Isaac Schrödinger

The DSLR King

Digital Photography Review forum:

Last night I photographed repairs on a sign I designed for a medical system I worked for. My goal was to preserve the vibrant colors of the sign while also showing the surrounding clinic architecture. I didn't have a tripod along, so multiple frames composited wasn't an option. Instead, I metered the vibrant blue letter faces to avoid clipping and fired away at ISO 200 ...

The result is stunning.

Hard work

This is not the bold I was looking for.

Fish tank fail

The absence of Luigi is outrageous.

So not funny

My real analysis course at university was easier to understand than the motherboard naming scheme of ASUS.

Compressed air FTW

Dang! I'd wear a mask while cleaning that thing.

Thunder is sky high

Hardocp:

Further demonstrating its market leading innovation and technological leadership, ASUS is proud to announce the launch of its P8Z77-V PREMIUM motherboard — the flagship of the P8Z77 Series and the first Intel certified motherboard in the market to offer the latest Thunderbolt connection interface.

All for the low price of $459. That's just for the motherboard.

Those crazy enthusiasts

A most risky move:

Looking for better temps out of your shiny new Core i7-3770k? You could always do what this guy did and pop the top on your processor, apply new thermal compound between the CPU die and the IHS, just to see what happens.

KA-BOOM!

Probably not. Still, why void the warranty?

PC trouble solved

The problem: the SSD would only work for an hour and then crash.

The reason: after approximately 5,000 hours of total usage, the SSD would start to crash ever hour; something was messed up in the core drivers.

So, I updated the firmware last weekend. No issues since then.

Light peeks

Anand tests Thunderbolt on Windows 7. The sheer scale of bandwidth is incredible. One Thunderbolt cable can support a monitor and three external drive setups with bandwidth to spare. This would be fantastic for laptops. One finds many atrocious combinations of ports on portable devices. With Thunderbolt, only one port would be sufficient for many people. That would make laptops lighter and less power-hungry: a win-win! If more ports are needed, then just connect a 4-port hub.

Of course, it's not perfect. It's not market-ready. It's expensive. And almost nobody has thunderbolt devices. So, it'll take a while for it to hit mainstream.

I AM AMUSED

Nikon's ad campaign gets creatively skewered.

The -2EV is clever.

How to survive

What to do when robots go insane?

My solution is simple: ammo. Lots of ammo.

Have a nice day!

Crazy Russian always entertains.

The balloon slayer

How long till the lightsaber?

Fading lithium-ion

That's right:

According to battery-testing firm Cadex Electronics, a fully charged lithium-ion battery will lose about 20 percent of its capacity after a year of typical storage. Increase the temperature to just above 100 degrees Fahrenheit—as in a hot attic, for example—and that number is 35 percent.

I bought a laptop for work two years ago. At the time I got a nice 5 hours of battery life. Last year, the time dropped to 4 hours. This month, the battery is running out of juice in about 3 hours. A software included in the laptop states that the battery has basically degraded to around 60% of its original capacity.

It sucks but that's just the nature of lithium-ion.

Link via Instapundit.

Green is okay?

Some people are complaining about the green hue of the even generation Nikon cameras but Nikon states that the new greenish screen is more accurate. My question: Can't people make that judgement by themselves?

Nikon may well be correct but those who have an issue can surely check and see if Nikon's statement is in the right by simply comparing multiple images on the screen with reality. Perhaps, some like the blueish cool look compared to the greenish warm look.

Nikon D800E is here

It has started to show up with customers in the US and Europe. In fact, one guy sold his Nikon D800 (for a $2,000 profit!) and got a Nikon D800E.

Siri on acid

Do not mess with her.

No more mini IMAX

I found a google maps guide to IMAX theatres in Canada. It's about three years old. So, the listed theatres are the real IMAX ones.

Mini IMAX?

It was disappointing to watch an action movie on a newly constructed "IMAX" screen last Christmas. Why? Not because the movie wasn't entertaining. It's because the screen wasn't even close to the usual IMAX size. Click the image below to get a better view.

I'm not sure of the exact size of that screen but it certainly did not feel like IMAX. Apparently, this has been going on for many years. Cinemas are putting in "IMAX" screens within approximately the same space as regular screens and then charging $5 or more for the, er, experience.

Aziz Ansari was not amused. Here one can find a google maps guide to real IMAX and the new fake IMAX locations in the US. I wonder if someone has made a similar guide for Canada ...

Update
Found a guide for Canadian IMAX theatres. 

Fair and balanced

Nikon Rumors: Nikon D800 vs. Canon 5D MkIII shootout.

I have a feeling that the reviewer prefers Nikon.

Update
Here's a review of just the Nikon D800. Nice photos by Nasim Mansurov.

It's Complicated

If Facebook were invented ... in the 90s.

OMG!

I can kiss so many Asian girls.

Digital dream 2

The detail from a Nikon D800 is most impressive.

For example, take a look at the American flag here.

Digital dream

Nigel Danson shares photos which were taken with his new camera:

• D800 Diary - Day 1: Look at that bull's nose!
• D800 Diary - Day 2: The cropping ability is fantastic.

Digital emperor

The Nikon D800 is now the top-ranked DSLR according to DxOmark. It's going to be even more difficult to find; the Amazon page for the camera states: Usually ships within 1 to 3 months.

Links via Nikon Rumors.

Nerd porn

Nikon D4 unboxing video. OMG, it's so big. I'm not a big fan of the music, though. Nice touch by Nikon to include the new XQD card and card reader.

Is very good

You Tube: The iPad rant.

So not serious

One can buy all the Serious Sam games ever made. Never played any of them but the promotion is, as usual, entertaining.

Microsoft fail

The behemoth has redesigned their Windows logo. It's atrocious.

This logo would have been a better choice.

D4 super burst

The last video in this post is cool. Maybe Nikon can market the D4 in Pakistan with this tagline: It shoots faster than an AK-47!

D800: to E or not to E

Nikon has finally announced it. Two things:

1. It is 36 megapixels! What an epic jump.
2. It is shockingly cheap! Only $3,000. The E version is an extra $300.

This is the biggest DSLR news from Nikon since 2007 when they introduced the 'full frame' D3. Nikon better have enough production at that price because the D800 is going to have amazing demand.

Most impressive

Nikons makes their premium cameras in Japan. So, of course, their production was damaged because of one of the most powerful earthquake ever to hit that weird place. Later, in the same year, their low-end camera production went under because of the floods in Thailand.

Yet some people in the comments here are upset because of the product delays and high prices of Nikon DSLRs. Thom Hogan provides perspective:

Everyone needs to think about this in a different fashion: in LESS THAN A YEAR, Nikon will have completely replaced ALL of its DSLR manufacturing with completely rebuilt facilities, all while manufacturing a record number of DSLRs. If that doesn’t impress you, nothing will.

Prices for their cameras are not high when compared in Yen. The stronger Yen has pushed Nikon to increase prices in non-Japanese markets. Again, this is something out of their control.

Anyway, moment of truth coming up next week. The long-rumored Nikon D800 is supposed to be announced. Will it be 36 megapixels of goodness? Or will it be a let down in either quality or less megapixels?

Simply precious

Boromir Explains MMORPGs.

By Ado-bay

One of the best videos I've seen in many months.

VIDEO: Introducing the Greatest Cosmetic Product Known to Mankind.

It even lets you adjust your race!

It's Alive!

Four years and five months after the D3, we get the Nikon D4.

Joe McNally, that lucky bastard, has been testing it for weeks.

The 4th not on the 4th

Nikon missed a great opportunity. They should have announced the D4 on January 4. Instead, they'll wait till January 6.

Tech heavy

Nikon Rumors:

Expect 2012 to start with a bang and may as well be Nikon's best year in terms of new product releases (D4, D800, D7000 replacement and maybe even D300s replacement). I will be at the PMA 2012 show and will have a coverage of the new Nikon products.

Yeah, 2012 will be filled with a lot of new products. I'm waiting for:

1. Nikon's "even" generation digital cameras. It has been over four years since they released the D3.
2. Intel's introduction of Thunderbolt for PCs. Right now, only Apple and some Sony computers have this new port.
3. Larger, faster, cheaper SSDs.
4. Bigger, brighter, lighter monitors.

Tasteless bugs

I love the confused looks the lizard gives to the camera, thinking, "These bugs taste kinda weird, man."

Freezing light

Trillion-Frame-Per-Second Video.

D4 in 2012

The D3 / D3S killer will soon be announced. Nikon rumors has got the details.

I'm surprised by the 16.2 MP. I was thinking a minimum 18 MP. Anyway, given their recent history, this sensor will produce some mighty clean pics even at high ISOs. The rumored 36 MP beast, the Nikon D800, makes more sense now. Pros will get the D4 because of its superior photo capturing ability and the MP lovin' crowd will get the D800.

The problem? Price. Both cameras will be north of $4,000.

Planet of the Woolies?

Holy Schnikes via HardOCP:

Scientists have been trying to clone woolly mammoths for years, but now they're really close. So close that in five years you may see herds of this gigantic beast—one of the favorite extinct prehistoric animals of the all-time.

Scientists from Japan's Kinki University and the Sakha Republic's mammoth museum have discovered well preserved marrow in a thigh bone discovered in Siberia, buried under the permafrost. The marrow is in such good condition that its cells' DNA could be used to replace the nuclei of elephant egg cells. This will allow scientist to create mammoth embryos.

I don't why but after reading that I instantly imagined a full-scale war between woolly mammoths and skynet. Perhaps, Cameron and Spielberg could get together and come up with a movie ...

Peaceful slaughter

HardOCP: Cool Serious Sam 3: BFE Game Options.

Hippie blood is awesome.

Squeezed supply

Tom's News:

On Thursday in its financial outlook for the December quarter, Western Digital gave an update on its Thailand flood recovery effort, reporting that production of hard drives finally resumed this week in one of its buildings in Bang Pa-in (BPI), Thailand, just one week ahead of internal schedules.

Before the floods, the price of a two terabyte drive from Western Digital was $70-80. I checked the price last week: $190-200.

Dustier dust, yeah!

A new trailer for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

The decade-old original is a classic; one of the best FPS ever made.

The elusive D800

Nikon Rumors:

Just to remind you that I still expect the D800 to have 36MP and not 18MP like several websites have suggested in the past few days. I am still standing behind the rumors form early October and as you will see in the next few days they will slowly start to come true.

This guy really trusts his source(s).

The iLens?

Holy Schnikes!

A joint research project between the University of Washington and Finland's Aalto University has resulted in the creation of a prototype that allows the projection of digital images onto a contact lens.

Right now, they are only at the level of one pixel. It's just a matter of time before we're watching movies on our contact lenses.

However, for teachers, this will be a nightmare; cheating will be so easy.

Contrasting opinions on Nikon D800

A very slight majority thinks that the new photos shot from the D800 are fake. I'm guessing that many find the idea of a 36 megapixel beast by Nikon in the near future too spectacular to believe. At least, that's what I think.

I'm in the "not sure" group. We'll likely know the truth by January of next year.

Ownage by Intel

Tom's News:

Intel's first microprocessor, the 4004, is 40 years old today.

On November 15, 1971, the chip was mentioned for the first time publicly in a half-page ad printed in Electronic News. Intel was just two years old back then and it was first to offer a CPU that was integrated entirely in one package.

It's impressive to behold the increase in computing power in such a short time.

According to Intel, current 32 nm CPUs are about 5000 times faster than the original 4004 and each transistor uses about 5000 times less energy, while the price of each transistor dropped by about 50,000 times.

Also, look at this chart and marvel at Moore's Law.

The rise of thunderbolt

Anand:

A week ago we published our review of the first sub-$1000 Thunderbolt drive enclosure: LaCie's Little Big Disk. Armed with a pair of 2.5" hard drives, the Little Big Disk ended up being the fastest, relatively affordable external storage available for Thunderbolt equipped Macs. For sequential transfers we were able to hit around 200MB/s, which is better than Mac owners can do over GigE, FireWire 800 or USB 2.0. Still, the Little Big Disk had one fundamental flaw: the use of mechanical storage.

Soon that won't be an issue:

The Little Big Disk family is growing to include a 240GB SSD version priced at $899. The drive will be available for purchase on Apple's website by the end of the month. LaCie sent us a 240GB drive to run through our tests, and that's exactly what we did.

Reasonably priced options should appear for PC users next year.

Crazy, confusing standards

I'm looking at upgrading my monitor. There are many types of connection standards for, er, connecting the monitor to a graphics cards: VGA, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort.

VGA is practically dead; that leaves three different types of ports to worry about. What makes it worse is that DVI itself has four permutations!

So, when buying a monitor, one has to consider:

1. The monitor, of course.
2. The graphics card; it must possess the type of connection port suitable for the monitor.
3. The proper cable that can provide the resolution that's native to the monitor.

Mess up on any of the three, then the results are, shall we say, very vexing.