Chimney Rock Park

Canon S2 IS 

Canon S2 IS 

Canon S2 IS - My New Toy

After debating alot, I finally got my new Digital Camera - The Canon Powershot S2 IS. I have posted 2 of the test shots taken so far. More picture to come....

Google Rocks!!!

Google ROCKS!!!

 

A couple of weeks back, a friend at work mentioned to me about Google maps. I instantly jumped on my browser and Vola! they did it again!!!

 

I was amazed at their BETA version. They had included the local search and the latest satellite pictures feature which will speak volumes. I have never seen the features in any other map provider.

 

Hats off to GOOGLE!!!

 

Worth The Wait!

It is here! It is here! I finally managed to get my hands on my dream laptop that I have been hunting from the beginning of this year... Yes! I finally ordered the IBM Thinkpad T42 on November 5th and had it delivered on November 15th.

Weighing around 5.5 pounds with a grinding horsepower of 1.8Ghz Intel Centrino, this is one awesome laptop. It has got the most common features like built-in 80211.g wireless , 2 USB 2.0 ports, 512MB RAM and a 40GB HDD. But the most special feature is a built-in biometric fingerprint reader introduced by IBM in it's latest product line. This means I just swipe my finger across a slim finger print reader to logon to the mean machine. Sounds pretty cool ah!

Initially I was planning to buy the 1.7Ghz model (without finger print reader) for $1576. But thanks to IBM! Their price mistake fetched me the 1.8Ghz model for $1416!!!. The MSRP of this product is around $2300!!! The highlight is I got it with 3 years international warranty and MS Office 2003 Basic Edition for $54!!!. I am now a happy go camper....

I was first fixed on the Toshiba Satellite series. Thanks to my buddy Munna on preaching the importance of a light laptop and to my buddy Anand who helped me to get the T42 at this low price using the Employee Purchase Progam. Thanks guys.

Another person who takes the credit is my wife Anusha... She puts up with all my gadget talk techie stuff. She backs me up in all my decisions and shares all techie details like a good listening post...

More to come....

GMail

Yippeeee!

I got my GMail a/c created hrough one of my friends. Thanks Sathiya!

The first thing I tried to do was change my last name submitted by my friend (Sathiya my last name is nit "Lee" and I do not know martial arts!)

One of the cool features I noticed was that I can easily import my contacts from my existing Yahoo account by using a CSV file. This will save time cause I would not be required to add my contacts in to my new GMail a/c.

Since GMail is a part of the Google group and still in BETA version, I am sure they will a lot more added when it gets in to the mainstream.

I guess I have just started using it. Will keep you folks posted on more...


Ramjee

Let's Talk Digital

Let me be frank... I have been trying to post some stuff for a loooong time... Now finally I have managed to start with my favorite topic - Digital.

Every since I bought my first Nikon Coolpix Digitial Camera in 2003, I have been so fascinated about Digital technology and mainly Digital Photography. I was amazed with the performance of the 2MP small guy. The prints were really clear and crisp. I used it on a couple of trips and then finally gifted it to my sister and BIL. It has now become their latest gadget back in India!

This year I bought a Canon Powershot A80, a 4Mp beauty. Loaded with a lot of features it is a photographer's delight. It comes with 2 custom modes C1 & C2. I usually set one for indoor and the other for outdoor. I was debating whether to buy the Canon G2/G3 or the A80 and finally found the A80 with all good features from the G2. It is a nice little compact point & shoot camera and easy to carry on vacations and road trips. The AA NimH battery lasts for atleast a couple of weeks/500 pictures. The camera uses a CF card which is very less expensive these days.

The A70 model which was the Predecessor of the A80 was the topseller of 2003. I personally recommend the A70 to a couple of my friends. After a couple of months later the A80 was released, Canon came out with new models such as the Powershot S1 IS, A75, A85 and the A95. At one point I was thinking of selling my A80 and going for the Powershot S1 IS. I posted my questions on my favourite forum www.dpreview.com and finally concluded that it was not worth to sell the 4MP A80 for a 3.2MP Powershot S1 IS.

I have shot hundreds of pictures using y A80 and I just love it! The one thing I would like to have a add-on is a zoom-lens which would come in very handy.

On a number of trips, I observed people carrying very less film cameras and more of digital cameras. I guess the prices have dropped so much that more and more people are getting used to digital photography. There is no usuage of films and they are very cheap to print. Once you take a picture, you can

1. Modify/Enhance using Photoshop.
2. Order prints online.
3. E-mail pictures to friends/family.
4. Print personally from Kiosks in various stores like Walmart/Wolf Camera.

Digital pictures cost as low as 19cents per printout these days at places like Costco and Sams Club.

There are now a lot of 3 megapixels and 4 megapixels out there in the market now at very very less price. The latest Canon Poweshot A95 (5 MP) now costs as low as $339 a little more than my A80 which I bought for $324 this year in February.

After having played with point and shoot cameras, I stumbled upon the Nikon D70. Man, this is THE CAMERA I would like to have someday. Nikon is one of the major pioneers in optics. I would close my eyes and buy any Nikon camera. My co-worker Dean & VP Marc Konik are great fans of the Nikon. They own equipments which is one of the best I have ever seen. Their latest gadget - D70.

Any photographer who wants to learn more would durely choose the D70. Dean has been pushing me to get the D70 for a couple of months now. Unfortunately, I cannot afford a $1000 camera now. But I would love to have it someday!

One thing that I noticed in the apst few months is that, my camcorder and Minolta SLR camera are now sleeping in my closet being totally ignored. Before I bought my digital camera, I used to carry the camcorder and the SLR in my camcorder bag like a separate luggage on all my trips. Now my A80 can take both digital pictures and a decent quality MPEG movie. So I just carry my digital camera alone on my trips.

Speaking of trips, I haven't done any lately. Fall Season is coming near and I should hopefully be making a trip to Smokies where I hope to shoot as much as I can.