Iron_Dreamer

Jon, given the position of those spots, it seems highly likely to me that they are just flare from the numerous parking lot lights in that shot. If the shot was not exposed nearly as much (and more representative of how the scene probably looked to the naked eye,) I doubt those flare spots would be anywhere near as noticeable.

Shooting much wider than 28mm equivalent really becomes about contrasting a strong foreground element within its' environment. Too much flat ground or water in the foreground, and you get a dull looking shot that usually ends up being cropped tighter anyway. Composing with an ultra-wide lens is definitely a challenge, I find that restraint and only using really short focal lengths when called for is the key. As much as I love what the 14-24 Nikkor can do, I don't force myself to use it when I know the scene is better suited to something less wide (which is most of the time). Shouldn't it just be set it at infinity and forget it, for such a short focal length, and objects so far away? Look into Benro/Induro or Velbon for tripod legs, and Photoclam for a ballhead if Gitzo and RRS give you sticker shock.

Thanks, working for me as well!

The "view new content" feature had been working fine for a few days, but since last night, it shows no results every time I've clicked on it (even though there have obviously been new posts).

Have a birthday full of happy meaty goodness!

Isn't that why cowboys sleep with one eye open?

It's a great little camera. The weak point is the lack of native lenses. As the others have noted, you can use many non-native lenses with adapters, but it still leaves you a bit lacking if you need AF or very wide angles. If Sony had a series of small, fast, pancake primes, the Nex system would be a home run, and the best small cameras on the market by far. Instead, they have focused on larger zoom lenses, which somewhat defeat the point of having such a small camera body.

There is if you're talking about a 24x7 device and you pay your own electric bill. I run a media server off an underclocked, undervolted single-core 45nm Sempron @1.6GHz, and have all the performance I ever need (granted, it only gets hit by two clients simultaneously, at most). The whole system runs about 24W AC at idle with hard drives spun down, and that's with a normal ATX power supply (Corsair 550w) which is far from optimally efficient at such a low load.

Being that Wyred is not far from me in Central Cali, I'm going to effort a demo of one of these units. I did find talking to their reps at RMAF to be very encouraging, as they were some of the very few who actually seemed to understand DAC design, and had no problems answering detailed technical questions about their products.

Wearing my shirt now. Love it!

Marin Brewing's Mt. Tam Ale, getting Edwood geared up for February.

A special west coast combo meal:

Happy birthday Steve! If you're not busy this weekend, hit me up if you have time for a Gardena Bowl run.

The burger was great, a nice mid-upscale affair that wasn't too snooty. The wings were almost to die for though. I'd love to go back some day and take like a stormtrooper to the broader menu.

While I will continue to maintain that the SSD is the biggest upgrade to computers in at least the last 10-15 years, I agree with Jacob that it should have absolutely no effect on audio other than lowering ambient noise levels (which they are, quite effective at, considering the hard drive is generally the noisiest part of a large percentage of computers). Enjoy the SSD, JP, just drop the audiophilia nervosa

Nice! I really would have liked the opportunity as well, but no clear skies anywhere nearby last night. About 18in of rain here in the last five days, and 8-10 feet of snow further up the hill. More to come tomorrow, and it's been even worse in SoCal!

Looks like you are getting on OK with that Sigma 85, eh Jeff? No AF issues on the 5D classic? I've only ever used the ol' bokeh bomber 85 1.4 AF-D Nikkor, but that Sigma doesn't look too far off its' performance.

I haven't shot much film, but when I have it has been Velvia 50. And exactly as Knucks described, it is both very sensitive to exposure and damn wonderful (at least for nature stuff) when properly exposed.

Well, you have options in the G11/G12, LX3/LX5, Samsung TL500 and Nikon P7000. The Samsung and two Canons keep the same sensor as the S90/95. The Samsung retains and actually improves the S90's f/2.0 wide-angle aperture to f/1.8, and has a movable screen like the G12 (AMOLED to boot). The Nikon has a slower, but longer lens than the others, and AF speed was pretty impressive for a compact when I tried it in a store. The Panasonics have their cool multi-aspect-ratio sensor, and like the Samsung have a fast 24mm equivalent lens, although all three take a traditional lens cap rather than an automatic one as a result. Personally, I'd be tempted by the optics of the Samsung, but the zoom range is a bit limited. Depending on what you use your compact for, that might not matter much.

Thanks again to Gene and Matt for providing a great itinerary of fun places. And of course, to everyone who came and provided the fun. And thanks to Carl and Bonnie for the the impromptu awesome t-shirts! (I'll take a red large BTW)

Good work Ken!

Friday afternoon started with a tour of the Vinoy hotel along the St. Petersburg Waterfront We spent a considerable time in the Vinoy's lovely garden Where we found this neighborhood critter scrounging for lunch: Score! After a quick stop to pick up five of our guys from a local Five Guys... ...we proceeded to commence the night's entertainment at a fine establishment ...where we quickly filled the joint to capacity... ...kept everyone busily suspicious... ...and enjoyed the many interesting adornments Outside one of the night's many live acts loomed But they couldn't hold us, and before long, we were across town to find new performers And enjoy the sweet sounds Then the action moved inside, where Al tuned up to take on the bar's foozeball ringer I started Saturday with an unassuming beverage that delivered an unexpected jolt! ...before we headed to get the REAL beverages. There's nothing like getting 'em fresh on the spot! Ambitious, but rubbish (or at least overcooked) was the way at Square One Desperate times call for desperate drinks... "...does this have the power to cook my chicken" he wonders Welcome to Soul Food Sunday

The S90/95 is about the best size/image-quality compromise out there that I know of for an EDC camera. The bigger "advanced" P&S cameras generally don't add anything but more controls and zoom range, yet get the size into the GF1/NEX5 w/pancake lens range, which offer tremendously better IQ, but are more baggable than pocketable. If you don't mind going with a small bag, those two will offer much better photographic opportunities. But if it's a pocket cam you want, the S90/95 have the market cornered.

Six years is pretty good indeed if they are not DIY PC's. I have noticed the half-life of OEM PC's continuing to decline lately.

Back home, at last. Nice summary, Al, I should have some to add to that tomorrow if I'm not too busy.