Photography News issue 27

Photography News Issue 27 absolutephoto.com

First tests

A decent photo backpack is worth its weight in gold, but how you define ‘decent’ really is a sliding scale; it depends totally on what you need. For that reason, a panoply of designs exist, from daysacks, light on space and protection but fast on access to gear, to colossal, armoured and weather-proofed models. It’s the latter camp that Lowepro’s Whistler 450 AW falls into; a cavernous, all-weather pack, aimed at outdoor photographers with lots of gear. The Whistler is a four-season pack said to be the most durable in Lowepro’s range. I tested it on recent shoots in Iceland and Northumberland. The bag’s outdoor heritage is clear; the build is excellent with thought given to how it works when you’re in gloves. The zip pulls are a mixture of enlarged tabs and loops, making them easy to find and operate and the buckles are equally large and easy to use. The outer material is bristling with webbing and compression straps for attaching gear like walking poles (or a tripod). Unlike some outdoor models it doesn’t have a dedicated hydration bladder but there are pockets on the side, top and face which could be used instead (the latter having a waterproof barrier between it and the main compartment, and a drain hole, useful for stowing wet gear); it also has an expansion zip. The outer is 420 denier ripstop nylon with a water-repellent TUP (thermoplastic polyurethane) coating. I tested this in light showers and more serious downpours, and while the rain beads off the surface initially, if you encounter anything heavy for more than a few minutes, from body side means it’s the face coming into contact with the ground, so any muck, snow or moisture you pick up won’t come into contact with your back when the bag is donned. Capacity wise, there’s plenty; space for a pro-sized DSLR body with a long telephoto lens attached, three to four other lenses, flashes, filters, and so on. But there’s no laptop compartment. The main compartment is generously deep, easily fitting a Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G on its end (13.3cm). This depth is one of the main differences between the 450 and 350 versions. Avoid overfilling the bag with heavy kit; it’ll swallow a tremendous amount. While the bag fits most airline carry-on sizes, it’s easy to top out on the weight. Fortunately, the bag’s ergonomics are first class. The rear surface is thickly padded on contact points, with space for air to move between it and your body, and the straps are broad and well padded, so it’s comfortable, especially when the elasticated sternum strap is used. KS LoweproWhistler 450AW £286 Material 420D TUP coated/Hypalon (synthetic rubber) base Tripod holder Yes Sternum strap Yes Laptop pocket No Waist belt Yes, with additional webbing and zippered pocked Dimensions (wxhxd) Specs the included rain cover is required as water will get through the zips eventually. The cover isn’t sewn in, but can be clipped into the mesh pocket of the upper compartment. It goes on quickly, too, stretching over without excessive force and keeping out the water (or sand) perfectly. The bag’s base uses a thick rubbery Hypalon mat (the same material used in inflatable boats and roofing materials), so it’s waterproof, but the main flap’s zipper extends very nearly to the bottom, so avoid putting it in a puddle. Within the padding at the base, top and sides is ridged plastic armour, so it doesn’t lose its shape and can be sat upright. All this protection does make the bag heavy though – it’s 3.3kg unloaded. Access to the main gear compartment isn’t the quickest, but this isn’t necessarily a negative; the trade-off is greater protection. Accessed from the body side of the bag via a chunky, smooth-running double YKK zipper, the main compartment can be protected by a second, half-zippered cover which secures at the top with Velcro. This is the only zip on the bag that I found to snag even slightly and the flap at the top can get in the way of the main zipper if it’s not poked in properly. The (removable) inner is extremely well padded with a brushed feel and kit can be slotted in perfectly using the modular dividers; the latter are of Lowepro’s MaxFit design, with recessed Velcro making it easier to slide up to your kit before fixing. The main compartment’s flap hinges halfway up, so you can fold it over and leave half the opening protected, which is handy. Opening the bag

Mini tests

Limelite Mosaic Solo LED light £69.65 LED lighting panels are commonly used by video shooters but they have a practical purpose in stills work, too. With a light output similar in colour temperature to noon daylight, an LED panel is great to add fill-in perhaps for backlit portraits or nature shots. They can be used as the main light source for close-ups and for creative work like light painting. The Limelite Mosaic Solo LED light has 72 daylight-balanced LEDs and output is fully adjustable from 100% downwards. Maximum output is 745 lux, which probably means nothing to most of us, but as a guide, an incident light reading from one metre with a Gossen meter at ISO 200 gave a reading of 1/60sec at f/2.8 with the unit at full power. It is powered by eight AA cells but it can run from the mains with an optional adapter. A D-Tap power source cable is included in the outfit.

Also supplied is a mount to fix it to the camera hotshoe, and there’s the standard 1/4in screw thread to allow vertical or horizontal mounting onto a lighting stand. The unit works well, giving a decent level of output for a unit that can be hotshoe mounted. White-balance was accurate, too – I used a set Kelvin value, AWBanddaylight. Its lighting duties aside, the LED panel is also a useful, hands-free assistant when you are working in very poor light conditions to assist focusing and composition. WC

Verdict This Limelite Mosaic Solo LED light is on sale for £69.95 so good value and weighing in at 450g, including batteries, it’s ideal for location use. limelite.uk.com

Samsung SSD T1 £115 We all have hard drives, in our computers, in our backups and in our portable drives. The thing is, conventional hard drives incorporate moving parts and that, of course, is a potential weakness because failure is just around the corner. That’s why there is a move towards SSDs or solid-state drives where there are no moving parts, just like the storage cards we use in our cameras, so reliability is extremely high. Samsung is a leading brand when it comes to SSDs, and units are available for computers as well as external hard drives like the SSD T1 tested here which uses V-NAND technology. The Samsung 250GB unit is tiny. It’s just over 9mmdeep and smaller that a credit card. The drive itself has no controls and just a single USB3.0 interface withablue LED to indicate it isworking. Ashort USB3.0 lead is supplied. Tested on a Mac, it was plug and play so no need to do anything to ready the unit for use. To assess write speed, I transferred a 100GB folder of images to the SSDT1. That is agreat deal of dataandonmyUSB3.0capablecomputer, it took 10 minutes – that is impressively swift. I couldn’t destruction

External: 31x30.2x57.2cm Internal: 24.2x16.6x40cm Weight 3.3kg Contact lowepro.com

How it rates Verdict

This is a brilliant bag, but one to be used with caution as it’s tempting to overload the cavernous inner. The build quality is top drawer and it’s a comfortable carry even when the weight climbs. Operation is smooth and easy, and it’s highly weather resistant. If you don’t foresee needing the extra depth consider the 350 AW version at £257, which shaves off the weight but retains the quality. Overall Aimed squarely at adventurous photographers, if you need to take lots of kit, as well as general outdoor gear, into the wild look no further. It’s not cheap but will last a lifetime. Pros Build, capacity, weatherproofing, handling… there’s a lot to like. Cons Heavy unloaded, no padded laptop compartment

test it to assess reliability but I carried it around for a couple of weeks, including in my trouser pocket along with loose change and keys and it never failed. WC

Verdict With their ruggedness and reliability SSDs are the way forward and this Samsung is well worth a look. It’s so much more convenient because it is so small and with the reliability of SSDs it really is a no-brainer. The only downside is initial outlay as SSDs are more expensive than conventional hard drives but then peace of mind is priceless. samsung.com/uk