ATI X1900 G5 EditionPERMALINK

Radeon X1900 G5

Marketing...some products just aren’t ready for prime time, but their vendors are in need of revenue, so hapless buyers become the beta testers . Really cool graphics for adolescent males though—but perhaps ATI should spend less on sexual fantasy and more on SQE (software quality engineering).

A friend of mine purchased the $349 ATI Radeon X1900 G5 Edition twin dual-link PCI-Express card for PowerMac G5. He offered it to me free because waking the machine from overnight sleep results in a pull-the-power-plug hard reboot. Who wants to shut everything down every night? That’s the choice. (Sleeping the machine for a few minutes or even an hour or two seems to work fine).

His call to technical support somewhere 10 time zones away should be duly entertaining to Scott Adams (Dilbert) fans, resulting in the time-honored shift-the-blame response to “contact Apple Computer at http://www.apple.com”. Roughly translated, this means “We didn’t test it much since we mainly sell Windoze products, we just wanted to get it out the door quickly at low cost. Besides, good technical support and fixing bugs lowers our margins. That’s why our support link for the X1900 G5 takes you to the Windoze support page and we outsource technical support to indigent mango farmers in Asia! Anyway, it’s not our problem, so don’t call us back or we’ll insist that you reformat all your hard drives!”

My friend, powerless to argue, resolved his cognitive dissonance by concluding that perhaps it was in fact some weirdness with his particular PowerMac G5 Quad. I accepted his offer of the card, being suckered by the allure of a powerful video card for free.

Installing the card is just like working with Windoze on a PC, so if you’re a PC user you’ll find the following process quite comfortable.

First you extract the G5’s top fan module, then squeeze your hand into the space and plug in an auxiliary power cord, which connects to the card. This doesn’t bode well for extra heat inside the G5, which already supplies considerable power to its PCI-Express slots. Next, remove the existing video card and bolt in the X1900 (or install it into another slot). Reboot, and the screen comes up in low resolution mode, with the fan on the card going full blast. Next, install the driver software (which I predict won’t work quite right with the forthcoming Mac OS X 10.5). Reboot, and the fan quiets down to inaudible. Next, go to the ATI web site to discover that there is already a driver update—not a good sign (but remember, they need you for beta testing). Download and install it, then reboot again. PC users should be feeling pretty cozy about now Rearrange the menu bar on the desired screen, set your screen resolution and color profiles, etc.

The X1900 G5 seemed to work fine, but I did not assess its performance. I did note that waking up the machine from sleep mode caused the fan on the card to run at full speed for a short time—and it’s noisy, with a particularly annoying high-pitched whine, easily being heard above the G5 Quad itself—and mine has 8GB memory and five (5) internal hard drives, 3 of which partially block the CPU fans. My friend reports that actually using the video card intensively (say in Aperture) causes the fan to kick in. So when the card is actually being utilized, your ears are also (earplugs not included).

The next morning I woke my PowerMac G5 Quad up from sleep...except it didn’t wake up...the screens went blank and stayed that way. I pulled the power cord, and got out the screwdrivers...

In short, the X1900 G5 misbehaved in exactly the same way in my PowerMac G5 Quad as in my friend’s. If you’d like to purchase this well-tested X1900 G5, contact me via email, and I’ll forward your contact information to my friend.

PS: there is no “uninstall” for the X1900 G5 driver software—just locate the installer log, and it’s a piece of cake to use the unix command line to manually remove the driver files, being careful not to accidentally remove the drivers for your previous video card.

SanDisk 16GB Extreme III compact flash cardPERMALINK

My Nikon D200 (firmware version 1.1) accepted the SanDisk 16GB card without complaint, indicating 951 pictures after formatting. At an average (compressed) size of about 10MB, I suspect that the real number is more like 1500 pictures—or the equivalent of 40 rolls of 35mm file—not counting the ability to delete unwanted frames. Amazing!

Except that the card formats to a measly 8GB in the D200 and Canon EOS 5D, 1/2 of its claimed capacity:

  
Formatted capacity of Sandisk 16GB Extreme III in Nikon D200 and Canon EOS 5D

Ever the optimist, I updated the firmware of the D200 to 2.0.0—only to discover that this made the card unusable in the D200! A blinking “FOR” flashes on the top LCD. I went through the motions of formatting the card, and the camera complied, but the result was still an unusable card. Nice “upgrade”, Nikon.

After I formatted the card in the Canon EOS 5D, then reinserted it into the D200, the D200 was able to shoot with it, and to forma it...to an indicated capacity of 493 frames with firmware version 2.0.0, versus 951 frames with firmware version 1.1!

The Canon EOS 5D (latest firmware version 1.1.0) formatted the card without complaint, but indicated 477 frames. That’s a suspicious number, since at an average size of around 12MB, it ought to be able to hold around 1300 pictures. Shooting and deleting a few frames did establish that the card appears to operate normally. When formatting, the screen on the 5D says “7.8 GB”, so it’s clear the 5D thinks it’s an 8GB card.

Mac OS X can format it to 16GB:

Formatted using Mac OS X Disk Utility

Inserting the card formatted as above resulted in a “Folder number full” error on the EOS 5D. Inserting it into the D200 resulted in a “CARD IS NOT FORMATTED FORMAT CARD” error.

SanDisk ought to be ashamed of saying nothing (that I see at least) in their marketing materials on this issue. It ought to be called out very prominently; the Nikon D200 and Canon EOS 5D are two very popular cameras. Bad business, though not fraud I suppose, but if a card cannot work at its claimed capacity, it’s highly relevant to customers. Presumably a firmware update from Nikon and Canon will do something about this issue. Otherwise, I have a very expensive 8GB card labeled “16GB”.

Speed writing to the card using the Mac OS X Finder to copy files peaks at about 13.5MB/sec using a Lexar Firewire card reader.

Apple Mac ProPERMALINK

I’m planning on purchasing an Apple Mac Pro soon, but mid-February might bring a refresh of the Mac Pro product line, so I’ll be waiting just a bit longer before committing.

Accordingly, my PowerMac G5 Quad will be available for sale shortly, and it’s still eligible for AppleCare until Feb 14. It’s loaded with 8GB ECC memory and over a terabyte of internal storage. See the For Sale page for details. Contact me via email if interested.

Franz Lanting at Fort Mason in San FranciscoPERMALINK

If you’ve ever wanted to meet Franz Lanting in person, now’s your chance to see him discuss his new book Life: A Journey Through Time at Fort Mason in San Francisco.

Admission: ASMP Members: $10.00 SFDIG/APA/PPGBA: $20.00 Students with
ID: $15.00 General Admission: $35.00/ Copies of the LIFE Book will be available for purchase and signing at the presentation. For more info about the event, contact: ASMP
events@asmpnorcal.org or 510-792-5987

Simple backup reminderPERMALINK

Backing your data up is essential, and a never-ending chore. But what if you forget? Here’s a simple and free way to have your Mac remind you. (A future diglloyd article will discuss digital storage and backup in great detail).

Create a recurring event (repeat “every week”, end “never”) in Apple’s iCal calendar program at your desired frequency. For the “alarm”, set it to open a file of your choosing. The example below uses “BackupReminder.rtf”:

Backup reminder in iCal

My reminder file, which automagically pops up on my screen every Saturday:

The file “BackupReminder.rtf”

Of course, you have to do it. Don’t close the window until it’s done and you’re sure the backup is good! A minimum of two backups plus the original should be kept; always erase the oldest backup, cycling through them each week. Ideally, the backups should be kept at different physical locations to ensure a measure of safety against Acts of Dog.

Zoos—shoot or shoot?PERMALINK

I enjoy “shooting” animals at the zoo, though my stomach always turns a little at the unnatural confinement. But perhaps that is better than becoming “bush meat” or a rug. Animals like gorillas and Siberian tigers are stunningly beautiful animals—but might exist only in zoos before long. And with global religious wars poised to go from simmer to boil, one wonders if such animals have any hope at all.

Eyes

Eyes

Eye

Tree huggersPERMALINK

Not this one.

Ouch. Ouch...ouch!

A rare frozen waterfall in Stevens Creek CanyonPERMALINK

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we rarely see sub-zero temperatures, certainly not temperatures that result in frozen waterfalls.

Ice Waterfall—a rarity in the San Francisco Bay Area

Opportunities abound for shooting in the creeks, especially in the beautiful tones made possible by infrared:

Dam Pond, Stevens Creek

Dam Pond, Stevens Creek

Dam Pond, Stevens Creek

Ice sculptures with a hose and misting devicePERMALINK

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we rarely see sub-zero temperatures. But lately, the low 20’s have been breaking water pipes—ahhhh the joys of flushing toilets with a bucket, and going shower-less. But when nature takes away, it also gives—using the sole remaining pre-house-water-value-cutoff spigot, I attached a 1/2 gallon per minute misting attachment to a hose, and placed it up a tree, leaving it on overnight. By morning, it was truly a wondrous spectacle, with hundreds of glistening icicles. [Click for larger version].

 
Ice Sculpture (infrared)

Are your sunglasses protecting your eyes?PERMALINK

A friend of mine complained of irritated eyes after riding in afternoon sun for several hours. She was sure it wasn’t the wind. On a hunch, I photographed her using my Canon 5D-IR digital camera (see Digital Infrared). I also had her photograph me wearing a pair of Revo sunglasses, with glass polarized lenses, since the initial results with her sunglasses were so “clear”.

Plastic* sunglass lenses in infrared (brand not known)

Glass polarized sunglass lenses in infrared (Revo 3010)

The results are startling! Consistent with the spectral transmission curve found on Revo’s web site, the Revo sunglasses attenuate infrared substantially, whereas the plastic* lenses simply allow the retinas to be fried, with their near-100% transmission. Such sunglasses might be worse than none at all, since they cause the pupils to dilate, thus allowing substantially more infrared to strike the delicate retinas, causing irritated and fatigued eyes. In essence, one stares at a bright light for hours—that’s gotta hurt!

Intrigued, I shot a few frames with other sunglasses to see how they fared (see below). The only models that blocked infrared radiation acceptably well were the Revos. Even the glass-lens Maui Jim sunglasses with anti-reflective lens coatings fared poorly, blocking infrared by only a modest amount. Perhaps the outstanding infrared-blocking characteristics of the Revo sunglasses are due to the slight mirror finish. No mirrored lenses from other vendors were available to test.

[In the pictures below, observe the brightness of the skin near the mid-bottom of the right lens; other areas are shaded by eyebrows or the angle is different].

Gargoyles, clear plastic* lenses

The North Face Hammer Spectra 90 plastic*, light gray tint

Maui Jim (plastic*)

Maui Jim (glass)

Maui Jim (glass)

Revo, polarized brown with light mirror (about 10 years old)

* plastic—a man-made material other than glass—eg polycarbonate, acrylic, etc

Of course, ultraviolet radiation is a more serious concern, because it can damage the retina and induce cataracts in the eye’s natural lens. Testing for ultraviolet transmission is a more complicated task. However, I had on a hand an ultraviolet LED flashlight from maxmax.com, a Baader astronomical “Venusfilter” filter which passes UV light and blocks visible and infrared light, and a Fuji S6000fd digital camera, modified by maxmax.com tobe a full-spectrum camera, capable of recording long-wave ultraviolet, visible light, and infrared light.

Taping the Venus filter over the UV flashlight, thus filtering off anything but ultraviolet light, I aimed it directly into the camera and shot some frames with the various sunglasses. The results were encouraging—all of the sunglasses blocked UV light substantially (but note that the modified S6000fd digital camera can see only a limited range of UV light).

Surprisingly, the older Revo sunglasses allowed a small but noticeable amount of UV light to pass through. The newer Revo sunglasses completely blocked the UV light, as did both the glass and plastic* Maui Jim sunglasses. The plastic*-lensed uncoated polycarbonate Gargoyles were the worst, with obvious penetration by the UV light, and the North Face sunglasses were next-worse. Base on the results, I wouldn’t want to use either of the latter in bright sun—but they clearly aren’t designed for that.

Photoshop’s artistic filtersPERMALINK

Using any of Photoshop’s artistic filters might be worth your while if you’re looking for a more non-literal “look”. There are too many filters to explore here, but one example is shown below.

Original image

After Filter => Artistic => Cutout filter