(Credit:
Sunpak)
One of the more recent additions to Sunpak's tripod line is the 523PX Pistol Grip Tripod, an inexpensive, full-size carbon fiber tripod with a pistol grip ball head. Available for $199 from Best Buy, it's one of the cheaper carbon fiber tripods around and it's lightweight and very portable because of its carbon fiber construction.
The Sunpak 523PX Pistol Grip Tripod has seven-layer carbon fiber legs with a maximum height of 64 inches, and is 27.3 inches long when collapsed. It has three positions of leg angle locks for low-angle photography, with a minimum height of 12 inches. There's a second center column for low-level photography and retractable leg spikes for when outdoors.
The tripod features a pistol grip ball head, with a detachable quick-release camera plate that can hold up to 6.1 pounds. There's a built-in bubble level for setting up shots. Foam leg pads make carrying comfortable, and a padded tripod carrying case with shoulder strap is included.
The Sunpak 523PX Pistol Grip Tripod also comes with a lifetime guarantee.
The Model Seven
(Credit: Michael Trei/DVICE)Over at Dvice, my buddy Michael Trei was floored by the sounds at the Vandersteen room at the Consumer Electronics show last week in Las Vegas. The company debuted its new Model Seven speakers in a $300,000 system while spinning LPs.
Richard Vandersteen told me about these new speakers last year, when he was still perfecting his balsa wood/carbon fiber "sandwich" material for tweeters and woofer drivers. It's super lightweight, which enables the driver to keep up with the music's ever changing signals better than more conventional materials, yet it's so strong, you can actually stand on a balsa/carbon cone without damaging it.
Building each driver is, at least for now, a labor-intensive process, so the Model Seven is considerably more expensive than Vandersteen's bread-and-butter models (prices start around $785 a pair. The Model Seven will sell for $45,000 a pair. Vandersteen speakers are manufactured in Hanford, Calif.
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Manfrotto's new 190CXPRO4 carbon fiber tripod lets you pivot the center column into a horizontal position.
(Credit: Manfrotto)If you're back is starting to hurt from hauling around a metal tripod, you might like the sound of Manfrotto's new CX-Series of tripods, since they're made of carbon fiber. Of course, it's nothing new that carbon fiber is lighter than aluminum, which is what most metal tripods are made of. The new thing here is that Manfrotto has added its innovative Q90 center column system to its array of carbon fiber tripods. The Q90 system lets you switch the center column from vertical to horizontal without having to remove it and reinsert it, as you have to on most tripods that allow a horizontal center column, including Manfrotto's older models.
The CX series includes three models: the 190CXPRO3, 190CXPRO4, and 190CX3. Only the PRO3 and PRO4 include the Q90 center column, the CX3 has a vertical-only center column, which is aluminum, though the legs on all three tripods are carbon fiber. Some folk will tell you that a horizontal center column is an unnecessary extravagance, but those people probably don't do much macro shooting and might not have realized how convenient a horizontal column can be when setting up a makeshift copy stand. Sure this feature costs a little extra, but tripods tend to last a long time, so that's one purchase on which you can spend a little extra and get a lot in return.
All three of the new models can reach a maximum height of 57.5 inches (about 4.8 feet) with the legs and center column fully extended and can hold a maximum of 11 pounds. The 190CX3 folds down to 21.7-inches with the legs and center column closed, weighs 2.9 pounds, and is expected to cost about $250. The 190CXPRO3 folds down to 22.8-inches, weighs 2.84 pounds, and should set you back about $300. The 190CXPRO4 folds down to a tidy 19.7-inches, weighs 2.95 pounds, and is expected to cost about $325. All three should be available this month, however, prices do not include a tripod head, which you'll need before you use one of these with a camera.
You've read our discovery of the car guitar, but what about a guitar made from car material?
Blackbird Guitars' Rider is a hollow-neck, small acoustic guitar made of carbon fiber--the same material used for high-end cars and motorcycles.
The guitar debuted last week at the 2007 NAMM show, a musical instrument trade show, in Anaheim, Calif.
While not entirely handmade (the guitar was designed and partly manufactured using a CAD program), Blackbird's site says each guitar is "artisan made."
Pricing starts at $1,500, according to Gizmodo UK.
(Credit:
Blackbird Guitars)
Formula 1 Carbon Mouse Mat
(Credit: Formula 1)How much is too much for a mousepad?
Anything that's not free? $20? $512?
Formula 1 offers a wide variety of overpriced memorabilia on its F1 store and we have seen our share of fashion and sport mice, but never have I seen something so ridiculous.
For a mere $491 you can buy a polished carbon fiber mousepad--excuse me "mouse mat"--with the Formula 1 logo. As if that alone were not outrageous enough, the mousepad will not work with optical mice. You need to shell out $512 for the carbon and leather version if you want a mousepad that works with both track-ball and optical mice.
Formula 1 Carbon/Leather Mouse Mat
(Credit: Formula 1)So, who's running over right now to their site to buy it? Massa? Alonso?
Would the fact that it is "hand-made in England" or designed using "state of the art automotive 3D modeling software" bring you any closer to changing you mind about that?
We didn't think so.
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