This is topic The "What did you buy today (or recently)?" Thread in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 08-24-2009, 10:04 PM:
 
Post about your latest acquisitions. It's a material world, so the more stuff you have, the better human being you are. This is for everything you buy, cheap to expensive.

I'll start:

Two brand new 6-foot HDMI cables for 1 cent each from Amazon



To Hell with Monster and their $100 4-foot cables!
 

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Posted by Jeremy Jorgenson (Member # 2989) on 08-24-2009, 10:29 PM:
 
Korean for Non-Native Speakers book and workbook (wrapped together, so it was a single purchase). It's for my class which starts tomorrow. I can't add a picture because I'm at work, but if you want I can upload one when I get home. I have to go back to school to defer my student loans ... so, I decided to take Korean.
 

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Posted by Jake Spell (Member # 5294) on 08-24-2009, 10:45 PM:
 
Brain Droppings by George Carlin

 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 08-24-2009, 10:53 PM:
 
Today:

- one tank of gas (I didn't actually purchase the tank--just the gas) (87 octane unleaded)
- two books of stamps ($.44 first class)
- picked up five shirts from the laundry (light starch, on hangers)

Over the weekend:

- one haircut (trim)
- paid phone bill (Verizon)
- paid parking ticket (expired meter)

My life is boring like that.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 08-25-2009, 12:13 AM:
 
I guess a six pack of imported Mexican beer wouldn't really qualify as a material thing. Bohemia is still pretty good stuff.

Some of my recent "material" purchases:
a Mini HDMI to HDMI adapter: $9 at Radio Shack
Casino on Blu-ray: $12.99 at Best Buy
B+W 77mm MRC Circular Polarizer filter: $156 at B&H Photo
Canon EOS 5D Mark II D-SLR body: $2699 at B&H Photo
Canon Speedlight 530EX II: $370 at Amazon ($50 rebate)
AND
The Perfect Push Up (Basic Edition): $20 at Wal-Mart.

I'm kind of curious to see any recent MP3 player purchases in this thread. My level of hatred is growing for the 2GB RCA Lyra player my parents gave me as a birthday present a couple of years ago. It's just been buggy as hell lately. I want a good player that is NOT an Apple product. Can't stand that iTunes crap and all its restrictions. Not looking to hijack this thread with MP3 player arguments; just want to see what others have purchased recently.
 

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Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 08-25-2009, 01:36 AM:
 
Didn't buy it today, actually last Sunday night, but I bought a new Vizio 1080p 47" tv.
 

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Posted by Eric Robinson (Member # 2966) on 08-25-2009, 02:33 AM:
 
Mulholland Drive, by David Lynch DVD for $2.00 at a garage sell.
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 08-25-2009, 07:04 AM:
 
Is bowling season (coming up)...





Naturally, I think I'll do better with the larger ball <let your filthy little minds go with that one>

Steve
 

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Posted by Chad Souder (Member # 343) on 08-25-2009, 09:22 AM:
 
OK, I definitely can't figure out why it keeps saying login failed when I try to upload a picture, but whatever. I bought a

Ruger Hawkeye Sporter in .308. So I was a sucker for the free Carhartt jacket promotion. It wasn't very expensive.
 

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Posted by Andy Bajew (Member # 5330) on 08-25-2009, 09:46 AM:
 
Managerial Accounting 2332 textbook - $110.35
Two Egg McMuffins from McDonalds - $6.62
Piece of gum and bottle of water - $0.00
 

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Posted by Luke Anderson (Member # 5316) on 08-25-2009, 10:29 AM:
 
A 40oz bottle of Miller High Life. The Champaigne of Beers. $2.43 The perfect size when you tell your wife you are just going to have 1 beer.

-Luke
 

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Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 08-25-2009, 11:04 AM:
 
The last material non-food stuff I purchased (Friday) was "The Reader" on Blu-Ray at Target. Total impulse buy. It exceeded my expectations.

I also picked up the last Harry Potter book and am breaking my "books/movies" rule because, after watching the current movie four times, I couldn't wait for the last two damn movies.

I've almost finished said book and am now considering picking up book 6. Which probably means I'll read the whole series backwards.
 

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Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 08-25-2009, 11:07 AM:
 
Thinking about buying this. It's cheaper than marrying them.


 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 08-25-2009, 11:13 AM:
 
Two 4GB USB flash drives @ $12/ea. Two gallons of concrete sealer @ $20/ea. Grande Starbucks iced coffee, unsweetened, extra ice, $2.20 less 10% SB Gold Card discount.

Pondering getting Wireless-N for home because I need to move my PC from the spare bedroom to a different location but there's no wiring in the new spot for the Comcast cable connection, and no wired LAN connection, and I really don't want to string both coax and Cat-6 and punch more holes in the floor.
 

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Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 08-25-2009, 11:51 AM:
 
Tim, that stereo looks great!
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 08-25-2009, 12:12 PM:
 
My food, cat food, bag of ice, pay storage bill, pay cell bill. I'm broke and about to become homeless.
 

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Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 08-25-2009, 01:51 PM:
 

quote: David Stambaugh

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Two 4GB USB flash drives @ $12/ea.

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When 1GB ones first came out they were about $1000. I remember the first CR-R I ever bought; it cost me 17 pounds. Yes, that was for just one disc, not a box of them. 3.5 inch floppies were about 5 pounds each, and the first 16MB hard disk that we bought at the school where I used to work was an external one, in a 19 inch rack mount style case. It cost about 5000 pounds, and we said we'd never be able to use that much space. My huge Fortran compiler came on *two* 74kB single sided single density disks, with a third one for the graphics libraries. 8 inch double sided double density ones held up to 1 MB, but we didn't get those until later.

I've bought several vintage telephones recently; the last one to arrive being a Kellogg 1000 Masterphone, commonly known as a 'Redbar', but this one has a clearbar. Unfortunately, the Post Office managed not only to break it, but to actually bend the steel baseplate. Repairs are well underway, and I don't think the joins will be visible when it's finished. New cords are on order from Oldphoneworks in Canada, but haven't arrived yet.









It's not as bad as it looks in that last picture; most of what you can see there is just excess glue on the surface, which has since been removed, but there's still quite a bit of work left to do on it.

The shape reminds me of the LNER class A4 locomotives:

web page
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 08-25-2009, 01:56 PM:
 
Besides groceries and gas last night, the last thing I bought was a CD: Herb Alpert & Lani Hall, 'Anything Goes.' Highly recommended for you jazz fans.

 

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Posted by Eric Robinson (Member # 2966) on 08-25-2009, 02:01 PM:
 

quote: Chad Souder

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OK, I definitely can't figure out why it keeps saying login failed when I try to upload a picture

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When entering your user name be sure to use upper and lower case.
 

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Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 08-25-2009, 04:20 PM:
 
Purchased:

Nintendo Wii
Wii FIt
EA Sports Active
Sports Resort
Madden 10
Tiger Woods GOlf

Sure am having fun with the Wii, and the fitness programs are what this overweight body needs. 100 Pin bowling on SPORTS RESORT is great fun with friends.

Madden is a bit tricky to figure out, but I'm getting there. Beat up on Cleveland last night 91 - 0. They could be beaten that badly during the season!
 

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Posted by Todd McCracken (Member # 4718) on 08-25-2009, 04:49 PM:
 
Got myself a Yummy burrito.

Then I picked up a 1.5tb drive for my htpc.

7tb of media at my fingertips is nice.
 

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Posted by Jonathan Althaus (Member # 5042) on 08-25-2009, 05:30 PM:
 
Batman: Arkham Asylum
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 08-25-2009, 06:51 PM:
 
I wanted another Blu-ray player, so I picked up the PS3 Slim:



$299.00
 

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Posted by Rachel Craven (Member # 1016) on 08-25-2009, 07:07 PM:
 

quote: Tim Reed

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Thinking about buying this. It's cheaper than marrying them.

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quote: Stephen Furley

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LNER class A4 locomotives

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quote:

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quote: Chad Souder OK, I definitely can't figure out why it keeps saying login failed when I try to upload a picture

When entering your user name be sure to use upper and lower case. [Wink]

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Now THAT'S funny!
 

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Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 08-25-2009, 08:53 PM:
 
Bought the WD HD media player.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 08-25-2009, 09:53 PM:
 

quote: Joe Redifer

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I wanted another Blu-ray player, so I picked up the PS3 Slim

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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I thought the PS3 slim wasn't supposed to be available until September 1. How did you manage to get it early?

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Best buy had about 10 of them in stock today when I was there.

299.00 ....finally maybe now people will start buying them more. And now maybe companies will make more games for the console.

 

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Posted by Alastair Comrie (Member # 4313) on 08-25-2009, 10:23 PM:
 
New car:



Just got it last weekend.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 08-25-2009, 10:26 PM:
 

quote: Tristan Lane

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299.00 ....finally maybe now people will start buying them more. And now maybe companies will make more games for the console.

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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The internal DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD decoding on full sized PS3 systems accomplishes the same thing.

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Yes and no. I'm not convinced at the PS3's ability to decode Dolby TrueHD properly. It always sounds extremely quiet with a low center channel when transferred to my receiver via PCM. Others ave reported that bitstreaming helps fix these issues. I needed another Blu-ray player anyway, so Imight as well go with one that has known quality (PS3) and offers the bitstreaming and has a good price, plus has 120GB of space. Don't care about the SD and flash card slots and whatnot. That stuff didn't need to be there to begin with. The FAT PS3 will be my spare Blu-ray player and the Slim will be the main machine that does all of the gaming as well.
 

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Posted by Allison Parsons (Member # 2728) on 08-26-2009, 01:36 AM:
 
This weeks big purchases: Chairy from Pee Wee's Playhouse ($3). Baby blue file cabinet at Office Max ($35).




 

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Posted by Andy Bajew (Member # 5330) on 08-26-2009, 07:31 AM:
 
$38.99 with student discount!


 

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Posted by Barry Floyd (Member # 385) on 08-26-2009, 08:53 AM:
 
Brake Pads for a 2000 Ford Windstar minivan... $39.99 at Autozone.
 

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Posted by Andy Bajew (Member # 5330) on 08-26-2009, 10:35 AM:
 
$928.74 - Freedom from credit card debt.
 

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Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 08-26-2009, 09:06 PM:
 

quote: Allison Parsons

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This weeks big purchases: Chairy from Pee Wee's Playhouse ($3).

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That picture is SO my new work desktop background.
 

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Posted by Andy Bajew (Member # 5330) on 09-01-2009, 07:01 PM:
 


Dell 23" Monitor - 229.99
 

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Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 09-01-2009, 08:19 PM:
 
Shiny monitors suck.
 

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Posted by Andy Bajew (Member # 5330) on 09-01-2009, 08:23 PM:
 
Camera angle maybe? It looks better in my room. I just hate these kind of monitors where you have to perfectly angle the screen to see everything. It was 23" and cheaper than my 20" Westinghouse so naturally my incentive to buy and my consumer surplus were much greater
 

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Posted by Clint Koch (Member # 1179) on 09-01-2009, 09:09 PM:
 
guitar strings
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-01-2009, 09:43 PM:
 
Braveheart on Bu-ray and Valkyria Chronicles for the Playstation 3


 

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Posted by John Lasher (Member # 968) on 09-01-2009, 09:56 PM:
 
A Snickers bar and a 20 oz Dr Pepper, I called this lunch. When did Burger King stop having a value menu? Seriously, not one item on their menu under $1.50 (and that was for a small french fries).
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 09-01-2009, 10:33 PM:
 
Apparently our major appliances have ganged up. The washer crapped out last month, and today the refrigerator stopped working. Think we might try to get the fridge fixed though. So, new "whatever it takes" in my future.
 

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Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 09-01-2009, 10:33 PM:
 
Over the weekend I bought a 320gb Iomega Ego (or Igo) portable external for $80 at Frys. It has FW 400 and 800 which I'm happy about. Also bought a 1.5tb Samsung internal drive at fry's for $99.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 09-01-2009, 10:41 PM:
 

quote: Joe Redifer

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Braveheart on Bu-ray and Valkyria Chronicles for the Playstation 3

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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...locked up in the "cage" to keep shoplifters from pilfering the things.

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Change of topic, but it's the funniest thing how they keep them locked up in the cages, and then they get them out of the cage and hand them to you and walk away. It completely defeats the whole purpose of having them stored in a secure area when they do exactly what the customer would have done--taken it and walked away and paid with the rest of the items at a different register. Is Houston/Katy the only place that does this?
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 09-01-2009, 10:49 PM:
 
I don't know, the folks at our Sam's Club are a little more vigilant in how they handle it. You pick up your item at the cage and then are taken directly to the register where you can pay for it. No walking around the store to do any more browsing allowed. It was that way this evening when I picked up Braveheart and the same way when I bought Killzone 2 a few months ago.
 

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Posted by Andy Bajew (Member # 5330) on 09-01-2009, 10:53 PM:
 
I forgot you mentioned Sam's Club in your post. They seem to generally be more competent when it comes to how they handle business. I used to be a bookkeeper for Kroger, a local grocery store, and was always amazed and how well all of the supervisors at Sam's handled drawer audits and switches.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-01-2009, 11:33 PM:
 
Yes, I have 3.0. It provides nothing new except some twinkly stars. Yay.

I guess people who steal movies and games only steal them from places like Sams Club and not Best Buy. I always hated buying games at Circuit City for that reason. I hated trying to find the asshole with the keys (who is usually very busy). This is definitely not in the best interest of anyone.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 09-02-2009, 01:30 AM:
 
We use the old lock'n'key system for our CDs and DVDs. We used to have CDs in an open rack but shoplifting was rampant. People who gripe about the glass doors have their own generation to blame, sorry about that.
 

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Posted by Damien Taylor (Member # 4255) on 09-02-2009, 08:56 AM:
 
40, yes forty Seeburg '1000' background music records, for no reason whatsoever other than that I just found out they exist, so I MUST have them!

I find out about tiny niche collector markets and then involve myself totally until I am the absolute master of the hobby. By this time I usually find out about another micro-hobby and move on. This process continues ad infinitum, and as such I am 23 with a room so full of psuedo-collectables I cant walk from one side to the other without tripping over a stack of jingle tapes or drive-in speakers or 8-tracks etc... etc... and no spare time.

But yeah 9" of 16⅔ instumental no-name band goodness programmed to make you work harder, eat faster, and shop more aggressively. Big brother exists people, and he's basically Lawrence Welk.
 

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Posted by Michael Hossen (Member # 4274) on 09-02-2009, 11:11 AM:
 
Bought a bottle of FilmGuard today to try out.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 09-02-2009, 12:04 PM:
 
How does it taste?

 

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Posted by Robert John Jeromson (Member # 2559) on 09-02-2009, 04:15 PM:
 
Car: $2200
Service: $160
Heater Core: $250
Tow from the CBD $100
Transmission Coolant Lines: $100
Transmission Fluid: $120
New Radiator: $250
Handbrake Service: $250
Wheel Balance: $80

The nauseating feeling that comes with the realisation that your $2200 car has now cost you $3510, f**king priceless

 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 09-02-2009, 07:15 PM:
 

quote:

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The nauseating feeling that comes with the realisation that your $2200 car has now cost you $3510,

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quote:

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What did you buy today

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Time.
 

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Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 09-04-2009, 12:45 PM:
 
The postman delivered the original theatrical M*A*S*H on Blu-ray to me today.

It was officially released on Tuesday. A must-have. My evening is officially planned.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-04-2009, 03:09 PM:
 
Watching it before Tuesday is a federal crime.
 

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Posted by Jonathan Althaus (Member # 5042) on 09-04-2009, 03:16 PM:
 
Insignia portable HD/FM radio player. $50 at Best Buy.
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 09-04-2009, 03:32 PM:
 
Among other random groceries, I tried some sort of latino tamarind flavor soda. I've found that I absolutely love it, especially mixed with cognac.
 

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-04-2009, 05:02 PM:
 
Absolutely by chance this past Sunday I picked up a nice silver nugget... probably about 4 to 6 ounces... absolutely free for the taking... laying on the ground at the Minnie Moore Mine outside Eureka Utah.

Today I bought 7 Electrolytic Capacitors for $8.45 at Ra-Elco which will hopefully restore a Sony Trinitron Broadcast monitor I have back to working order. Since it has SMPTE phosphors I definately wanna get it working and calibrated again.

Mark
 

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Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 09-04-2009, 05:12 PM:
 

quote: Joe Redifer

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Watching it before Tuesday is a federal crime.

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quote: Sam Graham

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It was released LAST Tuesday. Not this coming Tuesday.

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quote: Mike Blakesley

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Well, we got the new Beatles remaster CDs at the store today.

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Do you have any Mono Boxes that aren't spoken for, by any chance?
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 09-04-2009, 07:38 PM:
 

quote: Kurt Zupin

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I picked up Batman: Arkhum Asylum for my PS3 last night, as well as updated to the version 3.0 I like the new HUD in the upper right hand corner. Tells you how many friends are on as well as a few other things. But for the most part the update falls flat.

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quote: Mark Gulbrandsen

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absolutely free for the taking... laying on the ground

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off topic
 

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Posted by Tony Bandiera Jr (Member # 2365) on 09-07-2009, 10:39 PM:
 
Oh, I've just spent $68k of someone else's money on some sound and projection gear for an install..

Like Christmas in September!
 

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Posted by Dylan Houdeshell (Member # 5415) on 09-08-2009, 12:00 AM:
 
I just dropped $300 on a brand new electic guitar. It's an ESP MH-50 . Great guitar for the price I paid!
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 09-08-2009, 12:26 AM:
 
I bought a new bicycle last week!
Paid $450.00 for it!



I even got to ride it once!


 

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Posted by Robert Crabtree (Member # 4795) on 09-08-2009, 09:43 PM:
 
I bought a $73 ticket to see my beloved Gators steamroll Charleston Southern in The Swamp. Also picked up "A Brief History of the Spanish Language" by my major's dept. chair for $25 while I was in town.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-08-2009, 10:33 PM:
 
I like how they completely ignore the TAX and TOTAL lines in Randy's receipt and write their own. I guess the ones that are already there simply aren't good enough.
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 09-08-2009, 11:21 PM:
 
Never thought about it.

When I worked at the TV store I used to fill out receipts like that too.
Keeps people from writing in extra shit because there isn't all this blank space between the last item and the tax/total area.

I don't know... It's just how we did things.

Maybe it's a Pennsyltucky thing?

 

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Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 09-09-2009, 10:24 AM:
 

quote: Joe Redifer

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Oh OK. Last Friday I saw Braveheart for rent at a local Blockbuster and it had not yet been released. The authorities came in and arrested everyone and shot the manager in the face.

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Ah. Well played.

If anybody else is thinking of picking M*A*S*H, don't. The transfer is hideous. It would have been hideous even on a standard DVD.
 

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-09-2009, 10:40 AM:
 
Ok, Jeremy, Fair enough, I had to buy gas to get there and back... about a 200 mile round trip and lunch at the fillin station which also gave me gas. This past weekend I had to buy more gas to get to and from a mine in the west Utah Desert in which I found a nice cache of high percentage gold ore in the wall and ceiling in a little explored part of the mine. Carried out as much as I could in a backpack but have to go back to get the rest, it's pretty heavy ore. I have an aquaintaince who can process the ore and with gold going to 1K per ounce it's certainly worth the time, effort and gas.


No Phil, Thats not Pyrite!!!
 

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Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 09-09-2009, 11:45 AM:
 
I just spent $132 having an Heirship Affidavit and 5 Warranty Deeds recorded at the County Clerk's office.
 

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Posted by Mark Ogden (Member # 43) on 09-09-2009, 01:25 PM:
 
Between $12.99 and $16.99 for these Beatles Remasters: Sgt. Pepper, Magical Mystery Tour, White Album, Let It Be, Past Masters. So far, the sonic improvements are pretty obvious, but ANYTHING could have been better than what we have had for the last 25 years, the Beatles have always sounded like crap on CD. I've watched a couple of the little WMV docs on the discs, they aren't very much to speak of, though.

Now to track down a Mono Box. I was too late to pre-order it, but supposedly more are being manufactured.
 

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Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 09-09-2009, 03:33 PM:
 
Stimulating!

Economically Stimulating!

Oh...as for me...46" Sharp Aquos LCD TV for $999

That's 12" bigger than what I was working with before and -- oh my -- those extra 12" make all the difference in the world!

It looked about right in Costco's big ol' warehouse and then when I got it home I felt ashamed of myself.

Later that night, with the box and all the packaging still strewn about the living room, I had to look my landlord in the eye and plead my case for a reduction in rent. Totally absurd but, whatever, they went along and helped me out. God bless 'em!
 

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Posted by Jeff Stricker (Member # 224) on 09-09-2009, 05:25 PM:
 
How about a 1 KW AM broadcast transmitter to be converted to the ham bands.... A little heavy, but it now resides in my garage undergoing restoration.


 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 09-09-2009, 05:53 PM:
 
WOW Jeff, that's really cool. Plate modulation?

But, it looks like there are a bunch of sub-assemblies and other parts missing...I see no modulation or HV power-supply transformers???

What final tube(s)does it use?

Do you do AM?
 

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Posted by Jeff Stricker (Member # 224) on 09-09-2009, 06:16 PM:
 
...Hi Phil, It's a Gates BC-1G circa mid/late 60's. Yes, all the heavy iron was removed: power transformer, filter choke, modulation transformer, modulation reactor, etc. most barely able to lift! It is plate modulation, and uses two 833's modulating a pair of 833's. Low level stages in both audio and RF use vintage 807's.
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 09-09-2009, 06:39 PM:
 
That's super-cool, Jeff!

Gates BC-1G

833's are my FAVORITE bizarre-looking tubes!


 

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-09-2009, 06:44 PM:
 
Jeff,

If you need any 833's let me know as I think the tube man here in SLC has some on the shelf and they'd probably be cheap. Those trannys are cool enough with the filaments lit up to display in one's living room!

Mark
 

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Posted by Jeff Stricker (Member # 224) on 09-09-2009, 07:08 PM:
 
Phil, AM is about all I operate anymore...after years of CW, SBB etc...AM is great for realaxed full fidelity contacts.

Hi Mark...yes, yes, yes-----I'm interested in some 833's. Not sure the ones that came with this thing have a lot of life left in them. If you get the chance, pleaae ask the 'tube man' about them and me know what he says. many thanks! Jeff...BTW: still runnning the BX 40's!!!
 

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Posted by Jonathan Althaus (Member # 5042) on 09-09-2009, 07:28 PM:
 
3 left handed screwdrivers ($1 each) and 2 keys to some oarlocks ($3)
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-13-2009, 06:35 PM:
 


Playable with the Gamecube controller or Classic controller. No waggle in this game! No polygons, either. Probably the best looking game this generation, graphically. 2D goodness!
 

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Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 09-13-2009, 07:22 PM:
 
Jeff, that is soooo cool!! What station did that come from?
 

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Posted by Jeff Stricker (Member # 224) on 09-14-2009, 06:12 PM:
 
Hi Tim.

The transmitter came from WAKE in Valparaiso, Indiana. They are a 1 KW daytime station using a two tower directional array on 1500 kHz. The transmitter was removed from service several years ago after being replaced with a more modern solid state rig. It was in storage at a friend's who removed it from service.

Currently it's in the clean up - paint up phase of restoration. Electrical work will come after getting it to look good. I have been told, however, that it was working when removed. It's gonna need some sickly low level electrolytics and a few hot looking resistors replaced at a minimum. I'll keep you informed as to progress. Jeff W9GY
 

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-15-2009, 01:50 PM:
 
Jeff,

The tube man has 4 833s left. Two are brand new unopened and two are opened but brand new. The two sealed are military tubes. He wants 95.00 each for them. Bill (The Tube Man) just turned 90 last week!!! Let me know if you're interested in them and I'll get you in touch with him...

Mark
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-15-2009, 04:47 PM:
 

 

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Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 09-15-2009, 08:23 PM:
 
Jeff... please do! That is a great project! And I just bet you're gonna put it into AM service on 75 meters?
 

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Posted by Jeff Stricker (Member # 224) on 09-16-2009, 06:35 PM:
 
Hey Tim... 160 M to start with. Much closer to the broadcast band than 75 M. I can get it onto 160 without major surgery to the driver circuit and final. This tx was on 1.5 mHz to start with, so the conversion is fairly simple. The process of getting it running, as I see it, is as follows: get it going on it's origianl frequency of 1500 kHz., then move it up to 1880 kHz in the 160 M band (where I hang out alot)...after establishing it is good and relaible on 160, then possibly figure a way to bandswitch it to 75 M.

73 Jeff W9GY
 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 09-28-2009, 07:31 PM:
 
12 days since a purchase??? What's going on?
 

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Posted by Galen Murphy-Fahlgren (Member # 4535) on 09-29-2009, 12:00 AM:
 
John, there's a global recession afoot, didn't you hear? It's blasphemous to spend money.

I haven't bought anything but gas and groceries in a month. However, I need to pick up some parts to get my car on the road (a little cold and wet on my motorcycle tonight), kitty litter, and a furnace filter so I can turn on the furnace now that it is getting into the 40s at night.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 09-29-2009, 12:10 PM:
 
I bought the original "Woodstock" movie on DVD this week. I've never seen it. I have a feeling it will make a fast trip to eBay afterwards, but who knows?

I also bought a new roof for the theatre this week.
 

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Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 09-29-2009, 01:22 PM:
 
Got the ST:TNG movie Blu-ray collection in the mail yesterday, as well as Hot Fuzz and Shawn of the Dead.

Watched Hot Fuzz last night. I think I liked it better this time around than in its theatrical run.
 

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Posted by Christian Volpi (Member # 2370) on 09-29-2009, 04:24 PM:
 
I wanted to post this earlier, but was nowhere near a computer. On Friday my wife and I bought a house!
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-29-2009, 04:40 PM:
 
Awesome! Pics or it didn't happen.
 

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Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 10-01-2009, 05:46 AM:
 
Oh such beautiful thing is my new USB to parallel cable!

I'll never junk my HP Laserjet 6P printer.

Tight wad (me) :1
Microsoft Vista :0
 

---

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-01-2009, 10:35 AM:
 

quote: Ian Parfrey

---

I'll never junk my HP Laserjet 6P printer.

---

Cool! I just retired a HP IIp Plus that was around 20 or more years old...and I have a 15-year-old Deskjet 1120c that's still going strong. to USB adaptors.
 

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 10-01-2009, 01:14 PM:
 
Yea, I had an H-P 4p for over 15 years and I gave it to someone else and they are still using it!! Nice thing is the toner catdridges print about 1500 pages... unlike the new printers of today where you are lucky to get a few hundred pages out of one.

Mark
 

---

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 10-01-2009, 01:29 PM:
 
I have a HP Deskjet 1220C at work that I hardly ever use, but it still works. The Konica-Minolta officer printer with EFI Fiery RIP gets more use, although the 1220C is more simple and straight-forward to use.
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 10-01-2009, 08:20 PM:
 
Our office's main printer still is an HP Laserjet 4M...best bang for the buck ever...it is 16 years old and counting. Pages still look great...never a lick of trouble.

Steve
 

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Posted by Robert Crabtree (Member # 4795) on 10-05-2009, 02:22 PM:
 
We've got some special guests coming in to visit work this week, and I've got a wedding to go to later this month, so I picked up a new suit jacket, shirt, tie, and two pairs of shoes. Fairly proud of the fact that, tax included, I spent about 172 on what normally would cost 380. No one works coupons and sales like me!
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 10-05-2009, 03:27 PM:
 

quote:

---

Fairly proud of the fact that, tax included, I spent about 172 on what normally would cost 380. No one works coupons and sales like me!

---

When I was younger, my grandma loved this suit that my mom had gotten me for a cruise... until she found out we got it for $12 at a thrift store.
 

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Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 10-05-2009, 04:01 PM:
 
I bought my son a play system since they were on big, fat sale for the end of the season and the truck freight was free. I will have to buy the wood to build it but it will still be less than half the cost of a prebuilt one. i.e. Rainbow Play Systems



I also bought a lot of add-ons like monkey bars and things not shown. We will be the favorite house on the block for all of the kids. At least then I know where my son is so I know he isn't getting into trouble like his old man used to do.
 

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 10-05-2009, 04:03 PM:
 
Finally dipped into the HDTV world: gave our Sanyo 25inch TV to my folks and bought us a Visio 37inch, 1080p LCD flat screen from WallyWorld.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-05-2009, 08:31 PM:
 
HP P1600 laser printer for the Roxy - $99 at amazon.com

Also just finished watching my purchase from a couple of weeks ago, the original Woodstock movie. Now I understand why everyone was on drugs in 1969...it made the music sound better.
 

---

Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 10-12-2009, 09:22 AM:
 
Took the leap and finally bought a Scag mower that I have been wanting for a long time. I have been watching ebay and other places for at least two years for a good one at a good price. A local one popped up on ebay last week and I won the auction yesterday. I should be getting it sometime this week. Too bad winter is coming. Maybe I will just have to mow the snow.
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 10-12-2009, 10:28 AM:
 
Mow all the snow out of your driveway! Who needs a snowblower?

Or you could just mow the leaves after they fall off the trees. Who needs rakes?
 

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Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 10-12-2009, 10:59 AM:
 
I actually do run my current lawnmower over the leaves.

We have about 1/2 acre of lawn and I tried raking the leaves the first year we lived here. We have a lot of mature trees in our yard and woods on the other 3/4 acre behind our house so we get lots of leaves. After raking up around 50 large 30gal lawn bags of leaves the first year, I promptly went out and bought a commercial backpack blower for the next season. I used that for a few years too but it still took several hours everytime I had to clean up leaves (I usually have to do about 4 cleanings). Then I got smart and started running my lawn tractor with a bagger over them and that made it a much quicker job.
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 10-13-2009, 09:57 AM:
 
I mow the leaves until they get too heavy to handle with the mower.

If you keep the lawn mowed short before the leaves fall, it's much easier to manage the leaves. Therefore, you should take the time to try out your new mower if you can.
 

---

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 10-13-2009, 12:10 PM:
 

quote: Randy Stankey

---

I mow the leaves until they get too heavy to handle with the mower.

---

I like the leaf mowing approach. I have one of those Sears Craftsman lawn mowers with the Honda engine.

I mow up the leaves in rows, starting from left with each row advancing to the right. Any leaves that don't wind up in the grass catcher are often spit out to the right where they'll get mowed again. We have those huge garbage cans for automated trash pickup. I just keep dumping leaves (along with sticks, etc.) straight into the big garbage can until it's full. Gotta load up the bigger branches in my pickup bed and haul them to the land fill.

I don't bother with the bagging nonsense. I guess it's more "green" not to bag the leaves anyway. Haven't noticed any stray leaves or anything like that along the street curb after trash pickup, so I guess they're all going right into the truck's garbage container when the lid flops open. I'll start bagging the leaves again if the garbage men say anything. So far they haven't.
 

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Posted by Galen Murphy-Fahlgren (Member # 4535) on 10-13-2009, 12:22 PM:
 
I never even thought about leaves being that big a deal. My backyard is a hill into a river flood plain, aka the woods. I've always just mowed until there got to be too many leaves for that. When it gets to that point, I'll just take a rake and throw all the leaves over the hill.
 

---

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-13-2009, 02:17 PM:
 
Just bought Paul Shaffer's book, We'll Be Here for the Rest of our Lives. I read an excerpt online and as he might say, "It's a gas, baby."
 

---

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 10-13-2009, 04:10 PM:
 
I hate him. He is so annoying. And his band is probably the worst ever on any late night talk show.
 

---

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 10-13-2009, 04:13 PM:
 
Joe, you speak the truth!

I agree 100%!
 

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 10-13-2009, 04:19 PM:
 

quote: Bobby Henderson

---

I like the leaf mowing approach.

---

quote: Joe Redifer

---

I hate him. He is so annoying.

---

quote: Mark Gulbrandsen

---

Leaves... Shit! We just let ours blow over into Wyoming

---

I wish I could do that. Unfortunately the leaves never get much farther than the South fence in my back yard.
 

---

Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 10-14-2009, 12:33 AM:
 
You're blowing them the wrong direction.
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 10-17-2009, 07:53 AM:
 
Well as discussed in another thread...I have now purchased a D-SLR. The Nikon D90.



It wasn't the one I wanted (the D700) but the thought of dangling $3,000 around my neck on family vacations where it will necessarily be subject to getting stowed while we are on amusement park rides and thus either damaged or stolen just rubbed me to wrong way.

I also don't think a D-SLR is really worth $3K, honestly. If I made my living off of taking pictures, that would probably be another story.

I think I depressed the sales guy because I kept referring to it as my "compromise camera."

Now I need to figure out a good way to store the digital images where they won't either take up too much space on drives and also survive time (and I mean decades...not years).

Steve
 

---

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-17-2009, 09:09 AM:
 

quote: Steve Guttag

---

dangling $3,000 around my neck on family vacations where it will necessarily be subject to getting stowed while we are on amusement park rides and thus either damaged or stolen

---

That's why I bought my little Canon SD1000. It's the size of a pack of cards (and just as flat) so it can take vacation abuse.
 

---

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 10-17-2009, 09:35 AM:
 
Steve: I compromised on my compromise camera and bought a D60 Nikon. Very satisfied.

SD cards are cheap, small and will probably last. I mark them with "editorial tape" and keep them in a small tin (like a small coffee can.) One for each year or for each trip. LOuis
 

---

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 10-17-2009, 10:54 AM:
 
I agree 100% it can be scary to take a high priced camera into situations where the camera can get damaged. It's bad enough some DSLR camera bodies alone can cost upwards of $3000, $5000 or even $8000. Then you have to figure on the glass you have mounted to them. That easily adds $1000 or a lot more to the combination. Lenses, especially zoom lenses, are susceptible to being thrown out of calibration or even just plain damaged with any serious impact (either stuff hitting it or the lens suffering a drop).

Overall, when you have about $5000 of camera gear hanging around your neck, you tend to have a more "heads up" awareness of the situation. I don't let anything get near, much less touch, my camera. I'm pretty good at protecting it.

Really, the bigger problem I have with using a higher end DSLR camera is it's more difficult to shoot discrete photos of people at some sort of event. They get distracted by the big camera and lens and start asking, "do you work for the newspaper?"

I have an old Kodak Easy Share camera for some simple point and shoot duties, but I'm thinking about replacing that with a Canon Powershot SX 20 IS camera. The Powershot has a 20X optical zoom lens. It has a handy flip-out LCD panel (something I wish more DSLR cameras had) you can use for self portraits and lots of other odd angle stuff. On top of that it has E-TTL functions and its hot shoe is compatible with Canon Speedlight external flashes.
 

---

Posted by Hillary Charles (Member # 769) on 10-17-2009, 11:48 AM:
 
When I was selling cameras, it was often like pulling teeth to sell a $600 35mm SLR outfit, but today, the same people (justifiably) find an $800~$1000 DSLR body a good buy!

Not that the markup is any better because of the higher prices.

BTW, the last camera I bought was a 1950's (3D) Stereo Realist via feebay. Half a century old, $120, and its images still provides the "wow factor."
 

---

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 10-17-2009, 12:31 PM:
 
Today I bought the 3 volume set by David L. Junchen The Encyclopedia of the American Theatre Organ which has been out of print for many years
 

---

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 10-17-2009, 01:01 PM:
 
Oh the point-n-shoot cameras are GREAT these days. They are about the size of a deck of cards, take REALLY good pictures for what they are...are relatively cheap too.

Nikon even has one of their Coolpix cameras with a built in projector.

Sony has their cyber thing that, when it is on its base can start taking pictures of people at gatherings all by itself...it will only take pictures of people that are smiling and try not to repeat the same person...pretty freaky cool and not as expensive as you would think. I could see them as great for weddings, reunions and such.

I still have my Olympus p-n-s as well as my handy M1 cell phone with its 2.0 Megapixel camera. It is just that now I have a camera for "keepers" and things that will have more detail, even in dark places or far away.

Steve
 

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Posted by Gordon Bachlund (Member # 124) on 10-18-2009, 04:39 PM:
 
Gord, you were sublimely lucky to find all three volumes.

Now you'll need to complete your collection with the ATOS published "The Wurlitzer Pipe Organ."
 

---

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 10-19-2009, 08:57 PM:
 
My new tripod setup is now complete. Items purchased are listed below the image:



A = Really Right Stuff RRS-337 Dual Axis Hot Shoe Level

B = Really Right Stuff B5D2-L L-Plate for Canon EOS 5D Mark II

C = Wimberley P20 quick release plate for collared lenses

D = Really Right Stuff B2-mAS clamp & B2-FAB clamp
to hold quick release plates for camera bodies
and telephoto lens collars.

E = Really Right Stuff MPR-192 rail

F = Really Right Stuff PCL-1 Panning Clamp

G = Really Right Stuff BH-55 Ball Head

H = Gitzo 3530LS Systematic Tripod
 

---

Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 10-19-2009, 09:35 PM:
 
So Bobby Henderson,

Do you really need 4 bubble levels to do your panoramic photography? It has a level at every height, even on the ball mount.

Having never tried seaming photos for the panoramic effect, I wondered how accurate the leveling has to be for a good end result?

KEN
 

---

Posted by Tom Mundell (Member # 4555) on 10-19-2009, 09:38 PM:
 
Argh, my G5 tower and monitor began dieing; monitor was about 15 years old so I guess I got my money's worth out of that, but the G5 is only about 6 years old so I'm a little annoyed. But rather than repair (or replace) both of these separately I bought a new iMac:


 

---

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 10-19-2009, 09:58 PM:
 

quote: Kenneth Wuepper

---

So Bobby Henderson,

Do you really need 4 bubble levels to do your panoramic photography?

---

Please Ken! Now we'll get 8 paragraphs on why the bubble levels . You and I both know that pro support gear at most has two of those.

Mark
 

---

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-19-2009, 10:05 PM:
 

quote:

---

I bought a new iMac:

---

So just curious, if you spent all the money for an iMac, why in the world didn't you get a real keyboard? I have a feeling I'd drive myself batty typing on that thing in your picture.
 

---

Posted by Tom Mundell (Member # 4555) on 10-19-2009, 10:36 PM:
 
Strangely enough, I actually kinda like that strange little keyboard that came with the iMac. I have about 5 spare keyboards hanging around (everything from an IBM Model M to the Microsoft split ergonomic keyboard) if I want anything else though, but so far that crazy thing is working out...
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 10-19-2009, 10:38 PM:
 
Looks can be deceiving. I thought the same thing about the keyboard when I first saw it. When I started using one, I found I can type faster without as much stress on my hands.

The spacing of the keys is virtually identical to my Macally keyboard.


The key travel is much shorter, meaning it takes less energy for your fingers to press them down. The keys bottom out fairly softly as well, meaning there isn't as much stress on your hands as you type.

Of course, nothing beats a "Model M" but those are getting hard to come by unless you want to pay the $$$ to have one custom made.
 

---

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 10-19-2009, 10:45 PM:
 

quote: Kenneth Wuepper

---

Do you really need 4 bubble levels to do your panoramic photography? It has a level at every height, even on the ball mount.

---

quote: Kenneth Wuepper

---

Having never tried seaming photos for the panoramic effect, I wondered how accurate the leveling has to be for a good end result?

---

quote: Marky Mark

---

Please Ken! Now we'll get 8 paragraphs on why the bubble levels [Eek!] . You and I both know that pro support gear at most has two of those.

Mark

---

Thankfully we were only subjected to 4.
 

---

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 10-20-2009, 09:02 PM:
 
Try 2 sentences and 1 short paragraph. The so called 4th paragraph was a response to another question from Kenneth about the importance of leveling a panorama shot.

BTW, I'm not the one who designs the equipment made by Gitzo or Really Right Stuff. Any complaints about too many spirit levels and accusations their equipment isn't "pro quality" because of too many spirit levels should be taken up with them. I'm sure they would get a laugh out of their gear not really being professional quality because they included bubble levels in one too many parts.

 

---

Posted by Geena Phillips (Member # 3726) on 10-20-2009, 09:52 PM:
 
Wal-Mart had both Jackass movies (unrated editions) for $3 apiece. How could I say no?
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 10-20-2009, 10:32 PM:
 
I want a tripod made out of nothing BUT bubble levels.
 

---

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 10-20-2009, 10:43 PM:
 
Joe =


 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 10-20-2009, 10:52 PM:
 
I need to correct something I wrote earlier:

quote: Bobby Henderson

---

The leveling needs to pretty accurate if you want to create a 360° panorama shot and have the horizon match at both ends of the shot. It's not quite so important otherwise.

---

quote: Geena Phillips

---

Wal-Mart had both Jackass movies (unrated editions) for $3 apiece. How could I say no?

---

Wow! You were ripped off.
 

---

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-21-2009, 01:58 PM:
 
Got two new box sets yesterday:

"Do What You Want, Be What You Are" Daryl Hall/John Oates (CDs)

and

"It's Garry Shandling's Show: The Complete Series" (DVDs)
 

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Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 10-21-2009, 11:01 PM:
 
Here is a picture of my new (used but new to me) Scag mower. You can also see the half built play system I bought for my son sitting in the driveway. It's getting dark now around 6:30pm and I don't get much time to work on it so progress is slow.


 

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 10-24-2009, 09:03 PM:
 
My latest addition to the TV camera collection is an interesting one. A Hydro Products Underwater camera circa late 1970's. I don't know all the specs on this yet but I am told this camera is good to extreme depths, perhaps as deep as 5000 feet. The casing is solid machined stainless steel 3/8" thick and the front window is actually a 4" thick ground piece of quartz and is actually a diopter for the 12.5mm lens. This particuluar one was removed from a submersible that was used in mapping the Gulf Of Mexico. Luckily I have tracked down one of the original engineers of it and he is sending me the full manual. Now all I need is a submarine! No actually a group I'm with are making plans to drop it down flooded mine shafts to see what if anything is down them. Has a silicon target vidicon so it won't need very much light to see! The original price on these cameras was around 40 grand.

Mark






 

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Posted by Jeremy Jorgenson (Member # 2989) on 10-25-2009, 01:45 AM:
 
Groceries ... including a case of Coke ... jeez, they have the Holiday 2009 cans out already? I guess it's not surprising, but it caught me off guard anyway.


 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 10-25-2009, 03:45 AM:
 
Why don't they write 'Christmas' on those things? Is it not Christmas they are referring to?
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 10-25-2009, 04:57 AM:
 
That would offend Kwaanzaa and Hanaka fanboys.
 

---

Posted by Mark J. Marshall (Member # 1409) on 10-25-2009, 08:52 AM:
 
I didn't know Santa Claus celebrated Kwaanzaa and Hanaka. He's busier than I thought he was.
 

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Posted by John Lasher (Member # 968) on 10-25-2009, 01:30 PM:
 
According to a poll a few years ago (I'll have to track it down), about 95% of Americans, regardless of faith (or lack thereof) celebrate "Christmas". I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that a good number of the other 5% are not offended by the mention of it. So when we say "Happy Holidays" instead, we're really catering to less than 5% of the population.

And recently I bought:

The following flavors of Jones Soda:

• Cola
• Kiwi
• Green Apple (wish they had Red Apple in cans in my area)

• The Great Piano Concertos: Grieg - Igor Urjash, piano; Schumann - Tee Min, piano; Orchestra "New Philharmony" St. Petersburg/Titov. Sony/Infinity QK57227

• Ace Ventura 3-pack
• The Getaway
• Bullitt
• The Towering Inferno

2 Powerball Tickets, matched the 14 on one
 

---

Posted by Karl Borowski (Member # 5424) on 10-25-2009, 03:55 PM:
 
So, if 95% of Americans celebrate Christmas, the 5% ( more than 1-1/2 million people) that don't are the reason why Coke has their cans labeled as "Holiday 2009" instead of Christmas 2009
 

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Posted by Jeremy Jorgenson (Member # 2989) on 10-25-2009, 04:27 PM:
 
"Happy Holidays" - the phrase - has been around LONG before the current wave of political correctness... jeez! I don't see why the end of the calendar year can't be called the holiday season without people getting all into a tizzy about it, I mean if you call the end of the calendar year "Christmas" that's just ridiculous (as more than Christmas is going on). Also, Santa Claus is on the damn can, how can that be catering to people that don't celebrate Christmas?
 

---

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 10-25-2009, 04:53 PM:
 
How can he be catering to people who DO celebrate Christmas? Perhaps he's just some old fart with a beard.
 

---

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 10-25-2009, 08:30 PM:
 
Why doesn't the Coca Cola company just make 95% of their cans say "Merry Christmas" and 4% of the cans say "Happy Hanukkah" and 1% of them say "Happy Kwanza" then mix the cans randomly before shipping them out?

Then they have the perfect solution that disrespects nobody but offends everybody equally.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-25-2009, 09:40 PM:
 
Or better yet, just make regular Coca Cola cans, thereby having two advantages:

1. They would save money on designing the Christmas can.

2. The cans won't look stupid when they're still in the refrigerator in April.

I never did understand the whole Christmas Packaging phenomenon anyway. How much more Coke can it possibly sell? "Mom, let's get some Pepsi." "No, let's get Coke instead because it has Santa on the cans."
 

---

Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 10-26-2009, 12:01 PM:
 

quote: John Lasher

---

So when we say "Happy Holidays" instead, we're really catering to less than 5% of the population.

---

Because in the U.S. the squeaky wheel gets the grease. We always seem to cater to the smallest percentage of the population on tv, in magazines and politically. We have to be "politically correct" so as not to offend anyone.
 

---

Posted by John Lasher (Member # 968) on 10-27-2009, 04:14 PM:
 
Political correctness offends me.

Recently bought:

• Cassette player
• FM transmitter
• 10-pack of C-90 cassettes
• 100-count spindle of CD-Rs

quote: Mike Blakesley

---

"It's Garry Shandling's Show: The Complete Series" (DVDs)

---

quote: Mike Blakesley

---

"Mom, let's get some Pepsi." "No, let's get Coke instead because it has Santa on the cans."

---

quote: Mike Blakesley

---

I never did understand the whole Christmas Packaging phenomenon anyway. How much more Coke can it possibly sell? "Mom, let's get some Pepsi." "No, let's get Coke instead because it has Santa on the cans."

---

Consider this:
When I was 7 or 8 I was hanging out at this family friend's house and the mom asked her son (my age) what cookies he wanted from the store. He said "Get [insert brand], because 'They're a party in every bite'" which was the ad slogan for that brand. I simply couldn't believe that someone was that gullible.
 

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Posted by Jeremy Weigel (Member # 4208) on 11-07-2009, 11:27 PM:
 
Purchased the following DVD's at Wal-Mart a few days ago:

G.I. Joe Season 1.1
G.I. Joe Season 1.2
G.I. Joe The M.A.S.S. Device
All 5 Volumes of Voltron
Voltron Fleet of Doom
Transformers Season 1
Transformers Season 2 volume 1
Transformers More Than Meets the Eye
Thundercats Season 1 volume 1
Thundercats Season 1 volume 2
Thundercats Season 2 volume 1
Thundercats Season 1 volume 2
Silver Hawks Volume 1
V The Original Miniseries
V The Complete Series

Yeah, I have a lot of DVD watching to do.

At Bob Mills Furniture today:

Chest o'Drawers
 

---

Posted by Andy Bajew (Member # 5330) on 11-07-2009, 11:47 PM:
 
Eww I hope you got a payment plan for all that
 

---

Posted by Jeremy Weigel (Member # 4208) on 11-07-2009, 11:57 PM:
 
Nah, finally spending some of my Christmas bonus from last year.
 

---

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 11-08-2009, 12:37 AM:
 
People are still buying DVDs?


I need to sell a bunch of mine.
 

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Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 11-09-2009, 10:52 AM:
 
A dual screen Philips portable DVD player for my son. I have to leave Friday to go to Chicago for our annual trade show and I will be gone for a week, so my wife is going to visit her sister in Charlotte which is over eight hours away. Since my son does not do well on long trips being strapped in a car seat, we bought some new cheap toys and this dvd player in hopes that it will can keep him entertained and calm.
 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 11-09-2009, 02:00 PM:
 

quote: Joshua Waaland

---

so my wife is going to visit her sister in Charlotte which is over eight hours away. Since my son does not do well on long trips being strapped in a car seat, we bought some new cheap toys and this dvd player in hopes that it will can keep him entertained and calm.

---

Hey Joshua...

Brad emailed me and was mentioning HE had to go to Charlotte too...maybe he could hitch a ride with the young-un.
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 11-09-2009, 03:39 PM:
 
Its only fun if everyone is trapped in the air. At least I could jump out of a moving car (or throw the kid out the window).

(Just kidding, Joshua.)
 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 11-09-2009, 05:25 PM:
 

quote: Brad Miller

---

(Just kidding, Joshua.)

---

Yeah, he wouldn't really jump out of a moving car.
 

---

Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 11-10-2009, 10:49 AM:
 
Anxiously awaiting the arrival of a new HP Photosmart B8550 inket printer:

Details on Amazon.com

This can print up to 13x19 paper and it's got pretty good reviews. It still goes for $300 on HP's store and around $200 on many sites, so getting it for $140 on Amazon was a good price. Add on top of that HP will take my old printer and pay $50 for the pleasure!

I just hope that it's as good as the reviews report. I'm looking forward to playing with it. My wife will like the ability to do some digital scrapbook layouts (12x12) and it will be good to do some large layout examples for presentations to clients as well.
 

---

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 11-10-2009, 10:55 AM:
 
I might have to look into one of those too, given that price. I've got a 1220c that I use to make signs and stuff for the theatre, but the 11x17 paper is a limitation...would love to go to 13x19.

That's something else for the "drives me insane" thread -- people who make "posters" on typing paper and think they look cool. (And they overuse the "WordArt" feature!)
 

---

Posted by Dwayne Benallie (Member # 4443) on 11-10-2009, 05:20 PM:
 
I bought Modern Warfare 2 for the PS3 which came with night vision goggles and other small goodies.
 

---

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-10-2009, 06:16 PM:
 


Everybody in Disney cover art MUST always be happy/smiling, no matter that they are dangling for dear life and planes are about to shoot them down! I think I have one of the few Toy Story 1 posters where Woody is not smiling, but actually frowning.
 

---

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 11-10-2009, 06:48 PM:
 
I wish Chuck Jones, Bob McKimson, Tex Avery or Friz Freleng would come back to life and make a real good cartoon again.
 

---

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-10-2009, 07:07 PM:
 
Yeah, I miss 2D. Disney is finally doing another real cartoon, but it is just another fairy tale adaptation.
 

---

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 11-10-2009, 09:15 PM:
 
Oh? You mean like Snow White? Or you mean Pinnochio? No, no! I know what it was! Cinderella! Right? Oh, shit.... That's not right... It must have been Alice in Wonderland. No! It was Peter Pan! No, that's not right, either! Was it Sleeping Beauty? Sword in the Stone? Nah, can't be. It has to be Robin Hood. Beauty and the Beast? Aladdin? Pocahontis? Hercules? Tarzan? Chicken Little?

Oh, dammitt! When did Disney ever NOT do a fairy tale? Isn't that what they do?
 

---

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-10-2009, 09:24 PM:
 
No, it's ALL they do.
 

---

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 11-10-2009, 09:34 PM:
 
Asking Disney to make an animated feature that's not a fairy tale is like asking the sun not to shine.
 

---

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 11-10-2009, 09:48 PM:
 
Some Blu-ray discs I ordered arrived in the mail early today:



After all the discounts and such, all three BD titles totaled just under $50. A little over $16 each.

I also recently bought this little gizmo for $136.:



The TC-80N3 is Canon's better quality remote shutter release.
 

---

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 11-11-2009, 12:55 PM:
 
My "Monsters, Inc" Blu-ray shipped yesterday.

I won't be getting "Up".

Next week: "STAR TREK" and "GALAXY QUEST"! I could spend the whole following weekend watching those over and over.

I just recently noticed that I already have over 100 Blu-ray titles.
 

---

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-11-2009, 03:35 PM:
 
UP had really good picture quality, much better than the theater could have possibly provided (my screen is brighter than 5 footlamberts). Did not miss the 3D at all.

I have 49 Blu-ray movies now if I count the Star Trek 3-pack as 3 movies (which I do).
 

---

Posted by Joe Tommassello (Member # 4632) on 11-11-2009, 04:08 PM:
 

quote: Sam Graham

---

I won't be getting "Up".

---

Sounds like a personal problem!

I don't buy animated films anymore. Daughter is grown and no grandkids yet.
 

---

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-11-2009, 05:45 PM:
 
Yes, because animated films are ONLY for children... just like videogames.
 

---

Posted by Karl Borowski (Member # 5424) on 11-11-2009, 07:14 PM:
 
Yeah, it's prefectly normal for a 35-y.o. to be plugging away at a video game

It is just-as-perfectly normal for a projectionist to care more about the sound rack and the techie shit he's got in his booth than the actual quality of what goes on the screen, too.

After all, 70mm movies were *clearly* designed for their *superior* sound; image quality was secondary.
 

---

Posted by Chad Souder (Member # 343) on 11-12-2009, 09:11 AM:
 
Modern Warfare 2 for Xbox along with a billion other people on Tuesday (and I'm 34, thank you very much.)
 

---

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-12-2009, 09:22 AM:
 
Videogames are given more money than movies from consumers. Modern Warfare 2 grossed over 330 million bucks so far.
 

---

Posted by Karl Borowski (Member # 5424) on 11-12-2009, 10:40 AM:
 
I stopped playing before my 20s.

So, are the two of you saying I am in the wrong field? Should I follow the money?

I LOVE film, thank you very much.
 

---

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-12-2009, 01:14 PM:
 
Hate to break it to ya, but film is going away!

But here's a hint: You can work at a movie theater AND play videogames. Amazing!
 

---

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 11-12-2009, 02:32 PM:
 

quote: Karl Borowski

---

I stopped playing before my 20s.

---

Nobody cares.

And incidentally, your comparison of playing video games to not caring about a projectionist job is just asinine. Here's a clue: even quality projectionists can play with game consoles in their free time.
 

---

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 11-12-2009, 02:59 PM:
 
Piano movers setting up an K. Kawai 5ft Baby Grand Player Piano (a division of Yamaha Pianos).


The K. Kawai baby grand piano is a house warming present for my nephew's new home. It has an electronic player mechanism operated by an on-board computer which either mechanically plays melodies that are pre-recorded by the some of the best pianists or it plays back a pianist's own recordings.

The system allows for every parameter of the pianists original playing style -- percussive force, length of time the key is depressed, etc., so when you put in the disc of Murray Perahia playing Béla Bartók, it is as if he's sitting there in the room playing that piano.



It's just an amazing experience -- almost eerie, the keys moving as if a ghost is playing the piano. The really nice thing is that my nephew who is a very accomplished pianist himself, can make a library of his own compositions and other music pieces that he likes and then he can join his guests while "he" plays the piano for them!


 

---

Posted by Karl Borowski (Member # 5424) on 11-13-2009, 12:26 AM:
 

quote: Chris Slycord

---

Nobody cares.

---

Didn't you just prove yourself wrong there, by quoting it? Apparently you care, and it bothers you.

Sorry if I hit a nerve. I actually don't hold it against people who keep playing video games into adulthood, but, the stereotypical adult video player, about 95% of the people I know who continue to play them into their twenties and beyond, *need* to grow up, IMHO.

Anyway, Chris, you completely misunderstood what I said. I'm saying that adult video game players are in the same group as the sound tower junkies. The actual job, projection, is a hassle to them.

Hey, maybe that's why WE don't get along?

Nothing wrong with sound towers and video games, just not my thing, not my group, not my personal cup of tea.

Joe, yes I am aware that film is going away. Haven't you heard, though? So are projectionists. . .
 

---

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-13-2009, 12:32 AM:
 
Projectionists went away a long time ago, now we just have managers who "lace up" the machines and press the buttons.

Your comparison still makes no sense. You are assuming it is an either/or situation. A competent individual will care what is installed in the sound rack and care that it is set up as well as it can be. This makes no difference on whether he/she pays attention to the onscreen presentation or not. By your definition, I am a "sound tower junkie" who happened to bring his own film cleaners from home just so the theater could run a cleaner in every auditorium, every show. As a videogamer, I don't let other aspects of my life slide.

The only thing we have learned here is that you don't make any sense.
 

---

Posted by Karl Borowski (Member # 5424) on 11-13-2009, 01:44 AM:
 
Joe and Chris, it probably doesn't make sense to you because you both fall within the 95% and care more about the sound towers.

You're right. I don't make any sense. Thanks for setting me straight.
 

---

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-13-2009, 03:59 AM:
 
And I guarantee that I put far more care into my onscreen presentation than you ever could. I have a bunch of people who can vouch for me as well.
 

---

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 11-13-2009, 04:04 AM:
 
But I'm not a sound junkie nor do I play video games much at all (my free time is spent studying for stuff like my pharmacology exam). Just because you can assume that you know me doesn't mean you do. Lump me in all you want, but it only shows you to be presumptuous.

We don't get along, not because I am some sort of lower person from playing games, but because I disagree with what you write and see little logic behind it. Also, it's funny that you say that all gamers will be the ones who love sound racks and don't care about picture... funny because tons of gamers are all about their fancy HD picture and couldn't pick out quality sound at all. But what do I know? I love sound racks too much and they've rotted my brain.
 

---

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-13-2009, 04:19 AM:
 
And why are you so against "sound tower" love? Sound racks are people, too! Sure, I may have spread my DNA all over a bunch of sound racks in my time, but I am a human being, dammit!
 

---

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 11-13-2009, 05:09 AM:
 

quote: Karl Borowski

---

Apparently you care, and it bothers you.

---

quote: Karl Borowski

---

Yeah, it's prefectly normal for a 35-y.o. to be plugging away at a video game

---

quote: Karl Borowski

---

I can't imagine why I would presume anything about the two of you. You certainly haven't been presumptous with me. I appreciate the warm welcome and your continually following me around, from thread to thread and nitpicking every :fu:ing thing I type.

---

quote: Frank Angel

---

There are no tests here at Film-tech so maybe we can all take a deep breath, relax a bit and step away from the testy stick.

---

Doesn't stop me from having midterms not too long ago.
 

---

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 11-13-2009, 02:22 PM:
 

quote: Karl Borowski

---

Thanks for yet another nitpick, Tim. "We're the Good Ole' Boys. . ." Do you know all the words in that one?

---

Err, no. How does that explain what a "sound tower" is? And, that is a nitpick, how?

EDIT... I just saw Joe's post. You're talking about sound racks? I thought you were referring to some kind of home entertainment fad that had become a new sub-culture or something.

quote: Karl

---

I'm saying that adult video game players are in the same group as the sound tower junkies.

---

 

---

Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 11-13-2009, 03:13 PM:
 
As if most of us have any control over what goes into our sound racks.
This is my post number 666.
I feel compelled to check the Itunes music store and see if Waylon Jennings theme from Dukes of Hazard is available for download...
 

---

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 11-13-2009, 03:20 PM:
 
One's PP here is not measured by any ruler, but by what they post.

OBTW: PP = personal persona...NOT a penis!

(Did I use enough Graemlins?)
 

---

Posted by Clint Koch (Member # 1179) on 11-13-2009, 03:43 PM:
 
(Did I use enough Graemlins?)

...no
 

---

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 11-13-2009, 05:34 PM:
 

quote: Karl Borowski

---

You're right. I don't make any sense.

---

quote: Karl Borowski

---

I appreciate the warm welcome and your continually following me around, from thread to thread and nitpicking every :fu:ing thing I type.

---

quote: Karl Borowski

---

I am pretty sure that you and Richard are being fucking dickheads and following me around from thread to thread.

---

Paranoid much?

I love how you've toned down your posts from the one just above to the later one. Of course, in your world, it seems spelling 'fucking' now as ':fu:ing' is a suitable change in your attitude.

News flash...it ain't.
 

---

Posted by Jeremy Jorgenson (Member # 2989) on 11-13-2009, 07:41 PM:
 
If only Andy Summers were here, he'd have the best response, something like: "THX WOW!"
 

---

Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 11-13-2009, 08:01 PM:
 
Karl.

If you're going to light fires, expect to get pissed on.

We are ALL professionals here, and this kind of baiting does no one any good.
 

---

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 11-14-2009, 12:53 AM:
 
This reminds me of that guy who was around here about this time last year. He was all over the place with contradictions, contentiousness, and paranoia... and he sure seemed to have a nack for pissing people off.

Well, he either got banned, or got tired of trying to fool the experts and went away. He didn't last long.
 

---

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 11-14-2009, 02:24 AM:
 
On track:

It wasn't my own money, but I (and the rest of our county fair board) bought approximately $60,000 worth of talent for our 2010 fair today. (Can't say names...waiting for signed contracts)

July 22-25. It's one of the best little county fairs in the state if not the country, and we don't charge for gate admission or parking!
 

---

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 11-14-2009, 02:49 AM:
 

quote: Mike Blakesley

---

On track:

---

Party pooper.

Karl? Karl? Hello?

Wow...THAT sure is odd. I sure hope nothing's happened to him.


 

---

Posted by Karl Borowski (Member # 5424) on 11-14-2009, 08:34 PM:
 
Yeah, something happened to me. . . booth work
 

---

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 11-14-2009, 09:29 PM:
 
Yeah, be careful not to drink out of those unmarked bottles sitting on your work bench!


 

---

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 11-14-2009, 11:07 PM:
 
And be careful with those wires in the sound rack, what with it "not being your thing" and all.
 

---

Posted by Karl Borowski (Member # 5424) on 11-16-2009, 12:37 AM:
 
Funny, just had to dick around with a Dolby unit this morning.

At least it was at the beginning, not end of an 11-hour day.
 

---

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-17-2009, 09:39 PM:
 
Picked this up today:



Unfortunately I can't play it yet because as always my Wii batteries are dead and it takes them forever to recharge. I wish the Wii controllers recharged the same way as the PS3 ones... with a simple USB connection to anything and very, very fast.
 

---

Posted by Tyler Potts (Member # 4952) on 11-22-2009, 11:17 AM:
 
Picked the new GQ yesterday. Couldn't help but notice a similarity between a Man of the Year photo from last year's and now.


'08 Mad Genius


'09 Villain
 

---

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 11-22-2009, 12:16 PM:
 
My only gripe is, it's on too many discs (16) for the relatively small number of episodes (45).


 

---

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 11-22-2009, 12:39 PM:
 

quote: Karl Borowski

---

Thanks for yet another nitpick, Tim. "We're the Good Ole' Boys. . ." Do you know all the words in that one?

---

Thats freakin hilarious! I always thought Tim's hair was... well... a lttle lost. He needs a new hair dresser!
 

---

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 11-22-2009, 01:29 PM:
 
You won't catch me checkin' out Steve's butt.


 

---

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 11-22-2009, 01:45 PM:
 
In all fairness, that's only because you're more discrete...
 

---

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 11-22-2009, 01:55 PM:
 
Well, I said you wouldn't catch me...
 

---

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 11-22-2009, 02:41 PM:
 
For the record, it was my shoes he was checking out....Jeeze, get your "facts" straight!
 

---

Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 11-22-2009, 02:50 PM:
 
Shoes made of Brie are worth looking at....
 

---

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 11-22-2009, 07:21 PM:
 
Actually, I was talking to someone standing behind Steve...

Tim... Ya got to do something about that hairpiece and stick on moustache... Doesn't Strong have any sort of dress code for their employees?
 

---

Posted by Tony Bandiera Jr (Member # 2365) on 11-23-2009, 12:12 AM:
 
Well, other than a ton of money on more medical bills, I have bought the following for me in the past few days:

Bissel Pro-lite upright vac (as seen on TV!!);
Nikon Coolpix L20 camera;
Tektronix TDS 1001B Scope (my old one died a long time ago, and a previous LCD scope I bought does not have XY (Lissajou) function) ;
The following bluray movies:
Star Trek (Hate the camera flares but the movie is pretty good)
Jumper (Only because Hayden's hot, despite his total lack of acting ability)
A Knight's Tale (The late Heath Ledger does an awesome job in this one)
Blue Thunder (Love some of the late Warren Oates lines, like "Who are you trying to con with that phony radio bullshit, that went out the window three days after Marconi invented the fucking thing..." )
and of course Fight Club.

All that in addition to spending another huge chunk of the University's money on the screening room install.
 

---

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 11-23-2009, 12:52 AM:
 

quote: Mark Gulbrandsen

---

\

---

Ya know what, asshole, you're not worth it. Fuck off.
 

---

Posted by Cameron Glendinning (Member # 3516) on 11-23-2009, 05:02 AM:
 

quote:

---

We are ALL professionals here,

---

 

---

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 11-23-2009, 10:46 AM:
 
I apologize.

Mark Gulbrandsen is this forum's biggest troll, Cameron. His attacks on me are always of a personal nature (my appearance, my weight, etc.). He probably has low self-esteem. Which would also explain why he talks down to everyone, making veiled jabs at other's technical knowledge while building up the perception of his.

If these comments of his were coming from anyone else I would consider them a joke and go on my merry way, laughing; but Mark is not a friend of mine. He has made that perfectly clear... which is really amazing, since he still owes me equipment I bought from him over five years ago that he never delivered on. He's the last person who should be stirring the pot.

I just got tired of hearing derogatory comments from someone who hasn't any room to speak.
 

---

Posted by Jeremy Weigel (Member # 4208) on 11-23-2009, 02:51 PM:
 
I've often wondered what the "beef" was between you two and when it got started.
 

---

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-23-2009, 03:17 PM:
 
Tim, if that's the case, report him in the "deadbeats" thread.
 

---

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 11-23-2009, 03:21 PM:
 

quote: Jeremy Weigel

---

I've often wondered what the "beef" was between you two and when it got started.

---

quote: Mark G

---

Strong does make a few dam good products... Including the platters Joe!

---

quote:

---

Thats freakin hilarious! I always thought Tim's hair was... well... a lttle lost. He needs a new hair dresser!

---

quote: Mark Gulbrandsen

---

Tim... Ya got to do something about that hairpiece and stick on moustache... Doesn't Strong have any sort of dress code for their employees?

---

As an outsider, I can see where Mark's humor is in the above comments. It is sort of like mine, dry and sarcastic. However Mark you really do need to at least put a there or something to let Tim and everyone else know you are not serious with your post. As it stands those two posts are nothing more than personal attacks.

Please take a one week leave of absence from the forums and use the smileys when you return so there is no confusion.

And Joe is right, Strong platters suck ass. (The smiley there does not mean I actually like the platters in any way.)
 

---

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 11-23-2009, 05:35 PM:
 
We know you secretly love them.
 

---

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 11-23-2009, 05:40 PM:
 
So, Brad, what is your preferred platter now that Christie is (supposedly) no longer making the AW3? Speco? Kinoton? Something else?
 

---

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-23-2009, 05:56 PM:
 
Just because a platter is discontinued doesn't mean it can't be a favorite.
 

---

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 11-23-2009, 06:03 PM:
 
Difficult to say you've bought one today (or recently) though...

(See what I did there?)
 

---

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 11-23-2009, 08:34 PM:
 
I bought the Susan Boyle album. (In a stock order. For my store. Not for me.)
 

---

Posted by Alex Edwards (Member # 5413) on 11-23-2009, 08:48 PM:
 
Geez Mike, you seemed to get pretty defensive there.

As for me I just bought the entire series of The Office off ebay. My new favorite show.
 

---

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 11-23-2009, 09:32 PM:
 
The English version? You have good taste, Alex!
 

---

Posted by Alex Edwards (Member # 5413) on 11-23-2009, 10:06 PM:
 
Haha funny John. Actually the English version is on Youtube so I've already seen a couple of episodes of that too. I think its so cool to see esentially the same characters portrayed in different ways.
 

---

Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 11-24-2009, 12:41 AM:
 
The English version is vastly superior to the American version. They didn't run it into the ground. It was on amazon for like $25 not too long ago too.
 

---

Posted by Karl Borowski (Member # 5424) on 11-24-2009, 03:49 AM:
 
I can see why people hate Strong Platters (I can't STAND their propensity to brain-wrapping) but Strong/Simplex projectors, and lamphouses are, IMHO, top-notch.

Actually, guess I can amend that to say I mainly hate Strong brains. I'm not fond of the setup for the takeup speed on the tree either, but that, at least, is a tolerable ordeal.

I tend to have to diffuse a near brain-wrap once a week with Strong brains before I am even done threading a projector!
 

---

Posted by Galen Murphy-Fahlgren (Member # 4535) on 11-24-2009, 12:53 PM:
 
Karl, you may want to reassess your threading. I ran Potts platters (same thing as Strong) with the microswitch brains for a year at a previous job and never had such problems with them. I mean, I hated them, and when the microswitches failed without warning, I narrowly averted disaster, but I never had any difficulty threading them.
 

---

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 11-24-2009, 02:04 PM:
 
Question:

What exactly do the previous 2 posts have to do with this the subject matter of this thread?

Please take the discussion to the appropriate forum, OK?

---------------------

Back on track...

Mike if you liked the original 'The Office' then I assume you've also experienced the wonderful 2 series of 'Extras'? If not, you really should. A little gem.
 

---

Posted by Karl Borowski (Member # 5424) on 11-24-2009, 02:12 PM:
 
Gahlen: I always had trouble with accidentally looping a piece of film around the inside of the post as I quickly threaded the brain.

I'd only become aware of the problem after the brain had wrapped several dozen loops of film around the core, before I even got back to the platter to thread the tree.
 

---

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 11-24-2009, 02:37 PM:
 

 

---

Posted by Jason Burroughs (Member # 68) on 11-24-2009, 03:29 PM:
 
Pics to come soon, but about a month ago I bought a 2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD with 6.6L Duramax turbo diesel.
 

---

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 11-24-2009, 04:26 PM:
 

quote: John Wilson

---

What exactly do the previous 2 posts have to do with this the subject matter of this thread?

---

Look at the previous page. It's called "thread drift."
 

---

Posted by Jarret Chessell (Member # 5077) on 11-24-2009, 05:21 PM:
 
5 quarts Shell 5W30, Wix oil filter, oil drain pan & box of lint free clothes = $47.99
Draining half a quart of old oil down your sleeve while removing old oil filter = priceless
 

---

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 11-24-2009, 05:32 PM:
 

quote:

---

Look at the previous page. It's called "thread drift." [Smile]

---

quote: Mike Blakesley

---

I bought the Susan Boyle album. (In a stock order. For my store. Not for me.)

---

quote: John Wilson

---

Please take the discussion to the appropriate forum, OK?

---

quote: Karl Borowski

---

Gahlen: I always had trouble with accidentally looping a piece of film around the inside of the post as I quickly threaded the brain.

---

Anyway, who really gives a shit. I was just trying to help keep the forums in some sort of order. Apparently, that's not going to work for some. (And by 'some' I'm not referring to you, Chris.)
 

---

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-24-2009, 05:41 PM:
 
John, get back on topic already!
 

---

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 11-24-2009, 05:57 PM:
 
Sorry Joe. Don't know what I was thinking.

Strong platters are rubbish.

How's that?


 

---

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-24-2009, 06:23 PM:
 
I KNOW, RIGHT? I modified the brains in mine to make them thread more like a Christie and removed a couple of the useless outer rollers to prevent others from possibly scratching film with them.
 

---

Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 11-24-2009, 06:26 PM:
 
Now, THATS getting forum back on track!

10 stars out of 5


 

---

Posted by Karl Borowski (Member # 5424) on 11-24-2009, 06:49 PM:
 

quote:

---

But the very next post was unsurprisingly:

---

As our posts were 8 minutes apart, maybe you should consider my not having seen your post when I was typing my response, instead of typing it just to piss you off.

Or do you always give people the "benefit of the doubt" with such generosity?
 

---

Posted by Jeremy Jorgenson (Member # 2989) on 11-24-2009, 07:15 PM:
 
...so then I says, "Why even bother running it in scope then?" Ha!
 

---

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 11-24-2009, 07:39 PM:
 
Sorry Karl, didn't realize you were such a slow typist. 8 minutes, eh? That's about seven words per minute you're typing at.

Tell you what I'll do Karl... I'm going to ignore everything you write from now on because, quite frankly, you do piss me off and unfortunately there's no Karl Filter for me to sign up for on this board.

But then again, I'm sure you piss off most people you interact with so it's nothing new to you.
 

---

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 11-24-2009, 08:41 PM:
 
I just love it when people get dressed down with an Aussie accent!
 

---

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 11-24-2009, 08:47 PM:
 
Bloody oath, mate.


 

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Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 11-24-2009, 09:24 PM:
 
My money's on the Aussie. He's home grown, y'know.
 

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Posted by Alex Edwards (Member # 5413) on 11-24-2009, 10:45 PM:
 
Sooooo I'm going to break the streak of 14 posts in a row that were off topic:

Anyone else a college hoops fan? I got my tickets to see my number 1 ranked Jayhawks play tommorrow!
 

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Posted by Damien Taylor (Member # 4255) on 11-24-2009, 10:45 PM:
 
Bloody oath!
 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 11-24-2009, 10:51 PM:
 

quote:

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Sooooo I'm going to break the streak of 14 posts in a row that were off topic:

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11.
 

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Posted by Alex Edwards (Member # 5413) on 11-24-2009, 10:54 PM:
 
Hmmmm, I don't think arguing whether a post is on topic is actually on topic.

HaHA!
 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 11-24-2009, 11:06 PM:
 
Jarret came to the rescue.
 

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Posted by Alex Edwards (Member # 5413) on 11-24-2009, 11:13 PM:
 
Whoops, missed him. Guess thats why I'm in college...to get some learning
 

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Posted by Cameron Glendinning (Member # 3516) on 11-24-2009, 11:55 PM:
 

quote: Karl Borowski

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"benefit of the doubt"

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With your history of posting?

Anyone else want to throw in a few bucks with me toward a copy of "How to win friends and influence people" ?

Back on track, here is my new toy that I bought yesterday, a portable 35mm with a 1600w lamp. An Eprad mut is on the way!


 

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Posted by Clint Koch (Member # 1179) on 11-25-2009, 01:00 AM:
 
A beer! Or two. Maybe three...Okay four or more! I really wish that Hahn was exported out of Australia. Without a doubt one of the very best beers I have ever tasted.
 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 11-25-2009, 01:28 AM:
 
It's amazing what you can accomplish with the mail and the right contacts, Clint.
 

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Posted by Galen Murphy-Fahlgren (Member # 4535) on 11-25-2009, 02:28 AM:
 
Three cheeseburgers for dinner. I usually try to eat them five at a time, but sometimes I just can't quite make it. For the record, these are the Wendy's $1 Double Stacks.
 

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Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 11-25-2009, 06:38 AM:
 

quote: Cameron Glendinning

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here is my new toy that I bought yesterday, a portable 35mm

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Beauty, Cameron!
 

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Posted by Damien Taylor (Member # 4255) on 11-25-2009, 09:56 AM:
 

quote: Cameron Glendinning

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my new toy that I bought yesterday, a portable 35mm with a 1600w lamp.

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What a pickup, theres not much of that stuff over here. I run the same ad in the trading post over and over every week. I never get any bites
 

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Posted by Jarret Chessell (Member # 5077) on 11-25-2009, 02:06 PM:
 

quote: John Wilson

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Jarret came to the rescue.

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Well, I tried to get it off of platter talk lol.

For the record, today I bought a large black coffee at tim hortons ($1.52, but I always give the lady the change from my toonie), and paid a whooping $7.50 to park in a downtown parking lot to assemble a film at the Museum
 

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Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 11-25-2009, 04:22 PM:
 
....and to continue with the coffee theme..

I just bought a "Time to eat at Rosie's Diner" coffee mug.

I love it. Weighs the same as a heavy duty Century base and it just demands respect-dammit!
 

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Posted by Allison Parsons (Member # 2728) on 11-28-2009, 06:34 PM:
 
I could be spending money on my new house, but nooooooo. I've wanted this for a year, and finally broke down and bought it!


 

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Posted by Jeremy Weigel (Member # 4208) on 11-29-2009, 12:51 AM:
 
Allison, you will not be disappointed. Happy viewing!
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-29-2009, 01:28 AM:
 
I want all of the episodes up until they changed Venkman's voice.
 

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Posted by Jeremy Weigel (Member # 4208) on 11-29-2009, 11:56 AM:
 
Just picked these up today:

Transformers: 25th Anniversary Matrix Of Leadership Edition

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero Complete Collector's Set
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-04-2009, 06:23 PM:
 


And of course Full Metal Jacket on Blu-ray which arrived just after I uploaded this picture to my computer. I'll try to include it in a future pic.
 

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Posted by Michael Voiland (Member # 5386) on 12-05-2009, 11:21 PM:
 
I got a P&S L5-15 and 2 fluorescent bulb sockets. yay for fixing stuff.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-07-2009, 06:59 PM:
 
Here is my latest haul:



Who here is jealous?
 

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 12-07-2009, 07:12 PM:
 
Geez, joe... Are you planning on doing alot of bypassing or alot of coupling? Kind of looks like a capacitor kit to rebuild one board in a Sony BVP series TV Camera...
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-07-2009, 07:20 PM:
 
Not a kit. Picked them out individually based on my needs.
 

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Posted by John Lasher (Member # 968) on 12-08-2009, 12:13 AM:
 
My siblings:

• Books:
  • Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
  • Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
  • Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things

• 26" HDTV (largest size that will fit in the cabinet)
• Blu-ray player -- which necessitated the purchase of:
  • 6' HDMI Cable
  • 6' Component Video Cable
  • 50' Cat5 cable
• "Romancing The Stone" BR (the first movie they ever owned on VHS)

 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-08-2009, 12:27 AM:
 
Cool "high tech" Christmas tree ornaments, Joe! Pics of the finished tree, please!

( for those who don't get it)
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-17-2009, 11:13 AM:
 
I just got a DVD set of the Charles Kuralt series, "On the Road." This series was part of a network news show originally -- he would take a camera crew on the "back roads" of America and film small town people doing unusual jobs, or quirky products being made, odd scenic sites, etc. My dad and I used to watch it on the news so it brings back good memories of him. Kuralt famously said, "The interstate highway system allows you to drive across America without seeing anything."

The DVDs also include updates on some of the people, places and products featured.

There are 3 DVDs in the set and it's subtitled "Set 1" so I'm not sure how many volumes there will be.
 

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Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 12-17-2009, 01:08 PM:
 
Recently bought a Sharp Aquos 46" and a Sony Blu-Ray player from Costco.

Blu-Ray discs - Amadeus, The Shining and Blade Runner.

Box of 12 Trojan Magnum XL condoms.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-03-2010, 11:36 AM:
 
District 9 on Blu-ray for $15.

Also this... body only:


 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-03-2010, 01:13 PM:
 
Woo hoo! Pick out any sweet lenses for it yet?
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 03-03-2010, 03:57 PM:
 
Joe: NICE! Just like Bobby, I also would be interested as to what lenses you bought and/or are considering?
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-03-2010, 04:02 PM:
 
I already have a relatively cheap, though not bad 75-300mm telephoto lens with an aperture of 4 to 5.6. I also have a Nikon 50mm that attaches with a simple adapter. The manual aperture goes down to 1.8. I love that lens. Then there is the bad-ass ultrasonic EFS 15-85mm which has an aperture that goes down to 3.5 and has image stabilization. This one will see the bulk of every day use.

We'll definitely get more. We don't have any L-series' yet.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-03-2010, 05:18 PM:
 
The Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM lens is one of the best general purpose zoom lenses made specifically for "crop body" Canon DSLR cameras. It has a large f/2.8 aperture throughout its entire zoom range and L-series grade ultra low dispersion glass elements. The lens also boasts 3-stop image stabilization. The only things that separate this lens from L-series models is metal contruction and a red ring. The EF-S 17-55mm is not cheap. At $1030 it's priced somewhat similar to other L-series zoom lenses.

When I had the Canon Digital Rebel XTi I was very tempted to buy the EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM ultra-wide angle zoom. It has framing equivalent to a 16-35mm lens on a full frame camera body. The lens has aspherical elements and a Super-UD glass element that helps cut down barrel distortion.

Out of L-series zoom lenses the most popular are
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM*
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L USM
*there are less expensive 70-200 L-series models, a f/2.8L model without IS, a f/4.0L model with IS and another f/4.0L without. There is also a new 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM II lens on the way with a pretty steep $2499 list price.

I'm a little more interested in certain L-series primes, namely these:
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L IS USM Macro
Canon EF 135mm f/2.0 L USM

The lens I want if I suddenly have a bunch of money to burn:
Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 L IS USM ($7190.00)
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-03-2010, 11:10 PM:
 
The video quality on this thing is absolutely horrible, NTSC composite video quality. Hi8 is better, except for the resolution.
 

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Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 03-04-2010, 01:23 AM:
 
Does it beat the PXL2000 quality?
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-04-2010, 01:33 AM:
 
I am not sure what that is, so I will assume it is Pixelvision. Yes it beats that because Pixelvision was only 240p unless you recorded onto a Hi Bias TDK cassette tape when it jumped to 720p.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-04-2010, 08:35 AM:
 
Are you talking about the EOS 7D's 640 X 480 pixel video mode?
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-04-2010, 11:05 AM:
 
Season four of "Adam-12." I don't know why but that show and "Dragnet" are two of my favorites from kid-hood. (Usually I liked comedies the best.)
 

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Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 03-04-2010, 12:38 PM:
 
I'm collecting Adam 12 and Emergency, both of which I watched as a kid. Emergency is unintentionally laughable now. Both shows had their own radio dispatchers who never slept. Notice how bare bones the equipment was for Reed and Malloy - no walkie talkies, no bullet proof vests, no on-board computers...they seldom wore seat belts either.
The first car they drove in Adam 12 was their best one. (I can't recall the make.) They get a new one in season 4, which Malloy wrecks. They get an AMC Matador in season 5, which they drive until the show concludes.
Dragnet is cool in that Friday and Gannon found themselves coexisting with hippies, which I am reasonably certain annoyed Jack Webb.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-04-2010, 02:01 PM:
 
Bobby, no. I am talking about 1080p. These cameras take the image data from the sensor, run it through NTSC or PAL composite color space and then record. Moire city. Lots of color noise.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-05-2010, 09:51 PM:
 
I'm pretty confused by that comment because it runs very contrary to so many raves that have been posted online about Canon HDSLR video. The TV series 24 is shooting camera car backgrounds using a series of 5D Mk II and 7D cameras. TV series like Numb3rs have used the cameras for some principal photography work. Just recently Ron Howard used 5D Mk II and 7D cameras for a "Funny or Die" web feature.

The composite color space thing is a real surprise. Everything I've seen regarding the 5D Mark II, 7D and even the new 1D Mark IV suggest those cameras capture in at least 4:2:2 component mode. The 5D Mark II will actually allow HDMI-out video capture, but I don't know for sure if that is pre or post compression.

As I've said before, I haven't shot a lot of HD video with my camera, and I did not buy it for its HD video capability either. So I'm not the best expert to diagnose problems on this topic, but it definitely sounds like an urgent issue.

A couple of things I would check: make sure you have the latest 7D firmware update. I know the 7D had one firmware update to correct color banding in still imagery. I don't know if that translates to video. Another thing: were you using "auto" functions for the video capture, such as auto white balance? IMHO, auto white balance on any camera anywhere no matter how high end SUCKS. There is no substitute for a custom white balance. That alone can make a big difference on color quality and consistency of color from shot to shot (or scene to scene).

I don't know what color space the 7D defaults to when capturing video, but I would make sure the color space is at least in sRGB.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-05-2010, 10:14 PM:
 
Looks like shit, I'm telling you! Check it out, yo. An unscaled screen cap of some video I took:



See the moire on the broom? The colors move/shift if either the broom or the camera moves even in the slightest. It is very distracting. This should not be occurring. If you point the camera at a brick building from any kind of distance, it will look like ass. At least it does not flicker if you point it at a movie screen, though. The firmware was already at 1.1.0 when I got it. Full manual mode.

You can probably get some good looking video out of the thing, just as long as you stay away from anything with lines... or detail.
 

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Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 03-05-2010, 10:26 PM:
 
Tim someone much smarter than me once said Young man Rent don't Buy"
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-05-2010, 10:37 PM:
 
Yeah, thanks for that.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-05-2010, 10:45 PM:
 

quote: James Westbrook

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Both shows had their own radio dispatchers who never slept.

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According to Wikipedia, the woman who did the Adam-12 dispatching was a real LAPD dispatcher.

Did cars even have seatbelts back then? The first car my family had with belts was a '71 Ford LTD.
 

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Posted by Julio Roberto (Member # 4976) on 03-06-2010, 01:31 AM:
 
The "high end-ish" current Canons DSLR do produce more moiré than "normal" in video modes (i.e. than using a regular video camera) due to the way the work. Let's say this amount of moiré is "X".

When you try to downscale the image to standard definition from HD, you get aprox. X times 4 more moiré on the luminance, since you are adding to the moiré yet more downscaling missed false-detail and the downscaling doesn't seem to be all the smart it could be to even try to minimize it a bit.

Then, when you use the composite output, the color gets yet downscaled again (color resolution in the composite signal is further reduced compared to the luminance). So now you add about another additional 2X to the color moiré.

Then, you have to deal with a little extra crosstalk inherent in the NTSC system. The PAL output is a bit better as it has more resolution in both luminance and crominance (and thus, fewer false-details from the downscaling) and much less color crosstalk thanks to the Phase Alternate Line design

But even if you didn't use the composite output, the moiré in these cameras (5D M2 and I hear even more on the 7D) can be there (somewhat easy), as the camera is line-skipping on the sensor rather than minimizing it with line-averaging.

The optical lowpass filter is tuned for the still-image performance of +3.7K horizontal lines in the 5DM2 and in video mode it only records 1080 of those lines and skips the rest, so you have quite an amount of missed detail=potential false detail=potentially noticeable moiré.

It produces very little moiré in the horizontal direction, as the sensor is pixel-averaged from the 5300+ pixels down to the 1920 but it has a lot in the vertical when it's line-skipped from the 3700+ to the 1080 for HD video output.

I haven't bothered to compare the pixel pitch of the 7D to the 5D to see if it would be any worse, but I hear it is a bit worse on the 7D.

Of course it would be fairly trivial to sample the whole sensor and average the lines instead of skip them, but it seems the driver Canon designed for these cameras doesn't do it only God knows why (probably to reduce power consumption a bit or avoid some silly speed bottleneck with some of their circuits).

It's not unlike when TI decided to reduce the area on the DLP chips when projecting 3D in older projectors at 144hz. Is not that the new ones are more expensive or use different DLP's or anything, just that they didn't think to design parts of the older formatter boards thinking so much bandwidth was gonna be needed and limited them to a certain practical (cheap) amount.

A little redesign and $5 later in parts upgrade and you have "triple flash DLP" projector for about the same price. If Canon wanted, they could fix the video-mode moiré issue with a $5 redesign and a bit higher power consumption.

Like that's gonna happen.

You could add an optical bandpass filter to your lens tuned to the size of your sensor and the amount of moiré you want to reduce. Since the filter would probably difusse in a circular pattern (instead of the pixel shape which is not perfectly square to begin with) and not be perfectly tuned, you'll have to trade off between resolution and moiré. It shouldn't significantly affect the horizontal resolution as the camera has more than it needs to and averages it anyway. But it will help tremendously in reducing the vertical moiré.

If you need an easy quick-and-cheap moiré reduction, just try to slap on the lens a neutral density filter and, if you are lucky (it difusses just the right amount for the sensor and preferred detail size to break the moiré pattern), it may help a bit. If not, try a different filter. Much better if it's a diffuser filter, of course
 

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Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 03-06-2010, 07:05 AM:
 

quote: Mike Blakesley

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According to Wikipedia, the woman who did the Adam-12 dispatching was a real LAPD dispatcher.

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The guy on "Emergency" was too. Anytime they showed him transmitting on screen...that was the real L.A. dispatch center.

The guy who played the engineer (driver, pump operator) of Engine 51 (Mike Stoker, played by Mike Stoker) was also a real L.A. County FD engineer.

But I agree...Emergency is laughably campy to watch today.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-06-2010, 09:27 AM:
 
Julio, your post scared me at first. I kept thinking "Who is this posing under Julio's name??" But then you mentioned something about 3D and my fears went away... It was indeed the real Julio!
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-06-2010, 11:06 AM:
 
I posted questions in the forums at DP Review and Cinema 5D regarding the 7D and problems with moire and color depth. Hopefully I'll get some intelligent answers and possible solutions to the problem.

One thing I would try is turning off any auto sharpening and auto noise reduction features the 7D may have. Either of those types of filters are bound to amplify issues with moire.
 

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Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 03-06-2010, 01:35 PM:
 
Hi, Mike...
The only time I recall any of the Adam 12 characters with seat belts is when Malloy is unbuckling his lap belt - after he wrecks the car. (This should be in season 4) Gage and DeSoto in Emergency never seem to wear them in their Dodge dually truck.
Strangely, their 1972 Matador had curb feelers mounted on it. Did somebody have a problem? *laughing*
Both the fire station and the hospital that posed for Rampart in the exterior shots existed and still do, with the fire station across from some petroleum facility. The Rampart division station posed for exteriors at Adam 12, though Jack Webb called it "Sunset Station" in an episode of Dragnet when they were investigating the misconduct of an officer in a call that Reed and Malloy worked back-up on. (Crossover episode. Adam 12 and Emergency did this once.)
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-06-2010, 01:50 PM:
 
Check out this video I took a few minutes ago outside. Although this has been compressed for reasonable download speeds which adds a touch of softness, you can still see the moire on the rooftops. Otherwise it looks pretty good I suppose. I turned off all the sharpness nonsense, or at least I told Jen to do that the other day. Hopefully she obeyed like a good woman should.

http://www.joeredifer.com/crap/1080pan.mov - 31.79 MB. 1920x1080, 24fps, Stereo.

It's Quicktime. I don't want to hear any bitching. If you don't have Quicktime installed, VLC should play it fine.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-06-2010, 02:13 PM:
 
Yeah, that moire is pretty noticeable, especially on the roof shingles. The video had a kick ass ending though!

One thing I have noticed with a lot of 5D Mark II and 7D videos is many of the clips use a dramatic low depth of field. The Saturday Night Live opening sequence had a lot of low DOF shots of the cast with the backgrounds and/or foregrounds blurred out. That seems to be the really big attraction of "HDSLR" cameras. I guess moire won't be a problem is the only thing in razor sharp focus is the actor's melon.

I found this link on Cinema5D com:
Robert Rodriquez 7D Music Video Shoot
 

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Posted by Julio Roberto (Member # 4976) on 03-07-2010, 08:37 AM:
 
As the optical lowpass is tuned for the maximun detail which is in photo mode, you don't have to ask around much to know that the line skipping in video mode is bound to produce moiré easily in many situations.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-eos-5d-mk-ii-hd/357960-assessment-5d2-bbc-alan-roberts.html

quote:

---

Alan Roberts assessed the performance of the 5D2 (and many other cameras) for the BBC. Their official web site is not updated yet, but I have been allowed to host the white paper here:

BBC R&D White Paper WHP034 - Alan Roberts

Here is what the zone plate is supposed to look like:

The conclusion is "pictures with aliasing at the levels seen here are not acceptable as HDTV."

---

A zone plate was used to measure the aliasing of the 5D2:



Just slap a diffuser in front of the lens tuned to the amount of moiré you want to reduce/amount of detail you want to preserve. The lens allows a >7Mpx (5DM2) resolution detail and we only need <2.2Mpx for 1080p HD video, so if you find a fine diffuser that is a good match, you may be only losing <2% detail in video mode while getting rid of >70% of the moiré ...

Just make sure you take it off to shoot in regular still photo mode

EDIT: The moiré in that video is more than I commonly find in the 5D under casual circunstances. Was it recorded from composite somehow? I haven't looked into it, but I guess it may be a bit worse on the 7D for some reason.

I just googled and it seems most people find the 7D slightly BETTER in the moiré and rolling-shutter departments than the 5D. I wouldn't have guessed from Joe's clip, but not a lot of difference anyway. But a guy that seems to have it right says:

- At 1080p, the 7D is no noticeably better/worse than the 5D
- At 720p, the 7D is way waaay worse than the 5D.

The 5D is already "pretty bad". So I guess you have to rule out 720p mode in the 7D (and composite output recording as well), use only 1080p mode and use a very mild diffuser for video.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-10-2010, 12:57 PM:
 
Today I got a brand new Canon EOS 7D DSLR camera! Yay me! Yes, I had gotten another one last week, but you can never have too many! Actually the first one had a dead pixel in the sensor near the bottom right of the image. This, of course, was completely unacceptable. So I exchanged it. Canon also started a rebate thingy 3 days ago, so the store put $107 (rebate plus tax) back onto my card, so I am kind of glad I had to exchange it!

I had to do this with my old Canon Rebel T1i as well. First camera had a dead pixel in the sensor. Back it went. I think Canon has a policy where you must always exchange their cameras because the first will always have a nice red dead pixel. What is interesting is that the dead pixel is removed if you shoot in RAW and open it with Photoshop CS4. You can see the dead pixel as Photoshop is opening the file and then suddenly it is GONE! That doesn't help for JPEG or video shooting, however.

Oh and Julio, thanks for all of that info. We have a diffuser filter on the way.
 

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Posted by Julio Roberto (Member # 4976) on 03-10-2010, 01:28 PM:
 
This one was a good match for the 5DMK2 for most circunstances.

http://dark-stone.com/caprock/

Don't know about the 7D, though, but looks good:

http://www.vimeo.com/7523222

It's not like a 100% solution, of course, but getting rid of some 70%+ of the moiré is a must for these cameras to do half-decent stuff.

We lose a tiny bit of sharpness but these cameras are sharp enough plus the softer look helps conceal the video look. A fair tradeoff.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-11-2010, 02:22 PM:
 
We got a $16 or so D2 diffuser and while it does look a bit better, my initial tests still show the rainbow moire in the rooftop shingles of my neighborhood at certain focal lengths (no more, no less). This was the only test I have done so far and it was very brief.
 

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Posted by Julio Roberto (Member # 4976) on 03-11-2010, 02:56 PM:
 
Finding a good match in a filter that will difusse to a point on the pickup that is about the size of slightly under 3 lines (6 vertical pixels in the 5DMK2) is the fun part ...

If it diffuses too little, you get little help getting rid of moiré. If it diffuses too much, you are "wasting" resolution.

Oh well.



It seems the Caprock 2.0 works well on the 7D. But it's about $100.

Using small apertures and longer focal lengths also often help reduce the aliasing/moiré artifacts.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-11-2010, 04:06 PM:
 
Don't you mean larger apertures and longer focal lengths? The smaller the f-stop number equates to a bigger aperture opening and increasingly narrow depth of field.

F/2.8 on a medium to long telephoto zoom will blur away most of the background, especially at 200mm or longer. Canon's L-series 50mm and 85mm primes open up to a huge f/1.2 aperture. That makes for an extremely narrow depth of field.

The narrow DOF look is arguably the primary reason why Canon DSLR cameras are getting any use by professional videographers. Most lens packages on semi-pro and professional quality video cameras don't have apertures large enough to achieve the artsy looking narrow DOF effect. You end up having to use a high end system or a motion picture film camera.

It's just too bad Canon's video processing with this first generation of HD-capable DSLRs sucks in terms of moire prevention. Look for this to be THE angle Nikon uses in one-upping Canon in HD-SLR camera functions with newer cameras. Of course Canon will have to answer with moire-free HDSLR cameras of their own.
 

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Posted by Robert Minichino (Member # 3495) on 03-11-2010, 05:28 PM:
 
At very small apertures your sharpness is limited by diffraction, which blurs everything. http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/technical/diffraction.html
 

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Posted by Julio Roberto (Member # 4976) on 03-11-2010, 05:47 PM:
 

quote: Bobby Henderson

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Don't you mean larger apertures and longer focal lengths?

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No. In this case I did mean smaller apertures (aperture values of F16 and above) and longer focal lengths.

Although the shallow depth of field of larger apertures may help conceal artifacts on objects with vertical lines crossing horizontal ones in some situations, mostly on objects in the background, I was talking about when you "must" have a subject "in focus" and relatively small focal lengths (i.e. you DO want to shoot Joe's neighbour tiles and they don't just happen to be in the background )

Then an aperture small enough (say F22) to introduce a bit of diffraction softening could remove it (may need to increase ISO or exposure, of course, which may lead to more noise or motion blur). Longer exposures often help with the moiré for obvious reasons, though, specially if you're not on a tripod

Here are some examples I just googled:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/u-diffraction.shtml

Come to think about it, maybe Joe has a particularly bad combination with his lens and camera. Not that he is the only one or that the moiré problems are not common, which they are, just perhaps a tad worse in his case.

He may want to try a back focus adjustment first if he is relying in AF.

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/cameras/1ds3_af_micoadjustment.html

Both, for maximun sharpness and slighty out-of-focus, in case one setting works better.

Having the freedom to use interchangeable lenses is great but it also means you can't match the lens resolution/diffraction limit to the sensor optical block/lowpass filter.

When paired with the right lenses, these cameras are great still performers. When paired with the right (probably different) lenses and diffuser filters, they are half-decent video performers with some situations when the aliasing/moiré artifacts are very hard to avoid.

But a fixed lens (dedicated) video camera can easily avoid the problems that otherwise we have to deal with here.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-11-2010, 06:47 PM:
 
Less expensive lenses will be more prone to issues like lens flare, fringing and chromatic abberation. I can certainly see how CA would dramatically worsen the moire issues in HD video shooting.

Most of Canon's better quality lenses, particularly the L-series models, do much to reduce chromatic abberation. But it can still show up in very high contrast situations, like if you're shooting outdoors in bright sunlight early in the afternoon. I've seen that happen when over-exposing some shots using my 24-70 lens.

Chromatic abberation is fairly easy to correct in RAW-based still images. Canon's Digital Photo Professional software and Adobe Camera RAW both have filters to reduce color fringing and CA. But those filters don't help you when the imagery is MP4-compressed HD video with a nasty dose of moire cooked into the image.

If I remember right, Joe has the Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM zoom lens. It's not a L-series lens (and doesn't have a consistent aperture either), but the lens generally gets good reviews thanks to its three aspherical elements and ultra density element -features that usually come in a L-series model.
 

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Posted by Steven J Hart (Member # 2340) on 03-11-2010, 08:01 PM:
 
Macbook Pro 13" for my Wife. This will replace her much hated Toshiba notebook. The new "unibody" design is pretty cool. Makes my older 15" Macbook Pro look kinda clunky. I purchased it from a seller on eBay who I've bought several macs from - used the "Bing.com" cash rebate and got about $120.00 off the price. I hope Wife likes this better than what she refers to as the "Crapshiba"
 

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Posted by Manny Montes (Member # 5639) on 03-12-2010, 12:27 AM:
 
Just bought some more dress shirts for work from express.

About to order a custom suit from indochino, if anyone has any suits from them i'd love to hear how they are. I've read rave reviews online, but never seen one in person. I figured that hopefully I need to start looking nice if I'm ever going to get promoted

They are pretty cheap though for a custom suit, I've been wearing walmart brand or similar the entire time i've been floor managing.
 

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Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 03-13-2010, 02:47 AM:
 
Went on a binge:
Photoshop Elements 8
Belkin 7 port USB2 hub
HP 1tb SimpleSave external hard drive.
 

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Posted by Alastair Comrie (Member # 4313) on 03-24-2010, 05:47 PM:
 
My latest unnecessary but awesome purchase :



1996 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV

280 BHP, 0 - 60 4.8sec
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-24-2010, 07:13 PM:
 
Film-Tech needs a "Like" button!
 

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Posted by Barry Floyd (Member # 385) on 03-25-2010, 08:45 AM:
 
Just bought a new Guest Pager System for the drive-in. We bought the 20 pager system to help alleviate the long waiting lines in the lobby for people waiting for kitchen food. Since our place is all "cooked to order", now our patrons can take a pager, go back to their car and we'll BUZZZZZZZ them where their dinner is ready. Since people tend to bring EVERYONE in the car to the concessions building when ordering their food, this will help clear out the building quicker and let us serve the other customers more efficiently.
 

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Posted by Damien Taylor (Member # 4255) on 03-25-2010, 09:29 AM:
 

quote: Barry Floyd

---

Just bought a new Guest Pager System for the drive-in. We bought the 20 pager system to help alleviate the long waiting lines in the lobby for people waiting for kitchen food. Since our place is all "cooked to order", now our patrons can take a pager, go back to their car and we'll BUZZZZZZZ them where their dinner is ready. Since people tend to bring EVERYONE in the car to the concessions building when ordering their food, this will help clear out the building quicker and let us serve the other customers more efficiently.

---

This is an amazing idea, and a great integration of new technology the old drive-ins probably wish existed. I wonder if other DIs have thought of this yet.
 

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Posted by Barry Floyd (Member # 385) on 03-25-2010, 09:48 AM:
 
I know of at least 2 other drive-ins (Skyview Cruise-In Lancaster, Ohio & Rodeo Drive-In Port Orchard, Washington) that have them, and that's what gave me the idea.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 04-24-2010, 02:42 AM:
 
I have purchased the following items recently:



Apollo 13 - Blu-ray - "Houston We Have A Problem Edition" Includes a special BD-Live game where you and up to 7 other online players try to create as many problems as possible for the entire city of Houston.

Toy Story - Blu-Ray - Also includes a regular DVD version in case I go over to a poor person's house.

Toy Story 2 - Blu-ray - Also includes a regular DVD version so I can throw it away and add to the landfill... which I did specifically on Earth Day.

iPod Touch - Finally got another iPod. The iPod Mini was ass. This, however, is much nicer. It's like an iPhone without all of that phone bullshit. Who talks to people any more, really?

Somer Assault - TurboGrafx-16 - I think most members of Film-Tech are probably jealous about this acquisition. I know I would be if I didn't have it. I will shoot anyone who enters my house to steal this. I'm sure the body count will be high as the risk is certainly worth it!

Lots of groceries - From the local Kroger affiliate. Running low, will purchase more on Sunday.

Not shown:
After Burner Climax - Playstation 3 - $10 Downloadable game. It has a climax bar that replenishes as you play and when it fills up, you climax. Also, you shoot down foreigners and who doesn't like doing that?
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 04-24-2010, 12:32 PM:
 
I like the photo on the iPhone -oh, I mean iPod Touch. Also, I would like to extend my compliments on the use of refrigerator lighting for the photo.
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 04-24-2010, 12:44 PM:
 

quote: Joe Redifer

---

Houston We Have A Problem

---

What's interesting is that none of the astronauts said that. It's a common misquote that got placed into the movie.

They actually said "Houston, we've had a problem here."
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 04-24-2010, 02:01 PM:
 
Here is the original sound clip from real life:

Houston we've had a problem

Bobby, the last time I took a photo of a product I bought, I had it in a tree. Not sure if I posted it on this forum, though.
 

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Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 04-24-2010, 05:50 PM:
 
It's also worth watching the NASA film which can be found here -> "Apollo 13-Houston we've had a problem"

There is much original audio from the mission and you can see where Richie Cunningham got many of his ideas from.

Just noticed Joe's selection of Blu Rays.

Possibility of a Tom Hanks fetish there perchance?

Apollo 13 - See Tom Hanks be a spaceman.
Toy Story - Watch Tom Hanks play with a Spaceman.
Toy Story 2 - Marvel at Tom Hanks playing with a Spaceman.. again.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 04-24-2010, 08:19 PM:
 
We'll see. The first week of May the Blu-ray of Saving Private Ryan "Sapphire Edition" will be released -that's the one where Tom Hanks plays an Army guy looking around France for some other Army guy.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 04-25-2010, 12:29 AM:
 
God damn it, Bobby! Why didn't you read my mind and tell me to wait until the first week of May to take that picture? God damn it, such a great opportunity wasted. Maybe if I invent time travel...
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-19-2010, 10:51 PM:
 


The law doesn't say that intruders can ONLY be killed with guns.
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 05-20-2010, 12:17 AM:
 
Ho-hum... Old news... It's already been done...

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100409/NEWS02/304089871

How about this:


Bought a whole darkroom for $200... Enlarger, timer, trays, thermometers, utensils, bottles and everything. All I had to buy is film, paper and chemistry.

And, just for posterity, the photo above is the first photo I developed in my new darkroom... a photo OF my new darkroom.
 

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Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 05-20-2010, 06:12 AM:
 
Behold the Gigaset One by those inventive Germans (Siemens):



I think I once posted a wish item that would let me do what this unit does. This sweet little box (under $80) lets me interface my cell service to my entire home phone system -- standard telephone extensions parallel wired to every room now can be used to pick up and make calls via the cell service provider. Just put the cell within 30 ft of this interface and the bluetooth finds it, connects to it. Plug your telephone wiring into it and you are done. All your phones now take and make calls via the cell service, all by the magic of BlueTooth.

What made me start looking for such a device about a year and a half ago? Because anyone who uses a cell phone at home in anything but a studio apartment knows the Prime Directive of cell phones -- unless you have Crazy Glued the cell phone to your body, whenever it rings, no matter what room it is in, you will be located in the room farthest away from it. If you live in a two story house, you will be on one floor and it will be on the other.

We've got telephone extensions in every room of the place, so with this unit, whenever a call comes in to the cell phone, the device rings every extension in every room....this is AWESOME! AND, I get to talk on a REAL telephone phone that I can hold firmly in one hand and press comfortably against my ear and mouth, unlike cell phones which may be well designed for small size but not for easy handling or comfortable telephone conversation.

This thing is beautifully designed and executed -- the simplicity is quite elegant (even my very untech-savvy aunt understands how to use it). Now I am able to use a cell service provider but still get that service extended to those standard telephones with their comfortably designed handsets.

And what surprised me was that the cellphone service sounds even clearer on the standard telephone. How? Well, you've got a handset with a much bigger speaker in instead of the miniscule thing they necessarily have to use in cell phones.

It can interface to THREE cells in case you have other family members with their own cells and each will ring the extensions with distinctive rings. If you don't want to give up your land line, it will also interface with that as well and give it a distinctive ring. When you pick up any extension, you can then select which service you want to use -- land line or one of the three cells -- just by using the FLASH (or off-hook thingy) and dialing 1, 2, or 3. Very clever.

I think this product will be the answer for all those young people who are just starting out and for whom paying for two phone service providers is just too expensive. Not to mention in this economy, may people will be thinking long and hard about getting rid of one of those two services and of the two, the one more likely to get tossed will be their land-line service as the cell is the more versatile of the two. The interface certainly will give them the best of both worlds -- cell service versatility but standard land-line comfort in many rooms of their homes.

I totally love it and already don't see how I could ever have done without it.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 05-20-2010, 09:32 AM:
 

quote: Randy Stankey

---

Bought a whole darkroom for $200... Enlarger, timer, trays, thermometers, utensils, bottles and everything. All I had to buy is film, paper and chemistry.

---

That gave me a flash back of the odd smell (sort of like pickle juice) of dark room chemicals and the fun of loading rolls of 35mm film into developing cans in a pitch black closet.
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 05-20-2010, 04:33 PM:
 
Well, most stop baths are made from acetic acid, A.K.A. vinegar. And, since pickles are made with vinegar, it only goes to logic that stop bath might smell like pickles.

That room is in my basement. I keep all my chemistry in sealed bottles when I'm not actually working on something so there is no smell most of the time. When I am working, you can smell the chemistry but it's not very strong. Even with the door open you can't smell it upstairs.

Besides, I like the smell of the darkroom!
 

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Posted by Jeremy Weigel (Member # 4208) on 05-20-2010, 04:53 PM:
 
Yep. Every time I smell pickles it takes me back to my childhood. My dad was a professional wedding photographer with Gordon Dinsmore Studio for 30yrs and developed b&w proofs at home.
 

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Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 05-20-2010, 11:07 PM:
 

 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-20-2010, 11:44 PM:
 
Awesome, Adam! Now can someone tell me why they can't make a beef, bean and cheese burrito? It's either beef and bean or bean and cheese. Unacceptable!
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 05-21-2010, 12:47 AM:
 
All those burritos... and a big package of toilet paper.

Ironic. Isn't it?
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-21-2010, 01:09 AM:
 
I'm pretty sure that was the point.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 05-21-2010, 04:18 PM:
 
It's a perpetual motion machine with the human digestive track caught in the middle.
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 05-21-2010, 06:32 PM:
 
Purchased a Stanley rolling tote-style plastic tool box, thinking it would work for airline travel to various install jobs. At about $32 bucks at Home Depot, the price was right.



Good idea, bad execution - after just one round-trip with SWA's baggage handlers, the evidence indicates this wasn't the best choice.

Even before the flight, the wheels felt like they wouldn't stay with the rest of the box for too much longer. When pulling it along, the clearance between the bottom of the box, and any kind of carpet is so low that the box drags. And the fold-up tote handle is too short - even for me at 5'6". I noticed these shortcomings when I bought this but I was in a hurry and figured I could make this work at least until I could afford a better box. I figured wrong.

On its first slide down the arrivals carousel, one of my sockets and a small screwdriver managed to pop out of the box due to flexing between the upper and lower latched-together sections. Not a good sign, even though that didn't happen on the return flight.

Fortunately I'm driving to the next install, so I'll have some time and money (first paycheck in over a year next Friday... yay!) to pick a better box. I expect I'll pay at least $200 for my next one (a good Pelican-style one), even with online pricing.

So, my verdict on this Stanley rolling tote plastic tool box? For around the house and maybe around town - OK, but only that. For airline travel - epic fail.
 

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Posted by Tom Mundell (Member # 4555) on 05-26-2010, 06:20 PM:
 
Finally got one of these


 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 05-26-2010, 07:38 PM:
 
The price for the f/1.4 version is a bargain compared to the f/1.2L version. A $1150 price difference.
 

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Posted by Tom Mundell (Member # 4555) on 05-26-2010, 08:25 PM:
 
Yeah, seriously! The f/1.2L version was far beyond my budget...
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 05-26-2010, 10:11 PM:
 
Unless you are a professional photographer who can recover the money through his business, I don't think the gains you will get by going from an ƒ-1.4 to an ƒ-1.2 lens are worth the money. You're only getting an extra half-stop. Unless you're trying to reshoot "Barry Lyndon" the $1,500 isn't worth it.

What's more, the depth of field you get at ƒ-1.2 is going to be very narrow. From a 10 foot distance, your DOF is going to be less than a foot. Depending on the camera, it could be less than 6 inches.

For the gains you get: for the trouble you will have using it: for the extra money you will spend, you're better off with the ƒ-1.4

I have a hard enough time shooting with an ƒ-1.7 lens on my 35mm.
 

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Posted by Tom Mundell (Member # 4555) on 05-26-2010, 10:43 PM:
 
Definitely, those are some of the same things that I considered in not waiting until I could afford the f/1.2 lens. Even at f/1.4 the depth of field is brutally narrow. I'm definitely not a professional photographer, but I've had enough fun seeing what I can do with the f/1.4 lens to be worth it; however the extra cost of the f/1.2 would have been exceedingly tough to justify even if I could afford it!
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 05-26-2010, 10:47 PM:
 
It's tough to justify the price premium for the f/1.2L 50mm lens over its far less costly f/1.4 brother.

Pros: The L-series 50mm lens is weather sealed. It has better control over flare and chromatic abberation. Its aperture has 8 circular blades for properly spherical bokeh (the other two 50mm models have 8 blade and 5 blade apertures whose bokeh looks more like octagons or pentagons).

Cons: Autofocus performance is slow (the f/1.2L 85mm lens is even slower in AF speed). The lens is not quite as sharp as the f/1.4 model when set at f/2, f/2.8 and possibly even tighter.

I think you have to be at least a somewhat successful portrait or wedding photographer to justify the expense of the 50mm f/1.2L lens. Most photographers will get more bang for their buck with the f/1.4 model. Canon's 85mm f/1.8 lens is also popular for its performance to price value.

Personally, I have the itch to buy the new 100mm f/2.8L Hybrid IS macro lens. It currently costs $884 after a $65 instant rebate.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-27-2010, 01:10 AM:
 
Here is yet another post not justifying the cost of the ƒ1.2, which nobody bought. I have a hard time with my ƒ1.8... damn thing must be on a tripod for best results. Granted, I did have it on a Glidecam once for a cool shot in a video where I was going down an escalator. Nothing was blurry, I was only using it to get the light.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 05-27-2010, 11:02 AM:
 
It would seem a large f/1.8 aperture setting would allow in a lot more light for much faster exposure speeds, lessening the need for a tripod unless you're shooting in really dim conditions.

The big apertures achieve that nice, artsy blurred background and other areas of the image. But it sometimes turns into a pain. Even with fairly close portrait shots of people at f/2.8 are challenging to get both eyes in focus. At f/1.2 you might get the tip of the person's nose in focus with everything else falling off into blur-o-vision.
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 05-27-2010, 12:08 PM:
 
At a 10 foot distance, jumping from ƒ-1.4 to ƒ-1.2 cuts your DoF down from 5 inches to 4.2 inches.

If you are shooting from arm's length, say 5 ft., your DoF goes from 1.2 inches to 1.0 inches.

Your hyperfocal distance jumps from 467 ft. to 545 ft.

For all of that messing around, you only get a half-stop of extra light.

My fastest lens is ƒ-1.7. That's pain enough. I can barely imagine working with an ƒ-1.2.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-27-2010, 02:05 PM:
 

quote: Bobby Henderson

---

It would seem a large f/1.8 aperture setting would allow in a lot more light for much faster exposure speeds, lessening the need for a tripod unless you're shooting in really dim conditions.

---

For stills, possibly yes. But the 50mm focal distance over-exaggerates any movement your hand may make as well. Why can't someone make a 10mm ƒ0.5? Or maybe ƒ0.0? Also, I want to be able to zoom all the way in to 500mm without any change in the ƒ stop. Make it happen, Bobby!
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 05-27-2010, 02:33 PM:
 
The fastest lens I have ever read about is the lens Stanley Kubrick used to shoot the indoor scenes of the movie "Barry Lyndon" with. It was a Zeiss 36mm ƒ-0.7. He bought a pair of them from NASA so he could shoot indoors by candle light.





From what I understand, two of them were made. I think Zeiss has one. I seem to remember that the other is in the Smithsonian. I'm sure, for a price, they might let you use it for a day.
 

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Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 08-10-2010, 11:40 PM:
 
This is a neat little IR repeater: "Powermid" It's shaped like a pyramid, so "Powermid....get it. Yah, it's stupid. Anyway, what it does is let you extend your IR remote wirelessly thru walls and over long distances, from one room to another.

Say you've got a TV in one room (ours is in the bedroom) and then in the living room you've got your main system with all the hardware -- BluRay player, LaserDisc player, cable box, stereo system, etc. You want to control everything that's in the livingroom from the bedroom. Use this system.

The transmitter unit goes in the bedroom. You aim your universal remote at it and it converts the IR pulses to RF which is picked up by the receiver unit in the livingroom. The receiver unit converts the transmission back to IR which in turn is aimed at your system and all your equipment is controlled in the bedroom wirelessly. And flawlessly. We love it.

Another X10 wireless marvel (made in China).



You can't get an idea of the size from this pic. They are miniscule -- like the size of a coffee cup.
 

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Posted by Justin B. Martin (Member # 5817) on 08-11-2010, 01:13 AM:
 
A replacement trackball for my Blackberry Bold...



...and an extra one for shit-happens.
 

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Posted by Rob Ferreira (Member # 3406) on 08-16-2010, 01:55 AM:
 
I bought the Vizio VBR200W Blu-Ray player the other day for $160 bucks at the Wally-World.
It was the only one I could find that had wireless internet actually built in, and was not just capable of wireless by you purchasing an additional adapter.
Works great coupled with my Monster® HDMI cable on my 32" Sanyo TV. Wireless is a little slow on my Time-Warner Cable network (but that's probably my distance from the router.)
Netflix streaming, Flicker, Facebook, Pandora Radio apps all built in.


 

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Posted by Robert Crabtree (Member # 4795) on 08-23-2010, 02:25 AM:
 
Via eBay, have picked up 3 Harry Potter deluxe edition books- 2 of which are still sealed in their shrink wrap.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 08-23-2010, 08:11 PM:
 
A two-disk DVD set at Disney World called "Imagineering the Magic Kingdom." It has a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff, which my wife and I both like.
 

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Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 08-25-2010, 11:32 PM:
 
a compton console originally from the alma theatre in luton uk
now the hard work of finding chests and pipes

 

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Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 08-26-2010, 07:37 AM:
 
Hey, Gordon,

Great buy there. It looks very capable of restoration.

Do you have a place to install an organ that it would control?

There are lots of organ parts floating around. Many are from other brands of instruments. Do you need to have authentic pipes and chests or are other brands acceptable?

Let me know what you need.

KEN
 

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Posted by Richard Hamilton (Member # 321) on 08-26-2010, 10:12 AM:
 

 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 08-26-2010, 11:08 AM:
 
I just got a book called Pixar Treasures. It's a companion volume to another one I have called Disney Treasures.

These are amazing books -- they are history books about Disney and Pixar, but what makes them unique is they include all kinds of reproductions of photos, documents, tickets, posters, letters, memos and anything else you can think of. These reproductions are tucked into pockets, placed in foldout pages, inserted in envelopes, etc etc etc. It's very cool. Can't do that with a Kindle.
 

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Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 08-28-2010, 08:29 PM:
 

 

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Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 08-30-2010, 11:19 AM:
 


It has loads of information that are useful for making production drawings for a machine shop. A must for any engineer.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-06-2010, 01:33 AM:
 
I slipped over to the dark side and bought a TiVo. Now I'm worried that I'll spend the rest of my life wishing I had time to watch stuff.

Also we are going to Florida for a vacation next week and by accident I found out that good seats for an Eagles concert were still available at the brand new, "state of the art" Amway Center arena...it's the first ticketed event to be held there. So I snapped up 2 tickets. And then found out today the show is being postponed till Oct. 26, which is 9 days after we come home. Oh well. You win and you lose.
 

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Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 10-06-2010, 03:44 PM:
 
That's because Don Henley fell ill. The Eagles were supposed to perform in Lubbock Tuesday but postponed until Friday October 29.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-09-2010, 12:02 AM:
 
Just finished listening to a new CD by the Doobie Brothers, "World Gone Crazy." If you are a fan of the band's pre-Michael McDonald sound, I recommend this. They sound great. Pat Simmons and Tom Johnston are both in fine vocal form and the songs are uniformly excellent. A way better effort than their last album, "Sibling Rivalry."

I also picked up the new Heart CD, titled "Red Velvet Car." I do NOT recommend this one. The production on it is weak and the hooks just aren't there.
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 10-15-2010, 06:28 PM:
 
Hey Frank, I still have a pair of those "Powermyds" - which I bought probably around 1990 or so. Used them for controlling Sony and Barco rear-screen CRT projectors from out front at the show control position during big convention AV tech jobs - usually a distance of 120' or so. Sure beat having to run and tape down long runs of remote control cables.

* * * * *

I finally gave in and picked up a Panasonic DMP-BD85 Blu-ray player. Open-box deal at Best Buy for around $160USD. Certainly not the best price out there for this new 2D player from last year, but good enough for me to finally jump in. I'm not planning on doing 3D in the house. Ever.

Haven't had much time to play with it yet, but on the several US and Japan concert BDs I already have, the results have been very satisfying! But I admit it will take some getting used to the long load times on some discs - my BD copy of Casino for instance, takes a couple of minutes to load before it will display the main menu.

Of course this purchase will beget a sound system upgrade. For now we'll have to listen in Dolby Stereo decoded from the player's stereo outputs for another few weeks until I can upgrade our way-old pre-Dolby Digital receiver to something that can accept HDMI inputs. Then I'll get to deal with a speaker upgrade. Then...
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 10-15-2010, 06:31 PM:
 
Hey Frank, I still have a pair of those "Powermyds" - which I bought probably around 1990 or so. Used them for controlling Sony and Barco rear-screen CRT projectors from out front at the show control position during big convention AV tech jobs - usually a distance of 120' or so. Sure beat having to run and tape down long runs of remote control cables.

* * * * *

I finally gave in and picked up a Panasonic DMP-BD85 Blu-ray player. Open-box deal at Best Buy for around $160USD. Certainly not the best price out there for this new 2D player from last year, but good enough for me to finally jump in.

Haven't had much time to play with it yet, but on the several US and Japan concert BDs I already have, the results have been very satisfying! But I admit it will take some getting used to the long load times on some discs - my BD copy of Casino for instance, takes a couple of minutes to load before it will display the main menu.

Of course this purchase will beget a sound system upgrade. For now we'll have to listen in Dolby Stereo decoded from the player's stereo outputs for another few weeks until I can upgrade our way-old pre-Dolby Digital receiver to something that can accept HDMI inputs. Then I'll get to deal with a speaker upgrade. Then...
 

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Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 10-15-2010, 06:34 PM:
 
i have to run hdmi to the tv and optical to the receiver

when i tried to run hdmi to the receiver and then to the tv, i had sync issues

your mileage may vary

MY LATEST PURCHASE -- a william bounds nutmeg mill !!!


 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 10-26-2010, 05:53 PM:
 
Back to the Future on Blu-ray (includes all 3 movies).

It comes in the worst packaging I have ever seen. Why can't studios just use normal Blu-ray boxes? Blade Runner is the only multi-collection that got it right. I am going to have to get my own Blu-ray boxes and print my own inserts just so the discs to crack in half when I remove the,
 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 10-26-2010, 06:17 PM:
 

quote: Joe Redifer obviously stoned

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I am going to have to get my own Blu-ray boxes and print my own inserts just so the discs to crack in half when I remove the,

---

 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 10-26-2010, 06:35 PM:
 
John, look at the "m" on your keyboard and note keys nearby.
 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 10-26-2010, 06:49 PM:
 
OK, I get that...but that's not entirely what I was referring to.
An iPhone addition to the post perhaps?
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 10-26-2010, 06:54 PM:
 
I don't even get the m key reference. I just assumed Joe had to suddenly be hauled to the ER due to getting a shard of exploding BD disc in his eye or something.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 10-26-2010, 08:02 PM:
 
Ha ha, no. I must have gotten distracted when I was typing. The discs bend when you try to remove them and I don't want them to snap or develop micro-cracks over time. I guess I should have a "don't" in there instead of "to".
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 10-26-2010, 10:25 PM:
 

quote: David Stambaugh

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I don't even get the m key reference.

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quote: Joe Redifer

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The discs bend when you try to remove them

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quote:

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Back to the Future on Blu-ray (includes all 3 movies).

It comes in the worst packaging I have ever seen. Why can't studios just use normal Blu-ray boxes? Blade Runner is the only multi-collection that got it right. I am going to have to get my own Blu-ray boxes and print my own inserts just so the discs to crack in half when I remove the,

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quote:

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my fleshlight arrived today!!!!!!!

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There are over 400,000 posts here and, ummm, did you really just say that? Is Indiana THAT bad???
 

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Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 10-28-2010, 08:39 PM:
 
NOT ANYMORE, BRAD!!!
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 10-29-2010, 12:23 AM:
 

quote: Manny Knowles

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joe -- did you get one too?

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quote: Manny Knowles

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i'm thinking of giving these for christmas presents.

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quote:

---

my fleshlight arrived today!!!!!!!

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$64.95 seems a little pricey... especially when most everyone is equipped with two hands to satisfy those needs! Hmmm. wonder if its dishwasher safe???
 

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Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 10-29-2010, 09:26 AM:
 
"Gently used" WOW LOL

Batteries??? What model did YOU get??

It's not dishwasher safe -- they want u to use water and then alcohol to clean it, not soap.

BTW it's time to "come" clean -- I bought this as a birthday gift for my best friend back in L.A. -- Really -- I did -- It's not for me -- I swear!

(It's NOT!!!)
 

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Posted by Richard Hamilton (Member # 321) on 10-29-2010, 09:40 AM:
 
I'm not sure I want to know what a Fleshlight is
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 10-29-2010, 09:45 AM:
 

quote: Manny Knowles

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What model did YOU get??

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I got the same one you did (based on this picture you sent):




 

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Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 10-29-2010, 12:07 PM:
 
I just fell off my chair!

LOL
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 10-30-2010, 01:05 PM:
 
Fleshlight... Watch Kore-Eda's Air Doll and all (well, maybe not all) will be revealed.

* * * * *

As predicted, the BD player beget a receiver upgrade. Found another open-box special, this time for a Denon AVR-890 receiver. Haven't had time to hook it all up yet, though I should have a few days off next week, unless I get sent down to Laughlin again, but that's another thread...
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 01-09-2011, 02:59 AM:
 
I know most of you probably don't care about such things, but I sure do and that means you have to look at my post.

Behold, Pier Solar, the brand new game for the Sega Genesis that was recently released!



You can have your train sets and your tube amplifiers and your organs, but I'll gladly take this.
 

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Posted by Eric Robinson (Member # 2966) on 01-10-2011, 02:18 AM:
 
HTC Aria with DROID OS.

Stock Photo


 

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Posted by Mandy Moncayo (Member # 6040) on 01-10-2011, 03:02 AM:
 
Second half of the geeky book series I'm reading.

Sword and Citadel by Gene Wolfe
 

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Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 01-10-2011, 03:52 AM:
 
I decided I had enough of Verizon DSL crappy 690Kbps for $40 a month and a company that kept me on the phone switching me from division to division, rep to supervisor to rep AND supervisor in three-way conversations for over an hour, that were reminescent of a Marx Brothers movie, trying to get them to refund a credit that each dunce I spoke to admitted they owed me, but couldn't figure out how to get a refund check issued.

So OFF WITH THEIR HEADS I say! Now Verizon is gone, canceled, booted in the arse. I am now using THIS modem for internet service. No phone line connection....no cable connection, no satelite dish, just 1s and 0s right out of the air; it works on 4G wireless service. And like cell phone service, it's practically EVERYWHERE. I just powered up this baby and bingo -- 5 bars and internet speed of over 6Mps for $35 per month. And I will never EVER have to deal with Verizon again.



And fear not -- it has nothing to do with Scientology.

BTW, it has also up-kicked my Netflix streaming quality to the highest number of bars there as well.
 

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Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 01-10-2011, 03:20 PM:
 
Very cool Frank. I may have to look into one of those.

I just bought one of these for my son and it arrived Friday from Amazon. He LOVES garbage trucks, excavators and basically any heavy machinery that involves hydraulics.



...and this I bought for me. It makes clearing my long driveway of snow so much more tolerable. When I was shopping for one I was more concerned about power and clearing path width. After I got it home I realized that it had motorized chute rotation and a motorized chute deflector. It even has dual level electric hand warmers in the handles and an electric start.



Sadly though, I purchased this by selling my two Simplex XL projectors. I finally had to let them go.
 

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Posted by Chase Pickett (Member # 5975) on 01-10-2011, 05:55 PM:
 
My dream car!

 

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Posted by Yuri Aguilar (Member # 5629) on 01-10-2011, 07:37 PM:
 
A Christie Film Cleaner for my Victoria 8.
 

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Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 01-10-2011, 08:04 PM:
 

quote:

---

Behold, Pier Solar, the brand new game for the Sega Genesis that was recently released!

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Joe, I dislike RPGs, but that is still the coolest thing I've seen in awhile!

AJG
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-02-2011, 09:46 PM:
 


When I first heard about cordless screwdrivers, drills and such, I was skeptical. They won't have enough power and the batteries will not last long enough, I thought. Then I received a DeWalt cordless drill for Christmas about 10 years ago, and became a believer. That thing can do anything; I used it to remove all the seats from the theatre and disassemble them, and was amazed how long the batteries lasted. I've used that drill more than any other power tool I've ever owned and even after all this time, it's still only on its second set of batteries.

So now I got this DeWalt cordless saw. It's amazing how much quieter and lighter (even with battery) it is than the old corded model I have.

Yeah, I risk going into the poor house if I get too close to a DeWalt store.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-02-2011, 10:59 PM:
 

quote: Mike Blakesley

---

cordless screwdrivers

---

How can this be? IT'S NOT POSSIBLE!!!

What's next, a wireless hammer?


 

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Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 02-02-2011, 11:36 PM:
 
haha Joe did you make that wired hammer just so you could post it in here?
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-03-2011, 10:09 AM:
 
Joe: That's not wireless, there's a bigass wire sticking out of the end of it.
 

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Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 02-04-2011, 11:15 AM:
 
That hammer is not digital, either.
 

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Posted by Damien Taylor (Member # 4255) on 02-04-2011, 11:21 AM:
 
I bought a new in box Technics SL-1200 turntable. I waited too long to buy a second one and having just been discontinued I wasn't going to regret not getting another.

There will always be millions out there, but I know this one hasn't been in DJ hands.
 

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Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 02-05-2011, 12:32 AM:
 
After nearly 6 months of delaying -- I finally bought ink for my printer
 

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Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 02-05-2011, 01:10 AM:
 
Sonic bliss. Thanks Claude!



AJG
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-05-2011, 01:18 AM:
 
Mine doesn't have that giant-ass DTS sticker on the front. That was probably put on by the store.
 

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Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 02-05-2011, 01:41 AM:
 
Stickers like it used to be on the shrink wrap. I've never seen a DTS one though.

AJG
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-05-2011, 05:19 AM:
 
It might have been "open box" or whatnot. Who knows?
 

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Posted by Jake Spell (Member # 5294) on 02-07-2011, 11:31 PM:
 


One of the funniest shows I have ever seen...
 

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Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 02-08-2011, 12:42 AM:
 
I bought Alfalfa Sprouts.
 

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Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 02-17-2011, 11:33 PM:
 
I bought two laserdiscs today

1. Rooster Cogburn
2. Reggedy Man (branded under the LASERVISION and Laser Videodisc name)

I was planning on buying Driving Miss Daisy but I already have it on DVD
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 02-18-2011, 12:11 AM:
 
This one is to stir Bobby up...

That Titanic laserdisc cover is interesting. You would think they would have used a different font for the E-L-E-V-E-N Academy Awards. It looks like the movie won 2.
 

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Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 02-18-2011, 12:16 AM:
 
I bought a ViewSonic LED 1080p monitor. I thought LED technology was supposed to give more rich color saturation than LCD. I don't see it. If anything, it has a hard time pumping up the contrast. It's decent enough, it's just I was thinking it would knock my socks off....my stocks are still on. What did I think I was going to get for $180.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-18-2011, 01:11 AM:
 
I noticed the bad contrast levels when perusing sets in the store as well. I did not like the blacks I saw so I left.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 02-18-2011, 11:01 AM:
 

quote: Brad Miller

---

That Titanic laserdisc cover is interesting. You would think they would have used a different font for the E-L-E-V-E-N Academy Awards. It looks like the movie won 2.

---

Yeah, the numeral 1 in Baker Signet doesn't look much different than a "I" or lowercase "L". I'm trying to figure out the logic with mixing a serif typeface like Baker Signet with Trajan, the typeface used for the main title. The results clash and look stupid. Maybe Trajan took up too much horizontal space for the Academy Awards note. I would have used a natively condensed sans-serif typeface instead.

The most annoying things to me on that Titanic cover: the line "a James Cameron film" being set in what looks like Baker Signet and then artificially squeezed to hell and the "widescreen edition" label at the top being stretched. Type distortion is one of the easiest ways to give a layout an unmistakable amateur hour look.
 

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Posted by Cameron Glendinning (Member # 3516) on 03-02-2011, 01:27 AM:
 
I've just gone on a spending spree over the last week or so! Picked up a cp55, now all I need is a 222sr/a card if anyone wants to part with one?



New camera 60D, it doubles for both stills and video. I also bought a new tripod head thats not pictured, a manfrotto 501 HDV for my old carbon fibre legs and micro jib, the camera looks a wee bit small on such a big tripod!


And it was also time for a new clothes dryer!

 

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Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 03-02-2011, 02:08 AM:
 
I've just gone on a spending spree this last week.
Here's my new toy ...



Don't have any new cameras or white goods though.

Me thinks there may have been a sale on these things.
 

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Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 03-02-2011, 07:45 AM:
 
Nice toys!

That beats MY most recent spending!

I sent iTunes gift certificates to two of my nephews for their birthdays.

I'm gonna buy one of those D-SLR's and go shoot me a movie!
 

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Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 03-14-2011, 08:50 PM:
 


And it looks pretty damn good for a LaserDisc. The sound is also AC3 5.1, so not any of the re-mixes they later did to 6.1.

AJG
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-14-2011, 09:12 PM:
 
It's not the special edition is it? A lot of the scenes they added detracted from the movie, although a few of them are good.
 

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Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 03-14-2011, 09:43 PM:
 
It's the theatrical cut. I like the special edition because it adds some really good character development but I think the theatrical cut flows better, and thus is the superior cut.

AJG
 

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Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 03-14-2011, 10:17 PM:
 
Polar Express (Blu-ray 3D)
Belle & Sebastian (2010 album)
 

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Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 04-09-2011, 07:38 PM:
 
I bought The Criterion Collection laserdisc of Louis Malle "Damage" for $5 at the flea market.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-09-2011, 09:16 PM:
 
To add some contrast to all this recent high-tech stuff mentioned lately, here's an old fashioned entry: I've been collecting these books. There are five planned volumes, four of which are out now. The strip doesn't really find its total footing until volume 2, but it's all great stuff.


 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 04-20-2011, 05:17 PM:
 
I was given an iTunes gift card for my birthday and had no idea what to use it for. Then I found this:

Arthur (1981) Original Soundtrack - Remastered.


 

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Posted by Mark Ogden (Member # 43) on 04-27-2011, 05:41 PM:
 


The G.F. has this whole “let’s get rid of cable, we don’t watch it anyway” thing going on, so we’re trying out one of these. I must say that I’m pretty pleasantly surprised by the quality so far, of course it’s not quite Blu-Ray and there are certainly more compression artifacts visible, but overall the streams received by NetFlix, Hulu, Crackle and other services are very watch-able (including the Al-Jazzeera English service, for those keeping up with those rascally Taliban). You can get five channels of NASA TV, many international services, and five or six low quality highly compressed channels of old public domain movies and TV shows. I ran a Cat. 6 from our router to our TV rack before we got it, but as it turns out the model we picked up supports dual band Wi-fi as well. I compared the reception from both, and there is very little difference. I don’t know if it’s a cable-killer yet, but there is certainly no end of things to watch with it. Only drag it that our Sony’s HDMI inputs are full, and I didn’t want to buy a switcher. This model does support component out, but you have to order this special optional cable right from Roku, it’s a weird mini tip-ring-ring-sleeve to a three RCA fan-out thing. Seems to work OK. Very nicely thought out remote control and GUI as well.
 

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Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 05-03-2011, 08:12 PM:
 
I traded a second copy of Platoon for Jurassic Park: The Lost World THX Dolby Digital laserdisc.

Wow later laserdisc look good
 

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Posted by Todd Cornwall (Member # 2205) on 05-03-2011, 08:55 PM:
 
16 ounce Mello Yello $.91
Full tank of gas $60.
 

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Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 05-03-2011, 09:09 PM:
 
You must have a small screen Tom. Now as for sound...

AJG
 

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Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 05-04-2011, 09:30 AM:
 

Which I promptly used to spread ten yards of mulch. My back was sore last weekend.
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 05-04-2011, 02:37 PM:
 
LaVezzi flat file. Probably the last one I'll buy or use...
 

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Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 05-19-2011, 03:43 PM:
 
lets see haven't told she who must be obeyed yet about this "small" purchase" i made this weeek










hmm now to figure out how to move it
 

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Posted by Gordon Bachlund (Member # 124) on 05-19-2011, 04:48 PM:
 
This purchase may well of greater value than "she who musy be obeyed."
 

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Posted by John Lasher (Member # 968) on 05-22-2011, 06:28 PM:
 
DJ GEAR!

2 Turntables, a 3 channel mixer (which actually has inputs for up to 5 audio devices, for when I add the computer & CD players), several 45s (and various 12-inchers, including a picture disc of "Thriller")

Also bought a domain name and am enjoying a free trial of a toll-free number I will buy next month.

And although I'm not yet prepared to accept bookings, you can preview the full site here.
 

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Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 05-22-2011, 10:21 PM:
 
bought 'Five Deadly Venoms' on bluray yesterday

preordered 'Les Mans' and 'Solaris' (for $18.12 from Borders) blurays
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 05-22-2011, 10:55 PM:
 
It's not so much that I "bought" it but I dropped $595 for my application to sit the national acupuncture board exams (NCCAOM) plus another $15 for fees for the necessary extra paperwork to be sent to them.

And then I'll be spending $300 on each of the four exam modules that are required to practice here.
 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 05-22-2011, 11:02 PM:
 
^ = Money well spent.
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 05-23-2011, 10:51 AM:
 
The import soundtrack and image album for Studio Ghibli's The Borrower Arrietty. Cecile Corbel did the music, the first time a non-Japanese has done the soundtrack for a Studio Ghibli film. Disney is slated to theatrically release Arrietty here next February.
 

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Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 07-20-2011, 04:49 PM:
 
I bought the 1998 made "Truman Show" laserdisc today.
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 07-20-2011, 08:45 PM:
 
Big Japanese import haul this month: image album, song collection album, maxi single CD, soundtrack CD (OST), and theater poster for Studio Ghibli's latest, From Up on Poppy Hill, directed by Hayao Miyazaki's son Goro. Also picked up the latest Studio Ghibli blu-ray release, Yoshifumi Kondo's 1995 Whisper of the Heart.
 

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Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 07-21-2011, 10:10 PM:
 
Laserdisc of Gattaca
 

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Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 07-24-2011, 06:57 PM:
 
I bought two packages of "Made in the U.S.A" Redbird strike anywhere matches.
 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 07-24-2011, 07:07 PM:
 
New keyboard and mouse:

Unicomp 101 key USB keyboard - Unicomp bought out the production facility that made the much-loved IBM Model M bucking-spring keyboards through the mid 1990s. The new ones are made to the same specifications on the same equipment and feel just as good. And, yes, they are still loud. I bought the 101-key USB version, but they also sell a 104-key version with Windows or Mac keys. You can also get them with PS/2 or AT connectors. I actually wanted the Linux layout, but that is only available in PS/2 and the machine with which I am using it is USB-only They are not cheap at $79, but I am entirely sick of the crappy mushy-feeling $5 keyboards that everyone seems to be using now.

HP USB 3-button optical mouse This is the only 3-button USB optical mouse that I could find that does not have a scroll wheel (which I dislike). It is a bargain at $12.

I did not buy any laserdiscs.
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 07-24-2011, 08:06 PM:
 
Scott, what happened? Why are you using a mouse? That's what Vi is for.
 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 07-25-2011, 06:42 AM:
 
Yeah, I know. I should be ashamed. Maybe I should have bought a VT220 instead.
 

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Posted by Jeff Kane (Member # 6372) on 07-25-2011, 10:31 AM:
 


A Medical Nikkor lens. Awesome for close-up work and fine details. Just hoping the integral ring-flash doesn't die on me, no replacement parts exist!!

An RS232-USB converter, 'cause Planar didn't bother putting a USB connection on the PD8150 and firmware updates MUST be via serial! Standing on the top of an 8' ladder jacking with a laptop/converter/serial cable is NO fun with a hangover. 'Specially not with projector exhaust in your face...

A new 120-100v step-down transformer for the LD player and MUSE decoder. Old one was starting to hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Not good!
 

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Posted by Jeff Kane (Member # 6372) on 08-12-2011, 10:32 AM:
 
'Cause it's not out on Blu-Ray yet.


 

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Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 08-12-2011, 04:13 PM:
 
That's awesome Jeff. What sort of display device are you playing it back on? I'd love to see a screen shot.

As for my own show and tell, I received a Blu-ray of The Mummy Returns in the mail today. Bad movie, but fond memories at a good price: couldn't resist.

AJG
 

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Posted by John Lasher (Member # 968) on 08-12-2011, 06:28 PM:
 
The Gateway laptop I'm presently posting this message from.
 

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Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 08-12-2011, 07:01 PM:
 
the new Fountains of Wayne album, Fall issue of Disney Twenty Three, August issue of Rue Morgue, and the July issue of DJ magazine
 

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Posted by Sean Weitzel (Member # 244) on 08-12-2011, 07:18 PM:
 
I accepted an offer of a higher paying job in another group within the IT department at the company I've worked at for 10 years. Does that count?
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 08-12-2011, 07:44 PM:
 
Not unless you paid them off... lol
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 08-12-2011, 10:28 PM:
 
Kinda hit the jackpot this month with additions to my anime-related stash:

OST CD for the 2005 NHK TV series Dennou Coil (Circle of Children).

OST CD for the Studio Ghibli Museum short Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess - Joe Hisaishi conducting Vivaldi's La Folia.

A second and in-better-shape theater poster for the current Studio Ghibli release From Up on Poppy Hill.

Art books for Mamoru Hosoda's 2006 film The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and his 2009 Summer Wars, art concept book for Dennou Coil, The Art of From Up on Poppy Hill, a second volume of character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's art work entitled Carmine, another art book by my favorite animation background artist Kazuo Oga, entitled Akita - the Scenery of Play, and the biggest find so far, The Complete Graphics of Eyvind Earle and Selected Poems and Writings 1940-1990.

This last one was supposed to be a copy from the recent reprint, but from what I can tell, it appears to be from the long-out-of-print 1991 edition. What a find!

Eyvind Earle is probably most known for his work at Disney in the 1950's where his credits included background painter, color stylist, and production designer for Sleeping Beauty. I fell in love with his designed realism paintings and serigraphs of the California central coast when I first saw them at the Tamara Bane gallery in Los Angeles in 1985.
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 08-13-2011, 01:31 PM:
 


Yes, yes...bowling season approaches.
 

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Posted by Jeff Kane (Member # 6372) on 08-15-2011, 01:34 PM:
 

quote: Aaron Garman

---

That's awesome Jeff. What sort of display device are you playing it back on? I'd love to see a screen shot.

As for my own show and tell, I received a Blu-ray of The Mummy Returns in the mail today. Bad movie, but fond memories at a good price: couldn't resist.

AJG

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Planar PD8150 projector, Panamorph UH380 anamorphic lens, and a 148" Draper 2.35:1 screen.

I just got the DVD today to compare with. I'll post screen shots of both. Some MUSE stuff looks great. Some? Horrific. At it's best, it's sharper than DVD (until the panning begins).

Hi-Vision Lawrence is quite dark and has the usual MUSE green cast to it but with a bit of tweaking of the RGB values and other adjustments it looks fairly good. I also like it 'cause it's obvious they took it straight from the 70mm print with changeover cues and all. Sound is glorious.
 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 08-15-2011, 05:55 PM:
 

 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 08-15-2011, 08:58 PM:
 



 

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 08-15-2011, 11:03 PM:
 
A Fluke CableIQ. Recomended by Steve G. and already well liked by me. It proved that you can not text and attach 8P8C connectors all at the same time!


 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 08-16-2011, 12:53 AM:
 
Oof! I need to move up to the next size wheeled Pelican toolcase...

New Atlona 7" HD testing monitor - takes HDMI, VGA, DVI, Component inputs up to 1080p plus displays EDID and 3D data. Perfect for some of these Technicolor ScreenVision calls I've been dealing with lately...


 

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Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 08-30-2011, 09:33 PM:
 
I bought the original film soundtrack for REVENGE

Was cool to read "Manufactured in England" on the back of the REVENGE insert
 

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Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 08-31-2011, 10:32 AM:
 
I just watched Lawrence of Arabia last week as we have been going through the AFI top 100 list trying to watch all of the classics that I have never seen. It took three sittings to get through this one since we usually don't have much film watching time with two little kids. The picture was fantastic on our 40" LCD TV in our bedroom. I could definitely see the difference between a 35mm and 70mm film when watched this way.
 

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Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 10-15-2011, 02:18 AM:
 
I bought this coin sorter. Sign of the times?
 

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Posted by Edward Havens (Member # 4715) on 10-15-2011, 04:17 AM:
 
I finally broke down and bought a Blu-Ray player last week. A little Sony unit that was $50 off and synchs up nicely with my Sony HDTV. Then I bought The Social Network, so I'd have something to watch.
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 10-15-2011, 08:11 AM:
 
I bought five rolls of this:


So that I could use this:


...which is one of the cameras in the collection I inherited. It's been in storage for more than 20 years but the thing works almost like it was made yesterday. The roller that trips the film counter still works like it's supposed to, even with today's thinner films.

Frame spacing is just fine whereas the Zeiss Ikonta needs to have a piece of gaffer's tape wound around the takeup roll to account for the difference in thickness.

It's funny what difference a couple-few thou can make!
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 10-15-2011, 06:28 PM:
 
Why are there two lenses? Is one for telephoto or something?
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 10-15-2011, 07:27 PM:
 
It's called a Twin Lens Reflex camera.
The top lens is the viewing lens used for focusing. You look down through the top of the camera to compose and focus. The bottom lens is the one that actually takes the photograph.

It takes practice to use but, once you get the hang of it, the camera takes really nice photos. 120 format film is 60mm wide so it is basically the 70mm film of still photography.
 

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Posted by Jake Spell (Member # 5294) on 10-15-2011, 10:14 PM:
 
Just bought an LG HBS-700 bluetooth stereo headset and I LOVE it!! This is the first headset I can listen to music, hear other people around me while I am listening, talk clearly on the phone hands free, not have any wires to get tangled and I can wear it all day without and pain!! This this rocks!!!


 

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Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 10-16-2011, 02:25 PM:
 
Randy, LOVED THAT CAMERA!! Well, not exactly THAT camera -- I had the Japanese version -- the Yashica-MAT.



Almost identical, but without the Zeiss lens.

Can you find 620 film for it? The 620 roll gives you I think twice the frame count as 120 (perhaps 24? instead of 12 if memory serves me). I can't recall if you needed any modification to the camera, or perhaps you needed a different take up reel, but it wasn't difficult to convert to the 620. The Yashica-MAT produced quite stunning images even without the legendary Ziess lens, but they did add an electronic exposure meter which, although it didn't actually change the iris, it did show you what setting you needed to manually set the iris....very sweet.

The issue with both these cameras was that even the slightest physical abuse could get the two lenses out of perfect alignment so that what you see as in focus the the ground glass viewfinder might not be in perfect focus on the film. I had to take mine to a camera shop to have the two lenses properly aligned. Depth of field is awesome. The odd aspect ratio was a problem unless you expected to project it on an IMAX screen! heh heh. I drew lines on the viewfinder so that I could extract 4:3 ar images in the darkroom....my own little VistaVision system.

Mine got stolen in a house break in.
 

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Posted by Jock Blakley (Member # 6552) on 10-16-2011, 06:47 PM:
 
Hi Frank,

Please forgive my first post being a correction (and in this thread too!), but the double-length film you're thinking of is 220-format.

120 and 620 are the same length but 620 uses a thinner spool so that the camera's spool bays can be smaller. It's for this reason that you can't use unmodified 120 rolls in cameras designed for 620 (you have to file down the flanges of the spool or get crafty with the camera).

220 rolls are double the length of 120 but still manage to fit on 120 spools. They do this by omitting the backing paper that protects the entirety of a roll of 120 - instead they only apply it to the head and tail of the roll. In the middle of the roll there is no paper, so the thickness is halved and you can get double the film on the spool. You just have to remember to adjust the pressure plate in your camera to the different thickness.
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 10-16-2011, 10:05 PM:
 
I have a Yashica-Mat but it is the original model without the meter. You have to use a handheld meter.

The Yashinon lenses are really nice. Almost as nice as the Schneider Xenar in the Rollei. The only difference is that there is a bit of fringing at the edges of the image. I think the Yashinon is a three-element lens whereas the Schneider is a four-element lens. That fourth element collimates the light better. (At least, that's how I understand it.)

The Yashica is the first TLR I ever owned. That's what got me hooked on medium format cameras. Now I have the Zeiss Ikonta and the Rollei. There are a few other MF cameras still in storage that I haven't dusted off and taken out for a spin yet. I'm still having too much fun with the others.

As to the 620 film, I have several cameras that use it. There are several Brownie Hawkeyes and a couple of Kodak Relfex II cameras. Since 620 is hard to come by, it's going to take a while before I get them out. Yes, you can buy 620 from specialty companies but, of course, you pay a premium price.

The enterprising photographer might be inclined to reroll 120 film onto 620 spools but it takes some practice to do it right. You have to roll it twice, once to get to the tail of the leader and once again to roll it head out onto the smaller spool. All this has to be done in the dark. It's a lot of work just to play with an old camera when you've got half a dozen others that are ten times better.

If I ever get a wild hare up my ass I might do it but that's a lot of fussing around just to play with an old Hawkeye or a Jiffy 620.

Right now, I'm having too much fun with the Rolleiflex.
 

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Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 10-17-2011, 06:03 AM:
 
Jock, welcome and hi-five on your first post. No need to apologize -- the distinction you made between the 220 and 620 is right on the money. I haven't had my camera in a long time, so it was a little fuzzy.

Randy, now you've got me going -- am all over ebay looking at Rolleis, although I saw a sweet Yashica that I may pick up just for the nostalgia of it.
 

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Posted by Simon Wyss (Member # 6218) on 10-17-2011, 06:27 AM:
 
Two Revere 103 16mm movie cameras in order to learn about a product that could have become a severe concurrence to the Paillard-Bolex H 16 had it been designed with a better viewfinder

Spring, governor, speed control, film gate, threading aid, housing, all these points are at least as good as with the H 16. The divergent turret even approaches the Arriflex 16.

You cannot clean the Revere film gate very easily. Shutter opening angle is 144 degrees (optical axis). The Revere cost half the price of the Bolex when it appeared in 1953.


 

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Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 10-17-2011, 12:37 PM:
 
An old professor friend from college is getting hard of hearing and can't walk as well anymore so he can't hear his telephone when he is not right there with it in his living room and even if he does hear it, it takes him too long to get to it. A mutual college friend and I are going to visit him next month and I want to put a second phone in his kitchen so he can hear the ring and not have to try to get to the living room in time. But it's an old house and with no basement and a rental so we can't easily wire across two rooms, a pantry and a hallway to install. So I bought THIS:



Problem solved. AND, while looking for this thing, I read some very intersting stuff about the HomePug spec for PLC (Power Line Communication) where there are all kinds of black boxes coming on the market that use this HomePlug Certified technology. Most interesting to me is using it for getting Ethernet from one room to the others all over the house. The advantage over WiFi is the security of a closed system and high reliability not to mention the ability to send 200mbps and of course ease of setup. The HomePlug Alliance has something like 60 manufactures using the IEEE 1901 standard to allow consumers to transmit and receive pretty much everything that can be sent over a wire from HDMI to Ethernet to control signals. X10 has been doing it since 1970 but now the standards are pretty much set for widespread applications. They are the same people who worked on the Wi-Fi standards.

Plug this thing in next to your computer and you've got Ethernet at every socket in your house:


 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 10-17-2011, 09:00 PM:
 
That's really cool. Do you have a link for those ethernet thingies? How do they work? Do they inhibit the signal at all compared to running 100 feet of ethernet cable? Why does my browser want me to capitalize ethernet? What is the capital of Istanbul and does it have an actual capitol?
 

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Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 10-17-2011, 10:11 PM:
 
Sorry Joe, I should have posted a few links. Here ya go:

a Belkin set
and this one from TigerDirect
then the ChannelMaster units CM Ethernet over PLC and
if you want a 4 port switch on the receiver end for more flexibility, there is this baby
CM Ethernet over PCL w/ 4 port switch

I am getting the Channel Master; it will solve a few looming problems if it does what they claim. Wiring that I ran out windows and in other windows to get from room to room is deteriorating after 20 years, so this HomePlug AV PLC stuff would make for a a very easy replacement. It will be interesting to do some speed tests at various places throughout the apartment -- see if the technology holds up. Although, if they are claiming 200Mbps -- I assume that is the best-case scenario -- then even if at the other end of the run (about 130 ft one end to the other) I can get at least 2/3rds that, then I will be wildly happy.

Your browser and all Office spell checks seem to think there was some guy named Melvin Ethernet and so it upcases the E. He probably lived in Istanbul.
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 10-18-2011, 12:09 AM:
 

quote: Frank Angel

---

The advantage over WiFi is the security of a closed system and high reliability not to mention the ability to send 200mbps and of course ease of setup.

---

200mbps sucks Joe. You will just end up murdering the manufacturer. Run a wire for 1000mbps.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 10-18-2011, 12:11 AM:
 
Seems kind of expensive if it only includes two modules. Would it work if I hooked it up to a power strip or surge protector? I need all of my outlets and would have to attach this on an auxiliary outlet. Actually I need at least 1002mbps. 1000mpbs is for losers and homeless people.
 

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Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 10-18-2011, 07:45 AM:
 
Purchased the DVD of a documentary 1920 silent film tour. The documentary shows the construction of a Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ. The sound track is recorded on a Wurlitzer pipe organ.

Very interesting as the company produced one complete pipe organ each day during this period of their history.

KEN
 

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Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 10-18-2011, 10:16 PM:
 
I have a set of the InstaJacks, which I use to plug my DTV receiver to a phone line. They're about 15 years old now and still work. They've outlasted about a half dozen DTV receivers.

Now you've got me curious about using the Ethernet version for the same purpose.
 

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Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 11-14-2011, 03:55 AM:
 
Attention azimuth and scanning errors!
Your arse is grass and me and my (pre-loved) Tektronix TAS 455 CRO are the lawnmower.

Can't wait to poke my probe in a certain audio processor that is in need of a sever telling off.
So, we meet again Dr Jones.
 

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Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 12-28-2011, 11:08 PM:
 


What a find!

I picked up the vinyl soundtrack to the Accidental Tourist for a $1.11. One of the best films of the 80s and a great John Williams score.
 

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Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 01-30-2012, 07:46 PM:
 
# 73 note String { Hall }
# 61 note Vox Humana { Moller }
# 85 note Tibia { Artcraft }
#

# 3 rank combined windchest for 4'
# 3 rank combined offset for 8' octave of each rank
#

# Windchests from Newport Organ { LA }, probably built in the late 70's.
# Includes windchest legs.
The beast is growing
 

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Posted by Taylor Wiemann (Member # 6738) on 02-02-2012, 09:22 PM:
 
i recently got a Blu Ray player. I got JUSTIFIED SEASON 2. If you havent seen that show, I recommend it. Tuesdays at 9pm Central on FX network. its on the 3rd season so its never too late to catch up.
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 02-03-2012, 01:56 AM:
 
Just got a Cambo 4x5 monorail view camera.



Includes a 120mm lens, 5 film holders, an extension rail, a type 545 Polaroid back, half a box of Polaroid type 55 film and a case.

It will fit nicely on top of my original Marchoni Bros. "Tiltall" tripod. That's the one with the brass bushings on the leg extension collars, not the Leitz version that just has the threads tapped into the aluminum legs.

I will have to change the camera mounting stud from the standard 1/4-20 screw to a 3/8-16 because the camera has the larger thread. If I work carefully and keep the original stud, I should be able to restore things back to original configuration and nobody would ever know that it's been modified.

Now, all I have to do is send my order for a box of sheet film into B&H and I should be all set.

I can't wait for the weather to clear up so I can take it outside and shoot with it.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-03-2012, 10:50 AM:
 
Why is it based on accordion technology?
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 02-03-2012, 06:52 PM:
 
That's what keeps the dark from leaking out.

You focus it by moving the front lens board in and out to bring the focal plane of the lens into line with the film.

The neat thing is that you don't have to have the lens board parallel with the film. That allows you to "warp" the image to compensate for perspective problems in the scene. It's like "keystoning" in a movie projector only, in a view camera, you can tilt the lens board and the film holder to cancel out the keystone effect.

You can also use Sheimpfleug's Principle to precisely control the plane of sharp focus and depth of field in the final image. Unlike a 35mm camera or a digicam, the plane of sharp focus doesn't have to be parallel and perpendicular to the film plane.

Sheimpfleug's Principle is the mathematical formula that describes the zone of focus in relation to position of the lens plane, the film plane and the object being photographed.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-03-2012, 09:41 PM:
 
Even if it compensated for perspective, it could not compensate for distance. Things further away would still be smaller. For example, you straighten out the perspective of a tall building. Wouldn't the upper windows look smooshed or stretched a bit?
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 02-03-2012, 11:02 PM:
 
In extreme situations, no camera can correct every situation.

However, in a situation like the one in the picture, below, where the camera is looking up, you'll get a funky perspective that makes the building (for example) look like it's falling over:



That is corrected by moving the camera thus:



In a view camera, the lens board and the film holder can both be moved, independantly, along their X,Y and Z axes, plus they can be turned on the pitch and yaw axes. The film holder can also be turned on the roll axis, 360º. (Rotating the lens would be useless. )

Because the camera can be moved in so many ways, it's possible to counter a situation like this, where the whole image can't be brought into focus on a regular camera:



You can twist, turn, raise or lower the lens or the film in any combination of movements so you can bring the whole image into focus.
 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 02-04-2012, 12:29 PM:
 
Nice camera!

Having a Polaroid 545 back was important to me when I first started playing with camera movements (and I'm only using a Super Speed Graphic...the Cambo should be way more interesting in that regard). Unfortunately, the Polaroid 4x5 film is now NLA. Fuji makes 4x5 instant film, but it requires a different back (which costs nearly $200 new!). If you have any way of getting a Fuji back and some film, do it.

In any case, it's useful to be able to check focus, exposure, and perspective before committing to shooting on "real" film.

Some people like the Kodak readyload or Fuji quickload packets (which _do_ work in the Polaroid back), but I never tried them, as sheet film with regular film holders is about half the price.

Do you use a tank or trays to develop the sheets? I have had good luck with trays, although it is tedious and not much fun to do this work in complete darkness. I've never tried a 4x5 tank.
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 02-04-2012, 01:20 PM:
 
Apparently, there is a group of guys that spun off the Impossible Project who are trying to reinvent Type-55 film.

http://new55project.blogspot.com/

They say they have a working product ready for manufacture but they don't have funding to go into production. They say, if they can, they'll have product on the market in less than a year.

Although I'm not holding my breath, I certainly have my fingers crossed.

I haven't developed any film yet. I've only practiced with the camera and dry-fired a few shots. Weather hasn't been cooperative. I still need to order the film.

When I get to develop, I plan to use the "taco method."
Carefully fold the film in half, lengthwise, until it looks like a taco. Wrap a fabric covered hair band around the film to hold it in place. (Make sure you fold emulsion IN! )

Four such "tacos" will fit into a 3-reel Patterson tank. (Don't forget to put the funnel tube in or else you'll spoil the film!)

Fill the tank 1/3 to 1/2 full then lay it on its side on the sink board and roll back and forth, continuously, for the required amount of time. Use the recommended times for roller tube processing instead of inversion/stand processing.

My budget is tight right now. I need to save some cash to buy some film but, once I do, I'm hoping to get some great pictures!
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-04-2012, 04:40 PM:
 
So instead of a giant, accordion based camera, one can get a much smaller, accordion-based tilt-shift lens to do the same thing.
 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 02-04-2012, 05:22 PM:
 
Not the same thing. A tilt-shift lens has a limited range of movement, only works with one focal length (usually a very short one), and only has a few of the movements that a studio view camera can do. And they only work with small-format cameras. A 16x20" print made from a 4x5" negative is razor sharp. Try that with a Canon or Nikon 35mm.

Interesting about the "taco method" of development. I've never heard of that one.
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 02-04-2012, 05:46 PM:
 
I have printed to 16x20 from BOTH Nikon and Canon 35mm cameras, actually...the Nikon generally had better results. Shooting my B&W on ilford went a long way to not emphasizing the grain. I also tend to use a diffusion light collector rather than a traditional condensing lens assembly on the light to also minimize the grain when doing the larger prints. I even did slide to 16x20 prints (Ektachrome was the best but Kodachrome wood do okay).

BTW...my most recent purchase was a Samsung phone to USB cable...under $10 so not the biggest purchase. The Mother-in-Law wanted to get the pictures off her phone and my card reader didn't to the micro-mini card her phone uses.

-Steve
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-04-2012, 06:47 PM:
 

quote: Scott Norwood

---

Try that with a Canon or Nikon 35mm.

---

Well, considering that we blow up a smaller-than-35mm image to 40 feet and bigger and they still look pretty damn good, I think blowing it up from horizontal 35mm to a measly (wimpy?) 20 inches would be just fine. Going by your logic, 15/70 IMAX wouldn't even be good enough for the smallest screen at a multiplex.
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 02-04-2012, 09:16 PM:
 
The difference there Joe is that a still isn't updated 24 times/second with random grain structure and a still may be observed at much closer range than the typical movie screen. And, for the record, Flat always looked nasty (as does Super-35 Scope). Why do you think 2K gets away with so much...nobody is close enough to see the screen door...it gets highlighted sometimes, depending on the image or credit scrolls.

-Steve
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 02-05-2012, 01:24 AM:
 
I was going to say what Steve said: Shoot some Ilford Pan F, ASA 50 but pull it back to ASA 25 and you'll be able to get a sharp print at 16x20.

Now, if Ilford sold Pan F as sheet film, you could probably make a 20x30 that was so sharp you could shave with it!
(Efke and Foma both make sheet film in 25 ASA.)
 

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Posted by Tony Bandiera Jr (Member # 2365) on 02-06-2012, 06:06 PM:
 
Well I have started to replace the stuff stolen by the douchbag who robbed me on the 1st...(See the "Deadbeats In The Industry" thread for info.)

I replaced my HTC Wildfire S phone yesterday and today replaced the laptop with a new Toshiba Satellite L755-S5358. I also ordered a replacement Keyspan USB to Serial adapter.

There is no replacing over 2,000 pictures, several client files, proprietary AMX programs written by me, and some specialty cables that I need for AMX systems.

I still have to replace two ipods, a USB 80gig external hard drive, and two USB 4 gig thumbdrives along with my Nikon Coolpix camera.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-14-2012, 09:13 PM:
 


Zoom H4n portable microphone/recorder.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 02-14-2012, 10:16 PM:
 
Instead of spending money on a Valentine's Day dinner for two, I spent the money changing door locks on my house as a result of an on again, now off for good relationship. Cupid really isn't very good at helping people hook up, but his commercial holiday can work very well at exposing a cheater.

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-14-2012, 11:04 PM:
 
You'll save money in the long run. And sanity.
 

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Posted by Jock Blakley (Member # 6552) on 02-14-2012, 11:26 PM:
 
Randy, welcome to the happy club of Cambo users! I've got a 45 SF that I neglect far too much, but when I do lug it about the place it does reward me.

Very fond of the Nikkor-SW 120mm 1:8 I have for it too.

I make optical prints in B&W out to 16x20 and 20x24 quite often, but I prefer the contrast of a condenser. A lot of those prints are from T-MAX 400 pushed to 1600 in Rodinal, so grain isn't really my first concern

Steve, were those prints from Ektachrome and the like Cibachromes/Ilfochromes, or a different process?

quote:

---

Now, if Ilford sold Pan F as sheet film, you could probably make a 20x30 that was so sharp you could shave with it!

---

To that I say: Vale Technical Pan, and may all deities preserve my fridge.


 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 02-15-2012, 12:28 AM:
 
My slide-to-print process was indeed Cibachrome...and somehow I posted the opposite above...Kodachrome was the better of the two (Ektachrome versus Kodachrome)
 

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Posted by Jeff Taylor (Member # 443) on 02-22-2012, 10:33 AM:
 
Tony: I'm sure you don't want to hear "told you so", but I hope you will be backing up your files from now on. I pay for one of the "off-site" backup services, and when my drive crashed it was a lifesaver.
 

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Posted by Jock Blakley (Member # 6552) on 02-22-2012, 09:10 PM:
 

quote: Steve Guttag

---

My slide-to-print process was indeed Cibachrome...and somehow I posted the opposite above...Kodachrome was the better of the two (Ektachrome versus Kodachrome)

---

Mmm. My high-school photography teacher had an album of 8x10 Cibachromes from Kodachrome in her Hasselblad. The colour was phenomenal, and the depth breath-taking.

Happily that process still survives as Ilfochrome Classic - love to try it myself someday.

Maybe with this new purchase:

 

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Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 03-13-2012, 11:55 AM:
 
Coming in the mail soon:



The Pioneer VSX-1121K. I sold my Onkyo TX-SR705, and got a deal on Newegg, so I'm only out $150! This is actually a clone of the Elite VSX-52, minus an aluminum face.

Can't wait to test out the video scaler in it on my LaserDisc collection.

AJG
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 03-13-2012, 12:14 PM:
 
Ilford is discontinuing Cibachrome and Kodak is discontinuing all color slide films.

Buy it now while you can.
 

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Posted by Sean Weitzel (Member # 244) on 04-11-2012, 10:22 AM:
 
Not sure if this constitutes "bought recently" but we brought our first kid into the world last night at 8:56pm. Ethan John 8lbs 12oz. Everyone is doing just perfect.


 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 04-11-2012, 04:37 PM:
 
Congrats! And unless you did home delivery yourselves, then yeah, you bought him.
 

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Posted by Sean Weitzel (Member # 244) on 04-11-2012, 05:40 PM:
 
You know what, Joe? We actually did have him right here at home.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 04-11-2012, 07:12 PM:
 
That's awesome! Can I ask why you chose to do that, just out of curiosity? One of the people on the internet that I know who has done that is a very anti-vaccine, all-medicine-is-bad type of person.
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 04-11-2012, 08:08 PM:
 
As Brad always says, it's about the cost not the price. You can start the process of paying for the kid.
 

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Posted by Sean Weitzel (Member # 244) on 04-11-2012, 08:42 PM:
 
Joe, we're neither anti-medicine or anti-vaccine (My mother worked in pediatrics her entire career). Everything Beth read about labor is how much the environment at the time affects the mother's reaction to labor. Since she's very self conscious about her body, she felt that perhaps being here in the comfort of our home, her body would be more inclined to "let go" and let it happen. She also knew that here she would have more ability to move into different positions, have a snack, take a shower, do whatever to ease discomfort - not be sequestered to a hospital room or bed. We had a pair of state licensed midwifes present who have been developing a relationship with us for the past 6 months and have been providing home birth services for 37 years. In short, it was everything she wanted and turned out exactly how she had hoped. If you want to chat further about it offline. PM me here or elsewhere.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 04-11-2012, 10:26 PM:
 
That answer offered plenty o' detail, thanks. People have different reasons for doing it and that was yours. Cool! Have fun while it lasts. OK that sounds ominous, but I don't mean it like that.
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-11-2012, 11:40 PM:
 
Wow, that's great. Congrats to the both of you. You will make excellent parents. That kid doesn't know how lucky he is.

Just remember, no airplane trips until he can wipe his own ass and speak reasonably fluent English.
 

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Posted by Sean Weitzel (Member # 244) on 04-12-2012, 01:50 AM:
 
Joe: Brad: Right there with you. Read you loud and clear
 

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Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 04-12-2012, 06:54 AM:
 
Just a short time until he asks for the car keys. Louis
 

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Posted by Melanie Loggins (Member # 6454) on 04-12-2012, 10:44 AM:
 
Congratulations! You're in the "baby bubble" time, those first two or three months when every single part of your life is defined according to its relationship to the baby. That's a good time. Enjoy it!
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 04-27-2012, 04:58 PM:
 
Jen got us a Canon 5D Mark 2 camera. Not sure why, since we plan on getting a Mark 3 later this year. Anyway I don't like the body layout/setup as much as the 7D. The Mark 3 is much more like the 7D.
 

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Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 05-09-2012, 02:33 PM:
 
I purchased one of the H4n Zoom recorders and was very impressed with it
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-09-2012, 04:44 PM:
 
I have one of those as well. Watch out for a bug which erases some of your recordings after you power it down. It's rare but it does happen.
 

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Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 05-11-2012, 10:27 AM:
 
I used it monday night to record our concert at casaloma of the organ and it actually sounded better than the one done with our normal recording setup of 2 akg condensors (a bit old) and a M audio USBpre and Audacity
it handled the wide dynamics better
 

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Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 05-18-2012, 02:17 PM:
 
Ever since hearing a pair of Boston Acoustics VR3 speakers, I've wanted a pair. Unfortunately, they were discontinued some time ago, and they don't come up often. Even when they do, their size and weight make it difficult to buy from anyone not local.

Now that I finally have a space that could use some floorstanding speakers, I decided to pursue a pair. After striking out a couple of times, I found some VR1's at a very reasonable price. While they don't reach as low as the VR3's and they are two-way instead of three-way, they have the same tweeters and they sound pretty good!


 

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Posted by System Notices (Member # 2357) on 05-22-2013, 05:11 PM:
 

It has been 369 days since the last post.

 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 05-22-2013, 05:11 PM:
 


I finally caved in and bought a new zoom lens I've been wanting for quite some time. It's Canon's EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II lens. The lens is outrageously expensive. It lists for $2499 -about $600 more than the previous "I" version. Currently Canon is offering a $300 instant rebate on this lens.

I've only had time enough to snap a couple pictures of it to try out the image stabilization system -good for up to 4 stops. It works pretty well. I shot the image below hand held at 1/30 sec zoomed at 200mm, aperture opened to f/2.8. It's re-sized and cropped to fit forum limits. You can see the blur of the print head moving across the frame while the Roland logo on the top panel is nice and sharp.



This lens will replace the non-IS 70-200mm f/2.8L lens I currently own. That one produces really sharp images, but you need to have a good tripod handy unless you can shoot at fast shutter speeds.
 

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Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 05-24-2013, 12:28 AM:
 
Lucky 7 200 count humidor:


 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-24-2013, 03:51 PM:
 
Does it come with a partially-smoked cigar?

Bobby, I was looking at that very lens the other day at a local Mike's Camera. Pretty cool. I like how the tripod mount is on the lens. I asked the guy why these super telephoto L lenses are always white and he said it has something to do with heat. Do you concur? Also, I don't think that flash will do you much good with a telephoto lens.
 

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Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 05-24-2013, 05:21 PM:
 
Yeah, and the poker chips too.

Haven't received it yet, it should arrive Monday, hopefully. Ran out of room in my old humidor.
 

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Posted by Robert E. Allen (Member # 1351) on 05-24-2013, 06:18 PM:
 
Nice camera Bobby. I just got a Sony cyber-shot. My phone doesn't have a camera.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-24-2013, 08:31 PM:
 
I would like to get me a "good" digital camera. I have a little Canon 7mp one that's about 6 years old and takes really good pics, but it's just a snapshot camera so you can't do much with it. The biggest problem I have with larger cameras is, the places I would like to take high-quality photos are always places I'd hate to lug a camera around (Disney World for example).

The iPhone camera really is kind of impressive given the size and all that, and it does quite well in low light unless you're taking a picture of a bright thing -- then, the subject gets washed out. Concerts and sunsets don't do as well on the iPhone.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 05-26-2013, 07:47 PM:
 

quote: Joe Redifer

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Bobby, I was looking at that very lens the other day at a local Mike's Camera. Pretty cool. I like how the tripod mount is on the lens. I asked the guy why these super telephoto L lenses are always white and he said it has something to do with heat. Do you concur? Also, I don't think that flash will do you much good with a telephoto lens.

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quote: Mike Blakesley

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The biggest problem I have with larger cameras is, the places I would like to take high-quality photos are always places I'd hate to lug a camera around (Disney World for example).

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Yep. I've taken plenty of photos using the camera in my HTC smart phone for that reason. There's also situations where I don't want to risk damage to my good camera (bad weather, large crowds, riding in a fast moving boat, etc.) whereas using the phone isn't such a big deal.
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 06-14-2013, 03:48 AM:
 
Personally, a Galaxy S4.

Professionally,a Photo Research PR-655.
 

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Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 06-14-2013, 06:01 AM:
 
In keeping with the retro aspect of being retired, I just bought a "new" Altec 342b amplifier which is now nearly finished its restoration. It is essentially an Altec 1568 with preamps. I installed over 100 of these back in the '60s. Louis
 

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Posted by John Roddy (Member # 7348) on 06-17-2013, 07:01 PM:
 


Just bought this 360x360 mm radiator. It's the first component of the water loop I'm building for my PC. Next on the list is a 4x180 mm fan grill (as opposed to the 9x120 mm grill on there now) and a set of 180x180x25 mm PWM fans to go with it.

The radiator was about $120, and the grill/fans combo will be about the same amount. That still doesn't include the cost of the pump, blocks, tubing, barbs, etc. Curse me and my expensive hobbies.
 

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Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 06-17-2013, 08:59 PM:
 


I bought this 1986 Honda Rebel 250 late last year, after completing the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's Basic Rider Course.

And, speaking of safety -- Close inspection revealed that the tires were the original issue, manufactured in 1985.

Yes -- I've had the old tires replaced.

Next purchase for the bike will be a pair of saddle bags.

I'm still on my first tank of gas -- supposedly this thing will get around 70mpg.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 09-23-2013, 11:53 PM:
 
I spent about $300 for a couple or so camera related items. Got an event photo gig for an AMBUCS Regional Convention happening this coming weekend. I've been wanting a good flash bracket for quite some time and push came to shove on buying one. I bought the Really Right Stuff Wedding Pro Flash Bracket with Integrated Quick-Release Mount. It attaches to the RRS L-plate I already own, which attaches to the super primo RRS ballhead that sits on top of my Gitzo tripod. Yeah. Once you buy into a product line they kinda have you by short hairs. Apple knows all about that. :-P



The idea about this flash bracket is that you can take portrait oriented shots and still be able to flip the flash up over the top of the camera lens to prevent really odd looking shadows throwing to the left or right in the image.

It also makes the camera look even more scary and professional looking. If a celebrity or celebrity bodyguard wants to palm his way into blocking my camera I can potentially use the bracket as a weapon to beat on said photography subject. And then when he is laying there bleeding from a stainless steel bracket beating I will spray him with lot of speedlight flash goodness. Let's upload it all to the agency selling to the National Enquirer, stat!

BTW, I had to buy an off shoe camera cord. Apparently no one knows how to make a halfway decent off shoe flash cord for the Canon product line. I went ahead and paid a LOT extra for Canon's latest off shoe cord, based on very negative reviews of alternative cords I read at various photography forums. I'm still nervous about this version 3 cord from Canon. They apparently have more work to do improving this product. It kind of sucks paying upwards of $80 on a cord that has plenty of complaints.
 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 09-24-2013, 08:40 AM:
 
Do Canons not accept a normal PC sync cord? They cost about $10 and always work....
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 09-24-2013, 09:31 AM:
 
Canon's speed lights require a proprietary cord in order to transmit TTL/ETTL data (exposure, flash color temperature, auto focus assist, etc.) between the speed light and camera body. A plan pc sync cord will probably only transmit the flash signal.
 

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Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 12-14-2013, 05:10 PM:
 
'The Magical Music of Walt Disney' 4 Disc vinyl release.
 

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Posted by System Notices (Member # 2357) on 02-05-2015, 04:04 PM:
 

It has been 417 days since the last post.

 

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Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 02-05-2015, 04:04 PM:
 


A 4 channel Rigol digital storage scope with the firmware hacks to upgrade it to 100Mz
lot to learn about it
 

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Posted by Buck Wilson (Member # 5885) on 02-27-2015, 05:37 PM:
 
Ooh what a fun thread!

I have bought a lot of odd reels, trailers, and prints lately.

I am going to buy a CP-55 this weekend for the LULZ
 

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Posted by Steve Matz (Member # 1890) on 02-27-2015, 11:00 PM:
 

Not Today but Recently
 

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Posted by Buck Wilson (Member # 5885) on 03-06-2015, 07:41 AM:
 
35mm Hollywood Theaters logo snipe circa 1998!! "Cinematic, fun fanatic, Never had it so good!!"
 

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Posted by Buck Wilson (Member # 5885) on 03-10-2015, 04:38 PM:
 
Strong SCDC3.

Because I love garbage and things I don't have a place for.
 

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Posted by Jim Cassedy (Member # 4115) on 03-10-2015, 05:26 PM:
 
An RCA Photophone Emblem/Plaque

RCA used to hang these in theater lobbies
to advertise their sound system installations.
Now I just have to find a good place to hang
it here at home. (Or, I suppose I could just
buy an old theater and hang it up in there!)

Also, in keeping with the RCA theme, I
also got this old RCA service badge/pin:

-jc-
 

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Posted by Jarod Reddig (Member # 6363) on 03-25-2015, 04:44 PM:
 
My wife and I purchased a second Golden Retriever male puppy we named Brinkley. We have a 4 year old female named Bella also. The first few weeks were iffy but now they are the best of friends and they help me excercise more then Id like to!
 

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Posted by Timothy Eiler (Member # 383) on 04-24-2015, 02:37 PM:
 
A 20 by 20 tent with sides. This will be used a a dressing room for the professional wrestlers when they come back to the Drive-In


 

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Posted by Buck Wilson (Member # 5885) on 04-24-2015, 08:56 PM:
 
Old Kintek Stereo poster, Dolby Stereo poster, some other crap that'll look neat in my future home theater.
 

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