Price: $269
Website: www.tiffen.com
Tiffen’s Steadicam Smoothee is designed to
stabilise a range of handheld devices, including the iPhone 4 and GoPro Hero2,
It isolates cameras from body movement, making it possible to shoot super-
smooth video without the need for post-processing. Care needs to be token when
setting it up, but when you get it right it works beautifully. Video clips take
on o floaty look even optical stabilisation can’t match. You have to pay extra
to mount different devices; it doesn’t fold up, making it an awkward travelling
companion; and it’s costly. However, as o way to transform your footage from
amateurish to something approaching professional, it’s truly marvellous.
Tiffen
Steadicam Smoothee
Arcam Rpac
Price: $299
Website: www.arcam.co.uk
After buying a good-quality pair of
headphones, the next step is to improve the signal supplied to them. That’s
exactly what the pricey rPAC does. it’s simplicity itself to set up and use:
just plug it in to a free USB socket and you’re ready to go. Sound is output
via a 3.5mm headphone socket at the front or via a pair of stereo phono jacks
at the rear; inside, the rPAC employs a TI PCM5 102 chip for DAC duties, with
support for 96kHz, 24-bit audio formats. With a pair of Grado SR325s plugged
in, we experienced more texture, detail and depth to music, and far more
finesse than from our test laptop’s rather flat internal sound chip - in other
words, a vast improvement in sound quality. Not everyone will revel in the
rPAC’s brutally detailed approach, and you’ll need on expensive pair of
headphones to take full advantage, but it’s a mighty fine product nonetheless.
After
buying a good-quality pair of headphones, the next step is to improve the
signal supplied to them.
TP Link Wireless N Nano Router
Price: $24
Website: tp-Link.com
TP-Link’s Nano can function as an AP, a
router, a bridge, a repeater or as a wireless client. Its micro-USB socket
means it can be powered from a laptop, or you can use the mains adapter. After
setup, WPA2 security is already configured with the default key printed on the
Nano’s base, and it also offers SSID masking and MAC address filtering. We
tested in AP mode, but router mode flips the network port to WAN mode and makes
a basic SPI firewall available. The Nano supports 802.11n, but its low power
means it can manage only speeds of 150Mbits/sec. Nevertheless, our close-range
tests went well: copying a video dip between a LAN system and a netbook
returned o decent average of 8.5MB/sec. Running the same file copy with the
netbook in the next room and o brick wall in the way, overage speeds fell to
2.7MB/sec. Long-range speeds aside, there’s little to criticise the miniscule
Nano for. It’s on ideal companion for mobile workers in hotels, and at the
price what’s not to like?
Nevertheless,
our close-range tests went well: copying a video dip between a LAN system and a
netbook returned o decent average of 8.5MB/sec.
Aftershokz Sports
Price: $130
Website: www.aftershokz.com
This the first set of bone conduction
headphones we’ve reviewed at PC&TA. The unit vaguely looks like a set of
headphones, except the orange pods actually sit in front of the ears rather
than over, conducting sound through the bone. To make this work, the unit has a
small control/power box that works as both volume up/ down and battery pack.
Sound doesn’t quite match the quality of regular headphones - it’s quite tinny
unless you hit the sweet spot when positioning the pads. However, the effect is
remarkable, letting you hear music and external sounds with equal clarity. We
found it fantastic while running - music to jog by, without losing important
ambient sounds (such as oncoming traffic and muggers). A product for o specific
purpose, that works well, albeit a little pricey.
This
the first set of bone conduction headphones we’ve reviewed at PC&TA.
