Here is our latest 2015 Demo Reel!

What is a 35mm and what does f/1.8 mean? Well I have just the answers for you.

A 35mm lens is what we call a “prime lens.” It has a focal length of 35mm and 35mm ONLY, so the zooming function does not exist.

Oh no, you’ll have to be running back and forth to make sure you get everything into frame! Why go through all this work? Although a prime lens does not have zoom capabilities, it does have a bigger aperture meaning the lens opens wider than the common 18-55mm varifocal lens that came with your Canon T3i or Nikon D3200.

That 18-55mm lens you have is a f/3.5-5.6 as opposed to the 35mm or 50mm lens with an f/1.8 

The lower the “f-stop,” the wider the lens opens up to take pictures or video. The wider the lens is open the more depth of field your image will have, giving it that amazing blurry effect for whatever is not in focus.  This blurriness in your images and videos is called “bokeh” it is used by most professional photographers to make whatever is focused stand out.  It also is almost crucial in videos to set the audience’s attention on whatever is in focus.

This picture was shot with a Canon 50mm f/1.8 , as you can see, the person on the bike on the left is out of focus while the car at the top right of the frame is in focus.  This is only possible when using a low f-stop (large aperture).

Hope this clears up a lot of questions! Get out there and shoot, my friends!

Pros: Very comfortable, looks cool, tracks light and deep sleep, 10-day battery, beautiful well-designed app, huge food & drink database when logging intake

Cons: No wireless sync, no PC or Mac compatibility

Just when Nike thought they had it all figured out with their Nike Fuelband, the Jawbone Up came to give them an uppercut.  This awesome fitness wristband changes the game of pedometers, activity tracking, calorie counting, and social fitness.  The Jawbone Up tracks steps, step-activities, light sleep, deep sleep, calories eaten and calories burned in a fun and social way.  The Jawbone Up has an app with a beautiful interface that lets you add friends to your team and compare what your teammates have accomplished on a day to day, week to week, or month to month basis. The Jawbone Up takes fitness to a new, fun and enjoyable level.

The Features

The main selling points and features of this band on the official Jawbone Up website are the following.  Sleep & nap tracking, 24/7 activity tracking, food & drink tracking, mood tracking, insight engine, idle alert, smart alarm, 10-day battery, water resistant design, day & night form factor, power nap, and simple sync.

The Band

The Up band is a very comfortable wristband that fits snug around your hand.  It is available in a small, medium, and large size in eight different colors.  The Up weighs about one ounce, is waterproof, has a small button, and a 3.5mm headphone jack under the cap used for charging the band and syncing it to your app.  The band also has a built in vibrating motor for the notifications and a battery that lasts 10 days (charges in 40min.).

The Modes

If you click the button once, it tells you what mode it’s in.  The regular mode is represented by a green flower, activity mode is a flashing green flower (click button twice and hold), and sleep mode is a green moon (hold button once).  For activity mode, once you have synced the activity with the app, you can edit the activity by choosing what type of activity it was and what intensity.

The App (iOS and Android)

The app is very easy to use and has a truly gorgeous interface.  When you first get the app, it allows you to create a profile, input your sex, height, weight, and birthdate.  You can then add smart alarms so if you have to wake up at 8am but are in light sleep and have gotten enough sleep already, it will vibrate to awake you from 7:40am to 8am depending on your settings.

When it comes to tracking food, the app has a huge database and a scanning feature where all you have to do is scan a barcode to input that certain food.  If the steak that you just ate did not have a barcode, you can search within the huge library and add it manually as well.  The app does a really good job of having a large library so you don’t really have to add food items one by one.

The Verdict

The Jawbone Up is a great choice for a fitness band and app combination to motivate yourself to eat better, be active, and live healthy.  I give the Jawbone Up a 9 out of 10 due to no wireless sync and the lack of PC or Mac compatibility.  I mean the company, Jawbone, is specialized in Bluetooth systems.  Why couldn’t they make the Up sync wirelessly? Other than those two things the Up is an amazing piece of work. Get one now at your local electronics store.

I recently stumbled upon this color guide for graphic designers.  This can help all of us in identifying what colors to aim for when creating logos, flyers, and other graphics.

Click here for Color Guide