Canon Digital Camera Battery SUPERDEAL!

In a previous post I mentioned buying rechargeable batteries as a backup for your digital camera.  Spare batteries are always great to have on hand, especially if you're taking pictures at a special occasion or are on vacation.

But back when I wrote that post, up to that point I was using digital cameras that accepted standard AA size batteries.  I was apprehensive about buying a camera that used a proprietary battery format simply because the cost to buy any spares would have been out of reach.  I mean really - $39 for a spare battery?

Well, last summer in 2012 just before summer vacation my wife made it real clear that we needed to have great photos to remember the trip.  And the other thing that was important was having a camera that took great shots even in low-light conditions.  My previous cameras were never good at it, and frequently I wound up with blurry shots because I tried to take photos by exposing the shot longer and without flash because it was a situation (such as awards presentation or stage performance) where flash photography was prohibited.

After reading tons of reviews I settled on the Canon PowerShot ELPH 500 HS because the price was right and it had awesome marks for low-light photography.  That's another story.

Canon PowerShot ELPH 500 HS

Anyway I bought the camera and vacation was approaching fast.  Not wanting to be without a spare battery I started searching the web for the best deal.  Canon brand batteries I'm sure are most reliable but the cost was just too much for me.  I'm a cheapskate and don't have money to burn.

So as I Googled for "Canon NB-6L", I found the answer - or at least an option so cheap that if it didn't work my only loss would be $6!

On Amazon.com was a two-pack of Halcyon NB-6L 1600mAH batteries!  I thought - "well even if they don't work it's such a small price to pay", so I went ahead and bought them.  $6 for two batteries and FREE shipping - Fantastic!

The batteries fit both the Canon battery charger and camera perfectly.  I've taken hundreds of shots and use them constantly.  I would venture to say I use the Halcyon aftermarket batteries more than the factory Canon batteries.

$6 for two batteries - can't beat it!

Harlem Shake with Green Screen

So the Harlem Shake craze arrives and I felt like I had to make a video of it as well.
My son was pestering me to make one but it's just the two of us so I thought I better make something that stands out.
What better than if I'm in the air somehow - perhaps standing on the top of a swingset?

Green screen to the rescue.
I filmed three segments of video for this:

The two of us for the opening segment.

My son doing his Harlem Shake bit while on the swings.

Me in front of a green screen doing my harlem shake bit.

The swingset portion was filmed on a Sunday, but it was so windy that day (38mph gusts!) I couldn't get the green screen to stay up.  So the green screen part I filmed on the following Tuesday at approximately the same time of day so that the shadows would fall in roughly the same area as the first day of filming.

I think if I had to do this again I would drape the green screen over the wooden plank - it probably would have then been easier to blend the scenes together in Pinnacle.

What I used for green screen: the small one was included with the Pinnacle Software package bundle, and the larger one is a green flat sheet that came with a bedding set.  As it turns out the bed sheet is just the right shade of green for this.  And it was a really good deal from Walmart.

I only wish they still sold it - I'd buy a few more packages if that were the case.

Finished product.


Here's a link to the YouTube video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PGFa2ttASs

Rechargeable Batteries for Digital Cameras

If you are using a digital camera that accepts AA size batteries hopefully you aren't using the alkaline type.

If you are then you're probably replacing the batteries constantly.

Consider investing in a some rechargeables.

There are plenty on the market, see the picture above - Duracell on the left and two Rayovac on the right.

Even though they look the same there are differences.  I'm specifically talking about  the mAh rating.

Without going into so many technical details, basically the higher the mAh rating then the longer the battery will last.  So when shopping around try to go with the higher mAh.

Using the Canon Vixia HFM301 for Photography

On my most recent trip to Savannah, Georgia I decided to give a try at using my Canon Vixia HFM301 to take photos.  It is one of the features built-in to the camcorder and since I'll be in the market soon for a new digital camera I wanted to see how the Canon optics performed even though that's not the primary purpose of this particular product.

This isn't the first time I've taken photos with a Canon though.  My first decent digital camera was a Canon Powershot A60.  That was way way back in 2003.  It was a great camera and ultimately was sent back to Canon for repairs due to a faulty image sensor which turns out was covered under a recall of sorts.  They paid for shipping and replaced the image sensor.  The camera lasted for a few years more.

But the A60 was a 2.0 megapixel camera.  Newer cameras were entering the market with higher megapixel capabilities.  I then purchased a Canon Powershot A550 in 2007. Wow - a whopping 7.1 megapixels.  It served me well for a few years - and then - my son dropped it on the sidewalk while on vacation in Savannah.  The camera happened to be powered on with the lens extended and after it hit the ground the lens was whomp-a-sided and wouldn't retract.

Later that evening in the hotel I decided to try and "fix" it, so I forcibly pushed the lens back into it's normal position.  Amazingly I could power it on an off, the lens would extend and retract as normal.  I was surprised because honestly I was expecting the worst.

The A550 served well until 2011.  Early that year the LCD display started to fail.  I believe it was due to the sidewalk incident.

So then it was time to purchase a new digital camera.  Me being the cheap person I am found out about a Polaroid i1237 for sale at Big Lots for the low price of $55.  Even a coworker of mine owns that particular camera and raved about it.  The i1237 is a 12.0 megapixel and was the right price for me.

I bought it and don't you know it, on our vacation in summer of 2011 the camera's LCD display started failing.  It would go blank intermittently.  We coudn't use it because the i1237 doesn't have a built in eyepiece, so you have no idea what your taking a picture of.

Ok well this year we're taking another summer vacation and while the LCD display on the i1237 started working again, my wife doesn't have any faith in it.  So pretty soon we'll be buying a new digital camera.  But she doesn't want me to go the bargain route because, well, we see where it got me this time.

I took some pictures on our trip last week to Savannah using the Canon and posted them here as an example of their quality.  Everything looks good to me - so most likely I'll be shopping for another Canon.  These are all 3.0 megapixel images.

A jet fighter at the Mighty Eigth Air Force Museum.

 The entrance to Old Fort Jackson.

A soldier ready to fire the cannon at Old Fort Jackson.

The cannon after firing at Old Fort Jackson.

A lifesize cutout of Paula Deen greets patrons at her restaurant The Lady And Sons.

A tug boat play area on Riverfront street.

A view of the bridge on Riverfront Street.

The Tybee Island Lighthouse and Museum on Tybee Island.

A view of the ground from atop the Tybee Lighthouse.

A view of Fort Screvin from atop the Tybee Lighthouse.

A view of the horizon from atop Tybee Lighthouse.

A selection of cupcakes from Mabel Francis Potter's Cupcake Emporium.

The view from behind a rain covered window as a cargo ship passes River Street in Savannah.

All pictures copyright John Colangelo 2012.

Building A Steadicam

I recently agreed to film a friends wedding that is upcoming in August. This will be

the fourth one that I put film and put together, and really have come a long way for someone who simply does this as a hobby. 

My first one was shot with Hi-8 back in the late 90's, then Mini-DV for the second

and third wedding tapeings. 

Aye carumba - the time it took to transfer video to the computer with composite

video and firewire cables.  Now that was time consuming!  But this time it will be via usb - definitely faster.  Another step up I'm looking forward to is the addition of a steadicam rig. While my newest camcorder has image stabilization built in, the problem with it is if you try to pan a scene it doesn't look smooth and tends to be jerky.  After seeing what a steadicam can do - just search it on youtube for some samples – All I can say is it really enhances the video – looks really pro. 

Now a steadicam rig is certainly not cheap - why they can cost upwards of $800!

My solution to that is to build my own.  Borrowing on the design put together by 

WSClater and others on youtube, it really doesn't seem all too difficult. 

Perhaps the trickiest part will be balancing it.  And of course my goal is to keep

costs as low as possible.  That will be achieved by using parts from around the house.  Some parts I have had to purchase.

From Amazon.com I bought some skateboard bearings and u-joints for the gimbal. 

I will be sure to post pictures as assembly progresses on it.  For sure I'll have to finish it well in advance of August!

Taking Photos With A Camcorder

The Canon Vixia HFM301 is my current camcorder.  I purchased it last year for hmmm $299?  Can't remember exactly, but price would have definitely been one of the selling points that caught me.

Other things that drew my attention to it were the image stabilization feature, SD Card slot, and the microphone input jack.  That was something I had looked for in many different models but they were all a little too pricey for me.

I hope to one day put together a boom mic and then it will come in handy.  Or of course doing an interview with someone while they were a lapel mic will improve the audio greatly versus using the built in microphone as it tends to pick up ambient noise.

Now on top of HD video it also takes still pics.  That feature came in handy when while on vacation last year our digital camera crapped out and the HFM301 stepped up to the plate to substitute.

Now we are one vacation again and I brought that same Polaroid digital camera from last year for snapshots, but also brought the Canon Vixia for "just in case".  We're in Savannah, Georgia this time.  I'll take a few pictures with the Canon and post them on here to show what it's capable of.

More HDMI Cable Bargains

Perhaps you read my earlier post about HDMI cables - that quality isn't always determined by price.  The $9 HDMI cable from Big Lots is just as good as the $60 cable you'll find at a big box retailer.

Here's another good deal - a 10' HDMI cable just $6.99 from www.CompUSA.com:

That's an amazing $33 savings!

But maybe you're looking for an inexpensive HDMI cable in a brighter color - check out the myriad of colors available at www.monoprice.com for the low price of just $3.50:

Thats just their selection of 6' cables; check the Monoprice website and you'll find low-price cables of all lengths.

Amazing prices all around - discount stores locally if you need it right away, and online retailers if you can wait for it to ship.

Shop around... there are deals to be found!