admin – Tom and JoAnn's Memories

2019 Test Panasonic HVX200P Video Camera

In mid November Tom & JoAnn visited the Bob Woodruff park to test somewhat old technology in the form of a Panasonic video camera that was used in the TV industry.

The HVX200P video camera was used in the television industry over 10 years ago. The video is written to P2 cards from which both video and audio files have to be extracted.

2019 Test Olympus 14-54mm f/1.28-3.5 Lens

Panorama of a portion of Bob Woodruff State Park in late October . Image consists of three images taken with the 14-54mm lens mounted on a Olympus E620 camera.

2019 Test Pentax X70

In September 2019, JoAnn and Tom went to Bob Woodruff State Park to test out the Pentax X70 camera. The X70 is an old digital ultrazoom camera from 2009. Ours is well-used but does take acceptable photos. The usefullness of the camera is that it is small and easily carried.

Pan of Bob Woodruff lake. The pan is made from six individual photos stitched together using Microsoft Image Composite Editor (ICE).

JoAnn in park with her hiking stick and Monet shirt. It was a bit windy that day.

2019 Oak Point Nature & Retreat Center

In September, JoAnn and Tom visited the Oak Point Nature & Retreat Center for the first time. Although the day was hot, there were many visitors to the center. These images were taken with the Olympus E-600 Four Thirds camera.

Nature Center
The 7,000 square foot Oak Point Park Nature & Retreat Center overlooks the majestic beauty of Oak Point Park & Nature Preserve. The center has 2,400 square feet of meeting/rental space as well as interactive nature exhibits. It is used special gatherings like outdoor education, weddings, parties, corporate retreats, and business meetings.

Small Lake Behind Center
There are facilities for picnics and bike riding.

2019 Test Olympus E-600 Four Thirds Camera

The E600 camera will soon be replaced by the E620 four thirds camera so a small test was run on the E600 to check it out prior to selling it.

Panorama of Bob Woodruff Park. Assemblage of 3 photos from camera. Lens is Olympus Zuiko 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6.

2019 Test Fujifilm FinePix S8630 HD Video cam

An amazing little camera in terms of image quality for both photo and video products.

Bob Woodruff State Park
Mid-morning Labor Day. Not a lot of visitors at this time but perhaps more folks will arrive later. We’re having summertime weather; meaning it will be hot and humid today.

2019 Test Canon Vixia HFS11 Video Cam

A test strip for the Canon Vixia HFS11 video cam at the Bob Woodruff State Park. I’m using a Lilliput 4K 7 inch camera assist screen as a viewfinder. The combination works great although the battery for the Lilliput is quite heavy and requires attention to balancing the camera.

2019 Test Sony Cybershot HSX-200V HD Video

Nice morning to be at Bob Woodruff park for video testing. The Sony may be used for video on a future trip later in the year. Small and compact, it’s useful as a backup camera for the full frames. The video quality is quite decent considering the inexpensive cost of the Sony.

2019 Eisenhower State Park

In June, JoAnn and Tom traveled to Eisenhower State Park located in Grayson County, Texas, northwest of Denison, Texas on the shores of Lake Texoma. The park is 423.1 acres in size and offers a variety of activities for the visitor including boating and camping.

The purpose of our visit was to evaluate the Canon SX610HS pocket camera and Canon 5DMII camera for landscape photography. Both cameras performed quite well and will be used in future trips.

Lake Texoma
This panorama is made from about 11 photos using Microsoft’s ICE program. The pan is sharp and clear and shows the inlet from which we were taking photos. SH610.

Lake Texoma
We are actually about 20ft above the lake. The shoreline here is receding quickly and it’s a vertical drop down to the water. SH610.

JoAnn at the Lake
Photo taken with the Canon 5DMkII.

Lakeshore
The viewpoint gives a better perspective on the cliff we’re standing on. The folks in the boat are fishing. 5DMkII.

2019 Grand Canyon

In July of 2019, JoAnn and Tom took a tour package from Williams, AZ to the South and West Rims of the Grand Canyon. The package included accomadations at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel in Williams, AZ and traveling to the Grand Canyon via railway. Also included in the package were bus tours of the South and West Rims with an overnight stay at the Maswik Lodge at the South Rim.

Williams is a small town nestled in the pine country of Northern Arizona and is known as the Gateway to the Grand Canyon. The town is located on Historic Route 66 and has many historic buildings and shops with memorabilia. The town hosts the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel. The lobby of the hotel features a flagstone fireplace, business center, indoor swimming pool and spa, TV and internet access. The hotel has four different guest rooms and Spencer’s Pub with a bar from 19th century England. Visitors to Williams can take a rail line that dates back to 1901 and enjoy terrain that changes from high desert to prairie, prairie to pine with six different classes of train service. Entertainment is provided both prior to departure and on-board the train itself enroute to the Grand Canyon. The weather during the trip was excellent. Hardly any clouds in the blue sky with temperatures in the low 90’s during the day and low humidity.