Leaderboard

We had my parents down for dinner so I made 6 lbs of baby back ribs and both sweet Italian and garlic/cheese smoked sausage.

Obviously, no universal right choice, though I get a kick out of opposite prime/zoom conclusions somewhat arguing the same case. I rarely need many focus lengths with me... one, maybe two will do... so zooms, especially AF zooms, are too big and heavy... "too much to carry around". They only leave the house under special occasions. I really wish there was a new Leica WATE/MATE-ish lens made by someone. Also nice shots Knucks, especially the 135/tree. Here’s the single shot I took with a non-phone in Vegas recently. Sigma BF & 35mm f/2 Contemporary.

Shooting with primes will make you a better photographer, but they won't make you take better photos. Modern (as in the last 20 years) zooms are so good that primes are vestigial beasts best left to eccentrics. There are exceptions to this rule of course, mostly super-teles that operate in a range outside of any zoom. Personally, I muck about with primes because I find them interesting. To me cameras are fiddly devices that get between me and the photo I want to take. Lenses are tools to make art. While I use modern (or "modern") autofocus lenses all the time, for me the real joy is ancient manual focus ones. Also, I haven't posted any of my own photos here in like six months. Two of my favorite bits of vintage glass are Asahi Super-Takumars: A 35mm F/3.5 and 50mm F/1.4. It's a tossup which one is more crackheaded. The 35mm, in spite of its woefully slow aperture for its focal length, has a really fat ass and will not fit properly in Nikon or Canon DSLR bodies. It will fit in a Canon cropped sensor body, and presumably most mirrorless ones. I've posted shots with it in this thread many times over the years. I liken the images it produces to a horror movie. The 50mm does the same thing, but much more so. My particular copy is a third iteration (IIRC) and it's notable for being radioactive. Glamour shot taken with my 100mm F/2.8 Macro. The 50 has a permanent warming filter (that gets more warm over time). It's useless for anything serious, but endless fun for goofing around. For me this is definitive example of "Takumar horror." The color temperature, weird rendering of OOF highlights and slight vignetting are all produced by the lens. I did only minor tweaks in Photoshop. The same view, taken with the 35mm mounted to a 7D Mk II. Not really horror at all. First and foremost, I stopped down and used infinity focus. Also the 35 is not radioactive. I have a long term goal of buying a full frame body so I can mount the 35 to it and see how bad the corners are. Yes, buying a $3K body to mount a $75 lens. Makes perfect sense. I mentioned in the snow thread that we got absolute decimated here in February. I promised to post photos and never did. The AF system on my 5D IV was not impressed with the condensation on the outside of our windows. One nice thing about old primes is that most of them have a hard infinity stop. Modern glass often lets the user focus beyond infinity (calm down, Buzz Lightyear) meaning they're a PITA to use in low light and other difficult circumstances. This shot is in focus, but still quite blurry because of the water on the window. Looking out my front door. No giants doing cartwheels or a statue wearing high heels. Quite the whiteout, however. Taken with the TTArtisan 100mm F/2.8 "Bubble Bokeh," which is a Trioplan copy, more or less. I have mostly used it as an actual 100mm and ignored its abilities with OOF highlights. Our poor, battered thermometer. Back to the OG Canon 50mm F/1.8. My ca. 1988 copy is one of my most prized lenses. Back to the 35mm Takumar and 7D II. Not exactly horror movie, but exhibiting how the 35 is not entirely sharp at any aperture. The images it produces have a slight uncanny quality in more or less all circumstances. One of the casualties of the nor'easter, which had some very powerful winds. As of this writing, the boat is still there. The mighty Canon 135mm F/2L. Designed as a portrait lens, it's good at photographing more or less anything, provided the photographer is up to making use of its FoV and DoF. Oh, hey. Actually using the TTArtisan 100mm for its intended purpose. The late afternoon sun reflecting on the pond and some early spring buds.

I’m kind of proud and relieved that Spain didn’t participate this year.

@blessingx - yes, very much a potayto/potahto scenario but I often find myself in fixed shooting positions where zoom is a huge benefit. Granted, I've been shooting 90% with the 70-200 these days for kids sports but when I'm doing landscape stuff for work the 12-24 is indispensable. The 24-70 has made rare but meaningful appearances for things like semi-formals or proms. A lot of $$ for not much use but live and learn.

It takes a lot for me to feel pride in America, but Eurovision is always up to the challenge.

Have listened to this four times in the last 48. Cluster & Eno's Cluster & Eno.

Today Ale helped me change the rear air springs on my car... Yesterday, we celebrated his 11th birthday and we got home in the early hours. His face gives him away.. 😁

Magnus Öström "Thread of Life" (Drummer E.S.T.) Every time I listen to this album... I get goosebumps. Especially "Longing". It gradually builds in intensity, the final minutes.... ufffff a masterpiece. And then; Dan and Magnus together again...

Also.....Maphra.....sounds great on my new speakers!

I miss the good old days when Winny Puhh was entering the contest for Eurovision appearances....

Okay Amy, you have my attention.

So How proud did the Grand Final make you feel @blessingx You're Welcome

A redditor's father died and left him this: Also, I was born into the wrong family.

finished my cfa3 this week, thanks kevin gilmore for the desing and the support from the forum members. running on +-30v with moderat bias, changed the gain resistors to 3.2k for lower gain. needed some 3d printed parts so that all fit fine, a cfa3 in a quad 405 chase. no pot this time, i use a dac with volume control or a preamp. after all amps i build i think the best solution for a 1 case build ist mounting the trafos outside in vertical position, absolut no magnetic hum inducted. i also added grain oriented metal band around the trafos inside the trafo cases.

This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You by Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas