I thought this would work: Belkin Sport Armband Plus with FastFit for iPhone 3G F8Z334

Well it is the most horrific design. It takes 3-5 minutes of shoving to get it into the case and then it has no spot for the charger to hook up, so you have to take it out every day, and it’s not any easier to do that either. Plus the clip does not swivel, just attached to your belt. Whoever designed this, obviously did not really think it through! (I returned this)

So I did some ebaying…. Found this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll…m=250293218668

I bought it… and it seemed perfect. The swivel clip had some issues with it not being very swivelish… Also I had the ZAGG shield installed previously to putting it into the case and the case had a lot of bubbles and just looked horrible. I tried fixing it by taking it out and the only option was to tear it our of the case. Meanwhile, the ZAGG protection was damaged.

I just cant believe this… $300 device and no good case, yet my old $50 case has a lot of options.

So I found this: DLO Action Jacket for iPhone

But, I really don’t like how the velcro is on the bottom and not top (to close the case). The chance of the phone falling out is high! I do really like the fact they have the wide strap and the nice swivel clip. Anyone have any experience with this device?

I am at a point where I just can’t believe this…. Spent a ridiculous amount of money on a phone and now wasting money on all these cases I have went through. Can anyone help me? Also Apple is being really dumb by promoting that Belkin case on their website. Check out the reviews. They should listen to people who do the reviews and take products down that have a substantial amount of negative reactions.

I am just starting an account with Shutterstock and wanted to get some opinions on images before I select my ten for approval.

Please give them a look-over, tell me which ones are best, and what to change, if anything.

Your time is appreciated.

Thanks,

Jeff

Typical procedure for any stock photo site, you have a typical amount you can upload per set amount of time. In this case the website does not limit the number. They simply take 3 days to review the work. They look at the quality of the images and then the descriptions and keywords. When all three elements are accepted, an image will be approved. There are other sites that I belong to which one allows 15 shots per 1 week term. Please stay tuned for any upcoming projects. Also if you are interested in making money with stock photography check this out: Stock Photography.

RESULTS IN (2 days later): 195 images accepted.

For example a place like Circuit City or any other general electric retail store may sell cameras and television sets at premium rates, but the individuals actually doing the selling, know very little about the product or care very less. This is due primarily to the fact that their wages are set by hour, not by how much they sell or how often. So if companies like Nikon or Sony creates an amazing product, and employees at the reseller have no knowledge of the product, it won’t go anywhere. Yet there are stores like ABT electronics (located in the Midwest – near Chicago), which do very well, primarily due to the fact that their employees are knowledgeable and receive an increase in their checks every time there is a sale. This incentive is what keeps the store alive and in fact, at times outsells most retail stores in the area. I honestly have purchased most of my electronics there, even though an online store may have had it cheaper. My reasoning is that, first I can haggle with the employees to bring the price down and secondly when I need something repaired I don’t have to send it out and wait a week for the product to be processed. The customer service there is amazing. There was an incident where they had lost my lens cap and in return ordered a brand new one from the distributor. Their goal is to keep their clients happy. A lot of the products they do offer tend to stay in the higher end equipment, but they have some middle class stuff as well.

In the end, the company that prevails in the customer service will win.

I decide to call Nikon before I start bothering the UPS people. I called the service dept. and explained the lady the story, which she was just baffled by. She then did some investigating and found out that the camera had been delivered but had a different tracking number. But I asked her how that was possible, when I only had one shipping label and I printed two copies (one for my record and one for shipping). She wasn’t sure and simply gave me a different tracking number, which seemed to corroborate her story. She explained that the item was going to be looked at and had no approximate timeline for when I should receive more information. A few minutes later I received an invoice stating that they received the camera and were going to be working on it. At this point I hope to get the camera back and just hope that the issues arise again. But I am still not sure if they will truly adhere to the Lemon Law.

The story will be updates as more news is provided. Meanwhile I am now editing some photos from my last shoot, which will be posted in the next couple days.

First time sent in to be serviced: (November, 2007)

I purchased the Nikon D200 kit from BH photo video last September. When I received the camera, right away the camera began to have issues. The shutter began sticking and the camera would produce an error, and would not take any images. Usually the result ended up being a black frame and the camera would state an error on the screen. When I called their sales department, they told me they would take it back, but were out of stock (I should have sent it back, but I had photo shoots scheduled). I decided to keep it and deal with the issue. I noticed when I turned the camera off and then on the issue sometimes went away. After a couple months, I finally had some time to send the camera in. Meanwhile I was loosing a lot of money, while the camera was gone. On top of it all, I spent all my money on this camera, as an investment (a horrible investment). I have had Nikon SLR bodies before and never a single issue. I got the camera back and the issue seemed to have been resolved. A few months passed and the issue occurred again. This time I had so many shoots scheduled, that I could not afford to send it in, but deal with the problem. I had clients who were mad at me and lost a few jobs because the camera would simply not take an image. I now have a little time to send it in, but still am loosing a lot of money. I do not have my own studio and so fourth, to qualify for the professional program. I just graduated from college, but I work a lot with my equipment. I own close to $4,000 worth of Nikon equipment.

RESULT: Camera came back and appeared to be in good working condition.

Second time sent in to be serviced: (July, 2008)

Besides the shutter sticking and getting a lot worse, I had issues when I used the camera in a studio setting. I noticed when I used a 50mm Nikkor 1.4 lens, there was a huge green flare all over my images, and I have given these images to customer service. Some samples of images are below. David, the manager at Nikon services told me that my Nikkor lens and camera were incompatible and that I needed to sent it in. (Rubbish, that is the best lens for studio)

Today the camera has gone to a new low. I had to take pictures at the club and my SB800 no longer works so I decided to use the little one on the camera. The camera worked for about 30 shots and all of a sudden gave a me green light (I was shooting only one shot at a time) and the camera would not turn off. The light was on for a good minute maybe 2. After which the light turned off, but the camera would not let me take the picture. I tried turning the camera off, but the light meter by the shutter button was still active as if the camera was on. I resorted to take the battery out. I removed it, put it back in. After 2 shots the same issue occurred. This time the screen started telling me the card was invalid and I should change the card (yet I have used this card close to 1000 times. The card is a : SanDisk Extreme® III CompactFlash® 16GB). The camera stopped taking pictures. I turned the camera off, and took the batteries out and the card put it all back in and the camera was back to normal. Two pictures latter again the camera won’t turn off. It keeps getting the shutter stuck and wont take any pictures.

RESULT: Camera was sent back in about 2 and a half weeks with no problems (at least it seemed that way). I no longer had a studio, so no way to test the equipment.

Third time sending it in: (9/3/2008)

The shutter sticking issue came back after the second shoot I had. It is really intermittent and I have no idea why it’s still happening. It happened the first time I sent it in, the second time, and now the third time. The issue never left. I have no idea why it’s happening. Sometimes it happens a lot during a shoot, sometimes never. The shoots are typically outdoors. Batteries always charged and even tried different lenses. Still keeps occurring. A new problem occurred a week ago that seemed to be a one-time thing so far (had the camera less than a month…). I always shoot in RAW only format with white balance set to Auto. Three hours into the shoot, I am looking at my camera and the pictures I start taking all result in pure black shots. I start thinking if it’s the lens or camera, I can’t explain it. I look at my settings and everything is reset! I changed everything back to the way it was and kept shooting. I come back home and look through the images and notice that the number of shots I typically get on my card is almost doubled, and I am starring at my screen with a puzzled look. So I look at the file formats of the images. The first 150 shots are all NEF (raw shots) then it switches to the first shot being a jpg and three raw files (in sets of 4). Then it switches to Jpg, raw, Jpg, raw. Then to Jpg and then back to just RAW since I changed the settings back. I have no idea why it was happening. I am glad it didn’t shoot everything in JPG as that would have been the end of a shoot. The amount of problems I am having with this camera is unbelievable. I would like to request a replacement for this camera. I bought it and it was defective. I should have returned it when I had the chance. But I had no choice. Please expedite my service as I have a lot of clients waiting on me and I have no idea what to tell them.

Thank you for your time.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT CALL: (9/2/2008)

I spoke to a service manager. I asked her if I would receive a replacement camera since this is the third time sending in the camera. She explained that it was up to the technician. I then asked her what about the 4th time if I have to send it in? She explained that it was up to the technician. When I mentioned Lemon Law, she kept saying that she could not confirm anything and it was all up to one technician. I have no idea how long it will take to get this camera back. I will be without one for at least two weeks. Meanwhile I will try to apply to the professional Nikon program (where they give you a camera if something happens to yours). Stay tuned for the outcome..

The second shoot was a two-day marathon. This model was fairly new to the industry and we spent close to 20 hours together. The first shoot was supposed to be fashion/casual and the location was Downtown, Chicago. The shoot went very well, we just didn’t realize we had spent close to 11 hours shooting around town. Also the model had accidentally left her Blackberry in one of the bathroom stalls. Thankfully though someone brought it to a store next to the bathroom. We used a new technique. Since the model was instructed to hold the phone next to her ear, for commercial value, while photographing her we would instruct her what to do over the phone. We used our brand new iPhone with the headset and were able to shoot and speak to the model to get the correct expression, without disturbing the public. Those shots are not present here, but the technique was very useful. The first day was primarily downtown and conducted on the grass and on top of some architecture. The second day started out badly as our 5 am shoot turned into a dud as the temperature dropped to 60 Fahrenheit and completely cloudy. We decided to take the model to an alternative location and shot on a hammock and in the backyard of a home. One would never consider that the location was a backyard, but it truly was. The outcome of these shots was surprising and the photos looked great.

The third shoot was pretty short. It was tough on the model, as she had to travel 3 hours for a 5 am shoot. The shots are different from the style we are used to, but the well-experienced model provided us the help we usually need. The shoot was strictly on the beach in Evanston, IL USA. There were more than two outfits, but these are the shots, we believe turned out well.

All shots will be available for purchase on our stock photography section in the next week or two. If you would like to be notified, please contact us.

I found one at one place for $398, “In Stock.” I was thrilled. I could get overnight shipping and have it in time for my fraternity retreat this weekend for cheaper than I could get it with ordinary shipping anywhere else.

I checked to make sure the website URL started with “https” (secure), I entered in my credit card info, clicked overnight shipping, and submitted my purchase. In the coming minutes I received an email confirming my purchase, and telling me that the order takes 2 days for processing. So what the hell did I just pay overnight shipping for?

So I call the company to expedite the ordering delay, as per the email, and am pleased to talk to an American. I tell him my order number and the problem, and he transfers me. The guy I am put on the phone with tells me that the lens is fantastic, and asks if I would like to buy a UV filter for the lens. No big deal, UV filters are commonplace when you buy a camera. I politely tell him I already have one leftover from another lens (a lie, I was going to buy one on eBay for $8).

He then tries to get me to buy a 3-filter set. He says they typically sell for $85 a filter but the 3-pack is $140. This is really quite ridiculous, seeing as you can pay a third of that for a high-quality one on eBay or Amazon. I tell him I’ll pass on that right now.

Then he asks me if I want the US model or the import model. Now, this lens comes in two versions, one for a Nikon camera and one for a Canon camera. Getting suspicious, I inquire as to the nature of the difference. He tells me the import is made of plastic and the US is made of magnesium: far sturdier. Now, in my near-obsessive research I have not encountered anything that would back up this guy’s claim. I tell him to just give me whichever will work with my Nikon D80. He tells me I need the US model. This makes no sense, seeing as the lens is manufactured in Japan by a Japanese company, for use on a Japanese-manufactured camera by a Japanese company. Surprise surprise, the US model costs $100 more. Funny, I didn’t see anything on the website that asked me to choose models. I point this out to him, and he asks me if I want the warranty. The import does not come with a warranty but the US comes with a 1-year warranty. Warranties cost $37 per year. Curious, seeing as Tokina itself guarantees the product for 3 years (I researched, remember?). I tell him I won’t be needing the warranty, and he tells me that the item is not in stock at the moment (contrary to the website, and to everything up to this point). I tell him that I’d like to cancel my order, and in an astonishingly fast manner he says “your order is cancelled have a nice day” and hangs up.

I stare at my email waiting for an email confirming the cancellation, see none, call the company, an demand one. By the time I hang up I have one. So I’m paranoid now that my American Express bill will have a charge from that disgusting company on it.

Due to the value of the item, I am forgoing eBay and went solely with Amazon for this purchase. I will pay no money for shipping, get it in a week or two, and buy through a company I have bought from dozens of times.

The moral: NEVER buy from PreferredPhoto.com. I wish I saw this before I gave these maggots my credit card number:

http://www.epinions.com/pr-Online_Stores_Services-Preferred_Photo/sec_~opinion_list/pp_~1/sort_~date/sort_dir_~des/pa_~1#list

Have a nice day, and be careful,

Jefferprise

Step 1. Make sure your iTunes is up to date.

Step 2. Choose the song you want to convert.

Step 3. Listen to the song and write down where you want the ring tone to start and end (cannot exceed 40 seconds and you cannot skip areas)

Step 4. Right click on the song and select “Show in Finder.” Once you have clicked, a window will come up which will show you the song (do not close this folder, simply put it to the side or minimize)

Step 5. Right click on the same song again and select “Get Info.”

Step 6. Click on the “Options” tab

Step 7. Input the start and end time (if you want the song to start from the beginning, simply adjust the ending) (format: Minutes: Seconds: Milliseconds)

Step 8. Press Ok.

Step 9. Right click on the song and select, “Convert Selection to AAC” (If you have another format selected proceed to the iTunes preferences and click on the “Advanced” tab. Where it says “Import using:” select “AAC Encoder” and then press Ok.)

Step 10. Right click on the new file that has been created (will be the smaller file) and right click on the file and select “Delete.” (When prompted, please select “Keep File”)

Step 11. Go to the folder you minimized earlier and you should see 2 copies of the same song. Select the file with the extension m4a and rename the extension to m4r.

Step 12. Double click on the file, and you will notice that the file will placed in your ring tones folder (just sync your iPhone and you are set!)

Enjoy your new iPhone 3G (May want to turn of the 3G feature to get normal reception. If you have it on, it somehow sucks all the reception away )