I ran mostly on sidewalks and streets. Mid-run I decided to go for a total time, rather than distance. So, I shot for 1.5 hours and took it easy to stay aerobic even uphill.
Wore the NB 890 and they felt great. I think it would be a good long run shoe; good fit, cushioned sole, light.
As I neared Red Rocks Community College on the way home, I heard a group of coyotes starting up: wake-up time. They were howling from the exact direction I was headed, which is a dirt path down a dark hillside, the only path back unless I were to take a big detour. I didn't really want to disrupt them, but I didn't want a confrontation either. I bombed down the path clapping my hands and hollering, and they scattered into the dark bushes. The one-eyed headlamp monster wins again.
Total run distance was 8.3 miles, moving time 1:23, moving pace 9:36, and elevation gain/loss 807 feet.
Yesterday I couldn't wait to pick up my new Canon S95, and spent the evening futzing around with it. It was gloomy out so I didn't get much in the way of test photos. However, I took it running Wednesday and shot this about 45 minutes after sunset:
This was shot in the near-dark with no tripod, with 1/3-second shutter speed at 1600 ISO. I managed to hold my hand steady enough.
My brother has the previous model, the S90, and I was pretty amazed at the low-light images he pulled off with it, so I'm not surprised at how good the S95 does at night. It also shoots in RAW mode (essentially, raw unprocessed image data; the image above was processed from RAW format), and has manual focus and a number of other features not usually found on compact cameras. It's a bit bigger than the smallest Canon ELPHs, but still pretty small.
I have to say it took a long time to gather the courage to buy a $400 device that I know I'm going to put in my pocket, get dust on, drop on rocks, and otherwise slowly destroy. It took me over a year, to be exact.
I shot a few JPEGs and compared to my old SD1100 and was a bit disappointed to find the images from the 1100 had a bit more detail. What? Am I going to have to return this camera?
Then I viewed a RAW image.
I could see nose hairs on ants. Seriously, the detail is phenomenal, even for a 10 MP image. I've been craving something that's a step up from what I've been using, and I think it's a keeper.
Congrats on the new toy, very nice. I've been in the market for a new camera for a while, but kind of just taking my time. I have an Olympus Stylus Tough waterproof point-and-shoot now. Can't beat it for taking literally everwhere, but the images are pretty weak. It's slow to boot and a bit heavier than I would like as well. I knew the S95 sounded familiar, and it turns out I had bookmarked a post a couple of month's ago from a guy whose pics I really enjoy:
ReplyDeletehttp://grizzlyadam.net/2011/01/canon-powershot-s95-review.html
Have fun with it and I look forward to seeing some great shots. I may have to go check out the S95 myself.
Chris
thescenebegins - Thanks for the link, I'll have to bookmark that.
ReplyDeleteFor me the image clarity is the thing, and in general I've liked the look of Canon images. With a few exceptions, other brands look fuzzy to me.
However IMO the SD series is not as sharp as a couple of years ago. I've seen more image fuzziness at the edges. I think it's partly the lens and partly the processing the chip does.
I'm evaluating the Canon ELPH 100HS, which just came out, to decide if I'm going to keep just to have a lighter backup to replace my SD1100, which is getting pretty beat up and has dust in the lens, so mandatory $100 repair. But the images are not as sharp :\
Some Panasonic Lumix image are nice.
Some of the Sony TX images are nice.
I think Steve at HappyTrails -- http://happytrails88.blogspot.com -- said after doing a lot of shopping he got the Canon SD960, and his images look great.
The site Steve's Digicams has been useful because it has sample images of the same scenes over and over so you can compare effectively. I use the outdoor scene of the park, with the canon and trees in the back. http://www.steves-digicams.com/camera-reviews/
Steve's Digicams is one of my favorite resources. Nice cam and you are going to enjoy the 28mm wide angle. You will be cropping photos for a while because you get so much more in the frame!! Have fun experimenting.
ReplyDeleteHappyTrails - Yeah I noticed the wider angle when I was comparing quality to my old camera. I didn't even think about it when shopping, but a couple of times outdoors I'd wished I had more width in the shot. Cool!
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, the new 100 HS, which is sort of the latest in the same series as the SD1100, has a similarly wide angle. So maybe that's the way their products are headed.
They made an SD980 that I tried, but returned, that had a 24mm wide. However, the photos were very soft. The new HS is supposed to be better and has the 24mm.
ReplyDeleteI also tried two of the Lumix and must say I do not know where the reviewers pulled their photos from, but both of them took very poor quality photos.
You made a good choice. It is always fun to play with the new stuff!! Hope you have good runs on tap for the weekend - warm weather awaits!
HappyTrails - I found that the Lumix series varied quite a bit. The lenses can be quite good (Leica and/or Zeiss I think), I think maybe it's the image processor that varies. Not sure.
ReplyDeleteI like the ELPH 100 HS better than recent SD models, but the clarity is still not what it used to be (SD1100, 600, 400). I'm not sure if it's a deliberate design decision, or the lens manufacturer (i.e. the plant), or the fact that the sensor records much more information now. A combination maybe.
BTW I created a page for some camera info because I keep losing track of it!