Photo Accessory Reviews

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George Schaub  |  Jun 15, 2011  |  First Published: May 01, 2011  |  0 comments

Remote viewing and shutter release capability opens up a host of picture opportunities, from working high atop camera platforms from ground level to very low-level shooting without muddying your clothes (given your camera lacks an articulating monitor) to placing your camera in spots and being able to view and shoot without your being right behind the viewfinder. Many photographers routinely work with radio triggers for flash, especially in studio environments where the lights are set in position and photographer and model or subject move. The Hähnel Inspire adds to the mix with remote shutter release and viewing in one.

George Schaub  |  Jun 13, 2011  |  First Published: May 01, 2011  |  0 comments

For those who thought that we here at Shutterbug were inalterably attached to our Macs, the chance to work with a PC, albeit a very fast and upper-price range one at that, was something we did not want to pass up, if only to dispel our own notions about crossing the OS Rubicon. The new HP EliteBook 8540w we worked with came with 8GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive, more connection slots than we ever could wish for, a Blu-ray reader/writer, a download card slot for SD memory cards (with adapters available for CF, etc.), microphone, image out slots to a projector, HDMI, and more. As configured the unit runs close to $3100, although we’ve seen lesser-priced units of the same model with more modest attributes. This is close to what you’d pay for a MacBook Pro similarly configured, albeit minus Blu-ray and various slots but plus a larger screen. But our aim was not to put it head to head against the latest MacBook Pro, but to check it out on its own merits. That said, in terms of size and weight it is similar to the 15” Mac in many respects (the HP being 9.9x14.7x1.3” and weighing in at 6.5 lbs with a 15.6” display) so there’s no plus and minus in portability here.

David B. Brooks  |  Jun 10, 2011  |  First Published: May 01, 2011  |  0 comments

A Shutterbug reader, Tracy Valleau, e-mailed me, suggesting that I take a look at the 24” widescreen Dell UltraSharp U2410 LCD display with 1920x1200 pixel resolution. What makes it suitable for digital photography and professional graphics is its wide color gamut of 96 percent of Adobe RGB and the fact that its white luminance is adjustable from 80.0 to 90.0 CD/m2, both of which provide a high reproduction screen image quality. Its 12-bit internal processing assures a smooth rendition of tones on screen. The screen is in a bezel and stand that is sturdy but light, with an excellent design that’s carefully manufactured. In all respects, this Dell U2410 is quite affordable at a list price of $599, while entirely competitive with more expensive brands favored for a color-managed digital photography workflow.

Jon Canfield  |  Oct 01, 2010  |  0 comments

“The Spyder3Express is the latest incarnation of Datacolor’s monitor calibration hardware. It does one thing—calibrate your display—and does it well.”...

George Schaub  |  Sep 01, 2010  |  0 comments

Apple’s latest generation MacBook Pro computers come in three screen sizes and with two basic configurations, the 13” with an NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor paired with Intel Core 2 Duo processors, and the 15” and 17” with an NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics processor and Intel Core i5 and i7 processors.

Jon Sienkiewicz  |  Sep 01, 2010  |  0 comments

For many photographers, the notebook computer has become nearly as essential as an SLR camera. But that doesn’t mean that photographers are just as savvy about their PCs and MacBooks as they are their cameras and lenses.

Jack Neubart  |  Jul 01, 2010  |  1 comments

Until now I thought I’d experienced practically every flavor of geotagging device on the planet (“Geotagging Devices And Software: Now You’ll Always Know Where You Took That Picture,” Shutterbug, May 2009). So when I was later introduced to Foolography at a trade exposition, I didn’t pay too much attention to their new Unleashed. Until they offered to send a test...

David B. Brooks  |  Apr 01, 2010  |  0 comments

LaCie recently began offering a new set of high-performance LCD displays, dubbed their 700 Series. First of all, the screens are high-performance, fine-resolution displays like few I have tested and reviewed. The 700 Series has two features which add immensely to the character and perceptual quality of the color images displayed. Most LCD display screens available today utilize a set of CCFL...

George Schaub  |  Feb 01, 2010  |  0 comments

The latest manifestation of desktop back-up devices from Western Digital, the My Book Studio Edition II, makes what might have seemed to some as a difficult task—backing up and retrieving image and other files—quite easy.

David B. Brooks  |  Feb 01, 2010  |  0 comments

One of the most important aspects of this product package is that it’s the first to offer ideal color reproduction for digital photography in an integrated package at a cost many individual photographers can afford.

George Schaub  |  Dec 01, 2009  |  0 comments

I realized the importance of taking location notes years back when preparing a large selection of slides for a stock agency. I was going through my “Italy” file and began to segregate out images of church interiors. Spectacular and, at the time I shot them, unforgettable locales quickly turned into a confusion of altars, statues, and naves, most of which I couldn’t honestly...

Jon Canfield  |  Aug 10, 2009  |  First Published: Sep 01, 2009  |  0 comments

Wacom is probably the best known name and certainly one of the most popular brands around.

Joe Farace  |  Dec 01, 2008  |  0 comments

“Something you threw together in crafts class, Princess?”—Buck Rogers in the 25th century

 

As a kid during the 1950s, I had one of the last Buck Rogers ray guns produced. These were actually flashlights made by Norton Honer but were designed to look like Buck’s ray gun. It’s only fitting that ExpoImaging’s Ray Flash ringlight converter projects light as...

David B. Brooks  |  Aug 01, 2006  |  0 comments

One of the more frequent complaints and problems from photographers is that they are not getting expected color reproduction from their printers. More times than not the solution to this problem involves what is referred to as color management. So, to launch into this review of a device and software for calibrating and profiling printers, I will begin with a short, and I hope...

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