padam

It is 999$ at the moment and I expect to drop that as the domestic price is only 82000 yen right now, which does not look bad at all, considering it is probably one of the best-performing fast standard primes out there. Sharpness, colors, bokeh, it just seem to has it all. And it does built much better than those (etc. 9-bladed aperture, weather-sealed as well) The only problem is that it is the only lens at the moment which really seems to stand out. There will likely to be a 85/1.8 announcement in March, but it will not be cheap. The A7 has the better flash sync AF etc. so it looks to be the better of the two, more MP just means less useful range to exploit it because of diffraction.

Nikon already has fast sensor-based AF in the 1-series and Canon also has dual pixel AF. So I guess they can move to EVF-equipped cameras if they want to (keeping the current mount and maybe introduce another one like E-mount and A-mount) but they will try to continue the DSLR line as long as they can, Sony will be crippled with the lens range for a while anyway, A7R has its issues with the AF and shutter vibration as well, etc.

I used it a few times and I also had the 50/1.2 which sharper but does not have the same bokeh. But I still have quite a few other fast 50s so I'm currently advertising it at the ekv. of 300$ (I do have OM bodies with quite a few other parts like focusing screens, etc. as well which I never used) It is a very nice lens if you care more about character rather than outright sharpness (which should be even more apparent on FF), it is the supposedly better earlier thorium variant so it has a slight yellowish cast wide open. Yes the 50/1.4 is supposed to be very nice as well, although the last & best version is not that easy to find.

NEX-5N

OM 55/1.2

Apart from maybe video the D700 is better in almost every way because it is not as 'consumer-oriented'...

There are much more elements and also more exotic glass in the new one so I think it will be more expensive to manufacture so close to the 35/1.4 in price. Like most of the brands in the car industry, they are trying to go more upmarket. The best performing m43 lens the 75/1.8 is also designed by Sigma but it ain't no bargain.

They copied the shape (and headband design) of the beautiful SR-Omega, shame on them.

I am sure it will be great optically (potential AF issues with the thin DOF), but it is neither going to be cheap nor being small and light, which is what a 50 should be - at least for my uses. I recently got an APO Lanthar 180mm which has the same weight but smaller than this I still haven't upgraded to a proper NEX with a viewfinder on it, so it is challenging to use (plus the focus turns the wrong way round which is very annoying, damn you Nikon!) but sharp as heck.

Wow today was a really eye opening day in discovering what makes the Realiser "tick" and this is something that I don't remember seeing written in the Realiser threads. Unfortunately it was the case of "you're doing it wrong" until now. First. you need to do the measurements very carefully, precisely etc. that's a given. But what makes it really work superbly it to measure speakers in the same - or maybe somewhat similar - room, ideally it should be acoustically treated as well but again it depends. I am not saying other rooms might not work well, but establishing an environment that is "physically believable" to the brain is much easier. And for that, the room where one wants to listen speakers regularly that are "there virtually" is the best. At the moment my main problem is how I am going to save up for much bigger than 24 inch LCD to be able to the keep the distance. The sound is suddenly there now in spades, but the visuals need to keep up somehow For people who can listen to speakers without worrying to annoy the neighbors (or other family members for that matter) this is just an expensive gadget. For others who like to listen to music when being alone (especially Stax lovers), this comes highly recommended (maybe not quite at the current price) or a must try. if I could make it work (with a helping hand from my friend), pretty much anybody else can. Yes the interface is quirky to use etc. but it just works and is actually preferable even just for stereo music listening. Yes for a short time I did try some music separately on the speakers (Genelec 8040As in this case connected a pricey preamp which was connected to the Realiser, I will probably try again later with bypassing that to see how that sounds) and also on the headphones. Well it is very similar but not quite the same. There is a certain "pitch black" background with the speakers that are not quite there with the Realiser. But honestly, you wouldn't know that without listening very carefully. And I am not quite sure at the moment but the resolving power is even a bit better with the Lambda. But I used a pretty crappy amp which definitely hinders the bass and I think I might do better on the headphone front as well (although the Lambda's crystal clear mids are pretty hard to match actually). I also have not touched any tweaking options (probably more essential for surround setups), just measured, loaded in, done. And there are endless tweaks available as well but the most important thing is do either try to re-create the listening space (measure the distance from the speakers, and also the listening height), or even better, measure the speakers there and then send them back, re-sell, whatever and repeat the process again and again I guess speaker rental service is something that would be impossible to implement compared to something lensrentals For John especially, I disabled the head-tracker as well to mimic the Out Of Your Head. Yes it is still works convincingly, although I think having the head-tracker definitely makes it even better. But as I wrote if one gets a measurement in a precise spot and re-creates that environment it will work well. So I definitely see plenty of potential in this software as well, pity that it quickly adds up if one does many great profiles. i will report back once I get this profile loaded in that thing.

Ok just tried it in 5.1, that is much more impressive (stereo music is a much less forgiving test), not as good as the Realiser but definitely way better than any other software-implemented virtualization I've ever heard. There is definitely a lot of potential in this, I just need to make a much better kick-ass profile, and load that in instead. Fortunately, the trial is free for anything, just need to ask Darin to make the files for custom profiles and then you can load them into the sw. Also if somebody wants some PRIRs that are not in the dropbox folder, just PM me.

The generic profiles might work but probably only for a small percentage of people, and it is easy to see why. The probably have different ears (so different measurements for both the headphones and the speakers) and also not using the same headphones. The real benefit of this software is that if you have at least temporary access to a Realiser, you can have your own system measured and then ask Darin to load those customs profiles in the software that is much cooler. For instance there are some studios in the EU who do this properly for a considerable fee but still cheaper than the Realiser. And in theory you should have a Realiser loaded in the software without the head-tracking. Well I am listening to one right now. Unfortunately it does not seem to push the image nearly as forward as the Realiser does. I will try to see with other profiles to see if anything gets closer as it still sounds nicer than the default profiles. Maybe I will do fresh headphone re-measurement and try again.

Happy (belated) Birthday Tom!

Happy birthday, Todd

The performance is stellar indeed, but some people report sample variations regarding to AF accuracy (good copy/bad copy have always been a weakness with Sigma lenses and I guess they don't send bad ones for reviews like this), not sure if it is specific to any mount or just generally.

LaFerrari and Mclaren P1 does that purely for extra speed with their KERS-like systems. But Porsche wanted to make it run on pure electric power (claiming ultra-low emissions which will not correlate with how these cars will be used) and for that they made the hybrid system really-really complex, and also, much much heavier, it would be much faster with less weight. Not that it is not hyper fast already anyway, it just could have been faster still... The problem is no matter how stiff these cars are, a very high speed crash will almost surely end-up in a disaster because of the forces involved and more batteries also means more stuff to catch fire...

It could have been a steering pump fluid leakage problem which lead to losing control at high speed. It is unknown at this point, but they did find something near the scene. The car was serviced frequently and properly. Also strange, but the Carrera GT's direct successor the 918 Spyder prototype was also crashed at the Autobahn a few weeks ago (test driver and passenger both injured), but it was not revealed until a few weeks later, and they are trying to keep it quiet. It is not going well for Porsche at the moment, especially if it really turns out to be a car failure... I really don't get the hybrid sports concept at all anyway, just one more potential hazard to deal with, who cares if it saves some fuel (especially in a sportscar)...

Here is my favorite game that I've played. That was just over 10 years ago, haven't improved since.

You can have the supplied extension cable modified to be an adapter, no biggie. But being in the minority I found them to be not that great sounding (not as smooth FR) despite only using Stax amps, plus you might experience the squealing caused by dust sooner or later the dust covers are - shall we say - not very sophisticated. But at least they will fix it no questions asked. ECC99 tubes are a bit better if you have a 006t or T1 to mod but really not that different to a stock one so I wouldn't pay that much more for a factory unit. It is might not actually be better than the 323S more like a different flavor tube vs ss (in that sense the LNS is probably more different to your 307 than an amp change) I guess if you are patient enough you can have a 717 for the same money which is what I would choose.

I did, it's called irony...

I don't get it why this seems so weird. Even with reviews like this you can spot that the knob is indeed important (maybe the DAC2 has an even better one) So I hope the toggle switch of the Lavry will come as well (although I have to admit that I use the remote).

The Pentax 135mm f/2.5 is another one to look out for as the best version is probably close to the L

The headphones I heard as not being garbage (for my taste...) at this price range were the HD600, HD250, modded YH100 (not sure about the long term comfort on this one and needs amping) and SR-Lambda. So HD600 it is, since it is the only one that is actually obtainable in good condition (and serviceable).

While I don't have one, what's wrong with an iphone? If you really need zoom, then it is better to have a separate camera.

It will be available in silver and black, just like the S3. I guess it is for people who prefer to go back to the basics and with the build quality and finish of old days to match but not priced for the masses (they wouldn't sell that much anyway). The D4 sensor is not necessarily inferior to the D600 one, the high ISO is even better but it could well be a different sensor, just with the same MP.