Photo Accessory News

Today I received a Happy Anniversary wish from Peak Design. No, this has nothing to do with wedding bells—apparently it’s the anniversary of one of my purchases of meticulously engineered Peak Design photo products. Naturally, they expressed their hope that I’m “…still loving it…” Then they boldly stated, “But if that's not the case, let's do something about it.” Now, THAT got my attention!

Peak Design just launched a Kickstarter campaign for a travel tripod. Packed with innovative features, this extremely compact marvel is available in aluminum alloy or carbon fiber, supports a payload of up to 20 pounds and is not much bigger than a Philly cheese steak sandwich—or the footlong hot dog shown above—when folded up (3.1 x 15.5 inches). We had a chance to put an early sample through the paces; here’s our hands-on report.

A nice surprise, a backpack for cameras, lenses and drones that introduces some new features and turns some wasted space into storage space. Here’s an intimate, hands-on review of the very intelligently designed OneMo bag that’s engineered to provide a lifetime of service.

Using a hard shell case to protect sensitive camera gear has its advantages—until you try to carry it for a few miles over rough terrain. So professional photographer Laurens Parsons, founder of RucPac, invented the Hardcase Strap system that effectively turns your hard-sided case into a backpack. This is just one of the many useful and innovative products in the RucPac photo accessory stable.

HEXO+: The HEXO+ is another new imaging drone that is capable of auto-following and auto-filming your subject. The HEXO+ is similar to the Lily Flying Camera drone, which we featured last month and took the UAV world by storm.

There’s no doubt that many accessories are worthwhile. Some make photography easier and more enjoyable, while others actually enable you to capture better images. Still other others, while they may seem interesting at first glance, are eventually relegated to an ignominious spot in the back of your camera cabinet.

Shutterbug, a member of the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA), once again joined forces with 30 other member magazines from around the world to choose the winners of the annual TIPA Awards for the best photo/imaging products in 40 different categories. The award process began in early 2017 with an initial selection of a wide range of products conducted by TIPA’s Technical Committee, on which Shutterbug’s Editor-at-Large George Schaub serves.