Canon PowerShot S2 IS Camera

It's no secret that the Canon PowerShot S2 IS has its fair share of problems. Most of which have been talked about for the last 15 years online. Troubleshooting guides are plentiful. Some of the problems most discussed are screen issues [blank display], really quick battery drain [change the batteries screen message], memory card refusal and other memory card related issues. Mine has the battery drain problem. Camera takes normal AA's. When it drains, what I do is open the battery compartment and rub the terminals with my finger. Close the battery compartment, power it up, and it works again. This, for some reason, seems to revive the batteries. Maybe its a bad battery / terminal connection or something, I'm not sure. 

Sample picture of very dry and prickly Teasel I took with the Canon S2 IS

Anyway, I don't use it all that much anymore due to this problem, but I do like the camera. It has a good Auto mode, Macro and Super macro, an electronic view finder, and lots of other different settings to play with. It's unfortunate that it has issues because even today, it's still a good camera for its age. Nice to use. Zoom image quality isn't all that great most of the time, but it is an older digital bridge camera. However, in saying that, I could occasionally get lucky and snap a really good photo at a decent zoom length. If you find one of these cameras for sale with no issues, buy it. So cheap on eBay.

Interesting Panasonic FZ80 Zoom Test

And I thought the FZ50 had a far zoom. Yeah, maybe 10 years ago, but technology has progressed massively in the camera world since then. So, how does the Panasonic FZ80 compare to some of the other big zoomers in the world of Bridge cameras, like the Nikon P900, P950 and P1000. Well, it actually holds its own quite well. The test video below shows the capabilities of the FZ80's zoom by closing in on the planets. The planets are the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. The clip quality or closeness isn't that great for anything other than the Moon. But when it comes to zooming in on the same planets, like Saturn etc, even though they have more reach, it's similar with the big Nikon's mentioned above.

None of those can pick up clear or close footage of Jupiter, Saturn or Mars either. It might just be a bit closer with the Nikon's, but not by much. Which is understandable given how far away the planets are claimed to be away from the Earth. But when you consider the price difference, and also the difference in the zoom range length between the FZ80 and the Nikon's [Lumix 60 x optical Vs Nikon big three 83 - 125 x optical], the FZ80 is quite impressive. And its considerably smaller in size. But I should add. Looking at some of the birding sample images on the Imaging-resource.com website, I can't help but notice how bad they are. Lot's of noise. I know they were taken at far zoom lengths, but I expected much better quality than that. In RAW and JPG.

 

#Astrophotogaphy

4K Moon With Nikon Z6 Celestron C14 EdgeHD

How close can we get to the Moon without actually going there. Amazing 4K (2160p) north pole to south pole moon footage with a winning combination of a Celestron C14 EdgeHD [on 10Micron GM 2000 HPS], a Baader FFC and the Nikon Z6. The conditions were also perfect. I believe the footage was shot in Austria by Christoph Kaltseis. Stand alone cameras like the Nikon P950 can capture the Moon very close up, and the quality is good. But I've never seen anyone capture it so far with any of the Nikon Coolpix superzoom bridge cameras this clear without the use of additional equipment. But this set up costs a hell of a lot more than a P950, so really its an unfair comparison. With that said, the detail and sharpness of this footage is excellent. Channel: BaaderPlanetarium.

#Astrophotography #Scope #MacroMoon

Nikon P950 Can See Saturn

Without any additional lenses, telescopes, filters or anything else, the Nikon P950 can see Saturn. And also Jupiter. The footage quality isn't all that great, but due to the distance these planets are supposedly away from the Earth, to pick these planets up at all is an amazing feat. If you want to try and record Saturn with your P950, the settings used for this capture were, and I quote but with fixed English: "Shutter speed mode, ISO 100, shutter speed 1/50-1/250 (dependent on situation), manual focus (It's important), stativ [I think that's the tripod]. These settings are for photo and video." The zoom on the P1000 also has the ability to see the same planets. See it in action.

#Astrophotography #Space -You can buy the P950 in used or refurbished condition.

Residential Flats With Phone Masts

You'll have to excuse the bad picture taking, it was taken at full zoom by hand with a Panasonic Lumix TZ1. Who lives in a flat like this? Especially on the top floor. The people who do live on the top floor, and several below that, when home, are basically never more than a few meters away from a big cluster of phone masts / antennas operating above their heads. I don't know what speed or "G" they are, whether 4G or 5G, but this is not good for health. Studies with no conflicts of interest [not bought and paid for by organizations with a vested interest] show that phone masts, and EMF radiation in general, have been proven to be hazardous for humans and animals.

Location: Chivenor House, Castle Vale, Birmingham, UK

Surely there should be some type of laws in place that states phone masts must be a certain distance away from a person or their residence. There are so many conflicting reports on this. Some state 150 meters, others 250 meters, or yards. Not sure if that distance applies to flats. If it doesn't, it should. The people living in these flats are basically living directly under several phone masts. I wonder if any of the people that live there are concerned at all. Or are they unaware of the dangers. Do the residents have any health problems that could have been caused by these phone masts, which are emitting high levels of radiation most likely all day and night.

Kentucky fried residents. How is this allowed?

I'd love to go to the top floor with a good quality digital EMF radiation meter, like a Trifield TF2, walk around on the landing and stairs and see how high the read out is. I suspect it would be through the roof! Pardon the pun. What do you think the chances are that the levels are above the recommended ICNIRP guidelines. The “general public EMF limits” as ofcom UK calls them. My opinion: I'd say the levels would be much higher than what the telecom giant(s) who had them installed at this location claim it to be. But would any organization be held liable or punished in some way if the levels were found to be way too high?

Just a thought. Is there some sort of loop hole here. Where because each telecom organization own or rent just a few of the masts / antennas each, they can claim to be well under the ICNIRP guidelines for what they are using. But overall, with so many masts all together in one place, do the EMF levels actually go way above the safety limits when they are all combined.

Close up of one side. Wow. Ridiculous

So no ONE company can take any of the blame. Seems plausible, but I don't know for sure. If it were true, I think that all the telecom companies and the regulators who oversee the safety of the mast sites should all be held accountable. And telecom companies should not be allowed to cluster masts all together in one one spot like that if it means it highers the overall EMF radiation levels to unsafe limits. 

Are these considered small cells, and if so, do they fall under a different set of guidelines than the pole masts we now see everywhere on the street. If this is the case it's a very devious loophole. Because all the masts / antennas on this roof combined equate to probably two phone masts, either on a pole or attached to the top of a built up structure, so why should the rules be any different if the EMF output is just as high.

While I don't know for sure if the rules are different, and I haven't measured the levels at any mast site, it does appear that the safe distancing rules clearly don't apply here, or are not being followed. Could it be down to the fact that there's a thick layer of concrete [the roof floor] between the residents and the masts, or maybe the EMF levels fall within the "safe" EMF exposure limit zone.

Anyway, I was quite surprised when I seen this building, maybe because its a residential flat. But this is nothing new at all. With them being so high and not in line of vision I usually, subconsciously, take no notice because its becoming so common. Especially on commercial buildings. However, this one caught my eye, and I think its ridiculous how these masts are allowed to be in constant operation in such close proximity to where people live.

Nikon D3500 Second Hand

Nikon's D3500 is an affordable yet feature-rich DSLR that competes with the Canon EOS 6D. The camera has a 24 megapixel CMOS sensor, a 3-inch display [not touch screen], Expeed 4 image processing engine and Bluetooth connectivity. Although looked at as an entry-level DSLR camera, the D3500 is still a really good choice for both beginners to DSLR cameras, and also advanced amateurs who know how to get the most out of their camera and settings. All sample images in this post were taken with the D3500.

The Nikon D3500 can be found new and second hand here in the UK and here in the USA

 

The Nikon D3500 SLR has a DX-format CMOS sensor with an active resolution of 24.2 megapixels and a total of 11 autofocus points. While considered old by some in 2023, this high resolution sensor provides crisp images and allows the user to capture fine details. The EXPEED 4 image processor provides fast processing speeds and accurate image output. It supports 3D image tracking and can create live preview during video recording mode. Additionally, the processor can provide smooth video recording as well as high image quality. But, in all honesty, maybe its a personal preference more than anything else, but I think I prefer the image quality of the earlier Nikon D3100. Although there's not much between them.

France

 

The D3500 has versatile photographic capabilities. It's AF system allows users to track moving subjects accurately. The center point can focus on both the subject and the focusing point simultaneously. For maximum shooting speed, the D3500 has a continuous shooting rate of 5 frames per second. This feature allows for fast shooting when required.

The ISO range starts from 100, which gives you plenty of room to capture clear images. You can also manually adjust the ISO up to 25600 if you need images brighter. The D3500 also has built-in Bluetooth connectivity [There is no WiFi in this model] that allows you to wirelessly transfer photos to your smartphone or another smart device.

The curious Raccoon

 

But please note: the SnapBridge App is required [free]. If you want an a good, fairly cheap DSLR that's known for its excellent image quality and high frame video capabilities, this is a really good choice. I think it would also make a great cost effective vlogging camera. Sadly, this model has now been discontinued. However, it can be found for sale in very good second hand condition on eBay UK, USA and Canada. There's also a few on Amazon UK and US that are used and come with several VR and non-VR kits. Also available is a Twin lens kit [18-55mm + 70-300mm VR AF-P DX].

Can You Spot The Brown Mouse

One of a few pictures I took of some undergrowth where I knew a brown field / harvest mouse was shuffling around. This is a fairly easy one to spot compared to some of the other images I captured. But I suppose it could still be a little puzzle for someone who is seeing the picture for the first time. So, can you find the brown mouse? He is there. Click the image to enlarge, and if you need the photo bigger, right click it while enlarged and select view image for full size.

Grey Willow [Salix Cinerea]

Picture of Grey Willow [Salix Cinerea] flower seed pods and leaves. Some also refer to this tree / bush with the slightly different spelling of gray willow, as well as other names like Common sallow. Looks like its starting to disperse its seeds. Location: UK - Camera: Lumix.

Flowers: Black And White Vs Colour

While it is a personal preference, and very much depending on the scene and setting, black and white photography is, overall, my favourite type of photography. Most of the time It gives faces, people, expressions, street photography and many other subjects much more meaning and soul than colour photography. But with some subjects, such as flowers, having so much colour and vibrance, are almost always more appealing when shot in colour. Especially if they are the main focal point of a picture. To me at least. The good thing is, these days, with most cameras and smartphones having built-in editing abilities, you can have the best of both worlds. Take the picture in colour, then, if you want to, just convert / swap it over to black and white. Alternatively, the same can be done with many other effects. Such as vivid, warm, soft, sepia and many more. A quick comparison below.

Dog Rose in Black & White

Dog Rose in Colour [unedited]

Purple Roadside Flower Identification

There's been a few purple flowers posted on this blog. The nicest one which can be seen here, and ended up being identified by someone who kindly left a comment. This one is a much different flower, but is, again, one of those flowers that many people see on wasteland, in wooded areas, and at the roadside, but doesn't know what it's called. Well, for this one I found out myself by looking through an old readers digest book all about UK plants and wildlife. Great book. Turns out the flower [pictured below] is called Red Campion [Silene dioica]. Or sometimes referred to as Red catchfly. It's not known to be poisonous to humans, but eating it is not recommended.

Red Campion / Red catchfly

Landfill Methane Pressure Releaser

Picture reference. I don't know the professional, or industry name for this piece of equipment, so I'll call it a Landfill Methane Pressure Releaser. I've seen similar ones called either a landfill gas recovery well or landfill gas pressure release valve. But there are quite a few different styles and types, so I don't know if they are all performing the same function. This one was located on a landfill in the UK. Near Coleshill. Every now and then it makes a loud hissing noise. This, I think, is the methane gas from deep underground where the rubbish has been buried being released or captured. Gave me quite a fright the first time I was ever near one. I never knew what it was, and I didn't expect it to start hissing randomly. This picture was taken with the Panasonic FZ50.

 

Picture: A Newer Style Phone Mast [5G?]

I've been seeing these newer types of phone masts popping up for a while now. Is this 5G? I don't know for sure, but when I had a look on the Nperf mapping system, which shows where 5G is live all around the world. This location [first picture], which is Chester Road on the edge of Castle Vale Estate, Birmingham, UK shows as active on the map [highlighted purple]. Newport road also, which is practically part of Chester Road as they are joined.

This mast is situated on a public pathway. Whoever needs to walk this way, and this is a busy area, especially for people travelling to work on foot and on bikes [lots of businesses / industrial estates down this way, including Jaguar Land Rover]. Unless people are on the opposite side of the road, they must pass directly underneath this mast.

I presume this is a 5G tower. I've also seen this type of mast sometimes accompanied by a white or black pole, which is also a phone mast of some kind. I think I have a picture of that somewhere as well, so will add it to this post if I can find it. These newer style masts [see an older one] appear to have a protective thin metal, almost mesh-like covering all the way around the top. Is this to give the mast some added security due to a lot of masts getting attacked and burnt down over the last few years. It could also be to prevent birds from damaging them. I'm not sure.

A pair of very different looking masts very close together in Castle Bromwich, Birmingham.

If you want to look at your location to see how far or close you are away from 5G, take a look at the Nperf map system. Apparently its very accurate. There's also options to search for 3G and 4G coverage. For 5G, I believe the deeper the purple is on the map, the stronger the connection.

Pexels / Pixabay 4K Images

Do Pexels and Pixabay have 4K images. Yes they do. And they are royalty free to download and use. The way to find them is to just use the search bar. For both websites the term "4K" typed on its own is replaced with, or will automatically give you the results for "4K Wallpaper" and "HD Wallpaper". So any of these search terms should return a good haul of great images for you to use. The resolutions are big, and the quality is very high. The picture below is available at a maximum size of 6399 x 3599. I've made it much smaller for this post.

Picture: Owl in a tree. Camera: Canon EOS R5. Taker: @dkeats -Pexels

Steep Holm Image From Weston Beach

Steep Holm was a stop off point for all types of characters back in the day, including sailors and pirates. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time as an invisible man and just watch what it was like in real-time for a few hours. Maybe even take some pictures of footage. That not only applies to Steep Holm, but to many places in the UK and the world at certain periods in time. I bet Steep Holm has some stories, good and bad, that have never been told and are now probably lost forever. There's an old Inn / pub on the Island that's now in ruins but still standing. If only walls could talk. It's a mysterious place that has a lot of history, and I do plan on visiting it one day. Anyway, here's an image of Steep Holm from West Super Mare beach. The distance between them is around 5 miles.

See that boulder in the distance to the left, that's Steep Holm Island.