S90 Out in the wild

One of my longest followed blogs, Luminous-Landscapes, reviewed the S90. Now, the S90 is one camera I've been waiting for. It's not a large sensor in small camera but it is a small sensor in a really small camera. So far, the big sensor, small cameras out there - EP1, GF-1, GH-1, etc. etc. are still too big in my mind. If you can't put it in your shirt pocket and have to carry on a strap like a normal camera, then, you should pack a normal camera...
Now the S90 is really a shirt pocket-able camera, but is it the one I've been waiting for? Well, the review really was positive on the size, user interface and IQ(sort of) - it appears that IQ , even with that great G11 sensor with improved high ISO noise, still acts like a small camera sensor - and starts getting noisy at ISO 400 and above.
Disappointing. If it were cheaper I might still go for it but at $500 I think I'm sticking with my G9 as my travel cam and keep waiting....

Halloween Horror

Not so fast., originally uploaded by photogeek21.

A little outdoor off camera flash work for Halloween shots of the kids. Got to use my shoot through umbrella for the first time. Think it worked out pretty well, I like that I was able to capture a bit of the sunset color in the backround as the kids are at the age where they've put up with alot of posing for Dad over the years and aren't too patient with me anymore so it teaches me be quick with the setup and shoot.

Great Site for laughs

While I'm always looking for sites to learn from and try new things in Photoshop or lightroom, I stumbled across this one that is going to be a regular visit for me - learn what NOT to do in photoshop. Hilarious - http://photoshopdisasters.blogspot.com

I got mine...

One of my favorite bloggers and Mentors, David Hobby at the Strobist.com put out some corny magnets for us Off Camera Flash users. I just had to have one, since I didn't have the patience to do the world wide scavenger hunt for them, I did the logical thing - bought some strobist gear at Mpex, 2 shoot through umbrellas and some sync cords for my cactus triggers (it pained me every time I put a flash into those flimsy hot shoes.

Oh and for the pic, I cheated and used an Off Camera FLASHLIGHT in lieu of a flash, it was a quick and dirty setup....

One I Like...

As I've said in several of my previous posts, I'm less than impressed with my Canon G9. I've been looking for a camera that's small and compact but doesn't make me compromise in image quality. Well, the G9 is just a bit too bulky, it's really not that much smaller than my SLR.
Well with the recent announcement of the Canon S90, I may have what I'm looking for. Canon took the sensor from the new G11 that was optimized for high sensitivity and low noise instead of Megapixel count and stuffed it into a shirt pocket sized camera.
Things I like:

• bright F2.0 - 3.9 IS lens with a really useful range of 28-105mm.
• M/AV/TV exposure modes for photographic exposure control.
• High ISO, low noise sensor - so far samples look better than my G9.
• Shoots RAW - I don't think I'll ever go back to a camera that doesn't shoot raw.
  

No prices yet, but I'd guess with the G11 at $499 this would be somewhere South of $300. If so, this may make my X-mas list.

The Warrior

The Warrior, originally uploaded by photogeek21.

This is a shot from a recent game, which at the time I didn't think much of it, but with a little cropping and PP, I think it makes a good capture of this 'Warrior' just moments before the snap.

Tough guy Setup

scale: 1 sq. = 1 sq. ft.
Found a cool lighting diagram maker on the web so I thought I include my diagram of the setup I used for 'Tough Guy'. Pretty cool tool. May start doing this for all my shots.