The Phoblographer

What's In My Bag

Just over 4 years ago, I fell in love with photography. I, much like many new photographers, fell into the gear-pit. More gear equals better images right? Not quite. One thing that exacerbated this situation is that I had a good job with good pay. For many new photographers, money is what prevents them from going out and stocking up on gear that they want. Instead, they are forced to intimately learn their existing equipment and make it work.

Now I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I’m upset that I had the ability to purchase a lot of gear in the beginning, however, I feel it stunted my growth as a photographer. Instead of really learning how to use my gear, I would quickly move onto the next thing, the next lens. Now four years later, I have learned how to control gear-lust and how to appreciated my equipment. I’ve learned how to massage my current equipment to do what I want instead of going out and buying something that could do it better. So now that I’m older and wiser (photography-wise), what is the equipment that made the cut and constantly resides in my bag?

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spiderPro Holster in action

Recently Mike reviewed the Spider Black Widow Holster. Today, I’m going to take a look at their pro model, The SpiderPro Holster System. The SpiderPro was designed for demanding professionals with large DSLR bodies. The first thing I noticed was that virtually all of the issues Mike voiced about the Black Widow are addressed with the SpiderPro, so if you were concerned about them then this might just be the holster for you. Thus rather than repeating things that Mike mentioned I’m going to focus on the differences and improvements on this model.

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Like most point and shoot cameras, the built in flash in the Olympus PEN and the Panasonic GF series leaves something to be desired. I own a GF-1 and I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve used the built in flash…and I would have a few fingers to spare. Small built-in flashes are too close to the lens and usually produce harsh light that is anything but flattering to most subjects. Well, Gary Fong thinks he has a solution for you Micro Four Thirds (M43) users and it’s called the Micro Four Thirds Puffer. We did a review on this previously for Nikon cameras.

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Today, and today only you can get a free ultra high resolution multicoated UV filter for free (just pay shipping.) No word on brand name, but it comes in any size thread you’d possibly need.

This is a great deal for the entry-level guys or someone that just wants some spare UV filters around. Check it out before the deal expires.