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Wednesday, December 31, 2008

My new camera



Yesterday I got a brand new digital camera - a waterproof Pentax W60. It replaces my old Pentax WPi10 that I dropped on my ski tip during the Christmas bird count. I shattered the viewfinder screen, and while it stilled worked I feared it was on its last legs. After three years of hard use, 20 thousand pictures, and use as a toy by my kids its service is over. It did pretty well.

Today I got to use my new camera. This morning I made movies of the kids - amazing the quality of the video on point and shoots these days. The video is better than that of my old video camera. And this afternoon I took it skiing. The pictures are much higher quality than with the old camera (and 10MB vs 6MB file sizes). It also has a feature where it creates the panoramic right after you take the pictures. I have posted 2 of these from my ski on Pyramid. About the only thing I do not like about the new camera is the poor battery life. I seemingly never had to recharge the battery on the old WPi10 - it lasted days on one charge. But the new battery seems to run down a bit quicker - perhaps all the new bells and whistles need more battery power. Guess I'll have to buy some extra batteries for trips out into the field.

As regards the snow on Pyramid; it was not as bad as I thought it would be. I even found seams of powder in the South Bowl. But in general it is pretty wind blown and bumpy. I think I'll stick with the cross country skiin on Island Lake for the next few days. Patrick

4 comments:

tk said...

That is the camera I got before going to the farm on Maui- I loved it- it worked for me in the rain and pool, but then I took it in the ocean and the seal failed. Waiting to get the replacement...
The wide angle lens really made for some incredible single shot photos, I miss it.

My Little Family: said...

I remember when you bought that old camera. It was a big step because you felt so extravagant. Turns out if was very utilitarian for your life stle - especially now that you have kids as well as for the museum. Many happy yars with your new camera!

Zoya said...

Imagine what the cameras will be like when I replace it! Hopefully. ... .. Patrick

Pixie said...

Cool. My point and shoot is the Pentax Optio W30. It's not a bad little camera but the shutter delay is terrible and it sucks up battery power. You can make some adjustments to the LCD display to help but a spare battery is in order. Wide angle lens! Sweet! Now your panoramas will be even more awesome!