PHOTTIES - Cameras and techniques wot I used.
My Digital - A FujiFilm F650
Around 5 years old and has only 6million Pixels, which is quite low by today's standard. For a point and shoot it has got quite a good x5 zoom lens. I also used it in movie mode a few times. You can't zoom when it is in this mode but the results were quite surprising. My major drawback was it positively ate up the battery especially in movie mode.
My Black and White Film Camera - Yashica SLR 230 -AF (Yashica SLR 108)
This is much more interesting. My first ever SLR was a Yashica FX-D that I had for about 20 years, so I've always had a soft spot for this make. Yashica were basically cut-price versions of the professional (and more expensive) Contax cameras. With the onset of Digital I found that a lot of people were selling off their old film cameras for next to nothing. The 108 I use occasionally for wide angle shots (I have a great 28mm lens), While my main camera is the 230 with a 35-70mm autofocus lens, age has withered my eyes I'm afraid and I was getting very pissed off with out-of-focus photos. I only take in black & white...cos I can..and I develop the negatives myself in the kitchen. Then I scan them
My Mobile -
Well, I did use it to take a photo of the bedraggled rabbit so I had better include it. It is a LG KS360. It does everything a swanky iphone or Android does at a fraction of the cost..and a fraction as effectively. Still, needs must.
My Computer & Peripherals -
Most of this was produced on an old HP 7010 laptop. It is about 6 years old and would have been sent to the recycling tip in 2008. It is a mighty beast as it seems as though it has been constructed out of wrought iron and comes in at a stonking 3kg - twice the weight of contemporary laptops. However since I've got it attached to a station and use it as a PC with a separate monitor, it more than does the job. The only hardware upgrade was adding an extra 1Gb of RAM (to take it up to 1.5Gb).
I also use a 10-year old Evesham PC (Evesham technology went bust about 3 years ago) that uses an AMD Athlon XP 2200+ processor and also has 1.5Gb of RAM. I use the Evesham as my printer and scanner server. It is networked to my other computers.
I've got 2 scanners. A Visioneer 8700 flat-bed for photos and a Scanwit 2740s for scanning my negatives. Even though the ScanWit is 10 years-old, it is a well-built piece of hardware. Its age does mean, however, that it can't save the scans at a very high resolution and it needs a SSCI connection - you have to install the SCSI Host Adapter Card into your PC yourself - but I love it.
I use a BT Modem 'Openreach' with a lightening speeds (I'm on the fibre Network). The current speeds are nearly 30MBps download and 7Mbps upload. There's an awful lot of bullshit about speeds told to us by the various companies but BT really deliver.
My printers are irrelevant so I wont mention them.
I also use a 10-year old Evesham PC (Evesham technology went bust about 3 years ago) that uses an AMD Athlon XP 2200+ processor and also has 1.5Gb of RAM. I use the Evesham as my printer and scanner server. It is networked to my other computers.
I've got 2 scanners. A Visioneer 8700 flat-bed for photos and a Scanwit 2740s for scanning my negatives. Even though the ScanWit is 10 years-old, it is a well-built piece of hardware. Its age does mean, however, that it can't save the scans at a very high resolution and it needs a SSCI connection - you have to install the SCSI Host Adapter Card into your PC yourself - but I love it.
I use a BT Modem 'Openreach' with a lightening speeds (I'm on the fibre Network). The current speeds are nearly 30MBps download and 7Mbps upload. There's an awful lot of bullshit about speeds told to us by the various companies but BT really deliver.
My printers are irrelevant so I wont mention them.
My Software -
Old Hardware means old software, so it's XP (PRO) all round. According to the rumours Microsoft will be pulling the plug on supporting XP in about 18 months. Bastards. But I had better not start launching into a rant, otherwise I will never finish this thing.Let us instead list the software package.
XP Pro SP3
MS Office 2007 mainly Word 2007
Paint Shop Pro Version 9 - with a MiraPhoto Driver for the Negative Scanner
Windows own Movie Maker 2 for the Videos
Windows Photo Manager
Weebly Pro Editor for the Web design - Mostly GUI orientated - my HTML and JAVA skills are virtually non-existent
XP Pro SP3
MS Office 2007 mainly Word 2007
Paint Shop Pro Version 9 - with a MiraPhoto Driver for the Negative Scanner
Windows own Movie Maker 2 for the Videos
Windows Photo Manager
Weebly Pro Editor for the Web design - Mostly GUI orientated - my HTML and JAVA skills are virtually non-existent
USEFUL LINKS AND ADVICE
In the process of writing this blog, I have come across official sites and more interestingly, other enterprising folks who have attempted similar projects. I feel it is only fair I should include them.
Walk London - Capital Ring Overview.
An official Web link - I used the maps it provided as my printed map when I did the CR this time round. They are very efficient as long as you don't take any wrong turnings. Then you are stuck. I do recommend that you have a good old fashioned Ordinance and Survey map with you (or even an A to Z).
Transport for London (Tfl) - Capital Ring
Not as comprehensive as the above, but it does have the benefit of linking you to the journey planner so you can plan you starting and finishing points.
Capital Ring - a walk around inner London
This is my favourite. This person is obviously a serious walker. Not only has he logged each section with the day he walked it, the distance, the time but even the ascension. It's complemented with some great Google Map software and has some gorgeous colour photos along the way. It doesn't quite have my quirky turn of phrase, but each to his own. He has also done a lot of other walks. I bet he's disgustingly fit.
853 - Capital Ring
And finally, here's a great one from a journalist in Charlton.
Fascinating eh? Are you sure you wouldn't rather see some more trainspotter porn?
Walk London - Capital Ring Overview.
An official Web link - I used the maps it provided as my printed map when I did the CR this time round. They are very efficient as long as you don't take any wrong turnings. Then you are stuck. I do recommend that you have a good old fashioned Ordinance and Survey map with you (or even an A to Z).
Transport for London (Tfl) - Capital Ring
Not as comprehensive as the above, but it does have the benefit of linking you to the journey planner so you can plan you starting and finishing points.
Capital Ring - a walk around inner London
This is my favourite. This person is obviously a serious walker. Not only has he logged each section with the day he walked it, the distance, the time but even the ascension. It's complemented with some great Google Map software and has some gorgeous colour photos along the way. It doesn't quite have my quirky turn of phrase, but each to his own. He has also done a lot of other walks. I bet he's disgustingly fit.
853 - Capital Ring
And finally, here's a great one from a journalist in Charlton.
Fascinating eh? Are you sure you wouldn't rather see some more trainspotter porn?