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We’re Giving Away The Coolest Straps And Plates Ever (EVER!)

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Update: the giveaway is now over, thanks for playing. And a huge thanks for custom SLR for providing the prize. Scroll to the bottom to see if you won.

The good folks over at CustomSLR are giving away a complete set of their super cool lineup: A Split Strap+Cloop Combo, A Cloop + Glide Strap and an M-Plate (value $210.8).

Here is the nice thing about this combo. You can use the glide strap (or split strap) while on the go, and instantly mount your camera on a Manfrotto/ArcaSwiss tripod without removing the strap. As of the release of the M-plate, a few weeks back, the Glide Strap/M-Plate/C-loop combo did not leave my camera and is the combo I use in my shoots. Super Comfy!

To enter the giveaway all you need to do is answer one simple question:

We Are Giving Away A 16GB New iPad

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UPDATE: the giveaway is now over, please scroll to the bottom to see the winner.

We know that an iPad is the photographers best friend. It allows you to share your portfolio in a nifty way, to watch the images as soon as your camea spits them and to manage your time (and spend it as well).

This is why we teamed up with PunchTab to give away a brand new New 16gig iPad.

We’re Giving Away A Super Cool Think Tank Retrospective 7 (Blue Slate)

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Update: the giveaway is now over, thanks for playing. And a huge thanks for ThinkTank for providing the prize.

Nothing like a brand new photography bag to brighten up your day. The awesome folks at Think Tank are giving away a super cool Retrospective 7 (value $154.75).

It is an awesome bag if you don’t want to be shouting “I carry a dSLR” but still want to, you know… carry a dSRL. It can pack a DSLR and 2-3 lenses or strobes. (And it has a rain cover. nice!)

To enter the giveaway all you need to do is answer one simple question:

We’re Giving Away A Tamron 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD

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Tamron, our awesome sponsor is giving DIYP readers a Tamron 18-270mm Di II VC PZD lens (value $649) .

UPDATE: The giveaway is now over, scroll down to see who won te lens.

It is a great all around lens with for both the wide end and the end the tele end. One of those lenses you would consider if you had to take only one lens to an unknown location.

To enter the giveaway all you need to do is answer one simple question:

We’re Giving Away 3 Instructional DVDs By The Slanted Lens

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UPDATE: this giveaway is now over, please see end of post for the winner, thanks to the awesome slanted lens for the prizes.

J. P. Morgan and the team at The Slanted Lens got a new instructional DVD out – Mastering Studio Strobe Lighting – and we are giving away three copies of it (valued at $79.95 each)

UPDATE: TSL loves us DIYP readers, use coupon code diy30 till may 1st for a 30% discount.

If you don’t know who the slanted lens team are, look at our archives, they’ve been here plenty.

And for a an idea about the DVD style and content, check out the video below.

To enter the giveaway all you need to do is answer one simple question:

China, Photography, Innovation And Us

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A few days ago Jaron Schneider posted an interesting piece over at F stoppers projecting a pretty poor future for the American lighting industry. It’s a very interesting read and I encourage you to head over and check it out.

I am not going to repeat the entire post here, but his main point is that the industry has cut costs by moving manufacturing over to China. After moving manufacturing, the industry then moved the engineering overseas. In the end of this process, China no longer needs American brands to produce good lighting gear, and American lighting companies have found  themselves fighting their own creations. Jaron ends the post with the sad prediction that “there is no way out of this cycle of depression for most US companies.“

Speaking as a small manufacturer , I think that while the points that Jaron raises are valid, they are only a small part of a bigger picture that’s not completely without hope. Here are some of the more encouraging points that come to mind.

The Awesome Stuff @ PMA (per me)

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About two days ago I returned from PMA. Aside from the big camera announcements going on the main CES showrooms (the Nikon D4, the Canon G1 X and the Fujifilm X-Pro1) there were a lot of innovation and coolness going on the smaller booths and the PMA venue.

Actually, for me as a photographer/blogger/inventor some of the stuff that was displayed on the smaller booths was more interesting than (I said you could touch it not grab it) touching new camera models.

The really nice thing about it, is the most often than not, the inventor would stand in their booth in a way that allows direct interaction. The kind of stuff you can’t get on emails. So you get to ask questions, make suggestions and get instant feedback. nice.

Here is a small round up of the stuff that I found cool on PMA/CES, some of it is new, some has been around for a while. Feel free to add more coolness if you’ve seen it.

Say Hi @PMA

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Every now and then the photography industry get together and see whats lined up for the next few months/years.

Actually, one of those events is going on right now at Vegas, the PMA@CES. It is pretty impressive to see big guns like Canon and Nikon show off their stuff, but to me it is way more interesting to see what’s some of the smaller companies are doing, and looking at the innovation that is going on at the fringe.

It is even cooler to get to hang out and exchange ideas, gear thoughts and photography love with photographers and innovators from across the world. (it is actually one of the nicer things on the blog too).

If you are at PMA (or the bigger CES) and want to get it touch I would be honored. Please send me a mail or DM me on Twitter to get in touch.

I will try to moderate comments at least once a day, please be patient with me.

Your Top 5 Picks Of 2011

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2011 was a great year. It is always interesting to look back and see what were the favorite posts of the year. Both for learning what DIYP readers like, but also to catch some great posts if you’ve missed them during the year.

I bet there are a million ways to do this, from checking which post got the most likes or asking some social media tool. I kept it simple and just got the top 2011 most read posts from Analytics.

In reverse order, here are the top 5 tutorials of 2011:

Stocking Stuffers Giveaway

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I wanted to do a quick fun thing for Christmas & Hanukah so we are giving away some awesome stocking stuffers – we are doing all holidays and shipping worldwide.

UPDATE: the giveaway is now over, scroll over to the end of the post to see who won the lens.

To celebrate the spirit of gift giving we are giving away 5 (yea, five) Bokeh Masters Kits and 5 (yea, five) Camera Cookie Cutters to one winner. With the main idea that you will give (at least some of them to your friends.

Also, our pals at MOO, chipped in with 200 Business Cards here
and 3 StickerBooks which you can
actually use as greeting cards.

To enter the giveaway all you need to do is answer one simple question:

Who Are You Going To Share The Goods With?

You can enter in two ways, each will grant you one ruffle ticket

1. Leave your answer as a comment on this post (and please unmark ‘receive email notifications’ – trust me on this one :) + I am moderating comments so you’ll have a to wait a bit to see it coming.

2. Twit your answer with the following text in the tweet: http://bit.ly/diypstocking #diypstocking Feel free to be as creative as you want, as long as you have that text in the twit.

The giveaway will end on Friday, December 9th, when random.org will pick up one lucky winner, and this post will be updated with the winner’s name.

UPDATE: The giveaway is now over. Thanks for everone who entererd. The winenr, by randon.org ir comment #12 by Jeremy.

UPDATE2: Sadly no contact from Jeremy, random.org, moves the prize to comment #252 by Johnathan Nissan

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