Wednesday 16 January 2008

Technology and travel.

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I own an Olympus OM-l camera.

In its day, it was a great little camera.

I have lost it, at gunpoint, three times.

The first time was in Khartoum, in the Sudan.
The second was in the Khyber Pass, Pakistan.
The third was in the Sahara, in Libya.

And three times it has been returned to me.

I don't take it out with me any more.

For this coming trip I am taking a Fujifilm Finepix Z1. Slim, flat, light, fits in any pocket without trouble, takes good pictures and, from it's manual, would appear to be considerably smarter than me.

Hopefully it is also a low-stress, low risk unit as well.


For those who ask about these things it is 5.1 megapixel. People ask me about pixels in cameras and I honestly never know. I only know the 5.1 from the Google images picture above, I have been using the camera for a year and a half and had never noticed the little logo on the front.

◊◊◊

I am being sorely tempted on the laptop front too. I have said that I wasn't going to take a laptop with me because of 1) the weight, and 2) the security risk.

Apple have just released an ultra light, ultra thin laptop, the MacBook Air.

The security risk is still there but the weight issue is becoming less.

Will I weaken?
...

14 comments:

  1. Oh of course you will! For the sake of your loyal fans here who can't live without your posts...please get it..pretty please!

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  2. If it's the trip-of-a-lifetime type of deal, Lee, you need some way of managing and backing up your photos from your great little camera.

    Even if you don't weaken for that sexy laptop, you may wish to consider airmailing SD cards or DVDs home from time to time. Most camera shops now have in-store duplicating facilities.

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  3. Nice cam and oh my goodness that's a thin laptop ... Sold!!! as far as I'm concerned.
    WE would looove to be updated and travel with you, so you just have too.
    THinking here if all your readers can send you $10 each it should make the purchase much easier too :-)

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  4. yes! get it, get it, get it! I need you to get one you can tell me what it's like

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  5. As much as I emjoy your blog Lee, I have to go against the flow here.

    Our telly just died and it's really nice to be forced to go without for a while.

    I vote for no laptop. Even though a picture paints a thousand words, words can still paint a picture.

    I used to own an Olympus OM1,it took great pics, I loved it. It was stolen, and unfortunately mine was not returned to me.

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  6. Bought a iMac just before the switch to Intel processors. This is the biggest piece of Sh*t I've ever owned from two standpoints - the physical machine and the browser. The cordless mouse died early; the cordless keyboard shortly afterwards. I replaced them with Logitech - someone who's quality supports their sales. The machine has known problems with the power supply but Apple only fixes them when you go hit them over the head with the machine. Other makers have to make good machines, the market just wouldn't let them live otherwise. Check out the 20 inch screens on the new iMacs - AFU again.

    Safari is beyond stupid. It dies at least 2 to 5 times a day. If a day passes without Safari dying, it's an event.

    The overwhelmingly good thing is the operating system. It has only hicupped once for me and did not actually die. I don't know if I'll buy another Apple product. I really would like a Unix based operating system product (like Apple's) based on a 'IBM pc' chassis. That might really kick ass!

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  7. u know i'm weak even by the sight of that macbook air...wished I had more money so i could upgrade my ibook to that 'incredible' thin n weightless laptop... i wished...

    i've been using fuji finepix, eversince i bought one (after reviewing lots of brands) during my trip to japan 6 years ago. even the pixels is lower than the one in its own class, the photo r always much better. less noise, etc.
    u can see the photo of gerbera at lower left hand side of my blog..
    now i reviewing either upgrading to finepix f50fd or the sleek n stylish z100.

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  8. Don: I have a 20inch with wireless mouse & keyboard. To date they have given me no problems. I use Firefox rather than Safari though.

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  9. Three times you have lost that camera at gunpoint...oh my!
    MacBook Air...looks awesome!

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  10. I hope you get the laptop. A selfish hope, of course.

    I got lost in all the technical talk there for a bit.

    Enjoyed your stories about the camera. Best you take the new one!

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  11. laptop is so tempting but only if you can figure out the internet connection in odd places - i'm thinking of doing the internet cafe thing...maybe you too?

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  12. Lovely piece of sculpture, that Olympus - and so solid in the hand. Although I have "converted" to digital (Fuji Finepix E550) I still have all my 35mm stuff - it is fast becoming "industrial archaeology" along with watermills and steam trains!

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