Recommend to me an e-reader. And/or camera lenses. I'm not picky.

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m off on a three-month trip to Kenya, and I’d like to have some reading material while there. The last time I was there, I made the mistake of not taking any books to save on weight, and that was miserable. I lucked out, and the school I went through had a great number of novels for me to read. This time, I’m not really staying in one place, so I’ll need to haul my own reading material. However, I’m going to have even less luggage space, so I’m thinking an e-reader might be my best bet. My boyfriend and I have discussed them a few times, and come to no conclusions. His concern about both the Sony and the Kindle (the two major readers, according to him), is that they might fail me if they can’t “call home” while I’m there. If this is something to actively worry about, I’d love to know it. Otherwise, I’d appreciate input on any and all e-readers that might help me decide on if I should get one, and which I should get if I do.

To cut down on the (probably) myriad of threads I’ll probably start asking for recommendations, I figured I’d also ask about camera lenses in this same thread. Right now I’ve just been given a Cannon Rebel XTi, with a single zoom lens from 18-55mm. I would like at least one more, something that will zoom farther, but I’m very new to the DSLR market (this Rebel is a fluke), so I don’t even really know what’s out there. I figured I’d ask for suggestions here before trying to buy something out there. Cost is most certainly an object, but I’m willing to read about anything, if only to get a sense of what’s out there (and to daydream).

Thanks in advance for any help, suggestions or recommendations.

2

How much is cost an object?

For Kenya, assuming we’re talking safari, you’re probably going to want a long lens and those are pricey. Even the cheap ones will bleed you and the good ones are insanely expensive. The nice thing about APS-C cameras like the Rebel is you get a boost on the long end due to the cropped sensor - this means your 18-55 mm is actually the equivalent to ~29-88 mm on an old 35mm film camera or its equivalent ( multiply by 1.6X ). So you lose on the wide end ( not so great for panoramic landscape shots ), but it means a 300mm lens turns into a 480mm for nature photography.

Since I’m assuming for the sake of travel and expense you don’t want to take a heavy bag of prime lens with you, you’re probably going to want a zoom that covers a range on the other side of your existing one. At a minimum probably a 70-200mm or 100-300mm at whatever pricepoint you can manage ( maybe $300-2000 new, depending on how fast the glass is and how ancient the technology is, i.e. autofocus and vibration reduction ). An alternative way to go is an all-in-one walking around lens like this new Tamron, which at 18-270mm ( 29-432 on your camera ) has the widest range of any lens on the market. There are a whole herd of technical compromises you make with any zoom, let alone one with that range, but it lets you shoot any but the longest range shots without ever changing the lens and it gets decent reviews, considering. Not cheap, but a bargain compared to a $7000 f2.8 400mm prime ;).

This is assuming you do want a longer lens for wildlife. If you are more interested in taking portraits or pictures of ants, the answer(s) would be different.

3

Might not be right for you, but I love mobipocket for my BB Storm. It’s wonderful. You do need to set up the storm for a reader. But it is just great. I have 6 books in my storm now. I could store a hundred. I can read for at least 8 hours on the standard battery. And no reading light is required. In other words, plop me down in the middle of darkness and I always have my book from my BlackBerry Storm. I like that.

I think a Kindle needs ambient light to read it. Not so on the BB Storm.

I bet an iPhone could do the same. The Storm is also my GPS and PDA (I cant’ beleive I said that) now. Though I have no idea if it would work as a GPS in Kenya. It does rely on cell signals for mapping data. Sat signals are no problem. It’s spot on in the US. And in many cases the Storm is better than my Garmin.

It’s not the same as a paper book of course. But as my eyesight worsens it’s nice to be able to bump up the font a bit.

It does not have to have a wireless conection to read the books. You down load them.

And the silly little thing can actually play music for people with out headphones.

I’m listening to KT Tunstall now. No earbuds. I have 300 more songs in there, and 3 gigs left. I’ll be taking my Storm to Costa Rica next spring.

On review. 3 months in Kenya?

4

Cost is pretty thoroughly an object, as I’m a graduate student going for research purposes, but I’ve set aside some money for “trip purchases” and these two are on the list of things I’d like to have before I go.

I didn’t know about the boost for the cropped cameras. Honestly, I only found out my camera was “cropped” last night, from a friend of mine. She said if I’d had a higher-end DSLR, I’d be able to use my old Cannon lenses, but because of this cropping, I can’t. I had a macro/zoom lens for my old film SLR that I took last time and loved. It was macro and the range was 80-200mm. Occasionally, of course, that was not enough, but it’s what I had (my mother loaned me her camera and two lenses).

Yup, that’s correct. I’d love to have a macro again, for things like the ants you mention and flowers and whatnot, but my photographic quarry is the larger wildlife, as you figured. I’d rather do without the macro than the longer lens, but I’d be sad.
enipla, yep, three months in Kenya. September to December. During the “short wet” season. I went during this time six years ago, too. It was great then, and I’m expecting it to be great again.

What is a BB Storm? It sounds like it’s not a dedicated reader, but something else, and that might be interesting.

5

I heartily recommend the Kindle2 which will hold up to 1500 books. These can be downloaded wirelessly, but that only works in the U.S. However, if out of the country and if you have access to a computer, you can still buy books by USB cable on a computer. You can also download thousands of free public domain classic books, so it is easy to load up enough reading material for a year or more. :smiley:

If you turn off the wireless, you can read for 7 or 8 days before you have to recharge the battery, so obvioulsy, you have to have access to AC once a week or so. It comes with an AC charger, but a car charger is also available. Be sure and buy the default cover, or one of many others sold to protect the screen from bangs or scratches. It is glass and should be carefully handled. Yes, it is eInk, just like a book, so you do need light to read it (not backlighted). The new DX model is a lot larger, but not as portable. It has a built-in dictionary, you can pick six different type sizes, and has lots of other good things.

The price has recently dropped $60 to $299. That is not cheap, but most Amazon bestsellers are only $9.99, so if you buy a lot of books anyway, you will eventually pay for it in savings on book prices. Plus, many are less than that, and as i said, many great free books are abailable. Go to amazon.com and you’ll see the thing on their home page, click on it and read about the advantages.

I have had the old Rocket eBook for years, had the Sony Reader for a year until the Kindle came out, and have had that for more than a year and a half, and it is the best of them all as far as I am concernedl. <end sales pitch>

6

Hey Blue Kanga, can I call you that?

The BlackBerry Storm is a Phone. Or so that is how it is advertised. It’s really a PDA…. Or personal digital assistant. But really, It’s a computer that you keep with you. It’s even a pretty good camera too.

If you don’t have your camera with you, you can use the BB. Need music? I’m rocking now. Without headphones.

I’ll press the screen once and push the mobibook icon and I’m back right where I was on my downloaded book.

It’s just stunning. It’s not a dedicated reader. It’s not a dedicated anything.

But if you want to have a cell phone, a camera, a calender, music, … and books to read you may want to consider it. If you want GPS and such, its there as well.

As I said, I don’t know how well this may work in Kenya. Though I’m sure you could download books and take them with you. It’s a nice size.

It takes a bit of work to get to Know it. It’s really just a swiss army knife only it’s digital.

In my humbal opinion.
Enipla.

7

I have an Olympus E520 and it has a 2x crop factor. I have an adapter that let me use my old MF Minolta lenses with it.

The good: My 80-200mm f/2.8~3.5 becomes a 160-400mm f/2.8~3.5. It also has focus confirmation. My exposure bracketing relies on varying shutter speed, and that still works. The adapter came from China via eBay for about $75. You can also leave the adapter connected to the camera if you want to switch from MF lens to MF lens.

The bad: You lose AF of course. You also have to turn the aperture on the lens to what you want before tripping the shutter. Open it again to get max light for focusing etc. It basically makes it like an old “preset” lens.

The iffy: Mine allows infinity focus, which is something that not all adapters do. For your beloved macro work, that infinity focus would probably be a moot point.

8

Of course you can call me that!

Sounds like an interesting “phone”. I have no idea if it will work in Kenya, but I’ll check it out. Sounds tempting for when I get back and my current contract is up, really!

KlondikeGeoff, thanks for that recommendation and the information. Do you know if the Kindle2 has any issues with being disconnected from the internet (can’t “call home”) either via it’s wireless or the computer for a substantial length of time?

9

What is “infinity focus”? Also, what’s a “preset” lens? I don’t think I understand anything in your “bad” paragraph beyond the loss of AF.

I’ve not heard of adaptors for cameras like this. Thanks for mentioning them, I’ll definitely look into it.

10

I just returned from a 3-week trip to southern France, for which I bought a Nikon D90 camera . . . my first “serious” digital. I also bought a Nikkor 18-200 AF zoom lens, which is comparable to the old 28-300. I used this one lens for everything, and it was such a joy not ever having to change lenses. This camera and lens make an amazing technological combination. The pictures I took are way beyond what I had before.

11

Infinity focus is a focal point in the distance that the camera sees when you aim it at anything. Otherwise the camera will focus in on what ever it thinks is the focal point.

Declan

12

i don’t know anything about lenses, other than the ones on my face, so I can’t really help you there. However, as far as e-readers go, I think I can. I have the Kindle DX and absolutely LOVE it. I purchased it in June and have barely put it down. It holds approximately 3500 books; I have 47 on it so far. It has an auto rotate feature that allows you to read in portrait or landscape mode, reads native PDF files, and the screen is huge. I almost went for the Kindle2 because of the price, but now I’m happy I chose the DX.

I travel as well and just came back from a trip where internet options were limited and I was unable to connect to Amazon’s Whispernet service to download, but I’d preloaded a number of titles before my trip and was all set.

Reading on the Kindle DX is just like reading a hard cover novel as the weight and size are somewhat similar. The Kindle doesn’t have a backlight, so you’ll need to rely on ambient light, just as you would with a regular book. Another advantage, of course, is the ability to change the font size of any book you read on the fly.

There are now over 300,000 titles available from Amazon for the Kindle, and many, many additional titles available from other outlets, many of which are free.

Also, the convenience of not having to lug a wheelbarrow of books around speaks for itself.

I’ll only read printed books again if the title I’m looking for is not available for the Kindle. I’m hooked. You will be too.

13

That sounds like infinite depth of field, a principle that instamatics relied on. Maybe you have infinity focus lock on your camera?

When you get far enough away from something, light rays are are effectively parallel and optically, they might as well be an infinite distance away. The parallel beams effect varies with focal length. A longer (more telephoto) lens might be able to discriminate between something 50 feet away and something 100 feet away; a wide angle can’t.

Anyway some adapters may not allow infinity focus. Not a big deal for macro work, maybe, but for your purposes it would be.

Preset lens…you mention having “old Canon lenses.” Maybe I jumped a little too far in my conclusion. Did you have a manual focus SLR?

With a manual focus SLR, you focus the camera, then take the photo. You might choose the shutter speed and let the camera choose the aperture, vice-versa, or you might tell the camera to choose both. When you trip the shutter, the aperture closes and re-opens.

(See top photo: aperture open; bottom, closed.)

If you go farther back in time, the lenses were preset. You would manually open the lens aperture with a dial, so you would have maximum light for focusing. When you were ready to take the picture, you would close it on the aperture ring and meter the light, setting shutter speed. Then you would take the picture. So “pre-set,” means “set the aperture before taking the photo.” Of course you can take pictures without doing that, if you use the widest aperture.

It can be a pain but it’s a cheaper solution than dropping hundreds on lenses. I got one because for $75, I could use three MF lenses instead of replacing them at a cost of over $1000. True they require more of me than new lenses but I didn’t have money to burn.

Here’s one adapter, supposing you have old FD lenses:

http://cgi.ebay.com/FD-lens-adapter-to-EF-Canon-Eos-DSLR-Rebel-XT-XS-450D_W0QQitemZ380116964900QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLens_Accessories?hash=item5880bc9624&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

It’s just an example and I can’t vouch. Mine has no glass in it, which is preferable because for all you know, their glass is crap (and compared to Canon, almost certainly is). I can’t figure out why they did that because it seems like you’re going to a smaller format, not a larger. Well, that’s another story. But dayum, look at all the adapters:

http://www.rugift.com/photocameras/adapters.htm

Like I said, I can use Minolta lenses on an Olympus camera. Here’s a picture I took with adapter and manual focus lens.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lobotomyboy63/Flowers05_31_09#5342172325300628290

14

Okay, lobotomyboy63, I think I follow now. We’ll see.

I do have an old Canon MF SLR. I cannot set both the aperture and the shutter speed (which lead to my buying my old Nikon MF SLR), but I can set one or the other for that. I took the Canon with me to Kenya last time, on loan from my mother. I didn’t know anything about aperture or shutter speed or anything like that the last time I went, so I kind of made things up as I went along.

Now I’ve taken one photography class and forgotten most (but not all) of what I learned there, so I’ll still mostly be making things up as I go along. But at least I’ll be making ever so slightly more educated stabs at it.

Last time I developed three months of film when I got back. I’m not sure what happened in there, but the first half of the trip’s photos were all fuzzy and terrible, and the second half were all basically fine. I didn’t develop anything while there, so it’s not like I was getting feedback on how I was doing, so I don’t know how I sort of spontaneously improved.

That e-bay lens adapter does look like what I have, so it’s possible I can make it work. That would thrill me! And the rugrift link looks useful too. However, if they don’t allow infinity focus (as you’ve explained it, at least) that would be problematic. Worth looking into, though.

Finally, those flowers are gorgeous. I love the lighting, and it’s one of the things my poor photography instructor tried to convey to me that I never quite grasped.

15

I got a lot of good advice in this thread What kind of lens should I get to go on safari? - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board and actually purchased the 70-300mm lens Daryl Licit suggested. I’m very happy with it.

16

If you still have your Nikon MF lenses, maybe you could adapt those as well.

Thanks for the compliment! I got lucky to be photographing them when the light was good, and it looked good on the LCD but when I put them into the computer, whoa!

As you’ve probably experienced, there are a couple issues with photo equipment: 1) ease of use, and 2) image quality. I’m not convinced that newer technology is always better WRT image quality. One term that has sprouted to describe adaptation of old lenses to new cameras is “legacy lenses.” Here’s a bunch from various users with old lenses on Olympus.

If you love doing macro stuff, you might look into these, which don’t take up much space:

  1. diopters
    http://www.adorama.com/HY72CUS.html

  2. extension tubes
    http://www.adorama.com/CAETEF252.html?searchinfo=Rebel+extension+tube

  3. reversing ring
    http://www.adorama.com/searchsite/default.aspx?searchinfo=Rebel+reversing+ring&category=0&sort=p_name|0

I bet there are really cool plants, insects, etc. to photograph there.

17

Not exactly sure what you mean. In the U.S. the Whispernet connection is not WiFi, but the Sprint system. Any place in the country you can get Sprint cellphone connectivity, which is almost everywhere, you can connect to Amazon, buy and download books, go to the Internet, etc. I have never ever had a problem at all with being dropped or disconnected while using it or downloading books. Some rare times of heavy use, it may take a minute or two to get enough bars (3 or 4) to actually connect, but usually is only 10-15 seconds.

I never heard of, nor can I believe that you would ever have a disconnection problem if you are using the USB cable to download books from the Amazon.com site. Only if the Internet was down or if your local connection failed. Otherwise, that is an easy way to get books. You just buy the book, and transfer it from the computer to the Kindle. When the Kindle is connected, it shows up on Internet Explorer as a drive called “Kindle.” A subfolder under that is called “Documents” andthat is where you drag the book to.

The later is the system you have to use outside of the U.S. Warning, if you try to buy a Kindle from out of the country, that will not work unless you have a U.S. crredit card and address. if you do, you can get books anywhere. Just can’t use Whispernet.

If this is all clear as mud, the Users Guide that comes loaded on the Kindle explains it all in more detail. The device is very intuitive, and even beginners have no problem figureing out how to use it right out of the box.

If I haven’t answred your Qs, or you have others, let me know and I’ll try to help.

18

KlondikeGeoff, I think I’m not exactly asking the question correctly (in part, I admit, because I don’t quite understand my boyfriend’s concerns myself).

I believe my boyfriend’s concern with both the Sony e-reader and all versions of the Kindle is that they will periodically wish to “check in” with Amazon or Sony and make sure I still have a valid license for all my books and current software on the reader and so forth. It’s not about buying new books, as hopefully I can load up before I leave, but about it suddenly not allowing me to read books because it hasn’t connected with Amazon/Sony/home recently enough.

There was some hubub here recently (of course I forgot to bookmark the thread) about Amazon deleting Orwell books from the Kindle, and someone commented that these readers are more like renting books than buying them. My boyfriend agrees with that statement (if I recall our conversation correctly), and expands it to things like iPods and so forth. With my iPod, it checks at certain points, such as when I install a new HD, if I can play the music I’ve purchased (rented) from iTunes. His concern is thus that the readers “check in” more randomly than that, and might fail while I’m there.

madmonk28, thanks for the link and the recommendation. I will most certainly look into that lens. And a travel tripod. Just thought of that now. Anyone know anything about those bendy tripod things? Are they any good?

lobotomyboy63, there are definitely some cool plants & insects to be photographed there! I have a photo from the last time I went of some ants that always freaks people out. It’s because I took it from effectively on top of our Land Rover, and the line of ants is in front of it. Yet, every ant is a distinct entity on the photograph (though it’s not possible to make out things like distinct segments of each ant). Clearly, those ants were HUGE! I wasn’t allowed to get out and try to take a closer look/photo. But maybe this time I will get the chance.

Thanks for the links and thoughts. I’m very excited by the possibilities!

19

Hey Blu (if I can shorten your name even more :D)

Wow, that’s a new one on me and nothing that I have ever heard of. Amazon has one of the greatest customer services out there, so I suggest you give them a call and find out exactly what the deal is. Call them at 1-866-321-8851. If you find out anything interesting, let us know in this thread, but I seriously doubt that is true.

Are you sure you are not geting this mixed up with ET (calling home)?

As to Orwell and some books, they appeared onthe Amazon site for sale even though they definitely were not in the public domain, but still under copyright. As soon as Amazon discovered this, they removed them, but notified each customer that bought one and issued a refund. This was a decent thing to do and they did not really have to refund, as they were illegally put on the site. Now they are more watchful.

Yeah, some people complain that, unlike paper books, they can’t “loan” books they buy from Sony or Amazon to others. True enough, but that is outlined very clearly, and if it is a problem, then I don’t advise getting an eReadeer. On the other hand, you are free to loan the Kindle itself, with the book, to anybody you want. Just like a pBook.

Sony, which charges a lot more than Amazon for the same book, only lets a book go to one registered Reader. So if you and your boyfriend each buy one, you can’t both read it. Kindle, however, lets up to six devices be registered on the same account, so up to six people can read the same book for one price.

Most of Sony and Amazon books are DRM, meaning they can only be used on the specific device, and cannot be copied. Loads of music is the same deal, and it is much like a copyright.

Reading your posts, I think that if boyfriend is so much against these, you might be wise to skip it in the name of domestic harmony, don’tcha think?

Hope this clears it up, but if I’ve gone off into left field again, let me know and I’ll try again.

Also, here is the Amazon forum, which is very good. Reading some of the posts will give you a lot of info, and you can post any questions you may have there, and they will be be quickly answered.

20

I had a small travel tripod I never used. I wished I had carried a bean bag camera mount for the safari. I was mostly shooting out of a car and it would have worked well on the car roof or window sill.