Salt Peanuts

National Geographic Found

We bought a reconditioned 5200 model directly from Vitamix - it saved us some money and reconditioned ones still come with same warranty (7 years in this case). We've had ours for ~2.5 years with no issues and we use ours frequently.

This. I took a day off and brought my daughter to see her doctor since she started showing some symptoms of strep yesterday - right after 10 days of antibiotics she was taking for strep ended. They couldn't do a rapid strep test this time around so we won't know if she still has strep until Wednesday, but considering her daycare had 11 absences today due to strep, we're not hopeful. Thankfully, I don't have one (yet) so I can go to work tomorrow while my wife takes the day off.

Happy Birthdys, everyone!

Oh it was still fun, just a lot of people since they're doing some celebration for their 100th year anniversary. While there, I noticed someone taking pictures and talking to people/taking notes. I figured she was a photography student and didn't think anything of it. Apparently, she works for Boston.com and our photo ended up on the site (showing my fat gut).

Went to Boston Children's Museum. It was crazy.

Much to my delight, just figured out a way to listen to your show on my iPhone without rendering Safari useless on it.

Possibly. I know nothing of Sony's video capabilities, but at least on the stills side, Olympus and Panasonic has better AF performance.

So tempting....

Great shot, Ari! I don't know why, but that sounds dirty.

^ Wee bit cheaper than BGE, though BGE's price vary depending on the dealer - I was quoted anywhere from $800 to $1000 for a large BGE w/ no accessories. Big Steel Keg is larger than a large BGE and it also comes with a stand. Adding a stand adds another $100 to BGE.

They keep up to 4 weeks of file versions. BackBlaze is also what I use, though I've never had to restore anything from them.

Just to clarify my previous post, S-AF (or AF-S on Nikon and On Shot AF on Canon) on E-M5 is faster and more accurate than One Shot AF on Canon 7D (using 35/2, 35L, and 85/1.8 ) and D700 (using 50/1.8G and 105DC). As for continuous AF on E-M5, it's nothing to write home about though there are tricks to make it work better. 7D, as noted earlier, is vastly superior in this area. I would move to Nex system in a heartbeat if/when more fast primes become available and AF speed gets to the level of E-M5.

Actually, I think Big Steel Keg is now in 700-800 range.

I've got an E-M5 so I rarely has to go into menu while shooting since it's got plenty of physical buttons and dials. In my experience while shooting RAW, I found its IQ at similar ISO to be equal to or better than that of Canon 7D, which I've owned in the past, and its AF is also faster and more accurate. Of course, 7D trounces it when it comes to C-AF, but that's what you'd expect as contrast-detection AF still sucks at C-AF. Nikon D700, which is what I was using prior to E-M5, demonstrated better IQ as you went up on ISO value as one would expect from a Nikon FX camera. It should be noted that even with all its physical dials and buttons, I still much prefer the physical handling of D700, except for size/weight, and if it weren't for chronic tendinitis, I wouldn't have switched to m43.

I switched to m43 last year from Nikon after developing chronic tendinitis in both of my wrists. While I still miss certain things, I've no real regrets from the switch and my wrists certainly appreciate the change.

A decent deal on a great lens for Canon users - a new 85/1.8 for $325 from an authorized reseller. http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=321100473309

In case it wasn't obvious, April Fool's Day.

^ Why don't you just rent them?

Happy Birthday!

Congrats, Bigguy!

Happy Birthday!

I once bought a refurbed 5d2 through Canon and except for the box (a generic Canon box), I would've been hard pressed to distinguish it from a brand new body. From what I've read, that was generally experience most folks had when buying refurbed body from Canon. If you're concerned with the condition/focusing of the body, return it/exchange it. In fact, had I received one in condition as you've described, I'd return it, especially since refurbed items generally has very short (if any) manufacture warranty. Was this bought through Nikon or a dealer?

Good luck Dusty!

Bubba Keg is now Big Steel Keg and costs around $600. In regards to people being crazy about BGE, nothing all that different from any other hobbies or gear acquisitions.