Today I picked up a new Sony HDV-A1U camcorder for work. No doubt about it, it’ s pretty sweet. As the newest edition to my video camera family, its definitely the baby. The baby you can take anywhere due to its tiny size. It fits me like a glove.
I’ve already done away with the bulky microphone and adapter for everyday shooting, although the double XLR inputs will come in handy for lavalier mics. Supernice widescreen LCD display, and lens. The touch screen menu is cool, but I’ve already run into trouble with locking myself out of certain settings. Its seems as though you can’t operate a manual exposure setting, and have manual access to the shutter speeds. This camcorder is a nice addition to my Canon XL1 and my grandaddy Sony DSR-200A. It’s sleek, small and super low-pro. Even if it doesn’t offer complete control, as a high quality portable handheld, it seems more than adequate. After I’ve used it for a while, I’ll give a more in depth evaluation.
later
n

project runway week 2

Originally uploaded by nicemag.

3 more weeks of Empire home-base party!
A few of the best photos from week 2 are on my Flickrstream.
see you Friday.
n

kitchen March 2006

Originally uploaded by nicemag.

Finally got the counter – tops. Turns out the matte finish may be slightly susceptible to scratching. Flo-Form actually scuffed the bar top, so it looks like we’ll be getting a pretty major discount. Its not that bad of a scuff, it just looks like a wet spot under certain lighting, plus we’ll be covering it with a cutting board. So the counter will be ringing in a $550. Can’t really complain. We can use that money to do something about he floor which is EFFED!
SO by this flick, you can tell that paint will be a pretty major improvement. I think the colour will look dope, right now its so white and blah. We have to finish the back of the bar top, prob just drywall, and painted to match the wall. We’re also talking about our plans for a tile back-splash, but we do to some wiring first. That back wall needs a couple of outlets and some under-counter lights.
The window is a bit of an issue also. The frame was destroyed, so it need to be built back, and that god-awful venetian blind needs to hit the bin. The empty area to the left of the oven is where a dishwasher will go. We’re also trying to decide what to do with the empty wall space over the oven. I was talking about getting a hanging pot-rack, but open shelving would be awesome too.
Its definitely come a long way. Still aiming to have it done for my b-day April 29th.
More updates to come.
n