gadget » Absurd Intellectual

Great gift for the photog in your life

Posted by Grant Hamilton on 17 November 2010 Photography

Nov 172010

The C-Loop is a camera strap attachment that screws into the tripod mount of your camera. So, instead of having a strap that gets twisted around your hands whenever you flip the camera from landscape to portrait mode, the strap stays out of the way.

It’s $35 and available for pre-order through Kickstarter.

Although there are similar ideas that have been around for a while (see Blackrapid’s RastenR-2, for example), this one is unique in that it swivels, so you don’t need to worry about your camera-swinging slowly unscrewing your strap.

I also like that these guys have come up with some innovative stress testing, to show off how strong the product is:

(via Engadget)

Introducing the Joby GorillaBike

Posted by Grant Hamilton on 15 March 2010 Modern Life, Photography

Mar 152010

If you’re a fan of the flexible Joby Gorillapod tripods (I am) then you’ll love this bike, which they had on display at photo trade show PMA 2010.

Of course, it’s completely useless as a bike, unless you really require a folding, pose-able bike, perhaps because your limbs are twisted and arthritic?

But it’s fantastic as marketing — I’ve seen it linked on multiple blogs, including this one, now. And just to encourage the corporate bigwigs who sign off on ridiculous marketing projects like this, I’ll give a little love to the other stuff that Joby unveiled at the show — Gorillapods with magnetic feet that you can stick anywhere, and an extra-large tripod head for more stability.

There’s a great report on all things Joby at Photography Bay.

I’m kind of jazzed for the magnetic Gorillapods, even though they are point-and-shoot-sized only (DSLRs, especially with big lenses, may just be too heavy).

I bought a DSLR-sized Gorillapod for my sister in law at Christmas (we had a $30 limit on our gift exchange, and I’m pretty sure I got it as a price error. She was happy). They really hit the sweet spot between stiff and flexible.

(thanks, Ryan!)