Visitors From Above

These people landed in our backyard early Sunday morning. Which is just as well, or I probably would have over slept.

Honey, I Shrunk The Pentax

or Back To The Future

Pentax istDs on left and Optio I-10 on right

Optio I-10 on left and Auto 110 on right

Pick which ever movie metaphor you like but Pentax has taken a small (no pun intended, really!) detour from the ubiquitous digital camera clones with its uniquely styled Optio I-10. The camera looks like a tiny SLR and is reminiscent of the Auto 110 camera from the 1970s. There is the small bump where the SLR viewfinder would normally be which instead of supporting an optical finder houses the flash on its front side and a speaker on the back.

Other than its clever styling the Optio I-10 does not offer much more than many of the other point and shoot digital cameras in its 12MP class. It sports a 5X zoom lens (28 - 140 35mm equivalent) which is much better, optically, at the long end and a bit blurry around the edges at the “28mm” setting. It also has SR or shake reduction as one of its main features as well as HD video. The HD video actually performs better on my aging iMac G5 than the HD video on my Canon SD780. The Canon HD video seems to require more memory to run smoothly and ironically, I’m forced to reduce the clips to standard video. The LCD screen on the Optio is 2.7” widescreen or 16:9 format. I kind of like the 16:9 format and usually use that as my normal setting. I figure I can always crop the photos later if I want. Compared to the Canon SD780 it seems a bit slower although I never checked any stats. And, although the SD780 is only a 3X (33 - 100 35mm equivalent), the photos seem a tad sharper especially at the short “33mm” end. Also, the "Delete All" function was not obvious to find. I had to actually consult the manual!

Choosing quality over quantity I left the Optio at home and took the Canon SD780 to San Francisco. I really didn’t miss the 5X zoom, although the longer “140mm” might have been nice on occasion. The wide angle “28mm” can actually be annoying since it is the default setting every time you turn the Optio I-10 on. If you like a slightly longer “normal” lens setting like “35mm” you have to zoom in every time you turn the camera on. Instead, I can live with a “normal” default “33mm” on the Canon SD780. The SD780 is also a little smaller and fits very nicely in a pocket.

To sum up the Optio I-10, on the plus side I would have to say I personally like the widescreen LCD, the HD video, the 5X zoom lens and the clever retro styling. The only real negative factor would be the less than acceptable optical quality at the wide, “28mm” setting.

For more details on the specifications of the Pentax Optio I-10 go to:

http://www.pentaximaging.com/digital-camera/Optio_I-10_Black/

All focal length settings are expressed in 35mm equivalents. Sorry, I’m still old school.

Macro mode at aprox “35mm”

wide angle aprox “28mm”

Alex Rodriguez NOT getting his

600th home run on July 25th, 2010.

“140mm”

Robbie Cano at Yankee Stadium.

Sometimes 16:9 widescreen just isn’t wide enough.

“140mm” widescreen cropped even wider

Red Tail hawk perched on our studio.

“140mm” cropped a bit as well.

The Beatles with their Pentax cameras (1965?)

San Francisco

"The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."

Mark Twain

Day 1

At Hotel ......Finally.

Day 2

We just got up. Haven't really done anything yet. Last night I took a quick walk down the street around 10 PM here time. Things were pretty much closed up. I got a burger at In N Out, a fast food joint. Joe was in the room & pretty well wiped out for the 1st long day. See you later.

Saw lots of stuff today - Fishermen's Wharf, crookedest street (Lombard St). Did a lot of walking, talking & photographing. Having fun. Take good care of Dexter.

Day 3

Today ended up being do your own thing day for the most part. I headed off to City Lights Bookstore and the Beat Museum as well a couple of art galleries, etc. It was a kind of bohemian day for me as I chatted with a few people along the way and spent quite a while in the museum learning about some of the Beat poets. Joe and I met up later for beer, wine, fried calamari and chowder at the Wharf.

Day 4

We just got up now (7:30 here). I think we both needed a good rest. I think if you were here for any longer than a few days you adjust to the pace. People here don't seem to be very rushed and no one expects anyone to rush. Maybe it's because they're already 3 hrs behind their big brother city on the east coast (NYC). See you later.

We went to Muir Woods today. It was nice to get out of the city and back to nature for a while. Dexter would have liked it. The weather was nice and cool and only one bug! From there we went to Sausalito which was OK but I think it is a bit overrated. On the advice of our bus driver I had a delicious salmon sandwich while we were there. Not sure what we are doing tomorrow. See you in a few days.

Day 5

Went out for breakfast in / near Chinatown. I had a California omelette. It was delicious with fresh tomatoes, onions and on the top....avocados. Then we went across the street for a cappuccino. That gave us enough energy to hike up to the top of Telegraph Hill to Coit tower. Next we walked downhill to the extremely touristy Pier 39 where we went to the aquarium. We then bummed our way back through crowded Jefferson St. to our hotel to relax a bit and contemplate dinner for the evening. See you soon.

My 2 Cents on the World Cup

Playing soccer in your white gym outfit doesn't cut it. Ghana's got their game on!

(Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images / June 26, 2010)

Recent Minox DSC Photos

Goodwill, Good Camera

Sometimes I like to hunt around for cameras at Goodwill Stores as well as tag sales especially now that used camera stores and used camera shows have all but disappeared from the face of the earth. Yes, there is eBay, but there is still something to be said for browsing first hand and not knowing what you may find. In addition to the almost new Polaroid that I picked up at one of my favorite Goodwill Stores (see earlier posting – “Polaroid Paparazzied Puppy”) I also found a very capable Canon AF35ML for only $2 !! This is actually a very nice once top of the line circa 1980s point and shoot, auto focus, auto wind, auto rewind auto everything but espresso maker. It is the only point and shoot of its era that I know of which boasts a fast 1.9 lens. Its kind of like an automatic version of the old Canon GIII. I actually purchased one of these 35MLs a few years earlier at a tag sale for $4 but when I got it home I noticed that although it made all the right whirring and clicking sounds the shutter failed to open. It sits in my study as a memento which is Latin for “remember the last time I got burned buying something?” This time I brought a set of fresh AAs to verify that my $2 investment would not go to waste. I quickly popped them into the ML and checked for shutter, winding, etc.. All systems seemed to be OK. I later loaded it with a $2 roll of film, shot some usual photos of trees and Dexter and had them developed at Walmart for $6. I scanned a few of the negatives and tweaked them as much as my poor iPhoto could stand it and the results can be seen below. Yes, it works! The thing I like about the 35ML is the way it feels in the hands. It’s not a wimpy little camera. By the same token it’s not very heavy either but like the Whopper, it has a nice fit for two hands. It also has a big viewfinder, at least compared to any of today’s digital point and shoots. One thing to be careful of, which can actually be a good thing when you need it, is that it’s always ready to be in a continuous shoot mode if you simply keep your finger on the shutter button. If you do not want to take more than one frame you need to remove your finger immediately after taking the first shot. And now that I’ve shot the obligatory first roll of film its in my study as a memento. (NOTE: I picked the song "Bullet Proof" to go with this posting only because I like it right now. Actually, the 35ML is almost bullet proof, but nothing like a Leica!)

non working ML (dusty)

working ML (cleaner)

photos taken with the "working" ML

Canon GIII

Kent Furnace, Kent, CT - Canon GIII

The Big Dig

I’m just going to write this post only because I haven’t posted anything in almost a month and I have some interesting and funny pictures, movies and links to go with it. The main reason I haven’t been blogging lately, aside from running around visiting colleges for my daughter and going to her concerts, is that I've been digging. No, not a garden, but a 30’ long by 1’ deep trench (approximately). I had to repair / replace some wires which provide electricity to our studio / storage building “out back”. When I wasn't digging or messing around with wires, conduit and splices I was too tired to even sit and “blog” but rather sit and “blob” in front of the boob tube. The whole ordeal made me think of The Three Stooges episode (which I happened to catch while relaxing) where they are plumbers. I could especially relate to Larry digging a hole in the yard and Curly (it was also made with Shemp) pulling wires out of a pipe. What’s funny is that my wife watches the home improvement shows like This Old House, etc. and I always end up watching the The Three Stooges doing home repairs.

In the process of digging I unearthed an old horseshoe. I think if I had dug any deeper I would have found an old horse! But I thought it was pretty interesting and it made me think of what things must have been like on our property in the old farming days. At least I discovered another small piece of history and it must have brought good luck because the lights are finally working again!

Studio

A mole digging in our front yard