Category Archives: Favorite Posts

My Review of the Nikon D80

 Rather than reinvent the wheel and write Another comprehensive review of the Nikon D80, I figured I'd tell you my impression of it. Keep in mind, I'm a hobby photographer, not really a professional. Also, while I think you CAN'T go wrong with any DSLR on the market, I'm biased towards Nikon. I started with my cousin's Nikon F, eventually got a Nikon 5700 with a SB-80DX Flash, currently own a Nikon D70s, a Nikon SB-800 Flash, A Nikon 18-200mm DX VR lens and now a Nikon D80.

I think you get the picture: I like Nikon products, so consider yourself warned.

To start to describe the D80 in a word: Fantastic

Like the other Nikon's I'd had, it has a very comfortable feel to  the grip and the camera is nicely balanced. It's a slightly smaller camera than the D70s but not too small. I didn't think of the D70s as a large camera, but apparently it is bigger than normal.  It also has a few features that I really like:

  • It's Fast. According to Nikon, you could continuously fire off up to 100 jpegs. Excessive? Maybe, but it's nice to know it's there.
  • ISO Auto. This adds ISO setting as a parameter to the program modes (i.e. Shutter or Aperture Priority). Via the Menu, you set the Max ISO you will allow and the Minimum shutter speed. In my case, this is very Useful as I don't like to fire below 1/60th of a second. If I set the ISO to 320, go into a sudden shade area, the camera will raise the ISO if it has to to get the shot at least 1/60th of a second.
  • A programmable function button. This is entirely a creature feature under the focus assist light. Out of the Box, it will display the ISO when hit. Me, I have it set up to turn the Grid on the viewfinder. I don't need the Grid on full time, but occasionally, I like it to help me line up a shot.
  • Easier review of images. On the D70's you hit the pad to scroll thru the images. Up or down to change images, left or right to get info on that image. On the D80, you use the Command Dial in the rear to scroll between images. The Command dial on the front scrolls between information on individual photo's.

These items are just the ones that come off the top of my head. My short Wish list for the D80 has nothing to do with the D80: I can't wait for Adobe to Update their RAW importer. Currently, it does not support the D80, but I bet it's just a matter of time before it does.

For photo's I've taken with the Nikon D80, see here on Flickr.
I'm particularly happy with this one:
Close up of One Madison Avenue Tower

More photos after the break. 


Music I'm listening to right Now:

"Cambia La Piel" by Ricky Martin from his "Sound Loaded" Album. 

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MTYahooMaps Initial Release

After much trial and Error, I'm just about ready to release the MTYahooMaps Movable Type Plugin.

It works in a similar way that MTGoogleMap by Nick Punter does (in fact this was originally based on MTGoogleMaps). A container tag called "MTYahooMaps" is created that accepts the following Parameters:

  • address = Postal Address i.e. "499 Park Avenue, NY, NY, 10022", Required
  • lat = Latitude i.e. "40.762979"
  • log = Longitude i.e. "-73.969966"
  • info = Informational Text (No HTML)  i.e. "Corner of 69th and Park Ave."
  • zoom = Numeric Zoom Level i.e. "3" (Defaults to "2")
  • width = Width of Map in your Post. Numeric and in Pixels i.e. "540"
  • height = Height of Map in your Post. Numeric and in Pixels i.e. "300"
  • align = Alignment of your map in your Post. i.e. "left","center", "right" (Defaults to Center)
  • maptype = AJAX or Flash. (Defaults to AJAX)
  • mapsathyb = map, sat, or hyb (Defaults to map)

Example:

<MTYahooMaps
address="11 Madison avenue,NY, NY, 10010"
info="A Nice Place"
width="540"
height="300"
zoom="3"
maptype="ajax" mapsathyb="hyb"></MTYahooMaps>

String this out with no Carriage returns. My Advice, try resolving addresses at http://maps.yahoo.com/ and get the ZIPCODE. 

If you use  lat and log, address will not be used to resolve the coordinates, but is still required.

Update: Now Handles multiple Markers 

Update: Now uses Yahoo Geocoder, uses MAP, SATELITE, or HYBRID and the FLASH version works better too. It will also convert "|" to "<BR>" when put in the info and address parameters.

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The Stormtrooper Chronicles

StormtrooperOne of the web sites I like to go to is Danny Choo‘s.  To put it mildly, he’s someone who really likes to enjoy life. He currently lives in Tokyo and he has a really interesting blog that I regularly visit. His site has posts about Anime, Modeling, Ipods , etc.

In July of 2005, he purchased a set of Star Wars Stormtrooper Armor. Yep, you read that right! He’s been kind enough to document his trials and travails. 

I Highly recomend reading about it, His journey is very funny and he’s taken lots of photographs and some Video. The most recent Entry "Stormtrooper haircut" made me laugh out loud.

His "Stormtrooper in Tokyo – Episode 2 : Akihabara" posting is great too. 

For a complete Stormtrooper Summary on Danny Choo’s site See here.

He’s also got excelent tips for people switching from Windows to a Mac.

 

A Really nice Welcome home

After being away for a week in Virginia, my wife made a really great dinner. I’ve said it before: The best day in my life was the day we got married and it just keeps getting better!

EDIT: No, dinner was not just Salad, The Salad was just the Apetizer… 😉

Images from another summer Walk

IMG_1230.jpgA little out of sequence, but I liked this one the best.

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Midday walk

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I used to work here a while ago (Longer than I care to admit!) but this is the first time I’ve walked there in years.

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I guess Grand Central is getting cleaned again.

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When Snapple Attacks!

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Well, Not so much attacks, but make a Big mess. You had to feel sorry for them, if it was near a Sewer drain it would not have been a Problem. BTW, in the Above shot, That’s NOT water on the street: it’s Kiwi-Strawberry and it’s as slippery as Oil.

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There was a film crew there and the “Reporter” was a man with a Clown nose. Odd.

See Gothamist’s Coverage

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Orchid Show

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After taking my wife to my High School reunion on Saturday, we went to the Orchid show on Sunday. It seemed like a good time to get my wife to try out the Canon and to get taking pictures.

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Sunday was the last day, and it was packed. The turn out was just the right size, crowded but not like a subway. We were able to take pictures without bothering anyone.

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