THE PASSAGE OF TIME

UNBOXING AN NEW OLD WATCH

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 08:59:00 +0000

Fellow enthusiast Klaus Hausmann had made a unboxing video on the Timex Datalink Model 150 watch. This model (sub model number 69721/69737) was used in space missions, eg on the International Space Station about a decade ago.

It is kinda peculiar and interesting to do an unboxing of a Brand New but Old watch, since the watch is around maybe 13 years old, kinda like opening an old present or parcel that has been late for a decade. Everything inside feels so yesteryear and brings realization on how fast and far has technology and the human race progressed. Check it out here:

Thank you Klaus!

SALE: D90 WITH MB-D80 BATTERY GRIP

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 03:49:00 +0000

Singapore sale only, prices in SGD.

Equipment Type: DSLR
Equipment Brand: Nikon
Equipment Model: D90 with MB-D80 battery grip Free ML-L3 Remote
Price (S$): 1260
Description:
1st owner, bought from The Camera Shop
1.5 year old camera.
Back up camera of back up camera, seldom get to use.
Shutter Actuation below 17000.
Always stored in dry cabinet condition.
Strap is brand new and unused.
Full box, original standard accessories, cd, manual, warranty paper, receipt.

MB-D80 also condition 10.
AA tray intact and unused too.

Nikon ML-L3 Wireless Remote Control - FREE FOR YOU!

Condition of Item (as per guidelines): 10
Warranty Status: Nil

Package/Accessories/Extras:
All original and standard accessories intact and present.

SALE: NIKON D300 & 17-55MM F2.8 ZOOM LENS

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 23:54:00 +0000

Singapore sale only, prices in SGD.

Equipment Type: DSLR
Equipment Brand: Nikon
Equipment Model: D300
Price (S$): SOLD!
Description:
1 year 3 months old camera.
1st owner, bought from TK Foto.
Shutter Actuation below 18000.
Always stored in dry cabinet condition.
Strap is brand new and unused.
Full box, original standard accessories, cd, manual, warranty paper, receipt.
Carefully, lightly used camera.

Condition of Item (as per guidelines): 10
Warranty Status: Nil

Package/Accessories/Extras:
All original and standard accessories intact and present.

Equipment Type: Lens
Equipment Brand: Nikon
Equipment Model: 17-55mm f2.8 King of DX Zoom
Price (S$): SOLD!
Description:
1 year 10 months old lens.
1st owner, bought from John 3:16.
Always stored in dry cabinet condition.
Full box, original standard accessories, front and rear caps, hood, manual, warranty paper, receipt.
Original lens pouch new and unused.
Carefully, lightly used lens.

Condition of Item (as per guidelines): 10
Warranty Status: Nil

Package/Accessories/Extras:
All original and standard accessories intact and present.

Thanx for your interest!

RED12 STRAPS REVIEW

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 18:28:00 +0000

The best straps are those that are custom made for your needs. I recently received my 2nd Red12 Straps a couple of days ago and I would like to share some photos. When I said custom made, it means I get to choose the leather, the treatment/coating, the stitching, type of threads, color, the hardware stuff like buckle style, polished or brushed, etc. I get to have it my way.

Zack (aka oldskool) also discuss with me the design of the strap, single or double keepers, taper or not, the style of stitching... my wrist size, what type of watch I am using it for, my local weather, ahh the attention to details is simply amazing.

Here it is!
This particular leather was treated to withstand the hot and humid South East Asia weather here. The strap is water resistant. Zack actually soak it water and it took a few hours for it to get wet. I think this is a limited edition run, so if you are in similar climate like me, get it fast.
Despite the thickness, the leather is flexible and supple.
Click on the pictures anytime to view it bigger.
Take a look a the grain and stitching. I love it!
Zack's mark on the buckle.
I put it on my Precista Italian for the moment. It is a tad too thick for the Italian but I am going to see if it improves once the strap conforms to my wrist shape after sometime.
As I mentioned, this is my second Red12 strap. The first one (pic below) which have been on my Marina Militare for the past two years is still going strong. But now I have the flexibility to switch them around to create different looks for my watches.
Thanx for the read!

MIDYEAR CHECK

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 11:18:00 +0000

Things are progressing though not exactly the ones that I want.

But it is ok for now.

Had procrastinate quite a bit, which is not good.

Ought to be more aggressive.

Some work had been done nevertheless.

So let the momentum build up.

WATCHES FOR SALE

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 05:26:00 +0000

Selling three of my personal watches, you might be interested in these. Here goes:

Debaufre Nav B 48mm Flieger
Discontinued model from Debaufre. The pilot watch we raved about. Decorated Swiss Unitas movement.
* Stainless steel case
* Diameter 48 mm, including crown 53 mm, 13.8mm thick.
* See-thru case back with blue screws and a special "Cote de Geneve" engraving
* 3 ATM
* Sapphire crystal
* Black dial, and sub dial
* Figures with Super LumiNova
* Leatherstrap 22 mm with thorn buckle with screws.
* Unitas 6497 hand wind movement with 17 jewels
* Nickel plated with blue screws
* "Cote de Geneve" design
* 17 jewels
* Stainless steel case
* Diameter 48 mm, including crown 53 mm, 13.8mm thick.
* See-thru case back with blue screws and a special "Cote de Geneve" engraving
* 3 ATM
* Sapphire crystal
* Black dial, and sub dial
* Figures with Super LumiNova
* Leatherstrap 22 mm with thorn buckle with screws.
* Unitas 6497 hand wind movement with 17 jewels
* Nickel plated with blue screws
* "Cote de Geneve" design
* 17 jewels

Condition is Timezone Scale: LNIB 100% for the watch. Box and papers all intact.

The leather strap is slightly darkened from wear on the inner side (normal), looks new on the outer side.

Price: US$448
Payment: accepts Paypal - fees my burden
Shipping: Registered airmail from Singapore Post (around $12 to $18)
Email: antonc108 at gmail.com

Seiko Orange Monster
So popular and well known even among the wives of watch enthusiasts I got nothing much to say.
Condition is Timezone Scale: Mint 98% Light swirls on the bracelet and thats it!

Time keeping is very accurate however the only issue is the crown is a bit finicky when trying to pull it to position 2 for date changing, sometimes its hard to 'feel the notch' for position 2, but this had never been a problem, you may not even notice it.

No box, no papers. Zulu strap in picture is not included.

Price: Sale Withdrawn
Payment: accepts Paypal - fees my burden
Shipping: Registered airmail from Singapore Post (around $10 to $15)
Email: antonc108 at gmail.com

Seiko 6138-3003 Automatic Chronograph
Vintage Seiko automatic chronograph that dates from February 1978. Needs no introduction for enthusiasts. Folded link bracelet is original Seiko, but I suspect not original to the watch, full sized though.
Condition is Timezone Scale: Good 78%

Please expect dings, nicks and scratches on crystal and watch case, light swirls on the bracelet. Scratches on the dial (probably from past servicing), faded small hands and alga-ed lume from aged. Water resistant not expected. Once again this is a 32 year old vintage watch.

Time keeping is very accurate however, I had it last serviced in 2007. All chrono functions work properly and resets to zero.

FREE: Includes an unused NATO bond strap seen in the picture.

Price: SOLD!
Payment: accepts Paypal - fees my burden
Shipping: Registered airmail from Singapore Post (around $10 to $15)
Email: antonc108 at gmail.com

(PS: Compare prices on ebay, this model usually closes from $200 up for a beat up, to $400 for a pristine mint conditioned one.)
Thanx for the read, drop me an email if your interested.

I WON THE PHOTO CONTEST

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 19:45:00 +0000

You're probably tired of seeing this picture again...

But thanx to your votes, I won first place in ThirstyPhoto.com's Black and White contest.

Once again, many many thanx for your support and voting for my photo.

MAY I ASK FOR HELP?

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Mon, 10 May 2010 09:36:00 +0000

Hi friends, I took part in a Facebook photo contest and my photo is one of the top popular ones.

I stand a likely chance of winning as I am only a few votes behind the top three photos. The contest ends in 6 days.

If you guys and gals would help me vote for my photo I would appreciate greatly. Thanx!

This is the link:
http://apps.facebook.com/thirstyphoto/contests/megablock.php?itemId=14801&v=1
To vote, hover your mouse over the 'stars' and choose the number of stars you think it deserves and click!

Thanx in advance!

FAKE SELLER USED MY PHOTO!

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 18:02:00 +0000

I was alerted by a kind friend that a fake watch seller had used my photo of the Omega Speedmaster here:

http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.ar/MLA-85616008-omega-speedmaster-professional-nuevo-_JM

I checked out the listing and saw another friend Kelly M Rayburn's photo being misused too!

Arrgghh, the nerve of these people! If they have no qualms about selling fake watches, they have none about using copyrighted images!

ORIENT WATCH GIVEAWAY WINNER!

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 10:07:00 +0000

The winner is Dan Meinhardt (DJM on the watch forums)!!!

Congratulations to the Orient fan!

Hope you enjoy your incoming new watch!

To everyone, thank you for participating! :)

ORIENT WATCH GIVEAWAY

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Want a free watch? Yes! Orient Watch USA is giving away the above watch free to a lucky reader of this blog. It is an Orient Automatic watch and its yours free if you win this give-away contest!

Commonly known as the Orient 3 Star, this is a 21 jewel Orient movement, (I think its caliber EMZO), which has an interesting day indicator where a disk rotates and shows the current day of the week as a red dot on the dial. Quick set date button at 2 o clock, water resistant is 5 ATM. Stainless steel 37mm watch case with 20mm lugs, mineral glass crystal. I think this watch got a retro, 70s look and will make an interesting addition to any collection.

To participate in this watch-giveaway contest, all you have to do is to check out this hot Orient CFM00003B and then post a comment to this blog post stating what's the one thing you like most about it and what occasions you would like to wear it for? (I personally think it makes a great daily wear watch.)

The selected winner will receive the free watch from Orient Watch USA, shipping cost will be taken care of too!

Important!:
* Your email address must be included in the comment post for purpose of this giveaway.
* Contest ends 2 weeks from now (8 April 2010 GMT time). Comment posts after said date will not be considered.
* Winner will be contacted by a rep/assign of Orient Watch USA for the receiving of the prize.
* This contest is only available to US residents only.

Good luck!

Update!!! Contest had ended, pending results. Thank you for your participation.

MOVADO AND INVICTA

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:40:00 +0000

The watch itch had struck again. I had been staying away from buying watches but I find my passion reignited when I kept bumping into watch enthusiasts here and there. Recently I was at lunch with an associate of mine and he was wearing this timeless classic.

He told me its a Movado Sapphire series with a Museum dial. So I did a web search and found it: Movado Watches

I must admit that I am predominantly a sports and tool watch guy (watchuseek forum influenced) so I don't have many 'real' dress watches for those formal occasions. So this Movado really attracted my attention with its clean, sleek design. And come to think about it, Movado watches had stayed true to their design for the past 50 years with its 'Museum dial' even today it still look so modern and timeless.

And one thing leads to another. While I was seriously tempted by this watch, I saw another great deal while surfing around; Invicta watches.

The Invicta 6348, Grand Diver GMT. I was attracted by the blue and yellow colors, and the very nice looking mesh bracelet. The bezel is a bit 'omega-seamasterish' and on first look seems to be a SMP homage, but its not. I love the sword hands and how the blue and yellow contrasts on the dial. A great looking watch. I imagine it will look nice on a blue or yellow strap too. IMHO a great candidate for PMWF.com's Top 20 list.

Looking at the specs, it seems to be a great deal at only about $82!

Specs:
Screw down crown
300m water resistant
316L stainless steel
47mm case
22mm lug
Mineral crystal
Swiss Ronda 515 GMT quartz movement

Thanx for the read!

OMEGA SPEEDMASTER X33 AND SWATCH SERVICE CENTER

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:22:00 +0000

Omega Speedmaster X33 Generation II, one of my favorite watches in my space watch collection. Many enthusiasts would agree this is a gem of a watch; not because of its price, but due to several reasons, mainly it significance in space missions, and because of the fact that since 2006 onwards, it is no longer available for sale to the public. It is now only available to space agencies like NASA and the operators under the Military Pilot Program.

So I had the watch since 2007, bought with a fairly new battery. Sometime in the later part of year 2009 the battery ran flat and in mid December 2009 I sent the watch to the local SWATCH service center for a battery replacement. I should had sent it to my trusty watchmaker, but I thought its good to let SWATCH take a look... bad idea.

The people at SWATCH told me if a battery change rescues the watch, fine, if not its going back to Bienne for Omega HQ to look at it, since they don't have the resources to fix it here. I said alright, the battery change cost like 5 times more than what my watchmaker charges me, no problem, no biggie, just get it done.

I reached home an hour later, checked on the watch, and realized its ticking only once every 5 seconds again, an indication of low battery, only an hour after battery change. I brought it back to SWATCH a few days later, and SWATCH told me my X33 is having unusual high power consumption, that they gotta send the watch back to Bienne for an overhaul. Total charges estimated to be around the equivalent of about USD1500. WTH!

I asked if the battery they changed could be a bad one, it happens I know, but they insisted they only use new batteries and the best ones.

After a lot of talking, I managed to convince them to at least change another battery for me, just to see if its a bad battery, before considering the USD1500 repair. If they don't do it, I will just get my watchmaker to do it. So that got them agreeing, since they guaranteed their battery change anyway...

Watch is running normal thereafter.

Now 2 months had passed since then, my X33 is running great as per normal!

I hadn't mentioned the extra scratches they put on the watch!

Will not be going back to SWATCH in future. Somehow, the whole experience feels like they are trying to get me part with USD1500 for nothing. No way man!

THINK TANK DIGITAL HOLSTER 50

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:44:00 +0000

Think Tank Digital Holster 50, originally uploaded by ryamane.

Got myself a new camera bag, the Think Tank Digital Holster 50. It fits my 70-200mm f/2.8 lens on a pro spec-ed body, with either hood on or inversed.

Thus far I used it a couple of times and find it very comfortable to sling across the shoulder. I haven't try wearing it on my belt system yet though. Getting the camera in and out of the holster is slow coz the holster is kinda tight for the lens and as it suspends freely, its hard to get the camera and lens into the holster without bracing it against something. Plus its hard to zip up when thick straps are attached, like R straps or thick neoprene straps from Op-tech.

Also, be careful when putting it down, let it laid down by its side instead of trying to stand it upright. It will most certainly tip over and crash your lens and camera.

Overall I like it and will be keeping it. It gives me the ability to carry long lens attached without having to pick my big bags.

MY NEW FLASHGUN

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:00:00 +0000

D700 /w 14-24mm & SB900, originally uploaded by jarvisphotography.

Got myself a new flash. Nikon's current flagship model, the SB900 Speedlight. The biggest and meanest and grossly overpriced. Played with it around and the performance is great. I am in love with the interface immediately, far more superior than my SB800.

The manual is thick for a flash, looks more like a manual for camera than a flash unit. Flipping through the pages bores me, its easier to figure it out by using it.

Ken Rockwell says its more of a video game than a flash; I usually take KR's reviews with a pinch of salt, since his prompt to sweeping statements and overly conceited views, but this I agree with him; with 8 buttons, 1 rotary dial and 1 toggle switch, the SB900 might be overwhelming for someone new to flash guns. But if you are a regular flash user; eg coming from SB800; you will acclimate within an hour of playing around with it.

Looking forward to using it on the field.

NEW YEAR RESOLUTION 2010

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

I wish for a more focused direction.

Get the basics work out and put them in place.

Make do with what I can get for the moment.

I can't complain much at this stage, its needed.

And its for the good of the next stage.

Call it foundation building. Since I already dig a hole, some of the work's already done.

I will reassess again come mid year, if the works at the next level can commence, or if its better to take things slower.

Too many variables at this point of time to schedule things, though the plan is relatively clear.

Budgeting needs to be done too, perhaps there will be things to give up on, to meet that budget.

I will fine tune along the way.

2009 END YEAR CLOSING NOTES

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 01:28:00 +0000

Happy with my overall achievements this year.

Things had turned better at the second part of the year.

I had suddenly moved faster than expected.

Its not mind blowing, but its not too shabby either, I am satisfied and happy.

Yes I am good but I owe it more to luck and good people.

Not just sheer luck but also as seeing opportunities, making good decisions and seizing opportunities, big ones, small ones. Small ones mostly, but they builds up.

I owe it to my friends too, goes without saying. The good people.

Happy with the unplanned incident too, a pleasant surprise that I welcome.

Looking forward for a more focused year tomorrow.

NEW CANON PRINTER!

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:24:00 +0000

《攝印有咩好玩》四四正正盒仔人 x iP4760, originally uploaded by Canon Enjoy Photo.

Got a new printer! The Canon iP4760! Prints documents, photos and prints on CDs. Prior to this I had been waiting for the Epson Artisan 800 (also known as TX800W for Asian markets here) which is a more versatile AIO (All-In-One) printer, because it also does scan and fax too. But alas, while its already on clearance sale and heavily discounted in the US, it has not arrive at this region yet.

Considering the fact that I already have an older but fully functional Canon scanner, I gave up waiting for the AIO printer and went for the Canon iP4760.

For $199/- I get a $50 rebate in shopping vouchers, a free LED digital retro clock, and 15 months on site warranty. Pretty decent deal, not great, but good enough for me.

And print quality is much better at 9600 dpi since its a dedicated printer, thats quite important to me!

MY NEW CAMERA! D90!

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:04:00 +0000

Just got a D90 with MB-D80 battery grip. Soon to be replacing my old D80.

D80 is one of the Nikon generation 1 cameras (1999 to 2008). On CCD sensor. White balance is finicky and the camera sometimes got it wrong on 'Auto' mode, especially when a flashgun is mounted but not turned on, the camera would get confused and compensate unnecessarily. (Might be my piece's electronic contact issue though)

D90 is one of the Nikon Generation 2 cameras (2007 to current). On CMOS sensor. Better noise control, higher low light capability, higher processing power, higher IQ, plus the Active D-Lighting wonders. Its hard to get bad pictures with this camera.

Just a few weeks after I bought the D80, Nikon launched the D90 and retired the D80. But I have no regrets using the D80. Otherwise I probably wouldn't learn as much and advanced as fast using a much easier and consumer-friendlier camera. With the D80 I had to fix many things in post processing and all those work really enriched the learning process.

THINK TANK STREETWALKER HARDDRIVE

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:10:00 +0000

Though I still like my Lowepro bags, I find myself moving more and more into Think Tank system. I sold my Lowepro Fastpack 250 and got myself the Think Tank Photo Streetwalker HardDrive.

Think Tank Streetwalker Harddrive - exterior, originally uploaded by Serge Van Cauwenbergh.

Its almost as big as my Lowepro Computrekker Plus AW. Both of them allows me to load two pro camera bodies with battery grips and lenses mounted. The Computrekker Plus AW still holds significantly more stuff than the Streetwalker HardDrive and it also have thicker paddings, which I prefer. In comparison the Think Tank have thinner padding and the separators are the thinnest I seen so far. Despite that I still bought the bag because I suspect this is the bag I that will reach out for its smaller size and mobility since its not always that I would need to load a lot of stuff and I had my Computrekker Plus AW for that purposes.

Think Tank Streetwalker Harddrive - interior, originally uploaded by Serge Van Cauwenbergh.

The Think Tank is very streamlined and sleek, no protruding compartments and stuff like tripod straps and waist belt can be removed or tucked in when not in use. Speaking of waist belt, I realized when I load up all my gear into the bag it gets heavy enough to belt up and the included waist belt is too thin to help with any weight distribution.

With this bag however, there is a cool option to use the Think Tank Pro Speed Belt from the modular system for it. I have the Steriod Speed Belt which is thicker so and I am not sure if it fits, yet to try but I am now keeping my eyes open for a Pro Speed belt. The compartments, both interiors and the exteriors for accessories and tripod are all very well thought out; made by photographers, for photographers.

A very good review on a popular internet forum:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=676757

Video review:
(First 10 minutes is about iphone, scroll to 10:15 for the Think Tank bag review)

SPECIAL OLYMPICS SINGAPORE 2009

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:59:00 +0000

Special Olympics Singapore 2009 Aquatics Event. I was a volunteer photographer. These are the pictures approved by Special Olympics Singapore.

Slideshow:

Direct link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/antonc108/sets/72157622196002116/show/

Learned a lot from the event.

VIETNAM HCM PICTURES

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 03:07:00 +0000

Some random pictures of Vietnam, HCM.

More pics here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/antonc108/sets/72157621829599537/

THINK TANK BELT SYSTEM

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 06:36:00 +0000

I was tired of bags, both backpacks and shoulder bags. Backpacks are slow to deploy, but more comfortable. Shoulder bags are fast, but the weight is all to one side, when you need to carry a lot of gear, it doesn't work, the neck and back strain will kill. I know, coz I used the largest version of the Lowepro Stealth Reporter, 3 hours with it and I am out of gas.

So I was trying to DIY a belt system with a BDU belt and some existing pouches that I have. But it doesn't really work, was uncomfortable and it really adds to the stress of carrying so much equipment on top of the photography. My Vietnam trip was approaching fast and I got lots of other things on my mind, I don't really have time to tweak my DIY system. So I aborted it and took the excuse to buy the Think Tank belt system. I got the Modular Set for the 20% savings in cost, and the Steroid Speed Belt to hold them all.

I was actually using it with two camera bodies, I had my D300 on Optech neck strap slung on my neck, and my D80 on R-Strap across the shoulder. Instead of letting it hand down on the R-Strap, I holster it into the Lens Changer pouches. When I only wanted the D300 to be out, I disassemble the D80 which the lenses goes into their respective pouches, the flash into the Lightning Fast pouch and the D80 body (with battery grip) goes into the Speed Changer pouch. The Large Lens Drop In pouch acts as a 'table' for me to temporary hold a lens while changing lenses, and its also a 'bin' where I dumped in all my lens caps and body caps. The Steriod Speed Belt enables me to turn things around so I maintained mobility and dexterity. Even shooting when lying down on my side on the ground is not a problem.

The rain protection is great too, weather forecast predicted thunderstorm for Ho Chi Minh city and it indeed rained and drizzled much during the trip. It didn't rained heavy enough for me to pull out the rain protection but I felt assured my gear will be protected in the real event of a thunderstorm.

Norwegian photographer James Bjerkholt has a marvelous review on this system:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=705167

NEW WATCH

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 12:27:00 +0000

(Click on pic for full size)

New watch in the house. Hamilton Khaki Scuba. Haven't done watch reviews for a long time, so here goes a little first impression review.

Specs:
Model number H64551857
Screw down crown
100m water resistant
Sapphire crystal
Hour, minute, second, day and date function
Swiss Quartz movement - ETA/ESA 255.122-D12D6 (ESA 255.121 is possible but unlikely)

Well this is the same basic quartz circuit board they used in the high end Omega De Ville Prestige, (both Omega and Hamilton being sister companies under the giant SWATCH umbrella). Granted that Omega rhodium coats and modifies the movement further, and thus so they charges 5 to 6 times more. Lume is probably Luminova, it doesn't seem bright enough to be Super Luminova. I like the dial design, hours, military hours, minutes and seconds. The diver styled bezel does not rotate. No problem, ain't using it for diving, not that I know how to dive in the first place!

(Click on pic for full size)

I think it looks really cool and sporty with the splash of orange over silver. The orange markers and second hand's tip comes together nicely. The leather strap is a little bit too orange for leather to be, but the silver dial is really classy. Most of my watches are black dials, so the silver is a nice change of mood. I image with its silver dial it will also double as a pseudo dress watch if its put on a bracelet or a more sombre colored leather strap. But I like it sporty so I guess I might get a bright orange Zulu strap for it.

Dimensions:
Stainless steel case
Case thickness 13mm
Case size 40mm excluding crown, 43mm including crown.
Lug size 20mm
Lug to lug 50mm
Dial size 31mm

Some quick and dirty pics of the unboxing:
Thanx for the read.

ANOTHER NEW TOY

noreply@blogger.com (ANTON C) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Bought the Nikkor 105mm Micro VR lens. Seems that I am loaning my friend's 60mm Micro too often, as they say, "If you have to borrow something more than once then you need to get your own", and so I did.

Nikkor 105mm Micro VR Lens on Nikon D300, originally uploaded by alexandra.scholl.

Was trying to hunt down a pre-owned one, no luck, so I got it brand new at $1360. Some feel that its overpriced for the VR feature, given that you don't really need VR when it gets to macro, and the previous AFD version could be gotten for about half a grand less. Nah, I feel its well worth the money since I'm also gonna use it as a telephoto and for portraits, plus the amazing sharpness and bokeh, its money well spent. Of course, for the macro and detail shots its meant for.

Nikkor 105mm Micro VR Lens, originally uploaded by Stryker W@SP.

By the way, also got me a new bag. Its big and mean and I like it. The Lowepro CompuTrekker Plus AW, big enough for me to put in almost everything.

Lowepro CompuTrekker Plus AW, originally uploaded by antchagas.com.