Juha Haataja: Universally Personal

Goodbye to Universal Rule - closing shop

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 10:32:27 GMT

As the Radio Userland software is at the end of its life, I'm closing down this blog and will not move it elsewhere. Some parts of it (book reviews etc.) may appear elsewhere at some point, but no promises. The blog will disappear from the net at the end of 2009, perhaps even earlier.

Climate change - need for action

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:49:33 GMT

Read Climate Futures and start acting NOW.

Pondering Enterprise Architecture

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:35:08 GMT

I have been reading some material on Enterprise Architecture, for example the documents A Practical Guide to Federal Enterprise Architecture and Agile Enterprise Architecture. Not a new thing by any means, but now becoming a must in the public IT sector in Finland, thanks to national EA initiatives. If things work out well, we might even get interoperable IT solutions on the national level, opening up the markets and access to information.

Long time no see

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 08:11:40 GMT

Heavens, how long since the last update. I have been busy with other things, for example for writing columns on IT, especially the "dark" (or at least gray) side. Here are four recent ones, all in Finnish:

These all discuss the drawbacks of using IT: loss of concentration, multiprocessing, losing touch with reality.

A digital camera provides a lot of value

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:39:06 GMT

I have now taken well over 32,000 photographs with the Panasonic LX3 which I bought last September. The price per image is at about 0.01 euro - one cent per image. That is quite cheap, much cheaper that I thought possible. And the camera works still without major problems, so there may be another 32,000 photographs to be taken with the camera.

Changing to another topic - fellow photography blogger Paul Lester posted a deeply personal and insightful piece about Shadows, about how keeping a personal journal helps to run a "mental health program". I posted a comment at Paul's blog, here are some further thoughts on the topic.

I used to keep a journal, written by hand, but that habit disappeared when I started to use the computer for writing. At some point I was no longer drafting texts first by hand and only then typing them. Something was lost in the change, a feeling a spontaneity. Writing by hand with a fountain pen felt as if there wouldn't have been anything between the thought and the text.

I think writing on a computer is not the same, it is much more impersonal. (Isn't there even a religious sect which says that there is a devil inside each computer?)

I retrospect I feel that there was a lot of benefit in that kind of introspection. A little bit of journal-type writing each day helped to keep things in perspective. But somehow I can't find the stamina to keep on doing it any more. However, if the (metaphorical) demons keep on pressing too much, I may have to pick up the pen once more.

On writing and photography

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 09:19:25 GMT

I haven't been updating this blog lately, only once a month or so. But meanwhile I have written 596 postings at Light Scrape, my photography blog.

Some of the postings over there touch on the same topics I used to write here at Universal Rule, but mostly it is about photography - and the images do a lot of the talking, not so much the writing. And I have been active in writing comments of fellow photography bloggers' sites, on a variety of topics.

Also, I have cutting down on some other writing. For example, I'm no longer a regular columnist at the MikroPC magazine, although I may occasionally write net columns there (on photography perhaps).

I had quite a long term as a columnist, regularly since the year 2000, and the first column was published in the magazine in 1998. But lately this hasn't been so rewarding as it used to be. Perhaps information technology is working too well nowadays, so that I don't have any reason to complain. And my interest have been shifting also, I'm no longer so eager to try out new IT products and services. But if you are interested in what I'm up to, by all means visit Light Scrape.

Photography is the thing

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:58:04 GMT

I haven't been blogging much here at Universal Rule for some time, but those who are interested in what I'm currently doing, please check out the Light Scrape blog, which is about photography. I'm nowadays mostly using the Panasonic LX3 for taking photos, over 23,000 photos taken so far with the camera. There has been much less time for other topics since I got a major interest in photography, but that can of course change at some point. But currently it seems that photography poses an interesting long-term project, defined in my own terms. So, other topics such as DRM, Macs, and such will have to wait.

Young Finnish photographer with talent

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:07:48 GMT

Check out the summer 2008 gallery of Joonas Hirvonen, a 15-year old Finnish photographer. There is quite a lot of work and not a little talent on display.

What is this halloween thing?

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:57:15 GMT

It seems that even here in Finland they are trying to sell all kinds of stuff under the label "halloween". There is no such tradition here in Finland, but the marketers would like to generate such a phenomenon. I wonder when children start going from door to door.

We have such a tradition before Easter, when little girls (and nowadays boys) go around doing a similar kind of thing. Perhaps that will help us to resist halloween, twice a year would be excessive, don't you think?

But marketing people are clever, so it may be that some day Finland will surrender to halloween. (Like we did with Valentine's day.)

Getting a new Macbook?

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:06:15 GMT

I'm pondering whether to get a new Macbook (the aluminium one) to replace the old 1,33 GHz iBook G4 we have at home. A week ago the iBook battery charger broke, but we do have a spare one, so we can still use it. But I feel that this was a warning of problems to come. The iBook has been in a lot of use, and is still serving nicely in web surfing, normal office work (such as Word/PowerPoint/Excel), but for digital media (except for iTunes) it starts to be slow. So, perhaps it is now the time to upgrade.

But I think I'll wait for a month or two until making the decision. We have a year-old iMac at home, which works as the media center, digital tv, video recorder and the children's gaming machine. So, it is not as if we didn't have enough computers at home. But still, the unibody aluminium Macbook looks so great...

Is photography opening eyes, or shutting them?

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:44:26 GMT

I'm now at 5967 photos taken with my Panasonic LX3 camera, and I'm every once in a while thinking whether photography is a good hobby after all. Earlier I was quite positive that taking photos is a way of looking at the world, seeing what is there, a way of opening towards the reality of life.

But now I'm not so sure any more. Perhaps photography can be also a kind of escape from reality, a closing of eyes for things at the same time when you are using the camera.

Am I shutting my eye on global problems like pollution, lack of food, and financial crisis? Is photography a way of focusing on one thing while simultaneously shutting out important other things?

Have 4433 photos taught anything?

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:39:20 GMT

I have now taken 4433 photos with my Panasonic LX3, in 20 days or so, documenting my learning experience at Light Scrape. What I find interesting is that there seems to be a kind of style arising, although I'm not sure that I actually like the photos I'm producing. But they have some interesting properties which I'm willing to explore, at least for the moment.

I have found that the LX3 is as a camera much above the Canon Ixus 400 which I was using before - the LX3 is a real tool for a photographer, allowing to do much more than just point-and-shoot techniques (with some tricks to fool the automatics).

I'm enjoying photography so much that sometimes I'm afraid that it will consume too much time. But the days are getting shorter here in Finland, so there will be less and less opporturnities for photography in the coming months.

Learning photography with the Panasonic LX3

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:00:31 GMT

Two weeks ago I wrote that I have take 612 photos with my Panasonic LX3 camera. Now I'm at 3476 photos taken, and some of them have been the best I have even managed to take. Not that it means much, but I feel that the camera has taught me a lot already in a couple of weeks.

But will the photography interest sustain itself? And why I'm actually taking photos? Perhaps for myself - to see the world better, to understand it, to be able to actually see what is around? I feel that this reason has become more and more strong during the last months. I have develop a kind of eye for visual information. This skill was more or less dormant previously.

I have also a kind of hunger for taking photos. Each day I have a craving to take photos for later viewing and pondering. A form of nourishment.

On the other hand, photography is also about communication. When I take a photo and show it to someone or publish it on the net, I'm showcasing my view of the world for others to see. I'm not sure how much I actually need this kind of reason for taking photos, but it has given a kind of additional interest to it. The comments at my blog Light Scrape have provided very interesting feedback, as also the information I get from Flickr about photo viewers. I can't deny that this kind of indication of interest provides additional encouragement for photography.

But how this will develop, that I can't know. But I feel that the photography hobby will develop further. Maybe I will at some point even invest in a digital system camera, if they become small enough and novel enough for learning more about photography. For now, the LX3 is my trusted photography tool.

I have come back full circle in my photography hobby. With my first camera, Minolta XG-1, I used manual focusing and the aperture priority mode. I'm now using the same kind of settings with the LX3. But the camera is much more versatile, and thanks to the small sensor, I have less problems with depth of field than I had with the Minolta.

On the buying of expensive cameras

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:28:35 GMT

Little Poems of Hate wrote a provocative posting titled So I Bought This Expensive Camera... The writer loathes people who buy expensive cameras and think they are ready to be masters - as if buying a stethoscope would make you into a doctor.

Here is a quote: "I have had an alarming amount of people recently coming up to me during shoots, events or other things I may be covering to ask me how to make money with their camera. Now I personally find this odd because I view photography as an art form and nothing more. Yes, I make a living from doing it but I would also do it even if I made no money at all. I just can[base ']t think of photography in terms of being a means to an end, where you are motivated simply by the fact that making a buck will make your life fulfilling. In my life photography gives me a sense of purpose, it is my voice, my muse and my constant abiding companion."

Is my photography hobby centered around camera gear? Well, perhaps not, as I have bought a new camera every five years of so, taking a lot of photos in between. (Over 2300 photos with the newest one, Panasonic LX3, in ten days. See Light Scrape for more details about my LX3 use.)

But I must admit I haven't always been so keen on taking photos, it hasn't been so important to me as it has now been for the last few months. Although I have always liked to take photos, it has not driven me the same way as - for example - writing has been driving me, sometimes to extreme amounts of text pages per day.

I'm not yet quite sure how the current interest in photography will endure. In any case, I feel that getting a camera like the LX3 was essential for developing the skills, as the Canon Ixus 400 didn't have any manual control at all.

612 photos taken with Panasonic LX3

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 19:52:27 GMT

So far I have taken 612 photos with my new Panasonic LX3, and I'm still at the first charge of the battery. I have written many postings about using the camera at Light Scrape, and I am not going to repeat the same here.

Overall satisfaction with LX3 is still high, and I'm eagerly waiting for brighter days to test out the camera. So far this week has been heavily clouded in the Helsinki region.

I must admit that the camera is complex, but slowly I'm getting over the complexity and learning to forget the features. But I expect that there is still much to learn, one step at a time.

First impressions of the Panasonic LX3 camera

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:47:10 GMT

I got today my Panasonic LX3 camera - finally but also a bit surprisingly, as it was supposed to be shipped today. I feel both happy and worried. Happy that I have a nice new camera to try out. Worried that there seems to be so much to learn.

I haven't yet had much time to try out the camera, but at least it seems to be robust in construction. And the black color was a good choice, even though fingerprints may be quite visible.

First impressions: The 24 mm lens is really wide. I didn't really expect this, as I'm mainly used to the 36 mm on my Ixus 400 (and earlier to the 50 mm on my Minolta XG-1). The wider lens will require getting used to - I have to get much closer to the subject when taking photos. I feel that for landscapes the wide lens will definitely bring a new perspective, so I'm eagerly waiting to try it out.

There is some noise at ISO 400, and increasingly at ISO 800. Thus a LX3 is by no means a substitute to a DSL with a much bigger sensor. But I haven't yet tried out the settings, so I'm not quite sure what is the best quality you can get with this camera. There is so much to try out, it will take some time.

Is an old camera better than the new ones?

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:00:01 GMT

Ssp commented my wish for new and better camera technology: "Something classical like a Leica or even a 1980s SLR isn't hard to handle. See, point, shoot. Today you always see photographers taking a photo and then looking at the display to check whether things came out right. To me that just takes the flow out of the process. To a large extent I suspect this is caused by digital sensors being extremely bad when it comes to blown highlights. So if I had a wish, I'd rather wish for a sensor which is more like classical film in this respect or simply covers a wider range. That (together with matching software) could make digital photography less problematic."

This is a good observation. Sometimes it is difficult to "find the flow" with digital cameras. Even though my Ixus 400 is extremely simple, it has several settings which affect the output, especially exposure compensation. And why you need compensation? Because of the weak dynamic range of the sensor. But I see here a possibility for the camera technology to improve to such a level that unnecessary complications need not bother the photographer.

Today I went to a camera shop where they had on display a Panasonic LX3, which I was able to handle for a short while. (I ordered last week a LX3, and it will hopefully be shipped tomorrow.) I must admit that there are great many settings to use (if you want). However, I felt that it will be easy to start using the camera. I even managed to try out manual focusing and it worked quite well.

In fact, thinking about simplicity, I'll definitely try out LX3 with simple settings, e.g. aperture priority + manual focusing. This was how I used my Minolta XG-1, and it will be interesting to see whether I still like this kind of photography. The temptation to use the fully automatic iA mode is quite strong.

I need to see whether I feel differently about photography using these two different modes of operation. Perhaps it indeed is better to find the flow with a simpler way of operating the camera.

We need go rid of the old camera technology in photography

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 20:33:17 GMT

I discussed at Light Scrape the implications of the new Panasonic Lumix G1 camera, in the posting Will Panasonic own the digital still camera market? Perhaps I should develop these thoughts a bit further.

In the 1980s I used a SLR camera, Minolta XG-1, which was quite simple but effective. (I still own it but no longer use.) The only automation was aperture-priority exposure. You could also use full manual exposure. Focusing was of course manual, using the focus ring on the lens, which had the apertures written in it, and thus you could estimate the depth of field at a glance.

But would I like to go back to such simplicity? No. What I would like to see is this intermediate stage of mechanic-to-electronic cameras to end, so that we could enjoy fully electronic cameras, not something in between. The new Panasonic Lumix G1 is a slight step in that direction, but too modest in my opinion. What we need is to get rid of some of dead weight still hanging around from the time of the mechanical cameras, and enjoy the benefits what a fully electronic (and computerized) camera can give us.

The best feature of G1 which demonstrates this is the shutter preview mode where the camera shows what the photo will look like using the current shutter and aperture. Very handy especially with moving objects. Moving further in this direction, the next generations of cameras will be able to present possibilities to the camera user, who can then decide what she wants. This would be a new kind of exploratory and discovery-based photography. I can't wait for that to happen.

On Google Chrome user statistics

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:55:48 GMT

I'm tracking (so now you know) the use of this weblog and Light Scrape with Google Analytics. Here at Universal Rule the browser statistics are as follows (last four days):

Internet Explorer 39%
Firefox 36%
Safari 12%
Mozilla 8%
Opera 2%
Chrome 2%

At Light Scrape the statistics are:

Firefox 48%
Internet Explorer 32%
Safari 13%
Chrome 4%
Opera 2%

It is interesting to see how Chrome has got quite a share in a couple of days. Here at UR the lower share is probably explained by Mac-related things which are not relevant to PC users. At Light Scrape, those who are looking for information about camera equipment seem also to be interested in trying out a new browser.

Google will own you also

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:19:29 GMT

I wrote a column for MikroPC.net, where I discussed the implications of Chrome, the new Google browser. As an example of the advantage Google has, I mentioned the tracking tools (Google Analytics etc.) for web sites, where Google collects all kinds of information about the visitors.

I got a comment which noted that other companies are also doing the same kind of tracking, for example Extremetracking.com. But my point was not the tracking as such - I was discussing the scale of Google operations in a) gathering information of how individuals are using the web, and b) building a "internet operating system" where Google controls everything from applications (running on Chrome) to the back-end servers managing the network, applications, computing, and data.

If not already, Google will know everything about you. And I wonder how they will use this information to make money.

Will camera phones replace compact cameras?

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:51:33 GMT

Serious Compacts speculates whether camera phones will replace the compact cameras of today, thus forcing the camera manufacturers move towards more advanced cameras producing better photos.

I have taken a bit over 200 photos with my Nokia E90, and I must say that the usability of the camera phones has a long way to go. But when nothing else is available, the E90 can make a photo. However, I agree that in 2-3 years, camera phones probably are good enough to replace the cheapest point-and-shoot cameras in most situations.

Should I, or should I not?

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:56:26 GMT

I'm really tempted. Once again the object of the desire is the Panasonic LX3 camera. Are there better pocketable cameras out there? No, I don't think so. But I still wish for the impossible - an even better camera. Canon, Fuji, anyone?

What is the durability of digital cameras?

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:15:35 GMT

As I wrote at Light Scrape, I have now taken about 11,000 photos with my Canon Digital Ixus 400, and started wondering what is the rating for shutter cycles on this camera. In digital SLRs the rating is often between 50-100,000, and in high-end models at 150-300,000. But what is the expected durability of point-and-shoot cameras? Should I be worried?

On the other hand, if the Ixus did break, this would be an excellent reason for getting a new camera. (Panasonic LX3 perhaps?) So, this is not really a serious problem, just a random thought.

An appreciation of street photography

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:52:14 GMT

I read today an interesting photography pamphlet by Chris Weeks, titled "Street Photography for the Purist". It was sharp, opionated, and provoking. I liked the writing, and I liked the photos. Especially the photos.

The rangefinder-style of film-based street photography reminded me of the time I was using my Minolta XG-1 with aperture-priority/manual mode, with manual focusing. It takes a certain kind of skill to estimate distances, depth of field and lighting. But you learn it by doing. But I never used the camera for street photography. Instead, I shot animals, family, objects floating past on the river. Those were full thoughtful days, before starting studying physics and slowly forgetting about photography.

Nights are getting darker in Finland

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:06:53 GMT

I went for a walk today, quite late in the evening. Now the shortening of the days is getting really visible, as it started to get quite dark at 10:00 although there were few clouds. Last week at the same time it was brighter. I took quite a few photos, but the low-light capabilities of my Ixus 400 made it difficult. Also, the usual hot pixels showed themselves in the longer exposure shots.

I used a small flexible tripod I ordered from Dealextreme, cost about 3 euros including shipping. I have been quite happy with it, a nice thing to carry in a pocket in addition to a camera while going for a walk.

Photoblogging continues

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:41:22 GMT

I have continued photoblogging at Light Scrape. There seems to be some time for photography every day, although I have been busy with work. Also, I now have 387 photos at Flickr, mostly landscape and nature photos. I haven't been too selective in uploading, so there are duplicates about the same subject. In any case, I'm using Flickr more as a storage site, not as a photoblog.

Photoblogging at 96 postings

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:33:08 GMT

I managed to write 96 postings to my photoblog Light Scrape during the summer vacation. Not bad. Now, it remains to be seen whether I can sustain interest in photography after the vacation. Perhaps. In fact, as my Nokia E90 is has a not too bad camera, I may continue at least posting one posting per day, at least I'll try.

End of summer vacation

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:29:26 GMT

I'm starting work tomorrow, so this is the last day of the summer vacation. It has been nice, four weeks of (almost) doing other things than thinking about work. Of course, during the first week it was difficult to let go, and then we had a (small) crisis at work which I needed to handle, but after that everything went smoothly. A nice summer, and I hope that the autumn will be nice also.

Impact analysis of the micro four thirds (4/3) announcement

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 13:33:21 GMT

RAWsumer has a good analysis of the Olympus/Panasonic micro 4/3 standard announcement. (I'll use the mFT abreviation, although MFT and m43 could be used as well.)

The lens sizes will be interesting to see. I hope there will be "pocketable" offerings, then mFT would be a nice stepping stone from a compact. A couple of wide/normal fixed (bright) lenses would be good to have. The current Olympus 4/3 "pancake" lens is not so impressive.

And I sure hope Olympus and Panasonic will announce something soon, otherwise what was the point of the standard announcement.

The RAW (raw?) deal

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 21:27:38 GMT

David Rasnake wrote well about the multiplicity of different raw formats, and the loss of the promise of open standards: "Raw files are simply what they are - raw (common, lowercase adjective) image data - and in light of few prospects for consolidation out there on the horizon, I don't see that changing back anytime soon."

So, the case of RAW was a great opporturnity missed. There is only raw.

The optimal number of megapixels in a camera

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:17:18 GMT

At 6 megapixels there is a calculation for the optimal number of megapixels for different size sensors, for sensitivies above ISO 400. For 1/1.8 inch sensor the count is 4 megapixels. It so happens that my Canon Digital Ixus 400 has 4 megapixels - an optimal camera? Well, it is five years old and has had a lot of use, so perhaps there are better alternatives nowadays. At least it is to be hoped so.

What things are worth photographing?

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:46:28 GMT

I have taken over 3000 photos during this summer with my old digital camera - and a couple of dozen with the Nokia E90 phone. Have I learned something? Perhaps, at least that it takes a lot - really a lot - of practise to learn photography.

I think I'm a bit better than I was some months ago, but I make a lot of mistakes. In a way my photoblog at Light Scrape is a way of documenting those mistakes, and perhaps also the progress - if there is any.

I have also started to think about what things are worth photographing. I believe that basically everywhere is a possibility to take a good photo, if you have the eye and patience for it. Thus, why not here in Finland in the Helsinki region. And somehow I'm much attracted to the everyday things - there should be good shots there, if I only can start to see them.

Megapixel race continues - Nikon Coolpix P6000

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:44:53 GMT

As I wrote at Light Scrape, Nikon Coolpix P6000 is not it - it has a small 13.5 megapixel sensor, which means that it will be noisy and not suitable for low light. How can Nikon not understand that image quality is a factor in advanced compacts?

It remains to be seen what Canon will do about Powershot G10.

Pondering the micro four thirds format

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:56:48 GMT

As I wrote at Light Scrape, there are exiting news about the micro four thirds (4/3) standard, which Olympus and Panasonic just announced. I don't know what to call these new interchangeable lens cameras, they are not digital SLRs and not rangefinders or EVILs either. Perhaps ILED (intechangable lenses, electronic displays)?

However, after complaining about the slow handling of my Canon Ixus 400, I have been recently quite happy with the camera. I do like the capability to go from macro-level close-up photos to landscapes with the same camera without changing lenses or doing anything fancy. Thus, although the new micro 4/3 cameras may be small, they perhaps are not as versatile in compact form as the best compact cameras now are.

But in terms of the picture quality, the four thirds inch (= 33.9 mm) diameter sensor is certainly much better that the 10 mm typical compact sensors.

Keen on photography

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 21:18:31 GMT

During the summer vacation, I have taken over 2500 photos. Of course, only a small portion have been successful and worth preserving, but still I have over 500 new photos in my iPhoto library. I have also been quite keen on posting to my photoblog, which now contains several dozen entries. And I have also published over 200 photos at Flickr.com, which seems to be a quite nice platform for organizing publicly available photos.

I'm still thinking about getting a new camera. The buying fever comes and goes. But I have been able to keep from buying a new camera yet. However, manufacturers are now starting to announce their new cameras, and some of those are tempting. What I need is pocketable, has manual control, and good low-light capabilities. Is there yet such a thing?

Photographing a lot

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:12:58 GMT

Lately I have been taking a lot of photos compared to the usual rate. On Tuesday I snapped about 200 photos, and on Monday about the same. Within the month I have taken over 2000 photos. Of course, most of these (about 80%) went to the trash, but still there is a quite a collection. Have to see if I can sustain the rate. In any case, I have learned a lot from the mistakes. But the learning rate is slow in terms of getting really good photos. Often some technical glitch spoils an otherwise good shot. Such as focus a bit off, or the horizon not quite horizontal. Well, you learn from the mistakes.

Food porn pictures

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:33:11 GMT

I ran into 'food porn' photos, which is a group at Flickr.com, see an example photo (quite safe if you are not hungry). Ssp told that he even had a a 'cookie porn' photo site, which was number one hit for 'Porn' in Google Germany for a while. Quite a few web surfers got a suprise!

Digital camera sensor sizes - the bigger the better?

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 07:43:43 GMT

Digital Photography Review has a nice summary of the sensor sizes in digital cameras. The sensor affects the noisiness (how small pixels), the depth of field, the crop factor, and the focal length multiplier. Here is a short listing of typical sensor sizes (diagonal measurements) in compact digital cameras:

1/2.5 inch = 10 mm
1/2.33 inch = 10.9 mm
1/1.8 inch = 14.1 mm
1/1.7 inch = 14.9 mm
1/1.63 inch = 15.6 mm
2/3 inch = 16.9 mm
4/3 inch = 33.9 mm

Of these the 4/3 inch sensor is already in the digital SLR area, a quite big sensor. As the area is proportial to the square of the diagonal, the noise characteristics improve dramatically with bigger sensors. On the other hand, depth of field and focal length multiplier decreases, so there are drawbacks (if you think this as drawback).

It seems that soon there will be interesting new cameras on the market. Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3, annouced yesterday, has a 15.6 mm sensor. And it is speculated that we will soon have also a Nikon P6000 (with a 14.9 mm sensor) and a Canon G10 (14.9 mm). These cameras may generate competition in the more serious compact cameras.

Is the new Panasonic LX3 sign of a megapixel trend reversal?

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:03:25 GMT

As it happens, just as I wrote about the increasing megapixel competetion in digital cameras - making them more noisy all the time - Panasonic today announced a new LX 3 camera. The specs include: a ten-megapixel 1/1.63 inch sensor, a wide 24-60 inch lens with 2.0-2.8 max aperture, a new processing engine etc. If this camera works as advertised, it certainly interests me. But Panasonic has a history of noisy cameras, so the claims have to be tested before trusting. In any case, LX3 is a good indication that camera manufacturers may have seen some sense finally.

In the shadow of the megapixel race

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:28:17 GMT

I'm still pondering pros and cons of getting a new camera. It would be an investment not only in money but in time. Do I want to start studying the features of a new camera and learn all kinds of new skills?

I'll probably go and check one one these entry-level DSLRs at some point. I understand that Olympus E-520 is quite small, and with a fixed lens almost pocketable. However, the Olympus lenses are expensive and a bit limited in variety.

One of the negative aspects of a compact is the slow focusing and shooting speed. I take a lot of photos of our children, and it is sometimes almost as difficult as I imagine sports photography to be. Often only one photo in ten is somewhat acceptable.

My Ixus 400 has a 4 megapixel 1/1.8 inch sensor, which is quite nice at ISO 50 or 100, but not so great at 200 and above. I read somewhere that Canon later changed the sensitivity ratings so that the old ISO 50 became ISO 100 and so on, a change in the worse direction. This is one reason why I'm not so keen on getting a new camera. A compact with a 2/3 inch or bigger sensor would be nice, something like in the Fujifilm S100FS has, but in a more compact form.

Cameras in 1980 and now

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:58:15 GMT

I have been thinking about 1980 or so - what was the status of cameras then? Canon AE-1 was one of the choices I was thinking when buying my first (and only) SLR. The other two choices were Pentax and Minolta, and I chose Minolta in the end.

I have been very cautious in investing in digital photography, mainly because I don't really like to carry a big camera with me, and secondly because I feel that I'm so much a beginner that there would be little point in it. I have forgotten so much during the years.

My SLR experience with Minolta XG-1 was very enlightening. This was one of the first really affordable cameras with automatics (aperture priority + full manual exposure, no autofocus or anything else fancy). Having aperture priority taught a lot about photography, and having fixed lenses (50 mm and 135 mm mainly) with reasonably big apertures (1.8 and 3.5) made it possible to test out depth of field quite thoroughly - using the manual focus ring with the marked aperture settings.

However, recently I have been reasonable happy with a point and shoot, using tricks like prefocusing and exposure compensation to do some finetuning. I would like to do some macro photography, but my understanding is that there lies a kind of madness - a neverending quest for perfection and tuning - which doesn't really suit my temperament in the long run.

A camera like the Canon G9 or similar interests me, but I'm not quite ready to take that step. There is still some life left in the Ixus 400 digicam yet. Have to see how the megapixel race will turn out.

There are too many photographs

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:38:40 GMT

The Online Photographer ponders the effect of there being available a massive amount of photos. What will happen to the concept of great photography?

Technology is leading to a sudden photographic efflorescence, a thousand points of light if you will. That's cool in some ways - but it means real quality is getting lost among the profusion and the massive increase in supply is cheapening the value.

I'm currently following about 20 blogs about photography, and many of these are posting excellent pictures weekly or even daily. And there is an endless-seeming collection of nice-looking photos at sites such as Flickr and Picasa. But will this mean that the art of photography will disappear behind the massive scale? Will the norm be somebody taking a good photo by accident vs. doing photography by skill and art?

The three kinds of photographers

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 08:26:37 GMT

After starting a photoblog, I have been thinking about what kind of photographer I am. What kind of photographers are there, anyway? So far I have determined three types: 1) device lovers, 2) photograph lovers, and 3) collectors.

The device lovers focus on the cameras, lenses, flashes, tripods etc., seeing photography in terms of technology. The photograph lovers don't much think about technology except as a tool, focusing instead on the art and skill of photography. And then there are the collectors, who can collect different kinds of things: cameras, photos, stories about cameras, stories about photos etc. For the collectors, photography is an avenue of fulfilling the collector's instinct.

What kind of photographer I am? I used to be a device lover (loved my Minolta XG-1 and lenses), but now I'm more like a photograph lover (browsing through the photo galleries of good photographers). And perhaps I'm a bit of a collector as well, taking a lot of photos daily, and storing them on the iMac.

By the way, I tested today MobileMe gallery in iPhoto, publishing a couple of dozen pictures as a test. Not a bad system, in terms of ease of use.

More thoughts on McDonald's

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:09:12 GMT

Ssp wrote about McDonald's: "At least there's no lock in at McDonalds. And it's cheaper than Microsoft as well. Did you see the Fast Food Nation film?"

McDonald's having no lock in is definetely a good point, in contrast to Microsoft. As an aside, I think that one of the reasons McDonald's if doing poorly in Finland (and elsewhere in Europe) is the well-organized lunch system in schools and workplaces (tax support in Finland). No need for junk food.

I haven't seen Fast Food Nation. And there was also the Super Size Me film, which got some press here in Finland. Both show an important message.

Bad food at McDonald's

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:38:22 GMT

Yesterday we had a couple of burgers at McDonald's. What a dissappointment! The service was indifferent and bored, not asking any questions about salad dressing or any other detail, and the food was well below average.

The grownups had Tandoor Chicken and the children had McChicken. Both were disappointments. The packing was inconvenient (and there were a lot of stuff to go to the trash), and the products were greasy and salty. I had a small supplementary salad, and the default dressing was not good.

I'm not a food snob, far from it, and like to have a burger every now and then. My favorite place is Hesburger, the Finnish competitor to McDonalds. Most of the products are tasty, some of them even spicy which I like. As an example, the light curry-paprika salad dressing is excellent.

No wonder McDonald's is doing (financially) bad in Finland. I read a comment that the Finnish subsidiary has so far never produced a profit, but this may not be true. In any case, profitability has been a challenge to McDonald's as long as it has been operating in Finland. But if you don't have good products, what can you expect?

Next visit to McDonald's? - Perhaps never.

In a way McDonald's reminds me of Microsoft products. Mediocre and below-average products combined with heavy logistics and marketing.

The delights of photo-blogging

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:37:52 GMT

I have been photo-blogging at Light Scrape for a few days, and like it. Perhaps there isn't much flexibility in the Flickr-Blogger solutions, but at least it works easily and realiably. But I admit to having looked at other possibilities as well.

One interesting solution would be to use the MobileMe service from Apple. There are benefits, such as publishing photo galleries directly from iPhoto. And it seems that the web version allows reorganization of photos very easily, even management of galleries. But this is not really what I want. My point is to publish a photo every few days (or a couple of photos daily if I'm in the mood), not whole galleries. Thus, I'll continue - at least for now - to update my photoblog. And perhaps I'll also test our the photo galleries at MobileMe - but this would be a quite different thing, publishing a collection of photos at once.

This is the sexy voice of the talking fish

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:36:30 GMT

Apparently, the midshipman fish has a sexy voice. If you are wondering, you can listen what it is like. Interesting to know that there are fish who talk to each other.

Writing well

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:47:10 GMT

Dosh Dosh refers to Paul McHenry Roberts's essay How to Say Nothing in Five Hundred Words, listing nine points about good writing. Some of the points were trivial, but these are profound:

Avoid the obvious content
Take the less usual side
Slip out of abstraction
Call a fool a fool

There are also nice instructions on how to improve the writing. Of course, in real life writing is done often in a hurry (although it shouldn't be), and thus there is a limited time for making improvements. But practise makes - if not perfect - at least better.

No anonymity on the net

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:20:11 GMT

Can it be trusted that Google/Viacom Agree To Preserve User Anonymity In Data Shakedown? I don't really think so. Even though ip addresses or user-ids and such would be anonyminized, tt is quite easy to identify users based on their net activity. Often quite few data points are enough. People look for personal information, data they are familiar with etc. This case shows that big companies like Google can't be trusted with preserving anonymity on the net.

Photo blogging at Light Scrape

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:29:23 GMT

I started today testing photo blogging from Flickr to Blogger, see Light Scrape. Using blogger via Flickr is quite easy, and you can submit photos even by email.

I'm not sure if I can sustain the interest, but currently I'm very keen on photography, taking 50-100 shots each day. Some of them are better than others. And I'm still thinking about getting a new camera. I was almost committed to getting a Canon G9, but got cold feet. Maybe a G10 is soon announced?