Review of Photosynthesis by Andrew Mayne
http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/2507

Noticed penguin is starting to sell it. I bought it direct from Andrew Mayne. I thought it was suppose to be limited release? I guess not anymore
Now pros/cons of this

Pros:
- I think price is great. Good value
- DVD is pretty good. Andrew Mayne has put out some less than good dvds, but this is good.
- Handlings taught are good. Nothing too fiddly
- Self contained (for some handlings, not for signed Card photo, that requires a “load”)
- Gimmick looks good and is reusable.
- Good revelation that can be applied to lots of things.


Cons
- Some handlings require an inside breast pocket (i.e. suit jacket) to do smoothly for the “load” for signed card. While not entirely necessary, it’s required for the best handling and for what is taught on the dvd
- I can see the photo becoming very tattered and worn after some time and you may have to buy a big one
- MAJOR CON!! The thing doesn’t work all the time. You need to consider temperature. I feel this is ok to say (not revealing secrets) because on the dvd Andrew Mayne even recommends using the patter line of “heat sensitive Polaroid” so your spectators will help u heat it up. Its winter here, and my hands are not warm enough to make it work, not even in the day. However it works on my belly. I guess some people will have warmer hands than others naturally. This thing will probably only work in a certain temperature range which i’m yet to discover exactly what that is.


Overall its pretty worth getting considering the price is low. Only limited by temperature.

When you say reusable... do you mean you can only use the same image over and over again (like always revealing Coca Cola) or can you reveal different things every time?

better PM u about it. YES it is reusable. More detail in your PM

It was a limited release when Andrew Mayne did it at first... until the general release. Essentially, ordering it from him got it to you before anyone else could have.

I just picked this up. Never been disappointed by a Mayne product, so I'm excited to get it.

Limited release is a waste of time. I literally just got it last week. It did not ship as scheduled and i would of much rather waited for penguin to stock it had i known there was going to be a general release.

is camera required? or just 1 undeveloped polaroid film?

Its a gimmicked film that reveals anything. No camera.

I haven't seen a polaroid camera used by anyone that wasn't a magician in close to 20 years. What is the fascination over the past few years with magicians using them? In the age of digital technology, no one is familiar with these things. I've heard magicians complain about guys like me that use silver coins to work with because they're so uncommon now, but no one seems to point this out.

And if you loved the effect enough to use it I sure it you could justify it in your patter, like it being interesting because it's an antique.

Retro stuff is in!

Clothes, Vinyl, non-digital cameras, i've even seen hipsters use type writers. Just to be ironic.

You found a photo from the seventies that has faded away and use it to go back in time to see the card that was chosen, or something chosen like Cheetoes. You could even use a flash device.

I have to say, this sounds intriguing.