Never lose a lens cap again

As a professional photographer I know the importance of keeping the glass surface of my lenses pristine when I’m not using them. By the same token I know that when I’m shooting I can’t have anything get in the way of the creative task of creative photographs. For that reason, lens caps have always been a necessary evil, I use them when transporting my gear and remove them during the entire process of a photo shoot.

So the dilemma is how to cope with the lenses on the so-called bridge cameras – those that fall somewhere in-between my pro gear and a simple point-and-shoot pocket camera that has a built-in automatic lens cover.  Better grade in-between cameras invariable have removable lens caps and frankly it is a pain to have to remove it and find a place to put it when spending a casual day with family and friends at an amusement park or event.

The automatic lens covers serve their purpose on low-price cameras but they are probably the weakest and most vulnerable item on the whole camera. They are delicate and not dust or moisture resistant. And because they are built in to the lens, if the cover gets damaged (and it can easily be damaged) it is usually not repairable … the entire camera becomes a paperweight.

A while ago I discovered an automatic lens cover for a very nice Olympus camera I’ve had for several years as my “fun” family camera. Recently I bought a slightly more capable Sony camera that uses the new collapsible “pancake” PZ 16-50mm kit lens. I like the camera, I like the lens but I do not like having to deal with the snap-on lens cap.  I ran across this cool gadget from JJC of Taiwan and I fell in love with it. It is one of my favorite gadgets of this year.

It’s a brilliantly simple design … it simply screws on to the front of the lens (using the threaded filter mount) and two little levers on the back of it actuate when the camera is turned on and off. That action opens and closes the lens cover. True, it does not have the same protection as a real lens cap (which I keep for when I am in hostile dusty or moist areas) but it is beautifully convenient.

 

The company is the prime manufacturer and sells this mainly through Amazon, where some resellers have private-branded it. The price is under $20 and worth every penny. It is very well made and durable and after it is installed it doesn’t add any more to the overall size and weight of the camera than a snap-on lens cap.

 

By the way, the company also makes similar lens caps for other "better" cameras. Check them out at their website

There is a video link below that shows it in action and some hints on how to install it properly.

Available at: Amazon  

Close up and how-to install video

 

 



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IcareR handmade leather cases for iPhone and iPad

Expensive quality at a budget price

As a blog editor I have a closet full of phone and tablet cases, so many than I can only test the ones that have the most unique and useful features. For my personal iPhone I finally ended up with a beautiful leather case from Sena. True it is a bit overpriced for what it is, but their cases are not copycats of anyone else’s cases.

Unfortunately, when I was looking for a similar case for my iPad Air 2, Sena fell short. They seem to believe that adding more straps, flaps and fasteners is a good thing. I happen not to agree.

For any case I choose for my devices it has to be:

1.  Well made, beautiful to look at and long lasting

2.  Relatively protective of my expensive device

3.  Add the absolute minimal weight and bulk to my device. I paid a lot of money for a device to be as slim and lightweight as possible, I don’t want a case that weighs 4 times more than the device

4.  Priced within the ballpark of being reasonable. I have bought (and tested) a few cases in the $200 range. That is not reasonable for a $700 phone or tablet.

 

 

Recently I ran across a company named IcareR who specializes in handmade vintage looking leather cases for phones and tablets. I looked at their product line and immediately thought that they must be using the word “leather” very loosely … a high percentage of the ads I see on Amazon say leather when it is really some sort of leather-looking plastic.  No, IcareR’s cases are real leather. They feel like it, they smell like it, and they fit like it. And I believe them when they say they are handmade. When I take a close look it is easy to spot tiny imperfections that only come from not being stamped out by the millions on a machine.

I posted a video below of my iPad Air 2 case with more close-up photos.  The manufacturer isn’t easy to find, when you do an Amazon search they are still listed near the bottom. That’s not a reflection on their quality, only that they are new to the game.  And I would bet a lot of people pass them over  because they don’t think they can get a quality product for such a low price. Well, they can. Now that I see how nice these cases are look for a hands-on test of the iPhone 6s case ... I think I just found a new favorite, at a more reasonable price.

For me, this is the one I chose to use myself and it is the only iPad case that I can truly say is the best of class.

 

Available at: Amazon  ASIN: B016RD5AN0

 

 

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Anker awarded Manufacturer of the Year

Anker awarded Manufacturer of the Year

We are proud to announce the 2015 Consumer Tech Manufacturer of the Year. Anker Brand Products is the leading maker of replacement cell phone batteries; the dominant force in external rechargeable batteries, battery cases and chargers; an innovator in the manufacturer of phone and tablet cases, keyboards, mice and, Bluetooth audio products; and one of the largest sellers of interface cables in the world.

I have had the pleasure of working with the folks at Anker since my first purchase of a replacement battery for my smartphone several years ago and have found their company to be one of the friendliest and most consumer-centric companies in the industry.

They are known for their rock-solid 30-day money-back guarantee for any reason and 18 month warranty. I’m pleased to have watched them grow from a small mom & pop business into a company approaching 20 million users, and all the while retaining a family-like attitude.

Congratulations to Anker for earning the Tech Toy Playground 2015 Consumer Tech Manufacturer of the Year!

See Anker products at their website:

www.ianker.com


Anker products are sold at Amazon.com



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iWatch Concept

No, you can't wait in line for 3 days and buy one at your local Apple Store, but tomorrow is another day.

This conceptual illustration is from

 

 

 

It is only a concept ... for now.

Stay tuned.



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MagCable

I was dragged kicking and screaming into buying an iPhone.  Let me say up front I have not had the greatest of luck with Apple products. I don’t hate them and I’m not a “fanboy” of other brands and/or technologies, it’s just that Apple and me have never been the ideal fit for the way I want to do things.

When smartphones came along I virtually ignored that iPhone even existed. 98% of the reason was that for a long time they were sold exclusively by AT&T and I would rather use two tin cans and a string than switch to AT&T no matter how good a phone may be.  And, reality check, early iPhones quickly got buried in terms of cool factor by a never-ending barrage of new Android devices.

And that may be the very reason I got to a point with Android that I had to kick them out in the rain and lock the front door.  Every time I felt I had something “new” from Android the next day there was something “newer”.  And I got tired of all of the inconsistencies and intrusionary schemes the Android system was foisting on us.  iPhone was starting to live up to the motto “it just works“  at least as far as smartphone were concerned.

But unless you subscribe to a lifestyle where Apple can do no wrong, you have to admit that they sometimes are really slow in keeping up with the next generation of cool.

Cutting to the chase, the Lightning connector is not Apple’s greatest accomplishment.  It’s marginally better than micro-USB in some ways and marginally worse in others (including the famous need to be Apple-certified).  And once magnetic connectors and wireless charging came along, well forget it, I wanted out of the Lightning connector.  But I don’t think Apple is going to let that happen very soon on their iPhones or iPads.

 

 

But there’s hope on the horizon. A small group of brilliant innovators called aMagic based in Hong Kong is showing off something called MagCable over at Kickstarter.  I follow Kickstarter as often as I can and as much of a techie as I am, and as cool as some of the stuff I’ve seen is at their program this is the very first time I’ve signed up and pledged a future-tech product.  And I’m excited!

The magic behind MagCable is that the magic is very subtle.  There is a cable. One end plugs into a standard USB charger (of your choice, not included). The other end has a double-sided magnetic connector on it that’s a little bit beefier than a typical micro-USB or Lightning connector.  But what the hey?  There are no phones or tablets that it can plug in to. Directly. And the magic gets stronger. What you do is plug in an ultra-tiny adapter into your device (and that can be a smartphone, tablet, GPS, game player, MP3 player, etc) where it lives sort of semi-permanently (thereby sealing the connector to a degree against dust and dirt). That double-sided magnetic connector SNAPS to the adapter with Herculean power and holds fast. You don’t even have to look at it to line it up. And when it comes time to remove it you just bend downward a little and SNAP it breaks loose. But not until you want it to. Brilliant!

You can get ultra-tiny adapters for Lightning connectors, micro-USB connectors or get a few of each and use the same MagCable to connect to any one of them.

There are 3 models of MagCable being shown:

+ MagCable - Micro USB Magnetic Cable (100cm)
+ MagCable - Lightning Magnetic Cable (100cm)
+ MagCable - Lightning Magnetic Adapter Cable (15cm)

Model 1 and 2 are cables with different adapters which are used for Android & Apple devices respectively.

Model 3 is an adapter for you to convert your current fixed Lightning cable into a magnetic connector cable for Apple devices. In other words it’s a short dongle if you are in love with your existing cable.

The magic doesn’t stop there though.  Midway along the cable is a little push button switch that does something I’ve never seen before … by pushing it you can convert the cable from a charging/data cable to an ultrafast charging-only cable by turning off its data sync capabilities when not needed.

As icing on the cake, there is a 4-way LED status light to assure you that your device is charging (think how many jams that would have gotten you out of) and also that data is transferring properly. It also gives you a heads-up that your device is fully charged and ready to go.

To learn more go to MagCable at Kickstarter but hurry, this product is in its final hours of funding.

Papago dashcam review and news

 

New Driver Assistance Features for Select PAPAGO! Dashcams

Of the various dashcams I have tested and used one brand more than the rest seems to "get it" as far as the wants and needs of drivers in the United States. While dashcams are popular in many places in the world, driving conditions in the U.S. are uniquely American. Papago! (exclamation point theirs) has set up a sales and marketing team who lives in the U.S., drives on U.S. roads, and understands the needs of U.S. drivers.

 

I saw this news of some exciting new technology from Papago!, and after all exciting new technology is what Tech Toy Playground is all about, and I wanted to share it with you. Yes, it reads like a press release, because that's what it is, but leaving it in its original form is the best way I know of to be sure the information I share with you is accurate.

 

Many long-time dashcam users may not want all the bells and whistles that come with an advanced dashcam with driver assistance features; they just want a reliable camera that will capture crystal clear footage.  Others have grown to trust and rely on the driver assistance features that can be found exclusively in PAPAGO! dashcams.

 

With the release of new firmware updates for the LORA/GoSafe 381, the GoSafe 200, and the P3 users will now have Stop Sign Recognition. With Stop Sign Recognition your dashcam will use advanced visual tracking of any stop signs in its’ view and alert you by beeping and showing a stop sign icon on the LCD screen. Avoid any mishaps by never running a stop sign again.

Available exclusively with the P3, the Driver ScoreBoard (point system) is a revolutionary new way to travel those treacherous roads. We all know the importance of good driving habits.  With this system you can earn points by following all precautions and driving well.  You can lose points when accelerating too fast, slamming your brakes, any collisions, speeding, sudden lane changes, driving too close to the car in front of you for a long period of time, and not keeping up with traffic after the traffic light switches from red to green, or if the Stop & Go feature is activated two or more times. Stick to the rules of the road and keep your ScoreBoard at 5 stars. Never allow yourself to get to zero stars!

With these new additions to an already robust set of driver assistance features, PAPAGO! dashcams are way ahead of the competition. Drivers using PAPAGO! dashcams will soon find that they will come to rely on these safety features to keep them focused and secure while driving. Imagine a world without distracted drivers and I can assure you that PAPAGO! dashcams will be the reason behind it.

 

*Please note that the Stop Sign Recognition Feature for the LORA/GoSafe 381 and GoSafe 200 will only work on normal recording mode

 

Papago! products are available at: Amazon and at Papago!'s website

 

 

 

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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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