Twenty years of cameras

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Playing with the Pocket 3 is bringing back fond memories of cameras I have owned. I do not think of myself as a photographer or videographer, I spent a lot of hours (and money) over the past 20 years and most of them got a post or two on this blog.

  • 5/1/2008 – iMage Webcam (CamTwist, Ustream)
  • 5/22/2008 – Flip Video Camera
  • 6/13/2009 – Ecamm BT-1 “World’s first Bluetooth webcam” (related: twitCam) –
  • 12/8/2018 – Sony Handycam DCR-TRV 74 (I’m sure I was shooting video with the Sony much earlier but getting that video off the camera and encoded on a computer was such a time-consumer nightmare, it’s not worth mentioning)

I’d have to say my favorite cameras during those early days were made by Casio:

In 2009 I bought my first iPhone and that was pretty much it for point-and-shoot cameras but I have purchased a couple of GoPro cameras in the last couple of years.

DJI Osmo Pocket 3: Face tracking and remote mic

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In this 3 1/2 minute video I play with face tracking features of the Pocket 3 and the sound quality of the remote microphone.

Face tracking feels like magic. To be able to move around and have the camera follow and keep me in frame creates a lot of possibilities. As far as I can recall, every video I ever recorded was a solo effort which meant the camera had to be stationary and I couldn’t move around. This feature should make for more interesting shots.

As for the remote mic… I’m impressed. I’ll have to figure out the best levels and settings but the quality is as good as anything I’ve ever used. And I’ve used a lot of microphones.

I’m looking forward to recording a uke song with this camera/mic. If I can get good audio from the uke as well as my voice, I can try some stuff. Still lots to learn about the Pocket 3.

Every time I power on this camera I discover some new and useful feature. If you noticed me looking at my iPhone in the video, I was using the DJI app to monitor and control the camera on the other side of the room. Additionally, the tiny remote mic can also control certain settings on the camera. It’s easy to see why this camera is so popular with vloggers.

Final thought: At 76 years of age, close-ups are not kind to me. This is about the right distance.

Jeep: 4WD, Low Range

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Had a small brush pile to get rid of but the pickup was full of mulch. Tossed the brush on the back of the Jeep, put it in 4WD/low range and headed down the hill to a big pile. Doesn’t look like much of a hill in the photo above but it’s steep-ish. The Jeep pulled it with no problem.


Decided to add a bit of flair to the Jeep.

Blog maintenance: Video

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When I started blogging in 2002 it was really hard to include video in a post. YouTube was still three years away. Google had a video player for a while but streaming just wasn’t a thing. The first video files I uploaded were tiny because they had to download before they could be watched. But all that changed with faster computers and more bandwidth. And, of course, smart phones that could record video.

YouTube made it very easy to upload and share video from a website like mine. I have 677 posts on this blog that include video. Most of those were created by someone else but I’ve created a couple of hundred. My first was in February of 2006.

There are other streaming platforms besides YouTube. Vimeo, TED Talks, and WordPress has a player for streaming mp4 files. Fifty-nine of my posts use something other than a YouTube embed.

My posts with video now fall into several categories under Media & Entertainment:

Of the 200+ videos that I’ve posted here, 44 of them were me talking to the camera. Not sure these would be considered “selfies.”

Audio

Seventy-nine of my posts include audio. Interviews, funny songs, old radio jingles and commercials, etc. Some of my favorite stuff.