New Packs And Boxes - New Position In The Shop - Same Great Products

Here's a problem for shoppers: shop assistants...

Here's a problem for shop assistants: shoppers...

The answer to this is simple: we'll all blame the manufacturers...

We've all been to a supermarket to pick up a familiar packet of something; noodles, or cheese, or marzipan mortar bombs. And we've gotten increasingly frustrated at trying to find the goods in the myriad of products on offer. Whatever it is, it isn't where it was...the shop assistants have moved it, the rats.

And when we go and berate them, they point out that it is in exactly the same place that it always was. But the manufacturers have changed the packaging. No-one is really happy but the world goes on.

This is the case with the superb line of camera straps made by Black Rapid. We've been selling them for ages from a rack at the middle back of the Stirling Street shop in packets with pictures of happy owners on the front. If you have been circling the shop looking for these recently you will have become increasingly frustrated.

Now they are in the front between the Leica and Fujifilm and Olympus cabinets. And the boxes with the straps are ever so much more sophisticated now - a graphic designer has gotten to work on the packaging. This post is to alert you to the new appearance of several favourites; the Curve, the Hybrid, and the Street.

Still the same great flexibility, ease of draw, and security for your cameras and lenses, and particular stability for larger rigs - the bigger straps will not walk over your chest as you run about or draw the camera up and down.

Still the great favourite of photojournalists and street shooters. And pack shooters...

How To Tie A Slip Not With Black Rapid

Born to Pun...the curse of Stephan Pastis and me...and every other advertising or copy writer in the world. If you are not familiar with the comic strip " Pearls Before Swine" by Pastis I advise you to google it for a couple of weeks until one of the pun strips comes by. It will be worth it.

Back to the Black Rapid. On a call into the shop I noticed that they have made a new shoulder pad for some of their straps and the thing is a beauty.

Prior to this, some of these iconic straps were made with shoulder pads that slipped fore and aft on the straps. This was fine for positioning the strap and the camera on the other end of it, but the characteristic sliding action of the Black Rapid system sometimes resulted in that shoulder pad crawling down the front or back of your shirt. This was particularly troublesome if you were wearing a shiny polyester shirt or a nylon rain jacket.

Black Rapid makes some of their straps with an ancillary lock strap that runs under the armpit and that deals with the problem., but at the cost of another operation to get in or out of it. Now they have a better solution.

Look at that pad - it is made of a soft live rubber with a very flexible shape, plenty of thickness, and gripping patterns on either side. It hits your shoulder and stays there - even when you slide the camera up and down continuously to your eye. And mark this; if you have to put another pack or strap over the top of this, it also benefits from not being as likely to slip off the shoulder.

Ergonomics in photographic equipment need not evoke an " Erg...". This is design done right.

Pack Shots For Packing Cameras - With Black Rapid

I am generally ashamed of myself for presenting pack shots on this blog instead of the goods out in the open. But when I see that the pack is sealed and the goods inside are big and floppy and troublesome to photograph...I conquer my shame.

Today there are three newish thingish things from Black Rapid - the leaders in camera slinging technology. Those who are inclined to dispute that claim are invited to come down here with a Nikon D4s and a 200-400 Nikkor lens. They can attach said optical artillery to a neck strap and then to a Black Rapid rig and see which feels good. We have the chiropractor on speed-dial when they find out...

The new slings are:

Kick: A wide shoulder pad and a canted dodge-the-bumps configuration allow female photographers who are toting heavy gear to do it in clavicular and thoracic comfort. Stylish, too.

Yeti: You can sling two big cameras off this one but it does so off a very wide left-shoullder pad. A working sling rig for the heavy duties.

Tether: Two anodised carabiner clips, two camera-ready short straps, and a useful accessory bag help the Black Rapid user secure their camera to straps they already own but also allow other people who use mirror-less systems to cobble up a very lightweight travelling rig. Ask us how. We don't know yet, but that should not stop us...

All the big Black Rapid straps will support 25 Kg at the working end. If your camera weighs more than that we salute you.



 

Begone Dull Care - Begone Dull Car

 Did goe to Gillam Drive yesterdaye for to see the hot rods and was greatley entertained.

This follows upon a visit to a celebration of the motor car on a previous weekend. The venues could not have been more different, nor the visitors, nor the cars. Indeed the photographers were similar, but with an important difference.

The venue is a strip of street that is lined with panel beaters, spare-parts yards, and chop shops. If you know what a chop shop is I need say no more about it. The street is hot in summer, cold in winter, and dusty withall. There is a lunch bar, that serves Chiko rolls and pies and pasties. With sauce.

The people who frequent the Gillam Drive show are variously described as rockabillies, rodders, rednecks, bogans, or motor-car enthusiasts - depending upon the prejudices of the observer. They dress well, and not so well, and badly, and appallingly - again based upon the observer. They wear caps, and hats, and mullets. Sometimes all three at once.

They are invariably cheerful, and well-behaved. They respect each other's cars and conditions. They appreciate the opportunity to show and see and cooperate with each other. They may not have as much money as the classic-car enthusiasts who gather under the gazebos of the expensive venue...but by God they have a great deal more style.

On to the photography - several Black Rapid rigs seen. Several people using battery packs - at least three of the experienced hands using fill flash. Lots of mobile phones and one iPad being aimed clumsily. No Hoodman loupes in use, but they were needed. I am still puzzling over the chap with the extreme wide angle lens and the 64X ND filter over the front of it...

For most shows I recommend a wide-range zoom but this time I experimented with a single focal length - the equivalent of 35mm on a full-frame camera. Had to frame tightly in small spaces, and would have appreciated a 28mm for that but still happy with the results. Not having to haul a big rig has advantages, particularly when you are trying to juggle a Chiko roll and a choc milk as well.

Ah, the taste of grease in the morning...

Suspending Your Disbelief With A New Strap

I used to laugh at all the people who made a collection of camera bags - until I counted how many I own. And all of them necessary, you understand. I went silent.

Then I took to laughing at the people who bought new straps for their cameras - replacing perfectly good manufacturer's straps. Then I looked in the various bags and counted the aftermarket straps...

So why? Why did I spend perfectly good drinking money on camera straps - and don't say it was just because I work in a camera shop. I can be as tight with my money as any of you. I did it because they all do something different.

Let me start with the manufacturer's contributions. Good for the most part, but comprised chiefly of nylon webbing with a hard edge and an advertising logo on the back. I can stand the advertisement but the hard edge of the webbing digs into my elegant swan-like neck something chronic. The camera end of one of them has a series of protective covers to prevent something - I find it chiefly prevents me getting the damn camera to my eye.

So I have an Op/Tec Classic padded strap to spare my neck. It suspends the heavy Nikon DSLR well enough to let me do 8 hours of bride-hunting. If I need to do an equal time with heavier artillery-  a long lens to capture the sword fighting - I use a Balck Rapid RS-4 and sling the thing off my left shoulder like a dragoon carbine.

All this is very well when utility is the go, but what do I do when there is a need for prestige and elegance - at the opening of the yacht club or the investiture at the palace? Why I just fasten the Artist and Artisan pure eco-friendly cotton strap grown on the south slope of the Cote des Straps and hand crafted by people with hands. I try to forget how much it costs, unless someone else seems to have a better one, then I tell them. It is a VERY good strap.

But I may have to change my tune. Think Tank have a new strap that is made up of cotton webbing and leather ends that feed into steel O-rings. It looks like it could be used as a lifting strap for panels on a tilt-up building site. And the webbing has a wavy pattern of soft plastic designed to grip on a slippery jacket and prevent the strap sliding free. I don't really need it, but....

It's Show Time!

Did goe to the Hot Rod show yesterday and was greatley entertained gazing at the horseless carriages.

And at the end of the day I think I learned something - you can paint the outside of a car metallic candy burgundy, upholster it in orange vinyl, and get away with it - indeed you can cause the hearts of little boys and old men to hammer with desire by doing so. Likewise you can send young women through the crowd dressed in short skirts and tight tops and 6-inch high heels and have much the same effect. They also sold hot dogs and beer in cups. Ask me if I enjoyed myself...

I was a bit on the perplexed side when I looked at the lighting scheme of the venue - the ceiling letting in daylight filtered through a translucent canvas - the edges of the Burswood arena flooded with some sort of harsh white halogen - and spot lights popping up from the floor level in various tints. Add on the LED accent lights of some cars and you have a real fejuada of lighting. There were half a dozen colour temperatures and some of them were in Roman numerals...

I was shooting with a Nikon D300 and SB 700 flash. I boosted the ISO to 650, told the camera to deal with the mess, and snapped away - confident that later in ACR or Aperture that I could even out the fluctuating colour balances. Thus it has been, with the added bonus of a car owner who painted his Ford a pure white, thus allowing a big reference patch seen in a number of pictures.

It's still a mish mosh in some respects, and if I had taken the time to do a custom WB for each group of shots I might have been better off - likewise if I had thought to haul along my HONL light-balancing gels I could have tailored each shot to take into account the dominant flood at the time. But you can only haul so much and if you are carrying a cup of beer and a hot dog and chasing the Shannon's girl it all becomes difficult. You'd be surprised how fast some of them can run in those 6-inch heels...

I also learned that it is no fun trying to change from the 18-200 lens to the 8-16 lens in a crowd. Methinks if one were to do this sort of thing a lot it would be worth investing in a second D300 body ( and they are cheap as chips now) and a Black Rapid double camera rig. Might feel like a bit of a pack mule to start with but at least the weight would be evenly distributed over both shoulders.

Finally, I got to look under the top cover of a DSLR camera to see what a processing engine really looks like...

Black Rapid RS-Sport 2 Strap

The RS-Sport-2 is the latest in BlackRapid’s line of R-Straps. A slimmer version of our popular RS-Sport strap (click for link), the RS-Sport-2 combines the extra stability of a built-in underarm strap with a lower-profile pad. It’s perfect for active shoots when that bit of extra security is needed. 

Black Rapid SnapR 35

 For those who are familiar with Black Rapid and their range of sling camera straps should already know about their genius SnapR camera bag/strap combo. Well now Black Rapid have introduced another fantastic bag to their SnapR range... the SnapR35, a wider version of our popular SnapR bag, this is the perfect solution for carrying your Micro Four Third or larger compact digital camera.

SnapR combines BlackRapid's revolutionary sling strap concept with a durable, padded camera bag. Your camera rests upside down, attached to the strap, ready to slide into shooting position. Grab, Glide, Click.

• Camera glides from bag to shooting position
• No worry of dropping or forgetting camera
• 3 in 1: BAG + SLING STRAP + HAND STRAP
• Use all 3 together or independently
• Pocket on each side for phone, accessories, etc.
• Fits cameras up to 6" x 3.75" x 3.5" 

New Products from Black Rapid in store now!

Most of you should be very familiar with the black rapid sling straps... and if you dont well save yourself the embarrassment and head to their website now and check them out because they really are something special. they've just released 2 new straps to their range... the SnapR and the  RS-Sport.

 

The SnapR is Black Rapid's answer to a Case/ Sling strap for compacts and pocket-sized video cameras. The SnapR features the same design as their rs-4,5 &7 but has a small pouch which the camera is protected in when not in use but allows you to easily access your camera when you need it more. Only $69.95 and available in store now.

The RS-Sport is Black Rapid's answer to those who want to be a little more active while shooting. It features a strap which attaches under your arm to hold it closer to your body and stop it from bouncing around while your actively shooting. it also holds the strap comfortably in place so you can focus more on taking photos and less on adjusting your strap. At only $99.95 and available instore now, it makes the perfect christmas gift.

For more info or to check out their entire range click the link below

 WWW.BLACKRAPID.COM

Black Rapid camera straps in stock!

If your tired of your regular camera strap getting in the way and want to have you camera ready to shoot in a split second then come in to Camera Electronic and try on a Black Rapid camera strap for size. These cleverly designed straps are very comfortable to wear and leave your camera hanging safely by your side within arms reach. When your ready to shoot all you need do is grab your camera and raise it to your eye. You can even carry two camera body's in this fashion, with no trouble at all.

Check out the introduction video at Black Rapid's website to see just how quick and versatile these straps can be.