The Hähnel Mk200 is a unidirectional microphone for DSLR and video cameras. It comes with two AAA batteries and a dead cat sock in the box. The Mk200 has a –10 to +10dB switch, a maximum SPL of 120dB, and a peak signal indicator.

The first generation of this microphone had shock mounts only on the microphone barrel. The Mk200 also has a shock mount on the hot shoe adapter. This makes a huge difference.

The microphone is a super cardioid design, with a 14mm electret condenser capsule for unidirectional pickup. I tested the Mk200 in different circumstances and found it to perform well. It has a nice, neutral sound quality, perhaps somewhat lacking in bass. The lowest frequency my test mic could capture was 57 Hz. The highest was 18,600 Hz. The advertised values are 70–20,000 Hz. A spectral analysis of my test recording showed a tiny bit of noise with low sound levels.

The microphone records most sound from up front with a typical falloff from around 90° left/right. For most purposes, the mic’s sensitivity is quite satisfactory, even at a 0dB setting. The included dead cat sock worked great in windy conditions.

The sound quality of the Mk200; its small, lightweight design; and battery stamina (up to 100 hours, it’s claimed) make it a good choice for most video sound recording purposes or for plain sound capture (e.g., to create your own background sound bank), but I wouldn’t recommend it for pop/rock concert recordings.

Company: Hähnel Industries Ltd.
Price: £106
Web: www.hahnel.ie
Rating: 4
Hot:  Neutral sound; small; lightweight; dead cat sock included
Not:  A little bit noisy with low-level sound

Peak Design has come up with a new alternative to the camera strap, the Capture Camera Clip System. It allows you to hang your camera off your belt or any strap.

The Capture System has two components: the clip and an Arca-style mounting plate. The System is made of aluminum and has a solid feel. The Arca-style plate is equipped with four hand strap loops. It has a rubber bottom; it won’t twist. The plate is best fixed by using the hexagon driver from the box, but you can also use the robust D-ring.

The Capture itself can be fixed on a belt, a backpack, a waist strap, or a messenger bag. To attach, you need to unscrew two clamping bolts that can withstand 60kg of force, and pivot the top layer to expose the bottom plate. Your belt or strap goes between the two. Tighten the clamping bolts firmly and you’re ready. The System is very secure, with separate spring and twist locks.

Strong it is, but comfortable? I thought the position next to my shoulder would be a good place to test the Capture, but I’m skinny. Hanging a heavy 3kg camera on a nylon shoulder strap without padding was asking for painful bruising; however, the Capture’s design invites experimentation. I found it worked great on the strap that came with my Lowepro camera bag. The camera still bounced around, but it bounced into the bag, not me, and releasing the camera from the Capture was a breeze.

Company: Peak Design LLC
Price: $79.99
Web: www.peakdesignltd.com
Rating: 4.5
Hot:  Strength; security; flexible wearing capabilities; design
Not:  A heavy camera with a bulky lens may move a lot

Carry Speed’s FS-PRO Camera Sling Strap comes in a blunt cardboard box, inside of which is a complete strap system containing a shoulder pad (the largest and widest I’ve ever seen); the strap itself with a heavy-duty metal connector; an extra wrist strap; a special shorter strap with 1/4″ screw for attaching to a telephoto lens; and a camera plate.

The system is comfortable, as the huge shoulder pad ensures a good distribution of weight. It looks secure enough for really heavy equipment, and the cinch system works great.

The plate is Arca-Swiss style with a swivel element onto which a ball connects the strap’s connector. The idea is to swivel the ball out of the way when using a tripod. Great idea, but the swivel mechanism bumps into the finger dents of some cameras’ vertical grip, which prevents swiveling all the way into the horizontal position. That makes mounting on a tripod difficult, if not impossible.

The coupling system is a threaded cylinder that’s open on one side. You slide the ball into the open half and then a full cylinder is screwed over. To secure the closing cylinder into place, there’s a rubber O-ring that you need to push into place with your fingers. Well, I just don’t see myself securing the small rubber O-ring if I have gloves on. Also, I have reservations about security, as a rubber ring can give way after prolonged use. A military-grade system, such as the one Luma Labs once had in its Luma Loop, would have been better.

Company: Carry Speed
Price: $79.99
Web: www.carryspeed.com
Rating: 3.5
Hot:  Complete system; inexpensive; comfortable
Not:  Camera plate not fully functioning with vertical grip

Simple Monitor Calibration System

X-Rite’s ColorMunki Smile is an affordable, introductory monitor-calibration and -profiling kit, with an emphasis on ease of use. The results are very good and it’s the perfect solution for color-management holdouts. The whole process takes 5 minutes and, when through, you’ll be able to edit your images with confidence, or shop on the Internet, knowing that the colors are accurate. One caveat: Smile lacks advanced controls and isn’t meant for professionals.

In the box, you’ll find a nicely designed USB colorimeter with an adjustable counterweight to balance it securely on the screen. There’s a gasket on the bottom of the colorimeter to block any stray light. The software uses onscreen animation prompts, or there’s an instructional video on the webpage to walk you through the process. Essentially, there’s one step: You place the colorimeter over an onscreen target and click start. There are no options to select, so there’s nothing to screw up.

Set to a gamma of 2.2 and a color temperature of 6,500 K, the program works with your screen’s existing brightness (you can adjust the brightness later). The colorimeter reads a series of colors and gray patches, builds a profile, and saves your profile automatically—annoyingly, you can’t name it. When the process finishes, you can view a before and after of your display.

Smile’s scope is narrow. It doesn’t let you customize settings such as gamma or color temperature. There’s no ability to read ambient light, nor feature to track your screen’s Delta E or to measure light falloff at the edges. Does it do a good job? Yes! Should you get it? If you’re on a budget, and (for whatever reason) still haven’t calibrated your screen, ColorMunki Smile will, well, make you smile!

Company: X-Rite, Incorporated
Price: $99
Web: http://www.xrite.com
Rating: 4.5
Hot:  Simplified color management
Not:  No customization

Camera DSLR Stabilizing Rig

The Camtrol Prime 22 is an inexpensive video or DSLR camera-stabilizing rig for equipment with a maximum load of 7 lbs. I tested it with a DSLR and a small consumer camcorder with an Atomos Ninja 2 video recorder/monitor mounted next to it.

The Prime 22 is an all-aluminum platform with a three-part articulating arm. It comes with one 1/4″ mounting screw. The platform has four retractable legs and clever labyrinth-like channels through which the tripod mount screw can freely move.

The articulating arm has ball joints to lock the position of the segments in place. The upper-arm segment is a comfortable joystick look-alike.

The Prime system is designed to stabilize without the need for counterweights. When I mounted the Ninja 2, the weight distribution and limitations of movement of the Prime’s lower-arm segment made carrying the unit awkward; however, experimenting with different positions and locations did the trick.

Once you find the right location for your equipment so you can get a good weight distribution, the Prime 22 is an absolute charm to use. You can hold it in low positions, as well as above your head, but then the weight distribution factor kicks in again, so you may need to reposition.

You can also use the rig as a shoulder mount, to a certain degree. You can even attach the whole thing to a quick-release plate. After doing this review, I learned that the company sells a special arm for recorder/monitors like the Ninja. This might be considered a necessary option.

Company: Camtrol
Price: $399
Web: http://www.camtrol.com
Rating: 4
Hot:  Stabilizing works great; fits your hand perfectly
Not:  May require repositioning of recorder/monitor

Dual Element Stereo Condenser Microphone

Clearly, the latest technologies offer more portability and quality, but some of the greatest products already exist in other markets or applications. One of the hidden treasures of professional live audio engineers is the RØDE NT4 stereo microphone that brings stunningly realistic audio to DSLRs and video cameras.

The NT4 is actually two microphones on a single body, adding natural dimension for superior audio reproduction. The NT4 connects to your camera or recording device via either two XLR cables (2x mono left/right) or a single 1/8″ stereo jack. The jack makes it compatible with many later-model DSLRs or advanced consumer digital video recorders.

For live music, outdoor scenes, or ambient sound sampling, this dual-headed condenser microphone will make the final audio accurate and vivid without harshness. The package includes a product-specific mic clip and molded basic foam windscreen to reduce noise. It also includes a rugged carrying case and cabling. The NT4 requires a single mic stand (a heavier base and boom extension are recommended) for placement.

As a condenser microphone, it requires a 48v power supply, but also can run on a 9-volt battery. This 200-ohm mic offers 20–20,000 Hz frequency response, but with a more natural audio curve that’s consistently warm at most proximities to the sound source.

For those more familiar with audio production for video, using a separate multitrack audio recorder or digital recording suite on a computer with multiple inputs allows the NT4 to be “flown” over a wedding crowd, in the audience at a concert, or just mixed into your headphones to hear the ambient sound during an event. By adding the NT4 to other microphones, and mixing the levels later, your clients and customers will enjoy viewing the final video in home theaters and surround-sound systems with dramatically better audio quality.

Company:  RØDE Microphones
Price: $899
Web: www.rodemic.com
Rating: 4.5
Hot:  Audio quality; stereo image; single stand requirement
Not:  Slightly larger than traditional microphones

Choosing a camera bag or case is a subjective endeavor, which is why manufacturers offer myriad sizes, styles, and options that encompass an enormous price range. The drop it MODERN Hard Case is a hard-side case that’s heavy on style. Think of it as a modern interpretation of a stylish bag that’s been handed down through generations of photographers.

The MODERN Hard Case is elegantly made and packaged, arriving in a fitted box and a cotton bag. It’s available in black or brown leather, has all metal hardware with push-button closure, an adjustable canvas shoulder strap with leather pad, and an adjustable waist strap. The interior is padded corduroy and has a divider for a tablet device, and two vertical dividers for your camera, lenses, flash, or other equipment. All dividers are removable, but there’s minimal adjustment between the dividers due to the placement of the hook-and-loop strip on the inside of the case. There are no horizontal dividers, so you have to stack your gear such as small lenses, which isn’t ideal. That’s too bad considering the depth of the bag.

Built into the inside of the top are a series of elastic pockets and straps that hold up to six CompactFlash cards; two extra batteries; and a lens cap, cleaning cloth, etc. There’s an elastic pocket sewn into the inside of the bag that holds a smartphone, passport, etc.

The MODERN Hard Case is a bag that’s at home in urban settings and when traveling to chic destinations. It will protect your camera and gear with style. I wouldn’t use it on camping trips or at the racetrack, but that’s not really the point.

Company:  drop it MODERN
Price: $327
Web: www.dropitmodern.com
Rating: 4
Hot:  Style; materials; construction
Not:  Weight; price; lack of horizontal dividers

Innovatronix battery packs allow you to take your studio lights on location without having to buy a whole new proprietary system or rent a generator. Each one has two outlets into which you can plug your regular studio lights. The top-of-the-line Explorer XT3 is for photographers who use high-powered lights or have long shoots. It gets about 500 fires from an 800 W strobe at full power (2,400 Ws peak power). The midrange Explorer XT SE pack gets around 300 full-power fires from a 350 W strobe (2,400 Ws peak). And the Explorer Mini for quick shoots gets around 100 full-power fires from a 400 W strobe (1,200 W peak). Recycle times are around 1–2 seconds for all. As with any battery pack, it drains very quickly when the modeling light is in use. Obviously, this will also affect how many fires you get.

Each pack has three lights (green, orange, and red) that indicate battery level. A more detailed battery meter would be helpful, but most other battery packs have the same readout. The noise from the packs is on a par with the typical cooling fan on a strobe—much quieter than a generator.

Aesthetically, the packs have a pretty industrial, no-frills design. Each comes with a carrying case that’s useful for transportation and helps protect the pack from the elements when on location; however, the carrying strap is attached to the access panels on either end, so it makes it a bit awkward to access the receptacles.

In testing these packs, there was the occasional refresh hiccup where the strobe took about twice as long as it should have to refresh. This might be an issue for photographers who need absolute consistency, but if not, it’s a minor setback. Overall, these packs do exactly what they’re designed to do, and do it pretty well.

Company:  Innovatronix, Inc.
Price: XT3: $790; XT SE: $429; Mini: $349
Web: www.innovatronix.com
Rating: 3.5
Hot:  On-location battery power; quieter than a generator
Not:  Aesthetics; can’t use modeling light long

The SpiderPro Single Camera System consists of a SpiderPro Belt; a SpiderPro Holster; a SpiderPro Plate that attaches directly to your camera’s tripod mount; and a SpiderPro Pin that attaches to the Plate and slides into the Holster. That’s a lot of spiders.

I used the SpiderPro with my Canon 7D with extra battery grip and either my 24–70mm f/2.8 or 70–200mm f/2.8 lenses. The other lens was in a pouch that I attached to the side of the belt for easy access. The camera and lens weighed in around 7 lbs and the other lens about 3 lbs. That doesn’t sound too bad until you think about carrying that weight on your shoulders for ten hours. I’ve done this before with a shoulder strap and by the end of the day, my back hurt really bad. With the SpiderPro, I was amazed at how much better my back felt.

The locking mechanism that holds the camera is so well done that even getting in and out of roller coasters at a park my camera never fell out. There’s a lock button for double security, but I never needed to use it. Yet, to release the camera, all you have to do is give a little tilt and it slides right out.

The SpiderPro sits virtually unnoticed while shooting, and when I need to take a break, I just pop the camera back on and it looks like it’s resting on my hip. With everything locked down, camera swing isn’t an issue.

So how did it perform? Perfectly! I don’t use that word lightly. I love good design and am critical of new products that don’t look and perform like they should. With the SpiderPro, all I have to say is get one. Your shoulders will thank you.

Company:  Shai Gear LLC
Price: $135
Web: www.spiderholster.com
Rating: 5
Hot:  Weight off shoulders; great design
Not:

Shots of static objects or people quickly become boring, which is why professional video shooters use dollies and sliders. The motion produced by slowly sliding a camera along a rail adds visual interest. For medium-sized camcorders and video-capable digital SLRs, a Scottish company has developed the Glidetrack HD Hybrid Slider.

The Glidetrack HD Hybrid is a system made up of a sturdy, anodized-aluminum rail with 1/4″ and 3/8″ drillings in three places; a carriage running on a special composite plastic bearings and rollers combination fitted with a 3/8″ stud and friction bolt; and four adjustable dumbbell-type extension feet.

The Glidetrack HD Hybrid uses the latest-generation Igus slider system with additional components targeted at increasing efficiency and comfort. Unique about the Glidetrack is that you can easily disassemble the carriage to remove dirt and dust, and you can also swap shorter rails for longer ones.

With a very lightweight camcorder, the Glidetrack’s mixed bearings and roller system is so light, a smooth dolly is a matter of subtle muscle control, but with a heavy, 9–13-lb camera—the Glidetrack’s target range—carriage motion requires no effort at all. It’s also virtually noise-free.

In addition to its smooth operation, the Glidetrack HD Hybrid especially appeals because of its many usage scenarios. Video shooters can dolly very close to, or at, 4″ from ground level or with the Glidetrack mounted on one or two tripods. Thanks to the rubberized dumbbell feet, the Glidetrack can also be used on uneven or sloping surfaces, hanging vertically, and even upside down.

Company: Glidetrack (Scotland) Limited
Price: £360 (additional fee for longer tracks)
Web: www.glidetrack.com
Rating: 5
Hot: Smooth dollying; modular system
Not: