Apple's new Lightning-to-SD Card Camera Reader

There are now a lot of cameras out there that have wifi antennas. You can use the antenna to transfer your photos from your camera to your phone. And if you have an Android phone, you can even use the NFC receiver on your phone and the cameras to transfer photos just by "tapping" the two together.

However, wireless transfers are not always reliable. With the iPhone, you have to go to Settings, choose the camera as the wireless modem. Then, after it's connected, you open the app from the camera maker, fire the app, choose the photos you want to transfer, hope the wireless connection doesn't disconnect, and on and on and on...

This process is really tedious, to say the least!

So, the easier, and for me, still the best way to transfer photos from your camera to your iPhone is by using Apple's new Lightning-to-SD Card Camera Reader. (Yes, that's a mouthful...) With this accessory, you can easily transfer photos from the SD card to your phone. No messing with settings, no opening up the different camera makers' applications... After you connected the card reader to your phone, just open up the Photos app on your phone and you will instantly see the photos you took. You can either select individual photos for importing or you can choose to import all.

That's it. Then, you can use any of the million photos apps that are already in your iPhone.

Words of caution though. One, only the second generation of these card readers are compatible with the iPhone (from iPhone 5 to the present). The first generation is only compatible with iPads, so, if you are using an iPhone, make sure you get the right one. How to make sure that you have the latest generation of card readers? Check at the back of the box and make sure that the product code is MJYT2AM/A. Two, you must have iOS 9, or later, in your iPhone otherwise, the phone will not recognize the accessory. If you satisfy both conditions, then, you are all set!

The Apple Lightning-to-SD Card Camera Reader is Highly Recommended.

Photos shot with an iPhone 6s+ using the iOS app VSCO

Think Tank Photo Urban Disguise 35 V2.0 Review

We live in a connected world. Aside from our mobile phones, we now have iPads, iPad Minis, or laptops. Sometimes, a person has all of the above... And photographers are no exceptions.

And so, photographers need a bag that can handle all, or most, of the above.

The Think Tank Photo Urban Disguise 35 V2.0 is a great candidate. It certainly has the great looks and the capacity that can meet a photographer's requirements.

You can fit a pro DSLR with a 70-200 f/4 mounted lens with the lens hood placed in the proper orientation, a couple of extra lenses and a speedlite. You certainly can add another body in the huge front pocket. A gripped body can be put inside though you would need to make a little adjustment to the padded divider. The 35 can carry a 13-inch MacBook Pro or something of similar dimensions. Take note though, that you cannot put a gripped body and a laptop at the same time. This is because of the previously-mentioned modification to the divider that enables you to put a gripped body: because of this modification, the space for the laptop is reduced by a couple of inches in the long dimension. Well, you can still put an iPad, or maybe a small notebook after you modify the insert...

The front pocket is covered by a flap. It has hook-and-loop tapes plus a buckle that took me sometime to unlock. There is a zippered pocket on the said flap for your small items. This is one thing I greatly love about this bag: there are a lot of pockets!

You can put an iPad in the compartment reserved for your laptop or in the huge front pocket. And there is even another pocket inside the main compartment where an iPad can be placed, though this last pocket is not greatly padded and your iPad will bump with your camera gear - take great precaution when you placed your precious tablet here.

A rain cover comes with the bag and I was able to test if it really can protect my camera gear: the wife and I took it to the Sea Dog Extreme Ride here in Chicago and my camera gear and other electronic stuff survived! Yes, the rain cover works!

There is another pocket at the back of the bag. If you unzip the bottom portion of the pocket, you can slide the sleeve to the handle of your luggage. This is perfect because it means you don't have to carry the bag.

The 35 is great but if there's one thing that I'd like changed, it would be the padding in the strap. When you put your camera gear plus a laptop plus an iPad then you've got one heavy load. I've always believed that you cannot go wrong with a thick padding for a shoulder strap and you certainly would need it here if you've got a full load. Also, the padded portion of the strap is fixed in place, so there were times when it was the strap itself that sat on my shoulder, not the padded portion. The Think Tank Photo Retrospective Series, I believe, has one of the best strap padding there is.

The Think Tank Photo 35 V2.0 is a gorgeous bag which you can use around the city, in extreme thrill rides, and in formal places. It is an unassuming bag that you can take with you wherever you go.

This bag is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Check out the video the wife and I prepared.

And get yours here:

Special thanks to Brian Erwin of Think Tank Photo for providing the bag.

Music used in the video:

• Celeb Lounge by Don Taylor from the Podjam Store
• Coming Down from the BlackRapid Music Store
• When the Neon is Flashing from the Vimeo Music Store

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Gear used to make this post:

-- Canon 5D Mark II (article)

-- Canon 24-105 f/4L IS USM Lens (Long term review)

-- Canon 70-200 f/4L IS USM (review)

-- Canon Powershot G15 (Reviews Part 1 and Part 2)

-- Think Tank Photo Airport Essentials (review)

-- Benro Travel Angel A2691T (review)

-- BlackRapid Wrist Strap (review)

The Klipsch Image S4i Rugged Review

I'm a sucker for orange things, for gadgets, and for sale items. And when those three things combined in one gadget, I purchased the Klipsch Image S4i Rugged right away!

The sound is great, the bass is great, the fit is great in my ear canals. It is a joy to wear and it does not cause any discomfort nor pain. I got to stretch it out while watching the iOS7 Mac OS X Mavericks keynote (after the fact, i.e., not live) and I got through with it without the earbuds causing any discomfort. And I watched a movie right after the keynote, so...

The remote control for iOS functions is on the chunky side, but I can live with it. With this remote, I can answer calls, raise or lower the volume, play, pause, go to previous song, or go to the next one.

This in-ear noise isolating earbud is a joy to use and a joy to listen with. It muffled the noise of the street but not so much as to really detach you from your surroundings: The noise is reduced but you can still hear some, so you would know if a car is blowing its horn even if you know you have the right-of-way. Of course, you should always pay attention to your surroundings wherever you are, especially on the streets!

This earphone is really comfortable to use. This is because of the oval shape of the ear tips: it moulds to your ear canal. Just make sure you find the right-size ear tip for your ear canal. Oh, and make sure you put the right earphone in your right ear canal and the left earphone in your left ear canal. I was ready to return the product because it was very uncomfortable, but it turned out I made the mistake of putting the wrong piece inside the wrong ear. After I corrected my mistake, it had been comfortable listening all through out.

Highly Recommended!!!

Get yours here:




PS. I love iOS7 and Mac OS X Mavericks.

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Gear used to make this post:

-- Canon 5D Mark II (article)

-- Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro IS USM (review)

-- Benro Travel Angel A2691T (review)

The Photographer and iPad Owner's Best Friends - Apple Lightning USB and SD Card Adapter

As I've always said, do not give up your point-and-shoot for your camera phone just yet. The photos taken by camera phones nowadays are very good but they still have some catching up to do when compared to point-and-shoot cameras. This is especially true when you compare cameraphones to advanced compacts like the Canon Powershot S110, the 4/3 cameras, or my favorite, the Canon Powershot G15.

So, if you're an iPad owner and you still haven't given up on your point-and-shoot, then these accessories will help you migrate some, or all, of your photos from your camera to your beloved iPad. (Oh, and please, don't shoot with your iPad. Only do so if your life depends on it...)

If your camera uses an SD card, then what you can do is just pop it out of your camera and put it in the Apple Lightning SD card adapter. The iPad will recognize the SD card and it will ask you to either import all or import what you have selected. It is as easy as that.

If your camera uses a CF card or other formats, then you can use the Apple Lightning USB camera adapter instead. Connect the USB cord to your camera (cameras usually come with one), connect the USB cord to the lightning adapter, and connect the adapter to the iPad. Turn the camera on and, as with the SD card lightning adapter, the iPad will ask if you want to import what you've selected, or to import all.

After the import, the iPad will ask you if you want to delete the photos or to keep them. I always, always elect to keep them so I can later import the photos to my computer.

"So why would I need to import to my iPad and my computer?", you may ask. Well, say, after an event, I will go to one of my favorite haunts, a coffee shop, and, while drinking coffee and relaxing, I will import some of the photos to the iPad, do some edits to them, and post them on my tumblr. (This is an example.)

Now, I consider that post just as a sampler, a right-after-the-event post. But, the photos I import to my computer will be used for my main blog. And of course, with the main blog, I will post more photos of the event.

Secondly, I do not import all of my photos from my camera to the iPad because there really is not enough space on the iPad to accommodate the amount of photos I shoot for a given event.

So, don't give up on the point-and-shoot yet for it is still better than your cameraphone (don't believe the hype created by the cameraphone makers saying they have better cameras). And with the iPad and the Lightning adapters, you have the best mobile device to view your pictures on, do some edits and immediately post to your favorite social network.

PS. For the love of all that is good, do not post everything on your social media site; do not post a hundred shots of an event, even if you can. You should be more discerning on what you post and not post a hundred iterations of the same shot, 99 of them blurred...

PPS. If you want to improve the photography that you do with your camera and your iPad, then I suggest you read Derrick Story's book iPad for Digital Photographers. You will go further if you read this book.

So get yours here!


 


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Gear used to make this post:

-- Canon Powershot G15 (Reviews Part 1 and Part 2)

-- Joby GorillaPod Focus (review)