Of course with no zoom features on the camera it in no way replaces my Panasonic GH4. The video below of the polar bears playing in the water at Yorkshire Wildlife Park is only possible because of the zoom lens on the camera. Considering that the camera was hand held on its maximum zoom for this video it shows how good the stabilisation system is on my Panasonic GH4 providing you make an effort to hold the camera steady and don't walk about with it.
Thursday, 15 December 2016
Planning For Next Year
Well Thursday was back to normal for this December as Wednesday's sunshine disappeared to be replaced by dull, damp and murky conditions. The temperature is generally remaining above average and at the moment it looks like December might finish up milder than November. However, there's still plenty of time for things to change before the end of the year.
We've already started to think about our seed order for next year. I brought in a bucketful of potatoes from the garage for use over the next few weeks. They've been stored in potato sacks in the garage since some were lifted in the middle of August and the remainder towards the end of September.
Second Early Potato - Kestrel
This is one variety we will be growing again next year. It produced a good looking crop of decent sized potatoes which were almost free of slug damage. Slugs can devastate crops on our clayey soil. I've since read that Kestrel is considered to be one of the best varieties for slug resistance. What's more it tastes good too and we've found it good for both mash and chips but we've still to try some jacket potatoes.
Another decision is that we will be growing Casablanca as a first early. The remainder of the crop is to be decided.
Friday, 16 December 2016
Parsnip Heaven
After a bit of a dull start it cleared up nicely on Friday and we decided on a visit to the plot for some fresh veggies. I posted a week or so ago that we thought our parsnip harvest was doomed this year to poor germination back in spring. However, the parsnips that did germinate have gone on to do very well indeed - well the ones we've harvested so far.
Parsnips - Gladiator
These were dug up on Friday and weighed in at around 3kg or 6.5lbs. The parsnips I'd lifted over the last few weeks were all free of canker. Now I'd like to say that was the same for those lifted on Friday but rather oddly one root lifted had succumbed to a bad attack.
It's not a pretty sight is it? I almost forgot to take its picture as once I realised how badly affected it was I immediately consigned it to the compost heap. After all we had plenty of good parsnips without resorting to sorting out this canker ridden specimen. I had to rummage around amongst the newly added compost to retrieve the discarded root. Thinking a little bit more about it perhaps it shouldn't go on the compost heap at all in order to prevent the spread of the disease.
All the other parsnips were clear of canker apart from one with a blemish around the crown which will not be much more than skin deep. I think we'll be sticking with Gladiator for next year.
Saturday, 17 December 2016
Action Camera - DJI Osmo
If you use a camera you know how important it is to keep the camera perfectly still when you take a picture to avoid a blurry image. Camera manufacturers have come up with optical stabilisation systems to help you keep your camera steady so that you can take the perfect shot. Now of course the same is true if you are shooting video rather than still images but in the case of video you may want to move the camera to keep following a moving subject. This puts extra strain on any stabilisation system when trying to shoot video with a moving camera.
LNER Class A4 60009 Union of South Africa speeds towards York with a Charter Train
Stabilisation systems don't work so well if you start to walk around with your camera. I know because I tried it out on the allotment to see if I could walk around the plot and take some video with my Panasonic GH4. It didn't work and the resulting video tended to make me feel a bit seasick watching it and I gave up on the idea.
Then, as I said before, there was a new kid on the block. Not to replace what my existing Panasonic camera was capable of but to add a new dimension to my videos. The new kid was the DJI Osmo. Simply put the Osmo consists of the same tiny camera that's used in a drone and the technological wizardry to keep the camera perfectly steady when hand held rather than being mounted beneath an air born drone. It captures 4k video and can capture still images too.
DJI Osmo Camera
I've added a few accessories as the built in microphone is useless. The Osmo doesn't have any sort of viewfinder to enable you to see what you are filming but connects to a mobile phone using a WiFi connection. With the aid of a free app it's possible to see what the camera lens sees as well as operating the camera and gimbal all from your mobile phone screen.
View on mobile phone with Osmo looking out of window
Of course you can do much more on screen too like setting up the Osmo to take video or still images as well as operating the camera shutter.
Basic DJI Osmo set up
The main advantage of the DJI Osmo is that it really does keep its camera remarkable stable even when walking around with it. Check out the following video taken on our allotment comparing a little walk with my Panasonic GH4 and DJI Osmo.
I'm right handed and gave the GH4 the benefit of being held in my right hand and the Osmo in my left hand. The pictures below indicate how I held each camera except I swapped hands to make the video using what I consider to be my steadier hand for the Panasonic GH4.
My only reservation with the DJI Osmo is the time it takes to get set up. There's the WiFi connection to set up and the app to load up on my phone and usually a rather lengthy delay before an image of what the Osmo is seeing appears on my phone. When it goes wrong it's very frustrating but when it goes right the results are brilliant. I've included the clip below which turned out pretty well. To get the full benefit of 4k you'll need to watch it on YouTube with the HD setting on 2160p 4k.
Of course you have to have some idea of where I was in relation to the polar bears to understand why a telephoto lens was essential.
On this wide angle view you can see the small island constructed out of stone in the middle of the lake. A good zoom lens is required to capture some good images of the polar bears.
With all its accessories added my DJI Osmo looks like this:
As you can imagine it's not that easy to carry around assembled but I'm still experimenting with how to transport it about and put it to its best use. I'll save that for another post.
Sunday, 18 December 2016
Heaps of the Stuff
It wasn't too bad a weekend. Saturday was the better of the two days with a little bit more sunshine. Temperatures were about average for the time of year and it stayed dry.
Temperature and Solar Radiation Records for 17-19 December 2016
On Friday I finished emptying one of the compost bins on the plot. Well, I call it a bin, it's really a large heap contained by pallets and old fencing panels. After been left for a year or so it's produced some good quality compost.
There's still some material around the edges of the emptied bay but I intend to spread the remainder over the bottom of the bay to start a new heap. The material around the edges needs to break down a little bit more before being spread on the plot.
The compost has been spread around the pear trees, (trying to avoid most of the candytuft seedlings), rhubarb roots, raspberry and blackberry canes, and gooseberry bushes.
My plan was to empty the contents of the adjacent compost bay into the newly emptied one. This would be a way of turning the heap for a final time. However, to my surprise when the compost material was uncovered the compost was ready to be used.
I've already managed to dig out five barrow loads of good compost and started to spread the material over empty beds before digging it into the ground in spring. I'm going to be fairly busy empting out this bay over the next few weeks. Then, once this bay is emptied, the adjacent heap which is full of what I'll call "weeds" can be turned into this bay. It's not easy this composting lark is it?
Monday - Wednesday, 19-21 December 2016
Winter's First Milestone
The last few days haven't been too bad for the middle of December. Wednesday marked the winter solstice so now we are past the shortest day of the year. I somehow think of this as been the first milestone of winter whereas it really only marks the official start of winter.
Temperature & Solar radiation Records for Wednesday 21 December 2016
You can see the approximate time my weather station picks up and looses solar radiation readings for the winter solstice. Ossett's official sunrise was 08:21 with sunset at 15:47 giving us 7 hours and 26 minutes of daylight. The daylight hours will now continue to increase up to the summer solstice on 21 June 2017 when sunrise will be at 04:36 and sunset at 21:40 giving us 17 hours and 4 minutes of daylight.
We had a little trip out on Wednesday to see the last of the Christmas steam charter trains running to York.
LMS Coronation Class 8P 4-6-2 no 46233 Duchess of Sutherland with The Christmas White Rose to York
There was a stiff breeze, with spots of rain mixed in, so the conditions certainly weren't ideal especially as smoke from the locomotive obscured the view of the carriages.
Disclaimer
This weather site is operated as an amateur weather station site and should not be used as official data. I make every effort to ensure my data is as accurate as possible but I cannot guarantee that the data meets the requirements of the Meteorological Office or other professional weather monitoring organisations.
©M Garrett 2016