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Thanks Ben but StronVPN have just confirmed that my D-Link DR-619 is not supported. They were kind enough to provide a couple of links to router models that were supported but the links were predictably blocked by China. LOL
Based on my experience I would class Strong as operational 90% of the time, however, this may well have degraded recently based on comments here. I then upgraded to a D-Link router to solve my wife’s flakey internet connection and Strong completely stopped working for me because they don’t support the D-Link protocols.
Is there a VPN which will work with a D-Link router and is it reliable?
Just leave the Q tips in your ears Diamond and it will block the problem. Either that or breath through your nose like normal people.
Come on guys, be fair and take those UV filters off the cameras. LOL
About 3 days ago I couldn’t even see out of the window. But suprisingly the airfilter didn’t leap into overdrive as it was just a low cloud – one of those things that floats above the polution layer.
The December meeting of the Chengdu Photography Club is this Monday 3rd December at 7.30 pm in the Bookworm. The topic for the meeting is Portrait Photographs. New members are welcome from both the Chinese and Expat communities. Membership is free.
The December meeting of the Chengdu Photography Club is this Monday 3rd December at 7.30 pm in the Bookworm. The topic for the meeting is Portrait Photographs. New members are welcome from both the Chinese and Expat communities. Membership is free.
The December meeting of the Chengdu Photography Club is this Monday 3rd December at 7.30 pm in the Bookworm. The topic for the meeting is Portrait Photographs. New members are welcome from both the Chinese and Expat communities. Membership is free.
Tracy, improving your photography should be easy. Just join the Chengdu Photography Club and there are plenty of members (male and female, Chinese and Foreigners) who would be more than happy to teach you basics and even some more advanced skills.
The Club meets in the Bookworm @ 7.30pm typically on the first Monday of every month.
The next meeting of the Chengdu Photography Club is this coming Monday (5th November) at the Bookworm for 7.30pm.
Membership is informal and newcomers are more than welcome.
Allegedly, it is a photo session with a panda, not a panda hugging experience because they dress you in plastic surgical gown and gloves to minimise the chance of infection (for the panda). A member of staff gets to take the pictures with your camera in a session that lasts less than 5 minutes. Friends and family do not get to accompany you unless they have also paid.
But don’t take my word for it – ask the staff EXACTLY what you get in return for your money.
Hi Jenise,
I’d recommend a Canon. They have a range of ‘amateur’ digital cameras which you can use on fully automatic mode and have dedicated settings for sports, portraits, macro, landscape and night mode so all your thinking can be put on the back burner while you concentrate on composing the shot for a pretty picture. When you get more experienced you can switch to aperture or speed priority or even fully manual modes. The camera has a built in flash and use the EF and EF-S range of lenses. The most affordable in the range is probably the EOS1100D add to that a zoom lens and it will be years before you feel the need to upgrade. You can also take video clips with this camera.
Commonly you can buy a canon body and lens as a manufacturer’s package and they come a bit cheaper. If you haggle you can possibly get a camera bag, UV lens filter, lens cleaning pen included in the package etc when you’ve negotiated the price down as far as you can. If a retailer won’t lower their price then walk away and check out someone else’s price.
Go to Computer City on Renmin Nan Lu (where it crosses the number 2 ring road) and pick the building in the north east corner of that junction. Start on the ground floor but the second or third floor is where you could get the best prices. They also sell second hand cameras there along with lenses but you need you assume that the cost of a second hand camera + lens will have to be increased by the price of a manufacturer’s service if things go wrong so budget for it rather than accept a verbal guarantee. You can always go back to Taobao if you can’t find the deal you want in Computer City.
The next meeting of the Chengdu Photography Club is at the Bookworm on this Monday 1st October at 7:30PM. The theme for discussion is ‘panoramic imaging’ so you are welcome to join us and bring no more than 3 examples of your panoramas on a USB drive/stick that you would like to present for review or advice. Meetings are informal and no prior registration is required.
Set up an account with internet banking in the UK if you haven’t already got one. When you arrive in China set up an account that you wish to transfer money to (this is going to be a Sterling account – because you cannot transfer RMB (Yuan)). You will need your Chinese Bank’s Branch SWIFT or IBAN number.
HSBC Premier Service in China are VERY good and your Personal Relationship Advisor will even complete your application forms full of questions that defy translation. However you would need an HSBC Premier account both in China and the UK to get advantage of transfering funds FOC.
The same proceedure will apply even if you do not have an HSBC Premier Account but you will pay transfer fees on top of the currency exchange fees. I have transfered (in both directions) between HSBC in the UK and the Bank of China in Chengdu with no problems.
Send an email to your UK account and instruct them to transfer to money to your bank in China. They will need to know the amount you wish to transfer, the SWIFT or IBAN number for the recieiving bank, the Bank and Branch name and address or the receiving bank along with your Account name/number that you wish to transfer the money to. The transfer takes about 3 to 4 working days.
Once the money has arrived in your account in China you will need to change it from Sterling into RMB and move it to an RMB account. The limit is in the region of 50,000 US$ per person, per annum. However, if you are purchasing a property or setting up a business then they will overide this limit if they are satisfied that you are not money laundering. Another way round the limit is if you have relatives here that you can claim an additional US$50,000 allowance for each.
VPN can be difficult if you are using a wireless router – many respectable routers, such as DLink, just do not work with VPNs. If you use someone like Strong VPN then they can and will install the VPN on your computer remotely – it can be complicated if you are not technically minded.
GMail can be flakey as it has been blocked from time to time for obscure reasons such as firing a broadside across the bows of Goggle. I use Yahoo but that can be flakey if you wish to transmit harmless pictures but is otherwise good. However, I still use a private UK email address that does not attract attention. Best advice is – have back up email addresses with different companies for rare problems.
Beware Chinese drivers of any form of transport, both on and off the pavement, as their road sense is close to zero. CCTV have a program Monday through to Friday at 7.30pm featuring how not to navigate round Chengdu if you wish to avoid becoming a red stain on the road. Watch it if you can and you might live longer.
Anyone looking to find like minded photographers seeking to record their stay in China can do so with the Chengdu Photography Club. We meet monthly at the Bookworm and arrange informal outings to locations of our choice.
To keep posted then simply log into Yahoo as you would for your email and visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CDphoto/ where you can sign up in order to be notified of Club events or to communicate with other members either individualy or as a group.
Meanwhile, the next meeting of the Chengdu Photography club is at the Bookworm on Thursday 5th July at 7.30 pm. We have a wide range of photographic experience and our critique can be particularly useful to those seeking technical advice or inspiration.
The theme for the month is “Free Style” meaning that the critique is open to a maximum of three submissions in ANY subject. As usual the objective is to present images taken within China.
The next meeting of the Chengdu Photography Club is at the Bookworm on this Thursday 7th JUNE at 7:30PM. The theme for discussion is Macro (close-up) photography so you are welcome to join us and bring no more than 3 examples of your ‘macro’ work on a USB drive/stick that you would like to present. Meetings are informal and no prior registration is required.
AbeBooks on the internet tend to be cheaper source of books than Amazon and, unlike Amazon, they have no qualms about shipping to China. They sell both new and used books from as little as 6.3 RMB for a used or slightly scuffed but new paperback. Postage varies according to the supplier and the weight of the book but expect between 30 to 60 RMB. Most arrive in two to three weeks but can take up to three months occasionally.
AbeBooks on the internet tend to be cheaper source of books than Amazon and, unlike Amazon, they have no qualms about shipping to China. They sell both new and used books from as little as 6.3 RMB for a used or slightly scuffed but new paperback. Postage varies according to the supplier and the weight of the book but expect between 30 to 60 RMB. Most arrive in two to three weeks but can take up to three months occasionally.
