Inkscape Vector Graphics Editing Software

Inkscape stands out as a very good vector graphics editing software package with a breathtaking array of features and functions. Simply finding your way around the user interface is somewhat daunting but gives a clue as to the scope of the development of the project to date and the lengths to which the project has gone in order to create something that is of professional quality yet still completely free.

Vector graphics work in very naturally with mapmaking as the representations of objects on a map are very easily derived from vector graphic objects insofar as they are generally either points or collections of points. The three types of shapefile layers in Qgis are individual points, paths or polygons. A path is simply a series of points with lines drawn between them, while a polygon is an area that has its boundaries defined by points. The shapefile only needs to store the type of object and the coordinates of each point. Because the physical appearance of points (in the case of single point layers) or lines (in the case of paths or polygons) is not hardcoded into the file as it would be in the case of a bitmapped image, the appearance of these can be easily changed on the fly and reshaping a path or polygon in particular is as easy as moving one or more of the points. It goes without saying that vector graphics does not suffer from jaggies when the image is scaled to a different size as it is automatically re rendered to the highest resolution available, thus also great for producing PDFs which are also a vector graphic capable format.

Obviously I prefer to use the GIS rather than Inkscape to draw the maps but I have used Inkscape a couple of times lately to trace overlays on aerial photos and here it was just about as easy to do as Qgis and rather easier than using Google Earth mainly because in the latter case when the output is a KML file, we want the resulting coordinates to be correct and this means we have to try and line up the aerial photo to existing features on the ground as much as possible, which is not always easy to do. As far as the drawing of overlays in Inkscape went, the output was just a picture consisting of the original photo with a layer containing the trace paths overlaid on it. Except for the most rudimentary bitmap editors like MS Paint, multiple layer capabilities are generally available in good graphics editors these days and of course in GISs. 

If there ever was a point where maps needed to be hand edited (for example to replace the presupplied captions from Qgis with ones that can be more randomly positioned) then Inkscape would probably be the package of choice for that task. The main issue at present for such functionality is that Qgis's SVG export is not very good, due to an inherent technical limitation of the Qt application framework that Qgis is built on. When I produce maps for publication I generally am using the PDF export to get a suitable graphic quality. Using Inkscape to open that PDF seems to produce a very good quality result almost indistinguishable from the original, so it may be possible to produce a suitable result, but I have no idea if Inkscape can produce a good output when its SVG is exported back to PDF.

SX 170 arrives

So this came down from Smiths City in Nelson, they must have about the last remaining stock in the whole country.

Here it is side by side with the SX150 on its right. There are a few differences which don't really bother me that much. The lens zoom ratio is a little higher as is the pixel count. The styling on the SX170 is reminiscent of a small SLR camera with the flash unit housing resembling a pentaprism shape. It is a little smaller in most dimensions - only to be expected as the lithium battery takes up less space inside compared to the AAs. There is a bigger handgrip on the front and the buttons are more flush with the back of the camera. The 170 has a two speed zoom instead of single speed although the shutter button and thus the zoom ring are smaller. The front, underside and left and right sides are more or less the same, whereas the top obviously has a different shape although the control layout is similar.

We are getting used to Canon continuing with an obsolete Mini USB port on the camera (although the 170, unlike the 150, uses Canon's proprietary integration of the video/sound out contacts onto the plug - backward compatible with the standard Mini B connector). It seems to me Canon is dragging their heels deliberately in regard of introduction of Micro USB connectors, perhaps because the EU regulations will require them to allow in-camera charging through the connector and eliminate a revenue stream from charging accessories. However the new model does include a power adapter capability which the old did not have (due it being on AA batteries).

The battery is not precharged but I was able to get it going quickly by putting in the spare battery from the SX260, as I was aware they use the same battery and this is a good buying point as I won't have to fork out nearly $100 for a spare lithium battery for it.

So this will be my go-everywhere camera for the present and its balance of good price with general photo taking capability in daylight, plus the ability to get good performance in lower light conditions, will serve me well.

Now that I don't have any cameras that use AAs on a daily basis there is just the Speedlite flash for my EOS (originally it was part of a gift with a Powershot S5, I gave the camera away a few years ago) that still needs AAs. And a reminder that I went through truckloads of the NiMH cells - I still have 6 sets of 4 which is partly old ones - the S5 and S1 that I owned each needed a set of four, plus two spare sets were carried and the Powershot As still needed two or three pairs, and each needed a backup set of lithiums as well - and the sets I bought for the Speedlite, which will now have just two sets of Eneloops and a recent set of Panasonics, So all those sets of Vartas and various others that did well for a while but have generally faded away will get the biff. As I said I must have spent a small fortune on AA batteries to keep my Powershots going over the past 10 years and while the proprietary ones are dearer, they have many advantages.

Camera Totals

As of today

• IXUS135: 2229 - now finished with unless I need to use it for something in the future.
• SX150: 2881 - going back into mothballs for now.
• EOS600: 6966
• SX170: just starting with it (arrived today)
• SX260: 5496

SX170 last of its kind

Six weeks ago I wrote about my plan to get a Powershot SX170 as a replacement for the little Ixus camera I had. I am now following through with that plan as the model has been officially withdrawn in NZ. Fortunately LV Martins / Smiths City still have a few as just about everyone else has sold out.

The Powershot SX170 is now a two year old model. Its replacement was the SX600 which came out a few months after it at the beginning of 2014, although the SX170 was still in production at the time. The SX600 has since been replaced by the SX610 while no new SX170 equivalent has appeared in the Canon lineup. There are quite a few key differences in the SX6xx range compared to the SX1xx range. one of the most important being the lack of manual controls, and the design layout being much more closely aligned to the more expensive SX2xx /7xx series (which does have manual controls, and also a higher spec processor, among other features).

Clearly Canon has determined that the market position previously filled by the SX1xx series as a budget camera with manual controls can now be replaced by a lower spec version of the SX2xx/7xx series with similar overall design. It is interesting how these things go in cycles, in that an earlier series of Powershot A cameras had manual controls before Canon dropped such models from their range - and then reintroduced the capabilities with the SX100 in 2007, while the auto-only versions of the Powershot A range continued for a few more years thereafter. As it turns out, there are no competing models in that price range which also have manual controls, for the time being. 

The main advantage of the SX170 over the SX100-160 range is the use of lithium batteries in the 170 which frees one from the tyranny associated with AA batteries that have no battery level meter available and have an all-too-common tendency to go flat at the most inconvenient time due to loss of capacity. Naturally I have found the Eneloop batteries the most dependable in that regard, but have lost track of how much I have forked out for in batteries over the ten years since I bought my first AA battery camera, the Powershot S1. That included a couple of Maha Powerex fast chargers to bring the batteries up to charge quickly since standard chargers are uninspiringly slow with their 16-18 hour cycle time. 

So I guess I will have this thing next week and away we go.