In today’s technology-driven environment, there are so many solutions that are offered for storage and access to our documents and data. For photographers, storage space is always a challenge, and finding the right solution with the right redundancy to mitigate the risk of losing content remains a daily challenge. Most of us in the industry use a NAS – Network Attached Storage with mirrored drives to ensure the safekeeping of our photos and data. However, the task of identifying and storing content in the correct location with the correct category and other identifying information can also be a daunting one. While many automated solutions exist, I could not help but notice a simple device that I came across a few days ago that likely has a place in my workflow.

Monument is a simple network device that allows you to plug in a hard drive with a storage capacity of your own choice, and it also allows you to plug a USB drive as a secondary drive for automatic backups. According to the company, “Monument’s Artificial Intelligence analyzes and organizes your photos by date, location, camera type, faces, and what’s in them; even if you have not tagged them before”. While this type of storage solution may not seem robust enough for the professional photographer, it can certainly work as a short-term storage solution for photos that need to be edited or shared right away.

If you take some quick photos on your phone, they are automatically transferred to the Monument device as soon as your phone connects to the same network. The device has both a gigabit Ethernet port and wifi built in and an SD card slot to accept your memory card from your camera. Even professional photographers have the need to share photos with their family members at home, and this device accomplishes that task as well since everyone on the same network can have an account and access to the content.

If you would like to give Monument a try, you can purchase one on their website or on Amazon for $169.99

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Tagged: Camera gear, Photography

This Monument is up to the task of managing your photos originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 31, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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Like many photographers, I always have the need to edit and send or share photos or video while I am on the go or in the field. Over the years I have tried many different setups that always involved a laptop and carrying more than I needed or wanted to.

Recently, I learned about a device that could possibly solve this problem for me and not only allow me to accomplish basic editing but definitely lighten my load.

Gnarbox with the use of IOS and Android mobile apps, allows you to be able to view, edit and share RAW photos, and edit 4K video right on the phone or tablet. It creates its own hotspot so that the phone or tablet can connect to it. The Gnarbox is available with either 128GB or 256GB of storage, and has USB 3.0, USB 2.0 and Micro SD ports built-in. It has a rechargeable battery that lasts approximately 4 to 6 hours and at rates of up to 4GB per minute, it can be backed up to external drives for safekeeping of files. It is also shockproof and water resistant which is great since mishaps when on the go are par for the course.

The Gnarbox is available at Amazon and B&H Photo Video starting at $299.99.

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Gnarbox allows you to edit and share photos and video on the go! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 30, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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As a lover of outdoor photography, I really enjoy capturing unique photos whether I am in a nature park or my favorite place, the beach. What I do find each time I head out to these locations, is that I often get the opportunity to take an amazing photo, but capturing that moment with the all of the right camera settings does not always work out well. I usually take as many photos as I can of my chosen scene, sometimes adjusting settings as quickly as possible before the moment is gone. While I do take several test shots prior to starting, there are many variables to outdoor photography that can change moment by moment. When I head back to the studio, I know that I can edit the photos to enhance the originals, but getting the best original is a fundamental prerequisite for an amazing photograph.

A few days ago as I was browsing the internet, I came across a gadget that may just be a great solution for my needs. Arsenal is an intelligent camera assistant that utilizes Artificial Intelligence, and according to the website, it is the first of its kind. Arsenal uses a set of algorithms to suggest the best settings for the picture you are attempting to take, to ensure the perfect shot. It can intelligently consider all the visual environmental characteristics and arrive at the perfect settings for your camera. Its automatic adjustment of your camera settings also includes consideration of the type of lens that you are using, and its capabilities. In addition, it allows you to remotely control your camera, and to adjust settings manually if so desired. Arsenal can also automate photo stacking and save the result back to your camera’s memory card as a RAW or JPG file.

The Arsenal Intelligent Camera Assistant seems to be an amazing product that I will review if I ever get my hands on one. You can pre-order one today on the Arsenal website for $175.

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Tagged: Camera gear, Photography

The Arsenal Intelligent Camera Assistant seems to be an amazing product that can guarantee the perfect photo originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 29, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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I wonder how many of my fellow photographers end up like I have on many shoots, when I get to the location and realize that I forgot to pack something, and to make matters worse, packed gear the I did not need. This is a frequent problem that I experience no matter how much I plan. It either occurs because I have back to back shoots and very little time to re-pack my bags, or because I took something out of the bag and forgot to replace it.

A couple of days ago, I was surfing for photography gear online, which by now you all know is something I love to do, and I came across what may be a great solution.

Gear Eye is a small scanner that works along with RFID stickers and a mobile app, to tag all your gear and track it via the app. When setting up each tag, you can label each piece of equipment, so that when it is scanned, it shows up in the app as labeled. This allows you to pack a bag and then scan the items in the bag, and to know exactly what you have packed. What is even better, is that you can plan and determine what gear you need for a shoot and add that event with the gear list to the app. Once that is done, when you scan your gear bag, you can see on the app what equipment is in the bag, what is missing, and what may have been packed but not needed. This is great for efficiency and making sure that you are not carrying around extra weight.

The Gear Eye Starter kit is available for pre-order via the Gear Eye website for $185.

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The Gear Eye keeps and eye on things for photographers originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 28, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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One of the many challenges that I face when out on a photography shoot, is how to manage interchanging multiple lenses quickly and safely. I can remember going out to shoot at a park that also had a pier, and I wanted to shoot landscapes, objects on the ocean, and some macro photography of flowers and insects in the park. I walked with my Sigma 70-200mm and Canon 24-105mm lenses for the landscape and ocean shots, and my Sigma 105mm macro lenses for macro photography. If you know the Sigma 70-200mm, you know that it is a heavy lens and must be handled carefully. Dropping this lens will result in major damage, so I had it safely in my Think Tank Holster, while I had a belt with two lens cases to secure the other lens. To make a long story short, I missed so many shots that day when I saw opportunities for great photos of moving targets, but I had the wrong lens attached for those shots, and simply could not swap lenses safely and quickly enough to take advantage of the moment. I eventually packed up and headed home because of the overwhelming frustration.

Now I know that some photographers carry multiple camera bodies with the additional lenses that they need, but for me, that was simply too much for that outing.

Since then, I have been on a quest to find a workable solution, and recently I came across the TRILENS. The great device clips to a gear belt and has three secure receptacles to secure three lenses. It claims to manage the strongest point of gravity very well to keep it close to the body, and it rotates easily for the selection and swapping of lenses. For me, this design seems like it will work well, and provide the quickness I need to change my lens, as well as allow me a better chance at capturing those great photography moments that I would otherwise miss.

If you would like to learn more about the TRILENS or purchase one, you can head over to the Friidesigns website or their Indiegogo funding page and pick one up for approximately $140 USD (€99.00EUR) plus shipping.

The post The TRILENS is a 3 lens holder for Photographers on the go appeared first on The Gadgeteer.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged: Camera gear, Photography

The TRILENS is a 3 lens holder for Photographers on the go originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 27, 2018 at 8:00 am.

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