Give your Computer the Gift of Memory this Year!

Do you need a boost on your Apple computer? Do you need better multi taking abilities? Are you tired of seeing the colorful spinning beach ball? Don't buy a new computer! Buy more RAM! It's less than what a family outing to the movies cost. 

Upgrading you computers RAM(Random Access Memory) will help you with all of the above. I took my memory on my Mac Mini from 2GB to 8GB and saw a significant improvement.  Great for listening to music,  editing photos, and uploading them to Facebook at the same time.  I paid almost $80 over a year ago. If you buy from Apple they will charge you $400 (I still like you Apple by the way). Today the price is under $40 on Amazon. That is an absolute steal! You can't beat this deal for the speed boost your Mac will receive, and for the improvement you will notice.

Please check with Apple to Make sure your computer is compatible. You must check to make sure your Mac will support DDR3 memory. Please follow the link below to find you model and make sure it supports DDR3.

(Macbook Air's will not accept this memory.)

Check your Mac here with Apple 


Clink link below to purchase on Amazon.

 

Check out my Amazon store for the products I recommend and use for travel and photography.

My Amazon Store

The Best Memory Card Ever

Since I have been using the Nikon D7000 for about 8 months now, I have been using SanDisk ExtremePro memory cards.  I initially purchased the Card for its industry leading write speed (Up to 45 MB/s).  The D7000 and the SanDisk ExtremePro work great together.  If you shoot RAW files it allows you to fill the buffer(10 shots), and then around 2 shots a second after that.  It also will clear the buffer in about 4 to 5 seconds.  These write speeds are also great if you are shooting Full HD video around kids and sports and expect to get fluid crisp movements in your video. 

Also one very important feature of this card is its durabilty.  SanDisk claims the Memory Cards are waterproof tested to withstand up to 72 hours in salt or fresh water to a depth of 1 meter. They are also shock and vibration proof, and can withstand up to 500Gs of shock. Additionally, the cards are magnet proof and X-ray proof, so they won't be affected by an airport's X-ray machine.
I can personally comment on the waterproof feature!  I just recently missplaced one of my cards, and found it at the bottem of the washining meachine at the end of the 36 minute warm/cold cycle.  I then took the card, inserted it into the computer and all images were perfect with no damage at all.  I reformatted the card in the camera body and kept shoot like normal the next day!  Good enough test for me!

Check out the 8GB version and the 16GB version with great prices on them since they have come out. 

Nikon D3100 DSLR

       Many friends, family, and coworkers have been asking me for a recommendation of an entry level DSLR(Digital Single Lens Reflex) for them to buy for family and travel photography.  The features and quality that an DSLR will add to you photographic experience is astronomical over the standard point and shoot which most people own.  These features and photo quality can be obtained for only a small increase in price over the high end point and shoot models on the market today.  Many of you will probably be thinking as you read this, the way technology progresses these days what stops a manufacture from creating DSLR quality and features into something that can fit into your pocket.  Well it is happening right now, although you will pay the price for the new technology. It's similar to when you threw away your desktop for that amazing laptop 10 years ago that was more expensive, you paid the price for the new technology. I will revisit these cameras in a future post when I get my hands on one, for now I will stick with whats affordable and capable.

(I hope to review the Sony NEX-7 when it becomes available.  The price is $1399!)
       This first Camera I would recommend for individuals starting out with a DSLR is the Nikon D3100.  This is Nikon's entry level DSLR camera. Don't let entry level shy you away from this camera, I have seen it personally create some amazing results.  The camera always comes with a great 18-55mm VR lens(Vibration reduction to help with blurry pictures). This is a normal zoom lens, which is very versatile and produces some incredibly sharp photos.  

This photo was taken with the 18-55mm VR Central Park in the Winter

        I would recommend adding another lens to your kit, which is the extraordinary 35mm F1.8 Prime lens.  What this F1.8 means is that in low light it's the go to lens.  The lower the "F" number the better in low light without a flash the lens preforms.  It is the go to lens for the kids playing. The other great aspect is the shallow depth of field this lens creates with the wide open Aperture (Aperture is the opening of the lens, and F1.8 is pretty wide open).  The shallow depth of field is that creamy out of focus area behind the subject you are photographing.  This is known in the photograph world as Bokeh.  This results in some very professional images made by you at home! This lens is also great for landscapes. This photo was taken with the 35mm F1.8 lens Santorini's Black Sand Beach at night

  The other addition to you camera bag would be an external flash. I recommend the Nikon SB-400.  Everybody knows that photograph they get when taking pictures with their point and shoot at the dinner party or at home in low light, the light is harsh, unflattering, and there are shadows all over the place and you background is lost in darkness.  This can all be cured by a more powerful battery operated external flash.  One main feature of this battery operated flash that helps you create more pleasing photos, is the ability to bounce the flash of any surface. In many cases this surface happens to be a ceiling indoors.  You will loose the harsh light given off by the direct on camera flash, and it removes a lot of unwanted and unflattering shadows.  This flash is extremely affordable. It will help create that more professional look you will get to your priceless photos.

  Two more impressive features of this camera is the ability to capture those memories in 1080p HD video.  They will come out great on your big screen TV.  The other is that is takes 3 pictures a second at full resolution for those fast moving kids and sports action.
        If you decided to buy please use the links below so you can purchase on Amazon, or if you live near NYC just head on down to the friendly and helpful folks and B&H Photo in NYC.        

       I hope this helps everyone. I you have another questions about this product or anything else that I mention on my blog please feel free to contact me.

Note: Pricing will fluctuate a little bit on some items.  Try to buy from Amazon and not another vendor as you will recieve better customer service.  I f you are willing to wait don't pay anymore than the following prices:
Nikon D3100: $650
Nikon SB-400:$119
Nikon 35mm f1.8: $199

Motorola Razor for One Cent!!

I can't believe I am recommending a phone other than the iPhone! I admit the iphone is not for everyone and it had its flaws.  If I were to have another phone other than my current iphone 4, it would be the new Motorola Droid Razor.  Everyone remembers the Razor back in the day that started the thin cell phone style, well its back with a vengeance.  It is an Android Gingerbread operating system phone on Verizon wireless.  It is following its predecessor by being the thinnest phone in the world (Motorola is making this claim in which I have not enough time to prove).  The back of the phone is Kevlar, yep thats right Kevlair! I prey it will be used to protect your phone from clumsey drops and not your life.  The screan is made from corning gorilla glass which is scratch resistant and shatter proof, there for no need to purchase an expensive case from Otterbox. (Sorry guys I have been loyal for a long time). The display is a 4.3inch AMOLED display with 4G\LTE capability on Verizon.  Also most importantly Motorola claims an impressive battery life compared to the average large touch screen android handseats.

The best part of this post is the AMAZING PRICE at Amazon.com!!!!

ITS ONLY ONE CENT. THATS RIGHT $0.01.
(Verizon charges $299 for this phone.)

The only catch is you must be a new customer or your must add a line to an existing account.  I think its still not a bad deal if you were thinking about switching.
This offer is for a limited time through April 16th.

I you decided to purchase from Amazon please click on the link above.

For a full in depth review head over to CNET or Engadget.

CNET Full Review 

Engadget Full Review

Quebec City Airport Sunset.

This phot was taken with the Camera360 App for iOS5 on my iPhone4. I love this app for all of its versatile camera features and modes. For this photo I used the HDR scenery effect.  It users several exposures from the iPhone4 camera. I then took the photo into Apple's Aperture 3 software to do a little spot reduction and noise reduction.  Outstanding app and only 99 cents will compliment any iPhone camera very well.

Click here for Camera 360 App page

The best free video encoding software: Handbreak

If you were that music lover that when from vinyl records to CD, then took you your CD's to MP3, well now you can take you DVD's into a digital format for viewing. With so many of high definition portable digital device that are available these days, why not have your media always around!

Handbreak is the answer for your media encoding needs (A.KA ripping).

Handbreak is available at the link below for MAC OS, Windows and Unbuntu.

Download Handbreak.

I am going to assume many users will want to encoded into the MP4 format (the format recognized by iTunes and Apple devices).  This is quite an easy process.  Just insert you DVD into drive and follow the steps from the two links below.  Or follow steps below for taking media from your digital cameras to MP4 format.

Mac step by step guide

Windows step by step

Note: GUI stands for Graphic user interface.

Note:  Handbreak is for encoding your PERSONAL DVD collection and other personal forms of media, not for the reproductions of commercial copyrighted media.