Quick Review: Belkin ExpressCard and Griffin Clarifi

Two new accesories I’ve recently acquired are Belkin Media Reader-Writer ExpressCard™ Adapter and Griffin Clarifi Case for iPhone 3G.

Belkin Media Reader-Writer ExpressCard™ Adapter is compatible with multiple flash memory cards including SDHC cards. The previous Belkin Multimedia Reader & Writer ExpressCard™ does not support SDHC cards. This ExpressCard™ Adapter can be used with any laptops that have 34mm or 54mm ExpressCard™ slot built-in. Due to its size, this ExpressCard™ Adapter does not support CompactFlash cards.

Griffin Clarifi Protective Case for iPhone 3G has a close-up lens built in on a slider. The iPhone camera has a fixed lens with a fixed focal length, which makes it impossible to take a sharp close-up pictures of anything. With the addition of Griffin Clarifi built-in lens, it is now possible to take sharper close-up picture using the iPhone 3G. With the lens, the iPhone can now take pictures of objects 4 inches away.

Please check back for more detailed review.

Darren Carter: Ice House Rough Edit

I’m meeting Darren Carter at the Laugh Factory tonight. I’m currently editing video of his stand-up from Ice House Comedy Club in Pasadena. The videos were shot using Panasonic HDC-SD5 and HDC-SD9.

The AVCHD video’s were imported using iMovie ’08 in 540p and edited on Final Cut Pro 6.0.4. I’m using an octo-core 2.8GHz Mac Pro with 4GB of RAM.

Currently it is only the rough edit. I’d be putting up the clips either on my sites or on Darren Carter’s. Stay Tuned.

Darren Carter
Official Website | YouTube Channel | MySpace Page | IMDB
(Flash Player required to view Darren carter’s Official Website, iPhones are not welcome)

Darren Carter video from JillyOnline show.

How to type “Leo Laporte” on The iPhone

Leo Laporte has been complaining about the iPhone not letting him typing “Laporte” on the iPhone. As of recent, Laporte still complains that iPhone 2.0 still won’t let him type his last name.

This one goes to Leo Laporte and all The Laportes in the world:

Typing Leo Laporte on iPhone 2.0
Typing "Leo Laporte" on iPhone 2.0

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Notes:

Video recorded using Panasonic HDC-SD5, imported and edited using iMovie ’08 on 15″ Macbook Pro Core Duo.

Video encoding for the web is using QuickTime Pro 7.5, it is iPhone compatible.

Package is not delivered, blame it on UPS.

Beginning of rants.

Have you ever made an appointment with cable installations, or anything alike? Most likely you’ll be getting the usual “We’ll be there between 8:00am to 12:00pm” or even worse like “We’ll be there between 8:00am to 5:00pm.”

That is just plain annoying.

Well, I ordered Canon Vixia HV30 for a specifically for a 4th of July event from Amazon.com and had it on a one-day-shipping arrangement. Amazon shipped it immediately, and the package arrived at a local UPS distribution center early morning. According to the UPS tracking center, the package was out for delivery at 6:33am. I received an automated call from UPS that the package is being delivered and requires delivery confirmation in person. I had no problem with that, with the exception UPS did not have any delivery time specified. From my experience, UPS delivered packages in my area ranging from 2:00pm to 8:00pm. There was at least one person at the location until 5:00pm. Due to a little arrangement called “work”, I wouldn’t be able to get back to the location until after 6:00pm.

Due to severe traffics and other factors, I arrived at the location a little bit after 7:00pm. I found the UPS delivery aatempt notifications at the door. I immediately called UPS so that I could pick up my package at their distribution center. To my surprised, UPS wouldn’t let me pick up the package because I didn’t call them before 7:00pm. Since Friday is a holiday, and UPS wouldn’t do anything on the weekend, I wouldn’t be able to pick anyhting up until Monday June 7th.

Considering that I purchased the camcorder mainly for the special 4th of July event, it would be a “little” too late. What really bugs me is that UPS wouldn’t let me pick up the package tonight.

I had it, and I instructed UPS to send the package back to Amazon. I called Amazon and explained the situation. They understood the situation and would give full refund to my account.

I am really happy with Amazon, and I completely blame UPS.

end of rants…… maybe.

Buying Canon Vixia HV30 Hi-Def Camcorder

I am waiting for UPS to deliver Canon Vixia HV30 that I ordered from Amazon.com. Currently I am using Panasonic HDC-SD5, Panasonic HDC-SD9, and Canon HG10 to work on multimedia projects. All three camcorders are AVCHD camcorders, which record on to SDHC or Hard Drive. Canon Vixia HV30 is an HDV Camcorder that records on to HD-MiniDV tapes.

As much as I like the AVCHD format, I found a few advantages using a tape-based camcorder. I will get into that later.

For now, I am waiting for the camcorder to arrive on July 3rd.

Delivery estimate: July 3, 2008
1 “Canon VIXIA HV30 MiniDV High Definition Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
Electronics; $786.26
Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC

UPDATE:

The following items have been shipped to you by Amazon.com:
———————————————————————
Qty      Item                           Price  Shipped  Subtotal
———————————————————————
Amazon.com items (Sold by Amazon.com, LLC):
1     Canon VIXIA HV30 MiniDV Hi…  $786.26      1  $786.26

Shipped via UPS (estimated arrival date: 03-July-2008).
Tracking number: ******************
———————————————————————
Item Subtotal:  $786.26
Shipping & Handling:  $3.99

Total:  $790.25

Leo Laporte talked about this camcorder a few months back, and he took it to Tasmania for the Adobe Lightroom Adventure.

Canon Vixia HV30 product page @ Canon.com

Panasonic HDC-SD9 Raw AVCHD Sample

For those who’s checking out Panasonic HDC-SD9 AVCHD Camcorder, I’ve uploaded a 36.7MB ISO file from the camcorder. Mac OS X users should update QuickTime to version 7.5 and all the latest version of iMovie ’08, Final Cut Pro 6 and Final Cut Express 4.

The particular video is recorded outdoor during daytime. I’ll post a raw AVCHD video from this camcorder recorder in lower light situation later.

About the video:

Recorded using Panasonic HDC-SD9
North American – NTSC version

Auto Mode
Recording Mode: HA1920
24p Digital Cinema: ON
Digital Cinema Color: ON

Video Clip duration: 18 seconds

Get the 36.7MB ISO file here.

Panasonic HDC-SD9 - The Box