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Crumpler is Insane, Hilarity Ensues

Crumpler USA

Crumpler USA

Crumpler is nuts. As eye-raising as certain ThinkTank bag names can be (“Whip It Out”, “Streetwalker”), Crumpler doesn’t just stride past them, they apparently do cartwheels and back-handsprings past them while laughing reminiscently of Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker.

Once a year they sell bags for pre-determined amounts of beer. They have color by number toilet paper. They sold me the best bottle opener I’ve ever owned. They have bags with names like “Dreadful Embarrassment”, “Salary Sacrifice”, “Thirsty Al”, and “Cork and Fork.”

And, apparently, they have product descriptions that throw up red flags in our site’s spam detection system.

Yes, yes, this is good . . . I like the view . . . And do you like my sharks in the pool? Yes, hmmm, they don’t seem to like that topless girl . . . Who is she, by the way, dahhhhhling?

With product descriptions like the one above (from the 2 Million Dollar Home) I can’t see why any flags would be thrown up at all. (End sarcasm)

Anyway, it was actually a delightful little mess, and I think we’ve got things tweaked so it won’t happen again. But, if you were trying to search our site for any of our Crumpler stock there for an hour and came up emtpy, well, we thought we owed you an explanation.



To Safari, or Not to Safari

OK, so, I gotta confess, I’m way confused here.

So, some time back Leica announced the “Safari” edition of their M8 camera:

Leica M8 Safari Edition

Leica M8 Safari Edition

And then, making my rounds today I find out daddy Olympus is displaying a green E-3 over at PEI in Japan right now:

E-3 in Green, Via DCWatch

E-3 in Green, Via DCWatch

And, I’ve heard Pentax made some limited edition green cams. So, apparently Safari chic is in.

Except, oddly enough, if you ask National Geographic, whose bags have thus far exhibited that nice, “let’s go hunt lions” canvas and brass d-rings safari look. Until now, because while camera makers are saying green is the new black, NG has decided their new Walkabout line ought to be black.

NG 2343 Walkabout Small Holster

So, cameras are going safari, and safari bags are going urban. Thank goodness it’s a Friday, this is the sorta quandary that’d throw my whole week off.



2009 Fashions

So, those shiny new Nikon Coolpix digital cameras and Canon PowerShot digital cameras aren’t the only things getting face lifts for the new year, we recently got a bunch of stock on the newly redesigned Crumpler Million Dollar Home series bags.

Crumpler, famous for its off-the-wall attitudes (at their New York store they’ve had annual “buy bags for beer” events before, and you can get collector’s toilet paper from them. No, seriously.), are also known for making bright, stylish bags that don’t skimp on the quality, either.

The Million Dollar Homes are their photographic messenger-style shoulder bags, and range from just big enough for the EOS Rebel with its kit lens to big enough to house my entire personal camera kit, including battery charger.

Crumpler 6 Million Dollar Home

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Think Tank StreetWalker series

The folks at Think Tank Photo have released three very usable photo backpacks called the StreetWalker series.  With the three new backpacks’ slim vertical profile, photographers can navigate crowded places and public transportation while still being able to access professional photographic equipment.  They come with a handy card showing layouts for both Nikon Digital SLR camera and Canon Digital SLR camera layouts.

The three new StreetWalker backpacks are:

StreetWalker — This slim, lightweight backpack will hold a Pro Size DSLR with 70-200 2.8 attached and hood in position. It includes a monopod/tripod mounting system, a contoured harness and air channel for increased comfort, and lots of pockets and organizers for customization.

StreetWalker Pro — This backpack is designed for a Pro Size DSLR with up to a 400 2.8 attached, or a 70-200 2.8 attached and hood in position. It also includes the monopod/tripod mounting system, the contoured harness and air channel, and lots of pockets and organizers.

StreetWalker HardDrive — This backpack will hold most 15″ laptops and a Pro Size DSLR with 70-200 2.8 attached and hood in position. It also includes the monopod/tripod mounting system, the contoured harness and air channel, and lots of pockets and organizers.



Alright, /Now/ You Can Make Streetwalker Jokes

So, as promised, I finally got down to the floor and loaded a ThinkTank Photo Streetwalker Backpack with a 50D Canon digital SLR camera, some Canon lenses, some mixed Induro camera tripods, and some of my usual junk.

I’ve got it uploaded to YouTube, as I always do, and you can find the embedded video below. For those of you just joining in, this is also available (as well as all past installments) on our Podcasts page.

Quick links to mentioned equipment: Induro A013 6M Aluminum Alloy Tripod, Induro DM01 DM-Series Ballhead, Induro MC14 Carbon 8X Monopod, Canon 50D Body, Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM, Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM, Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM, Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM, ThinkTank Photo Streetwalker



What’s In a Bag?

ThinkTank Streetwalker (Please, Withhold All Jokes for Later)So, it’s been a while since we’ve hit up a Raw Footage (my camera-man has been busy the past month), but I’m going to try and get a packing exercise done later for the ThinkTank Photo Streetwalker, which is actually a surprisingly trim and still roomy backpack (and of the tried-and-true “strap a camera tripod to the back” variety at that”).

And, while I’m thinking bags, Chuck forwarded me a mail yesterday, in which a reader name of “Greg” said he’d like to know what we over at Roberts shove into our bags. You know, Greg, I think it’s a great idea, although I’m not sure I’ll be able to con anyone else into talking. Might be fun to try and get a shot of Jody’s gear, though…

But, I thought, hey, I may as well talk a bit about the various odd bits and digital camera accessories that’ve sorted themselves into my Crumpler since I shot the footage of me packing it:

1. Olympus digital camera kit. Anyone who reads this blog knows I shoot an Oly kit. E-3, 50-200mm, an old 50mm Zukio f1.8, and a Lensbaby 3G. I’m angling to add a 14-54 to my kit sometime (hey, how about it Oly, you wanna hook me up with an old demo one? Eh? Eh?)

2. A Nikon SB-25, which I found in our venerable Used Department. I use it with a Wein peanut slave as an off-camera key light.

3. Two custom flash modifiers.

4. Two medium plastic spring clamps. And a little 2″ metal c-clamp (hey, you never know, I might need that!)

5. An LED flashlight (never know when you need to shed a little light on the subject).

6. A Roberts card wallet with a selection of mismatched flash memory cards.

7. A Lensbaby creative aperture kit.

8. A Crumpler beer bottle opener (in true Crumpler style, called “The Boozer’s Friend”)

9. An Altec Lansing Orbit portable speaker (for jamming out when shooting models outdoors)



Buy Something Cool, Get Something Useful

Christmas shopping is down to the final week, and I just remembered that we have a special coming to a close at the end of this month. No no, this is good, listen:

You buy one of a selection of Kata’s DR-465 Rucksack (available in several colors, including the one pictured here)

Kata Digital Rucksack

We’ll include this free Manfrotto monopod (yup, Manfrotto, maker of fine camera tripods).

Manfrotto Monopod

There you go. I just made everything easy. Buy the bag for yourself, give the monopod to someone you love (if that happens to also be yourself, don’t worry, we won’t tell.) Is the monopod as good as a Trekpod? Well, not entirely, but heck, it’s free, and free is the best price.



7 Million Dollar Home: Video Review

Alright, in honor of my bag upgrade we’re going to start a specialized segment of Roberts Raw for bag capacities. We’re going to kick it off with my own personal kit (actually, there was some space left so I borrow a few extra products from our display rack to pad it out) and a Crumpler 7 Million Dollar Home to show you about what you can expect it to hold. Because, let’s face it, if you’re anything like me you read the interior dimensions of a bag and go “that’s great, now how much is that in equipment?”

You can watch the video below, no frills, just quick bag packing, to see how much equipment this particular bag can swallow. If you want to see a specific ag you’ve been eyeing packed, hit us up in the comments or email me at [email protected] We’ll select two bags a month and pack different types of kits–Canon digital SLR cameras, Nikon flashes, Sony lenses, compact camcorders, you name it–all specifically chosen to give you a good visual estimate of how much you’ll be able to squeeze in.

This particular bag held all this equipment: Olympus E-3, Olympus 50-200mm, Olympus 18-180mm, Olympus 12-60mm, Olympus Zuiko 50mm, Lensbaby 3G, Nikon SB-25, Metz 58 AF-1, Joby Gorillapod SLR-Zoom, Induro SA-0, Roberts card wallet, miscelleneous small bits and accessories.



Waiting for a New Bag

7 Million Dollar Home So, I tok the dive and decided to upgrade my bag. This is a big step in a man’s life, maybe not as important as his first date or his first cup of coffee, but important nonetheless. Dozens, maybe hundreds, of variables have to be carefully weighed and examined before a choice can be made. What equipment do I have? What equipment will I have? How much do I want to carry day-to-day? What style? What color? These days there’s a dizzying, near-infinite combination as answers and a different bag for each (here at Roberts alone we have around 800 different style/color options available).

So, I sat down, and I thought about my “tackle.” An Olympus digital camera, mid-sized. A fairly chunky but not huge telephoto zoom. A standard zoom. A Lensbaby 3G. A very tiny Zuiko prime from the 70s. An aging but still excellent SB-25 (found in the Nikon flashes down in our used store). I’ll be adding a Metz 58 AF-1OP as soon as the funds come up next year. I’ve got a Gorillapod SLR-Zoom with an Induro SA-0 on it (a nice substitute for camera tripods, useful for remote flash work.) A slew of the usual digital camera accessories: an extra battery, some cables, the aperture for the Lensbaby, a spare compact flash memory card or two.

In the future there might be another lens or two, and I might start carrying around a back-up body, so I need a bag with a lot of space and a bit more I can milk out of it.

But I hate those monolithic black ballistic nylon backback bags. Don’t get me wrong, companies like ThinkTank Photo make some very slick offerings in that style. But it’s not for me.

So I have a Crumpler 7 Million Dollar Home on its way, in the tasty brown/oatmeal/green (they’ve apparently done away with the brown/green/blue version) color combo. Expect some pictures to come as I attempt to fit everything inside it.




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