Futurelooks.com

Futurelooks.com is run by Stephen Fung and crew. I first got on board with with Futurelooks back in about 2002 while working as a Computer Specialist for London Drugs. Since then I have done numerous reviews of geeky gadgetry available to consumers. My more recent work with Futurelooks has been the following:

• Vantec EZ Swap 2.5-inch SATA Hard Drive Enclosure
• Razer Lachesis High Precision 3G Gaming Mouse (I still use this mouse today)
• M-Rock Zion 525 Camera Backpack

If you are looking for some great reviews on latest technology I do recommend checking out Futurelooks and the community that Stephen has build over the years.

ThinkComputers.org

ThinkComputers.org is another great technology review website based in the US. Bob Buskirk has also recently switched over to using WordPress for their platform of choice for their reviews. It is also a great example of how you can use WordPress for something other than a blog. Here is also a list of my more recent product reviews:

• Samsung HMX R10 Full HD Digital Camcorder
• Axus FiT RAID 500 Storage Device
• Samsung EX1 10 Megapixel Digital Camera

I have quite enjoyed receiving product and writing about it my experiences with it over the years but with school coming up in less than 8 days, I find myself without the time to do them. Once I get more comfortable with being a full-time student and being able to better manage my work load and whatever else happens, I am sure I’ll get back into doing product reviews. At this time it has been a great experience and I will miss doing it.

If you have a product you wish to have reviewed, I do highly recommend checking out both Futurelooks.com and ThinkComputers.org. The exposure you can receive with those two websites can definitely help increase your sales.

I set up my Canon 7D (along with my EF 50mm f1.8) on a tripod (I need a new tripod, the $30 Velbon can’t handle the weight of my Canon 7D). Used one of my (many) USB cables and plugged it into my new Asus G51J laptop. Pretty simple actually. You then (in Lightroom) select File -> Tether Capture -> Start Tethered Capture… That’s about it. The great thing about this is you don’t need to have a memory card inserted into the camera! Granted, using a memory card would allow what you are shooting to be stored on them as well as the computer your camera is attached to.

I switched into Live View, manually set my settings, manually focused on the item in the light-tent and voila! Images were being recorded and transfered to the laptop via Lightroom and stored in the location I specified. Instead of seeing the result on a 3″ screen, I could review/edit/delete on the laptop’s 15.6″ screen instead. Definitely a great way to shoot in a studio type setup.

I’m pretty excited to shoot more things like this as it is much more efficient than taking a series of photos, dumping the card to the computer/server, importing into Lightroom, reviewing and then editing. I skip a bunch of steps and streamline the product photo process. This would also be great for studio work, granted I am using a USB cable with an extension, I do know both Nikon and Canon have Wireless Transmitting grips for remote tethering. This sort of setup is a bit more budget friendly than remote WiFi transmitters.

I am not sure if all cameras support this tether capture feature of Lightroom 3, but I am sure the larger manufactures and their dSLRs should be able to.

So with this program, being heavily programming based, I wanted to get a notebook/laptop. One that will replace my desktop. One that will be hardy enough not only to compile code quickly, but to also speed up my work-flow for photography. Though if I have time to take photos here and there is a different story all together.

So what have I been looking at computer wise?

Apple’s Macbook Pro

Specifically the Intel Core i5 model. Though I would bump up the memory to 8GB and choose the higher resolution screen with the anti-glare coating. I really dislike the glossy screens laptops seem to have these days. The price for the one I configured is about $1850 (free shipping), which includes the 4GB not the 8GB (where I would buy that elsewhere).

I have ALWAYS loved the design of the Macbooks (Pros too), but they are always more expensive than their PC equivalent, and in this case almost $1000 more expensive.

Dell Studio 15

This one is hard for me not to choose. I even picked out a camera/photography based skin for it too! It’s details are: Intel Core i7, 8GB DDR3, 500GB SATA 7200RPM HDD, ATI Mobile Radeon 5470 1gb, 9-cell battery,15.6″ 1080p capable backlit LED panel, backlit keyboard etc etc. Currently priced out to be $1450 (free shipping) the only thing it lacks is the video card on the low-end side of the scale. Talking to Dell, they cannot put in a different video card for this particular model.

MSI GX740-079US

This is the first time I have ever looked at an MSI notebook, but the specs for this particular model are similar to that of the Dell. It offers the higher end ATI Mobile Radeon HD5870, a larger 17″ screen (capable of 1050p), though only comes with 4GB of memory opposed to the 8GB I would prefer. The price of this little guy is $1500 but with a $100US mail-in rebate (hopefully for which MSI would be good for!), it is quite hard to say no to.

I have even looked a similar spec’d out Asus Notebooks (thanks to the guys over at Futurelooks.com).

My Thoughts

Like I mentioned above, I have ALWAYS wanted and liked myself an Apple notebook, but they have always been just more expensive than their PC equivalents. I’ve had my heart set on the Intel Core i7 processor, though with the Core i5 being comparable to the Core i7, that doesn’t really put the Macbook Pro out of the races. Though the video card on the Macbook Pro is less than both that of the Dell Studio 15 and the MSI, I was hoping to get a slightly higher end card. The Macbook Pro also has the smaller screen out of the bunch I am looking at too.

I was looking for a smaller notebook, but with programming and web development the larger screens are a bit more welcoming. Portability is a bit of a thing for me, but the three notebooks are within a pound of each other, yup the 17″ MSI isn’t that much heavier than the Dell due to the similar battery sizes though it will have slightly larger dimensions. The keypad on the MSI is also a nice touch as I do like using a separate keypad for number entry.

Even at this point now, it’s not a MacOS versus MS Windows issue. I have Windows 7 Ultimate which I can dual boot on the MacOS, and I can even VMWare into Windows if I need to run a windows app. Mac’s have always done multimedia out of the box better than a Windows based PC.

Also being a Student of BCIT, I can get educational pricing on a Macbook Pro, granted only $100 off, but that allows me to get the higher resolution, anti-glare screen.

Though the other two notebooks are $500 LESS than the Macbook Pro. So really, the Macbook Pro to me, is more about style/design if I would to go that route.

Also there isn’t really anything I do on my Windows desktop that a Mac cannot do; Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom, World of Warcraft, Web Design/Development. Though one thing that does worry me is the compatibility of running something like MS Visual Studio on a Mac, but then John was mentioning I could dual-boot, and boot into Windows 7 if I found that VMWare was sluggish.

If you’re reading this (I am as I write it) it almost sounds like I’m trying to convince myself to go for the Macbook Pro. Don’t they hold their resale value too?

What advice do you have for me? I understand some of you have already commented on something similar to this on Facebook and such, but I’m willing to hear what other people have to say was well!

First Impressions

Right off the bat the design of the Otterbox Commuter Series Strength case was something that I knew would be able to handle daily wear and tear of a Smartphone. There is a silicon inner case that wraps around the Blackberry 8530, but there is also an outer shell which is of a harder plastic and that the inner case fits into.

With the photo above you might notice something a bit different. When someone purchases this particular case from Otterbox, they will donate 10% of the purchase price to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade. The colour scheme also matches that of various Breast Cancer Charities too.

Another thing I noticed after taking apart the two pieces is that Otterbox includes a screen protector for the Blackberry Curve as well. I’ve recently gotten better at applying these small, delicate screen protectors and it only took me once try in adding it to Robyn’s phone. I love it when case companies offer screen protectors for the devices they are made for.

Installation:

Installing the Ottercase Commuter Series Strength case is not a difficult task at all, not that I was expecting it to be difficult either. You take the white silicon inner case and put the phone inside. The phone fits perfectly, just make sure you do put the phone right-side up else the side buttons won’t line up with the proper spots of the silicon case.

Next you insert the phone (with the white silicon case) inside the pink outer shell. Again, the two pieces fit perfectly together. You will notice that all the various ports align nicely and are easily accessible with the case on.

The cool thing I do like about this particular case is that Otterbox has included little connection jack tabs. These little tabs can help prevent dust and dirt getting into these electrical ports on the phone. This is a feature I rarely ever see on phone cases, including ones for the iPhone.

Final Thoughts

Granted there isn’t much to talk about when dealing with cases for phones. The Otterbox was easy to use when attaching it to the Blackberry Curve 8530 and it doesn’t look bad either. The inner silicon case helps protect it from scratches and debris, where the outer shell gives it a more solid feel.

If you’re looking for a easy to use, functional case for your Blackberry Curve 8500 series phone, want to support Breast Cancer Research and like the colour pink, I would recommend checking out the Commuter Series Strength Case from Otterbox.

Pros

• Comes with a screen protector
• Both an inner case and outer hard shell for better protection
• Jack tabs or covers to protect from dirt and dust
• 10% of purchase price goes to Cancer Research

Cons

• Must like the colour pink

Typically there are two ways of retrieving your recently captured images from your camera; connecting your camera directly to your computer to download them, or to remove the memory card and use a memory card reader to download them. Typically the Camera to Computer approach is alright, but not the quickest. You can also save wear and tear on your memory card (if you rarely swap it out) but then usually drain your battery when you have it connected to your computer for download.

The approach I prefer (as do most photographers) is the use of a memory card reader. A small electronic device that you can plug your memory cards into and have them download your images to your computer. They are also great when you have multiple memory cards to read from, I myself have two 16 GB Compact Flash cards, one 8 GB Compact Flash card and one 16 GB SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) card. You also typically get faster read speeds with a stand alone memory card reader than you would by plugging in your digital camera.

In the past I have used various memory card readers, typically ones that were for specific types of cards. I had one card strictly for Compact Flash, another one for SD and SDHC cards. Robyn even has a nice portable, USB SD and SDHC memory card reader which I’ve used plenty of times. Though with the recent upgrade to a higher end camera, I also got into the higher end memory cards too. The Compact Flash cards I have are both UDMA (Ultra Direct Memory Access) capable and offer read/write speeds up to 60 MB/second. Yes, in the world of camera gear, your memory cards can play an important role, especially when capturing fast action events.

Lexar Professional UDMA USB Memory Card Reader

When I was looking around for the fastest memory card reader I came across a couple from Lexar, both which are in their Professional line up memory products. Their fastest memory card reader uses the Firewire interface (both 400 and 800), the next one down, the one I wanted, is of the USB 2.0 variety. USB 2.0 is not as fast as Firewire 800 and a bit behind Firewire 400, but it is faster then any other memory card reader I have tried or looked at.

USB 2.0 has an effective data transfer rate of about 40 MB/second, whereas Firewire 400 is relatively the same speed perhaps a bit faster, but Firewire 800 can offer speeds up to 100MB/second. With that being said, my 60MB/second Compact Flash cards won’t truly shine in their read/write speeds with the USB 2.0 Lexar memory card reader but that’s alright, the memory cards shine when it comes to the frame rate on my Canon 7D.

The USB 2.0 memory card reader handles both Compact Flash memory as well as Secure Digital (and SDHC) memory and at the same time. This little device replaced two other devices I was currently using.

First Impressions

First impressions are always the most important right? When I first saw Keith using his Lexar dual-slot memory card reader, I made note of the size. It isn’t much larger than the Compact Flash cards it reads itself. You can even click it closed when not in use which makes this little unit half the height when in operation. The cool thing I liked, right off the bat, was that it supported both Compact Flash and SD (or SDHC). I use both these memory types as one is used with my Canon 7D and the other is used with my canon XSi (EOS 450D).

When you have both memory cards inserted they will both show up separately (in Windows anyway) as stand alone drives. This allows the easy use of retrieving your data off of them, but also writing back to them if you need to simultaneously.

You can, of course, still use them independently if you need to.

Performance

Granted with the memory cards I currently own, various factors can come into play when you are testing the read/write speeds of such a little device. My Compact Flash cards are of the 60MB/second type so with USB 2.0, I should theoretically only reach about 40MB/second, which isn’t their fastest rated speed. Other factors such as read/write speed of the hard drive they are being written too can also change the result. In this case I am using HD-Tune to check out how fast I can read/write to one of my 16 GB Compact Flash card.

Compact Flash

The Compact Flash cards, as I have mentioned, are of the 60MB/second UDMA types with a capacity of 16 GB. Though i do have one that is 8GB and is of a slower rate.

It is nice to see a decent sustained transfer rate averaging at about 24.3 MB/second, about one third of what the actual memory card is rated to be able to do. Though it is faster than from reading directly from the camera, at least that is what my observations are when I did import to Lightroom via the USB cable attached to my Canon 7D.

SDHC

The SDHC or Secure Digital High Capacity card I have is that of a Class 4 specification. This means that it is guaranteed to be able to do a minimum of 4 MB/second in transferring data.

With running HD-Tune, I was able to sustain an average of 12.7 MB/second, which isn’t that bad, but of course it is not nearly as good as the UDMA Compact Flash card. The SDHC card I have was fairly inexpensive, which is also probably why I get a lot of BUFFER FULL messages when I shoot in Continuous Mode on my Canon XSi. I have missed many a great shot with that camera and memory card.

Thoughts and Conclusions

I am really happy with the Lexar Professional Dual-Slot UDMA USB reader. Not only does it allow me to easily load multiple memory cards into Lightroom for the post-process portion of my workflow, it also allowed me to replace two existing memory card readers that read specific types of memory cards. Now I just use 1 device for all of my digital cameras!

The design of the card reader is also fairly minimal (which I like). It fit easily into my camera bag without taking up needed room when I was in Whistler for the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival. It is nice to also be able to click it closed when not in use, or when moving it around in a bag. The rubber around the edges of the bottom allow it to not slide around on whatever surface you place it on either.

Yes, it technically isn’t able to reach transfer speeds for the higher-end memory cards out on today’s market, but it does a decent job for those who don’t have access to Firewire 400 or 800 ports. Currently the fastest memory cards on the market can reach up to speeds of 90MB/second, and then the ones I have are 60MB/second, though that’s mainly for use in digital cameras who require a fast form of media for high frame rate shooting, or doing 1080p video.

When transferring files from the memory card to the computer that are roughly 22MB each, it can take a while to download 1,000 or so images. The reader helps pick up the pace, which means I have to wait less time when wanting to edit the photos to get them to their respective clients or on the web to share with the world.

Some people might shy away from a card reader such as this thinking they don’t need it and the cheapo $10 reader would do just fine, yes this card reader (at the time of this post) is retailing for about $60, but is is worth the price. If you’re shooting with professional cameras with professional grade memory cards, you will definitely see a speed increase (in regards to transfers between memory and computer) if you go with an UDMA capable reader such as this Lexar dual-slot reader.

If you do have a Firewire enabled computer I would recommend checking out the line of Firewire card readers by Lexar. I believe Macs do come standard with one Firewire 400 port, I know even my Windows-based computer has one. If you do not have a Firewire port then I do highly-recommend the USB 2.0 Dual-Slot memory card reader. I went with the USB dual-slot device so I can use it between the 3 windows-based computers we have here at home.

Pros

• Reads both Compact Flash and SD (or SDHC)
• Small size and footprint
• UDMA capable

Cons

• Max transfer speed of 40MB/second as specified with USB2.0 specs

Video to me is taboo! There is so much with video as opposed to just taking still photos. I’ve spent the past couple days trying to figure out how to process a video captured with my Canon 7D into a workable format that can be easily uploaded to an online source such as Flickr or Vimeo. So far I’ve had not much success with figuring out all the various tidbits that involve video editing and exporting.

I haven’t even gotten into the video settings on the camera itself. I mounted my Canon 7D with the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens on my tripod, pointed it towards the outside world and switched it to video mode. The clouds decided to dump on us the other day and the splashing rain looked cool, so I thought I would try and take a video of it. I pressed the Start button for video and recorded the scene for about 1 minute.

Alright, so I got myself a video clip, what do I do with it now? I dragged it off of the CF card and onto the desktop. The .MOV file (the video file) is roughly 440MB in size. Pretty large for a 1 minute video, right? Oh well, it was recording at 1920×1080 at 30 frames per second. I guess if I lowered it to 720 or less it would be smaller. Oh well.

So thinking that this .MOV file was a typical QuickTime movie file it seems I was incorrect, it seems that the .MOV is just a wrapper for the underlying codec that the true file is recorded in; H.246. After reading over various tidbits on the internet it seems that the H.246 format is a finished, not-for-editing format that the Canon 7D encodes the video in. I then went on to read that it is better practice to re-encode the video file into something uncompressed and easier for video editing software to handle. This was another place I got stuck, what sort of program to use?

I downloaded trials for Adobe Premiere Pro CS5, Adobe Premiere Elements 8 and some other programs. Boy, what a learning curve and NOT anywhere near photo editing software. It was also recommended that I converted the original file into some sort of AVI file which would allow the video editing software to handle the video easier. This is still all crazy Greek to me!

When I did finally do some simple cuts and edits with my 1 minute clip, I uploaded it to Flickr. After Flickr processed the file it changed the 16:9 aspect ratio into the typical 4:3 ratio, and well it was stretched and looked horrible. Not what I was looking for. That’s when I read something about Pixel Aspect Ratio and there are Square Pixels, “Skinny” Pixels and “Stretched” Pixels. Again, more gargon I still haven’t quite wrapped my head around. All I want is for my video (which is in 16:9, widescreen aspect) to be uploaded to Flickr or Vimeo without it altering the video. I guess it’s not that simple.

I don’t remember what I did, but I managed to upload a properly edited aspect ratio video file (the one at the top of this post). I do know that I did export it at 720p resolution instead the full 1080p (which Flickr only handles 720p). The past 2 days of trying to figure this out, trying to get software to do what I want it to do without having to have a degree and creating about 7 different formats of the same video clip, just makes me less likely to keep playing with the video portion of my Canon 7D. Though of course if anyone out there might have some suggestions in making this an easier process, I would LOVE to hear it. I am on a Windows based machine (I’m sure Mac’s have an easier time handling video editing) so try and keep the suggestions Windows related.

If I can get an easier work-flow, figure out what settings I need for both the camera and the final product, I am sure I would get a bit more into the video side of my camera. Though, I’ll never leave the photographic part of my camera, but perhaps the occasional video of wildlife or some sporting event would be fun, right?

I’ve been looking at upgrading my camera body for a while, but the means were not available. Until now.

The decision between two Canon bodies had me in a pickle; the Canon EOS 7D and the Canon EOS 5D Mark II. Both excellent cameras, both have their pros and cons, but really only one would be more helpful to me. Granted the 5DMkII is also about $1000 more expensive than the 7D, but in the end I wanted the Canon 7D.

There is the Canon 7D in all it’s brand new glory. Right away from pulling the camera body out I noticed one big difference over the Canon XSi, the weight. The Canon 7D is significantly heavier but I would assume that is because the camera body is made of a magnesium alloy. It feels well constructed, sturdy and fits nicely in my hand. The Canon XSi has always been a tad small for my hands.

Some of the features of the Canon 7D that I tend to favour are the following:

• Dual DiGiC 4 Processors
• Up To 8 fps (frames per second shooting) (in RAW)
• ISO up to 6400 (higher if you enable a particular mode)
• Environmentally Sealed body
• Top LCD panel
• Integrated Speedlite Transmitter
• 1080p HD Video with Manual Control capability – I’ll have to try this out eventually

The other main reason why I went with the 7D is not only does it have a pretty fast continuous mode, but with the 1.6x crop factor it still allows me that little extra reach with my lenses. From reviews and people’s comments I have heard the 7D does a pretty good job with sports photography, something I love doing more than birding.

Physical Compairson between Canon XSi and the 7D

As I mentioned above, the 7D is significantly larger than the XSi (450D). It’s comparable to that of the Canon 50D or Canon 5dMkII bodies.

As you can see from the above photos, there is a significant size difference. This will make using my EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS lens easier and less awkward than with the Canon XSi. In fact, one reason I bought the XSi’s body grip was it was easier to hold on to the camera with.

Over the next little bit I will have to familiarize myself with the Canon EOS 7D. The button layout is different than the XSi but in the end I am sure it will be that much better with more information available at my finger tips too.

I am hoping that tomorrow is a somewhat decent day. The weather calls for a partly cloudy morning with some rain in the afternoon. Hopefully I can get out in the morning to take the camera for a little spin.

The other day while sorting out the various memory cards I have, I came across one that was getting a bit roughed up.  My Canon XSi (EOS 450D) takes SD (secure digital) memory, though I do tend to use SDHC (secure digital high capacity) cards more because of their large capacity allowances. I haven’t used very many cards, but I do remember my first one was a Kingston 4GB SDHC Class 6 card. I think I got it pretty cheep at one of the big box stores near by. Perhaps one day we might see a Fry’s up here in Vancouver? I can dream right?

While I was down in San Diego I stopped off at a local Fry’s. I’m sure people out there (especially American’s) know what Fry’s is all about, I’m sure there are Canadians who know about them too. For those who do not know who or what Fry’s is. They are a gigantic electronic store that seems to dwarf our big box shops such as Futureshop or BestBuy. At the time when SDHC was first coming out, the larger 4GB and 8GB cards were almost $100 CDN, though while I was browsing the toys at Fry’s they had 8GB SDHC cards for $20 USD. Not a bad price so I picked one up for myself. I also picked up some cheap SODIMMs for the company laptop I was using too.

Anyway, the 8GB card that I purchased a couple of years ago has now broke. First the outer casing broke near the contacts, but I could still use the card. Recently the “lock” switch broke off in the protected position, I couldn’t fix it nor could I make the card writable. I also noticed that the outer casing split, so I just crack it completely open.

It is amazing how they can manufacture the memory (the large black chips) to fit right up against the edge of the PCB. The second photo is a reverse-macro shot of the memory. The memory card itself is the brand Patriot for those who are curious. I should look at getting some higher speed SDHC cards (if they exist) for my camera. It is not much fun when my camera blinks “Buffering” to me during sporting events and I miss some what-could-have-been cool shots.

If  I do plan on upgrading my camera (be it the Canon 5DMkII or the Canon 7D) and I will have to look at getting back into Compact Flash (CF) cards. Though, I will invest in a few 4GB high-speed card for that though.

I still have one 4GB Kingston SDHC as well as a 16GB Kingston SDHC cards. Typically I just stick to using the 16GB, which gives me roughly 900 RAW photos. Do I ever need to dump those photos? Sure do, I seem to be trigger (or is that shutter?) happy!

What sort of brands of camera memory do you typically use/buy?

One of the aspects of photography that is a bit hard to swallow is the price of the gear, and with that comes the choice of what camera gear should be on my list next. The more that I get into photography the more I find myself thinking, “Oh man, wish I had such and such with me”, when I am at an event I am photographing. I look over my current gear, and wonder what would compliment what I have and what I should look at getting next. The choice for me is almost endless, but I am hoping with all the photographers out there, I can get some good feedback, suggestions, advice in my hunt for my next camera lens.

These are my current lenses:

• EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS
• EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS (aka kit lens)
• EF 50mm f1.8

Remember now, I do use a Canon XSi (450D) which is a cropped sensor (APS-C) body. If the lens I look at is not an EF-S then I multiple the focal length by 1.6x to get the focal lengths.

These are the lenses on my Wish List:

Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS – This would be great for wildlife photography, at least until I can afford the big prime lenses! On my camera, the maxium focal length would be 640mm, which isn’t that bad when I want to get up and personal with an Eagle or Osprey.

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f2.8 IS - This would be something I would want to replace my kit lens with. Though being designed for an APS-C camera body, if I were to upgrade later to a full-frame it wouldn’t be any good. It still has a nice wide reach to it and being for a APS-C body, it would be just that, 17mm wide. The f2.8 IS would be a great addition to any indoor photography I might set out to do, such as company launch parties, concerts, weddings etc.

Canon EF 24-70mm f2.8L – I was just looking over the Canon EF 17-40mm f4.0L lens and noticed that the 24-70mm was at f2.8. Again I really do like the f2.8 quickness though with my camera, it would not be very wide. The 24mm really becomes a 38mm. Though, if I were to upgrade to a full-frame body later, it would be a great companion.

I’m not too picky am I? Each lens of course has its place for when I am out and about. The more lenses I have in my arsenal, the less chance of me missing a great shot. I found that while shooting with my 70-200mm lens during the Women’s Hockey at GM Place, I didn’t have any wide shots. 70mm on my camera body becomes 112mm and since I don’t have a second camera body, I missed some great wide shots of the players on the ice.

Canon EF 100mm f2.8 Macro – I would love to have a dedicated macro lens. Often on my outside photowalks I see many flowers, plants and insects I would love to have close up shots of. The 100mm would allow me to stay a bit further back, but because of the Canon design, the barrel does not protrude out when you zoom in. I would hate to bump into a wasp on a flower and get stung! Sigma does have a 50mm macro lens, but I would then have another 50mm lens and find that a bit redundant. Yes, there is a Canon 60mm but it is of the APC-S type, though perhaps one day I might borrow Gus’ since he has that particular lens. I’ve also read on various camera forums that the Canon EF 100mm is like the cream of the crop.

Fisheye – After seeing what people such as John can do with a Fisheye, and what I have seen among sport photography, a Fisheye lens would be fun to have in my camera bag. I was briefly looking at the Sigma 15mm f2.8 fisheye I thought it would be great for the snowboarding season coming up! I also remember seeing some pretty cool candid photos Robyn showed me of a coworkers wedding.

My list can go on and on and on, but those would be the ones I know I would use on a more daily basis. If you can recommend me some alternate brands to the lengths above (such as Sigma etc) I would look at those too. Though I have found that typically the features on the Canon lenses are things that the other manufactures have left out. Such as the Canon EF 100 f2.8 Macro, the barrel doesn’t extend when zooming, while the other brands such as Sigma or Tamron do, but yes they are less expensive.

If you shoot Nikon, what Nikon equivalent would you look at adding to your collection if you had my current gear? Yea, don’t say sell my Canon stuff for Nikon, that just isn’t going to happen. I want too much, and it all costs a lot of money. I want ultra-wide lenses so I can capture landscapes, but then I want longer focal lengths so I can capture the animal world around us. But at the same time I want something that can be general purpose too! How does one decide? What would you get if you were me, if you had to pick only one of the ones above. Why would you pick that? What else might you recommend I might look at that is not on the above list?

Most of us have a space we use for our computer work, right? When Robyn and I talked about moving in for the first time I was thrilled to set up my computer in the corner window so that while I worked hour after hour in front of my computers I would have a pretty cool view. Granted we don’t have a spare room for my computer so Robyn refers to my little corner of the living room as my geek corner. Recently I have had some people ask me what my setup is and what it looks like while I work at home.

Visual Representation of my Geek Corner

Click on me to see a larger version

Due to the brightness of the large windows that we have in the corner of our living room, I thought it best to capture my little geek corner using the HDR technique. The above photos is comprised of 3 exposures processed and tone mapped in a program called Photomatix Pro. Creating an HDR photo of my setup allows people to see my workspace and the view out the window. Normally the light entering the living room is too much to get a proper photo of my workspace. What do you think?

My Computers

Yes I did say ‘My Computers’ as in having more than one. Both are setup in particular configurations for the work I do at home.

Computer #1 (left side below desk):

• Asus P5B-E Motherboard
• Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 (overclocked)
• 4GB DDR2 Memory
• 250GB Hard drive
• nVidia GeForce 7600 GT 128MB
• 2x Samsung Monitors (typically 19″ wide screen ones, but as of this post I have one 23″ HDTV setup for review purposes)
• Monsoon flat panel speakers
• Thermaltake Aluminum keyboard (very small keystoke)
• Razer Lachesis mouse

This computer is my main computer. It is where I do all my photo processing, game playing, social networking, blogging, scripting etc. The cool thing about running Vista 64bit version is that all my photo programs such as Photoshop and Lightroom are the 64bit versions so that they work faster for me. One feature I do love about Photoshop CS4 is that it utilizes my video card’s GPU now to help speed up renderings/filters too.

Computer #2 (right side next to wall on the ground):

Honestly I cannot remember what is inside this computer, but it isn’t anything spectacular. It will have at least 1GB of memory and a somewhat new motherboard with a 500GB harddrive. It’s main function is to be a server. It currently runs Ubuntu (not sure what build), and is set up as a LAMP server. LAMP meaning Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP, all the basic things to make it into a webserver for all my development needs. I also run Samba on it so I can easily access files (particularly my photo collections). Samba also allows me to edit my PHP scripts (yes those include my development WordPress files) on the fly without having to upload/download them before hand.

If I ever need to access my second computer I SSH (secure telnet) into it using a program called putty on my main computer. This also goes for having to shut down the computer when it is not in use.

There you have it, my geek corner. The area I spend most of my day working mainly on photos or PHP scripts.

What does your (home)office area look like?