VanishingLight

Poway park & railroad

admin — Mon, 13 May 2013 06:37:01 +0000

Choo-Choo is his favorite object in the universe (along with water, bubbles and big shiny trucks).

Playing at home

admin — Sun, 12 May 2013 06:42:45 +0000

Pumpkin patch

admin — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 03:06:43 +0000

Apple picking in Julian, CA

admin — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 06:28:42 +0000

Protected: Russia

admin — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 04:33:22 +0000

Daniel’s first birthday!

admin — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 04:49:52 +0000

Sony RX100 – an ultimate pocket camera

admin — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 05:52:03 +0000

With hundreds of digital cameras currently on the market, it is really easy to miss a release of the best pockatable camera – Sony RX100. Of course, at all times there is a camera or two, which is better than the rest. However, those cameras are usually only slightly better than the competition – “the best of the worst” so to say. Not this one.

Sony RX100 is a true gem. Here are the technical bits:

1″ Exmor CMOS sensor
20.9 million effective pixels
28-100mm (equiv), f/1.8-4.9 Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens
Steady-Shot image stabilization
Contrast-detection AF with 25 points, including tracking and flexible spot options
ISO 125-6400 (ISO 80 and 100 expansion, up to 25,600 using multi-frame noise-reduction)
Customizable front ‘Control Ring’
10fps continuous shooting in ‘Speed Priority’ mode
3in, 1228.8K-dot ‘WhiteMagic’ LCD screen
1080 60p video (AVCHD) with MP4 option
Built-in stereo microphone
RAW output

The parts you should be paying attention to are: 1″ sensor (well, almost one inch), f1.8 lens, 1080 60p video. The results from this easily pocketable camera rival those from serious, expensive, big DSLRs.

The results of Sony engineering are simply stunning! Images are sharp, saturated, well exposed, noise free and are generally excellent right out of the camera. The same can be said about the video footage produced by the camera – it is as good as from those used for making movies and music videos (not the $50,000 ones, but the $2,000-$3,000 cameras).

As already mentioned, Sony RX100 is not cheap. At $650 MSRP (and currently street price if you can find one in stock) it is among the most expensive point and shoot cameras on the market. However, unlike the competition Sony actually delivers the good for the price you pay. It is not a magic camera – it has it’s limitations: small zoom range (28-100mm), non-interchangeable lens, no hot-shoe, no dedicated battery charger, etc.

Yet, this camera is still deserving of very close look from anyone who wants to get a great, small, high quality tool that produces stunning images and video.

Note: image samples are not mine as I don’t have this camera just yet. Images are linked from Dpreview forums.

Mila’s Birthday Party!

admin — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 03:50:59 +0000

This was an excellent day at the park and it was really great to see everyone. Here are some pictures from today – enjoy!

Mazda Miata at Laguna Seca 2012

admin — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 03:52:03 +0000

Here is a set of images taken March 31-April 1 2012 during a track event for Mazda Miatas at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in California. As always – this event was a blast, despite rain on Saturday and several spinouts on both days. Many people complained about rain and being soaking wet, but that usually lasted until they drove out of the paddock onto the track. Sunday on the other hand was sunny, clear and fairly warm.
Rick and others did a great job organizing this gathering. It was great to see Tom Matano during Saturday dinner and on Sunday at the track. He was one of the driving forces behind the creation of Mazda MX5 Miata. It also good to know that Mazda is paying close attention to the fans and their desires for the new versions of the car.

At 24 megapixels, the 2,500 pictures taken during the weekend occupy around 80GB. I wish I wasn’t denied access to all the good spots around the track to provide some more variety in the images. Pictures below have been taken in the paddock and turns 4,5,8,9.

Protected: Mission Bay – Halloween

admin — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 03:19:23 +0000