Think Tank Speedtop Crossbody Camera Bag 2023

Hi folks, you will find a full video-based review for this awesome new shoulder bag on my youtube channel at this link: Speedtop Crossbody Youtube Link

The video covers the 15 size but there is a smaller 10 size if you're interested with all the same feature set.

I don't usually get excited about camera bags these days having reviewed so many in the past but you really need to take a look at this bag. It's innovative magnetic lid opening style makes using the bag effortless in all weather types, not to mention eliminating the the annoying velcro ripping sound completely. It's perfect for run and gun, weddings or just to offer your camera and lens a little extra protection when traveling. 

I've put some shameless paid links in the description of this video and be sure to check out the Think Tank/Mindshift link as they sometimes give small freebies with your purchase. If you find the video useful kindly subscribe, like and hit the notification bell and thanks sooooo much for stopping by! 

US customers use this link for free gift when available: https://www.thinktankphoto.com/?rfsn=7140694.c320d54

Speedtop Crossbody 10 link: https://amzn.to/3xdYalg
Speedtop Crossbody 15 link: https://amzn.to/3lC8QHA
Speedtop Crossbody link direct from Think Tank/Mindshift Gear:         
http://www.mindshiftgear.com?rfsn=482972.2bed9

Enjoy!

Yongnuo, YN 560III

Well folks it finally happened, I broke our new YN-560 version 3 speed light. Yes sir, knocked it off a tv stand while shooting a family portrait during Easter dinner. Unfortunately, I had the wide angle lens panel extended and because it's only held on by two very small tabs, one broke. I did contact "www.thephotogadget.com" to see about repairs but as I suspected it would have to be returned to Yongnuo for his kind of repair.

So the moral of this story is, be more careful with your speed lights especially when you have the wide angle lens in use, it's clearly the most fragile part on this or any speed light.

It's not all bad though, I'm happy to report once again I got excellent support from www.thephotogadget.com in China and other than a busted wide angle lens panel which I simply removed altogether, my 560 is still going strong. Will be purchasing another one soon. Also looking forward to the release of the new YN-622N triggers for Nikon. It will be quite interesting to see if they will function like the Phottix Odins or even something close would be a welcome addition.

If you're wondering about the function of the radio triggers in the 560III's they are simply awesome. So much more convenient to use and super reliable! See the full review at: http://www.youtube.com/user/pathtechdesign

Paul
Path-Tech Photography & Gear Reviews

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

We wish to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support in 2012 and we wish you all the best in the coming year.

We'll have some more great reviews coming your way soon in addition to some cool new web projects.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Think Tank Photo Releases Two New Bags! Airport Navigator & City Walker 20

Airport Navigator & City Walker 20

We got the chance recently to review both of Think Tank’s new bags and we were equally impressed with both offerings. The Navigator allows two full size dslrs to be accessed from the top while other items are easily accessed via a large side opening panel. The City Walker 20 was a refreshing change from carrying a ton of pro gear around. It was so nice to just get out around town with a lighter kit. It reminded us why we got into photography in the first place–it’s fun!

Both bags will not be available until mid November but if you wish to be notified when they are in stock use this link: 

http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e6kym148h8ywdjzb/start

Full details are available in the videos and thanks for stopping by!

Orion Tilt Head II & PT323 Carbon Fiber Tripod by Photo Clam

We recently acquired two new products from the Korean manufacturer Photo Clam. A Gimbel Head and a Carbon Fiber Tripod. Although Photo Clam is not so well known in North America yet, especially in Canada where we operate, I believe this company will be the one to watch for in the coming months.

The first product I want to discuss is their new Orion Tilt Head II, Gimble Mount. This very substantial unit is designed to handle lenses up to 600mm. We did a couple of remote location shoots recently where we had our 70-200mm Sigma lens with a 2 times teleconverter attached with their PC-170-UP arca style mounting plate and we were quite impressed with the Orion's performance. So much so, we posted a video review on our YouTube channel at: (www.youtube.com/user/pathtechdesign). Price for the mount is $569.99 at B&H Photo and make no mistake this is a well made piece of equipment that is sure to last you a lifetime. (Weight 3.1lbs )

The second product we used is the PT323 Pro Gold 3-Section Carbon Fiber Tripod so we would have a rock solid base for our Gimbal mount. Weighing in at 3.74 lbs and costing $499 (comes with a nice ripstop nylon case) also at B&H, quality is the keyword here. We have found Photo Clam to be second to none in their build quality and machining. This is not our first experience with their products so we feel very confident saying that, if you are in the market for such a product, you owe it to yourself to consider Photo Clam's offerings.

Photo Clam Tripods and Ball Heads

If you're like us and in the market for a new ball head and or tripod, you really should give Photo Clam products a look. Made in Korea with top notch quality they offer great value for the money.

We recently took their Pro 38NS Ball Head and PT-124 Carbon Fibre Tripod for a test drive and were thoroughly impressed with both the build quality and performance of both.

They're available through B&H Photo in New York.

Photography Equipment Reviews

Path-Tech's Gear

Wow, we didn't realize we hadn't blogged for a while so here's what's new.

We've been doing a ton of web and elearning work over the summer months and part of that work revolves around the photography that's required to bring these projects to life. Being passionate about photography we thought it might be helpful for our viewers if we reviewed some of the equipment we use on a day to day basis. To this end, you will notice a new page on our blog listing all the video reviews we've done to date.

You can see a larger view by going to the source of the videos which is our YouTube channel. www.youtube.com/pathtech

We hope you find the videos helpful with what ever projects you might be engaged with and don't hesitate to email us with any questions you might have. We'll be happy to hear from you I promise and thanks for stopping by.

Best regards,

Paul Phillips
info@pathtechdesign.com

If you looking for a great place to buy your next piece of camera equipment, please give our friends at B&H Photo a try! www.bhphotovideo.com

Cross Pollination can Drive Traffic to your Business

If you are looking for a way to raise awareness for your small business or products one great way to get your message across is by posting a short video on YouTube. Recent information tells us that 25% of Google searches are coming from YouTube. That means folks are logging on and watching their favourite YouTube videos and then doing a Google search for something they’ve seen on YouTube. Cross pollination would be one name for this but what ever you call it, the bottom line is that it can definitely help drive traffic and raise awareness for your business by having a presence on YouTube and or a Blog. Every little bit helps!

We recommend not using the hard sell tactics but simply offer advice or do a quick product review that might be of interest to your clients or intenders.

If you would like more information or some help setting up a YouTube channel please drop us a line or give us a call.

Paul Phillips

Path-Tech Web Design

info@pathtechdesign.com

Small Business Websites

If you're thinking about starting a small business website here's a few things to think about.

1. Your new website is the first impression people will make about your business so it must make a positive impact.

2. You will have 3 seconds to capture your clients attention when they land on your site so again, it must be visually appealing.

3. There should be no mistake about what your business or service is about.

4. Avoid the "lets cram as many buttons on a page as we can" syndrome as your prospects will get frustrated and click away.

5. Know your target audience. If your target audience is over 40 years of age then tiny text on your site is not the way to go as this audience won't be able to easily read your message.

6. Ensure contact information is clear and easily accessible.

7. Lastly, don't give your prospects any reason to click away from your site. Make your site as inviting as possible.

Thanks for stopping by and give us a call if you would like some help putting together your new website!

Paul Phillips

On behalf of myself and the entire Path-Tech team, we wanted to take a moment from our busy schedule to wish all our clients and intenders a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. We sincerely appreciate your business and we're looking forward to serving you in the new year. Play safe, don't drink and drive and we'll all have a terrific 2011.

Paul Phillips
Path-Tech Design Inc.

PATH-TECH WEB DESIGN, a brand new website!

Hey folks, we just launched a brand new site for you at www.pathtechwebdesign.com. We're still offering the same great service we've just separated the web design side of the business from our elearning efforts and we hope you like the new design. Drop us a line if you wish to comment or if you need some help with an upcoming project.

Thanks for your support!

Paul Phillips

Founder/ Path-Tech Design Inc.

info@pathtechdesign.com

Taking Advantage of Social Media

Hi folks, I wanted to chime in for you on this social media thing to see if I can help some of you small business owners take advantage of a great free opportunity. I think most of us are aware that Blogspot, Facebook and Twitter are currently the most popular three social media connection points at the moment and it can only help your business to take advantage them.

Why would you want to do this? Because it's free and it gives your business a second outlet to get your message out. Lets say you set up a blog with Google's Blogspot to offer free advice about your products. Instantly what happens is the webs mighty search engines are now crawling your blog and thereby making more connections to your business. At the same time your offering free advice about your product and adding value for your customers.

Just remember that because these are social media outlets where people talk about everything from the best cup of coffee they've ever had to last nights date you need to be subtle with your message. Heavy handed sales pitches won't work here. Create your presence and offer free advice about your products and leave it at that.

If you would like to get involved with social media but need some support, please don't hesitate to contact us. We can help you setup your blog and teach you how to use and take advantage of it.

You can check out our YouTube channel at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/PATHTECHDESIGN

Once again, I hope this helps.

Paul Phillips

Founder/ Path-Tech Design Inc.

info@pathtechdesign.com

PATH-TECH takes the plunge on YouTube!

Well we finally did it. Path-Tech is now officially on YouTube! You will find our first three video offerings geared towards helping you get started building your first elearning course and there will be more to follow shortly. Like our blog the theme for our YouTube channel will be to offer free advice relating to the construction of elearning courses or their testing, tracking and reporting. Here's what is currently available:

Video #1 - eLearning Storyboard Sequencing

Video #2 - Software Choice for Storyboards

Video #3 - Content Basics

You can find us on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/user/PATHTECHDESIGN

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to comment on the posts or fire us your questions if you having any course construction issues.

Best Regards,

Paul Phillips

Founder-PATH-TECH DESIGN INC.

e-Commerce for Your Website

More and more folks are adding e-Commerce to their small business websites these days and why not. It's an easy cost effective way to sell that offers customers the ultimate in convenience. If you're planning to add e-commerce to your site here's a tip you should be aware of. At least 60% of all e-commerce transactions are never completed. In many cases it's because your customers don't have confidence in your site due to poor design or questions about security or they simply aren't clear about some aspect of the purchase. Make sure your products are clearly displayed and your e-commerce engine is intuitive, reliable and 100% trust worthy. Making customers jump through numerous hoops to get to check out will only frustrate them and erode any confidence that brought them to your site in the first place.

PayPal is one the better engines to use because it's well established, intuitive and very secure.

If you need more advice for an upcoming project we're happy help out.

Best Regards,

Paul Phillips

Founder-PATH-TECH DESIGN INC.

New Years Resolutions 2010

On behalf of all of us at Path-Tech Design we wish to thank all of our clients for your confidence with us in 2009 and rest assured that we will be continuing and strengthening our efforts in 2010 to deliver top quality products and genuine value for your money in the elearning arena.

We are fully aware that you have many choices when it comes to choosing an elearning service provider and we are truly thankful to those of you that gave us your vote of confidence last year. If your resolution is to take on an elearning initiative in 2010 we would be happy to assist you in any way possible.

Happy New Year

Paul Phillips/Founder of Path-Tech Design Inc.

To Scorm or Not to Scorm, that is the Question?

Hey folks, lets talk about SCORM for a minute.

The question of SCORM seems to be rearing its ugly head more and more these days so I thought I would give my 2 cents worth on this subject based on our elearning experiences over the last 10 years.

Firstly, Scorm is basically a technical specification that governs how online training is created and delivered to learners. A lot of agency types will tell you that if you are getting into elearning you have to have SCORM. Frankly, I think this is mostly because they would like to sell you their SCORM compliant Learning Management System (LMS). You might also hear statements like "if you have a SCORM system then you can take any SCORM compliant course off the shelf and use it on your system." This statement would beg the question, how many SCORM courses do you currently have? My experience has been that for whatever reason no two SCORM systems are alike--combine this with the fact that there are currently four versions of SCORM and, well, you get the idea. As a result of all of this I've seen many companies get bogged down trying to get their SCORM systems to integrate and function properly when they should have been channeling their resources into content development.

If you're getting into eLearning it's likely because you have staff that require training or you're trying to reduce training costs. Spend your money developing good elearning courses and content to meet your immediate needs and take the time to look at the best way to archive and serve up your growing library of courses when you have time to do a proper analysis of what's available that will properly meet your needs.

Flash-based elearning courses can be run from your company's servers or a vendors without the use of SCORM. A simple database can be used for that matter that will offer the same encryption the banks use.

For more info on testing tracking and reporting your elearning, check out our entry from Feb 28, 2009 or go to www.quizzpoint.com.

Thanks for stopping by.

Paul

eLearning Implementation Planning

If elearning is so good, then why are so many companies not seeing the results they had hoped for with their elearning programs? The answer to this question in most cases is poor planning, “people don’t plan to fail--they fail to plan” I believe is the famous quote. What is the end goal that you wish to achieve with elearning and what is your plan to accomplish that goal? 

A great number of companies these days seem to think that having access to a myriad of information will somehow transport students to a higher level of performance. People haven't changed the ways that they learn something new. They still have to practice new concepts to get comfortable with them and get feedback to ensure they're on the right track. If companies don't adopt sound learning principles to base their elearning efforts on then they will not realize the performance improvements they hoped for. 

To have success with elearning it has to be understood that elearning itself is nothing more than a delivery tool. You have to have a plan to put an elearning infrastructure in place that will grow both the elearning program and the people driving the program. Further, and this is crucial, you must have something in place to measure the effectiveness of your elearning’s implementation. This comes usually in the form of simple testing initially but further on will require a tracking or management system. I could talk at length on this topic but just wanted to share a few key pointers. 

Good Luck!

Paul

Print Functionality in eLearning

Time and time again the question of printing in elearning comes up and my answer to this question is always the same. Whether you are using print functionality or blending instructor led training with elearning these combinations will only work to your advantage when it comes to helping your students. Lets take a look at what can typically be done with printing in elearning courses. You may think it’s ironic that we’re even mentioning printing in elearning but make no mistake printing can be a tremendous help if it’s used wisely. 

First off, lets deal with the issue of printing an elearning screen or section of a course. This may be especially helpful in situations where your course is addressing the operation of a piece of equipment. Your student may remember this section of the course but would like to have a diagram or reference in front of him as he is servicing this equipment.

What exactly is going to be printed and how. Typically, the most widely used document for printing is an Acrobat pdf document. This means that, that document has to get assembled some where which means for you the designer or flash course builder, you have more work to do. But hey, we’ll just transfer that cost to the client and make some money this week! The good news is that you will likely already have all your course assests assembled in your powerpoint or keynote file so extracting them to make a pdf isn’t that tough. Your best bet when it comes to making pdfs is to dump your course assets into a program like Adobe InDesign or QuarkXpress. The main reason for doing this is that both Keynote and Powerpoint will not allow you to export all three sections of their normal view as one document or one page and Quark and InDesign perform this task exceptionally well. 

What you will have to do is take your photos and script from your story board and lay it out in InDesign in a one page layout that can be as simple as graphic on top and text on the bottom. Slap a title on it and you're ready to export to a pdf. By doing this you’ll be able to call up the pdf for printout in your Flash course. 

One of the best examples of using printing to benefit your students that I could think of, is a course that I built some years ago for a car company. I set up the service version of the course so technicians were able to access pdf instructions to assemble accessory components while the sales side of the company needed to see pdfs that showed the look and cost of those same accessories. The benefit for both was a cost savings overall as I built one course for two departments but moreover, technicians were able to print installation instructions that they could have in their hand at the time of installation as a reference. On the other side of the coin, the sales staff were able to use their pdfs to learn about the components and then show potential customers how their vehicle might look with a particular accessory installed. This is one technique that I use to this day and I’m glad to be able to share it with you.

All the best,

Paul

QuizzPoint gets yet another really cool feature!

Hey folks, ever wish you could reduce the amount of time you spend administrating your elearning courses? Here's a neat little feature we've recently added to QuizzPoint to allow students to register themselves into classes and preclude the main administrator from having to constantly update classes with new students. No more endless phoning back and forth to get confirmation.

Here's how it works:

1. The main administrator creates a self registration class within the QuizzPoint program. That's a group of students that the administrator so designates for that class based on whatever proprietary requirements fit that designation. Province, State, Sales, Service etc. 
2. The students in this class can then be emailed from QuizzPoint informing them to self register on their next login. This would be done from QuizzPoint's email manager.
3. Once registered these students will now automatically be eligible for courses or tests that that class is assigned to.
   
4. And of course, the main administrator can still add or remove students from that class. 

It doesn't seem like much, but if you've spent any time doing training administration recently you'll know this new feature is going to save a ton of time and offer students a better experience overall.

Paul

Instructor Led Training is on its way out?

Hi folks, I fielded an interesting querry today from a friend of mine and right away I realized what a great topic it was for our blog. The question I fielded was this, "is instructor-led training on its way out?" I guess with all the elearning going on these days, some people might come to that conclusion but the reality is no, instructor-led training is not on its way out. 

Generally, when you start elearning you quickly discover that "what's nice to know becomes elearning and what's need to know remains instructor-led training." That is, do we need to drag bodies into a classroom to deliver information that they might just as easily and more conveniently acquire from an elearning course? Absolutely not, lets bring them to class only when it's absolutely necessary. For example, lets assume you just trained a newly promoted manager of a car dealership how to read a financial sheet. Would you want him loose in your dealership without checking his competence face to face first. I don't think so--therefore, we bring the candidate into instructor led training after he's already completed the initial elearning training and check to make sure he has the necessary skill you hoped for. The initial elearning course delivers all the background information for the student and helps to make the in-class training more efficient by allowing the in-class instructor to target key areas to check competence and thereby not wasting time on extraneous details. This improves the quality of the in-class training and almost always reduces the amount required.

In a nutshell, elearning has become a great adjunct or supplement to hands-on instructor-led training but it is by no means going to eliminate instructor-led training any time soon.

Hope this helps!

Paul