31 Accessories test
Photography News | Issue 54 | photographynews.co.uk
Pica-Gear Snap-Grip With each generation, mobile phones and action cameras get better at photography, packing in greater detail and more features like HDR, long- exposures and time-lapse modes. To make the most of these advances you need stabilising accessories like Pica-Gear’s new Snap-Grip, shown off at TPS. A truly versatile mount, Snap- Grip has three screw points, so it can be loaded with several accessories as well the camera, therefore fitting into a wide range of shooting situations. In its simplest form, the phone is gripped by a multi-mount clamp, allowing a wide range of sizes to be fitted, and you hold the set- up using a chunky handle below. This handle is extendable and can split into three legs, forming a mini tripod with anodised aluminium and brass screws used in the construction. £37.49 pica-gear.com
Visible Dust Quaser R sensor loupe Sensor cleaning specialist Visible Dust showed off its latest loupe at TPS, allowing you to closely inspect the condition of your camera’s chip. The Quasar R loupe, which has a 5x magnification, uses ED (extra low dispersion) glass and fluorine coating to enhance
resolution and reduce fringing, allowing you to pick out dust and smears on the sensor more clearly. Aiding this further is what Visible Dust calls Dark Adaptation Technology (DAT);
what this means is using red instead of white light to ‘enhance visual acuity’. The Quasar R has 14 LEDs in all, seven of which are red, and at their wavelength your pupil will dilate to allow a clearer view; the white LEDs can be used to give a regular loupe view if required. The Quasar R comes with batteries and a hard case for storage and transportation. £129 visibledust.com
Vanguard Alta Pro 2+ 263AB100 VanguardshowedoffitsexcellenttripodrangeatTPS,withoneofthestandoutsagainbeingtheTIPAAward-winning Alta Pro 2+ 263AB100model. The 263AB has an innovative centre column systemwhich allows it to swing through 180°, and this together with legs that adjust to 20°, 40°, 60° and 80° angles provides a huge range of horizontal and vertical shooting options. The 263AB’s aircraft-grade aluminium alloy legs give it great stability, but it still only weighs 2.3kg (maximumload is 7kg).With centre column extended it can reach amaximumheight of 173.4cm, and when folded hits 73.9cm, so is easily carried. The three-section legs, which are 26mm at the top section, use twist locks, and end in non-slip, angled rubber feet. £199.99 vanguardworld.co.uk
PNY SD Elite Performance 256GB There’s no point toting a high performance camera without the storage to back it up; to make the most of features like fast burst modes you need cards that are just as fast. PNY was at TPS to show off, amongst other products, its range of memory cards, which included the PN Award-winning SD Elite Performance 256GB. This Class 10 UHS-1 U3 model provides read speeds up to 100MB/s making them PNY’s fastest SD cards; the write speed is 75MB/s, giving you more frames per second than slower speeds. What’s more, its huge 256GB capacity means hours of 4K or thousands of high res Raw files can be stored. The card comes with an impressive five-year guarantee and has an operating temperature of 0°C to 60°C. £129.99 pny.eu
One Vision Britannia album Print specialist One Vision was keen to show off its new Britannia photo albums at the show. The albums, handmade in Coventry, come with a choice of nine different premium soft touch leatherette cover and spine options, and internal pages are printed on proper photographic Fujifilm DPII professional grade paper. Fora20-page12x10inalbumyou’relookingatjustunder £80, but foronly£99youcandouble thepages to40and, despite the low cost, a presentation box is included with either. Of course, there are upgrade options, too, such as a maximum 60 pages, larger 12x12in leaves, laser engraving and personalised ribbons for an additional cost. Production time is only five working days, and right nowyou can order a sample 40-page book for £39. From£78.20 onevisionimaging.com
WhiteWall Hahnemühle fine art prints Online print service WhiteWall was at TPS to show off its highly thought of, gallery quality products, one of which was its range
of Hahnemühle papers. The perfect media for exhibition and limited- edition fine-art prints, WhiteWall offers five different Hahnemühle papers:WilliamTurner 310gsmwith amatte, watercolour texture; Photo Rag 308gsm, witha 100%cotton, fine, soft surface; FineArt Pearl 285gsm with a silk gloss; Torchon 285gsmwith a coarse surface andmatte finish; and Fine Art Baryta 325gsm with a glossy surface and classic baryta texture. WhiteWall uses Epson UltraChrome Pro pigments (six colours and three shades of black) to ensure the finest tonal gradation, and pictures are printed at 1440dpi. There’s also a full range of border and framing options, and sizes range from9cm to 300cmon the edge. From£8.95 plus shipping uk.whitewall.com
H&YMagnetic filter frames We’ve come to expect constant innovation in camera design and features, but accessories can also be revolutionised. H&Y’s Magnetic Filter Frames are a great example, debuting at TPS to much interest. They let you do away with the usual slotted filter holder design, replacing it with a more efficient magnetic system. You remove the filter blades on your existing holder, add H&Y’s magnetic adapter strips, thenput amagnetic frame aroundyour existing filter and attach it. Once framed, filters canbe layered onto one another and easily repositioned by sliding them up and down. The rigid frames can be added to existing 100x100mm or 100x150mm filters and cost £23 and£25 respectively. TheAdapter Strips, currently for LeeFilters’ 100mmsystemandFormatt-Hitech, are £15, withall othermajor brands coming this summer. A triple pack of three 100x150mm frames and one pair of adapter strips is £80. From£38 johnsons-photopia.co.uk
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