Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Sony DSC H5 V/S Yashica Electro 35 GTN

Warning: Post is long and geek content ahead!

Film cameras have more or less given up their share of the camera market for their new cousin – the digital camera. Be it the ultra compact, compact, high zoom prosumer compacts or the digital SLR’s the digital revolution has taken the camera market by storm and got down photography to common man...With digital cameras you are not forced to restrict the number of photos and having to spend enormous amount of money on processing it before you even have a look at it.

Before I got the digital camera I used 2 film cameras...

The first was a small Olympus PhD (Press here dummy) camera...no frills camera...just point and shoot.

The second camera I used was the Yashica Electro 35 GTN. It’s quite a marvel for a camera manufactured in 1976. Its exposure settings and focusing options were (are) regarded superior to many SLR’s which were produced much later in the 80’s. The Electro 35 is a rangefinder camera.

Have a look at my previous post: http://confusedrantings.blogspot.com/2007/01/yashica-electro35.html

More info on rangefinder cameras: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rangefinder_camera

Of course, it is needless to say, the features of this camera were vastly under utilized by yours truly...and the photos which came from this camera made everyone’s jaw droooop!

I never got to use this camera much and I never learnt much about photography eventually. Of course the enormous costs of developing and printing were another considerable constraint.

I finally graduated to a digital camera recently. The DSC H5 is among Sony’s Prosumer range of cameras. It has more features than a compact but lesser than a SLR. But, essentially it remains a point and shoot camera.

Read my previous post on this camera: http://confusedrantings.blogspot.com/2007/03/new-camerayipeeee.html

I’ve compared both cameras below...read on...

Of course this comparison means nothing, as each camera is from a different league altogether. This is only out of interest.


Yashica Electro 35 GTN

Sony DSC H5

Format

35mm full frame rangefinder

Prosumer Compact SLR like

Type

Film 24x36mm

Digital 7.2MP

ISO rating

ISO 25 (DIN 15) to ISO 1000 (DIN 31)

Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000

Lens

Color-Yashinon DX 45mm f/1,7 (6 elements, 4 groups)

36mm – 432mm (6-72mm)

Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar f/2.8-3.7

Focusing range

0.8 m to infinity

Normal focus range: 50cm

Macro focus range: 2cm

Aperture

1.7 to 16

F2.8 - 8.0 (wide), F3.7 - 8.0 (tele)

Shutter

30s ~ 1/500 sec., B*

1/4 - 1/2000 sec. (Auto), 1 - 1/2000 sec. (Program Auto), 46-step 30 sec – 1/1000 sec. (Shutter Priority, Manual)

Shutter speeds of 1/2000th are only available at apertures of F5.6 and higher.

Exposure meter

Single CdS cell, programs shutter selection

Multi-pattern (49 zone), Center weighted, Spot metering

Exposure compensation

EV -3.4 (f/1.7 @ 30 sec.) to EV 17 (f/16 @ 1/500 sec.)

+/-2EV, 1/3 EV steps

Viewfinder

Bright frame line, Overexposure and underexposure warning arrows

Electronic with same display as the back LCD

Focusing System

Superimposed rangefinder type focusing with automatic parallax compensation

Manual (with focus aids and magnification), Single, Monitor, Continuous. AF area modes: 3 Area Multi-Point AF, Center AF (selectable), Flexible spot AF,
Contrast detect

Flash

Built-in "X" synchronization Hot Shoe

Pop up flash- Auto, On, Off, Slow synch, Red-eye reduction
• Range (ISO Auto): 1’ to 29’ 3" (0.3-9.0m) (Wide)
• Range (ISO Auto): 35.5 ’ to 22 ’ 4 " (0.9-6.8m) (Tele)
• Range (ISO 1000): 2’ 11" to 52’ (0.9 -16m) (Wide)

Storage Media

Film easy loading- Single-stroke, Built-in double exposure prevention

Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo compatible, 32MB internal memory

Self Timer

~ 8sec

2sec, 10sec

Battery

One 6 volts battery PX32, with Battery check**

2 AA NiMH batteries

Adaptors

55mm ring, Hot shoe flash with sync, macro lens, tele and wide angle converters available, separate viewfinder for converter lens

Filter Diameter: 58mm (with supplied Adapter Ring)
Optional Slave Flash units, wide tele and macro converter lenses, filters

Dimensions

180 x 84x 73,5 mm

113.2 x 83 x 94 mm

Weight

750g

554g

Continuous Shooting

No

Yes: 7 Shots at 1.1fps (7.2MP JPEG fine), 100 Shots at 1.4 fps (640x480 JPEG std)

  • *In B mode shutter remains open as long as the shutter released button is pressed. Ideal for long exposure time shots and needs a cable shutter release (separate accessory).
  • **The original 6V PX32 battery is no more available because it’s a mercury battery and is banned to prevent pollution. However the Yashica camera’s electronics are capable of working well between 4-6volts.This allows us to use an alkaline battery which can be easily adapted by using a small spring.


There you have it. The Yashica takes wonderful pictures. Once I make my way up the photography learning curve I’ll surely have another go at the Yashica. Till then....shoot!

Adios Amigos

Saturday, July 28, 2007

IDEA!!!

The best ideas come when you can’t do anything about it.

-Venkatdeep,Circa 2007

Am sure many of us have gone through a situation where we’ve had ideas popping off our head like pop corn bursting in a microwave. There sure have been times when you’ve said “damn! Why dint I think of that before?!”

When ideas pop off at those ‘moments of inspiration’ one of the following happens....


> Someone has already thought of that idea!

> There is no paper!

> Ahhh! Here is the paper....damn! The pen ain’t working!

> I’ll record a voice clip...oops! BESCOM has graced our lives...there’s no power!

> If there is power the recording software ain’t working!

> If it is, and you finish recording, you will have to format your hard disk before you can backup the information for reasons mankind cannot perceive or justify! (Maybe the guys at Microsoft know!!)

> Now that the computer ain’t working how bout the mp3 player? ...oops again! Forgot to replace batteries!

P.S. If you were wondering if I never thought of the cassette recorder...I did. That ain’t working either!

> I’ll call my girlfriend....

You: Hey sweetie......

She: Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.....baby I missed you sooooooo muchhh...I was out shopping the whole day with Div, Akshu..... I saw this cuutttee pinkish yellowish greenish blue black stuffed elephant...you’ll get it for my birthday na...and guess what we saw your friends brothers ex-girlfriends third boyfriend today...my god! What a jerk! Heeeeyyy and you remember that pink top you got me last week...I showed it to my friends today and they were..wow! You should have seen them...And guess what there was this cute guy at the chocolate store...he was trying to so badly hit on divs...and.... (After sooooommmeee mooorrree time!) ...baby...why you sooo quiet?? What happened?? Are you ok?? Everything ok? Are you sure?

You: uh...nothing...glad you had a great day..

She: Thanx soo much...acchha now I’ll go and try on a new dress I got today..byeeee...muuuahh! CLICK!

You: ??

> I’ll call a friend...THE HUTCH SUBSCRIBER YOU ARE TRYING TO CALL IS NOT REACHABLE AT THE MOMENT!!!

> If it is.... You: Hey man...I just had a great idea!

Other side: huh?? Hello? Who’s this?

WRONG NUMBER!!

> You finally get the right number and he says... “Uh! Dude...am with my girl here...I’ll catchya later...”CLICK!

> Ditch it...what are moms for....

You: Mom...

Mom: You know what, in that soap the heroines, third sisters, fourth boyfriends, dog’s new owners, sons girlfriends ex-boyfriends, fathers, mother-in-laws, sisters, ex-husbands, third wife’s, son tries to........

You: huh??????????!?!?!!!!!?

> Well dads and sons always share a special relation...

You: Heeyy Dad.....guess what...

(Before anything else is said) Dad: NO YOU’RE NOT TAKING THE CAR TODAY!

>Grandpa.....yeeeahhh!

You: (Starts and finishes saying the idea...pauses for a breath...feels happy!!!).....ajja super idea right!!

Grandpa: aahhhhh??? What?? I forgot my hearing aid....

Gets up disoriented...feigns a fainting attack, picks himself off the ground and heads out of the door!

Gets a call on the mobile: hello? “Do u wanna partner...o partner.... (Song playing)...this caller tune for you just at rs.30 per month!”


So, what’s your story?

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Boob tube......

EDIT: I did receive a few comments asking why on earth I even chose this topic to blog on. Add a bit of slandering to that...A very pissed off Bip's fan I presume. A small clarification...I was just wondering how page 3 columnists can make a fuss about nothing and this post was just a 'vain' attempt at writing like a page 3 person..nothing more and nothing less!


DISCLAIMER: THE FOLLOWING POST FEATURES ADULT CONTENT. VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED. HATE MAIL NOT ENTERTAINED!


Caught you...didn’t it...it sure did catch my attention in the editorial column of a newspaper. I mean any article in the editorial titled like that ought to have much more right?

The article was about one of our tinsel town damsel going under the knife for an augmentation of her assets and not paying for it...

Hold your horses before you call me a MCP for pointing this out. The article wasn’t only about poor Bipasha being more bustier...it was also about the doctor who decided to leak the news to the ‘celeb friendly’ paparazzi because he wasn’t too pleased about not receiving the bill. Of course who’d be happy, after all its always about bigger assets isn’t it?!! And did a magazine do any better by splashing before and after pictures of Bipasha??(Haha!! Yeah right...don’t even think about it...the pics were with the clothes on!)Before she went under the knife and after she acted in Jism (After all Jism was a big assets movie!)

Besides the article struck me more, being a part of the medical fraternity! Where was the doctors’ integrity?

It reminded me of a dialogue from the movie ‘Scent of a woman’ where Al Pacino hollers out, “...he wont sell himself and he wont sell out others... and that is integrity!”

So is the doctor’s integrity heading for differentiation?

This nation need no more scandals, the celebrities are already doing enough!

Besides, the doctor is supposedly well known among celebrities by changing their name in medical records to protect their identity.

Also the staffs of the hospital were also more than happy to reveal that poor Bipasha also got a ear job done too...guess that’s called waxing eh?! Or should we say de-waxing?!!

Considering that the doctor changes the name of his patients I just wonder if it isn’t Bipasha at all!! Its actually Rakhi Sawant and the ear job is for the actress who got her ears chewed off by Emran Hashmi in the excuse of what was supposed to be steamy on-screen chemistry?!

So a shot of ‘censor’-caine for a shot of fame???

What say you??