Nikon’s compact digital (S)uccessor

Photokina is coming and the pre-announcements are coming with it. Today it’s Nikon’s turn.

I thought I’d pick out one camera to mention: The Nikon Coolpix S10.

Nikon Coolpix S10

It’s only one of many Nikon compact cameras with Vibration Reduction built in. The other cameras are the thin, periscope style S7c and the more standard compact L5. (The S9 and L6 don’t have vibration reduction.)

By the way, Nikon’s designations are quite confusing. The key is understanding that Nikon uses the letter designation to denote the budget for the camera: L = budget, S = stylish, P = professional. Then the number after it is in order by time. This leads to confusion like the L6 being worse than the L5 and the S7c being an S8 with WiFi, and both being better than the S9. And the S10 being completely different than the S8 or S7c… more like a newer S4. Very silly!Continue reading →

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The next Rebel

Engadget scooped the next Canon Rebel (Canon 400D dSLR) that everyone has been speculated would be released for Photokina.

If the specifications are true, I’ll have to eat a little humble pie. I was predicting the 9 point AF system (as Nikon has switched to the CAM1000 11 point AF system with the D80), but I wasn’t predicting the following:

  • 10.1 megapixel CMOS.
  • Anti-dust removal. I thought this was a feature that Olympus/Panasonic and Sony would want to keep away from the big boys (Canon and Nikon).
  • Shitty shot buffer.

Continue reading →

Posted on by tychay 6

Lies, Damn Lies, and Bias

Mike Johnston points out a Michael Reichmann review of the Panasonic L1.

DMC L1 front

Here is a one line summary of the review: Michael Reichmann says he should love Panasonic and the L1 design in particular and then tears the camera a new asshole.

I’m not surprised about the review. Reichmann’s “full frame” snobbery has been peeking through for a few years now and is now in full bloom. The fact that he qualifies his review by stating that he has a Panasonic bias is laughable.

Should I begin this review of the reviews and comments by stating that I have a Nikon bias? How is that relevant? If I wax glowingly of the the L1, does that make it more valid because I’m a Nikon guy? Typical fallacy.Continue reading →

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Mac Pro value

A number of places have been doing a Mac Pro vs. Dell comparison. Digg summarizes:

Despite an earlier (and possibly biased) report proving the Mac Pro’s price advantage, both Macworld and The Inquirer have also agreed that the Mac Pro is unquestionably cheaper than a similarly-configured Dell. Jeez, when was the last time this happened?

Well The Inquirer’s review bias depends on who is writing, but people have been making this comparison for years and since Apple outsourced their manufacturing, Mac’s have always compared favorably when you spec a Dell this way. Don’t believe me? bookmark this site then.

The problem with this comparison is that the average user doesn’t see where they are different and, if they are different, which one is better. That’s why if you want to perform this sort of specification masturbation, you should look this table instead of those articles.Continue reading →

Posted on by tychay 4

PHP Podcast

I just finished an interview with Marcus Whitney (of Rasmussed fame) for the Pro::PHP Podcast. It should be up soon.

I haven’t heard it yet but I think I made an error. I said that we made $500,000 in our first month of operation with eCards, but I think eCards only brought it $250,000 that month. (I’m bad with numbers.) In any case, if you factor in the premium suite (of which eCards is a part of), I might not have been lying. 😀Continue reading →

Posted on by tychay 6

A strategy against terrah

“There are no quick fixes when you are fighting an ideology. Like communism before it, I suspect Islamic fundamentalism will only be defeated through a slow war of attrition. Ideologies must die out, they cannot be killed.”
—Anonymous Liberal, “Strange Burden Shifting”

A scathing indictment on a false choice that the only options on the War on Terror are military or nothing at all.

Posted on by tychay 0

HDR photography hits mainstream

The New York Times has a wonderful summary article of High Dynamic Range photography.

(I have a strong suspicion that the article is heavily influenced by discussion on the HDR Flickr group.)

This was a little serendipitous because I had a discussion at lunch where I heard the tired old line that “nothing new is in Photoshop since x came out” and I pointed out some of the features in CS2, of which HDR support was one of them.

Continue reading about High Dynamic Range photography after the jump

Posted on by tychay 5

PHP Sucks

Chris notes that Theo has posted his Six Reasons PHP Sucks PHP Lightning Talk.

My favorite part:

Reason # 4: User comments on the online documentation.
Allows PHP to expose what are perhaps the worst most dysfunctional and retarded code samples.

Reason #5: PEAR.
Allows PHP to expose what are perhaps the worst most dysfunctional and retarded code…
…in an easily downloadable/installable format

If you aren’t laughing, you haven’t used PHP.
Continue reading →

Posted on by tychay 6