Iron_Dreamer

Yeah, now that's worth a little envy! Does it at least not drive you crazy the way that old Gitzo did?

You're so easy...animal style, I assume?

Hope you made it a great one, Gene!

Sign me up!

Corrected

It's not like we haven't already had a test run.

That is definitely going on my to-do list!

Super-wides (below 20mm equiv to me) are certain to be used sparingly, but they sure can be fun and/or dramatic in the right circumstances. However, in a consumer camera it'll certainly lead to plenty of "no foreground, everything looks distant" type photos, which are certainly very possible even at 24mm. 35mm is coming to be my goldilocks FOV as well. You couldn't pry my Rokinon 35 f/1.4 from my cold, dead hands at this point; what an amazing lens it is. Canon sure has been ruling the roost as far as truly pocketable photographers cameras go with the S90-95-100 progression. Nikon made a laughable attempt with the P300 (or whatever the hell they called it), and all the other possible competitors are just too big to truly be comparable. I wonder who will step up to the challenge, and take on Canon in this arena. Based on past and current performance, it might just be Fuji. The F30 was the S90 of yesteryear, and their latest cameras have kept people buzzing. I still don't believe the idea that the D700 successor will be 36mp. I suppose there is an outside chance (to compete with the 5DII trajectory), but Nikon is generally such a conservative outfit that it would really surprise me. Really, I'd be surprised that the D700 line would get such a major update before the D3 line's next major update, at least based on Nikon's past history. I still think it is more likely that we get an 18-20mp D4 with D3s or better noise levels first. If Nikon did release a D700 update before a D4, I'd think it would inherit either the D3s or D3x sensor. Perhaps they'd even introduce a D4 and D4x, with D700 successors claiming both now-obsoleted sensors. But this 36mp thing just doesn't strike me right. Nor do the supposed D800 pictures, which look quite fake indeed. Perhaps I am way off, but it just doesn't seem like Nikon's MO to me.

You know what they say, if you can't beat 'em, join em!

Happy Beerthday!

In that case, the JH3A setup struck me as listening in a studio, whereas the LCD3 was a club, and the SR009 a concert hall. If that makes sense. All excellent technical performers, just differing presentations. I would agree that the JH3A is certainly good enough for a home system, hell, the JH13 is good enough as mine

As long as the M2 looks better than the current 1-series, I'm all for it. As appealing as the 1-series size/performance ratio is, the car just looks appalling (IMO).

The 3a setup should sound better than any conventional amp. I compared directly the new 3a to a Hifiman HM801+Pico Slim, and the benefits of the 3a, especially in regards to imaging and spacial cues, were undeniable. The JH16's have a bit more in the low bass, which is not an issue with the 3a, as that bass hump is controllable. When used with a normal amp, the JH13 is closer to "neutral," though even it has some built-in bass hump around 50hz, which I find beneficial to the overall listening experience (as an in-ear). The beauty of the 3a is no need to spend money on the D-A portion of the chain (if it will be your main system). If you still need analog out to other devices, the point is moot. I haven't used regular headphones much at all, lately, so I'm not sure my thoughts on headphones from two years ago would be terribly relevant to your buying decision. The best I've heard lately are the SR009 and LCD3, but again, I doubt you have, so again, rather moot.

I could give a fuck what the haters have to say. I've really enjoyed most of their material since getting into the band over ten years ago. The new album is a nice change from the (crappy) direction they've been heading down over the last four years or so (apparently mostly due to the domineering Portnoy).

Intel are my go-to SSD's. Others might be cheaper per gig, or claim faster speeds in various regards, but I will take Intel's rock-solid reliability every time, and the speed is still such a boon over any mechanical drive (and earlier SSD's), that I don't feel I'm missing anything significant. Sandforce-based drives get great empirical reviews, but have a poor reliability track record, especially the current gen. If you're going to out outside Intel, Crucial looks like the next best pick to me.

Just played a bit yesterday, and boy does this game look/sound impressive. Better than anything of it's genre I've ever played. Too bad I am pretty horrible at it, but being that I haven't really been much of a gamer in a long time, I guess I can't be surprised.

It sure does, wow!

Typically, full-frame cameras have better dynamic and color range capture capabilities than crop-frame, due to a generally higher signal-to-noise ratio. ISO handling in and of itself, while better as a result, generally isn't too important to landscape photography. However, lower noise in the shadows allows for easier post-processing, and less need to use HDR. At least that is my experience as a landscape photographer who upgraded from crop to full frame, and couldn't be happier with the change (albeit not on the Canon side). Here's a couple of shots from a chilly day in Utah. The first is Bryce Canyon by morning, the second Cedar Breaks by afternoon:

And here's a couple more from Utah:

Thanks. I've owned the 50 1.8D and 1.4G. The former is about as good a bang for the buck lens as there is, but of course has limitations (stop to f/2.8 for overall sharpness, polygon bokeh much past wide open). The 1.4G is pretty good, but never blew me away with either sharpness or bokeh. If you are using it mostly for portraits, as you say, the Sigma 50 1.4 is the class of the field, with superb bokeh and central sharpness (but it quite large/pricey). I know a couple people on another site who use the Nikon 60G micro as an all-around lens, from portraits to macro to landscapes, and are very happy. The new 40mm, I'm not familiar with, outside of the DigitalRevTV review, of course Of course, though, what lens do I own in the range? The 45mm Micro PC-E, of course Amazing lens, but not what you're after.

Here are a few from my first two days in Utah, near Canyonlands National Park (though none of these three were in it).

Indeed! Rather rare for a mountaintop, but I had full working 3G. Only ever found that before on top of Mt. Langley back home in the Sierra.

Hiked to the top of Utah's La Sal Mountains, Mount Peale, 12,721 '. In fact, I'm posting from the summit right now!

Sorry we missed you!

Just as long as nobody invites Noel Lee!