{"id":1985,"date":"2025-11-08T10:38:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T11:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moviestarpoker.com\/?p=1985"},"modified":"2025-11-11T11:39:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T11:39:19","slug":"pixels-schmixles-what-you-can-do-with-a-low-res-digital-camera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.moviestarpoker.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/08\/pixels-schmixles-what-you-can-do-with-a-low-res-digital-camera\/","title":{"rendered":"Pixels Schmixles\u2014What YOU Can Do With a Low-Res Digital Camera"},"content":{"rendered":"
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What\u2019s the best thing to do with an old, sub-2-megapixel camera? Go out and capture some remarkable images, that\u2019s what.<\/p>\n

Can you take good pictures with a 1.2-megapixel camera? Can anyone? Here\u2019s a small album of images shot with a diminutive Sony CyberShot DSC U10 to challenge your preconceptions. The images were all captured 20+ years ago at various locations in the US, Germany and Japan.<\/p>\n

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About the Camera<\/strong>
\nIf the Sony CyberShot DSC U10 has a superpower, it\u2019s its tiny size. Introduced in 2002, the Sony U10 is small, just 3.3 x 1.1 x 1.6 inches (85 x 29 x 40 mm) and weighs a scant 4.2 ounces (118 g). That makes is scarcely larger than a roll of Lifesavers candy (which measures 2.9 x 0.9 inches).<\/p>\n

By all metrics, the Sony DSC U10 is grossly underpowered in today\u2019s world. It has a non-zooming f\/2.8 lens (33mm equivalent) and a 1.2-megapixel (effective) 1\/2.7 type CCD. Maximum image size is 1280 x 960 pixels. Video capture is MPEG1 and \u2013 get this \u2013 it records video without audio. Silent movies.<\/p>\n

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Sony\u2019s CyberShot DSC U10 Owner’s Manual (p. 7) warns users to keep fingers out of the way.<\/div>\n

The U10 uses Memory Stick recording media and is powered by a pair of AAA-size NiMH batteries. There is a sliding lens cover and built-in flash on the front, and a 2.5 cm (1-inch) LCD monitor with 293 x 220 dots on the back. Checking focus on a 1-inch monitor is nigh on impossible, unless you use a microscope.<\/p>\n

But the point is this: none of the technology matters.<\/p>\n

Text continues after this small gallery of images shot with a Sony CyberShot DSC U10.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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A side street in Cologne, Germany after dark. Minor post-processing, mainly noise reduction. The halation around the lighting sconces would look entirely different had this image been shot with a 12 or even 6 megapixel camera. Sony CyberShot DSC U10, ISO 320, f\/2.8, 1\/30 \u00a9 Jon Sienkiewicz<\/div>\n

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The Reader, Westchester, NY. For a very early version of a digital image signal processor, the U10\u2019s ASIC handled the dynamic range rather well. Sony CyberShot DSC U10, ISO 100, f\/4.5, 1\/500 \u00a9 Jon Sienkiewicz<\/div>\n

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Stairwell in hotel in Germany. Excellent sharpness from such a tiny lens. B&W conversion in Nik Silver Efex Pro 3. Sony CyberShot DSC U10, ISO 320, f\/2.8, 1\/30 \u00a9 Jon Sienkiewicz<\/div>\n

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My reflection in a traffic mirror in Katano-shi, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, on a gray, rainy day in 2002. Sony CyberShot DSC U10, ISO 100, f\/4, 1\/60 \u00a9 Jon Sienkiewicz<\/div>\n

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Self-service counter displaying tethered cameras at a progressive camera\/electronics store in Germany. The hanging sign near the top-center that reads, “Walkmen” revels the age of this photo. Sony CyberShot DSC U10, ISO 100, f\/2.8, 1\/30 \u00a9 Jon Sienkiewicz<\/div>\n

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Atlantic City, USA. Empty lot in 2002. Telephone number pixelated to protect the innocent. Sony CyberShot DSC U10, ISO 100, f\/5.6, 1\/800 \u00a9 Jon Sienkiewicz<\/div>\n

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Trendy, colorful sunglasses in Tokyo. Sony CyberShot DSC U10, ISO 100, f\/2.8, 1\/80 \u00a9 Jon Sienkiewicz<\/div>\n

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Earth-tone wax candles, Soho, NYC, USA. Sony CyberShot DSC U10, ISO 100, f\/2.8, 1\/30 \u00a9 Jon Sienkiewicz<\/div>\n

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Camel rides in Osaka, Japan. Probably not what you expect to find in a typical Japanese tour book. Sony CyberShot DSC U10, ISO 100, f\/4, 1\/400 \u00a9 Jon Sienkiewicz<\/div>\n

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Photographer and photo industry luminary Steve Rosenbaum in Cologne, Germany, 2002, shooting Infrared (IR) with a Minolta DiMAGE 7 and a red filter. Sony CyberShot DSC U10, ISO 100, f\/2.8, 1\/40 (Note: Steve is the one on the lower left\u2014on the right, that’s Helga, a lady we met on a Kneipentour the night before.) \u00a9 Jon Sienkiewicz<\/div>\n

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Sony CyberShot DSC U10 promotional poster near Photokina site in Cologne, Germany. Sony CyberShot DSC U10, ISO 100, f\/4, 1\/125 \u00a9 Jon Sienkiewicz<\/div>\n

Ready to Challenge Yourself?<\/strong>
\nLegend has it that two world-class golfers, Lee Trevino and Chi Chi Rodriguez, once competed against each other using only 5 irons. They hit their tee shots with the 5 iron, blasted out of sand traps with the 5 iron and putted with the 5 iron. USGA rules allow up to 14 clubs in the bag, so what were they trying to prove? Fancy clubs don\u2019t make great golf shots, great golfers do.<\/p>\n

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If you want to try your hand with a Sony CyberShot U-camera, you have a couple choices beyond the U10 used in this story. Sony followed the DSC U10 with the U20, a 2-megapixel version (1\/2.7, 6.72mm CCD and same lens, etc.) and later with the U30. The U30 featured a Super HAD (Hole Accumulation Diode) CCD but was still 2-mega. The DSC U40, which was available in four colors, came next, and then the really cool underwater version, the CyberShot U60. Clearly, Sony built a complete lineup based on the small form factor. Looking back, it\u2019s probably a good thing that Sony chose to abbreviate HAD instead of trying to explain what \u201cHole Accumulation Diode\u201d means.<\/div>\n

Challenge yourself with a low-res digital camera, 1.2 preferred but definitely not higher than 2-megapixel. No, you cannot merely set your high-res camera to 1280 x 960 (or similar) because you would still be using the enhanced image signal processing, superior lens and other advanced features.<\/p>\n

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This image was captured with a Sony DSC U20, an “advanced” 2-megapixel member of the Sony CyberShot U family, in 2003 at Astroland Park, Coney Island, Brooklyn. Sony CyberShot DSC U10, ISO 100, f\/5.6, 1\/1250 \u00a9 Jon Sienkiewicz<\/div>\n

Yes, you can improve your images with a little post-processing. It\u2019s not cheating when you consider that nowadays all cameras manipulate image files extensively before saving them as JPEGs. In fact, when you inspect the Raw files from some popular cameras, the results are repulsive in comparison to the clean, sharp, colorful JPEGs they spit out.<\/p>\n

What’s in YOUR Closet?<\/strong>
\nPut away your phone and use what you own. We guarantee you’ll have fun.<\/p>\n

Data for image of tulips<\/strong> at the top of this story: Sony CyberShot DSC U10, ISO 100, f\/2.8, 1\/80 \u00a9 Jon Sienkiewicz<\/p>\n

\u2014Jon Sienkiewicz<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s the best thing to do with an old, sub-2-megapixel camera? Go out and capture some remarkable images, that\u2019s what. Can you take good pictures with a 1.2-megapixel camera? Can anyone? Here\u2019s a small album of images shot with a diminutive Sony CyberShot DSC U10 to challenge your preconceptions. The images were all captured 20+ […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1987,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.moviestarpoker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1985"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.moviestarpoker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.moviestarpoker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.moviestarpoker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.moviestarpoker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1985"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.moviestarpoker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1986,"href":"http:\/\/www.moviestarpoker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1985\/revisions\/1986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.moviestarpoker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.moviestarpoker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.moviestarpoker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.moviestarpoker.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}