3D on the W3

The Fuji W3

Mix a few weeks of work with a small surplus of cash and a long weekend with nothing to do. Add to that a random sale on a specific camera and you've got one impulse buy for the month of May. I was showing the Fuji W1 to some people in the Art Department at my current work and a few days later (while supposedly drunk) one of the guys went online and bought the Fuji W3 at Henry's for $400.00. $100 off the regular price!


The Fuji W3 back

Today while stumbling around downtown looking for a few replacement trays for the food dehydrator (as I melted two of them while burning my finger and I still don't quite know how this happened) I went into Henry's to see if the camera was on sale in the store (and not just the internet).

I realize that going into a camera store would not find me food dehydrator trays. I've gone into camera stores while looking for trousers, not camera trousers just normal work clothing. So going into a camera store while looking for food dehydrator parts isn't a big leap out of character.

One thing led to another and "Viola", an upgrade from the W1 was made.


The built in HDMI 1.4 port will allow you to attach the camera right into a 3D TV!

The Fuji W3

The first thing one notices, other than the lower price, is that the power cable that came with the W1 is replaced by the battery charger for the W3. The W3 does not have a visible power outlet. Instead the power adapter is sold separately and fits into the battery chamber instead of the battery. This means you cannot charge the battery in the camera like the W1. Instead of a power output on the side of the camera there is an HDMI output (version 1.4 compatible with HDTVs with 3D capability).

The USB plug on the W3 is in roughly the same spot as the W1. Controls for the camera have been moved over to the right side. I suppose this makes for easier handling. One thing that they removed is the buttons that light up. Which in the end, while it might have looked cool, really didn't help the camera shoot (or focus) in a dark setting. Sure you could find the controls but the camera was pretty much useless without some external light to light up the subject so the camera could see it.


Since the W1, controls have been moved to one side of the camera for easier operation.


The Fuji W3 top


Convergence controls


The zoom and shutter button


The Fuji W3 bottom showing the camera mount and the battery and SD card slots.


Close up of the battery and SD card slots


The new NP-50 battery


The old NP-95 battery next to the newer smaller NP-50 battery


you can see the that the NP-50 is thinner too

Overall I like that the camera can shoot HD video. I find that the photos taken at higher ISOs are really grainy compared to my Nikon SLRs but it does fit into my pocket. Also shooting action photos really isn't this camera's strong suit. It takes a long time to focus on objects (even if they are well lit). So unless you're focusing in advance, I wouldn't recommend this camera for fast moving things.

For 3D though. Well there really isn't anything comparable out there is there? You could buy a lens in a cap for your Nikon or canon but it'll split your existing 4:3 image into two. The Fuji W3 allows you to shoot in 3 aspect ratios. 4:3 (3648x2736), 3:2 (3648x2432), and 16:9 (3584x2016). There are smaller resolutions but who really cares about them?

Off to Nikon... again

I just got my D700 body back from Nikon on friday and as luck would have it my 28-70mm f2.8 lens aperture mechanism died on the weekend. So back off to Nikon I went. I bought the lens back in 2007 so it should still be under warranty. This is a good thing as money is pretty tight right now. At least until I start getting paid from the last few gigs.

It's times like this where I'm glad I have a zipcar. Taking transit to get to Nikon would take 3 hours each way and taking a cab would be easily $120 for the round trip. With Zipcar it's only $26.00 and it still gives me time to do grocery shopping.

Wedding at the AGO

With the D700 body back in my camera kit after a week and a half at Nikon I thought today would be a breeze to shoot. This all went out the window when I realized my 28-70mm lens was acting up. While doing some test photos in front of the church, I had gotten there early, I noticed the aperture in the lens wasn't closing down to f22. It was sticking at a larger opening. This threw off the camera's ability to properly take a light reading. A lot of my photos were coming out over exposed.

Ugh, and I just got it back from Nikon for the focusing issue.

Luckily I had my 50mm f1.4, and my 70-200mm f2.8, and for the really wide shots my 10.5mm DX lens. While it wasn't the same range I would make do with those lenses. I really didn't have much of a choice. They would have to work out.




The advantage of using primes is that you get a sharper image in general and generally the focus is much faster. The ended up being great for taking those candid photos.



I have to thank Melanie for giving this gig. Not only did it put much needed money in my pocket but it was a lot of fun to photograph. Better than staying home on a saturday night watching TV.

Flashing Melanie

Melanie, sans flash (sad)

My friend Melanie is a portrait photographer in Hamilton. While she has studio gear and space, she doesn't have a portable flash for her camera. With a wedding gig on the near horizon Melanie wanted to know if I could lend her one of my SB-800s (Nikon Speedlight, aka flash for Nikon camera).

I figured I'd lend her one a few days before the wedding. It would allow her to experiment with it before the actual day of shooting. As a general rule for photographers. You should always test the gear before trying it out in the field. If something doesn't work you can find out why that is and minimize the "screw ups" or quickly adjust on the day should any curve ball be thrown at you.


Melanie with flash! (happy)

We ate at the Ship. A relatively new restaurant that opened across the street from the Plucker. They had seafood poutine. SEAFOOD poutine. I had to type that twice as it was really, really, amazingly good. SEAFOOD poutine, french fries with clam chowder and crab on it. Holy Moly was it tasty and that was just for appetizers.


Let's Eat!

We also shared some gator nuggets (with real alligator) and I had a very large hamburger (see photo). By the end of our visit I was stuffed. Wheel barrel stuffed (ie. I would need a wheel barrel to get out of the restaurant). I'm not sure who came up with that saying or where the need for a wheel barrel specifically came from but the statement seems a bit old and outdated. I suppose someone should update that with a robot or some kind of technology from at least the year 2000.

Instead of the old "I ate so much I need a wheel barrel.", I'm officially using this statement from now on "I ate so much I need a BEAR (Battlefield Extraction Assist Robot)." Battlefield could be substituted with Banquet just to keep the BEAR acronym.

I think this would be a great thing to have in the trunk of your car. You could have a remote control or a "I've eaten way too much" device (kind of like those medic alert bracelets, not really fashionable but functional) and with a push of a button this robot would be activated to bring you back to your car or home.

Just zip it

Crap, the zipper is not closing properly

My camera bag has been in a state of decay since the forth day after I had bought it. On that forth day the plastic zipper tabs broke off. At the time, I was trying to make the zipper work in -40 degree (Celsius) weather (with wind chill). They just snapped off due to the cold. Lowepro has a lifetime guarantee on the bag but for something so small I just replaced them with key rings. I was too lazy to take all my camera crap out of the bag, drive out to the Lowepro headquarters and wait while they put the bag through processing to get a replacement bag (one of the same model or equivalent).


close up of the zipper teeth not closing

If I received an equivalent bag who knows what the pocket configuration would be. Would it be the same? Probably not. That would suck. I stuck it out with the original and patted myself on the back for being green minded (instead of throwing the bag away and getting a new one, I found a way to keep it). We have so much crap going into landfills as it is.

Over time the hooks on the camera strap broke. The first hook (the one in front) broke while walking through a parking lot. No big deal. The second one broke just seconds after I climbed up a two story cliff with a cave with water down below. The second I stepped onto the ground, the bag fell and landed right on the edge of the drop. My heart jumped as I looked down at the non-insured bag of gear.

I've owned the bag for at least the last four years and over that time the zipper on the back (rubbing against my hip) came off, the webbing on the top of the bag wore out, the camera strap replaced and just recently the zipper on the main pouch refuses to close properly (allowing my wallet, cell phone, TTC tokens and money to fall out). Not good.

While I could really use a new bag, for this one at least, the main compartment still works. The newer models made by Lowepro look even simpler (fewer compartments) and more cheaply constructed. Other camera bags look like they could have possibilities but money is a bit scarce these days and to be honest I'd rather spend money on getting all my camera gear tuned up (replace rubber grips that have fallen off, clean out lenses - specifically my 70-200mm, clean the sensors, the eye pieces and what have you).

I decided to fix the bag myself. After all it's just a zipper. How hard could it be to replace it. Famous last words. Actually it didn't have to look great it just had to be functional and not fall apart. I could do that.


A loose stitch keeps the zipper aligned

Employing skills that I picked up in grade 7 or 8 while making a pillow that resembled an elephant or maybe the sewing skill was from cub scouts... which ever the case may be I first applied a loose stitch to position the new zipper so it would be aligned and not move much while I sewed up the bag on the second pass using stitches that were closer together.

It took about 6 hours in total of just stitching. At one point I ran out of thread and had to get some more. Not knowing anything about thread strengths at the time I consulted friends on facebook using the status line as a general call for help.

According to a few people, thread actually has a weight assigned to it. Much like string. Who knew? (well I guess they did). When buying the thread not every spool has a weight assigned printed on the label. Some just said "Strong". Others were labelled for upholstery. I picked up a spool of that as it seemed thicker to the touch.


super fine stitching keeps the new zipper in place

That would be the blue thread just over the zipper in the photo. The bag is fixed and another impulse purchase put off for hopefully another few years.

Photo Disaster Day

The rented Yaris in front of Nikon Canada

My day started this morning waiting for James to call, return my call, to see if he could make a trip to Nikon. The night before he told me he could be swayed into going. It was 8:30am when I made the decision to leave without him and rent a car.

I had come to the conclusion of renting a car long before talking to James the night before. It was a plan B or rather plan A, James was the plan B. A car rental plus gas would be less expensive than getting a taxi to go to Nikon and back. Plus it would let me putt around a bit, maybe even do some grocery shopping.

The reason for going to Nikon this time was to pick up my camera. I had brought in the D200 body because I dropped it last week during a boat cruise. I had a different camera strap on the body and when I went to grab the old strap, it wasn't there. Whack! The camera dropped onto a carpet.

At first it didn't look like it had sustained any damage. The lens was intact. Whew! It wasn't until I tried taking out the battery that I noticed a small hairline fracture in the body. D'oh!!! The nikon guys at the counter practically know me by name. Anyhoo... I brought the camera in last week. I got the call that is was repaired yesterday.

Because I had a full day planned for today (which was going to lunch with William and seeing "Wanted") which meant I had to get to Nikon and back before noon. With the car I was done by 10:30. The camera was in great shape. Nikon did a great job restoring it back to brand new condition. I had them replace the cracked part in the body, clean the thumb knobs, the eye piece and the sensor. It cost me $300.00 but was well worth it.

I arrived about half an hour early in front of William's house. Instead of going and ringing the doorbell I drove down to the beach, parked the car, and sat on a bench watching some lifeguards out rowing boats. It wasn't really planned, just what I ended up doing.


life guards out rowing.

At noon I picked up William and drove to the all you can eat sushi place, Wasbi, up on Steeles. Another advantage of having the car. Did I mention it was a Toyota Yaris? Wow, does this car get good mileage. At the end of the day I refilled the tank with $17.00 (more travelling to come).

After eating lunch, driving over to see the Wanted movie, driving to Best Buy where I impulse purchased a GPS, I drove William home, then drove myself home. Took a photo of a plant in the backyard that I parked next to and noticed the sky starting to getting dark. I jumped back in the car thinking I would take photos of lightning hitting the CN tower and I knew just the spot.


The backyard plant

Just south of the CD tower near the Gardiner express way there's a garage with the top floor exposed to the outside. It was my belief that I could drive up onto the garage and take photos with my camera on a tripod, aimed at the CN Tower while it was getting hit by lighting.


Skies getting dark with strange blue clouds

As things turned out, I couldn't find the entrance to the parking lot in time and by the time I got to the top of the roof I only had a few minutes to take the shot below before being pelted by rain. I was on the roof for about 30 minutes (that's how much I was billed) before leaving for some place better to photograph. Perhaps away from the CN tower looking up at it from the ground?


A panoramic photo I took using a bunch of photos and stitching them together


Traffic on the Gardiner


Me with my newly acquired GPS, looking for another spot to shoot from

There was a baseball park near the Tip Top Tailors condo and Ontario Place with parking! I parked the car and moved my gear to see if I could shoot from under the nearby building, which I think it was a bunch of public bathrooms.

I started shooting a panoramic shot, kind of boring actually, it was the rain coming down hard with a drinking fountain in the foreground. About half way into my photo taking two joggers came up to me and asked if they could use my cell phone to place an emergency call.

While one of them called 911, the other described to me what was taking place. Apparently three people in a car somewhere near Ontario Place were trapped with water pushing the car toward the lake. The joggers didn't really know where they were and asked me for their location. I said "near Tip Top Tailors". Once finished with the phone they jogged away before I could ask them where the trapped car was. The only reason why I thought to ask was if 911 decided to call back my cell phone for better location details. I didn't know where it was specifically just somewhere near Ontario Place.

Then I thought "Hey, I have a GPS.", I could find the spot and get more accurate coordinates. So I got into the car and drove toward Ontario Place. I didn't have to drive far. There were emergency vehicles already at the scene. Firefighters were already trying to figure out how to get people out of the car.


A family looks over at a car between two broken sewage pipes

At first glance it looked pretty crazy. The car trapped was sandwiched between two springs of sewage water. Then with a little more inspection I noticed that the levels of the water really wasn't that deep. Maybe up to your shin or even knee. Still, the firefighters piggybacked the people out of the car.


Firefighters start to help people out of car


Car in relation to all the water


The sludge water.


Sky starting to clear up.

With a bunch of photos I drove back home to upload them to the Sun (newspaper). Should they be interested in them I didn't know but figured it was worth a try. This time I got photos of actual firefighters at work... rescuing people.



On the way home I noticed some really cool sky colors. The sun was setting and the clouds were starting to break up. I pulled the car over and ran out and took some shots before continuing on.

Normally, that would be a pretty interesting day as far as photo taking goes. Since I had the car I decided to see if Darryl wanted to meet up for food. Maybe we could drive somewhere that we don't usually go to eat. On my way to the office I drove by Queen and Spadina. There was smell of smoke in the air. I parked the car nearby and walked over to find that the police had just gotten there and started taping off the area.

A third floor fire had broken out in a building across the street from the Cameron (a local bar). I thought to myself why are there all these disasters and me carrying my slow lenses. Agh! I tred shooting a few shots. The flood shots of the car when seen on my computer monitor were a bit blurry and I only got a few non-blurry photos (seen here). Now there was a fire. The sun had gone down and my largest aperture was 3.5-5.6? arg! For the wider photos it wasn't too bad. For the long shots (300mm, f5.6) I ended up squeezing next to a telephone poll to shoot so the photos wouldn't suffer from camera shake.


Police block off Queen street.


Fire on the third floor


fire engine parked near the fire


A closer shot with the help of a telephone pole.


wide shot


Recognize this family? They were at the car flood. How's that for coincidence? We joked that we'd meet each other again at the "famine".


Fire fighter going into action


Fire put out from the inside


Parked fire trucks


The fire truck ladder operator


Police car on Cameron blocking traffic and pedestrians


Waiting for the fire to go out.

Once the fire was over I went to Darryl's office and conveyed the odd day I had while using his machine to upload the fire photos to the newspaper. We went for dinner at Xulah, a restaurant located only a few blocks away from the office.


Darryl at Xulah

The moral of this blog entry? Even though it would have been way more convenient to get a lift from James, going out and renting a car allowed me to see all this stuff. A good example of "When a door is closed, God opens a window." or for everything bad the happens something good comes out of it.

Update

The next day in the Sun there was a better photo of the flooding that happened. The photo featured a TTC bus and car in the water... a lot deeper water. As for the fire, I didn't see any photos of it at all.

High Dynamic Range

Drenched from the evenings down pour of rain

My morning started off with me waking up around 4:30am. It's kind of shocking as my alarm clock wasn't on. I just woke up. It was raining a few hours, maybe minutes earlier. The street was still damp. Since I was up I decided to hike over to the park at the end of the street in my slippers with my tripod slung over my shoulder and my camera in my hand.


Catching the sun rise on the petals

I took a few photos of plant life and the sun started coming up. Shot a few more photos and decided to continue my photography back in the back yard of where I live. The condensation of morning dew on the car looked interesting so I set up the tripod to try to shoot a HDR photo. About half way in Pumpkin jumped up onto the hood. I took a few photos of the cat, waited for him to get bored and leave (I didn't have a pork chop dangling around my neck so I figure the cat would get bored quickly). He did and wandered off to sniff some plant life.


Spikey flora


Pumpkin getting in the way of my HDR shoot

I started from the beginning with my reframed shot of the car in the drive way. The results follow...


High Dynamic Range Photos

HDR, or High Dynamic Range is a method of shooting photos that captures just that, a large range of light going from really dark to really light, more so than your eye can detect without adjustment and what your computer display can show

Take a look at the following photos. The first one is exposed for sunlight bouncing the wall. It's really bright compared to the other things in the photo so if it's properly exposed everything else falls to darkness.


The wall properly exposed.


The sky properly exposed

Now let's say we expose from something less bright like the sky. We see more of the car but the wall starts to go to white, it's becoming over exposed.


The car properly exposed

Next we'll try to shoot the car with the proper exposure. Notice now that the sky and the wall are completely washed out.



The resulting HDR file with the light range squished into visible space.

In the converted HDR image you can now see detail in both the wall and the car. I have taken the light values from the HDR file and squished them into a range that the display (in this case computer monitor) can show.

Shooting HDR photos with a normal camera requires that you shoot a number of photos at different exposures from the same angle and that your subject is not moving. Well the subject can be moving but you might have odd results. The photos are then combined (perhaps in photoshop) and viola, a single HDR file is made.