Trackitback

A local Zellers store is having liquidation sales of everything in the store.  I was browsing through some electronics the other day--not planning to buy anything--when I came across this "trackitback" package.  It's just a sticker you are buying, physically, but the sticker allows someone who found your lost camera to return it back to you.  Each package costed $9.97 but as Zellers is closing this store, they reduced the price down to $5.00.  On the day I was there, they further reduced it down to $1.  I picked up all three that remained.  I don't hope my $3 investment will pay off big time but just in case .... :-)

BUT ... I was just checking out trackitback.com this morning.  Their website was down.  Does that mean they are out of business or the website is just down?  I hope for the latter.  Trackitback is a good concept, assuming everyone is honest.

Addendum:  Uhh ... it looks like the company got disbanded earlier this year--why the heck was Zellers still be carrying their product!!??  See it for yourself:  http://www.wbrettwilson.ca/dragons-den-deals/trackitbackcom-inc/#/dragons-den-deals/trackitbackcom-inc/

Practice makes perfect

This old adage ... why is it that people don't follow it?  I talk the talk but don't walk the walk.  Just the other day, I was shooting a graduation event outdoors.  I did not think much about the event, only knowing that it would be outdoors.  I should have given it some more thoughts and prepare myself through the process, thinking of the different scenarios I might face and know how to dial my camera settings for the respective scenes.  Well, I did not, and so, I was shooting and thinking at the same time, how do I set the camera on high-speed sync with the flash gun!  I know there is a setting but as I scrolled through the menus, I realized I should have practiced the shots beforehand.  I gave up the search for the setting because I just did not have enough time.  It was hours after the event had concluded I started the remember--right, high-speed FP sync is not available in aperture-priority mode (which I was using)!  I had to switch to manual or shutter-priority mode.  Well, I will try to remember to practice before an event next time.

QNAP TS-109 Pro II

My 600GB NAS that I built with Slackware Linux on an IDE-CF card, has been running quite smoothly over the last four years.  I have filled it to 83% capacity so far.  I think this NAS can go on for easily another few years by adding another 320GB drive to the RAID-5 array, but will I run it for that long?

The fan has been fairly noise over the last couple of years.  Because the NAS sits in another room, I don't really hear it so it does not bother me much.  Whenever I go into that room however, the noise is quite irritating.  I don't know how guests that are using that room can stand it.  Also, I kinda prefer a GUI interface for controlling the system instead of all command-line now.

Well, today, I decided I would buy a quiet NAS.  I found a QNAP TS-109 II on Craigslist for $165.  I went out last night to pick it up.  The NAS came with a 2TB drive, way more than my current NAS, but there is only one drive.  Eventually, I need to connect an external drive and configure the NAS to auto-sync to it (i.e., creating a RAID-1 system.)  Soon, my current NAS will be decommissioned .....

One note about the QNAP TS-109 II ... this NAS is Linux but does not support NFS out of the box.  However, I found an article that talks about hacking the NAS so it appears as a QNAP TS-109 Pro II, which will show the NFS option in the menu.  I followed the simple instructions and now got NFS shares running.  George Zhu's blog was where I found the instructions:  http://george.insideiphone.com/?p=614.

In case George Zhu's website is no longer accessible, I am copying and pasting the relevant instructions here:

1. SSH onto your TS-209 II, then enter:
   
   mount -o loop /dev/mtdblock5 /tmp/config
   cd /tmp/config
2. Now edit autorun.sh, add the following lines:
   
   ln -s /sbin/config_util /sbin/set_hwtype
   /sbin/set_hwtype 2
3. Then unmount the partition:
   
   cd /
   umount /tmp/config
4. Reboot

The instructions are for the TS-209 II but it works for the TS-109 II as well.  (I noticed a number of people use WinSCP and other tools for editing autorun.sh.  I just used the built-in "vi" editor to create the file--yeah, the autorun.sh did not exist--and set its permission with "chmod u+x autorun.sh".)  There is a second method mentioned in the blog but the first method seems to work just fine.

So now, I am going to order a 2TB external SATA drive and will connect it to the TS-109 Pro II NAS.  I think I will start shooting in RAW mode from here on since I have so much more space for RAW storage now.

Pec-Pad for sensor wet cleaning

After reading many articles on the web about the Pec-Pad wipes, I am convinced the Sensor Swabs used to perform web cleaning of the CCD/CMOS sensors are just way over-priced.  Pec-Pad wipes will do and have done very well cleaning sensors over many years.  I just started using the Copper Hill method a week ago, and I am quite pleased with the result.  While I cannot recommend it to anyone, because of liability issues, I will certainly keep on using it for my own cleaning.  (Sending my camera in to Nikon for wet cleaning will easily set me back $50, and that's not yet including shipping and handling charges.)

The oddest things I found though ... I cannot find the Pec-Pad wipes on Henry's website.  In fact, there are only two sources for Pec-Pad wipes I can find in Canada:  on amazon.ca and at Vistek's.  The Pec-Pad 100 4x4 package sold through amazon.ca would cost me over $20 including tax and shipping.  I will just drop by Vistek's to pick one up for about $15 including tax.

It really sucks if you live too far away from a major city and would have to order these items online in Canada, but it sure beats $50 and time lost leaving your camera with Nikon.  If you follow the Copper Hill method however, just know it's not sanctioned by Nikon/Canon, so do so at your own risk.

Tripod for travels

As I'm planning my trip to Nova Scotia, I remembered how I was traveling in Costa Rica with my tripod.  I used my OPUS OT-1104BH tripod perhaps only once back then and it was somewhat big and heavy to lug around.  Because of its size, I had to keep it in my larger backpack (inside its cardboard box for easy retrieval and stow-away.)  The benefit of having a tripod that heavy was diminished by the fact that I did not carry it around on my outings.  I did not mind so much that it was heavy (sturdy).  It was not hiking long distance.  It was that it was too big.

A couple of days ago, I purchased a Manfrotto MKC3-P01 tripod off someone on Craigslist.  The tripod is rated for 1.5kg load capacity, just barely enough for my D7000 and my heaviest lens.

The MKC3-P01 has a ball head.  Once tightened with the knob, it feels quite solid, enough for 1.5kg at least.  One thing I do not like about the ball head however is the quick release plate that is sold with it.  There is no safety locking pin that I see on the OT-1104BH.  I think it is possible to release the plate by accident and see my camera dropping to the ground.  I will have to be careful with the release lever!

Anyways, the specs are as follows (taken from Manfrotto's website):

SPECIFICATIONS

	centre column	rapid
	closed length	40.0 cm
	Color	black color
	column cross section	three-faceted
	column tube diameter	22mm
	front tilt	0° / +90° head tilt
	leg angles	21°
	leg cross section	oval
	leg sections	5 number
	material	aluminum legs and technopolymer
	maximum height	165.0 cm
	maximum height (with centre column down)	136.0 cm
	minimum height	45.5 cm
	panoramic rotation	360 degrees
	plate type	quick release - with 1/4" screw
	quick release	yes
	load capacity	1.5 kg
	weight	1 kg

70-200mm

This subject comes back to haunt me every now and then.  I was at the Henry's Exposure Show with Joe.  He was at the Sigma booth trying out a few of their lenses.  While I was there, I saw their 70-200mm f/2.8 lens.  Sigma lenses come with ten years of warranty.  A seed of evil thoughts was embedded in my brain since then.  Today, I was at my niece's birthday party when I was so tempted to go back to the show to buy the lens.  The temptation was driven also by the thought that it was $1100 but after checking out its price on Henry's website, I believe it was for another lens I saw, not for the 70-200mm f/2.8.  At most, I believe the lenses had a discount of $200 at the show.  So, it probably would have costed me $1200 + tax.  That is not a small amount.  Yet, I want a 70-200mm f/2.8.  Why, I thought?  Where am I going to use it?  Weddings?  I could be a second shooter.  Parties?  Sure.  I am planning a trip to Nova Scotia.  Will I be able to make use of it there, or will my current arsenal of lenses do?  They should do, although they will be somewhat of a compromise.  In the end, I was able to fight the temptation.  I am at home, wondering how I'd feel if I had actually bought it.  *sigh*

I spend too much time hoarding lenses and not using them fully.  My new year's resolution was to make a great photo with each of my lenses.  So far, I think I have made at least one great photo with the 50mm f/1.4 lens and the 18-200mm.  The other lenses still have not had their opportunities yet.

Copper Hill Sensor Swipe

The Henry's Exposure Show is now over.  I attended the show yesterday for about five hours.  It was good.  I walked out of the show with two Copper Hill Sensor Swipe kits for wet sensor cleaning, that I purchased for $2 each from Henry's clearance section (Henry's used to sell them for $25 each!!).

A Copper Hill Sensor Swipe kit comes with an 18mm swab and a PecPad sheet.  The PecPad sheet was wrapped around the swab ready for use out of the bag, and the 18mm width of the swab was perfect for the D7000 sensor as it covers pretty the entire height of the sensor.  I used my old sensor cleaning solution I bought from Aden Camera a while ago and applied a few drops onto the PedPad.  One swipe across the sensor almost did the job--my dust bunnies were well bonded to the surface.  I had to repeat the process one more time to get a perfectly clean sensor.  (The process involved swiping across the sensor with one side of the PecPad, and then go back (or go over in the same direction) with the other side of the PecPad.)

On the second attempt, because you are not supposed to be re-using the same side of the PecPad, I decided to unwrap the PecPad and reposition the swab at a different location on the PecPad.  It occurred to me then that the PecPad is held together with tape.  Uh, yeah, tape.  Well, that was stupid I thought.  Now, I can no longer use a whole section of the PecPad covered by the tape because of potential adhesive debris left on the PecPad.  What I could do though now, is to use the other side of the PecPad and cut the PecPad into disposable strips.

I will not follow the steps given on the instruction sheet that came with the kit.  Instead, on Copper Hill's website, there are these better instructions:  http://www.copperhillimages.com/index.php?pr=Tutorials2.  Basically, you cut the PecPad into strips.  After an application, throw the strips away.

http://www.copperhillimages.com/images/StripPrep.jpg