Shutter Magazine | Editor’s Pick Cameras and Accessories Photography Review
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Spider Holster
We have all had the question posed to us. You are stranded on an island, what do you bring with you?
I’d bring the Spider Holster, designed by photographers for photographers. I found myself playing gunslinger all day. My staff took it away from me before I could hurt someone.
Besides being fun to play with, it’s a practical tool. When I’m shooting, I’m constantly taking my camera off my shoulder or putting it on the ground. I have kicked my camera, dropped it, and a host of other things I still can’t bring myself to talk about. Ok, if you insist. This one time I was in church shooting a wedding and put my camera on the pew. While walking by, my foot caught the strap and slammed the camera into the tile floor. All things that would never have happened had I been using the Spider Holster.
The one thing that really stuck out was the quality of the construction. It would make sense since we are en- trusting our most expensive asset to the holster. It has to be able to support the weight without risk of dropping. The belt, holster, and locking system are all top-notch, and I would trust my most expensive equipment to the belt.
The Spider Holster will change your shooting workflow, allowing you to free up your hands and free us from those awkward upper-body contortions we have all become so accustomed to.
It’s without a doubt one of the most effective holster systems on the market, and it’s even extremely comfortable to wear.
Panasonic
Whether you’re just getting into video or are an established event cinematographer, you need to get this camera now. Panasonic touts it as great for hybrid video, such as the slide shows
created by software like Animoto, with images and
video mixed together.
The biggest thing that sets this camera apart
is that it has no recording limit. Have you
ever tried to film an entire ceremony
with a DSLR? Good luck with that. This feature alone makes it worth its weight in gold. But wait, there’s more.
The other features continue to blow my mind. Check this
out: The camera also has autofocus that actually works. So,
when your bride or couple is walking toward camera, it’s in focus the entire way, using the built-in tracking focus system.
The focusing system is top-notch, offering touch-screen focusing. So I can pull focus from one subject to another just by tapping the back of the screen.
And the list of boring features continues, with things like 1080p at up to 60fps, HDMI output, and independent mic and headphone inputs.
Tamron
When I was starting out, the biggest challenge was quality gear at a reasonable price. Something that seemed impossible to find. Inexpensive meant cheap. Cheap meant slow. And that meant my image quality was going to suffer. Those two things are no longer mutually exclusive.
Tamron is not a lens I would typically think of for the full-time professional. I really did think it more of a kit style lens. I was blown away when the SP 24-70 2.8 arrived. The first thing I noticed was the weight. It didn’t feel cheap or inexpensive. It felt like my other glass. The build is quality construction—definitely something that will handle the ins and outs of the professional shooter.
I shot a few frames at a 60th and 80th of a second, and the image stabiliza-tion took over, giving me a tack-sharp image. Something else that really stood out to me was the focusing motor: I never heard it. This thing is ninja quiet. Just sneaks up on you, and bam, it’s in focus.
While this may be categorized as an economical choice over its rivals, coming in at almost $1,000 cheaper for the same glass from Canon or Nikon, this lens can play with the big boys. Best of all, it comes with a six-year warranty.
LensProToGo
LensProToGo is a national photo and video rental company that does things differently. It’s staffed only by professional photographers, so you’ll be sure to have top-notch customer service—and a fun conversation.
They ship anywhere in the U.S., and two-day shipping is included with every order. No gotcha pricing! All orders also ship in Pelican cases. Nothing but first class for their glass.
Truth is, I started renting a few years back when my business grew to a point where I needed extra equipment for my second shooters, my weddings, my video jobs, etc. It just didn’t make sense for me to buy new gear when I might only need it for a weekend or two.
Another brilliant strategy, if I do say so myself, is I typically rent gear before I buy it. This lets me get my hands on it for a few days to play with it before I make a major purchase. Try before you buy.
For me, tripod size matters. I want something that is compact, lightweight, and fits in my travel bag. As a wedding photographer, I do plenty of destination work. Today, checking bags is a nightmare. At 3.5lbs., Benro’s new tripod folds to just over 17.5 in. and is so compact that it allows me to put it in my suitcase and check it with the rest of my luggage.
Next up on the feature list, a built-in mono- pod. You read that right, the tripod breaks down into a monopod in seconds. It’s an absolutely incredible feature that allows me to have two pieces of heavy equipment in one.
Clearly built for the on-the-go photographer, the Benro tripod comes in an aluminum or carbon fiber option. And for the nature lover in you, the monopod also comes with a compass handle.
