Last month, I threw a geeky pizza party and announced the Tony’s Pizza $500 Tech Giveaway contest. While this blog participated in the $500 tech giveaway, I also had some leftover pizza coupons to give away.
Unfortunately, I don’t yet know who won the $500 tech prize because the contest sponsor chose that winner, so if you were notified that you won, please let us know so I can offer my congratulations. As for the pizza coupons, I got to select winners at random and I decided to choose four winners with the help of random.org. Each of the following winners will receive two coupons for free pizza.
- Jill H. (comment)
- Lisa (comment)
- MCJunkie on Twitter (tweet)
- Joi (comment)
We had a lot of entries in this contest and I want to thank each and every person who commented or tweeted to enter. You all rock and I’ll be looking for sponsors to hold another contest soon.
A couple years ago, I finally took the plunge and bought a DSLR. It came with the stock lens and was all I needed and I didn’t even need a camera bag. Since then, I’ve gotten a tripod and several lenses, and throwing them all in a regular backpack stopped working pretty much right away. It became clear to me that a good camera bag was what I needed.
My wife bought me a camera bag and lugging around my camera and accessories became a lot easier. This is not the same camera bag. This is a bigger bag for lugging around a lot more lenses, cameras, and, well, just a lot. This Booq Python Blur camera bag turned up at my office recently for a review.
Haul Lots Of Camera Equipment
I have my DSLR camera, a 500mm mirror lens, macro lens, fish-eye lens, some filters, a tripod and I carry around my camera battery charger, an extra battery, Rubiks Cube, and a Flip Ultra and a small point-and-shoot Sony digital camera. I first pulled all the filler paper out of the Python Blur (look at all that). There are pockets everywhere. One really good pocket to have in a camera bag is a laptop pocket. If you have a DLSR that you can control with software on your laptop, you know the benefits. I would have never gotten this hummingbird photo without my laptop and at the time, I had to carry both the laptop bag and the camera bag, which was a pain. To get a feel for the capacity, I emptied out my camera bag and loaded it all up in the Python Blur.
It still felt pretty empty. I moved stuff around and it still felt empty. It makes sense, though. A professional photographer is going to have his or her good camera and then their backup, a slew of lenses, color meters, remotes, etc. And a professional photographer would probably be able to fit all that in the Python Blur easily enough. The bottom of the top compartment can be moved or removed, as well, to join the bottom area and form one large storage space. A professional photographer is going to need this much bag. Sadly, it seems this is a little too much bag for me… for now.
Size Isn’t Everything
So I didn’t have enough camera equipment to make much of a dent at all in the amount of pace this Booq bag provides. That’s a good thing, one would think, and it still is for most, but it provided some concern for me. The very first thing I noticed when I threw it on my back was that it felt a lot heavier than my old basic beginner bag. The heft does not come without it’s reasons (see below), but it feels like this bag weighs almost as much empty as my bag with everything in it. I’m sure I could get used to it and it’s not exactly a ton, but it would be less convenient, especially when I take my gear hiking. The site lists the Python Blur as only 5.7lb, so maybe I just need to go to the gym more.
The next problem I faced was the lack of anywhere to strap in my tripod. Even though it throws the balance of my current bag all off, it’s one more thing I like to have integrated into a single bag. This is more than offset with the laptop pocket, but I want both.
Finally, the side pockets felt small to me. They were the obvious place to store my lenses, but it didn’t feel like it. Cramming my largest lens in there didn’t feel right and even a couple smaller ones felt forced, though everything fit and came out fine.
Reward If Found And Other Cool Features
While it doesn’t actually say anything about a reward, that’s the first thing someone might think. When I opened up the top compartment, I found a bar code and serial number on a tag that reads, “IF FOUND PLEASE VISIT TERRALINQ.COM”. Something tells me that there are people out there who would guess correctly that a nice camera bag like this loaded up with equipment could sell for quite a bit, but there are plenty of helpful and honest people out there, too, who would love to return such a thing to its owner if only they knew who that was. That’s where Booq’s Terralinq service comes in. Buy a Booq bag, register it, lose it, someone finds it, they report it, Terralinq contacts you and you meet up with the finder for your bag. It’s a great idea that is hopefully saving some people lots of money or insurance headaches.
One of the small features, but still worth pointing out, is the key ring in the left side pocket pictured above. Even better, but harder to show with a photo, is that the Python Blur’s exterior is 1680 denier ballistic nylon and water repellent. From the high-quality zippers to the denim lining, this thing is built to last a long time and absorb the impact of some of our clumsy mistakes. The inside is soft and protects without scratching. Aside from any features, a good bag should last and this one looks like it will.
Conclusions
There’s a lot of camera bags out there and bags made specifically to carry around expensive camera equipment and protect it from damage, rain, etc. are never cheap. At $229, this one is a little more than I would be willing to throw down for a bag for my camera equipment which I could replace for about $800 or less. More than the cost, it’s just too much for me. I need a simple bag for my simple photography needs. The Booq Python Blur is, however, a serious bag for serious photographers with a price tag that is justified by the years of rugged use it is likely to provide, the peace of mind named Terralinq, and the over-abundance of storage space.
One of the things most cell phones lack is optical zoom for the embedded camera. Sure, many of them provide digital zoom, but that’s mostly just enlarging a portion of the existing image and results in a lower quality photo or video. The people over at usbfever.com were kind enough to send me one of their products that aims to deliver the optical zoom we’ve been missing (for the iPhone, anyway).
The iPhone Zoom Lens
The product usbfever.com sent me is a 6X optical zoom lens for the iPhone. It came with the lens, the snap-on case, a neck strap, a user manual and a microfiber cleaning cloth. I love when companies include the microfiber cloth because you can never have too many.
Although I found the user manual to not be all that helpful and ended up putting it aside, it really isn’t necessary for this product, in my opinion. The application of the case is pretty obvious and the lens just slides into the case. I will probably never use the neck strap. The lens does not have protective covers for either end, so it’s best stored in the box it came in which is small enough to keep in the car without being in the way.
Photo And Video Zoom On The iPhone
The best test of a product like this is to snap a regular photo and then one with the lens from the same spot, so that’s just what I did. In my conference room, I snapped the first photo without the lens and the second with it attached. Both photos were taken from about 4-5 feet from the subject, although this lens kit would be most useful outdoors.
As you can see, the lens did a great job of bringing my subject a lot closer in the shot, but it came with some fuzzy edges. I think I could have adjusted the focus a little more, but it was a little awkward to do because the lens has a just a tiny little bit of room to move in it’s connector. I had slightly better results as shown in the video below.
Initially, I also had a hard time removing the case from my phone, but I had less trouble with it after I found that it’s easier to start from the side edges and work your way around. I think the case design could be better if the lens connector wasn’t glued on. If it was, instead, part of the molded case, I’d just keep the case on the phone all the time. With caps for both ends of the lens, I could then carry the lens around more freely and slap it on the phone in an instant for a quick zoom photo.
In any case, as is, the product does as advertised and is a pretty cool addition to your iPhone accessory collection.
Conclusion
This product really feels a little more like a cool novelty than a practical accessory, but it’s also under $20, which makes it a very affordable novelty item. That said, it is a pretty cool thing to have handy when you want to get a photo or video with your iphone and need to zoom in. The low price is certainly a selling point for anyone who needs a little convincing that they actually need a zoom lens on their iPhone.
On the heels of my DROID review Verizon brought me a Droid ERIS to review. As you may have guessed from the title of this review, I liked it a lot, and so did everyone I showed it to.
It’s Like DROID’s Little Sister
You’ve heard of the DROID, of course, and if you haven’t, click above to read the review. While DROID is a top phone choice for those in need of constant communication and all the bells and whistles, it can be overkill for others. The ERIS is like a smaller, curvier, little sister with a few of DROID’s key features missing. Since I’m comparing it to the DROID, I might as well point out what I couldn’t find on the ERIS.
The first is obvious. There’s no hardware keyboard. In iPhone user, I didn’t find this to be of much concern, especially since the software keyboard was pretty responsive and accurate. For some, this takes the ERIS out of the running when choosing a phone, though, so it’s important to note. The other main thing I found missing from the ERIS was voice control. DROID has it and I’ve gotten used to it in the iPhone. This is a software feature and I really don’t understand why it wasn’t included. It’s forgivable, but an unnecessary loss.
Otherwise, the ERIS runs on Android just like it’s big brother, so the environment was nearly the same.
In Its Own Class
As much as the ERIS makes me think of DROID, it really stands apart from a lot of the phones on the market. It embodies many of the features I find in the pricier smart phones but at around $100 less when bought from Verizon online (around $80 with a 2 year contract). That’s not a bad trade-off for the couple missing features previously mentioned.
Beyond having all the features that come with the Android OS, the ERIS is just really nice to look at. It’s not too flashy, but it has very smooth rounded corners and buttons that are pretty flush with the phone’s surface.
The front of the phone has Call and End Call/Power buttons that sit on either side of the combination roller ball/action button. This roller ball lights up when in use, which adds to the aesthetics of the phone, but I find myself not using this for navigation. It’s just not a natural feel for me, although it may make navigation a little easier. Above all this is a row of four navigation buttons. The buttons, which take you home, back, to a menu, or to a quick search are sensitive to the slightest touch and are completely flush for a smooth feel. Of course, there’s volume control buttons on the side and a standard headphone jack on the top.
Mass Appeal
The fact that I was a little more eager to take this phone with me to gatherings with friends says something, but what spoke volumes was how much other people wanted to play with it. At a friend’s birthday party, I think I spent a half hour talking about the phone and people were eager to play with it. These same people (one of them a DROID owner) noticed and made mention of the missing voice control and physical keyboard, but still had lots of good things to say about it as well.
Conclusions
I was excited before I ever put my hands on this phone and was more excited after I got to play with it. I was excited enough, in fact, to overlook the lack of headphones that I think every smart phone should include. Holding its own with some more expensive phones, this is a more affordable way to get your hands on a good-looking smart phone with all the benefits of the Android platform. Not only would I recommend this phone, but I tried to convince my wife to buy one (though it just wasn’t for her). This phone is an easy winner, provided you don’t need voice control or a physical keyboard.
Although this is a tech blog and I normally write about tech stuff, I’m also an affiliate and recently came across something I felt worthwhile to take part in. Affiliate.com, known for their stylish branded shirts they give away at the affiliate conferences, is holding a contest. They gave away some pretty cool shirts this year (just like last year), and they asked bloggers to write a creative post about the shirt for a chance at some money. They’re giving $1,000 to the winning blogger, but more importantly, they are going to donate another $1,000 to the Red Cross for Haiti in the winning blogger’s name. Win or lose, I’m pretty happy to see the donation that will take place, but I wanted to give it a shot, too. Affiliate.com mailed me out a t-shirt and I decided to run with the poker theme, playing against, well, myself.
As you can see above, I was doing pretty well with four Aces. Those other Joe Techs never knew what hit ‘em. In all seriousness, I’m definitely wearing this shirt to my next poker game.
About The Affiliate.com Shirt
The shirt they sent out this year is really comfortable (100% cotton), but what stands out is the design. I have a lot of conference and affiliate company shirts and I like most of them a lot, but this one is my new favorite. The edges are frayed slightly for that popular worn-in look. The front design looks like a King of Diamonds and the back is branded, but in a very tasteful way. I will be wearing this shirt out a lot. For a better view, take a look at my little fashion shoot below (and feel free to poke fun at me in the comments).
I can’t say enough how awesome it is that they’re donating the money for Haiti and even if I don’t win, I’ve gotten a really nice t-shirt out of the experience. However, I’d also love to win. If you think I should win the contest let me know in the comments by telling me what you think I should do with the $1,000 prize.
