We are a little jaded when it comes to photo accessories. Don't get us wrong, we love the idea of them, we just don't come across many that we like. Most are gimicky, don't really do what they claim, and/or are cheaply constructed. The well-made ones are either too expensive or camera specific. So when we come across ones which do what they claim, are well made, and reasonably priced, we feel an obligation to spread the word.

The above collection of digital camera accessories are from a company called PhotoSolve. We learned about them from one of our readers...thanks Jason! Jason told us about an interesting adapter which enabled him to mount a Red Dot sight (typically found attached to rifles and pistols, but in our case...a telescope) to the flash shoe of our camera. This allows one to track moving objects much more accurately than the LCD or the viewfinder.

Along with the Xtend-a-Sight™ red-dot sight mounting adapter, we found a few other interesting items (Xtend-a-View, Xtend-a-scope, Xtend-a-lens, etc..) for DSLR and point-n-shoot cameras. When we first looked at the accessories online, we assumed they would be made of plastic, but they are actually machined out of aluminum. There is nothing wrong with plastic, but it does not have the same durability as aluminium.

Each item was designed to solve a specific problem. We will look at all the accessories, but as this adventure started with the Xtend-a-Sight™, we will take a look at it first. We didn't think such a simple gadget could have such an impact. However, the more we considered situations where we would use a red-dot or a laser sight, the more we realized how the Xtend-a-Sight™ adapter could improve our action photography! The FirstLook is coming tomorrow. The FirstUse report will be sometime near the end of February. [Permalink] -PhotoSolve Accessories