Craft! Bang! Boom!

I’m a bit more familiar with the Canon Powershot now than I was last night, so here are my latest thoughts.

The bad:

1. The RAW situation is still uber-irritating. The Canon software to manipulate RAW images isn’t as good as Photoshop, and I’m pissed that I have to use two separate programs to edit images instead of just one. Hopefully when the Photoshop update comes out that will have the Canon RAW files figured out, it will work on my version of Photoshop, since I’m not running the most current edition.

2. It takes AA batteries. I hate that. Just give me one awesome rechargeable battery like the Nikon has, please.

3. It doesn’t have a filter mount on the front of the lens. I really like having a UV filter or something on a camera to protect the lens. Fortunately, I can buy an aftermarket filter adapter for it.

4. There are a set of three buttons on the back of the camera that I keep accidentally hitting when I hold the camera. That changes settings, and then I have no idea what the hell just happened. Those buttons really need to live somewhere else.

5. The dial on the back of the camera that changes the SCN settings (like, from Portrait to Sunset to Snow) is really sluggish. It moves quickly, but doesn’t seem to update the selection right away.

6. It looks like the longest long exposure shutter speed available is 15 seconds. So much for long exposure night sky shots.

7. The camera has two aspect ratios that it will shoot still photos in. Unfortunately, you can’t shoot RAW photos in the wider aspect ratio.

8. The camera has a lot of settings you can’t use if you set the camera to Auto, for example, continuous shooting. That kind of bugs.

There are some other things that I’m having problems with, ut I’m not sure if they’re user error or camera flaws. This morning, all of the pics I took were coming out grainy.

However, in the afternoon, I tried setting the camera’s ISO to 80, and I think that may have helped. I kind of don’t have any idea what I’m doing in regards to the whole ISO thing. (I just checked the exif data on my pics from this morning, and it seems that the ISO had been set at 800, for whatever reason. That may have been the problem after all.)

Also, my pics seem to be coming out really contrasty.

If I could easily edit the RAW data of these images, it wouldn’t be a big deal, because I could fix (or, at least, lessen) the problem in about 2 seconds. However, the whole RAW debacle just makes me want to record images in all JPG for the time being. Which brings me to another thing… right now I seem to be getting a max resolution of 180 dpi… surely my max resolution should be more than that? I’m not sure if shooting in both RAW and JPG is weirding up my settings. Maybe my resolution will go up when I switch to just shooting JPG.

Now, for The Good:

1. The zoom lens is pretty awesome. Even though my pics from this morning were grainy, I still managed to get some nice zoomage.

I was very far away when I took that picture, and could have zoomed in more.

2. The LCD viewscreen is very bright, and it also moves around like a transformer.

That will be very handy for me, since I like to take pics with the camera setting on the ground.

3. Unlike the Nikon, this camera will auto bracket exposures. That means it can take 3 different exposures of the same subject for use in turning into an HDR.

4. The macro seems to be pretty powerful, although I’m having to crop a lot to get the picture I like.

5. The white balance actually seems to be better than the Nikon’s, although I didn’t test it extensively.

6. I can shoot video (both regular and HD) with this. That’s pretty awesome.

7. Also, I can zoom in and out while recording a video.

8. Also (again), I can shoot pictures while recording a video, although that function is a little wonky, and it would probably just be better to edit out still images from a video after it was done recording.

9. The camera hooks right up to the TV so that you can view pictures and video with no additional parts (although if you have an HDTV, I think you need to buy an extra cable or something).

All in all, I’m pretty positive about this camera. It has some design flaws, and the RAW thing is just mind bogglingly stupid, but besides that, it’s a pretty nifty piece o’ work. Once I get the ISO thing smoothed out, and figure out what a few of the buttons mean, I should be good to go.

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When Travis and I started figuring out how much money we’d need to buy the kayak and kayak accessories (which turned out to be around $1400), we didn’t anticipate the extra cost of the two camera we wound up buying to augment our kayak experience. However, after taking our Kodak Easyshare out on the boat and being disappointed with it (picture quality was low, especially when we would zoom way out, it was sluggish taking pictures, action shots were pretty much impossible, and the LCD screen and viewfinder were both worthless in direct sunlight), we knew we had to get some other kayak camera before we just threw the Kodak overboard in frustration.

We wound up getting two. The first one is the GoPro Hero.

Boaz, the guy at the College Park, MD REI where we bought the kayak basically sold Travis the camera, even though we waited to buy it. Basically, it’s a small, relatively lightweight (5 oz., with batteries included) still and video camera in a waterproof housing. You can get a variety of different mounts for it (to attach to your wrist, handlebars, helmet, etc.). I’ve seen photos and video from this camera where people have attached it to a kite, skateboard, raft… pretty much anything. Travis thought it would be handy on the kayak, and also may be used in the future for some aerial photography shenanigans he has planned.

The camera has some drawbacks. The settings are kind of confusing to use. You can’t tell if the camera is functioning without looking at the front of it, which kind of sucks if you’re shooting video. The quality of image is kind of crappy, but that’s kind of part of the charm of this camera.

The GoPro Hero, even with its drawbacks, is a fun little camera. The waterproof housing is nice, and will let us get pictures like this without fear of ruining the camera:

You can see in the first pic of the camera that it’s attached to a tree branch. Travis rigged that up in Knox Lake and set it to take photos every 5 seconds. Then we kayaked away from it and it took photos of us. So that’s pretty neat, too.

Even aside from all of its outdoorsy, action capabilities, this camera is just wacky. Did I mention it has a wide angle lens?

It randomly tints the color of the photos different colors, too. Sometimes it goes really warm, other times more blue. It reminds me a lot of using a pinhole camera.

So, the Hero is going to be a fun camera to play with.

The other camera is the Canon Powershot SX1 IS. It just showed up today, so I don’t have a lot of experience with it yet. I’m working my way through the instructional manual. Its zoom capability is pretty damn impressive, though.

And I need to get more used to using the macro feature, but that looks sharp as well.

The main problems I’m having with it so far is the fact that Canon’s RAW format is intensely stupid. Apparently the file format is proprietary, which means that Photoshop can’t open up RAW files shot with this camera. Instead, I have to use Canon’s lame-ass software, which makes me sad. PHotomatix doesn’t seem to read the RAW files correctly, either. Thanks, Canon! Douchebags. Also, I’m having problems on my computer (Travis’ laptop handles this just fine, however) moving pics from the card to the computer, so instead I have to connect the camera to the computer with a cable and download the pics that way, which automatically throws them into a new file folder in the My Pictures area of my computer. Since I have my photos in a different drive, that means now I have pictures on two different drives on the computer, so that’s a pain in the ass.

That’s the bad part. The good part is that it looks like this camera can do a bunch of stuff the Nikon D40 can’t (specifically, shooting video, and doing bracketing photos – yay!). I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it given a few days. Stay tuned.

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It’s been a while. Went to DC, took a bazillion photos, but haven’t developed any yet. Well, that’s a lie – I did develop one roll. One of the rolls of film I took was this bizarroland Polaroid 35mm slide film. I picked it up in Muncie (along with a roll of 35mm Polablue film and the processor) last fall, and finally got up the nerve to test it out. Figured if I was going to take it, I might as well shoot it in DC.

I honestly didn’t expect the film to work at all. First of all, it had expired in January 1997. Secondly, it was bizarroland Polaroid 35mm film. It could only be processed using the special Polaroid AutoProcessor using the film chemical cartridge that was included in the box of film.

Here’s the AutoProcessor loaded up with the film and cartridge:

I had no idea what the hell I was doing. Luckily, Moominsean has plowed ahead way before me. I used his Polachrome: FAIL post as a guide. And what do you know – I actually got images! Holy crap!

I shot this using the Canon AE-1. As you can tell, my lens is filthy. Actually, I’m having some SLR angst right now. The lens and mirror of my Nikon D40 is in desperate need of cleaning (this is what happens when you switch out lenses, I guess, especially when you do it outside on a windy day). My two Canon AE-1s also need cleaning. I think the closest place where I can get this done is in Columbus. I’ll either have to take it there or drop stuff off at Jack’s Camera Shop next time I’m in Muncie. I also have no idea how much this will cost, but it’s got to be done either way. Blerg.

Anyway, I’ve got about 40-odd rolls of film that I need to develop from DC, but I won’t be able to get to it until next week, at the earliest. I’m excited to try out my E-6 kit. I shot a few rolls of Velvia that I’m especially anxious to see.

Travis and I got a kayak while we were on vacation. This has had the side effect of having us reassess our digital photography needs. Specifically, I haven’t been real keen on having a nice telephoto lens until now. We have a decent telephoto lens mounted on one of the Canon AE-1′s…

…but that camera is freaking huge with the lens attached. It’s not great to carry around in the kayak at all. Plus, as much as I like shooting with film, it’s really convenient to shoot digital and have the GPS synced with the exif data.

I don’t really have much of a telephoto lens with the Nikon D40, and I’m not real keen on the idea of taking that out on the kayak either. Don’t want it to drop into the drink! Also, it’s still kind of big. So, what I’ve been taking with me on the kayak has been the Canon Snappy 50, an old 35mm point and shoot I got at Goodwill last year for $1, and our Kodak Easyshare. The Kodak is maybe 5 years old or so, and has a 10x optical zoom (and I think another 3x digital zoom). It’s okay, but after having used the Nikon, the picture quality really blows, especially when I’m zoomed all the way out. It drives me nuts. I find myself doing anything at all possible to smooth out the photo, and even then, the photos still look like ass. It makes me sad.

When I’m relatively close to something, the pictures aren’t horrible.

But far away shots are pretty icky.

And just forget about action shots.

So, now we’re looking at the Canon Powershot SX1 IS. It’s a fixed lens SLR, which is nice, because I don’t need to worry about my mirror getting all dirty (ahem). It will shoot in RAW format, which is pretty much necessary for me, since not having RAW on the Kodak is like not having one of my limbs. It has a 10 megapixel resolution, but more importantly, has a 20x optical zoom (Yay!!). It will also shoot HD video, too, which might be fun to play with. Also, I think it has better macro capabilities than the Nikon, and I loves me some macro.

It does have a few drawbacks, that I can tell – the controls aren’t particularly intuitive, from what I’ve read. Also, it uses AA batteries, like, what? Bleh. I love the rechargeable battery in my Nikon, and I also love the recharging dock with the Kodak. We’ll get rechargeable AA’s for the Powershot, but it just kind of seems like a pain in the butt.

Anyway, I think we’re going to wind up getting the Powershot pretty soon. We have no self control.

To finish, here are some Polaroids I took with the 230 when we were in DC:

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