Supporting Your Photography With the AAO

First I want to thank the the administrator(s) for putting up this forum. I think it will be a nice support system for photographers who are also Aspire One users. Please post a supporting comment here too if you agree and let's keep this forum as active as the others.

I migrated from film photography to digital photography full time in early 2004. I still have most of my film gear (Pentax and Tachihara) and I am comitted to Nikon for digital photography. I use the D200 (x2), D1X (x2), D2H, and D70 with a variety of Nikkor and Sigma lenses. For image editing I use a home built desktop system or a 17" notebook of desktop replacement caliber with Photoshop CS4 and PS Elements 7 plus a few selected plug-ins. I am not a pro.

I had an Epson P-2000 multimedia viewer that I used for storing and viewing images on extended shoots. Perhaps my expectations were too high but I thought is was slow and time consuming to use. Custom slide shows required way more image manipulation than the device could perform so I didn't use it for anything more than a warehouse. When I discovered the Aspire at Best Buy late last summer I knew immediately that this was the solution to my problems. In most regards it does not disappoint.

My AAO is the 9" XP/1GB/120HD version (blue) with a 9-cell battery. I may upgrade to 1.5GB of RAM but will not likely add a touch screen as I also have a 12" HP Pavilion Tablet. I have a very small custom MS office install and Photoshop Elements v7. Both work well. For accessories I've added a USB CF card reader, portable DVD writer, and a 500GB USB HD.

My only real niggles with the AAO is the layout and construction of the touchpad and buttons and the lack of a CF card slot since most serious digital SLRs use CF cards.

 

I too am not a pro photographer but shot hundreds of rolls of high speed aerial B&W (courtesy of the US Navy film lab) whilst in Viet Nam. I still look at them today on CD ROM and the best are on my AAO HDD. I now use a Fujifilm S700 which is a step-up digital camera and I love it. When my wife and I vacation, I transfer my pics to the AAO and look at and clean them up with ACDSee 9. (The built in card reader in the AAO is definitely a PLUS) I have been using ACDSee since version 3 and would not be without it. The newest costs about $49.95 I think, and well worth it. Fast Stone Image Viewer is also very good and its free. IrfanView is also free and it will take almost all of the Photoshop addons. I love taking pictures and am so glad prices continue to drop on digital equipment. Maybe you could find a CF card reader and just plug it into a USB slot. I know it's a pain but the CF just isn't as popular as some of the others, and besides that it's BIG.

 

I have a number of CF carders. My point was that a CF reader built in to an AAO would be a big attraction to photographers as most digital SLRs still use them. Built-in is always preferable to add on IMO.

 

Are there any laptops (regardless of size) that have CF readers in them? I don't know of any, i would love to find one since I much prefer the convenience over using a usb cf card reader.

 

Toshiba was one of the first to have Express 54 card (PC Card compatible) slots on many (maybe all) of their models. My 15" Toshiba and 17" HP have them.

 

The IBM X31 laptop has a native CF card slot.
If you want to be really tricky then you can get a CFto SD card adapter and use SD cards in your CF card camera. It works for my Nikon D3, D300 and D700 cameras. The cards then go straight into the AAO.

I use the AAO for my image work and viewing when on the move.

I have just bought a second AAO to test build with OSX so I can load Photoshop on it.
If that works well then I'm a total convert to the AAO for my mobile work. Small is good in foreign places.
The smaller screen is not an issue as the AAO is less breakable than my X31.

Under Fedora 10 I can run all my regular RAW conversion software Bibble 4, but I dont have Photoshop under Linux. I have loaded GIMP2.6but still havent started to get to grips with this.
I wish I had some of my other Linux software for viewing but some of the linux image viewers are almost as good as FastStone (Windows only) or the OSX Preview application.

The AAO can multiboot Linux, Windows and OSX so it is perfect with a 120GB or 250GB harddisk.
I then have an externally powered 500GB hard disk that is USB attached to put my images onto.

BTW: I would not try serious image editing with the AAO as the screen is just too small but for quick fixes its OK.

 

Hello,

I'm just a hobbyist, but one of the reasons I purchased the AAO was so I can use it when I'm traveling or use it on site. I took the SSD version too for its price and the sturdiness that comes with using SSD. Battery life would be the key issue with this. So now I am looking to purchase a larger capacity battery.

I have tried loading it with linpus+gimp+photoshop CS2, it work ok, except for some windowing issues with photoshop. CS2 is probably the best photoshop version to use with gimp. But ended up using tiny xp. The 1.6Ghz Atom might not be enough though for the more processor intensive tools like liquify. But overall, for it's portability and sturdiness, the AAO has been great for me.

 

You can install photoshop in linux through a software called wine. Though, the speed might not be as fast as on OSX or windows.

 

I don't think that's true at all. Some pro DSLRs and P&Ss that are a few years old (eg a Canon A95 I bought in 2005) still use CF cards but, in my experience, the vast majority of new digital cameras use SD/SDHC cards, and CF (and XD) cards are essentially dying away.

As well, most other devices (eg phones, mp3 players, GPS units etc) use SD in some way, shape or form, and it's fast becoming the "standard" format.

 

Not make too fine a point of it, but all my 6 Nikon bodies use CF cards and most legacy systems (of which many are still in service) do (did). I have considered trying an adapter which allows the use of and SD card in a CF card holder. A viable alternative I think for users who don't have a large investment in CF cards. SD are cheaper generally too.

 

Say 2 years ago, I would have agreed with you about the high use of CF cards, but a lot has changed since.

I traded the Canon A95 (CF card) about a year ago for a Canon A560 (SD card) because it was fast becoming apparent that CF was essentially on the way down. I've subsequently replaced the A560 with a Panasonic DMC-TZ5, and bought a Nikon D40x (both SD).

Change in digital cameras is now so rapid that, apart from some older high-end Nikons and Canons, owning a "legacy system" won't mean much for most people as they trade up for a cheaper and better product which will almost certainly use an SD card (maybe even a Mini or Micro SD as the cameras get physically smaller/lighter) notwithstanding any supposed advantages of the CF system.

The rapid demise of the theoretically better Betamax video system in favour of VHS is a good example of what happens when the majority of hardware manufacturers get behind a particular format, as is happening now with SD (and its derivatives).

 

I agree generally. I just think that there are enough CF user out there that, given the number of laptop systems supporting PC card/ExpressCard internally, a netbook that does will separate itself from the pack (for photographers).

 

The statement about older high end Nikons and Canons is not true..... Current Pro level DSLR bodieson both Nikon and Canon still use CF Cards. And will continue to do so, since CF is still more robust/reliable than SD cards. Only the mid level and entry level DSLRs use SD.

 

Fair enough, but the Aspire One is aimed squarely at the _mass_ Netbook market (not photo professionals), very few of whom would own cameras with CF cards these days (or they won't next time they trade up, viz my Canon A95).

I doubt that Acer would get any comparative advantage by incorporating a CF reader, and the additional cost (small at the manufacturing level, much higher at retail) could be a market disincentive for the vast majority of buyers who don't want/need it in the first place.

I've just moved from An ASUS Eee and, to me, having two SD slots on the Aspire One (the Eee has one) is FAR more useful than a CF slot.

 

I agree, CF readers on notebooks/netbooks is not practical.... I was only clarifying the statement about the use of CF cards on modern cameras, they are still used by all mid level/pro camera bodies.

 

CF or SD is really not an issue.

I use Nikon professional kit as I work professionally and do landscape, flamenco and portrait images.
I always shoot RAW. However since I use Bibble I can use any platform I choose for RAW processing (Linux, Mac OSX or Windows).
The AAO is not designed for heavyweight use but it does allow me to have a look on a 9" screen rather than a 3" screen my images as they come off the camera.
The AAO is not really powerful enough to do image editing but as a viewing platform for the field it is great and much less bulky and heavy than my MacbookPro or Windows desktop machine!!!

BTW: If you use Bibble it will allows download of images from camera to PC.

For Bibble check here.
http://www.bibblelalbs.com/

 

Hello,

I have a couple Canon cameras with CF storage, I agree it would be nice to have a CF reader but I don't really want to bother with the huge file size of an image coming from the camera with all the info i.e. date/time/lens etc that is in the image file.

I love the acer and the Canon, but I will stick with the Canon Zoom Browser software for viewing and editing and then transfer files to the Acer later.

Scott

 

I have a Canon Powershot S100 (the very first one) purchased 04/01/2000 for $640.00 with an 8 MG chip, upgraded to 32MG chip for $107.50. What a price at the time.

I now have in addition a Canon DSLR XTi 8 megapixel (granted, this is the low end) with a 70-200mm L f/4, and a 50mm prime f/1.4. Outstanding lenses. I upgraded to a 2GB chip for $50.00. It will allow me to save 525 pictures at maximum res, (who needs that? 525 photos, come on).

I download using the Canon Zoom Browser software on a Windows Vista machine. I am going to work with Linux in the future but I love the INFO features on the Zoom Browser program.

Scott

 

The AAO is great for me, but if you're a photographer, the best netbook choice would be the HP 2133 or 1000. Both have an expresscard slot that takes standard CF adapters. The 2133 also has the highest resolution screen of any netbook (1280x768), supports 2gb ram and has an almost full-size keyboard too. The $800 price is what made me decide on the Acer, but for field work, the hp is better suited.

 

$20 CF card reader from Walmart. Problem solved... both forms of media are cheap and tough enough to withstand several trips to the wash. I don't think either media is more Pro than the other. Both are so good that they are no longer a REAL factor.

If you wanted to pick something to complain then how about the screen resolution only being 1024x600 instead of 1024x768 which is the minimum screen resolution required for ACR, Bridge and Photoshop. For me 1024x600 is almost a deal killer because I only shoot RAW and always process in ACR. I have to force 1024x768 to work in ACR and it makes everyone look short and stumpy. Imagine a 6'1" blond bombshell looking like Verne Troyer's little sister. NOW THAT SUCKS!