This is a wonderful year’s diary of a girl’s 2011 in LA, a few seconds at a time.

I think it speaks strongly to the power of visual imagery to spark memory and emotion.

2011 from hey_rabbit on Vimeo.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A good compilation of Mr. Yon’s blog posts plus some original material from the relevant period of his war reporting in Iraq. The story is worthy, but the book is fatally flawed by a lack of professional editing. Mr. Yon’s war reporting deserves 10 stars, but the book, as a book, does not.

Michael Yon is unsurpassed in current-generation, in person, ground-truth war reporting. His honest perspectives on the day-to-day lives of the soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen (and women) are comparable only to the previous generations’ Ernie Pyle and Joe Galloway.

Mr. Yon has done his best to leverage the modern day’s blog and social media channels to get his message out, and is perhaps the world’s best known example of an independent, consumer supported, front line reporter. He is independent, works for no news agency, and is entirely economically supported via donations and book sales.

If you haven’t read his blog or his Facebook stream, they are worth the time. They are probably the only unfiltered information you will ever see about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. By unfiltered I do not mean entirely objective. Mr. Yon has a point of view and he is very honest about reflecting that point of view in his messages. That honesty is what makes his reporting real, believable and, ultimately, valuable.

He has not been immune to being used by the media, the military, the politicians and others seeking to leverage gain. Even so, the net-net of what you gain from his raw dispatches from the field more than offset the spin-machine manifestations of his material.

* Blog: http://www.michaelyon-online.com/
(You will struggle to find a way to read his blog posts/reports from beginning to end. The blog site is not reflective of current-era content management system (CMS) capability so it’s nearly impossible to read things in a chronological order. Again, Mr. Yon’s work deserves better.)

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelYonFanPa…
* Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Michael_Yon

All of this adds up to an extraordinary person who has made amazing sacrifices to bring back stories and photos from wars and trouble spots all over the world, but especially Iraq and Afghanistan.

We are all in his debt for his efforts.

Having said all of that, Mr. Yon desperately needs a professional editor. His books are primarily compilations of his blog posts and are mostly direct copy and paste efforts. Consequently, they suffer from misspellings, grammar errors, reptition/duplication and other things you expect in a blog post pounded out while under fire at the front lines but don’t expect to find in a professional level book. Mr. Yon’s writing and photography deserve better.

As a writer, Mr. Yon shows continuing development since his early days, and has found his voice.

As a photographer, Mr. Yon demonstrates the power and capability of modern camera equipment. By that I mean that he has been able to bring back good, solid imagery, even from his initial efforts. He continues to improve as a shooter and his hard work and dedication in learning this new medium are obvious in the improvement he has shown over the years.

Summary:
* As a war reporter: Among the best – ever – from any era.
* As a writer: Good, with a mature and capable voice. Very much needs a professional editor for his books.
* As a photographer: Still a work in progress. The camera is not yet a fully formed tool in Mr. Yon’s hands, a tool that he can use as a medium of expression as he can his writing. He’s been moving through the stages of learning what all the controls are for, but even then his camera gear has been capable of bringing back amazing imagery. He’s at the point where he can capture a shot. As a shooter, that is different from creating a photograph as a means of expression. I believe he will continue to evolve and grow and will eventually develop an eye as a shooter, as he has developed a voice as a writer. Endless kudos to Mr. Yon for taking the gear into battle and capturing the shots.

Again, we are all in his debt for his efforts.

Regardless of how you feel about any of the conflicts, countries, regions or religions Mr. Yon covers, you will be hard pressed to find a more open and direct channel into what is actually happening there. Other information sources bring you the remains of multiple layers of filter, skew and spin. Mr. Yon brings you the ground truth.

View all my reviews

In the intervening years, it hasn’t gotten any better. In fact, you can make the case that it’s only gotten worse.

For instance, in the latest update to Adobe Photoshop Elements (PSE), a photo tool that Steph uses, every photo is automatically time shifted relative to the computer. I’ve poked around on the PSE user forums and I cannot find any evidence of a groundswell of users clamoring for this feature. In fact, I’ve never met, seen or talked to a photographer anywhere at anytime who ever expressed a need for this. Sadly, this unwanted photo metadata driven capability has created havoc for PSE users, who are all now anxiously awaiting a fix in the next release.

I’m currently working on a big photo project and I ran across some metadata issues related to the tool that I use, Adobe Lightroom.

Consequently, I took some time this week to create a couple of utilities to address two challenges:

1. Synchronizing / matching / equalizing the date/time across all metadata fields in all relevant files. Photo organizing and editing tools often enable users to change the photo capture time. This can fix photos that were created while on vacation in other time zones, to display properly with photos created on a different camera on the same day or that need to be aligned with a GPS track for geoencoding. Unfortunately, when the user edits the photo create date and time, they are only editing one of many date/time metadata fields that are stored in a wide variety of places in the digital photo files. It’s bad enough with a simple JPG file where there are only 25 possible date/times storage slots available, but if you are shooting RAW, there are three different files and 56 different places that date/time information can be stored for every single image you create.

Just about every photo organizing or editing tool, as well as every different web photo hosting site, uses a different one of those date/time fields to sort, display or organize the photos. Consequently, you can be faced with a total mess if you change the capture date in one photo organizing or editing application and then try to upload those photos to your favorite photo web site. They can sort and display just as you expect them in your desktop application and be a total mess on the web, or visa versa.

Even something as simple as sharing a photo with somebody gets to be complicated. On your photo tool, the photo can display a completely different date and time than what appears for your friend when they view the very same photo you emailed them.

To make things even worse, it seems every single photo organizing or editing tool and web site labels the date/time fields differently.

Which of these photo tool date/time labels is the time you shot the photo?:

• Modify Date
• Date Time Original
• Capture Time
• Photo Date
• Create Date
• Date Created
• Digital Creation Date
• Date Time Digitized
• Date Acquired
• Timestamp
• Metadata Date

Sometimes, the same date/time field is labeled differently even within the same tool. For instance, Adobe Lightroom labels the very same date/time data “Capture Time” and “Date Time Original” depending on where you are in the tool.

You will search long and hard for a photo organizing / editing tool that accurately labels date/time information or enables you to see exactly which of the 23 or 59 different possible sources it is using for the date/time the tool is showing you.

2. Synchronizing / matching / equalizing the caption, copyright, credit, etc. information across all relevant metadata fields in all relevant files. Everything that is true about editing digital photo date/time data is doubly true about editing captions/descriptions, titles, labels, creator/artist, copyright, etc. Just about every photo organizing or editing tool available enables the user to edit this information. Again, the edit is only to one of many possible places to store that information. What is displayed in your tool is very unlikely to be displayed in another tool or on your photo hosting web site. This is very commonly seen with photo captions and titles, but it’s true of everything else you can edit as well.

All told, for every single JPG photo you create, there are 66 different places to store caption, copyright, credit, etc. information. If you are shooting RAW files, then for every frame you create, there are 172 different possible places to store caption, copyright, credit, etc. information.

And, again, photo organizing and editing tools all use different labels for these different pieces of information, often within the same tool. For example, Adobe Lightroom uses different labels for the same data for the name of the person who shot the photo and for the caption of the photo depending on where you are in the tool.

Just as with date/time, caption, copyright, credit, etc. information is total disarray in the digital photography world. One tool calls it caption, another description, another abstract, and on and on and on.

Create or edit a caption in one tool and you may never even see it in another. Put a title on your photo with your editing tool and it may not show up on your web photo hosting site.

And, of course, you will never know which of the 66 (JPG) or 172 (RAW) different possible sources for every single image that the caption, copyright, credit, etc. came from that you are editing or viewing.

If you are working with both types of data, date/time and caption, copyright, credit, etc., then there are 91 different places the information could be stored for every single JPG image and 228 different places for every RAW image and its sidecar files.

Which of those places are you editing?

Which of those places are you viewing?

Where, exactly, does your photo caption live?

Where, exactly, does the image create date and time for your photo live?

Welcome to digital photo metadata, where chaos reigns supreme.

To try and restore a little harmony, I created two photo metadata synch tools.

One synchronizes date/time information and the other synchronizes caption, copyright, credit, etc. information.

After running the utilities, all photos are fully populated and synchronized with all relevant date/time and caption, copyright, credit, etc. data.

The good news is that after the photos are synched, no matter what tool or web hosting site you use to view, display, edit, sort or organize your photos, the photos will always sort and display properly and show the same date/time and caption, copyright, credit, etc. information.

Notes:

• Both utilities are structured and optimized for Canon photo files and Adobe Lightroom.
• If you shoot with another brand of camera or use a different editing package, you may need to change some of the configuration information in these utilities.
• Both utilities are built to run on Windows and have been tested on Windows 7 / 64 bit.

Requirements:

• Both utilities require an installed copy of ExifTool by Phil Harvey, which is a free tool you can download here: http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/exiftool-8.61.zip Unzip the file, rename the file to exiftool.exe and put a copy of it in your windows folder or in the folder containing the photos you wish to synchronize.

Utilities:

• The date/time equalize utility is here: http://www.hackneys.com/travel/docs/lr-datetime-equalize.zip
• The caption, copyright, credit, etc. equalize utility is here: http://www.hackneys.com/travel/docs/lr-ccc-equalize.zip

For both utilities, unzip the files and place them in the folder with the photos you wish to synchronize. In Windows Explorer, double click on the lr-datetime-equalize.bat or lr-ccc-equalize.bat file to run the utility.

Warning:

>>> BACKUP YOUR PHOTOS BEFORE USING THE UTILITIES <<<

More info:

If you are interested in learning more about the 228 possible different places the date/time and caption, copyright, credit, etc. information is stored, check out these two spreadsheets:

• date/time: http://www.hackneys.com/travel/docs/photo-metadata-datetime.xls 
• caption, copyright, credit, etc.: http://www.hackneys.com/travel/docs/photo-metadata-ccc.xls

More information on photo metadata is available here:

• Photo metadata overview: http://www.hackneys.com/travel/docs/metadataoverview.pdf

(click on image for larger size)

This is a panorama created in Photoshop CS5 64 from nine separate shots. The photos were taken handheld with my Canon S90 pocket camera in manual mode, 1/60, F5, ISO200, RAW format.

This is the same scene, later in the morning.

(click on image for larger size)

This panorama was also created in Photoshop CS5 64, this time from 16 shots. Also taken handheld with my Canon S90 pocket camera in manual mode, 1/400, F8, ISO200, RAW format.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/02/dell-latitude-e6410-e6510-finally-make-it-to-us/

(click on any photo for larger size)

How this came about is, I’ve been waiting for the new Intel  i7 CPU update for the Dell Latitude to come out for months now.

My old Latitude is literally wearing out, so I’m limping to the finish line with it. Every day brings another prayer, another incantation and another stuttering trip through a day’s productivity, ever uncertain that I’ll reach tomorrow with a functioning computer.

Consequently, I’ve been monitoring the tech blogs and Dell’s site closely for signs of the updated Latutude’s arrival and spotted the 6510 and 6410 on Dell’s web site the first morning they were available in the U.S.

In the previous days I saw the new model numbers start to appear on the Dell site’s laptop accessories listings, so I knew the new laptops themselves were imminent. Sometime between 11:30 PM 30 March when I checked before bed and 6:30 AM on 31 March when I got up, the new models went live on the Dell U.S. site.

I ordered my 6510 while I drank my first cup of coffee that morning.

I do not know if mine was the first consumer order or not, but I doubt it. There was probably some guy in his pajamas sitting up all night, every night, waiting for them. That wasn’t me since I was, officially, sleeping every night. And besides, prior to their consumer launch the 6510 and 6410 were available to enterprise customers and large institutions for pre-order, so there wasn’t going to be any iPad level hype surrounding being first in line.

Engadget, a tech blog, monitored the updated Latitudes through their design and regulatory approval process, as well as their intro in foreign markets such as the U.K. After I ordered mine, I emailed the Engadget reporter who wrote the U.K. story for Engadget and used their “Tip Us” feature to give them the news. It took them more than a day to get it posted. Note that, yes, I waited until my order was in the queue before unleashing the masses straining to buy new Latitudes who might have delayed mine. Mea Culpa.

 The Dell Latitude series laptops are built and optimized for IT deployment in large organizations. The Latitude line has design requirements of five years of design and utilization stability for accessories, such as power supplies and docking stations, and 18 months for the design model (the laptop models themselves). This aids people responsible for purchasing, configuring and deploying large fleets of laptops in their organizations to buy products that will stay viable for lengthy time-cycles in their organizations. In addition, they are designed and built to withstand the rigors of delployment into the hands of a typical corporate workforce. That means getting coffee spilled on the keyboards, being dropped off of conference tables and desks, being plugged into outlets all over the world, getting punched when bad news comes in, etc.

After years of loyalty to Thinkpads, which I used for our entire field force in my last company, I bought our original D620 Latitudes on the recommendation of my brother, Jeff, whose company, Emerson, had excellent experiences with large deployments of Latitudes.

At the time, I needed two identical laptops, one each for Steph and I, that could survive going overseas for a few years.

I took my Latitude D620 out  of the box, plugged it in, loaded some software and ran it non-stop for a few weeks at 100% CPU load rendering video files for a massive family history project.

Between then and now my D620 traveled all over the world, from the world’s driest desert,

to the 100% humidity of the Amazon basin rain forest.

It spent a lot of time in the salt air of the beach at sea level,

and at very high altitudes for weeks at a time, such as on this road at over 16,000 feet  (4,877 meters) elevation.

While in some very unlikely places, such as next to this glacier,

I used my D620 to write thousands of emails, scores of blog posts, dozens of essays, a few white papers and two books.

As well as editing, processing and posting tens of thousands of photos.

(click photo for full size collage)

Including a few from some very special places,

and a few from places where we had absolutely no idea where we were.

So, now, after several hard drive and memory capacity upgrades, after thousands of hours of 100% load usage, after literally wearing through the keys, and after zero failures, it’s finally time to retire the trusty Latitude D620.

The King is dead. Long live the King.

“If they didn’t pay me, I’d do this for free.” – Harry Cabluck

Have you ever had a job in your life where you felt like that? Have you ever invested your time and energy into a career where you literally couldn’t wait to get up in the morning?

Few people have that opportunity. I feel very fortunate that I’ve had more than one.

Many people get exposed to a job early in life and do some variation of that same job the rest of their lives, especially in the trades. Others pick a college major at age 18 or 19 for reasons that often have little to do with their interests, skills or abilities and more to do with factors related to friends or romantic pursuits. They end up with a degree unrelated to their interests or stuck in that career track for the rest of their lives. Others, especially in times like these, take any job that’s available, and as long as the paychecks clear the bank, they stick to it. Others get on a job or career track they don’t intend to pursue for a lifetime but are subsequently locked in by responsibilities such as loans, marriage, mortgages, and children.

In all these cases, it is not unusual for people to wake up one day and realize they are unhappy in their jobs and careers, but feel trapped there due to age, education or skills, unable to seek any alternatives because the barriers to change are too high.

Harry Cabluck was fortunate to discover photography as a young boy, introduced via his uncle’s darkroom, just as I was. Harry will be 72 in March, 2010 and is still going strong, still enjoying every day that he gets to do what he enjoys most: making pictures. Very few people discover what they were put on this earth to do in sixth grade like Harry did. Many people wake up most mornings dreading what they have to spend that day doing; they spend their days, weeks and years just grinding it out.

That daily grind takes a toll. It grinds down your spirit, your intellect, your dreams, your personality, your energy and your relationships. Often too late you realize that the ablative material of that transaction is your soul. Often too late you look into the mirror and don’t recognize who is looking back.

Those who do often ask the mirror, “What happened to those dreams? What happened to those ideals? What happened to that energy? What happened to that lust for life?”

That’s where I sometimes enter the picture. The primary professional things I’ve continued to actively do during my sabbatical have been life and entrepreneurial coaching. During my sabbatical years, I’ve spent a lot of time with people who are adrift in their lives or are searching for which entrepreneurial dream to pursue and how to pursue it.

For both groups one of my initial questions is usually, “What would you be doing with your life if you didn’t need money?” For many, that is a question they have never seriously considered. It is a tougher question than most people think. It’s tougher because I relate to them the lessons from my friends who have achieved financial independence and still woken up with the same questions my clients have: “What am I doing? What is the purpose in this?”. The people doing the searching then often realize that money, in and of itself, is not the answer. For people who choose to be productive, there is usually a finite limit to the number of days they can spend lounging on a beach or twiddling their thumbs admiring an alpine view.

The question, “What would you be doing with your life if you didn’t need money?” is an open door to finding your equivalent to Harry Cabluck’s photography, something you’d do for free, even if they didn’t pay you.

The challenge is that the answer to that question is, unless you are a rare specimen such as Harry, not a lifetime answer. Life is comprised of chapters, and people usually have a different answer to that question during different chapters. People who lack the ability to give themselves permission to change and attempt to lock themselves into that answer for a lifetime often end up in the same place as before: unhappy. Your life and your interests, desires and needs will change with every chapter, so it’s important to realize that the answer you give to that question today may not be the same answer you’d give in the next chapter of your life.

As an illustration, think about what your answer would have been or might be at ages 18, 24, 28, 35, 42, 50, 60 and 70. Each of those life chapters would probably yield a different answer. At a minimum, you’ll probably have three or four different answers.

For many people, their life circumstances in any of their life chapters precludes them doing what they’d do if they didn’t need money. In that case, it is critically important to include elements of what you’d like to do in the life you have. For instance, you may answer that if you didn’t need money, you’d be a painter of abstract art. However, you’ve got student loans, a mortgage, two car payments, taxes, homeowner’s association dues, a cable bill, an even bigger mobile phone bill, two kids and another on the way. And, you’re an accountant.

The delta between your life reality and what you’d like to do if you didn’t need money can be a constant irritant, and if left unaddressed is likely to degrade your professional and personal life. In this example, it would be good to get a membership at your local art museum, or if you don’t have one, plan an annual pilgrimage to one. Take an evening course in art or art history at your local community college. Participate in online communities related to abstract art. It is critical to feed the need of your true interests and passions.

The rule is: Allocate and invest energy into your true passion or you will suffer two tragic fates—your passion will wither and your spirit will wither with it.

For people choosing new directions for their career, either voluntarily or due to layoffs (RIFs, redundancies), it is important to revisit the answer to the question as you plot your next job or career. If you consciously put yourself into a job or career that does not align with your answer to the question, you will build resentments that will either consume you, your career or those around you (often those you love most) or all three. The reason this happens is that you are spending most of your life investing time and energy into something that is not aligned with or advancing your life priorities.

To avoid that fate, start with a list of your life priorities. This list is not about work, work skills or work activities. It is a list of what you consider most important in your life, such as honesty, integrity, marriage, family, friends, health, freedom, control of destiny, challenge, growth, fulfillment, meaningfulness, creative outlet, financial reward, intrinsic reward, travel, etc. 

Once you’ve got the list, apply a weighting of importance to each priority on the list. For instance, if you feel that being challenged is the most important thing, give that a ten. If travel is half as important as challenge, then give that a five, if health is also half as important as challenge, give that a 5 as well, and so on.

Next, rate each of your job or career opportunities in each of your priority categories. For instance, if you are considering a high tech startup, then rate each one of your priorities in that scenario. For a high tech startup, travel will often be high, so that may rate a seven; growth and challenge would also be high, so they may rate a seven or eight; and the required commitment and long hours of a high tech startup means that marriage, family and friends typically suffer, so they would likely rate a two or three.

After you build out a grid of each opportunity against each of your weighted priorities, you can easily rank those opportunities based on your life priorities. What you find may surprise you as jobs or careers that you wouldn’t think would be right for you rise to the top. For instance, you may consider yourself best suited for a jet-set, high technology startup, but you find that opportunity is diametrically opposed to your life priorities of marriage, family, friends, community involvement and health. Instead, your ranked opportunity list may show that running a local ice cream truck or working in a hardware store fits your priorities best. These results can be surprising and troubling, but they are very rarely wrong when it comes to identifying the opportunity that best aligns with what your priorities are during this chapter of your life.

The point of either scenario, maintaining an element in your life of what you’d do if you didn’t need money or pursuing a job or career that matches your priorities during this chapter of your life, is to move you closer to being like Harry, being someone who can truthfully say “If they didn’t pay me, I’d do this for free.”

For many people, the secret to happiness is closing the gap between where you are now and where you’d be if you were doing it for free.

 .

August 19, 2009 Canon USA Press Powershot line press release: http://www.usa.canon.com/templatedata/pressrelease/20090819_powershot.html

August 19, 2009 Canon UK S90 press release: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0908/09081907canons90.asp#press

Canon USA S90 site: http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=223&modelid=19210

DP Review S90 brief hands on: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0908/09081906canons90handson.asp

Evaluation Context:    Overlanding / Expedition use

Purpose of this evaluation: Provide initial impressions and testing results of the S90 compared to other Canon “point and shoot” compacts, pro-sumer and professional cameras. For full technical testing of the S90, please see DP Review or other sites.

Background:

I’ve been shooting digital since the late 90s. I moved from Sony to Canon when I returned to shooting with SLRs in 2003. We have owned more than a dozen Canon still cameras since then, and have overlanded with them in six continents.

I have owned and used a Canon SD / Digital Elph since the product line was introduced.

Purchase purpose:

Replace my SD870is, which still works fine, but I put two black spots on the display by burning it on a sunset in Chile in mid-2008.

Current inventory:

Me:

• Canon 1D MkIII

• Canon 1D MkII

• Canon G10

• Canon SD870is

Wife:

• Canon 40D

• Canon 30D

• Canon SD880is

Utilization criteria:

The S90’s purpose is to take the role of pocket/jacket camera. I typically store this camera in a belt pouch or in my motorcycle jacket front pocket.

In our world of travel and everyday use, the pocket camera is used for:

• Grab shots

• Records shots

• Snapshots

• “Please take a photo of us here” shots

• Stealth shooting where the big SLRs draw too much attention/risk

The most important role the pocket/jacket camera plays for us is that it is always there. The most important camera you own is the one you have with you. In that sense, our pocket cameras have always been the most important cameras on our travels.

Evaluation Criteria:

Overlanding / expedition use places different demands on a camera than stateside suburban utilization. Aspects of design, packaging and efficiency can be much more important in the bush than back in the ‘burbs. For instance, the ability to share common batteries and chargers between multiple cameras can mean a lot when picking new or additional cameras. Small details of ergonomics and use, such as control placement and consistency of menus become very important in high stress moments in remote areas. And of course, rock-solid reliability is critical, since the repair depot is thousands of miles away past multiple customs officers all eager to delay the shipment and tack on expensive duties.

Methodology:

The evaluation consists of handling the camera, stepping through the menus, shooting some test shots and comparing it with other Canon cameras for size, weight, ergonomics and performance.

Cameras in test:

• Canon 1D MkIII

• Canon 40D

• Canon G10

• Canon S90

• Canon SD880is

• Canon SD870is

Size comparison:

L to R: SD870is, S90, G10, 40D, 1D MkIII

System size comparison:

A camera is not just a camera. When you are traveling with a camera, you are also traveling with its family of chargers, batteries, memory cards, bags and accessories.

In this shot, the S90, G10, 40D and 1D MkIII with 580 EXII strobe are shown with their respective batteries and chargers. Note that the S90, G10 and 40D have integrated stobes. The 1D MkIII requires an external flash, along with its supply of batteries and/or external power supplies.

This shot adds samples of typical bags used for the respective camera systems. The S90 is shown with two varations: a slip case (used by my wife in her purse) and the belt pouch I typically use when we’re not traveling by motorcycle (the small Sandisk pouch is used to carry an additional battery and memory card).

Ergonomic and control differences SD870is vs. S90:

The S90 is nearly identical to the SD870is it replaces in size, shape and weight.

The primary differences are the lens control ring protruding from the front and the top control dial. There are also some differences in the rear controls, with the removal of the ISO position from the rear control dial the most significant for day-to-day use.

The lens control ring is a huge improvement in camera control in this form factor. Software configured, it can control six different functions. This additional control input is something this class of camera has sorely lacked until now.

Two major downsides to the new design are mostly related to the “Please take our photo here” scenario. The S90 has a very small power button and a small shutter release button. Just about everyone you hand this camera to will attempt to push the top of the control dial to release the shutter.

One significant improvement in ergonomics is the thumb rest located beneath the control dial on the back side. It provides a natural place to rest your thumb and greatly aids one handed operation.

S90 vs. G10 Comparison

The G10 has a smoother and easier to control power zoom. It is possible to set the framing on the G10 with more precision than with the S90.

The G10 is significantly larger, but does not weigh that much more than the S90.

The G10 is a (very) large pocket camera, more suited to a big belt pack than a pocket. The S90 is a true pocket camera.

The G10 has more direct dial controls than the S90. I find it easier to control the camera with direct button or dial controls than via a menu. The S90 makes significant inroads here with the lens control dial, a feature the G10 lacks.

The G10 includes an optical finder, while the S90 is limited to the rear display.

The G10 also features a hot shoe for external flash and a higher pixel count at 14.7. Published reports state that the G11, the current model replacement for the G10, uses the same imaging chip, and thus resolution, as the S90.

Of the two, the G10 is more suitable for a serious hobbyist or “pro-sumer” who requires an optical viewfinder and/or is interested in exploring the capabilities of external flash and prefers direct camera control via buttons, knobs and dials.

For the shooter who is looking for RAW format, manual focus, multiple operating modes and other pro-sumer capabilities in a smaller package, the S90 is the perfect choice.

Capabilities:

The S90 is packed with pro-sumer capabilities in a very small package. Based on years of overseas overlanding and expeditions, of greatest interest to me are RAW format files, manual focus capability, and P, Tv, Av and M modes. While we assume that high ISO performance will always get better with new cameras, we could not assume that manufacturers would ever push down fundamental capabilities from the higher end cameras to the pocket camera world.

The ability to post-edit the RAW file is critical to saving borderline images from tough shooting situations. Manual focus provides the opportunity to selectively compose an image in a very small camera. Multiple operational modes that match pro-sumer and pro bodies enables you to utilize consistent mental models and creative paths regardless of the camera you happen to have along that day.

If I could have had any two of these three capabilities in this camera size during our last two years overlanding I could have brought back significantly more successful images.

Conclusion:

Based on features and capabilities, the S90 is the camera I wish I could have taken with us for the last two years.

You can make your own judgments on the image quality tests which follow.

I will post additional thoughts after I’ve used the camera in the field.

Test Parameters:

Setting: Interior, multiple light sources (some daylight, two different color temperature fluorescent), static subject, static tripod.

Because it is essentially impossible to match framing with power zoom cameras, I chose to maintain a consistent camera to subject distance of 115 cm / 45.25”.

I tested the cameras under consistent lighting conditions and shot each with and without strobe.

All cameras were set to auto white balance and evaluative metering.

Auto focus was used on all cameras for all shots.

Camera self timer mode was used for shutter release for all shots on all cameras.

Because the higher end cameras can operate in Av mode, I shot two sets of images with the mid-range cameras (S90 & G10). The first set is in P mode to match the 870is’s P mode of operation. The second set is in Av mode at F5.6 to match the higher end cameras.

The 880is and 870is generated largest size, lowest compression JPG files. The S90, G10, 40D and 1D MkIII all generated RAW and largest size, lowest compression JPG files.

The full frame RAW and JPG files are unedited and unaltered in any way. The 800 pixel shots used in the text are sharpened for screen viewing.

All selection, editing, etc. was performed in Adobe Lightroom 2.5, Camera Raw 5.5. LR handled the S90 RAW files with no issues. File import was via Breeze Systems Downloader Pro V2.2.2.

The primary light sources were two different Ott-Lite sources, one with “HD” bulbs and the other using their “natural” bulb. You will notice the wide variation in color balance in these shots. Overall, the 1D MkIII shots are closest to the actual colors as my eyes perceive them.

The SD870is and SD880is only have P mode, so there was no way to preset the aperature. I matched the P mode in the S90 and the G10 so people who are looking to move up in capability from a pure “point and shoot” compact could see and compare that upgrade path.

The 5.6 shots were done in Av mode to match the 40D and the 1D so people looking to retain creative capability in a smaller camera could see that migration path.

Please Note:

All images are unprocessed, unedited and unaltered.

The full rez JPGs are factory default output from the cameras.

The RAW files are unaltered.

If you want to compage with an image from a camera you own, be sure to process the files accordingly, e.g., if you normally apply sharpening, alter black levels, etc.

Test Shots

Side by side comparison of 600 x 600 crops is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/s90-600×600.htm

Camera: SD870is

Lens: 4.6-17.3mm

Mode: P

File: 2009-10-27-SD870 IS-0707

Dimensions: 3264 x 2448

Exposure: 1/60 sec @ F4.5

Focal Length: 10.833mm

ISO: 100

Flash: Did fire

Full rez shot is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-SD870%20IS-0707.JPG

Crop 600×600

Camera: SD870is

Lens: 4.6-17.3mm

Mode: P

File: 2009-10-27-SD870 IS-0710

Dimensions: 3264 x 2448

Exposure: ½ sec @ F4.5

Focal Length: 10.833mm

ISO: 100

Flash: Did not fire

Full rez shot is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-SD870%20IS-0710.JPG

Crop 600×600

Camera: SD880is

Lens: 5.0-20.0 mm

Mode: P

File: 2009-10-27-SD880 IS-9977

Dimensions: 3648 x 2736

Exposure: 1/60 sec @ F4.5

Focal Length: 12.524 mm

ISO: 100

Flash: Did fire

Full rez shot is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-SD880%20IS-9977.JPG

Crop 600×600

Camera: SD880is

Lens: 5.0-20.0 mm

Mode: P

File: 2009-10-27-SD880 IS-9974

Dimensions: 3648 x 2736

Exposure: 1/2 sec @ F4.5

Focal Length: 12.524 mm

ISO: 100

Flash: Did not fire

Full rez shot is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-SD880%20IS-9974.JPG

Crop 600×600

Camera: S90

Lens: 6.0-22.5 mm

Mode: P

File: 2009-10-27-S90-0032

Dimensions: 3648 x 2736

Exposure: 1/60 sec @ F3.5

Focal Length: 12.845 mm

ISO: 100

Flash: Did fire

Full rez shot is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-S90-0032.JPG

RAW is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-S90-0032.CR2

Crop 600×600

Camera: S90

Lens: 6.0-22.5 mm

Mode: P

File: 2009-10-27-S90-0034

Dimensions: 3648 x 2736

Exposure: 1/4 sec @ F3.5

Focal Length: 12.845 mm

ISO: 100

Flash: Did not fire

Full rez is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-S90-0034.JPG

RAW is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-S90-0034.CR2

Crop 600×600

Camera: S90

Lens: 6.0-22.5 mm

Mode: Av

File: 2009-10-27-S90-0037

Dimensions: 3648 x 2736

Exposure: 1/60 sec @ F5.6

Focal Length: 12.845 mm

ISO: 100

Flash: Did fire

Full rez is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-S90-0037.JPG

RAW is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-S90-0037.CR2

Crop 600×600

Camera: S90

Lens: 6.0-22.5 mm

Mode: Av

File: 2009-10-27-S90-0040

Dimensions: 3648 x 2736

Exposure: .8 sec @ F5.6

Focal Length: 12.845 mm

ISO: 100

Flash: Did not fire

Full rez is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-S90-0040.JPG

RAW is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-S90-0040.CR2

Crop 600×600

Camera: G10

Lens: 6.1-30.5 mm

Mode: P

File: 2009-10-27-G10-2218

Dimensions: 4416 x 3312

Exposure: 1/60 sec @ F3.5

Focal Length: 13.761 mm

ISO: 100

Flash: Did fire

Full Rez is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-G10-2218.JPG

RAW is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-G10-2218.CR2

Crop 600×600

Camera: G10

Lens: 6.1-30.5 mm

Mode: P

File: 2009-10-27-G10-2220

Dimensions: 4416 x 3312

Exposure: 1/3 sec @ F3.5

Focal Length: 13.761 mm

ISO: 100

Flash: Did not fire

Full rez is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-G10-2220.JPG

RAW is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-G10-2220.CR2

Crop 600×600

Camera: G10

Lens: 6.1-30.5 mm

Mode: Av

File: 2009-10-27-G10-2225

Dimensions: 4416 x 3312

Exposure: 1/60 sec @ F5.6

Focal Length: 13.761 mm

ISO: 100

Flash: Did fire

Full rez is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-G10-2225.JPG

RAW is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-G10-2225.CR2

Crop 600×600

Camera: G10

Lens: 6.1-30.5 mm

Mode: Av

File: 2009-10-27-G10-2228

Dimensions: 4416 x 3312

Exposure: .8 sec @ F5.6

Focal Length: 13.761 mm

ISO: 100

Flash: Did not fire

Full rez is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-G10-2228.JPG

RAW is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-G10-2228.CR2

Crop 600×600

Camera: 40D

Lens: EF24-70mm F2.8L USM

Mode: Av

File: 2009-10-27-40D-0821

Dimensions: 3888 x 2592

Exposure: 1/2 sec @ F5.6

Focal Length: 34 mm

ISO: 100

Flash: Did fire

Full rez is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-40D-0821.JPG

RAW is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-40D-0821.CR2

Crop 600×600

Camera: 40D

Lens: EF24-70mm F2.8L USM

Mode: Av

File: 2009-10-27-40D-0825

Dimensions: 3888 x 2592

Exposure: 1/2 sec @ F5.6

Focal Length: 34 mm

ISO: 100

Flash: Did not fire

Full rez is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-40D-0825.JPG

RAW is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-40D-0825.CR2

Crop 600×600

Camera: 1D MkIII

Lens: EF24-70mm F2.8L USM

Mode: Av

File: 2009-10-27-1DMk3-3925

Dimensions: 3888 x 2592

Exposure: 1/3 sec @ F5.6

Focal Length: 43 mm

ISO: 100

Flash: Did fire

Full rez is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-1DMk3-3925.JPG

RAW is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-1DMk3-3925.CR2

Crop 600×600

Camera: 1D MkIII

Lens: EF24-70mm F2.8L USM

Mode: Av

File: 2009-10-27-1DMk3-3928

Dimensions: 3888 x 2592

Exposure: .6 sec @ F5.6

Focal Length: 43 mm

ISO: 100

Flash: Did not fire

Full rez is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-1DMk3-3928.JPG

RAW is here:

http://www.hackneys.com/photos/S90-eval/2009-10-27-1DMk3-3928.CR2

Crop 600×600

.

http://www.hackneys.com/gallery/v/travel/

.

It enables support/mounting of our pocket cameras and Steph’s Canon 30D or 40D with a short lens just about anywhere.

It is a great device and it has come in very handy on numerous occasions.

Highly recommended.