Victorinox Electrician

Concept: 5 out of 5
Execution: 4 out of 5
Yeah, but: Soft stainless – it's the "inox" part of the name.

The Long Version: Until recently I've been something of a Swiss Army Knife neophyte, thinking that the boxy red-scaled models were about all there was. These are the knives that I remember my father owning, and they're nifty, with lots of options but not particularly practical or easy to carry. Discovering the multitude of thinner knives, especially the aluminium-scaled Alox ones, has been a revelation. It's entirely posible that the Victorinox Electrician could be the perfect pocket utility knife.

The Electrician has four tools: Large blade, sheepsfoot blade, caplifter, and awl. The aluminum scales don't include tweezers or a toothpick, and there's no cork screw, so right away a couple of the SAK calling-cards have been stripped away. There's also no can opener, which is odd for a model that has a cap lifter, and while I don't miss it I do wish that the Combo Tool that combines both tasks, and then some, was included in the cap lifter's place.

The Cap Lifter, which is nominally for opening bottles, is something that I mostly use as a small pry bar and screwdriver for all of those screws that are sized for a coin. Pretty standard stuff: it locks at ninety degrees as well as straight out, and if you've seen a Victorinox Swiss Army Knife before, it won't hold any surprises. Similarly, the main blade is the typical pattern, and while this 93mm knife packs a slightly bigger punch than most, it's not all that unusual.

The two greatest things about the Electrician are the sheepsfoot blade and the awl. Yes, the awl: it's that tool that normally sticks out of the back of the knife, and along with the Parcel Hook, ranks among the least useful of the common SAK tools. Except that, when I really do face the occasional need to punch a hole in something, the awl has no substitute. And the Electrician's awl is in-line with the handle, making it far more dexterous than the ones that stick out of the back of other knives, and it has an uncommon bend along the spine, replacing the nail nick as an opening method and making it extremely useful as a narrow wedge.

About the only actual use I have for the Can Opener tool is as a staple puller, and the Electrician's Awl does a good job here instead. The awl also serves admirably as a rough blade for tasks that might nick the dedicated knives, like breaking nylon zip ties, and naturally it makes a very strong piercing tool. About the only thing it can't do is sew – for that the traditional SAK awl, with its eye, remains superior. That seems like a minor niche (rhymes with quiche) feature to give up in exchange for a genuinely useful tool.

And then there's the sheepsfoot 'electrician' blade: this is what truly sets the Electrician apart. It's an exceptional utility knife, being long enough to cut through most material and short enough that it's a snap to use. The point being in-line with the blade – like on a box cutter – makes it excel at tasks like cutting boxes, breaking tape, and stripping labels, which is almost everything that I actually use a knife for when I'm at work.

The length of the 'electrician' blade is just right: long enough to do work, and short enough to be easy to control. I prefer working with knives that have blades that are shorter than my fingers, as it's an intuitive size, and the electrician beats that by being shorter than my thumb. Combined with a large handle, this knife is easy and natural to us even when I keep it in my hand while moving boxes around.

Of course, I cheat: the electrician blade has a crescent-shaped section that's designed as a scraper. It's sharply beveled but not actually sharpened; a couple of passes with a Spyderco triangular stone took care of that and turned it into the worlds' largest serration. Now when I slice through heavy plastic film – the wrap around six-packs of pop bottles, for example – the material gets cut even if it bunches up at the base of the blade.

Like all of the super-stain-resistant SAK steel, the blades take a sharp edge and then don't hold it for very long, but the short blade takes just seconds to retouch on a pocketable DMT sharpening hone. And routing most of the heavy work to this utility blade leaves the large blade razor-sharp for the times when it's needed. Win-win.

The aluminum scales also contribute to the Electrician's utility. The knife loses the tweezer and toothpick, but in exchange it gains a solid grip from a tough material that will only look better as it gains scratches and scars. The two-layer Alox knives are also only slightly thicker than a single-layered Cellidor knife like the Bantam, so even at its above-average 3.5" length, it's an easy knife to carry.

The Victorinox Electrician is also easy to carry for other reasons: it's a Swiss Army Knife, and despite its militaristic roots, they're generally pretty innocuous. It's going to be the absolutely last choice of the Mall-Ninja Tacticool crowd that make owning knives so obnoxious for those of us they call 'sheeple'. Non-locking slip-joint blades are fairly inoffensive and legal almost everywhere, while the Electrician is still big and solid enough to have real utility.

The last review I wrote was of my Chris Reeve Sebenza, which is a highly refined modern locking-bladed knife. It's possibly the best of its kind, and it's certainly the best knife that I own. But I could buy eight Electricians – $45 MSRP, dealers may sell for less – for what my plain Small Sebenza cost. Let me tell you, if I had found this little knife first, I might have saved myself a lot of money.

last updated 7 jan 2013

Instrument Tuners--Snark And Behringer TU300

Concept: 3 out of 5 average
Execution: 3 out of 5
Yeah, but: They both work for me and cost little

The Long Version: In addition to running sound and lights for a rock band and a country music group, I'm also the bassist for a progressive rock band called Televators, and we're working on our debut CD.

When I started playing guitar in the '70s, you could tune with a pitch pipe, a tuning fork, some dude's piano, or spend over $500 on a Conn or Petersen strobe-based tuner. All bad choices for a kid just trying to play in-tune with his garage band. Luckily, cheaper electronic units came out around 1980, but they weren't very good, nor cheap enough. The situation is much better today.

Tuning is critical when money is on the line. While pouring dollars out a hose to record in a professional studio in April I used a rack-mounted Korg that's long been a favorite of professionals. The wide display that sweeps left-to-right and back again while you're playing earned this model the nickname "Cylon". It was great, but kinda pricey and I think it's been discontinued although other rack tuners are still available. For our live shows I kept getting lucky in that the amp rigs I was borrowing all had similar units, but as I've been building my own system the need arose to finally buy my own.

And suddenly I had two!

The pedal style tuner on the right is one I ordered from B&H in NYC. It's got all the features I'll never need just like most of the other brands out there, but at a much nicer price. Think 75% less, which is how I like to shop.
Behringer gets a bad rep sometimes because their very affordable gear, while based on excellent German designs, is made in China to meet the lowest possible price-point and tends to fail when subjected to rigorous touring conditions. My experience mirrors many online reports, so I just try not to let clumsy roadies carry any of the company's products, and never use them in critical show-ending parts of the audio chain unless I have a spare with me.
But even when considered slightly disposable, I like the results of many Behringer products. "Don't drop your toys or they'll break" was good advice when I was 4, and it still makes sense.
Plastic body shell and hinge points, not various metals like the competitor's $90+ offerings. Don't stomp on it = No problem.


Other online reviews of this tuner mention that it's a little slow to respond on the very lowest notes of 5+ string bass guitars. My testing agrees, but since Televators only go down to drop-D tuning it hasn't been an issue for me. Still, this can be a deal-breaker for bassists in a big hurry.

You don't get an AC adapter (wall-wart) for $25, but it uses the same plug, voltage, and polarity as most other pedals so chances are you have a spare. I had three.
It's a great tuner for the price, but I'll admit that it's a bit tricky to change 9-volt batteries if you want to power it that way.


For my birthday the guitarist for Televators gave me the same tuner he uses, a SNARK brand chromatic that clips onto your instrument's headstock and senses the vibrations physically:
Nothing to plug in, works on acoustic as well as electric instruments, and it's tiny.
The going price online is usually under $20.

When playing live I dislike having anything hitching a ride on my bass for both aesthetic and practical reasons, and to use the Snark between songs it's necessary to turn your guitar off so nobody has to listen to the annoying sound of a musician tuning up for however long it might take. Pedal tuners like my Behringer mute the sound while tuning with a simple tap of your foot, and I love that convenience.

But the Snark has it's good points, for sure.
It's surprisingly quick at picking up your note and displaying results--faster than the Behringer and the Korg Cylon and pretty much every other tuner I've used during the past 30+ years.
The display looks great under the usual lighting conditions, although I still haven't tried it in direct sunlight--no foreseeable need to.
It's tiny and light and runs off a standard CR2032 button cell.
Has a built-in metronome, apparently. For students I guess.

The best part is that you don't have to plug into it, so ANY instrument to which it can be clamped is tunable with great precision.
When I'm writing songs or learning covers it's usually in front of my PC with the speakers down low. No amplifier, just bare acoustic energy from my bass or guitar strings. Having to plug into a tuner is a hassle, so the Snark is a real time saver. Same thing at band practice or in our ProTools studio.
I also set-up other people's guitars and basses, adjusting the truss-rod and bridge so that they'll play nicely and in-tune all the way up the neck. Sometimes these instruments are waiting for electrical parts to arrive, so the Snark allows me to get work done ahead of time.

The funny thing is that while playing with the Snark I clamped it onto my Black & Decker cordless drill, and I'll be damned if it didn't track the RPMs accurately!
My brother is pretty excited about this, because all it takes is a note-to-Hz-to rpm conversion chart to be able to measure all kinds of motors and other things that vibrate, as long as the fundamental frequency or one of the major harmonics falls within the tuner's range and you have a good idea which octave you're dealing with.

My Samsung Galaxy S phone vibrates a little above F.



Note added by Matthew: The Televators' first single, Milk Run, can be found on iTunes.

Olympus XA

Concept: 5 out of 5
Execution: 4 out of 5
Yeah, but: What digital compact will still be used 30 years from now?

The Long Version: The Olympus XA is small. Very, very small. More than thirty years after it was introduced, it's still the worlds smallest rangefinder camera that takes 35mm film. The XA has a non-collapsing 6-element 35/2.8 lens that covers the full 24x36mm frame, and has a built-in light meter for electronically-controlled aperture-priority exposure. The entire depth of the camera, measured from the front of the lens cover to the back of the film door, is thinner than the distance from the lens mount to the sensor plane in any 35mm or APS SLR.

While it's not an auto-everything camera that can be handed to a random local for a quick tourist portrait, it's simple enough to use that it could be mistaken for a manual-focus point-and-shoot. Compared to the pseudo-Victorian clockwork-complexity of the similarly-sized Rollei 35, which has a collapsing lens and a guess-the-distance focusing system, it comes across as a cheap plastic toy. But despite its appearance, the XA is a solid and tough little camera; while it may not equal the controllability of its bigger classmates, its capabilities are far greater than its size suggests.

For Olympus to create a tiny a six-element lens that can cover the full 35mm film frame without critical quality issues is amazing. Sharpness is very good, and it shows just a mild pincushion distortion and moderate vignetting. Unusually for a rangefinder, the lens is apparently a telephoto, which allows it to be shorter than its focal length. To make a camera like the XA with a "full frame" digital sensor is probably impossible. Its closest modern cousin, the "APS-C" Sigma DP series, are 40% thicker even with their collapsable lenses retracted, but their lenses cover less than 45% of the XA's sensor area. The Olympus XA is small.

There are downsides to miniaturization, of course. The frame lines aren't corrected for parallax, so the composition is even more approximate than usual for a rangefinder. The lens is a 35mm f/2.8, which some people will think is slow, but that forgets that an f/number is actually a mathematical ratio. Much more significantly, the compact design means that the baby Olympus is very susceptible to the rampant finger-in-front-of-lens problem that just doesn't happen with big cameras. But considering that "the best camera is the one you have with you" school of though has resulted in published books of cell-phone photos, I'm happy to have something the quality of the thirty-year-old XA tucked in my back pocket.

The Olympus XA is the cosmic answer to all of those "compensating for something?" jokes that photographers face when they use big cameras with long lenses. It's small enough to hold in one hand and has a wicked hair-trigger.

The other size concession is to have an incredibly light touch on the shutter button. Intended to minimize camera-shake for people who are used to bigger and heavier bodies, it's a nasty shock when I'm habitually looking for a half-press-to-focus action from a camera this size. If I tried hard enough, I could probably trip the shutter with the brush on my Lenspen. My first roll of 24 exposures had three accidental frames on it; I've since learned to close the cover as soon as I'm done taking a picture, but I still accidentally trip a couple of frames in the typical 36-exposure roll. This isn't a camera to shoot dollar-a-frame chromes with. What's more, I'm not entirely convinced that the featherweight shutter cuts down on camera shake, but there's no real way for me to test that.

I bought the original XA model over its cheaper descendants because it's the only one with rangefinder focusing. So it's with a certain sense of incongruity that I have to report that the XA is really easy to use without looking at the camera at all.

With the camera cover safely closed, move the focusing lever to the right (shutter-button side) until the left-hand edge of the focusing tab is pointing down as much as possible. That's 3m, which the manual recommends to have everything in focus. To refine the focus a little more, moving the tab all the way to the right is infinity, and having it square to the bottom of the camera is 1.5m/4.5ft. When the right side of the tab is pointing down as far as possible it's at 1m/3ft, and all the way to the right is the minimum focusing distance, which is about arm's-reach away, although close distances really do benefit from the better precision of the rangefinder.

The manual suggests f/5.6 and 3m (9ft on American models) as the best all-purpose setting, but I like to err on the side of caution and use f/8 instead. Without looking at the camera, slide the aperture selection switch to either end – f/2.8 or f/22. Now move it three clicks toward the middle. That's f/8. As the saying goes, all that's left is to be there.

For night photography, it's really best to keep the XA at f/2.8. The starburst patterns from the four-bladed aperture are a long way from being subtle. Exposure compensation is also a challenge; there's a +1.5EV setting for dealing with contra-jour subjects, but otherwise the only control is to adjust the film speed. While I will mess around with that kind of detail for slides or digital, with 135 negative film I usually over-expose by as much as a full stop and everything scans in just fine.

The XA is still a 'serious' camera, but not one that demands very much in return. It's easy to carry and not monetarily valuable – it doesn't cost nearly what it's worth – so there's no reason to leave it at home or in the bag. It's probably not as good a camera as my Yashica GSN, and my Zeiss Ikon and 35/2 completely smokes it, but that comparison misses the point. The Olympus XA was the counterpart to the Canon AE-1 in the same way that its offspring, the Olympus XZ, coexists with whatever Canon Rebel happens to be current this week.

Not a lot of people routinely use film any more, but for those who do I don't need to explain its appeal. (For those who don't, I can't.) I could use a digital camera – I do own several of them – and compact snapshot cameras are an obvious candidate for digital replacement. The thing is that casual film photography is still very different from digital photography; its inherent unnecessariness adds something to the results. There's a lot to be said for the surprise and imperfection of film, and this little pocket rangefinder captures the essence of it. Long may it live.

last updated 30 oct 2011

Burrito Bandidos - Bloor Street Location

Concept: 3 out of 5
Execution: 2 out of 5
Yeah, but: Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.

The Long Version: I'll start this review backwards - the biggest problem with Burrito Bandidos is that the ordering can be hit-or-miss. In the interest of speed, they like to ask for all of the information up front, and as a customer, I'm asked to tell them what I don't want on each burrito. Ordering one is easy enough, but the error rate for my typical two-burrito order can be as high as 20% - about one out of every five has something wrong with it. They're far from being as challenged as Hero Burger, where I no longer think it's worth the effort of getting food, but if Burrito Bandidos can boost their accuracy I'd easily give them a '3' for Execution, and even consider a score of '4'. That's almost stratospheric around here, but they certainly have that potential.

It's hard to break the $10 barrier with a burrito and a beverage, and the quality is very good. The steak uses real steak, and I've never stood there and thought 'I hope they don't use that tomato…' the way I can with some of the submarine sandwich shops in the neighbourhood. I used to go to the original location on Peter Street, back when it was still operating under the inferior Burrito Boyz name, and I think the Burrito Bandidos' Annex location does a better job. Aside from the occasional random ingredient, or random lack of an ingredient, I have no complaints. They've become my preferred replacement for Cora's Pizza, and I usually end up with a burrito about once a week.

The Annex location has a deceptive address. Officially at 362 Bloor Street West, it faces onto Walmer Road and is at the far end of the building, so you'll never find it by walking along Bloor. It's just across the street and a little south of the Walmer Road exit from Spadina Station, which in turn is behind the Shopper's Drug Mart. It's easy enough to find if you know where to look, and it's one of those places that will always get repeat visits.

eBay E46 Hood & the Panasonic 20/1.7

Concept: 2 out of 5
Execution: 2 out of 5
Yeah, but: It works, it's cheap, it's aluminum.


The Long Version: When I was looking at the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 lens, I wished that there was a hood available. Flare is really not an issue with the 20/1.7, and having a hood won't stop those rare instances of ghosting - I was simply looking for something to replace a prophylactic clear filter. There are rubber shades out there, but protective hoods need to be at least a hard plastic, and I really prefer metal. I've been spoiled by the classic screw-in hoods from Nikon and the modern bayonet ones from Zeiss, which makes eBay an odd place for me to end up.

I blame Mike Johnston. He had a post on TOP - essential reading, by the way - that casually included a photo showing an 'E46' hood from the `bay on his GF1, so that's where I went. I've heard the name "jinfinance" get positive mentions around the forums, so when I found him/her selling this screw-on metal shade online, how could I not order it? After all, it's not even ten dollars (US), and that includes worldwide shipping. The hood arrived so quickly that I had forgotten that I ordered it - I had mentally filed it under 'Early September' and it caught me by surprise when it showed up a week earlier than that.

I picked the vented style as an aesthetic conceit; its function is identical to the standard design, but it's a better spiritual match to the rangefinder gear that will most often be joining the GH1. The inside of the hood is lightly ribbed, and the whole thing is painted matte black. As usual it screws on to the filter thread of the lens and isn't threaded itself, so it has to be placed on top of any other filters. The tight interior means that there's no chance of using the original Panny lens cap, although a centre-pinch style would be fine. Using a cap with this bad boy attached is mildly missing the point, but maybe there are some rare conditions that would need both.

The hood doesn't obstruct the lens or cause any vignetting, which is fairly fundamental to its success. Also important is that it looks cool, and this one delivers on that as well. My only complaint is that the white '46mm' painted on the hood doesn't end up centred on the Panasonic lens, but I can hardly blame the anonymous factory in China for that. Next time, I'll just look for one that doesn't have any markings on it at all. All things considered, this metal hood does its simple job very well, and I would have paid two or three times as much if I saw it in a store. Not too shabby.

Mighty Wallets by Dynomighty Design

Concept: 4 out of 5
Execution: 3 out of 5
Yeah, but: It's the Swatch of wallets.

The Long Version: It looks like paper, but it's actually the indestructible stuff used to make things like ultra-strong envelopes and the white clean-room suits that Apple once mocked. Dynomighty is a New York designer take who has taken advantage of Tyvek's printability and used it to create a thin, lightweight wallet with a huge range of graphics. School notebooks, original art, comic books, the first three thousand digits of Pi, or even solid colours and a blank page - there's something for everyone. And like Swatch watches, they're cheap enough that being whimsical won't leave your new wallet empty. I've already bought three of them, and am looking for a couple more.

The material itself is smooth and soft with a slight grain; it almost feels a little bit like leather. While it can be cut, it's essentially impossible to tear, so wear from daily use isn't much of an issue. While it is possible to write on Tyvek, not all pens will work properly, so try it out in an inconspicuous part first. Because the wallet is made by folding a single sheet of material, it's easy to open the flaps that hold it together for a great test surface. I've added an address to my Airmail wallet just to give it that extra bit of authenticity.

The Mighty Wallets have two pockets for bills, with a section in between that they suggest using as a quick-access business card holder. While I suspect that they're just turning a bug into a feature, it does work well and is reasonably secure. Just don't push them in too far, or they'll get bent where the wallet folds, and be careful not to point the pockets at the ground. The inside face has two cut compartments for plastic cards; enough for some people, but compulsive store-points collectors and gift-card users will want to look elsewhere. Credit card, bank card, brand-new drivers license, and my health card - for American readers, that's the one that means I never have to worry about how much it costs if I get sick - all ride up front in these secure inward-opening slots. Extra business cards, video store card, and the like normally go in one of the two bill pockets. At first that's all I thought I'd use the redundant pocket for, but it does come in handy for keeping a set amount aside, or for carrying two different currencies.

One of the great practical aspects of the Mighty Wallet is how easy it is to carry. In addition to weighing almost nothing, it's incredibly thin. After all, it's essentially plasticized paper, and its folded construction is only nine layers thick. The way it's put together is very clever, using only a small amount of glue, and while it's possible to unfold it (and see how it's made) it's secure enough for real-world use. And speaking of security, there's a certain anti-theft appeal of having a wallet that looks like an envelope, a scrap of paper, or a transit map. The counterpoint is that I'll have to be careful not to throw it out during my semi-annual desk clearing: TANSTAAFL.

When full of everything that I like to carry, the Mighty Wallet is still only as thick as my old leather wallet is when it's empty. They're cheap, easy to carry, fun, and can start up a conversation with the cashier. What can be better than that? Even after buying my third - after this review was originally written - I still find myself browsing Dynomighty's designs and being tempted by many of them. While I still have my standard-issue black leather wallet kicking around somewhere, I never really expect to use it again.

Behringer Tube UltraGain MIC200 Preamp/Direct Box

Concept: 3 out of 5
Execution: 4 out of 5
Yeah, but: The Price Is Right

The Long Version: One year ago we were at a party and after a few too many whiskys I suggested to my friends that we “put the old band back together” but that instead of running sound, I would play bass.
They called my bluff, and it’s been going great.
But I still don’t have a bass amp of my own, and borrowing got old after the second time.

As a professional sound engineer for over 20 years, I have dealt with almost every bass amp on the market and have come to a few conclusions as to what would work for me.
Foremost in my mind was to get the most accurate sound straight from the bass sent to the mixing board. Most bass amps have an output for this purpose, and it’ll usually be switchable so as to bypass the amp’s graphic EQ or other tone modifiers, but none of them are as close to the source as I would like.

When confronted with the ugly tone many amps are forced to produce as a crutch for bad players, the next best option is to use a “Direct Box” between the instrument and amp.
This is a simple box with a transformer that converts a high impedance instrument’s signal to the low impedance preferred by mixing boards, while also providing a hard-wired ¼” output to the amp. They don’t affect the player’s tone onstage, but they also don’t give the engineer a surplus of signal to work with and are as low-tech as it gets.

While taking a crap a few months back I was reading my B&H PhotoVideo catalog and stumbled upon a neat little device I had never seen before, the Behringer Tube UltraGain MIC200 Preamp/Direct Box.

Getting right to the heart of the matter, this little box rocks.
It has ALL of the features of the very best direct boxes, then goes to 11 by not only including a 12AX7 vacuum tube in the signal path but also giving the user voicing options and a limiter.
For those who don’t know about such things, a 12AX7 tube is the heart of most of the greatest sounding guitar amps since the 1950s.
If you crank up the input gain and send too much signal into one of these, it’ll get a bit hotter to the touch and might distort a bit, but the distortion will be very pleasing to the ears compared with what happens in a solid state device: even-order harmonics instead of the much harsher-sounding odd-order harmonics.
I already have some speaker cabinets, so all I need now is a power amp to complete my rig.

Glowing Tube = Tone!

For people who have a ProTools-based recording environment, this is an easy and affordable way to get some analog warmth without sacrificing signal integrity.

Using mine in both a recording and live environment I can report complete satisfaction.
Since I only play active basses with 3-band EQs, it was easy to get an amazing tone through the front-of-house system while also enjoying better sound than usual through my borrowed stage amp.
Standing in front of my band Loud Nine’s Crown-powered Peavey FOH speakers (SP4 & FH18) I noticed that my bass tone was far superior to anything I had heard previously. Clean, precise, solid, and I can get it to growl with the twist of one retro-looking knob.

Negative Points are awarded to the 8 voicings that use Behringer’s limiter (right side of the knob).
It is much too slow to respond, so the first 4 notes of a song will be way too loud before it clamps down on the output level.

If you buy one of these I strongly recommend visiting your local Goodwill or other thrift store to locate a spare 9vAC/1.3amp+ wall-wart power supply with the proper connector and polarity.
Because I use several Alesis products I’m very aware of the need to keep spare power supplies with me when they are 9volt AC compared to the more reliable DC units.

I have used many of Behringer's products over the last 10+ years with great results. They do what they're supposed to do and at much lower prices than the competition.
However, their gear doesn't stand up to the abuse of touring very well.
Mixing boards have had multiple channels die, stereo compressors have become mono compressors, and a failed crossover nearly ruined a show.
Bottom line is that the German design is fantastic, while the Chinese manufacturing can be improved.
My MIC200 travels in a padded case and sits on a sticky rubber mat to keep it from vibrating off the amp and hitting the floor.

Price?
Got mine from B&H for $40 with free shipping.
(ART sells a similar unit for more, and plain direct boxes with none of it's features also can cost more).
The MIC100 model omits the voicings knob, and goes for $30.

These units represent a significant value, and I recommend them highly.

Leviton Decora Light Switch

Concept: 2 out of 5
Execution: 3 out of 5
Yeah, but: If I stopped to think about everything that's amazing, I'd never move.

The Long Version: Tell me what you think of this design brief: make something that needs to conform to strict dimensional standards, be approved by dozens of national standards boards, will work reliably for tens of thousands of actuations over the course of decades, can cause millions of dollars in damage - or kill people - if it fails, and must be manufactured in the USA so cheaply that even when all of the distributors and resellers have made their cut that it still sells for less than three bucks. Canadian.

Ah, the humble light switch. Not too shabby.

Yashica Electro 35 GSN

Concept: 3 out of 5
Execution: 2 out of 5
Yeah, but: It's a bargain among the old-camera set, but it's a bit of a DIY project.

The Long Version: I'm one of the transitional generation of photographers who remembers film even though I never really used it. Sure, I had a cheap fixed-focus 35mm P&S camera when I was a teenager, and a 110 format before that, but I hardly ever used them. The first camera I bought as an adult was Canon's original APS Elph, and it probably saw less than twenty rolls in four years. Then I bought one of those newfangled digital cameras, a 4-megapickle S400 Canon Elph, and that was the end of my film days. But my first memory of a camera was my mother's Canon AE-1, and even digital SLRs never quite measured up to that mechanical experience. I felt like I was missing my roots, and went looking for a simple and cheap film camera that I could very lightly use.

One of my requirements for a film camera was that I wanted it to be older than I am. When it's already an anachronism, why go half-way? After doing a bit of research, I got interested in the Yashica Electro GSN as being an older camera that could be found on-line for not very much money. They have some aging issues, notably with light-seals and wiring, but they also have a lot of fans who have put some great information online. Google is our friend, but here are some quick links to ben bockwell and Matt's Classic Cameras. They're both worth checking out for more specifics if you're interested in getting one of these cameras, but then hit the broader `net to learn more about its traits and what to watch for with them. This isn't a technical review; others better than me have done an excellent job there already.

Rick Mercer (left) preparing for a rant; Yashica GSN with Kodak Gold 400 film.

While I was looking for a camera on-line, I learned that one of my colleagues had bought a camera that sounded like a Yashica Electro 35 at a garage sale for $10. It turned out to be the GSN model, which was my best-case find, and in nearly perfect condition. The only catch is that its original battery has been discontinued, so she couldn't use it or even tell if it still worked. (This keeps their ebay prices low, but there's also several online sources to build/buy adapters to use new batteries, including the ebay one that I had already bought.) I paid her $20 for the camera; if I also count the cost of the battery adapter, battery, craft foam to replace the light seals, and a roll of film, the camera was ten dollars more expensive than the neck strap I put it on. While I usually use a wrist strap and carry my camera when I'm shooting, this design predates scientist's discovery of the shape of the human hand. It's small, but it's heavy and awkward: a decent shoulder strap is almost mandatory.

The older Yashica G that I'd already bid on with ebay arrived a week later. It's a less refined camera overall, and I prefer my GSN, but it's also a good camera. Current prices for the GSNs on ebay are higher than I remember, so it's also worth looking at the older variants. I'm not sure I'd want to go over $70US for a GSN, even if it's been proven to work. These were never meant to be expensive cameras.

The shooting controls of the Electro are simple: aperture ring, focus, film speed, shutter button and wind lever. Shifting the film speed works as an exposure compensation control, otherwise the camera is strictly aperture-priority. That actually matches how I shoot with my DSLRs, but what hurts is that there's only an 'under' and 'over' light to warn about shutter speed problems. I also get confused between the aperture ring (ribbed) and the focus control, and am very slow with the rangefinder manual focus. The rangefinder design does have a lot of charm, but there's a reason why SLRs dominated the market from an early age.

I don't doubt that photographers with a good sense of light who dedicate themselves to this camera would make it sing. Perhaps even I could do it if I was to put away my other toys for six months, but like purity and thrift, there are many admirable traits that I almost wish I had. This is a wonderful camera that's a cheap way to shoot film, making it great for starving/student artists and working camera collectors alike. It does exactly what I wanted it for, which is a bit of a history lesson and an occasional indulgence. It has only had a half-dozen rolls of film run through it in the year that I've owned it, but it will get more use in the future. Despite the limitations of the dated design, I know that I'll occasionally have a craving for the GSN's character and the experience of using it.

LumoPro 606 Light Stand & 633 Umbrella Swivel

Concept: 2 out of 5 (Nothing original about light stands)
Execution: 3 out of 5
Yeah, but: Affordable Quality is rare but it DOES exist

The Long Version: Less than a year ago my lighting accessories consisted of a rain umbrella modified with a can of white Krylon spray paint and a bunch of microphone stand and boom parts cobbed together.
It worked, but using it was a pain and letting other photographers see my rig was embarrassing.
The stand was too short, didn't collapse into an easily-transported size, and liked to tip over if someone breathed heavily.

For yours truly's birthday my girlfriend dug out her credit card and told me to call up the pertinent web pages for what I wanted.
I clicked twice on the Midwest Photo Exchange (MPEX) banner atop The Strobist blog and within a few minutes my new toys were on the way.

My choice of light stand was the LP606, an economy model 8' air-cushioned 4-section stand that retails for around $30.
Impact also makes an 8' stand in the same price range, but the air-cushioned feature of the LumoPro appealed to me.
I even asked about both in a discussion thread at the Strobist Flickr Group, and while Impact took an early lead the LP soon prevailed.
Interestingly, Moishe (the head guy at MPEX) even left his thoughts, which tipped the scales both for brand and supplier.
When you go the extra mile to help educate your potential customers (and those of your competition!) I notice and appreciate the great service.
MPEX didn't disappoint--it was a painless order with full tracking of the shipment and sturdy packaging.

I like the wide spread of the legs for stability, and the reversed middle locking collar (2nd photo) is a nice touch that keeps everything from being jammed together in finger-confusion, so setup is easier.
The air-cushioned feature is great--if you forget to tighten a segment, your flash won't come sliding down to end with a jolt. In fact, it takes a few seconds to fully collapse the stand as you fight the air pressure.

The LP622 umbrella swivel/flash mount is better than many I have seen, and is also worth the $18 charged.
Very solid construction.
There are a few on the market that are more compact, to get the flash head an extra half-inch closer to the centerline of the umbrella, but they are hard to find.
I like how the cold-shoe has a big groove under the flash's foot, which eliminates the chance of a short-circuit or the need for tape as an insulator.
It holds my flash tightly.
The big swivel knob has both a spring and large detents on the mating surfaces, so it only takes half a turn to loosen it enough to adjust the angle, yet if you forget to tighten the knob again it will usually hold position.
Nice touch!

I haven't owned or even played with any other brands of light stand or umbrella swivel, but I have read many complaints about some of them and their various features as well as looked at pictures of them from all possible angles.
As someone who understands form and function and construction in mechanical devices I feel like I got exceptional equipment for the price.

My photographic style dictates travelling light and compact on the rare occasions that I take flash equipment out of the house, and both of these LumoPro products fit my needs perfectly.
On the other hand, a busy professional's preferences might lean towards extreme durability and size. There are certainly stands that fit their needs but at prices I'll never be able to justify.

This stuff does the job for little money, and I have really enjoyed using them.
Thumbs-Up! to LumoPro and Midwest Photo Exchange.

JJC/Gadget Infinity JR-Series Infrared Remote DSLR Controller

Concept: 4 out of 5
Execution: 2 out of 5
Yeah, but: Works better than the low price might suggest

The Long Version:One of my main areas of interest as a photographer is long exposures, mainly at night but also during the daytime to capture the essence of movement.
A tripod is mandatory, but I have long known that some sort of remote shutter release is also recommended.
Using the camera's timer is a free solution, but isn't always the best solution.
So I have kept an eye out for a wireless shutter release that won't abuse my wallet.
Sony's RM-L1AM Alpha Remote Commander is a simple button in a box on a cable that has an MSRP of $69.99!
I could build one for $10, but it would take time and look a little unprofessional despite my fabrication abilities.

Recently I noticed a wireless IR remote for Sony Alpha DSLRs at Gadget Infinity, my favorite source for strange far-east camera products.
I bought my Cactus remote flash triggers from GI, and trust them more than I do the similar eBay stores. 3 orders and never a problem so far--fast and reasonably priced shipping, and the products are always what I ordered and work as advertised.
One important note--this isn't name-brand stuff (and is priced accordingly) so you get what you pay for but might need some tools and skills to make it "perfect".
(More on this later).

As shown in the top photo (click to enlarge all pics) the JR set includes a receiver module with a standard iso hotshoe mount made of plastic, a transmitter, the specific cable required by different camera brands, and in my case a little plastic hotshoe adapter because Sony/Minolta uses an odd proprietary mount.
Also in the box were two CR-2032 button batteries to power each device, of the Star-Bully brand. As with most similar items from across the ocean these are described in the instruction manual as being "for testing purposes only" meaning they are crap and will die within days of being installed (using the tiny Philips screwdriver supplied).
The instructions are typical bad translations, but have many pictures and are relatively understandable.


Here is the JR system mounted on my Alpha300:

I wrap the excess cable around my lens because I like things to be neat.
The Sony-type hotshoe adapter didn't accept the shoe mount of the receiver, but a few quick passes with a small Dremel file (folded sandpaper would work) cleaned-up the excess molding flash that caused the problem.
This is a Sony-specific detail, and since most serious Alpha owners probably have an
FS-1100 hotshoe adapter already it's of minimal concern.
When also using off-camera flash the hotshoe might be occupied by a radio transmitter, so finding a new place to mount the IR receiver will become a problem--I have yet to solve this for myself.

Note that between the first and second photo we have seen both ends of the receiver, and there is a red-tinted IR window on each side. You can trigger the shutter from behind or in front of the camera.
Very nice!

Not so nice is that when set-up this way, my Alpha's controls were completely locked. Changing iso or shutter speed or aperture or white balance, etc, was impossible without pulling the little 2.5mm plug out of the receiver!
Not cool, but at least I didn't have to remove the other end of the cable from the camera as this is a less-convenient connection to deal with.
Also, the advertised half-press AF (auto-focus) feature didn't work, nor did AF activate with a full shutter press. Totally blurred photos.
After switching the camera to "Continuous AF" mode this became a non-issue except for slightly increased battery drain, but I was surprised that something so important to proper function didn't work.
This may be a Sony-specific compatibility issue, but then again it might not.
You've been warned, and supplied with the fixes, so don't complain to me.
My main reason for wanting a wireless remote is to do group shots of my band, and since I can set those up from behind the camera all settings and focus will be finalized long before I step in front of the camera to pose.
Depending on your needs it may or may not be a deal-breaker.
I'm okay with it, especially at the incredible price.

An interesting feature is an optional 2-second delay, which is perfect for self-portraits as it allows you time to hide the remote before your shutter trips.
(Timer does not work with Panasonic & Leica cameras, according to the instructions).


Having said all that...
If a simple wired remote is all that you need, it takes mere seconds to unplug the cable from the receiver and plug it into the transmitter.

And this restores the camera functions that were previously locked during IR wireless mode!
My Alpha300 works normally in wired mode--all buttons and menus do what they are supposed to do again.
Even half-press AF using the transmitter's button works just fine.
All for much less than the price of Sony's wired version.

Since I'm mainly going to use this remote system at night to reduce camera-shake during the start of long exposures, I already feel like I got my money's worth.
(Actually my brother's money--it was a birthday gift).

As long as you understand the odd limitations of this remote system and keep my recommended work-arounds in mind you shouldn't have any problems getting it to perform in your favor.

Here is the first page of GI's listings for wireless camera remotes so you can search for your specific model.


Please note that the instructions for 'Bulb' mode seem complicated and I haven't had time to try it yet, but then I never use bulb anyway.
I will update this entry should anything important come up in future testing.

Seiko Automatic Diver SKX781

Concept: 3 out of 5
Execution: 3 out of 5
Yeah, but: The Orange Monster deserves its reputation.

The Long Version: This is a tough watch for me to review: it's a really nice watch, and compares very well to ones that cost twice as much from brands like Tissot and Tag. But I hardly ever wear it, and I'm gonna tell you why.

First of all, the Orange Monster is a watch that competes well above its price-point. The colour, while not to everyone's taste, suits the watch and is very well chosen. Orange is tough to get right, and the designers did a good job. Seiko also has a great pedigree as a watch company; they've been making watches for longer than many Swiss brands, and are one of only two companies that can build a watch movement - quartz or mechanical - without buying parts from someone else. Their R&D puts them in the top ranks, with their Spring Drive being as important as the co-axial escapement and mechanically superior. And their high-end mechanical watches, rarely seen in North America, are worthy of great respect.

The problem for my particular Orange Monster is that it's still essentially an entry-level mechanical watch, and I also own a pair of mechanical Omega Seamasters (reviewed). It sucks being the adopted younger brother to an exceptional sailor and a secret agent. Sure, as a responsible parent I can try to love them all equally, but the Seiko Diver is just outclassed and there's nothing it can do about it. It doesn't have the fit and finish, it doesn't have the looks, and it doesn't have the reassuring weight or perfect balance of its bigger brothers.

I never expected the Orange Monster to replace my Omegas, and I knew that it was never going to be a watch for daily wear. Part of its appeal to me is as a collector; a Seiko mechanical is just something that I really want to own. Another part of the appeal is that looks absolutely nothing like anything Swatch Group makes. That's a much bigger accomplishment than it seems - and I should know, since they were my employers when I bought it. Everyone in the office could immediately spot that it was from outside of the family, including the many who had only passing familiarity with the Group's products. In a world where even bad designs are duplicated, and every other watch costing under $300 can pass for a Rolex, Seiko's accomplishment in finding a unique look that isn't seriously ugly is major.

The orange monster from the side. I have no idea where the red came from.

My favourite design features are the orange dial and hands. The face is bold and immediately legible, so it does exactly what I want a watch to do, although the luminosity isn't as bright or enduring as my Seamasters. The crown being offset from the 3 position does reduce its tendency to snag or bruise, and the bezel and case design contribute to the aggressive styling of the watch. The case is tall enough that it's best worn with short sleeves: it isn't called a monster for nothing. 

The most significant problem that I have is one that probably won't matter to most people, but it's critical for me. The Orange Monster is a mechanical watch. Its power reserve, while good, isn't enough to run for the 34 or so hours that a watch sits through when it's worn every other day. It can't be manually wound, so it can't be 'topped up' in the evenings. So even when I am in the mood to wear it, the Seiko doesn't want to play. It also has a day-date display, so when it does stop and sit for a day or two, it's a real hassle to get it set again. 

If the Orange Monster was my daily wear, none of this would matter. But the extra effort of wearing it in rotation - repeatedly getting it set and keeping it running - is too much like work, and the watch isn't one that I'm going to completely stop wearing my Seamasters for. I do occasionally put it on, and maybe use it for a few days or a week, but then it goes back into its place beside the Swatches in my watch box. But, befitting its status and pedigree, it does earn the prestigious middle compartment.

TTC Token Holder

Concept: 4 out of 5
Execution: 3 out of 5
Yeah, but: It's actually a pill container.

The Long Version: This is a handy little thing that solves a pretty major problem: carrying and keeping track of TTC tokens. They're about the size of dimes, cost $2.25, but are worth $2.75 - the current cash fare - each. So having them handy and secure is not a trivial task.

Enter the Life Brand Pill Tote Key Ring. It has a 20mm inner diameter, which is just a touch larger than the size of the tokens, so it holds them without a lot of extra rattling. Twenty will fit in a nice neat stack, but even when the container is almost empty the plastic is quiet. It opens with three-quarters of a turn, and has an O-ring that will keep the contents dry. The jump ring is solid and it's not about to separate from the key ring and get lost. My only complaint is that the threads are fairly fine, and the container can be hard to close. A coarser thread would be easier to handle even if it needed another half-turn.

I'm still surprised that there's no product specifically designed to hold TTC tokens, and don't know what other people do. But the keychain pill fob costs less than three dollars, and it's easy to find in any Shopper's Drug Mart, which means anywhere in Toronto. It's hard to imagine anything working better than this already does, and it certainly wouldn't cost less.

(Updated March 2010: thanks to the tip from the comments section, I've been able to find the elusive purpose-built token holder. You can click to read my review of it.)

Camo Beer Cans

Concept: 2 out of 5
Execution: 2 out of 5
Yeah, but: I Still Like It

The Long Version: When I'm working there are only a few ways to save money on beer--if there's a comp'ed bar tab for the band, free beers from fans, or buying that night's "Special", which could be anything.
A lifetime of this (28 years, actually) has made me anything but a beer snob. Any beer will do, so long as I can see through it and it's cold.
At home, I favor the same beer that I started with in the mid '70s--Miller High Life.
A 6-pack of 16oz cans is around $4, and after the first two swallows all beer tastes the same anyway.

The point of this post is the camouflage cans that my brew has started wearing.
As you can see, it's the "Limited Edition FALL SERIES".
Nice.
Is that why the price went up a little?

Obviously, the point of the camo is hunting season.
Nearly everything gets some camo in the fall here in South Texas.
Cans of beer, desperate to survive through the rut, hiding safely in plain sight?
If they were white!
There's no foliage inside my refrigerator or ice chest.
For the sportsmen in the woods, leaving the rest of the can bright shiny gold defeats the purpose, wouldn't you say?
And why are they drinking while still hunting instead of afterwards?
Is the camo a way to make littering less noticeable?

All kidding aside, they look okay, the printing is done well, and the beer still works just fine.
Right now I'm trying the big can of Foster's shown above and it's pretty good, too.

KALT Brand Filter Adapters

Concept: 5 out of 5
Execution: 4 out of 5
Yeah, but: Does the Job while saving you money

The Long Version: Buying a new camera left me in a bad place: What do I do about filters?
Both of my lenses have 55mm threads, while my old camera and extensive filter collection were 58mm. It's bad enough that I have a few hundred dollars worth of memory cards that are now worthless--taking a big financial hit on filters too was out of the question.

Looking around online, the usual places such as Adorama and B&H stocked the adapter I needed, probably made from steel, for $20 (+ free shipping).
That sounded like a bargain, and I was all ready to place an order.

But a trip to the only good camera store in town gave me a chance to do a little comparison shopping. With $20 being my target price, I asked the nice man behind the counter to show me what they stocked, and to my surprise he pulled out the above pictured KALT brand step-up ring.
I have never heard of KALT.
The adapter is well made, probably from aluminum.
It works.

And it was only $6.95.
Sold!

I also remembered to get a 58mm lens cap for around $4 to complete the package.

I was lucky that my filters are larger than my new lenses, but fairly close. Smaller filters can cause vignetting at wide angle settings, and filters that are much larger than the lens look goofy and might tend to snag on things in and out of a camera bag.


(Please note that the above pictures are clickable thumbnails)

Remington Liner-Lock Pocketknife

Concept: 3 out of 5
Execution: 3 out of 5
Yeah, but: It cuts stuff--is anything else about it important?

The Long Version: This Remington pocketknife is very small at only 5 3/4 inches open, but poses less of a 'grip' problem than other small knives due to the rubber coating on the handle, which I believe was pre-printed in the camo pattern before it was applied.
Larger knives in this series have partially-serrated blades and pocket clips. I would have hated the former but welcomed the latter.

All are between a $15 and $20 retail, so I was surprised at the high quality you get with these inexpensive tools.
Opening is a one-handed but two-stepped affair, with the blade started out by pressing on the serrated fingerguard then flipped open easily with the thumb button. The first step gets you past a ball-detent's resistance, which is a smart little detail that holds the blade securely in the closed position.

The liner lock is actually a bent part of the back side of the handle, and while it's stiffness makes closing the knife a two-handed affair, it also simplifies construction and makes the knife extremely solid when locked.

The black phosphate blade finish (also called Parkerizing) is attractive and durable, as are the Torx head screws that put it all together. I'm also fond of the blade's shape and the added safety of the finger-guards.

It's a nice little knife.
I may get a bigger version for more serious jobs now that I know how well-made they are.

Used Computer Parts

Concept: 4 out of 5
Execution: 3 out of 5
Yeah, but: Your mileage will vary depending on the quality of your neighbor's cast-offs

The Long Version:
I was feeling guilty that my girlfriend's computer monitor was a tiny and very old 15" CRT that was blurry and had both ghosting and burned-in areas.
How can you truly enjoy People.com when the photos are small and nasty, and the type isn't sharp?

Pricing LCD replacements gave me a case of sticker-shock, especially since I use my computer 10 times more than she uses hers, and do a lot of critical PhotoShop work that deserves a better display than I've been using.
But do I get myself a new one and then make her suffer with my hand-me-down screen?
No, that just doesn't seem right.

Recently I stopped into the computer repair and parts store around the corner to check for good deals on games and random hardware, and the used monitor section caught my attention. There were a few 17" Dell CRTs for the yard sale price of $9.99, so I figured that even with the No Returns, No Refunds stipulation it was worth a gamble.
The owner hooked my choice up to his system and let me see a very uninspiring and unhelpful desktop photo with some icons for type sharpness, but the monitor was operating fine and it just had to be an improvement, so I took the chance.

Got it home, hooked it up, did some minimal calibration with grayscale and color test images, then a little fine-tuning using my own photos. Took a shower while letting it warm-up some more, then did some additional calibrating.

The Result?
Looked so much better than the monitor I'm used to that I got really jealous, and went back a few hours later for my own awesome $10 Dell.
Had to reject two during in-store testing, but the one I eventually bought is every bit as nice as the first. A few minutes spent getting the black and white points set, then tweaking the image placement within the screen, and I could not be happier.

I would estimate that our old monitors were a 5 and a 3, while the new-to-us ones are a nine and a 9.5
This was a serious upgrade at a laughable price.
You can have your expensive LCD displays--I'm more than willing to live with bulky and hot CRTs for a few more years when the image quality approaches perfection and so does the price.
This was a steal, twice!
19 inch are around $30 in several local shops, so I may be going bigger soon.


No picture accompanies this review because there is simply no practical way to convey the quality improvement between computer monitors in a digital photograph; much like there's no way to convey the reality of a fine art print over the internet, you have to experience it for yourself.
The rare and delightful unphotographable subject.