Product:

Griffin PowerMate

What’s Good:

Provides always accessible volume controls, Programmable, Works in both Windows and Linux, Solid feel, Looks good

What’s Bad:

It's a gadget, Light tactile trigger points like on mouse scroll wheels would be nice.

At university there were a few keyboards with a volume knob built in. My keyboard at work does not even have media keys, so when I found out you could buy third party knobs (haha, very funny), I decided to get one. There is a limited selection of this type of peripheral and perhaps the most well known is the Griffin PowerMate. Because Linux support was rumored to be be good and it has a simpler design than more complicated "3-D space navigators" I got a PowerMate from CDW.

Product:

6 Million Dollar Home (company site)

What’s Good:

Pretty much everything

What’s Bad:

Velcro is a bit annoying

When I bought Canons 70-200mm lens, I no longer had a camera bag since it doesn't fit into the Slingshot and I wasn't going to start using the Computrekker. This is the part 3 of a 4 part review series in the search of a perfect camera bag. Read part 1: Lowepro Slingshot 100 AW and part 2: Lowepro Computrekker AW. The official description:

A protective environment for your basic photo and or video equipment that doesn't scream "photo bag!". Water resistant 1000D Nylon shell & 420D Ripstop Nylon lining. External pocket with internal mesh pocket 2x hidden internal side pockets. Mesh zip pocket under clip & Velcro release flap. Padded & Brushed Nylon-lined main compartment. Configurable dividers. Plastic stiffening layer in base. Carry Handle. Adjustable and removeable shoulder strap with removable shoulder pad. Fully padded

Product:

CompuTrekker AW (company site)

What’s Good:

Carries lots, Handles weight well

What’s Bad:

Laptop Sleeve, It's not for me

This was the first camera bag I purchased and came as a package deal with the camera. It was bought online and I did not have a chance to try it in advance. I was hoping to get something that I could carry a laptop and camera together on a regular basis. This is the part 2 of a 4 part review series in the search of a perfect camera bag. Read part 1: Lowepro Slingshot 100 AW.

The companies product description:

A perfect combination for photo gear and notebook computer, the CompuTrekker AW was designed specifically for digital photographers. Photojournalists and location photographers will find it a great travel companion. The backpack's reinforced construction, shock-absorbing closed-cell foam padding and tough, water-resistant outer fabric protects contents from moisture and sudden impacts. The patented All Weather Cover™ offers maximum protection from extreme weather conditions, dust and sand. A padded notebook compartment is secured with both zipper and quick-release buckle, while the main camera compartment is fully customizable with adjustable padded dividers. A quick-access hide-away Tripod Mount™, SlipLock™ attachment loops and a number of laminated and zippered organizer pockets provide photographers with fast, easy access to equipment.

Product:

Sennheiser PXC350 ($299 USD) (company site)

What's Good:

Good noise-cancelation, strong sound, comfortable

What's Bad:

Relatively large, expensive.

I get pretty bad headaches when I fly, largely due to the incredible amount of high-volume white noise in an aircraft. I've been flying a lot lately and I've got quite a bit more coming up, so I thought I'd try investing in a pair of active noise-canceling headphones. After doing quite a bit of research and trying some friends' Bose headphones I opted for the Sennheiser PXC350 headphones.

Product:

SlingShot 100 AW (company site)

What’s Good:

Small, Easy to use, Reasonable price

What’s Bad:

Carries only the basics, All weight is on one shoulder

A couple years ago I bought my first SLR camera and have been searching since for a good all around daily camera bag. I don't have a local camera store so I don't get the advantage of easily trying something before buying. This is the part 1 of a 4 part review series.

The companies product description:

Perfect for photojournalists, the SlingShot 100 AW uses a unique sling design to go from "carry mode" to "ready mode" in just seconds. Carried comfortably on the back, it easily rotates to the front so you can get to your camera quickly. The SlingShot 100 AW holds an SLR with mid-range zoom lens attached 1-2 extra lenses, cables and accessories and has a full access lid to make loading it a snap. This feature-rich bag also includes a built-in memory card pouch, micro fiber LCD cloth and two generous organizer pockets.

Product:

NexStar MX Dual SATA Enclosure (400MX-S2) (company site)

What’s Good:

Easy to use, Single Cables

What’s Bad:

Stand, Very Loud Fan

I have been a fan of the NexStar3 harddrive enclosures and own two of them. The only problem is each one requires its own power and USB cable, so before long you are considering USB hubs and powerbars to manage storage. Instead of buying two more enclosures, I tried the NexStar MX Dual enclosure for about the same price as two singles.

It was very easy and quick to setup with two 500GB drives. It has one power brick and a single usb cable to mount both drives in OSX. It's about the size of two NexStar3 enclosures but with one big difference. The MX has a fan. A very loud fan. Loud enough next to a laptop that I'd prefer to leave it off and have decided to only use the enclosure of secondary backups. I'm guessing it is three times as loud as the fan found in the same size dual drive dlink NAS.

My only other complaint is the stand. Unlike the NexStar3 stands that firmly grip the enclosure, the MX stand acts as a padded base that does not attach to the enclosure itself. If you move the enclosure, you'll need to pickup and move the stand as well.

Product: Samsung SCX-4500

(company site)

What’s Good:

Sleek design, very quiet, quick.

What’s Bad:

Shiny black finish collects dust and fingerprints, annoying sound alert

Samsung Canada contacted us and offered complimentary use of this printer if we’d be so kind as to try it out and post our review. We don’t do a great deal of printing, but I used this system regularly for about two months, primarily documents and invoices but tested printing pictures and over all this is a good printer in many ways.

• Futuristic looking and sleek black, there are no raised buttons, only a touch area to select copy, number of copies, etc. and the picture based display is understated and intuitive. For example, when the paper tray runs out the display is colored Red instead of the normal Blue to alert you of an error. Took up very little room and you’d barely notice it on a shelf… nice option for a minimalist work space.
• As nice as the shiny black surface was, it did attract the dust and fingerprints. Mind you, with no buttons, it made for easy cleaning, with just a wipe of a cloth; no buttons to catch dust or get grungy.
• Fast printing for multiple copies, excellent print quality for text and monochrome pictures, fast and excellent quality for copies.
• Very quiet, makes a brief and soft sound when actually printing.
• Worked within seconds of plugging in the USB, no special set up required for our Windows XP machine. We did not have such great luck on a Mac. We never got it working on it.

However, there was something I found very annoying – after the print job had finished, it made a little hum sound. However when it was out of paper, or something was in error, the machine emitted a different, sad little sound… like a “mew” as if you stepped on a kitten’s paw, just a slight dip in pitch lower, almost like “uh oh, something is wrong with me!” Now, some may find this handy and at first I found it amusing but both sounds drove me crazy to the point where I was trying to figure out if that sound could be turned OFF. (I never found out) I can’t say I appreciate a whiny printer.

Other than that quirky sound issue, this was a good printer for the important stuff… silence during print function, quality, and speed.

Product:

Medium LensCoat Hoodie (company site)

What’s Good:

Protective, Cheap

What’s Bad:

Practical Use

When I ordered my Canon 70-200mm lens, the order also included a LensCoat Hoodie. The official description:

The LensCoat Hoodie helps protect the front element of your lens from dirt, dust, moisture and impact. The neoprene Hoodie fits easily and snugly around your lens hood or shade in either the shooting position or reversed. The Hoodie features a reinforced removable front element protection disc made from rigid plastic and firm foam to further protect your glass from damage. Great for travel and storing your lenses.

This is all true but I find adding and removing the Hoodie to be frustrating and usually requires two hands because of the elastic band that holds the Hoodie in place. It fits best over the lens hood in the shooting position and not so great reversed.

The LensCoat Hoodie sells for just under $15 so it is hard to complain about because it does provide the protection that it was designed to. However I do not travel with my lens hood attached or do I keep my lens exposed outside of a camera bag when not in use.

Recommended only if you want a lens cap that covers the entire lens hood (in the shooting position) for longer periods of time. The only difference I see between this and regular lens cap is that this will also keep dust from collecting inside of the lens hood.

Product:

Folderblog (download site)

What’s Good:

Very easy to install and use, It's Free

What’s Bad:

Possibly too basic for some

While the developers at silverorange are hard at work building a new photo gallery system, I was impatient and wanted to try a photoblog style site instead of a traditional gallery. Without wanting to take too much time setting anything up or building something new for a temporary system, I downloaded folderblog and started using it.

Product:

Chromasia Tutorial Subscription (tutorial site)

What’s Good:

Very Detailed, Start to Finish, Real Photos from Photoblog

What’s Bad:

Only one tutorial per month, Exchange Rate

After a few delays, the much anticipated tutorials from the Chromasia photoblog went live in August releasing one new photo processing topic each month. I signed up very early for a life time subscription but it was just recently when I got time to sit down and read through each of the currently five available tutorials.

The tutorials are a good length, very detailed, on subject and left me impatient for next months installment, ready to continue reading about the post processing of David J. Nightingale.