Home News

The Lexar Professional Workflow HR1 Hub adds efficiency where it is needed


Whenever I am in the studio and I have to work on editing photos and footage that I have shot over a few days, I usually have a bunch of different media full of files that I need to transfer to my editing computer. At any given time, I may have a couple of SDXC cards, a couple of compact flash cards and even some micro SD cards. I used to find the process of transferring the files very tedious since I would normally use a small multi-purpose USB reader and copy each card one at a time.

Some time ago, I decided to examine the efficiency of my workflow, and the copying of files seemed like a logical process that needed to be made more efficient. After some research, I found and purchased the Lexar Professional Workflow HR1 Hub. This is a very nice, small and compact modular 4-bay hub that accepts up to four different types of card readers, and via USB 3.0, it is able to transfer the files from all 4 of the readers simultaneously. The modules that are offered for this hub include readers for SDHC, SDXC, Micro SDHC, Micro SDXC, CompactFlash, CFast and XQD cards. There are also two flash storage drives that are available in 256 or 512GB sizes.

The Lexar HR1 Hub is both MAC and Windows compatible, and it has been an amazing addition to my workflow and has definitely added much better efficiency to my process. You can pick one up at Adorama for $58.95.

The post The Lexar Professional Workflow HR1 Hub adds efficiency where it is needed appeared first on The Gadgeteer.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged:

The Lexar Professional Workflow HR1 Hub adds efficiency where it is needed originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 17, 2018 at 11:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

The Rode VideoMicro Compact On-Camera Microphone is a great addition to a DSLR recording kit


Whenever I want to shoot a quick video, I tend to grab my DSLR as opposed to my Canon or Sony professional video cameras, which are much bigger and heavier, and require me to drag along much more equipment. My DSLR and an external audio recorder are usually enough, but there have been times when I have tried to synchronize the audio from the recorder with the audio recorded by the camera mic, and the audio from the camera mic was so noisy and unfocused, that it created problems. Then at other times, I needed to shoot a video and immediately use the footage with the audio recorded by the camera mics, and that too was bad.

It was obvious that I needed a better solution for such occasions, so I purchased the Rode VideoMicro Compact On-Camera Microphone, and it has worked out well. It is true to its name, as it is quite small and compact but does a very good job of capturing directional audio, and really does outperform the mic on the camera. The Rode comes with a detachable coiled cable that connects to it via a 3.5mm female jack, and the other end connects to the mic input on the DSLR. I really like that the coiled cable stays out of the way. There is also a nice shoe mount that is included, and a “dead cat” windscreen that works very well when filming outdoors in windy conditions, and indoors where even ambient noise from an air conditioner could affect a recording.

If you would like to give the Rode VideoMicro Compact On-Camera Microphone a try, you can pick one up at Amazon for $59.00.

The post The Rode VideoMicro Compact On-Camera Microphone is a great addition to a DSLR recording kit appeared first on The Gadgeteer.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged:

The Rode VideoMicro Compact On-Camera Microphone is a great addition to a DSLR recording kit originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 17, 2018 at 9:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Retrofit your existing downlights with smart IPhilips Hue kits

I have an old-style downlight in my foyer, and I wanted a smart bulb for it.  I saw a lot of  retrofit kits for recessed lights with the light source and trim kit in one.   But those weren’t what I wanted, because none I found were wirelessly controllable.  I gave up on those kits and just bought a new trim kit and a Hue BR30 bulb that’s a bit too short for the old-style downlight.  It works okay, but it’s a bit dimmer than it should be because the end of the bulb is recessed in that old, deeper-than-normal fixture.  I may have to replace that with the Philips Hue White Ambiance Smart Retrofit Recessed Downlight now that I’ve found them.

The Hue downlight kit is available in sizes to fit 4″ or 5/6″ recessed fixtures.  Just like other Hue bulbs, these retrofit kits must be paired with the Hue bridge.  Once paired, they can be controlled, dimmed, and scheduled using the Hue app, Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s HomeKit, and Hue Tap and dimmer switches.  These aren’t the color-changing bulbs; they are White Ambience, meaning they have what Philips describes as 50,000 shades of white, from warm to cool white.

You can purchase the 4″ kit or the 5/6″ kit Philips Hue White Ambience Smart Retrofit Recessed Downlight for $35 at Home Depot.  If you don’t already have one, you’ll also need the Philips Hue bridge.

The post Retrofit your existing downlights with smart IPhilips Hue kits appeared first on The Gadgeteer.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged: ,

Retrofit your existing downlights with smart IPhilips Hue kits originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 17, 2018 at 8:18 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

The Oregon Trail Handheld Game brings you dysentery on-the-go

The Oregon Trail handheld game

It’s an 80’s classroom nostalgia trip in a pocket-sized package! In this handheld version of the classic Oregon Trail, hunt for food, trade with settlers and ford dangerous rivers as you attempt the 19th-century trek from Missouri to Oregon’s lush Willamette Valley.

This game was a treat to play in elementary school, though I think the only thing I learned from it was that I was glad to be shooting at pixelated buffalo instead of contracting cholera in the back of a covered wagon. Playing Oregon Trail is literally all this thing can do, but it might be a fun gift to pick up for a fan of the original game or to inflict digital snakebites, broken limbs and diseases on a new generation.

The game features all the required buttons to make decisions and hunt for food, as well as authentic 80’s sound and graphics. The description on Target’s website lists the difficulty of this game as “easy,” but if memory serves me, I only remember actually finishing this game a handful of times, so your mileage may vary, literally.

You can pick up the Handheld Oregon Trail game exclusively at Target, in-store or online for $25.

The post The Oregon Trail Handheld Game brings you dysentery on-the-go appeared first on The Gadgeteer.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged:

The Oregon Trail Handheld Game brings you dysentery on-the-go originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 16, 2018 at 10:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

The new Nest Temperature Sensor helps rid your home of hot and cold spots

My house is probably like most houses out there.  There are some rooms that are hotter than I’d like and some that are colder than I’d like, no matter the season.  Because of the location of the thermostat and the long shape of the condo, our bedrooms tend to be chilly in the winter and hot in the summer while our living and dining rooms are uncomfortably hot in the winter and cold in the summer.  Because of the age of the building, the cement walls and ceilings, and the neighbors above and below us, there isn’t much we can do to remedy this situation by rerouting ductwork or moving the thermostat.  The Nest Temperature Sensor will work with my Nest thermostat to help remedy that situation without having to install a new heating system.

The battery-powered sensors can be mounted in various locations in your house to send back information to the Nest thermostat about conditions in those locations.  You can then use the app to tell the thermostats which locations need to be prioritized and when to make those rooms more comfortable.  For example, we could prioritize the living and dining rooms in the early evening, so they’ll be comfortable while we have dinner and then watch some TV.  Before bedtime, we could have the bedroom area prioritized for comfortable sleeping conditions.

The Temperature Sensors will work with the 3rd-generation Nest Learning Thermostat or the Nest Thermostat E.  The thermostat and sensors communicate via Bluetooth LE; the sensors can be placed up to 50 feet away, though construction and interference can impact the range.  You can pair up to six sensors with a thermostat, and you can have up to 3 thermostats with six sensors each in one house.

A single sensor is $39; a three-pack is $99.  Pre-order now at the Nest website.

The post The new Nest Temperature Sensor helps rid your home of hot and cold spots appeared first on The Gadgeteer.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged:

The new Nest Temperature Sensor helps rid your home of hot and cold spots originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 16, 2018 at 9:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.