I want – I got

Strategic Ampersand provided me with a Nikon S230 to evaluate for two weeks. I’m never really pleased with the performance of point and shoot cameras but it’s the cruel bargain I have made with myself. A digital SLR is just too big to carry around to events and that trumps any idea I have about owning one. I like something small and compact. I use a Pentax right now and I have a bit of a love hate relationship with it. I hate it more than my old Pentax. I broke my old Pentax but we had a great relationship. I was able to take consistently good pictures with the camera and I haven’t been able to replicate that feeling with the new Pentax. I was hoping the Nikon S230 might return me to those carefree days of great photos.

The big claim to fame for the S230 is the 3 inch touch screen. I’m usually not a touch screen fan but I was curious to see what the technology was like. Some of the other features include:

• Choice of colours
• 10.0 megapixel resolution
• 3x zoom
• Electronic VR image stabilization
• 3-in. touch screen high-resolution LCD
• ISO 2000 capability
• VR Image
• Stabilization
• Scene Auto Selector
• Motion Detection
• Smart Portrait System

A great photo with the S230

There are a lot of features on this camera that I wouldn’t use and didn’t. There are some limited photo editing capabilities like the In-Camera Red-Eye Fix or the Paint functions. I do my photo editing in Photoshop and I don’t think I’d ever use those features on a camera. I tend to stay away from the preset features on cameras and stick to a customized setup.

The touch screen interface wasn’t bad. It was a bit slow at times moving scrolling through photos. It has an iPhone like experience for viewing photos. The shutter speed was much faster than my Pentax and I enjoyed the increased response time. The camera itself is light and compact. Playing with the autofocus features was interesting. This is where Nikon did a good job of integrating the touch screen with features. Using your fingers you can move the focus to where you need or increase the size of the autofocus area. That was the neatest feature of the camera.

A bad photo with the S230

Overall, I’m not a fan of the camera. It really boils down to the fact that I can’t stand the screen. The material used to make the screen durable and scratch resistant is also what makes taking pictures with this camera unbearable. It’s never clear enough to see if the picture turned out. When I take a photo with my Pentax I know exactly if the picture turned out or not. The display is crystal clear and there is no issues determining image quality.

The Nikon doesn’t allow that understandably. The images are always slightly grainy and I was never sure if it was the photo or the screen. It was only until I uploaded the photos to my computer did I find out their quality, which is way too late. When the pictures turned out they were amazing and when they didn’t they were bad. I’m sure this has more to do with me than the camera, but I just couldn’t take the pictures I wanted with the S230 that well. Day 3 of |FAT| I used the S230 to take my runway shots and I wasn’t happy with them at all. The camera doesn’t work for taking runway shots at all. No good for my line of work.

If I had the opportunity to evaluate a Nikon camera again I would definitely try another model as I wasn’t happy with the touch screen. The Nikon S230 retails for $239.95. Not a bad price.

The nerd in me is all excited about the Arc™ Mouse I received Microsoft and Highroad Communications. It’s product that combines fashion/style and technology that would be fitting of a debut at LG Fashion Week.

It’s an interesting departure for Microsoft; I don’t know them as a style conscious company on the level of LG or Apple. However, this mouse is making me change my mind. It’s lovely and I don’t usually say that about technology.

Features of the mouse include 2.4 GHz – 30 ft. Wireless Range, Folds For Portability, Micro-Transceiver snaps into the bottom of the mouse and the ambidextrous design makes it comfortable either way. It also has a little pouch for carrying.

I immediately plugged it into my work machine. It worked without having to install any software. I had my Eee PC out at lunch and it was plug and play with that. My Eee PC runs Linux and I didn’t have to install anything. I was so pleased. It opens up to become a fullsized mouse that is very comfortable to use.

The mouse has an estimated retail value of $69.95 but I’ve seen it at a local shop for $59.99.

This is the second post in a series about the Zune. You can read the first post here.

To recap, I’m a guinea pig testing out the Microsoft Zune – 8G. I have Matchstick to thank for this. I’m one of 300 people in Canada in the program.

So I’ve been fully immersed in the Zune for the last couple of weeks. I have a lot to say, but I’m going to talk about the Zune Premium Headphones right now. All headphones provided with media players are crap, so I was pleased when I was provided the upgrade. I have a pair of Shure Headphones which I love to death, so these would have to be pretty good for me to be impressed.

The Zune Premium Headphones are a step up from the standard but they aren’t my Shures, that’s for sure. (bad pun!). I took the headphones blading which is my standard for determining sound isolation – they failed unfortunately and I heard way too much wind for my liking. I think that might be more of a problem with the ear pieces; I can’t find a pair that fits the best. I don’t have that problem with my Shure headphones though, I hear nothing but the music.

I thought the headphones were too heavy also. That’s mostly due to the magnets in the earbuds that are used to keep the wires from tangling. Neat idea though.

I’m a huge fan of the soft fabric cable. I really wish my Shure’s had this feature. I love the look and feel of it and I hope this design catches on. I bet the wires don’t freeze up in the winter too.

The sound quality of the headphones are good and they aren’t expensive ($59.99). I’m a headphone snob though. Yes, my headphones cost more than my iPod and Shure is my pimp.

So I’m a guinea pig again this time it’s for Microsoft instead of Motorola. I’ve been asked to test drive the Microsoft Zune – 8G. I’m not particularly attached to my iPod so I said why not. I have Matchstick to thank for this. I’m one of 300 people in Canada in the program.

So you’ll be seeing some Zune posts on the site as I give you my thoughts about the product and if it can be an iPod killer.

Initial thoughts:
1. Interesting packaging. They are really trying to emulate the Apple way of packaging. The player is packaged great, not a lot of waste. I can’t say the same for the headphones and AC adapter that came with it.
2. Not sure about the packaging colour scheme, brown, orange. It’s unobtrusive I guess.
3. It’s a lot smaller than I thought.
4. Don’t like the scroll wheel
5. The interface is very flashy, with animation and all that. I’m definitely not used it to, so I’ll reserve judgment for now
6. It has a radio. I don’t listen to the radio and can’t remember the last time I carried a music player that incorporated it.
7. I keep trying to scroll in circles, lol. The Zune uses and up and down scrolling motion
8. It’s has these social tools incorporated in it. Not sure about these yet.

Another thing that is interesting with this program is they are tracking word of mouth. I have a Conversation ID: 102 986 0045, that you can use on ChatThreads.com to comment on this conversation about the Zune. If you complete the survey you can either donate money to charity or enter a draw for $500 gift certificate from Amazon.ca

EDIT: Now I feel like I’m really being tracked. They gave me a fancy gizmo for the post. I wonder if I can get a hold of the report at the end, hmm