Category Archives: gear

Quantaray Pro Photo/Laptop Backpack

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When you’re writing for a living, diversity is the name of the game. If you can add photography to the mix, you’re instantly more marketable in more ways than one. Since one of my main strengths is music and culture writing, I’d be a fool NOT to be a writer/photographer.

When I first started taking pictures for my pieces, I used any old bag for the gear, but after getting the Quantaray Pro as a gift, I am completely sold on a dedicated bag for all my gear. I carry my Zoom H4 recorder, mics, camera and lenses, plus my laptop in the Quantaray Pro and have used the same one for years without so much as a broken zipper. We do a lot of different types of gear reviews at Freelance-Zone, but this one ain’t based on specs alone–I am a huge fan of this backpack and will definitely buy another one just like it when I finally kill it years from now after one location shoot too many.

Buy the Quantaray Pro camera/laptop backpack for $79.00


Zoom H2 Handy Recorder

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The Zoom H2 Handy Recorder  is a simple, easy-to-use digital recorder custom designed for interviewing and on-location recording. The built-in mics are broadcast quality and even features a surround sound recording option. The Zoom H2 records to an SD card and has a USB port, letting you send audio files to your computer, or you can listen to the playback with headphones Best of all, it records to .wav or MP3 formats in a variety of quality settings–with a 4 gig SD card you can record two hours of audio at the highest .wav setting (96K) or a whopping 130+ hours of audio in MP3 format. A half-gig SD card is included, plus a USB cable and power supply. The H2 weighs only four ounces and uses two AA batteries. The Zoom H2 is perfect for interviews and podcasting, even as a budget location sound tool for indie documentaries or film projects.

Buy for $188.00