As a landscape photographer, my camera is mostly in my bag or attached to my tripod. I don’t take it down that often, even if I change locations. I just carry it already attached. But still there are situations where I would like to be able to have it attached to my belt or to my bag. And exactly for those there is the Capture clip Pro v2 from Peak design.

I got mine from their Kickstarter campaign, where I also took all their other gear, of which you can find the reviews also on this blog. The Camera clip arriwed first, so I had some opportunities to try it out. I will also mention the Pro Pad in this review, as it’s an additions to the Camera clip and has no purpose on its own.

The build quality is super. I got the Pro version which is almost completely metal, with only the quick release being made from plastic. The quick release plate fits really nicely into it and there is a nice click when you slide it in. There are two safety measures to keep you plate in, one is a button that can be rotated to prevent accidental pressing. The second one is a wheel used to tighten a plate inside the clip, that holds the quick release plate in place.

I got the dual place with the Capture clip, as I use a Manfrotto tripods, and this plate is compatible with Arca Swiss, Manfrotto and the clip. There is one downside, that is that it can be placed into the clip only in two orientations, instead of four. Also I got few problems with it while using it with my Manfrotto gear, but I will get to that a little later.

The clip is attached to your belt or backpack strap by opening it up, placing the belt inside and tightening the two screw. There are ridges on the clip with holes on the other part, so when you tighten it, it will not move at all. It is really stable. The heads of the tightening screws are quite large, so it’s easy to do this without the need for any tools.

Together with the Capture clip, I also got the Pro pad. This is for when you want a little more padding while you are carrying a heavy camera on you belt or backpack. You also get a second set of screws with it, as the ones by default with the clip are too short to hold also the pad.

The pad is also made form quite a tough material, and the clip fits into it very nicely. There are multiple ways you can use it, either vertical or horizontal, depending on your needs. You can see the different placements in the surrounding photos.

The guide suggest you use the longer screws only in some of the setups, but I would suggest using them all the time if you use the Pro pad. The short screws are hanging only by very little when used here, and it could happen that one accidentally loosens them. I think that it’s better to be safe than sorry.

I tried all the different setups, using and not using the Pro pad. My feelings about it are mixed. I really like having the Capture clip on the strap of my backpack. As I use the Think Tank Slig-O-matic, that has only one strap, I can easily place it there. The camera than nicely balances the weight of the backpack and is very comfortable to carry. I even had no need for the Pro pad there. On the other side, having it on the belt was very uncomfortable for me. The placement was acquard, with the camera bumping on my leg. All the time I was also scared that I bump with my camera onto something and so damage it. The pro pad didn’t help much. As it is wider, it is even more in the way, even if it pads you more from the camera.

This is of course how I feel about it. For you maybe hawing you camera hanging from your belt could be absolutely Ok. The Capture clip with the Pro pad do exactly what they are supposed to do, if you will use it that way, is a completely different question.

As I mentioned earlier. There is one thing I don’t like about the dual plate for the clip. As you can see, when I compare it to the classic Manfrotto plate, it’s a little smaller and it has two small holes from the sides, where the other has not. There is a reason for it. The quick release on Manfrotton head uses a small cylinder, which the plate has to press down, for it to close. With the Dual plate, this cylinder sometimes gets into the small side hole and it is not pressed completely. The only way to avoid this, is taking bigger care while inserting the place, and pushing it to one side. Strangely, I have this problem only with some of my Manfrotto gear.

Overall, I like the Capture clip, and I find the Pro pad a little useless for my needs. As I said, that is much about personal preference. So if you think you need a way to be able to quickly store you camera and quickly have it accessible (especially if you don’t use the tripod that much), you should give it a try.

For more information, please visit the Peak design site.

View all my other reviews here.

Kickstarter

Review of the Leash by Peak Design

And one of my recently backed projects on Kickstarter was also the Capture Camera clip v2. And together with it I ordered also all the other products form Peak Design. I will add reviews of all of them to the blog over the next weeks, so lets start with the camera strap called Leash.

Lakeside reflection in blue

As I stated in my Top 5 Photography spots in Bratislava page, the Kuchajda lake is the best place for reflections in Bratislava. As you can see also in this photo, the lake is mostly so calm that you get almost a perfect reflection. It’s even more fun when the lake freezes over. It gives a nice reflection and you get much more freedom in the compositions. In this photo you can see the Lakeside park tower during a very clear blue hour.

This is a HDR from 5 shots, created in Oloneo Photoengine and finished in Photoshop. I only did very few tweaks here, mostly just to bring out the blue color and tweak the contrast.

As I mentioned in my Manfrotton Clamp review, there are a lot of places where you can’t use a tripod. There are even some where you can’t use a clamp. So what to do then? One of the possible solutions is to use a bean bag. And one of those it The Pod.

There are multiple versions of The Pod, but as I have the green one, I will write about that. They are mostly the same, just differing in size, color and the placement of the camera attachment screw.

The Green pod from the back

Whats inside The Green Pod

So how does it work? You just attach it to you camera, use the provided leash to also attach it to the lens and you are good to go. When you place the camera with The Pod onto something, you need to push down, so the beans fall into place and the camera stays stable. I tried this with my Canon 5D mark II with the Canon 16-35mm F2.8 lens, and I noticed no movement in the photos I took, even with the ones that were few seconds long.

It’s a little harder if you wan the camera to point more up or down, but it still is possible. Of cores this is easier with a smaller camera. The green pod’s screw is also placed to the side of the pod, so you can use bigger DSLR’s with it. The green pod is also specified as the one for a DSLR camera with a zoom lens.

I used the pod few times in different places, and I got really good results with it. It’s simple to use, and no one will stop you for using it. You can even have it attached to you camera while you are not using it, as it is light and does not stand in the way that much. The only thing I don’t like about it, is that the screw is fixed in place into it, and when I screw it tightly onto the camera, it never was in the right orientation. So I had to loosen it a little and use the leash to hold it in place.

Overall this is a nice little addition to for any photographer. It’s also quite cheap :)

You can find more information on The Pods website.

View all my other reviews here.

Check the price:

• Check price for the Manfrotto Super Clamp 035 in the Amazon store
• Check price for the Manfrotto Super Clamp 035 in the B&H photo

• Check the price for the Manfrotto 155RC Double ball head in Amazon store
• Check the price for the Manfrotto 155RC Double ball head in B&H photo

Attach your camera almost everywhere

This review is mostly about the Manfrotto Super Clamp 035, but I will also include my thoughts on the Manfrotto 155RC Double Ball Joint Head as I use them together.

So what is it? The Manfrotto clamp is a great way to attach your camera or light to railings, signs or anything that fits in between it’s teeth. And once it’s closed you won’t be able to move it until you loosen it. You probably first break whatever its connected to, before you get the clamp loose.

Clamps like this are mostly used for attaching lights in studio photography. But as a landscape photographer you will also find a use for it. As there are many places, where tripods are not allowed, or they would just not be stable, you can use a clap to hold your camera. Or even in situations, where there is a heavy wind, the clamp can hold your camera much more stable than a tripod.

Clamp fully opened

Clamp fully closed

In my experiences, the Manfrotton Clamp holds very well. It can hold to a lot of things and you can’t move it at all while its tightened. I had my Canon 5D mark II on it, with the Canon 70-200 F2.8 lens, while it was hanging from a railing on top of a bridge and it didn’t move at all. You can see the size of it on one of the photos, compared to a double A battery.

Inside of the teeth

Clamp with the 037 stud

The clamp comes with a plastic part, you can place into the teeth, if you trying to attach it onto a straight surface, like a plank or a table. If you remove it, you can easily attach it to pipes. Based on how you order it (alone or in a set), it can come with a way to attach your camera, but can happen that you will need at least a stud for that. I got the Manfrotto 037 Reversible Short Stud. There are two ways you can attach it to the clamp. You either can screw it in directly into the clamp, or use the hexagonal quick release socket. Both work fine, but using the quick release socket is more secure, as the whole stud is inside the clamp. Of course you can attach a tripod head onto the clamp and then connect the camera to that.

Double ball joint head

Head with both balls in 90 degree orientation

You can also, as I, use the Manfrotto 155RC Double Ball Joint Head (there are also others). This one is made specially to be used with the clamp, and fits nicely into the quick release socket. It can be also bought together with a quick release plate. You of course can attach any quick release plate on top. As it is a double ball joint, it can be moved into multiple arrangements and it nicely works if you want the camera to be 90 degree to the clamp. The tightening handle is a little big on it, same as on the clamp, which makes the tightening easy, but it’s sometimes in the way. The ball joints hold together very tightly. It’s even hard to move them when there is no camera attached. This is great mostly, but sometimes it makes it hard to compose with the attached camera.

As I said, the clamp is mostly for special situation. It’s easier to just use the tripod, but when that’s not possible, the clap will give you the stability you need. With the 15kg payload it can carry, you can hang a lot from it, and it will be secure. Just take good care about what you connect it to.

Clamp attached to a balcony railing

Clamp attached to a railing on top of a bridge

Overall this is a good addition for any landscape and especially cityscape photographer. The only thing that stops me from having it all the time with me, is the weight. The clamp, together with the head weights almost 1kg, and that is something I don’t want to carry all the time with me. This is of course due to the material used. Almost everything is metal. Still, If you find yourself a lot of times in the situations where you could use a stable place for you camera, I suggest you give this a try.

You can find more information on the Manfrotto website.

View all my other reviews here.

MOO cards

I just got my new set of MOO business cards. This is my second set I ordered from Moo cards. The first set was used up very quickly, as everyone loved the look of the cards. Me too of course. I really like how you can have your own design on one side and a selection from you photos on the other. You don’t even have to upload the photos, as you can import them form Smugmug, Flickr, Facebook and other services. It so easy to create them.

To find more info, you can check out the MOO cards site. And I got this code “G2MSCG” for a 15% discount on first order of 50 business cards, so it maybe be useful for some of you :)

Btw. you maybe notice a different address on the card that the one of this blog. This is a part of a change for this page, and I will get to that when it’s actual :)

Photo categories

Recently I changed the way categories are shown in the sidebar, so if you miss them, they are still there. Just look for a drop-down under the social icons, with the caption Photos by location.

Bridge in Maribor

As the year ends, you will notice not so many photos from new locations. I just don’t travel that much around this time. The weather is just not so great. I will maybe have some new around the Christmas, but until than, most of my photos will be from places I visited earlier this year. So for today, another photo of this great looking bridge in Maribor, Slovenia.

This is a HDR from 5 shots, created in Oloneo Photoengine, finished in Photoshop.