Caran d'Ache 849 Office Pen

Concept: 2 out of 5
Execution: 2 out of 5
Yeah, but: Not bad, but it's nothing to write home with.

The Long Version: I bought this because I wanted a nice pen, and I know that Caran d'Ache makes good ones. I know this because Rado, the Swiss company that makes scratch-proof ceramic watches - so they'll never look worse than they do on the day you buy one - had some as promotional items and I snagged a couple of them. Caran d'Ache is also Swiss, so it keeps it all in the family.

A lot of people use my pen in the course of a week, and the most frequent comments I get are about how small my pen is, and how slippery my pen is in their hand. I'll admit that my model 849 is smaller than average, but it fits my hand and it's easy to carry in my pocket, so it suits me just fine. The slipperiness is a problem that I have to agree with: it can be hard to use when I need to write on carbonless paper, and I often find that I need to grip the shaft so firmly that my hand starts to cramp. If I'm writing with a more relaxed grip the pen is comfortable, but the legibility of my writing isn't something that's improved by being fast and loose.

From the photos on the maker's web site, I think I have the glossy-finished "Metal X" pen. The Rado promo pens - I eventually found them packed in a box from my last move - have a much more comfortable matte finish which gets rid of the grip problem, and it doesn't detract from the look or carrying convenience of the pens. If you have a choice, pick the more textured finish. If you don't have a choice, you might want to skip the smooth version. They look very nice, but ultimately I prefer my buy-it-by-the-dozen Papermate Comfortmate Medium to write with.

updated February 2013: four years later, I have an update.

Coinstar Coin-Counting Machine

Concept: 3 out of 5
Execution: 2 out of 5
Yeah, but: It's just 9.8 bucks on the hun.


The Long Version: When I was growing up in suburban Toronto, I was always surprised to see the occasional Poverty Mart cheque-cashing places dotted around downtown - companies that charge about 3% commission to turn one form of money into another. Times have changed, and now these places are everywhere and have moved on to business models that allow them to go after people who have bank accounts and direct deposit. But the basic idea of charging people to change one form of money into another is too good to go away.

Coinstar has put vending-machine-style coin counters in stores all across Canada, the US, and UK. The American ones can dispense 'gift' cards without the 9.8% charge, but in Canada we're limited to only getting vouchers that can be redeemed at the check-out registers of the grocery stores that they're invariably in. The irony is that the amount of change counted, less 9.8%, is almost never going to work out to an even dollar amount, so after paying money to convert coins to cash, you'll get some back in change.

To use the machines requires some time, effort, and the ability to feed the coins through a narrow little slot. It seems to work on the same principle as the fabulous Sort`N`Bank, except that it's mechanized and makes a lot more noise in the process. The two items actually make a decent pair, since using the Sort`N`Bank (or some other sorting device) is an easy way to make certain that the more valuable coins don't get 9.8% of their value clipped from them. I only dump pennies and nickels, since the effort and time involved in counting, wrapping, and then finding a bank that will accept them simply isn't worth the amount of money that Coinstar charges. I'm not a fan of their business model, but I do have to concede that it serves a purpose.



updated 7 jan 2011:

I've checked a couple of these machines recently, and the rate has gone up to 10.9%. I was quite annoyed - but I paid it anyway. From here on, though, I'll be using my Sort'N'Bank's awesome powers to screen out the dimes, and start spending them along with the quarters. It's still better than rolling them and taking them to the bank, and it still leaves the machine with just the heaviest and lowest-value currency. I just worry about what I'll do with the nickels when the rate hits 14.9%.

Canon E1 Hand Strap

Concept: 3 out of 5
Execution: 4 out of 5
Yeah, but: Canon E1. Yes, Canon.

The Long Version: Camera hand straps are an interesting solution to an obscure problem. The Canon strap only attaches to bodies with a portrait grip, whether integral or accessory, and makes it impossible to reach the portrait grip. So to use this $60 strap you'll need to spend about 150-300 dollars to add a lot of bulk to the bottom of your camera with no real additional benefit except for the ability to carry a bigger battery. As you can imagine, this isn't a need that's screaming out to be filled.

But beyond my desire to own something that pays homage to a classic camera, I also happen to own a battery grip that I don't particularly like to use in the portrait orientation. I've found that the HLD-4 on my E-3 doesn't feel as solid as I like when I have a big lens attached, so I don't shift my grip much. This makes a hand strap perfect for me.

The Canon strap isn't particularly convenient to adjust, which makes it harder to use during the winter - I shoot with two different weights of gloves outdoors, and without gloves when I'm inside. The strap length is currently at a medium position that compromises its snugness, but it does still provide a sure and comfortable grip on the camera. Once glove season is over, I'll be able to tighten it up a bit. The hand strap is different from a wrist lanyard - my usual choice - in that it actually increases my ability to hold the camera, instead of just being an insurance policy.

I've always preferred to hold cameras instead of hanging them around my neck; while I can appreciate the value of neck/shoulder straps for cameras that predate the invention of ergonomics, I find that hand-carrying heavy cameras is both easier and more comfortable. My subjective impression is that the hand strap also adds some solidity when shooting, making it easier to stabilize the camera for longer lenses and (very slightly) longer exposures. It's nothing compared to a monopod or in-camera image stabilization, but it certainly feels more solid. The compromise is that it makes it almost impossible to shift my grip enough to reach the arrow pad on my E-3's back. Life's a barter.

The irony is that I'm disappointed by the build of the Olympus HLD-4 battery grip, but like the camera-and-grip combination for a normal (horizontal) hand position when I'm shooting vertically. But to get the most benefit out of the larger grip surface, which helps when swinging the camera around, I've also had to commit to keeping the battery grip attached and losing out on the ability to switch the camera to its smaller native configuration. Sure, technically the grip strap can be removed, but it adds enough effort to the switch that I'm not likely to do it.

When DPReview.com wrote their conclusions for the Olympus E-330, they called the new feature of Live View "a solution looking for a problem". That's how I want to describe the idea of a hand strap as well. At least there's no way I can misjudge the future of DSLRs as badly as Phil Askey did; the Canon hand strap really is a specialized product for a very specific set of criteria. It works for me, and I'm happy that I have it on my E-3, but I'd never cripple my E-1's excellent battery grip by adding a hand strap to it. Different people, and different cameras, need different solutions.