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Post by onlyMark on Oct 10, 2020 9:36:23 GMT
After seeking advice from various sources, (many thanks for explanations/advice) here and elsewhere, I bought a camera. The good one I have I somehow left it in Spain, but with various events happening before I return there, I thought it prudent to obtain another one especially as I will be changing countries and to log the first impressions. Using the camera on my phone just doesn't seem right. I spent a couple of days looking at the suggestions and decided the best option was to buy the best I could for as cheap a price as possible. It came down to two, a Panasonic and a Sony.
Both new were a price I couldn't justify considering I already have a 'good' one and this one would be something of a stop gap, but I still wanted something of quality. I cast around high and low, here and there, left and right, and checked prices, compared reviews and opinions, technical comparisons etc. Eventually I spied an older, but good, refurbished and guaranteed, model that fitted the bill on Amazon Warehouse. What this older model was new I have no idea, but mine cost me Euro 110, a Panasonic Lumix TZ80. However, as often happens in Germany, reams of instructions are included, in many languages, but not English.
No problem though, I've downloaded an English version, read it, ignored it, set the camera to automatic and left it at that. We'll see how we go - I could have bought either one of the top two choices, it just came down to what I could get at the right price on the day.
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Post by kerouac2 on Oct 10, 2020 10:17:02 GMT
I think you made the right decision.
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Post by lagatta on Oct 10, 2020 11:22:45 GMT
I've never been to Bosnia, only to what are now Croatia and Slovenia. Did know students from what is now Bosnia, who identified most with their lovely old cities; this was before all the strife in the former Yugoslavia. Lots of Yugos studying in Udine and elsewhere in northeastern Italy. Painful conflict aside, it does look like a beautiful place and I assume that there is good food, and hill walking to work that off.
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Post by onlyMark on Oct 10, 2020 12:25:24 GMT
There are a lot of good/nice things about the area, but, I just know I'm going to hate the winter.
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Post by kerouac2 on Oct 10, 2020 14:26:24 GMT
I will never forget the news reports about the siege of Sarajevo in the middle of the winter. Without electricity or water, at the hospital they would hang the sheets out in the courtyard to freeze and then scrape off as much feces, urine and blood as possible before putting them back on the beds.
I think conditions have improved since then.
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Post by onlyMark on Oct 10, 2020 14:51:51 GMT
If not, I'll let you know. Just read the first snows are forecast for Monday.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 10, 2020 15:24:12 GMT
Great choice and price on that camera, Mark!
I know almost nothing about Bosnia except for having looked at various reports on it as a tourist destination. Those reports are always positive, but I can't even imagine a winter there. (although I also consider winters in the southern parts of the US unbearable)
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Oct 10, 2020 15:29:26 GMT
Good camera, love a Lumix me. Looking forward to seeing your photographs Mark.
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Post by lugg on Oct 10, 2020 18:27:14 GMT
I too am partial to a Lumix . I think I have been to Bosnia - but now am going to have to check, if so it was a fleeting visit and in the summer. Anyway, looking forward to your reports, and your photos, of course.
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Post by bjd on Oct 10, 2020 18:36:13 GMT
I envy your going to Sarajevo, Mark. I had a ticket for Sarajevo in June of this year but had to cancel the trip. Got my money back from Lufthansa. I'm sure it will be an interesting time. I have seen pictures of Mostar and see that it has been fixed up quite a bit since I was there in 2006, but the country still has a lot to offer and is not overrun with tourists.
As for winter -- the 1984 winter Olympic games were held in Sarajevo. I think it's one of those places that is cold in winter and hot in summer.
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Post by onlyMark on Oct 10, 2020 18:37:41 GMT
Bixa, the Sonys I could find were very good but the price of the Panasonic was just too good to pass up. I also now little about Bosnia other than the obvious war related information. I will bone up on it as time passes but I'm always hesitant to 'know' too much in case my expectations are different to reality or I form opinions, unknowingly or otherwise, that bias any viewpoint, so I do enjoy going into a country sort of blind and learning as I go.
Cheery, the only photo I have at the moment is of my feet. I think I can do better when the subject is more interesting. I got a deal in a local electronics store on a memory card of 128Gb. It seems I can take at the settings I have, 22,703 photos before it is full. It will be 22,704 if I delete the one of my feet. I'll have to think about it.
Lugg/Bjd, I've spent time in Slovenia and Croatia but Bosnia seems a lot more 'raw' is the best way I can put it. Similar but with sharper edges.
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Post by kerouac2 on Oct 10, 2020 20:29:14 GMT
I keep my setting at 5 million pixels.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 10, 2020 21:22:29 GMT
Bixa, the Sonys I could find were very good but the price of the Panasonic was just too good to pass up. I also now little about Bosnia other than the obvious war related information. I will bone up on it as time passes but I'm always hesitant to 'know' too much in case my expectations are different to reality or I form opinions, unknowingly or otherwise, that bias any viewpoint, so I do enjoy going into a country sort of blind and learning as I go. Mark, I had two Lumixes (of the lesser end of the scale) and liked both of them. Also, I know who all on this forum use Lumixes and how good their pictures are. Even with the two I had, I felt they did better on both extreme close-ups and on zoom shots than my much more expensive Sony does. It's heartening to hear you say that you like hitting a country without knowing too much. That's sort of how I travel, which is partly because of mental laziness, to be honest. But it also means everything, including some well-known landmarks, feels like a wonderful surprise to me.
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Post by onlyMark on Oct 11, 2020 6:39:13 GMT
K2, I'll check what mine is.
Bixa, the thing is we went to the Philippines and I knew not a lot about it, but the next three, Egypt, Jordan and Zambia, I'd been to many times and was quite familiar with stuff there. So, as I've never been to Bosnia, I thought I'd revert to obtaining some knowledge, just functional more than anything, and getting the feel of the place when I'm there. It's not s if I'm nipping on a two week holiday. We'll see how we go.
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Post by mossie on Oct 11, 2020 7:08:54 GMT
You can't go wrong with the little Lumix TZ series. I consider myself a happy snapper and have been through a series of them, starting with the TZ5 and progressing now to the TZ200. The TZ stands for 'travel zoom', they are so easy to slip into a pocket, and the long zoom range covers most occasions. Point and shoot without complications.
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Post by onlyMark on Oct 11, 2020 7:27:17 GMT
Thanks Mossie for the info.
K2, I have three size settings - 18M which gives me 12,546 shots, 9M = 22,703 and 4.5M = 39,729. So with the (extreme) size of the card I have I'm thinking leaving it on the 9M. It's not as if I'll fill it up anyway. Also, aspect ratio is 4:3?
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Post by kerouac2 on Oct 11, 2020 7:34:59 GMT
The number of pixels also has an influence on the uploading time, so if ever it seems really slow, you might want to change it.
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Post by onlyMark on Oct 11, 2020 8:10:19 GMT
Right-o.
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Post by onlyMark on Oct 11, 2020 10:30:53 GMT
For the first time for days the sun came out. So I nipped onto my rear balcony and took a few shots with the new camera. The gardens behind the buildings - Pan right a little and you can see a red arrow over a very small window. Thought I'd test the zoom - Jeeesus, Gordon Bennett!, no one can hide from me any more - One thing though - if I take the memory card out and put it in my computer I can download the photos - plus delete them off the card - but if I transfer the photos via a cable from the camera with the card still in it, I can't. 'Delete' doesn't come up as an option when I right click on a photo or photos in the camera folder that opens up on the computer screen. I hope/suppose there is a setting on the camera somewhere to stop them being 'protected'. The thing is, when travelling, I take my small computer net book thing which doesn't have a card slot.
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Post by kerouac2 on Oct 11, 2020 10:55:19 GMT
I generally insert the card into my computer to download the photos, and then I put it back in the camera and use the delete function on the camera to get rid of the pictures. This is protection from my own stupidity. I know the photos are in my computer, so it is safe to delete them from the camera.
Actually, I bought a card reader that I can insert in a USB socket, after my card slot died of old age on one of my computers. Tiny brilliant device.
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Post by onlyMark on Oct 11, 2020 14:28:40 GMT
Just dragged out my travel laptop and discovered it does have a card slot. Hidden well at the back near the hinges. So problem solved.
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Post by kerouac2 on Oct 11, 2020 14:34:27 GMT
Yes, I thought my latest secondary laptop didn't have a card reader, but I discovered it after about 3 months.
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Post by whatagain on Oct 12, 2020 21:01:12 GMT
Clearly this thread should include 'something positive could happen tomorrow'. That is why i post here. I did a Covid test today, having been sharing a dinner with my bro and SIL on thursday whilst they got contaminated on prior sunday. Result in 48 hours...
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 12, 2020 21:21:37 GMT
I just know your results will belong in this something GOOD thread!
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Post by tod2 on Oct 14, 2020 13:28:41 GMT
Oh Whatagain I am holding thumbs for you. As long as there was plenty of red wine you should be OK! Do you feel unwell? that could take some time still. I felt a bit guilty hugging my grandsons with a mask on both us, but when it came to letting him select his chocolates to take home I was maskless . They have had at least two Covid cases at his school and now German Measles is doing the rounds.I don't worry about that as we all were vaccinated by law when babies.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Oct 14, 2020 16:41:03 GMT
Theres an option to erase pictures from the memory card on my lumix tz5 and Jeff's tz10. Something good happened yesterday...Jeff dropped me off at a (new) supermarket a few miles away. I bought 2 lovely bouquets of flowers and met my sisters Sue and Peggy outside the café. We had to fill in a contact form and were shown to one of the tables, our chairs positioned as far apart as practical and then coffees were brought to us. There weren't many in the café, the tables were spaced well apart and we weren't hassled to hurry up even tho we were nursing our coffees. We had a brilliant time...the girls loved their flowers and Peggy was very pleased with the quilt that I had made her for her birthday next month. We don't know when we will get to see each other again, drive by gifting at Christmas I suppose as we throw presents at each other from a distance...be awkward with my brothers gift..I got him a bottle of whisky
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Post by lugg on Oct 14, 2020 17:33:19 GMT
drive by gifting at Christmas I suppose as we throw presents at each other from a distance...be awkward with my brothers gift..I got him a bottle of whisky Lol . So glad you had a catch up with your sisters . I just know your results will belong in this something GOOD thread! Fingers crossed for you whatagain Actually, I bought a card reader that I can insert in a USB socket, after my card slot died of old age on one of my computers. Tiny brilliant device I have one too -its a life saver
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Post by kerouac2 on Oct 15, 2020 17:48:01 GMT
I got a haircut today just because it was a date that I knew I would remember. I generally get a haircut thinking that I won't forget when the last one was, but I always do. This time I won't.
Of course I am well aware that you should go to the barber when you know you need to do and not according to any sort of calendar.
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Post by mich64 on Oct 15, 2020 22:14:20 GMT
My husband books his next appointment while at the cash paying for his cut. Two reasons, first appointments book up fast with his regular stylist and second, he knows will be complaining it is too long days before the appointment. He likes it short.
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Post by tod2 on Oct 16, 2020 17:00:22 GMT
I cut Mr.Tods hair this morning. It is quite manageable with a barbers clippers. Started on No.3 all over then went for a two on the sides finally taking the comb part off and neatened up the neck and around the ears. I'm getting quite good as its his third haircut with Salon Free- bee! I don't know if he will ever go back to paying the high price hairdressers/barbers charge for around 10minute cut. I take much longer but then I'm a perfectionist….
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