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Recent reviews bysoundandvisioneditors

Should I Buy a TV Now, or Wait for HDMI 2.1?
Al Griffin | Mar 2, 2017
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com Q I’m looking to buy a 65-inch LG OLED Ultra HDTV to replace my Pioneer Kuro plasma, which is now 9 years old. Here’s my question: Should I wait until TVs and other components all have HDMI 2.1 connections, or should I just buy current models? Also, can products with HDMI 2.0a connections be updated to HDMI 2.1? —Alan McClure A HDMI 2.1 is indeed coming, and it will be implemented on all manner of devices from TVs to receivers to Ultra HD Blu-ray players. But that doesn’t mean you should put off buying a new TV now. Here’s why. First off, the HDMI 2.1 specification hasn’t yet been finalized, though that’s expected to happen sometime between April and June of this year. Once the spec is published, manufacturers can start implementing HDMI 2.1 in new products, which will arrive in 2018 at the earliest. So if you want to replace your aging Kuro with a new OLED, waiting on HDMI 2.1 means you won’t be able to do so until at least next year. Second, though HDMI 2.1 will deliver a big increase in bandwidth — up to 48Gbps from 18Gbps in the current HDMI 2.0a version — it’s overkill for existing formats like Ultra HD Blu-ray, which require 18Gbps bandwidth at maximum. (And that’s only for 60fps movies . Most content on UHD Blu-ray is shot at 24fps, which requires much less bandwidth.) Why do we need a new HDMI version with all that extra capacity? Think of it as an investment in the future: HDMI 2.1 is designed to support forthcoming features like 8K resolution and 120fps frame rates. It also supports Dynamic HDR (something that the Dolby Vision format, which works with current HDMI formats, does as well), variable screen refresh rates for gaming, and enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC), which will enable streaming of object-based surround sound formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X from a TV to a receiver. Here’s my take on the situation: HDMI 2.1 is going to make interesting stuff possible, but much of that is still several years out. In the meantime, you could be enjoying Ultra HD movies with high dynamic range in both the HDR10 and Dolby Vision formats, both of which are supported on LG’s new OLED models, and by new Ultra HD Blu-ray players like Oppo’s UDP-203 (pending a forthcoming firmware update). As for updating current HDMI 2.0a gear to support specific HDMI 2.1 features such as eARC and Dynamic HDR, that’s something that HDMI Licensing says will “depend on manufacturer implementation.” In other words, it’s possible, but I wouldn’t count on it.
The 10 Best Soundbars to Buy Right Now
Rob Sabin | Dec 11, 2014
Home theater enthusiasts know that when it comes to performance there is no real substitute for an AV receiver connected to discrete speakers spread around the room. But soundbars, those popular standalone TV speaker systems, have been getting better and better with each passing year, and some very respectable options have been turning up in the premium category. Here’s our current list of the best you can buy, with recommendations under $500, from $500 to $1,000, and above $1,000. For the full review (where available), click on the title of each product. —Rob Sabin
Sonos Move Portable Wireless Speaker Review
Leslie Shapiro | Oct 29, 2019
Performance Features Ergonomics Value PRICE $399 AT A GLANCE Plus Fabulous sound quality Replaceable battery Supports Alexa and Google Assistant Convenient charging base Minus Mono playback Audio input limited to wireless No phone capability THE VERDICT The waterproof/dustproof Move is one of the best-sounding and full-featured portables available. It may just be my new favorite speaker. Sonos is no stranger to compact speakers that play without wires, but the new Move ($399) is the first truly portable, battery powered model to come from the company. The Move's connectivity options let you tote it around the house and even outside when using Wi-Fi; beyond that, as long as it's charged up, you can take it anywhere and stream music via Bluetooth. The Move comes with a dedicated (and dare we say, stylish) charging base that eliminates fumbling around with connecting cables, and it can also be charged via USB-C (cable not included).
Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wireless Surround Speaker System Review
Thomas J. Norton | Oct 30, 2019
Speakers Performance Build Quality Ergonomics Value Subwoofer Performance Features Build Quality Value PRICE $3,100 AT A GLANCE Plus Open, detailed sound Excellent dialogue intelligibility Flex can be configured as wireless surround speaker Minus Some ergonomics issues Inconsistent system stability THE VERDICT The B&W Formation system performs admirably in a number of respects. But unreliable stability, limited processing features, and no HDMI input make it a less-than-ideal option for 5.1 surround sound. Blame it on Sonos. In the early 2000s, at what was then the Los Angeles headquarters of the Stereophile Guide to Home Theater, we were visited by a gentleman from that then largely unknown company who had a product he was eager to promote: a wireless speaker in a single, relatively compact box. I politely declined. It wasn't a good fit for our publication at the time, but I should have at least asked him about stock options!
How To Buy An Ultra HDTV
Al Griffin | Dec 21, 2016
If you’re considering buying a new TV, you can be forgiven for having questions, possibly many of them. Several big-screen TV technologies—Ultra HDTV, high dynamic range (HDR), OLED—have been introduced over the past few years. At the same time, some older ones, including 3D and plasma, have faded from prominence. There have also been changes on the connectivity front, with new versions of the HDMI standard added to sets to accommodate new, higher-bandwidth signal formats. The good news is that changes in TV tech have settled down to a degree, making buying a set a relatively safe bet today. The number of display types has been effectively reduced to two, LCD and OLED, and many new Ultra HDTV models are now compatible with HDR. Also, virtually all sets that were introduced in 2016 sport at least one HDMI 2.0a input—the latest version—along with the necessary copy protection to enable viewing new formats like Ultra HD Blu-ray. LCD or OLED? The most common TV display technology, one that’s offered by all manufacturers large and small, is LCD. The main benefit to LCD is light output: Picture brightness can be cranked high enough to accommodate situations such as watching sports in a well-lit room. At the same time, many high-end LCD TVs feature backlight modulation technology, which lets them achieve the deep black levels and high contrast ratios that are favorable for watching movies. Another LCD benefit is cost, with 50-inch Ultra HD models currently selling for as low as $500. Big-screen LCD TVs create images using an array of LEDs that beam light through a grid of liquidcrystal pixels, with the liquid-crystal material alternately twisting and untwisting to regulate the amount of light passing through. There are two main LED backlight types: edge-lit and full-array. Edge-lit LCD models employ LEDs positioned on the sides or the top and bottom of the panel; they emit light into a light guide/diffuser that serves to illuminate the entire display. Full-array models, in contrast, use a grid of LEDs distributed across the back of the LCD panel. In both cases, local dimming can be employed to alternately dim, shut off, or boost the brightness of specific LED “zones” (a grouping of LEDs), dynamically enhancing contrast based on image content. Full-array models, however, provide greater precision than edge-lit ones in this regard, since the LEDs distributed across the screen allow for specific areas in the image to be addressed—right down to the individual LED level, in the case of Sony’s new Z9D series sets (see review on page 36 of this issue). While LCD combines the benefits of high brightness and high contrast potential, and does so at a reasonable cost, the technology has some downsides. The main one is the limited viewing angle from models that use a Vertical Alignment (VA) display panel—a type found in the majority of high-end LCD sets. Models using an in-plane switching (IPS) display panel provide a significantly wider viewing angle, though they can’t achieve the same depth of black and thus have more limited contrast compared with VA displays. Apart from being almost impossibly thin, OLED TVs are best known for being able to display deep, rich blacks. There’s a solid technical reason for that. Unlike LCD, OLED doesn’t require a backlight; the pixels in the display contain an electroluminescent organic material that generates light in response to electric current. Since each pixel is its own light source, it can be individually switched off to create pure black or modulated to create fine gradations of gray. Because OLED TVs don’t require a backlight, they also have a wide viewing angle, with pictures retaining uniform contrast and color from any vantage point in the room. At present, the main downside to OLED is cost: 55-inch Ultra HD models from LG, the only manufacturer currently selling OLED TVs, start at $2,800. As far as video performance goes, OLED sets also have limited brightness compared with the best LCD displays, which can deliver about twice as much light output. OLED models introduced in 2016, however, are showing improvements in brightness, and the technology’s native ability to achieve deep blacks results in contrast ratios on par with or even greater than that of LCD models, even when displaying HDR content. Another potential downside of OLED—one that has been exaggerated by LCD manufacturers—is the possibility of image retention when the TV is displaying, for extended periods of time, static images like the graphics around a news crawl or the frame of a video game. While instances of burn-in are rare, it’s enough of an issue that OLED TV manuals warn against “image sticking.” Image retention is not an issue with LCD TVs. Questions surrounding the life span of the organic material used for OLED pixels have dogged the technology since its inception. LG’s implementation, however, uses white OLED subpixels with red, green, and blue filters to create full-color images—a process that, the company claims, increases longevity and ensures that all the pixels age at precisely the same rate. How long can an OLED set last? According to LG, their OLEDs now have a life span of 100,000 hours, which equates to decades of viewing. One thing LCD and OLED have in common is that both display types are available in a curved-screen format. While TV manufacturers claim that the curve provides a more “immersive” experience, with most screen sizes you would need to sit uncomfortably close to the TV to get any such benefit. Otherwise, there’s no performance advantage to a curved-screen TV; opting for one over a flat-screen model is purely a matter of style. Ultra Is Better HDTV is still the standard in use by TV broadcasters and cable/satellite providers, but Ultra HDTV represents the future for both traditional program providers and streaming services. A key difference between HDTV and UHDTV is resolution: Whereas HDTV provides 1920 horizontal x 1080 vertical pixels, UHDTV offers 3840 x 2160. That’s more than 8 million pixels—four times as many. You’ll sometimes see Ultra HD referred to as “4K.” Technically, Ultra HD has a few less pixels than the 4K-resolution displays employed for commercial digital cinema, but for the purpose of shopping for a consumer TV, the terms are essentially interchangeable. Just one short year ago, there wasn’t enough Ultra HD content to justify the purchase of an Ultra HD set over a regular HD set. Now the situation has changed, mostly due to the arrival of Ultra HD Blu-ray players and discs, but also because of a sharp increase in content on streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, and Vudu. So there’s no reason other than budgetary concerns to opt for a regular HDTV over an Ultra HDTV. Another difference between HDTV and UHDTV is the potential for the latter to display images with 10-bit color. This provides a significant boost in the amount of possible colors that a set can display: 1 billion versus the 16.8 million on regular HDTVs, which employ 8-bit color. The UHDTV standard’s wide color gamut means that many sets now come close to matching the P3 color space used in professional digital cinemas. The benefits are twofold. First, the P3 color pool includes some color we’ve not been able to accurately display before with the old Rec. 709 HDTV standard, notably deep red. Second, more colors means finer gradations within objects or areas of the image and therefore fewer noticeable banding artifacts. High Dynamic Range Along with displaying enhanced color, many new Ultra HDTVs have the ability to handle high dynamic range (HDR). When a movie or TV show is mastered for HDR, it includes metadata that instructs the TV to extend its maximum contrast capability so that both highlights and shadows show greater intensity and wider gradations of detail. Sources of HDR content include Ultra HD Blu-rays and the same streaming services that currently offer Ultra HD content.
Car Tech Crescendo
Bob Ankosko | Aug 27, 2014
The Pace of Change Shows No Signs of Letting Up. The road to driverless cars is lined with technology we couldn’t have imagined a few years ago. From auto parking and rich head-up displays to cutting-edge “infotainment” features, dashboard tech is right up there with horsepower/performance, handling, and other traditional car buying metrics. And the pace of change we’ve seen over the past decade shows no signs of letting up—if anything, it’s accelerating now that technology has become an integral part of the shopping experience. If you haven’t been to a new-car showroom in a few years, you might be surprised by the level of technology offered in today’s cars. Here’s a peek at some of what you’ve been missing. Lane departure warning – A forward-facing camera “looks” ahead and triggers alerts (audible, visual, and steering-wheel vibration) if you drift out of your lane. With some systems, the driver can choose between an alert-only mode and an aid mode that applies torque to the steering to keep the car in its lane. Automated parking – You’ve probably seen the TV ads. Front- and rear-mounted sensors detect objects around the vehicle and guide it into a parking space while you sit back and watch the steering wheel spin. Parallel parking was never so easy. You have to wonder if any kids have tried to engage this feature while taking their driving test… Ford has even demonstrated a system that can be controlled from outside of the vehicle (video below). Adaptive cruise control – Forward sensors help the driver maintain a safe distance from the vehicle ahead. If you get too close, the system triggers a warning and automatically adjusts your speed. Blind spot alert – Rear-corner-mounted and side-looking radar sensors detect vehicles in your blind spot and issue an alert (Ford illuminates an indicator in the rearview mirror). Curve control – Sensors reduce engine torque and apply braking if you enter into a curve too quickly. Collision avoidance – Radar, laser beams, and cameras (or some combination thereof) scan the road ahead and issue an alert if you’re approaching the vehicle in front of you at an unsafe speed; the system also readies the brakes for stopping and, in some cases, actually applies the brakes as shown in the illustration from Volvo below. Rear-view camera – When you put the vehicle in reverse, a rear-mounted camera turns on and commandeers the dashboard screen so you can see what’s behind you; guide lines are superimposed to help you avoid scraping your nice aluminum wheels on the curb or side-swiping the car you’re parking next to. And then there’s the fun infotainment stuff that’s finding its way into a growing number of cars… Bluetooth connectivity – Remember how cool it was the first time you were able to wirelessly connect your phone to your car and make and receive calls without touching your phone? It’s now possible to stream favorite tunes stored on your phone through the car’s sound system without having to mess with cables. Smartphone integration – Your phone is loaded with cherry-picked apps you use every day, so the ability to integrate it with the car’s dashboard is one of the most practical features an automaker can offer. It puts a wealth of options safely at your fingertips, allowing you to get movie times, track down the nearest Starbucks, you-name-it without having to reach for your phone—but you have to make sure your phone is compatible with the car. Mobile Wi-Fi and music streaming – Having a car that can conjure a Wi-Fi hotspot is great for passengers, drivers who work from the road, and anyone who enjoys online music services like Pandora, which is available as a dashboard app on more than 100 car models from the major automakers. Text-to-voice/voice-to-text – Texting while driving tops the list of deadly driver distractions and should be avoided like a gaping pothole. That’s why dashboard tech that converts text and e-mail messages to speech and reads them aloud through the car’s speaker system might be the most important safety feature an automaker can offer. The driver can stay connected without having to touch the phone and respond via voice commands, preprogrammed messages (Lexus offers 15), or, in the case of BMW, a natural language dictation interface from Nuance called DragonDrive! Messaging. Again, you have to make sure your phone is compatible with the car. Of course, some automakers also offer voice control for controlling dashboard features, and Mercedes-Benz has a Nuance-powered news app that reads stories to the driver. Dashboard tech is constantly evolving with a number of fascinating possibilities on the horizon. Here’s a quick look at a few of them. Augmented reality– Google Glass-like functionality will play a key role in head-up display technology as we move into the future. In addition to presiding over JBL, Harman Kardon, Infinity, and other venerable brands, Harman supplies audio and infotainment technology to nine of the 15 largest automakers and is always working on next-gen dashboard technology. One example is a high-resolution interactive head-up display (HUD) that combines navigation data with street data from a front camera to present an “augmented reality” view that overlays the navigation arrow directly on the road ahead. Using simple hand gestures, the driver can wave alternate travel routes, weather reports, and all kinds of other information into and out of his line of sight.
Tech Trends 2012: Siri-ously Kinect-ed
Geoffrey Morrison | Mar 20, 2012
While the hype at CES this year was all about OLED, 4K, and bigger TVs, a quiet revolution began in the interaction department. LG and Samsung both announced new ways to control TVs using facial and speech recognition, or even just a wave of your hand.
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Photo Lighting Tips: Here Are Our Favorite Lighting Tools and Techniques
| Sep 27, 2017
You can set up a home studio in any space, such as my 11x15-foot basement room (with that odd angle cut out of the wall) that gives a dedicated space to work and store my lighting gear—lights, reflectors, scrims, and backgrounds. It’s where I photographed Pamela Simpson in a kind of pseudo low-key image for a lighting review that appeared in this magazine. © Joe Farace “Photography is all about light, composition and, most importantly, emotion.”—Larry Wilder “Light is light,” as a wise photographer once told me, and the equipment you use to illuminate a subject may be less important than how you use it. That’s because the most important characteristics of any light source are quantity, quality, color, and direction. The particular hardware you use can also be influenced by where a portrait is made—on location or in the studio—but these four factors still have an impact on creating the final image. It’s obvious that LED studio lighting as a trend isn’t going away anytime soon but just because something is trendy doesn’t mean there aren’t useful alternatives. This month I’ll introduce you to a few, including a surprisingly inexpensive speedlight. LEDs: The Current Trend We know all the cool kids are using LED lighting and why not. It’s continuous, cool in temperature, and ideal for hybrid photography. All the LED lights I’ve tested claim to be daylight balanced but we know daylight comes in all kinds of colors. Tip: To check color, use a pocket diffraction grating spectroscope to analyze the quality of LED lights. These are used by rock and gem collectors and are available on eBay for $30 to $50. Rotolight’s AEOS ($995) is a thin—less than an inch—LED light designed for video and portraits and features a combination of continuous and flash lighting. The AEOS produces a color temperature adjustable flash at 200 percent of the maximum continuous light output with, get this, no recycle time. Continuous light output is 5750 lux at three feet and can run for three hours at full power on a single 95W battery ($299). The AEOS has built-in aluminum handles, allowing you or an assistant to hold the light at angles not possible with light stands. Instead of a traditional yoke, the AEOS has a solid aluminum ball head that provides 360-degree rotation and 200 degrees of tilt. Like the Anova I previously tested, it has True Aperture Dimming that calculates and displays apertures for subjects at a given distance, eliminating the need to meter. The AEOS also uses Rotolight’s AccuColor LED phosphor technology to deliver a CRI of 96+. Who’s It For: Location, studio, and hybrid shooters looking for a powerful continuous color correct light source that also delivers flash capability. Why I Like It: I’ve been using Rotolights since their RL48-B and have always been impressed by their engineering and build quality. LEDs in a Small Package One of the laws of lighting is that the bigger a light source is, the softer it is. Conversely, the smaller it is, the harder it is. However, real-world considerations sometimes dictate that a small source is the best choice to add a missing bit of light. Here are two cases in point. PRL Lighting’s Lustra 50 ($425) provides continuous, full-spectrum lighting flicker-free at 1200 lux at five feet with a 100 percent dimming range. Each light comes with a 12V power supply and incorporates circuitry for portable power via a Sony NPF L-series 7.2V DV battery ($123). Options include the Lustra 50 SofBox ($70) and the Lustra 50 FilterSet ($40), which includes three filters that can be used to improve color rendition. Since high ISO performance continues to improve with each new camera model, using high ISOs with small LEDs doesn’t create the noise problems of the past. Savage’s Luminous Pro LED light ($107) is designed for photographers and videographers and uses 204 LEDs to produce 1440 lumens with a color temperature that’s adjustable from 3200K to 5400K. The included Sony battery provides a three-hour runtime at full power or you can use the 4.5-foot AC adapter power cord. Multiple LED lights can be connected with the optional Multi-Light Connector Two-Pack ($8) that connects several lights and can pivot up to 15 degrees to produce wraparound light. I recently received a Luminous Pro LED for testing and will be featuring it in an upcoming post on my blog. Who’s It For: Still photographers and hybrid shooters who do lots of location work may find that one of these compact LED lights is what they need to solve tricky lighting problems. Why I Like It: When it comes to gear, I prefer smaller to larger. The Luminous Pro LED weighs less than two pounds, while the Lustra 50 is 15 ounces. The Affordable Fluorescent Lighting Option The trend of using continuous light sources for portraiture continues unabated with the popularity of fluorescent lighting kits like Flashpoint’s 2-Light SoftBox Kit ($84). Using fluorescent lighting to photograph people has a negative connotation to some but RGB spikes from fluorescent light closely match the receptive spikes of imaging chips. When comparing it to tungsten lighting, which is 93 percent heat and 7 percent red light, fluorescent easily comes out the winner. With no speed rings to align with rods, Flashpoint’s 20x27-inch softboxes are easy to assemble and use 70W fluorescent bulbs rated at 5500 degrees Kelvin, producing 350 watts of output (Flashpoint claims). The kit includes 6.5-foot light stands and a carrying case. Who’s It For: Beginning photographers who want to shoot portraits without breaking their piggy banks. Why I Like It: The kit is affordable, simple to use, and you can use your camera’s built-in meter to determine exposure. The Classics: Monolights The original AlienBees monolights are compact, colorful, and built to high standards. Even though Paul C. Buff is no longer with us, the company hasn’t lost his commitment to excellence. The DigiBee is a digitally controlled monolight available in two versions: the 160 Ws DB400 ($309) and the 320 Ws DB800 ($349). Each unit has an LED modeling lamp and offers consistent output, short flash duration (1/1450 or 1/975 second), and fast recycle (0.5 or 1 second). The polycarbonate housing is fan cooled and available in red, black, blue, and a decidedly alien green. The DigiBee has a port for a CyberSync CSXCV Transceiver ($29), allowing the unit to be triggered and/or controlled wirelessly by the company’s wireless system. A digital interface adds visual and/or audible recycle indication, slave eye on/off settings, and four modeling light modes (on full, off, flash power tracking, and independent adjustment). The DigiBee is compatible with Buff’s line of reflectors, softboxes, umbrellas, and light stands. It has a 15-foot AC power cord or can be used with the company’s Vagabond portable battery systems. Who’s It For: Photographers looking for a quality monolight at an affordable price from a company with customer service that rivals Nordstrom. Why I Like It: I’ve used Buff monolights since the original “paint can” White Lightning monolight and they’ve never let me down. Right now a red DigiBee is the workhorse monolight in my home studio. If you’re looking for something more sophisticated, Buff’s Einstein ($499) has a nine-stop range from full (640 Ws) to 1/256 power that’s adjustable in 1/10-stop increments. In Constant Color mode, the color temperature is constant at 5600 degrees K (+/- 50 degrees K) at any power setting. In Action mode, the flash duration is minimized with color consistency secondary to freeze motion. When shooting action, the power reduces to 1/10 power (64 Ws) to allow bursts of 5 to 10 frames per second. The Einstein includes a built-in slave and may also be wirelessly fired from the optional CyberSync CSXCV Transceiver, Cyber Commander ($179), or third-party radio triggers. An internal fan with internal heat sensors and circuit fault detection assure reliability and a built-in microSD card is used for firmware upgrades. Who’s It For: Budget-minded photographers who would rather pay for a quality product instead of lights carrying a big name and a big price tag. Why I Like It: Buff’s Einstein is an alternative to fancy studio monolights that cost four times as much. Speeding the Light I am of two minds about speedlights: I see their versatility and ability to provide a TTL lighting solution but they seem needlessly complicated and expensive. A Nikon SB-5000 AF Speedlight costs $596, while a Canon 600EX II-RT Speedlite is $579. Yet virtuosos, like my friend Barry Staver, make speedlights do some amazing tricks. It was this same photographer who introduced me to Yongnuo Speedlites that, despite the exotic name, are available from Shutterbug advertisers. While the company makes TTL models for Canon and Nikon, the manual YN560-IV Speedlite ($69) has both a 2.4 GHz wireless radio transmitter and receiver and is capable of triggering other flashes from up to 328 feet away as well as being triggered by the RF-603 wireless transmitters ($29) or controlled with the YN560-TX Manual Flash Controller ($39). The YN560-IV has a guide number of 190 at ISO 100 and 105mm, and its output can be adjusted from 1/1 to 1/128 power in 1/3 and 1/2 EV steps. And yes, those prices are not missing any digits. Who’s It For: Any photographer on a budget who wants to use speedlights and isn’t afraid of a little math. Why I Like It: On my to-buy list because of their simplicity, affordability, and versatility. The FourSquare family of light banks is designed for use with speedlights and includes 20-, 30-, and 48-inch models. Measuring 48-inches square at the front screen, the FSK48 ($319) is a big light bank that’s perfect for shooting portraits, either full length or headshots. The FSK48 is only 20-inches deep so it can fit in tight places and breaks down to a mere 20-inches long. A radio receiver can be mounted to the outside of the box or you can add a Mini Mount ($11) or Swivel ($21) to mount a RadioPopper or PocketWizard inside the softbox. The kit includes the FourSquare Block that’s made from rugged T6061 hard anodized aluminum and lets you use any combination of up to four speedlights as well as a variety of small strobes or LEDs. Who’s It For: Speedlight-using photographers who want to improve the quality of their lighting. Why I Like It: One of my goals is to combine a FourSquare 48-inch light bank with Yongnuo Speedlites. Look for my tests in an upcoming blog post. Light Modifiers: A Lighting Donut? Westcott’s Omega Reflector is available in two versions: the 38x45-inch Omega Reflector Kit ($99) features a 2:3 aspect ratio that has a removable center section with five interchangeable surfaces, including white, silver, sunlight, black, and one-stop diffusion. The shoot-through is handy for outdoor portraits, where sun bouncing off the panel would provide fill light with its tone depending on the color of the reflector used. The 40-inch Omega Reflector 360 ($129) accomplishes a similar goal in a more transportable and round form factor. At its center is a one-stop diffuser along with a reversible sleeve with silver/white and sunlight/black surfaces that slip over the diffusion. The center of the disc is removable via touch fasteners to leave a circular opening which, Westcott claims, turns the Omega into a large ringlight. Who’s It For: Wedding and high school senior photographers will love either or both of these reflectors. Why I Like It: I really like the flexibility and versatility of the 40-inch Omega Reflector 360; I need to buy one of them. Joe Farace is the author of Studio Lighting Anywhere and he uses different kinds of lighting equipment to shoot his portraits, glamour and boudoir photographs, including LED, electronic flash as well as speedlights. Information about the specific gear that he uses to create images for Shutterbug and his personal photography can be found at joefaraceblogs.com and mirrorlessphototips.com.
Holiday Home Theater Survival Tips
Mark Fleischmann | Nov 3, 2017
It's been more than a decade since I blogged on holiday survival tips. The advice I gave then (in the form of a diablog, amusingly enough) is evergreen: You should save all packaging and boxes, remember how to repack intricately packed products, save store and credit card receipts, keep on top of rebates, start an electronic junk drawer if you don't already have one, label power adapters, file manuals and other product docs, prepare to mentor the receipient, write the serial number on the manual, and be nice to customer support people, should you need one. All that is still good advice. But I missed a few things: Keep batteries stocked up: Don't wait for your remote controls to die at inopportune moments. Keep supplies of those pesky AA, AAA, nine-volt, button batteries, etc. Because running out would be a drag. Buy a battery tester: How can you keep track of which remotes and other devices are about to run out of battery power? For this you need a battery tester. Get one of these. It handles AA, AAA, C, D, nine-volt, and button batteries. Trust me, this is a purchase you will never regret. Replace old batteries: If the home theater system is going to get a workout this holiday season, go through all the remote controls with your new battery tester and weed out batteries that are about to fail. Cheap batteries that came with products bought a few years back are prime candidates for replacement. Don't wait till they start leaking battery acid into your remotes. If you do find an acid-damaged remote, use a cotton swab with isopropyl alcohol to remove the chemical residue and try not to touch it with your fingers. Clean the remotes: A guest should not pick up a remote control to find herself holding a filthy, disgusting germ magnet caked with with heaven knows what. Use a disinfectant wet wipe to carefully clean remotes. While you're at it, when's the last time you dusted the TV and the rack? Stock up on microwave popcorn: But beware of transfats and carcinogenic chemicals added to packaging. Here's a relatively healthy list. I haven't researched this in depth, so popcorn epicures are invited to nominate more healthy picks below. It's the one emergency snack you can depend on. (Along with fruitcake. I like fruitcake. Is that a crime?) Get your Netflix ducks in a row: Don't depend on streaming to keep your guests entertained, especially if your internet connection is dodgy. For holidays you need fail-safe entertainment. Work on your disc queue so that you'll have a few popular items around for the holidays. Ask guests for requests to keep them happy. For the perennials, you might consider replacing old DVDs (and definitely videocassettes) with sparkling new Blu-ray discs. Audio Editor Mark Fleischmann is the author of Practical Home Theater: A Guide to Video and Audio Systems, available in both print and Kindle editions.