eMarkLee

So this post started as a humorous blog. First I read a story on the Metro about a Monkey and a Pigeon having a relationship. Having waged war against pigeons since the days in San Francisco when they used to shit and lay eggs on our balcony, I have despised these rats. I have to say that while my hatred for them was high, I never got to the point Workmonkey got to of actually killing one with his bare hands. That sucks, dude.

So I read this article about a monkey actually being brought back to life by pigeon and think to myself…maybe they’re not so bad after all. But then I look at the 1089 pigeons that kick it by my office and I go back to my hatred.

awwwww

Yes, that is one of the best pictures I’ve seen in the past year. Kudos to the photographer. This is right up there with a few of my favorite photos in history like the lunchtime atop a skyscraper pic.

Bombs away!!!

Of course, I was thinking of making this blog about some of the greatest images in history…until I actually started looking at them. You got the VietCong dude getting shot, the Vietnamese girl running after getting napalmed, the buddhist monk burning alive, and then I clicked on a 2007 Pulitzer winning series about Cancer. That pretty much takes any humour out of my psyche for the day. I think I will quit my work and spend the rest of the day handing out food to the homeless, right after I give all my money away to charity.

In researching photos for this blog, I also found the best ghost photos ever taken, which were pretty cool. Now back to raising money for Darfur.

There are two cameras I would consider if you want to spend less than my previous blog on what point and shoot I would buy AND you want a sub-compact camera.

Two cameras came up as potential cameras to buy in my search with price considered.

Canon SD1000 for $209

Canon SD1000 on Amazon

Casio Exilim Z600SLV for $149 with free case!

Casio Z600 on Buy.com

Image quality is going to be higher on the Canon and you get an extra megapixel in every picture, which pretty amounts to nothing.
If I were to buy a P&S camera right now for my Mom, it would probably be the Casio Exilim with a nice bright 2.7 inch screen and pretty good images, all in a very nice small case. On top of that, you get a case for free! I think I paid $20 for the leather case for my Canon SD400 and a ton more money for the camera.

My friend Curtan recently asked me this question and so I reviewed the field to see what Point and Shoot cameras I would buy with my money. I had done such a review back in January but since then my eyes have been opened to a a different camera on the field by Panasonic!! Yes, the company that makes your microwave and nose-hair trimmer.

It basically came down to two cameras:

1. PowerShot SD800 IS

Canon SD800 IS full frontal

Back of SD800

I’ve always been a fan of Canon Point and Shoots as they always take excellent pictures with a fair amount of manual control. The problem is that they are expensive and limited in what they give you comparative to its competitors.

The SD800 gives you the equivalent of a 28-105mm focal length on film cameras. This is actually pretty good on the wide end(28mm), which allows you to “back up” and get more into your picture. It also has Image Stabilization, which is pretty much crucial for low light and action shots. All in all this is a great camera that takes great pictures…albeit more expensive for what you get.

2. Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3

Panasonic makes my battery, my DVD player, my TV, my microwave, my toilet paper holder, and my electric foot massager(it hurts so good). I’ve never considered Panasonic as a player in the digital camera space…until my friend Jeah introduced me to his Lumix a couple of months ago. The feature set is amazing: IS, 10x Zoom!, 3 inch display (size isn’t everything), and a 28 - 280 mm equivalent lens. At first look you notice the big and radical 3-inch display. When you combine that with the 10x zoom and 848 x 480 (16:9) video with the 28mm wide angle, this is really the ultimate in terms of features. All in a relatively small body. You’ll look like you’re happy to see Girls Gone Wild if you actually put it in a pocket, but it’s small enough.

Which one?
All things said, the Canon is a safe choice. I have not thoroughly reviewed the picture quality and compared them but the feature set on the Panasonic is just absolutely fantastic (Brit talk). The Canon would probably take slightly better pictures with better exposure, controls, and saturation. The Panasonic would give you more flexibility and a bigger screen.

I am hereby declaring my departure from my viewpoint to stick with Canon point and shoot cameras and recommending the Panasonic Lumix for its value! Oh, and you should also get their nose-hair trimmer for proper personal hair management.

There is no real good reason for any photographer to use a backpack. Sure, if you have a $5000 telephoto lens and are on the hunt to get a nude shot of Lindsey Lohan, you will want to carry your gear and be able to run with it before people come beat up the paparazzi. But for the rest of us, the bag is really just a means to carry & protect your camera and take quick pictures when you want. The latter purpose is where most bags I’ve tested falls short. Sure you can zip up your backpack and pack your camera and lenses in a nice packaged area, but what happens when you want to take a picture? The 3 minutes it takes you to put the camera bag on the dirt, unzip your bag in such a way where your lenses don’t fall out, then zip everything back up…well…by that time, your subject is long gone.

[Taken in Santa Cruz, California] Speed is everything….

I’ve always been a fan of shoulder bags and messenger bags because of the quick access(no jokes, please). You can swing the bag to one side and be able to whip out your camera without putting anything on the ground. The problem, of course, is that it hurts your shoulder after a while. You can’t really go on a hike with a shoulder bag without feeling the pain on your shoulder and the humilation of asking your girlfriend to carry you bag for a bit.

So on my hunt for the perfect bag, I read through thousands of reviews and specs before settling on the specs of the LowePro Slingshot AW200. After trying one on with DJ at Koah’s wedding, I knew this is what I was looking for.

Specs:

Capacity: SLR with attached compact zoom lens; 3-4 extra lenses or flash unit
Size (Interior): 8.7W x 5.9D x 11.8H in. / 22 x 15 x 30 cm
Outer fabric: water-resistant micro fiber, ripstop nylon and 600D TXP

Company Line:

Perfect for photojournalists, the SlingShot 200 AW uses a unique sling design to go from “carry mode” to “ready mode” in just seconds. Carried comfortably on the back, it easily rotates to the front so you can get to your camera quickly. The SlingShot 200 AW holds an SLR with mid-range zoom lens attached 3-4 extra lenses, cables and accessories and has a full access lid to make loading it a snap. This feature-rich bag also includes a built-in memory card pouch, micro fiber LCD cloth and two generous organizer pockets. It’s certain to surprise even the most demanding photojournalists.

So how did this bag perform?
As the Brits would say….lovely!

Full Frontal

Build: This baby is built the way camera bags are supposed to be built. Quality is high. Things are well thought out for photographers. For example, there is one pocket for memory cards when you open the flap. There are customisable velcro dividers to adjust according to your flash units, lenses, etc. Everything is built for easy access to your camera when you need it. The only drawback might be not enough pockets for people like me who like gadgets and little homemade camera effects. While having less in the bag keeps the bag lighter, I kind of wish there were more than 2 pockets. Also, while the Slingshot AW200 supports LowePro SlipLock attachments where they have bottle holders and such (sort of a Marketing upsell channel), I wish it had a place where I can put a water bottle. All in all, however, the bag is fab.

Shot of the inside

Comfort: This bag is surprisingly comfortable. I have been able to walk around London for 10 hours at a time without major discomfort. Of course, after a while, you do have to shift the weight a bit, but all in all it’s very comfortable. You can’t do that with a shoulder bag. I wouldn’t necesarily say it’s more comfortable than a big padded backpack, but with the right amount of weight and distance you won’t have a problem. I always use it when I do my London tours and I haven’t had a problem.

What it looks like on. What?!?! Why would I be flexing?

Bonuses: Aside from being a basic bag, the bag comes with some radical bonuses:

1. A built in rainguard. If you live in California you will not need it. I live in London and have used it about 6824 times already…yes, all in the one summertime. FDAT. The rainguard is brilliantly designed, folding away in a velcro-closed compartment. Brilliant!

Slingshot with rainguard on. This is excellent.

2. A built in microfiber lens cloth. I didn’t really find this until last week. I thought it was just another pocket for stuff but when I folded it out, I realized it was a built in microfiber lens cloth. This is totally Brilliant! CRICKEY!!!!

The Built in Micro-fiber cleaning and protective cloth. This is hot!

Conclusion: This bag is as good of a bag for photography as I’ve ever tried. While it could use more pockets and perhaps a bottle holder, there is nothing like it on the market. Believe me, I’ve looked. I can have my camera out and snapping away in less than 10 seconds. That is what you should look for in a camera bag.

You can get it online for about $90 w/ free shipping. Or you can go to Frys and try it out. It might retail at $99. Totally worth it.

It allows you to capture moments like this before scaring the bird away with your fugliness:

Bird in Santa Cruz

Brilliant!

In Heroes, there’s a dude that can fly like Superman. Before I get into the topic, let me first interject the fact that the show is moving along at a snail’s pace. I need to see some X-Men battles go on soon or I will lose interest and go back to watching Date My Mom.

Levitation has been an interesting concept for a long time. We have achieved it with Electromagnetic Suspension in the maglev trains around the world. This requires a constant power source and is on a large mechanical object…but what about human levitation?

It looks like it has been achieved here.

Is that a lucky penny I see?

This gallery is very neat. As a fan of photography, you get sick of seeing macro shots of flowers and different shutter-speeds on the old waterfall. This takes it to a different level and to that, I appreciate and will attempt to copy. I just need to get a willing participant first….

I was introduced to Lomography this past weekend when a friend snapped some shots with her Lomography Fisheye camera. Lomography is a former Russian state-run optics/camera company that produced pictures with characteristics of distortion on the edges while keeping the center sharp. My friend’s camera was a basic non-digital film camera with a big fisheye lens on it($50). The Lomo effect is basically a fish eye look with a grainy, darkened border. There’s a subculture of people that take cool artistic pictures with their Lomography cameras.

Typical Lomographic picture

While I like the fisheye effect, it is a very specialized look that you only take certain shots with. If you take all of your shots using fisheye, you would be missing some detail in your pictures for good or for bad. The biggest deterrent for me has been the price of these lenses. At ~$600, this lens in itself would cost more than my camera cost me. That sucks. While I’m prepared to spend a lot of money on a nice lens, it won’t be on a fisheye lens. I did find what looks like a cheap alternative adapter but the distortion and blurriness on the edges would not be desireable, although for $40+s/h it might be worth trying.

I decided to see how I could simulate the Lomo Fisheye effect with Photoshop CS2. First to simulate the Fisheye effect, then to simulate the Lomo effect. I found a Photoshop action here, which seems to give the effect I am looking for.

Original image

Fisheye effect using the Photoshop Edit->Transform->Warp->Fisheye effect

Fisheye effect using the Photoshop Filter->Distort->Spherize

Lomo effect using the Lomo action

The effect I am looking for is best applied to wide angle shots (shots that span a wider area rather than zooming in on specific objects), so here we go again, with a wide angle picture I took at the auto show.

Original Image

Lomo effect

Lomo with Fisheye

That last one came out pretty well, although it still is not perfect. To truly achieve what I want, I would need to get the real lens or probably tweak the image in Photoshop a bit more. Since I am not all that great at Photoshop, it will probably take a while before I create the desired effect…..fun stuff though.

I get this question sometimes from my n00b friends. It is actually pretty simple, despite the huge number of digital cameras out there and the fact that this blog will be obsolete in 1.4 days. Like anything else, there are different segments of users, from the pro to to your grandma, so I will talk about the different cameras for each of the segments.

First of all, brand. Get Nikon or Canon. All the pros get Nikon or Canon. All the good lenses out there are Nikon/Canon. Don’t get Kodak, HP, Lumix, or Coccyx. Stick to these two brands, especially if you are buying an SLR. Personally I think Canon rules the compact cameras and nikon rules the SLR because of its lenses and build. I’ve had great success with Canon compact cameras and so far so good with the Nikon SLR.

Here’s are my recommendations for what you should buy:

n00b (your Grandma or Workmonkey) to the casual picture taker: Canon SD700IS($325). SD800($380) if you take more scenery shots or lots of pictures of lots of people. You can save the money from the difference between the SD700 and the SD800 and PayPal it to me. I won’t object. Don’t get smart and think you can get the SD900($365), just because it has more megapixels. You get better resolution but don’t get Image Stabilization, so don’t go there. Clear as mud?

Wanna-be(cheap) photographer: Get the Canon S3($400). This camera has a 36 mm - 432 mm (12x) zoom lens!!! That zoom is incredible. It also takes great pictures, video, and fights common colds and flu like symptoms. This camera also offers Image Stabilization, which is great for super zoom pictures. If you got no money but want to try to capture Lindsay Lohan closeups to sell to Us Weekly, this is a way to achieve that zoom level.

Hobbyist: Nikon D50($560) or the Canon Rebel XTi ($720). I don’t like how the Canon feels in my hand, but you may be fine with it. The D50 is the SLR I own and it’s been great both in terms of image quality as well as value. I think it’s a great way to get into the SLR world if that’s what you want. SLRs have little lag and you have full control of your pictures. You can also changes lenses and use it to battle insurgents, Fadayeen, and the Desctructicons. The SLR world means you will go back to taking pictures through the viewfinder again, which may mess up your eye makeup or cause problems after I beat you up for your lunch money.

Prosumer: Nikon D80($1150). This is the best camera for amateurs on the market currently. It will set you back a pretty penny, but its viewfinder and image quality are the best in class.

Professional: Nikon D200($1600). It is very close to the D80, but it’s meant for pros. The cameras mentioned above probably blow away any pro cameras from 5 years ago, so unless you make your living snapping weddings, you don’t need anything in the professional range. Professionals put their money in lenses more than camera bodies.

Ultimately, it’s about the pictures you take not the camera. If you look at the pictures taken by Phil Askey on dpreview.com, he will take amazing pictures with a crappy Coccyx camera. It’s all about composition, which you don’t have. So just pick up that SD700 and continue snapping drunken, blurry shots of your dinner party and your half empty Strawberry Daiquiri. Maybe half of them will come out without your fingers in the picture.

Happy shooting.

The first question that is asked when you show someone a digital camera is
“Yo, mah brutha, what da megapixel on dat sheeznit?”

I usually answer that question with:
“Paaaa-leeeezzzzz. You betta recognyyyyyyyzzzzzzzzeeeee befo you get victimizzzzzzzzzeeddd”

What I am trying to convey is that we are beyond the megapixel count at this point. Unless you are printing BIG(not 8 x 10) prints, you WILL NOT notice the difference between a 3MP and a 6MP camera. When you look at the higher resolutions, 6MP, 8MP, 10MP, the difference is even smaller. Even if you are blowing up to a 30×20 poster, you are ok at 6MP because people view larger pictures from farther away anyway.

Next time you are shopping for a camera, do NOT look just at the megapixel. Look at the image quality, look at the build, consider how comfortable the camera is, then look at the man behind the megapixels and say:
“Muh bad, muh brutha.”

Here is my new toy from xmas:

The D50 is my first dSLR. I used my brother’s film SLR for my photography class 3 years ago, but film is dead unless you move into one of the larger formats such as medium format, etc. Even then, film is a pain in the ass. As many of you may know, I enjoy taking pictures with my outdated S45, having taken tons of pictures good and bad. If you don’t know what the difference is between a point-and-shoot camera and a SLR, it’s basically the difference between a consumer vs a pro camera. While the D50 is more of a hobbyist/prosumer SLR than a professional camera, it takes great pictures. While there is a better Nikon on market right now, the difference in cost is pretty big. A couple of months ago, I was ready to drop the $1000 for the D80, but the D50 was too good a value to pass up on. Of course, I did not pay retail for it…but thats a different story The fact that you could get a great dSLR for under $600 is incredible.
Here are the first pictures I have taken with my D50. The first thing that should stand out with these pictures are the blurring out of the background. These shots have a narrow or very narrow depth of field. This is something that is much more difficult to achieve with your mom’s camera from Walmart.

Flowers from my parent’s backyard

Jaguar hood ornament from the car show

Leaves from Castle Rock State Park

Impala from the San Diego Auto Show