Other World Computing

Posted on August 13, 2012 | 10 comments

The Fastest; Accelsior PCI Express SSD

Long Term Test

OWC stands for Other World Computing, a title which I felt was very apt for this article. Since I started using OWC’s adapter for modifying my Mac Pro to take multiple SSDs in the optical bay and installing their blisteringly fast SSD into the optical bay of my MacBook Pro, I’ve become a fan of this company. Their adapters and SSDs just seem out of this world; great design, well made and extremely fast.

It was with great interest when I first heard that a PCI Express SSD card was going to be introduced by the company. The advantages of using a PCI Express SSD card are numerous. Firstly, one is directly plugging into the motherboard, using the fastest interface, without having to go through the SATA connectors, adding some speed to operation. Secondly, it frees up your SATA connectors and drive bays for more SSDs or conventional hard drives for storage. In my Mac Pro, I now have four conventional hard drives in the drive bays which I use to store my RAW files amongst other data including documents, music, video and so on. I also have two SSDs installed in the optical bays. One is used to clone the Accelsior every night which is my OS drive, and the other is used for video files when editing  a project. Having FCP X run on the OWC Accelsior and the ProRes 422 video files run from a OCZ 120Gb SSD makes for a very fast and fluid editing experience.

If you’re on a PC, the Accelsior will also work. Regardless of which system you’re using, the helpful thing is the card does not need a driver, so will just work once installed. On a Mac, you will naturally need a Mac Pro as the iMac does not have PCI Express slots.

I decided to go for the 240Gb version which is enough space to store the OS, applications and Documents. Via iTunes I did move the iTunes folder to another drive though as it was simply too big. The card uses Sandforce controllers and several systems to ensure that the SSD chips are used efficiently and kept running smoothly. The SSDs themselves are on smaller circuit boards which clip into the PCI Express daughter card; this means that in time if you want to upgrade to a larger size, it’s easily done.

Speed

Using OWC’s own figures, comparing their top of the range traditional SSD (Pro 6G) to the Accelsior makes interesting reading.

OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G – Read 559MB/s Write 527MB/s (Peak Data Rate)
OWC Mercury Accelsior  – Read 762MB/s Write 763MB/s
Traditional 5400rpm Hard Drive – Read 75MB/s Write 77MB/s

These are test figures so real life use will vary, but it will vary proportionally, so the speed advantages are clear to see.

Compared to my previous OS SSD, the OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS which was very quick, the speed advantage of the OWC Acceslior is immediately noticeable, even without timing.

I did perform some comparisons though using my early 2009 model Mac Pro.

Reliability

Speed isn’t the only consideration to have though. I’ve had the Accelsior installed in my main imaging workstation, a Mac Pro, for three months now. It has performed without a single hiccup. I installed it when running OS Lion, cloned the OS drive onto the Accelsior using the superb CCC and upgraded to OS Mountain Lion a few days after it’s release. My Mac Pro is on 24/7, used for photo editing, photo archive use, Giclée printing, video and audio editing and general computing too. It’s hooked up to a Sonnet D800 raid with a PCI Express RAID card as well as countless other peripherals and I didn’t have a single issue at all! The Accelsior just performed with 100% absolute reliability and speed.

Final Thoughts

As new technologies come and go and we take leaps forwards, some leaps are giant. The leap to SSDs being one. They are still too costly for storage, but for using as our OS and program disks, the capacities are more than there and the prices have dropped to affordable levels. Although purely on paper the jump to PCI SSD doesn’t appear huge, it is much more than just the speed increase; it’s the convenience increase of freeing up a drive bay for storage too. I for one can’t recommend SSDs highly enough; however if you have a machine with compatible PCI Express slots, then the OWC Accelsior is an absolute no brainer. You’ll love it!

European Buyers – Macupgrade has kindly offered readers of this blog a 10% discount with the code: macupgradephoto

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Posted in Apple, Computers and Software, Mac, Review, Storage, viewpoint

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78 Perspectives

Posted on August 8, 2012 | Leave a comment

Tom Stoddart Exhibition

Photographer Tom Stoddart at his Perspectives Exhibition, More London Riverside. August 08, 2012. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

One of photojournalisms most powerful authors, photographer Tom Stoddart is having an extremely powerful, thought provoking, moving, educational, photographically brilliant, emotionally shocking exhibition until September 11th, 2012 in an open air display at More London’s Riverside (by Tower Bridge and City Hall).

Photographer Tom Stoddart at his Perspectives Exhibition, More London Riverside. August 08, 2012. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Having seen the Perspectives exhibition today, I cannot recommend it highly enough to anyone with any interest in the recent world history, the planet, people, photography, photojournalism and life in general. Although very familiar with Tom’s work, there were quite a few images I had never seen before. With 78 of his signature images on display, with subjects as diverse as future Olympians training in China, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the HIV / AIDS pandemic in Africa, hostilities in Iraq, the siege of Sarajevo to the horrific famine in Sudan, it’s an exhibition which should definitely be seen.  Admission is free and the exhibition finishes on September the 11th.

Tom Stoddart’s Perspectives Exhibition, More London Riverside. August 08, 2012. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Perspectives was created with the participation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Tom Stoddart’s Perspectives Exhibition, More London Riverside. August 08, 2012. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Tom Stoddart’s Perspectives Exhibition, More London Riverside. August 08, 2012. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Tom Stoddart’s Perspectives Exhibition, More London Riverside. August 08, 2012. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

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Posted in Exhibition, Leica, News, Photography, Pictures

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Police Threaten Press Photographer

Posted on August 2, 2012 | 11 comments

“Video of police threatening to arrest me if I do not delete pictures. Absolutely absurd behavior by them and potential blackmail. No cordon was put in place and no police officer stopped me from walking up to where I was standing… hence the other photographer just walking up after me. Police officer also claiming that he will be “touching me” in the police van back to the station.”

The video has been pulled down by the photographer for various reasons. We hope it’ll be back online soon.

Disgraceful behaviour by a plain clothed Police officer (one assumes a detective, who says he’s in charge of the crime scene, who then clearly threatens the photographer quoted above, by saying “I’ll be touching you in a Police car back to Ilford Police Station”) and a Police sergeant against a press photographer doing his job and covering a story from an un-cordoned public footway. One might accept a Police officer new to the job not to know about the rights of the press, but for two experienced officers to abuse their powers like this and then give the photographer an ultimatum to delete the pictures or be arrested, is just wrong. They also bring forth arguments of morality which is clearly not within the Police service’s mandate of things to enforce.

After all the good work done by the BPPA and NUJ with the Police service, resulting in much better Police relations than has been had in recent years, it really is an absolute shame to see this behaviour emerging again.

The Police have no right to stop anyone taking pictures in a public place. They also have no right to ask for images to be deleted. This document by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) clearly reminds officers of their powers.

NB-I have kept the identity of the photographer hidden for now. Also as I get more details on what the incident was that was being photographed, I shall update the story.

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The Perfect Battery Accessory

Posted on July 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

Think Tank Photo DSLR Battery Holder 4 Review

Lenses, cameras, cards, computers, software and bags – all important equipment that helps us work and make great photographs. There are those little things though that can make life so much easier, especially for the photographer on the road. Enter the Think Tank Photo DSLR Battery Holder 4.

Think Tank Photo DSLR Battery Holder 4. Photographed with Canon LP-E6 (for the Canon 5D MkII, MkIII) and a set of 4 AA Batteries in one of the compartments. July 4, 2012. Photo; Edmond Terakopian

So simple it’s perfect! Designed to take four DSLR batteries, it can also hold four AA batteries in each compartment too. Naturally smaller batteries (Micro 4/3, NEX etc.) will also fit. I bought two of these, one for my Canon gear and one to house my Leica M9 batteries. They each now stay inside the relevant camera bag.

Think Tank Photo DSLR Battery Holder 4. Photographed with Canon LP-E6 (for the Canon 5D MkII, MkIII) and a set of 4 AA Batteries in one of the compartments. July 4, 2012. Photo; Edmond Terakopian

One very cool design feature is their footprint; being thin and long, they take up minimal room and can either put upright in a shoulder bag’s main compartment, or laid flat in a front pocket. Also, they fit nicely into the lid pockets on roller bags and backpacks too.

Think Tank Photo DSLR Battery Holder 4. Photographed with a set of 4 Leica batteries for the M9. July 4, 2012. Photo; Edmond Terakopian

Not a brilliantly designed lens nor a superbly engineered camera, but nonetheless, it’s an essential bit of kit and has my absolute recommendation.

If you’re in the UK, you can order them from Snapper Stuff or check out the Think Tank Photo website for details of your nearest supplier.

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So You Want To Be A National Geographic Photographer

Posted on June 27, 2012 | 4 comments

Randy Olson; Adapting To The Assignment

It’s perhaps the dream job for most photographers; to be on assignment for the “Geographic”. It most certainly is one of mine. However, perhaps we don’t fully appreciate the lengths their commissioned photographers go to, to make the amazing images that grace the pages of the magazine.

Photographer Randy Olson shows how a job in Easter Island involved normal photography, astro photography, underwater photography and perhaps the most challenging of all, aerial photography using a kite, an Apple MacBook Air and an Apple iPad.

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First Prize; Abstract Category

Posted on June 16, 2012 | 10 comments

Black and White Spider Awards

Award Winning Street Photography

I’m delighted to share the good news that I have won first place in the abstract category of the Black and White Spider Awards for my image titled “Hands With Legs”.

“8,223 entries were received from 72 countries and your work received
a high percentage of votes overall”, creative director of the awards, Basil O’Brien.

1st place winner of the Abstract category. “Hands With Legs”. Lorenzo Quinn’s During Love, Halcyon Gallery, Bruton Street, London. April 01, 2011. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

I’m also happy to share that another image, “Outfits” has been nominated in the people category of these awards.

Nominated in the People category. “Outfits”. London’s Southbank. July 22, 2011. Photo: Edmond Terakopian

Both shots were part of my continuing series of street photography taken around London. I shot both images with my Leica M9, using a 50mm Summicron for the winning image and a 50mm Noctilux ASPH for the nominated shot. Both photographs were processed using Apple’s Aperture 3 and Nik Software’s Silver Efex Pro 2.

Surprisingly, I am one of only four winners from the UK and only two of us won first prize in our respective categories. To see all the winning images, click the logo below:


Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

BLACK AND WHITE SPIDER AWARDS HONORS PHOTOGRAPHER EDMOND TERAKOPIAN FROM THE UK

LONDON (June 16, 2012) – Professional photographer Edmond Terakopian from the UK was presented with the 7th Annual Black and White Spider Awards, 1st Place – Outstanding Achievement award, in the category of Abstract at a prestigious Nomination & Winners PhotoShow. The live online ceremony webcast Saturday, June 9, 2012 was attended by photography fans in 72 countries who logged on to see the climax of the industry’s most important event for black and white photography.

The awards international Jury included captains of the industry from National Geographic, Fratelli Alinari, Heffel Fine Art to the Tate in London who honored Spider Fellows with 180 coveted title awards and 875 nominees in 14 categories.

“It is an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the 8,223 entries we received this year,” said Basil O’Brien, the awards Creative Director. Edmond Terakopian’s “Hands With Legs”, an exceptional image entered in the Abstract category, represents black and white photography at its finest, and we’re pleased to present him with the 1st Place, Outstanding Achievement award”.

You can view the 7th Annual Winners Gallery at www.thespiderawards.com/gallery/7th

BLACK AND WHITE SPIDER AWARDS is the leading international award honoring excellence in black and white photography. This celebrated event shines a spotlight on the best professional and amateur photographers worldwide and honors the finest images with the highest achievements in black and white photography.

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