Features and Comparisons -

• Go to the manufacturers’ website. The best and authentic source of information on a product
• http://camerasize.com/compare - to compare dimensions and weight of two cameras
• http://camerasize.com/compact (beta) – to compare dimensions and weight of multiple cameras

Reviews -

• http://www.dpreview.com - A very popular site for camera and lens reviews. Has got very active user forums too.

I’ve bought it on blind faith and will be testing the features in the next few days.

I’m sharing the the user manual for Coolpix L105 that came along on the CD at this link. I could not find this manual on Nikon’s website before buying the camera. The following are my initial impressions.

The Good :

• 15x optical and 4x digital zoom
• $99 price tag in a Black Friday deal (new for $199)
• 720p HD video recording. Video files can be upto 4GB file size or 29 minutes maximum. VBR (Variable Bit Rate) is used while saving the file so the file sizes can differ even for videos of same duration. Some optical zoom feature is available in video mode but then motor noise is captured in the video.
• Continuous H mode that shoots up to 20 pictures at 11.1 frames/sec. Continuous M mode captures 7.3 fps and Continuous L mode captures 4.4 fps.
• 3-inch 230k-dot TFT LCD
• Photos are alright when outdoor or with good lighting conditions
• The user’s manual claims a battery life of 320 pictures with alkaline, 950 with lithium and 540 with EN-MH2 batteries.

The Bad :

• Bulky form factor (weighs about 15.3 oz or 432 gms with batteries and SD card), which means it cannot be carried in a pocket. Probably need to buy a cover.
• Uses 4 AA sized batteries. Plan on buying NiMH rechargeable batteries. Maybe two sets so that you have a spare one available. There is one DC 5 volt connector too for continuous use but the adapter has to be bought separately.
• The Easy-Auto mode is not good enough and puts a lot of noise in indoor photos. I could fix a lot of that by using another photo modes and inbuilt pop-up flash. If you have the camera then try to experiment with a few modes.
• Although there is a Panorama mode, it is not similar to the easy-click-and-pan feature of my Sony Cybershot TX7 camera. With L105, you have to click images in sequence and then stitch them together on your computer with the software that comes on the CD.
• No HDMI output. Only NTSC/PAL.
• Small internal memory of 102 MB. Have to buy SDHC card. Actually I’m neutral about this because almost all cameras these days come with a small internal memory and need a memory card anyway.
• No eye view finder. This, again, is not exactly bad because most P&S cameras come without an eye viewfinder these days. A high resolution screen that doubles as a viewfinder and display is the general standard and L105′s 3-inch 230k-dot TFT LCD screen works and looks fine but it is gonna drain the battery.

The Verdict :

There are a lot of auto scene selection modes which would work in most of the situations but low-light images can be noisy or blurry. If you don’t mind carrying around a heavy camera, you can’t beat the $99 discounted price tag for the features available. But if you have to buy it at the full price of $199 then I guess Nikon Coolpix L110 (12 MP, 15x zoom, HD 720p video, HDMI output, 3-inch 460k-dot TFT LCD) or L120 (14 MP, 21x zoom, HD 720p video, HDMI output, 3-inch 921k-dot TFT LCD), which retail at around $200 – 240 price range, would be better choices.

You might want to go through the comments below and find answers to some of the FAQs.

I came across this story at the Freakonomics blog. The original article was published in The Washigton Post, an engrossing read about the 43 minutes of Joshua’s performance. It also has a video of the entire subway performance which, unfortunately, I could not view due to bandwidth constraints.

Further links -

• Freakonomics blog post about Joshua’s experiment
• Pearls Before Breakfast – The Washington Post article
• Joshua Bell – Official site
• Joshua Bell – Wikipedia

Stefan Helander is a Canon fan and has put the following on his site.

What does Canon mean then? Well not Cannon as many misinterpret it. Canon (or Kanon) is when a piece of music is imitated and repeated. First one instrument or vocal starts with a piece of the melody. Then after a number of tones, a second instrument or vocal starts to repeat, or imitate, the first one, playing the exact same tones, but with a time delay. More instruments or vocals may fill in depending on the composers wishes.

Stefan has got some user submitted Canon renditions on his site’s files section, as has Ray Hutchings, another guy with a liking for the composition.

Coming back to YouTube, the first one is plyed (sic) by funtwo. This particular video triggered my interest in Canon and made me look for some more videos and information.

Although funtwo has great technique in the above video, the performance by JerryC below induces some soul in it. Also, JerryC is the one who composed the background track. The back track is available for download at JerryC’s unofficial website.

The last video is of Canon by Trace Bundy. I was fascinated by the way he handled his guitar for this piece.

If you want to know more about JerryC and funtwo then you might want to read this article. As I leave you to enjoy Canon, here is a CollegeHumor video link where Rob Paravonian explains why he hates this particular piece of classical music!

If you like to customize the appearance of your Windows XP then you might like to try some wonderful themes provided by Microsoft. Click here to get the themes available at Microsoft site. The returned results include theme generators, web templates for Frontpage etc. If you find it too fussy then click here for more filtered results. But this might skip some useful stuff.

The first video is already very popular at YouTube. The creator of this video is Michael Wesch (Phd), an Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State Univerity. If you are wondering what is a Cultural Anthropology professor doing making technical videos then check out an interview with him here. For more videos from Michael, check his YouTube profile here.

Web 2.0 … The Machine is Us/ing Us – by Michael Wesch

The second video is by Jeff Utecht, an elementary school teacher with a technical bent of mind. For more of his videos, go to his profile at YouTube here.

Web 2.0 – by Jeff Utecht

“Operation chimp”
by Donald Banerjee

THE Chhat Bir Zoo had just acquired a chimpanzee on a barter basis.

A number of journalists had gathered to witness “operation chimp” — release of the ape into its new home.

The vehicle carrying the ape entered the primate enclosure. The chimpanzee covered its face with its big palms as cameramen clicked with flash guns.

A number of zoo attendants were at hand to carry out the operation.

A tranquiliser shot saw the chimpanzee sit back. It got up and rubbed its eyes, giving a stare at those present. Then it walked unsteadily in the small case before collapsing.

Six attendants lifted the unconscious chimpanzee. It was heavy. One of the attendants lowered the animal for a better hold. All this time the then zoo director, Dr Vinod Sharma, repeatedly told them to hurry up as he feared the tranquiliser effect may wear off.

The attendant holding the right hand of the chimpanzee suddenly noticed a glint in the eyes of the ape. But before he could sound an alert, the chimp dug its teeth into the attendant’s thumb.

The attendant screamed. He gave a punch on the primate’s face and pulled out his bleeding thumb.

All hell broke loose as the attendants dropped the animal and ran.

Everyone was for himself. Photographer Karam Singh darted into the empty cage, meant for the chimp, and bolted it from inside.

I climbed up the enclosure housing the cages at a speed that would have put even the monkeys to shame. Two more journalists followed me up.

From my high perch I had a clear view of the goings on. Two of the cameramen had rushed out and could be seen 200 metres away.

It was a trying time for the zoo director. He stood near the chimpanzee which was standing on its two legs with a dazed look.

He knew of the danger the chimpanzee could pose to the mediamen. Time was short as the effect of the tranquiliser shot was dying.

Soon a second tranquiliser shot was ready. A perfect aim and the dart hit the thigh of the animal. The chimpanzee let out a cry, and moved towards the iron grill of the enclosure we had climbed up. It grasped the grill for some time. But then slowly it spread out on the floor as the tranquiliser began to take effect.

The second-time unconscious primate was carried into the cage which cameraman Karam Singh had made his temporary abode.

“Operation chimp” was over.