Archives for ‘Visual Departures’

Suction Mount: Place Cameras and Lights Wherever You Want

Tripods Can't Help You Out of Some Situations

Suction Mount lets you place cameras and lights in those places tripods can't help you.Have you ever wanted to mount a light high in the corner of a room? (Trick question — of course you have.) Suction Mount lets you use any flat, non-porous surface as a non-permanent mounting spot for a camera or lights — enabling you to get your gear into positions that would be impossible with light stands or tripods.

Suction Mount is a high-quality suction cup and vacuum pump mounted to a rock-solid 1/4-20 tripod screw and 5/8" stud. The DV6B model incorporates a heavy duty ball swivel joint for added flexibility. Suction Mount is made in the USA, and is far more compact than a tripod.

How much weight your Suction Mount will support depends on which model you're using and what you're attaching to (in an ideal world, this would be a clean pane of glass.) Also note that the vacuum pump indicator will display strength of suction — for longer installations, the indicator will turn red, alerting you that the seal should be "pumped up" to maintain suction. Please do not leave suction-mounted gear unsupervised.

Suction Mount Models and Specifications
Model Mount Size of Suction Cup Maximum Load
SM-3 Fixed 1/4-20 tripod screw 3 inches Up to 20 lbs.
SM-6 Fixed 1/4-20 tripod screw 6 inches Up to 70 lbs.
DV6B 5/8" stud on swivel ball head 6 inches Up to 70 lbs.

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Camera Key: How to Un-Jam Your Hasselblad Shutter… Safely

Camera Key, a tool for Hasselblad film cameras

Rescue Your Jammed Hasselblad C or CF (Zeiss) Lens

Do you love your Hasselblad film camera? How about when it jams? Do your hands shake just a little bit as you nervously attempt to use a screwdriver to re-cock the shutter? Can you work quickly enough to avoid leaving dust inside, while being careful enough not to scratch anything?

Camera Key works with all Hasselblad film cameras.

Relax — Camera Key is a precision-machined tool specifically made to solve this problem quickly and easily. It's a custom-made screwdriver with two brass collars that help keep you from slipping off the shutter screw inside the Hasselblad — which can ruin your whole day. One side is for use within the camera, while the other side lets you re-cock your lens when it's not mounted on the camera. And it's compact, too — at only six inches, it can fit in your pocket or any gear bag. It's the cheapest insurance policy you're likely to encounter on a Hasselblad.

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Gelly Roll: Store, Protect, and Organize Lighting Gels

Gelly Roll protects your expensive lighting gels and comes in two sizes: 20x24 inch and 10x12 inch (for Lowel lights)

Take Better Care of Your Expensive Lighting Gels

Gels aren't particularly durable. Gelly Roll is a clever way to keep them protected from dust and accidental damage. Your gels slip easily into a secure pouch which then rolls around a rigid center tube. Built-in elastic straps then secure the whole package for easy storage or transportation. And what's really cool is that you can take the cap off the end of the tube and store your clips — convenience and no wasted space!

Depending on what formats of gels you use, Gelly Roll comes in two sizes: industry-standard 20×24 inch, or the 10×12 inch size often used with Lowel lights and other still photography systems. And to keep yourself organized, mix and match from any of four colors: red, blue, orange, or gray.

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Steadybag: Better Camera Support Than a Tripod

Steadybag family of camera supports

Flexible, rock-solid support for any camera — without a tripod. Leaves the old beanbag in the dust!

Steadybag is a high-tech update of the old-fashioned beanbag. Steadybag virtually eliminates camera shake without the need for time-consuming tripod setup. Use it for rock-solid shooting on car hoods, fenceposts, window ledges, rocks or branches. There's no setup required, so it's ready whenever you are.

People keep coming up with new uses for Steadybag. We originally designed the Steadybag for photographers in film and television. Later, we realized how perfect it was for bird watching and target shooting enthusiasts. Where will you use yours? Order online or find your local dealer and let us know!

Steadybag is available in three models. The standard three-pound Steadybag is for 35mm and medium-format SLRs, as well as video camcorders. The Steadybag Junior, available in three colors, is designed especially for compact point-and-shoot cameras. At just eight ounces, you can take it anywhere. And the large seven-pound size is designed for broadcast video (ENG/EFP) and motion picture cameras, as well as still cameras with very long and/or heavy lenses.

Every Steadybag is made in the USA from rugged water-resistant nylon and filled with thousands of custom-milled polypropylene beads. The standard and large Steadybag models include both a removable shoulder strap and a permanent carrying handle, while the Steadybag Junior includes a durable, swiveling mini-clip.

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Dewitt's Brush: Cleaner Gear Shoots (and Sells) Better

Dewitt's Brush is the best and safest way to keep nature's debris off non-optical surfaces.

It's the best tool ever for cleaning gear, whether you're using it… or done using it.

This ain't no shaving brush! Dewitt's Brush substitutes natural boar bristle for the old-fashioned shaving brush's badger hair. This makes it stiffer and springier, the better to get dirt and grit out of all the hard-to-reach places on your cameras and video equipment. (Try it on sheet-film holders!) Yet the tip of each bristle is feathered to protect painted finishes from scratching, a design that also picks up dust more efficiently.

Dewitt's Brush measures 4½ inches long and 1½ inches in diameter. The 2¼-inch handle is made from molded white nylon and is contoured for easy grip. The feather-tip bristles measure 2¼-inches.

eBay sellers: It's been proven time and again that the best product photography gets the top dollar. But as we all know, second-hand electronics really attract and retain dust and grit. Cleaning up with Dewitt's Brush allows you to take the detail shots that may mean a 20% difference in your final selling price. This is a no-brainer; a product that pays for itself after just one use!

"Dust really stands out in a photograph of a black camera body. So whenever I need to do a product shot for a story, I get rid of it with Dewitt's Brush."

– Russel Hart,
American Photo

Dewitt's Brush is the best and safest way to keep nature's debris off non-optical surfaces. We think it's a necessity for any fastidious photographer or videographer.

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