Archive for gear

Tenba Introduces New Roadie II Hybrid

By Trevor Current
Thursday, April 5th, 2012

Tenba LogoApril 5, 2012 – PRESS SUMMARY – Leading the way in carrying solutions for over 30 years, Tenba announces that is has introduced a new Roadie II Hybrid case. The Hybrid is a protective, rolling photo/laptop case that meets strict international airline carry-on standards, and it includes a fast-deploying backpack harness to comfortably carry a loaded case over rough terrain or up stairs.

When working on location, there are times when wheels are not the best mode of transport, like on sandy beaches, muddy ground or steep trails. Taking that into account, the rear zipper on the Roadie II Hybrid opens to allow padded harness straps to be clipped to D-rings on the side of the case, and in just a few seconds, the case converts from a rolling hard case to a comfortable backpack.

This new case also features a heavy-duty, four-section locking handle that extends to a full, comfortable walking height, easing the strain on a photographer’s back and shoulders when wheeling the case through long paved stretches.

Like Tenba’s existing Roadie II cases, the Roadie II Hybrid has the look and performance of a distinctive travel case, with a rugged, water-repellant ballistic nylon exterior, genuine YKK zippers, heavy-duty ball bearing wheels, and industrial/military-grade webbing. The finely tailored exterior conceals a padded and protective EVA shell inside, which will fit up to two large professional DSLR camera bodies, 6-8 lenses plus tons of accessories, or an HD video or medium format camera system and a laptop up to 17 inches.

Each case includes a slim 4-pocket media wallet that fits either CF or SD cards as well as a quick-connect collar that holds virtually any size tripod tight to the case for easy transport. The new Roadie II Hybrid (14W x 20H x 8.5D inches) meets the absolute strictest international carry-on standards.

The Roadie II Hybrid is available now at a suggested retail price of $324.95. To find more information about Roadies, and to see a full video demonstration of all Tenba products, visit www.tenba.com .

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Categories : Bags and Cases, News and Reviews
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Scenic Outlook – A Word on Lenses

By Dave Wares
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012

I was having a thought to myself the other day about the types of lenses, or more specifically, the focal length of lenses that every Landscape photographer would think about having in their bag. So I’m going to briefly run through the things you might want to consider when packing your gear for a particular location. Also, this is not going to be about zooms vs primes, merely focal lengths and their effect on a scene.

Most people would think that the 18-50mm or 28-70mm (35mm equiv) would be a pretty safe bet to cover most situations, and they’d be right; in fact most of the pictures I take are within these focal ranges, so I would recommend that you keep something similar in your bag at all times.  Most people would also say that a super-wide angle lens in the range of 10-24mm would also be a good accessory to have in their bag. These are great when you want to go that extra mile to either a). Get more elements into the shot, or b). Exaggerate the perspective. When working with very wide angle lenses it is important to make sure that all the elements you are seeing with your eye are not lost when you’re looking through the view finder. Because the angle of view is much wider, the elements in the scene become much smaller, so make sure that the lovely rocky outcrop in the distance doesn’t become a bunch of pebbles you can barely see at all. When using these lenses be sure to compose your images with strong elements that lead the viewer  from the foreground to the middle and on into the distance.

(18mm Crop sensor)

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Categories : City and Landscape Photography, Make Better Photographs
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The New Umbrella XL Products from Profoto

By Trevor Current
Sunday, December 4th, 2011

December 4, 2011 – PRESS SUMMARY – Profoto, the world’s leading manufacturer of professional photography lighting and Light Shaping Tools, is proud to introduce the new Umbrella XL product line.

“The new Profoto Umbrella XL products were created with professional portrait and fashion photographers in mind,” said Mark Rezzonico, VP Product Group. “These new light shaping tools create a smooth yet distinctive light, allowing photographers to perfectly illuminate a single person or even small groups with just a single light source.”

Available in three versions – white, silver and translucent – the new Profoto Umbrella XL features a diameter of 65” with a slightly parabolic shape that allows photographers to change the light distribution by simply sliding the umbrella shaft inside the flash head. In addition, the light spread can also be adjusted by moving the Zoom Reflector back or forth, creating an even more versatile look.

The Profoto Umbrella XL fits on all Profoto flash heads and monolights. It can also be mounted on Profoto’s Cine Reflector, and thereby can be used with the new line of continuous light sources – ProDaylight 800 Air and ProTungsten 1000 Air. Read More→

Categories : Lighting, News and Reviews
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Gary Fong Bundles Popular GearGuard Security Products for Photo Equipment

By Trevor Current
Thursday, August 25th, 2011

August 25, 2011 – PRESS SUMMARY – Gary Fong, Inc., developer and manufacturer of cutting-edge photography equipment designed to help photographers experience new levels of creativity, introduced two new value-packed bundles containing the popular GearGuard line of photography equipment security products. By combining several of its most sought-after camera, lens and camera bag security devices into two unique packages, both of which include the company’s brand new 36” Cable & TSA-Approved Combination Lock for easy secure transportation during travel, Gary Fong is providing consumers with the most cost-effective options for seamless theft prevention of valuable photography gear. The Gary Fong GearGuard product line enables photographers to focus solely on shooting, rather than worry about roving hands snatching their gear during a shoot or when in transit.

According to Hill & Usher Insurance Agent Richard Reyes, whose company specializes in photographer insurance policies, millions of dollars worth of camera equipment is stolen each year and equipment theft is a constant concern of photographers. While prosumer shooters may be concerned with gear disappearing on vacation or in a home invasion, professionals often have heart-wrenching stories about tens of thousands of dollars worth of gear disappearing from field assignments, weddings, while traveling, or even right from the studio. Read More→

Categories : Accessories, News and Reviews
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Tying The Knot: 5 Preparations For The Wedding Day

By Milton Gan
Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

There’s a popular saying: failing to prepare is preparing to fail. And this is true.

I have my own take on it which goes: have you seen 127 Hours?! Do you realise that failing to prepare could mean the loss of your freaking arm?!

Ok, hopefully nothing that drastic will happen to a wedding photographer! But then again, screw up someone’s wedding photos and they might want to tear more than just an arm from you – without the use of knives!

So here, for your health, are 5 essential preparations for any wedding day:

1: The run sheet: this is so important it starts with a “The”! The run sheet tells you where you have to be at what time and all the little nuances of the day. Without it you’re working blind.

Ideally you should have a first draft a few weeks before the wedding so you can familiarise yourself with the day and plan your driving routes, timings, and equipment requirements. Some of this you may have already covered off if you’ve been diligent and performed a location scout.

There will be tweaks leading up to the day which the couple should keep you abreast of but the first draft will allow you to map out 95% of the day.

On the day don’t take any chances; be savvy and have a printed copy in your pocket and a backup sitting in Dropbox so you can access it on your iPhone in case of emergency.

2: Batteries: goes without saying but it’s easy to put this simple task off until you realise you don’t have time to charge them all! Camera batteries are crucial and you should have a spare for each body you’re using plus ideally a charger for each body to reduce charging time. I use two bodies and have two chargers but with 4 batteries to charge that means I still need a few hours to top them up!

And if you’re using speedlites then the batteries and spares for those will also need to be charged.

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Categories : Make Better Photographs, Wedding Photography
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Scenic Outlook – Get out of bed!

By Dave Wares
Tuesday, August 9th, 2011

What is it that makes great Landscape pictures? Good camera craft, an understanding of composition? Both of these are incredibly important but they’re not the only thing. Great landscape photos come from a love and dedication to get out there and enjoy your surroundings and to see the wonderful low light bring definition and shape to the landscape; which means getting out of bed early. Now I realise that great low light also happens at the end of the day too, but for now I’m going to talk mornings. One of the best times of day to be out as a landscape photographer is first light, in fact I’d go even further and say that you should really be out there well before sunrise, by at least an hour in fact. It’s time to set the alarm for stupid o’clock, resist the allure of the duvet and forget about breakfast. Breakfast can be your reward for a good mornings shoot. If you’re going to be out for a while then throw a drink and a couple of chocolate bars into your camera bag.

The winter months are a Godsend for us landscape folks as not only are we blessed with great low light throughout pretty much the whole day, the days are shorter too which means that you won’t have to get out of bed quite so early, 6-7am instead of 4am or earlier during the summer. (Depending on your geographic location of course)

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Categories : City and Landscape Photography, Make Better Photographs
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