Colorful Night of Downtown Cleveland, Ohio 2009

Few pictures from the family trip to Ohio.

Above pictures were taken with Nikon D300 and Nikon Nikkor AF-S 18-200mm DX VR lens.

Nikon Lens Terminology Explained.....

Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Olympus, and other lens manufacturers have their own ways to explain what features/technologies are used in their lenses.  Often times I have no idea what they mean nor care.  All the numbers most of us care about are focal lengths and f stops.  Since I'm an owner of Nikon gear, below are list of term used in Nikon lenses.

• Nikkor - It's simply name used for Nikon lenses.
• AF - Autofocus with built-in motor inside camera body. This means that it will not autofocus with basic SLRs without built-in motor.
• AF-I - Autofocus with built-in internal motor.
• AF-S - Autofocus with SWM (Silent Wave Motor) which means that it will work with all DSLRs.
• AF-D - Autofocus with built-in motor inside camera body.  This means that it will not autofocus with basic SLRs without built-in motor.  "D" designation means that the lens will communicate with the distance of focused subject for better flash exposure.
• DX - Designed for APS-C sensor size and not suggested to be used in full sensor, FX, bodies.
• VR and VR II - Vibration Reduction technology to compensate shaky movement that let you handhold at a slower shutter speed than normal.
• "G" - Without aperture ring and it relies on camera to change the aperture.  Omission of the aperture ring will not let you use the lens on old film bodies.  However, some have tried using a hack.
• ED - Stands for Extra Low Dispersion element that helps reduce/elimiate chromatic aberration or color fringes.
• IF - Internal Focusing means that lens barrel does not extend or retract when focusing.  It is all done inside the lens within it's given length.
• "N" - Nano Crystal coating is anti-reflective coating applied to increase lens' performance.

I am sure I am missing some but above are more common terms used by Nikon to describe their lenses.  I hope this helps you when you are shopping for a new Nikon lens an sales people are throwing bunch of these terms at you.

Nikon Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.4 Lens Review

Overview

This lens is one of the fastest lens Nikon makes and is a must have lens for low light/indoor shooter without flash. As you can see from the video above, it focuses fast. Accuracy of the autofocus is excellent as well and because of shallow depth of field at f/1.4, accurate focus is very important.  Also, for the same reason of depth of field at f/1.4 you have to keep in mind not to move after the focus is aquired because you may end up with softer picture.
The version I have relies on built-in camera motor for autofocus so it will NOT autofocus on Nikon D40, D40x, D60, D3000, and D5000. New version of this great lens has been released with improvements such as internal focusing, better coating, and built-in SWM (Silent Wave Motor) so I am sure you can find the older version at a bargain price if your camera can autofocus.


Performance

It is a bit soft at f/1.4 but if you don't want useless blurry pictures at limited light, it is a must have lens. Professionals love this lens because of its fast f stop compared to other zoom lenses they have in their bags. Fast pro zoom lenses have f/2.8 at the widest aperture and they are EXPENSIVE. If you observe test shots, sharpness starts improving as you stop down and everything looks fantastic starting at f/2.8. Of course if you stop down to f/16, it looks softer due to diffraction.


Bottom Line

If you are on tight budget, consider its small brother Nikon Nikkor AF-D 50mm f/1.8 or new Nikon Nikkor AF-S 35mm f/1.8 DX.  Otherwise, it is worth the investment for low light shooting and portrait sessions.  None FX format DSLR (D3, D3X, D3S) users should keep in mind that its equivalent focal length is 75mm due to crop factor but it will make a wonder portrait lens.

Two Kissing Birds at Denver Zoo

Loving Birds ( Nikon D70S, Nikon 70-300mm G AF f/4-5.6 )

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I was right place at the right time at Denver Zoo when I saw these two colorful birds showing each other some affection or whatever they were doing. As indicated the caption above it was taken with my Nikon D70S and cheap plastic Nikon 70-300mm G AF f/4-5.6 lens. Focal lenth used was 240mm and the camera chose f/5.3 and 1/1600 seconds.

Zeikos ZE-NBG300 Battery Grip for Nikon D700, D300, D300s Review

Nikon D300 is already a comfortable camera to handle with an excellent design to fit you hand like a glove. Only thing that makes the handling different from full professional camera such as D3, D3X, and D3S is the verticle grip when you change your shooting orientation. This is where additional accessory such as MB-D10 or in my case Zeikos ZE-NBG300 Battery Grip comes in to compensate. I don't know about you but I am a cheapskate and I like save money where I can so I went out side the comfort zone and purchased Zeikos ZE-NBG300 Battery Grip instead of genuine Nikon. Below is my take on the accessory.

Amazon is where my grip came from.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001T9N0RQ/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img

Functionality (10/10)

I've been using the grip for months and I can tell you that it has NOT failed me once. The camera recognizes the grip as MB-D10 and all the buttons, directional pad, and the dials work as they should. In fact, with included "8-AA battery" adapter (YES 8! and it makes the camera really heavy) you now have ability to shoot 8 fps. You have to hear 8 fps in action yourself or you are missing out. It is sounds cool.


Build Quality (7/10)

From what I've heard/read, genuine Nikon grip's build quality is same as D300, metal body covered in good quality plastic. Zeikos's version of the grip doesn't even come close to that. It is built from plastic, good quality plastic from what I can tell, and it does feel pretty solid. Directional pad and buttons feel good and they don't get in my way at all. The lock dial that surrounds the shutter release button has a little play/wiggle but it really is not a big deal. As for the shutter release button goes, you can certainly tell the difference between the one one the grip and the one one the camera. The camera shutter release button has a very smooth feel without any "click" when you press it all the way down. One the Zeikos has very distinctive "click" when you press it all the way down. It is certainly a personal preference but I wished the one Zeikos has the same mechanism as the one on the body.
Other than the items listed above, my biggest complaint but not major issue has to be the dial used to lock the grip in place. This one wiggles quite a bit and I wish that the company put little more attention to it. I guess at a price significantly lower than the Nikon grip, you can't ask everything to be perfect.
Rubberized grip feels good and as long as it doesn't peel off, I don't think it will slip out my hand. Finish applied to the plastic body doesn't match the camera perfectly but unless you look close, I don't think anyone will notice it much. Overall, I am very satisfied with the purchse and will be a good companion to my kit for a long time.

LG Chocolate 3 or VX8560 for Verizon Wireless

LG Chocolates in the past have been known for their slick finish and design as well as flashy touch sensitive buttons. However, the company has gone away from the traditional design and no longer features the touch sensitive buttons or the slider form factor. In fact, it is now a clam shell like flip phone with Chocolate 2 like dial and confirmation key in the front. Somewhat boring if you ask me compared to previous designs but I DO prefer this to super sensitive and annoying touch sensitive keys.

Following is my take/review of the phone.

Design (7/10) - I've had flip phones before and nothing really new about it here. I like the shiny reflective finish in front and rubber like finish in back. I especially like the large outer LCD that can display your family picture or album design without squinting your eyes too much. Inside LCD is bright and clear and does not get in your way. I am not the biggest fan of touch screens for typical inputs so I really appreciate the typical tactile keys the phone has. That said, nothing special about the keys other than the fact that the keys are flat with hard to feel rubber dividers. Key layout is typical with volume rockers on the side with couple of additional buttons to access the music feature instantly and lock/unlock button for dial and buttons while the phone is closed.

Music Player (8/10) - This is where this phone really comes in handy for me and does the best job replacing my MP3 player for everyday commute to work. First, let me point out the fact that you DO NOT have to get one of those stupid adapters in order to use your own headphones. It already has a 3.5mm plug like a real MP3 player so feel free to use your favorite pair headphones to enjoy your music. It has just over 880MB of free built in memory designated for your music or you can use your micro SD up to 8GB. The player's features include repeat function, shuffle, and limited equalizer settings. I find "Flat" equalizer setting most pleasing as other options can either distort or make your music sound worse period. The music player sounds GREAT with plenty of fidelity with my V-moda headphones.
One interesting built in feature of the music player is "FM Transmitter." Just like many crappy after market FM transmitters I've tried, this one to me isn't any better. I've tried many different frequency settings for my car stereo and couldn't get really get clear reception to take advantage of this feature.

Camera (5/10) - It works. It does not have auto focus setting or anything like that so it will not replace your real camera for serious work. I don't spend too much time with it since I use real digital camera for taking pictures of family and/or scenes.

Phone (9/10) - Then again, this IS a phone so it's meaningless if this part doesn't work, right? If you are used to other Verizon phones, you will not have problems navigating through menus or core functionality of the device. The signal reception is very good, in fact, it's as good as my previous phone, LG enV, which I've never had a problem with signal reception. While on the phone, the conversation is loud and clear and same for the person on the other line. The phone also has a speaker phone feature and simply works if you need it.

I know there are so many different fancier phones out there with even more features but if you are looking for 2 core elements, a music player and a good functional phone, I think this will do for next contract extension and a new phone.

E85/Flex Fuel Experience

• I experimented with E85/Flex Fuel during June and July of 2008. Even with existing price difference of the E85 and regular unleaded fuel today, I am pretty sure this is relavant.
  

Due to the rising fuel cost many people are scrambling to find cheapest way to fuel their vehicles or cut amount of driving. I'm a typical middle class American and a cheapskate who does not want to pay too much at the pumps. Solution - I happen to own 2004 Dodge Stratus that can take advantage of this E85/Flex Fuel instead of traditional unleaded gasoline. I can go on and on about the car but I won't on this page.

The price is the main selling point of this fuel. As of June 2008, regular unleaded is about $3.90/gallon vs. E85 is about $2.90/gallon. A quick math tells me that typical fill up of 12 gallons will save me $12.00, SUPER! This alone convinced me to try it out but then I was quickly challenged with a problem. Finding the damn gas station that has this fuel. I know only 2 stations in town and I would have to drive to those locations to fill up everytime. This really sucked.

The effiency of the fuel is the most discouraging part of the switch. I got in the habit of calculating how many miles to a gallon I can get on this vehicle every fill up. With my normal (aggressive) driving, I can get up to about 24.5 miles/gallon on regular unleaded fuel. When I made the switch, I did expect a drop in efficiency as people have warned me about it. After going through the 1st tank of E85, I calculated miles/gallon & miles/dollar to see if I am saving money by switching. I won't bore you with arithmatic on how I derived these number but I got about 20.5 miles/gallon which translated to 0.75 miles/dollar benefit. Saving is saving. The next fill up was very disappointing. More frequent fill up and finding the gas station carrying E85 is bad enough but getting 18.5 miles/gallon on my 2nd fill up was not acceptable. My wife's a Nissan Exterra with 4.0L engine can get 17 miles/gallon on regular unleaded and it's an SUV, enough said.

Bottom line, my next fill up won't be the much hyped E85/Flex Fuel but rather the good ol' regular unleaded fuel at any convenient locations.

Update: My 3rd fill up of E85 yielded ~17MPG, even worse than the previous average. It's no secret that I've switched back to regular gasoline since then.