Yearly Archives: 2009
Lens comparison: EF 50mm f/1.4 Prime vs EF 50mm f/1.8 Prime
This is a short, side-by-side video comparison of the two affordable EF 50mm lenses from Canon: the 50mm f/1.4 and f/1.8 lenses. I had them both, set them on a table, and compared them to each other, looking at their weight, size, lenses, and handling. You might find this interesting if you’re into photography. My conclusion was that both are great, but if you haven’t got the money for the f/1.4 lens (and I’m not even going to mention the f/1.2 lens, because that’s out of my budget), then get the f/1.8 lens, it’s a great bargain for the price.
You can see the video on blip.tv or on YouTube. Believe it or not, I shot this review back in November of 2007 and only got around to posting it now. I’ve got quite a backlog in terms of processing and editing some of my media…
I used the 50mm f/1.4 lens extensively. I have almost 11,000 photos in my library taken with it. I used it to take landscapes while in the Austrian Alps, and even though I complained about it afterward, it’s still my go-to lens for lots of tasks such as portraits, still life, night shots and more. Here are just a few photos taken with it.
These two 50mm lenses are available for purchase from Amazon or B&H Photo:
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Standard & Medium Telephoto Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
from Amazon
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens
from Amazon
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens from B&H Photo
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens from B&H Photo
The toy train
Updated 11/02/2018: This video now has over 25,000,000 views. Thank you!
My wife gave me this great little train set as a Christmas present a couple of years ago. I thought it’d be fun to film it in action one day, and when I edited the video, I looked for the right kind of music for some time. The end result was worth it though, and it sets the mood for the upcoming holiday season. Enjoy!
You can watch the video here or on YouTube. The soundtrack for the video is called “Choo Choo Train” by Daffy Dave.
The June rainstorm
I happened to have my video camera with me one June day as the sky darkened and it began to thunder loudly. Birds, scared by the noise, took flight. Soon, rain began to fall, in buckets. Everyone who didn’t take cover got drenched to the skin in seconds.
see this on YouTube — see this on blip.tv
This video was recorded in Grosvenor Park, North Bethesda — a beautiful community near Washington, DC, USA. I have lots of photos from Grosvenor Park in my photo catalog. Some are posted below, but feel free to click through and view all of them.
Condensed Knowledge – December 6, 2009
This is a summary of articles I read and found interesting during this past week. The list is shared from among my feed subscriptions. I only share a certain number of articles in each of these posts, so if you'd like to see more, visit my full Google Shared Items list.
- World's Craziest Dictators – Oddee.com
- The Real Story of the Von Trapp Family
- Scientists Respond to "Climategate" E-Mail Controversy: Scientific American
- Suplimente Jurnalul | Antimonden | VIDEO: Meduze uriaşe au invadat coastele Japoniei
- Climate change: this is the worst scientific scandal of our generation – Telegraph
– Via Trevor Carpenter on FB (http://www.facebook.com/trevorcarpenter?ref=nf) - Slashdot Your Rights Online Story | Sprint Revealed Customer GPS Data 8 Million Times
– Via EricaJoy on FF (http://ff.im/chKUc) - Durf.org » Archive » Et tu, Barack?
– Great article on human vs. machine translation and cost pressures in translation industry. - Where's the next Dubai? – Dec. 1, 2009
- AUDIO Ghidul şpăgii în maternitate
– Very pertinent article vis-a-vis my own review of healthcare in Romania and the endemic corruption in the state healthcare system, where you’re required to bribe virtually everyone in the hospital if you’re to get any care. More details here: http://www.raoulpop.com/2009/10/21/healthcare-in-romania/. - FEC Guts Post-Abramoff Reform — Making Government Transparent and Accountable – Sunlight Foundation Blog
- Cairo practice | The Economist
- Fined for stranding passengers | The Economist
- Obese air passenger in economy seat has picture taken – Telegraph
- Moarte sigură în ţară, viaţă nouă la nemţi
- How Will You Die? | GOOD
– Via AJ Batac on FF (http://ff.im/cdyRL) - FOTO: Oraşul Veneţia a fost inundat de maree | Adevarul
- The D.C. power lunch: where Washington's elite go to eat – CNN.com
- BBC News – Swiss voters back ban on minarets
- iMac G5: Troubleshooting when your computer won't turn on
- Squared 5 – MPEG Streamclip video converter for Mac OS X
Raoul Pop 