A quick second thought on the Dinghy cam....

Joey over at Good Morning Gloucester wrote regarding the Flip dinghy cam and pointed out that for about the same price you can get a whole lot more camera and suggested the Sony H10 which is a small still camera that also shoots video (but does not shoot HD video) and the Sony H20 (which does support 720P HD video) and he is right either camera would be a better choice if image quality was the only criteria...

The fact that they are just that little bit bigger so they won't fit in a small pocket is problematic and while they will accept a baggie style splash housing (IE waterproof bag) for about $50 or so it is not as bombproof as the hard housing for the flip.

Maybe I just need bigger pockets?

You might want to take a look at Joey's website as he has some neat video up which shows just what the little Sony can do... Take your time as the whole site has a lot to offer!

Dinghy camera...

I've been looking for a dedicated dinghy camera. Sort of a do everything video camera that would be cheap enough not to shed tears on the day it gets lost or destroyed. Small enough to throw in a pocket and add in the fact that it would be nice if it were waterproof and I could dive with it deep enough to be useful.

Nope not an easy want list to solve.

Enter the Flip UltraHD camera which sells for less than $200 and has an accessory underwater housing good to 30 feet which sells for less than $50... Now we are talking!

The problem with the Flip of course is it is something of a toy. It does shoot HD (High Definition) of a sort but there is a huge difference between HD Flip footage and HD footage taken with a Panasonic Varicam for instance ( which is the sort of camera I use for work) ... But then you'd expect that with a price difference of $58,000 or more!

But for a disposable camera for the dinghy, well the Flip kinda rocks!

Actually I plan to buy a few of these as I have a video project where I plan to loan out cameras for POV footage which I will incorporate into the production so while still a toy, it does have some potential as a useful tool!

Me I'm just hoping to be in the neighborhood and grab some footage next time Maltese Falcon gets T-Boned!

Musical Monday...

One of the most used systems on my boat has always been the stereo... You can geek speak all you want to about in mast furling systems (not ready for prime time) or internal combustion vs electric propulsion (Electric rocks) but if the boat don't got tunes does it really matter?

Way back when I taught skiing there was a guy who built custom personal stereo systems that you could wear while you ski. Something of a kludgy affair made out of a car stereo powered by a motor cycle battery and with big Koss headphones ...The damn thing weighed more than my skis but it did rock...and sometimes when I hear a certain song I find myself transported by memories of a day in deep powder doing linked telemark turns...

Of course now we have IPODs and they are just sort of perfect for life on a boat and no more fun and frolic with marine stereo curse of trying to get the mold out of your cassette tapes!

YUCK!

Doing the nightwatch is much less of a chore as you can choose a mix fo the watch kick up the volume and go to it. Personally I like to mix up the play lists with a short story or a podcast every now and again as it helps keep the alert level at full tilt boogie.



Speaking of music..There is much joy and jubilation in that one of our favorite albums that never seemed to have made it to CD in now not just vinyl! "Keynsham" by the sadly missed Bonzo Dog Band is now available on CD and MP3 Downloads....For any out there who might actually know about the Bonzos you may also be interested to know that "The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band 40th Anniversary DVD " seriously rocks and I'd like to think that Vivian Stanshall would find it all right and proper! Nightwatch #4 on my Ipod has "Tent" and "You Done My Brain In" and while not exactly sea chanteys they do have a certain Beach Boys meet Monty Python flavor which is spot on...

My Place in the Food Chain 1.5

I was watching the spearfishing show "Ocean Hunters" on ESPN the other day while in line to get a burger and the thing that caught my attention was just how over gunned the talent was using big guns for less than BIG fish. Which made me wonder just at what point do you jump to a bigger gun...

As you may have guessed I like minimal and simple...Pole spears make a lot of sense as do Slings but force the hunter to get up close and personal to the fish and this is no bad thing as it gives you the skills to get close to the big fish when you go with band guns.

Back when I was younger and dumber there was bugger all available to spear fishers in the form of decent guns...These days there are so many it is simply mind boggling. A lot of people have put a lot of thought and serious quality craftsmanship into gear that works. In the old days a gun that you could depend on was not always what you might be using...

Once I get out of the Caribbean (can you SPELL P.. A.. C.. I ..F ..I ..C?) which is becoming more and more spear unfriendly there will be a couple of new guns in the quiver but for the moment My Rob Allen Railgun is more than up to the Open water stuff I do though I have been seriously thinking about upgrading the muzzle with the Hammerhead when it is time to replace my current bands as they have a nice deal on a new muzzle and bands ...Which the way that bands rot out down here in the tropics will be sooner rather than later! On the other hand their new Evolution spear guns are so cheap...