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All of us Susquehanna SeniorNet members wish to THANK Rob for taking the time and energy to transport all that expensive equipment from the store to the Library, and then drag it all the way up to the 4th floor. And thanks for the handouts and the other give-away goodies.
HANDOUTS:
Someone who could not be there, asked about handouts. Rob had extra handouts, and should have them available at the store if you want to drop by. The store is at 18 West Fourth Street, just a bit west of the Library.
Rob said the least busy time to stop by, is usually on SATURDAY. Saturday hours are 9:30 am - 4 pm. (Phone 326-0551).
CAMERA DEMOS:
Rob demonstrated and passed around enough equipment, to fill up most of our minds to the brim, with information.
A few things I remember (and please don't trust my memory; confirm this stuff with Rob):
Rob demonstrated a nice Canon camera, that was somewhere in the (guessing here) $150 range, somewhere around 6 megapixels.
Better yet, there is a new feature "IMAGE STABILIZATION" that compensates for your hand moving, when you take the photo. In other words, if you don't have a tripod to steady the camera, this feature tries to simulate having a tripod, because most of us cannot hold the camera perfectly still like a tripod would.
I think Rob said the Canon Model "570 IS", is priced somewhere around $200, and offers this feature.
Personally, I would regard this feature as highly desirable, as I am always searching for walls and other surfaces upon which to steady my own camera, as I have trouble holding it steady without some mechanical assistance.
SLR:
Another of the models Rob demonstrated was a Canon entry-level SLR (Single Lens Reflex), which is priced around $549. This gets a slightly better picture than the "point and shoots" , due to the high quality lens, which are removable.
He also mentioned there is an Olympus model (not an SLR) for sportsmen, which supposedly can be dropped from 4 feet, can survive being briefly immersed under up to 4 feet of water, and will float if you drop it over the side of your boat.
SONY:
I personally am partial to Sony, mainly from habit of using them, and over the last 6 years of using Sony's, have finally figured out how to use almost 30% of their features. I asked Rob if he had a preference of Canon over Sony, since the still cameras he brought to the meeting were mostly Canon . Rob said he likes the Sony's equally well. He said that the store also handles Sony's, and sells about an equal number of the Sony units as the Canon.
Rob said often the reason a buyer chooses Canon or Sony (or another brand) is the same reason as my preference for Sony: the person has finally started to figure out how to use one brand, and they don't want to switch to another brand, and begin the learning process all over again.
As an example of this "ongoing learning" process, I have had my Sony DSC-P72 camera (my 2nd Sony, the one that took the photos attached to this email) since November 2004. Rob showed me Wed night how to zoom in on a photo that was in my camera, so you can see if it is "sharp" or not, which I did not realize it could do. I.e. still learning to use it.
PRINTERS & CAMCORDERS:
Rob also talked and demo'd these. I don't recall prices, as my memory banks were "full" at that point. The photo printers I don't think were very expensive, maybe starting around ballpark $100 or so. He mentioned camcorders now were coming in DVD and hard drive models, as well as the older mini-DV cassette format.
My personal advice (not Robs), is consider getting the original mini-DV camcorder format if you think you have any intention of editing it on your computer, because the DVD "compresses" the video before you edit it (not good), and the hard drive models don't always want to "communicate" with the computer. Don't take my word for this, but keep it in mind, and discuss it with the salesperson, if you intend to do video editing.
BLOWUPS:
Rob brought along several example of photos that had been "blown up" and mounted on pressboard, to demonstrate how a "sharp" picture can be enlarged and still have clear details. The biggest was a full-color photo of a horse and rider, which was somewhere around 2 ft x 3-1/2 ft. The store has a special large HP printer that can print this huge size, but keep in mind it is not cheap. Rob estimated that printout would cost in the ballpark of $60.
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Thanks. - Jim Ingram
570-477-2520 Voice Mail, Williamsport PA <http://www.track2.com> Macintosh G4/OS 10.4
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Look at all these smiling faces . . . a happy audience !!
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