Image Catalog Now Closed

With no fanfare, no notification email to members that I am aware of, the stock agency located at the imagecatalog.com domain is now closed. I don't know the exact date of when the site closure was made. Image Catalog was one of those lower earning stocks where I only checked in every couple of weeks unless I had some uploads. I was doing my little round of checks today, and alas, found the doors shut and the blinds drawn. Another microstock now fades into the sunset.

Unfortunately, no contact address is given on the remaining home page for contributors to use where they could possibly claim unpaid royalties. I have an old admin address that I had used to contact the service regarding another matter, so I'll see if it works to retrieve my remaining royalties. Will let you know how things work out, or if it's just a "take the money and run" deal on the part of Image Catalog.

All subdirectory and category pages presently redirect to the imagecatalog.com main domain name. The Google cache for results on the domain presently show a valid cache dated 11/23/2009 at 16:59:20. Wow, looks like the doors slammed shut right at 5 pm.

My recollection is that Image Catalog was located in Canada, although I can't remember the exact city.

Flip Ultra HD Wins Pocket Video Shootout

Here we go again. Christmas is approaching and the relatives are starting to ring my phone. Today's question was "What small camcorder should I buy?" As stated here before, I'm not much of a videophile. Generally, as long as it plays with reasonable quality and has good audio, then generally I'm happy. Some of the relatives though are stuck further back in the Dark Ages than me though, and the call today came from a cousin looking to replace an old VHS-C tape machine. Even for me, that's old! I ditched my old tape hog in 2003.

So I cruised around the web and found that Gizmodo recently published the Ultimate Pocket Camcorder Comparison. The winner was the Flip Ultra HD. From Gizmodo:

Video quality is just fine, above average if not particularly impressive on every test, and it, like the Mino HD, is extremely user-friendly. Although that simplicity yields less flexibility and a barebones feature set compared to the Kodak Zi8, it's a good distillation of the aims of pocket camcorders, and its 100% tactile controls are a welcome change from the Mino HD. If you're not superficial, it's a very smart buy.

Also in the Gizmodo test lineup: Flip Mino HD, Kodak Zi8, Creative Vado HD, Apple's iPod Nano, and the JVC Picsio GC-FM1. You find all the dirt on Gizmodo, including a nice test chart which breaks down the testing criteria and scoring plus numerous video samples.

I've purchased a few other gadgets partially based on Gizmodo reviews. With today's desire for "tiny, tiny stuff" they did mention the size of this unit as being larger, but I'll trade a little bit of a larger size for good performance any day. It's small enough for me, who hauled a large VHS camera and bag around for three days shooting New York City sights.

Will I purchase this item? Maybe. I took a serious look at the Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL
back earlier in the year and figured if no other pocket size models appeared I might give it a try. So far though it looks like the Flip Ultra HD would be my first choice.

Click to see the full Gizmodo rundown.

Just Pies

L1010451pies by libbystack on Zooomr

Yes, it's just pies. I just wrapped up some of the Thanksgiving baking and needed to snap a pic of my pies for my baking blog. The pic is indeed mediocre as I'm pretty tired here and I'm not about to run pies over to the studio at the other end of the house, but there is something I wanted to show you. The pic was snapped with the Leica D Lux 4, and instead of the pop up flash on the camera, I threw on the little Sima video light I got a few weeks ago. The shadow is harsher than I would like because the light was just full on, but none of that nasty flash bounceback is in the image. Ordinarily I would shoot available light, but the lights in my kitchen are just nasty and no matter what I do the images balance over-red.

I did run a very short video clip using he Sima and the result was pretty nice. I'll do a full review on the Sima in the next couple of weeks. It's a versatile little tool.

To all, a very Happy Thanksiving!

Wedding Photographer Meets The Bride To Be

Hilarious yes, but not that far off base considering what some wedding photographers have to go through with some clients these days. Enjoy!

Buy.com Makes Good On Order

Back around mid October, I placed an order at Buy.com for an oddball item costing around $40. My deadline for arrival was flexible, so I picked the cheapest form of shipping. Well, fast forward to mid November and my still had not arrived. Last Friday, I went into the Help section of the Buy.com website and sent them an "Item Missing" message. I'm happy to report that a replacement item arrived today via FedEx at their expense. Seems my original order got hung up in the US postal facility here in Buffalo NY. My guess is that it got either lost or lifted there.

I've ordered the occasional item via Buy.com on and off for the past couple of years, and had never had a problem before. Thanks to Buy.com for making good on the order without any hassles or headaches.

As always, know your vendor before placing orders. ResellerRatings.com is a great source for such information.

Seems that especially when buying electronics and camera gear, people can get screwd. You might want to see this post that I wrote about camera vendor scams

http://niagarashooter.blogspot.com/2009/06/prestige-photo-and-others-busted.html

Full Disclosure: The author receives no compensation from Buy.com or Reseller Ratings.

Leica To Increase US Prices January 2010

If you've been hemming and hawing on the great little Leica D Lux 4 and you're in the US, get ready for some sticker shock. According to Leica Rumors, the D Lux 4 is one of the Leica items that will incur a price increase in January 2010. Presently at a suggested retail of $699 US, the D Lux 4 price will increase to $880, Leica Rumors says. However over at once of the Leica camera forums, dealer David Farkas says the D Lux 4 price will increase to only $799. Either way, looks like you'll pay more.

For those of you who read this blog, you know that I'm a great fan of the D Lux 4 having acquired it earlier in the year. For my desires, including a very wide angle, good low light capability, and decent video, it's simply the best compact camera I've ever owned. The only thing that would make me happier with this camera model would be a larger image sensor. I don't even miss the longer telephoto lengths. I got lucky in getting my D Lux 4. I put my order in just before some of the camera community got rabid about this model.

Both sources say the Leica M9 price will remain unchanged, but that M Lenses will be affected by the price increase. The prices of the Leica X1 and Leica S2 will also remain the same.

My New Favorite Blog

MIchael from Lighten Up And Shoot just cracks me up. He had a free workshop down in St Petersburg FL over the weekend and here's the video. It's proof positive that you can get a great shot without hours of setup and shooting. LU&S has become my new favorite blog. Well it's in the top 3 anyway ;-) I'd rather go with the flow and be entertained (even if it's by Michael) rather than watch some dolt drone on and on about how to push 3 buttons.

Also in the video - See how Michael picks up women, and learn in 15 seconds how to make a great ringlight out of a takeout food container. I've seen lots of DIY ringlights but this one looks like it would actually work.