I think it is more broken that there is a special setting for airplanes... what exactly would change?

oh... FIRST!

Posted by: VHoratio at February 20, 2007 01:31 AM

I agree with VHoratio; what's the point of that setting?

My Sony DVD videocam is more broken than this. If I put in any other brand of DVD, every time I turn it on it says "SONY DISC RECOMMENDED" for about three seconds before I can actually use the camera. Why? So Sony can make more money, of course; other brands of disks work just fine.

Posted by: stoo at February 20, 2007 07:35 AM

I don't really see what's broken, as long as you are easily able to continue on (press one button to get out of the screen and be able to take pictures). It is actually fairly good advice.

Besides, I hate to say it, but I bet that is some legal thing they were forced to put in because of the lawsuit happy society we live in. I could actually see someone suing the camera makers because they were trying to take a picture during a landing, and the camera smacked into their teeth, breaking one or more of them. The person would then sue the camera maker for failing to warn them about the dangers of taking a picture at that time.

Posted by: Memnon at February 20, 2007 12:58 PM

Wanna bet the only thing the "special airplane setting" does is show that warning?

Posted by: Sashazur at February 20, 2007 12:58 PM

Apparently, aerial mode "enhances images shot through the Windows of an airplane."

Bah. It probably just sets the focusing distance farther away, so you're not inadvertantly focusing on the dirt and smudges on the window itself, instead of what you're actually trying to take a picture of.

Oh well, I'll continue to use mt dSLR during flight.

Posted by: James at February 20, 2007 04:39 PM

I agree with Memnon. As much as I dislike superfluous warnings, I think that this is a time when it would be a good idea. Think about it, if you're going to take a picture out the window while flying, most people will want to do it during takeoff or landing when you can still make sense of some of the objects below you (i.e. "Hey, I think I can see my house from here!").

Also, I'd imagine the feature automatically sets infinite focus and disables the flash. Kind of pointless, I agree.

Posted by: Chris at February 20, 2007 09:20 PM

How about a warning to take pictures of something that's actually interesting?

Posted by: KarmaBaby at February 21, 2007 09:54 PM

My camera has a bunch of modes like that too. In reality, many of the modes have exactly the same settings as others.

I wouldn't call that broken, however. I would prefer a mode for everything to one mode that said "outdoor/landscape/fireworks/nighttime/infinite focus mode".

Posted by: TIBE4ME at February 24, 2007 08:23 PM