Jon L

Amazon was having $100 deal (w 2 year contract) on Verizon Nexus, so I ordered it and it arrived today. While ordering on Amazon, I had already checked off "port phone number" going from AT&T to Verizon, but when it arrived, the usual activation instructions failed to activate my phone. After literally an hour on the phone with various Verizon "support," being transferred to multiple places, the phone finally worked, but then I found out Verizon had ported a different phone number (!) than the phone number I actually requested (I had 2 numbers with AT&T). I am going physically over to Verizon store to try sort out this mess. This is supposed to be easy.. On positive note, the screen is much larger than iPhone and more beautiful. But it also seems more frail and would hate to drop this one. Searching for decent case cover and screen protector as I speak..

Dew and Kid World Within II by drjlo1, on Flickr

It's kind of ironic that shallow DOF so treasured for normal portrait photography becomes the bane of Macro photography. My first photo above was with ambient light, shot at f/13 for a semi-decent DOF, which resulted in shutter of 5 sec!, even after bumping up the iso to 800. At 2x magnification and such shutter speeds, having the mirror up and NOT touching the camera was imperative. Luckily, this little remote shutter release is like $4.. canonremote by drjlo1, on Flickr

From Seed.. Seed by drjlo1, on Flickr To Fruit.. IMG_8983 by drjlo1, on Flickr

I mean selective defocusing, for both landscape and people shots. The defocused/blur would be more pronounced with longer focal length, but I don't think 90mm is going to be wide enough for landscapes.. One example I found: Toy Kuala Lumpur by Timmy Toucan, on Flickr

Need to buy a Verizon phone. Nexus vs. Razor Max? Like the ICS of Nexus but the Max's much larger battery and better (?) camera (8 vs 5 MP of Nexus) is attractive, although it does not have ICS yet.

PuHwahwahwa..Love it! In that spirit, I just ordered the white, grooved Speedotron beauty dish I have been eyeing for some time. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/133201-REG/Speedotron_14236_Beauty_Dish_Grid_Reflector.html

Funny you should mention TS-E. Been looking at Canon's TS-E's, and obviously 90mm is not going to cut it for landscape. 17 and 24 are rather pricy for f/4, f/3.5 speed offered. So that leaves me with 45mm f/2.8, for less price and better background blur effect. Any thoughts?

Because I thought the recent AF-S Nikon lenses actually were priced higher than Canon L counterparts, but with the new Canon 24-70 II priced at $2300, I guess Canon figured out they should charge more. I guess I *could* sell all my Canon L glass and go Nikon, but I really don't think I can abandon 85L II and 70-200 f2.8 II. Will wait to see if Canon 5D Mk III will pack any punch.

http://www.popphoto.com/gear/2012/02/new-gear-canon-ef-24-70-f28l-ii-usm-and-two-wide-angle-primes $2300 (!!) for 24-70 II. What is Canon smoking? Adding IS to wide angles for some reason and charging more $$. With the concurrent Nikon D800 announcement, at surprisingly lower price points, the Canon lens announcements will likely piss off quite a few Canonites. Arrggh!

That is my main gripe with this also. 20-25 MP is the most I would like to go. Also, how does it cost $300 MORE when you take out something (AA filter) at the factory?

OH, MY. The D800e with no AA filter at $3300 is REALLY placing my Canon loyalty in distress. Nikon really seems to have delivered a mean left hook to Canon, and I really don't think Canon's 5D Mk III (or whatever it's called) is going to be able to match the D800e.. If I switch to Nikon and use Canon lens-to-Nikon Body adapter for my L glass, am I going to lose on-camera aperture control? (in addition to AF)

36.3 megapixel. Eck!

What are you trying to do with the flash? On-camera ETTL, Off-camera ETTL, Off-camera manual flash, etc? I was in your exact shoes a few months back and almost ordered the Nissin Di866 II, due to less complaints of early demise than YN565, but Canon had their end-of-year rebates on flashes, so I ended up just buying the Canons. There's also less complaints with Nissin 866II regarding complaints of not being compatible with wireless E-TTL triggers of various brands.

I have Yongnuo YN-467 (E-TTL) and YN-460 II (manual). I also have Canon 580EX II and 430EX II. Frankly, both Yongnuo's are every bit as good functionally as 430EX II, and since I'm not all that impressed by 430EX build quality anyway, Yongnuo build quality seems fine to me, at 1/4 to 1/5th the price. Yongnuos also have optical slave, which Canons don't (why not?). 580EX II is far better built than all of the above but way overpriced IMO. While I can vouch for my own YN-467 and 460 II, there are certain Yongnuo models, including the latest YN-565 that have quite a few user complaints regarding early death, etc, so YMMV.

Wow, it sure looked like fungus, but it was apparently a bunch of condensation. This camera had just flown in from Asia (in the cabin though), and I guess it was too cold. I don't really get it since it's been pretty dry here in SoCal, but it picked up condensation anyway. A day inside with heater on happened to cure the problem!

OHH, crap. After going through a few humid countries, my Canon S95 seems to have developed fungus under the lens. Any idea how to open the front lens element (possible?), or do I need to open the camera body in order to get to the lens. Canon S95 Fungus? by drjlo1, on Flickr

Almost Edible. IMG_8810 by drjlo1, on Flickr

Now suffering low back pains from hauling tripod, focus rail, camera, ring flash, and remote shutter release. Flower pollens streally close. IMG_8805 by drjlo1, on Flickr

That's red wine after aerated with Vinturi aerator, shot from the side.

One of the first shots with MP-E 65mm. Happy Grape by drjlo1, on Flickr

As close to torture as photography gets.. No AF, manual focus but NO focus ring, no focus confirmation, but goes up to 5x magnification where a fly's fart can cause blur.. MP-E65. by drjlo1, on Flickr

I can almost taste it.. Back to reality. 100L+Extension tube. World Within by drjlo1, on Flickr

Actually, 35L f/3.2 1/8th sec, with YongNuo flash (with FlashRight diffusor).

My "Princess Mononoke" Princess Mononoke by drjlo1, on Flickr