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Darvin
Darvin's stats
- Review count2
- Helpfulness votes76
- First reviewDecember 15, 2013
- Last reviewFebruary 9, 2014
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating5
- Review comment count1
- Helpfulness votes0
- First review commentDecember 26, 2013
- Last review commentDecember 26, 2013
- Featured review comments0
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- Question count0
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- First questionNone
- Last questionNone
- Featured questions0
- Answer count3
- Helpfulness votes0
- First answerDecember 15, 2013
- Last answerDecember 26, 2013
- Featured answers0
- Best answers0
Darvin's Reviews
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G Standard Lens: A perfect everyday lens for any photographer, the AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G offers fast autofocusing combined with an integrated lens coating to deliver clear and crisp images. The wide-open aperture is ideal for low-light shooting and creating images with beautiful background blur.
Customer Rating
5
The essential lens for every photographer.
on February 9, 2014
Posted by: Darvin
from California
A 50mm lens is a must in any serious or armature photographers kit. Granted this is a prime lens so there is no zoom but that trade off gives you tact sharp images.
Make sure you not get this confused with the 50mm 1.8D which is a cheaper version made in China. The 1.8G in many tests beats out it's more expensive big brother the 1.4G. The 1.4G gives you up to 50% more light in dark rooms but gives up a bit in clarity due in part to having more components. On the far end of the spectrum is the Nikon 50mm F/1.2. A great lens with superior clarity if you don't mind having to manually focus each shot.
This 50mm lens is fantastically priced for the value it provides. Fast and clear it's your best bet if you are just getting started and if you are a pro without a 50mm still want to go to this lens for general shooting needs. It's not near as heavy as the more expensive lenses which makes it perfect for me as I mainly shoot landscapes but it works fantastic as a portrait lens as well. It's bokeh is fantastic and has little if any vignetting. At least none that I could see even when full open.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This is an FX lens. If you are shooting any of the Nikon DX cameras you can use this lens but the proper equivalent would be the Nikon 35mm lens also available from Best Buy. (35mm x 1.4 crop sensor in DX gives you 50mm.)
Hope you found this useful. It is based on some lengthy research and i feel it's the best lens for the money.
Darvin Atkeson
Photographer
LiquidMoonlight.com
Photographer
LiquidMoonlight.com
What's great about it: Speed, Clarity, Sensitivity, Price, Quality, Performance
What's not so great: F/1.8 instead of F/1.4 and not quite as durable as it's big brother.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Ease of Use
5
Durability
5
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+66points
66of 66voted this as helpful.
Sony VAIO Flip 15A SVF15N17CXB Convertible 2-in-1 Laptop: Whether it be entertainment or productivity, this convertible Flip PC laptop can do it. The beautiful Full HD multitouch screen and advanced graphics make the most out of your visual experience.Learn more about the New Windows ›
Posted by: Darvin
from Bass Lake, CA
This is the largest 2 / 1 laptop / tablet I have seen thus far and it fits my needs nicely. If you are looking for a tablet this large your probably not going to be lugging it around every day.
The 15 inch screen allows me to view show clients images from my Nikon D800E (36 Megapixel) large and see clearly how they turned out. The touch tablet (with Wacom like digitizer) means I can do art directly on this large screen.
While the processor reports being on the slow side the 3.0 Ghz boost kicks in and I don't notice any lag. The Hybrid 1TB drive is fast and smooth and makes the system much faster than it would be with a standard drive yet gives me space to store large files unlike most SSD drives. If you have large image files you can't go wrong with this system.
Based on previous reviews I nearly didn't get this system. However it seems a lot of the problems with the system have since been fixed as I have not encountered one. The unit connected right up to my WiFi and has not lost connection. Nor have I lost the touch screen as was reported in earlier reviews. The update to Windows 8.1 went smoothly.
One oddity is that it appears to have both an Intel and nVidia graphics card built in. Not sure how that works but it appears to be using the Intel for standard graphics and the nVidia 2GB graphics for games.
My Best Buy number: 21374463
What's great about it: Largest display on a convertible makes it easy to use.
What's not so great: Lacks a CD/DVD drive and is locked at 8GB RAM.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Display
5
Performance
3
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+7points
10of 13voted this as helpful.
Darvin's Review Comments
Sony VAIO Flip 15A SVF15N17CXB Convertible 2-in-1 Laptop: Whether it be entertainment or productivity, this convertible Flip PC laptop can do it. The beautiful Full HD multitouch screen and advanced graphics make the most out of your visual experience.Learn more about the New Windows ›
Overall5 out of 5
5 out of 5Very nice system for a 2 in 1.
By Darvin
from Bass Lake, CA
This is the largest 2 / 1 laptop / tablet I have seen thus far and it fits my needs nicely. If you are looking for a tablet this large your probably not going to be lugging it around every day.
The 15 inch screen allows me to view show clients images from my Nikon D800E (36 Megapixel) large and see clearly how they turned out. The touch tablet (with Wacom like digitizer) means I can do art directly on this large screen.
While the processor reports being on the slow side the 3.0 Ghz boost kicks in and I don't notice any lag. The Hybrid 1TB drive is fast and smooth and makes the system much faster than it would be with a standard drive yet gives me space to store large files unlike most SSD drives. If you have large image files you can't go wrong with this system.
Based on previous reviews I nearly didn't get this system. However it seems a lot of the problems with the system have since been fixed as I have not encountered one. The unit connected right up to my WiFi and has not lost connection. Nor have I lost the touch screen as was reported in earlier reviews. The update to Windows 8.1 went smoothly.
One oddity is that it appears to have both an Intel and nVidia graphics card built in. Not sure how that works but it appears to be using the Intel for standard graphics and the nVidia 2GB graphics for games.
Darvin
California
Update to review.
December 26, 2013
After several days working just fine the Sony Vaio just refused to turn on. The Geek Squad thought it was a broken power port but the power light did come on on the front of the system when plugged in indicating it was getting power. At any rate the battery should still have been charged after shutting it down the night before. Sometimes you just get a lemon. I still believe this is a great system with a lot of potential.
Best Buy Customer Service did a great job getting me a new system and I love their no hassle return policy which is my primary reason for buying nearly all my electronics at Best Buy.
I opted for something a little more sturdy (as a rock) and somewhat old school in the Dell 7000 for several hundred less it's basically the same system without the flip ability or tablet. I still love the Viao but Sony needs to resolve the issue with the tablet and professional apps such as Photoshop. Currently each company (Sony and Adobe) are blaming the other and the customer is caught in the middle with the loss of a great feature.
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Darvin's Questions
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Darvin's Answers
Can You get a dvd /cd drive for the HP Pavilion Touchsmart computers?
Any external USB DVD drive should work nicely. There isn't quite enough information about your model to say if you can use and internal drive but typically if you can they do come with it by default.
Just about anything you can have on a CD/DVD or Blu-Ray can now be put on a Thumb Drive and inserted in to any USB port. Unless you need to burn CD/DVDs I recommend just using thumb drives. Best Buy has a number you can choose from. 32GB should suffice for most needs but they do make the larger.
Just about anything you can have on a CD/DVD or Blu-Ray can now be put on a Thumb Drive and inserted in to any USB port. Unless you need to burn CD/DVDs I recommend just using thumb drives. Best Buy has a number you can choose from. 32GB should suffice for most needs but they do make the larger.
10 years, 3 months ago
by
Darvin
California
What Apple Mac laptop have a DVD/CD Drive?
Current models have eliminated the DVD/CD drives but you can attach an external one via the USB or Thunderbolt connectors.
10 years, 4 months ago
by
Darvin
California
does turbotax work with 'google chromebook' operating system?
There is both an on-line version of turbo tax that should work and appears there is a Turbo Tax app in the Google Store. I have not uses the app but it is getting 4.5 out of 5 stars. Go to Play.Google.com and search for TurboTax SnapTax by Intuit.
10 years, 4 months ago
by
Darvin
California