Last week I was in Berlin for a few days and was able to gain many interesting impressions, which I would like to describe below. The short trip to Berlin was also an excellent opportunity to put my relatively new Nikon Coolpix P300 through its paces - so the picture galleries in this article are all from the Nikon P300. The days in Berlin were exciting, and I was able to admire an original Microsoft Surface table for the first time, which is part of the equipment of the "Q110 - The Deutsche Bank of the Future" branch in Friedrichstraße. But first things first. First, I'd like to explain why it's a good idea for business travelers to leave the car at home, and then I'll tell you what I experienced in Berlin.
Travel to Berlin quickly and cheaply by train
So first of all: I am in no way paid, sponsored or whatever by Deutsche Bahn. But when it comes to price/performance ratio, the train is ahead in terms of logistics. By car, with an average fuel consumption of eight liters per 100 kilometers and just under 1,000 kilometers for the outward and return journey, and a fuel price of around 1.70 euros, the pure fuel costs would be 136 euros. The total cost of the car, at a moderate 0.25 euros per kilometer, is around 250 euros. In addition, you have to drive the car yourself, which is not always a pleasure, especially on the A1 towards Hamburg, and takes at least four hours in total. The train can do this better: if you book early enough, you can get a train ticket for the outward and return journey for 2nd class at a price of 108 euros, for 1st class at the hammer price of 128 euros, plus reservation if necessary. The total journey takes just three hours and 40 minutes, and in my case I had to change trains once. Apart from a ten-minute delay on one ICE train, all trains were on time to the minute and everything went smoothly.
mStore exhibition in "Q110 - The Deutsche Bank of the future"
mStore, Germany's largest Apple Premium Reseller and also located in Oldenburg, is showing how Apple products can simplify everyday life and increase convenience in the "Connected Living" exhibition at "Q110 - The Deutsche Bank of the Future" until the end of April. Exactly my topic, so I gladly went there to take a closer look. Once there, I was greeted very professionally by a friendly Deutsche Bank employee and given a tour of the building. If you would like to find out more about the exhibition and "Q110 - The Deutsche Bank of the Future", you can find more information in my article on the Apple portal Mac@Biz. Here are a few photos of Q110:
The new iPad 3 in the mStore Berlin
The new iPad 3 was one of the other things that interested me. In the mStore Berlin in Bismarckstraße, I found what I was looking for and was able to see the new generation of iPad in person. Literally, because the new display is really amazing! It's obvious, considering that the resolution of the iPad 3 is now higher than that of a standard 46-inch television. Apart from that, the device is very similar to the iPad 2, although I could definitely feel the extra 50 grams of weight of the new device. As expected, the camera on the new iPad is very good and surprisingly bright.
Apple store on Kurfürstendamm still "rudimentary"
Since I'm already in Berlin and my hotel is in Wilmersdorf, I naturally also took a look at the unfinished Apple store on Kurfürstendamm. But only from a distance, because I've just realized that I haven't even been on the street side of the Apple store in all these days... 😉 Here's the current status:
Great photos and videos with the Nikon P300
A few months ago, I was looking for a camera that was as compact as possible, but still delivered very good quality photos and videos. I found out that the only cameras I could consider for my requirements were the Nikon P300, Olympus ZX-1, Canon S95 or Canon S100. However, as always, every camera has its advantages and disadvantages. The Olympus ZX-1, for example, is the largest in terms of body size, so it is still compact, but not as delicate as the other candidates, and it only makes 720p video with an outdated file format - but it has a relatively large sensor and a very good 4x zoom lens with an aperture of F1.8-2.5. The Canon S95 is a great (photo) camera with a very good sensor at about the same level as the Olympus, but not quite as fast. Although the Canon records videos in 1080p Full HD resolution, it unfortunately does not allow zoom or other parameter changes during filming. In this respect, the successor, the S100, has improved, but at just under 400 euros it is still not exactly a bargain.
That leaves the Nikon P300, which I bought a few months ago from Amazon at a very good price of around 190 euros - the RRP for this camera is 330 euros. The Nikon P300 is very similar in size to the Canon S95. It has a rotary switch on the top for the shooting mode, zoom rocker with shutter release, on/off switch and another selection dial for settings and the menu. The rear of the camera has a separate shutter release for video recording, additional controls for menu navigation and a phenomenally good display with almost one million pixels. The lens is also excellent, with a zoom range of 24-100 mm and a lens speed of F1.8-4.9. I think the little Nikon produces really excellent photos for this price, but just see for yourself. All photos are unprocessed and taken directly from the camera.
Test video with unintentionally funny situation
When I was strolling across Wittenbergplatz in Berlin, a literally small band was playing, which didn't sound too bad (although the song before the one on the movie was better, but now...). Interesting on this movie is the nice gentleman with the green sweater at the end - you can't get rid of the feeling that he feels a little oppressed at that moment. But just see for yourself... 🙂
Conclusion: Berlin is always worth a visit.
I think you can always feel at home in Berlin and, above all, you can experience exactly the things that interest you in a very short time. I was pleased to have visited this beautiful city and friends from the Apple, SEO and FileMaker world once again, and it was great to always have the little Nikon with me, which I think did a really good job for the price. I was impressed by the mStore exhibition, the only thing I noticed was that the Microsoft Surface tables were light years behind the iPad in terms of usability. But maybe there will be something new. With this in mind, I wish all readers a great time, perhaps in Berlin or Oldenburg 🙂