THE JACOBS CHRONICALS    (UPDATES)
SB-900 Has Al Tearing Hair Out!

An emergency phone call was made today to HAIRGROWFAST Hair Restoration, you know the guys on TV swearing they not only grew their hair back but their sex life improved over night by 459% and people are starting to notice them more. That's because people notice or spot the rug a mile away.  Oh back to Al, that's because Al has been designing a new cable for the SB-900 Nikon which Nikon designed to be cable proof and he has been tearing his hair out.  Actually he didn't have a lot to start with.  The good news is he has solved the problem, the bad news is his sex life won't be getting any better.

UPDATE! SEE NIKON

NEW!   Professional  No BS Flash Diffuser, Introducing the "GIZ".
Parts available at www.theCLIP.com and priced under $8.00 +S&H


Enough BS. Every week another new light diffuser comes out and someone claims they have re-invented the wheel. It's some new cockamamie sewn from fabric, molded from Tupperware or Velcro laden to stick to your strobe to make YOU the perfect photographer.  Meanwhile, in reality,  I could site hundreds of photographers over the years  with drawers and bags full of these modifiers and the main benefit was the bank account of the guy who now has a new wheel coming out next week for the next hit.

Their pictures still came out the same.  Rangefinder did a test of five of these various styles including the Fabric, Tupperware, and Plastic (hereafter called FTP) and concluded they all did about the same, no real gain of one over the other.

Mucho Hypo, down to the endorsement, the really sad looking test photos and the uniqueness of the product. You know things get tested only from their advertisers..... Nothing is unique about bouncing light or advertising paybacks.

We declared war on Velcro!  So here is our entry in the Axle Race.  Screw the reflector, If it's white, it's right, Yellow makes it warm and mellow. ( Courtesy OJ dreamer team) But attaching these things is a pain in the butt.  No new wheel, so we made a new axle, wheels are still round!  And the idea is a gift for you from the brain of the Gadgetmeister, the Dean of Gizmology.  See Gizmos.

The NEW WEBSITE is almost done and will be up soon.  Mac created, it will be more organized and easier to get around. MAC programs are so much more user friendly, I can't believe it. This program EXPRESSIONS is MICROSOFTS answer to suicide by slowly frustrating you to death.  Between it and VISTA, I almost pumped a .40 caliber Glock round into it one day. The best thing Microsoft did in the last four years was to add the Tinker game.

Our "Update your Black Box Program" is going gang busters as most are vying for the Double DIN setup so popular today
My new BLOG will be online soon. I will expand those sections in my online book on this section since I'm rewriting the Wedding Guide now.  I know I will be doing a section on Seniors, Quinceañera's, Bar Mitzvahs, and Confirmations. 

In addition, alternate choices using the tools you have, survival in this day and age. Think about it. All photo business is basically about either “coming out”, people of age, new products, sports or "going into" a community like Weddings and traditional holiday work. There is business there for the smart one. And it's not surprising when I wrote to be successful in this business you need a split personality. You need to both be a shooter and a businessman. Our Survival Series destined to become the BLOG is on the website.

The Double Brackets arrived and all kits and orders have been filled. I told you guys order early. Some listened, many didn't and I have another 100 in the process.  ADVANCE ORDER them because those who waited got there late.  We will delve heavy into the double dipping Jacobs Perfection Bracket. 

THINK: Two strobes allow mass transfer of light in the wide such as when shooting large Bridal Groups. Large is defined as either six persons (Or Heifers) per side or more or four weighing 300 pounds apiece. You get the idea. When you need light, you really need wide light and wide light is easy.  Just move both of the flashes 10 degrees off of the center. Voila! W.I.D.E. L.I.G.H.T.

Another interesting trick with the JPB is to set one flash straight ahead diffused and the other to bounce over the head of the subject. Thus no need for any Tupperware or other gizmo. One stand, one battery two heads used directionally so it doesn't look like a grenade shot.  Flat 360 degree light is boring. You need modeling light or light that promotes depth.  And the dual setup still uses less power than a runaway Fong which defaults your flash to full and eventually runs down the battery and the flashtube. Good luck both Canon and Nikon repair stations love you.

DIDE NOTE:
Canon was right up front pushing heavy on dual flash rigs. RIGHT IN THE FRONT OF THE PMA. Two 580's into one softbox and umbrella. Yippee!!!!!  Sure for 1500 dollars. BUT WAIT!  (Billy Mays trademark) Two Vivitar's, or 430's or 600's and one Jacobs Perfection Bracket and you can have FIVE or SIX double rigs for the price of the Canon.  The demo was right up front with on site modeling photography. I will emulate the setup and show you how to do it for a ton less in dollars.

JACOBS PHOTOGRAPHICS 2009

NEW POWER PACKS

color choices no markings, this is why it's called the Black Box, it is.....a Black Box.

PREVIOUS OWNERS:
Upgrades available on all older Black boxes regardless of the year.  We'll take it completely apart, rebuild it with the 2009 schematic.  Replace any worn parts, test the battery upgrade it, if needed, and that includes reseating the clips and hangers, test the charger and basically make it as good as new.  Call for pricing and time frame, usually one day turnaround.

The Tuxedo
This is the smaller petite version of The Black Box for the Pro with approximately 1/4 of the power of the Black Box.  It is designed as a Back-up, Remote Flash triggered with the mains, and as a power pack for the smaller four battery powered hybrid digitals. It serves well  for the smaller more petite shooters.  Slips in a Pocket, even tight jeans.... New Features include an off-on power switch, Single HD DIN is standard, no more RCA jacks. ( See Cables)  It too includes heavier duty RoHS wiring standard, it is also hand soldered, with no connectors, no joints and tougher construction. More shockproof and stronger 3000 lb stressed rivets and backing plate with loop (Standard- Shown) and Ultra Clip (Optional)

Upgrade Available for all previous Tuxedo Owners.  We will do the following; to your Tuxedo. We will remove the RCA jack and upgrade your flash cable for the heavier DIN.  Modify the box and install a new On 0ff-on switch and a choice of mounts. In addition the wiring and RoHS specs will become upgraded.



VIEWING THIS SITE:

HOW TO ORDER, Pricing, Shipping, Warranties
On this new page we show you how easy it is to order the product, price out the options (very few) and disclose some of the procedures that make it easy for you, saving money in drop shipping (and time) so you can get the product sooner. We also discuss the Warrantee and what to do when you forgot to read a few lines of the instruction manual, and things don't appear to be working right. At least seventy five percent of last years repairs were operator error (nothing wrong other than Ooops I forgot) which would of been avoided by reading the instructions.  Lastly, how to get in touch with me and really it's as simple as picking up a phone or email.

GENERAL FLASH CABLES:
Here is the list of the cables commonly used with your flashes and it also gives you an idea of what you need to do to make this simple.  What flashes, we do, and what we don't do. In addition, more information on the oddball types we might do and a few known for their doo-doo. Also we are working on a whole new system for the 900 Nikon so you will not go broke with the changes they made to prevent anyone from making packs. The two largest flashes we power are the Nikon and Canon Brands they have their own additional Information
THE VIVITAR 285 HV PAGE
PERFECTION BRACKETS   Note: Back Ordered ! SOLD OUT!
So simple a caveman could use it, and fortunately the average caveman can't break it!  If you break it we'll send you a new one and let the whole world know what a true Neanderthal you are. In one small stroke of the PayPal card we realized we had gone through 100 of those "Jacobs Perfection Brackets", Fortunately after reaching in the bin and finding nothing, I started another run.  You'll need to order for May if you want one. Sorry if you didn't pay attention to ordering early, these are going quick.

FLASH BRACKETS
The Best flash brackets ever built! DIGITAL PRO-M by CUSTOM BRACKETS. Why the plural; brackets: Simple, their full line supersedes anyone else's in quality and ingenuity. Pound for pound dollar for dollar the finest bit of machinery on the market.

BATTERIES - Shocking!
Batteries also gets taken to task and we explain the in-ies and out-ies of batteries so the next time you are shooting the in-ies and out-ies of nudes your batteries won't fail you.  It's pretty cut and dry about some mis-information you get on the web about batteries! 

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52 YEARS WITH CAMERA IN HAND AND NOT BAKER ACTED!
I think it proper to let you know what this site is about. I'm a prisoner of photography.  I enjoy all the aspects of it and I mean "all the aspects".  From shooter to lab owner, in 50 plus years I probably have messed up more than a few things and luckily might possibly have won a few accolades on the balance sheet.  My logo is no smoke, No B.S. so if you are a hype-ist (one who believes in sales hype by the manufacturer) this might not be for you.  We are an equal opportunity insulter. As we said in Brooklyn, "I owe nobody nuttin"!You will need a sense of humor and patience to survive here.  I have a very active mind and tested "Dangerous" on the IQ scale.  My teachers hated me because I took nothing for granted.  Especially my science teacher who had us convinced the cavemen slaughtered the dinosaurs.  No, it was not a Catholic School it was G.W. Wingate H.S. In Brooklyn.  Last year I heard from the Alumni Association, at least those not doing time, the school was to be disassembled.  Anyway, I didn't believe the teacher.  So I ran off to the museum to research dinosaurs. This was GOOD. But, it was a school day and that was BAD.  I had a modestly short but flashy career as the number one truant in NYC.  I got caught.

Photography started for me with a paper bag left sitting on a park bench in NYC's Central Park. I was fourteen, a junior I grabbed it after eyeing the bag for an hour, artfully dodging the truant officers who carried my picture in their wallets. With no one claiming it, I stood on top of the park bench and yelled the sacred words "finders keepers".  With the legalities out of the way and beating a hasty retreat out of the park, I had mischievously become the owner of an AIRES IIIL 35mm Rangefinder Camera, the first of the Japanese clones of a Leica.

There's something for everyone on this site: I discuss techniques on the; basics of photography;  building your own equipment sometimes better than you can buy, at a fraction of the cost. I offer common sense approaches to Weddings with of course a few close calls and funny stories.  More, much more on gear and my battery packs, which I personally build for Wedding, Event, the Paparazzi, and Sports Shooters.  No assembly lines, no employees and I'm the guy who answers the phone.

I learned to make much of my own equipment because of necessity. Sometimes called the "mother of all inventions".  Actually it was poverty, you see poverty is, "the father of all ingenuity".  I picked up the nickname "the Gadgetmeister" starting in a very famous but obscure camera repair facility in the camera district of New York City. It was where I first found out man could fly if he simply touched a capacitor from a Honeywell 770 Strobe.  If that was true then I should have had 3500 hours and an ATP rating by now.  Fortunately it did not cause brain damage by now, by now, by now, by now..!

My goal is simple, I have to keep active with a sense of humor. So I write on various topics, do a lot of commercial photography and run a small business.  I delight in building a line of hard working, industrial strength, inexpensive alternatives to the expensive battery packs and power supplies from other manufacturers.  They work professionally, they look professional, no bags hanging from the rig looking like a drip feed from the hospital, quality DIN plugs and E-systems tested switches. Higher capacity, lower voltages to prevent "frying your gear".

They can operate alone or in conjunction in some cases with these other brands.  I have a minimalist and simplistic approach to the equation. Less is more. Less things to go wrong and more power.  This means "Less Bling-Bling saves you Ching Ching".  We deleted every power robbing feature to provide you with almost a 1000 clean shots with a Nikon SB-800 or slightly less with  the Canon 580 in manual mode.  And still kept full dumps to about three seconds without any accelerators or overheats and we cover almost any strobe with four AA cells.

There are several sections to this website.  My Products, Photojournalism, Equipment and EDUCATION, I'm sure you'll find something of interest.

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