Sunday, August 29, 2010

Quid Pro Quo



Sometimes, I plug.

Sometimes, they plug back.

It's not just a quid pro quo thing. It's also a courtesy thing.

For those who haven't read my ebook, Guerrilla Glamour, you might not know about some of the equipment I plugged in it. I'll admit, I didn't do a lot of plugging in the book. Leastwise, a lot of naming-gear-by-brand plugging. But I did plug some.

One of the guerrilla glamour brands I plugged is orbis™, the ring flash adapter.

That wasn't a typo, BTW. orbis™ doesn't capitalize their brand name. They also prefer seeing that trademark "™" thingie at the tail-end of their brand.

Must be a Kiwi thing. (orbis™ is a New Zealand company.)

I call orbis™ a "guerrilla glamour" brand because their product perfectly fits the criteria for "keep it simple stupid" guerrilla glam shooting: It's a cost effective alternative to traditional ring flash devices and -- and this is a big "and" -- it utilizes equipment most all of you already own. (That would be a speedlight.)

In their latest orbis™ newsletter, those nice, courteous, quid-pro-quoing New Zealanders gave my ebook a thoughtful, courteous plug! (Thanks, mates!) Check it out! In fact, you might want to sign up for their newsletter as it often includes great tips for shooting with an orbis™. (Good info if you have an orbis™. Some of it might even be helpful if you don't.)

I'll be reviewing the orbis™ ring flash adapter quite soon. As it happens, I just happen to have an orbis™ in my fat grubby fingers -- well, it's not in my fat grubby fingers this exact moment. I am keyboarding, after all -- but I am looking forward to putting the orbis™ through its paces. I have a cute model lined up for my orbis™ shoot. All we have to do is find a day and time both of us are free to take some pictures. Hopefully, that happens this coming week.

orbis™ also has a new product they're about to unveil: The frio™. (Again with the no capitalizing and the "™" thing.)

Frio, if you didn't know, means "cold" in Spanish. Who knew they speak Spanish in New Zealand? Definitely not me. But then, what do I know? About New Zealand, I mean.

Apparently, not as much as I thought.

The frio™, from orbis™, is a cold shoe adapter. A cold shoe adapter is a device that clamps to hot shoe accessories, e.g., to the foot of your flash or speedlight, allowing you to then attach it to something else... like a light stand.

There are cold shoe adapters already available in the marketplace. I'm guessing the frio™ is going to be somewhat different from what's already available. Like everyone else, I'll have to wait and see just how different. The orbis™ folks are saying they will be unveiling the frio™ in the next week or so. (They're being quite secretive about their frio™.)

BTW, if, like me, you're a Facebooker, you might want to check out the orbis™ Facebook page. Give it a "Like" why don'tcha?

While you're at it, Facebooking I mean, check out my Pretty Girl Shooter Facebook page. Give it a "Like" as well! (If you haven't already.) The more the merrier, right?

The pretty girl pool shark at the top is Devin. I'll bet Minnesota Fats never played against a pool hustler like Devin. Game of Eight Ball anyone?

4 comments:

Ashley Karyl said...

Hi Jimmy,
I was thinking about getting one of these orbis units after reading your blog post here. Can you tell me if you have ever experienced any problems with vignetting using wide angle lenses? I am looking forward to your review.

Thanks

Ashley

jimmyd said...

@Ashley:

I have the unit but, for a variety of reasons, haven't yet tried it out. That's why I've avoided reviewing it other than to mention it and that it, conceptually, seems a great product that can be used to great effect, especially when time and other factors are in play. I plan to shoot with it, a couple of times, in fact, in the next week or so and will be reviewing the product after doing so.

Ashley Karyl said...

OK thanks Jimmy, I look forward to hearing about your progress with the orbis. I should be going to Prague soon for a shoot and the idea of travelling light appeals greatly, especially if I can get the orbis to cover various bases.

Chris.h. said...

Jimmy,I have had my orbis for nearly a year and its a fantastic tool to use for glamour.
I use it with a 50mm,24-70mm and my 10-20mm depending on what Im shooting...it works well with everything,You will love it.