Not in Canada, eh? Pity.
Oh well, it crashes anyways:
Update: Looks like the crashing is only a problem on jailbroken iPhones…updating Cydia seems to stop the crashing!
Archive for March, 2009
Inspired by something Peter told me about that Moose Peterson mentions in his videos, I wanted to find a way to mount another camera on top of my Nikon D90 with the goal being to capture the process of shooting photos sort of through my eyes. Moose calls it his MooseCam but I couldn’t actually find a photo of his setup so I had to figure it out myself.
Ideally the top camera could be pointed down at the D90′s top LCD screen so you could see some of the settings and/or my hands adjusting the lens, etc. The trouble was finding a reliable way of connecting one camera to another so they could shooting in unison – one shooting video and the other (most likely the DSLR) shooting the stills.
Using the tripod connector from a mini-gorillapod, I realized it could easily fit my Nikon P6000 onto my D90 via the hot shoe. It’s almost a perfect fit! It doesn’t tilt but it’s a solid connection.
So, while capturing this photo:
I shot this (goofy) video:
I can see all kinds of applications for this kind of dual camera coverage: timelapse photowalks, model shoots, event photography, party photos, etc.
Of course, there is also the HD version thanks to the Kodak Zx1: BiehlerCam HD.
While this may not work so well when I actually need to use the hotshoe for a flash (or a remote trigger), it should be a fun way to capture a few different things under the right conditions.
Stay tuned for some hopefully more interesting BiehlerCam videos…I’ll even adjust the white balance!
This is some pretty slick software, called Shape Collage, available for Mac/PC/Linux and it’s FREE!
I pointed the application to a few hundred iPhone photos (most of them from SXSW) on my computer (it can also traverse web url’s for photos or even my local Aperture library), then hand drew a cactus shape and it then arranged all the photos in the shape I drew:
You should view this larger to see the detail. There is (of course) a group on Flickr for these as well.
Pretty amazing and cool with endless possibilities.
(found via CyberNet)
Last year I was able to check out Kodak’s first foray into the handheld HD camera arena when they lent me a Zi6 for a month. When I sent it back, I immediately picked one up as soon as they were available locally. While not perfect, it was a great little camera for my purposes. It was small, had easily replaceable batteries as well as virtually unlimited capacity thanks to it’s SD card slot. The HD video quality was pretty decent as was the price point.
I like to stick my cameras onto things as well as stick things onto them so the size and form factor was ideal.
Except now, Kodak managed to improve upon this great little camera and the new model is called the Zx1 (which sounds like something Bond would drive). Kodak was kind enough to send me an advance unit to play with again and here are my initial impressions, photos and sample video:
The box is a little bit smaller than the Zi6 box…which makes sense since the unit is smaller although it actually comes with more in the box including: a set of rechargable batteries and charger, a cloth bag, wrist strap, USB cable, A/V cable, an HDMI cable (!) and an extra battery door cover.
Kodak sent me a blue one which I quite like. The main directional pad in the middle is actually backlit blue too. The Zx1 will come in 5 different colours but unfortuantely no green for me. The unit feels comfortable in the hand, even more so than the Zi6. The size and shape feels like a Nokia N95 or some kind of MP3 player (remember the Olympus M:Robe?) and makes me wonder how long before the iPhone or some other cellphone has HD video recording capabilities built in.
Zi6 on the left, Zx1 on the right
Zx1, iPhone 3G and Zi6
From top to bottom: Zx1, iPhone 3G and Zi6
Rubberized port door which includes an HDMI port!
It’s weather resistant as I can attest after getting caught in a brief downpour.
Sample video uploaded to YouTube (view in HD):
You can check out the original, unaltered video file,straight from the camera [20mb .MOV, right click to download]
I haven’t had a chance to shoot much video with it yet but my initial thoughts on the device are:
Pro:
- smaller size
- rubberized & ruggedized form factor is very comfortable
- buttons are easily pressed, much more so than the Zi6
- screen seems sharper/clearer but could simply be because it’s smaller than the Zi6
- faster startup and record
- HDMI port and included cable
- no goofy pop out USB plug – I know some people like this but it never seemed to line up with any of my computers (laptops/desktops) so it felt like a liability and may break off – besides, people should be using a card reader anyways…faster and doesn’t kill the batteries
- lens feels wider than on the Zi6
- easier to open rubber port doors
Con:
- smaller screen
- video doesn’t appear to be any better than the Zi6
- still no stablization
- no included SD card – considering smaller SD cards cost next to nothing these days
- no macro mode, unlike the Zi6 which has a great one
- still no indicator for the remaining video you can capture on your SD card
- not sure if it’s a Kodak issue or Flickr issue, but the Zi6 and now the Zx1 doesn’t seem to use a compatible codec that works on Flickr
I think the smaller, more rugged form factor alone has me wanting to sell my Zi6 and switch to the Zx1. I’ll post some more video once I’ve had a chance to play more with it and compare it to the Zi6…including testing out the low light improvements the Zx1 supposedly has.
The Kodak page I linked above says the Zx1 comes out in April…but Amazon says May 15th.
Update (November 18, 2009): I ended up buying a Zx1 for myself…after selling my Zi6, I bought the Zi8 when it first came out but missed the weatherization and AA battery support. After finding a smoking deal on the Zx1, I returned the Zi8. All are great cameras…but there are features I like on each of them. So for ME, the Zx1 is the better choice.
I finally got around to trying out the macro feature of the lens adaptors I bought awhile ago for my iPhone (which I can also use on my Zi6 which has it’s own macro mode):
You basically just have to unscrew the wide angle lens and it breaks down into two parts – the macro piece and the wide angle piece (which only works when attached to the macro).
It has a crazy short depth of field but it pretty clear considering how tiny it is. It costs a little more than my previous macro option, but arguably works and looks better.
SXSWi is over for another year…and it was fanatastic as usual. Here’s my wrapup in video form along with some photos:
This video was shot with my Nikon P6000 and Kodak Zi6 since they were the most portable. Edited with iMovie ’09 on the flight home.
I shot more video this time around but still managed to upload about 150 photos to my Flickr stream.
I left my camera back at the hotel while I went to the SXSW Interactive conference today:
View from the 16th floor from John Biehler on Vimeo.
Today was a travel day for getting to Austin, Texas for SXSW Interactive. Of course, this meant that I brought a bunch of camera gear with me onto the plane…including this handy little suction cup gorilla pod mount for my Zi6 HD camera that you can see on the right. I also added the fisheye lens adapter to the Zi6.
I was expecting the flight attendants to ask me to remove it but nobody seemed to care that I used it for the full flight from Vancouver to San Francisco.
The second leg of the trip was from SFO to Austin but my seat wasn’t really ideal for shooting so this little video is all I got so far with more to come over the next week at SXSW:
YVR 2 SFO from John Biehler on Vimeo.
Last month, after Northern Voice wrapped up, there was a unique event being held in a part of downtown Vancouver called Yaletown that seemed like an ideal photographic subject.
Basically a couple of city blocks were closed to vehicle traffic and a number of light installations were set up by local artists. There were also fire jugglers/dancers and live music scattered around the area.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect and it certainly was much bigger than anticipated. We’re talking light shows projected on the side of five story buildings, lasers and fire all over the place. Plus a TON of people showed up to see what was going on.
I submitted most of my set of photos to the contest and two of them were selected as finalists. So if you’d like to vote on either or both of these shots, click on them to go to the Illuminate Yaletown voting pages for each photo (quick registration required):
Best of Yaletown category:
Best Digital Art category:
I have to say that I had some ideas in my head of the kinds of shots I was going to get but ended up with completely different ones. My iPhone even surprised me with some interesting shots. I thought I’d be a little different and use my fisheye (surprise) for the shoot and after getting my tripod setup at the first fire juggling ‘station’, a guy walks up with the exact same camera and fisheye lens. Oh well…still haven’t found his shots yet on Flickr.
I’m looking forward to next year’s event to try and see what I can do now that I have a better idea of what to expect.
This past weekend I attended one day of the ImageQuest Professional Photographers Convention in Richmond. I kept waiting for someone to ask me to leave since I don’t consider myself a professional photographer.
The only reason I wanted to attend was in order to see Joe McNally’s session. I’ve seen a number of videos he’s done and followed his blog for awhile. I missed out on the Strobist Meetup late last year where he just showed up (which led to me joining the Vancouver Strobist group and attending their next meetup).
For those that don’t know the name, he’s been in the business for 30 years and has shot some very well known photos for National Geographic, Life and many other publications. It would be hard to believe you haven’t seen at least some of his work somewhere because he is so prolific. He also bears a striking resemblance to Robert Redford…I wonder if he’s ever photographed him.
Even with having seen much of his work online and in print, it was still great to hear him tell some of the stories behind the images and some of the challenges he’s worked through being a pro for such a long time. He’s a very interesting guy and I found him very entertaining in his presentation…you know the kind of presentation where you haven’t looked at your watch and you don’t want to end? Unfortunately it was only 3 1/2 hours long – we did go a little over duing the workshop phase – nobody but the organizers seemed to mind.
He’s got a new book
Interestingly enough, he uses Apple’s Aperture for photo management and does very little post processing.
