Hong Kong Island in the evening, shot from the Kowloon side...Click on photo for bigger version...
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Clouds over Hong Kong
Hong Kong Island in the evening, shot from the Kowloon side...Click on photo for bigger version...
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Towers in the Mist
On Hong Kong Island...
On Hong Kong Island...Click on photos for bigger version...
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Ferry arriving...
... on Kowloon side, with Hong Kong Island across in the mist...
Passing ferry from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon, shot from the ferry the other way...Click on photos for bigger version...
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Hong Kong
Just back from Hong Kong, as the recent photos show.
The weather wasn't great, with one day constant rain of the drizzling kind, other days just overcast and mist, and only one day of sun. But in the end I don't think it mattered much photo wise, cause every type of weather simply creates its own atmosphere.
Hong Kong seemed to me the perfect mix of some of the other Asian cities I visited.
It has the convenience of Singapore - without the fear of dirt - and the liveliness of Shanghai - without the overwhelming amount of people.
Not to say Hong Kong is dirty mind you.
The streets are clean, there's the usual Asian huge fines on littering - which seem to have the desired effect - but there's also dank back alleys, blackened dirty buildings, overall messy streets, vibrant night markets, seedy areas - all stuff you would expect in a big city, but which you won't find that easily in strictly regulated Singapore.
Night market area near Jordan Road...
Click on photo for bigger version...
People overall seemed quite relaxed, less stressed than in Singapore and less rude than in Shanghai, which might have something to do with the amount of people in Shanghai.
It also lacks the almost megalomaniac building style of Shanghai and doesn't seem to have the urge to compete in 'who's got the biggest'. There are sky scrapers, but they seem modest in comparison. Then again, I don't know much about architecture, perhaps Hong Kong is limited by its soil and simply unable to build the true giants.
The building style itself seemed also very specific, especially the older buildings. They are high, but also quite slim.
Navigating the city is easy, although you can get stuck on the regular sidewalks, which in some areas simply end at a highway with no possibility to continue. You then have to divert to the walking bridges and the overhead passages.
It has all the modern day comforts, without giving up on the traditional.
It's also quite beautiful, surrounded by mountains, partly build on mountains, lots of green, water, city parks and an abundance of public transport options when tired of walking.
Must admit though that Singapore has the best taxis. In Hong Kong I got the feeling you have to be careful and know your prices before you get into a cab as to not get cheated.
Tip: when friendly asked if you visited before (no matter which city) be on guard if there's money involved. The question might be genuine, but sometimes its main purpose is to figure out if you can be cheated without a verbal fight.
Many expats though, and too many (probably a mix of expats and tourists) of them hanging around in pubs consuming too much beer: one of the legacies of the Brits I suppose, or perhaps a not so good choice of hotel, smack in the middle of Wan Chai, which turned out to be the night club area with drunks already (or still?) walking the streets at 10 in the morning.
Night club in Wan Chai...
Click on photo for bigger version...
Then again, less pushy sales people compared to Shanghai - my sleeve was pulled only once, where in Shanghai they sometimes run after you, and the prostitutes do give up after one polite 'no thank you'.
I remember crossing a busy street to get rid of one particularly persistent sales person in Shanghai and he simply crossed the street with me, pulling my arm during the crossing. Only after increasingly angrier 'no's' from my side he let go. I then quickly learned how to say 'no' in Shanghainese and that worked quite well, since you then have the element of surprise and can escape, whilst they are left behind puzzled, wondering if you can actually speak Chinese.
All that convenience of Hong Kong does come with a price. It can easily compete with any West European country when it comes to prices of food in restaurants or hotel rooms. So far it's been the most expensive Asian city I visited.
I guess Tokyo will beat Hong Kong when it comes to money, since it's still on my list of 'must see' cities. I had vague plans for Tokyo this year, but seeing the disaster there - unfolding - I'm not sure when things will be back to normal in Japan, which makes planning for it difficult at this point. Also, Japan has seasons, so the window of opportunity - if you don't want to freeze or sweat away - is limited.
P.S. If you want to buy salt, don't go to Hong Kong, it was sold out there. I don't know why people think salt protects against radiation, since 80% of the salt sold in Hong Kong - an expert said - doesn't contain iodine. And the salt that does, needs to be consumed in such a ridiculous amount to have an effect, that it will kill you before the radiation does (it will also make you very thirsty)...
The weather wasn't great, with one day constant rain of the drizzling kind, other days just overcast and mist, and only one day of sun. But in the end I don't think it mattered much photo wise, cause every type of weather simply creates its own atmosphere.
Hong Kong seemed to me the perfect mix of some of the other Asian cities I visited.
It has the convenience of Singapore - without the fear of dirt - and the liveliness of Shanghai - without the overwhelming amount of people.
Not to say Hong Kong is dirty mind you.
The streets are clean, there's the usual Asian huge fines on littering - which seem to have the desired effect - but there's also dank back alleys, blackened dirty buildings, overall messy streets, vibrant night markets, seedy areas - all stuff you would expect in a big city, but which you won't find that easily in strictly regulated Singapore.
Night market area near Jordan Road...Click on photo for bigger version...
People overall seemed quite relaxed, less stressed than in Singapore and less rude than in Shanghai, which might have something to do with the amount of people in Shanghai.
It also lacks the almost megalomaniac building style of Shanghai and doesn't seem to have the urge to compete in 'who's got the biggest'. There are sky scrapers, but they seem modest in comparison. Then again, I don't know much about architecture, perhaps Hong Kong is limited by its soil and simply unable to build the true giants.
The building style itself seemed also very specific, especially the older buildings. They are high, but also quite slim.
Navigating the city is easy, although you can get stuck on the regular sidewalks, which in some areas simply end at a highway with no possibility to continue. You then have to divert to the walking bridges and the overhead passages.
It has all the modern day comforts, without giving up on the traditional.
It's also quite beautiful, surrounded by mountains, partly build on mountains, lots of green, water, city parks and an abundance of public transport options when tired of walking.
Must admit though that Singapore has the best taxis. In Hong Kong I got the feeling you have to be careful and know your prices before you get into a cab as to not get cheated.
Tip: when friendly asked if you visited before (no matter which city) be on guard if there's money involved. The question might be genuine, but sometimes its main purpose is to figure out if you can be cheated without a verbal fight.
Many expats though, and too many (probably a mix of expats and tourists) of them hanging around in pubs consuming too much beer: one of the legacies of the Brits I suppose, or perhaps a not so good choice of hotel, smack in the middle of Wan Chai, which turned out to be the night club area with drunks already (or still?) walking the streets at 10 in the morning.
Night club in Wan Chai...Click on photo for bigger version...
Then again, less pushy sales people compared to Shanghai - my sleeve was pulled only once, where in Shanghai they sometimes run after you, and the prostitutes do give up after one polite 'no thank you'.
I remember crossing a busy street to get rid of one particularly persistent sales person in Shanghai and he simply crossed the street with me, pulling my arm during the crossing. Only after increasingly angrier 'no's' from my side he let go. I then quickly learned how to say 'no' in Shanghainese and that worked quite well, since you then have the element of surprise and can escape, whilst they are left behind puzzled, wondering if you can actually speak Chinese.
All that convenience of Hong Kong does come with a price. It can easily compete with any West European country when it comes to prices of food in restaurants or hotel rooms. So far it's been the most expensive Asian city I visited.
I guess Tokyo will beat Hong Kong when it comes to money, since it's still on my list of 'must see' cities. I had vague plans for Tokyo this year, but seeing the disaster there - unfolding - I'm not sure when things will be back to normal in Japan, which makes planning for it difficult at this point. Also, Japan has seasons, so the window of opportunity - if you don't want to freeze or sweat away - is limited.
P.S. If you want to buy salt, don't go to Hong Kong, it was sold out there. I don't know why people think salt protects against radiation, since 80% of the salt sold in Hong Kong - an expert said - doesn't contain iodine. And the salt that does, needs to be consumed in such a ridiculous amount to have an effect, that it will kill you before the radiation does (it will also make you very thirsty)...
Hong Kong in Motion
Construction site, early at night, in Kowloon...Click on photo for bigger version...
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Kid in subway...
...surprised by the light when coming out of the tunnel...Hong Kong 20th of March, click on photo for bigger version...
Sunday, March 13, 2011
IV - Leica M9: The One Issue and Thoughts about Perfection
Please note that posts about the Leica M9 and Leica lenses on this blog are not aimed to be a 'review' in the strictest sense. They should be considered as highly opinionated, biased and therefore not very objective - also due to the fact that I haven't used the camera extensively yet. However, in the technical aspects they do try to be factual. All the posts which have me babbling about the M9 are gathered under the label 'Leica talk'. Click here to see them all...
The 'one issue'
And then there's the 'one issue'.
Every digital camera has one issue.
One issue that dominates every other or so discussion about the camera.
One issue that invokes heated debates.
For the 5D Mark II it is 'low iso banding noise in shadow areas'.
The amount of discussions on that subject on the Internet is overwhelming and a bit silly.
On the 'one issue' there's basically two groups.
Two groups
One group says 'get over it, cameras aren't perfect, besides, I don't see it in my photos, you must be doing something wrong'.
The other group says 'no, we won't get over it, we're not the problem, it's the camera and we want it fixed'.
Proof is posted, and extensively analysed, up to a point where even I think it becomes too nerdy (that's really indicative).
Blame is spread around like a nasty venereal disease 'too much exposure, not enough exposure, yes if I pull that slider to 100% I would get that too, you're simply a bad photographer', Canon is bashed, Canon is defended, and many many posts later the discussion whithers out... till someone else starts another one about the same 'one issue'...
Usually the manufacturer is never to be seen on the 'one issue', much to the chagrin of the second group.
For Leica I haven't been able to clearly identify the 'one issue' yet, but it seems that 'red edge' comes close (note that the 'one issue' never involves hardware failures, those you find on every digital camera and they're usually very clear *crack* ).
On some M9's the corners tend to turn purplish on white backgrounds with wide angle lenses.
Difference here is that apparently Leica has acknowledged the problem and is trying to fix it. It's also difficult to blame the photographer for this one. The discussions on this subject therefore tend to focus a bit more on 'do we live with it or do we complain about it'.
It's not too difficult to correct in post production, contrary to the banding on the Mark II - which I have never encountered on my photos... then again, I never looked for it either. I know it exists though. You only have to turn liveview on in a bit of darkness and fiddle with the settings, and you do get red walking stripes in the shadow areas. It's easy to see how that could land in your photos.
I don't really have a position here but I do tend towards the first group: no camera is perfect.
About perfection
I'm amazed by how good digital cameras are nowadays, so I'm willing to live with some of the short comings (one doesn't really have a choice anyway), assuming serious issues will be fixed in future cameras (or if possible through new firmware).
Taking good photos is harder than I ever imagined, and it doesn't end with the shutter closing.
And although I would also like as least post production as possible, if it's fixable in post I'm not too bothered.
Personally I also think that a picture doesn't have to be perfect technically. Apart from the danger that the photo might become boring, focusing on technical perfection might skip over the thing you actually want to tell with the photo, which to be honest I find the most difficult - or should I say challenging - part of the whole process.
I feel my amateur status is celebrated mainly by the lack of such a story in many a photo I take.
The M9 a disposable?
Besides, let's face it: the camera is disposable.
I know that sounds outrageous - and amusingly decadent in a discombobulating sort of way - seeing the price tag of the M9, but it's a given.
That expensive camera will tumble in price as soon as the M10 is presented.
It's the destiny of every electronic thing out there. Laptops, mobile phones, camera's... they sink in price as soon as the new model is out.
I went through the dilemma with the M9.
It was already out a year and I was wondering if I should wait for the M10. But nobody but Leica knows when the M10 will be out.
So do you wait, not enjoying the M9 in the meantime, or do you just take the risk and keep using the M9 if the M10 comes out too short after your purchase? I decided on the latter obviously...
And although you might hang on to your M9 and even wait for the M12, at some point - assuming you can afford it - you will upgrade.
Your M9 will be sold off or kept as remembrance, but it won't be used by you anymore.
It's about the lenses, not about the camera... the lenses are the investment that can last a life time, assuming you stick with the brand or at least a camera that can mount the M lenses. The camera body is just a necessity, hardly a wise investment...
Of course, the Leica price tag is a bit of a set up in this respect.
You pay loads, so you expect loads.
But if you think about it, the price tag doesn't ensure perfection, because of course, if you hand assemble your camera in a small factory in Germany - in stead of relying on cheaper labour in China - with an expensive full frame sensor, and demand is on the rise, then your camera is gonna be pricey.
But it doesn't mean the sensor is perfect, that pixels can't die, or that the software in the camera is perfect, or for that matter that the camera itself is perfect. It only ensures 'the best' in its class or 'a class in its own', but it doesn't ensure absolute perfection.
That's why there's going to be an M10 if Leica keeps at it. And that one too won't be perfect, but perhaps a bit better.
And have you ever wondered?
Hand assembled
I mean, I'm charmed too by the 'hand assembled' bit of Leica.
It shows a commitment to do things right and it's charmingly old fashioned: not wanting to give in to the silly 'modern way'.
It represents 'decent', 'thorough' and holds the promise of quality.
Some people feel strongly about that, as do I.
I think it's appealing, because we realise we've lost something doing it the modern way. And although we might not know exactly what we've lost - or if it's even an important thing we've lost - it does leave us feeling slightly uncomfortable.
Leica is providing comfort with the 'old way' of doing things.
Sadly, comfort doesn't come cheap...
Not that it's really related - since who knows where Leica get their bits and pieces, and how - but I was reminded about this when reading news about Apple finally admitting that some of their Chinese factories are a toxic waste dump, which landed people working there in hospital and which had some of them commit suicide.
I don't want to sound too much like a bleeding heart, since I think every consumer out there is guilty (including me) and I also think the economic development of China is beneficial to a lot of Chinese, so outsourcing needn't be a bad thing, but it did make me wonder if that's perhaps part of the 'uncomfortable' bit.
The most troublesome part of it being that Apple didn't want to face up to it for a long time.
Not admitting is not dealing and denial doesn't lead to improvement. Churning out these huge profits and doing a bad job in their factories - just because they can - doesn't make them shine in my book.
Then again, I own an iPod and enjoy the evil thing a lot... guilty as charged...
Anyway... I'm digressing...
Hand signed
Every Leica M lens and camera comes with a hand signed certificate - with a pen, not some predefined stamp - of the quality control person, certifying the product is up to standards (the pens aren't standardised either, I have blue and black ink on the different cards).
It means if your lens falls apart you could in theory pick up the phone and scold someone for it in the most nasty German you can muster (assuming you can reach the right person).
Try doing that with a Japanese robot on a production line (German is also a lot easier).
But the human factor can come with its own problems: If Karl, assembling your 50mm Summilux, had too much to drink the night before, who's to say he doesn't bungle it up on aperture blade number 7?
I'm sure that's why Leica has that 'end person' literally signing off on the product, but still... if the QC man (or women) was out drinking with Karl that same night..? God only knows where they might have ended up... Solms can be pretty hairy, or so I've heard...
No, a silly modern robot on a production line might score better overall.
Also, I wonder what the price of the 5DII would be if it was hand assembled in Germany...
... continue with part V - The Fuzzy Aspect
The 'one issue'
And then there's the 'one issue'.
Every digital camera has one issue.
One issue that dominates every other or so discussion about the camera.
One issue that invokes heated debates.
For the 5D Mark II it is 'low iso banding noise in shadow areas'.
The amount of discussions on that subject on the Internet is overwhelming and a bit silly.
On the 'one issue' there's basically two groups.
Two groups
One group says 'get over it, cameras aren't perfect, besides, I don't see it in my photos, you must be doing something wrong'.
The other group says 'no, we won't get over it, we're not the problem, it's the camera and we want it fixed'.
Proof is posted, and extensively analysed, up to a point where even I think it becomes too nerdy (that's really indicative).
Blame is spread around like a nasty venereal disease 'too much exposure, not enough exposure, yes if I pull that slider to 100% I would get that too, you're simply a bad photographer', Canon is bashed, Canon is defended, and many many posts later the discussion whithers out... till someone else starts another one about the same 'one issue'...
Usually the manufacturer is never to be seen on the 'one issue', much to the chagrin of the second group.
For Leica I haven't been able to clearly identify the 'one issue' yet, but it seems that 'red edge' comes close (note that the 'one issue' never involves hardware failures, those you find on every digital camera and they're usually very clear *crack* ).
On some M9's the corners tend to turn purplish on white backgrounds with wide angle lenses.
Difference here is that apparently Leica has acknowledged the problem and is trying to fix it. It's also difficult to blame the photographer for this one. The discussions on this subject therefore tend to focus a bit more on 'do we live with it or do we complain about it'.
It's not too difficult to correct in post production, contrary to the banding on the Mark II - which I have never encountered on my photos... then again, I never looked for it either. I know it exists though. You only have to turn liveview on in a bit of darkness and fiddle with the settings, and you do get red walking stripes in the shadow areas. It's easy to see how that could land in your photos.
I don't really have a position here but I do tend towards the first group: no camera is perfect.
About perfection
I'm amazed by how good digital cameras are nowadays, so I'm willing to live with some of the short comings (one doesn't really have a choice anyway), assuming serious issues will be fixed in future cameras (or if possible through new firmware).
Taking good photos is harder than I ever imagined, and it doesn't end with the shutter closing.
And although I would also like as least post production as possible, if it's fixable in post I'm not too bothered.
Personally I also think that a picture doesn't have to be perfect technically. Apart from the danger that the photo might become boring, focusing on technical perfection might skip over the thing you actually want to tell with the photo, which to be honest I find the most difficult - or should I say challenging - part of the whole process.
I feel my amateur status is celebrated mainly by the lack of such a story in many a photo I take.
The M9 a disposable?
Besides, let's face it: the camera is disposable.
I know that sounds outrageous - and amusingly decadent in a discombobulating sort of way - seeing the price tag of the M9, but it's a given.
That expensive camera will tumble in price as soon as the M10 is presented.
It's the destiny of every electronic thing out there. Laptops, mobile phones, camera's... they sink in price as soon as the new model is out.
I went through the dilemma with the M9.
It was already out a year and I was wondering if I should wait for the M10. But nobody but Leica knows when the M10 will be out.
So do you wait, not enjoying the M9 in the meantime, or do you just take the risk and keep using the M9 if the M10 comes out too short after your purchase? I decided on the latter obviously...
And although you might hang on to your M9 and even wait for the M12, at some point - assuming you can afford it - you will upgrade.
Your M9 will be sold off or kept as remembrance, but it won't be used by you anymore.
It's about the lenses, not about the camera... the lenses are the investment that can last a life time, assuming you stick with the brand or at least a camera that can mount the M lenses. The camera body is just a necessity, hardly a wise investment...
Of course, the Leica price tag is a bit of a set up in this respect.
You pay loads, so you expect loads.
But if you think about it, the price tag doesn't ensure perfection, because of course, if you hand assemble your camera in a small factory in Germany - in stead of relying on cheaper labour in China - with an expensive full frame sensor, and demand is on the rise, then your camera is gonna be pricey.
But it doesn't mean the sensor is perfect, that pixels can't die, or that the software in the camera is perfect, or for that matter that the camera itself is perfect. It only ensures 'the best' in its class or 'a class in its own', but it doesn't ensure absolute perfection.
That's why there's going to be an M10 if Leica keeps at it. And that one too won't be perfect, but perhaps a bit better.
And have you ever wondered?
Hand assembled
I mean, I'm charmed too by the 'hand assembled' bit of Leica.
It shows a commitment to do things right and it's charmingly old fashioned: not wanting to give in to the silly 'modern way'.
It represents 'decent', 'thorough' and holds the promise of quality.
Some people feel strongly about that, as do I.
I think it's appealing, because we realise we've lost something doing it the modern way. And although we might not know exactly what we've lost - or if it's even an important thing we've lost - it does leave us feeling slightly uncomfortable.
Leica is providing comfort with the 'old way' of doing things.
Sadly, comfort doesn't come cheap...
Not that it's really related - since who knows where Leica get their bits and pieces, and how - but I was reminded about this when reading news about Apple finally admitting that some of their Chinese factories are a toxic waste dump, which landed people working there in hospital and which had some of them commit suicide.
I don't want to sound too much like a bleeding heart, since I think every consumer out there is guilty (including me) and I also think the economic development of China is beneficial to a lot of Chinese, so outsourcing needn't be a bad thing, but it did make me wonder if that's perhaps part of the 'uncomfortable' bit.
The most troublesome part of it being that Apple didn't want to face up to it for a long time.
Not admitting is not dealing and denial doesn't lead to improvement. Churning out these huge profits and doing a bad job in their factories - just because they can - doesn't make them shine in my book.
Then again, I own an iPod and enjoy the evil thing a lot... guilty as charged...
Anyway... I'm digressing...
Hand signed
Every Leica M lens and camera comes with a hand signed certificate - with a pen, not some predefined stamp - of the quality control person, certifying the product is up to standards (the pens aren't standardised either, I have blue and black ink on the different cards).
It means if your lens falls apart you could in theory pick up the phone and scold someone for it in the most nasty German you can muster (assuming you can reach the right person).
Try doing that with a Japanese robot on a production line (German is also a lot easier).
But the human factor can come with its own problems: If Karl, assembling your 50mm Summilux, had too much to drink the night before, who's to say he doesn't bungle it up on aperture blade number 7?
I'm sure that's why Leica has that 'end person' literally signing off on the product, but still... if the QC man (or women) was out drinking with Karl that same night..? God only knows where they might have ended up... Solms can be pretty hairy, or so I've heard...
No, a silly modern robot on a production line might score better overall.
Also, I wonder what the price of the 5DII would be if it was hand assembled in Germany...
... continue with part V - The Fuzzy Aspect
Sunday, March 6, 2011
M9Tether 1.8 released
Version 1.8 contains mainly bug fixes and some minor new options.
Preview window
This version adds a button behind the option 'Preview JPG...' to open the JPG viewer. In previous versions, if the viewer contained pictures and you closed it, there was no way of opening the window again. Only by taking the next shot the viewer would show.
Restore set
Adds option to view the restore set when clicking the 'Camera info...' button in the main window. The line above the restore set will indicate if the set is actually written to the camera. This depends on the selection in the main window (on or off).
Bugfixes
Fixes bug where the application would not start up properly. This happened with multiple PTP devices connected to the PC after double clicking on the camera entry in the devices list shown at startup.
Fixes bug where the checkmark 'Use JPG only as preview (do not store on PC)' was still of influence even when grayed out. This could lead to JPGs not being transferred to the PC.
The resource problem of the JPG viewer returned, but now after some 35 shots. I solved this by better detection when out of resources. It means the number of photos being held in one session is dependent on your system. If a resource problem is detected at some point in the session, the first photo of the session will be erased to free up space. If all goes well (apart from not all photos showing when you navigate back) you won't notice anything of this, and every new shot will be shown.
Download
See http://www.mymymyohmy.com/software/m9tether.html for the details and download.
Done?
Apart from more bugs showing up I think I'm done now for a while, unless someone has a request or a good suggestion to extend the program. I can't think up anything new to add at this moment.
Nerd alert...
I've been trying to implement the Profile setting of the camera, but besides the fact that it's a pretty useless setting to implement, it seems (like with a few other settings) the WPD/PTP implementation on the camera side contains bugs.
The profile setting can handle 4 values according to the camera (the numbers 0, 1, 2 and 3) when you interrogate it through PTP.
However, the total number of values it needs to hold is 6 (0 for the dash, 1 for Snapshot profile, 2 to 5 for profile 1 to profile 4).
It means that the camera can hold 6 values but tells the outside world it can only hold 4, with a maximum actual value of 3. This leads to errors when trying to set it to profile 3 (value 4) and profile 4 (value 5) through PTP (those values are then beyond the faulty PTP specs for the setting).
But if you set the profile on the camera, the value set is actually correct (and can go higher than 3).
So, reading the value is ok and you get the right profile number, but setting the value through PTP leads to errors when PTP recognises you try to go beyond that faulty limit of 4 values.
It means that through PTP you can only set the dash, the snapshot profile and profile 1 or 2, but not profile 3 or 4.
Another quirk is that the value is actually implemented as a propvariant bVal - VT_UI1 - which would suggest a boolean 'yes/no' only. Turns out the bVal can hold more than just a 0 or 1 (it's an unsigned byte), so that's not really the issue, but it seems a bit weird.
I'm not fully sure if these errors are firmware related or driver related, but they do make it impossible to implement certain settings correctly. This particular 'profile' bug doesn't seem to be driver related, since it's the camera's software actually claiming the wrong (too low) maximum value.
Then again, I can't rule out the driver messing it up.
Another faulty one is the battery power level.
It's implemented by Leica, but the only value you get out of it is 'ERROR' and 'invalid function called' when it should give back a simple 0 to 100: A percentage of battery power left. But somewhere low level this goes wrong. It would be nice to be able to actually show the battery level during tethered shooting, so it's too bad this isn't working.
I have no clue where this one goes wrong, but it's either the driver or the firmware.
Leica never produced their own driver, so the Microsoft ones will have to do, but testing on Vista does suggest that at least some of the issues are driver related (like the format bug on Vista).
I've looked into producing my own driver for the M9 by the way, but that's such a messy process that I gave up on it. Maybe in future, for now it's not worth the trouble, cause it wouldn't expose new settings, only perhaps - big perhaps - fix a few of these faulty ones.
This all means there's no more settings that can be handled by M9Tether, until Leica brings out new firmware to tackle these bugs (assuming some of them are firmware issues and Leica is aware of them, this stuff is after all pretty nerdy...).
Preview window
This version adds a button behind the option 'Preview JPG...' to open the JPG viewer. In previous versions, if the viewer contained pictures and you closed it, there was no way of opening the window again. Only by taking the next shot the viewer would show.
Restore set
Adds option to view the restore set when clicking the 'Camera info...' button in the main window. The line above the restore set will indicate if the set is actually written to the camera. This depends on the selection in the main window (on or off).
Bugfixes
Fixes bug where the application would not start up properly. This happened with multiple PTP devices connected to the PC after double clicking on the camera entry in the devices list shown at startup.
Fixes bug where the checkmark 'Use JPG only as preview (do not store on PC)' was still of influence even when grayed out. This could lead to JPGs not being transferred to the PC.
The resource problem of the JPG viewer returned, but now after some 35 shots. I solved this by better detection when out of resources. It means the number of photos being held in one session is dependent on your system. If a resource problem is detected at some point in the session, the first photo of the session will be erased to free up space. If all goes well (apart from not all photos showing when you navigate back) you won't notice anything of this, and every new shot will be shown.
Download
See http://www.mymymyohmy.com/software/m9tether.html for the details and download.
Done?
Apart from more bugs showing up I think I'm done now for a while, unless someone has a request or a good suggestion to extend the program. I can't think up anything new to add at this moment.
Nerd alert...
I've been trying to implement the Profile setting of the camera, but besides the fact that it's a pretty useless setting to implement, it seems (like with a few other settings) the WPD/PTP implementation on the camera side contains bugs.
The profile setting can handle 4 values according to the camera (the numbers 0, 1, 2 and 3) when you interrogate it through PTP.
However, the total number of values it needs to hold is 6 (0 for the dash, 1 for Snapshot profile, 2 to 5 for profile 1 to profile 4).
It means that the camera can hold 6 values but tells the outside world it can only hold 4, with a maximum actual value of 3. This leads to errors when trying to set it to profile 3 (value 4) and profile 4 (value 5) through PTP (those values are then beyond the faulty PTP specs for the setting).
But if you set the profile on the camera, the value set is actually correct (and can go higher than 3).
So, reading the value is ok and you get the right profile number, but setting the value through PTP leads to errors when PTP recognises you try to go beyond that faulty limit of 4 values.
It means that through PTP you can only set the dash, the snapshot profile and profile 1 or 2, but not profile 3 or 4.
Another quirk is that the value is actually implemented as a propvariant bVal - VT_UI1 - which would suggest a boolean 'yes/no' only. Turns out the bVal can hold more than just a 0 or 1 (it's an unsigned byte), so that's not really the issue, but it seems a bit weird.
I'm not fully sure if these errors are firmware related or driver related, but they do make it impossible to implement certain settings correctly. This particular 'profile' bug doesn't seem to be driver related, since it's the camera's software actually claiming the wrong (too low) maximum value.
Then again, I can't rule out the driver messing it up.
Another faulty one is the battery power level.
It's implemented by Leica, but the only value you get out of it is 'ERROR' and 'invalid function called' when it should give back a simple 0 to 100: A percentage of battery power left. But somewhere low level this goes wrong. It would be nice to be able to actually show the battery level during tethered shooting, so it's too bad this isn't working.
I have no clue where this one goes wrong, but it's either the driver or the firmware.
Leica never produced their own driver, so the Microsoft ones will have to do, but testing on Vista does suggest that at least some of the issues are driver related (like the format bug on Vista).
I've looked into producing my own driver for the M9 by the way, but that's such a messy process that I gave up on it. Maybe in future, for now it's not worth the trouble, cause it wouldn't expose new settings, only perhaps - big perhaps - fix a few of these faulty ones.
This all means there's no more settings that can be handled by M9Tether, until Leica brings out new firmware to tackle these bugs (assuming some of them are firmware issues and Leica is aware of them, this stuff is after all pretty nerdy...).
Friday, March 4, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Mouse in Love
For people who missed it due to the length of the babble, one more time... and after the huge response it received - not so much - of course there needed to be a sequel.
Soon on a Blog Near You: Mouse meets Rat...
But first one more time, the movie that launched Mouse into stardom...
Soon on a Blog Near You: Mouse meets Rat...
But first one more time, the movie that launched Mouse into stardom...
Mouse in Love
video shot with a Leica M9
video shot with a Leica M9
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