This video by Michael Marantz, Jared Levy, and Jason Oppliger is fascinating and beautiful. With both timelapse and still-motion photos they talk about what it was like in lower Manhattan during the power outage caused by Hurricane Sandy.
“It’s a different city when the lights are out.”
Watch this guy (or girl, perhaps?) make this microwavable, in-a-box hamburger, fries, and drink meal. It’s nothing but powders and you just add water. Clearly he’s done this before. Seems gross at first, but according to the video description it was delicious. Only 96 calories.
There are a handful of YouTube videos I’ve been meaning to link to but just haven’t yet — they’ve been collecting dust in the Link Attic. Well, Friday seems like a great day to share them, so here’s the first one.
Now, instead of saving the best for last, I’m kicking off “YouTube Friday” with what is one of my favorite YouTube clips of all time. I can’t say what it is about this ironing video that I love so much, but it’s just awesome. Maybe it’s the meticulousness and skill with which the man irons that shirt, or maybe it’s the neat-freak in me loving to see that wrinkly shirt get ironed out, or maybe it’s because this gives me hope that I don’t always have to suck at ironing.
Who knew that ironing could be a craft? It makes me wonder how many shirts this man has ironed. Would he even tolerate the cheap Black & Decker iron and squeaky ironing table that are hiding in my closet feeling very insecure and inadequate?
This week Ben and I talked about photography: lenses, lighting, cameras (a.k.a. my new camera) and the like. Enjoy the show because we’re taking next week off for Thanksgiving.
My Olympus E-PL5 arrived on Tuesday, and the lenses arrived yesterday. Most of yesterday afternoon I spent reading the user manual and shooting a few hundred photos.
My first impression of the camera is that it’s great. Really, really great.
Here is a Flickr set with the 31 photos I thought were good enough to share with the Internet. All the images were shot in RAW and edited a bit in Lightroom using the default presets.
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The movable / tiltable touch screen has sturdy hinges and I don’t feel like I’m going to break it. As a feature, the adjustable screen is very welcome. I found myself frequently holding the camera at waist height to take a shot and then tilting the screen up towards me so I could see to frame the picture. It makes taking shots at or near ground level as easy as kneeling down.
Not only does the E-PL5 focus quickly, but it turns on in about one second. After I press the power button, it’s up and ready to go before I have the lens cap off. One of the reasons I bought this camera is so I could take better shots of Noah. Assuming the camera is nearby it would be ready to take a picture nearly as fast as my iPhone would be.
But it’s not all auto. The E-PL5 has priority modes and full-on manual mode — I can adjust all sorts of stuff that I don’t yet understand.
This is exactly the sort of camera I was hoping to get. It will allow me to learn how it works and learn about the finer details of photography, but not require it of me. I could give this camera to anyone and tell them to just point and click and they’d likely get a pretty decent image, if not a great one.
Preconceived Notions: I’m trying hard to remember what I’ve always told myself when it comes to print and web design: tools do not a designer make. In my dreams I tell myself that after 5 years of avid iPhone photography, I’ve slowly grown in my composition skills as a photographer and that I’ll pick up this new high-quality camera and instantly produce jaw-dropping photos.
While I’m sure that the photographic eye I’ve developed over the past few years is better than starting from nothing, it’s also likely that since I’ve been using one camera for so long I’m now somewhat pigeonholed into what the iPhone is and is not good at. There is now a whole world of options and styles that the Olympus and it’s different lenses will open me up to.
Simply having a nice camera does not mean my shots will be what I want them to be. And that’s okay — I’m here to learn.
Lightroom: I bought Lightroom 4 when it came out and have been using it to post-process some of my iPhone photos. Mostly to clean them up and make them pop a little bit. There is still a lot I have to learn about post-processing.
One thing to note is that Lightroom 4.2 does not support RAW files from the E-PL5. Adobe recently made available the beta RC1 for version 4.3 that does.
The shots from yesterday I took in RAW and edited with Lightroom’s stock presets. For my first day shooting and editing with what could be considered “pro” gear, I am thrilled with the results. But I’m not blown away — I know I can do better. The good news is that I feel only held back by my own skill and knowledge.
The 20mm f/1.7 is a pancake lens, which, in terms of size, is ideally what I want. Not only does the pancake make the camera more portable, it also makes for a less intimidating camera. People who aren’t used to a fancy camera, tend to act awkward or look funny when there’s a giant camera pointing at them. A small camera that looks like no more than a humble point-and-shoot I got at Walmart may help friends and strangers alike to pay no mind and thus allow me to capture some great candid shots.
However, the 25mm f/1.4 is a bit faster and is slightly higher-quality glass. It gives a creamier depth of field than the 20mm, and it’s auto-focus is quicker as well. And so it has me wondering if the tradeoff in portability and incognito-ness may be worth it.
But it’s impossible to conjecture about which lens is the better daily driver without using and comparing the two. All throughout the day I tried to take the same shot twice — once with the 20mm and then again with the 25mm. As I was later going through all the photos in Lightroom, most of the shots which stood out to me as being better than the others were the ones taken with the 20mm. (Perhaps this is because the focal length of the 20mm seems more akin to that in the iPhone, and so I’m naturally used to framing shots in such a way that the 20mm shines more?)
Down the road I’m planning for my 2nd lens to be the Olympus 45mm f/1.8. It will make a fine companion to the pancake 20mm, and so, though I haven’t made my final choice yet, my gut instinct is that the 25mm — as nice as it is — will not make the cut.
As they say: just relax.
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My favorite two photos from yesterday are this one of Noah laughing (though that picture would have looked good no matter what camera it was taken on), and this one of Anna and Noah playing:
It is tough to say after only one day of shooting, but I’m feeling extremely happy with the E-PL5 and the Panasonic lenses. So far, it looks like I made the right choice for the best compact, mid-priced, Micro 4/3 camera.
Oh. My. Goodness.
Several welcome enhancements. (Via Stephen Hackett.)
Great piece by Kyle Baxter:
[T]he full-size iPad is something that you bring with you and set up to use, whether that’s on a desk or on your lap, the iPad Mini is a device you can use while sitting or standing, because you can comfortably hold it in your hands. […]
The full-sized iPad is like an easier to use (and, in many ways, much more useful) notebook computer because of its size and weight: it’s something you sit down and use. The iPad Mini, though, is almost as functional as the full-sized one, but can be used in more contexts.
I agree. And what’s neat is that the differences Kyle draws between the iPad mini and the full-sized iPad in order to make a case for using the former are exactly the same reason that I am sticking with the latter.
David Sparks is in the same boat as me:
For now at least, I think one of the big dividing lines between the iPad mini and the larger size iPad is content consumption versus creation.
If we were to compare the iPads to Apple’s laptop lineup, you could say that the iPad mini is the MacBook Air and the full-sized iPad is the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. One excels in portability, is great for nearly all tasks most users will do, and is the one that you recommend to anyone who doesn’t know what laptop to buy. The other is more powerful and has a far better screen and thus makes it obviously superior for certain people.
Ironically, I own a MacBook Air in real life.
Chris Bowler:
It’s easy to succumb to the thinking that getting the best is too expensive. It is expensive in the moment, but not in the long term.
Nearly all the iPad mini reviews I’ve read could be wrapped up thusly: Yes, the non-Retina screen is a bummer, but I’m ditching my bigger iPad nonetheless.
Rene Ritchie wrote:
Personally, the lack of Retina on the iPad mini really bothered me a lot at first. Now I barely notice it unless I’m doing something very text- or line-work-centric. When I’m watching video or playing games, I don’t notice it at all. I do notice the compactness, the thinness, and especially the lightness all the time. They are profound enough that Apple’s compromise on Retina turns out to be the same compromise I’m willing to make.
Marco Arment is in the same boat:
If you’ve never used a Retina-screened device, you probably won’t care, but if you’ve been spoiled by Retina, you’ll notice the lack of it in the Mini almost every time you turn it on. I stop noticing after I start doing something with it, of course, but those first few seconds are a rough reminder every time.
I won’t be going back to the larger iPad.
Going non-retina is a particularly bitter pill for me, but I like the iPad Mini’s size and weight so much that I’m going to swallow it.
It would seem that just about everyone I know who has used the iPad mini for any length of time has decided to switch to it.
I, however, am sticking with my original intent and will not be getting an iPad mini. And it’s not because I don’t trust the above people’s opinions or think them to be loopy.
In fact, the above opinions are all from guys who own an iPad mini and have used one regularly in their own home. For me, however, my only hands-on experience with the iPad mini is what the Apple retail employees have allowed me. My local Apple store is next door to my favorite coffee shop, and I have stopped in a few times since the mini went on sale to check it out.
There is no doubt that the smaller and lighter form factor is superior. The mini is an awesome slab of tablet and it’s size is a welcome change over the heavier iPad 3 or 4. It’s almost uncanny how much easier the iPad mini is to hold and use with one hand compared to the larger iPad. My full-size iPad 3 begs to slide out of my grip if I’m holding it with just one hand.
And it’s the size of the iPad mini that makes it what it is: miniature. Right? Size is what Apple focused on, size is what they prioritized, and thus we have a product that’s just the right size.
I wouldn’t say the iPad mini is the antithesis of the iPad 3, but the two tablets certainly juxtapose well. With the iPad 3 Apple prioritized the Retina screen and thus the chassis was ever so slightly thicker and heavier than the preceding iPad 2. With the iPad mini, Apple has prioritized the form factor and thus there is no Retina screen.
[I]t comes down to technology and price. The goal of the iPad mini was thinness and lightness; to give you everything the full-sized iPad has but in a more concentrated form. When the full-sized iPad went Retina, it actually got slightly thicker and heavier. Apple couldn’t have an iPad mini that was that thin, light, and cheap, with 10 hours of battery life, and a Retina display. They had to choose 2 of the 3, and they chose form factor and battery.
It’s not hard to imagine, given what we see with the iPad 3 and 4, what an iPad Mini with a Retina screen would be like with today’s technology. Its battery life, portability, or performance would suffer significantly. (Probably all three.)
If all the iDevices in your home are Retina screens, then it certainly is jarring when you first turn on the iPad mini and you’re greeted with visible pixels. But after a few minutes, your eyes do get used to it and you’re left with a lightweight tablet that seems like your iPad of old but is actually quite a bit more comfortable.
Nevertheless, I’m sticking with my iPad 3. In part because I don’t know if I’ve ever gotten used to my Retina devices — and here I mean the “good” kind of not getting used to them. In that the crisp and sharp displays of my iPhone and iPad screens still seem uncanny to me even though I’ve had a Retina iPhone since the summer of 2010.
On my iPad 3 I play very few games and I watch very little video. I mostly read or write. It’s text that I’m staring at most of the time. And it’s in the text that Retina screens shine the brightest.
Yes, the iPad mini is superior for holding and traveling and so many other things, and the smaller screen seems to be not much of a drawback for the vast majority of tasks. It does feel like what the iPad mini was meant to be.
But for me, it’s not yet compelling enough.
If I was compelled to get an iPad mini, here would be my options:
Sell my iPad 3 and buy an iPad mini with LTE. Thus making the mini my new main iPad and laptop replacement.
Keep my iPad 3 and use it as I have been, and upgrade to an iPad 5 and/or a Retina iPad mini when the time comes.
Option 1 is just silly for me; I have absolutely no need for two iPads. It would be the height of superfluousness.
Option 2 is viable, and is what I would do if I truly wanted an iPad mini, but I’m not compelled to do it. Just earlier this year I invested several hundred dollars in my 32 GB iPad 3 with LTE and I’m still happily enjoying it.
For long-form reading of books, I have a Kindle Paperwhite which I love, and this is a combo that I’m quite content with. I’ll stay with option 3.
My thanks to Dozeo for sponsoring the RSS feed this week.
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dozeo is a young and innovative team of developers and online media experts from Stuttgart, Germany. Together we are excited about redefining videoconferencing and providing a hassle-free solution for people to meet online and communicate live and interactively with each other.
dozeo represents a new kind of social video conferencing. It combines powerful features into an intuitive and stylish design that can easily withstand a comparison with the established online conferencing tools.
Upcoming integrations of dozeo into existing social media platforms will increase the fun factor and improve the effective use of online collaboration tools. With the existing integration for Github we have already made a start: developers get the chance to avoid lengthy plain text discussions and join a video conference directly from GitHub.
Check it out for yourself and sign up for a free dozeo account.
Happy meetings!
This Kickstarter campaign looks awesome; definitely count me in. Because if Shaun Inman is selling it, I’m buying it.
One of these gorgeous Autumn shots from John Carey just became my new iPhone Home screen background.
Arq 3 (the killer Mac utility app that backs up your files and folders to Amazon S3) shipped about a week ago, and it now supports Amazon Glacier.
For my off-site backups I use both Arq and BackBlaze. I don’t have enough data to be worth it for me to use Amazon Glacier (my monthly S3 bill for Arq backups is less than $8). But for those who do have a whole lot of data which you don’t expect to ever need to recover except in the worst case scenarios, then using Amazon Glacier may be just right for you — it’s cheap to upload and cheap to store, but can get expensive when you need to recover that data.