buffalodavid’s Neighborhood

Casio has introduced into this new pocket-sized digital camera features which were previously found in more expensive prosumer models, the EX-F1 and EX-FH20.  The EX-FS10 has a 9.1 MP-effective CMOS sensor, a 3x optical zoom (38mm-114mm, F3.9-F5.4), a 2.5" LCD display, in a 3.8" x 2.3" x 0.64" body weighing 4.2 ounces.  The main features are based on a high-speed burst mode of the camera, capturing a series of images in quick succession which then makes possible the following features:

• Burst shooting mode of 30 shots per second (resolution downsized to 6 MP, still plenty for most uses).

• Best Shot and Combination Shot - The high-speed burst allows you to select the best shot from the series of images taken.  Alternatively, the series of shots can be combined into a single image, including re-aligning the position of the subject, to avoid motion blur.  Useful in quick motion scenes and night shots.  Note: for the FS10 there is no optical image stabilisation.

• Lag Correction or Pre-Record - The camera captures up to 25 images (again 6 MP) in a high-speed burst prior to the release of the shutter, so that you can go back in time for the shot which you should have missed, but was stored in the buffer of the camera for you.  You can set the amount of time lag.

• Slow Motion View - A dedicated button allows you to view the movement of the subject in Slow Motion on the LCD display, selecting the best moment to capture.

• High-speed Movie Recording - up to 1,000 fps (but only at 224 x 64 pixels, probably not very practical).  There are also options for video at 420 fps (224 x 168) and at 210fps or lower (480 x 360).  The output is effectively slow-motion.
  

• HD Movie - 720p video at 30 fps

• Image Capture during Video - Even while recording 720p video, a dedicated button allows you to capture a 6 MP still image.

For a better zoom range, there is also the Exilim EX-FC100, with the same features but a lens range of 37mm-185mm, a slightly faster lens (F2.6-F4.5), and anti-shake image stabilising CMOS.

Either This is the Deadlist Show or Your Clock has Stopped
Paraphrasing Groucho Marx ("Either this man is dead or my watch has stopped"), Dick notices that Leo's clock on the wall has stopped.

A Warehouse Gadget Revived
Peter Ganzarski heard about a new Sony gadget, the Party-Shot Automatic Camera Dock (IPT-DS1)  which tilts and swivels the camera and uses the face and smile detection of the Sony TX1 or WX1 cameras to take pictures for you: see macnn.com.  Peter thought this sounded familiar, until he realised that this is just a reincarnation of a Warehouse Gadget, the Konica Kanpai in Episode 685 (another Japanese idea).  Sony should have done a flop search first.  Another listener Toyota Boy made a similar observation.  Don't these manufacturers ever learn?  Straight to the Warehouse please, says Dick.

Listen to Episode 899
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
Find DGW Info on GizWizSearch

Leo has had a slew of netbooks, and Dick finally gets his first.  It's the Acer Aspire One 751h.  The selling point is the big screen, 11.6" LED backlit LCD wide display, 1366 x 768 dots, and a full size keyboard.  It also means a larger size, 11.2" x 7.8" x 1", but remains light enough (3 lbs with a 6-cell battery), which really blurs the division between netbooks and notebooks.  It also comes with its own multi-touch touchpad.

Versions of Slough
Learn all about slough from Leo: Petaluma's tidal one, and the dead skin version from his fingers.  He even throws Gough Street in San Francisco into the mix.  Now you ought to have a rough idea of how thoroughly thoughtful Leo is.

Dick Starts Reading
Dick is not generally into reading books, but has started reading Audible books.  He was listening to Wayne Dyer's Excuses Begone on his way to Petaluma.

Irrational and Nonsensical
Alfred Chan of insideDGW has found it well nigh impossible, short of having a full transcript, to keep track of what Dick and Leo talk about on the shows (and why would anyone in his right mind want to do that?).  It's not just the sheer number of shows.  The real reason is, you never know what listeners would pick up from the conversation, and they would pick up the most insignficant, tangential and off-the-cuff remarks in that rambling dialogue between Dick and Leo which they call the Daily Giz Wiz podcast.  A prime example is counting the number of days in each month (Episode 876), which listener Anish commented on in Episode 888 - the Knuckles Calendar.  Then another listener Verena Fuchs sent an email to Dick, attaching a pictorial illustration of the Knuckles Calendar (via lifehacker.com).  It's all irrational and nonsensical, and that's why we're keep listening.

Listen to Episode 898
Go to TWiT
The Giz Wiz Home Page
Find DGW Info on GizWizSearch