Review: Handle Grip Stabilizer for film and photo

Useful for many things, not only as a grip underneath a camera. It can be used to extend a magic arm and other equipment or to make a homemade / DIY shoulder mount or other things like that.

Full name: Aluminum Alloy 1/4'' Screw Handle Grip Stabilizer for Camera / DSLR + More - Black (7.5cm)
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $10.20 (Free shipping)

Pros:
Solid material and a nice serrated surface. Convenient with a 1/4' screw hole in the bottom to attach other equipment or for other mounting possibilities.

Cons:
The grip is a bit too short, I would have wanted it to be around 10 - 12 cm to fit better in my hand. Not sure what the 'Aluminum alloy' material is, it feels heavier than normal aluminum, but it isn't a big deal and the handle is solid.

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Review: Macro Reverse Adapter Ring for Canon

Quick and cheap solution for shooting macro photography, fun to play with, but nothing beats a true macro lens when it comes to quality and ease of use.

Full name: 62mm Macro Reverse Adapter Ring for Canon EOS - Black
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $4.30 (Free shipping)

Pros:
The price, of course, is good. Compared to a true macro lens this is a steal. The ring feels good, lightweight metal (aluminum alloy), an outer ring with good grip for when you need to use some force to get it off your lens. The ring has the traditional red dot although it is placed inside.

Cons:
The red dot is placed inside so you can't see it looking straight down like on a normal lens. The ring can stick a bit to your lens after use so be careful about using force when attaching it. All the obvious cons of using a reversed lens to shoot macro, like you can't use filters, you lose AF and lose control over your aperture and so on.

Learn the tricks for adjusting f-stops with reversed lenses and you will enjoy this macro solution even more.

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Review: FotoMate LP-02 Macro Focusing Rail

Solid macro slider from FotoMate, not much else to say, it's solid and it works.

Full name: FotoMate LP-02 200mm Movable 2 Way Macro Focusing Rail Slider - Black
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $21.90 (Free shipping)

Pros:
This one is built solid, about 4mm thick material, with strong rubber on top and a nice surface. On the top plate it has two male 1/4" attachment screws and a female 3/8" in the middle which has an inlay that converts it to a 1/4". Under the main plate it has a 1/4" attachment hole for tripods and such. Adjustment is done with a solid screw which has a good grip and feel to it and it locks with another screw that can also be use to give the slider some traction.

Cons:
Maybe not a con, but if you need some really fine tuning be aware that a full turn on the adjustment screw moves the slider about 2cm.


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Review: Spigot Adapter Screw

Small, lightweight and versatile - what's there to think about, just get one or two of them. The 'tube' seems to be aluminum, but the little 1/4" - 1/4" plug and the 1/4" - 3/8" inlay screw is made of another and heavier metal.

Full name: 1/4" 3/8" 5/8" Spigot Adapter Screw for Camera / Flash Trigger / Mount / Light Stand / Tripod
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $3.50 (Free shipping)

Pros:
This little versatile 'thingy' is just one those things you need in your tool box. When you suddenly need it and don't have it, my guess is you'll be cursing and regretting not putting in an order for it.

Cons:
None I can think of as of now.

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Review: 3/8" to 1/4" Tripod Thread Adapter Screw

Another one of those things you need. Might seem small and expensive, but it isn't a thing you're supposed to use up. One of them should last 'forever', but it doesn't hurt to have a couple stashed away just in case. If you need it - get it. If you don't need it, get one anyway.

Full name: 3/8" to 1/4" Tripod Thread Adapter Screw - Silver
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $1.40 (Free shipping)

Pros:
Nice little 3/8" to 1/4" converter / adapter for use with ball heads and all kinds of other photographic equipment.

Cons:
Feels a bit too short for some uses. Small and easy to lose, but buy a couple of them and put them on a string or something so you don't lose them. On the other hand, when in use it should be almost impossible to lose them.

If you need it - get it. If you don't need it, get one anyway.

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Review: 1/4" Screw Tripod to 3-Hot Shoe Adapter Holder

Perfect for adding equipment on top of your DSLR or for setting up flashes on a stand / tripod. I haven't uses it for flashes so I can't say much about the umbrella hole and so forth, but everything looks good with this gadget.

Full name: 1/4" Screw Tripod to 3-Hot Shoe Adapter Holder - Black
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $9.90 (Free shipping)

Pros:
Lightweight, solid construction, actually feels like aluminum. Perfect in combination with a hotshoe screw to mount both a LED and a mic on top of a DSLR. Good and easily operated screws. Comes with a 3/8" - 1/4" converter / adapter so it can be mounted on both sizes.

Cons:
Haven't found any so far. Technically it's not a hot shoe, but a cold shoe since it doesn't have any electrical connectors.

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Review: 1/4" Hot Shoe Mount Stand Holder for Camera

Nice little ball head for your camera's hot shoe mount.

Full name: 1/4" Hot Shoe Mount Stand Holder for Camera - Black
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $6.40 (Free shipping)

Pros:
All metal mini ball head that was perfect to replace the cheap plastic ones on my Metz Mecalight LED-480 lights. Also great for mounting a microphone or some other things on your DSLR.

Cons:
It's a bit rough, meaning the ball doesn't flow or move as easily as on a much more expensive mini ball head from Manfrotto and others, but what do you expect for this price.

This one is cheap and you can feel it so I wouldn't use it on a heavy thing even if it says max load 500g, but it's great for smaller thing like a GoPro, a LED light and things like that. Great for smaller and lighter things, not so great for the heavier things.

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Review: Aputure AHL-C60 5500K 60-LED Macro Ring Light

Affordable LED ring flash and continuous light - good value for money.

Full name: APUTURE AHL-C60 5500K 60-LED White Macro Ring Light for Camera - Black (4 x AA)
Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $33.99 (Free shipping)

Tested, without any vignetting (it sticks out about 23mm in front of the lens), with the following lenses on a Canon 60D camera:
- Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM (67 mm filter ring)
- Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM (77 mm filter ring)
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II (52 mm filter ring)

Tested and had problems with the following lenses on a Canon 60D
- Tamron AF 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD (62 mm filter ring): On this lens you will get black and/or white vignetting between about 18mm to 35mm.
- Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (58 mm filter ring): On this lens you will get vignetting between 18mm to 20mm.

Pros:
Compared to many others it is cheap. It has fairly good, strong light although it could have been better (you never get enough, right?). Lightweight, easy to handle and lots of attachment rings to fit just about any lens. The rings feels like good quality plastic that won't break. The cable seems strong and sturdy. You can chose between having light on the right side, left side or both at the same time.

Cons:
Although the cable seems strong and of good quality it could have been coiled. I couldn't get the flash to fire in flash mode with my Canon 60D even though it communicates with my camera by turning on the assist light when it should.. The tightening ring on the hotshoe is plastic, I would have trusted it more if it was metal. The control lights on the back is a bit bright, unnecessary bright, not a big problem but still. The light is fairly bright at the lowest setting. EDIT: It sticks too far out for some lenses and gives vignetting (see above).

Very useful and affordable ring light / flash for macro photography or for getting a nice light or shine in models' eyes in normal photography and video.

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Review: Professional 11" Video Gimbal Holder - Black

Solid and versatile magic arm – Professional 11" Video Gimbal Holder. 
Not sure what the maximum load is (it says 2kg), but it feels sturdy enough for things like sound recorders, LED lights etc

Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $24.70 (Free shipping)

Pros:
The overall feel of this one is that it's strong, solid and can take bit of a beating and long term use. Very versatile with the different mounting options.

Cons:
It's heavy, meaning it's not pure or normal aluminum, but some sort of alloy as it says in the description. Not sure what this alloy really is. The ball joints are a bit rough, but a little oil or grease fixes that.

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Review: Articulating Magic Arm for Camera

Small, solid and versatile articulating 7" Magic Arm for Camera / film / photo equipment.
Not sure what the maximum load is for this one, but it feels sturdy enough for things like sound recorders, LED lights etc. Looks and feels great for my use which includes mounting sound recorder, GoPro, mic and other lightweight equipment.

Webshop: DX.com (Deal Extreme)
Price: $22.20 (Free shipping)

Pros:
The general feel of this arm is that it's strong, solid and can take bit of a beating and long term use. Very versatile with the different mounting options.

Cons:
It's heavy, meaning it's not pure or normal aluminum, but some sort of alloy as it says in the description. Not sure what this alloy really is. The ball joints are a bit rough, but a little oil or grease fixes that.

Buy it here