Wednesday 23 November 2016

Yes, you CAN 'waste' internet!

I've had customers ask me why they need a better router... Well, a better router can make your home/office internet system work more efficiently.  Your home/office system is only as good as your weakest link!

Let's begin with a quick analogy of how stuff on the internet works...

Everything on the internet gets sent to you in little 'chunks' called, 'blocks', or 'packets', or whatever. It all comes to you just like a jigsaw puzzle, but with all of the pieces in order - and each one must be received by your device (computer/tablet/phone/TV/whatever) in order - and within milliseconds of being asked-for.

Here's how a string of these blocks might look as they are received... 1,2,333333,4,5555,6, etc...

Those blocks (#3 and #5) stuttered because your device didn't receive the individual block, as requested, in order and ON TIME.  Remember, we're talking about being received within 1,000ths of a second.  If your device didn't receive a block within an acceptable number of milliseconds, it is repeated - all the way from its original source, through the internet and to your device again - and again, until (a) you are kicked off for too many re-tries (stutters) of that same block, or (b) that block is accepted by your device within the allowed time.  This repeating block goes through your internet meter each time it's re-sent - wasting your internet and time.  Remember, unless you have an 'un-limited' package, every block counts!

It's really a lot like a car engine.  The piston and spark must 'meet' at the right time, or the gas isn't ignited efficiently and is therefore wasted.  Based on the explanation above - and this analogy, you see how easily a person can waste internet.  ...And, if enough people on a server/system are wasting internet in this fashion, the whole system gets bogged-down due to 're-tries' (much like rush-hour on a major highway... One slow car, slows us all down).  Yeah, I like my analogies...

If your router is inefficient, it can help cause more of the above-illustrated stutters.  This is why I always recommend a person get the best router they can afford.  Chances are, that router will help make the overall system more efficient.

Saturday 1 October 2016

Everyone loves a lens comparison... So, here's another one for you - just in case you haven't seen enough of them on-line lately! Our Canon 24-70 f/2.8L and 24-105 f/4L IS USM.

Both shots are taken with the same settings - I even made sure the focal length matched the best I could, though you will see some difference in framing, even though the Canon 6D was tripod-mounted and locked in place.  Both are shot at 50mm, 1/180 f/8, ISO 100.  These are not processed or cropped at all.  I merely converted the RAW images to JPG, using Lightroom.

IMG_3904 (1st image) uses our 24-105, while 3905 uses the 24-70.  I did this experiment a couple of times and in each case the 24-70 is brighter, though I don't see any obvious differences in clarity/contrast/other...

For those who are quick to say, "Duhhh.. Of course the brighter-rated lens would yield a brighter shot", to me - please note... This was just an experiment... Something to do while my computer was performing a long task... A 'time-waster', if you will...

That's all I have to say for now...