Gear Check

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Keep Those Feet Dry During Your Photo Road Trips

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Wintery photography road trips in the Pacific North West usually involve a lot of getting in and out of the car at various locations, and trudging through wet snowy forests. Having wet boots and cold feet sucks, so I recently purchased an awesome set of portable Travel Boot Dryers from Dry Guy that can run off the 12v power outlet in your car. This nifty product has a little fan in each heating element and it gently blows warm air through your boots or gloves as they sit in the back of the car or the passenger footwell. Given the …

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Gear Check: Think Tank Logistics Manager 30 – The BIG One!!

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I’m writing this from a hotel room in the Canadian Rockies, having just pulled in after a 1000km drive from my home in British Columbia. I did the drive in a day, with a few stops along the way to photograph a couple of cool landscapes and a turkey vulture that I found in a tree along the way. It’s alway hard to know what to bring with me on these trips. Which lens will I need? Should I bring a small flash or my big one?  What about video gear? Will I have time to make a video or …

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Gear Check: UniqBall iQuick Plate

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I came across this interesting ballhead accessory when I was writing a guide about L plates for Shutter Muse. Typically an L plate for a camera is a big bulky thing that wraps around the end of a camera to allow you to switch between portrait and landscape orientation very quickly. One of the disadvantages of the traditional design is that the plates can be quite heavy, so I was intrigued when I found the iQuick plate solutions that are being manufactured by UniqBall. At first glance these iQuick plates appear to be pretty typical universal Arca-Swiss plates for use …

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In My Bag: Quick 2018 Edition

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I posted this photo on my Instagram Stories and Facebook last week as I was getting on a flight, but I thought I would share it here as well because it sparked good conversation in both places. A lot of people said things such as “good luck carrying that” – which struck me as odd. Yes the bag has a lot of camera gear in, but there’s also 15 litres of additional space for other items too. What you’re seeing here isn’t even nearly the full capacity of the backpack. I’m not going to pretend it’s not heavy, but when …

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From My Office: The Canon Printer Without Ink Cartridges

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I’ve had this printer, the Canon G3200, for about a year now and I keep meaning to tell you guys about it. It’s part of a new line of printers from Canon called “Mega Tank”.  As you can see from the photos, it has ink tanks instead of the typical cartridges that are found in most small printers. Refilling the ink is a simple matter of buying bulk ink in a bottle and pouring it in. Even if you buy Canon ink, it’s still much cheaper than the old scenario of replacing entire cartridges, and there’s also cheaper third-party ink …

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My Favourite Canon Multipurpose Lens Trifecta

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These are the three lenses I usually grab if I’m heading out for a day of photography and want to be prepared for anything! With this kit I have a focal range from 11-400mm and can tackle everything from landscapes to astrophotography, portraiture, sports and wildlife.

How to Speed up the Charging of Your iPhone

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Like a good many people, I rely on my iPhone for work but I’m constantly trying to keep it charged. I have a collection of scattered chargers in my home and I usually try to add a little more juice to the phone whenever I’m near one. I would never think of using the charger that actually came with the phone, but the other day it occurred to me that this might not be a well known suggestion, so here I am today to tell you all why… The little USB charger than comes with an iPhone is the same …

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Gear of the Year 2017

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For the last few years I’ve written an end of year post summing up my favourite and most used photo gear of the past 12 months. I don’t sit down to write this with a specific number of items in mind so we’ll just have to see what springs to mind as I keep typing. Canon 11-24mm f/4 L I’ve had an interesting journey with the Canon 11-24mm f/4 L, and previously written about why it was the lens I wasn’t sure I could love. This year I made more effort to carry around its significant bulk, and I was …

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Gear Check: Really Right Stuff TFA-01 Ultra Tripod

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I just packed my bags for a trip to Ottawa and for the first time in a very long time, I’m getting on a plane without a camera bag. This trip isn’t about photography at all, it’s about celebrating the holiday season with loved ones. Whilst I’m not taking a big camera bag as I usually do, I’m still travelling with a basic photography kit in my regular Arcteryx Brize 32 daypack. I chose to take the 5D Mark IV, the Canon 11-24mm f/4 L (unboxing) and the 24-105mm f/4 L IS.  The 11-105mm range between two lenses is a …

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Question: Have Your Lenses Ever Developed Less Accurate Focus in Severely Cold Temperatures?

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I’m going to do something on the blog today that I’ve never done before, and that’s ask a question to the ENTIRE INTERNET! Well, ok, that’s a slight exaggeration, but this can’t hurt to try. I’m doubtful that I’ll find the answer immediately from regular readers, but by putting this question out there publicly, I hope that perhaps one day someone else might be searching Google for the same information, and then stumble upon this post. Many of you know that I shoot with the wonderful Canon 400mm f/4 DO IS II  super telephoto lens. This lens is sharp as …

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Powering my Photography Adventure Trailer with a Goal Zero Yeti 1400 Lithium Power Station

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This part of the project was made possible by my friends at B&H Photo. If you’ve been following along with the build-out of my photography adventure trailer then you’ll know that the last thing I did was to install a 100W Goal Zero solar panel on the roof, to go with my 50W panel that can be deployed alongside it. This has all been in preparation for adding a Goal Zero Yeti 1400 Lithium Power Station to the kit list. When I first purchased the trailer in the summer I quickly realized that keeping my camera gear and laptop charged …

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Gear Check: All the New Peak Design Gear!!

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Peak Design have just launched updates to their most popular products, the Slide camera straps and the Capture Clip quick release system. I was lucky enough to get sent all the new gear prior to the retail launch, so I can bring you some thoughts and of course, lots of photos. If you’d like to get a discount on all Peak Design products, we are able to offer a special deal to our readers thanks to our long time relationship with Peak Design. Just click the button to reveal it. Capture Clip V3 I’m starting with this one because it’s …

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