Gwyc

Handling a boat under motor in a tight situation -- usually in a marina or when undergoing a test for a qualification -- can be a daunting and embarrassing experience, especially for the novice. When you see somebody try to leave a crowded marina or anchorage you will soon be able to tell whether they have mastered the art. The novice backs and fills, blocking the fairway, and more often than not has to make a crewman scamper forward to push off from a pylon or, worse still, another boat. The trained sailor will back out, then swing to the heading wanted in one swift movement, the boat looking as though it is pivoting on its stern. It is not only at close quarters that this skill is useful to have...

The summertime is undoubtedly the most enjoyable time of year for the weekend cruising sailor. Club racing, poker runs and social overnighters in a secluded anchorage are all things we look forward to when the weather turns mild and inviting. Raft ups are another experience that many of us do several times a summer so knowing proper etiquette and safety techniques are important when tying up to someone else's boat. If you are going to be the center boat, it's always best to have lines fore and aft of the vessel. Tying up to an anchored buoy or piling is best but if they're not available, set good anchors fore and aft and dive and inspect them if you're unsure of their set. Obviously, your boat...

To many, digital cameras may seem to be finicky and sensitive electronic gadgets, that have no business in the hands of a child. While there may have been some truth to that years ago, it's not so much the case any longer. Digital cameras are great learning devices in the hands of a child, and are sure to exercise their creative juices to no limit. Now, saying that a digital camera in the hands of a young child is a great idea does have some limitations. For instance, I wouldn't trust my 5 year old with a $1000 SLR, equipped with a $800 zoom lens attached. It would be silly, and there are better cameras for the job. A few years ago, Olympus came out with a lineup of Stylus cameras that would be...

I'm a firm believer in the power of choice. Choice in cars, choice in cable providers, choice in which movies I watch, and choice in how I live my life. Freedom of choice is in our constitution and charter of rights. I'm also a firm believer in keeping things simple, and there is such a thing as too much choice. Take digital cameras for instance. As of today, Amazon has 3,859 digital cameras (and accessories) listed ranging in price from $24,995.00 all the way down to $40.99. That's not choice, that's a frackin' nightmare! Well, were do we go from here? I did promise a SIMPLE guide to digital camera buying, and I meant it. Let's apply the 90% rule from one of my favorite old science fiction...

Never may be too harsh a word, but you'll want to learn of a few problems with the Canon PowerShot SD850 Digital Elph Camera before you actually buy one. It has some flaws you may not be aware of. Most digital camera reviews you read online are nothing but thinly veiled attempts to sell you the camera. There's no sales pitch here, just an attempt to bring to light problems with the Powershot SD850 Digital Elph. Barrel distortion can be common with several cameras in this category and price range, but generally not to the extent that it is in the SD850. Barrel distortion in photography generally refers to an image whose quality is good at the center, but gets distorted the further you go from...

The lineup of Casio Atomic Watches is ideal for those who are particular about the time. You know the type, and you probably know if you're one of them. You always arrive 10 minutes sooner than you have to. Never been late once in your life. And you have a love for technology. If you insist on knowing that the time on your watch is exact, then you need a Casio Atomic Watch, that synchronizes itself for you. It uses the atomic in Colorado, to keep itself up to date. You should never have to buy batteries with this watch either. As far as I'm concerned, batteries are the scourge of the gadget age we live in. More things should be designed with solar rechargeable batteries, like these watches. These...

For starters let me provide you with a useful piece of information. In 2006 out of a total of 6,753 boating accidents only 211 were related to rental boats. You want to know why? That's because the firms renting the sail boats inspect their safety equipments before and after every rental. They provide every person renting the sail boat with rules and safety producers before they begin their journey, regardless of their boating experience. Sometimes you could face problems like excessive water flowing into the sail boat or possible engine failure problems. Therefore for these kinds of situations, most of the boats are equipped with a GPS tracking system that enables the renter to contact the police...

When you are out on the water, whether you have a yacht or a small cruiser, you are miles and miles away from the nearest electrical outlet. And, while your boat's batteries can keep you up and running for a time, they can not last forever - in fact, the more you use your batteries, and the longer that you are out to sea without recharging, the less electronic comforts you will be able to use. Aside from having backup batteries in stock to replace your other batteries as they run out of juice, or having a generator, there is no way for you to keep your devices up and running without heading back into shore and waiting - most likely, overnight. However, one thing that there is abundance of out on the...

Are you still unsure of just how much to trim in your mainsail or headsail on reaches? Or do you sometimes find yourself sailing too low or too high after tacking? Use the secret "how to" sailing technique of feathering to pump up your power, speed, and drive. Concentrate on the forward third of each sail. That's where the wind first makes contact with the sail. If the wind shifts or the sheets aren't quite right, the sail will luff--or flutter. Use the headsail sheets or mainsheet to stop the flutter--or "put it to sleep". Easy does it when trimming! You don't want to stall the sail, because this causes your small sailboat to move more sideways than forward. Follow these steps to get just the right...

It seems to me that many sailors, particularly beginners, are quite frightened of sailing with a spinnaker. There's no need to be. But there are some basic traps to be avoided. I have sailed in scores of ocean races, including 14 Sydney to Hobarts, and the best way I can illustrate what I mean is to tell you about an incident when I sailed as Navigator and local knowledge for a Russian crew. They were from St Petersburg - and they were very much the modern Russian, smart, self-assured and commercially aware. Though they were 20 years out of date in their sailing techniques they were almost arrogant in their belief that they were not. This was to lead to some firm discussions between us. We were...

Anyone shopping for a digital camera these days, is absolutely entitled to being overwhelmed, confused and bewildered. There is such a wide range of cameras, manufacturers, and features available, it's insane. It's almost enough to make one hearken back to the days of the Model T, when Henry Ford offered his customers any color of car they wanted, as long as it was black. Well, I'm about to make things much simpler for you. Let's take a look at arguably the best camera manufacturer today - Canon, and three of their best cameras. Don't worry, these aren't just the most expensive models. They range in price from $200 up to $1500, with one priced right in between. Canon is the most prolific...

Bearing down on the Tuamotus, our crew are keeping a sharp lookout ahead. They know now that the first sighting of land is going to be the fronded crown of a palm tree, rooted in the sand of a coral atoll barely above sea level. The expectation of being the first to spy one of these occupies cour crew with the formidable fervour of young boys. In the event, a number of these mop tops sluggishly grow out of the southern horizon, bathing in the western afternoon sunlight. Staring at an empty horizon for so long, these rising palms, eagerly awaited as they are, still bring with their languid appearance an almost unwanted intrusion. 'Another of humans' trivial life foibles' our little ship thinks...

Have you ever noticed how weather helm increases in gusty winds when beam reaching? It's almost as if a giant hand pushes on the mainsail, making your small cruising boat pivot into the wind. Combine that with some seas off the beam, and steering can become "two-fisted and white-knuckled"! Use these three secrets to make your boat a joy to steer on the fastest point of sail. Move your sailplan center of effort The wind concentrates on the bull's-eye center of your sailplan. If you have a copy of your sailplan, pull it out and look for a circle with a line through it. Now, imagine that the "big hand" of the wind pushes against this circle. The harder the wind blows, the more it pushes. On a beam...

If you've ever been on a small cruising boat that dragged its sailboat anchor and ended up on the beach, you won't want to go through it again! I was recently crew on a boat that did just that, and it sank within 20 minutes. Looking back, one thing we could have tried early on was to use a weight called a "sentinel." When you have to put out a marine anchor on a short scope--such as in crowded anchorages--you will want to keep the anchor rode horizontal to the bottom. When the tide rises or swells cause the bow to pitch up and down, it places enormous shock loads on the rode. This creates a vertical pull on the anchor which can cause the flukes to pull out of the bottom. That means your small...

If you are anything like me, when you first started to learn to sail, downwind sailing was the toughest point of sail. That sailboat boom--like a battering ram from King Arthur's day--seemed ready at any moment to swing across the boat and bonk you on the head. Here are five sailing tips you can use right now to make downwind sailing easier, safer, and a real breeze! Even the pros find sailing downwind a challenge. That's because it takes just a subtle shift in the true wind to make the apparent wind shift a lot. Follow these five tips: 1. Use a Boom Vang (Smaller Sailboats) Use your boom vang on smaller boats to prevent accidental jibes. Release the lower snap shackle from the mast attachment point...

Did you know that how you start the bowline makes the difference as to whether this marine knots king stays put--or comes undone? Practice these five easy steps to tie this knot the right way every time! Slide up to a pier or slip and you might need to pass a bowline around the piling fast. Take too long to tie the knot and you could end up leaning way over the side. Get the sequence for the bowline knot right, and you will tie it faster and smoother. Follow these five steps to success: 1. Use Enough Line Coil the line and hold it in your non-dominant hand. Split the coil and hold at least six feet in your dominant hand. As soon as you are near the piling, drape the line in your dominant hand around...

Has anyone besides me noticed that the quality of digital camera seems to be getting worse over time? Canon (and others) seem be putting out a lot of low quality cameras in the under $200 price range. It's almost beginning to feel as if the definition of disposable camera has changed to any camera priced under $200. Low resolution LCDs, underpowered, image noise, and really slow flash recharge times seem to plague many digitals in this price range. If your considering buying a Canon Powershot A560 Digital Camera, you may want to be aware of its shortcomings. The LCD on the A560 leaves plenty of room for improvement, especially when it comes to resolution and color reproduction. If your indoors...

Whether you're looking for the best Nikon SLR digital camera, the best Canon SLR digital camera, or just the best SLR digital camera of any brand, you've come to the right place. Point and shoot cameras were a good teacher, but now it time to get serious with a good SLR. I'm sure this all enticing, but I also know how intimidating those SLR cameras can be. As Luck Would Have It, your about be transformed into a SLR camera virtuoso. Don't let your early steps at understanding SLRs send you packing. It can take a few readings to visualize. If your an individual that has to understand all the finer points of any product before making a purchase, this could be a never ending process for you. Well, let's...

The SVP digital camera problems are unbelievable for any digital camera. The problems start with the software you install on your personal computer to the driver problems. The battery life is ridiculous as well as the picture quality. One cannot actually defend this camera to anyone. The cameras that have been researched and reviewed are not making the grade. They are failing miserably. The customer service is not very easy to reach as well. The reviews for these cameras are not flattering. If you consider buying one of these cameras, you can expect to have problems understanding how to operate the camera as well as read the menu. The SVP digital camera problems are overwhelming more than any...

If capturing high def video, is essential in your newest digital camera acquisition, than the Rebel T1i DSLR, is obviously a digital SLR you should consider. If your into capturing high def films, the T1i Rebel should thrill you, with it's thirty frames per second at a recording resolution of 720p, for a whopping maximum recording time of 18 minutes. The D90 SLR does pretty good, but with just five minutes maximum video length, at twenty four FPS. While the tech specs seem pretty good, real world tests of high def films from the T1i Rebel, lag a bit too much. If you prefer smoother high definition videos, you can swap the Canon SLR Rebel T1i movie setting from 1080p twenty FPS to 720p 30 FPS. It's a...

While it's quite often hard, to get a decent fair, and unbiased review on anything online, digital cameras seem particularly tricky. There's no shortage of fly by night websites hawking the next greatest camera on the planet, since Polaroid invented the Polaroid. Well, there is one thing that is hard to fake online, and is actually pretty easy to find online, if you know where to look. That one thing is consumer choice. By consumer choice, I mean of course what are the people buying. We as a consumer society, vote with our dollars, as just about any product that finds favor with the masses will continue to make it's manufacturers rich. It's easy to find the best selling cameras, simply by looking at...

Buying a SLR digital camera is a real investment. It costs a lot and you need to maintain it regularly if you want to keep it for a long time. Before investing the money in a digital SLR camera, you should talk with other SLR owners for some tips. If you don't know any professional photographers to ask them questions, below you can read about two SLR cameras that can be bought. 1. Nikon D40X. The D40X is a 10MP camera, following the D40 model, which had only 6MP. Obviously, you will need to pay more if you want the D40X, and those extra money can be spent on accessories or extra lenses. But if you do want more megapixels, it's worth the money. The 420 pixel sensor of the D40X is the same as the one...

Will a better camera ensure that you take better pictures? The short answer is of course "yes". The slightly longer answer is of course equally obvious "it depends". I like the long answer myself, as the inevitable follow up debate is far more interesting. Perhaps though what you should be asking is, "Will buying a Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR Camera ensure I take better pictures?". Of course you already know "it depends" is the answer. But, exactly what does it depend on? I depends on several things. First of all, what's your photographic history? If all you've ever taken pictures with are simple point and shoot cameras, then you better be committed to learning. The EOS 40D has a myriad array...

While there may be plenty of good reasons to buy a Canon Digital Rebel XTi, not every camera is good for every photographer. So, depending on what's important to you, and how you take pictures, you should probably be aware of the short comings of this camera. There's plenty of information out there about how great this camera is, but for just a minute or two, lets be brutally and critically honest. The Canon Digital Rebel XTi, is guilty of underexposure in any and all lighting conditions, specifically with the auto setting turned on. Even Canon will have trouble disputing this claim. I heard from one XTi owner that went as far as to send in pictures taken from two separate XTi cameras to Canon...

There are tons of digital SLR cameras available that have promising potential, making it hard for some consumers to narrow down their choices and pick out one that best suits their needs. So to make choosing a bit easier for potential camera buyers, we'll look at four of the more popular DSLRs today: the Rebel XSi, Nikon D40, Canon EOS 40D, and Nikon D90. Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi The Digital Rebel XSi measures around 12 inches with the body weighing 16.8 oz. The shutter speed is 1/4000 sec and has a 3.5 frames per second shooting speed. Like other digital SLR cameras, the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi also has image-stabilized lens kit and a built-in sensor cleaning system. In addition to spot...

I'm quite the photography hobbyists, and own several digital cameras and DSLRs. I've been in the market lately for a smaller compact digital camera when I don't feel like carrying my digital SLR camera around. Previously, I've had some good luck with other Canon Powershot cameras and the A590 IS asked look like a reasonable candidate. In this review, I'll try and take a look at some of the more advanced features as well some of the basic features of the camera. Most cameras in its class, have a wide range of manual features. But, the Canon A590 IS offers some pretty beefed-up manual features as well. The A590 is a little bit smaller than some of the earlier model power shot cameras, and the colors a...

If your thinking about getting your hands on a Rebel T1i Video Camera, you'll be in good company. It's a good camera, especially for shooting video, but you it's not without a few caveats. Let's have a look at a few pros and cons shall we. Unfortunately for an overwhelmed camera purchaser, that's far from the truth. There were better existing image sensors (Canon 40D) that could have been selected when designing the T1i. I'm certain you've read in some of my other articles, that cramming more megapixels doesn't guarantee good pictures. The image sensor needs to be designed to cope with more megapixels. The APS-C image sensor employed in the Rebel SLR T1i, is a tiny bit smaller than the DX image...

The digital single lens reflex technology has improved the image quality. With the compact digital cameras, you have a lag time between taking pictures causing many photographers to miss some interesting shots. The flash time for recycling is also another concern with compact cameras. With digital SLR cameras, there is no problem with light sensitivity as there is with the compact cameras. The ability to take quality pictures without a flash is done with the SLR cameras. Photographers that want to have different lens for capturing different images the SLR camera is ideal. If the user wishes to have a blurred background with a properly focused subject, the digital SLR camera achieves this purpose...

Are you thinking of buying your first digital camera, but can't make sense of all the technical lingo and sales hype? Don't worry, your not alone. Fortunately, it's really not that difficult once things are explained simply and concisely. You don't need to understand complex camera technology, or be a computer geek to enjoy the benefits of owning a digital camera. You don't even need a computer. Let's try to simplify the whole process, and make some affordable and reliable recommendations for a beginners first digital camera. If you've spent any time at all looking at or reading about digital cameras, you probably heard the term megapixel. Often abbreviated as "MP". In layman's terms...

Picking the best camera brand is very hard, and is something that varies greatly. Some may say Canon, while others may say Kodak. It all depends on what the camera is being used for. Technically, there is no best camera brand, and it really just comes down to individual preference. Nonetheless, there are quite a few brands that really do dominate in many ways. These brands include Olympus, Leica, Panasonic, Minolta, Fuji, Pentax, and Sony. As you can see, it is hard to pick just one brand, as there are many brands that are right up there as "the best camera brand". As for quality, this may be a bit easier to rank. At the top would be Leica, followed by Panasonic, Minolta, Olympus, Yashica, Practika...

When you're looking at the specs of a DSLR camera, the list can be overwhelming, full of technical details and specifications. If you tried looking for reviews and ratings of digital cameras, you will feel very confused trying to make heads and tails of all the opinions that customers are sharing. But if you do take the time and manage to sift through all that information, you will be able to make the best choice. What Is It? What exactly is the difference between a SLR and other digital cameras? Why are you looking to buy a SLR and not a compact or a subcompact? You should ask yourself these questions before you spend the money. For example, you should know what a megapixel does before you buy a...

If your looking for the most affordable digital camera, does that mean your looking for the cheapest camera you can find? I tend to think not. If you wanted cheap, you would have said cheap. Affordable suggests, you have some kind of budget in mind. I would assume that it's probably a small budget, but a budget none the less. For around $150 you can get a pretty respectable digital camera. But that may be a bit high, so lets start at $150 and work our way down. You may be surprised at what we find. In the $100 to $150 range, were able to find some very good cameras with a smidgen of the latest technology thrown in. Image stabilization and face recognition are great features to have for this...

The digital camera that is making an impression on consumers is the Canon Power Shot A570 IS. With a price of price of about one hundred and seventy dollars, consumers will have powerful camera for capturing the moment. The image quality is the best while the manual controls allow the user to grow as they become accustom to digital photography. The optical image stabilization helps the user take clearer pictures that otherwise could be blurry because of movements of the hand when taking the pictures. The manual exposure mode as well as the automatic mode delivers a high quality image. The Canon Power Shot SD870 IS made a name for being a compact camera with a 4x digital zoom and 3.8x optical zoom...

Now that Canon has released the latest addition to it's ever popular Digital Rebel lineup, the XSi, many current Rebel XT or XTi owners are likely wondering about upgrading. The short answer is . . . don't! It's really not worth it. Sure, Live View, a larger LCD, and faster FPS can seem enticing, but is it really worth it? What is it your really after here? More bells and whistles, or better pictures? Personally, if I'm going to upgrade it's going to be something substantial. Something that allows me to take better photographs, and improve my skills as a photographer. Allow me to illuminate. All the Canon Digital Rebels are really just entry level digital SLR cameras. That includes the XT...