The Phoblographer

The world of sub $200 tripods seems to be an ever-growing category. In this post, we are going to take a look at one of the newest entries to the party, the Oben AC-1310 with BA-0 ball head. So, is this tripod simply another “disposable” tripod (i.e. you will most likely need to replace it in a year or two), or is this a hidden jewel in the world of tripods? Let’s put it through the ringer and find out.

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I’m a photographer that will use something until it totally dies. That means that I’m a big fan of gaffer’s tape, film cameras, etc. Sure the nicest products are nice, but I don’t always need them. When Lexar announced their new 32GB UDMA 8 7 1000x speed professional CF card, I understood why someone would want one: for movies with an HDSLR. Additionally, when used with a USB 3.0 card reader, the upload speeds are blazing fast. But as a photographer that primarily shoots stills and only videos sometimes (like many of you) I wondered if it was worth the investment for myself.

So I put the two cards head to head in a test to see just how much faster the newer technology is than my older card.

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I’m a photographer that values both functionality and beauty. Those two can sometimes mix very well together in the photography world. In the case of the newly announced HoldFast Gear Indispensible Wallet, you’ll get an item that is both functional as a wallet for your CF, SD, and business cards while still being quite beautiful. Admittedly though, it leans a bit more towards the beautiful side than functional.

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Top View

I think we can all agree that Pocket Wizards are the most popular wireless flash triggering system on the market today. I think we all can also agree that they are the most expensive wireless flash triggering system on the market today. Lucky for all of us non-millionaires, many companies have rose up to challenge Pocket Wizard for people’s business in this arena.

One of those companies is Phottix with their hot shoe wireless flash system they’ve dubbed the Strato II. In this post we’ll take a look at how well these perform and whether they are a viable alternative to the more expensive, yet proven Pocket Wizard.

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So, the holidays are over. If you’re a frequent reader of this site, then you most likely asked for some photography related equipment as a gift from friends, family, and loved ones. Whether it be a new lens, new camera, new computer or just a bunch of accessories, you need to get the most out of your gear. One piece of gear that is constantly overlooked by many enthusiasts (and some “pros” too) is a good screen calibration device. In this post we will take a look at Datacolor’s Spyder4Pro screen calibration device.

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Manfrotto Lino Pro Field Jacket

A few weeks ago, I reviewed Manfrotto’s wildly expensive yet impressive Lino Pro Photo Gloves. As expected, the gloves performed quite well. Now that you have your hands taken care of while your shooting, what about your body? As it turns out, Manfrotto has a complete line of photo vests, light jackets and heavier jackets.  In this post, we’ll check out one of the heavier jackets that Manfrotto offers, the Lino PRO Field Jacket. Click on through to see what we thought of it.

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