Digital cameras and Death Valley

PMA07, one of the biggest trade shows for the digital camera and imaging industry, ended recently. And Consumer Reports' Tech Editor, Jeff Fox, blogged daily from the show floor in Las Vegas to keep us up-to-date with developments and news of new cameras. (You can find his — and our all our PMA show-related posts — by clicking on this link.)

But for a different take on what happened at PMA (and in nearby Death Valley), Helen Popkin and I are joined in this 20-minute podcast by Senior Project Leader Kerry Allen and his team. Kerry, Artur Pietruch and Maria Grimaldi are the Consumer Reports technicians who test all of the digital cameras that we buy and report on for the magazine and Web site. But more than just "lab rats," they're also pro photographers who really know how to put a camera through its paces — in real world situations. (More on that below.)

You can listen to the podcast while you're reading this blog, or you can download the 9.6-megabyte file (ElecPod-0704.mp3) to your computer and/or MP3 player by right-clicking on this link.

In the first half of this podcast, Kerry and Artur reflect on some of the big news from PMA. Most notable were the Olympus 18X "super zoom" camera and those that had "facial recognition" features. But we also discuss how cameras (including digital SLRs) are becoming more "idiot-proof," smaller and more "stylish."

In the second half of the show (at just about 10-minutes into the podcast), we get to what Kerry calls "the highlight" of their trip out to Las Vegas — an excursion out to nearby Death Valley. Their purpose: To test digital cameras with a new feature — GPS, or Global Positioning System. 

As we mentioned in our last podcast, these cameras can capture images as well as actual map coordinates from space-based GPS satellites, typically used for navigation. Maria and Artur explain in this segment of the podcast how such location data can be used with Web sites such as Google Earth. You can see screen shots of what Maria was talking about during the podcast below:

 

(Click on each image for a more detailed look.)

As you can see, this kind of capability would be really handy if you want to share your pictures with others, so they can see — and be envious of — where you've been on vacation. Or as Artur and Helen mentioned, it's also a good high-tech way to help you remember where exactly you were for that once-in-a-lifetime moment.

But how well did they work? Kerry gave us some hints in the podcast, but a full report on these cameras will be in Consumer Reports magazine and on the Web site soon.

In the meantime, Kerry, Artur, and Maria were more than happy to close the podcast by sharing with us some of the pictures they took during their 10 hours in Death Valley. We've posted thumbnails of some of them here. To see them in all their glory, click on them for the full-size version. (BUT be warned: Each image is at least 2.5-megabytes in size, so you'll need a fast Net connection.)

The image on the right (a 2.7-megabyte file) is one of the four photos that were taken using a camera with GPS. By clicking on the first thumbnail image on the left above, you can see that this hollow shell of a building is located about 5-kilometers west of the junction of Nevada's state route 374 and U.S. Interstate 95.

In the full-size version, you'll see photo details the erosion of the building's bricks even though there's not a lot of light. Speaking of which, how about that sky as a backdrop, huh? Marvelous!

I love this image that Kerry took on the left. Take note of the subtle shades of colors of the sand dunes in the foreground. And that black "blotch" on the right? If you download the larger version (Warning: It's an 8.5+ megabyte file!), you'll see that it's a bird.

Kerry says that bird was the only living thing (aside from his fellow humans from the tour bus) he saw out there. (Umm, hence the name "Death Valley," Kerry?)

On the right is another great photo captured by our crew while out desert trekking. I'm not sure how that railroad caboose car on the right got to where it was in the middle of the Death Valley desert. (And there are no obvious train tracks around.) But its faded red color is a nice visual contrast to the bleak scrub brush around it.

If you download the full version (4.2 MB), you'll see the photo has good depth of field, meaning there's good range of focus. You can read the lettering on the caboose (and almost the sign near its door) as well as the sign on the foreground.

Our last photo shows just how impressive a digital SLR camera can be in the right hands. Open up the larger, nearly 8.5-megabyte version of the image on the left and you'll see there's a good amount of detail captured, despite the lack of light from a setting desert sun.

And as we mentioned in the podcast, this image was printed out on a 13- by 19-inch sheet of photo paper that just looked absolutely stunning to me and Helen.

If you're interested in knowing more about these photos — how they were composed, what settings to use, what resolution, etc. — drop us note using the "Comment" link below. Or, you can check out our  Web site for photography tips for winter and summer settings. (Please note, the summer photography guide is available to ConsumerReports.org subscribers only.)

We hope you enjoyed the podcast. As always, if there's a topic you'd like to hear our experts discuss, of if you have suggestions or questions, leave us a note below or send us an e-mail: podcaster "at" cro.consumer.org.

If you want to find and listen to all our previous podcasts on Electronics, click on this link.

— Paul Eng

Comments

[Eric]

I'm so glad that CR has a podcast, but it's not functioning in Itunes! Can you guys fix that?

Eric

[Steve Cornick]

Hi:

I suggest you downsize the photos to 72 dpi resolution and get the size below 1MB. They'll look great on the viewer's computers and will move through email channels more easily.

I enjoyed the last photo very much

Steve

[Paul Eng]

Hi Newton Dan,

Thanks for your comment. I'm assuming you're asking about the last of the four really big pictures that were posted on this entry? (And not the first really big one -- the one used with GPS tracking?)

Well, I tried to track down Kerry or Maria or Artur to give me more details about that last picture. But Kerry and "his crew" are super-busy with testing new digital cameras for an upcoming issue of Consumer Reports.

Still, Artur shot me an e-mail back with this info from the EXIF file from the camera (a Canon EOS 5D digital SLR, apparently) he used to take that picture.

I hope this helps!

-- Paul Eng, Sr. Web Editor

Make - Canon
Model - Canon EOS 5D
Orientation - Top left
XResolution - 72
YResolution - 72
ResolutionUnit - Inch
DateTime - 2007:03:07 17:43:55
WhitePoint - 0.31
PrimaryChromaticities - 0.64
YCbCrCoefficients - 0.30
YCbCrPositioning - Co-Sited
ExifOffset - 320
ExposureTime - 1/10 seconds
FNumber - 11
ExposureProgram - Aperture priority
ISOSpeedRatings - 100
ExifVersion - 0221
DateTimeOriginal - 2007:03:07 17:43:55
DateTimeDigitized - 2007:03:07 17:43:55
ComponentsConfiguration - YCbCr
ShutterSpeedValue - 1/10 seconds
ApertureValue - F 11.31
ExposureBiasValue - 0
MeteringMode - Unknown
Flash - Not fired, compulsory flash mode
FocalLength - 17 mm
UserComment -
FlashPixVersion - 0100
ColorSpace - Uncalibrated (-1)
ExifImageWidth - 4368
ExifImageHeight - 2912
InteroperabilityOffset - 4574
FocalPlaneXResolution - 3086.93
FocalPlaneYResolution - 3091.30
FocalPlaneResolutionUnit - Inch
CustomRendered - Normal process
ExposureMode - Auto
White Balance - Manual
SceneCaptureType - Standard

Maker Note (Vendor): -
Macro mode - Normal
Self timer - Off
Quality - Fine
Flash mode - Not fired
Sequence mode - Single or Timer
Focus mode - MF
Image size - Large
Easy shooting mode - Manual
Digital zoom - None
Contrast - Normal
Saturation - Normal
Sharpness - Low , -32769
ISO Value - 32767
Metering mode - Center weighted
Focus type - Auto
AF point selected -
Exposure mode - Av-priority
Focal length - 17 - 40 mm (1 mm)
Flash activity - Not fired
Flash details -
Focus mode 2 - 65535
White Balance - Auto
Sequence number - 0
Flash bias - 0.00 EV
Subject Distance - 0
Image Type - Canon EOS 5D
Firmware Version - Firmware Version 1.0.1
Owner Name - Artur Pietruch
Camera Serial Number - 620301399
File number - 000 - 0008

Thumbnail: -
Compression - 6 (JPG)
XResolution - 72
YResolution - 72
ResolutionUnit - Inch
JpegIFOffset - 4722
JpegIFByteCount - 10670

[Newton Don]

How did you meter the photo with the setting sun and the dark desert in front? Manual, auto? Its remarkable how well the contrasting elements were captured. Which camera and lens, ISO setting?

[Was it edited, or a problem with the camera?]

The last image, _mg_6541 or LargeImage4.jpg, has a red line at the border of the hills and the sky. Is this a problem with the camera, or was the sky/foreground edited together?

Dan

[Paul Eng]

Hi Kahn,

We've had some difficulties with our media servers -- which also host all of the online videos you see on ConsumerReports.org and in our special coverage areas, such as the recent Auto shows.

The images should download faster now.

Let us know if you still have problems access the larger photos posted in this podcast blog.

Thanks.

-- Paul Eng

[Kahn Soomer]

Why did these images take so long to download? I have a broadband connection and my rated speed is 8 Megabits/sec. = 1000 Kilobytes/sec. These jpg files should have downloaded in moments. Instead, they each took the better part of a minute. Does Consumer Reports not have a good hosting service, or are downloads from your site deliberately speed-limited in some way?

[Paul Eng]

Sorry, Roy -- and anyone else reading this blog after listening to the podcast.

I've put in the missing HTML code for the last two embedded images so you can now download/view the larger pictures. (Again, they are HUGE, so make sure you have a fast Net connection before clicking on the embedded images!!!)

-- Paul Eng

[Roy Ewing]

These are FANTASTIC photos, but the best, IMHO, was missing a download link.

_mg_6541, the dark landscape with the gorgeous sky backdrop, did not have a download link!

Can you send me a link to this file?

Thank you,

Roy