100 Faces Of Summer And Fall (Sony DigiDad Project)

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The latest in the Sony DigiDads program is called 100 Faces of Fall – a photo project using DSLR-A330 and Cyber-shot DSX-TX1 cameras on loan (no payola) from Sony.  The project originally was called 100 Faces of Summer, but was rebranded as the implementation pushed into autumn. However, as you’ll see below, the 100 pictures I captured of my family and friends spans both summer and fall. Before I share my views on the gear, take a look at the photos and let me know what you think.

100 Faces Of Summer And Fall Slideshow

The Gear: Sony DSLR-A330L

Sony DSLR-A330L

About 90% of the photos in the project were shot with a Sony DSLR-A330L. It has a reputation as a descent entry-level SLR camera, and it proved itself in a crowded market. It does a good job at single-shot photos, and comes with key features like auto-focus, image stabilization and slots for both standard SD memory cards as well as Sony’s proprietary memory stick. My best comparison is my Pentax K200D, a direct competitor. I like the photo image quality on my Pentax better, yet the Sony stood with a few unique benefits: First, the Sony is definitely lighter, arrives with a rechargeable battery and charger, includes an adjustable LCD display (for easily getting those unique camera angles), and has slots for both USB and HDMI connections. The controls are similar to other SLR competitors, making adoption relatively easy. Ultimately, the A330 is comparable to many other strong entry-level SLR models, but if you can find a good deal on one, you can’t go wrong.

The Gear: Sony Cyber-shot DSX-TX1

Cyber-shot® Digital Camera TX1

About 10% of the photos in my slideshow (the blocks castle and piano pix) were taken with the Sony Cyber-shot DSX-TX1. The bottom line: it’s a stylish, slim and high quality 10.2 megapixel point-and-shoot camera. It includes HD video recording (see this movie), stereo audio recording, and a touch-screen interface. Then there’s the numerous add-ons stuffed inside, like: handheld twilight mode; high-speed shooting mode; creative painting tools (with included paint pen); not traditional, but “Intelligent Auto (iAuto) mode”; Smile Shutter™ technology; pet mode; “PHOTOMUSIC” to combine images with music; “Intelligent Scene Recognition (iSCN) Mode” to automatically detect nine different types of scenes; and in-camera retouching tools; etc, etc, etc. It’s all great stuff, but the paradox is that all these features create complexity and result in featuritis. I bet most customers will not discover or fully exploit its numerous capabilities. To be fair, it’s a very compact, stylish gizmo that can really do a lot if you take the time to learn. The hardware is great, though it would appeal to me more if it (especially the interface) emulated the simplicity of manufacturers like Apple and Flip.

This post is part of series called the “Sony DigiDads Project” by Sony Electronics where a group of dads, including C.C. Chapman, Jeffrey Sass, Max Kalehoff, Michael Sheehan, and Brad Powell, have been given the opportunity to test and review Sony gear. If you want to know more about this project, visit the Sony Electronics Community.

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Published by Max Kalehoff

Father, sailor and marketing executive.

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6 Comments

  1. Funny, this is the first post that got me introduced to your blog and I failed to even make a comment till now! 🙂

    I found out about your blog via Chris Brogan's recent post about the Sony DigiDad project. Wow, that's pretty cool, to get a bunch of tech dads together to review and blog about Sony's gear. I admit, I'm a little jealous, but really mostly proud that I'm finally seeing dads get their due time. After all, haven't we been seeing so much about “mommy bloggers?!”

    So, just wanted to say awesome about the Sony DigiDad project and also GREAT PICTURES. Very cute photos of your daughter…

    Now I'm inspired by your post to go back and put together a collage of photos in iMovie from when my daughter was younger at the same age as yours is now.

    She's 13 now, but I can still remember when she used to be little and want to go everywhere with her dad. Now, I get to leave messages on her Facebook wall and maybe she'll respond to dad!! LOL What happened to the time?

    Thanks for your pics Max…

    Ed

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