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Thursday, December 28, 2017
The End is Near
Art Rage
Greetings friends.....Catima Biersdorff, who introduced me to ART RAGE a little over a year ago, is joining with me to teach another workshop , and she is very savvy about using PC's, all the bells and whistles on the laptop and desktop versions, so for those
of you who want to learn more about how to use this app, please join us (or join me again!). I've also been learning more about incorporating photos and using layers, so we should have a lot to play with. Space is always limited at the gallery, so let us know as soon as you can if you would like to come on the 3rd. Happy Holidays!
Victoria
of you who want to learn more about how to use this app, please join us (or join me again!). I've also been learning more about incorporating photos and using layers, so we should have a lot to play with. Space is always limited at the gallery, so let us know as soon as you can if you would like to come on the 3rd. Happy Holidays!
Victoria
Monday, December 25, 2017
Round Three
Now we come to the third contender the
Canon.
Canon's image is almost as golden as
Nikon and you pay dearly for it. But there are lenses aplenty and
gear just waiting for you to snap it up.
So why isn't this my first pick?
Well it has fewer bells and whistles
than the other two. It has a smaller ISO range, (That's ASA for those
old enough to remember Kodachrome and for those who aren't it means
how dark you can safely shoot.) faster shutter speeds, more focus
points, and it is heavier. Having real heft may not sound like a
perk, but it is. It makes you feel like you are using a REAL camera.
So why recommend it at all?
There are hundreds of lenses available
and the South Coast seems to be lousy with Canon fanciers so many of
them are available locally. If you want it now this is the right box
for you. Also many lenses means cheaper prices. I just saw a Canon EF
28-200 for $39! That lens should run around $200 so if you just
wanted to buy it and resell it it would be worth the effort.
But back to the reasons. Canon makes
the best walking around lens in the market. It's a 55-250 zoom and I
just saw one of these on Craig's List for $144. Now that's not as
good as the $39 buck lens but it is pretty juicy. If you get a 55-250
you may not need another lens for years. It's a workhorse and Canon
quality will keep it working even when you don't.
The preview screen is bright, full of
info and right where you need it. Now Nikon and Pentax have info
screens and they are good as you would expect but they aren't as
bright and easy to read as the Canon. I can read the whole screen
without my glasses and when you are shooting not having to push the
cheaters off your nose to check the camera settings is a plus.
Especially when you get that once in a lifetime shot of a gray whale
breaching one hundred yards off the rocks at Shore Acres!
The battery, remember a sore spot with
me, lasts a looooooooooooooong time. I've had it in the camera for a
few months and it is still holding enough of a charge I haven't felt
the need to recharge it. Now the truth be told the modern Lion
batteries don't develop a memory like the old NiCads. You can top
them off anytime so don't be ascared. It won't hurt but try every now
and then to run it flat. It just keeps the battery in better shape.
Speaking of batteries, you might think
about getting another one just in case. That way you can have one in
the charger ready to cook up when Brad Pitt comes to town. Or maybe
the next time you decide to get up at Dawn Thirty to go see the Polar
Bear swimmers. They are bat-shit nuts you know but you can get some
interesting pics.
Canon makes two series of lenses, the
EF and the EFs. The EF fits the full frame cameras and the EFs fits
the APS-C like the Xsi. The nifty, neat and cool thing about an EF
lens is that it has a crop factor of 1.6. Yeah, I know you don't know
what that means but I am going to tell you and then you will know
what it means.
When a lens has a crop factor, it means
you get less image to the sensor or effectively a longer lens. So a
28mm wide angle becomes a 45mm normal lens. This isn't so dramatic on
the wide angle end of the spectrum but when you get out to the long
end of the story a 300mm becomes a 480mm super telephoto and that
kids is a huge deal. Canon makes some wonderful long lenses but they
charge an arm and a leg and a nose and several other body parts for
them. Art Wolf's favorite, (If you don't know who Art Wolf is you
need to watch more PBS or go to Art's website and take a look at some
of his pictures.), is a 200mm-400mm zoom with a built in 1.4 extender
which Canon sells for, take a deep breath, $10990.00 and that's what
my first dental implant cost so that is a huge chunk of change but
with the crop factor a 18mm-270mm Tamron zoom becomes a 29mm-432mm
zoom and it costs $133.00. Now that is a whopping difference.
So, if you like Canon and want to spend
the cash you can lay your hands on some pretty lofty equipment for a
bunch less than Canon wants for their Brand-name stuff.
Now my follow-up blog post will talk
about the handling of each of these guys but I'll fess up right now
and say that I like the feel of the Canon more than either the Nikon
or the Pentax. It just fits my hand and everything is in the right
place.
And while I am making admissions
there's Sony and Olympus but their stuff can be hard to find here at
the edge of the world so I think you are better off staying with the
three guys I have mentioned.
And now that the hollering day is over
and the sales are starting you can start thinking about what you
would like. Having a top-notch camera is much better than not having
one so any of the three I've talked about will do fine. Just try
handling them and see if you like the feel and then let loose of some
of that cash you made out with for Christmas unless you went to the
Mill on Christmas Day like the Ole Trawler and the Long Sufferin' and
pushed the cash into the slot machines for three or four hours and
came away with nothing but the shirt on your back cause if you had
lost that there'd be mucho coverage by the KVAL folks cause a nekkid
woman is always a photo-op while a nekkid man is a felony so either
way there'd be news coverage and since there wasn't I can bet you
kept some of that loot so you have no excuse not to spend it on a
good camera.
Thursday, December 21, 2017
Dance the Night Away
From: South Coast Folk Society
Subject: English
Country Dancing in Coos Bay !
When: Saturday
Evening, DECEMBER 30, 2017
Time: 7:00PM to 9:30PM
Where: Coos Bay Senior Center , 4th and
Ingersoll, Coos
Bay , OR
Featuring: Music: Outstanding
Open Band, and Dance Calling by Alixe
Dancer
Folk Society to Host English Country Dancing December
30, Public Welcome
The
South Coast Folk Society will host an evening of English Country Dancing on
Saturday, December 30, from 7:00 to 9:30PM .
This public event will feature live music by the Outstanding Open Band, and
dance lessons and calling by Alixe Dance of Roseburg . Singles, couples and families can all
enjoy English Country Dancing, and new dancers are always welcome. It’s a
lovely, graceful form of casual social dancing appropriate for all ages.
Experience is not required.
The
Outstanding Open Band consists of many talented local musicians dedicated to
playing great dance music. Alixe Dancer, the caller for the evening, is a
highly experienced and very personable instructor and caller. Her English
Country Dance repertoire is ideal for all skill levels.
This
event is alcohol and fragrance free. It will take place at the Coos Bay Senior Center located at 886 S. 4th,
corner of 4th and Ingersoll
in Coos Bay . Refreshments will be served. Doors open at 6:45PM . General admission: $7; Seniors over 60:
$6; Members: $5; Students: free; and Supervised Children under 12 are also
free. For more information call 541-404-8267, or go to their web site at www.southcoastfolksociety.com.
PRESS
RELEASE English Country Dance PRESS
RELEASE
The South Coast Folk Society is
an all-volunteer, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, study,
teaching, enjoyment, and continuing evolution of traditional and historical
dance, music, and song.
--
Thursday, December 14, 2017
Round Two
So you thought it over and buying a
REAL camera sounds like a good idea and you are a mature adult and
can wait until after Christmas so now all you have to do is figure
out what camera to buy
No it's too late to catch the Aunt
Martha show this year but I know you'll be ready for act two next
year. The Dance of the Quivering Flamingo is not to be missed, so
lets think about how to be ready.
We've already talked about the economy
option and I think it is still the best but for some of you, you just
won't be satisfied with anything less than the High-priced spread.
That means Nikon.
The Nikon D90 is a twelve megapixel
camera. (You remember we already decided that twelve megapixels is
enough even if you want to blow up that shot of the Thing on the
Couch in the bear's mouth.) It is a Nikon and it has almost all of
the bells and whistles that the bigger, heavier, more costly Nikons
have. It just won't cost as much as the new BMW in the driveweay.
Why a D90? It isn't a Pro level camera
which is a very good thing for our purposes. Most Pro level cameras,
be they Nikon, Canon, Sony or Pentax have been worked to a frazzle.
They have high shutter counts, loose lens mounts and worn setting
ratchets. They don't have light leaks which plagued all film cameras
cause you had to have a way to load film and with all of that opening
and closing the backs work their way loose by the time a Pro decides
to get a new box.
No a Nikon DS5 or even a D850 is not a
good choice, They are fantastic machines and they take wonderful
pictures and they last forever but the Pros know this and they use
the hell out of them and by the time they make it to the used market
they are a mere shadow of themselves.
No you want to focus on an entry level
camera like the Nikon D5300. Of course that means no college for the
kids but I'm sure they'll understand in a few years and MacDonald's
offers some great career options...
Maybe you should think about something
a few generations older, like a D90. Now the new Nikon D7100 is a
comparable camera, but it will take a second mortgage to buy and it
is only a tad bit better. The D90 was introduced in 2008 and it
hasn't faded all that much. In fact Nikon still offered it new until
2013 so they thought it was pretty viable. Now you can get all of
that viability for around $200. Just check KEH, for a bit more $229
you can get an EX grade model and that kiddios is some deal.
Just think your snotty brother-in-law
is going to show up with a Nikon D810 which set him back $2199 refurbished from B&H and you know
your sister is seething and planning to Lorena Bobbit him the first
chance she gets and that would ruin a lot of Christmases and you can
fess up that your Nikon only cost $229 from KEH and aren't you a
smart shopper not to mention not having to be afraid of anyone who
knows where the knives are kept and that makes for a Happier New
year!
And the D90 will have most of the
features that the D810 has. No not the ginormous sensor, but why do
you need all that? You aren't going to post your photographs to a
billboard along I5 so something smaller will do just fine.
And you can still use all of those
juicy Nikkor lenses so long as you can afford them. But with the huge
tax break the Republicans are giving us as a Christmas present you
can have plenty of money to spend on high-priced lenses!
No you won't? Okay take a long look at
Sigma and Tamron. They make reasonably price lenses for your Nikon
and some of them are better than anything offer by Nikon. The new
Sigma 150-600 is the neatest thing since indoor plumbing and cost
less than a thousand dollars. Too much, take a look at the Sigma
50-500 for around $650 before Christmas dollars. After the big doings
on the 25th you can probably get one for $500.
Still too much? Tamron makes a 28-300
which for my money is the best walking around lens you can have and
you can get your hot little hands on one for...$160 dollars at B&H
and that's for a high grade copy at the highest priced seller!
And if you decide to get the Tamron
28-300 you won't have to decide if you like wide-angle or long lens
best. You'll have both in one package. That means fewer lens swaps,
fewer clods in the camera's innards and fewer trips to the repair
shop cause you put a clod in the cameras innards!
Now read this over and think on it and
after Christmas when Aunt Martha is back to wearing Mumus and
drinking chamomile tea and the Thing on the Couch has passed out in
front of the Stupid Bowl you can slip off to the computer and order
your REAL camera and take beautiful shots all year long even if you
decide to buy the Nikon and spend way too much money when you could
have had a Pentax for a third of the price but I am not the sort of
person to say I told you so so do whatever you want...no matter how
wrong it is.
Sunday, December 10, 2017
Round One
So maybe more than a day has passed
since I started yakking about getting a real camera. Things happen,
especially this time of year.
But now that you've had a chance to
think about it I am sure you have come to the same conclusion, you
need a real camera.
So where to start?
The good news is digital cameras are
changing faster than a chameleon on a paisley tie, what was new
yesterday is obsolete today, unless you actually want to take
photographs.
If you want a camera to impress your
neighbors and expose yourself to break-ins and snatch and grab in the
streets go ahead and buy that brand new Nikon or Canon. Then make
sure your insurance is up to date.
But if you are serious about taking
pictures then you don't need a brand new camera.
Here's an important fact, electronics
work or they don't. Now a car with a hundred and fifty thousand miles
has had a lot of wear and tear, but camera with forty or fifty
thousand shutter activations is just settling in. (Shutter
activations are the miles on the odometer for a camera) If it works
when you get it the odds are it will continue to work for longer than
you will have it or maybe even live.
When I got my first DSLR I didn't know
these things so I bought a camera with forty thousand shutter
activations on the clock. That's not bad and my Pentax K-x is doing
just fine thank you very much, but when I bought the second K-x for
the Long Sufferin I got one with four thousand activations and it
will probably outlive both of us. In the meantime my old camera now
has forty-seven thousand clicks on the shutter and is showing no
signs of breaking down.
So buying a used two or three
generations old camera is not risky, it's just good economics.
Why did I chose a Pentax and not a
Nikon or Canon?
The number one reason was the K-x is
powered by four AA batteries. There is nothing more annoying or
defeating than grabbing your camera only to find out that the battery
is dead. This usually happens when you are far away from home and the
charger. No charger, no camera, but you can buy double A's at any
7-11. So when the power goes dead, you can be back up in a flash.
Now there were other reasons. Pentax is
an old establish name in cameras but it has never achieved the public
recognition which Nikon and Canon enjoy. Not good for Pentax
stockholders but very good for you. The average cost of a Pentax at
any level is forty to sixty percent less than the high priced spread
and the camera takes pictures of equal or superior quality. (Also it
is built like a tank, I took a header and hit my front porch with the
camera between me and the porch. The camera never missed a lick. The
porch was fine too but I had a very sore rib or two for a coupla
weeks. I don't recommend this method of testing ruggedness. Just take
my word for it the Pentax can take a licking and keep on ticking.)
And Pentax has been in the business of
making cameras and lenses since the fifties so there is a whole world
of compatible lenses for the camera. Sure you won't want to have a
flock of lenses hanging around but you will want to be able to try
one or two out to see where your eye fits. (Yes, eyes fit. Mine has
always been specific so I like long lenses but many people like wide
angle views. They are great for landscapes, sunsets and cheating the
focus. {Yes, you can cheat the focus. A wide angle lens will keep
everything in focus most of the time so you won't have to fight the
autofocus to get the image sharp. Course I like long lenses cause
they wash out most everything but the object you focus on, so you
takes your pick})
There are many more reasons for
choosing a Pentax, but lets just keep things simple. You can get a
camera for under two hundred dollars, lenses are wildly available and
they are cheap and the cameras are rugged. I found a 28-70mm
wide-angle for twelve dollars so try that with a Nikon.
And even though the K-x is a few
generation old, it is a twelve megapixel camera and that is more than
enough if you have the big, fat megapixels in a DSLR and not the sad,
sorry and tiny megapixels in your phone. You can make mural sized
prints if need be and 11x14's will look like a professional
photographer shot them so when you take the picture of the Thing on
the Couch being eaten by the bear he surprised taking out the trash
Sunday night you could get a full page in National Geographic.
And you do know that now is the time to
look but not to buy? It's Christmas! People are screaming and waving
money and fighting with teeth and toenails to get the goodies for
Aunt Martha even though Aunt Martha has a boy-toy in Aruba and is
sunbathing nekkid so that the expensive breast augmentation she
treated herself to gets lots of attention and she doesn't have all
those pesky tan lines and what if she can land a younger island guy
with dark curly hair and a body tight enough to bounce quarters off
and no Facebook page to tell the PTA back home what she has been
doing over the holiday.
So leave Aunt Martha alone, she's paid
her dues and deserves some recreation in her golden years and so what
if she comes home with a new tattoo and her navel pierced. Grandma
Harriet isn't going to see her in that micro bikini at the family
Christmas party unless those missing tan lines turn out really good
and Martha decides to throw caution to the wind and dance the marimba
in nothing but her ugly Christmas sweater but then you'd really need
a new camera to catch the evidence which you would have if you had
paid attention to me last Christmas and now there's Martha in nothing
but two yards of wool and a smile and you have nothing to capture the
image with except your phone which you don't actually have cause the
kid swiped it when the battery in his phone died cause he was bored
spitless and talked all through the Christmas dinner and annoyed
Uncle Bosco who was trying to watch the USC vs Slippery Rock game on
the wide screen so there you have it why miss a chance to catch Aunt
Martha in the all togethers?
Don't be caught empty handed, research
that camera now and when the holiday is over and all of the sales
come singing their siren song you'll know just which camera you want!
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Play the Links
Why so late?
Yes, I usually start wingeing in late
August or September, which is completely stupid, cause even if I get
through to you by the time Christmas comes around and you feel like
splurging on yourself instead of those ungrateful brats who only show
up when they want money or need a baby-sitter, or you discover that
The Thing on the Couch has spent $700 on a new LED TV and never said
a thing to you and now you want to spend the money you planned to
give to him on something nice for you, you will have forgotten all
about this so I decided to wait and tell you to just squirrel the
cash away and hope that you get even more for the holiday and then
after the first of the year when all of the merchants are trying to
unload their inventory you'll have a wad of money to buy that camera.
So having waited like a smart shopper,
and it's after the holiday so that all of the returns have been made
and it is safe to go back out the mall don't just go online and try
one of these guys:
So what do all of these links mean?
(And yes, I checked them out and they are all active, safe and
phishing free)
They are the places where you should be
shopping for your camera equipment, even if all you are willing to
spring for is a pocket-sized point and shoot. The difference between
a good used camera and a new camera can be as much as four hundred
dollars and that will by a lot of oil paint! And with modern
electronics, they either work or they don't.
I have two Pentax K-x cameras, both
from these resources, both working perfectly. Mine has around
forty-six thousand activations and the Long Sufferin's has about four
thousand and the K-x is supposed to be good for fifty to a hundred
thousand activations so I'll let you know when my K-x kicks.
Now a bit more about the links. Adorama
is the lowest priced outlet I have found and they are usually very
straight forward about the condition of their merchandise. They say
right in the description if there is anything which might keep you
from selecting an item. But they do sell a lot of items for parts
only so read carefully.
B&H is the most expensive outlet
but they are also the most comprehensive. If you want a DSLR they
have it, if you want Canon Ultra Premium inkjet Photo paper they have
it and if you want a lens cap for that old Argus brick sitting on the
top shelf of the closet, they have it. Just be aware they charge for
stocking all of that stuff so you will pay a bit more.
Henry's is a Canadian outfit, How come
ya'll don't recommend 'Marcian, heah? Cause Henry's has some of the
best stock and prices you will find, their merchandise is good
quality and the exchange rate is very favorable right now. $100C is
around $80 US so you get an immediate twenty percent discount.
If you live in these parts and are
willing to travel then Glazer's in Seattle should be on your shopping
list. They have excellent merchandise and great prices and you can
see it and hear it and touch it before you buy it. Besides Seattle is
a beautiful city, holidays should always be spent in a city and Art
Wolfe has his gallery there so you just can't lose. (You don't know
who Art Wolfe is, shame on you! Travels to the Edge on PBS. And check
out his blog cause he is most generous with his tips even if you'd
never be able to afford that Canon USMC 200-400 with the built in
1.4x extender.)
KEH is the Wily E Coyote Acme of camera
stores, they got everything and it is great and it is cheap and they
are fast and if you happen to break it before you get to use it they
have a repair shop you can send it back to to get whatever you did
wrong put right and have it back again ready to shoot those first
snow of the season pictures.
I have done business with them several
times and have always found them to be completely honest and
reliable.
And while you are in their neck of the
woods, take a look at the KEH outlet store. If you couldn't stand to
buy at KEH's modest prices maybe you can find what you are looking
for in the outlet store for an even more modest price.
It is Ebay so be sure to click on the
Buy it Now button to get the non-auction price. You'll be pleasantly
surprised.
So get on the computer, take a look at
the links and I'll be back tomorrow to chat some more.
And It's Free
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