PMA (the Photo Marketing Association) is one of the largest photography trade shows in the world, exceeded only by Photokina, held in Europe. In late January, I headed out to Las Vegas for a whirlwind tour of this tradeshow to look for new products for the NatureScapes store. Squeezing hundreds of vendor booths and a few hundred thousand square feet of trade show space into 36 hours created a frantic sense of urgency, but Super Bowl weekend loomed, and with it Las Vegas' busiest weekend of the year. I had to get in, work the show, and get out before hotel rates escalated to insane levels.
Home 
Equipment Reviews
Equipment Reviews
Equipment Reviews
Review: The EKI Head
For years I have been wishing for someone to build a quality gimbal head made out of a strong but lightweight material. The original Wimberley Head 1, made out of aluminum, weighed in at 4.2 lb. While this doesn’t seem like much, after a full day of working with a sturdy tripod, Wimberley head, pro camera body, flash, external flash battery, and a big 500 or 600mm f/4 lens, every pound adds to the pain. Wimberley followed the original Wimberley Head with the Series II which changed the control layout and shaved weight by one pound down to 3.2 lb. This was welcome news because that one pound reduction was quite noticeable. However, I prefer the control layout of the original Wimberley head where the pan axis was controlled from underneath the head and the tilt axis was controlled from the side. This allows both knobs to be tightened or loosened simultaneously while the new layout forces them to be done independently. I was not willing to go back to the old style though, due the weight savings, and got used to the new Wimberley Head.
Read more...
First Impressions – Nikon D3 & D300
 Nikon has announced two new DSLRs – the full frame sensor D3 and the D300 with DX size sensor. I had the opportunity to use these two cameras over a 3-day period in late October. I found the cameras to be substantial improvements over the D2xs and D200 respectively. Review: The Ameristep Chair Blind
 Introduction The Chair Blind from Ameristep is a relatively new type of blind option, offering a one person blind built around an integrated seat. My first introduction to the Chair Blind was last winter in South Carolina on a trip to take pictures of wintering waterfowl. Several of us had been invited to the South Carolina Waterfowl Association’s private properties to take pictures of the ducks there, and fellow photographer Doug Gardner, the trip organizer, had obtained a few of these blinds for us to try out. We put them through the paces in some pretty rough conditions, and by the end of the trip I had ordered two of them for myself. |
|
More Articles...
|
Article Categories
