Toronto Photography Meetup Group

I was just reading this on Gizmodo. I was thinking a lot of negative things about it. I thought I'd share with you guys the article itself:

http://gizmodo.com/5844198/xume-magneti ... tly-simple

1. I'm not so sure about having a magnet near anywhere near the body of the camera. Magnet + electrical components = usually a no-no. The magnet would have to be fairly strong to keep the filter from being knocked off.

2. I have to question the quality or grade of the actual filter

3. An adapter for each lens...hmm...

Ahh...screw it!!

I think it's far enough away from the body that it's safe. I don't like how easily it appears to pop off. I would like the magnet to be a bit stronger than that.

No problem with electronics unless it's an old style hard disk, more of a problem with mechanical watches where a strong magnet can pull off the watch hands and magnetize parts that are better left unmagnetized. It is possible but difficult to ruin the magnetic stripe on a bank card.

If I had a worry besides buying unnecessary gimmicks is that the magnet would attract metal filings to an area where you don't want filings. Metal filings are everywhere, just drag a magnet through some dirt if you don't believe me.

I wonder how much scrap i can collect if i swept the streets with a magnet. I should suggest that to the old ladies i see rummaging through my recycling for cans and bottles.

Unfortunately most precious metals are non-magnetic so beware of buying magnetic gold pieces of eight.

I think this is a great idea. Magnets are not dangerous to computers. Unless you are using a compact flash to floppy disk adapter (Just a joke these do not exist.) you will be fine.

Just keep them away from:

floppy disks
Video tape
credit cards
ect

you will be fine....

and CRTs

I don't know. The magnet really isn't strong enough to keep the filter from being accidentally popped off.

Plus, I didn't think of the metal filings.

Wow... people are just getting lazy, huh? But really, who's going to take their filter on and off very often?

Me.. Lol

This is NOT a new idea...Cokin had it for YEARS (more than 5 years). If there was an issue surely we would have heard it by now!

As for magnets and digital cameras, manuals DO warn you not to have magnets near the camera, but probably so it doesn't affect the shutter mechanism since it uses an electronic coil which generates a magnetic field to operate.