Cool – Page 6 – Mostly Harmless

May 28, 2011

Nikon GP-1

Sometimes you just like to know where you were when you took the photo. Luckily there are many options available for a DSLR and I went with the default Nikon solution.

Last week on a whim I ordered a Nikon GP-1 for my camera. This GPS receiver plugs into my D300s and when it has a lock onto enough GPS satellites (3 or more) it embeds the coordinates and UTC time for when and where you took the picture.

I like it a lot but it’s an imprecise technology. The receiver is only as accurate as the data sources it locks onto, meaning if it locks onto 4 or more satellites, it’s good for ~20 feet or so. My first photos didn’t have any GPS coordinates recorded. Later on I was getting a good signal and got better results.

The default camera settings is to enable Auto Meter off, which from the manual explains

Auto Meter Off

If Enable is selected for GPS > Auto meter off in the setup menu for D3, D700, D300, and D90 cameras, the exposure
meters will turn off automatically after the time specifi ed in the camera Custom Settings menu. This reduces the drain
on the battery but may prevent GPS data from being recorded if the exposure meters are not activated until immediately
before the picture is taken.

I had some problems keeping a lock on the GPS with that feature enabled. Once I disabled the feature, the GPS receiver took a couple of minutes to acquire the satellites. But once it found them, I had a solid green light and was floored as to how accurate the readings were.

If you look at the above map, you can see where the GP-1 did not quite get a lock onto my position. After I disabled Auto Meter Off, the GP-1 put me (correctly) onto 23rd Street. Even with 3 satellites it still puts me in the general vicinity and that’s good enough for my street photography.

After I uploaded the photos to Flickr, I Googled for a tool and found iMapFlickr. After providing a small amount of info I was able to generate the above map in no time. I’ll continue to play around with it but so far it works exactly as I thought it would.

March 3, 2011

No Batteries Required

olympus-trip-35

This started with my looking for a good compact digital camera with a viewfinder. As a result I bought a film compact camera that was manufactured in 1972.

I prefer cameras with a viewfinder because I take better photos when I hold the camera close to my face (my arms shake). There are several good digital candidates such as the Canon G11/G12 or even the Nikon P7000. But they’re also not inexpensive and I already have a fine DSLR that I take hundreds of photos with.

Why not go back to film? I hadn’t even owned a film camera since 1997. So I started looking on eBay and Flickr and was inspired by the cult following that the Olympus Trip 35 has created.

About the Olympus Trip 35

The Olympus Trip 35 was sold between 1968 and 1984. It’s been reported that ten million units were sold, but that’s questionable since that number may have included other Trip models. Serial numbers shared online never seem to reach 6 million.

Less than 6 million is a respectable number. But what I find amazing is that virtually the same model was sold for 16 years. Today that’s unheard of for a consumer product to be left alone with just minor internal production changes.

The Trip 35 has 4 zone focusing at 1 meter, 1.5 meters, 3 meters, and infinity and takes a 43.5mm filter size. You guess the approximate range and set the focus accordingly.

This camera does not use batteries. The light meter is a selenium cell that moves a needle. That movement determines the aperture size and shutter speed. You can read up on this at the top of this web page and see the light meter in action at this YouTube video.

It’s a solid camera made out of metal and has some weight. It’s not bulky and it feels comfortable to use.

So you bought one?

I ordered 3 and there is a method to my madness.

The first one I ordered was from Paul Lamb’s Trip Man website in the UK. This company obtains these cameras, refurbishes them, and puts on a replacement for the original leatherette. They have a selection of colors, textures, and accessories.

This is a good buy because the camera comes with a 6 month warranty. This is not a modern SLR that you can get serviced anywhere. While I am not mechanically clueless, I want to be able to enjoy the camera without replacing the light seals or un-sticking the aperture blades. Trip Man has earned a good reputation and many people recommend him. I had made a small mistake with my order and this was responded to very quickly and satisfactorily.

If you want to buy a Olympus Trip 35 that just works, then get one from Trip Man.

The second Trip 35 was from eBay and sold as-is. That one arrived first (pictured above) and I bought it with the intention making repairs, replacing the light seals and leatherette.

The purchase was inexpensive and came with a strap, original leather bag, and original lens cap. This camera was going to be my experiment in stripping the old leatherette and possibly take apart and clean the aperture blades. See this link for a great step-by-step with photos for taking apart one of these cameras.

A great plan except this second camera is apparently perfect! The camera is in wonderful condition and only needs replacement light seals for the film chamber and possibly a little cleaning of the view finder.

I shot a roll of Kodak ISO 400 and will get it developed tomorrow. If the exposures are mostly good then I’ll leave this one alone and just replace those seals. Stripping the leatherette would feel like tossing a rock though a window. I may do it sometime, but not this month.

And my third camera from eBay? I want one that works but has not been refurbished. Call this one my reference model, it’s a late version with a black button. A quick bid and I have another one on the way.

So, what next?

Now I take pictures. Lily and I use Costco which not only develops 35mm film but for about $3 more you can get a DVD with scans of your film. Near where I work are a couple of labs that a friend recommends. Film is not dead yet, it’s just hibernating.

At this time I’m not interested in developing my own film. That may change but I’m more interested in improving my photography.

This is a 1970’s era viewfinder camera. While the exposure and aperture are automatic, you have to think before take the photo. When I use the DSLR I intentionally shoot hundreds of photos and cherry pick the best ones. Those end up on Flickr.

I am hoping that by using this film camera that I’ll learn for compose my shots better. Not just point and click but plan my shots. I’ll still waste film, but the ones that I like will be posted online.

February 6, 2011

Upcoming 2011 video games

I’ve been waiting for the next installment of Crysis to come out but have recently gone back to playing some F.E.A.R. via Steam.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KpKc-i43p8

Looks like F.E.A.R. 3 will be a worthwhile game. When the first game came out, the horror factor was so well done that some scenes scared the jeebies out of me. Even now, playing that game in the dark can be startling.

Compared to recent games the original game shows how much FPS games have evolved. The second game was more refined although the story line was much less creepy.

This trailer shows that the 3rd game will have a good storyline and the I’m counting on the graphics being up-to-date as well. I doubt they’ll be on par with this trailer but here you can see what the game play should be like.

With Crysis 2 and F.E.A.R 3 both arriving in 2011, I’m expecting lots of good game play.

January 25, 2011

Really good Road Runner

And not the Time Warner Cable kind either.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZbvTxJEiKU

I can’t tell if this is legit, but I can tell that it’s very good.

Update: It’s not legit.

January 11, 2011

And now for something positive

Who says Gizmodo is good for nothing? In my RSS reader I was shown this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY59wZdCDo0

This is not an official NASA ad, but it should be. It was inspired by this video which is also great viewing.

Reading and thinking of all the great discoveries that NASA has contributed to us makes me believe that we’re all going to be fine.

December 31, 2010

Roger Ebert still knows best

I saw this great video on Photography Bay. I’m constantly reminded that my negative opinion on filming with DSLRs is almost always demonstrated to be wrong.

Here is another fine example. The editing, the soundtrack, and the shots are amazing.

This video was captured with a Canon 7D. It’s not the technology that makes a great film sequence, it’s the people using the technology and Jamie Stuart sure knows what he’s doing.

Check out Roger Ebert’s great write up and comparison with another great short.