catscratch

Yeah that's why I'm looking forward to it too. Though thinking twice about it and setting the new toy itch aside for a second - when you're dealing with 36mp, no aa, and a ff sensor, those vintage primes will probably start to show their age, especially in the corners. And having recently done some field comparisons between the Mk3 and D800e, I'm not sure that it's a night and day difference in the final image. Now, I think the D800e has a thinner aa filter instead of no aa filter, and it's an upgraded version of the sensor - but I also can't shake the thought that the smart money may be to stick with what I've got and get more fast glass instead. Regardless - Sony is keeping the market interesting. Canon sure isn't. I can't want to know more.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if it's an E mount, can't you use pretty much any Canon, Nikon, or what have you lens with an adapter on it? I would think that the advantage of this is the same as the Nex - infinite lens compatibility - except that this time, you don't have a crop factor to deal with. Either way, unless I'm very much mistaken, I'll get this and use all my existing Canon lenses with it, plus the nice array of vintage lenses we've been slowly building up. The plan is to compare it against the 5d Mk3 and see what I can live with, and keep what wins... or both.

I did notice the honk with the SZ2 007, and I compared it side by side with the 71xxx 007. It's what killed the SZ2 for me, which otherwise was a capable headphone. If that honk is also present in the 009, then I'm pretty sure I'd prefer the 71xxx 007 too. On the other hand, I also feel that 007 is too polite and laid-back for its own good. So far I'm compensating for that with a very punchy source, but even with a BH the 007 is still not involving enough when paired with a lot of otherwise great sources. So I can kinda see both sides of the argument. Ideally, I'd want a phone that's more forward than the 007, but one that retains the warm mids and general sense of fluidity. Maybe the SR-Omega would be perfect, but given the current prices and the reliability issues, I'll hold off and stick with what I've got.

Well if they wanted a bike, they probably could have used something like this (boring steampunk technogeekery warning): Though to be fair, in 1903, this may have been a little old school.

Entheogenic - Anthropomorphic. It's nice to see Entheogenic return to form. They were one of the main psychill stalwarts back in the day and their first album is an absolute gem, but after two albums they stagnated and the inspiration seemed to run dry. Now, over a decade later, they're back with a darker, more focused sound, more energy, more intensity, and a lot more inspiration all-around. Of course, with DR6 the sound quality could be better, but considering what passes for electronic music production these days, even this is not bad. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDFwKVv3qW4

Dunno, but in his more recent solo shows he rather likes some of the 911s. Like anything Top Gear it's probably faked for laughs. Electric steering is awful in new BMWs, and if the 911 is anything like that, I can totally understand the hate. Driving the E90 335 back to back with the X3 is a pretty good demonstration on how to go nearly perfect steering - and then how to totally fuck it up. But then BMW has kinda been losing its marbles lately.

Motor Trend also puts out some pretty good videos these days. Not everything they have is good, and I don't entirely trust their reviews - or their numbers - but Ignition is a pretty good review series and, of course, you also have Roadkill. That's a show with two super charismatic hosts and is basically what US Top Gear should have been. It's probably the best Top Gear-ish car show on the internet for car related around-dickery. Then you have Jay Leno's Garage. If you want to see a true temple to automotive worship, Leno's the man. Whatever you may think about his comedy, his car videos are a totally different animal. Leno has an incredible collection, is a knowledgeable automotive historian, and really lets his passion show forth. Again, it's mostly vintage cars and grey-haired old-guy stuff, and, well, I love all that. There are definitely quality car shows on the internet these days. And if you know any more, I'm all ears.

Good episode and overall very good season. Even the nationalistic circle-jerk at the end wasn't too bad either. Also, Chris Harris is a legend and his videos are epic. As far as Top Gear faking stuff, it's pretty well known that even its lap times are often outright fabrications. Look up the whole Hawk Stratos debacle where the Stig was instructed to spin the car and recover on the test to make sure it finished last, and where the car was portrayed as breaking down all the time whereas in fact it was quite reliable. Top Gear has a very clear bias and an equally clear agenda. They're so popular that they haven't even bothered hiding it in years. I've said this before - I treat Top Gear like I would an old dog. It shits on your carpet and doesn't even remember its own name anymore, but somehow you've been with it so long that you can't quite bring yourself to kick it.

Ok, I'll be honest... this episode was fucking brilliant. One of the best they've ever done. Normally, I don't like it when they go this far into the ridiculous, but hovervan was hilarious, and the Hugh Jackman interview was quite good too.

Don't know about the 002, but the 003 is ridiculously good for the price, though the fit can be iffy. Get the fit wrong and it sounds muffled and dull. Get it right and it has the best midrange this side of the 007 and HE90. Maybe the best period. It's not the most resolving 'stat around, but who cares.

Much better episode, though what the point of May's race was, I don't really know. The quality of their camera work has gotten seriously epic. Well, either that, or their post-processing is really good.

I did watch Day9's playthrough of it for a bit, and forced myself to stop, because it's one of the few games that I actually do want to play. Still haven't gotten it, though. It seems like a properly made game. No nonsense, no prepubescent BS, just good story, good characters, and good design decisions all-around. It is completely linear, and I tend to favor open-world games, but for what it is it seems to be about as good as it gets. I just wish it came to PC though, keyboard + mouse > analog stick.

I thought it was quite a weak episode too. The racing segment was good, the rest was kinda meh. Bland, and forced.

You guys don't get it. These are the most expensive headphones out there, therefore they're the best. Only the SR-009 is anywhere near the price, therefore it's the 2d best. I just don't get why you don't understand it - maybe that's why people don't post here anymore? On another note, I find Guttenberg's reviews quite reliable, actually. You just take the exact opposite of what he says, and it's usually true.

Well, well, looks like the preorder numbers have spoken. It's always funny to see interviews with M$ staff where they say that the always-online component is central to the system, and then have that component taken away within days of the preorder numbers reveal. So much for positive PR. I think this is a good turn of events. It doesn't address every concern with the system, the main one of course being that it is a less powerful machine that comes bundled with technology that you don't need which has the potential for privacy violations. I just wish someone would put up as big a stink on the PC over Steam. I don't get why people aren't in more of a rut over Steam. Actually, I do get it, if you put enough sales on Steam you make people forget that they are actually not buying anything. Of course given Sony's history they very much reserve the right to fuck up everything. I think I'm still sticking mainly to PC, and maybe with a PS4 for some fighting games.

That's the attitude that lets companies like M$ win. This should not blow over. Letting it blow over is how we let DRM rule over PC and how we are losing the ability to own games. What should happen is big losses in sales over practices that you, as a consumer, do not want to see. Vote with your dollar. If you think "well... I don't like where the XB1 is heading but I'm going to buy one anyway" you're actually supporting where it is heading, and then you have no right to complain. Actually, "right" is an irrelevant concept, but letting your money speak for you isn't.

It's not quite the same thing. The use you get out of a movie is significantly limited compared to the use you get out of a game. Yes, a lot of modern single-player games are very cinematic, and usually have a short campaign that, once you're done with it, offers no real replay value. But for games that do offer a replay value, and for games that you would want to come back to, time and again, you will want the ability to play anywhere, regardless of having an online connection or being tied to an account. I've lost count of the times I couldn't play the single-player games I paid for on Steam because Steam failed to save my authentication data properly and I had to connect to re-authenticate, at a time or place where I had no connection. It has completely soured me on Steam, and I make a point to not buy something that's tied to Steam or any kind of DRM if I can. Some people will get over it. Some people will not. PC gaming is not doing as well as it could. I wonder if creating an environment that punishes paying customers with needless restrictions and abusive business models has anything to do with that, when there's a cheaper, less hassle-ridden alternative nearby. And to get back to the the original issue with the XB1, it looks like PC hassles are migrating there too, and that's what I don't want to see.

Include me out for XB1 too. I don't want to see consoles going in the direction of DRM, and I don't trust M$ to include all the sales and extra content that Steam does to make you forget that you're paying for a license to play a game on an account, not an actual copy of the game. I want to own my games, not buy a license. Plus, paying extra for Kinect, which I know I won't use and will generally hate, is a deal-breaker. Then there are security concerns with Kinect, which are probably more paranoia than actual concerns, but as someone that hates being on camera, the last thing that I want is to always be on camera. I don't know what I'll do once Google Glass comes out, heh. Probably avoid public places more than I do already. Privacy is obsolete. Besides, I play QuakeLive, which means keyboard + mouse. Playing shooters on a controller is about as fun as a dental appointment.

This. I admit I probably would have driven by because of this sort of setup, unless it was absolutely certain that it was impossible. And if you do stop to help, and by accident damage something, will you get sued over it afterwards? And if you don't damage something, will you get sued anyway on some bullshit excuse? I'm paranoid, and it's because I've been messed with too many times. I'm a gullible sucker that has learned his lesson. If the state had concealed carry laws, I'd probably be packing. Not because it offers any kind of protection, but at the very least for the confidence that it would give me, which would probably allow me to do things I want to do with less fear of doing it. I've offered jump starts to people, and the first reaction in them is always fear and suspicion. And if/when you do something nice in the last are I lived in, people actually act surprised that you didn't try to screw them over in some way. It's a pretty sad state of affairs, but then again I lived in a communist country too, and am named after an uncle that spent a decade as a political prisoner. It could be worse.

Well according to this is it, if that's the lens they're listing. I wasn't sure. My friend actually has a Yashica 50 that has a thorium rear element, and we measured it with a Geiger counter, but since that only measured beta and gamma radiation, we didn't pick much of anything up. Good to know they're not dangerous.

Thanks Jon. I'll look into it. Isn't the FD 55 1.2 radioactive? And am I totally overestimating the risks of that? Lastly, would it be risky to take a lens like that through airport security? I do travel a lot when shooting. Great shot BTW. So far I'm managing MF with live view and a hood loupe, but it's a lengthy process for sure. Decent when you're composing a scene on a tripod for minutes, not good when you're trying to do an HDR panorama in fast moving light.

Some advice needed... What are some good options for vintage 50/55mm f1.2 primes that fit on a 5D Mk2? And by good I mean sensible, not crap optically, not absurdly rare/expensive, and not radioactive enough to grow a second head. Right now I'm looking at the Nikkor 50 1.2 AIS, it's available new, and it shouldn't suffer too much optical degradation or have issues focusing to infinity. I mostly want to do silly bokeh shots and want a lens that's sharp enough at the center wide-open but also has a good character to its bokeh. Canon's own 50L is far too expensive though for what is going to be mostly a one-trick lens, and not good enough to justify the price when stopped down.

I have tried the Momentum recently and it's quite nice. By that I mean that it's a closed circum-aural that doesn't suck, and that in itself is impressive. Pretty typical Senn-like tonality (by which I mean more HD600/650 than HD800), very nice bass and mids, and highs that are a bit unrefined but not harsh or grating at all. It can also do soundstage fairly nicely, it doesn't suffer from a congested in-your-head sort of sound at all. I don't think it's audiophile grade, it doesn't have the transparency or resolution, but it's not far off. The biggest negative was the size of the earcups, if you're team melonhead or have large ears, they may not seal properly, and while overall clamping force is OK, there isn't enough clamping force at the bottom of the earcup. So, they're not exactly comfortable, but passable. Build quality is upscale and the looks are elegant, which is pretty rare with today's flash and glitz teeny bopper headphones. I think IEMs give you better resolution, but if you want headphones, this is not a bad way to go.

That's why mirrorless APS-C cameras like the Nex 6/7 are so brilliant - you get the small size factor of micro 4/3 with the controls of an SLR, and a ton of lens compatibility too. Of course I still hate not having an optical viewfinder, contrast-detect AF sucks as has been noted, and not having the durability and weathersealing of a pro SLR is a big no-no for what I do.

Good article, I hope more people read it. Somehow we need to show Sennheiser that this is the sort of headphone we want, not the HD700. I like both the HD600 and HD650 a lot, and I generally dislike dynamics altogether. I think the HD650 is a bit more detailed and technically capable, but the voicing on the HD600 makes it more suited to a wider variety of genres. Regardless, both aren't quite as far from neutral as popular hearsay makes them out to be, at least when driven well.