What Simply Works!

After my purchase of a new camera, now I’m eyeing to get a 580EX flash, 4GB flash card/s, gray card and a tripod.  I know, the expenses never end.  If money is a non-issue, you can never ran out of stuff to buy, say for lenses alone.

This motivates me to work again next year.  I’m not one to upgrade cameras or lenses often, but the things I mentioned earlier are what I consider “important” in learning photography therefore they still fall in the category of “justifiable” expenses. Hee.

My target purchase next month.

Today is a special Friday. In fact, I’m feeling giddy as I’m typing this and it’s all because, I’m expecting my new baby to arrive today! After researching, analyzing and praying about it, I’ve decided to invest on a Canon 40D.

My order was placed two days ago and my very supportive husband will pick it up for me today. This is one step closer to my dream, that is, to be a good photographer. I am so inspired with my hobby. I feel my fingers itching to play with the settings and start snapping new photos. I will still keep my old 300D and probably hand it down to my husband, if (hopefully) he wants to pick-up this hobby.

I am so excited and I can’t wipe the smile off my face. Woot! Woot!

In the absence of cable, my husband and I enjoy the old movies shown on TV during weeknights. Last weekend, the movie Firewall was on and no matter how predictable the storyline is, we still finished its entirety.

As expected, the plot revolved around Harrison Ford, a security specialist, who was forced to rob a bank to pay off his family’s ransom. But what did save the family at the end of the film? It’s GPS tracking. Ford’s family dog has a tracking device attached to its collar, which enabled him to trace his family’s location.

Nowadays, GPS tracking device is installed in mobile phones, cars, pets and even humans. However, I feel that the use of that intelligent tool should be limited to life-threatening or high-security requirements only. I guess that dog in the movie must be really expensive that it requires a GPS tracking device.

Too much time spent browsing photography gadgets made me want to upgrade my camera body. I had budget set for a flash, two Canon lens hood and a memory card. But seeing the Canon 40D at a low price (I heard a new model will be released in two months), I am so tempted to buy.

I’m giving myself until tomorrow to decide. The store needs a few days to prepare the orders and then my husband will pick them up for me later this week. Inny Minny Miny Moe, should I buy or let it go?

I was expecting my Dell keyboard to arrive in two weeks, per the advise of the Dell support person I spoke with this week. But much to my surprise, the package arrived today! I recently wrote about my keyboard dilemma and now I will soon be able to use my laptop properly.

But since my daughter can reach the laptop on the study table, I’m faced with another problem. How can I let her enjoy watching her videos without her slapping and touching the keyboard again? Gee.

Just like that we’re already in mid-August. For sure, once the ‘ber’ months start, shops in most part of the world gear up to attract shoppers to start working on their Christmas gifts list.

Of course, I’m not exempting myself from doing up both a Christmas gifts list and a wish list. Right now, the material things I’m wishing for are all related to my photography hobby. As I will be giving up my current Nikon point and shoot, I’ve started to scout around for a replacement.

There are some activities where bringing along a heavy DLSR, with matching lenses and tripod is just too much. All you need is a handy compact camera. Since I am a Canon fan, I’m eyeing one of the Powershot models in the market right now. I’ve read many pro photographers recommending the brand for P&S.

I will do further reading on this and hopefully my Santa Claus (a.k.a. my husband) hears out my wish. Toes-crossed! Ha-ha.

When I wrote about a post on my broken laptop keyboard, I wasn’t decided yet at that time whether to purchase a new one right away. First, even though I could not snap the keys back (following the instructions on Dell’s website), part of me is hoping that one day I would be able to. Second, I thought I could live with using the laptop as it is, with missing keys and all.

But the organized and neat freak in me could not resist having it back in its original condition. So yesterday, I called Dell’s customer service once more and inquired (for the second time) about how to go about fixing my keyboard.

I immediately ordered a replacement, with a minimal fee of 25.00AUD. However, I was shocked when the support person on the other line said that the labor fee (that is a Dell person will come over to our house to install it) is a whopping 190.00AUD! I had to sit down and ask again how much the service fee is and when I confirmed that my earlier understanding is correct, right there and then I decided to purchase the part and forego the service fee.

Thank God that one of our friends is into IT hardware and although he is more familiar with another brand of laptop, he promised to drop by and checkout what needs to be done. I offered to cook dinner for him and his wife, as our “payment” for their efforts.

I hope it will work out. I miss using my Dell.

Can’t wait to use my brand new keyboard!

If money were not an issue, our home would have a lot of high-tech gadgets. I would love to have a huge high-definition TV with matching entertainment system, a cool stereo components system, a Bose IPOD dock, a spanking Powerbook and the list just goes on and on.

When I stumbled upon this awesome website called stuff.tv, I saw more home gadgets with corresponding technology reviews. The particular buyer in me likes the general reviews as well as user reviews. Each product has a user rating, which is definitely a plus. The images used are of good quality and the item specifications are pretty clear.

This site also has a Top 10 list for items highly recommended by users. As they are neatly categorized, it makes it even easier for potential buyers to choose a product. On it’s sidebar, there’s even a Hot 5 list. This website is definitely helpful and a must have on my bookmarks.

I’m not quite sure about the mobile service providers here in Sydney but back in the Philippines, the two mobile giants Globe Telecoms and Smart offer brand new phones under different packages. The phone unit itself comes cheaper because it is bundled with a service contract but the catch is the unit is ‘locked’.

In the event that you wish to transfer providers, you need an unlocked phone to do so. That’s shelling-out extra cash to have your phone access a sim card from another provider. It’s not to say that it is a bad promotion. These days, there are a lot of small businesses offering phone “unlocking” services back home. And I don’t think it’s expensive at all.

One of the things on my wish list is a camera tripod. What I have right now served its purpose when I was still practicing with my point and shoot. With my heavier dslr, I find that it’s not safe to use my existing tripod.

What I need is something sturdy, sets up fast and offers flexibility for low height (for macro shots) and enough height for standard use. A professional photographer and friend recommended that I go for Slik tripods. He said that its line of tripods is highly recommended for both amateurs (like me) and professionals.

When I searched for the Slik tripods, I saw Slik Pro 700 DX (photo above) and was surprised to know that the price is reasonable. Although it is an older model, the features suit my needs well.

Now, what I need to do is get more quotes to compare the price. I can’t wait to get my hands on this.

In my first two months here, I used a pre-paid sim card. We were not sure which provider or package would suit me at the time. Unlike before when I was still working, I had a fixed mobile phone line, which allowed me to make phone calls and sms to my heart’s content. Now that I’m a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM), I definitely do not have to make a lot of calls and send messages as before.

The downside of pre-paid though is the hassle of having to buy “load” periodically. Frequent balance checks have to be made so as not to reach a zero balance.

With that, we decided that I should get my own mobile phone line. It so happen that an Optus re-seller called our landline and offered their free mobile phone package. In short, we got the package in two weeks and it arrived with a Nokia 2760. It is an old clam shell style phone, which I find pretty hard to use for sending messages. The phone itself is small and it slips from my hand. I need to use both hands when sms-ing. Its sluggish performance adds to the delay when I try to make quick messages and therefore I would prefer to call.

But I shouldn’t complain, the phone is free and it is still a good enough back-up phone. Maybe when we have visitors here, we just need to get prepaid sim cards for them.

[photo swiped from nextmobile]

These days, finding a mobile phone can be likened to finding a good partner in our everyday life. We need its body to be sturdy, enough to withstand the accidental drops every now and then. The processor has to be fast enough to let us browse whenever, wherever (so long as there’s WiFi connection). The camera/video features has to produce good quality images. Honestly, my N95 is my back-up camera whenever my dslr becomes too bulky to be carried around. The sms (texting) features has to be “finger” friendly — this is where Nokia impresses me, I love the keypad/strokes!

The downside of this “mega” phone is its battery life. Even if I don’t use the camera/video functions, I still need to charge the battery almost everyday. The processor could be better as it tends to be sluggish when you multi-task.

But overall, I love this phone. It usually takes me years to replace what I have and this one will stay with me for a long time (or until it decides to conk out on me).

[photo swiped from cnet]