Hello everyone!
I hope the summer is “rolling” nicely for everyone, I am still waiting for my holidays (around 2 weeks far away) to relax for the madness of the big city and the loads of work I find everyday in my office.
But enough with desks work and big cities, we are here to discuss art, photography and all those nifty little things that make our everyday life more enjoyable!
So first of all let me share my joy with you! It’s been nearly 2 months since I stopped smoking and I already feel like I never felt before! I used to be a heavy smoker for more than 15 years and I made the decision to quit smoking 7 weeks ago, it was not that hard (although I had times that it was hard) it was more a mind decision! If you are thinking of making such a move just go on don’t be afraid of anything! And more importantly don’t even think you will be missing something!
I would like also to exploit the opportunity of this journal and inform you regarding Hitech filters (since a lot of people are asking my opinion on them lately); Hitech filters are superb in terms of quality! I use the 100mm x 150mm system (which is the biggest) of theirs and they are truly wonderful, I have not had a single problem with casts or whatsoever with them and I believe in their quality they are similar to the Lee ones.
Support of the company is fantastic! Whatever I have asked them I never had any problems! When I initially received my filters there was a small scratch on the 2stop GND, rather small and probably not affecting picture quality, but I felt I had to mention it to them, I received an immediate answer from them stating that they would send me a replacement, and so they did!
Few weeks later I found out that the 3 stop GND filter was just a tad bigger from the filter holder which resulted minor scratching on the sidewalls of the filter when inserting or removing it. The scratching again had no effect on the filter since it was on the area of the filter which is hidden inside the filter holder, I again contacted them, and they again send me a replacement! Wonderful people they never asked me questions, they never requested a return of the products, they just did whatever they could to resolve my problems. But you say are you satisfied with the filters? Then why the problems? Well I believe the minor scratch could be possibly due to the transportation of it, or maybe a small defect when they produced the filter, the good ones had no single problems! What about the 3stop? Scratching on the filter system? Well the filter as a filter was perfect, but it seems just a few mm’s bigger on the sides, I had not problem since the company replaced it immediately, and now I also have a spare 3stop GND which I can use on more severe conditions (and not worrying that much that it will be scratched). The only thing I would change on the Hitech filters is the packing of them, they are packaged on a plastic wrap which is scratch resistant though but it feels a bit cheap, a more hard cased housing would be probably be better, but that’s again something easily fixed with a 3rd party filter housing (which can be found rather cheap around the Internet).
Finally I was looking for a replacement of my Computrekker backpack, I love this backpack since it allows me to carry nearly all my equipment (along with my tripod attached externally to it) but it felt heavy and not that operational when shooting close to my home or whenever I wanted movement freedom or quick access to my equipment. I started looking for an additional bag I could carry with me which would allow me to carry my camera, my filters, my filter adaptor, the polarizer case (for swapping between the GND holder and the polarizer) and most important that I would be able to have quick access to filters or other stuff you make excessive use on field.
After searching I found the Lowepro Inverse 200AW belt pack, and I must say I am really happy with the decision to buy this! Firstly I was not looking for a replacement of the Computrekker but rather an addition to it, something I could carry along (whenever I was travelling for a few days away) and that I could use it with ease!
The Inverse is a wonderful; it feels small but yet again holds nearly all the necessary equipment for the field! It can be used either as a waist or as a shoulder bag! Or both (when carrying lots of stuff) and has an AW cover which protects the equipment in the case of rain!
I was able to fit inside it:
1) Canon 5D with the 17-40L attached (lens hood reversed)
2) My GND filters (100mm x 150mm, hard stop, 1,2,3 stops)
3) 3 additional batteries
4) Hitech 100mm filter holder + adaptor ring
5) Extra CF card
6) Cable release
7) Marumi glass filter + filter case
8) Microfiber lens cleaning cloth (for quick cleaning when necessary) + 1 small bottle of lens cleaning liquid.
9) Blower (I use it when shooting in windy and dusty environments, to blow off dust and particles from the filters or the camera body).
That’s all for a back which costs around 70 euros! And I believe it deserves every single penny!

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