Repost – Monday Night Out
Posted by SpikeNov 25
Amazon, which hosts this blog, had a major crash yesterday. The person managing the blog for me got things restored pretty quickly, but one post went AWOL. So here it is again.
It always takes me a long time to get over jet lag and my return from my last trip has proven to be no exception. Now that I’ve been home for a week and have been sleeping somewhat normally, it’s time to start getting out again – the only gating factor being trying not to spend much money.
But last night, out for dinner with a friend and then a short visit to Amazonia. Amazonia has two house bands. They’re both Filipino and they’re both contractually obligated to only play cover songs. By now you probably know I’m a fan of Icebox, the band that’s been resident there for more than 3 years and features Willy, a seriously worthwhile lead guitarist. I also enjoy the second band, Kaktooz – their guitarist was a student of Willy’s and I think their female singer puts in the effort to sing the songs as herself and not merely imitate the records.
So last night, while there, took the opportunity to grab some photos. Having that 35mm f/1.8 lens helps but in order to shoot without the flash and at a decent shutter speed, I had to bump ISO up to 3200. Fortunately, with a decent DSLR, the results are still respectable. Here are a few of my favorite shots from last night.
Actually my right eye has been bothering me for a few days – may go to the hospital to get it looked at later – but one thing that meant last night was that I had to stay in auto-focus mode, I couldn’t see clearly enough to focus the camera on my own.
And yesterday I was quite tempted to spend the money on a Canon G11 or S90, even stopped into a shop and played with each of them for a bit, but so far, at least, managing to resist the temptation to spend. If y’all wanna create a pool as to how long I’ll hold out, feel free!
6 comments
Comment by Mark on November 25, 2009 at 11:40 am
I haven’t jumped in and bought a DSLR yet and was wondering if a smaller model wouldn’t be better/more convenient. What is your thinking along the lines of the G11 and S90?
Comment by Spike on November 25, 2009 at 11:46 am
The G11 and S90 are two of the best point and shoot cameras out there – they handle RAW and full manual settings. Aside from whether or not having just one lens works for you or not, their sensors will not give you the same low light/high ISO performance that you can get from a DSLR. I don’t think the photos I shot at Amazonia at ISO 3200 without flash would have been as clear on the G11 or S90.
Entry-level DSLRs now cost about the same as the G11. So the deciding factor is how you plan to use the camera, what you plan to shoot. (Though one additional drawback for me is that the S90 has no optical viewfinder and the optical viewfinder on the G11 is very inaccurate.)
Comment by HK Tech Phooey on November 26, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Nice pics.
Comment by Truden on November 26, 2009 at 9:58 pm
Greatings, Everything dynamic and very positively!
Have a nice day
Truden
Comment by Mark on November 28, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Any comment on the Panasonic/Lumix DMC-GF1? A bit more expensive but with interchangeable lenses. No optical viewfinder, though.
Comment by Spike on November 28, 2009 at 4:51 pm
I just bought that today! Walked around a bit to test it out, latest shots on the blog were taken with it, they seem tack-sharp to my pink eyes, video mode seems quite good and the size (with the 20mm lens) is exactly what I was looking for. The deciding factor for me was the larger sized sensor should provide better low-light/high-ISO performance than the Canon G11. I went for the Panasonic over the Olympus micro-four-thirds camera after studying various reviews on both – they each have different areas in which they excel but the GF1 seemed to be better in areas that counted for me. You can buy an electronic viewfinder that mounts in the hot-shoe bracket and shooting without it in direct sunlight today, I can see how it would be a useful addition.