A dear reader asked if the Canon 40mm 2.8 pancake is any good for shooting paintings. While I figured that it would be, I decided to compare the 40mm to the 50mm 1.8 and the 18-55mm kit lens to see which one would be more suitable. Please read on for the 3 test shots - 1 will shock you and blow your mind! Not. ;)
Went with some friends to the very north of Sweden to hopefully shoot some northern lights. It was a very long drive and the cold was getting to us - but luckily, we did get to see some of that magical green light. Feel free to check the Image Gallery.
Had this problem the other day. I was trying to import images and videos from a phone, but the videos did not show up on the import tab. After some googling, it seems that if the proper video codec is missing, Picasa may have problems playing back video files. Windows Media Player was able to play the files, so thought everything was OK - but after identifying (using this) and installing the codec manually, the files showed up in Picasa and everything was fine and dandy. :)
There was a local photo contest going on this summer, where you could win a bike. Since I could use a new bike, I thought I could just as well participate. There was no particular theme, any good shot taken in the general area was a candidate. I hunted this bee down with my Tamron at 270mm and apparently, that was good enough. :)
Just a little idea I got when I was on vacation: My phone, which I use a lot, kept running out of battery and I didn't have a battery pack. However, I had my trusty ol' Android tablet with me. Tablets often have quite large batteries, this one had 4000 mAh which is about the same as a (slightly below average) battery pack. Using the host USB port, I could charge the phone when I was out. It's quite a lot bigger and heavier than a battery pack to lug around, but at least I didn't have to break my back... erm, I mean, the bank.
During my recent trip to Hong Kong, I was fortunate enough to accidentally run into Lok C, editor and presenter at the the DigitalRev TV YouTube channel! If you are not familiar with DigitalRev, it's the most subscribed photo related channel right now. So go check it out, they make good reviews and also Lok is a really nice guy. :)
Had a stupid problem today. I just wanted to set a certain MP3 file as an alarm on my Nexus 4, but the default song selection box did not include a way to browse the file system. Also, putting the file in the Notifications or Alarms folders did not show the file, not even after a reboot. Then I simply went to Settings → Apps → All → Media Storage and tapped "Clear defaults" under "Launch by default". Now, when I tap to select an alarm sound, I get the option to use the ES File Explorer I happened to have installed. Just browse to the file, done. Any side effects? Possibly. But the only one I have noticed so far is that I can use the file explorer for the ring tones selection as well, which is pretty neat.
I have been using HighSlide for quite some time for the image gallery now, and felt it was time for an update, especially since it never worked well on smartphones. A quick google didn't immediately yield what I was looking for, so I implemented a simple image slideshow thingy using JavaScript and CSS. It is still a bit rough around the edges - works well on Nexus 4 and most modern browsers though - but should scale better on mobile devices and also look great on a PC. Try it out if you like.
Shooting with a smart phone is fun! As one tends too keep it close at all times, capturing that special moment has gotten so much easier. But what if you are tired of that limiting, fixed focal length lens - is there a way to change it? Turns out, there are quite a few options. Mostly for fun, I ordered a set of three lenses - one which also doubles as a macro lens - and took them for a spin. For less than 10 USD, what can go wrong? Read on for more.
The Nexus 4 may have been superseded, but anyone still using it probably still struggles with its (great looking) slippery flat back, which makes it slide off most slightly slanted surfaces and also muffling the speaker when placed on its back. Easy fix for that: get a rubber bumper pad - eg. from IKEA - and stick it to the back next to the speaker. The rubber stops it from sliding, and since it's lifted up slightly, it lets more sound from the speaker out (demuffling!). I carry my phone in my pocket and the pad has stayed on for several weeks so it's fairly durable too. Good luck!
