Review: Studio Light with Lampshade

Perfect for photo / light tents and other small jobs, maybe even for bigger locations where you can spread those 250W of light. In short: I'm going to get a couple more of these.

Full name: G-801B Studio Light with Lampshade (220V)
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $20.80 (Free shipping)

Pros:
Compared to others this one has a thicker and more solid dome. It has a good length power cord with a European power plug. On the lamp there is a attachment hole for umbrella or other equipment. The plastic feels solid and the aluminum is lightweight and still thick enough to handle some packing and unpacking and general use.

Cons:
Not many cons for this price, but if I had to be picky you can always use longer power cables and it could have been bigger. But then again the size isn't an issue since it is supposed to be small and easy to place.

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Review: Mid-sized Studio Flash Reflector Lampshade

Nice lamp, but you might need to also buy another power plug and extend the cord. Good for studio use where you don't have to pack and unpack it and bang it into things all the time. Too thin material for other uses.

Full name: Collapsible Mid-sized Studio Flash Reflector Lampshade w/ E27 Light Socket Holder - Black
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $25.50 (Free shipping)

Pros:
It's a very lightweight lamp. It is adjustable in all directions and it you can attach umbrellas or other equipment to a dedicated hole on the lamp. The plastic feels good and sturdy (everything but the screws and lamp shade is plastic).

Cons:
The dome is made of some sort of aluminum, but the thickness of it is a bit too thin, especially when compared to other similar lamps. It makes it lightweight, but it will get dented or banged up sooner or later. Be aware of the power plug which is US, Japanese or some other, it will not fit in a European socket. The power cord is also a bit short.

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Review: Retractable 3-Section Magnalium Tripo

Not quite a table stand and not a floor stand, and I would have loved to have had the feet rubberized and cut at an angle for more stability, or some other solution for the feet.

Full name: Retractable 3-Section Magnalium Tripod Mount Stand for Lamp - Black
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $25.70 (Free shipping)

Pros:
This is a lightweight stand with what seems to be good plastic parts in the locks and so on. The main parts are magnalium. It has good height for a table stand, but is still small when you fold it back. All in all it seems solid and durable.

Cons:
Maybe not a con, but still, this stand is sort of a in-between light stand. It's a bit big for a table stand and a too small for a floor stand. When feet are extended they spread out about 35 cm so it takes up a bit of space on a table, then again this makes it fairly stable. The feet are cut right off, meaning there are very small parts of the feet that is touching the table or floor and the feet are not rubberized (just plastic). This can make the stand slide a bit too easily.


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Review: Lens Filters Cleaning Pen

Pretty good and quite useful lens cleaning tool to have in your photo bag.

Full name: LP-1 Lens Filters Cleaning Pen - Black
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $4.90 (Free shipping)

Pros:
I guess the price is OK. It has both a soft brush and a leathery plate for cleaning lenses, making it a flexible cleaning tool. Small enough to put in your pocket or in the penholders in your photo bag.

Cons:
The first thing I noticed was some loose hairs on the brush and then some uncut hairs - meaning they were twice as long. Loose hairs aren't so nice when it comes to optics. Some of the same at the other end, the leathery part gave off some loose "stuff". But after cleaning and trimming both ends of this cleaning tool it seems to be OK. The cap could have had a better locking mechanism to prevent it from going missing.

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Review: Nylon Lens Filter Pocket Bag

Good and roomy, but soft filter bag that could have been better with an inlay to stiffen it.

Full name: Nylon Lens Filter Pocket Bag - Size L (Holds 3-Piece)
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $4.00 (Free shipping)

Pros:
More than big enough for my 77mm filters, with room to spare. It has an OK price, it is easy to use and it is made of good material and has a good Velcro lock.

Cons:
It could have benefited from a hard separator to keep it from bending, but this is not a big deal. No place for labeling the filters, but do you really need that? It could have had some sort of strap to keep each filter inside their pocket.

The material feels good and the Velcro appears to be of good quality. If you don't need 3 pockets, maybe use one for a plate of plastic or cardboard to stiffen it.

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Review: Lens Filter Carrying Bag

Not the best solution for your biggest and most expensive filters.

Full name: Dual Pockets Anti-Shock Lens Filter Storage Carrying Case Bag - Black
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $3.30 (Free shipping)

Pros: The price is OK and the pouch does what it is supposed to do with an OK padding for the two filter pockets.

Cons: It is a tiny bit too small for 77mm filters, you can get them in, but you have to use a little bit of force. Not what you want to do with expensive filters. The carabiner clasp is plastic and the ball joint that connects it to the pouch feels cheap an unreliable. Again, not something you would like to put your most expensive filters in if you're going to hang the pouch on the outside of your jacket, bag, on your belt or whatever.

Works best with filters smaller than 77mm and/or as a bag you carry inside a pocket or something like that.
Not quite what I hoped for.

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Review: Video Slider Track Dolly

Good, but not perfect little table dolly. You might want to use a ball head on top of this one anyway to deal with the size problem.

Full name: Floor Table Video Slider Track Dolly Car for DSLR Camera / Camcorders - Black
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $28.60 (Free shipping)

Pros:
Relatively cheap and build quality is OK. The build materials seems good and solid and parts are easy to replace if needed. It doesn't take up any space in your camera bag.

Cons:
Not exactly the same dolly as in the pictures above, but only minor differences. Tightening screws needs some kind of washers to keep the wheels from turning too easy. The dolly is a few centimeters too short to fit a DSLR directly on the plate.

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Review: Handle Grip Stabilizer for film and photo

Useful for many things, not only as a grip underneath a camera. It can be used to extend a magic arm and other equipment or to make a homemade / DIY shoulder mount or other things like that.

Full name: Aluminum Alloy 1/4'' Screw Handle Grip Stabilizer for Camera / DSLR + More - Black (7.5cm)
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $10.20 (Free shipping)

Pros:
Solid material and a nice serrated surface. Convenient with a 1/4' screw hole in the bottom to attach other equipment or for other mounting possibilities.

Cons:
The grip is a bit too short, I would have wanted it to be around 10 - 12 cm to fit better in my hand. Not sure what the 'Aluminum alloy' material is, it feels heavier than normal aluminum, but it isn't a big deal and the handle is solid.

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Review: Macro Reverse Adapter Ring for Canon

Quick and cheap solution for shooting macro photography, fun to play with, but nothing beats a true macro lens when it comes to quality and ease of use.

Full name: 62mm Macro Reverse Adapter Ring for Canon EOS - Black
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $4.30 (Free shipping)

Pros:
The price, of course, is good. Compared to a true macro lens this is a steal. The ring feels good, lightweight metal (aluminum alloy), an outer ring with good grip for when you need to use some force to get it off your lens. The ring has the traditional red dot although it is placed inside.

Cons:
The red dot is placed inside so you can't see it looking straight down like on a normal lens. The ring can stick a bit to your lens after use so be careful about using force when attaching it. All the obvious cons of using a reversed lens to shoot macro, like you can't use filters, you lose AF and lose control over your aperture and so on.

Learn the tricks for adjusting f-stops with reversed lenses and you will enjoy this macro solution even more.

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Review: FotoMate LP-02 Macro Focusing Rail

Solid macro slider from FotoMate, not much else to say, it's solid and it works.

Full name: FotoMate LP-02 200mm Movable 2 Way Macro Focusing Rail Slider - Black
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $21.90 (Free shipping)

Pros:
This one is built solid, about 4mm thick material, with strong rubber on top and a nice surface. On the top plate it has two male 1/4" attachment screws and a female 3/8" in the middle which has an inlay that converts it to a 1/4". Under the main plate it has a 1/4" attachment hole for tripods and such. Adjustment is done with a solid screw which has a good grip and feel to it and it locks with another screw that can also be use to give the slider some traction.

Cons:
Maybe not a con, but if you need some really fine tuning be aware that a full turn on the adjustment screw moves the slider about 2cm.


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Review: Spigot Adapter Screw

Small, lightweight and versatile - what's there to think about, just get one or two of them. The 'tube' seems to be aluminum, but the little 1/4" - 1/4" plug and the 1/4" - 3/8" inlay screw is made of another and heavier metal.

Full name: 1/4" 3/8" 5/8" Spigot Adapter Screw for Camera / Flash Trigger / Mount / Light Stand / Tripod
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $3.50 (Free shipping)

Pros:
This little versatile 'thingy' is just one those things you need in your tool box. When you suddenly need it and don't have it, my guess is you'll be cursing and regretting not putting in an order for it.

Cons:
None I can think of as of now.

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Review: 3/8" to 1/4" Tripod Thread Adapter Screw

Another one of those things you need. Might seem small and expensive, but it isn't a thing you're supposed to use up. One of them should last 'forever', but it doesn't hurt to have a couple stashed away just in case. If you need it - get it. If you don't need it, get one anyway.

Full name: 3/8" to 1/4" Tripod Thread Adapter Screw - Silver
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $1.40 (Free shipping)

Pros:
Nice little 3/8" to 1/4" converter / adapter for use with ball heads and all kinds of other photographic equipment.

Cons:
Feels a bit too short for some uses. Small and easy to lose, but buy a couple of them and put them on a string or something so you don't lose them. On the other hand, when in use it should be almost impossible to lose them.

If you need it - get it. If you don't need it, get one anyway.

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Review: 1/4" Screw Tripod to 3-Hot Shoe Adapter Holder

Perfect for adding equipment on top of your DSLR or for setting up flashes on a stand / tripod. I haven't uses it for flashes so I can't say much about the umbrella hole and so forth, but everything looks good with this gadget.

Full name: 1/4" Screw Tripod to 3-Hot Shoe Adapter Holder - Black
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $9.90 (Free shipping)

Pros:
Lightweight, solid construction, actually feels like aluminum. Perfect in combination with a hotshoe screw to mount both a LED and a mic on top of a DSLR. Good and easily operated screws. Comes with a 3/8" - 1/4" converter / adapter so it can be mounted on both sizes.

Cons:
Haven't found any so far. Technically it's not a hot shoe, but a cold shoe since it doesn't have any electrical connectors.

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Review: 1/4" Hot Shoe Mount Stand Holder for Camera

Nice little ball head for your camera's hot shoe mount.

Full name: 1/4" Hot Shoe Mount Stand Holder for Camera - Black
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $6.40 (Free shipping)

Pros:
All metal mini ball head that was perfect to replace the cheap plastic ones on my Metz Mecalight LED-480 lights. Also great for mounting a microphone or some other things on your DSLR.

Cons:
It's a bit rough, meaning the ball doesn't flow or move as easily as on a much more expensive mini ball head from Manfrotto and others, but what do you expect for this price.

This one is cheap and you can feel it so I wouldn't use it on a heavy thing even if it says max load 500g, but it's great for smaller thing like a GoPro, a LED light and things like that. Great for smaller and lighter things, not so great for the heavier things.

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Review: Aputure AHL-C60 5500K 60-LED Macro Ring Light

Affordable LED ring flash and continuous light - good value for money.

Full name: APUTURE AHL-C60 5500K 60-LED White Macro Ring Light for Camera - Black (4 x AA)
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $33.99 (Free shipping)

Tested, without any vignetting (it sticks out about 23mm in front of the lens), with the following lenses on a Canon 60D camera:
- Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM (67 mm filter ring)
- Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM (77 mm filter ring)
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II (52 mm filter ring)

Tested and had problems with the following lenses on a Canon 60D
- Tamron AF 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD (62 mm filter ring): On this lens you will get black and/or white vignetting between about 18mm to 35mm.
- Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (58 mm filter ring): On this lens you will get vignetting between 18mm to 20mm.

Pros:
Compared to many others it is cheap. It has fairly good, strong light although it could have been better (you never get enough, right?). Lightweight, easy to handle and lots of attachment rings to fit just about any lens. The rings feels like good quality plastic that won't break. The cable seems strong and sturdy. You can chose between having light on the right side, left side or both at the same time.

Cons:
Although the cable seems strong and of good quality it could have been coiled. I couldn't get the flash to fire in flash mode with my Canon 60D even though it communicates with my camera by turning on the assist light when it should.. The tightening ring on the hotshoe is plastic, I would have trusted it more if it was metal. The control lights on the back is a bit bright, unnecessary bright, not a big problem but still. The light is fairly bright at the lowest setting. EDIT: It sticks too far out for some lenses and gives vignetting (see above).

Very useful and affordable ring light / flash for macro photography or for getting a nice light or shine in models' eyes in normal photography and video.

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Review: Professional 11" Video Gimbal Holder - Black

Solid and versatile magic arm – Professional 11" Video Gimbal Holder. 
Not sure what the maximum load is (it says 2kg), but it feels sturdy enough for things like sound recorders, LED lights etc

Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $24.70 (Free shipping)

Pros:
The overall feel of this one is that it's strong, solid and can take bit of a beating and long term use. Very versatile with the different mounting options.

Cons:
It's heavy, meaning it's not pure or normal aluminum, but some sort of alloy as it says in the description. Not sure what this alloy really is. The ball joints are a bit rough, but a little oil or grease fixes that.

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Review: Articulating Magic Arm for Camera

Small, solid and versatile articulating 7" Magic Arm for Camera / film / photo equipment.
Not sure what the maximum load is for this one, but it feels sturdy enough for things like sound recorders, LED lights etc. Looks and feels great for my use which includes mounting sound recorder, GoPro, mic and other lightweight equipment.

Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $22.20 (Free shipping)

Pros:
The general feel of this arm is that it's strong, solid and can take bit of a beating and long term use. Very versatile with the different mounting options.

Cons:
It's heavy, meaning it's not pure or normal aluminum, but some sort of alloy as it says in the description. Not sure what this alloy really is. The ball joints are a bit rough, but a little oil or grease fixes that.

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Review: Cold Shoe Handle Grip

Full name: LED Flash Light Cold Shoe + 1/4" Screw Mount Handle Grip - Black
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $7.30 (Free shipping)

Good, solid, plastic handle grip for mics, lights and other equipment.

Pros:
This one seems to be pretty solid. Plastic, of course, but anyway. Perfect for holdning a mic, flash, a LED light or something like that. It also has a nice 1/4" screw mount underneath the handle to attach it to a tripod or other equipment.

Cons:
Don't know if it's a con, but the handle is pretty big, bigger than expected. Meaning you don't get a really good grip around it unless you have huge hands. I would also have loved it if it had some kind of rubber on it.

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Review: Medium Size Digital SLR Camera Rain Cover

Full name: Medium Size Digital SLR Camera Rain Cover - Black
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $15.00 (Free shipping)

Affordable, pretty good quality rain cover for your camera. This was tested with a fully extended Tamron 18-270mm lens so in other words it is pretty big and can take some fairly long lenses. Well worth the money, for this price you could buy 4 of them and still pay less than an expensive brand rain cover.

Pros:
Very good price. Quality seems OK. Some of the seams feels a bit cheap, but then again they are doubled and should work just fine. Very lightweight and pretty big. I could use a fully extended Tamron 18-270mm on my Canon 60D without any problem.

Cons:
Some cheapish seams and the velcro isn't of the best quality. No problems so far, but I can just feel that the velcro will weaken sooner or later.



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Review: Canon ES-62 II Lens Hood for EF 50MM F/1.8II Lens

Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $3.70 (Free shipping)

Another cheap, but functional replacement lens hood, this one is designed for the Canon EF 50MM F/1.8II Lens.

Pros:
At only a fraction of the price of an original this one is great. It does the job, is easy to use and looks OK. It looks pretty much like same plastic as the lens, it has the same matt finish and an even more matt surface inside the outer ring.

Cons:
Maybe the plastic isn't of the same quality as the original, but it seems pretty good anyway.

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Review: Lens Hood for Canon EF-S

Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $3.80 (Free shipping)

Nice and affordable replacement for the original lens hood.

This one is designed for the following Canon lenses:

• 28-135mm f/3.5-4.5
• 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
• 28-90mm f4-5.6
• 28-80mm f/3.5~5.6

Pros:
This is a cheap replacement for the original and it does the job it should do. The outer finish is pretty much the same as on the Canon EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5 - 5.6 IS lens.

Cons:The plastic feels a bit cheaper than on the original, but what would you expect at a price like this. The inner part of the hood has a rugged finish, to keep the light from reflecting into the lens, but this finish seems a bit too shiny anyway. Not that I've seen any problems so far, but then again I haven't really put it to test either.

If the inner finish should happened to be too shiny it would easily be fixed with a quick round with some sand paper.

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Review: Hot Shoe Bubble Spirit Level

Full name: Resin Hot Shoe Bubble Spirit Level for DSLR/SLR Cameras
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $2.04 (Free shipping)


Fairly useful tool for your DSLR camera. It was more than just for fun, since it worked pretty good, but I don't know if it will be used that much since I often use my hotshoe for other equipment.

Pros:
It is cheap so I bought this one mostly for fun, but after I got it I saw that it wasn't as bad as expected. I haven't tested it against a real spirit level, but when tested with the one in my camera it seems to do the job well.

Cons:
Not many cons, but it may be a bit too good of a fit into my hotshoe (Canon 60D). What I mean is that it can be a bit hard putting it on and getting it off again - it's pretty tight, but I guess that can be a good thing as well.

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Review: Crab Clamp Magic Arm Clamp for Camera Camcorder

Full name: Crab Clamp Magic Arm Clamp for Camera Camcorder - Black (S-Size)
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $15.00 (Free shipping)

Great and very useful tool. When you need it, but don't have it, you will regret not buying one or two of these (I think I have to get me a couple more of these).

Pros:
This one I loved, it feels great, it is very useful and it even looks great. It has a matt black finish combined with a brushed steel kind of finish. The quality seems to be very good and to have both the 3/8" and the 1/4" attachment holes just makes it even more useful.

Cons:
No cons so far, maybe it's a bit small, but then again maybe not

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Review: Aluminum Alloy Mount Clamp for Camera Camcorder

Full name: Aluminum Alloy Mount Clamp for Camera Camcorder - Black (Big-Size)
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $13.90 (Free shipping)

This is a good clamp for a good price. It's tight and sturdy and my guess is it will hold up for å long, long time.

Pros:
Here's another good clamp. A very useful tool to have. I've tested and reviewed another one from F&V and this one seems to be of almost as good quality. It has both 3/8" and 1/4" attachment holes.

Cons:
Not many cons with this one. Maybe it looks a bit cheaper than the F&V one, it has bit shinier finish and a bit different build than the more expensive one, but it does the job.

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Review: EIRMAI Classic Canvas Fabric Shoulder Bag for DSLR

Full Name: EIRMAI EMB-SS05 Classic Canvas Fabric Shoulder Bag for DSLR - Green (Size M)
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $52.10 (Free shipping)

Good shoulder bag with a boring color, but a great bag for all kinds of uses. This Eirmai bag is just about the same as the equivalent National Geographic NG Earth Explorer bag. There are only minor differences from an old NG-bag I have, but these differences could also be because this is a much newer bag.The equivalent NG Earth Explorer bag will cost about $20 more than this one, and both are made in China so it's a big chance they both have the same manufacturer.

Pros:
Apart from the color it looks great. The material is thick and sturdy, it fits a small/medium laptop in addition to a DSLR with some extra equipment. It has a waterproof cover for when it's really raining or snowing, but even without this it is pretty weather resistant. It also have good, padded protection for photo gear. And finally, it is cheaper than the NG Earth Explorer bag even though it is pretty much the same thing.

Cons:
Not many cons, but the color is boring. But that is easy to change with some fabric dye.

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