Review: Goal Zero Sherpa 100 Power Pack

This summer I was fortunate to do a multi-day paddling adventure down the Bow River through Banff, Alberta. Although I was stoked to be out in the wild for that long, I was a bit worried how I was going to keep the cameras running for not only myself, but also for team filmmaker David Jackson. (I knew that nothing drained camera batteries like DSLR filming!) Thankfully I acquired a Goal Zero Sherpa 100 lithium-ion battery pack before the trip. It turned out to be just what we needed to keep the juice flowing to our thirsty devices.

The Goal Zero Sherpa 100 Power Pack is a happy medium for adventure filmmakers and photographers. It cranks out 120 watts of power and weighs in a bit over two pounds with the optional inverter attached; it’s just big enough to keep 2-3 DSLRs running full tilt while out in the field. (The inverter is a required accessory to plug in your camera’s battery charger.) The Sherpa’s two onboard USB plugs worked well to keep our fleet of GoPros, cell phones and GPS topped off. It also comes equipped with a LED light and a special plug that fits most laptops, although not my Macbook Pro, further increasing the need for the optional inverter.

I was able to fit the Sherpa, Nomad 20 solar panel and other camera stuff into a DryZone 40L made by Lowepro. Whenever we were in camp, the panel was out, milking energy from the sun. I was even able to charge it from a car battery one night while at Lake Louise campground. While I couldn’t have been happier with the charging results, both David and I pretty much took it to its limits. For a larger expedition or those employing more filmers, I would recommend either one of Goal Zero’s larger batteries or daisy chaining together additional solar panels. I still feel it’s always wise to invest in extra camera  for those long days on the river or if working in inclement weather as the panel really does benefit from direct sunlight; charging the battery via solar can take between 7-30 hours. If you plug it into a wall outlet it only takes 3.
All told you’re looking at about $600 to get fully equipped with the Sherpa 100, Nomad 20 solar panel and inverter. But those of us requiring constant use of our digital equipment in the field will no doubt see the value here. This solar kit gives us the ability to venture farther and stay longer.

Smart Collector: Top-notch Philippe Patek brings $227,000 at auction

WHAT: When a 9-year-old wristwatch sells for $227,000 in competitive bidding at auction, it has to be special.

In a recent $3.6 million Antiquorum sale of fine timepieces and jewelry, a Patek Philippe Ref. 5971 proved why it is “top of the market,” as the house put it. For starters, the watch has more complications than Bayer has aspirin. Begin with a perpetual calendar and a square button chronograph, then add 24-hour indication, moon phases and a tachometer.

MORE: The solid platinum case back and platinum buckle, which is set with diamonds, are elegant. Gems on the buckle are calibrated while those surrounding the dial (the bezel) are matched baguettes.

SMART COLLECTORS KNOW: At the very top, exclusivity centers on model name and number.

HOT TIP: The timepiece sold with its original fitted box, certificate of origin, and setting pin. At this level, paperwork is vital and adds to salability.

BOTTOM LINE: Though specific Rolex and Firemark watch sells high, fine Patek Philippe wristwatches have led the secondary market for decades. In this sale, international bidders also pushed values high on watches by Franck Muller, Richard Mille and Chopard.

FYI: When Sotheby’s London recently announced the highest result ($240.8 million) for any London auction, ever, was it surprising that no buyer in the top 10 was identified by name? “Anonymous” and “private collector” led the buyers, including a Gustav Klimt painting, “Bauerngarten,” for $59.3 million.

How to Use Wistia: A Step-by-Step Guide

Whether you're a B2B or B2C business, videos can help you strengthen relationships with your customers, save time, and boost conversion rates. And if you haven't experimented with this powerful medium yet, you're missing out -- 66% of B2B marketers are already creating video content to support both their marketing department goals and larger business initiatives.

When it comes to the use cases for video, the possibilities are endless across your organization: Sales teams can close deals with personalized video voicemails, support teams can walk customers through frequently asked questions with engaging tutorials, and HR teams can onboard new teammates with ease. But that's just the beginning. Businesses that have fully adopted video are constantly coming up with new ways to make meaningful connections with their audiences through video content.

In this post, we're going to review the business value of video and walk you through a step-by-step guide for using Wistia -- a video hosting platform -- to create video content for all of your marketing and business needs.

Another Day, Another Attempt to Unseat Snapchat: Facebook Unveils Messenger Day

“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

This is a lesson Facebook has perfected over the last year as it continues to launch products to compete with Snapchat, the app it tried and failed to purchase back in 2013.

The battle over the disappearing social media story continued yesterday with Facebook’s launch of Messenger Day. Messenger Day works like Snapchat Stories, Instagram Stories, and WhatsApp Status: Users share photo and video messages embellished with text, drawings, filters, and emojis with friends that disappear after 24 hours.

As of yesterday, the new feature was being gradually rolled out to all iOS and Android Messenger apps. In this post, we’ll cover what Messenger Day is all about, how to use it, and how this announcement changes the ephemeral messaging competition heating up between Snapchat and Facebook.

Demystifying Creative Success: How to Build a Creative Career from Scratch

If you start your career at a corporate bank, the path to success is usually presented as a clear progression of incremental promotions, straightforward skill requirements, and predictable time lines.

For those of us hell-bent on pursuing a creative career, there is no luxury of a well-trodden path.

Achieving big league success in a creative field can seem like an elusive confluence of meeting the right people, pushing your work into the right hands, and stumbling into the right room at just the right time. It's grueling, inexact, and more than a little dependent on luck.

While there's never going to be a simple, tried-and-true road map to creative success, there is value in speaking to people who have forged their own path in a creative industry, and learning from their experiences.

To start demystifying the path to creative success, we turned to Vanessa Holden, the newly-appointed executive design director of Sub Rosa, a strategy and design practice based in Manhattan.

If anyone's "made it" in a creative field, it's Holden. Her expansive career includes creative leadership roles at some the world's most highly-regarded lifestyle publications and brands, including West Elm, Williams-Sonoma, Martha Stewart Living and Weddings, Vogue Living, Real Simple, and Marie Claire.