Lenses - Focal Length

What lens(es) should I get?

This is the most common question anyone will ask when they first step into the advanced world. Normally you don't get these questions when there are no promotions around. However, when retailers throw in a sweet deal of bundling a lens at a much lower price, the heart / head starts to be moved.

For hobbyists / enthusiasts / pros, this is a simple question. They know what they want. So, I'll let this post be targeted at the amateurs / beginners / whatever you want to be called.

We'll concentrate on the focal lengths in this post. All lenses come with a certain focal length. 18mm, 24mm, 18-55mm etc etc. These figures mean nothing to a beginner. So, to make it easier to understand, I've taken some pictures. Most websites will display 1 picture, with multiple boxed in pictures within. I'll be different and post all individual focal lengths, so that you can actually see what each length is going to give you. Some things to note:
- Weather was hazy, thus the pictures aren't great.
- Focus is on the tower right at the center of the pictures.
- Pictures have been re-sized to 1280 width, with no other post processing done.
- All pictures are taken with the camera mounted on the tripod, meaning, the camera is fixed in a position.
- I've included all the common focal lengths between 18mm and 200mm, so that you know what you are looking at when you are thinking of a new lens.
- I used the Nikkor 18-55mm and 55-200mm on my D7000 to get these pictures.

18mm wide

24mm

35mm

55mm

70mm

105mm

135mm

200mm telephoto

As you can see, 18mm fills your frame with tons of landscape, thus earning this the "wide angle lens" name. As you increase your 'zoom', you get nearer to your subject (in this case, the tower). This, will be your telephoto end.

A beginner will most likely be tempted to get such a lens, covering from 18mm to 200mm. This is a good choice for a travel lens, as you are less likely to miss shots due to not being able to zoom in or open wide. I use my 18-105mm frequently when I'm out with my family, as the range is good enough for my style. Do note however, that such lenses have their cons - the sharpness of the pictures you can achieve, the low light capability when shooting night scenes etc. I won't be talking about these, as you'll be able to find the information easily when you search for the reviews of the lens(es) you are interested in.

That's it for this post. I'll talk about the aperture of the lenses in a future post.

EN-EL15 Battery recall

Nikon has issued a statement recalling 2 batches of batteries. These batteries are used for D7000, D800/E and Nikon 1 V1 cameras.

Check out the
Nikon Singapore recall here
Nikon USA recall here

I got Lightroom 4 for free!

Ok, the upgrade version actually. How?

I ordered a copy of LR3 when Adorama had it on offer (US$79.95, Valentine's day special, 14th Feb), with free shipping within the US. I shipped it to my comGateway address and had it shipped back to SG for US$12.86. Total cost: ~S$116.

Adorama was oversold on the special price, and by the time they restocked and my LR3 arrived in SG (12th Mar), LR4 was already released. With the new pricing for LR4, I was 'in shock'. At that point, I decided to upgrade to LR4 at a later time.

Mar 26th: I was itching to get LR4, so I went to Adobe SEA website. Once there, I saw that there was a free shipping offer til Apr 1st, so I decided to place my order. Order placed. Confirmation email received.

In the email, it was stated in bold that if you ordered the Creative Suite, you may be eligible for a free upgrade to CS6 in the near future. I thought to myself: How about LR? Does this policy apply as well?

Order Confirmation Email

Curious, I followed the link and read everything. Then, I contact Adobe Live Support. To my surprise, I was eligible for the free upgrade!!! All I had to do was provide him with my serial number and the invoice for my purchase and he will be able to send me the upgrade. As I was not home and do not have my serial with me, he opened a case for me to update (case 1). Then came the next issue: I need to cancel the order I just made. Live Support was not really good with this. He kept saying the order number I provided him was not valid. Adobe orders begin with ADxxxxxx. He simply refused to accept the reference number.

As I wanted to cancel the order quickly, I confirmed with him about the contact number in the email to call. Everything checked, I 'released' him and proceeded to call Adobe Customer Service.

The call was routed to somewhere out there on earth, and I was told the same thing by the lady on the phone: my order reference is invalid, and that I did not order from Adobe's website. I stood my ground and told her to check: "I visited the Adobe SEA website, not the US site. This is the order reference that came in my mail. It can't be any other distributors/resellers, please check." She decided to put me on hold and talk to someone. Good move. Seems like the other guy knows something. When she returned to my call, she had already cancelled my order, and I was able to confirm it by logging into my Adobe account. However, she was not able to confirm whether my credit card has been charged, so it ended up with another open case (case 2). I monitored my bank statements for the next days and the good thing was, the order was cancelled, and I was not being charged.

Case 2 closed, Case 1 was updated as soon as I got back home. It took Adobe support quite a while before someone took up Case 1 again (4th Apr). The update stated that they have verified my serial and approved the free upgrade.

Upgrade approved

 I am, however, to provide them with my serial number (again?!), shipping details and contact number so that they can ship the item to me. I was taken aback by this request as according to my Adobe account, these details are already there. I proceeded to respond and questioning why there was a need to supply these info, since they can already retrieve it, but there was no reply to this question. And for shipping: I actually asked if they are going to ship me the CD or just provide me with the serial. Response I got:

LR4 Upgrade Shipped!

Well, kind of clear cut response eh? The order was shipped from Teckwah Value Chain on the 16th, and reached my place on the same day. It was the boxed upgrade version. That's it, my free LR4!

Kudos to Adobe for having this "Post Announce Upgrade" program. This will keep their sales volume up, even when a new version is about to be released. =)

What software do you use?

What software do you use to view your pictures?

Windows viewer sucks. I never use it. It's slow, controls are retard... and the list goes on.

So, what do I use to view my pictures?
Irfanview. It's fast, light and sleek. There's even built in editing functions if you want to do bulk image processing! With the plugins installed, you can even read Exif information right in the program!

This is the default image viewing program for all my home computers. I always use this software for batch processing. Example: I just got back from an outing and have tons of pictures taken. I want to load these pictures onto my digital photo frame. However, the default jpegs from my camera are a few megabytes in size each. It doesn't make sense to load such big files onto the frame. Thus, I'll re-size the pictures to reduce the file sizes. So here's the problem: do I go thru all the pictures one by one and re-size them? That'd take a hell lot of time!

Irfanview to the rescue! Fire up Irfanview, go into the batch processing function, select your pictures, adjust the settings you want, and click batch process! It's that simple! There are lots of things you can do with this software. You can re-size, re-name, add watermarks etc! Try it out! You'll love it!

Sample batch processing screen

Note: The EULA states that it is free only for home use. Commercial / work entities have to purchase a license to use it.


Next software that's gotten a lot of recommendations: Opanda IExif viewer
Use this software to view the Exif information from any photos and you'll be wow'ed by it!
It's very detailed. Includes way more details than what Irfanview provides.

Sample Exif Information

If you are constantly looking at other photographer's pictures and will like to know what equipment and settings they are using, grab this software. It's freeware! Unlike Irfanview, it does not state any limitations for commercial use.

If you have a software that you find really useful, drop a comment with the software name / link. I'll be happy to try it out!

Nikon NEF Codec updated! v1.13.0 (Windows only)

Codec updated to support D4. Find it here.

For those who do not know what this is, let me explain.

Nikon DSLRs stores raw files in NEF format. Windows, by default, does not know what kind of file this is. With this codec installed on your machine, Windows will be able to read the files just like any jpegs / gifs etc and will be able to display them correctly as thumbnails (instead of the NEF file icon). This will add a lot of ease if you are shooting only in raw as you will now be able to 'preview' your pictures directly in Windows Explorer before you open them.

D800 / D800E announced!

It's finally here after a long wait!
I won't go into the details of the camera since it's all over the internet.

Official Site

Product Tour on YouTube:

Joy Ride Promo Video:

I've just gone thru the joy ride video. MY GOD! It's amazing! Take note of all the low light scenes and the details. The reflections on the helmet as he cruises thru the night. The details on the sunrise scene... All I can say is: WOW!

For those who are wondering, The difference between the 2 versions is simple: The D800E does not have an Anti-Aliasing Filter (AA Filter). What this filter does is remove moiré effects.

Don't understand what that means? Read this!

Get a Grip!

I bought a battery grip! 3rd party, as the original MB-D11 is priced too high locally. Nikon SG has a recommended retail price (RRP) of S$334! I wouldn't pay this amount for a grip that does nothing more than hold extra batteries and allows you to hold the camera in portrait orientation. Yes, it is tough and weather sealed. So?

Seriously, this thing only acts as a grip. Unless it adds GPS functionality or increases the performance of the camera (FPS), I don't see a point spending so much money on it. It simply doesn't justify the hefty price tag. I can get a fairly good compact camera or a good tripod with this amount!

Back to the post. My intention is to introduce the grip that I bought. It's made by Hercules Accessories, distributed locally by SGCameraStore. Usually priced at S$120, I got it during the CNY (Chinese New Year) sale at a price of S$68! Yes, it's S$68.00!

There are quite a number of 3rd party grips in the market, so what made me choose the Hercules?
1) Price --> The CNY offer was simply irresistible!
2) Dials directions --> It's been reported that 3rd party grips are all dialing in the opposite direction. However, thru a fellow forumer, it is reported that the Hercules grip does not have this issue, thus I took the plunge! This is the actual reason I bought the grip.

Note: I bought this grip on 19th Jan 2012, but didn't have time to test/play with it til the 28th. While field testing, I found some issues with the grip. On the 30th, SGCameraStore did a 1 to 1 exchange for the faulty unit I had. Read on as I review the grips --> GripS as the 2 I had my hands on were slightly different.

First impressions: Build quality of the grip is good. It does not feel like cheap plastic. Instead, it feels really solid. The rubbery area feels slightly different from the camera, but it's not cheap rubber either. The lock nut does not move freely after you attach the grip to the camera, unlike the fake Nikon MB-D11's which had the lock nut running wild even after the grip was attached.

From the looks of the logo, I kind of  expected their packaging to be something like Nikon's, but hey, surprise! It wasn't what I was expecting!

The Box and Contents (V1)

As of the time of posting, Hercules website is longer available. I do remember it used to be there. I wonder what happened?

So, what was the issue I mentioned earlier? I believe it's either a bad connector or the circuit board was faulty. The grip was able to function properly initially when connected to my camera. I could check battery info, turn the dials, and all buttons responded properly. However, I noted that the front dial was turning in the reverse direction! The main dial was working alright.

I didn't notice the failure only until halfway thru my outing. I was happily shooting away until I had time to rest and wanted to check the battery info. It was then that I realized the grip was not functioning properly. The camera couldn't sense the battery in the grip. I tried removing and re-attaching the grip, making sure the connector was in place, and that nothing was in the way but that did not help at all. The shutter button kept responding so I thought it might be a battery compartment issue. However, after further testing, I realized the dials were not responding too. It was already past the 3 days one to one exchange period so I was rather horrified! There was nothing I can do at the moment in time so I just had to wait.

Luckily, on the 30th, after making an enquiry call to SGCameraStore, I was advised by Melvin (store manager or owner?) to bring the grip and my camera along. They told me they will do a one to one exchange, and that my camera will be used to test the replacement unit they will be giving me. The exchange went smoothly, no further questions asked (after our phone conversation), and I tested the replacement set on the spot. I noticed slight differences in the grips but that will have to wait til I review the new unit.

I had taken pictures of the 1st unit when I got it but did not have time to complete this posting. And with the 2nd unit, I'm now able to make a 'side by side' comparison of the 2 grips. Let's call them V1 and V2 for simplicity's sake. V1 will refer to the faulty unit while V2 will be the unit I am currently holding.

1st difference (cosmetic) - Multi-directional pad's color, rubber grip's texture:

V1

V2

2nd difference (cosmetic) - EN-EL15 Battery Tray:

V1 - with 'PUSH' written

V2 - 'PUSH' is missing

3rd difference - AA Battery Tray Connector material:

V1 - Copper connectors

V2 - Shiny connectors (I don't know what you call this material)

4th difference - metal piece inside the grip has changed:

V1 - Slim Metal Base

V2 - Broad Black Metal Base

5th difference: This is the MOST important difference! The front dial is actually working in the correct direction! I believe this is a newer batch of grips from Hercules that has rectified the dials issue. Boy, am I glad that V1 failed! Now with V2, I've got a completely great grip that works just like the original!

And the below pictures shows how the grip looks on the camera. Note: Pictures are taken with an iPhone under poor lighting, thus the IQ is not that great!

Front view - Right
 

Front View - Left
 

Back

I hope you've enjoyed this introduction + review of the grip like I did posting it.

I'm in love with the grip. The camera feels so much better with it on! I won't be leaving home without it anytime now!

Adobe Camera Raw 6.6 Released!

Adobe Camera Raw 6.6 for CS5 and above released!
Support added for the below cameras:

• Canon Powershot S100
• Fuji Finepix X10
• Leica V-LUX 3
• Nikon 1 J1
• Nikon 1 V1
• Panasonic DMC-GX1
• Ricoh GR Digital IV
• Samsung NX5
• Samsung NX200
• Sony NEX-7

Here's the link to the official site.

My take on firmware updates

There are folks out there who are not fans of firmware updates. Their believes: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
This believe belongs to the computer technicians in the 80's or 90's. It applies mainly to the firmwares for servers. Sometimes a new firmware does not help with the problem, it instead introduces new problems or cause the whole system to crash.

How or why does this happen? In my perspective, I'll relate the cause to the operating system's (OS) capabilities. They were not as robust as they currently are, thus any significant changes to how the motherboard addresses it's I/O (input output commands) may cause the OS to panic and thus crash. Modern systems should no longer experience this problem, since they are written to support multiple hardware off the shelves, hot swapping etc.

I'm an advocate of firmware updates. If there's a new release, I'll update. Why? Because the updates are there to fix problems, not create them (well, they may in rare cases, but these are normally fixed pretty quickly).

Firmware updates includes fixes as well as new features or enhancements to existing features, so, why not?
Firmware upgrades not only applies to cameras. They apply to a lot of other things like your computer: the motherboard, video card etc etc... Even your mobile phone needs an update from time to time!

For those who are afraid of updating firmware, we are now living in the 21st century. Firmware updates are really reliable and easy to perform. It's not like back when updates may fail halfway. The updates nowadays are very well written. If it fails, it will reverse to the previous working version. It's so advanced that all you need to do is connect up your device, run the update, and off it goes! 'Fully' automated!

Like I said, I'm an advocate of firmware updates. I update all the computers that comes to my desk, and I also update the servers that require any maintenance. If you are still worried, then do this: wait a month after the latest firmware has been released. Google around to see if anyone complains about the latest firmware. If there's no major complains about the firmware, I'll bet the firmware is good and you are safe to update.

Enough of my ranting already. Time to go do some updates!

Some important updates

Seems like I'm turning this into a monthly (or more) blog.
Family life has been top priority for the past months. Been spending more time with my daughter after she went back to school. OK, let's get things going.

Important updates you should know of!

1) Firmware updates (v1.01 & v1.03) for Nikon D5100 and D7000. For those who have been plagued by the memory card problems (mostly Sandisk cards), Nikon has finally released an update to resolve the issue. Note: Whether it resolves or not, I'm not sure. I don't own the D5100 and I don't have this problem on my D7000.

2) ViewNX 2 updated to version 2.2.3
This is the basic software that comes with your DSLR to view and edit your photos. For home users who are not using other advanced software, please update your version for the bug fixes. (I realized mine was version 2.0.2!!!)

3) Updated NEF codec support (v1.12.0).
Thanks to the Nikon 1 series cameras, NEF got updated again. This time, it works for D7000 NEF files as well! What this does is: it enables your windows explorer to view NEF files directly. If you do not have this installed, the pictures you have taken will only appear as the NEF icon in thumbnail view. With this codec, windows explorer will display your pictures like JPEGs. Advantages: You can finally sort / delete your NEF files directly from windows explorer. I'm gonna do some housekeeping after this to remove all the random shots I took (NEF files are huge and take up tons of space!).

Flickr Account

I've got a Flickr account! If you're interested in my photos, please take a look here.

Straps!

I've changed my strap after having some strains using the Nikon one that came with the camera. It's a sturdy strap, but it's also hard on the neck.

After reading thru the forums, I short listed the Crumpler Industry Disgrace and Op/Tech Pro Strap. The Black Rapid RS-7 is a highly recommended strap, but I can't put myself to spending $90+ on a strap. I'd rather use the money to buy a macro attachment.

The Op/Tech Pro Strap (black) can be gotten for around $20 SGD, while the Industry Disgrace goes for $33. I ended up choosing the latter, as it felt more comfortable on my neck.

I bought this strap on 2nd Sep 2011 and til date, it has served me well. I no longer feel the strain of the camera's weight on my neck and I've been happily lugging the camera on my neck whenever out with my family.

When I bought the strap, there were some confusion as online pictures all showed the strap with a round rubber Crumpler logo. The one I got is a cloth rectangle logo sewn onto the strap. I clarified this with the Crumpler staff and was told the newer batches came with the 'new' logo.

I bought the strap at Crumpler's branch in Raffles City. The guy who served us was really friendly and Kudos to Crumpler's attention to customer satisfaction! I had to go thru a few straps to get one that I was finally happy with. Some of those straps had threads that were not ended properly and might not survive a camera's weight. According to the staff, those straps will be rejected back to factory and their production lines rechecked.

I really appreciate this level of service. It gives you confidence in them, that they are proud of their products and they want the best for YOU, their customer. Well done, Crumpler!

Note: I took some pictures but decided against posting them since the official website has already got detailed pictures on it.

Note 2: I noticed quite a few folks using this strap while moving around. And I noticed that quite a number of them have the strap reversed. Look at picture 4 from the official website to see how this strap should be worn (black curved portion should be up, supporting the neck). One other way to spot it is that the Crumpler logo should be on the left, not the right side when you wear it.

How to choose my first DSLR (Part 2)?

A continuation from Part 1 ...

Now for Group 2 users, things gets complicated.
Let's introduce the concept of the "System". Photography gear makes up a system. The system you choose ultimately determines the type of gear you will purchase. This point is often overlooked by new DSLR users because they are new! They do not know about the system at all!

Why is the system important? Why should I waste so much time researching / deciding on the system?

The answer is simple: You do not want to waste precious dollars and time in the future. A photographer usually sticks to one system as the lenses and accessories are interchangable / re-usable when (s)he upgrades the camera body in future. (S)he won't have to go thru this hassle of evaluating everything again. Being very familiar with the gear (s)he already possess, (s)he can work with the new camera easily. Depending on what (s)he has bought, the 'spare' camera can become the backup camera in any situation.

So, what makes up the "System"?
1) Camera body
2) Lenses
3) Accessories such as flash / remotes etc, including 3rd parties
4) Technical support after purchase

Note: The above does not denote the order of importance!

When choosing a DSLR, lenses and accessories forms part of your decision. You have to learn about the lenses and accessories available before you make a final decision on which body to get. A body may give you all the bells and whistles that you are looking for, but if the lenses / accessories are not easily available in your region, or if you are not able to get good support when technical issues arise, that's it. You will start to be frustrated by the system itself. Imagine the turnaround time just to get your lens or body repaired / serviced. This time is equivalent to the time you are not able to use your gear. Can you make do with say, a month without your gear?

To illustrate further, let's take my decision making process as an example.
Bear in mind that I was a newbie with DSLRs when I was going thru this process.
When I was about to purchase my first DSLR, I short listed the below cameras:
1) Canon 60D
2) Nikon D7000
3) Pentax K5

3 different brands, 3 different systems. The costs for the standard kits are generally similar.
I went to shops/IT shows to feel the cameras (didn't manage to try the Pentax though) on display. The Canon 60D didn't feel really right in my hands (the 550D felt way better). It just didn't fit my fingers and I found that holding it for a short while makes me uncomfortable.

So it was down to the D7000 and the K5. Reading reviews and all, the K5 is an outstanding camera! I really wanted to get my hands on it. BUT! the decision fell thru after I evaluated the other components of the Pentax system. Lens offering from the Pentax line is OK. The major concern is the support available. In Singapore, there is only 1 shop that is also the distributor and "service center" for Pentax. If you need any servicing, you send it back to the shop. Online feedback has shown that the shop/distributor is doing a great job servicing Pentax customers. But, being the one and only shop in Singapore is enough to make me take a step back and give it some serious thoughts.

The next thing that came into the picture was the flashgun. I wanted to get a flashgun together with the DSLR as I knew I won't invest a few hundred bucks for a flashgun anywhere in the near future, so I might just as well buy the whole system at once. This contributed to my decision to get the D7000 over the K5. When sourcing for the Pentax flashgun, I realized that there wasn't much to choose from. Comparing the flashguns available from the makers and 3rd parties, Nikon has way more choices. With the same budget, I can get a better flashgun for Nikon compared to the Pentax.

And lastly, before I finally took the plunge, I 'looked into the future'. I asked myself where I will be with the camera in 3 to 5 years time? What will I be doing with it? Does this particular system I have chosen satisfy my future needs (new lenses/accessories)? Will I be able to setup a shooting studio easily with this system? Will the system be useful for shooting events? (Nikon's Creative Lighting System "CLS" comes into mind.) These questions may seem "too professional" for a newbie, but hey, if you are serious about photography, this should form part of your decision/dream making!

If you have read all the way here, I thank you. I believe you will have a better understanding and clearer picture on how to make that decision now. I wish you success in the system that you will be choosing! =)

PS: My apologies to all who were waiting for this posting. I just didn't have the time to complete it. But thank you all who were patient and waited for it!

Dust Blower

Wow! Another month has passed since my last posting! Time really flies! I've been pre-occupied with family activities this past month. Hardly had anytime for myself. Work takes up my daytime and there's practically nothing much I can do after dinner with my family.

Anyways, I was passing by Cathay Photo (Marina Square) today and I saw the Giotto's Rocket-air blower in the store. I went in to take a look and bought it straight away. S$11.50 for a medium sized (AA1910). This is slightly longer (about 1 to 1.5cm at most) than the previous blower I got (see my earlier post for the cleaning kit).

Packaging Front

Packaging Back

Rocket Blower

Patented products are really different! The blower already feels different in my hands. When you squeeze them, the feeling is also different. The air is sucked in thru the hole at the bottom of the blower. Performance wise, I can't comment at the moment. Have really tried it on my equipment. But I kind of like the feeling of this blower. Build and feel already makes you confident that you have a quality product in your hands.

Appreciate that filter

Back from my trip! We had a wonderful time and I learnt a fair bit about the equipment I have!

1) my tripod's too heavy!
2) the 18-55mm lens is a bit too short for shooting video if you intend to record those performances you are watching.
3) I love my UV filter! Why? Cos it protected my lens from the elements, dust, stains and scratches!

I was cleaning one of my lens one morning and realized the amount of dust and stains on the filter. First thought that came to my mind: thank god it's on the filter! I can replace it easily since it costs me $16 only anyway. But after some rubbing here and there, the filter is as good as new! It pays to have a filter right in front of your lens. I finally understand and am appreciating them after this trip.

Appreciate that filter you have! And if you don't, it's time to consider putting one on!

How to choose my first DSLR (Part 1)?

This is definitely the most asked question for anyone who has been using a compact camera and wants to upgrade to a DSLR. I'll try to answer this question here, based upon my experience and the knowledge I acquired from reading thru so many forums / reviews / blogs for the past few months.

I'll categorize the potential buyers into 2 groups:
Group 1) these people believe a DSLR will produce better pictures compared to a compact camera
And
Group 2) these people have an interest in photography, wants to upgrade their gear, skills and knowledge in photography and are willing to spend time to understand more before taking the plunge.

For group 1 users, the answer is very simple:
Just buy any DSLR within your budget, and that the camera feels good in your hands.
Some people may prefer brands than the feel. For users from this group, I say just buy whatever you want.
No offence, but from the interaction with users of this group, I've come to realize this: it doesn't matter what you tell them. They have already set their minds on a particular brand / model and they are also unwilling to learn more on the subject matter. They have the mindset that the DSLR is a point and shoot compact camera. And with this 'heavy investment', these cameras should behave the same as a compact, but deliver stunning results. This last statement is partially true, as DSLRs have a better and larger image sensor as compared to a compact. The image quality (IQ) produced will definitely be better. That is why, any DSLR will work for them.

(...to be continued in Part 2)

Microsoft Photosynth

Wow! I chanced upon this software while idling away on the iPhone app store. It was given pretty high ratings and most 'reviews' says to download it. I did that and I just tested it out a few minutes ago.

I AM AMAZED! I just did some random shooting in my living room to try out what it can do and let me tell you this: if you have an iOS device (iPhone / iPad2), you MUST have this software! It will only make your life so much more interesting! I can imagine myself doing panorama's everywhere I go! Just tap once on the screen and move your 'camera' about. The software itself will calculate the next image to capture. You can snap a lot of images for stitching. Once you are satisfied, just hit the 'Finish' button and the software will proceed to stitch the images together automatically. Just 2 clicks and you have a panorama picture! Where else can you get this? You simply have to try it!

The post processing isn't perfect --> if you are like me who was happily snapping away in all directions, you may end up with a distorted panorama picture. Still, the software itself is pretty well written and fast. If you are serious when you are taking the panorama, I believe you will love the ease of use from this tiny software.
Kudos to Microsoft! You have made one software that made my jaw drop!

A New Bag!

Hurray, I've got a new bag!!! This has been on my pending list for a while now and I've finally decided to buy it! Cost me S$49 from SLR-Revolution.

Nikon Bag

It's a beauty isn't it?
Gotcha! ;D

This is the Nikon bag used to carry the bag I bought. I wasn't given one of these when I bought my camera. It should come in handy to hold the toys and stuff for our picnics!

I actually bought the Lowepro Passport Sling. Yes, S$49 from SLR-Revolution.

Lowepro Passport Sling (Mica)

I chose the Mica colored one as I didn't really like the blue and the black (inner lining of the black actually). I carry a sling bag to work everyday, and it's mainly to hold my umbrella so I reckoned I could do with a replacement and bring my camera along.

I didn't notice this when I was browsing at the shop and this wasn't mentioned in any of the reviews / blogs that I have read before making the purchase: The padded camera box is not a full rectangle! If you look closely at the picture above, you can actually see that the box is a trapezium. The slimmer end goes into the edge of the bag (from the outside, this is the corner where the water bottle will sit). If I flip it the other way round, I lose the memory card compartment and the other edge where the slim end is now in will sort of 'collapse'.

In terms of ergonomics, the slim end is not that camera friendly. Since this is the end which is nearest to the edge, this is where your hand will be grabbing your camera from the bag. Because of the slim end, it may feel a bit tight for those with big hands. I'm Asian with a medium sized hand. Reaching into the bag and grabbing my camera was just 'OK' for me. And this is only for an empty bag with only the camera. I'm not sure how it will feel when I start to load other stuff into it.

The box itself will only be able to hold a camera with lens attached and a spare lens / flash unit. A camera with a grip mounted will definitely not fit into the box.

I can't wait to test it out! I have a BBQ tomorrow night with my colleagues, and my wife and child are coming along so I'll be bringing my camera. This bag will be used tomorrow. Let's hope it performs well!

Ask and you shall be given!

Armed with my D7000, I've been taking quite a lot of pictures for my wife and girl. And my wife was telling me the other day: "It's time to get an iPad or a digital photo frame, our girl will definitely love it!"

Ask and you shall be given!

I was going through the forums searching for iPhone accessories and chanced upon quite a few folks selling brand new digital photo frames! Happened that these people have just received the Sony DPF-A710 from the Standard Chartered Bank's credit card promotion and are trying to sell them off. I managed to get one of it at S$55, while the normal retail price is S$129. Lucky us!

Sony DPF-A710

The unit I got was brand new and the box had no signs of being opened. It was all factory fresh! It even came with 12+3 months warranty (online registration) by Sony! Nice buy I would say! ;D

The contents

The frame came with a remote control, manual, CD-Rom, power adapter and stand. It cannot be powered by battery, which is something I'm wasn't hoping for since it will be placed near my TV. The stand fits on the right bottom corner at the back and the frame can be placed in portrait or landscape orientation.

Frame in action!

You can see the frame in action in the picture above. We display our family portraits rather than these random shots I took. We love the frame 'cos we are able to have a single display that shows all our pictures but the frame does have it's pro's and con's.

Pro's:
- Nice size --> Doesn't occupy too much space
- Remote controlled
- Good variety --> The frame allows you to display a variety of information: single picture or slide show/clock/calendar/picture with calendar or clock/multiple pictures in a frame etc.
- LCD brightness can be adjusted (the above is set at brightness 2 out of 10)
- Auto on / off timer
- Auto rotate images
- Supports SD / MMC / Memory Stick

Con's:
- Not able to select folder to display. It just reads all images in the memory cards and displays them.
- Resolution: The display is not really high quality so you'll be able to see some pixelation in some photos.

Improvements I'll like to see:
- Ability to select folder to display. This will really allow a user to make full use of the frame. We can sort our pictures into Portrait or Landscape folders and display them in the correct orientation. This will definitely increase the user experience!
- More time choices in between pictures. Currently for slide shows, I'm displaying them at 7secs interval. The next lower allowable interval is 3 secs. I think this is too short. If we can custom set the time interval, it will really be nice!

Overall I give this frame a 7 out of 10. -2 points 'cos of the resolution, -1 'cos I cannot select folders to display. Imagine you put in a 2Gb card full of pictures from different events --> it will be really tedious trying to find the set of pictures you want to display! If the pictures are separated into folders and we can choose the folder to display, it definitely will make everyone happier!

I hope someone from Sony sees this post and work out something for this frame! I will really be thrilled if they tell me the frame's firmware can be upgraded! =D

Nikon EN-EL15 battery and ML-L3 remote

Finally, after 512 shots, 11 movies totaling 11mins 23secs, the battery ran flat.
It's pretty amazing how long this battery lasted (almost 4 weeks from the 1st charge). In between these shots and movies, I spent quite a lot of time messing around with the settings and playing back the recorded movies for my daughter (over and over and over again).

I also finally opened up the ML-L3 remote for testing. Quite nice to just press a button and make the camera take pictures. It's pretty responsive and I'm quite surprised at the range it could work in! The furthest I tested was about 6 meters away from the camera. It still sensed the signal and fired off like a piece of cake. I was too lazy to go beyond that range as I will have to reposition the camera somewhere else. And for my personal usage, I highly doubt I will be placing the camera further than 6m when I'm using the remote.