Hey Techs, I just got back from another location shoot and wanted to pass this along. I know I’ve been on a bit of ThinkTank worship here, but their Pixel Sunscreen v2.0 kicks major stray light butt. I think I’ve tried just about every shade combo under the sun (!) and they always seem to have some kind of drawback. The fit on bellows type is awesome for one person, but try to have an AD or two look over your shoulder and it’s damn near impossible. Laptop case/shade combos are handy for getup and go work, but they are a bit tight on the port access now that everything is FW800. On location it can be a bit tricky holding an connection while moving around, mainly due to that clunky huge FW800 connector. I usually resort to gaff taping where the FW800 connector meets the lappie, which is not pretty but works. Btw, Rick Allen has a more elegant solution using the Ethernet port and a stubby cable to hold the FW800 in. If I can find that link I’ll post it as it’s a quite brilliant solution.
This latest version 2.0 of TT’s sunscreen has some awesome features, such as side and rear access to ports with super easy access and setup and breakdown is super quick once you get the hang of it. There’s a side circle/doughnut that holds the shade in collapsed mode that also doubles as a handy stash pocket for cables, power supplies etc. Inside there’s two more pockets plus a clip to hold notes or your drink tab depending where on location you are. The bottom of the shade has non-skid stuff inside and out so the lappie and shade won’t slip and slide. Don’t even get me started about the construction. It’s first class all the way, and worth every bit of it’s 69.00 price tag. (Oh yeah, you and the AD also can edit while holding Mai Tai’s on the beach and both be able to see what’s going on.) TT says the fabric is not waterproof, but I’ve used it in some rain squally conditions and it’s definitely water repellent with some kind of hydrophobic coating. Honestly if it’s getting that wet outside, you might want to move indoors or have a pop-up tent handy.
This shade and my HyperMac external batt make the ideal run and gun combo for me. Many time I just put the batt underneath the lappie and am on my way. About the only thing I would add would be soft velcro strips on the bottom or some kind of quick release cable setup for attaching the shade to a laptop plate. Other than that this thing is just about perfect, and that’s coming from a grumpy tech that can find fault with just about any gear ever created.
Think Tank Pixel Sunscreen 2.0
Edit: To say my solution is elegant is maybe an overstatement but thanks E —- Rick
One of the things I’ve been seriously diggin’ on lately are the Cable Management series of organizer bags from Think Tank Photo. The construction is awesome, with fused zippers that can take a beating and I love how there is a pocket for your business card in case the bag is lost or misplaced. The smaller bags like the Cable 10 are perfect for stowing pocket wizards (remember to turn them off or get a nasty surprise next time you’re on location-see prior post!), and the Cable 30 is awesome for pocket HD’s, cables and basically all that stuff that goes everywhere and is never where you need it. My Cable 30 is set up to be the perfect location backup kit with HD, cables, Sprint Overdrive hotspot, chargers and the Color Checker Passport goes in the back zippered pocket. One case that I can grab and go and have most of my essentials in one bag. Think Tank makes all sizes from the Cable 10 to the Cable 50 and I’m well on my way to having the whole set and more than a few 10’s.
Check them out here:
Think Tank Cable Management
Think Tank also has a new version of their Pixel Shade out, which is awesome in many ways and I’ll try to post more on that in another entry, and if you haven’t had a chance, Erik Hillard over at Running Pixels blog, Talking Pixels has a review here of TT’s Logistic Manager rolling cargo case that is way cool. I think you could make an awesome location rig with the Location Manager as the foundation.
So yeah, I’m pretty jazzed about Think Tank. It’s pretty rare that something comes along that exactly meets or surpasses my Tech/Photo expectations, and these guys/gals seem to do it again and again.
So a photog that I tech for gave me his laptop and asked me why he wasn’t able to play DVD’s on his 2008 17″ MBP.
“Hm?” I replied
(Apparently the person who set up the machine left out unessential things like idvd to trim down the OS. )
Then after light temple scratching and medium to heavy google searching I realized that. No you can’t fix it without re-installing the OS and having to reformat and have to re-instal all your programs.
Then after less temple scratching and medium to heavy google searching this was discovered. So I thought i’d share it:
Just an interesting bit of info:
Since DVD player was trashed on the laptop we thought it was necessary to reinstall the entire system, However, I found a program which you might be interest in calledPacifist
It allows you to download the program, and run it in conjunction with your system install discs.
It then will individually pull all the elements of that install disc and you can pick what you want from it and extract single components and then install that single component. In this case it showed a all the contents of the 2 discs and one of those components was the program DVD player, you click that one program, click install it prompts you to reinsert the disc and that single program is installed. Cool program, shareware. DVD player is back and working….neat solution.
Really? Opening up Phocus to support over 150 cameras???
And RAW support for Leaf?
Wow. I’m aghast. Flummoxed even.
This is a big shot aimed right at Phase’s bow, because one of the major advantages of C1 is that you can capture both your MFDB and DSLR files to one app greatly simplifying the capture/edit and processing of a shoot. Now Hassy is playing the same game and oh, by the way Phocus is Phree!!!
I admit to being a little lackluster on the MFDB scene lately because, well, since Phase bought Leaf and Sinar is barely alive, the industry is basically two players now, which usually means not too much in the way of competition, (ahem, cough cough). Apparently it’s more than I thought.
Way more.
So come on gang, get out there and test this Phocus dslr thing out. I will next week back in SF, but honestly I can’t hardly wait.
Edit: Drat, not available until May 19th, dammit.
Phocus 2.5 press release
