A Different Light

Just back from a relaxing break in the Exuma Islands, a group of cays south of Nassau in the Bahamas. After launching at the north end of Great Exuma, we spent a week paddling from white sand beach to white sand beach, snorkelling, fishing and relaxing as we went.

Paddling the Cays

Our expedition was arranged by Out Island Explorers, based near Georgetown. They put together a wonderful trip. Great guiding, excellent food, and a schedule with the perfect mix of action and relaxation. The first and last nights were spent at the Palm Bay Beach Club. Other than that, it was camping on the beach.

Sand Bar

This vacation wasn't about photography but there were some nice shots to be had. I was happy with my waterproof camera, the Olympus TG-310. At the last minute, I realised that I didn't have any spare batteries for it, but the Battery Barn got some to me just in time. I also had my Canon G10 along for the trip - it's getting a bit long in the tooth but still a great machine.

Bring it On

I'll post a few more images from the trip in the days to come.

Well, more of a mini review. Not much to say about this little camera.

It's waterproof to 3 m, shockproof up to 1.5 m, rated to -10 degrees C, 14 megapixels with a zoom covering 28-100 mm (in 35 mm equivalent terms).

October Rain

Image quality is ok - click on any photo here to see the original. There are a few options (e.g. flash, macro mode, white balance and iso settings) which are useful but require several button presses to access. The "High ISO" setting is nice. I find point-and-shoots often favour low ISO to the point of risking camera shake. On that topic, this camera also has sensor-shift image stabilization.

Staying Home

A key feature (exposure lock separate from focus lock) is absent. I would usually never consider a point-and-shoot without some sort of exposure lock as a minimum.

Salt and Pepper

Despite the lackluster specs, I decided this was the waterproof camera for me. Why? I don't know of any waterproof point-and-shoot with great image quality (most reviews I've read seem to agree on this shortcoming) and I only use one when there's no other option. Snorkeling and kayaking. Outside in the rain or snow. The reality is, if it's precipitating heavily, it's so difficult keeping the lens clean that my shooting is limited anyway.

Rainy Day

If you can only have one camera, don't make it this one. Get a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3. For a rugged camera that will see only occasional use, this is a great deal. Whatever you do, don't stay home in the rain.

Many artists keep a journal, not only as a record of the past but also to help themselves progress. Photographers are no different. Often, a concept or idea will spring to mind but, for whatever reason (time pressure, lighting conditions, state of mind), needs to go on the back burner. A journal lets you keep track of your ideas and thought processes to revisit and build upon later. For a bit more on the subject, check out this video on The Mindful Eye website (alternate link here if you don't want to register; but you should - it's free and there's bucket loads of great video content).

Anyway, a smartphone (like the iPhone) makes journaling simple. It's a camera, note pad and sound recorder in a compact package that you take with you everywhere. There are lots of different smartphones out there, with hundreds of thousands of software applications (or 'apps'). My own phone runs the Android operating system (open source and based on linux). The app I've been using to journal with is called Catch Notes, available for free on the Android Market.

How does it work? Let's say you see something you want to record in your journal. Start up Catch Notes and you'll get the following intro screen:

Catch Notes Startup Screen

To create a new entry, hit the plus symbol (top right). You'll enter this template:

Template for your journal entry

Touch the paperclip and you'll be given the option to take a picture or attach one you've already taken. You can also dictate a note or attach a recording of the sounds around you (just don't expect high fidelity).

Attachment Options

In this example, I take a picture...

Photo for journal entry

...and a new icon appears in the lower right of the note screen, telling me the picture has been attached.

Note with photo attached

At this point, type whatever you feel like in the text field. I prefix my journal entries with the tag #photoj so I can easily extract them from my other notes. Any tags you've used are listed along the bottom of the screen.

Completed journal entry

Hit 'Save' (top right) and the journal entry is complete. The next time you open Catch, you'll see a list of all your notes:

List of notes

You can use the search function (magnifying glass) to pull out your photo journal entries (using the #photoj tag) or be more specific, such as searching for all entries mentioning 'HDR'. Tap the search result you want and the phone brings up the entire entry to review or edit. (It often reads better with the phone in portrait mode):

Your finished journal entry

Catch will also geotag your notes. You can later call up a map of where the note was made, or search for other notes made in the same area.

You can create a Catch.com account and synchronize with your phone. This gives you the security of a back up and the ability to view and manipulate your notes online using your home computer and web browser. If you sign up for an account, the Catch.com people say they'll keep things private. You'll have to decide whether to trust them with your personal thoughts / million dollar ideas).

So, no more excuses. Get your journal on!

BestBatt.com is one of the few places I've found offering "chipped" third party replacements for the Canon LP-E6 camera battery, used in the 7D and 5DII bodies. By "chipped", I mean they have the electronics necessary to work with all features in the Canon charger and cameras. "Unchipped" batteries work, but need their own charger and don't provide a "charge remaining" indicator when in the camera.

Others reported success with these LP-E6 replacements, so I took the plunge. The ordering process was quick, and the battery arrived within days. That's very fast for cross border shipment (US to Canada).

Fire Escape (Canon 7D, with LP-E6 from BestBatt.com)

The LP-E6 battery works as advertised. It charges in the Canon charger, reports the battery life correctly to the camera, and (at least after several charge-discharge cycles) has about the same life as the original packed with the 7D. Obviously, I can't make any comment on long term battery life; but since it works as advertised up front, I don't expect any problems.

That's the good news. Now, the bad. When I place an order like this, I try to make the most of my shipping and handling costs. I decided to pick up a BP-511A for my 5D, and a new all-in-one memory card reader for travel. To be brief: the BP-511A won't hold a charge, and the all-in-one memory card reader doesn't accept CF cards (despite CF being first on the list of supported media).

The battery was either a dud to begin with, or has deteriorated over time (this is a relatively old battery model). As for the card reader, it's just good old false advertising. I contacted them to (politely) explain the problem, and they replied:

Thank you for your message. We think the card reader could be a manufacture’s defect. Don’t worry we are going to send you a new and good replacement to you right away. To save you hassle, you do not need to send us back the defective one.

No sailing today

I sent another email to tell them it wasn't a defect, that the thing wasn't built to take CF cards. I never got a response, and several days later I got a second (non-CF) card reader in the mail. It's not worth any more time (or shipping charges) to try and sort things out. To their credit, they did attempt to remedy the mistake. Camera gear (other than batteries) just isn't their forte.

Bottom line, you're probably ok ordering the LP-E6 from BestBatt, but I'd stay away from anything else. In fact, my preferred battery supplier, the Battery Barn, now has a chipped LP-E6 for sale. If that had been the case a month ago, I'd have ordered from them and saved myself some trouble.