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The UnderDog - because of its
performance, weight (13 ounces), small size (3-3/4' x 2-1/4' x 1-1/4' . . . not
including RCA style connector height) and solid metal 1/4' x 20 thumbscrew mount - is
the perfect solution to a bunch of location lighting nightmares. Falk thinks that all
newspaper photographers, magazine shooters, travel photographers and professional
'wannbees' who need to travel light should own a kit of insanely great UnderDogs.
A pair of ' UnderDogs with a switchable dual-voltage (120VAC/60Hz - 230VAC/50Hz) quick charger currently sells for $200.00, plus $12 for domestic shipping, much higher variable charges for international shipping, handling and insurance. The kit will work in far away 220VAC/50Hz countries. AutoDog 2, an accessory 12 volt car charger, will cost $70.00, plus $5.00 for domestic shipping. An UnderDog (and the right Quantum or UnderDog "Short Leash" cable) can power about 100 different brands of portable shoe mount flashes. Popular units are listed below. Contact "Dog" Factory for full list.
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 The Underdog/Wooden Flash (above) is connected with a Quantum Battery 1+ cable |
An UnderDog makes an
excellent slave light platform. This "one piece" unit will sit on the floor, a
desk, a nearby bookshelf or window sill. Connecting the battery's standard 1/4"x20 thumbscrew stud to a flash slave, which has an accessory hot shoe mount on top and a 1/4"x20 threaded receiver on the bottom, is oh so simple. Wein Products, distributed by Tiffen/Saunders, Inc. of Rochester, NY makes this type of hot shoe slave device. Any shoe mount, slave triggered, thyristor or TTl flash mounted to an UnderDog battery is a killer remote light. Van Beekem called it a "flash grenade" because it could be thrown in anywhere. |
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The RCA locking connector on a 'Short Leash' is superior to those on other battery cables. The STANDARD 'Short Leash' cable is coiled. UnderDog 'Short Leash' cables will continue to be packaged in their distinctive color label bags (YELLOW for Nikon, RED for Vivitar and BLUE for Canon) Each cable is packaged with technical information, cable handling advice and important information about what the user needs to know and do to modify a flash in order to close the 4-AA battery compartment door covers flat on the Nikon and Canon flashes. Vivitar flashes require no modifications to the 4-AA battery cover. Every new 'Short Leash' for Vivitar is supplied with a replacement AA cover, already pre-slotted to accommodate the cable wire New cable price stays at $60.00
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PocketDog - $80.00
. . . is
the smallest and lightest of the ‘Dog’ batteries. PocketDog
does not fit under a camera or motor drive. Instead, it goes in
a photo vest pocket, small fanny pack or behind the cummerbund of a tuxedo.
These applications usually
require a Quantum Battery 1+ cable to connect the battery to the flash.
A slaved PocketDog powered flash can sometimes be cleverly hidden in a table lamp, behind a glass front cabinet door, inside a microwave oven (food prop) or taped-up out of sight on location shoots. UnderDog ‘Short Leash’ power cables are recommended for these kinds of applications. Flash output - the number of full power manual pops (almost 100) with a Vivitar 283 - is the same for PocketDog, a regular UnderDog or a TopDog, because all three are made using the same sealed, lead acid, no-memory battery. PocketDogs cost more than UnderDogs because they are fussy to make. |
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 TopDog
- $100.00 . . . is the biggest ‘Dog’ battery. TopDog
is a cleverly customized UnderDog flash battery. Each has
a black acrylic plate mounted on the bottom of the battery. There is a 1/4” X
20 brass female receiver embedded into this plate, which makes this ‘Dog’ battery
compatible with many gaffer devices and light stand mounts.
Like an UnderDog, a TopDog also fits under a camera or motor drive. It adds only 3/8ths of an inch to the depth to the unit. A typical TopDog flash set-up might resemble the one shown here, which features a classic but no longer available (Norm Stuessy had the nerve to retire) bare bulb NVS-1 flash with it’s standard 1/4” X 20 flash foot, an NVS-1 ‘color caster’, a Wein XL slave eye and a custom NVS-1 to UnderDog ‘Short Leash’ power cable. This stand-mounted rig is made possible by using a T1-36 tilter from Lowel, Light Manufacturing, Inc., in Brooklyn, NY. TopDogs cost more than UnderDogs because the custom made acrylic plate for the 1/4” X 20 brass receiver is fussy to fabricate and install. |
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