Phantom Planet's "The Guest" is an amazing album. Maybe I've just been listening to way too much crap lately, but I just love the simplicity of this album. And unlike other artists (*cough* Linkin Park *cough*) each song sounds DIFFERENT ... Just go download a few tracks and try it out (besides California, since everybody has heard that one now). Just a great chill album...

Phantom Planet - One Ray of Sunlight
Goodness sometimes things get bad
But I swear
I'm doing all I can
So try all you want to
I'm gonna try too

If I get one ray of sunlight to hold in my hand
Maybe we can be happy again
I'll try for one ray of sunlight to hold in my hand
Maybe we can be happy and then...

Things don't go as I planned
But I swear I'm doing all I can
So try all you want to
I'm gonna try too

If I get one ray of sunlight to hold in my hand
Maybe we can be happy again
I'll try for one ray of sunlight to hold in my hand
And I guess if this isn't the end
Maybe we can be happy again



I got my digital camera finally. And wow. What the hell did Canon do? They created the *perfect* digital camera. Really. Everything I could wish for in a non-DLSR camera can be found here. I mean, are they trying to shoot themselves in the foot? Is there some stupid thing here where once the battery dies, I have to buy a new iPod pay $99 to Canon to get it fixed (Thanks, MacDaddyTatsu), like some unnamed Cupertino, California fruit-named computer company is doing with a MP3 player that rhymes with iPod? Honestly, I don't see myself buying another point-and-shoot digital camera for the next 3-4 years, short of a revolutionary feature change in point-and-shoot cameras. But I definitely see myself purchasing a DSLR from Canon (which I guess is much better, since then I pay for the body and start paying for all the lens and stuff ...)

Note that these are mostly first impression; I've only had a few hours to play with it today, but so far I'm totally impressed.

So to begin, I got the Canon G5 Powershot for $450 on eBay with an extra 128MB CF card, a carrying case, the wireless remote control, the 6-in-1 Flash Card Reader, and all the normal stuff. The camera is 5 megapixels (which I wasn't even aware of until I got it today, I thought it was 4 megapixels ... in retrospect I should of known since it's a G5). The body is made of plastic, which was kind of a downer for me, but as it later turned out, this was a good decision by Canon engineers; the thing is pretty light and you can handhold most exposures.

Although the size is slightly bulky for a "take around everywhere with you" type of camera, the features well outweight the slightly large size.

This camera is ideal for people who want to learn more about photography. This thing has aperture priority as well as a manual shooting mode so you can set the shutter speed and aperture manually. The aperture range goes down to f/2.0, which is great for DOF shots (pictures where the thing in focus is sharp, but everything else is blurred out). I'm spoiled by my Canon lens, so I was slightly miffed about the lack of good DOF, but for a point-and-shoot digital camera, the DOF is great. The manual modes are fully manual, which can be such a blessing ...

Note that this is *not* the camera you take out when you're seeing friends and you want to take pictures. This thing will probably not fit comfortably in a girl's purse or anything a guy should carry (men should NOT carry manbags!) ... I would stick with the Canon ELPH if you want a small camera...

The swivel digital screen is great for composing difficult shots, like this shot. You can also see some DOF in this shot (this was taken at the widest angle at f/2.0).



Now, for the quality. I found out last night this thing has some "panorama" feature that lets you take a bunch of pictures and stitch them together ... so I decided to try this out today and took a picture outside of my studio.

Well, I'll link you to the full-sized image (warning: it's like 6618x1024 or something ridiculous like that; I left it at fullsize). This was taken at "medium" resolution .... and the camera was hand-held. Not much digital aberration ... and look, you can even see a reflection of me in the door at the far right!

Amazing quality... I guess that 5 megapixel is really wonderful for these types of high-detail images... And the stitching software is really easy to use!

Speaking of the software ... I've had many gripes about hardware companies making SHITTY software to transfer the stuff over.

I guess I got an amazing deal on eBay, cause I got a "6-in-1 USB Flash Card Reader." I wasn't really sure what this was when I bought the auction, but now I know.

Let me show you a picture of what it is.



The silver box connects to your USB port; you input your Flash card into one of the 6 slots (it supports different types of cards), and then you input the small CD to install drivers that let the flash card be read DIRECTLY as another drive.

So let me rephrase this for those of you won't don't quite understand. I don't have to install shitty proprietary software just to transfer images. I just install a driver, plug that drive into my USB port, and drag the images via Explorer.

Yes. Amazing. So simple. Someone finally did it. And the size of that whole flash card reader is tiny; not bigger than my iPod (use my craptop as reference).

Some additional notes:
- The G5 has a built in neutral density filter (which I'm pretty sure is just a digital thing...) so you can set long exposures on purpose, which is really nifty.
- I'm totally getting spoiled from this G5, but wouldn't it be AWESOME if it had a built-in polarizer? Although that thing seems to really like glass reflection (which could be a bad thing):


- The thing is pretty intuitive to use, although I constantly try to use the actual lens to zoom instead of the zoom button (which is usually where the manual exposure control is on my Elan)...
- rechargeable batteries. w00t.
- the 'continuous' shot mode can store a bunch of pictures in the buffer, so you can just hold down the shutter and take like 4 continuous pictures in a row!

So for those of you who love to take pictures, but can't afford a DLSR or don't want to pay for expensive film cameras... this is seriously the perfect camera for you. It gives you total control, but the quality and size and feel of the camera is nice ... the swivel LCD screen is amazing and totally awesome to use for difficult to compose shots.

What's really awesome is that the people who bought this originally are starting to migrate to DSLRs (which this is really the perfects stepping stone for...) ... so you can usually find great bundled deals on eBay from individual sellers just looking to dump off their whole G5 set (which includes CF mem and stuff) pretty cheap. $450 was a STEAL for me, and the price can only go down!
Posted by roy on July 11, 2004 at 12:14 AM in Photography, Music | 17 Comments

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Comment posted on July 13th, 2004 at 07:47 AM
gimme g5. now.

sigh.

i need to get a job. there\'s too many debts waiting to be paid and too many things i want to buy. agh.

(must begin writing new entry)
Comment posted on July 12th, 2004 at 04:06 PM
have you been to an internet cafe recently? will they let you plug in your card reader?

(i\'m planning on bringing my card reader over to japan but i don\'t know if they\'ll let me or not...)
Comment posted on July 12th, 2004 at 11:43 PM
i\'ve found some internet cafes with open USB ports (but they only have win98) ... and then i find many winxp with no usb ports.

you have to find the right internet cafe... it\'s pretty hard work; i got lucky to find one with usb ports... in general they don\'t give you access to the ports.
Comment posted on July 12th, 2004 at 05:09 AM
Linkin Park sucks... they have no variety. Nothing but angst.

I am bamboozled by the sheer technical information that you have posted in this entry. ^_^

So much about Phantom Planet and digital cameras... (I\'m too poor to buy either)
Comment posted on July 11th, 2004 at 09:40 AM
hell i love my canon powershot s110 i got 2 years ago, still works like a charm... wish i had one of your card readers though, would be nice
Comment posted on July 11th, 2004 at 05:43 AM
hey roy. :) if you like phantom planet\'s \"guest\" album, you\'ll definitely like \"polaroid\" and \"phantom planet is missing.\" :) try getting \"rise the setting star,\" it\'s one great phantom planet song. :)
Comment posted on July 11th, 2004 at 05:45 AM
Will most definitely check it out 8)

Hey, if you got those templates ready, just fire them off to me (upload them somewhere as a zip perhaps?)
Comment posted on July 11th, 2004 at 05:46 AM
i\'ll fix them all first. :) i\'m sooo cranked up with my thesis, i\'m looking for time to actually work on web stuff. but you\'ll definitely get them. :) don\'t worry.
Comment posted on July 11th, 2004 at 01:48 AM
Wow. Everything I\'ve read and more. But you\'re right on the button with the proprietary battery. I\'d much rather carry along some cheap NIMh AA\'s. How is the shutter lag?
Comment posted on July 11th, 2004 at 01:51 AM
Well, I don\'t mind the proprietary battery on the G5 though, because it\'s rechargeable, and I *believe* you can pull it out and replace it (although it costs $50 ...).

Shutter lag isn\'t horrible. Like normal cameras, you can do a one-shot focusing, and then just depress the button again; not a very noticeable lag. But I haven\'t really taken any pictures hurredly yet, so when I do start noticing a noticeable lag, I\'ll let you know. 8)
Comment posted on July 11th, 2004 at 02:05 AM
shutter lag blows...

You got a one legged ghost in the right panel of the panoramic. :)
Comment posted on July 11th, 2004 at 05:45 AM
Yeah, I wasn\'t holding the camera very steady...

benstar (guest)

Comment posted on July 11th, 2004 at 01:45 AM
o.O ROy??? you sound as if the flash usb reader is amazing? lol, i have a smartmedia usb reader, and its shows the card up as a drive too, but i never knew it was THAT amazing that u exclaim it! lol.

Tsk tsk tsk, i knew about something before roy did! OMFG! *screams like a girl*
Comment posted on July 11th, 2004 at 01:52 AM
Haha. Well, I\'m just glad that I don\'t have to install shitty software to get my hardware stuff to work well 8)
Comment posted on July 11th, 2004 at 12:37 AM
I love Phantom Planet.

They were absolutely wonderful <a href=\"http://www.razzapplemagic.com/gallery/gracelyn\">(live.)</a>

My favorite songs are In Our Darkest Hour, The Local Black and Red, All Over Again, Nobody\'s Fault, Rise the Setting Star...<b>okay I\'ll stop.</b>

You should try their first album...\"Phantom Planet Is Missing\" or \"Is Missing,\" whichever you prefer.

<i>\'And unlike other artists (*cough* Linkin Park *cough*) each song sounds DIFFERENT ...\"</i>

Wow...somebody else finally noticed. :)

Hahaha.

-Gracelyn-

PS: Thanks for the review of the camera. I\'m in the market for a new one... :)
Comment posted on July 11th, 2004 at 12:32 AM
It\'s like... the perfect camera.

I shall check it out. And that reader is fscking <em>excellent</em>.
Comment posted on July 11th, 2004 at 12:37 AM
It *IS* the perfect camera. And yes, that reader is fscking excellent. I just hope more hardware companies go down this line ... less software to install to manage hardware, the better things are for the USER.