£110

16 MP
10x Optical Zoom
Focal range 25-250mm
16 CCD sensor
1.7 inch LCD screen
720p HD videos
SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot

Overview

Another of the Nikon Coolpix range, the S6200 is a nice and simple compact camera packed full of features. It feels nice to hold, weighing only 160g and the buttons are simple and large enough to use. A scroll wheel allows for quicker menu navigation and everything is easy to learn and fairly self-explanatory. You will rarely need to refer to the owner’s manual, depending on how tech comfortable you are.

Battery life is superb and the battery pack with charger lasts for hours and hours, although you do need to make sure it is fully charged before you go out. It takes a few days before my camera dies, using it every so often each day. Or it will last at least a full day of heavy use.

Performance

Images

Pictures are colourful and vibrant, although not completely accurate, with very little noise at low sensitivities. Definition is clear and crisp with a lot of detail. At high sensitivity the noise increases and colour saturation drops, although it is not a complete disaster. There are many setting to play with to get the best image of what you are shooting and colour settings allow adjustment of vibrancy for more realistic colour scales.

Video

Clear, sharp and smooth. I love the one touch video button for quick shooting. As soon as you see something you can pull the camera out and press one button to record. In every day life videos are often shot without planning so this is a highly used feature. The sound quality is good and clear, even with loud concert filming the volume is controlled to try to produce the best sound without too much distort and noise. However it is not perfect. The auto-focus is rather rubbish and don’t you dare touch that zoom button! You need to make sure the image is how you want and focused, then start filming and do not change it. The focus does not adjust well if you zoom in during filming and all you end up with is a blurry image.Very disappointing, but regardless videos are brilliant otherwise.

[Find samples at the bottom of this post].

Features

You can play and adjust the picture settings quite a lot with various scenes, MP change, contrast, white balance, ISO, shooting modes, colour adjustment and selection, focus modes, quick-retouch and subject tracking features.

I particularly like the colour selection tool and you’re able to do this when retouching photos already taken. It works really well, even though the colour scale is basic it does rival simple photoshop jobs!

Disappointedly the close-up, panorama, pet & sports scenes are pretty rubbish. Close-up mode looks brilliant once you get focus but I’ve struggled getting very close to objects. My basic camera phone can focus closer up than the coolpix can. The panorama mode confuses me and the ghost effect is ok but hard to match up. My smartphone has a much better panorama setting which guides you into the right place and the results are much better. I would love to see this method on the camera. Finally sports and pets mode are not good. Photos blur very easily and a ghost appears with the slightest movement. Surely not the point of sports mode?! I find taking pictures of moving objects is satisfying enough in auto mode, only the scene modes specifically for these occasions are poor.  Defeats the object really!

Regardless other scene modes work really well and the auto mode is generally successful, making up for the lack of performance in these areas.

Verdict

A great compact overall, but nothing special. It is not all round perfect and little niggles here and there leaves much room for improvement. However if you want a quick snap with great quality photos and videos then it is a brilliant camera. Some people will never find the issues as they may not be using it for all of its features. All round it is a nice performer and the 16MP combined with 10x optical zoom produces gorgeous results.

Sample Images

Sample Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41QRcMr4I_s&feature=g-upl - Mash up video of images & videos to music [some images & videos in this video are shot on camera phone and some are shot with the Nikon Coolpix 26200]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mdlpqwhru00&feature=g-upl Example performing live

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9guYWkhQQSY&feature=g-upl - video on full zoom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulOjiyDMjJQ&feature=g-upl - Wretch 32 performing live

5 minutes walk. 20 minutes run. 5 minutes walk.

This week has been tough and long. I’ve not kept to the schedule very well due to various things, so I’ve had a week in between runs at time. Not recommended, it definitely makes it much harder! However for one run I covered 2 miles! Another run it was 1.5 miles. Not bad! Laura is great as usual and talks at all the right times to keep you motivated. I do find the music a bit boring though, especially on long runs, but it is upbeat enough.

As usual I did it! Not too shabby. It was hard, i nearly gave up, I pushed and I feel good.
It’s very important to do your runs with only one day break, even if its raining or you’ve had a bad day get out there and have a run. You’ll feel worse if you have longer breaks.

On to Week 8! Nearly finished! But I shall keep it up.

Mow Cop, a tiny village situated in Staffordshire sitting 984ft up. On the peak of Mow Cop sits Mow Cop Castle, an iconic ruin which can be seen for many miles in all directions. There is a lovely local story regarding Mow Cop Castle. A rich man lived in Mow Cop, looking up at the top of the hill. He always thought that it would look better with something on the hill, so he built Mow Cop Castle to look like a ruin to create a nice sight.

The real story is a little more boring involving a rich man building a traditional summerhouse for the family, however enhancing the view also played a part in it!

In 1937 the deeds for the Castle and surrounding lands were handed over to the National Trust.

The Castle was recently repaired in 2002 with the foundations being reinforced and brickwork being pointed to increase the safety.

Killer Mile

The Mow Cop Killer Mile first started off in the late 1970′s by ICL (Kidsgrove) Athletics Club who often used the area for training. While looking for new events to run they found that there is an exact mile up Mow Cop without a single level step up and a total climb of over 550ft. Starting at the train crossing at the bottom the race runs up the length of Mow Cop and finishes at the Castle. This “brief but brutal” race route offers challenges to all runners, especially the 1-in-4 section past the popular Cheshire View pub. The race attracts professional runners as well as “daft” people raising money for charity.

Rode Heath Scout Group

Rode Heath is local to Mow Cop and the Scout Group often use the area for hiking and previously for climbing & abseiling. Always willing to take on a challenge & fund raise for charity, Rode Heath Explorers first took part in the Mow Cop Killer Mile in 2011 to raise money for Caudwell Charity, Merlin’s Magic Wand & Help For Heros. This year (2012) all members of the group were invited to take part and ages ranged from 7 to over 50! We all collected sponsers to raise money for Merlin’s Magic Wand, Help For Heros and for the Rode Heath Scout Group.

The Race

As you will see I have recently learnt to run with the help of Couch to 5k and have progressed to running 2 miles fairly comfortably. However nothing prepares you for running uphill all the way! Ouch! I started off fine, a nice gentle jog to the 1/4 mile way, but quickly stopped to walk. My thought is that there it is worse to push and push and push until I can’t walk. It is better to power walk and keep a good pace than be struggling. So the power walk began, for 1/2 a mile up to the steepest part at the Cheshire View. The real toughy is that you never recover, your muscles are working from start to finish so you can never stop and walk while you catch your breath. Last year for the steepest part my boyfriend Ash sprinted super fast up and this year he was watching. So off I went on a run up the steep part, and walked a bit at the top, spotted Ash and off I went jogging again to the finish! Phew. The last bit is lovely, it’s nearly flat and very short so you can end in style.

My time was: 14.55 minutes !!

Not bad for a mile up 550ft. Considering my average mile is about 12 minutes and a good mile is 10 minutes. I came 72/112. The fastest time was about 7 minutes! Boom! And the slowest 25 minutes!

Overall a very enjoyable event, yet so crazy tough. My calves felt like they were going to explode for most of it. But it’s over quickly and anyone can do it at any pace. In the middle you do feel like death & slightly ill, but it’s all over and done with soon.

A well deserved white wine to finish. Bring on 2013.

Related Articles:

Mow Cop Residents Association - Homepage

Hundreds take on Mow Cop Killer Mile Challenge – The Sentinel

Finished! My pace has slowed so bad after 2 weeks off, but that doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I kept going and I completed them.

Split into 3 runs. Each run starts and finishes with 5 minute walks.

Run 1 – 5 minute run. 3 minute walk. 8 minute run. 3 minute walk. 5 minute run.

Run 2 – 10 minutes run. 3 minute walk. 10 minute run.

Run 3 – 25 minute run.

This makes more sense now. Last week we increased through the week to a long run, then it has been important to go back to easier shorter runs and progress to a long run again. Next week we move on to longer runs every time.

Boy do I hurt now! I’ve really struggled with my stamina and breathing after my very pathetic cold & break. But I’ve managed fine and felt better each time. The 25 run was tough. I started off very well, then developed a horrible stitch that came and went. For the last 5 minutes it felt like a knife in my hip! But then I finished! Walked it off & feel a little sore, but good.

Now I can’t wait for next time and to keep improving! Brilliant program.

Related articles

• NHS Couch to 5K – Week 1 (ruthturner.wordpress.com)
• Week 2! NHS Couch to 5K (ruthturner.wordpress.com)
• Week 3! NHS Couch to 5K (inspired-weightloss.com)
• Week 4! NHS Couch to 5K (ruthturner.wordpress.com)
• Week 5! NHS Couch to 5K! (ruthturner.wordpress.com)
• Week 6 NHS Couch to 5k… Not yet completed (ruthturner.wordpress.com)

Apple iPod Classic 160GB 4/5*

(Bought new in 2009).

£180 approx.

The simple iPod with the mega memory! The Classic is rightly named for its basic features and chunky design. Apple have been the daddy of mp3 players since I was in school, a fleeting 5 years ago, and it was their original centre piece before they expanded to the phone and tablet markets.

A massive 160GB rivals many by holding 40,000 songs, 200 hours of video or 25,000 photos. The battery life will last you anything from 36-43 hours of constant music.

Design

The Classic comes in back or silver, with the standard spin wheel and four buttons. A lock button on the top accompanies the 3.5mm headphone jack, the best and only place it should be, with the standard Apple universal port in the bottom. The Classic is quite large but it is certainly robust. It doesn’t stretch your pocket but some people may find it too large and chunky compared to the other slimline options. Size comes with a bonus however, as well as allowing the big memory, it also makes the Classic durable. I have dropped and flung mine across all kinds of surfaces which only resulted in a few scratches or minimal chips.

Ease of Use

The menu screens are nice and simple with the Genius feature available, and there are lots of options for how you want to select your music. The scroll wheel is smooth and turns nicely, a large improvement on older iPod models. There are 4 simple buttons that have one or two commands which makes confusion almost impossible. Also the nice Menu+Play restart feature makes solving any technical glitch easy peasy. Not that there should be technical glitches Apple! I would like to see a way to add songs to playlists from the iPod, without needing to do it in iTunes.

Performance

The screen is crystal clear with lovely colours. Photos and videos appear beautiful, although the screen is rather small for sitting and watching for periods of time. Sound quality depends on your headphones and speakers so no comments can be made regarding, but I do find the sound through all of my devices very nice. The volume has great range. The battery life is stated by Apple to last for 36 hours and has been found to last for 43 hours playing music by review site studies. Mine gets played for a couple of hours a day and lasts at least a week! Battery charging does not take too long. The best battery device I have even owned!

My Niggles & My Grr!

One annoyance I’ve found is that when playing songs on the shuffle setting I still hear songs twice within quite a short space of time and there are songs that I doubt have ever or rarely been played. With 20GB of music, shuffle should be self-explanatory and not be bringing up the same songs.

However that is not the big issue! After owning mine for just over 1 year, and admittedly after numerous drops, it developed a problem. My iPod will play many songs and then randomly have trouble starting a song and remain silent, unplaying for around 3 minutes before then starting the song and continuing as normal. All the buttons work while this happens and the screen displays as normal, however the song simply does not start playing. If you select other songs they load but don’t start for a few minutes. Also very occasionally if you skip through a large number of songs it will freeze for a few moments. I have restored the iPod which did not solve the problem so I live with it. It does not happen frequently enough to the point that it is intolerable, but it is annoying.

Purpose

The Classic is for people who have and want lots of music, photos and/or videos. With the 16GB Nano being the next memory option for this price range, the Classic is the only affordable choice for it’s capacity. The nearest size is the 64GB iPod touch at a whopping £300+, a lot of which will be used up by apps unless you are a smartphone user, and then there is little reason to pay the money for a Touch. The Classic comes with some basic features of calendar, contacts, alarms, games, notes, stopwatch and a screen lock. It doesn’t have sexy features as this is a simple Classic with a simple purpose.

iTunes

A weakness or strength of joining the Apple club is iTunes and the compatibility, or lack of, of the device! Welcome to the exclusive zone. You cannot take music off of your iPod and put it onto your computer. I hate this! I have 160GB to use and I cannot store 160GB on my computer. Therefore I want to keep it on the iPod and take it off when I need to. Yes it does allow music to be passed around to other people, but if you paid for it then that is your right. Rant over, another weakness of iTunes is the format music is placed in before it goes onto your iPod. Not a standard mp3 file format, therefore requiring everything to be converted first, and anything you download from iTunes comes in that format. Regardless iTunes is good and easy to use. You can move music nicely and create lovely personalised playlists. Podcasts are easy to download and transfer. One problem I’ve seen is many movie files I have on file are not compatible to go on my iPod. I am clueless as to why.

Verdict

A brilliant device with a well defined purpose. This is not a does-everything mp3 player. This is an mp3 player for large amounts of music/photos/videos and a great, but small, screen for viewing. If only Apple could provide 100% reliability it would be flawless, but then what piece of technology is 100% reliability?! At least it comes with a reset function and you can fully restore them easily. A top choice!

My iPod, nicknamed Ruth’s Fatpod, is a place for lots of albums and songs to put on in the car and throughout the house, with never having the hear the same song twice. (Unless the shuffle setting does not understand its own meaning!) I have numerous playlists for different occasions and would be lost with a small sized iPod. I once owned a Zen which broke twice within a few days, I exchanged once and had a refund the second time. Apple have always had my heart for iPods, although we’ve had our ups and down. An old Nano of mine that once broke beyond repair was fine after being left in a draw for 6 months. Regardless of the fact I bought a new one within the 6 months, the point is that it fixed itself! Yes lots of things do appear to break on me. However I am still sticking in Apple iPod Classic camp for mp3s. A great buy.

All opinions and information expressed in this post are of the authors own. In no way does this post represent the views and opinion of Apple or any other technology company. Any decisions made as a result of the information given in this post are made at the individuals risk and the author can not be held responsible.

Related articles

• How To Fix An Apple iPod (answers.com)
• The iPod As Accessory (fabsugar.com)

I picked up a horrible cold a few weeks ago and it is persistently staying around in the form of a runny nose and horrible dry cough. Also at the same time I’ve been out of the house more evenings than normal so missed some of my scheduled runs due to that. Last weekend I attempted a gentle run to see how it would go and my chest felt horrible & I couldn’t breath as well as normally, I only managed about 3-4minutes of running before walking.
Not good.

I’m so dissapointed as my progress was going really well and I’ve been using it as part of training for a mile uphill run I’ve entered at the end of April. [The Mow Cop Killer Mile!]

So at the moment I’m waiting to start Week 6 from the start and try to get rid of my cold to complete it. I’m worried if I don’t get it done soon I’ll have to go back to Week 5 again as you really do lose fitness if you have a long break! My friend was telling me that if he doesn’t run for 2 weeks he really struggles afterwards.

Very inconvient timing! Stupid cold. But keep watching this space, Week 6 will be coming in a week – 14 days hopefully!

Wow!

Every session starts and finishes with a 5 minute warm-up and cool-down walk.

Run 1: 5 minute run. 3 minute walk. 5 minutes run. 3 minute walk. 5 minute run.

Run 2: 8 minutes run. 5 minute walk. 8 minute run.

Run 3: 20 minutes run.

Gosh! Having just completed Run 3, doing 5 minute runs in Run 1 feels so long ago! It felt like such an achievement. Each session I started off with a little bit of dread, then finished with a great feeling of elation and achievement! It sounds and feels like crazy progress but it really works. The big one is run 3, running for 20 minutes! I started off sure that I wouldn’t be able to do it, but quickly pushed that thought away and kept telling myself I could. Laura said I could do it too and I believed her!

It’s all about pacing yourself. Which is easy by now! Plus I find breathing nice and easy too! For the first few weeks I was panting away sucking in and out breath. During week 4 and 5 I’ve been able to concentrate on slow breathing, in through the nose and out through the mouth. I still breath in through my mouth sometimes and get a little out of breath but that’s fine.

I couldn’t believe it when I ran for 20 minutes tonight! The most I had done was 8 minutes and suddenly I’d done 20 minutes! The feeling is awesome. And it’s doo-able! Almost easy! When Laura told me there was 2 minutes left I started pushing faster and getting less tired, almost as if I’d hit a runners high! (If there is such a thing). I actually struggled less on my 20 minutes run than on my 8 minute runs. Wow. To think only 5 weeks ago I couldn’t really run for more than 2 minutes, and some people can’t even do that when they start this. Running with my dog outside in the fresh air is so beneficial as well, and it’s great for my dog! Although he finds it far easy than me being a Border Collie.

This plan really really works! And feels sooo good. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done so far.

Related articles

• NHS Couch to 5K – Week 1 (ruthturner.wordpress.com)
• Week 2! NHS Couch to 5k (ruthturner.wordpress.com
• Week 3! NHS Couch to 5K (ruthturner.wordpress.com)
• Week 4! NHS Couch to 5K (ruthturner.wordpress.com

No7 liquid foundation with hypoallergenic products (so they say) and SPF 15 protection.

This little tube of foundation comes in a limited choice of colours and will set you back around £14. No ingredient list is available but it mentions a gem complex of Ruby, Sapphire and Amethyst, ceramides, vitamin enriched formula, grape seed oil and an anti oxidant complex.

Sounds like all the right stuff, but without a detailed list you are allowed to be sceptical.

First Impressions

This is my first foundation. I chose it based on skin tone, ease of use and coverage amount. Tested first on the inside of my wrist and then on my face, this foundation smooths on and disappears like a dream! I am actually astonished by the perfect skin tone match of this foundation. Lucky me! Applied with two fingers it is easy to blend without patches or streaks. It provides a light, even coverage with no “foundation line” showing and a smooth skin appearance. It does not completely cover my spots and blemishes which is fine for me as I do not want my spots caked in foundation. However extra layers can be applied to provide heavier coverage or you can add concealer afterwards. I have combination skin, when wearing this foundation my face feels soft and smooth but sometimes slightly dry and powdery in places. The smell of the foundation is ok and does not linger.

Lasting impressions

The perfect invisible make-up. This foundation lasts ok-ish throughout the day and I have been for several jogs wearing it without streaks or mess. My skin appears smoother with less flaws, however there is no miracle dewy glow or light reflecting appearance as advertised by some brands. I haven’t noticed it rubbing off onto clothes at all, however it does come off onto a tissue a little when you blow your nose (sorry for that image).

Final verdict

A perfect match of flawless yet unnoticeable coverage. Everything a foundation should be. However not recommended for every day wear as liquid foundation can block pores. Easy for first time foundation users and quick application. Best done in blobs under your eyes, across cheeks, down jawlines and across forehead, then smoothed in with fingers. People with heavy blemishes and imperfections may need a thicker coverage however I would recommend adding concealer after applying a light layer.

5/5 Thank you No. 7!

Foundation should always match your skin-tone!

Natural not orange!

How To Choose Your Foundation

Types

• Liquid: Applies and blends easily and smoothly. Provides light coverage. Often contains oil and can clog up pores with every day use.
• Mousse or whipped: Easy to apply in thin layers. Good for all skin types, especially dry skin. Can be more expensive.
• Cream to powder: Applies easily like a liquid but dries to powder form. Minimizes oil and last all day. Can appear heavy, powder is visible.
• Minerals: Apply with a brush, starting with an invisible layer. Few ingredients and healthiest option. Good for people with sensitive skin or allergies. Takes some practise to apply.
• Tinted moisturiser: Added benefit of moisturiser, lighter than foundation, stays on all day. Provides light layer so additional concealer needed for blemishes.
• Compact: Nice & easy to apply but requires a light touch, very easy to apply heavily and often looks bad.

• Grease-based: For dry or scarred skin.
• Oil-based: Only for dry skin, these foundations are very heavy.
• Water-based: For hormonal, oily or blemished skin. This type is preferred by many make-up experts.
• Matt: For oily skin. Matt foundation must be applied quickly and blended thoroughly, however still often appear heavy and the power is visible.

To find the right tone for your skin you have to go out there and try them.

Test the foundation either on your neck or inside of your wrist. Not the back of your hand as the skin here is darker than your face. I prefer to test out on my wrist as it is subtly done, doesn’t require a mirror and can easily be washed off.

The foundation should disappear into your skin! If you can easily see the colour of the foundation, it is not your shade. If you are one of those people who for some bizarre reason want your foundation to be a different tone to your skin, or you want to change your skin tone using your foundation, then stop! If your foundation does not match your skin, then your face is going to be a different colour to your neck, shoulders, hands, and all other body parts! It does not look good.

Leave the foundation on your skin for a little while as it will change as it soaks in. Always try it out in natural sunlight, not artificial.

It’s as simple and easy as that to find your colour. Don’t try to judge colours based on the pictures in magazines or on the bottle as these never truly represent. Check the returns policy before buying, then try it at home once and return if you do not like it.

Ingredients

More and more foundations now have lovely ingredients that are good for your skin. You should look for foundation that contains any or all of the following; sun protection, moisturiser, antioxidants and vitamins.

But your ultimate choice should be based on the colour first, and texture.

Finally

If you skin changes colour in summer to winter then you should buy two different shades. Applying a tan colour foundation to pale winter skin will look horrendous.

Always start with a little foundation and build it up. You can always add more. – Ruby Hammer, Make-up Artist

Keep your health in mind. Most experts say that the best thing for your skin is to leave it clear of make-up. If you have few pores then use a very light amount of foundation to compliment your skin. If you have many blemishes only use foundation when you are most conscious about your skin and try a light amount then apply concealer onto any blemishes.

5 minutes warm up walk. 3 minutes running. 90 seconds walk. 5 minutes running. 2.5 minutes walk. 3 minutes running. 90 seconds walk. 5 minutes running. 5 minutes cool down walk.

I feel like I am saying this every week now, but oh my god that was tough. But good. But tough.

It’s very difficult to explain how I really feel. Each run I set off, I struggle, I do it, I felt better!

Before I put you off, I have felt the best during this week! The hardest work produces the best feeling! Also the noticeable progress throughout this week has been better than ever. During my last run of the week yesterday I felt really good and fit.

Yes my legs ache at the end and yes as I’m running for 5 minutes my legs start to feel like lead. But it’s all worth it. Let’s keep it up!

Related articles

• NHS Couch to 5K – Week 1 (ruthturner.wordpress.com)
• Week 2! NHS Couch to 5K (ruthturner.wordpress.com)
• Week 3! NHS Couch to 5K (ruthturner.wordpress.com)