Another new/old camera: The Canon Powershot Pro 1

by Posted in Canon Powershot Pro 1 Leave a comment
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I first came across this camera on a YouTube video entitled: What makes this 8mp CCD camera so special? on YouTube Channel called Snappiness (which I can heartily recommend to anyone who’s interested in older digital cameras).

There’s a good review at Canon PowerShot Pro1 Review.

I was intrigued enough that I decided to get one for myself. Why? Well, I must admit that the major reason was that red ring on the lens. If you’ve watched the video above, or read the review, or are just into Canon cameras, you’ll know that the ring indicates ‘L’ series glass: the best that you can get for Canon cameras. I wouldn’t normally want to spend the money that Canon ‘L’ series glass commands. I was sure that this was a marketing gimmick. How could you possibly get this type of lens on an admittedly very old (2004 vintage) sub $100 camera.

When it eventually came, I went to our local park to try it out. You can see the results below.

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no images were found


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The review above concludes:

The PowerShot Pro1 is a camera designed to be familiar to current Canon owners, easy enough to use for first time buyers and yet still provide a semiprofessional feel and feature set. Canon has borrowed from its professional lens line to put an L quality label on the lens system to indicate that this is a new lens and it has been designed to fulfill the high-resolution requirements of an eight-megapixel CCD. In use the Canon felt slightly slower than I was expecting, certainly not much faster than the G5 and I didn’t see any marked improvement in speed overall from that camera.

Overall image quality was good, that L lens proving it can deliver the resolution and that Canon’s reliable DiGiC image processor can turn out a quality image with good tonal and color balance and no noticeable artifacts. We had two areas of disappointment from an image quality stance, firstly the lens exhibited noticeable lens shading especially at wide angle and/or maximum aperture, secondly noise levels were high enough to be seen at ISO 100 and progressively worse at higher sensitivities. This is clearly a trait of the eight megapixel sensor and while we commend Canon for taking a ‘purist’ approach to image processing these levels of noise really should have been tamed with an (optional?) noise reduction feature.

The Pro1 left me feeling neither hot nor cold, the camera delivered as much resolution as we had expected with on the whole good image quality but didn’t really perform as we would hope ‘across the board’. I didn’t see any major improvements in performance and ‘usage feel’ and was left slightly disappointed by noise levels at higher sensitivities and the potential lens shading. That said there’s little doubt that the Pro1 can deliver great images when used carefully and should certainly be in the top three on your shopping list if you’re considering an eight-megapixel prosumer digital camera.

The review mentions the following ‘Pros’ (remember these were pros in 2004. Most of them wouldn’t be very special nowadays):

  • Very good resolution, joint best of group
  • Wide angle seven times zoom lens, fast at wide
  • Selectable color space (sRGB / Adobe RGB)
  • Good shot to shot times
  • Good flash performance
  • Time-lapse feature
  • Relatively compact and lightweight
  • Good ergonomics, decent hand grip, zoom ring
  • Wide range of accessories available
  • Some unique features (ND filter etc.)
  • Clean image, quality image processing thanks to DiGiC
  • Large 2.0″ Tilt & Twist LCD monitor, 235,000 pixels
  • High resolution electronic viewfinder
  • Supplied IR remote control

I’d agree.

As for the ‘Cons’:

  • Vignetting / lens shading at maximum aperture
  • Visible noise from ISO 100 upwards
  • Slower than expected startup time
  • Limited latitude of image parameter adjustment
  • No AF assist lamp
  • No live view histogram
  • Lower than advertised continuous shooting speed
  • Long CF write times for Super-Fine images (4.8 sec)
  • Disappointing battery life – camera bug?
  • Poor automatic white balance in artificial light
  • No WB fine tuning

None of these bother me too much. Once upon a time the “Visible noise from ISO 100 upwards” might have bothered me. But with the kind of noise reduction available nowadays it’s not really much of a problem.

I rather liked it. It’s small, light, has a decent zoom range (28 – 200 mm equiv). I liked the ergonomics. It’s fits into my current passion for collecting older digital camera. And it really is very sharp for a camera that cost next to nothing.

Looking at Images

by Posted in Photographers, Photographs, Reading Leave a comment
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A fascinating book by Brooks Jensen, the Editor of Lenswork magazine.

According to the Introduction:

This book is about what we learn about and from photography and the creative process by looking at photographs with more than a glance. It is about the process of art making in photography. It is about the content of what we create, not the mechanisms of how we create. As such, this book has been written with photographers in mind – especially those who use their cameras as a means of personal expression. Making photographic art can be a mysterious path.

The book contains 122 (101 black and white; 21 Color) two-page spreads. The left side of each spread shows a photograph, and the right page a commentary by the author.

The introduction also states:

In addition to my written comments that accompany each photograph, you will also find a QR on the page with the text and image. The QR code links to an audio recording on our website. The audio is not simply a recorded version of the written text, but rather an extension of the ideas that have arisen as I’ve reflected on each image.

What a great idea!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book an can heartily recommend it.

The Century Homestead

by Posted in Black & White Leave a comment
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According to Mary Cheever in her wonderful book on Briarcliff Manor: The Changing Langscape:

The “Century Homestead” as it is named in the Beer’s Atlas of 1867, on Chappaqua Road has been called the Reuben Whitson House. However, since there are no Whitsons on the Mt. Pleasant census rolls before 1830, it was probably another Washburn House (cf. The Washburn House).

Taken with a Sony A7IV and Sony FE 28-70 f3.5-5.6 OSS.

A Walk through Ossining – A Couple of Fire Stations

by Posted in Buildings/Structures Leave a comment
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Sing Sing Steamer Company No. 1 came into being in June 1876 with the purchase of a Silsby rotary steam fire engine, the latest in technology at that time. The Silsby company had exhibited its steam engine in Sing Sing in early 1876. When a fire broke out on Main St., the village fathers saw the engine in action and were persuaded to purchase one. A company of 60 members formed to take charge of the new steam engine. Still stationed on Main St., Steamer Company shared its space with the Police headquarters in the late 1890s.

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Monitor Hose Company Number 4. Monitor Hose Company organized on July 7, 1891, and was originally located on Water St. and Central Ave. near the Monitor Iron Works, from which the company took its name. Members of the company were nicknamed “Monty’s dock rats.”
The company’s first apparatus was a hand-drawn jumper carriage with hose, which had to be pulled by hand up the hill to fight fires in the Village. A frequent solution was to hook the carriage to Ossining Steamer at the top of the hill. Another option was to hitch the carriage to the trolley for a ride from Westerly Rd. to the Campwoods Grounds. The company moved to its present home on Central Ave. in 1950.

Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Sigma 18-50mm f2.8