Posts by zachdove

Zhiyun MOLUS G60 60W Pocket COB Bi-Color LED Light

Camera Gear

For more info on this light, check it out on Amazon (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/40y6pVB

I was very impressed with how small this light was when I pulled it out of the box. Solidly built out of aluminum. All the buttons and dials feel solid on it. Definitely get the combo kit as it gives you a mini Softbox with adapter, which is super really useful and it also gives you a bowens mount adapter. The light is so small it looks a little silly on the back of this huge adapter, but it works, so I can’t complain.

Has a nice case for the light and it’s power cables, including a reflector, with some sort of rubber diffusion cover to put over top. The diffusion cover allows more light to pass through than the soft box.

Fan noise is low and relatively pleasant sounding. Not a high-pitched whine or something that’s gonna be noticeable when filming dialogue.

Overall 👍🏼👍🏼

NEEWER Mini Follow Focus with A/B Stops, Lens Gear Ring, 15mm Rod & Rod Clamp Review

Camera Gear

I wasn’t expecting much given the price point of this follow focus, but Neewer has been putting out some decent quality gear, so I gave it a shot. I was not disappointed! The build quality of the focus is solid, all aluminum bracket with aluminum hard stops on the wheel. I really like the rubberized grip on the wheel, which feels nice on the fingers and in the hand. Something you always pay attention when choosing a follow focus is how much play there is in the gearing when you change directions, and I must say that this follow focus is pretty tight. There is a tiny bit of play when you change directions but barely noticeable.

The kit comes with a 15 mm rod and rod mount for your camera or cage, so if you don’t already have rod to mount it to, you’re all set with this kit. Just keep in mind how long of Roger gonna need to get the follow focus over your lens as the raw that is included is only about four or 5 inches long. The kit also comes with a universal lens gear, which works in a pinch, but I recommend buying custom-made gears for your lenses as the universal lens gear is a pain to take on and off if you’re switching lenses and the tail of it gets in the way in your camera set up.

That being said, if you are in the market for a budget follow focus I would definitely recommend this!

Matrix Unisex Adult PH-611 All-Mountain Adjustable Snowboard Bindings Review

Adventure Stuff

Wasn’t too sure what the quality was going to be like for these bindings given the price of them, but I was happily surprised when I received them. 

All the binding parts are well-made. The straps don’t have a lot of padding on them, but fit your boots pretty well. The toe strap can be a little finicky to get it to rest over the front of your toe properly but once you get it dialed in, it works great. It’s interesting that these bindings don’t have a back to the binding plate and I was concerned that they would lose rigidity with that, but after riding with them, I haven’t noticed any issues. Just for the record though, I’m not doing any sort, advanced riding, but more all mountain cruising at an intermediate level.

If you were looking for a binding for advance, big mountain or park riding, I would definitely look elsewhere. However, if you are looking for a budget binding that does what it supposed to do and looks good while doing it, this is the one you want!

Something to be aware of is that because of the large range of boot size that this binding fits, it is a fairly large binding. I normally ride medium bindings, but this is more of a large in size, and I have some extra width on it that I wish wasn’t there. However, I did not have any issues with my foot wiggling around in the binding, so I guess I’m good. I do wear a size 9 1/2 boot and this binding will comfortably fit a size 10 or 11. If you have a smaller foot than a nine, I wouldn’t get it as you would be swimming in this binding.

Also, another point to note is that you might have to drill out the binding plate to get it to mount to your board. I have an older burnt board with the three hole pattern on it and I had to drill a hole in the plate so they would fit. However, the interesting thing is it looks like it was already set up to have a hole drilled there, they just didn’t cut out the plastic🤷

ZHIYUN 100W F100 RGB LED Video Light Stick Wand Combo Kit Review

Camera Gear

Love that this light wand comes with a carrying case and accessories… a bit pricey though🧐

As far as I can tell, this is exactly the same as the FR100C RGB light wand that Zhiyune came out with last year, just with the added accessories. Don’t get me wrong, the FR100C is great, so I have no complaints about this version… I’m just not sure if the accessories, as awesome as they are, are worth the same amount as the light wand. This combo kit is basically double what the light wand is by itself.

That being said, the additional accessories are nice. I do like having the barn doors attached to the light wand as this helps control the spill of the light. It comes with a stretchy diffusion cloth to put over the barn doors. This is a bit finicky to get on as it’s pretty tight, and unless you are holding the light really close to somebody’s face, I don’t see much difference in the light quality without it versus with it.🤷

 I am excited about the case and the 120W charging adapter. The light itself is pretty robust, but I still don’t like it banging around my car or storage space. The included bag is lightly padded, but enough to keep the light from getting scratched and helps keep all the accessories together. By taking out the Power adapter, I can fit my second light wand in beside it, and have both of them together💪 also, the power adapter is nice to have while on set as at full power the light only lasts 20 to 30 minutes, and charging via usbc is not the quickest, so with the adapter, I can quickly charge one light while I am using the other.

All in all, I like this upgraded kit, but i don’t think the price is justified by the extra accessories you get.

NEEWER 64.5″ Pro Carbon Fiber Camera Tripod with 28mm Low Profile Ball Head Review

Camera Gear

Impressed with how small and compact this tripod is while still packing some powerful features into it. Even with the ball head on it, the tripod is nice and lightweight, I don’t hesitate to throw it onto a backpack for taking out and about. 

I really like an unusual feature that they have included in the twist locks on the legs and center column. At first, when loosening the legs,, after about a quarter of a turn, there is a bit of a catch, and I thought that there was an issue with the twist lock. However, I realize that all the twist locks on the legs and on the center column, have a bit of a catch after you loosen it about a quarter of a turn. This is a really nice function as the leg will not slide in or out until after you turn the twist lock past the catch, then the leg will slide easily. This allows you to gauge how far you need to loosen the twist lock to be able to make your adjustments. Other tripods I’ve had that have twist-locks on them, I’m always losing the locks way too much or not enough and getting frustrated with how long it takes me to make adjustments. This tripod make things easy and fast to quickly adjust the height of it.😎

Another cool feature on it is that the ball head has , what I would call, a drag setting for how much resistance you want on the ball head. This way, if you have your camera set up on it and you loosen the ball head, it’s not just going to flop over when you loosen it at all the way. This is a great safety function and helps a lot when you have a heavier camera set up on it.

My one gripe with the tripod is when, adjusting the angle of the legs, you have to pull out a little clip at the top of the leg, where it connects to the center column. This is pretty standard, but there is no spring that allows the clip to pop back into place once you’ve made your adjustment. You have to push the clip back in so that the leg locks at the angle you want it to be at. This can be a safety hazard as you can easily forget to pop it back in to lock the leg in place and you might not notice it until you put your camera on it and the leg slips.🙀 Just make sure you remember to lock the legs when making adjustments! 

Other than that, I’m really liking this tripod. It comes with a nice padded carrying case with a shoulder strap. The tripod is lightweight and well-made. Great addition to anybody’s travel outdoor kit!

QieCai Safe Slice Mandoline Slicer for Kitchen, Julienne + Dicer for Vegetables Review

Kitchen

For more details on this slicer, check it out on Amazon (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/3jlYOJY

As we try to cook with as many fresh ingredients as possible, I’m always looking for ways to speed up the prep process as it usually entails a lot of chopping before ever getting to the stove. This thing is a little on the long side, but it’s not too thick, so it easily fits into your drawer or cupboard. It takes a little getting used to with the different settings… the directions were not much help, but I recommend getting a potato or carrot, and practicing with it to determine which knob does what. With a little trial and error, you can figure it out no problem. It seems well-made and so far not any issues with the build quality. Please note, even when using the catch tray for the slices of veggies, it tends to leak juice all over the counter. Even though it’s nice that it has the suction cups to stick to the counter, I’ve been using it directly on my chopping board, so juice doesn’t run all over the counter.

Enflo Portable Power Station 97Wh with AC Outlet 110V Review

Tech

For more info, check out this battery pack on Amazon (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/3YgA2K9

This battery pack was smaller than it looks in the picture, but functions just like described. Has plenty of juice to charge your phone and additional accessories. Took three or four hours to fully charge from 30%. 

I tested out charging my MacBook Pro from 15% to 99% and it took about two hours to fully charge it. It dropped the charging reserve on the battery from 100% down to 30%.

It’s not gonna last you days and days, but as a back up for when power goes out or for keeping your devices charged while off the grid, it works perfect! Looking to pick up a larger solar panel to use when camping to keep it charged☀️

Another Game Changer from DJI! DJI RS3 Mini Review

Camera Gear Tech

OK, OK. Maybe not a total game changer…, But definitely a super useful piece of kit for all the smaller cinema cameras that are coming out.

Before I get into my review, I just want to say that I highly recommend this gimbal… With the caveat that you obviously keep the weight of your camera and lens set up within the specified weight of the gimbal. I run a Sony FX3 with a sigma Art 24-70 mm lens, and it balances fine… Though I am close to the end of all the adjustments for balancing. 

 I’ve had the original ronin, the ronin Mx, and the RS2. I tried another company’s smaller gimbal for my Sony a6500, but it was just not up to par with the motor algorithms like DJI’s. I was skeptical at first with the RS3 mini, but my wife of all people insisted I give it a try. We travel a lot for work and we’re always looking for ways to save on weight and size. it works just like it’s big brother and with my set up, I dare say even slightly better. For some reason with my RS2 I have issues with the motors when I add a variable ND filter on the front of my set up, but with this, whether I have it balanced for the filter or not, it works great!

The one issue I had was when adjusting the roll, I was not able to get it perfect, as the included Arca Swiss mounting plate, wouldn’t slide over far enough. I fixed this issue by simply pulling the quick release off and flipping it around backwards.

I do highly recommend watching some YouTube videos on how to balance your camera properly. As with this gimbal, if you are running a set up that is closer to the weight limit, mine is just over 3 pounds, you need to know the proper way to balance it to get things just right.

I wish this came with a carrying case, but I’m sure I can find one that’ll fit it and it’s small enough that you can just throw it inside your camera bag and not take up too much room. If anybody’s interested, I’m selling a gently used RS2.😆

[2 Pockets] Afterplug External Hard Drive Travel Pouch for Laptop, Reusable Stick On Holder Review

Tech

I have the smaller version of this already, and love it! However, with larger hard drives, it’s a real squeeze to get them into the smaller version (if they fit at all), which made me really excited to see this larger version. I would still stick with SSD drives to fit in here, but you could probably fit a regular external hard drive in here too if you really stretched the material. It has two pockets on it, one which works for your SSD drive and the top pocket where you can store your headphones, pens or other odds and ends. This thing works great when traveling and I need to edit off my SSD drive on the go . This keeps the drive from sitting on my lap or falling off the table and gives me peace of mind that I’m not gonna accidentally unplug the SSD drive in the middle of a crucial edit.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Brightin Star 16mm F2.8 Full Frame Ultra Wide Angle Sony E-Mount Review

Camera Gear Tech

So wanted to say to start that I’m not much of a pixel peeper, so if you’re wanting to know about the chromatic aberration of this lens, or how it handles distortion along the edges, you’ll want to read some of the other reviews for it. I am one to care more about the physicality of using the lens and as long as it returns decent images, I’m good 🙂

The build quality of this lens is very solid. It’s tiny compared to the lenses I’m used to using coming from Canon, but since I’ve switched over to Sony, I’m definitely enjoying the plethora of tiny e-mount lenses you can get. I love the all-metal construction on it and the feel of the de-clicked aperture ring and manual focus ring. The rings are little stiff when you first get it, but that will loosen up in time. Given that the focus throw of this lens is very short, I’d rather it be on the stiff side to make it easier to hit my marks. Image quality wise, the lens is decent. Obviously for the price point, you cannot expect a G master series image coming out of it, but it is definitely usable and has no glaring issues with it. I am using this on my full frame FX3 and do not notice any vignetting issues in the corners. To get the most out of this lens, definitely treat it more like a vintage lens than a brand new lens. Like others have mentioned, it’s soft or wide open, so to get a sharp Image you will need to stop it down. As long as you have your expectations set properly, you can get some beautiful images from it and it’s a no-brainer to have in your kit for when you need the wider field of view.