Digital Camera Stats

Numbers for all digital cameras I have owned so far:

• Powershot S1 IS: 239 (8871 / 37 months)
• Powershot A400: 285 (6000 / 21 months)
• Powershot A450: 362 (3260 / 9 months)
• Powershot A460: 280 (1400 / 5 months)

Currently I still use the venerable S1. Due to it being heavier and less convenient I prefer to use its sophisticated features for special events where I take several hundred pictures a day. These keep its totals up considering it lies idle much of the time.

My other current camera is the A460 which replaced the A450 (dust got into the lens) in turn superseding the A400 (sold). I bought the A400 one month after the S1 as I always intended to have two cameras, following my film model of an expensive sophisticated camera and a small cheap pocket model. Hence the picture total of the three small cheap (about $200) cameras is somewhat greater than the S1 (cost around $700) and they have all been used almost every day because the A450 and A460 have been permanently carried around on my belt.

Currently we are awaiting the announcement of the Powershot S6. I did not consider it worthwhile replacing the S1 until the advent of the S5; the lens has not gained enough performance to make it worthwhile so far compared to other makers. Last year of course I chose to spend my dollars on bikes instead. The hotshoe addition on the S5 is a great feature. I would hope the S6 goes to a 15x lens. Rumour has it we could see this camera out sometime around August-September.

Have looked a few times at low end digital SLRs but unless they come down well below $1000 it's not going to fly for me. Basically I love the ultrazoom lenses, to get that on an SLR would cost heaps more. Sure, you can get a higher quality picture but is that worth the extra cost? There are still people who claim that digital doesn't come up to the quality of film and who are willing to spend thousands on film cameras and the film itself. You are just not going to get me joining them. I simply regard such people as too obsessive about such things. Unless you are a professional who must have the highest quality then I simply don't see why people in our society spend thousands of dollars on camera equipment, like thousands on bikes or whatever, these become pretty expensive hobbies.

Update

I have been too busy to write much for a while, but life/work continues with a lot of interesting things happening. I'm going back to Polytech to finish my CertSA qualification which involves four papers, including Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft ISA Server. We may yet get a server running the latter. Both of our existing Windows servers have had their capacity bumped up to the maximum possible by adding a 500 GB IDE drive in each case. How long this will last remains to be seen. We have a laptop lease expiring mid August, the impending holidays will cause great havoc with this unless the Ministry can be persuaded to bring forward our renewal date.

Classroom AV 3: Cable Terminations [1]

The original edition of this article made reference to solutions that we have decided not to implement at our site. Hence, the revised posting makes only passing commentary on those options, focusing instead on our preferred choices.

In Article 1 I referred to faceplates and connectors for VGA and USB connections. Today it's time to get into the nitty gritty of these and actually terminating off the different cables that you will have. In our case, these are:

• VGA cable to the projector
• USB cable to the smartboard (if used)
• Speaker connections for the sound system's wall mounted speakers
• RCA video connection to the projector.

These cables are brought down the wall, preferably in some kind of ducting. An electrician would be able to supply the ducting from trade brands like Clipsal. Then the various sockets have to be mounted on some kind of panel or enclosure. In our case the new classrooms will have these cables built into the wall. Existing classrooms will have the cables terminating inside a shelving unit that is attached to the wall.

The VGA faceplate (if you choose to use it) is available from several electrical accessory manufacturers. PDL supply the Cat 514VH9/I, but this may be out of production now. A similar product is the HPM 770/1D1PL plate.

First job is to fit the PDL plate for the VGA cable. The enclosure is the right size to mount the plate on the side, rather than the front. This works well with the VGA cable having a ferrite core on the end of it and therefore needing a reasonable amount of space inside the box to be turned through 90 degrees to attach to the plate. Since there is enough room on the plate, I drilled a hole to mount an RCA socket for the video connection.

This picture shows how to modify the VGA moulded plug to fit into a plate. Remove the thumbscrews on either side by pulling all the way back and turning until they come right out. Use a hacksaw to cut off the minimum amount of plug shell on each side to expose the metal plate with its two holes at the connector end of the plug. Then use a couple of threaded nuts through the plate's mounting holes - see Article 1 for details of what to buy. (I would like to thank my good friends at Breezes Road Baptist Church for this idea)

This photo shows another option using the USB feedthrough on the VGA plate instead of an RCA connector. The feedthrough gives you a USB socket that can be mounted onto a wall plate. The reversible insert has a female B connector one side and a female A connector the other. It is mounted on a standard XLR base and will also fit into panels pre-punched for XLR sockets.

Here we have our chosen option, the RCA video socket mounted side by side with the VGA connector on the latter's faceplate.

 

Speaker terminals are mounted onto a blank plate which has been drilled to suit, this needs 6 closely spaced holes.

The next article will show the Activboard mounting frame and the cables connecting to it.

Low Loss NiMH Rechargeable Batteries

Nickel metal hydride (NiMH) rechargeable battery technology is a great step up from the more familiar nickel cadmium system. For the first time we are able to buy a battery that has similar capacity to alkalines. Unfortunately both types of rechargeable do not as yet approach the charge retainment of alkalines, which can be stored with full charge retention for several years. Additionally, many NiMH rechargeables tend to have reasonable retention times only when new, and often lose it after a few months of use. I own two cameras, both of which use AA cells. The only alkalines which can give the same longevity as a near-new set of NiMH rechargeables are Energizer lithiums, which are extremely costly, whilst regular Energizer cells typically only last for a few shots. I've found from experience, however, that even NiMH cells which have been charged and discharged a mere dozen times lose significant capacity and retention within a year, and must be replaced completely to be of any use. There have, unsurprisingly, been several major events in which I used my cameras extensively, where the NiMHs have lasted only a handful of shots and where lithiums or ordinary alkalines that I always carry a set or two of have saved the day.

Sanyo of Japan is a major manufacturer of NiMH cells, including numerous OEM rebrands, and has now developed newer NiMH technology which boasts a great improvement in charge retention. Their own brand of these cells is "Eneloop", and various other suppliers are now advertising similar products, probably under OEM arrangements. I have purchased several sets of Eneloop and Varta "Ready2Use" cells. How well do these work? The Eneloops are in use in my bigger camera, which requires four, and are presently giving excellent service, both in terms of longer cycle life, and retaining charge for long periods of disuse. The Vartas are in my smaller camera used in pairs. They are showing similar capabilities. So far, both have been exceptional in service. I would like to wait another six months to see if they are still making the grade and keeping my cameras running without the expense of annual battery replacements.