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Gear Tips: The ThinkTank Modular System Update

If you're out shooting in the field a lot, you know that changing lenses can be a hassle, especially when you use a heavy backpack that you have to take off and on repeatedly. My solution for this is to shoot with no camera bag at all. Instead, I use the Modular belt-based storage system, by ThinkTank Photo. I've been using ThinkTank products for years and I absolutely love them. The Modular System is a series of lens and accessory pouches that attach to a special belt. This system makes changing lenses a breeze and makes my gear much easier to manage.

In an earlier video, I detailed the general setup I like to use and I'm posting an update to show how I've changed my setup in the video shown below.

FYI: It looks like ThinkTank has renamed their belt-based product line from Modulus to Modular.

Check out the components to the Modular System HERE

For the Tamrac Filter Pouch I use with the Modular System, click HERE

For the suspender/harness system I'm now using, click HERE.

Watch the original video on the Modular System HERE.

Receive a free ThinkTank item on my Equipment Discounts page HERE.

Sony Announces GPS for Digital Cameras

Sony just announced a little $150 device that will tag all the photos you take with GPS location data. It works by recording your position and time of day and then matching up the date stamp on each of your photos. I've been wanting something like this ever since I started to shoot digitally and am amazed that GPS is not included on most higher-end digital cameras.

My Paperless Digital File Cabinet

I've been spending the last week or so cleaning out closets, throwing away junk and trying to get down to the stuff I really need in preparation for my upcoming mobile lifestyle change. There are two products that have really made this transition easier than I thought it would be:

First there's the Fujitsu ScanSnap document scanner. This amazing little unit resembles a very small fax machine and boasts the following features (they have different versions for Mac and Windows):

• Scans at up to 15 pages per minute, full color, two sided (so really 30 PPM for double-sided stuff)
• Can handle up to 50 sheets at a time... just pile them up in the feeder and it scans them fast
• Spits out multi-page PDF files (not OCRed though)
• Automatically skips blank pages
• Automatically determines if document is color or B&W
• Automatically determines if document is single or double-sided
• Automatically determines page size (from business card to legal sized)
• No need to launch software... just load it once and then press a single button on the scanner to start scanning

I've used that scanner to digitize hundreds of pages of old bank statements, tax returns, magazine articles and dozens of other stuff that I couldn't throw away. Then, after scanning everything, I organized everything using a program called DEVONthink, which has many features including:

• Can handle PDF files, URLs, archived web pages, images, audio & video and a lot more
• Allows you to organize all these files and search them very quickly
• Can view multi-page PDF files very quickly and "browse" multiple files much faster than anything else I've used
• Can archive a web page or entire web site so you have a local copy instead of having to be on-line to read it
• Creates relationships between documents that are overly useful

These two products have allowed me to do away with over 90% of my paper files and have made it much faster for me to locate any particular document. Not only that, but I have all my files on my laptop so I can access them while I'm on the road. If I remember correctly, the scanner costs around $350 and the software is about $75.

I like this setup so much that I think I'll end up getting an identical setup for Regina's office so she can scan any mail that shows up while I'm on the road and so she can digitize all our paper files.

MacBook Pro Observations

 

As I'm sure you've heard, Apple introduced their first Intel-based Macs yesterday. The one I'm most interested in is the MacBook Pro, which is the replacement for the PowerBook. Here are a few things to consider when looking at the new machine:

Great Stuff:

1. Much faster then Powerbook
2. Much brighter screen than Powerbook
3. Built-in iSight Camera
4. Includes Front Row with remote that can be used to control presentations
5. Can burn to both DVD + and - R's
6. New power adapter (all mine have mangled ends)

Clarification: The #1 above needs a little qualification: You might notice that Apple's web site does not compare the performance of mainstream applications such as Photoshop because those applications have not been optimized to run on the Intel chip. Instead, they have to be run through Rosetta, which is similar to how OS9 applications ran in Classic mode after OSX was released. So, Apple instead relies on showing benchmarks that measure processor performance instead of real-world performance. When they say the new MacBook Pro's are 4-5x faster than the old ones, do not assume they are referring to real-world performance with the current generation of applications. Those applications have to be revised in order to talk to the Intel chip directly instead of going through Rosetta.

Bad Stuff:

1. No FireWire 800 support
2. No PC card slot, so you need a card reader for Compact Flash cards
3. No modem (can't fax or connect to net in some hotels)
4. Lower resolution screen (60 fewer pixels in the hight compared to 15" Powerbook)

Stuff to Think About:

1. They replaced the PC Card slot with a smaller Express Card slot (don't know of any available accessories for this slot yet and it's too small to fit Compact Flash cards from my digital camera)
2. They just happened to forget to list the estimated battery life on the units
3. You should be able to boot into either Mac OS or Windows OS!

I would not purchase one of the first units released because they have not been tested by a wide enough audience yet (heck most developers didn't even know about them). I'd end up waiting at least 6 months for them to work the kinks out and check all the on-line reports because doing any critical work on these new machines.

Add a Spreadsheet to your Web Site

If you ever need to share numeric data with friends, then visit Num Sum, which will allow you to create a spreadsheet that can be linked to from your site and viewed from any web browser. It's simple, free and can be setup in minutes.

Zooming In with Universal Access

At my Photoshop seminars, I often zoom in on a portion of my screen so that people at the back of the room can read some of the fine detail in an image, palette, or icon. If you use a Mac and would like to temporarily zoom in on your screen, then do the following:

1) Choose System Preferences and then click on the Universal Access icon.

2) Click the large button labeled Turn On Zoom (that is unless it happens to be labeled Turn Off Zoom).

3) When you want to zoom in on a portion of your screen, position your mouse over the area and then hold both the Option and Command keys and then press + to zoom in. The more times you press that key combo, the more you'll magnify your screen. When you're all done hold the same two keys down and press - to zoom out.

I'm sure there is a utility available for Windows that has similar functionality, but as far as I know it's not built into the operating system... if I'm wrong, please let me know where to find the feature.

The Start of the Media Center Mac?

Apple has just introduced a few new products:
• The new iPod, which is capable of playing video
• The new iMac, which is slimmer than the old and has an integrated iSight camera

But to me the most interesting part of the announcement was something called Front Row.

Front Row is a remote control for the new iMac that looks a lot like an iPod shuffle in that it has no display and the same button configuration. What's the big deal about this new remote? Well, it's really the software that comes with it. It's what appears to be the first hint of a Media Center Mac. The software allows you to easily browse music, movies and photos as well as control the iMac's internal DVD player. Now all Apple has to do is add an FM radio tuner and video in capabilities and allow us to record those sources and we'd have a very easy to use Media Center Mac.

If and when they do that, the next step would be to release an iMac with 1920x1080 resolution so that it could be used to watch full resolution High Definition television and it would completely replace my bedroom TV... add a few features to the Mac Mini and it could replace the TiVo in my living room... and then come out with a new version of Airport Express that includes an IR port for the remote control and video out and then I could watch and listen to things from any TV set. Then allow me to control it all over the internet from my PowerBook and play content from my home systems remotely while I travel and I'd be absolutely hooked. I see little hints of Apple heading in this direction, but they've always said they aren't into convergence... then again look at how many things have converged in the new iPod (video, audio, calendar, contacts, etc, etc, etc.)

Unlimited On-line Storage for $4.95/month

Here's an interesting concept: unlimited on-line storage where you are charged based on how many Gigabytes of data you *download*. That means that you could potentially use this service to backup all of your digital photos, your entire music collection and more and then pay only $4.95/month and be able to download up to one Gigabyte each month. To download more, you of course pay more. But if you're using it as a backup and you don't actually plan to download anything unless something happens to your home/office system, then it could be a low cost solution.

They even have a free version where you can upload up to 10 Gigabytes of data and download up to 100 Megabytes per month. I think I'll use that to backup all the images I use for the seminars I present... that way I should be able to download them from any computer that has an internet connection in the event that my laptop dies. I don't usually need more than 100MB worth of images for a seminar, so I should be able to get by with their free plan!

Access Your HD from OSX's Dock

If you run OSX on a Mac, then consider dragging your hard drive icon from your desktop into the lower portion of the dock (below the horizontal line that appears above the trash can). Once you've done that, you can click and hold on the icon to quickly navigate your hard drive. I'm amazed at how many people ask me about this trick when I use it at my seminars.

Tiny MP3 Player

If you find Apple's iPod Shuffle to be lacking, then check out the MobiBLU DAH-1500i. It's absolutely tiny (I saw one at PhotoshopWorld), includes a voice recorder, FM radio and 1GB of memory in a tiny 24x24x24mm cube that includes a very bright screen and sells for just over $100.