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April 30, 2006
[ NEW PHOTOS FROM BARBARA MATHESON ]
BARBARA MATHESON does some superb work with her Konica Minolta Z5. This is the second album of Barbara's pictures that we have been honoured to post in the dpexpert Gallery.
Click on the thumbnails below for a reduced view of some of the photos and go to the Gallery to see all the full size images.
[Created with Amara Flash Slideshow software]
Posted by terry at 01:52 PM | Comments (0)
April 26, 2006
[ THE 21ST CENTURY PHOTO ALBUM ]
FROM TIME TO TIME a new internet service is invented that everyone immediately recognises as that wondrous phenomenon, an idea whose time has come.
Google is the obvious example, now so universal in its use that the very name has become a verb. Tucows, the vast library of cheap or free software, is another service that we can’t live without at dpexpert. Now, we add to the select group of internet services that we always knew we wanted but didn’t know how to define: Flickr..
Flickr is a medium for storing and sharing photographs. In the words of the Flickr creators and managers: “We want to help people make their photos available to the people who matter to them. Maybe they want to keep a blog of moments captured on their camera phone, or maybe they want to show off their best pictures to the whole world in a bid for web celebrity. Or maybe they want to securely and privately share photos of their kids with their family across the country. Flickr makes all these things possible and more!”
There are other photo sharing services on the internet but Flickr is special because of the way it organises and displays pictures and also the way that it links common interest groups which might be families, friends or just people taking pictures with a common theme.
A month ago an email landed in dpexpert's inbox from John Koontz in California, inviting us to join in the “30 day photo challenge”. The idea was for every participant to take one photo a day for a month and to post each day’s picture to a Flickr group called “30daychallenge”. This way all the pictures were kept together in a common gallery and the participants could keep an eye on each others’ daily posts.
Using Flickr is free -- the service is now owned by Yahoo. Yahoo have their own photo sharing service but it is feeble compared with Flickr, which is no doubt why they acquired the company. Joining up is simple but there is usually a wait of a few days before an application is approved and photo uploading can start. Flickr proclaims itself to be in beta form but this does not mean that it is defective or bug-ridden. It wouldn’t be surprising if it is always in beta mode because the creators seem to be constantly adding new features.
When a photo is uploaded to Flickr it can be tagged with an agreed handle -- in our case “30daychallenge” -- and assigned to a Group. It can also be sent to a personal “Set” which creates a hyper linked thumbnail grid of all the pictures in that set. When a thumbnail is clicked the image opens in Flickr’s default size of about 500 pixels wide and from there it can be launched at a larger size.
There is an Organize view of sets and groups that makes changing tags, grouping and captions a breeze. In fact the big attraction of Flickr is that it is clever and useful but astonishingly easy to use.
Common interest groups are taking to Flickr like the proverbial duck to water. There is a Melbourne flickrnauts group that not only meets on the internet but also gets together in the flesh from time to time.
Like all really useful internet and computer services Flickr has spawned add-ons. Flickrtoys is a set of applets that make collages, calendars, frames, movie posters and so on from images on Flickr.
At its most basic Flickr is the place to put the pictures of a holiday, the grand children or a family get together and then email pals to let them know the URL for the picture set. Flickr even makes that easy with a form email to let contacts know that the pictures are posted. Just fill in the email addresses and press the button and bingo! Contacts have been created and they go straight to the pictures they have been invited to look at and they can be viewed one at a time or as an uncluttered slideshow. The clean interface is another admirable Flickr attribute.
The uploaded pictures can be marked as either public or private and access to them can be restricted. At its most challenging and entertaining Flickr is a way of making cyber friends and communities in common enterprises. Mind you, when you visit the Flickr site you might ask yourself: Is it possible to have too many photographs of nothing in particular? Perhaps when the profligacy of novelty has passed we will be better at sorting our pictures and throwing away the duds.
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Posted by terry at 05:24 PM | Comments (5)
[ REVIEW—KODAK EASYSHARE V570 camera ]
Price: $699
Rating: 4 stars
The low-down: The Kodak V570 Easyshare 5 megapixel digital camera is “the world’s first dual lens digital camera” according to the company’s publicity.
Why two lenses? It is a solution to a lens design problem – how do you make a small optical zoom lens that will cover the range from a wide angle 23mm to a medium telephoto 117mm without creating optical and mechanical problems that are expensive to solve.
Kodak’s solution is to fit the camera with two lenses – a fixed focal length 23mm f2.8 lens and a 3x zoom lens. The user doesn’t have to switch between these lenses, it is done automatically as the camera is zoomed from wide to tele and back. It seems to work.
[Kodak V570 wide angle without vertical correction]
The dedicated wide angle lens produces sharp pictures which are virtually free of any barrel distortion. The 3x zoom, from 39mm to 114mm (film equivalent) works like any such lens.
The V570 produces Kodak’s typical output of vivid, sharp images, ideal for printing directly on a matching EasyShare printer without any computer futzing.
Like this: The small form of the camera and its rugged construction make it a true pocket camera with a good measure of user control. The little joystick is used for instant exposure compensation (amongst other functions) and that is brilliant. Auto white balance is exceptionally good.
Dislike that: There is no optical viewfinder. The camera reverts to full auto mode every time it is turned on. Preferred settings can be saved in the Custom Scene Mode and easily recalled with a second press of the Scn button, if you remember.
Parting shot: The dual lens system looks like a gimmick, as though Kodak is straining to create some distinguishing feature for the camera. In fact it works well. For anyone planning a trip that will take in the cramped cities of Europe where it is hard to get back far enough to take in an entire building the V570 will be a boon. We like it!
Posted by terry at 04:55 PM | Comments (5)
April 21, 2006
[ SONY MAKES DSLR ANNOUNCEMENT ]
SONY sent out this press release this week setting out, in somewhat cryptic terms, its plans for the range of digital single lens reflex cameras based on the Konica-Minolta models that it acquired when K-M quit the camera business. The good news for photographers with K-M lenses is that they will be compatible with the new Sony cameras.
"SAN DIEGO, April 19, 2006 — Sony has established a new brand name for its digital single lens reflex (D- SLR) cameras that will be launched worldwide this summer.
"Meaning 'beginning' and 'essential' the symbol a (pronounced alpha) embodies the spirit of Sony’s approach to the D- SLR market. Under this sub-brand, Sony will produce a complete camera system of accessories and lenses to enhance the enjoyment of photography.
"The Sony α™ mount system of cameras, lenses and accessories will integrate advanced electromechanical technologies that are key to D- SLR performance, the versatility of the well-established Maxxum® lens mount system, and Sony’s renown in imaging devices and technologies. These include CCD and CMOS imaging sensors, as well as other image processing technologies, in addition to overall product miniaturization. People who have already made investments in many of Konica-Minolta’s lenses and accessories will be able to take full advantage of Sony’s new D- SLR cameras.
“'We are expanding our product portfolio to build upon our leadership position in the digital imaging business,” said James Neal, director of marketing for digital imaging products at Sony Electronics. “ Our approach to D- SLR camera design and engineering will allow us to offer a new high-performance system for today’s digital camera users, as well as welcome the millions of Konica-Minolta owners who have Maxxum interchangeable lenses that are currently in the market.'
"Sony is already handling support and repair service for existing Konica-Minolta digital and film cameras, as well as related lenses and accessories in the U.S. A dedicated call center and strong levels of web support have been established for these customers."
READ MORE FROM SONY HQ HERE...
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Posted by terry at 09:20 AM | Comments (2)
April 05, 2006
[ NIKON COOLPIX P1 wireless camera ]
Price: $799
Rating: not rated–see below
The low-down: The Nikon Coolpix P1 is an 8 megapixel compact digital camera with a 3.5x optical zoom. The P1’s claim to difference is that it has wireless connectivity built in.
The Coolpix P1 looks like Nikon’s excellent Coolpix 5900 but sadly without the optical viewfinder. The 63mm LCD screen does not give a very accurate rendition of what is being viewed, either in preview or review.
On the plus side focus is quick and images are sharp and accurately coloured, except that the auto white balance is easily fooled in open shade. There is a reasonable degree of user control for the P1 and all the buttons and knobs are well laid out and intuitive to use.
The wireless connectivity promises to connect the camera to wireless networked computers and printers and should allow the camera to be controlled from the PC and to automatically transfer captured images.
Like this: The camera is not the smallest compact unit on the market and for a person with adult hands this is a bonus. We like the hand grip on the right of the camera.
Dislike that: We have not given the Nikon Coolpix P1 a rating because we could not get the camera to connect to our wireless network. The software includes a wireless connection setup utility which requires the camera to be connected to the computer via USB. (The connection cannot be via a USB hub but must be into a primary USB socket on the motherboard!) The computer recognised the camera attached and assigned it a drive icon in My Computer but the installation software could not detect the connected camera. dpexpert frittered away two days and several phone calls to the Nikon technicians and nothing would make the setup utility detect the camera.
We stress that this had nothing to do with the wireless connection – we never got that far!
Parting shot: Our conclusion is that the wireless connection ought to work and probably will on some computers, but not on ours. Nikon could not offer an explanation or solution. Our advice to anyone considering buying the P1 is to make sure that you can take it back if you can’t get it to work. We were not impressed.
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THERE IS A SMALL COLLECTION OF NIKON P1 IMAGES IN THE GALLERY >>
Posted by terry at 01:18 PM | Comments (3)