Focusing on F-Stops

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Focusing on F-Stops

From: Dummies.com:

You may have noticed that while using your video camcorder, you use the focus mechanism on your lens more than any other camcorder feature. Focusing is about the most basic function that is performed by your camcorder (either automatically or manually). With just a little knowledge and practice, you can turn focusing into a powerful technique for getting the most out of every shot. The first thing that you should practice is controlling the depth of focus (the amount of focused space in front and behind your subject). You adjust the f-stop to achieve depth of focus.

Aperture equals focal length divided by the diameter of your lens. The setting of the aperture is referred to as the f-stop.

The depth of focus directly relates to the f-stop. The higher the f-stop, the greater the depth of focus. At higher f-stops, therefore, the perception of being in focus exists for a substantial distance on either side of the actual plane of focus (the focal plane). Perception of focus means that only a very thin plane is ever actually in focus. The larger the depth of focus, the more the objects in front and behind the focal plane look like they are in focus. Higher f-stops mean that more of the shot appears to be in focus, but the shot also requires more light.

The opposite is true for depth of focus at lower f-stops. The lower the f-stop, the lower (or shallower) the depth of focus. This means that at lower f-stops, the perception of a shot being in focus is nearly nonexistent on either side of the focal plane. A typical situation in which you use a lower f-stop (for a shallower depth of focus) is when you want to blur out a background for some reason. Using lower f-stops require less light for the shot.

Visikey Keyboard

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Visikey Keyboard

A high contrast keyboard with Enhanced Visibility Lettering System.  Rated  at 20/300 on the Snellen Visual Accuity Scale.  Most conventional keyboards are rated 20/70.

http://www.visikey.net

Remote Controller Replacements

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Remote Controller Replacements


http://www.remotes.com/

Has replacement remote controls for almost any electronic equiptment.  Read the site's FAQ:

Q. I don't have the Model number of my remote because it is lost. Can I still get a new remote?
A. Yes, you can enter the model number off the equipment the remote operates. Our website search engine accepts: Model numbers off the remote, Model numbers off the equipment, and even a Manufacture's Part number.

Q. Are these "universal" remotes?
A. NO, we specialize in factory original replacement remotes. That means, when you order a remote from us, it will look just like the one that came with your equipment. It matches the picture in your owner's manual and does Not need to be programmed. It will operate every feature your unit was intended to operate. If the original remote is no longer available, we usually  have a substitute that will still do all the features without having to be programmed.  We also guarantee that you will be 100% satisfied or we'll buy the remote back, For 1 Year!!

Q. How much is an original replacement remote control?
A. Original remotes vary in price from under $20 to well over a $1000. 

Q. How much is the shipping charge for US customers?
A. We ship all of our remotes in the United States by Priority Mail through the US Postal Service. This will normally get your order to you in about 7 days from the time you place your order. The shipping charge is $7.95 per order, not per remote. So no matter how big your order is, the same low price of $7.95 applies. We do have faster shipping available on selected items. If you would like your remote shipped by faster service, please call us at 1-800-REMOTES (736-6837) for pricing and availability.

Q. Can you ship outside of the United States?
A. Yes! We can ship your remote anywhere in the world. For all Canadian customers, the shipping price is $7.95, and will normally get to you in about two weeks from the time you place your order. For shipments anywhere outside of the United States and Canada, your order will normally get to you in two weeks for a total shipping charge of $25.00. Again, no matter how big your order, the same price of $25.00 applies. Any tariffs or taxes applied by your country are your responsibility.

Q. Where is the model number?
A. Most model numbers are on the back side of the equipment the remote originally came with..

Q. Will a serial number work?
A. Sorry, serial numbers do not tell us which remote you need.

Q. Will a universal remote work my TV?
A. Maybe, Maybe not. Universal remotes need to be programmed to the brand you want to operate. Once programmed, they may or may not operate your equipment. You may have to try multiple code numbers, one after the other in the hopes that one of the codes will work your unit. If you find a code that works your unit, it may not do all the function your original remote did. It most likely will operate only "basic" functions. The way the buttons are laid out will always be different than the original remote that came with your unit.
That is why the Original Remote Control is always preferred.

Q. I need a code for my Universal Remote control. Do you have it?
A. We have a page of links to universal code libraries on the web.

Q. I need a code for my Original Remote control. Do you have it?
A. We have a page of Original Remote codes.

Cropping Digital Photos

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Cropping Digital Photos

"Photography, be it digital or traditional, is in many respects an applied art. There are technical aspects to taking the 'snap shot' but there's also a significant artistic component in the composition of memorable photos. Every picture tells a story and how we crop an image is an integral part of the story telling process.

While there are many aspects of photography including depth of field, lighting, color balance, etc., which affect an images impact, cropping is one of the most fundamental principles in image composition. In this article we'll take a brief overview of what cropping is and why it's important to image composition and the impact it can have on the viewer.

Remember, cropping is as much an art form as it is a technical operation. No two images or scenes are the same and therefore no two cropping solutions will be the same. Concentrate on the fundamental issues behind why an image is being cropped and then be bold and experiment. Learning from failures is just as valuable as learning from successes."

To read the rest of the article, go to:  http://www.caddpower.com/B742661069/C1513140654/E776545009/index.html

Blue Screen of Death - Why your Computer still crashes

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Blue Screen of Death - Why your Computer still crashes

Blue Screen of Death
Why your computer still crashes.
By Paul Boutin


There's nothing like an untimely computer crash to ruin your day­or at least ruin your reputation for keeping cool on a deadline. Crashes can range from moderately frustrating application shutdowns and "not responding" pop-ups to the fearsome Blue Screen of Death, which brings your entire PC to a complete halt. Even my supposedly robust Mac isn't immune to this sort of fatal system failure. My machine has seized up at least once a week for the past two years, covering the screen with a transparent panel that says "You need to restart your computer" in four languages.

So, why does your computer go on the fritz? More important, is there any way you can stop it from happening?

If one application is always shutting down, you're probably in luck. If you have a PC, search Microsoft's knowledge base for articles about "illegal operation" problems associated with the application. For a Mac, go to Apple's support page and search for "unexpectedly quits." If that fails, type the error messages you see into Google (e.g. "The application Microsoft Word has unexpectedly quit") to find message board posts about the problem.

The death screen isn't as easy to figure out. In fact, there's often no way for anyone except a technician packing professional-grade diagnostic tools to find the culprit. A bug in one program can corrupt data in the computer's memory, causing an entirely different program to crash later. Bad hardware will also often lead to software errors; when the hardware doesn't send back data as expected, programs will start to fail. "A broad range of conditions can cause a Fatal Exception error," shrugs Microsoft's help documentation. "As a result, troubleshooting a Fatal Exception error can be difficult."

You probably won't be able to figure out what's wrong with your computer by reading the gibberish on the Blue Screen of Death, but you can make an educated guess. A few years ago, Microsoft set up the Windows Error Reporting Service to help find out where crashes come from. After a Windows application­or your whole PC­shuts down, a box pops up asking you to send a confidential error report. Using pattern-matching software to sift through the data from millions of these reports, Microsoft discovered a surprising statistic. Seventy percent of Windows crashes involve one particular kind of software: device drivers. (I couldn't get stats for the Mac, but, at least anecdotally, device drivers are a major cause of drop-dead crashes.)

Device drivers handle communication between the PC's core operating system (the kernel) and hardware devices like the hard disk and the printer. When you send a file to be printed, for instance, a device driver custom-coded for your specific model asks the printer if it's good to go and translates any responses­such as an out-of-paper alert­into a format that Windows understands. (Click here for a more technical explanation of how drivers work.) Because device drivers tie hardware and software together, they have special privileges that your browser and word processor don't. If a device driver gets an error message it's not sure how to deal with, it can call a "bug check"­the big blue screen­as a way to halt everything before your data gets scrambled. Conversely, the Windows kernel can pull the trigger if a device driver's not responding properly.

But luckily, if you've got a device driver problem, there are probably lots of other people whose computers are crashing due to the same error. In fact, the hardware manufacturer might have published an improved version of the driver that can fix the problem.

If your PC is outfitted with a brand-name printer, scanner, or CD burner, its device drivers will likely have passed the exhaustive (and expensive) tests that allow bug fixes to be distributed via Windows Update. Go to the Windows Update site, click on Custom Install, and look at the optional hardware updates on the left side of the screen­that's where you'll typically find updated device drivers. Unfortunately, even if you've set Windows Update to run automatically, you'll still have to go get new drivers manually. If you've got a Mac, Apple's Software Update service automatically installs updated drivers for Apple hardware on computers running OS X.

If you've got a PC with hardware that doesn't meet the Windows gold standard or a Mac with a peripheral that's not made by Apple, you'll have to do some hunting. As a case study, I have a 5-year-old PC that crashed midsong every time I tried to play MP3s with RealPlayer. After years of fuming about Real's buggy software, I finally realized I might be having a device driver problem. What could be prone to glitching when playing music­maybe the sound card? Come to think of it, I hadn't seen an update for the card's device driver in two years of using Windows Update. I went to My Computer, then System Properties, and then found the model of the card by clicking on the Hardware tab. After Googling for the brand name and "driver," I found a free, updated device driver on the manufacturer's Web site. Sure enough, problem solved.

The same approach solved my Mac crashes. My add-on Wi-Fi card doesn't use Apple's built-in device drivers; instead, I had downloaded a free one written by a generous programmer. Since this freeware driver hadn't been exhaustively tested by a big corporate lab, it wasn't shocking that it occasionally acted buggy. By searching message boards, I found a different driver that hasn't invoked the crash screen yet. (If you're looking for drivers for non-Apple hardware or older versions of the Mac OS, always try the Apple Discussions site before roaming the Web.)

I got a little lucky in both these cases, but the odds were on my side. Likewise, if your computer is crashing regularly, you won't do any harm by looking for new device drivers. (One exception: Don't mess with video drivers unless you know what you're doing­you could end up with an unusable computer.) Always be sure to save a copy of your current driver before installing a new one (click here for instructions). If your new driver causes more problems than it cures, Windows XP has a Control Panel option to roll back to the previous version, or you can swap it back manually on older versions of Windows. You can always just cross your fingers, search the Web, and try again.

Webhead thanks Gabriel Aul, group program manager of Microsoft's Feedback and Supportability Platform Team, and Anuj Nayar, Mac OS X PR manager for Apple.
Paul Boutin is a Silicon Valley writer who spent 15 years as a software engineer and manager.

Article URL: http://slate.msn.com/id/2107471