A. Aronsson's WeBOLLog

According to people around me I apparently buy way more cameras than I could possibly have use for. Photography is one of my hobbies and because I have had at least some motivation for each purchase I figured I would make a list of my current cameras and the story behind each. Now if anyone do wonder I can point them in this general direction! The list is in chronological order.

Legend:

Brand | Model | Date of purchase
Resolution | Lens(es) | Video mode

Here we go!

Che-ez! | SPY-Z | 2002-07-30
0.3MP | 6.2mm f/2.8 | N/A
At the time this was the cheapest digital camera I could find, and I really wanted one while on student salary! The specs were quite bad, the only storage was built and could fit 26 pictures in BMP format, it ran on one AAA battery and had a flip-up optical viewfinder. Needless to say the picture quality was… well, horrible. Still, it was the first digital camera I owned! While it was incredibly portable with its’ tiny size it was almost embarrassing to use, as it definitely looks like a toy; but it was way too expensive to be a toy! It was also quite discomforting to use for several reasons. There is no screen for playback so you have to guess which image you are deleting if you dare trying, and as the built in storage was RAM you had to get home and download the pictures to your computer before the battery ran out, or the camera would be empty!

Konica Minolta | DiMAGE Z3 | 2004-09-30
4.0MP | 35-420mm f/2.8-4.5 | VGA@30
In the time between my first camera and this purchase I had borrowed a couple of cameras from other people so I had an idea of what I wanted. I picked this one because it had a good macro mode (1cm), a long zoom and video capabilities! But, it turned out to be a bit too bulky to discreetly take it with me, often it ended up at home instead. When I actually did bring it with me the extended lens almost made it look like a cannon, making it a bit awkward for both me and other people when cramped in a room at a party. And while it was awesome at the time, the 1.5″ screen now makes it appear incredibly dated. I also think the sensor might be damaged by photographing too many sunsets…

Canon | Ixus 75 | 2008-02-10
7.1MP | 37-111mm f/2.8-4.9 | VGA@30
After having had a real job for a bit more than a year I was going on a skiing trip, and I decided I wanted a pocket friendly camera to bring with me. By then I had totally fallen out of the loop when it came to cameras, but I quickly settled for this one. It was small, had a metal body, a bit of zoom, a bit of macro, some manual settings, a video mode and most importantly time-lapse! And I also found the original power supply for very cheap, meaning the time-lapse function would be easy to use! Since I got it I have brought it along on so many events it’s crazy, and it has taken quite the beating! For this one I also bought a waterproof case for a specific project.

Avant | S3 | 2008-02-06
3.0MP | N/A | QVGA@24
This was the first camera I bought specifically for video recording while skiing. It was totally cheap and totally crappy but it could surprisingly handle being snowed on, covered in ice and being part of crashes while still continuing to work! Though as the video held very low quality and had no sound the camera has not been useful for anything else, really, it was simply an experiment in the slopes.

Olympus | E-410 | 2008-09-25
10.0MP | 28-84mm f/3.5-5.6, 80-300mm, f/4-5.6 | N/A
I had quite gotten interested in more advanced cameras, DSLRs to be specific, and after recommendations I imported a kit with two lenses from Germany. For a DSLR it was very cheap as it then already was last year’s model. I have since used it both for events and projects, the image quality helps a lot when doing photo manipulations. I also got into accessories through eBay, getting a cable remote, IR remote, RF remote, macro adapters, angled viewfinder etc. So far I have used the remotes the most, all of them!

Kodak | EasyShare V570 | 2009-01-13
5.0 MP | 23mm f/2.8, 39-117mm f/3.9-4.4 | VGA@30
This is my second dedicated ski cam. It was an utter failure though as the lens cover malfunctioned after a single snow flake melting on it. I ended up holding it in my hand while speeding downhill, trying my best to keep it out of the snow. It sure was a challenge to try and keep it stable, especially when dodging trees, though as it rocks a very nice wide angle lens this helps hiding camera shake. Today it still have its’ uses and I might actually use it again for the upcoming skiing trip. If I can bother.

Casio | EX-FC100 | 2009-10-13
9.1MP | 37-185mm f/3.6-4.5 | 720p30, 480×360@210
As my Ixus had become glitchy I decided to get a new camera for my pocket, and the high speed functions of this one caught my attention while I was doing product research. It is incredibly fun to use, though low light performance is mediocre making the high speed fun a bit limited, but that was to be expected. It lives best under a day lit sky, that’s for sure. Funny enough Casio announced a model revision last month; that one has a wide angle lens and better low light performance, but, as the high speed video specs are the same I guess I’ll keep this one until it breaks.

Panasonic | Lumix GF1 | 2010-01-15
12.1MP | 40mm f/1.7, 28-90, f/3.5-5.6 | 720p30
I got really hyped on this camera as I started to bump into articles about it. I always thought that my DSLR, even though it was the smallest on the market when I bought it, felt too big to bring along to social events and on trips. This one is fairly compact and can easily fit in my coat pocket, or even in my old camera bag in the space of the zoom lens! What also interested me was the video mode, as it has a much larger sensor than any of my video enabled compacts. I will try to have some fun with that :) Oh, and don’t forget the joys of the fast pancake lens either, with its’ shallow depth of field and awesome light intake! I’m completely sold on that one!

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To buy the GF1 I actually sold my Canon camcorder, as I hardly ever brought it along or used it in projects. For some reason I feel that I would rather record videos with a camera than take photos with a camcorder… perhaps because that’s the way I have worked so far.

I also have to mention that I actually have ordered yet another camera! Yes, spank me silly. This time a GoPro HD Helmet HERO package. After randomly stumbling upon this video I just couldn’t help myself! Now I only have to find a helmet it can be attached to before I go skiing… and hope for the camera to arrive before I leave!

Randomness: On a completely different note. At one point I thought it would look more serious if I used “do not” instead of “don’t“, “I am” instead of “I’m” etc. but lately I have felt that it is looking quite odd and unrelaxed… and that it’s probably better to stay a bit more casual. Right there I noticed that I naturally used “It is” AND “it’s” because that’s how I would say it. I guess it might be best just to let the words flow and let it be.

I have never been much of a Christmas decorator. Last year I bought a few metal stars to hang in my windows but otherwise I have almost nothing. This year I noticed a computer Christmas decoration contest over at Sweclockers.com, sponsored by Alina Systems. As I dislike my computer pretty much and the prize was a crazy machine it was not hard to decide to participate. I began looking for decorative items a week or so prior to actually trying my hand at it. In total I went to three shops to get everything I figured I could have use for. Then after the Christmas craze I spent a day decorating, shooting and de-decorating my computer space, on the 26th. I had a vague plan in my head so I went at it without hesitation, but much was made up on the go. You can see a time-lapse of the process and the end result in the video below.

Here is a detailed list of what items I used for my decoration.

• 2x small metal stars with bulbs inside
• 3x extension power cords
• 3x power strips of different sizes
• 3x rolls of masking tape with different widths
• Roll of yellow string
• Battery powered RGB LED figure; inside the gingerbread house
• Smoke machine; to add some atmosphere
• Winter themed candle holder with four red cups with lit candles in them

• 1x 12m outdoor light chain with 480 lights
• 2x 8.7m indoor light chains with 144 lights each
• 2x RGB LED USB lines with eight santas on each
• 1x large paper star with a bulb inside
• 2x 2.0 m green/silver fuzzy garlands
• 2x 2.5m green glitter garlands
• 3x 4.5m glitter garlands entwined (gold, silver, red)
• 4x 4.5m silver glitter garlads
• 5x large chocolate santas
• 8x small chocolate santas
• 9x chocolate eggs
• 3x chocolate bombs
• 60x+ Christmas tree decorations clumped together

• 2x soft santa dolls
• 3x seven candle electrical stakes
• A bunch of cotton under the gingerbread house
• Advent candlestick holder with four red candles
• Battery powered golden bell
• Christmas coronal with a red bell
• Christmas crib with Joseph, Mary, Baby Jesus, three wise men, shepherd, three sheep, a cow and mule and a well.
• Electrically lit church
• Electrically lit poinsettia
• Embroidery saying “God Helg” (Happy Holiday)
• Gingerbread house
• Programmable LED sign saying “GOD JUL!” (Merry Christmas)

I have been really busy for quite some time now, which sure has affected my blogging performance. Personal projects has been put on hold and media gathers up on my machine, being photos and video recordings. Previously I have mentioned that I will try to post interesting pictures on a more regular basis, but evidently that plan failed. It was actually when I was sorting out pictures for this post that I managed to collect photos for a couple of events which had so many pictures themselves that I deemed them worthy of their own post, which delayed this publication instead.

The below collection consists of random pictures taken during the last seven months, from May this year until last week. Image titles will give you a good hint of what is going on in each picture. They are listed in a chronological order displaying the oldest first, naturally.

On a side note; it feels a bit funny that the previous post was a ton of text, while this post is… well, a ton of pictures. Cross-post content type balancing!

Index

• Introduction
• Why I picked it
• What I got as a bonus
• What I like about it
• What I do not like about it
• What I would change in a firmware upgrade
• What I would change before the next revision
• Notes on using the camera
• Am I happy now?

Introduction

I decided to get a new camera as my old camera was becoming glitchy and awfully worn. Like normal I set up a large table of models I were interested in and weighted the pros. and cons. that were apparent. Then I spend time reading reviews and looking for sample images for the top models I picked. Finally I go to a store to actually hold one and optimally get to try it out. Sadly for the store I was at they only had the display camera left, and I would not get a rebate on it, so I checked around in other stores but finally ordered it online, like with most other things I buy.

As you might have figured out I bought the Casio Exilim EX-FC100. Above I said I read a few reviews before getting this camera, and as I have used it for a month I figured I wanted to post one myself detailing my experience. Most of the things I comment on is naturally in comparison to my older and smaller Canon Ixus 75, and in reality I am not sure if you can call this a real review, but at least it will give you some idea of what I find good or bad. If you do wonder about camera or why I bought it that I have not mentioned you can leave a comment and I will try to answer :)

Out of the cameras I looked at I picked this one because of…

• High-speed functions
• Image stabilization
• HD movie support
• Better zoom
• Competitive price point
  

Extras I found interesting…

• A number of playful Best Shot settings, like Move In, Move Out, Multi Motion, HS-Night scene etc.
  
• High resolution snapshots while recording in HD/STD.
• Focus tracking, it is flimsy in low light situations but fun when it works.
  
• You can zoom while playing back videos, and play them backwards or step frames! (awesome!)
  

Things I like…

• The yellow ring around the optics… yes I mention it.
  
• The flash is a distance from the optics, not completely flattening out images when using it.
• Flash intensity can be adjusted.
• Manual focus, though it is a bit hard to use in low light situations due to the noise level in the zoomed area on the screen.
• Optical image stabilization.
• High speed video recording.
• High speed burst shooting.
• Ease of access for exposure adjustments.
• Overall the menu interface is very quickly to access and easy to use. It did not take long for me to feel natural changing settings even though I swapped to a different brand camera.
  

Things I do not like very much…

• The [Slow] button is pretty useless. It is easy to access, but lacks utility. It can only save one picture from the burst you recorded, so it feels more logical to use the continuous shoot mode where you can pick all of them if you want. The only reason it could be useful is because it has its’ own settings.
• It uses a USB cable for communication but the camera port is proprietary.
• White Balance messes with my head. Sometimes when using the screen as a viewfinder and the white balance looks great the resulting picture can still get tinted blue or red, not at all looking like what I expected, which is a bit discomforting. My guess is post processing of contrast, color etc.
• I am wondering how dust proof this camera is. My old one has been in on so many adventures it is stupid, and has no dust inside the screen. Only after a few weeks this camera has a big speck of dust inside the screen making it look like a dead pixel when turned on. I guess it might come from the factory? If not I do not expect a long life for this camera.
• Sometimes when I have just turned on the camera and it has not charged the flash and I press the shutter button it will act like it is taking a picture, blanking the screen, but it actually does not! There is no image saved.
  

Things I would like updated or added in a new firmware release…

• HD movie recording has fixed focal ranges completely ignoring where you set the auto focus. Let us use the auto-focus for all video modes.
• When using the 30-210 fps video mode there is no sound recorded when filming in 30 fps, which drags down the value of that function. It is still useful as you avoid any lag when switching to high speed, which is very nice.
  
• Switching to continuous shooting mode resets my focus area setting, setting it on spot instead of tracking.
  
• Add more options for the left/right buttons. Focus, AF Area, Flash intensity. It would also be nice to have separate functions for left and right.
  
• When retracting the lens it now zooms out and then retracts. It feels like both things should be possible to do at once, like on my old camera, to decrease the time it takes for the optics to retract. Now I wonder if it is really shutting down as the zooming out is internal and thus is a bit hard to notice from behind the camera.
• The optics retract too quickly, after just ten seconds, when reviewing what you captured. It feels a bit pointless when it retracts just before you planned to take the next picture, it has happened to me several times. A small increase to 15 seconds would work for me! Make it a setting!
• A time-lapse or sequential exposure mode. Really, it is awesome fun and should be included in every camera. This hardware might be focused on high speed, but I would rather have it be a general time modification camera where time-lapse would be an obvious inclusion!
• In addition to Move in and Move out triggers, add a sound trigger, as the camera has a built in mike and pre-record features it is a sealed deal already!
  
• I want exposure bracketing on all my cameras…
  

Things I would have revised before releasing a new camera hardware iteration…

• Rethink the need of two mode buttons for review and record. A single button for toggling review would suffice and generate less confusion. Now there are three buttons with which to turn the camera on! You can deactivate the possibility to turn on the camera with the mode buttons, but then you cannot boot the camera in review mode.
  
• Definitely move “DISP” off of the directional pad, or make it harder to depress. It is easy to toggle by mistake. A suggestions would be to replace the red record mode button with it. (see above)
• Use a standard mini-USB port, proprietary ports are a pain.
• Change the knob on the zoom so it does not stand out so much from the body. Right now it is not very pocket friendly.
  
• The buttons feel a bit flimsy and plasticky.
  
• The lanyard was way too short for my own hands, I had to use the one from my old camera.
• The battery hatch has a weird plastic locking mechanism, it makes it overly complicated to get the hatch closed again, but I guess it is safe?
• The memory card is hard to remove due to it being right next to the hatch hinge.
• The battery is spring loaded, but the spring is so weak that I still have to fiddle with the battery to get it out.
• My most common settings, Focus and Flash modes, have no quick buttons. See firmware suggestion.
  
• If you add a time-lapse mode also add support for an AC power supply.

Notes on how to use the camera for greater enjoyment…

• Learn how to cut movies on the camera to save space, just press down on the directional pad in a paused clip. This is especially useful with highspeed clips with a long lead time. Beware though that this changes the timestamp for your movie!
• To use your own focal point when recording HD/STD video you need to change the focusing mode to manual after auto focusing or else it will switch to the fixed focal points. Naturally you can also set the focal point directly in the manual mode.
• To avoid getting kicked out of the menu when saving settings with SET, just press left on the directional pad instead and you will save that setting and end up in the menu again! If you are in a sub menu, like language settings, you can exit to the menu by pressing the menu button. I actually saw this as a complaint in several reviews before I bought the camera, which makes me wonder how much detail they go into when reviewing.

Am I still happy that I bought this camera?

Oh yes. I have had a great time so far with the high speed features, it is very interesting to record whatever you come across in slow motion to see if you can find details you otherwise would not have noticed! A very nice thing to experiment with if you get bored anywhere :) It also feels fresh to always carry a camera that can record in 720p. Sure there are a bunch of things I would have done differently, but right now I do not develop or manufacture cameras, and nothing so far is a deal breaker.

The image stabilization and larger zoom gives the camera more versatility than my old one. You can set the stabilization in demo mode to see what difference it makes, and I have to say that I am not buying another camera without it. Which makes me ponder if I should replace my E-410 body with one from the E-500 series…

The Exilim is actually not that much larger than my old camera, it still fits into my old camera bag without problems. It is not as slimmed as it has things protruding from the chassis while my Ixus pretty much is a metal box with flat sides.

I still have many things I want to try with this camera but high speed photography and video recording requires a lot of light and as it is dark during my spare time now when we are nearing the winter I am pondering to invest in some lights…

You will see images and videos from this camera on this blog in the future, as it has replaced my Ixus as the camera I always carry with me, as a starter I am embedding a street performance a friend did a while ago recorded solely on this camera, also available at YouTube.com. The HD footage is a bit shaky as I recorded it while zoomed, but it is watchable.

I went together with a whole lot of teenagers on a Church Skiing camp this February. It was a tremendous amount of fun with a lot of social activities and, of course, skiing. I am not going to spend very much time describing what happened, but instead focus on pictures and video footage.

Last year I had a camera that I mounted on my person. This year I had bought a new cheap camera with better video capabilities, a Kodak EasyShare 570, and spent a lot of time prior to the trip making a bag for it so it too could be mounted.

I bumped into a problem though, this camera was extremely sensitive to snow and water, dampness in general. The previous camera would survive pretty much anything, as you could see in my previous skiing post, but this one died or started malfunctioning as soon as a few snowflakes touched it!

Naturally it was a big disappointment and I lost a few days of filming, the first day was too cold and the second I had to get the camera dry after filling it with snow, but it was alright when I tried it back where we stayed. I ended up holding the camera in my right hand while skiing so often the footage would get quite jumpy when there was action making it not very watchable!

All in all I recorded two hours of snow fun, the problem was piecing together a video as everything looked the same (snow and trees), so it was not a small task to pinpoint interesting things. I had to watch the entire thing and mark out points of interest, this without total silence except the video audio as I needed to hear what was said which made it quite boring! Like watching a movie without music. Still, it becomes easier to condense the footage if you space out the editing because on every occasion I have opened the project I cut away things that then seem uninteresting. I repeated this a bunch of times during nine months since the camp and finally there was a video ready, this one clocking in at almost six minutes! You can either watch it over at Youtube.com or play it embedded below. Enjoy :)

Update: I noticed that embeds does not get included in the email updates, I will make sure to add normal links to future posts… as this edit will not be included in the email, heh.