Check out the Olympus E-420 with the Zuiko 25mm f2.8 pancake lens. Hailed as the lightest and smallest DSLR, it makes a nice light and compact package with the pancake lens. Sweet huh? This should give the Canon 450D and Nikon D60 some competition. Incidentally, Nikon makes a 45mm f2.8 manual focus pancake lens if you want to try this out on a Nikon DSLR.
This is a quick and dirty look at the new Olympus Stylus 1030 SW: a 10MP, waterproof, shockproof, crushproof, freezeproof compact digital camera. It is equipped with a fairly capable 28-102mm F3.5-5.1 lens, good for scenics to portraits and is a handily portable package to take to the beach, skiing, just about anywhere. Construction It feels very solid with some of the best seals I’ve seen. This is waterproof to 10m (33’) but that’s the limit, and IMHO, it doesn’t pay to test the limits. I wouldn’t take this thing diving, unless I’d bought the optional underwater housing.
There is a very useful lens protector that slides across the lens when the camera is turned off to protect it against splashes and scratches. The very large LCD on the back is not protected, and one of the first things you’ll want to do is buy a stick-on screen protector for it.
Features On first look, the menu seems simple enough, however, it can be challenging finding out what features are available using certain modes.
The LCD is accurate, color wise, and what I see on my calibrated monitor looks close to the LCD at plus 1 brightness. The default brightness for the LCD is not enough, and it is hard to see in bright sunlight. It’s too bad that more and more manufacturers are choosing to omit the optical viewfinder, but I suppose that’s progress.
It has a digital image stabilizer, and you use it by setting the mode dial to Anti-Shake. This seems like a useful feature to have on all the time, unfortunately, using this feature also locks in Auto ISO.
What is missing is an interval timer that would allow me to rig this camera to the front of my kayak or mountain bike and take a shot every 5 minutes or so.
Performance Shutter lag is evident. Pre-focusing improves the responsiveness greatly and you’ll need to pre-focus if timing is critical. Unfortunately, the multi-zone autofocus (iESP) and Face Detect AF are a bit of a hit-or-miss affair. Setting AF to Spot, which uses the central AF point to focus and then recompose will give you more consistent results. If you use ‘Shadow Adjustment’, the AF mode is locked at ‘Face Detect’. Bummer.
The write time between shots is pretty long. Setting the drive to continuous will lock in exposure and AF, and will allow a faster rate of shooting if you hold down the shutter release. Continuous ‘Hi’ will reduce the file size, and allow even faster shooting.
It is unusual for a JPEG only camera to not allow you to adjust some basic parameters like contrast, saturation and sharpening. But the 1030SW doesn’t. You are basically stuck with the scene modes (which I don’t use).
One useful adjustment feature it does have, is the ‘Shadow Adjustment Technology’, which is basically a sort of ‘contrast control’. I’d leave this on all the time, except that using this locks the AF mode to ‘Face Detect AF’. What the *%#@.
Image Quality Images come out well exposed, fairly punchy and saturated, and I like the results from the ‘Shadow Adjustment’ feature. The default sharpening looks a touch low, but it can be sharpened with a simple image editor like iPhoto.
The default exposure and ESP exposure metering is pretty good. Normally, I have to dial in some exposure compensation, but the multi-zone ESP metering works for me.
Images look clean at ISO80 and 100. Noise creeps in at ISO 200 and takes a big jump for the worse somewhere between 800 and 1600. Note that if you are using Anti-Shake mode, the ISO setting is locked to Auto.
Limited flash control and performance is normal for this sort of camera. At times, my subject will be bombarded with too much light (yucks!). There is a setting, which says ‘Fill Flash’, but all this does is to tell the camera to always fire the flash.
Auto White Balance looks fairly accurate, but I didn’t have time to review it under tungsten or fluorescent lighting, which are normally problem areas for some cameras.
Conclusion (For now) There are few cameras that fulfill the role of a compact, rugged and waterproof camera. The freedom of being able to pull a camera from a case strapped to your backpack and not having to worry about it is liberating. We keep ours in a Lowepro D-pods 10 Case. If you are the sort of person who normally leaves the camera in Auto, or uses the scene modes, I think you’d be pretty happy with it. If you are a bit of a control freak, then beware: conflicting features and modes make controlling this camera a bit of a nightmare. We'll be bringing this camera along for our upcoming kayak expedition and will probably have more to say when we get back.
Photo: Top: The Olympus 1030SW in British Green. Bottom: Splashdown! 13.18mm, 1/320 f4.0, ISO80. Taken with an Olympus 1030SW.
Clothes. Khee Wei recommends 3 sets of clothes. A set for traveling, a set for sleeping in and a set to kayak in. Bring a set of long sleeve shirt and pants (Or lots of sunscreen!). I'd suggest an extra set of shorts and tee shirt to kayak in if you want to work on your tan, but by day 3, you'll be glad you brought the long stuff. State of the Art Gear: Railriders Eco-Mesh shirt (pictured above) http://www.railriders.com
Dry Bags. Khee Wei has a large 30l drybag. I’ve got two. A 20l that will go into the hatch and a smaller 10l that will be lashed to the deck for quicker access. Khee Wei will provide a tent, but you will be required to carry all your personal items. Travel light.
Tropical Sleeping bag. I got a cheap rectangular bag (Overland 18 degrees by Bodypac). SGD$12 at Sports Connection.
Sleeping Pad/Thermarest. Great idea for comfort. If there’s space, I’m bringing mine.
Gloves. My hands aren’t very tough so I use gloves to paddle in. Mountain bike gloves are fine.
Raingear. No need to go high tech with this. A cheap SGD$3 poncho from Watson’s will do the trick.
Clothesline. 7m cord should do the trick.
Bungy cords. Khee Wei’s boats are pretty basic and so you’ll need these for lashing stuff to the kayak deck.
Sandals /Shoes. I’ve found that Crocs work very well in a tropical amphibious environment.
Personal Toiletries. State of the Art Gear: Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Magic Soap, an organic, biodegradable soap, shampoo and toothpaste, detergent, etc. Camper’s corner has some biodegradable soap, only not as nice. Don't forget things like toilet paper, and contact lens stuff.
Medication. I’m allergic to bee stings, so I carry antihistamines. Diarrhea medication, etc. Anyway, you get the idea.
Personal Hydration. Bottles or bladders, 2L capacity minimum
Knife. State of the Art Gear: Spyderco Salt 1
Headlamp/Flashlight. State of the Art Gear: Petzl e+Lite Headlamp Also available at All Sports in Singapore. Hat/Cap. broad brimmed or foreign legion style are best. State of the Art gear: Outdoor Research Sun Runner Cap. Also available at Camper’s Corner in Singapore
Camera. State of the Art Gear: Olympus 1030SW. Olympus also offers the 850SW. The key difference (other than the megapixels and being tougher) is that the 1030SW offers a slightly wider 28mm equiv. lens while the 850SW only goes as wide as 38mm. Cathay Photo is having a special on the 850SW at SGD$299 while the 1030SW is selling at SGD$580 with a 2G card. Mobile Phone in case you paddle past the campsite for the night. Whistle. See above. Bug juice/Mosquito Coils I’m not taking anti-malaria pills, so I’m bringing 100% DEET mosquito repellent. Sunscreen Sunglasses Lip balm with SPF Towel Comfort Food/Goodies Candy, gatorade drink mix, etc. Spare Plastic bags Cash (Ringgit) Expedition Map Make a copy of the map and waterproof Nightsticks Night kayaking/ camping. These are on Khee Wei’s list. Passport & 1 Photocopies Ipod for the bus ride
Oh, and don’t forget your paddle, PFD, and clip-on backrest if you’ve got your own.
We think we know what’s wrong with me. One of my rotator cuff muscles in my upper back is separated. This could be the cause of the numbness I’m feeling in my fingers.
Time to heal: 3 months. Recommendation: No Mountain Biking, No Rock-Climbing.
Yeah, right.
I figure that its either going to heal, or its not. So I began training again last Saturday with a VERY slow paced 15km trail run. Hell, no. I wasn't trying to go slow. I was going as fast as I could, but my layoff was too long and my buddies left me in the dust.
It’s time to kick it up a notch with some ass-kicking tunes. Here’s 15 from my March 2008 playlist:
Californication, Red Hot Chilli Peppers Love Hurts, Incubus Torches, Rise Against Still Waiting, Sum 41 The Ghost In You, Psychedelic Furs Ocean Avenue, Yellowcard Over My Head, Sum 41 Festival Song, Good Charlotte In This Diary, The Ataris Who'll Stop The Rain, Creedence Clearwater Revival Hollow, Submersed Buck Rogers, Feeder Pain, Jimmy Eat World Million Miles Away, The Offspring The Cigarette Song, The All American Rejects
Our Spyderco Salt H1 knives just arrived. I placed my order with Knife Center last Friday, it was shipped out on Weds and I got them today in Singapore. You've got to love Fedex.
What is it? The Spyderco Salt series of knives are meant for marine use. They use some high tech Japanese steel that substitutes Nitrogen instead of the Carbon in the Steel. Whatever. The bottom line is that the knives don't rust and I bought a couple for our upcoming river and dive trips.
The price per knife was USD$54.95 per knife (which is the best deal going for this blade). The Knife Center just raised the price this week to USD$58.95. Well, the knife normally retails for USD$92 at places like REI, so this is still a good deal.
Olympus E-420
Hailed as the lightest and smallest DSLR, it makes a nice light and compact package with the pancake lens. Sweet huh? This should give the Canon 450D and Nikon D60 some competition.
This is a quick and dirty look at the new Olympus Stylus 1030 SW
: a 10MP, waterproof, shockproof, crushproof, freezeproof compact digital camera. It is equipped with a fairly capable 28-102mm F3.5-5.1 lens, good for scenics to portraits and is a handily portable package to take to the beach, skiing, just about anywhere. 
Performance
. If you are the sort of person who normally leaves the camera in Auto, or uses the scene modes, I think you’d be pretty happy with it. If you are a bit of a control freak, then beware: conflicting features and modes make controlling this camera a bit of a nightmare. We'll be bringing this camera along for our upcoming kayak expedition and will probably have more to say when we get back.
Clothes. Khee Wei recommends 3 sets of clothes. A set for traveling, a set for sleeping in and a set to kayak in. Bring a set of long sleeve shirt and pants (Or lots of sunscreen!). I'd suggest an extra set of shorts and tee shirt to kayak in if you want to work on your tan, but by day 3, you'll be glad you brought the long stuff. State of the Art Gear: Railriders Eco-Mesh shirt (pictured above) http://www.railriders.com
Our Spyderco Salt H1 knives just arrived. I placed my order with Knife Center last Friday, it was shipped out on Weds and I got them today in Singapore. You've got to love Fedex. 
