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Lensball review

If you’ve been searching for a way to bring a unique element to your photography, I have an accessory to show you that you can use with any camera and any smartphone. It’s the Lensball. It doesn’t need an app, doesn’t run on batteries and is a simple to use. Let’s take a look.

What is it?

The Lensball is a sphere made of brilliantly clear crystal. Lensballs are available in 60mm and 80mm sizes. I was sent the larger 80mm size.

What is in the box?

Lensball
Drawstring cloth pouch
Example image cards
Lensball logo sticker

The Lensball is a crystal ball, but not the type of crystal ball that will show you your future. Lensballs are made of K9 crystal which is best described by the Marquis by Waterford site.

K9 is a Chinese Optical Borosilicate Crown Crystal (Optically Clear) with low inclusions and imperfections ideal for use in lenses and prisms, optics and decorative crystal lighting. … Lead crystal is the type that is most commonly used for wine glasses and other decorative ornaments around the home.

So now that we know what it is, why would we want one and what the heck can we do with a single Lensball?

The ball is so perfectly clear that you can shoot pictures through the ball with any camera or any smartphone to create interesting images.

To use it, you just hold up the ball in front of your subject and then shoot through the ball with your camera.

The result is a perfectly clear 180° degree view of the subject. Yes, it’s upside down and I realize that my subject matter isn’t the most exciting, but imagine taking the Lensball with you to the beach, a forest, a famous monument, etc. The options are endless. You can check out some examples by visiting Lensball on Instagram.

Things to keep in mind when using the Lensball are the fact that this crystal orb is heavy. You’ll feel the weight in your hand and your bag. The 60mm Lensball weighs 0.55lb (250g) and the 80mm Lensball weighs 1.45lbs (650g).

Unless you set the Lensball on a surface that prevents it from rolling away, you’ll need to hold the ball in one hand while holding a camera in your other hand which can feel a little awkward.

You should also be careful not to leave the Lensball unattended outdoors on a bright sunny day. It can act like a magnifying glass and in the right environment, it’s possible that it could accidentally start a fire if the sun shines through it on to dry flammable material. It’s best to always put the Lensball back in the included drawstring pouch when you’re not using it.

What I like about it

You don’t need a manual to figure out how to use it, you don’t need to keep a battery charged to use it, and it will work with any camera.

What needs to be improved

Nothing.

Final thoughts

The first time I saw the Lensball, I imagined all the interesting photos that I could capture using it. Now that I’ve had one, I haven’t captured any truly epic pics, but I’m still thinking about where I can take it. If you don’t mind a little extra weight in your camera bag, the Lensball is a unique accessory that might just take your ordinary snapshots to the next level.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Lensball. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order.

 

Product Information

Price: $24.95 – $34.95
Manufacturer: Lensball
Retailer: Amazon
Pros:
  • Perfectly round
  • Perfectly clear
  • No batteries
  • Works with any camera
Cons:
  • None

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Lensball review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 6, 2017 at 11:00 am.

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Learn to draw, build, or stitch a galaxy far, far away

Crafty fans of Star Wars will enjoy this series of books from Quarto Knows.  With the Master Models series, you can build scenes from Star Wars movies, construct models of characters (like Darth Vader or R2-D2) or ships (like the Millennium Falcon).  The Learn to Draw series helps you learn, step-by-step, how to draw your favorite characters.  There are books to help you explore the Star Wars mythology and blueprints.  There are even books of cross-stitch patterns for needle artists.  Quarto Knows has books to help any Star Wars hobbyist explore their interests.  Books range in price from about $15 to $100.

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Learn to draw, build, or stitch a galaxy far, far away originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 6, 2017 at 10:00 am.

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WOWSTICK 1fs Electric Screwdriver review

Now here’s a clever tool for the handyperson in your life: An electric screwdriver but for teeny tiny things. Meet the WOWSTICK 1fs electric screwdriver.

  • Wowstick 1FS Screwdriver Set 18pcs Bits
  • Powered by 2 x AAA batteries (NOT included)
  • LED Light
  • Speed: 150r/min (non-adjustable)
  • Material: Aluminum
  • Dimension: 170 x 16 x 16mm
  • 1 x WOWSTICK 1fs Electric Screwdriver
  • 18 x Bits
  • 1 x Carry Case

By itself without batteries, the screwdriver body weighs just under 2 ounces.

Here’s a closeup of the specs from the paper insert.

A size comparison next to a pen and a large marker.

The screwdriver accepts two AAA batteries (not included). The rear end of the handle unscrews.

You also get three tubes worth of 4mm bits.  I couldn’t identify them all visually (some are really tiny).

Fortunately, the Brando web page listing shows all of the included bits, spelled out.

It wasn’t obvious at first, but once you squeeze the black trigger to turn the bits in either direction (it looks like one long black button, but it’s actually a forward/reverse depending on where you press it), an LED light illuminates your work area.

The big question is: How well does it work?  I found that under moderate torque, the screwdriver seems to struggle a little bit and the LED light dims considerably.  Then again, the inclusion of all the extremely tiny bits tells me this was really intended for very, very small screws where torque may not be as much as found in this fairly ordinary light switch test.

Another interesting design choice: You must remove the bit from the screwdriver if you plan to use the included carrying case. It simply will not fit.

If you do normal handyman things around the house, you may want to reach for a slightly meatier electric screwdriver with more power. For lighter-duty tasks, the WOWSTICK 1fs could be a handy featherweight tool for very small screws if you’re doing a lot of repetitive work.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Brando. Please visit for more info.

 

Product Information

Price: $62
Manufacturer: WOWSTICK
Retailer: Brando
Requirements:
  • Two AAA batteries (not included). Works with 4mm bits (included).
Pros:
  • Lightweight, comes with many tiny bits
Cons:
  • Not designed for tougher screws (not a lot of torque.) LED light seems to dim at the slightest hint of resistance. No variable speed.

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WOWSTICK 1fs Electric Screwdriver review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 6, 2017 at 9:00 am.

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Star Shower makes Christmas decorating easy!

With Star Shower, you’ll be able to decorate the exterior of your house without requiring ladders or risking a trip to the ER.  Shown in the above image is the Window Wonderland.  Apply the adjustable 4ft x 6ft easy-fit screen to the inside of your windows, position the old movie camera-styled projector in your yard, and you’re ready to start projecting moving holiday displays on the front of your house.  The kit includes six Christmas movies and six Halloween movies for next fall.

The normal price of the Window Wonderland kit is $59.99; it’s available now for $19.99.

If you want a display that could cover the entire front of your house (up to 3200 sq ft), check out Star Shower’s Slideshow.  Choose one of the 12 slides (for Christmas, Halloween, Independence Day, Easter, Valentine’s Day, or birthdays), insert it into the LED projector and watch your house be covered in bright, colorful holiday designs.  An efficient motor sets your selected designs dancing over the house at the selected display speeds: fast, slow, or freeze. It comes with an indoor base if you’d rather have your slideshow inside.  The Slideshow kit was $39.99, but it’s now $29.99.

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Star Shower makes Christmas decorating easy! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 6, 2017 at 8:00 am.

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The first Always Connected PCs are here and they deliver practically 24 Hour battery life

An ultra thin laptop with LTE connectivity and nearly 24-hour battery life might seem like a pipe-dream, but that is all about to change. Today at the Qualcomm Summit, both Asus and HP unveiled their first Always Connected PCs which are both powered by the Qualcomm 835 mobile PC platform.

The concept behind the Always Connected PC is that it brings over several smartphone traits to a PC that emulate the experience you’d get from your phone. For example, the new Always Connected PCs feature instant on capabilities, so that means that the computer turns on instantly without waiting for it to wake from hibernation. The PCs are always connected to the internet via gigabit LTE and a built-in SIM, they provide a full Windows 10 experience and all day battery life. All day battery life means 24 hours – not just 9 to 5, which is what we’ve all grown used to. All of this is made possible thanks to the Qualcomm 835 platform.

Asus NovaGo

The Asus NovaGo is the world’s first Gigabit LTE Laptop. It sports a 10mm thin design, comes with a stylus and is available with up to 8GB of RAM and 256gb of storage. Its battery can last up to 22 hours on a charge, or 30 days on standby. Pricing for the Asus NovaGo will start at just $599 and will go up to $799 for the 8GB / 256GB storage model.

HP Envy X2

HP announced their Envy X2 which sports a “Tablet” PC form factor with a detachable keyboard. The device itself is made of machined aluminum, it measures just 6.9mm thin and weighs just 1.5lbs. Like the NovaGo, the Envy X2 comes with a stylus and comes running Windows 10. The battery life for the Envy X2 is up to 20 hours on a charge.

Lenovo is expected to unveil their own Always Connected PC at CES next month as well. And AMD was on stage talking about their engineering partnership with Qualcomm. They said that through a partnership with Qualcomm, they’ll be bringing their high-performance Ryzen processors to connected PCs soon. That means that a gaming laptop with similar features to the Always Connected PCS might not be too far off in the future.

But what we’re most excited about is the promise of ALL WEEK battery life which Qualcomm and its partners spoke about. Perhaps the second generation of Always Connected PCs will offer that so that we can finally leave our power bricks at home. That would be truly liberating.

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The first Always Connected PCs are here and they deliver practically 24 Hour battery life originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 5, 2017 at 7:03 pm.

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