11 posts tagged “camera”

I wasn't planning on bringing my iPod Touch to Hawaii because my iPod Shuffle would be sufficient for music (I don't use the Touch for that anyway) and I was bringing my laptop.

Plus, who goes to Hawaii to go on the internet?  I thought about forwarding my email to my cellphone (Gmail, SMS/text) but heck, it was only 4 days - only one which was an actual work day.  I told my bosses that I probably wasn't going to check email, so I was in the clear.

That is, until one of my bosses called me at 10:43pm on Friday night.  

I had gone to bed at 10pm - early for a weekend, but I had to wake up at 5am to get to the airport by 6:30am.  I hadn't fallen asleep yet.

Anyway, Boss wanted some information that probably could wait until I got back - but it was a pressing issue for him.  I had to look up the info, though, so I asked him if I could look it up and email him.  He agreed.

I dashed out to the living room, booted up my laptop, connected to my work computer and just as I pulled up the information to read, he called again.

Impatient, much?  After a 3 minute discussion, we hung up.  I then spent the next hour researching the information and sending him an email, finally going to bed after midnight.

Figured I should bring the iPod Touch, just in case.  (Yes, I had my laptop, but with the Touch - I could check email on my way in and out of the lobby.  Wouldn't have to lug the laptop around).  I ended up checking email twice - though Boss did not email me.

Here are the electronics that I brought:
 

• Apple Powerbook laptop - DNU (did not use)
• Memory card reader (external) - DNU
• Canon Powershot camera - took about 333 photos and a few video clips.
• Extra AA batteries - DNU
• AA battery charger - DNU
• Nikon D-SLR camera - sis took about 270 photos.
• Nikon battery charger (did charge battery once, but probably okay if we didn't)
  
• Panasonic videocam (Mini DV) - DNU
• Panasonic battery charger - DNU
• 4 blank Mini DV tapes - DNU
• Compact Flash memory cards (for Canon), ranging from 256MB to 4GB - DNU (only used 1 2GB card)
• Cellphone - my other boss called me at 7:30am to asked a question - granted, it was 10:30am back home and he didn't know I was in Hawaii.
  

Pineapple Knot

Yay, the picture messaging (MMS) on my phone works now.  See, on the w810i, there's a dedicated button for MediaNet.  Well, I'm *never* going to use MediaNet and I don't want my phone to accidentally connect to it (and pay through the nose, since I don't have a MediaNet bundle).  Anyway, I looked online and decided to delete the settings for MediaNet and set up a dummy account so if it attempted to connect, it couldn't.

Well, you need to have MediaNet set up in order to use picture messaging.  And though I knew that, I thought "eh, I can live without picture messaging."  Except that I'm so used to my unlimited messaging from T-Mobile (ah, how I miss thee) that I really wanted it back.

But no matter how much I tried re-entering the settings - manually or sent from the SonyEricsson website, it would not work.  I even did a Reset Settings (which resets only the settings, but keeps everything else) to no avail.  I did manage to get my sis's phone working, though.  Not sure why mine wouldn't work.

So we stopped by the phone store today to get my parents new phones.  They ended up getting LGs - works pretty well, camera seems nice, has bluetooth (big plus, like I mentioned before).  I don't think you can change the soft keys, but at least one of them is not dedicated to IMing (seriously, what was Samsung thinking?!).  The lady only had 1 phone though so she's going to mail us the other one.

Anyway, we passed by an AT&T wireless store so I went in and had them fix my picture messaging problem.  The gal (Stacy?) asked my phone number and the name on the account and then type,type,type - turned the phone off and back on and asked me to try.  Voila!

The picture above was the first picture message I have sent on the Cingular/AT&T network (I don't know why the multimedia stuff is still on the Cingular network - they need to decide whether to be Cingular or AT&T... I think they should stick with "Cingular" since it's a more widely known name for cellphones, but whatevs).  Back to the picture - it's a picture of chinese knot thing in the shape of a pineapple.  It was hanging on a plant in my eye doctor's office.  The word "pineapple" in Taiwanese (ong lai) sounds similar to "fortune come".  So it's supposed to be good luck.

And I returned the Canon Powershot A570 camera to Costco.  They asked why we were returning it and I told them that I was thinking of getting a (digital) SLR rather than a point and shoot.  Which is the truth.

Date/Time

Activity

Location

Details

Jul 2, 2007

8:12 AM

On FedEx vehicle for delivery

--------------, CA

7:21 AM

At local FedEx facility

--------------, CA

So I guess I was wrong - as was the Fedex tracking yesterday - my camera did apparently arrive in CA by Jun 30th and is out for delivery today!

Yay!

Date/Time

Activity

Location

Details

Jul 1, 2007

4:57 PM

Departed FedEx location

MEMPHIS, TN

Jun 30, 2007

6:55 PM

At dest sort facility

LOS ANGELES, CA

4:45 PM

Departed FedEx location

MEMPHIS, TN

4:39 PM

In transit

MEMPHIS, TN

11:00 AM

Arrived at FedEx location

MEMPHIS, TN

Jun 29, 2007

8:26 PM

Arrived at FedEx location

CHICAGO, IL

8:03 PM

Left origin

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL

5:31 PM

Package data transmitted to FedEx

4:38 PM

Picked up

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL

I'm assuming the 6:55pm Los Angeles entry is incorrect - unless they seriously sent my camera from Memphis, TN to Los Angeles back to Memphis... well, you never know.

I got an email on June 28th from Canon, saying that they received my camera and upon evaluation, they determined the CCD needed to be fixed and started repairs.  And then on the 29th, they sent me an email saying that the camera was being shipped back.  Yay!  Scheduled to be delivered on July 3rd... we shall see about that.

BTW, what is up with Luke Walton's hair?  He's trying to be like Britney Spears?  (The Lakers forward was rumored to be in some sort of relationship with her, for a while).

Travel dates: Saturday, June 23, 2007
Travel method: Car (from home, about 25 miles)
Resort: DL
Accommodations: non
Ages Represented in Group: late 20s (2), early 60s (2)

My sister and I (we're both in our late 20s) took our parents (both in their early 60s) to Disneyland on Saturday.  We bought the Costco Play 4 days ticket which basically allows us to enter either DL or DCA on 4 separate days.  It is not a park hopper (even if we wanted to use up 2 days on the ticket on the same day, we can't).

My sister and I have been to DL maybe 10 times?  She's gone one more than I have - her high school English teacher was nominated for some Disney teaching award and though she did not win, her students got to go to DL for free... on a school day!  My mom has gone  maybe 6 or 7 times and my dad has only gone about 5 times.  The first time we ever went to DL was when I was almost 2 years old - it was basically the 2nd thing we did after setting foot in the US (Universal Studios was the first - in the morning, then DL for the afternoon.  Our flight to NY was in the late evening (around midnight) so we had to go to the airport and missed seeing the Main Street Electrical Parade - to this day, I still have not seen the parade.  We went almost every year when I was in elementary school - with friends and relatives who came to visit from Taiwan.  Then the economy went downward, Asians opted to go elsewhere for vacations and I didn't return to DL until 1999 (about 10 years).

Anyway, we left our house at 6:53am and arrived at DL at 7:21am (25 miles).  Parked in the outdoor parking lot, just on the other side of the driveway out.  The tram dropped us off at DTD and we went through security check quickly (just a simple glance inside the bags).  Then I went to the ticket booth to trade our Costco tickets for actual tickets.  Each person had to present a CA driver's license or ID card and the CM typed our names into the computer.  Then he stamped the Costco tickets with "VOID" and handed us 4 tickets with our names printed on them. 

There was already a lot of people waiting at the turnstiles.  We waited for about 10 minutes before the park opened (there were already some EE guests milling around Main Street).  Though the CM member said we would need to present our IDs again at the turnstile, they did not ask to see them.

First stop - Splash Mountain.  This is my all-time favorite ride ever.  I remember riding Log Jam or some similar ride at Knotts Berry Farm and Magic Mountain and wishing that DL had something like it.  Well, now they do!  The past 2 years, Splash was basically the last ride we went on - our plan of action was to go to Fantasyland first and then make our way around.  By the time we got to Critter Country, we had to get Fast Passes because the line would be an hour to wait in.  Since I love this ride so much (and since I was the one planning the itinerary) - we went on this first.  There was basically no line and we saw a few logs going by with no riders - our log was just the 4 of us. 

0234-SplashMountain-GhostRider

We got a bit wet but nothing major.  The rest of my group headed off to Fantasyland while I stopped to get FPs for Splash (I told you I loved this ride!).  There was a CM there fixing/loading the machines... keep this in mind for later.

Then I headed for Fantasyland, but I got temporarily confused which direction to go - this way or that?  Wait, is it over there?  Uh... I then headed towards the Rivers of America and I heard my name being shouted (by my mom, over at Haunted Mansion).  We were planning on riding this later (since lines are usually not too long) but since we were already there and there was no line... my sis wanted to minimize walking back and forth between lands.  Remember this for later too.  The ride stopped briefly as we waited for "ghosts" to get off the path.

Off to Fantasyland
My plan had been to ride Matterhorn first (since the DL mountain ranges, i.e., Splash, Space, Matterhorn, Big Thunder, usually get busy quickly).  But we ended up near Dumbo and Peter Pan (both which had quite major lines) so we rode Pinocchio and Snow White (no waits for either).  Then we walked over to Matterhorn and passed by the hoards of people waiting for the subs (a 2 hr wait).  Brief wait but it went by quickly.

0268-Subs

I guess because there was a lot of people waiting for Matterhorn - the CMs made us sit 4 to a bobsled.  2 in front, 2 in back.  When it's early in the morning (i.e., the first thing we ride) - they usually let us ride 2 to a bobsled (1 front, 1 back).  I like that way better...

It's a Small World was next - there was a brief line (again - if you go first thing, no line at all and one year, we rode it twice in a row).  I guess that's the name of the game - if you go early to just about anything, there's no line.

After Small World, (10am) we walked through the shop there and took a few pictures of the Princess Fantasy Faire area.  Then we headed for Toontown next, either to ride Roger Rabbit or get FPs, depending on the line.  Well, there was no line at all because the ride broke down! 

0335-Goofy

Did see Pluto and Goofy taking photos with kids.  We decided to take the DL Railroad to Tomorrowland (even though walking would have been faster).  While waiting, we saw Snow White and Jasmine heading to the Fantasy Faire area.

We waited only a couple of minutes for the Railroad and headed off to Tomorrowland.  I believe this is where they have that diorama off the Grand Canyon as it is today and as it was in the prehistoric era.  When I saw the T-Rex, it reminded me of that clip from that movie (forgot what it's called) where the guy asks the T-Rex why he didn't seize the boy and the T-Rex says something about his arms being short.  It's true - he did have short arms!

In Tomorrowland, I snapped a couple of pictures of Buzz Lightyear and then went to Space Mountain for FPs.  The return time was after 1:25pm, though since it was only about 10:30am, I could get another FP at 12:25pm (rather than at 1:25pm).  I like going into the shop right next to it and looking at all the things I wish I could afford.  Well, I probably could afford them, but it's not what I would spend my money on. 

AstroBlasters was next - short wait.  While we were aboard, the ride stopped briefly (kept shooting at the targets, since it still counts).  Then we took a brief break and sat down on the benches near the Disney timeshare stand.  Then we walked over to City Hall to get a birthday button for my sis and anniversary buttons for my parents.  (After my mom saw the buttons, she and my dad went in to get b-day buttons for themselves and 2 more anniversary 

0392-Buttons-Anniv

buttons!)  They love free stuff.  Oh, the wait time at City Hall was probably one of the longest lines we waited in all day.  We saw Mary Poppins and that guy she's with.  And then Captain Hook hide behind a trash can and peered over it (over to Mary Poppins).  Then he started rummaging through the trash can.  It was pretty funny.

My sis went across the street to the theater thing to get some pressed pennies.  They have a nice wall display with pictures from DCA.  I didn't really look at them but I should - since we may be going there this summer.

Adventureland was next on the list - short line at Jungle Cruise.  I asked a CM for a map at the end of the ride and they happily gave me one.  Then I went to get FPs for Indiana Jones (the standby wait time was 62 minutes, I think).  Except when I put my ticket into the FP machine, I got a ticket saying that I had to wait until 12:25pm to get another FP.  Quick check at my cellphone - it's 12:24!  So I walked out of the FP area, went around to the entrance and tried again (voila!)

New Orleans Square
We rode Pirates of the Carribean (the board in Main Street said 15 min wait, but when we got to PoTC - the sign said 20 min).  It wasn't too bad of a wait though (compared to our previous trips).  The crowds did not seem too bad - I kept thinking that as the day went on, there would be more and more people, but it was pretty empty for a summer Saturday.  I thought the fire fight in PoTC was longer or more dramatic - seemed kind of tame, though part of it might be because I spent a good deal of time, fiddling with my camera.  Note to self - on dark rides such as PoTC, don't bother with the cam.  I did use the flash a couple of times but so did everyone else...

Then we waited for about 3 minutes and boarded the Mark Twain.  It was a nice trip around the Rivers and we saw some baby ducks swimming with their mommy. 

Fantasyland + Tomorrowland
Back for Teacups (short wait) and Carousel (short wait).  Back to Space Mountain (which had a 13 minute wait, even with FPs) and AstroOrbitors (wait time: 20 minutes).  The parade was in progress so we stopped briefly to watch.  The Queen of Hearts from Alice was wandering around Tomorrowland (looking a little out of place). 

0569-Alice-Queen

Then we went back to Toontown with our FPs (I don't remember when we got them...) for Roger Rabbit.  The ride is okay - it's probably more fun for little kids.

Then we took the Railroad all the way back to New Orleans Square to walk to Splash Mountain.  But alas, the ride had broken down!  We rode Winnie the Pooh in the meanwhile (while we were waiting in line there, about 5 minutes, Splash started up again).

So we headed over to Splash Mountain and handed our FPs to the CM.  Right before this, I took a picture of the FP and I noticed that it didn't have the name of the attraction on the FP.  Hmmm?  I guess it didn't print?  So anyway, when I handed the CM the FPs, he joked about how we had upside-down FPs and that they don't take those.  Then he said that he was just joking (which we knew already) and my mom said that we printed them from home.  He told us to use a laser printer next time rather than inkjet.

There was a brief wait for Splash - I'm not sure how long the ride was down for, but it seemed like everyone with FPs came back at the same time.  My dad decided not to ride Splash again.  My mom wasn't going to ride either (so my sis and I would get to go twice) but we urged her to join us. 

We always sit in the same order - my sis in the front, me 2nd, my mom 3rd and my dad 4th (they don't like to get wet).  When we got to the front of the line, the CM asked if we wanted to sit towards the front of the log or the back.  Definitely the front!  The group of 3 behind us in line rode with us.  The logs stopped twice (briefly) as there were log jams.  (Ha ha). 

Did I mention that I love this ride?  Except this time, we got splashed so much!  Even before the last drop, I was already shivering.  And then by the end of the ride, my jeans were soaked, my socks/shoes were wet and my t-shirt was wet.  Oh, and the jacket I was carrying to cover my bag (which had my cell and camera in) also got super wet!

Not sure why this time was especially splash-y but that was fine with me... we dried off while waiting for Fantasmic (from 6:40pm til the start of the show).  We had a pretty good seat - in the 2nd row along the River.  Definitely should bring towels or blankets to block off your area (we had large towels) - otherwise, people try to crowd you and overtake your spot.  We saw a couple of people who taped down their blankets/tableclothes.

0751-Fireworks-BlueGold

By the time Fantasmic and the fireworks were over - I was freezing.  I kept shivering and finally put on my sis's jacket (I said I was fine earlier).  We walked over to see what the wait for the subs was - 90 minutes, so we decided not to try this time.  Headed out the gates to DTD, wandered in the store briefly and then waited for the trams.  A tip - wait for the tram over by the DL gate, not DTD.  We had to wait for about the 3rd or 4th tram (my parents got on the one before us) and it took maybe 20 minutes for us to finally get on.  When we circled around - there were barely any people still waiting by the DL gate, but plenty (lots!) of people by the DTD side.

0616-Splash-FP

After we got home, I looked at the FP from Splash Mountain (the one my dad didn't use) and I noticed that the ticket was printed upside down - I guess the CM loading them into the machine put it upside down?  Good eye for the CM at Splash to notice that!  I didn't even see that. 

And we did end up walking back and forth between lands.  We went to Toontown 3 times - once where we saw that Roger Rabbit was down, once to get the FPs and once to ride the ride.  Too many times for a simple kids ride!

Overall, it was a great day at DL.  Next time - we may spend the time waiting for the first showing of Fantasmic over waiting for the subs instead.  The lines should be a little shorter... maybe?  And note to self - bring a plastic bag for my jacket in case Splash gets wet again!

There's so much going on lately...

So the plumber came on Tuesday(?) and cleared the drain.  Except now it's clogged again.  He's coming back tomorrow.

I shipped out my Powershot A75 today via UPS Ground.  Canon can't give me an estimate on how long it will take to fix... (or even if it CAN be fixed).

Sis's cellphone stopped working - it will turn on but it won't connect to a network.  And even when it does (display shows the provider), can't make calls out and can't receive calls either.  It's an old cell - from 2004(?) so we should get new ones... eBay or 2-year upgrade?  Hmmm.

What is wrong with the world these days?  Is the end near?!!  I even got 2 mosquito bites on my arm and last night when I was trying to sleep, I could hear buzzing near my ear!

On a totally unrelated topic - I hate it (with a passion) when people pronounce words incorrectly.  Okay, I can understand if it's an accent thing - like how a lot of East Asians can't pronounce the "th" sound (instead it sounds like an "s"), but some of the time, people are just pronouncing words incorrectly for no reason!  It's not because there's no similar sound in their native language, because there is.

I have an urge to correct people but I know that would be so incredibly rude... but really, please try to remember:

1. Assume --> s/b pronounced ah-sue-mm --> not ah-shue-mm.  There's no "sh" sound in that word!  I've heard a couple of Filipino people pronounce it like that, and a Chinese speaker!  There is a sound like "sue" in Chinese, so why does the guy have difficulty with that word?! (Ironically, there is not a "shue" sound like that).

2. Weaponry --> s/b pronounced wheh-pen-ree --> not wheh-penary.  There's no vowel between the "n" and the "r" so please don't pronounce the word like there is.

3. Hierarchy --> s/b pronounced high-are-key or more correctly, higher-are-key --> not high-ARE-key (with the accent on the ARE).

Other words that bother me: "often" with the "t" audible (it's off-en), "laundromat" pronounced "laundry-mat", "asked" pronounced "ax'ed", "picture" pronounced "pitcher", shortening "-ing" to "-in", saying "with you" like "witch-u" (what the hey is that?).

By the way, "often" is often pronounced incorrectly.  I did not know that you do not pronounce the "t" until my mom told me several months ago... seriously.  I think a lot of people think you do pronounce the "t", because so many people pronounce it that way.

And to be fair - my worst pronunciation/grammar issue is when I say "mine's is" (instead of "mine is").  And I did not know that was incorrect until maybe a few years ago.  Maybe it's because I don't talk much normally, so people don't notice and they don't correct me.  Although, people don't usually go around correcting people anyway.  But really - I usually forget to make sure I don't say "mine's is" although occasionally, I will correct myself right after I say it.

If I pronounce words wrong, please tell me.  I don't care if it's considered rude - I think it would be better for 1 person to say "oh, abcd is pronounced such-and-such" than always pronounce the word wrong and everyone you ever run into notices but doesn't say anything.  Think of it like if you had food stuck in your teeth - would you rather someone tell you discreetly or walk around all day with broccoli in your teeth?

It bothers me when people stutter or say "uh... uh".  I notice it a lot with non-native English speakers.  Of course, because I don't talk that much, sometimes when I do, I stumble over my words... but I try to be succinct and enunciate.

I'm in search of a new digital camera.  I know - I just bought one!  But I don't know if it's going to work out between me and the Powershot A570IS.

I've taken several pictures with the A570 over the past 12 or so hours.  Aside from the AF-assist beam being too bright (and the flash itself also, but I think it's needed to be effective) - the volume is too loud.  On the Powershot A75, if you switch the volume controls to 1 bar (the lowest before off), you can still hear the sounds (e.g. start up, shutter, focus) faintly.  On the A570 - the volume even at 1 bar is still quite loud.  I'd hate to hear what it sounds like at 4 bars.

What else... well, there's a bit of a lag when switching between modes (e.g. from Auto to Portrait).  Even if you turn the dial to the other mode, the screen display may be behind.  And the macro feature - when you push the macro button, the flower icon appears in the middle of the screen and then moves to the bottom right.  The animation-like quality is cool at first, but after a while, you just want the camera to go into macro mode without the slight delay.

I was a little surprised at the delay between when the photo is taken, and then when the camera is ready to shoot again.  The A75 is kind of slow in that regard, and I read that the A570 had a great (minimal) delay, but I can't really agree with that.

As for some of the features the A570 boasts - like image stabilization - I really don't have a use for it, because I don't really know how to use it and probably wouldn't take the time to turn on that feature.  Besides, my hands are steady enough :)  And the flash - I rarely take flash photos, because the pictures are so often washed out, and a lot of the time, I'm trying to be stealth with my photo-taking so flash would not be good.

But anyway - this is how it always goes.  Buyer's remorse to the max.  No wonder I'm so indecisive.  I keep searching for that perfect whatever, even though I know it doesn't exist.

06-17-07_1138.jpg

Need I say more?!

I got my new camera today!  Yay!  It's a big smaller in width than my old camera, but the depth and height is about the same.  I'm going to send the old camera back to Canon to have the CCD fixed...

I hope they can fix my old camera... I miss it already!  I'm not sure how I like the new cam - it's different getting used to something new.  I don't like how the AF-assist beam (the orange light thing on the front of the camera, to help with focusing) is so bright.  I tried to take a picture of myself and I nearly blinded myself for a minute or so.  I don't think you can turn it down, only completely off.  Arg.  And in Auto mode, even if you turn it off, it might still come back.

We'll see how it works at DL this weekend... it's kind of funny because the new cam is similar to the old cam, but yet different.  So close, yet so far...

Yay - got the Costco Play 4 Days tickets!  I'll post a picture later (I thought I emailed the pic, but guess not).

As for my camera - the B&M Costco did not have the one I wanted (Canon Powershot A570IS), and though BestBuy did, I don't like their return policy.  I don't plan on returning the camera, but I want that option just in case.  Costco's return policy has been cut to 90 days (rather than no time limit) but that should be fine for me.

I got a response from the Canon people about fixing the CCD on my Powershot A75.  I'm supposed to try taking photos with it or what not to see if it is actually is a problem with the CCD... as it is right now, the problem occurs at least once per time I use the camera, but not every single time.  I guess I should use the camera a bit so that the problem will happen every time?  I mean, I don't want Canon to be like "oh, it's not the CCD, we won't fix it".

They will send me a pre-paid mailing label so I can ship it to them.  I really hope they can fix it.  Even though I am getting a 2nd camera (which is similar to my old one)... maybe I should have gotten something different for my 2nd camera?  Except that the really slim cams all have proprietary batteries (e.g. Li-Ion) and I would prefer something with double A batteries (since if you run out, you can just buy some more).  Plus, for the memory card - the A75 takes Compact Flash.  We have some SD cards for the digital camcorder (to take pics on it) so either of those formats would be preferrable. 

Anyway, the Powershot A570 was the best looking one... Not quite compact, but I'd probably lose a slim camera anyway.  I did check out some cameras at Best Buy and Circuit City (why does Target have cameras for display, if they don't even work?!) - it's so hard to tell what's good and what's not, when you're inside a store.  The Sony Cybershots have the little joystick thing instead of arrows (to select options) which I like, but I think those are mostly Li-Ion battery-operated.

I wished they had the Nikon S10 at any of those stores but I don't think they did.  B&M Costco does have it, but I think it was still in the box.  So I had to order my Powershot online... the est transit time is 1 day, according to Costco's website and it usually ships within 2 days.  I've checked the order status a billion times already... I know - a watched pot never boils.