Sony Nex 5N 16mm Lens Tested On A Drone!

The Story:

I recently started an aerial photography and video business (droneabove.com) and I had to purchase a camera to mount on my drone.  The one I decided on is the Sony Nex 5n and I am using the 16mm lens because a little fish eye is good when you need to show more.

While it can be a little nerve racking flying expensive equipment on a remote control hexacopter, I will leave those stories for another post.  What is important here is that I am not a camera expert and all these videos were shot with automatic settings.  Here are a few:










Information on the Videos:

I used the 16mm lens for these and just used automatic settings.. turned out pretty nice considering I do not know much about camera settings!

Conclusion:

I figured there were at least 5000 other reviews about the Sony nex 5n, the Nex 7, etc so I wanted to show off my Nex5n and let you know that 1) it is awesome 2) it is affordable 3) I think its an incredible camera.  If you want to check it out, you can read about the specs and buy it here with the 16mm lens included!









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Bose Soundlink Kicks Ass

The Story:

I have been wanting to get a good radio that I could take outside and move around the house.  I really appreciate good sound quality and have been disappointed in the past with lower quality things I have tried.  I came across this Bose Soundlink and I could not be happier with it.

Setting It Up:

I opened the box and immediately ignored the instructions.  I plugged it in, hit the bluetooth button and then I went to the bluetooth settings in my iPhone 5 and "discovered" it.  This took less than 20 seconds and has worked flawlessly.  I just turn the Bose Soundlink on and it just works.

Sound Quality:

Sound quality can be a little subjective, but I have been impressed with the amount of bass this small portable unit can make.  I listen to all kinds of music - jazz, sintra, mac miller, reggae, etc and haven't found a genre that I don't enjoy on this.  I have always been agnostic about Bose but I know some people hate it.  For my home stereo system I run Ascend Acoustic Sierra 1 speakers and appreciate higher fidelity speakers - and I still like this Soundlink a ton.

DrawBacks:

I wish this had an FM receiver built, but that is the only issue I have found.

Conclusion:

Need an awesome sounding portable wireless speaker?  This is what you should buy.  It is a little expensive but I think its better to buy quality that you will have for years and this certainly fits the bill.  I think this is an awesome speaker and I recommend it.  You can buy it here!


Here is a video review I did if you want to check it out:

Fixing Allergies in Texas

The Story:

We live in Austin and the allergies can be pretty bad.  Throw in a few big dogs and you can see the dust mites and allergens floating on the sunbeams in the Texas sun.  That is, until you purchase an air purifier / cleaner.

I read a bunch of reviews and finally decided on the Electrolux Oxygen Ultra Air Cleaner (Model EL500AZ) because it had a reasonable price (under $300).  I used Amazon overnight shipping for an extra $8.99 because when I finally decided to pull the trigger, I was really excited to get it.

The next day, it was sitting on our porch waiting for me when I got home.  I quickly unboxed it, ignored the directions and turned it on.  It did not seem to be working right and was making strange noises so I glanced at the instructions and learned that you had to take the filters out of their plastic bags.  After doing this, it was cleaning our air!

The quiet settings are extremely quiet while the higher settings really move air around and I left it on the turbo setting for a few hours.  The air was noticeably cleaner and crisper - I do not really have the words to describe how it is different, you will just have to try it to understand.

Any Drawbacks?

The fancy looking blue LED lights are extremely bright and made sleeping difficult.  I simply put some black electrical tape on them and fixed this.  I have not run into any other issues with this.

Conclusion:

After a few weeks, the quality of our life has been improved.  We seemed to have forgotten what it is like to have stuffy air and I doubt that I could ever live without an air purifier again.  If you have even the slightly hint of allergies or live in an area with known allergy problems, I would recommend you buy an air purifier.  I have not tested any others out, but you can get started by following this link to the one I bought and go from there!