The late, lamented Sony DSC U60

This is my favourite camera for taking rough water photos. Hans has also recognized its functionality in this situation.



Its unusual shape gives it superb ergonomics for one handed operation. The thumb naturally falls on the on/off button and the index finger on the shutter release. Unlike most small digital cameras, it has a very rapid startup time and little shutter delay. It has no optical viewfinder but the small LCD screen is very bright. The fixed lens is equivalent to a 20mm wide angle on a 35mm film camera. It has an aperture of f2.8 which gives reasonable performance in lower light. There is a raised plastic ridge round the lens to help keep greasy finger tips off the glass cover. It has a decent O ring seal on a clamp base which closes with a lever mechanism for tightness then has two locks. The two AAA batteries are enough for over 200 shots and are contained in the middle of the plastic body where they are well insulated from the cold.

They are not a common sight on the water; the sensor only has 2 mega pixels and most kayakers have bought the Pentax Optio, seduced by its greater number of pixels. The result is that unfortunately the Sony U60, like Betamax before it, is now no more. If only photographic success could be guaranteed by pixels, perhaps the Optio's commercial success would be a good thing.

Please, Mr Sony, bring back the U60, I don't care how many pixels it has. In the meantime, here are some more, what I care to call, U60 moments.....

Taking photos at sea....three

and it's much more difficult when the sun is not shining.

Taking photos at sea ...two

You need to get right in close where the action is...

Taking photos at sea......

Taking photos in even small waves can be tricky.


Edited 18/12/06: Derrick said "ok but where's that underwater shot from when you missed your brace trying to hold on to the camera??"





Taking photos at sea......can be tricky. I rest my case.

Easdale islander initiative

The little island of Easdale (which I recently described ) has been cut off from its larger neighbour, the island of Seil for nearly a week. Winter storms have shifted the slate spoil at the mouth of its sheltered harbour. The open passenger ferry boat has been unable to access its jetty and islanders have been stranded on the mainland and schoolchildren have been unable to get to school. The local council were not making very fast progress to dredge the harbour but The Herald reports a story of great island initiative. Islander Mike Mackenzie bought a 12 ton JCB excavator on the mainland and had it shipped to Easdale on a landing craft. He then spent 36 hours excavating the harbour mouth himself and restored the islanders' ferry link. Wonderful!



Easdale has 60 permanent residents and 13 of these are children of school age or younger. The island is car free and the passenger ferry takes just 5 minutes to cross to Seil.



The harbour was built in the 18th century and its beautifully constructed walls are now protected by an architectural "B" listing. There is a great deal of interesting industrial architecture and heritage on Seil as it was once a centre for slate mining.



It is easy to kayak through the narrow harbour mouth and explore the sheltered jetties and inlets within.



The little harbour is dominated by the bulk of Dun Mor on Seil and by the initiative of the islanders.

Torridonian Giants and Dwarves.

I mentioned Torridonian old red sandstone in a recent post on Rum. Here it is in situ in Loch Shieldaig which is an arm of Loch Torridon. The distant sunlit peaks are the sand stone giants, Beinn Alligin and Liathach. The little tree capped Sgeirean Mora is dwarfed by the giants but like them it is made of old red sandstone and stands in splendid isolation. The peace was only disturbed by a mother otter playing with her cub in the kelp.

Cardoness Chapel

This is the peaceful view from Cardoness Chapel which is tucked away amongst sessile oaks on the tidal Fleet estuary on the Solway. It was built in the late 18th century by the laird of Cardoness for his wife as a place of prayer and quiet contemplation. The chapel is one of the smallest in Scotland. It is never locked and when the tide is in you can sea kayak right up to the lovely sandy cove at its feet. At low water springs the tide retreats almost 3 kilometers over the Solway sands.



I will be talking about Fleet Bay in a future podcast on Simon Willis's site. The Solway is a much neglected part of Scotland's coastline but it is full of surprises. At the moment it is coming up to the end of University term and at the hospital lots of people are wanting to be seen before Christmas. In a word, my life is frantic at this time of year. I find the view from the Chapel window helps to restore tranquility.