Dennis Cadorniga

I’ve been playing and shooting with the new Nikon D700 FX full frame sensor DSLR and SB-900 Speedlight today.  This full frame sensor is amazing!  I finally can use all my AF-S f/2.8 glass as it was intended without the crop factor.  I love the fact that the D300 and D700 share the same MB-D10 Multi Power Battery Pack/Vertical Grip.  This is very useful if you have a D300 as a spare body as I do.  The MB-D10 makes the body feel more sold and better in your hand.  Similar to the feel of a D3 but does add weight.  This gives both the D300 and D700 up to 8 fps (frames per second) when using rechargeable AA batteries (NiMH).

Since the D700 has a larger view finder, the top facing LCD is about 25% smaller than the D300.  But it doesn’t matter as the LCD on the back now shows even more information and quick access menu icons.  I also notice that the shutter release is quicker and stronger sounding.  More so than the D300.  Its similar to the sound of the Nikon F5 film body.  

The SB-900 is massive.  Much bigger than the SB-800 but then again, its doing so much more also.  Build quality is top notch.  Great carrying case also.  Stay tuned for more.  So far I am very happy with this new body and more info will come as soon as I shoot more photos with it.

written by Dennis \\ tags: D700, Nikon, SB-900

Today I received the call from Pro Photo Supply and they informed me that the goods are in.  A quick rush to the shop and back and we are here.  The new Nikon D700 and SB900 are just phenominal!  The D300 is now the backup body.  Sorry little guy.  For the complete unboxing photos, go to our Cadco Photography site and check out the link “Blog“.

written by Dennis \\ tags: D300, D700, Nikon D700, Nikon SB900, SB900, Unboxing

Tonight we watched Batman: The Dark Knight on IMAX. What an amazing movie. The best of the super hero movies to date. It was kind of sad to see Heath Ledger on the screen after his recent passing. Heath’s performance is breathtaking and should bring him an Oscar nomination. Great visual effects too. I think I need to see this one again and again. RIP Heath.

written by Dennis \\ tags: Batman, Dark Knight, Heath Ledger, Joker

I started my morning by plugging in my Verizon Wireless USB720 EVDO modem into my Cradlepoint WiFi/EVDO router.  Booted up my MacBook Pro, plugged in my first gen iPhone and checked for updates.   There it was.  2.0.  I selected Download Only to make sure that step was verified.  I downloaded the 213mb file in 27 minutes, averaging 45KB/sec and reaching 96 KB/sec.  

Once the download finished, I took the plunge and started my upgrade.  The main process of the upgrade finished in about 20 minutes which included backing up the iPhone data, verifying the backup, restoring the new firmware, verifying the firmware, and then restoring my data back to the iPhone.  Then the time came to reboot the phone.

The iPhone reconnected back to iTunes and now came the activation process.  This is were it all went down hill.  Apple was having issues with the iTunes Store activation process.  Apparently, too many people trying to do the same thing.  So then, I had to wait and see when the iTunes Store would be back up to finish the activation.

iTunes store back online, activation processed immediately, now I am done.  Upgraded and working well!  All my content is back.  Pretty smooth I would say.

written by Dennis \\ tags: 2.0 Firmware, activation, Apple, iPhone, iPhone 3G, iTunes

Apple released an upgrade to iTunes in preparation for the launch of the iPhone 3G set to be available tomorrow morning at 8:00am.  The new version of iTunes (v7.7) now sports the AppStore where you can download and purchase applications for the iPhone.  

Moreover, at any moment, the updated firmware for first generation iPhones is set to be released (v2.0).  Apple also today launched the new .Mac service renamed MobileMe.  To visit any of these mentioned technologies, follow the hyperlinks.

written by Dennis \\ tags: Apple, AppStore, iPhone, iPhone 3G, iTunes, MobileMe

Today, Flickr announced that they are partnering with Getty Images to license photos to the stock photography juggernaut.  Soon, Getty Images may be paying you for some of your images if used by their client base.  Flickr has posted an FAQ to answer some of the questions to come up.

written by Dennis \\ tags: Flickr, Getty, Getty Images, stock photography

Today, Data Robotics released the new Drobo which now support not just USB 2.0, but FireWire 400 and 800.  Its now about twice as fast as the previous model.  The fan has also been upgraded to now be even more quiet than before.  I never had any issues with sound on the first generation Drobo.  They announced all these improvements and kept the price at the same level as the first generation model.  

For more information about this new version, follow this link at Data Robotics.

written by Dennis \\ tags: Data Robotics, Drobo, FireWire