Remembering PRESTAGS

An afternoon walk

hazy & cloudy.  but so green.

An afternoon walk

hazy & cloudy.  but so green.

Macro adventures on a ladder

There was an arachnid visitor to the extended web of the black house spider at my front door today (top of the wall where the eave joins). A large huntsman (I suspect a huntswoman actually) - sheltering from the heavy rain? Seemingly uninterested in the house spider further down the wall. (I might call her a pet, as I leave her big messy web in place above the door knowing she won't bother anyone unless they bother her).

A challenge for shooting, as she was behind the web on the wall - autofocus was almost certainly going to focus on the web in front not the spider.

I tried a couple of strategies - first a monopod with the foot wedged against the wall, and camera pointing up. I tried manual focus with live view (zoomed in), and there was sort of success but not stunning. (my eyes just couldn't pick focus or not through the 'normal size' optical viewfinder, especially as I was 'perched' and an odd angle).

Got out a tripod but realised that wasn't going to be high enough either. Then I thought about an approach I had contemplated for jumping spiders - using my travel tripod as a horizontal brace against the wall. This allowed be to have the camera positioned opposite the target rather than underneath. I imagine it looked weird to anyone driving along the street ...

So the set up was small 2 step ladder, tripod with all 3 legs against the wall with me pressing inwards to keep it stable. flash, manual exposure to get shutter speed up a bit, and live view with zoom in then manual focus to get focus on the spider not the web. Moderately pleased with the results. Had a go for the house spider but the web around her is too think and she is in a corner making bracing tricky - in the 'as shot' pic below you can see where she is though.

monopod shot - web in focus

As shot (size wise, minor process tweeks)

cropped image

The house spider hidden in her web. I was trying to focus manually but it was hopeless. She seems to have abandoned the big web further out from the door (her mother's from 3 or so years ago) and stays in the corner.

Peacock spider (Maratus pavonis ?), seen as a result of other opportunistic macro

iNaturalist suggests it is Maratus pavonis, the common peacock spider.

The lead up story - saw a little jumping spider on/under the handle on the shed door. Got the camera ...

here's a crop of one of those shots

as I was getting ready to take the gear back inside I quickly scanned the back wall of the house, and spied a little spider.

On a close look, it was a PEACOCK SPIDER !!!! It was such a thrill to see one in the flesh and to get to photograph him. A joy in the Creator's creation.

Here are few shots, all crops except the first one (for scale, beside the mortar line between bricks).

 

 

more accidental macro while preparing dinner

I was getting my dinner ready when I noticed a rather large moth on the cupboard above the stove ...

Beautiful red colour and so fluffly looking up close. Here are a few shots. A few contortions undertaken on a little 2 step ladder and against cupboard doors etc.

Would have been nice to be able to get a front on shot but it was facing upwards and was a long way up and I didn't want to move it and risk injuring it. I got it in a glass and released it in the bush outside. It also reminded me of a character from Monsters vs Aliens (see at the end).

with 18-55 as shot (downsized)

18-55 cropped - the gap on the left gives some scale - that is the edge between 2 cupboard doors.

85 micro uncropped.

85 micro, cropped a bit.

and reminded me of this character - Insectosaurus

Look what I found

a blast from the past (I also found the access codes too). I don't know where disk 1 is though.

I don't have a working computer that accepts these disks anymore ... 

more accidental macro

quick playing around this afternoon with pretty little flowers outside back door. First with 18-55 AF-P lens, then with macro trying a different tripod setup - didn't think the horizontal extension would be useful but turns out it is.

 

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Just because it was there

the moon. Starting to wane so not so bright which makes for better shots with contrast and detail rather than 'white out'. (a cropped shot of course).

 

First Jumper (photos) of the season

I had just got back from a ride and sitting on the front steps espied a little jumping spider on the wall of the house ... Quickly inside to collect camera, minitripod and flash.  These are all cropped a fair bit.

Here is the setup - the little tripod allows me to brace against the wall and avoid camera shake.

Accidental naturalist

Today I saw a little spider flitting very fast on the window & sill. I captured him (I think it was a male) with a glass. Very pretty markings. How to photograph? First I thought I would put some gladwrap over the glass and shoot through that. was worried that wouldn't be very stable. Then thought of a little shallow porcelain dish I could try - luckily virtually the same diameter as the glass so transfer wasn't a problem. Used a piece of hard plastic to 'seal' him in. Then had another thought - a clear lens filter sitting on the dish would not fall off and should not affect too much the optics.

Here is that set up:

then to attempting to photograph. lots and lots of shots. spider wouldn't sit still. getting light tricky (couldn't use flash as it would just reflect). Tried a couple of different tripod setups. Had the jar on the floor under the big lounge windows and was lying / crouching on the floor to get angles for shots. D7500 + 85 micro lens

This is actually one of the early shots. Google provided me with an identification this evening - Nyssus coloripes or orange legged swift spider. http://www.findaspider.org.au/find/spiders/509.htm  http://www.arachne.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=1807  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyssus_coloripes

From all the observations I did notice something really neat - he was cleaning his legs, one at a time by running them past the mouth parts. Depth of field proved an insurmountable obstacle to get a nice shot of that but I saw it nevertheless.  I also didn't register for ages that he was missing one leg.

A gorgeous little spider. I subsequently released him under the bushes outside.

 

In between changing tripods (teeny for small) I also noticed that a male blackbird was sitting quite still outside the lounge window. Grabbed the D3300 and wacked on the 70-300 AF-P and tried to get some shots through the (not very clean) window. The bird was also sitting in a patch of shade so lighting was tricky and trying focus on a black bird. I also noticed he had a grub or worm in his beak. The shot below is a moderate crop with some post processing but I don't think focus was nailed and that can't be provided after the fact. Might be a function of the dirty window too.

I like blackbirds - they have a beautiful song, and flit quickly about through the spring and summer. The hen bird is a drabber brown colour. Although an immigrant species they haven't gone nuts like Indian mynas.

Hoverfly

pseudo macro of hoverflies outside the backdoor. 8-10mm long. (70-300 AF-P lens but cropped a fair bit)

my one good 'hovering' shot - they wouldn't stay in stationary hover! (both crops)

 

 

opportunistic macro

I was playing around trying to shoot flowers near the backdoor. On closer inspection I saw there was a tiny fly feeding from one of the flowers ...

as shot (about as magnified as I could get). The flowers are probably about/< 1cm diameter.

successive crops - can you see the droplet of liquid at the head of the fly?

 

Last night while cooking, I noticed this fly on the cupboard (not a housefly or blowfly - also flower feeders I think). cropped image.

I saw my first jumping spider of the Spring this morning too but there was no time for photos ...

Light rain, jewels on plum flowers

Fly sunning itself in the late afternoon

I've seen these big flies doing this in the early morning and late afternoon - presumably warming themselves up.

This was the first macro shot using the little manfrotto tripod that was in a camera bag I bought - really helps with bracing against the brick wall. I hope it will help shots when the jumping spiders emerge too. a little sharpening and exposure adjustment.

big crop

lesser crop

view as shot (it was more or less upside down)

Moon, supermoon

So I fired off some quick shots tonight before the supermoon was engulfed by cloud ...

here is one as shot (slight touchup for exposure). Hand held, D7500 @ 300mm

50% crop

Evening Sunday 3 May. D7500 @ 300mm, on tripod.

as shot

50% crop

another one, slightly different exposure

50% crop

New toys. Food. Old toy. Birds.

NEW TOY

So I got a poor man's RX100 - a used Canon S120 (for $120 incl post) with the teeny 1/1.7 inch sensor.

I'm pretty impressed. Solid build - metal top and bottom. Lot to learn to drive it though.

Should be good for quick photos.

Dinner last night.

Carl: spring rolls, chicken things, wedges


Thygo - stir fry / satay + kanga bangas

Packet cake made by Carl & Thygo last night, iced today, tastes good.

Lexi enjoying the sun

selfie of Grumpy old Man

 

Another NEW TOY - old binoculars (Gumtree special, $30)- object d'art

image quality good and much more comfortable to hold than the new-bought Olympus.  Both 8x40. Dad had/has a pair like these older ones when I was young.

thi

 

OLD TOY - D7500 + (stellar little) AF-P 70-300 DX VR - Crested pigeons from the clothes line. No cropping.

Trouble photographing black creatures - Willy Wagtail & a new jumping spider

Over the last few weeks one or more Willy Wagtails have been visiting the backyard. They flit about quickly and are elusive photographic subjects.

This morning there was one in the yard below the rear window. So rather than try to go out the door, and probably scare him off, I tried shooting through the glass.

There seem to be two challenges getting good focus - the all black around the eye, so little contrast for the AF system, and the rapid and almost never stationary movement of the bird.

but I got a couple of half-decent shots. shown as shot with a crop. Still some motion blur evident I think.

in this pic I think he has just done a little white poo !

The little jumping spider, with a similar body shape to a white tail. But the eye arrangement clearly shows it as a jumper. The lack of different colours made it hard to shoot this one, and he/she wasn't cooperating with being still either. These are all crops. The mortar line between the bricks gives scale.

 

 

just a few shots

Today - just a small egg

Little visitor

above - checking out my macro lens

photographed with macro lens.

just a few shots

Today - just a small egg

Little visitor

above - checking out my macro lens

photographed with macro lens.

Mystery spider

Thought he/she was a dead insect in a daddy longlegs web in the corner of the ceiling in the loo at Dad's house in Toowoomba.

Then I noticed it had moved position, and then noticed it move ever so slightly and indeed a spider - 8 legs visible. Probably body about 1.5 - 2 cm long so not very big.

Took some pics on the last day there, and upon internet searching it is a rufous net-casting spider - Deinopis subrufa.

These images are only of the top view of the spider so the characteristic 'dual headlights' big front eyes were not visible.

crop of shot above. the very front of the body you can see the 2 curves of the 2 front eyes.

Boxing Day jumper

Looking for something near the back door with a torch as preparations for the northward trek continued.

Noticed a spot on the wall, and thought 'what insect, or spider, is this?'

Well it was both. Jumping spider with, relative to her size, a big fly, still flapping a bit so I guess capture was only a tens of seconds before. Quick, quick find the camera, macro, flash. A couple of hand held shots, she didn't seem to be going anywhere, so quick get the little tripod.

This is one of the better captures. Together with its final flappings she kept turning it over so the aspect kept changing. I was a bit surprised to see this is in the night, as I thought jumpers were diurnal. 

size as shot, exposure adjusted (+0.5ev), sharpened a little.

cropped

on the radio last night there was an interview about a spider exhibition at the QLD museum - I might have to see if I can go while I am up there. https://spiders.qm.qld.gov.au/

Sound Recording 4 - Sausages Sizzling

I wanted to try out my new Rode microphone pistol grip, so I whacked in an Audio Technica mono shotgun mic, the AT 897, and wandered around the house annoying the wife.

No particularly interesting sounds, and as usual Sir Lancelot refused to talk.

The most excitement I had was the sound of sizzling sausages, preparation for a katsu beef sausage and sweet potato curry. Pity I can't capture the smell.

It's a soft recording, the sizzle getting a bit louder as I moved closer. In the second recording you can just make out small pops from the hot oil.

Sausages Sizzling 1

Sausages Sizzling 2

Very quiet sound wave.

I got some practice with the Sound Devices MixPre -6 in a sound bag over my left shoulder, and the pistol grip in my right hand. Nice sound in the headphones. Ready for some outdoor field recording when I can get somewhere interesting.

 

Sound Recording 2 - Some Sounds of Malaysia

I took three of my recorders to Malaysia in January. At the small end, a Zoom H2n (very small with alternate patterns, can place anywhere) and a Zoom F1 field recorder (my favourite little recorder for lavalier mics pinned to clothing, but can also use interchangeable microphone capsules with different patterns). At the medium end, a Tascam DR-100 Mk III, my favourite travel recorder which has two XLR slots and phantom power for external recorders. I took a small external Sony ECM-MS2 Stereo Electret Condenser Microphone with a windjammer.

Now that I'm more confident with the durability of my top end recorders and mics, I will take fancier gear overseas on my next trip (hoping for a next trip!).

A few different sounds.

We spent some pleasant mornings on the Indian Ocean at a resort on Batu Ferringhi beach (West side of Penang Island). Some people make sand castles but I make microphone castles. Here is a view of the beach, and a castle with the Zoom H2n.

My better equipment, the Tascam and Sony external mic, also came out. I used this on a beach chair facing the ocean, and I took long soundscapes of over an hour.

Here is a snippet of Indian Ocean Waves:

Batu Ferringhi Beach Malaysia Waves

One evening the Boss and I had a very pleasant pre-dinner drink at the resort, at a nice outdoor bar near a fountain. I placed the F1 with a stereo capsule on a rock next to the fountain.

Resort Fountain:

Malaysia Resort Fountain

I find the sound relaxing. The sound wave is distinctly water - loud and regular.

Back at the In-Laws family home in George Town I recorded early morning soundscapes through the back window. Lots of birds (different sounds to Australia), traffic (many motor bikes, being South East Asia) and dogs barking. The Tascam and Sony mic fitted nicely in the window. The view out the window was not spectacular, but the sounds were nice and will remind me of Penang.

Early Morning Birds:

Malaysian Early Morning Birds

Dogs Barking:

Malaysia Dogs Barking

 It's nice having these living memories of Malaysia. Sounds are evocative in a very different way to photographs.

 

Sound Recording 1 - Solving a Mystery

It's time I experimented with loading some sound files instead of photographs.

I will decrease the quality a bit so they are not huge uploads, but this might mean turning the sound up to hear the files.

First attempt - solving the great mystery of the Cotter River moving recorder.

Background: in September Thygo (aka Bastard) and I went to the Cotter river to take some photos. I left a small sound recorder near the river to record 20 minutes or so of nice bubbling brook sound. Just a small pocket recorder (Tascam DR-05) not some of my better equipment. I left the recorder on a log facing the river. When we returned, the recorder had been moved and was facing the opposite direction.

It wasn't our imagination - the photos confirmed it.

So who or what moved the recorder? No humans were about, but a person who may have picked it up out of interest would probably put it back in the same position facing the river. There was an emu nearby, but the scrub to get to the log was fairly thick and probably not an emu. That left a small animal or a bird.

The whole incident was recorded so I checked the sound file. I put the file into WavePad sound editing software to see if the sound pattern gave any clues. It did - a big noisy spike 5 minutes into the recording. This indicated a loud noise very close to the recorder's microphones or the recorder itself being knocked. 

The incident lasted about 1 minute. Here is a WavePad close up of the sound pattern for the incident.

OK now for the recording. Click on the link below to hear an MP3 of the incident. Please wait about 15 seconds for the MP3 player to open up and the recording to start. You hear bubbling brook ... then the recorder being knocked around a few times ... then the culprit revealing itself ... and quite proud of the handiwork as well.

Cotter Creek Recorder Moved

This seemed to work. I'll upload some other sound files in the future.

Who recognizes the species?

Good news is that the recorder was not knocked into the river.

Checking through my photographs later I found this one with a blurred moving object. Interesting.

 

A few from the dog park this afternoon

took Lexi to the dog park (dustbowl) and tried out the Tamron 70-200 f2.8. Some in focus ...

Three attached. Lexi loves to chase and be chased. One of these is reminiscent of Hairy McClairy :-)

 

First jumpers of the season

It wasn't the first jumping spider I had seen on the house, that was a few days before but no time to get the camera. But on 4 October I saw one and had time.

these are all shot hand held, adjusted for sharpness, exposure in some cases, cropped.

the first on on 4 October, pedipalps and front legs in focus but the eyes not quite

another pose

earlier that day I had noticed this little spider with a web on my new plum tree, it was a tricky spot and windy too, lots of out of focus shots. Managed to get the web in this one:

then on 10 October, saw this jumper near the shed door. I think it is a female and she did NOT want to stay still (focus not quite there).

 

 

Back in September ..., photographic adventure and silly mistakes

Peter & Paul went for a nice photo jaunt on a very windy, very cold day.

The same day Paul's recorder was moved on the river bank at the Cotter (and he was dressed like he worked for home affairs):

we ended up back at Dairy Farmers Hill, where we saw a caterpillar crawling across the path. Thygo grabbed his macro lens and got on the ground. But as you will see he didn't think about what he was doing.

first couple of photos side on, with caterpillar moving parallel (in) the plane of focus - shallow depth of field with macro lens:

crop of same, mostly in focus, though some hairs 'duplicated' by motion blur:

then I thought "I'll get him front on!' forgetting: he is moving quite fast and shallow depth of field. Motion blur plus desired point of focus past the focal plant once shutter goes, and should have changed from AF-S to AF-C (motion) autofocus setting. 

this one nothing really in focus:

got lucky with this one, front just in focus:

it was really windy, as this pine tree attests:

The Bug photographer at work:

New Sound Toy - Tascam DR-70D

Bad Paul had another GAS attack and acquired the Tascam DR-70D 6 input / 4 track / multi-track field recorder.

It is now a great price, less than $400 and less than half what it was when it first came out 5 years ago.

Super capabilities for a ridiculous low price.

The main features that attracted me were the quality pre-amps plus 4 XLR ports each with phantom power. For me this means I can use two high quality stereo microphones, each using its own left and right XLR port. I can record two separate stereo tracks, or mix both microphones into one stereo track.

The XLR ports are compatible with all the nice microphones I have invested in.

This thing is power hungry, especially pumping out phantom power to the mics, and the 4 AA batteries don't have a long life. I acquired a Powertech 15600 mAh usb portable power pack from Jaycar near my office (only $70) because the DR-70D can use usb bus power with the batteries as a back up. This gives the field recorder plenty of life.

Here is the new toy with some kit.

The DR-70D with the power pack, along with two stereo microphones. The smaller Sony ECM-MS2 (brilliant small travel mic) and the larger Audio-Technica AT 8022.

The AT 8022 with the two wind jammers.

I have set up the recorder on the filing cabinet near Sir Lancelot's cage, with the two mics in different positions ready to record his next bout of talking.

But Sir Lance is gaming with me. He starts a really nice burst of talking, then as soon as I turn the recorder on he stops. Next he gives me a cheeky look.

But I will leave everything set up, and get him in the end.

The DR-70D can be mounted on a tripod (either above or below the camera) and used with a DLSR for video recording. Something else I need to try. Here is a picture of what this set up would look like.

I have better quality field recorders (the Sound Devices PreMix-6, but it's 4 times the price of the DR-70D) and more compact ones for travel (the Tascam DR100 Mark III - my favourite field recorder). However I reckon I'll have a lot of fun with this one and I won't have to worry about it too much.

Camera Weight Comparisons.

Well Thygo asked the question.

How does my new Sony A6000 with an 18-200 lens compare in weight to my workhorse, the Nikon D7500 with the 16-80 lens.

I've been scientific, and also thrown in the Nikon B700 and the Sony RX100 IV.

The Nikon D7500 with the 16-80:

The Sony A6000 with the 18-200:

The Nikon B700:

The Sony RX100 IV:

 

Star photography - part 2 - stars, kit, moon

one of the first ones, 15mm, complete with airplane or chopper ... Note that this is not what my eye saw - these are long exposures between 10 and 30 seconds. The trees are all fuzzy because it was quite windy and they were flapping about.

shot settings: manual focus (preset before dark), manual exposure - f2.8 & between 10 and 30 seconds, ISO between 2000 and 3200.

11mm showing the ingress light from the late arrival campers ...

20mm, after moving a bit further up the hill. Can you see the Southern Cross?

There are a few more. I was reasonably pleased with this for a first go.  Here is the set up as shot by my phone

Off to bed reasonably early but didn't sleep so well. Very windy through the night. Got up at 3am for a call of nature ...
and lo, the waning moon was evident. 300mm and cropped a lot. manual exposure about 1/500 sec and f8, ISO 400 (from memory)

 

next time I think I will search for a spot with a rocky outcrop in the foreground. Orroral valley would be great but I think it is shut off at night.

Star photography - part 1 - setup and packup

After soccer Saturday, I thought - sky is clear, moon is waning, not too cold - I should pack up some gear and try to shoot the stars.
Did a quick google and you tube swat for the settings ...
So after a frantic whipping up of the easy-up tent, sleeping bag etc, and requisite camera gear and some camping gear and food, off I went with Lexi to Wood's Reserve.
I forgot a few things - stretcher, G-shock, battery lantern ...
Took a focus setting shot and set lens to manual. Got the tent up before dark then pottered around getting some food, having a shower [the indulgent luxury of Wood's].
focus shot facing west-south-west. D7500 + Tokina 11-20 f2.8

star photos in part 2 ...

Sunday morning

my 'little' Coleman Lakeside 4 tent - I can put this one up on my own without any trouble as the height of the poles means you can reach everything. The quid pro quo is you can't really stand up in it except in the very centre.

home in time for choir practice & Mass

GAS Time?

There was no turn this morning, so I was poking around a few sites on the web. I found this beauty:

This Peloponnesian was my introduction to the study of Ancient History. Up to that point, I would read bits, like the short paragraphs crafted by John Michael Young above each PRESTAGS battle or the articles in S&T. It start for me with this.

These photos were taken by a gamer who blogged about it - a best of all - they can read!

Better still they can read French.

This is a typical GMT game with beautiful maps and counters, like we are used to at FMWs.

It seems to have everyone you expect - from Pericles

to Spartans!

Of course, this is just a game, what about Gear. I noticed this in one of the photos - a dice throwing machine!

A perfect game for an FMW, you ask. No. I find this part mind blowing:

However, I cannot buy this for myself - because that would be selfish. Usually Deano of Pip would buy games like this for me. I need a new dog!

The reader will note that this post does not have large slabs of plagiarised text: it is 100% Pure Python.

Of GAS Attacks And G-Shocks

GAS = Gear Acquisition Sydnrome.

A potentially serious disorder, common in PRESTAGS era males, and can be contagious.

Over the last six months I have managed to completely tame my field recording equipment GAS attacks, and much moderated my photography equipment GAS attacks.

Last week's purchase of a Panasonic Lumix DC-TZ90 was a relapse, and I blame Thygo because he is always tempting me with photography GAS ideas.

My new TZ90 is currently charging, ready for a test run sometime soon.

Nevertheless G-Shock GAS attacks have continued unabated, and I am expecting the arrival of another one this week. Bad Boy.

However, there are some G-Shocks that are beyond the reach of a GAS attack.

Unfortunately.

There is the 18 karat pure gold (as in real gold) G-Shock, model G-D5000-9JR (2019). Only 35 were made.

And there is the G-Shock MRGG1000HT (2016) "Hammer Tone".

This one was hand crafted using the tsuiki technique. Only 300 were made.

And there is the G-Shock MRG-G2000GA-1A (2019) hand-finished by Japanese swordsmith Sadanobu Gassan. Only 300 to be made.

But the one that I like the most, is the G-Shock MRG-G1000RT-1A (2015). This one is made from Titanium 64 alloy which is seven times harder than pure titanium.

Only 100 made.

Just dreaming.

I haven't forgotten, Python will want a G-Shock with a special background.

I think a white G-Shock in a white fridge next to a white Napoleon is pretty special.

 

Which Is My Favourite G-Shock?

This is a very hard question.

The starting place will have to be which is my favourite G-Shock model?

It is the GA-800 model (also GA-810 model).

A strong and clear three-hand analog watch face, with combination digital. The distinctive G-Shock design but with a smaller and cleaner look. Easy to read. Lots of built in functions, especially dual time which is an essential. 5 alarms. Super illuminator double LED light, and hand shift function. Tough as. Light in weight.

The G-Shock website describes this model as "the ultimate in timekeeping convenience" and it is.

Here are the specs:

Yes, this is currently my favourite model.

But which particular watch? I have eight of the GA-800 / GA-810.

These are all wonderful watches, and the each have particular associations and memories, including:

So which one is my favourite.

They are all awesome, but by a narrow margin it is the Black - Gold. Officially this is the G-Shock GA-810B-1A9 gold accent. It really is all class.

Here is an official Casio G-Shock shot, and a photo of mine.

Will I stop at 8 of this model. I don't know, because there are more to be had:

Python will whinge because he wants G-Shocks with backgrounds. So I have made two for him with my favourite watch.

 

G-Shocks and Hexes

Silly Python.

He wants hexes in posts about G-Shocks.

There is something he obviously doesn't realise.

<sigh>

Lots of G-Shocks come in hexagon shaped tins!

And there is a reason for this.

Look closely at the G-Shock. It is basically a round clock face in a ruggedised hexagon frame.

G-Shocks ARE hexes!!

 

My Favourite World Time Watch

I love my Casio G-Shocks and I love my Casio world time watches.

I have already shown off my nice little retro world timer.

Of course one is not enough. 

A similar layout but in a round and funkier design is the Casio AE1000W.

This is my version with an orange strap:

I have another very interesting world timer.

My Casio AE300W. I think its currently my favourite world time watch. It enables the time to be shown in three cities simultaneously, and it has a cool globe with the time zone being used in the main display.

My AE300W has the home time set to Sydney (lowest section), with Rome time (middle section) and Singapore time (upper section). Strong illuminator for dark and the famous 10 year battery life.

You have to remember this is ancient liquid crystal digital technology, now decades old. 

But accurate. Robust. And massive battery life.

And I have discovered difficult to photograph. The display needs to be at the right angle for the best shot, which can compete with the reflection off the resin glass display depending where the surrounding light is.

 

More on Kikuo Ibe and the Invention of the G-Shock (and my old GD-350)

I shuffled around in my drawers looking for one of my older G-Shocks.

Unfortunately I didn't keep any of my 1980s Casio watches (although I still have my 1970s calculator) and not even my 1990s G-Shocks.

I did find the fully digital GD-350 which I think I was wearing about six years ago. The fact that I could use this watch without my glasses shows how much my eyesight has deteriorated. 

The watch has the signs of lots of wear but battery still running and only lost a few minutes time after years at the bottom of the drawer.

Finding this 'older' watch has inspired me to post some more about Casio's legendary Kikuo Ibe and the invention of the G-Shock watch.

From Jack Forster at Hodinkee:

Mr. Kikuo Ibe never expected to be world famous, but famous he is: he's the man who invented the Casio G-Shock. At first, he hardly seems like the sort of person who could develop the world's toughest watch. He's slightly built, slim, soft-spoken, and bespectacled, which seems a little incongruous until you remember that G-Shock is as much an engineering achievement as a horological one, and Mr. Ibe is very much an engineer.  

The history of the G-Shock is full of interesting stories (as you'd expect of a family of watches designed to tolerate just about any sort of abuse imaginable) and in a recent conversation with Ibe, at Casio's offices in New York, I had a chance to dig back a bit into those stories and to find out what's apocryphal, what's legend, and what's true. Many of the highlights in the story of G-Shock are familiar to hardcore G-Shock fans (and yes, there is a worldwide community of G-Shock collectors as serious about their watches as any gaggle of vintage Patek or Rolex collectors), but hearing them from the man who started it all over 30 years ago is a reminder of how much persistence it took to bring G-Shock to life.

First of all, yes, it's absolutely true that Ibe got the idea for G-Shock after a beloved mechanical watch broke. The watch was a gift from his father, and one day, while walking down the street (he'd been with Casio for several years already when the accident happened) another pedestrian bumped into him hard enough to break the band of his watch and knock it to the pavement (Ibe says he tried to catch it, but missed). The watch broke in pretty much every way a watch can break: the hands were dislodged, the caseback came off, and the band broke. What Ibe won't tell, however, is what brand and model watch it was. He says he's been asked many times, but prefers not to say, beyond acknowledging that it was mechanical, a Japanese-made domestic model, and not a Casio.

The testing process didn't really get off the ground until Ibe, seeing a girl bouncing a ball in a playground, got the idea of putting the movement inside a resilient structure that would isolate it from shocks. It's also absolutely true that the prototypes were tested by being thrown out of an upper floor bathroom window at Casio's research and development center: specifically, the third floor men's room window. The distance to the pavement below was ten meters, and Ibe's goal was to make a watch capable of surviving a ten meter fall, with a ten year battery life, and ten bar (100 meter) water resistance. The very first G-Shock model, DW-5000, came out in 1983, with 200m water resistance and, needless to say, the ability to survive a ten meter fall. Ibe says he tested the production prototypes in every way he could think of, including running them over with a car.

Ibe began working on prototypes for a shock-proof watch in 1981. At the time, he says, the main goal in quartz watchmaking was to make very thin watches, so he started by trying to make housings for LCD quartz movements that would allow them to tolerate severe impacts. In 1982 he'd made enough progress for the development of G-Shock to become an official Casio project, with eight engineers assigned. The initial prototypes were proof-of-concept models and not especially wearable.

The original prototypes are now the rarest G-Shocks of all.

Back to the 2013 G-Shock GD-350.

I notice it was famous for its super precise countdown function and the vibration alarm. Not something I used liked many of the other functionalities. But just having it there makes you feel good!

More Great 80s Tech - The Legendary G-Shock

More great 1980s tech.

Casio did not only invent the tremendous world time digital watches.

In 1983 Casio engineer Kikuo Ibe inventented the now legendary G-Shock watch. Virtually indestructable watches.

Some history from G-Central:

A favorite of outdoor enthusiasts, military personnel, extreme athletes, gadget freaks, and fashion trendsetters, the G-Shock watch has a long and storied history that goes back over thirty years. When Casio lead designer Kikuo Ibe dropped a watch given to him by his father and saw it shatter to pieces, he vowed to create an unbreakable watch that could withstand major drops and impacts.

[I fit into the "Gadget freak" category!]

In 1981, the three-member Project Team Tough set out to make Ibe’s vision a reality. The team sought to develop a watch based on the “Triple 10” concept including shock resistance to withstand a 10 meter drop, 10-bar water resistance, and a 10-year battery life. To achieve this, Ibe came up with the “floating module” concept that suspended the module with a few points of contact and provided efficient shock protection without the need for excessive shock absorbing material. After going through over 200 prototypes and rigorous testing, the final result was the G-Shock DW-5000C, launched in April 1983.

The G-Shock would eventually gain a reputation as the world’s toughest watch, featuring a protective case and an extreme level of shock resistance that had never been seen before. It also featured 200-meter water resistance, a 10-year battery, and had the digital functions that remain an integral part of G-Shock watches today: stopwatch, countdown timer, 12/24 hour mode, alarm, and light. Though the G-Shock watch filled an untapped niche, initial sales in Japan were sluggish and there was concern about it being discontinued. In 1984, Casio released the G-Shock DW-5200 which was featured in a widely-seen commercial being used like a hockey puck. The DW-5200 sold well in America, especially with athletes like skateboarders and surfers, and the “Hero” model is credited with popularizing and saving the brand. The DW-5000 would eventually evolve into the DW-5600C in 1987 and live on spiritually as the various “square” models that are still produced today.

The original looked like this:

With the success of the 5000 line, Casio did not rest on its laurels and continued to innovate, consistently introducing new G-Shock models and features.

In 1989, the first analog G-Shock AW-500 was launched. 1992 saw the first sensor-equipped watch: the DW-6100 with a thermometer. 1993 saw the introduction of the Frogman DW-6300, an oversized, asymmetrical diving watch. The Frogman was the first G-Shock to be ISO-certified and would become one of the most significant models in G-Shock history as well as a collector’s favorite.

G-Shock experienced a golden age in the 1990s and found the brand gaining mainstream acceptance and a newfound image as an innovator of streetwear fashion. G-Shock’s many limited edition collaboration releases with popular streetwear and lifestyle brands would prove to be extremely popular and continues to be a major part of its operations.

With the success of their resin watches, Kikuo Ibe and a team of eight young Casio engineers set out on a new mission to create a metal G-Shock that could be worn for both casual and dress occasions. The result was the MR-G series which launched in 1996. Analog models joined the MR-G series in 1997 and laid the foundation for the high-end G-Shock watches of today.

The first solar powered Raysman DW-9300 was released in 1998 and this was the beginning of the now popular Tough Solar feature. 2000 saw the introduction of radio time calibration with the GW-100, later to evolve and currently be known as Multi-Band 6.

After seeing sales peak in the 1990s, G-Shock began to focus more on analog models in the 2010s but also continued to develop digital models like the best-selling GW-9400 Rangeman with the Triple Sensor. In the late 2010s, Casio started focusing heavily on the Bluetooth mobile link feature as well as expanding the features of its signature lines like the Frogman and Rangeman. G-Shock has sold over 100 million units worldwide and has seen a resurgence after the brand’s 30th anniversary and Casio’s ongoing promotional efforts, including events and collaborations with athletes, artists, musicians, and fashion designers.

Over the years my socks draw has filled up with many G-Shocks. 

My favourites are the analog and digital combinations. I like analog including a moving second hand, but I also like a bit of digital to remind me of the 80s. These days I need a big clear analog face so I can read the time without putting on my glasses.

This is one of my old favourites. The GG1000-1A Mudmaster. Big. Chunky. Indestructable. Clear Analog. Nice digital for day, date and month.

THIS is a watch!

 

Fabulous 1980s Tech

Back in the 80s I had Casio digitals. It was the latest thing, and lots and lots of memories.

Casio came up with the world time watch, which had all the world's time zones. You could move from your home time to any other zone and check out or change the time.

This is the 1980s A300U, now a collector's item.

This watch has been so popular, they are STILL making digital world time watches that look very  similar. 

I suspect blokes of my 'vintage' are buying them, for sentimental reasons. Plus retro is cool.

I picked up one recently. The Casio AE1200WH. It is amazingly thin.

There is one area where this 1980s technology absolutely pisses on the smart watches of today.

Battery life.

No need to charge this Casio every night. It has a 10 year battery. Yes, TEN YEARS.

Fabulous. Awesome.

 

Super fast delivery of GAS (little tripod - wall macro tool)

I ordered a little tiny tripod over the weekend and amazingly it arrived today.

The idea is to have something I can brace against the wall for shooting jumping spiders. Thought about a gorillapod but heard they are prone to squish down under weight/pressure, and, perhaps more importantly, if they get left in a hot car the joints are cactus.

So this little guy arrived:

It has two leg settings. The yellow I added for testing against the brick wall to avoid scratching it in the first 5 mins.

The macro set up. The ball head is from a monopod I had already. The rig can screw directly into the camera but then there is no movement possible.

and the results. providentially I spied a jumping spider when I was doing soccer practice with Carl (I expected them all to be gone but it hasn't really got cold yet).

These are straight out of camera jpegs, cropped (a fair bit) and downsized for the web - no post processing. The tripod works well I think, and I was impressed with the results - I think it gave the bracing / stability I was hoping for.

note the spinerets - they don't weave webs but play out a safety line behind them. He/she is sitting in the groove of mortar between two bricks which give an indication of scale.