Dust in Apple Iphone 5 Sensor?:

This is not a traditional camera/photo related post but this does have to do with photography.  Plus, this is a blog so it’s pretty much what I feel like talking about at this moment :).  My brother in-law bought the new Iphone 5 when it first came out, and has loved it ever since.  Like most people he uses the camera on it all the time for facebook, twitter, etc.  The other day, he took a few photos with the Iphone 5 that completely surprised him.  He said that there were dust spots, and they must be located on the sensor.  I was like, “Dust spots on a camera phone sensor?”  I’ve never seen dust spots on a camera phone let alone a Iphone 5 that has been recently released. [continue reading…]

Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in Brooklyn With My Fuji X-Pro1 And X100:

Hey everyone, what a night!  Hurricane Sandy sure left a mess here in New York!  Some of the roads are just beginning to open up but no trains for quite some time.  The stations are completely flooded!  Mayor Bloomberg said there may be buses tomorrow but they will be limited.  There are people still without power.  Since I couldn’t get into Manhattan, I thought I’d walk around my neighborhood to check out the damage that Hurricane Sandy left here. [continue reading…]

Hurricane Sandy Finally Arrives to Brooklyn:

I didn’t truly appreciate the might of Hurricane Sandy until what I just saw about 45 minutes ago.    Like most New Yorkers today, I’m home.   Everything is closed…trains, buses, schools…I was on my computer catching up on a little post processing, and decided to take a quick walk.  Then, I heard a loud crack.  A big tree had fallen into the intersection near me!  It just missed an on coming car too!  Luckily the guy stopped just in time.  As you can all see from the photo, the roots have been ripped out of the ground!

I pulled out my Fuji X100, and cranked it up to 6400 ISO  to get a couple of snaps because quite frankly, I’m a little amazed at how the wind can ripped the roots of a pretty big tree right out of the ground here in Brooklyn!  I’m also pretty amazed at the high ISO capability of the Fuji X100 ;).  We’ve had big storms that have broken branches but to have the roots ripped out??!!!  Wow, I must admit, having Hurricane Sandy here in New York is pretty scary.  I’ve personally never experienced weather like this before.

Now I’m starting to hear about a lot of power outtages, and how Con Edison is going to shut some of the power down in certain parts of the city.  I just got an automated message from Con Edison telling me that my power might be shut off.  The light is flickering…No trains or schools tomorrow either.  I hope all of you on the East Coast are doing well, and are safe from Hurricane Sandy.  If you don’t have too, don’t leave your homes.  Take care everyone, and for those of you one the East Coast: Be safe!

Leica M9 traded for the new Leica M, new Fuji X-Pro1 M-Mount Adapter:

I finally did it…I finally went to my camera dealer, and traded (well, actually put on consignment) my Leica M9 in order to purchase the new Leica M.  It was bittersweet: I love the M9 but at the same time, I really want the new Leica M (a silver chrome one this time 🙂 ).  I was thinking about selling my M9 on Ebay or Craigslist but with something that expensive, I just felt safer if it went into dealer hands.  Since I was there, I also purchased something for my X-Pro1 :).

What did I purchase?  I got to play with a lot of other stuff, and ended up purchasing the Fuji X-Pro1 M-mount lens adapter.  I was never really that intrigued by it until I was playing around with it at my camera dealer.  I was afraid the manual focusing would be kind of difficult but it’s actually not that bad.  Now I can use some of my Leica M lenses on my X-Pro1!  So far, I’ve tried the 35 Summicron ASPH, and my lovely 75 Summilux.  The 75 Lux produced amazing results!  Maybe I can borrow some Zeiss or Voigtlander lenses, and do some reviews with them on the X-Pro1 in the future.  Those lenses would also make great alternatives to the Fuji line of lenses, and they’re not as expensive as Leica lenses.

I’m going to try, and squeeze out a review/my impressions of the Fuji X-Pro1 M-mount lens adapter soon.  Fall has been quite busy for me but hopefully it will get better in November, especially when I finally get my hands on the new Fuji X-E1 :).  I hope everyone is having a great Fall, and preparing for some nasty weather coming soon from Hurricane Sandy.  Take care!