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2019 QoL Accessories Thread

E

Eric Mansour

Member
I’m sure this has been done before, nevertheless, I’d like to highlight the accessories, clothes, straps, wraps, gloves, chargers, 3rd party whatsits, etc. that have improved your Quality Of Life while shooting, prepping, etc.

This thread was borne out of frustration with putting a neckstrap on the XF body. Luckily, I own a set of specialty tweezers I got from McMaster. Happy to find the model number for those if anyone wants. I was thinking of repurchasing the black rapid strap so I wouldn’t have to deal with that again. Unless anyone has a better recommendation.

I hope we can share, and answer any requests people have - save us all time reading internet reviews.

In the spirit of that, I’d like to mention my Buff wind stopper neck warmer. It’s made cold weather shooting much more bearable. This is the one that has a portion made of goretex to prevent wind penetration. I can share the link if anyone wants

The recommendation I’m looking for is from fellow cold weather shooters. Gloves. The ones I’m using haven’t been cutting it warmth-wise, and the touch sensitivity material on my pointer finger is wearing out. I’ve used many different gloves over the years, have yet to try battery heated gloves. I’ve tried mittens with a flip top, gloves with a hole in the pointer, mittens and liners. I need to be able to operate a tech cam in cold weather.
 
C

Christopher

Active member
Love the peak design with my GFX and FX Camera. Even my Arca has a anchor to use the leash on it. I got both slide straps, the cuff and as stated the leash. I love how it’s possible to willig change between these with Peak Designs anchor system.


Different topic but for me the app PhotoPills and viewfinder II are essential and I wouldn’t want to miss them.

What do you mean with cold weather? I’m asking as for some it’s 0c and for others it’s -25c and certainly both condition need completely different approaches.
 
P

Paul2660

Well-known member
After reading a post here, I quickly dropped Peak straps, and move to the RRS L Bracket with the built in quick release port. I use the strap sold by RRS, but you can find it much cheaper at move outdoor stores, basically a gun strap, but works great for a camera. RRS QD system

QD Strap & Plate

Love this setup, especially ease at which you can drop the strap when on tripod. You have to learn to trust the system, with one attachment port, but once you get used it, really a great idea.

Even with the massive XF.

Paul C
 
T

tcdeveau

Well-known member
Great idea for a thread.

Quick dry camping towels and the Skyguide iOS app are two of my favorite QoL shooting accessories.
 
dchew

dchew

Well-known member
E

Eric Mansour

Member
Boinger
Re: 2019 QoL Accessories Thread

I really like the peak design slide straps. Very versatile and easy to remove when not needed.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...rap_black.html

I think that is the newer version I have the version 2.

I would recommend watching a youtube video on how the strap works.
Click to expand...
The seatbelt style of the strap looks nice, I like how they carry, but would sooner trust something in the 1/4 20 before the little buttons with nylon loops. In that regard the RRS strap looks more up my alley, it looks like it works similarly to the Blackrapid strap I've used with Canon cams. I'm really surprised Phase doesn't do much innovating or production of accessories for the actual act of shooting in the field. "Here's your meteorite of a camera, good luck, get bent."

Christopher
Re: 2019 QoL Accessories Thread

Love the peak design with my GFX and FX Camera. Even my Arca has a anchor to use the leash on it. I got both slide straps, the cuff and as stated the leash. I love how it’s possible to willig change between these with Peak Designs anchor system.


Different topic but for me the app PhotoPills and viewfinder II are essential and I wouldn’t want to miss them.

What do you mean with cold weather? I’m asking as for some it’s 0c and for others it’s -25c and certainly both condition need completely different approaches.
Click to expand...
Photopills and viewfinder II look great, I've only ever used Sun Seeker and pCam - Cinemeter II is ok too. These shoot planning apps look very handy. One app I will mention is Tile - for my house keys, it's saved me a couple times already.

RE: Cold weather - 0c is shorts weather.

dchew
Re: 2019 QoL Accessories Thread

This REI microfiber cloth is the best one I’ve found. I like the large size.
rei-co-op-multi-towel-lite

As for keeping the hands warm, I’ve decided the only answer is oversized mittens over thick liners. These mittens work for me:
marmot.com/expedition-mitt

And these gloves as liners are the right compromise in warmth and dexterity when using the the tech camera:
black diamond mid weight liners

Oh yeah: the gaia gps map app:
https://www.gaiagps.com/

Dave
Click to expand...
Gaia GPS looks A+, good lookin out. Also to those gloves - that's some serious gear! I'm gonna get a pair of those liners.


I'll offer up another clothing item that I've loved - Prana - Winter Zion Pant. The Zion pant is hands down the best pair of pants out there, and the winter version does it exactly what it sets out to.

Thanks for the replies folks, keep em coming.
 
M

MartinN

Well-known member
I absolutely love Stealth gear UK clothing and have aquired their Photographers Jacket,
Photographers Trousers and Poncho. They are not ultimately featherlight and too warm for
summer use, but made to last. Never ever disappointed, but buying options can be sparse
because I don't know if they are in business anymore (probably due to the VERY competitive
pricing for such over the top stuff).

Here you can watch and read:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exeB_7k_t20

https://www.ephotozine.com/article/stealth-gear-extreme-urban-photographers-trousers-2--review-14874

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UboHsiuXI0

https://www.ephotozine.com/article/stealth-gear-extreme-photographers-jacket-vest--review-13769

Martin
 
C

Christopher

Active member
Eric Mansour said:
The seatbelt style of the strap looks nice, I like how they carry, but would sooner trust something in the 1/4 20 before the little buttons with nylon loops. In that regard the RRS strap looks more up my alley, it looks like it works similarly to the Blackrapid strap I've used with Canon cams. I'm really surprised Phase doesn't do much innovating or production of accessories for the actual act of shooting in the field. "Here's your meteorite of a camera, good luck, get bent."
Click to expand...
I have the RRS as well but much prefer peak designs approach as it’s so much more flexible. One anchor can officially carry 90kg. Just for fun I tested one with 120kg without any issue.
 
V

vjbelle

Well-known member
Paul2660 said:
After reading a post here, I quickly dropped Peak straps, and move to the RRS L Bracket with the built in quick release port. I use the strap sold by RRS, but you can find it much cheaper at move outdoor stores, basically a gun strap, but works great for a camera. RRS QD system

QD Strap & Plate

Love this setup, especially ease at which you can drop the strap when on tripod. You have to learn to trust the system, with one attachment port, but once you get used it, really a great idea.

Even with the massive XF.

Paul C
Click to expand...
I have posted about the QD system and can't say enough about it. I use it with the 'BlackRapid' strap which allows me to easily carry a GFX and any lens.

Victor
 
drunkenspyder

drunkenspyder

Well-known member
vjbelle said:
I have posted about the QD system and can't say enough about it. I use it with the 'BlackRapid' strap which allows me to easily carry a GFX and any lens.

Victor
Click to expand...
I use the Black Rapid dual harness with the RRS quick release B2-FABN mini-clamps. Nothing comes off. Ever. And, for me at least, it distributes weight better than the single strap approach. Further, it emits multiple ways to attach the clamp to your strap. Finally, it allows me to leave my L-brackets on all my equipment.

This solution made the difference in convincing a helicopter pilot on a recent trip to open the doors, as he did not have to worry about camera equipment flying out.
 
drunkenspyder

drunkenspyder

Well-known member
MartinN said:
Never ever disappointed, but buying options can be sparse
because I don't know if they are in business anymore (probably due to the VERY competitive
pricing for such over the top stuff).
Click to expand...
Interesting stuff, but I could find neither hide nor hair of a place to purchase, and their website is definitely not there any more. Twitter account moribund. Warehouse Express doesn't have their stuff. Too bad, there are some nice features in that jacket. I don't have any trouble staying dry and warm, but little outdoor wear is truly geared toward the larger scale photographer.
 
Jamgolf

Jamgolf

Member
Interesting thread ...

Its not camera gear but one thing which acquired and have come to admire is Garmin inRech Mini. In combination with the Earthmate app its an excellent navigation tool which I have used on long hikes. With the tracking feature, I can track my way back, know how far I've travelled, time, altitude etc. But some other devices can do that too, so then what is the big deal about inReach, you might ask. Well to me its the SOS and two way communication. I appreciate it for 2 big reasons:
(1) If I'm immobilized or have a life threatening situation, I can SOS and get med-evac'd
(2) My wife is not a hiker (she is afraid of heights), so when I am out with my sons or by myself I communicate with her to let her know where we are and how its going etc.

Both of these features are a great peace of mind. If you have ever heard/read the story of one of the well respected members of this forum, whose life was (probably) saved because he had a beacon device (not inReach), you might appreciate the inReach as much as I do.

Its not free. I have a yearly subscription to the lowest level plan. I feel its totally worth it to me and my family.
 
Last edited:
drunkenspyder

drunkenspyder

Well-known member
A dedicated cabinet for the gear. Not a new idea of course, but when a link over at Lloyd Chambers' site showed a discount of almost 60% on this Ruggard model with free shipping, I jumped on it back in October. Finally got it uncrated and into my office today. Yeah, probably should have set up the tech camera to get it all undistorted. ;-)

IMG_1235.jpg
 
dave.gt

dave.gt

Well-known member
Has anyone tried a Pedometer app for the iPhone? Quality of life begins with being healthy as we go about our business, and pleasure each day. While walking the streets with a fully loaded pack in an effort to be ready for the next image at the next location, it would be nice to keep track of my daily activity without yet another device like a FitBit or Apple Watch (not to mention the expense!).
 
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