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(I can't believe mine is still active)

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Lies... ok, maybe just 8... (CES - Olympus VR-340)

Ok, this is getting a bit out of hand, but I guess it was inevitable.  Why bother with Photoshop when your camera can do most of the work?  There are already cameras that make your eyes bigger... give you a tan... why not an instant face-lift?

The Olympus VR-340

The Olympus VR-340 looks like your average 16mp point and shoot, but hidden in the menus is a "Beauty" mode which allows  you to do spot 'enhancements' like whiten teeth, eye shadow add/remove, and a few more 'fixes'.

With all the negative issues with retouching photos... I don't think this is exactly a step in the right direction... why bother being in the photos if it's not going to look like you at all?  Oh well... C'est LIE vie.

Sony Ericsson Xperia ray Review: Part 3 - Smile! You're On Exmor R Camera!

Continued from Part 2

Since the introduction of the celfone cam, people have documented every single moment of their lives (both drunken and sober) and has caused a boom in digital photography.

The latest generation of mobile phone cams boast specs that exceed most professional cams a few years ago... but do specs tell the whole truth?  Numbers are quite easy to fudge, and test parameters can easily be biased to favor one manufacturer over another.  I've found that most of today's mid-to-high end devices are all comparable to each other.  This review is to give a real-world comparison and evaluation compared to point-and-shoot cameras.

Most phone cam lenses are fixed at around 28mm (in full-frame DSLR equivalent) this gives the most practical field of view for group shots, parties, and roughly 95% of the events people use their phones to take pictures of.

The Xperia ray sports an 8 megapixel Exmor R sensor which is supposed to be excellent in low-light situations.  I'm not fond of using a flash, on any of my cameras... so this was something that caught my attention.  Along with the claimed f2.4, this should make the ray perfect for capturing events at concerts, clubs, parties, candle-lit dinners and other things that happen in the dark...

But does it really work well?  How does it fare against the previous generation X10 Mini Pro?  Against a decent point & shoot camera?

The following marco are shots taken in automatic mode.  Photos were not processed, but resized using Adobe Lightroom, minimal jpeg artifacts were added so that isn't really going to affect over-all photo quality.  **edit: my apologies, I forgot to mention, these are zoomed crops to show both the detail, and flaws of the camera.  Original uncropped photos can be viewed here.**

Panasonic Lumix ZS3

The first shot was taken using my Panasonic Lumix ZS3.  This is one of the better all-around point and shoots on the market with a focal range of 28-300mm and a Leica lens.  It shoots in 720p HD so this will also be the baseline for the video comparison.

Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro

This was taken using my X10 Mini Pro.  As you can see, colors are a bit washed out compared to the Lumix, but general detail is preserved.  A noteworthy observation is that the grill on the car looks more 'detailed' with the X10MP, but it's just heavier post processing on the phone's part.

Sony Ericsson Xperia ray

And finally, the shot taken using the Xperia ray.  Bokeh is slightly nicer on the ray... not by much, but if you look at the car in the background, the rims have stronger lens blur.  Color accuracy on the ray is also closer to the Lumix which is a plus.  I initially thought that the X10MP was sharper, but it turned out to just be stronger sharpening post processing.

With the absence of a dedicated camera button however, it is harder to take a shot with the ray.  Touch focus doesn't always work and can sometimes give a completely blurry shot.  Auto focus gives decent results most of the time, but limits compositional freedom.  Over-all the ray has a better camera, but without a dedicated camera button, it takes longer to take a shot.

Forget the front camera... it's sad.  Washed out and very soft focused.  Flashback to an 80's webcam.  It's there.  But don't expect iPod Touch/iPhone 4 quality video calls.  But there is hope for self-portrait fans.  Sony Ericsson's "Smile Detection" allows you to use the rear camera, then the phone automatically takes the shot when you smile.  Although this doesn't guarantee it's framed properly.

Now onto the video.  The Xperia ray records in 720p HD.  Movies are in the standard MP4 format and trimming recorded clips is possible on the phone itself.  I did find it nice that the phone records in stereo.  Utilizing the back mic for the left channel, and the phone mic for the right channel.  The odd position of the mics does create an issue for users that are unaware that both mics are on.  If you're holding the bottom part of the phone, you may be blocking the "right" mic and thus audio may sound weak.  Because the mics are farther apart than on most point and shoot cameras (like the Lumix ZS3), stereo separation does sound more prominent on the ray.

The following video was taken at night using only automatic settings.  This is how most people will be using the camera on this phone so I decided to make a direct comparison with the ZS3's HD capabilities as well.  Audio on the left channel is from the ray, audio on the right channel is from the ZS3.

As you can see, the Exmor R sensor does an excellent job of low light recording.  Not much noise is added, and detail is quite good.  Focusing is ok, but not great.  Clarity is still better on the ZS3 of course, but I would have more practical use for the ray's shots than the ZS3.  And a little post processing on the Xperia to improve black levels and the shots taken would actually look better than the ZS3.  Audio is decent for a device of it's size.  I didn't notice any weak audio, I suspect that early reports either had different firmware, or were accidentally covering the right channel mic with their hand.

Video verdict?  The Xperia ray is a very capable video recorder.  The Exmor R sensor does work and can be used in very difficult lighting situations.  Make sure you have a lot of storage though because HD video does chew up quite a bit of space.  I can now leave my ZS3 to the dedicated task of just scuba videos.  The Xperia ray will now be my everyday video device.

In the next entry -  The Interface : Timescape, Infinity Button, and Facebook Inside Xperia ... are they all that Sony Ericsson markets them to be?

**A usability tip: There are different camera shortcuts that you can add to your homepage for easy access.  I added the Camera and Video Camera shortcut.  It may not be a dedicated button, but it's a lot easier than scrolling through a menu!**

Tech Trivia: Bliss. A Windows Wallpaper Story

Few people ever wonder about the origins of their desktop wallpaper.  One of the most famous photos, viewed by billions of people around the world, is the default desktop wallpaper of Windows XP.  Simply named "Bliss" this was a beautiful photo of rolling green hills and blue skies.

I had never given it a second though until I took up photography as a hobby, since I had originally thought that it was a CG render.  But it's an actual photo.  With no manipulation either. Although named "Ireland" in the Dutch version of WinXP, it was taken in Sonoma County, CA by American photographer Charles O’Rear with a view camera.

"Bliss" taken in 1996 for Microsoft

Those beautiful rolling hills are no longer green and grassy.  Since then they have been turned into a vineyard.  Quite a far cry from the relaxing view that it originally had.

"Bliss" in 2006 taken by Simon  Goldin

My Mobile Office

Seeing as how most of you have Android or iOS devices,  I'd like to hear from all of you.  Take a photo of your mobile office IN ACTION... no "gadgets lined up on my desk at home" photos.  In a cafe, while walking, at the beach, in the woods, on a boat, by the pool, strapped to your MTB ... any place except at home or a traditional office.

Photos can be taken with any camera.  Hi-res is preferred but not required.

I want to post photos of how people use their gadgets around the world.

Photos will not be used for commercial purposes or sold, just for fun.  By submitting, you give me permission to post the photo on my blog for entertainment purposes only.  (No obscene photos please)

Please indicate the gadgets in use in the photo, type of internet connection if any, and how you use them.   And let me know if you'll allow me to use your name and country when I post the submitted photos.

ONE PHOTO ONLY!  So make it a good one.

All faces of people and plate numbers will be blurred out for privacy purposes (unless you want your face seen, then indicate that in your email as well)

Submit your photo to techgospel@johnlacson.com with the subject MY MOBILE OFFICE

Photo blog

A bit off topic,but the New York Times had an event called "A Moment In Time" where they compiled photos from all over the world to form a giant photo mosaic of one particular moment in time.

This was my entry.

Point and shoot...

I first got into photography simply to make my blog photos look nicer.  Coming from my SonyEricsson mobile phone cams, it was quite a step up when I got my Canon 400D.  Since then, most of my photos have either been using my DSLR, or my phone cam.

Last month, I decided to get my first real point & shoot camera.  The point & shoot I have is a Canon A80 which I got used and use exclusively for my underwater shots (This will change once the UW housing for my Lumix arrives...whenever that is...)

Veering away from the popular Lumix LX3, I decided to go for the ZS3/TZ7 for it's high zoom (12x, that's 25-300mm in SLR terms) capabilities.

I was never too fond of the automatic settings found on consumer cameras, but I have to say, Panasonic did good with their Intelligent Auto mode.  Unlike the bigger LX3, the ZS3 has no manual controls so you can only select iA mode or one of the many presets.  But it does a good job about 90% of the time.

And even though I do miss the manual controls, I am quite happy with how well the ZS3's iA setting performs in most conditions.  And even when the iA can't quite guess what you're taking a photo of, you can just select the right setting from the many presets that are built into the camera. (Sunset, Candlelight, Fireworks, and Underwater are just some of the many scenes to choose from)

The ZS3 can also record in 720p HD using the AVCHD Lite which basically means you've got a very decent camcorder with an excellent zoom lens built into the ZS3.

Over-all, the ZS3 is a very capable point & shoot camera.  I feel it offers more versatility than the popular LX3 due to the very long zoom.  It's a small, light, and relatively affordable camera.

If you're in the market for a good point & shoot camera, I would seriously recommend the Panasonic ZS3/TZ7 to be on your list of considerations.