First up you need a screen protector.

I found one for the iPad that fits perfect, is anti-glare (you can’t see a mirror of yourself) and the price is right. For how cheap it is, Might as well buy a couple just in case you screw up the first application. It DOES reduce the clarity of the screen a bit, obviously you need to if you want reduced glare, but I don’t even notice it. If you have ever used the PowerSupport Anti-glare film before, its pretty much exactly the same thing, but 1/4 the price.  The photos below are all with the screen protector on, and you can see how anti-glare it is for yourself.

Second you should get a protective case/cover.

I figured I’d want a leather case that can double up as a stand and a silicone case. I bought both, but really only use the leather case as the stand up feature is really useful.

The leather case that I bought is great quality. The flap at the rear flips around to the ribs on the front for an adjustable viewing angle, and is magnetized to keep it from flopping around. The actual front cover itself is also magnetized. The stitching and fit is good and for $12 bucks you can’t complain. The only issue is that it covers up the iPad’s light sensor (for brightness adjustment. Personally this doesn’t bother me, as I didnt even realise until about 2 weeks of having it on..)

The black silicone iPad case I got fits well, gives you much better grip but I don’t think I will use it often. The leather case fits my needs much better. But if you want something like this, then the one I’ve listed will be fine.

Last but not least, Car charging.

You’ll want to charge your iPad on the go, say when you are in the car..I bought this 12v stubby cigarette lighter adapter and it charges the iPad fine (i.e it doesn’t report NOT CHARGING). Its rated at 1000mA and happily charges my Blackberry Curve 8900 as well. Just BYO cable and you’re set.

So, here is your shopping list:

iPad anti-glare screen protector
Lleather iPad case with built in stand
iPad black silicone case
1000mA 12v iPad/USB Car Charger

Total cost:  Under $25 AUD (inc. shipping!)

Gotta love Deal Extreme. Check out their iPad stuff here.

While i’m riding the iPad post train, I’ll be putting up two more in the next week or so – One on tethering your iPad to iPhone/Blackberry/Android phone (Sucked in if you bought the 3G iPad) and another one on some applications. Stay tuned.

Sebastian Ruchay – Alley-oop Fishbrain
Canon 40D | Canon 50mm(ƒ/1.8) | ƒ/5.6 | ISO 400| 1/100
Nikon SB-26 camera left far, 1/1 @ 35mm
Canon 430ex camera left/rear, 1/1 @ 50mm

2009 went by pretty quickly. Here’s some of my fave captures of last year.

Danny Jensen – Sweatstance
Canon 40D | Sigma 10-20mm(ƒ/3.5-4.5)@18mm | ƒ/5.6 | ISO 200| 1/320s
Nikon SB-26 above camera right

The Pow Wow Pond Ledges RollVic fundraiser was held down at Princes Park yesterday (another in Owen Parry’s line of World Mocking Series event names) and despite a gloomy looking Sunday (damn Melbourne) there was a great turnout. We also  learned about Danny’s frisbee skills, which happened to be aimed at Frenchman Zack DeBlaize for most of the day…

Finally got a chance to take some photos. Was good to get back into it and was the first outing since I got my camera back from repair. Owen should be doing a little writeup about the event shortly.

Thanks to Owen and RollVic for organising another chilled out event!

Update: The article’s been posted on emesce here.

Been awhile…

Unfortunately my Canon copped the Err 99 issue has been sent off for repairs – for the past 2-3 weeks now. Tried everything to no avail – Cleaning lens contacts, (insert some other internet DIY fix here) and no luck. I had an extended warranty and they’re honoring that so it should be back in my hands soon. During that time I got to play with a Canon 5D MkII and loved it.

Also I bought a house, so have been doing a ton of work on that which has been taking away from skating time. Last thing I did with my camera before it died was some timelapse experiments. Using my 40D tethered to my laptop with a program called DSLR Pro, captured one frame every 30 seconds most of the day..put together with Quicktime Pro and then compressed with Handbrake.

The Aussie Rolling Open is on this weekend in Adelaide, Will be keen to see what comes out of that event.

Update: Congrats to Danny Jensen for taking the title!