More camera stuff

I seem to be going out at dusk to see what I can photo.  In the twilight, it is a challenge for the camera to get a good picture.

Tonight I took the following photo and had to zoom all the way out to the end of digital zoom 16X and even then it was really hard to keep the subject in the view screen.  Let alone hold it steady to not blur the shot.



This demonstrates the ability of the image stabilization software, because I am really shaky with all the diabetes drugs that I take every day.  This picture has not been messed with in Picassa, it is just like the camera took it.

OK then lets mess with it! Load Picassa.



I cropped the picture by selecting one of Picassa’s suggested crop sizes, and then adjusted the colors   watching the grainyness to not introduce too much noise. Then I tried to sharpen the focus, but too much of that really causes the grainyness to stand out. Its usable but not professional by any means.

I never did see the people from the ground as they were too far away but the camera did.  But sadly they are out of focus.  Remember it was all but dark on the ground, and the sunlight was from the setting sun way off in the lower Western sky.

These folks were at least a half a mile away, so I am more than pleased with what I got with a mere point and shoot pocket camera.  Mr big DLSR Nikon is only a 6 Megapixel and desperately needs replaced, but I am certain it would not have done any better.  It would have been grainy the moment I cropped the picture, and I do not have enough lens focal length to come any where near the zoom achieved with this point and shoot.

As I began this session, I found myself extracting the SD card out of the bottom of the camera and loading it into the slot on the side of the laptop.  It occurred to me that the process of posting a daily blog did in my last camera and the computer too.

First the actual card gave out, and I had to go get another.  The little plastic parts that held the golden contacts became broken.  I managed to save the pictures by holding it into the side of the computer while I did a drag and drop backup with the other hand.

Then one day that socket on the camera stuck to the card and a metal piece got bent in the camera and I couldn’t get the card back in.  I ever so carefully bent it back into shape with a dental tool, but it began chafing the card every time I took it out.

Finally, the socket in the computer gave up, not making contact with the card.  Too much in and out to read the daily pictures.  I had to go get a USB card holder reader thingy.  I went thru several cards in this process.  The plastic on the cases is not up to the task.

Now I know the cameras come with a USB cable that will plug into the camera and the computer, but then the cable socket will wear in the same fashion.  I thought that the cable and sockets would wear faster than the SD card, but now I am wondering how to Maximize the life of a new camera and this laptop that is less than a year old.

If you think of it, please leave a comment as to how you copy off your pictures, and do you have wear and tear problems like I have?  Perhaps it is just the cost of blog posting to buy new cameras and laptops……….

Our day here was really slow, as I didn’t ride the scooter other than over to Wendy’s and later into the evening over to my son Ben’s house.  I did all the usual stuff reading the blogs, and finally mowed the yard after supper.

Speaking of yard, the sun has really done a number on the grass, even though we have a watering system.  I increased the number of minutes in each zone and watered an extra time tonight, but some areas  seem almost dead.  Guess that part won’t need mowing anymore!!  Need to keep watering though, have to hold the dust down.  Kansas!

Retired Rod