AntBlog701: a poor man's accessories

17 March, 2009

a poor man's accessories

This is a promised entry, I know it's a bit late. Well, better late than never.

On my short trip to Tasmania at the beginning of this year (30 Dec 2008 - 14 Jan 2009), I took a few gadgets with me. Well, the small list of my gadget is not as exciting as Don's.

The main gadgets I took with us to Tasmania were:
Navman S30 GPS navigation device (related entry), iPod touch (related entry), iPhone 3G (related entry), 15-inch MacBook Pro (related entry), and 3 digital cameras (Samsung L730, Sony H9, and Sony α350). Well, overall, the main reason for the trip was a photo shooting trip. Also, the Sony GPS tracking device (GPS-CS1KASP, related entry) for Geotagging photos.

Except the GPS device which is also included in the photo, I took photos all associated accessories I took with me to Tasmania. Please continue reading.

Navman S30 GPS device and its accessories, Belkin TuneCast Auto for iPod and iPhone. The Belkin TuneCast was needed so we could listen to music from my iPhone as well as charging the iPhone and iPod touch on the go. Unlike the States, we don't get radio coverages everywhere in Australia.

Chargers and more chargers. Obviously, I couldn't afford that many batteries (batteries aren't cheap). Sony AC-VQ900AM charger for charging Sony α350's batteries, Sony BC-TRG Traveller Charger for charging Sony Cyber-shot DSC H9's batteries, Samsung L730's charger, iPod/iPhone AC adaptor and dock connector, Sony Ericsson K750i's charger (I also brought K750i as my backup alarm clock), Energizer Rechargeable Dock & Go Charger, and most importantly a 6-way powerboard.

Unlike Don carrying 23 rechargeable batteries, I carried 4 AA NiHM batteries with me for the trip. Those are Energizer Rechargeable rated 2500mAh. The reason for using NiHM batteries was because the user's manual of Sony GPS device (GPS-CS1KASP) stated that NiHM batteries lasted longer than using regular alkaline batteries.

And the last photo.
Devices are: Logitech V470 bluetooth laser mouse, mouse pad, Vodafone Mobile Broadband, Telstra PrePaid Wireless Broadband, Kensinton security cable, 0.9-metre extension power cable, and Belkin Surge Cube.

Since the MacBook Pro was brought for checking photos, and there were a lot of other gadgets, why not making it easier to use? Hence, a Logitech V470 bluetooth laser mouse and a mouse pad were there. Not that I against trackpad, but a mouse is easier to use than a trackpad (Overall, I am not a geek). Both Laurent and I had quite a few internet related things to do during the trip. Belkin Surge Cube is also a very important small device, I carry it with me whenever I carry my MacBook Pro out with me. It is always be protected than sorry. Despite Don's disapproval on the need of surge protection, I am not willing to risk my gadgets.

So, here endith the small list of a poor man's accessories he took with him to Tasmania. Allow me to have the usual ending:
(to Don: Antony is poor.)

This entry has Lightbox effect enabled. Click on the thumbnails for larger photos.

related blog entries:
more surge protectors (6 February, 2009)
it's good to be back (15 January, 2009)
Telstra PrePaid Wireless Broadband (12 January, 2009)
Energizer Rechargeables (11 January, 2009)
Why you need a Sony AC-VQ900AM (9 January, 2009)
tracking myself with Sony GPS-CS1KASP (3 January, 2009)
a polarizer and a charger (22 November, 2008)
one more Sony (Sony DSLR α350) (15 November, 2008)
two's better than one, part 9 the Logitech V470 (27 September, 2008)
I got my iPhone 3G (11 July, 2008)
Samsung L730 (14 June, 2008)
I got a Navman (28 May, 2008)
Vodafone mobile broadband) (29 March, 2008)
my MacBook Pro hath arrived, finally (10 March, 2008)
iPod touch hath arrived (4 March, 2008)
goodbye Canon, hello Sony (Sony Cyber-shot DSC H9) (4 October, 2007)

Posted by Antony on 17 March 2009 8:22 PM | gadget

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Tags: Apple, camera, gadget, Logitech, photo, Sony, Tasmania

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comments

Let's consider what I took: my AST Ascentia laptop from 1997 and its charger cord, my still camera from 1999 (and five sets of batteries, which I still do not think is too much), and my dad's video camera from 1999 (and two batteries).
To sum up: I brought only three accessories with me, none of which were made post-2000.
Posted by Don_HH2K on 18 March 2009 2:37 AM.

Now we will never hear the end of this DON!!
Posted by Rev. Dr. Wu Yi on 18 March 2009 10:34 AM.

Well, perhaps our friend here has never heard of Internet detox. While I was away, I didn't use my cellphone or connect to the Internet for the entire week, not to mention I liked it better that way.
I also made sure to tell Antony about the trip just hours before departing for the airport, so that I would not hear "WOW! You are rich!" up until I left.
Posted by Don_HH2K on 18 March 2009 10:49 AM.

I did not carry anywhere near 23 rechargeable AA batteries. Nor a video camera.
Posted by Antony Shen on 18 March 2009 12:22 PM.

First, that's because your camera takes special batteries, and that my camera is a battery hog and can run through a pair of AAs in a few hours. Of course, this was still better than a number of my friends who could not plug in their cameras to charge them, and weren't able to take photos the last few days. Better safe than sorry, right?
Second, you carried plenty to make up for the video camera. I don't even have anything like a Bluetooth laser mouse or a GPS tracking thing, nor would I even want either one.
Posted by Don_HH2K on 18 March 2009 12:40 PM.

Yes, better safe than sorry, but since you were carrying rechargeable batteries, why didn't you simply carry a charger (and an adapter)? If I were in your case, I would simply just carry a few alkaline batteries (or even the very expensive lithium batteries), and buy more there.

When I was deciding which camera to get, I eliminated cameras that use AA or AAA batteries (unless that particular camera has some irresistible* features). My experience told me that using Lithium-Ion rechargeable batteries is cheaper and more portable in long run than using standard AA or AAA batteries.

(* I was about to type "unresistible". Another proof that Antony does not speak English.)

I know you hate Sony's NP-FM500H STAMINA battery. Besides that it shows the actual percentage of the power left, I was able to take 1040 photos and the battery still had 35% at the end of Mardi Gras 2009. LCD (live view) was used in about 95% of the photo shooting.
Posted by Antony Shen on 18 March 2009 1:33 PM.

And as I told you earlier, I don't buy alkaline batteries anymore, since it's cheaper to make the investment on rechargeables. In my case, I didn't have an adapter for the charger that I brought. I should have planned ahead and bought one on eBay for 99 cents, but I found out they wanted $12.99 for them at the airport and 7€ around Europe, so I didn't buy one.
You may also be interested to note that I actually powered my laptop by shoving its North American-style power cord into a European lamp socket.
Posted by Don_HH2K on 18 March 2009 2:06 PM.

What do you mean by "shoving"?
Posted by Antony Shen on 18 March 2009 2:14 PM.

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Posted by Joannah on 18 March 2009 6:25 PM.

When I was a lad (and dinosaurs still roamed the earth), all one needed to take away was your camera a few rolls of extra film.
BTW, "shoving" means pushing, forcing, adapting in this case.
Posted by Rev. Dr. Wu Yi on 20 March 2009 11:30 AM.

Thanks for telling me the meaning of "shoving". Antony does not speak English.
When I was at Don's current age, I borrowed my dad's film point and shoot cameras. That camera did not have any features that allowed me to adjust anything.
BTW. Dinosaurs stopped roaming the earth tens of thousands of years ago.
Posted by Antony Shen on 20 March 2009 1:36 PM.

You carried a lot of accessories with you while traveling. It is very dangerous to carry so many batteries simultaneously.
Posted by hd dvd on 2 October 2009 9:45 PM.

I like your camera and it's accessories and batteries are fine. The quality of pictures are awesome and easy to charge.

Posted by ps3 games on 26 October 2009 6:26 PM.

a poor man's accessoriesfrom AntBlog701

17 March, 2009

a poor man's accessories

a poor man's accessories
from AntBlog701