Thursday, July 1, 2010

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.

P1000013

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.

P1000013b

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

8 comments:

  1. I have had my Nikon D50 for probably 5 years now & the SD card has never been out of the camera since the day it was put in at the camera store where I bought it. Same with my D40 & Canon A720. Cards have never been out of them. Have always used a USB cord because I never figured it was a good idea hauling those cards in & out. Friction, dust, wear, etc. Your post has totally confirmed my suspicions about doing that.

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  2. I use the cord also, by he way just ordered the 16GB sdhc card from Micro Center, thanks for the info, it should be here in a couple of days, Brentwood is about 50 miles from me so it's worth it to just have it put in an envelope and mailed. Shot a couple of pics with the new camera last night and wow what a differance, it has a great lens and does everything for you. be safe out there. Sam 7 Donna.

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  3. When I had my PC, I used the memory card directly into the PC slot but when I got my Mac, I bought a USB card reader for about $20 at Walmart. It's a Lexar and have never had a problem either with the reader or the memory card.

    Gordon also uses a card reader and we've never had a problem with the memory card, the reader, the USB port or the computer.

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  4. I plug my cards directly into the computer when able and into a card reader for other types and have never had an issue with either the camera's or the laptop. My oldest camera is about 5 years old so it has had that card slid in and out a few bezillion times.

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  5. I never use the USB cord for my camera - or any other camera I've had. I use the SD slot on my desktop computer and a card reader on my laptop for transferring pictures. Like JB, I've never had a problem with either and I've done it at least a few thousand times. No problems!

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  6. So now we have two votes for cord, and three votes for take the card out! Boy that is inconclusive.

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  7. OK, I will even things up!!
    I only use my USB cord.
    Happy Trails, Penny, TX

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  8. I have not had my memory card out of my current camera ever. On my older camera I used to take it out and use a different card when it became full (before I had a laptop with me). Now that the cards have so much more memory on them, I never take mine out and always use the card to transfer the photos to the laptop. I have transferred literally thousands and no problems yet...but now you've got me worrying!

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