GPS for your Camera – di-GPS Pro L Review

If you've been following this blog you know that I'm a big fan of the Dawn Tech GPS units for your DSLR camera. Well Dawn Tech has improved on a good thing and I'm here to talk about two of their new models.

di-gps-pro-l

 

First up the NEW di-GPS Pro L

pro1_01

If you want a little background on the di-GPS Pro see my original review here. The NEW "L" model offers a "data Logger". The 8MB flash memory based data logger can track over 260,000 data points. While this is great for someone that may want to download this data later, I'm more interested in having my GPS location data input right into the meta data of the shots when I take them! That's what the di-GPS units have always done. However, what this feature does give me now is the ability to geotag photos where there is NO SATELLITE RECEPTION based on my last known location. This is very cool! So if you're out shooting a landscape or walking about a city scene and then you duck in to take some shots of a historic landmark your shots taken inside will still be geotagged with the last known position. VERY COOL!

All of the other goodness of the original di-GPS Pro are still intact and this GPS is hands down my favorite!

 

The NEW di-GPS Mini 3L D5000

M3_D5000_01

I bought a D5000 last year to basically be my travel camera. So unless I'm specifically traveling to do an important shoot, I'll most likely have my D5000 in tow. When I bought the D5000 I also bought the only GPS that worked with it at the time which was the Nikon GP-1 reviewed here. While the GP-1 does work there is one thing that drove me absolutely nuts about it and that is there is no on/off switch. Basically it comes on with the camera and goes off with it. Now while that doesn't sound like a big deal, it means that when the D5000 goes to sleep so does the GP-1. While the D5000 wakes at the tap of a button, the GP-1 then takes a few moments to re-acquire the satellite and therefore may not be capturing location information if you don't wait first before firing your first few shots. Like its big brother, the di-GPS Mini series has an On/Off/Auto switch. In the ON mode the GPS stays on even if the camera goes off/sleep. Granted this will drain your camera's battery quicker, but I've found the drain to be insignificant vs. the instant ready to shoot factor. 

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Epson adds Tethered Shooting to their P6000/P7000 Backup Units

p6000-tether

Although I own an Epson P6000 (see my original review here) I've been using my HyperDrive ColorSpace more lately because of the increased performance and longer battery life. However, I never sold my Epson P6000. Good thing I didn't sell it 🙂 Otherwise I wouldn't get to play with one of the newest features of the latest firmware update.

 

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Shooting Tethered to an Epson P6000/P7000

When I do shoots in the studio I almost always shoot tethered into Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 on my MacBook Pro. So shooting tethered is second nature to me. In the latest firmware for the Epson P6000/P7000 you can now shoot tethered directly to the device. I downloaded and installed the necessary firmware updates to bring my P6000 up to the latest version. Then I connected a USB cable from my Nikon D700 directly to the P6000. I turned on both devices and enabled tethered shooting on the P6000. I fired a couple of test shots and saw the progress bar on the Epson P6000 indicating that the images were being transferred over. I noticed it took about 6-7 seconds per 12MP RAW (.NEF) file. It works! Also you can keep shooting while the transferring is happening. Here's the 5m long USB cable that I use.

The P6000/P7000 support tethering from the Nikon D700, D90, D3X, D3, D300, D300S and the Canon  EOS 1Ds Mark III, 1D Mark III, 5D Mark II, 50D, 40D, Digital Rebel T1i

 

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Best of 2009: Terry’s Top 10 Gadget Picks

Happy New Year! It's that time once again to take a quick look at my favorite gadgets of last year. The gadgets I've chosen were the ones that I used the most and that had the most positive impact on my day-to-day life. These gadgets were either introduced in 2009 or had significant updates in 2009. These are the gadgets that I would recommend to a friend without hesitation. So let's get to it…

 

iPhone 3GS

iPhone 3GS

Anyone that knows me knows that the iPhone 3GS is my communications device of choice. The 3GS made my life easier this year with more memory, a faster processor, and graphics to run apps that I never dreamed of right from the palm of my hand. I use my iPhone quite a bit in my day to day routine. I actually get a ton of work/communications done with this device.  I get both work and personal email, SMS and MMS messaging, productivity and business apps, and yes even the ability to make calls. This is the one gadget that I now couldn't imagine being without. See my original iPhone 3GS review here. Learn more about the iPhone 3GS here.

See my Must Have iPhone Apps here.

See my favorite iPhone and iPod touch accessories here.

 

Logitech Harmony One Universal Remote

When I am at home and not producing content, I enjoy my home entertainment systems and home theater. The one remote that has worked for me better than any other remote I've tried is the Logitech Harmony One. This remote is configured from your computer to do exactly what you want. Anyone with more than a couple of entertainment components should do themselves a favor and check out the Harmony One. See my original review here. Get the Harmony One Remote here.

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Carry Sensitive Data on an IronKey

ironkey

Although I have what seems like a mountain of thumb/flash drives lying around, I've never had one as cool as the one my friend Mary just gave me. It's called the IronKey. While it looks like an ordinary thumb drive in a cool aluminum casing, it's actually a lot more.

 

For the Security Conscious

As computer users we're taught not to leave a list of our passwords next to our computer right? Some will take it a step further and put that list on their computers in a text filed called something less obvious like "Johnson Rod Repair Manual". However, sensitive data should really be encrypted! While there is no shortage of encryption apps for Mac and PC's, I don't run across hardware solutions as often. Sure, most portable drives will offer something, but in that case it's usually very platform specific and requires the software to actually be "installed" to use it. The IronKey takes a simpler more straight forward approach.

 

Set it up

ironkeysetup

When you first plug in the USB thumb drive, you can launch the app for your platform right off the device itself. They have the documentation there as well. Give it a name and your secure password (please remember it!). You can also enable the Device Reset feature at this point so that if your device is lost/stolen and someone keys in the wrong password too many times it will automatically and securely erase or destroy the device. 

ironkeyinit

 

At this point your IronKey is ready to use

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Just key in your password and it will unlock and mount the drive

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Kindle 2 eBook Reader Review

Kindle2

If you know me, you're probably surprised that I would be writing anything about an eBook reader. Why? Because I'm not an avid book reader. However, my daughter is and the one thing she wanted for her graduation present from high school was a Kindle. Being a straight A student (yes, I'm bragging. It's my daughter), I had no problem with this request. Selfishly I also knew I'd get a chance to play with it, um, I mean set it up for her.

 

When the Kindle arrived…

I went through the standard unboxing and setup. Everything was pretty straightforward. I set it up on her existing Amazon.com account and with a gift card she was able to buy some books and download them. The first cool thing I noticed here is that the downloading is over the air via 3G technology. So you don't have to worry about having a WiFi connection, nor do you pay any monthly costs for the data connection. That's right! It's all included in the price. I guess Amazon figures that if they make it "easy" to get the content to your device, you'll probably buy more of it.

 

What I liked…

I really liked how thin the device was. The LCD was certainly easy on the eyes and the size of it seemed about right. Not too big and not too small. Battery life so far (it's been since May 2009) has also been good. The Kindle 2 is also very light weight. Navigating the menus works OK, but it's all with buttons as there is no mouse or trackpad. The Kindle charges with a stand USB charging connection and of course comes with a nice compact travel charger.

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What I want in a digital picture frame

My buddy Dave Moser asked me the other day for a recommendation on a digital picture frame. Luckily it was over email and text messages and therefore he couldn't see the blank look on my face. I have a few digital picture frames in my house, but sadly none of them really stand out or come to mind as something I'm so excited about that I would joyfully recommend. The problem is that I haven't seen a digital picture frame yet that is GREAT! I haven't even seen any yet that are really good. The current selection of frames out there that I've seen are just "OK".

 

What I want in a digital picture frame

The problem is that when it comes to a digital picture frame it not only has to have great technology in it for loading images and seeing them, but it also has to be aesthetically pleasing because this is something that is going in your home on display. And therein lies the problem, I haven't seen one yet that's a good enough blend between art and science. So I thought I would build "my" perfect digital picture frame here. Hopefully it already exists and one of you will point me to it and if not, someone will read this and build it some day. So here goes:

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Nike+iPhone – (Nike+) Shoes = Flexibility

myshoes

I’ve been a fan of the Nike+iPod kit since day one. Although I don’t consider myself to be a runner. I am a  walker and therefore like to keep track of my walking goals and progress. When the Nike+iPod kit first came out it was a two piece kit sold by Apple and Nike. What you got in the box was a sensor that went into a special compartment in the sole of your Nike+ shoes and a receiver that attached to the dock connector on the iPod nano.

nikesensor

With this combination you got music while you ran or walked, voice prompts let you know your stats and distance to go and stats that would automatically get uploaded to your Nike+ account on the web each time you’d sync your iPod. It’s GREAT!

nikeinshoe 

I’m an iPhone user though

When the iPhone came out two years ago I wasn’t really interested in carrying both an iPod and my iPhone. After all the iPhone has an iPod built-in. So I kinda got away from using my Nike+ kit. Sure I was still walking, but I just wasn’t keeping track anymore. Well when I upgraded to the iPhone 3GS, I was very happy to see that like the iPod touch (2nd gen), Apple had built-in support for the Nike+iPod integration. Now I could carry just the one device and I would no longer need the receiver attached to the dock connector. Cool! I still have my original Nike+ shoes and I started using them again. This is when I realized that I’m not always going to want to wear these shoes everywhere I go. I have nothing against Nike shoes (you should see my closet), but I just didn’t want to be limited to the one pair of shoes every time I wanted to walk and track my progress.

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Travel Tips for the Techie-Part 3: What’s in my bag?

If I covered every single item I traveled with it would probably bore you to tears. So instead I’m going to focus this last segment of my favorite travel tips on my favorite/must have travel items that I take on practically every trip. Now keep in mind that the items I mentioned in Part 1 and Part 2 are also included in my favorites.

 

At least one camera

D5000

Honestly I usually have 3 to 4 cameras with me on every trip. At a minimum I have my iPhone 3GS, which I consider to be my "I want to take a picture and don’t have anything else with me" camera. I also keep my Canon PowerShot ELPH 870IS point and shoot camera in my laptop bag (in one of those mesh bags I mentioned earlier this week). Between these two I’m usually covered for those surprise photo ops. However, if I know that I’m going to be taking pictures or the purpose of the trip is photography, then I’m also going to pack either my Nikon D700 or D5000. If there is going to be a video opportunity I’m also going to pack my Canon VIXIA HF10 HD video camera too. So you see, we got to 4 cameras without blinking an eye. I never want to say that "I missed a great chance to take a shot because I didn’t have a camera with me-AGAIN." 

I also always carry either my di-GPS Pro (if I carry the D700) or Nikon GP-1 (if I carry the D5000) GPS units for Geotagging my Photos.

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Travel Tips for the Techie – Part 2: Absolute Power

If you travel with electronics then you know how important it is to keep them powered while on the go. So in this Travel Tips segment I’m going to cover some of my favorite options for keeping my gear charged/powered when I travel.

 

The HyperMac Battery

This is probably my favorite new backup battery because it does double duty. It keeps my MacBook Pro charged on long flights AND it can also keep my iPhone/iPod charged too. See my original review here. Prices for the HyperMac Batteries start at $199.95. As a bonus you also get a car charger for your MacBook/Pro if you go with the $299.95 model or higher. See the HyperMac products here.

 

iGo

igoslim

The next solution is the Swiss Army Knife of chargers. The idea behind iGo is that you buy one universal charger that plugs into the wall and buy Tips for all your devices. Honestly I used to use the iGo charger all the time. However, I don’t carry it any more (although I should) because they don’t yet have an Tip for MacBooks/Pros because of the proprietary MagSafe plug that Apple uses (I wonder how HyperMac does it?). However, for your non MacBook laptop and your cellphone, iPod, GameBoy, video camera, etc., this one charger does it all. 

You can get the iGo Slim Design 90W Laptop Wall Charger here for $79.99. Then you can use the iGo Tip Finder to find the Tips you need for each one of the devices you want to be able to charge with this charger. So you carry ONE charger and a Tip for each device instead of having to carry multiple chargers!

  Continue reading “Travel Tips for the Techie – Part 2: Absolute Power”

Travel Tips for the Techie – Part 1: Avoid a TSA “Bag Check”

meshbags

I’m dedicating three days on my blog to "Travel Tips for the Techie". Having done a lot of travel recently I’m reminded of those things I do and bring along that make travel a little easier. So I decided to share some of my favorite tips with you here.

As a gadget junkie, I travel with a lot of electronics. So it was a common occurrence for me to hear the words "bag check" from the TSA x-ray person. I would hear those lovely words at least 50-60% of the time when going through airport security. Recently I decided to do something about it. I started to think about what  is it about my laptop bag that causes the x-ray agent so much trouble? Then it dawned upon me that I carry a lot of loose crap. What I mean by that is that I carry a lot of loose cables, connectors, adapters, etc. 

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