Freeloader CamCaddy 2 universal charger
Price: £20
Website: www.solartechnology.co.uk
This handy universal battery charger makes it possible to charge the block-style batteries many cameras use. While the original CamCaddy had issues with build quality, the CamCaddy 2 has a much better design than its predecessor. A highlight of its overhaul is that it now features a Micro USB power input. This allows users to charge their camera batteries with a cable attached to any kind of USB power source, including power banks, laptops, USB plugs and even some car chargers. For long summer days out travelling between shoots, it’s a very useful alternative to carrying loads of spare batteries.
Olympus Stylus Tough TG-4
Price: £300
Website: www.olympus.co.uk
If you’re heading to the beach, wading through water, doing any kind of extreme sport or just happen to be very accident prone, a tough camera is a good call. The Olympus Stylus Tough TG-4 will survive being dropped, knocked, crushed or frozen, and can even shoot images and video underwater to a depth of 15m. In AP’s testing of all the current tough cameras on the market, the TG-4 ranked best, giving great image quality from its 16-million-pixel BSI CMOS sensor and remaining reliably rugged throughout some rigorous assessment.
Ansmann All-In-One travel plug adapter
Price: £16.95
Website: www.ansmann.de
If you’re travelling abroad this summer and plan to visit different countries, then the Ansmann All-In-One travel plug is a must-have. You simply choose which plug socket you want to adapt to, and then push down one of the four corresponding sliders to release the right adapter. These cover Australian, American and European plugs, with a total of 150 compatible countries. You can also plug multiple types of plug into the adapter itself, and it’s adapted to suit UK plugs, among others.
Sirui T-005X travel tripod
Price: £99
Website: www.sirui.de
The last thing you want to do on a hot summer’s day is lug around a hefty tripod; so the lightweight aluminium Sirui T-005X may be just what you need. With the ball head attached it weighs just over 1kg, and stands at 32.5cm when closed with a maximum height of 139cm, a minimum height of just 19cm and a maximum payload of 4kg. It strikes an impressive balance between strength, size, weight and height ,and represents good value for money. A big bonus is that the slimline C-10X ball head comes included with the tripod, and its build quality is just as impressive.
Navitas Pacaway jacket
Price: £39.99
Website: www.navitasapparel.com
Never underestimate the unpredictably of the great British climate. One minute it can be glorious sunshine and the next it’s time to run for shelter to avoid a thunderstorm. Taking the Navitas Pacaway along is a decent pre-emptive measure. Lightweight, breathable and waterproof, it also, as the name suggests, packs away into its own pocket. Measuring just 15x20x7cm when stuffed away and weighing just 380g, the Pacaway is easy to carry in your kit bag and takes up very little room. It’s available in XS-XXXL sizes.
Kingston MobileLite Wireless G2
Price: £35
Website: www.kingston.com
The Kingston MobileLite Wireless G2’s built-in Wi-Fi allows you to send files directly to your Android or iOS device via the MobileLite app (free for download once you’ve purchased the G2). Once the G2 is wirelessly set up to a smartphone or tablet, the MobileLite app will recognise an external hard drive, USB flash drive or an SD card that is connected to it. This means you’ll see all the images on your storage media and can then share them directly from the device. The G2 weighs 171g and is great for quickly sending photos to friends and family after a day out, but it’s also very useful for streaming videos during long journeys without taking up space on your smart device.
RAVPower RP-PB13 Deluxe power bank
Price: £39.99
Website: www.ravpower.com
With a capacity of 14,000 mAh, the RAVPower power bank is one of the highest-capacity portable chargers currently on the market. It also has the advantage of being one of the most affordable. It’s fairly heavy, weighing in at 290g, but that’s a worthy trade-off when you consider it can charge a camera battery, like the one used in the Sony Alpha 7, approximately 10 times. It also comes with two USB ports, so you can charge multiple devices at a time. The build quality is good, and for those wanting to charge their smartphone, tablet or camera on the go it’s a brilliant accessory.
