PRICE DROP: Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital Camera (Body Only)

Just in case you’re needing a gift idea for ME or someone other loved one, what a great deal.  Hard to pass up. PURCHASE FROM B&H

The Canon EOS 5D Mark II (Body Only) improves upon the EOS 5D by increasing the resolution by about 40% to 21.1 megapixels and adds a Live View feature that allows users to preview shots on the camera’s high resolution 3.0″ LCD display. It even incorporates the ability to record full motion HD Video with sound, so you can capture the action as well as superb images.

The camera’s 21.1MP, full-frame 35mm-format (24x36mm) CMOS sensor captures image files with incredible image quality and color accuracy, as either JPEG, RAW and RAW+JPEG files. The camera also incorporates Canon’s acclaimed DIGIC 4 imaging processor that works in concert with a high-speed DDR-SDRAM buffer to ensure quick performance and fast image processing times. Performance enhancements enabled by the DIGIC 4 processor include an incredibly fast full-resolution frame rate of up to 3.9 fps, improved battery life, noticeably improved image quality at all ISO sensitivities, fast start-up and reaction times, and improved noise suppression at ISO sensitivities ranging from ISO 100 to ISO 6400, plus the camera’s sensitivity is further expandable to a range of ISO 50 to ISO 25600.

The Canon EOS 5D Mark II incorporates a high-fidelity (920,000 dot) 3″ LCD screen and includes a ‘Live View’ feature that permits the user to frame their shots on the LCD display, and adds framing functions that are not possible with a traditional SLR viewfinder, including the ability to zoom in and navigate the preview image to ensure proper focus, and a grid overlay to assist in proper composition. The Live View focusing system also enables focus modes such as Quick mode, Live mode and Face Detection Live mode. Furthermore, the Live View Feature enables HD video recording that can capture true HD-quality (1080p) video at a frame rate of 30 fps with Face Detection and sound. PURCHASE FROM B&H

 

 

High-Level Web Design Blunders

Interesting article.  My personal “worst blunder” – Auto-Play video and audio . In the eyes of our followers, the use of audio or video that plays automatically on a site was the biggest blunder, garnering 30.4 percent of the votes from respondents.

Mistakes to Avoid for Creating Award-Worthy Websites in 2012
It’s hard to believe, but many Web designers will make the same mistakes in 2012 that were being made over a decade ago.

As new brands and websites emerge, and new designers enter the work force, it is often useful to address the most common mistakes made in the presentation and organization of Web properties. Without knowing the history, how can those in the Web design industry continue to break new ground?

As the discussion regarding standards continues, design in great part will continue to rely on the aesthetic sensitivity and technical knowledge of designers themselves. Some of the most common mistakes are so basic to experienced designers, however, that they may have simply forgotten how truly important they are to the user experience. For designers who do not have as large a portfolio of experience, learning (and learning to avoid) the most common blunders will make every finished product a showpiece. [read]

Why I Hire People Who Fail

A few weeks ago, I wrote about avoiding social media failures. I briefly mentioned our company’s “Failure Wall” and was surprised by the number of comments and questions I received about it. What’s the purpose? How does it work? And what other kinds of things do you do in that crazy office of yours?

The failure wall was part of our efforts to create a company culture where employees can take risks without fear of reprisal. As NPR’s Here and Now reported earlier this year, we started by collecting inspirational quotes about failure. Among my favorites:

“Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
“I have not failed, I’ve just found ten thousand ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison
“Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life.” – Sophia Loren

One random Thursday night, I returned to our corporate headquarters afterhours [read]

What the Heck is an Aperture? Refresher Course!

NOTE: I wrote this “What the Heck” series back in 2008, and have heard from many folks that it helped them wrap their brains around the whole exposure madness. I’ve reposted it a couple of times since then, and wanted to share it today in anticipation of some of you receiving new cameras for Christmas! Be aware that some of my explanations/analogies are not flawless; what I tried to do was strip away a lot of the confusion many folks have over Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO, and how they all work together in harmony. Feel free to weigh in with helpful information!

(Today’s about Aperture! Tomorrow I’ll post the Shutter Speed chapter.)

Photography is based on light. Did you know that?

As a matter of fact, “Photos” is the Greek word for “Light.” And I happen to know that only because I’m a homeschooling freak of nature and I teach my children Greek and Latin. When I feel like it.

Anyway, light is everything in photography, and how much (or how little) light enters your camera determines what your ultimate photo will look like.

Are you with me so far? [read]

Married couples at a record low

Am I the only one that finds this incredibly sad?

The proportion of adults who are married has plunged to record lows as more people decide to live together now and wed later, reflecting decades of evolving attitudes about the role of marriage in society.Just 51 percent of all adults who are 18 and older are married, placing them on the brink of becoming a minority, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of census statistics to be released Wednesday. That represents a steep drop from 57 percent who were married in 2000. [read]

Starbucks’s 12 Months of Christmas

Starbucks (SBUX) has Christmas down to a science. The sweet and spicy aromas, Bing Crosby tunes, and red aprons are rolled out after many months of meetings and tastings. And nothing is final until Howard Schultz, who co-founded the company 40 years ago, says it’s all Christmas-perfect. Last year, Starbucks took in $2.95 billion during its holiday quarter. To figure out what message would jolly up coffee drinkers this holiday season, the company began surveying customers in stores and online more than a year ago. The conclusion? Marketing Senior Vice-President Terry Davenport reports that after a couple of years of austerity, consumers are ready to “have a holiday.” A gingerbread latte to that! [read]

Google to Launch Siri Rival Soon?

Apple’s artificial intelligence agent Siri was one of the key new features in the iPhone 4S. The impressive system has generated a lot of publicity and has put voice recognition technologies back into the forefront. Many companies are expected to integrate more voice enabled applications in the coming year.

Google’s Android has long had voice dictation and command capabilities, but the company seems to be stepping up their efforts in the coming months. AndroidandMe reports on a secret project codenamed Majel which is meant to be an evolution of Google’s Voice Actions with the addition of natural language processing. This natural language processing is what gives Siri an edge over other simple voice recognition systems. [read]

Physynth – Vintage Synth for the iPad

Physynth by Simian² (an amalgam of ‘physics’ and ‘synthesizer’) heralds a landmark moment in music creativity, combining cutting-edge user-created physics with an AAA quality game graphics engine for unparalleled immersion, Physynth brings traditional music applications out of the stone age and sets the bar very high for all other creativity apps to be judged.

Created as a live experimental instrument and musician’s sketchpad, Physynth enables the musician to toy with new concepts, melodies, rhythms and unexpected aural pleasures using the power of physics and experimental design in an organic, fluid manner. [read]

iPad app that taps your inner woodworker

The novelty of smartphone apps may have worn off since the original iPhone but every now and then an app comes along that captures our imagination. Woodcraft for iPad  ( ) by software artisans at Fasterre is interesting for its novel idea and professional execution. Say you’re an amateur or pro woodworker and you want to design your next deck, bench, furniture or backyard shed on your iPad.

Niche apps like that are few and far between and Woodcraft arrives to fill the gap. It’s no toy: The program features the fully automated bill of materials, seaml

American Airlines approves iPad as flight bag replacement, starting Friday

The FAA is finally making things official for iPad use in cockpits, with the first round of pilots from American Airlines set to take Apple’s tablet into the skies this Friday. We told you in July that the FAA had approved the iPad as a replacement to traditional flight bags for a handful of airlines, but now a report from ZDNet claims American Airlines will be the first to get official authorization for all pilots during all phases of flight.

On Friday, American Airlines is the first airline in the world to be fully FAA approved to use iPads during all phases of flight. Pilots will use iPads as electronic chart and digital flight manual readers. The airline will begin iPad operations on B-777 aircraft, and then implement across all other fleets. By using electronic charts and manuals, the safety and efficiency on the flight deck is significantly enhanced.

It isn’t just the iPad 2, but the original iPad as well that has been approved and other airlines including UPS, Alaska, and United are reportedly in the process of considering the device as well. The decision to authorize the iPad on American Airlines follows an extensive 6 month trial run with the device. [read]