Aperture

 

Aperture is the opening of a lens also known as F-Stop it is a very important part of the exposure triangle (ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed). My lens the Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 has a range f/1.4 to f/16 which is amazing for low light scenes and capturing fast motion. Typically lenses are designed at f/2.8 or higher for more budget friendly prices. This is the exposure triangle it consists of the tree variables that adjust how a camera captures light: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Together, these three elements properly expose a shot. The three variables of the exposure triangle are all dependent on each other.

When the F-stop is wide open at f/1.4 the background is entirely out of focus while the subject is tack sharp. These wide open F-stop's are typically reserved for very low light situations when you really need to capture as much of the light you can without cranking the ISO function which produces more image noise. I will cover the ISO topic at a later date.

When the F-stop is narrow it reduces the amount of light entering the lens to the sensor. This also bring the rest of the background into focus.

One interesting effect that happens when the f-stop becomes smaller is lights begin to "burst" which can greatly improve an images quality if your shooting professional.

Typically on most dedicated camera systems you can set the mode to aperture priority where you manually set the aperture and the camera compensates the ISO/Shutter speed to acquire a quality image. A-mode is essentially set-it-and-forget it mode which most photos will be shot in. Other modes I have not covered are M-mode for manual settings where you have complete control of all three settings for a more personal touch because the software is only guessing at what your doing depending on what's in focus. S-mode is for changing shutter speed to capture high speed action.

5.5.8 Cell Formatting Tips

     When using Excel text colors should really be limited to two colors black text is always in style. Using the banding function of alternating colors increases readability. The best way to display titles is by using the merge and center command located in the Excel ribbon. Using the wrap text function allows for a lengthy amount of text to be formatted to the cell to increase readability. 

As for dates Excel recognizes them in different styles and has many formats for display. 

When displaying numbers excel can format the numbers to have the dollar sign $ up to including decimal points for displaying cents. Excel has several formats for numbers ranging from general, number, currency, accounting, date, time, percentage, fractions, scientific, text, special, even custom if you feel that the aforementioned list does not suit your needs.

Speed

 Speed is defined as. The rate of change of position of an object in any direction.

Shutter speed is defined as the speed the mechanical shutter on a digital single reflex lens / mirrorless camera as it closes this can be from 30 seconds to 1/8000th of a second. This speed needs to be adjusted depending on what object you are intending to capture in your photo.

In this shot I focused on the busker and set the shutter speed to a full fraction (1/8,1/6,1/4,/1/3) of a second. Notice how he is mostly in focus, the background is clear, and the people in the background are blurry.

When slowing the shutter speed to 10 second exposure while focused on water it becomes misty almost foggy

Here using a shutter speed of 1/40 I captured the Metro cruiser running code 3 (lights+sirens) on Las Vegas Blvd. Notice they are in focus but the background is blurry because I was panning the camera during this shot.

Here is another long exposure over 5 seconds

A 30 second exposure from east of Hollywood on the east side of Las Vegas. That light trail is not a meteor but a helicopter. This gives me an idea for long exposure shots with flying objects.

4.13.1 Macros

Macros are a computer rule or pattern that the user "records" short sequences of keystrokes and mouse actions to transform a normally boring repetitive task into a one button solution. Remapping a button on a keyboard is also considered a macro for example a keyboard that has had liquid spilled on it so a few keys no longer work. Using a macro a user can also remap a key to another key.

Computer users who have to do repetitive tasks such as data entry, resizing images, or spamming the same skill in a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) have come to use the macro function to make their task easier. When I was playing the MMORPG Ragnarok Online in 2004 a tool named AutoHotKey was given to me by a guildmate to help spam damaging spells at blistering speeds as some spells stack on top of each other. This simple tool can also be configured to use a healing potion if your health points (HP) dropped below a certain hex color value. Which gives an unfair advantage against the unaware.

Currently due to the game breaking nature of automated hotkeys many online games have banned the use of third party software in their terms of service (TOS).

Ice Cream, Ramen, Jesus, Fitness Girls, and Mario.

As the semester chugs along I continue to pull extended hours on the computer tolling away at my other 4 courses I still manage to find time to head out in town for photos. I am still going to attempt the Bellagio Gardens I just need to be up to speed with my other courses. Every time I go to Fremont street I catch something new this time I found "Jesus" who knows what I will find next time. In my Photography 101 course we had our first round of critics for photos and one of my top photos "one directly below" got a solid praise from the teacher and almost half the class. So far what I have learned is the quality of lens really makes the camera.

Ramen is from Shokku Ramen called the Millennium Bowl inspired by Yu-Gi-Oh

And to cool things off Ice Cream at the Palazzo

Mario on vacation in Las Vegas?

Why USB-C is not dominating the market - 2.1.6 PC Port and Connector Facts

USB Type-C entered the computing world in 2014 with its revolutionary idea of being a rotationally symmetrical connector. The concept of USB-C has significant issues ranging from cost, practicality, and safety concerns. At face value USB-C has everything you need with enough power to charge a laptop high speed data transfer rates of 10GB per second and an easy to insert plug. So no more fumbling around inserting a USB type A three times to get it right.

The first point of trouble with USB-C is cost. The USB logo itself is copyrighted and requires a fee for any commercial use. The method of constructing a cable costs on average 5 times more to manufacture than a micro USB type B in money and time.

Secondly, Apple is not onboard with the use of USB-C when tech power house Apple which controls over 5% of worldwide computer sales and a quarter of cell phone sales. Currently Apple gets a $4 royalty from every Lightning cable manufactured and sold. [source]

Lastly, because of the cost to manufacture USB-C copycats have introduced shortcuts to the process by forgoing the USB-IF Compliance Program and cut corners on build quality. These shortcuts often allow for more wattage to be drawn from the cable when plugged into an older USB port on a desktop computer. Leading to the chance of damage to your computer or its USB port.

More detailed explanation of USB-C. How its made.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1Tmtd51clI

Evolution of Smartphones

Martin Cooper holding the DynaTAC

In 1973, the first cell phone call was made by Martin Cooper, former Motorola vice president using the company's DynaTAC phone. This ground breaking moment was the starting point of mobile phones to evolve into the smartphones were have today.

I won't cover each evolution because this blog post would take over an hour to read.

1998 the first 3G networks were released to the public allowing users to download files on the go.

1999 Emojis were invented by Shigetaka Kurita in Japan

2003 3G Standard adopted worldwide 

2005 Google acquires Android the mobile OS system

2007 First 4G network launched in South Korea

2007 iPhone released by Apple

2011 Motorola Razr released - at launch it was the worlds thinnest phone at 7.1mm

2013 Galaxy Round released - at launch worlds first curved screen phone

2016 Sony Xperia XA - first 4k HDR display on a mobile phone

2018 Vivo X20 Plus UD - first phone to feature an in-screen fingerprint sensor

2020 Samsung Galaxy S20 - first 5G phone released