Penn Camera called today to say that the Canon EOS 40D had arrived. I was No. 38 on a waiting list that wasn’t to be fulfilled until October. Unexpectedly, days after I sold all my […]
Category: Media
The 80-200mm Nikon Lens on Parade
Today, marked an important test for the Nikon AF NIKKOR 80-200mm 1:2.8D ED lens, whether or not I would keep it. I got the lens as part of a trade for use with my new Nikon D200. Field test was dramatic: Kensington, Md.’s annual Labor Day parade. The newer model 80-200mm lens costs about $1,000, while I got this older 80-200mm for a fraction of the price. I don’t mind a used, older lens—as long as it performs.
I wasn’t disappointed, but I also wasn’t overly impressed, either. Maybe having used a Canon 135mm Prime lens had spoiled me, raising my expectations about clarity and sharpness. More likely, from looking at the photos, I needed a lens hood. More time with the D200 (I hadn’t used one for almost a year) would have helped.
The D with One More Zero
This afternoon, I completed a 180-degree turn with respect to photo gear. I completely abandoned Canon and moved to Nikon. I had made a kind of switch before; this one is permanent. All my Canon equipment is gone. Timing is strange, because I passed up opportunity to buy new dSLR models from both companies.
I have used the Canon EOS 20D since 2004—with a break in-between with the Nikon D200. I eventually switched back to Canon, because of my daughter’s ice skating. A good friend had my old Canon f/2.8 L lenses, and he was willing to trade my Nikon gear. With the 20D’s lower noise at higher ISO and the amount of light captured by the f/2 and f/2.8, I got better pics from the ice rink than with the D200; I had f/3.5-5.6 lenses, and the Nikon camera produces more noise at higher ISOs.
Wild Water Ride
Here, my wife and daughter ride the water at Sea World. We spent most of the day there yesterday.
Quiet Contemplation
My daughter looks out towards the Children’s Pool in San Diego.
Fake Steve Jobs is Revealed!
The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs is one acerbic—and hugely popular—Weblog. Also known as Fake Steve Jobs, the author has had quite a following over that last 14 months. There has been a concerted effort to reveal Fake Steve Jobs’ identity. No longer.
In New York Times story, “A Mystery Solved: ‘Fake Steve’ Blogger Comes Clean“, reporter Brad Stone reveals the identity as Daniel Lyons, a senior editor at Forbes. Today, Fake Steves acknowledged, “Damn, I am so busted, yo“.
Free Themes with a Hidden Cost
About 11 years ago, I registered aroostook.org, as it derives from the name of my home county, or “The County” as Mainers call it. I later let a good friend have the domain, which I long regretted.
It’s nothing to do with him; he’s a great friend. In retrospect, I could have put the domain to good use. Today, I looked over the WHOIS record, which indicates the domain record was created in 2002. Mmmm, 1996 is more like it. He must have let the domain expire at some point.
We Mourn
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwBIzkp4V6Q] Overnight, one of the teens in our community died after falling while skateboarding. We can’t offer deepest enough condolences to the family, which lost their youngest child (he was 18) and only […]
Best. Marketing Campaign. Ever.
Jealous Computers. They hate being replaced by the Nokia N95.
Fill Her Up
When I was 14, the local radio station—with 50,000 watts of power—broadcast from neighboring Presque Isle, Maine. I found one DJ, whose name is lost to memory, quite exciting. One summer afternoon, the he put […]
The Battle of Jericho
Okay, I’m hooked. Few days back, I downloaded the full season of “Jericho“, the end of America saga, where terrorists nuke 23 cities, which include Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Lawrence, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tucson, and Washington, D.C. I had heard rumors about the apocalyptic drama, but I watch little network TV and no CBS programing. I think of CBS as the old folks network.
“Jericho” is unusually good TV drama, similar caliber and mystery-driven format as “Battlestar Galactica” or “Lost”. The show deserves much more viewership than in its dismal ratings.
What Will Be the Returns?
Today’s New York Times column “An iPhone Changed My Life (Briefly)” hits at the device’s fundamental problem: Hype. There was too much of it—and not really from Apple—that may have over-raised many people’s expectations. The issue Michelle Slatalla raises is one of returns. Will she return her iPhone? She writes, “I have started thinking seriously about returning the $599 phone, despite a 10 percent restocking fee. It hasn’t really changed my life in the ways I’d hoped”.
But she may have started with overly unrealistic expectations, which the runaway hype helped foster. The name includes “phone” for a reason. Apple didn’t promise a device that would cure cancer or feed the starving.