This being said, Apple has moved their flagship OS in this direction as well. Taking cues from the success of iOS, Lion has taken on so many of the features that we find on an iPad and iPhone. Apple is trying to capitalize on the huge consumer base that they’ve built with iOS and have those same people start buying Mac computer hardware. Since OSX was first launched as a Beta in 1999, Apple has slowly been adding features on top of their previous point releases. With the launch of Lion, it feels like they threw this paradigm out of the window by totally redoing some old features and adding in iOS features on top.

Mission Control is not an upgrade over the old Exposé and Spaces. The grid system of Spaces worked a lot better for power users who used more than 8 spaces at a time. The new linear way of moving between spaces just makes it harder to navigate large amounts of programs in multiple spaces. I understand the need for Apple to move to a linear line in order to successfully use the swipe left and right as navigation between spaces while reserving the up and down for other gestures but this was not an “upgrade” to what they had before. One other major omission by Apple is the ability to switch around the order of the Desktops when the app is in Full Screen View.  I really like the Mail app in full screen mode but I also like it directly to the right of my first Desktop. If I put it in full screen mode it’ll be all the way to the right of the last Desktop.

The only way around this that I’ve found is to not use the full screen mode for any apps and instead just maximize them in separate desktops.  Right now I have Safari, Twitter, Adium in Desktop 1, Mail in Desktop 2, iCal in Desktop 3, and Aperture and Final Cut X in Desktop 4.

The next baffling “feature” that Lion has set by default is reverse scrolling. You can turn this function off, which I’ve done, but it’s curious that Apple has set this as the default. The reason reverse scrolling works on an iPhone and iPad is that it physically feels like you’re touching the page when you flick up and down, left and right. The reason it doesn’t work in Lion is that you’re just touching a trackpad and not the screen itself. But at the same time, my mind is really confused when I scroll left and right sometimes and I end up doing it reverse. John Gruber has tweeted to try it for a week and see but I just can’t.

Since Spaces came on the scene in 10.4, I always ran Mail and iCal maximized in their own space. That’s why the ability for full screen apps intrigued me when first hearing about it in the Keynote. The integration of full screen apps into OSX came from the success and ease of use of the iPad, which (in)famously only allows one app to be on the screen at a time. I enjoyed my time using Mail and iCal full screen. It’s more immersive and gives you focus to the single task at hand. The inability to move full screen apps around in Mission Control has ended that experiment for me.

The Mail app itself has been a huge bright spot for me. The upgrades here are true upgrades and improve my work flow. In the past, I had to use Mail hacks such as Letterbox in order to get the 3 pane look that just more efficient for wide screen monitors. Each point release had the ability to break the plugin though so it was always hit or miss. The new Mail app is, by default, 3 panes with the ability to hide it down to 2 panes. This just makes reading email much more efficient. Another feature I’ve found very useful is the ability to segment out your search variables in the search bar itself. It make it easy to find specific emails with multiple variables very quickly. The overall look of the Mail app has improved as well. It looks cleaner, less cluttered, but more powerful all at the same time.

I haven’t seen much a performance difference with Lion versus Snow Leopard. I’m sure the benchmarks will bear it out that Lion performs better, especially with the addition of OpenCL but in real world testing, but I haven’t seen much of a change. There are a few small bugs here and there that I’ve found that will need to be addressed in 10.7.1.

Overall, the upgrade to Lion has been a Zero Sum Game for me and I feel for consumers as a whole. Power users will lament the loss of certain features while the average consumer will gain from the familiarity of using iOS. In the end, Apple is the true winner as their market share and profitability continues to grow at a staggering pace.

Shots per Camera

The application allows you to enter in the price you paid for your camera and then gives you a cost per shot analysis. Since I just got my GF2, it’s the most expensive cost/shot but that should go down over the life of the camera. 6 cents per shot is definitely worth it!

The heyday of my photo taking seemed to be when I owned my d70/d80. I’m not sure if it’s because I just took more photos per event or if I actually just brought it to more events. I’m thinking it was the former.

Lens Usage

The lens I’ve used the most is my Nikkor 28-70 ED lens but not far behind in the micro 4/3 category is my Lumix 20mm 1.7

Lumix 20mm Aperture Usage

I use the Lumix 20mm at 1.7 aperture 40% of the time. That’s pretty nuts. I guess I’m a sucker for shallow depth of field. Really I shouldn’t use it that wide open all the time. I guess that will have to be a conscious change on my part.

GF1 ISO

I was a bit surprised that I used the GF1 at ISO800 so much. I say that only because I’ve noted on occasion that the noise level for the GF1 at ISO800 is unreasonably high. Even so I seemed to use it quite a lot.

These are just some of the highlights from the application. There’s so much more data and stats to look through. Overall a very cool application for those that use Aperture.

Panasonic claims they reduced the size of the GF2 by 19% and the weight by 7% from it’s predecessor, the GF1. The size difference is quite noticeable when you first hold the GF2. After using the GF2, I’d have to say that size is almost perfect. I’m not sure you can get too much smaller or thinner without effecting the ergonomics of the camera negatively. I personally keep my GF2 in my bag at all times and the less bulk, the better.

A few review sites have already tested the ISO quality of the GF2 and they’ve come to pretty much the same conclusions. The GF2 has a bit better ISO sensitivity

than the GF1. This was one of my biggest complaints with the GF1′s quality. You started noticing noise at ISO400 and ISO1600 was pretty unusable without using noise reduction software. With the GF2 the noise levels are ok at ISO800 and usuable at ISO1600. This is especially welcome in darker restaurants when you’re trying to take a picture of your food or at concerts where the lighting is a bit dim. I recently brought my GF2 to Barley Swine and shot at ISO800.

One of the best features that I’ve found with the GF2 is the ability to bounce the flash. Most pictures that use flash look bad because of the harshness of the flash right into people’s faces. Being able to bounce the flash off the ceiling makes for a lot more natural lighting and a technique that is usually only available to SLR’s with external flashes connected to them. This one feature makes the GF2 much more versatile when in low light situations.

I used the bounce flash in conjunction with my wide angle lens recently at a hot pot dinner. The lighting was pretty dim in the room so without the bounce flash, I’d probably have to use my 20mm 1.7 to capture the scene. At the same time I really wanted to capture the feeling of everyone crowded around the table and the lovely chaos that accompanies hot pot. Here’s my favorite shot of the night with the bounce flash technique used.

The touchscreen is probably one of the more controversial aspects of the GF2. Some advanced users lament the exclusion of the mode dial and the move of functionality to the touch screen. I personally keep my camera on Aperture Priority most the time so I didn’t really feel the need complain. The touchscreen itself is only ok. Coming from the iPhone and iPad I have a certain learned sensitivity at which to touch at. The GF2′s screen is less responsive and requires more of a tactile push to get it to activate. This is the one area I feel Panasonic did not deliver on the GF2. On the bright side, you can still use the hard buttons to navigate through the menus and so the negative aspects of the touchscreen can be minimized.

Touch to focus, on the other hand, is quite a welcomed feature for me. This feature is a pretty blatant rip off of the iPhone’s touch to focus but something I feel every new camera with a touchscreen should have. When taking pictures of food with a 1.7 aperture, sometimes it’s hard to focus on exactly what you want in the picture. With touch to focus and touch to take the photo this problem has been solved. In video mode this feature is also a great addition. Most dSLR’s out there that can take video require you to do manual focus while the video is recording. The GF2 allows you not only to focus while recording but also use the touch to focus feature. I’ve found the focus to be a bit slow at times but it’s definitely better than most dSLR outfits.

One last thing that the GF2 outshines the GF1 in is audio quality during video recording. The GF2 comes with a stereo mic which is a very nice upgrade from the mono mic on the GF1. In addition to that, it also lets you adjust the audio levels on the microphone which is a huge advantage. I was able to test the stereo mic and audio levels when we went out for a fun night of karaoke. The sound was clipping at first so I made sure to turn the audio level down to adjust. The end result was really good clean audio which I was really happy with.

If you already have a micro four thirds camera, the GF2 may not be the upgrade you’re looking for. I personally feel the upgrade was worth it because the features fit with the way I use the camera. I know a lot of dSLR users out there are curious about the micro four thirds arena. If you’re still curious and want to try something out with a low cost of entry, go ahead and buy the GF1 which has been on sale with limited supplies.

The micro four thirds category has always been about minimal size without compromising quality. I feel the GF2 has moved toward this goal by reducing it’s size/weight while marginally improving image quality. I’m hoping the next iteration brings the quality up even more. If you have any further questions about anything feel free to leave a comment down below.

My generic Apple headphones had been serving me just fine until they broke last week.  I’ve been using them since they first released the original iPhone back in 2007.  I figured it was time to get a better set of headphones and this time I wanted them to be wireless.  After some research, I settled in on the Jaybird SportsBand Bluetooth headphones.

After using them for a week, I have to say that I like them a lot.  For starters, they work with my Macbook Pro, my iPhone and my iPad.  It gets a bit tricky sometimes switching between the devices but I’ve figured out a way.  The audio quality is decent.  It uses A2DP to deliver stereo sound.

I’ve never been much of an audiophile so I can’t speak much more to the quality, just that it’s better than the Apple earbuds.  When you use them with your iPhone it has all the controls (volume/track forward and back) and also a built in microphone.  I was a bit suspicious about how well the mic would work because it’s just a small little hole on the bottom on the right earphone.  After using it for a few calls, I’d have to say it works better than a lot of bluetooth headsets that are made specifically for calling.

These headphones are actually marketed by Jaybird for use while working out.  I haven’t tried them yet that way but I don’t see any issues that would arise.  They fit very snugly on my head so they don’t wiggle much at all.  It’d be nice to keep the iPhone in your pocket or on an armband holder while having all the controls available on the headset.

There are a few things that have bothered me about the unit.  The build quality overall is nice except for the plasticy feel of the power and volume controls.  The headset also needs to be “loosened” a bit.  They squeezed a bit too hard on my head when I first started wearing them for an extended period of time.  I stretched them out a bit by putting something in between the headset overnight.  The other small complaint is they use a proprietary plug to USB to charge the unit.  It would’ve been nice if they just went with micro USB so you could carry one less cord.  Overall I would recommend these headphones to anyone that wants quality audio with out the cords.

Official Jaybird Site

I say for now since I’ve decided to keep 2 of my Nikon lenses.  Maybe in the future I’ll go back to Nikon, but the Micro FourThirds system has made enough steps forward to make me believe that they’re heading in the right direction.

The GF2 was announced this morning and although it’s a step toward the consumer market, I still think it’ll be a good upgrade.  It fits me perfectly because I’ve never been just a photographer or just a videographer.  I do a lot of both and switch between them at any given moment.  The GF2 has full 1080p HD video with a better sensor which will allow me to take high quality video.  The touch to focus during video mode is also a really easy way to get high production value without that much effort.  I’m waiting for the low light samples to come out since that’s one thing I felt was lacking in the GF1.  Photos taken above ISO 800 were pretty unusable unless you ran them through noise reduction software.

There’s been rumors that Nikon will release their own mirrorless camera system.  I hope this is true so there’s some more competition and innovation amongst the camera vendors.  At that time I’ll reevaluate and see if I want to reinvest in Nikon, but for now, it’s goodbye!

Pros

1. The iPhone4 has always felt delicate, the bumper makes it feel a lot more solid and impact resistant
2. The case is designed by Apple and you can tell, it’s more polished and fits the industrial design a lot better than other cases
3. The rubberized edges keep the iPhone from slipping and sliding when on a desk or other surfaces
4. I have a car holder from Proclip and they have a new iPhone4 holder that accomodates the bumper.

Cons

1. Attracts lint around the edges of the case which drives me crazy since I’m a bit OCD about my technology
2. Harder to put in and pull out of the pocket because of the rubberized edges
3. Doesn’t fit the iPhone4 dock that I bought

Some first impressions after using the phone for a few hours:

- The display is really amazing. Text is so sharp, I can see all my icons in my folders.

- I don’t have any issues with the reception dropping when using it in my left hand like some of the blogs are reporting. I was able to reproduce the issue intermittently, dropping 1-2 bars. Also no issue with the screen.

- The build quality is excellent. I like the weight of the phone. It feels a lot more polished than the 3GS.

- Background app streaming is working just fine, was able to keep pandora running while checking my emails.

- Phone is very snappy and responsive, probably due to the 512 MB of ram.

- Have not been able to take much pictures or video yet, but I’ll have a review of that separately.

The other constant with camera phone pics is they generally suck.  I looked at the new Sprint EVO’s camera pics and videos the other day and I commented to Pat Sun that was not impressed at all. Camera phones continue to push megapixels over sensor quality which has lead to larger pictures with the same crappy quality. I don’t need to be able to zoom further into crap if the over all image is crap to begin with. That’s why Steve Jobs hit it on the head today with the new 5MP camera phone built into the iPhone 4.  This sample pic from the Apple iPhone page made me say wow.   Supposedly the picture is straight out of the iPhone 4 with no editing.  They didn’t go for more megapixels, they went for a higher quality sensor.  Finally, someone got it right and the whole world will see camera phone pictures in a better light.

Image Source:  Apple.com iPhone 4 Gallery