My old mouse was developing some annoying left-click habits, so a few months ago I decided to get a new one. I am not a huge fan of wireless mice because the batteries always run out at the most inopportune times, so the new one was definitely going to be wired. I also am a big fan of the old (some would say clunky) Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer. So, when I started my research and ran across the Microsoft Habu, my choice was made pretty quickly and painlessly. Of course, I bought it at Newegg, and it was delivered promptly.

I’ve been working with it for a couple of months now and really like the performance of it. The scroll-wheel performs well (no gimmicky “left and right” scrolling here) with a very faint but very satisfactory scrolling tactile feedback, and both buttons have good solid clicking mechanisms.. The color is nice too, and looks great next to my ABS keyboard, Logitech Z-5500 speaker control, and Smilodon case, all of which are blue-neon. The only thing I’d change would be to give it a bit more heft – it’s a nice solid feel, but I’d prefer a bit more mass.

The photo above was taken with our new Canon SX1IS, as was the photo of Rebecca’s first bass. Overall, I’m still struggling with the auto-focus on it, which doesn’t seem to function well at all, and also the graininess of the photos, even with flash. I’ll continue to work with it to see if there are any settings I can adjust, but I’m not impressed, and am afraid this camera might have to be relegated to occasional snap-shot use only. I definitely don’t want to have to use a tripod to take quality shots.

New camera received

I received my camera (a new Canon SX1IS) and all its accessories from Newegg, and have been working to understand all of its bells and whistles. It’s interesting in that this is the first camera I’ve ever had that I really NEEDED to read the directions on; it’s relatively complex and some of its features are pretty obscure. So far, the images I’m getting are good, and the videos are fun, but its autofocus is not all that effective at close ranges, and the manual focus feature is a huge PITA. The size is definitely in-line with my expectations – it’s much smaller and easier to manage than our previous Sony DSC-R1. More later when I have the time for a complete run-down.

Windows 7 Release Candidate officially available

I had already downloaded (via a .torrent) Build 7100 of Windows 7, but it’s now available on Microsoft’s site. I haven’t installed it yet over my existing build 7068 installation, but will soon. The keys may have changed from the beta release; in any case, though, they’re readily available from Microsoft’s site or via a quick google.

My advice to anyone running Vista: get Windows 7.

I broke down and placed the order for the Canon SX1IS from Newegg. I originally placed it with Amazon, but it was going to take them 4 weeks (!) to ship it, so I opted to pay $10 in shipping to get it sooner. I also purchased some after-market additions from Lensmate; specifically a 58mm filter adapter and a better lens cap. I’ll be experimenting with a polarized lens for some outdoor shots. I’m really looking forward to using it on our upcoming vacations – and the size of it looks very manageable for Mary Lou too.

I also snagged a couple of Digital Photography books from Amazon (those did ship in a reasonable time), and am hoping to get a few tips to squeeze some extra performance.

So… hopefully we’ll be posting some cool shots soon!

dpreview.com Canon SX1IS review

Digital Photography Reviews (dpreview.com – a very good site) posted a review of the Canon SX1IS. While they didn’t pan it, some of the issues they spotted have certainly given me pause in my intent to purchase one from Amazon as soon as it’s released. I’m not a big fan of Nikon offering in this space (the P90). The Pentax Optio X70 looks promising, but there’s very little published on it yet, and while it’s sure to be less expensive ($400 instead of $600), I’m not sure the lack of full HD video and no swivel on the LCD display makes it a better choice. The Olympus SP-590UZ, the Kodak Z980, and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28K look about the same as the Pentax (while differing in some areas, like optical zoom, etc.), and I think I’d choose the Pentax over those, all things being equal.

The only camera that has really stuck out to me in my research is the Casio Exilim EX-FH20. The 40 fps option look pretty intriguing. The 1000 fps “movie” mode looks gimicky. It doesn’t have the flip-out and rotatable LCD, and HD-mode is limited to 720p, but the very forgiving “capture images before you even press the button” feature does look pretty cool.

All-told, I still think I’m going to get the Canon, but am mulling our other options, too.

Windows 7 update

Windows 7 Build 7068 is available as a torrent – both 32bit and 64bit versions are available. I’m downloading them both as I type. It doesn’t look like any radically new stuff has been added, but we’ll see. I’m hopeful that they’ve fixed some driver issues and added some tweaks for the taskbar.

We’ve had a Sony DSC-R1 for a few years now, and while it’s fine for my purposes, it’s much too large and complex to act as a convenient point-and-shoot for my wife. It’s also not a DSLR, so we’re stuck with the built-in lens. There are after-market options, but adding a special & expensive lens to a non-SLR just doesn’t make sense to me – and, plus, I’ve pretty much sworn off Sony for my consumer electronics. So, I’ve been in the market for two cameras for awhile: a DSLR for me, and a nice, accessible, point and shoot Digital Camera for Mary Lou. My primary reason for wanting a DSLR is to add a telephoto lens.

Several times in the past couple of years, I’ve come close to buying one or the other, but not both. I’ve toyed with the idea of buying a Canon, a Nikon, or maybe even an Olympus, but price (especially if you mix a zoom lens in), complexity, and the fact that nothing really has everything I’m looking for has stopped me from pulling the trigger. Features I’m looking for in particular include:

• Very good zoom capability – I want to be able to shoot wild-life that we occasionally run across, such as deer, birds, foxes, etc.
• Rotatable Live View – shooting kids through a viewfinder just stinks, and catching an “over the head” or “around the corner” shot is difficult without Live View.
• Image Stabilization – I’ll never buy another camera without this. Too many shots have been ruined by my inability to be incredibly still.
• Good sensor size – I know that you don’t need a huge number of megapixels to shoot a good picture, but having the ability to crop in Photoshop later on without losing any usable (printable) pixels is a big plus. I’m not a pro photographer, so being able to snag a couple of faces in a group shot and make them look like hi-res portraits in their own right is nice.
• RAW format – again, being a non-pro, I’ve messed up quite a few shots that were over- or under-exposed, and without RAW format to fall back on, I don’t think I’d have been able to salvage anything.

In any case, I think I’ve made up my mind to buy an upcoming Canon that has a decent set of features, and that may suffice for both of us: the Canon SX1IS. I’m intrigued by this model’s high-quality CMOS sensor, its inclusion of pretty much all the features I’m looking for, and some bonus features tossed in (30fps 1080p video, face detection, wireless remote control, auto Red Eye removal, i-Contrast, etc.). It looks like it’s still going to be pretty bulky ( close to 2 pounds with batteries) compared to some pocket cameras, but I suspect that that won’t be a problem due to our shooting habits. I’m not sure whether I’ll start off with ‘normal’ AA batteries, or pick up the NIMH + charger. I’ll also be going with a ‘normal’ Class 6 16GB SDHC Memory Card (hrm – maybe 2x8GB would be better for backup).

As far as I can tell, the only thing this set up doesn’t have is the ability to add lenses (but with 20x zoom, I might not need it), and Bluetooth connectivity.