Aloha Everyone!

The above photos are test samples from the new Canon 24-70mm f2.8 L lens I just got, while I also have a Canon 24-105mm IS L. You may be wondering why I bought the 24-70 even though the 24-105 IS is able to cover the range with Image Stabilization. Image Stabilization allows you to shoot at low shutter speed and keep the images fairly sharp. However, if you are shooting in a low light condition, the true 1-stop advantage from Canon 24-70mm f2.8 L is being able to freeze the motion of your  subject while Canon 24-105mm IS L just gets you a clear background.  The range of this lens is the most important range for a full frame camera user, and this is the reason I wanted to get the best lens Canon can offer at the moment.

After testing this lens for a month and comparing with 24-105mm, I found the following:

• The focus of this lens is faster
• Macro shots can be closer
• I like the Bokeh from this lens better
• Contrast is better
• I will need to get the Canon 70-200mm f2.8 to cover the 105mm range.  ; )

The 24-70mm does not come with IS, which is fine with me, since I don’t think I really need that function anyways. Because if I did need to shoot at a lower shutter speed, I can always use the trick I call “human image stabilization“.

Below is my unboxing video, in case you wanted know what come in the package. And if you wanna give this lens a try, you can get Canon 24-70mm f2.8 here for $1370 shipped

I didn’t post any photography related topics in the past 2 weeks and was busy with iPhone 4 & iOS4. I promise I will post more photography info right after this. By thy way, this is kinda related. Following is the iPhone 4 back camera spec in case you want to know.

• 5.0 Mpixels (2592 x 1936)
• 1/3.2″ back-illuminated CMOS sensor
• 4:3 aspect ratio
• 35 mm film camera crop factor: 7.64
• Low ISO 80 (or better)
• 3.85 mm lens focal length
• f/2.8 lens aperture
• Autofocus: tap to focus

The senors size is almost as big as the ones on a low end P&S and it is a back-illuminated CMOS sensor which helps with lowlight conditions. With this lens and sensor size, it corresponds to 35mm film camera equivalent lens of 30mm with f22.

Just a quick unboxing video with my 3Gs on the side. Just in case you wanna watch it.

p.s. the iPhone case you saw in the video you can buy from here.

Since the Apple iPad Case is in shortage at this moment, I am going to show you an alternative solution from Macally. The above video shows you the unboxing of the case and side by side comparison with the Apple original.

What I like
the Color
the better fold angle (horizontally or vertically) for viewing video or typing

What I don’t like
the front cover is too soft
get dirty easily due to its microfiber material
not able to cover the edges of the iPad 100%, it only covers the 4 corners

If you can’t wait for the original iPad case from Apple, you can get Macally for $40 Shipped here

p.s. I am really sorry I keep pronouncing Ma”cathy” instead of Ma”cally” in the video.

People talk about unlocking iOS4 on iPhone 3G/3Gs and a lot of sites provided instruction already. But I would like to show you how to fix the push notification if it fails after the unlock.

Following are the directions for how to fix your unlocked iPhone.

1, Make sure you’ve jailbroken and unlocked your iPhone 3G/3Gs with iOS 4.
2, Make sure you dont have any app which uses push function on your iPhone. If yes, remove all of them first.
3, Open up Cydia, and add this address to the sources: http://cmdshft.ipwn.me/apt as above
4, Once Cydia is done updating, go to the search field and type in: Push Doctor. Tap it, and then press install.
5, Wait until complete download and install.
6, Restart your iPhone.
7, After restarting, you may install any app which support Push function. e.g. Meebo
8, Run the installed app and it will tell you to enable Push Notification by Tapping Settings.
9, Tap Setting and enable it.

Push Notification should work by now.

More than one friend asked me how to check if they are able to get the iPhone upgrade with discounted offer. If you are a current At&t iPhone customer, there is a easier way to check if your line is eligible or when it will be eligible for an iPhone 4 upgrade, which means you can pay $199 for 16GB or $299 for 32GB iPhone4.

Step 1,  try to call *639# from the phone screen

Step 2, press Dismiss while you waiting for At&t server’s respond

You will get a message reply from At&t in less than 2 mins saying whether you are eligible or not.  The following image shows you are not eligible now, it tell you the date (black out area) when it will be eligible.

Please note that you will be able to pay $200 more for an early upgrade even if you are not eligible at this moment.

Above SIM card info. is for your reference if you are planning to unlock iPhone 4 and use it with another carrier. Currently, T-mobile does not offer Micro-SIM cards which is required by iPhone 4 (also iPad). Even when there is a  solution to unlock iPhone 4 in the near future, you will need to be prepared to cut your SIM card base on the above spec. of Micro-SIM card.  There is proof on the  internet that iPad is able to use the EDGE service from T-mobile while there is no way to use the 3G service due to the different frequency from AT&T

Just in case you still want to do it and you know what your are doing, You can try to use T-mobile EDGE APN Setting as followings.

DISCLAIMER: We have not tested this, so this information may be inaccurate or incomplete. alohaeveryone.com will not be responsible for individuals following the instructions on this page. And users are doing so entirely at their own risk.