Camera happenings
So my awesome little Canon SD600 finally bit the dust, reaching its eventual demise after a careless misstep on my part, concluding a downward spiral that started for the poor beast last December. I'm a big fan of Canon cameras, both my film SLR's are Canons as is my digital SLR (a Canon D60) and my last 2 point and shoots, an SD200 and an SD600 which both gave me great service throughout my ownership. The SD200 was alas liberated from my possession by an unscrupulous auto repair shop and the SD600 suffered some damage while on an off road motorcycle trip last December, crippling the LCD when in picture taking mode, although it still functioned for movie and review modes; that is, until I inadvertently left it on the floor near my backpack and took a backwards step onto it crushing the LCD. And while the camera still functions, it is a sad shadow of its former self in need of retiring.
Thankfully my brother had an Olympus 720SW that he no longer found a need for, which has now taken a place among my collection. While the 720SW pictures are nowhere near the quality of the Canon cameras, I have been an Olympus fan ever since I had purchased my C3000Z way back when. Though the picture quality is not at the same level as the Canon, they are hardly bad pictures and in the end, the shock and waterproof features of the camera make up for this giving me a durable camera that is overall not bad and at the end of the day, the one that survives will still be there to take the shot that the one that failed would not. Unfortunately the data cable was lost and until the one I ordered arrives, my point and shoot duties have been relegated to using the camera feature of my little VuPoint digital video recorder, a device which excel at video, but leaves much to be desired with regard to its photo capabilities.
Now that the weather is warming up and more waterbound kayak trips are in store, it will be good to have a point and shoot camera that can not only survive a bit of water, but a little knocking around from time to time.
Labels: gear, photography
PermaLink / Posted by: Tony
Etymotic Research ER6i headphones update
Well I've been using my Etymotic Research ER6i Isolator In-Ear Earphones for a few weeks now and I can report back with some longer term opinions. First off, as far as sound suppression goes, they work just as well as earplugs at keeping the wind and road noise out and as long as you don't have the music cranked, you'll hear what's going on around you just fine.
Now with regard to sound quality, it is absolutely top notch. Because outside sounds are essentially eliminated, you get clean, clear audio with crisp highs and nice deep lows. The earphones themselves fit comfortably into the ear canal and the rubber baffle piece slips off with ease for cleaning under warm water. And while inserting them into the ear is as easy and straightforward as inserting earplugs, a fairly obvious design flaw however, is that no provision is made for getting them back out, with specific warning to not remove them by pulling on the cord. Once inserted into the ear, they go in deep enough that you cannot realistically grab the body of the headphones to pull them out. I have discovered a little trick however, by using the end of my fingernail I grab the edge of the rubber plug and I'm able to extract the headphone with some downward motion. I did however read one user's solution, which was to make a loop from some fishing line to hook over the body of the plug, so they can be removed by simply pulling on the line, something which I will employ soon.
Otherwise they are relatively comfortable as long as they are not inadvertently inserted too deeply and they provide excellent sound. While somewhat expensive for headphones at $75, they prove their worth on the first ride.
Labels: fzr600, gear, opinion, xt225
PermaLink / Posted by: Tony
NIN delivers
Get the awesome new album "The Slip" for free here. Hard hitting tunes as well as some of the softer overtones from Ghosts, this album blends it all together offering some of the two styles but clearly mixed in a way that everything is connected from start to finish.
You've got to love a guy like Trent Reznor, who said on his website: "Thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years - this one’s on me." That is just damn cool.
When I saw NIN at the Oakland Arena on the With Teeth tour they put on one hell of a show, now that the US tour dates are up, I can't wait to go back.
Labels: music, opinion
PermaLink / Posted by: Tony
Thankfully my brother had an Olympus 720SW that he no longer found a need for, which has now taken a place among my collection. While the 720SW pictures are nowhere near the quality of the Canon cameras, I have been an Olympus fan ever since I had purchased my C3000Z way back when. Though the picture quality is not at the same level as the Canon, they are hardly bad pictures and in the end, the shock and waterproof features of the camera make up for this giving me a durable camera that is overall not bad and at the end of the day, the one that survives will still be there to take the shot that the one that failed would not. Unfortunately the data cable was lost and until the one I ordered arrives, my point and shoot duties have been relegated to using the camera feature of my little VuPoint digital video recorder, a device which excel at video, but leaves much to be desired with regard to its photo capabilities.
