Scattered Thoughts . . .

The Sony FDR X3000 action camera.      The other day, I wrote about how video resolution keeps increasing exponentially rather quickly. Unfortunately, my old Fuji waterproof camera that we've been using at the lake for video is a bit dated and is showing its age. This put me on a search for an affordable waterproof video camera (rather than a waterproof stills camera) which will hold me over for the next five or more years. I quickly found that, once again, Sony has proven that they are listening to what the consumers and professionals want and need. It seems the best action video camera on the market today is a Sony camera... the Sony FDR X3000, to be exact. It has 4K resolution... comes with a waterproof housing... has a separate controller with LCD screen that I can wear like I would a watch (or I can mount it on an accessory)... it has an app which allows me to sync and control with my cellphone... and has perhaps the best video image stabilization on the market today.

I've been struggling with some ideas of what to do with all of my older video clips shot on cameras with far lower resolutions than is typically displayed today.  The video world and televisions are quickly upgrading to 4K while 6K and 8K cameras are already readily available. Full HD video clips only fill one quarter of a 4K screen... so... what to do with all these older clips to make them look acceptable at a time when resolutions are increasing drastically? To make matters worse, I have a lot of HD video (not "Full HD") which is even smaller! I got to thinking that I could use those lower resolution video files in picture-in-picture windows and they might not look so bad at the higher resolutions. The only way to know for sure was to try it. A screenshot of this side-by-side video technique. I went searching for some video clips and found some sailing clips that I shot way back in 2013. We were at the lake for Adam's birthday on this day. It's always

A small splash for the girls, but I was hit from behind by the wave that caused this splash!  I was down low in the rocks... We enjoy being out on the water, kayaking and sailing, whenever the weather is cooperative.  This environment, however, has always made me nervous whenever using any of my cameras.  Just a little bit of splashed water can ruin a camera.  If it is salt water, that is even worse!  The corrosive properties of salt water will completely destroy the electronics of today's digital cameras. We were at the beach a few years ago, visiting family on Long Island, and I managed to damage one of my cameras.  Sheila and I were out on a jetty shooting some photos of the kids.  We managed to get some nice shots but suddenly, out of nowhere, a large wave crashed down onto the jetty soaking all of us and my camera gear.  Not only did my camera get very wet, but it was covered in corrosive salt water.  Not a good thing.  Salt water is like a deadly virus...  not only doe