Iron_Dreamer

Indeed...what did I do today? Sleep, drink, and eat pork products ...not a bad cap to a week of self-torture in the mountains.

Carsebridge 30-YO from mikeymad's stash

I like the space needle night shot, Steve!

Sounds like a real gaming beast! Who makes a 115GB SSD?

Nikon bodies have fewer issues in general with Sigma lenses, especially ones like the 70mm which are screw-driven.

Happy deep-fried birthday!

Back home from hiking Mount Whitney (14,495'). A 2 AM wakeup, 22 miles of hiking, 7000 feet of vertical gain, 16 hours on the trail, and a 5 hour drive home made for a loooong (but amazingly beautiful) day. Heading to SF tomorrow for a comparatively relaxing weekend!

On APS-C the 60mm isn't too unreasonable (in terms of having to get close), especially if you get the newer AF-S version, which focuses internally (and hence does not grow in length as you focus closer). The AF-S 60 macro is also excellent at normal and even infinity focus, so if that would be a useful focal length for you, I'd go for it. The Tamron and Tokina options both get great reviews from users. I've not used either. It's safe to say that the Tokina would be better built. Sigma also makes some great macro lenses (50, 70, 105, 150). Their 70mm is possibly the best looking lens I've ever seen in empirical tests. The macro lens I use is the Sigma 150, which is fabulous both for macro and general telephoto use. I've taken great landscapes, portraits, and close-ups with it. I'd highly recommend it, but it's probably too long on DX. On FX, the focal length is very useful for a variety of subjects.

I've stayed in touch with Guru a bit...he always manages to make me laugh...intentionally or not. BTW congrats, Ric! I'm heading out to find a campsite and sack another 14,000ft peak tomorrow, after hiking White Mountain Peak yesterday.

Dang if the Giants didn't try their best to lose that one for ya, Shelly. They were driving me crazy today. Ruination is on the schedule for me tonight

I thought about it, but I just couldn't justify it. I've got a Lenovo X220 tablet now as my main computer. I think something like a rooted Nook Color will be better for the times when I'd use something less than the X220, but more than a phone.

Happy Birthday Matt! I'll raise a Pliny in your honor.

Sure, of course. One nice thing about Colorado is that it really isn't too bad of a drive from Denver/Boulder to just about anywhere you want to go in the state (unlike Calihugeafornia). So we can really get out there.

Wow, feel better man! The platypus bit is pretty hilarious though.

Woot. Want to go for a new elevation record this year?

Ick...a good reminder why I haven't eaten there since 1997.

It's so cheap (for what it is) that it was hard for me not to (and of course, I'm damn glad I did. Of course, the Canon version doesn't get the chip for on-camera aperture control and EXIF data that the Nikon version does, but at least it's a little cheaper to compensate. The optical quality is pretty freakin' incredible for the price. It even stands up well to the Zeiss 35 1.4 in the tests on lenstip.com (and they are about the pickiest I've seen of lens testers). Whether it's sufficiently better than the Canon 35 1.4 to overcome the larger size and lack of AF, I couldn't say.

Wow, that's a crazy ordeal. Best of luck with the recovery, Brent!

I was intending to go to GABF...but I had no idea it would sell out so soon. I was thinking of spending a good chunk of time in Sept and Oct in Colorado/Utah doing some (photo) shooting and hiking, kind of an extended version of my trip last year. I had such a blast with the CO crew (and visitors) at RMAF last year that I'd be up for it again, despite my general disdain for the atmosphere of the show itself.

I've been very happy with my rooted HTC Thunderbolt running CM7. I hope this isn't the beginning of the end of Android as a truly open platform used by many different handset makes.

Been too busy out and about to post much lately. Here's one I took a week ago, before hiking up 13,750ft Mount Morgan (the flank of which is to the left of this shot): BTW the Samyang (Rokinon) 35 f/1.4 is an AMAZINGLY good lens. Sharp even in the corners at f/1.4 (if focused properly) and very very little coma. Color me highly impressed. The above shot was taken with it at f/2.0.

Grilled tri-tip and corn under a lovely sunset tonight in the Sierra Foothills.

It's all about the west, Mike! Come west, my lad, and you'll find it all. I'm sure I'll send you some more jealousy-inducing pics soon Maybe we'll go for a good pre-GABF outing in the Rockies.

Good choice. It will have the bonus of using the same familiar Panasonic button/control/menu layout (for the most part) as your LX5. I've used several Panasonic compacts, and they seem similar enough that once you know your way around one, you're good to go. Specs on the TS10 look pretty good, image quality should be quite similar to the TS2, you just give up a bit of waterproofing (it just be fine for snorkeling, just not scuba diving). Have a great time in Hawaii! Even though I'm heading up to Jasper park in Alberta tomorrow, I'm still jealous, I just I love it in Hawaii. And bring us back some nice pics (just be sure to use a polarizing filter if you want those beautiful aquamarine water/dark blue sky type beach shots).

I don't know how long you'll need it, but you could just rent one here: http://www.lensrentals.com/rent/nikon/cameras/compact-cameras/compact-underwater-camera I have a Panasonic TS2, and it makes decent photos and 720p videos. You going to be sacrificing image quality on just about any of the waterproof compacts.