Useful Gadgets

Bill Pierce

Bill Pierce

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In every gadget bag there are things that we don’t think of as “photographic” that we’ve found useful. For me, it’s a pocket voice recorder. At first it was a mini cassette recorder; now, a small digital recorder. At first I just used it to record caption information. Then I started handing it to subjects, asking them to record their names, contact info and a brief description of themselves or the event. That “brief description” request got some interesting material. Then, as my brain grew older, perhaps wiser, but certainly slower, I started recording those things that popped into my mind, things to do, things to explore, things I knew I would probably not think of again unless I made a “note” of them. That recorder is always in the gadget bag except at night, when it goes on the table beside my bed.

So, what really useful, but not really “photographic,” item is in your gadget bag and that you would recommend to other forum members?
 
A really good, but small, flashlight.

If I'm traveling, a Sony AM/FM/shortwave radio about the size of a deck of cards (not as useful as it used to be, as the BBC and others are abandoning shortwave).
 
Like Chuck, I carry a small flashlight--a Fenix or a Surefire. Also a small folding knife and a Leatherman Micra multitool, either in the bag or in my pocket. Flashlights and pocketknives are not only useful for photographing but I also use them almost every day of my life for some task or another not associated with photography.

Bill, in the past I have owned and used Sony and Olympus microcassette recorders but I've never had a pocket digital recorder. I'm reminded how handy a recording device was to me at the time. Do you have a preference of brand and model?
 
I carry a small flashlight (Nitecore Sens AA), an Ultrapod, a Sharpie, some assorted rubberbands (usually wrapped around the film containers), a LensPen, a microfiber cloth (small piece), multi-tool, small notepad, my phone (for notes, photos of area, etc), extra batteries and film of course and a Buff for myself. That sun can be brutal and I like to be prepared.
 
Gaffer tape (If duct tape can't fix it ain't broke), MagLite and its optical fiber attachment, clamps, foam balls and domes (for raising the level of food in plates), marbles (as before, for soup), aluminum foil (both for keeping things clean and for improvised reflectors).

GLF
 
Godfrey said:
I have a Zoom H4 at present, but have been thinking of updating to an Olympus LS-7
Click to expand...

I have a LS-10 and a LS-7. I carry the latter with me everywhere in a jacket pocket. Nothing beats the quality in that format, but it still has excellent ergonomics, unlike a Yamaha Pocketrak. You'd have to get a Sony PCM-M10 to go up, and it's twice the size.

If you want a LS-7, you'd better hurry, as it has been discontinued, and many places like B&H are out of stock on it. Olympus' new LS-12 and LS-14 are a major step backward in quality compared to the LS-10/LS-11/LS-7 they ostensibly supersede.
 
Depending on the situation, I will also carry:
  • a pair of binoculars in my camera bag (I always carry a Nikon HG 5x15 monocular in my jacket).
  • a small camel-hair brush shaped like a lipstick
  • a Novoflex mini-tripod
  • a stack of Moo mini-cards
  • a 10x Hastings triplet loupe
  • nylon zip-ties
  • earplugs
 
A pack of tissue paper. I'll place either a single or double ply of tissue over my camera's flash to act as a DIY diffuser. Other then that my iPhone 4 has lots of other gadgets like a flash, level and light meter.
 
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