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Reviews (11)
Apr 24, 2007
Excellent camera for novices and pros alike
3 of 5 found this helpful As a novice in photography, this camera was my first real step away from the pocket sized point and shoot digital cameras that everyone seems to have these days. The camera has a compact feel to it, but is packed with lots of functionality and compatibility with the more 'professional grade' Canon camera lenses and accessories. The construction feels rugged enough and well put together.
Must control knobs, buttons, and dials are easy to use and well marked. You should familiarize yourself with the easy to read manual if you don't know what some of the features can do for you. I read the user manual and then a book entitled 'Exposure' soon afterward, which gave me some ideas for experimenting withe various modes and settings.
The display screen is not exactly large, but you get the sense that this screen plays a far less important role in actually shooting than in those pocket cams. These cameras are meant for use by more serious photographers. By that I mean that you're not going to shoot with the camera held out 2 feet in front of you. You're going to actually use the viewfinder and size up your subject the old fashioned way. The screen however does display a lot of useful information when you're reviewing your shots afterwards. You can easily critique your shooting by looking at the settings you used for a particular photograph and the histogram. Above the display is an LCD display to show you information on your current settings. You'll find some of the same information displayed when looking into the viewfinder.
The software that came with the camera has come in very handy. I particularly like the zoombrowser for comparing pictures. We take thousands of pictures of emeralds to select just a handful of the more representative exposures and this program allows us to really scrutinize the fine details.
Downloading your pictures is quick and automatic. We like that.
All the accessories we've used thus far have worked flawlessly with the camera. This includes the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens, a lens hood, remote control, and a Mannfrotto tripod. The standard lens is useful, but you'll be much more excited when you see what some of the other lenses can do when attached to this camera. Lens changes are quick and easy.
Battery life is decent. No complaints, but a busy photographer should always carry charged spares.
We use a 1GB CF card and I highly recommend getting something of that capacity or greater. Not necessarily because you'll need it, but its a great convenience to shoot hundreds of shots at the highest resolutions without having to download. At lower settings you'll get over 1000 exposures saved on it.
Conclusion... We're glad we bought this camera. It was more out of necessity than anything because we needed to improve the quality of our photography, but we've actually acquired a genuine interest in photography as a hobby because of our experience with it. A professional tends to have several cameras for different situations, but I don't think they would dismiss this camera. In fact I would guess they might consider this a handy, all-purpose field camera for when you want to go lightweight and leave all the gear behind.
Mar 27, 2007
A Detailed Insight to the Gemstone Industry
5 of 5 found this helpful From the same writing duo that authored "Jewelry & Gems: The Buying Guide", this excellent book goes into much deeper detail that any individual new to the industry will appreciate.
Generally organized by the different tools used by jewelers and gemstone labratories, this book goes into great detail on how to correctly use and intrepret findings. Also included are over 70 full color photographs showing common inclusions and blemishes on a varity of materials.
Embassy Emeralds highly recommends this book to any individual serious hobbiests and professionals alike, and we keep a copy on our own bookshelf as well.
Apr 30, 2007
Good Player, Better Price
Of course, all the cool kids have an iPod, but I just couldn't see myself dropping the money for the shuffle, the nearest comparable device. The YP-U2JQB has 2 Gigs of Memory, which is a convienent size, made even more useful by the fact the the device doubles as a fully functional USB drive which, in my case, was one of my buying criteria. It's strange to note how few devices out there have built connectors for interfaceing with a USB port; many other devices- even those that claim dual use as a USB drive- still require the use of an ancillary cable.
As for the sound, It's impressive how much sound this little device puts out, even with the included button headphones. The audio output is on the side, which is definately odd, but not unmanageable.
The cap fits on very firmly, which should help keep it from getting lost.
You can get other MP3 players out there with more features, or more memory, however for the price, this particular device is more than sufficient.
The only drawback that I saw was samsung does not include a lanyard, which seems to be a glaring oversite as the device has no other way to secure it to anything such as a strap, shirt, or pocket. However, they are inexpensive and can be picked up at virturally any kiosk that sells celular phones.
As for the display, it is small, but bright, though this makes it slightly more inconvienent when working with files with complete ID2 tags (If you don't know what that means, then it probably doesn't matter). The primary control buttons are easy to use, but there are additional buttons on the side which are quite small, possibly a wee bit more challenging for clumbsy fingers.
As for the "light effect", it's blue, and doesn't stay on for very long. A feature that serves little other purpose than cosmetics. Too bad as it could have made a neat little flashlight.