Canon 70mm-300mm IS USM EF Lens: Updated 1-4-06

During a photo session and during a few distance shots I realized that I needed something to replace my Sigma 80-300mm. It wasn't a question of magnification, but a question of stabilization and usability.

I happened to find a store locally which still had this lens in stock and out came a present to myself. The lens is surprisingly light for its size. Feeling lighter than my principle lens (Canon 28-200mm USM). Travel both for the focus ring and the focal adjustment ring are smooth. With a 55mm diameter lens the zoom lens afford slightly better motion than my 28-200mm, which has a 72mm lens.

Two stabilization modes are offered, Mode 1 being a stationary lens optmization while Mode 2 is used when the lens may be in motion. I haven't had a chance to really test the stabilization (mostly due to holiday hecticness), however in static tests the stabilization sometimes feels like it's compensating a bit more than I'd like.

UPDATE: I actually got a chance to run the lens through its paces while on a hike. With some areas being in the shade I got to see how well the stabilization worked at lower shutter speeds. The results are posted in the photo section.

Other ammenities include a locking pin which keeps the lens in 70mm focal length. This is great if you are lugging the camera on a strap and don't want the lens to extend. The locking of course is primarily used during transport.

If first impressions are anything this lens looks like it will make a great addition to my equipment and hopefully make up for some of my rustiness. I won't provide a point-review until I really get to stress test the IS options.

Logitech G7 Wireless Mouse: Updated 11-12-05
The following information is extended from content from Vraxxisms Live!

So here I was at home, with an MX1000 mouse that wasn't recharging. Oh no! So I decided hey I might as well get a new mouse. After a little reading I thought the best candidate would be the new Logitech G7 gaming mouse.

A little testing with WoW, FEAR and CS:S proved that the G7 is definitely geared towards accuracy. Fine adjustments are much easier to make and a rapid pan to the left or right won't result in the occasional "phantom hop" found on earlier wireless mice.

With a body design more closely resembling the MX700 series, the G7 is a bit lighter than my MX1000 was, which isn't a bad thing. The tracking is great even at the "medium" 800 DPI sensitivity setting, at higher tracking rates the mouse tends to feel too sensitive and you can jump around readily. This effect does vary on the mousing surface being used as well as the acceleration and sensitivity settings per axis.

The dual batteries and the reduced number of buttons (unlike the MX1000 you don't have as many thumb mouse buttons) makes it easier to avoid "misclicking" Though I did think the sensitivity buttons could be a problem if you tend to press on the palm area heavily.

Hopefully I can convince my friend Squibby (and fellow blogger) to post a similar first-impressions view of the MS 6000 Wireless Mouse. If you're looking for a fairly light high DPI mouse for gaming the G7 definitely doesn't disappoint. I give this a 9.1/10

Main view

Charging unit and Wireless transmitter

Dell 2001FP 20.1" LCD Display Added 1-3-05
While working on a system for a client, I was given the opportunity to put the Dell 2001FP through some quick testing.

Using a very non-scientific series of subjective tests, I've gathered some observations.
With a viewable area of 20.1" the 2001FP is certainly no slouch when it comes to real estate. For someone used to mostly 17" displays and laptop displays, the 2001FP took some getting used to. Touting a 17ms refresh rate on such a large panel isn't without it's quirks. Keep in mind this value assumes you're running DVI. With the analog line connected I found the response time closer to a 25ms panel of smaller size. The center point of the display is very clear, however in quick moments such as digital video or FPS games, the edges near the bezel tend to become blurry.

One welcome attribute was the sheer brightness of the display. For its size the brightness level of the 2001FP is comparable to even my stalwart 17" Sony CRT.
With an $800 price tag however the 2001FP is certainly not a trivial purchase. I would think long and hard if you really need the visual acreage and are able to stomach the purchase price.

ATI Radeon X800 Pro Added 7-12-04
This isn't actually going to be as in depth as say a [H]ardOCP review or Anand's in-depth analysis of pipelines. My own review of the Radeon X800 is more from the perspective of Joe User. Being rather bored, and needing to bump up some of the specs on my aging game rig (Helios), I decided to followsuit after helping a friend upgrade his PC. As a result I purchased not 1, but 2 Radeon X800 Pro's. One which was put into a P4 2.4Ghz system (Asus mainboard) and my own rig (2.0Ghz overclocked, Abit)

From the outset the card is pretty basic. The familiar red PCB and a larger HSF assembly distinguish the X800 as being a staid ATI card. Slight change you'll notice is the use of a full sized power-plug in order to supply the card with ample power.

Driver installation is a breeze and the addition of the "Overdrive" driver option is nice for those end-users who don't really want to be tweak-heavy. This feature was of particular benefit as it also provides a temperature readout. Earlier XT's such as the 9800XT also have access to this feature set. No noticable flaws occured during any of my initial game tests. The benefits of removing a bit of CPU load have shown themself in newer titles such as FarCry and Painkiller. With any luck such offerings from ATI (and the very impressive 6800GT from Nvidia) will allow gamers to incrementally improve video performance and eek out a few more months of gaming from their treasured boxes. All in all, I give the Radeon a nice 8.8/10

Canon EOS 10D Digital SLR Camera Added 2-28-04
So after holding out, saving pennies and praying to otherworldly beings, I will be purchasing a full kit for the EOS 10D dSLR camera system. To be tested are an EOS 10D w/28-80mm wide angle Sigma lens, an 80-300mm Sigma and several filters (UV, Polarizing and Fluorescent). Though it is not necessarily a PC Hardware review I figured I'd post it up here for the geeks in us all.

Preliminary test -- The EOS 10D is fairly weighty compared to its Nikon counterpart the D100. While the controls are very useful and the level of adjustment just a shade under the 1D professional dSLR, the EOS 10D does have some quirky layouts. Particularly how they handle aperture adjustment vs. shutter speed with two radial dials rather than a toggle button (granted I'm used to a toggle only because of my legacy Minolta). The inclusion of pre-set modes such as sport, portrait, macro is an interesting carry over from their mainstream consumer products. While not wholly unwelcome I did find the addition somewhat confusing since I prefer to just select a priority mode (aperture, shutter) and run with it.

The spot meter is excellent and the options to vary how the meter is weighed gives a great deal of flexibility to the end user. The AF feedback in manual focus mode is also great for those times when your eyes or light conditions do not lend themselves well to a completely clean shot.

The built in flash I find tends to seriously over-flare but that may be my inexperience with the light-sensitivity of the system or a FUBAR on my side with regards to the White-Balance option. All in all, this camera is a great choice for an amateur looking to get more features and explore the more detailed areas of photography. I will hopefully be using my new wide angle lens to greater use in an effort to deviate from my normal style of photography (sport/action). Hope to post up some shots soon.
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Plextor 708A DVD-Burner Added 1-5-04
It wasn't so long ago that the CD-R was the favored medium for backing up crucial data. Times change and demands increase. These days with MP3s, videos, photos and my all time favorite HUGE .pst files for my work e-mail, the need for ever increasing means of storage emerge. Recordable DVD's have steadily become more cost effective, 4.7GB's of data for ~$2 and as such burners have been this seasons hot tech-item. I had the pleasure of receiving a Plextor 708A burner as a late X-Mas gift and I can't speak highly enough.

Installation was painfree, though I had momentarily been worried when XP missed picking up the drive the first time around. Bundled with Roxio for burning some may opt for a beefier solution such as Nero 6. For my testing I opted to use Nero 6 Ultra, along with DVDShrink to test DVD backup options. Using both 2x and 4x DVD-R media the 708A performed extremely well, twenty disks later I found just one misburn. An added surprise occurred when I ran a mix of TDK 4x media (DVD+R) with the 708A. Nero detected the maximum burning speed as 8x and I was pleasantly surprised when the burn was successful, taking less than 8 minutes for a full disk. Reading disks has yielded equally impressive compatibility, no misreads, and whisper quiet.

If you're in the market for one of the top of line 8x burners I would heartily recommend this be on your list. If you're a little more cost conscious, look for the TDK 8x model of the Indi series which is the exact same drive rebadged. Vraxx.com gives this 9.2/10. We wished the software bundle had been a little beefier.
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