light to turn it on, it starts up in the mode you used when you long pressed it to turn it off. This is convenient if you – like me – are a creature of habit and quickly identify a preferred mode.

Without being an expert, I would think that the flashing modes is better if you want to be seen by others in the traffic, whereas the steady modes are better if you drive where there is little other light like a path in the woods. I mainly bike in the city with plenty of light available, so I turn on the flash mode to helps others see me.

In terms of battery life, the Lezyne offers so much more than I need. I bike maybe 5-10 kilometers on the same day and the Lezyne never runs flat with this kind of use.

The light

I’m not a mountain biker riding through pitch black woods for several hours! I am a simple cyclist riding from one end of Copenhagen to the other during winter time. Trust me, a good light is needed in order for others to notice you.

Comparing the old Lezyne with the new, it seems to me that the new light throws much more light to the sides and this must be a bonus for visibility from the sides. Also, the 6 LED’s in the new light gives much more power than the 3 LED’s in the old one.

However, I have read experts say that you need at least 200 Lumens in output for riding a bicycle in the city. And only in one of the flashing modes does the Lezyne light deliver that kind of output. That said, I find the light to be fairly strong but be aware that this light may be at the weak end of the scale in terms of safety. I guess that is the price you pay for the light being so compact and light.

Summary

I found this light on sale for around 37 EUR. Here in Denmark where I live, prices are not exactly low, and certainly not when compared to the US. However, looking at the prices on Amazon here, this seems to be a sharp price. However, there are many bicycle lights out there that you can get in a much more budget friendly price range.

Pros

Small and compact – easy to bring along
Solid build quality
Gives a good strong light, also visible from an angle
Charges via USB-C
Can take some really bad weather and still be operational (IPX7)
Easy to mount on the bicycle
Several options for light mode

Cons

May not be strong enough for your needs
You may find the price too steep
The on/off button requires some force to be operated

Review: Bosch VitaBoost blender MMBH4P3B

Time to replace

My old Kitchen Aid blender started to send smoke signals when used it at high speeds, and although I am not happy about replacing a trusty friend in the kitchen, the last few times I used the blender, the smoke signals became more and more intense at it was time to part ways.

Bosch VitaBoost blender — My 14+ year old Kitchen Aid blender started to send smoke signals, and I figured it was time for a replacement.

After a lot of googling and review reading, I actually gave up for a short while, thinking that the number of options available was simply too overwhelming for me to manage. Only because we came across a hardware store in our local neighbourhood and because they had the Bosch VitaBoost blender (MMBH4P3B) on heavy discount, did we decide to go with this one. At approx 220 EUR it seemed like a budget friendly alternative to many of the more professional / enthusiast blenders out there.

Notice that this blender is the MMBH4P3B one. There are other models from Bosch that look like it and have more programmes (and hence buttons on the front), but they also come with a more steep price. I find that the one reviewed here is a good compromise between features and price. But be aware that my experience with feature – be it dish washers or washing machines or ovens – is that if I decide to pay for features and advanced programmes, I enjoy it for a little while, and then after a few months I am back to using the same few features that I always use. So I have learned my lesson and now try to stick to the basics when I choose my hardware. Your milage may vary, of course!

Unboxing

The tin explains pretty well what you can expect to find in the box and the features the blender offers. Below a picture of the tin that you can study to find all the marketing peoples points. To me, the most important is a powerful motor and sharp blades.

When we bought the blender, our only question to the sales person was if the blender would be able to crunch ice cubes, and this was confirmed, as long as the ice cubes are not alone in the blender jug – there always has to be some sort of fluid to go along.

The promise on the tin: Powerful motor, 3 programmes, 6-bladed knife and a recipe book. I find the Bosch VitaBoost blender delivers on all promises made here.

Out of the box you will find the blender jug and the base unit with the motor, and that is basically it. There is also a lid (black) and a little stick to push ingredients into the blender – useful in the beginning of the blending process.

In terms of literature, you’ll get 3 books. A recipe book, a service contract (have you ever read it?) and a user guide. The user guide looks intimidating at first, but it is actually quite short and sweet. Only because they cover many languages the guide became a booklet. Effectively, I think it it is only 4-5 pages per language and a few shared illustrations.

Please take notice of the safety instructions from Bosch as printed in the user guide. Just to mention a few: Make sure the cover and lid is always attached to the blender and make sure the content is never hotter that 80 degrees celsius, otherwise the blender jug can be damaged.

First use

After cleaning the blender, I decided to make a simple lunchtime smoothie consisting of spinach, carrots, avocado and juice. And just using the manual dial to control the speed.

I was happily surprised by a few observations:

the blender stands very still even in the initial phases of crunching the ingredients,
it is more quiet than my previous blender and
I only used a fraction of the full power to crunch the ingredients into a smoothie.

I don’t know about you, but when I use a tool for the first time, I find that first impressions last. And this was a VERY good first impression, so I was relieved. It looks like a good investment! The only negative side I found for the first time use is that the black lid is a bit difficult to remove. I am sure it will improve as I get to know the blender a bit better.

Cleaning

Cleaning is never the fun part, right? But there is a programme that the blender offers (one of 3) where you simply fill the blender with 1.25 liter of water and a drop of soap, and then the cleaning programme takes care of it. Of course you have to rinse the blender jug and lid in water afterwards, but the base cleaning is done after running the programme. I really welcome this feature, as ease of cleaning is also an important part of me continuing to use the blender in real life.

Don’t add too much soap. Just a drop. Otherwise you’ll have foam all over your kitchen even with the lid tightly in place! How do I know this? Hard earned experience…

If you are more careful than me in terms of cleaning the blender, you may want to run it via the dishwasher after running the cleaning programme, but I often find that I use the blender more often than I run the dishwasher, so I try to keep it simple and rely on the cleaning programme.

Hot soup straight out of the blender?

This was news to me: Apparently the friction between the blades in the blender and the food in the blender generates so much heat that you can use this for heating up the content to around 5-70 degrees celcius! The “only” precondition is that the speed in which the blades moves through the soup is very, very high.

This is where the 1600w motor and the sharp blades show their impressive capability: simply throw the ingredients into the blender, put on the lid and turn on the soup programme (bottom right button), and after approx 5 minutes the blender will present a hot soup, straight out of the blender jug!

Trying the programme for the first time, I simply emptied the fridge and kitchen for whatever I found useful in a soup: potatoes, onions, carrots, etc. And then the blender did the rest! The blender is working hard when the soup programme is on and it is noisy – not sure my neighbours appreciate the noise level when running the soup programme! Also, be aware that a lot of air is pushed out on the back side of the blender – I think a lot of cooling is required to cool down the engine when working this hard.

But, the result is wonderful! Season the soup with salt and pepper and add a slice of good bread and you are in for a healthy (and hot) treat!

Conclusion

I’m happy! This is an excellent tool that delivers exactly what I need without breaking the bank. Yes, there are more advanced versions out there, but they also come in a different price bracket. The blender is steady under operation, not too noisy, performs really well for my simple use and helps me cleaning it after use via a cleaning programme.

The true test is in the long term performance! Will the blades be dull over time? Will the motor start sending smoke signals in 2 years time? Who knows. But we’ve had a good start, Bosch and I, and that is all I have to report right now. Thanks for reading this far.

Review: Looking at photographs by Laurent Jullier

Looking at photographs

Laurent Jullier works as professor at the University of Lorraine and is amongst other member of the Advanced Research Team on the History and Epistemology of Film and Moving Image Study at Concordia University, Montreal. So you would expect an academic approach to photography and this is indeed what you get with this pocket size book, covering 175 pages and with 103 illustrations.

Laurent clearly knows a thing or two about how to interpret a photography and the history of photography. So this book will not teach you about depth of field or the like – it is more about the photo as such: it’s history, context and interpretation. And, as he says in the introduction, a photography is first and foremost a way of looking and witnessing – a new pair of glasses to to see the world via. Laurent positions the book as an invitation to examine your own relationship with images and as yourself why this picture has an effect on me? And what do I see when I look at it.

After reading the book I will say: mission completed. It is an excellent introduction to the history of photography and how to interpret an image. As well as a balanced view on the different aspects of photography – for example documentation versus abstract; evidence versus fake.

Example if image analysis presented in the book.

I often find that interpretation of art – including photography – can be taken a notch too far; the image cannot “carry” the weight of the far fetched analysis and interpretation. However, in this book I found a good solid balance and the analysis and interpretation seems to be done with both feet solid planted on the ground. So although clearly academic in approach, there is a sensible balance found in the analysis work presented here.

In a world were many photographers are more interested in talking about camera technology than photography, and where our social media feeds constantly pump a never ending stream of pointless images our way, it it wonderfully refreshing to read a book just about images and their interpretation. And for that reason I can fully recommend you spend a few hours reading this book. It left me a lot wiser (some will say the starting point made it easy) and I often find I go back to re-read parts of it again. In my humble opinion, a sign of good quality.

Video link

Review: Laowa FF 15mm F5.0 Cookie Lens (Nikon Z mount)

Compact, light, wide

The engineers at Laowa certainly had no ambition to create a perfect lens when they designed this super wide and compact lens. Instead, they wanted to create a small, light and budget friendly lens, that would allow you to go super wide without breaking the bank or your back. When assessing this lens, I think it is important to measure the success based on how well they succeeded with their ambition, rather than the obvious drawbacks this lens also has.

This lens was announced 12th of November 2024 and at that point had a retail price around 400 USD. Laowa kindly sent me this lens for review, but has had no influence on the content here.

Laowa FF 15mm F5.0 Cookie Lens The promise on the tin: wide angle, low distortion, compact and full frame.

Compact

The Laowa FF 15mm F5.0 Cookie Lens is indeed a cookie! Mounted on my Nikon Z6ii it almost looks a bit lost. And the 160 grams it adds to the weight of the 700 gram camera indeed makes it a lightweight combo!

F5.0

With an aperture range of F5 to F22 it is not the fastes of lenses, but I doubt you want to shoot razor thin depth of field with this lens. As is often the case with wide lenses, you can go crazy close to your subject – 0.12cm!

The aperture blades are straight! Yes, yes, yes! This will give some bokeh balls that are edgy, unless you shoot wide open, but the big benefit is that your sunstars will be beautifully cut out. In my book, sunstars are more important that bokeh balls, but of course your milage may vary.

Minimalist

The Laowa FF 15mm lens has no electronics whatsoever. No CPU contacts, no auto focus, nothing. It is really back to basics – metal and glass all the way.

You need to be disciplined when it comes to setting up the lens in the camera as the camera has no idea what lens is being mounted. Especially if you – like me – sometimes sort and filter your images based on the focal length. On the Nikon you have to configure a non-CPU lens and make sure to select it before shooting.

You may think that the lack of auto focus is a big drawback, but when you work with a lens this wide, you probably don’t want to capture birds in flight or a football player on the move. Landscapes and architecture has a tendency to be more still and you can take your time to get the focus right. Assisted by the focus peak highlights in the camera, I find manual focus to be a breeze.

The Laowa FF 15mm lens has the aperture ring closest to the front of the lens and the focus ring towards the camera. This is opposite of what I am used to, so it took a little while to familiarize myself with this setup. Also, the focus is operated via a little handle sitting on the focus ring, and the throw is very short – only 70-80 degrees. Had this been a macro lens or a portrait lens, I would have considered this to be too short, but for landscapes and architecture, this will be less of an issue.

Image quality

You can find a small sample of test shots using this link to Flickr.

Both sharpness and contrast with this lens is good. The classic stress test is shooting wide open (F5) and looking at the corners of the image. You will notice that both contrast and sharpness drops significantly when you shoot wide open, but most lenses act the same way. And most worry about the center sharpness rather than the corners, although architecture photography may be the exception to that rule. But in my book, this lens is approved when it comes to sharpness and contrast.

Although the tin promises “low distortion”, I do notice some distortion setting in when shooting tiles in my bathroom. If you are to shoot architecture with this lens, you need to make sure this will not be a problem for you.

The lens produces a rather dramatic vignetting, but you can fix this in post, so for me that is less of an issue.

The green colour of the flare shows the dampening at work. Also notice the heavy vignetting (darkening of the corners).The flare is dampened via coating on the glass and it gives the well known green colouring of the light. Some photographers are fans of flare while others absolutely want to avoid it, so when it comes to flare dampening we are in personal preference territory. I have seen better dampening of the flare than what this lens has, but it is clearly having a reducing effect on the strength of the flare.

As noted earlier, I absolutely love the simple and sharp sunstars the lens produces and I wish more lens producers would go with straight blades and prioritise the sunstars over the bokeh.

Summary

Clearly this is a highly specialised lens where low weight and low price has been prioritised by the lens designers. The vignetting is heavy and I cannot ignore the distortion when shooting wide open either. But if these are not issues for you and you are comfortable with manual focus, this lens may be the budget friendly wide lens you have been looking for. For me, I find that the price tag is a notch too high to justify the otherwise fun lens that probably many will enjoy as a light companion in their backpack.

- Where this lens excels:
  - Super wide
  - Low weight (160 gr)
  - Small size
  - Sunstars
  - Full frame
- Points to notice:
  - No CPU contacts
  - Manual focus
  - Some distortion
  - Heavy vignetting
  - Flare control is not top of shelf
  - Bokeh stopped down is “boxy”
  - Not a super fast lens
  - Corners are soft when shooting wide open
  - Short focus throw

Product page link

https://www.venuslens.net/product/laowa-15mm-f-5-cookie-ff/

Rechargeable? No thanks…

Try again?

The test

Test results

Conclusion

Continued reading

Apple Magic Mouse

Unboxing and installing

Configuration and use

Conclusion

Other Apple posts

A sideways move

The Nikon lineup

Same same, but different

Resolution monster?

Conclusion?

Further reading

Time to upgrade

Package solution

Charging, first time

First use

Conclusion

Further reading

Further reading

From Vivoactive 3 to 5 – but why?

Unboxing Vivoactive 5

Appearance

Migration

Whats new?

Summary

Further reading

Replacement needed

Lezyne Zecto Drive 250+

Light modes

The light

Summary

You may also like

Time to replace

Unboxing

First use

Cleaning

Hot soup straight out of the blender?

Conclusion

Further reading

Looking at photographs

Video link

Related reading

Compact, light, wide

Compact

F5.0

Minimalist

Image quality

Summary

Product page link

Video link

Further reading