Tag Archives: Gadget

Gadget Review: Surface Pro 2

Posted by on October 30, 2013 2 comments

Surface (P365-296)Ok so one of the benefits of finding a job again is that I have income again!  Which means I can afford to get some of the things that have been needing a refresh.  My laptop, for instance, is my main system that I do most of my photo processing and ….pretty much everything else on.  It’s an Asus republic of gamers behemoth laptop that I bought back in 2009.  (hey, in computer years, that’s ancient!)  It’s served me very well and I still use it for all sorts of home use.  The problem with it is that it’s giant.  Yeah I know it’s a laptop, but it’s big.  Way too big to actually take places and be mobile.  I have been planning to replace it as a home system with a full desktop that I can update as needed for gaming and general home use, but that means I still needed a laptop.

Today’s tech trends seem to be leaning towards the tablet types, and I love my iPad for it’s portability and ease of use…but I can’t run Lightroom on it.  Yes, I know I can process pictures on it, to an extent, but I can’t really do all of the things LightRoom allows me to do.  So running native Windows apps was very important to me, but I liked the idea of a portable tablet.

Enter the Surface Pro 2

Norman Who? (P365-302)I wish Microsoft knew how to market this device.  It really is an amazing piece of tech, but it’s just not getting the market share it deserves.  For starters, it’s not an iPad replacement.  I still use my iPad all the time for general browsing at the couch or in bed.  The iPad is lighter and much simpler to navigate.  (Not to say that Windows 8 is complex, it’s just different, and I bet it would be easy to adjust).  No, the Surface is a laptop replacement.  Plain and simple.  You can use it with or without the keyboard, but with is much easier, which just makes it a small laptop anyways.

I have had it for a week now and here is what I have been doing with it.  For starters, I have left my iPad at home, to force myself to use the Surface for everything on the road.  It fits nicely in my camera bag.  I bought the 256gb version with 8gb ram and the i5-4200 “Haswell” CPU.  I have installed LightRoom, Photoshop, Steam, and a few other “new computer essentials”.  Most of my latest P365 shots were processed on the Surface, as well as the latest RnR Comics assembled there.  So, that being said, here are the Pros and Cons I have found in the week of use.

Pros:

  • Windows 8 in touch screen format = Easy to use
  • Nice bright screen with good color
  • Stylus makes everything better
  • Small and Light enough to carry in the bag
  • Powerful enough to run everything I have thrown at it (it’s only been a week)
  • Battery life = Amazeballs for a laptop

Cons:

  • A little heavy for extended handheld use
  • Windows App library limited
  • Screen is still small for serious LightRoom use, but good for Portable
  • One more USB port would be good
  • Slight screen edge drift with the stylus.

Overall I am really happy with it.  It does exactly what I bought it for and I hope to get a lot more use out of it.  I am thinking of doing a future project (after P365 is done) where I sit in a coffee shop and do on the spot portraits, processing and all.  More on that later though.

if you have any questions or want to know something specific about the Surface pro 2 that I didn’t cover here, please ask away in comments or via facebook or twitter!

Gadget Review: The Pebble SmartWatch

Posted by on October 22, 2013 No comments

Pebble (P365-275)I recently became very intrigued by a new gadget.  While I am not normally a watch type person, I have tried to wear a watch on many occasions.  Way back when I had a Goofy watch that I got in Disneyland and it was great.  Very low profile, fit my personality, light, and easy to read. (except that it ran backwards…it was…goofy).  I have not been able to find a good light watch since then, and my poor old Goofy watch has broken beyond repair.

I tried to use the iPod Nano as a watch, and things started out great.  It wasn’t super huge (much bigger that I had wanted, but manageable) and it had some great features: different watch faces, music, storage, step tracking.  But…..  I had to charge the thing nearly every night.  This meant that there was a good chance I would forget it on the charger when I left, or it would just go dead on my arm.  Also, having to connect it to my PC every time I wanted to switch things up on it or sync the steps was kind of a pain.

We are now in an era of the SmartWatch.  With Samsung and Sony being the heavy hitters, it would almost appear like everyone has decided to build a smartwatch.  The underdog in this battle?  The Pebble.  The Pebble started as a kick-starter and was met with a huge amount of support.  The idea is simple. An e-ink screen and low power Bluetooth connection to display info from your phone.  Be it notifications, e-mails texts, or incoming calls.  The benefit?  Instant access to your information, long battery life, less interaction with your phone.  All through an open source development.

Like I said, intrigued.

After watching the information develop for this watch, I finally pulled the trigger and picked one up.  It was $150 at Best Buy, and when you think about it, a good watch can cost WAY more than that.  I was not disappointed either.  Out of the box it was very easy to set up (Install the app on my Droid) and within a few seconds I was transferring watch faces to it.  There are a lot of apps that add functionality available via the market, but I almost wish that the main Pebble folks would incorporate some of these functions into the native app.

I have now been using it for roughly 2 weeks and here is my typical usage of it:

  • Notify My Android: Handled by Pebble Notifier
  • Facebook: Pebble native
  • Twitter: Handled by Pebble Notifier
  • Work E-mail: Handled by Pebble Notifier
  • G-mail: Pebble native
  • Outlook: Handled by Pebble Notifier
  • Pandora Music control (skip, pause) Pebble native
  • Weather: Glance for pebble
  • SMS replies (stock pre-generated): Glance for pebble
  • Phone control: Pebble ringer (I wish Pebble native would do this)

ht_allerta_pebble_smartwatch_dm_120418_wblogSo far, I have been amazed.  The battery life of the e-ink display, even with the back-light active on shake (which is a cool feature) lasted 7 days.  I was expecting about 3-5.  There are a number of things you can do to extend this, like disabling the back-light, powering off the device when you aren’t wearing it, etc. Since I have started using it, I noticed that I don’t tend to look at my phone near as often too.  If I am sitting at work, my phone is now on silent and I get notified on my pebble.  if it’s something I need to respond to (e-mail, twitter, etc.) I just use my desktop.  If I am out and about, I can either use a quick reply, or just use the pebble as an informative and reply back when I can.  This means that my battery on the phone lasts longer as well since I am not turning on the screen.

Now, it’s not without it’s faults.  Because of it being open source, and everyone developing apps that do cool things for it, I now have about 6 pebble related apps installed on my phone.  These are things that could be rolled into a single app.  While the shake back-light is cool, it also causes the light to go off when it’s not needed. i.e. clapping at a concert.  (I know I can disable it). Picture messages don’t notify either, which is just strange.  I have heard that the iOS integration is not as good as Android.  So your mileage may vary.  There is a much better open source community on the Android side of the house.

Overall I have been very impressed with it as a supplemental device.  I haven’t even tested the fact that it’s waterproof as well.  I have heard that many of the competing watches have yet to match the Pebble in battery life, which was the primary selling point for me.

If you see me around, feel free to ask me about it, I will gladly show it off.

Mobile Photography

Posted by on September 25, 2012 1 comment

The Apps

I have been traveling around quite a bit lately.  The thing that always goes with me is my photography bag.  (It’s contents are listed in the sidebar)  What doesn’t always go with me is my laptop.  You see, I have a behemoth of a laptop.  It’s an older ASUS gaming laptop that, while great for gaming, and processing photos, and everything else, is just HUGE!  I love it to death, but it’s just not a feasible option for simple travel.  Sure, if I am going to be someplace for an extended time, or have a lot of luggage I can take, it would make more sense.  So in most cases, I just use my iPad.

When I bought the iPad I have now, I knew I would be using it for photog stuff, so the 64gb size made sense.  I shoot primarily in RAW and that takes up a lot of space.  Of course, storage isn’t the only concern though.  I needed a few good quality applications to round out it’s usage.  I thought that I would post about what I am using and the process in which I use them.

The apps that I tend to use the most (for photography) are:

So, there’s all the tools, but how do you incorporate them into a shoot?  Easy!  Here is a play by play on how I would go about using all of these tools out in the field to Shoot, display, organize, process, and publish.

Release Forms

I have an upcoming project I am working on for a photo essay on Portraits. (subject to be explained at a later date)  I will be on location for the duration of the project and won’t have access to my PC until much later.  So I would go about the shoot, like usual.  Meet with the subject and discuss the plans for the project and their involvement.  If they agree to the project they would then fill out the release form in Easy Release and sign.  Then I would have them fill out the form I created in Numbers that asks them for information specific to the project. (Simple questionnaire)  It’s important to have questions in the survey that would identify them in the pictures.

Using my Nikon camera and lighting gear (supplemented by the SoftBox app) we would take the photos.  The Eye-Fi card would wirelessly transfer the JPG preview to the iPad, which would be standing nearby, to display the picture I just took (within a second or two).  This allows a larger screen to see framing, lighting, exposure.  I like the LCD on my camera, but sometimes it’s just not big enough to judge if I got the shot I wanted, or was just off. The downside to this is the time it takes to transfer.  If you are shooting at an event where speed is a factor, this is not a good solution.  Of course, if you at an event like that, you probably aren’t checking your LCD every few shots either.

Eye-Fi used as quick Preview

Softbox can show different colors or textures

Once the shots are done I import the RAW into the iPad using the camera connector. (it’s an important step to delete the Eye-Fi imported JPG’s to avoid duplicates).  Then I can use Photosmith to organize the shots into groups, flag the ones I want to keep/discard/etc. Now, I can stop here and wait for my PC to process photos, since when I get to it I can sync Photosmith to Lightroom and go from there, but, if I am going to be out for a while and want to get some work done quickly, I can proceed with processing.

Organizing and tagging like a PRO!

Using Photosmith I can identify the shots that I want to focus on.  If I shot in bracketed mode for HDR use, I would find the two shots I want to combine and open them in Pro HDR.  Adjust the levels, and save then move on to Snapseed.  For a typical shoot, I would just open in Snapseed. This allows me to adjust all my levels, colors, and balance.  I can do some selective adjustment as well.  If I need to use more precise editing, or want a more Lightroom type feel, I can use Filterstorm instead of or in conjunction with Snapseed.

HDR Editing on the fly

Quick Professional edits

Precise edits

Once editing is finished I can use the iPad to post to various social networks, email, and even my own website.  Using FlickStackr I can upload to Flickr directly, add all the info I need, tag it with keywords, location, and people.

Uploading and tagging on Flickr

So there you have it.  The whole process described above can be done, on the scene, in a matter of minutes.  (depending on shoot time)

Now, that’s not to say that this process doesn’t have it’s faults. You certainly aren’t going to get as accurate processing as you would with Lightroom on a PC.  As with all electronics, battery life is an issue too.  The Eye-Fi card adds a draw to the camera battery, and having the iPad up and receiving drains it as well.  Barring that, I love being able to set up, shoot, process, and publish all while on the road.

Gadget Time!!

Posted by on February 16, 2012 No comments

It’s been a while since I have posted about some interesting gadgets, and I happen to have come across a few that are post worthy!  So here goes.

Having driven the MINI around for the last few months, and being a part of the DC Metro MINI club, I REALLY enjoy my car.  Many of the club owners like to make videos of their drives using the GoPro brand cameras.  Being a camera type guy, I thought I would check one out and have some fun.  So here is my pro/con list

 

 

Pro:

  • Light weight – Very small for just the camera and easy to pocket.
  • TONS of attachments (I got the Motor-sport version)
  • Easy to use – Menus are quick and easy
  • Cool Wide Angle – Gets everything in the shot
  • Good Quality (Not great, but good) – Auto adjustment of speed and ISO does oddly in low light

Con:

  • Over Simplified – It would be great if there were a few more options and configurations.
  • Low light sucks – In low light it ramps up the ISO a lot so there is some significant grain. But it’s not really meant for low light so….
  • Ball Joint mount would rock. – All of the mounts are pivot one way, you can add pivot points in, but it increases vibration.

Overall, I like it.  It is currently mounted behind my rear view mirror and is nearly invisible to my FOV while driving.

This ties into another gadget I picked up.  The OBDII adapter for Blue-Tooth.  This is a chip that plugs into the data-port on my MINI (and any car after 1996) and provides all sorts of information on real time data from the engine to fault codes.  I connect to it using my Android phone and an app Called Torque.

Now I just need to know what all that data actually means!  (I am still learning).

Now, how does this all come together?  Well, there is another android app called aLapRecorder HD.  This connects to the OBDII chip and then can record all of that data for a specific drive.  I can then output that data into a format that can be overlayed on to the GoPro video.

I will be using this for future drives out with the MINI to record the results.  Especially the upcoming MINI’s on The Dragon event.  If you have any questions about the above gadgets, please feel free to ask!

The one about my new Nikon Camera

Posted by on November 29, 2010 No comments

I really enjoy photography. Back when I was in high school I was the news paper photographer and worked in the dark room there developing all my own photos. I loved it. To this day I can still identify the smell of stop wash. When I moved up to the bay area and switched schools I made the attempt to continue my path but sadly was blocked from this due to how things were handled at the new school. Because of this I ended up switching gears and really got into Drama. A part of me really yearned to get back into photography but time and money constraints have never been with me. Over the years I have picked up various point and shoot cameras, both film based and digital. I kind of made a point to always have some sort of camera on me, just in case a shot needed taking. And of course any time I would process my photos, or even look at other photos from friends, I would dream of the time I could afford to pick up a DSLR and get back into it.

Recently, and you may know, I have switched jobs and had an opportunity to take a step forward on this pipe dream. I decided that I would start combing the pawn shops and craigslists to see if I could find a good, inexpensive, camera. Well, one thing I learned really quick is that there are no good cheap DSLR cameras. The other month, fate made the decision for me and I found a Nikon D3000 at a local pawn shop. Infer a brief haggling exchange, I managed to pick it up for a very decent price. Thus it was decided that I would be a Nikon guy. I soon learned that the D3000 was a fairly good starter camera, which worked great for me since I was re-learning all over again.

My D3000 didn’t come with the standard stock zoom lens. Instead I got really lucky and it was paired with a 35mm 1.8 Nikkor lens. (roughly a $200 bonus). I picked up a starter book and set about framing my head with F-stops and shutter speeds. I was amazed at how fast I was able to fall back into the routine and stop using the auto settings. I pretty much only shoot in manual mode and make sure that I shoot a few shots of each subject with varying settings. I have been really impressed with the d3000 as far as guiding me through the learning process. It shoots great shots for a starter camera and was easy to learn.

Now, that said, the D3000 also has quite a few limitations. For a modern day DSLR, the 10mp is kind of low. Also, while most of the settings are great for the beginner, it’s lacking some of the more advanced options. Some simple video recording would have been nice too. The nice thing is that there is an opportunity to grow eventually when I need up upgrade, I can just look into a new body and retire this one.

If you would like to check out some of my photos, you can view most of them in my gallery.

You can also find me on Flickr.

FitBit, or, I have been eating What?!?

Posted by on September 17, 2010 No comments

Click to Embiggen

Back in later 2009 a new device was released by a company called FitBit Inc.  The Fitbit is an accelerometer that clips to your clothing to track steps/distance/calories.  This is not your ordinary pedometer either.  Given that it is using a full accelerometer, the data that the device gathers is much greater than just simple steps.  It measures full movement and the degree of the movement in level of activity.  This is how it gives a more accurate count of calories burned than your average pedometer.

So why did I need this?  Well, since I have been working out more to get into shape prior to DragonCon, I decided that I really wanted to know more data about what I was doing.  This device gives me all the data I need to track how my daily routine is helping/hindering my workout.  The data from the device gets uploaded to the FitBit website and displayed in a way that’s easy to read.  Also included on the website is the ability to track your intake.  You can add foods that you are eating to keep tabs on your caloric intake in comparison with what you are burning.  There is also sections where you can track your activities, and weight, etc.  Pretty much every health aspect of your daily routine can me tracked to aid you in your goals.

Click to Embiggen

I picked up the FitBit just before DragonCon, mostly because I was curious of how much walking I would be doing at the con (which was a lot), but after using it for that full week, and seeing all the data, I was sold and decided to keep going with it to help me loose a few pounds and trim up.  The food section is probably the scariest part of the site, since now I know what all goes into everything I have been eating.  It has helped me regulate my daily intake, mostly by making me aware of how many calories are in each and every little snack that I would happen to munch on through the day.  I have a simple plan to follow, just make sure that I am burning more calories through the day than I am eating.  Since my average burn for a normal day seems to be around 2600 Calories (dependant on the day), I set my goal of Caloric intake to be around 2000.  You would be surprised how little that is!!  For example, did you know that your standard Snickers bar has 280 calories?  Your McDonald’s Double Quarter Pounder (with cheese) has 733 Calories with 394 of that from Fat!

Click to Embiggen

I have been using the FitBit for almost a month now and have been more than happy with the results.  I am down to 184 now with a goal of 180 and have been feeling great.  I also have been using it to track my sleeping patterns.  When you put the FitBit into sleep monitoring mode it tracks all of your movement and will tell you when you were most at rest.  Click on the various charts in this post to see larger versions, or check out my FitBit profile at http://www.fitbit.com/user/22DGWN

If you are doing the healthy thing, I highly suggest looking into it.  Oh, and there is one downside….the cost.  Currently the FitBit sells for $99.  But Trust me, it’s worth it!

Las Vegas and Kick Ass

Posted by on April 21, 2010 No comments

So I haven’t posted much this last week because I am in Las Vegas for a Microsoft conference. I love traveling because it gives me the chance to scope out what gadgets other people are using for their trips. Personally I am traveling kind of gadget lite with only my laptop and my Droid, but I love walking through the airport or even around the conference floor and seeing what phones, readers, and laptops people are using. Amazingly enough. I have only seen a grand total of 2 iPads! Guess people haven’t jumped on the bandwaggon just yet. Also got to see 1 Nook e-reader out in the wild. Now this may be just because I am at a MS conference but the primary phone has been the blackberry, followed by the iPhone, an then a mix of Droid and WinMo phones.

But anyways, enough with the geeking out, I am really enjoying the conference and learning a ton more about server management. I also am taking this trip to Vegas much lighter that others because I am getting to the point where it’s not about sight seeing and more about relaxing.

Speaking of relaxing, I took a break last night and went to see Kick Ass. For those of you without a TV or internet (how are You reading this?) Kick Ass is a new superhero movie about an real life version of a comic book hero. Instead of super powers or mass ammounts of money it’s just a guy who wants to help people. It is very based in reality and amazingly graphic. I highly reccomend that You pay attention to the rating on this one as it is not for kids at all. Personally I thought it was amazing. It will certainly set the bar for upcoming superhero movies and center them in reality. Given that I am writing this on my Droid I don’t want to go into too much detail but I will say Go See It! Hopefully there won’t be too many copy cats that get themselves killed. Remember kids, don’t try this at home!

iPad, or iPod-Maxi, take your pick.

Posted by on January 28, 2010 1 comment

It should surprise no one that I am not a huge Apple fan.  Heck I am taking a week long class on Windows Server now, but I am not completely against them either.  Without Apple we would not have the competitive market that is leading us into the 21st century.  No iPhone means we would all still be using flip phones because of how they remind us of Star Trek. (or maybe that’s just me.) I certainly would not be writing this post on my fancy touch screen phone while zipping along on the train.  Apple has done some amazing things for tech, but now it seems like it’s their turn to try and play catch up.

The tablet PC has been around for a long time.  I understand that most tablets are bulky, or the interface is a bit weird, but they keep changing and have progressively gotten better.  I have used a few tablets that feel great to use and do everything I need them to do and more.  Unfortunately I don’t see this iPad doing even 1/2 of them.  Yay, it can read books,  but my Kindle and any number of cheaper ebook readers can do that.  It plays games, but so does my Droid and my Xbox and any of the tablet. (one may argue that it plays iPod/iPhone games that my stuff can’t, we have an iPod in the house so I’m good.)  Honestly the only things the iPad has going for it is 1: a rabid Apple fan-base that will buy anything the almighty Steve Jobs produces, and 2: its size.  I will say that they seemed to have gotten that part right.  It appears to be sleek, slim, and fit right in the hand, but I would expect that from Apple.

So what would it take to make me like this?  Easy.
1: Flash Player. (Adobe has 10.1 working now…port it!)
2: Front facing web-cam.  (it would be the perfect video conference tool)
3: USB (why does it NOT have this?  oh right because then you could choose your wireless provider)
4: Hit below the $300 price mark. (seriously with everything that’s available that does the same thing, it’s just not competitive)

So there you go.  I am sure that many of you have other ideas about what it should have as well but there are r simple things that would make me more interested.  Until I see that,  I give the iPad a preview score of 6 oranges out of 10 apples.