23rd October 2009, Glenorchy

This morning I had a test ride on a Can Am Spyder - see below. It is a three wheeler 990cc rotax engined flappy paddle type auto gearbox. Two wheels at the front.

I booked in for the test ride, just to have a ride on something exotic. It was a beautiful day to have a ride and I enjoyed it, but the bike was a huge dissappointment. I really thougtht the front wheels would lean over into the corner, but they don’t, they stay upright. This makes for a very boring, stilted, two dimensional ride. I can’t imagine many motorcyclists would enjoy these - you just can’t get into corners like you can on a motorbike.

Also, my single cylinder  650 would have left these for dead; they just didn’t move. I was expecting a lot more.

The rest of the day I spent at the Hobart Show. I mostly enjoyed looking at the animals and photographing them. I felt for them though, caged up for three days with all sorts of people in their faces. Well, I was in their faces too but able to put them at ease. They really all looked as though they just wanted to get out into the open.

There were also some great photographs in the photographic exhibition. You could tell that none of them were taken with a compact digital - the quality was superb.

The Can Am Spyder - I pilfered this photo from http://www.tuvie.com/can-am-spyder-roadster-three-wheels-vehicle/

Popularity: 18% [?]

10th May 2009, near Geeveston.

To continue on with my previous post “You may think it’s yours, but…“, I have an answer from Panasonic. There has been speculation as to whether Panasonic withdrew it’s position on not allowing the use of generic batteries in many of their cameras. Here is their answer:

“Thank you for taking the time to contact Panasonic with your enquiry.

Panasonic is able to confirm that due to faults and damage that can be caused by using non genuine batteries. The current Range and Firmware update for Cameras will stop non genuine batteries from being used.

Please contact Panasonic Customer Care on 132600 for further support”

If you have one of the Panasonic cameras targeted by this change that is able to use generic batteries, it is because it does not have the latest firmware update installed and it was manufactured before Panasonic’s dodgy decision - see previous post “You may think it’s yours, but…“.I have personal experience for being so critical of this action. I used to own a Nikon Coolpix E8800. It was a high end camera for its time and it cost me a small fortune. After buying it I went to the local camera store to get a uv filter to protect the lens. I couldn’t find one to fit even though the store had the whole range of sizes. What Nikon had done was made the filter thread size on this camera non standard - 53.5mm. The only filter I could get for this camera was from Nikon.

There were at least two problems with this: cost and availability. The cost was more than the best Hoya filter available, but worse was that the filter couldn’t be found - It wasn’t available. It was on back order for three months before I finally got it. That was an apprehensive three months for me; my cameras tend to suffer the extremes of climate and conditions.

Two years down the track and after lots of use in said extremes, the filter was looking worse for wear. I decided to replace it. I couldn’t find one anywhere in any country; the only filter available was a neutral density filter. Neutral density filters are probably the least used and definitely not something to leave on your camera - which is why there was still old stock available. Nikon had simply stopped making the UV filters when they stopped selling in reasonable numbers.

The same thing is happening and has been happening with these Panasonic Cameras. Many of the early purchasers of these cameras with the limitation of only working with Panasonic batteries had to wait months before batteries were available. Pretty frustrating, especially when you have an exceptionally power hungry camera like the G1 or GH1.

If you assume that this decision of Panasonic is a financial one, then it is just as logical to assume that they will stop manufacturing these batteries when it is no longer profitable.

I shall wait to see what Olympus comes up with in their micro four thirds range and just hope that they don’t make a similar decision, or if they do, let it be known up front so that people can make a fully informed choice before purchase.

Popularity: 12% [?]

17th June 2009, Wiebke’s place.

This is a shot of Dufus, Wiebke’s cat who recently passed away. In the background is an aloe vera plant sitting on the window sill.

I finally thought I found the closest thing to an ideal camera for me. It is the Panasonic Lumix G1. It is a tiny camera with a 4/3rds sensor and interchangeable lenses like an slr.

But, there’s a catch. In the last few firmware updates for this and some other Panasonic cameras, there is code that prevents the camera working with generic (and much cheaper) batteries. Any of these cameras manufactured after June 2009 will come with this updated firmware already installed.

You may wonder why would anyone update their camera with this new firmware? It’s because there are some genuine improvements in it as well. For example, one improvement is better focus in low light situations - this is something of great importance to most photographers.

Of course there are a lot of people out there who have had these cameras for quite a while, and using them with generic batteries. Now they will have to decide, or already have done, whether to install the update and lose the use of their batteries or forgo the improvements. If they choose the update they will then have to pay big bucks for replacement batteries.

Panasonic is trying to suggest that this is for safety reasons. Although, as pointed out on many online photography forums, the only high profile battery disasters to date have been with OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) batteries in laptops, phones and mp3 players. In my research I haven’t come across any stories of Panasonic cameras being destroyed, or any camera being destroyed, by using a generic battery. I’ve been using generic batteries for over ten years.

Scepticism is rife. The main reason is the cost of Panasonic batteries. The store I was going to get my camera from sells the Panasonic batteries for $189.00 au; the generic batteries at the same store are $59.00. You can buy generic batteries for much cheaper.

There is absolutely no reason for a camera battery to be this expensive, except for profit. There is a huge choice of new cameras for under $200.00 that come with lithium ion battery packs - the same technology as the Panasonic batteries being discussed. Panasonic simply wouldn’t sell many batteries at this price for their cameras if people were able to buy the much cheaper generic ones.

The average person who wants to buy one of these cameras would be unlikely to find out this information before, or during, their purchase. I have been researching these cameras for months, and only came across the information when searching for cheap generic batteries. You can still buy generic batteries for any of these cameras from reputable stores with no warning that they won’t work. I assume that many of the sellers aren’t aware of this; online stores like those on ebay rely on positive feedback, so I can’t imagine that they would want this trouble.

The G1 in particular is power hungry. I would have bought two extra batteries for a total of three to cover extended trips away from civilization (bushwalking trips etc).

Some people have reported that their generic batteries are working normally after the update. There is discussion as to whether this was/is Panasonic reversing their decision (with no public anouncement) due to outcry from the photographic community, or was it a short lived update no longer available that was released without the offending code. I have contacted Panasonic Australia to try and find what the truth is - I’ll post the answer if I get it.

Popularity: 24% [?]

25th July 2009, close to Geeveston.

Wiebke is cold, wet, and hungry.

But, it’s only a problem because she doesn’t have her camera to play with; it’s getting repaired.

The lens guy who had an initial look at the camera said “there’s something pink and sticky in there” (yeah, a pink stick). Wiebke answered “really?” with a concerned look so that the lens guy gets the impression that she is a caring camera owner. Or, was it because if she appeared to be ignorant of how “something pink and sticky” got in there, she wouldn’t have to explain how “something pink and sticky” did get in there?

All good photographers can eat fairy floss while framing a shot with the camera to their eye, fight through the fact that everything looks like a pink mist, and take the shot anyway. Like a seasoned war correspondent this is what Wiebke did. It was only when she went to move the camera that she found the front of it was embedded in the fairy floss, and the lens would no longer close.

So, I’m leaping from slippery slimy log to slippery slimy log like I’m wearing ice skates instead of gum boots, taking photos from various angles with a big grin on my face, while she is trying really really hard to give me the evil eye.

I can’t stop grinning because I’m thinking about the fairy floss in her camera.

Popularity: 21% [?]

We spent some time on the Ocean Beach, from one end to the other. It runs from Macquarie Heads near Strahan to the near side of Trial harbour to the North. We walked to Macquarie Heads and back starting close to Strahan, explored it around the Henty Dunes, and again at Trial Harbour.

The following photos were taken on the 31st May 2009 on the Macquarie heads walk.

Beach Silhouette

The Ocean Beach between Strahan and Macquarie Heads is shallow and fairly flat. There is a huge expanse of sand that water from the waves travels over slowly. In contrast, the beach at Trial Harbour is steep and deep; deep enough for Ships to anchor just off the beach and unload supplies.

The Beach Dance

The Beach Dance must have been performed by everyone who has walked along a beach with shoes on.

Here the water has already receded, leaving Wiebke with wet feet.

Fellow Enthusiast

Usually, if I am out with someone, I can lose myself working on a picture; they get bored. It is a nice surprise to look up after I have finished taking pictures from all angles and trying different settings to see Wiebke preoccupied with her own picture taking.

Popularity: 32% [?]

5th January 2007, Wollongong.

Seagulls and sparrows; both thrive with people.

I often observe sparrows, hopping around people’s feet, on chair backs, and barriers of outdoor eating areas. They are invisible - nobody pays them any attention. They also seem to be appearing more and more in supermarkets and large indoor shopping centres.

Seagulls are amazing flyers: so often I have seen them hovering around the food in someone’s hand. 

Photographically, I spent most of my time in Wollongong trying to capture pictures of birds, pelicans mostly. It was a real challenge - the camera I had was way to slow to focus on something like a flying bird. It is for shots like this that you really need an slr.

I had to pre set the focus at a distance that I thought I would be likely to get the picture. There were other challenges, but that was the main one.

In the last photo, the seagull is hovering just above a man’s head; the man was eating.

(c) Andrew Calder

Popularity: 16% [?]

15th October 2006, Ballarat Botanical Gardens.

This is a photo of the branches of a Bunya bunya pine tree.

Yes, the shot is out of focus, purposefully (enigmatic smile).

These trees are amazing. I have seen them in odd places: on the highway in Traralgon, on the hill overlooking the lake where the original Mallacoota pub used to sit, and the Ballarat Botanical Gardens.

(c) Andrew Calder

Popularity: 18% [?]

“This shot was taken while I was walking with a club. It was in a temperate rainforest close to Hobart, so there wasn’t much light. I improvised using my tripod as a mono pod to get the extra height that I needed. Given more time I would have found a better positioned fern.”

(c) Andrew Calder

Popularity: 24% [?]