If you want an excellent Swiss watch, a mechanical-movement work of art, don’t hesitate to take advantage of this rare deal.  Click the image below to see details about the watch, including a video describing its features, and to purchase from ChronoShark – $1,695 for 72 hours only.  (When you buy the watch you’ll also get free overnight shipping.  And — just because I like you – get an extra $10 off by entering coupon code SHARKBIGBOY at checkout.)

The Masterpiece Jours Retrogrades Collection watch from Maurice Lacroix features a precise Swiss-made Caliber ML102 Customized ETA 2892A2 self-winding 22-jewel automatic movement that features a skeleton rotor that beats at 28,800 accelerations per hour.  The 925 Sterling Silver dial has luminous silvertone hour and minute hands, silvertone second and subdial hands, silvertone hour markers, silvertone Roman numerals and a silvertone-framed large date display window (with two independently rotating discs) located at the 12:00 hour position. In addition, an open retrograde subdial is located at the 6:00 hour position which displays day-of-the-week, boasting a subdial hand that flips back at the end of the week. This subdial also features a retrograde mechanism specially developed for the Masterpiece Collection viewable through an open skeleton window, enclosed by a metalized Sapphire crystal within the dial.  Water resistant to 50 meters.  Includes 2-year manufacturer’s warranty.

See also the Maurice Lacroix site.

Related posts:

1. Good Deal on a Tough Watch: Invicta Russian Diver’s Watch
2. Good Deal: Overstock Is Having a Sale on Watches, Including Rolex

So I wanted to let you know that Borders has Mockingjay available for pre-order (it will be released August 24) for a great discount — more than half off the cover price, which means you get it for only $8.45.  This is an online deal only.  You can order it by clicking here or on the cover image to the left.  And, even better, if you want you can have it shipped for FREE to your nearest Borders store for pick-up (can’t do that with Amazon).  Is that a deal or what?

Also, contact your local Borders to find out about a special book-release event on August 28.

Hey, we’ll still have some warm weather on tap at the end of August, so it’s not too late to plan ahead for some beach reading!

You’re welcome, Hunger Games fanatics.

Haven’t read ‘em yet?  Get the first two books by clicking the images below (Borders also currently has Catching Fire at a discount)…

Related posts:

1. Download A Huge Selection of PC and Mac Games to Any Computer from GamersGate
2. Get 2010 NBA Playoff Tickets for a Discount. Fan Gear, too.

The Bowen Coastal sandal from Teva fits the bill.  Durable, nicely detailed, they feature water-resistant full-grain leather footbed and straps, an EVA midsole, and a rubber outsole for good traction.  After you get them, you’ll wonder how you did without.  (Also recommended by the surf guys at Outside.)

Click here to get them from Zappos (hands down, one of the best Internet retailers).

Teva Bowen Coastal Leather Sandals

And check out additional sandals from Rock/Creek:

Related posts:

1. It’s Spring! Time for the New Moosejaw Catalog to Emerge
2. Good Deal on a Tough Watch: Invicta Russian Diver’s Watch

People send greeting cards for most of the other holidays.  Why not commemorate the 4th of July that way, too?  Who should you send it to?  Since the Fourth celebrates the birth of our country, as well as the conception of liberty, how about sending it to a member of the military or a veteran?  Or to your favorite public servant.

 The Fourth is coming up in about a week.  You’d like to be celebrating it by getting together with your family and friends to enjoy hot dogs, corn on the cob, watermelon, and fireworks, but in case you can’t, you can still share the spirit by sending this card.

It’s got a hopeful image of a US flag waving in the wind with a rainbow (which is completely unmanipulated; the scene is shown as shot, no Photoshop) and you can customize it with your own text if you like.  Click here to order from Zazzle.

Or click the image below to get it (there’s a discount for bulk orders) and, on the product order page, click on the ”Customize” button to add your own text — or leave it blank and hand-write your own message.

Happy 4th of July!

US Flag and Rainbow (card) by ericj9999
Browse US Flag Cards

Related posts:

1. Sure, Your Mom Would Appreciate Flowers for Mother’s Day — But What About Something Sorta Different?
2. Celebrate What’s Right With the World

As columnists go, Leonard Pitts Jr. tends to be thoughtful and eloquent.  He can even be positive.  Most newspaper columnists, however, are heavily committed to whining — pointing out what is going wrong, the deficiencies of people and society, etc. — and with his column on Abby Sunderland (”Taking the Ultimate Risk…”, which you can read here), the oftentimes balanced Pitts has entirely embraced that type of briar-patch orientation.  And in doing so, his generally well-considered viewpoint has gone off the rails.

Abby Sunderland sailing her boat "Wild Eyes"

See what I did there?  I employed a metaphor, stating that he had gone “off the rails,” which implies that his thoughts were misguided, dysfunctional, erratic.  But, really, what specific elements of his thesis about the response to Abby Sunderland’s attempt to sail around the world did I refute with that statement?  Not a one.  But that’s also what columnists tend to do.  Pitts did the same thing in his piece.  He wrote:  “But the hole in Sunderland’s logic is wide enough to sail a crippled boat through.”  See how easy that is?  By using a provacative metaphor that has no basis in reality, he has predisposed you to feel that Laurence Sunderland’s position is unquestionably wrong (Sunderland, Abby’s father, said:  “Sailing and life in general is dangerous.  Teenagers drive cars.  Does that mean teenagers shouldn’t drive a car?  I think people who hold that opinion have lost their zeal for life.  They’re living in a cotton-wool tunnel to make everything safe.”).

But, of course, Sunderland is not wrong.  His statement is rather accurate.  And since Leonard Pitts Jr. has chosen to speak up in the interest of cotton-woolism, I’ll engage with those interests through his piece.

There are two cruxes to this issue.  One involves how we view death.  The other involves how we view children. 

Death comes to everyone; each human being has that in common with every other human being.  How we regard death is subject to wide latitude, though.  The controversy surrounding Abby Sunderland’s adventure seems to divide people into two camps.  On the one hand, we have those who apparently think that life primarily consists of avoiding death.  On the other, we have those who think that life is an experience to be embraced uniquely and pursued so as to maximize enjoyment.  Both camps, sooner or later, die.  But who has a better time along the way?  Is life about doing whatever it takes (including boring, unpleasant drudgery) to remain alive as long as possible, only to be dragged away, whimpering, when the Grim Reaper decides it’s “our time?”  Or is it about pursuing vivid experiences that give rise to feelings of purpose, euphoria, empowerment, passion, and fulfillment?

In the first camp is Leonard Pitts Jr. and his ilk, who seem to think that the value of life is to be measured by its duration, as well as how closely our activities conform to what others think we should be doing.  In the second camp is Abby Sunderland and other envelope-pushers (including her brother Zac, Jessica Watson, and Jordan Romero) who seek to do what they are inspired to do.   Which group is living life to the fullest?  Even if you’re out on the ocean in a boat, alone, in a storm, maybe scared, uncomfortable, unsure whether you’re going to make it, at least one thing’s for sure:  you know you’re alive.  And, really, isn’t that the point?  Otherwise, why bother?  

Besides, that is the least of it — if the dream is pure, there’s going to be more joy and exhilaration involved than anything else.

You want to spend years and years avoiding risk and uncertainty at all costs?  That’s your prerogative.  Just don’t expect notable zest to result from that approach.  I’ll take Abby Sunderland’s 5 months at sea over 80 years of timidity and trying to prolong a tepid life.  Not that you have to be an adventurer.  The point is that you can’t fully embrace life if you’re constantly looking over your shoulder.

 

 Let the ones who want to live exuberantly do so.  The quality of life should not be measured by how long it lasts or how free of danger it is, but by the amount of joy and intensity it contains, whether one lives for a single year or a hundred.  In his column, Pitts disparages Abby’s journey as “meaningless,” contrasting it with Magellan’s search for a passage to the Spice Islands – as though a mercantilist criterion is the only suitable way of determining the worthiness of an objective (a materialistic argument that he also brings to bear on the subject of driving cars — dissing, along the way, anyone who doesn’t have an automobile).  He seems to want people to do only those things that, according to him, benefit others.  But then, what of Pitts’s own profession?  Columnists seek to persuade, influence, and shape the behavior of others into channels they deem appropriate.  Actually, most humans spend an inordinate amount of time trying to get others to act the way they want them to.  You yourself probably regularly attempt to get your spouse, friends, kids, and others to do what you want them to do.  How’s that working out for you?   If controlling the actions of those closest to us is futile, how much more futile is it to try to influence the population at large?  Ted Koppel, a thoughtful and intelligent man who has spent his life as a journalist ferreting out the ills of society, couldn’t keep his own son from killing himself with alcohol.   By his own standard then — benefiting others on a materialistic level – how ultimately meaningless are Leonard Pitts’s writing activities?

This brings me to how parents and other adults in a so-called position of authority view children.  In the last 125 years or so, much of the civilized world seems to have come to the conclusion that children are little more than helpless morons, incapable of appropriately choosing a course of action or protecting themselves from the vicissitudes of a mean world.  But this is illogical.  If you take the view that basically we are all spiritual beings, then each child must be regarded as an experienced soul that chose to take on a body in order to experience this construct known as “life” — an experience they have certainly undertaken many times before, given that one of spirit’s primary qualities is immortality (the view that an all-powerful entity created each of us to live a single, go-for-broke lifetime in an immense material universe, during which we must adhere to particular religious rules or be denied an eternal “heavenly reward” is just stupid.  For one thing, have you noticed that the rules in question are always set up to benefit the rule-makers?).  If you observe children, you will note that they instinctively chafe under the cloying limitations of mind and body that we seek to impose on them.  At a fundamental level, they want to express why they came here.  Instead, we bring about a self-fulfilling prophecy by treating them like incompetent halfwits incapable of making decisions and creating the experiences they desire, as opposed to powerful spiritual creators who are here through deliberate intention, relishing the tremendous variety of life.  Given the asinine assumptions and stultifying influences surrounding them, it’s no wonder many kids grow up weak, tentative, uncreative, and “irresponsible.”  (Do we disparage their dreams because we’ve given up on our own?)  Instead, kids should be given credit for being the knowing, magnificent beings that they are (as should all humans).  Parenting should consist mostly of making sure a child has a place to live, food to eat, and loving encouragement — after that, let them decide what they want to do and how they want to do it.  Too radical for you?  There are many examples of eras in history when children took on ”mature” roles much earlier in life than they do now, and the human race somehow managed to survive.  (How old was Tut when he began his reign, nine?  Alexander the Great became his father’s regent at sixteen.  Joan of Arc became a knight at sixteen.)  Kids have a greater capacity to do almost everything than is generally acknowledged.  Of course, one can find plenty of hypocrisy in this stance on childish ineptitude.  For example, the United States officially regards all of its healthy 18-year-old citizens as suitable candidates to fight wars (so it will be okay for Abby Sunderland to die doing that in another couple of years).  But when you think about it, evaluating someone as responsible or irresponsible based on the date affixed to their birth certificate is inane.  We all know level-headed, purposeful 12-year-olds and clueless, ineffectual 25-year-olds.  Both, however, should be free to pursue their preferred path in life.  It does not work well for kids to be regarded as, more or less, accessories intended to gratify their parents, nor treated like limited little robots that must be laboriously programmed with society’s strictures.

If, on the other hand, you subscribe to a non-spiritual view of life — if you think that a human being is only a collection of electro-chemical processes somehow exhibiting self-awareness, then it is still illogical to lean towards curtailing the activities and aspirations of youth.  If life amounts to nothing more than subatomic billiard balls randomly caroming off each other, living beings should be allowed to pursue their unique agendas, which somehow express the focused processes that gave rise to them in the first place.  In the absence of any metaphysical outcome or significant meaning toward which it must be morally steered, who cares what the ultimate fate of a process in a test tube is, other than the process itself (and maybe its cohorts)?  So, let it flow. 

Of course, if a kid kills himself by following his inclinations — for example, let’s say Shaun White, instead of winning two gold medals, ran into a tree and killed himself while snowboarding  — then that individual would never perpetuate his or her DNA.  The process ends.  While that may be regarded as a tragedy from the standpoint of the genes in question, the human race continues.  There’s plenty more genetic material around.  By the same token, from the spiritual perspective, if you die, no big deal — you’re still immortal, still alive, still aware, and you can come back here any time you want.  If you think about it like that, “tragedy” becomes moot.

 Then again, if, as a teen, Shaun White had died attempting a new trick in the half-pipe, there would be no shortage of people popping up to criticize his parents, opining that they were “neglectful.”

So…  Maybe the rule should be that kids can’t do anything dangerous until they have successfully reproduced?

For those who criticize Abby Sunderland’s parents, I say:  get thee to a nunnery.  That habitat should suit you.  Leave the intoxicating juice of life to those who can savor it.

Abby’s father, Laurence Sunderland, comes in for most of the criticism in Pitts’s column.  Pitts states that he “sent his daughter to sea all alone for no good reason,” as though Abby were some kind of teenage automaton.  It’s actually an ill-considered statement.  You can’t “send” anyone to sea all alone.  They must choose to go.  Abby wanted to go.  In fact, her father dissuaded her from going when she was even younger.  She finally did something she’d been wanting to do for years, that she’d been preparing to do for years.  Olympic gymnasts are almost regarded as over the hill by the time they are 17 years old.  13-year-old girls are allowed to perform backflips on 4-inch-wide balance beams all around the world, risking broken necks and fractured skulls.  Yet Abby, at 16, is too young to pursue something for which she had been practicing for over 10 years?   And besides, what possible “good” reason can there be for leaping about on a balance beam?  Sounds dangerous and “meaningless,” doesn’t it?

Why did no one criticize Steve Fossett for floating around the world in a balloon for no “good reason?”

The meaning of any experience is contained in the experience. 

Some are quibbling over the expense of rescuing Abby — or anyone, really – from this type of risky adventure.  As though the money would have been better used to pay for filling in potholes or hiring a social worker, as though it simply disappeared from the face of the earth.  To those I say:  try not to worry so much.  Your scarcity thinking is hindering you.  The money didn’t disappear — it helped employ pilots and aircraft mechanics and rescuers and video crews and journalists and columnists.  It is still in circulation.  Bloggers and pundits now have something to pontificate about, and nervous nellies the world over are using computers and electricity and the Internet to poke their noses into Abby’s business.  Media gets to sell ads.  Television and radio stations and websites get to stay in business.  And the people who helped rescue Abby probably feel pretty good about what they did.  They’ll have an experience to talk about for the rest of their lives.

If only all of us could have such.

Leonard Pitts wrote:  “But for the grace of God, she would be dead now.”  It’s a shame that he — and anyone who seeks to cocoon themselves in the cotton-wool of sameness, conformity, and faint-heartedness — does not recognize that sublime grace exists because of those like Abby who call it forth (which is also why we try to rescue them when things go awry — because they call it forth from us as well).  Due to her experiences, Abby now knows things no one else knows.  Things that will never be lost.  Bottom line, God’s grace is available to all of us, but it is those who pursue their own marvelous, expansive dreams that truly embrace and celebrate it.  The grace of God exists because we exist — the grace to do a little more because we want to.

Related posts:

1. 4th of July Card
2. “2012″ and the End of the World

Of course, hopefully you recognize those traits in your own dad, so you’ll want to give him something that expresses your gratitude for his presence and influence in your life.  I say “hopefully,” because Father’s Day can often be kind of an afterthought when it comes to parents’ days.  Mother’s Day gets most of the press.  Father’s Day, for whatever reason, tends to come in second.  The cliché of dad always getting a necktie for Father’s Day is a cliché precisely because it’s true.  But doesn’t your dad’s role in your life deserve some careful consideration when it comes to acknowledgement?  To get your non-clichéd ideas flowing, here are some suggestions for gifts that don’t suck, things he may actually like.   Or at least appreciate you for trying.

So, we’ll start with one that can’t miss:  a wristwatch.  Watches are both practical and stylish and, when you think about it, are still cool pieces of technology.  (There’s a reason they’re given on important occasions such as  graduation, retirement, etc.)  Every day, ChronoShark offers a new watch at the absolutely lowest price anywhere.  You only get 24 hours to nab it.  Check out their latest offering here (and I have a dedicated page to ChronoShark here).  And if today’s watch doesn’t do it for you, there’s a good chance that tomorrow’s will — they select from the best when it comes to performance versus price.

Polar FT7

Along the same lines, but a little more specialized and beneficial — a heartrate monitor.  Here’s a good one:  the Polar FT7.  Outside magazine, among others, recommends it (”intuitive and powerful”).  It has everything you need and nothing you don’t, and the price is right.  Plus it’s cool-looking.  Help your dad achieve his fitness goals.  Find it at REI or Moosejaw.  And if you want something more top-of-the-line, check out the Garmin Forerunner 110, which adds GPS capability to workout monitoring. 

Whether your dad is trying to get fitter or not, guys appreciate action (even if it’s vicarious), and the quintessential guy-action has always been handled by James Bond.  Get him the complete movie set.  Here’s Volume 1: 

You can also find the complete collection of Bond movies on both DVD and Blu-ray at CD Universe, one of the best online sources for music and movies at good prices.

 Or would he rather have a TV series?  See my post on the best television series for men availale on DVD and blu-ray (for example:  The Wire and Fawlty Towers).

With regard to relating to women (your mom or whoever), a good cologne is always appropriate (unless she’s got MCS, in which case there’s a whole ‘nother set of things to worry about besides smelling good).  I have found only a few that seem to be universally appreciated by the opposite sex and here’s one of them:  Marc Jacobs for Men.  In my own informal polling, I’ve always had positive responses (I try it on at the store and ask random women if they like it).  It’s also endorsed by the PUA community, and they should know, right?  You can get it for an excellent discount from FragranceX.

Every guy should have at least one multitool.  They’re handy and confidence-inducing.  Here’s one that the editors of Outside endorsed as a practical, everyday choice:  the Leatherman Squirt PS4 (can’t go wrong with anything from Leatherman).  It’s got 9 tools (including pliers and scissors) in a compact form that isn’t annoying to carry around (just 2¼ inches closed).  And it’s only about $40 (or less).  Get it from Rocky Mountain Trail, with free shipping.  Or from REI. 

The sword of William Wallace

Here is something that is not a multitool.  It’s a single-purpose tool:  William Wallace’s sword from the movie Braveheart.  Of course, this is not an actual battle sword ( for that you need to go to Swords.com or Budk), but it is an impressive 61-inch replica in high-carbon steel — the most accurate prop replica ever made of this sword.  It comes with a display plaque.  Inspire your dad with the formidable weapon that helped establish freedom!

Timberland Colrain reissue boots - in brown or black

Every guy needs a go-to pair of boots, whether for hiking the Appalachian Trail or for intransigent urban adventures.  Fortunately, Timberland recently reissued their Colrain collection of boots (that’s them above) – a vintage style based on boots that first appeared during the Industrial Revolution, made with premium Horween leather, hand-finished for a rustic look, with a padded insole and waxed cotton laces.  Intended more for cool forays on wet backstreets or a day at the job site than a 1,000-mile through-hike.  Get ‘em from Zappos. 

And if you don’t think these boots are exactly your dad’s cup of tea (or you don’t know his shoe-size), then get him a gift certificate to Zappos and let him choose his preferred footwear.  That goes for all the companies linked to on this page – if you’re not sure about a specific item, get a gift certificate:  it always fits and is totally in style.

Kansas City Steak Company

You get hungry after a day of stomping around in your boots, swinging your sword, and when a man gets hungry, the food of choice is meat (unless he’s a vegetarian — in which case, well, get him a carrot).  Anyway, if you want to treat your dad to a premium steak or other great hunk o’ beef, you can’t go wrong with the Kansas City Steak Company — one of the best online companies for steak and other meats.  And of course they’re offering some good deals for Father’s Day — for example, get 12 Classic Steakburgers FREE with a $75 order (use code BURGER at checkout; only through June 21).  Or get free shipping on $75 USDA Prime orders using code PRME2 at checkout.  This makes a mouthwatering gift…

Savile Row, London

You want your dad to look good and, believe it or not, he wants to look good, so how about getting him a shirt or two from one of the most renowned shirt makers in the world:  Savile Row.  They offer exquisite tailoring, use the finest cottons, and carry a variety of styles (all posh).  Right now, if you buy 2 shirts you can get a third for half price (through June 21st only).   They also carry men’s suits, casual wear, and accessories.  Which means you can get him — yes! — a tie.  But Savile Row ties are pretty cool.  They have a 3-month satisfaction guarantee.  Shipping to the US is only $21 and is free on orders over $175.  And, for the quality, their prices are quite reasonable. Click the banner below.

 We’ve handled your dad’s steak needs but what about when he gets thirsty?  I’m not talking about when he needs a bit of agua after running a 10K.  No, I’m talking about when he needs a drop of something a little more flavorful.  For that, he doesn’t want to carry a Camelbak.  He’ll need something a bit more sophisticated:  a flask.  And why not get him one that’s laser-engraved with art or a message of your choosing?  This will be a gift that keeps on giving.  See more flasks than you can shake a stick at at the FlaskShop, including photo flasks, stainless steel, novelty flasks, leather designs, monogrammed, and martini shaker sets (which he can use while unwinding with a Bond movie).

TaylorMade R9 Driver at InTheHole Golf

 Your father must have a few hobbies.  Is one of them golf?  If so, my commiseration.  No, just kidding…  My 81-year-old dad plays golf and loves it.  I know he always enjoys upgrading his equipment.  So why not get your dad a new club or something else from InTheHole Golf, one of the best online destinations for everything you need to play the Game of Gentlemen.  Check out the TaylorMade R9 driver — an advanced, adjustable design that is getting rave reviews.  Or maybe he just needs a new golf bag (consider the Ogio Nexos Stand Bag).   Or simply get him a gift certificate.  You can’t go wrong at InTheHole Golf.  Their helpful, informative website will help you choose a great gift. 

And, from now until June 20, get 10% off for Father’s Day at IntheHoleGolf — just enter code DAD at checkout.

This is not your dad.

Of course, maybe your dad’s inclination is toward a sport that’s a little more mano-a-mano (as opposed to mano-a-course-o).  How about tennis?  Does he need a new tennis racket?  Then the place to get it for a good price, with a wide selection, is Tennis Boom.  Of course, if your budget is limited you could always just go with a can of balls.

The Daiwa Saltiga Surf Spinning Reel is one of the best

Or maybe your dad prefers the contest between man and fish.  A new rod or surf reel could be in order.  Find a huge selection of fishing equipment, from fly-fishing to deep-sea trolling, at Cabelas, the premier outdoor recreation/adventure outfitter, all offered with excellent customer service.

Utrecht Master's Studio Easel - on sale for over $100 off

Is your dad a creative type?  Remember how I mentioned that a man can be the ”father” of art?  Well, if your dad fits in that category, and his bent is toward visual art or sculpture, you’ll want to get something for him from Utrecht, who’ve been supplying artists since 1949.

 They are currently offering their Master’s Studio Easel for an excellent discount.

Ray-Ban Wayfarers designed by Matt Moore, exclusively at Sunglass Hut

 Now that we’re coming into summer, every guy, including your dad, needs some cool shades to wear with shorts and Hawaiian shirts.  You can’t get cooler (or higher quality) than Ray-Ban (though Maui Jim comes close).   See an excellent selection of Ray-Ban models, including one-of-a-kind designer styles such as those done by graphic designer and muralist Matt Moore above, at Sunglass Hut.   A pair of Ray-Bans, whether wayfarers or aviators, is a can’t-miss gift.

Click to see the Droids at Wirefly

A new phone — or almost new, that is.  The new iPhone is about to come out and the Google Nexus One is getting rave reviews.  That means that other excellent phones that are slightly older will be offered for good deals.  Such as the various Droid phones, which are still top-of-the-line.  Time for your dad to have a cool new communication/Web/photo/GPS machine without breaking the bank?  Find them at Wirefly (such as the Droid Incredible pictured at left, or the HTC Hero in the banner below).

 Maybe your dad isn’t much of a gamer.  But he could be, especially when he finds out about the cool sports games you can play on the Nintendo Wii.  Or he is a gamer but he hasn’t gotten around to getting the Wii yet.  Or he’s gotten a Wii but he doesn’t have Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 yet.  In any event, get him one or all of these things and he’ll have fun.  Include Resident Evil 4, too (also find it here).  And don’t forget Super Mario Galaxy 2 (about which CNET wrote:  “…the new standard against which every 3D platformer must now be judged”).  You can also find the Nintendo Wii in black at Buy.com, plus a bunch of accessories.

Vintage-feel T-shirt from Original Retro Brand

He might never have mentioned it, but your dad had a favorite T-shirt or two when he was growing up.  The look and feel of that shirt can now be duplicated by Original Retro Brand.  What was your dad’s alma mater?  What sports teams does he root for?  Get him a T-shirt to match.  Original Retro Brand recreates favorite old T-shirts by combining the qualities of a great-fitting shirt with classic logos from the past and present.  The latest techniques in dyeing and garment softening produce shirts with a comfortable, “vintage” feel.  It’ll make him feel young again.  And that’s a pretty cool gift to give your dad.

Top 30 Bestselling Signed Books at Abebooks

Does your father like to read?  All readers enjoy having a book signed by the author.  And you can find a whole bunch of signed editions at Abebooks.  Here’s a link to the latest, most popular signed editions at Abebooks.  If you don’t see an author that you know your dad likes on that page, use the Abebooks search function here to search for signed editions by authors you know he’s a fan of.  It makes for a cool, one-of-a-kind gift.  And here’s something especially for Father’s Day:  books by father and son writing teams.
 
 

Subscribe for the ridiculously low price of $5.97 from USS online

Then again, maybe your dad is a reader but he doesn’t like books.  He likes his reading short, practical, entertaining, and with plenty of pictures.  In that case, get him a subscription to a car magazine.  Every guy likes car magazines.  Me, I like Car & Driver the best.  But hey, some people swear by Road & Track and AutoWeek.  The links here go to University Subscription Service, which is my favorite online discount magazine subscription service.  You can’t beat the prices and the service is good.  And a magazine subscription is a gift that keeps on giving every month.  And don’t you want to let your father how much your care about him every month? 

Happy Father’s Day!

Related posts:

1. Sure, Your Mom Would Appreciate Flowers for Mother’s Day — But What About Something Sorta Different?
2. “The Empire Strikes Back” Was Released 30 Years Ago Today

Dewitt Jones was a photographer for National Geographic for 20 years, for which he produced many memorable images.  In the following video he demonstrates how he sees the world as a photographer.  And he talks about how seeing the world — and ourselves – in certain ways opens us to better experiences in life.  If nothing else, this should inspire your own photographic vision.  And it might inspire other things, too. 

He currently writes a column for Outdoor Photographer.

Related posts:

1. “2012″ and the End of the World
2. Pioneer KURO: The Best Television in the World

Click here to save 10% or more off cameras at J&R Computer/Music World (contemporary cameras)

I have loved playing with cameras and photography since I was a kid. My very first camera had two controls — a shutter button and a dial to advance the film. Since then, I’ve learned darkroom techniques, had photos published in newspapers and magazines, sold fine art prints, learned graphics software, and worked as the photo editor for a rather well-known nature photographer. (To see some of my own work, here’s a 2010 calendar.) I still love playing with new equipment and still get a thrill when the opportunity to create a beautiful image presents itself.

The editors of American Photo (AP) each year give their Editor’s Choice awards to digital cameras in a variety of categories. I’ve used the winners announced at the end of 2009 as a departure point for the cameras recommended below, from compact models to pro D-SLRs. Click on the images or text links to shop, read customer reviews, and get yours now. Happy shooting!

Compact Camera of the Year (Tie)

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G3 tied in this category for compact camera of the year honors. American Photo’s editors wrote, “This 10.1-megapixel model is, for now, the ultimate Wi-Fi compact.” Get the DSC-G3 and you’ll have the first camera with a built-in Web browser. You can connect it wirelessly to the Web at AT&T hotspots (free until 2012) or to your home hub. The onboard browser lets you navigate to various photo/video sites, including YouTube, Photobucket, Shutterfly, and Dailymotion. You can upload photos and videos and email them to friends and family.

Picture-wise, the camera is quite capable; image-quality is generally very good. It zooms from 35-140mm (equivalent). It has optical image stabilization (very helpful for improving sharpness with a small, light compact) and Intelligent Scene Recognition (meaning you can set it to recognize the characteristics of 8 different types of scenes and the camera adjusts its settings accordingly). The Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens with 4x zoom allows you to shoot as close as 1/2 inch from subjects. AP called the 3.5-inch touchscreen “exquisitely sharp.” The camera has face detection, smile detection, 9-point auto focus, and a burst mode that allows you to shoot up to 100 photos at .62-second intervals. You can also capture VGA video/audio clips at up to 30 frames per second (fps) for up to 10 minutes. The camera has 4 GB of onboard storage (good for 950 high-res images), which can be augmented with Memory Stick Duo Media. These are just some of the highlights that this camera offers — as with all the models listed on this page. To fully describe all the features and functions would take a book — and you get one with the DSC-G3: a 123-page, beginner-friendly function guide, along with Windows-compatible software (Mac users can use iPhoto). CNET’s editors rated this camera “very good,” though they found the Wi-Fi a bit disappointing with respect to price when compared with its non-wireless brethren, such as the DSC-T700. Photo Today rated it 4 out of 5 stars, and Popular Mechanics said, “When judged against most pocket cameras on the market, the G3 shines. It takes great pictures and makes uploading photos easy.”

An additional compact camera from Sony I’d also suggest you consider when it comes to quality-versus-price, at about $180, is the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W350.

The second camera in this category to receive Compact Camera of the Year honors is the Samsung HZ15W– a 12-megapixel compact with a startling 10x focal length. The starting focal length of the Schneider lens is equivalent to 24 mm. This allows for more panoramic shots as well as interesting angles in interior and exterior architectural photography. It also gives a wide-screen effect when shooting the high-def video that this camera is capable of (and the camera will record audio as well). You can play back your captured video by connecting the camera directly to an HDTV through its HDMI interface. It’s got 11 optimized picture-mode settings, smile detection, blink detection, “beauty” mode, as well as the somewhat unusual capability in a camera of this class to manually set both f-stop and shutter speed. It’s got Samsung’s Dual Image Stabilization, a bright 3-inch LCD screen, and a flash. Another feature that this camera offers that most point-and-shoot combo still/video cameras do not is that it is able to zoom when shooting video — you can even pause and resume. The onboard storage is only 21 MB, so be sure to buy at least a 2 gigabyte SD or SDHC high-speed memory card to take advantage of the camera’s capabilities. For the price, digital camera beginners as well as more advanced amatures will appreciate the feature-set and performance of this camera. I have used this camera and my GF owns one and it works very well. For the price, the performance can’t be beat. Click here to get it from J&R Computer/Music World (New York City’s legendary electronics retailer). Buy.com also has it.

Additional Compact Cameras that Were Chosen as “Editor’s Choice” by American Photo:

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ50 9-megapixel camera has built-in wireless LAN that enables you to connect to the internet via a T-Mobile hotspot or home hub. Upload photos to Picasa.  Outstanding 28 – 280 zoom lens by Leica, optical stabilization, 3-inch LCD screen, HD video, audio recording, and more. This makes a great travel camera.  You can also find it at Buy.com.  If you prefer it without wireless capability, get the DMC-TZ5 version.

High-sensitivity and low-sensitivity pixels are distributed evenly across the surface of the 12-megapixel Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR’s Super CCD (charge-coupled device) EXR image sensor. The camera captures two different exposures simultaneously, then combines them into a single, 6-megapixel image. The resulting dynamic range and low noise make for some of the best-quality images from a camera in this category. It offers dual image stabilization, face detection, an ISO capability as high as 12800, 5x wide-angle zoom lens (28 – 140 mm), a bright 3-inch screen, movie and sound recording, 5 fps burst shooting, and a mode for shooting underwater (when using a housing). This camera can produce excellent photos, but you need to learn its capabilities to get the most out of it. If you’re going to be doing a lot of shooting in the field, bring along a couple of extra batteries. Get it from Comp-U-Plus for a discount; also see Buy.com.

Pentax Optio P80

The editor’s of AP designated the Pentax Optio P70 the “Best Buy” camera in this category. A slightly improved version has come out in the meantime, the Pentax Optio P80, which is a little lighter in weight and adds another 100,000 megapixels for a total of 12.1 megapixels. The widest aperture was increased from 2.8 to 2.6. The Optio P80 also has improved face recognition (for group shots, able to detect up to 32 faces in a fraction of a second) and includes a digital filter for interesting effects such as “toy camera.” Neither model has optical image stabilization but instead have Pentax’s Pixel Track Shake Reduction, which uses post-shot processing to reduce blur. Both shoot high-def video. The Optio 80 retains the same cool-looking aluminum body, which is less than an inch thick and comes in black, mint, and pearl. As you would expect for a “Best Buy,” the price is certainly reasonable for either the Optio P70 or the Optio P80 (currently around $130).

The Canon PowerShot SX200 is a versatile camera that offers a few features not normally found in a point-and-shoot camera in this price range. One is “super zoom” — the camera has a lens that begins at a wide 28 mm and zooms up to an impressive 336 mm (12x). The other is that you have full manual control of all settings if you desire. You can also select either aperture priority or shutter priority modes. Of course, the camera also offers a ridiculous amount of pre-set modes to choose from — 23 shooting modes and 11 special scene modes (and a detailed manual so you know how to use them). Or you can simply set it on “Easy” mode and fire and forget. (When you turn the camera on, the flash pops up, which is displayed in the photo at left, but Canon has left space behind the flash for your fingers so you can easily hold the camera.) Reviewers have praised the camera’s sturdy construction and high quality of images, with vibrant, accurate colors, especially outdoors. The camera has 12.1 megapixels, optical image stabilization so you can easily frame shots using its 3-inch LCD, and it will shoot hi-def video at 720p for up to 30 minutes at 30 fps (and includes mono audio recording). It also has a mini-HDMI port out so you can plug it directly into your HDTV and present slide- or video-shows straight from the camera. It comes with Canon’s Software Suite, which enables you to work with and edit your photos in a variety of ways, including PhotoStitch, which enables you to combine several shots into a single panoramic image. You can easily find the camera for less than its $350 suggested retail — including from Butterfly Photo, Buy.com, and Comp-U-Plus.  It comes in blue, black, and red.

The editors of AP selected the Ricoh CX1 as one of their recommended choices among compact cameras. In the meantime, Ricoh has come out with the CX2, which incrementally improves the CX1, so that’s the one we’ll go with here (that’s the CX2 to the left). The Ricoh CX2 is praised for, among other things, its high dynamic range (HDR) mode of shooting, which means the camera will quickly take two successive photos of a scene with major high-lights and low-lights and then combine them into a single shot that more closely resembles how the human eye adjusts to take in details of a high-contrast scene. (Some of the results of HDR technology can be seen on Flickr.) When used correctly (and creatively) it can make for some vivid, impressive images. And you’ll find it easy to look at the results on the CX2’s gorgeous 920,000-dot 3-inch LCD, perhaps the best monitor available on a compact camera. The 9.3-megapixel camera has sensor shift image stabilization and a super-zoom-approaching 10.7x lens (28 – 300 mm) in a very compact and stylish all-metal body (the lens retracts fully into the body). The camera offers a number of other shooting modes and manipulations — Ricoh has emphasized still shooting; this is not the camera to get if you want to shoot great video. It shoots stills quite well, though, including an exceptionally fast 5 fps burst mode, which rivals a number of D-SLRs for velocity. The camera has an electronic level for landscape and architecture shots and selectable aspect ratios, including square,so you can pretend you have a twin-lens reflex. It’s also got a “stealth mode,” which turns off all lights and sounds during operation so you can shoot in places such as museums. Okay, and for you inveterate photo-geeks, Ricoh just announced the release of the CX3, which adds — ta da! — hi-def video to this camera’s already potent capabilities (that’s it to the right). You can order the new CX3 from Buy.com. But if you don’t want to pay quite that price, go with the Ricoh CX2, a very competent and enjoyable point-and-shoot compact.

The operative word for the Casio Exilim EX-FC100 is “fast.” Impressively fast burst rate — 30 fps — and even more impressive video — 1,000 fps. At less than an inch thick, this camera puts high-speed still capture and super-slow-mo video capability in your shirt pocket. One second of 1,000 fps video takes 33 seconds to play back at normal speed. You’ll be able to analyze in excruciating detail all the nuances of your buddy’s skate-board wipeout. The 30 fps still capture will produce high-res 6-megapixel images — and the camera will also save up to 25 frames before the shutter button is fully depressed, meaning you are more likely to capture that crucial moment. You can use the burst mode to sweep the camera across a panorama and then stitch the resulting shots together with software (outside the camera) to form a panoramic scene. It will also shoot hi-def video at 30 fps — much more useful than 1,000 fps. In that respect, the camera can also be set for 210 and 420 fps video capture, which is much more watchable than the fastest setting (you’ll want plenty of light and a tripod). Still images taken with this 9.1-megapixel camera are generally good at the lower ISO settings (and there are sliders for adjusting contrast, sharpness and saturation). It has a 5x optical image stabilized lens (37 – 185 mm equivalent), a 2.7-inch LCD screen, and includes high-speed anti-shake and high-speed night scene functions. It also has a mode where motion will trigger the shutter — cool if you want to capture, say, birds as they land on your feeder. In short, this is an insanely fun, as well as useful, compact camera. In addition to it being selected as an American PhotoEditor’s Choice, CNET rated it “very good,” and the reviewer for CrunchGear stated: “I would go so far as to say that after the personal computer and the smartphone, the EX-FC100 is the most versatile piece of electronics I’ve ever used.” You can get it from J&R Computer/Music World for less than $200, or at Buy.com for a little more – still, an amazing price for performance that used to cost tens of thousands.

Two More Compact Cameras Worth Considering

The following two cameras were not mentioned by the editors of American Photo, but they have been highly-rated by other reviewers and they have qualities you might want to consider. The first is the Canon Powershot A1100IS. It’s a 12.1-megapixel camera with a — get this — optical viewfinder! (I know, how old-fashioned.) Turns out that some photographers like to have the option of framing their shots through a viewfinder rather than waving the camera around in front of them like a dowsing rod. Most compacts, in order to be “compact,” eliminate the optical viewfinder entirely, and this isn’t a bad thing since most of them also have optical image stabilization to assist in eliminating blur from handholding. And you can still use the A1100IS that way, since it’s got Canon’s Optical Image Stabilizer Technology and a 2.5-inch LCD screen. It’s got a 4x zoom lens (35 – 140 mm equivalent), Canon’s DIGIC 4 image processor, a pop-up flash, a sturdy (and stylish) plastic body that comes in 4 colors, and is powered by two AA batteries. It will shoot video at 30 fps. There are no real manual settings on this camera — its mission is point-and-shoot — but its 18 shooting modes, Smart AUTO, white-balancing capability, scene recognition technology, and Intelligent Contrast Correction produce accurate, good-quality images (at lower ISOs) for a camera of this size and price. And you’ve got that true optical viewfinder to aim with. Consumer Reports recommended this camera as a best buy, and CNET’s reviewer stated: “For a low-cost point-and-shoot pocket camera, the Canon PowerShot A1100IS gets the job done. It delivers better photo quality than other cameras at its price point and if you like the convenience of AA batteries and the availability of a viewfinder, it’s a smart choice.”  I recommend using rechargeable AA batteries.

Everyone seems to like the Canon S90.  Men’s Journal said of this camera: “The Canon S90 isn’t just 2009’s best point-and-shoot; it’s the best point-and-shoot ever made.” The reviewer for Gizmodo called it “awesome,” and the generally picky editors at CNET rated it “excellent,” summarizing their review by stating that it is “an excellent compact camera for advanced amatures.” You pay for this quality, since at about $400 it’s got one of the higher price tags among compacts. But for that amount you get a great zoom lens (28 – 105 mm) that will open to f/2.0. Coupled with a 10-megapixel sensor and Canon’s DIGIC 4 image processor, this makes for good performance in low light (you can get away with not using flash). This is a camera that’s just short of D-SLR performance — actually, you can think of it as a compact substitute for a D-SLR that you can carry with you to capture those spur-of-the-moment situations (it’s one of the few compact cameras that will shoot RAW files). The camera boasts a convenient, multi-function control ring around the lens (its manual controls have been referred to as “elegant”), along with a 3-inch LCD, optical image stabilization, and the ability to shoot video. It’s got 25 shooting modes, including 17 special scene modes, as well as manual options. There’s very little this camera can’t do. I should mention that Wired magazine also made it an Editor’s Pick, the reviewer stating simply: “The S90 is the best compact camera I’ve ever used.” Also see it at Buy.com, where you can find it for well under $400, or Best Buy.

Entry-level D-SLR of the Year

Digital single-lens reflex cameras in the “entry-level” category offer photographers full control of all aspects of picture framing, focus, and exposure, as well as a line of interchangeable lenses and other accessories. If you want to begin to get serious about your photography, moving beyond point-and-shoot, or transition from film to digital SLR, you can start with one of these versatile, affordable D-SLRs. (I personally made the switch to digital after Kodak discontinued my favorite film, Kodachrome 25.)

In this category, American Photo’s editors selected the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 as the Camera of the Year. They were favorably impressed by its high-quality electronic viewfinder (EVF), which eliminates the need for a reflex mirror (so is it still a single-lens reflex?), making the camera quieter in operation and also allowing for reduced weight and size. The viewfinder offers 100 percent coverage, too, which in general is something only professional D-SLRs do. They praised its contrast-detection autofocus, which will track moving subjects across the picture frame. The Lumix GH1 is also a top performer when it comes to video — it will shoot 1080p video at 24 fps, or 720p at 60 fps (with Dolby stereo recording), while allowing the photographer to re-focus continuously. You can also control aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, among other things, when shooting video, and the amount of video capture is limited only by the size of your memory card. It has a cool, swing-out, swiveling 3-inch LCD (460,000 dots). Its sensor is 12.1 megapixels; there is in-lens image stabilization, a live-view option, and it will shoot stills at 3 fps. It adheres to the Micro Four Thirds Standard, which means you can use it with lenses and accessories designed for standard Four Thirds D-SLRs that have a pentaprism. It’s available with a high-quality Lumix G Vario HD 14 – 140 mm f/4.0 – 5.8 ASPH./Mega O.I.S. kit lens for a discounted price of around $1,200. The Lumix DMC-GH1 is probably the most versatile entry-level D-SLR ever, defining a new breed of “hybrid” camera. The European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) gave it their “Best Product” Award for 2009 -10 for “Multimedia Camera.” You can get it at J&R and from Comp-U-Plus.  Below is a detailed video review of the Lumix GH1 from What Digital Camera magazine:

Other “Editor’s Choice” Entry-level D-SLR Cameras Recommended by American Photo

Here is the “Best Buy” in this category: the Olympus E-620. This 12.3-megapixel camera is the smallest-ever D-SLR to have in-body image stabilization. It has an articulated 2.7-inch LCD, will shoot in burst mode at 4 fps, and offers quick through-the-lens autofocus. For the price, this camera offers a nice blend of pro-level controls as well as convenient automatic settings for snap-shooting. It has a direct-access control panel, Supersonic Wave Filter dust reduction, shadow optimization, vignetting compensation, multiple aspect ratios, special-effects “art” filters, face detection, and much more. It can control wireless strobes from its built-in pop-up flash. It even has back-lit buttons, which are pretty cool. About the only thing it will not do is shoot video. In its review, Photography Blog stated that the E-620 is “the most effective combination of features, ease-of-use and price of any Olympus D-SLR camera to date.” As this is written, this camera is discounted to under $600 from Buy.com (body only; it also comes with various lens options), or around $650 from J&R Computer/Music World with two lenses (14- 42 mm and 40 – 150 mm Zuiko ED lenses). You can also check Comp-U-Plus.

The Nikon D5000 shares the same 12.3 megapixel CMOS sensor as the D90, which is Nikon’s upper-mid-grade D-SLR (hard to describe the positioning of these different models sometimes). The D90 retails for about $1,000 and the D5000 for around $730. This sensor is known for its ability to render good images in low light, and it will shoot 720p video at 24 fps. The editors of AP wrote: “Aided by advanced image processing, its chip produces moderate-ISO output indistinguishable from that of Nikon’s full-frame D3, which costs six times as much. And images shot at higher speeds (up to ISO 6400) are less noisy than from Canon’s entry-level and advanced models.” (I know, Canon guys might disagree with that. Yeah, I might disagree, too.) The camera’s LCD screen flips out and swivels so you can use it in live-view mode to shoot high and low angles. The D5000 has the same 11-point autofocus as the D90, making it probably the most advanced in its class. It has in-lens image stabilization and will shoot stills at up to 4 fps. There are way too many features to list here, but one interesting capability is the use of a 4-way controller to adjust the displayed image to eliminate perspective distortion. Outside magazine touted this camera’s ability to shoot in low light, but mentioned that its internal auto-focusing motor won’t power Nikon’s beefiest Nikkor lenses. Of this camera CNET said: “Very good photo quality; fast [shooting]; nice kit lens…” But they didn’t like its “small, dim viewfinder; middling video quality; [and it's] too easy to accidentally change focus points.” They summarized: “Though it falls short in its design, the Nikon D5000 delivers a nice feature set, speedy performance, and great photo quality for the money.” You can find it  at Butterfly Photo with the 18 – 55 mm f/3.5 – 5.6 VR lens for under $700 right now, and there are some good deals (with instant rebates) at J&R Computer/Music World. Or check Buy.com.  All are good retailers, so feel confident in going with the best price.

For a good entry-level D-SLR that won’t break the bank, consider the Sony Alpha 330. The American Photo guys cited its size, lightness, ease of use (with simple and logical controls), and system affordability — a combination of attractive features that make it ideal for someone wanting D-SLR quality without having to go to school to learn how to use it or spend a fortune on lenses to get good image quality. The 10.2-megapixel Alpha 330 has a 2.7-inch tilting LCD screen, image stabilization built into the camera’s body so it works with any of Sony’s newly-designed interchangeable lenses, a 9-point auto-focus sensor, up to 2.5 fps continuous shooting (no video, however), an in-screen help menu, an HDMI port and the capability to sync with Sony Bravia HDTVs, and dynamic range optimization, among other features. The editors of AP recommended going with the Alpha 330 rather than the 14.2-megapixel Alpha 380 because the lower price would allow you to get an additional lens, such as the 30 mm f/2.8 macro, which is less than $200. You can get the camera with a Sony DT 18-55 mm kit lens and a DT 55-200 mm kit lens for under $600 from J&R (a really good deal) or with a single lens for under $500 from J&R; or with a single kit lens for under $500 from Butterfly Photo. And, as this is written, it’s also on sale for under $500 at Best Buy.

Canon’s line of Rebel digital D-SLR cameras has been noted for good performance for a reasonable price for a number of years. And the current top of the line — the Canon EOS Rebel T1i — is no exception.  American Photo’s editors liked its high resolution (it uses the same 15.1-megapixel image sensor as the more advanced Canon EOS 50D), its best-in-class low-light shooting performance, and its DIGIC 4 image processing. It will shoot at an ISO as high as 12,800. And you can set 3 levels of high-ISO noise reduction. It will burst-shoot RAW frames at up to 9 fps. Its 9-point auto-focus is the fastest in this class. And it’s got a new 920,000-dot LCD screen (with anti-reflective and scratch-resistant coating), which you can use to view high-def video capture (720p) at 30 fps (a first for the Rebel line). It will also shoot 1080p video at 20 fps. Its video performance was judged to be smoother than that of the Nikon D5000. It’s got in-camera flash, lens-based image stabilization, the capability to shoot using Live View, and will shoot continuously at 3.4 fps. Throw Canon’s line of superlative EOS lenses into the mix and, for less than $800, you can’t go wrong with the Rebel T1i. I currently use a Canon Rebel Xsi (last year’s entry-level D-SLR of the year) as my main camera and am continually impressed by its performance, so I can personally recommend this line of cameras. You can get the Canon EOS Rebel T1i from J&R with an 18-55 mm kit lens for under $750. This camera has quite a lot of positive customer reviews at Best Buy. Below is a quick video intro to the Rebel T1i:

Advanced D-SLR of the Year (Tie)

When people think of Single Lens Reflex cameras in the 35 mm format, the two brands that generally come to mind first are Nikon and Canon. If someone knows a bit more about photography, they might add Leica to that list. It seems that Pentax — a company that has been making high-quality SLR cameras with outstanding optics since the early 1950s — is often the forgotten stepchild among the pantheon of camera companies. But the editors of American Photo chose the Pentax K-7 as the Co-Winner for Advanced D-SLR Camera of the Year, giving it the nod over every other model except the Nikon D90. Cameras in this category have price-points that hover around the $1,000 mark.

The Pentax K-7 was a new model for Pentax in 2009, replacing the formerly top-of-the-line K20D. Like the K20D, it has a 14.6-megapixel resolution, but everything else about the K-7 is new. It has an easy-handling, rugged magnesium alloy body and is comprehensively protected against environmental hazards such as dust and wet, and its resistance to cold has been enhanced (it should operate at temperatures as low as 14 degrees F). Its viewfinder is the biggest in this class and is the only one to offer 100 percent subject coverage. The 3-inch LCD screen has 921,000 dots and offers a handy rotating menu, and of course offers a Live View function. The CMOS sensor is combined with a 4-channel processor that reduces noise in shadows and enables a continuous-shooting speed of 5.2 fps (the burst rate is 40 JPEGs). It combats dust with a low-pass filter for the sensor and supersonic removal of particles. And that sensor will do something pretty nifty: you can manually shift it sideways or vertically to fine-tune your composition or to make corrections to perspective (and it has a level gauge on the upper status panel). The exposure meter has 77 segments, making for quick and accurate exposures even in complex or rapidly-changing conditions. The battery’s capacity has been extended so you can expect around 980 shots (good for those of you in travel situations). The camera has extensive post-exposure processing options, including the capability to automatically combine 3 bracketed exposures into one high-dynamic range JPEG (see the review of the Ricoh CX1 above for more discussion about HDR). It will shoot 720p video at 30 fps, or 1536 x 1024 format, while allowing manual aperture control. There is a jack for an external microphone, meaning you can get better audio quality with your videos. The Shake Reduction system works with any K-mount lens, and Pentax has added compensation for rotational sensor movement, improving the sharpness of captured images. This camera has more modes and options for control than you might ever use, including 6 custom image settings and an Advanced Customization Function that allows you to tailor it to your shooting style.

You can get the Pentax K-7 from Comp-U-Plus (body only, or with a kit lens). Or from Butterfly Photo, or Best Buy (body only).  Or check the price at Buy.com for their current discount.

Below is a video from a Colorado filmmaker who used the K-7 to make a film. He describes how he used the camera. (You can see more here.)

The Nikon D90 is the other D-SLR camera chosen as Advanced D-SLR of the Year. The editors at AP were impressed with its performance in low light, praising its low-noise images at ISOs of up to 3200 — on par with Nikon’s professional D3 and D700. Much of the technology in the D90 is borrowed from Nikon’s more advanced models, including the 12.3-megapixel CMOS chip, which comes from the Nikon D300. The top ISO is 6400 and that, combined with adjustable image noise reduction, made the D90 the champ for low-light shooting among D-SLR cameras with APS-C-sized sensors (an equivalent negative size of around 25 mm x 17 mm). The camera’s 3-inch, 922,000-dot LCD display is identical to the LCDs on the Nikon D300, D700, D3, and D3X. This camera is also the first Nikon model under $1,000 (body only) that offers Live View (kind of weird, when you think about it — what took them so long?). But they got it right, because the display is large and crisp and it can be activated quickly with a dedicated button. The guys at AP thought the Live View refresh rate of 24 fps was smoother than on some of Nikon’s more expensive models. The Nikon D90’sclaim to fame in this class is its 720p, high-def movie mode — the first D-SLR to have it. It will record sound, but only in mono, and the autofocus doesn’t function when shooting video. So, oddly enough, given its pedigree, you don’t necessarily want to get this camera to primarily shoot video. Take advantage of its still-image performance instead, which relies on an 11-point, 3D-tracking autofocus and can shoot at up to 4.5 fps. Plus you get all those cool Nikon lenses (which include image stabilization). You can currently find it with an 18 – 105 mm Nikkor lens at J&R Computer/Music World for under $1,200.  Butterfly Photo has a bunch of D90 configurations for good prices. And you can also find it at Buy.com and Best Buy.

Other “Editor’s Choice” Advanced D-SLR Cameras Recommended by American Photo

The camera chosen as the “Best Buy” in this category is the Olympus E-30. In 2008, the Olympus E-3 tied for 2008 Camera of the Year in this category, and the Four-Thirds aspect ratio E-30 offers capabilities similar to the E-3 in a smaller, lighter, more affordable package. It has a sturdy body (glass fiber reinforced plastic), a viewfinder that provides 98% coverage, a fast 11-point biaxial autofocus, the ability to capture 5 fps, and a fully-articulated Live View 2.7-inch LCD screen. The sensor’s resolution is 12.3 megapixels. The editors at AP liked its dedicated mode dial, contrast-detection autofocus that was a third faster than that found in the Canon EOS 50D, an image stabilizer mode that allows disengagement of vertical sensor shift (enabling up-and-down panning), and in-camera Art Filters (including Grainy Film and Pinhole effects, among a number of others). They also praised its high degree of custom configurability (for example, it offers a multi-exposure mode and different aspect ratio options). It has an external white balance sensor, wireless strobe control, and of course is compatible with Olympus’s excellent line of Zuiko Digital lenses. Image stabilization is accomplished in-body. The E-30 does not shoot video. But for stills, it is one of the most versatile D-SLR cameras you can find priced under $900 (body only). CNET’s reviewers called the Olympus E-30 “a great, general-purpose D-SLR.” You can get it at Buy.com, J&R Computer/Music World (suggestion: pair the body with a Zuiko Digital 14 – 54 mm f/2.8 – 3.5 lens), Butterfly Photo.

The technically-sophisticated Canon EOS 50D rounds out this group of “Editor’s Choice” advanced D-SLRs. Its 15.1-megapixel resolution is the highest among these four recommended cameras and that, combined with bigger microlenses than the 40D that was its predecessor, and improved DIGIC 4 processing, make for outstanding images with reduced noise. The camera can be set to an ISO as high as 12,800 and will shoot continuously at 6.3 fps. AP’s testers judged the fast, diamond-pattern autofocus of the EOS 50D to be the best in its class for both low-light focusing and continuous tracking. They also thought its Live View was superior to its competitors because the mirror stays up when shooting, which allows for much faster and quieter operation (it also has two “silent” modes in Live View). The view on the 3-inch, 920,000-dot LCD screen was termed “dazzling,” making it easy to check details and critical focus when framing a composition (and it will magnify up to 10x). The menu system was described as “elegant,” and they liked its joystick-operated Quick Control interface. Customer reviews of this camera are almost uniformly excellent, with the bottom line being that people are highly impressed by the “stunning,” “great,” “amazing,” “wonderful,” “award-winning” quality of the images it produces. Plus it’s judged to be rather user-friendly for a camera with so many capabilities. The only caveat that some offered was that it is a bit hefty to carry around (it weighs 25.7 ounces). On the other hand, with this camera you get a sturdy magnesium body and improved weather-sealing. Digital Photography Review “highly recommends” the EOS 50D (though to be fair they stated that this is probably about as high a pixel-count as an APS-C sensor should be pushed, due to image noise issues), and CNET rated it “very good,” calling it a “compelling” choice for fans of previous Canon cameras who want to upgrade. And with this camera you have the stellar line of Canon lenses to choose from (and you should opt for their best models in order to take advantage of the 50D’s capabilities). You can find the Canon EOS 50D now for pretty good prices — see it at J&R Computer/Music World with a 28 – 135 mm lens for under $1,200. You can also get it from Buy.com, Best Buy, and Butterfly Photo (click the links to find the current best price). And to get the most out of your new EOS 50D, why not pick up a guide to using it? (Many of the higher-end cameras reviewed in this post have associated book-length guides.) Find them at Barnes & Noble.

Semi-Pro D-SLR Camera of the Year

So far we’ve had “entry-level” and “advanced” D-SLRs… Now we move on to what American Photo refers to as “Semi-Pro” D-SLRs. Of course, the delineations between these categories are all somewhat arbitrary, but you can think of it as a way of segmenting price points and certain aspects of technology and ruggedness. As a rule, the more expensive the camera, the longer you can expect it to last, the better the level of materials and design it has, and the better the lenses you can use with it. The “Semi-pro” category includes cameras in roughly the $3,000 price range with full-frame CMOS image sensors. You are now getting into a serious level of photographic performance.

The “Camera of the Year” in this category is another Canon — the Canon EOS 5D Mark II. It is the first still camera capable of shooting broadcast-quality, high-def video. If you want your still camera to be able to capture full 1080p video at 30 fps, this is the model for you. And you can even make artistic adjustments in that video (such as shallow depth of field) that you can’t do with standard camcorders. This 21.1-megapixel successor to the EOS 5D features a weather-resistant magnesium-alloy body, improved controls, and a crystal-clear, 920,000-dot, 3-inch LCD. The Quick Control interface is controlled via a joystick. AP stated: “The Mark II’s 24×35 millimeter CMOS image sensor achieves the same ultrahigh resolution as Canon’s much bigger EOS-1Ds Mark III flagship, and at 40 percent of that model’s price. In our estimation its image quality rivals the clarity of 6×4.5 cm medium-format film, allowing huge prints and, if necessary, considerable cropping without sacrificing sharpness — assuming your optics and technique are up to the task.” They also praised the EOS 5D Mark II’s ability to capture outstanding, noise-free images under virtually any illumination, with less noise than its predecessor or the EOS-1Ds Mark III (which is Canon’s top-of-the-line, $6,000+, EOS model). Some of the reason for this is the camera’s improved DIGIC 4 image processor. The camera has Live View capability and will autofocus in Live View mode, and the Live View mode activates more quickly and operates more quietly than its full-frame competitors. It will shoot 3.9 fps continuously and up to 310 large/fine quality JPEGs in burst mode. With respect to video shooting, once a subject is locked in by the autofocus, you must refocus manually if the focal plane is changing, so continuous AF in video mode is something that hopefully will be added in future models. But for now, if you want a camera that will produce superlative stills and shoot best-in-class high-def video (with maximum durations at lesser resolutions of close to 30 minutes), this is the one for you (definitely better than, say, Nikon’s D90). In addition to being American Photo’s “Semi-pro D-SLR of the Year,” it was also chosen as a Gadgets Grand Award Winner for 2009 by Popular Science. You can get it with a 24 – 105 mm lens from Butterfly Photo for under $3,100. Also find it at Buy.com, J&R, and Best Buy.

Here’s a video from photo-i showcasing the features of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II:

Other “Editor’s Choice” Semi-Pro D-SLR Cameras Recommended by American Photo

Let’s begin with the “Best Buy” in this catgory: you’ll get the most bang for your buck from the Sony Alpha 900. This capable camera has a whopping 24.6-megapixel sensor — a higher number than any other 35 mm D-SLR before it. It’s also the first full-frame D-SLR to stabilize images by shifting its sensor rather than elements in the lens. According to AP, this enables you to take handheld shots at up to 4 stops slower using any Alpha-mount lens (Sony or Minolta). The viewfinder covers 100% of the subject, accepts interchangeable screens, and is the biggest, brightest, and clearest in its class. Enhanced image-processing eliminates more noise from all those pixels, producing outstanding images. American Photo’s editors stated: “The level of detail we saw in our A900 images was dazzling, equalling that of the $8,000 Nikon D3X and edging into medium format territory.” The technical capabilities of the A900, combined with an ever-increasing selection of high-quality Sony/Zeiss lenses, ensures that the images you capture with this relatively inexpensive camera will be second to none. And you can capture those superior images at up to 5 fps (also rivaling the D3X), or at a burst depth of up to 12 RAW files or 285 JPEGs. The level of body-weatherization is a little less than that of its rivals in this category. The Alpha 900 also does not shoot video, nor does it offer Live View, making it a more traditional 35-mm-style D-SLR, but what it does, it does very well, and for under $2,700 (body only). Find it at J&R (try it with the Sony 28 – 75 mm f/2.8 lens), and Buy.com (lenses, too).

It’s no surprise that the third camera in this category chosen by the editors of American Photo is the Nikon D700. It’s known as a camera with a high level of technological capability in a package that is much less expensive than Nikon’s highest-end models. Its got the same full-frame, 12.1-megapixel CMOS image sensor as the Nikon D3 in a body that is scaled down in size and weight — yet is also highly rugged. Weather-sealing in the D700 is second to none in this category. The viewfinder offers almost 100% coverage and the view is sharp enough to be able to manually focus nearly any Nikkor lens going back to 1959. Its ISO goes up to 25,600, making available-light shooting possible in almost any conditions of illumination, and the guys at AP thought its ISO of 6400 was perfectly usable (unlike some D-SLRs where unacceptable noise levels intrude at ISOs of 800 and higher). It will shoot at up to 5 fps, has 2 Live View shooting modes (but no video capability), in-lens image stabilization, fast 51-point autofocus, and a scene-recognition function, among many other features. Find it for under $2,400 at J&R (body only), at Butterfly Photo (with a 24 – 120 mm lens for under $3,000), at Buy.com, and Best Buy.

Here’s a succinct yet thorough video description of the Nikon D700 from one of the experienced camera guys at J&R Computer/Music World:

Pro D-SLR Camera of the Year

The culmination of this review of top-rated cameras ends with a single model. There are no “honorable mentions” in the category of “Pro D-SLR Camera of the Year,” just one technologically-advanced photographic machine that is rapidly becoming a legend: the Nikon D3X. As the editors of AP state: “Among new digital SLRs, the 24.4-megapixel Nikon D3X is simply in a class by itself… At the moment, [it is] the best D-SLR money can buy.” This camera offers vast configurability for the creative photographer (and its pixel count is actually 24.5; AP had a typo but I quoted it above as written). The D3X has Nikon’s “Picture Control,” which offers 4 pre-set options (standard, neutral, vivid, and monochrome), and 9 customizable settings for personalized color control. Its got 2 Live View shooting modes, with up to 27x magnification in the Tripod Mode for extreme focusing accuracy. Nikon has applied a number of technologies to reduce noise and improve image quality, from the large pixels in its CMOS sensor to EXPEED image processing to selectable bit depths to extended ISOs (the lowest being 50). AP reports that it has the best autofocus and overall responsiveness of any full-frame D-SLR, with 51 focus points and 3D focus tracking that analyzes color information (and works with Nikon’s “scene recognition system”). The D3X will shoot at up to 5 fps and processes its RAW image files faster than any other full-frame D-SLR, allowing for good performance when shooting action (and in DX mode will shoot 10.5-megapixel images at 7 fps). AP appreciated its superior ability to capture shadow detail, allowing brightening that yielded better results than its competitors. As you might expect, the magnesium-alloy body is built to last, with multiple seals to protect against moisture and dust and even electromagnetic interference. The shutter is tested to exceed 300,000 cycles. The camera will yield up to 4,400 images per battery charge. The 921,000-dot, 3-inch LCD screen is superb, and offers 9 playback functions (including voice memo). About the only thing the D3X won’t do is shoot video. But if your livelihood depends on getting the best still images possible in a commercial or field situation, the D3X is the camera for you. And this performance and reliability comes at a price: well north of $7,000 for the body alone. Is it worth it? If you’re a Nikon fan, you won’t be disappointed (and you also get to take advantage of those great Nikon lenses) — and even if you’re not wedded to the brand, simply check the quality of some of the images produced by the D3X (see more here and here) to see what’s possible. On the other hand, consider other levels of technology that you can obtain for certain prices: you can get a Panasonic 65-inch 3D plasma TV for under $4,000; you can get a top-of-the-line Visionman Widow gaming PC with Intel i7 860 quad-core processor, 2 Radeon HD 5870 video cards, 2 1-terabyte hard drives, and a 64-gigabyte solid state drive for under $3,000; and you can get a Kawasaki Ninja 650R motorcycle for about $7,000 (and if you already have one, you can get accessories to carry your D3X here).  The price either indicates the level of technical sophistication of the D3X, or Nikon’s high opinion of it. But in any event, you will have virtually unlimited capacity to be photographically creative with the Nikon D3X. And being creative is what it’s all about, whether you have a point-and-shoot camera or a pro D-SLR. Find the D3X at J&R Computer/Music World and Buy.com. Also find a guide to using the D3X here…

Related posts:

1. Now’s the Time to Get a New HDTV: Here Are the Best Televisions for Good Prices
2. Celebrate What’s Right With the World

A lot of people, me among them, think The Empire Strikes Back is the best of the Star Wars films.  Its character development and emotional resonance are the most satisfying, while it managed to retain the kinetic action and jaw-dropping, giddy special effects of the first film.  If it had flopped, Star Wars would not have become a franchise,  Industrial Light & Magic might not have evolved into the groundbreaking special f/x juggernaut that created all the Indiana Jones films, the Terminator sequels, the Back to the Future trilogy, all the Jurassic Park movies, Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean, many of the Star Trek films, Harry Potter, Avatar, and on and on, and we would not now have a handful of big-budget summer sequels routinely taking up the bulk of Hollywood’s attention and resources every summer.  It can be argued that there would probably not be movies like Iron Man 2 if The Empire Strikes Back had not succeeded.

And the hundreds of thousands of people world wide who claim to belong to the Jedi religion would have had to find something different to believe in.

As far as artistic merit goes, there’s little question that the greatest movie sequel ever is The Godfather Part 2, but that movie, excellent as it is, did not have as wide-ranging effect on both the popular imagination and the way the movie business was subsequently conducted as The Empire Strikes Back.  The Godfather Part 2 is an impressive achievement in cinema.  But Star Wars changed lives and remains an indelible part of world culture.

I remember seeing the film when it came out with friends and family on a 70 mm big screen in San Jose, California.  I wanted so much to like it, and was not disappointed.  (Just like Isaac Asimov after the movie was over, I wanted to stand on my chair and shout, “Start the third part!”)  I mean, the sections with Yoda on Dagobah alone were worth the price of admission.  I never became a full-fledged Star Wars geek, but it did fire my movie-going enthusiasm (which has not flagged to this day).  More than ten years later, when I had a business in Marin County, I would occasionally make deliveries to Industrial Light & Magic in San Rafael.  It was in a modern but nondescript office park.  There was absolutely no identifying info or signage on the outside of the building — just a number and a keypad.  The windows were blacked out.  I guess they were concerned about hordes of devotees showing up and asking for tours if they had known what was going on behind those unmarked doors. 

In 1980, I was a frequent reader of Pauline Kael’s reviews in The New Yorker, and I wondered what she would think of the film.  (For those who haven’t a clue, Pauline Kael was the most influential movie critic at the time, and one of the most influential critics ever, in any art.)  Here’s how she summed up The Empire Strikes Back in her book, 5001 Nights at the Movies:

 By far the most imaginative part of the Star Wars trilogy.  This middle, bridging film is chained to an unresolved plot and doesn’t have the leaping comic-book hedonism of the 1977 Star Wars, but you can feel the love of movie magic that went into its cascading imagery.  George Lucas kept the first movie hopping by cutting it into short, choppy scenes; Irvin Kershner, who directed this one, is a master of visual flow, and, joining his own kinks and obsessions to Lucas’s, he gave Empire a splendiferousness that may even have transcended what Lucas had in mind.  When Han Solo (Harrison Ford) is frozen into sculpture — his face protruding from a bas-relief, the mouth open as if calling out in pain — the scene has a terrifying grandeur.  The characters in this fairy-tale cliff-hanger show more depth of feeling than they had in the first film, and the music — John Williams’ variations on the Star Wars theme — seems to saturate and enrich the intensely clear images.  Scenes linger in the mind:  the light playing on Darth Vader’s gleaming surfaces as this metal man, who’s like a giant armored insect, fills the screen; Han Solo saving Luke’s life on the ice planet Hoth by slashing open a snow camel and warming him inside; Luke’s hand being lopped off, and his seemingly endless fall through space; Chewbacca, the Wookie, growling in grief or in comic fear, his sounds so hyper-human you couldn’t help laughing at them; the big-eared green elf Yoda, with shining ancient eyes, who pontifically instructs Luke in how to grow up wise — Yoda looks like a wonton and talks like a fortune cookie…”

I think she liked it. 

There is a new book about the making of the movie coming out in October, 2010 – The Making of The Empire Strikes Back, by J.W. Rinzler – that you might want to check out (and consider giving to your sci-fi/movie geek friends).  Here’s an interesting factoid:  David Prowse, the actor in the Darth Vader costume, was known to be an inveterate leaker of information about the film, so, during the filming of the pivotal fight between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker in the cloud city, Prowse was given scripts with dummy lines to say that had nothing to do with Vader revealing the facts of Skywalker’s parentage.  Of course, James Earl Jones subsequently dubbed Darth Vader’s voice.  Prowse had no idea until he saw the premiere of the film that Darth Vader was Luke’s father.  “I felt ridiculous,” he said.  Yeah, well, loose lips sink star destroyers.

 And to hold up that new book, here’s something even cooler:  Star Wars bookends depicting details from Jabba’s palace.  These are high-quality, painstakingly-rendered bookends that feature Boba Fett and a Gamorrean Guard on one side and Han Solo frozen in carbonite with Princess Leia disguised as the bounty-hunter Boussh on the other.  They’re coming in December, 2010, but you can pre-order them now from Entertainment Earth to make sure you get a pair before they sell out.  They’re limited-edition, hand-numbered, with a certificate of authenticity.  Of course, there’s a lot more Star Wars stuff to explore at Entertainment Earth, too.

For Nintendo GameCube

As usual here on Best Stuff for Men, I don’t discuss a topic without giving you some opportunity to further explore it or act on your curiosity.  All this talk of Star Wars might have gotten you in the mood to once again visit that galaxy far, far away, so here’s a good way to do it, game-wise:  Star Wars Rogue Squadron III Rebel Strike, some of which takes place on Hoth (and of course there’s a ton more Star Wars games available).  And find Star Wars novels at Barnes & Noble.  (Did you know that there are now well over 200 Star Wars novels covering thousands of years of story and character development that go well beyond the movies, all coordinated by LucasArts?)  If you’ve never read any Star Wars novels, try the Grand Admiral Thrawn trilogy, by Timothy Zahn — they have a lot of the flavor of the original movies.  Or try Dave Wolverton’s The Courtship of Princess Leia, where you find out whether Leia enters into a politically-expedient marriage for the sake of the new republic.

 Then again, perhaps you’re more of a doer — someone who wants to go beyond the entertainment aspect of all this and become a filmmaker yourself.  In that case, here’s what you need for a good start…

JVC GY-HM100U 3-CCD Camcorder

One of the best cameras for the beginning movie-maker is the JVC GY-HM100U 3-CCD Camcorder, a good combination of performance and price.  One of its advantages is that it’s compatible with Apple’s popular Final Cut Studio editing software.

 But you can’t make a movie (well, you can, but not very well) without writing something down first.  And for that, you want the most useful software for writing a screenplay.  So get Final Draft 8 for PC or Mac.  

After all, someone has to be the next George Lucas.

So, where were you when The Empire Strikes Back came out?  How old were you when you first saw it?

Related posts:

1. Big Darth Vader and Little Darth Vader
2. This IS the Droid You’re Looking For: R2-D2 Hub for USB

Yes, of course it’s cool.  No, you don’t have to thank me.  Just knowing that fewer grads will remain among the “lost” generation is reward enough.

Here are 3 of the top-rated GPS receivers/travel tools/route finders/etc. 

Seems like almost every piece of tech is expected to multitask these days.  And why not?  No one wants to carry 12 devices when you can meet your needs with 4.  When it comes to traveling, hiking, adventuring, exploring, and not getting lost, a dedicated GPS unit offering some useful auxiliary functions can’t be beat.  And, like most tech, these devices keep getting better.  “GPS” has become one of those terms that everyone has heard of, but many can’t remember what it stands for, sort of like “SOS.”  (For the record, GPS = Global Positioning System.   SOS stands for — well, not anything.  It was just an easy sequence to remember in Morse code so it became the universal distress signal.)

You don’t want your graduate sending out too many SOS’s, so help him stay on his true path by getting him…

Garmin Dakota 20

The Garmin Dakota 20 is a mid-priced unit recommended by the testers at Backpacker Magazine in their current ”Gear Guide.” If your gift recipient is doing some, say, backcountry skiing and isn’t sure where the trail went, a few taps on the color touchscreen provides instant compass, altitude, and Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinates that can be correlated with a paper map.  The Dakota 20 is palm-sized (5 ounces) and $100 cheaper than competing units with similar performance.  It’s easy to download GPS Exchange Format (GPX) files to it from a PC or Mac (device-independent route, track, and waypoint info), as well as to record your own routes.  It comes with a world-wide basemap.  For $100 more, you can load it with U.S. topo maps.  You can find it at Eastern Mountain Sports.

Lowrance Endura Sierra

When it comes to a more formidable multitasker, the editors at Backpacker recommend the Lowrance Endura Sierra GPS unit.  Not only can you download GPX files to it, you can add photo, video, and audio files as well.  It comes with excellent  topos.  Its 4 gigs of memory is the most in its class, and you can add up to a 32 GB microSD card to store a ton more.  It includes a vast list of trailheads, outfitters, and store locations.  One of Backpacker’s testers stated:  “With this big-brained GPS, there’s virtually no limit on tracklogs or waypoints you can collect.”  (It will hold up to 2,000.)  It’s simple to operate, weather-resistant, and testers found that it correlated precisely to maps.  When your big-brained graduate returns from his travels, he can share his trip times, altitudes, trails, speed, and distance traveled using the Endura Sierra.  In addition to Buy.com, you can find it at Best Buy.  And for instruction on getting the most out of any of the units reviewed here, get the DVD Hikers and Backpackers Guide to GPS from Bennett Media:

Hikers and Backpackers Guide to GPS -- instructional DVD by Bennett Marine Video (Bennett Media)

Garmin Oregon 550t

When the outdoor guys at Men’s Journal got together this spring to assemble the best light-weight, essential gear for backpacking and trekking, the GPS unit they chose to include was the Garmin Oregon 550t.  This compact GPS includes a 3.2-megapixel camera, so your basic photo needs are covered.  (You can send pic’s of your favorite wilderness locations to your friends, complete with coordinates.)  It also offers a feature known as “Sight ‘N Go,” where you use the compass to aim it at a waypoint and the unit will plot the route to get there.  It has a 2.5-inch color touchscreen and comes pre-loaded with North American topo maps.  The case is water-resistant, sealed against dust, and is rugged enough to survive a few drops (not that your grad is clumsy).  It incorporates a barometric altimeter and the receiver is WAAS-enabled (Wide Area Augmentation System), making for accurate reception in forest, under heavy cloud cover, or down in canyons.  Get the Oregon 550t for your visually-oriented adventurer.  Get it from Eastern Mountain Sports.

An excellent book for learning to use GPS for many kinds of outdoor activities is Outdoor Navigation with GPS:  Hiking, Geocaching, Canoeing, Kayaking, Fishing, Outdoor Photography, Backpacking, Mountain Biking, from the Wilderness Press.

The 3 GPS units above should meet the needs of just about any user.  However, there are always options.  Best Buy is having a sale this week on select GPS units.  So click here or on the banner below to see more options for your wanderer/traveler.  They’re also discounting certain GPS accessories.

 


And if your grad already has a cool GPS device, click the banner below for more good gift suggestions…

Related posts:

1. Celebrate Earth Day with Energy-Efficient Products from GoldenGadgets
2. Sure, Your Mom Would Appreciate Flowers for Mother’s Day — But What About Something Sorta Different?