Part 1: The Basics

Some daily items with the Panasonic DMC-TS1 for size reference. The camera doesn't use conventional batteries.

• 12 mega pixel
• wallet size
• waterproof
• shockproof
• I paid about $450 (last time I checked the new version – TS2 – was under $300 in Canada)

If you want more specific information you may have already discovered like me, that there are loads of websites, blogs, etc. that have very specific information about cameras. Try dpreview.com or steves-digicams.com for a start.

Admittedly, Panasonic previously brought to mind things like microwaves, DVD players, and generally things that I would not associate with good optical devices. As it turned out, my research indicated that Panasonic was making some pretty good and innovative cameras.

Part 2: Features I Use

I’m pretty sure most cameras have more features than most users will ever need and this one is no different, at least for me. Some of the important stuff to me is as follows.

Size, Waterproofing, and Ruggedness

After having a cheaper waterproof camera before this one (Fuji WP Z33) I spent more on this one hoping for better quality photos. Thankfully, that’s what I got… at least most of them are good enough for me. With some reasonable photo quality in hand, I have to say that having a small, waterproof, and shockproof camera is great for pretty much any sort of activity. I hike, bike ride, run, ski, and do other stuff with this camera in all sorts of conditions and it has been great. In particular it sees a lot of rain and sweat. The zoom slider sometimes gets a bit sticky, I think because of the sweat, but this is generally resolved by a tap water rinse. Up to this point I have dropped it twice from hip height without any noticeable effect on performance. Some people might be put off by the small buttons, but I have been able to manage fine with or without bike gloves on.

Back side of the Panasonic DMC-TS1. A good sized LCD screen. There is no view finder on this camera.

Intelligent Auto (IA)

Intelligent Auto is Panasonic’s full auto mode. For the first few months I had this camera I was trying to use its ‘Camera’ (pseudo-manual) mode, which allows for a wider range of setting adjustments. I think my basis for this was my previous camera, a Fuji WP Z33 (also waterproof), which made it difficult to get clean photos in anything but bright and sunny conditions without adjusting a bunch of settings hidden in the menus. For most of the last year since getting the DMC-TS1 I have been using the Intelligent Auto mode, which really does work pretty well. I do prefer to go no-flash most of the time, which still means that I need to do my best to hold the camera still as it gets darker.

Starry Sky Scene Mode

I don’t use it much, but in this mode the camera shutter can be set open for 15, 30, or 60 seconds. Given that I don’t expect super awesome night photo performance for standard compositions with this camera, I sometimes do some kinetic photography, which basically means I swing/spin the camera around in the dark and see what sorts of interesting looking light trails I get. It has to be pretty dark for this to work well, but I think it’s pretty cool. See below for some sample photos.

Part 3: Post-Processing (PhotoShop, Picasa)

This post is really about the camera, but it probably wouldn’t be right if I didn’t mention that most photos that appear in this blog, taken with the DMC-TS1, have been adjusted using PhotoShop or Google’s Picasa. I use Picasa as my photo organizer and that’s where I do basic photo adjustments like file naming, tagging, cropping, and straightening. I experimented with some of the more advanced stuff in Picasa (if you can call it that) mostly out of a desire to minimize the amount of time I spend working on photos after importing them from the camera, but came to the conclusion that I wasn’t getting what I wanted for some photos. Since I have it, I started using PhotoShop and now for about 50% or more of the photos I keep, I end up opening them in PhotoShop and use the ‘Level Presets’ in the ‘Adjustments’ panel to do some tweaking (most often ‘Midtones Brighter’ or ‘Increase Contrast 1′). Sometimes I increase the saturation to make the greens how I remember them for forest photos. My current opinion on post-processing is that it is not so much about using a specific procedure for adjustment, but rather to make the photos look the way I remember them (green vegetation, blue skies etc.), or to make the photos look the way I want them, which may deviate somewhat from reality.

Part 4: The Verdict

I’m pretty sure that what we get out of certain tools and devices we use in life depends a lot on what we put in and what our expectations are, i.e. the output depends on our skill using the thing in question. I know that based on my expectations and the level of skill I have developed using my Panasonic DMC-TS1, I am pretty happy with what I get out of it. It works really well for my lifestyle, and I think it would work equally well for someone with similar expectations who is willing to spend some time figuring things out.

Part 5: Sample Photos

Again, most of the photos in this blog were taken with my Panasonic DMC-TS1, but here are a few repeats that I kind of like.

Leafy matter from the fall with a frosty coating.

Kind of a double exposure taken with the Starry Sky Mode on my camera. 15 second exposure comprised of a few seconds of camera swinging in front of a bush with Christmas lights and then a few seconds on a tripod pointed at the BC Legislature.

Michelle navigating a slightly slippery portion of Lone Tree Hill.

Lizard on the Coast Trail in East Sooke Park.

Yesterday, I finally managed to recreate the noise while off the bike by standing over the saddle and pushing fairly hard on the middle and nose. After some searching on the interwebs I discovered a few reports about Aliante noise. For me the noise was coming from the nose of the saddle where the rails connect. In an approach similar to the internet suggestions I have put a few drops of massage oil in this spot (the professional massage oil you perv). I have no idea really, but I felt better about using a vegetable based oil on the carbon rather than a petroleum product.

So far so good… the noise is gone. I have no idea if this will work for people with similar problems, but I thought I’d let you know that it seems to be working for me. I’ll update this post if it turns out that this approach does not work for a reasonable amount of time.

The noisy (creaking / squeaking) four-month old Fizik Aliante Carbon saddle.

I was able to re-create the creak / squeak in my Aliante Carbon saddle by pushing fairly aggressively on the middle and nose of the saddle as shown.

Set up bike something like this before applying oil to the front of the saddle. Yes, gravity is your friend.

The perpetrator of noise on my Aliante Carbon saddle - the front rail connection point. Note the handy lube port in the plastic cap (I did not remove the cap).

A few drops of massage oil or maybe olive oil on the front rail connection seem to have solved the creaking / squeaking for me. I'll report back later on the long-term effectiveness of this solution.

In case you were wondering, massage oil (the professional variety) contains this stuff. My uneducated assumption is that since it's safe for human skin, it's probably ok for carbon fiber. If you have concerns about using it or any oil, I suggest you do some research on your own to figure out if it's safe.

For our 2009 Europe trip I decided to make use of some electronic goodies for navigation instead of paper-based resources. The two devices that have been important so far in Amsterdam are my Garmin 705 bike computer / GPS device and my iPod Touch.

Garmin 705 Bike Computer (GPS capable)

This device is a rather expensive bike-oriented GPS device that tells me how fast, how far, if my heart is about to explode, and many other things. Most importantly it functions like a GPS unit in a car and I can key in destinations and then follow a route to those destinations. Alternatively, it can be used as a palm-sized map that also tracks your path, which has been handy for hiking and bike riding.

Garmin 705 Bike Computer

Being bike-oriented the screen is quite a bit smaller than a car-oriented device, which I’ve found to be OK when out in the country, but more challenging to use when moving at speed through a city like Amsterdam. Having spent some time using an iPod Touch, I can say that interacting with the 705 is a bit clunky and slow comparatively. This is most noticeable when trying to pan or zoom.

In order for this thing to be of any use here in Europe I had to buy a city streets map on a microSD card. Topographical maps are also available for certain areas, but I decided to forgo that option for this trip. For my bike rides I have been creating bike routes (aka courses) on my laptop with Bike Route Toaster and then uploading them to the 705. This has worked quite well, but did require some learning, and has not been without the odd hiccup.

To summarize, I’ve been happy with the Garmin 705 so far and feel like I’m getting better at using it and the course creation software. Hopefully, this trend continues as we start our travels in Spain.

Apple iPod Touch (mini-computer)

The iPod for those who don’t know is basically a mini computer. You can do most stuff that people do with their home computers like, listen to music, watch videos, read and write e-mails, and waste time on the Internet.

iPod Touch (third generation)

In terms of navigation, I have been able to download a number of maps in PDF format (most notably, the Amsterdam transit map) and have found it rather handy to be able to refer to these while out and about in the city. The iPod’s relatively smooth and quick panning and zooming helps quite a bit.

The key differences between the iPod and the iPhone are network connectivity and GPS capability. With an iPhone you can get on the Internet anywhere, anytime, assuming you have paid your exorbitant phone bill. An iPod on the other hand only connects to WIFI networks (home or business wireless networks). There are lots of WIFI networks around, people seem to have caught on and most are secured, meaning no connection for the average iPod user. Of course, there is always the option to pay for access, at coffee shops etc.

Despite the network connectivity challenges with the iPod, I have found that it can do enough offline, that it can be pretty useful for travel navigation. A valid question is why don’t I just use an iPhone, which is pretty much capable of doing what the Garmin 705 and iPod do. This sounds good in theory, but at this point I am not interested in Canadian iPhone plans and felt I needed something more physically robust for bike riding, like the 705.