DJI released quadrocopter DJI Phantom 3 with Professional and Advanced modifications. This device is little helicopter with 4 propellers and with camera attached to it, which can record photos and videos. It has Sony EXMOR sensor with 1/2,3” size and 12.76 MP ( 4000 x 3000 pixels ) resolution and objective lenses with 94 degrees field of view. Professional version can record videos in following formats UHD ( 4096 x 2160p 24 / 25 and 3840 x 2160p 24 / 25 / 30 ), Full HD ( 1920 x 1080p 24 / 25 / 30 / 48 / 50 / 60 ) and HD ( 1280 x 720p 24 / 25 / 30 / 48 / 50 / 60 ); advanced version can record videos only in Full HD and HD formats. Dron saves photos in JPEG and DNG formats and video in MP4 or MOV formats ( with MPEG-4 AVC or H.264 encoding ). Its camera writes them on Micro SD flash cards with 64 GB maximal capacity ( it is recommended to use Class 10 or UHS-1 speed class memory cards ). Weight of quadrocopter is 1280 g and its size on diagonal is 590 mm. Maximal speeds are : 5 m/s ( ascent ), 3 m/s ( descent ) and 16 m/s ( in horizontal plane without wind ). Vertical positioning accuracies are : +- 0.1 m ( with visual positioning mode on ) and +- 0.5 m ( without it ); and horizontal is : +- 1.5 m. Maximal altitude above sea level is 6000 m and operating temperatures range is 0 – 40 degrees on Celsius. Drone navigates with use of GPS and GLONASS. Quadrocopter is supplied with remote control unit, which works in 2.4 – 2.483 GHz frequencies range with 2000 m maximal connection distance and USB connector for data transfers. One charge of DJI Phantom 3 battery is enough for approximately 23 minutes of flight. Drone can be controlled from smartphone with use of DJI GO application; it supports auto return home function, when control is lost or when battery charge is low.
FUJIFILM announced new professional level camera FUJIFILM X-T1. It is equipped with X-Trans CMOS II sensor with sizes 23.6 x 15.6 mm and 16.3 MP ( 4896 x 3264 pixels ) resolution and with image processor EXR Processor II. Camera can save images in JPEG, RAW and RAW+JPEG formats. It supports following videos recording modes : Full HD 1920 x 1080 60p / 50p / 30p / 25p / 24p and HD 1280 x 720 60p / 50p / 30p / 25p / 24p, and saves them in MOV format with H.264 compression; audio is stored in Linear PCM stereo format. FUJIFILM X-T1 supports optical image stabilization with OIS-compatible objectives lenses and have 3-inch LCD-display and 0,5-inch OLED viewfinder. Its body is protected from dust and water splashes and allows it to work under low temperatures ( it can work in -10 – +40 degrees on Celsius temperatures range with 10 – 80 % humidity ). One battery charge is enough for shooting of 350 photos or for recording of 103 minutes of video. Camera saves photo and video files on SD, SDHC and SDXC ( UHS-II ) flash memory cards. Its sizes are : 129 x 89.8 x 46.7 mm ( width x height x depth ), and weight is : 440 g. FUJIFILM X-T1 supports Wi-Fi connections for data transmits to mobile devices and for remote control of camera from mobile phone. It has USB 2.0 connector ( for data transfers and battery recharging ), HDMI-output ( for images and videos watching on TV or monitor screen ) and 2.5 mm stereo connector for external microphone or remote shutter. Package contains : FUJIFILM X-T1 camera itself, Li-ion battery, recharger, external flash, CD-ROM disk with software, user’s guide and different straps, caps and coverings for camera. It will be available in shops from 31-st October of this year.
KRK released monitor-type headset KRK KNS8400 of studio level. Their earpads contain 40 mm drivers, that are powered by neodymium magnets. They are able to reproduce 5 Hz – 23 kHz sounds frequencies and their impedance : is 36 Ohms, sensitivity : 97 dBa / 1 mWt, and max output power : 1000 mWt. Headset is connected to sound source with 2.5 m long detachable cable with 3.5 mm mini-jack gold plated connector. Cable also has detachable volume control unit. Earpuffs isolate ears from background sounds with max volume 30 dBa; they and headband are covered with soft material, that allow comfortable long-time use. Pressure of headset does not exceed 4 N for head of average size. Dimensions of headset are 94 mm x 267 mm x 244 mm ( depth x height x width ); their weight is 230 g. Package contains : KRK KNS8400 headset itself, detachable cable and volume control unit, and user’s guide.
At the Sunday August 9th there were cross-country bicycles competitions Grand Rock 2015 were held in Upper Ufaley city. There were many distances options for riders : 2 laps x 40 km or 1 lap for men; 2 laps x 30 km or 1 lap x 40 km for women; and Fun mini-marathon with 1 lap x 30 km. Race started at 11 o’clock and were held in warm and dry weather, only closer to finish of the competitions there was small rain. Around 100 athletes from different cities of Russia participated in event. There were lots of road areas with big stones on it, fast downhills with length around 1 km, cross-country uphills on rocks on forest path on the way to Grand Rock, wetlands with little wood bridges in the most muddy areas and grand uphills ( the most memorable is the uphill to Wolfs’ Hill, on which only few sportsmen were able to ride on their bikes, the rest moved on feet with bike nearby ). Cars movement was limited on the roads, because of that they were mostly free and those cars, that moved through them, did that with slow speed. On the key points there were police officers and marshals, who showed right way for the riders. Track was marked very good and there was no feeling of movement “in the wrong way”; with thank to that there was ability to move fast and do not turn in wrong directions. Competitions were concluded with awards ceremony and prizes drawing among competitions participants.
Polevskoy station
I rode 40 km on competition; there was wish to ride 80 km, but, taking into account forthcoming 60 – 80 km of way home, I rode only 40 km. Road from Upper Ufaley to Polevskoy sometimes looks like westerns scene : with sandy and stony roads, quarries and abandoned industrial and living buildings; sometimes like Soviet times park with posters from Soviet Union times; at some areas road is so broken, that bicycle rider can move much faster, than cars with powerful engines; but mostly it is the road through beautiful forest with small villages, that are located on its length ( most memorable is the Selki village, in which there are only 5 – 6 homes on the bank of small half-boggy waters ). First around 20 km there was warm and dry weather and it was pleasure to ride on this road; then intense rain started and fell till Itkul lake, it ended with beautiful rainbow over Itkul lake and with magnificient views of sunset above wet road and forest, that mirrored its light, and humid atmosphere, that scattered it. There were lots of steep uphils with long and fast downhills after them. From Upper Ufaley till Itkul lake road is relatively good; then along its coast and to border of Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regions there is very broken part of road. Then from border of Sverdlosk region there is excellent road surface, on which it is pleasure to ride fast. After sunset fog descended on land and there was need to be careful in low altitude areas, especially when cars moved from behind or from frontal direction.
On the way to Upper Ufaley
After Poldnevaya village it was so dark, that road signs was not distinguishable and there was need to pedal, while orienting on white road marks and light of sky, that mirrored from wet road surface. In 10 – 8 km from Polevskoy its lights on the sky appeared and it was much easier to pedal on the bike. After entrance into city there were additional 6 – 10 km of ride on its lighted roads with cars, that moved from behind and from frontal direction, and in 11 – 12 o’clock I at last came to home. Then : eat and sleep. See you on the next bicycles event!
Wolfs’ HillNear the Nikel stadiumNikel stadium, evening before competitionsNikel stadium, morningSlag hillSlag hillMap of Grand Rock 2015 competitionsSlag hillWay home ( between Upper Ufaley and Polevskoy )Itkul lakeWay home ( between Upper Ufaley and Polevskoy )Near Poldnevaya village
Panasonic released new Panasonic DMC-FZ300K camera, that is able to shoot videos in 4K resolution ( 3840 x 2160 pixels ). It has 12,1 MP MOS sensor, which allows camera to make good quality photos in low light conditions. Image lenses give 24x optical magnification, wherein camera supports 5-axis optical image stabilization. Body of Panasonic DMC-FZ300K is splashproof and dustproof, its 3-inch display can rotate under different angles and have sensor functions support. Camera can save photos in RAW format and record series of photos for shooting of dynamic scenes, for example, for shooting sports events. It can record high-speed videos with 240 frames per second frequency in VGA resolution ( 640 x 480 pixels ) and 120 fps in HD resolution ( 1280 x 720 pixels ) and supports macro shooting of objects at 1 cm distance from objective lens. Viewfinder display is produced with use of OLED technology and have good color reproduction and contrast ratio. Camera supports Wi-Fi connections for video and photo files transmitting and for remote control of camera from mobile phones. It saves data on SDXC flash cards, it is recommended to use UHS Speed 3 Class cards for 4K video recording. There are lots of accessories released for Panasonic DMC-FZ300K : external flashes, stereo microphones, different objectives and other accessories. Package contains : camera itself, USB cable for data transmitting and battery recharging, recharger and user’s guide.
JVC released JVC HAMR60X XX headset with Xtreme Bass function. They have 50 mm drivers with neodymium magnets, which allow more clear low frequencies sounds reproduction. For comparison : most of monitor type headphones have 40 mm drivers. Headset’s cord is 1.2 m in length and is connected to audio source via 3.5 mm gold plated mini jack connector. It has microphone and button for remote control of mobile phone. Body of JVC HAMR60X XX Xtreme Bass consits from hard plastic and have tough shockproof functions. Headband and earpads are covered with soft material, which makes it comfortable to wear headphones for a long time. Package contains : JVC HAMR60X XX Xtreme Bass headset itself with mounted cord and user’s manual. Recommended price for headset is 48.99 USD.
Mosasaurs is a group of ancient marine reptiles, that was flourished at the end of Cretaceous period. They occupied free ecological niches after extinction of ichthyosaurs and reduction of plesiosaurs species amount. The smallest of them were 1 m in length and largest grew up to 18 meters; they were the biggest marine predators of their age and hunted on fishes, ammonites ( shelled mollusks ) and other marine reptiles. Their fossils are found around the world, including Antarctic.
Mosasaurs looked like modern day varanus, but were more adapted for marine life and their body was much more streamlined. Skull and lower jaws of mosasaurs were similar to snakes’ ones : they were able to swallow as whole large animals, as snakes do this. Legs of most of them transformed into fins and their tails had upper and lower fins, as sharks and ichthyosaurs had. They swam by moving their tails from side to side and rest of their body remained almost still. Mosasaurs did not laid eggs, like other reptiles : they developed viviparity instead, as ichthyosaurs and modern day dolphins and whales did. They had no gills, so they had to swim to water surface to make air breath. Their hunting tactics was ambush : mosasaurs waited for prey in the hide and made rapid swims to it, when it swam closer to them. Mosasaurs skin scales had diamond form, like snakes have; currently there is not much data about color of their skin, but, presumably, it was dark at the top and light at the bottom to camouflage them in not deep seas waters. Closer to the end of Cretaceous period and whole giant reptiles epoch there were new unique mosasaur species appeared : round toothed forms, that specialized on mollusks shells crushing; fresh-water crocodile alike forms; and very streamlined forms, that moved from ambushes tactics to active and fast swimming in Mesozoic seas. But all mosasaurs went extinct at the end of Cretaceous period, like dinosaurs, ammonites and large amount of other species of animals and plants did.
OLYMPUS released new shockproof camera OLYMPUS STYLUS TG-860 Tough with middle photo and video abilities. It is waterproof ( can work at depths down to 15 m ), dustproof, shockproof ( does not break, when it falls from heights up to 2.1 m ), freezeproof ( can work at temperatures down to -10 degrees by Celsius ) and withstand static forces, that equivalent to 100 kg weight. Its 3 inch LCD monitor can tilt at 180 degrees angles : this allows to make photos under any angle and make selfie photos, while observing resulting picture on screen. OLYMPUS STYLUS TG-860 Tough is equipped with 16 MP CMOS sensor with 1/2.3“ size and TruePic VII image processor. Objective lenses are wide angle and can provide 5x optical zoom. Camera can shoot at 60 frames per second frequency in 1080, 720 and 480 modes; it can be increased up to 240 fps ( in 640 x 360 mode ) and up to 120 fps ( in 854 x 480 mode ). It also can shoot in Time Lapse Movie mode, in which it makes 1 frame per 0,5, 1, 3, 6, 12 or 30 seconds and saves frames in video file with normal playback speed. This mode is useful for recording slow processes like : flowers opening, clouds movement and other similar processes. Camera supports Wi-Fi connections, which allow to transmit videos and photo files to mobile devices and remotely control camera from smartphone. Also, it supports GPS navigation for coordinates of place of shooting storing in photo and video metadata. For OLYMPUS STYLUS TG-860 Tough there are following accessories released : waterproof case ( which lowers underwater recording depth down to 45 m ), sports holder ( which allows to attach camera to clothes ) and silicon case, which protects camera body from scratches. Package contains : camera itself, USB cable for data transmitting and battery recharging, recharger and user’s guide.
OLYMPUS released new camera OLYMPUS STYLUS SH-2 with 24x optical zoom. It can be increased up to 48x in wide angle shooting mode. Camera has 5-axis image stabilization functions, which make photos, that were made in motion, more clear. Its sensor has 16 MP resolution and camera can save images in RAW format. OLYMPUS STYLUS SH-2 has lots of specialized night time shooting modes, which make photos made in low-light conditions better : from night portrait to shooting of the stars. Camera supports video shooting in Full HD mode with 60 frames per second; frequency can be reduced to 30 fps to save space on flash card. It also supports videos recording with 240 fps ( in HVGA 432 x 324 mode ) and 120 fps ( in HD 1280 x 720 mode ). Camera supports Time Lapse Movie mode, in which it makes 1 frame per 5 minute – 5 hours and then saves video in file with usual playback speed. This mode is useful for recording of flowers opening, clouds movement and other slow processes. Camera supports Wi-Fi connections for photo and video files transfers to mobile devices and for remote control of camera from mobile phone. There is leather body jacket released for camera, that has 2 colors variations : black and light brown. Package contains : OLYMPUS STYLUS SH-2 camera itself, USB cable for data transfers and camera recharges, recharger and user’s guide.
Yekaterinburg, bicycle tour West coast of Iset lake
In this Sunday August 2nd there were bicycle tour “West coast of Iset lake” near Yekaterinburg. 12 people participated in it. First 10 km path run in city in the direction of Ganin Yama and then in the direction of Iset village. After this distance 2 persons separated from group and returned to Yekaterinburg : it was hard for them ride such distance without appropriate experience and on hard bikes. Lets hope, that they will prepare for next event and will be able to ride all 60 – 100 km. After Iset village we moved in the direction of quarry, that is located nearby. Views from it side are truly amazing; its depth is around 90 m.
View of quarry, bicycle tour West coast of Iset lake
Nature of the Iset Rocks
Rocks near Iset has volcanic nature and was formed in late Paleozoic ( 350 – 200 millions years ago ).
Next the most interesting part have started : steep uphiils on boulders and fast downhills in the direction of PetroGron rocks. We made brief rest on them and moved forward. Downhill from these rocks was very fast and run on rocky trails in forest. We’ve went in the direction of bigger rocks, that are located nearby. At the middle of the distance there was fork : with fast and hard way and relatively easy and longer way. I went with part of group, that chose hard way : there were 3 rocky downhills and uphills with jumps above boulders and crossing of little marshes and forest river. In 20 – 30 minutes we completed this way and waited for other part of group. There are fantastic views from these rocks with Yekaterinburg on the horizon.
View of quarry from side, bicycle tour West coast of Iset lake
Next : fast rocky downhills and steep uphills waited for us, with crossing of flooded areas with bicycle on the shoulder. We moved in the direction of Sandy Lake; there are amazing views at sunset. 2 persons swam in it, while water is still warm. Then through the Severka village we moved to road to Yekaterinburg and rode 10 – 15 km to city. In it people started to separate from group and move to their homes. There are lots of positive and impressions and all of this in 1 day.
PetroGron rocks, bicycle tour West coast of Iset lakeRocks near Iset, bicycle tour West coast of Iset lakeRocks near Iset, bicycle tour West coast of Iset lakeView from rocks near Iset, bicycle tour West coast of Iset lakeView from rocks near Iset, bicycle tour West coast of Iset lakeSandy Lake, bicycle tour West coast of Iset lakeSandy Lake, bicycle tour West coast of Iset lakeYekaterinburg, evening, bicycle tour West coast of Iset lake
You can see rest of photos here. There is need to say separate thank to Victor Ustinov, which navigated us through these places without mistakes, without him we would miss some of these beatiful areas. And thank to organizer of bike tour Vadim Grebenkin and all of the participants of tour, see you on next bicycle tour event!
