State of the Art Candle Light Compact Cameras

These cameras are shirt-pocket gadgets containing new sensors that are specially designed for low-light photography. (Credit: The New York Times.com)

For many years Madison Avenue was telling us that pixel crammed digital cameras was the way to go if you wanted attractive pictures.  This created the myth that cameras with the most pixels would take better pictures.  This myth has been debunked.  Now we know that pixel packed cameras are only needed if you plan to print large pictures.  For normal postcards and web images a 5 MB pixel digital camera will do just fine.

Currently the trend is to cough out cameras with redesigned sensors that are specially designed for low-light photography.  These new cameras mark an important step forward in personal photography.

Recently (at long last), camera companies have begun diverting their research efforts from “how to get more megapixels” to “how to get better photos.” They’re working on things that really do matter in a consumer camera, like sensor size, stabilization — and fixing low-light photography.  This is the case of the the Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR and the Sony DSC-WX1 ($320 and $350, respectively, before discounting).  With these state of the art cameras you can practically say good bye to the ubiquitous tripod.

Both cameras can choose the correct mode (close-up, twilight, portrait, landscape and so on) automatically. Both have only a screen—no eyepiece viewfinder—which makes them tricky to use in bright sunlight. Then again, both cameras are tiny enough to rattle around in a shirt pocket. Both offer excellent face recognition, meaning that portraits are almost always focused and properly exposed. Neither offers manual focusing.

For my blogging activities my Canon A720 IS is just fine, since most, if not all my photographs are taken in broad daylight.  Even though I have taken some photographs in dim light, the results have been satisfactory.  However, I know persons that like to take pictures at night and are having problems with their Canon digital compact cameras.  If this is your case, then this new option could be helpful to you.

I’m glad that camera manufacturers are now looking at other improvement areas besides more mega pixels.  Good Day.

Source:  Low Light Becomes a Highlight - The New York Times

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The Taste is in the Pudding

Last Sunday we were advised that my wife’s grandnephews would visit us for the day.  Usually they have breakfast with us and stay until mid afternoon.  After that, their father takes them to play at Parque Omar where they have ample room to play and run to their heart’s content.

Since my wife knew Abdiel and Karla were coming, she went to the supermarket and bought a large package of ice cream cones, the ones you eat after the ice cream has been consumed.  She also bought a quart of Helado Galleta Deluxe (Cookie Ice Cream) maufactured by Estrella Azul. We were sure they would be elated with this sweet surprise.

As expected, shortly after breakfast, Abdiel asked if  “tía” had bought any ice cream for them.  “Indeed we have”, she said with a wide smile on her face.  She then fetched the ice cream cones from the fridge and filled them up to the very top with the Helado Galleta from Estrella Azul.

They dashed to the terrace to play with their toys.  Since I was curious to know if they were enjoying their sweet surprise, I went to the terrace to watch their reactions.

These are the faces I saw while they were licking their ice creams.  Here we go.

Karla and Abdiel reacting to their ice cream cones at our house last Sunday. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

Judging from Karla’s face, she was neither happy nor disgusted with her ice cream.  I would say she was neutral on the issue.  On the other hand, Abdiel’s facial expression shows that his ice cream was not his cup of tea.  This picture would not be a good ad to promote Estrella Azul’s ice creams.

Next time we’ll try with Butter Pecan or Chocolate Chip until we hit the nail on the head.  When the children left, Aura and I took care of the rest of the ice cream.  For us it was yummity-yum-yum-yum.  Good Day.

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Photograph of the Day: The Modern Face of Panama

Photograph of the modern side of Panama City, Panama. Panama is rapidly emerging as a potential first world country. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

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