Crumpler Pony Box Photo Backpack Review

UPDATE: The laptop pocket is made for 13" laptops, My 13" MacBook Pro fits in it and there really is not too much "wiggle room" . May Mac measures roughly 9" wide by 13" long. You might want to look up exact measurements on apple's site.

I went to England over the summer, long story short, they had a Crumpler store! Boy, was I excited! (Oh, took some killer photos too)
I bought a new Crumpler camera backpack among a few other things. Crumpler has a different lineup of products in Europe then they do in the U.S. (I had my eye on the Pony Box for some time now but I had no way of buying it.) Now I am more of a messenger bag type person but I will eventually break down and agree that a backpack is more comfortable if your out and about for long periods of time. The reason why I like messenger bags so much is you can get your camera and accessories out of the bag without putting it down. You can even get stuff out while your walking. Not so with a backpack... until now. What I like about the Crumpler Pony Box so much is that there is a zipper on top of the bag so that you can get your camera out without laying the bag down on the ground in dog pee. The only problem is that you can only reach your camera and maybe one other accessory, depending on how you setup the bag. Unfortunately you can only reach the very top of the bag through this zipper, in order to reach the rest of the bag the bag must be placed on it's front. Unlike other bags the part of the bag that rests upon your back is the section that opens up. Some people like this setup, others don't. Personally, I like it. I feel that my gear is more protected from thieves. In past experience Crumpler's robust material actually is pretty dirt resistant too.
Now, I am a big fan of Crumpler, so naturally I have many of their bags. For the few years I had them I really beat the living snot out of them. None of my bags have broke, worn out, or failed me in any way shape or form. Most of them still look new. Crumpler bags are tougher than a Sherman tank. So take my word, the Pony Box is strong. Not only is the material tough, it is also rain proof/resistant. Crumpler also supplied a rain cover for the bag for your trecks though the Amazon rain forest.

Rain cover inside the side pocket.

The bag can swallow up more gear then what it looks like it can. I can fit 50D's in just fine and my trusty side kick camera. (My side kick camera is a Canon 350D with battery grip.) The Pony Box gets really deep at the bottom of the bag. I can stand my 580EX II flash upright at the bottom and it fits just fine. I can also fit more in the Pony Box than I can in my "6 Million Dollar Home." That includes my biggest (dimension wise) lens, a Sigma 50-500mm DG. Although I did have to get pretty creative with arranging the padded dividers. The bag has a laptop sleeve built into the back of the bag. It isn't removable.

The sleeve will probably fit a 13" laptop, it did not fit my 15" laptop. Not even close.

There are also a lot of other places to put memory cards, wires, pens, pencils, etc... (See pics)
While we are talking about size, this bag is a great travel companion. The Pony Box fits in a plane's overhead bins and under the seats fine. It even can fit in a regional jet's overhead bin. (A crj700) Also, this bag doesn't look as big as a house, like some other photo bags. It looks tailored, so the airline employees don't take it away from you because it looks too big.
As with all Crumplers, this bag doesn't look like a photo bag. That way the bag doesn't draw attention to baddies. My bag is a reddish-brownish. It looks stunning in person.
The Pony Box is very comfortable too. The padding on the back of the bag is very good. I thought the straps didn't have enough padding when I looked at it. I was wrong. They have plenty of padding, very comfortable.

View of the very well padded back...

I only have two gripes with this bag. Firstly, the outside side pockets can be difficult to open. (One has the rain cover in it, the other you can use for your ipod) Secondly, the top half of the bag is not very deep. In order for the bag to be styled the way it is, it must be like that. Even though the top is not deep, there's still plenty of room in it.

What a great looking bag, huh?

With my Sigma 50-500mm for size.

Note the flash in the "deep end".

See the Sigma fits....

View of the quick access zipper.

View of the same quick access area, but with the extra storage flaps out.

I should let you know Crumpler's websites are kind of screwy, you just have to put up with it I guess.

Crumpler's USA site

Crumpler's UK site, Pony Box page

Side Note: I have been doing a lot of apologizing in my posts for my pictures. Well, this post is no exception. I am sorry for the snapshot quality photos. I just came back from my trip yesterday and I am very tired and didn't feel like doing studio shots. So I took these photos in my bedroom, where my bed is. At a later time I will take better quality photos for yoZzzzzzzzzzzz.

Also, check out the archive (to the right of this post) for more photography tips and reviews. There is car stuff too.

2009 Lexus RX 350 Review and Road Test

When you think of luxury cars, what pops into your mind? Perhaps you think of Germans with micrometers measuring every single inch to their very high standards of the Mercedes they are building. Maybe you think of the British sculpting the works of art they call Jaguars. I bet you never associated the Japanese with luxury cars though. When I think Japanese, I think Nissan skyline, Subaru STI, and Mitsubishi EVO. These cars are loaded with High-tech gadgety goodness and are very, very fast. But those Japanese can do luxury and they do it well. Lexus's parent company is Toyota and as we know those Toyota's last forever, this reliability also trickels down to Lexus too.
Now, you might not get the soul, passion and racing haritage like you get in a Jaguar or BMW but if you go with Lexus you get a very well built vehical for the best price on the market.
This is the same story for the 2009 Lexus RX350 too. I have done a lot of vehical testing in the entry level luxury SUV market and Lexus stands out on top. The RX350 has an interior that is put together very well. The plastics and leather are of top-notch quality. The seats are very comfortable too. The RX350 is packed with so many gadgets and gizmos it makes a NASA space shuttle look primitive.
Under the hood you get a V6 that runs on premium fuel, if you complain about the higher cost of premium fuel you probably should not be looking for a luxury vehicle. Or at least buy an American "luxury" vehicle with their Tonka truck plastic interiors and pop can in the door build quality. Oops, off track. Your not going to get outstanding gas mileage with the RX350's V6 but it is still good. If your a "vegitablelist" who wants to save the planet you might want to look into the RX400h, which is the same vehicle except it is a hybrid but it is more expensive.
So the RX350 is built good, has many gizmo goodies, and what else?
Well... the ride is boringly good. The suspension smooths out the rode like it is supposed to do in a cushy luxury car. If you want a sporty handling SUV you might want to take a look at the BMW X3. You'll pay through the nose if you go with the X3 though. The X3's base price is more than the RX350's and you get a lot less then the Lexus too. More on that a bit later.
Do you remember the Jeep Commander that I reviewed awhile back? That is what I would call a big SUV. Guess what? The Lexus has more cargo room inside, even though it doesn't look like it.
I believe Jeep has 74 Cu ft and the Lexus has 80. So the Lexus has plenty roomy inside for those very long road trips. When your kids are hootin' and banging their heads against the windows, you won't mind so much because the Lexus will be their to sooth the tension that is building inside your head. The RX350 is a really nice place to be in. It's like a day on the beach, in Hawaii, with your favorite drink in hand, with bikini-wearing ladies walking all around. The Lexus makes you go," aaaaaahhh."
The major selling point of the Lexus RX350 is that it's the cheapest. Well, that really isn't correct. I should say the RX350 is the priced the best. Mercedes Benz has the cheapest SUV, the GLK, but it is smaller and you get less on it. If you get the based price (37-38K) Lexus RX350 the only thing you don't get is navigation. Oh, dear how can you survive without it? If you look at any other high-end manufacturer base price you don't get anything. No leather, no electronic goodies, nothing. You'll find out that once you start loading the others SUV's with goodies the price goes sky-high, well above the RX350's "all ready loaded with goodies" price.
Go with the RX350 people. Just because it is the best value doesn't mean it is junk or has no do-hickys on it. The Lexus has bulletproof reliability, great build quality, and is pretty much fully loaded at it's base price.

Lexus RX350 official website

(Again I am sorry for the Wikipedia photo at the top of this post. I am ashamed)

SIDE NOTE:
Some other options in the same segment.

1)Land Rover LR2 (great build quality, more off road-able, second best value for your money)
2) BMW X3 (more fun to drive but horribly over priced)
3) Mercedes Benz GLK (Starts at 35K without any goodies, it's a Benz)
4) Volkswagen's top of the line Tiguan (see previous review) or a base model Touareg.
Although a Touareg is one notch above this segment.
5) You also might want to look into Acura's and Nissan's range of SUVs too.

HONL Speed Strap Review (& thoughts)

If your into lighting with strobes, you most likely have Velcro around the head of your flash for your gobos and snoots.
After awhile this Velcro will wear out and you'll have to replace it. This can get messy. The Velcro can be more difficult to remove off of your flash than trying to get your dog to play Beethoven on the family's piano. Also, the sticky from the Velcro will goop-up your flash and make it look unprofessional. This is where the Honl Speed Strap comes in. Sure you can make one of these speed straps from a bit of inner tube and Velcro, but by the time you buy the materials and make one I think your better off just buying Honl's speed strap. There really isn't much to it. The strap wraps around your flash and it has velcro to attach your gobos to it. This speed strap has a rubbery/plastic non-slip backing to it so it wont slide about on your flash. The strap is adjustable so it should fit just about any flash. The speed strap is of very good quality, it actually suprised me on how well it's made. For about $10 you can't go wrong.
There really are no faults with this product that I can find. The only problem (if you can call it that) is if you have multiple flashes, these straps might start to get a little pricy.
If that's the case you might be better off doing your own DIY speed staps. Take a look at this link from Strobist.com to make you own Speed Strap.
DIY Speed Strap

If you don't have more flashes then you can shake a stick at, or you have some spare cash, go for the Honl Speed Strap.
HONL Speed Strap, for all of your goboing needs

So there you have it, a very cool and very helpful piece of gear that I can no longer live without,
The Honl Speed Strap.

Are American Cars Any Good?

If your a car-nut like me you probably are aware of the show "Top Gear" (UK).
Jeremy Clarkson is one of the hosts of this television program, he is also a columnist. Now, I have watched his shows and read a lot of his articles. His opinion on American cars is that they pretty much suck. He mentions how they are too big, ugly, slow, bad on gas, poorly built, and how they can't go round corners. I am going to have to agree with him. But as Mr. CLarkson brought up, American cars are perfect... in America. Take for example the new Dodge Challenger, it would not "work" in Europe. It's big and does not handle all that well. Heck, the Volkswagen Tiguan handles just about as good as the Challenger. The (SRT 8) Challenger is absolutely a pig when it comes to fuel consumption. In Europe you need a car that can fit in parking spaces and it must be able to be flicked around the city with ease. In America this is another story. Picture this, your travling down a freeway with very little traffic. The temperature is 76.5 degrees and you have your windows rolled down. Your arm is hanging out the window and the breeze is blowing through your hair. With that big V8 growling as you cruise down the road, you feel free... you feel alive. That is what the American car is about. We don't just use it as a tool, we don't care that it only gets 8 MPG, and we don't care that the door gaps are bigger than the Grand Caynon. We care about how the car makes us feel.

Side Note:
Also, we Americans like our cars to be a little more plush and our straight roads allow our cars to be plush. This is why American cars don't usually corner as well as a European car. You see in Europe the people tend to drive much faster, their highways have speed limits of 80 MPH. Except on the German Autobahn where you can go like you have bees up your back side. Unlike America's straight as an arrow roads, the roads in Europe tend to be very curvy like a dragon's tail. The European's need a car to be able to handle these curvy roads. They need a car to get good gas mileage too. You see gas prices in Europe are so high, that people are known to sell their grandparents to "employers" in Ethiopia.
I still say that European cars work great in the States though. Some people will say the cars are too small or the car will steal their job at one of the big 3. That is a whole other topic in itself.
I love a European tuned suspension even though our roads are flat. Yeah it might get jigglier then jello, but so what? I love to be able to feel like I am part of the car. A European car might not be as fast in a straight line but it defiantly makes up for it in the twisty bits.
Whatever you choose, American or European, take it out for a test drive. Both have their pros and cons. No matter what you pick, it will be a great vehicle.