The Hidden Gem

There it was. Stuck on the accessory wall between stuff that hasn't sold yet and the stuff that might never sell. The thing that we all should buy. I have an IKEA box at home on the shelf that contains the tools I need to survive photography. These used to be a sixpence, a film tongue retriever, and a blower brush. I have long sold the film retriever at the second-hand markets, the blower brush has perished, and the sixpence is now a 5-cent piece. But they have been replaced by a horrid collection of stuff. See the heading image... More crape than a Christmas Goose. And very little of it used at any one time - but all of it needed eventually. And you'll have a box, drawer, or bag at your house that is much the same. You'll be out on a photo shoot and need something that is sitting in the that drawer at home... Enter Novoflex - German makers of odd photo goods. I've owned some of their stuff for years, and kept it on the basis that it was not needed but was far too well-made to discard. I carry one of their tabletop tripods that is actually awkward, but superbly so. Well, now they have made something that is SIMPLY superb. It's a set of screwdrivers and allen keys in a frame. You buy it and drop it into your gadget bag and one day it saves your shoot and your life. You have the same things at home, but you are not home - you are somewhere in the bush or at a wedding and something has come adrift. You either go home or go hard - and Novoflex is what does the job. Four of the tools on this rack are relevant to my camera rig right now. Video workers need them all.