Submitted by David Cardinal on Wed, 11/23/2016 - 05:42
We're entering holiday gift season, and if you're like me, there are always a couple people that are hard to shop for. So we wanted to pass along my top travel and photo accessories, in case one of them would help fill the bill. Some are awesome for just about anyone who travels, and others are especially useful for photographers.
Submitted by David Cardinal on Wed, 04/01/2015 - 16:35
As a photographer that travels a lot and relies on my smartphone for directions, music, email, and photo-related applications, it is important for me to be able to securely mount my phone in cars and trucks – both mine and rental vehicles. Just as important, it needs to charge effectively on long trips. Ideally, the charging would be wireless, which really helps with convenience and cable management. I’ve tried quite a number of car mounts – both wired and wireless – without finding one that met all my needs. Until I tried the new TYLT Vu Car (wireless)…
We’re getting down to the wire for holiday gifts, and if you’re like me, there are always a couple people that are hard to shop for. So I wanted to pass along my top travel accessories, in case one of them would help fill the bill:
Submitted by David Cardinal on Thu, 03/06/2014 - 10:33
Like many photographers, I rely on my portable speaker when I travel. When giving slideshows, it adds punch to the soundtrack compared to my laptop – and I can place it someplace more central instead of where I happen to be standing. When I’m in the field, there are times when we also use bird calls (only on private ranches, in a very limited way, with non-threatened species!), and having a remote speaker is a must. Recently, I’ve been working with a cool, new one from Tylt – the – that also combines a battery pack you can use to recharge your phone…
Submitted by David Cardinal on Wed, 01/01/2014 - 08:41
Happy 2014, everyone. I wanted to start the year off right, so for our first review I’m covering a really slick camera bag I had the pleasure of using for nearly a month on my Southeast Asia photo tour. (If you’re in Las Vegas, you’ll see me with it at CES next week too). It is the new , although many of the points in the review apply equally well to its siblings like the , or the …
Submitted by David Cardinal on Wed, 11/13/2013 - 09:03
As a Nikon shooter, I’ve been both tantalized and frustrated for nearly a decade with Nikon’s on-again, off-again approach to WiFi connectivity for its DSLRs. The original WT-1A was an expensive boat anchor in practice. Four generations later, the is a huge improvement, but it is $570 and only works with the $6K . Those with lesser cameras like the or benefit from the incredibly small, inexpensive . It’s fun for remote shooting, but is crippled – deliberately or just because of its limited hardware – in not offering remote focusing or camera setting adjustments. Fortunately there is now a middle ground…
Submitted by David Cardinal on Fri, 10/18/2013 - 08:54
Tablets are a nearly perfect companion for photographers on the go. They’re a great way to view photos and handle other tasks. Unfortunately the simple act of getting images from your camera to your tablet (or phone) can be a serious hassle. Best case your tablet vendor has a cable-based proprietary system. Worst case, you can’t. Fortunately Kingston has come up with a very clever product that does three things very well – wireless image transfer, additional mobile storage, and emergency battery charging…
Without question, traveling with photo gear only gets harder. Airlines continue to winnow down the amount of carry-on they allow, and checked bags are subject to loss and breakage. As many of my readers (and safari participants) know, I’m a big fan of my Scottevest, that allows me to stash a tablet, phone, headphones, hat, glasses, lunch, and maybe a rainshell conveniently. But it doesn’t really help with the bulk storage of laptop, camera, lenses, flashes, and chargers. Photo vests are an alternative used by many of us, but now a new set of products pushes the limit even further…
There are plenty of good options for large photo backpacks for use on safari, with my favorite for trips requiring international connections being the ThinkTank Airport Takeoff combo roller/backpack. Unfortunately, unless you’re on a dedicated photo safari with extra luggage allowance and lightly loaded vehicles (like the ones we offer through ), a full-size backpack may be more than you’re allowed to bring (or perhaps more than you want to carry). It is also notoriously hard to work two to a row (like you’ll find on most typical safaris) with full-sized bags.
The Achilles heel of smartphones as an all-around tool for photographers is their universally mediocre battery life.
Okay, they’re not really called “dork lights.” They’re headlamps, but it’s hard to deny that they make you look a bit like a dork. However, they’re invaluable, so for my contribution to Chris Gampat’s piece on the B&H blog on the most interesting and useful accessory in my camera bag, the choice was a no brainer. You can , including some other great recommendations, and when you’re convinced you can buy yourself the cat’s meow of photographers’ headlamps, the – it features a retractable cord, multiple brightness levels, and both white and red LEDs for regular and night vision use.
by Annie Cardinal
For the past few weeks I have been testing the Samsung 8GB SDHC Plus Class 6 Memory Card. This card may seem like any other SD card, but it has the unique quality of being indestructible. I haven’t put it through extensive tests for robustness as I do want to use it, but so far it has survived a camera drop.
You’re probably already cringing at the thought of another camera bag. But I’ve just gotten a for my summer workshops and it’s so cool I wanted to tell you about it now rather than waiting until I get back with a full field test. The bag fills that awkward niche between what you can put on a belt and a full up camera backpack…
When I first reviewed Think Tank Photo’s Skin Set belt system I was really excited to find it was the first useable belt system for my work. With locking yet modular pouches it is almost infinitely flexible. The only drawback was the fixed length of the belt. Besides being a problem for those like me whose waist size fluctuates (I know I’m not the only one!) I found myself wanting to adjust it depending on the clothing I was wearing (to put it outside a jacket in cold weather for example) and wasn’t able to. I’m happy to report I just received one of their new “2.0” belts with a very simple and useable adjustment mechanism. Now the system is just about perfect. With the Skin 75 pop-down I can stash an entire 70-200mm f/2.8 with or without hood in one of the pockets and my Infrared converted D70 in another while a strobe or water bottle can live in a third. The smaller “front” pouches are perfect for filters or other small items and the optional quiet flaps are helpful for indoor events. Whether or not you’ve got the original system I highly recommend at least upgrading to the new belt. Use our Affiliate Link to Think Tank and get a free bag with your order!
These are items that we either rely on personally in my travels or have been picked out for our clients by the experienced travel pros at Edward’s Luggage, a local family owned chain of four travel and luggage stores here in the Bay Area. It is by no means complete but I’ll be adding to it and expanding it as new products come to my attention:
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