D5100 received, Zeiss 21mm in UPS

Received my D5100 yesterday and got the UPS notice that my Zeiss 21mm arrived. Looks like I will be able to make best use of the labor day long weekend. Yes!

Bought the legendary Zeiss 21mm

I was torn between the Zeiss 21mm and the new 35mm f1.4. Then I decided on the 21mm since I already owned the 35mm f2. The f1.4 can wait. The Zeiss 21mm is a legendary lens. It was originally designed for the Contax camera (not exist any more) and had been craved by the Nikon/Canon users for a long time. (Thanks for Contax's out of business, Zeiss had to adapt it for Nikon and Canon mounts.) With the D5100 and Zeiss 21mm coming, my camera bag will be crowded next weekend.

Windows 7 + SSD = Better Than New

Lately my friend Chinchih was upgrading her laptop to Windows 7 (from XP). I suggested her to use this chance to upgrade her hard drive to SSD. Yes, the 512G SSD is still pricy, but from experience (my Mac has it) I knew it would be worth it. (I was so confident that I even offered to pay her SSD if she was not satisfied.) Well, she did some duo diligence, made sure her laptop could work with the SSD she bought, then made the jump. Now she's very happy with her "new" laptop. (She has a Dell XPS M1330, a classic among Dell laptops.) So if you want a laptop upgrade but really like your current laptop, consider the SSD option. It may be the best laptop upgrade you get.

P.S. I was usually not IT savvy, however, in my previous job I noticed all our customers were using SSD in their servers. I asked our super support Dmitry if it really made a difference. He told me it was "day and night". That convinced me. He also told me since data were read from the SSD cells in parallel, a larger SSD may actually achieve better performance than a smaller SSD.

Bought a D5100

Tired of waiting for D800, I bought a D5100 instead. (The saved money would be used to fund my Zeiss lens.) My goal is to use it to learn to shoot videos. Hope I will be able to show some HD videos soon.

No D800 from Nikon

As guessed, the D800 rumor didn't become trumor, but Sony announced a really impressive A77. To bad I had accumulated too many Nikon gears to switch to Sony. Time to acquire new lenses then.

P.S. the interesting thing about A77 is, it is using a 24MP APS-C sensor. That's the highest density for a APS-C sensor so far. Is the noise tolerable? Will D400 has a 24MP sensor too? 

The End of An Era

Today I received an email from an ex-coworker. Our coworker Dave, employee #1 of my ex-company, is leaving. Late last year, our company hired a few high profile engineers from company X. Ever since that, there had been a continuous culture clash between the "old" and the "new" people that resulted in the exodus of almost all the founding members. Out of the 27 people who joined the company in the first year, less than 10 stayed. Dave is among the last few standing. His leaving seems to symbolize the end of an era.

D800 tomorrow?

OK, if D800 is not announced tomorrow, I am getting a Zeiss lens instead. Too much waiting makes me a very unhappy person.

Get Over It

My boss has a Ph.D. in Physics from Princeton. She's one of the smartest people I have ever worked with and a hopeless workaholics. Unlike my college classmates (I was also majored in Physics), she rarely wield her intellectual capability like an attack weapon, but was very modest and very accessible. I sometimes jokingly said she's the professor and I am her TA.
Lately I was chatting with her and mentioned how my failure in college had still traumatized me. She looked at me incredibly, and said "come on, that had been a long time ago, how many times you had proved yourself ever since, now get over it." Wow, just like that, she broke the spell, I got my closure, it's time to move on.

D5100 Now or Wait for D800?

The new rule of Point Lobos (park closed at 7pm) made me very unhappy and forced me to consider the possibilities of shooting videos. After all, learning to shooting video has been on my todo list for a long time. Also, I can buy a new camera!!! Then, the question is, should I get a D5100 now? Or wait for the D800? (Again, rumor has it that it will be out in September.) The inner child of me wants instant gratification, but my rational brain says to wait. Sigh, maybe I should get a new lens while I am waiting...

A Short Stroll at Point Lobos

Someone enjoying the scenic

More than half a year without visiting Point Lobos, I was shocked that the new park rule said it closed at 7pm. Way too early for any serious photo shot. I felt disappointed but decided to take a stroll anyway (I didn't even bother to take out my D3X). After all, it was such a beautiful day. I managed to take a few shots using my phone (they had to be sharpened in photoshop, but I didn't adjust the color). I think I am hopelessly obsessed with the natural details and patterns. They fascinate me more than any great scenic. Photography wise, I am probably a Western, not an Adams.

P.S. my friend Chinchih said if I was only to take photos with my cell phone, I didn't have to drive to Point Lobos.  

Dried Tidal Pool

Eroded Rock

Interesting Talk on the Power of Languages

I am sure he hadn't watched "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" yet.

As for remote controlling other animals with sound, I am sure human beings are not the only one who knows how to do it. My cat is pretty good at training me to do things with just a meow. My capability to distinguish language subtleties is probably evolved to serve her.