Sometimes you’ve waited so long for a good vacation that you’re just ready to flip when you get there. I have no idea if this is what happened in today’s Photo of the Day, though. This picture, taken at Crystal Cove, CA was submitted by Nismo334 and it managed to catch our attention.
Are you a Flickr user who’d like to share a travel related picture or two for our consideration? Submit it to Gadling’s Flickr group right now! We just might use it for our Photo of the Day!
Now summer is finally on its way, you are probably looking closely at the travel deals out there, waiting to pick an affordable destination (hint: check out our hot travel deals!).
Before you spend all your hard earned cash on your plane tickets, why not invest in some gadgetry to make your trip more enjoyable? Here are 10 gadgets that can help you carry more, get online (in the air), capture your fun, keep your photos safe and help power all that stuff.
Tom Bihn Tri-Star bag
Wouldn’t travel be easier if you could pack everything you need for a short trip, in one bag? Would life become perfect if that bag could be a shoulder bag, backpack and duffel bag? Then check out the new Tri-Star from Tom Bihn bags.
This 3-in-1 bag makes smart use of its space, and has room for clothes, a laptop and any other small items you want to carry along with you.
Price: $240
Where: Tombihn.com (ships late June)
EyeFi Video card
EyeFi was featured in our top 25 best travel products of 2008.
The EyeFi card is an SD memory card with a twist – built inside this tiny card is a WiFi adapter, and any time your camera is in range of a wireless access point, it sends its photos to a variety of sources. The card supports uploads to your home PC, but also to most online photo hosting sites.
For 2009, EyeFi took their excellent product, upped the storage space to 4GB, and added support for video files.
Now your camera can upload photos, as well as videos. Imaging making a funny video, and arriving home with all that content already published on Youtube!
Price: $79.95 (EyeFi 4GB Explore Video) or $99.95 (Share Video)
Where: eye.fi store
Verizon MiFi
The new Verizon MiFi promises to make mobile broadband easier than ever. In the past, getting online with mobile broadband involved using a USB adapter or modem card.
The MyFi combines a wireless hotspot and mobile broadband adapter in one small battery powered device. When turned on, you can get online using your WiFi enabled laptop, netbook or PDA, without having to deal with complicated software.
Price: $99.95 (after a $50 mail in rebate, and with a 2 year contract, $59.95/month for service)
Where: verizonwireless.com
Pocket HD Camcorder
Still carrying a bulky tape camcorder? Dump it and invest in a new digital HD camcorder like the Creative VadoHD or the Flip UltraHD. At just over $200, these cameras make surprisingly high quality clips, and they are small enough to fit in your pocket. With no moving parts, battery life is often enough for a days worth of clips.
Once you get home, you simply pop out the built in USB plug, and copy all the clips onto your computer, ready to upload to your favorite video sharing site.
Price: from $199
Where: Flip by Pure Digital, Creative Vado HD, Kodak ZX1, ZI6
Tekkeon TekCharge MP1800
The Tekkeon TekCharge MP1800 is, despite the long name, remarkably simple. This small Lithium-Ion battery pack can charge almost any portable device. The unit comes with a variety of charging tips for mobile phones, PDA’s and smartphones.
With a whopping 4000mAh capacity, this battery pack carries enough portable juice to recharge most gadgets at least twice. When connected to an iPod or Zune, you’ll get over 100 hours extra music playback time!
Price: $44.95
Where: Tekkeon reseller page
>>>> Go to part 2 of 10 gadgets to make your summer travel more enjoyable
Like so many things in life, the latest Flip Ultra is two steps forward and one step back. At $199, this compact HD video camera is less expensive than the sleek Flip Mino. But it’s also bulkier than its little brother, both literally (it’s big enough to accommodate two AA batteries, as opposed to the internal battery the Mino runs off) and figuratively, since it can hold up to two hours of high-resolution (720p) video, twice as much as the Mino.
What I liked: In the tradition of previous Flip cameras, the Ultra is super-easy to use. The stereo mic is a huge upgrade from the tinny-sounding mono mic on the Mino. The camera felt solid in my hand, and even though it didn’t have any discernible image-stabilization technology, I experienced less shake when shooting. The USB port makes a better connection with some PCs — no need to unplug all the peripherals when I’m downloading video. Editing the images on my almost-obsolete version of Final Cut Pro … well, that’s another story.
What I didn’t like: If you’re used to the Mino, you may not appreciate the heaviness of its successor. The buttons take some getting used to; I turned the camera off when I was trying to zoom in on a subject, because I was used to the Mino configuration. A lot of my shots were unacceptably jerky. Flip should consider flipping the switch on image-stabilization when it develops its next generation of cameras. And batteries. Don’t even get me started on batteries. It takes seven hours to charge the internal batteries the first time around. Whoa.
What everyone else is saying: The Flip Ultra is getting a round of reasonably good reviews. USA Today recommended it as a “fun, easy and highly compact video camera to capture baby’s first steps, your European vacation highlights or a family reunion.” CNET gave it three out of five stars, adding that it’s “only worth buying at a reasonable discount off its list price.” Our friends over at Engadget panned the camera because of its image stabilization issues.
Field test: I shot SeaWorld Orlando’s newest rollecoaster, Manta, on both the Mino and the Ultra. I couldn’t have achieved the same angles with a conventional video camera unless it was tethered to me, and that was something the ride attendants weren’t going to go for. (In fact, I had to sneak this camera on the ride … sorry, SeaWorld.) Can you tell which footage was shot on the Mino and which was done with the Ultra?
Give up? The coaster POV shots were done on a Mino, but everything else was shot on the Ultra.
Buy or not? Get one. It’s a useful travel companion.
I don’t know about you, but this holiday season has completely gotten away from me (note to self: do not travel again anytime between Halloween and Christmas, particularly if Thanksgiving comes late in the year). We’ve managed to get our holiday decorations up, but we’ve hardly done any Christmas shopping so far, and time is running out and …
… *sigh*.
Anyway, if, like me, you’re starting to run out of time, and you happen to have a photog in the family who likes to travel (or happen to be the travelling photographer, and are looking for some ideas for hint-dropping purposes), here’s a list of some great gifts you might want to consider:
1. A camera bag. Even if your favourite photographer already has a camera bag, trust me, s/he wouldn’t mind another. The trick about buying a good camera bag however, is to ensure that (a) there’s enough padding inside to cushion the camera from any possible impacts, and (b) it doesn’t scream “camera” while walking in crowded public places or airports.
Personally, I enjoy my Crumpler backpack (shown here) — it’s got a padded section for my camera, my laptop, and a bit of room for other things — and it doesn’t look like a camera bag. In addition, Loewpro also has a great selection of camera backpacks and other bags, and some of them don’t look very distinguishable from any other type of non-camera bag.
And for those who use point-and-shoots, there are some great small padded pouches out there for you to toss in your bigger bags, but still keep your camera (or other camera-related stuff) safe. Check out Etsy for handmade, unique options.
2. A small travel tripod. Until recently, I thought of a travel tripod as a sort of gadgety luxury — but last month, when I taking a photograph of the Houses of Parliament in London at dusk, trying to balance my camera on a rain-slicked banister, and petrified the camera would take a tumble into the Thames below, I realized that perhaps a travel tripod might be something great to have at the bottom of my camera bag.
Travel tripods come in all shapes and sizes (and capabilities) — check out Pedcopods and Gorillapods for two more popular versions.
3. Mailable photo frames. This idea actually comes from one of my colleagues, Sarah, at Shutter Sisters — these handy little photo frames that are actually customizable postcards. Says Sarah: “When I was on vacation in September, I sent my daughter Cadence’s best friend custom postcards using the mailable photo frame from Photojojo (I’d print my shots at a local Wolf/Ritz and mail the postcard from wherever we happened to be).”
This seems like a great stocking stuffer for a loved one who is planning an extensive trip in 2009, and is intent on taking a camera along — a great way to receive very personal news from far away, and then display it immediately! Awesome.
4. A subscription to a magazine known for its photography. I don’t mean this in a read-Playboy-for-the-articles way, I’m talking about periodicals that are famous for their cutting-edge imagery and contributing photographers. Shutterbugs are always looking for inspiration, and I, for one, would love a subscription to a magazine like American Photo, National Geographic, or Vanity Fair, to name a few. Figure out what type of photography your loved one is inspired by, and shop accordingly. Not only will the magazine provide some cool ideas for capturing images, your recipient will have some good reading to take along with them on those interminable flights. Bonus.
5. A cool camera strap. Earlier this year, I went on a trip with 12 other women — we all rented a home on the Oregon coast for a 4-day getaway. As it happened, a large percentage of us were photographers — which meant that cameras were everywhere. I have to tell you, whether you’re a Nikon fan or a Canon fan or a whatever-other-brand fan: cameras look a LOT alike. At times it became damned near impossible to tell the difference from one camera to the next — and God help you if you just rested your camera somewhere for a minute. Sometimes I thought I’d never see my camera again.
A few of the more savvy of our group, however, had replaced their camera’s store-issue camera strap with some really distinctive straps, making it easy to spot their camera from 10 paces. When I returned home, I purchased a couple for my own cameras. I think they’d make a unique gift — and as with the camera bags, Etsy is a great place to find some unusual ones.
6. Picture frames. I have to say, I’m awful about displaying my photographs in my own home — yet there’s nothing I love better than visiting someone’s home that has tons of photographs around, chronicling their travels and their lives. If your favourite photographer is similar, why not buy a few cool frames to nudge her into showing her work with pride? And on a related note, consider a gift of this book, with all sorts of great ideas on how to display your photos. I purchased it a couple of months ago, and it’s truly inspiring. I haven’t actually used any of the ideas yet, but maybe if someone buys me some picture frames …
7. Practical paraphernalia. It’s not particularly romantic or clever, but photographers can never have too many memory cards or polarizing filters, batteries or microfiber lens clothes for their cameras — just make sure you know the size of their lenses or the make and model of the specific camera, and go for it. In the alternative, if you’re afraid that all of this sounds far too technical to trust to your own judgment, a gift certificate to a local camera specialty store would always be welcome.
8. Fun stuff. And finally, there are some really cool things out there that a photographer might not think to purchase for himself, but would love to t
ry. Consider purchasing a Lensbaby, a lens which focuses one point of an image, and then warps the outer edges, creating a cool effect (see Willy Volk’s example to the right). Or, how about a super-secret spy lens: this handy contraption allows you to point your camera in any direction, misleading your subject into thinking you’re taking a picture of something else. Fantastic.
And finally, although this is technically not for still photography, it’s unreal how many photographers I’ve spoken to who said they want the Flip Video Camcorder for Christmas. And starting at US$ 149.99, for a camcorder, this is a real bargain.
Happy shopping everyone! As always, keep sending your great questions to karen.walrond@weblogsinc.com, and I’ll try to tackle them in upcoming posts. In the meantime, keep clicking.
Karen is a writer and photographer in Houston, Texas. You can see more of her work at her site, Chookooloonks.
And for more Through the Gadling Lens, click here.
My daily deal for today is for the Flip Ultra 60 minute digital camcorder. This pocket video camera has an internal memory card, with enough storage for 60 minutes of your antics. The camera features a nifty pop-out USB connector, so you do not need to carry any cables.
The camera starts up in about 3 seconds, and is instantly ready to record. Thanks to its AA batteries, you do not have to worry about expensive camcorder rechargeable batteries, plus you’ll be able to pick up new batteries almost anywhere.
The camera comes complete with a set of new batteries, a TV video cable, a carrying pouch and a wrist strap.
The retail price for the Flip Ultra is $149.99, but you can pick one up the pink version through Amazon for just $124. If pink isn’t “your thing”, you’ll still be able to pick up a more masculine color, but you will end up paying a few dollars more.
The quality of the video off the Flip camera is surprisingly decent, it won’t win you an Oscar, but it is a great affordable way to capture your memories on a vacation. The camera software also makes it easy to instantly upload your recordings to popular video sharing sites like Youtube and if you are not very computer savvy, you can even bring the camera to a local Flip retailer and have the recordings stored on a DVD.