Comments on: Three Topical Thoughts: Cameras http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/1483-Three-Topical-Thoughts-Cameras Helping you to get the most out of modern technology and communications since 2004. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:48:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Xeen http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/1483-Three-Topical-Thoughts-Cameras/comment-page-1#comment-942 Xeen Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-942 <p>My camera is quite old (5 years or so) and doesn't have standard batteries, but a quite good mechanism to remove it. It can be done with one hand blidnly if done often enough, will surely turn everything that uses power off without contracting the lens. Startup time is the time it needs to start up the software (5 years old!) plus a bit to 'reset' the lenses. If your camera contracts the lenses though, this would quite eat up your earnings :) <br /></p> My camera is quite old (5 years or so) and doesn’t have standard batteries, but a quite good mechanism to remove it. It can be done with one hand blidnly if done often enough, will surely turn everything that uses power off without contracting the lens. Startup time is the time it needs to start up the software (5 years old!) plus a bit to ‘reset’ the lenses. If your camera contracts the lenses though, this would quite eat up your earnings :)

]]> By: Tim http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/1483-Three-Topical-Thoughts-Cameras/comment-page-1#comment-1000 Tim Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-1000 a) Count of megapixels is not the be-all and end-all. While I wouldn't put battery-standardization high up the priority pile, you only need enough pixels for the maximum size print you'll require at, say, 300dpi (around 6-8MPel including a bit of cropping). What matters is that those pixels are of highly accurate colours (as distinct from, for example, low-level noise). b) I've used nikon and olympus dSLRs with their custom batteries. I get around a month's shooting (most weekend afternoons) out of one charge. By way of comparison, when I had a Sigma SD9 ("oh look! AA batteries, standard, how cool") I only got a couple of hours, tops. c) Make it turn the screen off about 5-10s after shooting, and the whole thing off maybe 2mins afterwards. If you must repeat a shot (why?) then half-tap the shutter button to keep it alive. d) There's nothing big or clever in having huge numbers of jpegs, of which none demonstrate any care or attention (and therefore *FAIL* to "capture the moment" of being there as well). Keep the dratted thing turned off. Look where you're walking. Work out what objects you want, where, in the scene, walk don't run, get there. Set the zoom and position cropping, etc. When the light is right, turn it on, set the exposure and shoot. Check the LCD preview if you must, and you'll probably find it worthwhile turning the whole thing off for a few minutes until the next *decent* shot turns up. e) Having alluded to it as a `dratted thing' once, turn all noises and beeps *off* too. Avoids being a nuisance *and* saves batteries! ;) a) Count of megapixels is not the be-all and end-all. While I wouldn’t put battery-standardization high up the priority pile, you only need enough pixels for the maximum size print you’ll require at, say, 300dpi (around 6-8MPel including a bit of cropping). What matters is that those pixels are of highly accurate colours (as distinct from, for example, low-level noise).

b) I’ve used nikon and olympus dSLRs with their custom batteries. I get around a month’s shooting (most weekend afternoons) out of one charge. By way of comparison, when I had a Sigma SD9 (“oh look! AA batteries, standard, how cool”) I only got a couple of hours, tops.

c) Make it turn the screen off about 5-10s after shooting, and the whole thing off maybe 2mins afterwards. If you must repeat a shot (why?) then half-tap the shutter button to keep it alive.

d) There’s nothing big or clever in having huge numbers of jpegs, of which none demonstrate any care or attention (and therefore *FAIL* to “capture the moment” of being there as well). Keep the dratted thing turned off. Look where you’re walking. Work out what objects you want, where, in the scene, walk don’t run, get there. Set the zoom and position cropping, etc. When the light is right, turn it on, set the exposure and shoot. Check the LCD preview if you must, and you’ll probably find it worthwhile turning the whole thing off for a few minutes until the next *decent* shot turns up.

e) Having alluded to it as a `dratted thing’ once, turn all noises and beeps *off* too. Avoids being a nuisance *and* saves batteries! ;)

]]>