Own-a Ona: Camera Bag Review

The beauty of working at a startup is the endless ability to learn, change, and grow. By reaching out to other photo-based startups, we’re able to get a glimpse of the future of photography and how we can all work together to better that future.

This is how we discovered ONA, a startup that is making waves in the camera bag industry. After a little chatting about life, love, and the pursuit of peanut butter, we exchanged products and agreed to review each other’s offerings.

This is our “110%-honest-no-gimmicks-no-filters-everything-on-the-table” review:

ONA, meaning “to feel,” “to believe,” and “to experience” in Swahili, captures the essence of photography and style through their premium camera bags and accessories. Products are handcrafted, with materials sourced from high quality, responsible vendors around the world. Born from the integration of style and function, ONA believes that “camera bags and accessories should be rich and imaginative, like the photos you love to take.”

Now, these premium bags do come at a premium price. So why dish out the big bucks? We decided to order one of their canvas messenger-style camera bags and find out!

The day our bag arrived felt like Christmas all over again. Or Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa. Or your favorite birthday where you got that one thing you wanted more than anything else.

Meet, “The Brixton.”

The first thing we noticed was that this bag transcended the word “attractive”. If there’s one thing we can commend ONA on, it’s style.  It not only looks top notch, but it also feels amazing to the touch.  The bag is made with water resistant, wax-coated canvas and feels just as sturdy as it looks.  The bag retains it shape easily, even when it’s empty. Detailed with full grain leather and antique brass tuck-clasp closures, the bag has a timeless appearance. Any photographer looking to make a stylish impression will have no problem doing so with this bag.

In terms of functionality, the four compartments are completely customizable with Velcro^® attachments that allow the carrier to mix and match as they please, which we found to be super convenient.  A sleek magazine pocket on the back is great for carrying an iPad, journal, or paperwork. 

According to ONA’s website, The Brixton is designed to hold a DSLR, 2-3 lenses and a 13” laptop. Our immediate challenge was to test it out!

We attempted to get all of this into our bag:

So what was the verdict?

SUCCESS! When it comes to utility, this bag definitely delivers.

So what were our negatives?

Well, the first and most obvious negative is that pretty little price tag.  Our bag is $269 and the leather counterpart of “The Brixton” comes in at a whopping $419. ONA is definitely targeting style-conscious photographers with disposable incomes. But, if you’re willing to pay top dollar, you’ll be receiving a top product.

We also noticed that the canvas exterior scratched easily due to the wax coating. A knick of the nail was all it took to leave a white scratch on the surface. However, those scratches are just in the wax and not the actual canvas, so it wouldn’t be too hard to buff them out.

So, at the end of the day, we give ONA bags a big thumbs up. Not only is this bag stylish and functional, but thanks to its discrete design, you can walk around the street without your bag screaming, “Hey! I have thousands worth of gear in here! Mug me!”  And that’s definitely a good thing.

So, to summarize:

Cool company. Sturdy protection. High quality. Brilliant design.

Sounds like a winner to us. Check them out at ONABags.com

Tell us about your favorite gear in the comments! What are your photog bag essentials? What type of bag do you use, and why?

XXXOOO,

The Fracture Team

P.S. Father’s Day is June 16th, and Fractures make the perfect gift for dad! Use coupon code DADDAY by midnight on June 10th to get $6.16 off your order and get your Fracture by Father’s Day!

Fracture Fans and Fantastic Fractures

You don’t need to be a professional photographer to create a spectacular Fracture. You don’t need a photography degree. You don’t need an SLR camera, technical photo editing software or a brand new computer. All you need is a little creativity…and a camera device.

Maybe the words “aperture,” “ISO,” and  “exposure,” make you go weak at the knees with photography-induced giddiness. Or maybe you have to ask your children how to turn on the disposable camera. It doesn’t matter, because anyone can create a brilliant Fracture.

Recently, a particularly simple, yet striking transparent Fracture caught our attention. The light streaming through the glass seemed to bring the photographed sky to life. We had to know the story behind it.

That’s where Al comes in.

Al’s photography philosophy is simple- incredibly simple. When we asked about his camera, his editing techniques, and the settings he used to snap the photo, he just replied, “You are going to love this…”

Al was in the Mohave Desert in San Bernardino County, Calif. on December 9, 2012 just a little before 6 p.m. It was a beautiful afternoon but his senses were overcome with a howling wind. He said it gave him an “eerie feeling” that he wanted to capture in a photograph. So, he took out out his iPhone 4. Set the flash and snapped the shot.

But alas! The picture was too dark to really show much. He went home and transferred the photo to his PC where he edited the picture in Microsoft Office Picture Manager using the “autocorrect” feature. He then uploaded the photo to Fractureme.com and ordered a Classic size transparent Fracture.

This was his result:

We see Fractures done by everyone from professional photographers to graphic designers to senior citizens to children.  Anyone with a little creativity can create a Fracture that takes our breath away, a Fracture like Al’s that halts the Fracture Fractory for a moment in time, as we stop to appreciate it’s magnificence.

And that, my friends, is the beauty of a Fracture.

With Fracture fun for everyone,

The Fracture Team

P.S. Father’s Day is June 16th, and Fractures make the perfect gift for dad! Use coupon code DADDAY by midnight on June 10th to get $6.16 off your order and get your Fracture by Father’s Day!

Fracture Packaging: An Evolution

Dear Fracture Fans,

Some of you may have noticed by now that our packaging has undergone a facelift! We’ve been listening to your feedback and working hard to improve. It’s finally time to reveal our changes and we can’t wait to share all of the details with you, our Fracture fans!

These changes will help us ship your Fractures out faster while being more Earth-conscious, protecting your orders, and looking fabulous while doing it (you can see why we’re so excited!). We’ve come a long way from our humble beginnings, and today we’re taking you on a ride through Fracture’s packaging evolution.

Our first Fracture packaging was a simple, but protective, Styrofoam box. It was great in that it kept Fractures safe while allowing a cost-effective shipping solution to a budding, cool company (that’s us!). However, our Fracture Fans are earth lovers, as are we, and it was clear that Styrofoam just wasn’t the answer. Thus, we began our search for another solution!

What we designed next was a combination of honeycomb cardboard, tape, and creativity. Essentially, we placed your Fractures in between sheets of specially cut protective honeycomb cardboard, taped around the edges, and labeled for shipping.

What’s honeycomb, you ask? It’s a type of cardboard that has a “honeycomb structure inside” to make it lighter, Eco-friendly, and super protective! Check it out:

So, what did the finished packaged product look like?

For our Small and Medium-sized Fractures, we will continue to use this packaging. For our larger sizes, however, it was time for a makeover.

Drumroll please…we now have TWO new types of packaging!

First is a pre-folded box with no cardboard on two sides. Sounds weird, right? Well, we actually place your Fractures in a standardized cardboard insert and slide the bundle into the open-sided box. We simply secure the two pieces with a strip of plastic, place a shipping label on the package, and send straight to your doorstep! This packaging will carry our Classic size Fractures and any smaller Fractures if ordered with a Classic. Check it out below!

The second type of new packaging is for our Large and Extra Large size Fractures! Remember that honeycomb cardboard from before? This packaging nestles your Fractures in between two sheets of honeycomb cardboard which then slide into a big box specially designed to hold the insert in place.  Check it out below!

Although the two new packaging options look different, they share many of the same benefits. Both new packages are more standardized than before, meaning that we can get your Fractures out to you faster. They’re also more protective, meaning your glass prints are safe from harm all the way to your doorstep. We also love that these new boxes are more “green” – not in the color sense, but in a save-the-world sense. We’re using significantly less cardboard and, because the process is standardized, we’re wasting much less material. But don’t forget the cherry on top – they’re all pretty darn good-looking, wouldn’t you agree?

We take pride in our product and in our packaging, with each Fracture being made with love right here in sunny Gainesville, Fl. See?

So get excited folks – because lets be real, there’s nothing we love more than efficient, earth friendly, protective, good-looking boxes that bring Fractured memories right to your doorstep.

We know that Fracture full-time engineer and part-time model, Randy, loves the new boxes. The question now is, do you? Let us know by emailing us at support@fractureme.com.

We can’t thank you enough for your continued support of Fracture. We wouldn’t be where we are without you guys! With every Fracture you order, with every feedback message you send, and with every “Hey, have you heard about Fracture?” you say, we get one step closer to achieving our mission – redefining how the world prints and displays its favorite images.

With a pretty new box that will rock your socks,

The Fracture Team

New Changes in Sizes and Prices

Dear Fracture Fans,

Three years ago, we set out on a mission to redefine how the world prints and displays its favorite images. Along the way, we’ve learned an incredible amount, and now we’re redefining our offerings to bring us a couple of steps closer to achieving that mission. Today’s post explains a major change that will help us reach our goal while helping you get the Fractures you want, and we’re incredibly excited about it.

To put it simply, we are revamping our sizes and prices. “Whoa!” you may be thinking, “I hate change!” But rest assured, like a great new haircut after a rough breakup, this is the best kind of change.

For starters, you’ve been clamoring for larger sizes since the beginning. Well, voila! The Fracture fairy has granted your wish, with 2 new sizes, a LARGE and an EXTRA LARGE size, coming in at 15.6” by 20.8” and 21.6” by 28.8” respectively.

If lieu of these great new additions, we will be discontinuing the 10” and 14” standard sizes. For anyone addicted to these sizes and worried about the effects of withdrawals, not to worry- you can still get them through custom orders.

For all you insta-addicts, we’re also updating our square sizes, and will now be featuring a 5” x 5” square for $12 that is pure perfection for instagram photos. Not big enough for you? No problem. We’ll also have an 11” x 11” and 23” x 23” square so you can prove to everyone that Amaro is the best instagram filter of all time.

Our newly sized and priced Fractures come with incredibly creative names: Small, Medium, “Classic”, Large, and Extra Large.  Why is “classic” named “classic,” you ask? Well, this Fracture is our current 18”, and has essentially been our most popular size since the beginning of time (better known as the beginning of Fracture). Squares have an equally original naming system: Small, Medium, and Large.

We’ve also changed our stand options.  Survey after survey, we found that you guys didn’t like our stand mounts. Well, you spoke, we listened, and now, the Fracture Fairy has swooped in again to fix it. The Fracture team is diligently working to improve the quality and functionality of our stand mounts. As this project progresses, we will only be offering stands for our smallest square and smallest rectangle options. Stay tuned for more information regarding this project!

Oh and there’s one more change we think that you’ll find particularly pleasing. Free shipping to all orders over $100. That’s right. Free. 

If this all seems like quite a bit to take in at once, we understand. For a simple and particularly good-looking way to see the changes, see the handy dandy before and after comparison below.

Before:

After: 

And here’s a good-looking chart of the dimensions of all of our new standard Fracture sizes.

And of course, if you have any feedback in regard to these changes or more, we want to hear from you! For direct contact with a member of the Fracture team, email us at support@Fractureme.com.

With dreams of sizing, pricing, and enticing,

The Fracture Team