Prakash Advani's Blog » Photography

Olympus E-P3 is here

Prakash — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:03:28 +0000

Olympus E-P3, the third generation of Micro four-third camera is now available.This is a perfect camera for someone who wants a professional camera in a compact body.

Whats nice:

Built in Flash
Fastest auto focus
Built-in auto focus illuminator light
12 Megapixel
Touch sensitive LCD. What would be better if they had a varied angle LCD like the Panasonic G3 which can be swivel screen.
Full HD 1080i60 movies in AVCHD format
In-body image stabilisation.
USB 2.0 (have yet to see cameras with USB 3.0)

Panasonic Lumix G3 has some interesting new features This is Panasonic’s third generation of mirror-less Interchangeable Lens Camera. The Panasonic...
Nikon Coolpix S9100 18x Optical Zoom in a compact boday The Nikon Coolpix S9100 is a Super Zoom in a...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Panasonic Lumix G3 has some interesting new features

Prakash — Mon, 30 May 2011 06:17:08 +0000

This is Panasonic’s third generation of mirror-less Interchangeable Lens Camera. The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-G3.

Whats cool:

16-megapixel
3D photos with optional lens
3.0-inch free-angle LCD with touch control
New Pinpoint AF feature, just touch anywhere on the screen to select a focal point
1080/60i HD video capability in AVCHD format
ISO 160-6400
4 fps continuous shooting (20fps at 4MP)
Electronic View Finder
HDML Port
SD / SDHC / SDXC card support
Micro four-third standard

What would be even better:

If it had an in-body image stabilisation, which is there in Olympus micro four-third cameras.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Panasonic GH2 brings advance video shooting capabilities

Prakash — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:07:50 +0000

Ever since Panasonic started offering their first micro four-third, interchangeable lens cameras, they have been rolling out models with lots of features. They call this the Lumix G Micro-System.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 is the latest in the family, its got more advance video capabilities than the G2, whcih is primarily for still photography.

Advantages over its predessor GH1.

16 Megapixel vs 12 Megapixel. The actual sensor is 18 Megapixel but gives you 16 Megapixel in different aspect ratios.
ISO range 160 – 12800 (vs 100-3200)
Video shooting at 1080p 60 or 50 fps vs 24 or 25 fps
Faster AF
Larger EVF (852 x 600 rather than 800 x 600 pixels)
Touch-sensitive LCD screen (same as G2)
And yes the camera can shoot in 3D with 3D Interchangeable lens.

Panasonic claim to fame is this model has the fastest auto-focus.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Canon Professional Backup Camera: G12

Prakash — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 06:13:57 +0000

The Canon Photoshot G12 is targeted as a backup camera to professional gear like DSLRs. These have a lot of features found in professional cameras in a compact form factor.

Canon was the first to reduce the megapixel with the G11. The reason for reducing megapixel was that with each increase in megapixel, there was a drop in image quality. Hence Canon decided to focus on improving image quality rather than increasing megapixel. If quality matters to you in a compact camera, then this camera is for you, if megapixel matters to you, then you need not read further

Here are some key features of the G12 which are carried over from G11:

10 Megapixel camera
5X wide-angel optical zoom
2.8″ swirl LCD
Support for RAW
HDMI connectivity
Lithium Ion battery
Built in flash
28-140mm (35mm equiv)
ISO from 80-3200 (the G12 has more ranges)
Weight: 355g

New features over G11:

HD Movie mode (new addition)
Hybrid IS (better image stabilisation)
Support for SDXC cards.

My suggestions: If you don’t need the additional features, go with the G11 as you may get a nice deal.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Canon SX30 offers 35X Optical Zoom

Prakash — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 12:50:30 +0000

Canon has announced the SX30 at Photokina 2010. This is new addition to the super zoom family. Earlier Canon was still limited to 20X while competition had gone to 30X. With this release canon has now beaten most of the competition by releasing a 35X Optical Zoom.

Here are some cool features.

14 Megapixel
HD Movie Recording (Upto 1280×720)
2.7″ Vari Angle Lens.
Optical Image Stabilisation
HDMI mini-port to connect to High Definition TVs
Memory card support: SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC, MMCplus, HCMMCplus
Weight: 601g (a bit heavy)
Rechargeable battery
Full Manual Controls

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Laptop/Camera bag ideas

Prakash — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 05:03:44 +0000

I have used over a dozen bags from LowePro, Case Logic, Samsonite, Belkin, Hush Puppies to name a few known brands. I have also evaluated Targus, Swiss Gear and some other brands in detail.

I have founds that a few are well designed to carry laptops while others are well designed as professional camera bags. I have come across very few bags which are well suited for both. As a matter of fact most IT professionals, specially the young ones are buying Digital Camera. After the laptop their next purchase is usually an expensive gadgets (iPhone/iPad) or high end cameras.

Remember bag is no more an accessory to carry your device, it provides security to the customer that all his/her devices are going to be safe in this bag.

For me, my bag is my office while I am travelling. I use the bag to carry a laptop, sometimes a second laptop/netbook for demos. Brochures, Business Cards and CDs. I also carry a camera with a lens and other accessories.

Here is my wish list for what a bag should do. Also I have found that most of the bags do a few of these well but not all of the following:

Stroller backpack: Strollers are good to use when you have lots of stuff to carry around and don’t want to strain your back. The challenge is to make the bag light weight at the same time able to have a stroller. Solution: Explore alternative material like titanium/carbon fiber for stroller.
All terrain stroller wheels: The stroller wheels should be big ones which can work in difficult terrains. I have used bags, where the stroller is designed only to be used in offices/hotels and not designed for outdoor use. You may not always have a smooth train specially if you go outdoor for photography. I am currently using a bag which has silicon wheels, lets see how that goes.
Weight Bearing Capacity: Some of the bags that I have used, give way once you put all your things. Most of the bags don’t publish their weight bearing capacity so you don’t know how much you should or should not load. Solution:Publish the Weight Bearing Capacity.
Solar Panel: I saw some bags which had solar panels on the top, these are nice for emergency charging of cellphones and other devices. They are also environmental friendly.
Laptop Slot: Since the bag is primarily going to be used to carry a laptop, the slot must be well padded from all sides include the base. It should also not directly face the stroller metal bar as this could damage the laptop.
Impact resistant base: The base should be designed to be able to take a small amount of impact/drop from a desk in case that happens.
Mobile phone/mp3 player slot: Many people user their mobile phone as an Mp3 player, the bag should have a slot to put these. This should be easy to drop it as air travellers need to quickly drop their mobile phones at airport security.
Removable Laptop Sleeve: The bag should have a laptop sleeve, so people can remove the laptop from the bag and yet have some protection. This is useful for airport security or if customer just want to take the laptop with him/her without taking the entire bag.
iPad Compartment: Many customer already have a second device (Netbook) or will invest in a iPad like device. The bag must have a compartment for a second device such as a second laptop which is required for demos, second netbook or an iPad.
Removable laptop battery case: in one of the bags that I used, it has a little case for laptop battery which was removable. This is a nice feature and can have Velcro to strap it inside the bag.
Removable Camera Compartment: There should be a compartment to carry a digital camera with some accessories or an SLR. This should be removable so customer doesn’t have to carry multiple bags when he/she wants to keep the bag but move around with the camera.
Adjustable pockets for accessories: Many people need to carry additional accessories/lenses, etc. The bag should have a pockets which should be adjustable to carry one big device or a few small ones.
Water bottle/drink slot: A few bags have them, while others don’t. While travelling people want to carry water or their favourite drinks.
Key ring hook: A key ring hook is a nice feature, so people can secure the keys inside the bag. A few bags have them, however a few of them have key-chains inside, which one needs to use to use the hook. Its better to just provide a key hook so people can use what ever key-chain they want to use.
Secure compartment: Bags usually have a place to store your passports/cash but they need to be secure enough so people trust them and use them to keep their cash and other important document.
Slots for Brochures, pens, business cards are given and found in most bags.
Phone Slot: People still prefer to keep their phones in their pocket, but at times they need to keep their phones away like at Airport Security. They bag should have slot where they can keep their phone away at the same time have easy access.
Sleeve for Luggage: Some bags have a sleeve which can be used to attach your laptop bag to the luggage, this makes it easy if you have to carry two bags.
Not just black! I have see so many nice bags, but all that they have is a black colour. I know black is the corporate colour and many business laptops are black too but its time to experiment with more colours.

I must now like to admit, that after writing this article I came across Crumpler bags. They were able to satisfy most of the requested features but not all. I will write my review once I check them out.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Canon 550D/Rebel T2i

Prakash — Wed, 12 May 2010 09:34:06 +0000

Canon has released the 550D as an upgrade to 500D. It has inherited some of the features of their high end 7D while offering a cheaper alternative to 7D.

Key features:

18 Megapixel! Will this megapixel race ever end?
ISO 100-6400 (Expansion to 12800) , similar to 500D
1920X1080 Full HD Movie Recording
SDHX compatible
External microphone support 3.5mm stereo jack
Weight 530g

Limitations:

Fixed LCD
No in camera RAW conversion

Canon 7D Advantage over 550D

Faster burst speed 8fps vs 3.5fps (550D)
Weather proof sealing
Top LCD

If faster burst speed or weather proofing is not your requirements, 550D would work out better for you.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Panasonic’s two new cameras: G2 and G10

Prakash — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:00:04 +0000

Panasonic is expanding their micro-four third lines by introducing two new cameras.

Both these:

12 Megapixel
Support high-definition video
3″ LCD Screen
1:1 Aspect ratio for square photos

Here is a comparison between the two:

Features	Lumix G2	Lumix GMC-G10
Video Mode	Motion JPG + AVCHD (smaller file size)	Motion JPG
Interface	First one to have touch interface	No touch, just regular button
LCD Screen	Tilt and Swing	Fixed
Movie Recording	High Definition	High Definition
HDMI	Yes	Yes
Weight	371g	336g (lightest Micro 4/3)
List Price	US$ 899	US$ 699

Support this site.	Buy Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2	Buy Panasonic Lumix DMC-G10

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Optimise your photos before you send them

Prakash — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 12:46:34 +0000

People often send large photos via email. These file sizes are usually large, typically a few megabytes because they are taken from multi-megapixel camera. The more the megapixel, the larger the file size.

I prefer to reduce the image size before I email or post on the web, these file sizes are small (couple of 100 kilobytes) and typically occupy 10 percent the disk space of those taken directly from your digital camera. They are also easier to send/forward and you can send many of them at once.

I found a very nifty plugin for Nautilus called Nautilus image converter. Nautilus is the default file manager on Gnome (Linux/Unix Window Manager). Under Ubuntu, startup synaptic and look for nautilus-image-converter.

After installation, you need to either logout or re-start your PC for it to take effect.

Once loaded, you just need to right click on the image/s and resize them. You can select one or multiple files. By default your original image is not replaced, new image is created with the name: filename.resized.jpg (or whatever is the file type)

You can also replace your original image if you like and rotate them.

For those who prefer command line, you can install this package called imagemagick and use this tool called mogrify.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

50 megapixel camera from Hasselblad

Prakash — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:54:10 +0000

If your work required very high megapixel camera, this is for you. And yes it costs an arm and a leg – 25,000 dollars! Check out more.

Hasselblad H3D II 50 Digital Camera 50MP

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.