Spider Holster’s Black Widow Now Available

February 5, 2011 By PictureSoup Leave a Comment

Spider Holster, the maker and namesake of one of my favorite accessories is now shipping its Black Widow Camera Holster, which is designed for smaller DSLRs, EVILs and P&S cameras. The Black Widow will let owners of these lighter-weight cameras shoot from the hip the way pros using the Spider Pro have been doing. What makes the Spider Pro and Black Widow great is that they let you keep your camera on you, but at your hip. This is an ideal way to carry your camera, because it eliminates the neck, shoulder and back strain that carrying a camera by its strap can cause. And, trust me, it works well. Now that I’ve begun shooting with the Spider Holster system, I won’t ever photograph another event or portrait session without it.

Combining the strength of stainless steel and heavy-duty resin, the lightweight and durable Black Widow was designed to take cameras from hip to hand in a flash. When the camera is slid into the holster, the Black Widow locks it in place. An audible click from the built-in locking mechanism provides users with peace-of-mind that the camera is secure for hands-free carrying and protected from a snatch-and-grab threat.

The Black Widow Camera Holster comes with the Spider Pin which attaches directly to the camera’s tripod mount or to the accessory Black Widow Plate, and is the key to the Black Widow’s quick access. Designed primarily for photographers using quick-release tripod plates, the Black Widow Plate lets you carry your camera and fluidly bring it to your eye to shoot.

“Too often photographers miss the perfect shot because they’re rooting through bags for their point & shoot or they didn’t pack their DSLR because it was too cumbersome,” said Shai Eynav, president of Spider Holster. “With the Black Widow Camera Holster, the camera stays put at the photographer’s hip, providing maximum comfort while ensuring that the user is in the best possible position to capture life’s memorable moments. The success of the SpiderPro proved the merits of our design concept and the Black Widow will allow a new audience of casual shooters and photography enthusiasts to comfortably carry their camera to places they never would have thought possible before.” Eynav is a professional photographer who designed the Spider Holster out of necessity.

Along with the Black Widow, several accessories were also announced. The Black Widow threads onto any leather belt, but the company also offers its own Black Widow Belt, ideal for photographers who don’t normally wear clothing that can accept a belt. Also available is the Black Widow Pad, a cushioned extension of the belt that provides a resting place for the camera against the user’s body. The Black Widow Pad can attach to a standard leather belt, and be used with that way instead.

The Black Widow Camera Holster will sell for $49.99, the Black Widow Belt for $15.99 and the Black Widow Plate for $15.99. Additional Black Widow Pins are $7.99 and the Black Widow Pad sells for $8.99.  Go to www.spiderholster.com/blackwidow/ for more information.

— D.B.

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Unique New Products Shown at WPPI

May 1, 2010 By PictureSoup 1 Comment

By Diane Berkenfeld

This year while walking the tradeshow floor at WPPI I found a lot of cool new products, exciting ideas and hot trends for pro photographers to use that could drastically change the way they take pictures. Not technologically per se, but fresh new ideas that can be used to monetize the digital images that are being produced as well as creating exciting new personalized items for clients.

Examples of the cool seating, panels and rugs from Robert Andrew Designs.

Robert Andrew Designs (www.robertandrewdesigns.com) showed the coolest kid sized furniture in a range of traditional and contemporary styles but with bold, bright colors and designs. Mix and match the furniture (which isn’t just for photographing kids) with the company’s background tile panels and rugs. Pair items that are color coordinated or not.

While some may think that a backdrop is a backdrop is a backdrop, that’s not necessarily true. Barbour Backdrops (www.barbourbackdrops.com) offers not only backgrounds but boxes and stools for your young portrait subjects to perch upon. They also offer baseboards, which let you transform your hanging backdrop into a painted wall [at least the look of it].

One of the many wooden creations from AmyLou Productions.

AmyLou Productions (www.amylouproductions.com), was a first time exhibitor at the show, but has been in business for over two decades. The company makes quality wood props, many of which are designed for use outdoors. Some of the cute kid sized designs include gates, sleighs, and beach chairs, bridges and more. Adult sizes are also available. The company also offers a variety of backdrops in contemporary colors and styles; as well as posing blocks and crates.

Design Revolution (www.designrevolutiononline.com) offers a large selection of props as well as clothing and digital templates. Their booth had the most chic colorful hanging chandeliers. Check their website to see the variety of rugs and distressed hardwood flooring that you can use to give your images a different feel. Their retro couches have a distinct ‘50’s feel. The company also has a wide range of tutus, hats, headpieces, wings and other items to help you create the most adorable baby and toddler photographs.

Burlesque (www.absoluteburlesque.com) is a great new company started just this year by a professional photographer to fill a need she saw. With Boudoir photography sessions becoming all the rage, Burlesque offers a line of lingerie and other clothing, as well as accessories, designed specifically for being photographed. Suggested business models include selling the clothing to your clients for their use as well as renting the clothing (to which you should also add on a cleaning fee) for each session.

The Fairytale Shoppe (www.thefairytaleshoppe.com) offers exquisite fairy and fantasy clothing in kids and adult sizes. These high-end designs are hand-made. Check their website not only to see the available products but to view the gallery of portraits, including the gallery of images (before and after) with examples of their fine art fantasy effects virtual backgrounds that can also be used as overlays on your images.

Your Photo On Canvas Pro (www.yourphotooncanvas.com/pro) is owned by a fine art printmaking company that has been in business for over 20 years, producing artwork on canvas and Giclée for the fine art/art dealer markets. They are now bringing this expertise to photographers. Each photo is printed according to Giclée standards and reviewed by quality control experts for the utmost in customer satisfaction. Professional photographers register via their pro section of the website receive wholesale pricing, custom branded products and packaging, ICC profiling, and more.

Colorado Timberline lets you offer your clients items uniquely personalized with their images.

Colorado Timberline (www.coloradotimberline.com) offers professional photographers the most affordable rates for sublimation printing of photographs and artwork on a range of substrates, including fleece blankets, towels, clothing, ornaments and more.

Some of the more unique items they can print photos onto include cloth napkins, placemats and tablecloths. Picture this: you’re not only your wedding couple (or other event client’s) photographer for the day, but also providing your imagery on the linens for the event. Think of the possibilities: not just weddings and bar/bat mitzvahs, but sweet sixteens, baptisms, communions, anniversary parties, etc.

Studio Style by Collector’s Gallery (www.studiostyle.com) offers a range of folders, portrait and cardboard event frames and more—with imprinting services. New items include printed event folders in a range of themes. The company also offers cardboard frames that are designed to hold prints from the Fujifilm Instax 200 camera. Great for event shooting, they even offer a golf ball textured folder that holds either one or two 4×6 prints, and are ideal for golf outings.

Southpoint Photo Imaging Supplies (www.southpointphoto.com) introduced at the show an exciting new inkjet media—metallic inkjet paper, made by Mitsubishi Imaging. The paper comes in rolls and cut sheets, and offers a metallic sheen for unique looking prints.

Blossom Publishing (www.blossom-publishing.com), the company that offers a line of printed marketing materials for photographers has gone digital. The company is offering Purls, Personalized URLs so you can create a landing page for each prospect, complete with personalized messages. Now, in addition to the print marketing collateral you send to prospective clients, you can add a digital/web message too. Ideal, considering that most folks today do their initial vendor research via the computer.

Jolie Wraps offers unique album packaging and display options.

Jolie Wraps (www.joliewraps.com) has created album boxes and fabric wraps in a range of styles and colors, for you to present albums to your clients in. What makes Jolie Wraps so cool is the designs and styles. Instead of just a solid color box, they offer boxes with a subtle pattern overlay to add a little sparkle to your presentations. The fabric wraps are basically pouches, made to order for each album’s dimensions; and designed in a variety of vogue colors with black patterning and ribbons. The Bridget album wrap, with its black satin exterior, and fusia interior with fusia ribbons is ideal for boudoir albums. Check out the website to get a real taste of their products, as well as the idea section.

Digital Foci's portable digital album can be used as a portfolio or to house your clients' images.

Digital Foci (www.digitalfoci.com) has created a Pearl White version of its popular Photo Book, a portable digital photo album that features an 8-inch LCD inside a soft, leather-like case. The Photo Book features 4 Gigs of memory and the battery life is supposed to last more than two and a half hours. The Photo Book is a great way for photographers to tote around their digital images and show to clients—because of its large 8-inch screen. The device could be utilized as a digital album that photographers sell or give to clients who reached a certain spending level. Other features include the ability to add music for slideshows, RAW image file support, built-in media card slots and USB connectivity. A number of image file formats, audio and video formats are compatible with the device, check the website for the full list. The Pearl White Photo Book hits store shelves in June.

White Glove's new Fusion Wedding Books join printed albums and digital.

White Glove (www.wgbooks.com) has introduced a really exciting product, with its own website at www.fusionweddingbooks.com. Fusion Wedding Books are White Glove albums with a unique twist—the cover is designed to feature an iPod Touch or other multimedia device in a specially designed cut out area so your brides can showcase their wedding albums and digital proofs, video or other files—all in one! The company also makes a window that you can place into the space where the iPod/multimedia device is held when viewing the digital images separately. Go to the website to see more examples.

GiftWorksPlus (www.giftworksplus.com) is a unique frame company. On staff artists create designs for retail and wholesale customers. They offer three types of frames: Generic – frames are as they are shown – no changes or additions; Personalized – they have a set design that can be personalized with names, dates and other information; and Customized – this is a frame that is designed from scratch for a resort, lodge, corporate event, tournament, etc. GiftWorksPlus can expand a photographers offerings to their current customers – and help obtain new customers in areas you currently may not be doing photos for. The company’s wholesale website is scheduled to launch this June.

Want free business software to run your business? That’s right, I said FREE. StudioCloud (www.studiocloud.com) offers photographers free desktop based business software with no strings attached. StudioCloud software lets you manage client info, schedule appointments and events, create invoices, manage projects, create reports, and more. The software includes one user login.

I wondered just exactly what the company’s business model was so I asked. The company makes its money when customers upgrade to one of the solutions for which it charges a fee. StudioCloud software is desktop based, which means it stays on your computer. The company also offers CloudBoost, which gives you a mobile solution by syncing your data to an online server; and Employee Boost, which gives companies the ability to manage and schedule multiple people, locales and equipment. There is a monthly fee for the CloudBoost and EmployeeBoost services.

Jen's Fabulous Stuff's Children's Posing Guide.

Jen’s Fabulous Stuff (www.jensfabulousstuff.com) offers a wide range of digital products including card and album templates, Photoshop Actions and Posing Guides. One of the cool new guides just released at WPPI is the Children’s Posing Gide. Available as an e-book or spiral flip book, the guide includes 100 creative poses by photographer Jen Hillenga, with directions on where to place the main and fill lights. The electronic version can be saved onto your iPod or computer for easy referencing before a shoot.

The Spider Holster lets you shoot from the hip, so to speak.

Spider Holster (www.spiderholster.com) makes a great holster system for photographers that can be used when in the studio, on location and during events. Although it isn’t a brand, brand new product, we here at Picture-soup.com love the Spider Holster. A secure plate connects to the bottom of your camera via the tripod threads and then is slipped in and out of the Spider Holster itself, which can either be slipped onto a regular belt or the durable belt the company offers. By keeping the camera secure at the hip, you aren’t putting strain on your shoulders or neck. And, using the company’s belt, you can attach two holsters to carry two bodies, one at each hip.

One of the new camera straps from Backdrop Outlet.

Backdrop Outlet (www.backdropoutlet.com) is now offering unique camera straps designed for men and women, in a range of styles. The straps are wacky, fun and vibrantly colored—and are a great way to personalize your gear.

Tabelz make it easy for you to shoot in the studio or on location tethered to a laptop.

Tabelz (www.tabelz.com) are a unique item for photographers who shoot tethered on location or in the studio. Tabelz portable laptop computer stands come in seven sizes, designed to meet the needs of individual users. What is great about them is that they sit on a tripod—and the company offers four Manfrotto tripod options (if you want to buy it as a complete set). Or, you can use the Primary Table with your own tripod/head. Use a mouse with your laptop? Add on a Side Table.

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Photo Gadgets, Gizmos & Gifties Galore… Oh My!

November 22, 2009 By PictureSoup 2 Comments

Compiled by Diane Berkenfeld

In the last month or so we’ve seen so many cool new gadgets, gizmos tech and non-tech items that will appeal to any photographer—we knew we just had to share it all with our fellow photographers. Its enough to make a an adult want to beg Santa to deliver them all. Not wanting to wait till we can post full reviews, we’ve decided to whet your appetites with some information on each of these cool new items. Read on for more…

Finally, a photo vest for women.

For the Ladies

Pro photographer Marla Holden has created a product that makes me wonder why no one ever designed one before, but that’s ok, because Marla finally did. What product am I talking about? Foto Fashionista, the very first photographer’s vest designed just for women. Designed to fit a woman’s body, yet offer pockets to hold a variety of photo items, the Foto Fashionista vests come in a variety of casual designs. A more formal looking vest will be added to the line next year. Check them out at www.fotofashionista.com.

Products to Aid You in Carrying Your Camera Comfortably

The Spider Holster clips onto your belt.

New in the gadget arena is the Spider Holster, camera holster. Picture this, a secure plate connects to the bottom of the camera via the tripod screw threads and then is slipped in and out of the Spider Holster itself, which can either be slipped onto a regular belt or the durable belt the company offers. Once connected, the camera can’t slip out until the photographer takes it in his/her hands to shoot. By keeping the camera secure at the hip, you aren’t putting strain on your shoulders or neck. And, using the company’s belt, you can attach two holsters to carry two bodies, one at each hip. Most tripod quick release plates will attach to the bottom of the Spider Holster’s plate for use on a tripod during a wedding or other job that requires you to use a tripod or monopod. I’ve just begun using it myself and am very impressed. Check out the website at www.spiderholster.com to see exactly how it works.

The HoldSLR hooks on a belt and lets you slip your camera inside. A camera cover protects it outdoors.

It seems that when it rains, it pours. First there was only the camera strap, now there are multiple options for carrying a camera in a more ergonomic and comfortable way. The HoldSLR is a new product that uses a wire frame and removable boot and camera body cover, great for use outdoors. The frame is made from compressed steel wire that has a vinyl coating over it. A camera’s lens simply slips into the frame, which hangs off your belt. It can accommodate large lenses, with an opening of 3.75-inches. Gravity secures the camera in the HoldSLR, and the water resistant boot is collapsible to accommodate different size and length lenses. See the actual product for yourself at www.holdslr.com.

Sun Sniper lets you comfortably carry your camera.

The new Sun-Sniper Sniper-Strap “Steel” is a camera strap that features a steel wire insert, making it virtually impossible for thieves to cut the strap to steal the camera off your back. The strap was designed by a photographer, and is worn across the chest, with the camera hanging upside down, ergonomically, at your rear, instead of hanging off your shoulder and bumping into walls, or other objects. California Sunbounce is distributing the new Sun-Sniper strap exclusively in the U.S. Go to the website at www.sunbounce.com for more details.

Rock Steady Camera Stabilizers

SteadePod lets you stabilize a camera or camcorder when there's no room for a tripod or monopod.

Yet another new gadget we saw at PhotoPlus Expo is the SteadePod. Designed to steady a camera without the use of a tripod, it is a small gadget that consumers or advanced amateurs can use with a digital P&S, DSLR, or camcorder. The SteadePod, about the size of a tape measure, screws to a camera or camcorder as you would a tripod. A stainless steel cable extends from the SteadePod and is anchored by a footpad and with a slight amount of tension placed in the cable the photographer’s camera or camcorder is steadied. A ratchet and locking mechanism allows positioning of the camera for a steady picture nearly anywhere between 6” to 6’. It swivels smoothly, allowing for panning and tilting of the camera/camcorder. To see exactly what it looks like, go to the website www.steadepod.com.

Delkin's Fat Gecko uses 2 suction cups to adhere a camera to most any surface.

Delkin’s Fat Gecko Camera Mount was introduced earlier this year, but it is such a cool device that when we saw it again at PhotoPlus recently we decided to include it here. The Fat Gecko has dual suction cups that allow you to mount a camera securely to any smooth, flat, non-porous surface. It uses a regular 1/4 x 20 tripod mounting screw to attach to a camera or camcorder. That means you can use it to mount a camera to a car, boat, plane, or other moving vehicle. Check out the website www.fat-gecko.com that showcases user footage, both stills and video captured using the Fat-Gecko and its sibling models—the Fat Gecko Mini Camera Mount, with a single suction cup; and the Fat Gecko Bike Camera Mount designed to attach cameras and camcorders to the center handlebars of a bicycle.

Joby Ballhead.

Joby, the company that first introduced the flexible mini tripods that can wrap around practically anything updated its entire line earlier this year. In addition to updating the line, Joby added the Gorillapod SLR-Zoom Ball Head for use with the Gorillapod SLR-Zoom. The ball head offers a full 360-degree pan and 90-degree tilt. It can hold up to 6.6 pounds of camera weight features a quick-release bubble level clip and is equipped with a standard 1/4-inch adapter. For more information go to the website at www.joby.com.

Cutest New Lensbaby [Optics]

Lensbaby—the cool manual, selective focus lens system developed a few years back by professional photographer Craig Strong—has added two new optics to the Lensbaby system: the Soft Focus optic and the Fisheye optic. Because of the selective focus capability of the lens, the Lensbaby lets you embark on a wonderful new direction in creative photography. If you don’t know what a Lensbaby is, you don’t know what wonderfully creative photography you’re missing out on. Go to www.lensbaby.com right now and check it out!

Lensbaby Fisheye Optic.

The Lensbaby Composer is the ultimate in Lensbabies. The Composer lets users easily control the selective focus movements. And, when you’ve got the lens in the exact position you want it, the Composer holds the focus where you’ve set it. If you’ve only experienced a Lensbaby via the Original Lensbaby or Lensbaby 2.0, check out the Lensbaby 3G, revamped and going by the moniker Lensbaby Control Freak, or the Composer. Both of these models let you lock the lens in place so you can easily take more than one frame of a scene and get repeatable results. (The Muse is the optic swappable version reminiscent of the Original Lensbaby design.) The optics are the really cool part of the Lensbaby lenses. There are six different optics and each alter the way that images are captured.

Lensbaby Soft Focus Optic.

The optics include the single glass, double glass, plastic, Pinhole/Zoneplate—and the newest optics—the fisheye and soft focus. Each of the optics feature a 50mm focal length, but the fisheye optic has a 12mm focal length. The fisheye optic has a 160 degree angle of view and creates photos that are circular in nature. One of the cool things about the fisheye optic is that it offers a focus range from 1-inch away from the lens, all the way to infinity. The new Soft Focus lens gives you that dreamy effect you were used to when shooting film (back in the day).

Blazing Fast Media Cards

Speed and capacity of media cards are ever increasing, along with the ability of newer DSLRs to utilize the speed of these cards. Lexar recently added the Lexar Professional 600x CompactFlash cards to its line. These cards are fast, and are available in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacities. The 600x CF cards, when used with a UDMA 6 enabled device [read: DSLR], write speeds of 90MB/s are guaranteed. Pair the cards with the new Lexar Professional ExpressCard CF Reader for 80MB/s read speeds. The new cards are ideal for use with cameras like the Canon EOS 7D, Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Nikon D3x or D300S. All Lexar Professional media cards come with a free downloadable copy of Image Rescue 4, the latest version of the company’s image recovery software. Go to www.lexar.com for more details.

A few months back, SanDisk introduced the SanDisk Extreme Pro CompactFlash cards with capacities of 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB that have read/write speeds of up to 90MB/s (600x). These UDMA-6 cards are designed for use with the latest DSLRs on the market. The SanDisk Extreme Pro ExpressCard Adapter is optimized to take advantage of the new card’s read speed, up to 90MB/s read speed. The company also introduced new SanDisk Extreme CF cards at 60MB/s read/write speeds (400x) in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB capacities. Check out www.sandisk.com for more information.

Lock Your Data in a Locker+

Kingston DataTraveler Locker+

Kingston Digital just launched the DataTraveler Locker+ USB flash drive. The DataTraveler Locker+ was designed for the consumer/prosumer or small business that wants to be able to secure their mobile data. The DataTraveler Locker+ features 256-bit hardware-based AES encryption. What this means is that you’ll need a password  to access the data, once you’ve set up this USB drive. Try incorrectly 10 times in a row and the drive locks down and reformats, wiping the data. Kingston is shipping these drives in capacities up to 32GB. The company also offers the DataTraveler Locker, which lets you set up a partitionable area for public sharing as well as an encrypted zone. Kingston also offers the DataTraveler Vault Privacy Edition for enterprise and government customers. The DataTraveler Locker+ is compatible with Mac and Windows-based PCs. Go to www.kingston.com for more information.

And Now For Something Really Different

Light Sculpture.

Want to offer your clients something really different? Shapeways is an online marketplace that allows creatives with various levels of 3D modeling skills—from none to very experienced—affordable access to the latest 3D printing technologies and the ability to create custom-made giftware in a variety of materials. Don’t worry if you’re not skilled at 3D modeling, there are plenty of artists selling their 3D designs through Shapeways Shops. There are a wide range of 3D items available, made from different plastics or stainless steel, from holiday ornaments to personalized cufflinks and jewelry to home décor, but the item of real interest to us is the Photoshaper. The Photoshaper creates a depth-layered 3D picture, based on the contrast of the picture. The Photoshaper accepts JPG, PNG and GIF files. The size of the output is 3.5”x5.11” and can be output either horizontal or vertical orientation. Check out the website at www.shapeways.com.

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