The Ikan PS01 is a production slate/clapboard. The slate is manufactured from white acrylic and comes with black and yellow sticks. Ideal for whiteboard markers, the PS01 is a cost effective production tool which can be useful in virtually any production.
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Sadly, this is a repeat of my experience with Ikan products. Seems great on paper, falls apart in your hands. The sticks separated from the board when I tried to open the slate for the first time. Someone didn't apply any glue! Oh well, some crazy glue of my own fixed that pretty quick. The sticks action is quite stiff. You would open the slate and rest it upside down and the stick wouldn't close. Also, I had no idea there were any limitations to the brands of markers you could use. This info would be helpful *before* you purchase. The black and yellow sticks don't help you in any way so other than for branding purposes, these really should be different colors. I had to purchase this slate at the last minute and had to buy locally. This was the only slate they had in stock. Frankly, for what you're getting compared to similar slates in this price range, it's over priced. Really, a slate should stay with you a long, long time. Spend a couple $$$ more and buy a better unit.
This device was purchased for the filming of a pilot episode for a new series. The product looks nice, has the appropriate sections, and functions in a very basic way. But after 2 days of principal photography (150-200 claps), the small metal magnets imbedded broke loose and emerged out of the under-clap side of the arm / base. Additionally it began to crack near the Ikan marque. Some reviews have mentioned it was very tight but seemed to loosen up after 15 or 20 claps. Second issue. You absolutely have to purchase Expo 2 or another Ikan suggested markers to use with the board. A total inability to locate Expo 2 markers and increasing duties on my PA's led me to finally just purchase some special edition now easier to erase Expo markers. On the drive home I called Ikan and spoke with 3 different reps about the markers I had purchased, if it really did make a significant difference, and the conflicting instructions the slate came with. The instructions suggest a number of acceptable markers to use with the board including Expo 2 and lastly any other low odor marker with the same chemical composition. The problem is that the original Expo IS a low odor marker and how am I supposed to know if it's of the same composition or not? I told the Ikan rep that I had tried 3 different shops and no one carried Expo 2 or any of the other pens Ikan suggested. I told them that one of the pen manufacturers listed on the instructions had actually changed company names since the directions where printed which made me assume that the directions were out of date. On top of the name change info the third store (specialty pen shop) gave me, the store employee added that Expo 2 was an older model Expo put out that she hasn't seen around in a while. The rep was nice but it took a really long time to get a straight answer which was, yes, the original Expo markers will destroy the board- we tested one as early as a month ago and it left streaks even after wiping quickly. The rep admitted that the instructions needed revision to read any low odor maker EXCEPT Expo. That was a few weeks ago. Halfway through this review I decided to call them again and ask them about the process of getting the thing replaced for a nicer edition. The representative told me the main difference between the nicer one and mine was that it was engraved instead of printed on. He indicated that the same composite wood (that broke on mine) was used for the nicer one and the only difference was the engraving. He told me that I had to send it back on my dime and the inspector would determine if it was user error or manufacturer defect. The longer I spent on the phone asking questions the more I got the impression that this was simply a low quality product. The Ikan site looks nice, their other products look pretty decent, the reps were kind and one of them was helpful, but the fact of the matter is that I received THIS particular product so I'm reviewing THIS exact one. I don't really have a lot of time to give another one a try so I'm just going to have to return it to B&H. Some reviews here read along the lines of yeah it's cheap but it gets the job done but for the current price I wouldn't bother. If this was an economy product it would be exactly half of this price. I believe in cutting corners when you can but on something that's critical to a principle photography shoot, it's not worth it. What I'm probably going to do is just build something, which is not what I wanted to do when I've now got 50gb of footage to review and a second shoot to plan next month. I will probably inset a pane of photo frame glass in a wood frame with some foam rubber for shock absorption. I took a lot of time with this review because I thought it might help others save a few irritating hours. I want to feel bad about this type of review but I don't. I actually just picked it out of our production crate to take a quick look before I send it back. Thinking to myself, maybe this thing can just be used as is. The slate came right off the clapper in my hands. Unreal.