things n stuffs

GH2 - Firmware UPDATE v1.2

2011-12-09T11:29:00.000-08:00

1.    [LIVE preview] is now consistent during [MF Zoom].

2.    [Constant Preview] now available in A-mode, S-mode and P-mode.

3.    [Aperture Preview] is not aborted if you touch the focus ring.

4.    [MF Zoom] and [MF Guide] are now available when the camera fails to focus.

5.    [MF Guide] "scale distance numbers" now available.

6.    [MF Zoom] can now be configured as PIP or fullscreen.

7.    When [Auto review]=HOLD, and you release the shutter, the camera goes back to LiveView mode and does not remain on HOLD as before.

Panasonic Lumix X 35-100 f2.0 [macro]

2011-12-04T16:13:00.000-08:00

Please Panasonic, give us a pro zoom-lens for m43.

High-performance, (L-series alike)

Constant f/2.0

Image Stabilizer

Weather sealed

Zoom Lock system

Macro 1:2

Built in ND filter

Give us the best. We will BUY it!

Best regards

[GALLERY]

New - Panasonic Lumix GH3

2011-11-21T16:22:00.000-08:00

First sketch of the new Panasonic GH3.

New key features:

- Weather sealed
- Electronic shutter
- Constant Preview, now available in A-mode, S-mode and P-mode.
- Better dynamic range

- Faster burst buffer (w/ dedicated shutter button)
- Flash burst is now available
- PIP focus (on/off)
- 480p @120fps
- PC tethered support
- New var. movie rates: 600% and 1200% (timelapse purpose)

Still on wishlist:

- Wifi
- Pixel coupling for video (ISO bost)
- Main Dial glows in the dark.
...

Painting - GH2 yellow

2011-05-08T10:08:00.000-07:00

I just converted my new GH2 into a CAT :)

Using a simple self-glue foil and heating it up with a lighter to stretch/shape it! ;)
It looks delicious!!!! ...it even matches the yellow interface!
"Ready for the fjords!"

Panasonic LUMIX GH2 painting Yellow

Extension tube = 64mm

2011-01-10T16:31:00.000-08:00

How much can you squeeze your Macro lens using this massive 64mm tube?

(21mm, 31mm, 13mm) kit set

I have no Idea of the Brand but you can buy it [here] for 100€.

The original CANON accessories would cost you at least 350€ !!!

Setup: Canon 1000D + 60 mm F2.8 macro lens

...click on the great chart bellow for great details:

You are welcome!

Helder Neves

(foto: vaniafneves)

(laptop: Acer3020)

references:
Blogspot _ April2009 _ Helder Neves _ Scale reference your photos.
Blogspot _ March2009 _ Helder Neves _ Camera and lens macro ability.
Wikipedia _ Jan2011 _ Author _ F-number /typical one-third-stop f-number scale

REVIT 2013 - Top new features

2011-01-09T03:38:00.000-08:00

What you still cannot do in 2013 version:

1 - Second screen support not fixed yet.

1a - Synchronize panning on multiple views i.e: PLAN 1 + PLAN 2 would pan simultaneously. Such a powerful feature to draw and fix stuff quickly around the model.

1c - You still cannot fully control [Fill Patterns] in Topography because that interferes with your model.

2 - It is still not possible to dock viewports in a permanent interface as in 3Ds Max, Autocad, etc, ...

Using CTRL+TAB on a plan-view, will now toggle between plans only. If a Section is selected, it will toggle through sections only and so on!

3 - You still cannot draw in Camera mode! (why?)

4 - Navigation in Camera-view-mode is still not as easy to maneuver as in other 3D programs. You still need the weirdo and slowy interactivity with navigation-wheel

5 - 3D Connexion 100% compatible?!?!?! And for those who cant afford it, It would be so simple to use shift+4 (to jump to left-view), or shift+8(to jump to top-view), ... and so on... (you would love it)

7 - Align tool can now be used to align multiple elements at once. (just like in any adobe program) i.e: Select multiple objects with a window selection and align their tops.

8 - Background Rendering / Plotting. (would be lovely)

9 - detail lines can now be linked to a 3d element, therefore updating automatically

10 - And last but not least: you can now run slab edges on sloped floors/slabs.

- - - - Other nice fix & improves: - - - -

11 - You can now edit the profile of a curved wall. (as well as tilt any standard wall with a direct angle input)

12 - Floor heights are now kept in place when you edit the boundary! (landscapers dream)

13 - You can now edit TAG text and the material will update automatically on the element properties. The same as renaming materials directly by pressing F2 in the Schedules.

13a - On SCHEDULES you can now use the parameter COUNT in any formula.
13b - Calculating [Wall Areas] of a [Room] is now a formal Autodesk developed feature.

14 - Export reports to an XLS clean pure format.

15 - Show element' boundaries only (AUTO-clean drawing for printing) Hides all additional geometry.

16 - In "Viewports" you can now edit the boundary of the Crop Region, (make it a circle or any shape you wish).

17 - Oh, and the ramps can have any shape also. How fantastic!

18 - You can also link photos as a true LINK. (they update if you change the link)

These are the features known so far. Please share if you know some more or if you have a solution for those listed.

2010-08-05T13:06:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

fui mostrar a lua a minha mae
era um dia especial pois a lua estava enorme e muito proxima da terra.
Fomos ate uma ponte que parecia ter sido construida para se mover ao ritmo da lua. a ponte movia-se de forma estranha era dividida em pequenas pecas que se moviam como degraus. A cada movia-se e era bem rapido.
O fantastico foi quando a lua se aproximava da ponte . era enorme e estava tao proxima
a lua era achatada e havia enenso nevoeiro em seu redor.
Qdo ela passou foi bastante rapido. viam-se ondas de energia em redor.
é tao lindo pá

I want a photo camera with a mirror inside!

2010-05-12T12:45:00.000-07:00

"Isn't there something special about old cars"

"Maybe there is the same on old cameras"

I want one of those that have a mirror inside. I know it is not the latest technology that we have now on Earth but the mirror technology has been around for a century and it has surely proven to be the best. It allows you to see the reality through a little hole called Viewfinder . I know that what I see through that viewfinder is not what I get once I press the button but anyway its good to frame the reality even though most viewfinders miss ~5% of what is really shot!

Come on guys, still not convinced? What? Do you want one of those cameras that show you the exact picture that is going to be shot? Oh come on, that system is what camcorders use? You cant be serious! What is the point of seeing the photo before even shooting it? Where is the surprise factor? Isn't that what Photography has been all about? - Never knowing what was really shot until you develop it!
Oh, thats true, we dont need to develop anymore but, anyway, we must keep a bit the essence of it, right?!

Oh, wait, there is actually some models that use an Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) and therefore allows you to be watching the exact picture that is going to be registered! The problem is that they dont have a mirror inside. Do you understand? I want one with a mirror inside! One that makes the nice shooting sound! I've been just waiting because I heard some rumors about a camera with a dual-mirror system! They double anything nowadays! Dual-processors, dual-sensors, ..., why not dual-mirrors! Its sounds great. Literally! :) Wow, that would be really cool!

I have a friend that is now designing a camera that is exactly the same BUT without THE MIRROR. The camera uses the exact same sensor, body, ..., and is as lens-compatible as any other camera. The only fact is that it does not have a mirror inside!

I've asked him so many times: - What is your point man? Can't you see that we need THE MIRROR! He wont listen!

Who cares.... I am gonna buy a camera with a mirror inside anyway!

Helder Neves
Earth, May / 2010

hummm ... that dual-mirror system would be really cool! I got to suggest that to Canon!

Quality Hotel Saga, Tromsø

2010-04-29T08:46:00.000-07:00

Before or after?

Architect = Amundsen, Tromsø
Year = 2009

Does a RAID_0 age?

2010-04-27T04:23:00.000-07:00

Indeed it does:

About 22% lost over an 18month used system!

...but the values are still high enough to sustain the original performance in most tasks. Even with the disk totally full, Photoshop still opens in 7 seconds as it did on the fresh install!
I've heard that an SSD is not that linear on aging performance! ;)

Polarize or HDR?

2009-12-19T05:57:00.000-08:00

04/03/2008
Well this is a question of how patient you are! I would say :)

You know that many people just point and shoot and get amazing shoots. I would say that most of them are just lucky :) Because its easy to imagine that if we would be there some hours later, that same shot would not have been possible! That is Photography!

"Nature created time to prevent everything from happening at once." Albert Einstein.
Which give humans expectation! A self sustained life condition in my opinion.

Anyways... the point of this post is to explain one way to got around this Time issue!
If you're not patient to wait/schedule a shot you got to use:

- Physical filters to enhance/control your light conditions.
- HDR post processing techniques which allow you to "travel" anywhere in time! ;)

Humans go crazy with HDR, of course, and I am not gonna talk about it because anything is possible on that "reality". It is more of an artistic concept which is limited only by your mind:
But is seem like the best shots are often controlled only with physical filters and those remain much close to the reality. Polarizing filters (on the right) are magic as you know:

...and you dont need much computer knowledge behind it!

Though, there is some important notions that I am gonna share here:
Polarizing light depends on the light source location. It is hard to polarize under direct light and its very easy to do it under indirect light or on light reflections... well, all this terms may sound complex so I did an illustrations that helps understanding it in another way:

If you look at the Sun directly, it is not possible to polarize much
If you look 90° left or right, you get 100% polarizing possibilities
If you look to the sky with your back to the Sun you get no polarize again

You dont need to look at the time, either to know where the north is! The only thing to know is: where the Sun, [light source], is!

Even in the arctic where in the winter time we dont see the Sun at all, we feel it, and it is easy to tell what is the direction of it! The light polarizer filter works the same way and it is as powerful as if the Sun would be there:
[this shot was taken with no Sun at 1pm]

[Click to see full res.]

Now, the rule is as simple as:
If you want to have High polarizing light in your shot, the best is to look straight to the Sun and try and shoot over your left or right shoulder. There you go! :)
On this photo above the Sun was 90° to my left, (over my left shoulder), therefore I got good light conditions for my shot!

Take care and share your photos at Deviantart.com ;)

Helder Neves
04/03/2008

Intel i7 VS Intel P4

2009-12-17T08:09:00.001-08:00

We want it cheap and fast...

Experiment:
Comparing 3 different CPU Architectures @2,8Ghz.

Field: Designers, architects, engineers... Platform: PC

Work-flow method:

I am "again" very skeptic about the new Intel i7 and my particular working method. I use a fully auto-updatable chain of work. That mean, if I change a pixel anywhere it gets updated automatically throughout the "chain of programs" until the last presentation file. No re-linking, no replacement, no further arrangement... only Open and Save. It is quite pleasant to work like that and you dont need much resources but it demands a loot from your Processor (CPU) and technology is just not that advanced yet!

Today's key is no longer about speed but instead intelligence! And that has nothing to do with the number of cores in a CPU. This is very clear in this experiment.
I have put aside my hunger for speed and kept all CPUs running all at 2,8ghz.
Since all the tasks that you will see do not make use of more then 1 core, there is no problem in comparing the i7 (4cores) with P4 (1core). The challenge is then mostly about intelligence!

Bellow you can see the selected CPUs and its approximate price as of today:

1 - An Intel Pentium 4 from 2004 (P4)= 20€
2 - An Intel Dual-Core from 2007 (E6)= 40€
3 - An Intel _i7_ (860) from 2009 ( i7 )= 250€

I added my current CPU (@4,1Ghz) to the experiment.
I am an O.C. addicted - is it worth?
4 - An Intel Dual-Core from 2009 (E7)= 100€

Windows XP 32bit_3Gb RAM_HDD@200mb/s
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For the experiment is used a completed Project of Architecture (2D) and then I have selected the most annoying tasks that we pray to see them finished:

Yes, after 10years of experience in Autocad, this test clearly shows that Architects are reaching the limit of complexity in AutoCAD. Next project I will jump into Autocad Architecture, where the concepts of hatching and blocks-edits are no longer a daily task.

Anyway:
- Check it out!!! Intel i7 really has a problem handling the Hatch cmd on 2d complex areas. And no, its not the configuration set! I have tried the same file on the latest software and it performs as bad! Worst than that is having Autocad running in Apple with that super heavy virtual windows! It scored 183s to complete the same task on a Dual-Core 2,4Ghz. Why do you guys work in a laptop anyway?!?!

The rest of the tests seem coherent although I was expecting a much higher performance out of the new Intel i7 in comparison with the previews generation! Hei Autodesk, this is just ridiculous actually!

- The most annoying task is when you are editing a block and hit "accidentally" ctrl+s to save the file, (something totally automated in my brain), and then, as you know, Autocad is not programed correctly for that and it will halt some operations to get your job saved and then put you back where you were.... well... it results in a head-ache for the CPU and for you. Thanks God the we dont depend on Pentium4 anymore.

Conclusion:

Buying the Dual-Core technology at higher speeds, will always deliver you the cheapest and fastest solution.

AFTER AUTOCAD:
We jump into the coolest Layout program - InDesign - It takes us out of that stiffness and pain of configure beautiful LAYOUTS in Autocad.
If you got anything above Intel Pentium4, no need to upgrade but either ways, the key factor here is definitely the access to your hard drive to keep track of all links as quickly as possible. In my case I am working with Matrix RAID 0, which delivers quite OK performance and it costs only the price of an extra drive.
ADVICE:
If you really enjoy working, try to use your RAM as a "hard drive" to store all your links. (All my CAD-PDF links are less than 20mb, so its enough to create a 100mb drive) This will make your experience in Indesign, delightful but again, its a pity that we cannot use all 4 cores of Intel i7. That would have been just crazy :) There is plenty of those programs that allows you to create a Disk out of your RAM, one of them is RAMDisk. (RAMdisk is not used for this test)
(remember that this is a hight complex indesign file)

Finally, we got to the paper or almost, with our favorite filetype: PDF!
It seem to take a little advantage from your graphic card on screen redraws and panning. [tick the box in "Preferences\page display\use 2d GPU acceleration"], ...but since the new graphic cards cannot handle it well, I did this test without it ticked off.

Again, only one CPU/Core, is used by default in any platform of your choice. SAD... really saaaaaad!
Waiting 2seconds to see the next A1 page is just stupid regarding the computer power that we have nowadays! It seem to works a bit faster on Acrobat 9 with a compatible GPU... but still!

Conclusion & Advises:
Buying a new computer for 2d drawing tasks? ...well dont! Better changing your autocad to the architecture version or REVIT version if your aim is architecture! Anyway I know that there are many out there that refuse to do so, and this post is for all of you:

1 - For once, forget the words "multi-core", "multi-task", ... , those are marketing strategy issues that apply only to a very special public. (If you are one of then, dont worry because you didn't reach this paragraph on the blog) ;)
2 - A proof of that is that you can actually increase Intel i7 performance by constraining the CPU to use just one of the cores. (the same on the Dual-Core) The question though is: Why isn't that happening automatically? The CPU should detect mono-core tasks and should avoid splitting calculations along all the cores which is clearly the key problem, but I am not an engineer to argue on that.
3 - Forget about Intel i5. It is as "intelligent" as Dual-Core, which means that you should invest instead in the old Dual-core generation. Buy the fastest and you will get the best system.
4 - And last but not least, remeber: NONE of this tasks will perform faster if you upgrade your Graphic Card. YES THEY DONT! New graphic cards can even difficult 2D processes. Its a long story but if you ever experience slow redraws on Autocad or InDesign, try to push ctrl+alt+del and kill the dwm.exe and restart the application. It works for me! :) As far as I googled it, it seem to try to use the graphic card to handle 2d and it does not really work on new Graphic cards (specially ATI)!

So, as you can see, the fastest system that you can buy as of today is actually very cheap!

If I dont reply to you it is probably because I was murdered by either Intel or Autodesk for expose... no... please... stop... no... BANG! BANG!

"They are lying to all of us, but only playing with all of YOU"

You are welcome :)
Helder Neves

TAGS: single dual quad core i7 vs multi core e6000 e7000 Autocad 2008 2010 revit vs aautocad Adobe CS3 CS4

...my birthyear?!

2009-11-22T04:35:00.000-08:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

photo by: death-by-romance

I couldnt remember my birth year... 12-05-198§

Titó - mini car - shopping

2009-11-21T00:03:00.000-08:00

He has a new car. Small and cute but it is indeed a rebel! After all, Titó is an expert driver and he is just showing off one more time. He never let his sickness to be the main thing in his life. We know it actually is and deep inside he knows it too but he refuses to live his sickness!!! I guess that is the reason he is still alive! And he always will!!!

Today he got a little accident - nothing really bad but he manage to crash his car into a child's house. The worst part is that all the shopping is on the street, all over the place actually and ppl at taking it. Bastards! I am trying to help pick it up but they wont give it back.

...this sound is a radio... somehow it is still playing even after being ripped off from the car...

...it is a very small car actually!

Victor hugo rich man

2009-11-20T10:42:00.000-08:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"photo by: automotive-eye-candy

Victor Hugo got fucking rich and bought a fantastic car similar to a porche. But he doesnt like to drive so I was assigned to that. Tiago was on the back with the window open always insulting people and we got in trouble because of that! Vania was laughing on the back too and victor hugo was trying to light up a join while I was busy getting the car out of that place and getting way from the rocks that people through at us.

damn we are flying.................

Vulcano in the fjord

2009-10-14T13:28:00.000-07:00

Suddenly a permanent light earth quake starts to generate new mountains...
...in about an hour there was a 1km height mountain behind my house...
... lava runs on the fjords instead of water! I thought lava was very hot...
... a lot of tourists
... I hate them,
... it was so quiet before... why Nature, why?!?! I hate the lava season!

Save all your stuff! ...but, where is my stuff?
It was there, I remember, but I cant find it!

People living together in a big house!!! A lot of confusion!
The keys... I found them!... but what can I do with them?!?
I hope this is just a dream, ... it was so much better without the fu**ing vulcano!

...beautiful eyes!

Adobe Bridge CS3 & 45nm Wolfdale

2009-07-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

Bridge CS3 does not recognize your Wolfdale cpu properly?

- It gives a warning message of incompatible cpu,
- Slide show hangs up,
- Performance problems,

UPDATE to version 2.1.1. [here] and it will run faster then CS4.

You're welcome,
Helder Neves

Canon 864mm Lens - Compact

2009-07-21T05:13:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken by kalimalang12 and it shows a 800mm lens for SLR

The idea here is to mount a super mega tele-lens in an affordable way. (using compact cameras) One of the biggest built-it "zoom" available is the Canon S series and I got the S3 for the test, (you can use an S5 as well).
Canon offers an original 1,5x converter for the S series.
In the G series, canon offers a 2x converter. Those are recommended to be used as follow:

The point is that I am not easy to please and I know that Raynox quality is nothing wow... so lets keep on CANON and see how far can I go! hehe, it rhymed!

What happens if we accidentally misuse it? :) Placing the big tele-2x on the wrong camera:

...resulting in a hardcore focal lengh of 800mm+
The Tele-2x is the converter TC-DC58C made for Canon G7 (or G9). Meanwhile we need an adapter, in this case the LA-DC58H which is compatible with both Canon S3, S5 and "are made to be used" with the Tele-1,5x (TC-DC58B) but since its a 58mm mount, it is physically compatible and sits perfectly on the S3.

Prices:
Adapter LA-DC58H= €20,0 on ebay (canon dont produce it anymore)
Tele 2,0x TC-DC58C = €135,0 (new is about €165,0)
Tele 1,5x TC-DC58B = €130,0 new

RANGE:
On the non-cropped frame bellow you can see a mine wooden structure captured at 0,9Km distance:

I guess you cant recognize the person, but still I was quite impressed with it. Though, no voyeur at 0,9Km! Sorry :) ...have to lower down my standards!!! :)

Doubling the focal length:
Below you can compare the stock focal and the doubled one.
It actually represents a 1,91x of "magnification" and not 2,0x,(820mm final focal length). That could makes a difference once we are at those high values.

Rounding those numbers we get:

The feeling of shooting at 800mm is great. Thanks to the image stabilizer that makes it possible! Even just walking around the tripod makes the image to shiver a loot so keep high speed shooting is highly recommended.

400mm VS 800mm quality on the Canon S3:
The test was shooting at ISO80 and f/8.0 to assure the best quality available by the Canon S3.

Shooting at long distances, sharpness becomes really important to me. But even before I could dive into sharpness details, there is a major factor that seem to destroy all the images - the chromatic aberration which is huge!
On this shot one can easily see that blowing up a native S3 photo will in fact produce better results than the 800mm.

CONCLUSION:
So I would definitely NOT recommend you to swap lens from different models :) Its now proved being not a better solution than Raynox.
If you really looking for an improve on your compact camera, buy certified material to ensure you at least the same quality as you're having now. The 1,5x tele lens for this Canon S3 might really be worth then! And as you can see its not that different in terms of field captured!

Anyway this lens works much better on my Canon G6, although at only 280mm (tests coming this summer)

E7500 vs X6800

2009-07-16T13:04:00.000-07:00

Well, I even did all the tests but the difference in performance between both are less then 1%!
The difference occurs only when overclocking both of this CPUs. As the X6800 showed difficulties to run above 3,4ghz, while the E7500 can get with no problems near 3,9ghz!

I'll wait for the E7600, which is the fastest and last CPU manufactured for this socket!

E6300 vs X6800 "5" Conclusion

2009-07-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

I guess thats it!

As you will see, even with an extreme system, (as Intel calls it), there is extremely slow processes handling digital image/drawings. This is because, all the software that I use is designed mostly for Single-Core. Yes it it true! The thing is that on my old P4 both threads would be working at full power and now, in the dual-core technology, not even one cpu ever runs at 100% in any application Therefore I really miss the higher frequency of Intel P4 with the Hyper-threading technology that allows that great management!

Anyway:
The overall score of X6800 over E6300 is only 33% more!!! A score that is directly proportional to its frequency speed achieved by overclocking. Now I really question the need of more cache memory in practical use, being WinRAR the only program that takes advantage of it!

My hope now goes to the plan B - Selling this extreme CPU and buying the newer E7500 at the exact same speed as this Extreme X6800, but with only 3mb of cache. It has a new architecture: "Wolfdale-3M", it consumes less voltage, therefore less heat, and it can handle up to 75°C :) Hopefully it will reach 4Ghz+ and give a real bust to the crucial application as InDesign!

Remember, if you are a user of the applications described on this blog, you do not need more then one core, but you need a fast one!

Leave you with some CPU-z of the processors that I have been talking about:

E6300 vs X6800 "4" Benchmark

2009-07-07T10:51:00.000-07:00

Are you an Architect or Designer?
This might be of high relevance for you!

Time to test it in all my daily routines:
First, testing how fast the applications start up:
I keep both processors so that you can see the difference:
Remember that E6300 cost me three yr ago 180€, and few months later the X6800 cost over 800€. Considering that price difference, the starting-up time performance is ridiculous!!! The old and cheap dual core still rocks!!! And I am sure that I am not bounded by the hard drive, LOL (which is capable of an average of 222Mb/s, and an access time of less then 5ms)
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And now having a close look at each application, starting by Windows XP SP3, and one of the things that I suffer with is rotating images:
In case you are considering to get a new camera with thousands of mega pixels, give it a second thought!!! A fact is, you never rotate only 10pictures ;)
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Photoshop is one of the application that I enjoy most working with. Its quick in most actions, so I decide to test the others situations:
On this one I am not asking more then what I had, but still, resizing images is boring!!!
Not to highlight the terrible score in opening large files!!!
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All the wrinkles on my face are due to InDesign! Thats the crucial program that collects all the data produced by all other programs and where the final posters are composed:
Please make an effort and look closely to the first 2 tests:
6 seconds of waiting time to zoom in?!
8 seconds of waiting time to shift page?!
Of course that, after the you order the first action, the following ones have a better responce, but once you change page "accidentally" in high quality preview, its always a nightmare!!!
And, yes I do need to have it in "print preview" mode!
(...SO WHAT?!?!)
I need to see how the fucking shit is going to look like... OK!!! ;)
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Oh! I hate this one as much as the previews one!
I simply want to shift page and it takes ages to perform my request:
Once again, only one core is used to perform those 2,5s of waiting time to "simply" shift a page. The use of two cores would make it an acceptable score, but still...
Anyway, it is better but way pre-historic value. And this is claimed to be a top 10 CPU on the market, according to Tomshardware in April 2009!!! Thanks mom for sending me Fluoxetine every month!!! Love you!!!
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Oh, this one has been a struggle. The version 2.0 would refresh a brush action every 2seconds!!! Impossible to use!!!This version is much better but having to wait 1 second between each action is making me not use it. Why doesn't it work in real time as in Photoshop? Nobody knows! Anyway, 2fps is a quite good improvement and I might give it a try more often but it is still very disappointing!
(even milking the X6800, did not pay back the cpu stress so I keep it at stock voltages @3,4ghz)
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The most un-human software ever designed:
Maybe the publishing tool is suppose to be used once or twice in the end of your project but my InDesign is linked to PDF files that are automatic updated with the publishing tool in AutoCAD.
That means that every time I want to preview my final poster I have to wait (now) 2min:43sec!!! Still unacceptable!!!
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Finally the only 2 applications that I use that profit of the multi-core capabilities of the cpu:
Of course any Quad-Core CPU would win on this benchmark since it depends on the number of cores available. Its rare that I use 3DS, so It is not worth having a more energy consumption CPU that only produces heat and requires a better cooling!

E6300 vs X6800 "3" Overclock

2009-07-04T09:38:00.000-07:00

Overclocking the X6800 was a nightmare, or actually a daymare, because in Svalbard there is no night :) hehehe what a nice joke! pffff

It has an unlocked multiplier that can be set from 6x to 20x. This means that you can change it from its native 11x to 12x and you get a 3,2ghz (12 x 266mhz = 3,2ghz). The value "266mhz" is the internal bus of the processor. These processors have 4 bus lines and this results in a FSB of 1066mhz. (266mhz x4 = 1066mhz)

Very simple! Now you just have to know the limits of your components and know "what is limiting what": For example if you find that your motherboard has a FSB limit of 1200mhz, that means your processor cannot have a bus over 300mhz. (1200mhz/4 = 300mhz). And in this situation your are definitely bounded to the limit of your motherboard.

And just to add some useful info on how to overclock:
Normally I start increasing the BUS in 10mhz increments until the system does not boot-up anymore and then lower one increment and thats it! Simple!

The problem with this X6800 is that it needs more power to go anything above its stock values. Then, in order to go beyond, I had to increase power. So, up the vcore 0.05v until it becomes stable again, (within the 1.350v limit suggested by Intel). If you reach the voltage limit and it is still unstable, then lower the BUS in 5mhz increments until it boots again.

Well, not so simple... sometimes even withing the bounded limits there is another factor that limits the maths - the temperature. Temperature tends to be quite linear on increase of BUS frequency but it raises exponentially if you increase voltage. Something that we dont want to do since we are cooling on air and like our machine to produce ZERO noise!!!

To test stability and temperature I use:
1 - PRIME95 to torture the CPU.
2 - Any other program to monitor temperature. For example RealTemp v3.0 seem pretty good. (not compatible with P4) In this case it cannot go over 60°C (suggested by intel) Check out the Tj max of your processor here and update this value on RealTemp program. This is a factor that will tune up your reading to be precise! For the X6800 is [75].
3 - I use a copper Zalman heat-sink with the fan at its minimum rotations/sec. Zero noise addicted! :)

After a couple of tests I realize that having a free multiplier is not as fantastic as it sound. As you increase the multiplier, you have to lower the FSB, so..... whats the point?!?! Well, it makes sense if you feed in more power on the CPU but, that is not my goal! I want it safe, nice and clean! :)

Here you can see the differences of maximum overclock on Air (indoors), that I manage on my old CPU and on my new one:Sadly, very sadly... I gave up after one day of overclocking it and the maximum that I could squeeze, was those miserable 3,4Ghz. :( Even my old CPU could run a faster internal BUS speed. Very disappointing!!!!!!

If I switch to its native 11x multiplier, the maximum BUS that I could reach was 310mhz. Giving the same 3,4Ghz..... Miserable!!! (310x11=3400)
Of course that the higher the BUS speed, the higher the FSB, as follow:

4 lines of 310mhz BUS = 1240mhz of FSB (4x310=1240)
4 lines of 340mhz of BUS = 1360mhz of FSB (4x340=1360)

Thats why I prefer to run the same speed at a higher FSB. Offering a greater bandwidth to the CPU!
Actually this would only be needed once both processors work at full power. Something that never in my regular tasks:I have no relevant applications that profit of multi-core! Do you? Then this blogg is not for you!

E6300 vs X6800 "2" downclock

2009-07-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

First I downclocked the X6800 to 2,6ghz in order to compare its performance with my current system.

Considering that it has 4mb of Cache L2, it should perform better but there was actually a lost in performance of about -1 or -2% in all tested applications:...which means that more cache does not directly increase performance!
The only application that it showed better performance was WinRAR:

...in a rather unusual attempt of compacting 1 file of 730mb! I never do that so, more cache is not relevant for me.

E6300 vs X6800 "1" Intro

2009-07-04T07:41:00.000-07:00

After a long 3 years battle having the feeling that my Intel E6300 1,8ghz is slower than my old P4 HT @3.4ghz, I decide to upgrade seeking top performance on specific applications for designers and architects.

Might seem weird but my intel P4 was very well synchronized with my levels of patience! Today I believe that it had to do with the P4 Hyper-threading technology that its over since then!
Some time after the top of the line Prescott P4 HT 672 @3,8ghz was out, Intel launched the Dual core at 1,8Ghz! That is 2Ghz less and without Hyper-threading, but with a new set of instructions, the SSSE3. They claim that it was faster and I believed! Although as soon as I got it, my workflow stop to flow and it remain just work!!!

The production of my actual CPU line is over long ago:
...but since now we can have the top of the line for the same price as a new processor, it is probably worth risking it considering that the Extreme Editions are always on the top performance. Plus it has the same frequency of the newest E7500, 2,93ghz, 3mb, on the marked that could be a second option and plus, it comes with a newer set of instructions, the SSE4.1.

Anyway I gone Extreme:
So I bought on ebay the Extreme Edition of the dual core family, the X6800!
The idea, of course, is to overclock the X6800 proportionally to the E6300 and hopefully reach the 4Ghz, which would definitely get things done in similar time compared to my old Intel P4.

My system:

Motherboard: P5W DH deluxe, bios 1506 [free multiplier], MCH@1.60v
RAM: Gskill 3Gb Dual-Channel @1:1 synchronization, @2.10v
Processor: E6300 1,8Ghz [@2.6ghz], @stock voltage
HDD: Matrix RaidO, 2xVelociRaptor, 222mb/s of average, 5ms
Graphics: I am not a gamer :)

SLR + LiveView + Exposure simulation

2009-06-03T06:46:00.000-07:00

I just found that Nikon SLRs uses a fake LiveView!

That leads me to conclude that there is 2 types of technology under the name "LiveView":

1 - The most common one that I will start calling LivePreView: which shows actually a preview of the White balance, Exposure, Focus and Depth of field, according to the speed & aperture and settings selected.
It is updated in real time for any parameter change and will capture a very similar picture to the one that you are previewing at any moment. Basically the same as we are all used to, in most of our compact cameras.

2 - The new and weird one used by Nikon that I would call PassiveLiveView: which is the same as looking through a viewfinder, so the only thing that it is able to show is the area in focus.
If you are indoors in M mode and you set the shutter speed at 1/4000 the LiveView should show a black picture but instead it shows the same picture as at 1/40. Which means that if you press the shutter release button you will get a totally different picture!!!

***Conclusion***

Canon 1000D, 500D, 50D, uses the system 1 at a screen refresh rate of 30fps and has the ability to show a LiveHistogram during live view.
Nikon D5000, D90, D300, uses the system 2 at a screen refresh rate of 15fps ! and no LiveHistogram (I couldnt find it)

WHY? Really, I dont understand! Canon has this technology since the first LiveView SLR.

I did not check out other brands but since I have most of the features on my 5years old compact camera, I cannot migrate yet.

Helder Neves

Scale referance your photos.

2009-04-24T01:10:00.000-07:00

This post is most applicable for close-up and macro photography!

Photo by: Helder Neves

CanonG6+FilterCloseUp250D_f/8.0_1/250

My interest for CloseUp photography has recently raise due to many influences and one is highly related to the corrent course that I am taking at the AHO - Performance Oriented Design, lectured by Michael Hensel and Defne Sunguroglu, in an attempt to understand the evolution of shape in Nature.

Introduction:
On this course, I have analyzed carefully the structure of a Raffia tree Fruit using my best skills of photography. CloseUp and Macro techniques require a narrow DOF that can get quite annoying in most situations but on the other hand its innate precision offers some really nice advantages that I am going to share next:

Background knowledge:
You might have noticed that while composing a shot, (despite the aperture selected), the camera uses always the bigger aperture available as a previewing method. "The desired aperture is applied only when you take the shot". This "fact" constrains the user to a very narrow DOF provided by that big aperture and that allows the user to precisely position the sharp plane in the scene. Lets take the case of the CanonEFS60mm Lens where the closest sharp plane is located at 200mm from the sensor as you can see on the composition and illustration bellow:

The interesting fact is that on this level of approach the width difference between a field captured at 200mm or a field captured accidentally at 199mm or 201mm, are unperceptive! (<=0,1mm) This gives us enough confidence to set up a scale factor in all our photos.

In another words that means, if you often photograph at the closest focus distance of your camera, the captured area is the same for every shot. Relying on that, one can measure that field once, and use it as a scale ratio label in all our photos.

How precise is this method?
For example, an aperture f/2,8 on a CanonEFS60mm Lens, gives you a DOF of 2mm and within these 2mm, the width difference between the captured fields, (either your focus purpose is at 199mm, 200mm or 201mm), are so small that its mostly imperceptible! I have tried my best measuring them and "maybe" I can say that I noticed a difference of a field horizontal width of 20.9mm, 21.0mm and 21.1mm, respectively.
This mean: if you just forget about numbers and trust only your eye, you will most likely get a maximum error of <0,3mm.

So that you believe it: In that recent work that I did of about 30 High quality CloseUp photos, I sometimes noticed an inaccuracy of 0,3 to 0,4mm max. But be aware that this has occur in less then 10% of the photos sample!
If thats enough for you, then keep reading! :)

Method:
1 - Set the lens focus to its minimum distance.
2 - Photograph a ruler and write down the exact number of milliliters (you only have to do this once in your life ;)
3 - Shot something...
4 - Insert the picture in any software that you use. (i.e. Word, PowerPoint, Photoshop, InDesign, ...) Access to the picture details and set the width of the Photo to the value that you have previously measured on the ruler:

This picture is now at the same scale as in the real world once you print it. Its simple, I know! ;)
5 - If you want to magnify this photo two times, you can use any of those programs to scale it to 200%, and there you go!
6 - Dont forget to Label the photo with your settings as illustrated bellow:

Photo by: Helder Neves

7 - If you have forgotten the scale of the picture, just go back to the step4, and repeat all process again.

Enjoy & let me know of something unclear.
Helder Neves

COMPACT, dSLR(APS-C) and SLR potential

2009-04-21T22:41:00.000-07:00

On the previous post we wrapped it up with a chart that contained values of innate magnification camera ratios.
Those values only make sense while speaking about a specific camera model. As we have seen, if we compare another camera that has a different sensor size, then all the other factors change as well, i.e.: focal length, magnifications, etc.

In order to make some sense out of those values in an universal photography language, we use to convert them to a 35mm full frame format (SLR) camera.
The chart bellow shows all those values in the same scale so that you can easily compare them and make your choice:

- How good is my camera in comparison to an SLR?

- How big can I print this macro?

- How many times can I magnify this object?

F.O.V. is the Field of view. You can use a ruler to measure this value by focusing the closest and register how many millimiters can you see.
D.O.F. is the Depth of the field in focus. This value in close-up photography can be extremely small.

At this point we can finally understand why does compact cameras advertise as having Macro capabilities. Actually, if you compare them with an SLR, they can get quite close to 1:1 and in some cameras you can even select a SuperMacro that can go beyond 1:1 which is finally worth its name!
In this case, my CanonG6, can actually get a higher ratio then an SLR. One of the down sides is when you need to print it or crop it: The G6 uses only 3 megapixel for that while the SLRs use normally a greater sensor, therefore a greater definition/clarity/magnification/... .

Hope that its now clear what your choices are!

Helder Neves - Photos

Helder Neves - Facebook

Dont hesitate in contact :)

What is SUPER MACRO mode?

2009-04-13T07:22:00.000-07:00

This post is based on my own experiments/analyze with Canon G-series! Please let me know if you find something not correct in it!

Previously we have confirmed the maximum magnification of our lens and the lens with a close up filter. In my case it was:

- Normal macro could capture 55mm of a ruler meaning 0.13x of magnification, (or a ratio of 1:8)
- CloseUp lens could capture 36mm of a ruler meaning 0.20x of magnification, (or a ratio of 1:5)

Now, we are going to see the advantages of the Super Macro mode.
Some cameras have a Super Macro mode that allows you to focus even closer to the subject then the normal macro mode, without the need of extra lenses!
I have this option on my Canon G6 but I never used it because in this mode, the camera reduces the resolution from 7Mpx to 3Mpx. Therefore I could not understand what is the good side of it, considering that apparently we can do the same crop on Photoshop!!!

The only way to understand if we can use it for any good, is to test the magnification difference between these modes:

From this illustration above, you can clearly see that the Super Macro mode is not a simple crop of a 7Mpx picture. It has a greater magnification that we can see even without any further calculation!
I asked Canon: "What does the camera do in order to get more magnification without compromising quality and why do we loose resolution?" The answer was: "We are not allowed to share this type of information!" LOL hehehe
So I took that as a challenge and here we go:

When we are making a macro photo at maximum focal length (140mm in my camera) and activate the Super Macro mode the camera takes about 2 seconds to re-adjust the lens. I checked what was that re-adjustment and found the answer in the EXIF data of the picture taken in Super Macro mode. It has a focal length of 88mm instead of 140mm. So the re-adjustment is actually the camera setting up the lens to precisely 88mm.
It seem that the lens is automatically positioned at the focal length that allows an even closer focus distance, witch in this case is 5cm. Then, in order to increase magnification the camera does a second operation: it reduces the sensor area size to 3mpx instead of 7mpx. This is fantastic!
As we have seen from previews posts, smaller sensors have a greater power to magnify since it reduces the "perspective cone" of the projected picture onto the sensor.
This new sensor area is now only 4,78mm wide, (real size of the sensor), and combined with the 88mm focal length is now capable of capturing about 25mm of the ruler. Considering that the normal macro mode can capture a minimum of 55mm, this new value of 25mm represents a 2,2x times greater magnification!!!

In another words:
The magnification of the normal macro mode was 0.13x and now is 2.2 times greater! (0.13x2.2=0.26).
That equals a ratio of 1:4
The downside is that in this way you only have 3mpx of detail, representing a print of max. 15x10cm in hight definition!

Of course after that I has wagging to try the Super Macro mode with the CloseUp 250D and here is the result:

Apart from the fact that you can get a sharp 22mm representing a fantastic magnification of 0,33x (or a ratio of 1:3), it becomes quite useless due to the narrow 3cm of working distance. Self shading become an issue, making the scene really hard to light properly.

Here is a conclusion chart of all the settings for my equipment in comparison to a REAL macro system:
CanonG6+CloseUp250D vs Canon1000D+EF-S 60mm Macro lens

How close can you get?

2009-03-24T06:47:00.000-07:00

Lets find out how close can you get from an object and determine its overall magnification:

First we have to try and use the highest focal length (zoom) that is possible on your camera. So that the smallest portion of the object is selected. This will as well create a comfortable working distance between the front of the lens and the object. That is important so that you do not obstruct with the camera or your head, the light coming to object).
Some compact cameras let you focus at 1mm distance from the lens but at that distance you are already shading the object with the camera, so that become quite useless:

We dont want this, so lets get serious:

1 - Select the highest focal length (push the zoom until the maximum)
2 - Select Manual focus to the closest possible.
3 - Select an aperture close to f/8.0 which represents the sharpest picture that you can get. (very important for macro photography)
4 - Now move your camera close to the object until is appears sharp on the screen.
5 - Use a tripod to eliminate vibration or use a flash unit and the max. shutter speed that you can, (usually 1/250s with flash). If you dont use a flash unit, set you camera do shot 2s after you press the botton so that you are sure to avoid vibration. Macro photography register things that are very very small. A tiny vibration of 1/15s on the camera can easily be translated as 1/15mm of motion in the picture and that is enough to blur the skin detail of an insect! Macro photography is almost a delicate surgery mission :)

The max. focal length of my camera is 140mm and the closes that I can focus is 15cm:

The picture that you see above is the result of this settings. If you have a bigger focal length or a better ability lens to focus closer, than you probably got greater results.
In my case I can capture about 55,5mm.

As you know from the last posts, to determine the factor of magnification, we need to know the size of the sensor. In this case: Canon G6 has a sensor 7.18mm wide. So if you divide that by the amount of milliliters that you captured, 55,5mm, you get a number of 0,13 which means that the picture was magnified 0,13 times (0,13x)

This "poor" value of 55,5mm, can be improved if you buy some accessories. In my case I bought the Canon CloseUp250D. My results now are:

The CloseUp250D have enhanced the magnification area from the previews 55,5mm to 36,0mm. Bellow you can see both and realize that it is quite some improve to use the CloseUP Lens:

This means that the magnification value is going to be bigger: 7,18mm/36mm=0,20 (0,20times or 0,20x). (Brands as Sigma would write 1:5)

With those 0,20x magnification, the maximum that I can do is something like this:

(Click for hi-resolution)

This picture has been cropped about 50% of the original size.

In the SRL world there are lens dedicated macro photography that can magnify until 1,00x, which can be considerably grater than what my Compact Canon G6 can do!!! ...yes, we keep on dreaming about that!!! [example]

Learn more about the potential of Macro in COMPACT, dSLR and SLR cameras, here.

You are welcome!
Helder Neves

Dont hesitate in contact! :)

Compact cameras & Macro ability

2009-03-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

On the last post we have seen that if you move the sensor away from the lens, you will get a greater magnification.
So, what happens if instead of doing that, you buy a camera with a smaller sensor?

Moving the sensor backwards has the same effect as reducing the size of the sensor so that the final projection remains the same as when you move it backwards:

Compare this illustration with the one in the previews post (also bellow) where we had to use an Extension Tube to get the same magnifying ability:

TIP: Smaller sensor cameras are cheaper ;)

Helder Neves

PC for an Architecture/Design student

2009-03-18T17:43:00.000-07:00

"Out of the frustration of trying to convince students to limit their files to 100dpi - and why?!?"

This tutorial will save your ass doesnt matter how skilled you are in computers and with the minimum budget.

FIRST lets add some fun to it and start by rating yourself accordingly:

Class 4 - A totally dumb:
Someone that doesn't give a dam about a size of the drawing/picture and just want it to be printed out as quick as possible.
Class 3 - A dumb "pro":
Someone that can manage around in the different programs and can render very well but insists in making A0 posters with vectorial data in PhotoShop!
Class 2 - A normal student:
Someone that has all the posters structured in InDesign. All objects are linked to all other programs and automatically updated in a effective chain. But he/she still insist in using Windows Vista instead of Windows XP because its beautiful. "Beauty doesn't really go along with PC. If you looking for that go MAC..... and good luck!"
Class 1 - If you 1st class, you are probably not reading this sentence!

Did you know that although you bought a... lets say, 2Ghz laptop, it actually runs always bellow 1Ghz? That is like going back 5years in history and you have just bought it right? Happy birthday!
In order to correct that you must do something really simple: In Windows XP, go to Control Panel then click in Power Options, on the Power Schemes tab. and then select the "Always On" power scheme.

SECOND: throw your laptop away! ... yes, NOW!

Or better, convert it into a pillow! :) Because there is no salvation to you!

Have you noticed that you have spent all your academic carrier serving your laptop?!? Shouldnt it be the other way around?
Doesnt matter which one you have, it will always be slow, extremely slow! First because you dont know its limitations and second because still today (march 2009), they are not ready for the amount of data that we deal with.

Thus, what do you need the laptop for? ...to spent all your day chatting in MSN? Yes, its true, be honest with yourself. That is what I see 90% of my colleagues doing the whole day.
A laptop is a limitation for your development as a human being while studding architecture. It always postpones your stream of thoughts and you have to wait in order to express yourself. How awful does that feel?!?! And then, stop blaming the school system and the teachers about your depression and the nights without sleep, OK!
In 2011 feel free to buy a good laptop and I assure you will have no problems. On this, lays the answer to the problem:

You (class 4 and 3 student) that generate an enormous amount of data:
What is the device responsible to handle all your crap?

Class 4 would answer the memory RAM, luckily it is cheap nowadays... good luck!
The RAM will help but the amount of data produced by those students is so insane that actually the only utopian way to save you would be to use all the RAM at school!

Class 3 would answer the processor! ...yeah... right... something that process faster so that you can generate even more crap in shorter time!!! lol
These students share the same problem as before with the extra fact that they need to render fast in order to progress with the rest of the crap. A perfect night mare...

Class 2 would answer the hard disk.... and in no time they would run to buy the newest GP disk...
The problem is that they think that GP stands for something like Grand Prix while it stands for Green Power - meaning low energy and low performance!

Definitely all those answers will "help" their needs (but in a very inefficient and expensive way)
At least a class 2 student would of course understand that One can have the cheapest processor and the cheapest memory RAM but an HDD (Hard disk Drive) is the Heart that you want to be looking after in your computer.

I am working as a student assistant at the Architecture University for 2 years and an example of a common nightmare from the students class 4 and class 3 is when they resample images.
*resampling is when you need to change the size (resolution/quality) of your images in photoshop.

Dont ask me why they need that, its a fact! They do!
So, I stopped advising workflow strategies and start advising hardware strategies ;) Therefore this post!

But I must insist one last time: "This is something that you dont need to do if you change your working routines.

Using the resamplig example: Converting in CS3 an insane 400mb A0 PSD file (300dpi) into an A0 (100dpi):

Note: It doesnt matter your CPU! Your dual-core CPU will never pass 50% because CS3 is a single-core application. The same scenario with Autocad, archicad, ... etc
If you got a Quad-core... I am very sorry for you - you will only use the other 3 cores in Renders! How often do you do render?

This operation, that most students do, will generate at least 1500Mb of data that has to be written in the Hard disk. So, if your hard disk does not write fast enough then your CPU has to wait for it to be written, as you can see on the "use of CPU" column above!
It doesnt matter if you have a NASA cpu or an old Pentium4, the time needed will in "most cases" be similar if you dont change your hard drive!
Only by getting disks that are quicker to write than your CPU can calculate, and only then you can think of a faster CPU, but I have never met anyone that lucky :) "in common tasks"

Just to drop some figures of the 2 disks, writing that such a file:

50€ = Seagate barracuda 7200.11 (2008 model)= about ~28 seconds to complete
100€ = Wester Digital Caviar GP (2009 model) = about ~45 seconds to complete

Same capacity disks and a total different performance!
I think that you start to get the point now.... hummmm!!! All that money that you spent in your new PC/laptop... oh well, at least you can chat with it! Not bad! Just... PLEASE... turn off that annoying sound of when someone gets online! BTW, have you thought of calling your friends instead of chatting for hours?!

You can be a Class 1 student if you manage to reach, read and understand the idea until sentence, despite my crap English ;) If so, now you are ready for the secret, click here!

Good luck,
"Luck" its something good to carry around in an architecture school as well ;)

Helder Neves
in: "Architecture cannot solve everything"

Macro Lenses

2009-03-18T17:42:00.001-07:00

This post will help you to understand basic notions about macro photography, macro lens and how are objects magnified.

We will concentrate on the size of the sensor of the camera and how pictures are projected to it, so that:

As you can see from the illustration above, most cameras are meant to reduce things and not magnifying them. A magnification starts when an object is registered in the sensor at a bigger size then in its real life, i.e. greater than 1.0x or greater than 1:1.

The illustration above represents the maximum magnification of a common macro lens. So, one can say that macro is when you reach this stage! Still not satisfied? Well, see bellow how to get beyond this barrier:

By adding an Extension Tube to your lens, what you are actually doing is pulling your Sensor towards you so that it catches a smaller area of the projection.
Like that you will get the same resolution as before but in a smaller area or in other words, more information/pixels in a smaller area which mean more magnification. Its easier to understand if you just concentrate on the dimensions of things as illustrated.

Compare it with the previews illustration.

Now we are able to understand what magnification values as "1:3", "1:1", "2:1" or "0.3x", "1.0x", "1,6x", correspondingly, really mean and how they are affected by the equipment you buy.

Helder Neves

What stands "Macro 1:1" for?

2009-03-17T08:31:00.000-07:00

1:1 refers to the ratio between the size of the object in the Sensor of the camera and the size of the objects in Life.
If a camera can capture an object that is the same size as the sensor, then we say that the object was captured at Life size, or that it was captured at 1:1

One can say that normal ratio values for "compact cameras" and "not macro lenses" can vary from 1:8 to 1:3.

Example A:
If you have an SLR "full format" camera, its sensor width is 36mm. In order to get a ratio of 1:1 with this cameras, your lens need to be able to capture at least 36mm or less. You can use a ruler for that. Like in the following picture:
Simulation of a Canon5D + EF 100mm f2,8 Macro USM

Example B:
If you have small pocket and have a "compact SLR", its sensor width is around 22mm. In this case, getting a 1:1 ratio means that your lens has to be able to capture an area of 22mm or less. See the original picture bellow:

Original photo: Canon 1000D + EF-S 60mm f2,8 Macro USM

As you can see from these examples, you can get a greater magnification with a compact SLR then with an full format SLR.
Though, much cheaper! ;)

Helder Neves
dont hesitate in contact :)

forget or not able to remember?

2008-12-19T01:55:00.000-08:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

Why do we have a tendency to forget the dreams memories? Is it a natural selection that our brain does? Maybe to make us stick to reality ;)

During 2month that I stop writing about them. Although I kept some keywords to "get back" to them later and write about them, now it seems to be something wrong with it, there is no memories of more than the information that I wrote - Thats it! Few words I wrote its all I will ever remember, I cant put the puzzle together anymore. Its weird and funny. Few words aren't enough! We need references, known people, spatial descriptions, common connections from/to the real known world, maybe...

kidnap

2008-10-10T17:06:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

super heroes
concentration camp - cars - people - big wall
my power is gone
Nobody knew her. Either her powers. She does not speak much.
She has to be kept there until...

TableCar

2008-10-09T04:17:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

high class society do not use conventional cars anymore...
there is a new device inspired on a dinner table with wheels...

elevator against election

2008-10-06T02:49:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"
damn - a night mare with elevators
my bag was stuck. I pulled and it blow up all the money inside!
I could not get it and people start to take it.
some said it was not money either dollars, but votes for the elections!

why this elevator had never worked properly?

Gelly sensitive

2008-09-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

It is like gelatin but it was sensitive to the touch! Can you imagine?! Hard to explain... she feels you!

Blue & Red

2008-09-20T03:18:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

by: Flopmasterflex

Ok, now I can be sure that we dream "colours" as well. Many theories do not sustain this phenomenon! mwahaha :)
Everything was red and blue. There was people of many different tones of red but the blue were the best. Much calm and tranquil!

eXistenZ concept? Maybe!!!

2008-09-10T11:41:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

photo by: marie-aline

This morning I was bouncing between unconsciousness and consciousness... again! ...a terrible fight to GET OUT of this trance state and wake up!
I knew that I was a sleep! Weird to know that! It seem that I had consciousness of time and space but I could not wake up! Almost.... almost but I couldn't. It was almost panic! An inner panic! Nothing really moves! Then I thought: ok, lets relax and everything will happend when it was to, and.... after a while, puff I opened my eyes and took a deep breath.

Oh YES! I think that we can really controll it! No doubt! You just need to learn how! Keep practicing ;)

Do you call this a dream?

Chemotherapy

2008-09-02T10:45:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

...suddenly it became a trend!
A way to clean your body, maybe, why not?!!
The skin became something very special to look at! no-hair, no-eyebrows... a new perfection!

The dream of all dreams

2008-08-23T12:31:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

Finally I dream about it!
Humans are so artificial.

We think 3times more than we actually say/express in words.

Apart from all parallel realities that I would like to create there is two that I would love particularly and on this dream they became true :)

A society where you can be as true as your most quick thought.
You're ugly, you're ugly, you're beautiful, you're beautiful!
Can you please stop for 5min and do nothing, so that I can look at you. Everybody on the street here getting addicted to it. Humans get to know each other 100times better and the idealistic beauty as disappeared forever!
Imagine! Portraits are now a Still or Slow Motion Videos that gives the user time to actually see it.
I really agree with myself on that because we're used to categorize things briefly, although I never felt comfortable with that. Maybe that's why I was doing paparazzi photography some years ago - just to look with no time limits to someone particularly.
Of course my girl friend didn't got it :) I am an angel! I just don't belong here!

She got a huge TATOO

2008-08-22T03:00:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

It was huge...
A fontain tatooed on her back, starts on the shoulder and draws a river to the butt chick.
Then some a long chain of red and pick dots runs around the butt and drives you to the legs.

I dont know why! She is so sweet... it didnt mach her!
I am sad because I still like her so much, she didnt need that.

Bullet in my brain

2008-08-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

I was shot many times before in my dreams.
The sensation is annoying but very vivid/real.

I knew he was going to shot me but I tried the typical emotional negotiation.
It cost me 2 bullets in my right side of the brain.
They were very tiny bullets and almost no blood so still conscient I've followed him...
Apparently he want to kill all my family, crazy ppl, with a nuclear bomb would be much easy (that was a serious discussion with my friends)!!!

we finally shot him but I dont remember more...

Hallucination, that Im sure

2008-08-18T02:59:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"
Many people wanted my tent.
Suddenly I have to care about them/me.
I knew that I was the One but the others were important too...
There was no space on the tent for all of us
I needed to "break the position"/"break the body" to get space for others

Very disturbing

slow motion 2

2008-08-04T18:23:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

...another slow motion
this time I was running after a sheet of paper.

"the anxious about the feeling of grabbing/touching it"

its so cool this one... I love slow motion dreams

My son

2008-08-04T18:21:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

holy shit.. I got a son!!! LOL
he was very white skin and black eyes.... very weird!
I didnt like him! He was stupid!

slow motion

2008-07-23T15:01:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

thats a common one :)

going uphill with a motorbike and having bicycles going faster than you...

Suicide party

2008-07-23T14:48:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

A friend wants to finish his life but he wants to celebrate it!

we made the party,
at the end of the night he says good by and thanks his friends
he gets into a transparent garbage bag and drinks the Last Drink.
next morning I have to clean up the party mass
mom, helps carrying him to garbage
I step back to shout his open eye
he trembles when I touch it..... and....
I wake up!

.....so early????

2008-06-26T13:55:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

...I could never do it that early but he insisted. I am tired of this job. I'll quit soon!!!

Weird gravity

2008-06-20T04:54:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

...the objects dont stand in the same odd position anymore... instead they stand with a slight tilt angle... its ridiculous!!!

wedding

2008-06-18T04:13:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

...she wants me as her date tonight!
Is that it?

Mind projection

2008-06-18T04:12:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

a typical one: we could project our minds and even start controlling object...
but he decide to join the dark side...
why?

Ski with plastic bags

2008-06-18T04:10:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

there was just one plastic bag and we have 4 feet.... how the hell!?!?

My photos!

2008-06-15T03:47:00.001-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

Compact flash voided!
My photos are too small!!!!!!!!!!!

My friends ass

2008-06-15T03:47:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

She was just showing off...

2 wires stuck in my throat

2008-06-12T11:15:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

Hard kiss

2008-06-12T11:03:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"
I was ripping off lips last night!

Leds in the tongue

2008-06-12T10:16:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"
Piercing LEDs to my tongue!

Do you sleep?

2008-06-12T10:10:00.000-07:00

"How can you feel "surprised" in a dream if you are the creator?"

How much do you sleep?

From Mai 8th to June 8th

Surprised in a dream?

2008-06-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

Did you ever felt surprised in a dream?
How can that be possible if it is you that create your own dream?
Are you sure that its a dream? ...an hallucination maybe!

Immortalize them!

2008-06-11T13:58:00.000-07:00

This space is an homage to the forgotten dreams!

Matrix RAID 0

2008-04-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

You have probably heard about RAID 0.

But maybe not about Matrix RAID 0.

“Matrix RAID 0” is a technology developed by Intel and it is embedded in nearly all Motherboards! It allows you to take the most out of your Hard drives reaching increadible performance with very cheap hard drives.

To understand that, you need know how physically a hard drive is built.

Hard drives have discs inside and it works similar to a CD/DVD with the big difference that in a hard drive the data is written from the outer ring to the inner ring and on the DVD is the other way around.

Now physically it is possible to fit more data on the outer rings then on the inner rings as you can see on the illustration bellow:

As you can see the difference in length is insane! And so is the performance of the harddrive!

Imagine that the hard drive spins at a speed of 5400 rotations per minute which is 90rotarions per second.

It means that in 1sec the same hard drive can either read:

90mb on the edge ring. (1,0mb X 90r/s = 90mb/s)

45mb on the outer ring. (0,5mb X 90r/s = 45mb/s)

18mb on the inner ring. (0,2mb X 90r/s = 18mb/s)

If you could choose, you would for sure allocate all your data as close as possible to the Edge ring! …and that is exactly what “Matrix RAID 0” does for you!

Its not only a “RAID 0” where 2 drives are used to split information and get more performance, but “Matrix RAID 0” allows you to locate all the precious information on the outer ring of each hard drive!

For that we must create a SMALL partition, because the sweet spot is just a small portion. ;)

…or if you wish more, just squeeze it ;)

NOW IT COMES THE BEST PART – TO RAID THEM

If you take 2 drives and build a Matrix RAID 0 you will get:

Notice that, if before the differences between minimum and maximum speeds didn’t really seem something that we could profit of, now its crazy to imagine that any data written to the green area, will always warranty of a minimum output of 160mb/s!!!! That is fantastic!

Now, lets get high here:

The Hard drives have an access time that is responsible for the performance of it as well:

12ms is a common average for 7200rpm hard drives (HDD)

8.5ms for 10000rpm discs (HDD)

These values are averages and will not scale the same way as mb/s. Don’t ask me why! But what I know is that we can actually reduce the access times as well by using the same concept as before. Which means that they will get faster close to the outer edge and slower close to the inner edge! The same rule applies.

For example I got a PERMANENT access time of 10,5ms on my Matrix RAID0 with 2 Maxtor 320gb discs. When we compare those values with 10000rpm discs, I really don’t see a point of investing so much money if you can have something so close to it with much smaller budget! But if you are thirsty, go ahead ;)

HOW TO FIND THE SWEET SPOT?

You need to install a program that creates a graph of your disc speeds. Try HD Tach and you will get something like this:

As you can see it starts from the outer edge with greater speeds, to the inner edge with slower speeds.

On the outer edge I get a pick of ~75mb/s and a lower pick at ~67mb/s and this is sustained until we get close to about 60gb from the outer ring:

In another words, after the 60gb from the outer ring we cannot get anymore an average of 70mb/s. That means, that we have there our SWEET SPOT. And your SMALL partition must have a maximum of 60gb in this case. In RAID 0 you will get a final partition of 120gb (60gb+60gb), that will sustain PERMANENTLY 140mb/s (70mb/s+70mb/s).

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR :)

Go ahead and enjoy a much quicker response time from your computer!

Remember: 4 of those Hard disk drives will give you 280mb/s. And that is not a theoretical value and this Sweet Spot will never soffer from being full, because even with a full disc your Matrix RAID0 will always perform the same way!

In another words your computer will never lose performance over the time!

You are welcome,

Helder Neves
2007 = 138mb/s @ 10,5ms - Maxtor_HDDx2
2008 = 173mb/s @ 7,8ms - Raptor_HDDx2
2009 = 222mb/s @ 4,9ms - VRaptor_HDDx2
2010 = 300mb/s @ 5,2ms - VRaptor_HDDx3

Suspended Hard-drive

2008-01-20T12:36:00.000-08:00

Hard drives can be really noisy!

Photo by: sosPhotos

Some people live with it all their life's, others dont ;)

If you ever tried to find a system to silence your HDD you have for sure noticed that most of the sound produced by the hard drives is traveling not on air but on vibrations through the materials. Try to hold on the HDD on your hand and listen to it! Now lay it on the table and you see the difference!

The concept if to avoid any metal/solid contact with the drives. FIRST RULE - NO SCREWS.
Yes... I have tried those rubber ones but ... just forget about it ;) After many experiments and trying many materials, here is the one that nearly silences it to zero dB:

You will need 3 things: driller, elastic rope and about 30min per drive!

Try to find a nice rope. The same as you find on big jackets to tie up. It should be strong and quite elastic.
Then prepare the noisy guys. In my case I got 2 Raptors in a Matrix Raid configuration. They are fast but super noisy as well!Find the best place to tie up your hard drives.

If you have up to 3 drives its easy to just tilt them vertically as in the picture above.
My hard drives are not tied up! They are just suspended or "trapped in a net"!

The horizontal bars can be set using the existing holes. For the vertical ones you need to drill new holes!

Keep them tight so that your drives dont touch any metal surface and so that they dont move at all in case you tilt you Computer. But try not to stretch too much as we need the rope to remain elastic and absorb vibrations.

NOW, ENJOY! If you use a nice Computer Frame, then the sound is nearly zero!
You can even kick you Computer as hard as you can that the drives will never suffer! ;)

You are welcome!

Helder Neves