Nikon Technical Service Advisory for D600

When I first bought my D600, back in September 2012, I was thrilled with the capabilities of my new camera.  A few weeks later, I started reading reviews from fellow Nikon camera enthusiasts about oil spots and dust spots.  I hadn't noticed anything with my camera.  My pictures in the upper 1/3 corners were looking fine.

As months went by and I was close to rolling over the shutter count of 10,000 pictures, I started to notice some spotting in my pictures.  I had photographed a wedding in May 2013 and noticed the spots in the corners of my pictures.  Of course, they were more noticeable when I photographed the wedding with a wall in the background.  I zoomed into the already taken pictures and sure enough...oil spots!  A few small ones and 5 large oil spots.  It was downright ugly.

I made arrangements with my local camera shop to do a camera sensor cleaning.  They needed at least 6 hours to do several cleanings on my camera.  Ninety dollars ($90) later and a picture of the sky, no oil spots and no dust spots.  I know, I spent $90 to have a sensor cleaned when I could have sent my camera into Nikon for a cleaning under warranty.  I had heard the turnaround time with Nikon was on average 4 weeks.  I couldn't live without my camera and had upcoming photography commitments.

I photographed the rest of 2013 and didn't notice any outrageous spots.

Sometime around the end of February 2014, I happened to be following DPReview.com and saw an article in regards to Nikon's Technical Service Advisory notice for the D600 DSLR camera.  Nikon was offering a shutter replacement to address the "dust" issue.  This included inspection, cleaning, and replacing the shutter mechanism for the D600.

That morning, February 26th, I received an email from Nikon:

Nikon Inc. is contacting you regarding your D600 D-SLR camera. As you may be aware, Nikon Inc. recently issued a Technical Service Advisory for Users of the Nikon D600 D-SLR camera.

This Advisory related that some users of Nikon’s D600 D-SLR camera have reported the appearance of tiny spots on certain of their images. Not all users have experienced this issue. Nikon has thoroughly evaluated these reports and has determined that these spots are caused by dust particles which may become visible when the camera is used in certain circumstances and/or with certain settings. It is a well-known fact that the presence of dust particles cannot be completely avoided when using a D-SLR camera even after normal sensor cleaning procedures, because of a number of factors including components moving at high speeds when images are taken, the use of interchangeable lenses and the different environments in which a D-SLR camera may be used. As part of its customer-service commitment, Nikon is providing a customer-service measure to reduce the potential impact of dust particles on images taken by its D600 D-SLR cameras.

Nikon has resolved this by making available to you (even if Nikon’s product warranty has expired) this customer-service measure, which includes the inspection, cleaning and replacement of the shutter assembly and related parts of your camera, FREE OF CHARGE as well as the cost of shipping your D600 camera to Nikon and its return to you. Once again, please understand that regardless of this service, your D600 camera as is the case with all D-SLR cameras, will continue to require normal periodic sensor cleanings.

In the email, was instructions for sending my camera in along with a link to start the repair process.  The email continues with:  

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused. Nikon remains committed to providing only the highest quality cameras and components, and we hope that you will continue to choose Nikon for your photography needs.

Contact
For more information regarding this matter, contact Nikon Customer Relations by phone at 1-800-Nikon US (1-800-645-6687), 9AM–8PM EST, Monday to Friday (closed certain holidays).

Sincerely,
Nikon Service

The next day (27th), I clicked on the provided button/link and started filling out a simple online form.  After providing the information, the system created a UPS Ground label and packing sheet which I printed out.  I rushed home after work to gather my camera and remove the battery, camera strap, media cards, and attached lens.  I put on the camera's body/lens cap and placed my camera along with the packing sheet in a plastic bag and into a box with peanuts.  I dropped off my package at my local UPS store just in time for a pickup.  It was that easy!

I tracked my package and it arrived on a Monday, March 3rd.  I went to Nikon's website and clicked on their Product Service and Repair link to check the status of my camera.  I ended up contacting Nikon to get my order number.  The kind and friendly Nikon support person gave me the status of my camera (waiting in queue to get into the Nikon repair shop) and my service order number.  

Sometime during the week, I checked on the repair status:

Problem: SENSOR DUST No Charge/Good Will Repair
Total cost of repair: $0.00*

No worries.  They were going to repair my camera even though it was out of warranty.  All is good!

The following Tuesday, March 11th, I received in the mail an Estimate/Acknowledgement from Nikon.  Since the repair was going to be "no charge", I didn't have to respond.  It was basically to let me know that they received my camera with just the body cap and the reason for the service.  

That evening I checked the status of my camera and it had SHIPPED!  Included in the status was my UPS tracking number.  Expected delivery date was March 13th!  Wow!  The whole process was quick!  I had expected to be without my camera for a few weeks.  

Here's how Nikon packaged my camera:

They included an Invoice Repair sheet which stated they replaced the shutter mechanism in my camera:

So what do I immediately do?  I put my battery and two media cards back into my camera.  Attach my 24-120mm lens and run out the door to take a picture of the sky.  I then zoom in to upper left corner of the picture and move across to the right side.  No dust!  No spots!

My camera now has 17,252 shutter clicks.  For some reason, when they replaced the shutter mechanism, they didn't reset my shutter count/clicks to zero.  It doesn't bother me.  I plan on keeping my camera.  :)

It appears that Nikon also updated the firmware on my camera.  Sweet!  

All in all, I had a wonderful Nikon service experience.  It was especially nice as I received my camera back sooner than expected.  

What's In My Camera Bag Along with My D600 (and using iCloud)

It's been awhile since I've done a post of what's in my camera bag.  Equipment and bag has definitely changed.  When I'm doing a photo shoot for an event, I now carry two lens, my flash, lens blower, extra batteries, extra media cards, and my personal stuff.  This all goes into my Tamrac Aria 6 bag.

When I'm just "out and about" or traveling to a local place, I will have my 24-85mm lens and personal stuff.  This goes into my Tamrac Aria 3 bag.  Note:  This is one compact bag.

I love the Tamrac Aria bags.  They are lightweight bags and comfortable to wear over my shoulder.  In order to use the Aria 3 bag, I have to gut it out (remove the divider) and place my camera in sideways. Initially, it was a snug fit.  Over time and several uses, it has loosened up a bit.  Maybe it's conformed to my D600 with 24-85mm lens.  I'm hoping that Tamrac will come out with an Aria 4 or 5 model, so I can take along my compact SB-400 flash as well.

My brother has mentioned to me that it looks like I'm carrying a purse.  I like that.

My big guns Aria 6 bag can handle anything I throw into it.  At any given time, it will have my 24-85mm and 85mm lens or 24-85mm and 60mm micro lens.  I will also take along my SB-700 flash for the just in case difficult lighting moment.  A few times, I've thrown in my iPad.  Yes, at this point the bag can get a bit heavy and the bag will flex a bit under all that weight.

My primary use for the iPad (besides retrieving email, surfing, eReader, news reader, and some games) is to keep a portfolio of my pictures.  That way I can show potential clients my photography experience.  Has this helped?  Yes!  Anything is better than showing a 4x6 picture.  Plus, I can carry all my photos on a digital device versus carrying around a heavy or bulky photo album.  

How do I get my pictures onto my iPad?  Easy!  I use iCloud.  Right now, my workflow starts with a ultraportable Windows 7 laptop.  It was easy to install iCloud on the Windows laptop.  I copy my edited/copyrighted pictures into a folder.  iCloud will detect new pictures and upload them to this mysterious storage cloud.  I can then go to my iPad and wait for my pictures to download.  It's automatic (after you change an iCloud setting).

Ooops!  I ventured off topic.  I will be back to post more technology stuff later.  Back to the bags....

Both bags are black.  When I was looking at purchasing the Aria 3, I had every intention of getting it in the beautiful brown color.  The logic side of my brain overruled the creative side and so I ended up with another black bag.  I will definitely get a different color when (hopefully) Tamrac comes out with an in between model.

My Favorite Bag: Tamrac Aria 6 for Photographing Events

A few months ago when I was visiting my local camera shop, I came across this bag in person.  I originally saw this bag advertised on Amazon and then immediately went over to Tamrac's website to check out the specifications.  The bag is new this year and comes in two versions:  Aria 3 and Aria 6.  The Aria 3 bag is so adorable, but I knew it would be too small for all the camera equipment I wanted to carry with me (just in case).  I was on the fence with the Aria 6 bag.  I wasn't too sure that it would be huge and bulky for me to carry around.  

At my local camera shop, they carried both models plus the three colors:  black, brown and moss.  All three colors were beautiful!  I had a hard time choosing the color, but naturally opted to get the safe color...black.  I think my second choice would be brown.  I know, I shouldn't choose the camera bag color based on my wardrobe!  If I didn't play it safe, my first choice would have been moss green.  It was that pretty!

Back to my bag choice.  The Aria 3 is quite small and would fit a D40 or a D5000 camera with a short lens without any problems.  It's an adorable sized bag.  Very fashionable.  I chose the Aria 6 for its size and capability to hold all the camera equipment I would need to carry with me.  

Aria 6: Front

The bag is made of lightweight water-resistant nylon fabric.  Yes, the bag is amazingly light.  I thought I would wear this bag as a messenger bag, across the body.  I haven't had the need to.  It works perfectly as a shoulder bag.  That's how comfortable it sits on my shoulder.

The back of the bag with pocket

One of the key selling points for me was the side pockets.  It can hold my iPhone.  I can slip it in the pocket with any problems.  Now, how many camera bags do you know that have small phone pockets that can hold an iPhone-size smartphone?

Side view

The interior is very roomy and holds all the camera gear I want to take with me:  D7000 with my 18-200 attached, SB-700 speed light, an additional lens (one of my primes), a small lens blower, extra batteries, extra media cards, my keys, my wallet, my pens and notepad for taking notes, and of course my iPhone.

The removeable padded interior dividers flexes quite a bit.  It hasn't been an issue with me.  I just wanted to point it out as other bags come with a firmer padded dividers.

Inside the bag with my D7000

Inside, there's a back padded pocket for an iPad.  With all the camera equipment I have to carry, adding an iPad does weigh the bag down a bit.  Still, it's a handy addition in case I need to use it.

Interior:  additional pockets for storage

Under the front flap is a pleated zippered pocket.

Under the front flap:  another pocket for storage

The Aria 6 bag is very stylish, lightweight, and very functional.  Isn't it cute?

The adjustable strap with movable padding

While I use my Aria 6 bag for taking pictures of local events, I still have my favorite camera backpack,  the Tamrac Evolution 6 that I use for long distance travel.




Just like purses and wallets, a girl can't have too many camera bags.  Yes, I'm a Tamrac gal at heart!

Backdrop/Background Support System

Since I tend to be a DIYer with my hobbies, I thought about building my own background/backdrop support system for portrait photography.  After much research, I decided against it.  I'm not handy with electric tools and overall it would have been a lot of work.

My brother sent me a link to Cowboy Studios.  I looked around and saw some pretty good support systems.  I knew the main bars that holds the fabric had to be strong.  I've read where other manufacturer's mid section would sag under the weight of the muslin or paper.  I decided on their 10 foot Premium Heavy Duty System (901).  I searched my favorite site and was able to apply my rewards points.  Another great deal.

Way before purchasing this support system, I had already purchased the fabric.  I was at my local G-Street Fabric store and rummaging through their clearance tables when I found this wonderful fabric:

The fabric is not close to being white, but for my use it will do for now.


Here's the Cowboy Premium Heavy Duty (901) Support System:

Here's where the top bar sits on top of one of the adjustable stands:

The two top bars connected (slide one bar into the other and turn 90 degrees):

The logo on one of the stand's leg:

One of the sturdy stand legs:

The storage bag.  The two outer pockets hold the two stands and the inner holds the 4 support bars:  

The bag zipped up and ready to go:

My temporary studio setup with fabric draped over the bar (only have two support bars put together):

For the first few sample pictures I've taken with a fairly wide open aperture, the creases and wrinkles from the fabric don't show.  I will have to invest in a portable steamer later.

I went with a portable system as I do not have the space to setup a permanent studio.  Setup of this portable background system doesn't take too long to install or take down.  Basically, I setup and open the two stands and adjust for height.  I take two, three or all four bars and connect them.  I move my stands apart to fit the length of two, three, or four bar widths.  I lift the bar and place it on top of the stands.  I place and screw down the wing nuts on the pole/stand.  That's it!

My New Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G AF-S Fixed Lens

I couldn't wait.  I had some rewards points that I converted to gift cards and applied them towards my new lens. Yes, it was a great deal as we ended up paying 40% of the cost.  What a nice early present!  Thank you hubby!

Here's the packaging the lens came in:

Nicely packaged from the vendor

Inside the Nikon box:  plastic container, manual, and warranty card

The plastic container containing the lens and hood  pulled out of the box

The plastic container opened:  hood and lens

Nikkor 85mm f1.8G AF-S lens with B&W filter

I will be "playing" with this FX lens this weekend and report back my findings!

NOTE:  Photos taken with my 40mm micro lens and SB-400 compact flash

Trying Out a New Filter by B+W

To use a filter or not to use a filter.  That's the topic I've been reading at a photography forum recently.  There seems to be an equal divide amongst those who do and those who don't.  I prefer to use a filter on all my lenses.  I use it to protect my lens from dust, moisture, and scratches.  For the last few years, my choice has been the Hoya Pro Digital UV filters.  Until now.

As I've been researching and reading reviews for my future 85mm prime lens, I've been seeing B+W filters popping up as recommendations.  I've never heard of that brand.  I found a lot of photographers who gave that brand a high rating.  I thought I would give it a try.  After all, I'm a gadget gal at heart.

Here's a picture I took in the early evening with the new filter attached to my 40mm micro lens.  The only editing I've done is to crop, add my copyright, and resize the picture for the web.

Here's the box the filter came in.  I guess I should have taken a picture of the filter before I attached it to my lens.  See what happens when I get a new toy?  Excitement overrides reasonable thoughts.

B+W Clear UV Haze Filter with Multi-Resistant Coating

The quality of this filter is much nicer than my Hoya.  The B+W is a black brass filter ring and constructed with a high quality Schott glass.  It definitely feels sturdier.  The coating on the filter lens has Multi-Resistant Coating (MRC) which causes water to bead up and slide off the filter.  Not that I have any plans to get water on  my lens.  The filter absorbs UV light and reduces the bluish cast of daylight.  The B+W filter is suppose to combat flare and ghosting and doesn't need to be cleaned as often.  We'll see how it performs and I'll be sure to report back the results.  I can tell you that I'm really liking it.  

**  Update 06/22/12  **
I took a picture of the B+W 67mm filter that I received to go with my 85mm fixed lens:

B+W 67mm filter inside its case

It's a thin filter that threads nicely on my lens.  I highly recommend this filter as it protects my lens and doesn't hinder the clarity and color of my photos.  

Learning Something New...White Balance and Histogram

While I was visiting my local camera shop, the topic of White Balance came up in conversation.  I never thought too much about it as I leave my D7k on WB-Auto.  I have noticed that my pictures sometimes come out with a blue-ish tint and sometimes with a yellowish tint.  Different light sources have different "colors" or light temperatures.  Sometimes I can see it on my camera's LCD while I'm previewing my pictures...it's mostly the blue that I see.  Most of the time I see it on my computer screen.

My brother had at one time mentioned that I need to check my histogram on the pictures I take.  Something about the peaks of the bell-looking curve should be in the middle.  Most of my pictures come out with the peaks towards the left or somewhere in between.  I know the histogram represents the light and dark elements of my picture...the exposure.

After doing some research, I'm finding that the left side of the histogram represents or suggests that my pictures tend to have shadows and dark areas.  That is true.  I have learned that my D7k tends to overexpose in outdoor light.  So, I step down on my camera exposure setting.  Sometimes, I have to do some post-production processing to brighten my picture.  Better to do that than have an overexposed picture that I cannot fix.

In the histogram, the middle scale represents "gray" while the left represents "black" and "white" represents the right side.  Makes sense.  I need to work on getting my pictures' histogram reading towards the middle or mid-gray.

I believe learning about White Balance or WB will help me get there.  I purchased an inexpensive Lastolite Ezybalance Color Calibration card.  It's a 12" flexible screen that is white on one side and 18% gray on the other side.  I set my D7K to a "custom" WB mode and take a picture of the white calibration card in the light setting where I'll be taking a picture.  My camera stores the WB picture and settings.  It's that simple.  My camera is ready to take a picture with the new custom WB setting I just created.  If my lighting changes, I'll need to redo my WB setting.  My camera remembers the last WB setting I created.  If I want to void the setting, I just switch my camera back to WB-Auto.

I'm still in practice mode.  I'll be back to post the results of my test shots.

A Visit to a Local Camera Shop

Earlier this year, I was devastated to learn that my local camera shop, Penn Camera, had closed half of their stores including the one within driving distance of my home.  Local to me is within 10 miles.  They were a true camera shop where they provided all types of services:  camera & lens rental, photo processing, and classes.  Besides cameras they sold a limited supply of bags, refurbished and used cameras/lenses, offered an array of studio products, and some unique photography accessories.  I enjoyed spending time at their shop.  Their sales personnel were very knowledgeable and often spent time answering my questions.  I purchased my DSLRs from them.  

Recently, I had the chance to visit another camera shop, Ace Photo.  I had read their ads and visited their website a few times.  I thought this shop would be similar to Penn.  Was I wrong!  As I walked inside this shop, I was immediately drawn into the nostalgia feeling.  The shop had a "mom and pop" feeling.  Nothing fancy, except they had a lot to offer for a photographer.  They carried the latest camera models as well as used/refurbished and vintage cameras.  

I spent quite a bit of time at this shop.  I met a very knowledgeable sales person who answered all my questions.  Ace Photo is now my favorite camera shop.  Their inventory is probably the best I've seen for a brick and mortar store.  Their selection is better than B&H Photo Video in NYC.  

One area of the shop that really intrigued me was their camera bags.  They carried a big selection of Tamrac, Lowepro, Think Tank, Kata, Domke, JillE, Tenba, Crumpler, Canon, Nikon, Bower, Vanguard, Clikelite, etc.  I'm sure there were a few others I might have missed.  

Camera bags galore!  (Picture by Ace Photo)

Yes, I did spend some wonderful time here.  Time well spent.  

In the Bag...Manfrotto

This evening, I found my new Manfrotto tripod and ball head waiting for me.  I pulled out the tripod and noticed right away the quality and how sturdy it was.  It weighs slightly under 4 lbs.

Manfrotto 190XPROB Tripod legs

I opened the ball head box and immediately noticed the ball head weight.  I spent a few minutes and played around with the locks and the rapid/quick release plate.  This ball head is well made.

Manfrotto 498RC2 Ball Head

This new Manfrotto system replaces my old SLIK all in one tripod that I've had for 30 years.  Yes, I can't believe I waited this long to get a quick release tripod.

After much research, I knew I would end up with the Manfrotto brand.  I had to decide between aluminum or carbon fiber and then to select what type of tripod head to get.  Price (budget) was a factor in deciding which model to get.

Based on past experience and habits, I don't plan on "carrying" a tripod with me everywhere I go.  It's the same with my flash.  So, I ended up getting the aluminum version.  I went with a bigger ball head just to make sure it could handle a bigger camera or a larger lens.    

This weekend, I will put the Manfrotto to the test.  Practice, practice, and more practice.  I'm looking forward to playing with my new toy.

A New Small Gadget

As I was seeing hubby off to work early this morning, I looked up in the sky and saw the moon.  I saw a photo opportunity.

The moon at 8:30am EST (200mm, f5.6, 1/1000, ISO 100)

I ran inside to get my camera, tripod, and my new gadget...a corded remote.  I've had this remote for about 3 months, but never got around to trying it out until this morning.  It was pretty simple to use.  I plugged it into the left side of the D7k and turned the camera on and just started clicking away.

Nikon corded remote control (50mm, f1.4, 1/125, ISO 720)

I bought this nifty gadget right after taking pictures of fireworks on the 4th of July.  No more wiggly fireworks pictures for me.

It’s Cold Outside…Fingerless Gloves!

You’ve heard me mention before that I use photography to capture and record my other hobbies like knitting.  Well, I’ve managed to use my knitting skills to knit up a pair of fingerless gloves.  These gloves come in handy during the times I’m outside taking pictures in the cold weather.  With the gloves being fingerless, I can still grip my camera and access all the buttons and take a picture without having to worry that the camera will slip through my hand. 

My new gloves will keep my hands warm while I’m capturing my Kodak moments. 

Oh, I can also use them at work while I’m typing in my cold office. 

A Test Post Using Windows Live Writer

Testing-1-2-3.  This is a test post.  I’m trying out Windows Live Writer to see if this really works.  WLW is suppose to allow me to write my posts offline (complete with pictures, videos, hyperlinks, etc), save it local to my hard drive, and then publish my post when I have Internet access.  How cool is that? 

Okay, so this has nothing to do with photography.  It does have something to do with having a cool tool that allows me to write my photography posts, collect my thoughts, pictures, etc whenever I want and then post when I’m ready. 

After spending 10 minutes with this program and writing this post, I have uncovered a cool feature, I can set the date of when this post will appear.  To document today’s date for this post, it’s Friday, October 29th.  I’ve set the post date to be yesterday’s date, Thursday.  We’ll see if this function really works. 

I can add bullet points like why I think WLW is a handy tool:

• intuitive to use
• picking a date for the post
• inserting hyperlink, pictures, or videos
• spell checker

Now I need to figure out if I can use WLW for updating my other blogs.  Will post back the results. 

Storage-How about a portable and functional netbook?

I've been looking for a device to store my pictures when traveling. For many years, I've used a PSD (portable storage device)...an Epson P-2000 Multimedia Photo Viewer (40GB). It's a perfect gadget to pack in a camera bag and use as a secondary storage device. For a small gadget, it's actually quite heavy. After a day of shooting pictures, I would take my SD or CF card and pop it into the Epson device and watch the photos get copied. I could review the pictures one by one or run the slide show feature. One could use this device to watch movies, but we're talking about looking at a 3.8" screen. Which is quite small. This device has a 40GB hard drive which I've come close to filling several times. Over the years, I've kept up with the download notices and upgraded the firmware. Currently, my Epson can only read up to a 2GB SD card. Kind of crippling in today's technology including the size of the hard drive and how heavy the device is. Now, I've been looking for a replacement.

I thought about getting a replacement for my P-2000. I've been extremely happy with this product and its reliability. The price for its replacement, the P-3000 is quite high and still only comes with 40GB of storage.

I've done a lot of research and finally came up with another portable device that is also very functional. A netbook.

This netbook idea brought me to another research path that was just mind boggling. There are a lot of netbook manufacturers out there as well as a lot of different models to choose from. I immediately searched for the "top 10 netbooks" and looked at the list from 2009 and from 2010 from various resources. I wanted to see which manufacturer consistently placed in both lists. I came up with four manufacturers that peaked my interest: Asus, Acer, HP, and Toshiba. (I'm familiar with the Asus brand as I used to build computers (many, many years ago) and had a lot of experience using their Asus motherboards). I made a list of the top important features I wanted in a netbook: hard drive size, battery life, and keyboard. Price was also a deciding factor.

I started reading the users' reviews. There were a lot of them. Some good, some bad. After a few hours of reading, I uncovered a few Mac users out on the Internet who bought a netbook. They were buying Toshibas. As a Mac convert, I knew I should take a bit more interest in their reviews which was mainly about the keyboard. I was able to narrow down the Toshiba model rather quickly and I came up with the NB305-N440BL.

Here's my new toy! This model comes in three colors and as you can see I selected the blue. The cover is nice and textured. There is little chance of this slipping out of my hands or getting fingerprints. Many of the other manufacturers are using slick and shiny covers.




The keyboard is nice and being a touch typist, it just feels good to type on. It feels like a full size keyboard.




There's a lot of status lights available to figure out what's going on with netbook.




Here's the left side of the netbook. There's an SVGA port, network port, USB port, and of course an SDHC card slot.




The right side contains a cable lock port, power, two additional USB ports, a Mic in, and Headphone port. I have my power cable plugged in. Also, I have a USB thumbdrive that's acting as my "ready boost"...giving me additional memory that the OS uses.





The newer netbooks come with Windows Starter 7. It's a limited OS. So far, it's working beautifully for me. I have upgraded the memory from 1GB to 2GB. Most netbooks only come with 1GB and one memory slot. So, if you're interested in 2GB, you have to buy a 2GB memory module and replace the one that came with the netbook. Yes, I had to do some additional research for the memory as this system was quite new and there were problems with older/existing memory modules.

This netbook comes with 250GB hard drive. More than enough to store pictures. I won't have to worry about running out of space. It also has wifi capability as well as an internal NIC if you want to be wired into a network. The battery life is awesome. I'm averaging about 7 hours and that depends on how I setup my screen brightness during the day and evening.

Installation and setup was easy. After getting to the Windows desktop, I was on a network within ten minutes and printing within 5 minutes.

Instead of narrowing my use with a PSD, I now have the capability to store more pictures, access the Internet, type up posts for my blogs, etc. This list could go on and on.

If anyone has this particular netbook and is interested in the memory module that will work with this system...leave me a comment.

I will be back to post the software applications that I'm using with the netbook. I've done some research in finding small footprint apps for manipulating photos, etc.

My Favorite Backpack

It's only fitting that I'm a bag collector. Afterall, I'm a female. I have a tendency to look at function first and then cuteness. Sometimes, it's the other way around. Sometimes, a bag will not work for me at all. Usually, I can tell at first glance or within 5 minutes of wearing. Since I'm petite, I prefer to use small bags. There are times, I have to go bigger. That's when functionality is key. Color plays a role as well. My preference is black. A lot of you know that black makes things look smaller. It's true. Also, black doesn't stand out like bright/bold colors do.

I finally found the right camera backpack for traveling and for local trips. I stumbled upon it while at my local camera shop. There is a reason to go to a store and "try before you buy". It's the Tamrac Evolution 6. Perfect size and perfect for my smaller DSLR camera, like the Nikon D5000 with the 18-200mm lens and some accessories.

This backpack comes in two colors. Black and brown. If I could afford it, I would have bought both colors. That's how good the brown version looked.

While in the shop, the salesperson proceeded to pull out all the velcro sections from inside the bag. I was a bit miffed as I wanted to keep the default configuration/sections in place. As it turned out, I uncovered that going with the default configuration prevents one from looking outside the box. The velcro is STRONG in this bag. Rip, rip, rip and more ripping...as the salesperson was trying to show me different ways to configure the bag. You could rip out all the velcro pieces and come up with an empty backpack shell. That was pretty cool to see.


Here's my review of my favorite backpack (pictures taken without flash):

There are a lot of zippered pockets/areas of this backpack. The front contains a buckled strap in the mid-section along with a small pocket at the bottom. This is where a tripod can be attached





Here the backpack straps are configured to be worn as a real backpack. Notice that I folded and tucked in the long straps into the elastic straps.





It comes with waist straps that can be buckled in the front for added balance. If you prefer not to use, you can tuck them away in this built-in pocket.





This backpack can be worn also as a sling bag. Here, you can see where I've crossed over one strap and partially tucked in the unused strap into the built-in pocket. Cool, huh?





Here is the right side of the backpack with the closed pockets





Here is the right side opened. The top pocket can hold small accessories. The bottom zipper area is where the camera is placed.




Here is the left side with the pockets closed.



The top pocket contains the rain cover that can be pulled out and cover the whole backpack. I've used this type of cover on another Tamrac bag and it really works! The bottom section contains an opening where you can store camera accessories (e.g. flash, blower, etc). I can fit my SB-600 flash and diffuser in here.




In this top zippered area, I have my 35mm, a case for my AA batteries, my spare Nikon batteries and pens.




One can also carry extra small lens, P&S camera, and even an small flash can fit inside here or a lightweight jacket can be folded and tucked into this pocket.



The lower front zippered area gives access to the main camera compartment. The velcro strap keeps the camera in place when this compartment is zipped open. There is also a zippered compartment in the flap to hold additional accessories.




Here is the bottom of the bag. Appears that you can hook or attach some straps to carry other things that you may need.




Overall, this is a very functional bag for me. When I place my D5000 w/18-200mm lens, extra 35mm lens, SB600 flash, diffuser, S90 P&S, spare batteries, air blower, extra SD cards, business cards, pens, etc...the total weight of the bag comes to 8 lbs. It's a comfortable bag to wear as a backpack and I do not notice the weight.