The photography/videography market is such a fast moving and exciting place to be, there are always new products coming and the Aviator Jib is one that looks like it will change the game for camera crane users. Jeff and I first came across the Aviator Jib on Kickstarter and at the time, it was one of the biggest Kickstarter projects in the website’s history. So what is it? Basically, it’s the lightest and most portable camera crane on the market. Designed by American based film maker Zeke Kamm and manufactured with the awesome help of our friends 3LeggedThing, the Aviator Jib is a seriously impressive piece of kit.
There are two models, the AJA1, made from magnesium-alloy and the AJC1 a carbon fiber version. So what makes the Aviator unique? The first thing we noticed when we unpacked our stock is how light and small it is when packed up (this was the alloy model). It comes in at just over 60 cm long and can extend out to 1.8m! It literally can fit inside your backpack, although it comes in its own awesome carry case.
Oh, and it weighs 1.7kg (mag-alloy). 1.7 kilograms!! That’s seriously close to the weight of a Canon’s 70-200 2.8! The next thing that we were impressed with was how quick it is to set up. It’s a lot like setting up a tripod; you simply twist the locks and pull. The Aviator Jib mounts to any tripod that uses a 3/8″ mounting thread (basically every tripod. Ever). Unlike other jibs the aviator can be “flown” from the camera end. So once you’ve mounted your camera, with or without a fluid head, and set up the counter balance, you can fly the camera from right down low, to above your head with ease. Adding a fluid video head allows compound movements, which add more awesomeness to your footage but is not compulsory if you are traveling super light.
We’re big fans of this product and we can’t wait to see what our brilliantly creative customers will do with it when they get hold of one.
We’re really pleased to announce that we have secured the distribution of Spider Holster in Australia. This fantastic product, invented by New York photographer Shai Eynav, will change the way you carry your camera, in fact it will change the way you take photos.
The hero of the Spider Holster range is the SpiderPro Single system. Designed specifically to help photographers support their often heavy pro DSLR/lens combos with comfort and ease, giving you a completely free upper body. The exceptionally clever design also allows the user to support their camera with a speed light fitted- something many other holster type systems struggle with. The SpiderPro single system comprises an ergonomic belt, the stainless steel (and beautifully finished) holster, the all metal plate and the metal securing pin. The SpiderPro is available in both single and dual configurations.
What really impresses us is the attention to detail that the team at Spider Holster have gone to. The allen key you use to attach the plate to your camera, and the pin to the plate, fits snugly away into the actual plate itself. So you never have to worry about losing the allen key when you’re in the field and need to make a quick change to your set-up. The way you remove the camera from the holster is really elegant too, it’s an intuitive 15 degree movement of the metal release trigger and the camera is instantly ready to go. When you put the camera back into the holster you get a reassuring metallic “click” as the pin passes the one-way release. If you enjoy good design (and even if you don’t), the Spider Holster will be a joy to use.
We’ve made noise about the benefits of non-strap camera support systems before and we have to say that the Spider Holster system is really out in front when it comes to capacity, quality and design.
That’s right folks, we were only lamenting the tracking information this morning seeing that our new 3 Legged Thing stock was STILL in transit from the 3 Legged Thing “facility”, when what do you know? Tony, Eddie, Frank and the rest of the gang stroll through the door, making us very (if you hadn’t already noticed) excited.
We now have stock of a select number of 3 Legged Thing’s latest tripods. This includes the all-new, super beefy, 29mm range Eddie, Frank, Tony & Dave, the all-new micro 4/3rds and compact system camera tripods Tim & Keith, as well as a bunch of the updated (EVO2) and still as-cool-as-ever 26mm tripods Jack, Adrian, Eric & old mate Brian.
All of the fellas feature the great new design improvements that 3 Legged Thing have been busy working on. Namely, the super smooth and ultra strong new ball heads. Rated to 30kg, 35kg and 40kg respectively. The leg angle adjusting mechanisms are improved and there are some updates to the colouring on the furniture of the carbon fibre models.
You can still get your order in for Christmas but only if you rush. EXPRESS Orders made by 9am Friday 21st December will be delivered by Christmas Eve^
^ = Delivery timeframe guaranteed only if Express Post is selected and delivery destination is within Australia Post’s Express Post Network – click here to check
Paper Cranes, if you’re not familiar with them, are one of Australia’s most awarded wedding video production companies. They’ve built a reputation at home and abroad as leaders in the very competitive market that is wedding videography. Santo and his massively talented team continue to define what it is to tell the story – which is why they are looked up to by so many in this industry.
For us, it’s a real thrill to know that the gear we supply Santo and his team is used so often and so effectively to produce these amazing pieces of work. So when we watched their review on the BackPacker we were stoked to see some of the touches that make a Paper Cranes production, a Paper Cranes production. There are several beautiful examples of work they’ve shot using the CobraCrane BackPacker and Santo also takes you through what he likes and loves about the product.
If you’d like to purchase the kit as used by them you can see it here
For any information the CobraCrane range please feel free to give us a call on 1300 491 531.
Pixel have recently released two firmware updates for their popular King TTL Canon triggers. One for the 5D MkIII and one specific to the flagship 1DX. The upgrades see compatibility improved for both cameras. It’s great to see a company from Hong Kong supporting their customers in this way by continually updating their existing products. Pixel truly are setting the bar for products at this price point in the market.
Download the firmware for your model here. v1030 is for the 5DIII while v1031 is specific to the 1DX.
One of the most exciting things about getting a new piece of equipment is taking it out of the box for the first time right? And for a photography enthusiast, a new camera body is surely one of the most enjoyable un-boxings. You put the battery on charge straight away, fit a lens to the body, fit the neck strap, then Google around researching ways to supercharge the battery charger so you can get shooting NOW!… Or is that just me?
Either way, you eventually get down to learning your new camera and it’s likely that you never consider not using the neck strap kindly provided to you by the camera company with your new toy. That is until you get an aching neck/shoulders after a big day out shooting with a couple of kilos hanging from your neck. Not using a neck strap can be rather inconvenient too, so what other option do you have?
Well. You have the b-grip. B-grip is an Italian designed and made, strap free camera support system that comprises several products to provide secure support for your camera, without the need for the often uncomfortable neck strap. The hero product is the b-grip EVO which is made up of a utility style, one size fits all belt, a super strong, glass impregnated techno-polymer holster and a universal base plate made of the same material. Worn on your waist, the camera’s weight is evenly distributed through your thigh thanks to b-grip’s clever “weight discharge system” (WDS). The WDS halves the perceived weight of your camera by letting the load spread. This also means that the belt will not twist under the weight of the camera and dig into your hip.
The b-grip range also features two hand straps, HS and HS+. HS is used in conjunction with the b-grip EVO and HS+ is used as a stand alone unit. These are no ordinary hand straps either, the strap itself is made from quality Bayer rubber, the same as is used on high end diving masks. This compound is extremely UV resistant and features features a “memory” which holds its shape and makes getting your hand into it a breeze, meaning you never miss that shot. Unlike most too, the b-grip HS and HS+ straps are contoured in an S shape, which gives you great support and comfort, while allowing your fingers to get to all of the camera controls un-restricted.
For the all weather shooters, there’s also a b-grip travel kit (b-grip TK), providing a rain cover to keep your camera dry while it’s mounted to the EVO. The TK also comes with a backpack mount, so that yo can mount the holster on a backpack strap. Giving you super quick access when hiking or riding a bike. A tether cord is also included for when you use the backpack mount, providing an extra level of security. The range is rounded off with a b-grip TA, tripod adapter. The TA mounts to your existing tripod’s quick release plate and enables you to mount your b-grip equipped camera quickly and easily from holster to tripod and back. The TA is completely universal and provides that extra piece to the puzzle that means b-grip is the complete solution.
Every product in the b-grip range carries a lifetime warranty* and comes in high quality, full colour, retail packaging. See our head honcho Jeff take you through the b-grip range below.
So you would have seen us making some noise recently about a tripod that you’ve never heard of before right? The one with the weird name and odd colours on their products?
3 Legged Thing are a brand we really believe in here at PROtog. They offer something different in market place crammed with “me-toos”. These guys have taken an every day product (for an photographer anyway) and re-done it, the way THEY wanted. And what do you know? It’s struck a chord with photographers all over the world. We’ve told you they’re cool, they’re funky, they’re super functional, and they’re unique. But don’t read about it, have a look at the video we’ve shot!
Coming soon: 3 Legged Thing Tripod video on our YouTube channel
One of the most fun and rewarding parts of what we do here at PROtog is shooting the product videos for our YouTube and Vimeo channels. The rewarding part is the fact that we get so many customers telling us they love watching them. And for us the other big positive is that it gives the customer that much more information on the product and helps them make a really informed decision. We ship all over Australia and indeed across the world and it’s great to be able to offer our customers more than images and text.
We spent a full day down at ShutterClass Studios in Oakleigh last week shooting a whole heap of new videos that will be coming up on our channels over the coming weeks. It’s always great fun and gives us a chance to not only present a new product to you, but use our gear too. This gives us an in-depth understanding of our products and how they are used by people far more creative than ourselves, (that’s you).
We did videos for our new range of 3 Legged Thing tripods, our video sliders, the b-grip strap-free DSLR system and more besides! Shooting with our customer and good friend Glenn Biclar from Alba Photography is always a blast and we got the chance to use our new slider for a lot of the detail shooting on the new clips. We’re really stoked on these sliders and we’re sure they’ll prove to be popular.
We got a great question from a customer today and we though we’d share the answer with you here. The question was, “when in break-in mode, how much power does the MH-C9000 charger actually use?” It’s a question with varying answeres, however we’ve broken it down and done the maths for you, as well as showing what that will mean on your power bill. Take a look below…
The energy used will depend on the capacity of the batteries being broken in. Let’s use the highest capacity batteries on the market, which are Powerex 2700mAh for our calculations. The break in mode will run for 32 hours at 0.1C, or 0.1 x 2700mAh = 270mA. 270mA at 12V is 3.24 watts of power. There is also a 5 hour discharge period at 0.2C, which would use less energy, but for simplicity, let’s assume it uses the same power. To break-in for 37 hours at 3.24 watts, that’s 119.88 watthours, or 0.11988 kilowatt hours. At a rough average of 20 cents per killowatt hour, that gives a cost of 2.4 cents. Yes, that’s cents to break your batteries in! Of course lower capacity batteries will use less kilowatt hours and be even cheaper.
