Approaching The Scene 309: A USB-C travel dock made for photographers

[@DreamPrashant]

Order placed! Thanks for bringing this cool gadget to my attention 😊

[@DreamPrashant]

Sadly, my experience has not been very good. If I use the microSD card alongside the Sony card, both of them get ejected, it also heats up a lot.

[@MarkusBlaser-et7nk]

Thanks for presenting the Dockcase Studio. It looks like to be a really good tool. Reads SD and CF Express cards. Something I was waiting for one. One tool for all.

[@DarrenLloydPDX]

Love my Dockcase Explorer! This new one is pretty sweet.

[@timfarmer5535]

Great info. I have been shooting with the NOMAD for about 12 month and I love it. The better torque and easier use is defiantly a step up from the original MSM which I also have. For travel it is my go to. I have been able to get up to a 4 minute clean track. With only using the laser I can easily track at two minutes. I will check out the Dockcase Studio, looks like a great solution. Thanks for the video, I should step into on of you office hours.

[@kingjames1970]

Wish I could get now. First solution I’ve seen for the M4 iPad Pro for copying from CFe B cards to SSD when out and about.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

I'm not an iOS guy, but it isn't marked as compatible. I think it's Mac and PC only.

[@olivierr01]

Hi Hudson For about 2 years I use the ACASIS 10-in-1 Hub. It supports SD snd Micro-SD, USB-A and -C, and many more. For me the biggest plus: it houses an internal SSD (you can enclose up to 8TB). I use it on the go with my iPad (USB-C) without needing an external power source (although that is also possible up to 100W). At current $ 85 (without the SSD) this dock is competitively priced. The dock offers no screen and no information about what is hooked - but to me this is not so important, because I see this to some extend on my iPad. My workflow: XQD-card out of camera to ACASIS internal SSD via an XQD-to USB-A-Reader. Then I hook an external SSD via USB-C to the ACASIS and repeat the copy from the XQD (Note: on my iPad I use the FE (File Explorer) App instead of the standard File App). I hope this information was useful.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

For myself I'll always bring a fast laptop. I need CF express, SD, micro SD, HDMI and power delivery through to the laptop. This hub does all that really well and it's the size of a pack of gum. :)

[@Kris-Photography]

Another great video. Picking up something you said in the video. For the second SD slot in the Z8, are you using that slot for video and then the primary CF express slot for photos? Wanted to confirm what I was understanding. Start started playing around with video and would like to have one slot for photos (my primary use) and the second for video. Thanks!

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

@@Kris-Photography yep! Exactly.

[@R.Hogarth]

Great Video as always. I can't wait to hear/see what you think of the Laowa 10mm f/2.8 (especially if it lives up to its hype about the beautifully rendered 10 point sunstars) and the Viltrox 16mm f/1.8. Both of these lenses have caught my eye, but after my recent experience with a third party lens, I am a little "gun shy" right now.

[@testshoot]

Curious compared to the Prograde how fast these transfer

[@NikCan66]

This is an excellent news

[@shaycostigan2091]

Hi Hudson I have one of your custom built fluid head tripod the 1,499 one I love it very much,but I just find it to be pretty big for just some quick shots around the house I live on the Lake Michigan shore line so I take a lot of sunsets and take a lot of photos of car races so can you please help me pick which tripod would be the better one for me between the ultralight or the feathweight custom built you offer thank you always enjoy your videos 😊

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

I generally reach for the ultralight and I know a lot of folks have both. Once you're used to the pan and tilt of the fluid head, going back to a ball to save less than a pound is rough. The ultralight is a great compromise. The featherweight is really for when you don't think you'll even need one. I toss it in with the Q3 most frequently on a quick jaunt where I don't expect to need support. :-)

[@shaycostigan2091]

@@HudsonHenryPhoto Thank you for getting back with me so quickly I appreciate your opinion and I will be definitely be ordering the ultralight custom built tripod soon thank you for offering great quality photo equipment like I said I really enjoy my Tripod

[@alaikens6353]

H, thanks for the discussion on tracked astrophotography using the original MSM. I'm dusting off, testing and charging my astro equipment for some Milky Way shooting during July 4th weekend. Thanks for the prompting. The Leophoto QS-60 is interesting. When using heavier gear (Z6 with the 100-400mm) for semi-deep space, the slippage issue that I have experienced is where the rotator base loosens where it screws into the MSM body. The connection between the base and the upper ball head that holds the camera has remained tight. Will the QS-60 resolve the slippage issue that I experience? I'll email you a photo of the setup. Thanks again, A

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

It's locking tha connection between the MSM plate and the head (the QS-60). The new Nomad is locked down much more securely.

[@jwsmith6075]

I see a DC Studio v. 2 alternative on the Kickstarter page, but cannot find any comparison of v.1 vs. v.2 on Dockcase’s site or elsewhere. Any idea of the details?

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

@@jwsmith6075 I think it's actually just the same one at a different level of support

[@michaelcibula9552]

Hudson, do you view this as a replacement for your other card readers or for some reason(s) more of you’re on the go solution but when you’re home would use your other readers?

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

I use my big OWC Thunderbolt Pro dock in studio. No better dock on earth, but it's no traveler. It's power brick is as big as it too. amzn.to/4bpVEtL

[@FieldingSmith]

Waiting on a new MSM polar scope to get here… because I broke the reticle of the first one trying to adjust it. Lol. Though I heard that they are now calibrating the lasers and scopes before they send them out, which is good, because both of mine were so far out of alignment that I was almost getting longer star trails with the nomad than without it.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

bummer. Hmmm, I've not had too much issue with calibrating the lazers or the scope for the Nomad. The lazer is far less important with the nomad's nice scope capability. It gets you to ballpark and then you dail in with the scope.

[@alaikens6353]

You can adjust the alignment of the laser using the 2 allen screws at the head of the pointer. These screws move the brass disc over the laser "bulb" to align the pointer. To do this mount the pointer almost tight in its holder, as level as you can get it, and pointed at a target a good distance from the laser. I used a sheet of paper with a black dot on it. Place the laser dot on the target dot. Rotate the pointer in its holder. If the laser dot moves in a circle on the target when it is rotated, it is out of alignment. You may need a spotter at the target to make this go more easily. Make note on the target of the position of greatest misalignment of the laser dot from the target dot. With the laser dot at the point of greatest misalignment adjust the screws for about 1/2 the distance to the target dot. There is a set of x-y axes on the face of the pointer to give you some orientation on the direction of movement when the screws are turned. Move the laser dot back to the target dot. Repeat the process until the rotation of the laser dot acceptably stays on the target dot through a 360-degree rotation. Good luck. (Note that it is practically impossible to achieve perfect alignment when you have a target say 50 feet away and your tying to align with Polaris in the field effectively at infinity. No one can achieve this at our price point, not even the manufacturer.)

[@FieldingSmith]

@@alaikens6353 the problem I had with the laser was that I would get it to be what I thought was aligned, and then put it on with one of the other mounts (both the polar scope mount and the cellphone mount) and all 3 would be different. Unless the laser is fully screwed in, its way to loose in both its own mount and where it screws in the nomad to rotate it without massive play.

[@FieldingSmith]

@@HudsonHenryPhoto yeah, not sure if it was when moving cross country or if I over tightened on of the 3 fiddly adjustment screws… but the reticle on its glass plate broke. Cant buy just that reticle/item, so a new $70 scope is in the mail.

[@madone550]

When I saw it had a screen I was hoping it would also allow for data transfer from one of the cards to plugged in hard drive. For those that want to travel without a laptop but want to clear off their cards each night.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

A dream that lies unfulfilled more than 20 years after I first wished for it. There've been attempts, but they universally dissapoint. That said... Big memory cards are the answer for adventure travel. Thankfully CF express is robust, durable and has capacities up to 4TB.

[@DesertPackrat]

Observations: 1) even though I am a competent aerospace engineer that has worked with electronics and computers for over 30 years, my success rate with camera and small electronic gear on Kickstarter rates about 2/10, mainly because of the producer going out of business, bad app support, lack of understanding of power consumption, poor manufacturing, poor assembly, cheap parts and many more reasons. 2) for half the cost you can effectively and as conveniently get the same features and performance from many small form usb c hubs. Yes, they aren’t Swiss knives, but then again I don’t want to put all my eggs in the same basket anyways. Just my thoughts.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Well they've done 11 prior highly successful campaigns. That's probably why they're already at many times thier stated funding goal. Folks can take 5 minutes to research, read their own reviews and judge, but this one in my opinion is dead safe. Secondly, many laptop these days have but one or two fast USBc/TB ports. This dock does everything I could desire with rock solid stability while passing through 80W power delivery. It handles every current popular memory card on the market plus HDMI while providing dual 10Gbs USB ports simultaneously in addition. It's the size of a pack of gum. Sorry I don't know of anything else like it and after using it a month, you'd have to pry it away from me.

[@DesertPackrat]

@@HudsonHenryPhoto Appreciate your thoughts.

[@photobycain4154]

I cannot find where you can buy one do you have any recommendations.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

It's linked in the video's description. ;-) seesaw.kckb.me/e774d46e

[@rcgrant9310]

Unable to place an order for the Bookcase.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

Again... It's on Kickstarter for about 3 more days at 20% discount for backers. This is thier 12th successful Kickstarter launch and they're at many times thier target funding, so there is really no concern with fulfillment. The link is here: seesaw.kckb.me/e774d46e

[@charlesborrenpohl5024]

Does it work on an iPad usb-c ?

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

I can't test as I'm Android, but it's billed as Mac & PC and I have tested it on both.

[@tdalton854]

@@HudsonHenryPhoto @charlesborrenpohl5024 I aked that question in the kickstarter FAQ ask a question section a couple hour ago. I'lll post here when I see an answer. By the way this looks very good. Thanks

[@SingleTrack66]

I’m waiting on this answer as well. Also can I use my old xqd cards in it ?

[@tdalton854]

@@SingleTrack66 @charlesborrenpohl5024 They replied >> Hi Tim, yes, Dockcase studio 8in1 hub can work with M4 iPad Pro. Any more questions please feel free to contact us.

[@cjgetreal]

@@tdalton854Me too!

[@LincAg]

Will this read the XQD cards for us dinosaurs in the B slot?

[@DarrenLloydPDX]

I've seen very few card readers that can do both CF Express and XQD, unfortunately. Probably a Sony XQD licensing tax sort of thing.

[@HudsonHenryPhoto]

No, @DarrenLloydPDX is right. They're two different transfer protocols sadly.