Shot with the Sony a77.
Lenses Used: Sony 16-50mm SSM, Sony 35mm 1.8, Minolta 50mm 1.4
Settings: ISO 320 – 640, Sunset, Manual White Balance, Center-weighted metering, Contrast -3, Saturation -3, Sharpness 0
Gear: Pico Dolly, Proline Tripod, Manfrotto Fluid Head
The Pico Dolly is pretty awesome . Sure you can probably DIY yourself something that functions similarly but I find tremendous value in the included flexible arm and universal shoe-to-tripod mount. The case is also convenient to have. The flexible arm does support the weight of a DSLR such as the a77 with 16-50 SSM lens but it does not inspire confidence and requires experimenting positions to get it to balance. Adjusting the wheels is fast and build quality is high.
In order to mount standard tripod heads a 1/4″ to 3/8″ adapter is required. You can find that here.
The dolly requires an extremely flat surface. In the following test you can see how some wooden tabletops create a less than smooth shot. This thing allows you you to be creative with your shots and gives you options beyond a standard slider.
Test:
Truth be told, the last Mountain Lion update did little to rectify the battery issues that plagued the Retina Macbooks. 10.8.2 unofficially brings battery life on par with the 10.7.x build of Lion. Facebook and tighter integration of contacts with other apps accompany this update the same day that io6 is available.
Also, for Retina Macbook users, the latest Office 2011 update supports the dense pixel display. Looking forward to it as I’ve ditched MS Word in favor of Pages solely because of my inability to get over the jaggy edges of Retina un-aware applications. I resort to discarding my glasses in order to remove individual pixels from my sight, which results in the harsh gradient blur of surrounding reality. I start to believe I’m capable of impossible feats, such as flying or breaking a concrete slab with a left-handed Judo chop. Thank goodness for this update. It just saved me from gross injury.
This time.
So Apple has revolutionized the way we interact with technology and have a big iPhone unveiling tomorrow. Sony have their own announcements tomorrow that may make the same sized waves in the world of photography/videography. One major camera that’s to be publicly introduced tomorrow is the SLT a99. It’s Sony’s first Full Frame camera since the a900 was released in 2008.
The a99 was created with special attention made to video. Some things that stand out are:
1) Sony’s switch away from it’s propietary shoe mount into the universal mount. There are many microphones, lights and recorders that can now be mounted without clunky chinese adapters.
2) The video resolution seems to be sharper. Sony’s line of SLT cameras had pixel counts many times greater than what standard Full HD 1080p required so there was a downscaling process that produced some soft images. Panasonic did a better job of scaling HD video from its sensor in it’s GH2. Sony’s RX100 point and shoot produced some sharp images as well. The a99 seems to be on par.
3) Manual Audio Gain Controls! Plus there’s a headphone in jack to monitor your recordings.
4) There’s an aps-c crop mode that will automatically detect if you mount a lens designed for the a77. It will crop the image accordingly.
This seems like an amazing camera along with the other rumored Sony product announcements like the full frame point & shoot RX1 and a pro NEX ILC. Can Sony inspire people to switch away from Canon and Nikon and in the process save itself?
As a Californian, I take for granted the many amenities associated with the state. I complain when there’s a drizzle and scold the sun when it reaches 80 degrees. I’m irritated that the cyclists take too much road space and discontent when immersed in traffic. When September 15th arrives, I’ll be saddened that I now have to pay sales tax when ordering from Amazon.
As a Californian, I pay anywhere from 7.25 to 9.75% tax on items purchased. For many years Amazon was the loop hole that allowed me to save hundreds of dollars. My recent Macbook Pro purchase netted me a savings of $214.oo alone. It’s a substantial amount considering the number of purchases I’ve made through the online giant.
Though the state is due to see roughly an $83 million dollar boon from Amazon by itself, I am one tight Californian. This could potentially be an enormous positive for the debt ridden Golden State but right now all I see is an Arnold look-a-like in a ridiculously huge Unimog.
I’ll be stock piling on supplies before the 15th, will you?
More info here.
Gone are the days of brick-and-mortar store fronts being the sole source of consumer goods. eBay, Amazon and Craigslist are popular options but it amazes me how some of my friends don’t consider Craigslist. It potentially gives you the best value if you’re willing. Here are some tips after years of it being my number one shopping/selling option.
Buying Tips:
1. Create a separate email just for Craigslist. Though it’s usually easy to discern a real seller from a fake one (if it’s too good to be true, it is) play it safe and save yourself the hassle from having your email compromised. My email was and my contact list was spammed. Embarrassing.
2. Stand out. When I sell, I constantly get emails asking “is it still available” or ” would you take ____?” Either I think it’s spam, a paypal scam, or not worth it to negotiate with a low baller. A simple “I’m ready to buy and work in [insert City], Thank You,” usually elicits the most responses.
3. Do your research. Know what the products flaws or failures are so you know what to look for and how to grade condition. Buying a DSLR?….ask for shutter actuations and see how worn out the camera strap is. Buying a lens?…look for scratches, fungus or mold and check the electronic connectors. Buying a Macbook?…check the battery cycle count, question the source of all blemishes, bring a usb drive to make sure all the ports work, test all keys, use the Apple Hardware Diagnostic, run iStat, and ask what services its had. If it’s a good product they should have no problem allowing this to happen.
4. Negotiate in person. It’s easier and more convenient to say no over email or phone. If I reach out to someone via Craigslist, it’s probably a good deal already, I’ll make it a great deal when I meet with them.
5. Don’t lowball. Yes negotiate in person, but let’s not waste anyones time. What goes around comes around. I’ll usually ask if they can do roughly 10% lower than they are asking and in the long run that adds up. I don’t lie, I don’t give a reason, I just ask and wait for their response. I will have the cash -10% conveniently bundled together should they accept when I ask. If they insist on a reason then you’ve done your research and there are plenty of legitimate reasons to ask for a lower price. I’ve even asked for sellers to cover the gas or bridge toll it cost to meet. 7 out of 10 times they’ll accept my original offer no questions asked.
6. Don’t buy anything else. Resist the temptation to buy anything else they offer. Unlike Amazon, you can’t turn buyer’s remorse into a return.
Selling Tips:
1. If you haven’t done so, create an email just for Craigslist.
2. Save yourself some trouble and make it clear in your ad that you will not respond to PayPal request or generic “is it still available?” questions. They are scams 95% of the time. These obnoxious email were drastically cut when I stated it in my ad.
3. Be honest and point out all your items flaws up front.
4. Provide as much information as possible in short lists that will drive the reader towards the bottom of the page where the pictures are. There are plenty of impulse buyers out there just need a reason to pull the trigger. Give them that reason.
5. Hi def pictures are nice but don’t make them look like stock photos. The photo should clearly show your a real person that owns the item. I wanted to sell my iPod Touch. I created two ads. One I took with a DSLR, setup the shoot with a couple flashes and a white box, even took it into CS5. The second I snapped with my iPhone with the iPod on my bed. Guess which one garnered more inquiries? Yup, the bed photo.
6. Create multiple ads. If it’s important to me to sell something, I’ll create ads with different photos, titles and keywords and I’ll post them in neighboring cities. The more eyeballs, the greater the chances I have of selling.
7. Create package deals. I find more success when I add other items to create value. I had trouble selling a Sony DSLR for $300. Old Minolta Lenses are compatible. I found someone selling an old film Minolta with 2 lenses and a travel bag for $40. I bought it, packaged it with my compatible Sony DSLR and sold it for $340 a couple weeks later.
8. Refresh your ad as often as allowed.
9. Be flexible with your price. I’d rather sell now than hold onto something hoping to squeeze an extra $10 tomorrow.
10. Always meet at a public place. I’ve walked into shady places and had shady people come into my home. Unless your selling a TV meet at a Starbucks and at the very least have a friend over.
You’ll win some and lose some. I once sold a tripod for $20 not knowing this brand of fluid head was highly sought after and carried a value of $70. I turned 3 old laptops into a MacBook. The both of us didn’t know it had an internal 512gb solid state drive which was an additional $1000 from Apple. I sold that a year later and was able to get the new Macbook Pro Retina.
Good Luck!
Michael Merto 