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May 31, 2006

[ PANASONIC DMC-TZ1 - Review ]

Price: $660

Rating: 3.5 stars

The low-down: The Panasonic DMC-TZ1 is a 5 megapixel compact camera with a 10x Leica optical zoom with image stabilisation. The focal length range of the lens is 35 to 350mm in film terms.

Panasonic boast that the TZ1 is a camera with “high sensitivity mode” with ISO settings up to 1600. On test we found that noise is obvious with visible “banding” in shadow areas at ISO 800. However, in correctly exposed areas noise is not a problem.

Exposure, white balance and focus are all good. The TZ1 is more responsive and therefore more pleasant to use than Panasonic’s other super zooms. We achieved better image results with the TZ1 than with the more expensive FZ30.

The extreme zoom range in the compact body is accomplished with folded optics and the results are impressive. Construction quality is excellent and the LCD screen is large, bright and reasonably visible in most light. There is no optical viewfinder.

Like this: The Leica lens is optically excellent with effective vibration reduction. Resolution is very good for a 5 megapixel camera. Skin tones at low ISO speeds are especially agreeable. Controls are logical and well placed. The TZ1 is a pleasant camera in the hand.

Dislike that: The picture noise at medium to high ISO settings is characteristic of Panasonic cameras. The “high sensitivity mode” at ISO1600 has aggressive noise reduction activated and it not only removes noise but in the process eliminates surface detail making skin, for instance, look like plastic.

Parting shot: The Panasonic DMC-TZ1 is a good camera that boasts of more than it can deliver. The lens, image stabilisation and useability are very good and the zoom range is a marvel in such a compact body. In real life ISO200 must be regarded as its top speed. If you can live with that the TZ1 is a camera worth considering particularly considering the competitive price.

Posted by terry at 11:50 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

[ WANT A GOOD PRINTER? BUY TWO! ]

dpexpert has had a few requests for advice on printers in the past couple of weeks, causing us to give the matter some serious thought.

Rule number one for printer purchasing is that you get what you pay for. So, for instance, a photo printer that does nothing but produce prints may be the same price as a multifunction printer but common sense tells you that that the combined printer/scanner/copier won’t produce prints of the same quality as the dedicated photo printer.

The multi-function units look like real bargains when compared with the single purpose printers, and they can be very good, but if your intention is to produce the best quality prints from your digital files then the photo printer is the way to go.

The price of a printer is also related to the size of print that it can produce. For domestic use printers start from small units that produce 10cm by 15cm prints, the standard photo lab size. Some of these, such as the excellent Epson Picturemate 500, produce stunning prints. But if you want something bigger then you have to choose between A4 and A3 or A3+ machines. (A3+ produces prints 13 inches by 19 inches -- pardon the imperial measurements but that is the way these printers and paper are described.)

Both Canon and Epson produce photo printers in these sizes. Canon printers have a slight edge in sharpness and colour accuracy, Epson printers produce longer lasting prints. All the best inkjet photo printers use a lot of cartridges and they are expensive to run. dpexpert's Canon i9950 printer has 8 individual cartridges and they cost about $22 each in most shops. Replacing any or all of these cartridges really hurts so some restraint is called for in their use.

Generally speaking ink cartridges are cheaper at the computer swap meets advertised every week in the Green Guide. We have seen the Canon units for as little as $16, but even at that price a full set can make the credit card squirm. Third party inks and ink refills have their advocates but dpexpert's experience with these substitutes has been bad. Very bad! We have one totally wrecked printer due to print head clogging. On the basis of this instructive experience our advice is to avoid third party inks even though the price is attractive.

Some years ago we came to the conclusion that the only way to avoid printer-induced bankruptcy was to buy two printers. This may sound mad, but consider this.

Inkjet cartridges are expensive and their capacity is miniscule. If a top quality inkjet is used for everyday printing of documents, letters etc the cartridges, particularly the black, will require frequent replacement. Epson claim that their Stylus Photo 800, an outstanding 8 cartridge printer, will produce 400 pages of 5 per cent coverage from a set of inks. In an ideal world this might be true, but in any case a cartridge replacement set will cost about $144 at current street prices. Compare this with a laser printer, such as the Canon LB3000 which has a street price of about $160 and can produce 2500 pages of 5 per cent coverage from a single toner cartridge. A replacement toner cartridge costs about $120 (so the printer is costing $40!) for the genuine Canon item and considerably less for the “brown box” alternative. In this case we have had no problems with third party toners.

It is obvious that while buying two printers might seem counter intuitive if your aim is to save money this is one time when common sense makes no sense at all. The laser is cheaper and produces better type output on plain paper than the inkjet which is optimised for expensive photo paper. The LB3000 is also a fast printer, much quicker than any inkjet unit.

All printers these days connect via USB so there is no problem in having more than one. Switching between printers is done easily in the software being used whether its Word or Photoshop or Thunderbird.

Our work practice is to reserve the inkjet printer for printing high quality images from digital sources. For the dogsbody, high volume work the little Canon LB3000 is the printer of choice.

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Posted by terry at 11:44 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

May 30, 2006

[ A STUDIO FOR 20 BUCKS–an update ]

STOP PRESS -- er Stop Blog?

BAD NEWS! THE $10 SPECIALS ARE SOLD OUT. BUT THE LAMPS ARE STILL A BARGAIN AT THE CATALOGUE PRICE OF $28.87. A set of studio lights for under $60 AUD is not to be sneezed at.

It seems that the one-in-a-lifetime bargain was only at one Bunnings store where they had a pile of old stock. Apologies to any visitors who were sent on a wild goose chase.

Anyway, here's a pic taken with the $20 light rig ... even at $60 it would be a bargain.

CAN THIS BE POSSIBLE? Two 500 watt double head lamps on a well-made telescoping stand for $10? [Australian dollars, that is.] Which means four 500 watt halogen lamps on two stands for $20.

Right now -- but you might have to be quick about it -- Bunnings have these light stands/lamps on special. The $10 per lamp array includes two spare globes.

As the man in the shop says: "Strewth mate, you can't get a broom handle for 10 bucks. How do they do it?"

Well, we know the answer to that, don't we? They make them in China.

If you do take this advice and buy some lights use the Forum to let us know how they work.

Posted by terry at 02:11 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

May 23, 2006

[ THE FORUM IS BACK! ]

THE dpexpert FORUM is operating again.

Let's turn it into a regular exchange market for information and ideas.

To defeat the evil spamsters we have had to make the registration process a bit tedious for which we apologise. We had to close down the Forum some months ago when we were overwhelmed with disgusting spam and there is no way to protect ourselves other than through registration and log-in procedures that must be done by humans -- at least that is the theory.

At the moment the Forum is a work in progress and we will be adding categories as quickly as we can, so keep coming back.

TL

Posted by terry at 11:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 12, 2006

[ ACCESSORIES FOR THE WELL-DRESSED DIGISNAPPER ]

dpexpert is frequently asked what camera or what printer a newcomer to digital photography should buy, but Barry is the first person ever to ask: “how can novices like me benefit from accessories offered by the camera manufacturers? Should I buy the lens adapter hood set, teleconverter and wide angle converter for my Canon S2IS? I want to know if spending half the price of a new camera would be money well spent."

Good question. Most camera makers offer accessory lenses for some of their cameras and the superzooms, like Barry’s, can all be fitted out with optional focal length extenders.

Barry’s Canon S2IS has been superseded (isn’t that always the way?) by the S3IS which is fundamentally the same excellent camera with another million pixels. The Canon is one of the superzooms -- that is 12x zooms with a focal length range of 36–432mm film equivalent -- that we really like so we asked for the S3IS with both the wide and tele extenders for testing.

First, the cost. The TC-DC58B tele extender is $200, as is the WC-DC58A wide extender. The Lens hood adapter, which is essential in order to mount the extenders, is another $70. It all adds up to more than half the camera price of $800. [All in Australian dollars]

Second, the optical quality. Focal length extenders once had a poor reputation, which is one reason that we have not reviewed them here. However it is a pleasure to report that the Canon optics (and we assume the Sony, Panasonic, Olympus etc add-on lenses are of the same quality) are excellent. Both the tele and wide extenders are sharp as a tack and do not reduce contrast. Given that the tele add-on is taking the maximum focal length to 650mm this is impressive.

[ Photo taken with TC-DC58B telephoto converter ]

There is one small problem with using the lens at the 650mm maximum -- it can be hard to find the subject! Because superzooms all have electronic viewfinders and LCD screens finding and tracking a subject in bright light is not easy. The LCD is useless in daylight and the EVF doesn’t give enough information to easily locate the subject. Birds and small children have usually disappeared before you can pin them down. Need we say it again, these cameras are fun but they are not SLRs.

The wide angle add-on shortens the focal length to about 27mm, which is a fairly modest gain over 36mm. The lens is sharp but there is noticeable barrel distortion that would not be acceptable in an interchangeable SLR lens. On the other hand this one is only a fraction of the price of decent SLR optics.

[ Photo taken with WC-DC58A wide angle converter lens ]

When the supplementary lenses are used with the Canon a setting has to be changed in the Menu to match the camera to the extender in use. Presumably this menu setting changes some of the shooting parameters to optimise the image quality.

Which brings us to useability. Fitting and using the supplementary lenses is no spur-of-the-moment affair. First a cosmetic ring has to be removed from the front of the lens, then the adapter, which comes as part of the lens hood not as part of a lens, locks into the main lens barrel. Then the add-on lens is screwed into the adapter and the Menu settings have to be changed. Given that most people who buy these superzooms have a single lens reflex phobia, on the grounds that they are too complicated and demand a bag full of bits and pieces to work, the add-on lenses are starting to look like a clumsy alternative to a better camera.

So what should we advise Barry? First, the lenses are excellent value for money and their image quality is good. Second, don’t forget that your camera already has a zoom range up to 432mm which is long by 35mm standards. Most SLR owners don’t have a lens that long in their bag. Do you really need 650mm?

The wide angle extender might be more useful, particularly for the tourist. However the distortion might be annoying.

The famous bottom line: if you have a use for the extenders then they are worth the money.

[ Note on the photos: The tiger and orang utan were taken with the camera mounted on a tripod and the lens plus extender at full extension. The church photo was hand-held at 1/6 second! The image stabilisation on the Canon really works! The tiger and orang utan photos have had no post-camera processing other than resizing. The church photo has had converging verticals corrected in PhotoShop, plus some lightening in the shadows.]

Posted by terry at 06:26 AM | Comments (3)

May 01, 2006

[ AMARA FLASH SLIDESHOW CREATOR ]

Price: US$30 (from www.amarasoftware.com)

Rating: 4.5

The low-down: The Amara Flash Slideshow Creator is a small application that takes the tedium out of creating slideshows to replay with the Adobe (Macromedia) Flash player, which most people already have installed linked to their web browser.

Creating a slideshow using Flash 8 is quite difficult and expensive. Amara reduces the process to its simplest form. Naturally a degree of creative user control is removed, but that won’t worry most people.

The steps in creating a slideshow are: prepare the pictures in the right size, resolution and degree of compression; drag and drop them into Amara Slideshow Creator; choose transitions (fade, zoom etc); select the type of show -- automated or controlled with navigation buttons or thumbnails; add sound (mp3 files) and generate the output file.

The created Flash file can be previewed in a web browser and, when all is as it should be, saved. (There is a demo version that neither previews nor saves, but it does give an idea of how the program works.)

HTML code is generated in the saving process and that can be copied to the clipboard and pasted into a web page file. The *.swf file is also stand alone and can be emailed and run in the Flash 8 player.

Like this: The sheer simplicity of Amara Slideshow Creator makes it a winner. And an immense amount of fun.

Dislike that: There is nothing to dislike in this software but it is easy to create a wish list for future development. Some of the parameter settings are obscure, using terms familiar to programmers but not to human beings. There are a couple of areas in which aesthetics can be improved. The developer is open to suggestions.

Parting shot: Menno Berndsen is the CEO and developer of Amara software. After ten years living in the Orient and a short time back home in Holland Menno has now settled in Australia. He came here on holiday, liked the climate, the European culture and the stuff in the supermarket and came back permanently! He does his software development with partners in Belgium and the Netherlands. His Amara Flash Slideshow creator is highly recommended.

[The Flash file for this sample is 315KB which will load slowly on a dial-up connection. The speed of slide change is also affected by the configuration of the computer on which it is displayed.]

[ AMARA can be purchased online and costs U$29.95 ]

Posted by terry at 04:04 PM | Comments (3)