New photography tool!

[RogerCook]

I live in Downtown Long Beach and it's only 4 blocks to the beach but there are many different locations there for photography that can be good in different situations and the parking situation doesn't allow you to move quickly. I was finding that I would have to decide where and what I was going to shoot before leaving the house (i.e. walk, drive, location etc.) so one day I see one of these and purchased it! I love it!!! It really has given me my youth & balance back (i'm 51 years old) and I find myself now just wanting to go out riding. It is remote controlled, lithium polymer battery, carbon fiber and kevlar deck, 43 inches long, 8" pneumatic tires, 350w (700 watt max output) 5,500 RPM High Performance Brushless motor, 23 miles per hour, 16 miles per charge. It's made by a company in Australia called Evolve http://evolveskateboardsusa.com/page...teboard-models I'm sure it looks crazy but i'll be going full speed remote control in left hand Gitzo tripod fully extended with a Canon 7D attached in the right hand (haven't crashed yet). If you're into video it could be used as a dolly also it has both forward and reverse with two speeds. I used the slow mode for two weeks until I was used to it but now it's full speed everywhere.

[Mike Buckley]

This is fascinating, Roger! Do you use it because it helps you traverse terrain that would be difficult for you to walk through such as the rocky terrain in your second photo?

Aside from all the stuff about the vehicle, the first photo is really great. Consider submitting it to the company for their use. They could use some color photos in addition to their monochromes.

[Shadowman]

Nice.

[RogerCook]

This is fascinating, Roger! Do you use it because it helps you traverse terrain that would be difficult for you to walk through such as the rocky terrain in your second photo?

Aside from all the stuff about the vehicle, the first photo is really great. Consider submitting it to the company for their use. They could use some color photos in addition to their monochromes.

No flat terrain just quicker than walking.

[mastamak]

I want one! But, given that I have managed to break my leg just walking around photographing landscapes I reckon "she who must be obeyed" may put her foot down.
Grant

[Black Pearl]

$1,749.00 USD

Think I'll just stick to walking which costs nothing, is far healthier, much safer, less intrusive on others and (in the UK certainly) doesn't make look faintly ridiculous.

[IzzieK]

I'll teach my dog how to ride in it, too...

[chauncey]

Think I'll just stick to walking which costs nothing, is far healthier, much safer, less intrusive on others and (in the UK certainly) doesn't make look faintly ridiculous

Sounds like the voice of youth...wait til the ravages of age creep up on ya,
then the forms of alternative transportation tend to become more appealing.
My electric scooter gets a heavy workout during the summer.

[Max von MeiselMaus]

But there is a difference between an electric scooter and a motorised skateboard!

I damaged enough body parts using the non-motorised version back in the 1970s. I wouldn't chance more valuable camera equipment too. Besides which, my kids wouldn't stop laughing. Would still love to have a go on a swegway, though. Just not whilst holding a camera.

[Black Pearl]

I think this might be a Trans Atlantic thing.

This side you'd be very, very hard pushed to find any adult riding a scooter or skateboard (I've never seen one by the way) and we are a long, long way from the USA's level of reliance on cars or motorised solutions to get us about - regardless of age.

I'm in my mid 40's so still fit and active but my mum who is 70 walks everywhere on a daily basis, yes she has a car but uses it for actual journey's or where walking wouldn't be practical due to the need to carry heavy items. Her 'local' shops are about 2 miles away and she pops (walks) to them at lease twice a week for her groceries. I do the same, so does my wife and so do most of my friends.

[Mike Buckley]

Her 'local' shops are about 2 miles away and she pops (walks) to them at lease twice a week for her groceries. I do the same, so does my wife and so do most of my friends.

You're probably right, Robin, about it being a transatlantic thing. Very, very few Americans who have a car would walk 4 miles round-trip to the grocery store even if carrying a lot of weight was not the issue. That's partly out of laziness when getting the exercise would be better and partly out of the perception of a lack of time when going by car would be so much faster than walking.

[Max von MeiselMaus]

Robin, you have a point there. I have always lived in cities so don't drive and walk anywhere I can get to. When I tried that when in the States, people would pull over and ask me if I was lost!

I live about a mile from my beach and happily walk there, and perhaps another half mile along before turning back. It isn't a problem, and I am coming up to 50. Would I do it more if I had a motorised skateboard? No. You can't legally ride them on either the pavements or the roads here, only on private land. So, it wouldn't be an option, even if I liked the sound of it.

[mastamak]

I actually think it is an Australian thing. I see them every time I go down to the Esplanade here in Cairns. All ages from teenagers upwards to 50 + seem to be able to control them at hair-raising speed. They look like really great fun.
Grant

[IzzieK]

I once went for a walk to the supermarket a little bit down the road from us and a neighbour stopped and asked if my car broke down. I said I do not drive so I decided to walk. She insisted taking me down and said she will wait for me and bring me back home... well at least she is nice...I walk my dog everyday and no one stop and ask if we want a ride home...Darn!

[RogerCook]

$1,749.00 USD

Think I'll just stick to walking which costs nothing, is far healthier, much safer, less intrusive on others and (in the UK certainly) doesn't make look faintly ridiculous.

Healthier could be debated with how hard you ride as with how ridiculous you look also! I bet you would look ridiculous, stick to walking.

[mknittle]

I'll teach my dog how to ride in it, too...

Now that would make a picture. teach her? to do wheelies.

[Bobobird]

Interesting but most countries disallow this kind of "vehicle" unless it is properly licensed. That is the hard part - they won't give you one. So it is either tickets at every corner or only on private land. Same thing with the segways and the many variations coming out of China.

Oddly they have no problem with motorised camera trollies running along busy city sidewalks and roads.