Hummingbirds

We have a hummingbird feeder here that gets very busy this time of year. I took the Canon DLSR out this morning and took some shots of our humming visitors. Some of the best of the batch are below (click on an image to enlarge it).

groundhog day

Saw my first groundhog of the year today.

The property around my workplace is an old apple orchard and groundhogs have the run of the place during the warm weather, but until today, they were hibernating.

I saw only one today, but I expect his friends and family will be up and around in another day or two.

The photo above was taken with my new Canon PowerShot SD940 IS. I was about 100 feet away from the groundhog when I took the photo with the camera's built-in zoom lens set to maximum zoom. Not bad!

new PowerShot continued

Continuing from yesterday's post about my new Canon PowerShot SD941 IS digital camera...

I don't know how long it took to charge the battery because I was distracted using TurboTax. It was less than two hours, but I cannot be more specific than that.

I am very impressed with the camera's power supply. I have been playing with the camera off and on for four days and it is still running on the original battery charge.

While I was checking out the various shooting modes, Oliver, our eldest feline, curled up next to me on the couch. It was a perfect time to try out the camera's Digital Macro mode.

I took a handful of shots of Oliver with the camera two or three inches away from him. The photo at the top of the post is his nose and whiskers (watered down to 72dpi for Internet display). I think it is impressive even at that low resolution --- as you may imagine, the original is much more impressive.

Some people have complained that selecting modes is more difficult with this camera as compared to earlier Canons, like my PowerShot A520, which has a dial to select modes. The SD941 IS has a three-position switch that selects the automatic mode, other modes, and the video mode; place the switch in the other mode position and you select the desired other mode using the camera's menu system.

With the dial selector, I learned the hard way that you can inadvertently change modes just by handling the camera. I often found the camera in the wrong mode --- typically, not in the automatic mode --- after taking a shot. This problem goes away with the SD941 IS.

I am still exploring the camera. I have not even tried the video yet, but here are my likes and dislikes so far.

Dislike the lack of a printed manual. The camera has a printed quick start guide, but its full-blown manual is only available as an Adobe Acrobat file contained on the CD-ROM that comes with the camera. While I am learning how to use a camera, I like to have the manual handy; this is impossible unless I want to drag my laptop along.

Like (love) the size of the camera. Its miniscule size allows me to carry it everywhere. I bought a pouch to protect the camera and I can still stuff the pouched camera in the pockets of my jeans and jackets. Despite its size, I have had no problem using its tiny buttons and I have found that the size of its LCD is more than adequate.

Like the color output. They seem more natural than my A520.

Like the low light sensitivity. Most of the indoor shots I have taken have been without flash and they look great.

Like the speed. The SD941 IS is lightning fast compared to my A520.

That is all I have so far. I will have more after I use the camera more.

new PowerShot

I used the generous (thanks, Sis) Amazon gift card that I received for my birthday and bought a new camera.

My "old" (circa 2006) 4.0 Mpixel Canon PowerShot A520 had served me well, but it has been showing its age for awhile now. It was time for an upgrade.

I have been very happy with Canon digital cameras, so I planned to spend about $200 for a new one. After comparing features and reviews, I ponied up for a model SD940IS in retro black for $222.

Amazon shipped it from Nashua, NH, at midnight on Thursday and predicted that I would receive it on Monday. Since Nashua is just 150 miles up the road, I hoped I might receive it earlier.

Saturday, I found a small Amazon shipping box stuffed in our mailbox. The box was so small that I figured it contained the spare battery I ordered for the camera. Opening the box, I discovered I was half right; its contents included the spare battery and my new camera!

After opening the box containing the camera, I was shocked at its size. It is smaller than my daughter's Motorola Rival cell phone and easily fits in the palm of my hand.

I was anxious to try it out, but I had to charge its battery first. While I waited for the camera's battery to charge, I turned my attention to TurboTax.