1. The search for digital imperfection

    January 25, 2010 by jim

    For a while now I've been looking for the digital Holga. I purchased a $10 digital camera at Wal Greens. That didn't give me what I was looking for. The camera came close image-wise, but the camera needs a PC to download and it only holds 20 images. Impractical for any real day shooting.

    Enter the Digital Harinezumi, which is attracting a cult following. There is a version 1 and 2. Most people seem to favor the first model, but the V1 seems impossible to get without paying big bucks. The V2, at $180, is still expensive. But at least that camera is available.

    That prompted me to dig out my first digital camera, a Kodak DX3900, with circa 2001 technology, hoping I could make it look crappy enough. Clio was nearby and obliged with a yawn.

    While I mull over a Digital Harinezumi enjoy this photo.

    Clio yawns. Captured with a Kodak DX3900


  2. Image sensor sizes compared

    January 3, 2010 by jim

    The Canon folks has this little display sitting out during the winter sale at Dodd's in Cleveland. I plopped down a dime to get a sense of scale.

    The Powershot sensor is 7.18x5.32 millimeters. A 4/3 sensor is 17.3x13 millimeters. Click the image for a larger verison.


  3. How Guy Kawasaki Tweets

    November 3, 2009 by jim

    Link


  4. Video on the web

    October 19, 2009 by jim

    Good primer.


  5. Rome's Trevi Fountain

    February 11, 2009 by jim

    Trevi Fountain in Rome
    My favorite Rome photo for the day, taken at Trevi Fountain with the Lumix LX3. The LX3 can capture in 16:9, 3:2 or 4:3. The 16:9 mode is addictive. Click image for slightly larger version.

    Another fun mode to experiment with on the LX3 is "pinhole" mode. Below are two images from the Pantheon shot in "pinole" mode.

    Pinhole Mode at Pantheon

    Pantheon in Rome


  6. More great help from Time Warner

    October 28, 2007 by jim

    We upgraded our TV recently from a 26" tube to a 32" LCD. We had to swap out our regular Time Warner DVR to a HDDVR. It turns out the Scientific Atlantic 8300HDC box has software that is quite buggy. I had read this online as I struggled to set up the DVR with the TV and soon found found this out first hand. Several times the DVR has crashed.

    Today the DVR crashed again and we had to reboot it because it was not sending a good signal. After the first reboot we were greeted with this message:

    bad_cable_message.jpg

    Note the phone number. Now I know it's very easy to erase that last digit in Photoshop but I assure you it was not there. For the record the last number is a 3.

    One more reboot of the DVR fixed the problem.


  7. More Digital Holgas

    October 22, 2007 by jim

    A few more from the Vivitar Mini Digital


  8. Digital Holga? The $10 Vivitar Mini Digital

    October 20, 2007 by jim

    I've been thinking again about destructionist photography and the randomness of the Holga. I'm always amazed by Michal Daniels' work, made with the camera mounted on a Palm Pilot organizer. His site, 640×480.net, is like a raw nerve.

    There is something about those images that are so less than technically perfect, but done so with a purpose. Even camera phones are now turning out amazing quality images.

    I found this $10 camera at Walgreens. It shoots 20 images at 352×288 at 72 pixels per inch. The camera has no LCD and will take 20 images. There is a pop-up glass window that gives a vague idea of what will be recorded. The only way to download the photos is on the PC. The Mac won't recognize the camera. There is about a second delay when taking a photo. It eats the single "AAA" battery that powers it, so only load the battery when shooting.

    There's a place somewhere for this camera. Sample images from my first shoot below from a half-hour spin around my neighborhood:


  9. The Black Keys

    October 4, 2007 by jim

    The making of the "Just Got To Be" video, 2007

    Shot with the trusty, little $200 Sanyo C40.


  10. Sanyo C40 Review

    March 6, 2007 by jim

    My review of this digital video camera which I've dubbed "The Guerilla Multimedia Tool for Online Journalism."