Megapixel per se

iPhone 6 Protruding Camera Lens

Joanna Stern, writing for WSJ.com:

A quick camera reminder: Looking at the megapixel numbers when comparing phones won’t help you at all. An 8-megapixel camera with a superior sensor can take far better photos, even more detailed ones, than a 21-megapixel camera with an inferior one.

I’m really glad to see Joanna Stern mentions this. For years, a lot of so-called Tech Journalists still measuring the quality of a camera by the pixel-count alone.

Some few years ago, a clerk/salesperson at a store that shall remain nameless adamantly told me that a 13-Megapixel point-and-shoot camera captured better image than an 8-Megapixel DSLR Camera.

On a personal note, Joanna Stern lost one point for using the term “phablet” for a product category. Just call it a big-ass phones and it would’ve sound much better.

Kodak Picture Kiosk with a Save File Symbol

Kodak Picture Kiosk with Floppy Drive

Compact Flash card slot; check!

SD card slot; check!

xD card slot; check!

SmartMedia card slot ……. (Does anyone remember that?); check!

USB port; check!

CD/DVD slot; check!

Um, Isn’t it the “Save File” symbol?

None of the photos I took using my current cameras at theirs native resolutions can fit in a Floppy disk anymore.

OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.5

Apple released OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.5 on Thursday September 12, 2013.

About the update

The OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.5 Update is recommended for all OS X Mountain Lion users. It improves the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac. This update:

  • Fixes an issue that may prevent Mail from displaying messages
  • Improves AFP file transfer performance over 802.11ac Wi-Fi
  • Resolves an issue that may prevent a screen saver from starting automatically
  • Improves Xsan reliability
  • Improves reliability when transferring large files over Ethernet
  • Improves performance when authenticating to an Open Directory server
  • Addresses an issue that prevented a smart card from unlocking preference panes in System Preferences
  • Contains the improvements included in MacBook Air (Mid 2013) Software Update 1.0

Apple also released Digital Camera RAW Compatibility 4.09.

OS X 10.8.5 and Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 4.09

Upcoming Review: Sony DSC-HX5V Digital Camera.

Sony has been airing the ad with Taylor Swift using DSC-HX5V for the past few weeks (months?). I finally got my hands on one. On loan, of course. I can’t spend my money on it, not in this economy. P.S. Simon, where’s my paycheck?

Anyway, this camera is the next generation of point and shoot digital camera. It records AVCHD video, and it has GPS built-in. The “iSweep Panorama” is the killer feature of this camera. No more the awkward picture stitching to make that panoramic one. It is really easy to do on this camera.

Anyway, I’ll be taking this camera on Saturday to a wedding; Carlos Alazraqui’s.

Expect a full review really soon!

In the meantime here’s a picture taken using Sony DSC-HX5V iSweep Panorama feature, re-compressed using Adobe Photoshop.

Apple releases more updates. Enter Logic Express and Digital Camera Raw Update

Apple has been a busy company on this Wednesday, May the 28th, 2008.

After releasing the much predicted Mac OS X 10.5.3 update, Apple also releases Logic Express 8.0.2 and Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 2.1.

Get it from Apple Software Update or Apple Support Downloads site.

05/28/2008
Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 2.12.4MB
This update extends RAW file compatibility for Aperture 2 and iPhoto ’08 for some cameras.

Logic Express Update 8.0.273.7MB
Logic Pro 8.0.2 addresses specific customer and compatibility issues of Logic Express 8.0.

Somewhat Related Update:

05/20/2008
Logic Pro 8.0.2139MB
This update addresses specific customer and compatibility issues of Logic Pro 8.0.

What to Buy Next: Canon Digital Rebel XSi

I have been using Canon Digital Rebel XT for the past 10 months. It has been a great experience. I thought that I’d get my own Digital SLR camera, since the Digital Rebel XT (EOS 350D) belongs to a friend of mine. I’ve been looking at Digital Rebel XTi (EOS 400D) and even a Nikon DSLR. Just now I found the next generation of sub-$1,000 DSLR from Canon. Enter Digital Rebel XSi (EOS 450D).

Since I am a total slacker, I will update this post later when I actually has the will to finish this post……

Being Digital For New Parents: Digital Camera – Part 1

I still remember the day my cousin had his first daughter back in 1997. Everyone gathered to celebrate the birth of their baby. I can always replay the scene in my head, almost like watching a video recording. It has been ten years and counting, as my cousin’s daughter grows up, technology changes much more rapidly. In 1997, digital camera and digital camcorder were still out of reach for many. A sub-megapixel digital camera carried a price tag over one-thousand dollars. Digital camcorder cost even a lot more. We were still using film camera and Hi-8 Video Camcorder back then. These days, we can go to the store and buy a much better digital camera for as low as one-hundred dollars. For three-hundred dollars we can get a great point-and-shoot digital camera. Similarly, we can get a digital video camera for under three-hundred dollars.

Let’s talk about Digital Camera for now, we’ll get to Digital Video Camera later on different posts.

Imagine having a frame filled with pictures of your baby’s first 30 days and another frame filled with weekly picture of your baby’s first year. You can see the growth and changes of the baby in these two frames. That means you have to take a lot of pictures of your baby on daily basis for the first thirty-days, and the first fifty-two-weeks. It is much easier to take tons of pictures using digital camera than the film camera. You can take as many pictures as you want using digital camera without having to worry about wasting the film by taking bad pictures. In addition to that you can instantly take a look at the picture you just took in the digital camera. So, don’t be afraid to take pictures of your baby.

Let’s talk about the digital camera. You might want to get a reasonably compact and fast point-and-shoot digital camera. You want to have the camera handy whenever you want and need to take the picture of your baby. Newborn babies are unpredictable, well, mostly they either sleep or cry. The point is, you need a camera that is easy to carry and use, such as Canon PowerShot SD1100IS, PowerShot SD750, or PowerShot SD850. I have used all three canon cameras and really happy with all of them. My personal favorite is the PowerShot SD850. If yo have not bought any digital camera, please go to the nearest store and test drive these cameras first before you bought one. There are plenty of digital camera brands and models, so take your time to choose one.

If you want to take great picture of your baby, consider getting a second digital camera; a better one if you can spare some change. A Digital SLR Camera can take pictures rapidly, and in general can capture pictures better. Digital SLR Camera is a lot more affordable today. You can get Canon Digital Rebel XT for under $500 at Amazon.com; that includes the body and one lens ($459.95 – April 1st, 2008).

Realistically, you won’t have that much time to think about taking pictures of your new baby, because your attentions will be focused on the baby’s need. It is not going to be easy. We’ll get to that in the second part of Being Digital for New Parents: Digital Camera.

UPDATE:
I changed the selection of camera from PowerShot SD1000 to PowerShot SD1100IS because I have recently tested one. PowerShot SD1100IS comes with Image Stabilization, and I really recommend it over PowerShot SD1000. Of course PowerShot SD1100IS costs more than PowerShot SD1000.

For your reference: