The Q&A session ended with an interesting introduction: ClearWire, a wireless broadband network for internet connection is coming to town this summer! (First heard at our EMUG meeting!) We then moved downstairs to discuss digital photography. Three fascinating websites were presented (see below) and cameras from point & click, prosumer models to professional Canon and Leica models.

Clearwire uses a state-of-the-art wireless modem that can be plugged into a desktop computer, laptop, or local network. It works by transmitting signals to and from nearby cellular towers instead of using a traditional phone line. Christopher Park, Retail Account Executive, 953.9742 (cell), Christopher.Park@clearwire.com, www.clearwire.com

In Digital Photography, Flickr was the first site to be Demonstrated. Recently purchased by Yahoo, www.flickr.com is a ‘free’ digital photography sharing site, with an inexpensive pro membership. Flickr has an iPhoto plug-in to facilitate uploading photos, as well as the functionality to post comments about pictures, share ‘pal’s and is an exciting and easy way to share photos. Check it out! Two other sites were demoed for their reviews of cameras: dpreview.com, which has solid indepth reviews, and imaging-resource.com which has thorough reviews and also a “Dave’s Picks” where the type of photography that you are likely to take is the organizing factor… like grandparents, sports, nature, and photo-students. The site also hase a unique “comparometer” where you can actually view the same photos taken by different cameras, and even zoom in to see the pixels!

Jeff Scoble brought along examples of the Nikon and Canon lines that the Mac Store carries. The full featured Canon S2 IS powershot, the new slim Nikon S1 with a large LCD- which competes head to head with the Sony T1, that Marcus shot a short movie with. Dick Lennox showed an iPod size Kyocera, that has a quick-start feature and can even take movies. These cameras are full featured: can take 5 megapixel images, and even movies with sound. Most of the newer point-and-shoot cameras have less shutter lag than older cameras, but each camera has its own niche to fill. Some have better zoom lenses for distance shots, some are smaller without much of a zoom at all. The bottom line is that no one camera can do everything… some are better at one aspect than another, but having a small camera does seem to increase the likelihood that you won’t miss the “great” shot that got away because you didn’t want to heft a camera bag with you.

More expensive and powerful cameras are in the pro range: these camera are most often slr, or single lens reflex, where you actually see what the camera will take through the same lens. They are also bulkier, and have interchangeable lenses… for different special situations. The Canon Rebel XT, Canon 20D, Nikon D70, and even a special visit from a pc user that has a Leica. These are all + or – $ 1000 to 2000. They are as powerful as they are expensive… the only main disadvantage is the size.

It was great to see how many members have such an interest in Digital Photography, and we have a long list of subsequent topics to cover, such as printing, calibration, and… feel free to suggest a topic yourself… See you next month!