New camera?

[gaekwad2]

The SD700is is a pure full-auto-point-and-grunt model though.
(and terribly noisy at high ISO, I still think a F30 would be better most of the time)

[mark]

S3IS is basically an A-series powershot, only bigger zoom and stabilized.

[EfaustuS9]

Some new pictures I took today. As soon as the deciduous trees start changing I plan on doing a follow up.

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

Got myself one of these from Circuit City today. I was surprised that Newegg didn't have anything like this on their site. The MSRP on it is $10 now, but I ended up paying $15 because I couldn't find it anywhere else. Even if I did buy it online for ten bucks, the shipping cost would've probably equalled what I paid for it anyway.

I haven't tried it yet, but I'll stick it in my laptop shortly and see how well it transfers files from my camera's CF cards.

And... I finally got my rebate from Canon in the mail today. Woot.

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

I took a picture of my new CF PC card adapter with my 350D, took the CF card out of the camera, put the card in the new PC card adapter, put the adapter/card in my laptop, used my laptop's wireless connection to move the picture directly from the card to my tower computer's hard drive, opened the picture in Paint Shop Pro, cropped and resized it, exported it, then posted it here.

Is that geeky?


I'm running a SiSoft Sandra Pro benchmark test on the new PC card adapter right now, so I'll edit this post when it finishes and gives me the results.

Also, nice pictures, Efaustu.



[edit]
Sandra Pro says that I'm only getting 1092 KBps for both read and write speeds. I know my CF card isn't causing that. I thought the PC card adapter was simply that, an adapter. It shouldn't cause the card to drop in performance. Is this the kind of performance I should expect from the PC card slot in my laptop?
[/edit]

[InvisableMan]

I got bored so I set up a tripod in front of a railroad crossing. I switched to shooting raw. If I hadn't, this would look like crap instead of decent like it does now. Raw is superior. Next paycheck I get cashed, I'm going to buy some new filters.

AdobeRGB, TIF:
http://pirateking.servebeer.com/crap/crossing.TIF

rgb1, JPG:
http://pirateking.servebeer.com/crap/crossing.JPG


Filename : DSC00452.JPG
JFIF_APP1 : Exif
Main Information
ImageDescription : SONY DSC
Make : SONY
Model : DSLR-A100
Orientation : left-hand side
XResolution : 72/1
YResolution : 72/1
ResolutionUnit : Inch
Software : DSLR-A100 v1.00
DateTime : 2006:09:03 20:50:17
YCbCrPositioning : centered
ExifInfoOffset : 390
PrintIM IFD : 124Bytes
Print Image Matching Info
Version : 0300
Sub Information
ExposureTime : 30.00Sec
FNumber : F13.0
ExposureProgram : Full Manual
ISOSpeedRatings : 100
ExifVersion : 0221
DateTimeOriginal : 2006:09:03 20:50:17
DateTimeDigitized : 2006:09:03 20:50:17
ComponentConfiguration : YCbCr
CompressedBitsPerPixel : 8/1 (bit/pixel)
BrightnessValue : EV-2.8
ExposureBiasValue : EV0.0
MaxApertureValue : F3.5
MeteringMode : Division
LightSource : Unidentified
Flash : Not fired(Compulsory)
FocalLength : 18.00(mm)
SubjectLocation : 1936,1296,329,393
MakerNote : SONY Format : 24208Bytes (Offset:1016)
UserComment :
FlashPixVersion : 0100
ColorSpace : sRGB
ExifImageWidth : 3872
ExifImageHeight : 2592
ExifInteroperabilityOffset : 25212
FileSource : DSC
SceneType : A directly photographed image
CustomRendered : Normal process
ExposureMode : Auto
WhiteBalance : Auto
DigitalZoomRatio : 0/1
FocalLength(35mm) : 27(mm)
SceneCaptureType : Standard
GainControl : None
Contrast : Normal
Saturation : Normal
Sharpness : Normal

Uhh, anyone have a good exif reader that only gives me the relevant data? I trimmed like half of what's here out before I gave up..

[fookknot]

Very awesome picture. I kind of like the way the jpg version seems a little less flat.

[fwgx]

Originally posted by InvisableMan
Uhh, anyone have a good exif reader that only gives me the relevant data? I trimmed like half of what's here out before I gave up..

Yeah I've tried looking for a program that I could select a photo in and then it'd give me a list of the exif data that I had selected. Couldn't find one though. Tempted to write one but dunno where to start yet.

[EfaustuS9]

an argument for Jpg

a rebuttal for RAW

Interesting points on both sides.

oh and on bit of a tangent who would like a gigapixel camera, check out its cropping capacity, its fricking ridiculous.

[gaekwad2]

Ugh, Ken Rockwell...

While we're going tangential, anyone interested in what 10MP from a 1/1.8" sensor look like (after thorough in-camera noise reduction)?

(3.5MB pic)

[fwgx]

Originally posted by gaekwad2
While we're going tangential, anyone interested in what 10MP from a 1/1.8" sensor look like (after thorough in-camera noise reduction)?

(3.5MB pic)

Dear lord, my eyes, they wont stop bleeding!!!.......

[InvisableMan]

Originally posted by Phily Baby
Yeah I've tried looking for a program that I could select a photo in and then it'd give me a list of the exif data that I had selected. Couldn't find one though. Tempted to write one but dunno where to start yet.

There is this java library which led me to exifomatic. This is what it spits out into a text file, Using the crossing picture I took as the example:


DSC00452.jpg - EXIF Information
- Exif
Image Description SONY DSC
Make SONY
Model DSLR-A100
Orientation top, left side
X Resolution 1/72 inches
Y Resolution 1/72 inches
Resolution Unit Inches
Software DSLR-A100 v1.00
Date/Time 2006:09:03 20:50:17
YCbCr Positioning Center of pixel array
Exposure Time 30 sec
F-Number F13
Exposure Program Full Manual
ISO Speed Ratings 100
Exif Version 2.21
Date/Time Original 2006:09:03 20:50:17
Date/Time Digitized 2006:09:03 20:50:17
Components Configuration YCbCr
Compressed Bits Per Pixel 8 bits/pixel
Brightness Value -275/100
Exposure Bias Value 0
Max Aperture Value F3.5
Metering Mode Multi-segment
Light Source Unknown
Flash Unknown (16)
Focal Length 18.0 mm
Subject Location 1936 1296 329 393
User Comment
FlashPix Version 1.00
Color Space sRGB
Exif Image Width 3872 pixels
Exif Image Height 2592 pixels
File Source Digital Still Camera (DSC)
Scene Type Directly photographed image
Compression JPEG compression
Thumbnail Offset 40294 bytes
Thumbnail Length 3220 bytes
Thumbnail Data [3220 bytes of thumbnail data]
- Interoperability
Interoperability Index Recommended Exif Interoperability Rules (ExifR98)
Interoperability Version 1.00

[PulseDriver]

Hum I bought a new camera as well a Fujifilm Finepix F30, which at the first tries have seemed very good. It's a compact camera, with 4 x Optical Zoom, 6.3 Megapixels, up to 3200 ISO, 1600 Auto. Macro, 2.5" LCD, 1/1.7" Super CCD HR and Picture Stabilization mode.

[swingdjted]

Macros are great with bugs.

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

Nice picture. (Sorry for being a month late with the response. ) I'm pretty sure the F30 has the same image sensor and processor that my E550 has. It puts out great images for being just a point & shoot camera.



Also, I just ordered a couple new accessories for my Canon...

Canon 28-135mm IS USM Lens
Slik Monopod 350

I ordered both of those for a total of $450 after shipping, which is $70 less than Wolf Camera wanted for just that lens alone. Hah! Wolf Camera can bite me. Here's the official webpage on Canon's site for the lens. I'd post the official page for the monopod, but Slik's site sucks.

[edit]
What I thought was the official site for Slik (slik.com), isn't it. THKphoto.com is the official site, and here is the page for the Monopod 350 specs.
[/edit]

[gaekwad2]

Originally posted by sgtfuzzbubble99
Nice picture. (Sorry for being a month late with the response. ) I'm pretty sure the F30 has the same image sensor and processor that my E550 has. It puts out great images for being just a point & shoot camera.

Two generations newer.
Still not quite dSLR quality but compared to other small sensors...

[fwgx]

If i were to buy a compact camera I'd probably get the F30 for it's high ISO performance.

I got a flashgun today. The Nikon SB-600. Haven't had much chance to play with it yet and the manual is a thick as the one that came with the camera! from what I can see though, putting it on the camera and pressing the shutter does a wonderful job.

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

Two generations newer.

Sweet. That's really impressive for a p+s camera. They've obviously made some drastic improvements to the 6+ megapixel Super CCD since they released my E550. Sometimes I forget that I've had this little camera for two years now.

[fwgx]

Well here is is...

[protegechris]

I finally ordered the casio exilim ex-z60, almost three weeks ago at buy.com. Paid with paypal. Got an email saying my order had been cancelled for not completing payment with paypal. Emailed, they realized their mistake and made it "high priority". over 2 weeks later I'm still here with no camera and no $215 in my paypal account. Fuckers.

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

I try to avoid using paypal if at all possible. I know your situation is different, and I'm sorry they screwed up. Whenever you get the opportunity, you should look into finding other means of buying things online (be it through a checking account with debit card, or whatever the case may be).


@Phily:
Very nice flash. One of these days, I'm going to have to get a flash unit for mine. The built-in flash works great, but it's very limited.

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

Another issue I'm having with my camera...

The viewfinder is mounted flush with the back of the camera body, so my nose constantly rubs up against the LCD when I take pictures. I need an adapter that will extend the viewfinder out a little bit away from the camera body. I saw this, but it says that it's got a 30% reduction in viewfinder magnification. That'd make the viewfinder tiny, and I wouldn't be able to see anything through it. Does anybody have any suggestions?

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

My new lens and monopod arrived today.

Here's a few pictars of the lens:

DSCF1224.jpg
DSCF1227.jpg
DSCF1234.jpg
DSCF1236.jpg


Here's a quick pic of the monopod:

DSCF1230.jpg

[fwgx]

No head for the monopod?

How well does the IS work on the lens in low light?

[swingdjted]

I like the gear.

My solution to not having a monopod: Take a tripod and don't expand anything but one leg. Instant ghetto monopod.

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

I was thinking about getting a head for the monopod, but I thought about it for a few minutes and decided that I probably wouldn't need it. The only thing the monopod is good for is to stabalize normal, horizontal photos. If I need to take a picture of something that's closer to the ground or higher up above, then I can just lean the monopod a little bit. If it's so severe that I need a head on the monopod, then I'll just use my tripod or shoot hand-held. Besides, the only decent heads that I found for it cost about twice as much as the monopod.

And in reality, the thing I'm worried about most now is the viewfinder. I need to find some sort of extender that will help keep my nose from smudging up the LCD. I'm not sure how the one I linked to above will work, so I need some advice before I go buying anything else. I'm not sure how well that one will serve my purpose, but so far, it's the only one I've found.

And about the IS. I haven't had much chance to play with this lens yet, but from the little bit I've use it so far, it seems to work decently well. When I get some more free time, I'll post some pictures.

I like the gear.

Ty. It took me quite a while to decide on that lens. Out of all the choices I had, this one had the features and specs that I needed and was within my budget. The monopod was a simpler choice. I was looking at a few Bogen/Manfrotto monopods, but they wanted quite a lot more for a product that does exactly the same thing as the Slik that I bought. In fact, the one I bought is quite a bit lighter than almost all of the Bogen/Manfrottos that I looked at. This one matches my tripod, too.

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

I just took a few test pictures with my new lens here in my room. The IS isn't phenomenal, but it does a good job. After five or six tries, I managed to take this picture. It's a hand-held shot.

EXIF:
Color - sRGB
Shutter - 0.6 sec
Aperture - F/3.5
Focal Length - 28mm
ISO - 100

I didn't manipulate it at all. When I copied it from my CF card, I simply resized it so that it wouldn't be such a big file to download.

[Razzinno]

Very nice!

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

ty

[SSJ4 Gogitta]

For all you folks with the fancy-pants cameras, and who live in an area with low light pollution: Orionid Meteor Shower peaks tonight.

Good camera + long exposure = fun




I'm taking my cameras with me tonight and will attempt to get some images, though the place I'm at has a bit of light pollution.

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

I would, but I live on the north side of Atlanta. There's far too much ambient light to get exposures for more than a couple seconds. I'll see what I can do, though.

[fwgx]

You'll probably need an Equatorial mount for anything over 30 seconds. If you're going do an exposure of a few mins or half an hour then you'll just get a star trail.


On another note, I should be kept away from ebay. I was looking at getting a film body camera for landscape use so I can use velvia in it and get awesome dynamic range (in comparison to digital). But then I got thinking, the only lens I have that would be even close to wide would be my 50mm lens and that's not wide enough for what I'd want. So I went hunting for cheap wide lens'. To cut the story short, I've just ordered a 28mm f2.8 prime lens. The camera will have to wait fo another day. I'd really love an F100, but I may go for an F80 / F90x. But it's so tempting to get: autumn + Velvia = GOOOOODDDD!!!!!

[gaekwad2]

Velvia doesn't exactly have the highest dynamic range though due to its high contrast.

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

You'll probably need an Equatorial mount for anything over 30 seconds. If you're going do an exposure of a few mins or half an hour then you'll just get a star trail.

I don't think my camera is capable of taking shots over 30 seconds. At any rate, I just went outside to check out the sky, and there's a lot of clouds in the area that I'd need to shoot. I just checked the radar, and the incoming clouds look like they're only going to get worse.

[SSJ4 Gogitta]

Due to be clear here tonight. Just dunno how foggy it'll manage to get at work.

Also, my camera can't do over a 15 second exposure. Though at 4x optical zoom, you can see star trails.

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

I might still go out and try to get some night shots for the hell of it, though. We'll see.

Also, I did a little checking around on that viewfinder extender that I was considering... the customer reviews on amazon.com didn't rate it very highly. I'm glad I didn't waste my money. Why didn't they make the extender increase the magnification instead of decrease it? Everything looks tiny enough through this damn viewfinder.

Also, does anybody have any recommendations for lens/sensor cleaning brushes? I saw this one, among others. I don't want to buy a cheap one because I know they'll cause problems with static, but I think spending $50+ on a brush with a grounding cable is a bit extreme. And what about those little battery-powered air blowers? Do they really put out as much pressure as canned air? Are they worth the $15?

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

I didn't get any night sky pictures because it was cloudy and started raining earlier this evening, so I went down into Metro Atlanta and got a few pictures. Again, no image manipulation. All I did was crop a couple of the pictures before I resized them. The EXIF data should be saved in the pictures if anyone's interested. (Note: Large Files)

IMG_2162.jpg
IMG_2163.jpg
IMG_2175.jpg
IMG_2179.jpg
IMG_2180.jpg

I would've taken more pictures, but the rain was starting to get on my lens. That's why the last picture looks like the building is being launched into space.

[SSJ4 Gogitta]

Well, before it got cloudy (and actually rained some), I only saw one meteor, and it wasn't in the camera's field of vision. But, after taking 50 images in a row (12.5 min total exposure time) lasting 25 minutes (15 sec exposure + 15 sec for camera to process image), I digitally stacked them and ended up with this:



That essentially shows 25 minutes worth of motion.

Here's the EXIF data for the 50 images:


They were also ISO-100

I threw this together, too:

http://www.sendspace.com/uploaddone....d5006&l=6eavya

'tis 5.58 MB.

[EfaustuS9]

Some sharp pic's people. I particularly like thoughts sharp high ISO night pics of yours sgt. The quality of the equipment you have purchased is rather evident.

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

ISO-100 on all of mine. And ty.

@SSJ4: Very nice as well. Love the animation.