Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

 

Kata CS-15 and CS-17

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Kata has added the CS-15 and CS-17 to its GDC camera satchel bag lineup.  The CS-15 can hold a DSLR with lens attached, up to 2 lenses (the largest being a 70-200mm 2.8 with reversed hood), accessories and up to a 15.4” laptop computer.  The CS-17 can hold a DSLR with lens attached, up to 2 lenses (the largest being a 70-200mm 2.8 with reversed hood), accessories and up to a 17” laptop computer.

More details in the press release below. [Read more…]

Spider Holster Hands-On Review

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The Spider Holster is a unique, new holster belt for a photographer. It allows them to mount their cameras safely and securely while enabling quick access should the need arise for it. It is great for wedding photographers, sports shooters, photojournalists, event shooters that carry a backup body amongst others. While I was at first skeptical, a hands-on demo quickly disproved my initial reservations.
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Hands On: Phase One 645DF, P 65+ and P 40+

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During a quick visit to the Digital Transitions store in NYC, I got to spend some personal hands on time with some of Phase One’s newest products in a studio environment. Being medium format, the images are really quite spectacular. On top of this, using the equipment was very simple to do but is very much different from using traditional DSLR cameras. The experience is something that photographers would truly love.

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Lexar Professional 600x CF Cards

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Lexar Professional 600x CF Card

Following suit with SanDisk and PhotoFast, Lexar has introduced their Professional 600x CF card line.  They come in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB flavors.  The 8GB version and 16GB version should start shipping this week.  The 32GB version will ship in November.

It looks like they smoke too – just check out Rob Galbraith’s tests of the new cards.  They hit it where it matters most, in camera.

The Lexar cards are faster in the Canon 7D than the SanDisk Extreme Pro and just a smidgen faster than the PhotoFast 533x Plus.  The SanDisk Extreme Pro is a little faster than the new Lexar 600x in the Nikon D300s; however, the Lexar cards manage to get 8 more images out of a burst of RAW + JPEG files than the SandDisk Extreme Pro (58 images vs. 50 images), which makes the Lexar on par with PhotoFast 533x Plus cards for burst capacity.

More details about the new Lexar 600x CF card series in the press release below. [Read more…]

How Much Does Your Gear Matter?

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How many of you out there can honestly say that your camera does more work than you do? With PhotoPlus Expo close approaching here in New York City and vendors prepping with meetings with all of us, it may be worthwhile to check out the education lectures and information sessions being offered. Of course, some cameras are more capable than others so there may very well be two sides of this fence that are well defended.

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Gitzo G-1560 Monotrek Monopod Review

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Gitzo G-1560 Monotrek Monopod

The Gitzo G-1560 Monotrek is a lightweight monopod and hiking stick combo.  It has a small built-in ball head with a plastic cover for the head when not in use.  I recently took it with me on a 9-mile hike along with the Think Tank Photo Rotation 360 backpack.

As a hiking stick, it works well.  I generally don’t hike with such a stick, but I could be persuaded to making it a more regular practice.  I found that I really used the Gitzo G-1560 on inclines, which turned out to be quite a bit with over 2900′ elevation gain on the trip.  The grip and wrist strap are comfortable and caused no problems for me over the course of my 9-miler.

At 1.0 lb, the Gitzo is a little heavier than some of the other top-rated walking sticks out there, which are commonly in the 10-11 oz. range.  I figure that most of the difference, however, is a result of the small, yet effective, ball head that comes with the G-1560. [Read more…]

Manfrotto 190XB Tripod and 486RC2 Head Review

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Manfrotto 190XB Tripod and 486RC2 Head

The Manfrotto 190XB is a 3-section aluminum tripod that carries a reasonable price tag around $130.  The Manfrotto 486RC2 tripod head is a ball head with a quick release plate that runs about $75.  The 190XB and 486RC2 is an everyman’s kind of combo.  It’s not as light as the Gitzo Traveler 6x carbon fiber tripod; however, it gets the job done almost as smoothly. [Read more…]

Think Tank Photo Rotation 360 Camera Backpack Review

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Think Tank Photo Rotation 360

The Think Tank Rotation 360 camera backpack is a pretty amazing contraption. It’s a new take on the camera backpack concept.  We’ve seen sling bags and other variations on the backpack.  As far as I know though, the Rotation 360 is the only one that lets you keep the backpack completely on your back while retrieving your camera. [Read more…]