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stephend

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Posts posted by stephend

    Aperture Metadata

    in The Digital Darkroom: Process, Technique & Printing

    Posted

    <p>The caption would be just an English description of the image, possibly used as a label when printing or uploading to the web or as a broad search criterion.</p>

    <p>So this is something like how I would see the data:</p>

    <p>Caption: Brighton seafont<br>

    Keywords: uk, beach, sea, travel, sand, water<br>

    Version Name: Sepia Toned</p>

    <p>Just want to make sure that I am not shooting myself in the foot by standardising on something like that. I like the idea of using custom names on import; that does sound like a time saver.</p>

    Aperture Metadata

    in The Digital Darkroom: Process, Technique & Printing

    Posted

    <p>This seems like it's something that's so obvious that I'm missing it in the manual (I have looked for it) or am seriously over-analysing the situation!</p>

    <p>It boils down to this: what is the "best practice" for entering captions in Aperture?</p>

    <p>My first thought was that this was obviously the "Caption" field. However, firstly, I note that this is not where the equivalent "Caption" field in iPhoto is migrated when you import your library. Instead, the caption ends up in the "Version Name" field and the notes field ends up in Apertures "Caption" field. Secondly, I read in a few places that Apertures Web Export didn't work well when you used Caption, instead preferring the "Version Name" field, though I've a feeling those comments related to version 1.x of Aperture.</p>

    <p>All hints and suggestions welcomed with apologies in advance if this is a dumb question!</p>

    Is the Canon 50 D worth it

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    <p>I made the jump from the 300D to the 50D and can highly recommend it. <a href="http://www.zx81.org.uk/photography/canon-eos-50d.html">I wrote a blog about my experience</a>. I wouldn't worry about the noise. You might be able to argue about the quality compared with other contemporary cameras but there's no question that it's superior to the 300D.</p>

    <p>The gap between the 40D and 50D is maybe harder to justify. I had two reasons to stretch. Firstly, I plan on owning the 50D for roughly as long as the 300D. The extra spread over five years didn't seem so bad. And, more practically, the 3" screen is really nice!</p>

    Upgrade from 300D to 50D

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    <p>A couple of months ago I went out and bought a new 50D having owned a 300D (the original Digital Rebel) since 2003. Almost all of the reviews and comparisons I saw before the purchase were with other contemporary models or with the 450D or 400D. Not being the kind of person to upgrade every eighteen months those weren't always terribly useful!</p>

    <p>I figured that I can't be the only person to upgrade from a five year old camera and so wrote <a href="http://www.zx81.org.uk/photography/canon-eos-50d.html">my experience on my blog</a>. Hope you find it useful.</p>

    EOS50D vs EOS500D which one do i go for?

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    <p>I just moved from a 300D to a 50D and don't regret the purchase even with the new model just coming out.</p>

    <p>For me the frame-rate and number of mega-pixels had little bearing on my decision. I don't think the spec sheet really shows the major differences between the two models. Without even seeing the 500D we know that the 50D will have a better view finder, better weather sealing, the rear command dial and the nubby, joy-stick thing and more customisations. It's quicker and easier to use the 50D because of these features.</p>

    <p>If those things are useful to you then the 50D is well worth the extra.</p>

    Kathmandu airport, Nepal

    in Travel

    Posted

    <p>It was a long time ago (2002) and with Fuji Reala 100, but I didn't have any problems. Went through three times, in and out in Kathmandu and once in Tibet, with no obvious degredation in quality.</p>

    Cuba

    in Travel

    Posted

    <p>Havana and Trinidad for urban scenes. Lots of people willing to chat and have their pics taken. All that "faded glory" look and those old American cars that you see in magazines -- they really are there. </p>

    <p>To the west is Vinales which is very pretty.</p>

    <p>In the middle -- Santa Clara -- is important historically and it worth visiting but is probably less photogenic. Further east is the mountainous area where Castro et al hid during the revolution. Also worth visiting but it's quite a drive and if you're only there for a week or two it's probably worth skipping and spending more time in the west.</p>

    <p>Brief commentery and a few images from my trip there is 2004 are <a href="http://www.zx81.org.uk/travel/cuba.html">on my website</a>.</p>

    50D Review with Histogram?

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    <p>You're all right: the option is "sticky," unlike the 300D where it's a menu item. I guess I must have cycled through all the options every time I tried it. It's obvious when you know how! Incidentally, even though I know what I'm looking for now I still don't see this is the manual.</p>

    <p>Cheers,<br>

    --> Stephen</p>

    50D Review with Histogram?

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    <p>I just upgraded from a 300D to a 50D and almost everything I could imagine (plus some) seems to be present in the new camera except one thing...</p>

    <p>With the 300D I could set the image review -- the image that's displayed for a couple of seconds after you take the picture -- with a histogram as well as the image. I can see no way to do that on the 50D. Am I missing something very obvious? I know I can get the information by pressing the Info button but I really prefer having the data there immediately.</p>

    <p>Thanks,<br>

    --> Stephen</p>

    travel/photograph advice for brugge, amesterdam, santorini, athens, antwerp, and prague

    in Travel

    Posted

    <p>I loved Brugges. I'm not sure that there's a list of "must see" locations. It's one of those

    towns that's just fun to aimlessly wander around. There's no shortage of attractive things

    to photograph, although it wasn't <a href="http://www.zx81.org.uk/travel/belgium-

    2005.html">my best weekend for pictures</a>.</p>

     

    <p>Amsterdam is also a good place to look around with no particular agenda. It's worth

    visiting Anne Franks house (though not really with a camera) and the Rijksmuseum.</p>

     

    <p>It's a while since I was there, but I was quite disappointed with Athens. Of course you

    have to see the Parthenon.</p>

    CS4 will be 64-bit on Windows Only

    in The Digital Darkroom: Process, Technique & Printing

    Posted

    Kelly, Adobe will be releasing the 64-bit version in addition to the 32-bit edition.

     

    On Windows the problem is a bit of a catch-22. No one uses the 64-bit version of

    Windows because there are no applications (or drivers). But no vendor will release a 64-bit

    application without users...

     

    The Mac is a bit different. Anyone with a G5 or a Core 2 (or later) and Leopard already has

    a 64-bit capable machine. This probably already covers most "pro" users, and certainly

    will by the time CS5 comes out.

    450D vs. 40D price

    in Canon EOS Mount

    Posted

    This thread is an unfortunate (in the sense that it could be expensive) discovery...

     

    My guess is that the 450D is a new model, so the prices have not "settled" yet. Give it a few

    months, as stocks of the 350D and 400D deplete, and the 450D will drop in price to fill the

    gap.

     

    As you say, given the price differential, there is little reason to pick the lower-end model

    right now.

    Petra and the Pyramids

    in Travel

    Posted

    <p>We did the reverse journey last November, see the <a

    href="http://www.zx81.org.uk/travel/jordan-and-egypt.html">commentary and pictures

    here</a>.</p>

     

    <p>We got from Jordan to Egypt on a ferry from Aqaba to Nuweiba, which was fairly

    straight-forward. I didn't do any of the travel arrangements inside each county -- I went with

    a tour company -- but Jordan has pretty decent infrastructure. The tourist bits of Egypt are

    well travelled and so should be pretty easy on your own, progressively getting harder as you

    get away from the beaten track.</p>

     

    <p>I don't think you'll have any problems with hotels in April. Suspect it gets busier later in

    the year.</p>

    Vietnam travel

    in Travel

    Posted

    <p>When I was in southern Vietnam I went to see some "hill tribes." (I think it kind of

    sounds demeaning, but that's what everyone calls them.) I thought it was fascinating how

    these people have been trying to keep their culture.</p>

     

    <p>Given our reception I imagine that they still don't see too many tourists.</p>

     

    <p><a href="http://www.zx81.org.uk/travel/vietnam-2005.html">See my website</a>

    for some of the results.</p>

     

    <p>I'm a bit of a coward when it comes to approaching strangers and asking for a

    photograph, but the Vietnamese were generally very friendly and open to the idea.</p>

    Open Source Tools for Photographers

    in The Digital Darkroom: Process, Technique & Printing

    Posted

    <p>Another one worth considering on the Windows side is <a

    href="http://www.getpaint.net/">Paint.net</a>. Probably not as fully featured as GIMP (and

    certainly not Photoshop), but is more user friendly and has enough features for "casual"

    use.</p>

     

    <p>It's also free, under an even more permissive licence than GIMP. I have no affiliation, it's

    just software that I like and use.</a>

    Norway and Svalbard

    in Travel

    Posted

    <p>I spent the best part of a year in Norway, from late September to early June.

    September was already getting somewhat Autumnal. June was great. Long day-light hours

    and truly stunning scenery.</p>

     

    <p>"Norway in a Nutshell" is a train from Oslo to Bergen via, the Fläm railway down to the bottom of a fjord, a boat along the bottom and a bus back to the train line to complete

    the journey. Well worth doing. I loved Bergen.</p>

     

    <p>The national day was a great time to be in Oslo, but a bit early for you (in May if I

    remember correctly). I went to Tromsø to say that I'd been in the Arctic Circle in Winter,

    but you could experience 24-hour sun (as Charles suggests). Not much else there, so

    Svalbard might be a better bet.</p>

     

    <p>The great thing about anywhere in Norway is that nowhere is very far from nature and

    wilderness. Even in Oslo, Nordmarka is only twenty minutes out of town on the T-

    Bane.</p>

     

    <p>I have a few <a href="http://www.zx81.org.uk/travel/norway.html">pictures of

    Norway</a> on my website.</p>

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