Selecting a camera

04/27/10 - During our Costa Rican trip, my Sony DSC-H7 15x zoom digital camera broke. It was just over two years old.

I had become quite comfortable with this Sony camera with it dual stabilization zoom delivering very clear pics of birds and animals at maximum zoom.

After some research, I decided on the replacement which is a 26x zoom.

If you are wondering about which camera to buy, here are some details about the four I looked into, as well as the Sony I had been using.

Part of this process is deciding if a DSLR is right or a pocket digital or a high zoom digital.

For some, the DSLR is the answer for high quality pics ... but they do come at a fairly high price and then you need to buy a telescopic lens.

For others, the convenience of a pocket digital (like Helen's Canon PowerShot SD780 IS) is the answer, as it is quite small but does take a very clear picture and has a optical viewfinder (very useful is bright sunlight).

If you want something for half way between the two but able to take pictures of distant objects (birds or animals) without the necessity of an additional lens, the answer might be a high zoom digital camera with very good stabilization.

The critical factor of a high zoom digital camera for me are:

1. high zoom

2. very stable at high zoom

3. large megapixel (10 or more)

4. lithium high capacity battery  

5. good warranty (at least 2 years)

6. wide angle lens

7. cost    

The cameras I tested/reviewed:

1. Sony DSC-H7 

2. Nikon Coolpix P90

3. Nikon Coolpix P100

4. Olympus SP-800UZ

5. Pentax X90

6. Sony DSC-HX1 (not tested)

7. Fujifilm FinePix HS10 (not tested)


Here is a side-by-side comparison of the above cameras.

Although the Sony DSC-HX1 is only 9MP and 20x zoom, the 2.8-8.0 creates the best wide angle I have seen so far. 

I tried a few max zoom pics (with same settings) while moving the cameras and the Pentax X90 was the clearest.

I had hoped the OLYMPUS with 30x zoom (28-840mm) would get clear maximum zoom pics as it would be better for birds and animals and the 2gb storage is a real bonus. However, I tried a few times and could not get a clear max zoom picture.

The Nikon P100 was a close second to the Pentax X90 at mox zoom - but was $150 more and heavier/larger. If it was the same price, I would have selected it due to the CMOS sensor ... no defined winner yet between CCD and CMOS but I would have liked to try it.

I bought the Pentax X90 with a 3 year Henry's warranty, for less than just the retail price of the Nikon P100 (before tax).

After reviewing the street price, I dropped the the Fujifilm HS10 from consideration but it does have CMOS and the 2nd highest zoom (24-720mm) and the only one with RAW uncompressed format (allowing more pic alterations) and it is the heaviest and largest.

The Sony DSC-H7 is older, 8 megapixel and not enough zoom. One year warranty.

The Sony DSC-HX1 was only 9 megapixels, lowest zoom, the lowest storage included (31mb), and uses memory stick Duo/Pro Duo instead of SD/SDHC (I would need to buy one and it is not compatible with my PC). One year warranty.

I did a series of tests on the others (Nikon P90, Nikon P100, Pentax X90, and Olympus SP-800UZ) at Henry's. 

The Nikon P90 is 24x zoom (26-624mm), aperture 2.8-5.0, not as good lithium battery, SD card, 50mb storage, and CCD sensor. 

Comes with a 2 year Canada warranty.

The Nikon P100 is Is 26x zoom (26-678mm), aperture 2.8-5.0, same battery as P90, SD card, 43mb storage, and CMOS sensor. Comes with a 2 year Canada warranty.

The Pentax X90 is 26x zoom (26-676mm), aperture 2.8-5.0, best lithium battery, SD card, 31.6mb storage, and CCD sensor. One year warranty.

The Olympus SP-800UZ is 30x zoom (28-840mm), aperture 2.8-5.6, not as good lithium battery, SD card, "2GB" storage, and CCD sensor. One year warranty.

Prostate Remedies - an update

06.10.11: Prostate drug may increase cancer risk


For those of us with BPH, some doctors prescribe 5-ARI type drugs  - known as finasteride and dutasteride - to reduce the size.


There is now evidence these drugs (Proscar, Avodar, Jalyn, Propecia), which reduce the risk of low grade cancer, may now increase the risk of high grade prostate cancer.


It is a little confusing, as the study indicates the benefits (of taking 5-ARIs) may outweigh the risks. 


Check with your doctor to endure he/she knows about this study, before considering (or continuing) with 5-ARI type drugs.   


4.17.11: I have done a little research on BPH (enlarged non-cancerous prostate) and learned that every man will have this problem, to varying degree, as they age.

Good understanding of what the prostate is.


Stages of (non-cancerous) BPH.




The only information I would seriously consider is The 6 Steps to a Healthy Prostate - paraphrased here (leaving out the pill):
1. Eat Healthy Fruits, Vegetables, Fish, And Avoid Fatty Foods
2. Exercise Daily
3. Have 35-50g of Soy Protein Every Day
4. Visit your Doctor Regularly
5. Have More Sex
6. Go Easy On The Booze - drink red wine

Apparently, if a man lives long enough he will die of prostate problems.
This description outlines the difference between BPH histology and disease.
From what I can see, men tend to ignore minor prostate problems and feel the occasional test by their GP is adequate. The discomfort continues/increases as we age and, from time to time, due to other influences (such as alcohol).


We are men ... we live with it.


Well, some men decide to try alternatives, in order to have a more peaceful sleep each night (aka, to decrease the sense-of-urgency to urinate).


The emphasis in remedies seems to be pills containing the following natural ingredients:
1. nettles root extract 
2. saw palmetto extract
3. tree bark extract - pygeum africaum
4. lycopene (high concentrations in tomato paste)
5. vitamin e
6. vitamin d
7. zinc
8. selenium
9. pumpkin seed oil


Non-natural ingredients include:
1. beta-sisterol
2. quercitin


There are studies underway with beta-sitosterol  and 5-alpha reductase inhibitors to determine applicability to prostate reduction but nothing of any significance yet. 


I have checked into a lot of the following solutions and noticed quite a few complaints about not refunding the cost.



The one now being infommercialed is Prosvent. It contains all the above natural ingredients.


Another 'solution' appears to be Prostavar.
 Prostavar mostly contains saw palmetto, beta-sitosterol, pygeum extract and quercitin.  It also contains vitamin E, zinc and lycopene.


Another 'solution' is Prostate Miracle.
The ingrdients are: beta-sitosterol, zinc, selenium and vitamin D3. Their claim is the very high concentration of beta-sitosterol. See Best Prostate below.


Here are just a few others you may have heard of:

Vasotrexx, Prost-RX, Prostanol, Solaray Pygeum and Saw Palmetto, Super Beta Prostate, Prostate Defense, Maximum Prostate, Prostate Relief, Prostate RX, Better Prostate, Best Prostate, Liquid Prostate, ProstTec, Prosvent, Royal Forte Prostate, Prostate Health, Prostalex Plus, Provelex Plus, Super Prostate Formula, Prulato, Flotrexx, Prost-8, Prostate Formula, Antiiva, Prostate Wellness I would like to continue to add to this item, when new worthwhile information comes available. Let me know if you become aware of anything new and interesting.

Peat areas in Indonesia used for palm oil production

It caught my interest that Indonesia was third (behind USA and China) in CO2 emissions. 


In reviewing further, the reason appears to be hacking away at the rain forest and planting palm trees for palm oil.
Apparently, if peat is more than three metres deep, they are not allowed to plant palms, as it will then release the stored up CO2. There is a lot of stored CO2 in peat in Indonesia! There are a lot of companies (and independent palm oil producers) providing palm oil to major companies who do not care where the palm oil comes from.
Indonesia appears to be responding but not much has changed. 


Stronger international measures need to be brought to bear on commercial ventures in Indonesia.


The problem here is that the palm oil produced is merged with all other palm oil and very difficult to track the source.


More pressure needs to be placed on companies who do not differentiate where they buy their palm oil.


Green peace is helping but it will take more focus before companies comply.


We need to voice our objection by not buying from companies that don't care (Nestle is one)! Further action focusing on Nestle.
Don't buy a product using palm oil if the company doesn't spell out that exactly where their palm oil comes from.


If this information is correct, it amazes me why more people aren't making their opinions known!


Where are the environmental-active youth today?  
It amazes me how they are afraid to speak their mind and initiate action to focus on a healthier planet for the future!