A lot of people are going to get cameras this holiday season, or have them from the last few seasons.  They have a basic SLR and the kit lens.  There’s a lot you can do with these simple combinations, but they’re limiting as well.  I’ve been involved in a few discussion forums for these mid-level beginners and wanted to echo a post here about an individual who was looking to upgrade, primarily interested in wedding photography, but wanted advice on path forward.

“Agree with others, 18-55 kit *can* take a sharp photo, but it’ll be a challenge if you’re handheld, in low light, and don’t have a high-contrast subject that’s moving. The variable aperture also makes using Manual difficult, try Shutter Priority (Tv) or Aperture Priority (Av) first to get comfortable with working your exposure. If using a flash head, try fooling with bounce flash and Program mode (P). If you have an older Rebel without a thumb wheel, then you won’t really be able to use Manual for anything beyond posed shots, because you’ll only have one of three exposure parameters (shutter, aperture, sensitivity) assigned to the index wheel. Oh, thoroughly read the manual for your camera as you explore each setup. Some people are able to know just the basics and get great stuff, some people need to really dig and understand the nuance. Find out which you are and how much effort you’re willing to put into your craft before laying out cash. Regarding upgrades, I’d stick with the Rebel and first invest in glass. That 50 1.8 is a good choice, you can even get them used for $75 or lower, although they are a bit long on a 1.6x Rebel, almost 85mm. It’ll take some getting used to, which isn’t a bad thing. The 50 1.4 is an even better choice if you can drop a few hundred. Zooms, I’d say go for the 17-55 2.8 IS.. it doesn’t say L (no weather sealing, etc) but it’s L-quality glass. Every bit as good as the 16-35, 24-70 or 24-105 for under $1000. And if you don’t have one, get yourself a 580ex or 580exII flash head and rechargeable batteries (I like Ansmann 2700mAh AAs, they’re a bit pricey but pay for themselves over time) or an external battery pack. Learn to use bounce and fill-in flash and your photos will improve dramatically. More light means smaller aperture and faster shutter, which means more sharpness. More light also means greater saturation. I’m of the philosophy that photography isn’t cheap. Yes you can get by, and yes in the end, it’s the photographer not the camera. You can get some amazing photos with a $250 point-n-shoot, I know… but the proper kit makes it possible to get 500 amazing photos in a night as opposed to just 10 or 20. That’s once you’re ready to “go live,” you can learn everything you need to learn on the Rebel with one decent (fixed aperture) zoom, a prime or two, and a flash head. Best of luck and let’s see some of your photos as you progress!”

Click the photo to see Bryan Carnathan’s excellent review of the latest Rebel offering from Canon, the T1i, an incredible bang-for-buck DSLR package.

Having been staying in Thailand for 1 year and 6 months, I have observed that there are many similarities between Filipinos and Thai probably because both countries are in South East Asian region be it in terms of culture and traditions, way of life and physical features…as for the physical aspects maybe its because there are also many Chinese or Caucasian looking people in both countries due to interracial marriages or migration.

Below are some of the popular celebrities in Philippines and Thailand which has a lot of similar physical features..you be the judge who is better looking…

First picture  is popular singer-actress-model KC Concepcion while the next picture  is model, actress Sonia Couling. Interestingly, both are former MTV VJ’s.

Picture on the left is hugely popular Pinoy actor, Piolo Pascual who has been a household name for many years. On the right is Laotian-Australian but Bangkok born actor, Ananda Everingham who became immensely popular with the hit horror movie “Shutter”.

Maybe not too many people will agree with me about these 3rd match-up. First picture is actor-model John Estrada and second picture is model and former MTV VJ Utt (sorry forgot his last name). I see very striking resemblance between the two especially during Estrada’s younger days.

So there…not sure if there are many more Pinoy-Thai celebrity look alikes out there cos I don’t know too many celebrities in Thailand.

Katie Couric gets freak-nasty.

Enjoy?

Slow Shutter：如果有人覺得iphone的快門還不夠慢的話…花＄0.99，將會得到1/15至2秒的快門。

**咦？那iphone本身的camera快門速度是多少？
**我跑去找apple網頁，沒有這規格，倒是孤狗到一篇文，裡面提到

My results, so far:
iPhone Camera Module

Focal length: 3,85mm (equivalent to 37,0mm)
Aperture: f/2,8 (fixed)
Shutter speed: 1/5s fixed (light sensitivity is only regulated by per-pixel-ISO)

**還有，這個app的輸出解析度，只有320*426，好像有點小欸。

The default Ubuntu screenshot software isnt really something spectacular. Also, it really doesnt have many options. For example, if you want the screenshot of just a window and not of the entire desktop, you’d be pretty much stuck if you were using the default screenshot app, as you would have to use some image editing software like GIMP to modify the screenshot to suit your needs.

No more… Say hello to Shutter! The perfect screenshot tool. Lets you take screenshots of windows, notifications (and even panels!). Has loads of options and is really useful.

This is how you install it:

Go to Ubuntu Software Center from your GNOME menu and search for ‘Shutter’, follow the links and install it! Like so:

Alternate method for users who prefer to use the terminal:

Type the following in the terminal:

sudo apt-get install shutter

And after the installation, you’ll find Shutter installed in the ‘Accessories’ section of the GNOME menu.

This is what the Shutter screenshot toolbar window looks like:

Thats it!

There’s two of them. Shudder.

-Ian

If a photograph stirs

the emotions in

at least one person,  

that makes it art.

This includes

the person who

clicked the shutter.

Henrik A. Lundh

Norwegian Photographer

Le fameux logiciel de capture d’écran sous Ubuntu nous revient dans sa version V0,85 avec pleins de fonctionnalités supplémentaires.

1. Possibilté d’annuler une action
2. Faire un glisser/ déposer dans Shutter
3. Capturer une info bulle
4. Insérer plus d’objets dans la capture qu’avant
5. Possibilité d’envoyer directement par mail
6. Capacité d’enregistrer Shutter lui-même

Le site web des concepteurs vous en donne le mode d’emploi en images.

http://shutter-project.org

Yuuk kita atur setingan kamera kita saat malam hari tiba agar gambar yang kita dapatkan menakjubkan…

ISO

Untuk mendapatkan gambar yang sangat bersih dengan warna menonjol,pilijhlah ISO paling rendah.ISO rendah dapat menghasilkan eksposur dengan waktu cukup panjang namun kadang berakibat meningkatkan noise pada gambar.Cobalah atasi dengan sedikit menambah bukaan rana sebelum menambahkan ISO


White Balance

Atur WB pada posisi Daylight/Sunny untuk menyeimbangkan sinar cahay yang hangat dengan tonal biru yang dingin pada langit.Untuk menghasilkan warna yang berkesan dingin,pilihlah pengaturan Tungsten atau Fluorescent.Sebaliknya untuk menampilkan kesan hangat,pilihlah cludy atau shade.Saat emncoba pengaturan ini,perhatikan histogram untuk menentukan eksposur.

Format File

Pilihlah RAW,bukan JPEG.Foto malam sudah cukup beresiko dengan noise dan file JPEG justru akan mempertinggi resiko ini.Pemandangan yang sangat kontras juga menjadi tantangan lain dalam foto malam.File RAW mampu memperkecil kemungkinan hilangnya detil pada highlight dan shadow.

Memfokuskan

Karena obyek hanya mendapatkan sedikit pencahayaan,sistem auto fokus akan sulit mengunci obyek.Kalau gagal dengan mode AF,cobalah memfokuskan obyek secara manual,meski tak selalu berhasil pada pemotretan di malam hari.Untuk mengatasinya,coba untuk mengunci fokus pada obyek sebelum matahari terbenam,dan posisikan pada fokus manual untuk mencegah sistem berfungsi saat tombol shutter ditekan.

Mode Eksposur
Bila waktu tak menjadi masalah,tak ada salahnyauntuk menggunakan mode semi otomatis aperture priority,atau mengatur kecepatan shutter dan aperture secara manual.Manual juga dipilih untuk mendapatkan hasil yang paling tepat.Untuk kecepatan shutter diatas 30 detik,posisikan kecepatan shutter pada bulb agar shutter tetap terbuka selama tombol tetap ditekan.

-Ian

Hi everyone, welcome to my blog and thanks for looking. Here you will learn the truth about dpreview.com, well some of it anyway. I don’t have the time to point out everything that’s wrong with that site and some of the idiots in the forums there. If you think I’m making up anything here please feel free to go to dpreview and see the truth for yourself.

So, to get started about dpreview I’ll say that it is one of the biggest fanboy sites on the web. In this case, fanboys (including fangirls) are people who are in love with a certain brand or model of something and will promote and defend it way beyond what any sane person would do.

Some or all of them are probably paid by a manufacturer to be a shill (viral marketer) for their products and to attack and insult anyone who doesn’t say the absolute nicest things about that brand or model. Where dpreview comes in is that they allow and encourage the fanboys and will ban people who speak out against them.

Dpreview makes a lot of money from the manufacturers of the camera gear they review through advertising dollars and they also get free camera gear on loan from the manufacturers. Their so-called reviews are blatant examples of bias and favoritism and I’m sure it’s based on which manufacturer pays them the most or loans them the most gear. I wouldn’t be surprised if they take bribes too.

The dpreview forums are run by gangs of fanboys who viciously attack and try to silence anyone who doesn’t agree with them or blindly praise the brand or model they love and are promoting and defending, and especially Canon products, which are plagued with many inexcusable defects by the way. I think that dpreview may even pay some of the fanboys to help promote and defend certain products or to stir up controversy so that there are more hits on the forums, which generates more clicks for more advertising dollars. Either that or some (or all) of the fanboys could just be regular employees at dpreview.

Dpreview has a big monetary interest in promoting and defending brands and models so that interest in those brands and models is high and more people may go to dpreview and either click on the reviews or go to the forums. Of course people love to see a train wreck, which is just what the dpreview forums are, and the fanboys always seem to outnumber anyone who speaks realistically about brands or models and it makes it appear that the fanboys are always right.

The fanboys work hard to silence anyone who doesn’t agree that their beloved brand or model is the very best and dpreview will ban people who don’t submit and agree. dpreview also selectively deletes posts that reveal the truth about fanboys and camera gear.

If you go to the dpreview forums take a good look at how the fanboys argue endlessly that their beloved brand or model is perfect and way better than all other brands or models and they will use the most inane and nitpicky things to bolster their maniacal, idiotic claims. Fan comes from the word fanatic and it certainly applies to some of the people on dpreview, and especially in the Canon DSLR and lens forums.

If anyone says anything negative about a Canon product, even when it’s true, they are attacked as though they deliberately insulted the fanboy’s mother or kids. I think some of those fanboys value their cameras or lenses more than their mother or kids and that at least some of them sleep with their cameras or lenses and I really don’t mean sleep.

Fanboys must have very low self esteem to depend on owning or lusting after a camera or lens to make themselves feel like they’re important. Some of those people virtually live on forums, promoting and defending their beloved brand or model and rarely if ever take any pictures. They think that just owning or lusting after a certain brand or model will automatically make them a great and world renowned photographer.

If or when they actually do post pictures, the pictures are almost always junk, or mediocre at best. Many of them go on and on about how perfect and awesome a certain brand or model is but the next day they’re often asking which lens they should buy or which settings they should use for their vacation in Disneyland. Anyone who doesn’t know which lens or settings to use for certain things isn’t in a position to promote or defend any brand or model.

The dpreview forums are full of wannabe photographers whose self esteem is based on being in a brand or model cult. They have the cult, mob, gang mentality and dpreview encourages it by letting them stay and banning people who speak out about it.

dpreview is a joke, and I’m apparently not the only one who is figuring that out. Amazon bought dpreview in May, 2007. At that time dpreview had over 7 million unique visitors per month. Last month (OCT. 2009) they only had about 1.3 million even though new, popular cameras (to fanboys) were announced or released, which usually generates more hits on any camera review website. dpreview deliberately lies on their site and they still say that they get 7 million unique visitors every month.

They say: “These days the site is one of, if not the, premium digital photography site with an audience of seven million unique visitors a month..”

Here is where they say it:

http://www.dpreview.com/misc/about.asp

See here for the real facts:

http://www.crunchbase.com/company/dpreview

I wonder if Jeff Bezos regrets the purchase?

It won’t surprise me if dpreview or Amazon do everything they can to get this blog removed. If it disappears, you’ll know why, and if it does I’ll just start it somewhere else on the web.

Uma imagem de altíssima resolução é uma imagem digital composta por mais de um bilhão de pixels.

Clique na imagem e confira a qualidade ;D

StudioHut JR Series Infrared Shutter Remote Controller for Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, XTi, XS, T1i Digital SLR cameras, Pentax, Samsung and Contax Camera Series Review

StudioHut JR Series Infrared Shutter Remote Controller for Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, XTi, XS, T1i Digital SLR cameras, Pentax, Samsung and Contax Camera Series Feature

• Use this shutter release control to trigger your camera shutter from a distance
• Handy for taking pictures of subjects that are difficult to approach with minimized vibration
• Batteries and mini screw driver included in package.
• Supports autofocus, bulb mode (B-mode), instant shutter and delay shutter.

StudioHut JR Series Infrared Shutter Remote Controller for Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, XTi, XS, T1i Digital SLR cameras, Pentax, Samsung and Contax Camera Series Overview

This Wireless IR Remote Shutter Release Controller is a versatile tool which allows you to control the shutter of your camera from afar in a various number of ways:

1) Shutter Release Cable Setup
This setup provides a means of avoiding camera shake when the shutter button is pressed. Connecting the transmitter directly to your camera via the remote cord provides a shutter release button.

2) IR Wireless Shutter Release Setup
A wireless release setup can be achieved by attaching the receiver to your camera’s hot shoe, then connecting the remote cord between the camera and the receiver. The camera shutter can then be controlled wirelessly from up to 8meters. Since the receiver has IR sensors at its front and back, this allows shutter control from various angles of the camera.

3) IR remote Setup
The transmitter can be used as an IR remote also. Simply switch on your camera’s IR remote control function and you can control the shutter from up to a maximum of 10 meters away by infra-red technology.

With this item, self photography becomes much more convenient.  Autofocus, 2-second-delay shutter and bulb mode are all supported in methods 1) and 2).

Operating range

Using the JR Transmitter with the JR Receiver provides a maximum operating range of up to 8meters (~26ft). When using the JR Transmitter with a cameras inbuilt IR receiver, a maximum operating range of about 3meters (~10ft) to10meters (~33ft) can be obtained.

Specifications

JR Receiver:
    * Battery Type: 1x CR-2032 battery (included)
    * Operating temperature: 5 °C to 40 °C (40 °F to 105 °F).
    * Net Weight Approximately: 26 g
    * Dimensions: 50 X39 X 14 mm

JR Transmitter:
    * Battery Type: 1x CR-2032 battery (included)
    * Operating temperature

StudioHut JR Series Infrared Shutter Remote Controller for Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, XTi, XS, T1i Digital SLR cameras, Pentax, Samsung and Contax Camera Series Specifications

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Nov 15, 2009 23:34:03

See Also : amazingprice Gadgets Life

Awwwwwwwwww.

The San Diego Zoo’s 99-day-old male panda shows off his new teeth.

-Ian

-Ian

“God Hates You.” So sayeth Westboro Baptist Church of Kansas.

-Ian

Knuckle dragging Rep. Steve King (R-Fly Over) parades around with a copy of the health-care bill after a rally populated by other knuckle draggers railed against modest changes to our current fuck-all system on Capitol Hill. One observer also noted he had toilet paper stuck to his shoe and smelled faintly of tapioca and vodka.

-Ian

-Ian

Your shutter will make a massive difference on objects in motion. The faster the shutter the more focus the image.

Ever stand next to a water fall and want to capture each individual drop of water? If the shutter is only open for a split second you will get a sharp image of the individual drops. If however you want to convey the speed of the water set your shutter to be open for slightly longer. The water will appear to rush out of the frame; instead of being frozen in the middle of the universe.

The photo here is taken with a very fast shutter; this makes the water appear crystal clear and calm.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Lin

Teh crazy!!!

-Ian

She was restless despite the silence.

Harecourt United Reform Church, St Paul's Road, Islington, N1

After a few minutes, she ventured from her room.