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Canon 2x EF Extender II (Teleconverter)

Having a Canon EF 70-200 F/2.8L USM IS len only gave me the quality but not the range long enough for wildlife shooting, so I bought a Canon 2x Teleconverter to allow me to reach 400mm range. As the focal length is doubled, the maximum aperture is cut half, the len is slower. With the teleconverter, the F/2.8L len becomes F/5.6L, but IS (Image Stabilizer) feature still functions normally. The image quality is generally retained when working with the Canon L serial lenes. I can see the image is not as sharp as without the teleconverter, but I don’t notice any distortions in the pictures.

Now, the 70-200 F/2.8 USM IS len, the 2x teleconverter plus my camera body (Canon EOS 10D) weights 6.7 lb. My photo bag (LowePro Flipside 400 AW) with all the gears is more than 14 lb. The next two pictures are to compare the 70-200 F/2.8 USM IS len working with (up) and without (bottom) the 2x teleconverter. Some snapshots are followed.

Canon 2x EF Extender IICanon 2x EF Extender II

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August 2, 2009
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Apple: An Innovator or Control Maniac?

iPhone 3GSI don’t make many cellphone calls every day and I am not a salesman who travels all the time, so I always asked myself, “Why do I need an iPhone?” … until recently. iPhone has evovled several generations now. Technically there should be nothing to worry about. Almost everyone has some kind of smart phone, so still using a brick-like cell phone almost make me feel a little shameful. As a result, we bought an iPhone 3GS for my wife about a month ago. We instantly fell in love with it. A new gadget actually enable you to do a lot of things you didn’t do before. Once you wake up, you can look at stocks, read news and check weather without leaving the bed. The design is absolutely elegant. There are a lot Apps to choose from. You can play game, watch video, learn foreign language, read novels, take photos and use it as a GPS, a compass, a level or even a flashlight.

Then, I tried to upload some music. In fact, I cannot just “upload”, I have to SYNC through iTune. Even worse, it didn’t work using my MacBook. It did work with my PC, but it took unreasonably long time to copy a couple of songs. Why do I have to sync using iTune? It is so unnatural. I imagine I should be able to just connect the iPhone to a USB port, a disk will be mapped, then I can copy different media to different folders. The iPhone application can sort them out automatically.

Of course, Apple wants to make money. More than 1.5 billion Apps have been downloaded from Apple Store. Forcing the users to go through iTune is a great way to control users’ behavior and lock them to buy through Apple forever. Apple has a reputation of controlling its software and hardware since beginning. The up side is Apple has the total control of the look and feel of its product; the down side is Apple will charge more, as long as the consumers are willing to pay the premium.

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July 30, 2009
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Sarah Chang’s Concert in Napa

Sarah ChangSarah Chang, although not as well-known as Itzhak Perlman or Yo-Yo Ma, is recognized as one of the most talented and influential performers of the world. She earned her celebrity status in classic music since she was 10. By age 15, she has already collaborated with most major orchestras. Her album that plays Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto recorded with London Symphony Orchestra is one of first several classic music albums I bought and still remains as one of my favorite. I like her romantic interpretation of these master pieces. She played Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in Napa Valley Festival del Sole.

The following video was recorded when she was 15, playing the same piece.

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July 19, 2009
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Replacing Sprinkler Valve

The sprinkler valves in front of our house have been leaking water since we moved in. Later in this spring, they were totally broken, not passing water at all. After manually watering the lawn for 4 months, I finally decide to replace them.

If you don’t want to replace the pipe and reroute the whole thing, it is important to find the valve as wide as your in/out pipes. Of course, the diameter has to match too. Other than that, all you need are cutters, adapters, teflon tape, and primer and glue to clean and adhere the valve and the pipe.

Although I bought a cutter, I found it is easier to cut the pipe with a saw, as long as you have space to maneuver.

Put teflon tape around the threads of the male adapter. Tight the adapter up with the valve. Teflon tape helps seal the connectors and prevents leaking.

Apply the primer on the outside of the pipe and inside of the adapter. Let it dry for about 1 minute.

Then, apply the glue on the outside of the pipe and inside of the adapter evenly. Before they dry, quickly push the valve onto the pipe and hand-hold them together for 30 seconds to prevent the valve from popping out. Wait at least a hour to make sure the glue is completely dry.

Connect the wire: one end of both valve to the ground, the other end to the different zone control respectively. Put them into grease wire protectors to prevent them from getting wet. Test the remote control. Done!

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July 18, 2009
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Canon EF 70-200 F/2.8L USM IS vs. 75-300 F/4-5.6

I haven’t upgraded my photo gears for 5 years. Especially in a condition when a telephoto lens is required, I feel my capability to capture the scene is limited because my current 75-300 f/4-5.6 lens could only do f/5.6 at the long end. I finally decided to buy a Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM lens as an upgrade.

This is the first L-serial lens I owned. Besides the glass quality, the fastness of the USM driven auto-focus and Canon’s IS feature give you 3-stop stability for hand-hold shooting. The only downside would be its weight. I took some pictures with this len and switched my previous len for comparision, then I realized how heavy this powerhouse is.

Here are some random snaps to compared these two telephoto zoom lens, (although it might be unfair to compare a $200 piece with a $1800 one) . The one on the left or top were taken by 70-200 F/2.8L; the other is by 75-300 F/4-5.6.
 

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June 29, 2009
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Michael Jackson: a genius, a cultural icon, a legend

I was speechless and felt so sad when I heard Michael Jackson passed away. The first time I listened to his song, ‘Bad’, was when I went to Xiangshan (香山) Park. A couple of 20-something youths played his cassette through the tape recorder. It’s like nothing I’d ever heard. It’s totally against all the rules we followed. At that time of China, his songs were often linked with something unconstructive to the society. Later when I worked part-time for my teacher’s software company, I heard his song, “Beat it”, first time from a CD player. The sound had never been cleaner or more striking, the music resonated through the long corridor and it is still hovering in my head today.

To western audience, Michael Jackson is King of Pop; to many Chinese, he opened a new world. Whatever controversies he has, no matter if they are true or not, in music, he is a legend.

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June 25, 2009
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Yard Work

We are trying to clean up some areas to plant vegetables. Here is to remove the Potato Vine to give space for green beans. As seen in the picutres, some patao vines grow through the AC fan.

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June 14, 2009