After the review of the Clik Elite Contrejour camera backpack, this review of the Clik Elite ClikSit is going to be a lot less in depth.  In fact it’s going to be real short.  This is one of those products though that when you pull it out everyone around seems to give you a WTF type of jealous look as you just pulled out some instant comfort in the middle of nowhere weighing in less than a pound and a half.  It’s small, it’s lightweight and still strong enough to support the tubbiest of people out there.  Lets face it, we stand around waiting for light, waiting for the action to happen again, waiting, waiting, waiting, why not do that sitting?  It’s not a new invention, it’s just like the As seen on TV Pocket Chair, however, it’s a LOT lighter.

Check it out here at B&H Photography

Lounging setup, waiting for things to go down.

Specs:

• Folds up to 91/4” x 8” x 11/4” and weighs only 1lb 5oz.
• Constructed of high quality aluminum, high-tenacity webbing and ballistic fabric with riveted reinforcements
• Nylon storage bag
• 300 lb. capacity

Detail of the connecting strap at the bottom of the stool.  Unfold and connect the two steel straps together and have a seat.

The ClikSit next to the Clik Elite Contrejour 40 for scale

Carry bag that comes with the ClikSit.  The package is small and light and fits easily in the front pocket of the Clik Elite Contrejour 40 camera backpack

If you’ve seen my reviews before you know that I don’t really review a product unless I really like it, or really hate it.  Before you go on you should know I’m partially biased since I’m sponsored by Clik Elite.  So that being said take it for what it’s worth but I’ve been using the production model of this pack for the last year, and a prototype the year before, I think it’s an honest review.

The Clik Elite Contrejour comes in two sizes, the 35L and the 40L pack.  Both of these packs are almost identical with the only difference being the 40L is two inches taller.  It doesn’t sound like much but in the terms of fit, two inches makes a huge difference if you are…..rather vertically challenged like myself.  Most men would probably like the fit of the 40L, I’d suggest people shorter than 5’5″ to go with the 35L for a better fit.

This pack has been a long time coming with Clik Elite and I’m glad to have been a part of the development.  There are a few key features to this camera pack that stick out as different from the pack.  The Contrejour has a curve to the pack to more closely follow the curvature of your back that is built into the aluminum frame as well as the rigid foam camera block that is built into the pack.  Having the camera block built into the pack makes for one less thing to move around while you are skiing, snowboarding, biking, hiking, etc to help keep the bag glued to your back while you are charging hard to get into location.

Front View

Back view

Another key point to this pack is the rigid hip straps.  Pretty much everything out there has simply a nylon strap with webbing attached to it for their hip straps.  At first I didn’t like the thought of it until I started skiing with it.  It’s another piece of the puzzle to add to the carrying stability of the pack while you are skiing, riding, etc.  Also the sturdiness of it takes the weight off your back and distributes it down your body, making carrying a full load much easier on you.  In fact the harness on this pack is also the best I’ve had in a camera pack.  On the same lines of the rigid hip straps is the use of seat belt webbing instead of the standard webbing used on every pack out there.   Not that I’ve ever had a piece of webbing every break on me, but stepping it up to seat belt webbing is one more thing making this a bomber pack.

Detail view of the thick, rigid waist straps.  Multiple loops in the webbing to hang equipment

Main camera compartment

Main camera compartment

The last key point for this pack is the quick side camera access.  For someone that has just a few lenses, this is really a plus.  you can quickly take one back strap off and open the side access and pull your camera body out in just a few seconds as opposed to setting the pack down, and opening it up.  For myself, it’s not something I use but it’s not because it doesn’t work for me, I just like to have the whole bag open when I’m getting my gear to have everything in front of me.  The other reason I don’t use it is I can maximize the camera compartment  and get one more lens, teleconverter and a few more pocket wizards in there with a more standard bag divider configuration than how this pack is setup from the factory. (camera + 70-200 is set in a horizontal configuration from the factory instead of the more traditional vertical setup.)

Side camera access detail

As opposed to some other vertically adjustable chest straps out there, the Clik Elite packs have a ladder setup that’s guided through webbing instead of plastic piping.  The only way that’s breaking lose is if you break the ladders or the buckles.  If that happens, you have much more pressing problems to deal with than a blown out backpack strap.

Chest strap detail

The zippers in the main camera compartment are highly durable, large YKK water resistant zippers.  You don’t have to worry about them blowing out.  I abused mine and stuffed it to the gills for about 180 days this winter and it actually works better now that it’s broken in a bit!

Radio clipped on and small pouch for a point and shoot camera attached to the accessory loops on the straps.

Main compartment zipper detail

The materials used for the Contrejour are plain and simple tough and pretty water resistant.  They’ve kept  my equipment safe for the past two years and so far have held up very well.

Accessory bungee tie down detail

Side View

The side pocket is an elastic mesh material that is far more durable than I had expected.  The pocket can accommodate a water bottle and a small light stand, or two medium sized light stands.

Side pocket detail view

Top View

The center straps on the front of the pack are also seat belt webbing but are also reinforced at their attachment points with a rubber coated nylon.  This is good because if you carry your skis on your backpack, those reinforced areas can take the brunt of the wear from your sharp ski edges.

Front view of top compartment

Side view of top compartment

The top accessory pouch has memory card slots and three other zippered pouches including a lanyard that’s attached to the inside of the pocket to keep you from losing your keys!  This compartment is much larger than it looks, I’ve stuffed quite a bit more than I was expecting to be able to in this thing.

Detail view of the top accessory compartment

This pocket also holds a pretty uprising amount of gear.  I usually had it stuffed full of filters and other misc cables and snacks.

Side view of the top main compartment access pocket

When I’m travelling by air, the side opening is where I slide my laptop in to make the most of my one allowed “personal item.”  Since it carries both my laptop and my camera, it’s considered a personal item, leaving me with space for a carry-on roller.  For sizing reference, I have a 15.6″ Dell Vostro 3500 Laptop with dimensions of: 14.78″ W x 1.37″ H x 10.24″ D.  I’m assuming a Macbook Pro should be able to fit in the same way since they are very similar in size.  The Contrejour fits in the overhead bins of EVERY plane I’ve flown in the past two years with the front compartment (where I carry my laptop) empty.  This includes the commonly used Candair CRJ 200/700/900 commuter jets.  The 35L will also fit under the seat in front of you and will go all the way under the seat with an empty front compartment.  For a average or above height person this wouldn’t really work so well but for someone my height (5’3″) this works just great if I the overhead bins are full.

The Contrejour 40 with a 15″ laptop in the front pocket

The Contrejour 40 in a Candiar CRJ 700 regional jet’s overhead bin.  It fits, but please excuse the terribly blurry iPhone photo

The Contrejour 35 underneath a seat in a United Airlines Airbus A319

In conclusion, it’s a very well built and well designed camera backpack.  It’s actually the best one I’ve ever owned for a number of reasons.  In comparison to the F-Stop packs out there (which in my opinion are the only other camera backpacks out there that truely work for action sports and adventure photographers) they are comparable in many aspects, however the Contrejour’s shape and rigidity make it ski better than any other pack I’ve had.  How it carries is the most important feature in my opinion for a camera backpack.  Second is it’s storage capacity and ability to protect your equipment.  Of course one drawback of heavy duty, durable fabrics is a heavier pack.  It’s heavier than the F-Stop Satori I used to use as my workhorse, but I think it makes up for it’s weight in durability.

The storage capacity is quite large in this pack, although it’s divided into two different sections, the camera compartment and then everything else.  The front side of the pack looks pretty small in size however it stretches out like your stomach after Thanksgiving dinner!  I’ve had as much as a mid layer puffy jacket, sandwich, snacks, two soda cans, Alien Bee strobe head and Vagabond mini power pack in the lower section with my climbing skins taking the top storage area of the front compartment.  Access is from the top as well as the side.

With a price tag of $305.00 it’s one of the more expensive packs out there in it’s class.  But you get what you pay for.  Buy it nice once or buy it twice.

You can buy it here at B&H Photo.

Contrejour 35 Specs

Camera Size: Probody SLR

External Dimension: 24.8″H x 12.8″W x 11.5″D (63 x 32.4 x 30 cm)

Camera Compartment: 15.5″H x 11.3″W x 5.9″D (39.4 x 28.6 x 15 cm)

Internal Storage: 24″H x 11″W x 5.5″D (61 x 27.9 x 14 cm)

Volume: 1800 cu in. (29.5 L)

Weight: 4.12 lbs (1.87 kg)

Will hold iPad: YES

Hydration Sleeve: YES

Rain Fly: YES

Tripod Storage: YES

Contrejour 40 Specs

Camera Size: Probody SLR

External Dimension: 27.5″H x 12.3″W x 11.5″D (70 x 31 x 30 cm)

Camera Compartment: 17.5″H x 11.5″W x 6.8″D (44.5 x 30 x 17 cm)

Internal Storage: 25.5″H x 11.5″W x 5.1″D (65 x 30 x 13 cm)

Volume: 2200 cu in. (36.65 L)

Weight: 4.55 lbs (2.07 kg)

Will hold iPad: YES

Hydration Sleeve: YES

Rain Fly: YES

Tripod Storage: YES

UPDATE:
The Contrejour 35/40 will fit in the following airplane overhead bins:

• All mid-large sized jets like an Airbus 319 or larger
• Boeing 717 or larger
• Bombardier CRJ 700 / 900
• Embraer 120 Brasilia

The Contrejour 40 Will NOT fit under the seat without sticking out on most planes.
The Contrejour 35 Will NOT fit under the seat without sticking out on the Bombardier CRJ 700/900, Dash 8, Embraer 120.

]]> http://www.erikseo.com/blog/2011/07/clik-elite-contrejour-35-40-photo-backpack-review/feed/ 28 http://www.erikseo.com/blog/2011/04/speedlight-flash-brackets-diy-speedlight-bracket-for-four-flashes/ http://www.erikseo.com/blog/2011/04/speedlight-flash-brackets-diy-speedlight-bracket-for-four-flashes/#comments Thu, 21 Apr 2011 15:11:40 +0000 Erik Seo http://erikseo.com/blog/?p=2050

There are two reasons you are looking at this post.  You either use speedlights a lot due to their small size and weight or you are insanely cheap.  Either way, this bracket is both cheap and useful for both sides.  I tend to use big lights for most of my lighting, however on a lot of trips with air travel I’m forced to bring a limited kit due to baggage limitations.  I’ve had a 2-flash bracket setup for a while now to double up my speedlights and get a bit more output from the little guys.  After breaking one of the delrin shoe mounts on it, I decided to make a bigger one.  I’ve wanted to be able to mount three or four speedlights on one stand before so this was a great time to do so.

Now don’t try to fool yourself, four speedlights aren’t going to equal an Elinchrom Ranger, Quadra or Alien Bees 800 or 1600.  They will however boost your output to help fill in the blanks a bit more with less weight in the dreaded 50 pound limit checked airline baggage.

There are a few options out there for this application, (like the Dot Line RPS Studio Light Bar) however the shoe mounts used just do not hold the flashes securely enough for my taste.  I’d rather spend a few extra bucks on knowing that my speedlights are secure.  Another good option is the Interfit INT337 Strobies Triple Flash Bracket, it’s smaller than my bracket which is great for travel, however two of the three flashes are mounted vertically, changing the beam pattern and there’s only room for three flashes instead of four.

For all you insanely cheap people out there, you could find cheaper shoe’s out there and then just bolt them on with 3/4”- 1/4”x20 bolts and save a few bucks. I chose the Stroboframe shoe’s beceause they are bomber. I’ve had a few different ones made of delrin, other plastics with some metal, and they all seem to break. These stroboframe one’s are bomber, and have strong clamping power to keep your speedlights on the bracket, and off the ground.

So if you are willing to take a bit more time than ordering something off B&H’s website to get something a bit larger, more versitile and tougher, then read on, the directions on how to make your own quad speedlight bracket is below.

Tools needed:

• Hacksaw
• Box end wrenches or ratchet/sockets
• Drill + 3/8″ drill bits

Parts needed:

• 1”(w) x 1/8”(d) x 48”(l) Flat Aluminum (Home Depot) ($12)
• (2) 1/4” x 20 Nylon Locknut (Home Depot) ($0.30)
• (1) 2-1/2” x 1/4”-20 thread bolt(Home Depot) ($0.15)
• (1) Umbrella bracket ($18) (B&H, or your closet)
• (4) Stroboframe shoe mount (B&H – $9.50/ea)
• Total: $68.45

Directions:

• Cut flat aluminum bar to 14” length

• Mark aluminum for drilling – 3/16” drill bit
  • Hole #1 – 1” from the end
  • Hole #2 – 4” from Hole #1
  • Hole #3 – 2” from Hole #2
  • Hole #4 – 2” from Hole #3
  • Hole #5 – 4” from Hole #4 (or 1” from the end)

• Screw nylon locknut #1 on to the bolt about 3/4” down the bolt.

• Put the bolt through the center hole of the flat aluminum bar (hole #3)
• Screw locknut #2 to the bolt securely on the other side of the flat aluminum bar to secure the bolt in place leaving the bolt flush with the top of locknut #2

• Screw on each flash shoe to the flat aluminum bar.

One of the things I do get requests for is a “what’s in the bag” post.  So, here it is.  This is a pretty full kit, it would be what I’d bring to an urban shoot where I’m driving to the location, or for a park shoot where it’s easy to get around and carrying 40+ lbs on my back isn’t that big of a deal.

The camera backpack is a Clik Elite Contrejour 35 L

Camera Compartment:

• Nikon D3
• Nikon D300 with MB-D10 Battery Grip
• Nikon 10.5mm f2.8 DX G ED Fisheye
• Nikon 16mm f2.8 D Fisheye
• Nikon 17-35 f2.8 ED AF-S
• Sigma 24mm f2.8
• Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 LD XR Di SP
• Nikon 85mm f1.8 D
• Nikon 70-200 f2.8 AF-S VR
• Nikon 1.4x Teleconverter II

Accessories:

• (2) Pocket Wizard Flex TT5 Transceivers
• (2) Pocket Wizard Plus II Transceivers
• (1) Pocket Wizard Plus Receiver
• (5) Pocket Wizard Multimax Transceivers
• Nikon D40 (Extra small DSLR camera body with a CCD sensor and electronic shutter capable of full-frame flash sync up to 1/1250 second.
• Canon Powershot S95
• Filters
• Cokin P ND Filter Holder
• Adhesive Backed Body Warmer (To keep batteries warm and functional in extreme cold)
• US Customs form 4457 (Proof of ownership forms.  I keep these in the pack since I’ll probably forget to pack them when I actually need them)
• Pocket Wizard N90M3 Nikon Motor Drive Cable (Connects Nikon camera bodies to a Pocket Wizard for remote firing)
• Nikon MC-12B cable release
• Black Diamond Icon headlamp (Lots of range and great for skiing down in the dark after shooting night shots up on the mountain)
• Sync Cables
• Lip Balm
• AA Batteries
• Extra memory cards
• Gels for speedlights
• Electrical tape (Almost as good as duct tape, but doesn’t leave a residue behind)
• Battery tester
• Rocket Blaster (Keep your lenses and image sensors clean!)
• Burton AK powerstretch glove liners (best gloves for shooting in the cold, comfortable with good feel from 5 degrees F on up)
• Fruit Leather, Cliff Shots, any other snacks
• Aleve (Always good to have a few over the counter pain killers for rough days, and for athletes with rough landings)
• PS3 controller (Most times when I’m shooting with Tom Wallisch, he makes really tech tricks look too easy so I’ll plug him into Amped 3 get him started on the next impossible trick)
• Balsa wood plane (Sometimes shooting urban can get really really really slow after I’ve gotten all my shots I can get)

I’ve been working with Clik Elite for the past year and while most of my involvement in development has been with the Contrejour 35 & 40, the ClikStand series of packs is something I’ve been very interested in as it would be a single consolidated package of pack and stand for my strobes.

The new Volt ClikStand pack is a new product that should be available soon that I’ve recently been testing.   When I first saw the intial prototype of the ProElite + ClikStand I was a bit skeptical and thought the idea was a bit hokey.  Now with the Volt, the pack attached to the ClikStand has made me change my mind.  The Volt is a spacious pack with more than enough room for my Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed pack, Freelight A-Head, cables, Pocket Wizards, extra speedlights, clamps, brackets,  extra strobe head, the kitchen sink if you’d like.  It’s a studio in one bag.

Dimensions:
12″ W / 8″ D / 27″  H  - Volt pack only
12″ W / 15″ D / 27″  H  - Volt pack + ClikStand

48″ – Height of ClikStand fully extended

Plain and simple, I love the Volt.  It makes setup, teardown, and especially moving my strobes so unbelievably quick.  I can setup my ranger in less than a minute, and when I need to move the light, I just pick up one thing, put it on my back and start walking.  It’s really awesome and useful on location shoots where lighting is needed.  One of the other ways it makes for a quick setup is the ease of access to the main compartment.  After unbuckling the top flap, you just pull open the main compartment flap and you have frontal as well as top access to the main compartment.  So not only do you have better access in comparison to a top-loading pack but the speed of access is much greater.

The only two drawbacks are the Volt is a bit heavy and it would be nice to have the stand go higher than 48″.  The solution to the height however is using a light stand extension.  The Lowel KPH Half Pole 3′ Extension is perfect for this application.  The stand / frame is made of tubular steel and the pack itself is quite large too, this makes for a pretty beefy and sturdy package.  So with that being said, it’s not something I’d fly with however in any situation where I’m driving to the location the Volt with the ClikStand will be the first thing I put in my truck.

Side view of the Volt with the stand legs extended.

Clik Elite Volt with the stand legs extended

Top view of the Clik Elite Volt, main compartment flap, top pocket.  Reinforced loops are added to tie more gear on if needed.

Top view of the Clik Elite Volt with the main compartment flap open.  Notice the light stand stud in the center and light stand extension clamps.  Also in the main compartment flap is extra storage for cables, clips, other random accessories.  Extension of the light stand is very quick and easy.  You open the clamps on the stand near the top of the pack, pull up on the stand to extend it, then lock it back down, then extend the legs of the stand pack and you are ready to clamp a strobe head on.  It’s that simple and easy!

Front view of the main compartment in the Clik Elite Volt with the padded dividers in the configuration the pack comes in.  The pack is designed to be able to fit a strobe head and power pack as well as a full compliment of cameras and lenses as big as a 70-200mm f2.8 lens attached to a pro body.  It’s possible to have an Alien Bee (or another similarly sized monolight) head and a power pack in the bottom section with cameras/lenses up top if you wanted to have everything in one pack.  I’ve opted to just have my Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed kit in there but I’m sure I could get another Alien Bee head as well as a power pack in there.

Front view of the Clik Elite Volt, the front lower pocket.  Dual straps to attach whatever doesn’t fit inside the main compartment, or along the sides or in one of the other pockets.

Top view of the opened front pocket.  Mesh pockets with additional pockets behind.  Enough space to put at least 4 speedlights plus whatever else needs to go in there.

Top view of the opened front pocket of the Clik Elite Volt.  Room to stuff cables, water, a frisbee, iPhone, iPod, iPad, iMac, iSuck, whatever extras you need quick access to.

The harness of the Clik Elite Volt pack

Vertical adjuster for the chest strap and detail of the mesh fabric of the harness

Adjustable stand legs of the Clik Stand.  The legs on the pack rotate out for a sturdier base, the legs on the harness swing out.

]]> http://www.erikseo.com/blog/2010/11/clik-elite-volt-camera-backpack-review/feed/ 4 http://www.erikseo.com/blog/2010/10/red-bull-rampage/ http://www.erikseo.com/blog/2010/10/red-bull-rampage/#comments Mon, 11 Oct 2010 21:15:43 +0000 Erik Seo http://erikseo.com/blog/?p=1815 Nikon D3 / Nikon 16mm f2.8 Fisheye / ISO 200 @ 1/1000 sec @ f6.3 / Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed with A-Head / Pocket Wizard FlexTT5 Transcievers for Nikon

I finally had the opportunity to make it to the Red Bull Rampage this summer.  The Red Bull Rampage is the event of all events in mountain biking.   It’s an event I’ve wanted to go to since it’s inception almost 10 years ago and just never had the time or opportunity to make it.  This year I finally did.  I was fortunate enough to snag a media credential to this event and I shot it my way.  Of course, I shot it with strobes.  I’ve been testing some of the new Pocket Wizard FlexTT5′s for Nikon in development and with the lack of skiing in October, I was stoked to be able to have something this awesome to shoot and test the new gear out with.   I was one of the few that was using lighting out there, it’s a very difficult event to be doing that.  The action moves from spot to spot and at times you could see hoards of photographers and cinematographers sprinting from location to location in between runs to setup the next shot.  The event is pure madness.  From the insane action to the endless clouds of orange dust to the thunderstorms to the desert heat to the helicopters and 3d camera rigs it was just pure madness.  I’m so glad I went, I’ll have some more to share soon.

I’ll have more later about the new Pocket Wizard FlexTT5′s for Nikon.  For now though, I’ve been able to get full hypersync at 1/640 of a second with an Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed with A-Head at full power as well as with Alien Bees 400, 800 and 1600′s with half-frame (only the top half of the frame exposed with flash) hypersync up to 1/1000 of a second and about 1/3 hypersync (only the top 1/3 of the frame exposed with flash) hypersync at 1/1250 of a second.  With the Profoto 7b’s and the Pocket Wizard FlexTT5′s for Nikon I was able to get a seemingly endless hypersync, however the output of the flash is limited  due to the shutter speed cutting off the flash due to 7b’s slower flash durations at full power.

I’m really stoked on the potential of what I can do with the new Pocket Wizard FlexTT5′s for Nikon.  What I’ve only previously been able to do with the 6mp Nikon D40 and D70 with high speed sync, I’m now able to do at 12mp with my D3 and if need be, the 24.5mp Nikon D3x.  They will hopefully be released soon!

• Long and short range mode
• Noise sniffer
• Signal strength meter
• Radio relay (Repeater mode)

Since I just got the new Multimax’s at the tail end of my spring terrain park shoot season I was only able to test out a few of the new features.  The signal strength meter is a really good tool for sure to have going, especially in a long range situation which is usually the situations that I’m shooting on the mountain.  A lot of time’s I’m shooting with my 70-200mm lens and am pretty far away from my strobes so being able to see what the signal strength is from my Multimax is a good tool to try and pre-determine if I’m wandering out of the radio signal’s range.

The other upgrade I was able to test out was the long range mode.  I was shooting photos of freeskiers Simon Dumont, Matt Walker and LJ Strenio sliding an urban rail with Poor Boyz Productions a few weeks ago and started wandering out a bit further from the scene and my lights .  As I found my shot I realized I could have a few problems with radio interference with the shot I had setup.  My first problem was being surrounded by some steel chainlink fence, my second was not having line of sight to my strobes, the third was laying up against the steel chainlink fence.  Too add to this I was laying on the ground so I could get the grass in the foreground and to finish things off I was in an urban environment with power lines directly above me.

I was about 300 feet away, a bit on the middle end of the range of the Multimax’s but with all these factors and radio interference I couldn’t get consistent signal and my strobes were firing a little erratically.  Since this was a perfect time to try out the new long distance mode I began sprinting back and fourth between my shooting location and making sure I had everything dialed with the Multimax’s on the three strobes I had setup on the scene.  The long range mode worked and in a situation I may not have been able to take the shot I wanted previously, I was able to get the shot I wanted with lighting.

I spoke with some of the people at Pocket Wizard and the reason long range mode works is they slowed down the data rates and increased the error correction.  This is supposed to have an impact on the maximum usable shutter speed, however I was able to sync this shot at 1/1000 of a second with my Nikon D40 body.  With that being said, I’ll have to do a bit more testing to see at what shutter speed the reliability begins to degrade in long range mode.

Check back later for a more complete review.

It’s again that time of year for me, the season is ramping up and time to replace old broken and lost gear.  In an effort to pack lighter for trips on the unfriendly skies I recently looked at my pile of light stands looking for a way to cut some weight and to get things in smaller bags.  In the past I’ve been packing my rolling ski bag in order to get my older 9 foot Bogen light stand in the mix.  The nine foot basic stand sits at 36″ long folded up and weighs in at three pounds.  While it’s a pretty good sturdy stand, packing my rolling ski bag around the airport and small rental cars really sucks.

My new solution hopefully is a good one.  After staring at specs for about an hour I ran across the Lowel 0133 Omni Light Stand.  This compact light stand packs down at 29 inches folded up and weighs in at 2.9 pounds.  It isn’t as sturdy as your standard, basic tubular legged light stand however I’m hoping it’s compact size will make up for that.  The legs are 1/8 thick, 9/16″ wide solid strip aluminum as opposed to the typical tubular aluminum legs that most light stands these days have.  This makes for a bit less stability however it’s made up for in it’s compact size, especially when folded up.

The 9′ Lowel 0133 Omni Stand seems to be built very well, using solid aluminum collar clamps as opposed to most of the lightweight stands out there that use plastic collar clamps.

Being a bit ambitious, I also ordered the Lowel KPH Half Pole 3′ Extension.  Carrying around an extra pound in my luggage can get me an extra three feet on top of my nine foot stand.  It isn’t the sturdiest combination, however with some weight holding down the base of the stand, it should work ok in light winds with a small head or speedlights on top of the stand/extension combo.  I’ll let you know how that works out later though.

More about the extension though, it’s a 2-section extension pole with the same solid aluminum collar clamps as the 0133 Omni Stand and the same gray anodized finish.   The base of the extension is a bit on the wide side compared to the 0133 Omni Stand but it gets the job done.  I think it will.

Lowell 0133 Omni Stand fully extended at 9 feet

Lowel 0133 Omni Stand fully extended with Lowel KPH Half Pole at 12 feet

I ran across this iPhone/iPod charge/sync dock / CF/SD card reader when I was at the Apple store yesterday getting my stupid iPhone fixed for the 5th time.  The Griffin Simplifi is 3 important computer accessories in one for photographers.  This thing is pretty epic and if you are anything like me, you probably have too many cords and accessories plugged into your computer as is.  Why not put two of the most often used ones accessories you have one place?  Anyways, I just ordered one and am pretty stoked to get it.  The one thing that sucks is it runs on USB 2.0 instead of Firewire 800 but for the convenience it’s not that big of a deal.

Here’s what you get:

• iPhone/iPod charge/sync dock
• CF / SD memory card reader
• 2-port powered USB 2.0 hub

Here’s a link to it at bhphoto.com

More info/specs at Griffin’s product page here

I already have a RAID 1 system to automatically write data to two hard drives at the same time for an automatic backup which has already saved me a few times with some previous drive failures.  Since then I’d never work without the RAID as it’s saved me from the time in downloading from my web backup or my other backup site.  I’m able to keep working as I just put in a new matching drive and the RAID1 system automatically copies over all the data from the working drive to the new drive.

Now I just have to wait for all the data from the old drives to the new drives so I can get going on retiring my other old 500 gb RAID 1array and get back to work.