# Useless or absurd accessories



## Don Haines (Dec 9, 2013)

What have you seen for idiotic accessories or for items that were just not thought out....

I saw a car window mount tripod head..... You roll down the window, slip it over the edge of the glass, and mount your camera or spotting scope to it. This one was marketed as XXXXXX window mount, real tree camouflage. Why would you need camouflage? With a couple of square inches of camouflage the critters will not be able to see you? That somehow they will miss the car, the big white lens, and the person behind it, but it is the tiny mount that matters?

Sort of like camouflage flashlights


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## Marsu42 (Dec 9, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> With a couple of square inches of camouflage the critters will not be able to see you?


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## Lenscracker (Dec 9, 2013)

A dedicated photographer will have his entire automobile painted in camouflage to match the tripod.


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## mackguyver (Dec 9, 2013)

Useless or absurd accessories - how about every iPhone photo accessory 

Not to mention every circular split ND filter - unless you like the horizon dead center in every shot!

The most useless accessory I have spent my money on is a memory card wallet. I have NEVER used it. I'm glad it was cheap.

The most absurd accessory I own is have is my Better Beamer. Yes, it works great, but that fresnel lens burns a hole in equipment in record time, especially in the Florida sun. It has it's uses, but I only use it about 0.01% of time, even though I carry it with me 80% of the time.


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## privatebydesign (Dec 9, 2013)

mackguyver said:


> The most useless accessory I have spent my money on is a memory card wallet. I have NEVER used it. I'm glad it was cheap.



If it is a fabric one cut out the seam between the pockets and use it as a gel holder. First seen from Joe MacNally and subsequently made by ThinkTank.

http://www.joemcnally.com/blog/2010/10/11/staying-organized/

http://www.thinktankphoto.com/products/strobegelwallet.aspx?code=AP-190


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 9, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> What have you seen for idiotic accessories or for items that were just not thought out....


Where do I begin ;D ... I bought lots of idiotic accessories that I'm too embarrassed to mention here :-[
But here is one that I'm not too embarrassed to mention: *cheap sh!t tripods* ... I didn't learn my lesson the first time, so bought another and another and another (total 6 crap tripods) 4 of which are lying around, broken, in dust in some deep corner of the garage.  ... why do I keep them around you ask? well, once in a while I get possessed by the DIY demon and watch some youtube video, where some guy turns his broken tripod into a "turbo" stabilizer rig or a crane or a jib and what not ... and it looks so freaking simple ... so I think, yeah, I can do that! ... so I try only to give up after a little while ... this struggle continues, hoping to hit jackpot one day ;D


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Dec 9, 2013)

I love my Better Beamer, but generally would not use it in the sun, rather on a dull day to light things up far away. If there is a shadow in bright sun that needs to be illuminated, certainly, there could be a issue if you stand in the sun and let it cast a beam on your flash unit.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Dec 9, 2013)

I find the neck strap that comes with most brands of cameras to be useless and absurd, its only good for giving my neck some serious pains. apparently Canon understands this, since they sent me a good neck strap as a CPS member.


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## Don Haines (Dec 9, 2013)

I bought a micro camera to clip onto Fluffy's collar to see what she did all day. The camera was set to take an image every 10 seconds. I managed to capture 9 hours of sleeping cat.

I tried it on her outside. She came back without camera and collar. I never found it.


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## emag (Dec 9, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> I managed to capture 9 hours of sleeping cat.



That would not be the worst thing I've seen posted on YouTube..........by a long shot.


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## mackguyver (Dec 9, 2013)

emag said:


> Don Haines said:
> 
> 
> > I managed to capture 9 hours of sleeping cat.
> ...


Andy Warhol made a movie of some guy sleeping for 5+ hours - maybe you can submit your movie to Sundance


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## BPLOL (Dec 9, 2013)

White lens hood for my 70-200 f4 L IS.

I love it.


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## Sporgon (Dec 9, 2013)

emag said:


> Don Haines said:
> 
> 
> > I managed to capture 9 hours of sleeping cat.
> ...



Reminds me of an old Garfield ( the cat) cartoon .

Garfield wakes up and gives a big stretch. "hmm, sleeping makes me hungry".

Eats his food. Gives big yawn. "hmm, eating makes me sleepy"

Curls back up in his bed. "life is good".


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## docholliday (Dec 9, 2013)

...and nothing like a camo first aid kit. Oops...I dropped it somewher...aaaaah. Camo kit + camo'd users = lost dead body that'll probably never be found.


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## YuengLinger (Dec 9, 2013)

Mini-softbox for on camera flash...

Tied with the "tripod" that has flexible legs and can supposedly wrap around a fence post or branch. (The brand name has something to do with primates.) Yeah, it might work with a smartphone attached, but not a dSLR of any size or brand.

Both of these things are in my private museum of stupidity--a box in our garage.


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## surapon (Dec 9, 2013)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> I find the neck strap that comes with most brands of cameras to be useless and absurd, its only good for giving my neck some serious pains. apparently Canon understands this, since they sent me a good neck strap as a CPS member.



Yes, " apparently Canon understands this, since they sent me a good neck strap as a CPS member. "
+ 1 for me too, Dear Mr. Mt Spokane.
But Now, CPS start to be a cheapo since last year, They not send that great Neck strap to us any more.
Surapon


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## Marsu42 (Dec 9, 2013)

YuengLinger said:


> Tied with the "tripod" that has flexible legs and can supposedly wrap around a fence post or branch.



I really hope I am not the only one who fell for that, this thing can barely carry its own weight, but it really reminded me of the "buy cheap, pay double" saying :-\


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## Don Haines (Dec 9, 2013)

Marsu42 said:


> YuengLinger said:
> 
> 
> > Tied with the "tripod" that has flexible legs and can supposedly wrap around a fence post or branch.
> ...


I tried one in store and could not get it to hold onto anything.....


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## Marsu42 (Dec 9, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> Marsu42 said:
> 
> 
> > YuengLinger said:
> ...



With the model I know they're smart enough to put it into a tight casing so you have to buy it before realizing that it's no good ... and in addition to that I ordered mine online, not a large loss of $$$ mind you but that's probably just what keeps them going.


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## Skatol (Dec 9, 2013)

Marsu42 said:


> Don Haines said:
> 
> 
> > Marsu42 said:
> ...



Love mine. Holds my 5diii with grip and 16-35/24-105/100 IS with no problems. Much easier to hike with than a full size tripod.


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## rs (Dec 9, 2013)

Skatol said:


> Marsu42 said:
> 
> 
> > Don Haines said:
> ...


It largely depends on the model. I had the SLR Zoom version for some time - it worked within its limits. However, one of the plastic cups broke (its quite a common problem), and from then on, not only wouldn't it grip onto anything, but it couldn't even hold its own weight up when using it as a mini tripod. I now have the focus version (with metal cups in the legs), and it is good for what it is. However, if wrapping around something to mount a camera for any long duration (more than a few minutes), I'd only consider using it in combination with a good buckle strap tightly wrapped around the legs.

My preferred long term mount of choice is the Manfrotto Magic Arm with a Super Clamp.


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## eml58 (Dec 9, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> I bought a micro camera to clip onto Fluffy's collar to see what she did all day. The camera was set to take an image every 10 seconds. I managed to capture 9 hours of sleeping cat.
> 
> I tried it on her outside. She came back without camera and collar. I never found it.



That's too Funny Man, I'm still laughing, not sure which part was the best, the sleeping Cat (there's a surprise ;D ) or the missing Camera & Collar, nice neighbourhood.


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## pwp (Dec 10, 2013)

It's interesting that after 21 posts, there have been precious few genuinely absurd accessories stories. Many of us may have made dumb purchases along the lines of the cheap tripod folly, but what I'm reading is that most of us a actually reasonably savvy about what represents a genuinely useful addition to the kit.

Aren't we a smart bunch!

-pw


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## ninjapeps (Dec 10, 2013)

Lens hoods for UWA lenses? They've just never seemed to serve any purpose to me, especially since I mainly use hoods as added protection for my front elements.

If we're not restricted to photography gear, those supposed anti-radiation strips for cellphones. They're strips of plastic and metal pasted on a cellphone casing. How is that supposed to stop radiation?


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## cellomaster27 (Dec 10, 2013)

ND filters from China. Hong Kong to be exact. Didn't want to go for the expensive Lee or other good brands. Cheap filters from tiffen, vivitar.. Cheap macro filter set. Slew of third party lens hoods.. I guess we live and learn, usually the long route. ;D 

Oh! Can I include camera bags?? But then maybe that's more preference based.. :


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## tcmatthews (Dec 10, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> What have you seen for idiotic accessories or for items that were just not thought out....
> 
> I saw a car window mount tripod head..... You roll down the window, slip it over the edge of the glass, and mount your camera or spotting scope to it. This one was marketed as XXXXXX window mount, real tree camouflage. Why would you need camouflage? With a couple of square inches of camouflage the critters will not be able to see you? That somehow they will miss the car, the big white lens, and the person behind it, but it is the tiny mount that matters?
> 
> Sort of like camouflage flashlights



I believe it is intended to mount on the window of a deer blind while hunting. I actually have a black Bass Pro version. Only used it once. Most of the deer blinds I am in have a window seal that is two wide. I know that it shows it attached to a car window but that is ridiculous. 

When I first started I bought a very cheep $19.95 Dynex tripod. Being low on funds and insisting on owning a tripod it was my only option at the time. 

First thing the plastic tripod head popped right out of the aluminum center column. I had to DIY fix it. The plastic head had a small hole in the bottom of the tripod head. I shoved a peace of an old broken fishing rod in the hold and taped up ring sections to add reinforcement and epoxied the tripod head back on the shaft. 

I would not trust the tripod with a 5d but it is fine will a rebel or other small camera and small lens. I even used it for a while with my 60d. (That was a little scary at times. I finally bough a real tripod but I sometimes use it to hold my NEX or an external flash.

Sense I am using every excuse to test my 6D this week I include pictures.


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## eml58 (Dec 10, 2013)

Someone once said (may have been my Father), when you have a great idea, wait awhile, it generally goes away.

The attached is one of the most useless pieces of equipment I've ever had a good idea about.

I think in these Images the "joints" must have been super glued.


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## eml58 (Dec 10, 2013)

And one of the few items (I know, it's not Photographic) but is a bigger lesson in Futility is.....


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## surapon (Dec 10, 2013)

Yes, I am Canon FAN since 1965, and My First Canon camera = FT-QL yes, One of the best( Great Cost= $ 100 US Dollars in that Time)----Since that time, I buy only Canon equipment and get the Best use of them--Until 1978, I brought Canon Grip/ Stand for my Canon A2E = Canon Grip GR-100TP = $ 100 Us Dollars---And It can not carry the Load( USELESS/ STUPID INVESTMENT) of my Love A2E-----Ha, Ha, Ha, The Bolt can not tight enough to carry the Load---I just throw in to the box and never see it again, Until I read this Post---I just find It and try with my 7D ( Yes, I remove the Battery Grip out first), and try this Grip again, Well --No, This Grip still not work for me. BUT, I will use with my new toy EOS-M that I just order, And Will get with in next 5 days Plus I will add DIY , the Hand Grip for this M machine too. I hope that, It will work for this Tiny camera
Enjoy
Surapon


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## TAF (Dec 10, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> What have you seen for idiotic accessories or for items that were just not thought out....
> 
> I saw a car window mount tripod head..... You roll down the window, slip it over the edge of the glass, and mount your camera or spotting scope to it. This one was marketed as XXXXXX window mount, real tree camouflage. Why would you need camouflage? With a couple of square inches of camouflage the critters will not be able to see you? That somehow they will miss the car, the big white lens, and the person behind it, but it is the tiny mount that matters?
> 
> Sort of like camouflage flashlights



I cannot speak to the camouflage, but the slip over the car window tripod head can be quite a useful accessory, if you are shooting things where you don't want to get out of your car but still want a decently stable platform.

I have one - I've used it for shooting waves crashing on the beach during a storm.

(I've also used it to hold a traffic radar antenna when clocking a road race).


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 10, 2013)

eml58 said:


> And one of the few items (I know, it's not Photographic) but is a bigger lesson in Futility is.....


 ;D ;D ;D
I bet most of us have at least one Rubik's cube, hoping to crack it one day ... I probably bought at least 7 or 8 of them int he past 30 or more years ... but still haven't cracked it ... 10 seconds and I just give up. ;D


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## scottkinfw (Dec 10, 2013)

I have one languishing in my closet too.



eml58 said:


> Someone once said (may have been my Father), when you have a great idea, wait awhile, it generally goes away.
> 
> The attached is one of the most useless pieces of equipment I've ever had a good idea about.
> 
> I think in these Images the "joints" must have been super glued.


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## scottkinfw (Dec 10, 2013)

What is that blue and yellow accessory of yours in the background on the floor, and exactly what do you use it for?

Scott



tcmatthews said:


> Don Haines said:
> 
> 
> > What have you seen for idiotic accessories or for items that were just not thought out....
> ...


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## Zv (Dec 10, 2013)

eml58 said:


> Someone once said (may have been my Father), when you have a great idea, wait awhile, it generally goes away.
> 
> The attached is one of the most useless pieces of equipment I've ever had a good idea about.
> 
> I think in these Images the "joints" must have been super glued.



Haha that is one ridiculous image. Anyone (incl me) who owns these jobys (another word for turds where I come from funnily enough) can testify to the fact that it can barely hold an iPhone without falling over. 

I bought the middle one, the Hybrid, for my EOS M and same story as everyone else. Worst accessory ever. 

I also remember buying 2 third party rubber lens hoods for my 18-55 kit lens (can't even say that without laughing now!). Pointless garbage. Also bought one of those lens caps that have a string attached so you don't lose it. It just flaps about annoyingly and gets in the way instead! Pointless! 

UV filter instead of a clear filter. Stupidity.

Two tripods of mediocre quality. One that is just far too bloody heavy to use and get's left behind for the the much smaller, much cheaper, much less stable SLIK sprint thing I got as a gift. Idiotic! 

And probably the dumbest of them all (only in Japan) - a small pillow or "zabuton" for my camera. I don't even know what it's meant to be for but I bought it when I was a newbie. I think it's supposed to be put under the lens as a kind of soft support but that only works on a flat surface, maybe if you place the camera on a wall? I use it as bag filler to make my bag more secure now!


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## Marsu42 (Dec 10, 2013)

eml58 said:


> I think in these Images the joints" must have been super glued.



Exactly - and in Germany they don't show this image with the L lens, or it would be misleading and you could return the item (well, per mail order you can return it anyway for 2 weeks, but still). However the text accompanying the mini-tripod heavily implies that you can use it in versatile ways and makes absolutely no mention of the very strong weight limit - that's why it came to my mind when thinking of "useless".


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## Botts (Dec 10, 2013)

Marsu42 said:


> YuengLinger said:
> 
> 
> > Tied with the "tripod" that has flexible legs and can supposedly wrap around a fence post or branch.
> ...



I quite liked my GorillaPod, it had its place, and my Gitzo has its place. I use my gorilla pod lots with my P&S in places like Disneyland, or to strap a T2i to my Gitzo if I want video to supplement my photos.



Don Haines said:


> Sort of like camouflage flashlights



As someone who has spent a substantially amount of time outdoors, I actively seek out the brightest coloured, least camouflaged items I can find. Nothing worse than seeing someone drop a brand new camo zippo or flashlight in the bush, never to see it again. 

The only things I buy in less visible are things that I don't store in my pack if I'm trying to go low observable, but even then the items will be OD or black, not camo.


The worst accessory I can think of is the selfie stick! http://www.amazon.com/niceEshop-Extendable-telescopic-handheld-Portrait/dp/B00B0TNWIW/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1386659265&sr=1-5&keywords=self+portrait


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## Eldar (Dec 10, 2013)

eml58 said:


> Someone once said (may have been my Father), when you have a great idea, wait awhile, it generally goes away.
> 
> The attached is one of the most useless pieces of equipment I've ever had a good idea about.
> 
> I think in these Images the "joints" must have been super glued.


I actually bought the ballhead version of this. After trying it and concluding that it doesn't work, it's been collecting dust. 
But when I saw this thread started, I thought we would see loads of useless crap, but after close to 40 years, I have a hard time thinking of any really useless and/or absurd gadgets.
The area where I have wasted most money is probably on tripods and heads. Always trying to cope with something cheap, always ending up buying something better and more expensive.


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## serendipidy (Dec 10, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> eml58 said:
> 
> 
> > And one of the few items (I know, it's not Photographic) but is a bigger lesson in Futility is.....
> ...



Many years ago shortly after they became popular, I got my 4 year old son, who I thought was a prodigy, a Rubik's cube for his birthday. After all the adults failed, I showed him how to work it and told him the goal was to make each side one color. He went to his room and came back 5 minutes later with it solved. We were all in disbelief. So I mixed it up again and gave it to him a second time. He comes back 5 minutes later with it solved again. Unbelievable. I asked him how he did it and he shows me that each of the colored squares was a stick on piece of paper which he meticulously pealed off and perfectly reapplied until the puzzle was solved. I guess there are several ways to skin a cat. ;D


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## infared (Dec 10, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> Sort of like camouflage flashlights


The worst accessory I can think of is the selfie stick! http://www.amazon.com/niceEshop-Extendable-telescopic-handheld-Portrait/dp/B00B0TNWIW/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1386659265&sr=1-5&keywords=self+portrait




[/quote]

"One man's trash is another man's treasure"! The Selfie Stick could be Steve Huff's most important piece of hardware.   .......so...you just never know.
Me, I thought it was a monopod!


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 10, 2013)

serendipidy said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > eml58 said:
> ...


Clever boy ... clearly he was *thinking out of the box* ;D


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## Marsu42 (Dec 10, 2013)

infared said:


> The worst accessory I can think of is the selfie stick!



It might look ridiculous, but I doubt it qualified as "useless" because the favorite occupations of people using small silvber p&s seems to be to shoot self-portraits of their group - but their arms aren't long enough, so it most of the time it looks rather awkward


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## photo212 (Dec 10, 2013)

This is a great thread. I'm loving the placement ads in the thread. Sooooo appropriate!


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## bod (Dec 10, 2013)

Top of my list of unused photographic accessories in my cupboards would be the soft lens pouches that canon include with some of their lenses. I do not consider them to provide effective protective padding so always purchase a decent lens case when I buy a lens. Much more impressed with the cases that the Sigma lenses ship with as regards both protecting the lens and ease of getting the lens in and out of the lens case.


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## pato (Dec 10, 2013)

Hmm I believe it's the close-up screw on "filters" which I use the rarest, luckily not very expensive.
Regarding the "joint tripod", I own one of the original brand which I used quite a lot with my 550D. I did add a good ball head to it and with this combo I could easily use it in my holidays. Never a problem with the joints or the stability.


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## mackguyver (Dec 10, 2013)

Marsu42 said:


> infared said:
> 
> 
> > The worst accessory I can think of is the selfie stick!
> ...


Has anyone ever seen "Survivorman" - he definitely made good use of the selfie stick.



YuengLinger said:


> Mini-softbox for on camera flash...


I've actually had a lot of luck with mini softboxes - both the light box from Harbor Digital Design and the LumiQuest SoftBox LQ-107. No, they aren't miracles, but they blow away a direct flash in situations where you can't use a bounce flash or off camera flash.


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## TexPhoto (Dec 10, 2013)

I never bought one, but this has always been my favorite hilarious accessory. If I ever see one in public, i will photograph that person until they cry. It's basically a camera strap that will allow you to drag your camera on the ground between your legs.







"Not-A-Pod is a convenient, user friendly product for increasing camera stabilization. It consists of two adjustable straps and a swivel screw which attach to a camera and the user's belt loops. After adjusting the straps for individual height, tension is achieved when the user pulls up on the camera as the photo is taken, providing a three point stabilization system."


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## danski0224 (Dec 10, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> I bought a micro camera to clip onto Fluffy's collar to see what she did all day. The camera was set to take an image every 10 seconds. I managed to capture 9 hours of sleeping cat.
> 
> I tried it on her outside. She came back without camera and collar. I never found it.



Don't ask, don't tell...

Secret life of cats.

;D


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 10, 2013)

photo212 said:


> This is a great thread. I'm loving the placement ads in the thread. Sooooo appropriate!


 ;D


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## Rat (Dec 10, 2013)

Zv said:


> I also remember buying 2 third party rubber lens hoods for my 18-55 kit lens (can't even say that without laughing now!). Pointless garbage. Also bought one of those lens caps that have a string attached so you don't lose it. It just flaps about annoyingly and gets in the way instead! Pointless!



I love the rubber hoods for shooting through windows, they eliminate most reflections if you have 'em flush on the pane, and allow you to shoot under an angle doing that. And those strings are brilliant - I attached a bunch of those to the zippers on my motorcycle jacket. That way, I can operate them with gloves on )

And I have a bunch of stupid gizmo's - I always buy cheap first, if I use it enough _and_ I can find the shortcomings of whatever it is, I buy something more expensive. Goes for most everything, tools, food, furniture, 400D>5DIII...  The plus side is: I frequently find I don't even want to use stuff before spending serious money, and I have a lot of stuff that I do use which doesn't need to be expensive. Flash diffusers, the no-name LP-E6's that I use, rings, remotes, cords, gloves, you name it - I paid pennies and will never need more.



Don Haines said:


> I bought a micro camera to clip onto Fluffy's collar to see what she did all day. The camera was set to take an image every 10 seconds. I managed to capture 9 hours of sleeping cat.
> 
> I tried it on her outside. She came back without camera and collar. I never found it.



This had me in stitches. Pet Fluffy on my behalf, will ya ;D


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## MrFotoFool (Dec 10, 2013)

YuengLinger said:


> Mini-softbox for on camera flash...



We have one (Gary Fong Puffer) that we use on the compact camera at my work (photo lab) to shoot passport photos. Completely eliminates red eye. Very useful item IMO.


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## chas1113 (Dec 10, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> I bought a micro camera to clip onto Fluffy's collar to see what she did all day. The camera was set to take an image every 10 seconds. I managed to capture 9 hours of sleeping cat.
> 
> I tried it on her outside. She came back without camera and collar. I never found it.



LOL! That is the funniest thing I've read in a while.


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## Marsu42 (Dec 10, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> I tried it on her outside. She came back without camera and collar. I never found it.



My guess is that's the same problem hunters seem to face: Their remote cameras for tracking the movement of wildlife are so expensive that they frequently vanish into thin air ... wild boars seem to be even more clever than it's generally assumed


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## surapon (Dec 10, 2013)

TAF said:


> Don Haines said:
> 
> 
> > What have you seen for idiotic accessories or for items that were just not thought out....
> ...


.

+1 for me , Sir, Dear Mr. Don and Mr. TAF
"I cannot speak to the camouflage, but the slip over the car window tripod head can be quite a useful accessory, if you are shooting things where you don't want to get out of your car but still want a decently stable platform."
Here I just post my DIY for use at the car window :

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php/topic,18507.0.html

Surapon


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## surapon (Dec 10, 2013)

Rat said:


> Zv said:
> 
> 
> > I also remember buying 2 third party rubber lens hoods for my 18-55 kit lens (can't even say that without laughing now!). Pointless garbage. Also bought one of those lens caps that have a string attached so you don't lose it. It just flaps about annoyingly and gets in the way instead! Pointless!
> ...




Dear Mr. Rat +1 for me too, Sir
"I love the rubber hoods for shooting through windows, they eliminate most reflections if you have 'em flush on the pane, and allow you to shoot under an angle doing that."------When I am on the airplane, I use my rubber hood to take the Photos of the cloud and the city below me too.
Thanks for your great Comments.
Surapon


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## neuroanatomist (Dec 10, 2013)

pwp said:


> It's interesting that after 21 posts, there have been precious few genuinely absurd accessories stories. Many of us may have made dumb purchases along the lines of the cheap tripod folly, but what I'm reading is that most of us a actually reasonably savvy about what represents a genuinely useful addition to the kit.
> 
> Aren't we a smart bunch!



Over 50 posts now, and the only thing that seems to be truly useless is the 'cat collar cam'...



Marsu42 said:


> eml58 said:
> 
> 
> > I think in these Images the joints" must have been super glued.
> ...



I used a GorillaPod SLR Zoom with BH1 ballhead for this shot:





It's a 1/3 s exposure of Flume Cascade along Route 302 in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The shot was taken with a gripped 7D and 17-55mm f/2.8 lens (approximately the same weight/size as a 1D X + 24-105L combo), with the legs of the GorillaPod wrapped around a guard rail over the gorge (note that I didn't take the shot below).


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## justawriter (Dec 10, 2013)

I wouldn't call mine exactly useless, because I did get a couple of good years out of it. My first camera was a Ricoh that I got for college graduation and I used it for about 10 years before it was stolen. I was pretty broke at the time so I picked up a used T-60 because it was super cheap and came with a fairly nice 70-300 lens and I was able to pick up a couple of other lenses in pawn shops over the years. I got some good shots despite the horrible limitations of that camera. That was about 1992. A few years later, I had the scratch to upgrade my camera body only to be told "everything is EOS now, nothing works with your lenses." I think he offered me a trade in of five bucks a lens or something like that. So my tale of woe is more about obsolescence and bad timing rather than poor design, but it felt pretty useless at the time.


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## Zlyden (Dec 10, 2013)

The most stupid accessories I ever bought are lens hoods for 50/1.8 II:

At first I got some cheap 3rd party hood that screws onto the lens and prevents lens from being closed with cap. (I bought the thing with pile of other stuff because it was cheap). 

That put me into 'buy only Canon Original hoods!' mode and few years later (with another pile of gear and accessories) I ordered normal 'ES-62' hood. Yes, I can put lens cap onto the lens now! But it feels not exactly solid and I got impression that I can break the hood's clamps if I put camera on to the table (or probably I will damage some plastic in this fantastic lens). 

So, now I'm finally convinced that 50/1.8 needs no hood at all 

PS: This experience was not enough, and recently I ordered and got lens hood for EF-M 22 (before I saw what size it is). I still wonder about its purpose and wait for next summer with bright sunlight to test its efficiency.

PPS: I also have "Lensbaby 2.0" (this was a gift from friends) with 'Macro/Wide' accessory kit. Even made few strange shots with it (4 or 5 years ago)...


----------



## neuroanatomist (Dec 10, 2013)

Zlyden said:


> PS: This experience was not enough, and recently I ordered and got lens hood for EF-M 22 (before I saw what size it is). I still wonder about its purpose and wait for next summer with bright sunlight to test its efficiency.



I estimated that the Canon ES-52 hood for the EF 40mm f/2.8 STM would be the right diameter and depth to provide appropriate protection from flare to a 14mm lens. It's shallow enough that no physical protection is offered, either. I think that qualifies it as 'useless'...


----------



## Zv (Dec 10, 2013)

Those cheap lens cleaning tissues, solution and mini blower that's too small to actually blow anything off the lens. Yeah that was a smart purchase!

Then I bought a slightly bigger blower. 

Then finally the rocket blower. 

It's like tripods but with blowers. 

Yup - I bought the Canon lens hood for the 50mm f/1.8 II as well. Never used it and gave it away free when I sold the lens.


----------



## unfocused (Dec 10, 2013)

TexPhoto said:


> I never bought one, but this has always been my favorite hilarious accessory. If I ever see one in public, i will photograph that person until they cry. It's basically a camera strap that will allow you to drag your camera on the ground between your legs.



But, if you slip the strap around the back of your neck, your pants will stay up. (At least in the front).


----------



## mackguyver (Dec 10, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> Zlyden said:
> 
> 
> > PS: This experience was not enough, and recently I ordered and got lens hood for EF-M 22 (before I saw what size it is). I still wonder about its purpose and wait for next summer with bright sunlight to test its efficiency.
> ...


I wasn't going to admit that I owned it, but now that you have, I will admit that I have the EF-M 22 hood as well - what a joke. I was trying to use up a credit I had with Gearshop, but wow is that thing small and pointless. It looks like the 40 2.8 has the same design, so I'm sure it's equally worthless.


----------



## surapon (Dec 10, 2013)

unfocused said:


> TexPhoto said:
> 
> 
> > I never bought one, but this has always been my favorite hilarious accessory. If I ever see one in public, i will photograph that person until they cry. It's basically a camera strap that will allow you to drag your camera on the ground between your legs.
> ...



Ha, Ha, Ha------I love your thinking, Sir--------Ha, Ha, Ha---That is the most great Idea for to day. Thanks, That will keep the Belt on top of my big belly, not below the Bally.
Surapon


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## neuroanatomist (Dec 10, 2013)

mackguyver said:


> neuroanatomist said:
> 
> 
> > Zlyden said:
> ...



I didn't buy the hood for the 40/2.8 or the 22/2. You're on your own here...


----------



## Rienzphotoz (Dec 10, 2013)

Zv said:


> I bought the Canon lens hood for the 50mm f/1.8 II as well. Never used it and gave it away free when I sold the lens.


+1 ... I too bought the stupid lens hood in 2007 and never used it and eventually gave it away free.


----------



## HankMD (Dec 10, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> I tried it on her outside. She came back without camera and collar. I never found it.



Go back and check again in her sandbox. Once you find it I'd bet it contains panoramic images of her entire gut mucosa. ;D


----------



## mackguyver (Dec 10, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> I didn't buy the hood for the 40/2.8 or the 22/2. You're on your own here...


Yes, I suppose this thread could also be called the "Dumbest thing I ever wasted money on," or "How stupid am I?" or maybe just the "I'm an idiot" thread. ;D


----------



## Zlyden (Dec 10, 2013)

mackguyver said:


> neuroanatomist said:
> 
> 
> > I didn't buy the hood for the 40/2.8 or the 22/2. You're on your own here...
> ...



Just in case Canon listens: I did not say that lens hood for EF-M 22 is a 'bad and stupid accessory' (it's a solid piece of metal, well made and designed with love and other warm feelings to customers, it makes your pancake-type lens few millimeters longer in case you need to make a better impression on someone).

And since the thread finally payed attention to Canon gear... 

...another of my recent strange purchases (I still hope it's not very stupid, and I will find a use for it someday with 'bulb' exposures) was ...

..."RS-80N3" remote. 

Yes, I know -- those who've been shooting X0D and XD cameras for years (that is most of regulars), believe that it's a 'cool-tiny little thingie, very-very handy, always in my pocket, I bought it 10 years ago', but for new Rebel-to-6D switchers = it's rather huge, bulky, with thick unwieldy cord (compared to Rebel's "RS-60E3"). 

For few months that I have 6D and RS-80N3, I never used this remote (and I did use RS-60E3 with XTi a lot!). It's much easier to operate 6D on tripod without cords, for example with really small and tiny good-old RC-1 or via Wi-Fi. 

(This is all: in my opinion of course, no offense  )


----------



## surapon (Dec 10, 2013)

Dear Sir, My Friends.
Yes, I buy The Rubber Lens hood for my great 40mm Pancake Lens, BUT, I change the name, I call The Bang protector, Not Lens hood---Ha, Ha, Ha, And Only yes, I call it Lens hood when I open the full length of the rubber , and can block the direct sun from my front side of the lens, with out create the black corners for my 5D MK II---Yes, Super Cheap too, Just 5 US Dollars from Amazon
Enjoy.
Surapon

PS. When I get 22 mm. Lens for my new toy EOS-M, I will use the filter ring adaptor from 43 mm to 52 mm of this Rubber hood and report back to you, about the 4 black corners of the picture or not ( ?>??)
http://www.amazon.com/52mm-rubber-Lens-Hood-Digital/dp/B003UNFOVY


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## Efka76 (Dec 10, 2013)

Surapon, 

I do not know about other people, however, for me it seems very strange that all the time you refer to others as "Dear Sir, Mr. XXXX". I understand that you come from Asia where politeness is a must, however, this is a bit annoying. I would suggest to simply refer to others by nickname. I hope that you will not treat this my message as insulting. This is just simple friend's advice.


----------



## Marsu42 (Dec 10, 2013)

Efka76 said:


> I do not know about other people, however, for me it seems very strange that all the time you refer to others as "Dear Sir, Mr. XXXX". I understand that you come from Asia where politeness is a must



I don't recon him to be a fool, he's certainly aware that it's not a necessity in *international* discussions - but international doesn't necessarily mean anglo-american, we just happen to write english here since because most people understand it. Personally I find it great that he's sticking to his style, he certainly has found it at his age and has every right to do so... and a personal style is what every good photographer should wish for.

For me, it's very nice to have such a diverse community and if there is something to be understandingly annoyed about, it's certainly not members being *too* polite. You might want to try polite next time and could try to send him your suggestion as a personal message and not in public?


----------



## rexbot (Dec 10, 2013)

Marsu42 said:


> I don't recon him to be a fool, he's certainly aware of that it's not a necessity in international discussions - but personally I find it great that he's pulling through with his personal style, and he has every right esp. at his age as he has pointed out a lot of times
> 
> For me, it's very nice to have such a diverse community and if there is something to be understandingly annoyed about, it's certainly not members being *too* polite. You might want to try polite next time and could try to send him your suggestion as a personal message and not in public?



+1 - surapon rocks, and he can call me whatever he wants. Great posts and a very positive attitude. Keep doing it your way, surapon!


----------



## Don Haines (Dec 10, 2013)

Marsu42 said:


> Efka76 said:
> 
> 
> > I do not know about other people, however, for me it seems very strange that all the time you refer to others as "Dear Sir, Mr. XXXX". I understand that you come from Asia where politeness is a must
> ...


+1
I like the style he speaks/types with.


----------



## Ben Taylor (Dec 10, 2013)

I'd hardly call a gorillapod useless. In fact I'd say it's a very useful piece of gear. I travelled all over the world with a Gorillapod Focus paired with a BH30 ballhead for about ten months of this year and used it all the time. I shot 30+ sec exposures with the 5D3 and 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II and never had an issue with vibration, slumping or not being able to compose a shot properly. 

Seems to be more of an issue of people not buying the right one rather than a useless piece of equipment. Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely happy to have my TVC-34L and BH55 back but as a travel tripod it was perfect.


----------



## tcmatthews (Dec 11, 2013)

That would be a very useful cat distraction apparatus. Although it does look rather ridiculous.



scottkinfw said:


> What is that blue and yellow accessory of yours in the background on the floor, and exactly what do you use it for?
> 
> Scott
> 
> ...


----------



## cellomaster27 (Dec 11, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> Marsu42 said:
> 
> 
> > Efka76 said:
> ...



+1 thank you. let's keep from random unrelated comments.. 

back to the topic... there are those "useless" or "absurd" things associated with camera gear on photojojo.com. XD have to admit, some of the stuff are on my wishlist!!


----------



## Rat (Dec 11, 2013)

cellomaster27 said:


> +1 thank you. let's keep from random unrelated comments..



Another +1 anyway. It needs to be said loudly and clearly - you don't knock people for having manners and style. But I'll edit the quote to add less scrolling


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## surapon (Dec 11, 2013)

Efka76 said:


> Surapon,
> 
> I do not know about other people, however, for me it seems very strange that all the time you refer to others as "Dear Sir, Mr. XXXX". I understand that you come from Asia where politeness is a must, however, this is a bit annoying. I would suggest to simply refer to others by nickname. I hope that you will not treat this my message as insulting. This is just simple friend's advice.



Ok, Dear Efka76----No more, Sir, Mr. Teacher in my Post from now on. Yes, About time that I try to get in Americanize----Sorry, In my Original Country = Thailand, We use " Sir " to the people that older than us---But If we do not know the age of that people--The Save way to talk to them with honor = " Sir "
Thanks you very much.
Surapon


----------



## surapon (Dec 11, 2013)

Marsu42 said:


> Efka76 said:
> 
> 
> > I do not know about other people, however, for me it seems very strange that all the time you refer to others as "Dear Sir, Mr. XXXX". I understand that you come from Asia where politeness is a must
> ...



Dear Marsu42.
Well as our friend Efka76 recommend, Yes, from now on , I will not use " Mr. , Sir, Teacher" in my post any more, Just talk as from Friend to friend. Thank you very much for your comments.
Surapon


----------



## surapon (Dec 11, 2013)

rexbot said:


> Marsu42 said:
> 
> 
> > I don't recon him to be a fool, he's certainly aware of that it's not a necessity in international discussions - but personally I find it great that he's pulling through with his personal style, and he has every right esp. at his age as he has pointed out a lot of times
> ...


----------



## surapon (Dec 11, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> Marsu42 said:
> 
> 
> > Efka76 said:
> ...




Thanks, Don----Ha, Ha, Ha---From now on, I will change to post/ talk as From Friend to friend.
Thanks again
Surapon


----------



## surapon (Dec 11, 2013)

cellomaster27 said:


> Don Haines said:
> 
> 
> > Marsu42 said:
> ...



Thanks, cellomaster27---Thanks for your comments.
Surapon


----------



## privatebydesign (Dec 11, 2013)

Surapon,

Do whatever you feel comfortable with. When I lived in Thailand I really struggled with the language, I just don't get tonal based languages, and I am very sure I was most inappropriate on many occasions, however even when I was nobody ever corrected me in public. It is a shame we failed to extend the same courtesy. 

But you _are_ amongst friends and you are most welcome to treat us as such.


----------



## surapon (Dec 11, 2013)

Rat said:


> cellomaster27 said:
> 
> 
> > +1 thank you. let's keep from random unrelated comments..
> ...



Well, Dear Rat-------In my Architectural/ Engineer business---The Real Friend must tell the truth, nothing but the truth , to his friend, That I very Honor to Efca76, who he speak from his heart.
Thanks for your comments.
Surapon


----------



## surapon (Dec 11, 2013)

privatebydesign said:


> Surapon,
> 
> Do whatever you feel comfortable with. When I lived in Thailand I really struggled with the language, I just don't get tonal based languages, and I am very sure I was most inappropriate on many occasions, however even when I was nobody ever corrected me in public. It is a shame we failed to extend the same courtesy.
> 
> But you _are_ amongst friends and you are most welcome to treat us as such.



No, No, No, Dear privatebydesign------I feel very honor to Efca76---He speak from his heart, From Friend to friend. Yes, From Now, I change the way that I talk and post, as from friend to friend.
Thanks again for your concern. Wow , You use to live in Thailand, What part of Thailand ?---I came from North eastern Part of Thailand, The Area that we call our self = Khon E-Sarn./ People of E-Sarn
Nice to talk to you.
Surapon


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## Hillsilly (Dec 11, 2013)

It's not just an Asian thing. Recently I've been working with some 60 to 80 year old US Cotton Industry specialists (Cotton graders and cotton mill set up advisers) who have been working in Qld, Australia. Those guys are THE most polite and thoughtful people I've ever met. 

I've got a whole cupboard full of useless things. Will list some tonight.


----------



## Rienzphotoz (Dec 11, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> Marsu42 said:
> 
> 
> > For me, it's very nice to have such a diverse community and if there is something to be understandingly annoyed about, it's certainly not members being *too* polite. *You might want to try polite next time and could try to send him your suggestion as a personal message and not in public?*
> ...


+ 1 ... Surapon is a very polite gentleman ... I only feel embarrassed when he calls me Sir, because he is almost 20 years older than me (and I feel I don't deserve to be called a "sir"). That being said, it should be we, who should be calling him sir as a sign of respect for a senior person ... I know it is not fashionable in some parts of the world to show respect to seniors ... but there is nothing to be annoyed about his style of writing/typing ... he probably experienced more in life, than all of us while we were still running around in diapers.


----------



## Rienzphotoz (Dec 11, 2013)

privatebydesign said:


> Surapon,
> 
> Do whatever you feel comfortable with. When I lived in Thailand I really struggled with the language, I just don't get tonal based languages, and I am very sure I was most inappropriate on many occasions, however even when I was nobody ever corrected me in public. It is a shame we failed to extend the same courtesy.
> 
> But you _are_ amongst friends and you are most welcome to treat us as such.


+1 ... on several occasions in the far east when I did something that was not culturally correct, I was only corrected in private while no one was around or looking, and that too very politely. But I still remember a woman from a "developed" country, (while I was buying some Christmas deco) told me that I would never be invited at her house with that deco ... I didn't even know the lady and there were 5 people between her and me at the billing counter (where I was paying for the deco), yet she felt the need to "express her feelings" at the top of her voice about some items a random guy was buying ... I wanted to tell her that "in my house, we welcome everyone for Christmas" but I just smiled and left.


----------



## Botts (Dec 11, 2013)

Surapon,

I greatly appreciate your personality on the forum. You are one of say 4 people I can think of by name that really make me visit canonrumors forum on a regular basis.

Please feel free to address me however you feel comfortable. I would much rather see the members of the canonrumors forum be comfortable expressing themselves vs adopting a different personality for the forum. 

From my perspective, I associate you with true, sage advice, and a formal delivery. I appreciate your uniqueness.

Marsu, neuro, and Rienz all have their associated uniqueness as well, and I believe it adds strength to the forum.

I struggle in my day job to address people formally as Mr./Ms./Miss etc. it has just been so missing in Canada that I have lost using formality as a habit. Every time I saw you refer to someone as say Mr. Marsu, it helped reinforce it for me as well.

That being said, if you are comfortable addressing us as friends, feel free to address me as Brian. I would be honoured to be considered even an acquaintance of yours.

tl;dr Everyone be who you are! Exemplify your uniqueness, that is what makes us artists!

As Dr. Seuss once said, "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."



Back to the items at hand, I would probably add these to the list of useless accessories.

Popup flash diffuser.  Save the money and buy a used 430EX II.
 The White Balance Filter or Expodisc - This is why we shoot RAW. So we don't have to use goofy things like this. If you are really concerned with colour balance just buy an X-rite ColorChecker card and use that.


----------



## Hjalmarg1 (Dec 11, 2013)

The most useless accessories I have: memory wallets (I have two), filters wrenchs and 40mm f2.8 lens hood.


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## mackguyver (Dec 11, 2013)

Hjalmarg1 said:


> The most useless accessories I have: memory wallets (I have two), filters wrenchs and 40mm f2.8 lens hood.


Forgot about the filter wrenches - they are worthless! Pipe wrenches, jar openers, rubber bands, and 100 other things all work better!


----------



## surapon (Dec 11, 2013)

Thousand Thanks to all of my friends and members of CR.
Yes, You , all, make my day in every days-when I open and read the posts in CR.--Not Only I appreciate the warmth of friends to friends talk and recommendation, But Also I learn the new ideas, new tricks from every one, every posts---small or big ideas.
Now, about time that we can talk about the rumors/ Functions/ Tricks of our love equipment, both PRO and Hobby.
Have a great day.
Your friend.
Surapon.


----------



## surapon (Dec 11, 2013)

Hjalmarg1 said:


> The most useless accessories I have: memory wallets (I have two), filters wrenchs and 40mm f2.8 lens hood.



+ 1 for me , for Filter wrenches.
Surapon


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## surapon (Dec 11, 2013)

mackguyver said:


> Hjalmarg1 said:
> 
> 
> > The most useless accessories I have: memory wallets (I have two), filters wrenchs and 40mm f2.8 lens hood.
> ...



Ha, Ha, Ha, Dear mackguyver.
You are right, When I go to buy Filter Wrenches at my friend's Camera shop in my home town, He said to me = Forget it", and he take off his clean shoe ( which have rubber below of the shoe) , and put my lens with stuck filter ( UV Filter) to the rubber sole and turn the Lens = Ha, Ha, Ha---It work, Yes, I save 2 US Dollars. But he tell me as you say, , for Cir PL Filter, We must use the Big size rubber band, And Tell me that---DO NOT USE THE DIRTY/ MUDDY shoe in this case = Prohibit---Ha, Ha, Ha.
Nice to talk to you, Have a great day.
Surapon


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## Efka76 (Dec 11, 2013)

Surapon and other colleagues, I am very sorry if I insulted any of you. My mistake was that I did not send a private message but wrote it publicly. I really like this forum due to its international community and very big pool of knowledge. In different cultures there are different perception of politeness. I come from Lithuania where people smile when they are happy and if you see smile you know that it is sincere (usually it is very easy to recognise foreigners in my country as they are smiling most of the time). Mr., Sir, Dear and other names are used more for business or formal matters. I perceive this community as a bunch of friends who share knowledge and communicate. Accordingly, i gave my subjective friendly advice to Surapon. Once more, sorry for inconvenience due to my previous post.


----------



## Rienzphotoz (Dec 11, 2013)

Efka76 said:


> Surapon and other colleagues, I am very sorry if I insulted any of you. My mistake was that I did not send a private message but wrote it publicly. I really like this forum due to its international community and very big pool of knowledge. In different cultures there are different perception of politeness. I come from Lithuania where people smile when they are happy and if you see smile you know that it is sincere (usually it is very easy to recognise foreigners in my country as they are smiling most of the time). Mr., Sir, Dear and other names are used more for business or formal matters. I perceive this community as a bunch of friends who share knowledge and communicate. Accordingly, i gave my subjective friendly advice to Surapon. Once more, sorry for inconvenience due to my previous post.


Efka76, no issues ... we all live and learn. Have a nice day friend.


----------



## Don Haines (Dec 11, 2013)

surapon said:


> Hjalmarg1 said:
> 
> 
> > The most useless accessories I have: memory wallets (I have two), filters wrenchs and 40mm f2.8 lens hood.
> ...


+1 for me also. Got them, carry them, never use them.....

I have a red rubber band on one of my lenses to add friction to stop the zoom from creeping up or down.... it makes a wonderful filter wrench.


----------



## Rienzphotoz (Dec 11, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> surapon said:
> 
> 
> > Hjalmarg1 said:
> ...


Add me to the list of filter wrench cynic's club ;D ... when I recently dropped and my 16-35 L II lens and broke the B+W filter glass and the filter itself got stuck real bad ... to get it out I tried the filter wrenches and they did nothing to it, instead one of the wrenches broke in half.


----------



## Vivid Color (Dec 11, 2013)

You may add me to the list of disappointed filter wrench owners. The clear filter on one of my lenses got stuck during my trip to Africa. I have been unable to get it off with the filter wrench. I thought perhaps I wasn't applying enough strength. Now I'm thinking I'll just try one of my rubber jar openers. I don't think the filter wrench idea is bad, but I do think the ones I have and maybe those the other posters have are poorly made. 

On the other hand, I absolutely love my Think Tank memory wallets. Because I did not take a computer or other storage device along with me when I went to Africa, I took 20 SD cards in addition to the three that were in my three cameras. The two memory wallets I took worked great to keep the cards organized. And the ribbon and clips on them allowed me to attach the wallets to either my belt loops or the camera bag so they couldn't accidentally fall out and get lost. And when I was in my hotel room, I could easily throw the memory wallets into the room safe. Could have I gotten by with putting the memory cards in plastic baggies? Yes, but the memory wallets made everything so much easier and so much more secure. On the other hand, when I go out and I only need to take one or two extra cards, I don't use the memory wallets. By the way, even though my cameras all use SD cards, I buy the wallets for the CF cards. That way, I can keep my cards in the little plastic cases they come in and they still fit into the wallet. And if I ever get a camera that uses CF cards, I can still use the same wallets.


----------



## neuroanatomist (Dec 11, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> I have a red rubber band on one of my lenses to add friction to stop the zoom from creeping up or down....



Is that _really_ why you have a *red* rubber band around your lens?


----------



## emag (Dec 11, 2013)

I'm U.S. born and raised but spent time in the Philippines and am happily married to a wonderful Filipina who supports my photo and astronomy interests. If we were in the Philippines, I would call you "kuya Surapon" and your wife "ate (ahtee - for the longest time my ears heard 'aunty')" out of respect and affection, just as most of her younger friends call me kuya Ed and my wife ate Carol. Write however you want, kuya Surapon.

On topic - a lens brush......what was I thinking? If something doesn't come off with a blower, why on earth would I risk a scratch? Also, one of those smaller camera bags with the shoulder strap, never large enough, a pain to carry and now relegated to carrying accessory cords and whatnot for astro gear.....cameras are carried in a LowPro backpack.


----------



## Rienzphotoz (Dec 11, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> Don Haines said:
> 
> 
> > I have a red rubber band on one of my lenses to add friction to stop the zoom from creeping up or down....
> ...


OK, now I am curious ;D


----------



## Narcolepsy (Dec 11, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> I bought a micro camera to clip onto Fluffy's collar to see what she did all day. The camera was set to take an image every 10 seconds. I managed to capture 9 hours of sleeping cat.
> 
> I tried it on her outside. She came back without camera and collar. I never found it.



We had one of these. First day we put it on our dog who roams free during the day (a Cavalier - we live in the countryside). We now have a film of our neighbours kitchen, with the neighbours in pyjamas feeding our dog biscuits. We didn't save the film and we haven't used the camera since....


----------



## Rienzphotoz (Dec 11, 2013)

Narcolepsy said:


> We had one of these. First day we put it on our dog who roams free during the day (a Cavalier - we live in the countryside). We now have a film of our neighbours kitchen, with the neighbours in pyjamas feeding our dog biscuits. We didn't eve the film and we haven't used the camera since....


Are you sure you're telling us the *full* story? ;D


----------



## Zlyden (Dec 11, 2013)

emag said:


> On topic - a lens brush...



I'd add all 'lenspens' to useless (or rather 'potentially dangerous') category. (A piece of microfiber fabric cleans a lens more efficiently. Or dry and clean t-shirt when I'm in hurry...)

PS: Canon's half-case for EOS M may also take place in 'annoying things I bought' list. Why they made it so difficult to screw off and impossible to use with tripod? In past times PowerShot G cases were much better thought through. (I suppose I ought to order some 3rd party case for EOS M online, but there is no guarantee that it looks great on pictures and useless in reality... :'( )


----------



## Botts (Dec 11, 2013)

Vivid Color said:


> You may add me to the list of disappointed filter wrench owners. The clear filter on one of my lenses got stuck during my trip to Africa. I have been unable to get it off with the filter wrench. I thought perhaps I wasn't applying enough strength. Now I'm thinking I'll just try one of my rubber jar openers. I don't think the filter wrench idea is bad, but I do think the ones I have and maybe those the other posters have are poorly made.
> 
> On the other hand, I absolutely love my Think Tank memory wallets. Because I did not take a computer or other storage device along with me when I went to Africa, I took 20 SD cards in addition to the three that were in my three cameras. The two memory wallets I took worked great to keep the cards organized. And the ribbon and clips on them allowed me to attach the wallets to either my belt loops or the camera bag so they couldn't accidentally fall out and get lost. And when I was in my hotel room, I could easily throw the memory wallets into the room safe. Could have I gotten by with putting the memory cards in plastic baggies? Yes, but the memory wallets made everything so much easier and so much more secure. On the other hand, when I go out and I only need to take one or two extra cards, I don't use the memory wallets. By the way, even though my cameras all use SD cards, I buy the wallets for the CF cards. That way, I can keep my cards in the little plastic cases they come in and they still fit into the wallet. And if I ever get a camera that uses CF cards, I can still use the same wallets.



I think it may come down to filter quality too. Ones that are built well usually have good threading, ones that are bargain bin can have poor threads. I've never had to use a filter wrench on my B+W filters, but on the cheap ones the camera store sells, which several friends stick to, I've used my filter wrench before. The shoe trick sounds good.

Also, I love my Gepe cases as I often kayak with my gear, or subject it to otherwise dicey situations. I also really like the single hard SD cases as they make SD cards quite a bit easier to find than the stock tiny cases.


----------



## AcutancePhotography (Dec 11, 2013)

Back in my B/W Darkroom days, I purchased a Soft Focus filter. I had read that it can be flattering for some models. 

I quickly learned two very important things about Soft Focus filters

1. You can easily add soft focus in the dark room
2. If you use a Soft Focus filter, you can't "fix" it in the dark room. 

What was I thinking?? 

I blew an entire roll of film in one shoot because I used a Soft Focus filter but afterwards I really wanted the pictures to be sharp. 

Friends don't let friends buy Soft Focus filters.

Second to this would have been my decision to buy a Pentax Auto 110 camera. An SLR which uses 110 film. Can you imagine how difficult it is to load, develope, and print 110 film in a darkroom? I don't have to imagine.  I bought this camera knowing that I would be developing and printing my own photographs.

What was I thinking?

;D


----------



## Don Haines (Dec 11, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> neuroanatomist said:
> 
> 
> > Don Haines said:
> ...


It is because it is not a DO lens, and therefore putting a green rubber band on it would just be wrong


----------



## Rienzphotoz (Dec 11, 2013)

OK, this is not an accessory but for me "Release Shutter Without Card" is a useless feature, which I never use but can get into trouble real easy ... during my vacation in UK, I visited Edinburgh, (Scotland) on a day trip from Glasgow (coz the accommodation in Edinburgh was way too expensive and Glasgow was very affordable and the train ride from Glasgow to Edinburgh was only 1 hour or so) ... anyway, I reach Edinburgh happily clicking away for half a day and the CF card in my 7D was full or I took it out for some reason or both (can't remember exactly) ... anyway, I kept clicking away for the rest of the day thinking I got some good photos ... and when I got back to Glasgow I fired up my laptop to transfer the images from the CF card ... to my horror there wasn't a single image for the second half of the day, coz the "Release Shutter Without Card" feature was on. :-[ ... I could not go back to Edinburgh as it was already my second, day trip to that city and I had already booked other trips elsewhere in Scotland ... a rare opportunity lost due to the "Release Shutter Without Card" feature was on. :'(


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## Vivid Color (Dec 11, 2013)

Botts said:


> Vivid Color said:
> 
> 
> > You may add me to the list of disappointed filter wrench owners. The clear filter on one of my lenses got stuck during my trip to Africa. I have been unable to get it off with the filter wrench. I thought perhaps I wasn't applying enough strength. Now I'm thinking I'll just try one of my rubber jar openers. I don't think the filter wrench idea is bad, but I do think the ones I have and maybe those the other posters have are poorly made.
> ...



Thank you for the link to the Gepe cases. One of those might come in handy for me when I go to Hawaii in August. 

As for filter quality, that may indeed affect the effectiveness of some filter wrenches. In my case however, I was using B+W XS Pro filters. The filter got stuck when I had a B+W circular polarizing filter on top of it and instead of just turning the polarizing filter I ended up turning both of them and screwing the clear filter in much tighter than it needed to be. (I was in a very dusty environments so I didn't want to take the clear filter off before putting the polarizing filter on.) Clearly user error and I love my B+W filters. I was able to easily get the polarizing filter off the clear filter, but the clear filter is really really stuck and I have not been able to get it off with the filter wrench I have. It still may be a limitation of my strength. I'm going to try a couple more things and if they don't work I'm going to take the lens and the filter wrench and the rubber kitchen jar gripper to a photographer friend of mine who is much stronger than I am.


----------



## mrsfotografie (Dec 11, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> I bought a micro camera to clip onto Fluffy's collar to see what she did all day. The camera was set to take an image every 10 seconds. I managed to capture 9 hours of sleeping cat.
> 
> I tried it on her outside. She came back without camera and collar. I never found it.



That's just hilarious! Thanks for sharing


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## mrsfotografie (Dec 11, 2013)

tcmatthews said:


> Don Haines said:
> 
> 
> > What have you seen for idiotic accessories or for items that were just not thought out....
> ...



Interesting, I hadn't thought of using my old Hama tripod for my NEX, but now I just might


----------



## Pinchers of Peril (Dec 11, 2013)

My first digital camera was a Sony DSC S75 point and shoot. The front of the camera had threads on it so you could add attachments. I was so excited and bought a "fish eye attachement" and a "2X telephoto" attachment. The photos actually looked pretty good on the 1 inch lcd on the back of the camera, but not so much on my computer screen. When I downloaded them to my computer the image quality was so negatively affected that it looked like I had smeared a thin layer of vaseline on the lens.


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## mrsfotografie (Dec 11, 2013)

surapon said:


> mackguyver said:
> 
> 
> > Hjalmarg1 said:
> ...



Dear Surapon, that's actually great advice! It may not have to be the bottom of a shoe, but a rubber matting will work too i imagine. I've struggled with tight filters before but have so far managed to get them loose by hand (took some patience though). Never thought they actually sold accessories to deal with this type of situation.


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## emag (Dec 11, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> OK, this is not an accessory but for me "Release Shutter Without Card" is a useless feature, which I never use but can get into trouble real easy ...


Film days, 1975 - I had my beloved Nikon F2 (cost me 1.5 months pay) and was hiking on the south end of Guam. A trail runs along the crest of the hills providing great views of two postcard perfect bays, a lake in the interior and in general just gorgeous scenery while the ceaseless tradewinds temper the heat and humidity. I followed a trail that went across to the east side of the island, met a group of boys enjoying the day at a shallow stream with a couple of carabao. Rode with them through a bamboo forest until we reached the outskirts of the village where they lived. Realizing I had miles to go to return to my car still on the east side, I resigned myself to a very long trek back. About that time a pair of Navy Seabees tooling around the boonies in a jeep came by and gave me a lift around the south end of the island back towards where my car was. We stopped at the ruins of an old Spanish fort overlooking Umatac Bay around sunset, all of us happily snapping away. 'twas just about then I discovered my film had slipped off the takeup spool, not a single shot exposed.........


----------



## Botts (Dec 11, 2013)

Vivid Color said:


> Thank you for the link to the Gepe cases. One of those might come in handy for me when I go to Hawaii in August.
> 
> As for filter quality, that may indeed affect the effectiveness of some filter wrenches. In my case however, I was using B+W XS Pro filters. The filter got stuck when I had a B+W circular polarizing filter on top of it and instead of just turning the polarizing filter I ended up turning both of them and screwing the clear filter in much tighter than it needed to be. (I was in a very dusty environments so I didn't want to take the clear filter off before putting the polarizing filter on.) Clearly user error and I love my B+W filters. I was able to easily get the polarizing filter off the clear filter, but the clear filter is really really stuck and I have not been able to get it off with the filter wrench I have. It still may be a limitation of my strength. I'm going to try a couple more things and if they don't work I'm going to take the lens and the filter wrench and the rubber kitchen jar gripper to a photographer friend of mine who is much stronger than I am.



Try a strap wrench maybe. Something like this, it's rubber so it won't mar the finish. They pretty much rock if you have problems opening things, my mom keeps one for tough jars and the like. *** Could be a risk here, if it's cross threaded, you may tear the threads out of the filter or the lens. I seem to recall that brass is softer than aluminum, so the threads on the filter _*should*_ fail before the lens threads. Based on the fact that the clear filter was installed and fine before, I would imagine that it isn't cross threaded though.



Rienzphotoz said:


> OK, this is not an accessory but for me "Release Shutter Without Card" is a useless feature, which I never use but can get into trouble real easy ...


We've all probably been there before. Since then, that has been the first thing I have checked on every new Canon body I have used. I also stick to 16GB SD cards, as if one fails during a day of shooting, I have only lost half the day, vs losing a full 32GB.


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## Jerm (Dec 11, 2013)

My mom bought me a flash bouncer, I don't own a flash.


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## Ruined (Dec 11, 2013)

AcutancePhotography said:


> Back in my B/W Darkroom days, I purchased a Soft Focus filter. I had read that it can be flattering for some models.
> 
> I quickly learned two very important things about Soft Focus filters
> 
> ...



I can definitely understand the draw to a soft focus filter. I tried a soft focus lens because I use the soft focus effect in post often, and I found that the lens actually looked *worse* than the post effects I used and caused other unwanted artifacts.

While I try to use as little post tinkering as possible as I like the idea of natural optical effects, soft focus appears to be an area where post actually has the upper hand.


----------



## tron (Dec 11, 2013)

surapon said:


> Hjalmarg1 said:
> 
> 
> > The most useless accessories I have: memory wallets (I have two), filters wrenchs and 40mm f2.8 lens hood.
> ...


I hadn't thought of them at all until I was at trouble to unscrew a filter from a lens I was about to sell in front of the buyer ;D ;D ;D

Fortunately I was able to unscrew it eventually  and he is the happy owner of a 16-35mm f/2.8L (version I) lens. Now Canon where is my 16-35mm f/2.8L III ? 8)


----------



## Ben Taylor (Dec 11, 2013)

Zlyden said:


> emag said:
> 
> 
> > On topic - a lens brush...
> ...


----------



## surapon (Dec 12, 2013)

Efka76 said:


> Surapon and other colleagues, I am very sorry if I insulted any of you. My mistake was that I did not send a private message but wrote it publicly. I really like this forum due to its international community and very big pool of knowledge. In different cultures there are different perception of politeness. I come from Lithuania where people smile when they are happy and if you see smile you know that it is sincere (usually it is very easy to recognise foreigners in my country as they are smiling most of the time). Mr., Sir, Dear and other names are used more for business or formal matters. I perceive this community as a bunch of friends who share knowledge and communicate. Accordingly, i gave my subjective friendly advice to Surapon. Once more, sorry for inconvenience due to my previous post.



Dear Friend Efka76
Just The truth form your heart, and want me to talk like " from friends to friends"---Not thing wrong, And THANKSSS to you, I already change my way of talk to all of my dear friend and members of CR.
Have a great Wednesday night.
Surapon, your friend.


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## surapon (Dec 12, 2013)

Dear Friends.
I would like you to read my new post, That might help your solve the problem, when you fly, and not stupid as me.---No, Not absurd accessory as the photo.---ha, ha, ha
Enjoy
Surapon

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php/topic,18537.msg346175.html#new


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## Botts (Dec 12, 2013)

surapon said:


> Dear Friends.
> I would like you to read my new post, That might help your solve the problem, when you fly, and not stupid as me.---No, Not absurd accessory as the photo.---ha, ha, ha
> Enjoy
> Surapon
> ...



That's a great story. I'll have to keep that in mind next time I fly with my Giottos Rocket! I was thinking of upgrading to this blower though as it may be easier on sensors.

Also, I learned you are an architect today! With an impressive body of work as well, and in very tough fields like detention centres. Those and court houses have to be some of the toughest buildings to design. Kudos.


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## surapon (Dec 12, 2013)

Botts said:


> surapon said:
> 
> 
> > Dear Friends.
> ...



Thanks, Dear Botts.
Yes, That are my real Professional, as Thai Architect for 5 years( during work in Thailand), And As American Architect since 1974. Yes, I have a lot of FUN, and get the great lesson in my Life, to work with Inmates as the USER Clients---Ha, Ha, Ha---Yes, I have super fun story, and may be some time, I will post here and let all of my friend in CR to laugh and Learn with me.
Nice to talk to you, Have a great night.
Surapon


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 12, 2013)

Botts said:


> surapon said:
> 
> 
> > Dear Friends.
> ...


+1 
*Dear Surapon*, much respect sir! I salute your humility despite your immense experience.
By the way, a very entertaining and funny story ... had a hearty laugh and sorry for your loss of a nice blower ;D


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## wtlloyd (Dec 12, 2013)

Expodisc.


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## infared (Dec 12, 2013)

surapon said:


> Botts said:
> 
> 
> > surapon said:
> ...


Funny story...but you performed a quadruple amputation on your unsuspecting Giottos. How cruel of you! LOL!


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 12, 2013)

infared said:


> you performed a quadruple amputation on your unsuspecting Giottos. How cruel of you! LOL!


 ;D ;D ;D


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## AcutancePhotography (Dec 12, 2013)

emag said:


> 'twas just about then I discovered my film had slipped off the takeup spool, not a single shot exposed.........



If I had a dollar for every time that happened with my AE-1... I might be able to afford some good glass.


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## AcutancePhotography (Dec 12, 2013)

wtlloyd said:


> Expodisc.



Ouch. I think we have all, at one time or another, briefly considered buying one of those.

Why the regret? Is it that bad?


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## mrsfotografie (Dec 12, 2013)

emag said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > OK, this is not an accessory but for me "Release Shutter Without Card" is a useless feature, which I never use but can get into trouble real easy ...
> ...



That's too bad. Fortunately however (at least in my experience), photography opens our eyes to the world around us and amplifies the visual experience. I bet your memories of that day would have been less vivid had you not observed your surroundings with the photographer's eye. At least the 'film' in your mind was properly exposed that day


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## mackguyver (Dec 12, 2013)

One more generically useless one - a camera bag too small for your gear. I gave mine away to friends and family, but I had at least 5 or 6 bags that were perfect for a Rebel + lens(es) but wouldn't hold a 5DII + L lenses. It happened again when I went from the 70-200 f/4 IS to the 70-200 f/2.8 IS II - now I've obsoleted at least 2 more bags!


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## mrsfotografie (Dec 12, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> infared said:
> 
> 
> > you performed a quadruple amputation on your unsuspecting Giottos. How cruel of you! LOL!
> ...



Those 'legs/fins' are useless marketing ploys anyway, making it look like a rocket is not a plus in any way, IMHO. I've got two blowers that don't come with these silly fins, they're great. I've got a VisibleDust Hurricane Blower, but the Camgloss Tornado is something excellent.


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## Zlyden (Dec 12, 2013)

mackguyver said:


> One more generically useless one - a camera bag too small for your gear.



So, I'm not the first one 

I tried to find some bag to cary 6D in (on the next day after its purchase) and got this 'Canon 300EG' bag. It's price was less than $30 and the shop I get it from did not have a cheap Lowepro top-loader I came for.

After few attempts to fit in it 6D + one or two lenses and have a walk around after... I think that I need another more convenient bag. (This 300EG will not be totally useless and will find its usage in a closet as a bag to keep few bag-less lenses)


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## surapon (Dec 12, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Botts said:
> 
> 
> > surapon said:
> ...



Dear Friend Rienz.
Thanks for your comment, I share this funny story/ But The True story to all of my Photographers friends, And Every one laugh, Because in USA, We still have the Smartest Public Staffs, who working hard and try very hard to give us Safe Trip on the Airplane. Yes, After I tell them in our Camera club in my home town, Next 2 months, One of my photographer friend get stop at Atlanta airport, and search for this Rocket Blower---But This friend is smarter than me, Instead of he blow the wind to his cheek like me, He Blow this air to his open eye, and say to the security staff to observer his eyes, After the security staff see his eyes still good, no tear drop---He let him go with his Rocket Blower.Ha, Ha, Ha---No tear gas in his Giottos Rocket!

Ha, Ha, Ha---Smarter photographer than me.
Have a great day.
Surapon


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## tron (Dec 12, 2013)

You shouldn't have done that!

With your blower intact, you would be able to test the IQ of other TSA agents ... ;D ;D ;D


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## Zv (Dec 12, 2013)

mrsfotografie said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > infared said:
> ...



Stops it from rolling off the table when cleaning lenses. Also for storage on a shelf it stands by itself, smaller footprint.


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## surapon (Dec 13, 2013)

tron said:


> You shouldn't have done that!
> 
> With your blower intact, you would be able to test the IQ of other TSA agents ... ;D ;D ;D



Ha, Ha, Ha Dear tron.
I never spray any thing at my eyes ( Except Visine Eyes drop?medicine ), For my self as the old age citizen, My eyes are more important than another part of my body.
I just Blow the cool air to my cheek to calm me down.
Well, That are impossible ( you would be able to test the IQ of other TSA agents ... ;D ;D ;D ), to dissagree with the Man , who have big hand gun at his belt = He is the Boss.
Nice to laugh with you.
Have a great night
Surapon


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 13, 2013)

Zlyden said:


> mackguyver said:
> 
> 
> > One more generically useless one - a camera bag too small for your gear.
> ...


I'm not sure if I should say "*Welcome to the club*" or "*may I please join your club*" ;D ... I have countless camera bags, every time I see a new camera bag I get serious GAS ... because they are not very expensive, I tend to buy them quite often, only to dislike them later on and give it away free when I sell my camera gear. 
I recently saw a youtube video, where the presenter says that "*Photography is a more enduring and expensive addiction than drug and alcohol addiction, because photographers tend to outlive the boozards and the druggies*" ;D


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 13, 2013)

Zv said:


> mrsfotografie said:
> 
> 
> > Rienzphotoz said:
> ...


Good point ... I didn't think of that.


----------



## mrsfotografie (Dec 13, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Zv said:
> 
> 
> > mrsfotografie said:
> ...


It's a small plus I agree, but not one I've run into a need of. The bellow is ribbed lengthwise by the way, that also stops it from rolling away. Anyway, thanks for clarifying.


----------



## Zv (Dec 13, 2013)

mrsfotografie said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > Zv said:
> ...



Is it just me or does anyone else think it looks like sone kind of sex toy?? And the fact you said it's ribbed doesn't help it's case at all!!

;D


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## ninjapeps (Dec 13, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Zlyden said:
> 
> 
> > mackguyver said:
> ...


Bags are probably what I spend on the most often. I think I've bought 15 since buying my first dslr back in 2009.


----------



## Valvebounce (Dec 13, 2013)

Hi Folks.
I have one, those cheap hot shoe spirit levels, bought one for my 40D, only took a day to realise my senses were more accurate than the level, it must have been 2 deg out! Crooked horizons for a day! : 

Cheers Graham!


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## RLPhoto (Dec 13, 2013)

Cheap filter's.


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 13, 2013)

Zv said:


> mrsfotografie said:
> 
> 
> > Rienzphotoz said:
> ...


+1  ;D


----------



## AcutancePhotography (Dec 13, 2013)

Zv said:


> Is it just me or does anyone else think it looks like sone kind of sex toy?? And the fact you said it's ribbed doesn't help it's case at all!!









Not a sex toy, but it does resemble a type of medical/hygene equipment.


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## dgatwood (Dec 15, 2013)

mackguyver said:


> The most useless accessory I have spent my money on is a memory card wallet. I have NEVER used it. I'm glad it was cheap.



*shrugs* I use mine all the time. Keeps my flash cards from getting lost in my backpack. Then again, a plastic bag would do the same thing, for a few bucks less.




YuengLinger said:


> Tied with the "tripod" that has flexible legs and can supposedly wrap around a fence post or branch. (The brand name has something to do with primates.) Yeah, it might work with a smartphone attached, but not a dSLR of any size or brand.



I have one of those (don't remember which brand). It struggled to even support the weight of a subcompact camcorder. No, such hardware is worse than useless because it gives the false impression that it might actually work, then drops your camera in a smoking, $5,000 pile of glass and plastic....




Zlyden said:


> I'd add all 'lenspens' to useless (or rather 'potentially dangerous') category. (A piece of microfiber fabric cleans a lens more efficiently. Or dry and clean t-shirt when I'm in hurry...)



Now there, I'm going to have to disagree with you. When I'm out shooting, I find that my shirts are anything but dry, and let's face it, a sweat-soaked shirt doesn't get finger grease off your lens very well. And microfiber cloths have to be washed, or they end up being greasy, and then they don't do any good.




AcutancePhotography said:


> Friends don't let friends buy Soft Focus filters.



I would put *all* filters in that category, with the exception of clear and UV-blocking filters, and with the *possible* exception of IR-pass filters. You can do pretty much anything else in post, but once you burn an effect into a photo, it's there forever....


----------



## privatebydesign (Dec 15, 2013)

dgatwood said:


> AcutancePhotography said:
> 
> 
> > Friends don't let friends buy Soft Focus filters.
> ...



I'd like to see you emulate a polarising filter in post, getting ride of reflections and glare.


----------



## ninjapeps (Dec 15, 2013)

privatebydesign said:


> dgatwood said:
> 
> 
> > AcutancePhotography said:
> ...


Emulating a long exposure in bright sunlight could prove difficult as well.


----------



## Zlyden (Dec 15, 2013)

dgatwood said:


> Zlyden said:
> 
> 
> > I'd add all 'lenspens' to useless (or rather 'potentially dangerous') category. (A piece of microfiber fabric cleans a lens more efficiently. Or dry and clean t-shirt when I'm in hurry...)
> ...



OK. Sorry. Then probably 'it's just me'. 

_I almost always have a 'lenspen' somewhere around, but do not bother to fish it out from a bag or shirt's pocket when I need to remove specks of dust or fingerprint from the glass. The pen's area is small, so it takes longer time to clean lens with it (during which you are trying hard to smear one small spot of dirt across whole lens area, and hope that there are no grains of sand caught between pen and glass). For me it normally ends with one more lenspen getting throughout laundry forgotten in shirt's or bag's pocket, after that it just gets thrown away..._


----------



## Don Haines (Dec 15, 2013)

ninjapeps said:


> privatebydesign said:
> 
> 
> > dgatwood said:
> ...


Emulating a long exposure in bright sunlight could prove difficult as well.


----------



## neuroanatomist (Dec 15, 2013)

dgatwood said:


> YuengLinger said:
> 
> 
> > Tied with the "tripod" that has flexible legs and can supposedly wrap around a fence post or branch. (The brand name has something to do with primates.) Yeah, it might work with a smartphone attached, but not a dSLR of any size or brand.
> ...



If you don't remember the brand, you probably don't remember the model. Joby makes 8 models of Gorillapods spanning a 20-fold load range (250 g to 5 kg). If you overloaded yours, that's user error, and if your camera falls, that's user foolishness (to be polite). The one I have supports its rated load with no trouble. 



dgatwood said:


> AcutancePhotography said:
> 
> 
> > Friends don't let friends buy Soft Focus filters.
> ...



As others have pointed out, it's clear you don't understand the potential uses of filters in digital photography.


----------



## eyeland (Dec 15, 2013)

I have a serious "hobby" (read: addiction) concerning cheap ebay gadgets and thus, I own countless small silly items that get little or no use. As an Avid DIY guy however, more often than not, I end up using the item or part of it later for something else. My Gorillapod knock-off will NOT sustain my 5D3, but it has become my favorite portable microphone stand for my home studio and/or when I perform my electronic singer/songwriter/laptop music
I am still undecided on the white balance lens caps I own - they could be really useful for DSLR video when I get around to tweaking the wb bias settings (the caps I have typically result in a cooler wb than I like)
I can only agree on the horribly designed lens caps hoods.. Bought a screw-in version by mistake for my 35mm IS - I barely needed to mount it to realize that it is a waste of good plastic  
Even though the remote shutter release seems like such a usable item it barely gets any use whatsoever.
Funny thread


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 15, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> If you don't remember the brand, you probably don't remember the model. Joby makes 8 models of Gorillapods spanning a 20-fold load range (250 g to 5 kg). If you overloaded yours, that's user error, and if your camera falls, that's user foolishness (to be polite). The one I have supports its rated load with no trouble.


+1


----------



## Quasimodo (Dec 15, 2013)

Eldar said:


> eml58 said:
> 
> 
> > Someone once said (may have been my Father), when you have a great idea, wait awhile, it generally goes away.
> ...



It is actually not a bad idea, imho.. I have never had a Gorillapod, but I bought the tiny Manfrotto table tripod with a ball head. I can hold my 5D II gripped plus 70-200 II steady without a problem. I bring it when I travel far away for the possibility to capture nighttime long exposures. The Gorillapods I have seen, have not pretended to be supportive of DSLRs. 

My most stupid buy was a cheap ring flash. Its recycling time is horrendous, and the quaity of light is really ugly. There are no such things as a real cheap good ring flash. The plastic thing that you mount to your flash can be fun.


----------



## mpphoto (Dec 15, 2013)

AcutancePhotography said:


> wtlloyd said:
> 
> 
> > Expodisc.
> ...



I bought a Vello white balance disc. One with a handle. Hold the disc in front of the lens, take a picture, then set custom white balance. My results were inconsistent to poor. In one circumstance, white balance was perfect. Then there were the three times I used the disc and my images were on the cool side. A slight blue or green tint that just looked bad.

I thought about keeping it, hoping to find a situation where it would work well. But I decided I'd rather have my $30 back and will return the thing. 

Actually, this topic inspired me to return the white balance disc. I already have enough purchases that seemed like good ideas at the time, but didn't pan out well. Too-small camera and tripod bags, spirit levels I never use. Might as well get my money back while I can, instead of adding to my inventory of useless accessories.


----------



## dgatwood (Dec 16, 2013)

ninjapeps said:


> privatebydesign said:
> 
> 
> > dgatwood said:
> ...



I personally think of both polarizers and ND filters as being in the "clear" category. The whole point of both is that they don't substantially alter the shot other than reducing the amount of light and/or glare.

With that said, I can emulate a long exposure by averaging several shots with the same framing, and there are ways to tame reflections as well, though they're a much bigger pain in the ***.


----------



## neuroanatomist (Dec 16, 2013)

dgatwood said:


> I personally think of both polarizers and ND filters as being in the "clear" category.



So, you personally think a 10-stop ND filter should be referred to as 'clear'? I do not think that word means what you think it means.


----------



## Ben Taylor (Dec 16, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> dgatwood said:
> 
> 
> > I personally think of both polarizers and ND filters as being in the "clear" category.
> ...



Jon I think you should head off to your local optometrist for a check up. Obviously your pupils don't dilate enough to make a 10 stop ND appear clear when you hold it up to your eye. 

This entire thread if full of absurd decisions rather than absurd accessories. Except that tiny camera attached to the cat, that's both useless and hilarious!


----------



## eyeland (Dec 16, 2013)

Quasimodo said:


> My most stupid buy was a cheap ring flash.


Mm, had totally forgotten about that one.. Was planning to do a few heads-shots of some DJ friends for their social media profiles and such and figured that this would be the proper use of the sometime corny "ring-shaped-catch-lights-around the pupil", so I picked one of the few cheap models that claimed compatibility with 77mm filter thread. When it arrived, I realized: (i) that the circuitry gave off a high-frequency noise that was very unpleasant and (ii) whereas the device was physically compatible with 77mm, you could actually see the ring in the frame - even at 105mm  Wrote a sad mail to the ebay seller and he refunded my 50$ and told me that I could keep the device... 


Ben Taylor said:


> Except that tiny camera attached to the cat, that's both useless and hilarious!



I remember seeing a video somewhere using one of the cat cameras that was absolutely amazing. 
I'd get one (and a cat)if my wife wasn't allergic ..


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## ajfotofilmagem (Dec 16, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> I bought a micro camera to clip onto Fluffy's collar to see what she did all day. The camera was set to take an image every 10 seconds. I managed to capture 9 hours of sleeping cat.
> 
> I tried it on her outside. She came back without camera and collar. I never found it.


Personal attention! Found lost camera of the cat's neck.  Watch the video.

http://youtu.be/Ky90oZOMvt8


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## Don Haines (Dec 16, 2013)

ajfotofilmagem said:


> Don Haines said:
> 
> 
> > I bought a micro camera to clip onto Fluffy's collar to see what she did all day. The camera was set to take an image every 10 seconds. I managed to capture 9 hours of sleeping cat.
> ...


YES!!!! That's the kind of stupidity I was hoping to see when I started this thread!


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## surapon (Dec 16, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> ajfotofilmagem said:
> 
> 
> > Don Haines said:
> ...



+ 1 for me too.
Surapon


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## Zlyden (Dec 16, 2013)

Don Haines said:


> ajfotofilmagem said:
> 
> 
> > Don Haines said:
> ...



;D

Well... why not to tie 1D X with EF 600 to cat's neck next time? 

(Or D7 with EF 300 as some forum members insist -- you might get really cool pictures of birds in you neighborhood...)


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 17, 2013)

Zlyden said:


> why not to tie 1D X with EF 600 to cat's neck next time?
> 
> (Or D7 with EF 300 -- you might get really cool pictures of birds in you neighborhood...)


Brilliant idea ...not at all absurd ;D


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## surapon (Dec 17, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Zlyden said:
> 
> 
> > why not to tie 1D X with EF 600 to cat's neck next time?
> ...



+ 1 for me too, Dear Rienz
No, No, No---" D7 with EF 300 "---Not for Pussy cat, But for the Big Tiger or the king of the jungle , Lion---We can get only the Run away people and small animal, when our helper ( Tiger or Lion) are hungry.
Ha, Ha, Ha.
Nice to talk to you again.
Have a great Tuesday.
Surapon


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## Zlyden (Dec 17, 2013)

surapon said:


> No, No, No---" D7 with EF 300 "---Not for Pussy cat, But for the Big Tiger or the king of the jungle , Lion---We can get only the Run away people and small animal, when our helper ( Tiger or Lion) are hungry.
> Ha, Ha, Ha.
> Nice to talk to you again.
> Have a great Tuesday.
> Surapon



So, it could be a general recommendation for bird photographers with 7D + EF 300 in tropical countries:

If you walk through the jungle and suddenly see a Tiger (or Lion) with 1D X + EF 600 looking at you, stay still until he/she/it makes a picture, then run as fast as you can...


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## surapon (Dec 17, 2013)

Zlyden said:


> surapon said:
> 
> 
> > No, No, No---" D7 with EF 300 "---Not for Pussy cat, But for the Big Tiger or the king of the jungle , Lion---We can get only the Run away people and small animal, when our helper ( Tiger or Lion) are hungry.
> ...



Ha, Ha, Ha---Dear Zlyden.
The Heavy equipment might slow the king of the Jungle down some----Ha, Ha, Ha
Surapon


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## wickidwombat (Dec 18, 2013)

YuengLinger said:


> Mini-softbox for on camera flash...
> 
> Tied with the "tripod" that has flexible legs and can supposedly wrap around a fence post or branch. (The brand name has something to do with primates.) Yeah, it might work with a smartphone attached, but not a dSLR of any size or brand.
> 
> Both of these things are in my private museum of stupidity--a box in our garage.



keep these they are super awesome for popping on a speedlight to mount on wierd things


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## mackguyver (Dec 26, 2013)

I'll add another one - built in lens hoods. Sure, they sound great until you have to send your lens to Canon to replace a dented one on your 400 f/5.6 for over $400. Oh yeah, and then do it again a year later. 

For that price, I can get a huge carbon fiber (versus small metal) hood for my 300 f/2.8 IS II from B&H and put it on myself.


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