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› archive for September 15th, 2009

MIT Sends Canon Powershot A470 Into Space: For $150

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I love the dudes at MIT. You basically have to. While I spend weekends replaying Half-Life 2 (the relation to MIT not escaping me), they’re doing crazy things like sending Canon point-and-shoots into shallow space for less than a good iPod. Seriously. That gorgeous photo there? That’s space. That’s earth. That only cost them $150.

For full details on it (involving the use of a beer-cooler, a prepaid cellphone, a hot-air balloon, and the hack firmware for their Canon), check out the post at Wired (where I found this), or go straight to their project page.



Potpourri

Aaand here we have a few exciting notes for those of us online and shutter happy. Anyone who so far has had the clam for an E-P1 can rejoice at a firmware update (1.1) which will improve the Continuous AF mode. Also, they’ve updated firmware for the 14-42 and 17mm pancake. To update your Oly gear, just connect the camera to your computer and boot up Olympus Master. Derek says, “Key here is: Follow the instructions on screen -don’t turn it off until it says you can turn it off!” Funny, he tells me I turn it off by walking into the room.

Also, Adobe has passed beyond the release candidate stage on Lightroom 2.5 and Camera Raw 5.5 -yup your D300s, D3000, DMC-GF1, and E-P1 RAW files are now supported. Literally, now. The DMC-FZ35 is supported as well, but only in the US version. As I check our sales history that’s less than 20 days from when the D300s and D3000 bodies hit our shelves to Adobe supporting their RAW.

Aaaand I’m going to fill out this survey: http://survey.pmai.org/cgi-bin/qwebcorporate.cgi?idx=QYAG8E because DPreview and PMA wants the Amatuer’s opinion on equipment and usage. While I might make my bread selling camera gear (and annoying Derek, Jody, et al) I certainly don’t do it taking pictures. C’mon guys, own up to having a day job and let them know we want 75 megapixel sensors that record zero noise at 180000 iso on a twenty minute exposure of the night sky. For under $1000. Bwahahahaha. Ok, it’s not really my hobby to try and skew survey data, but there is something (fundamentally broken, to be sure) in me which delights in the idea.

PhotoWalk on Thursday in Broadripple Park or surrounding environs. 7:15PM -and e-mail me if the calendar says 8:15PM ’cause that’ll be wrong.




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