My new digital camera has a panorama photo feature. I discovered that if you tilt the camera back and forth as you pan, you get this kind of cool wavy effect. Please click on the photos to get the full effect of the panorama.

This is the view from my apartment.

This is the Shinobazu Ike in Ueno Park.

Here’s a train platform in Ueno Station.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately! I was trying to update this blog once a week, but it looks like I was a little ambitious. My new goal is “a couple of times a month.”
The big reason I haven’t been able to do many updates is that having a baby makes it difficult to go out and take pictures. I think I’ve solved that problem, though, by buying an EVIL camera, the Sony NEX-3. In case you don’t know, EVIL stands for Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens. It’s basically an SLR with no viewfinder. You use the screen on the back of the camera to compose your photos, and because there’s no viewfinder, they don’t need to put a mirror inside it, making the body almost as small as a compact digital camera.
Despite its small size, the lens and sensor are great, and the photos are about the same quality as an entry-level DSLR. The ISO is also excellent, which is why I chose it over other cameras like the Olympus Pen. I’m not afraid to take it up to 1,600, or 3,200 in a pinch.
It’s easy for my wife to use as a point-and-shoot, but also offers full control of the shutter, aperture, and focus for me. I’d really recommend it for anyone looking for a reasonably priced, easy-to-carry camera that takes excellent photos.

By the way, if you’re thinking about buying one, Yodobashi and Sofmap charge over 60,000 yen for the double lens kit, but I found it at a little shop called Akiba Oroshiuri Center in Yushima for 50,000. It’s basically an online shop, and they do most of their business through Kakaku.com, a famous price-comparison site, but when I went there in person, the owner let me open up the box, and he had excellent product knowledge (Address: Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Yushima, 3-27-12. Tel. 03-5818-8135 / FAX. 03-5818-8156). I’ve always been leery of buying from kakaku.com before, but now I think I was crazy for not trying it before.