Home 2018 April

Trilens review

A few weeks ago, I wrote a news story on an innovative piece of photography gear called Trilens. Our readers commented and I promised an in-depth review if possible. Friidesigns is the company that makes the Trilens, and they responded by sending a sample for just such a review.
So, here goes:

What is it?

The Trilens is belt mounted rotating lens holder designed for photographers, to securely carry up to 3 camera lens for quick and easy swapping while on the go.

What’s in the box


1 X Trilens
1 x Set of magnets
1 x Adhesive strips
3 x Trilens caps
1 x Belt clip
1 x Carry pouch

Design and features

The Trilens is very well built, and the fit and finish are second to none. The materials that are used make it lightweight but yet solid, and I definitely feel like I can trust it to effectively secure my valuable lenses. Even the inlaid logo is well done and a nice touch. The mechanism that attaches the Trilens to the belt clip is all metal, as well as the body of the Trilens.


The belt clip feels strong and is possibly made of ABS plastic. It includes belt loops and a spring-loaded pin to add or remove the Trilens.

Each of the three lens receptacles comes with a screw on cap and each receptacle is separated and isolated from the other. My sample is designed to accommodate the Canon EF mount, but it is also available for Nikon F or Sony E/FE lenses.

Each lens receptacle has a spring loaded release that must be disengaged to release the lens. While it can be easily and quickly disengaged, it is also very secure. The center of gravity of the Trilens works well, keeping the biggest and heaviest lens at the perfectly balanced position. Regardless of the size or the weight of the lens, the Trilens rotates easily to reach the lens of choice. It can be used with up to 3 lens and remains in place with any combination of lens.



Also included is a set of magnets and adhesive strips that can be attached to the actual lens caps belonging to each specific lens. Once attached, the actual lens caps can be used instead of the included Trilens caps, making swapping each lens much easier and quicker.
When I wrote the news story, one of our readers was concerned about dust getting into the individual chambers/receptacles. I do believe that there is no additional risk because each one is isolated, and the same care that would be used to protect the lens from dust will work with the Trilens.

What I like

I really like the way the Trilens secures the lenses and manages the center of gravity. I like the materials it is made of, and the thought that was put into the design. The belt clip will accommodate most photography gear belts and everything seems built to last.

What can be improved

I am finding it very hard to come up with something that needs improvement on the Trilens. It is well designed and thought out for its intended purpose. I guess the only change I would suggest is that the belt clip could be made from some lightweight metal, to provide and even better level of sturdiness, and less of a chance of breaking.

Final thoughts

The Trilens is simply a well thought out piece of photography gear that works very well and is built to last. The only possible weakness I can determine would be the possibility of issues with the spring loaded releases for the lenses. However, I did not find any current evidence that would suggest such a failure. Regardless, it is now a permanent attachment on my photography gear belt, and will be with me on every shoot when I use the belt, and need to carry and use multiple lenses.

Price: $122
Where to buy: Friidesigns
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Friidesigns.

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Trilens review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 24, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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Easily crack the top off soft- or hard-boiled eggs

I only eat hard-boiled eggs, but I’ve always loved the dishes and the style of eating soft-cooked eggs still in the shell while they are cradled in an egg cup.  I periodically think about getting some nice egg cups and setting my peeled hard-boiled egg in one while I eat breakfast.  But I’m going off on a tangent…  I really wanted to tell you about how you can easily crack and remove the top of the shell if you do eat soft-boiled eggs in the shell from an egg cup.  Instead of using your knife and tapping around the egg’s shell to crack and remove the top, you can just use the Rösle Stainless Steel Egg Topper with Silicone Handle to remove it with one movement.

Just set the Rösle over the top of the egg, pull back the handle and release.  The spring mechanism causes vibrations, and the sharp edge in the dome perfectly cuts the shell, so you can just lift it away.  It works to open both soft- and hard-boiled eggs.  

The Rösle Stainless Steel Egg Topper with Silicone Handle is $16.95 at Amazon. 

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Easily crack the top off soft- or hard-boiled eggs originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 24, 2018 at 8:00 am.

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Here’s a tiny Bluetooth speaker that you can wear

Sometimes you want to enjoy your music while you’re on the go without uncomfortable earbuds crammed in your ears. You can lug a bulky Bluetooth speaker with you, but that’s not the most convenient solution. Another option is the Boom Bit Bluetooth speaker from Polk Audio. Polk Audio has been around for decades, so they know their stuff when it comes to speakers.

The Boom Bit is so small that you can clip it to your shirt or bag using the steel spring clip and it is available in 5 different colors. It features a cap that you can remove to reveal a full-sized USB connector that you can use to charge the speaker from a port on your computer. A full charge will provide the small speaker with up to 3 hours of playback time.

The Polk Audio Boom Bit Bluetooth speaker can be used to listen to your favorite tunes and for hands-free calls. It is priced at $29.99 and you can buy one now from Amazon.

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Here’s a tiny Bluetooth speaker that you can wear originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 23, 2018 at 12:00 pm.

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Nonda ZUS Heavy-Duty USB-A to Lightning Cable review

Charging cables come with every new phone or tablet we buy. Here at the Gadgeteer, every time someone comes out with a new wrinkle in materials or configuration, however, we are asked if we want to review the third-party versions. When Nonda sent their ZUS USB-A to Lightning cable to us I jumped for it. There are a plethora of options and offerings out there, even if we limit them to just USB-A to Lightning cables. So, why would I particularly notice this one? It has a right-angle plug.

Note: Photos may be tapped or clicked for a larger image.

What is it?

The ZUS is a 4-foot (1.2 m) cable that has undergone the strenuous testing required to be approved in Apple’s MFI program. That means it can wear the label “Made for iPod/iPhone/iPad”. It has a heavy-duty layered construction in the wire and the connectors, making for a far superior product than the OEM versions. (The pictures in this article show a standard Apple cable in white and the ZUS cable in black for comparison. Note the thickness of materials in the connectors and the strain-relief collars.)

Hardware specs

  • Apple MFi certification.
  • Protected with Carbon Fiber.
  • Lifetime Warranty.

What’s in the box?

Cable with Velcro tie-strap and warranty card

Design and features

The ZUS is a heavy gauge wire, wrapped in a carbon-fiber sheath. This, in turn, is wrapped in an EMI shield, and then in a PVC jacket. This is already one layer more than run-of-the-mill cables, but Nonda then encases the whole thing again in a braided nylon outer skin. At each end, they add heavy-duty stress relief collars and a steel body around the inner wiring of the connector. The wiring just beyond the strain relief collar has been tested to see how many times it can be bent back onto itself. Normal cables are tested to still operate optimally after 5000 bends. Nonda cables surpass this more than ten times this level, with 52,000 bends.

I weighed one of my Apple cables (3 ft/1 m) and found it was 18 grams. The Nonda cable (4 ft/1.2 m) is 27 grams. Even if you give Apple another 6 grams for the extra foot of cable, the Nonda weighs 2 full grams more, meaning there are denser materials – or at least, more of the materials that are there. While weight can’t be counted directly as part of the durability of the cable, my experience has led me to believe this to be true. Your mileage may vary.

What I Like

  • High-Quality materials
  • Strong anti-stress collars to prevent fraying at connectors
  • Steel shell around connector core
  • Over-engineered wire structure for longer performance

What needs to be improved

  • I can’t think of anything

Final thoughts

I have bought dozens of cables, and have been given or had bundled with devices I have gotten probably double that. I used to buy the “cheaper than OEM but MFA-approved” versions, but lately, I have bought several cables similar to this Nonda cable for the same reason I like it: it is truly heavy-duty, and won’t fizzle out on me or damage my devices by developing a short. I’ve come to look at cables as an investment in my devices. If I charge it with a poor quality cable, there is a high likelihood that the power is going to be hampered in some way, and either take longer to charge, or somehow compromise the built-in safety mechanisms the device builders put in place. Or, at the time I need to depend on it, that cheap cable is going to burn out, and I’ll not be able to charge at all. In the immortal words of that internet meme: “Ain’t nobody got time for that!”

Price: $25.99
Where to buy: Nonda or Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Nonda.

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Nonda ZUS Heavy-Duty USB-A to Lightning Cable review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 23, 2018 at 11:00 am.

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Yongnuo YN 50mm f/1.8 Lens for Canon EF is a good contender


Every photographer I know, including yours truly, has spent more money than we care to remember on lenses, all in an effort to get better pictures. When we “follow the crowd” and purchase the brand name lenses, we are usually mostly satisfied, and we just start saving for the next purchase. In many cases, our peers within our industry put a lot of emphasis on buying the “best” brand name lenses which like for example Canon’s L series lenses, are usually of incredible quality, but also incredibly priced. However, when I compare use, and relevant income, and level of photography, and the potential viewer/ customer, I often wonder why I must always shoot for the absolute best lenses when to be quite honest, many amateurs and professionals alike will never be able to tell the difference between a $600 lens and a $1000 lens, and sometimes even a $2000 lens. In my opinion, much of the success of a photo lies in the hands of the photographer’s eye and skills.

Recently, Yongnuo has raised the level of their products, and has been more noticeable with the photography gear they have been producing. Just today I was looking at the Yongnuo YN 50mm f/1.8 Lens for Canon EF, and on paper, the specifications are very comparable to the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens but its cost is considerably less. This prime lens has a maximum aperture of f/1.8, multi-coated glass elements, an AF/MF switch on the lens barrel and a minimal focus distance of 16 inches. It is designed to fit the Canon EF mount and works with both full-frame and APS-C sensors.

While I have not yet tried this lens, I do own the Canon version and I can’t wait for the opportunity to compare the two.

If you would like to try out the Yongnuo YN 50mm f/1.8 Lens for Canon EF you head over to Amazon or B&H Photo Video and pick one up for around $49.

Note: Yongnuo also makes this lens for the Nikon F mount.

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Yongnuo YN 50mm f/1.8 Lens for Canon EF is a good contender originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 23, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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