I went out last night with my camera thinking I should do some more night shots, but it turned out that what I needed was a fast walk. Lately, my wife and I have worked on her getting her drivers license, which she did yesterday. This has consumed a lot of time driving around the last couple of months, and we both noticed the tension prior to her exam. It went really well, so we’re both happy, but I certainly did not have the right state of mind to do any shooting. Hopefully this will change now that things are calming down.
Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category
I was about to write a post on how I adjust the input sharpening in LightRoom2, but while I wrote, I started to rethink the method I was using. I need to experiment some more.
14
Oct
baking bread
I was just trying to get through the back log of old Lenswork podcasts when I ran accross one where Brooks Jensen told about his passion for baking bread. That is at least one thing I share with him. My photographs may have a way to go before their up to his standard, but I’m pretty confident that my breads are pretty good.
It’s a pretty relaxing activity, and enjoyable both in the doing and in the consuming. It can be turned into an obsession as well. A friend of mine is cultivating his own yeast and sour dough, and has avery broad range of techniques for mixing, kneading and raising the dough. Well, I’m not going to turn this into a bread baking blog, but it is always fun when you find someone with common interests, so I thought I’d just mention it.
I just tried the color test mentioned at TOP. Much to my amusement, I got this score.
I actually didn’t think I was able to separate colors that well. The problem then is to make good use of it, which is much harder.
I think this test is much like telling musical notes apart when you get a reference “A” to listen to first. Not that hard, and quite many people can do it. Much harder is it to know which note is played without any reference. The same with colors. Arranging these colors on a line isn’t that difficult, but to spot an unnatural skin tone in a photo without proper references for comparison is much more difficult.
18
Sep
The Canon 5D mkII
No surprise that Canon announced this camera now since the replacement was long overdue. just a few thoughts on this new camera.
The name: 5D mkII
I think thsi was the right choice for Canon. If they had gone for 6D or 3D or something, they would soon run out of names, and it would be confusing for the customers to place the different models in the lineup. Now everyone knows that the most recent 5D is the model just below the most recent 1D
The sensor:
Everything indicates that they have used the exact same sensor as the 1Ds mkIII, at least if you look at resolution. And why not, Nikon just matched they top model sensor in the D700 so it would be stupid of Canon to not do the same. Now both brands offer top notch IQ in a smaller and more affordable package. Also this is a good thing for Canon as they now have a much larger market for their 21MP sensor, which eventually will drive the price down as the production is ramped up.
Weather sealing:
This is a no brainer these days, even at the mid range models thanks to the competition.
HD Video:
What is this?? Buy yourself a video camera for christ sakes. Again, thanks to competition… ??
Mirror lock up:
Canon still think direct print is more important.
Do I want one: Yes! I just have to rob a bank first.
Will I buy one: No! Not worth going to jail for, and my old 5D still produces excellent pictures.
I am happy to admit being a bit geeky from time to time, and I’m sure my wife agrees as well. Today, just as a mean to run Windoze XP so I could view my web page in IE, I installed a free virtual machine called VirtualBox 2 from Sun. It is open source and free, and it works on all Windows, Linux, Mac and Solaris. So I downloaded and within 5 minutes I was installing Windows XP SP1 from my old CD. This one is useless with bootcamp which requires SP2, and I don’t want to reboot the computer anyway. I also made a virtual machine for Ubuntu Linux as well, just for fun, and it all worked so smooth.
I haven’t used any other VM, so I can’t compare, but the way this worked was awesome. By installing a couple of drivers that came with the installation, I could put the VM into something they called “Seamless mode”. Instead of running Windows in its own window, it looks like it runs directly in OSX, much the same as Wine runs the applications on Linux. The Internet Explorer windows can by resized and moved freely around the OSX desktop, but the window frame is Windows XP style. Also, the windows taskbar is just placed down at the bottom of the screen.
And what did I discover about my web page? Well, IE did not render the galleries right (no surprise). I changed them to some java based greybox gallery template instead and the problem was solved. Unless you hate java scripts, but then I would suggest therapy. Java scripts are here to stay whether you like it or not.
Not that this matter all that much, but I’m just wondering.
Now and then I read about people complaining about the simple little device called a remote trigger. In its simplest form, this is a cord with at proprietary plug in one end, and a more or less ergonomically two level electrical switch in the other end. The switch usually also have a locking mechanism for long exposures. Ok, agree with those complaining about the price. the Canon type I’m using is listed at USD50 at B&H, but is probably worth around half, which is what I paid for mine after some searching.
The thing that puzzles me is all the complaints about the thing getting broken all the time. I have stepped on mine several times. I lose it all the times on rock, asphalt, concrete, wooden flooe, in mud, water …. you name it. When I carry my camera on the tripod, the trigger remains attached banging around. And still it works. I’ll admit that I have to pick it apart to dry it out when it has been submerged, but that is just a matter of loosening two screws and let it rest above the heater.
To get to the point here, what level of abuse are we talking about to destroy that little bugger. I’m apparently not brutal enough. How do you guys manage to keep your cameras and lenses in working order?
Just something that popped into my mind when I should have been working.
