CECILIA PREMIUM LEATHER CAMERA STRAPS

 

THE ULTIMATE CAMERA STRAP

A large part of what Tech Toy Playground is all about is sharing cool things with you that don’t fit into a “me too” mold. Products that clearly stand a cut above similar products or that forge off into their own uncharted territory and open a whole new world of possibilities. They don’t exist because they’re the cheapest; they exist because they are the best.

Our product for today is a camera strap. What’s that … a camera strap? You mean that thing that already came attached to my camera with the word NIKON as big as a marquee in Times Square? Those things I can get at Walmart for $5.00? What could be so special about a camera strap that it would rate a feature store at Tech Toy Playground?

Well, I ran across just such a strap and ordered two of them. One for my classic Leica that is so pristine it has never had a camera strap attached to it in all of its 75 years of life. The camera represents a time when cameras were made with fastidious attention to detail and despite its lack of anything that would be considered a “feature” on today’s plastic mass-produced cameras, it is still regarded as one of the best cameras ever made. If ever a strap was to be attached to this jewel, it would have to be one the best in the world.

THE LEICA STRAP

The Cecilia brown leather model is such a strap. Hand-crafted of Argentinian leather together they are a marriage meant to be. The strap is 2.5cm wide, narrowing down to 1cm nearest the camera and as soft as a baby’s behind but as strong as a rhinoceros. Unlike most camera straps, the end loop is riveted in place, no chance ever of it working loose and your priceless vintage camera crashing to the pavement. Even the ring that attaches to the lug of the camera is nickel-plated tempered steel. The color is equally rich. It comes with matching leather tabs at each end to protect the fine finish of your camera. There is some additional detail about the leather and the fastener hardware below. At $68USD it is not something you would find at Walmart. The manufacturer’s website is below and the great news is that you can buy a limited selection at Amazon, but for the full range of colors and styles please visit Cecilia direct.

THE FULL-FRAME SONY STRAP

The second strap is equally exotic; however I bought it for a camera that I am more likely to have thrown over my shoulder wherever I go than any other I own – a Sony A7.  It is photographed on another camera here because I was using the A7 to take the photos. As you may know the A7 is not considered entry level, with glass it cost me well over $2000. Not as expensive as my pro gear but for pro shooting I have always preferred no strap or a handgrip depending on the kind of shooting I’m doing. What sets this strap above the rest is it wider than the one on my Leica at 4cm wide for the neck portion narrowing down to 1cm wide at the tab (the part you see in the photo nearest to the camera). It is crafted of full-grain brown Argentinian cowhide sewn together with handwoven sand-color Peruvian baby alpaca wool for a soft, supple strap that can’t be beat for all-day comfort. Baby Alpaca one of the finest and rarest in the world sheared and spun into wool from Peruvian alpacas. It is then woven by hand with traditional, centuries-old backstrap loom techniques. With over twenty shades of natural color, the fiber will not readily absorb water, has a high tensile strength, and is also hypoallergenic. The tanning process for the leather portion is responsible for its supple feel, deep color, and traditional aroma.  Its full-grain structure provides strength and durability. The hides are finished in the USA with surface treatments that further protect the leather. All hardware is a zinc-alloy known as Zamac. Nylon webbing runs through the ends of the strap to reinforce strength and reliability. This strap cost a little more, at $94USD and has had me stopped on the street by people asking where I got it.

ACQUISITION

I worked directly with the manufacturer who could not have been more helpful in getting these straps to me in time for an out-of-town shoot recently. A note about them, they are a relatively new company, started as recently as 2013 but with generations of industry experience dating back to 1803.

CONTACT:

In inquire about purchase, contact the manufacturer at http://ceciliagallery.com/ and let them know you saw it at Tech Toy Playground.

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Sentey Cyph3r Keyboard review

This keyboard is close to perfect – with just a few little quibbles

The manufacturer lists this as a gaming keyboard. I think it is that and much more. In so many ways it stands alone in terms of design, functionality, usability and comfort.

OVERVIEW

Using a keyboard, at least for me, is a very personal thing. I spend much more time than average at a keyboard and I have rarely found one that is “just right”. It may have to do with the key shape, the amount of pressure it takes to activate them, how far they travel, key spacing (which includes how the manufacturer designs the gaps between the keys), unusual key placement or shape, the slope of the keyboard, how the “click” sounds, and more.

As a keyboard – forgetting whether it is used for gaming, business or personal computing – the Crph3r hits so many of the above points so positively that I would just like to say I love it.  But I can’t. It is close to perfect but read on to see why it left me hungry for more.

HANDS-ON

The first impression when taking it out of the shipping box is how HEAVY it is. The first thing I did is weighed it … it came in at 5 pounds, holy cow! After further unpacking of the retail box I found an all-black inner box with a magnetic flap that opened to reveal the keyboard in a custom-fitted cloth carrying case and an assortment of manuals, posters and a door-knob hanger, all printed on high-end materials. While the keyboard is pretty substantial on its own, I found that the monolithic black box by itself weighed in at a whopping 3 pounds, with the keyboard on its own only weighing in at less than the remaining 2 lbs. Since I plan to use my keyboard daily and will never store it again I guess I will have to find a use for that box to store something valuable in, like my Stradivarius.

HIGHLIGHTS

-        119 keys (U.S. layout

-        Backlit illuminated (red) keys, dimmable

-        Bottom base lights up red (cool)

-        128k internal memory

-        6 rollover keys

-        Heavy-duty braided cable (excellent)

-        9 fully programmable macro keys – no software needed

-        Game key (locks Windows key)

-        Gaming cluster with anti-ghosting

PROS

The biggest plus of the Cyph3r is the astounding number of custom programmable keys and the placement of those keys. I’ve never seen anything like it in any keyboard. Usually when there are programmable keys they are pre-designated by the designer they way he thinks they should be used. They are usually placed in a way that they are scattered around, often along the top where they are hard to reach, and are small, oddly-shaped and don’t have the same “feel” as the rest of the keys. The Cyph3r’s placement is perfect … six of them lined up along the left side of the main keys where, with a little practice, they can be activated by the left hand’s little finger without looking at the keyboard … an obvious advantage for gaming but also for speed typing. But wait, there’s more – there are also three custom keys under the spacebar where they can be activated by touch by the thumb, just where I would want them. All of the keys are illuminated and operate with about the same amount of pressure and key travel.

As a gaming keyboard it checks all the right boxes regarding key response, configurability, accuracy and virtually everything else, all without looking “weird” (which is not a bad thing, but gaming keyboards don’t HAVE to look weird). As a business/personal keyboard it is quieter than most gaming keyboards, an important consideration. But it is not a silent keyboard.

The Cyph3r does something the more famous companies miss out on by accomplishing their programmability inside the keyboard rather than by using a cumbersome software app on your computer, which can introduce significant lag and require almost 100MB of drive space.  Programing a key takes about 5 seconds, so if you are playing a specific game or working on a specific business project you can program the keys just for that one time and then reprogram them at will. I would think this keyboard would be ideal for medical, legal or similar business uses to be able to create custom macros for a specific project.

CONS

For all the good about this keyboard, and there is a lot of good, there are a few things that kept it off of my “perfect” list. Most of them personal preferences rather than defects or problems, but yet it was not perfect for me.

1.      The major issue I am having (and I’ll update this if things change for me) is that there is some unusual key spacing and orientation that I’m just not getting used to easily. Because the keys are very slightly misplaced, my fingers fall naturally to the “home row” but instead of g & h being exposed my natural position leaves g,h & j exposed and the little finger on my right hand lands on the “ key. So when I scrunch my right hand leftward (to an almost unnatural position) that leaves TWO keys, the “ and the \ to my right; the \ key being EXACTLY where the Enter/Return key is on other keyboards. Virtually every time I try to press the Enter key I get a \ instead. And the Enter key is a loooong reach with the right pinkie to get to.

2.      Similarly on the left side of the home row, my left pinkie falls exactly between the “a” and the Caps Lock key, which I can’t help but accidentally press.  None of the other keys are weird that way.

3.      I prefer a keyboard with totally silent keys but I don’t mind the mechanical click and I know it comes with the territory on nearly all gaming keyboards. What bothers me is that the keys rattle, as when I lay my fingers gently on them and shake side-to-side they have a lot of lateral movement … noisy movement. The space bar feels totally differently and I wish all the keys felt and sounded like it. The video below includes a sound clip comparing the keystroke sound to my old keyboard.

4.       The backlighting isn’t even, in other words each letter and numeral looks “splotchy” and hard to read. I had to turn it off, which is a shame because it looks cool. When the backlighting is off the keys have a very nice medium gray lettering on a near-black background that is easy to read and attractive. The reason I have to look at the keys is because of the difficulty I’m having getting used to the spacing.

I know it sounds like a lot of cons but honestly, none of them a deal-breakers. You may get used to it faster than me and the key sounds may be exactly what you’re used to. Once I’m used to it I may edit this from another perspective. The only way you will know for sure if it works for you is to try it, which I encourage, because this is very much a quality keyboard with some excellent features.

The Cyph3r is built, as they say, like a tank. I am so happy with it that it has replaced my existing keyboard and I am committed to having it become my everyday all-purpose keyboard for gaming, business and everything else.  It is soooo close to a 5-star keyboard but what kept it away, after everything was counted, were two things … the distant reach to the “enter” key and the side-to-side key wobble/noise. Like I said earlier, neither may be a make-or-break for you.

Bottom line

If you are used to the sound of mechanical keyboards, you can ignore any of my personal preferences, it is only because I have to use the same keyboard late at night and a silent keyboard is an important consideration for me. As far as the key spacing, well again that is a personal preference. I am not a speed typist, although at least I don’t have to look at the keys anymore. How the keys are arranged may be meaningless to you. Remember, a 4-star rating means “I like it” (as opposed to the extra star meaning “I love it”). This is still a well-made, high quality keyboard with some excellent features and I recommend you give it serious consideration.

 

AVAILABLE AT: www.amazon.com or www.sentey.com

 

OVERVIEW VIDEO:

 

 

 

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