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Apple has recently released the new iPod Nano 8GB.

Due to my recent “misadventures“, I had to buy a new iPod. I cannot be in a public transport for 40mn everyday without music.

I previously had a 60GB iPod Photo. It was great and I was able to load it with a lot of music. But it was heavy.

I choose to get a iPod Nano 8GB because it is small, have a nice style and I can load it with 3 days of music. And it is enough.

And I am very pleased of my choice!

I can have it every day in my suit at work and you do not feel the weight.

The sound quality is the same than the big one.

And, cherry on the cake, you can use it with mountain bike as you do not have an hard drive inside.

So, the iPod Nano 8GB is the perfect iPod up to now. Try it and you will love it

Really funny ad!

Graphic Design has a good article on how to convert a photo to sketch.

This is a 13 steps technique composed of automatic and manual processes.

So, no, it will not be fully automatic.

I have not tried it yet. I am not specially fan of “sketching” on top of photos for my photographic work, but it is always interesting to know new Photoshop techniques.

Have fun!

Intel is trying to improve PC designs.

They are offering $1m to have sexiest PC. Apple has actually the lead on the design. And I am almost sure they will always have it in the future.

It is not the money that is making the design, but this is a company strategy.

Good luck Intel!

First publication: 23 september 2006

Updated: 27 september 2006

Leica has released a new digital camera: the long awaited Leica M8.

This is the first digital range finder camera made by Leica.

As I have to set up a new camera system, I am looking at this one. But I have never used a range finder camera.

I have always associated a range finder camera with street photography. I like this kind of photos but I am not doing such pictures a lot. DpReview has a hands-on preview of this camera.

I like the overall design but there is one big negative point: the shutter noise is loud (see page 5 of the hands-on preview). And this is incompatible with a street camera. The second cons I have is that it is not a landscape camera (perhaps I am wrong as I have never tried it).

So it will certainly not be on my purchase list.

Updated on 27 september 2006

Video Blog from Luminous Landscape:

After being robbed recently, I thought of what I should have done to improve my “data” protection.

I have been lucky because no personal data has been robbed. Robbers only took some “materials” that will be replaced.

Nevertheless, I had some difficulties with these things. First I did not have all invoices. So I had to call a lot of shops to retrieve invoices copies or certificates.

So my advices are:

• Have all invoices stored in a safe place
• Make a copy of all invoices and store them in another place
• Put the serial number of everything with invoices
• Take pictures of these things and keep them with invoices

Of course you could do that electronically:

• Scan all your invoices
• Put digital photography with them (try to have the serial number on the pictures)
• Write serial numbers of them in a text file
• Backup these files to an external hard drive
• Backup these files on an protected web site

You should also follow the process with this kind of data:

• Any official paper (passport, property acts, …)
• Personal photographies
• etc…

Let’s hope these advices will help you in the future. I have started to write software to help me to ”industrialize” the process. I will post them on a page on this blog when they will be ready. I hope they will help someone in the future.

I have already written some time ago on the Canon HV10 HD camcorder.

And now, Camcorder info has published a review on it (the first one).

Here is the article’s conclusion:

Now for the section you all probably jumped ahead to: our verdict. To be honest, we had a hard time with the Canon HV10. Everyone wants high definition, but everyone wants it at the price and convenience of the camcorders they’re used to. Canon seems to have met so many of those needs with the HV10. It’s highly portable, easy to use, and under $1500.

But there were some serious issues that give us pause. The upright, pistol-grip body produces some very real handling issues. For anything but point-and-shoot operation, making adjustments can be a pain, and upset the picture stability. More seriously, the low light performance was terrible. You’ll be shooting in “low light” more often than you think, as camcorders require a lot more light than the human eye, which makes this category so critical. Bright light video looks great, but you have to consider the whole package. The weakness in audio is also a huge killer for us.

Compared to the Sony HDR-HC3, it’s a very tight race. We loved the Sony’s ease of use and handling, both of which trumped the Canon, but Canon’s manual control set is a crucial upgrade for many users. At the end of the day, if you’re a point and shoot user, the HV10 is likely going to satisfy your needs better than any user group out there. If you want something that is a bit easier to use, go with the HC3, but, if you want something that is ultra-compact (which many people do) the Canon HV10 is a good choice.

And my conclusion is: we have to wait a little bit to have a first good HD camcorder. Each contender has some serious issues that are not acceptable. The Sony’s camcorder is too big and heavy and the Canon has bad low light performances.

B&H has a fantastic support.

After being robbed last week, I had to get a copy of some invoices for my camera equipement.

I have called several stores in France to have some copies. I am sure that I will receive them but I have not yet received anything.

I have just sent a mail to B&H support services, and literally 5 minutes later, I had all the invoices in my email inbox! That is a GREAT support service!

And the cherry on the cake was that all serial numbers are printed on the invoice. This is fantastic because it is an information needed by the police!

For sure, I will buy other stuffs there!

After the bad news I had recently, I have to clean my mind and go forward.

On the bright side, Nintendo has made an official statement on the Wii availability in Europe.

• Launch 8th of December
• cost 249€ / 179£
• Wii play in the package
• 15 to 20 games available at launch
• Game price between 49€ and 59€ (34£ and 39£)

So the Wii price is the one everyone was expecting. But games prices is a little bit more expensive than expected.

Two days ago, we had an unpleasant surprise with my wife when we came back from a dinner.

Some guys had made a visit to our house.

They have looked everywhere to find some money or jewels. But my wife does not like jewels and we never have cash.

So they tried to take my PC monitor and it was certainly too heavy.

Finally, they saw my camera bag and they made a quick decision to take it (with a laptop, ipod, and other things).

So, I am not able to take any photo (they also took the small camera).

I have to find all the receipts for my camera purchases. From now, I will scan all big receipts and save them outside my house to be sure to have everything.

Of course, we will certainly install an alarm system very soon.

So, if you see on sale a D100, a 70-200VR lens, a 12-24DX lens, a 24-120VR lens, an MB-D100, a 50mm lens, a 85m lens, etc… just tell me, so I will be able to check serial numbers!

Now, I will have some time to know what kind of camera I will buy when the insurance company will pay. Will I buy a Nikon or Canon camera?