Moldova’s divided parliament failed to choose a state president on Friday,  16 December 2011 after an indirect presidential election  held in Moldova, a second attempt is set for January 2012. Communist Party (PCRM) has boycotted the presidential elections.

Friday, October 21, 2011 “Stefan cel Mare” Police Academy, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova. The competition for the designation of the best police officer of the year ended with the last test: shooting target with handguns. The competition was attended by police officers across the country and only 12 of the 152 participants obtained the title of the best police officer of the year.  For the first time journalists from Republic of Moldova were invited by “Stefan cel Mare” Police Academy Chisinau and the Ministry of Interior to take part to a gun shooting competition. Journalist who had the best results received diplomas. Before shooting, journalists were trained for safe handling and use of pistols by the police academy instructors.

Moldova’s capital, Chisinau, marks its 575th anniversary from the founding of the city.

The first officials who attended the ceremony were Chisinau Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca, employees of the Chisinau City Hall, members of the diplomatic missions accredited in Chisinau as well as foreign delegations invited to the Chisinau’s Dedication Day, including Mayor of Bucharest Sorin Oprescu and the Mayor of Tbilisi Giorgi “Gigi” Ugulava.

Dorin Chirtoaca welcomed those present and addressed a brief congratulatory message to Chisinau residents, wishing them good health, joy, confidence and optimism.

The participants in the ceremony also attended a religious service held by Metropolitan of Chisinau and All Moldova Vladimir at the Chisinau-based Birth of God Cathedral(Catedrala Nașterea Domnului), where a great number of believers came to take part in the religious ceremony.

The mayors of all Moldovan settlements, as well as foreign delegations were invited to participate in the festivities held on the occasion of Chisinau’s Dedication Day.

Panoramic view of Chisinau

Review and sample pictures

AF-S Teleconverter TC-20E III 2x specifications:

Lens Elements: 7

Lens Groups: 5

Optical Conversion Factor: 2.0x

Maximum Reproduction Ratio:  Double That of a Prime Lens

Closest focusing distance: Same as that of a prime lens

Weight: Approx. 11.06 oz. (330g)

The TC-20E III is the biggest and the longest teleconverter manufactured by Nikon. This teleconverter offers a new optical design, adding an aspherical element, which virtually eliminates coma and other aberrations, especially at wide apertures.  Due to the considerable number of additional glass elements, the lens sharpness performance can suffer significantly, depending on the quality of the lens but in my opinion the new Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II works beautifully with the Nikon TC-20E III when stopped down a little. There is some loss of sharpness, but it retains detail far more than I was expecting.

I use them mounted on a D700, I can actually hand-hold and get a tack sharp shot. but when you use a TC, you are increasing focal length and also add some extra weight  so… extra care must be taken to stabilize your lens to get sharp shots. AF-S means Auto Focus – Silent, meaning that this converter only autofocuses with AF-S and AF-I lenses. Like other teleconverters, the Nikon TC-20E III has fixed lens elements that do not move when focus ring or zoom ring are touched on the lens. This means that the lens is protected very well against dust and moisture. Nikon TC-20E III has a rugged all-metal exterior and a metal mount that is built to last a lifetime. The solid construction, along with a whopping 7 elements make it one heavy teleconverter, weighing a total of 330 grams without a lens attached.

As a conclusion I can say that adding this teleconverter to 70-200mm f/2.8G VR  II get a new target of “140-400mm f/5.6″ a little heavier and longer, you lose two stops of aperture and a bit of sharpness .

In pictures posted below I have included one picture with VR on – active mode and VR on normal mode and a series with the same subject using different focal lengths at  apertures f5, 6 and f8. Images posted are at a resolution of 1024 pixels, NEF’s were edited in Adobe Lightroom, the only changes made ​​were sharpness (amount 60 radius 1) and the camera calibration profiles from changed from adobe standard to camera standard.

A zip file containing images at full resolution is available here:  http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2951138/publish%20%20full%20res.rar.

A group of Orthodox people from the eparchies of Chisinau, Balti, Cahul and Ungheni protest against the way Islam was recently legalized in Moldova. Other “mass protests” would follow unless the government satisfied their claims.

Peste o săptămână după duminica Paştelor, în prima zi de luni o parte din creştinii ortodocşi obişnuiesc să sărbătorească Paştele Blajinilor. Această sărbătoare mai este numită şi Prohoadele, Paştele Morţilor sau Lunea Morţilor.

(text:  ziarul Timpul – www.timpul.md))