Special Pages

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Ends and Odds

Via Sipsey Street Irregulars, I learned that the visitor many of us know as Dennis .308 has gone on to his maker.  I can't say I really knew Dennis, but he visited here regularly, commented on occasion and always came across as one of the good guys, someone you'd be proud to know.  Mike V describes him as a "loyal three-per" and Oath Keepers had nice things to say as well.  Thanks for your service, good sir.  We'll see you on the other side. 

I have a habit of making fun of my stupidity, and I outdid myself two weeks ago.  To begin with, I put my nice little ultra compact digital camera into my pocket for a fishing trip, and then put the camera into the washing machine in my cargo pants.  Mrs. Graybeard heard something thumping in the dryer and retrieved it.  To make a long story short, scratch one camera.  Now that camera was a Nikon Coolpix S4000, which I bought on close-out sale primarily to do HD videos - the fact that it was a decent little camera for digital pictures was a plus.  See, I have this idea I'm going to do some CNC gunsmithing and put some videos up on YouTube to go with the crap-o-vision video I have up there now (uhhh)...

Rather than go look for a new replacement, I found a seller on eBay who has factory refurbs of this model.  They go for $50, more or less, so I started bidding on them.  Wouldn't you know they go for over $60 if I bid, but otherwise stay low?  Didn't win any.  Last weekend, I picked another one out of his auction list and won!  Cool beans!  Wednesday it got here and it just didn't seem right - and then I realized I had bought the wrong camera!  Well, the seller agreed to replace it for refund (I'm out $20 shipping both ways) and I'm back on the prowl for a replacement camera.

(not exactly, the last picture out of the camera, but just about... Sebastian Inlet, Florida on a quiet Sunday morning in October)

Come to think of it, if any of you have a make/model of a decent little camera, post it in the comments.  What I'm looking for is 720P HD videos.  I'd rather not spend hundreds, but playing the auction game hasn't been fun.  I like the idea of a camera I can use for video and still pics, too.  Nikon had a bunch of Coolpix models, Panasonic had the Lumix models, and I'm sure the other guys did, as well.   

6 comments:

  1. I'm a big fan of my little Olympus Stylus that's water-proof. I've used it for kayak & camping trips on the river, and it's really, truly waterproof. I clipped a boat-key bobber on it, and it floats if it falls out or I get dumped. I don't know if it's 720p HD or not though, as that wasn't a decision point for me. I just tried to look it up, and was too overwhelmed by the plethora of numbers. Start here:
    http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/cpg_digital.asp?section=tough

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Scott. A bit more than I was hoping to spend, but the Tough TG-310 does 720P video. I'll have to look around. Sometimes I want to spend X for something, but the going price is several times that. Then I have to recalibrate myself.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've a Kodak Playsport, picked it up for $115 at my local Sams Club (not looked at prices elsewhere, it was an on a whim purchase). Waterproof, and does up to 1080p. It does need a seperate memory card though.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ruth - that's a perfect example of something I've never heard of and would never think to look for. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Welcome, I've quite enjoyed using it, and it really is simple to use. Figuring out some of the special settings can be a bit annoying, but not the end of the world so.

    ReplyDelete
  6. oh, and don't feel to bad, I just put the memory card through the washer.....unfortunetly it didn't come out when the clothes did, I have this image of it stuck in a line somewhere creating a fire hazard or plugged plumbing line.

    ReplyDelete