Results tagged “news” from karlo.org

Effectively equivalent to the traditional 50mm 1.8 lens that was the traditional "normal" prime in the days when 35mm film ruled, the sub-$200 Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras will arrive in March and be half as expensive as the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM Lens. It will also be significantly lighter and smaller. At that price point, if the optical quality is anywhere in the ballpark of Nikon's 50mm primes, this lens is going to fly off the shelf and be a standard part of the kit for any Nikon DX-system photographer. I know I'm going over to the B&H site right now to see if I can pre-order it. Nikon did a nice job on this one listening to the demand from the street - I'm not sure a lot of people expected to see them releasing prime lenses for the DX format.

[Via Thomas Hawk]

Just a quick housekeeping note for those of you who read this blog via RSS feeds. As part of transitioning over from the old Feedburner feeds to the new "Google Feedburner" feeds, I've had to change the URL for the feeds (don't ask me why they are forcing everyone to do that - it doesn't make much sense to me.) As part of that, I've added in some redriects on some of the old RSS feed addresses to channel all users to the new, single URL being supported by Google (http://feeds2.feedburner.com/karlo) ... this should not, but may, cause some minor issues for folks. If you're having problems, try resubscribing... if that doesn't fix it, please let me know via a comment on this post. Thanks.

Listen up a**hole. The s**t's gonna hit the fan, maybe tomorrow, maybe next month, and when Fitz finally brings down the hammer it's gonna be my name that's going through your head.

— Rahm Emanuel to Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, in an FBI transcript from a call on November 10th, 2008

This without a doubt the best wiretap "transcript" I've ever read (Hollywood couldn't do it half as well).

Nikon has finally released official details of its (not-so-secret) successor to the D80, the new Nikon D90. I've carried a D70 for almost four years now, and I've waited as the D70s and D80 both succeeded it in its place in the lineup. I also resisted the siren call of the D300 -- mainly because it was just so heavy, I couldn't see myself carrying it all the time -- and if you don't carry a camera, what's the point in having it? The D90 is a fantastic "practical compromise" design for amateur photographers -- the image quality of the D300 with the compact size of the D60 and D80. I do wish they would drop the "scene" modes already (in four years, I've never once used them on my D70) but I guess they are compelling enough to a large enough segment of mainstream buyers and don't get in the way of more serious users. I do notice that I see a lot of tourists in my neighborhood carrying the heavier, more expensive D300 (thanks, weak dollar) so the D90 will more than likely be a hit with both the "prosumer" and "prospender" crowds.

Amazon's not taking pre-orders yet, but the minute they start, I'll be getting in line.

"Should the applicants decide to apply again, they must make appointments using our on-line appointment system."

- Debra Heien, chief of the consular section for the U.S. in Nigeria

Three West African bushmen recruited to build an authentic mud-hut village at the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia were denied visas because they are too poor and inarticulate. Consulate officials noted that the bushmen (who were recruited specifically for their knowledge of how to build traditional native mud housing) could not demonstrate a bank account and e-mail address, mortgage, or lease agreement that would demonstrate residence in Western terms, and they could reapply using the consulate's web page.

I'm guessing they're probably not heavy web users. But who knows.