Who says that a dumb phone can’t be smart? Yesterday, I switched from iPhone 3G to Nokia N96. I love iPhone for its applications, but I want to create rather than consume content. This is […]
Category: Photo
My Masi
Seventeen days ago, I got my first new bike in more than a decade; I hadn’t ridden in that long. The Masi Speciale Fixed is a single-speed bike more often used for racing but agile […]
Spring Valley Boots
Boots, Spring Valley Swap Meet, taken with Sigma DP1.
Geisha
I took this photo during the National Cherry Blossom Parade 2007, in Washington, DC. This year’s parade is in two days, April 12. I live in San Diego now. Sigh. I used Canon EOS 20D […]
Target Marketing
I was contacted tonight about this photo being used, under Creative Commons license, for a DC travel guide. It’s from the 2007 Cherry Blossom Festival. The guide found the photo on Flickr. I snapped the […]
Skater and Coach
Sigma DP1 ISO 800 test: My daughter and coach watch the Skate La Grande on March 28, 2008, in San Diego.
Best New Years Ever!
My family spent part of the day at Torrey Pines State Reserve. We walked the beach on a day where the temperature reached 21 degrees Celsius. Oh joy!
Moment of Second Guessing
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 […]
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.