I’ve never been a fan of the shutdown tracker in Server 2003. Though useful on production servers, it gets old fast when enabled on a test server in VMWare that you reboot/shutdown often. Luckily it is simple to disable.
To turn off the shutdown tracker on 2003 Server:
- Start–>Run
- Type:
gpedit.msc
- Under Administrative Templates -> System, set Display shutdown event tracker to Disabled.
- Click OK and you’re done.
There are a lot of camera stores on the web. Unfortunately not all of them are as honest and ethical as we would like. We all want a great deal, but when buying equipment online it is important to make sure you are dealing with a vendor with a solid reputation that you can trust. Here are a few basic guidelines that should help you decide whether that amazing deal you found on that camera or lens is such a great deal after all. Read the rest of this entry »
If you are feeling the call of close-up/macro photography but don’t want to shell out $400+ dollars for a dedicated macro lens, look into getting a close-up filter for your existing zoom lens. After reading several articles and online postings about the benefits I went ahead and purchased a Canon 500D adapter last year. I used it in combination with my Sigma 70-300mm APO and got some pretty impressive results. They only got better when I tried it with the Canon 100-400 IS.
While it isn’t going to get you true 1:1 macro, it isn’t going to cost an arm and a leg either. Plus when used with a zoom lens you will be able to recompose shots faster than with a prime, especially when shooting on a tripod.
Several camera companies make close-up adapters. Canon has the 250D and the 500D. According to Canon, the 250D is best suited to lenses in the 30mm to 135mm focal lengths and the 500D to lenses 70mm to 300mm. Nikon has several options as well.
A drawback of my 500D is that it adds weight to the front of the lens since it is basically a thick magnifying glass that screws into the front of the lens like a filter. It can make it a little awkward when handholding, but definitely manageable. You also cannot focus to infinity like you can without the adapter, so you have to be within a certain distance of the subject to get focus.
Even with the drawbacks, saving over $300 compared to a dedicated macro lens makes up for the limitations in my opinion. If you want to experiment with some extreme close-ups, this may be a great way to get started.
You can see some of the shots I’ve used the 500D on over at flickr.