Photography

I’ve been an amateur shutterbug for a long time. This tag is primarily for posts about photography and the associated tech.

More megapixels isn’t necessarily better quality

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Something I need to keep in mind while continuing my search to replace my digital camera: 8 megapixels isn’t always better than 5.

With spring has come the release of several new 8 megapixel “prosumer” digital cameras. These new “digicams” sport the latest optics, metering, focusing systems and of course, sensor resolution. I would contend, however that in many cases the limitations imposed by capturing 8 million pixels on a 2/3″ size sensor negate the assumed advantages of increased pixel output. There just might be more to look for when selecting your next camera than the number of megapixels listed in the specifications.

Don’t get me wrong, I find that “8.0 megapixel” stamp on the front of the camera as enticing as any other high-tech craving camera connoisseur. The problem lies not in the number of pixels recorded, but in the quality of those pixels. Now, if I am to make any sort of logical argument that labels these new cameras as having “low-quality” pixels, I must provide a concrete example of “high-quality” pixels for direct comparison. Thus, I introduce into the argument the current crop of digital single lens reflex (DSLR) cameras.

The Slashdot discussion that I picked this up from has a lot of good discussion buried in it too, including this fun little tidbit: the cameras on the Mars rovers that have been sending back all those gorgeous, ultra-high-resolution digital photographs?

One megapixel.

NASA’s Spirit Rover is providing a lesson to aspiring digital photographers: Spend your money on the lens, not the pixels.

Anyone who has ever agonized over whether to buy a 3-megapixel or 4-megapixel digital camera might be surprised to learn that Spirit’s stunningly detailed images of Mars are made with a 1-megapixel model, a palm-sized 9-ounce marvel that would be coveted in any geek’s shirt pocket.

Spirit’s images are IMAX quality, mission managers say.

Even more amazing, at the end of that article comes the little tidbit that the sensor in the Hubble telescope is a whopping .8 megapixels — only 800 by 800 pixels.

Of course, if I could get a portable camera with the Hubble’s optics attached to it, I probably wouldn’t need all those extra megapixels either….

Camera!

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I’ve got a camera!

Okay…it’s a loaner, not my own, but what a loaner! Rick got ahold of me yesterday morning via IM and mentioned that since he wasn’t using his camera often at all, he wouldn’t have a problem loaning it to me so that I’d have something to use while I saved for one of my own. I certainly wasn’t going to turn down that offer, and he brought it over tonight after I got home from work.

It’s a few years old, but not bad in the least (it sold for \$1300 when it came out) — an Olympus C-2500L 2.5 megapixel DSLR, and from the reviews (Steve’s Digicams, Digital Camera Resource Page, DPReview, Imaging Resource), appears to be a very well-regarded camera.

Rick said I can use it for as long as I need to while I’m saving up for one of my own, so while I dig myself out of my financial woes and decide which way to go on replacing the camera I lost, I can at least keep indulging my shutterbug tendencies. Rock on!

iTunes: “Guilty” by Klute from the album Cyber Core Compilation (1994, 4:08).

The Untitled Project

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A few weeks ago, as I was standing in downtown Seattle waiting for my bus to work, I started looking around at all the logos, advertising, and slogans plastered all over the city. From the sides of delivery vans to shop windows, from faded paint on old brick buildings to garish posters hurriedly tacked onto construction barriers, advertising was everywhere.

Suddenly, I started wondering what the city would look like if all of those logos were removed.

And the word “PROJECT” flashed before my eyes…

My goal at that point was to wander through the city, taking random pictures, then come home, take them into Photoshop, and remove every logo, every piece of identifiable advertising, leaving only the “empty” buildings, automobiles, and walls. It seemed like a really interesting idea.

Then two things happened.

First, and most importantly, I lost my camera. Kind of makes it difficult to work on a photography project.

Secondly — someone else beat me to the idea.

The Untitled Project is a series of photographs of urban settings accompanied by a graphical text layout. The photographs have been digitally stripped of all traces of textual information. The text pieces show the removed text in the approximate location and font as it was found in the photograph.

Well, damn. Even if I didn’t get my chance to do it, and even if it’s a slightly different take on the idea, it’s a fascinating look at an ad-free (or at least text-free) world.

(via Kottke)

iTunes: “God is an Astronaut (Hot Tracks)” by Blunt Funkers from the album Roadkill! 2.13 (1995, 6:06).

WüdiVisions

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Since all the recent babbling about cameras (and the lack thereof) has had photography back on my brain recently (not to mention rebuilding my iPhoto library), I’ve spent the night resurrecting my WüdiVisions photoblog. It’s still a bit sparse at the moment — all of eight photos posted so far — but one has to start somewhere, right? It’ll grow over the coming days, weeks, and months, I’m sure. In the meantime, enjoy what little is there!

Design-wise, as that’s not one of my stronger points, I just went for slightly altering my current design for Eclecticism a bit to fit the format of a photoblog. I’m not sure I’m entirely happy with it, but it’ll do for the moment, and I wanted to get something up before another PROJECT fell into my lap.

I’m most proud of the archive pages — though if someone who can interpret CSS better than I can is able to figure out why the thumbnail icons on the category pages have underlines while the icons on the main archive page do not (which is how I’d prefer it), I’d really appreciate it. As far as I can tell, they should be displaying identically, but that doesn’t seem to be the case….

iTunes: “Brandenburg Concerto for Violin in G Major, No.4, BWV1049, III. Presto” by Rees, Jonathan/Scottish Ensemble from the album Bach: Brandenburg Concertos, Violin Concertos (1998, 5:03).

Size Matters

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This is actually fairly amusing now that I stop to think about it, but I think I’ve finally figured out why, no matter how good they are or how many features today’s pocket-size digital cameras have, I still can’t ever stop lusting after the bigger, fancier (more expensive) cameras that are out there.

When I was a kid, I had one of the little, flat, Kodak 110 film cameras. Simple, portable, took decent pictures, and was cheap enough to entrust to a kid without having to worry about it too much. Meanwhile, dad had a nice SLR of some kind. When dad’s camera eventually died, I’d spend hours playing with it, and even looked into getting it repaired at one point when I was in high school (though at that time, the repairs were far out of my budget).

When I graduated from high school, I got a camera as a present from my grandparents. While it wasn’t an SLR, it was the film equivalent of today’s high-end digital cameras — it could work quite well as a point-and-shoot style, but it also had a number of more manual controls, a good zoom lens, and had the size, heft, and weight of what I associated with a “real” camera. That camera lasted me for a good few years, until it disappeared (along with a few other belongings of mine) when I had to kick out a roommate.

Now, of course, that distinction between small “kid” cameras and large “adult” cameras is firmly ingrained in my head. I see people like Cory Doctorow geeking out about their ultra-tiny cameras, and while I know that they’re quite right, and these are damn cool cameras, and they’re worth every penny…I just can’t get over feeling like they’re toys. It’s silly, stupid, and outmoded thinking…and I’m stuck with it.

Well, not entirely stuck. At least I recognize my problem (that’s one of the twelve steps, right?). And if all goes well, come payday, I’ll be getting a tiny (but very full-featured) camera of my very own.

It’s a start, right?

iTunes: “Justify My Love (Hip Hop)” by Madonna from the album Justify My Love (1990, 6:35).

Narrowing the field

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Another camera post, feel free to ignore it if you’re not interested. Mainly, I’m in the midst of reading reviews, researching, and price-checking, and want to keep all the links I’ve been using at my fingertips when I actually get to a point of plunking down money.

Incidentally, if you live in Seattle and happen to stop by Cameras West, try to avoid dealing with Russ, one of the salesmen there. I went in there to see if I could take a hands-on look at some of the cameras I’ve been considering, and he came across as abrupt, smarmy, and somewhat condescending — I got the definite impression that he saw me less as a customer out to compare different cameras, and more as some random shmoe with money to burn who wanted a “cool camera” and might be an easy mark. He also had the most incredible fake “smile” I’ve ever seen on a salesman — he managed to pull all the facial muscles into roughly the right spots, but there was obviously nothing real about it. He also pushes Fujifilm cameras really strongly — not that there’s anything wrong with those, but that’s apparently all he bothers trying to sell.

Amusingly enough, I found out later from a co-worker (Rebecca, at Kit’s Cameras in the Westlake Center, who was far friendlier, far more helpful, willing to point out various pros and cons to the cameras, and all around a much better salesperson…not to mention really cute!) that he used to be a used-car salesman. Somehow, I wasn’t surprised at all…

Anyway, on to the cameras…

First off, as I’ve mentioned before, the lowest-cost (and therefore most likely) option is pretty solidly decided.

Canon PowerShot A80

Now for the “if I can find a way to afford it, I’d love to blow a wad on one of these” SLR-like cameras.

Fujifilm FinePix s7000

Nikon Coolpix 5700

Konica Minolta DiMAGE A1

  • Manufacturer’s site: [Konica Minolta | DiMAGE A1]
  • Basic features: 5MP, 7x optical zoom, variable-angle LCD and EVF, anti-shake mechanism.
  • Reviews:
  • Pros: Mid-range price for high-end features. Reviews indicate that Minolta’s claims regarding the anti-shake system to be spot on. Camera can automatically switch between the LCD and the EVF by sensing when the eye is close to the EVF, or simply leave the LCD off and only turn the EVF on when the eye comes close. Long battery life.
  • Cons: Off-center tripod mount. Somewhat noisy night shots. May have been discontinued (though still available for purchase) in favor of the new A2.
  • Lowest price found: \$459

Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2

  • Manufacturer’s site: [Konica Minolta | DiMAGE A2]
  • Basic features: 8MP, 7x optical zoom, variable-angle LCD and EVF, anti-shake mechanism.
  • Reviews:
    • Steve’s Digicams: Minolta DiMAGE A2 (first-look only, not a full review)
    • This is a fairly new camera, reviews are either not out or very hard to find so far.
  • Pros: All of the pros of the A1, plus insanely high resolution, and it’s supposed to be much faster at all operations than the A1.
  • Cons: Off-center tripod mount. New, still pretty pricey (essentially out of my realistic ability, but I can dream…)
  • Lowest price found: \$699

More camera ramblings

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I’ve spent a good portion of the evening bouncing around various camera reviews and specifications, comparing all the various suggestions made in my comments today (many thanks to all of you!). Right now, I’m leaning towards one of two possibilities…

Option one is essentially what I was looking for recommendations for, a more immediately affordable smaller “point-and-shoot” camera. Right now, I’m leaning towards the Canon PowerShot A80 (here’s the DPReview listing). Small, good combination of features, a little more expensive than I was aiming for (\$381.52[*]/\$385[**]) but it looks to be worth it.

Option two is if I can hold off a little longer, save a bit more, and get paid back for a loan I made to a friend a few years back — in which case, I’ll go for a more powerful camera. While I’ve had my eye on the Canon Digital Rebel (DPReview listing) (\$1100.90[*]/\$927.99 [body only]) for a while now, Nikon just announced their D70 (DPReview listing) (\$1114.49[][*]) which looks to handily best the Digital Rebel and should be out soon — but the Minolta DiMAGE A1 (DPReview listing) (\$754.19[][*]/\$736.40) is really catching my eye. It doesn’t have the lens-swapping capabilities of the other two, but really, I’m not likely to have the ability (financially or photographically) to worry about that for a long time to come, and the number of features it packs in for the price is fairly astounding.

I’ll keep looking, though, to see if something else looks like a better deal. I’ve gotta come up with the funds first, after all. ;)

[*]{#mcr1} Average of all appropriate results out of the first ten hits in a Froogle search.

[**]{#mcr2} Average of the five prices listed on DPReview’s pages.

iTunes: “Wiggedy Wack” by Utah Saints from the album Two (2001, 1:28).

Digital camera recommendations?

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Okay, so it looks like I’m going to be in the market for a new camera as soon as I can afford it (which, knowing me will be sometime in 2007, but that’s beside the point).

My camera of choice right now is the Canon EOS Digital Rebel — but given its \$1000 price tag, I’m afraid that it’s going to have to stay in the “pipe dream” category for a while.

So here’s my (more realistic, and not that unreasonable) wish list:

  • 2-4 Megapixel resolution.
  • Compact Flash storage.
  • Optical zoom (not digital).
  • Smallish size.
  • \$200-\$350 price range.

Any recommendations?

Pictures from Mars

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Very cool webpage automatically collecting and displaying the newest images from Mars.

This web page contains imagery from the Spirit Mars Exploration Rover on the surface of Mars. It is gathered from the raw imagery on the JPL site.

Technical data (filter, instrument type, acquisition time) is captured from the image filename and available. Also, stereo anaglyphs are automatically made from images that were taken in stereo at regular intervals. When appropriate filters were used, color images and thumbnails are created as well.

And even better, it comes with an RSS feed for newsreader users.

(via /.)