Haze from forest fires in Sumatra, Indonesia.
A sudden reminder
Just today I was reminded of my Sony DSC-V1 camera when messing around with the Nikon V1. Some memories came back about the times when I still had the Sony V1.
*Image from the web
The Sony V1 was also a nice chunky camera. I loved the Zeiss lens that made sharp images with punchy colours, the speedy performance, great handling with all the buttons and dials and I especially loved the IR/NightShot mode with its own IR illuminator. Basically I had a blast using this little camera.
Alas, it is now somewhere at the bottom of the Chao Phraya outside of Bangkok.
And on a side note..
I probably have come to the end of my search for the D70 replacement. And the camera is: Nikon 1 V1. It came as a surprise to me too! It was on the sidelines of selection but due to the fact that I saw the discounted price on it, weighed the possibility of me working WITH all the confirmed, tested, reported, justified real life usage findings of its drawbacks and my personal preferences thrown into the equation, it still came up tops with many favourable traits that raised it to the top of my pick list.
Here’s my train of thought:
1” sensor, ISO1600 performance (clarity & colour), AF speed, deep and fast clearing RAW buffer, 5fps frame rate, tiny affordable fast lenses at 10mm f/2.8, 32mm f/1.2, 18.5mm f/1.8, FT adaptor to fit DX and FX lenses, sums it up for me.
I can live with not having the expensive 6.7-13mm/3.5-5.6, bigger sensors, better high ISO performance, better handling and control layout and standard hotshoe that some other cameras out there have. Most of all, I can live with spending A LOT less for the V1 for what it can do, which is replace my pair of D70. Heck I might end up with a pair of V1 if it is called for. At S$360 for the V1+10/2.8 kit, it’s a no brainer.
Update 16 June 2013, 10.30pm.
Well apparently the price I saw wasn’t correct :( Instead of S$360, it’s S$460 for the V1+10/2.8 kit. I still bought it despite the S$100 difference. Do I have to justify the purchase? I think not :)
Initial thoughts?
The kit definitely looks bigger in the shop. Amongst the other cameras, it’s kind of big. Back home, it suddenly looks and feels tiny. Other than that, there are no surprises, only because I’ve fondled it at a shop before. Plus, I’ve done my research, thanks to the ever informative Internet forums and blogs (sans the nonsense useless stuff of course).
In the coming days I will be gathering stuff to address some of the loose ends of this camera. Namely the easy to fall off accessory port cover. I will also be looking out for anyone selling their FT1 adaptor for cheaps. Call me a cheapskate, but I still bought a new camera despite people selling their “like new” decked out kits. For one, I don’t trust people who buy a camera and then selling it off a week later.
I will be sharing how I shoot the camera when I get a chance to actually shoot the camera. Till then.
Rating camera reviews
I think it would be nice to have a crowd rating system on camera reviews because in the course of the last few weeks that I have been checking out reviews online and going down to the camera store to fondle the cameras, I find that some of the reviews I’ve read were completely off the mark. Especially those reviews whom the writer never even got to touch the cameras and put them through its paces for even a single moment. I find that highly irresponsible for people to pass their thoughts out as actual reviews and comparisons.
Of course, I’m all against regulation of the internet, I value the freedom for people to put up anything they like on the internet, and I think we netizens can self-regulate the information that it contains.
I’ll see what I can do. Probably start a blog about camera review articles. I’ll need a reasonable consistent framework in which to write and rate articles, otherwise it will be just another hodge podge effort.
Interesting Existence
I was prompted about the existence of stinky tofu in Singapore by a friend who was about to come for a visit, in conjunction with the “Great Singapore Sale”. I put it in quotes because I have to qualify it, it’s not that great a sale anyways, that’s just the title of the event, quite misleading. Anyways, yes, after some Googling I found a reference to this:
Mini Star Fermented Beancurd - Yes fermented beancurd is a.k.a. stinky tofu :)
And they have 3 variety of stinky tofu dish:
Top left: sliced stinky tofu
Top right: stinky tofu cubes
Bottom: stinky tofu cubes in spicy sauce
Alas, they only have the fried variety. None of them is particularly stinky. The most stinky is the stinky tofu cubes (on top right), and that’s only when you actually bite into it that you come to conclude “yeah, it’s stinky tofu”. It would have been nice if they had steamed stinky tofu.
For those who want to venture a dare or miss eating stinky tofu, the address of Mini Star Fermented Beancurd is at:
Monsters!!!
*All images taken from somewhere on the internet
I still haven’t got a chance to get a hands-on feel of the G1X * but while reading up on all the reviews and field tests reported on the internet, it suddenly reminded me about this other camera from Canon that kind of had the same fate:
Yeah, the Canon T90 *. Basically the T90 is a half-way camera, when Canon was at the very end of their FD lens mount era and about to transition into the EF lens mount. So it seems to me that the G1X is at the very end of the G series dynasty and is about to transition into something else. I don’t know, maybe it will be an EOS G series. Just like the T90 which has an identity crisis, neither fully mechanical nor fully electronic, neither satisfying the all-manual, nor the full-automation aficionados. The G1X also has an identity crisis, neither compact in design nor EOS in performance and flexibility. As such it couldn’t satisfy the G compact totters looking for EOS performance, nor the EOS performance people looking for a G compact. That’s what I see in many of the reviews.
And if you’re going to say EOS M, please, that’s like the G1X ver.2.0.
Having the EOS designation on it feels like a joke and is making a mockery of the people who follow the Canon brand.
These two are just monsters, abominations, should never have existed, pot shots in the dark.
In search of the D70 replacement
I haven’t been looking at camera reviews in quite a long while now. I also haven’t been actively practicing photography in this long while. Anyhows, recently I was engaged in doing some photography work. In taking up the tasks I came to a moment when I felt that my coming to a decade old Nikon D70 is finally beginning to show its age. Mind you it is still perfectly capable in completing the tasks, but it struck me, the batteries aren’t as good as they used to be and replacements are not handily available these days.
So, after completing the tasks, I set about looking for a more compact camera that I can get to replace my pair of D70 cameras.
The criteria set out were simple:
- As good or better I.Q. than the D70 at all ISO from base to 1600.
- Less cumbersome than a D70 with Tamron 17-50/2.8 to lug around.
- Adequately speedy AutoFocus.
- Adequately speedy buffer clearance of RAW.
- Has hotshoe (preferably).
- Wide angle to short telephoto zoom range. (28mm to 112mm is about right).
- Reasonably fast lens throughout the zoom range. (f2.8 to f4 is still reasonable).
- Reasonably speedy operation for changing settings.
And these were the short listed (in no particular order of preference as I’m still considering each):
- FujiFilm X10 and X20
- Sony RX100
- Canon G1X
- Pentax MX-1
Notice that I didn’t pick any of the interchangeable lens compact system cameras. Although they will surely hammer the above cameras upside down in every way, I just don’t need to have interchangeable lenses. One of my D70 has an AFS 24-85/3.5-4.5 and the other has a Tamron 17-50/2.8 more or less permanently on them. When I shoot, I pick either one depending on the occasion. I don’t do sports and that complicates things a fair bit as it qualifies a lot more cameras for consideration.
I’ve been to my neighbourhood camera store a few times. Messing with all of the cameras in the list except for the G1X which they don’t have any in stock. Truth be told, I haven’t compared their I.Q. to the D70, but I have been scouring the web for samples and all seem quite up to the challenge. That’s quite an achievement for small sensors.
So? I haven’t decided. I really liked the RX100 and MX-1, but they don’t have a hotshoe. I felt that the X10 and X20 seems a bit lacking in I.Q. The Canon G1X, I really have to try out and know for myself if the AF is really that mollusky. The price of the RX100 is slightly above what I’d pay for a compact without a hotshoe but that doesn’t mean it cannot make a good case for itself still. Everything else about it is better than the rest.
Ya, it’s tough. If not for the declining supply of batteries, I wouldn’t be in this situation. Time will tell what ends up in my collection :)
Photography quick tip: ALWAYS check the histogram. If you have live histogram, all the better, otherwise, always ALWAYS chimp the histogram because there is no better way to confirm that the exposure is right.
By right, I mean expose to the right, get your histogram as near to the right as possible without sticking there. That’s when you know your highlights are not blown, your shadows are not ‘stuck’ and most of the image is within the dynamic range available from the sensor. After that you can post process to degrade the image however you like.
Sometimes I need to remind myself of the feeling of using a DSLR, my trusty D70 from donkey years ago. As with all things digital, there is no degradation of quality, perhaps the bits of mould growing on the lens may have affected the quality somewhat, but for the most part, after digitally degrading the file (iPhoto + Photoshop), it’s just fine.
Adventure
Adventure is to go where you’ve never been to. No picking, no choosing. Just go and be enchanted. Such is the freedom that has been robbed from us through economy, finance and government. Work, money, immigration legislations, are all against everyone to travel. When before all these, our ancestors travel a world bounded only by their imaginations.
What is good about Windows 8?
When writers/reviewers write about Intel based tablets that run Windows 8, they would purposely mention that it’s not Windows 8 RT and cite that it’s GOOD because of that.
My question is, WHY IS IT GOOD?
To me, it’s NOT GOOD, and here’s why.
Windows 8 is NOT GOOD. The now called Modern UI is a slap on software while the old desktop interface is crippled. Settings are all over the place, polarised between the new and old UI. This is highly disruptive to productivity in every way. Some apps work full screen, some apps throw you back to the desktop. So what’s good with that? Not to mention that Windows 8 is bloated with probably 80% of binaries you never use. If you can get a full desktop linux that supports all your hardware, software, runs fast, secure and reliably in under 200MB, why can’t Windows do that too?
Instead, this is the minimum requirement stated in Microsoft’s own website:
Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with support for PAE, NX, and SSE2 (more info)
RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver
Did I see 16GB and 20GB hard disk space listed there? Oh yes I did! What’s an OS doing with 16GB of your disk space?
And frankly, what general computing task is there that you do in Windows 8 that you cannot possibly do with Windows XP or Windows 7 or Windows RT or OSX or iOS or Android or Linux? Editing Office documents? Editing photos and videos? Mixing sound tracks? Reading news? Watching movies? Playing fun and addictive games? While it may not be the same, is it less GOOD? Of course NOT!
So it begs to be asked, what is good about Windows 8? You know my answer, NOTHING.
Galaxy Crap4 - Initial Thoughts [part 2]
Go to [part 1] for all the stuff you missed!
Eat more, no eat less, no eat more, no work out more, you can do it, one more, no, less! You’re just hopelessly unhealthy, I give up.
Lomofy everything you see on your screen. Turn everyone green like the Hulk, or blue like Smurfs, the choice is yous!
Yes, through your ears I’m sure.
And there you have it! My satirical look at the brand new Samsung Galaxy Crap4 software highlights.
But wait! Where is the kitchen sink? Where is the chef? Where is the toilet next to the kitchen sink? What? The screen is not big enough to accommodate that? Are you sure? It’s got an Exynos5 Octa-core processor and 32GB of storage, why can’t it fit a couch in there too? Oh yes, it’s got perpetual power I’m sure. Microsoft can do it, why can’t you?
