Photo Accessory Reviews

The conventional camera strap does the job, but with some gear can put considerable strain on the neck, tempting you to hang your camera from the shoulder, where it may slip off or invite thieves. Like a good backpack, today’s ergonomically designed camera-carrying systems largely relieve that stress and throw in some extras in the bargain. New age straps feature a more comfortable neck/shoulder pad than found on conventional neck straps, so you’ll still be comfortable hours later, and often with a quick-release mechanism to rapidly detach the camera when the need arises. Many are of a sling design aimed at the “quick shooters” among you, and some are so innovative as to almost defy description. A few even let you comfortably and safely carry two cameras at the same time.

Before you get any ideas about drafting a posse and coming after me with tar and feathers because of my computer platform preferences, let me explain—please. Because I write about digital photography I must use both PCs and Macs so that I can deliver balanced stories and explain computer functions to our entire audience, not just one group or the other.

Most experienced photographers rarely shoot without a lens hood for several important reasons, whether they're photographing indoors or out. These affordable accessories not only protect the front element of a lens from damage, but they also improve image quality in a number of ways.

Featuring thick, vegetable-tanned leather and the amazing tensile strength of seven-strand nylon parachute rope, WotanCraft Paracord X leather neck straps and wrist straps are available with traditional split ring or Peak Design Anchor Lock fasteners and are as attractive as they are practical. With a style that harkens back to their military inspiration, they add another dimension to WotanCraft's already extensive line of beautifully designed photo accessories.

Color calibration is the key to obtaining an accurate reproduction of what you saw when capturing the image, and what is reproduced on screen or paper. It’s long been considered a bit of black magic as to how it is done, what with terms like gamma, color temperatures, luminance, and the like as part of the mix, but the simple fact is that unless you’re working on a calibrated display you don’t quite know whether the greens, blues, or other colors you are seeing are actually what everyone else is going to see, or what you’re getting when you look at the print you’ve made.