A.C. KLEINHEIDER has more thoughts on pundits who misunderstand Tennessee politics.

They should learn a bit more, or at least let Michael Barone inform their views a bit.

DIGITAL CAMERA CARNIVAL, PART TWO: The stuff on these seems to be coming in faster than I can get around to posting it. Maybe I’ll do a part three! Maybe not . . . . Here’s a link to Part One in case you missed it.

Reader Kelaine Vargas emails:

With info from one of your earlier camera blogs, I bought the Sony DSC-T10 and am thrilled with it. I really wanted one that would fit in my jeans pocket–the images are great, and it has a lot of functional and actually useful options. It also uploads into Picasa on my Dell laptop very easily. But the coolest thing about it was the ingenious waterproof case you can buy for it. It might not take brilliant underwater pictures, but so far on a motorboat, on the beach and in a kayak, it has been indispensable–I’ve been the only one who could take pictures without worrying about getting wet or sandy!

Those are available for a lot of small digital cameras. So are more sophisticated cases for scuba photography, though I have always just rented underwater cameras myself. Reader Lee Earle emails:

My choice is the Pentax Optio T10. I picked it up overseas when my old Olympus gave up the ghost.

What sold me on it is that there are NO tiny selectors or dials. Everything but the on/off, shutter, and review is touch-screen – as with many video digicams.

For old folks like me, it is superbly easy to use. Tons of features and controls (most of them I’ll never use) that are easily accessible via fingertip control. When reviewing shots at increased magnification, it even offers touch-&-drag’ – much like Yahoo maps – to move the image within the ‘window’ to see additional areas and detail.

Sound, movies, and even note taking, right on the photo!

That is pretty cool. With more of the populace getting older and bifocalish, maybe one of my pet peeves regarding electronics — tiny, low-contrast labels on switches and jacks — will finally be addressed.

Reader Luke Holder sends this link and writes: “I am a Marine Corps officer, pursuing photography as an hobby, and have only recently started a blog to share my work. My post isn’t so much about my camera as it is about my pictures … but isn’t a camera all about the pictures anyway?” Yes, it is.

Reader Kirk Parker writes: “I’m a film-camera old dog just looking at transitioning to digital. (How old? My favorite SLR is the all-mechanical Pentax KX.) I find the possibility of using ‘old glass’ on a digital camera very interesting. One thing that concerns me is the difference in image area between the digital sensor and the 24x36mm film size in 35mm. How does this translate to ‘effective’ focal length? I’d love hearing more from some of your readers like Trey Monroe on this subject.” This depends on sensor size, but generally there’s a significant stepup in effective focal length — on my Nikon, for example, a 12mm lens is equivalent to an 18mm lens on a 35mm camera.

Reader Jim Martin notes that there are issues to mounting old Nikon lenses on Nikon digital SLR bodies, and sends a link to this report by Nikon blogger Thom Morgan: “The original F-mount appeared in 1959, and lenses that were produced from then until about 1979 are usually referred to as Pre-AI. These lenses are dangerous on current Nikon bodies. With the exception of a modified F5, mounting one of these lenses on your new Nikon will result in damage, so don’t even try it. If you find that you have one of these lenses and want to use it on a current camera, you must have the lens converted to AI first. Nikon used to do this, but now it’s done by a number of independent companies.” There’s a handy table of what works and what doesn’t, too.

Martin also sends a link to these cool photos by Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

Here’s more thinking on lenses from Alan Digman:

Completely agree with Trey Monroe regarding good glass. I, too, own a D50 DSLR (and have been an avid photographer for about 30 years). The difference between a kit lens and a higher quality ‘faster’ lens is nothing short of astonishing. While decent gear in general is important, I agree with Ken Rockwell that the most important thing with photography is the hands in which the camera rests. I can’t say enough about Ken’s excellent, practical advice.

Just remember…Shoot until you can shoot no more….That’s the beauty of digital.

Yes, and shooting, and reviewing, lots of pictures will make you a better photographer. And Ken Rockwell is always full of good advice.

Reader James Goneaux writes that he’d really like this 160 megapixel camera, but that he thinks he’ll spend the price on something else: “Like my son’s college years. All of them.”

Tom Grey has an interesting request:

Please advise on a digital camera with video AND with a setting for audio only recording — so I can take a picture, or a short video, or a long recording without picture. Cameras with the Video, like my Canon Powershot A85, have everything technically there, except a switch to just record audio only. You’ve already noted how the microphones for video are often pretty good.

An audio recording camera would be excellent for little podcasts for Pajamas Media, possibly with a single still picture — like so many news shows are now doing.

That would be a nice feature. Of course, most video editing programs — and many audio editing programs — will let you extract the audio from a video recording, but you’re wasting memory if all you want is audio.

Paul Worthington has a post on wide-angle photography and digital cameras. He likes the Kodak V570 because it supports a wider field of view than most small digital cameras. It’s also stylish and attractive.

Robert Finley has a bag-bleg: “I have a D70. I love it, for every reason you could conceivably love a camera. One thing I don’t love, however, is my old cam bag that I’m using. It’s a leftover from my film SLR. I would love input on a simple, durable bag that is appropriate for a very high activity level (hiking and stuff like that). I’ve dug around on the web, and have found little in the way of objective reviews.”

Aaron Vienot writes to disagree with my preference for cameras that use AA batteries:

IMO, your preference for cameras that use commodity battery types (e.g. AA), brushes past two important points: cost (high) and battery life (low, in my experience).

My previous camera was a cheap 4MP fixed-lens that used two AAAs. A friend still has an older-but-nice 3MP that uses two AAs. Battery consumption rates in both cameras was/is phenomenal. I tried lithium AAAs (cost: about $2.50/cell) in my camera and the life expectancy maybe tripled as compared to alkalines, although the depletion mode was deceptive: the camera would report full battery power until about two minutes before the lithium cells were unusable.

That camera failed under warranty and I decided to trade up to a proper zoom lens. I chose a Casio Exilm EX-Z60. It has a huge LCD display, a 3X optical zoom, a 6MP resolution, and a 3.7V Li-Ion battery.

Several months later, I can report that the battery life is excellent. The battery recharges from AC in about two hours; the charging dock is compact enough to travel comfortably in a smaller camera case. A spare battery was also purchased for the camera. I have yet to be stranded, not even during an all-day Fourteener hike in the Colorado Rockies. The spare would have paid for itself in under a year, except that I got in on sale: it has already paid for itself. I want nothing more to do with cameras that require consumable batteries.

On the other hand, reader Pat Slattery emails:

Last night a friend’s daughter’s Sony digital camera battery caught fire on her dresser and started the room on fire. Fortunately, they extinguished the fire (which was spreading rapidly). This was a new battery she’d just received from Sony. Have you heard of this happening to anyone else, like the problem with the laptop batteries a few months ago? Apparently this thing didn’t just smoke, it literally went up in flames large enough to ignite the pictures on the wall, etc. Her daughter’s friend happened to be in the room when it ignited and said that it just suddenly started burning.

I searched google news for “sony digital camera battery fire” and didn’t find any reports.

Over at DailyPundit, David Gillies posts a review of his Canon Powershot SD600.

Meanwhile, Lynne Kiesling likes her waterproof Pentax Optio W10.

And N.Z. Bear has a review, including photos of his new Canon SD800IS, which he likes a lot.

One interesting thing I’ve noticed is that people usually love their digital cameras. Part of this is because cameras — especially digital cameras — are cool, and they’re a kind of creative partner in something we like. I think it’s also because (as Lynne kind of notes) they keep getting better even faster than we expect.

Of course, Chester has a blog post that should be entitled “Who needs a digital camera when you’ve got a RAZR phone?”

And here’s a lot of advice from a reader who says (s)he is well positioned to know:

If you use this please do so anonymously. Since I work for a major retailer, and I’m a bit sharp about some of our supplier’s products, I’d rather not have my name attached to this one.

I run a photo lab for a major retailer, and see a lot of prints from a lot of cameras. On the side, I do the occasional wedding for a little extra spending money, using a Canon 20D. Because I’m such a camera freak, I keep a small point and shoot with me everywhere I go. Here’s my thoughts on what I’ve seen in your first camera carnival post, and what I’ve seen on the market so far. YMMV, etc.

Prime lenses are nice, but Image Stabilized or Vibration Reduction zoom lenses are a lot more versatile. In the digital era, one shouldn’t be changing lenses any more than necessary, as dust on the sensor is a pain to clean off. My favorite lenses are ones that start at about 28mm equivalent (for the smaller APS “C” class sensors most manufacturers seem to prefer) and end up at 300mm equivalent. Nikon has a nice 18-200mm VR, as do Sigma and Tamron. Canon, as usual, is playing catch up. If you’re an enthusiast or a pro with specialized needs, buy primes. Otherwise, don’t waste space and weight in your camera bag.

The best point and shoot camera on the market for image quality and versatility, bar none, is the Fuji F30. Yes, it tends to blow out highlights a bit in bright sunlight, nothing that can’t be corrected with a -2/3 EV, easily accessible through the EV button the manufacturer thoughtfully provides on the camera body. But this beast really shines indoors, with an ISO range from 100-3200. At ISO 800, the F30 has less digital noise than most cameras at ISO 200. That makes all the difference in the world between getting the shot and not. As if that weren’t nough, Fuji’s iFlash system really does work wonders, rarely causing red eye, and providing far better illumination than any other camera in it’s class. Add to that a 580 shot life for the battery (if you use flash half the time, which you really won’t need to), a very sharp, distortion free lens, and you’ve got a winner.

So what if it’s only 6MP? I’ve got news for the camera manufacturers: Pixel stuffing is killing the industry. There’s not a compact or point and shoot camera over 8MP I’d dirty my hands with. I wouldn’t even own them for a paperweight, they’re that bad. Image quality for compacts peaked at 7MP, and went downhill from there. Too many pixels on the sensor means too little light at each pixel site, which means too much noise in the image.

DSLR’s are getting cheaper all the time. At the moment, almost every major lens manufacter out there has a compatible digital body. Given that DSLR sensors are 5 or more times larger than compact camera sensors, the consumer can expect DSLR pictures to be as much as 5 times better, particularly in terms of digital noise.

So what should you buy? If you need a compact, buy something with no more than 8MP, preferably 7MP or less. You know my feelings for Fuji, but they’re not the only good manufacturer out there. I bought a Canon A620 for my mother. The Canon A710IS has been very favorably reviewed. Nikon is usually very good, Kodak is easy to use, as is Pentax, and Casio definitely lives up to their motto, “The unexpected extra!”. In a good way, I mean.

If you need an ultrazoom, the Fuji S6000FD is on my Christmas list, and almost all of the other manufacturers have decent offerings. The Canon S3IS, Sony H2, and Panasonic FZ7 spring to mind. The Nikon S10 is pretty nifty if you need a small camera in this class.

If you need a digital SLR, buy whatever body matches your lenses, or if you have no lenses, go to a camera shop and try out the different models. In fact, that’s good advice, no matter what camera class you plan to purchase. But whatever you do, be skeptical of claims made by salespeople, particularly those who receive commissions.

Indeed.

Over at Brain Fertilizer an ode to the Lumix FZ10.

I’d hoped for more on printers, but over at The Online Photographer, a first look at the new HP 9180 printer — which looks to be pretty cool indeed.

And, finally — this came in just as I was posting here — Brian Frye is photoblogging from Alaska. Lots of cool pix. That’s what the cameras are for!

JOHN TAMMES ROUNDS UP news from Afghanistan that you may have missed.

ARE “CHRISTIANISTS” TAKING OVER TENNESSEE? Clark Stooksbury wonders how he missed it: “Maybe I have breathed in too much smoke from cross burnings or have been bitten at too many snake handling services, but I hadn’t previously considered how the post-election decision of one Tennessee network affiliate to preempt a Madonna concert for such ‘Christianist’ propaganda as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off would have on the election in Tennessee two weeks earlier. ”

Perhaps that’s more of Ann Coulter’s space-time bending at work. Plus, Stooksbury observes: “The other big election in Tennessee was for governor. We reelected Phil Bredesen, the son of a Tennessee dirt farmer who became a Pentecostal preacher. No wait, Bredesen is actually a New Jersey born, Harvard educated health care executive who was overwhelmingly reelected this year — he carried every county.” Subtle they are, those Christianists.

UPDATE: Subtler than I knew! James Somers emails:

I couldn’t help but notice that here in Connecticut tonight, one of the network affiliates is going to be running “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” in primetime. What does this mean? Sure, Connecticut is the only state in America that, without being compelled by a court order, enacted legislation recognizing civil unions between gays. Sure, we nominated Ned Lamont to run for Senate. But you know, I’m sure they could have run a Madonna concert instead of this Matthew Broderick hash if they had wanted. From this I can only assume that Puritanism isn’t dead here in New England, and that the dark forces of the Theocratic Christianist Theoconservatives are alive and well in the Nutmeg State. Can we be far at all from banning kite-flying and conducting mass executions at soccer stadiums?

This whole “Christianist” thing is kind of silly, as episodes like this one illustrate. At best, it’s a vapid book-marketing term, but it seems more like a variety of bigotry on its own account, and a pretty empty variety of bigotry at that.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Like I said. Sheesh.

THE INSTA-WIFE IS NOT AMUSED at the HuffPo prayer for Dick Cheney’s death, comparing it to Michael Richards’ outburst.

ANOTHER PUTIN CRITIC IS DEAD.

KITCHENWARE RECOMMENDATIONS from Bill Quick.

I don’t have much to add to those, although we’ve been very happy with this latest iteration of the venerable George Foreman grill, which has removable dishwasher-safe grill plates. I threw away the old one in disgust a couple of years ago because it was so hard to clean. This one isn’t. We mostly use it for making Paninis — I haven’t tried out the waffle attachment yet, but it looks as if it should work well.

HARD COMPRESSION, SOFT COMPRESSION: My earlier post on hardware compressors drew a response from Ed Driscoll suggesting that software compression is just as good. Yes and no.

I use a lot of compression on podcasts — much, much more than I use on music, where my instinct is generally to fiddle with the original signal as little as possible. (In fact, getting bolder about that is one thing that improved our sound quality a lot over the first several episodes). And I do the compression on the .wav files in the computer. But I also use hardware compression on the input side, mostly so that when somebody laughs, coughs, etc., it doesn’t produce a peak signal that’s loud enough to produce distortion. I could accomplish the same thing by just recording at a lower level and then boosting levels on the .wav file in the computer later, but I find it’s always best to start with a good, loud, clean signal — you can do a lot in the digital realm, but you can do a lot more if you start out with a pretty good signal to begin with.

As with the noise reduction software — Ed likes Soundsoap, which is for the Mac, I get the same thing with the noise reduction routine in Adobe Audition — there are limits to how far you can go without introducing artifacts. When we do the podcast interviews by phone I always record a few seconds of silence up front (which is really a few seconds’ sample of the telephone line noise) and then, when processing later, I sample that, tell Audition to take out everything that sounds like that, and generally produce a pretty dramatic improvement. Nonetheless, I try to start with as little noise as possible. The noise reduction is pretty good — when we interviewed Michael Zemel in his office, there was a loud air conditioner outside, and the noise reduction removed that so efficiently that you could hear the room reverberation when we talked, something that was completely masked by the air conditioner noise on the original file. But that was taking it about as far as it would go. My own philosophy of signal processing, unless you’re deliberately trying to produce something distorted and weird, is that less is more. Not everyone agrees, of course, but the better the signal you start with, the more room you have for fiddling with it later.

UPDATE: Ed Driscoll emails that Soundsoap isn’t just for Macs, and he’s right. Sorry — I hadn’t realized there was a PC version, too.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Boy, write about music-geek stuff and the email pours in:

Tom Spaulding here, guitar tech for John Fogerty, currently with Hall and Oates on their promo tour for their excellent Christmas CD “Home For Christmas”. I’m blogging that tour at Caught Up In The Fable.

I agree with most of your take on signal processing, but you might get better results in eliminating air conditioning noise by using a high pass filter on your interview mic. I’m sure you are aware of the “bass
roll-off” switch on most microphones that typically attenuates the amount of low end (100hz or lower). There’s not much useable info down there in a voice interview and eliminating it at the source (the mic) will let the algorithm of the software noise reducer work more efficiently in removing the rest of the noise.

I tend to favor the Waves De-noiser plug-ins in Cubase and Nuendo…very useful. Another good hardware compressor that can be bought cheaply is the half-rack dbx 163X. Ebay has them for around $50-100 dollars: one slider that reads “more” is all you need!

Yes, I keep the roll-off switch on on the Edirol all the time, and will probably never remove it unless I record a concert or something. And check out Tom’s blog for lots of cool photos and guitar-geekery. I should note that Bob Britt, who’s playing as Fogerty’s second guitarist at the moment (or at least when I saw him on an MHD special recently), is really, really good.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Lawrence Faria emails:

Having John Fogerty’s technician confirm your compression tactics is heavy duty confirmation that you really know what you’re doing. I’m surprised, though that in the discussion of your instinct to preserve as much as possible of the original signal didn’t include getting the best possible signal with the best possible microphone.

In an October 28th post, you mentioned your experience with your brother’s old Western Electric phone. You mentioned you wish you had one. Bill Quick noted that post, and added that they often turn up at Goodwill and the Salvation Army.

If you want one, you now have a place to look for one of the most durable products ever made. If you can arrange to have an university official see you rummaging around in those places, you might even get a pay raise out of it.

Heh. Alas, though, it’s the phone that our interviewees are talking on that raises problems. On my end, it’s a fairly decent AKG C3000 condenser microphone.

JANE HAMSHER: Cementing the Democrats’ position by calling swing voters stupid.

Plus, praying for Dick Cheney’s death, at the Huffington Post.

Just in case you thought that bitter, angry losers would become less bitter and angry after winning one.

GETTING THANKSGIVING WRONG, at the New York Times.

WELL, EVERYBODY’S GONE, the second load of dishes is in the dishwasher — only two more to go! — and a good time was had by all. The crowd gets bigger as new births and marriages outweigh losses. Our tribe is increasing! We did the traditional toast to those who aren’t with us for reasons of time or space, and everyone had a great time. The two legs of lamb disappeared as if piranhas had gotten to them; ditto the turkey. (No Turducken for us.) Plus stuffing, various casseroles, deviled eggs by the dozen, and a whole bunch of desserts. Also a fair amount of beer and wine. But while consuming mass quantities was once a big deal — a splurge — now we’re all used to having plenty of food. Now the real splurge consists in getting everyone to take time from their busy schedules to all get together. It’s a feast of no-other-priorities! I like it. I think that Thanksgiving is actually my favorite holiday, because it’s all about getting the family together. When I was a kid, I was bigger on presents. Now, that is the present.

UPDATE: Some readers want the leg of lamb recipe. It’s here, along with some others. And this recipe is a good one, too.

TOO BUSY COOKING to put up the next installment of the Digital Camera Carnival today — I’ll post it tomorrow. Entries keep coming in!

Meanwhile, if you missed it, here’s part one.

IN THE MAIL: S.M. Stirling’s new novel, The Sky People, an alternate-history kind of science fiction novel in which the cold war was much cooler — and so was Venus. Mars, on the other hand, is warmer. Neat idea. Here’s how he described it in an interview I did with him a while back:

Right now I’m working on an alternate history series which might be summed up as “What if the background of some of the pulps existed in the real world?”

In the 1950’s, we discovered that Earth was definitely the sole inhabitable planet in this solar system, which was a terrible blow to traditional SF.

In my new alternate history, we discover instead that we have two other habitable, and in fact inhabited, planets. Mars is a cold, dry world of ancient ruined cities, thinly peopled by the decadent descendants of lost civilizations (or are they?); Venus a hot, wet, fecund one of primitive humans (and other hominids) with an archaic fauna.

Then I try to treat everything else in as densely realistic a style as I can. It makes for an interesting contrast.

Looks good. Cool cover, too.

WHAT THE SYRIANS WANT FROM JAMES BAKER:

He said that the price was not the Golan, but rather to get the international tribunal investigating the assassination of former Lebanese prime Minister Rafiq Hariri called off, and to allow Syrian influence and involvement – although maybe not troops – in Lebanon.

“The Syrians are terrified by the prospect of the tribunal,” the official said, “and they want it called off. That is their top priority, and as a by-product they want to keep a hold on Lebanon.”

The Golan was “in no way” the top agenda item for Assad, he said, who was concerned that the tribunal could actually threaten his regime.

“Assad’s regime is a small Alawite clique, with some Sunni allies,” the official explained. “If some of the cornerstones of this very small and tight clique are taken out to be tried, judged and convicted, then the whole building may collapse and this is what Assad is worried about.”

The official said Assad knew who would be implicated and tried, and that – if not Assad himself – it was people “very, very close to him, the top officials of the regime.”

Hmm. But will Baker decide we should sell Lebanon to the Syrians in exchange for empty promises on Iraq? That would be the way to bet, I fear, but perhaps I’m wrong. (Thanks to reader Jim Brown for the link).

Meanwhile, Gemayel’s funeral turns into an anti-Syria rally.

UPDATE: More worries about Bush going wobbly: “The last two years of eight-year presidencies are historically difficult, particularly after a loss in the final midterm elections. Eisenhower in 1959-60 assumed a more aggressive conservative posture by firing off multiple vetoes of excessive spending legislation. During the Iran-contra scandal, Ronald Reagan in 1987-88 was steadfast in pursuing Cold War victory. But the way George W. Bush handled Rumsfeld was not a good sign for his concluding years as president.”

REGULATING NANOTECHNOLOGY under FIFRA? “Under the new determination, first reported on Tuesday by the Daily Environment Report, a Washington publication, and confirmed yesterday by the EPA, any company wishing to sell a product that it claims will kill germs by the release of nanotech silver or related technology will first have to provide scientific evidence that the product does not pose an environmental risk.”

UPDATE: Chris Peterson has thoughts on this at Nanodot.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Howard Lovy isn’t surprised.

A LIST OF THINGS that American journalists should be thankful for.

BE THANKFUL FOR BECCY COLE. They call her “the anti-Dixie Chick,” but that’s appropriate as much for the measured and adult tone of her response to critics as for her actual political views.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! It’ll be the usual here — I’m cooking leg of lamb (actually, 2 of ’em) and a turkey for a family get-together featuring my family and Helen’s. (They’ll bring the other dishes, so it’s not as heavy a cooking load as it sounds.) It’s about 25 people. We always have a good time, and the weather looks like it’ll be good.

DISTURBING THE PEACE with potato guns.

I think it was more like one of these than one of these.

CARRYING WEAPONS IN NATIONAL PARKS: It seems like a good idea to me. It’s not like there’s a cop on every corner.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON:

The problems in Iraq, in the radical Middle East at large—with democratization, with nuclearization, with Islamism—are not, repeat not, a lack of dialogue with Syria and Iran.

We know what both rogue states wish and it is our exit from the Middle East and thus a free hand to undermine the newly established democracies of Lebanon and Iraq—in the manner that all autocracies must destroy their antitheses.

They both sponsor and harbor terrorists for a reason—to undermine anything Western: a Western-leaning Lebanese democracy, a Western-style democracy in Iraq, a Westernized Israel, or soldiers of the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Syria, as we see once again with the killing of Pierre Gemayel, is practicing serial murdering in Lebanon. . . . Iran is a rogue nation that seeks bombs to use them against the region’s only viable democracy in Israel. Neither Damascus nor Teheran can tolerate a democratic Iraq—no more than the Soviet Union would have allowed the Baltic Republics to have pro-Western democracies or Nazi Germany wished to be a partner in peace with republican Czechoslovakia.

Yes, yes, we need perhaps to have a national “dialogue”, but not over talking to Iran and Syria—but instead whether we wish to continue to fight and win this war.

Read the whole thing.

LAST NIGHT I went to a program at the Knoxville News-Sentinel’s offices by the Society of Professional Journalists. The topic, naturally enough, was blogs and media. Helen came along — for us, this counted as a romantic night out. Yes, we are geeks.

Other participants have already blogged it, so you can read accounts from Randy “SKBubba” Neal (pictured with me to the right), and Bob Stepno. I learned from News Sentinel editor Jack McElroy that they’ll be distributing cheap digital video cameras to their reporters, to add web video content to their stories. I think that’s an excellent idea.

MCCARTHYISM AT DUKE.

MARY KATHARINE HAM has posted a special NASCAR-themed edition of HamNation.

GIVING THANKS TO NEW YORK FIREFIGHTERS, at Popular Mechanics.

Plus, fast turkey-cooking with a rocket grill.