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Nostalgia
I miss the mechanical wind lever of the 35mm film
cameras. It used to be that once you had composed
the image in your viewfinder, you'd press the
shutter, and then use your thumb to wind on to
the next frame. Then came the motorized versions
that did the winding for you. Now, with a fixed
image sensor and images stored on memory cards,
there is nothing to even wind! I miss the tactile
feel of the wind mechanism. Me thinks me will
take out my Nikon EL and give it a good wind.
There, I feel much better!
Neck Strap, No! Grip Strap, Si!
The ultra compact digital cameras easily slip
into the pocket of your trousers or coat. But
the ultra zoom models require a neck strap --
which I do not quite favour, because they tend
to get all tangled up. A better proposition would
be a grip strap like the ones that are so common
on camcorders. That would get rid of the neck
strap, and still provide a safe way to carry the
camera.
History
I have a number of 35mm compact and SLR film cameras
on my shelf. Collector's items they are, that's
what I keep telling myself. I have taken a shot
of them and post them on the History Forum. Go
there to take a look -- and post yours!
Menu Brighness
Be careful how bright you set the LCD brightness.
If you set it too bright, and rely on the LCD
to judge picture quality, you might be fooled
into believing that a picture is correctly exposed
when in fact it may be underexposed.
New Sponsors
You may have noticed a couple of new sponsors:
tribalfusion and dealtime. Sponsors are important
not only because they help pay for the web hosting
costs to keep the site up, but they are also a
sign that the content on this site warrants their
advertising dollars. Please prove them right by
visiting and supporting our sponsors.
New! Forums
After looking at different forum applications,
we have finally settled on phpBB (a Bulletin Board
written in the php language, and hence the name).
The only thing missing is that it is not threaded,
so you'll have to quote the post you are answering
to for clarity. If anyone knows of a bulletin
board/forum application that allows threaded posts,
please let us know.
Everyone can read the forum posts, but to post
on the forums, you need to register. Fortunately,
this is an absolutely painless process and completely
automated. All we require is a valid email address.
You get a confirmation email almost right away,
and you can immediately start posting. The reason
for requiring registration is simply so we can
ensure the forum does not degenerate into a free
for all debating club.
We have a number of ideas cooking for the forums.
Instead of simply being a place to chat, we would
like the Photoxels Forums to be a bit more than
that. To be a place where you can come and learn,
ask and answer one another's questions, and grow
in your photographic skills. Our tag line for
the forums is "Good Friends - Learning Together."
So far, we have put up a General category which
contains a forum for News where we'll post the
latest press releases and where you can discuss
current digital camera/photography news; a Watercooler
forum for off-topic chat and to discuss ideas
to improve the site; a Q&A: Readers Helping
Readers forum to answer any question, small or
big; and a Readers' Galleries where you can post
a link to your picture gallery and receive friendly
and constructive comments.
We've also put up a User Reviews category with
forums by camera manufacturer. If you own a digital
camera, you can share with others your experience
with it. Our reviewer's views are just that: one
person's views. After all, we use the camera for
only about 2 weeks while you may have been using
it for months. Help kick this forum into gear
by posting your comments and opinions about your
digital camera. I've purposefully left it simple
for now, but will organize it all into the individual
cameras as entry come in.
We have also stated a History of Cameras forum.
Post a small medium resolution picture (200 x
200 pixels at about 6KB or less seem right) and
write in a short anecdote of how you obtained
the camera, best souvenirs, etc.
Review: Minolta DiMAGE Z1
We have published our January review
of the Minolta DiMAGE Z1, a 3.2 megapixels
resolution, 10x optical zoom camera. For February,
we are reviewing another ultra zoom digital camera,
this one from Kodak: the Kodak Easyshare DX6490,
with 4 megapixels resolution and 10x optical zoom.
Looking closely at the Fujifilm FinePix S5000,
Minolta DiMAGE Z1 and Kodak Easyshare DX6490,
we can't help but wonder if all three do not share
basic body construction and firmware, perhaps
even the zoom lens elements. Anybody know for
sure? Anyway, when we've finished with the Kodal
DX6490, we'll put all three up of a page to compare
specifications.
Snowstorms
 We've
had quite a snowstorm here in Toronto, Canada,
and I believe some part of the States have also
been hit quite hard. I envy those brave souls
who went out to capture memorable images of the
snowstorm. Our local newspapers had quite some
interesting candid shots. If you have any you'd
like to share with us, please post it in the Watercooler
forum.
What's in store for February? Review of the Kodak
Easyshare DX6490, fact sheets on the exciting
new digital cameras coming out of CES and PMA,
and stretching into March... new forum tutorials
(where the tutorial get interactive with your
participation).
As always, we hope you enjoy this issue of Photoxels,
and do not hesitate to give
us your feedback.
The Editors
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