I took the leather shoulder strap from an old Konica EE-Matic full-body case and hacked it into a wrist strap for my Panasonic Lumix GF2. After searching for and finding the perfect wrist strap on eBay then being totally shocked at the near $30 price tag (not including shipping), I went into full Do-It-Yourself mode in an attempt to make one out if spare material. Most of the slits, holes, and hardware on the harvested Konica shoulder strap were already in place, I just had to get the length right for my needs. The end results is a strong leather wrist strap that matches the cameras look and style while easing my fears of dropping my new camera.

I've never been comfortable handling any size camera without some kind of wrist or shoulder strap. So the deal with wrist straps and todays increasingly small digital cameras is the need to make adjustments to the cameras settings with the thumb and index finger while holding the camera with the remaining fingers and your palm.....it ain't easy! The Lumix GF2 is sorta small compared to some of my film cameras and down right tiny next to my Pentax DSLR.

This DIY leather wrist strap will hopefully help me hang on the my camera and still spin the eDials with confidence. If so, then this DIY project was a success!

It's been several days since Gowalla released version 4.0.1 and I'm finding it to be a completely different animal. It's easy to check-in but I still keep forgetting how....I don't know why. Gone are all my achievements, didn't even get a chance to save 'em, back them up, or snap a pic or to if all the cute little badges. The whole thing is sad because Gowalla was the first check-in app I ever used and now, I'm packing it in and calling it quits. I'll keep my account but I'm removing the app from my phone.

Thanks Gowalla, it was fun. Dred242....checking-out!

Took me a few minutes to figure out how to simply check-in with the latest version of Gowalla but I finally found the button. The latest update adds plenty of UI changes and so far it looks pretty slick. But soon my use of both Gowalla and FourSquare is gonna drop off dramatically as I start to only check in at odd and seldom visited locations. And with the exception of an occasional perk for checking in at Starbucks, the promise of being rewarded for frequent check-in's throughout your day has yielded pretty much nothing for me. Last year some Bay Area tech-centric smartphone users declared checking in to be dead.....is this true!

The free version of Pandora Radio's mobile app has gone crazy with pop-up's. An ad every now an then is ok, but ad's seem to appear every 30sec's or so as well as an audio commercial in-between every 3rd song. Plus surveys have been added.....WTF! Also it seems that Pandora has un-learned all that I've taught it about my music taste in the past 2 years. I don't think I wanna go through the thumbs up or down all over again.

My Analog Project 2011 continues in the month of September with the Yashica Electro 35 GT. This 35mm range finder built by Yashica back in 1969 was considered a Pro rangefinder with it's sleek design and super easy semi-automatic exposure system. The camera featured higher ISO options going all the way up to an ISO of 1000 which was very popular with pro photographers. As mentioned, the semi-automatic exposure is easy to use in conjunction with the indicator lights on top of the camera as well as illuminated arrows inside the view finder. The lack of shutter speed indication anywhere on the camera is a major downside in my opinion, there are times when I prefer to control shutter speed over aperture. This was one of the first rangefinders I bought back in 2010 when I started collecting vintage cameras that I admired from when I was a teen.

Learn more about my yashica Electro 35GT on my YouTube Ch.

You can also find a short video slideshow on my flickr photostream.

I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes! Yes....you can actually point the Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim directly at the sun and still capture a decent image. This all plastic camera has a extremely wide focal length of 22mm, a fixed aperture of f/11, and a fixed shutter speed of 1/125sec. I can't figure out how this camera with it's default settings as mentioned before can pull off a shot aimed directly at the sun, there must be magic in that plastic lens. The camera is also the lightest camera I own - about as heavy as a 1/2 a deck of playing cards. The 22mm ultra wide angle lens actually caught my fingers in a photograph while holding the camera.....that's wide baby!  It's known for producing some of the sharpest photos ever captured from a cheap plastic camera that original sold for only a few bucks back during the mid 1980's. I used Kodak Gold 200 for these shots which is generally a good film to use when shooting outdoors. My shooting into the sun needs a bit more practice but in time I'm sure I'll get the hang of it. I'll hit the streets soon with this camera, hopfully I'll get some great shots. If you're in the market for one, the Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim is not too hard to find on eBay but to avoid high prices due to it's popularity try surfing thrift stores like Goodwill or the Salvation Army for a few weeks first.

After using small vintage point-n-shoot film cameras (both zone focus and rangefinders) I've gotten used to the size and form factor of these cameras. Bigger than the pocket-size digital point-n-shoots yet much smaller that the full-size DSLR's. I started looking at the micro four thirds which fall right into that mid-sized form factor. The cost is less than the big full featured DSLR's and only slightly higher than the most expensive tiny digital point-n-shoot cameras like the Canon S95. After doing a bit if research I came up with 3 micro four third cameras that I was considering buying.

1st Choice: Olympus Pen E-PL2
2nd Choice: Olympus Pen E-PL1
3rd Choice: Panasonic Lumix GF2

I really had my sights set on the Pen E-PL2 with it's slightly redesigned button layout than the previous model, larger LCD screen, and kit lens that's near silent when zooming during video recording. The only real reason the E-PL1 was on the list was due to it's slightly lower cost and availablity. The Lumix GF2 originally made the list because I get a corporate discount that knocks a great deal off the price. But after reading online user reviews, YouTube video reviews, the full review over at dpreview.com, and a 30min hands-on in-store test drive, I started to see more than just a lower price. The shape and size of the Lumix GF2 fits me well. Using the actual control buttons with my right thumb in combination with the LCD touch screen under my left thumb was surprisingly easy. I did get a kick out of auto focusing the lens and releasing the shutter with a single tap on the subject via the LCD screen. The GF2 also has a control dial that sits just under the right thumb which I'm already very use to on my Pentax K10D. It can control most adjustments by rotating or pressing....awesome! The only down-side to this camera is Panasonic's decision to go with the .RW2 raw file format instead the basic .DNG.....but it's an easy work-around. I ordered the the GF2 direct from Panasonic and it arrived 2 days ago. After reading the instruction manual cover-2-cover and some basic camera set-up, the GF2 was up and running like a champ. I don't care for the physical size of the 14mm-42mm kit lens that the camera ships with because it sticks out from the GF2's small body like a stump. I ordered the Panasonic Lumix G 14mm f/2.5 ASPH Pancake which will give me the same wide angle view I'm looking for but in a much smaller pancake size. Outside of purchasing a small case for the GF2, I'd say the package is complete with no plans to buy the fancy electronic viewfinder, external flash, or additional lenses. But....I reserve the right to buy the external mic if I find myself shooting video in the future.

The Family Affair:
Dad (me) ------ Panasonic Lumix DMC GF2
Mom ------------ Panasonic Lumix DMC 7SZ
Son ------------- Panasonic Lumix DMC S3 Black
Daughter ------ Panasonic Lumix DMC S3 Red

Here's the first bokeh shot taken yesterday around 7:45pm