Monday View - 2 September 2024 Edition

Hi there my friends. It's been about a week since I last posted but I am still here. I hope to have some really cool stuff to share in the next few days and to start off I would like to show you these shots of the night sky I made last night and early this morning. These were made with my Canon G9X Mark II. This is a great little camera that is not only very portable but has a large for it's size 1" sensor and a quality lens. And it's packed with features like the cool star photography scenery mode I used for these pictures. As with most night sky photography a tripod was a must. Remember to click each image to view it in full size.

Until next time...
 

Welcome To The Saturday View

Hi there friends. It seems that the cold weather wants to hang around for a bit. The temperatures today were once again well below freezing topping out at about 14° F (-10° C). And the wind made it feel even colder. But I am told there is relief on the horizon. Right now though I am a little skeptical.

Today I would like to share another camera (non)review. I don't like to call it a review because I am not really going too in depth. I am just doing a quick overview of some of my second hand finds.

Today we take a look at another Canon Point and Shoot. This one is a little older than last weeks and is naturally a little lower on the technology evolutionary scale. To that end and straight out of 2004 I present the Canon PowerShot A410. A 3.2 Megapixel shooter that had an original MSRP of around $110 that I found at a thrift store for $1.

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Unlike last weeks specimen this camera uses regular AA batteries. It even came with a memory card so all I really needed to do was put in some fresh ones and I was ready to shoot. The only thing that doesn't function properly is the Time and Date. But I discovered that I just need to replace a button cell battery to fix it. Otherwise everything works like new.

As you will see in the samples the A410 does a decent job for what it packs under the hood. You have to remember that though 2004 wasn't that long ago it is almost an eternity for technology like this. So many generations have passed and we are almost spoiled today with image quality and ease of use.

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These were all shot using AUTO Mode and have not been touched up or altered in any way. The are available manual modes too. And yes for the most part they look pretty good. But when you zoom in or crop one of them you will see some image noise (graininess). This is something not uncommon when the camera was produced in 2004. At least at it's price point.

My take on the Canon PowerShot A410 is that in it's day it was a great compact Point and Shoot. But unlike the SD600 model I shared last week I wouldn't rely on it as an every day snapshot camera. The image quality is lacking a bit and the controls are too small for me. And the rear screen is tiny. But none-the-less this particular one has found a home in my collection. I just have a thing for older cameras. Especially ones that I can actually use.


And now here is Yesterday's View...

Friday January 5, 2018

And that's all for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Welcome To The Monday View

Happy New Year my friends! I hope last year saw you well and that the new year is even better.

Today I am starting something I have wanted to do for a while now. It may or may not be a secret that I have a lot of cameras. And I mean A LOT. I'm into the hundreds in fact. And they are all over the board. I have so called "Toy Cameras", many, many point and shoot film cameras as well as a healthy dose of point and shoot digitals. I have bridge cameras and of course a few SLR and DSLR models. I even have a handful of Rangefinders. Displaying such a collection is rather difficult. But I don't want them to become forgotten. So I came up with an idea. Here goes...

I will share them with you right here on my blog. One at a time of course. While I will not really be doing a review I will be showing the camera to you and do a quick overview of it. In addition I will share pictures made with the camera. This means of course the film cameras will require a little more work. And expense. There is film to be purchased and then developed. The prints then need to be scanned. Not a problem really just time consuming. This being said I am starting with something a bit easier. One of my digital point and shoots. 

Please keep in mind that most of these cameras were purchased in used condition and may look as so. I try to clean them the best I can but sometimes there is only so much I can do. All of the images of the cameras are made by me unless otherwise stated.

Today we take a look at the...

Canon  PowerShot SD 600 Digital ELPH

The SD 600 Digital ELPH is a very compact digital Point and Shoot model that is mostly intended to be used in Full Auto mode but does allow some limited Manual adjustments. The images I made for this post were made using some of these manual settings and have not been altered in any way. They are Straight Out Of Camera (SOOC).

I acquired this SD 600 at a yard sale this past Summer. In fact it was right here in my own neighborhood. I think I paid something like US 5.00 for it. The battery was kind of shot but I was able to get a really good deal on Amazon for an aftermarket replacement that included a charger. So for all intents and purposes it is ready to go.

Sample Images Made With The SD 600

My take on this camera is that for a rather obsolete 6 Megapixel Point and Shoot with a small image sensor it performed rather well. The White Balance is a tad toward the bluish side but that is something that can be corrected in post processing. And keep in mind that I was tinkering with it's Manual settings and Auto may perform better. With it's size I would say this is a good camera to have on hand when you don't want something bulkier like a DSLR or do not want to use a camera phone. I wouldn't use it for serious photography but would not think twice about using it for snapshots.

Now, here is Yesterday's View...

Sunday December 31, 2017

And here is another video from yesterday's Cafe video shoot. Pay close attention at about 1 minute into the video. Things get up close and personal.

And there you have it. I hope you enjoyed my first post of the new year. I also hope to see you again real soon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Welcome To The Daily View

Today's photo is from our recent trip to Valley Forge National Park over the weekend. I would hate to be on the receiving end of that canon!

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Technical Info

- Canon EOS 80D
- Sigma DC 18-250mm Lens at 18mm
- Aperture Priority
- Aperture F13
- Shutter Speed 1/200 Second
- ISO (Film Speed) 100
- Center Weighted Average Metering

Here is the "Before" image.

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And now...

Yesterday's View...

Tuesday May 16, 2017

And that will do it. Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

December 12, 2014 - Photo of The Day

Hi and welcome to another "retro" Friday. And being Friday I'm sure most of us have had a long week so why don't we get right to it. Sound good?

Let us go back 21 years to the Winter of 1993 and to one of my favorite places, Valley Forge. Today's photo was shot in 35mm. I am not sure what camera I used but it was probably my Canon T50. 

(Stock Photo)

 
The T50 was a fairly basic camera and was also my first 35mm. It didn't give me a lot of freedom to change settings manually but I did learn a lot about composition using it. And even with a basic set of lenses the quality was superior to the average  "point and shoot" of the day. And for the record I still have my T50. I may even take it out one day soon.

And here is today's photo.

I think this is just a bit too grainy. It could be the film I used but I think a more likely cause is the scan I made from the original print. I was able to smooth it out a little in Photoshop. Also coming from me this photo is a little unique. I don't shoot many sunsets at Valley Forge. The parking lots are usually closed at dusk so that of course makes it a little tough to park. I don't remember for sure but I think I may have just pulled the car over and shot this from the side of the road.

And speaking of side of the road photos here is a "stopped on the road" photo from my drive to work this morning. It was early and there was no traffic so I figured I'd give it a "shot" (pun intended).

Just a little snow dusting from a quick overnight snow shower. The roads were actually dry.

And I'm going to call it a day folks. I thank you for reading and ask that you come back soon.

Until next time...

Chrysanthemums and More - Saturday At Longwood

As I  mentioned my previous post Kim and I spent most of the day yesterday at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. They are having their annual Chrysanthemum exhibit and since we have never seen it I thought it would be a nice day out. As usual the folks at Longwood did not disappoint. In this post I am going to share quite a few photos I made yesterday. A lot of them are from the exhibit but there are others as well.

I am quite pleased with these photos and I hope you like them too. I have been wanting to get out and do a good shoot for a while and I think this did the trick. Sure, I do go out and photograph often but yesterday I felt like I was really on my game. It felt more organized and consistent. Please take a look and enjoy.

I told you there would be a lot! There are more too and I will be sharing some of them over the next few days. Some are different versions of the images here and some will be new. I still have a few to go over in my "work" files. The RAW images that I still need to evaluate and process through Photoshop. It takes time but the results can be very rewarding.

If you live in or are going to be in the area I recommend a trip to Longwood Gardens. You will not be sorry. Here is a link to their website.

Also if you get a chance please take a look at some more of my images at 500px.com. And please be sure to check out the blog's Facebook page here. I will be posting some "before and after" pictures from today's post there. I also share a lot of photography based links as I find them.

Thanks so much for reading (and looking!). I hope you enjoy your visit. Please be sure to stop back soon.

Until next time...