Pelican 0945 Memory Card Case

I recently grabbed a Pelican 0945 Memory Card Case from adorama.com to store my CF cards for my Canon 7D. The construction of Pelican products are unmatched by any competitor so I knew I was getting a great product. The Case is very durable, water-resistant, and made form a polycarbonate resin. There is a removable insert liner that absorbs shock and protects memory cards. I am very happy with this purchase.

Giottos Rocket Air Blaster 7.5"

I just picked up this Giottos rocket air blower from adorama.com. The materials used are very high quality and the item feels very durable. It has an air valve to prevent it from sucking in dust and blows out a powerful blast of air to blow dust away, to make cleaning your camera, lenses, or filters really easy. The Giottos rocket is a great value for a piece of cleaning equipment. I trust it with my Canon 7D and L lenses.

Meike MK-7D Battery Grip for Canon 7D

I have to admit I was a little hesitant to purchase a 3rd party battery grip, but after reading all of these great reviews on Adorama's website I took the plunge. The grip is made of plastic and in my opinion well constructed, the ergonomics are nice and really makes the Canon 7D a complete camera. Very easy installation. Switching to the portrait position is a breeze and I do not have to have my hand in front of my forehead to take a shot. The grip allows my hands to stay in a natural shooing position. There is also a slot built into the battery grip where you can store the battery door from the Canon 7D so you do not loose it when you have the grip installed. I have had the battery grip for over a year now and it has been extremely reliable. I have never owned the OEM Canon grip but I can not see it being that much better for a $100 difference. I use the Canon E1 handstrap with this grip which I love an will do a review on soon. Here are some product photos I took to show off the grip from every angle. Enjoy!

Review: Manfrotto 498 Ball Head

I have been using this ball head coupled with the Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod and what a duo (I will be reviewing the tripod legs soon). The 498 Ball Head with the RC2 quick release plate is so versatile its amazing. You can set the drag knob so you can fine tune the position of the head exactly where you want it. The ball head moves into portrait orientation very quickly although an L bracket would be much more suited going from landscape to portrait orientation whit out have to recompose the shot. The ball head is very easy to use with only 3 knobs to worry with it has a single repositionable locking lever for 360° panoramic rotation, ±90° tilt movements, plus a friction control for precise positioning. I am very impressed with the operation of the ball head especially given its price. 

Picture of Manfrotto 498 Ball Head was taken by me personally. All rights reserved for my own personal use. 

Review: Fotodiox 48" Octagon Softbox with Soft Diffuser and Speedring Bracket

I recently purchased a 48" Octagon Softbox with Soft Diffuser and Speedring Bracket from Fotodiox on Amazon. My very first impression of the octobox is the same as the 70" octobox I reviewed earlier today. Same great durable material with same construction quality. The 48" Octobox assembles just like the 70", so it was really easy to put together. I have included some shots of the 48" Fotodiox Octobox below.


This was shot at 1/32 with the front diffuser off.

This was shot at 1/32 with the front diffuser on.

This was shot at 1/1.

This shot was taken with a 2 Flash set up, Flash in octobox was set at 1/16 and the other flash camera right was set to 1/8 for some front fill light.

Review: Fotodiox 70" Octagon Softbox with Soft Diffuser and Speedring Bracket

I recently purchased a 70" Octagon Softbox with Soft Diffuser and Speedring Bracket from Fotodiox on Amazon. My very first impression of the octobox while pulling it out of the package was the craftsmanship and the durable material the octobox is constructed with. Putting the octobox together for the first time was a bit of a challenge as I have never put one together before. The second go round was a lot easier, I was able to construct the octobox in less than 3 minutes. I have included some shots of the Fotodiox Octobox below.

This was taken with the flash set to 1/32 and no front diffuser attached to the octobox.

This shot was taken at the same flash setting of 1/32 with the front diffuser attached

This shot was taken at the flash set to 1/1 with the front diffuser attached

This shot was taken with a 2 Flash set up, Flash in octobox was set at 1/16 and the other flash camera right was set to 1/8 for some front fill light.

The world's first known photograph was made in 1825 by Frenchman Nicéphore Niépce

This is a really neat read. http://www.niepce.com/home-us.html