Tenba Hybrid Roller 21: An Easy Way to Haul Gear

Tenba Hybrid Roller 21

THE PROBLEM

As I got into my mid-40s, carrying all my gear in a backpack through airports, etc., became physically taxing. I’d get on location with my back aching, pop some Advil for a few days, groan through uncomfortable shoots, then repeat the arduous process on my way home. Traveling for photography wasn’t as fun anymore.

THE SOLUTION

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I knew I needed a roller bag. I’d grown just a little envious of photographers who were easily pulling their gear behind them. However, I still wanted the flexibility to lift my gear onto my shoulders when I didn’t have a hard surface to roll on.

At Matt Hill’s suggestion, my answer came in the form of the Tenda Hybrid Roller 21. This versatile, weather-resistant bag is big enough to fit the cameras and lenses I bring on most photo trips:

• two Nikon D5s

• the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8, 105mm f/2.8 micro, 80-200mm f/2.8 and Irix 11mm f/4 lenses

• a bag of flashlights, filter wallet, loupe and folded ground cloth

I can zip the top closed, and be on my way, free of a full day of back strain.

The top flap holds a laptop and has pockets for accessories (such as the bottle of Advil I’m hardly using anymore), and on the side is a pocket and strap for securing a tripod.

When I can’t roll the bag, I zip open the back, pull out the two straps, and hoist the whole package on my shoulders for quick jaunts—as in, over a grass area in a park, or down a short trail, or in the airport when my hands are needed for pulling larger bags to check in.

THE BREAKDOWN

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The Tenba Hybrid Roller 21 comes with a TSA lock and is small enough to qualify as a carry-on for U.S. and most international flights.

WHEN THIS IS NOT THE RIGHT TOOL

The Tenda Hybrid Roller 21 is not for backpacking—not even for day hikes. It’s not designed to be ergonomic, so it won’t be comfortable or suitable for long hauls. If you’re looking for a bag for that kind of experience, you’ll be better served by something designed for that specifically.

WHEN THIS IS THE RIGHT TOOL

The Tenda Hybrid Roller 21 is perfect for carting a moderate amount of gear to shoots in locations where your paths are hard: on city sidewalks, down office corridors, through airports and hotels, and so on.

This has become my go-to bag for traveling groan-free to national parks for shoots and workshops.

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UPCOMING WORKSHOPS FROM NATIONAL PARKS AT NIGHT

Move-Shoot-Move Telescope MAK 90: A Great Entry to Astro

Move-Shoot-Move Telescope MAK 90

THE PROBLEM

Traditionally, if you wanted to get started observing, and perhaps photographing, deep-sky objects, the costs involved in getting a telescope were daunting. Also, adequate telescopes were bulky and really intimidating to use.

THE SOLUTION

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Move-Shoot-Move’s MAK 90 telescope is a great beginner’s tool. Its 1250mm focal length with a compact body is achieved with catadioptric mirrors. This allows for narrow field observation at a fraction of the cost, length and weight of refractor (glass-lens) telescopes.

Out of the box, the MAK 90 comes with two eyepieces, a red dot finder and dual channels. The 25mm eyepiece provides 50X magnification and the 12mm provides 104X magnification while observing through the scope. Focusing is smooth and easy.

This is a dual-channel telescope, which means that with the flip of a lever, you can go from observing though the eyepiece to photographing with your camera.

Attaching a camera to the scope requires an M42x0.​75 T-threads adapter ring, which means you will need to obtain a T adapter for your camera’s mount separately. If you are unsure, contact the team at Move-Shoot-Move to confirm which adapters are compatible. I purchased this one from Novoflex for my Nikon Z cameras. Note that there is a price and quality range for adapters.

THE BREAKDOWN

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Moon over Olana State Park in Columbia, Country, New York. Nikon Z 6II with a Move-Shoot-Move MAK 90 telescope. 1/200, f/13.8, ISO 320.

WHEN THIS IS NOT THE RIGHT TOOL

When you want a wider field of view, you will want to leave the MAK 90 in the bag, or at home. It has a very narrow focal length.

If you want a fast scope, you will have to spend more. The MAK 90 has a fixed aperture of f/13.​8. So if you want to observe or photograph dim objects, you would need to add a GOTO tracking mount.

The quality of the optics are acceptable, but the sharpness is not the same as a glass-lens based system. Some people have reported having trouble with calibrating and using the included red dot viewfinder. (For the record, I did not.)

Finally, note that the MAK 90 will not cover a full-frame camera sensor. You would need to either shoot full-frame and crop or use the reduced sensor size mode of the camera.

WHEN THIS IS THE RIGHT TOOL

Many of the “not” points mentioned above will likely matter little to a first-time telescope owner. If your interest in deep space expands, you might indeed grow out of the MAK 90, but it is excellent for building that foundation to someday grow out of.

If you want to dip your toes into observing and possibly photographing deep-sky objects without spending a ton of money, then the Move-Shoot-Move MAK 90 telescope is a great tool for learning and practicing. It’s also awesome for tight moonrise and moonset photography (see above).

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UPCOMING WORKSHOPS FROM NATIONAL PARKS AT NIGHT

Gitzo GIGT2545T: A Rock-Solid Tripod to Capture Sharp Long Exposures

Gitzo GIGT2545T Traveler Series 2 Carbon Fiber Tripod

THE PROBLEM

Night photography requires you to use a rock-solid tripod in order to capture those sharp long exposures. While there are thousands of tripods on the market to choose from, many are very basic in their support of your precious camera, especially when having to keep it still for very long night exposures.

THE SOLUTION

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The Gitzo GIGT2545T Series 2 Traveler is our desert-island tripod. It weighs under 3 pounds and will hold up to 26.4 pounds. The maximum height is 51.5 inches without a ball head, and it folds down to a svelte 17.5 inches.

All the NPAN members own a set of Gitzo sticks and most of us have owned the same tripod for 5 to 10 years. Gitzo is built to last and won’t disappoint in the field. Moreover, the price has come down on this popular model, and you can now find it for under $600.

We like to pair this tripod with the “Made in America” Acratech GPSS ball head, but you can also get a Gitzo kit that includes the GH1382QD ball head.

THE BREAKDOWN

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Gabe and Hoodoos, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. © 2021 Matt Hill. Nikon Z 6 with a Laowa 15mm 2.0 Zero D lens. 2 seconds, f/2, ISO 25600.

WHEN THIS IS NOT THE RIGHT TOOL

If you do other photo work that involves heavier setups than what night photographers tend to use, then you’ll want something that bears more weight. A common “rule” is that a tripod should be rated to support double what you’re planning to mount on it, so if you use a 9-pound 600mm lens for wildlife, look for a bigger tripod than this. The 2545 might also not be an ideal option if you’re working on a tight budget.

WHEN THIS IS THE RIGHT TOOL

The GIGT2545T is a Swiss Army Knife of tripods, balancing compactness and durability. If you are committed to night photography, you will need to invest in a solid tripod, and not a lot of them get better than this.

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UPCOMING WORKSHOPS FROM NATIONAL PARKS AT NIGHT

Ledlenser P6R Work: A Pro-Level Lighting Tool

Ledlenser P6R Work Flashlight

The Problem

Many night photographers have lately moved toward Low-level Landscape Lighting, but there are still times when traditional light painting with a flashlight is advantageous. The greatest challenge is that most flashlights are far too bright for light painting at the high ISOs used for astro-landscape photography. Flashlights with multiple brightness settings usually switch on at the brightest setting and have to be cycled through to get to low power, which greatly diminishes their usability.

The Solution

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The Ledlenser P6R Work addresses both of those problems and some others in this pro-level lighting tool.

The flashlight has four brightness levels and four flashing modes, but can be programmed to disable unwanted or unused modes, making for a much more user-friendly experience.

The low mode of 15 lumens is still a bit bright for lighting nearby objects when shooting at high ISOs, but the bezel unscrews and a piece of neutral density gel can be placed inside and out of the way. Even with an ND gel in place, the high and boost modes are bright enough that you are unlikely to need another light in your kit.

The P6R Work also remembers the last mode you used, which is super helpful for light painting, when you’re turning the light on and off between trial exposures, and while honing an approach.

The light zooms from broad to spot beam with consistent brightness across the spread, and it uses a proprietary rechargeable battery. It also has an unusually high CRI (color rendering index) of 90 and a color temperature of 4000 K, making it a great choice for light painting pleasing with tones on starlit or moonlit foregrounds.

The Breakdown

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Hanging Rock, Sequoia National Park. Nikon D780 with a Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art lens, light painted with a Ledlenser P6R Work flashlight. 20 seconds, f/3.2, ISO 6400.

When This is Not the Right Tool

Though the P6R Work is not overly large or heavy, the head of the light is wider than the body, making it slightly bulky and awkward to pack.

It’s also not a low-budget option—it’s relatively (though justifiably) expensive for a flashlight.

When This is the Right Tool

The P6R Work is a versatile all-around flashlight that can be customized to suit the photographer’s needs, making it a great go-to light for any night photography situation. This has become my primary flashlight.

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PhotoPills: Plan Better Photos

PhotoPills App

The Problem

Night photography is often easier when you’ve scouted your location in daylight. But when the sun is up, you can’t see nighttime things such as stars, the moon, the Milky Way, etc. It’s hard to plan a composition around elements you can’t see.

Night photography can also require lots of math—some of it hard. Even the simpler equations take time in the field, and the more complex ones involve algorithms that most people wouldn’t even understand, let alone be able to memorize or to calculate in the field.

The Solution

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PhotoPills is a dynamic app that serves as an all-in-one solution to several of the problems we encounter in night photography, and it also eases some traditional scouting tasks and enables some we never would have thought possible even ten years ago.

The app helps with:

• determining the location of the setting or rising sun, moon or Milky Way in any scene, anywhere in the world

• when on location, visualizing right on screen exactly where celestial objects will be in the scene later

• calculating long exposures based on shorter test exposures

• determining and visualizing depth of field and hyperfocal distance

• planning a shoot around a meteor shower, or a solar or lunar eclipse—any shower, any eclipse, any year, anywhere

• calculating the best shutter speed to keep stars sharp based on any specific camera and lens combination

• working out all the data needed to capture time-lapses of any length

• and even more

PhotoPills works on Android or iOS devices. Using it on a phone is more portable and handy; using it on a tablet allows for more screen real estate, which in some cases allows the app to display data differently, making it easier to digest.

The Breakdown

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WHEN THIS IS NOT THE RIGHT TOOL

If you’re looking for an at-home scouting tool that you can use on your desktop computer, PhotoPills doesn’t do that—try The Photographers Ephemeris instead.

Also, if you’re looking for a scouting app to master quickly, then PhotoPills might frustrate you—it’s a very powerful app, and with that power and large tool set comes a learning curve. You’ll want to invest time into mastering this.

WHEN THIS IS THE RIGHT TOOL

It’s an amazing tool for proactively planning more productive and consistently more successful on-location shoots based around anything going on in the sky—which pretty much describes any landscape photography. If you want to plan better, and plan better photos, then this app can help immensely.

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UPCOMING WORKSHOPS FROM NATIONAL PARKS AT NIGHT