I still need batteries for my camera, that's why I haven't posted any new pictures up. Lame reason, I know. I'll try to get some today!

Though consumer HD cameras are becoming more common, camcorder manufacturers have completely missed the boat as far as putting together a package that best fits the general consumer's needs.  You can get a cheap camera now that will shoot 16:9 1080i high-def, and that's great, except if you want to share your movies online.

If you want to shoot home movies and share them online with friends and family or if you are an aspiring vlogger, you want to be thinking about 30 frames-per-second progressive scan.  Even if you are an indie filmmaker drawn to 24p prosumer cameras -- if you've also had a desire to publish your film online, then there are compelling reasons to consider 30p.

I'll go so far as to say that if given the choice between a HD 30i and a standard def 30p camera, I'd get the 30p.  Sadly, no such choice exists for under $6000.

So why is 30p more important than HD?

So I was on Boingboing today reading about the Juice Box, Mattel's Teen aimed entertainment player with a little 2.7 inch LCD screen that people hack all the time. (you can find them for $25 for a 6 pack at overstock.com). Lots of Linux hacking etc. Stuff I'm not really interested in spending a lot of my free time doing.

Then I ran across this:
A guy has built a MAME emulator for old digital cameras. Now, THAT's something I would enjoy. If you're over 30, MAME plays every stand-alone video game of your childhood. Thought it was slick and Jason said I should share. So I'm sharing.

FIRST POST!!

This evening, Mars will be as close to Earth as it'll get until 2018. Incredibly, just in time for weekend viewing, Mars decided to put on a show with a dust storm that should be visible with the backyard telescope.

I'm going to try and capture a few pictures with my hacked CVS camera. Grab your CVS cam and your telescope and I'll show you how you can snap a few pictures too. (Make sure to post back your best images here for others to see).

Here is a detailed howto on how to build your own medium format pinhole camera out of Legos. The creator has also included pictures of his design as well as photos taken with the camera.