Jacobson Photographic Instruments

Mark Jacobson seems to be the only guy around making quality sound blimps.
A sound blimp is essentially a box that you place your camera in that muffles the sound of the shutter, so you can take photos where it needs to be silent, IE: production stills for a film, theatre, etc. I’m almost positive it helped save my camera when I was recently on location in the middle of a sandstorm too.
They aren’t the slickest looking piece of equipment — It will literally be a giant black box with a giant lens tube over your camera. But it works, and it works well.
It also has turned out to be quite the conversation starter. People say, «Is THAT your camera?» «What kind of camera is that?!» or my personal favorite, «Is that a 4×5???» what?! If you know what a 4×5 is, wouldn’t you know what one looks like?! Anyway…
I met with Mark in his shop where he makes these. He had me bring my camera and lens, and he went over with me on how to put it all together. He was very patient and polite, and thus far, his blimp hasn’t let me down.
The sound blimp isn’t the cheapest piece of equipment you’ll buy, but it is well worth it. A rental of one adds up incredibly quick, (especially when doing several days) and the last few projects I did before buying one did *NOT* cover the cost of my rentals. It has already paid for itself.
As soon as I buy myself a 70 – 200, I’m headed back to buy a new lens tube from him!