nikongod

Andrew - do you have access to a parametric equilizer? There is a thread I realllllllllllllllly like on head-fi - how to eq your headphones a tutorial. Try what it says.

According to my bathroom scale 28lbs. I rode 10.6miles today. It was nice but very hilly. Not very exciting compared to some of the rides other people post, but fun for me. I was thinking of going to one of the local malls (which would be 13-14miles round trip) but decided against it a couple miles away and then took a pleasant detour to get home. Tomorrow I will ride from the NJ side of the GWB to my GF in Brooklyn which is about 17miles (ignoring any detours into Manhattan, which will probably make it closer to 20mi) and mostly flat.

RIP Denver

Thanks everyone! I'm very excited. I was afraid that it would be wobbly at low speed or hard to control, but its not too twitchy at all. I could not ride it around the hairpin turn on the GWB walk/bikeway, but it is an incredibly tight turn. I'm not sure bikes were considered when they made it as I have ever seen anyone actually go around it without putting a foot down or grabbing the railing. Large bumps in the pavement (like 1/2" or more) are rougher than the big bikes. They are so cool! I rode to the grocery store this evening, after it has been raining all day, and my pants & shoes were totally dry. Yaay!

Brompton came

Winning! Fedex came through and the new camera is here! Now I don't have to take the Nikon to Utah. Yaay! Thanks! Have you tried shooting in a car (not while driving, of course)? It's pretty fun. You have to get the light just right, but the cramped space makes getting close easy Nice soft outside light with just a little bit of fill flash bounced off the roof or through a diffusion dome thingy is NICE.

I'm getting the newer version. The GRD4 suited my style and what I want out of a compact camera quite nicely, and the GR looks like more of the same with more ISO which was always the weak point of the GRD4.

In the most perfect example of irony ever to be witnessed by man, the replacement for the most perfect travel camera will be here next Friday while I am in SLC on my annual buying trip.

There are photos of Kerry's build around. Maybe on head-fi. His layout is really nice. It is a shame that so few people are willing to venture out and P2P an amp, and awesome that you want to. The ease of modification & experimentation with a P2P amp is really liberating. Not to mention the simple ability to build things that there just aren't PCBs for. On that note, why not build a STAX ESX (Singlepower ES-1) with some tweaks to improve performance? I think the base circuit is a bit nicer.

I don't think that putting an 85mm lens on DX is ridiculous at all. That FOV is great for portraits and isolating the subject. The narrow FOV makes finding a suitable background for your subject easy and the length prevents weird facial distortions. Nice and simple. That being said, I would not discount a wide angle lens for candid shots or even portraits although it is harder to make it work. While you do need to get in close with wide angle lenses (now get at least half a step closer) you can still be quite stealth with them. With a long lens you have the disadvantage that you are CLEARLY pointing the camera at someone when you want to take their picture. With a wide you can be pointing the camera just over their shoulder (or so they think) and get them on the one side of the frame with a lovely park (or their laboratory, a car lot, or whatever) filling in the rest. As another option for stealth shooting with a wide angle lens you can also shoot without looking through the camera. It takes some practice, and you will fire off plenty of duds, but its digital just delete and try again. If you go realllllly wide you do need to pay attention to distortions, but IME this issue is blown way out of proportion. Unless you are looking to take head-shots with a 35mm or wider lens... Head to foot with a 28mm lens is close enough to fine. Because why not: I broke my GRD4 the other day. It makes me sad.

Just saying: http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/SubCategory___40000000228_200368939

IME the HD800 just do best with an amp that has "a sound." I have never been thrilled by the HD800 on a "wire with gain" style amp where stuff with character (objectively flaws) just brings them out. Like *him* or not, Rudistor likes to build amps with "a sound". AKA not wire with gain. Following that, it makes perfect sense that the HD800 would sound better with a Rudistor amp than the B22. Would they sound better still on an amp made by a competent designer of amps with sound? Probably. Could you make a buy a better sound than Rudi for less money? Heck yea.

On the note of the Park Tool Stand, and at the risk of mockery - My GF Nechama is selling a used Park Tool stand in Brooklyn. It has the nifty tray thingy, and the base (apparently that is an option!?), but the plastic inserts in the jaws are a bit worn. She is also selling the wheel truing stand, and a very cool Specialized Tire box - to keep spare tires organized.

The Brooks B17 for my incoming Brompton came today.

I've been saying it for years.

congrats!

I know nothing about scooters/motorcycles, but I really like this photo: So New York... by 708718, on Flickr

Happy Birthday Scott!

Happy Birthday Justin!

The other day I ordered a Brompton. It will be here in 2 months. I hope.

If anyone is interested, onesaleaday.com has Rokinon lenses on sale today. 8mm, 14mm, 35mm, 85mm... yummy.

In one sentence: Unless you are very careful you wind up with a photo of "lots of nothing." For example: half of the photo is a pretty uniformly bland sky or similarly uninteresting fore-ground. A whole lot of who cares with your subject way off in the distance. After that crop to what you would have gotten with a 20-24ish lens. So why not have moar megapixels, less weight, and moar-good-optics and just shoot the 20 or 24? The really wide FOV makes it a bit harder than normal to keep crap from casually creeping into the corners/edges of the image but this usually manageable. The DOF is always "whoa a lot" so you can not rely on the background going out of focus to force attention back into your subject. These characteristics/problems/challenges are still there with the 20 or even 24, they are just not as difficult to deal with. When you shoot the 14mm lens "right" it is amazing. It does really well in confined spaces (Cubicles or other very small rooms, closets, cars, etc) or when you are outside just remember to fill the frame with your subject* which usually requires getting VERY close. In crowded cities this is actually a good thing - by the time you are far enough from the bull on wallstreet to get it all in with a 28mm a tourist grabs its balls... The weird perspective shifting the lens does is also a cool thing in the city. Making people look larger than buildings and whatnot. If you have not read it, read the Ken Rockwell article on ultrawide angle lenses. Take it with a pinch of salt, 'cause he is Ken Rockwell, but it is one of very few articles on how to shoot ultrawides. *yes, photography 101, I just find I need to make a very conscious effort of it with this lens.

I use my 24mm prime a ZILION times more than I use the 14. Shooting the 14mm lens is hard. On that note, any time (except for the weekend of June22) you want to borrow my Rokinon 14mm for a week or so you are welcome to it.

I went to the Red Hook Criterium in the Brooklyn Navy yard with Nechama over the weekend. Red Hook Crit by Lord Nikon 12, on Flickr Red Hook Crit by Lord Nikon 12, on Flickr Red Hook Crit by Lord Nikon 12, on Flickr The guy in the the Rockstar energy drink kit works for her. Click through for more.

I went to the Red Hook Crit with Nechama over the weekend. Red Hook Crit by Lord Nikon 12, on Flickr Red Hook Crit by Lord Nikon 12, on Flickr Red Hook Crit by Lord Nikon 12, on Flickr The bike race should be in the golden hour. That would make me happy. Click through for more.